The Guider Effect ☼ Zuko || ATLA

Pretentious

     Rein groaned, eyes groggily opening to scan her surroundings. She was still in the catacombs but now she was chained up, her arms pinned behind her back and ankles chained together. Her head throbbed from the rock she took to her skull.

     Katara and Rein schemed from the moment they were thrown into the catacombs. With their bending temporarily disabled, they spent hours concocting a plan of escape. Unfortunately, Plan A didn't go as smoothly as they thought. The moment Rein attempted to earthbend through the rock barrier, guards stormed in and effectively took her down without a hitch.

     "You're awake! You've been out for hours, I was getting worried!" Katara kept her voice low but loud enough for Rein to hear. The multibender's eyes immediately raked Katara's body for any injuries, breathing a sigh of relief as the girl looked visibly unharmed. Rein was adamant in their first plan that if things went awry, Katara would surrender without a fight. It seems that action garnered her the freedom of movement as she sat unbound.

     "Those guards are no joke, huh?" Rein chuckled, wincing as her bruised body ached beneath her. The Fire Navy were sitting ducks in comparison to the Earth Kingdom Army—they were absolutely lethal. Their skill set was foreign to Rein which only aided them to easily overpower her. It had been far too long since she was knocked on her ass in defeat, her own built up ego shattering around her. It was a much needed reality check; that she wasn't indestructible nor was she unbeatable, she was simply a teenage girl with too much power for her own good. "They're stupid if they think tying me up will stop me."

     Katara frowned, "Those are shackles Rein, as in lock and key—even I can't help you get out of those! This is all my fault, I'm so sorry."

     "Katara, don't say that... Azula is a nutcase and that's no one's fault but her father's. Look, on the bright side, my clingy boyfriend is probably already suspicious so he'll find us in no time." Rein sighed, yanking slightly on her restraints.

     Katara rolled her eyes and began walking in circles around the vast crystallized space. "You trust him? Wholeheartedly, on your life, could you say you trust Prince Zuko?"

     "I trust him with my life."

"I hope you're right about that." Katara muttered to herself, kicking at loose pebbles that littered the ground. "I wonder if Aang and Sokka are coming back soon—oh my gosh, I haven't even thought about Toph! I bet they did something to her too!"

     Kireina found herself squeezing her eyebrows together in confusion, delving into her memory for any mention of this Toph person yet coming up empty. "Who's Toph? Another one of Sokka's girlfriends?"

     Katara snorted back a laugh, "Yeah, she wishes—she's like twelve or something so ew, no. She's Aang's earthbending teacher, we met her not long after you left. Speaking of, where did you go after we split up?"

     Rein smirked to herself at Katara's little snide comment, it was total hypocrisy obviously brought on by jealousy. She knew Katara had a crush on Aang—a twelve year old—and definitely felt insecure over this "Toph's" relationship with him.

     "Wow, she must be an amazing bender if she's the Avatar's master at age twelve." Rein replied, watching as the younger girl's fists clenched. "I was kidnapped, you know, the usual."

     Katara's feet pounded at the dirt as she sprinted to sit in front of Rein, eager to hear about her wild adventures. "By who?! Was it Azula?"

     Rein giggled and shook her head, "No but it is someone you've met before."

     "Don't tell me it was those sleazy pirates."

     "I don't think those guys want anything to do with me after the whole tsunami incident. The people that took me were known by you but strangers to me." Rein hinted, enjoying playing the long game with Katara as the gossip calmed her erratically beating heart. She could see that her friend felt the same way, her posture falling into a comfortable slouch as opposed to the tension she held just moments ago.

     "Known by us but strangers to you..." Katara pondered out loud, gazing off into space as she wracked her brain for an answer. Her face fell flat as realization dawned on her, followed by a deep scowl. "It was Jet, wasn't it?"

     "Ding, ding, ding!"

     "You know, I should have guessed it was him first! I saw him making a scene in the lower ring a few weeks ago, it makes sense you two crossed paths. What happened? Rein, this is better than any story the Gran's tell in my village." Katara buzzed.

     "Buckle up because this is one heck of a journey."

     Just as Rein was about to dive into the dramatic retelling of her capture, a hole opened up in the cave wall, flooding the room with natural light and not just the iridescence of the crystals. She could tell by the sky it was nearing mid afternoon; the girls had been trapped for an entire twenty-four hours.

     "You've got company." A deep voice boomed from above before a large mass came plummeting into the catacomb followed by a grunt as it hit the ground.

     Their guards were up immediately at the new presence in the makeshift prison. Katara was quick to stand up and survey the stranger, squinting her eyes to see from her angle.

     "Zuko!" Katara hissed, crossing her arms and frowning upon recognizing the firebender.

     "Zuko?" Rein breathed out, her tone the complete opposite of Katara's. As her voice pierced the air, Zuko was on his feet and running towards her.

     "Are you guys alright—Reina, you're bleeding! Azula is taking this too far, I tried to stop her." Zuko raved, his eyes and hands rapidly assessing her body and restraints.

     Katara scoffed, "Where'd that get you? Oh, wait, I know. It got you sent into the gallows with us!"

     Zuko leered at the waterbender, irritation already overtaking him. He removed his glare from her and moved it back to his Reina, "Is she always this...pretentious?"

     "Pretentious?!" Katara bellowed, stomping her foot into the dirt.

     "Honestly Zu, I'm just proud you know that's a word and how to use it properly in a sentence. Now get these cuffs off of me so we can bust out of this joint."