Koza and Huvanni didn't share a single glance between them, each one trusting the other to have the same thought. Koza slowly got to her feet, keeping her guard up lest these strangers decided they wanted to attack after all. Huvanni followed Koza's lead, standing directly beside her to guard her blind spot. Unlike Koza's obviously-tensed Fire Bending stance, Huvanni, to an outsider, appeared to be very calm with her arms dangling loosely to her sides. However, Koza had seen Huvanni Air Bend enough times to be able to recognize an offensive stance when she saw it; luckily for them, the chances of these mysterious strangers knowing how Air Bending worked was near impossible.
"Who are you?" Koza asked, keeping her tone even and stern. She specifically looked at the two young men. Though they loomed over everyone else by a substantial amount, they were looking down at Koza and Huvanni with blank, bored stares. Like this whole situation wasn't interesting enough for them. The woman rolled her eyes and placed her hands impatiently on her hips.
"Spirits, you ask so many questions. Fine, fine, no point acting all mysterious. You can call me Song."
"Is Song your name?" Koza pestered.
"It's what you can call me," she snapped. "And these two are Li-Joon and Li-Hye." She pointed to the man without the scar and then the one with, respectively. "You can just call 'em Joon and Hye, though. But make sure to never get them mixed up, they get real mad when you do." She suddenly grinned wickedly. "And what about you two? You turtle ducks got names?"
"Why do you need to know our names?" Koza demanded agonizingly. Song scoffed and stepped forwards, meeting Koza's eyes.
"Aren't you a hot-headed one? Fire Bender, eh?" Koza inadvertently took a step back. "Thought so. Only Fire Benders are this annoyingly defensive. Now then, names? We don't have all day, ladies."
"All day for what? What do you even want from us?" Huvanni spoke up this time, standing as still as a statue. Song pulled her attention away from Koza, now looking at Huvanni. Her vivid green eyes squinted at the girl, almost like she was trying to read her thoughts. Koza silently prayed that she didn't find anything of interest.
"Getting to the point right away, huh? I can respect that." She cleared her throat and stepped away from Koza. "You see, me and my dear friends here are in a bit of a pickle. We need some help from some unrecognizable faces, and lucky for you two turtle ducks, you happen to be the first ones around. Right near that range of mountains over there is a little village. Lots of meetings and trades go on in that place, and we just so happen to have a very, very important meeting with an acquaintance tonight at sundown to collect an item. The only problem is… well, we're not exactly welcome in that village anymore."
"Whenever we try to get near, they chase us out again. Even disguises won't work." Hye spoke for the first time, his voice so low and deep that Koza could feel the vibrations traveling up her spine.
"What did you do?" asked Huvanni, eyeing Song with suspicion.
"That's not important," Song shrugged. "What is important is that in no way can we afford to miss this meeting. We've put in way too much work to get this far, and we are not giving up for something as stupid as banishment. So, that's where you two will come in. All you gotta do is go into town for us, get the item from our pal, and hand 'em off back to us. That's it, no tricks or anything."
Koza honestly considered Song's proposition, trying to weigh their options at the moment. If these people were after money or wanted to harm them, then they surely would've done so already. And all they had to do was meet someone, trade off, then return back to Song? Nothing about this seemed dangerous initially, though it was true that Koza was merely going off of the woman's word alone.
"What do we get if we do it?" Koza asked, folding her arms. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Huvanni look at her with mild surprise.
"Call me crazy, but I'm assuming you girls are either running from something or running towards something. Most people don't usually hang out in the wildlands of the Fire Nation." Song said, making direct eye contact with Koza again. Koza remained where she was this time, her flaming eyes meeting Song's own mossy ones.
"Both, actually."
"Figured. Now, this could just be my twenty years of experience on the road talking, but a couple of pretty, young girls aren't going to get very far on their own. Especially not this close to the Capital Island. Lots of crooks and creeps linger about, not to mention some very strong ones at that. So, if you agree to help us out here, then we'd be more than happy to escort you to wherever you're going."
"We're more than capable of defending ourselves, thank you." Huvanni said with determination. A small grin formed on Song's face.
"Oh really?" She asked, then nodded to Hye and Joon. With barely a quiver of her wrist, small jagged points of Earth suddenly shot out from the ground below Koza and Huvanni's feet, sending them both crashing onto their backs. Koza didn't even have time to think about reacting when she felt herself get lifted not-too-gently by Joon, holding her in a locked position where her arms were bound. His cloak flowing through the commotion, Koza could now see Joon- as well as the identical Hye- were hulking masses of muscle. She tried to get any fire burning on her hands, even struggling through his grip to weasel her way out, but his hold on her was so tight that neither she or her fire were able to breathe.
"Capable, hm? Being capable means you're prepared for enemies of all kinds, in both instant encounters and surprise attacks." Song said, not even bothering to hide her smug amusement. Besides Joon, Huvanni was restrained in an identical hold by Hye, her arms and legs locked in his massive arms. However, the Air Bender was thrashing so hard that Hye seemed to actually be struggling slightly to keep her in place. Koza would've been proud if she wasn't so overwhelmed with what just happened.
"That wasn't fair. You played dirty." Koza spat through her tight breaths. Song cackled.
"You think anyone in this world actually fights fair? You think that if you're in a life or death situation, you're just gonna take turns like you're playing pai sho? Sorry, life doesn't work like that, toots." Song snapped her fingers, and on command Joon and Hye released their holds and both girls fell to the floor. Trying to break her fall, Koza put her arms out and scraped her palms against the rocky ground. She winced at the sting. "I don't know anything about your past or why you're running from wherever you came from, but you two have a lot to learn about this world. Being naive will only get you killed." Song continued.
"We are not naive, believe me." said Huvanni, steadying her breathing. She was clutching her elbow, having hurt it on the fall down. "We've seen horrors in this world that would turn your hair white." Koza placed a comforting hand on Huvanni's shoulder and she relaxed somewhat. "But going through your life constantly checking every corner, constantly on edge, that every person you meet is an enemy? That's no way to live!"
"Beats dying." Song said flatly. Huvanni tried to rebuttal, but decidedly gave up in trying to reason with the woman. "The point is that you two need protection, whether you like it or not. And us three can give that to you easy-peasy, as long as you help us out. We wash your backs, you wash ours."
"So all we have to do is go into that town and get those items you need, and you'll protect us all the way to Kay'un?" Koza clarified, the embarrassment of being caught so off guard making the deal seem much more desirable now. Song's eyes lit up.
"You two are headed to Kay'un? Oh, that's perfect! We've been there hundreds of times, we know the quickest route. So, what'd ya say, hot shot? Freckles? We got a deal" She asked, looking between the girls eagerly. Koza and Huvanni shared a look, then huddled together with their backs turned to the three in order to keep their words just between them.
"What do you think? Should we trust them?" Koza whispered.
"Absolutely not. They're clearly criminals of some kind, I mean why else would they be banned from an entire village?" Huvanni whispered back, then bit her lip. "But… Song does have a point. We're both near-masters of Bending, but we've never had to fight before. Neither of us have really ever experienced the dangers of the world yet."
"But you-"
"Living through a genocide isn't the same thing," Huvanni cut her off with a sorrowful look. "And I didn't fight, I ran… Koza, look at us. I'm a nun that was raised on the morals of pacifism and making everyone your friend. And you're a girl from a rich family who barely has had to lift a finger her entire life. No offense."
"No, you're right," Koza sighed. "All the Bending lessons mean nothing if you don't have real-world experience. Mo… Fulay always told Ojin and I stories about dastardly criminals sneaking around just outside of Ki Lo. She exaggerated in order to keep us from wandering into danger, of course, but it wasn't completely based on fiction. The Fire Nation is filled with danger, and if we somehow end up in a bad situation-"
"We'll be dead before we even leave the Island." Huvanni finished. The girls went silent, the mere thought of losing each other too horrible to even contemplate.
"Okay. So we'll go through with it, then," said Koza. "We're not in a rush, right? We get to the village, do whatever it is Song wants us to do. And no matter what she says, we're not so helpless that if something goes wrong we can defend ourselves if it comes down to it. But with their help, we're practically golden to get to Ba Sing Se unharmed. Does that sound good to you?
"I think so. But just because we're working together doesn't mean I'm going to trust those three. They give off bad auras." Huvanni shook her head.
"Since when do you analyze auras?"
"Since those three showed up!"
"What are we talking about?" Somehow without being noticed, Song had now joined the huddle and was looking between Koza and Huvanni. The girls jumped back in a start.
"Don't do that!" Koza shouted. Song looked unimpressed by the girl's voice and folded her arms.
"Ladies, if we're done with the gossip session, can we get a move on please? We have a lot of ground to cover before sundown, and I am not missing my mark because you two want to debate every word that comes out of my mouth." Though Song was, of course, a very loud and intimidating woman, Koza also noticed there was a semblance of worry in her eyes while she spoke. Whatever the item was, it was clear she was very desperate to get it.
"Fine. We'll help you out. But if you even try any funny business, I won't hesitate to burn every ounce of your body. Just so you know, the two of us are practically Bending Masters." Koza said, hoping she sounded intimidating enough. However, Song just snorted.
"Sure, whatever you say." She chortled, walking forwards and motioning for them all to follow. Huvanni scrambled to pick up the blanket they had set down, only for Joon to come to her aid and quickly folded it, tossing the entire thing over his massive shoulder.
"Oh. Thank you." Huvanni said. Joon only nodded, moving ahead to walk besides his brother.
"They don't talk much, do they?" Koza asked Song, looking behind her at the men while she steadied herself on the rocky plains.
"Who, those two? No, not really. Hye will sometimes break out a sentence or two, but I can't remember the last time I heard Joon say anything. Honestly, I'm not sure he remembers how."
"Why do you say that?" Song shook her head.
"It's… a long story, one that really isn't my place to tell. But all you need to know is that those two brothers… They've been through a lot of hardships over the years. More than any person should ever have to go through in a single lifetime."
"I know how that feels." Koza said, briefly glancing sadly to her girlfriend, who looked positively puny while walking besides the two brothers.
"Hye and Joon had to fight through every single day just to keep themselves alive. Before I found them half-dead on the road outside of Omashu, they only had each other to rely on. No one else ever came to their rescue, it was just them against the world. That kind of thing… really does something to you, kid. It changes who you used to be."
"It's terrible." Koza voiced weakly.
"But those two are fighters. Honestly, the damn toughest fighters I've ever seen. So much pain and misery, and they still manage to get up everyday. I really admire them both- but don't let them know I said that." Song winked. Koza nodded at Song's conclusion, agreeing with the sentiment. Though, she found it rather odd how this woman was exposing potentially dangerous information on, from her perspective, a stranger. Song didn't seem like the kind of person to trust easily, after all. Running Song's words through her head, though, Koza realized something.
"Wait a second. You said you found Hye and Joon outside of Omashu?" she asked.
"I did." The gears clicked in Koza's brain.
"You're from the Earth Kingdom!"
"Wow, good job! What gave it away, my accent or my very obvious Earth Bending?" Song witted.
"That's… great, actually! We're heading towards Kay'un because we want to catch a boat to Ba Sing Se. Maybe you could-" Koza started, but Song cut her off.
"Absolutely not. I distinctly remember our agreement being that we'd escort you to Kay'un, not a Kingdom halfway across the sea. Can't go back on your word now," she grinned. "And besides, all three of us left the Earth Kingdom for a reason. I'm not going back there, especially not all the way to Ba Sing Se. Sorry, hot shot." Koza frowned, hoping her disappointment wasn't too evident.
"Could you stop calling me that?" She muttered.
"Would be easier if I had a damn name to call you." Song laughed.
"Koza. My name is Koza."
"Pretty name. 'She of the Red Sun,' right?"
"...What?"
"That's what Koza means in Western Fire dialect. She of the Red Sun, like a person with the power and grace of the sun itself. Yikes, you're born-and-bred Fire Nation and you don't even know what your own words mean?"
"I… they don't really teach the dialects in school, just the basic language. Makes us more united, I guess." Koza said sheepishly. Did her family know this when they named her? Surely not; Shio Kan probably wouldn't have named her something so charming if he had known the meaning behind it.
"Well then, aren't you lucky that we can all speak Fire language, eh?"
"Why, so you can make fun of me in my native tongue?"
"Hey, it's hard learning a different language! There's so many verbs and dialects you have to remember, not to mention you Fire heathens have like, four different words for the exact same thing. But then again, Earth and Fire language are actually pretty similar, so I can't complain too much." Song tapped her finger on her chin. "Speaking of, what about freckles over there? Her accent is crazy, I've never heard anything like it. Where's she from?" Koza swallowed, trying to think of an answer as quickly as possible. She couldn't go with the Earth Kingdom story this time, Song would know she was full of it… Maybe she could try bending the truth?
"She's from a really small village that's near the Western Air Temple. It's mostly a non-bender village, but because of the location everyone mostly speaks Air language." Koza said, hoping Song would fall for the lie. Luckily for her, Song's eyes lit up with interest.
"Really? I've never met anyone who speaks Air language before. Probably won't get to meet anyone now, since the ones who all did are six feet under." Koza's heart thumped.
"You know about that?"
"Our whole way of living is hiding in the shadows and gathering information from all across the Archipelago. Kid, you'd be astounded at what I know," said Song. "Such a shame. All those innocent people wiped clean from this planet all for the purpose of war."
"Yeah… a shame." Koza agreed, though she couldn't bring herself to meet Song's eyes anymore. The fact that Song knew about the true purpose of the genocide was… disconcerting. Even though it was good that she hadn't fallen for Sozin's propaganda, that also meant that she had to have gathered her intel from someone or somewhere that had knowledge about the Air Temples.
Which meant that there were people who would be able to recognize an Air Bender if they saw one. The thought made Koza shiver.
The group spent the majority of the day walking across the dusty plains, only stopping once when the twin brothers decided to relieve themselves in a ditch. Song didn't even permit Koza to stop and eat something, forcing her to scarf down one of her rations as they walked.
Luckily for Koza's temperament, Song and Huvanni had made the discovery that they both spoke Northern Earth dialect and were now engaged in a long conversation that Koza couldn't understand. Some of the words were the same in Fire language as they were in Earth, but occasionally hearing words like "fish," "canyon," and "rowboat" didn't help to provide context. Joon and Hye seemed to understand what they were saying, though, as they would glance back at the girls every so often and nod or shake their heads. At one point, Hye even added a sentence into the conversation. Though Koza had no idea what his words meant, the vibrato of his base voice made her hair stand up all the same.
Though she knew she had no reason to, Koza honestly felt a little left out. She knew it was selfish to feel that way, especially given the fact that everyone except her had been speaking out of their native language in order to communicate earlier that day. But something about being the only one who wasn't a part of the conversation, watching the girl she loved speak words she couldn't understand to these three strangers for hours on end… It felt isolating. Like there was a bond between the four of them that Koza would never experience.
Huvanni, evidently, knew Koza all too well and picked up on her silent sulking. As they all grew closer to the sky-scraping mountains, Huvanni snuck behind Koza and placed her arm around her shoulder.
"Hey, what's with all the moping? We're traveling across the Nation with a bunch of strange adults, there's no reason to be all sad." Huvanni joked, though her eyes were looking at Koza with pity. For the first time in a long time, Koza felt bitterness rising in her throat at the Air Bender's expression.
"What were you and Song talking about?" Koza asked, the words coming out much more harsh than she had intended it to be.
"Nothing of any interest. Honestly, we literally just talked about towns we've been to and how the local economies differ. Not a conversation you would've wanted to be in," she laughed. "But good thinking in that whole 'village near the Air Temple' thing. Now I get to talk about Air culture without looking suspicious! Why didn't we just use that in the first place?"
"My parents wouldn't have accepted you unless they thought you were financially important." Koza said, her words still laced with ice. Huvanni looked hurt at the tone and Koza sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't know why, but seeing all four of you engaged like that, it just made me feel… Irrelevant. But that's not your fault, I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Huvanni comforted. "Song was just really excited. She told me she hasn't spoken in her Native language in quite a few years. It's hard having to go so long without being in touch with your own culture. You know, sometimes when we had dinner with your family, I'd be completely lost in what you all were saying. I know most Fire languages, sure, but I'm not a native speaker by any means. Not like you all were. And I know it sucks, having to sit there and not understand what anyone is saying, like you're all alone in your own world. But being able to have an actual conversation in a language you've grown up speaking, after years of feeling confused or isolated… It's riveting." Koza grabbed Huvanni's hand, feeling her pulse against her own fingers.
"I'm sorry. I should've been more aware."
"It's not your fault, Koza. Oh, sorry, 'she of the Red Sun.'" Huvanni giggled. Koza groaned.
"Spirits, she told you about that?"
"Oh, she told me so much about Fire dialects. Get this, did you know that Ojin actually means-"
"Hold it, ladies!" Song's booming voice interrupted the conversation, and the two girls stopped in their tracks. Koza had been so invested in Huvanni's explanation that she hadn't even noticed the village in the near distance, just ever-so illuminated by the soon-to-be-setting sun. Koza wasn't sure what she expected, but Song wasn't lying when she said the village was small. Koza was pretty sure that a single street in Ki Lo alone was bigger than the entire village.
"Down there is Kumiko Village." Song began, moving to stand beside Koza and Huvanni. The girls quickly ceased their hand-holding. "It's almost sundown, so our guy is going to be expecting us soon. We'll try to get as close as we can before sending you two off. You have to remember, this place has some people who are pretty bad news. But if you avoid eye contact and look confident like you belong here, then no one will bother you. If someone does bother you, apologize and get away as fast as you can. No picking fights, even if someone tries to start something with you. Now look, our guy is in a blue house at the far right side of town. Remember this exactly, because here's what you have to do…"