Chapter Seven
The Warriors of Kyoshi II
When Lian woke up the next morning- or what she believed to be morning- she laid there in her bed for a while, thinking over last night's conversation between herself, and Sokka, the water tribe boy who had yet to trust her.
He had spoken to her civilly, answered her questions, and had even tried to comfort her.
It was… bizarre. And a little bit unnerving.
Lian sighed, rubbed her tired eyes, and then threw the blanket off of herself before sitting up, and taking a look around the room.
To her surprise, it was empty, save for the bags and supplies that Katara had probably gathered, Sokka's things, and the beds.
Lian reached up and smoothed her hair as she cast the room a confused glance, and then stood, and then reached for her clothes sitting on the edge of the fire place. Her fire nation clothes were still there, but just as her fingers wrapped around the fabric, the door to the room opened, causing sunlight to stream in, and nearly blind the Princess.
"Oh, your awake!"
It was Katara with an armload of food and what appeared to be more clothes standing in the doorway with a knowing smile on her face. Lian just squinted at the water tribe girl, and nodded.
"Was I asleep for a while?" Lian asked as she shielded her eyes from the light. Katara noticed, and moved inside and shut the door behind her, leaving Lian to sigh in relief as she lowered her hand, and watched Katara move towards her. Katara just chuckled and nodded.
"It's late afternoon." She laughed slightly. Lian's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. She had never woken up so late in her life!
"Aang and I thought that you never woke up from your fight yesterday until Sokka told us you woke up last night." Katara said as she set the basket of food on the floor, and then took a few steps towards Lian's bed, and laid out a set of clothes. Lian looked at them with curious eyes, and played off Katara's statement by not looking at the girl.
"He said you woke up, asked a few questions, and then went back to sleep without another word. But he did mention that you said you didn't like your clothes without a hood." Katara spoke as she motioned towards Lian's clothes that she was currently wearing, causing Lian to look down at them, and then back up at Katara, who was already fussing over the new outfit.
"I bought you some clothes of your own, and sewed on a hood for you. Those clothes need to go back to Suki today." Katara said as she held up Lian's new outfit, and to Lian's delight, a hood flopped over the t neckline, just like her fire nation clothes did. "I tried to make it like your old clothes. I thought it was a pretty good idea to make sure it was something you were familiar with."
Lian stood, and took the clothes gently from Katara's hands with a smile on her face.
"Thank you Katara." Lian smiled as she held up the new, light blue clothes that leaned closer to white, and quickly shed the horrid green clothes that she had been placed in, and pulled the shirt over her head. As soon as she had it on, she pulled up the hood, and just as her old hood did, she could pull up the excess fabric, and cover the bottom half of her face. Lian was impressed that Katara could recreated the hoods that her family's royal seamstresses had been making for over fifteen years.
"Like it?" Katara asked with a smile on her face as she took the green earth kingdom clothes in her hands.
Lian looked up at Katara with a smile, and pulled down her hood, causing her blonde hair to tumble out of it in waves down to her shoulder blades.
"I love it." Lian replied as she moved to put on the black pants that came with it, and then her black fire nation shoes as Katara moved to leave. Lian looked up at the sound of the door opening, and quickly caught Katara before she left.
"Oh! Katara!" Lian yelled as she hobbled out behind her with one shoe halfway on.
Katara turned around to face Lian with her eyebrows raised, but waited for Lian, who squinted when she ran outside. Katara had to squint because Lian's hair shined so bright.
"Did… uh… Sokka say anything else?" Lian asked as she stood before Katara, who raised an eyebrow at her question. Katara just shook her head as she began to walk towards the beach, and Lian followed.
"No, he didn't." Katara spoke. "He just said that you woke up last night and complained that you didn't have a hood."
Lian resisted the urge to give a sigh of relief, and Katara sent her a strange look.
"Was he supposed to tell me something else?" Katara questioned as the two girls walked through the village. Lian could feel the stares, but she deliberately ignored them. She had learned a long time ago that acknowledging them didn't do anything but make her more uncomfortable.
"No." Lian answered a bit too quickly. She cleared her throat loudly, and looked towards the sun. It seemed to greet her with a surge of warmth, and she sent it a small smirk. Katara raised an eyebrow, and then pointed a thumb towards a building slightly set apart from the others in the village.
"Well… he's in there if you want to talk to him." Katara spoke with an almost wary tone to her voice. It was extremely odd for Lian to talk about Sokka unless it was to make fun of him or snap at him, even if they had only known each other for a few days.
Lian looked towards the building, and then back at Katara with a smile.
"Thanks Katara. I'll see you later." Lian chirped as she walked away from the water bender, and waved before turning around, and walking towards the building with her fair hair bouncing behind her.
Katara blinked at the sight of Lian going to speak to Sokka on her own accord, and then shook her head slightly to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Nope. That was Princess Lian, walking towards where Sokka had last been seen- all by herself.
With one last strange look at Lian's back, she turned away from the scene, and goes to find Aang, just as Lian reaches the building, and pauses at the sound of Sokka, and another girl's voice inside.
"…if that's what you want, I'd be happy to." Sokka spoke as Lian leaned against the outside of the door just out everyone's view inside, and listened carefully. Sokka sounded over confident, and Lian smirked at the thought. "All right you stand over there."
There was a short time of what sounded like shuffling, and then Sokka spoke again as Lian crossed her arms in front of her chest, and leaned her head against the side of the building casually.
"This may be a little tough, by try to block me." Sokka almost sneered. Lian could hear the smirk in his voice, and waited patiently to hear what happened next.
She heard the sound of Sokka grunting, more than likely throwing a punch at someone, and then the sound of Sokka's alarmed, less than manly squeal, and his feet stomping against the floor as he stumbled back.
Lian decided that she was missing out on a good show, and finally uncrossed her arms, and pushed herself off the side of the building gently to move to stand in the doorway.
When she did, she expected looks from her presence- but everyone was too busy watching Sokka make a fool of himself to notice.
Lian watched with her amber eyes as Sokka rubbed his shoulder, and sent the girl with the short brown hair, and the painted face a small smile. It was the same girl that Lian recognized from her fight yesterday, and more than likely, the same one that had hit her over the head and dragged her back to the village.
"Of course." The warrior replied casually as Sokka readied himself for his next attack.
Lian can tell that Sokka is about to move again before he even makes a conscious decision to, and raises an eyebrow at his poor fighting skills as he shouted, and lunged at the girl again- who almost lazily snatched his leg, pulled it, and sent him falling to the floor.
Lian snorted when Sokka landed on his butt, and blinked in disbelief; which caused the other warriors to finally notice Lian, and visibly tense.
Lian saw them, sent them a direct stare, and then turned her eyes back to the scene where Sokka had just gotten his ass handed to him again, but this time, the warrior had tied his own belt to his ankle, and his wrist, causing him to lose his balance, and fall flat on his face.
"Anything else you want to teach us?" The girl said sweetly, causing the other girls to laugh. Sokka visibly flushed, and turned his head away from the girls- and finally saw Lian standing in the doorway.
His cheeks turned as red as Lian's fire nation clothes back in the hut.
"L-Lian!" He stuttered as he tried to free himself from his belt, and Lian smirked at him.
The warrior that had been toying with Sokka looked up at Lian, and practically glowered.
"Sokka." Lian said in reply with a smirk playing on her lips. She motioned towards him with a graceful hand, and she felt the warriors tense at her every movement. "I see you've gotten yourself a in a bit of a predicament." She chirped with a mocking chime to her voice.
Sokka shot her a deadpan expression, and finally wriggled his hand free of his belt, and accidently kicked the belt towards Lian.
Lian's hand darted up and caught the belt with years of highly honed skill, and the warrior that had attacked Lian raised an eyebrow in interest as Lian eyed the belt for a moment, and then held it out to the rising Sokka, who looked terribly defeated as he moved towards Lian with a look of distaste, and took the belt out of her hand.
"Thanks." He said with a huff as he moved to leave. But just as his foot crossed the threshold, the warrior he had been fighting- or trying to fight, stepped forwards, and motioned towards Lian.
"So, Lian, huh?" The girl said a little too friendly as Lian had begun to turn away, and leave with Sokka. Sokka paused as well, and his eyes darted between the two girls.
Lian didn't look at the girl at first, but glared at the ground before her, and only looked at her from the corner of her eyes.
The brown haired warrior had a smug look on her face that Lian wished that she could just punch off.
Lian finally looked at the girl, and sent her a less than friendly grin.
"Yes. Can I help you?" She practically spat. Forget being nice, this girl had pulled a low move by knocking Lian out, and she wasn't about to forget it. The warrior's smirk faded slightly, but then grew again as she held out a hand towards Lian, which she assumed was to shake.
"I'm Suki." She spoke as Lian eyed her hand. "Leader of the Kyoshi Warriors." Lian looked up at Suki, but didn't take her hand. Suki realized that Lian had absolutely no intention of shaking her hand, and lowered it with a frown.
"Nice to meet you, Suki." Lian suddenly spat, causing Sokka's head to snap in her direction, and a surprised expression to fill his eyes at the sight of such a calm Lian- even though anger radiated off of her in waves. Suki's eyes narrowed at Lian and Lian smirked at her reaction.
Lian placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder, causing him to jump at the sudden touch, and then turned to leave the building. Once Lian had exited, Sokka looked around the room filled with irritated Kyoshi warriors, sent them an uneasy smile, and then darted out behind Lian, who was already halfway across the lawn that lead back to the village. Suki walked over to the door after Sokka left, and watched with a hard expression on her face.
Sokka jogged to catch up with the fast-walking fire bender, and when he was finally within reach of her, he reached out to grab her shoulder.
Just before he could reach Lian's shoulder, Lian spun around, and snatched Sokka's wrist in her hand, and raised the other to attack instinctively.
Sokka stood there in shock for a moment as Lian glared at what seemed like his chest, and his eyes looked towards her hand, which was wrapped around his wrist in a vice grip. The sudden touch sent a shiver down her spine, and Sokka felt warmth rise in his cheeks.
What the hell was that? Lian thought as her amber eyes settled on Sokka's blue ones, and then trailed down his arm to where her hand was gripping his wrist.
Lian realized that she was defending herself against an ally, and her expression softened, and she released Sokka's hand. Her own hand hovered in the air underneath Sokka's own hand, which still remained near hers due to his shock, and Lian closed her eyes, and sighed as she reached up to place a hand on her forehead, and lowered the other one towards her side.
"Sorry… I just…" Lian paused, and then took her hand off of her forehead, and turned away from Sokka as she reached up to raise her hood. Sokka finally, but slowly lowered his hand, and watched with wide eyes as Lian began to move away from him with her shield up. Lian lowered her eyes towards the ground, and bit her lip. "…sorry."
Sokka blinked a few more times, and then finally moved after Lian, who was walking away from him yet again.
"Wait!" Sokka shouted as Suki's own smirk dropped.
She was expecting him to come back.
Lian slowed, but she didn't stop, and Sokka finally caught up with her as they approached the village as Suki turned her back to the sight of Lian and Sokka together, and returned to her fellow warriors.
"Are you okay?" Sokka asked as he watched Lian's new hood bounce slightly as she walked. He remembered asking Katara if she could make Lian one, and even though she had been stunned that he had asked Katara to do something nice for Lian, she had, and she did a spectacular job at that.
Lian suddenly stopped, and Sokka skidded to a halt a few steps ahead of her. The fire bender looked away from Sokka, and towards the tree line, and then sighed.
There were a few moments of quiet where Sokka could tell Lian was internally debating with herself, and then she bit her lip, and looked up at the water tribe boy.
"I'm not sure." She finally answered quietly. Sokka realized she sounded a lot like she did last night, and his eyebrows furrowed slightly in concern. Lian watched him carefully, and then looked away, and pulled her hood closer to her face, and began walking again, but this time, at a pace Sokka could keep as well.
"Those things I told you last night," She began as they walked towards the beach, away from the village's staring eyes. Sokka raised an eyebrow, and looked towards Lian as she continued to look straight forward, avoiding the watching eyes.
Sokka looked around, and realized that truly every pair of eyes were watching them walk through the village.
They all looked wary- some, even fearful at the sight of a fire bender, even if she meant no harm.
"You can't tell anyone, Sokka. Not a soul." She whispered as they finally passed the wooden statue of Kyoshi, and continued towards the beach. Sokka raised an eyebrow at this, and continued to follow her.
Katara walked out of a shop in her search for Aang, and spotted the two just before they disappeared into the tree line, and raised an eyebrow at their backs. She considered following them, but then considered the fact that Sokka could be resolving his differences with Lian, and turned away from where the two had disappeared, and continued to search for Aang.
"Why not?" Sokka asked. He knew right away that that had been the wrong thing to say, and cleared his throat before Lian could say anything. "I-I mean, you told me." Lian frowned, but didn't speak as she led them through the trees, and finally, reached the beach once again.
It was only when Lian had looked over the beach, and reassured herself that it was just the two of them that she reached up, and lowered her hood. Sokka watched carefully, and patiently waited for an answer from Lian.
But she wasn't thinking of an answer for him; she was thinking of questions she had for him.
Why was he suddenly so concerned? Why was he suddenly speaking to her as if they had been friends when he constantly reminded her that she was born from evil? What was going on?
Lian stared at the waves for a few moments with the wind blowing lightly against her skin, through her hair, carrying the scent of sand and ocean into her nostrils.
Sokka watched the golden haired girl for a moment, and then followed her gaze towards the water, and waited.
The two stood in silence for a while, basking in the sunlight and enjoying the quiet that the beach brought to them.
But Lian knew that it wouldn't last forever. She had to say something. So she decided to get directly to the point.
"Sokka," She spoke quietly, causing Sokka to finally look towards her. Lian just continued to look towards the water, her eyes calm and tranquil looking, even though on the inside, she was terribly confused. "Why are you acting like this?" She questioned, causing Sokka's eyebrows to shoot up.
Because, honestly, Sokka didn't even know.
Sokka uncomfortably cleared his throat, and turned his blue eyes away from Lian, and looked over the beach.
"Uh…" He started uneasily, not even sure of what he was going to say yet. Lian glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, and saw him reach up, and scratch the back of his head. When Sokka looked her way, Lian's eyes darted back towards the ocean and Sokka's towards the beach.
"I …figure… if we're going to be around each other for as long as I think we are… we- we might as well try to get along." Sokka finally spewed as he scratched the back of his head, and avoided Lian's gaze.
Lian watched the waves for a while longer, and then turned to look at Sokka, and Sokka glanced at her before looking away with a pink tinge to his tan cheeks.
"I think we should start over." Lian proposed. She held out a slender hand, and smirked as Sokka eyed it for a moment with raised eyebrows and wide eyes, and then peered at Lian from under his brow.
"Hi." Lian chirped happily, causing Sokka to look directly at her, his head angled downwards slightly and his expression still blank. "I'm Lian. Nice to meet you."
Sokka's expression remained blank for a few moments longer, and Lian's hand hovered before him, waiting for him to shake it as he carefully watched her smile.
Sokka felt his own smile grow on his face, and he finally reached forward, and shook Lian's surprisingly small hand, and he swore that Lian's skin was as warm as a comforting campfire.
"I'm Sokka." He spoke as he shook Lian's hand, and watched her laugh lightly at his words. "It's nice to meet you too."
The two gave a chuckle, and finally released each other's hands, and turned their eyes back towards the ocean.
-0-
"I swear to you, if you squint really, really hard, and maybe turn your head to the left a little, that flower would look just like you." Lian just raised an eyebrow at the Water Tribe boy next to her, and then eyed the flower he was pointing at.
It was pink, for one, and two, it was wilting. How it had survived winter, Lian didn't know.
Lian eyed the flower for a few moments longer, and then turned her eyes towards Sokka, who was smirking in some sort of premature triumph.
"Uh…" Lian began as she eyed the flower again. Sokka opened one eye to look at Lian and his smirk lowered into a small frown. "I don't think so Sokka."
Both of Sokka's eyes opened, and he crossed his arms at the golden haired girl. She didn't seem amused as she waited for Sokka to present his argument, and Sokka huffed.
"And why not?" He almost whined. Lian raised her eyebrow at him, and then motioned to the clothing she was wearing. It was the earth kingdom outfit that Katara had made just for her. The shirt was such a light blue that it looked almost white, and a pair of black pants that an older woman in the village had openly voiced that she believed them to be 'too tight for a young lady', even though Katara had been very careful to copy the size of her new pants from her old ones, and her black fire nation shoes that came up just below her knee.
Sokka eyed her ensemble, and then looked back up at her amber eyes, which still didn't seem amused.
"I'm certainly not wearing pink, Sokka." Lian deadpanned as she continued to stare at Sokka. Sokka frowned, looked back at the flower, and then rolled his eyes.
"Not that one, THAT one!" Sokka pointed at another one a foot away from it that was bright yellow, and seemed to have sprouted up recently. Lian eyed it for a moment, exchanged a look with Sokka, and then turned back to the flower.
Sokka watched as the firebender squinted her eyes, eyed the flower for a moment, and then turned her head to the left just slightly.
"Huh." She mused with a small smirk. Sokka smiled in victory next to her, and crossed his arms smugly.
"Maybe it does..." She pondered as Sokka laid back in the tall grass with his arms behind his head. Lian looked towards him with a sarcastic expression dripping off of her features. "Maybe."
Sokka scoffed, and waved a hand at Lian as he covered his eyes with an arm.
Over the past few days, the two had come to tolerate, and even enjoy each other's company- which thoroughly pleased Aang, but befuddled Katara, who would usually be seen staring at the two interacting with each other with shock, and had even dropped a basket full of supplies at the sight of Lian and Sokka making ridiculous faces at one another.
"Whatever." Sokka shrugged. Lian scoffed, and then turned look back towards the mountainside.
The two remained there in silence for a while, and then Sokka sat straight up. Lian gave him a sideways look at his sudden movement, and raised an eyebrow.
"I think I'm going to ask Suki to teach me." Sokka stated. Lian then looked directly at him, bewildered by his statement, and promptly punched him in the arm.
"Ow!" Sokka whined as he stuck out his bottom lip, and rubbed his arm. Lian glared at him, and he swore he could feel heat radiating off of her.
"Suki?" Lian spat. "You going to ask Sucky Suki to teach you?" Sokka raised an eyebrow at the new name Lian had given Suki, and continued to rub his arm.
"Uh… yeah. I want to learn how to fight." Sokka reasoned. Lian raised her fist again, and Sokka raised his hands up in alarm, and covered his face and brought up his legs towards his chest.
"No! NO!" Sokka shouted, causing Lian to stop in mid punch, and glower at him. "I just want to be able to contribute, you know!?" He shouted again as Lian turned away from him, and crossed her arms.
Lian watched the mountainside for a few moments as Sokka took a peek at Lian from between his arms, blinked a few times, and then decided that is was safe enough for him to let his guard down.
Suddenly, Lian shot him an annoyed look from the corner of her eyes, and Sokka flinched. But just as he thought Lian was going to punch him again, her eyes widened, and an almost elated smile spread across her face.
"What if I taught you?" Lian asked excitedly. Sokka looked bewildered at Lian's sudden change of demeanor, but then furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
"What?" He deadpanned. Lian suddenly leapt to her feet, and twirled about in the tall grass.
"I'll teach you! We'll start right now!" Lian chirped. She then took a firebending stance, and before Sokka could say another word, she kicked out a leg, and a stream of fire shot off, and then dispersed.
Before Sokka could even utter a word to stop her from bending again- or even point out that he couldn't bend- she jumped into the air and spun gracefully with fire tracing the movement of her right hand, and landed on her feet, just to swing her right arm down, continuing the swirl of fire up in to a shield.
Sokka was amazed at how something he believed could be so destructive, could be so beautiful. The way Lian commanded the fire that spouted from her hands was so graceful compared to the firebending he had seen in his lifetime. It flowed instead of burst, and instead of the tremendous roar that he remembered, it crackled like a campfire- but still retained the power of ten firebenders put together.
Lian continued to fire bend as if she were dancing, and then stopped when she finally remembered that Sokka was watching- and that she wasn't supposed to be firebending at all.
The fire that had been in her extended hand suddenly went out in a puff of smoke, and she turned her amber eyes towards Sokka, whose mouth was slightly agape, and his blue eyes were wide as saucers.
"Uh…" She pursed her lips, and put her hands together tightly behind her back. She looked like a child who had been caught doing something they were not allowed to. "Sorry."
Sokka just stared with the same expression on his face for about a minute longer, and then shook his head out of his thoughts, and gave a forced cough.
"Uh… no! No. Its… alright." Sokka stumbled over his words as he reached up an pulled on the collar of his shirt as if he were slightly uncomfortable. Lian raised an eyebrow at him. "That… that was…. impressive."
Lian furrowed her brows, but her amber eyes glittered slightly. Confused, but flattered.
"Really?" Lian asked, her excitement and confusion mixing into a peculiar tone that made Sokka believe he had said the wrong thing. Sokka looked down and away from Lian, and then back up at her as he tried to think of what to say.
"Yeah! Its just-" Lian's small smile faded. "I can't bend, Lian. How am I supposed to learn how to fight from that?" He questioned as he motioned towards Lian. Lian reached up and scratched the back of her head, and gave the area around her a glance even though there was really nothing to look at.
"Well…" She thought for a moment. Sokka watched as Lian's eyes lit up suddenly, and she spun around to point at Sokka with a wide smile on her face. "You can just copy me! Use the movements of bending," She began to display the firebending techniques she had just used, but this time, no fire came flowing out of her hands. Sokka's eyebrows raised slightly at the sight- it seemed weird. "But without the bending." Lian finished, and then brought her hands together, and bowed.
Sokka gave a light chuckle, and then scratched the back of his head again as Lian peeked up at him from underneath her brow, and smirked.
"Okay, lemme try." Sokka spoke a little smugly as he moved towards the clearing Lian was standing in, and taking a poor horse stance as he prepared to mimic Lian's movements.
Lian grimaced slightly at his poor stance, and moved to help him, but Sokka had already began to punch the air sloppily, his fists loose and poor, his stance unbalanced, causing his body to waver back and forth at his movements- he was also making noises that imitated firebending 'booms' as he punched, and then moved to bring his leg up to kick- but his overzealous kick sent him toppling back onto his back.
Lian's hands flew up to cover her mouth to stifle a snort at the sight of Sokka falling back onto his back, and then moved to help him with a bit lip as Sokka groaned in pain at the sudden feeling of having the air blow out of him from his sudden tumble.
Lian's golden head of hair appeared above him with a smirk on her lips, and she held out a hand to Sokka to help him get back onto his feet.
"Maybe I should just stick to none- bender fighting styles." Sokka groaned as he reached back and rubbed the new bruise on his backside. Lian's smirk was suddenly wiped off of her face, and replaced with a frown.
"No! We could just start with some more basic moves! Like… like this one!" Lian moved a few steps back, took a short lived horse stance, and then threw a single punch then turned to smile at Sokka with her fist still extended.
Sokka frowned deeply when he realized that that was all Lian was talking about.
"That's it?" Sokka deadpanned with sour expression on his face. Lian's smile turned weak, and she gave a pitiful chuckle.
"You gotta start small, Sokka." Lian spoke with wisdom as she moved out of her stance, and shrugged at him. Sokka just continued to frown. "Just like the Avatar has to learn one element at a time."
Sokka huffed, and Lian gave a tiny grin in reassurance.
"Thank you oh, pinnacle of wisdom. But I think I'll go beg Suki to teach me a few tricks." Sokka droned as he turned away from Lian to walk back to the village, and essentially, the warrior, Suki.
Lian's expression shattered on the ground and left her with a look of hurt at Sokka's low blow, and then, that expression hardened into a look of anger.
"Pinnacle? That's a very big word for someone with such little intelligence!" Lian shouted after him. Sokka gave an angry wave over his shoulder, but it certainly wasn't one to wish her goodbye, it was a signal to her that the insult made him angry, but didn't affect him too much.
Soon enough, Sokka was out of her line of sight, and Lian was left to her own devices in the field of flowers.
Lian huffed, and frowned at the path Sokka had taken to go and 'beg' Suki to teach him 'a few moves'.
"Ridiculous." Lian spat under her breath as she turned away from the path Sokka had just taken, and moved to sit so that she could meditate.
Once she was sitting in her lotus position, she looked around her for a source of kindling she could use to focus her firebending on, and frowned when she found nothing but a field of flowers.
She turned her head back forwards, and then looked down at a single red flower that rested before her, and furrowed her brows.
Lian raised a hand, and extended a single finger where on her command, a small jet of fire emerged, and remained under her control.
"Sorry, buddy." Lian spoke to the flower as she lowered her finger towards it. "You'll grow back big and strong- I promise."
The flame at the tip of her finger finally reached the flower, and it caught aflame, and began to burn as Lian pulled her hand back, and placed it back on her knee.
The Princess with the golden hair took in a deep breath, and the fire grew on the fire- and then stopped when Lian felt the flames reach the ends of the petals, and remained there, steadily burning, but never growing.
Lian then sighed, closed her eyes, and focused on the tiny heartbeat that the fire held, and tuned the world out.
-0-
The fire that had been burning on the flower for nearly an hour- suddenly went out in smoke, and the amber eyes of the firebender who had been commanding the flame under her gentle hand flew open.
Something wasn't right. The field suddenly felt too quiet, like all of the life had been scared away.
Something wasn't right.
Lian stood quickly, and took a look around the field- and then her eyes land on the sight that does not belong.
A long, dark, column of black smoke can be seen billowing above the bay, smoke that could only be from a Fire Navy ship.
Zuko's Fire Navy ship.
"Oh no…" Lian uttered to herself as her eyes trailed down the smoke, and landed on the bay. "The village."
Before her mind could even register her movements, Lian began to sprint towards the village, her hands pulling up her hood over her hair and buttoning the spar fabric over her mouth as she ran. If she would have to fight, she was going to keep Zuko from knowing that it was her- even if her hood was her signature- and fight without her bending- something she heavily relied on.
The wind from the speed she was running at stung her eyes, but she continued to run towards the village- just to run straight into a fire fight between a firebender and the Kyoshi warriors, who seem to have just been taken out when Lian ran onto the scene.
Lian spotted the burst of fire just in time, and yelped as she fell to her knees, and continued to skid forwards on her shins. The fire flew just over her face- the heat radiated off of itShe spotted the firebender responsible for the burst of flame, and nearly gasped as she continued to skid forwards towards him- her brother- Zuko.
Lian couldn't stop herself in time to avoid sliding into Zuko's own shins, causing him to topple over onto the ground, while Lian rolled away from him, and landed on her stomach, with her hands over her head, shielding her face from attack and the debris she had rolled over and over, and finally slammed into the side of one of the partially destroyed buildings from the battle that had been going on since before she arrived. She groaned, but didn't move for a moment.
Lian gave a huff of relief when she realized that none of the debris that she had rolled over from the destroyed buildings hadn't harmed her, but then remembered her brother- and his dangerous temper, and her head shot up- her mouth and nose still covered.
She spotted her brother scowling at Lian's disguised form as he jumped up to his feet, his fists already aflame. Lian gave a squeal of surprise, and began to scramble to her feet as her own brother began to raise his hands in anger at the hooded girl, a growl rolling out of his throat as the fire in his hands grew.
Oh spirits, why did it have to be Zuko? Lian groaned internally as she finally made her way to her knees- just in time for a voice to shout.
"Hey! Over here!" It was Aang. He was standing there with his trusty glider, and a determined look on his face.
Zuko's eyes widened, and he spun around to face the Avatar- giving Lian a chance to run. She knew that Aang could handle himself- she'd seen him in action up close.
Zuko doesn't waste more than three seconds before he begins to fire off bursts of fire at Aang, just as Lian runs behind another hut in the village, and literally runs straight into a Kyoshi warrior, and both of them tumble to the ground with a girlish- and almost boyish shout.
"Watch where you're running!" The warrior shouts- but the voice doesn't fit the appearance, and Lian's now wide eyes dart to the owner of the voice's face, and almost jump out of their sockets in shock.
The Princess isn't sure if she wants to laugh or stare in shock.
"Sokka?" Lian shouts over the booms from her brother's firebending, and the gusts of Aang's airbending. Sokka visibly blushes underneath the face makeup he's wearing, and opens his mouth to explain- but before he can say a word, someone comes flying into the hut next to them, and the building collapses as the person comes flying out the other side, and slams into a tree.
Lian nearly gasps out loud when she spots her brother's scarred eye, and that they're opening.
The Princess jumped to her feet, and moved towards her brother as quickly as she possibly could, and began to reach out to him.
"Zuko!" She gasped- she feared that he had been injured, and reached up to unhook the button keeping the extra fabric of her hood off of her face. Sokka yelped, and snatched Lian's arm a little too roughly just as Zuko's eyes began to open.
To the Prince, the sight before him was slightly blurry, and he had to blink a few times at Sokka pulled Lian away from her brother, shouting and screaming at the water tribe boy as she went.
"No! I have to make sure he's okay!" She shouted. "Let me go!"
Just a little too late, Zuko relized that his own missing sister was screaming, and his own eyes flew open, everything suddenly clear- just as Lian and Sokka disappeared.
"Lian?" He spoke. "LIAN?!" Zuko tried to get up, and chase after her sister and her so called 'captor', but fell when his vision began to spin, and squeezed his eyes shut, and punched the earth beneath him.
Lian could hear her brother's last shout as she ran at Sokka's command back to Appa. Katara and Aang were already waiting for them, and she got the feeling they didn't have time for a family reunion.
"I hope he's okay…" Lian muttered to herself as she ran behind Sokka, who suddenly skidded to the stop. They had run straight into a fight between the Suki and three firebenders. She was handling them well- but one of them had noticed Lian and Sokka, and aimed his fist towards the two as Lian's hand darted up, and hooked the fabric back over her face.
Sokka didn't know how to fight firebenders yet. She would have to.
Before she even knew it, the fire came flying towards them- and before Sokka could move a muscle, Lian pushed him aside roughly, causing him to tumble towards the ground, and dispersed the fire with her own bending, and then shot her own burst of flame at him with a loud, aggressive grunt. The fire hit the man square in the chest, and sent him flying back several feet. He landed on the ground motionless, and Lian turned to face the other two just in time to spot Suki throw her fan at one violently. The fan hit the soldier in the face mask, and knocked him out, sending him toppling over onto the ground.
Just as that one falls, Lian spots more moving their way, and quickly spins on her heel, and snatches Suki and Sokka's arms in her hands. Suki doesn't protest, but Sokka gives a yelp as Lian pulls them behind a nearby house just in time to avoid the firebending warriors. Lian carefully peeks out from behind the house as Suki moves towards Sokka, and the golden haired princess watches carefully as they scan the area for Aang, herself, or the two water tribe siblings, and then move on.
"There's no time to say goodbye."
Lian's eyebrow cocks at the sound of Suki's voice, and she quickly turns to see Suki and Sokka speaking to each other.
And for some reason- a fire explodes in her chest. They're too close together, Suki sounds too gentle, Sokka's expression was too soft. Her amber eyes filled with anger that not a soul had ever seen before in the entire time of Lian's existence- not even Lian.
The feeling was even foreign to Lian.
"How about an "I'm sorry"?" Sokka said softly. Lian watched the scene with wide eyes, neither of the two green clad teenagers noticing her watching on with shock.
"For what?" Suki questioned, her expression almost one of longing. Lian grit her teeth, and her hands turned to fists.
"I treated you like a girl when I should have treated you like a warrior." Sokka said with a hint of regret to his voice. Lian felt the little red ogre named Rage crawl deeper and deeper into her ribcage- and take her heart in a vice grip. But instead of rage spreading through her- it felt more like heartache.
What am I thinking? Lian questioned herself as she watched as Suki got closer to Sokka.
"I am a warrior." Suki got closer- and Lian turned around, knowing what was coming next.
Without even checking to see if it was safe for her to run- she bolted out from behind the house, leaving Sokka and Suki, and ran to Appa, where Katara and Aang were waiting for them with the all of the supplies the managed to collect in their flight.
Katara had reached out to help Lian climb onto Appa, but instead of taking the girl's hand, Lian used her firebending to push herself off of the ground, and landed on Appa's saddle with a quiet thud.
"Did Zuko see you?" Katara asked as Sokka came running up Appa's tail, a confused look on his face that intensified when he spotted Lian sitting on Appa's saddle with her hood still covering her face.
Lian just nodded, and Katara's eyes grew wide.
"I don't think he realized it was me though." Lian muttered so quietly that Katara could barely hear.
"Appa, yip, yip!" Aang shouted as Zuko himself began to sprint out of the tree line, his eyes focused on the bison. Lian quickly turned her eyes away from him, and squeezed them shut.
What is wrong with me today?
Lian can hear her brother's shouts as she swallows a sob that threatens to erupt from her throat. First she leaves her brother, hurt and alone, and then she watched as Sokka nearly pours his heart out to Suki.
Great day all around.
"What are you doing?!" Katara suddenly shouts, causing Lian to jump, and turn around on a bronze coin, just in time to see Aang jump off of Appa's saddle.
"Aang!" Lian shouted as she lunged over to the side of the saddle Katara and Sokka were now leaning over, just in time to spot Aang dive into the water.
"What is he doing?!" Lian shouted with a tone of alarm in her voice. Katara looked like she was about to rip her hair out, and Sokka- with his ridiculous Kyoshi warrior makeup on- looked like an alarmed clown.
"I don't-" But before Katara could finish, their question was answered.
Aang came flying out of the water- on top of the Unagi- with its whiskers in his hands.
"Oh my spirits." Lian whispered from her place between Sokka and Katara, her amber eyes wide with shock and awe as she watched Aang pull back on the Unagi's whiskers, commanding it to spew water at the village that had been burning slowly from Zuko and his firebender's flames. The water from the Unagi put out the fires, and once Aang saw that the village was now safe, he released the Unagi's whiskers, and flew off of its head when it reared its head back, and slithered back into the water.
Appa dove quickly, causing Lian's hood to fly off of her head, and Sokka and Katara to shout- but he caught Aang just in time, and the three resumed their safe flight.
After a few moments, Aang crawled onto Appa's saddle, where Lian, Katara, and Sokka waited for him, anxious to see if he was okay, and he gave them a small smile.
"I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous." Aang said with a playful roll of his eyes. Lian smirked.
Guess who's going to get a lecture from Katara now? Not me!
"Yes, it was." Katara answered with a smile. Lian smirked, and sat back, waiting for the lecture to come- but instead of Katara raising a finger and shaking it like Lian's nanny used to- the water tribe girl dove at Aang, and hugged him tightly.
"What?!" Lian shouted, causing the two to jump apart, and Sokka to look at Lian like she had just sprouted another head. Katara and Aang both raised an eyebrow at her.
"I get a lecture when I spill my water on Appa's saddle but Aang doesn't get a lecture for riding the Unagi?!"