Wild At Heart (Zuko)

Prologue

A/N - Just a heads up that there will be darker aspects to this, especially in the beginning regarding Kali and her occupation. She is a slave. And Raya is not a nice woman. There are going to be mentions of dark subjects but nothing overly descriptive.

.....

During the day, Kali is to remain indoors. A way to hide her unique appearance. So she spends her days locked away in a tiny hut with little more than one bedroom. She sleeps mostly during the day, as she spends most nights awake. Cleans if she can't sleep. Basically waiting on Raya. Waiting on her returning from the markets. She's been with Raya for a long time now, longer than any of her other masters. Owners. Whichever fits best. Both probably. In her mind, she owes Raya. The woman that bought her from her last master, a rather angry individual, who liked to take out his anger on Kali when someone, anyone, upset him. Raya had saved her from him. Taking her from his home and to the Gilded Orchid. Kali spent years there with her. Watching. Learning. Even following her out of a fire that destroyed the building. Killing some. Ruining everything Raya had built. The Orchid had been a place frequent by men, soldiers mostly, for the specific reason as the company of women. It was a brothel. Following the fire, they'd fled. Leaving that life behind them. For the most part. Raya took up a position as a clothing and silk tradeswoman. Selling what she managed to rescue from the remains of the brothel. But they are down to their last few pieces and Raya is stingy with food, to begin with. And even less if she misbehaves with the guests that Raya brings around to meet her.

Kali scratches at her neck, dipping her fingers into her collar to rub at the skin there with a sigh. It's not the most uncomfortable collar she's ever had, but it is still a collar. A thing that shows she is owned by someone. A slave. She stares out the window from the side, keeping her face mostly covered by a hood and veil. Raya's idea. To hide her from anyone that might see her. She's green. She stands out in a world of people that aren't. She watches children playing. Running around. Kali never had that. She never played with other children. She doesn't even remember a time when she laughed. She's been in chains for as long as she can remember. Locked away and hidden from the world. She lets out a breath, eyes misting with tears. Her history doesn't make her feel good. Raya is then walking past the window with an older gentleman and Kali ducks back, hiding just in case Raya sees her. She's not supposed to go near the windows or the door. Just in case. She looks around before she moves, moves away from the window and takes her place on a chair, folding her hands in her lap, her eyes kept down.

"It's a good offer" Kali lifts her eyes a little to the doorway as Raya walks in, but she's not alone, her gentleman friend is with her, stroking his beard in thought. "She's a good girl...And she's special, really special...." Raya gives Kali a look, motioning with her hand for Kali to stand and remove her veil. The young girl does just that, pulling her hood down and pulling the veil from around her face before she smooths her hand over the front of her dress. "She sees things, things that might happen, things that are coming. But it's very subjective. The future isn't set in stone. Things change." She draws off when she notices his attention is already firmly on Kali. Raya smirks to herself.

"Fascinating skin tone" He comments. Kali shrinks a little, hanging her head under his gaze.

"Exotic, yes?" Raya asks him. "And no one knows why..." He stares at Kali as if he knows though. Raya touches Kali's chin and lifts her head. "She's beautiful and worth every gold piece" Raya turns Kali's face for him to look at her.

"Mind if I take a moment with her?" He asks Raya who then nods and back out of the hut, casting a stern look at Kali as she goes. Kali looks down and then takes a deep breath. Kali reaches for the ties on her dress, intending on undoing it and baring herself to him. He grabs her hands to stop her. "No" He argues and glances at the door. "That's not what I am here for" She frowns at him. The men that Raya brings around are for one thing and one thing alone. He motions to a chair. "Sit" He offers, she glances at the door, waiting for Raya to come back, but she doesn't. Kali takes a deep breath, biting the inside of her cheek, as she moves to take the seat. "The offer wasn't for your company," He tells her, she frowns at him. "It seems your....master is trying to sell you, my dear" She looks down and away from him. Raya has been far better than some of the others, but she shouldn't be surprised that she's being sold. She has no worth now. Raya sold the one thing Kali had to bring in a large sum of money. She doesn't bring in as much now. And Raya is too old to sell her body the way in which she sells Kali's. He's watching her sadly as she works through her emotions. Passing over them. She's not supposed to feel anything. That's one of Raya's rules. She's to block it all out. Focus on nothing. He hums a little, thoughtfully watching her before he turns and leaves the hut. Kali closes her eyes. He didn't touch her, so she supposes that's something. But she's still unsure how to feel about this. She's always wanted to know what it's like to be free, but she knows she'll never be able to do it. Even if, by some miracle, someone releases her. She doesn't know how to be alone. She has no idea what she would do. Raya is all she has, and the idea that she might not have her anymore. It kind of hurts. Raya walks back into the hut, looking rather pleased with herself.

"You go with him," Raya tells her as she counts out the gold pieces from the coin purse with a greedy smile on her face. Kali is a little surprised. Raya has never talked about selling her, never even to threaten her with it. "He owns you now" Raya adds as she grabs Kali's little bag from the hook on the wall. It's nothing special. Just a little travel bag. The only contents being that of a leather-bound book. She shoves the bag at Kali and then nods for her to go. Kali doesn't know what she expected, none of the others cared much but she thought Raya actually did. All those years. She thought this woman actually cared about her. "Come on, kid" Raya starts. "You know this isn't personal" She defends herself. "I need money....and you were the only thing I had left to sell...and this" She shakes the coin purse. "It's more than I could ever charge for what is between your lovely legs" Kali clenches her jaw. But then realises she doesn't have to follow her rules anymore. She spits right into Raya's face. Raya pulls a face and wipes away the saliva with the corner of her sleeve before she slaps Kali, hard. Kali cradles her cheek as tears gather in her eyes. Guess it means Raya doesn't have to hold back either. Kali then turns and leaves, not wanting to waste another second with that woman if that's how she truly felt about her. Kali did know that she was owned, she's not stupid, but she thought of Raya as a mother figure. She loved her. And Kali thought Raya loved her too, in her own way. She was wrong. Her new master is waiting for her outside. He doesn't look like the others. They've always had this glint in their eyes. A darkness. But he doesn't have it. There is something more like light in his eyes. A kindness. A softness. Compassion. He holds out his hand towards her and gives her a sad smile. She sniffles and looks away from him. Trying really hard not to cry about this.

"What is your name?" He asks her, she looks at him surprised.

"Kali," She tells him softly as she pulls the strap of her bag over her head, settling it against her side. "My name is Kali" He hums and nods. 

"Iroh" He holds out his hand towards her, in a gesture of introduction. Kali takes his hand and he smiles at her, reassuring her. She's not naive, but she wants to believe that he is different.