The pathway ahead was long and twisty. Carved poorly out from the rocky, thin mountains, nothing seemed particularly stable. Already twice, someone had managed to slip and almost fall into the waters below. If it hadn't been for Toph, they would've been dead.
"I was hoping to see a Serpent by now," I wondered out loud as we continued to walk.
"That's one thing I hope won't happen?" Katara said, shaking her head at me. As we walked I spotted a Fire Nation ship not too far away in the lake. From behind me, I heard a shout as the ground gave way under Than's feet. In a hurry Toph, jutted out a slab of Rock, bringing him to safety. Unfortunately, it created a small rock avalanche, that let a resounding crash from below.
"I'm okay!" Than said. But even if he was, we attracted the attention of the Fire Nation ship and they shot a flying fireball at us. Than and his wife shouted in surprise.
"They shoot at anything don't they?" I muttered, narrowing my eyes. The fire around the ball distinguished and I blasted it with fire, exploding the rock in front of us. Toph shielded the rest from most of the debris while Sokka shouted for Suki to watch out, shielding her against pretty much everything. Aang blasted away another fireball as we ran quickly down the path.
The Fire Nation ship didn't attack afterward, thank goodness; and we continued our trek, until we reached a much more stabler spot to rest for the night. Letting Sokka and Suki have some time together, and Katara and Aang, I settled to sit with Toph again.
"Did you know you talk in your sleep?" Toph said suddenly. I looked over at her. She was lying on the ground with her hands under her head.
"I do?" I said, laying down next to her
"Yea. I can't usually tell what you're saying but, I think I heard a few names at one point?" I flushed red.
"Um, what names?"
"Zuko I think? And... Ursa?" Katara looked up from her spot.
"Zuko?" She repeated, looking almost accusingly at me. I sat back up, heard whirling. I was talking in my sleep?
"It was probably a nightmare." I supplied. Toph snorted,
"Yea like six of them." I groaned internally as Katara came to sit with us.
"Kira, you're having nightmares?" She asked. Her tone was between curiosity and concern.
"It's possible." I said, "But I usually forget them once I wake up."
"Since when though?" Katara asked, still alarmed. I avoided her eyes,
"Since Fire Lord Ozai took me in." She frowned.
"And they haven't stopped?" Aang said, walking over. "Sorry, I overheard the conversation."
"I thought they would," I admitted. "But those memories have been with me for a while. It isn't easy to forget everything. Especially all the pain."
"Did anyone else know about your nightmares, when you were at the Fire Nation?" Toph asked.
"Um, two people."
"Lemme guess, the two people you've been muttering names of?"
"How close were you with Zuko?" Katara demanded.
"Pretty close." I said ignoring Katara's suspicious frown. "Katara, he was better than his sister. And surprisingly still is."
"Explain how?"
"It was before the scar." I explained, "He was a nice and innocent boy who befriended me."
"I find that hard to believe," Aang said halfheartedly.
YOU ARE READING
The Eternal Flame (ATLA) (FIRST PERSON POV)
Fanfiction"I don't want Ozai to die. I just want him to face the cruelty he's thrown the world and suffer, just like the world has. And death doesn't seem like an equivalent exchange." Kira is a Dragon Child, a child born with a spirit of a Dragon within her...
