FOUR | TUG OF WAR.
( the avatar returns, part one )

❝ sharing my heart, it's tearing me apart. ❞

CRYSTAL AND SOKKA were in the midst of a snowball fight when the flare went off. She had him pinned in snow when they saw it streak across the sky. Crystal was so flabbergasted that she let go of his arms, collapsing on top of him. "What was that?" She gawked.

"I don't know," Sokka answered, brows littered with snowflakes.

A pit settled in Crystal's stomach. This was cause for concern. They had to collect the villagers, immediately—

"Can you let me go now? My face is numb," Sokka murmured.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

After that, they gathered up the tribe. The village was scared, huddling together, the image of the flare sticking to them like glue. Now they stood restlessly at the gateway to the village, waiting for Aang and Katara to return. Crystal's frozen hands anxiously kneaded together. She hoped to heaven that they were safe.

The sun was a hazy yellow. She was sweating already. She couldn't believe this was happening. That flare was a massive Fire Nation signal, and she didn't know what would come of it. This village was the only home she had left, and she couldn't lose it. She couldn't risk losing another home.

After a while, two shadows started to make their way towards them. Crystal sighed in relief. She looked over at Sokka, but his face remained unreadable. It was somewhere between concern and resentment. Gratitude and anger. She could already tell he was going to act impulsive, and she dreaded it.

Aang and Katara traipsed over the hill and were met with far less hostility than they deserved. Little girls and boys erupted into cheers, breaking from their tight-knit pack to run towards Aang and hug his legs. He just stood there, wary. He could see the way the rest of the tribe was looking at him.

"I knew it! You signalled the Fire Navy with that flare!" Sokka wasted no time accusing, stepping forward. His brows were pinched in anger. "You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?"

"Aang didn't do anything! It was an accident!" Katara said. Children shuffled around Aang's feet like they were afraid to leave him.

"Yeah, we were on the ship and there was this booby trap, and well, we. . . we boobied right into it," Aang admitted bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck.

Crystal pressed her lips together, saying nothing. She hated arguments. They were messy, and no matter the cause, it always ended with two sides of her heart playing tug-of-war. Because Aang was fun, and a warmth was spreading through the tribe that she hadn't thought possible. He was young, but with eyes that looked impossibly older. He felt like a clean slate for the village.

On the other hand, the war was wiping slates clean for them. There were barely thirty people in this tribe; maybe less. The village was barely surviving, and this was Crystal's only family. She already got a do-over once, and she didn't think the world would be so kind to her the next time around.

Aang was defending Katara against her tribe's frigid stares. Guilt, Crystal mused. So that's a soft spot. And she couldn't blame him, because it was impossible not to feel guilty when you've potentially threatened the safety of an entire village. She wondered if Sokka was right about Aang after all.

"Aha! The traitor confesses!" Sokka jibed, pointing a finger at Aang. "Warriors, away from the enemy."

Crystal's brows shot up. "The enemy?" She blurted. Her stomach squirmed. No, this was just a little boy, so sad and so desperate for a home. Years ago, that was all Crystal wanted, too. And this tribe gave it to her. Now it seemed they were taking a home away.

Sokka didn't acknowledge her. His face was steely, a decision already made up. "The foreigner is banished from our village," He declared.

"Banished?" Crystal goggled.

Aang looked up at her, astonished that she was even speaking at all. He thought that she and Sokka were so tight-knit about everything. He wondered if there was more to her than she let on.

"Sokka, you're making a mistake," Katara glared at her brother.

"No, I'm keeping my promise to Dad. I'm protecting you from threats like him." He pointed to Aang, who stood there with remorseful eyes like a deer being hunted.

"Aang's a threat? Isn't that a little dramatic?" Crysral whirled to Sokka, jutting out her hand. She couldn't stand this. "He's like, ten! He's a kid!"

"He's a danger to our village! We don't know anything about him!" Sokka exclaimed. "He's the enemy!"

Crystal wanted to punch him. If Sokka had this attitude when she got here, she'd probably still be in a blizzard right now. Either that, or she would have killed him.

"Get out of our village," Sokka spat. "Now."

Crystal drew a breath. He sounded so hateful. She searched his face for signs of the boy who squeezed her into his chest earlier that day, the boy who held her hand and ate her soup with a lopsided smile. It was harder to find him than ever.

Katara pleaded with Gran-Gran, and when nothing came of it, she shifted over to Crystal. Her oldest, dearest friend.

They both knew Crystal was the only one who could sway Sokka's decision at this point. She was the only person in this whole tribe that was both reasonable and patient enough to deal with him. But looking at Sokka's face, both girls knew he would not be moved.

Crystal couldn't fight this time. This time, she had to protect her home.

Katara saw Crystal's eyes die out, and she knew there was nothing her friend could do to to help. There was just all that guilt swallowing her whole. "Fine!" Katara shouted. "Then I'm banished too," She said, turning. "Come on Aang, let's go."

"Katara, no!" Crystal reached for her friend, but Sokka pulled her back.

"Where do you think you're going?" He fumed to his sister, but Crystal saw his anger cease for a moment. Instead, he was flooded with fear.

"To find a waterbender. Aang is taking me to the North Pole!"

The rest of the tribe stiffened. One of their own was leaving them. "Katara!" Sokka called, tinged with desperation. His sister stopped in her tracks. "Would you really choose him over your tribe? Your own family?"

Crystal watched Aang's face change, and she knew Sokka was making a mistake. A surge of guilt flared in her stomach. Aang was letting Katara go.

"Sokka, think about this," Crystal said gently. "He's just a kid. He needs a home."

Something flickered in her friend's eyes. She put a hand on his shoulder, willing for him to see reason.

His face hardened. "Well he can find one somewhere else."

He shoved her hand off. She couldn't understand why the same boy who trusted her when the rest of the village was wary, was now the same boy refusing to offer help to this poor, innocent kid. It felt awfully hypocritical. The rest of the tribe was to blame for that, too.

She was so lost in thought that she barely heard what Aang said as he spun onto Appa's head. He locked eyes with her.  "I'm sorry,"  She mouthed to him.

She didn't know how, but Aang was staring at her like he understood every tug of guilt she had. He gave her a small smile.

And then he and Appa were gone, leaving Katara and a gaggle of disheartened children in his wake.

"Whew, glad that's done," Sokka whistled to himself after Aang disappeared from view. The tribe began to disperse behind him. He glanced at Crystal. "You wanna help me with—"

"No."

Sokka recoiled, taken aback. "Criss. . ."

She didn't say anything, staring ahead where Aang once was. In his place were Katara and Gran-Gran, arguing about something or other. It hadn't even been minutes since Aang left and the Tribe was already reverting back to bitterness.

"What's your deal?" Sokka scoffed.

Crystal didn't want to be mad at him. She really, really didn't. But Spirits, this struck a nerve and it frustrated her that Sokka didn't know. "He's a kid," She said, unusually stern. It made Sokka's heart clench. "You couldn't have gone easy on him?"

"I did go easy on him! I let him stay!" Sokka protested.

"Yeah, for like a day, before you took everything from him and left him to wander the freezing tundra alone."

Sokka blinked. "Wha—who's side are you on?"

Crystal didn't want to tell him that she didn't know. So instead she huffed, storming away from him and trudging into the snow. A bead of sweat crept down her temple. Was he really this dumb? She felt so guilty for resenting the village who'd taken her in, but she couldn't not feel of place now. A stranger had been shunned from their village, just like Crystal's mother had been from her Fire Nation home. Just like she could've been here. The parallels made her stomach sick.

"Criss, I'm protecting us. We can't take any risks here, we're on thin ice as it is!" Sokka called to her, following her melted footsteps in the snow. "We can't curl up around a campfire and be friendly with someone we know nothing about. You know it's not personal!"

She whirled around, stopping him cold. "Then why are you friends with me?"

The question made Sokka freeze. "What do you mean?" He asked dumbly.

"When I got here, you didn't know anything about me. I was just a kid with a mom who left this tribe," She said, throat clogging at the memory. "I was a stranger, and you were perfectly fine with me."

"We—I—that was different!" He stuttered. "I was five!"

"And you still talked my ear off about clubbing worthless Fire Nation soldiers every day! You knew what the war was then!" She retorted.

Words were spilling out before she could catch them, and she just couldn't stop. "How was it different, Sokka? Because I was a little kid with a dyin—" Her voice caught on the word, "—dying mother? Because I needed a home? Because my mother abandoned her tribe for no reason, and everyone resented her for it, but who were you to refuse a mother and her child?" She crossed her arms, eyes glossing over. "Or was it because I was part-water tribe and that gave you the incentive to take me in? Because you didn't know what else I was?"

She wasn't really talking to Sokka anymore, but neither of them paid any mind. Crystal just felt so horrible that she had to get it all out. She had to let her heart tug-of-war just this once so she could let it go forever.

Sokka fumbled for words, cheeks flushing. "We were kids, Criss! Your mom was sick, things were different—"

"If this tribe knew I was Fire Nation right away, do you think they still would have let me in?"

Silence.

Sokka blanched, swallowing. There was the question she'd been asking herself for years. The question Sokka dreaded.

Sokka didn't want to tell her that he didn't know. So instead he froze, darting his eyes away from his friend's face and to the craters of snow at her feet.

"Answer me, Sokka. Do you think they would of kept me and Momm—my mother here if she'd survived? Or would you have thrown us to the wolves because she ran away to foreign territory, betraying her tribe, and spawning a bastard daughter of the enemy?" Crystal's voice cracked, and her lungs shallowed. "They would've kicked us out if she survived. I know it."

Sokka saw something flicker past her eyes. Something lost, like a memory, in melting gold. "That's not true—"

"If I met you now, would you still be my friend? If I came here as a stranger like Aang?" She asked quietly, lungs writhing for warmth. Why was everything so cold now? It was burning her to breathe. "What if you had to make the call, Sokka? Would I still be here?"

Sokka stared at his best friend, lost for words. He couldn't imagine a world without knowing her. Crystal was more of his family than this whole village put together. He didn't want to picture a world where he missed out on her teaching him to braid hair, or to tie laces, or to love people so wholly that it came with every breath. But no matter how he tried to fight it, he wondered if Crystal had just given him one. A world where his tribe turned her away. And back then, a world where he did.

Ten years changed a lot. They were no longer safe from the war with the protection of their youth. They could no longer stick their tongues to icicles or wrestle each other in snowbanks like they used to. They were in the war now. Because even in their lonely village, there were cracks big enough to let the outside world seep through. Sokka could see those cracks in Crystal's eyes. She could see them in his.

"Criss, you're my best friend," He finally said. "You're not a stranger."

She waited for him to say the rest. She could tell it was coming.

"But Aang put us in danger. He couldn't stay. We can't afford to lose anyone, you know that."

His voice was smooth. He wasn't lashing out like he was before. This was something calm, almost sweet, that pulled at her chest. This was him talking to her, and her alone. "You sent him away," She mumbled weakly, yanking her heart back. She couldn't let him win this time.

"It's not like I wanted to get rid of him," He retorted.

"Yeah, well it sure seemed like it!" She snapped, swelling with emotion.

Sokka flinched. Hurt flashed through his eyes. The sweetness in him faded, and his face grew cold. "And what do you know? You're just some girl!"

The words seemed to echo. Crystal's breath left her, eyes widening. It shouldn't have hit her as hard as it did.

That hurt more than anything this tribe could ever do to her. It felt like someone gashed her chest with an ice pick. Just some girl.

Never in her life had she been some girl to Sokka. Never had she been so disposable. She'd always stayed by his side, even when he was annoying and stupid and ridiculously outdated. She stayed with him because despite all that, it seemed like he loved her. He didn't label her as the Fire Nation bastard or the impure or whatever the fuck townspeople muttered as she walked past. He called her Criss instead. The first name this place had given her that gave her life meaning instead of degrading it. He made her feel like more than what she was. He made her beautifully average, not a heathen of the modern world.

Right now, she was just some girl. Spirits, that stung. He was erasing her just like the world was, when he was the only person who made her feel seen at all. She thought she was so special to him. He certainly made it seem that way. When he carefully braided her hair until he got it right, cuddled up to her when she was tired, and asked for her judgment on basic decisions, she felt that she was limitless and not just the demon her past had moulded her to be.

Some girl was the worst, most crushing thing he could've said.

She choked up. Sokka noticed. His resolve faltered, but the damage was done. The ice had already hit her heart.

"I don't understand you, Sokka, I really don't. . ." She shook her head and the world blurred through tears, as she stunted a laugh. "You know, s-sometimes I wonder—" Her voice dropped, welling in her chest. She was going to cry.

There was something haunting her in the back of her mind ever since Sokka started loving her. Something constantly poking at her brain.

She took a breath, scrunching her face. "I wonder if you're really my friend, or if you're just keeping an eye on me."

She couldn't look at him, but she hoped he felt it. She hoped he looked hurt. Because if it was true, it would destroy her.

"What?" He croaked. "I—you think I'm surveilling you? Like some sort of glorified babysitter?" His jaw was slack, brows pierced.

"Look at what you just did! You think everybody under the sun is a Fire Nation spy! Thank Spirits I'm not a firebender, because you would've turned on me in seconds!" She said, finally spilling over, finally starting to cry.

"You're my best friend! I like you, that's why we're friends!" He fumed back. "How the hell could you think that? Do you have that little trust in me?"

He was hurt. Maybe as much as she was. Crystal wanted him to understand her pain. Not because she wanted him to suffer from it, but because she wanted him to heal it. Maybe he didn't want to do either.

"To feel useful, maybe? To feel powerful—I don't fucking know!" A livid tear rolled down her cheek. "Maybe I'm your Brave Deed! Maybe when your dad comes back, you can tell him you kept the bastard spy in check to help out the war!"

It was really hurting him. It was digging into his soul. That made her cry more.

"You know, not everything's about you, Criss! This isn't about you," He said, deathly cold. His eyes were glossing over too. They were going to break each other if they didn't walk away. "I just did what I had to do."

"Why didn't you do that to me, then? Why didn't you do that to my mother?" She bellowed, a violence and a pain she had never seen clouding her heart. She didn't care what he said. She wanted him wiped clean.

Every line of his face drew sharper. The things she loved about him—the loose tunic, the goofy smile, the scruffy hair—chilled in seconds. His eyes were tapered like knives.

She knew he was going to break her. She would lose this tug of war.

"Guess I didn't know any better," He said.

Sokka walked away, and Crystal's heart tore clean down the middle.

—☯︎︎—

"SO, DO YOU have a plan?" Kasumi asked as a pair of boots were fastened on her feet. She and Zuko were being suited with all sorts of traditional Fire Nation armour to better prepare them for the cold village the Avatar was hiding in. Servants scurried around them with measuring tape, steeled shin-guards, and bulky helmets. All of them were black, red, and gold, to match the national colours.

Zuko, who was shimmying out of his shoes for warmer, sturdier boots, replied gruffly, "We raid the Tribe, find the Avatar, and go home."

"Okay, so you don't have a plan."

"Yes I do!" The cords in Zuko's neck stuck out as he yelled back at her, a little too defensively.

Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, your highness." A woman showed her a different pair of steel-tipped boots, black and rimmed with gold. Kasumi grimaced. "Oh dear, do you have those in purple?"

"By this time tomorrow, I'll be back home with my family," Zuko continued, ignoring Kasumi's tittering. "And far away from you."

"Ooh, I can't wait!" Kasumi said sweetly, grousing when the boots could not be made purple. "What are you going to do with all your free time? Stare at yourself in a fountain? Brood on a balcony? Oh, I know—maybe you'll stop being a suck!"

He threw a helmet at her.

Kasumi ducked, and it hit the servant with the boots in the face.

She sighed. "You have awful aim," She lamented, putting on the dreadful shoes. "I wonder how you'll get the Avatar if you can't even hit me. You do know they're a century old and have mastered all four elements, while you're doing an awful job with your measly one."

Zuko scowled at her, a horned helmet being lowered onto his head. "Yeah, that's why I'm bringing you with me," He said.

"Because I'm a better bender than you?"

"No, because I'm using you as a sacrifice."

Kasumi pursed her lips. "Oh." She cleared her throat. "Well, good luck with that."

The rest of the fitting went in silence.

It wasn't until the ship had started plowing through the icy waters that Kasumi was finally dressed. She wore a lengthy scarlet shawl, tight wool stockings hidden underneath her dress, and fairly hideous black boots.

"Aren't you gonna wear a chestplate?" Zuko asked her.

Kasumi swallowed. "Uh, don't need it," She shrugged. "Makes my shoulders hurt. Besides, I can warm myself up just fine."

Zuko gave her a strange look, but shrugged it off. The ship rumbled beneath her feet. "Are we here?" She asked, voice vibrating. She clung onto a tapestry as things bounced around—including that servant from before, bashing her head into the wall. The poor thing was going to get a concussion.

Kasumi got her answer when the ship stopped shaking, and everything came to a winding halt.

"What do you think?" Zuko replied. He was all done up in regal armour. It was much fancier than Kasumi's, fitted for a royal prince. Except Zuko wasn't much of a prince yet. He was just some guy with a powerful father and anger issues.

Zuko was tense as he waited for the drawbridge to fall. Kasumi stood behind him, flanked by guards. She narrowed her eyes. His fists curled and uncurled at his sides, he kept straightening his back, and he was shifting in his armour. They were subtle, but after spending so much time analyzing his every move to piss him off, Kasumi could tell from a mile away. . . Zuko was a little nervous.

"Hey," She whispered, poking him below the back of his chest-plate so he would feel it.

He turned his head. "What?" He snapped.

"Remember our impromptu firebending lesson from yesterday?" She asked.

He frowned at her. "You mean the stupid one you made up?"

Kasumi's lips twitched. "It was not stupid. It's brilliant. And yes, that one." The drawbridge started to creak beneath them, and Kasumi pushed him forward. "Just think things through. Now go threaten a bunch of villagers to fuel your ego," She urged.

He held her gaze for a moment longer, like he was waiting for something else. Her stomach did that weird coiling thing again. But when the drawbridge was lowered and an endless plain of snow stared back at them, Zuko had hardened to stone. He walked down the ramp, chest puffed, like a real fearsome prince.

Kasumi followed with the guards. She held her chin up. They were just going to get the Avatar and leave. No fuss. This whole issue could be solved without sullying her dress.

A small cluster of villagers stood at the bottom of the ramp, trembling in fear. They clung to each other in thick blue parkas. Kasumi felt a little uncomfortable pretending to be so intimidating. They only came for one thing, and they might not need this much fear to get it.

One idiot, though, had planted himself at the very bottom of the ramp, and was hurtling toward them with what looked like a club. His face was covered in traditional Water Tribe face-paint. Kasumi recognized it from the books Father kept locked up in his secret study.

Zuko took care of the boy quickly, knocking his spear off the ramp and then kicking him into a mound of snow. Kasumi bit her cheek to hide a smile. Poor guy.

She scanned the villagers as they reached the snowy ground, three guards on either side of her. There were only mothers and children—no men to be seen. The only people anywhere near Kasumi's age seemed to be a trembling girl with chestnut hair, and a taller one with blonde braids and brilliant blue eyes.

Kasumi frowned at the second girl. The second girl glared back.

Crystal was not about to let these people take away her home. Especially not a girl who frowned at her. The girl was dressed to the nines in pretentious Fire Nation boots, and Crystal swallowed a scoff. What a priss.

Her eyes veered back to Sokka, buried headfirst in a snowbank. Usually she'd be there tugging him out of it. Instead, she was trying not to cry like she had been for the past hour.

"What do you want?" Crystal asked firmly, taking a step forward. The village exchanged uneasy looks behind her. Katara wanted to pull her friend back, but with her brother stuck in the snow, it was almost comforting to see Crystal take charge. 

A boy stalked up to the village, even more protected than the girl behind him. He wore a massive helmet with three horns that formed a fire nation crest. There was a deep, red scar over one of his eyes. He looked familiar.

"Where are you hiding him?" He asked the tribe.

No one spoke up. Not even Crystal. She just kept staring at this boy, wondering if she'd seen him before.

In one motion, he lurched his hand forward and ripped Gran-Gran from the crowd. "Hey!" Crystal barked.

"He'd be about this age," he shook Gran-Gran by the hood, "master of all elements?"

Crystal furrowed her brows. Was he talking about the Avatar? Good grief, this guy was nuts.

Kasumi watched carefully as Zuko threw the old lady back to her village. Her eyes widened when he lashed a whip of fire just above their heads. The villagers yelped, covering their eyes. "Zuko!" She seethed quietly.

"I know you're hiding him," He snarled.

The buffoon from before came screaming past Kasumi. He held a club over his head, heading for Zuko but again, was easily beat.

Crystal felt a pang in her chest. Sokka was still using her club.

The firebender boy's face lit up with fury. Sokka barely dodged a fireball, and then he shot his boomerang into the sky. She knew she should hate his guts now. But it ailed her to stand here and not look after him the way she usually did.

Milo threw Sokka a spear, chanting "Show no fear!" in his adorable high-pitched voice. He beamed at Crystal for approval, and she gave him a thumbs up.

The Fire Nation boy stole the spear away before she could blink, bonking Sokka's head with the blunt end. He snapped it in half like a twig.

Kasumi's lips curled up. Maybe he was taking her advice.

Her face fell again when he was smacked in the head with a boomerang.

Now it was Crystal's turn to smile. Because she could see something in the distance. Something orange and yellow, racing towards them. Something with a staff, a cloak, and a giant arrow on their head. . . sledding on a penguin.

Kasumi saw the villager's faces light up at the same time. She didn't understand why until it hit her. Literally.

Her feet were taken from underneath her, a colourful blur streaking on the snow. With a scream, she fell flat on her back. Zuko was taken down with her. The village children erupted into cheers, and Kasumi just groaned. "Ow."

"Hey Katara! Hey Crystal, hey Sokka!" Aang greeted his friends while his penguin wobbled away. Aang was as bright and unbothered as ever, crossing his legs.

"Hi, Aang," Sokka deadpanned. "Thanks for coming."

Kasumi rubbed her bottom, pulling on another guard to get herself up. She squinted at this new kid. He didn't look like he belonged to this tribe at all. His head was shaved, his clothes were different colours, and there was a massive blue arrow on his head. He held a wooden staff tightly in his hands. A refugee, maybe? A castaway?

The boy's eyes fell on Zuko, and he stood up. Zuko motioned for the guards to surround this mysterious boy. Wether or not he wanted her to, Kasumi stepped forward to join them.

The boy lowered his staff.

A wave of snow was kicked up out of thin air, barrelling into her and Zuko. "What the fu—" She went blind, scrambling for balance.

"Looking for me?"

Kasumi blanched. Snow dripped off her warm body, melting away. She glanced at Zuko. They both wore the same bewildered expression.

"You're the airbender? You're the Avatar?" Zuko realized, face aghast.

It was a gut-punch to Crystal's stomach. "Aang?" She gaped, going ten shades whiter. "Oh, that makes so much sense!"

Kasumi inched towards Zuko, whispering in his ear. Her stomach started to squirm at the sight of a baby-faced boy lowering into a fighting stance. "Zuko, we can't fight this kid!"

He gritted his teeth. "Why not?" He growled, shooting daggers at the Avatar.

"He's. . ." Kasumi stared at this little boy, big grey eyes pointed defensively. And he still looked so little. "adorable!"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You are the most useless person in the entire world, you know that?"

Boy and Prince began to circle each other, almost automatically. The cool air grew thick and tense. Katara reached for Crystal's hand.

"I've spent years preparing for this encounter," Zuko said. "Training. Meditating. You're just a child."

The boy lowered his staff, raising his brows. Kasumi wanted to hug him—he was so small! "Well you're just a teenager," He replied innocently.

The fight was on. Zuko shot bursts of fire at the boy, who shielded himself from the flames by spinning his staff. Kasumi shot a couple too, but she couldn't bring herself to put in effort. This boy was so little, and so wide-eyed and youthful, that she couldn't find it in herself to hurt him. She may be an evil mastermind, but harming children was a step too far. Even if this child was an all-powerful bender with all four elements on his side.

Zuko and Kasumi's blasts hit the boy in unison. He stepped back, fighting the flames with his staff.

The tribe's eyes seared from the heat, clutching each other tightly. Aang's eyes met Crystal's for a brief moment. There, she saw the same guilt he'd worn before his banishment. A guilt not unlike her own.

The boy stopped spinning his staff. Instead, he set it at his side, glaring at Kasumi and the prince. "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?"

Slowly, Zuko nodded.

"No!" Crystal burst, reaching out.

She watched guards grab Aang's arms, walking him to the ship. She couldn't let them take him, just like this tribe didn't let the blizzard take her. Katara stood beside her, tears welling in her eyes. "No Aang, don't do this!" She pleaded.

Aang's eyes remained optimistic, like everything was going just the way he wanted it too. "Don't worry Katara, it'll be okay," He assured. The guards shoved him forward, and he grunted. "Take care of Appa for me until I get back!"

In front of him, Kasumi's eyebrows furrowed. The Avatar didn't seem troubled at all. Which was odd, considering he was a prepubescent child being dragged into a hulking metal ship.

"Head a course to the fire nation," Zuko ordered. "I'm going home."

When Kasumi looked back at the tribe one last time, just as the drawbridge was closing, she noticed the blonde girl shooting daggers into the back of Zuko's head. Her eyes met Kasumi's, and a chill raced up her spine.

Kasumi had a sickening, inexplicable feeling that this girl wasn't entirely from the Water Tribe.

Because there was something deadly flickering through her eyes, like sparks from a flame.

____________________________
A/N. . .
me: it's episode two enough non-canon scenes
my brain: but angst

can you tell how much i want to punch s1 sokka in the face?? good because he's being a little bitch

i know it's only chapter four but i spent a lot of time with sokka and crystal the first three chapters just so this fight would make sense. i'm sorry if you feel like the angst is too early but this is my book and this is my interpretation of the southern water tribe! this chapter took longer to come out because i redid that fight three times and i like this one the best✨it gives me anne with an e anne-gilbert fighting in the snow vibes and that's what i was going for

if anyone has feedback i'd love to hear it! i hope the scene at the end wasn't too confusing i tried my best </3 this chapter is a low point for me but the support i've been getting on this book means the whole world to me. thank you so much! every single comment inspires me and makes me laugh, i really love interacting with you all and i'm so thankful you're enjoying so far. so fire away at feedback honestly because i want to make this better for you guys <33

ALSO this is news, Frostfire is available in SPANISH NOW!! deardouxies has published it so go check it out😼😼 i love it so much what

tell me your favourite part of this chapter or something!! sorry again if the canon scenes were more boring i write so much of them because i want my characters to fit in naturally and i'm a whore

—perrie