Chapter Text
She still remembered that day…
The day that forced her into action…
The day she was forced to truly open her eyes to the monsters the royal family had been turned into due to ambition.
The day where it was likely the last hopeful spark the Fire Nation had to heal had been well and truly snuffed out.
She was hiding in the crowd like a coward. Her once childhood friend was in a heap on the floor as his father stood over him. A demon in human flesh, the kind of man spirits torture for crimes so horrible even they dare not speak of it.
She had looked away when the fire lord burned his son’s face. His scream of pain, that she heard far too clearly.
But it was Azula, who was smiling in elation as her brother's downfall that truly scared her. She had never been as close to Azula as Mai or Ty Lee, but she didn’t have to be close to the girl to know why she was like this. To know how lonely she really was.
She looked up to meet the gaze of Iroh. Tears were already falling. Their eyes filled with understanding. The older man wasted no time rushing to his nephew who was writhing in agony from his father’s rage.
A hand on her shoulder forced her to look up. Her own father looked down on her.
“No mercy to the weak daughter. In this war you will do what you must for our nation.”
That was the last time she had seen any of them. She ran the very day that Zuko was banished, and given the impossible task of capturing the Avatar.
Now she is here. Three years away from that den of vipers, the only place in the world where her firebending was not cause to attack her on sight. This desert was barren, but it was free. Iroh once told her long ago after her betrothed’s death, after his son’s death, after they had both found harmony in their bendable element, that she had a destiny before her.
Coward then and coward now she supposed. She had always ran the first chance she had. She has always been a background player to those who were grander than her.
Whatever the Spirits told him in his journey to their world, she doubted her part in it. She respected their strength, but had lost faith in their desire to interfere with their world a long time ago. The Avatar had not been here for 100 years. 100 years for both worlds to lose sync with each other.
Agni and Kai who were lost to her nation when Sozin chose his greed over their desires. Glory for himself over the well being of his people.
She often wondered if he had regretted what he had done when he was on his deathbed. All the suffering and death he has caused to so many all to be remembered as greater than those before him.
She heard members of Ghashiun’s pose in the nearby bar. He was a selfish and spoiled child who only cared about money he could make. His father was the leader of the Hami tribe in the South, but everyone knew him, just like everyone with any common sense stayed far away from him.
This kind of thinking and attitude had led the Fire Nation, and the whole world really, to non stop war for the past century. She really didn’t want to think of the amount of trouble he would cause the sand people with his own brand of greed.
She blocked them out as her own caravan gathered the supplies they needed from the Oasis. One can only eat so many mouse beetles before they begin to lose their minds.
But of course fate decided that today would end her peace. Why? Well a flying bison just descended outside of the Oasis and the most wanted person in the world just hopped off the fluffy beast with a bunch of other kids.
She would remember their faces though. The desert was unappealing to most, but had a charm to it that many didn’t bother to see. It was freeing, it had power, but that power was not targeted at any one person. One had to learn to let go in order to thrive out here.
The researcher that had been buzzing around here for the past few months ran past her caravan to look at the rare animal. She wouldn’t deny that it was fascinating, but one look at the bar where Ghashiun and his lackeys were looking at the bison with hungry eyes filled her with dread.
The group disappeared into a small hut while the idiots crept closer to evaluate the creature before them. It growled, keeping them at bay until the researcher yelled at them. All but Ghashiun backed off, not surprising to any who knew about him. Even though he had his facemask on she could still see the smug grin of superiority he had for outsiders. Mostly why she had to resort to more violent means to get him to leave her alone.
He stepped closer again despite the large beasts growls and she had enough. Spirits save her if this idiot picked a fight with the Avatar .
She stood and sent a blast of fire the spoiled brats way. Slower than she usually would, she didn’t want to deal with a confrontation with the man’s father, no matter if he didn’t approve of what his son was doing.
Ghashiun reacted in time. She internally rolled her eyes, he was an amateur at best when it came to bending. The only reason people stuck with him was because of his status in the tribe and the fact that they loved money.
He threw up a wall of sand to block her attack, turning it into glass in a matter of seconds. Her caravan was on their feet in an instant ready to fight back against Ghashiun’s men who had taken up bending stances. Everything was still for a few seconds and the Avatar and his gang held up weapons and bending stances as well.
Then, as expected, Ghashiun left. Idiot he may be, the last time he dueled her left much to be desired. His sense of self preservation was stronger than his pride.
The sand benders behind her slowly relaxed and resumed packing up their sand glider, but the Avatar and his friends had not let up in the slightest. When she looked over they appeared to be ready to blast her across the desert at any sign of aggression.
She couldn’t blame them, the Fire Nation and Zuko must have been hunting them the moment the airbender returned.
She stood down and opened her arms to show she wouldn’t attack them. But that didn’t work as they still viewed her with mistrust.
She gave a sigh and prayed to any spirit that could hear her. Then just decided to give them a warning and leave them to it. She pointedly ignored Iroh’s imaginary face with that old man amusement at her being a grumbly teenager.
“Be careful. Rare beasts like that, people pay high for.”
The Avatar glared at her and gave her a biting response. “Appa isn’t for sale. He’s my friend.”
She refrained from shaking her head at his naivety.
“Not to them he isn’t.” She turned and walked to her people’s sand glider. She hopped on and gave one last glance behind her at the group that just might save the world Spirits willing, and she sped away.