So, a thousand apologies for taking forever, but I actually have a reason this time. Multiple reasons in fact.
1.) Due to chronic migraines, I have been missing a lot of school, and therefore I fell way behind. I was unable to work on the story because I was trying my best to get caught up. School, now, is out, so, despite my summer school classes (also a result of my constant absences), you will have my undivided attention.
2.) The migraines mentioned above, which, due to a new medicine, have been mostly taken care of.
3.) I felt that this chapter would work better if you got the next chapter right away.
4.) Whilst working on the next chapter I developed a painful case of writers' block.
So here it finally is, enjoy!
_Tara_
There was a collective gasp around the group when he delivered the news. Katara and Zuko shared an unhappy look, and I remembered that they had been the two that took Azula down in the first place. With an uncomfortable expression, Zuko added, "I suppose that it's been too long since I've checked up on the state of the Fire Nation."
Originally, Zuko was supposed to personally assist Aang and them in putting down firebender rebellions as a political message; it was to show exactly where he stood on his father's plan. However, that was just supposed to last for a year, and then he was to return to the Fire Nation and focus only on ruling his nation from then on.
That year ended not too long ago, after we'd joined them, and he had gone back… but that didn't last long. After spending his whole life out hunting the avatar, staying in a palace without much freedom to roam wasn't easy, and he was back out with us after only a month. It caused a huge fight between him and Mai, and that was almost definitely the reason he didn't want to go back.
"Oh, when he goes back to the Fire Nation, can we split up and go get Suki?" Sokka asked eagerly, already over the bad news, "We're already so close to Kyoshi Island!"
"I guess we could split up," Aang decided, "I could take Sokka to Kyoshi Island and Zuko could take a boat back to the Fire Nation. So who's going with who?"
"'With whom,' you mean," I corrected, and Aang shot me a withering look. An Ming and Dai immediately volunteered to go to Kyoshi Island; they never missed out on a chance to see the Kyoshi warriors. Anya, of course, said that there was no way she would go back to the Fire Nation, and there might have been a few curse words involved. Toph decided she would go with Aang after that, leaving just Katara, Sonset, and me to decide.
"I'll do whatever it takes to help find Azula," Katara said fiercely.
"Well, there's already six people on Appa, and that's pushing his weight limit already, so I guess I'll go with Zuko," I decided. I would have added that I hadn't seen Mai in a while and that that was something I wanted to do, but, well, sore subject.
"I guess I'm going with Tara, then," Sonset decided. Zuko nodded and went off to speak with the nearest of the new Fire Nation embassies and ask for a boat back to the Fire Nation. The rest of us debated looking around the town for a bit before deciding that it was already late and it would be better to just sleep, so we followed Zuko to the embassy, and reserved some of the rooms that all the new embassies had set aside for special occasions. Zuko, of course, got their best little room all to himself, but the rest of us all had to share rooms.
When we entered the courtyard, Sokka and Aang eagerly headed for the three-bedroom building that they had all to themselves, while all the girls walked unhappily to the one building we all had to share. And the buildings weren't big, either; you walked into the little entrance room, which also served as a kitchen and dining room, and then there were three doors, each leading to a tiny bedroom. In each tiny bedroom, they crammed in two beds, and the only thing the rooms really had going for them was that each room had its own bathroom and closet. Toph walked in, did her earthbending equivalent of looking around, and grinned.
"I am so glad I decided I'd rather sleep in an earth tent in the courtyard," she said smugly, and I shot her a look, which was obviously lost on her, and then we all started deciding who would sleep in what room. Dai and An Ming took the room that branched off to the right, the two waterbenders took the room on the left, and Anya and I took the room at the back.
After settling into our rooms, everyone went to bed, except for me. First, I grabbed an extra blanket from my closet and walked out into my courtyard towards where Toph was staying in her earth tent. Just as I was about to knock on the rock slab covering the entrance to her tent, it retracted into the ground.
"Yeah?" Toph asked, sitting cross-legged on the ground, her right elbow propped up on her knee and her head resting on her right fist. I held the blanket out and announced, "Blanket delivery!"
She reached out with her free hand until she felt it in her hand and then took it from me. She held it in her lap for a second before saying, "You didn't need to do that."
I smiled and cocked my head to the side before replying, "Yeah, kiddo, I did."
She grimaced at the nickname, but was otherwise content, and I turned back and started towards the building. I heard Toph say a quiet thanks before I heard the sound of the rock slab sliding back into place. As soon as I got back inside, I headed straight for the little kitchen area and looked at what kinds of food they had.
Just as I finished making a sandwich from some of the various foods, there was a quiet knock on the door. I set down my sandwich before walking across the room to open it. It was Zuko. Before I could invite him in, he said, "Hey, could you tell the others that they'll have a boat available for us first thing in the morning tomorrow?"
I nodded.
"Yeah, sure."
"Great, thanks. I'm gonna go to bed," he said tiredly, turning away and heading towards the larger building with only one bedroom that he got all to himself. I glowered at the building for a second, angry that I was stuck sharing a room and all the guys got their own, before turning around and walking back to Sonset and Katara's room. I opened the door quietly, hoping I wasn't gonna have to wake them up, and was relieved to see them propped up on their elbows, talking to each other.
"Oh, great, you're up," I said happily, "Zuko just stopped by and wanted me to tell you that the boat to the Fire Nation will be ready first thing in the morning."
They both nodded and I went back out into the main room to eat my sandwich. When I finished eating, I went back into my room and climbed into bed.
After burying Kyla all by my self, I tentatively walked through the woods that had once been my home, seeing no sign that we had ever been there. The houses, the shops, the buildings, all of them, gone.
Then again, I thought to myself, did you expect anything different from the Fire Nation?
But even knowing that I should have expected it didn't ease the pain of knowing that my home was gone. Suddenly, I stumbled upon the outskirts of a village. A Fire Nation village built on land that was not theirs. But it was theirs, then. It had been for nearly ten thousand years. Shaking, from anger or horror at what had been done to my people, I wasn't sure, I backed away from the village, and ran until I reached a port.
I looked around, wary of all the Fire Nation soldiers guarding the port, and of all the civilians using it. Finally, I slipped onto a small fishing boat and hid under a pile of ropes surrounded by a few barrels. I didn't know where the boat was going, or where I wanted to go, but I did know that I wanted to get away from the Fire Nation.
I stayed there, curled up under a pile of ropes and cringing every time one of the crew came near me, for the rest of that whole day. Some time late into the night, I noticed the Earth Kingdom mainland to the boat's right. I didn't even hesitate before jumping off and swimming as fast as I could to shore.
I finally climbed out of the water and, teeth chattering, sat on the sand just out of the waves, watching the Fire Nation fishing boat sail away. I sat there, shivering, not sure what to do next, until I heard a gasp. I turned around to see a young woman looking at me.
"Hey, are you okay? Where's your mom?" she asked, making her way over to me.
"My mom and dad died when I was little," I replied, and then blinked; the sound of my own voice after so long seemed foreign and unknown.
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry," she said, kneeling down next to me, "Don't you have anyone?"
I shook my head.
"I had my aunts, but the Fire Nation—"
I cut off, not wanting to continue. She nodded sympathetically.
"They've hurt a lot of us," she said somberly, "Come on, you're freezing. We'll get you in front of a nice warm fire, okay?"
She stood up and offered me her hand, and I slowly pulled myself up and took it. She led me by the hand through her village and stopped in front of a small building. She opened the door and motioned for me to go in. She shut the door behind us after I went in, and then she went over to rekindle the fire dying in her hearth.
"Just sit right there, kiddo, and I'll go get you a blanket," she said, motioning to a spot in front of the fireplace. As I sat down, wrapping my arms around myself, a girl who was probably about five years old walked out of the other room.
"Jia, you're supposed to be asleep!" the woman chided.
"Who's that?" the girl, Jia, asked curiously, ignoring the woman and pointing at me.
"I'm Tara," I replied. She got this excited expression on her face and threw her hands up in the air ecstatically.
"Nice to meet you, Tara! I'm Jia," she remarked excitedly and then ran around to behind the woman.
"And this is my mom!" she said, pointing at the woman. The woman chuckled and kneeled down to my level and extended her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Tara. My name's Toph," she said as I shook her hand.
Aw, Toph has the same name as the woman who raised Tara! So, yeah, that's just a little piece of Tara's past. I'm trying to slowly give you all a bit of insight into her character that you wouldn't have gotten in Ashes due to the fact that Ashes focuses more on Anya. Which reminds me: have you checked out Ashes yet? Because it is the prequel, after all!
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