Writer's Note: I'm supposed to be on a self-induced hiatus, but this bunny crawled into my head and started eating my brains, so I had no choice. It coincides with my personal post-series canon for the series, which tends to be controversial. However, I can't seem to change my mind about it. So, read at your own risk, I suppose.

Warning: Takes place post-series and contains spoilers. Takes place several years after "From the Vine".

The eyes were familiar. They shone, golden, before her, the shape and colour so familiar it hurt. However, the left was clear, unglowering and unburied in a patch of scarred skin, so she figured that she was either being haunted by her past or that this was someone new.

And then she focused. It was getting easier, she thought tiredly. Everything was getting easier to focus on, to see clearly. The haze of white-hot fury was getting easier to shake off. Kind words, gentle hands, sympathetic ears…they all made it easier, especially when it came from familiar sources.

But this face was new. It was narrow, but with some chubbiness of youth. The hair was short, to the ears, and rail-straight. The eyes were wide and full of emotion, and the lips were thin and held evidence of bite marks. A thoughtful face. Slightly afraid, but eager.

"Hello." Her voice was raspy, not often used, but it was calm, and she was grateful. She didn't want to scare this stranger away, this familiar stranger.

"Hi," the stranger said, her face breaking into a shy smile. "I'm Kaida."

She nodded, feeling herself smile without realising it. "I think I know who you are," she admitted softly. "You look like Zuzu, but you also look like Mai."

Kaida's cheeks went pink. "Zuzu?" she echoed with a giggle. "That's awesome."

Again, without control or a second thought, she found herself smiling back. "He hates it. Use it well."

Kaida giggled again. The sound was also familiar, and reminded her of hot summer days spent at ponds as well as laughing at something silly while wearing a school uniform. It was soothing, comforting, and it made things so much more clear.

"So, you're my niece, are you?" she wondered, scratching her cheek slowly. "How old are you?"

Kaida nodded. "I'm eleven."

She felt the breath just gust out of her like she'd been kicked. Eleven years. Maybe more. What have I missed? Who else has been born, in happiness and peace, while I've been lost in the cloud of this hatred?

It hurt. It wasn't Kaida's fault, but it hurt.

I don't want to miss anymore, she thought suddenly, her hands clenching together.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" she asked softly, a slight tremor accompanying her words. Years ago, showing that kind of emotion would have been folly, but now…now it felt natural. She felt both shamed and stronger from it.

"Nope," Kaida shook her head. "Dad said, 'Kaida should have a brother or sister,' and Mom said, 'Then you squeeze them out.' It was really funny."

It sounded like Zuko, she thought. Always thinking about things like that, like loneliness. Did he forget that his own little sister had tried to kill him? Did he forget that his own little sister had gone insane?

But this one doesn't look like she's desperate for her father's love, she thought, biting her lip in thought. She looks like she has always had it.

"Stupid Tyana has a little brother," Kaida was saying, rolling her eyes. "She brags about it all the time, and I tell her to shut up, but she doesn't. He's not even that interesting," and here she raised a hand to her throat and made a gagging noise. "All he does is lie there and spit."

"Tyana?" she echoed, curious.

"Yeah. Aunt Katara and Uncle Aang's stupid daughter. She's annoying."

However, even though Kaida said these words, she could tell that it appeared to be more of a rivalry and not hatred. Like she had felt about Ty Lee in their girlhood, when it came to acrobatics and boys. Like she had felt about Mai when the older girl declared that her love for her brother was more important than her loyalty to her.

Her knuckles went white. No, it was best not to think about things like that…

Besides, Mai came to se her every week, and was always kind to her. Telling her stories. Dimly, she realised that she had been told about Kaida before. She had just forgotten, or blocked it from her mind.

Why did I do that?

Kaida smiled widely, a smile of no worries and pure happiness. She envied that. She also was glad to see it. "Do you know," the younger girl was saying, "that Tyana isn't a waterbender? But I'm already a firebender?"

That got her attention. "Really?"

Kaida nodded. "It's really great! Uncle Aang teaches me. He was a jerk at first, but now he's awesome, and firebending is easy!"

The question burst out without control. "What colour is your fire?"

Kaida blinked. "Orange. Why?"

She practically sagged with relief. She closed her eyes, exhaling sharply, and smiled. Orange. Only orange. At her age, my fire was already tinted with blue…

She opened her eyes to see Kaida looking at her with worry. "Are you okay? Should I call one of the nurses?"

"No," she replied. "I'm just glad. You seem to be very happy."

Kaida nodded. "Yup," she agreed. "When are you coming home, Auntie Azula?"

Hearing her name stirred something in her, especially when it came from someone so young and so familiar.

"Soon, I hope," she said honestly.