Prisoner | An ATLA Fanfic | ZukoxOC

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎

The sound was accompanied by the sound of drums, an instrument she was familiar with, but also two other alien noises. Squeezing her way through the crowd, the islander finally stumbled upon the stage calling to her.

Zuko should have guessed that as soon as he turned his back she'd run off. He grunted in annoyance as he shouldered his way through the crowd. It shouldn't be so hard to find her, the islanders face could rival any jewel.

When he did find her a few minutes later, of course it was in front of a stage where she was dancing. Planting her feet in the ground, the islander was rolling her hips to the beat of the drums, skirts spinning in the air hypnotically. Her arms stayed parallel to the ground in front of her chest, one hand stretched out in front of her.

La'kea could feel the eyes on her as she spotted Zuko at the front of the crowd forming, she gave the prince a wide grin. He smiled back hesitantly, holding up two bowls of noodles as a way to tell her to take a break. The islander continued sashaying her hips, swinging one leg around as she sent him a beseeching look. She was never one to beg, but the longer she danced the more she remembered how she used to do this dance with Oliana. There was still something she was forgetting...

Someone from the crowd tentatively tried to mimic her movements, and like clockwork, suddenly a group was around her, dancing to the strange and beautiful music. La'kea had no idea those types of sounds would fit so well with the dance of the spirits.

But the musicians eventually had to break, and the crowd scattered to find another group to listen to. Zuko was still waiting patiently with the bowls of food as she ran over to him breathlessly. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, someone on a platform nearby began to clap with a rapid rhythm, and was soon accompanied by a heavenly voice.

The prince lifted his eyes to the sky, sighing in exasperation when the islander disappeared as she ran to the singer. When he finally caught up with her, it was a mild surprise to find her simply swaying on the spot, hanging onto every word with rapt focus. The song was pleasant, a simple lively tune about falling in love in a grassy meadow. Zuko just watched the transfixed girl with an almost invisible smile.

When the song ended, she found another person or group to listen to and continued the action over and over until they had nearly exhausted all the performers. La'kea finally stopped bouncing from platform to stage, falling back into a much more reserved pace besides the prince.

"Did you have fun?" He asked softly, surprising her with his sincerity.

"It was amazing," She sighed blissfully, thinking of a time when Oliana and her had snuck out to go watch the firebenders perform dangerous dances. Spinning the flames over their head and around their legs in unison, all while keeping in beat with the drums.

La'kea suddenly jolted like she had been shocked. She had remembered something from her island tribe. Of her father, who's face was beginning to blur in her memory. Was it possible to tell Oliana she was wrong while she wasn't dreaming? That she wasn't a Fire Nation monster at all. The ghost of the chieftess' gentle laugh echoed in her ear.

Zuko squinted at the islander that had just stopped in her tracks, brow furrowed at the ground. "Are... you okay?"

She blinked, shaking herself as she looked up at him with startling determination. "I want to start my kakua."

The prince blanched, "What?"

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"Remember a long time ago," La'kea explained as he followed behind her helplessly, searching for someone to embed the art into her skin. "When I told you about how the different benders of my tribe often got tattoos to symbolize themselves?"