War of Change | Book 3

21: Get Up - Part 2

Art: Portrait by Kai Samuels-Davis

It was the next day when Kida was awoken once more by the appalling slap of icy water.

She sprang out of the bed before she could fully even open her eyes. Her body shivered. She wore only wrappings, her clothes still drying from the evening before.

Kida's eyes opened in slits, her eyes blurrily spotting a short-haired figure in red. In that second, her memories came flying back, nearly as fast as the water had taken to soak her body to the bone. "You could have just shaken me!"

The earthen girl shrugged as she placed a newly emptied bucket on the ground. "I didn't feel like taking the chance of you not listening," Suki shrugged. "And possibly a small portion of it was revenge for what happened at the prison."

Kida scowled as she tugged off her bedsheets, using the dry spots as a makeshift towel. "I have the nagging feeling that all of this has something to do with the prison."

Suki shook her head before pulling out an actual towel to toss at the girl. "No, not after I saw all those scars..." she trailed off. Her violet eyes wandered toward the pink slivers which inched to the front of the waterbender's shoulders. She knew they only capped a much larger mark across her back.

Kida pulled the towel down from her face to study the other teenager's features. She knew exactly where she was looking but saw no point in covering it now.

Suki finally snapped out of her trace. Her eyes darted back toward the other girl's as her body became straight and stiff. "You did what you had to do to survive."

Kida scoffed, dropping her gaze to take a sudden interest in the towel in her hands. "Sure, that's what it was."

Suki's foot stepped forward before she could consider the action. "You aren't a bad person, Kida."

A bitter smile twisted the edge of the girl's russet lips. Her eyes finally met Suki's with a coldness that sent a chill down the warrior's spine. "The fact that I've made you believe that only proves differently." Suki opened her mouth to respond, but Kida beat her to it. "Get out."

Suki's chest bubbled, she pulled herself up tall and began to bluster, "I'm not leaving without you-"

"Calm down, Princess," Kida interrupted, giving an eye roll. She slid a glance towards the girl. The corner of Kida's mouth tugged upward so minutely that it was nearly imperceptible. "Unless you were planning on dressing me too. Go ahead. I'm not shy; you can ask Zuko."

Suki blinked twice, opened her mouth, closed it again, then turned on her heel and exited the room, leaving behind a smug waterbender.

Several minutes later, Kida emerged from the building. She was now dressed head-to-toe in Fire Nation clothing, looking far more comfortable in it than anyone was willing to admit. She strode straight towards Suki, avoiding everyone else's gaze as if they were as invisible as the air in her lungs.