Koza stared ahead with wide, dumbfounded eyes. What was a person doing slinking around in the woods, at this hour nonetheless? From the girl's abhorred state, Koza would've easily assumed she was homeless from a first glance. Maybe one of those "wild people" her mother always spoke ill about; wild nomads who traveled all across the world, usually in groups. Surviving solely off the generosity of strangers, avoiding work or doing anything productive, and generally being burdens on society. Koza couldn't say for sure if this girl was one of those nomads, but what she could say for sure was that there was no doubt this girl was utterly terrified.
Now that both parties could see each other through the constant flickering flame light, Koza could just make out two very-dilated stormy-gray eyes. It was the same look a wounded animal would give to a hunter, begging for mercy. A thousand questions surged through Koza's brain all at once. Where did this girl come from? What was she doing in the woods? And what was she so afraid of?
The multitude of questions that were competing to be asked first inside Koza's brain at that moment made her hesitate on what to say, leaving her simply staring with her mouth agape at the trembling girl. Before Koza could get her thoughts in order, the strange girl beat her to the punch.
"Nli… Nli kiyda llaha. Ce, Nli kiyda llaha!" She cried, her voice trembling as she struggled to get the words out. Koza blinked and took a hesitant step back, the unfamiliar words- as well as the sudden force behind them- unsettling her nerves. In that split second, Koza could only bring herself together long enough to muster out a single question:
"What?" Yeah, that sure was useful. Great job, Koza... The girl stared at Koza for a moment, almost like she was only just seeing her for the first time.
"Oh, you're Fire Nation. Obviously." The girl breathed, smacking herself in the forehead like she should've known. While Koza could at least understand the girl now, her accent was very peculiar, unlike anything Koza had ever heard before. "Please, you-you have to help me," the girl continued, taking a hesitant step forwards towards Koza. "Please, they're-they're coming for me. I-I don't want to die. Oh Spirits, they killed everyone. Everyone! Ayoni, Noll…. Oh Spirits, what have they done? Daleyda kulli!" The girl wailed, falling to her knees on the last two words. She sobbed into her hands, her hopeless wails echoing through the desolate forest.
To say Koza was completely and utterly baffled was an understatement. Not only was she taken aback- and rather unnerved- by the girl's erratic behavior, but seeing her just sitting in the dirt and sobbing with such intense despair actually pulled at Koza's heart-strings a little. In that moment, Koza knew she couldn't turn around to get Uvi, or a soldier, or anyone. She couldn't leave this girl alone, not while she was in this kind of a state. Bringing another person into the situation would probably just send her running, and Koza didn't want to scare her off. Though she didn't know who this girl was, or why all alone in the woods of Ki Lo, Koza felt compelled to help her.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Koza held out her hand that wasn't currently on fire towards the girl in a somewhat-in-vain attempt to be any source of comfort. "No one's here, no one's coming for you. I won't hurt you, I promise." The girl looked up at Koza, the tears rolling down her cheeks mixing in with the snot dripping down her nose. Koza tried to hide her disgust.
"You… promise?" The girl echoed, looking at Koza's outstretched hand like she thought it would be a trap. She tensed up and Koza, trying to establish that she wasn't a threat, quickly took her hand back.
"I promise," Koza repeated as calmly as she could. "And I want to help you. But first, you need to tell me who you are."
"Who am I? I'm… I-I'm…" The girl stammered, unable to get the words out. Her entire body began to shake again, and she put her head back into her hands. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The girl began to repeat, stopping only to let out more anguished sobs. Koza's neutral expression softened and slowly, as to not scare her, sat down onto the cold dirt, not once moving her eyes off of the girl. She listened to her cries, wondering to herself what unimaginable horror this girl must've gone through to put her in this state. Whatever it was, Koza wasn't entirely sure she wanted to hear about it.
Realizing that words would be of little comfort right now- not to mention Koza wasn't exactly the best person for giving out comfort in the first place- she decided to try something else. Something Ojin had done for her a long, long time ago, back when they were little and he actually cared. She held the fire outward towards the girl, allowing it to grow much larger until it was basically enveloping her entire forearm; warm reds and oranges and yellows swirled across her skin, moving about in a dance that made it seem almost alive. The flames flickered and sparked, illuminating the entire section of woods like a flare. Koza struggled somewhat to keep it at a controlled size, but a few heavy breaths and constant fluctuation of the flame ensured it remained at a manageable size. The girl suddenly looked up from her hands, wiping her nose on her sleeve. She stared up at the fire, watching its dance with a child-like awe.
Now armed with more light, Koza could at last make out the girl's full appearance. Medium-length brown hair hung over her shoulders, incredibly knotted almost to the point of being matted. Her skin color was similar to Koza's, though she had dark freckles speckled all across her cheeks and nose. Her face, though at the moment was covered in dirt and bruises, was sweet and pretty. She was wearing a long yellow robe, an orange shawl covering the top half of her body; it was incredibly filthy, and was covered in what appeared to be burn holes in the fabric. The flame was reflected in her big, stormy eyes; Koza had never seen eyes quite like those before. To say they were beautiful was an understatement.
Realizing she was accidentally staring, Koza sheepishly turned away from the girl's face and allowed the fire to shrink back to a candle size. The girl had stopped crying, for the moment at least, and her full attention was now on Koza. This was her chance to finally get some information.
"I want to help you, really I do. But I can't do that unless you tell me what's going on." Koza said gently but firmly. The girl closed her eyes for a moment, then took a deep breath.
"My… My name is Huvanni." her already-wet voice wavered somewhat when she said her name.
"Hello, Huvanni. My name's Koza. I live in a house just beyond the forest." She replied, nodding in the direction of her home. Normally, Koza would've been far more cautious about giving away such personal information, but the normally cynical part within her severely doubted this girl was in any way a threat. That was, unless this girl was actually putting on some sort of emotionally-driven con. The thought made Koza tense up.
"Koza…" Huvanni repeated the name, like she was trying to burn it to memory. "I have to ask you, please, don't tell anyone that I'm here. Especially anyone from the Fire Army."
"What? Why?"
"Because they'll… they'll kill me if they find out I survived." She swallowed back another sob, clearly trying to keep her voice clear. Koza furrowed her eyebrows.
"Survived? Survived what?" She asked.
"The siege of the Air Temples," Huvanni began. "They tried damn hard to make sure none of us escaped, but-"
"Air Temples?" Koza's voice inadvertently rose at the revelation. "That means… That means you're an Air Bender!" She felt like slapping herself for not figuring it out on her own. The orange-and-yellow religious robes, the dark hair, the gray eyes... How could Koza be so blind as to not recognize her own Nation's enemy right in front of her? She knew shouldn't have been so quick to trust this girl!
Koza shot up onto her feet, quickly getting into an offensive Bending stance. The fire in her hand now spread to cover her entire fist, which was joined by her other fist, now alight and burning just as furiously as the other. Koza clenched her teeth, readying her weapons for any sudden movements. Huvanni didn't seem afraid or angry at Koza's sudden change in demeanor- if anything, she just looked tired.
"By decree of Fire Lord Sozin, all Air Benders are considered enemies within Fire Nation territory. If you surrender yourself now, maybe your imprisonment won't be too long." Koza snarled. Huvanni took another deep inhale and slowly got to her feet. Koza flinched slightly, preparing herself in case she needed to attack.
"I have committed no crime. My people have committed no crime. We are all innocent, both in the eyes of the law and of the Spirits." Huvanni's voice was clear as a bell; now free of the previous wallowing despair, her tone was clear and strong; and her Air Bender accent was far more audible.
"None of you are innocent, and you know it."
"Then please, do me the honor, oh great Fire Bender. What have my people done to deserve your wrath?" Huvanni spat.
"An entire fleet of Fire Nation ships carrying cargo to the North Pole were destroyed right under the Northern Air Temple," Koza found herself struggling to keep up her fury at Huvanni's unperturbed expression. "You "pacifists" killed over 150 of our people. Innocent people with families and loved ones! And for that, Fire Lord Sozin ordered that the Air Bender army be purged and completely demolished for your crimes against the Fire Nation. And I don't care if you're military or not. You're an enemy just the same." Koza growled. Koza expected Huvanni to make up some excuse, or even try to fight at being backed into a corner. But the Air Bender did something Koza wasn't expecting at all: She began to laugh.
And it wasn't the kind of laugh someone made when something funny happened. It was a broken, cold laugh utterly devoid of joy; one that you made when things got so bad, it was the only thing you could do to stop from completely breaking. However, the emptiness of Huvanni's laughter only seemed to fuel Koza's anger.
"What's so funny, Air Bender?" She spat the words like it was poison in her mouth. Huvanni ceased her drawl, looking at Koza with something that utterly enraged the girl: Pity.
"Is that really what they told you? Dismantling the-the 'Air Bender Army' because we destroyed some cargo ships?" She folded her arms, shaking her head in disbelief. "That's… that's really the best they can come up with, huh? Boy, the Fire Lord is more pathetic than I thought."
"What are you talking about?!"
"I'm sorry, Koza, but your beloved 'Fire Lord' is feeding you nothing but lies. Political propaganda to make the Fire Nation feel good about what they're really doing to the rest of the world," said Huvanni. "The Air Benders never destroyed anything. We never killed anyone. Air Benders don't kill or destroy, that's like our number one mantra! We don't even have an army! Air Benders don't have any formal military, and we haven't for centuries!"
"If you didn't attack that ship and you don't have an army, then why would Fire Lord Sozin order his troops to attack the Air Temples? He would never do that without a valid reason." Koza said, the fire on her fists momentarily subsiding before she lit them back up again.
"He has a reason, alright. He wants us all gone. Or, more specifically, he wants the Avatar gone. And he decided to go through everyone in order to find them."
"The Avatar? Why would Fire Lord Sozin want the Avatar gone?" Koza scoffed.
"That's what I'd like to know, too."
"So what, you're saying that this whole story is just a-a cover up? That Fire Lord Sozin just decided to attack the Air Temples so he could kill the Avatar for some reason?!" demanded Koza.
"That's exactly what I'm saying." With unimaginable rage bubbling up inside her, Koza couldn't contain it anymore. She stepped forwards and punched the air, in turn sending off a large crackling fireball in Huvanni's direction.
"Don't you dare insult Fire Lord Sozin!" She shouted, but Huvanni was no longer there. In the blink of an eye, the girl had vanished. How did she...?
Koza didn't have time to ponder the feat as the fireball struck a sturdy spruce tree in Huvanni's absence, the dusty bark lighting up in a great blaze. Koza completely froze with horror as she watched the tree begin to burn and blacken, the smell of smoke quickly filling her lungs. In a matter of mere seconds, the entire forest would alight, and a wildfire that big would surely destroy everything in its path. It would only be a matter of time before it spread to people's houses, possibly enveloping the entire Eastern side of Ki Lo. She had to do something!
As Koza stood frozen, trying to think of anything she could do that would possibly stop the blaze, a powerful gust of wind suddenly began to blow. It was so strong and sudden that Koza nearly toppled over by the invisible force, digging her heels into the dirt to keep upright; even a few strands of hair from her bun had broken free due to the force. The wind battled against the roaring flames, a war that only lasted seconds until the wind overtook and overpowered the fire, pushing it down into oblivion. By the time the wind had ceased its sudden storm, the only evidence that there had even been a fire in the first place was a large black hole in the tree's bark and dying embers scattered on its roots.
"You really need to work on your aim." A cynical voice came from above Koza. Huvanni was standing atop a sturdy branch in a nearby tree, looking down at the other girl, clearly unimpressed. "Fire Bending while being surrounded by trees? Surely you're not that stupid to realize that was a terrible idea." She was right, of course, but Koza would never admit it.
"Why don't you get off your high branch and face me, you coward!" Koza taunted. Without her fire, she no longer could see the Air Bender's face; she could only just make out her silhouette among the branches, shaded in by the tiny bits of moonlight that were escaping through the clouds.
"I'll pass on the offer, thank you. We're taught from a young age that senseless violence will only drag us down and away from inner peace. Keeping a pacifist's vow is the only way to keep afloat." Huvanni spoke, stepping off of the branch. Rather than plummeting to the ground like Koza expected, she floated down gently like her body was as light as a feather. She dropped gracefully in front of Koza, her expression unreadable. "Besides, didn't you just promise five minutes ago that you wouldn't hurt me? I'm glad we've already established that you don't keep your word."
"Don't preach to me, I don't need to hear about how 'enlightening' it is being a nun." Koza grumbled, decidedly ignoring the second part of the girl's condescending sentence.
"I'm simply making a point." Huvanni said, straightening herself. Koza was disgruntled to see that Huvanni was about two inches taller than she was. "Air Benders aren't people prone to fighting. We make the effort to solve problems peacefully and without violence. We wouldn't dare to take a life, let alone over a hundred innocents. The only time we would even consider causing harm upon another human being is if there was no other choice." She said, looking down at the girl with contempt.
Koza's hardened barrier began to falter as she took in what Huvanni said. Out of all of the four Nations that made up their world, Koza knew the least about the Air Benders. However, the few things she did know about Air culture were always the same: Deep spirituality and a strict moral code against killing. Comparing Sozin's story to Huvanni's, Huvanni's words held far more accuracy behind them. And that was making Koza very, very nervous.
"...If it wasn't to serve justice, then... It had to do with the Avatar, you said? ...What happened at the Air Temples?" Koza asked with desperation, the burning fury in her voice completely gone; It was now Koza's turn to be scared. Her knees were buckling under her own weight, and her brain was screaming to run back inside, to avoid hearing whatever Huvanni was going to say about the Fire Nation, about the home she was so proud to live in and fight for. Against every instinct that told her to run, Koza stayed exactly where she was.
"They lied to you. To us. The Fire Nation has been lying to the entire world," Huvanni solemnly said, looking at Koza with that dreaded pitiful expression again. "Sozin isn't who you think he is. He's… He's a monster."