I only have a few minutes to post this so I'm going to have to forego the reviews this chapter, sorry guys. IMPORTANT NOTE is that that amazing and talented chobits15 and Gerbilfriend actually DREW MY CHARACTERS. DREW THEM. Guys do you know how amazing that is? checkout loveangel15 on deviantart and Gerbilfriend also on deviantart! FF doesn't let me put up links or I would have already, this is amazing.

That was not the last time that Lien arranged for the Avatar to slip through Zhao's fingers. There was a trap that she led him out of, and a small 'mishap' in the engine room when they got a little too close to the flying bison another time.

This time, was probably the most memorable though. Because this time she ended up doing something very stupid.

After the incident at the fire festival she left her father, for once foregoing her Harmony costume and the mask that she had in the ship, running off at her father's behest. And, at her own desires.

She rather liked the forests in the Earth Kingdom, but they would never compare to the dune of her desert. The air the blew threw the trees would never be anything compared to the dry breeze that whipped across the sands. Perhaps, after she was done making mischief she would go back to her mother, like she had planned.

The necklace still hung from her neck.

Lien slipped into the camp with a little too much ease, relying on the sense she had unlocked all those years ago. The Fire Within, her Zhao called it. He wasn't nearly as good at using it as his daughter. No one seemed to be. She wondered why.

Lien skipped down the stone steps, towards the tent that sat alone. She could feel two people, and a lot of candles inside of it. No doubt Aang and Jeong Jeon.

Katara was out on the water, and Lien waved cheerfully at her when the girl saw her. For some reason, Katara didn't run over yelling. Maybe because she was dressed in civilian clothes instead of a uniform.

"-fire, will spread and destroy everything in your path."

Lien pushed the tent open, looking in at the Avatar and the old man.

"What nonsense are you trying to teach him, huh, Grandfather?"

There was dead silence.

Both old man and 112 year old boy looked up at her. Lien propper a hand on her hip, her fingerless gloves resting on the multilayered, pentagonal flaps on her skirt. She smiled, tilting her head until the part of her long hair that wasn't in a top knot fell across her shoulder.

It was only there for a second before a wall of wind smacked into her, sending her hair flying back. She managed to stay grounded, her feet planted firmly. It helped that she'd been expecting that.

"Well now. That was rude," she said idly.

Aang launched himself from the ground and took on an airbending stance. Jeong Jeong rose into one for fire.

Lien just played with the thick metal band on her wrist, over the gloves that went almost all the way up her arms. She was utterly blase, more intent on the ruby's on her bracelet than the potential fight in front of her.

"My father is on his way here," she told them. "From the river. You should probably run. And find a better teacher."

"Your father was a poor student," Jeong Jeong countered, advancing towards her a step. Lien held her ground, glancing at him, then back at Aang.

"Probably true, but he's not afraid of fire. The more you're afraid of it, the less control you have. Kill you fear and master the Flames of Life."

"The Flames of Life?" Aang repeated, his brows pinching together. Jeong Jeong dismissed her with a sound.

"A nonsensical myth."

Lien rolled her eyes and supplied, "Supposedly fire is what breathed life into the first humans, a gift from the dragons of old. Those who had the most fire were blessed by the dragons, and descendants of the first humans, the Order of the Sun, I think they were called."

Lien totally hadn't learned all this sneaking around the Dragon Bone Catacombs. Nope.

"The Flames of Life is the fire inside of you, and all living beings. Some firebenders can feel it in others. Most people call is chi."

Aangs eyes lit up. "I've heard of that!"

Lien flashed a smile. "I would hope so!"

"Enough!" Jeong Jeong snapped. "If you are here, your father is not far off."

"That's true enough," Lien confirmed. "You've got about a day and a half." She paused, looking at Aang. "I can only do so much, since I'm not actually willing to risk my safety to help you, but if you need a hand firebending, I'm sure we'll hunt you down again."

Aang was startled. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," she shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do."

"What about, hunting us down?" Aang cocked his head.

"Eh. That's mostly a hobby. I'm hoping if anyone catches you it's Prince Zuko, but if you end up taking down his father that would be pretty badass."

"You want the Fire Nation to lose the war?" Aang asked, surprised.

Lien's smile turned nasty. "I would love nothing more." Seeing the look on Aang's face, Lien let her expression soften. "My mother is Earth Kingdom. From the Si Wong desert," she explained, waving her hand idly.

Both of them were surprised.

"Your dad married an Earth Kingdom woman?" Aang's voice got higher. Lien couldn't help it, she laughed.

"Oh, god no! I'm a bastard!"

In another world, she would have been Harmony Sand. Or something. She was certainly grateful she had never been born in Westeros, or Alternia, or some other horrible, bloody place. Her country may have been ravaged by war, but it was still tame compared to what it could have been.

Lien looked at Aang, her head tilted. She reached up, taking her necklace off and offered it the young monk. It was the first time she had given it up in a decade or more. Aang took it, looking down in confusion.

" 'Strength through endurance'?" he read aloud.

"The words of the desert. If you ever end up in the Si Wong, show that to any of the sandbending tribes. They'll show you to my mother."

"Why are you giving me this?" Aang asked, putting the necklace over his bald head.

"You might need it later on."

"And, I need to go," she added. "Don't put too much stock in my grandad," she nodded to Jeong Jeong, then Aang, and ducked out of the tent again.

It was freezing.

Lien glared sullenly at the wall of the ship, her knees drawn tight to her chest. Since she'd been to the Fire Nation she had taken to wearing a top that left her belly exposed and a lot of gold jewelry. Now, if she had jewelry on it would bite into her skin, turning it black with frost, and she was wrapped up entirely in red and black furs. It still wasn't enough.

So far north she felt sick whenever it wasn't noon, nausea haunted her every waking moment and she was weak. Her fire flickered and ate up so much of her energy she dared not use it to keep warm.

Never before had she had such sympathy for Zuko. He had gone after Aang in these conditions, weakened the way she was and hurt from an explosion, swam in frigid water, and still managed to fight off a soon-to-be Master Waterbender. Lien didn't' think she had ever had that much determination for anything.

Even her artwork, precious to her, she hadn't fought for it the way Zuko fought for his throne. She learned to be sneaky, to hide her drawings and her little bits of glass away from the world, where no one would see.

Now, she huddled in the dark, the only right light coming from the softly reddened tip of a long piece of metal she kept poking around the furnace. The coals were burning down slowly. The fighting had ended for the day, the waterbenders retreating behind the high ice walls and the firebenders halting their advance.

Lien felt like she was forgetting something, but she was so cold she couldn't focus on anything other than the stinging pain in her fingers and the lack of anything in her toes. When could she go back to the desert? Or even the volcanic islands?

All she wanted was to go somewhere she could feel the sun on her skin and the sand between her toes.

Lien closed her eyes, leaning back on the wall and sighed in longing. Around her, the ship groaned. Once, she had twitched at every sound the glorified tin can made. Now, after years stuck in it, she stopped paying attention.

Far off, she heard someone scream. Her eyes flickered open, in time to see the metal above her head twist around. THere was a flash of the sky, stars sparkling far in the distance before something else overtook it. Glowing, bright, bright blue. Water rushed in, smashing into her face.

Lien choked, her head smashing back against the wall and her vision swam. Unfortunately, she did not.

The ship twisted around her, metal shrieking and water flooding in. She couldn't even scream. Water filled her lungs and metal shot forwards, stabbing through her abdomen.

"Huh. I've been impaled."

Golden eyes flashed open and Lien sucked in a harsh breath, sucking in air so face she swallowed it. The girl fell into a coughing fit, turning over on her side to vomit water onto the floor. Her arms shook, barely holding her up.

"Lien!" Sokka appeared at her side, slipping an arm around her to keep from falling into her own mess.

Her head spun. She looked at him, squinting. Her stomach hurt terribly and there was spots of black and red on the floor now.

"Where- Where am I? When did I get off the boat?"

Sokka stared at her. "What boat?"

"The boat… I was on a boat. At the North Pole. It was cold."

Sokka's brows furrowed. "No, you weren't. You in the backyard. Maybe you need to sleep more…"

Lien nodded, slowly. She coudln't tell if she was too exhausted to feel tired or so terrified of being run through with more metal that thought of sleep was appealing. She was also totally confused, but Sokka was her friend.

Right?

He lowered her back to the mat on the floor while her mind wandered.

As soon as her head touched down, she was out again.