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I move through town,

I'm quiet like a fire

-Lorde

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HEARING ABOUT LILY'S SITUATION SPARKED SOMETHING IN KIDA. Anger. Sadness. Frustration. The desire to do something to help bring balance to a world filled with chaos and injustice. The need for vengeance against those who have wronged her, and so many others.

When she actually did something about what she was feeling, Kida felt a thrill like no other; it was both relief and excitement. There was a fire inside her, and this time, Kida has no intention of keeping it to herself.

Kida discovers that there are plenty of towns like Lilly's and she intends to hit each one while continuing her journey South. To do so, Kida creates a new set of rules to live by.

The first rule: only steal from people who have too much. People who use their money and power to intimidate. Fire Nation colonials who take advantage of the locals who were there before. Tax collectors traveling from village to village, stealing money from the villagers to further fuel the Fire Nation conquest. Even wealthy people of the Earth Kingdom who stand by and do nothing.

The second rule: give back to the people who needed it the most. Someone begging on the street. Villagers who can no longer afford to live in their homes. A child who is sick, or starving, or both. Anyone who is struggling to survive because those on top won't give them the time of day.

And, finally, the third rule: no one can ever know who she really is. If she gets caught, the whole thing would be over. Wearing a bandana to cover her face, and a hooded cape for good measure, seems to do the trick.

Kida starts out being careful about who she steals from and when. She starts by leaving her bow behind, somewhere hidden out of town, so that she doesn't appear too threatening. Then, Kida surveys the area and chooses her target. She strikes later; only at night, when it's dark.

Yet, the more time that passes, the more people she robs, the more arrogant Kida becomes in her efforts. Sometimes, it's as simple as swiping a pouch or two of coins when someone isn't looking. Sometimes, the job is more complex and has to be thought through. From time to time, Kida ambushes a tax collector on route between towns. Mostly, Kida follows someone home and waits until nightfall. If there are guards out front, she disorients them by shooting smoke bombs attached to her arrows before pinning them to the side of the house using more arrows. She enters the house, finds the money, and slips out without a trace. Sometimes, Kida tries to hit two, maybe three houses, in one night to test her odds.

Kida always gets away, but not without a scratch. Her body becomes covered with bruises and scrapes, cuts and burns that now decorate her skin more than before. Her joints ache from jumping out of windows, her muscles are sore from running, and her hands have blisters from shooting so many arrows.

Soon enough, wanted posters start to appear, searching for a bandit: a trained archer, nicknamed "the Hood", who steals from high ranking individuals. The posters show no defining factors, but there were rumors going around about the Hood's true identity. Some say that the Hood has golden eyes; others say they have eyes as dark as night and twice as mysterious. Some say that the Hood has long hair, with a silver stripe running through it that shines in the moonlight; others say their hair glows like the sun on the summer solstice. There were so many speculations that none of them meant anything. The Hood was called a nuisance, a hero, a criminal, a vigilante; but at the end of the day, a mystery to everyone but Kida.

The longer Kida goes on like this, the higher the reward for her capture becomes. And, the more Kida wants to continue.

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ONE DAY, KIDA DECIDES TO REST. The last job she did got pretty rough and she ended up being slammed against a wall. Now, her wrist hurts too much to use her bow effectively and her ribs are probably a little bruised as well. Weirdly, this reminds her of Sokka, but she quickly forgets the thought. She's passed all that, now. Kida hasn't thought about Sokka, Katara, or Aang, or even her parents and Hiro, as much as she did before. Her nightmares have become less frequent. It turns out that this whole 'vigilante' thing takes up a lot of brain space, and Kida is more than fine with that.

Kida sets up camp in a forest outside a colonial town, one she intends to survey the next day. The forest is unpopulated, except for a few animals, so it becomes the perfect hideout. She finds some berries and brings them back to camp for later. Then, Kida wraps some cloth around her wrist to help the sprain before going off to hunt.

When she gets back to camp, she's surprised to see someone crouched down, eating the berries Kida had found before, with such excitement that they didn't even notice Kida approaching. Kida draws her bow and shoots a berry out of their hand. The arrow pierces a tree, the berry perfectly shot in the center.

"Whoa! That was awesome!" the person says. They twist their body towards Kida.

Kida lowers her bow. It's a girl, no older than eight, from the looks of it.

"What do you want, kid?" Kida asks, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

The girl shrugs. "I was hungry, so..."

Kida's face softens. The last thing she wants is for this random girl to starve to death in a forest. Sure, Kida would rather be alone, but she figures that one meal won't hurt. One meal, and the girl would be on her way again.

Wordlessly, Kida drops her bow and the chicken she shot, and sits on the ground. She starts plucking the feathers off the chicken, preparing to cook it. From the corner of her eye, Kida notices the girl start to leave. "Where are you going?"

"Oh." The girl stops. She sits back down on the ground. "I thought you wanted me to leave."

"Later," Kida replies. "You should eat here, tonight and go home tomorrow morning. You shouldn't be out alone after dark."

"I don't have a home to go back to," the girl whispers.

Kida stops what she's doing to look at her. "What happened?"

"The Fire Nation came to my village," the girl starts. "My dad told me to run and hide, while he stayed back to fight them off, but when I turned around, everything was burned down, and everyone was gone."

"I'm...I'm sorry." Kida leaves it at that. "So, where are you going?"

"Ba Sing Se."

"You won't survive that long," Kida scoffs.

The girl huffs. "Uh, I can and I will."

"Look, it's not as easy as it looks. Can you hunt?"

"No, but I can survive off of the kindness of others. I mean, who wouldn't want to help a cute kid?"

"Can you build a fire?"

"Did you hear what I just said? I wouldn't need to!"

"Can you fight?"

"Not technically, but I can try!"

"Trust me, kid, you're gonna have a hard time making it that far," Kida finishes. She goes back to preparing the chicken.

"Can you take me, then?" the girl asks, softly.

Kida pauses again. Her instinct is to say no, but... this girl is so young. Already she's alone in this world. Kida knows exactly how that feels and she doesn't wish the same for anyone, even a strange girl she just met. Kida sighs. "Okay."

"Really?" the girls exclaims excitedly.

"Yeah. It doesn't feel right that you're by yourself," Kida replies.

"You promise to take me to Ba Sing Se? To get me there safely?"

Kida makes a gesture like she's crossing her heart. "I promise."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" the girl runs over to Kida and wraps her in a tight hug. Kida stiffens and pulls away. "Sorry." The girl blushes. She sits back down. "I'm just so happy! We're going to be best friends, I already know. My name is Yoko, by the way. What's yours? Why are you out here alone? Where are you going? How do you know how to hunt, start a fire, and fight?"

Kida feels her head start to ache. "If this is going to work, you can't ask so many questions. Especially about me."

"Fine," Yoko huffs. She crosses her arms. "Can I at least know your name?"

"Kida."

"And where are you going?"

"Ba Sing Se."

Yoko giggles. "No, I mean where were you going to go?"

"Oh." Kida needs to stop and remember. Where was she going? She had gotten so off track and...Kyoshi Island! That was where Kida wanted to go. Huh...it seems so far away and Kida doesn't feel ready to leave "the Hood" behind. Maybe this whole 'bringing-Yoko-to- Ba-Sing- Se' thing would be best: Kida would have more villages to target along the way and back. Then, she can go to Kyoshi Island like she had planned. "Somewhere to see a friend."

"A special friend?" Yoko wiggles her eyebrows.

Kida rolls her eyes. The only other eight year old she's ever spent time with was Hiro, and she'd forgotten how curious they can be. Hiro was quieter than Yoko though, so all this energy was new territory. It won't be easy, but there was no backing out now.