𝑯𝑰𝑫𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑶𝑵, 𝒂: 𝒕𝒍𝒂

➳ 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦: 𝘴𝘰𝘬𝘬𝘢'𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵

KIDA SEARCHES THROUGH HER BAG, desperately looking for some materials to restring her bow.

"Have you seen the twine?" she asks her brother, Hiro. The boy is sitting across from her with his back turned away. Kida can tell that his hands are working on something.

"I made this for you!" Hiro proclaims with joy a few seconds later. He hands her a bracelet made out of twine.

"Hiro, this wasn't for crafts!" she yells, throwing the bracelet on the ground. Kida is tired and hungry and all she wants is to run back home, to their village, and see their parents again. None of that was possible, however, so there they were, two children camping in the forest at night. What Kida really needs is a way to defend her brother. A knife or a sword isn't out of the question, but Kida is a much better archer; plus, a bow and arrow could be used from a distance, further away from danger. "I needed that for my bow! How am I supposed to protect you now?"

The smile on his face fades away. "I'm sorry, I --"

Kida interrupts and continues to yell in frustration, but when she sees tears brimming her brother's eyes, she stops. She picks up the bracelet, walks over to Hiro and sits down next to him.

"I just wanted to make you something special," he whispers in between sobs. He turns to Kida, and she uses her sleeve to wipe away some tears.

"I know," she says. "I shouldn't have yelled. I'm sorry." Kida holds the bracelet in her hand, then passes it to Hiro. "Can you tie it for me?"

At the request, Hiro breaks out into a toothy grin. He eagerly secures the bracelet to her left wrist. "There you go!"

Kida examines it closer: along with the dark green twine, Hiro had woven some silver fishing wire, and blue and red thread that Kida saved for sewing.

"It's the four nations!" Hiro explains. "Do you like it, Kida?.....Kida?...Ki--

»»---------------------►

"KIDA!" Aang shouts. "Have you seen Momo?"

After escaping the pirates, the group flew on Appa for a bit, before stopping on land for a night. Since Kida had lost her bow when the pirates ambushed her, she started to make a new one, but her mind started to wonder. Kida hadn't even realized that she had been staring at the bracelet on her left wrist, until Aang called her name. Aang and Katara look at her with a mixture of confusion and worry, while Sokka simply rolls his eyes.

"No, I haven't," Kida replies. She finishes attaching twine to a stick she had crafted and shaped earlier; once she's done notching the bow string, Kida grips the bow firmly in her hand, feeling a bit more secure. She secures a quiver of arrows around her shoulder and stands up. "Let's go look for him."

»»---------------------►

THEY FIND MOMO, in the trees, trapped in some sort of cage.

"Hang on, Momo!" Aang announces.

He effortlessly jumps up to the tree and slowly lowers the cage. Katara and Sokka then open it, allowing the lemur monkey to be free. After Aang jumps down, he looks back up to see two more animals, trapped and whimpering for help.

"Alright! You guys too."

Aang starts to jumps back up. Kida sighs.

"This is gonna take forever," she remarks. Kida notches two arrows to her bow and sends them flying to knock down the cages. The animals run free, but something about the cages make Kida feel uneasy. "These are Fire Nation traps," she realizes. "We should pack up camp and get moving."

»»---------------------►

ONCE THE GANG IS ALL SET TO GO, Sokka declares:

"Nope. No flying this time."

"What? Why wouldn't we fly?" Aang wonders.

"Well, Prince Zuko and the Fire Nation keep finding us because Appa is too noticeable."

"What! Appa is not too noticeable," Katara protests.

"He's a gigantic fluff monster with an arrow on his head!"

Appa groans and Aang jumps up to give him a hug. "Sokka's just jealous cause he doesn't have an arrow."

The boy in question rolls his eyes. "I know you all want to fly, but my instincts tell me that we should play it safe this time and walk."

"Since when are you and your instincts in charge?" Kida scoffs.

"I'm not in charge, I'm the leader," Sokka clarifies.

"You're the leader? But your voice still cracks!" Katara laughs.

"I'm the oldest and I'm a warrior," Sokka explains, his voice cracking in perfect timing. "So I'm leader."

"If we're going by those standards, shouldn't Kida be the leader?" Katara challenges.

"Katara's right, Sokka," Aang states.

"Nope, no way! The leader has to be someone who has been here from the beginning."

"Well, then if we need a leader, I think it should be Aang," Kida mentions. "I mean, he is the reason we're all here."

"I thought you were here so that Katara has someone to talk about boys and makeup and stuff, " Sokka mocks.

Kida blows a piece of hair away from her face while glowering at Sokka. "It would be so easy for me to shoot an arrow through your tiny little body right now."

Sokka ignores her. "The leader should be a warrior, not a girl."

"I just so happen to be both," Kida argues. "And, last time I checked, you're neither."

"I'll have you know I'm the best warrior in my village."

"Was that before or after all the real warriors left to fight the Fire Nation?" Kida challenges. When she sees how Sokka's face falls, Kida decides that she's won the argument. "Besides, why do boys always think that someone has to be the leader?"

"You know Sokka, I bet you'd be less bossy if you actually kissed a girl," Katara mentions. Kida puts her hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

"I've kissed a girl! You just haven't met her yet," Sokka defends.

"Who? Gran-Gran? I've met Gran-Gran."

His eyes shoot to Kida, then back to Katara, his face a bright red. "No! Besides Gran-Gran. Look, my instincts tell me that we'd slip by better on foot, and a leader needs to trust his instincts."

"Okay, we'll try your way, oh wise leader," Katara offers, bowing sarcastically.

"Who knows," Aang starts. "Walking might be fun."

»»---------------------►

"WALKING STINKS!" Aang exclaims, his arms raising in frustration. "How do people get around without a flying bison?"

"Why don't you ask Sokka's instincts," Kida suggests sarcastically. In truth, she didn't mind walking because that was how she usually got around and it did make sense to keep a low profile, but there was no way she was about to openly agree with Sokka.

For a while, Aang and Katara exchange banter, mocking Sokka, before he finally had enough.

"Okay, okay guys, I get it. I'm tired too. But the important thing is that we're safe from the....Fire Nation."

They stumble upon a camp of about a dozen Fire Nation soldiers.

"Sokka's instincts suck," Kida grumbles.

She moves to draw her bow, but one of the soldiers sends a blast of fire her way. Kida dodges it, but the fire grazes her arm. Thankfully, Katara acts fast and uses her water to put out the flame.

Before anyone can start fighting, one of the Fire Nation soldiers suddenly falls to the ground.

"Down you go," a familiar voice says from behind. It's a voice Kida thought she'd never hear again.

Jet.