A.N.: I am truly ashamed that I let two years slip by without updating this! I thank you all so much if you're reading this for the first time, rereading it to get reacquainted, or have left reviews or added it to your favorites. I really do appreciate it! If you are rereading this, I have begun to rewrite this, to extend the details, and work out some errors that I made in the original form. I will be not only updating what is already here, but I will be adding new chapters, and concluding this story by the end of the year. Thank you again for your patience and I hope you are all still interested! This is the fifth chapter to be rewritten as of July 16, 2010.
Of course I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender or any of the characters except for Kelyin, Ren, Shaya, and the Outcasts. Though you will later find out, I'll make it clear now that everyone is 3 years older. Zuko was 16, now 19, Katara 14/17, Sokka 15/18, Aang 12/15, Toph 12/15. Also, the events of this story were written after the second season, so please disregard all events from the final season of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
/. /. / CHAPTER 5: The Leader, The Liar, and the Sightless
/. /. / KYOSHI ISLAND
Katara concentrated on his hand, but she could feel his eyes sliding over her. He gave a small frustrated sigh and closed his eyes once more.
The black and white mask like make-up was thick, and felt heavy on her skin, but it seemed to have done it's job in concealing her identity.
She tended the burns finger by finger. They were almost resistant to her efforts and she had to focus all her energy on each burn. Her hand slid from his little finger and the healing glove of water dissolved, absorbed by the small smooth white stones of the bank. She examined his hand, amazed. Four long, slender, pale fingers emerged from dark burned flesh.
Exhaustion took hold almost immediate and a small gasp escaped her as a crushing headache blurred her vision. "Forgive me, Silent… I have to lay down…" She stood up shakily, the world spinning, and stumbled to her tent. She collapsed onto her sleeping mat, falling asleep immediately.
/. /. / BASE OF THE SOUTHERN AIR TEMPLE; WOODED LAND OF THE AIR NOMADS
A tall, lanky young man stood at the base of the temple, starring up at it. His long, unruly brown hair was tied back in a short ponytail, loose strands hanging about his face. His mouth was naturally shaped into a scowl, but his smile was a heartmelter. His face was longish, ending in a sharp chin and a strong, stubborn jaw line, with high cheekbones. He was confident, self-assured, even a bit cocky. His sun tanned skin accented his brown hair and cold grey eyes perfectly. A scar, faint, but, still seeable, started in the middle of his forehead and went down across his left eye, ending at his cheek, near his ear. A gift from Azula when he snuck into the palace as a guard to take Mai back to the Outcasts. He wore the scar with pride, unashamed at being wounded for his cause. His clothing consisted of a long sleeve black shirt with a rust colored breastplate and thick leather gauntlets of the same color. Loose fitting brown pants covered his legs along with thick rust brown shin protectors and soft black shoes.
A hand softly touched his shoulder. "What's wrong?" Her voice was low with a trace of boredom in it that, after faking it for a lifetime, she couldn't seem to shake off.
"It's nothing."
"Talk to me, Jet. Something's wrong, I can tell." He turned to her, letting his eyes take in her odd beauty. Her face was thin with a sharp, pointed chin, thin lips, narrow amber eyes, and pale, pale skin. Her hair was jet black and divided into half and half. The top half was twisted into two elaborate knots, while the bottom was separated into several almost waist length braids. Bangs cut straight across her forehead. She wore a white kimono that clung to her soft curves. A black corset, made of the same material as Jet's breastplate, served as her sleek version of armor. She stood almost eye level with him, incredibly tall for a young woman. Jet still found himself mesmerized by this woman. A descendent of one of the founders of the Outcasts, acting as a poor starved child on the doorstep of an influential Fire Nation family with connections to the Firelord. The adults, having trouble conceiving a child of their own, took the 'war orphan' in, raising her as their own. She pulled the act for seven years, stopping at nothing to be convincing, sending small notes full of information through Outcast Fire Benders dressed as guards. After the Firelord was killed, Azula became paranoid and suspicious of everyone around her, no matter how long she'd known them. It was then that Mai began sending notes of the executions that Azula was planning. Several dozen guards, some of them actual outcasts, her own Uncle and several members of the palace staff were to be executed, and fingers were starting to point to Ty Lee, as well as Mai herself. That's when Jet took it upon himself to end her act, before his brief childhood friend was put on the chopping block.
"Aang's up there with Kelyin."
"You let him go see her alone?" A worried tone crept into her otherwise monotone voice as she looked up at the Temple.
"He's been asking to see her for a month now. I couldn't deny him anymore."
"He's not going to understand her. She goes against everything he believes in. Everything she's supposed to be."
"I don't know about that… Since we came here, she's spent as much time as she can in the temple. I think she's trying to learn."
"I just hope she doesn't hurt him."
/. /. / KYOSHI ISLAND
Guilt crept into the pit of Zuko's stomach as he watched Kara stumble away. Even for a master bender like her, these burns were old, thick, and stubborn and refused to go unless she practically passed out.
He forced his pain ridden body to sit up, his scarred arms and abdomen screamed in protest. He looked down at his hand, slowly bending his fingers. Smooth, flawless skin. Inches of undamaged flesh, strikingly pale against the blackness of the burns. His own true skin that had been completely hidden for over two years. The pain was gone. That unending, hot, pulsing pain was gone from these four fingers.
He looked at Kara's tent and the feeling of guilt increased. He was using her in a way without even meaning to. That cruel voice in the back of his mind spoke up again. 'These wounds and your pain are here for a reason, you pathetic bastard. They're here to remind you how useless and unworthy you are to your nation and to your family name. And here you are, proving how worthless you really are, letting a water bending Outcast heal all your well deserved boo-boos.'
He knew the voice was right. Half of him longed for the pulsing pain to cease. He could barely remember what it was like to stand, walk, or even just raise his hand without that hideous pain shooting through his body in waves. The other half, the honor seeking, heartless prince side of himself wanted to punish himself for even thinking that.
He looked at the tent again. She was a water bender, which typically meant dark skin and brown hair, though being an Outcast, anything was possible. They didn't always sick to their own nations when it came to marriage and having children. During his sisters mass executions, he saw an Outcast Firebender that had been disguised as one of the masked guards. He had the tan skin of an Earth Kingdom man, but the honey eyes of the Fire Nation.
Zuko focused on his healed fingers again. He ran them across his pant leg, marveling at the feeling of the soft material against his skin. He'd nearly forgotten what it was like to feel.
/. /. / BEI FONG ESTATE
Toph stood in the corner, her arms folded over her chest, her foot tapping with impatience. The beautiful scene before her of shimmering jewels and incredible costumes fell on grey, blank eyes. Her parents yearly masquerade. She despised it with a passion. She would have tried to escape on her own again, but the threats of locking her away were becoming more and more severe. She could never get far enough away on her own, which is why she had her dressmaker swear to secrecy and send out the note.
Her mother had fussed over every detail of Toph's appearance, not wanting to be embarrassed by her daughters usual unfeminine ways.
Her black hair was pulled back into an elegant bun, emitting spiral curls down her back from just beneath it. Delicate gold robes with green silk trim that shone like brilliant emeralds left her shoulders bare, and a tightly tied band of braided sage green fabric gave her a much thinner waist than she actually possessed.
Like most young girls, Toph took her mothers insults about her weight, height, disability, and general appearance very hard, but she put on a brave face, hiding her insecurities deep inside. She acted sharp tongued, fearless, and careless. A bit of a bully in a way, pushing her insecurities into others so they'd never suspect her of being a 'girly girl'.
A gold mask, detailed with emeralds and tiny green beads made of fragile glass, hid the majority of her face, though her pouty lips, adorned with shimmering gold lip paint and her round chin were visible.
The vibrations of all the dancing were beginning to give her a headache, but two subtle vibrations, creeping up behind her caught her attention. "What took you guys so long?"
"We apologize for the delay, Ms. Bei Fong, there was a last minute problem with the costumes." The voice was a bit boyish and raspy, but it definitely belonged to a female. "There will be time for more formal introductions later. We must leave quickly and without drawing any attention. It will take them hours to discover that you are actually gone." The female speakers so far silent companion took Toph's hand, gently leading her. The three discreetly hugged the walls, walking behind the crowds of well-to-do guests, barely noticed in a haze of intoxication and gossip by the masked ball goers.
They exited through a narrow doorway, leading down a dark hall and out into the empty courtyard, unseen. "Can you run in that dress? We need to get to the gate where our ostrich horses are." The female said.
"Of course I can! I want to get out of here!" Toph hiked up her dress with one hand and took the silent companions hand with her free one, running toward the gate where hopefully permanent freedom awaited…
/. /. / POST SCRIPT AUTHORS NOTE
P.S.A.N. : So yes, Jet knew Mai when he was a kid, even though he's so anti-Fire Nation on the show. Their friendship was extremely brief, his parents knew her parents, and they'd been allowed to play together when their parents got together. Within a year or so of their friendship developing, she was sent to play the orphan, acting as Azula's best friend and childhood confidant. A week later his parents were killed and all memories of her were temporarily blanked out with his hatred of the Fire Nation. After joining the Outcasts along with Longshot and Smellerbee, he was deemed a leader of sorts to many of the younger Outcast members, and was allowed to read the incoming notes, including Mai's. He learned of her as a great legend, acting as a spy since she was a child, and after inquiring more about her, he discovered she'd been the one he'd known when he was small. In the rewrite a mere 30 words were added. Not much, but an addition all the same. I do apologize for this chapter seeming a bit short, but even rewriting it, it seems to stand well on its own, and anything extra seemed to drag it down. This mostly just serves as an introduction for Mai, Jet, Kelyin, Toph, Smellerbee, and Longshot.