𝑯𝑰𝑫𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑶𝑵, 𝒂: 𝒕𝒍𝒂

➳ 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰: 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘥𝘰

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" All my life,

I've been fighting a war. "

- "Bravado" by Lorde 

╚➹════════════➹╝

THE INK STAINS ON HER HANDS ARE DRIVING KIDA MAD. She's scrubbed and scrubbed, but the marks have yet to disappear. She didn't even have a pair of gloves to cover them up, and it was practically freezing outside and her pockets weren't nearly warm enough. Maybe that's what she deserves for running away like a coward: stained and frostbitten hands.

Earlier that day, Hahn walked up to Kida and said: "I guess you finally decided to get away from that wannabe warrior." Kida had to resist the urge to throw the boy overboard; instead, she replied by deadpaning, "If that was the case, Hahn, I wouldn't have gotten on this boat with you." Hahn laughed as though Kida hadn't just made a comment at his expense and proceeded to shamelessly flirt with Kida. So, yeah, this spontaneous decision to hitch a ride with these troops was off to a great start.

Kida left in such a hurry after writing that letter to Aang that she couldn't bring her father's ring or her mother's sword, both things she had trouble finding in such a short time. She figures that one of the healers at the hospital took her ring off, for whatever reason, which she found strange since the bracelets were kept on her wrist. She knows that she let Sokka use her sword during one of their training sessions, so he probably has that. All Kida was left with were the clothes on her back, her archery set and her hunting knife, which wasn't too little, actually, considering she had almost no time to pack.

The truth is, Kida didn't want to stick around long enough for things to get worse between her and the team. She had already lost Sokka — that cold, unforgiving look is something Kida would never forget — and if Katara and Aang hated her, too, Kida couldn't bear it. Besides, the tension between her and Sokka would have been an issue for the entire team like it was when Kida first joined, but this time there would be no simple fix.

It's better that they remember her as the archer who left because she loved them and didn't want them to make a difficult choice, than the firebender who stuck around even after she lied to them and caused even more problems.

Standing on the deck of this Watertribe boat, night already fallen and most of the crew asleep, Kida considers her options while looking up at the stars. Usually, Kida was fairly good at getting back up on her feet and knowing where to go next and what to do, but it seems almost impossible this time.

After her parents died, all Kida wanted to do was keep Hiro safe, to protect him at all costs. She couldn't. After losing Hiro, all Kida needed to do was fulfill the prophecy, but the Avatar was not thought to be alive. So, she chose to honor her family's memory by fighting the war that took their lives, and also try to survive on the off chance that the Avatar was discovered. Kida helped form the Freedom Fighters with Jet; everyone knows how well that turned out, though. Afterwards, Kida went to Kyoshi Island so that she could continue with the training she started with her mother, but left when things with Suki got intense. For about two years after that, Kida travelled around the Earth Kingdom, sometimes wearing a hood and bandana as a disguise if there were civilians in danger who needed help. Kida always kept her bow strung and her arrows sharp for that reason, but she always tried to keep a low profile, too. And then she got word that the Avatar was alive. Kida met Aang and the rest of the team and then....then, things got complicated.

Kida has always been able to bounce back, to storm ahead in the face of adversity, so why was it so difficult to, now? Simple answer: everyone has their breaking point, and Kida was long past overdue to reach hers.

Weirdly enough, despite her spiralling thoughts, there was something calming about being on the water and feeling the winter breeze on her face as she stood on the deck. There was literally an ocean of possibility in front of her, which was as reassuring as it was scary. Kida could go anywhere, be anyone, if she wanted to. If she wanted to.

Daughter, sister, warrior, firebender, archer, liar, friend, lover.

Who was Kida, now that she'd lost everything? 

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author's note ! this chapter was super short, but hope you still enjoyed! 

also, i realize that the structure of this is a little different than normal, ive been listening to pure heroine on repeat, so expect some lorde-themed chapter names...

thanks for reading :)

~blue