𝑯𝑰𝑫𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑶𝑵, 𝒂: 𝒕𝒍𝒂

➳ 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴

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warning!

this chapter contains some swearing, mentions of blood, and violence!

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IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT NIGHTMARES PREVENT KIDA FROM GETTING A RESTFUL SLEEP. The night before the invasion is no different — in fact, it's worse than ever before.

But, Kida tries as hard as she can to brush it off. She ignores the heavy feeling in her stomach, butterflies with wings made of pure stone. She controls her breathing so that her heart doesn't beat out of her chest, and, more importantly, Toph can't sense anything wrong. Kida continues to make as many arrows as possible, mentally preparing herself for the battle looming over them.

She looks up from her work: Toph is sitting comfortably on a rock, Sokka is looking over his maps and plans for the billionth time, Aang and Katara having a conversation. It would seem like a regular day travelling with the team.

"Oh no," Katara suddenly says, looking across the water. "Sokka, do you think the fog will interfere with the invasion plan?"

Sokka stands up to follow her gaze. "No," he replies hopefully. Sokka turns back towards the team. "That is the invasion."

The team climbs down to meet everyone, and before long reunites with old friends and family alike. Haru, an earthbender Katara and the team helped free, and his father; Toph's former earthbending competitors; Teo and his father, who made helped bring Sokka's invention to life, and made a new glider for Aang; Duke and Pipsqueak, former Freedom Fighters who Kida knew well; some waterbenders from the swamp lands; and, of course, Bato and Hakoda, who offers Kida a warm greeting.

"I see you and my son have decided to get along," Hakoda muses.

Kida feels warmth rise to her cheeks as she smiles. "We figured it would be best for the team," she quips, just as Sokka shoots Kida a smile before he goes back to his conversation with Teo's father, which Hakoda notices.

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you both made the right choice." Hakoda winks knowingly. "Maybe when all this is over, you can come visit the Southern Water Tribe."

This thought prompts a wave of nervous anticipation from Kida, mixed with nausea. The idea that the war could finally be over, that Kida could finally stop fighting, that the people she loves would finally be safe, is one that she has trouble believing.

"Hey," Sokka greets, walking up to Kida and Hakoda. "I'm gathering everyone for a briefing of the plan."

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AFTER SOKKA'S BRIEFING — WHICH HAKODA ENDS UP HAVING TO INTERRUPT — EVERYONE STARTS TO GO INTO FULL PREPARATION MODE.

Kida settles in by the shore, wrapping strips of cloth on her arms, something Sokka taught her to help prevent injuries. She secures all her weapons to her body: her sword in its sheath and her quiver full of arrows strapped to her back, her knife to her belt, and her bow grasped in her hand. For all her years of fighting, all the blood, sweat, and tears, Kida has never been in a battle like this before; she isn't sure that she's ready, but she has no choice but to be. She tries to think about Aang's bravery, Katara's wisdom, Toph's strength, and Sokka's determination to drive her forward.

They start preparing the boats to leave, but Sokka is nowhere to be found. Kida finds him standing on the cliff side, and joins him.

"Hey," Kida says as she approaches. "We've been looking for you. It's time to leave."