170 AG
Opal watched the muscles in Kuvira's back move as she pulled apart the metal. "Remember," Kuvira was saying, a little grin in her voice. "This isn't allowed." Opal nodded too eagerly for someone who was not being looked at. Kuvira manipulated the hole she'd melted into the dome to be a size large enough for them to walk through.
"You first," Kuvira said, a hint of gallantry in the way she spoke. It was Kuvira's night off from guard duty, but she knew the schedules and had found a temporarily unguarded part of Zaofu for Opal and her to sneak out of. She was dressed pretty lightly but Opal had no doubt she could defend herself and Opal if something did happen.
Kuvira wasn't wearing her guard's uniform; she was wearing some of her dancing clothes but bands of metal encircled her arms and legs. She also wore gloves that were equipped with the metal rope both guards and dancers utilized. Kuvira had mentioned to Opal once that she didn't like wearing the poncho-style clothing that was that was currently straddling the line between traditional and fashionable in Zaofu, and Opal rarely saw her wearing clothes like that.
Kuvira may have dressed lightly, but she was wielding enough defensive weapons for it to be considered armor. All that meant was that when Kuvira stepped outside with Opal and turned around to seal the metal behind them the moonlight set her skin alight with a kind of blue Opal had never seen before. Kuvira turned around then with a smile that seemed to promise Opal she'd seen nothing yet.
"Come on," she said, and Opal could hear a hint of giddiness in her voice. It wasn't just Opal that was excited about this after all. Kuvira gestured towards the horizon and Opal turned her head to really take it all in for the first time. Her jaw dropped open.
The moonlight hit the lotus structure of the domes, lighting them up like a jewels against the blue-black lines of the mountain. In the sky, there were millions of stars, clustering together so closely they lightened the night where they gathered. On the ground dew had collected into constellations of their own and they glittered when Opal moved her head.
It was the rainy season and the storms had littered the ground with large pools that were still enough to reflect the moon, patches of pure white in the dark, blue-green night. The air hummed with a sweet scent of grass and distant blooming flowers. The world was crisp and perfect.
The pure blackness and Kuvira by her side made Opal feel overwhelmed and humbled. Looking up at the stars again, shimmering and flashing, then down at the valley embraced by mountains Opal felt her knees grow weak. She'd read so many adventure stories, chased to remember so many dreams, and yet it was this simple sight that brought her down to this point.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kuvira asked, and she almost sounded proud. Opal nodded, feeling tears build in her eyes. She couldn't cry in front of Kuvira and crying over something like this would be too ridiculous. She tried to wipe her eyes subtly but Kuvira noticed and laughed lightly. "You can see why I don't mind working nights if I get to patrol outside." Opal nodded fervently. She couldn't speak yet.
"Come on," Kuvira said. "I'll show you a better view."
They walked in silence, Opal trailing behind Kuvira a little. She'd never seen anything like this outside dreams, it didn't seem real and Opal couldn't stop her eyes from eating up the scene, desperate to keep it alive in her mind. She felt like the sight would shatter if she looked away for a moment. Kuvira led her deeper into the night.
They settled down against the other side of the dome, the cool metal biting the backs of Opal's arms as she sat down. The view was even more breathtaking here, settled between all the domes. The river snaked off into the distance, smearing the reflections of stars inside the water. Kuvira had her arms folded, but didn't seem too bothered by the cold.
"This is amazing," Opal murmured admiringly. Kuvira nodded and Opal looked at her for a moment, the small smile on Kuvira's lips searing its memory into Opal's brain. Opal looked away quickly, cheeks hot in the cold night. Her heart pounded and Opal pressed one hand to her chest, feeling it beat through her skin.
"Are you cold?" Kuvira asked, dismayed, having misread Opal's gesture. Opal folded her hands in her lap. She was cold after all, but it was definitely worth it.
"Are you?" she asked. Kuvira nodded appreciatively at the response.
"A little," she said. They were both freezing.
For a second Opal desperately wanted to tell Kuvira to hold her. She wanted one of Kuvira's arms to wrap around Opal, tugging her and inviting her to lean against the dancer. Opal bit down those thoughts and didn't examine them. The night was already perfect as it was, she couldn't tempt the universe, and she couldn't afford to think about why Kuvira holding her would make her even happier.
"Next time we'll dress up warmer," Kuvira promised. Next time. Opal's throat swelled so she couldn't embarrass herself.
She breathed in the world and let out the exhale, a cloud billowing from her mouth. "My mom ran away from home when she was sixteen and became a pirate," she said after awhile. "Then she joined a travelling circus, and then spent a few years living in a sandbender commune. She's seen so much." She knew Kuvira could hear the admiration in her voice.
"I know," the metalbender replied. Suyin had probably seen more of the world than the entire population of Zaofu combined and everyone in Zaofu knew that. When Opal was little her mother's memories would be her daughter's bedtime stories, mingling with tales of the previous Avatar and of Opal's grandmother. "Do you want to see those things as well?"
Of all the stories her mother would tell her, Opal had always found her mother's past the most fascinating. The way her mother spoke revealed to Opal how much she loved those days. She didn't want to go back to those times, and Opal didn't believe she missed them, but she looked back on it all with a fondness and satisfaction that Opal wanted to earn for herself someday.
"Kind of hard not to," Opal said at last. "After all those stories. Maybe it's just a part of being a Beifong girl. The urge to . . ." she trailed off. Opal loved Zaofu more than anything in the world. She'd never tell her mother this, though she'd told her father once and he'd smiled at her with a look in his eye that made her feel like she was something to be proud of.
The thing was . . . Opal had heard too much about the world to let it pass her by. She had to see it. Even this little scrap of world had nearly made her teary-eyed because of how overwhelmingly beautiful it was. She didn't know how she would see the rest . . . she wasn't a bender and she couldn't fight. She knew there was a reason why the domes were raised every night. But she could freeze to death out here, sitting next to Kuvira and watching the moon, and feel like it was worth it.
"I don't remember a lot about my family," Kuvira spoke up suddenly. Opal looked at the moonlight on her skin, reflected in her eyes and hair. Her breath misted out of her mouth, rising to the stars, as she continued to talk to Opal. "I was came to Zaofu when I was eight years old. I was lonely at first, your mother saw that I had potential and she was very kind to me."
"Why didn't your parents come with you?" Opal asked.
"They weren't metalbenders like I was," Kuvira said. Opal froze at the offhand way Kuvira had said it, like not accompanying a child to a strange city was something forgivable because of their bending status. Many parts of the city were inaccessible to people who couldn't metalbend, but Opal's father and the few other non-metalbenders found it liveable.
Kuvira had moved on. "I used to hate my parents for what they did to me, sending me away. I felt inadequate, and angry, but I didn't have anywhere to direct that anger except at myself. In many ways your mother and the city she created saved me, allowed me to direct my emotions, good and bad, into making myself a better person."
Opal had had no idea. Kuvira's feelings had never come up, but this was not really something that would come up often. She held her breath and let Kuvira continue. "I couldn't imagine staying with my family now, and I'm grateful they sent me away," Kuvira said. She sounded too bitter to be telling the truth and she noticed Opal's doubting expression.
"They said that they wanted what was best for me," she amended. "But if anything good came from it, it was from what I did for myself." Opal tried not to pity Kuvira, but it must've been incredibly lonely.
While Kuvira hadn't been outright rejected by her family, she had been sent away at such a young age that she might as well have been. If more than a decade had passed and Kuvira still spoke of her family with such a hurt tone it was clear that they hadn't tried to earn her back.
"Where did you stay?" Opal asked softly.
"For awhile I stayed at your house, actually," Kuvira said, folding her arms over her legs. "You were just a baby at the time, maybe two or three years old. You wouldn't have remembered me. Your mother let me stay until she found a better home for me."
"And it was better?" Opal asked. Kuvira looked at Opal, a little surprised, then smiled easily.
"Of course they were better," she said. "They weren't metalbenders so there was never any pressure for me to learn. Su actually visited quite often to teach me." That sounded like Opal's mother. Suyin felt responsible for all of her citizens and enjoyed interfering in their lives in positive ways when she could.
Still, the fact that Kuvira's guardians couldn't metalbend must have made her think of her biological parents in different ways. Opal couldn't imagine how terrible it must have felt to be abandoned like that. Opal never really fit into the Beifong household as neatly as her other siblings, but she'd never been made to feel unwanted.
"My point is," Kuvira said, calling Opal's attention back to the strong, talented woman she'd become. "That even though I was cast out, I still made something out of myself. Your mother gave me that chance, Zaofu gave me that chance. Words can't describe how grateful I am for this city but Opal . . . even I want to leave sometimes."
Opal blinked in surprise. Kuvira smiled a little at her. Opal turned back to the view. The moon had risen higher in the sky now and was a little brighter now. Clouds were pooling around the mountains, drifting down, and in the distance Opal could see wind rifling through the grass and heading in their direction. Kuvira also wanted to leave sometimes. It wasn't just Opal.
And it wasn't just that Opal wanted to go outside sometimes and watch the moon. The way Kuvira looked at her told Opal that she understood that as well. Opal, greedily, needed more. She had everything she wanted, and she always felt like if she died that night she'd have seen and appreciated the world enough. She still wanted more.
But . . . this was enough. Sitting, surrounded by mountains and the black night, feeling both small and large. The stars seemed to spin, and the grass glittered and a cold gust of wind crept on her and Kuvira. Kuvira grimaced against the cold but seemed to enjoy it. They'd have to sneak back soon but for now the moment hung in the air, waiting for them to move.
"Thank you, Kuvira," Opal said, hoping Kuvira could tell how grateful she was. This was one of the most beautiful things Opal had ever experienced, and she couldn't properly vocalize just exactly how it made her feel. Kuvira smiled at her.
"Just imagine if the entire world was as advanced as Zaofu," she replied. She gestured at the view offhandedly. "We wouldn't need the domes."
"We couldn't go out at night when it rains though," Opal pointed out. She liked taking midnight strolls when her mind was feeling full, and she loved to hear the patter of rain hitting the domes, echoing across the place. It wasn't quite as stunning as this, in retrospect, but there was something beautiful in it as well.
"There's nothing quite like night rain either," Kuvira spoke up. Opal glanced at the scene Kuvira had shown her again and saw that Kuvira knew what she was talking about. She smiled.
"I'd like a world where I'd have both options," she confessed softly. Kuvira glanced at her.
"Make that world," she said as if it was the simplest thing she could have proposed. In the night, outside of the pleasant cage that was Zaofu and underneath Kuvira's gaze, Opal felt for a moment, short-lived and brilliant, like Kuvira's words were the easiest truth in existence.