Avatar: The Warring Earth
Book Two—Air
By Twins of the Pen
Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.
Tiki had been certain that the raging storm the night before would keep her awake—she hated thunderstorms—so she was mightily surprised to wake up curled up on her futon. The plan was to make sure she stayed awake and meditated all night to keep their 'guest' from escaping… but it looked like she wasn't able to keep herself awake. Mentally berating herself, Tiki pushed herself upright, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. It was only when she looked over at the couch that she realized the nonbender was awake. He was sitting up, his hands clasped firmly in his lap with his hazel gaze on his intertwined fingers, the dark locks of his hair falling into his eyes. He looked around when Tiki sat up, regarding her with a look that was half-wary, half-curious. They stared at each other for a moment, as if sizing each other up. Finally, Tiki took it upon herself to break the silence.
"Good morning," she bade, crossing her legs and sitting up straighter. The stranger did not respond; he just looked at Tiki. This did not deter her, however. "How did you sleep? The storm didn't keep you up, did it?"
The boy looked at Tiki as if she was crazy—how strange. No one ever looked at her like that anymore… it was almost nostalgic. He seemed to wrestle with his words for a second before he asked in a low voice, "Are you keeping me prisoner here?"
Tiki blinked. What an odd question. "No," she answered, tilting her head to the side, "what would make you think that?"
Again, the boy said nothing. Tiki did notice, however, that his gaze traveled up to the blue tattoo on her forehead. The tiny airbender casually reached up and ruffled her bangs so that they covered the arrow, and then got to her feet. The nonbender shrank back against the couch as she did so, but still, she did not let that upset her. Tiki surveyed the boy carefully, almost calculating.
"…Despite what you may think, we aren't monsters," she said softly, trusting that she did not need to explain what she meant by 'we'. "We're people, just like you. Some of us are good, and some of us are bad, but the same could be said about nonbenders as well. So I'd appreciate it if you'd stop looking at me as if I'm going to bite your head off."
Color rose to the boy's cheeks, and he ducked his head, appearing a bit sheepish. Tiki allowed him a moment's reflection before she spoke again, "I'm going to go make some tea. Would you like to join me?"
The nonbender glanced up again, straight into Tiki's gray eyes, as if he was wondering if she was truly offering the option. Whatever he found in her gaze must have instilled some sort of confidence in him, for he nodded and stood up. Smiling a little, Tiki led him into the dining room, where she offered him a seat as she went to put the kettle on. While she waited for the water to boil, the tiny airbender joined her unusual guest at the dining table, surveying him.
He was very good-looking, she realized: he had high cheekbones, tanned skin that suggested he saw a lot of sun, and his dark hair fell attractively around his features. His hazel eyes were pretty and, behind the fear and mistrust, gentle. The ratty shirt he wore was fitting, suggesting that he was quite toned underneath it, and his hands bore calluses—he must have been used to hard, manual labor. It was when she finished this mental assessment that Tiki realized he was taking her in as well. His lips pursed, as if he couldn't decide whether he liked what he saw or not.
"What is it?" she asked, calling him out. The boy paused, deliberating.
"…You're kind of pretty," he said finally… and unexpectedly. Tiki flushed, stunned for a moment. She had never been paid such a compliment before, and never had she heard someone declare such a thing so boldly. The only thing that made her respond was the tone the nonbender had when he said this.
"You sound surprised," she noted, just a tad insulted under her embarrassment. The boy lifted a shoulder and said nothing more. Tiki seized this opportunity to learn more about him. "How did you get here, anyway? You washed up on our beach—did your ship wreck in the storm?"
The boy's eyes widened. "How did you know I was a sailor?"
"I didn't," Tiki admitted, smiling a little, "but I suppose it makes sense. You look like a sailor."
He seemed not to know what to make of such an assessment, and kept quiet. To prompt him again, Tiki asked, "Were you maybe delivering a shipment near here when you went overboard? Do you know if any of your comrades would be nearby?" The sailor's eyes narrowed. Belatedly, Tiki realized that she may have been pushing it by asking so many intrusive questions. So she decided to start over and ask a question the sailor could easily answer, even if he did not trust her. "What's your name?"
Again, the stranger chewed on his words before he answered. "…Kei," he replied. As a reward for his answer, Tiki offered him a small smile.
"I'm Tiki," she introduced herself, offering him one of her tiny hands. "It's nice to meet you."
Kei eyed her hand for a moment, as if it would break his fingers if he even thought about shaking it. But when he met Tiki's eyes once more and found no hostility harbored in the gray irises, he reached out as well, hesitantly closing his bigger hand around hers.
"Likewise… I guess."
Upstairs, Syaoran crept out of his room, yawning. Despite the early hour and the large storm, his body had apparently deemed it time to wake up. He blamed Tiki's meditation schedule. His gaze first rested on the door next to his room, wary. Part of him wanted to crack open the door, make sure that ZanYi and Shun had indeed slept separately. The other part of him knew that was a terrible idea, because if he woke up ZanYi on accident, he was going to get scorched.
Disgruntled along with tired, Syaoran trod down the stairs. He heard voices in the dining room, one of them he recognized as Tiki's. Looking over lazily, the Avatar found that there was no one on the couch. That was enough to wake him up a bit.
Moving a bit more quickly, but with more caution, he crossed the first floor into the dining room. Sure enough, Tiki was there, alive and well. And then there was the nonbending stranger. "Morning, Tiki," Syaoran greeted slowly, entering at the same pace. After all, he didn't want to startle the new guy. And, getting a better look at him, it was no surprise he'd been heavy. The guy was just as built as the Avatar, perhaps more.
Tiki looked around, startled to find Syaoran awake already. Perhaps he thought training was still going to take place this morning?
"Ah… morning, Syaoran," she replied, standing up and moving to him. Quietly, she said, "I'm sorry, but you won't have training this morning: it's my responsibility to look after our guest, so until I'm sure I can take my eyes off of him for more than a few seconds, I'm going to have to give him my full attention. Sorry."
The kettle was whistling in the kitchen. Tiki turned from Syaoran, rushing to take the kettle off the stove before it woke up the rest of the house. She returned a moment later with a heavy tea tray. She grunted a bit as she struggled with it, determined to get to the table. Normally, she would have just bended air to get it over to the table, but she was afraid of freaking Kei out. Even so, she had to hurry or she would drop the tray at any moment…
Without warning, the tray was lifted from her grasp. Tiki watched, shocked again, as Kei carried the tea tray over to the table and set it down.
"Thank you," she said as she approached, impressed. That was the kind of move she would expect from Shun. Kei flushed, took his seat, and said nothing. Clearing her throat, Tiki turned to address Syaoran. "Syaoran, this is Kei. Kei, this is Syaoran, a friend of mine."
The tension was thick in the air as Tiki poured Kei a cup of tea. He refused the sugar she offered him, took a sip, and then simply stared into the depths of his teacup, as if the answers of the universe were contained there. Tiki gave him a concerned look before her gaze returned to Syaoran. "Would you like some tea too?"
Syaoran shook his head, but then he took the seat next to Tiki, still looking at the stranger—Kei, as he seemed to be named. Paranoia and worry seemed to be part of him ever since he got out of the concentration camps. It probably had to do largely in part with the fact that he was now the world's last hope for benders and therefore running into danger at every chance.
So when he looked at the nonbender, Syaoran wasn't sure what to think. He looked normal enough, acted normal enough. But his past experiences kind of made it difficult to believe Kei to be normal.
Settling to look away from the young man for a minute, he looked at Tiki. "How'd you do last night during the storm, Tiki?" Syaoran asked. There were no bags under the girl's eyes, or at least, no more than normal. Which would have meant she fell asleep. Which did not comfort Syaoran in the slightest. "Did the storm keep you up down here?"
Tiki turned away from Syaoran's gaze, twirling the spoon in her tea. "Mostly," she admitted, feeling guilty. She shouldn't have fallen asleep—who knew what could have happened if Kei was the kind of person to take advantage of the situation.
…And yet, he didn't seem like it. Tiki had meditated most of the night, trying to get a read on this guy's chi. Nonbender chi was different than bender chi, and therefore harder to read for Tiki—especially since Kei was unconscious at the time—but from what little she could tell, he didn't seem to harbor any ill-will towards her. He was just frightened. Fear sometimes turned into irrational anger, Tiki knew, but she was beginning to think this wasn't the case for Kei—anyone, bender or not, who would help a stranger with a such a simple task as carrying a heavy tea tray could not be a bad person.
"…Thunderstorms are unpleasant," Kei spoke up, earning Tiki's attention. He was still contemplating his cup of tea as he spoke. "It makes me feel like the scary stories about angry spirits I was told as a kid are true."
"Me too," Tiki agreed, appearing awed once again. Kei looked up, skeptical at first that Tiki was agreeing with him. She appeared sincere, however, and slowly, the nonbender found himself wondering at the coincidence along with her. Who knew that they actually had something in common?
Syaoran looked between the two of them, uncertain what was going on. So the nonbender could talk—which was something else that made him normal. But he was agreeing with Tiki on something—whichh was not a normal thing to do. Well, Syaoran supposed, it was more likely currently, with how she'd been acting. But it still felt weird to the Avatar.
"Angry spirits?" he repeated aloud, looking between the two of them. Tiki, a bit back during meditations one morning, had mentioned something about a spirit world, that as Avatar, he should be able to access it, just like the Avatar State. Syaoran sat up straighter and stared at Tiki. "You didn't tell me there were angry spirits," he said, almost accusingly with widened eyes. Did Tiki want him to go to a world full of angry spirits? Truly, Syaoran was beginning to think that his teachers wanted him dead, not saving the world.
Tiki gave Syaoran a funny look. "Of course there are angry spirits," she chided him, as if he should have known this. "Didn't you ever hear the stories of Hei Bai, the Black and White Spirit who became angry when the forest he protected was destroyed by the Senlin Villagers?"
"Don't forget Koh, the Face-Stealing Spirit," Kei contributed.
"I wouldn't say he's angry, though," Tiki corrected him, turning away from Syaoran again to engage Kei in conversation, "I think he just likes to steal people's faces."
"My mother used to tell me that if I didn't behave, that the Face-Stealing spirit would come into my room during the night and steal my face," Kei said solemnly. Tiki bit her lip to keep from laughing, but the corners of her mouth tilted up in amusement.
"And did that work?" she could not help but ask.
Kei leveled her a serious stare. "I was afraid to even breathe the wrong way around my mother," he admitted. Tiki could not help herself; she laughed at this.
"I guess that's one way to encourage good behavior," she admitted with a small grin. "Though you don't have anything to worry about, really. I'm pretty sure Koh doesn't leave the spirit world."
Kei frowned. "Yes, I know that now," he responded, "I just wish I hadn't lived the first part of my life in fear. That legend had me scared until I was thirteen."
"Oh dear," Tiki giggled, pressing a hand over her face even as she did so; she did not want to be rude, but it was still really funny. "And how old are you now?" she could not help but ask, curious.
"Nineteen," Kei answered after another sip of his tea.
"Me too! Well," Tiki qualified, "I'm twenty now, I guess. My birthday was a couple weeks ago."
Kei simply nodded, deciding that he did want sugar after all. His simple acceptance of her age had Tiki wondering again. "You believe that I'm twenty?" she had to ask. Kei looked up, appearing confused at this question.
"Were you lying?" he asked, his hazel gaze beginning to narrow.
"No," Tiki rushed to assure him, "it's just… no one believed me when I said I was nineteen, so to have you believe that I'm twenty… Don't I look younger to you? Like a little kid?"
Kei stared at Tiki, as if he were really seeing her for the first time. This made the tiny airbender unnaturally still, as if she were trying to live up to some sort of expectation. Would she have been better off not saying anything at all? Was the nonbender going to start treating her like a child as well?
"…No," Kei finally decided, much to Tiki's disbelief. There was something else in his voice when he added, "You don't look like a little kid to me at all."
Tiki was not expecting her reaction even more than she had not expected the answer: her face went completely red, and felt as if it were on fire. She hastily dropped her gaze to her half-empty teacup, confused and pleased all at the same time. To think that there was someone out there that actually believed that she was the age she said she was… the tiny airbender was at a loss for how to respond.
Syaoran peered quite curiously at Kei, as if the stranger had grown two heads. Just to double-check himself, the Avatar looked over at Tiki. Yep, it was Tiki. And she was… blushing? It made him then look to the stranger in their midst again. "There's gotta be something wrong with his eyesight," he grumbled to himself, shaking his head. There was no way Kei could possibly be looking at her right. And Tiki was embarrassed by it, even! All of this was painting a very strange picture, and considering the new guy didn't have his trust yet, Syaoran didn't like it. "This is just weird…"
"What's weird?"
The Avatar whirled behind him, finding ZanYi leaning in the doorway, a brow quirked. Despite it being a casual pose for the lieutenant, Syaoran could see her eyes were sharp, observing the room quite carefully, despite bags under her eyes.
"Um, our new guest Kei doesn't think Tiki looks like a kid," Syaoran answered the woman, explaining his mutterings.
This made her give the new guy a similar look of confusion, though more jaded. "Really now?" she mused, taking the nonbender in carefully. Syaoran knew that look in her eye, and while ZanYi was only looking at Kei, Syaoran did not envy him at all. That stare was highly untrusting, wary. Definitely not a look that Syaoran wanted from her.
Tiki watched as Kei shrank away from the stares, his shoulders hunching defensively. Something about his posture made her want to protect him, even though she wasn't entirely sure if he should have her trust yet. "ZanYi, please be nice," Tiki asked, standing to face the lieutenant. "Kei is a guest in my aunt's house, just like you, Syaoran, and… wait, where's—?"
Thunk!
"Good morning, Shun," Tiki finished lightly, trying not to laugh as the giant waterbender came into view, grumbling as he rubbed his forehead. Shun eyed her as if she had just insulted him with her greeting.
"Tiki, please tell me your aunt has coffee," he pleaded, resting an arm across the top of the empty chair next to Syaoran. Tiki cringed.
"I don't think so… we have tea, if you want it," she offered instead, gesturing to the tea pot next to her.
"Good enough," Shun agreed with a nod. Tiki poured a fresh cup of tea and passed it down to Shun, who downed the whole thing in one gulp. He blinked a little bit, allowing the caffeine to work its way into his system. It was then that he realized that the stranger from last night was seated at the table. "Oh… good morning," the giant waterbender greeted uncertainly, eyeing the nonbender, who was staring at him with a look Shun had gotten quite used to over the years. Other than his greeting, the giant waterbender ignored Kei's presence, choosing instead to focus on the Avatar. "Syaoran, if you're not busy right now, there's something I want to talk to you about," he blurted out before he could chicken out. He had decided to do this today, so he would do it and get it over with. It could make the rest of their stay at Southern Air Island a little awkward and really unpleasant, but there was no fighting it any more. Syaoran had to know.
The intense gaze the giant waterbender was giving the Avatar made Tiki begin to worry: she remembered all-too-clearly that Shun had promised to let Syaoran know, should things with him and ZanYi get serious. Had it been a mistake to let them stay in the same room last night after all? Though Tiki was very curious about what it was Shun was going to discuss with Syaoran, she knew that she could not accompany them: her responsibilities lay with the intimidated nonbender sitting across from her.
"You're fine," she told him quietly, wanting to reassure him. Kei did not appear convinced, but Tiki thought she saw a lessening of tension in the sailor's shoulders when he made eye contact with her.
Syaoran looked at Shun, reflecting the look he was being given. The Avatar couldn't imagine what the waterbender had to discuss with him, but he was sure that he wasn't going to like it, from the way Shun was looking at him. "Sure…" he answered slowly, rising up from the table. But then he looked at Tiki and her new companion again, gaze shifting back and forth. He wasn't quite sure whether he wanted to leave their airbender with the stranger, considering the strange way Tiki was acting.
But ZanYi fixed that, stepping into the room to lean back against the wall behind Tiki, arms crossed. "Go ahead, Syaoran," she encouraged him, her eyes never leaving Kei. "We'll be fine." For a brief second, the lieutenant glanced at Tiki. "For the record, I am being nice."
Syaoran scoffed, knowing the woman was being as cordial as the situation requested—which by her standards, was only so much. But trusting the situation in ZanYi's fiery hands, he looked to Shun again, sobered. "Okay, let's go talk."
With a solemn nod, Shun led the way out of YinLi's house, down to the beach. He did not want to be overheard, nor did he want anything broken in the house… should things come to that.
The sky was impossibly clear, even after the humongous storm the night before. Daylight was just breaking, making the waves of the ocean sparkle. It was a beautiful sight… and it sucked that Shun could not fully enjoy it. With a sigh that came from the core of his being, the giant waterbender turned to face Syaoran.
"…So," he began, resisting the urge to cross his arms; that looked hostile in his mind. "I realize that you haven't been too happy with me the past couple of weeks. And I understand why: you're busy every day and you don't get to see ZanYi as much as I do. If I were in your shoes, I'd be jealous too… in fact…I am in your shoes."
Syaoran then puckered his brows, really not liking where this was leading. His weight began to shift from foot to foot in the sand. "Hey, man, what are you talking about…?" the Avatar asked slowly, still deciding whether he wanted to hear the answer.
Shun took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a brief second before he forced himself to look Syaoran in the eye.
"I'm in love with ZanYi," he admitted, his face coloring slightly as he said it; it was the first time he had admitted such feelings out loud. It was almost a relief to speak the words… but they were to the wrong person, and a feeling of guilt followed them. Shun shook his head before he continued. "I realize this is a serious breach of your trust, but believe me when I say I never meant for it to happen. And also, I don't plan to pursue it. I respect the fact that you discovered your feelings for ZanYi first, so I won't interfere. I just thought you should know."
Shun braced himself, keeping his gaze locked with Syaoran's. There was a number of ways the Avatar could react to this news, and Shun was trying to prepare for every one of them. Though the giant waterbender had no plans to defend himself if Syaoran wanted to hit him—he had every right to, in Shun's eyes—he was not going to let the Avatar go overboard and break something. A bruise could be explained away as him tripping—a broken jaw or rib, not so much.
Syaoran had known he wasn't going to like this conversation. He could tell before they had even set foot outside. But this was even worse than what he had anticipated. The Avatar was stark frozen now, unable to even move, even breathe for a moment. It was like the nightmares he had at night were coming to life, one of the things he had dreaded most a reality.
"What?" he sputtered, quiet, "You… love…?" Syaoran didn't want to finish that sentence.
It was one thing to think that Shun had been attracted to ZanYi, just a crush. But this was much more serious. It didn't just confirm Syaoran's suspicions; it amplified them in the most horrible way. To have Shun make this a triangle was already bad. To have Shun say point blank that he loves ZanYi…
Syaoran couldn't compete with that. And that upset him.
"How long?" he asked through grit teeth, green eyes jaded with anger, tight. Syaoran's fists clenched and unclenched, as if his fears and outrage were closing to bubbling up to the surface. "How long have you been stabbing me in the back?!"
The Avatar's words came it as a roar, and there was a tremor to the earth beneath them, giving the island a short jolt. It was an accident, but he didn't care. Syaoran could only look at the man in front of him, anger and betrayal in his gaze. Shun's eyes widened in alarm. He had expected Syaoran to be upset, definitely, but not so upset as to make the island jerk. This wasn't good. If Syaoran went into the Avatar state over this…
"I didn't realize I was in love with her until we rescued her from Whale Tail Island," he answered quickly, throwing his hands up in his defense. A moment later, however, he lowed them as well as his gaze, looking guilty. "…But I've been attracted to her ever since we left Roku's Island," he admitted. There was no avoiding it, since it was the truth. Still, Shun felt he had to reason with the angry man in front of him. He didn't deserve mercy, but he did not want Syaoran destroying Tiki's home in his rage. "I truly never meant for this to happen, Syaoran. And, for whatever it's worth, I'm sorry. I promise you that I'm not trying to steal ZanYi or anything like that. I told you because I didn't want to hide it from you anymore. Your friendship is more important to me."
Somewhere in the back of his mind, the giant waterbender suspected that his words were useless. But still, he had to try. It was never his intention to hurt Syaoran, but sometimes, the truth did hurt. That was just the way life was sometimes.
Syaoran scoffed, more bitter than he'd felt in a long time. "Friendship? What friendship?!" he yelled, starting to feel the fire at his fingertips, the sand shifting beneath him. "Friends don't do this, Shun!" There was another slight tremor, in the earth and in his voice. "Knowing you were attracted to her, knowing what I think of her, you never left her side! If you didn't mean for this to happen, you would have backed off!" Syaoran could hardly believe this was happening. Suddenly his suspicions were founded. And what could he do? For ZanYi, if it was between him and Shun…
"Why?" he yelled, almost desperate. Syaoran had wanted to trust Shun, had wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Despite the furtive looks, the behavior between the lieutenant and the waterbender, Syaoran had still hoped it was all just his paranoia. And it wasn't. And he knew that if anyone had a chance to getting through to ZanYi, it was Shun, a man he'd called a friend. Syaoran didn't stand a chance, then and especially now. His voice almost breaking a little, knowing he was beat, he cried out, "Why did it have to be you?!"
Before he realized what he was doing, the fire, white and hot was exploding from his hands. It screamed forward, blasting towards Shun. Out of the corner of his spiteful gaze, Syaoran saw movement. And then he recognized the flash of black hair.
ZanYi inserted herself between the two men, her arms in a defensive cross as the flames struck her. With grit teeth, she took the hit, trying to dispel it. But even for her, it was overwhelming. The fire licked at her arms, her stomach, her cheek. The force pushed her back against Shun, throwing the two back into the sand.
"ZanYi!" Syaoran bellowed, forcing him to break from his ire and run towards the lieutenant as the fire dissipated. "Are you okay?" As he reached the two, ZanYi was moving slowly to her feet, looking at Syaoran with an angry gold. He reached out to touch her, but she beat him to the punch. The woman made quick jabs to different parts of his body. Syaoran could feel them going limp as she did so.
"What the—?" he interjected, stumbling back.
"You're blocked, Syaoran," she said lowly, staring at the Avatar as if he were a stranger. Her ragged gaze went from Shun to Syaoran, breathing heavy, as if she had been running as fast as she could. "I don't know what kind of talk this was, but nothing merits attacking Shun."
"ZanYi—!"
"No, Syaoran!" she barked, and Syaoran knew the look in her eyes. It was what made her a steely lieutenant, ready for battle, commanding orders that would not be broken. "Whatever issues you two have, I don't care. But Avatar or not, you will not be using what I taught you to lash out in anger. The four of us are still stuck together as a team, and we're going to make this work. Are we clear?"
He looked from her to Shun, clearly betrayed. His gaze went to her severe burns then, knowing that's what he'd done to her—what he almost did to Shun. "Great…" he grumbled, guilty and jilted. Syaoran's green eyes looked at Shun, and there was dismay in that look, as well as anger as hot as his flames had been. "So now I'm the bad guy..."
"You're the one trying to burn your teammate into a piece of charcoal, Syaoran," ZanYi cut him off, bringing his eyes back to her. "Go. Cool off. We'll talk about this later. Make sure Tiki and the new guy are okay in the house. They thought there was an earthquake."
Syaoran didn't move, clearly nowhere near willing to leave the two of them there now. But in that moment, just as he had felt a moment ago, the Avatar could see that nothing was going to get through to ZanYi in that moment.
"Go," ZanYi told him again, warning in her tone. With one last look at Shun, Syaoran marched back up to the house, cursing under his breath the whole way up. When she was certain that the Avatar had done as she'd ordered, ZanYi then looked back to Shun. "You okay there, Big Guy?"
Shun was not okay. He was breathing hard, his eyes wide and staring after the Avatar, even long after he disappeared. He had not expected it to be this bad. And the looks Syaoran shot him were downright terrifying. Shun had never known anyone he was close with to glare at him like that… it was so unsettling.
And of course, in her typical ZanYi fashion, the lieutenant had jumped in the way of Syaoran's angry blast, the one that was meant for Shun. Even more guilt pervaded the giant waterbender's senses as he finally glanced down at ZanYi and saw how bad her burns were. Without a word, Shun stood up and pulled ZanYi to her feet as well, leading her into the ocean with him. He had to submerge those burns and heal them as soon as possible. Once the water was waist-height on ZanYi, Shun stopped walking. A hand went to her cheek to heal the burn there while he allowed the scorch marks on her arms and stomach to cool off; he met her eyes with a miserable look, watching as she winced.
"You shouldn't have jumped in the way… " he said quietly. The gesture was appreciated, sure, but hadn't he told ZanYi time and time again that he couldn't stand it when she put herself in harm's way for him? And yet she continued to do it, over and over again. Why? Shun was perfectly capable of healing himself—usually—so why did ZanYi insist on getting hurt needlessly? Her urge to protect him baffled the giant waterbender.
ZanYi tried not to grimace, but the salt water stung the fresh burns, blistering and giving it a fire all its own. Considering the cool feel of the water, it was a bittersweet remedy to the injuries as he worked to rid them from her. She focused her eyes on Shun, on the sadness pooled there. The lieutenant knew Shun would not be happy about this; he'd only told her so several times. But that thought was secondary when she'd reached the beach and saw Syaoran losing it.
"What, and let you get burnt to a crisp? I don't think so," she told him point blank, deadpanning. But then she glanced down to some of her wounds, frowning. "His fire isn't normally like that. I should have been able to deflect it without a problem…"
Surely, ZanYi knew, that the Avatar's power would increase with his training. But it had been a while since they had last trained together. And never had his fire been like that—so merciless.
The lieutenant looked back up to Shun, still frowning. "Don't look at me like that, Shun," she told him, not appreciating the regret in his eyes. "It's easier for you to heal me than you to try and heal yourself. Unless, that is, you wanted another scar like the one on your back?"
"I don't care about getting scarred," Shun asserted, struggling to focus on his work. ZanYi's cheek was now very, very red, looking as if she had been slapped. The burn had faded, however, leaving Shun hopeful that it would not leave a scar. Shun's eyes tightened as he met ZanYi's gaze once gain. "What I do care about is you—your safety."
Whoops. That was almost a dangerous slip. Shun had to consciously make an effort now to keep things neutral between him and ZanYi. Syaoran's reaction to his confession only cemented the fact that ZanYi was not meant to be his. It was enough of a betrayal of the Avatar's trust that he was already in love with ZanYi—any more than that, and he would never be able to look the Avatar in the eye again.
Shun moved down to ZanYi's stomach, which, unfortunately, brought him perilously close to her face. He kept his eyes on his work, however, determined not to give Syaoran another reason to hate him. Syaoran had tried very hard to hurt Shun in his anger, from the looks of ZanYi's burns. "I'm sorry you got hurt because of me," Shun apologized humbly. He did not expect Syaoran to take it so hard. The Avatar really felt strongly for ZanYi, perhaps as strongly as Shun felt, although he had not said so. But there was one thing Syaoran had bellowed that still had Shun confused.
"Why did it have to be you?!"
What did that mean? Was Syaoran upset because Shun was supposed to be his friend and had betrayed him? Or… was it possible that Syaoran was actually threatened by Shun's feelings for ZanYi?
The giant waterbender shook his head. That was ridiculous: he and ZanYi got along well, sure, but they spent half their time fighting because of their clashing views and personalities. Sure, last night had been… something… but Shun was certain that ZanYi only viewed him as a friend. Other than her teasing kisses—which he was certain she did just to see his reactions—she had never given any indication that she saw him as more than that. Even her statement the night before could be taken to mean that Shun was a great friend to her. The giant waterbender was not about to misconstrue her actions for anything more than friendship—he did not want to hurt Syaoran any more than he already had… and he did not want to get his own hopes up.
ZanYi let out an irritated groan. "It's not your fault, Shun," she tried to tell him, as if part of her already knew he wouldn't believe her. "If anything, Syaoran should be apologizing. Whether it's me or you that got burnt, it's on him."
There was nothing short of murder that constituted such actions within a team. Sure, there had been fights and such within her AKs, but they were resolved quickly. A team couldn't function otherwise, and they depended on each other more than any of them could hate each other. "He knows playing with fire is dangerous, and there is absolutely no reason that justifies his actions, no matter what you did or he thinks you did. Even as many times as you set me off, I wouldn't hurt you."
The lieutenant looked at Shun and, seeing as how he was avoiding her eyes, ZanYi reached up and gripped his stubbled chin, forcing him to look at her. "My burns are not your fault." She said it slowly and enunciated, making the sentence quite clear.
But they were his fault. That's what he believed, in any case: he had made Syaoran angry, the fire blast was meant for him. If he had known ZanYi was around, he would have been able to predict her jumping in the way and compensated for it. But he had been too frozen in fear to pay attention to his surroundings, resulting in the following actions: ZanYi jumps in harm's way for him, ends up getting hurt. Rinse and repeat.
Shun sighed quietly, reaching up and taking ZanYi's hand away from his face. He didn't want her touching him right now; he wouldn't be touching her, if he could avoid it. But right now, she needed his healing skills, so he was going to have to suck it up.
"Whatever you say, ZanYi," he replied robotically, gripping her wrist to heal her arm with his other hand. He did not want to argue with her on top of that giant fight he just had with Syaoran. It would probably be best for him if he avoided hanging around YinLi's house today.
The robotic disconnect was jarring to the lieutenant and she just stared at him for a moment. Certainly, they had times they didn't want to fight. But those admissions were then aggrieved. This wasn't. This was detached. And ZanYi did not like that.
She pulled her arm away from him, stepping back away from him. "Shun, stop," she told him, staring at him in irritation. "This is not your fault. Syaoran is accountable for his actions, and I am for mine. You did not shoot fire. You did not put me between the two of you."
Her brow furrowed, as if trying to make him see that truth. "You're not healing the rest of me until you get that. This was not your fault."
Shun huffed. Of course she was being difficult about this, even when he agreed with her. Shun wondered how she would react if she knew they had been fighting about her. But he wasn't about to bring that fact to light: that was just asking for Syaoran to kill him.
"Of course it's my fault," he disagreed, frowning at the lieutenant. "I'm the one who made him angry. If I had just kept my mouth shut…"
But no, that was not the answer either: if Shun had hid his feelings any longer than he already had, he was certain there would be no chance that Syaoran would forgive him… though chances of that looked bleak even now. He had just wanted to be honest with the Avatar. Shun sighed, covering his eyes with a large hand. "…Why did it have to be me?" he repeated to himself, echoing Syaoran. If only he had just stayed away from ZanYi when he realized it was getting to the point where he craved her attention, wanted to take up all of her time, wanted her to only look at him…
This was bad. This was very bad. And, despite what ZanYi may think, it was all his fault. He should have known better the moment he realized he was attracted to her, that night in her room on Roku's Island.
ZanYi could only frown at Shun, not even knowing where to begin with this. He wasn't making sense, and the lieutenant could not even fathom why he was taking this so personally. It was worse than his usual guilt trips, and that was disturbing.
"Shun…" she said, wading back over to the waterbender. ZanYi stood very close to him, almost no space between the two of them at all. She crossed her burnt arms—and winced. But the woman was not going to let that halt her. "Shun," ZanYi started again, peering up at the healer with curiosity, confusion, and irritation, "what happened?" If things could work themselves out, generally the lieutenant was content to leave them be. But she had never seen Syaoran behave like that before, or Shun take so much guilt on himself.
ZanYi tilted her head, a couple strays falling across her face. "What does Syaoran think you did?" she asked further. "Because the Shun I know can be a royal pain… But always has his heart in the right place and has the best of intentions."
And deeper went the knife. Shun groaned. He realized ZanYi was trying to help him out, but really, she was making it worse. This was one instance in which Shun's heart was in the absolute last place it was supposed to be in, and simple apologies were not going to cut it. Shun lowered his hand, gazing at ZanYi. She remained blissfully ignorant to all of this, and that was the way she was going to stay, as far as Shun was concerned. She did not need to be brought in on this drama, because it would only irritate her to know that the men of Team Avatar were bickering about her.
"Forget it," He said, dropping his hand and looking away, out towards the ocean. "If you're not going to let me finish healing you right now, could you leave me alone? I need some time to think."
This is where his repentance started: by pushing ZanYi away. It would hurt him, but hopefully ZanYi would take it in stride—the way she did with most everything—and back off. He could not afford to get any closer to her than he already had. Not only would it break his heart, but it would shatter Syaoran's as well.
ZanYi's eyebrows shot up, almost as if she had just been personally insulted by his words—which, in a way, she was. The two of them fought a lot, got entirely fed up with each other some times. But it had never come to this. Never did he just flat out push her away like this. And considering how close things were the previous night, this was like a slap to the face.
"Fine," she told him bitterly, starting to back away, shaking her head as she glared at the back of his head, "Think away, Big Guy." Normally that was as close to something endearing as ZanYi could make a name. But this was full of sarcasm, sardonic even.
ZanYi waded out of the water, storming up onto the beach. But she was not going back up to the house. Syaoran needed to cool off. Shun wanted to be alone. And now the lieutenant was just irked. It was time to go work off some steam herself.
Shun turned to watch her go, a surprised look on his features. Had he really offended her with his brush-off? All he had asked was to be alone. Why was ZanYi angry?
Slowly, Shun began to realize that maybe he had made a mistake: sending ZanYi away like that after she had struggled to open herself up to him the night before was bound to offend her. He slapped his forehead and groaned.
"Great… now two people are mad at me," he grumbled before taking a deep breath and submerging himself into the ocean. So many emotions were clashing and conflicting within him: he needed ZanYi to leave him alone, but he wanted her to stay by his side. He wanted Syaoran to be able to trust him, but he needed to tell Syaoran how he truly felt about ZanYi. What he wanted and what he needed were beginning to grow into monstrous forces in his life, threatening to tear him right in half. He was going to have to decide—and soon—which was most important to him—what he wanted, or what he needed?—if he was going to achieve any kind of inner peace.
Tiki paced anxiously on the porch, waiting for someone to come back and tell her what was happening. As soon as she felt the island jolt, her senses peaked: something really bad was happening. The feeling still lingered as she waited for someone—anyone-to come back and report. ZanYi had flown out of the house in a hurry, presumably to see what was going on. But the island shifting like that was not common; earthquakes didn't often happen here. Tiki was certain that, whatever was going on, Syaoran had a lot to do with it…
As soon as he appeared in her line of vision, Tiki took off towards him. The look on his face brought her up short, just before she reached him, and she peered at him worriedly.
"…What happened?" she ventured to ask, although, if she knew Shun, Tiki had a pretty good idea of what had already taken place: the giant waterbender had finally told Syaoran how he felt about ZanYi, and Syaoran had taken it badly. Very badly.
Syaoran only stopped because Tiki was in the way. He wanted to keep going, barrel away. But that worried look in her eye also stayed him. It was like she had an idea of what happened. And it made him consider something. "Did you know?" he asked her quietly, the anger bubbling beneath, quashed by the lieutenant's scolding. "Did you know that Shun is in love with her, Tiki?" Syaoran reiterated, more clear this time. His eyes went to Tiki, trained on her, the pain all too clear on his face. "Did you lie to me too?"
Tiki's face blanched. So Shun had told him… though not the way the tiny airbender expected.
"…He's in love with her?" she questioned, her eyes wide. It had been more serious than she had thought… how long had this been going on? Tiki had been so detached lately that she hadn't realized things had gotten this bad. Now she felt kind of guilty for being so wrapped up in her own emotions. She shook her head, almost wondering. "I did know that he had feelings for her, but love…?"
Realizing that she had just incriminated herself, Tiki looked up to meet Syaoran's eyes, her expression both pleading and defiant. "I never lied to you, Syaoran," she insisted, stepping closer to the Avatar, even though looking at his betrayed expression hurt her. "When you asked me if there was anything going on between Shun and ZanYi, I said no because it was true: there was nothing going on between them because Shun was trying to keep his distance and ZanYi wasn't interested."
Tiki wasn't sure what the situation was now—it had been ages since she'd had a personal moment with Shun, but as far as she could tell, their relationship was pretty much the same. But maybe that was no longer the case…
"Please understand, Syaoran: it wasn't my place to tell you that Shun had feelings for ZanYi. I urged him to tell you himself, and he promised he would if things became serious and…" Tiki paused, looking uncertain, "…I guess they're serious now." What that meant she did not know. But Tiki knew she certainly did not want Syaoran shutting her out as well. It would not be fair to condemn her for not taking sides in this issue.
Syaoran stared at Tiki. Only stared. He didn't know what to make of that. He didn't know what to make of any of this. "So you didn't lie to me… you just didn't tell me everything you knew." It was a statement, not a question.
Part of Syaoran wanted to just be thankful that Tiki hadn't lied to him, that she seemed to be just as in the dark about Shun's developing feelings as he had been. Which was sad, that things had come to the point where that was a consolation prize made him even more bitter.
"Well, I guess things are serious now," Syaoran said, acrid. He was clenching his fists tight, and no matter how much his temper was beginning to boil again, the heat never came to his grasp. ZanYi really had blocked him. Because of Shun. "It's only a matter of time now…"
Those words came out with as much regret as aggravation. That was the root of it all. Yes, he was really mad at Shun for keeping this from him. Yes, he felt betrayed, lied to. But more than anything, it came down to what the Avatar knew all along: if Shun got involved, Syaoran had no chance at all, especially since he'd hardly acted on his own feelings.
Tiki watched Syaoran sink into despair, her own heart aching in response. This was absolutely terrible: there was no way Syaoran was going to be able to focus on his airbending training now. He would be constantly wondering what Shun and ZanYi were up to, wondering if Shun was sneaking around behind his back with the girl he liked…
"…I don't think anything else is going to happen," Tiki disagreed with a shake of her head, "Shun told me, when he first realized his feelings for ZanYi, that he wasn't going to do anything about it. He said he wouldn't betray you, and I know he meant it."
Tiki stepped closer and laid a careful hand on Syaoran's arm, ready to jump back if any sign of flames popped up; she was actually kind of surprised Syaoran wasn't setting fire to everything in sight already.
"Shun is your friend, Syaoran," Tiki felt she had to remind the Avatar, "I know it may not seem like it now, but he does care about you. I think that's why he told you how he felt: he didn't want to keep secrets from you anymore. You and I both know that Shun is prone to put everyone else's needs above his own. He was always thinking of your happiness first."
Would he hear her? Tiki certainly hoped so; Team Avatar had already gone through so much, and having this as the straw that broke the camel's back would be terrible. Tiki could understand that Syaoran would need some time to calm down, but the world still needed him now more than ever. He could not afford to lose focus.
Syaoran looked at Tiki, cynical. "He shouldn't have kept it a secret to begin with," he growled, angry all over again. "Instead, Shun waited until it was already too late. It's not just up to him anymore."
The Avatar pulled away from Tiki, pacing a ways away. His hand ruffled through his hair in frustration, in worry. There was a whole spectrum of emotions that he was going through so early in the morning, and not one of them was positive.
"It's already too late. ZanYi defended him, stayed with him." Syaoran looked at Tiki, almost pained. "I don't have a chance, Tiki. He loves her."
Tiki frowned. It wasn't like Syaoran to give up so easily. Where was the fighting spirit he almost always possessed when it came to overcoming obstacles? And then Tiki remembered that it was usually ZanYi who instilled such confidence in him… without her, Syaoran went right back to being his cynical, self-deprecating self.
"Why is it already too late? Are you already giving up?" Tiki asked him. "Are you forgetting that ZanYi has as much a say in this as Shun does? ZanYi defended him: so what? They're friends, of course she was going to defend him from whatever it was you were saying or doing—especially since she probably has no idea what's going on. All she saw was you attacking Shun, and she jumped to his defense. That's just the way she is. You can't assume that just because Shun is in love with her that it means she's going to feel the same way. For all you know, she just views him as a friend. Why are you acting as if this is the end of the world?"
That was a little harsh, Tiki realized, as soon as the words left her mouth. It wasn't like she couldn't understand how Syaoran felt: learning that one of the people he trusted most was in love with the girl he liked was bound to make him feel betrayed in more ways than one. Tiki simply just could not relate, not when there were bigger problems happening in the world, in her world. And to her, it sounded like Syaoran was whining a little. Why didn't he stand up and fight instead of pitching a fit in the sand?
The screen door slammed behind her, making Tiki whip around. Kei had just emerged from the house, his gaze uncertain as he took in Tiki and Syaoran. "…I heard shouting," he explained, once he registered Tiki's questioning look. His eyes zeroed in on her, taking her in, as if he expected to find some sort of injury on her person. His eyes spoke what his lips did not: "Is everything all right?" Tiki let out a sigh, shooting Syaoran a look before turning to face Kei.
"It's nothing to worry about," she assured him, trying to brush the ordeal off. In a lighter tone, she asked, "Hey, are you interested in seeing the island? I can show you around, if you'd like."
Kei took a moment to consider this, his gaze still switching to Syaoran every five seconds. Finally, he shrugged. "I guess," he consented. Nodding in approval, Tiki led the way past Syaoran, whom she gave a serious eye.
"Syaoran, I want you to practice your meditation on your own. It seems like you'll need it today," she tasked him, raising her eyebrows meaningfully before setting off with Kei. Obviously the Avatar needed time to himself, so Tiki would give him that time. With any luck, he would be sufficiently cooled down by lunchtime.
Syaoran watched as Tiki stalked off, her new shadow in tow. He didn't like leaving the nonbender with her alone, but Syaoran was sobered enough to know he would do more harm than good if he went along.
He grumbled to himself, setting off the pavilion to do as Tiki asked. Necessary or not, the Avatar seriously doubt it was going to be of any help. Relaxed is the last thing he was, and that wasn't about to change.
A/N from Eva: Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! DJ and I are aware that we've missed a week again, and we sincerely apologize! I've been busy ever since I returned to my university, and DJ was finishing up at her internship. Needless to say, we've had limited free time. So, hopefully this chapter makes up for it, since things seemed to have hit the fan now. o.o DJ and I aren't the only one having hectic times, hahaha.
writingbrick: Aww, thank you! This chapter is loaded with a bit of drama, so hopefully that'll tide you over until we jump back to the plot in a couple chapters, ha ha. Thanks for your support!
jv2en3: Thanks for the favorite for Fire as well as favoriting me and DJ! We hope you found your way to Air as well so you can continue to enjoy our series! :)
amori: [Sorry, won't let me write your full name without making it disappear! D:] Thank you so much for favoriting Fire! If you see this, it means you've found Air as well, so we hope you're still enjoying the series!
The-new-avatar: Hello again! :D DJ and I are glad you're enjoying the suspense! Don't worry, all will be revealed soon enough!
Thanks so much for all the love and support thus far! We can't promise anything right now, but hopefully things will stop being so hectic and DJ and I can get back on the ball! Hope to see you all next week!