𝑯𝑰𝑫𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑶𝑵, 𝒂: 𝒕𝒍𝒂

➳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦: 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴

THE LAST PLACE KIDA WANTED TO BE IS IN A FIRE NATION TOWN, surrounded by fire and firebenders, during their annual "Fire Days" festival, but Aang was persistent, and he needed to see some firebending up close; that is, when it's not used as an attack against him. Kida knew from the moment they stepped into town that there would be some sort of trouble caused by their group.

Long story short: she was right, which was why Kida, Aang, Sokka and Katara are now running away from a group of Fire Nation soldiers.

"Follow me!" a voice says from out of nowhere. It belongs to someone wearing a cape, their face covered with a bandana. "I can get you out of here!"

"Can we trust him?" Kida asks her friends. She grabs the wall to steady herself; after a week, the injury to her ribs is starting to heal, but in moments of exertion like this one, the pain flares up again.

"We trust you, didn't we?" Sokka counters, referring to the first time Kida met the group.

"Point taken," Kida replies. Aang and Katara nod as well.

They manage to evade the soldiers, until they are led down a dead end. Desperately, Aang uses his bison whistle to call Appa, who shows up soon after. The group flies away, but not before their mysterious guide throws one last firebomb down for good measure.

Once safely in the air, Kida leans back against the saddle and tries to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?" Katara wonders, looking at Kida with concern. Kida nods, but Katara doesn't seem convinced. "I wish there was a way you could heal faster."

"You and me both."

Their conversation is interrupted when a flurry of fireworks go off in the air.

Aang looks back to the traveller, who by now has taken off his hood. "Nice touch setting off the fireworks."

"You seem to really know your explosives," Sokka notices.

"I'm familiar."

"You're a Fire Nation soldier!"

"Was," he corrects. "My name's Chey."

»»---------------------►

ONCE THE GROUP SETS UP CAMP, CHEY BEGINS TO EXPLAIN HIS STORY. For a fleeting moment, Kida scolds herself; this is exactly what she should have done when she first met the team: tell her story — the real one, all of it — and be honest from the start. But there's no point in looking back, Kida tells herself. Only now, and only forward. The rest will fall into place naturally. Or fall apart. Maybe I should just —

"I serve a man," Chey explains. "More than a man, really, he's a myth, but he's real. Jeong Jeong the Deserter. He was a Fire Nation General. Or, wait...was he an admiral?"

"He was very highly ranked, we get it," Sokka groans, wanting Chey to finish his thought.

"Yeah! Way up there!" Chey exclaims. "But he couldn't take the madness anymore. He's the first person ever to leave the army and live."

He wasn't the last, Kida reflects, thinking about her father.

"Jeong Jeong's a firebending genius," Chey continues. "Some say he's mad, but he's not. He's enlightened."

"You mean, there's a firebender out here who's not with the Fire Lord?"

Kida sighs internally. Look to your left, kid. I mean, I don't even know if I could still do it, after all these years, and I'm far from being a master, but — Is there really a point in telling you, then?