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300 word drabble: Hands to Rock Cradles
Written for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
avatar_500 prompt #23, Soothe.
Summary: Ty Hei is learning what it really means to be afraid.
Hands to Rock Cradles
“Shh,” Ty Hei murmured. “You’re part of something important, you know. You were born into something really special.” She did her best to keep her words as conversational as possible, but the tense little undercurrent of fear kept finding its way in. The baby that lay settled in her arms over the gentle, slowly returning rise of her belly bumped his fat little fists against the air and whined furiously reflecting her agitation.
Her father had told her- her mother had told her, her mother who knew what it was like to be pulled into someone else’s secret and have it become hers. They told her to fall in love with someone whose family worked for theirs, someone from the island, from their personal family fief, someone who would lose everything if he told.
She had asked if it was love and trust if she were holding all the cards.
It was love, and romance for her, and she could trust Xian with her life. She could. But there were children now. Her mother had told her about that too. Now Ty Hei wished she were holding all the cards.
“You’re part of something important,” she whispered, ruffling her daughter’s hair, breathing deeply, and letting herself sink into the ritual. Someday, when her girl was older, she would tell her what she was born into, why she could feel the air inside her, not just on her skin, someday when her girl was older, and her baby boy, and the baby inside her were all older. Old enough not to tell their friends, or their father, old enough to be safe, more safe than she had to be. “You were born into something really special.”
The three-year-old’s voice, sleepy and indistinct, followed Ty Hei out the door. “I know, mom!”
avatar_500 prompt #23, Soothe.Summary: Ty Hei is learning what it really means to be afraid.
Hands to Rock Cradles
“Shh,” Ty Hei murmured. “You’re part of something important, you know. You were born into something really special.” She did her best to keep her words as conversational as possible, but the tense little undercurrent of fear kept finding its way in. The baby that lay settled in her arms over the gentle, slowly returning rise of her belly bumped his fat little fists against the air and whined furiously reflecting her agitation.
Her father had told her- her mother had told her, her mother who knew what it was like to be pulled into someone else’s secret and have it become hers. They told her to fall in love with someone whose family worked for theirs, someone from the island, from their personal family fief, someone who would lose everything if he told.
She had asked if it was love and trust if she were holding all the cards.
It was love, and romance for her, and she could trust Xian with her life. She could. But there were children now. Her mother had told her about that too. Now Ty Hei wished she were holding all the cards.
“You’re part of something important,” she whispered, ruffling her daughter’s hair, breathing deeply, and letting herself sink into the ritual. Someday, when her girl was older, she would tell her what she was born into, why she could feel the air inside her, not just on her skin, someday when her girl was older, and her baby boy, and the baby inside her were all older. Old enough not to tell their friends, or their father, old enough to be safe, more safe than she had to be. “You were born into something really special.”
The three-year-old’s voice, sleepy and indistinct, followed Ty Hei out the door. “I know, mom!”
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450 word drabble: Thin, Unbroken, Green
Written for avatar_500 prompt #22, Knight.
Warning: Some very very ablist attitudes on the part of the point of view character
Summary: Kyoshi Island didn’t have mothers. Kyoshi Island had sisters, in a thin, unbroken green line.
Author's Note: I've been sitting on this for a while. I actually wrote this as a sample drabble for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
happiestwhen when I was feeling out what they wanted for their help_pakistan fic. As such, this drabble is meant to be a companion to the resulting fic, Drink it Down
Thin, Unbroken, Green
Kyoshi Island didn’t have mothers. Kyoshi Island had sisters, in a thin, unbroken green line.
Suki washed the blood off her mother’s sister’s daughter’s armor and laced it around her own body. It gapped and pinched and fit her cousin’s body not her own. But the warriors would teach her how to fix that.
She painted her face. It’s soft and sticky, made from egg shells, animal fat, and soot, and the tiny red insects that only lived on Kyoshi Island, and it sat heavy on her face. Strange. She always thought it would be hard like porcelain. She had been afraid it would crack.
The pots of face paint had come to her father’s house along with the armor. Koko asked what she would have done if their mother’s sister’s daughter hadn’t died, but Suki didn’t have to answer. There was always one warrior dying. There was always a new one growing up.
She passed her mother’s sister’s daughter on the way to the dojo. The woman wore the blue tunic and wide pants of a man or a child again, her hair unbound, her face unpainted. She gave Suki a smile. “First day?”
Suki shuddered, and swore to herself that when she died on the battlefield there would be no one-legged, still talking body for her sisters to bring home.
The other Warriors saluted her with their fans as she came in, their faces frozen beneath the forbidding mask of their makeup.
Suki had painted fans at home, pretty delicate things she had first learned with. But the fans she held now were fans that broke fire. These were fans that cut off heads.
~*~
Kyoshi Island didn’t have mothers. Kyoshi Island had sisters, in a thin, unbroken green line.
A woman whose daughters could remember her when they were grown was either very lucky, or a coward. A woman who made it to see her daughters become warriors was probably both.
There were pirates, and Fire Navy ships, and extortionate Earth Kingdom soldiers, and raiders from Chen. There were warlords, and chiefs, and village murderers.
But the war was over. Water Tribe ships guarded their shores. The Fire Navy stayed within their own waters. The Earth Kingdom soldiers had been sent home.
For a hundred years, no Kyoshi Warrior had ever retired.
There was a rush, a fear, a bond. No one could ever mean as much as a sister. Nothing could mean as much as a battle. Kyoshi Warriors drank, and sang, and lived it up in a desperate need to do as much as possible before they fell.
There were women all over the world who expected to see their grandchildren grow up.
Suki was tired.
avatar_500 prompt #22, Knight.Warning: Some very very ablist attitudes on the part of the point of view character
Summary: Kyoshi Island didn’t have mothers. Kyoshi Island had sisters, in a thin, unbroken green line.
Author's Note: I've been sitting on this for a while. I actually wrote this as a sample drabble for
happiestwhen when I was feeling out what they wanted for their help_pakistan fic. As such, this drabble is meant to be a companion to the resulting fic, Drink it DownThin, Unbroken, Green
Kyoshi Island didn’t have mothers. Kyoshi Island had sisters, in a thin, unbroken green line.
Suki washed the blood off her mother’s sister’s daughter’s armor and laced it around her own body. It gapped and pinched and fit her cousin’s body not her own. But the warriors would teach her how to fix that.
She painted her face. It’s soft and sticky, made from egg shells, animal fat, and soot, and the tiny red insects that only lived on Kyoshi Island, and it sat heavy on her face. Strange. She always thought it would be hard like porcelain. She had been afraid it would crack.
The pots of face paint had come to her father’s house along with the armor. Koko asked what she would have done if their mother’s sister’s daughter hadn’t died, but Suki didn’t have to answer. There was always one warrior dying. There was always a new one growing up.
She passed her mother’s sister’s daughter on the way to the dojo. The woman wore the blue tunic and wide pants of a man or a child again, her hair unbound, her face unpainted. She gave Suki a smile. “First day?”
Suki shuddered, and swore to herself that when she died on the battlefield there would be no one-legged, still talking body for her sisters to bring home.
The other Warriors saluted her with their fans as she came in, their faces frozen beneath the forbidding mask of their makeup.
Suki had painted fans at home, pretty delicate things she had first learned with. But the fans she held now were fans that broke fire. These were fans that cut off heads.
~*~
Kyoshi Island didn’t have mothers. Kyoshi Island had sisters, in a thin, unbroken green line.
A woman whose daughters could remember her when they were grown was either very lucky, or a coward. A woman who made it to see her daughters become warriors was probably both.
There were pirates, and Fire Navy ships, and extortionate Earth Kingdom soldiers, and raiders from Chen. There were warlords, and chiefs, and village murderers.
But the war was over. Water Tribe ships guarded their shores. The Fire Navy stayed within their own waters. The Earth Kingdom soldiers had been sent home.
For a hundred years, no Kyoshi Warrior had ever retired.
There was a rush, a fear, a bond. No one could ever mean as much as a sister. Nothing could mean as much as a battle. Kyoshi Warriors drank, and sang, and lived it up in a desperate need to do as much as possible before they fell.
There were women all over the world who expected to see their grandchildren grow up.
Suki was tired.
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200 word drabble: Split the Sky
Written for avatar_500 prompt #21, Crack.
Summary: Even when they're alone, none of them talk about it, but it's nice to be around people who know.
Split the Sky
In the other nations, there were good archers, talented archers, who could feel the wind, and know just where to aim to hit what they needed hit, so long as the wind didn’t change. And there were archers in other nations who seemed to know how the wind would move once the arrows left their bows.
But people swore the Yu Yan arrows turned corners and followed their prey, swore they couldn’t miss, or swore that their archers could call their name, and the arrows would come back. People swore they had seen it.
Ty Shin let loose her bowstring and felt the hiss of the feathers dragging between her fingers as the feather flew. She could feel the wind springing away from the arrow tip. The air rolled around it, and Ty Shin felt like she was rolling with it, like she was flying, like she was a kid again, and jumping off, knowing she wouldn’t touch the ground until she wanted to. Lieng Ai patted her shoulder, and smiled at his oldest and best cousin. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “Everybody else feels it too.”
It felt like touching their cage walls when the arrows flew, but they couldn’t stop, because it was the closest to freedom they ever got. They couldn’t stop, even if it felt like betrayal, even when it was betrayal.
Archers in the other nations said the Yu Yans had magic, that their arrows would do anything for them but the magic would leave if the arrows ever killed. But the arrows were just wood, feather, and stone, at the mercy of the wind. They weren’t special. Ty Shin loosed another.
avatar_500 prompt #21, Crack.Summary: Even when they're alone, none of them talk about it, but it's nice to be around people who know.
Split the Sky
In the other nations, there were good archers, talented archers, who could feel the wind, and know just where to aim to hit what they needed hit, so long as the wind didn’t change. And there were archers in other nations who seemed to know how the wind would move once the arrows left their bows.
But people swore the Yu Yan arrows turned corners and followed their prey, swore they couldn’t miss, or swore that their archers could call their name, and the arrows would come back. People swore they had seen it.
Ty Shin let loose her bowstring and felt the hiss of the feathers dragging between her fingers as the feather flew. She could feel the wind springing away from the arrow tip. The air rolled around it, and Ty Shin felt like she was rolling with it, like she was flying, like she was a kid again, and jumping off, knowing she wouldn’t touch the ground until she wanted to. Lieng Ai patted her shoulder, and smiled at his oldest and best cousin. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “Everybody else feels it too.”
It felt like touching their cage walls when the arrows flew, but they couldn’t stop, because it was the closest to freedom they ever got. They couldn’t stop, even if it felt like betrayal, even when it was betrayal.
Archers in the other nations said the Yu Yans had magic, that their arrows would do anything for them but the magic would leave if the arrows ever killed. But the arrows were just wood, feather, and stone, at the mercy of the wind. They weren’t special. Ty Shin loosed another.
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Atlaland Lottery Writing Fills: Times Best Forgotton, Blast Radius, and Songs in the Static
These were written for the atlaland lottery, where I got a random list of seven prompts and had to fill them by the end of January. Since I posted three of my fills as graphics (and my art is just not good enough to post here) and one of my fills I'm in the process of turning into a proper fic, here are three of my fills. One of the prompts below is actually a piece of fanart, and the link beside the fill's title will take you to the artist's post on deviantArt. All fics are between 750 and 1000 words.
( Times Best Forgotton: Past Avatar- OCs, A swampbending Avatar fights the uncle of the Khan )
( Blast Radius: Two Sides- Aang, Katara and Zuko contemplate the same thing during chapter 2.01, The Avatar State )
( Songs in the Static: Future Avatar, OCs, one newly told Avatar doesn't think the world needs her anymore. )
atlaland lottery, where I got a random list of seven prompts and had to fill them by the end of January. Since I posted three of my fills as graphics (and my art is just not good enough to post here) and one of my fills I'm in the process of turning into a proper fic, here are three of my fills. One of the prompts below is actually a piece of fanart, and the link beside the fill's title will take you to the artist's post on deviantArt. All fics are between 750 and 1000 words.( Times Best Forgotton: Past Avatar- OCs, A swampbending Avatar fights the uncle of the Khan )
( Blast Radius: Two Sides- Aang, Katara and Zuko contemplate the same thing during chapter 2.01, The Avatar State )
( Songs in the Static: Future Avatar, OCs, one newly told Avatar doesn't think the world needs her anymore. )
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Five A:tLA Drabbles of Varying Lengths
Written for comment_fic, which may be my new favorite thing. Yeah, I know.
( Breach- Iroh and Ozai, they've both been so close to victory (100 words) )
( Black Spirit, White Spirit, Blue Spirit- Zuko, when you're on the run, the definition of crime gets hazy (200 words) )
( Replacement- Zuko and Iroh (200 words) )
( Best Party Ever- that kid from the beach learns just who it was that tore up his house (350 words) )
( A Little Like Normal- Mai/Zuko, sleeping under the stars (400 words) )
comment_fic, which may be my new favorite thing. Yeah, I know.( Breach- Iroh and Ozai, they've both been so close to victory (100 words) )
( Black Spirit, White Spirit, Blue Spirit- Zuko, when you're on the run, the definition of crime gets hazy (200 words) )
( Replacement- Zuko and Iroh (200 words) )
( Best Party Ever- that kid from the beach learns just who it was that tore up his house (350 words) )
( A Little Like Normal- Mai/Zuko, sleeping under the stars (400 words) )
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200 word drabble: The Work of Sisters
Written for avatar_500 prompt #20, Spontaneous.
Summary: In families, everyone has a job.
The Work of Sisters
Ty Un arrayed her dolls on her bed and watched suspiciously as the maids cleaned the shelves and tables where they had been. One of her dolls didn’t have any hands anymore. One had a hole where her nose had been. She straitened robes, and smoothed hair, and waited for the maids to leave.
And when they did, she put her dolls back in their places, walked out, and shut the door behind her.
The maids didn’t go into Ty Lee’s rooms. No one did anymore. The dust hung thick on the floor, bed, and tables.
Ty Un was supposed to be the good daughter, the one who never bent, and never made trouble for her family. The one who played with dolls and smiled, and didn’t drink.
They were all good daughters, her parents said, but it was Ty Un’s job.
She closed the door. She slammed the shutters. She raised her hands and the dust flew around her in waves and eddies. It was Ty Un’s job plan her trouble so it was out of sight.
Ty Lee was gone, and she wasn’t coming back until she wanted to. So it was Ty Un’s job now to play.
avatar_500 prompt #20, Spontaneous.Summary: In families, everyone has a job.
The Work of Sisters
Ty Un arrayed her dolls on her bed and watched suspiciously as the maids cleaned the shelves and tables where they had been. One of her dolls didn’t have any hands anymore. One had a hole where her nose had been. She straitened robes, and smoothed hair, and waited for the maids to leave.
And when they did, she put her dolls back in their places, walked out, and shut the door behind her.
The maids didn’t go into Ty Lee’s rooms. No one did anymore. The dust hung thick on the floor, bed, and tables.
Ty Un was supposed to be the good daughter, the one who never bent, and never made trouble for her family. The one who played with dolls and smiled, and didn’t drink.
They were all good daughters, her parents said, but it was Ty Un’s job.
She closed the door. She slammed the shutters. She raised her hands and the dust flew around her in waves and eddies. It was Ty Un’s job plan her trouble so it was out of sight.
Ty Lee was gone, and she wasn’t coming back until she wanted to. So it was Ty Un’s job now to play.
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325 word drabble: See the World
Written for avatar_500 prompt #19, Light.
Summary: It's inside her. She can't get it out.
Warning for depiction of addiction, PTSD, and the aftereffects of a battle.
See the World
They gave her own ship not long afterwards. She stood on the bridge and drank tea from a hipflask. Her new crew drank saki. Ty Yan used to drink saki. And they told her she got off light.
She felt light. Sometimes she felt so light she thought she could walk off the ship and over the water and never touch the waves.
Ty Yan drank more tea. The saki numbed that. It weighed her down until she couldn’t feel the air on her skin.
The Northern Water Tribe drew closer. Ty Yan drew closer to it, but she couldn’t feel herself move. She was trying so hard to stay still. Zhao’s fleet steamed on, her ship, crowded in with the rest. She breathed the coal smoke. It wasn’t air.
She didn’t see what was so bad about sailing with the Banished Prince, or how this was any better.
~*~
Ty Yan grabbed onto the scraps of wood bobbing on the water. The cold water burned on her skin, and she watched heads disappear under the water all around her waiting for her turn. The Water Tribe’s spirit monster stormed away, and she heaved a sigh, and heaved up seawater, and heaved at the sight of the bodies just under the waves.
She stripped off her armor and fished a canvas tarp out of the surf and wrapped it around herself, but it was wetter than she. And she shivered.
The wind howled all around, and she couldn’t let herself blow it wall away. She still...
~*~
She floated south with the flotsam to a colony with a bar, and drank. Everyone expected to see sailors drink. And she saw her crew vanishing into the water, and she saw her people burning alive, and she felt the air whirling all around her.
And she felt heavy.
Ty Yan drank until the air stopped whirling, but they didn’t stop burning, and they didn’t stop sinking below the waves.
avatar_500 prompt #19, Light.Summary: It's inside her. She can't get it out.
Warning for depiction of addiction, PTSD, and the aftereffects of a battle.
See the World
They gave her own ship not long afterwards. She stood on the bridge and drank tea from a hipflask. Her new crew drank saki. Ty Yan used to drink saki. And they told her she got off light.
She felt light. Sometimes she felt so light she thought she could walk off the ship and over the water and never touch the waves.
Ty Yan drank more tea. The saki numbed that. It weighed her down until she couldn’t feel the air on her skin.
The Northern Water Tribe drew closer. Ty Yan drew closer to it, but she couldn’t feel herself move. She was trying so hard to stay still. Zhao’s fleet steamed on, her ship, crowded in with the rest. She breathed the coal smoke. It wasn’t air.
She didn’t see what was so bad about sailing with the Banished Prince, or how this was any better.
~*~
Ty Yan grabbed onto the scraps of wood bobbing on the water. The cold water burned on her skin, and she watched heads disappear under the water all around her waiting for her turn. The Water Tribe’s spirit monster stormed away, and she heaved a sigh, and heaved up seawater, and heaved at the sight of the bodies just under the waves.
She stripped off her armor and fished a canvas tarp out of the surf and wrapped it around herself, but it was wetter than she. And she shivered.
The wind howled all around, and she couldn’t let herself blow it wall away. She still...
~*~
She floated south with the flotsam to a colony with a bar, and drank. Everyone expected to see sailors drink. And she saw her crew vanishing into the water, and she saw her people burning alive, and she felt the air whirling all around her.
And she felt heavy.
Ty Yan drank until the air stopped whirling, but they didn’t stop burning, and they didn’t stop sinking below the waves.
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350 word drabble: Rising Steam
Written for avatar_500 prompt #18, Cut.
Summary: Seeing isn't believing.
Rising Steam
“Come on, come on!” he groaned at his freedom fighters. “They’ll be here soon.” She left him hanging from the tree like a lemon-plum, waiting for the Fire Nation soldiers to cut him down. He clenched his hands into fists, his fingers numb with cold from the ice all around them.
Smellerbee slammed the curved head of Jet’s sword into the ice over his chest in frustration. It bounced off, vibrating in her hand with the blow. “Calm down, Jet! We’re going as fast as we can.”
He growled and banged his head back against the tree. “Then just get out of here!” He could hear the soldiers clanking closer.
“Jet-”
“Leave!” he hissed, and the ice hissed off him, sizzling off his skin. He fell to the ground. The steam curled in the air above him. He could taste the metalic heat on his tongue, and feel the crackle of sparks as they died.
His freedom fighters backed away. Jet’s eyeballs strained against the confines of his skull. “That wasn’t- I’m not-”
He wasn’t. He never had been. This was just something that happened sometimes. It didn’t mean anything.
They kept backing away.
He watched them slip into the shadows under the trees and picked himself up.
~*~
He felt a tap on his shoulder, and he spun around, reaching for his hook swords, but he didn’t have them.
Longshot gazed at him somberly when Jet. Jet saw him and heaved a sigh. He wasn’t all alone. Longshot glanced down at Smellerbee, holding up the swords. He took them and hung them from his belt. “Thanks.”
His eyes roved over the empty tree houses. His freedom fighters weren’t there, to listen to him, or fight him. They were just... gone.
“They didn’t see what they thought they saw,” Smellerbee said sharply.
Longshot put his hand on Jet’s shoulder.
Jet nodded. “They didn’t.” He could still taste the sparks.
~*~
Jet slung a sack over his shoulder and grabbed the treehouse ladder. “Let’s go.”
Smellerbee sheathed her dagger. “Where?”
“Ba Sing Se.” Where everyone else running from the Fire Nation was going.
avatar_500 prompt #18, Cut.Summary: Seeing isn't believing.
Rising Steam
“Come on, come on!” he groaned at his freedom fighters. “They’ll be here soon.” She left him hanging from the tree like a lemon-plum, waiting for the Fire Nation soldiers to cut him down. He clenched his hands into fists, his fingers numb with cold from the ice all around them.
Smellerbee slammed the curved head of Jet’s sword into the ice over his chest in frustration. It bounced off, vibrating in her hand with the blow. “Calm down, Jet! We’re going as fast as we can.”
He growled and banged his head back against the tree. “Then just get out of here!” He could hear the soldiers clanking closer.
“Jet-”
“Leave!” he hissed, and the ice hissed off him, sizzling off his skin. He fell to the ground. The steam curled in the air above him. He could taste the metalic heat on his tongue, and feel the crackle of sparks as they died.
His freedom fighters backed away. Jet’s eyeballs strained against the confines of his skull. “That wasn’t- I’m not-”
He wasn’t. He never had been. This was just something that happened sometimes. It didn’t mean anything.
They kept backing away.
He watched them slip into the shadows under the trees and picked himself up.
~*~
He felt a tap on his shoulder, and he spun around, reaching for his hook swords, but he didn’t have them.
Longshot gazed at him somberly when Jet. Jet saw him and heaved a sigh. He wasn’t all alone. Longshot glanced down at Smellerbee, holding up the swords. He took them and hung them from his belt. “Thanks.”
His eyes roved over the empty tree houses. His freedom fighters weren’t there, to listen to him, or fight him. They were just... gone.
“They didn’t see what they thought they saw,” Smellerbee said sharply.
Longshot put his hand on Jet’s shoulder.
Jet nodded. “They didn’t.” He could still taste the sparks.
~*~
Jet slung a sack over his shoulder and grabbed the treehouse ladder. “Let’s go.”
Smellerbee sheathed her dagger. “Where?”
“Ba Sing Se.” Where everyone else running from the Fire Nation was going.
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200 word drabble: Fires Inside
Written for avatar_500 prompt #17, Stir.
Summary: They listen and she learns.
Fires Inside
They burn deep under Wu’s feet the night she walkes into the village. She is young and the green pinches and feels all wrong on her body. Yesterday, she followed the shifting fires under the rock to the village and glimpsed the volcano, still and serene, through the trees.
And when she went to the captain, he told her what happened to a bunch of Earth Kingdom commoners wasn’t their responsibility. She thought that was why they’re conquering the Earth Kingdom, to make things like that their responsibility.
She walks into the center of town and shouts. She knows she sounds crazy, talking about fire, lava and ash raining from the sky.
But they listen. And they leave.
~*~
She’s fifteen, and they call her Aunt. They come to her with questions about who they’re going to marry, and where they should farm. They ask about grandchildren’s names, and sick animals, and whether it will rain. So she buys scrolls from passing traders about animal husbandry, medicine, weather, farming, and everything she knows nothing about. She learns everybody’s names and the names of their ancestors. And she makes things up.
And waits for the fire in the mountain to awaken again.
avatar_500 prompt #17, Stir.Summary: They listen and she learns.
Fires Inside
They burn deep under Wu’s feet the night she walkes into the village. She is young and the green pinches and feels all wrong on her body. Yesterday, she followed the shifting fires under the rock to the village and glimpsed the volcano, still and serene, through the trees.
And when she went to the captain, he told her what happened to a bunch of Earth Kingdom commoners wasn’t their responsibility. She thought that was why they’re conquering the Earth Kingdom, to make things like that their responsibility.
She walks into the center of town and shouts. She knows she sounds crazy, talking about fire, lava and ash raining from the sky.
But they listen. And they leave.
~*~
She’s fifteen, and they call her Aunt. They come to her with questions about who they’re going to marry, and where they should farm. They ask about grandchildren’s names, and sick animals, and whether it will rain. So she buys scrolls from passing traders about animal husbandry, medicine, weather, farming, and everything she knows nothing about. She learns everybody’s names and the names of their ancestors. And she makes things up.
And waits for the fire in the mountain to awaken again.
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200 word drabble: What Can’t Change
Written for avatar_500 prompt #16, Mad.
Summary: Everything changes after the war.
What Can’t Change
They both went, but they never went together. When they walked the road to the hospital, they were always alone, even when it was full of people. And they always walked. Zuko and Mai couldn’t be Firelord and Fire Lady, not for Azula.
They never went together, but Zuko knew the look Mai got, deep in the back of her eyes when she had been there. They always held each other afterwards. They always needed to be held. Mai held Zuko while he tried not to cry, her face still and stuck, masklike and hard. Zuko held Mai while she couldn’t cry, and he wished he could cry for her, and that it would somehow make her stop hurting.
They never went together; they couldn’t be together, not for Azula. But they had to be together afterwards, for Zuko and Mai.
They never went together, but sometimes Azula still saw them together, and those were the hardest days of all. On those days, Azula cried.
They never went together, and Mai sometimes forgot they were. She remembered when she had first met Azula, and they had been so scared, and unable to show it. Azula couldn’t stop showing it anymore.
avatar_500 prompt #16, Mad.Summary: Everything changes after the war.
What Can’t Change
They both went, but they never went together. When they walked the road to the hospital, they were always alone, even when it was full of people. And they always walked. Zuko and Mai couldn’t be Firelord and Fire Lady, not for Azula.
They never went together, but Zuko knew the look Mai got, deep in the back of her eyes when she had been there. They always held each other afterwards. They always needed to be held. Mai held Zuko while he tried not to cry, her face still and stuck, masklike and hard. Zuko held Mai while she couldn’t cry, and he wished he could cry for her, and that it would somehow make her stop hurting.
They never went together; they couldn’t be together, not for Azula. But they had to be together afterwards, for Zuko and Mai.
They never went together, but sometimes Azula still saw them together, and those were the hardest days of all. On those days, Azula cried.
They never went together, and Mai sometimes forgot they were. She remembered when she had first met Azula, and they had been so scared, and unable to show it. Azula couldn’t stop showing it anymore.
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175 word drabble: The Dust and the Silence
Written for avatar_500 prompt #15, Defeat.
Summary: Ba Sing Se keeps falling.
The Dust and the Silence
The water sloshed over the edge of the bucket as Jin drew it carefully out of the public well. High apartment walls rose up around her, hemming her in. The well stood in a patch of sunlight between the shadows, and the summer heat beat down, bringing sweat up to bead on her forehead and under her robe. The cloth stuck to her body and her hair sank low and wet into her eyes.
An arm dropped itself around over her shoulders. The fingers attached to it swept down across her breasts. She dropped the bucket. “Hey, baby, come with...”
Jin couldn’t even hear the words. The water splashed over her arms and stomach. The cold only made the arm around her burn more. She flinched away from both.
She lowered her bucket on its rope back into the well, ducking the Fire Nation Soldier’s arm.
She had to say yes.
There were still Dai Li hiding just behind the roof beams.
She never would have thought that defeat would taste the same as peace.
avatar_500 prompt #15, Defeat.Summary: Ba Sing Se keeps falling.
The Dust and the Silence
The water sloshed over the edge of the bucket as Jin drew it carefully out of the public well. High apartment walls rose up around her, hemming her in. The well stood in a patch of sunlight between the shadows, and the summer heat beat down, bringing sweat up to bead on her forehead and under her robe. The cloth stuck to her body and her hair sank low and wet into her eyes.
An arm dropped itself around over her shoulders. The fingers attached to it swept down across her breasts. She dropped the bucket. “Hey, baby, come with...”
Jin couldn’t even hear the words. The water splashed over her arms and stomach. The cold only made the arm around her burn more. She flinched away from both.
She lowered her bucket on its rope back into the well, ducking the Fire Nation Soldier’s arm.
She had to say yes.
There were still Dai Li hiding just behind the roof beams.
She never would have thought that defeat would taste the same as peace.
Entry tags:
200 word Drabble: Someone Else
Written for avatar_500 prompt #14, Supernatural.
Summary: They are different.
Someone Else
Zuko knew how to wield dual swords, even if he didn’t let anyone else know.
The Blue Spirit didn’t wield swords. The swords were part of his body and being. Sometimes the spirit sheathed them and took his hands off of them, but they were always part of him.
Even when they hung on Zuko’s wall.
Zuko could breathe life into fire. He was the prince of Fire. Fire was life, and strength, hope and pride. It was his.
The Blue Spirit couldn’t bend. He was a being of shadows. Fire dispelled him. Fire was death, and weakness, fear and shame. It doesn’t belong to him.
The Blue Spirit never spoke. He didn’t need to. He had swords, and skills to speak instead. He could go anywhere, and then disappear again.
The Blue Spirit had serenity and patience instead of Zuko’s endless frustration.
While Zuko never smiled, the spirit’s face was always grinning.
The Blue Spirit wore Zuko’s clothes, held his swords, and walked his floors.
But the Blue Spirit was not Zuko.
Zuko held the mask and gazed back into its empty eyeholes. He turned the mask over in his hands and replaced its hollow eyes with his own.
avatar_500 prompt #14, Supernatural.Summary: They are different.
Someone Else
Zuko knew how to wield dual swords, even if he didn’t let anyone else know.
The Blue Spirit didn’t wield swords. The swords were part of his body and being. Sometimes the spirit sheathed them and took his hands off of them, but they were always part of him.
Even when they hung on Zuko’s wall.
Zuko could breathe life into fire. He was the prince of Fire. Fire was life, and strength, hope and pride. It was his.
The Blue Spirit couldn’t bend. He was a being of shadows. Fire dispelled him. Fire was death, and weakness, fear and shame. It doesn’t belong to him.
The Blue Spirit never spoke. He didn’t need to. He had swords, and skills to speak instead. He could go anywhere, and then disappear again.
The Blue Spirit had serenity and patience instead of Zuko’s endless frustration.
While Zuko never smiled, the spirit’s face was always grinning.
The Blue Spirit wore Zuko’s clothes, held his swords, and walked his floors.
But the Blue Spirit was not Zuko.
Zuko held the mask and gazed back into its empty eyeholes. He turned the mask over in his hands and replaced its hollow eyes with his own.
Entry tags:
250 word Drabble: So Many Ways
Written for avatar_500 , prompt #13, Memory.
Summary: There are so many ways for someone to get hurt.
So Many Ways
After the birth, while her thighs were still bloody, the royal physician lay the baby in Mai’s shaking arms. She slumped against the pillows and tried not to clench her hands and press her new daughter to her, to keep her safe from everything else.
Because she knew that would leave bruises all over her new, red skin.
She clenched her jaw instead, and felt something clench deep inside.
Zuko, face yellow-gray with worry, lowered himself down to perch tentatively beside her on the bed. Mai’s hand clutched his so hard her nails sank into his flesh and raised up little drops of blood. She stared at him in desperation. Her voice was neutral. Her voice was always neutral. “Do you want to hold her?”
When he shook his head, he trembled so hard, the movements looked like spasms. “No.” She had seen him scared. She had seen him scared so many times, but not like he was when he looked at the tiny human in her arms, not the wrenching, freezing terror and guilt radiating off him as he tried to tear his eyes away from their daughter.
He wanted to shove her away, send her away. Far away so that he couldn’t hurt her. His scar ached, and he felt the air around him crushing in on him.
All they could do was look at each other. Neither one of them could speak. They looked at each other instead of their child and tried not to remember anything.
avatar_500 , prompt #13, Memory.Summary: There are so many ways for someone to get hurt.
So Many Ways
After the birth, while her thighs were still bloody, the royal physician lay the baby in Mai’s shaking arms. She slumped against the pillows and tried not to clench her hands and press her new daughter to her, to keep her safe from everything else.
Because she knew that would leave bruises all over her new, red skin.
She clenched her jaw instead, and felt something clench deep inside.
Zuko, face yellow-gray with worry, lowered himself down to perch tentatively beside her on the bed. Mai’s hand clutched his so hard her nails sank into his flesh and raised up little drops of blood. She stared at him in desperation. Her voice was neutral. Her voice was always neutral. “Do you want to hold her?”
When he shook his head, he trembled so hard, the movements looked like spasms. “No.” She had seen him scared. She had seen him scared so many times, but not like he was when he looked at the tiny human in her arms, not the wrenching, freezing terror and guilt radiating off him as he tried to tear his eyes away from their daughter.
He wanted to shove her away, send her away. Far away so that he couldn’t hurt her. His scar ached, and he felt the air around him crushing in on him.
All they could do was look at each other. Neither one of them could speak. They looked at each other instead of their child and tried not to remember anything.
Entry tags:
275 word Drabble: Normal People
Written for avatar_500 , prompt #12, Devour.
Summary: Neither girl really knows what to do after the fighting stops.
Normal People
The others trickled out of the teashop in twos and threes until Mai sat alone at the table with her bowl of noodles. Even Zuko. She heaved a bored sigh.
“You gonna eat that?”
Mai started in surprise. The Avatar’s earthbender put her feet up on the table and leaned back in her chair until it almost touched Mai’s, pointing behind her to Mai’s bowl of noodles without looking.
Not that there was any point to her looking, Mai reasoned. She lifted up the bowl absently before her eyes fell on the table in front of the girl. Sitting back down, Mai pulled one of the noodles out of the bowl with her lips and drew it into her mouth with a long, careful slurp. Mai didn’t slurp. “You already have two bowls of noodles in front of you.”
The earthbender girl smirked and picked up one of the bowls. “Yeah, not like I don’t want more after I’m done.” She packed her mouth full and burped, dropping the bowl nonchalantly onto a letter in front of her on the table.
Mai glanced down at it. “Want me to read that for you?”
“No,” Toph sneered down at it.
Mai shrugged.
“Parents suck.” The earthbender’s voice cut through the stretching silence.
Mai shrugged again and slurped down another noodle.
“I didn’t think you made noise when you ate.”
“No.”
She smiled widely, leaning back in her chair far enough to rest her head on Mai’s shoulder. “Your parents as bad as mine?”
Mai glanced at the ceiling.
The earthbender elbowed her in the back. “Come on, put your feet up here like a normal person.”
avatar_500 , prompt #12, Devour.Summary: Neither girl really knows what to do after the fighting stops.
Normal People
The others trickled out of the teashop in twos and threes until Mai sat alone at the table with her bowl of noodles. Even Zuko. She heaved a bored sigh.
“You gonna eat that?”
Mai started in surprise. The Avatar’s earthbender put her feet up on the table and leaned back in her chair until it almost touched Mai’s, pointing behind her to Mai’s bowl of noodles without looking.
Not that there was any point to her looking, Mai reasoned. She lifted up the bowl absently before her eyes fell on the table in front of the girl. Sitting back down, Mai pulled one of the noodles out of the bowl with her lips and drew it into her mouth with a long, careful slurp. Mai didn’t slurp. “You already have two bowls of noodles in front of you.”
The earthbender girl smirked and picked up one of the bowls. “Yeah, not like I don’t want more after I’m done.” She packed her mouth full and burped, dropping the bowl nonchalantly onto a letter in front of her on the table.
Mai glanced down at it. “Want me to read that for you?”
“No,” Toph sneered down at it.
Mai shrugged.
“Parents suck.” The earthbender’s voice cut through the stretching silence.
Mai shrugged again and slurped down another noodle.
“I didn’t think you made noise when you ate.”
“No.”
She smiled widely, leaning back in her chair far enough to rest her head on Mai’s shoulder. “Your parents as bad as mine?”
Mai glanced at the ceiling.
The earthbender elbowed her in the back. “Come on, put your feet up here like a normal person.”
Entry tags:
200 word Drabble: Merit
Written for the atlaland and avatar_500 joint challenge, prompt #11, Teach.
Summary: After the war, Iroh talks to Ozai about their father.
Merit
The guards left as soon as Iroh waved them away. When Iroh had been on the other side of the bars, the guards had stayed.
Iroh sank to the floor and folded his legs. “I thought you should know Azula’s doing better.”
“Not screaming for her mother anymore?” Ozai sneered.
“She never screamed for Ursa. She screamed at Ursa. She screamed for you.”
Ozai turned to face the wall.
“Her doctors could bring her to visit if you promised to be nice. She would like that.”
Ozai flinched.
Iroh pushed the teacup he brought through the bars. “You know, I would have thought you would have learned something from our father, but you treated your children the same way he treated us.”
Throwing himself at the bars, Ozai kicked the teacup into his brother’s face, hands clenching on the iron. “I did everything different!” he howled. “I swore I’d never treat any my children differently just because one was born first! They’d have to earn-”
Iroh thought about his nephew waiting for him by the turtle-duck pond and the niece he’d just visited, and wondered how the man could choose.
Before his brother could say anything else, Iroh was gone.
atlaland and avatar_500 joint challenge, prompt #11, Teach.Summary: After the war, Iroh talks to Ozai about their father.
Merit
The guards left as soon as Iroh waved them away. When Iroh had been on the other side of the bars, the guards had stayed.
Iroh sank to the floor and folded his legs. “I thought you should know Azula’s doing better.”
“Not screaming for her mother anymore?” Ozai sneered.
“She never screamed for Ursa. She screamed at Ursa. She screamed for you.”
Ozai turned to face the wall.
“Her doctors could bring her to visit if you promised to be nice. She would like that.”
Ozai flinched.
Iroh pushed the teacup he brought through the bars. “You know, I would have thought you would have learned something from our father, but you treated your children the same way he treated us.”
Throwing himself at the bars, Ozai kicked the teacup into his brother’s face, hands clenching on the iron. “I did everything different!” he howled. “I swore I’d never treat any my children differently just because one was born first! They’d have to earn-”
Iroh thought about his nephew waiting for him by the turtle-duck pond and the niece he’d just visited, and wondered how the man could choose.
Before his brother could say anything else, Iroh was gone.
Entry tags:
250 word Drabble: The Name Collector
Written for avatar_500 prompt #10, Monk.
Summary: Xiangzhi loves funerals.
The Name Collector
He always arrived during funerals.
The girl’s family sobbed, and moaned, and carried on, calling out her name to themselves as he stepped into the village square, head bowed. One old man grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the open grave.
“You must be a gift from the spirits,” the man exclaimed, “To come when you did. My poor brother and his wife, could you say a blessing over my niece’s grave?”
Xiangzhi nodded and smoothed down his yellow and orange robes. When he began to chant, everyone stopped crying to look at him. An Air Nomad monk at the poor girl’s funeral. She just died in her sleep, isn’t that sad?
She’d gone easily. Her pillow pressed down on her face, over her nose and mouth, and she couldn’t even raise the air to scream.
Xiangzhi hid his smile.
The funeral was such a big deal. He always picked the biggest house in town, the one where the daughters were bound to have their own rooms, and he could be alone. It was so easy to get away when he didn’t have to leave footprints. They made it so easy.
And it was so easy to wait in the woods until the wailing started and the grave was dug.
The girl’s spirit squirmed under his hands as he pinned her between them and forced her into her grave, and her mother moaned her daughter’s name again and again. Xiangzhi let the name fall into his mind, satisfied.
avatar_500 prompt #10, Monk.Summary: Xiangzhi loves funerals.
The Name Collector
He always arrived during funerals.
The girl’s family sobbed, and moaned, and carried on, calling out her name to themselves as he stepped into the village square, head bowed. One old man grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the open grave.
“You must be a gift from the spirits,” the man exclaimed, “To come when you did. My poor brother and his wife, could you say a blessing over my niece’s grave?”
Xiangzhi nodded and smoothed down his yellow and orange robes. When he began to chant, everyone stopped crying to look at him. An Air Nomad monk at the poor girl’s funeral. She just died in her sleep, isn’t that sad?
She’d gone easily. Her pillow pressed down on her face, over her nose and mouth, and she couldn’t even raise the air to scream.
Xiangzhi hid his smile.
The funeral was such a big deal. He always picked the biggest house in town, the one where the daughters were bound to have their own rooms, and he could be alone. It was so easy to get away when he didn’t have to leave footprints. They made it so easy.
And it was so easy to wait in the woods until the wailing started and the grave was dug.
The girl’s spirit squirmed under his hands as he pinned her between them and forced her into her grave, and her mother moaned her daughter’s name again and again. Xiangzhi let the name fall into his mind, satisfied.
Entry tags:
500 word Drabble: The Scariest Day
Written for avatar_500 prompt #9, Honor.
Summary: Living in hiding takes its toll.
The Scariest Day
The scariest day of his life was the day he told his wife what he was. She was six months pregnant, and he should have told her on their wedding night, but he was a coward. He knew he was a coward. He came from a family of cowards.
That day, she screamed and raged and he waited for the soldiers to come to their door to kill him. But she didn’t tell.
Sometimes, after she let her hair down in the evenings, and before she braided it back up for bed, he bent a breeze to play with it as he ran his fingers through, and she would laugh at him.
They had children together. Ty Hei was only the first. There was honor in keeping his family safe.
The scariest day of his life was the day he told his wife what he was until the scariest day became the day he sent Ty Lee off to school.
The rest of his children he could tutor, but Ty Lee was only a year older than Princess Azula, and people would be suspicious if he didn’t send her hoping they’d become friends and win their family favor. No one could ever be suspicious of them.
It should have been Ty Un, who liked to liked to collect dolls and crack jokes, and could keep her feet on the ground. She would have bored the Princess. Boring was good. Boring was safe, and kept the family safe.
Ty Lee bent like she breathed, and her feet never touched the ground.
But Ty Lee turned out to be the best of anyone at hiding it. She bent and fought at the Princess’ side and no one ever noticed, because she was Ty Lee.
They taught all of their children to fight. Ty Yan even joined the navy. The day she did, he and his wife heaved a sigh of relief. No one would expect to find an airbender in the Fire Navy, any more than they expected to find them among the Fire Nation nobility.
He taught all of his children to hide as he had been taught to hide. He taught them to smile, and laugh, and play stupid, and keep the conversation on everybody else. It kept them safe. It kept them all alive. And he knew how much they must hate it.
His mother’s father’s mother had passed down what she could to her children, who passed it down to theirs. Surrounded by people who wanted them dead, the only way to keep a little bit of their history alive was to keep it secret and teach their children. There was honor in keeping their people alive.
When the war ended, it was hard to remember there was honor in speaking.
The scariest day of his life was the day he sent Ty Lee off to school until the scariest day became the day he told the world what he was and watched his children learn to fly.
avatar_500 prompt #9, Honor.Summary: Living in hiding takes its toll.
The Scariest Day
The scariest day of his life was the day he told his wife what he was. She was six months pregnant, and he should have told her on their wedding night, but he was a coward. He knew he was a coward. He came from a family of cowards.
That day, she screamed and raged and he waited for the soldiers to come to their door to kill him. But she didn’t tell.
Sometimes, after she let her hair down in the evenings, and before she braided it back up for bed, he bent a breeze to play with it as he ran his fingers through, and she would laugh at him.
They had children together. Ty Hei was only the first. There was honor in keeping his family safe.
The scariest day of his life was the day he told his wife what he was until the scariest day became the day he sent Ty Lee off to school.
The rest of his children he could tutor, but Ty Lee was only a year older than Princess Azula, and people would be suspicious if he didn’t send her hoping they’d become friends and win their family favor. No one could ever be suspicious of them.
It should have been Ty Un, who liked to liked to collect dolls and crack jokes, and could keep her feet on the ground. She would have bored the Princess. Boring was good. Boring was safe, and kept the family safe.
Ty Lee bent like she breathed, and her feet never touched the ground.
But Ty Lee turned out to be the best of anyone at hiding it. She bent and fought at the Princess’ side and no one ever noticed, because she was Ty Lee.
They taught all of their children to fight. Ty Yan even joined the navy. The day she did, he and his wife heaved a sigh of relief. No one would expect to find an airbender in the Fire Navy, any more than they expected to find them among the Fire Nation nobility.
He taught all of his children to hide as he had been taught to hide. He taught them to smile, and laugh, and play stupid, and keep the conversation on everybody else. It kept them safe. It kept them all alive. And he knew how much they must hate it.
His mother’s father’s mother had passed down what she could to her children, who passed it down to theirs. Surrounded by people who wanted them dead, the only way to keep a little bit of their history alive was to keep it secret and teach their children. There was honor in keeping their people alive.
When the war ended, it was hard to remember there was honor in speaking.
The scariest day of his life was the day he sent Ty Lee off to school until the scariest day became the day he told the world what he was and watched his children learn to fly.
Entry tags:
250 word drabble: Never to Relinquish
Written for avatar_500 prompt #8, Token.
Summary: Iroh comes to a realization.
Never to Relinquish
The streets of Ba Sing Se twist around and around, and back on themselves, like coils of knotted rope. Kuei’s feet follow them through the upper ring gardens, as he trudges beside Bosco, a three day beard on his face, hair springing out of his braid. He sticks to the shadows as a pair of city guards passed, his hand on Bosco’s head. Once they’re out of sight, he steps back onto the street and slips through the back door of the teashop he has been told to find.
“I don’t have any stale ca-”
Kuei shake his head, glancing pointedly at the piles of reports lying on a table in the corner. “General Iroh. I was told this is where I would find the real government of the city.”
Setting the teapot in his hands down onto the counter, Iroh narrows his eyes. “Who are you?”
~*~
Iroh pours the tea into the teacup in front of Kuei before pouring his own. “The Dai Li and my niece once tricked my nephew and I into coming to the palace by claiming we were going to serve you tea.”
Kuei lifts the cup to his mouth. The steam stings against the freshly shaved skin, the sleeve of Iroh’s borrowed robe trailing behind his arm. “I wanted to thank you for taking care of Ba Sing Se for me while I was absent.”
As the Earth King speaks, Iroh drinks his tea and wonders if this is what the Dai Li felt.
avatar_500 prompt #8, Token.Summary: Iroh comes to a realization.
Never to Relinquish
The streets of Ba Sing Se twist around and around, and back on themselves, like coils of knotted rope. Kuei’s feet follow them through the upper ring gardens, as he trudges beside Bosco, a three day beard on his face, hair springing out of his braid. He sticks to the shadows as a pair of city guards passed, his hand on Bosco’s head. Once they’re out of sight, he steps back onto the street and slips through the back door of the teashop he has been told to find.
“I don’t have any stale ca-”
Kuei shake his head, glancing pointedly at the piles of reports lying on a table in the corner. “General Iroh. I was told this is where I would find the real government of the city.”
Setting the teapot in his hands down onto the counter, Iroh narrows his eyes. “Who are you?”
~*~
Iroh pours the tea into the teacup in front of Kuei before pouring his own. “The Dai Li and my niece once tricked my nephew and I into coming to the palace by claiming we were going to serve you tea.”
Kuei lifts the cup to his mouth. The steam stings against the freshly shaved skin, the sleeve of Iroh’s borrowed robe trailing behind his arm. “I wanted to thank you for taking care of Ba Sing Se for me while I was absent.”
As the Earth King speaks, Iroh drinks his tea and wonders if this is what the Dai Li felt.
Entry tags:
400 word drabble: Asunder
Written for avatar_500 prompt #7, Neglect.
Summary: When wars end, there's always someone lost in the shuffle.
Asunder
Wangji’s mother is Earth. Her mama is strong and steady, and steadfast as stone.
Wangji’s brothers and sisters are Earth. They have green eyes, and slow tempers, and they grew up with dirt on their hands.
Wangji’s stepfather is Earth. He has big hands and wide shoulders that Wangji and all of her siblings rode around on in turn.
Wangji threw sparks around her crib as a baby. When he was feeling cruel, her big brother Keqin would tell her all about how that made her mother cry, and rage, about how Wangji wasn’t her stepfather’s but that Fire soldier who had-
Everybody was so happy when the war ended and the Fire Nation soldiers left and the Earth Kingdom ones came back. Wangji too. She’s not happy anymore.
When they came back, they put Wangji in a wagon. They wouldn’t let her family come, so her mama, and papa, and all her brothers and sisters followed along side and held her hands until the soldiers drove them away. There were other mothers fathers, stepfathers, stepmothers, brothers, and sisters following too, for the other kids, until the soldiers drove them away.
When they put her on the wagon, she was wearing green, a jeogori and chima her mama sewed her. They made her change into something red, but she didn’t own anything red. She still doesn’t. The scratchy thing they gave her is the brown color of dry blood.
She’s the oldest kid in the cart from her town; they keep handing her the babies, but she’s the baby of her family, and she’s never been near any other kind of baby before. But the Fire Nation colonists in the cart with them won’t have anything to do with them; they say the kids are Earth Kingdom, and they won’t admit they lost the war, and Haizi’s crying and she can’t do anything.
She’s thirteen. Everybody says that’s the same age as the Avatar. She hates him.
Tomorrow she’s going to get on a big metal ship, and everything left of what she knows will be gone.
She doesn’t think anyone in the Fire Nation will want anything to do with them any more than the Fire Nation colonists do.
There won’t be anyone waiting for her.
She doesn’t bend anymore. It aches and aches, and calls to her, but she won’t bend like they bend.
Wangji knows she’s Earth.
avatar_500 prompt #7, Neglect.Summary: When wars end, there's always someone lost in the shuffle.
Asunder
Wangji’s mother is Earth. Her mama is strong and steady, and steadfast as stone.
Wangji’s brothers and sisters are Earth. They have green eyes, and slow tempers, and they grew up with dirt on their hands.
Wangji’s stepfather is Earth. He has big hands and wide shoulders that Wangji and all of her siblings rode around on in turn.
Wangji threw sparks around her crib as a baby. When he was feeling cruel, her big brother Keqin would tell her all about how that made her mother cry, and rage, about how Wangji wasn’t her stepfather’s but that Fire soldier who had-
Everybody was so happy when the war ended and the Fire Nation soldiers left and the Earth Kingdom ones came back. Wangji too. She’s not happy anymore.
When they came back, they put Wangji in a wagon. They wouldn’t let her family come, so her mama, and papa, and all her brothers and sisters followed along side and held her hands until the soldiers drove them away. There were other mothers fathers, stepfathers, stepmothers, brothers, and sisters following too, for the other kids, until the soldiers drove them away.
When they put her on the wagon, she was wearing green, a jeogori and chima her mama sewed her. They made her change into something red, but she didn’t own anything red. She still doesn’t. The scratchy thing they gave her is the brown color of dry blood.
She’s the oldest kid in the cart from her town; they keep handing her the babies, but she’s the baby of her family, and she’s never been near any other kind of baby before. But the Fire Nation colonists in the cart with them won’t have anything to do with them; they say the kids are Earth Kingdom, and they won’t admit they lost the war, and Haizi’s crying and she can’t do anything.
She’s thirteen. Everybody says that’s the same age as the Avatar. She hates him.
Tomorrow she’s going to get on a big metal ship, and everything left of what she knows will be gone.
She doesn’t think anyone in the Fire Nation will want anything to do with them any more than the Fire Nation colonists do.
There won’t be anyone waiting for her.
She doesn’t bend anymore. It aches and aches, and calls to her, but she won’t bend like they bend.
Wangji knows she’s Earth.