Chapte 5: Same old world
Kuvira knew the path they were walking, it was more rustic but she knew it. If they keep walking Omashu was only forty minutes away, then there would be answers to questions Kuvira didn't want to make and worst of all: air nomads that would might recognize her. She hated being a little girl but freedom on her land, even with guilty taste, was something she wasn't willing to give up. And less to crazy airbenders.
She had walked the same road before, felt the same wind on her face and the shadows of the trees and rocks were familiar. She had been 7 and with messy skills to make braids so her mother had to do them. That time she had got tired but her mom kept walking and scolded Kuvira every time she couldn't keep the pace. But with time the metalbender found happiness every time she looked back at that memory even if she didn't knew from or to where were they going. Her mother had sang almost all the way and the song was engraved on Kuvira heart for always.
Even with that sweet memory the woman felt unwilling to even hum the song.
Mako walked at her side eating a piece of bread quietly.
She liked him, maybe because he was a shoulder to lean on, even if he still had milk teeth. Or because he gave her a reason to keep walking. Nothing as the duty of taking care of a child to find her will to move.
The metalbender felt a pang on her heart when he smiled at her. She knew they would part ways when she handed him to the air nomads. He was orphan or at least a neglected child, otherwise the story of the day before had no sense, what would the crazy airbenders do to him?
"Are you fine?" he asked, as always, and she refrained herself of scolding him for asking the same thing "Do you want to talk about it?"
"What happened to your family?" she asked bluntly.
"Back on Republic City" he answered fast, he wasn't lying but he was hiding something "What about yours?"
"Gone, long ago. No, they are alive. Somewhere" the metalbender shrugged and wondered if she was still under the control of alcohol.
"They abandoned you?" he halted and asked with fury, his golden eyes full of scorn.
Kuvira understood his outburst, but at the same time deemed it inecessary. Her mother had been a firm woman with a soft voice that sung lullabies ; her dad, a hard working man that sent money from a distant mine. One day the money stopped coming, her mother kissed Kuvira forehead and went away without making any promise of returning. Life was better at Zaufu that in her born place, her parents knew that and had to go for her to stay.
She knew their reasons and in light of her own actions Kuvira felt without right to get mad.
"They had to. When you grow up you will understand" she answered sagely.
"No, I don't" he glared with almost glassy eyes "I never will do! If they truly cared they wouldn't have left! It has no sense" he gulped a little and closed his eyes.
Kuvira knew he wasn't talking about her parents any longer, she spotted a clean area and headed to it, the boy following her with marked steps and raged breaths "Where are you going Kuvira?"
"This isn't about me. We are a team and it is better to know what is on your mind before walking further"
"You are just a girl!" he spatted and noticing his words looked ashamed to the ground "Sorry, sorry..I was out of place"
"I already said it, apologizing a lot cheapens the act. Stop doing it!" Mako threw a fist of fire to the sky after Kuvira stopped talking and began biting his lower lip "You say I AM the child, but you are the only one behaving as a bratty child, Mako!"
"I know!" he began pacing "I just..Agh! I'm so...Ugh! Fine! What do you want to know? About my parents? About Korra? Bolin? Who? I don't care! I NEVER did!" he talked fastly, his face was red and all his body was shaking.
Before Kuvira could make sense of any of Mako words the sound of earth being bended catched her ears and with a fast jump she moved away of a chunk of rock.
"Kuvi..!" the boy received an attack on his stomach and felt to the ground before finishing his sentence.
The metalbender gave Mako a small glance before looking at their attackers. Two men, one of them the guy that tried to kidnap the woman the day before.
"Hand over the boy and we would leave you, princess!" the bandit said with a smug smile. The other one, the leader, who was a good earthbender, looked at Mako and then at Kuvira.
"I had wondered why one of us would save a firebender scum. But your punny mixed family matters nothing to the Earth Kingdom!" the man kicked the ground towards Mako, who was clutching on the ground helplessly.
Kuvira barely registered her feets moving and it was until she could hear her own scream that her mind catched that it would had been wiser to earthbend the attack or Mako himself instead of taking the attack herself.
"Fuc.
The fire played before her eyes along the sound of lightbending. Before she could raise herself up the ground moved and she was launched with a powerful move toward the sky, as if catapulted, she tried to grab with her earthbending to the ground but felt a sharp pain from her left toe to her neck. The wind took over and carried her away as the world and Mako scream faded away.
Aang looked behind him. Sokka and Katara were asleep. It was natural, as they had spend a night awake and fighting to win Omashu and free his friend Bumi, without accomplishing neither.
"A teacher who waits and listen...couldn't he been clearer?" Aang whispered to himself and observed Katara soft face, she had faith on him, everyone did, but he lacked earthbending skills and firebending was dangerous and harmful to everyone.
He took a deep breath and got back at looking at the way ahead, the chilling air barely bothering him.
The Avatar felt it first before seeing it. A person flying on the sky, except she wasn't flying but falling.
Aang launched himself and catched the girl, a little bit smaller than him and took her back to Appa.
"What?!" Sokka was the first to woke up when Aang landed, his eyes open in horror "What's that?!"
"A girl?" Aang offered "She was failing..on the sky"
"The sky?" Sokka looked up and then down, Katara blinked a little and gave Aang a sleepy glare.
An hour later the girl was still unconscious, Katara had discovered a serie of cuts, the bigger one going for her feet to her neck, passing for the middle of her back. It wasn't serious but looking at the injury almost made the healer cry and Aang felt a little guilty.
They had found a earth village that was composed of farmers, one kind family offered them shelter without asking questions, and a woman had helped Katara in her medical aid.
The Avatar glanced at the girl, sharp factions and a beauty mark under her left eye. He had seen her before, alongside her brother in a dream.
A deep cold settled on his stomach, he knew there was a boy. He got up and called Sokka to go and search for the other kid. The waterbender told them to be careful and got back at healing the girl, Aang wanted to grab her hands and promise Katara all would be fine but since the cave everything had been estranger.
Both boys got on Appa and began souring on the twilight sky.
"Have any idea?" Sokka asked, his eyes looking mildly bored at the moon.
"No" Aang whispered and headed to the west.
Alco grabbed the firebender face with more force than needed. He had been a dangerous match even when his sister had disappeared. How did he make light or where did the girl vanish had bothered him for a while.
"How old are you, fire rat?" he spatted at the child face.
"Twenty-two" the kid snarled with a smug grin and Alco hold got stronger.
They were on a small inn, in a colony of the Fire Nation that was seldom guarded by soldiers. Still the roads at night were dangerous and he couldn't lose the cargo if he wanted to live.
"He looks bad!" his henchman Rot said for the bed "Isn't he needed alive for the ritual? Was safe that thing you gave him?"
"Would you rather have him bending" the captain throw the kid against the wall "And he is Fire Nation trash! Who cares!"
Alco winced when he step up, the boy had launched him light and even if the older man had put a shield of earth he had being injured. Luckily the kid had screamed after shooting it and fainted on the ground. The thing was dangerous to do if the kid bleeding was a give away but even then it was necessary to use the chidrug to stop him to bend when he was awake. The kid didn't care about dying and whoever he took with him. Lunatic fire people.
Lord Piet would at least be pleased, the child was still fit to perform the ritual that would save the Earth Kingdom.
"Who are you?" the rat asked without fear and even Rot seemed ready to attack the child "What do you want! Where you the kidnappers of the children? You are sick!"
The Fire Nation were the ones that destroyed and killed, the monsters who killed parents and poisoned the world. How did a brat with rotten blood dared to insult him.
Alco grabbed the boy shirt and raised him until he was at eye level.
"You are so chatty! If your stupids parents didn't teach you how to behave I will now!" Alco throwed the kid to the bed and began unknotting his belt "If you scream I will spank harder so you better shut up your mouth!"
The Fire Nation kid eyes widened and he retreated to the other end of the bed, he was shivering and looked for the first time scared. That didn't stop Alco of raising the belt up.
Mako winced as he woke up, it was still night and his body ached because the bending. He glanced at one of the men, one who was awake and looked at Mako with scorn, the one that had hitted him was sleeping on the bed snoring loudly.
He hated being a weak kid. He did with all his heart. It was a nightmare worse that the one he had left behind in the destroyed Republic City. He remembered with resentment how he had woken up a week ago as a child. And then bending hurt and a few hours later he had been captured by a cult that made him drink something that tasted as metal.
The firebender had heard of crazy groups that killed kids on rituals but always dismissed them as cautious tales to not go with creepy adults back on the streets. He remembered of that time there was a serial killer and even the underworld people were freaking about it.
He smiled to himself, feeling a fire burning on his stomach. He hated his childhood and there was where his mind always carried him. Even a few hours before, the beating of the man was familiar to one he endured by a drunk man at twelve. He wanted to forget both.
Mako tested his hand and with a fast move launched a fire blast to the man head, feeling the familiar pain on his fist...and in his chest and arm. He didn't even bother to check if there was blood, choosing to run away instead.
He opened the door and went outside, the cold air in his face stealing all his heath and every step was even slower that the one before.
He had not run too far away when the ground swallowed his feet. He stared at the sky, the white full moon glowing at him. He wasn't seeking anything or anyone but still felt relieved.
At least Kuvira was safe, she had to be. The girl was like the Great Uniter in talent and wits, she was pretty much like the dictator if Mako tough about it, but she was nicer and good and the last thing he had done was scream at her because his life sucked. Who cared about any of the ones that left anyway? He didn't.
He felt a pain on his heart, and the world began to spin, but it was barely noticeable with his blurry vision, his head ached and the simply notion of moving become tiring. He could hear the man laugh before being yanked by his hair.
A wind of air flowed out of nowhere and Mako falled to the ground looking at the blue night sky.
The moon was bigger and there were rabbits dancing with a white haired girl, and Avatar Aang was there too and councilman Sokka was hitting the kidnapper before a loud noise interrupted the music (where had it come from?).
He felt the wind on his face one last time before the world faded to a reddish-black, the last he saw was the moon girl smiling kindly.
"if we stay any longer we would be noticed, Aang. The Fire Nation will attack this place" Sokka said as he closed the door.
Both siblings were burning and had injuries that looked as done by paper in their bodies, some of them were even still oozing blood.
"What about the kidnappers? We had to ran before dealing with them? We can let those childs alone!" Aang said without tearing his eyes of the sunrise "And Katara is a healer!"
"We would leave them money. Our money! They would be fine! We have to defeat the Fire Nation and we have to find you an earth master! We must go!"
Katara put a hand on Aang shoulder, her pretty eyes on Aang's "They would be safer here than with us, the boy is too young and sick for our travels. It's for the best Aang"
The Avatar sighed. He didn't understand why leaving them was better, but still knew taking the children be worse with them. At least he was sure they would meet again.