Sorry about another late chapter. Been busy, you know? School was a killer this week, although my choir got to go see a play on Thursday, and it was great! Nice break from work, I guess. Anyways, this chapter is a little longer than the others, but I thought you guys might enjoy a little Luko, so here you go. Please R&R! -KTBG
P.S. We went to see "Dr. Jackle and Mr. Hyde" to get us a little spooked for Halloween. It was really creepy, but I loved every minute of it! Sorry, just had to brag a little...
P.S.S. Um...I've been pretty worried about this, considering this story has an OC in it...Is Liz a Mary Sue?
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Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. (Stupid Mike and Bryan. They won't let fans do anything...)
Chapter Nine: Sisters
Again, the morning sun flashed rays through the openings to the balconies all around. Liz, her hands behind her head, lay on her back, watching the dust fly through the little bolts of light. Laughing, she remembered when she was a toddler, trying to cath the particles in her fingers. She always wondered where they went...Another chuckle escaped.
She breathed in the fresh, dawn air, letting the sweet scent linger in her nose before letting it out.Staring at the wrinkled ceiling above her, she let thoughts race around her mind, not caring what they were about. Blinking slowly, she recalled the pilled up book bag full of work for her, but she didn't care. Though her parents must've been going crazy, Liz didn't care. Nothing mattered at the moment. All she could do was enjoy the smell of early morning and the beautiful whistling of the birds. Liz let another breath out.
"Good morning!" sang a bright voice. Liz turned her head to look at the sparkling Suki, pretty as always. Someone Liz knew she'd never even amount to.
"Morning," Liz mumbled, propping herself up on an elbow, shooting more dust in the air as she did so. "Why are you up so early?"
"Well..." she whispered, flushing slightly. "Sokka kind of wanted to watch the sunrise with me this morning. I was just passing by to start breakfast when I noticed you were awake."
Liz took a whiff of air through her nose. "The sunrise was really gorgeous."
Suki nodded. "Hungry?"
"Uh, not really," Liz breathed. "But, I'll be up a little later when I am. Is Katara up yet?" The warrior shook her head, then waved and walked off. Liz laid back down on her back, just staring into space once more. She closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep.
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"Get up!" a rough voice hissed in her ear. Liz jumped up, almost hitting her head against Toph's, who was leaning over her. "You're almost worse than me!" she spat.
Liz massaged her tired eyes, preparing them for the light that was going to flood them. "Almost?" Liz asked with a smirk as she stared into Toph's unseeing eyes.
"Yeah," Toph replied, crossing her arms. "I woke up a little early today, so I thought I might wake you up, as well."
"That was thoughtful of you," Liz said with a grin in her froggy voice. She cleared her throat.
"Don't get used to it," Toph called after her as she walked off. "Breakfast is ready."
"Thanks!" Liz shouted, stretching and pushing herself up.
After a quick walk to the fountain to clean up, Liz made her way to the fire pit to enjoy some fish Hakoda'd caught from a nearby stream. Sitting cross-legged on the floor of the temple, Katara handed her a fish, which Liz hungrily took a bite of. "Good morning," Aang said with his usual grin.
"Morning," Liz mumbled back. "Why are you so happy this morning, Aang?" she asked in a polite tone.
"Twinkles is just excited to continue his firebending training with Sparky over here," Toph commented, pointing to Zuko. Liz struggled not let out the giggle fighting to be let out. She failed, of course.
"What's so funny about training?" Zuko asked in his harsh tone, taking a small bite of fish.
"It's...It's nothing..." Liz mumbled under her breath, afraid to look at the prince's scar. The deep crimson mark still frightened her. Avoiding Zuko, Liz turned her attention to Katara. "Speaking of training," she began, "are we going to work on some more waterbending?"
"If you want to," Katara replied, flashing her beautiful smile. Are all the girls here pretty? Liz asked herself, letting out a huff that blew her bangs from in front of her eyes.
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"Okay, this is pretty hard, but I think you should give it a try." Katara prepared Liz for another lesson. "It's called streaming the water, and it's kind of hard. But, considering you've got the water whip down, it should be easier for you." She brought her nimble fingers together gracefully, taking her time. Katara took a deep breath, letting in the cool scent of the water. It tickled her throat. Continuing the demonstration, Katara picked up a strand of clear water from the pool. She twisted her thin wrists and began to pull them in front of her chest. Pulling it in a circular motion, she swirled it around her. Taking another breath, Katara stretched out her arms, pushing the flowing liquid out further.
"I think I've seen Aang do this before..." Liz said to herself, unfortunately smashing the silence surrounding them. A ripple of shock ran up Katara's back and into her arms. The wave made its way into her fingers, and then, the water broke away from her hold, splashing into the fountain and onto her clothes.
Liz bit her full, bottom lip, cringing at her mistake. "Sorry about that, Katara," she whispered after Katara'd released the water from her skirt into the pool.
Letting out a sigh, Katara said, "That's okay. You just shocked me."
"Sorry..." Liz apologized again, staring at the ground in embarrassment.
"Like I said, it's okay, Liz," Katara said, annoyance slightly pressed into her words.
Liz still wouldn't let it go. "You don't hate me, do you?" she asked with her hands clasped behind her back.
Katara just smiled and rolled her sparkling eyes. Liz let out a chuckle, herself. "Well, let me show you that move, again," Katara said with a sigh. She lifted her shoulders and rolled her head in a stretch and brought her fingers out once more. Liz was careful not to speak this time.
Katara took another breath and bent her tan fingers, imitating claws on cats, in Liz's eyes. The water below began to push its way up with effort, creating mounds in the flat surface around the center. Taking another breath, Katara lifted the mounds into the air, and little balls floated up towards her hands, finally joining together a few inches below.
Taking mental notes at every step, Liz suddenly felt an idea pop into her head. Unintentionally, a gasp let itself out of her mouth. Another splash from the fountain soaked the floor and Katara's clothes. Nice job, Liz, she scolded herself.
"What's wrong?" Katara asked, apparently not as upset as Liz had feared.
"Katara, fill the container next to Appa," Liz ordered. "I have an idea."
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"Okay, so you take the fog," Liz began. She and Katara were outside on a balcony near Appa's sleeping area. The blinding sun shone down with immense heat. Liz felt a trickle of sweat run down her clad back. She'd asked Katara to change the density of a canteen of water, thinning it out into fog. Swiping her hands, Liz captured the liquid from Katara's hold. "And then, you hold it over your head." Turning her hands into numb claws, Liz bent her fingers and dragged the mist into the air, pushing it above her messy hair.
Katara marveled as seven stunning colors shot out in different directions from the thin fog. Her slender jaw slowly descended toward her feet as the rainbow sparkled in the sun's rays. Like crystal, the mist had created a picture of colors in the air. A rainbow. "Liz...How did you-"
A sudden bang interrupted Katara mid-sentence. Liz dropped the fog, bringing it back down to a lower level. The girls turned to see two pale blurs, throwing jabs at each other with a flame bursting out every five seconds. Katara playfully glared at the two boys. "Guys!" she called.
The sparks and punches ceased, and Liz could now see Aang and Zuko, pale and sweaty, gasping for breath as Katara'd calmed them down. "Can you do this somewhere else?" Katara asked. Zuko glared back at her, but in his cold, bitter way.
"Sure," Aang said with a bright grin, as always. The two boys walked closer, and Liz shifted her fingers right and left, trying to drag the water back into its pouch. She could hear a rumbling groan coming from Aang. "Geez, I'm starving," he said, holding his stomach. "Katara, do you wanna go eat something? You look hungry, too." Liz finally maneuvered the water into the canteen, pushing it down. Looking up, she saw Katara's shimmering eyes staring at her with warmth.
"I'm going to go eat with Aang, okay?" she said, smiling. "I'll be back in a little while." Liz nodded, smiling back. She watched Katara and Aang walk off, but couldn't look up at the firebender in front of her. Why was he not hungry? He was just skin and bones.
Clearing his throat, Zuko asked, "Are you hungry?" Liz took a deep breath, letting the fresh breeze sweep through her. She looked up unwillingly and stared. Just stared. How could she not? The bulging scar on his right eye was enormous. Liz cringed once more, and Zuko frowned. A deeper one than normally. Liz's eyes quickly fell back to the ground, staring at Zuko's bare feet. The creases around his boney toes made shadows inside of the stretch of sickly pale.
"N-No...I'm sorry..." Her voice trailed off.
Zuko angrily let out a breath of frustration. "It's okay. My sister stares a lot." Liz's squinting eyes shot open.
Being as brave as she could, she looked back up at him. I'll stare at his nose, she thought. Yeah. His nose will do. "Hmpf. Your sister? My sister is twice as bad." Zuko let out a quiet laugh. Liz turned to look out into the sky. She walked towards the edge of the balcony, her hands intertwine behind her back. "My parents can't get over how 'amazing and talented' she is," Liz complained with air quotes. "And she's my little sister, too!" Clenching her hands into fist, she turned back around to Zuko, grinding her teeth at every step she took. "I mean, she's always been the beautiful, majestic one, and I've done nothing more than make good grades in school!" Zuko rolled his eyes, knowing how much worse it was for him. "She can dance, sing, and she still looks great! My parents never even look twice at me!" Getting caught up in her whining, Liz shot out a finger and thrust it in Zuko's face. "You know, that's what gets me the most! She's so pretty! Blonde hair, blue eyes, the works! And here I am, brunette and tan, nothing else! Gosh!"
Taking in a deep breath, Liz finally looked down at the finger she pointed in Zuko's face. She brought her hand back down, immediately, embarrassed. Hot blood swirled around in her cheeks as Liz blushed, frowning to the ground. "Sorry..." she said, taking a few steps back. "I didn't mean to..."
"No, it's okay," Zuko said without a smile. "I've got a little sister, too." He huffed. "My father's favorite, really."
Liz slowly brought her gaze back up. "Well, what about your mother?" she asked, innocently furrowing her brow.
Zuko glared, ignoring the question. "My father never even gave me a chance to..." He stopped. "Well, that's not really all that true..."
Liz raised an eyebrow. "What to you mean?" Walking closer, she could somewhat feel heat radiating for Zuko's body. Realizing his anger, Liz stepped back once more. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."
"No...I'm fine, I just-" He was cut off as Katara raced towards them.
"Liz, Aang needs to talk to you," she said, sort of gasping for breath. "C'mon!" She grabbed Liz's arm and began to pull her away. Knowing Katara, Liz didn't protest. She watched as Zuko just let his head hang from his shoulders.
"Sorry!" Liz called behind her. Zuko didn't answer.
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NOTE: When I was writing about the rainbow (I know it was cheesy, but I thought it was a nice idea), I was about to write "eight colors" instead of seven. Then I realized, Katara's not a vampire.