169 AG

When Opal first met Kuvira she was fourteen. Kuvira was around the age Opal was now, and just another guard in Zaofu. Opal tried her best to learn everyone's names so she could say hello, but it was easy not to notice a newcomer when the uniforms were identical and obscured everyone's faces. She might have seen Kuvira before, but she was unable to recall such an event even years later.

She had been sitting in front of the grand stage that her mother's dance recital was being held on. She sat strategically in the middle of the room where she had a good view but was far enough from the action to feel comfortable. From this distance she noticed an unfamiliar form dancing with her mother's troupe. Opal sat up higher in her seat and squinted, trying to get a better look.

"Her name is Kuvira," Aiwei spoke up from beside her. Opal looked at him, flushing. She must've really been staring. Suyin had succeeded in not only wrangling all her offspring into watching her dance recital, including Opal who had yet to miss a single performance, but she'd convince Aiwei and his partner to attend as well. "She's a guard," he explained.

"Oh," Opal said, glancing at the stranger again. Back then Kuvira wore her hair down her back in a long, thick braid, and even from a distance Opal had caught the mole beneath the woman's right eye. Opal normally didn't pay attention to faces of the dancers but this person always looked like she was biting back a grin. Everyone else had schooled expressions but Kuvira looked like she couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry, I've just . . . never seen her before," Opal explained.

"She's not a guard on the estate," Aiwei went on, content to relay all his knowledge. He watched the dancers with a slightly bored expression but he had come and they both knew Su appreciated it. "However, you probably have seen her around the city. It's just that people are rarely recognizable when they take their armour off." He was probably right.

Opal turned back to look at the stranger. She did seem vaguely familiar, and she had the right build for a guard. Not many of the dancers on her mother's troupe were guards, but a few were. Suyin taught some dance classes and held tryouts every few years or so. Kuvira was a little younger than the rest of the dancers, but not by much. Maybe it was the fact that she was new that made her seem different, less practiced but more passionate.

Opal leaned back in her seat and looked at her mother's advisor. He was watching the dance now with a little more interest. "When did she join?" Opal asked, if just to keep some conversation alive. Aiwei was kind of prickly, but she enjoyed talking with him when he did talk. "I haven't seen her around the estate."

"She's filling in for another dancer who injured her ankle," Aiwei explained. "And at this rate, she might replace her. She dances well." Opal looked at him with wide eyes, then back at Kuvira. The stranger moved like benders moved; she was in her element and she worked smoothly with everyone else. Her barely being able to stifle her smile made her even more enjoyable to watch.

"Yeah," Opal said, but she didn't really know anything about dancing. None of the Beifong kids could dance, much to Suyin's regret and not for a lack of trying. But even Opal could tell that Kuvira was an amazing dancer and that she pretty much stole the show. Opal had a feeling she would see Kuvira again if she knew anything about her mother.

When the recital finally concluded everyone applauded and the dancers bowed graciously. Suyin positively glowed with pride. Even though Opal couldn't care less about dancing this was why she'd always attend. Her mom's happiness was something that would make the whole show worth it even if Suyin somehow didn't always design something worth watching. Opal always loved the recitals.

A short-haired dancer tossed the newcomer a bottle of water and grinned at her. Seeing this, Suyin seemed to remember something. Stepping up to the front of the stage she smiled at her audience. "Thank you, everyone," she said. Wing and Wei hooted in the audience and Suyin laughed. When the smatterings of chuckled abated she spoke again. "Thank you, for being an amazing audience. Unfortunately, one of our dancers was injured. She's fine, and will always have a spot on our troupe. But, I would also like to thank our new dancer, Kuvira, for stepping up and filling in for her. So, please, a round of applause."

Kuvira grinned, flushed and sweating under the spotlight. The dancer that had tossed her the bottle pulled at her arm laughing as everyone applauded. Opal clapped until her hands stung. Suyin thanked everyone again and they piled out of the theatre. Opal remembered how Kuvira's smile was still fresh in her mind as she left the theatre. Palms still tingling, she could remember hoping that she would see her again.

And she did.

Suyin's studio was on the opposite side of the estate from where Opal usually spent her time. The weather in Zaofu was nice almost all year round and Opal preferred reading outside. She rarely hung around the dance studio though so while she knew Kuvira was there she never sought her out. In fact, when she did meet Kuvira again, truly meeting her, she didn't recognize her at all.

Opal had been coming back from the kitchens and was rounding a corner when she caught sight of a strange face. It was unusual for there to be a new guard on the estate, so she looked at Kuvira in confusion and wondered why the stranger looked so familiar. While Opal had been staring at Kuvira, trying to remember her, she accidentally made eye contact with the guard.

"Do I have something on my face?" Kuvira asked in her deep, throaty voice. Opal realized at that moment who she was.

"Ah, no," Opal said, clasping her hands in front of her in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I was just wondering I knew you or not."

"I'm Kuvira," the guard said, smiling lightly.

"Oh, I know," Opal said. She blushed when she realized what she said. "I mean - I -"

"Suyin's advisor must have told you," Kuvira inferred. Opal blushed burned hotter. "It's fine; I know who you are." Kuvira would've been a pretty terrible guard if she didn't know who Opal was, so while the nonbender appreciated the sentiment it didn't really apply.

"I - uh -" Opal fumbled, feeling too embarrassed to look Kuvira in the eye.

"I saw you in the audience once," Kuvira said, taking pity on Opal's awkwardness. "At one of the performances." Opal had seen Kuvira at other recitals as well, and suddenly felt worried that Kuvira had noticed her staring. Kuvira had noticed her.

"Yeah," Opal said, looking up again. She was surprised that Kuvira could pick her out of the crowd, Beifong or not. "I always go to my mother's recitals."

"Do you dance as well?" Kuvira asked, seeming interested.

"Oh," Opal mumbled, blushing viciously. "I'm not a dancer. None of us are. Dad says that mom kept all the talent for herself." She laughed awkwardly.

"Have you ever bothered being taught?" Kuvira asked. She was making conversation.

"No," Opal said, standing up straight. "Mom tried, when I was younger. It was - a mess."

"Maybe you just didn't find the right teacher," Kuvira suggested, smiling softly. Opal had always had the best teachers, and she still couldn't dance. She shrugged.

"You like dancing," she observed, still a little nervous.

Kuvira grinned. "That's a fair observation," she said. A little conspiratorially she murmured, "It's my favourite hobby, next to bending. It's similar to bending, actually. It's listening to your body and finding a rhythm. From there, you can only get better."

"I can't bend yet," Opal murmured, smoothing down her dress.

"Ah," Kuvira said, leaning back and looking regretful. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean . . ."

"Oh!" Opal said. "No, that's okay, you can talk about bending." She smiled at Kuvira. "But I, mean I guess I better let you get back to your duties anyway." She didn't want to bully Kuvira into talking to her but she was young and couldn't help but be greedy. "I didn't know you were a guard here."

"I started yesterday," Kuvira said. "To be honest, the reason Suyin brought me to work on her estate was mostly to cut down on commuting time to dance rehearsal." Opal laughed.

"I'll see you," she said, starting to move on. She wanted to stop talking to Kuvira before she said something wrong. So far, the dancer had been really nice.

"Goodbye, Opal," Kuvira said. Opal continued back to her room with the new knowledge that Kuvira was now an actual guard at the Beifong estate. Suyin had apparently grown to trust her the way she made sure she trusted all of the guards that worked directly for her. And Kuvira had been nice; friendly and funny and genuine, and this perfection intimidated Opal in the best possible way.

174 AG

Opal wondered now if it had been an act even back then. She knew, in her heart, that it hadn't been but Opal felt depressed and grim. Somewhere along the lines Opal had stirred from her dreams and was lying on the bed, not asleep but not awake. The sun was falling though the window and the warmth that hit her bare skin was hardly comforting.

Towards the end . . . before the Red Lotus had destroyed the Earth Kingdom . . . she and Kuvira had almost been friends. She'd looked up to the woman with a sort of pathetic pet-like admiration that made her ashamed now. She was ashamed that she didn't see who Kuvira was, but, thinking about it she couldn't really blame herself for that, or even Kuvira. Kuvira had seemed so genuine back then; she was a completely different person now and Opal felt like she'd lost someone.

Opal surveyed the noon light on the ceiling. She didn't normally sleep in so late. Sleeping too much made her feel groggy and useless, but she was already useless and the dead-mouthed depression that came with her grogginess felt almost justified. She heard some clattering in the kitchen outside her room, some low voices brushing against each other. She listened to the noises and pitied herself.

"Hey Opal!" Kai's voice was muffled behind the door. Opal snapped out of her thoughts and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah?" she mumbled, voice thick from sleep.

"Someone's here to see you," he said. He sounded tense.

"Who is it?" Opal asked, wrapping her blankets around herself. The door opened and Opal's heartbeat stuttered. Kuvira walked into the room.