Chapter Text
To Mako, the best years of his life were the first. He had everything he needed and more. He had his mother Naoki, his little brother Bolin, and most of all, his father, San. When he was little, Mako thought his dad, was the bravest, strongest man alive, and he wanted to be just like him.
Mako was a little bit disappointed when he found out he was a firebender and not an earthbender like his father, but he still did his very best to practice his bending and make his father proud of him.
Bolin was always more content with their mother. As a toddler, Bolin was a very nervous and teary boy but he always seemed to calm down when his mother was near. This was why, one day, to help him stop crying, Naoki placed a small stone in Bolin's tiny hands and rubbed his hand on it.
"This is a worry stone, my dear. Whenever you feel your worries getting the best of you, I want you to rub it and think of me, and you'll feel all your worries smooth down and fade away."
After that, Bolin kept that stone with him practically all the time and even when she wasn't around, he could feel his mother's comforting presence.
And for a little while, that quiet, happy life was all the two brothers could ever want.
That life ended the night their parents never came home.
They didn't know it immediately. It was unusual, a minor concern at the back of the boys' minds, but for Bolin at least, it was easily quelled by his worry stone. Mako didn't hold up so well though. He worried until he got too tired to keep worrying and fell asleep.
The next morning though, Mako was pacing around their home all morning, waiting for their parents to come back. He counted down the seconds, minutes, hours until... anything would happen. He waited by the door for it to open, even if it wasn't his parents, just anyone to tell him what was going on or what he should do.
Mako could tell Bolin was content just rolling around and having fun with his worry stone, and he wanted to be a brave boy for his father in his absence so he decided to gear up and go looking for answers.
Thanks to some asking around and a few helpful neighbours, Mako did get a knock on the door that night. Only it was a police officer and he didn't have good news.
"I'm sorry, kid. Your folks are gone."
The officer went into specifics about what happened but at that point it didn't matter. Mako's life and the life of his little brother had changed forever. No one tells an eight-year-old how to get by without his parents.
And no one did. That officer just came back the next morning with a few of his cop friends and took them to a dingy building that smelled like sadness packed to the brim with miserable and lonely children who Mako was told were "just like you boys".
Bolin was wide-eyed and nervous as any child going to a new place, temporarily unaware of the gravity of the situation, but he held on tight to his worry stone and pretended the whole thing was an adventure. A really confusing, depressing adventure.
After spending one day at the orphanage, Mako realised several things. One thing was that the reason the children there were so miserable wasn't just because they had no parents, but because couple running the orphanage despised children and never bothered to hide it. Another thing was that he couldn't turn his back on Bolin for one second, otherwise his dreamy-eyed little brother could toddle into who-knows-what kind of trouble. The most important thing Mako realised was that he and his brother weren't going to stay there for longer than they had already been.
Mako had found out a few other street kids were planning on escaping that night and he was fortunate enough to tag along, carrying Bolin the whole way. Escaping felt good, and Mako felt like he had finally met some people he could trust, but once it was over they all went their separate ways and Mako realised they should probably find their way back to their home.
It was a big struggle and the boys wandered in and out of lots of danger but after only a few hours, they found their way home. The front door was still locked so they had to break in through a window.
Mako was hoping that, the moment they made it back inside, he'd get rid of that ugly, terrified, miserable feeling that was sinking into his chest ever since things started going wrong. But he didn't feel at home anymore. He didn't feel that warmth and comfort he usually got when he got home after a long day out. It was still dark and cold in there, even when they turned the lights on.
Mako didn't know what to do. He never thought it was possible to feel so lost and helpless. He was certain that if his father could see him in that moment, he'd be so disappointed in him. He couldn't think of what else to do but go into his parents' old bedroom, hide under the covers and pretend his parents were still there and telling him everything was going to be okay.
"Mako?"
Mako didn't even realise Bolin had snuggled next to him until the small boy put his precious worry stone in his older brother's hand.
Together, they held each other close and rubbed the worry stone until their thumbs went numb, until Mako's tears stopped flowing, until all their worries had been smoothed away.
That was when Mako realised he needed Bolin more than anything and he had to keep his little brother safe no matter what. Bolin really was all he had left.
Their little moment of calm vanished when there was a loud knocking on the door followed by accusations of breaking in. Mako thought quickly, grabbing his mother's jewellery box and father's scarf, telling Bolin to hold onto his worry stone and never let it go, before he picked up Bolin once more, fled out the window and escaped into the night.
When they stopped in an empty alleyway for the night, Bolin asked Mako, "Where are we going now?"
Mako swallowed his emotions and told Bolin, "Listen little bro, we can't go home anymore. There's people looking for us and if they find us, they'll send us back to that dingy place with the mean ol' folks we were earlier. We're..."
Mako paused as he saw his baby brother's eyes widen in confusion and concern.
"We're on the run! Like pirates, o-or cowboys! We don't have to listen to anyone anymore. We can do whatever we want. We're free, Bolin."
A grin then spread across Bolin's face as he put on a cowboy voice, "We're cowboys! I'm Bolin the Kid and I run this town!"
Mako giggled as Bolin pointed a finger-gun at him.
And that's how it stayed for a very long time. It was all just a nice game of pretend for the two boys. They found plenty of other kids to play the same game with.
After a while of living on the street and eating out of dumpsters, Mako realised that he and Bolin should probably get an actual place to stay soon. Winter was far more bitter than it seemed before, and getting sick with a cold turned from a mild inconvenience and an excuse to stay in bed into agony for weeks and weeks and a perfect chance to get left in the dirt. Sure, the cowboys liked their freedom, but Mako had been seeing kids who didn't bounce back like he and Bolin had been doing so far. This is what prompted Mako to seek out one of the finely dressed men who hung around the Central District. A man he'd come to know very well as Shady Shin.
Once the brothers started working for the Triple Threat Triad, Mako quickly taught his usually friendly and rambunctious brother how to keep his head down. Bolin often retreated into his imagination which is how he developed an affinity for adventures and storytelling. A perfect day for him would be playing cowboys with his friends until they got hungry, then they would scrounge for something to eat and tell stories while they did.
"Ooo, tell me the one about Oma and Shu again."
"No way!"
"We've heard that one a zillion times already!"
"Bolin, you're such a sucker for fairytales."
"Well who's got a new one?"
"Anyone ever told you the tale of Kulla and Prince Zuko?"
─ ⋅✾⋅ ─
100 AG.
An unforgettable year of incredible events.
The year the last airbender was found
The year the hundred year war ended.
The year Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation met Kulla of the Southern Water Tribe. It's a story that's been told a thousand times before, and likely will be told a million times more.
Upon the prince's arrival to her tribe, Kulla proposed that she would help him find Avatar Aang in exchange for the safety of her tribe and her siblings, Sokka and Katara, to which Zuko agreed. That wouldn't be the last proposal exchanged between the two.
Together they journeyed across the seas and fled through kingdoms, and by the arrival of Sozin's comet, Zuko and Kulla had fallen deeply in love.
As they were building their new world together, Kulla chose to join Zuko in the Fire Nation and eventually they were wed, making Kulla the first waterbender Fire Lady. They both knew that their lives together would not be easy, but their love persevered.
What most people don't add to the story is the greatest domestic difficulty Zuko and Kulla ever faced: the arrival of their children.
Kosuna was their first child and heir to the throne, followed two years later by Izumi. Izumi was a firebender and a very gifted one at that, but Kosuna was a waterbender like her mother and never connected with the traditions of the Fire Nation.
Zuko and Kulla waited until their children were grown to see whether Kosuna would want the throne or not, and when given the opportunity, Kosuna chose to leave her home and become a lady of high society in Republic City.
There, Kosuna lived the high life of an aristocratic socialite until she met Kodo, a humble fisherman from the Southern Water Tribe. They fell in love and Kosuna decided she would leave Republic City to settle down with Kodo and start a family in the Southern Tribe. A fitting choice in anticipation of the new Avatar.
Together, they had two children. The first was Kurada, a waterbending prodigy, and then Zialla.
Unfortunately, Kodo was killed during a kidnapping attempt on a young Avatar Korra, leaving Kosuna to raise Kurada and Zialla on her own.
As the children grew, Kosuna had expected that Kurada would befriend Korra, considered their shared passion and skill for bending, but the young Avatar always seemed to gravitate more towards the quiet and reserved Zialla. It didn't help that Kurada was always studying his waterbending in the Northern Tribe.
Aside from her friendship with Korra, Zialla often kept to herself. Not because she was afraid of people, but because she had greater priorities.
For the first ten years of her life, Zialla's ultimate goal was to become a waterbender like her brother, though she never quite measured up. Her drive never faltered, but after years of trying and failing, Zialla's teachers let her know that she should probably look into nonbending martial arts.
Zialla was conflicted. For as long as she could remember, she had a little voice inside her telling her what incredible potential she had. She didn't want to let down the voice insider her or her incredible family. She knew it would be logical to simply move on and pursue something else, but she also knew that she'd regret it if she didn't see through her waterbending to the end. If there was anyone she could talk to about this bending problem of hers, it was her oldest friend, Avatar Korra.
Zialla visited Korra's covert training compound one afternoon and watched in awe as her friend muscled her way through the obstacle course set up to train her earthbending. When she finished, Korra looked to the row of her White Lotus teachers for approval before noticing Zialla standing at the end. The Avatar beamed at the sight of her best friend and ran straight up to her, disregarding her teachers entirely.
"Zialla!", Korra shouted before she picked Zialla up in a spine-crushing hug.
"Hi, Korra," Zialla choked out, her lungs imploding, "It's nice to see you too."
Korra put her down and asked, "Did you see me back there? When I was going zoom-zoom-zoom, pow-pow-pow!"
Zialla chuckled, "I did, you were completely awesome... as usual."
Korra giggled, "Thanks!... Is something wrong?"
Zialla looked to the ground and swayed on the balls of her feet before taking Korra's hand and going for a walk around the compound, "I've been thinking."
"About what?", Korra asked.
"Well... I'm not much good at waterbending. But it comes so naturally to you," Zialla's eyes stayed to the ground.
"Of course it comes naturally to me, I'm the Avatar," Korra said obviously.
"But it's been years and I still can't even sway the tide," Zialla sighed.
Korra gave her a look, "So what? You can meditate like nobody's business! I've got no idea about all that spirit stuff, but you've been hearing voices since you were tiny!"
Zialla scoffed, "I'm not exactly sure if that's a good thing. My teachers told me I should find something else to do. I can still learn to fight without bending," Zialla shrugged, smiling to hide her disappointment.
"Are you sure? You wanted to be a waterbender for so long," Korra asked.
Zialla sighed, "I know. But maybe they're right. It's possible that it just isn't meant to happen for me."
"Do you think fishing might be more your thing?", Korra asked.
"Bleugh, no way!", Zialla shivered at the thought, making them both giggle.
"Well, if you really want to move on, then I guess go for it. But you'll always be here to keep me company, won't you!", Korra wrapped her arm around Zialla's shoulders.
Zialla turned downcast again, "I'm not sure. To be honest, the only thing I was interested in doing here was waterbending so if I'm going to learn something else, I might have to go somewhere else."
"You're leaving?", Korra asked, her eyes getting misty.
Zialla shook her head, "Not forever! I just need to find a place that feels right for me, and figure out how I can bring that back here. You're my best friend, Korra. I'm not leaving you."
"I'm also your only friend," Korra muttered.
Zialla gave her a small scowl and punched her in the arm. It didn't really hurt, of course, but Korra liked to pretend it did because she knew it made Zialla feel strong.
Zialla then smiled again, "That makes you the best."
Korra laughed, "Princesses always get the best."
When she returned home, Zialla found out her mother would be going on a trip to Republic City. Zialla realised that it was a city full of people with mixed heritage just like her and there were probably plenty of nonbenders there that could teach her what to do with her life.
That is why, during dinner that night, Zialla brought up in a very covert way...
"So, mother I heard that you'll be going to Republic City this weekend on official business."
Kosuna nodded, "That's right. The Republic City Council has organised a meeting with all the global officials to settle a dispute..."
Though she hated to admit it, Zialla began tuning out what her mother was saying regarding the meeting. She was only ten years old.
Zialla then realised something and very slyly said to her mother, "So, all the world leaders will be there? Including Fire Nation royalty?"
"Well, your Uncle Tenzin didn't invite me as a friend," Kosuna laughed at her own joke.
Zialla beamed, "So I suppose, since I'm becoming a lady of royal standing and a well-known public official..."
Kosuna chuckled to herself at her daughter's 'fancy words'.
"... I suppose it would only be proper if I come along with you."
"Zialla, if you really want to visit Republic City with me, you very much can. I always imagined you'd travel there when you're older. You just have to promise to stay out of trouble," Kosuna told her.
Zialla scoffed with a proud smirk on her face, "Mother, please. I'm no hooligan. When have I ever gotten into trouble?"
"I'm choosing not to mention that time you jumped into the cove to prove you had the ocean spirit within you," Kosuna slyly muttered as she picked up their plates.
Zialla folded her arms and pouted, "I thought I had it that time."
As she was heading towards the kitchen, Kosuna turned around and told Zialla, "Oh, and you won't actually be able to go to the meeting. But maybe you can go to Air Temple Island and visit your cousin Jinora."
Zialla's eyes lit up as she thought of all the fun things she could talk about with Jinora, not knowing that the cousin she'd be meeting would be a two-year-old and incapable of stimulating conversation.