༉˚*ೃ ᵒ⁹. 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑!

𝐀 𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐃 over her mouth. Luli's eyes immediately shot open. The first thing that crossed her mind was: shouldn't have fallen asleep—because she'd gotten way too relaxed in the soft bed to remain alert. The second thought that came to her was: oh no. Before Luli could so much as kick out or shout, she was being pulled out of the bed by two men. Two Earth Kingdom guards, in Omashu uniform, one who she'd seen serving the king. They got her up off the ground, removed any leverage Luli might have had with her feet.

          For a panicked moment, Luli thought: they know—and was under the very sudden impression that they were going to kill her for being Fire Nation. She'd never gone up against earthbenders before, not in the sense of not being thirteen and just running away. She kicked out, trying to get one of them in the knees, but their grips under her arms were tight and they were much, much larger than her. They pulled her from the chamber, towards one of the stone doors that had opened up into a hallway.

          It was then that she noticed that Sokka's bed was empty, and now Katara was being dragged out in the same position as she was, and Luli thought, oh, this isn't about me. She wasn't sure if that feeling brought her more relief, or more concern. It certainly confused her. The Omashu guards got her walking—held her arms behind her back as they marched the young firebender through the halls. They only stopped when they got to a narrow, dead-end chamber, at the end which Luli could only assume was an earthbending door. It was there that she ran into Sokka.

          "Luli? What's going on?" He was being shoved into the same chamber with a guard on his arm. Then Katara behind him, struggling violently. Her eyes met both Luli and Sokka's in turn, and she stopped trying to fight. The guard finally took his hand off of Katara's mouth—sure that she wouldn't shout now.

          "I don't know," Luli replied. Her expression was pulled into a frown, as they shoved her forwards, towards him. "Maybe we're getting the real punishment, now. You know, if the feast was a trick." She wondered what it would be. Fire lashes on the hands or back? No—of course not, dummy, earth lashes maybe. Marks of shame for disrespecting a king? Forced labour for a few years? Maybe they'd be sent to the kind of dark, rotting prisons they had in the Fire Nation. Or one of the waterborne captive ships. Hopefully Aang would bust them out of whatever their punishment ended up being, but it still frightened her.

          Even Katara's face twisted worriedly. "I hope not. Maybe Aang has to do the trials alone."

          That frightened Luli more. If the Avatar died at the hands of some random trial, they'd never even get close to ending the war. She'd feel a lot safer if he was in her sight. "But what if he gets hurt?" Her hair was frazzled, clothes rumpled. Sokka and Katara seemed to be in more or less the same state. Sokka's hair was falling out of its ponytail.

          Sokka frowned too, "Hopefully the challenges aren't too hard."

          "The deadly challenges? With that king? No way," said Luli, and then the door in front of them slid open.

          The king of Omashu, dressed now in a ghastly shade of purple, was addressing Aang, "I thought you might say that. So I will give your friends some special souvenirs."

          The guard beside Luli grabbed her wrist, held it out with a crystal ring in hand. She struggled back. "You're giving me a ring?" The guard shoved it on her index finger anyway. It was cool and a little too constrictive around her skin to the point that it was uncomfortable. Had her other arm not been tucked away behind her back, she would have tried to pull it off. Luli tried with her teeth anyway. It didn't budge. "What is this?"

          The king answered for her. "Those rings are made of pure jennamite. Also known as creeping crystal." Katara and Sokka were given matching pairs, and even now as Luli stared down at where the ring was constricting her finger, it seemed to grow a little, creeping up her index finger towards the knuckle of her hand. She cringed and tried again to pull it off. "It's a crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall your friends will be completely covered in it."

          Agni, thought Luli, Kemurikage, I know I've never been a very disciplined child of the Fire Nation but please don't let me die by suffocating in crystal.

          "Terrible fate, really," the king continued. "I can stop it, but only if you cooperate."

          The crystal on Sokka's finger grew in the same way that Luli had, and he shouted, "Ah! It's already creeping!"

          Aang's eyes turned determinedly towards the three teenagers, then back to the king. "I'll do what you want." The king chuckled menacingly and then Luli was being grabbed by the other arm and forced along, in tow with Katara and Sokka. Where they were being led, she didn't know. Down stairs and stairs of stone caverns—she could hear the king behind them. Eventually, they ended up at a balcony overlooking a large underground cavern, filled with stalactites and stalagmites, a crashing waterfall in the centre. Aang was standing on a small outcrop of rock, looking tiny from their high position, and rather determined.

          "Do your adventures usually end up like this?" whispered Luli.

          To which Sokka responded, "Yep." He was still trying to tug the crystal off his hand. It seemed to just be making the thing grow faster. "Gah! This thing really won't come off!" By now, it was creeping up all of their wrists. Luli tried to chip a bit off by striking it with her other fist, only resulting in hurting her knuckles. Katara, on the other hand, chose to ignore both of them and just watched Aang. Luli knew she was mostly ignoring her.

          Luli breathed out softly, glancing back at the guard looming behind them. "Hold on," she murmured, and lifted her free hand to cover part of the light green crystal. Focusing hard, her palm begun to warm. Sokka's face suddenly started to glow, probably the first time he'd reacted positively to her firebending so far—which was, to be fair, only three times—as his cheeks widened with a grin. She tried to direct all of her inner heat towards that hand.

          Meanwhile, Aang was still stood down on the small cluster of flattened stalagmites, looking up at where the king and the others stood on the balcony. "It seems I've lost my lunchbox key, and I'm hungry," said the king matter-of-factly. His voice echoed around the vast cavern. Then, the king pointed to the middle of a great rushing waterfall. "Ooh, there it is! Would you mind fetching it for me?" Luli could barely see the tiny key amongst the thundering water, but she was more focused on trying to shatter the creeping crystal than that.

          Luli watched as Aang frowned and leapt nimbly from his platform. She'd seen his airbending briefly in action while fighting off attackers twice now, but this was the first time she truly got to see how it affected his agility. He nearly defied gravity on each jump, springing from stalagmite to stalagmite more graceful than she'd ever seen anyone. The Avatar flipped and hopped and plunged into the roar of water pouring through the centre of the cavern. Her hand was still heating up and up, until she was sure it was about to burst into flames. There was a small 'clink' as part of the crystal cracked. Come on, Agni, she willed, concentrating harder. Another 'crack'.

          Sokka was glancing over at her hopefully as she kept her eyes trained on Aang, who was trying to push his way up through the rushing water. "Ooh, climbing the ladder," grinned the king sarcastically. "No one's thought of that before." Another tiny 'clink' sound, and Luli glanced down. There was indeed a small fire pooling around her hands at such a proximity. Luckily, her arm was tucked enough away so the guard couldn't see her. But even as she stared at the cracks that had formed in the jennamite, they were healing back up again. The crystal just kept growing: whatever damage she did, it fixed itself to even stronger than before.

           "Oh, man," despaired Sokka at her discovery, and Luli glanced up just in time to see Aang lose his grip and go flying out of the waterfall. He pitched straight towards the sharp stalagmites, and Sokka, Luli and Katara all let in a sharp gasp. Just as it seemed like it was about to end really, really badly, Aang caught himself safely between to stalagmites, skidding to a stop. He exhaled in relief, and Sokka gave him a thumbs up.

          Luli, on the other hand, wasn't so pleased. She turned towards the king angrily. "You're going to kill the Avatar!" Aang was back to hopping up the stalagmites, but Luli wasn't going to let off. "If Aang dies, the Fire Nation wins." The king was ignoring her, even as she raised her voice. "Then the world dies. Are you hearing me?" At this point, she wasn't sure if he really couldn't hear her, or if he was simply choosing to not reply.

          Deadly challenges or not, the world wouldn't survive another few years under the reign of the Fire Nation.

          Sokka, at her side, urged, "Luli, just leave it."

          "No." She turned on him suddenly. Her mouth was pulled into a thin line, looking stern and upset at the same time. "Aang's life isn't just a game." The creeping crystal climbed further, now, almost at all of their shoulders. "The world's been holding their breath for a hundred years. I mean, what if he does die here? Then there's no hope at all."

          Sokka seemed to take sympathy on her. "Aang might be a kid, but he's really strong. It's gonna take more than just a crazy king to kill him." Then with his good arm, that wasn't so heavy with the jennamite, pointed towards a spot in the cavern. "Look." Aang was clung to one of the stalagmites—and as they watched, he snapped it in two and perched precariously on the flat edge. Then, with the sharp point of the rock in one hand, he reeled back and flung it forward, sending a perfect arc of air ahead of it.

          Her mouth parted in awe as the air sliced through the metal chain holding up the key, and the stalagmite tip impaled it. The key was dangling above the Omashu king's head before any of them could even process what had happened. Sokka and Katara were in equal shock. "There!" shouted Aang from down below. "Enjoy your lunch!" He actually looked angry. "I want my friends back now!"

          "Ah, not yet." The king clapped his hands together once—and the three kids' on the balcony's expressions ranged from Katara's one of concern, to Luli's frown, to Sokka's sharp-browed glare. "I need help with another matter. It seems I've lost my pet Flopsy." Luli rolled her eyes as they dragged her and the others out to a type of zoo courtyard. Aang followed them—the jennamite crept up to Luli's shoulder and was starting to form around her torso like a breastplate. It was remarkably heavy on one side.

          In the centre of a large pit perched a lop-eared bunny, nose twitching adorably. Aang immediately hopped down beside it. "Okay, found him."

          "Bring him to me!" called the king, and Luli was just so, so over this. She'd been a prisoner twice in the span of two days.

          Sokka seemed to hold the same sentiment, groaned, even as some other giant beast started to chase Aang around the enclosure. "I knew we shouldn't have come here. Now we'll be days off schedule, and we might die inside crystal!" At this point, the blue crystal encasing him was covering both his shoulders. Luli had to agree. She knew going with the Avatar would be dangerous, but she really didn't think it would turn out like this.

          Beside him, Katara sighed. "Aang's just a kid, he deserves to have a fun break from being the Avatar for once. We'll still reach the North Pole when we can, but we're not in a rush, Sokka. And he'll get us out of here." She still looked worried.

          "You're just a kid too," pointed out Luli, and was immediately shut down by Katara's stern look. It was a sad fact. Kid soldiers playing in an adults' war.

          "You know what?" said Sokka, in a revelation so shocking to Luli that it turned her expression into one of total incredulity, "I'm with Luli." Katara blinked extremely slowly—and Sokka, the brave kid, went on to say, "All we've been doing with Aang is having fun. And all it has gotten us is attacked. And Kyoshi Island burned. If we don't get to the North Pole soon, Aang will never learn waterbending."

          Ah, so that's why they were headed for the North Pole. Katara's face scrunched. "I can't believe you'd side with her. She lied to us. Lied to me."

          Luli's lips turned down. Her eyes were amber in the warm glow of the outside sun, turned to the waterbender. "I'm really sorry I lied," begged Luli, "I didn't know how else to get you guys to trust me. I was going to tell you, but then Zuko attacked—"

          "Yeah, Zuko who you know." Luli shut up at Katara's comment, but the girl continued. "The Fire Nation is horrible. They destroyed my family. Do you even know what they did to the South Pole?" It wasn't a rhetoric question, apparently, and that became apparent as Katara waited with glaring eyes. She had an inner anger that was so firebender.

          Ashamed, Luli said a quiet, "No," because snippets of recounts of those from the Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom could never be compared to the actual, violent and bloody, thing.

           "They took every last waterbender. Except for me. No one ever saw them again. Three generations of waterbenders from our tribe just gone, one after the other until I was the only one left. And then all the men in our village left to fight in the war, and some women too, until it was just the old, and the weak, and the young left behind—and me and Sokka had to look after them all, because we were the chief's children, you know?" She was talking quickly, voice wrung with distress. A child forced to grow up much, much too quickly. Suddenly, Sokka's comment about being the best warrior in his village was a lot more real. "I watched—" Katara took a deep breath, faltered. "I watched—... They took my mother's life. And then we were struggling every day to find food for those old, and weak, and young left, and we were so unprepared for if the Fire Nation were to attack us again. And then Zuko did, and he threatened to hurt our Gran Gran, and—!" Katara seemed to catch herself, took a deep breath. She turned her face, looked right at Luli with so much stubborn determination on her face. "Your people are horrible. You'll never know what my tribe went through. Don't act like you do. They hunted us for generations like sport, and you expect me to forgive you?" She was glaring with such a mix of emotions on her face—anger and rage, hurt, sorrow, looking dangerously closely that she might break. Luli just didn't respond.

          "Katara," said her brother, slowly. She turned towards him with more sadness and despair than rage. "Luli didn't do that."

          "I— I know she didn't. But she's still one of them."

          There was defensiveness in Katara's tone that made the guilt in Luli's heart just grow and grow. She couldn't even be mad at Katara anymore. Katara was right, Luli could have never known what she or her brother had been through. She'd been through traumatic experiences of her own, but there wasn't a comparison to what each girl had dealt with alone. When the firebender spoke, she was quiet, "I know I can't fix any of it." Some of the crystal climbed higher up past Luli's neck. "But I do want to stop it."

          Had Katara's body not been encased in green crystal, she would have folded her arms over her chest. "I don't trust you," said Katara. "So if you try to hurt my brother, or Aang, or the Water Tribe or the Earth Kingdom, I won't let you."

          Luli nodded and then shook her head—the three of them barely noticing Aang had completed the second trial until they were being pushed to walk again. "I won't try to hurt anyone. If I do, you have one-hundred percent permission to dunk my head in a river." The three were led out to the balcony of what seemed to be a large earthbending arena. Two guards flanked them on either side—the crystal was now starting to encase around their faces, and Luli was beginning to worry. It was all very heavy. If she tilted just a little bit, nothing would stop her from crashing straight down.

          So this was the last trial. "Your final test," declared the king, as Sokka, Luli and Katara came to a halt, "is a duel. And, as a special treat, you may choose your opponent." Aang was the Avatar—surely he could beat anyone in a duel, right? Out of the entrance stepped a tall, scarred man with at least three blades strapped to his body and a spear in hand—a weathered mercenary, most likely. Aang inched back. Another man from the shadows, this time even taller—remarkably so—, bare-chested and masked, ripped with muscle, clutching what seemed to be a great axe. Both of the men's weapons were taller than Luli herself.

          Sokka's mouth fell open, and Luli said beneath her breath, "No way," because even if Aang was an airbender she was sure either of those men could skewer him in about half a second.

          "Point and choose," grinned the king.

          A look of thought overcame Aang's face. "So you're saying whoever I point to... that's the person I get to fight?" He narrowed his eyes.

          The king raised a brow, "Choose wisely."

          Choose me, Aang, Luli thought, hoping he'd magically be able to read her mind. Choose me, I'm encased in crystal, I'll fall right over. Aang! But then Aang was pulling a face, looking between the two options. "I... choose..." the man with the spear grinned wickedly, "you." Aang pointed right at the old, gnarled king.

          Sokka's brow raised, Luli pursed her lips thoughtfully. Then, the king chuckled, clasping his hands together, "Wrong choice." He straightened up his posture, bones cracking from lack of exertion, grinned before throwing off the purple regal cloak to reveal an earthbending uniform underneath. And, so, oh, the king wasn't a weak old man after all. Luli's eyes widened dramatically.

          Aang cringed, and the king stomped his bare foot. A rock flew up beneath Aang and sent him soaring back into the earth arena below as he shouted out. Aang hit the ground with an "oof!", a bad landing. He rolled a little, and looked up just in time for the Omashu king to land right in front of him.

          The king laughed, "You thought I was a frail old man, but I'm the most powerful earthbender you'll ever see!"

          Sheepishly, Aang pointed past him. "Can I fight the guy with the axe instead?"

          "There are no take-backsies in my kingdom," said the king, voice echoing up from the arena to where Luli and the other two were stood. A bit of crystal grew in front of one of Luli's eyes, making the fight rather difficult to witness. Then the king pointed up, towards the balcony. "You might need this." The guard next to Sokka threw down Aang's staff as the old man reeled back his arm and launched a chunk of rock towards the young airbender.

          Aang dodged to the side, unsteadily. He ducked and hopped over more rocks as Luli shouted, "Use his own strength against him, Aang!" Being struck by one of those boulders of earth would be really painful.

          "Typical airbender tactic: avoid and evade," drawled the king. "I'd hoped the Avatar would be less predictable!" On his final word, he launched an even greater rock—one that was about the size of Aang. Katara, Sokka and Luli grimaced in time as the Avatar leapt up over it and it smashed into pieces behind him. "Don't you have any surprises for me? Sooner or later, you'll have to strike back." Aang hovered in the air using leverage from his staff, and when the king sent a boulder crashing up over him, the boy fell.

          He hit the ground with a thud, Luli cringed. Katara let out a small gasp, Sokka said to himself, "Come on, Aang." The Avatar's staff clattered out of reach. Aang pulled himself up from the rubble in which he'd landed, eyes wide. He was just a kid. Luli frowned. She really wanted to kick some sense into this old man—what right did he have to be bullying a twelve-year-old child?

          Aang sprung to his feet and sprinted forward as the skilled earthbender sent up columns of rock in front of him, forcing the young boy to weave and duck back and forth. One caught Aang under his torso and sent him flinging upwards. "Aw, you'll have to be a little more creative than that."

          It was official: Luli hated this king.

          Frowning, Aang whipped up a kind of sphere of air, perching atop it and scooting forward. Though the king tried to upend him with more columns of earth, Aang shot towards the wall and rode across it—defying all semblance of gravity. Then, he was flying towards the king. His arm slashed horizontally and sent a burst of air rocketing ahead, just as the king brought up a wall of rock. Useless. The powerful strike of wind careened uselessly off the stone. The king grinned. "Did someone leave the windows open?" he mocked. "It feels a little drafty in here. Are you hoping I'll catch a cold?"

          Before Aang even realised what was happening, the old king was sending a wave of rough rocks at him. They smacked into Aang before he could leap away, sent the young boy careening into the ground again. That was going to leave a bruise. Luli hated being helpless, trapped unable to move and far away from the action. She'd never been the type of person to just stand by and let it happen. Not anymore. Another burst of rock, Aang tumbled over it and grasped his staff. The three kids on the balcony gasped.

          "How are you going to get me from all the way over there?" The taunts were a good sign, usually. Overconfidence. Surely Aang could bring the king down with some tricks. Aang's expression just fell into one of determination and he sprinted forward. Air in the form of a dust cloud shot up behind him, speeding him up and up, as he clasped the staff in both hands. The winds roared as he ran. And yet, all it took was the king to stomp down and turn the earth into fine dirt with the equivalency of sand to stop Aang in his tracks, sinking the boy down to his waist. It was a reminder that even if the boy was the Avatar, he had a long, long way to go.

          The king grinned as he summoned two great rocks from the earth, large enough to crush a komodo rhino. They hovered on either side of Aang as the young Avatar desperately tried to get out of the quicksand. "Stop!" shouted Luli, unsure if the Omashu king was really going to pull through. Aang glanced around, panicked, as the two rocks soared towards them. She saw the split second that he used a spin of airbending to free himself—shot out above the two massive boulders just as they smashed together in what would have been a killing blow. Aang shouted as he flew through the air, landed solidly on his feet, and shot a great gust of air at the king.

          The old man skidded back and struck the wall with a grunt. Aang's first hit. Luli, Katara and Sokka all watched anxiously as Aang stared at the earthbender determinedly. The earth king drew back. Aang saw it at the same second that Luli did—the great boulder rushing up behind him—and just managed to leap over it. It was a narrow miss. It exploded harmlessly against the talented earthbender. "We've gotta get Aang out of there," said Sokka.

          "How?" Katara asked, struggling to move her arms. "We're completely stuck!"

          Luli was trying very hard to use her firebending on the inside, maybe heat the crystal at such a degree that it would crack apart. But that hadn't worked before, and now she was so restricted in her move-pool that she just ended up minorly searing her leg. "Ouch, I can't bend my way out of here."

          "Me either," worried Katara.

          The king of Omashu solidified his stance, raised his arms and began to shake the arena. He really was powerful. Cracks ran through the ground around the other balcony, and with a great heave, the king lifted the entire thing and its base into the air. A gigantic mass of rock. Sokka's mouth dropped, he stammered out a sound of disbelief. The object hovered over the king's head, he himself straining under the earth's weight.

          Aang yelled prematurely and started to run in big circles. Round, round, round. It whipped up a great whirlwind of air, pulling dust and sand towards him. Like a tornado. Luli winced, Katara's braid whipped around her head. Aang ran faster and faster as the king threw the massive rock towards him. It plunged into the whirlwind, spun around, and shot right back at the old man. He shouted, split the rock in half just before it could reach him. The stone shuddered the own balcony the kids were standing on. Then Aang flew at him and got his staff against the man's chest. A victory position. The king raised his arms.

          A segment of rock hovered above them, supported by the king, and Aang looked up wide-eyed. But it seemed like they were at a standstill. The king chuckled, "Well done, Avatar. You fight with much fire in your heart." He chucked the boulder harmlessly to the side. It shook the arena. Then, he hopped through the ground with his earthbending, and appeared right beside Sokka, who jumped. Aang followed, soaring through the air and landing in front of them. "You've passed all my tests. Now, you must answer one question."

          Luli groaned. Aang agreed with her, "That's not fair! You said you would release my friends if I finished your tests."

          "Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?"

          "Oh, come on!" exclaimed Sokka.

          "I can't feel my arm," Luli complained.

          The king, as usual, completely ignored them. "Answer this one question and I will set your friends free. What... is my name?" Aang cringed. Then the king glanced back. "From the looks of your friends I'd say you only have a few minutes."

          Luli glanced up at the crystal over her head. It was really heavy now. Aang looked like he was in despair, "How am I supposed to know his name?"

          "Think about the challenges," urged Katara. "Maybe it's some kind of riddle!"

          "I've got it!" shouted Sokka, turning all their eyes towards him.

          Aang looked hopeful, "Yeah?"

          "He's an earthbender, right?" the Water Tribe boy continued thoughtfully. "Rocky!" They all just stared blankly. "You know, because of all the rocks."

          A frown fitted Luli's features, "That's the stupidest name I've ever heard." He made an offended noise.

          "We're gonna keep trying," encouraged Katara, "but that is a good backup." Luli huffed out a snort.

          "Okay, so back to the challenges," tried Aang again. "I got a key from a waterfall, I saved his pet, and I had a duel."

          Luli had never been particularly good at solving riddles, but she may as well give this one a shot. "And did you learn anything? About him or yourself?" she tried, brows furrowing as another chunk of crystal enclosed over her.

          His brows furrowed. "Well... I don't know. Everything was different than I expected."

          "And?" Katara continued, wincing as a piece of crystal grew up by her face, trapping her in one position.

          "Well... they weren't straightforward. To solve each test, I had to think differently than I usually would." Luli ducked a little as a bit of crystal grew inwards, towards her head. Now it was really uncomfortable. Then, after a moment of thought, Aang's face brightened, and he grinned widely. "I know his name."

           "You do?" asked Luli, as they were quickly lead out by guards. It was pretty hard to walk—Sokka was shuffling and Katara kept grimacing as the crystal kept her neck at an awkward position. Please hurry, Aang, thought Luli the moment they got an audience with the king. He was waiting in the throne room for them.

          "I solved the questions the same way I solved the challenges," explained Aang, as Sokka tilted and almost fell. "As you said a long time ago," and Luli's face scrunched in confusion, "I had to open my brain to the possibilities." The king snorted with laughter, and Luli and Sokka and Katara all exchanged equally confused looks. "Bumi," said Aang, "you're a mad genius." The young Avatar ran straight towards the old king, threw his arms around him. The king caught him.

          "Wh—?" Sokka began to question.

          "Shhh!" Luli and Katara both hissed at the same time, instantly quieting him.

          "Oh, Aang, it's good to see you." The king hugged him back, despite their vast differences in height. Luli realised again, how hard it must be waking up 100 years later. "You haven't changed a bit..." said King Bumi, hand placed on Aang's shaved head. "Literally."

          Katara shuffled up towards them, followed by the other two teenagers. "Uh, over here!"

          "A little help," said Sokka, whose eyes were obscured and only his mouth visible between the crystal.

          Luli, who was hunched uncomfortably, added, "Please." With her one amber eye visible, she watched King Bumi draw his hand back. The crystal around them shattered. She'd never straightened her back so quickly in her life. "Thank the spirits."

           One of Katara's hands outstretched towards Aang and his friend. "So this crazy king is your old friend Bumi?"

          "Why did you do all this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka asked, brows furrowed. Aang, on the other hand, seemed still overjoyed.

          Luli's lips pulled into a pout, "He could've gotten really hurt."

          The king raised a finger to answer. "First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people." Luli generally disagreed, even as Bumi snorted. "But I do have a reason." He turned towards the young Avatar, as Luli rubbed her muscles from all that time crammed inside creeping crystal. "Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Firelord Ozai." Luli, somehow, shuddered at his name. Most people just called him the Firelord. Ozai was too close to home to hear comfortably out of the lips of someone else. "You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Firelord, and when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius."

          Aang smiled gratefully, bowed in a manner not all too different from a Fire Nation pose of respect.

          "And it looks like you're in good hands." King Bumi's eyes grazed over them: from Luli with her amber eyes and dark hair, to Sokka and Katara, who's mouths were equally parted. "You'll need your friends to help you defeat the Fire Nation." Momo, appearing from where he'd likely been snacking somewhere all day, hopped along the ground and glided up to sit on Aang's shoulder. Luli smiled.

          Aang rubbed Momo on the head. "Thank you for your wisdom. But before we leave, I have a challenge for you."

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"𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐀𝐑𝐄 nuts!" exclaimed Sokka as Aang and the old King Bumi took off down a slide in one of the delivery system carts, laughing wildly as they went. It did seem like a massive safety hazard, especially considering Luli could see now how high up they really were.

          Luli walked up beside him, peering down the chute. "Was it any fun?" she asked, Momo clutched in her arms like a baby. It was probably a bad sign how clingy the lemur was already getting to her, considering how much she was spoiling him. Between the cradling and the ear rubs and the lychee nuts, there was no way Momo was going back to being independant.

          The nonbender looked astounded at the idea. "What?! Are you crazy! We almost died!" he shouted, gesturing with both arms at the chute system. His eyes were wide. Then he paused for a moment, brows furrowing. "But yeah, it was kind of fun."

          "Shame I missed it." Luli squashed Momo's face in her hands, rubbing his cheeks as he chittered to her. Did lemurs have a language of their own? He seemed to be enjoying the face pats.

          Sokka's arms crossed, arm wraps folding over his chest. He made a thoughtful face. "Maybe we can come back and ride them again. Two at a time." Luli's eyes glanced up hopefully, to see Sokka being serious. He tossed the idea around in his head. "After we defeat the Firelord."

          Warmth bloomed in her chest, slow and warm—like a sunrise. A bright grin spread across Luli's face, "Yeah, totally." Momo complained loudly at her pause, and she went back to scratching softly behind his ears. Luli was smiling too much to worry. "I'd love that."

          Katara said nothing at all.

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𝐋𝐔𝐋𝐈 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 been so glad to leave a city. Being trapped in growing, constricting crystal was an experience she never wanted to have again. Momo was perched on her shoulder, and the moment they got back up to the cliff they'd started at, Aang ran right up and jumped onto Appa's face with a shout of, "Appa!" The sky bison rumbled delightedly, and Momo chittered—hopped off of Luli and glided over to sit atop his animal friend's head. Luli was smiling too, as she redid one or two of her braids, the long strands which would take a while. It always left her hair wrangled with curls afterwards.

          Katara climbed onto Appa's back, but Luli didn't make a move. She stood still. "Aang, I still want to teach you firebending. I know that you— that you're all hesitant about me, because of where I'm from, but I promise, I'm good. And I'm trying to be good, and to do better. I don't know what else I can do." She was standing there, a fair distance from the rest of them, hands clasped together and young face twisted with worry. Her brows were pinched.

          Aang looked over, confused, like it wasn't even a question. "Of course. I need a firebending master!" He sat cross-legged on Appa's head, frowning. "Why are you all the way over there?"

          Luli's face softened. She took a couple of steps towards them, then paused, turned. She stared back at the massive city of Omashu—its high walls, impeccable architecture, mountains all alone in the wide sea of canyons—and knew she had to leave it all behind. The old ties, the memories, the relationships once forged in fire. She... she had to. Because if she kept clinging onto it all, then its memories were going to follow her everywhere, like ghosts. And she knew it would eventually be the death of her. Don't follow me home, she thought to them. Then, Luli turned towards the Avatar.

          She smiled. Sokka was the only other one still on the ground. "Good to see you, buddy," he said, patting Appa's side before he clambered on. This time, he reached a hand down for Luli. A grin appeared on her face. She took it, using his help to climb up the bison and onto the saddle where the rest of their things were. It was much easier with help.

          "It doesn't mean we trust you." Katara was adamant, her arms tightly crossed and her brows arched low. It seemed like she wasn't very pleased with her brother's or the Avatar's decision—based on the twitch she was getting at the arch of her left eyebrow. And Luli got it a little: she'd already broken Katara's trust once.

          Luli sighed. If she was really going to be enemies with Katara the whole time, then fine. She was here to aid the Avatar first and foremost. Even though it would suck. "That's okay, you don't have to. I'm here for Aang. He can't be the Avatar without firebending." Her words had no bite to them anymore. Katara turned up her nose at the comment. "Thanks for not tying me up again. Last time I thought my fingers were going to fall off."

          Katara huffed, "Don't be so dramatic." She leaned back in the saddle, against her own pack. Her legs purposely kicked Luli in the process, who glared a little.

          "See! You guys are becoming friends!" exclaimed Aang excitedly, throwing his arms in the air from where he was perched on Appa's head, at the reins. The sky bison had started to fly. "I knew it would happen."

          Luli envied his naivety, in a way. He was still just a kid. When was it that she'd started seeing herself as not a kid too? It seemed that his naivety was ticking Katara off more, not making her slip into longing like it had for Luli—her brows were set sharply low and she kept mumbling frustrated things to herself as she slouched back at the other end of the saddle. What Luli would have given to hear what she was saying.

          The firebender turned, propped herself up on the edge of the saddle with her elbow. The wind ruffled her black hair. "So..." she asked Aang, leaning over the side. "We're headed to the North Pole, right?"

          He tilted his head back at her. A grin was bright on his face—even as Katara sulked or fumed turned away from them. "Yep. Ever been there?" Aang asked her with genuine curiosity, and even Sokka looked up at her. A smile quirked up the edges of her lips.

          "No, actually. It was really far on boat, and when I tried to visit the South Pole once, it didn't go so well. Firebenders aren't made to be in the cold—and it was pretty dangerous on my own." She smiled, now. "I've heard it's lovely, though. And now I can visit." She propped her chin in her palm, staring out over the land beneath them. The rivers, the mountains, the canyons and the trees. It was spread like a painting. "The sky is so incredible from up here."

          "Yeah, yeah," said Sokka, waving dismissively, "You get used to it, though."

          Luli just gazed down at the world from a sky bison's back. From all the way in the air, it was easy to see parts of the earth that were untouched by the Fire Nation—that hadn't been burned into ash, into Waste Land. She could spot a few, now, those spots of blackened ground and twisted trees. But the rest was all vibrant and green, or the ochre canyons that surrounded Omashu. It was breathtaking. She felt like she could just reach out and gather the clouds in her hands, or reach up and pluck the sun from the sky. "I don't think I could ever get used to this."

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i hate the king bumi episode with a passion so i tried to make it as interesting as possible. hope it worked :)

in which, luli quickly learns that being on team avatar means getting into danger about every 10 minutes

i think katara really needed that vent

i know what happened to the water tribe is mentioned a fair amount in atla, but i feel like the realisation of how truly despicable it was doesn't really sink in for a lot of people. like, everyone who makes fun of katara for mentioning her mother a few times per season—a 14 year old girl who witnessed her mother's burned corpse at age 8, and then had to take care of her older brother for the next 6 years while holding the guilt that her mother literally died to save her. people invalidating her trauma really pisses me off. even hama is an example of the writers getting something wrong—they locked her up in the end just like the fire nation had. anyway, i feel like the trauma of the water tribe goes really unspoken about in a large portion of the atla fandom so i'm making sure to touch on how it affected katara and sokka a lot more directly in this. the fire nation literally committed genocide on the waterbenders of the southern tribe, so katara doesn't have to forgive luli any time.

luli and gaang friendship supremacy

sorry these chapters are so long, i don't know what's wrong with me :(

word count: 6,790

23.11.2020.