𝑯𝑰𝑫𝑫𝑬𝑵 𝑫𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑶𝑵, 𝒂: 𝒕𝒍𝒂

➳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯: 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘴

THE PEOPLE OF THE NORTHERN WATERTRIBE GATHER IN THE ROYAL PALACE. The reality of an impending Fire Nation attack brings discomfort and fear to the energy in the room. Kida finds herself buzzing with these emotions. She wishes that she would have the luxury of indulging in so-called normal teenage fantasies (like, maybe the fact that she just kissed Sokka?), but there was a war to fight and lives were at stake, and Kida has a feeling that this battle would somehow change everything. For the worse or for the better, she wasn't sure.

Now, she listens on to the chief as he addresses his people.

"Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us! I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission."

"I'm in," Sokka announces, getting up to offer himself as a volunteer just as Kida thinks to herself that she should volunteer as well. She catches Sokka's hand as he walks past her. "Don't try and stop me," he warns.

"I'm not," Kida replies. She gets up. "I'm coming with you."

Sokka looks back at her, his eyebrows furrowed in worry. "It's dangerous."

"And that means you can go?" Kida challenges, crossing her arms. "Look, there are a lot of bad ways to go, but fighting by your side isn't one of them. We've trained for this, remember?"

In spite of himself, Sokka smiles and resists the urge to kiss her again. They walk up to the Chief, where a line of warriors wait for him to mark them for battle. After Sokka receives the mark of the warrior, Kida walks up, but upon realizing it's her, the Chief pauses.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot approve for you to go on this mission."

"Are you serious?" Kida demands, overcome by annoyance.

"I have a special task for you," he explains. "I want you to protect my daughter and make sure she's safe during the battle. She seems very .... fond of you."

Kida's face falls. "Oh." She looks behind the Chief to Sokka and is about to refuse the Chief, but he stops her before she can:

"Please. I can't lose my daughter, and I trust that you can protect her."

"But, sir, I —"

"Please," the Chief pleads once more. He looks genuinely afraid to lose a member of his family, and maybe it's the fact that she knows what that's like that makes her agree.

"Okay," Kida sighs. She shoots Sokka a silent apology before moving to stand next to Princess Yue.

»»---------------------►

WHEN CHIEF ARNOOK SAID THAT THE STILLNESS BEFORE A BATTLE IS UNBEARABLE, he wasn't exaggerating. But, for Kida, it's the stillness of standing by while a battle rages on that really gets to her.

Technically, Kida isn't even in the heart of the battle, but she can still feel the nerves overcome her. Not for herself, but for her friends, who are out on the front lines. Sokka went on some secret mission to infiltrate a Fire Navy ship, Katara is out fighting side-by-side with the other waterbending warriors and Aang flew to take down some ships before they reach the shore. Meanwhile, Kida waits with Yue in the Royal Palace, where the most nerve wracking thing she herself has to deal with is making conversation with her ex-girlfriend. She'd much rather be out with her friends, fighting by their side and risking her life, but she made a promise to the Chief.

An hour passed. Maybe two. Three? Kida isn't even sure. She already restrung her bow twice out of boredom. Between awkward small talk with Yue, all Kida can think about is Aang and Katara and Sokka; how much they mean to her and how weird it is to have people that she's afraid of losing again. But, Kida is tired of being afraid; she decides sometime then to tell them the truth about herself when the battle is done and the time is right. After all this time, they deserve to know. Sokka already knows that something is wrong, anyways, and if Kida wants things to work between them — and she really, really does — she needs to be honest.