"SO, WHAT WAS IS LIKE BEING A VIGILANTE?" TOPH ASKS.
The team has been flying for a day or so, with Aang and Katara bending the water droplets in the clouds to provide cover.
"It was fine," Kida answers, leaning back against the edge of Appa's saddle. Sokka is sitting next to Toph and looking at a map, but Kida has a feeling that he was listening and she was sure that he of all people wouldn't want to hear about her escapades as the Hood.
"Seriously? That's all you're going to give me? I'm bored," Toph groans. "The Fire Nation was pretty set on finding you, so you must have done something bad. Those are my favourite types of stories!"
"You really want to know?" Kida wonders. Toph nods intently. So,Kida tells her about breaking into houses and disorienting the guards out front, jumping from three-story windows to escape and shooting arrow after arrow until her hands were blistered. As she told story after story, Kida became more and more immersed in her own storytelling, in the life she once had. Maybe Sokka was right; she did get a thrill from it all.
"Sweet," Toph smiles. "Why'd you stop?"
Kida shifts uncomfortably, thinking about Yoko. "Let's just say that I, uh, ended up hurting someone. Badly. And after that, none of it was worth it."
Just then, they land a little outside a Fire Nation town, near a cave big enough to hide Appa. Everyone jumps to the ground and stretches after flying for so long. The sun was setting by now.
"This is how it's going to be until the invasion," Sokka announces, gesturing to the cave. "Living in cave, after cave, after cave...."
"Part of staying hidden is blending in," Kida interrupts. "I think what we need is some new clothes."
Katara yawns. "Kida's right, but for now I think that we should set up camp."
Everyone agreed, and tasks to set up camp were assigned. Aang was supposed to find food, Kida and Toph were to unpack, Katara had to build the fire, and Sokka offered to survey the perimeter.
In a few minutes, Aang had brought back some nuts and berries and the sleeping mats had been laid out. Sokka still wasn't back and Katara hadn't managed to get the fire going. It was getting darker and colder.
"Ugh, I don't know why this isn't working!" Katara throws the sparks rocks to the ground.
"Here, let me try," Aang offers. He tries a few times, but the flame doesn't catch. "Well, I guess no fire tonight."
Toph groans. "But, it's freezing here! I thought the Fire Nation was supposed to be hot."
Without thinking, Kida kneels down next to the makeshift fire pit Katara had fashioned. She summons a tiny flame in the palm of her hand, brings it to the pile of tinder until the fire catches, then sits back up. Katara and Aang look back at her in awe, but say nothing. They both sit down around the fire.
"Wait, what just happened?" Toph asks. "It feels warmer now. Did you guys finally get the fire going?"
"Kida can firebend now!" Katara exclaims in excitement. "Did you find a teacher?"
"Oh, yeah, kind of. Sorry, I forgot to mention. Actually, Iroh taught me back in Ba Sing Se," she explains. "Zuko did, too," Kida adds sadly, looking into the fire. Realizing what she just revealed, she looks up to her friends. "That's not weird, though, is it?"
"It's not! I mean, it is, a bit, but a teacher is a teacher and we all trust you," Aang assures. "Does this mean you can teach me?" he asks excitedly.
Kida chuckles. "Uh, if you want, I can. Only a bit though, because you should focus on waterbending and earthbending for the invasion."
"I second that," Toph pipes in.
"Can you guys do me a favour though and not tell Sokka yet? I'll do it eventually, but I don't need to give him another reason to hate me right now."
"Sokka doesn't hate you," Aang assures. Momo lands on his shoulder and Aang offers him a lychee nut.
Toph leans back and smiles. "Twinkle Toes is right. His heartbeat goes crazy whenever you're around."
"That's not necessarily a good thing," Kida points out. There was that moment a few days ago when Sokka braided her hair, but that was only to not make things weird between them, right? He probably thought about what Kida had said earlier, about him allowing his hatred towards her to guide his actions, and wanted to prove her wrong.
"Kida, I know my brother. He might be trying to convince everyone, even himself, that he hates you. Honestly, though? I don't think he does."
"It sure sounded like it the other day," Kida grumbles. She pokes at the fire and the embers fly up, into the darkness of the cave. "And, as long as it doesn't change things with the team or ruin the invasion plan, I can live with that."
At least, that's what Kida tries to convince herself of.
»»---------------------►
THE NEXT MORNING, THE TEAM STEALS SOME CLOTHING FROM A HOME NEARBY. There were plenty of clothes that were hung up to dry, so they figured that the owner wouldn't miss a few articles of clothing.
After that, but before grabbing some lunch, they go into town to buy some matching accessories. Kida ends up in a short-sleeved burgundy cropped top, wide-legged pants in a deep shade of brown secured with a leather belt, and a dark red vest with gold piping that she leaves open over the rest of her outfit. She adds some red and gold fingerless gloves and a pair of sandals, and finally, buys some gold thread to braid into her hair instead of blue. Soon enough, everyone looks the part of a Fire Nation citizen.
Kida wonders, that if her father had stayed in the Fire Nation, this might have been her everyday outfit. He isn't even alive to know that she can actually firebend, well enough to almost beat the Fire Nation prince in battle. Her heart aches.
By evening, with Aang having disappeared for most of the day, he finally shows up to reveal that he had enrolled in a Fire Nation school.
"You did what?" Sokka exclaims. "Aang, I'm trying to be mature and not shoot down your idea, but it sounds really terrible."
Toph nods. "We already got our outfits. What do you need to go to school for?"
Aang removes his headband and sits down next to Kida. "Every minute I'm in that classroom, I'm learning new things about the Fire Nation."
"You know, that's not a bad idea," Kida reasons. "Aang can learn stuff we don't even know, which might help our plan." Part of her always wants Aang to have the chance to be a normal kid, for once.
After some back and forth between the team, it's settled. They would stay here for a few more days.
»»---------------------►
AS AANG AND THE OTHERS PREPARE FOR THE DANCE PARTY, KIDA HIDES IN THE TUNNEL.
Aang had the idea to inspire some rebellion in the Fire Nation students, which Kida fully supported, although she wasn't a fan of the whole party thing.
Instead, she decides to use her time to fashion herself a new bow and some arrows. Kida remembered earlier that she no longer had her mother's sword, which Katara explained was stolen with Appa in the desert. Despite that loss, Kida still needed another weapon. Her knife would only take her so far.
As faint music plays in the background and a small fire offering some light, Kida carves, shapes, and curves the wood accordingly. It didn't take her long to complete the task, as a project of this type was something she had done many times before. And, with each time, Kida can feel herself making a bow that is stronger, more powerful. Practice makes perfect. Speaking of which.
Kida stands up, notching an arrow on her bow string. She aims at a spot on the other side of the cave, across from where she, Appa, and Momo were, but still out of sight from the party guests.
A millisecond after she lets the arrow fly, a shadow appears.
"Whoa!" Sokka ducks as the arrow pins him to the wall.
"Sorry," Kida mumbles. She walks over and pulls the arrow out, strategically avoiding eye contact with him. "What are you doing here?"
Kida doesn't wait for an answer. She simply walks back to the fire and sits down while leaning back against one of Appa's legs. She doesn't expect Sokka to stay. He follows her, but stays standing.
"You weren't at the dance party and I wanted to check if you're okay."
"I'm fine," Kida replies. She starts to resharpen the tip of the arrow in her hand. "I love Aang, but I'd rather be here, sharpening these arrows."
"Yeah, I figured." Sokka rubs the back of his neck. He looks briefly to where the party is raging on, but decides to finally sit down instead of leaving. He takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
"Don't say that if you don't mean it."
"Life's too short to hold grudges against people you love," Sokka muses. Kida stops. He had heard that, what Kida said to Katara when she revealed the anger she felt that her dad had left her and Sokka behind. "Because you never know when it might be the last time you see them."
Kida looks at Sokka, who is staring intently at the fire. It reminds her of that night so many months ago, when Sokka had wandered off, following Kida to the ocean when she couldn't sleep, and stayed with her until sunrise.
"Aw, you stayed because you care about me so much," Kida says jokingly, elbowing him in the ribs teasingly.
Sokka rolls his eyes. "I stayed because I didn't want you to drown in the ocean," he counters.
"Because you care about me?" Kida smiles cheekily.
"No, because I need you," Sokka says. "I mean, who else would I train with?" he adds awkwardly.
"Right. Can't argue with that."
They were almost friends once, even if they didn't want to admit it. They were almost more.
Is it possible that Sokka wasn't angry, but hurt?
"I'm sorry I lied," Kida admits. "I'm sorry I left. I..." she pauses, trying to find the right words. "Sokka...I really didn't mean to hurt you. I just....I didn't know what else to do."
Sokka tilts his head to meet Kida's gaze, and she shifts closer to him. "And I'm sorry, too," he whispers. "I shouldn't have said what I did at the North Pole, or back on the ship. I didn't really mean any of it. I can be a jerk sometimes."
Kida laughs. "Yeah, I noticed." They're now close enough that Sokka can nudge her shoulder, which he does in fake disbelief as he laughs along with her. Once they calm down, Kida adds: "I know we still have stuff to work, and things to talk about, but, you might not have meant what you said at the North Pole, but I did. I...yeah, so I missed you. Like, everyone, but you, specifically, a lot. Spirits, I even kept that blue string you braided into my hair before it all happened. I mean, until I lost it."
"Oh, yeah?" Sokka raises his eyebrow as though challenging her, which confuses Kida, until he pulls out a gold ring from his pocket. Her father's gold ring, engraved with a dragon, that Kida forgot in the North Pole. She thought for sure that it was gone forever. "I managed to not lose this." Gently, Sokka takes Kida's hand and places the ring on her pointer finger.
"Do you have to make everything a competition?" Kida teases.
"Like you don't do it, too," Sokka counters, smiling. "Speaking of which, you told me you loved me first."
"Yeah, but you said that you needed me first," Kida points out.
"So, I guess we both win?"
Kida smiles and laughs. "It's a tie."
She extends her hand, which Sokka accepts. As they shake hands, they simultaneously lean into a kiss.
Sokka feels as though the world might end, but at least he had this moment, now, with her. She's familiar, comfortable and he melts into their kiss. She moves her arms around his neck, so he places his hand on the exposed skin of her back, but she shivers, so he pulls away.
"Are you okay?" he whispers.
His voice is laced with genuine concern, and the way his eyes search Kida's makes her heart flutter. Piercing blue eyes that seem to shift from time to time; tonight they look darker than usual, as the fire dies down.
"It's fine," Kida assures. She lifts a hand to rest on his cheek as a promise. "I'm fine."
"We don't have to do this, if you don't want to."
Kida starts to laugh when she realizes what happened. She untangles herself from him and leans back against Appa. "No! I do want this. It's just that your hands are really cold. Like, freezing, and I was just a bit surprised."
Sokka blushes. "Really?" Kida nods. Sokka clears his throat. "Okay, well, while we're on this topic, I should point out that your skin is, like, weirdly warm all the time. What's up with that?"
"I'm a firebender, Sokka, it's in my blood," she admits. Kida takes his hand in hers, not caring that it's as cold as ice. "You're gonna have to deal with that, Wolftail." She smirks.
"I think I can manage that." Sokka kisses her cheek. "I always thought you were hot."
"Uh, guys, we gotta get out of here!" Aang shouts as he, Katara, and Toph runs to where they're sitting.
"What happened?" Kida wonders. By now, she and Sokka have gotten up, and they're packing everything.
"We'll explain on the way," Katara replies.
"We gotta go now, though," Toph adds.
Kida winks at Sokka, causing him to blush once more, before they follow their friends.
»»---------------------►
author's note!
happy 2021 everyone! anyone have any hopes/resolutions/goals for the new year? im really trying to manifest a sokka x kida type of love this year, not gonna lie...
i am super excited to share this chapter with you. what did you guys think? thank you for reading / commenting / voting, it means the world <3