Huvanni and Koza walked swiftly through the darkened streets, neither girl daring to even breathe audibly; the only sounds to break through the heavy silence coming from the chirps of nearby beetle crickets. Koza kept her gaze strictly forwards, trying her best to ignore anything and everything to the sides of her- including Huvanni's continuing glances in her direction. However, once they had reached the main center of Ki Lo and their steps began to echo against the perfectly paved streets, the Air Bender could no longer take the quiet.
"So we're just going to pretend like that didn't happen?" She asked with astonishment.
"Yep."
"Koza, you can't just walk away from something like that and pretend like you're fine! You're clearly not okay." Huvanni argued, stepping in front of Koza in order to slow her down. It didn't seem to work, though, as Koza simply walked around her.
"It's not like I'm ever going to see any of them again anyway. What does it matter if it was fake?" Koza's voice was cold and unfeeling, so much like Shio Kan's that it actually made her feel sick.
"You can't just ignore this."
"Watch me."
"Koza!" She finally stopped at Huvanni's shout. Koza slowly turned around to face Huvanni, the Air Bender's look of astonishment meeting her own hard look.
"You're going to wake people up with all that shouting." She said coolly.
"Let them wake up," Huvanni huffed. "Stop trying to push me away. You need to talk to me!"
"I don't need to do anything, Huvanni. What I need to do is get us to Kay'un as soon as possible. And talking about 'my feelings' isn't going to-"
"Koza, for Spirit's sake could you just swallow your damn pride for one second?!" Koza was rather taken aback by the hurt and anger in Huvanni's voice. She swallowed a lump down her dry throat and closed her mouth. Huvanni sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "That was so much to take in, I know. That story… everything you've gone through, it's completely unbelievable, and I wasn't even a part of any of it! But what I do know is that this isn't a revelation that you can just push aside and move on from. You're hurt, but you don't want to admit it." Koza felt her hands clench.
It was a very common way-of-life for those in the Fire Nation- especially within Koza's family- to virtually ignore any unwanted memories. Move on and don't dwell on what can't be changed, Sozin always put it. Perhaps it had something to do with honor, but Koza couldn't say for sure. That's just how things had always been in the Fire Nation: never ever let the experiences of your past weaken you. To show vulnerability was to completely disgrace yourself.
"...Look, Vanni… I don't want to talk about it. I know I'm going to have to at some point, but not right now. Not when I'm still processing everything." Huvanni's gaze softened at Koza's tone.
"You can talk whenever you're ready. I just don't want to see you close yourself off because you're scared of facing the truth. I've seen people lose themselves completely because they didn't want to face what they've experienced… I don't want to see that happen to you." She stepped closer, touching her fingertips to Koza's cheek. Koza closed her eyes, letting the gentleness of Huvanni's touch wash away all of her feelings of grief.
"I won't. I promise, I won't," Koza insisted with her eyes still closed, leaning into Huvanni's touch.
"Thank you, love." Huvanni moved her hand back, much to Koza's disappointment. However, upon opening her eyes, there was a fierce look of determination in Huvanni's ashen ones. It was a look that seemed familiar, yet distant at the same time.
"Thank you." The two girls looked at each other with melancholic expressions before, without so much as another word, continued onwards.
Luckily enough for them, Ki Lo- despite its internal appearance of grandeur and luxury- was actually relatively small, especially when compared to some of the other major metropolises within the Fire Nation. It took less than an hour to reach the Eastward gates, an intimidating arch of red and black stone that was their last stop before they reached the outside world. It was ominous, almost like it was warning the girls of the journey ahead. Koza shared a glance with Huvanni, both girls silently willing the other to go forward
"Are you ready?" Koza asked. Huvanni nodded. Taking a slow inward breath, Koza and Huvanni stepped out of Ki Lo and into the wild unknown.
Throughout her entire lifetime, Koza could only recall about two instances where she actually left the safety and familiarity of her home city. Both times happened when her family had gone on a very short vacation to the Fire Nation's famous Ember Island as a rather poignant attempt at bonding as a family. Even though the Island was really just a place for the Fire Nation's wealthiest snobs to gather and argue about who's the most powerful, Koza sincerely enjoyed the short time they all spent there; lounging on the beach, playing in the waves with Ojin before they learned to hate each other… Maybe in a distant future, she could bring Huvanni someday. For a brief moment, she imagined her and Huvanni- many years from now- walking down the beach, happy and carefree, holding hands with a little boy who looked like the perfect combination of both of them. Her cheeks flushed at the thought and she quickly shook it away.
Together, the two girls crossed through the front gates and moved on into the dense woodlands that surrounded Ki Lo, forming a sort of natural wall. Though the city was practically smack-dab in the middle of a thick forest, Koza knew from flashes of long-aged memories that this would probably be the last bit of lush wilderness that they would see from here on out.
The Fire Nation, as a whole, was a mostly industrial area. The main source of resources came from the valuable metals that were found beneath the flat and rocky dirt that was so widespread across the continent. Forests weren't exactly a common asset to most of the Fire Nation- perhaps the first founders of Ki Lo just liked the look. But, from here on out, it would be plains of dry, flat plains that made travel across the Fire Nation near impossible without use of an ostrich horse or a komodo rhino.
Nevertheless, the two girls pushed on into the thicket. Koza lit a small flame around her fingertips in order to light the way, the moonlight being obscured by the dense treetops. She made sure to keep it as small as possible, not wanting it to make contact with any low-hanging branches or leaves and starting a forest fire… a second time, anyway.
"You've learned a lot of restraint." Huvanni's voice spoke from behind Koza. Koza whipped her head around, having to hold the fire nearly directly in the Air Bender's face in order to properly see her through the near pitch-darkness.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the first time I met you, your fire was a bit… How do I say this without sounding rude… spontaneous?" Huvanni laughed a little. "Not that that's a bad thing. I just remembered… that night we first met, you kept constantly moving your hand with your flame, almost like you were afraid of it. But you're keeping still, you're more confident in your own fire. It's alive and moving, but its motion is more controlled. You've gotten more controlled."
Koza looked down at the red and orange flames flickering on the tops of her fingers, listening to the crackling as it breathed on her skin. She wouldn't have even noticed if it hadn't been pointed out, but Huvanni was right:: though the flame was small, it was balanced and managed. It didn't have the rigid wildness that her fire had had a few months prior.
"It never ceases to amaze me how you manage to notice these things," Koza spoke, shaking her head and continuing to move forwards. "I don't think a single other person on this planet besides you would have seen that."
"What can I say? I pay attention to the people I love." The sentence made Koza's heart flutter, and for a momentary second her fire sparked wildly in her hand. "I saw that." Huvanni giggled from behind her. Koza bit her tongue to hide her embarrassment and continued pushing through, moving branches out of the way with her free hand. Eventually, she moved past the final bit of underbrush, only to reveal a plethora of flat, rocky land just waiting outside the oasis of woodland. Now away from the shadow-covered forest, the moon and stars illuminated the plains in bright light and showed off an admonitory range of mountains in the far distance. While Huvanni admired the sight with wide eyes, Koza- unwavered- extinguished the fire from her hand and pulled out the now somewhat-crinkled map from inside her bag.
"Okay, so…. Sheesh, Uvi really is bad at drawing…. If we're at the end of the forest, then Kay'un is a little ways beyond those mountains. I say travel for half of the night, set up camp and rest until sunrise, then keep traveling East until we reach the mountains," Koza said, looking at the drawn symbols on the map through the light of her flame. "It'll probably take a day to get over there, then another full day to get around the range, so we should cover as much ground as possible."
"Around? Wouldn't it be faster to go through the mountain range rather than around?" Huvanni questioned, looking down at the map from over Koza's shoulder.
"Yeah, but it'd also be way more dangerous. Rockfalls, mudslides, wild animals, there's probably a thousand things that could go wrong if we tried climbing. Besides, I've heard from my mo… from Fulay that sometimes shady characters hang out around mountain bases, making these kinds of 'crime towns,' or whatever they're called. I think it's best to avoid any of that."
"I think we could take on a few crooks," Huvanni grinned. "If I carry you in my arms, I could just air-step over all of their heads!
"That's not a bad idea, but neither of us are Bending Masters, and I just-" Koza quickly caught herself. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up."
"It's okay. But hey, now that there aren't any other Air Benders around, who's to stop me from saying I'm a Master now?" Huvanni joked, although there was a hint of sadness behind her words. She cleared her throat awkwardly, then changed the subject.. "I don't think you've ever brought it up, but were you ever close to becoming a Master?"
"Let's walk and talk," Koza said, throwing the map back into her bag and heading through the rocky plain. "Well, I've been studying under Bending Masters since as soon as I could walk, so I've been practicing the craft for a little over fifteen years, give or take. But achieving Masterhood in Air Bending is a lot different than for Fire Benders. We don't have some big exam or ceremony to get tattoos. You just kind of… learn as much as there is to learn and eventually declare yourself publicly as a Master."
"Couldn't somebody lie about that, then?"
"They could try. But if you start calling yourself a Master, other Fire Masters will flock to you and expect you to prove your worth to them," Koza grinned rather wickedly. "And lying about that kind of thing is considered a Capital crime. You'd have to be pretty desperate, risking the wrath of the Fire Lord for a bit of popularity." There was a beat of silence following this statement.
"He's very tyrannical, isn't he? Sozin, I mean." Huvanni clarified.
"My, Huvanni, what ever gave you that idea? Was it the propaganda or the massacre of an entire population?"
"But not even in the sense of war. Back at the Academy, I learned so much about him from the other students. He rules the entire archipelago with an iron fist, demanding that every single citizen follows his ridiculous rules to the letter. He just spends his days coming up with more and more ways to have total control over his subjects, and comes up with terrible punishments if he's not obeyed completely. We're literally fleeing from his control because he'd have both us executed because I'm an Air Bender, and because we're two girls in love. What kind of leader is that cruel towards his subjects' freedom?"
"I don't know….The people of the Fire Nation are proud and powerful people. Having someone with strict, cutthroat ideals in charge of the Nation is just kind of... what's expected at this point, to be honest. Even if his rule has evolved into tyranny, nobody ever really notices. We're so focused on him using his power to crush our enemies that we became too proud to realize that he was crushing his own people." Koza rambled, her eyes drawing upward into the inky black sky as she spoke.
"Hopefully they'll realize soon. If Sozin passes on this dogma to his son, who knows where it'll stop? His son enters into power with these terrible ideals, then his son after him... It'll only get worse and worse with each generation… He's already killed off an entire population of innocent Benders just to get what he wants, what will stop him from doing it to the Water Tribes? Or the entire Earth Kingdom?" Huvanni's voice was laced with chilling fear. Koza thought for a moment, trying to come up with any kind of comfort.
"...Maybe the Avatar could stop him? That's their job, isn't it? Bringing peace to the world and ending strife of those who threaten the balance," Koza suggested half-heartedly. "The next in the cycle is… Water, right? So that means the next Avatar has recently been born in either the Northern or Southern Water Tribe. Sozin's not stupid, though, he wouldn't send an army to destroy them. Attacking Water Benders in the Poles surrounded by water, that'd be a suicide mission for Fire Benders."
"Can I tell you something?"
"What?"
"I don't think the current Avatar was killed," said Huvanni in a low voice. "I just… I know it doesn't make sense. He's only twelve, even if he is the Avatar there's no way he could've fought off an entire army on his own. But I just… I just want to believe he somehow got out before everyone was killed. That he's somewhere in the world, just waiting for the coast to clear so he can master Water, Earth, and Fire and expose Sozin to the world… I know it's unrealistic-"
"It's not," Koza interrupted. "It's not unrealistic at all. You managed to escape."
"Barely with my life…"
"But you still escaped. And if you could do it, then there's a chance that the Avatar did, too." Koza stopped walking for a minute and turned to face Huvanni, standing slightly on her toes so she could meet the other girl eye-to-eye. "Maybe we'll never know which Air Benders fell and which managed to flee the Temples. But we can hope that somewhere in the world, the Avatar still lives. And sometimes in dire situations, hope is the thing that will push us forwards." Koza was immediately almost knocked off of her feet when Huvanni embraced her in a tight hug.
"Need a minute?" Koza asked gently, wrapping her hands around the Air Bender's tight shoulders.
"No, I'm okay. But… Thank you for being here for me."
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be."
The girls continued their trek over the rough terrain, the blissful silence of the night surrounding them with every step. The full moon had traveled halfway across the inky sky before Huvanni suggested they stop to set up camp for the rest of the night. Koza, whose feet were being to seriously cramp from the amount of hard rocks she just had to walk over, eagerly seconded the notion.
"Kinda wish we grabbed Ojin's sleeping bags before we left." Koza grumbled as she laid out a blanket on the softest bit of barren ground she could find. Huvanni plopped down right beside Koza, cuddling up next to her.
"I don't think even sleeping bags would help in this situation. I'm definitely going to be feeling this tomorrow… Hello, back and shoulder pain." She groaned.
"Maybe tomorrow I can massage your back, if it's that bad." Koza droned sensually, turned her head slightly to look at her girlfriend.
"That's so sweet," Huvanni asked, mimicking the tone Koza used. "What about you? You want a massage?"
"I'd love one."
"Well, do it yourself, I'm tired. Good night." Huvanni couldn't hold back her cackle of laughter and rolled over to put her back to Koza.
"Oh, now that was just mean!" Koza called over Huvanni's giddy laughs. "And to think I wanted to help you."
"So dramatic. Tell you what, when we get to Ba Sing Se I'll dedicate an entire day just to pampering and spoiling you. How about that?"
"...Fine." Koza made an attempt to keep her face stern, but could barely contain her own grin. She hadn't even stopped to think about it too much until this one, quiet moment, but this entire situation was just completely insane! Running away from home in the middle of the night and camping out in the middle of nowhere, seemingly miles from the home she once knew. Koza could hardly believe any of it. But laying there with Huvanni, laughing and teasing each other… She knew she had finally found her family.
Though she spent most of the night counting the stars in the clear sky, Koza did eventually fall asleep just before dawn- surprising, considering how miserably uncomfortable sleeping on the thin blanket felt. But, for the first time in several days, Koza had a dream.
It was hazy, almost like Koza's vision had gone blurry. Even though she couldn't quite see her surroundings, Koza somehow could tell where she was: An Air Temple. Shadowed figures walked around her, none of them even glancing in her direction. They were acting like she wasn't even there.
"Koza…" A ghostly voice echoed from behind. Koza spun around, her vision clearing, and came face-to-face with a woman. She was dressed in Fulay's nightwear, but her face was that of someone Koza had never seen before. Though Koza knew for sure she had never seen this woman before, for some reason her appearance filled Koza with extreme nausea.
"Who are you?" Koza asked. It felt like her tongue was tied, the question spilling out clumsily from her lips. The woman laughed, her long and silky black hair moving all about as if she were underwater.
"You know who I am." The woman answered, staring at Koza with piercing amber eyes. Koza's heart began to pound as the woman approached closer and closer. She reached out a hand and touched Koza's cheek, the same way Huvanni always did. Her hand was cold and thin, but there was an odd comfort to it. "Koza… Koza…"
"KOZA!"
Koza started awake, nearly jumping off of the blanket in her panic. Her forehead was beaded with droplets of sweat and her pulse was racing. Now fully awake, parts of the odd dream were beginning to fade from her mind, but the odd woman remained in her memory. Who was she, and why was her presence so… unnerving? Koza knew, logically, that dreams didn't really have any "meanings"- though some people would argue against that claim. They were just unconscious memories, nothing more and nothing less. And yet… and yet that dream disturbed her. It disturbed her in a different way than her dreams about Sozin and the Air Benders. Whoever that woman was, Koza felt like she was important.
"Koza…" Huvanni's short whisper came from beside her. Koza quickly realized that it had been her girlfriend's voice that broke her from the odd dream. Blinking her eyes in the blinding sunlight, Koza was now aware of three figures standing before them, looking down at the girls with unreadable expressions.
Two men and a woman, she saw once her eyes had adjusted to the harsh sunlight. The men were virtually identical with shaggy, blistered hair and gray cloaks covering their bodies. Even their hard, strong faces were mirrors of each other; the only difference being one of them had a long, thin scar going down his cheek. The woman, meanwhile, looked to be a bit older than the two young men, bags of age visible underneath her blindingly green eyes- maybe somewhere in her mid 30s. She had darker skin than the men, and her black hair was tied tightly in a braid that went all the way down to her lower back. Though the woman was shorter and thinner than the men- both of whom were towering over everyone else with blank, tough expressions- the woman's casual smile made her much more intimidating.
"Huvanni… what's going on?" Koza asked, slowly turning to face the girl. Huvanni only shook her head, a way to show that she was just as in the dark as Koza was.
"Sleeping beauty finally awakes," the woman said, her smile widening. "About time, kid. Almost thought you died."
"We don't have any valuables or money on us, if that's what you're after. You'd just be wasting your time." Koza said firmly, hoping she sounded more authoritative than she felt. Though the woman didn't waver, the two men shared a glance.
"Just going to label us as lowly thieves before you even get to know us, huh? That kind of stings, I have to admit. Didn't your mother ever teach you not to judge a book by its cover?" asked the woman.
"My Mother taught me not to talk to strangers." Koza retorted. The woman, seemingly amused by this statement, laughed jovially.
"I like that one, she's feisty. Yeah, I think these two should do just fine."
"What do you want from us?" Huvanni nearly shouted, the tenseness of the situation finally getting to her. Koza put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and Huvanni relaxed just a little.
"Relax, freckles. We're not so scummy that we're looking out to hurt a couple kids," the woman said, folding her arms. "The opposite, if anything. If you'd be so kind, me and my companions here have a little proposal for the two of you."