Boaz

Sunlight broke through the early morning air, filtering tiredly through the smoke and haze, and quietly streamed into Kaia's cell-on-wheels. Kaia's dark eyes were wide open, casting hurried glances up at the door as the brush slid back and forth over the precious piece of parchment.

It has been awhile since I left with the Fire Nation. Do not worry, I am fine.

The past few days had been the same. Stay in the cart all day, her choices of activities were practice, eat or sleep, and then train at night. She would return to the cart just before sunrise, four hours before the Army started moving, and she would wait until someone came to fetch her again. She had seen little of Ryuji in those past few days; she hoped she had scared him, although Hakan and Zhi assured her that it was Keahi's doing.

I am sure that I can say the same for you. We are heading North to a large Earth village, from there I am not sure where we are going.

Hakan had spoken with her a few times. She was always able to get some form of information out of him, and over the past few days she had learned that she didn't even need to be coy. She got the same results if she had asked outright.

I am doing this of my own will. Tell them all I still have faith.

Kaia heard footsteps hurrying quickly on the ground outside of her cart. They were about ready to move out. She had to hurry up and finish the letter, or at least clean up whatever evidence there was of her writing materials.

In courage there is hope.

There was always hope. Her breath caught in her throat as the cart creaked to a start, she glanced up at the metal door once again.

Kaia

She blew on the ink, willing it to dry faster, it was not the first time that week she had almost wished she was a Firebender. The soft clank of the door being unlocked caught her attention, she quickly folded the parchment, with little regard for whether or not it had dried, and hid it behind her belt.

She covered the ink well with her blanket and sat back just before the door opened and Keahi stepped in.

"Keahi," she said coldly, barely making an effort to contain her dislike, "what a surprise." She did not smile.

Neither did Keahi, "Earthbender." He addressed her calmly, never giving her the distinction of having a name, "I have your first payment." His mouth twitched upward into a smirk when he saw the brief look of shock cross her face, "Congratulations." He dropped the pouch, it landed on the ground with a soft 'clink' of coins.

Kaia tried very hard to look unaffected, but a look of mild surprise managed to find its way onto her mask. The Fire Nation had actually kept up on part of their bargain. Keahi placed the day's rations on the bench and walked out of the cart, closing the door hurriedly behind him as though it was the last place on earth that he had wanted to be.

Kaia finally let loose of her tight expression and smiled, stopping just short of a laugh. The Fire Nation had actually paid her. It was one of the few parts of their deal that they had kept. So far, she had only trained, been fed, and received medical attention. She had still not been treated as a soldier, but if she had just been paid that might be about to change.

She pulled the parchment from her pocket, and was pleased to see that the ink had not been disturbed by too much. She ripped the paper in half, taking the part that had not been written on to write a second letter. Her decoy.

She groggily flipped up the blanket and pulled the inkwell forward once more, drawing the brush out as she did so. It was to be a short letter to her 'Mother'. Zhi had said he would send one out in this fashion, and it would be her decoy.

She carelessly wrote some drabble about being safe and well, wonderful treatment and surprisingly kind and wonderful people: something that would obviously never be believed back in her home village. Kaia looked at the letter and shook her head, such a load of hogmonkey. It would pass any inspection given by the Fire Nation. Even those heartless people couldn't deny sending this. She knew she wouldn't have been able to.

Now to enclose the money. She reached forward again and picked up the pouch containing her first pay. It was heavier than she had expected, examining its contents she found it to contain a few silver pieces, as well as the expected copper ones. She pulled out two silver coins and a few copper pieces, a good amount to send to her 'mother'.

"Let's see…" she muttered to herself, and pulled out her old burned clothes. She ripped off another piece of the fabric and tied the money up inside it, "Perfect." She yawned. The cart suddenly lurched to life, Kaia jolted forward, bracing herself against the metal slab, and slowly eased herself down. She hadn't slept since before training, and was tired and aching.

She stretched out on the floor of the cell-on-wheels as the box kicked to life. She could feel every turn of the wheels as it slowly creeped forward. Today was the first day that she was glad she was not walking outside with the rest of the Army. She closed her eyes, letting the bumps of the wheels take her off to sleep.

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The past few days had taken a physical toll on Kaia. Even without Ryuji to keep her occupied, she had still managed to take a few training blows. The majority of them, surprisingly, had come from Zakai.

She had laughed inwardly at first when he had walked up to her and thrown the staff at her, but was surprised by his lightning fast movements, and the way he was almost impossible to block. Zakai had knocked her on the ground a bare minute after they had started sparring, and Kaia wasn't sure if it was because Zakai was good, or she was bad.

She had bruises all over her body from being tapped with the staff. She had yet to start wearing the armor when she trained; she had been waiting until her muscles built up enough that she would be able to carry its weight. She'd picked it up a few times, and it was like moving a whole other person. She wasn't quite ready to take on that weight, she still hadn't gotten used to the idea of wearing boots.

Kaia rolled over in her sleep, her features relaxed in a way that could only be achieved in dreamless slumber.

Training with Firebenders certainly wasn't like training at home. At home she had no deadline; at home the key was patience; at home, she was the defender. Firebenders were attackers; Firebenders hit first. Firebenders wore boots, and Firebenders struck to kill. But, they were so organized. Everything had a purpose or a reason within the chaos of the camp.

It was all so apparent to Kaia, but none of those thoughts even touched her mind as it was lost in the dark of her quiet, undisturbed, sleep.

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It's too bad that sleep never lasted long for those who desired it.

The sun was still quite high in the sky when the Fire Nation Army came to a grinding halt. They had finally reached the Earth Kingdom village, today the soldiers would get a chance to stretch their legs in a manner other than moving from town to town. For the first time in a long while, they would restock themselves, and perhaps pick up a trinket or two to send back home to the Fire Nation.

Small groups of soldiers were selected by lottery to decide who would go into town on what day, and it was just Keahi's good fortune to be drawn as part of the first four squads of men. All of the men had been notified, and they were as excited as they permitted themselves to show.

Hakan started jabbering immediately and had practically jumped straight into his civilian clothes, Ryuji had blinked and given him an approving look, whereas Zakai had merely looked excited. Keahi, however, would not allow anything more from himself other than the hint of a smile. The only person left of his group that he needed to inform was the Earthbender. What was her name? Niyati.

He had had half a mind to let sleeping dogs lie, and just let her sleep, but Zhi seemed to think that the Earthbender needed to be included in the small little outing, as did Captain Sheng.

That was the only reason he stood outside of the cart, keys in hand, opening up the door to wake the girl up. "Get up." He banged on the door as he opened it, "Or you'll be left." He added irritably.

The Earthbender rolled over and squinted at him. She had been sleeping. "Sun's still up…" she muttered, clearly she hadn't had enough time to think of a smart response.

"I'm glad your eyes work." Keahi commented dryly, "Here." He threw some red fabric at her, "These are on loan to you. Be ready by the time I come back, or you'll be left." He slammed the metal door and walked off to hunt down the rest of his men.

That hadn't been as bad as he'd thought.

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Kaia pulled the red fabric off of her head, where it had landed after Keahi had thrown it at her, and looked at it. It seemed to be a tunic of some sort, she groaned. Where was it exactly that they were going that she'd care about missing? She fell back against the metal of the cart and stared at the blank ceiling.

The thought of spending another whole day in the metal box drifted into her tired mind, and suddenly she was filled with vigor, or at least a bit more energy than she had previously felt capable of. She stood up, wishing vaguely that she had used some of that time to sleep, and held out the tunic.

"Red." She commented to herself, it was always red. She took a fast glance out the window and then changed, slightly surprised at how much smaller the tunic was in comparison to the bulky uniform. "Must be Zakai's." she muttered to herself, changing from the grey pants to the other pair that had been thrown at her.

Her hair was already up. It stayed up perpetually, especially since she had joined the Fire Nation Army.

The knock came at the door, and she was ready to leave.

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Kaia was surprised to find that not only were they actually going into the village, but she would also be allowed just as much freedom there as the Fire Nation soldiers enjoyed. The soil of the Earth Kingdom felt so sweet and fresh beneath her feet, it felt free of the Fire Nation impurities, like smoke, ash, and soot.

Her heart reveled in the sight of the village. The wooden buildings laid over in mud brick, the thatched roofs, the greens, yellows and browns that wove their way through the town. In short, this town was thriving. It was more along the lines of a city than anything else. There were shops selling multitudes of things, from knick knacks only fools and rich men would buy, to more practical trade goods, clothing, finery, instruments, fish, and cabbages.

The five of them moved in a loose red clump, sticking out like a nail in a soft pillow, as the crowds of Earth Kingdom citizens moved away from them.

The four men didn't seem to notice at all. Hakan kept up his constant commentary of the city, "Hey, isn't that the cabbage man from that last city? Do you think those fish are fresh? I think they'll be better once we get closer in to port. Sure is a nice day outside…"

Keahi and Ryuji kept their own stony silence, each with their own particular expression. Keahi was all business, and Ryuji wore his own perpetual scowl. Zakai was quiet, but he was always quiet, nothing new there. But, the boy had almost a look of contemplation, like he was examining everything his eyes touched, in a disturbing calculating manner.

Kaia hardly noticed the treatment the crowds gave them. The stench of the Fire Nation camp was so far behind them. In fact, only a very small number of soldiers were allowed inside the city at a time. This town had yet to be overrun, as Hakan had mentioned somewhere in his monologue. That sheer fact alone was almost enough to keep Kaia from remembering that she was a part of the Fire Nation Army.

Almost, however, was never exactly good enough.

"Fire Nation FILTH!" a young man's voice pierced through the hustle of the crowds.

"SCUM!" another voice shot through the air, pulling Kaia out of her state of contentment.

A large rock whizzed through the air, just outside of Kaia's vision. The soldiers scattered, but Kaia spun, throwing her hand up in the air, and stopped it. She felt the silence growing around her as she set the piece down on the ground, feeling more and more aware of her own breathing.

It was so quiet, Kaia could hear the sound of the rock as it settled on the ground. The next few seconds passed like an eternity as the crowd of her green clad kinsmen tried to decide what she was. She looked up, and met the green eyes of a man in the crowd. The man's face was white, his expression of shock, but when their eyes met his mouth drew into a snarl.

"Traitor!" he yelled.

Catcalls rose from the crowd. Kaia did not look back at the other men who had been with her, but kept her gaze pinned on the man who had started it. He was every inch an Earth citizen. Brown hair, green eyes, lean sinewy frame, slight build, a blind man could recognize it in him. Why couldn't he see it in her?

Furry rose inside of her the likes of which she had not felt before. Without a word, she sprung after him, the energy exploding within her like a fire. The man must have noticed, because he turned on his heel and ran, and Kaia was hot on his tail. He shoved people out of the way as he darted through the easily parting crowd, while Kaia had to convince the unwilling in a more barbaric manner.

She finally broke free of the crowd and turned after him. Kaia thought through her situation, she had no conceivable advantage. He knew the territory better than she did, and he had a head start. The sun beat down on her as she pushed her way past more pedestrians, and accidentally caused the collapse of the cabbage cart.

The brown haired man looked back, and Kaia saw his face, lean and drawn tight. This man was a rebel, a fighter just like her. They were fighting for the same cause. Why couldn't he see that? The fire that had started burning within Kaia fanned into a bright flame, and she gained on him.

He might know the territory better, but she would not stand for it. She was no Fire Nation soldier. She was an Earth Kingdom rebel. She was an Earthbender. That's exactly what she was. She scolded herself for not remembering that sooner.

With a yell, she thrust her hand forward and grabbed the air, forcing the earth to bend to her will, and pulled it up. The man in front of her skidded to a halt, trying desperately to turn another direction and outrun her.

Kaia lunged and ploughed the man down, letting the earth fall back to its original place as she forced the man to the ground.

He fell on his back, but was not beaten back so easily. He rolled Kaia over, struggling every step of the way to land a punch, and Kaia fought back. She was taking the offensive in taking this man down. The two grappled, both scratching and hitting. The man managed to thrown out a straight punch, but Kaia grabbed his arm and forced him down.

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"After her." Keahi commanded quietly, but the entire group had already taken off. They couldn't let the Earthbender get away from them, not in the middle of an Earth Kingdom city. They might lose it, and have to find and train another. It would be too much trouble.

It was just easier to track down the one they'd already had trained.

They pushed their way through the less than willing group, just feet behind the Earthbender at first, but when they finally broke through the crowd, the Earthbender had vanished, and all that was left to follow was the trail of upset carts along the way.

"My cabbages!" a cart owner wailed, the green vegetables lay strewn over the streets, "My cabbages!"

"She went that way." Hakan stated the obvious and took off running, it hadn't occurred to any of them that Kaia was not running away from them, so much as she was running after that man. The thought that she might have been insulted enough to take offense had not crossed Keahi's mind. He was more worried about her running off with that Earth Kingdom scum and leaving them without a tool.

Soon, they could hear the sounds of struggle in the air. The earth shook, the Earthbender was bending, and it was fighting.

The group rounded the corner just as it had successfully managed to pin the peasant to the ground.

"She's taken the offensive." Zakai muttered, his pupils contracting in sudden thought.

"Get her off of him." Keahi growled.

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For the second time in recent memory, Kaia found herself being roughly torn from her object of aggression.

"Niyati!" a voice rang in her ear, but could not penetrate the sheer anger she felt right now.

"Let me go!" she snarled, her usually deep voice was considerably higher pitched in her moment of anger, "Let go of me!"

The man on the ground rolled up, "What's the matter? Fire Nation soldiers can't handle a lousy peasant? Have to hire a mercenary to do it for them?" his voice was weak, but he was standing, "How much did they buy you for, Earthbender?" he yelled, his voice growing stronger, "How much did it take for you to sell out your village?" he screamed at her.

Kaia lurched forward, straining against the men holding her back, taking a swing at mid air. Her eyes bored holes into the man's head. The hand on her arm squeezed tightly, and a deep, strong voice lifted itself quietly into her ear.

"Let it go, Niyati." She felt Ryuji's giant hands on her shoulders pulling her back the few inches she'd gained against the other two.

The tension in Kaia's body lessened a bit, she knew Ryuji could take her down easily, and wouldn't hesitate to do so. Her glare remained constant as she jerked her arms free and stood on her own, "Never," she hissed, walking carefully towards the man, "Never," she repeated, her voice grew stronger. She was barely six inches away from him. She couldn't resist the temptation. She grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him down to meet her face, "Do not ever confuse me with one of them." That said, she threw him on the ground and stalked off, breaking through the group of Fire Nation soldiers, and headed off to the city entrance.

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"She took the offensive." Zakai muttered again, "She expressed…rage." His face held an irritatingly satisfied smirk.

Ryuji looked at Zakai and, instead of shutting him up, nodded, "Niyati fought like one of us. No pulling back. She wanted to hurt that man." He agreed, shoving a man out of the way as they pushed their way back through the crowd to the entrance.

Hakan looked worried, "Niyati looks like one of us, her own people thought she was one of us, and now she fights like one of us." He shook his head, his eyes met Keahi's, and the man didn't need to say it, because the entire group thought it.

"The Earthbender will never be one of us." Keahi would always speak the truth of a situation, "The Earthbender is a tool, to be discarded after its use or its failure to operate."

He paused, "Ryuji, I want you to take the Earthbender back to hand to hand again. I think it's time to train harder. Hakan, move to the most advanced training, and do not hold back." He paused, "Zakai, keep the Earthbender agile, do not let it stop thinking."

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Kaia made it to the edge of the city, and looked back. She felt her fingers curl into fists at her sides. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she did not belong in that city. She did not belong in that camp. But where else was there?

She suddenly became aware of something warm on her face starting to grow cold. She carefully put a hand to her temple and touched the sticky liquid. Blood. Red blood. She turned her back to the village and ran towards the Fire Nation camp. Red, it was always red. Red tents, red blood, red uniforms, red flags, red sashes, red fire, red was everywhere.

She put a hand to her face as she ran, feeling something warm touch her cheeks. She ran faster, the fire that had burned inside of her before was gone, but she had to get back to the camp. The wet that leaked down her face now as not blood.

She saw the campground in the distance, the red tents were easy to spot through the green of the forest. It stood out against the landscape just like she did in a group of Earth Kingdom citizens: an ugly red spot in the middle of a green pattern.

Kaia found her way quickly through the camp and to her cell. It was her place among the Fire Nation. She was their prisoner and their soldier, just like she was an Earth Kingdom rebel and traitor.

She was relieved to find her cell unlocked. She flew inside it and started tearing the horrible red clothing off. The longer she wore it, the more it burned her. She dug through the folds of her blanket and found what remained of her burned Earth Kingdom clothing and put it on.

She pushed everything to do with the Fire Nation to the far side of the cell, wanting to be as far away from it as possible, and at the same time she was not able to rid herself of it. She pulled her hair down, letting it fall down around her face.

She was Kaia of the Earth Kingdom, a rebel and an Earthbender. She would never be a Fire Nation soldier. She would never be one of them. Never. Never.

"Never…" she breathed, and in a few moments, she was asleep.

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The letter she had written to Boaz was now in the possession of the man Kaia had attacked in the city. Kaia was right; he had been a rebel, an opposition to the Fire Nation, one of many. He had picked up the letter after their fight. It had been sitting their on the ground, presumably having fallen from the Earthbender's tunic.

The man picked it up and read it, letting it pass through his mind without more than a second thought.

Another letter to never be delivered.