Ok, I miscalculated, its four days until her birthday, and the market isn't until the day after tomorrow from when Iroh says it. It's a little confusing I'll admit, and my math's not too good with these kinds of things, so just go along with it, ok? Oh, and has anyone ever realized that Water Benders could control the weather if they wanted to? You know how the moisture is in the air and clouds? Ok, that was just a random thought that I thought of in the lunch line a few days ago, so there.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, only my characters and plot. Plus, I do not own anything else that I forgot to mention, including Hilary Duff's Come Clean, and Sheryl Crow's Good is Good. I am also boycotting Canada's Seal Hunt in real life, and that is mentioned in here as well, so I do not own that either.

New thing here! Kabira will now help me with your reviews, so when you see your answer in bold letters, that's me talking, but if it's normal, those are Kabira's words. Cool? Ok, lets get to it then!

Wow, lots of reviewers!

FireGurl107- Yes, I know the thing about the dialogue, but I've been slacking, so I hope that this is better!

Star chic- Glad you like it so far! Welcome aboard the ship! Yes, Welcome!

Khazia- Yes, that happened only because I thought about it, and even then, I didn't know that I was water bending! It was really weird, but you should've seen Zuko's face! That was hilarious! And don't worry about missing it, I forgot to put that in. Zuko really is a much deeper character, and I'm trying to get people to realize that, so thank you. Plus he needs to be deeper for this story. And you're right, he does need to let off a little steam with his life the way it is, and I wish that I could comfort him too…

Elenea Galad- I'm off the ship here, but what does Mon Amie mean? And I think it's just my randomness showing through. Kabby willtry and getZuko to notice her at first, but Zuko won't. Typical boy (rolls eyes). I'm glad you like it so far. I really try to make my characters realistic, because not everyone's perfect, and neither am I, so that's just me. Thank you.

Lin13- I do get to meet Aang in the market when we stop today, but I think that o-dragon already wanted that, but maybe she'll be able to put them back into the story later, because this was a very short debut for the gang. I mean Sokka barely gets mentioned, so maybe she'll be able to work it in again. Thanks for your idea; I'll pass it along.

Elf of rohan- I'm glad you liked it! This chapter will have even more sadness in it, so if you like sadness, here it is! And the Blue Spirit is my fave episode as well. But I've never been able to catch the first two episodes, but for now, it's my fave.

Kabira says hi to all of you that she didn't get to say hi to earlier!

Oh, and the next post will be her birthday post on her birthday, September 16, so if you want to be invited to her "party", just review, and I'll add you to our guest list!

Ok, there is a huge amount of religious stuff in here, but it's all in her dream, and so I marked it with &&. But it really ties some stuff up that'll happen a little later, and it also ties some stuff up that's been happening now, and I have to say, that part was probably the deepest that I've ever written.

Longest yet! 9 pages! Enjoy!

Chapter 8- Dreams Can Be Sad Too

For the entire rest of the day, until about 5, Zuko had locked himself in his room, and wouldn't come out for anything, but I left him alone, knowing what it was like when you were thinking deeply, with your door shut, and someone comes in and disturbs you. I hated that, so I listened to my ipod the entire rest of the day. That night however, around 5, Zuko came up to the deck while I was in the middle of a Fire Bending lesson.

"Hey, Zuko! Whatssup?" I asked, looking up from my Fire Bendingwith Iroh. He gave me the sharpest glare he could muster. "Ok, that solves that problem!" I said, turning back to Iroh to await instructions on the next move.

"Zuko! Where are you going?" his uncle tried. "To a port of call. There are a few things that I need to get." He answered his uncle, harshly, not looking up. He may of thought that he fooled his uncle, but not me. I bit my lip, knowing what would happen later that night. He was sneaking out to go and help the Avatar escape Zhao, and I thought about telling his uncle this, but two problems. One, he would ask how I knew this, and two, he would go along with it since Zuko had been on this particular mission for ever. So, I let it pass, knowing what was on its nasty way.

He was gone, rescuing the Avatar for the entire night, and until around 2 the next day. So, since I had nothing to do really, Iroh put me to work. I scrubbed the floors, and washed dishes from last night's "Mystery Meal", humming and singing Good is Good by Sheryl Crow. I still didn't know what the "Mystery" part was last night, and frankly, I didn't really want to. I was in the middle of Come Clean by Hilary Duff, when Zuko walked slowly by the open door. I called out to him.

"Hey Zuko! Did you find everything all right?" I asked curiously, lying to myself. Of course he didn't! He was out with the Avatar all night! …Whoa, that sounded different…I shook my head slightly to get rid of the thought, but it didn't work too well. He didn't even say any kind of rude comment, no stare, no nothing. He just walked slowly to his room. I thought for a moment, and then I dropped the plate I was cleaning in the soap-filled sink, and ran to the door. He was half way down the hall by this time, but I called out anyway, "If you need anyone to talk to…" my voice faded slowly as he rounded the corner. I sighed, and hung my head, knowing it wasn't my fault, but I knew it was going to happen! Why didn't I stop it? No, it's not your fault, Kabby. He just needs time. So, I gave him time.

I finished doing the dishes by about 3:10, and then went to the showers to clean up.

Dinner that night was quiet. It just wasn't the same without Zuko there, even though he usually brought pain and sufferingto the table. He usually "complimented" me on what a nice job I had done getting ready for dinner, and every night, I would tell him, "This is all I have to wear, and besides, this is how we dress back home!" "Well, you are not back home! You are on my ship!" he would yell this back at me every night, and Iroh would answer, "She's just dressing like this until we can find her some proper clothes!" Then, the rest of the meal would be like a funeral.

This night, I finished early. I wanted to get to bed early for the market in the morning. I thanked Iroh for the lovely food, as always, then I headed up to my room and to bed.

That night when I was trying to fall asleep, I could hear Zuko tossing and turning in his bed (his room was the one next to mine), and I felt partly guilty for his pain.

It's not your fault…

Of course it is! I could've stopped it…

Maybe so, and maybe not, you do remember what happens on the show, everything happens in that order, no matter what happens in between…

But I'm in the show…

You still couldn't have prevented it. It's his decision; he has to make it on his own. No matter what you do, things will happen in a certain order every time…

For the rest of the night my mind was silent, but I still couldn't sleep. I still felt like I could've done something…

"Zuko, don't forget to remind me that we need to get some more tea while we are there as well." Iroh said over a Pai Cho game with me, as he was drinking his precious tea. Zuko began to steam quietly. He hadn't been the same since two days ago when I had dumped all that water on him accidently. I sighed and rolled my eyes as I moved apiece ahead, absolutely no idea what I was doing, and said, "I'll help you remember, Iroh."

"Uncle!"Zuko yelled in response.

"See what a nice girl she is Zuko?" "Yea, on my good days!" I said as I moved another piece forward and won the game, again.

"My winnings please!" I said happily at Iroh's confused face, and held my hand held out. He studied the game board for a while, then finally sighed a defeated sigh, and handed my winnings over. It was just enough to buy either a top, or something sweet when we landed.

"Now, Miss Kabby," I looked up at the old man from counting my winnings. "Yes?" I asked. He was looking at what I was wearing, which consisted of a navy blue tank top, with faded reddish letters on the shirt that said, "Fire in my heart", and denim short-shorts, once again. "Oh…right." I realized.

"Yes, now, I think that Prince Zuko has some extra clothes that you can borrow for one day…"

"Uncle! You cannot be serious! I am not sharing any of my clothing with that…peasant!." He cut in, before he was denied his rights, but it was too late. When his uncle said the next part, I looked over at him quickly. "And those are in his trunk in his room." Zuko breathed fire, and I giggled.

I tried the door only five minutes later, to find that it was locked. "You're not getting in there." Zuko said menacingly, walking up behind me slowly. He looked like he was ready to spit venom.

"Look Princy," this made him fume. "Your uncle said that I could wear some of your clothing, so I need to get in there."

"No." he said simply. I placed my hands on my hips. "I'll get them for you." He said through clenched teeth. He really didn't like me calling him Princy. He came back a moment later after slipping in, through a crack that I couldn't see in to…but I'm sure that was whathis idea was.

"Thank you" I said forcefully, grabbing the clothes from his hands. "And just so you know, I didn't want to go into your room anyways!" I called over my shoulder.

In 15 minutes, I was on deck, my hair pulled into a ponytail, yet again, and I looked like I was born in the fire nation. We landed a short period later, and I staggered off the scrap of metal that they called a ship, not used to the land yet. It had been about two weeks since I had even touched dry land (before I landed in this world as well).

Iroh took care of me for a while, until he spotted a tea cart, and then he let me look around my myself. I told him I'd be fine, so that was the end of that discussion. We decided to meet in front of the tea cart in one hour, and then we'd go shopping for my new clothes. I had never thoughtI'd be going shopping, in all my years of living, with a fire nation (retired) general. Zukie had disappeared shortly after we landed, so I didn't have to worry about him.

I wandered around the market, a few silver pieces and one gold piece in my pocket that I'd won during the many games of Pai Cho, jingling, singing to the music that I was playing over and over in my head.

I soon came across a cart with fruit piled high that was like a buffet, and at the end, you'd pay for it all. I was in the mood for some fruit, and so I got in line.

"Aang! This place is crawling with Fire Nation, we could get caught!" a young girl's voice said.

"Don't worry. Besides, this is the only market for the next 200 miles, and we're running short on food like crazy!" a younger boy's voice chimed in.

"Can't we get some food, Katara?" an older boy's voice was brought into the conversation. There was a loud slap, and the girl named Katara said, "Ok, but only for 15 minutes, then we're out!"

"Then lets split up, and we'll cover more ground." The Aang kid said.

The girl sighed. "Oh fine! But if we see Zuko, make a run for it, and fly Appa over the village to get our attention." Then there was silence...

I had been listening to this conversation, that had appeared about 5 minutes after I got in line, and it looked like the Avatar was here. But I kept my calm. Maybe if I looked like I was harmless, in Fire Nation colors, then I'd get to meet him! But I had to look harmless. All of a sudden, while I was picking out my food, a young, bald monk that had an arrow on his head got in line next to me, whom I quickly recognized as the Avatar.

"Hi." I said sweetly.

"Hi." He replied. "Do you live around here?"

"No, I'm visiting. I travel a lot." I decided not to mention that I was living on Prince Zuko's ship.

"That's cool. I travel too. Me and my friends are in this village getting supplies. What are you here for?" He was being his usual self, trusting everybody and being happy.

"I'm getting supplies as well. Oh, I totally forgot. My name is Kabira." I lookeddown at him, and he looked upat me. I put my hand out for him to shake.

"Kabira." He said, trying it out. "Cool name. I never heard that one before. My name's Aang." He took my hand. I decided to do him the favor and not burst out saying something like, "You're the Avatar!" I mean he was already on the run. Better not become enemies with him in the first 5 minutes. We scooted down the line.

"That's a cool name too. Hey, is that one of your friends?" a girl with a long braid down her back, whomI recognized asKatara, was running towards us, she had obviously seen the fire nation colors I was wearing.

"Yea, that's Katara." He said. "Hey Katara! Meet Kabira." She had finally reached us.

"Aang! She's fire nation! Can't you see her clothes?" Aang looked at my clothes like Katara said, and let out a gasp of fear.

"Don't worry, I may be able to bend fire, but I do not support the Fire Lord." I said this before they could run. "Here." I took the one gold piece that I had, out of my pocket and held it out to the small boy. "You may need this more than me someday." He was reluctant to take it, but he finally took it and muttered a small, "Thank you." I smiled, and then I looked up.

"Run! Fire Nation!" I said, scared for them. They turned around, and left, Aang giving me a small smile before he left. Luckily, the Fire Nation soldiers were going the other direction, but at least the gangwas out of harms way, just in case. Then, I returned to my shopping.

"Ok, I'm ready to shop!" I said excitedly, only about 30 minutes later, in front of the tea cart. I had one bag full of fruit from the cart, and money still in my pockets,but I decided to save that for another time.

"Didn't you want to buy anyjewelry?" Iroh asked, curiously, as we walked towards a store that he said looked promising.

"Nah! I'm not really a jewelry person, although I was craving something sweet, so…" I showed him the bag, and he nodded. A little bell chimed as we walked into the small, crowed shop. It wasn't crowed with people really, but with clothes, and accessories. It also had a smell, like raspberry candles that were burning, and the smell soon made me a little dizzy.Thankfully, thedizziness soon went away, as the lady behind the counter loaded me up with clothes that she thought would look good on me. Then, I was ushered into a changing room like a sheep.

I came out a moment later, in a flowing, dark, forest green and midnight blue skirt, and a white top, whose sleeves were longer than my hands, and sotheydraped overthem. Then, after a bit of applause, I went back and tried on a few more outfits, including, some golden, silky pants, that flared out at the end, and a maroon top, with all the fire nation colors on it as well, in some form or fashion. Even though I didn't like it very much, we got it so that I wouldn't have to wear Zuko's pants every time we went to market. It always took me a while to try on clothes, so, abouttwo hours later, at sunset, we made it back to the ship, carrying about 6 outfits. I had offered to pay, but Iroh had insisted. He said that the last time that he'd gotten to do this was when his little sister was still alive, so he wanted to pay. Ithe subject after that sentence.

We got back to the ship, right in time for dinner, and I changed into the fire nation outfit, and then returned the clothes that I'd been wearing all day to outside the Prince's room, since neither of us wanted me to go into his room. Then, I headed to the galley for dinner. It was fish, and since I'd joined the boycott to stop Canada's Seal Hunt, and was boycotting Red Lobster at the time, I had a salad instead. They assured me that it wasn't from Can-a-da, but I said no. Also, I hated fish anyway, so I decided thatthat was thebest way to say no.

After dinner, Iroh just about made me play Pai Cho with him, wanting to see if he could beat me at it yet. I finally caved in, and I beat him, again, this time winning not only five silver pieces, but two gold pieces as well. Iroh had found his lotus tile finally, so all the crew betted against me. Lets just say, that they had lost their money by the end of it. I left the room with all who were watching, dumbfounded, and studying the board, trying to figure out how I'd done it.

I laughed to myself on the way out, my new gold and silver jingling in my pocket. I ran across Princy walking to his room, but I spedahead and walked past him quickly, leaving him in my dust.

I got to my room, and changed into my clean outfit, the one that said, "I will never give up…" and crawled into bed to listen to my music for awhile, and daydream.

My thoughts wandered to my lost family members, and then where they were. By the time that it was just about midnight, I turned off the music, to fall asleep, to await my 16th birthday in peace. Joy, joy…I thought.

&

I was running through a maze, with the leaves as green as anything that you'd ever seen in your life. Ahead of me, there was a little girl running and laughing joyfully, with not a care in the world. She had brown hair, darker than mine, and I suddenly realized who it was.

"Cadee! Wait up!" the little girl laughed even more, and we played a game of chase, me never catching her, and she never showing her face. The sun reflected off of her hair, creating a heavenly look to her, and she was wearing her denim coveralls, with a white T-shirt underneath them.

"Come on, Cadee! Wait up!" I yelled. She was leading me through the maze, almost like she was trying to get me to another place, purposefully. She laughed a laugh that was full of life, and happiness. "Come on, Kabira! Keep up!" She laughed again.

Then, we finally reached the middle of the maze, where a bright and holy light blinded me momentarily. When I could finally see, I put a hand up to my eyes, still a little blinded by the intense light. A boy was almost floating in mid-air, wearing long, flowing, white robes, and he was barefoot. There was also a strong light behind him, making him almost silhouetted against it, but I could see him perfectly; he wasn't in shadow. Everything there was billowing as if there was a light breeze, even my hair floated around my face, but there was none.

I looked around for my little sister, but she'd disappeared. Then my attention turned to the boy standing in the center of the small clearing.

My stomach did a flip. That wasn't any boy, that was Pavan.

"Pavan?" I asked, trying to holdback tears.

"Kabira, you need to stay here."

"Pavan! No, take me with you!" I cried, this time tears flowing down my cheeks.

"I cannot, yet. You need to stay here, until I find our parents." He said, and continued. "You remember the storm that knocked knocked us off the boat? They're still missing, and I need to find them."

I stood staring, shaking my head, tears still flowing, but now, dripping onto the perfect grass. I looked down and noticed that I was barefoot as well. Then I looked back up at him, tears making my eyes shine. I noticed that he was now holding our little sister. She was sucking her thumb just like she always did.

"You must stay here. Where it's safe. You cannot go home yet. I will come and get you when it's safe."

"Pavan…Cadee…Safe from what? Take me with you! I can't stand it here…" but I was cut off by Cadee.

"Kabira, you have to stay here. Please, I don't want anything to happen to you. Please..." Her eyes were pleading, and she hadstopped sucking her thumb long enough to say that. Then she repeated the words that I'd told her on the night of the horrible storm. "Do not be afraid. You cannot live life without being afraid, but you need to try not to be now. This is the time to be brave." I fell to the ground, sobbing my heart out, crying, as I'd never cried before, not even when I realized that I was in my favorite cartoon show. I soon felt someone next to me, and I looked up, tears glistening on my face, and my eyes now pleading.

"Kabira, we love you, and we want what's best for you, so you must stay here…" Pavan was sitting there, next to me, his robes billowing around us, and Cadee was standing there next to me as well. The robes were making a small area for us, like a circle, enclosing us in.

"I will…" I said, and reached out, but they vanished. The maze vanished. The light vanished. Everything vanished around me, and I was falling, falling down a black hole. Everything was dark, and then a man's voice that was echoing, said, "Kabira…"

&

I opened up my eyes, and sat up. My whole body was shaking, not from fear, but from sadness, and from being afraid. I knew what the dream had meant.

I pulled my legs up, and buried my head in my arms, crying, sobbing my heart out. The bed wasn't wet from my drooling while I'd been asleep, but from my tears. I cried for the rest of the night, feeling as lonely as I'd ever felt in my life…

Please tell me what you think! And remember, two things:

-If you want to be invited to Kabira's Sweet 16 Birthday Party, you have toreview!

-And, 3 reviews equals 1 post!

Hope you liked it! I wrote the Dream part while I was listening to sad music so I think that that had some impact on the product. Remember to review! o-dragon