Eclipse (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Chapter 7: Cold-Hearted Homecoming

So that's what they were calling her now: 'the girl who left.' She folded her arms. "That's right."

His gaze hardened. "You have some nerve coming back here after the disturbance that you caused right before you left."

There was never any rest for the weary here, it seemed. Miyuki shook it off with a curious tilt of her head. "And here I thought that citizens could enter and leave Agna Qel'a freely."

"They can."

"Ah, I see." She nodded along reasonably. "Then a woman learning to bend is now considered to be a crime so serious that my citizenship was revoked?"

"Of course not-!"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Then on what grounds are you to deny me entry?"

The man's shoulders slumped as he sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Showing up at the gates like some intruder is no way to do it. Out and about in the world, and you've already forgotten the rules and how to respect your elders. This is what happens when you leave the Tribe." The man heaved another heavy sigh as though scolding a disruptive child. "Come along then. Maybe you'll learn to recover your manners before you leave."

Miyuki bit back her snide comments and went past the gates with them. This was precisely the sort of welcome that she was expecting to get. She nearly rolled her eyes as she watched them open the gates. The job of one bender was being done by ten. As inefficient as ever.

"Not going to raise a hand to help now, are you?" the old man grumbled.

She flashed a brilliant smile in his direction. "I'm not sure what you mean. It's against the rules for women to bend, is it not? I was merely respecting the rules and 'recovering my manners.'"

He cast her a hard look before falling silent.

When she was a child, there was always a certain joy that welled up in her chest when they returned home after a long trip. She wasn't sure what it was that she was feeling now upon seeing the familiar canals and streets, but it certainly wasn't joy. She could feel the eyes on her the moment they entered the city, and their gazes almost felt as though they were weighing her down. She took a moment to remind herself that she was only going to be here for a short while and that there was no need to stir the pot. Calm. She was calm. If she focused hard enough, all their whispers faded into the background like grains of sand blowing in the vast expanse of the desert.

She watched for a moment as they made their way down the streets, and she started to get an idea of where they were trying to take her. "Tell me, squad leader. What do you intend to do with me when we reach Central? Take me straight to the Council? Lock me up? Or do you intend on doing both?" The older man turned to her and flashed him a brilliant smile. "Regardless of what you plan on doing, I suggest that you let me off here."

"Or what?"

"Or the city's about to get a reminder of the reason I left to begin with. I'm confident that I've seen far more action than some of these green warriors you've got with you."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Of course not, that would be a crime. I'm presenting you with a choice: writing a report explaining how I got into the city or writing a report explaining why the fifteen or so warriors under your command were defeated by a single girl. Take your pick."

She watched as the man toiled for a moment. It was a tough choice, apparently. He took in a deep breath at long last and sighed. "Men, stop." The boat came to a halt and he glanced at her. "You are your brother's sister. In the worst way possible."

She smiled graciously. "A sound judgment." Miyuki stood, and in one fluid motion, hopped onto the sidewalk, using her bending to form a small foothold of ice in the canal the moment her foot touched the surface of the water. She bent the ice away the moment she lept from the foothold. She spun around and tucked into a polite bow. "Thank you for bringing me part of the way," she announced for everyone watching to hear before rounding the corner and disappearing from their line of vision.