The Guider Effect ☼ Zuko || ATLA

Answers

There was one person on this planet that called her Reina. When his voice filled her ears it was like all the pain subsided and she was able to lift herself from under the reservoir. Before she even inhaled her first breath of air she cried out to him, "Zuko?!"

Excitement coursed through her body when she indeed saw the love of her life standing before her. As if she had never plummeted to her ultimate demise, Rein stumbled to her feet and charged at Zuko, preparing to bear hug him. But as her body was sure to collide with his, he side stepped and sent her falling face first back into the muck.

"Zuko! What the fuck!" Rein coughed, spitting out a mouthful of swamp water. He cackled and a big cheesy grin only Kireina had seen before grew on his face. Although she was annoyed, Rein felt at home already just by being in Prince Zuko's presence. "I really can't stand you sometimes, Zu."

"Hush, you love me." He retorted, stepping closer to her.

Rein blushed and looked away as butterflies built in the pit of her stomach. "I do."

Zuko's face fell and his eyes moved from her eyes to her wrist. Kireina followed his gaze and began to put her arm behind her back to deter whatever conversation was about to ensue. But before she could do so, Zuko grabbed onto her scarred skin sending Rein's consciousness elsewhere.

She opened her eyes to a warm fire in the woods, somewhere within the Earth Kingdom. Though this vision was different than her last one. This time she wasn't seeing out of the eyes of a human, instead the eyes of an animal. Before her she saw Zuko and Iroh, huddled against a rock in deep conversation.

"I know we have struggled a lot lately, having to fend for ourselves in order to survive. But there is nothing to be ashamed of!" Iroh spoke, trying to cheer Zuko up from his funk.

"That's not the problem, Uncle." Zuko huffed, shoving his Uncle's hand from his shoulder. "Nothing feels right without her."

"Kireina?" Iroh asked solemnly.

Zuko rolled his eyes, "Who else?" He slumped deeper in the boulder behind him. "I swear that was her the other day in town, it had to be her. The way she said my name, it sounded just like Reina."

Kireina froze as she listened to the duo talk, shocked that her vision wasn't just that but a spirit apparition. She wasn't just watching this through the eyes of something, she had full control over the body she was in. Panic set in when she realized she didn't know how to get back to her true form. Her spirit and consciousness were contained within the brain of whatever creature she inhabited. Last time she snapped out of it when Zuko grabbed her, so perhaps that was her way out?

"Uncle, sometimes I feel her presence. Like she's right here with us but then I look around and I can't find her, she was never here to begin with. I can feel her right now, just like I did in town. It's tearing up my heart and I don't know how to fix it. How do I fix it, Uncle? Help me, please, I can't take it anymore." Zuko choked out, keeping his unwelcome tears at bay. Iroh's heart broke for his nephew. He had no idea how strong the Ekkona's spell was but he was starting to fear that if they didn't locate Kireina soon, Zuko would fall ill.

Rein couldn't stop her feet from rushing towards the sad teen. In this moment she realized she was a small turtle duck, an experience she never thought she'd have. Zuko went rigid as the animal approached him, feeling strange as it maintained eye contact with him. He recalled the days when he would throw rocks at them as they swam, always earning a scolding from his mother. In all of those memories, the creatures never gazed up at him the way this one was.

Rein slowly walked up towards Zuko's legs, being sure not to scare him too much but she couldn't help but feel that he knew it was her. The way he stared back at her, practically looking at her soul. She idled for a few minutes before making her next move by jumping onto his lap.