FOR THE ENTIRE TIME THAT KIDA HAD BEEN ON THE RUN, she hadn't gotten sick. Then again, she hadn't ever been out on a fishing boat in the middle of a storm, only to be saved by the Avatar and his flying bison.

Sokka took a job helping a fisherman out at sea, but Kida didn't think it was fair that the responsibility fell onto the oldest boy of the group, so she offered her services as well. Despite a nasty storm interrupting the fishing expedition, they earned enough money through the job to supply the team with food for a few weeks; that was the good news. The bad news: they both caught a nasty cold, as a result.

Not even a day after, Kida finds herself shivering, while Sokka seems to be running a fever. The team had to pause their journey and find refuge in a cave.

"I feel fine," Kida insists as Katara urges her to lie down next to Sokka. The boy in question is delirious, shouting random statements in a daze.

"Well, you're not," Katara counters. "You need to rest."

Kida's eyelids do feel heavy, and every muscle in her body aches and, even though she was freezing a second ago, now it feels like her entire body is on fire. So she gives in and snuggles into Appa's fur and allows herself to rest.

»»---------------------►

IN HER DREAM, Kida is eight years old. She and her mother are sitting by the stream near their village, dipping their feet in the water. It's late evening and the sun paints everything in a warm orange glow.

"I was your age when I first started training to be a warrior," Kida's mother says. At least, it looks like her: she has the same brown skin as Kida, with green eyes, sharp features and a scar on her cheekbone that Kida always thought looked like a lightning bolt. Her hair is braided with golden thread and falls softly against her back. It definitely looked like Kida's mother, but something about her voice was different, wrong. "Now, your father isn't entirely on board with this, but since he's already teaching you how to shoot with a bow and arrow, I thought it would only be fair if I taught you something, too."

She hands Kida a long, thin sword in a dark green sheath decorated with a gold insignia.

"We used fans mostly, but I thought I could show you how to use the katana, first. Swordfighting is a useful skill, but it takes lots of practice and discipline. Are you up to the challenge?"

Kida nods enthusiastically and her mother laughs, which is strange because Kida could

"That's my girl," she gushes, ruffling Kida's hair affectionately.

Suddenly, her mother is gone and Kida's father is the one sitting next to her. The sunset makes his gold eyes brighter, but other than that, he looks just as Kida remembers him. Without thinking much of it, Kida asks about the ring he always wears on his left index finger.

"This ring is very important," he explains. "My grandfather gave it to my father, and my father gave it to me. It's to be passed down to the eldest child, so one day, the ring will be yours."

Kida simply looks down at the ring, mesmerized when she notices how an intricate engraving of a dragon suddenly glows.

"What was your grandfather's name?"

"His name was Roku," Kazuya replies. "Avatar Roku."

Then, Kida hears her parents arguing. Their disembodied voices are a little distorted, even more so than before, almost as if they're getting further away.

She hides behind the screen that separates the living space from a makeshift bedroom. Her brother is fast asleep on the sleeping mat beside her.

"You told her?" Kida's mother shouts. Kida can tell that she's trying to keep her voice down so that Hiro doesn't wake up.

"I had to, Adira. It's a part of who she is. It's a part of her destiny. She can't run forever."

"You seemed to run from your destiny when you married me, Kazuya."

"That was different," he defends. "I just want to ease her into the fact that she's, that I'm...Fire Nation. For all we know, she could be a Firbender."

"You're not a Firebender," Adira points out. "Neither is Ursa."

"It can skip generations. Frankly, it could be dangerous if she doesn't know."

"I guess you have a point. She can't find out who she really is by accidentally burning something down."

"I can't teach her that much, but I can help her control it, at least. And, look, I don't need to tell her about the prophecy. At least, not yet."

"What prophecy?" Kida interjects, poking her head into the room. But, when she does, he parents aren't standing like she expected.

They're on the ground and the walls are on fire. Hiro is crying, screaming, and Kida is on the verge of tears, as well. But, she puts on a brave face and collects whatever she and Hiro will need on their journey, to anywhere but here. Before she goes, Kida bends down and removes the ring from her father's finger, and places it on her own.

Then, she grabs Hiro's hand, and the two walk into the woods. As they walk deeper into the forest, Hiro's crying gradually stops. That's when Kida realizes that Hiro is no longer holding her hand; in fact, he's not even next to her.

Kida runs through the forest, up a mountain, down to a river, but Hiro is nowhere to be found. Her hands are warm, like she just firebended, or her body is itching to.

Fire is dangerous because it's unpredictable. Learn to control it, so it doesn't control you, says a voice that Kida doesn't quite recognize.

»»---------------------►

WHEN KIDA WAKES UP, Sokka is beside her, still muttering nonsense. A blanket has been thrown over the two of them. Katara stands over Kida and presses a cool cloth to her forehead to help keep the fever down. Though, Kida is still shivering and her nose is so stuffed she can barely breathe.

"Hey," Katara whispers. "Aang went out to find some medicine. "You were moving around a lot in your sleep...is everything okay?"

"I'll protect you from the monsters!" Sokka exclaims. Yeah, he's definitely still delirious, Kida thinks.

She wants to say something to either sibling, but all she can think about is: "Water?" Katara hands Kida a drink of water. "Where did you say Aang is?"

"He'll be back soon, I promise," Katara assures.

"Okay." Kida sniffles. "Do you mind if I....I'm really tired. Can I sleep?"

Katara smiles softly. "Of course. I'm just hoping I can get Sokka to sleep, too. He thinks he's an Earthbender."

"Earth, move!" Sokka shouts, then throws his arms into the air.

Kida chuckles weakly, then drifts off.

»»---------------------►

KIDA IS SOMEWHERE ELSE, once she closes her eyes. Somewhere warm, maybe an island. She feels a slight stinging on her shoulder blade, like something was just engraved onto her skin. On the ground in front of her is a bowl of ink, a candle, and a girl.

It's Suki, with her violet gray eyes and reddish brown hair falling softly around her face and a smile that makes Kida's heart skip a beat, even if it's only a dream.

A dream that feels more like a memory, because it is. Kida still has the tattoo on her shoulder to prove it. She wonders, for a fleeting moment, if Suki does, too.

Kida is at a loss for words because it's been so so long since she's seen Suki and she hadn't realized how much she missed her until now. But, out of nowhere, Suki kisses Kida and Kida pulls away, the happiness inside her starting to dissolve.

Suki blushes and looks away. "I'm sorry, I just thought that...you liked me, too"

Against her better judgement, Kida cuts her off by closing the space between them. "I do like you," Kida assures when she pulls away. "It's just...if you knew who I was, you would hate me."

"I could never hate you." Suki reaches out and squeezes Kida's hand, as if solidifying her promise.

But, Kida pulls her hands away. "I can't, Suki." Kida gets up, facing away from Suki so she can't see Kida's eyes brimming with tears. "I'm leaving in the morning," she says before Suki fades away and Kida's left alone, once again.

You have a warrior's heart, but that doesn't mean it can't break.

»»---------------------►

THE NEXT TIME KIDA WAKES UP, an arm is thrown around her waist. It's Sokka's, who is soundly asleep, only a few inches away.

If either of them were more conscious, they would've instantly scrambled to get as far away as possible, but, right now, Kida accepts it.

She rests her head on Sokka's shoulder and closes her eyes once more.

»»---------------------►

SUDDENLY, KIDA IS FLOATING — no, flying. She's with the team, on Appa.

"You've been lying to us this whole time," Aang snaps. And Aang never snaps. He's also never looked at Kida with such contempt. It almost scares her.

Next to him, Katara is glaring. Now that scares Kida so much, her heart almost stops.

"I can't believe we trusted you," Sokka growls. "I can't believe I trusted you." He can barely look Kida in the eye, and his voice trembles.

"Sokka was right this whole time," Katara snarls. "You're a terrible person and you shouldn't have survived this long."

"You need to leave," Sokka declares.

He pushes Kida and she falls into darkness.

It's your destiny.

»»---------------------►

"GUYS, WAKE UP," Katara's voice leads Kida out of her nightmare. "Aang is back."

Aang had gone to get some frozen things, which apparently would make Kida and Sokka feel better if they sucked on them. Kida couldn't figure out what they were, but she didn't question it when Katara puts one in her mouth.

"Aang, how was your trip?" Kida asks.

"Did you make any new friends?" Sokka adds.

"No," Aang sighs. "I don't think I did." He sounds tired, which makes sense since he was up all night trying to find some medicine. Still, Kida felt like he was holding something back, that something else had happened on his journey that bothered him.

"This is tasty," Sokka mumbles.

It's then that the things — which, it turns out, were frozen frogs — started to thaw and jumped out of Sokka's and Kida's mouths.

"Spirits!" Kida coughs. Although she doesn't like the fact that she was just sucking on a frozen frog, Kida has to admit that she feels much better than before. "That was gross, but thanks Aang. And, you too, Katara," she says.

"Oh, don't thank me. Thank Mr. Earthebender, who insisted on protecting you," Katara teases.

Sokka scoffs and removes himself from Kida, but she notices a blush rise to his cheeks.

"Clearly, I was delirious," Sokka defends.

"And, obviously, I was too," Kida adds.

As the day goes on, Kida thinks back to her dreams. Her dreams seemed more like memories. Fragmented and a little fuzzy, but moments Kida has lived before. That last one though....

Kida prays to all the spirits that it really was just a dream.

»»---------------------►

author's note: oop writing this chapter made me emotional but please enjoy and i promise some happy times will come