For the second night in a row, Koza found herself in a battle to fall asleep. Though as a new change of pace from the previous night, rather than being tortured by warped nightmares of the Fire Lord, Koza found herself wide awake with her thoughts reenacting every event that had occurred over the course of that day. From the sick, twisted feeling that followed her all throughout her morning studies to the paralyzing fear she felt at every slim possibility of Fulay picking up on the charade and exposing Huvanni's true identity. As much as she tried keeping her mind clear to get some much needed rest, the phantoms of her sins kept creeping into her consciousness like some kind of tortuous loop.
Her insomnia wasn't just due to fear, either; no, that'd be far too forgiving. Dark, twisted ideas had begun to make their appearance within her mind, crawling up from a hidden place Koza didn't even know existed inside of her. Was she really doing the right thing? Huvanni was the survivor of a lost war, a victim of the greed of a National powerhouse. And yet... And yet Koza couldn't help but wonder if helping the girl was truly within her best interests.
Had someone like Ojin discovered Huvanni standing in that forest, fearful and begging for help, he would've turned her in without a second thought. Give her up to the clutches of Sozin and the rest of the Fire Nation and bring pride and honor to his family name for generations to come for his valiant efforts. They'd become the star of the Fire Nation, the one who managed to capture the last of the Air Benders.
If Koza betrayed Huvanni and gave her up to the Fire Army, she'd surely be proclaimed as a national hero. Her name would be praised to the Spirits, and she'd be rewarded and cherished by all. She'd have power and fame in the palm of her hand; the chance to finally prove to her family that she was important, too. That chance was just across the hall, currently unarmed and prone, so why hadn't she done it yet? Why hadn't she put the Fire Nation first, just as she was always taught to do? Almost everyone Koza knew would do it in a heartbeat. How was she any different?
Her intrusive thoughts haunted her all the way until the sun came up, illuminating through the window onto her stiff and shivering body. Her eyelids had long lost the battle in order to fall and her head was positively pounding. While Koza contemplated some rather extreme measures to fall asleep, the familiar creaking of her door offered a much-needed distraction from the terrible night.
"I'm up, Uvi." Koza mumbled. She begrudgingly went to remove herself from the cocoon of blankets she had managed to wrap herself in, but remained there as her body decided to ignore her mental commands.
"Koza?" A familiar voice whispered from the doorway, but it wasn't Uvi's. Koza turned her head and made out the barely-illuminated face of Huvannia, the rest of her body hidden behind the door with only her head poking in. Without direct light shining on her figure, she looked like the shadowy version of Sozin from Koza's nightmare the night before. She tried not to think about it.
"Huvanni? What're you doing up so early?" Koza whispered back, at last getting her body to cooperate and sat up; her whole back felt stiff. Huvanni gently closed the door behind her so it didn't slam and approached closer. Now under the sea of sun, Koza could now see the girl- after having a bath yesterday- was clean of all the dirt and grime she had previously been caked in. Though her skin was still cut and bruised, without her masks of mud and ash, she almost seemed to glow.
"Praying. We, Air Benders I mean, always held sessions just before dawn to pray to the Sun Spirit. I just finished, so I wanted to see if you were still asleep." Huvanni said, putting her hands behind her back.
"The Nuns made you all get up that early morning every single day? That's incredible discipline." Koza said, genuinely impressed. Huvanni grinned at the compliment.
"Not really. We'd all go straight back to sleep afterwards." Koza slowly pushed herself out of her bed, allowing her feet to rest against the cold hardwood floor for a moment before walking over to her wardrobe to change out of her nightwear. Huvanni courteously turned around while she did so, looking about at the decor Koza had on her walls. As she removed her clothes, Koza's eyes met her Army posters on the opposite wall. The big red letters suggesting that she join the cause seemed to mock her now. She really needed to take that thing down...
"How did you sleep?" Koza suddenly inquired while she got into her uniform.
"Honestly? Not great. I mean, your house beats sleeping on the forest floor, but it just wasn't home, you know?" Huvanni answered with her back still turned, masking her expression. "It was like every time I tried to close my eyes, I just kept seeing Sister Ayoni fighting those soldiers, all those girls hiding under beds and fearing for their lives…" Huvanni's voice shook and she took a breath. "I'm sorry, it's just-
"Don't feel sorry. You've been through a lot, you shouldn't feel bad for being affected by it," Koza stated firmly. "I mean, I wasn't even there during the genocide and I can't stop thinking about it. If just hearing about it second-hand is enough to keep me from sleeping at night, I can't even imagine what it was like to actually experience it."
"I was actually gonna say that you looked like a half-dead otter penguin when I walked in, but I figured that'd be rude." Huvanni said, her voice laced with obvious humor no doubt to mask the severity of the situation. Nevertheless, Koza couldn't help but smile and shake her head.
"I'm changed, you can turn around now." Huvanni did just so, twirling back around so quickly the top part of her Fire uniform nearly wrapped around itself. She gazed carefully at the inside of the wardrobe before Koza shut it close.
"The Fire Nation wears a lot of black and red." She observed.
"Yeah, and the Air Nomads wear a lot of orange and yellow." Koza retorted.
"Well the Air Temples are basically a commune, so it makes sense. This feels more... militaristic."
"Have you not seen the Fire Nation? Of course everything is militaristic. We wear the same clothing to battle as we do to a flea market." Koza scoffed; though she said it in a humorous manner, it wasn't far from reality.
"At the very least, spice it up a little every now and then. Add a bit of purple, that'd make all the difference!" Huvanni continued, moving to sit on Koza's bed.
"We're a Nation for fighting, not for fashion. But I'll bring it up to the Army generals the next time I see them." Koza said, bemused, and began doing her hair. Huvanni watched with silent interest as Koza brushed out any knots or frizz that had appeared in her long hair during the night and tied it back into the signature bun.
"You have really pretty hair," Huvanni noted. "I've always wanted to grow my hair out long, but this is as far as I've gotten in sixteen years." She said, picking up the brown strands and frowned. "But it looks really nice when it's down. How come you guys always put it up like that?"
Koza felt her heart drop. It was an unspoken rule in the Fire Nation that the only people that should ever see you with your hair down were the people you were absolutely closest to, like a spouse or maybe a close sibling. It was considered incredibly disgraceful for anyone, especially respected family members, to see you with your hair undone. Koza realized only just now that Huvanni had seen her with her hair down, something not even Koza's own family had ever seen before. She began to fret silently, waiting for the verbal beratement from the other girl, when she suddenly remembered: Huvanni didn't care about her hair. She didn't understand its significance or connection to honor. Koza had accidentally shown her one of the most vulnerable aspects of her person, and the Air Bender didn't even bat an eye.
"It's considered custom to keep your hair held back," Koza explained after her silent freak-out. "Anyone and everyone in the Fire Nation does it. It's kind of like a… metaphor for our honor, you know? We want to keep it controlled and neat, so that way we remain honorable."
"And what happens if someone is dishonorable?"
"Usually? You cut it off." Koza replied. It was a common form of public punishment; cut your hair short to let everyone around you know that you've brought shame to your entire bloodline. It wasn't as harsh as say, fighting in an Agni Kai, but Koza still shuddered at the thought of losing her precious locks due to being a disgrace. An Agni Kai was painful in the moment, but cutting your hair was guaranteed isolation for as long as your hair remained short.
"Can you do that to my hair?" Huvanni's random request took Koza by surprise. Koza placed the golden hairpin in her bun and looked over at the girl who was now sitting cross-legged on her bed.
"What?"
"Put it in a bun, I mean. Or at least teach me how to put it up like that. I figure if I want to blend in, this would probably help." said Huvanni. Though it hadn't even crossed her mind up until this point, Koza realized she was right; walking around Ki Lo without any kind of up-style was bound to attract negative attention, which was something they wanted to avoid at all costs.
"Yeah, of course." Koza said, digging around for the extra hairpin she had laying somewhere. It wasn't gold like her own, but it would suffice. Huvanni shifted around to expose the majority of her hair to Koza, who then got to work.
Although Huvanni's hair appeared to be just as soft and thin as Koza's was, she was not expecting the brown strands to be as thick as they were. Her hair was soft and dense, like a warm woolen coat.
"A lot of Air Benders have thicker hair," Huvanni spoke, somehow reading Koza's mind. "We live close to the sun on top of mountains and there's constantly wind blowing every which way. Gotta have some kind of resistance. Do you need help managing it?"
"No, I got it," Koza replied, brushing out the few knots that still lingered in the strands. While she worked, Koza's thoughts momentarily flashed back to her debates about betraying Huvanni. Her throat burned with guilt and tried in vain to keep her attention focused on the task at hand. It took less than two minutes before Huvanni's hair was placed upwards, identical to Koza's style.
"Great, Fire Nation conformity here we come!" Huvanni grinned, touching her new hairdo with admiration. "Thank you, seriously. It looks really nice. You know, you're really good at this!"
"Thanks." Koza said, smiling a little sheepishly. You get good at it when you do it everyday for sixteen years, she thought.
"So when we get to school, do you think I could ask for a new uniform? I'm getting a little grossed out wearing the same one two days in a row."
"Sure, you can- wait, when we get to school?"
"Uh, yeah. The story is I'm supposed to be learning about Fire Nation culture, right? It'd be weird for me not to go to the Fire Nation school." Huvanni replied. Once again, to Koza's dismay, she was right.
"...Okay, yes, you're right. But you need to remember some things before you get there. Keep-"
"Keep to yourself, don't cause trouble, listen to the teachers, don't let people know you're an Air Bender. Got it." Huvanni's eyes twinkled with mischief. Koza pursed her lips.
"You... shut up." She muttered as Huvanni laughed loudly.
The morning had been, to Koza's utter relief, uneventful. Breakfast with Ojin was utterly silent, solemnly proving Koza's point from the night before to Huvanni. The carriage came around just as usual and the three students piled in one after the other. Huvanni had sat besides Koza, her face nearly pressed up against the glass window in order to watch the passing scenery. Koza took the time to silently make sure she had all her items for school, while Ojin gave Huvanni occasional curious glances.
"Why do so many people have fountains? I didn't expect people in the Fire Nation to use so much water." Huvanni broke the silence with a chuckle at how bizarre it seemed, glancing at the siblings for an explanation.
"People just like the way they look." Ojin answered in a much kinder way than he would've had Koza asked the question. Huvanni nodded and looked back to the window. Koza glanced slyly at her brother, who shrugged nonchalantly.
Arriving at school, Koza noticed quite a few students looking at them curiously as they walked through the courtyard. Or, more accurately, looking curiously at Huvanni. From everyone else's point of view, she was a beautiful new student that clearly wasn't from around here; it wasn't surprising that many of the other students were, rather rudely, gawking at her, but Koza didn't like the extra attention. Huvanni didn't seem to mind, though, keeping her beaming face forwards as she trailed behind Koza. They headed straight into the school building and towards the Headmaster's quarters, strolling right past a rather-confused Min, who didn't even have the chance to ask Koza anything before they booked it past him.
Koza explained the entirety of Huvanni's fabricated backstory to the Headmaster, who was more than happy to formally enroll her for the academic year and provide some new uniforms for her use. Koza managed to persuade him to put Huvanni into all of her classes, citing that the new girl was nervous about being away from home and wanted to keep close to her new friend. A bit of polar bear puppy eyes on Huvanni's part, and the Headmaster obliged to their request.
After meeting with the Headmaster, the two girls quickly went to attend their classes. Huvanni followed closely behind Koza, trying her best not to get lost in the massive building. Koza's hand was shaking as she took down her notes, expecting at every moment for a Fire soldier to burst through the door and arrest the both of them. Obviously that didn't happen, but it didn't stop Koza from worrying about it.
"I never knew the Fire Nation was so... involved in other Nation's battles." Huvanni stated as she and Koza headed towards the schoolyard.
"Of course. We're great and powerful, it's only right we shove our noses in affairs that don't concern us." Koza replied, failing to hide her sarcasm.
"It was still interesting, though! I actually really enjoyed today."
"Really? You're surrounded by the people that destroyed your home and you're learning about their bloody victorious history, and you enjoyed it?"
"Again, you aren't the ones who destroyed my home. That isn't the fault of anyone here." Huvanni said gently, referring to the students standing about the schoolyard.
"If you say so…" Koza sighed, shifting her books from one arm to the other. Deep down, she knew it was the truth; it wasn't like the children of the Fire Nation had started a war. But Koza still couldn't shake the guilt like she had some part to play in it all. The two girls had just crossed the halfway point across the courtyard, when a thunderous voice called out.
"Hey, sweetheart!" They both immediately whisked around to look for the source of the sudden call. An older boy, even taller than Huvanni, was standing a short distance away, grinning at them. He was a mass of hulking muscle with a uniform that barely fit him, and he stared at the girls hungrily.
"Yes, you! I'm talking to you, pretty." Koza sighed, looking at Huvanni despairingly.
"Ignore him. Everyone's just getting excited because you're new and-" To her dismay, the boy moved closer to the two of them, looking down with a beaming expression.
"Your name's Koza, right?" The boy asked. Koza blinked, taking a moment to process. Oh, he was talking to her? She had to admit, she was not expecting that.
"Uh... yes?"
"The name's Kiro. I've seen you in our Bending classes. Daughter of Shio Kan, right? I gotta say, for a girl you're pretty strong, not to mention real cute. I think we'd make a pretty good couple. How'd you like to be my girlfriend?" Koza stared up at the boy, unable to keep her mouth from hanging agape. He was attractive, at least from a traditional standpoint; not to mention, he was clearly powerful, both physically and socially. However, something about the older boy rubbed Koza the wrong way, and she suddenly started to get a bad feeling. She wanted to get out of there.
"That's… very sweet, but I'm afraid I'm not looking to date right now. So thank you, but no." Koza said as politely as she could. Kiro's face fell, his charming expression being replaced with one of disgruntlement. Koza attempted to step away, but a sudden strong grip on her arm held her in place.
"Whoa, not even gonna give me a chance? That's really harsh. Come on, don't be so hasty, Koza! I'm a really nice guy, I promise." Kiro urged, his eyes staring deeply at her. Koza felt her heart begin to beat faster.
"Thank you, really, but I'm not interested. So please let go of me." Koza said meekly. Kiro's smile returned, but this time it had no warmth behind it; it was like he was smiling at her fear.
"Come on, you and I both know you want me. You'll regret it if you just walk away. I'll treat you right, I promise. You'll never want to be apart from me." Kiro continued. He took another step closer and his tight grip on Koza's arm tightened. Koza was frozen in place, her abject fear chilling her to the bone. She wanted to scream, to run, to send a ball of flame into this boy's face to get him away from her. But she was completely, utterly frozen.
"She said no." Unexpectedly, Huvanni moved in front of Koza and pushed Kiro's hand away, freeing Koza from his grasp. Her face was stern and serious, more so than Koza had ever seen before. Kiro scowled at the intruder, his piercing eyes flickering angrily at her.
"I'm sorry, was I talking to you? Stay out of this, bitch." He growled. He pushed Huvanni to the side, nearly sending her falling to the ground, and turned back to Koza. "I'm going to ask again, and you're going to give me the right answer this time, okay? Will you be my girlf-" Kiro's strumming threat was interrupted when he suddenly fumbled, his body losing balance as if someone invisible had just pushed him. His feet slipped out from under him and he crashed onto the pavement, an impact that sent a tiny earthquake throughout the courtyard. A few bystanders who were watching the interaction go down laughed loudly at Kiro's misfortune, causing the brute's face to burn bright red with a combination of embarrassment and anger.
Koza, regaining her motion, slowly turned to Huvanni with dumbfoundment. Huvanni was standing tall and stiff, her chin raised and her eyes locked onto Kiro. Koza noticed that her left hand was flattened vertically behind her back, like she was about to push on her own spine. Koza quickly realized what she had done.
"Let's get out of here." Huvanni mumbled, taking Koza's wrist and walking off, shooting one final glare at Kiro, who had yet to get back on his feet and was now surrounded by several students mocking his misfortune. Although Koza was feeling rather indignant at how she kept finding herself being pulled against her will by other people, she couldn't help but take note that Huvanni's grip was much more gentle than Kiro's.