༉˚*ೃ ᵒ⁶. 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐒!

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐆𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 alight. Licks of flame ran up the side of buildings and smoke clung heavy in the air, small embers spiralling up towards the sky in the familiar sounds of sizzles and cracks, as Luli and Suki ran down the sharp hillside towards it, small stones skittering and sliding out from under their feet. Luli had her hand out to her side to minimize her slipping, but Suki ran full-force, not bothering to worry about taking a fall. Her arms were pumping, painted face twisted with worry and fierce intensity. Luli would not have wanted to come between her in that moment.

          Luli could smell the smoke. She didn't think she could ever forget that smell. When they skidded down onto the dirt path of the village, half tripping, the small town was being rampaged by furious komodo rhinos and their Fire Nation riders—the soldiers wearing deep red armour and helmets with masks akin to skulls. So these soldiers were under high-command. Likely from the Royal Palace itself. Luli cursed on every spirit she knew as she dove after Suki, through the crowd of fleeing townsfolk, pushing past them in her Kyoshi uniform.

          In the centre of the village, Suki's Kyoshi Warriors had already engaged in a fight. Flame sprung from the hands of the soldiers, forcing the warriors back. For just half-a-second, Luli saw red. That firebending anger still inside her. Suki sprinted ahead of her, and Luli followed in close behind. Some of the injured Kyoshi Warriors fell back at their presence, relishing the idea of backup. There it was, a Fire Nation soldier sent a burst of hot, orange fire towards her. It glowed in the early evening air, as Luli planted her feet and used Suki's training to knock the flame away with the ribs of a single tessen, deflecting the fire to the side. Immediately, Luli brought both iron fans back up in the defense stance Suki had taught her, amber eyes glinting behind them.

          She dashed forward as the rider took out a spear, striking at her. Precise and steady, she recalled, and caught the soldier's spear between the fan's sticks, twisting it sharply out of his grip with a kick to the shaft. Holy shit. She did it.

          Meanwhile, Suki charged straight towards the soldier at the front of the komodo rhino formation, whose back was turned away from Luli, her tessen flared in her hands. Take out the leader, and the rest of the army falls. One of her iron fans flung from her hand, aimed directly towards his face in a hit that would surely incapacitate him. The commander ducked to the side. Therefore, Suki's tessen caught on the metal prongs of the stupid-looking Fire Nation helmet and yanked it off his head. Maybe that was Suki's intention the entire time—the soldier now open to head attacks.

          With his back still faced towards Luli, she could not see what he looked like, but he seemed rather young to be controlling an official Fire Nation mission for the Avatar. His head was shaved around a single long ponytail, in a traditional Fire Nation style that meant shame. Strange, thought Luli as she focused on the firebending soldier who was currently attacking he—what army would be led by a publicly-shamed commander? Luli had to turn her attention back to her own fight.

          Not being able to use firebending was a massive setback. She realised this as the firebender's komodo rhino tossed its front legs at her and sent her stumbling backwards. Its hooves threatened to stomp her body. Meanwhile, fire burst over her head, courtesy of the komodo rhino's rider—dangerously close to singeing her hair. She staggered low to the ground and shoved her hand into the earth, flinging dust in the komodo rhino's eyes. The beast snarled and reared up on its hind legs, its rider giving a frightened shout. Then it staggered, tipped, and fell back, trapping the firebending soldier beneath it—pinned beneath the komodo rhino's weight. The rider squirmed under its form but was unable to free himself.

          Suki flung herself towards the soldier leading the attack, now helmet-less, looking as if she were going to have a clear shot. She would have, had the soldier's komodo rhino not lashed its tail around, and sent her crashing onto the ground. Luli knew first-hand how much the blow of a komodo rhino's tail hurt. As Suki sprawled, trying to regain her composure, Luli flew to her friend's aid. She sprinted towards them, in her Kyoshi Warrior uniform and bare face, both her tessen held out in her hands, skirts whipping around her. The sound of her footfall was enough to catch the leader's attention as Luli raised the golden fans for an attack, and the boy with the ponytail turned towards her.

          For a second, it was like the whole world just... stopped.

          Everything seemed to slow down... it was just the two of them, as her feet skidded to a halt. The boy had a face she knew, those soft angles and gentle curves, knew what his voice sounded like when he read her haikus or promised her to not be afraid. There was a scar, garish and red, covering his left eye and cheekbone, disappearing into his hairline. It was so shockingly familiar that Luli felt as if someone had punched all of the air out of her lungs. It was no longer a wound.

          And his eyes—a pretty gold—met hers at the same time, their widening gazes mirroring one another. Time felt so very slow, like the world was shifting through honey, and Luli couldn't have said how much time passed. All she knew was that she was standing in the middle of a current war zone, with flames reaching high, and there, across from her and with live embers scattered in the air between them, was him.

          "... Zuko," murmured Luli after a second, her words hovering. It was like time was passing slowly again, and now moments weren't like leaves from the vine, because she'd lost them all so very long ago. She'd never seen his scar before—not really, not since the days she'd sat beside his bed and helped lay salve on his fresh wound—.

          "What are you doing here?" His voice was not anything familiar. It was slashed with spite and coldness, more accusatory than anything looking for an explanation. The tone completely threw Luli off balance. What?

          She felt her mind reeling. Her eyes widened and then returned, brows pulling down. "Me? Zuko, what are you doing here—?" But she had known, the first second she'd laid her eyes upon the Fire Nation uniform he wore, saw his banners in the air and the scowl on his scarred face. Denial, she wished denial could be so sweet. But the words had been pulled right out of Luli's mouth, and she could find nothing more to say.

          Zuko knew it instantly. That was something about him, when it came to her. He just always knew. His expression hardened even further, features twisting. "You're working with the Avatar." The venom laced into his words was enough to send Luli's world teetering again. Almost sharpened into a spit, bitter and hateful. It was the way Luli's father had talked to her sometimes, the way Firelord Ozai had talked about his son and wife—never the way Zuko had ever spoken to her. Whatever knife had been wedged into her ribs was twisted painfully.

          She knew the hurt and confusion was showing on her face. Even as the fire burned around the two and the distance between them, as they smelt and tasted the smoke in the air. Luli watched him in horror, her mouth parted and edges of her lips downturned. If the disorienting nature of it all hadn't been hitting her full force, she would surely be in tears. "I'm—"

          When Zuko jumped from the back of his komodo rhino, Luli wasn't sure why she was expecting a hug. That childish part of her, creeping back in. Traitorous. It didn't come. Zuko stepped towards her like... the Prince of the Fire Nation, which was a bitter thought to have. Like he was somehow superior and she was beneath him. Like she should be cowering to bow at his boots. Luli did not. His face did not lose the scowl. It twisted his scar awfully, looking half-painful—so very different from when it had been still fresh, and he'd been tossing and turning with fever. "Bring me to the Avatar, and I won't turn you in as a traitor."

          Her stomach twisted painfully. Now Luli was the one to scowl, but it had an edge of confusion and empathy, twisted at the edges of her brows, her eyes. She couldn't even look furious like usual. And she shook her head, cautiously drawing her hands into fists. "No, I won't."

          They stood across from each other. The short distance that spanned between them felt so much further. She saw Zuko, and it was like looking in a mirror. Not in a physical sense—Zuko had always been taller, used to tease her about it, broader, more angular in the face and with eyes golder than she'd ever seen—but in the matter of how their very... beings were a reflection of the other. Pain, suffering, mothers and fathers, confusion... it was all written into their bones, their faces.

          They faced each other as the two sides of the war.

          Flames scattered around them as Zuko took a step towards her, glaring. His fists were clenched. His face was twisted. "You will give me him."

          And she found herself backing up a few steps. When had she ever backed away from him? Fear, was it fear? She wasn't sure what she felt, when she looked at him. "What's gotten into you?" Her voice was half demanding, mostly confused. The dip of her brows and deep frown on her lips were enough to show exactly how she was feeling. When his fist curled into a ball of fire, Luli's frown deepened into a shout, "Stop it, Zuko!"

          "I always knew you'd betray me one day!" It was a bit of a slap in the face, hearing that—even more so when the fire launched at her. A warm orange glow. It lit up her vision.

          Luli was quick to dodge it, a calculated duck to the left. That own feeling of betrayal was written all over her face. Heartbreak, a little. Her black hair was falling out of its braids, strands shifting over her eyes and forehead. "Zuko, I—!" That wasn't—... Another burst of flame shot from his fist. Luli understood that he was feeling angry and betrayed, and... hurt? But how could he attack her? They were—... Luli was quick to direct it away from her, glancing up the fire and over her shoulder with a motion of her hands. Sweat beaded off her forehead and down her throat. This wasn't Zuko. It wasn't her Zuko. This...

          He was right here, standing right in front of her, and yet she felt he was further from her than ever before.

          The fire around them was growing into a roar. Like the two were standing in the middle of a vortex. Luli's eyes glanced over to the way embers caught alight on the ground beside them. "Enough, Zuko!" Her squeezing fists clenched the small flames, forced them to waver down to shimmering specks of coal and soot. Desperately, almost commandingly, her arm flung out in front of her in a diagonal downwards slash. "No more!" If she could just talk to him—.

          This wasn't Zuko.

          "You never learned." Her eyes widened as the boy opposite from her sprung into a traditional firebending attack stance, and with both of his arms sent a wave of fire towards her. That hum of orange in the air.

          Her train of thought was broken by Aang swooping in on his glider, followed by Katara on foot, cutting a line towards her. "Luli! Watch out!" They were running to her aid. What they didn't realise was that Luli didn't need it. Not with that anger writhing up within her.

          "Enough!" She flung out her arm, and flames burst into the sky, cutting off his fire in an explosive wall between the two—embers and shards of sparks raining out around them. Ash flittered down through her hair, shards of embers. They stared at each other between the fiery rain.

          Aang, who had landed behind her to her right, paused mid-run, glider clasped in hand. "Oh—"

          Luli's finger pointed towards the Fire Nation Prince angrily, demandingly. "Leave Kyoshi Island now. You don't have to be here, Zuko. If you're here on behalf of Firelord Ozai, just turn around." She wasn't going to fight him. The last thing she wanted to do was fight him. Fight Zuko? The idea was absurd. And yet, what she was feeling was betrayal too. He claimed that he'd always known it would be her to betray him, but here he was, standing opposite from her, for Firelord Ozai of all things. When it had always been her chasing after him.

          Zuko's eyes flickered towards Aang, but ultimately came back to rest on her. She couldn't decide if what filled his expression was hurt or anger. The rage seemed to drown it all out. "You disgrace the Fire Nation by siding with the Avatar. Maybe I'll turn you in to my father along with him." Which was bold, coming from a banished prince.

          He wasn't holding back, not like Luli would. When she brought up her arms to try to combat the flames he'd sent towards her, his rage seemed to overwhelm her own fire, and it sent her back a step. "Zuko—!" The flame scalded the skin of her arm, a searing pain that she'd felt enough from her lifetime, but never from Zuko on intention. It was enough to make her lose her train of thought—to pause for a split second with her eyes widened and her lips parted—because Luli couldn't understand how much could change in three years. Zuko did not pause with her. He unleashed a fury of fiery attacks, lashing through the air like flaming tongues and grasping fingers, but Luli batted them all away. She'd always had stronger firebending than him. She was struggling to process all that was going on.

          A shallow burn lit up the skin of her wrist. A curl of painful, bubbling pink and red.

          "Zuko!" That shout was not as desperate, not nearly as tender. Her brows were stitched together furiously, lips dragged downturned and face a mask of fury. Luli was always a bit terrifying when her rage spilled to the surface—when all her features turned sharp and she looked like she could just about murder. Now, she looked positively frightening.

          Zuko, who seemed to have had all of his senses knocked out of him over two years ago, stitched his brows together in a deeper scowl, face morphed into a frighteningly furious mask, and indignantly barked, "What could you possibly do against the heir to the throne—?!"

           Luli struck the air with an angry fist, a burst of powerful, orange flame, that sent Zuko flying back until he painfully hit the dirt ground. Luli's left foot struck the ground, a kind of defiance rooting, and she pressed the palm of a single hand outwards. "You tell me." At some point, her mouth had shaped itself into an immovable line, and all remnants of her softness was gone. She was Luli, the disgraced Fire Nation warrior, with sharp edges that could cut like blades and warm only in the sense of the flames she could breathe.

          Scowling, Zuko looked up at her from his spot kneeling in the dirt. His hands were at his side. As she looked—really looked—at him the anger faded away, and Luli felt as if she couldn't breathe. It was easy to see him as thirteen years old, kneeling on the floor of the Agni Kai chamber. It was easy to see the tears, the way he had stared up at Ozai like he had stared up at her right now. Where his eyes weren't glared but wide, and where he wasn't scowling but begging for his father's forgiveness.

          "You will learn respect. And suffering will be your teacher."

          Even as she stood still, she faltered. Her fighting stance was weak; her body contradicted itself. Softly, frightened, she asked, "Why are you doing this?" The flames reflected themselves in her eyes, obsidian pools of molten fire. There was some kind of desperate hurt in Luli's voice, that edge of confusion, as the world around her burned. "How could you do this?" It wasn't the Zuko she'd ever known. This was only ever the Zuko she'd heard of—the dishonoured Fire Nation prince who burned cities on his quest to find the Avatar and bring him to his knees, when they'd only ever talked about finding the Avatar for peace.

          "You know why I'm doing this."

          She did. Deep down.

          And so, here it was. That decision. Childhood memories, or the fate of the world? Old friends, or what she knew was right? In the end, it wasn't even a choice. Even despite how much it hurt. And so when the prince jumped to his feet, Luli did not yield. Fire, curling towards her. She whipped up her own—those years, years of training, both in the Fire Nation and out all alone curling up in her veins. In the end, they'd both been taught by the best. Her feet sprung up so she met him halfway, clashing together in a burst of fire.

          Kyoshi Village burned around her, and Luli thought, enough. How many people had to lose their homes for the Fire Nation to understand?

          Seeing Zuko up close was even more disorienting. Luli couldn't help but wonder if he felt the same way about her. He'd grown up: his face had angled out, he'd gotten taller—she now reached his chin—and that wasn't even to mention his scar, which covered the left side of his face in the vague fiery mark of a handprint and which Luli had never seen healed. And yet, it was still undeniably the Zuko she used to tease about theatre. Even as he tried to strike her at such close contact, Luli still felt that pang. And she hoped—knew, somewhere inside her—that he did too. Tips of the fire scalded over her fingers. She hissed out and struck back, arm tangling up with his as he deflected, somehow still remembering after all this time that Luli's dominant hand was her left. And then, they fell into that familiar pattern of close hits and proximity of an inch, just trying to land a strike on the other.

          They were so, so close. Luli could see all the small speckles of scars across his face, as she was sure he could see hers, from the sparring and years spent traversing the wide, wide world. They were so close, that Luli felt his breath fan her cheek as he shot a burst of flame at her. As she spun around and twisted her leg around his own in an attempt to bring him down. They were in an eternal kind of dance: back and forth, the punches and kicks of fire that were too easily dodged around, too close, face-to-face. They knew each other too well. When Zuko swung his flaming hand at her, it was so easy for her to wedge her own beneath his wrist and force it harmlessly over her head; when she launched a powerful kick at his side, he caught it and spun it away without a second thought. It was a combination of every training lesson, every spar, they'd ever had together. Except this time, there was real consequences. And no holding back.

          Both of them were beaded with sweat, scowling as their hearts beat rapidly from their locked duel. It was throw, block, throw, block, throw, block, and never a hit. Even after all this time spent apart, it was still just like this.

          Very briefly, Luli wondered what power they'd have as a duo if they fought on the same side.

          Then, Zuko made a fatal mistake. A foot out of place that let Luli easily duck beneath his next fiery blow, spring back a good distance away from him, and kick. He was smart to not let the distance get between them. Now, it was his screw-up.

          A powerful burst of fire flew from the curve of her boot, and shot him straight backwards. The boy shouted and crashed back through the railings of a porch. Luli had just time to land her left foot and turn her head in his direction, when a rampaging, mad komodo rhino narrowly avoided impaling her with its horn and instead bashed the side of its head into her stomach. Ow. She was thrown back through the already cindering wall of a house, one of her tessen flying from her hand. The wood splintered around her and she crashed onto the home's floor, back striking into the ground and flipping as her knees flew over her head. It was a bad landing.

          Embers of the burning house started to flit down onto her, as Luli lay on her back and started to prop herself up onto her elbows. She groaned, a little dazed, and desperately gasping air from the force that had careened into her front. The world had gone a bit fuzzy. Luli blinked with one eye up at the ceiling, other narrowed. Then, over her, appeared a Kyoshi Warrior, face painted red and white. Looking concerned, the girl grabbed her wrist. Suki. "Come," she urged, dragging Luli up to her feet and out of the quickly-burning house, through a shattered hole in the wall. The angry komodo rhino smashed around as its rider tried to gain control, but didn't find where Suki and Luli were tucked behind one of the village homes, out of view. Luli was still trying to regain her breath.

          "I'm—" tried Luli, not sure whether to apologise for what was happening to Suki's village, or for the fact that she was a firebender, or both. "Suki, I—"

          "I know." The warrior glanced behind them, making sure they were safe and alone. Luli's expression was vulnerable and unsure when she looked back. "Keep the fan," urged Suki, clasping Luli's fingers into a fist around the tessen. Luli's eyes were wide as she glanced up at the girl, but the Kyoshi warrior didn't seem to be changing her mind anytime soon. The warrior's gaze flickered over behind Luli—where Luli heard one of Appa's growls reverberating through the sky. "Go get the Avatar." Before Luli could turn to glance back at the sky bison, Suki's fingers gripped Luli's sleeve. The firebender's face turned back towards her. "We'll meet again," assured Suki, the smallest smile playing at the corners of her lips. Like she was sure of it.

          Luli broke into a smile. "Yeah we will, Kyoshi Warrior!" she beamed, her face alight. The firebender briefly grabbed Suki's hand in her own, fingers clasping together. "I'll see you then." And then the girl sprung up off the floor, behind the cover of the smoking house and with the golden tessen still clutched in her fingers, darting out into the open towards where the sky bison was flying to pick up the Water Tribe siblings. The flashes of blue and green—Sokka still in a Kyoshi Warrior uniform, just like Luli—were obvious between the Fire Nation soldiers. They were beelining towards the Avatar's bison.

          Luli had never run so fast. She took off in a full-on sprint, suddenly finding it difficult in the Kyoshi Warrior skirts which were comfortable but ultimately something she was still getting used to. The thick fabric caught around her running legs. And the sky bison neared and neared as she ran, watching Sokka and Katara climb on with assistance from each other. She was going to make it. A firebender stood between her and the bison, and then Luli saw Aang—who was sat atop Appa's head, holding reigns, watching her and actually looking worried, like he was waiting for her. Because there wasn't any other reason why the sky bison was standing so still, even with the Water Tribe siblings shouting at him to go. And that firebender between her and Appa, he was reeling back for a blow of fire that would surely burn the sky bison. And still, Aang waited. Hesitance was written all over his face and his body language, but he didn't move.

           Sprinting full force, arms pumping and single tessen still clutched in her right hand, Luli punched a fist of flame that made the soldier turn towards her. She was already there, and slammed the tessen so hard into his helmet that she heard it ring. Then, she took a great leaping jump at Appa's side, fingers gripping the edge of his saddle.

          There were no hands to help her as Luli forced her arms up and over the side, lifting her body and then her legs. First, her tessen fell into the saddle, and then she awkwardly followed it, straight onto her front, and narrowly avoided squashing her pack of things that she'd dropped in there while training with Suki. "Yip yip!" exclaimed Aang, and the sky bison took off.

          Woah, Luli was flying on a sky bison.

          The Fire Nation girl didn't have much time to take it in, twisting around to look behind her and peering over the edge of her saddle—making sure to grip the side with her fingers. Down below, Zuko was standing, fire burning all around. His angry face glared right back at her, red scar all twisted up. And yet, the boy got further and further away in her vision, as Appa gained altitude and soared over the wide open ocean, until he was just a smudge on the land. Prince Zuko, she thought, a little bit in dismay and a little bit in confusion, pangs of sadness creeping into her chest.

          Discouraged, Luli turned back around with upset eyebrows pulled down, flopping her backside into the saddle disappointedly. Her lips were set in a small, frowning pout. Then her eyes glanced up and made contact with Sokka and Katara's, suddenly realising that she was indeed still in danger. Neither of them looked happy to see her. "I— I can explain," fumbled Luli. She was stumbling on her words, eyes wide. But it was ultimately no use as the first thing Sokka did was surge forward on his knees with a bundle of rope in his hand, balanced precariously on the back of the flying sky bison. She didn't so much struggle as he tied the rope around her wrists, trapping them together, but her face did turn into a scowling glare, half disbelieving. "Are you kidding me? I saved you!"

          "You're Fire Nation. Fire Nation raided our village all the time!" Sokka exclaimed, securing the bonds and then leaning back, a glare on his face. His sister reached for her ankles, the same rope in hand.

          Luli kicked Katara's hand away with the harsh thrust of a foot. "I betrayed the Fire Nation over two years ago and left it to go find Aang! Why would I be coming with you if I was working for them?!" Now, with the sunlight glinting off her gaze, Luli's dark eyes were golden-caramel, harsh and narrowed with her sharp brows.

          "So you can find out all our information and then go relay it to Zuko!" hissed Sokka like it was obvious. "You clearly knew him." He was staring at her sternly, as if he'd uncovered every puzzle piece of her being. The very idea was absurd. She could have laughed, except her mind was still trying to process that that Zuko who had just fought her, was the same Zuko with his soft, crooked smile and warm hugs. Who she used to chase around the palace with the long rugs catching under their feet. How was he that Zuko?

          Luli's face was tormentedly twisted, brows downturned and mouth twitching. "I haven't seen Zuko since I left. He was—... He doesn't matter right now, he's not the problem. It's Firelord Ozai we should be worrying about." Her gaze was harsh, a kind of fiery flare. The ropes around her wrists itched and burned, but Luli didn't try to throw them off. Katara started binding her ankles. "Maybe you've never met Ozai, but I have—and he'll stop at nothing to win this war. He's going to wipe out the world—"

          "We know!" Sokka threw his arms up in the air. "You think we've been asleep for one-hundred years like Aang?" Both he and his sister were glaring at her—a far cry from their easy, friendly demeanour just the day prior.

          "You don't know Ozai," Luli whispered with the shake of her head, craning forward with her legs splayed out and her bound hands between her knees. There was something about that tone in her voice that was frightening, like maybe she knew too much. There was no lightness in her eyes as she made contact with Katara, then Sokka, then Aang—who was peering back from his perch on the top of Appa's head. "You could never know him and what he's capable of." Luli did. She'd been sitting in at his war council meetings since she was old enough to understand what the word war meant—she had seen his ruthless nature in person as well as in action. His was a face that Luli would not soon forget. "I've sat in on his war meetings as a child, I know how he thinks." Apart from Zuko and his sister, she was the best person who knew Ozai and his patterns. It didn't seem to ease their suspicions. "And the only way that Aang can master all the elements is if he has a firebending teacher, and unless you can find one better, I'm the only one willing to teach him." There was a desperateness gripping her voice now. She hadn't travelled the entire way across the world for nearly three years to just be turned away for something she couldn't control.

          Luli couldn't help that she was born Fire Nation. But she could help now.

          While Aang, who had been sleeping for one hundred years and probably was less up to date on the total evils of the Fire Nation, looked more inclined to give her a chance, the Water Tribe siblings were arguably... not. Katara's gaze hadn't softened in even the slightest, and Sokka seemed to grow more and more heated as he stared at her. The boy tightened the ropes around her wrists for good measure—Luli begrudgingly let him, raised eyebrow twitching—and then swiped his hands together like he was brushing off dirt. "Next time we stop, we're dropping you off."

          Luli would have rather been stabbed. "What?! You can't do that!"

          "Says who?!" Katara exclaimed, her face all scrunched up as she stared Luli down.

          "I've been searching for the Avatar for almost three years—!"

          "Yeah? Well our tribe's been searching for him for one hundred!" she snapped back. There was something about her eyes in that moment. Luli had always thought the Water Tribe to be peaceful—after all, waterbending was the art of concentration and serenity—but now, looking at Katara's eyes made of ice and storms and oceans that dragged the unlucky to their deaths, Luli suspected maybe she'd underestimated them. It seemed like Katara was about half a second from throwing Luli off the flying bison and into the sea, but her eyes showed she was capable of much more.

          Luli sunk back down, the ropes around her hand beginning to itch. If she really wanted to, she could probably sear them off, but not in such a tiny space, and not without risk of burning herself. "I know, I'm sorry." The way that Katara paused made Luli consider she probably wasn't expecting a Fire Nation girl to back out of a fight. "But trust me... the reason why I wanted to find Aang, is the same reason that you did." Luli's eyes held a hope to them. "I'm really on your side. I want to help defeat the Fire Nation." Both siblings were silent, and Aang seemed to still be taking everything in, loosely holding onto Appa's reigns. "You need me," she asserted.

          They all knew, deep down, that she was right, of course—they did need her. But Katara's face was furious, and Sokka's wasn't much better, and even Aang, with his younger, softer eyes looked sullen. The last airbender in the world, because of what her people had done to them. Oh, how much his tattoos looked like the same shade of sky he was sat in front of.

          And yet none of them said a thing. Katara turned up her nose, and Aang looked away guiltily. Her eyes searched their face desperately, to no avail. "Next stop, we drop you off," declared Sokka finally. He refused to look at her, eyes focused firmly, unyieldingly on the saddle to his right. The boy's whole face was pulled into a kind of furious, frustrated glare.

          So then this was it then.

          Oh, Mom, thought Luli, I've really screwed up now.

༉*ೃ༄

luli, zuko and azula, my three favourite traumatized bbies

i mean, all of the atla gaang are traumatized, but what can u do

they saw each other for the first time in almost three years and had a fight that lasted about seven minutes, i love that for them

season 1 zuko 😡 😡

also,,, luli is left-handed bc that is important to me

sometimes, a fight scene is something that can actually be so romantic

word count: 5,672

27.10.2020.