Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Columns of flame shoot across the deck, and Claudine narrowly manages to roll out of the way. Jaw clenched, she punches out two quick jets of fire, which travel promisingly towards the smug woman in front of her before she redirects them upwards, dissipating harmlessly into the air. 

Claudine growls.

Sweat drips down the sides of her face, a consequence of the blistering heat radiating off every burst of flame. Yet, her opponent seems completely unfazed, like she’s on a calm morning jog. Not a hair out of place, not a line of worry on her face. Always that same cool, collected smile, the same one Claudine’s come to despise.

“You look rather tired, Saijou-san,” says the woman, hands clasped behind her back. Her lilac eyes shimmer brightly in the morning sun, and Claudine hates it.

“Shut up,” Claudine spits, “Just stand down already, Tendou Maya!”

Claudine is acutely aware of how little sense that makes — Futaba’s grunts of exertion seem to ring in her ears, and the crystalline sounds of ice far overpower the roar of fire behind her. But Saijou Claudine is nothing if not stubborn, and she stares defiantly into the eyes of Tendou Maya as if she actually has any leverage.

And Maya, that infuriating woman, just laughs.

“I’m afraid I still have things to do, Saijou-san. Perhaps next time,” she says. 

Right on cue, the characteristic whir of an airship sounds overhead; blasts of wind and showers of stone come raining down on the deck of the ship, and the fighting ceases as the crew takes cover from the assault. Claudine curses and stumbles backwards, caught off guard by the sudden aerial attacks, but that moment of hesitation is all Maya needs to bend a several-foot tall wave of water at her.

Claudine’s swept off her feet, falling backwards onto the deck, and the water around her begins to get colder, colder, colder, until she’s encased in a block of ice and she can see Maya atop a swirling waterspout, rising closer and closer to the ship, closer and closer to escape…

She’s not going to be able to melt the ice in time. 

“Kaoruko!” Claudine screams.

The waterspout begins to freeze at its base, crystals of ice forming and slowly spiraling its way to the top. Maya frowns, peering down at the deck, where Kaoruko’s finally emerged from wherever she was and now has her face scrunched in concentration as she tries to halt the escape.

Maya scoffs, and all it takes is a forceful swing of her arm for a blast of air to hurtle down at Kaoruko. She’s knocked backwards off her feet, and Maya takes advantage of the lapse to unfreeze the water and continue upwards.

By the time Claudine’s managed to free herself, Maya’s airship and its crew have disappeared into the horizon.

“Oops?” Kaoruko offers.

Claudine screams.

Claudine all but collapses into the armchair, bringing a hand over her face to pinch the bridge of her nose. Distantly, she can hear the light patter of shoes against the flooring, skipping into the room like they haven't just suffered yet another miserable defeat. 

“Don't say a word,” Claudine says flatly. “Or I swear on Agni’s name I will burn your face off.”

Kaoruko hums nonchalantly, and there’s the scrape of a chair as she seats herself. “Oh, don't be so dramatic, Kuro-han. If I'm gone, who’s going to do all the chores around here?”

Claudine cracks an eye open. “Futaba? Or, literally everyone else?”

“Futaba-han and I are a package deal.”

Claudine groans, slumping further in her seat and screwing her eyes shut once more. Kaoruko, that little gremlin, seems wholly unaffected by her commander’s horrible, terrible, no good, very bad day, and somehow produces a box of sweets to very loudly snack on as Claudine reconsiders the decision to bring her aboard the Seisho. And the decision to make her first mate. 

Wow. I've made some really terrible choices on this mission, huh?

“Commander.” 

Fumi’s voice, sharp as ever, sounds from the entrance, dragging Claudine away from her thoughts. She tiredly forces herself upright, massaging her temples with one hand and using the other to gesture for Fumi to continue. 

“We’ve assessed the damage, and it’s pretty minor. Isurugi-san is repairing the deck as we speak. We should be ready to leave again within the hour.”

Claudine sighs, whether from relief at the quick fix or from frustration at sustaining damage in the first place, she doesn't know. “Thank you, Fumi. Get Nana to figure out where the Avatar’s going and chart a course in that direction. And tell the others to prepare to set sail.”

Fumi nods curtly, marching off, and Claudine’s once again left alone with Kaoruko, who’s still eating. “I don't know why I haven't thrown you overboard yet,” Claudine grumbles. 

Kaoruko examines her nails boredly. “You need Futaba-han’s metalbending to repair your ship in times like these, and like I said, we come as a package deal. Plus, you know I’d just bend my way out of the water immediately.”

Claudine scoffs. “Right. Of course. Because you're an all-powerful waterbender.”

“Don't say it like that, Kuro-han. Jealousy isn't a good look on you.”

I’m going to strangle you, Claudine thinks, staring into the back of Kaoruko’s head darkly . It’s a tempting thought (as it always is when it comes to the blue-haired devil that is Hanayagi Kaoruko) but the voice of reason eventually wins out, and she forces her voice to come out as sweetly as she can muster. “It’s called skepticism, and in my opinion it’s pretty justified considering your fancy waterbending skills did pretty much nothing ten minutes ago, when we were getting our asses kicked by Tendou Maya!”

Kaoruko spins around in her chair and has the audacity to look offended. “She’s the Avatar! T-that doesn't count!”

“Of course it doesn’t,” Claudine says, rolling her eyes. “It’s not like it’s the whole reason why we’re on this stupid boat, or anything.”

There’s a beat of silence as Kaoruko turns away slightly, crossing her arms and sulking by herself. Claudine takes advantage of the brief respite to shut her eyes and think: their ship was headed westward, back towards the mainland. Maybe they’ve got bases in some of the cities? Or maybe they’ve got more allies hiding there. Either way, we have to catch up to her, before—

“What’s got you so down, Kuro-ko?” 

A groan escapes Claudine’s lips as she buries her face into her palm. So much for a moment of respite. Nonetheless, she waves for Futaba to come in and take a seat.

“Do you even need to ask? She’s mad ‘cause her crush kicked her ass and flew off again,” Kaoruko drawls, and Claudine can almost hear her smirk.

“She was cheating with that airship stunt, it doesn’t count! I’m a way better bender than her, anyway,” Claudine snaps. “And I don’t have a crush on her!”

It’s Kaoruko’s turn to roll her eyes. “If you were a better bender than her, you wouldn’t still be out here chasing after some runaway princess. Admit it, you get your ass kicked a lot.”

“I do not!”

“What about that time at Crescent Island?”

Claudine fires jets of flame at Maya, who deftly evades every burst, the smile never leaving her face. “What are you smiling about?” Claudine snaps.

“Oh, nothing,” Maya chuckles. “It’s just that you have a lot of blindspots, Saijou Claudine.”

“Blindspots? What are you—” 

A boulder hurtles towards her from the left, and Claudine yelps as she stumbles out of the way, only to trip over a small pebble on the ground and fall onto her back.

The ground around her rumbles and reforms, trapping her wrists and ankles in earthen shackles. Maya enters her vision, smug as ever. 

“You should pay more attention to your surroundings, Saijou-san.”

Claudine screams as she walks away.

“T-that was a fluke! I just tripped, people trip all the time!”

“Right,” Kaoruko sighs. “Then what about that time at the South Pole?”

Claudine charges at Maya, who’s perched on the edge of the Seisho calmly. “This time, I’ll get you, Tendou Maya!” she roars.

Maya laughs.

Just as she’s getting close, Claudine feels the wind pick up around her, swirling round and round and round, every step forward getting harder and harder until she’s sliding backwards. Her hair dances in the cyclone; she brings her arms up to shield her face… The last thing she sees is Tendou Maya’s smug smile.

And then the wind grows so strong, so powerful, that it picks her up like a toy and launches her into the icy ocean below.

“T-the wind got in my eyes!”

“Right, the wind that Tendou-han summoned. Well, there’s also that time at Whaletail Island, and the one at Lake Laogai, and remember when we were at the Eastern Air Temple and—”

“Okay, okay,” Claudine interrupts. “Fine, I get it. You can stop talking now.”

“Never,” Kaoruko grins. Claudine ignores her. 

“And I don’t have a crush on her. She’s my target, and I’m just trying to get her back to the Fire Nation as fast as possible.”

“Mm, don't lie. I've seen the way you two stare at each other before you fight.”

“With hatred and tension!”

“Sexual tension, maybe.”

“Kaoruko,” Futaba exhales a long-suffering sigh. 

“What? I’m not wrong for reading into it, given how much Kuro-han talks about her all the time. It’s always Tendou Maya this, Tendou Maya that… Oh, Tendou Maya chased a group of Fire Nation soldiers out of a poor Earth Kingdom village today, that vexing woman! I can’t wait to get my hands all over her and—”

Claudine stands from her armchair suddenly, red-hot flame blooming from her palm and casting her face in its angry orange hues. Kaoruko yelps, jumping off her chair and scrambling behind Futaba, who watches on with a flicker of amusement in her eyes, but widens her stance to shield Kaoruko anyway, grinning playfully. They all know she wouldn’t actually hurt any of her crew members.

“You get thirty seconds,” Claudine says instead, snuffing out the fire. Kaoruko shoots her a look at her from over Futaba’s shoulder, something between indignance and scheming, but she obediently slinks out of the room a couple of seconds later, muttering to herself all the while. Still, Claudine considers that a victory, and she allows herself to melt back into her chair.

Futaba shakes her head, smiling to herself. “Guess the battle really got you worked up this time, huh?”

Claudine chooses not to dignify that with a response. “I take it my ship is fixed, then?”

Futaba cracks a grin, raising a hand in mock salute. “Good as new, cap! Aruru’s doing the final checks before we start heading out again.”

“That’s commander to you,” Claudine sighs, but she smiles appreciatively all the same. She stands, straightening her uniform, and lets her eyes fall shut as she exhales deeply. 

When she opens them again, they’re filled once more with the steely determination Commander Saijou Claudine is known and feared for. 

Fire that could melt its way through the Water Tribes. The dormant wrath of a volcano.

“Well then, we can’t waste any more time,” she says, lips pressed together in a thin line. “We have an Avatar to catch.”

Nana and Fumi are poring over a map of the Earth Kingdom when Claudine enters the bridge. They bow as soon as they notice her, which Claudine dismisses with a wave. “Have you come up with a plan yet?”

Nana tilts the map in Claudine’s direction. She uses a baton to point at where they’re currently docked: it’s a small, oft-forgotten Earth Kingdom port town, located in a small strait nestled between a peninsula off the mainland and the Eastern Air Temple. “The Avatar’s airship was headed west, this way,” she drags the baton along the map to illustrate her point, “Fumi and I think she’s going to Omashu. There’s a couple battalions of our troops there preparing for the siege, and she could be going to take them out.”

Claudine’s brows knit together as she studies the map. Indeed, there’s a small wooden figurine placed over where Omashu is on the map, representing the battalions. The Fire Nation’s siege on Omashu has been looming on the horizon for weeks now, with the army just waiting for the right time to strike. It’s definitely probable that the Avatar and her team would try to take them out pre-emptively.

Yet, it isn’t something Maya would do. 

Shimmering lilac eyes, always waiting, watching, studying every movement, waiting for the right time to strike. A huff of frustration. Charging at her and her infuriatingly smug smile. The ramrod-straight posture, the perfectly groomed hair. 

And then it happens — she finds it, an opening. Come crashing to the ground. Grass against lips. Embers sparking on fingertips. 

“Nice try, Saijou-san,” she says, offering a hand. “Shall we go again?”

Claudine pauses, rubbing her chin. Fumi and Nana watch her curiously.

“She’s not headed to Omashu,” she declares. “Chart a course for Gaoling instead.”

Fumi raises a brow. “Gaoling? Could I ask why, Commander?”

Claudine extends her arm, and Nana passes her the baton wordlessly. She taps it against the small wooden figure on the map gently. “The battalions we’ve sent to Omashu are, what, five thousand soldiers total? Tendou Maya and her friends might like rushing headfirst into battle, but she’s not stupid enough to try and take them all out on their own unless they had no other choice. No—” She drags the baton over to Gaoling, circling the coal mines on its outskirts, “—They’re going to cut off the supply lines, and maybe rouse the nobility into action while they’re at it. It’s closer, anyway, and they need to make use of all the time they can get.”

She sets the baton down, leaning both hands on the table and huffing out a frustrated laugh. “Tendou Maya, that infuriating woman. Of course she would pull something like this.” In front of her, Fumi and Nana exchange looks, and an uncharacteristically teasing smile finds its way onto Nana’s face.

“Looks like you know her really well, Kuro-chan!” she says.

Claudine’s cheeks flush, whether from anger or embarrassment, she doesn’t know. “I-It’s nothing special, just basic strategy,” she mumbles, cursing internally. She’s come to expect this sort of thing from Kaoruko, but now Nana’s started too? “A-anyway, just get us to Gaoling as fast as you can. We need to catch up to her before she manages to delay the siege.”

Fumi bows in acknowledgement before walking over to the console and preparing the ship to set sail. That leaves Claudine and Nana alone at the table, the latter of whom is still grinning cheekily.

“You’ve been spending too much time with Kaoruko,” Claudine huffs, turning towards the door. 

Nana laughs, high and free, as she follows after. “Well, I kind of get why she does it. You’re a fun person to tease. Besides, with how much you talk about her, I’m surprised you don’t actually have a crush on the Avatar.”

A groan escapes her lips, echoing in the metal of the corridor; Claudine realises she’s been doing that a lot lately. “Why do people keep saying that? I don’t talk about her that much.”

Nana shoots her a look. Claudine sighs. “Fine. Maybe I do talk about Tendou Maya a lot. Can you really blame me? She’s just so… infuriating!” 

“Of course she is, Kuro-chan,” Nana says, giggling. “And it probably doesn’t help that you guys used to be classmates.”

“She was more than just a classmate,” Claudine says, instinctively. “She was my—” She stops herself before she can say something dumb, like rival, because that’s practically begging for the teasing to get worse. 

So Claudine settles for something else instead. “She’s our princess, too, y’know. It’s weird, and I don't want to get involved in the royal family’s drama, but now they’re making me run around chasing after her? And capturing her is one thing, but doing it without harming her… And she knows I'm in this terrible situation, because every time we fight she gets this stupid smug look in her eye, and the thing is it’s somewhat justified because she wins every fight we’ve had! How is she so good at bending? And how does she always know how to get under my skin? And— Ugh! That horrible woman!”

Nana says nothing; just looks at her strangely. “What?” Claudine snaps. 

“Nothing,” she replies, in a tone that suggests that’s not the case. 

Claudine elects to shut up before she can make things worse for herself. 

They finally arrive on the deck, where the late-morning sun flits through a thin layer of puffy white clouds in the sky. Claudine squints in the sudden brightness, shielding her face with her hand as she glances around. The damage from their earlier battle with Maya and her team is almost impossible to spot unless you know where to look; Claudine makes a mental note to thank Futaba properly later. 

A movement in her periphery catches her eye; the soar of a bird through the air, flapping its wings higher and eventually disappearing behind the clouds. It’s brief, almost negligible to anyone else, but Saijou Claudine is nothing if not meticulous.

“Right, Nana,” she calls, and the girl in question hums in response. “Send a messenger hawk to the troops over at Omashu. Warn them that the Avatar’s headed to Gaoling.”

“Right away, Kuro-chan,” she says, bowing shallowly before walking away. 

Claudine smiles to herself. This time, she’ll capture Tendou Maya — she’s sure of it.

She’s yanked out of her thoughts yet again by a monotone voice echoing from the crow’s nest, barely audible above the din of the harbor. “Messenger hawk headed this way!” is all Claudine can make out from the deck, and she makes a mental note to remind Yuyuko to speak up. 

Sure enough, a messenger hawk comes swooping down towards the deck a few seconds later, flapping its wings and landing gracefully on Claudine’s outstretched arm. It shifts slightly, exposing the container on its back to her, and, oh—

“A black ribbon?” Aruru and Misora are gathered behind her, curious as ever. “I've never even seen one of those before!” Aruru cries, bouncing with excitement. 

Claudine frowns, a lot less thrilled. A black ribbon message could only really come from one person, and it’s almost certainly not good news. She fumbles with the ribbon, thoughts racing. Could the Fire Lord be disappointed with her inability to capture his daughter? Would he recall her to the capital?

The container finally comes open, and Claudine extracts the message inside, unfurling it with trembling hands. The hawk flaps onto her shoulder, a steadying weight. 

Her eyes widen. Behind her, she hears the tap of feet against the deck as the rest of her crew gathers around. 

He can’t be serious…

Misora’s the one to break the silence. “What’s it say, Commander?” 

The words seem to swim around the scroll. It doesn't make sense. He wouldn’t do this… Would he?

“Kuro-ko?” Futaba says tentatively. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, it’s just…” she looks up; her entire crew stares back at her, seven pairs of eyes watching in concern and curiosity. The mystique of a black ribbon message has even drawn Kaoruko out of her room and Yuyuko down from the crow’s nest. 

“The Fire Lord believes that convincing the princess to return home unharmed is no longer a viable option.” Claudine sucks in a breath, steadying herself. 

“By royal decree of His Majesty, Fire Lord Tendou Yuichiro,” she says, rolling the scroll back up. “All units are now permitted and encouraged to use any force necessary to capture the Avatar.”

Chapter Text

Heat.

All-consuming, engulfing. It lives. It breathes. Every gulp of air, ten acres of destruction. Colder than ice as it burns.

Fire, the element of deception.

A voice, low and gravelly over the crackle of the hearth. 

“This is your destiny, Maya. Take it in. The strength of the flame.”

Days into sunsets into nights and back into days. She rises with the sun, with the eternal fire. Katas, branded into muscle. Every step, a leap towards victory. Cold calculation reflected in the blaze.

When she punches, her flames burn white. The man on the throne watches; guzzling power like oxygen to a flame.

Fire, the element of destruction.

“You are our family’s legacy, Tendou Maya. You will bring greatness to the world.”

Greatness. It sits funny on her tongue.

A blur of sunsets on sunsets. ‘Rivals’ winking out like the stars in the sky. How foolish. How disappointing. But then—

Eyes a deeper crimson than the angriest of flames. The steely determination of a warrior. Fire that blazes its heat with pride, refusing to hide behind the cool detachment of its power. Refusing to snuff out, burning stubbornly on, even when she falls again, and again, and again, down, down, down, embers against grass, sparks in her heart…

Fire, the element of passion. And:

“I’ll defeat you, Tendou Maya. I’ll…”

She’ll?

“Tendou Maya, you…”

I’ll?

“Ten… do…”

“Tendou-san!”

Maya jerks awake.

There’s a soreness in her neck, throbbing with every slight movement — ah, it appears she had fallen asleep at her desk again. Maya winces, gingerly rolling her neck and making a mental note to at least use a pillow next time.

There’s also an incessant knocking at the door, polite at first, but crescendoing to an almost-frantic rattling the longer she leaves it unacknowledged. “Tendou-san, are you alright?” comes the voice from the other side, laced with panic.

Maya stands from her seat, making a cursory attempt at tidying her hair. She walks over to the door, unlocking it and sliding it open, and the girl on the other side nearly tumbles inside from the suddenness.

“O-Oh! Tendou-san, you’re okay!” Mahiru squeaks, righting herself and scurrying back into the hallway.

Maya smiles, hoping she looks less tired than she feels. “Yes. My apologies for worrying you. I’m afraid I fell asleep for a brief moment. What did you want to talk about?”

“Right!” Mahiru says, straightening. “Yukishiro-san wanted me to let you know that we’re approaching Gaoling! We’ll be landing in a couple of minutes.”

Maya nods appreciatively, her smile a little more genuine now. “Thank you, Tsuyuzaki-san. I’ll join the crew in a while, allow me to get ready first.” Mahiru nods, bowing, and disappears down the hallway.

Now alone once more, Maya sighs, sliding the door shut. Through the window of her room, she can see the hills and mountains of the Earth Kingdom roll past, dotted with little clusters of homes, the bustling town square of a village, the thriving community of a trade city…

Every handful of earth, every brick, every laugh of a child weighs heavy on her shoulders.

Maya exhales, walking over to the full-body mirror hanging on the wall to fix her appearance. Straightens her clothes, reties her bow, stares at her reflection in the mirror. The Avatar stares back, lilac eyes cold, unfeeling, barren.

Maya’s jaw clenches.

She exits the room.

Gaoling is a town blessed by geography — nestled in the crook of a valley and surrounded by hilly terrain, it’s naturally much harder to attack. Unfortunately, that coupled with the lack of airship docking facilities means that the Edel has to land on the outskirts of Gaoling proper, just on the edge of the more run-down sections of the town. No matter; Maya supposes it’s as good an opportunity as any to meet the townsfolk before its leaders. 

Yet, the streets seem to be strangely empty: it could, of course, be a consequence of the timing of their visit — perhaps most of its occupants are still at work. It would be an adequate explanation for most, but Tendou Maya considers herself far more perceptive than the average person. Walking through the deserted streets into the centre of Gaoling, she can sense the gazes raking over her every move, concealed behind cracking walls and peering through darkened windows, equal parts curious and fearful.

They’re avoiding her. 

It’s fair, Maya supposes. She and the nine others accompanying her don’t exactly present the most comforting image. Still, it doesn’t stop Akira from narrowing her eyes at the houses, ramrod-straight as she moves. “If they’re planning an ambush on us, then they had better hope they’re better at fighting than they are at hiding.” 

“Now now, Akira. There’s no need to be so cynical. I’m sure they’re just scared,” Michiru says, bouncing along.

Akira huffs. “Given the nature of our mission and the importance of our party, I would prefer to be on guard.”

Maya comes to a halt suddenly, causing Karen to crash into her back with a loud ‘ow!’. Akira stops too, whirling around to face Maya and determine the problem, only to notice her staring straight at the ground. Following her gaze, she finds a battered stuffed polar bear dog laying abandoned on the ground. It’s small, barely the size of her palm, and yet Maya kneels down to grasp it, tentatively, like it’s made of gold.

“Hey! That’s mine!”

A flash of movement in her periphery. Akira and the rest of their sizable party instinctively shift into a combat stance, ready to dispatch the attacker, but… It’s just a little boy, maybe five at most, running at Maya with a determined furrow in his brow.

The boy stops in front of Maya, frowning at her wordlessly. His face is blackened with soot, hair coarse and unkempt, arms almost bone-thin, and yet he stands in front of Maya like he has nothing to fear. Not even the Avatar.

“Ah,” Maya says, holding out the stuffed animal. “Is this yours, bocchan?”

“Yes!” he says, snatching it out of her hands and hugging it close to his chest. He looks away, suddenly shy. 

“That’s a Mr White doll, isn’t it? Kagura-san here likes collecting Mr White toys as well.” The boy’s mouth opens slightly agape, and he turns his gaze to behind Maya, where Hikari stands, a Mr White plush from Ba Sing Se clipped to her waist. Nudged by Karen, Hikari offers a small smile, which admittedly looks rather genuine by her standards.

Slowly, the boy’s face loses some of its tension, and he smiles a gap-toothed grin.

“What’s your name, bocchan?” Maya asks.

“Xing! My name is Xing! I, uh… I don’t know how to write it, but my mama says it means ‘star’, because I’m her little star!” As he speaks, his face gradually lights up.

“Xing. That’s a beautiful name. My friend Hoshimi-san’s name also means ‘star’. I’m sure she could teach you how to write your name, if you wanted?”

“Really?” Xing says, a childlike look of glee in his eyes. Maya nods, gesturing towards Junna, who steps forward. Xing steps toward her, then pauses, looking at Hikari. “You should come too! We can play with our Mr Whites together!” he cries, ignoring Hikari’s sounds of protest. Karen giggles, sounding just as childlike as the little boy, and drags them both to the middle of the street to play, with Junna trailing after. Mahiru ends up following them, and Maya watches with a fond smile as she gets back to her feet.

Another person comes running into the street — a woman, face marked with worry and age, her hair pulled back into a tight bun. She, too, stops in front of Maya, bowing so deeply that Maya almost thinks she’s prostrating.

“Please forgive my son’s behaviour, Avatar Maya!” she cries, desperation in her voice. “He is still young, and does not yet know how to act. I deeply apologise for his disturbance! Please, don’t hurt us!” Maya looks up, meets Akira’s eyes, and finds just as much confusion in them.

“Please, rise,” Maya says, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulder to coax her up. The woman straightens, but looks down, refusing to meet Maya’s eyes. “Your son was not a disturbance at all, madam, and I’m certain my companions are enjoying his company. I came to Gaoling with the intention to help.”

A look of disbelief crosses the woman’s face, but she remains silent, head bowed.

Maya opens her mouth to reassure her again, but then—

“Yeah, right. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

It’s a gruff voice, sounding from closer to the buildings; Maya looks up to see a thinning, balding man, hobbling over with one arm leaning on a cane. His clothes are tattered and soot-stained, his hands gnarled like a centuries-old tree.

“Excuse me?” Akira cuts in before Maya can respond. The man scoffs at her tone, sounding thoroughly unafraid.

“I know what the deal with you lot is. You’re all just more of the same, coming in here and saying you’re goin’ ta help us, but then all you really want is to use us for everything we’re worth and leave us starvin’ in the streets! I see right through you and your fancy airship. All of ya are the exact same: only concerned with the bottom line.”

Akira looks as if she wants to argue, but Maya speaks first. “Sir, we really are here to help. I’m the Avatar, and—”

“And you’re one of them, aren’t ya?”

Maya blinks. “I’m sorry?”

“You. You’re Fire Nation trash, just like the rest of ‘em. Hell, you’re their heckin’ princess! What makes you think I’ll believe you’re here to help us? You’re probably with that other group over at the coal mines, takin’ all our hard work and usin’ it to destroy one of our own cities!”

“That’s not true! Tendou-san would never—”

“If you were really on our side, why are ya still usin’ the name Tendou?” the man snarls, cutting Mei Fan off. “Here to help, my ass. If you really wanted to help us, you would’ve been here earlier.”

“As the Avatar, my duty is to the world, not just my nation.”

“You may be the Avatar, but you’re still a human. Don’t expect me to believe you’d choose us over ya country and ya throne. It says enough that you’re still usin’ his name.” His glare is full of hatred, of anger and fury. A story of the years, sewn into his voice. Maya feels every bit of emotion cutting into her, little knives against her skin. 

How stupid she must sound right now. The princess of the Fire Nation, swearing on her life that she’s here to help the enemy. 

“I… I apologise,” Maya says. It’s all she can say. “I apologise for not being here sooner.”

The man scoffs, and spits at her feet. 

Immediately, Akira, Michiru, and Mei Fan drop into fighting stance, while Shiori and Yachiyo move to restrain him. Maya, stunned, can only stare.

“Oh, so this is how you wanna play it, huh?” he cries, for the whole street to hear.

Distantly, Maya recognises that this wouldn’t be a good look for them. “Yukishiro-san. Don’t make a scene.”

Akira scowls. “Tendou, he—”

“Don’t.”

Akira meets her gaze steelily, and for a while the streets of outer Gaoling seem to be frozen in tense tableau. Finally, Akira huffs, relaxing and gesturing for the others to do the same. Maya turns back to look at the man, but he refuses to even look at her, dragging Xing’s mother by the arm back towards the houses.

“Xing!” he bellows. “Come back inside, now.”

Xing yelps, scurrying away from Hikari, Junna, and Karen without so much as a goodbye. Maya watches as his figure retreats into the house, until the streets are empty once more, and all she can do is stand, the weight of the world resting heavily on her shoulders.

-

The group continues into the heart of Gaoling, and their surroundings morph from run-down, dilapidated dwellings to tiled, opulent displays of wealth.

The architecture is markedly different from back in Caldera City, and the distinctly Earth-Kingdom greens and browns are a far cry from the deep reds of her homeland. Yet, walking down the streets of Gaoling, Maya can’t help but feel like she’s sixteen again, trapped in the four corners of an impossibly large city.

The air seems to constrict in her throat. Maya swallows, and clenches her jaw.

“Avatar Maya! Please, over here.”

She turns to find the source of the voice: a nervous-looking twig of a man dresses in the robes of a minor official, falling into an excessive bow when he catches Maya’s eye. “Please, follow me. My master has been kept waiting.”

“Ah. I apologise for the delay. I hope he has not made things difficult for you,” Maya says, following after him. 

“Not at all, Avatar Maya. Master Qian is a very reasonable man.”

He isn't, if what Maya’s heard from others is true. But she keeps that to herself, listening to the echoes of their party’s footsteps in the empty air. 

The man leads them further through the down, past the hustle and bustle of the merchant stands, the uniform chants of the earthbending academies, the mundane buzz of everyday life. Eventually, they begin to reach the edge of the town — not the run-down, poorer quarters they’d come from, but the vast, expansive grounds of a wealthy man’s mansion.

The entrance is a sprawling, luxurious garden, filled with exotic plants and animals from places all over the world, a tranquil koi pond tucked away in a corner by the surrounding walls. In the centre of the garden there lies a massive, palatial building resembling a much smaller version of the Royal Palace in Ba Sing Se, what with its tiled roof, ornately carved decorative arches, and towering double doors. 

The official pushes open the doors with some difficulty, stepping aside to let the group enter. 

“Ah, Avatar Maya!” Maya has barely stepped into the opulent hallway when a short, pot-bellied man approaches her, beady eyes almost screwed shut with the intensity of his smile. “It is an honour indeed. Please, follow me.”

He leads them to the sitting room at the end of the hallway, where Qian takes a seat on the large cushioned podium facing the entrance. Maya and her party find themselves standing before him rather awkwardly, having nowhere to sit besides the ground. 

“So, Avatar Maya. Why did you wish to speak with me so urgently?” Qian asks, taking a sip from a teacup. 

“I wanted to discuss your coal mines on the outskirts of Gaoling. It’s my understanding that you’ve been supplying coal to the nearby Fire Nation forces.”

“Ah,” Qian smiles, a glint in his eye. “Indeed, Avatar. I must say, our partnership has been simply wonderful so far. I cannot thank you enough.”

Maya frowns. “ Our partnership?”

Qian nods. “Indeed. You’re from the Fire Nation, aren’t you?”

It’s back again. That funny, constricting feeling in the air around her, the lump that sits uncomfortably in her throat. “That may be true, but I come here today as the Avatar, not as the princess of the Fire Nation. I have come to tell you to cease your deal with them. You cannot keep supplying the war effort.”

A pause. The air seems to drop several degrees. 

“Oh.” Qian sets his teacup down on the table with a curt clink. “You want me to stop my business?”

“Yes. The Fire Nation’s war has devastated huge parts of Earth Kingdom, and an attack on Omashu is imminent. Without your coal fueling their machines, we could slow their progress and stand to fight back.” 

Something lodges in her throat and wobbles as she speaks. Maya swallows it down. 

Qian stands suddenly, arms clasped behind his back as he stroll over to the window. He stares out of it, into the garden, into the reflections of the koi pond. 

“They would not attack me,” he says, quietly. 

“I'm sorry?” Maya asks. 

Qian turns to look at her, his beady eyes suddenly dark, sinister, cold. The pitch black of night. “The Fire Nation would not attack me, given our agreement. What, then, would I stand to gain by breaking my end of the deal, besides losing my source of income and angering the most powerful nation in the world?”

Stunned, Maya doesn't respond immediately. “Are you really insinuating that your bottom line is more important than the survival of this kingdom?”

Pitch-black meets lilac; a bottomless void. 

“Yes,” he says simply. 

“How dare you!” Akira hisses. “People are dying. Your country is dying!”

“And what do a few measly peasant lives have to do with me? So what if Omashu falls? Ba Sing Se still stands. I will still stand. The Earth Kingdom will not crumble if I continue selling coal,” Qian growls. 

Karen gasps audibly. “B-but, these people… The Earth Kingdom soldiers are giving their lives to defend their country! You can't just disregard their sacrifice like that!”

“Sacrifice?” Qian laughs, cold and disjointed against the summer air. “They ran into battle and got themselves killed. I refuse to compensate for the behaviour of fools.” 

Maya feels her fists clench, and it takes all her effort to keep her face steady. “Qian, if you would just—”

“If that is all you have come to discuss with me, Avatar Maya, then I'm afraid this meeting is over. Hong, please show the Avatar and her friends the way out.” The official from earlier scurries in, eyes flicking nervously between Qian and Maya. 

Maya watches the many expressions of her group; Mei Fan and Akira’s furious scowls, Michiru’s deceptively wide smile, Karen’s look of shocked horror… But she knows there’s nothing more she can do. 

Qian will not change his mind. He has condemned his people. 

Maya feels the control melt away, the mask slip. 

With a sudden thrust of her hands forward, she summons a blast of air towards Qian, and he’s sent flying across the room before he can react. He lands upside down against the wall with a loud ‘oof’, silken robes bunching around his head. 

Her group gapes at her, eyes wide. 

Yachiyo breaks the silence. “I'm surprised, Tendou-san. I didn't think you had it in you.”

“I—” Maya finds that she doesn’t have an excuse for what she just did, and the weight of her action suddenly sinks in.

Junna, logical as always, presents a solution: “I suggest we run.” Simple as it is, it’s the best proposition Maya’s heard in a while.

They dash out of the compound before the guards can catch up to them. 

“That guy wasn’t very nice,” Karen pants, hunched over and out of breath.

They’ve managed to lose Qian’s lackeys in the winding maze of Gaoling’s streets, and the group allows themselves to sit and catch their breath. Maya, however, can only stand and stare, jaw clenched and vision blurring.

“Tendou-san, what should we do now? Should we move on to Omashu instead?” Junna asks gingerly.

Maya’s head spins, the lump in her throat never quite having settled. Omashu — yes, they could certainly go there; the battle would be hard-fought, but Maya has full faith in the abilities of herself and her team, especially with the added force of Omashu’s army on their side.

They could go to Omashu. They could stop the siege that way; senseless violence and bloodshed and killing, the way it’s always been done. The way her father would do it.

But no matter how hard she tries not to think about it, Maya keeps recalling images of Xing, of the skinny, soot-stained little boy and his Mr White doll, so blackened with dirt and coal dust that it was almost unrecognisable. Of the anxiety-ridden woman, terrified of the wrath of the Fire Nation. Of the old man and his cane, hobbling on stiff legs but eyes burning with a fire so alive, a fire she’s only ever seen in—

“We can’t leave,” Maya says firmly. “We cannot leave these people alone for any longer. I promised to help, and I intend to honour my word.”

Akira narrows her eyes. “Not that I disagree, Tendou, but wouldn’t you say the siege on Omashu is far more pressing? We can return to Gaoling once that has been taken care of.”

Surprisingly, it’s Hikari who speaks next. “No,” she says quietly. “They’ve been waiting long enough.”

Akira stares at her, features painted in mild surprise. For someone who’s always been so confident, it looks unnatural — but then again, it’s not often that Hikari speaks up. Slowly, and almost unsurely, Akira nods, pressing her lips together. “Fine. But neglecting Omashu at a time like this is foolish.”

“There’s no need to compromise,” Maya interjects. “We can do both. We came to Gaoling in the hopes of cutting off the Fire Nation’s supply lines, and we can still do so.”

“But Tendou-san, what about Qian—” 

“I am the Avatar. I must do what is best for the world, with or without the approval of men like Qian.” Mahiru nods, wide-eyed, at the cold interruption, and Maya pauses to recollect herself. “To that end, I say going to the coal mines and removing the Fire Nation forces stationed there is the best course of action. However, I would like only some of us to go. The rest will stay behind and offer aid to Gaoling.”

Maya’s gaze sweeps over the group as she thinks. “Tsuyuzaki-san, Hoshimi-san, and Yumeoji-san, please return to the outskirts and use your earthbending skills to help rebuild the town. Tsuruhime-san and Liu-san are to return to the Edel and gather spare supplies that we can donate. Aijo-san, Kagura-san, Yukishiro-san, and Otori-san will accompany me to the mines.”

Everyone nods, except for Michiru. “Is it really a good idea for only the five of us to go to the mines, Maya-chan? Qian has definitely told them we’re coming,” she says.

“Even if he did, they wouldn’t be able to mobilise quickly enough,” Maya replies. “And I trust in our combat abilities, Otori-san.”

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, Michiru nods, and no further objections are raised by anyone in the party.

Sucking in a breath, Maya clasps her arms behind her back. “Let’s get moving, then.”

The small settlement surrounding the coal mines isn’t much to look at — it’s clearly chosen function over form, containing just a few makeshift tents and crates of mining equipment and coal scattered around the base. It’s completely expected, given the purpose of the area.

What’s less expected is just how empty the settlement is when Maya’s group arrives.

The tents are completely deserted, not a worker or officer in sight, but the machinery still buzzes with a soft, collective hum, indicating that they’d been abandoned in a hurry. Narrowing her eyes, Maya tenses and assumes a fighting stance, every step forward cautious and measured, and the others do the same.

But no signs of life appear, and Maya lets her guard drop, arms falling to her sides. 

“Where is everyone?” Karen asks, echoing everyone’s sentiments.

“I… I’m not sure. But I suggest we finish what we came here to do before they return,” Maya replies. “Otori-san and I will seal off the mines. The rest of you, spread out and damage as much of the machinery as you can, especially the transports.” The three of them nod at her, turning to leave, when—

“So, it looks like our intel was correct.”

Maya freezes.

Slowly, she turns around.

Emerging from around the rocky terrain, surrounding the whole camp, march rows and rows of masked Fire Nation soldiers. At the front of the pack rides a large, burly man on the back of a komodo rhino. The scars across his face twist and stretch as he sneers down at Maya.

How..? He wasn’t supposed to be able to… How did he?

The marching stops, and Maya steps backward defensively, creating a small blade of flame in her hands. The other four assume similar defensive stances — Akira and her water rings, Michiru’s fists raised and ready to move the earth, Karen and Hikari slowly strengthening the breeze around them — their backs to each other in a circle, they each survey the situation.

There must be at least a hundred soldiers here. When did Qian have the time to gather all of them? Maya’s head spins; the blank shock of the situation and the sinking guilt of having led them all here and the roaring need to destroy them all fighting for the bulk of her attention. 

No.

She can’t afford to get distracted. Not now.

Right now, she is Tendou Maya, the infallible Avatar. She doesn’t have time to hesitate. 

Exhaling quietly, she lets the mask of composure slip back on. 

The man on the komodo rhino dismounts, drawing his sabre and striding closer. “You’ve gotten sloppy, Avatar. Letting people figure out your moves like this… What would your father say?”

Maya’s eyes narrow. “Come any closer and you’ll find out just how sloppy I’ve gotten,” she warns.

The man guffaws, and the sound is coarse like gravel in a riverbed. Maya allows the flame in her hands to strengthen, its colour changing from bright orange to a ghostly white.

“Well then,” the man growls, raising a hand to signal his troops. “Let’s see, shall we?”

Chapter Text

To put it simply, being in the tank sucks.

Despite Fumi’s best efforts to avoid excessive bumps, the uneven terrain of the Earth Kingdom coupled with the new, imperfect technology of their tank means that the drive to Gaoling is uncomfortable at best and out to give everyone internal injuries at worst.

Unfortunately, it’s their only option: Gaoling is far enough away from the nearest major port that they can’t afford to waste time heading there on foot, which had forced them to unload the tank from the Seisho and pile into that instead. They were making good progress in terms of distance, but the experience inside was probably enough to cancel that out.

Probably.

Because truthfully, Claudine can’t really bring herself to care about the bumps and jerks in the road when she finds herself preoccupied thinking about something else — the Fire Lord’s decree.

It just doesn’t make sense. Tendou Maya is his only child, and it wouldn’t do him any good to injure her no matter how much she may have offended him. Either Tendou Yuichiro really wants to teach his daughter a lesson about disobedience, or he’s being very serious about removing the Avatar’s as a roadblock to the Fire Nation’s agenda.

Either way, something doesn’t sit right with Claudine, and she sighs tiredly in her seat.

Whatever. It’s probably just a case of weird royal family politicking. Besides, Tendou Maya is far too skilled to be injured by any number of Fire Nation soldiers.

Beside her, Claudine catches sight of Yuyuko slumped over in her seat and snoring lightly; dead to the world. She sighs, rubbing her eyes… Maybe she should get some rest before they arrive…

Grass against skin. Embers sparking at fingertips. The smug smile of someone who’s never tasted defeat. Fury boils in her heart, fury and defiance and determination, the dormant wrath of a volcano.

I’ll beat you one day, Tendou Maya. I’m not scared of you, just because you’re the Avatar and a princess.

That same smug smile, every time. Lilac eyes like the infinite dawn ocean. Fire that dances with its own soul, free like the wind, and yet…

And yet.

The gravity behind every puff of flame, every step and punch. The quiet exhaustion underlying every snarky remark. Lilac cannot exist without blue. Fire doesn’t burn forever.

Claudine watches, and takes in every detail.

I look forward to that day, Saijou Claudine.

“Kuro-chan?”

Claudine blinks awake, finding Nana hovering over her. “We’re here,” she says, and Claudine nods appreciatively. Nana steps aside to wake Yuyuko instead, only to find that the smaller girl has apparently been awake the whole time.

Stretching out her neck, Claudine exhales a long sigh, and steadies herself once more.

The moment their tank rolls into the centre of Gaoling, a small crowd gathers around it. The soft hum of murmurs begins almost immediately, and it only intensifies once Claudine steps out. The collective look of awed respect directed at her and her vehicle makes Claudine’s heart swell with pride — yes, this is the might of the Fire Nation, the glory of her country that they’ve come to share with everyone.

“Commander Saijou!” A skinny little official comes running over, cheeks flushed from the heat. “We received your message earlier today. It is an honour to welcome a great officer such as yourself to our town. I am Hong, the official in charge of the town.” He bows, almost folding into half, and his hat flops over his face as he does so. It’s a look unbefitting of the supposed person in charge, but it’s common knowledge that Gaoling has always been under the control of the nobility, anyway. 

“Uh, sure. Please get up,” she says, somewhat awkwardly. “What about the warning I sent? Did you get any news about that?”

Hong straightens, but he’s still a full head shorter than Claudine. “Yes, Commander Saijou, Avatar Maya did indeed visit Gaoling just a few hours ago. She had an… altercation… with Master Qian and evaded our guards, and we haven't seen her or her party ever since. Though, their airship did pass over the town not too long ago, heading in the direction of the mines. It seemed like it was in quite a hurry, but we haven’t seen it since.”

Claudine nods slowly; internally, she celebrates the success of her hunch. “Thank you, Hong. My crew and I will head over to the mines to check it out.”

“Of course, Commander Saijou. If you require my assistance in any way, I shall be happy to help. Again, it is truly an honour to host you in our humble town.”

“Well, isn’t this a welcome!” Kaoruko says excitedly, dragging Futaba along by the arm; Futaba only groans and follows after, already resigned to her fate. “We haven’t been in a merchant town like this in so long, Futaba-han, I’d forgotten how the air felt like!”

“Don’t start wandering off now. We have to head over to the mines as fast as we can,” Claudine says.

“Yeah, whatever, I got it. Hey, look at those silks!”

Kaoruko (and Futaba, by proxy) goes running over to a merchant stall on the roadside, cheeks rising as she examines the spread of fabrics on the table and chatters excitedly about something or other. “We have enough stuff in your room as is…” Futaba mutters under her breath.

“What?” Kaoruko asks.

“Nothing,” Futaba says innocently. 

Kaoruko seems far too distracted by the silk before her to pursue the subject, and Futaba takes the opportunity to shoot Claudine a pleading look. Laughing silently, Claudine only shrugs in reply.

“How much for this piece?” she hears Kaoruko asking. Claudine’s very glad that Kaoruko has the decency to use her own money for purchases like this; she’s sure they’d have run out of money a long time ago if they had to fund Kaoruko’s impulse buys, too.

Shaking her head with a fond smile, Claudine gestures to the rest of her crew to follow after her, sure that Futaba can take care of Kaoruko on her own.

“You’re a Hanayagi, aren’t you?” a voice — presumably the merchant — asks. “My… My father used to do business with your family.”

Kaoruko’s voice comes out full of pride as she answers. “Ha! It’s about time someone figured it out! Well, I guess since you’re linked to our family, I wouldn’t mind paying a little extra—”

“I don’t sell to traitors,” the merchant spits.

Claudine stops abruptly, eyes narrowing as she turns toward him. He doesn’t seem to notice, eyes trained squarely on Kaoruko, standing defiantly despite his short stature and unthreatening build.

“I beg your pardon?” Kaoruko says, deceptively sweet.

The merchant seems to falter for a moment, eyes widening at the look on Kaoruko’s face, but he finds his footing and matches it with a glare of equal intensity not moments later. “I said,” he growls, leaning forward, “I don’t sell to traitors like you.”

He turns to face the gathered crowd, inhaling a deep breath before yelling, “Listen up, everyone! The Hanayagis betrayed their own kin and chose to join the Fire Nation to save their own necks! They abandoned their people and let the Northern Water Tribe fall! They’re nothing more than traitors and bootlickers to our oppressors!” Turning back to Kaoruko, his face a picture of pure hatred, he snarls, “Gaoling may be filled with filthy traitors like you and your family, but I refuse to become one of them. It will be a cold day in hell before I associate with the likes of you.”

Kaoruko takes a step back, shocked, and Futaba steps forward angrily, clearly ready to take action. But before she can do anything rash, Claudine rushes over to her side, placing a hand on her shoulder and pushing her backwards gently.

Now facing the merchant, Claudine straightens to her full height. “These two are officers of the Fire Army. An insult against them is an insult against me, and the Fire Nation as a whole,” she says, scowling.

“I don’t care,” the merchant snaps. “Arrest me if you want. It’ll just be proving my point. They run to you bullies for protection, and now they answer to your every beck and call like common mutts. It’s pathetic. You’re all pathetic.”

“Watch it!” Claudine snaps, stepping forward. The merchant yelps, wavering in resolve as he steps backwards instinctively. Seeing that, Claudine feels her anger melt away a little, and she takes a breath to steady herself.

“We are not bullies,” she says slowly, measuredly. “We’re just trying to help you guys out by spreading our resources across the world.”

The merchant’s eyes widen, and for a while he says nothing.

Then, jarringly, he begins to laugh.

It’s a sharp cackle, piercing in Claudine’s ears, and it sends a strange sense of unsettlement down her spine. “Help us?” the merchant scoffs. “We didn’t need helping. We didn’t ask for helping. At least say it like it is: your benevolent little Fire Lord got hungry for power, and decided everywhere else was fair game.”

“You could get arrested for blasphemy like that,” Claudine warns.

“Then so be it.”

For a moment, neither side moves. Claudine stares unblinkingly at the merchant, a nagging little voice, the perfect soldier in the back of her head telling her to just arrest him already! And yet, her hands refuse to move, and she stands frozen in place, the hatred in the man’s glare slowly wearing her down.

And then, something unexpected happens.

“Let it go, Kuro-han,” Kauruko says suddenly. Claudine blinks at her; takes in the nonchalant look on her face.

“Kaoruko, this man just insulted both you and the Fire Lord.”

“Yeah, well, we all say some not-so-smart stuff sometimes, don’t we, Kuro-han? If you were such a stickler for the rules all the time you’d have had me arrested for disobedience years ago,” Kaoruko’s voice is flippant, almost, and she waves her hand like she’s swatting a fly away. “Besides, I’m sure he’s just bitter because his silk is terrible quality.”

Futaba frowns. “But you just said—”

“Oh, would you look at that, the sun’s getting low. Kuro-han, didn’t you say we had places to get to?”

Claudine meets Futaba’s eyes, and it’s somewhat relieving to see the same look of confusion in her eyes. But she knows better than to try prodding in front of everyone, and so Claudine nods slowly, biting the inside of her cheeks. Shooting the merchant one last scathing look, she sets off down the street, hearing the crisp steps of her crew behind her.

Once they’re far enough away from the merchant stands, she slows down to match Kaoruko’s pace. “What was that about?” she asks, voice low enough that the rest (sans Futaba, who’s perpetually attached to Kaoruko) can’t hear her.

“What was what about?” Kaoruko hums, clearly avoiding Claudine’s gaze.

“Don’t play dumb with me, Hanayagi. Even if we’re friends, I’m still your commander.”

Kaoruko scowls, bowing her head as she walks. Claudine watches as she kicks a stone in her path forcefully, shoes scuffing against the cobblestone road.

Maybe this isn’t actually a good thing to prod about. 

Sheepishly, Claudine opens her mouth to apologise, when Kaoruko breaks the silence.

“What he said about my family, about us being traitors to the Water Tribe,” Kaoruko mumbles, notably muted. “I’m not stupid. I know how many people think the same thing, even in the Fire Nation. Everyone’s always whispering about how it’s only a matter of time before we betray the Fire Lord, too, and defect again.”

Claudine’s brows knit together in confusion. “I’ve never heard anything like that from anyone back home.”

An amused chuckle sounds next to her — but it’s Futaba who laughs, not Kaoruko, who remains solemnly silent. “That’s because everyone knows you’re too uptight to feed into gossip like that, Kuro-ko. That’s why no one’s even tried approaching you about it,” Futaba says.

“Well, you just said it, didn’t you? None of it matters, it’s all gossip.”

“Is it, though?” Kaoruko mutters, almost more to herself than anything. 

Claudine places a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. “Of course it is. You’re working for the greatest empire of all time now. Of course you wouldn’t want to defect.”

Kaoruko and Futaba both gape at her, faces unreadable.

Then, startlingly, Kaoruko breaks into an amused smirk.

“Oh, Kuro-han,” she says, drumming her fingers against her cheek. “You’re so hopelessly clueless, it’s almost funny.”

“What?” Claudine says dumbly, but Kaoruko’s already skipping ahead. Turning to Futaba instead, she asks, “What does she mean?”

Futaba, annoyingly, only smiles cryptically, and Claudine can only groan.

“No one here treats me like a commander anymore,” she laments.

There’s a comfortable lull in the conversation for a few moments, broken only by the consistent patter of footsteps against cobblestone as they walk. The skies are clear above them, air stilled by the summer season, and the rays of sunlight flitting between buildings are starting to grow orange as the sunset begins.

In other words, there’s no sign of an airship anywhere.

And it seems like that weighs heavy on the minds of the others, too. The silence is finally broken by Futaba: “Why d’ya reckon we haven’t seen Tendou’s ship yet? They have to pass over the town to get to Omashu, don’t they?”

“You’re right, Futaba-chan. It’s weird that we haven’t seen them returning yet. Hong mentioned that they were in a rush, so they probably wouldn’t have stayed at the mines for long,” Nana adds.

“Couldn’t they have flown off towards the east instead? Maybe they weren’t planning to head to Omashu,” Aruru says.

Claudine chews on her bottom lip, brows furrowed. “Maybe. But Tendou Maya isn’t the type to fly off in the opposite direction when she thinks there’s somewhere that needs her.”

Kaoruko, devilish as ever, somehow slides her way next to Claudine. “Right, let’s listen to the resident Avatar encyclopedia on this.”

Rather annoyingly, Kaoruko dodges Claudine’s smack, giggling as she twirls away. “Piece of shit,” Claudine mutters, glaring at her with as much indignance as she can muster. Kaoruko only sticks out her tongue in response. 

“Oi, Kaoruko, tone it down. We’re about to come up on the—”

Futaba pauses mid-sentence. Shoes scuff against the ground as she stops abruptly at the edge of the town, where the last of the buildings meets the hilly plains. Beside her, Misora gasps, taking a few steps backwards to steady herself, and Aruru, uncharacteristically silent, grips her shoulder tightly in support. 

“What’s up with you guys?” Claudine asks, stepping forward. 

Her eyes widen. 

She should be seeing picturesque, idyllic hillsides. Blemish-free, grassy knolls, dotted with spots of colour where the flowers are in bloom. The industrial hum of a mine in the distance, buzzing with activity. With life. 

No, none of that is here. 

Instead, Claudine sees a diorama of battle. 

Bodies strewn across the landscape, the slow, laboured rise and fall of their chests the only indication that any of them are alive at all. The unnatural cracks and juts in the terrain cutting through grass, indicative of earthbending. Flowerless stems blown backwards, roots almost showing. The cold blue of spiked, icy structures, looking almost like they’ve grown out of the ground. 

In the distance: the metallic clang of a sword, the animalistic cries of battle. 

The sun sinks below the horizon, casting the scene in red. Claudine’s breath sticks in her throat. 

Tendou Maya, she thinks, and runs. 

It doesn’t matter that she’s left her crew behind without any instructions. It doesn’t matter that she has no idea what she’s going to find ahead. Her legs move, almost uncontrollably; and then she’s running, running towards the entrance to the mines just over the hills, running with the wind in her face and her hair, running without caring if the others are behind her.

She did this. It was almost definitely her. 

Her throat grows dry. Her lungs begin to burn. 

She wouldn't. She wouldn't do this unprovoked. 

Distantly, she’s aware of her heart in her chest, pounding so hard it threatens to crack her ribs. 

Tendou Maya, what have you gotten yourself into now?

The mining settlement comes into view; crates overturned and tents collapsed. Ash marks on the ground. So does the hulking figure of a man dressed in Fire Nation reds, shoulders heaving as he stands over a figure sprawled face-down on the ground. 

A purple ribbon wound through hair, tattered and stained. Fingers curled around grains of dirt. A chilling stillness, none of the usual flair and arrogance and infallibility that Claudine’s become accustomed to to be found. It’s unnatural; unnerving. Tendou Maya doesn’t lose. She can’t. Yet here she is, defeated on the ground, looking weaker than Claudine’s ever seen her.

Slowly, laboriously, the man raises his arm and the machete in it, raising it high—

“What is going on here?” 

The man whirls around, face twisted into a snarl, but it quickly melts into meek surprise when he spots Claudine. “Commander Saijou, I didn’t realise you were coming—”

“I asked a question, soldier. State your name and rank, and tell me what you’re doing here.”

“Captain Tano, ma’am, of the 101st battalion in Omashu. Our commanding officer received your messenger hawk and sent us to Gaoling to intercept the Avatar.”

A horrid weight settles in her stomach; Claudine clenches her jaw and forces herself steady. 

Her hawk. She did this.

“Well, it sure seems like you did a lot more than just intercept her, Captain,” she spits out, hoping it doesn’t carry the shaking in her hands.

“With all due respect, ma’am, most of the damage was actually inflicted on us, which I believe you’ve seen. We simply subdued the Avatar with the necessary force, as was authorised by the Fire Lord himself.” Tano gestures at the landscape around him, where the few soldiers left standing are visibly battered and bruised as they watch on. 

“Yes, well, it’s hard to blame her for fighting back when you led an entire battalion of soldiers to attack her. And besides, this level of force is hard to justify regardless of the Fire Lord’s decree.” It comes out far more forcefully than she’d have liked, and Claudine has to force herself to take a moment to calm down. “Avatar or not, Tendou Maya is still your princess, and you ought to show her some respect.”

“Of course, Commander.”

Claudine narrows her eyes at Tano, taking in every breath, every twitch of his hands. He stares back unreadably, waiting, watching. Huffing, Claudine shoves her way past Tano’s towering figure and lowers to a kneel at Maya’s side, carefully taking her wrist and feeling for a pulse.

It’s there. Weak and unsure, almost fighting to make its presence known, but she’s alive.

“I wouldn’t dare kill the princess,” Tano says impassively, almost sounding offended.

“Forgive me for being cautious, Captain. There’s been a lot of vitriol directed towards the Fire Nation lately. It wouldn’t surprise me if some amongst our ranks shared the same sentiments.”

“Are you accusing me of treason, Commander Saijou?”

“All I’m saying is that it’s very suspicious how you decided to attack Tendou Maya so hard that she fell to the ground unconscious. Just seconds before I arrived, I saw you preparing to strike her while she was down. That doesn’t seem very necessary or authorised to me.”

A crack in the facade; a flash of panic cutting through the calm. Tano’s eyes widen almost imperceptibly, and Claudine rises to her feet. “What do you have to say for yourself, Captain?”

“I… It was a mistake, I swear, I just lost control of myself for a moment—”

“And what if I didn’t get here in time to stop you? That mistake would’ve become an act of treason.”

“I…” Tano freezes, and if the situation wasn’t so serious Claudine would have laughed at the sight before her: this impossibly large, burly man, the panic in his eyes and the tremble of his limbs and making him look very small indeed. He drops into a deep bow suddenly, forehead almost touching the ground with how much he bends. “I apologise, Commander Saijou. I take full responsibility for my actions.”

Claudine eyes him disdainfully, arms crossed. For a while she refuses to speak, content in letting him humiliate himself in front of his few remaining troops.

Unfortunately, there are still things to take care of.

“Get up, Captain,” she orders, and Tano shakily rises to his full height. “What happened to the rest of the Avatar’s crew? I received reports of her airship heading towards these mines.”

Tano, still averting his eyes, responds quickly. “There were initially multiple people fighting alongside the Avatar, but their airship arrived midway through the fight. Avatar Maya ordered them to escape while she continued to hold us off. We inflicted some damage on the airship as they left, but they managed to escape towards the east.”

Claudine nods slowly. A glint of light from the setting sun distracts her, momentarily, and she casts her gaze over the horizon as the skies glow orange.

“You’re dismissed. Return to the Omashu base immediately with your injured to get medical attention. My unit and I will handle the Avatar.”

“But ma’am, my commanding officer—”

“You tell your commanding officer that Saijou Claudine will handle the incident. I was put in charge of the hunt for the Avatar by the Fire Lord himself. Unless you have a problem with that, you’ll do as I say.”

Silence, so loud it’s almost deafening.

Then, finally: “As you wish, Commander Saijou.”

Tano gestures wordlessly to his remaining men, and they stalk off over the hill to go help the casualties. Claudine waits for them to exit her field of vision before quickly turning back to Maya, once again lowering herself to the ground and grabbing her wrist, feeling for that comforting thump thump thump.

Gingerly, Claudine flips Maya onto her back. Her face is screwed up in an unnatural expression of pain, so wildly different from the smug confidence she normally exudes. Scratches and cuts line her arms and parts of her face, with a particularly large cut above her brow bloodying the right side of her face. But Maya’s clothes, though dirt-stained and torn in places, lack the telltale crimson red, which means most of her injuries are internal.

That can’t be good.

She’s vaguely aware of a shadow looming over them, casting shadows over Maya’s unconscious face.

“Kuro-han,” Kaoruko says.

“You can heal her.” It’s a statement, not a question. Claudine doesn’t want to think about the alternative; she stares down at Maya, hand still clasped around her wrist, holding on to that subtle thump thump thump like it’s all she has. “You can heal her, Kaoruko.”

“I—” For once in her life, Kaoruko seems genuinely lost for words, and Claudine almost laughs at the timing. Why now, when she needs Kaoruko to be as arrogant as ever, when it really matters for once.

“I can try,” Kaoruko says quietly. Claudine hears the uncapping of a water skin, the gentle thrum of the water as she bends it. A soft blue glow cast over Maya’s face.

Shifting aside to give Kaoruko room, Claudine watches how the water glows around Kaoruko’s palms, how the liquid ebbs and flows as she presses it to Maya’s body. The entire time, it’s almost like she forgets how to breathe, examining Kaoruko’s face for anything; any hint of panic, any spark of hope.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Kaoruko presses her lips together; furrows her brow. 

Thump. Thump.

The water around her palms seems to grow duller, almost.

Thump.

Claudine grips Maya’s wrist tight. She can’t go. Not like this. 

Then, almost imperceptibly—

An exhale.

Claudine immediately snaps around, finding Maya’s face — it’s relaxed, ever-so-slightly, from the unnerving expression of pain she initially wore. 

The amount of relief she feels in that moment is almost overwhelming enough to knock her over.

“Hanayagi Kaoruko, you lifesaver!” She lets go of Maya and throws her hands around Kaoruko instead, who yelps in surprise. Water splashes against their clothes, but Claudine can’t bring herself to care.

“Ow, okay, I get it, now get off.” Kaoruko pries herself away from Claudine, through judging by the barely-concealed smirk on her face and the way the tension melts from her shoulders, she feels the exact same way Claudine does. “It wasn’t hard, or anything. I’m a master waterbender, after all.”

“You know what? Just this once, I’ll let you have that.”

“Kuro-ko!” Futaba comes running over, the rest of the crew not far behind her. “Is Tendou okay?”

Claudine opens her mouth to answer, but Kaoruko cuts her off. “I managed to stabilise her for now, but her injuries were pretty bad. As much as I hate to admit it, I was never really trained in the intricacies of healing. Tendou-han needs more help if she’s going to fully recover.”

A pause. “We could bring her back to Caldera City. Those were our orders, after all,” Futaba suggests.

“No one in Caldera City will be able to heal internal injuries like these. We need to get somewhere with waterbenders,” Kaoruko counters.

There’s a beat of silence; they all turn to their leader. “What do we do now, Kuro-ko?”

Claudine’s eyes widen. “I mean, Kaoruko said—”

“I know what I said,” Kaoruko interrupts. “But you’re the commander of this mission, at the end of the day. If you say you want to load Tendou-han onto the Seisho and get this over with, then who am I to stop you?”

“It’s your call, Kuro-chan,” Nana says.

“I…” 

Capture the Avatar, return to the Fire Nation, and be celebrated as a hero, content in the knowledge that she’s finally bested Tendou Maya. That’s all she’s ever wanted out of this. All she’s had planned for the past few years. But after all this time, getting it like this… It feels… Wrong, somehow.

Something churns uncomfortably in her stomach. Her fists clench.

There’s only one choice she can make, and she inhales a breath before speaking.

The order feels wrong as she gives it out.

-

The feeling of dirt against her palms is starting to get annoyingly familiar. Scowling, Claudine balls her hands into fists and shoots the most scathing glare she can at the smiling woman standing over her. 

“Looks like I’ve won again, Saijou Claudine.”

“Oh, shut up,” Claudine snaps. She pushes herself back to her feet, getting back into fighting stance. “Let's go another round.”

“As you wish,” Maya smiles, similarly getting into position. 

Claudine narrows her eyes, and they begin to circle each other, arms outstretched and ready to bend. Claudine waits, and watches, looking for an opening— there! A glint of sunlight draws Maya’s eyes away for a split second, and Claudine leaps forward, about to strike—

“Princess Maya.”

The voice catches Claudine off guard. She misjudges the landing, stumbling forward a few steps. Thankfully (or not), Maya catches her by the shoulders, steadying her with a concerned look in her eye. 

“Are you alright?” she asks. Claudine huffs and pulls away, the cool breeze a stark contrast to the blazing warmth of Maya’s touch. Instead, she turns around to the source of the distraction, which had come from the entrance to the sparring grounds, ready to give them an earful. 

What she finds is a group of old men, each with greying beards and dressed in long, flowing red robes. “Fire Sages?” she gapes. Beside her, Maya bows shallowly, face going stoic. 

“Sages. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

One of the sages steps forward. “We have come to announce the identity of the next Avatar.”

Maya’s eyes widen. The Fire Sages all lower to their knees, prostrating themselves. 

“It is our honour to serve you, Avatar Maya.”

Claudine, wide-eyed, can only turn to look at Maya; can only examine those usually-unreadable lilac eyes, how they’re filled with more raw feeling now than she’s ever seen. 

Claudine catches her gaze. Crimson into lilac.

And for once, it doesn’t feel like Maya has the upper hand.

Chapter Text

All she sees in the moment is white.

White under her feet, white slipping through her fingers, white wrapping around her head, suffocating and stifling and everywhere on these four walls. White in the flames crackling on her fingertips. Devoid of feeling. Blank, austere.

Maya shuts her eyes. Curls up as small as she can, and lets the comforting darkness wash over her.

The darkness, with its many nooks and crannies to hide in. Darkness that disguises every chip and crack, every subject under its touch left perfected. The all-consuming blackness that wraps around every wound, every knot in muscle, every tear, dragging her down, down, down, to a place beyond thought.

You are our family’s legacy.

Legacy — is that all she has to go back to?

It is our honour to serve you, Avatar Maya.

The cycle of the elements, of the avatars; it goes on. It always has. One failed avatar means nothing in the grand scheme of it all.

How easy would it be, to give in to the shadow now and forever?

I’ll beat you one day, Tendou Maya.

Has that day come, without her around to see it?

A flash of colour in the monochrome; Saijou Claudine and her trademark scowl, golden hair blowing in the breeze. And something more: the unfamiliar hue of disappointment painted across her face.

Have you given up already?

No… It can’t end like this. Not now.

“No,” Maya chokes out. The darkness is suddenly suffocatingly still. “I haven’t. I can’t.”

She opens her eyes.

The first thing she registers is the dull burn in her chest insisting on making itself known. It throbs in time with her heartbeat, tightening with every rattling breath she takes. Maya winces, grasping the front of her shirt weakly as if that’ll make it go away.

The second thing she registers is that she isn’t under the open skies outside the mines anymore. The static grey filling her vision is a stark contrast to the vivid oranges and reds she remembers seeing last. Blinking the exhaustion out of her eyes, she slowly drags her eyes over to the side, expecting to see the infirmary beds of the Edel, maybe find Mahiru fussing over Karen and Hikari in the aftermath of the battle.

Oh… Oh no.

The blazing red of a Fire Nation insignia banner stares back at her.

Panic seeps into her every muscle; Maya jumps out of bed and rushes to the door, ignoring the way her chest seizes up with pain as she does so. 

Somewhere in her brain she’s distantly aware that there’s a doorknob she can use, but in her panic-addled state she rams her shoulder against the door once, twice, thrice until it finally swings open.

Maya stumbles into the hallway, having to take a second to steady herself against the wall when her head begins to spin with the effort of keeping her body upright.

This is bad. This is really, really bad.

Gritting her teeth, Maya presses one hand against the wall as she begins to limp down the hallway, flinching at every thump of her heavy footsteps against the metal flooring of whatever vessel she’s on. At this rate, it won’t be long before the soldiers realise she’s awake, and Maya knows there’s no way she’ll be able to defend herself in this state.

The others. The Edel. The last she’d seen of them was a cloud of billowing dark smoke as the airship made its escape. Hopefully, they’d managed to get somewhere safe — none of them have the same political protection as Maya, and she shudders to think what her father would do to any of them if they got caught.

No. She can’t even consider that scenario. For now, she has to believe they’d escaped.

Maya turns her focus back to the problem at hand: the identical, winding hallways before her, and the fact that she has no idea where to go. She recalls seeing a boiler room not too long ago, which means she’s on a ship, so she just needs to find the stairs up to the deck.

“Hey! Stop right there!”

Crap.

Without looking back, Maya redoubles her efforts into limping down the hallway, frantically searching for any signs of stairs. There’s the sounds of running behind her, of muffled yelling and the growing thunder of footsteps as more and more people are alerted to her escape.

There! She finally finds the stairs as she rounds a corner. Disregarding the growing weight in her head, Maya stumbles up the stairs far less elegantly than she’d care to admit, throwing open the hatch and stepping into—

—blindingly-white sunlight, beaming down upon her from perfectly clear blue skies. Maya brings a hand up to shield her face from the light, which has only worsened the pounding in her head. But there’s no time to rest; the noises from below the deck are getting louder, and Maya needs to get out of here.

She hurries over to the bow of the ship, gripping onto the ledge and peering into the water below. It’s still enough that she’s somewhat confident that she wouldn’t drown. Shakily, Maya inhales a breath.

“Avatar Maya! Don’t!”

She pulls a whip of water from the seas below and bends it backward forcefully toward the voice. The move is sloppy, far less refined than she’d been trained to do, but there’s a panicked yelp sounding from the deck nonetheless that tells her it was just as effective as it needed to be.

Maya tightens her grip on the ledge and uses a small blast of wind beneath her feet to hoist herself over. But before she can make the jump, she feels something cool to the touch wrapping around her ankle, and before she knows it she’s being yanked back unceremoniously onto the deck, landing with a pained oof on her already sore front.

Not allowing herself to be grounded for long, Maya scrambles to her feet, holding her arms out in a defensive position. There are people standing in a circle around her, perhaps talking, she can’t quite tell over the sound of blood rushing in her ears. 

She slowly rotates on the spot, surveying the scene and blinking the blur out of her vision to no avail. The harsh sunlight forces her to squint, and the edges of her vision start growing blurry, dark, hazy… Faces are smudged, like a painting that didn’t quite dry right. 

Shaking her head frustratedly, Maya growls.

“Stand down now, or I’ll have to hurt you,” she says, hoping the soldiers can’t see through her bluff. Someone scoffs loudly behind her. 

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Tendou-han. Everyone saw you get defeated by a simple water grip just seconds ago. Of course, I am the world’s best waterbender, so don’t be too harsh on yourself for it.”

Maya blinks, her shoulders dropping. “Hanayagi-san?”

Yes… There’s definitely a smattering of blue amongst the blurry figures standing on the deck, but everything… Everything’s so blindingly bright, she can’t quite make out her face…

“Oh, great, you finally realised. Now you can stop treating us like we’re some common Fire Army troops,” Kaoruko drawls.

Maya’s chest burns, her head growing heavier, but she somehow still finds the strength to shake her head in protest. “I… I can’t… I have to… Have to get back…” She punches out a weak jet of fire, which dissipates in mere milliseconds, her arm falling limply to her side. 

“Tendou-san, please don’t over-exert yourself,” someone says, concern colouring her voice.

Her knees are growing weaker, her head drooping, but she can’t… She has to keep fighting…

“No,” she whispers, almost lost to the wind. 

“Tendou Maya, what do you think you’re doing?” 

Maya’s head snaps up.

Saijou Claudine marches closer, forcing her way between the crew members encircling her. There’s that crimson fire in her eyes, but it seems somewhat diluted now, something hazy mixed in with the flame.

“You’re still injured. You should be resting,” Claudine says, brows knitted together. Her bangs are tousled and sticking against her forehead, cheeks flushed with evidence of exercise, sleeves rolled up to expose her forearms — and somewhere, deliriously, Maya thinks that she looks incredibly attractive.

“Ah,” she says instead, and the world goes black.

The first rays of morning sun have only just begun to break through the fog on the horizon, but Maya is already in the training grounds. 

Fire blooms from her palms, roaring in the stillness of the dawn. The heat wraps around her, a chilling contrast to the morning air. In front of her, her opponent’s eyes widen, and he stumbles back, falling into a tangled heap on the ground. 

Maya gives it a second. Waits, to see what he does next.

The man scowls, getting back to his feet. He bows, quick and shallow, before stomping away angrily without another word.

Ah. She shouldn’t have expected anything different. Another nameless face; another foolish young noble thinking they can match up to the Fire Lord’s only daughter and maybe win his favour. Maya watches the man retreat out of the compound, and when she’s sure he’s gone, she sighs, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Mei Fan comes rushing over; she’d been watching from the sidelines, as she so often did being Maya’s personal bodyguard for so many years. “Another excellent match, Princess!” 

Maya chuckles. “My father will be disappointed that I’ve chased off another rival so soon.”

“Not at all, Maya-sama! I’m sure your father will be pleased to hear about your combat prowess.” Mei Fan speaks brightly, but there’s an unintended double layer behind her words that digs deep into Maya’s soul. “In fact, I daresay he foresaw that the other guy wouldn’t last long, because he’s already assigned you another partner!”

“Oh?” This, she hadn’t heard about. “Who is it this time?”

“General Saijou’s daughter, Saijou Claudine! I think she should be coming by later in the afternoon.”

Saijou Claudine, from her class in the Seiran Royal Academy… The one who’s always hanging around the Hanayagi heiress, with that piercing crimson gaze, some intriguing blaze in them that she’s never quite seen before.

Uncharacteristically, Maya feels herself shiver.

“Maya-sama, are you okay? Are you feeling cold?” Mei Fan asks worriedly. 

She smiles back reassuringly, steadying herself. “I’m fine, Liu-san. Just a gust of wind.” 

It shouldn’t matter. Intrigue? Blaze? They all have that at first — that unpolished arrogance to challenge the very best. It all snuffs out in the end, lifeless and grey. Blinking out like the stars in the skies.

Another nameless face. 

Later, she’ll look back at this moment, and realise just how misguided she was. Later, when Saijou Claudine turns up in the training grounds earlier than expected, eyes set determinedly. Later, when Maya knocks her down with a few extra drops of sweat, a bit more of a burn in her arms. Later, when Claudine scowls, gets to her feet, but doesn’t walk away, no — “Let’s go again, Tendou Maya.”

She wins again. Another scowl. “Again,” Claudine growls.

Another thump as she falls once more. “Again.”

“Again.” No matter how many times she loses, she always gets back up with that same determined look, that same fire in her eyes. It’s chilling, almost, and Maya should be unsettled. But somehow, it’s almost addicting. Something new to colour the monochrome.

Later, when Maya lets the piercing red seep into her life, she realises that Claudine wasn’t like any of the others at all.

The next time she opens her eyes, it hurts significantly more. 

Barely a few seconds after she’s regained consciousness, a burning sensation hits her chest, and she can't stop the low groan of pain that escapes her lips. 

“Oh, good, you're awake.”

Maya squints blearily at Kaoruko, who grins down at her like a predator eyeing its prey. 

“Futaba-han, go fetch Kuro-han for me, will you?” A few seconds later, the door clicks shut, and Kaoruko turns back to face Maya. 

"Honestly, I don’t get why she keeps kicking up a fuss over you, it’s not like you were very hard to beat,” she muses. 

At any other time, Maya would probably feel somewhat offended, but right now she’s rather distracted by the near-constant twinges of pain in every inch of her body. And as much as she tries not to let that show, she must be doing a pretty bad job, because Kaoruko narrows her eyes at her. 

With a flick of her wrist, Kaoruko bends a stream of water over Maya’s chest; it illuminates her face in a gentle glow. A coolness spreads across her muscles like waves on a beach. The worst of the pain begins to melt away, and Maya allows herself to exhale a ragged breath both in relief and in exhaustion.

“Thank you, Hanayagi-san,” she mumbles, voice coarse like sand.

Kaoruko humphs, but doesn’t stop healing. “I only did it to stop Kuro-han from going ballistic. She was pretty panicked when she found you like this, you know.”

“She was?” 

Kaoruko grins, a dangerous glint in her eye. “Oh, don’t get me started. She was about to—”

The door bursts open with a loud bang, cutting her off. Both of them immediately look towards the open doorway, where a flash of blonde is only visible for a few seconds before marching closer.

Claudine hovers over Maya, frowning down at her with her lips pressed in a thin line.

“Tendou Maya,” she says, slowly, measuredly, and there’s none of that ever-present bite behind her words. Her crimson gaze flicks over Maya’s body, lingering on her face for a second too long before Claudine looks away and clears her throat. “How are you feeling?”

Behind her, Futaba comes into view, tugging at Kaoruko’s sleeve insistently. “You didn’t say anything weird to Tendou, did you?” she half-whispers. Kaoruko only pouts innocently, and Futaba sighs.

“Where’s my crew?” Maya asks, meeting Claudine’s eyes.

“I don’t know. You were alone when we found you. Answer my question.”

Maya swallows back the unease in the pit of her throat. “How long have I been unconscious?”

“You’re not answering my question.”

“I’ll answer yours after you’ve answered mine.”

“What… I asked first!” Claudine snaps. She lowers her head, pinching the bridge of her nose frustratedly. “Four days. It’s been four days since we found you in Gaoling,” she sighs.

Four days. That’s four whole days she could have spent over in Omashu dispelling the invading forces. A weight begins to settle in her throat; her stomach grows heavy. Maya pushes Kaoruko’s hand away, and slowly, laboriously, she forces herself to sit upright, swinging her feet off the bed and onto the ground. Even so, the light movement is enough to make the world around her start spinning, and she pauses for a second to regain her bearings.

“What are you doing,” Claudine says flatly. Maya looks up, smiling as pleasantly as she can muster.

“Getting up to leave. And to answer your last question, I feel perfectly fine.”

“Oh, alright, so you’re just lying straight to my face now?” Claudine steps directly in front of her, hands on her hips. “You’re not going anywhere. You need to stay in bed and recover.”

Maya meets her gaze stubbornly. “I’ve already been healed by Hanayagi-san. I’ll be fine.”

“Uh, no, you won’t. Your injuries were mostly internal, and Kaoruko isn’t actually all that great of a healer, so- Ow—” she pauses to glare at Kaoruko, who’s flicking water at her indignantly, “So we’re taking you to the Northern Water Tribe, where we can get you healed up properly.”

The Northern Water Tribe… It’s been occupied by Fire Nation forces for several months now, and going there would only put her back on her father’s radar. And even beyond that, returning to the North Pole months after she’d…

Maya grimaces at the thought. “That won’t be necessary. I really do appreciate your help, Saijou-san, but I can handle myself from here. I have places to be.”

Claudine barks out a laugh. “Yeah, no. You’re not going anywhere, Tendou Maya. Not if I can do anything about it.”

“Saijou-san, I am a member of the royal family. I can do whatever I’d like.”

“What does that matter? It’s not like you’ve been in court for the past three years, anyway,” she says sharply, and Maya almost feels a twang of guilt in her gut. “And besides, you’re on my ship now.”

“I fail to see what that has to do with anything?” 

Claudine gapes at her incredulously. Maya stares back blankly, not quite understanding what she’s missing.

“How hard did you get hit in the head? Did you seriously forget how we were able to find you in the first place?”

Maya frowns, chewing the inside of her cheek. And then the realisation hits her, suddenly, like a sabre toothed-moose-lion ramming headfirst into her.

“Oh,” she says, rather dumbly, “You were—”

“—Assigned to capture the Avatar-slash-princess and bring you back to the Fire Nation, blah blah blah. Good. You still remember.” Claudine huffs, turning away slightly. “Really, the only reason why you’re not in the holding cell right now is because I felt bad seeing you in such a pitiful state. But don’t get it twisted: you’re still our prisoner while you’re here, and that’s not going to change until you’re back in Caldera City like the Fire Lord ordered.”

There’s a sudden stillness; for a while only the quiet hum of the boilers is audible through the walls. Maya sits on the edge of the mattress, nails digging into the soft material.

“And what if I try to escape again?” she asks.

Claudine sighs. “Seriously, do you want to be tied up?”

“Oh?” Kaoruko says, rather evilly. Truth to be told, Maya had made the mistake of forgetting she was in the room until now. “I bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you, Kuro-han?”

“Kaoruko!” Futaba gasps, a mixture of horror and unwitting resignation in her voice.

“Sleep with one eye open tonight, you blue devil,” Claudine growls, her scowl somehow deepening.

“Ooh, devil, that’s a new one. I'll take it as a compliment.”

Maya finds that she has to suppress the urge to laugh. 

“Alright, fine,” she says instead, smiling. “I won’t try to escape, you have my word.”

Claudine’s crimson gaze flicks back over to her, scrutinising her closely. “Hmph. You’re a prisoner here. As if I needed your word in the first place.” A beat of silence as their eyes lock; crimson into lilac.

“Are you sure you’re feeling okay?” Claudine asks, sounding almost hesitant.

“Of course,” Maya says, ignoring the way her head feels like it’s spinning this way and that with every slight rock of the ship. Claudine eyes her sceptically, but doesn’t argue.

“Well, in any case, it’s better that you rest for now. We’ll leave you until dinner, don’t you dare try to escape,” she snaps, and Maya smiles innocently in return. Rolling her eyes, Claudine grabs Kaoruko by the sleeve and drags her towards the door, all but shoving her out against Kaoruko’s protests. Futaba follows after, and for a few moments, it’s just Maya and Claudine in the room, the latter with one foot out the door, glancing back at Maya with an unreadable look in her eye.

Maybe it’s not just pain she’s feeling in her stomach. Maya smiles back; Claudine averts her eyes.

“I… Uh… I’ll send someone over when it’s time to eat. Get some rest,” Claudine mumbles.

“If you say so, Commander.”

Claudine’s lips press into a thin line, and Maya’s almost certain she hears her mutter ‘infuriating woman’ to herself before stepping into the hallway. Maya watches as she shuts the door behind her, and even long after the echoes of Claudine’s footsteps have retreated far down the hallway, she finds herself staring at the closed door, replaying the scene over and over in her head.

In her defence, she did wait a couple of hours before trying to escape again.

Maya had waited until she could feel the steady tug of the sun in her wane a little, when she was sure it was getting later and she would have the cover of darkness, to slip out of the room and onto the deck. Was it somewhat suspicious that all the corridors were completely deserted? Maybe, but Claudine’s crew wasn’t particularly large, and perhaps they were all just preparing for dinner.

The Seisho is docked in a small port town for the night, and Maya was just about to jump off the side of the ship, when—

“So much for giving your word.”

Maya freezes, and turns around. Claudine’s leaning against the side of the bridge deck with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. 

“Saijou-san,” Maya squeaks. “What are you doing here?”

Claudine sighs. “I figured you’d try to escape again, so I waited out here. After all the time I’ve spent running after you, did you really think I’d listen to anything you have to say?”

“In all fairness, Saijou-san, I’ve never outright lied to you.”

Fiery red eyes narrow at her in a way that makes her stomach twist and turn. “Don’t play on technicalities with me, Tendou Maya,” Claudine says, the ire in her voice almost tangible, “You know what I meant. It’s about the principle.”

Maya, against her better judgement, giggles, which only serves to deepen the crease in Claudine’s brow. “Don’t laugh, you horrible— Ugh, forget it! Come on, we’re going for dinner.” She stomps over and grabs Maya by the wrist, guiding her back into the bowels of the ship with a surprising gentleness.

“Alone?” Maya asks teasingly. 

“Wha- No! Don’t say stupid things like that, of course the rest of my crew will be there too!” Claudine turns away quickly, but Maya’s almost certain she sees a hint of pink on her cheeks. Biting back a smile, Maya quickens her pace to keep up with the blonde’s hastened steps.

“Is this what it’s like being thwarted all the time?” Maya pokes. She can almost hear Claudine’s eyeroll.

“Har, har, very funny. Please stop talking before I actually put you in a cell.” She stops suddenly in front of a door, and Maya can just barely hear the low buzz of conversation within. Claudine throws the door open, stepping into the room. “Alright guys, I got her, we can eat now,” she grumbles to the people inside.

Almost instantly, the bustle of the dinner table comes to an abrupt halt. Seven pairs of eyes stare back at her, wide and unblinking. Maya shivers, but forces herself to smile graciously. “Good evening,” she says.

For a while, no one speaks. The air is horrifically still, and Maya can’t fault them — besides Kaoruko and Futaba, these are people whose names she only knows in passing, who she’s fought more times than she can count but barely even can recall the voices of.

Thankfully, Kaoruko breaks the silence. “Well don’t just stand there, Tendou-han. Come in and take a seat, Banana-han made oyakodon.”

The woman in question — Banana, apparently — is tall and blonde, standing by the edge of the table in an apron, and she beams back with a smile so comforting that Maya almost relaxes. “Yes, come in! You must be hungry, you haven’t eaten in days.”

It’s only then that Maya realises how true that is: her stomach gnaws at her insides with a stabbing sort of hunger, and she grimaces ever so slightly. Claudine, still holding her wrist, tugs impatiently. 

“Right. Of course. Thank you for your hospitality,” she finally says, clearing her throat.

Claudine leads her to the head of the table, where there are two empty seats. As soon as they’re seated, Banana places a steaming bowl in front of Maya, eyes glimmering in the dim light. Maya smiles back appreciatively, picking up her spoon and taking delicate bites of the rice. There’s the clink of utensils against wood as the others begin to eat, and slowly, Maya allows the tension in her shoulders to melt away.

Something nudges into her side. She turns to find Claudine making a face at her, her own food untouched.

“Is something wrong, Saijou-san?” Maya asks.

“Why are you eating like that?” Claudine prods, forehead creased.

Maya cocks her head to the side curiously. “Like what?”

Claudine gestures vaguely at her, as if hoping she gets the point. When it’s clear she’s still confused, Claudine sighs dramatically. “When we were in school, you’d eat with almost as much passion as you fought.”

Oh. Maya’s smile drops imperceptibly. “It wouldn’t be right for the Avatar to act so uncouth,” she says.

A flicker across Claudine’s features. “Bullshit. You think anyone here cares about that? Hell, if it makes you feel any better, look at Aruru. She probably has you beat.” She jerks her head to point at a small girl with bright yellow hair tied back in a ponytail, stuffing her face with much more rice than was humanly possible. Beside her, a redheaded officer sighs exasperatedly, but it doesn’t do anything to erase the fond look in her eyes.

Maya’s eyes drift back to Claudine, who eyes her expectantly, but for a while all she does is stare, her mouth slightly agape; watches how the shadows of the lamplight dance across her face.

“Eat,” Claudine says, with an air of finality about her that kills any remaining defiance Maya had. “I know you’re hungry.”

She nods, shakily turning back to the table to pick up her spoon and bowl, and begins to take bigger mouthfuls of food; slowly at first, but quicker as the last bits of her inhibition melt away, until she’s finally shovelling rice into her mouth with a gusto she’s been holding back for years.

When she finishes the bowl, she turns back to Claudine, who’s still halfway through her own meal but eyes Maya with a strange softness folded into the crimson. The light casts her face in an almost golden glow, and sitting this close, she can see how stray strands of her bangs spill out of her hairband.

It’s strange. All of this is strange. When she’d left the Fire Nation three years ago, Maya had thought she’d never again be able to share a meal with her rival like this. 

Clearly, though, the universe has funny ways of spiting her.

“My apologies,” Maya mumbles, “I must have looked unbecoming.”

“No,” Claudine says, soft enough that only the two of them can hear. “You looked like you.”

And for the first time in a long, long while, the lively hubbub of a dinner table, the simple joys of a warm meal on a summer’s night, the ticking of the seconds down the infinitely long stream of time… It all melts away into the background blur of a canvas.

It’s nice like this, Maya thinks.

A sharp snickering cuts through the air. The moment shatters like glass. 

Claudine’s eyes narrow, and she looks past Maya to glare at Kaoruko. “What unholy scheme are you plotting this time?” she jabs. 

Kaoruko gasps dramatically. “Me? Scheming? Why, I wouldn't dream of it.” A dangerous glint appears in her eyes just then. “I was just thinking to myself how utterly absorbed you two are in each other. Tendou-han hasn't so much as looked at the rest of us this whole time, I bet she doesn't even know our names.”

Maya feels heat rushing to her cheeks, a mixture of guilt at the truth of her statement and something not quite named. 

“What the hell are you talking about, of course she knows all of your names,” Claudine says, as if it’s a simple fact. She turns to Maya expectantly, but Maya can only blink back at her apologetically. 

“You… Don’t?” Claudine gapes. 

Kaoruko snorts. “Why would she? It’s not like she has eyes for anyone other than you.”

“ You shut up,” Claudine snaps, shooting her a nasty look. 

Maya swallows guiltily. “Saijou-san, I must confess that Hanayagi-san’s words have some truth to them. I'm only familiar with her and Isurugi-san because of our time at the Academy together. I just never felt the need to learn more about your other crew members when you're the only one worthy of my attention here.”

The words sounded a lot less… charged, in her head, but as soon as they escape her lips Maya feels the blooming heat in her face intensify. Claudine, too, goes quite pink, turning away from Maya quickly with a series of short splutters. 

“Y-You…” Claudine grits her teeth together, as if she’s trying very hard not to say anything. And for a while, she doesn't — the air is painfully still as Claudine grows redder, and Maya flushes harder, and Kaoruko in her peripheral vision is almost doubling over with silent laughter. 

Finally, Claudine speaks, her voice growing incredibly clipped. 

“You already know our first and second mates,” she says through her teeth, pointing at Kaoruko and Futaba respectively. Kaoruko’s still giggling to herself, but Futaba at least has the decency to grin and send Maya a playful two-fingered salute, which she returns with a small nod.

Claudine moves to gesture at the next person down the table, the blonde woman who’d previously been called Banana. “Daiba Nana, our quartermaster and unofficial cook.” Nana smiles, her eyes crinkling into little half-moons. Next to her is a pink-haired woman who looks to be dozing off as she eats. “Tanaka Yuyuko, our lookout. Over there are Otsuki Aruru and Kano Misora, our engineering officers. And that’s Yumeoji Fumi, our helmsman.”

Truth to be told, Maya had been lying earlier, because there was still one more person she was somewhat familiar with on the Seisho. Hair a little straighter, eyes a little narrower, face set in a perpetual glower — but there’s no mistaking the distinct platinum blonde locks and mint green eyes of Shiori’s sister; not after all the subtle descriptions she’d dropped about her over the years, anyway. 

Maya tilts her head in a sort of half-bow of acknowledgement to Fumi, who nods back with a clenched jaw. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Maya says, casting a glance around the table. “I look forward to journeying with you.”

“Tch. You’re a prisoner here, you’re not supposed to be enjoying your time,” Claudine grumbles.

“Do you treat all your prisoners this well?” Maya asks.

Claudine’s brow furrows, and she avoids Maya’s stare. “What, did you think I wouldn’t feed my prisoners? Besides, you’re still a member of royalty, it’s not like I can just throw you in a cell somewhere.”

“I thought that didn’t matter because I’ve ‘been away from court for so long’.”

“I was joking. It was a joke. Of course I still respect your title.”

“Well then, in that case,” Maya smiles, “Based on title alone, I outrank you, Saijou-san, and I demand to be set free.”

It’s quite amusing, Maya thinks, to see the quick progression of emotions that flits across Claudine’s face — from confusion to shock to seething. If she had any less self control, she might even laugh. 

“Tendou Maya!” Claudine cries.

“Saijou Claudine,” Maya says calmly.

Claudine stands abruptly, and her chair scrapes harshly against the flooring. She turns and walks toward a corner of the room with her hands running through her hair. Maya watches on all the while, amused at the low muttering that drifts back toward her.

When Claudine turns back, there’s an exasperated sort of resignation in her face. “You know what, I take it back. The royal title means nothing here. You’re just the Avatar, acting in opposition to the Fire Nation.”

“Ah. In that case, should I exercise my dastardly Avatar powers to break out right now?”

“Don’t you dare,” Claudine snaps, walking back to the table to flick her in the forehead. Maya yelps, rubbing the quickly reddening skin as Claudine continues talking. “You can’t bend right now. It’ll worsen your injuries,” she says, mumbling the last part rather quickly.

Maya’s jaw goes a little slacker. She’s suddenly acutely aware of everyone else’s presence, their eyes burning uncomfortably warm into her back. Claudine must feel the same, because her focus turns toward the table. “What are you guys looking at?” she barks, though there lacks any actual bite behind her words.

“Nothing!” 

“Man, this plate’s really cool, huh?”

“I’m just gonna start cleaning up!”

Amidst the chaos, one voice floats singsong-like to the very forefront.

“I think I’m going to enjoy this trip very, very much,” Kaoruko hums.

Chapter Text

The fastest way to the Northern Water Tribe from the Seisho’s current location will take them eastward: through Chameleon Bay, passing close by Ba Sing Se, navigating the Serpent’s Pass, and finally making use of the Earth Kingdom’s many inland seas and rivers to cut into the Arctic Sea.

Still, it’s by no means a quick journey, and there are a lot less opportunities to stop and replenish supplies as compared to the longer route across the Mo Ce Sea. So before they can set out proper, Claudine orders her crew to dock at a nearby Fire Army-controlled port town to restock on as many supplies as they can.

One by one, everyone steps off the ship, each tasked to procure more fuel, food, or other supplies (though Claudine really doubts Kaoruko in particular will be doing much of that). But as the last crew member walks off the gangplank, the sound of light footsteps against the deck sounds from behind her. 

“Not you,” Claudine snaps. 

When she turns around, she finds that Maya has the audacity to look disappointed. 

“Surely you wouldn’t leave me cooped up here until we reach the North Pole?”

“Actually, I would. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re playing at, Tendou Maya. I'm not taking any chances after all the trouble it took to get you here. You’re staying where I can keep an eye on you.”

“That’s… rather unfortunate,” Maya says, through a small smile tugs at her lips.

Claudine scoffs. “For you, maybe. Come on, let’s go back inside.”

To be completely frank, Claudine never really had a plan on what to do once she actually managed to capture Maya — in her head, that’s where the plan had always ended. She’d never really given much thought to the journey back to the Fire Nation, instead skipping over it entirely to the part where she would be greeted with all the fame and glory and respect she could ever want. Now, dealing with… whatever this situation is, she really has no idea what to do with an injured (but somehow, still insanely annoying) Avatar on her ship. 

Which is how Maya ends up seated on the floor of the ship’s dojo, watching Claudine train.

It’s not a big room, by any means (oh, the downsides of living out at sea), but with the additional layer of Maya’s scrutinising gaze over her, Claudine suddenly becomes hyperaware of every movement she makes as she attacks the punching bag.

It’s weird. She’d almost forgotten how it felt, to be watched by Tendou Maya all the time.

“So is this your grand plan? To keep me locked in a dojo with you to watch you train?”

“Shut up,” Claudine grunts, jabbing at the bag. “Unless you’d rather be in a holding cell.”

Maya giggles. “What is it with you and prison cells?”

Claudine ignores her.

The sounds of her feet against the mat and the thumping of her punches cuts through the air, undercut only by sharp heaving of breath between blows. Maya at least has the decency to stay silent this time, which Claudine reluctantly appreciates — except, she can still feel Maya’s gaze on the back of her neck, and it prickles uncomfortably with every movement she makes.

“I know you have something you want to ask,” she says, irritably.

In her peripheral vision, Maya tilts her head curiously. “You do?”

“It’s written all over your face.”

Maya laughs. “You weren’t even looking at me, Saijou-san.” 

Claudine lets out a low groan, stepping away from the bag. “You know what I… Why am I arguing with you about this? Just say whatever it is you want to say already.”

She seems to hesitate, but eventually her voice comes out strained and hesitant. “Do you… Do you happen to know what happened to my crew?” It wobbles at the end, sounding strange and disjointed coming from her. 

Claudine pauses, before throwing a much harder cuff at the bag. “No. None of the Fire Army outposts have sent word about sightings of your ship.” She swallows, feeling guilt bubbling in her gut. “Sorry.”

Maya shakes her head, playing with a loose straw in the tatami. “There’s no need to be. I have full faith in them, I’m sure they’re fine.”

Claudine hums, taking a swing at the punching bag. Her fist lands strangely against the roughened surface, but all the force she’d put into the blow sends it swinging back at her with enough momentum that she stumbles back in surprise with a small yelp.

“I can hold the bag for you, you know,” Maya says, rising to her feet with a barely audible grunt.

“Stay down, Avatar,” Claudine says sharply, and Maya pauses awkwardly midway through the motion. “I can’t have you getting even more injured than you already are.”

As she circles the bag, she can see Maya straightening to her full height, a blank sort of surprise painted across her features.

“Why do you care so much, Saijou-san?”

Claudine presses her lips together, shuffling so that her back is to Maya. Throws a flurry of punches at the bag, as if the dull thuds of her fist against the leather and the rattle of the chains will somehow erase Maya’s question.

Sweat drips down the side of her face. The question, unanswered, clatters around her skull.

“Saijou-san.”

“Hm?” She replies, clenching her fists harder.

“Why do you care if I’m injured? I thought it wouldn’t matter to you what state I’m in, as long as you deliver me back to my father.”

“Do you think that little of me?” The words slip out before Claudine can stop them, and she cringes at how childish she must sound. She turns away from the punching bag, wiping sweat from her forehead, and finds Maya leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

Light flits in from the small window next to her, streaking her face in its glow. Claudine watches the way the specks of dust drift against the lilac backdrop of Maya’s eyes, disappearing into the shadow.

“No,” Maya finally says, tilting her head. Her lips quirk upwards, gently. “I don’t.”

Warmth spreads across her cheeks. Claudine tears her eyes away, staring instead at a spot on the ground.

Because I’m the one who sent that hawk. Because it’s my fault you’re here like this. Because you should still be out there, giving me the chase of my life. There’s so much she wants to… needs to say, but all of it catches in her throat, jammed up uncomfortably like a swallowed fishbone.

“It’ll be hard to explain to the Fire Lord why his only heir is returning to the Fire Nation in pieces. That’s all there is to it,” she mumbles.

She can feel the burning prickle of Maya’s watchful gaze on her, sending little chills down her spine. Silence hangs heavy over the room, equally as suffocating as the summer heat.

“Alright,” Maya says simply. 

Claudine exhales, turning back towards the punching bag. She delivers a couple of half-hearted kicks and jabs at it, gritting her teeth. “Okay. Yeah.” The tatami sinks under her feet. Claudine levels a kick at the bag. “And besides, I can’t stand to see you so pathetic. It’s uncharacteristic of you.”

Maya chuckles, but something about it cracks at the edges, like a dry lakebed. Mixed in with the rattle of the punching bag, it sounds sharp and disjointed. “Even if it means you’ll finally surpass me?”

“Tch. It only counts if you’re actually in any condition to fight.”

She circles the punching bag again, and as she does she finds herself locking eyes with Maya once more. They glimmer with a sort of amusement, and Claudine gets the sense that she’s being made fun of somehow — yet, she can’t bring herself to snap back. Not when Maya’s looked more off-guard than she’s seen in years, the faintest hint of a smile playing at her lips.

Claudine feels her legs stop moving, her arms drop to her sides. This isn’t the same Maya who left the Fire Nation, who left her behind in the dead of night all those years ago. It’s not even the same Maya she’s fought time and time again on this very ship, always smarting, always one step ahead. 

Now, dipped in the thinly flitting light of a summer’s morning, Claudine can see the darkened bags under Maya’s eyes, the cut above her eyebrow that’s begun to scab and scar, the sun-bleached fade of her bow, lighter than it ever was back home. 

“Tendou Maya, you—”

The door bursts open. Claudine jumps, squawking in shock.

“Commander, there’s been a problem, we— Oh, was I interrupting something?”

Fumi stands in the doorway, cheeks reddened by the summer air, huffing for breath but clearly still forcing herself to stand at attention. Claudine fights back the urge to snap back, sensing the unfamiliar panic etched in her face.

“Fumi. What’s wrong? Where are the others?”

“Down by the pier, Commander, there’s been an altercation there… Daiba-san, she’s trying to settle it, but…”

Claudine’s brow furrows, and she wipes the sweat from her forehead. “I’ll go help. You stay here and guard the Avatar.” She turns back towards Maya, eyes narrowed. “Don’t try anything funny,” she warns.

Maya cracks a crooked grin, shrugging innocently, and suddenly that veneer of pride is back, draped over her until Claudine doubts she’d seen anything different in the first place. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

Claudine rolls her eyes, and steps into the hallway.

The sounds of a scuffle are audible from the second Claudine steps onto the deck of the ship: the bursting swoosh of flames, the rumble of stone. Unease growing, she races down the gangplank and into the entrance of the base—

—and a boulder almost twice her size comes flying at her with the speed of a charging sky bison.

Claudine yelps, narrowly sidestepping it; the wind it creates whips across her face as the boulder sails past her, eventually losing trajectory and hitting the ground once, twice, thrice before finally coming to a stop at the edge of the dock, angry tinnitus echoing in her ears.

Eyes wide, she looks back towards the base, and runs.

As soon as she steps foot into the compound, a barrage of rocks in varying sizes comes flying at her, and she swerves left to avoid them. “Kuro-ko! Over here!” A voice calls out from ahead of her, and in between dodging projectiles she spots Futaba waving at her from behind a crude metal wall that was clearly bent spontaneously from whatever she had around her. 

Inhaling a breath, Claudine dashes forward as fast as she can, feeling rocks whizz past her, a few just barely grazing her arm. She reaches the wall, dives behind it, and Futaba is quick to raise the earth around them to provide more shelter.

Claudine looks around amidst the deafening sound of earthen barrage. Kaoruko, Nana, Futaba, and a handful of soldiers from the port are huddled around too, throwing out the occasional jet of fire when the battering slows.

“Where are the others?” Claudine half-yells, sticking her shoulder past the metal and firing off a column of flame. A volley of stone spikes comes flying at her in retaliation; Claudine ducks back behind the metal, watching the spikes embed themselves in the compound wall just seconds later.

“They’re still in town! Kaoruko and I were down in the stores when we heard a commotion, and when we came out we saw Banana gettin’ attacked!” Futaba cries, jumping up to kick a couple of fist-sized rocks at their assailants.

“Did you see the Edel anywhere? Are they here for the Avatar?”

One of the Fire Army soldiers shakes his head. “They’re from a local resistance group, Commander Saijou. They’ve been giving this base trouble for months now.”

Above her, the metal dents with the sheer force of stone hitting it, and Claudine growls. “Crap. They’re not letting up.” Whoever these people are, they’re angry. Stray pebbles pelt her arm, and she ducks further inside. “We need to get closer. Futaba, make us a wall of earth. Kaoruko, try to freeze their hands so they can’t bend. The rest of you, we need to disrupt their bending and attack back.”

Futaba nods, cracking her knuckles. “Give me some cover!” 

Taking a deep, measured breath, Claudine nods at Nana, and the two of them step out from behind the metal. Together, they jab out quick jets of fire wherever they spot movement, and soon the attack slows to the point where Futaba and the others can emerge.

“Alright, let’s get crackin’!” Futaba yells. With a stomp of her feet, a section of the earth rises in front of them, creating a wall just high enough for them to crouch behind. Claudine runs close to it, continuing her assault on the attackers as Futaba continues lengthening the wall.

“Futaba, push it forward!” she cries.

“Way ahead of ya!” The wall begins to inch forward, and so do they, taking cover whenever rocks come flying their way. Water, earth and fire fly back and forth, filling the air with the cacophony of battle. But it isn’t long before the tables clearly begin to turn: the sounds of their firebending soon begins to overpower the rumble of rock.

Eventually, they manage to get within several feet of the assailants. Claudine vaults over the wall, kicking bursts of fire in every direction as she does so. She hears the sound of rocks hitting the ground and a cry of surprise somewhere in the veil of dust that had been kicked up by all the bending.

“We have you surrounded. Come out here and show your faces,” she says.

Shoes shuffle against the dirt in front of her; she counts four, maybe five people based on sound alone. “Futaba,” she breathes, and seconds later the cloud of dust is bent away. Standing in full view of them now are… five young girls? They’re huddled together, dressed in common Earth Kingdom clothes, defiantly staring them down.

“ You’re the resistance group?” Claudine asks dumbly.

“Aw. Looks like you got us,” the pink-haired girl in the centre, potentially their leader, pouts. She’s maybe fourteen or fifteen at most, though she carries herself with a pride far beyond her years.

The disjoint leaves a foul taste in Claudine’s mouth. “But you’re…”

She’s just a kid. They all are. Faces still soft and unscarred by the horrors of the world, yet; Claudine recalls how hard each rock had been thrown at them, the relentlessness of the assault. Attacks like that… They’re fueled by hatred, by fury, by desperation.

These are children.

Claudine swallows, the words caught in her throat.

“What’re you gonna do to us now?” the resistance leader asks, but behind the airs of nonchalance, there lies the faintest quiver in her lips. “Are you gonna send us to jail?”

“To jail?” one of the Fire Army soldiers says. “Oh, there’s a lot worse comin’ for ya. You’re getting sent straight to the Boiling Rock for all the trouble you’ve given us.” 

The girl’s eyes widen, almost imperceptibly, and her lip trembles, but within seconds she’s schooled her face back into a look of defiance. “Fine. A-arrest me, then.”

“Hold on, what?” Claudine asks, snapped out of her stupor. “Officer, they’re just kids!”

“So?” One of the other girls, dark-haired with white streaks, glares at her. “It isn’t like that’s ever stopped you before.”

“Moriyasu-san, don’t make this any worse for yourself,” the leader says.

“Why not? We’re all going to the Boiling Rock, anyway.”

“No, you’re not.” Turning to Claudine and the others, the leader steps forward. “I’m the one who planned this whole thing, and dragged the others into it. Arrest me and let them go.”

“Stella ojou-sama!” The tallest of the girls, with snowy white hair, exclaims in horror.

“Takachiho-san, you—” The one named Moriyasu gasps, before looking up at Claudine pleadingly. “Don’t listen to her! We were all in it together, you’ll have to punish all of us!” She turns to the other two rebels. “Kobato-san, Minku, you have to back me up here!”

One of them, with sandy-blonde hair and drooping eyes, steps forward. “It’s just like Kuina-chan said, Miss Firebender. We’re all going down together,” she says, in an oddly singsong voice.

“Ma’am, should we arrest them?” the Fire Army soldier asks.

The chaos around her begins to crescendo, making Claudine’s head spin. “Just, everyone stop talking for two seconds,” she snaps, and the chattering immediately dies. 

She sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Nana, what exactly happened here?”

“I was getting fuel for the ship in this courtyard with Fumi when I felt a pebble hit the back of my head. When I turned around, they started bending bigger rocks at me,” Nana replies.

“So in other words, they had a clear shot on you and your back was turned, but they chose to go easy on you?”

Nana nods.

“Alright,” Claudine says simply, lips pressed together. She turns back to Stella, catching the subtle lines of fear etched into her face. “I’m not going to arrest you.”

There’s a beat of silence.

“You’re not?” Stella says.

“You’re not?” the soldier says.

Claudine shakes her head. “They had every opportunity to take my officers out but chose not to. I don’t think they deserve such a dramatic punishment.”

“Clearly, that was a fluke!” The soldier cries. “And besides, Commander, they still attacked us anyway! These little rascals have been interfering with us for months now, you can’t just let them go!”

“Y-yeah! We fought with you guys, and you’re really going to let us go?” Stella asks. From the surprise in her voice, it sounds like she’d gone into this fully expecting to be arrested for her actions, and that thought sends a wave of horror down Claudine’s spine — these are children! 

“You guys… You’re all just kids,” she says, strained.

Stella’s eyes widen. “Kids?” she whispers, as if she hadn’t heard the word for a very long time.

Next to her, the soldier scoffs. “If they’re old enough to cause trouble, then they’re old enough to be sent to the Boiling Rock with all the rest of ‘em!”

Claudine narrows her eyes. “Watch your words, soldier. My decision is final.”

He gives her the single nastiest glare Claudine’s ever been subject to, but bows shallowly anyway, rolling his eyes as he steps back. 

She pays him no heed, and turns back to the girls. “I’m not going to arrest you guys. What I see here is a simple case of juvenile delinquency, to be let off with a stern warning.”

Kids should be in school. Kids should be playing around. Kids definitely shouldn’t be powering their bending with sheer anger; wasting away in a prison cell for the rest of their youths.

“Go home,” she says quietly. The tremble in Stella’s eyes is more apparent now, as is the youth in her face. She gestures to her friends, and Claudine watches their figures slowly retreat into the distance.

That was a child. Someone who was clearly scared of fighting, but did it anyway — and Claudine can only ask herself: why?

“Kuro-chan,” Nana says, gently. “We should return to the Seisho.”

Claudine swallows. Something bubbles in the pit of her stomach.

“Yes, we should.”

“Raise the anchor as soon as everyone’s ready. Don’t wait for my command, and don’t bother me unless it’s an emergency,” Claudine tells Nana, and promptly shuts herself in her quarters.

She collapses onto her mattress, one arm propped under her head, the other flopped onto her stomach, and stares into the dull grey of the ceiling. It’s barely several minutes later when she feels the ship start to move. The low hum of the engine buzzes in her ears; her vision unfocuses with the subtle rock and sway of the waves.

Stella’s face haunts her thoughts. Why? What did she have to gain by attacking the base like that when she was so clearly terrified? What reason did someone as young as her have to be so angry in her attacks?

Groaning, Claudine rolls face-first into the mattress, fisting her scalp.

She lets herself stay like that for a few minutes, or perhaps it’s a few hours, who really knows — but eventually, when she decides she can no longer bear to stay still and stew in her own thoughts, she does manage to force herself out of her room and back into the dojo.

She practises with her sword, this time. Loses herself in the glint of the metal, the twist of the blade. Lets the worries flow out with every drop of sweat, every grunt of exertion. Goes through her forms while the light streaming in goes from white to yellow to orange and to black, until finally the buzz of the engine stops for the night and the ship begins to rock gently in place with the waves.

Sighing, Claudine props her sword back against the wall and exits the room. It’s late, so the crew’s already eaten without her. Still, she considers herself decent at cooking (read: she’s not Kaoruko), so she can probably wrangle something together from the galley.

Except, when she reaches the galley, there’s a covered bowl on the countertop waiting for her with a note stuck to the top.

For Kuro-chan. Heat it up first, it’s best eaten warm :D — Nana.

Chuckling to herself, Claudine picks the bowl up and warms her hands up just enough to heat it up. She’ll never understand why Nana chose to join the Seisho instead of accepting the Fire Lord’s offer to lead her own ship, but it’s at times like this, when she’s eating a delicious meal after a tough day, that Claudine certainly finds herself grateful for it. 

She finishes her dinner in no time, and she’s just about to retire back to her room when—

A thud against the ceiling.

Claudine freezes. Tilts her head up slowly, and squints at the ceiling. For a while, there’s silence, and she almost dismisses the initial sound as a figment of her imagination. But then, just as she’s about to walk away, she hears it again.

A stomp that reverberates through the metal. Almost like…

Footsteps on the deck.

Tendou Maya — no one was guarding Tendou Maya! 

Horrified, Claudine takes off down the hallway.

How could I have let this happen? How could I have overlooked this and given her the chance to get away! She could be anywhere by now, disappeared into the night and halfway across the ocean, and then I’ll have to spend another three years chasing that horrible woman down—

The door to the deck is wide open when Claudine gets there, and she practically leaps onto the deck, chest heaving. 

Except, the deck isn’t empty like she’d been expecting.

The swoosh of a blooming orange fire illuminates the area for a few seconds, and Claudine recognises the purple ribbon before she can process what’s going on. Instinctively, she raises her hands over her face to protect herself, but Maya isn’t so much as looking at her. In fact, she doesn’t seem to notice her presence.

Brows furrowed, she drops her arms to her sides. Maya is facing away from her, cycling through her katas, firebending harmlessly into the empty night air. Every movement sharpened by years of practice, every puff of flame honed to perfection.

A flash of deja vu overcomes Claudine; how many days had she spent at Seiran, watching Maya like this, captivated by her discipline, her drive, her talent?

She’d forgotten what it had been like. To be standing shoulder to shoulder with the princess. To have that pinnacle of brilliance to catch up to. To be knocked down into the grass time and time again, but to know that Maya would always be there, hand outstretched in offering until Claudine knocks it away…

Things are different now.

Things are different. She stands opposite an Avatar, not a princess. She chases after an enemy, not a rival. It’s been a long time since Maya had offered to help her up. And after all, Claudine would just use the chance to capture her.

She hears a huff of frustration, and refocuses her vision on Maya, who still doesn’t seem to notice her. She’s stood stiffly straight, head hanging and arms limply by her sides. Even in the darkness, Claudine can make out the tremble of her legs, the way her fists clench and unclench by her sides.

Things are different now. She doesn’t know this Maya before her now; she’s new, uncharted territory, and Claudine realises she doesn’t quite know what to think of it.

Then, suddenly, Maya releases a piercing scream. She charges down the deck, towards the bow of the ship, releasing wild, uncontrolled blasts of fire forward as she does.

The warm light of the flames floods the deck in sporadic bursts. Claudine’s eyes widen; she takes an unconscious step back.

Orange, she realises with a gasp. Maya’s normal firebending is a ghostly white, hotter than the typical flame. In fact, she’d never even seen normal fire coming from Tendou Maya — she was always too good for that, a degree separated from the masses. But now, as she runs down the deck bending bright orange-yellow fires into the night, Claudine realises just how weak the attack had left her.

A wave of guilt washes down her spine again. Lately, it feels like she’s been experiencing that a lot.

Maya stops suddenly when she’s close to the bow, doubled over and breathing heavily. 

Something tugs at the recesses of Claudine’s chest.

She starts to walk towards Maya, fists clenched. “Tendou Maya, you…”

It’s cut short when she catches the slight stumble Maya makes as she tries to straighten, and then she’s falling, crumpling like a leaf towards the ground — but Claudine’s already launched herself halfway across the deck, throwing blasts of fire backwards to propel herself forward…

She throws herself down and slides the last stretch across the deck, feeling something warm and heavy thump against her front not a split second later. Claudine groans as the pain of the impact reverberates through her body, but it’s nothing compared to the ache she feels when she hears strained wheezing from the person pressed against her front.

I did this. 

Gritting her teeth, Claudine sits up, hands on Maya’s shoulders to steady her as she inhales deep, rattling breaths. Maya, with the still-healing cut above her eyebrow. The light sheen of sweat over her face that glistens in the moonlight. Maya, frailer and shakier than Claudine’s ever seen her, but alive and here with her… 

As if to prove it, Maya’s shaking hand comes to rest atop hers, skin still warm from the fire. Claudine flushes, suddenly very thankful for the darkness.

Eventually, her wheezing dies down, and Claudine’s concern is washed over by red-hot anger. Maya meets her gaze, and opens her mouth to speak, but Claudine cuts her off.

“Are you crazy? What were you thinking?” she cries. “You could have gotten yourself mortally injured, or killed!”

Maya chuckles breathily. “That seems a little dramatic, don’t you think?”

Claudine seethes. Her cheeks are burning, but with an uncontrolled rage this time. At Maya, for her stupidity. At herself, for getting her in this situation in the first place. At the Fire Nation, and the world, for being so strange and convoluted and confusing all the time.

“No, it’s not. You know damn well how close you were to… To a much worse fate after that fight, and then you go and pull this? I know you find pleasure in annoying me to no end, but for once in your life, would you stop being so infuriating and listen to what I’m saying?”

Maya’s eyes widen, and for what feels like hours neither of them speaks. Claudine stares at Maya, so deeply it feels like she’s reaching past her skin and into her soul; her hands balled so tightly into fists that her nails dig painful crescents into her palm. Still she holds her glare. Crimson into lilac; the way it’s always been.

Finally, Maya moves, eyes darting downwards shamefully.

“I’m sorry, Saijou-san,” she mumbles, knees huddled to her chest, and it stuns Claudine just how raw, just how small she sounds. 

She turns away, feeling like someone’s just doused a bucket of cold water over her head. “I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have yelled. I just… I worry about you, Maya.”

And if Maya has anything to snark back about that — about the admission, or about the use of her first name — she keeps it to herself.

For a while, the two of them sit next to each other like that, bathed in the comfortable silence: Maya with her knees huddled to her chest, tracing patterns against the ground, Claudine with her legs stretched out, head raised to the stars. She watches how they seem to flicker against the deep navy of the night, scattered haphazardly in a tapestry of the skies.

Once upon a time, when the hole of Maya’s absence in court had been newly carved, when she could do nothing but ask herself why, why would she leave, why did she leave just like that, why didn’t she ever tell me, she used to look up at these very same skies and wonder if somewhere out there, Maya was doing the same.

Claudine tears her gaze away, finding herself unable to keep looking.

“Why?” she whispers, more to herself than anything.

Beside her, Maya shifts. “Hm?” 

Why did you leave, she thinks.

“Why didn’t you try to escape?” she asks.

Maya’s silent for a few moments, like she can tell there’s something left unsaid. The quiet hangs between them thickly. 

“Because you’re right, Saijou-san. I’m not strong enough. I wouldn’t have made it too far before drowning.” She says it nonchalantly, like she’s talking about the weather, and the sheer flippantness of her tone reignites the spark of fury in Claudine.

“So your solution is just to weaken yourself even more? To keep training even though you know you’re injured and you need rest?”

Maya inhales sharply. “I’m the Avatar. I have a duty to the world to keep fighting. I can’t stop just because of a small injury like this.”

“So then what,” Claudine spits, bitterly. “You keep training, and you aggravate your injuries, and then you get yourself killed. Then what happens? Will any of it have mattered at all?”

A stillness fills the air; it makes Claudine acutely aware of the echoing pounding in her ears.

“My duty to the world is to be infallible. I cannot stop, not even for a second,” Maya says quietly. The words seem to tremble as she speaks them, like she doesn’t quite believe them herself.

“That’s not true, and you know it.”

“Yes it is!” Maya stands suddenly, taking loud, frustrated steps towards the ledge. Ocean waves begin to crash against the hull of the ship; the ocean breeze strengthens to more of a gale, whipping Claudine’s blonde hair about. 

“Hold on, you need to slow down and breathe-”

“I can’t even go into the Avatar State!” Maya cries, putting her face in her hands. “What kind of Avatar can’t do that?”

Claudine’s mouth goes agape. Maya, only now realising what she’s said, lifts her head to stare wide-eyed at her.

The smashing waves die down; the whistling of the wind slows to a gentle whisper. Maya presses her lips together, and looks away.

“I apologise, I lost control—”

“You’ll get there eventually.”

Claudine gets to her feet, walking over to where Maya is and resting her arms on the ledge. “You don’t have to rush it. If you can’t access the Avatar State right now, then that just means… That just means the time isn’t right. But you’ll get it eventually. I know you will.”

Because you’re Tendou Maya.

“Because you’re the strongest person I know.”

She looks over at Maya, whose lilac eyes seem to be searching her face. Claudine watches how her hair blows in the breeze, her cheeks pinkish from the wind.

“I don’t have time to wait,” Maya says glassily. “There is a war going on. People are suffering because I’ve been too weak to do anything. I need to keep training. I need to unlock the Avatar State and fulfil my duties.”

“It’s not a war,” Claudine says, a lot softer than she’d intended.

Maya laughs bitterly, wringing her hands together. “What would you call it then, Saijou-san? What else could tear sisters like Yumeoji Fumi-san and Yumeoji Shiori-san apart? What else could make children so desperate that they’d even be willing to go to jail for their cause?”

Maya’s voice — it’s angry, it’s exasperated, but more than anything, Claudine’s never heard her sound so… tired, before. And then suddenly, they’re back in the dojo again under the gently streaming light of the summer sun, and Claudine can see Maya as she really, truly is, no shield of pride or arrogance or infallibility wrapped around her.

She finds she doesn’t have the words to answer, and she’s not even sure she wants to.

“Isurugi-san informed me of what happened at the port today,” Maya says.

Stella and her bright pink hair flashes in Claudine’s memory, and she swallows thickly. “It wasn’t an isolated case, was it?”

Maya doesn’t answer. Claudine chews her bottom lip.

“Is that… Is that why you left?” she asks.

A pause.

“I left because it was the right thing to do,” Maya says simply.

Claudine falls silent, staring down at the ledge of the ship and picking at the skin of her fingers. 

The right thing. Lately, she hasn’t been sure she knows what that means anymore. 

But there’s one thing she does know.

“You’re only human, you know,” she mumbles. “Being the Avatar doesn’t change that. If you get hurt, and you… And you die, then the world gets plunged into chaos for the next, what, sixteen years? What then, Tendou Maya? Your ‘duty to the world’, or whatever… It includes taking care of yourself, okay?”

Silence, save for the whistle of the wind. Claudine, having nothing more to add, straightens to leave. But then:

“Earlier,” Maya says. “You said I’m the strongest person you know. Was that true?”

Slowly, she nods. “Of course it was.”

Maya chuckles. “That’s funny. I could say the same about you, Saijou-san.”

She freezes, the breath caught in her throat. Takes in Maya’s face, illuminated by the moonlight, not a hint of her usual teasing smirk or twinkling eyes to be found. Just genuine, pure sincerity.

And against her better judgement, Claudine feels herself begin to smile.

“Well then, I guess we should spar when you’re fully recovered. To see who’s really stronger.”

“You know I’ve always beaten you, Saijou Claudine.”

“You— Infuriating woman!” Claudine cries, walking closer to flick her in the forehead. But then Maya laughs, breathily, into the wind, her eyes curving into little crescents, her smile beaming brighter than any fire she could have summoned… And Claudine feels the irritation melt away, like someone’s taken a flame to the ice.

She smiles. Listens to what is quite possibly the best sound she’s ever heard. 

Eventually, the laughter dies down, and Claudine says, “Promise me you’ll take care of yourself, or our match will never happen.”

Maya’s lips quirk upwards, almost unnoticeable if Claudine hadn’t been watching her so closely. “Of course, Commander,” she says, and for once it sounds genuine.

Claudine turns back towards the ocean, raising her head to the skies once more. The stars twinkle against the blanket of the night. Always there. Always watching, always guarding.

She turns to watch Maya, who’s looking up too, the stars reflected in her shimmering eyes.

“It’s late. We should go to bed,” Claudine whispers.

Maya’s lilac gaze meets Claudine’s, and there’s something soft and unnamed in them that she wishes she could hold onto forever.

“Yes, we should.”

Chapter Text

Even when Maya’s eyes begin to glaze over, her back stays ramrod straight as she fidgets absently with the fabric of her robe pooling in her lap. The voices around her fade to a background drone, and she finds she doesn’t have the energy to bring them back into focus.

That is… No good. She should be paying attention, should be giving her very best at all times… But the thought of it tastes bitter on her tongue; places a horrid, heavy weight in her chest.

Not good… She should be listening…

“Maya.”

The voice, low and gravelly, cuts through the haze, and Maya blinks dazedly. And then all of a sudden, the world around her sharpens to excruciating clarity: the deep reds and high arches of the room, the crackle and pop of the flames surrounding the throne, the old, bearded men seated around the great table, each near-identical to the next… Fire, the element of warmth, and yet… 

Why does the room feel so cold?

“Maya,” the voice says again, a touch of irritation colouring it this time — Maya turns to her father seated next to her, who regards her with a tightened jaw and narrowed eyes. 

She pushes down the tremble in her throat. “My apologies, Father. I was lost in thought.”

His face remains impassive; unreadable. “Begin your briefing. Do not keep us waiting any longer,” he says, and Maya can only nod.

She gets up, stepping closer to the map laid over the table. “The forces in the Central Earth Kingdom far outnumber us, and we cannot hope to defeat them in a straightforward battle. Instead, I propose the following: we order our troops to retreat towards the forest, while the strongest benders amongst them create a screen of smoke to hide our movements. The soldiers of the Earth Kingdom are prideful and complacent, and will be sure to follow.”

She casts a look around the room, finding the generals hanging onto her every word with rapt attention. 

And why wouldn’t they? She is Tendou Maya, crown princess of the Fire Nation. The prodigal daughter of the Fire Lord, raised as the perfect, obedient servant to the nation. Another cog in the perpetual machine, until one day she will rise to become its engine.

Maya wills herself to maintain that mask, that perfect picture of cool composure. None of the old men, with their whitened beards and years of wisdom, seem to notice anything amiss.

“The troops should arrange themselves such that our right flank appears noticeably weaker. With the cover of the smoke, the enemy will assume that the rest of our forces have retreated into the forest, and they will launch an attack on our right. This is when the rest of our troops will emerge from the smoke to encircle them, back them against the coast, and…” She pauses, a wave of nausea washing over her, which she swallows down with frightening ease. “...we wipe them out.”

No sooner has she finished than the room erupts into applause, applause that rings hollow in her ears and pierces sharply into her skin. She forces a small smile, wishing she would mean it.

She is the princess of the Fire Nation. She was born to fight for her nation, and their conquest is a noble one. All of this — it should fill her with pride, with glee. 

But as the meeting is adjourned and the room empties, Maya finds herself feeling just as cold as the fire around her.

How curious. How paradoxical.

She walks alongside her father as they exit the hall. They walk in silence; he doesn’t so much as cast a glance her way, taking long, elegant strides towards his next location.

And ordinarily, Maya would be content with that, but not anymore, not when something this heavy weighs on her mind.

She breaks the silence. “Father,” she says, “I was wondering when I would be permitted to leave the Fire Nation and begin my journey to master the other three elements.”

The Fire Lord doesn’t slow his pace even as he answers. “You will not be leaving the Fire Nation for your training. I have arranged for airbending and earthbending masters to travel to the palace, and Master Hanayagi is capable of teaching you waterbending.”

Her heart sinks. “I see, but… Traditionally, the Avatar has always been required to travel the world as part of their training.”

“Maya.” The footsteps stop, and Maya glances upward. Her father’s face, always so unreadable, shows a rare picture of emotion: his brows slanted coldly, his nostrils flared. Hastily, Maya bows her head, feeling like she’s been scalded. “You are needed here in the Fire Nation. Leaving now for a foolish galavant around the globe would only constitute a treasonous abandonment of your post.”

“But I am the Avatar,” she says, weakly. “The world needs me.”

“Your duty is to your nation, first and foremost. You can fulfil your role as the crown princess and your role as the Avatar at the same time,” he says. “You can, and you will.”

He finishes with an air of finality that leaves no room for argument, and doesn’t leave Maya any time to respond before walking away. And maybe that’s for the better — it leaves Maya time to stew in her thoughts, to come to the horrific realisation that for once in her life, she cannot give in to what her father wants.

She is the princess of the greatest empire in history, and it is a title that could only ever be hers. Groomed to perfection from the very day she was born: strategising, studying, training, all to one day inherit the throne of flames. 

But she is also the Avatar, bound to the world and the people she cannot see, the latest in a long line of guardians sworn to protect every nation, every person, every inch of land and blade of grass that has ever existed and will ever exist. She was chosen, destined to take the task on from her very birth, as if the spirits themselves had known that she alone was capable of handling it.

She can be the princess. She can be the Avatar. 

But Tendou Maya cannot be both, and she fears she already knows which one she must choose.

The sun is shining, the seagulls are squawking, the water is clear and blue — not that Kaoruko would know that, of course. She’s stretched out lazily on her mattress in the cool comfort of her room (being a waterbender with control over ice was certainly useful in these cases), eyes shut leisurely as she enjoys her morning.

“Futaba-han, go get me a drink, would you?” she yawns.

“Why can’t ya get it yourself for once?” Futaba grumbles, but she rolls off the bed and shuffles out of the room anyway. Not too long later, she returns with a steaming mug of tea for Kaoruko and begins to make the bed, working around Kaoruko with practised ease.

“I talked to Kuro-ko,” Futaba hums. “Her and Tendou reckon we’ll get through Chameleon Bay today.”

“Good, that means we’ll get to dock in an actual port tonight,” Kaoruko says, taking a sip from her drink.

Wait.

“Tendou-han was there too?”

“Mhm.”

“Tendou-han and Kuro-han?”

“That’s what I just said.”

“They were both there? What were they doing?”

Futaba frowns, finally lifting her head. “They were just… y’know, eatin’ breakfast and chatting an’ stuff,” she says, somewhat confusedly, like she sees nothing wrong with it.

Kaoruko, on the other hand, is decidedly not Futaba, and the implications of this discovery are almost too much for her to handle this early in the morning.

And it’s almost like Futaba can read her mind (she probably can), because almost immediately she hears a tired sigh of exasperation from the shorter woman. “Alright, spit it out. What are ya scheming now? They were just talkin’ like normal people, there’s nothin’ weird about that.”

“Exactly,” Kaoruko says, a smirk forming on her lips. “They’re being normal.”

Futaba blinks at her. Kaoruko sighs.

“I know I’m smarter than you, but you have to at least try to keep up with me, Futaba-han. This is a big deal! Think about it. They’re not arguing or staring at each other with that weird sexual tension anymore. They’re being normal, which means something definitely happened last night, and I’m going to find out what.” 

Someone’s about to have a very good day, and that someone’s name happens to be Hanayagi Kaoruko. Of course, if it comes at the expense of one Saijou Claudine, then, well… That’s not really her problem now, is it?

She giggles, kicking her feet wildly. Next to her, a look of dread crosses Futaba’s face. 

“Kaoruko, no,” she groans. 

“Kaoruko, yes.” 

“Look, maybe they just got sick of all the fightin’ and decided to call a truce or somethin’. It’s not our business!”

Kaoruko scoffs, setting her cup on the nightstand with a thump. “Please don't insinuate that Kuro-han would ever get tired of fighting Tendou-han. It’s an insult to her character.” 

Futaba mumbles something along the lines of ‘good point’, which only broadens Kaoruko’s smirk. “Besides, we all went to school together,” she continues. “I know you're just as invested in this as I am.”

There’s a beat of silence as Futaba apparently contemplates this, and a look of concentration crosses her face as she weighs the pros and cons of each side. Eventually, though, her expression morphs into shameful defeat as she lowers her head. 

“Kuro-ko is going to skin us alive,” she groans.

Claudine and Maya aren’t in the dining hall when they get there, but they do find the rest of the crew gathered for breakfast before they start setting sail again.

“Oh! Kaoruko-chan, you aren’t normally up this early! Do you want some eggs?” Nana asks.

“Where are they?” 

“Um. The eggs?”

“No, stupid. Kuro-han and her girlfriend.”

To her left, Futaba sighs. “She’ll have an omelette,” she says.

“Right…” Nana turns back towards the stove, bending a small spark of fire at it.

“Kuro-chan has a girlfriend?” Aruru asks, eyes lighting up excitedly. “Unless you mean… Oh! Are she and Maya-chan finally, y’know, together?”

Kaoruko rolls her eyes, plopping into a nearby chair elegantly. “Please, Kuro-han is too stubborn to do anything like that. But something definitely happened between the two of them, and that’s why they’re acting all weird today!” 

Over by the stove, Nana turns to them while the pan heats up, brows knitted together in thought. “Well, I guess they were being really nice to each other this morning…”

“Exactly!” Kaoruko snaps her fingers loudly, earning an annoyed look from Fumi. “Don’t you guys think that’s interesting?”

“I guess so,” says Misora. “But Saijou-san was in her room the whole of last night, and Tendou-san was eating with us. When would they have had the time to talk?”

Hm. Good point. Kaoruko rubs her chin, deep in thought, when suddenly Aruru pipes up: “Maybe they waited until we were all asleep to talk to each other! That probably explains all the noises I was hearing last night.”

That generates a silence in the room. “What noises?” Kaoruko asks slowly.

“Oh, y’know, the noises from the deck! I was going back to my room after a boiler inspection when I heard a whole bunch of yelling and banging from upstairs. It sounded like things were getting pretty heated.”

For a long, agonising moment, no one speaks, and all Kaoruko can do is gape at Aruru. In the piercing silence of the room, everyone can almost hear the cogs turning in her head, which bodes… not very well, for any of them. Least of all Claudine and Maya, who, bless their souls, aren’t even here right now.

Slowly, sinisterly, a splitting Cheshire Cat smile blooms across Kaoruko’s face.

“Kaoruko,” Futaba says, almost a whisper. “No. Don’t even think about it.”

“Kaoruko, yes,” she giggles, teeth glinting.

“Here’s your eggs,” Nana says, setting a plate on the table.

Kaoruko hums, grabbing a pair of chopsticks and picking delicately at the fluffy omelette. “Look, I’m just saying what we’re all thinking! Two people with a shared history on opposite sides of a war, tensions are high, they’re stuck on a boat together — Futaba-han, get the leeks for me, would you?”

“Eat ‘em yourself,” Futaba grumbles, but she stabs at them with a chopstick anyway.

“—And now Aruru hears weird noises coming from the deck at night when it’s all dark and deserted?” Kaoruko continues, ignoring her completely. “I’m calling it now, they definitely f—”

“Nope!” Futaba yelps, standing from her chair abruptly, and its scraping thankfully drowns out the rest of Kaoruko’s sentence. “We aren’t goin’ there!”

“I’m not ‘going’ anywhere, Futaba-han, we were all thinking it.”

“ I definitely wasn’t!”

As the familiar sounds of Futaba and Kaoruko arguing draws to a crescendo, Aruru privately turns to Misora, eyes wide and innocent like she hasn’t just set this off. “So… Does this count as Aruru luck?” she whispers.

“I’m pretty sure your Aruru luck just doomed Saijou-san to the most horrific fate known to man: being teased by Hanayagi-san,” Misora sighs. “Although, now that I think about it, there was one other point in time where they would’ve been alone together.”

She turns to Fumi, who’s watching all this go down with a bored, if not mildly exasperated, look on her face. “Say, what do you think of all this, Yumeoji-san?”

“Hm?” Fumi frowns, cheek resting against her fist. “I mean, it’s Saijou-san and Tendou-san’s personal lives. I’m not involving myself in any of this.”

“But weren’t you the one who came back to get Saijou-san during the incident yesterday? Didn’t you see her and Tendou-san together?”

A hush falls over the room, and with a chilling horror Fumi finds that Kaoruko’s eyes have turned to her instead. “No, I mean, yes, but—”

“But?” Kaoruko asks, dangerously.

“They…” Fumi looks around desperately, but only finds herself on the receiving end of a sympathetic smile, courtesy of Futaba. “They were just talking,” she says, but Kaoruko’s unyielding stare seems to pierce into the very depths of her soul, and she slowly feels her resolve start to melt away.

She sighs, shoulders dropping. “Fine, it was weird. They were staring at each other so intensely, it felt like I was walking in on something.”

It’s like she can see the pieces click into place in Kaoruko’s eyes. Her self-satisfied smirk only deepens, and she twirls a strand of hair around her finger daintily. “Well then, I believe that settles it,” she says, singsong-like. “Our commander and the Avatar are f—”

“—friends with a long history,” Futaba interrupts, earning a smack from Kaoruko.

“Hey, Yuyuko-chan was probably up in the crow’s nest last night. Maybe we could ask her if she saw anything!” Aruru says. 

Kaoruko makes a gleeful noise, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Excellent idea, Aruru-han! Where is she, anyway?”

“Probably still asleep. Please don’t drag her into this, too,” Fumi says tiredly. “Why does this matter so much to you guys, anyway?”

Nana walks over and takes a seat, giggling brightly. “I think we all just want to see our commander happy, Fumi-chan.” Next to her, Misora and Aruru nod enthusiastically.

Kaoruko scoffs, leaning back in her seat. “Please. I just want to see the moment when Kuro-han finally gives up on that thinly-veiled attraction she calls ‘hatred’.”

“ And you want to see Kuro-ko happy,” Futaba adds.

“And that too, I guess,” Kaoruko grumbles, though a small, fond smile tugs at the corners of her lips, almost indiscernible unless you know what to look for. She stands, stretching her hands behind her back lazily. “Well, if no one else has anything to add, then I think I’m going to go find Kuro-han and—”

“Find me to do what?” comes a voice from the doorway.

There’s a collective, choked sound in the dining hall as everyone frantically scrambles to look as un-suspicious as possible… Which has the unfortunate and entirely opposed effect of making everyone look even more suspicious.

Well — everyone except Kaoruko, who’s grinning devilishly at Claudine in the doorway. And Nana, who’s begun washing the dishes.

“Good morning, Kuro-han,” Kaoruko says sweetly.

Claudine’s eyes narrow. “Good morning, Kaoruko.” 

“Say, where’s Tendou-han? I heard she was with you this morning.”

“She’s up on the deck.” Claudine maintains an impressive level of nonchalance as she speaks, which simply won’t do.

“Well, be careful up there. Aruru-han said she heard some strange noises coming from the deck last night. We wouldn’t want you or Tendou-han to get hurt now, would we?” Kaoruko inspects her nails casually, watching Claudine’s face redden in her peripheral vision and not bothering to hide her smirk.

“Y-yeah. Of course.” Claudine clears her throat awkwardly, looking over to Futaba — who flashes her a look somewhere between enjoyment and sympathy.

“It’s a dangerous ocean, Kuro-han. There could be giant unagi out there.”

“Right.”

“I mean, just about everything out there just waiting to devour you—”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Claudine snaps, scowling. Kaoruko doesn't feel the need to suppress her giggle, taking great pleasure in the growing annoyance etched in the blonde’s face. “So what did you need to talk to me about?” she asks, clearly trying to change the subject. 

No matter. Kaoruko’s willing to let her escape for now. “Oh, it’s nothing you need to worry about. You can go back to your Tendou-han now.”

Much to her amusement, Claudine doesn’t react to the way Kaoruko phrases that, but she narrows her eyes suspiciously, scrutinising each of the crew in turn. Huffing, she shuffles back towards the door, throwing one final look back at the table.

“Get back to work soon. We should use all the daylight we can get.”

“Of course, commander,” Kaoruko hums, drawing out each vowel painstakingly slowly. 

With one final eyeroll, Claudine finally backs out of the room; barely a few seconds after she’s out of earshot, Kaoruko turns smugly towards the crew. “I rest my case,” she says, grinning.

“That doesn’t prove anythin’,” Futaba says, though she can’t suppress a chuckle. “But it’s kinda weird seein’ Kuro-ko so flustered.”

Aruru bounces animatedly in her seat. “This is so exciting! I’m so happy for Kuro-chan!” She shoots a bright glance at Misora, who shakes her head fondly, but in the process inadvertently ends up catching sight of Fumi instead; arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

“Fumi-chan? What’s wrong?”

Fumi presses her lips together, considering how best to respond. Slowly, she speaks, casting a glance around the room tentatively. “I’m just thinking… Of course, I’m glad if the commander is happy, but…”

Fumi pauses, a look of upset flitting across her face, and the room is plunged into silence. Everyone watches her intently, waiting for her to continue, but it seems as though she can’t find the words to go on.

“But?” Misora asks, worry crossing her face.

“Oh,” someone else says quietly, and five pairs of eyes dart to Nana instead, standing at the other end of the room; the same look of pained realisation etched into her eyes and the slight part of her lips.

Fumi nods, a silent understanding passing between the two. She sucks in a breath, and speaks.

“Sooner or later, Saijou-san will have to deliver Tendou-san back to the Fire Lord.”

The ship’s horn bellows, and it sets off once more not long after Claudine returns to the deck. “The crew is being weird,” she huffs, settling down next to Maya. It’s a nice, bright day, even in spite of the puffy clouds that loom overhead; in fact, they manage to blot out most of the harsh sunlight, which, coupled with the sea breeze, makes it comfortably cool out here.

Maya, on her part, merely hums, bending a small amount of water idly in front of her. Claudine watches as it solidifies into ice, which Maya proceeds to sculpt into a turtle-duck, then a polar bear-dog, then a sky bison. The figures are impressively detailed, down to the tiniest tufts of fur, which is doubly impressive given what Claudine remembers about Maya’s art skills.

“Is this what the great Avatar does all day?” from jabs. “Play with water?”

Maya chuckles, the ice melting back into water in an instant. “And is this what the great Commander Saijou does all day? Sit around watching the Avatar?”

Claudine feels her cheeks burning hot, and turns away to avoid looking at that vexing grin. “S-Shut up,” she mumbles weakly, “It was just… I’m just making sure you don’t escape. And the weather is nice today, it’d be a shame to stay indoors the whole time.”

“Of course.”

“Shut up,” Claudine says again, weakly. 

Maya giggles; that freeing sound, and Claudine feels the corners of her lips tug inexplicably upwards. “I’m only teasing, Saijou-san,” she re-forms the water into a block of ice, and begins carefully chipping away at it with her bending to refine the shape. “Yukishiro-san thought this was a good way to train my bending precision.”

“Even if you’re bad at art?”

The block of ice, suspended in mid-air, drops slightly before Maya catches it. “I-I’m not,” she splutters, going uncharacteristically red. “I’m… I could use some improvement in drawing. This is different.”

“Of course,” Claudine teases, “I just thought the Avatar would have better things to do.”

Maya pouts ever-so-slightly, and Claudine resists the urge to grin any wider than she already is. 

“I tried reshaping the clouds while you were gone, but… they were rather stubborn, and I promised a certain someone that I would take it easy.”

“You… what?” Claudine blinks in surprise: first at the revelation that Maya had actually listened to her, and then at the thought that she’d been bested by a cloud. She tips her head back to examine the — rather unremarkable, though unusually thick — bank of clouds overhead, and decides that maybe nature isn’t so beautiful after all.

“Well, screw the clouds. You’re still a great bender,” she says, leaning back. “Even a near-death experience can’t hold you back. The amount of training you must’ve put yourself through to get your opposite element to this level of skill… That can’t have been easy.” The words trail off towards the end as her cheeks begin to heat up again, and a strange flutter dances in the hollow of her chest.

Maya looks stunned, almost, by Claudine’s words, which is strange because someone like her has definitely received her fair share of compliments and should be desensitised to them by now. Still, she regards Claudine with a strange softness in her gaze, and then slowly breaks into a smile — a real one, one that dances in her cheekbones and feels almost blinding to look at.

“It certainly wasn’t easy,” she nods, a far-off look in her eyes. “When Liu-san and I first left Caldera City, not many people knew I was the Avatar yet. Even after I’d learned airbending and began my search for a waterbending master, many people still saw me as the enemy and refused to help.” 

Maya chuckles softly; a joke for only herself to hear. “My waterbending was self-taught for a while. I didn’t… I couldn’t afford to stall any longer. But thankfully, we met Yukishiro-san not too long after that. She trained and refined my waterbending, introduced me to the others in her group, and eventually they all helped me find an earthbending master, too.” She turns to look at Claudine, a muted sort of unease etched into the lines in her face. “I am where I am today because of hard work and the immeasurable support of my friends.”

And Claudine gets it. She really does, because as annoying as they all are and as much as Kaoruko messes with her, the Seisho and its crew means the world to her; she’s sure it’s the same for Maya. But now, Maya doesn’t even know anything about their condition — if they escaped Gaoling safely, where they went, if they even know she’s alive. 

It must be a horrible, gut-wrenching feeling, and the thought that Maya’s been carrying it alone in silence all this while, suddenly hits Claudine like a punch to the stomach.

Maybe, she muses, after their journey to the North Pole, she won’t return to the Fire Nation immediately. Perhaps she’ll stall just a little longer, perhaps she’ll sail the world with Maya, help her track her friends down, and then maybe, when all’s said and done and she can be reassured of their safety, then they’ll finally head home.

Perhaps she owes it to her, Claudine thinks, to help Maya track her friends down once their journey to the North Pole is done. The Fire Nation can wait; they’ve waited three years, what’s a couple more weeks? 

Perhaps then, the pit of guilt will fade away; perhaps then she’ll be able to go back to hating Tendou Maya and her guts.

Or maybe she won’t, and perhaps that prospect isn’t too bad either.

Because—

“I’d missed you.”

Mouth agape, she directs her attention to Maya, who’d said it so nonchalantly that Claudine doubts she’d heard it correctly. 

“You… missed me?” she repeats, slow and unsure.

Maya nods, a twinkle in her eyes. “After I left, the one thing I regretted having to leave behind was our friendship. Us sparring together, or simply talking like this after training. I was… I was glad when we began encountering each other once more. Even if it meant we were on opposing sides.”

Friendship? 

She’d never really thought about it like that — in her memories it had always been herself, trying to get a rise out of perfect, proper, Tendou Maya, trying to assert that she wouldn’t let herself be beat down by a name or a title; and then eventually, that had evolved into the desire to track her down and best her once and for all. And in her mind, Maya had always been just that: the pinnacle of strength, distant and detached. So far up in the skies that Claudine must have seemed like an ant to her.

But friendship? 

And what was that last part supposed to mean?

“I thought you only saw me as an annoyance,” Claudine admits, frowning. “I mean, all I’ve managed to accomplish these past three years is being a minor inconvenience to you guys.”

“That was never the case, Saijou-san. I’ve always seen you as a proper rival, and even an equal.” Maya smiles, tipping her head back, her hair flying in the breeze. “To me, you were a reminder of home. Of everything I had to fight for.”

It spills from her lips effortlessly, like she’d been waiting to say it. Claudine watches the way her eyes flutter shut; bow flapping in the wind. The same Tendou Maya that she remembers all too well, and yet somehow different. 

Her response drifts around the back of her throat, blurry around the edges.

“I… I have to go… Help with steering,” she gasps, and runs.

It’s a horrible, half-baked lie.

Nana and Fumi are more than capable of handling the steering and navigation on their own, and Maya probably knows that by now. 

But the alternative is existing in that safe space, that quiet, comfortable silence that seems to sit between her and Maya a lot these days, where once fiery quips and unrelenting jabs had been in their place — and, privately, Claudine finds herself unable to handle the prospect of that right now.

It’s… Nice. That she will admit, and perhaps that’s the problem. Because Tendou Maya is the enemy, and words like safe and comfortable are definitely not how she should be describing their time together.

And yet.

And yet. Claudine’s starting to find it hard to continue seeing Maya as the enemy.

Maybe it was the way she’d looked at her last night, small and glassy and full of fear and softness and emotion, yet more real and more human than Claudine had ever seen her. Or maybe it’s the string of realisations she’s been confronted with so far, the atrocities and realities of her nation’s conquest shoved into her face in crystal clear definition. Or maybe the simplest explanation is the actual one, and three years of being out at sea have finally started to wear away at her.

Either way…

I’d missed you. I was glad.

What was that supposed to mean?

What is any of this supposed to mean?

Tendou Maya, that infuriating woman; somehow still managing to make her blood boil even in the most pleasant situations. 

What had she done to her? Her heart was hammering against her chest, so hard that she’s sure Fumi and Nana can hear its echoes from the other end of the room.

“You look tired,” Nana says, smiling from where she’s seated by the windows. “Do you need something to eat? I can cook something up quickly if it’ll help you feel better.”

Claudine shakes her head, a laboured sigh escaping her lips. “No, I’m just… Thinking. Thanks for the offer, though.”

Nana curls her bottom lip, eyeing her with concern. “Should we go get Maya-chan?”

“What?” Claudine jerks upright, brows furrowing. “What does she have to do with anything?”

Nana giggles, the concern in her face making way for a rare spark of mischief, and holds her hands up innocently. “Nothing,” she hums, turning back to the dashboard.

“You guys are acting weird,” Claudine groans, cursing Kaoruko and whatever scheme she’d dragged everyone into this time.

Next to Nana, Fumi clears her throat. “Um, speaking of Tendou-san,” she begins, “Shouldn’t we be keeping an eye on her in case she tries to escape?”

Claudine considers it for a second, but the memory of last night comes rushing in almost immediately: Maya, who was alone, who had the cover of night, who could definitely have escaped, but chose not to… 

And she can make all the excuses she wanted, claim she’s still too weak, but Claudine would never buy them. Because Tendou Maya is not weak; she is hands-down the strongest bender Claudine knows. If she’d truly wanted to escape, she would have done so without a second thought.

Oh. She’d started thinking about her again, hadn’t she?

“There’s no need,” Claudine says hastily. “She won’t try to escape.” She buries her head into her arms, letting out a shaky breath, and misses the way Nana and Fumi exchange a glance.

That’s when they hear it.

The low, bellowing sound of another ship’s horn, blasting through the air for a few seconds before ending; but barely a few moments later and it sounds once more, and then again — three times in all, and Claudine jolts upright in recognition.

“Fire Nation signal,” she breathes, getting to her feet. It’s the horn signal they use to request to board another ship; Claudine pulls on her outer jacket and hurries to the door. “It must be behind us. You guys stop the ship, I’ll go up to investigate.”

She runs onto the deck, finding that Maya and Futaba have done the same, peering over the starboard side of the boat to find another Fire Nation ship sailing towards them.

“Kuro-ko!” 

“Saijou-san,” Maya greets, though her face remains stony as she eyes the other ship suspiciously. “They’ve been tailing us for a while now, but they started drawing closer a few minutes ago.”

“I’ll handle them, but you should hide. We don’t know what’ll happen if they see you,” Claudine says. Maya makes a face, like she wants to argue, but eventually she closes her mouth and obediently slinks back indoors.

Claudine watches her figure retreat, some sense of relief seeping into her once Maya’s safely out of view. 

The Seisho draws to a halt; Claudine squares her shoulders, and huffs out a breath.

“Futaba, come with me.” They walk over to the gangplank, where the other ship draws closer. “The Korosu, ” she mumbles, reading the neatly-stencilled characters on its side. “Heard anything about it?”

“Pretty sure that’s Captain Kirin’s ship,” Futaba answers. “He’s the guy in charge of patrol in Chameleon Bay.”

Kirin, huh? The name sounds somewhat familiar; perhaps she’d heard it once or twice back home, when her father would read off news of the latest military achievements at dinner every night. He was a pretty senior officer, that she was sure of, with a string of impressive victories under his belt, ostensibly enough to earn a higher rank if he so desired.

And perhaps, if the situation were any different, if this encounter had happened even just a week ago, she would’ve been honoured to be in this man’s presence. But now, all she can feel is a creeping sense of dread that she pushes down, down, down, forcing her shoulders steady and her face unreadable.

The Korosu reaches their side, and a gangplank is laid out. Claudine sucks in a breath. Beside her, she feels Futaba do the same.

A tall man in the stiff reds of a captain’s uniform marches down the gangplank and onto the Seisho, flanked by two guards. He's thin, but not sallow; crisp, but not stunted; his narrow eyes a deep, bottomless green that almost seem to pierce through Claudine. The man's thin lips curl halfway into a smile upon sighting her, just a touch too patronising to be genuine.

“Commander Saijou. Thank you for allowing us humble soldiers aboard your vessel,” he says, voice a deep baritone as he casts a sweeping glance over the empty deck.

“Captain Kirin,” Claudine says curtly, bowing, though seeing as she outranks him, it’s more out of respect for his age and experience than his title. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

Kirin smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Please, the pleasure is all ours. I simply noticed the Seisho sailing within my jurisdiction and felt the urge to see the great Commander Saijou, youngest of her rank, in person.”

“Your flattery is appreciated, captain,” Claudine says flatly.

Kirin regards her carefully, eyes flicking up and down her face. Claudine’s hands ball into fists behind her back. 

“If I may have the privilege of knowing, Commander,” Kirin begins, voice dangerously cordial. “What are you doing over here, in Chameleon Bay?”

“Excuse me?” Claudine scowls.

“Commander Saijou here outranks ya,” Futaba says. “She can do whatever she wants.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to imply otherwise,” Kirin says, holding his hands up in mock surrender. But as he looks at Claudine now, something shifts in his stare: a deep, insidious darkness that undercuts the emerald of his eyes, chillingly cold as he speaks. “I’ll be frank, Commander,” he says. “The land forces stationed at Omashu have sent word that you have managed to capture the Avatar.”

Claudine’s heart sinks.

She’d known — of course she had — that the Omashu forces would be sure to tell everyone about what happened, but some small, foolish part of her had hoped that Kirin wasn’t here because of that, that perhaps he really was just intending to pay her a visit.

Distantly, Claudine hopes Maya is well hidden deep in the bowels of the ship, and doesn’t choose now to decide to do something stupid.

“If what I’ve been hearing is true,” Kirin’s voice drags her back into the present, and she fights to look as impassive as she can. “Then shouldn’t your ship be heading back towards Caldera City, instead? What are you doing out here, all the way on the other end of the world?”

Claudine stiffens, imperceptibly, the words slipping from her mind. Because the truth is, Kirin’s right: following her orders would mean disregarding Maya’s condition entirely and heading straight back to the Fire Nation; the Fire Lord’s most recent decree had already made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t too concerned about her health. But Claudine… She can’t, can’t just leave Maya like this when it’s her fault in the first place.

She has to think of something fast, has to improvise, has to come up with some stupid lie or deflection or something…

“What’s it matter to you, anyway?” Futaba retorts fiercely, despite being several heads shorter than Kirin. “It’s our ship, and we’re not breakin’ any rules by bein’ here!”

“And I’m not suggesting otherwise. I simply find it strange that the Seisho wouldn’t immediately rush back to the Fire Nation upon completing its mission.”

“Well, maybe we just didn’t feel like goin’ back so soon!”

“That is a dangerous admission to make, soldier. It would be almost treasonous to delay the completion of your mission if you had the Avatar in your possession—”

“I don’t have the Avatar,” Claudine blurts.

A hush befalls the scene.

Slowly, tentatively: “What?” Kirin asks.

In her peripheral vision, Claudine can clearly see that Futaba, too, gapes at her in shock and confusion, but thankfully she’s smart enough to keep quiet about it. Instead, she stubbornly stares Kirin down, steeling her face into one of detached calm.

Just like Tendou Maya, and her carefully constructed image of aloofness, perfectly calibrated to be exactly the face of control that the world needs. She… Claudine can do this much for her, in appreciation of her sacrifice. Of her burden.

“I don’t have the Avatar,” she repeats, more slowly this time, like she’s speaking to a small child.

Kirin’s brows furrow, his first showing of emotion through the whole encounter. “Impossible. The message clearly stated—”

“I’ve been outsmarted by the Avatar countless times before this,” Claudine snaps, stepping forward irritably. “Is it so hard to believe that I lost her again this time?”

Silence; Claudine stews in it, revels in the look of surprise painted across Kirin’s face.

When he finally speaks again, there’s no more of that air of condescension. “My apologies, Commander. I did not wish to offend you,” he says, bowing.

“None was taken,” Claudine says through her teeth. “Now please, get off my ship. I believe you’ve stayed long enough.”

For a few agonising moments, Kirin doesn’t respond, just fixes Claudine with yet another of those long, searching looks. But finally, he nods stiffly, making a gesture to the two soldiers beside him and they retreat onto the gangplank.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Commander Saijou,” he says, stepping off the deck of the Seisho. “I hope we’ll meet again someday.”

The gangplank is retracted, the Korosu begins to sail off, and Claudine watches its imposing metal figure shrink and shrink and shrink, until it’s nothing more than a dot on the horizon; her heart beats faster and faster with every second it draws away, until it’s finally out of sight and the pounding in her ears is so loud that she thinks she might faint.

“Futaba,” she says shakily. “Tell Nana and Fumi to get us moving.”

Futaba makes a sound of worry — the exact words are muffled and blurry to her — but Claudine waves her off, and before long she’s alone on the deck, left to the incessant pounding drum in her ears and the weight of what she’d just done on her back.

Oh god. Oh god. She’d just… She’d just lied to another officer. Looked him in the eye and told him with a straight face that she didn’t have the Avatar, her country’s greatest enemy and the sole target of her assignment, with her on the Seisho. 

And the worst part is, she doesn’t feel the same stabbing guilt in her gut that she’d felt seeing Maya small and broken and bruised on the outskirts of a coal mine. Just the churning, heart-clenching fear that they’ll be found out and it’ll get worse for Maya.

Her throat goes tight, and her legs begin to feel like they won’t support her weight much longer.

And then: a warm, gentle touch on her shoulders, carefully guiding her down onto the deck. Soothing circles massaged into the tense knots in her back; a fluttering blush of a palm against her hand. And through it all, the soft sound of something almost like home, murmuring for only her to hear: “Breathe.”

Claudine breathes. 

She’d been seizing up, she realises, the tautness of her muscles slowly unwinding and unravelling until the world around her is clear again; until she hears the seagulls squawking and the waves crashing. Until she finds Tendou Maya by her side, her tender touch and her worried gaze and her pursed lips dragging Claudine down, down, down, to a place she thinks she’ll never escape.

What have you done to me, Claudine thinks, dizzy with so much feeling that she might just burst. 

Maya’s skin against hers is suddenly a degree too hot. Claudine tears herself away, feeling strangely empty as she does. 

“T-Thanks,” she mumbles, looking away.

Maya doesn’t respond, but Claudine can hear her settling down next to her, and a strange sense of deja-vu overtakes her. For a while, the silence hangs heavy between them, only undercut by the sloshing of the water, the drone of the engine, and the thump thump thump of her own heart, which had only seemed to worsen with Maya here.

Still, Claudine holds onto it, clings on to the drum in her chest like it’s all she has: because it’s proof that Tendou Maya is alive, and well, and safe here with her; self-importance and irritating tendencies and all. Safe and comforting, when a year or a month or even a week ago she would have scoffed at the idea.

The sound of someone clearing their throat, strangely hesitant; Claudine looks over to find Maya regarding her contemplatively. “Why did you do it?” she asks, soft and unsure.

Why? 

Because she’s missed it, she realises with a start: missed their time together, missed the banter that teeters on the edge of love and hate, the little smiles she lets slip when her mask fades away, the brush of skin against skin. Claudine misses it, and she wants nothing more than to stay the way they are now forever; chatting on the deck of a ship on a sunny day, throwing teases back and forth, enemies or rivals or friends or something else entirely. 

The relationship that is theirs and theirs alone, that transcends the need for words. 

But the Fire Nation won't — can't — give her that. It’ll all be ripped from her in an instant, and then she’ll be left fighting a war she can no longer say she believes in. 

Claudine chews her bottom lip, averting her eyes. “It was the right thing to do.”

Maya nods, her stare turning elsewhere. 

The silence sits between them once more.

The clouds are thick and bountiful today — but perhaps that’s more than mere coincidence. And perhaps, if any of them had been listening a little harder, they would have heard the low hum of an airship over the crash of the waves.

Obscured by the cottony envelope, it watches the Seisho knife through the ocean; pearly-blue water splitting at the seams. 

Silently; the Edel slips back over the clouds, like a predator slinking into the grass before the pounce.

Chapter Text

Back and forth, back and forth; it seems that even after an entire half hour, the sound of pacing against the ground has yet to fade into white noise. Akira crosses her arms sternly, brows furrowed.

“Mei Fan. Stop that.”

The woman in question jumps a little, but the shuffling footsteps indeed come to a halt. “S-Sorry!” she gasps, fidgeting with the fabric of her robe with one hand and chewing the thumb of the other. “I just… I can’t stop worrying about Tendou-san-”

“Do you think your Avatar is weak?”

Mei Fan’s eyes go wide. “No, of course not! Tendou-san is one of the best benders in the world!”

“Then place your full faith in Tendou and her abilities. I believe she’s strong enough to handle herself.”

Mei Fan gapes for a moment, then nods, jerkily, like she hadn’t thought of that. “You’re right,” she swallows, “Maya-sama won’t let herself be defeated.”

Akira scoffs. “Of course she wouldn’t. That would be unlike her.”

She turns away, looking out into the distance. From their position on the balcony, they have a comprehensive view of the Southern Air Temple and its surroundings: the Edel is docked just in the distance, thankfully looking far better now than it did after the ambush, and the monks are training on the grounds. There’s a thick, impenetrable layer of fog and mist surrounding the temple; a product of the altitude, but not without its uses. The Fire Army has yet to track them down since their escape from Gaoling several days ago, which had given them the time to get repairs and recover.

In truth, Akira didn’t feel completely at ease with the current situation either. Not because she was worried for Maya — she was concerned, sure, but ‘worry’ carries with it the implication that Tendou Maya of all people was helpless, and that simply wasn’t true.

No, that wasn’t it. In the time that they’d spent here unable to locate or contact Maya, the invasion of Omashu drew ever closer… And if Omashu were to fall, then Ba Sing Se would be the only great bastion of the Earth Kingdom left standing.

Akira had suggested, of course, that they heed the original plan and head to Omashu to dispel the Fire Army forces on their own. But Michiru had shot her down almost immediately, insisting that she and Junna would come up with a new course of action. And really, Akira didn’t feel like arguing with Michiru then; she never really does, to be fair.

Which leaves her here, with Mei Fan, who’s started tapping her feet nervously. Akira sighs, and stands to leave.

“I’m going to train. Perhaps you should too. It’ll take your mind off things.”

“O-Oh!” Mei Fan gasps, like she hadn’t thought of that. “Good idea! Have you seen Yachiyo? Maybe I’ll spar with her.”

“You called?”

Ah. Speak of the devil; Yachiyo comes skipping into sight, lips upturned into an all too familiar grin. “Why do you both look like someone died?”

“Yachiyo. Come with me, we need to spar!”

“Hm? Right now?” Yachiyo looks impressively unaffected by their current predicament; though that seems par for the course for her. Akira shudders to think of the day when she finally starts caring enough to get her airbending tattoos — a terrifying force of nature will be created that day.

Mei Fan tugs insistently at Yachiyo’s arm, and the pink-haired woman sighs fondly. “Well, I guess it’s a good way to pass the time. Why don’t you come along too, Akira-senpai? We can get Shiori too, and make it a proper 4-element battle royale.”

“That does sound like a good idea,” Akira says. “The two of you can make your way to the training grounds first. I’ll go fetch Shiori.”

They all begin heading towards the stairs, when suddenly—

“Guys! Guys guys guys guys guys! Big news!”

The new voice is shrill, rapid, and instantly recognisable. They’re forced to stop as Karen comes into view a few moments later, speeding up the stairs on an air scooter and just barely landing on her feet.

“You won’t believe it! So I was walking around the grounds playing with the airbender kids, right, then suddenly Mahiru-chan comes to me and asks for my help with the potatoes, so I go with her to the garden, and there’s this really cute lemur there, and—”

“Get to the point,” Akira sighs.

“No, tell me more,” Yachiyo grins, ignoring Akira’s scowl. “I want to know more about the lemur.”

It’s like Karen chooses only to hear Yachiyo, because she breaks into a beaming smile, bouncing up and down in a little column of air. “Oh, it’s adorable! It’s really small and fuzzy and it likes to steal our food and I wanted to name it Mr. White, but Hikari-chan said I wasn’t allowed to taint the name—”

“Aijo,” Akira says, more firmly.

“Oh, right. I guess I’ll tell you about it later,” she seems to calm down a little, but there’s a wild, untamed excitement in her eyes nonetheless. “Anyway, the point is, Hikari-chan was meditating like she always does and she finally managed to locate Tendou-san!”

Akira’s eyes nearly bulge out of her skull.

“What?” Mei Fan cries, grabbing Karen by the shoulders. “Are you serious?”

Karen yelps, looking slightly dizzy with how hard Mei Fan’s shaking her. “Y-Yeah! Hikari-chan doesn’t joke around about stuff like this… Well, she doesn’t joke around in general, so…”

“Why couldn’t you have started with that, then!” Mei Fan releases her, and there’s a palpable relief in the way her entire body seems to slacken, the way she can’t keep the smile from forming on her face. “Where is she?”

“She’s on some kind of boat in the middle of the ocean, heading up north towards Chameleon Bay.”

“North? Well isn’t that strange,” Yachiyo hums, rubbing her chin. “There’s nothing pressing going on up there.”

“Maybe she’s headed towards Ba Sing Se?” Mei Fan offers.

Akira frowns thoughtfully — it’s certainly a possibility, but Ba Sing Se isn’t at the top of their priorities at the moment, and she’s never known Tendou Maya to do things out of order. There’s also the chance that she’s searching for the Edel after their separation, but Maya of all people would know to travel to the Air Temples first; it’s always been their point of retreat.

Which leaves the last option: the Avatar is being held by someone else. Which, judging by where they’d left her, meant the worst case scenario had come true.

Her jaw tightens. “Where’s Michiru? Is she aware?”

“We already told her! She’s planning something with Jun-Jun right now,” Karen says. 

Akira nods stiffly. “Make sure the others get ready. I will prepare the Edel for departure, we leave as soon as Michiru and Hoshimi are done.”

She leaves without waiting for their reply, strides a little longer than usual. At the edge of the temple, just a few feet from their airship, the wafts of air from the monks seems to grow to a persistent flurry as it joins with the mountain gale, and Akira lets it fan against her face; toss her hair about.

Tendou Maya, of all people, captured by the Fire Nation. And after she’d been so insistent that she could handle herself, too.

That fool. Once they recovered her, a lecture about her overconfidence would be due.

Maya narrows her eyes; examines both sides closely. The twitching of Futaba’s brow, the strained clench of her jaw, the way her pupils dart about in desperate search for a way out. Claudine, and the faint smirk that plays on her lips, the way she rests her chin against a palm boredly, the fingers of her other hand drumming on the table mindlessly. 

“Come on, I’m about to fall asleep waiting for you,” Claudine teases, drawing a grunt of frustration from Futaba.

“Just… gotta think… a lil’ longer… Aha!” Her eyes light up suddenly. Futaba reaches out swiftly, pushing one of her pieces on the Pai Sho board forward with a newfound confidence. “How’s that?” she grins, some of the tension fading from her shoulders.

Claudine purses her bottom lip, nodding thoughtfully. “Good move,” she comments, and Futaba breathes out a laugh like she hadn’t expected that. “But you’re focusing too much on your left flank, and not enough over here.” 

Claudine slides one of her pieces forward a few spaces on the board nonchalantly, and the effect is almost instantaneous: Futaba’s eyes widen to a comical degree, a series of emotions flashing across her face in quick succession — first shock, then disbelief, then a tired sense of acceptance, and she holds her hands up in surrender.

“Ya got me again,” she sighs, to which Claudine only smiles.

Standing next to Maya, Kaoruko makes an amused sound. “How many times does that make it, again?” she asks, tauntingly.

“Oh, shut up,” Futaba fires back without missing a beat. “We both know Kuro-ko would kick your ass too.”

“Hmph, as if. Grandmother had me playing Pai Sho as soon as I could talk.”

“Oh yeah? Then why haven’t ya played a single game with Kuro-ko yet?”

“I…” Kaoruko splutters, reddening. “I’m doing charity! Helping Kuro-han maintain her dignity as a captain!”

“Commander,” Claudine corrects, somewhat under her breath. She watches the two of them bicker with a fond familiarity in her gaze, and Maya finds herself doing the same, the beginnings of a smile making its way onto her face.

When was the last time she’d felt this light? Not any time in the past three years. Certainly not any time even before that, when she’d been pinned under the suffocating shadow of the royal throne. 

It’s a foreign feeling, one that’s strangely freeing on her shoulders. Standing here and now in the patches of sunlight that spill through the filter of the clouds overhead, and the soft draft created by the ship’s slow churn through the water — perhaps Maya would go so far as to say she enjoys it.

“Maya-chan, why don’t you play a round with Kuro-chan too?”

The voice is bright and innocent in a way that can only be Aruru’s, and Maya whips around to find her beaming back. “Ah, I’ll have to decline. I’m sure Saijou-san is tired, anyway,” Maya says, hoping she’ll drop the subject.

Claudine scoffs. “Tch. Says who? I could keep going for hours.” 

“I'm sure you could, Saijou-san. Unfortunately, I have other things to attend to, so—”

“No, you don't. This isn't your ship, there’s quite literally nothing else for you to do here.” Claudine leans forward, quirking a brow playfully. “Don't tell me you're scared of losing, Tendou Maya?”

“No,” Maya says, a little too quickly. She catches it immediately: the way Claudine smirks a little in victory, the way the others around them seem to hold their breath as they watch everything play out. 

Maya sighs, taking a seat opposite Claudine. “Fine. One game, Saijou-san,” she concedes, beginning to reset the board. 

“I look forward to beating you, Avatar.”

Barely ten minutes later, Claudine scores herself another win. 

She says nothing, mouth agape like she can’t quite believe it either. Around her, Maya can feel the similarly dumbstruck stares of the others, burning uncomfortably hot on her skin.

“You’re joking,” Claudine says, slowly and flatly like it’s the only explanation she can think of. “You have to be. No one’s this bad at Pai Sho.”

“I mean, it wasn’t that bad...” Aruru says.

“It’s bad to lie, Aruru-han,” Kaoruko says, poorly suppressing her laughter. 

Maya clears her throat stiffly, attempting to stand up and leave. “Well, you got your game, Saijou-san, so I’ll get going now—”

“We’re playing another round.” Claudine speaks with an air of finality that effectively kills any protests Maya has right there and then in her throat, and she awkwardly retakes her seat as Claudine begins resetting the board. “That was a fluke. It has to be. There’s no way you’d lose that easily. Unless you went easy on me.” She looks up, squinting at Maya suspiciously. “Were you going easy on me? Because I’m telling you, I can beat you fair and square.”

Maya sinks further into her seat, shoulders drooping. “Perhaps you should just accept that I’m simply bad at the game.”

“You invented it!”

“Well, one of my past lives did.”

Claudine rolls her eyes. “Same thing. Play for real this time, Tendou Maya.”

So Maya does, with nothing more than a sigh of resignation — and when she loses this game so quickly that she’s sure it must be some new record, Claudine can only stare at her in a stunned silence.

“Congratulations, Tendou-han,” Kaoruko drawls. “You’ve finally shown weakness by being worse at something than Kuro-han. Expect to be playing Pai Sho for the rest of your life as she revels in this power.”

Try as she might to suppress it, Maya feels a red-hot shame colour her cheeks. Kaoruko is right. This is weakness. Inconsequential as it may be, as miniscule as would seem to anyone else, this is still… A flaw. And the Avatar must be perfect; Tendou Maya must be perfect. She can't afford to be anything less than, or it could be exploited, she could be ruined, the weight of the world could come crumbling down around her…

“Don't you guys have work to do?” 

Maya looks up, surprised at how grouchy Claudine sounds, all of a sudden — she’s sat with her head bowed, quietly rearranging the pieces of the Pai Sho board, bangs blowing over her eyes with the movement of the ship.

“Aw man, you got me. I was hoping I could procrastinate a little while longer,” Aruru sighs, and without much added fuss she skips back inside the ship. 

Claudine’s eyes flick up, landing on Kaoruko, who hasn’t moved an inch. “That includes you,” she mutters.

“No it doesn’t,” Kaoruko says, sounding wildly nonchalant. She misses the venomous look Claudine shoots her, but luckily before Claudine can say anything else, Futaba’s already dragging Kaoruko away by the arm.

“H-Hey! Futaba-han! I wanted to—”

“Nope. I’m not lettin’ ya get involved in this.”

“But…”

The sounds of their voices gradually fades out as they descend below the deck, which leaves just Claudine and Maya sitting alone at the table; Claudine looking down, poking at the board wordlessly. The air around them seems to go positively frigid, and Maya isn’t sure what to say.

So she settles for the words on the tip of her tongue: “I’m sorry for disappointing you, Saijou-san.” It seems like the most obvious thing to say, because why else would Claudine suddenly be acting so upset? Not unless she was let down, and this is all just another sign that Maya cannot be the pinnacle of perfection that is demanded of the Avatar. Maybe she was wrong when she said all those words that night on the ship, and maybe Maya can’t afford to slow down, after all.

“I’m not disappointed.” Claudine speaks at last, looking up, the crease in her brow more from confusion than anger. “I was just surprised. You’ve always been a great strategist, so I thought that would carry over. But no one’s perfect, and that’s fine.”

Maya expects to flinch, to feel that stabbing sense of shame again; but to her surprise the words are softer and lighter coming from Claudine, and she finds it in herself to smile back. “Well, strategising on my own is a lot different from having someone reacting to it in real-time. Besides,” she casts her gaze aside, watching the patterns of sunlight move against the table, “It’s not like I’ve ever had anyone to play against before.”

“You could’ve come to me.”

Claudine probably hadn’t meant to say that; if the shocked widening of her eyes and the reddening of her face are anything to go by. But Maya herself is far too caught off guard to do anything with that information right now, and all she can muster out is a tiny little: “What?”

“I-I mean! Not because… I mean, just because we were already training together at that point, and… I… You…” She cards a hand through her hair, blonde locks spilling through her fingers, and if Maya were any less distracted perhaps she’d find it cute. “Nevermind. L-Let’s play another round. I’ll… I’ll teach you how to play.”

Maya doesn’t reply; simply gapes at Claudine dumbly, which she seems to pick up on.

“It just doesn’t feel as good beating you if it wasn’t a fair game to begin with,” she mumbles. “Come on and make your first move already.”

“Oh.” Maya blinks, looking down at the board, then back up at Claudine, who eyes her stubbornly. “Oh,” she says again, realising that Claudine’s being serious. Slowly, she reaches out and pushes one of her tiles forward, her hand lingering on it a second too long. When she’s done, she looks up at Claudine expectantly, finding herself strangely invested in what she has to say.

“Hm.” Claudine rubs her chin, staring down at the board. “You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Relying too much on your White Lotus tile,” Claudine says. “You did it over the past two games, too.”

Maya quirks a brow. “Well, the White Lotus is the most powerful tile in Pai Sho, isn’t it? There’s no reason why it shouldn’t be working the hardest.”

Claudine frowns. “There is no ‘most powerful’ tile in this game. It’s all about all the different elements working together to achieve something.” She gestures down towards the board and begins moving her own tiles. “See, if you keep playing this way, then…”

The words melt into the background, because truth to be told Maya doesn’t think it’s anywhere close to the most interesting thing she’s faced with right now. Instead, she watches Claudine, as she’d so often done before, all the little quirks and tells she’s become familiar with making themselves known — the way her forehead creases when she frowns, the little downturn of her lips. The way her voice speeds up when she gets excited, sending her into little tangents. Her hair, blowing across her face, which she gently pushes behind her ear every now and then. She catches every detail, files them away in the back of her mind in the hopes that she’ll remember them forever; that one day, when the moment inevitably peters out and she has to leave again, that Claudine will be with her in her memories.

“...So then that leaves you vulnerable on both sides, and… Are you even listening?”

“Hm?” Maya blinks back into focus, but her sluggish brain isn't quick enough to answer. 

“You… You’re horrible, really,” Claudine sighs, though it lacks any real bite. “I don’t feel bad about you losing all the time anymore.” 

“How cruel, Saijou-san. You wound me,” Maya smiles, moving a tile forward; she honestly couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to which. 

Sure enough, she loses the game again barely a few minutes later. But it’s not like she finds herself caring much, not when she manages to catch the way Claudine’s eyes light up just a little, the way she’s holding back a grin, a grin that she can almost hear when she says, “You have to be doing that on purpose at this point.”

“I’m not sure what I would gain from that,” Maya laughs. It’s infectious. Claudine, and her aura, and her poorly-hidden glee, it’s so infectious that she wants nothing more than to see her smile forever, and maybe everything will be alright.

“Fair point. And it’s not like you to just fold if you can help it. I guess you have to be on Team Loser sometimes.”

She says it with a self-assured smirk that speaks volumes, but in spite of it all, there it is again: that strange softness that punctuates her words. Where normally Maya would take them as an insult, but when Claudine says it, it somehow sounds gentler, lighter, like it’s an endearing quirk rather than an unforgivable failure of her character. It’s new, and it’s safe, and it’s a dangerous slippery slope to complacency. It’s a lot, it’s too much, and it’s not enough. It’s a strange, oxymoronic mess of a situation where she doesn’t know if she craves that warmth more, or if she wants to push it away for fear of being burned. 

It’s everything. It’s Saijou Claudine, grinning out into the open seas, golden hair billowing around her. Maya smiles, and feels her heart grow whole.

The ship begins to slow noticeably. “Looks like we’re crossing the Serpent’s Pass,” Claudine says, glancing over the side of the ship. “We should reach the North in three days.”

“Three days,” Maya repeats, nodding to herself. If the healers are quick, then that means she can be on her way back to the Earth Kingdom in a week, which shouldn’t be too bad. She’ll have to try and locate her crew first, of course, but in the absence of time she may have to get back into action without them…

You’re being irrational.

The realisation hits her suddenly, like a bucket of cold water against her face.

She’s being irrational. Unbelievably, inconceivably so. Because the world is at war; it needs its Avatar, and here she is sitting in the sun playing Pai Sho with someone who’s out to arrest her. And all for what? For the foolish sense of fullness and fulfilment she gets when she sees Claudine smile? 

That won’t end the war. That won’t save the world.

Why had she stayed so long in the first place? She must’ve lost her mind, she can’t just sit around any longer, she has to—

The sound of a clanging bell slices through the calm.

Maya jumps in her seat, immediately zoning in on the crow’s nest, where she can barely make out Yuyuko frantically ringing the bell as hard as she can manage. In front of her, Claudine looks equally confused, but stands anyway, squinting up at the lookout as she hurriedly descends from the ladder.

“What the—”

A giant spike of ice comes flying at her, seemingly out of nowhere, and Claudine barely manages to jump out of its way with a yelp. Barely a few seconds later, the loud hum of an airship becomes audible, its hull hovering over the Seisho and turning the gentle sea breeze into a relentless gale.

“Oh come on, not this again!” Claudine growls, glaring up at the airship. A few more icicles shoot down at her, which she dissipates in a puff of fire as long ropes begin falling from the airship onto the Seisho.

“Does this happen a lot?” Maya yells over the wind, running over to Claudine’s side. She’d done her fair share of attacks like this back when she was with the Edel, but being on the receiving end of it was new to her.

“Yeah, lots. Most of the time by you,” Claudine replies, rolling her eyes. “Now that you’re on Team Loser, you might as well get the full experience, right?” She grabs Maya by the arm and leads them both back towards the doors, where the rest are beginning to emerge from — she spots Futaba already starting to bend sheets of razor-thin metal at the airship, while Nana begins to defend against the flames descending upon them. 

“Hold our defences tight and buy us enough time for Fumi to steer us out of the channel,” Claudine barks at everyone; even Kaoruko has come out to join them. The firebenders split up — Yuyuko helping Nana maintain defence, while Misora and Aruru work on the offensive. Futaba and Kaoruko, meanwhile, help wherever they’re needed, forming shields of stone and water and simultaneously firing them off at the airship.

Claudine turns back to Maya, eyes steely sharp. “We’re probably going to be boarded soon. Stay indoors, and hide. We don’t know who they are or what they want.”

“I can fight with you,” Maya protests. “You won’t lose if the Avatar is on your side.”

“First of all, I don't know if you’ve noticed, but I've been working really hard to make sure people don't realise we have the Avatar with us. Second of all,” Claudine gestures wildly at her, “You’re injured!”

“I can have the attackers gone in minutes, it’ll be over without worsening the injury—”

“We’re being boarded!” Nana yells above the chaos. 

Claudine turns around just as a few figures jump from the airship onto the deck of the Seisho, flurries of air and ice and water flying in all directions as they land. The Seisho crew is too slow to react, most of them thrown back across the deck. 

“Watch out!” Claudine cries, stepping in front of Maya. Luckily, she manages to throw up a wall of fire just in time, and it successfully swallows the attack. 

Maya flinches, instinctively taking a few steps back. But she is nothing if not stubborn, and before long she’s back at Claudine’s side, fists raised and ready to fight no matter what she has to say about it. 

“Is the word ‘listen’ not in your vocabulary?” Claudine groans as she punches jets of flame at their attackers. “What part of ‘you’re injured’ don't you understand?”

“I outrank you in battle, Commander, and I’ll do what I want,” Maya says. The Seisho crew have gotten back up, and elements now zip about in a cacophony of battle. The air is hot and sticky from all the flames, which are only fanned by the blasts of air coming from the attackers; water whips and stray rocks fly about, hard to dodge even removed from the heat of battle like she is now. Maya looks towards the attackers, ready to launch a counterattack, when suddenly—

A flash of silver hair. 

Maya gasps, lowering her fists. 

“Yukishiro-san?” she whispers, barely able to hear herself. 

“What?” Claudine half-yells. “You’re gonna have to speak up!”

Maya grits her teeth. Sets her jaw, and sucks in a breath. She nudges Claudine aside, and dashes straight towards the centre of the battle

“Tendou Maya!”

She bends out the strongest blast of air she can muster. It releases in a split-second tornado, knocking both sides of the battle back and putting a near-immediate halt to the action. 

“Enough!” 

She means to look imposing and authoritative. But it appears she’s severely misjudged her own capabilities, because mere seconds after that simple act of bending and Maya’s chest begins to flare up in searing pain again. Her vision cuts to black, and she’s quite sure she feels her legs give out under her — when colour seeps back into the scene around her, she feels a strong arm around her waist. 

“I told you, didn't I?” Claudine mumbles, only for her to hear. “You're horrible. Really, you are.”

Oh. She must have blacked out for a few moments. The dull ache of her injury settles into her chest, a humiliating reminder of her incapacitation; but the newfound stillness of the deck points to her intervention having successfully stopped the fighting. Maya casts a glance upwards, locking eyes with Akira, who stares back impassively, her arms crossed. 

“Thank you, Saijou-san,” Maya says quietly, gingerly prying herself free. “I… Please give me some time to speak to Yukishiro-san alone.”

“Just to be clear here, you're asking me to let you talk to a known enemy of the Fire Nation,” Claudine says, flatly. Her eyes flick between Akira and Maya repeatedly, grimacing so intensely that it might as well be burned into her face permanently. “Fine. You guys can talk, but I'm coming to supervise.”

Maya nods stiffly. It’s better than nothing. Claudine supports her weight as she limps towards Akira and the others.

The silver-haired woman scowls down at them, arms crossed sternly. “Tendou. So it appears you weren’t being held hostage, after all.”

Maya glances over at Claudine, who only huffs and rolls her eyes. “I… Am a prisoner who enjoys some relative freedoms.”

“Whatever that means,” Michiru says, sidling in on their conversation. “We came to get you, Maya-chan. There’s a lot we have to do, so you need to come with us now.”

Oh.

This is it, this is the opportunity to escape. To leave her own selfishness behind and throw herself back into the life of an Avatar. The beckoning call of her duty to the world that she should be drawn to above all else.

But…

“Hold on just a minute. Tendou Maya is a prisoner of the Fire Nation while she’s on this ship, and we’re not just letting her walk free,” Claudine snaps.

“Oh?” Michiru sounds mildly amused, if anything. “Should we run through the normal routine, then? We all know who always wins these fights.”

“Well, let’s do it, it’s better than just giving her away—”

“I can’t.”

Michiru and Claudine both look to Maya in confusion.

“I… I can’t go with you guys,” Maya says, softly, almost hoping no one hears it, and it’s just another irrational little admission she’s making to herself. But it isn’t, and the words have left her mouth, and the three people around her have all heard it clear as day.

“Tendou,” Akira says, unreadably.

“I’m sure you all caught my stumble earlier. I was injured after the battle at Gaoling, and my bending has suffered tremendously as a result. Saijou-san is taking me to the Northern Water Tribe to seek a healer,” Maya explains.

“Okay,” Michiru says slowly, hands on her waist, and then “Okay,” again, more definitively this time. “It’s a healer you need, right? If it’s a healer you need, then we can get you to one. Now come with us.”

She should. She absolutely should. It’s not just the obvious choice; it’s the right one. She should absolutely open her mouth and say “yes”, or even just give the tiniest of nods, and let the crew of the Edel take care of the rest and take things back to normal, back to the status quo where all she knew was to wake up to another battle, another war.

But being here, being on the Seisho, and being with Claudine… Losing her first few games of Pai Sho, and talking under a starlit sky. Seeing her face here, so real and right in front of her, instead of relying on broken memories from months and years ago and hoping she visits her in her dreams…

“Tendou,” Akira says again. “You’re being irrational.”

Maya knows. Maya really, really, knows.

She locks eyes with Akira, a million different words in her throat all fighting to spill out. The i can’ts and the i’ll go with yous inside all fighting a war of their own, dizzying her vision, making her head pound.

Akira scrutinises her, purple eyes piercing her soul.

She sighs.

“We’ll leave you be,” Akira says.

A moment’s pause. The crashing of the waves against the hull of the ship is all Maya can hear.

“What?” gasps Maya.

“What?” gasps Michiru.

“What?” gasps Claudine.

“No, seriously, what?” Michiru says, grabbing Akira by the arm and smiling with far too many teeth.

Akira looks almost fearful for a split-second, but returns quickly to composure. “Tendou can’t fight anything like this, she’s far too distracted. It would be good for her to spend some time here to clear her head so that she can truly be back to fighting form when she rejoins us.”

“I… Thank you?” Maya says.

Michiru looks far less pleased. “Akira, we—”

“We’ll give you a week,” Akira adds. “The Edel will wait for you for one week, and if we don’t hear anything from you in that time, then we’ll come back and collect you. No truces this time.”

“Like hell we’re going to abide by that,” Claudine spits. “Do none of you know what a prisoner is?”

“Deal.” Maya declares.

“Why do I even try…”

Maya ignores her. “I assume you’ll be waiting at the usual rendezvous point, then?”

Akira nods. “One week, Tendou. That’s all you get. There’s only so long we can put off the war for.” She turns back towards the rest of the Edel’s crew. “Get back on the airship! We’re leaving without Tendou.”

There’s a moment of lag in which it seems like everyone takes a second to process the implications of those words, and Mei Fan in particular throws Maya a supremely confused look. But soon enough, everyone begins climbing the ladder back onto the Edel, and it appears that this confrontation has come to an end.

“Wait!” A small, high voice cuts through the hubbub, and a head of wavy blonde hair comes running towards Maya. Yumeoji Shiori looks up at Maya, face set into a determined expression. “My… My sister is here, isn’t she?” Shiori straightens, hands clasped together in front of her. “Can I… Can I stay too?”

“What?” Akira frowns. “Shiori, you can’t—”

“Please,” she begs, looking straight past Akira and at Maya.

“It’s not… It’s not up to me to decide,” Maya admits. In the corner of her vision, Claudine shifts.

“Of course you can,” Claudine says softly. “She… She misses you too, you know.” 

Shiori looks taken aback at first, but slowly, a sliver of a smile makes its way onto her face. She shifts her focus over to Akira instead; Akira, who only presses her lips together and shakes her head in resignation.

“We’ll be back for both of you in a week,” she says. Throwing Maya one last glance, she and Michiru both stalk off towards the airship. Barely a minute later, and the Edel is already above the clouds, far out of sight — but nowhere close to out of mind.

Maya stares out onto the horizon, where the airship had long since blinked out of view. A growing heaviness weighs in her heart and the pit of her stomach, and something small and angry gnaws away at the back of her mind.

Was this all a big mistake?

Chapter Text

“Good morning,” Claudine yawns as she walks into the dining hall. They’d sped up the pace of the Seisho tremendously to meet the one-week deadline, which also meant sailing through the night yesterday. Nana had insisted that she would be fine taking the night shift alone, but Claudine thought it would be best if she kept her company, at least for a few hours. 

To be completely honest, she doesn't know why she's even bothering to keep to the deadline that Yukishiro Akira, of all people, had given her. What were they going to do if she refused, arrest her? But, Claudine supposes, a one-week grace period wouldn't be the worst thing. If the healers work quickly, then they can be on their way to the Fire Nation before their time is up, which means putting distance between them and the Edel. Otherwise, they’d have to fight the rebels off again, which would mean damage, which would mean repairs… And repairs are expensive, right?

Right. 

“Good morning, Saijou-san,” Fumi greets. “Is Daiba-san still up?”

“Yeah, she should still be in the bridge. I have no idea how she does it, I had to tap out after just a few hours.”

Fumi stands from her seat. “I’ll go take over from her. She should get some sleep.”

“Wait, onee-chan,” Shiori says, jumping to her feet, “I’ll come with you too!”

“Th-There’s no need,” Fumi says stiffly, looking pointedly elsewhere. “You… I bet you’re tired, from the… Y’know. Water, and stuff.” Fumi nods awkwardly, mostly to herself. “Commander. Isurugi-san,” she says, giving each of them a short, jittery bow, and then somewhat less confidently, “Sh-Shiori.” Fumi sucks in a breath, straightening. “I-I’ll… I’ll see you all around.”

And with that painful interaction decidedly over, she marches off down the hallway.

There’s a beat of uncomfortable silence as Shiori stares after the retreating figure of her sister, and Claudine can almost see her heart tearing into two. It’s been more or less exactly like this since yesterday — she’ll try to reach out to Fumi, to start a conversation, and her older sister completely avoids it in any way she can. It’s almost like Fumi’s determined to make the experience as painful as humanly possible for everyone in the vicinity. And as much as Claudine has come to like and respect Fumi as both a subordinate and as a friend over the past few years, she can’t help but feel like she’s in the wrong here.

“Cheer up, Yumeoji-imouto,” says Futaba, reaching up to pat Shiori on the shoulder. Maybe it was her age, a couple years younger than them, the baby fat not yet faded from her cheeks, but the crew had taken a liking to her immediately. “Fumi’s jus’ like that.”

“She didn’t use to be,” Shiori says, faintly.

Claudine grimaces, taking in the dejected look on her face. 

“If you don’t mind me asking,” she begins, tentatively, “How long has it been since she left?”

Admittedly, it’s not really her place to meddle, but there’s been so much tension on her ship lately that it’s starting to drive her insane. Fumi sure as hell won’t do anything about it; Shiori seems far too intimidated to go any further, which means they’re in desperate need of a mediator. And as these things go, Claudine will probably end up filling the role (she’s gotten weirdly good at it after all of Futaba and Kaoruko’s squabbles).

“Oh! U-um.” Shiori jumps, still looking a little out of it in her current environment. “The war officially started six years ago, right? That means it’s been about… Seven years.”

She speaks so casually that the weight of that duration is almost lost on Claudine. But Fumi is young, and Shiori even more so, which meant that those seven years is as good as half their lives spent apart. “That means she was, what, eleven when she left? Which means you were probably nine or ten. She’s… Fumi probably isn’t the same kid you remember from back then. You’re both older now, and seven years is a long time. A lot can… A lot has happened.”

Shiori fidgets with the hem of her sleeve. “She… I’m sure onee-chan just needs time!” she says, louder towards the end, in a tone that suggests she’s not quite convinced either. Her brows knit together determinedly, but there’s a distant cloudiness in her eyes that speaks volumes.

But it’s admirable, Claudine will admit. To fight so hard to repair a relationship that may as well be nonexistent at this point. It’s admirable, and it’s heartbreaking, and Shiori is still so young… Hell, all of them are. Saijou Claudine, the youngest navy commander in the Fire Nation’s long history; her, and her crew of promising recruits all groomed to uphold the legacy of their nation. 

The legacy that didn’t see the issue in tearing apart families for its own sake. The legacy that Tendou Maya had walked away from.

And what is it all for, in the end? What do I get out of all this? Claudine thinks, later, as she wanders onto the deck.

The air is crisp and glacial. She shoves her hands into her coat, exhaling a breath of fire to keep warm. 

The honour? The glory? Is that really it?

Claudine leans over the side of the ship, watching the waves ripple below. Her hair blows against her face and obstructs her vision, but she can’t quite be bothered to do anything about it — with this arctic wind, she can’t do much, anyway.

She… She had been so desperate to fulfil her mission. Even just a few days ago, she was so sure she had everything figured out. Capture the Avatar, go back to the Fire Nation, and be celebrated as a hero. That was the plan. That was always the plan, and it had always been enough. It was her warmth on cold days like these, when she’d really felt the pangs of homesickness and frustration at getting nowhere. It was the reason she kept chasing Maya all around the world and back, even though she knew she’d lose every battle, be evaded at every turn, no matter how much she insisted otherwise. It was always enough.

So why does it ring so hollow now?

Claudine shivers. It’s positively frigid; the fire breath isn’t enough.

Something rustles behind her, subtly. Against her better judgement, Claudine chuckles, tucking locks of hair behind her ear.

“You’re not as stealthy as you think you are, Tendou Maya.”

She turns around, a smile unconsciously creeping onto her face: and there stands Maya and her wind-tossed hair, bundled up in a spare coat that looks too small for her. But she doesn’t look bothered at all, hands behind her back and smiling coyly, her cheeks rosy in the chill of the air.

“That’s a shame, then,” Maya says, sounding not very disappointed at all. “Mind if I join you?”

“By all means.”

Maya shuffles next to her, looking remarkably unfazed by the cold in spite of the ill-fitting jacket. She rests her elbows on the side of the ship, peering out into the distance.

“What brings you here? Something on your mind?” Claudine asks. 

Maya smiles graciously. Shakes her head. “I simply felt like it.”

Claudine rolls her eyes. “Right,” she drawls. “No offence, Avatar, but people don’t usually get the urge to stare wistfully into the ocean when it’s cold enough out to freeze your blood dry.” 

Maya laughs, a tinkling, brightening sound, and when she stops Claudine finds herself craving more. 

She settles, instead, for burying her face further into the collar of her jacket. Clenching her fists around the lining of her pockets. “S-So long story short, there has to be something on your mind,” she half-mumbles. 

“I could say the same about you, Commander,” Maya says. 

Claudine pauses. The waves echo in her ears. 

“Perhaps.”

Fragments of ice have begun to appear in the water, the larger chunks dotted with otter-penguins that watch them curiously — they’re getting close. It won't be long before the looming walls of the Northern Water Tribe should come into view. 

“This was the site of my greatest failure.”

The admission is sudden, and Claudine turns to Maya, astonished. The Avatar refuses to meet her eyes, a wry smile playing at her lips. Her head tilted back, she gazes into the sky, beyond the clouds. Maya doesn't offer any elaboration, but she doesn't have to: Claudine already knows exactly what she means. 

“The siege,” she says, quietly. 

Maya nods, and if Claudine looks closely enough she can almost see how her eyes seem to glaze over. “I fought alongside them for days. We were… They were so close to winning, the Fire Nation almost lost. But at the end of the day, they had more men and more weapons to throw at the walls. And as the city fell, all I could think was: I am the Avatar, and these people, they need me to help them, to defend them.”

“You wouldn't have been of any help to them if you’d been captured by the Fire Army. Or worse, if you’d…” Claudine trails off. “Gone down fighting.”

Maya chuckles. “That’s exactly what Otori-san and the generals told me. That all I could do was to run, and live to fight another day.” There’s a hint of bitterness punctuating those words, like she wishes she hadn’t. “But I suppose they were right. It was a… Necessary defeat. One that I couldn't regret for long. I was arrogant. I believed too much of myself. The loss of the North was a reminder that I still have much to learn.”

There’s a faraway look in her eye as she speaks. “That’s why I need to get better quickly and get to Omashu in time. I can’t make the same mistake again.”

Claudine doesn't know how to respond. What does someone even say in a situation like this? What words exist to comfort someone whose life was determined from her birth, whose every mistake costs people their lives? Do such words even exist? And even if they do, can she even hope to say them sincerely, when her entire plan involves stealing Maya away from her duty to take her back to the Fire Nation?

So instead, Claudine hesitantly draws her hand out of her pocket. Slowly, unsurely, she moves it to rest atop Maya’s — her frigid, numb skin against Maya’s warmth. A wordless affirmation: I'm here for you. 

Am I?

Is she? They’re fighting on different sides. Yes, she’d lied to Kirin to protect her, and yes, here she is taking her mortal enemy to get treatment for her wounds, but when it really gets down to it, when the Northern Water Tribe is all said and done and she has to decide what to do next, is Claudine really, truly, able to say she's here for Maya? 

Her fingers curl against the back of Maya’s palm. 

“Oh?” Maya teases. The forlorn look in her eyes has dissipated, replaced by that playful mirth Claudine knows all too well. “What’s this?”

The wind is ticklish against Claudine’s skin; she can't tell if the burn in her cheeks is coming from the cold or the… everything else. 

“Don’t be annoying,” she snaps, bending a half-hearted puff of flame at Maya which she deflects with a laugh. “I just wanted to put my hand down and yours was in the way. No big deal,” Claudine says, not even trying to sound convincing. 

“Of course,” Maya smiles. Claudine finds it hard to maintain her scowl. 

The ship’s horn bellows suddenly, and Claudine's head snaps towards the front of the ship. Directly ahead of the Seisho ’s path, towering mighty tall, the icy walls of the Northern Water Tribe begin to come into view. They’re a majestic feat of bending, if anything: as tall as the ship and as thick as a proper building, encircling the city in several rings for extra protection. 

But the walls and all their glory were no match for the Fire Nation, after all. 

Huge, blood-red Fire Nation insignia banners are thrown over the walls, billowing slightly in the wind. The guards atop the wall scurry about to get the gate open when they spot the Seisho,  but they aren’t waterbenders, no, not when they don the familiar masked helmets of the Fire Army. 

Claudine shivers. 

They’re here.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been home, Futaba-han,” Kaoruko mumbles, waddling along in her parka.

Futaba nods, jaw clenched. “The soldiers are new.”

She’s right: in addition to the Fire Nation banners adorning every building, bridge, and wall, there are Fire Army soldiers patrolling the streets in droves. Their faces are masked by the standard-issue helmets and faceplates, so they don’t seem to respond to the hateful glares levelled at them by the citizens as they walk past. Still, it’s exceedingly clear, even at a glance, that the public opinion is firmly against their occupiers.

Luckily, the guards also present an easy way to hide their fugitive until they get to their destination. 

“These are rather uncomfortable, Saijou-san.”

The voice is somewhat muffled from under the helmet, but still unmistakably Maya’s. Donning one of the spare soldiers’ uniforms they had on the Seisho, she looks completely indistinguishable from the actual guards on patrol — well, she would if she knew to stop talking to her commander so casually in public. 

“Well, it’s a necessary evil. You have an awfully recognisable face, Avatar,” Claudine hisses under her breath. “And I know you didn’t graduate from military school like the rest of us, but regular soldiers don’t usually talk so freely to their commanding officer.”

Maya harrumphs, almost inaudibly, but she obediently slows her pace to trail behind Futaba and Kaoruko (the others had stayed aboard the ship for some maintenance work, and Shiori had insisted on staying with her sister, but everyone would be joining them at the healers’ after they finished). Somehow, the sulkiness radiates off of her with each step. Claudine finds herself having to resist the urge to laugh, but she does allow herself a little smirk. It’s… It’s cute, she thinks, and even just at the thought of those words she can feel her face reddening. So what if no one else in their right minds would describe Tendou Maya, of all people, like that. Claudine can’t help it if it’s true!

The heat radiating off her face is almost enough to cancel out the temperature of the North Pole, and Claudine has to remind herself, gently, that this is a thought that no one will ever hear, so there’s no use in getting embarrassed over it.

Truthfully, all this is a distraction — it’s impossible not to feel the sour, vengeful looks being thrown their way, and if she focuses on it even a second too long it starts feeling nauseating. How hadn’t she noticed any of this earlier? It isn’t like this is her first time here or anything, so she must’ve been able to filter out all the animosity in all her devotion to the Fire Nation.

She shudders, from the cold or the stares, she doesn't know. But it’s fine, all of this is fine; the icy buildings around them are getting fewer and fewer, making way for the barren tundra landscape. Just a few more minutes and they should be out of the prying eyes of the public, safely behind guarded walls. 

“Say, Kuro-han,” Kaoruko says, casting a furtive glance around. If being here is uncomfortable for Claudine, then she can’t even imagine what it must be like for Kaoruko, whose name and face is undoubtedly known throughout the city as a traitor’s. “Where exactly are we headed?”

“One of the old families of the city. They specialise in healing, and I read about them in our files and figured they would be the best people to go to.”

“Right,” Kaoruko says swiftly. “You wouldn't happen to have a name, would ya? Because it’s a small world, after all, and an even smaller North Pole, so I might know these people—”

She cuts herself off, abruptly. They’ve arrived: a snaking wall of ice greets them, swallowing the tundra landscape. Men patrol the walls, moving like little ants, but even from down here Claudine can see that they’re armed. The gate, though, comprises a delicate lattice of ice, allowing them to see inside the compound, where they can make out smaller buildings dotted about, connected by expanses of ice and snow, a stark contrast to the lush greens of the architecture in the Earth Kingdom. Cutting through all the blue is the same fiery red banner of the Fire Nation, though haphazardly displayed — crooked and fading and hastily thrown over the walls in a clear act of lip service. 

And to top it all off, carved into the gate pillar in an elegant, flourishing script: Tomoe. 

Beside Claudine, Kaoruko stiffens. 

“Oh, hell.”

The people of the Northern Water Tribe had fought valiantly through the siege of the city all those months ago. It was a fact that not even the Fire Lord could deny, given the sheer volume of casualties the army had endured. 

Perhaps it was to be expected — fire and water, opposed in every sense of the word. Of course the Fire Nation would find the greatest trouble dealing with them. Freezing, drowing, capsizing… Nothing was off-limits to the desperate waterbenders. 

But the city eventually fell, and the citizens weren’t happy, obviously. Claudine had gotten a first-hand taste of it walking through the town just moments earlier. But even now, tucked away in the guest hall of a private estate, Claudine can feel the resentment of the people, if only because Tomoe Tamao seems intent on making her wait as long as possible, purely out of petty spite. 

Though, if there’s one person who doesn't seem to mind the delay, it’s Kaoruko. 

“Out of all the places in the damn world…” she mutters, pacing about. 

“It was your idea to come here,” Claudine says stonily. 

Kaoruko pauses to look over at her, and an exaggeratedly wide smile crosses her face. “Oh, I’m sorry, did I say ‘Hey, you know what would be really cool? If we went to the Tomoe estate! Wouldn’t that be fun?’” The smile suddenly drops, and she levels Claudine a glare chillier than the outside air. “No! Last I checked, all I said is that we should go to the Northern Water Tribe! What part of that entails being here right now?”

“How was I supposed to know you’ve got history with this Tomoe person? I didn't even know she existed until a few days ago!”

“Uh, common sense? Is that too much to ask around here?”

Claudine glances over at Futaba pleadingly, but all she’s doing is leaning against a wall with her arms crossed, watching with mild disinterest. Clearly, someone’s too tired to intervene, and Maya isn't much help either, simply watching impassively from the sidelines, her helmets masking any reaction she might be having. 

Claudine shudders. She’d never noticed how horrifyingly emotionless that uniform was. 

But back to the matter at hand: apparently alone in this, Claudine sighs. “I'm sorry I didn't ask you for your opinion first, okay?”

Kaoruko hmphs in response, crossing her arms sulkily. 

“But we’re here because we need to get Maya healthy again as fast as possible, and the Tomoes are our best bet. So please, could you just… Bear it for the next few days?”

Kaoruko purses her lip, brows furrowed. “Fine,” she says through gritted teeth. “I'll be tolerable.”

“Thank you,” Claudine smiles. “Besides, how bad could it be?”

“I hope you know you’re not welcome here.”

All of them turn to the doorway, where a young woman stands, dressed in flowing blue robes. Her dark blue hair is tucked behind her ears, bangs coming over her eyebrows, which gives her a gentle, almost timid look. Yet, her voice is irritated and resolute, and there’s a fire in her purple irises that’s strangely chilling. 

“We’ve done nothing wrong this time, and I won't let you intimidate us on our own property,” she continues, a sharpness to her words. 

Tomoe Tamao, acting head of the Tomoe family. Her mother and grandmother have been sent to a Fire Nation prison for their involvement in the defence of the city, which means she has every right to despise Claudine’s presence. But the Tomoes are apparently the best healers in the world, and they really need Tamao’s help. 

But before Claudine can explain why they’re here, Tamao’s eyes flick across the room, landing squarely on Kaoruko — and suddenly, the fire in her eyes blazes into outright hatred. 

“Oh, great, now she's definitely going to be nice to us,” Kaoruko sighs. 

“Are you here to gloat?” Tamao says, dangerously low. “Do you want to talk about how much better you're doing after defecting?”

Kaoruko rolls her eyes, and she begins to speak in that over the top voice again. “Oh, please, don't get me started. Why don't you take a seat, I'll need all day.”

Clearly, though, the sarcasm doesn't land with Tamao. 

“You’re a traitor. You, and your entire family. I can't believe you have the… The audacity to waltz into my house after all these years, with your military commander, of all people! Just to brag about your life now!” Her fists clench, her eyes screw shut; and then a split-second later, Tamao’s lowered herself into a fighting stance, a ring of water coming up to surround her.

Immediately, Futaba rushes over to Kaoruko, shielding her with her own body. Claudine yelps, instinctively getting into a ready stance. “Tamao, don't—”

“I don't care if I get arrested! I… I won't tolerate this insult to our name—”

“Stand down, Tomoe-san.”

Everyone turns to the source of the sound. Maya has stepped forward, her helmet hastily yanked off. 

“A-Avatar Maya?” Tamao lets the water splash to the ground around her, arms dropping. 

“Look at her, suddenly all demure,” Kaoruko mumbles. Futaba elbows her.

Tamao gapes at Maya for a long moment, eyes flicking between her face where her brown hair is pulled back into a messy bun, and her body clad in the stiff lines of a Fire Army uniform. It’s a strange sight, Claudine realises, one that must be quite the shock to anyone else.

“Tomoe-san,” Maya greets. “It’s been a while, hasn't it?”

Tamao blinks. “Well, yes. I haven't seen you since the siege, but… Why have you come back?”

“She’s injured,” Claudine says, stepping forward. “There was an altercation in the Earth Kingdom, and she sustained some internal injuries. I came here today to ask if you would heal her.”

Maya nods along as Claudine speaks, a pleasant smile plastered on her face; but Tamao squints at Claudine suspiciously. 

“You're in charge of the hunt for the Avatar,” she states.

“Indeed.”

A pause. Then: “Why would you want your nemesis in peak condition?”

“Does the reason really matter?”

“With all due respect, Commander Saijou, my entire family is in prison. I need to be sure that this isn’t some plot to implicate us even further.”

“Are you serious,” Claudine says. “Tendou Maya is standing right there! Why would she agree to this if it was some trick?”

“Please answer the question, Commander.”

“Tomoe-san, I can give my word that Saijou-san has no bad intentions,” Maya says.

Tamao steps forward, eyes narrowed. “And I appreciate that, Tendou-san, but I want to hear it from her. I hope you’ll understand that I’m reluctant to see any firebenders in a positive light after everything they’ve done.”

Claudine retreats on instinct, the fire in Tamao’s eyes overwhelming in the moment. It’s easy enough to ignore the peoples’ hatred when you’re out in public and you can almost pretend they’re not looking at you, but up close and personal like this, that glare, it freezes her blood dry, sets every hair on its end. Hatred that she somehow hadn’t noticed before. Hatred that slaps her across the face tenfold now that she’s awake, now that she can see it all unfiltered.

“I know it’s hard to trust me,” Claudine says quietly. “My country has done some terrible things to your people, and truth to be told, I’m still not sure how I feel about all of it. But I came all this way because she needed help, and I couldn’t bear to see it denied. So please, I hope you’ll heal her.” Claudine glances up at Maya, who watches her intently, a curious look in her eye. “If not because you trust me, then because you trust the Avatar.”

Tamao stares at her in surprised silence, navy eyes studying Claudine closely.

Finally, she sighs. “Fine. I’ll do it. But not for you, and especially not for her,” she snarls the last word, jerking her head towards Kaoruko, who thankfully doesn’t respond any further than giving a withering glare. “I’m doing this for the Avatar. For the world.”

Claudine smiles. “I wouldn’t expect any less of you.”

“Saijou Claudine. From today onwards you will take the rank of Commander. Your mission is to find the Princess and put an end to her foolish escapades. Arrest her, and bring her back here so she may return to her duties.”

Shiny new metal ship. The novel scent of salt in the air. Fresh-faced crew, all hand-picked and eager to serve. Hubris, and pride, and something more.

The first meeting — months after they’d last met, and she’s still the exact same, then and every instance after, too. That same twinkle in her eyes. That same effortless ease fights with; not a drop of sweat shed. It’s easy to slip into old habits. The irritation when she grins too wide. The meaningless insults, like they have any effect on her. Always waved off with the same amused smile.

Days into weeks into months at sea. Rust and barnacles on metal. Waking up to the stench of salt. Hatred breeds easily when you’re chasing ghosts for so long.

And then;

Then, the volta.

The unprecedented defeat. Weaker than she’d ever been; more open than she’d ever been. The face behind the mask, the layers under the surface. The same person, yet not. 

Tendou Maya and the Avatar. One and the same. Diametrically opposed. Her greatest enemy, her one target, and it’s easier to let her guard down around Maya than with anyone else.

“I’d missed you.”

Heart-stopping. Breath-stealing. What have you done to me.

I missed you too.

The temperature seems to have dropped several degrees when Claudine wakes up in the Tomoe estate the next day. Cursing under her breath, she makes sure to slip on a thicker jacket before wandering into the hall for breakfast.

“Mornin’, Kuro-chan!”

It’s not one of her crew members who greets her, contrary to what the nickname would suggest. Instead, Claudine’s met with a messy mop of dusty pink hair as soon as she steps through the threshold. Otonashi Ichie: an airbender who serves as one of Tamao’s retainers and seems remarkably excited by all the new faces in the compound, even if they’re from the Fire Nation. She’d hit it off with Aruru last night, and Claudine’s willing to bet that’s where Ichie learned her nickname from.

“Morning, Ichie,” Claudine replies, carefully sidestepping her. She spots Kaoruko hunched over at the table with Futaba and walks up to them, drawing herself a seat. “Is… Is Tendou Maya awake?” she asks, glancing around the room, which is deserted apart from the four of them and—

“She’s with Tamao-sama already,” a new voice cuts in.

Ah, there she is. Tamao’s other retainer; tall, lanky Akikaze Rui, who tries to sound imposing, but Claudine catches the way she fidgets nervously with the handle of the sword tied to her waist. Unlike Ichie, Rui seems to share Tamao’s distrust of them, and she hadn’t exactly been thrilled to invite a whole group of Fire Army soldiers in. 

Now, Rui scrutinises her every movement with a hand on her sword, as if waiting for Claudine to reveal her wicked intentions and start attacking them. It’s somewhat endearing, Claudine supposes, if a little overbearing.

“Tamao-sama said she has to start the sessions early in the morning if you want to meet your deadline,” Rui says, and Claudine doesn’t miss the way her gaze softens when she mentions Tamao’s name.

“Oh,” Claudine says. It was to be expected, but it does leave her a little disappointed. After the past few days on the Seisho, she’d gotten kind of used to spending her days with Maya.

Just to pass the time! It gets boring after sailing for that long, okay?

Across from her, there’s a rustling as Futaba elbows Kaoruko. “Ya hear that, Kaoruko?”

Rather uncharacteristically, Kaoruko only stares tiredly at Futaba. “What?” she mumbles grumpily.

Futaba sighs. “Kuro-ko asked about Tendou first thing when she came in. Ain't that interestin’?”

“Oh.” Kaoruko’s eyes don’t hold the same mischief they normally do, which you'd think would be a breath of fresh air, but really, it’s just worrying. “Well how about that. Go, Kuro-han,” she says, lacklustre. Futaba digs her palms in her face, looking somewhere between genuinely worried and kind of fed up.

“What’s up with her?” Claudine asks.

“She’s not happy bein’ in the same radius as Tomoe. Says she wants to be back on the Seisho.”

“What, next you’re gonna try telling me grass is pink.” 

“Oh, piss off,” Kaoruko grumbles, smashing her forehead into the table. “You try living in the house of someone who wishes you were never born. Let’s see how you feel then.”

“That’s not true! Tamao-sama would never think so awfully about anyone!” Rui cries, before she realises who she’s talking to. “Oh, um. B-But I guess if we’re talking about Fire Nation scum like you—”

“I’m from the Water Tribe.” Kaoruko raises her head, looking grumpier than Claudine’s ever seen her, which is saying a lot. “Tamao-han thinks we betrayed the nation and everything, which is all well and good, she can think whatever she wants. But that doesn’t suddenly make me a firebender,” she says, glaring at Rui. “I spent a pretty big part of my childhood here that I wish people like Tamao-sama wouldn’t ignore.”

The room sits in a stunned, blank silence. “Can we talk about something else now?” Kaoruko snaps.

Ichie takes the chance to cut in. “Oh! I know! Why don’t Rui and I take you into town to hang out? Maybe it’ll cheer you up!” Rui makes a choked sound; clearly she hadn’t planned for this.

Kaoruko mock-smiles (it seems like she’s been doing that an awful lot lately), voice growing three times sweeter. “Sure, great idea! Let’s just forget about the fact that I’m Public Enemy Number One everywhere I go around here, why don’t we!”

And Ichie, bless her and her thick skin, merely giggles. “I mean, the only reason why people recognised you as Hanayagi Kaoruko in the first place is because you’re wearing all that Fire Nation garb! But I can tell you for sure, if you ditch all that and try blending in with the rest of us, no one’s gonna bat an eye.”

Futaba nudges Kaoruko, who actually looks contemplative. “Please? Y’know ya always feel better after a shoppin’ trip.”

So Kaoruko acquiesces, and Ichie lets out a whoop (though Rui looks slightly less thrilled). She brings them some spare clothes to change into so they don’t stick out, and Claudine realises how long it’s been since she’s worn anything other than the deep maroons of her uniform. It’s strangely freeing to look in the mirror and no longer see that violent brightness staring back at you.

They head into town, a strange party of five, with Ichie leading them around the market excitedly and Rui trailing behind watchfully. It’s just like Ichie had said — no one recognises them, and almost instantly it seems the weight has been lifted off Kaoruko’s shoulders. She’s dragging Futaba around, pointing at all the different wares and accessories, sounding back to her old self. Claudine, for her part, can’t remember the last time she’d been to a market for fun, and not to restock the Seisho. 

It must’ve been a long time ago. A simpler time.

She watches Kaoruko run around for a bit, Futaba grumbling as she follows but clearly relieved that she’s back to her old self, and Claudine can’t help but smile. How long has it been since their last real break? She wanders along the stalls, glancing over the goods. At some point, she spots a set of porcelain utensils sporting turtle-duck patterns and has to suppress a chuckle — Tendou Maya would probably like these. She’d always been fond of the animal, and Claudine remembers how she’d spend the breaks between sparring sessions feeding the baby turtle-ducks in the royal garden.

Somewhere along the way she becomes aware of Ichie sidling up next to her, bouncing on her heels, hands behind her back coyly.

“Y’know, you’re interesting, Kuro-chan,” she says, pink head of hair bobbing around in Claudine’s vision.

“Hm?”

“You’re… Not what I expected. I always thought Fire Nation commanders would be all mean and serious and stuck up and stuff. I always pictured them as these wrinkly old geezers who were probably born two Avatars ago and never smiled once in all that time.” She turns to Claudine, head tilted curiously. “But you’re not that.”

Claudine blinks, not quite sure what to say. She settles for a quiet mumble of, “Thanks”, and then, rather unsurely, “You’re not what I expected either. I thought you’d be…”

Be what? What did she think of the people from the other nations? She’d never really seen them in the same light as all her generals did — paper-thin, vapid peoples from a land with little to offer. Kaoruko and Futaba weren’t firebenders, after all, and Claudine had never really seen them any differently than her other subordinates. But the people of the other nations, the ordinary citizens… They’d always been a shapeless blob in her mind. Faceless beings, void of emotion.

Fire is naturally superior, the academy had taught her. The other nations are primitive and backwards, and it is our job to save them.

But Claudine looks around now, and she doesn’t see that at all. She sees the little airbender with the bounce in her step, the fidgety swordswoman watching her, eagle-eyed, the market vendors who haggle and bargain with their customers just like any merchant back home would. Children play on the streets; people walk about in groups chatting and laughing. It’s all so normal, more or less a picture straight from the city she grew up in, and Claudine doesn’t know how anyone could see all this and think they’re any different from the Fire Nation. In fact, the only unnatural thing in this whole scene is the occasional Fire Army patrol passing through the street, a stark eyesore against everything else.

A bloodstain on pristine blue robes. Unnatural. Disconcerting.

A chill blows past. 

“Hm? You thought I’d be..?” Ichie asks.

Claudine shivers. “I’m not sure.”

They stay out for the rest of the day. Ichie gives them a tour around the city, pointing out the important buildings and the good restaurants and her favourite bridges, to which Kaoruko always makes an off-hand comment about how things were back when she lived here. But in any case, the main objective seems to have been successful: Kaoruko’s in an awfully good mood, and Claudine almost dreads the return of her antics. Eventually the sky darkens and Rui insists they head back before Claudine and the others ‘get up to mischief’, but even then, Kaoruko’s high spirits aren’t even dampened by their return. Indeed, as soon as they’re back, she skips off towards the hot springs for a bath. Ichie and Futaba head back into the dining hall to talk with the others, which leaves just Claudine and Rui.

“I’m going to go find Tamao-sama,” Rui says.

“Tendou Maya’s probably still with her, right? I’ll come too,” Claudine says hastily. Rui nods, and the two of them walk in silence to Tamao’s hut. 

“U-Um. Wait here,” Rui stammers, ducking inside. Claudine chuckles. For as imposing as she seems, Rui’s kind of endearingly awkward.

Claudine does as she says, but now that the sun’s down it’s gotten almost unbearably cold, and even with her firebending temperature regulation it feels like she’s about to turn into a block of ice. For a while she contemplates giving up and heading back to her quarters, but a stubborn voice in her head insists upon her staying to wait. Stupid internal voices and their irrationalities.

“Saijou-san?”

Claudine looks up from where she’s been holding puffs of flame in her palm just to warm herself — and there stands Tendou Maya wrapped up in furs, looking slightly bewildered at Claudine’s presence.

“Finally,” Claudine snaps. “What took you so long? It’s freezing out here.”

Maya blinks. Then, slowly, she breaks into a smile, and the air around her seems to grow a little brighter. “My apologies. I didn’t know you were waiting for me. Shall we head inside?” she asks, holding out a hand.

Huffing, Claudine takes it. “Sure, before I freeze to death out here.”

It’s only a few seconds after they’ve begun walking that Claudine realises her mistake — I’m holding Tendou Maya’s hand. Horror overcomes her; what was she thinking? Is the cold numbing her brain or something? And yet, Claudine can’t bring herself to yank her hand away for some stupid reason. Curse the cold and its mind-numbing prowess.

“H-How was today?” she asks, desperate to have a distraction.

“Quite productive, I have to say. I’m a lot less dizzy when I bend or move around now. Tomoe-san is a very talented healer.” Their interlocked hands sway as they walk, and Claudine’s eyes follow the movement, doing back and forth, back and forth. “She’s helping me to meditate too, so that I can hopefully reach the Avatar State.”

“That’s good,” Claudine says, thankful that her voice hasn’t betrayed her. “So I guess you’ll be busy the whole day again tomorrow.”

Maya hums in confirmation. “Probably the next few days, too,” she adds, and Claudine’s surprised to find herself slightly disappointed.

Worse still: the horrific realisation that Claudine can feel her heart racing as they walk. The kind of wild beating that echoes in your ears and makes you hyper aware of every little sensation on your skin. The warmth of Maya’s hand against her chilly fingers, the way her hair sways behind her in the wind. Every little detail; they hook onto Claudine and threaten to never let go.

Thump. Thump. The lifeline that had tied her to Maya when she found her battered in Gaoling all those days ago. Now turned against her; every pound of her heart an indent in her chest, constricting her throat. A drumming that persists even after she finally parts ways with Maya, and now all she can do is stumble into her room and sit on her bed in a silent state of shock, feeling the strange lightness in her head and the ten-pound weight beating against her chest.

A drumming that has just barely subsided the next day when she wakes up, and it’s like she can feel the faraway, ghostly echoes in the cavern of her chest, beating away. 

This damned heart.

Claudine stumbles over to the mirror, taking in the rosiness of her cheeks, the wide-eyed look that colours her face. “Get it together, Saijou,” she says through gritted teeth.

And she does manage to, at first, when Futaba finds her and demands they spar, which Claudine accepts on account that it’s been a while since she had last practised her bending. She manages to win with some difficulty (Futaba’s aggressive volley of earthen spikes had her on the defensive for a bit, but Claudine manages to dodge for long enough to tire her out before winning with a decisive fire punch), at which point Kaoruko teases Futaba a little too hard and gets pushed into the ring by the latter (despite her loud protests). Claudine swiftly defeats her too, and then after that there seems to be a never-ending line of challengers from amongst the Seisho crew — Aruru, Misora, and a well-rested looking Yuyuko — who were watching from the side, entranced. Even Rui shyly comes up to request a match at some point, and she holds up surprisingly well despite being a nonbender. 

Hello, familiar heat. Sweat drips from the crown of her head; the flames lick at her skin. But it’s relaxing, in a way. It’s easy to lose herself in the roar of the fire. Easy to forget what she was so worked up about this morning.

But then the sunset hours come, casting the sky in a gradient of purples and oranges, and the bone-deep chill sets in once more. The group disperses, and, guided by muscle memory, or perhaps something more, Claudine finds herself drawn back to the outside of Tamao’s hut, shivering in the cold as she waits.

I don’t need to be here. The thought enters her head suddenly, and logically speaking going inside would probably be better on multiple fronts. But her feet stubbornly refuse to move, like someone’s bent solid ice around them, and she waits anyway — even when her teeth begin to chatter and she swears she can feel ice forming on her lashes.

A murmur of voices sounds from inside the hut, and Claudine perks up; sure enough, Maya emerges a few seconds later, eyes wide in surprise. “You’re here again,” she says dumbly.

“Good observation,” Claudine snarks, though it comes out significantly less sharp than she’d intended. She begins to walk away, burying her face into the collar of her coat. “Now let’s go. I’ve had enough of the cold for today.”

Maya’s surprise gives way to an amused giggle, and she skips forward to catch up with Claudine. “Saijou-san, you’re a firebender. The cold shouldn’t bother you this much.”

“It gets tiring using up so much energy warming myself up all the time. I’d rather just stay inside.”

She catches Maya grinning at her out of the corner of her eye and can’t help but turn to face her, one eyebrow raised expectantly. “What?” she snaps.

Maya purses her lip in mock contemplation, stroking her chin exaggeratedly before asking in that familiar teasing tone: “If it’s that much hassle, then why did you wait?”

Claudine nearly trips — nevermind that the path is as clear as it can be. She steadies herself, nothing but strained choking noises escaping her lips, and somewhere beyond her fluster she can vaguely register Maya’s giggling filling the air. 

“I-I… I’m just making sure you don’t use the chance to escape, stupid!” Claudine snaps unconvincingly. Maya’s snickers don’t subside, and Claudine feels her face growing red-hot (well, at least it’s good for the cold). “S-Stop laughing at me!” she cries, stopping; yet she feels a strange lightness in her chest. Maya does stop, eventually, the sound growing softer and softer until it comes to a halt, and somehow Claudine feels that this might be worse. But the mirth and the glee is still visible in her gaze and the beam that remains plastered on her face, and maybe that is enough.

“Horrible woman,” Claudine says, resuming her walk. Maya only hums innocently in response.

They walk together like that for a while, where the mild glow of the lamps casts Maya’s face in this perfect golden light against the blackness of the night. Objectively, Claudine thinks, Maya is a good-looking woman. She always has been; even as far back as their days in the Academy she’d always had her admirers. There’s no shame in admitting that much. 

No shame at all.

She’s drawn out of her thoughts when she feels something wrap around her arm. Stiffening instinctively, she turns to find Maya linking their arms together, humming nonchalantly as she does so.

Thump. Thump. Thump. “W-W-What are you doing!” Claudine half-gasps, a messy, incoherent garble of confused, panicked screams filling her brain. She can feel the warmth of Maya’s body even through both their coats — is she doing that on purpose? — and the close contact is making her hyper aware of every little movement she makes. 

Can Maya feel her heart beating like a war drum against her chest; banging so hard she thinks it might explode out of her? Can she feel the heat radiating off Claudine’s cheeks, those twin blazing infernos on her face? Does Maya know, is she aware of the electric impact she has on Claudine? The way she struggles to breathe when Maya’s this close?

Maya quirks her head. Her lilac eyes brim with emotion, and Claudine takes it all in in excruciating detail, like she’ll never see Maya again. “You’re cold, aren’t you? I’ll warm you up.”

Thump. Thump. Thump.

This damn heart. This damned body, betraying her in every way imaginable.

They arrive back at the guest quarters, where Maya finally unlatches herself from Claudine and steps back. Maybe it’s just the lighting, but Claudine swears her cheeks are dusted pink too; but then again that could always be an effect of the cold.

Cold? What cold? She was heating herself up like a goddamn furnace for you just seconds ago!

“R-Right, then,” Claudine says awkwardly. “I’ll just…”

“Right,” Maya says, averting her eyes uncharacteristically. “I should… Too. Yes.” She clears her throat, wringing her hands in front of her. “Um. Goodnight, Saijou-san.”

Claudine nods jerkily. “Right. You too. Goodnight, Maya.”

She watches Maya retreat down the hall, the steady, rhythmic booming of her heart still overwhelmingly loud in her ears; she has to take a moment to steady herself against the wall. It feels like she’s been punched in the face, except there’s none of the pain that comes with any of that, just the dizzying, numbing feeling of her head spinning in circles.

I have to go… Do something about this.

Her instincts guide her on shaky legs — she finds herself shuffling to a door that isn’t her own and knocks demurely on it. There’s a bit of a ruckus from the other side of the door, before it swings open to reveal Futaba staring at her in open-mouthed shock.

“Kuro-ko? What are you doin’ here?” she squints at Claudine’s coat, still dusted in specks of snow. “Did ya just get back inside?”

“Is Kaoruko inside? Are you both free?” 

“No I’m not, go away,” comes a voice that is very clearly Kaoruko from inside the room. Futaba rolls her eyes and steps aside, gesturing for Claudine to come in before shutting the door behind her.

“What’s up with you?” Kaoruko says as soon as she spots Claudine. Her brow furrows as she takes it all in: the pinkish cheeks, the stunned, staggering movement. “Did you see a ghost or something?”

“Kaoruko, Futaba,” Claudine says shakily. “I think… I think I’m in love with Tendou Maya.”

The words spill out of her before she can stop herself, and a fresh wave of dizziness overcomes her. Her senses fail her; the world melts into blurriness and the sounds in the room fade away to a background murmur. Speaking those words into the world makes them… Makes it real, and it’s suddenly impossible to deny the truth of it. 

She’s in love with Tendou Maya. She looks at Maya, and she wants to commit every minute detail to memory; every second with her is a memory to be clutched to her chest until the end of time. She touches Maya, and it feels like she’s cradling the universe in her hands. Everything melts away when they’re together, until it’s just the two of them in their own canvas, splashed with gradients of crimson into lilac and back again. Crimson into lilac; the way it’s always been. 

It feels like years pass when she finally comes back to reality, and she realises that someone’s sat her down on a bed, where Futaba and Kaoruko stand over her. Futaba eyes her with concern; Kaoruko just stands with her arms crossed and face drawn tight.

“So was that all?” she asks.

“Kaoruko!” Futaba cries, smacking her arm. 

“What?” She holds her arms up in mock surrender, tone growing defensive. “All I’m saying is, this isn’t really the big news Kuro-han’s pretending it is!”

Claudine blinks. “It’s not?”

This time, both Futaba and Kaoruko turn to her with horrified looks. “You mean it is?” Futaba frowns.

“Have you seriously been tuning all our teasing out this whole time?” Kaoruko asks, sounding far more offended than she has any right to be.

“I thought you guys were just being assholes!”

“Excuse you!” Kaoruko gasps. “I might be an asshole, but I’m an asshole with good judgement first and foremost!”

“Let’s get back to the main point,” Futaba says impatiently. “‘Grats on finally realisin’, Kuro-ko.”

“ Finally being the keyword here,” Kaoruko mutters.

Futaba ignores her. “So… Why are you here?”

“What… What am I supposed to do now?” Claudine asks. “You guys are kinda the only people here in an actual relationship, so I was hoping you’d know what to do.”

“Yeah, well we just sorta happened. I don’t think we’re qualified to give advice.”

“No, actually, I think I am,” says Kaoruko. “Kuro-han, all you have to do is nothing.”

“What.”

“I’m serious! Just keep doing what you’ve been doing the whole time, there’s more than enough tension there to get something to happen sooner or later. You don’t need to worry about it. But what you do need to worry about,” her voice drops suddenly, and her eyes narrow dangerously. “What are you going to do after Tendou-han is all healed up?”

Oh.

All at once, her heart plummets. She hasn’t thought about that at all. 

What will she do when this is over? She can’t just expect things to go smoothly given… Given everything that’s at stake. Her career, and Maya’s very purpose in life. The war, and all the lives that hang in the balance. Where do you find the space for petty emotions like love in all of that? Much less the love between two people who were destined to be apart from the very moment of their births. Sirius and Laelaps, cursed to the eternal chase. Never to be together. 

“I don’t know,” she whispers. “I have no idea at all.”

It’s hard for Claudine to fall asleep that night; she tosses and turns for a good few hours, unable to get her mind off Kaoruko’s words. When she does manage to doze off it’s an uneasy sleep — filled with vague recollections of a throne of flames, the booming voice of a faraway ruler tying her to her quest.

When she wakes up, she doesn’t feel particularly well-rested at all. But lying in bed contemplating the situation even further doesn’t really sound all that appealing, so Claudine forces herself to get up. She takes a while to make sure she looks as composed and decidedly normal as possible, at which point she decides to go get something to eat and hopefully talk to the others for some form of distraction. The dining hall is a lot more packed today: Aruru, Misora, and Ichie are giggling together in a corner, Yuyuko is surprisingly awake and (even more surprisingly) talking to Rui, who seems a lot less tense today. Nana’s taken over the kitchen and is cooking up a storm as always.

Well, at least it’s peaceful here; it manages to offset Claudine’s inner turmoil a little. She takes a seat, sighing to no one in particular.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Nana chirps, a concerned smile on her face.

“I guess you could say that,” Claudine mumbles. “But it’s fine. Today feels like it’s going to be a great day, and I’m sure I’ll feel much better—”

Almost on cue, voices come ricocheting from the outside hallway, interrupting the calm. Moments later, Fumi and Shiori come into view, Shiori a little out of breath from trying to catch up to her sister.

“Can we just sit down and have a proper conversation for once?” she cries. Claudine flinches, and she’s pretty sure she isn’t the only one.

“Shiori, I’m not in the mood for this right now,” Fumi sighs, stopping in her tracks suddenly and turning to face her younger sister. “Look, we’ll talk some other time, okay?”

“You keep saying that!” The entire room goes silent; no one was aware tiny little Shiori’s voice could grow that loud. Suddenly, the air seems to have stilled, and everyone’s attentions turn to the Yumeojis. “You keep saying that, but then you keep on ignoring me! When is some other time, onee-chan? You’re free right now, aren’t you? So can we just sit down and talk like we used to?”

“Shiori,” Fumi says, strained. Her hands clench by her sides, and she’s pointedly avoiding eye contact. “I just… I don’t—”

But Shiori keeps going: “What happened to you, onee-chan? You’re not the sister I remember!”

“That sister is dead!” Fumi yells, so loudly and angrily that Shiori gasps and falls silent as her voice reverberates around the room. Fumi, too, looks horrified by how that had come out, but the wide-eyed expression on her face melts away within seconds, replaced by the hard scowl that’s become familiar to the crew of the Seisho. “The Yumeoji Fumi you remember is dead, Shiori. So let it go,” she says, coldly. A hardness in her eyes, but Claudine catches the way her arms tremble.

“Onee-chan,” Shiori whispers, eyes glassy. Minutes seem to pass where it feels like no one’s breathing; and then her face twists into something else, some form of rage uncharacteristic of a young girl like her, and she’s about to say something when—

“Okay, that’s enough,” Claudine declares, hopping off her stool. “You guys both need to cool off. Fumi, come with me. The rest of you, take care of Shiori.” She doesn’t give anyone a chance to protest, grabbing Fumi by the wrist and dragging her out of the room. Thankfully, she hears the dragging of chairs and some vague words of comfort from the dining hall as she leaves, which puts her mind at ease.

And Fumi, on her part, doesn’t really resist, letting herself be dragged wordlessly into an empty room where Claudine sits her on the floor and shuts the door behind them. She looks completely shell-shocked: eyes wide and blank, mouth parted slightly like she can’t believe any of that had just transpired. 

“I-I’m sorry for acting out, Commander,” she says quietly. “I should have had a better handle on my emotions.”

Claudine leans against the door with her arms crossed, tapping a finger thoughtfully against her arm. “I’m not concerned with the outburst itself, Fumi. There’s nothing in the code of conduct saying we’re not allowed to express our emotions. What I think we need to address is why you felt that way.”

“I said that in a moment of frustration. I didn’t mean it.”

“I know you didn’t.” Claudine lowers herself to the ground now, locking eyes with Fumi. “I know for a fact that you love your sister a lot, and that you’ve missed her over the past few years. I wouldn’t have allowed her on my ship if I wasn’t absolutely certain that it was what you wanted.” Fumi’s lips press together, and she averts her eyes, but Claudine keeps going. “So that begs the question… Why are you pushing Shiori away?”

Silence. Complete, dizzying silence, save for the gentle murmur of voices from down the hall melting through the walls. It feels like minutes or hours pass like that: Fumi remains quiet, as if she can make Claudine back off by sheer non-cooperation alone. But if there’s one word to describe Saijou Claudine, it’s stubborn, and Fumi is not going to win this battle if she can help it.

Finally, she sighs, shoulders drooping.

“We aren’t important, y’know,” Fumi mumbles. “My family, I mean. Not like Hanayagi-san's, anyway. In the years leading up to the war, commoners like us didn’t get to stay in the Fire Nation if we weren't firebenders, and the firebenders didn't get to leave, either. That’s why our family had to split up. My father took Shiori back to the Earth Kingdom, while my mother and I had to stay behind. We… Shiori and I, we didn’t choose this life, this situation. It’s just… It’s just that I was unlucky enough to be able to do this.” Fumi holds out her palm, bending a small, blooming flame.

Fire, the element of destruction. Licking greedily at the oxygen, crackling and popping, casting both their faces in deathly orange. Claudine watches the fire dance; lets it burn deep into her retinas.

Born of rage. Endlessly hungry. Come too close and I’ll hurt you. 

Fire, the element of destruction.

Fumi folds her palm shut, and the fire snuffs out.

“No matter who wins here… If Tendou-san really recovers, a-and fights off every last Fire Nation soldier, and takes down her father, or if the Fire Lord is too much for the world and every last person and tree and speck of dirt is burned to the ground… No matter what happens, one of us is going to lose,” Fumi says.

Seven years, the Yumeoji sisters had been separated. Seven whole years in which a family was torn apart. To have to live every day knowing they’re fighting opposing sides, that only one of them can win. And worse still, to see your sister on the battlefield every now and again, so close yet so far, and to have to think: any moment I see her could be the very last. 

It feels like someone’s squeezing the air out of Claudine’s lungs, slowly, deliberately, so she’s hyper-aware of every minute detail.

She understands now. 

“You don’t want her to get attached,” Claudine whispers. Like she’s afraid. Afraid of what? Of speaking that thought into the world? But it’s more than just a thought, it’s a fact of Fumi’s life, a fact that she confronts and grapples with every single day, and a fact that has curly blonde hair and wide green eyes and follows her around asking for them to just go back to the way we used to be. 

Go back? How? 

“I don’t want Shiori to feel everything I do. It’ll be easier for her to fight me if she already hates me.” Her voice breaks on the final word, and Claudine looks up to find, with surprise, that tears have begun to roll down Fumi’s cheeks. She’s never seen Fumi this emotional — strong, brave, stoic Yumeoji Fumi, always on top of things, always the first person on the job. “A-And I know it’s unfair of me to make that choice for her,” she continues, “But she’s my little sister, and I want to protect her in any way I can.” She shakes her head slightly, chuckling. At herself and her foolishness, maybe. Or perhaps at the world, and this awful situation she’s been placed in.

Claudine understands now. She does.

“I understand,” she says hoarsely, the words sounding faraway to her own ears.

“C-Commander!” Fumi sounds alarmed, and Claudine forcefully snaps back to attention. Fumi gapes at her, a finger raised to point at her face shakily. “Y-You’re… You’re crying.”

“Oh.” Claudine touches her face gingerly, and sure enough her fingers come back damp with tears. A choked laugh echoes around the room, grating on her ears, and Claudine distantly registers that it’s hers. “I guess I am.”

Chapter Text

The crackling fire provides a cursory warmth, but more than anything it serves as ambient, unobtrusive background noise to her thoughts. Plus, Claudine thinks, if she stares hard enough into the flames, her vision starts getting hazy and bright around the edges. Like she’s on the cusp of dreams, or death. A place beyond worries.

The sky over her is a dark navy by now, and that signature bone-deep chill has started to set in. But for once, the cold is the least of her worries. Fumi’s words hang heavy over her, looping and echoing so that it’s all she can think about. 

Claudine sighs. Runs her fingers through her hair absent-mindedly. Stares into the fire until there are spots in her vision. 

“Someone’s moping.”

She doesn’t have to turn to know who it is. She can almost recognise the air around one exceedingly teasing Avatar; the timbre of her voice and how it sounds against the cicadas of the night. “You didn’t wait for me today. It looks like the cold got to you this time.”

She’s not really in the mood to snark back. Claudine grunts noncommittally, eyes transfixed on the snow she rests upon.

There’s a silence. She can picture Maya’s stunned, blank face — the same one she’d worn each time she’d lost at Pai Sho, the surprised gape of her lips when things don’t go her way for once. Then slowly, she hears the rustling of fabric. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Maya lowering down to seat herself on the snow next to Claudine, and instinctively shifts to give her room.

They’re like that, for a while. Side by side in silence, accompanied only by the crackle of the fire. Except this time, it’s not comforting like it was back on the ship, or when they were walking together. This time, it’s almost suffocating to Claudine, every second that passes feeling like she’s sinking deeper and deeper into a pit of water of no return.

“What are you,” she begins, surprised by the uncertainty of her own voice, “What are you planning to do after all this? When you’re better?”

A pause. Claudine resists the urge to turn, to trace her eyes over Maya’s face in the firelight and memorise what few moments she has left.

“I’m not sure.” The lilt is gone from her voice now. “I guess I’ll… We’ll go back to the way things were before.”

“Where you run all over the world, and I spend the rest of my life chasing after you?” The humour slips out before she can stop herself. Their little song and dance. Beside her, Maya sucks in a breath, tracing a finger through the snow.

“I guess so.”

The silence is deafening. Unspoken words hang between them, but Claudine’s too afraid to give them life. So they stay like that for a while — the strange, oppressive quiet that presses down on her on all sides; the fire burning into her irises and hazing over her vision.

“There you are.”

Claudine looks up, startled, and even through the blurry blobs of colour clouding her sight, she can make out the figures of Kaoruko and Futaba bundled up in parkas and trudging through the night towards them. “You guys didn’t come in for dinner, so Futaba-han dragged me out here to find you,” Kaoruko grumbles. “But it turns out you guys were out here doing… whatever this is!”

“You actually listened to Futaba?” Claudine says. “That’s… strange.”

Futaba elbows Kaoruko with a roll of her eyes. “Kaoruko here was worried about ya. It was her idea to come lookin’.”

“That’s… Even more strange.”

Kaoruko gasps scandalously, first at Futaba, and then at Claudine, and Claudine has to bite back a smile that only grows as Kaoruko’s scowl deepens. “What are you guys doing out here, anyway? It’s freezing.”

“We were just thinking about everything,” Maya says. “It’s easy to get lost in your thoughts in this ambiance.”

Kaoruko exchanges a glance with Futaba. There’s an uncharacteristic crease in her brow, one that Claudine can’t quite decipher right now. “Well then, I want to join in,” Kaoruko declares, and promptly sits herself down on the snow opposite them. Futaba shrugs, and does the same.

“What’s up with you?” Claudine asks.

“What? I didn’t know you had an exclusive claim to brooding.”

“I— Nevermind.”

“Oh, are we having a campfire night?”

Another new voice joins the fray. Aruru’s bright yellow hair is even more apparent in the backdrop of the night as she comes bounding over, seemingly unbothered by the cold. Her eyes glow with a wild, unbridled excitement that’s somewhat comforting. A beacon of positivity through the darkness. “That’s so cool! Wait, I’ll go get the others too, we can all hang out together!”

Aruru skips back towards the main building gleefully, and Claudine hears Maya chuckle in amusement. She looks over; allows herself to steal a glance at her, wispy strands of brown hair falling from where they’re tucked behind her ear — and all of a sudden, it hurts. How much longer do they have like this, close enough to touch and hold and hear each other breathe? Claudine tears her eyes away, inadvertently making eye contact with Kaoruko on the other side of the campfire: the latter frowns ever-so-slightly, and Claudine can only chew on her lip in response.

“...I just don’t think we should be disturbing them!”

“What are you talking about?” Aruru’s voice becomes audible once again. This time, she’s dragging along Misora by the arm, bright-eyed as ever despite Misora’s protests. “Everything’s better with more people around!”

“But…”

“I don’t mind you guys being here. You can take a seat.” Claudine smiles.

Aruru makes a high-pitched sound of excitement and does exactly that, while Misora shrugs and follows suit. “Guys! You can come on over, they’re not gonna bite!” Aruru calls. Not too long later, the rest of the Seisho crew come into view as well: Yuyuko clinging to Shiori, who looks like she’s about to shrink into herself, Fumi trailing a ways behind, eyes fixed on the ground (looking remarkably put-together despite how much she had cried earlier), and Nana following reliably in the back, shooting worried glances at Fumi. Somehow — probably with Ichie’s intervention, as the pink-haired airbender hops over, light on her feet — Aruru’s managed to coerce even Rui and Tamao to join in; a fact that draws a barely-audible sucked breath from Kaoruko. Claudine notes how Tamao ensures she’s as far away from Kaoruko as humanly possible, poorly disguising the distaste on her face.

What an odd group. Claudine glances around, taking in the tiny details. The Yumeojis, sat across the fire from each other, each throwing timid glances at the other when they think no one’s looking. Kaoruko clinging onto Futaba’s arm, eyes narrowed in Tamao’s direction. Herself and Maya, two doomed stars, cursed to collide and explode in a shower of sparks or to spend eternity apart, one chasing after the other in an eternal dance.

The air is, predictably, completely mute. No one seems to know what to say in this situation, and really, Claudine doesn’t blame them. Thankfully, they have people like Ichie with them to break the silence. “Well this is a pretty weird collection of people, huh? I don’t think anything like this has happened, like… ever!”

You can almost hear the collective release of breath in the group. “R-Right!” Misora laughs. “I mean, we never really got to stop for too long when we were on the ship.”

“Yeah, and we don’t usually let any Fire Nation folk into the compound, so the fact that Tamao’s even okay with you guys being here is new, too.”

“We all owe Tamao-chan a big thanks for letting us stay here, actually,” Nana says, beaming over at the girl in question.

“Don’t worry about it,” Tamao smiles graciously, barely audible over the sound of the fire. “You…” she trails off, eyes flicking downwards as if not quite sure what to say. Or perhaps she’s not sure if she should say it. “You’re not like the guards in the city,” Tamao finally says, voice far more resolute this time. “You guys are far nicer to us, as people. And you brought Avatar Maya here so that I could help her.”

A hush falls over the group. Claudine’s eyes sweep over everyone: no one’s in their armour, everyone dressed down in simple jackets and parkas to keep away the cold. They’re all indistinguishable like this; Fire Nation or resistance, soldier or not. There’s an implicit air of peace surrounding them, the unspoken agreement that right now isn’t the time to be fighting, and hell, even Rui looks far less tense than she usually does (even though her sword is still strapped securely to her waist).

Maybe this is the way it should be. No fighting. No wars. Just a group of people, huddling for warmth round a campfire together.

“I don’t know if I believe in this war anymore.” The words spill out before she can stop herself, leaving everyone in the circle — including Claudine herself — stunned. “I… Sorry, that came out of nowhere. But the past few days, I’ve been confronted with how… How different everything is from what I’ve been told. And I just… I don’t know what to think anymore.”

She can feel Maya’s gaze on her; that damned shade of purple. Magnetic, inescapable. Stubbornly, Claudine refuses to meet her eyes.

“I know what you mean.”

It’s a quiet admission, but they all hear it. The attention turns to Kaoruko, who had her head bowed like she’s too afraid to face what she’s just said. An uncharacteristic look on her; but then again, tonight looks to be the night to break precedence. Kaoruko raises her head shyly, and it’s almost wrong how vulnerable she looks in the flicker of the fire.

Beside Claudine, Tamao scoffs, just loud enough that Kaoruko can definitely hear.

The reaction is instantaneous.

“What’s your problem?” Kaoruko snaps, vulnerability discarded in a second as pure annoyance takes hold.

Tamao glares back steelily. “Oh, nothing. I just don’t think traitors are known to regret their betrayals.”

Kaoruko’s on her feet in a flash, taking several menacing steps toward the fire and closer to Tamao before Futaba can frantically grab her by the leg to stop her. Her eyes are dark and filled with a rage Claudine’s never seen in all the years they’ve known each other, hands clenched by her side. 

“Kaoruko,” Futaba calls desperately. “Calm down.”

The snow around them begins to vibrate. “No,” Kaoruko says through her teeth, bending patches of snow into water that comes up to surround her. “Not until Tamao-han,” she spits the name out, with seemingly all the raw, vile disgust she can muster, “Takes it back.”

Tamao’s brow furrows and she, too, gets up, another cloud of water coming to surround her. Rui jumps to her feet, hands going to the hilt of her sword; eyes flicking nervously between the two waterbenders.

“Tamao-sama, please don’t—”

“Take it back?” Tamao says, dangerously quiet. 

“Yeah,” Kaoruko snarls. “ Oh, boo-hoo, there’s firebenders in my house. What am I going to do now? That’s what you sound like. Grow up, Tamao-han.”

“Grow up?” Tamao screams. “The Hanayagis sold their own people out to the Fire Nation! You and your entire family ran off to live it up in their capital while my mother and grandmother have been rotting away in who-knows-where for years now! And you have the audacity to come back here after all these years in that damned Fire Nation uniform! You want me to grow up? You want me to take it back? What about you!” The very ground around them seems to shake as her voice rises to a crescendo. “You betrayed your people! You betrayed me! ”

The beads of water shake dangerously around Tamao, and Claudine instinctively gets up, holding her arms out between them and ready to evaporate the water if either side attacks. “Tamao, Kaoruko, if you would both just calm down—”

“It wasn’t my damn choice to make, Tamao-han!” Kaoruko cries. “It’s been seven years. I was barely a teenager when all this started! Do you seriously think I made the choice to pack our entire business, our entire life up and move us over to Caldera City? What was I supposed to do?”

“You should’ve done something!” 

Kaoruko’s face morphs into wide-eyed surprise abruptly, and the water around her falls to the ground, unmoving. Confused, Claudine turns back to Tamao — and finds that she’s started crying.

Tears fall down her face in an uncontrolled torrent, soft hiccups filling the air. Slowly, Tamao lowers the water around her. Everyone watches in a shocked silence, and Rui in particular looks torn between comforting her and keeping her distance. Claudine lowers her arm, tilting her head subtly at Rui, whose eyes go wide; finally, she nods slowly, sucks in a resolute breath, and steps closer to Tamao.

“U-Um… Tamao-sama…” Tamao grips onto Rui’s arm, making the taller girl go comically red. “We… U-Uh… You should… Y-You should sit down. Right. Y-Yes.”

Tamao lets herself be guided back onto the snow, but the hush remains settled over them for a few moments longer. That is, until Tamao finally finds the strength to lift her head and stare Kaoruko in the eye.

“You don’t know how hard it was for us because of what your family did,” she says. “When your grandmother reported us to the Fire Nation, and I had to watch them take my family away. I begged and I screamed for them to stop, I did everything I could, but nothing worked. In the end, I was powerless. In the end, I had to watch them be shipped away, and I might never see them again. And for that, I… I can’t forgive you.”

Kaoruko is speechless, the rage slowly melting from her face. “I didn’t know, I—” She cuts herself off midway, stumbling back to where she was sitting with a shell-shocked look.

No one speaks. No one quite knows how to follow up from that. Claudine glances between the two waterbenders, but finds that they’re both too distraught to continue this any further, and so she awkwardly shuffles back to her seat. 

On the way back, she finally steals a glance at Maya. She’s hugging her knees to her chest, fists clenched so hard that they’ve gone a pale white. She’s the one looking away this time, her eyes drifting off into the faraway darkness, brows furrowed with as much anguish as that first night on the Seisho, when she’d been so, so, frustrated at herself.

Claudine wants to say something. To do something, anything. But she doesn’t know what she can do, and maybe that’s more frustrating than anything.

So she lets the silence distil. The suffocating, oppressive weight against her chest, now returned with a vengeance.

“I get what Tomoe-san means.”

It’s Fumi whose voice finally cuts through the night.

Claudine shoots her a look, surprised that she’s actually opening up about this; but Fumi keeps going.

“Back in the Fire Nation, they always taught us that we were the greatest nation in the world. That our war was justified and good, because we were helping everyone else. But… I could never see it that way. Not after it tore our family apart.”

“Onee-chan,” Shiori interjects. Fumi ignores her.

“I joined the navy because I wanted to travel the world, to… To see this good with my own eyes. But the more we went on, and the more I saw, and the more we had to stop Tendou-san from doing actual good! The more I realised how much of a lie it all was. One great, big, joke. And the more time passed, the more I wished I had done something, anything, when we had to separate.” Fumi’s eyes are blank and cloudy, like she’s fighting back tears.

Shiori springs up. “It’s not too late,” she declares, brow furrowed. “It… It’s not too late! Onee-chan, we can… We can still be sisters! We can be a family again, the way things used to—”

“No, Shiori,” Fumi says, firmly. “It’s too late. We can’t.”

The final word is uttered with such certainty, such resentment, that Shiori flinches. Something about it, too, feels like it’s been hurled straight through the air and into Claudine’s heart, embedded like stake through layers of skin and bone. 

We can’t.

 A realisation that hurts with every intake and exhale of breath. The simple truth of the world they live in. 

We can’t.

Claudine shifts apart from Maya.

Until—

A hand reaches out and wraps around her wrist, warm even in the frigid night.

Claudine’s eyes go wide. She lifts her head, and finds Maya’s steely gaze meeting hers. Brow set as determinedly as she’s ever seen her. Jaw clenched so hard, it must be painful. The very face of defiance.

“No,” she whispers, only for Claudine to hear. 

And then she turns to the group, and her voice grows five times louder. “It’s not too late. Because I’m going to end this war.”

Maya gently lets go of Claudine and gets to her feet, marching over to Shiori. “I’m going to defeat my father, and end this war that’s gone on for far too long. I’m going to make sure things go back to the way they were, the way they were supposed to be. And then you can get your family back,” Maya says, looking to Tamao. “And you two can be sisters again,” she says, holding Shiori by the shoulders and smiling reassuringly.

She walks back over to Claudine, and Claudine has to crane her neck to really see her. Maya offers her hand, lips quirked in that all-too-familiar smile, except now it’s comforting, and now Claudine doesn’t think there’s anything she’d rather see. Bright and unwavering. A beacon in the night. Her north star in the tapestry of the skies. 

Something unspoken passes between them. 

And then we can…

Claudine sees it now. The brilliance of an Avatar. Someone who makes her want to keep on hoping.

She cracks a small smile back.

Claudine grabs Maya’s hand, letting herself be pulled to her feet. They’re eye to eye now, and it’s electrifying. Even if there’s way too many people around them, even if she’ll be teased for this later… She wouldn’t trade this moment for anything in the world.

“You really have a way with words, don’t you?” Claudine giggles.

Maya smiles coyly. “It’s part of the job.”

The moment ends abruptly with a panicked, breathless shout of “Tomoe-san!”

Claudine and Maya pull apart to find one of the guards from the outer wall running over, almost tripping over his own feet as he does so. Tamao, visibly calmer now, walks up to him and stops him before he can fall.

“What is it? Is everyone okay?” she asks.

“Tomoe-san,” the guard gasps, doubled over. “Th-There’s a group of Fire Nation soldiers at the gate demanding to be let in!”

Tamao turns to frown at Claudine, who shakes her head. “They’re not with us. Everyone on my ship is here right now. But if they won’t leave, then I can tell them to stop bothering you.”

Tamao nods thoughtfully. “Go and let them in, then. We can hear what they have to say and then Saijou-san can chase them away for us.” The guard, still a little frazzled, salutes dutifully and runs off towards the gates.

“It looks like it’s your turn to pull rank, Saijou-san,” Maya teases. Claudine rolls her eyes.

“What good is the title if I can’t use it every once in a while? Anyway, you and Shiori should go and hide for a bit. We’ll call you out when it’s safe again.” She looks over Maya’s shoulder, gesturing to her crew to stand at attention.

Maya huffs playfully, but does as she’s told, slipping away into one of the nearby huts with Shiori. Claudine finds herself shaking her head with a fond smile as she watches their figures retreat. Privately, she thinks about how absurd all this would be to the Claudine of one month ago and bites back a laugh.

The sound of boots marching in lockstep is becoming increasingly audible; the cold, metal clank of the soldier. Claudine swallows her smile and stands as tall as she can, putting on her sternest face.

And then her heart drops.

The group of soldiers comes into view. There’s maybe fifty of them, way more than there would be if this were a routine patrol. Each stands indistinguishable from the next, in their emotionless masks and identical helmets — but that’s not the worst part.

Leading the pack is a lone tall figure, his piercing green eyes and thin face instantly recognisable.

Kirin lip curls upward, far too many teeth in his smile. “Hello, Commander.”

-

“Hello, Commander.”

From where she’s hiding, Maya can’t see the faces of the soldiers who’ve just arrived — but she can immediately tell who the voice belongs to. 

Captain Kirin had already been suspicious of them back on the Seisho. If he was here, then that could only mean his suspicions are growing. Silently, Maya begins warming her hands up, just in case. Standby, she mouths to Shiori, whose look promptly hardens into alertness.

“Captain Kirin,” comes Claudine’s voice, a tinge of annoyance audible. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you, Commander,” Kirin replies calmly. “Why are you in the premises of a known rebel? And more importantly, why are you here, in the Northern Water Tribe? I was under the impression that you were resuming your hunt for the Avatar after… Forgive me for bringing up sore memories… Losing her the last time we met.”

“No apology is needed. And why I’m here is none of your business, Captain.”

“Ah.” There’s an unbridled smugness in Kirin’s voice now, one that can only spell danger. “It seems I’ve forgotten to mention.” A pause. “The Fire Lord has given me several promotions since we last met. I am henceforth to be addressed as Admiral Kirin.”

Maya gasps.

“That’s… My sincere congratulations.” It seems Claudine is just as shocked as she is.

“Thank you, Commander. Unfortunately, that means that my humble question is now an order. What, exactly, are you doing in the Northern Water Tribe?”

Silence. 

Kirin continues. “If there’s something you feel the need to hide, Commander, then I find that dangerous. I could have you investigated for treason.”

Maya’s heartbeat quickens. She lowers into a crouch, ready to dash out if need be, and next to her she sees Shiori do the same. In this situation, she can’t blame Claudine for confessing the truth. Not when her job and safety are on the line. If it comes down to it, she can fight her way out.

Finally: “We’re here for rest, sir,” Claudine says firmly. Maya’s eyes widen at the lie; she falters slightly. “Is that a crime?”

Another momentary pause. “No, Commander, not at all. But I hope you won’t mind us conducting a search of the premises, just in case.”

Maya grits her teeth, holding five fingers up to Shiori, who nods. 

Four.

“That won’t be necessary, sir,” Claudine says, hints of panic seeping through into her speech.

Three.

“I alone decide what is necessary, Commander. In case you’ve forgotten, I outrank you now.”

Two.

“If you have a problem with that, then I can have you charged for insubordination.”

One.

Claudine doesn’t get to respond.

Maya charges out from where she’s hidden in a burst of flames. To her satisfaction, her fire burns white once again, no longer the gentle orange that had frustrated her so much in the immediate aftermath of her injury.

The attack is sudden enough that both Kirin and Claudine are caught off guard and stumble away. Taking advantage of the confusion, Shiori follows up with a volley of rocks at the Fire Nation soldiers, who are too stunned to respond.

Maya propels herself towards Kirin in a spiral of air, launching herself high into the air and punching a plume of flame at him as she lands. His hands come up to shield his face, and Maya uses the moment to tirelessly hurl volleys of water at him until he’s separated from the rest of his group. Meanwhile, Shiori continues her attack on the soldiers: their surprise attack has left them disorganised and uncoordinated, and she’s handling them pretty well on her own.

Kirin falls onto his back, completely prone. Maya gathers the largest rock in the vicinity, holding it over her head, and with a strained grunt she slings it straight at him, sure to be the final blow—

He rolls away at the last second, strands of dirty-blond hair slipping over his eyes. Kirin kicks several jets of flame at her as he jumps back upright, forcing Maya on the defensive. Behind her, she can hear the panicked voices of Claudine’s crew as she stumbles.

The fire dissipates, and they’re left staring each other down. “Avatar Maya,” he says, eyes narrowed. “How nice of you to save me the trouble of dragging you out myself.”

“What can I say? I live to serve.”

“If that were the case, then you’d follow me back to Caldera City, where we can have you charged for your crimes.”

“My sincerest apologies, Admiral.” Maya punctuates her words with swift punches of fire and air, which Kirin dodges smoothly. “I’m afraid that won’t be happening today.”

“Pity,” he snarls. Kirin leaps up, releasing torrent after torrent of fire at her non-stop. Maya manages to block them with a few well-timed ice walls, but the force of the strikes had her losing ground, moving abc towards Kirin’s backup.

A few notice this instantly and break away from the fight with Shiori, running over to shoot fire at her from behind. She dodges in the nick of time, but that split-second distraction is all Kirin needs to get closer and start getting even more aggressive with his attacks.

Maya is being bombarded from multiple sides now. The battle to even hold them off is getting tough. At some point, she manages to temporarily freeze Kirin’s feet in ice, but his soldiers’ attacks manage to keep her distracted for long enough that he can melt himself free and rejoin the fray. The situation is becoming a bit too reminiscent of Gaoling for her liking, but there’s little she can do but to keep fighting. 

Her ribs start to ache. They’re still newly-healed, and Tamao had warned that even with her help she would need time to be back at full power. She can feel it — her bones and her organs deciding to spite her by choosing now of all times to act up. Maya’s flames begin to alternate white and orange; Kirin can see her faltering too, and the grin on his face only widens.

A well-timed shot of flame is all it takes. With a yelp, Maya goes careening onto her back, too dazed to get back up. Kirin walks calmly up to her, his shadow towering.

“This ridiculous game is over now, Avatar. It’s time to return to your father.”

He raises his arm. Maya flinches. Braces herself for the impact.

It never comes.

There’s a roar of fire. She can feel the heat in the air, rushing past, but ultimately missing her. Then comes the unmistakable sound of Kirin’s voice in a shocked “What?”, and Maya’s eyes snap open.

Kirin is sprawled out on the ground before her, eyes wide in genuine shock. Standing over him is Claudine, her palm outstretched, wisps of smoke blowing off of it in the aftermath of her fire.

For a brief moment, everything seems to go quiet. Maya can only hear the pounding of her own heart in her ears, the dizzying buzz in her ears. Claudine locks eyes with her: that same hell-bent look she’d given Maya countless times back in the Fire Nation, back when things were simpler. But the difference is clear; they’re not fighting against each other. Not anymore.

Are you going to get up or not? Her eyes seem to yell. Maya can almost hear the exasperated tone in her voice.

Gritting her teeth, Maya springs to her feet, encasing Kirin in as thick layer of ice as she can before he gets the chance to recover. His face twists into an ugly snarl as he glares between the two of them. “Your treason will be punished severely, Commander Saijou.”

Claudine rolls her eyes, walking over to Maya’s side. “You’ll have to catch us first. I know from experience how difficult that is.”

There’s the patter of footsteps behind them. Instinctively, Maya whips around, finding one of the soldiers charging at them. She slides in front of Claudine with a cry of “Look out!” and prepares to shoot a blast of air at him—

—But before she can, a huge wave of water slams into his side. The soldier cries out in pain, sent flying across the compound. Both Maya and Claudine turn towards the source of the water, where they find Kaoruko harrumphing nonchalantly.

“You owe me for that one, Kuro-han,” she calls, grinning with mischief.

“Shiori! Look out!”

All of a sudden, it’s like a spell has been lifted. Fumi dashes forward first, running to her sister’s side and punching jets of fire at the soldiers surrounding her. The others seem to take this as their cue to join in, and within seconds the whole courtyard is filled with the sounds of battle: Nana trapping a whole half-dozen soldiers in a ring of fire, Ichie zipping around of an air scooter and blasting them onto their backs, Rui as confident as they’ve ever seen her, downing soldiers with her sword like they’re little more than bamboo.

Maya turns to Claudine, an uncontrollable laugh of relief leaving her throat. 

It’s okay. I’m not alone this time. They’re going to be okay.

“Come on, Saijou-san. We can’t stand around letting everyone else do all the work!” She bends a whip of water at a passing soldier and he falls forward with a yelp. She runs ahead to help Aruru’s who’s struggling against a group of soldiers on her own.

“Wha— Tendou Maya! Wait for me!”

Her and Claudine hop in to help the others wherever they’re struggling. All their years of knowing each other, and the first time they’re fighting with each other. It’s new. It’s strange, and it’s exhilarating, and it just feels so… right. Saijou Claudine, who understands her better than anybody. Who’s fought her at her strongest and cared for her at her weakest. The only person who dares to challenge and push her in ways no one else can.

The last soldier falls to the ground, out cold. Maya stands over his body, blood pounding in her ears, lungs burning with exertion.

She meets Claudine’s gaze. The collar of her robe hangs slightly looser; sweat-tousled blonde bangs fall over her eyes. Claudine’s lips break into an unrestrained, blinding smile. The kind that has her eyes crinkling into little crescents, her face a beacon through the darkness of the night.

“We did it,” she breathes, relief evident in her voice.

She’s as beautiful as Maya’s ever seen her.

Maya smiles. “Yes, we did.”

“Guys,” Kaoruko clears her throat. “This is… a very disgusting and wholly inappropriate moment, considering the circumstances. Can we please do this somewhere else?”

Maya and Claudine jump apart, and Maya can feel her face going hot. “R-Right. Um.” In the distance, she can see Kirin’s hands growing red-hot through the ice as he tries to melt himself free.

Claudine steps forward. “Everyone, get to the docks. That includes you guys, Tamao. We need to get out of here right now.”

So they all run, as fast as they can, out of the Tomoe estate, down the empty lamp lit streets of the Northern Water Tribe, past the empty marketplace and the sleeping city, all the way back to the docks. The Seisho is thankfully exactly where they left it, but several lots down, they can see the figure of the Korosu parked as well.

“Get on the ship!” Maya yells to Claudine. “Get it started and ready to go!”

“What are you doing?” Claudine calls back.

“Buying us time. Trust me!”

A flash of concern crosses Claudine’s face, but she nods, gesturing the others onto the Seisho. Maya turns away, running towards the Korosu and scanning the surroundings. 

There’s not much to work with. She’ll have to make do.

She pulls water out from the dock and freezes it into a chunk of ice; one as big as she dares to handle right now. Grunting, she hurls it at the hull of the ship, where it produces a decent-sized dent in the metal before crashing back into the water with a splash. Decent, but not enough to ground the ship.

Internally, she curses herself for never getting around to learning metalbending.

Think, Maya, think. She spins around, surveying the docks for anything she can use — aha! There’s a large cart nearby stacked with cargo unloaded from the other ships, and among the cargo are several large slabs of stone. Maya runs closer, bending one of them above her head, and with a bit of strain she manages to sling it at the dent she’d made earlier, which deepens further.

“Tendou!” Futaba runs towards her, skidding to a halt next at the edge of the docks. “Get me closer to the ship, I can rip it open!”

Nodding, Maya bends a platform of ice out from where Futaba is, extending out to the dent in the hull. Futaba wastes no time, dashing as close as she can to the Korosu. Metallic screeches fill the air as the metal gives way under her metalbending, and soon Maya sees a gaping hole begin to form.

“Futaba, Maya! Behind you!” Claudine calls from the Seisho. Maya whips around, and to her horror she sees the unmistakable figure of Kirin in the distance, sprinting towards them.

“Start moving! Don’t wait for us!” Maya yells. She can’t see Claudine’s face from here, but she hears someone make a horrified noise. But the hesitation doesn’t last long — moments later, she hears the bellow of the engine and sees the ship begin to pull out of the dock. 

She turns her attention back to the Korosu. Futaba has made a respectable hole in the ship, but it’s not nearly enough damage, not when Kirin is getting closer by the second. Desperate, Maya turns back to the cart to see if there’s anything they can use.

Stacked in barrels next to the stone slabs from earlier: BLASTING JELLY. TAKE CAUTION, HANDLE WITH CARE.

“Isurugi-san!” she yells. “Get out of there!”

“Wha—”

Maya grabs a barrel and bolts towards the Korosu. Thankfully, Futaba seems to realise what’s going on, and she dives out of the way, back onto the solid ground of the docks. Maya summons a blast of air, hurling the barrel towards the hole in the hull.

Here goes nothing.

As the barrel soars through the air, inches away from the ship, Maya throws a plume of fire at it.

The result is instantaneous.

She feels the ground shake before she sees the bright flash, hears the boom of the explosion. Maya dives over Futaba, bending a ball of air over them to shield them from debris — the bits of metal of the Korosu and ice from the docks that fly everywhere, embedding themselves in the ground next to them, crashing into the water, hitting other ships.

Finally, the rain of debris slows and stops. Maya allows the shield to dissipate, slowly standing up and turning to inspect the damage.

The Korosu is a smoking, sinking mess; ugly, twisted metal wounds exploding out from the front of the ship, water bubbling and whistling as it quickly rushes to fill the void, dragging the ship down into an icy grave. 

There’s no way Kirin is escaping on this.

Right. Kirin. Wordlessly, Maya and Futaba exchange a look — and begin running.

The Seisho is a ways away from the dock by now, but Claudine’s bright blonde head of hair is visible even from where they are, looking in their direction. Maya and Futaba sprint towards it as far as they can go, but the docks inevitably steep off into water and there’s nowhere else to run.

“Isurugi-san,” Maya says, narrowing her eyes. She hooks an arm around Futaba, earning a shocked yelp from the shorter woman. “I need you to hold on very tight.”

“Tendou, what’re you— AAH!”

The ice under them rumbles, and then it propels them into the air, sending them flying on a trajectory towards the Seisho. Futaba clings to her for dear life, so hard it’s probably leaving marks through her clothes. Taking one last look back, she spots Kirin, standing still and shell-shocked by the wreck of his ship, and some of the tension leaves her system. 

Clenching her jaw, Maya lets fire shoot from her feet, giving them the momentum to travel the rest of the way. The metal deck of the Seisho starts getting closer, and Maya flinches.

She summons a cushion of air to soften the impact as they tumble onto the deck and break apart. Maya rolls for a bit, finally coming to a stop on her back, utterly winded.

She can feel the vibration of the ship under her, reassurance that they’re getting to safety. The star-studded nightscape fills her vision, and Maya lets out a long sigh of relief.

Blonde hair and unamused red eyes appear over her. “You’re an idiot,” Claudine snaps.

Maya chuckles, deliriously. “Did I at least look cool?”

“Ugh.” Claudine kicks her gently in the ribs, more ticklish than anything. Maya laughs, pushing herself to a sitting position. She sees Futaba, looking slightly dazed but otherwise well, and what remaining worries she had finally melt away.

“Wipe that dumb grin off your face already, you look stupid,” Claudine grumbles.

“You’re always so cruel to me, Saijou-san.”

Claudine rolls her eyes, but wordlessly helps Maya up. Now face to face, Maya can see how her brow creases adorably as she scans her for injuries. “You love your theatrics, don’t you?” she sighs, dusting Maya’s robes off. 

“Commander?” 

Fumi’s voice interrupts their moment, forcing them to break apart. Maya peers over Claudine’s shoulder where she finds the Yumeoji sisters huddled together, a stark contrast to how they’d been the past few days — and a warm, fuzzy feeling fills her.

“What’s the plan now, Commander Saijou? Where are we going?”

Claudine tenses. She looks over each of her crew members in turn, face growing tighter with each passing second.

“I…” she begins, softly, unsurely. 

Maya can see just how much the weight of their actions are weighing on Claudine now that it’s all over, and they’re left in the aftermath — her shoulders are tense, her arms limp and unsure, and it’s horrible. Claudine, who has always been so strong. Who’s done so much for her; who was there for her when no one else was.

It’s only right for her to return the favour.

Gently, Maya threads their fingers together, earning a surprised look from Claudine. The same gesture Claudine had done to her just a few days ago, as they were entering the North Pole; now come full circle.

The message is clear. Claudine’s face hardens, and she turns back to the others.

“I’m sorry for getting all of you involved in this. I’ve made you enemies of the state and endangered your lives. But… After all this time, I’ve finally realised that it was the right thing to do.” Claudine sucks in a breath, hand tightening around Maya’s. “If… If any of you want out, I don’t blame you. I’ll do everything I can to get you away from all of this safely.”

Someone scoffs.

To everyone’s surprise, it’s not Kaoruko this time (though everyone instinctively turns to her, and she gasps in offence). It’s Fumi; her eyes narrowed in frustration, lips curled into defiance even as she holds Shiori close to her side.

Maya’s eyes wide. In the little time she’s known Fumi, she’s gotten the impression that she’s loyal to a tee, never snarking back to her superiors, so this display comes as a shock. Evidently, Claudine thinks the same.

“F-Fumi? I’m sorry, did—”

“Did I say I wanted out of this, Commander,” Fumi says. Her bright green eyes glow with a spark of amusement. “No, I asked where we were going. As in, where do the Avatar’s rebel forces need us to be?”

Claudine blinks. “You… You don’t mean…”

“We’re in, Saijou-san,” Misora says firmly. “If we didn’t want this, we wouldn’t have fought those soldiers back at Tomoe-san’s place. All of us here, we’re with you till the end.”

Claudine’s silent for a long time, glossy eyes surveying her crew; and then finally, she speaks, her voice sounding dangerously shaky. “You guys… You’re truly the best team… No, the best friends I could have asked for.”

Maya can feel Claudine’s grip faltering, and squeezes her hand reassuringly, receiving a weak squeeze in return.

Fumi focuses her attention on Maya. “So, Tendou-san. Where to? I’ll go down and chart a course with Daiba-san.”

Maya straightens, glancing over at Claudine, who still looks too emotional to speak. I’ve got this, she mouths, receiving a gentle smile back.

“We’ll head to the Northern Air Temple first to meet with the rest of my group,” Maya says. Fumi salutes, taking off towards the bridge immediately. 

“Come on, Shiori, let’s go,” she says, and Shiori’s mouth falls agape for a second before her entire face lights up as she processes those words.

“R-Right! Let’s go!”

As the sisters leave, Maya turns to the rest of the group. “We have to send a messenger hawk to Yukishiro-san too so that she knows we’re on the way. Knowing her, she must already be planning to break me out,” Maya sighs. Yuyuko nods and runs off towards the bottom deck to do as she’s told. 

“Once we’re at the Northern Air Temple, we’ll take a while to rest and regroup, and then we have to head to Omashu to stop the siege.” Maya locks eyes with Tamao. “What happened here, in the North Pole… I’m going to make sure that never happens to anyone ever again.”

Tamao manages to crack a small smile. “Thank you, Avatar Maya.” A flash of something between doubt and guilt crosses her face, and she clears her throat before speaking again. “Actually, I owe a thanks to someone else here, too.” Tamao’s eyes drift towards Kaoruko, who actually looks shocked at this sincerity.

“Thank you for helping us back at the estate,” Tamao says. “And… I also think I should apologise for everything I said before. I know what happened to us wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have done anything, and I was just being unreasonable.”

“W-Well…” Kaoruko splutters, clearly unsure how to respond. “Well, of course you should apologise!” Her words clearly lack their usual snark, sounding more like a reflex than anything, but Futaba elbows Kaoruko in the ribs anyway, an annoyed grimace on her face. 

“Ow,” Kaoruko whines. “Okay, fine. I’m sorry, too. I… I was horrible to you too. What happened to your family… I’ll do everything I can to make up for it.” A rare, sincere smile appears on Kaoruko’s face, and Maya’s struck by how unfamiliar the sight is. “So can we just call a truce?”

“Deal.”

-

With all that settled, the rest of them decide to go get some rest and head below deck to their quarters.

As Claudine and Maya navigate the twists and turns of the ship, Claudine stops suddenly in her tracks, causing Maya to crash directly into her.

“Ouch,” Maya pouts. “It seems you’re still out to get me.”

“Shut up,” Claudine groans. Her annoyance soon gives way to concern, though, and her eyes flick to Maya’s arm. “Did… Did you realise you were bleeding?”

“Huh?” Maya lifts her arm, pulling back the sleeve of her robe, and sure enough, there’s a gash down the side of it. Dried blood stains her skin and the fabric, but red and raw flesh still peeks through from under it, fresh blood beginning to collect once again.

“Oh,” Maya says dumbly. The adrenaline of everything meant that she hadn’t noticed at all; she doesn’t even know where this could’ve come from. It could be from her initial scuffle with Kirin, or from diving to protect Futaba during the Korosu’s explosion, or from flying through the air and landing on the deck like that, or from…

“Hello? You in there?” Maya blinks, realising that Claudine’s snapping her fingers at her. Claudine sighs, shaking her head in exasperation. “I guess that landing gave you brain damage, too.”

“I’m smart,” Maya whines, which only serves to prove Claudine’s point.

“I can’t believe you’re the one who had me running around in circles for three whole years.” The blonde turns away to hide her face, but Maya swears she sees her smile. “Come on, you big idiot. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Claudine leads Maya into a large room at the very end of the hallway, furnished with a wide futon, a magnificent, polished wooden desk, and several chests of drawers along the walls. Belatedly, she pieces together that this is the captain’s quarters — I’m in Claudine’s bedroom.

“Um.”

“What?” Claudine asks.

Maya blinks. Cradles her injured arm awkwardly. “Nothing.”

Claudine looks slightly amused by this, and gestures to her to sit on the futon. “I have dust all over me. From the. From that thing I did. With the big boom,” Maya says. Why is my brain malfunctioning now?

“Right. The ‘big boom’,” Claudine smirks. “I think the word you’re looking for is ‘explosion’.”

“Right. Yes. That.” I must be exhausted. More than usual.

“Okay, well, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m going to get some water, you just sit down already,” Claudine says, before promptly stepping out. 

Maya does so obediently, dusting herself off as best she can before sitting herself cross-legged on the edge of the futon. Moments later, Claudine returns with a pail of water and an armful of first aid supplies, depositing them on the ground before sitting in front of Maya. “Hold out your arm,” she says, tying her hair back in a loose ponytail.

She does so, noticing how shaky her arm is. Wow. I must be really tired, she thinks, holding it as steady as possible. Claudine’s eyes sweep over her, and suddenly Maya feels extremely small under her gaze. “This might sting a little,” she says, before gently dabbing a damp cloth over her wound — and hell, it hurts, but Maya’s teeth clamp down on the inside of her cheek and resolves not to make a sound.

She watches as Claudine gently cleans and bandages the gash, and all the while her vision drifts in and out of blurriness, some strange in-between space between consciousness and sleep. But she’s still here, with Claudine, and it would be both very rude and very much a shame to fall asleep when they’re alone like this, so she blinks hazily, willing herself to refocus.

Unfortunately, that means she comes to realise how soft and comforting Claudine’s fingers are against her skin, in a way that has her relaxing into the touch even as her heartbeat quickens. She desperately hopes Claudine can’t feel the blood rushing through her touch.

Why am I suddenly so nervous? We’ve held hands before. I’ve initiated contact before. What’s going on this time?

“You look dead on your feet,” Claudine chuckles, having thankfully mistaken her thoughts for exhaustion. “I’m almost done, and then you can go back to your room and go to bed.”

“‘M not tired,” Maya mumbles.

“Sure you’re not.”

Well, maybe she is. Her head is getting awfully heavy, and she can’t suppress the yawn that escapes her lips. In the soft candlelight of the room, it’s becoming all too tempting to just… give… in…

No! Screams the last rational voice in her head. That would be horrible! Focus! Stay awake! Talk to her or something! Just do anything but fall asleep!

“Saijou-san,” Maya blurts. “I… I didn’t get to thank you for… For everything, really. You didn’t… You didn’t need to save me back in Gaoling. You didn’t have to take me to the Northern Water Tribe either, nor did you have to lie to Kirin multiple times. And… You definitely didn’t need to help me again just now, or offer your help even now. You had a favourable position with my father and a stable living, and now, because of me, you have to give all that up.”

Claudine pauses.

“I owe my life to you, Saijou-san, hundreds of times over. And… I guess I just want to know… Why? Why do you keep doing this for me?”

“Maya,” Claudine says, softly. “Stop.”

Maya tenses. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry—”

“It was the right thing to do,” Claudine interrupts firmly. “I’ve spent years of my life serving the Fire Nation, and chasing after you, Maya. But after all this time, I realised… It only feels right when I’m with you.” She’s done with the bandages now, but she holds on to Maya’s arm, locking eyes with her in a way that makes her feel entirely open and exposed. All her secrets, her entire soul, bared to the pretty Fire Nation commander with the blonde hair and red eyes.

And yet. 

“I’m going to help you take your father down, Maya. From now on, you’ll always have me.”

Maya swallows. In all her years of battle, she’s never felt this vulnerable.

And yet. It feels safe. Tender. The ache in her chest is addictive; transcendent. Maya wants nothing more than to be like this, to hold on to this feeling, this softness and tenderness and openness, for the rest of her days.

Her non-injured arm slowly, shakily rises to Claudine’s face, calloused fingertips tracing her soft cheeks. Claudine blushes, but doesn’t flinch away.

“Saijou-san, I—” Maya whispers, so raw it hurts. 

I love you.

I love you, Maya wants to say. I love you so much, it hurts. I just want to hold you in my arms and shield you from everything. Tie our souls together forever, in this lifetime and the next.

She doesn’t say it aloud. But she doesn’t need to. There’s a glimmer of understanding in Claudine’s deep eyes.

After all, their relationship has always transcended words.

“Do you,” Claudine begins, her cheeks reddening even further. “Do you want to stay the night?”

Maya smiles; nods. “I’d love to.”