Koya woke to the sound of birds chirping. He felt the warm sunlight beam on his face, and he kept his eyes closed to savor the relaxing feeling it filled him with.
The storm that had hit the previous day had since blown over, and in its stead had left a beautiful day. Koya lay still in the calm for several minutes until the sound of crunching caused him to snap upright. Several feet away from him, a boy not much older than himself was sitting and eating a breakfast of berries and nuts.
"So you're awake then, Koya?" he asked rhetorically with a smile.
"Sonya! You made it out of the camp too!" Koya exclaimed. His voice sounded unfamiliar and hoarse from lack of use.
Sonya was another waterbender from the Southern Tribe who had been kidnapped around the same time as Koya. He was about two years older than Koya, making him 17, and his older age was evident in his lean, strong face which sported a small mustache, whereas Koya simply had a bit of stubble.
He stood up and walked over to help Koya up. Standing in front of him, Koya realized that Sonya was easily three or four inches taller than him now.
"You look like your starving," Sonya observed, handing Koya several berries and nuts.
"So how did you get out?" Koya asked. "They threw you in solitary confinement a few days ago, didn't they?" he added, popping a few berries into his mouth.
"Well, the rain did help a bit," Sonya said sarcastically, chuckling. Koya smiled and felt his muscles strain with the unusual expression. "The guards tried to chain me down right away," Sonya continued, "but I dropped them like that," he snapped to emphasize his speed. "After that it wasn't hard getting out. There was so much commotion and the guards were too distracted to notice me smash my way through a side door. Of course I managed to kill a few firebenders on my way out too," he concluded.
Koya choked on a walnut. "You killed them?" he coughed out, horrified.
Sonya eyed him curiously, his smile gone now. "Why are you so surprised?" he asked. "You never wanted revenge on the Fire Nation for what they did to you? You never wanted revenge for what they've done to our friends, our families, our tribe?" He asked, his voice rising with anger.
"Of course I wanted revenge, but killing them, that's just-"
"-what they deserve," Sonya finished.
They sat in silence for a several minutes, the only sound coming from the birds chirping above. Koya, still horrified by what Sonya had confessed to doing, and trying to wrap his mind around the idea of taking a life, even that of a Fire Nation soldier.
"So how'd you get out?" Sonya offered, trying to break the silence.
"I fought through a few guards and made my way up to one of the towers, created an ice slide and slid out," Koya answered absentmindedly, still preoccupied with his thoughts. "Then I got Jin out of the death pits and…" he trailed off, realizing Jin's body was gone. "Where's Jin?" He asked loudly, looking at Sonya.
"Oh, sorry, I saw her body and buried her over by those trees," Sonya pointed over to a small clearing nearby.
"It's alright," Koya assured him. He got up, walked over to the clearing and knelt on the patch of fresh dirt. Sonya looked away to give him some privacy.
"I'm so sorry you had to… to die this way," uttered Koya, tears starting down his face. "You were a true friend and a faithful companion to me, and I promise I will never forget you."
Koya stood up, tears now streaming down his face onto Jin's grave. "I'll always love you," he whispered.
Koya heard Sonya walk over and turned to face him, wiping his face. "We should probably get going," Sonya stated, putting a hand on Koya's shoulder in support.
"Where are we -hnh- going?" Koya asked with a hiccup.
"Well now that I'm free, I want to help fight in the war," Sonya stated. "I heard one of the guards saying we're on the North West corner of the Earth Kingdom. If we can sneak past the Fire Nation Army's lines, I figure we'll run into an Earth Kingdom fort or camp where we can enlist," he explained. "That is, as long as your in," he extended his arm, prompting Koya for a response.
Koya grasped Sonya's arm tightly in agreement. "I'm in," he declared.
