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[Y/N] sighed and ran a hand through [color] hair in obvious discomfort. They hovered miserably by the quieter corners of the host’s house, veiled in soothing shadows. A cup rises to their lips as they watch the ongoing of partiers dancing and laughing together. At least the food is good?
Parties have never been their thing. It’s entirely a peacock show, really. A selfish contest between the wealthy, popular, fashionable, and good-looking. Nothing substantial ever happened in this glitzy fights. [Y/N] would rather be anywhere else but here, except they ran out of excuses not to go.
“This party is lame…” A gloomy dark-haired guest muttered and crossed her arms.
[Y/N] laughed and her beautiful golden eyes narrowed at them insultingly.
“Sorry! It’s just that…I was thinking the same thing. Did you come with friends? It’d at least make this mess tolerable.” They absent-mindedly spun their straw in the cup.
“My friends all left me, distracted like tiny moths to flames.” The woman waved her hand poetically in the air with flair of sarcasm. And, Mai dumped her loser hothead boyfriend. So, there was the smallest, most infuriating stake of pain in her heart.
“Let’s ditch. I know a better place to hang out, if you want.”
“Why not? Better than standing here for another three hours.” Mai is curious though she kept shock underneath a blank expression.
Warm lantern light shrinks, retreating further and further away they walked. “I sorta thought you’d like something like this,” [Y/N] gestured to the endless darkness and the secluded beach that’s separate from the main overcrowded coast of the island. Palm trees and gloomy dense bushes outline the crooked crescent-shaped stone arc that’s tarnished by pastel seashells hanging on limbs by string. “I come here often to scream out all my bottled anger. And to ignore everyone.”
A sense of calm enfolded Mai like a summer’s darkest night. She inhaled, listening to the peaceful sound of waves crashing onto soft sand. All the bullshit with Azula’s controlling comportment and with Zuko’s explosive turmoil melted away.
“What if I don’t like screaming?”
“Well you seemed pretty tense at the party. I’d know. Nobles are assholes. Always having to be regal and,” [Y/N] did a pose mocking the snobbiest of lords. “Strictly conmen dressed in expensive clothes, sputtering nonsense.” They smiled. “But here, none of that matters. No more responsibilities or annoying expectations. So…”
“Mai.”
“Mai. Who do you really want to be?”
She froze. Who do I want to be? Her whole life she played the role of the perfect Fire Nation noble daughter. She always sealed her raw emotions under a coffin lid within her heart. Feeling passionately about anything was shunned and it made her so angry. Besides Ty Lee, nobody cared or asked what Mai wanted in life.
Her breath gets stuck in her throat as her gaze falls upon the fearless and waves of the ocean. Unlike her, they were never insufficient or diminutive. They don’t kneel to outrageous demands or high expectations –the ocean is the one to grab life by the throat and tear its life-force away in a bloody bout. Mai wants to be like the wild. Strong, carefree, and autonomous.
Cold tears slide down her face. Mai’s somber voice softly stumbles from her lips. “I…” she paces closer to the cool saltwater and it washes past her ankle-deep before declining. Glaring at the sky she screams, “I’m so sick of everyone treating me like a gloomy, one-note, assistant! I’m sick of people planning out my life for me! Why is the world full of bright colors and fake cheerful people?! Aggghhrah!”
“Whoa,” [Y/N] smiled. They turn back to the deafening waves and screamed too. “I never wanted to be of noble blood! Aristocracy sucks! Screw society! I wanna be an adventurer and see the world! Fuh! Just ‘cause I got no bending doesn’t make me forgettable or useless!”
Mai snorted. Then chuckled. Laughter emitted from her being. “You’re insane.”
“Hey,” [Y/N] faked sounding hurt. “You screamed first.”
She doesn’t recall ever laughing so much before. Her cheeks hurt and she wheezed, struggling to intake salty air.
For a moment they held each other’s gaze and stifled the fit of laughter from their lungs. Mai felt the pain of a knife-twisting crush impale her heart. She loved Zuko but maybe they weren’t meant for each other. She’s tired of the constant arguments and him leaving without talking to her, or even asking for her help on his so-called mission to regain his honor.
“I’m [Y/N]. So uh, what now? Your friends must be looking for you.”
Mai grinned evilly. “How about we do something heart racing?”
“Like what?”
Azula and Zuko were disgruntled as they and Ty Lee left the house party. The gymnast noticed Mai walking up the winding stone path and tackled her friend in a hug.
“Mai! Where’d you go?”
“I went for a walk.”
The cute acrobat smiled at the person behind her. “Who’s that?”
Azula and Zuko looked up, suddenly curious and their fermenting grudges vanishing.
Mai faintly smiled and a blush burns her face. “[Y/N].” Ignoring Zuko’s jealous glare she asked, “How was the party?”
“Awful!”
“Shit.”
“A waste of time.”
“What? And you forgot to give our wonderful hosts a traditional Fire Nation parting gift?” Mai drew her knives and everybody’s eyes glimmered.
“Whoa! What a blaze! Even this far away you can still see it!” Ty Lee artfully stands on her toes to look at their masterpiece.
Azula sadistically laughed at their host’s panic. “Serves them right for thinking they’re better than us!”
Mai wrapped an arm around [Y/N]’s. “Would you like to stay for dinner at our beach house?”
“Really? Sure!”
One to never miss an opportunity to cause chaos, Azula elbowed her brother. “Looks like you have some competition, Zuzu.”
He grumbled incoherently. He doesn’t get it. Mai was never that affectionate.
“C’mon, help me cook! We can talk about hobbies and auras and weapons we like. If Mai invited you into our gang you must be awesome! She hates people.” Ty Lee animatedly tugged her new friend indoors towards the kitchen. Azula rolled her eyes and followed. Mai was walking up the creaky old wooden steps when Zuko gently pulled her back. Questions gleam in his eyes equally as much as agony. “Are you serious, Mai?”
“About what, Zuko?” She coldly retorted. If he had any brains at all, he’d of apologized.
“You’re trying to make me jealous, aren’t you? With [Y/N]?”
The dark-haired woman’s eyes widened. Then they narrowed venomously. “No. I don’t have to make anybody jealous. You’re delusional, Zuko. If I love someone I wouldn’t overreact like you always do. I can’t believe you think I’d do something so petty.”
Heartbreak cracks his stubborn exterior.
Mai sighed. “I do care about you, Zuko. But we’re not good together.”
Tears sting his eyes. “Can’t you at least act as if any of it mattered? It hurts, Mai.”
Her golden eyes narrowed critically. “I’m not the only person that’s hard to deal with.”
He flinched. Zuko knows that she’s talking about what happened at the party.
Mai shortly turned around and said, “I made the wrong choice, falling in love with you. Just because I don’t show it, it doesn’t mean I never loved you.”
Someone is in the estate. All the servants retired for the day so it can’t be them. It must be an intruder. A lethal one at that. An expert in their craft. Not a single alarm had been raised. [Y/N] is thankful for taking extra [weapon] and martial arts lessons. The handle rests in their grasp as they tensely pace the length of their home. Tall glass windows project ice-blue moonlight upon the floor. Not a living thing stirred.
A vase clattered nearby on a table. Is it a trap to distract them?
Shadows flicker across the walls refusing to betray the intruder’s whereabouts. Counting on sound, [Y/N] quickly spun around to survey their surroundings.
Two arrows are parried and a third cuts their arm. A shadowy figure dashes across the catwalk railings. It abandons all caution and leaps at [Y/N]. [Weapon] rings as it slashes through air, missing the intruder by a breath’s-length. The trespasser quickly cuts [Y/N] and backs away guardedly.
[Weapon] clatters uselessly to the ground. [Y/N]’s limbs become heavy as they lifelessly fall over, losing their strength to move arm or leg. “What the hell! Who are you?! Some assassin?” A poison or numbing agent started clouding their mind and vision too. It felt like they were made of lead. Their palpable terror subsided to the poison, and they hardly noticed the figure looming over them.
They are half dragged and half carried. The potent numbing agent also blinded them. [Y/N]’s dead weight is lifted up, suspended into air, and then indecorously thrown on a chair. The bone-chilling clinking of chains disrupts the eerie din of quiet.
How much time has passed? It’s unclear. [Y/N] slowly recovers their senses and realizes they are in a small room. Whoever their captor is, they afforded them the coziest cell. The floor was covered by rugs made by the finest artisans. A warm fireplace also welcomes any guests into its friendly atmosphere. The furniture is also painstakingly built for style and comfort over practical use.
Fear chocked them. The chains are sturdy. Not the typical ones seen in prisons. [Y/N] had a job as a guardsman and has seen plenty of terrible things in Fire Nation dungeons. Without their [weapon] they feel powerless. Maybe they were being held for ransom. It isn’t uncommon. Many resistance fighters or assassins kidnap nobles for a bargain.
“My family’s right. I’m worthless, being born without the ability of a firebender.”
A door creaks open, startling [Y/N]. They exhibit their best scary scowl only for it to instantly disappear when they see Mai.
She carries a tray full of sweets, drinks, and some small dishes.
[Y/N]’s jaw hangs agape. Over the year they’ve become close friends. Rarely was [Y/N] absent form Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai’s adventures.
The moody woman’s smile is darkened by pain. All serrated aspects of her character vanish to timidity. “I’d say you’re pretty strong. Being a non-bender shouldn’t be the only thing people care about, or see as being powerful. You, me, and Ty Lee are pretty intimidating.”
“Mai. Why did you-”
“I’m not…I still can’t express my emotions like you guys can. With you, I can sense them stronger than ever. I love you.”
Placing the tray on a table she grabbed some medical supplies from her sleeves. Mai dabbed the wounds and neatly healed them. “My uncle is the warden of the Boiling Rock so I learned a few things. I made sure the effects wouldn’t be permanent.” She smiled, as if to apologize. Her eyes though, conveyed sadness. “The war is going to end soon.”
“What?!”
“I don’t care which side wins. Honestly, it’d be surprising if the Fire Lord makes it out alive. Azula…she’s been acting crazy. It’s subtle but…” Mai shook her head. “I overheard that they’re going to enlist every man and woman who could fight to slow the Avatar and the resistance down.”
Mai held [Y/N]’s [color] gaze. “I don’t want to lose you! The Fire Nation could fall to its own flames. I wouldn’t care as long as you’re safe. It’s either this or have you tag along with us and with Azula, you’d run into deadly danger.”