"I'M NOT ONE TO COMPLAIN," Sokka starts. "But can't Appa fly any higher?" Kida looks back at him with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance, and Aang snaps at Sokka, clearly irritated by his comment.
The team has been flying for two straight days in search of the Northern Water Tribe, and needless to say, everyone was starting a little tired and cranky, as Katara points out in hopes of diffusing the tension.
"We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe!" Sokka groans. "There's nothing up here."
As though the universe wanted to prove him wrong, the previously calm water starts to form giant waves that solidify into ice, which causes Appa to panic and fly to avoid the obstacles. The team huddles together and clutches onto each other so as to not fall into the icy ocean below them, but soon enough, the water around Appa freezes him into place and a group of boats carrying groups of people surround them. Kida grabs her bow in anticipation of an ambush.
"They're waterbenders!" Katara exclaims in excitement. "We found the Water Tribe!"
Given that the possibility of an attack is ruled out, Kida lowers her weapon and notices that Sokka does the same with his boomerang.
"More like the Water Tribe found us," Kida jokes, but softly so only Sokka can hear. He chuckles next to her.
Then, the waterbenders escort the team to their tribe. Kida wasn't quite sure what she had expected to find here, but the reality was breathtaking: buildings at least 50 feet tall, made out of ice and carved with intricate patterns; bridges and canals that connected each corner of the city; and the most amazing part was that everything made possible with waterbending. The rest of the team is in awe, as well.
"We're finally here," Sokka declares, turning his head around to get a good look at the architecture.
"We'll find a master to teach us, no problem," Aang says to Katara, who is looking around in fascination.
"This place is beautiful," she observes.
Just then, a boat floats past them and someone on board catches Kida's eye: a girl with light brown skin, eyes as blue as icy water, and hair the colour of freshly fallen snow. Kida blushes at the sight of her and keeps her gaze fixed until the girl's boat passes under a bridge.
Yeah, Kida muses. She really is.
»»---------------------►
THAT NIGHT, the chief throws a feast in honor and celebration of the team's arrival.
"We also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday!" Chief Arnook adds. Kida almost chokes on her food when she sees that the girl from earlier and the chief's daughter are the same person. "Princess Yue is now of marrying age!"
As Master Pakku and his students perform some waterbending routines, Yue moves to sit down next to Kida, on her right, who is in such shock once again that her sip of water goes down the wrong way and causes her to cough uncontrollably.
"Are you alright?" Yue asks, tilting her head in concern.
"Yeah," Kida assures. Her cheeks are flushed, and she's glad that the cold gives them a valid reason to be so. "I'm Kida," she introduces, offering a shy smile. Yue smiles back.
"I'm Yue," she replies, before a blush paints her cheeks. "Which you already knew, because my father just said...but, um, it's very nice to meet you. Kida is a pretty name."
"Oh, thanks. You have very eyes...I mean name! Yue is a very pretty name and so are you. I mean, it's really nice to meet you, too." Kida chuckles nervously. Yue laughs softly and Kida remains speechless, her heart fluttering.
Pull yourself together, woman! Kida scolds herself.
On her left, Kida feels an elbow jab into her side. "Someone has a crush," Aang teases.
Kida leans in next to him. "Aang," she warns, though her tone is embarrassed. The boy giggles cheekily and turns back to his conversation with Katara.
From across the table, Sokka locks eyes with Kida, confused but intrigued about what's happening. Kida simply shrugs at him and eats the rest of her meal in silence.
»»---------------------►
KIDA AND SOKKA MAKE THEIR WAY TO WARRIOR TRAINING EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, both excited. Kida was familiar with Earth Nation style of fighting thanks to her mother's Kyoshi Warrior background, and, although she refuses to admit it, she knew some Fire Nation techniques as well; knowing about different fighting styles helped her adapt and survive in the past. Now that Kida is committed to fighting this war, learning about another one will only prove to be more useful.
"Sokka," Chief Arnook greets when they enter the training area. His eyes land on Kida, however, and his smile disappears. "Kida, I trust that you're here to send Sokka off?"
"I'm here for training actually," Kida corrects, trying her best to not sound defensive. The last thing she wants is to offend Yue's dad, or, uh, the chief.
"Ha!" Someone scoffs from next to a rack of spears. "As if a girl could ever be a warrior. Sorry, sweetheart, but this isn't the place for you." He walks up to Kida and crosses his arms in front of her, challenging her.
Kida doesn't want to take the bait, but the last thing she really wanted to do was let this sexist jerk walk all over her. "Oh, honey, you'd be surprised," Kida says, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I've been known to hold my own in a fight."
The boy laughs in her face. "I find that hard to believe. Besides, in our tribe, it's tradition that the men are warriors while the women are healers, if they're waterbenders, or homemakers."
Kida is about to say something in response, but Chief Arnook interrupts.
"I'm sorry Kida, but Hanh is right. We must uphold our traditions."
Kida scoffs. This entire time, Sokka hasn't said anything in her defense; not that she expected a guy to fight her battles, but the two were supposed to be friends now, right? Some backup would have been nice.
Frustrated, Kida mumbles a quick apology to the chief before leaving.
As she walks back to their living quarters,, Kida hears a soft voice call her name. It's Princess Yue, who orders her boat to stop next to Kida.
"Hi, Kida," she greets. "How are you today?"
"Oh, just fine," Kida says sarcastically. Whatever butterflies she felt last night were replaced with frustration at what had just happened. "I got kicked out of warrior training. I mean, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I can't fight for myself or even learn to fight in order to help in this war! Stupid sexist Water Tribe traditions... " Kida mumbling when she realizes who she's talking to. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."
"It's alright," Yue assures. She lets out a small giggle, and suddenly Kida's day got a thousand times better. "I sometimes feel bound by the traditions of my people, as well." Yue pauses, as if she's unsure that she can say what she really wants to. "Would you, maybe, like to spend some time together while you're here?"
"That...that would be nice," Kida replies with a shy smile.
"Meet me on that bridge." Yue points up. "Tomorrow night?"
Kida nods enthusiastically. Yue waves goodbye and Kida finishes the rest of her walk in a daze.
She doesn't know how much time passes with her staring up at the ceiling, alternating between daydreaming about Yue and grumbling about the fact that her validity as a warrior had been questioned, until Sokka storms in and flops down next to her.
"What's up with you?" Kida asks. "Is training over already?"
"No, well, I sort of got asked to leave early."
Kida's eyebrows shoot up in confusion. She sits up to rest on her elbows and tilts her head to look at Sokka. "What?"
"I told the Chief and Hanh that you were the best warrior I know and if the traditions of our tribe don't recognize that, then they're stupid. And sexist."
Kida is silent for a moment. Then, she laughs, which causes Sokka to look up at her frown. "Sorry," she says, halting her laughter. Kida shifts so that she's laying on her side, her body facing Sokka with her head resting on her hand. "I just can't imagine you saying something like that two months ago."
"What, no thank you?"
"Thank you," Kida offers. "My brave warrior! I don't know what I'd do without you!" She pretends to swoon.
Sokka rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
"You don't need to fight for me, though."
"I know that's how you feel," Sokka replies. He mirrors her position so that they're facing each other. "That's why I waited until you left before saying anything. Training was boring without you, anyways."
Kida smirks. She's about to say, Yeah, well my day sucked without you, too, but she remembers Yue. Then, for a fleeting moment, she thinks about how Sokka would react if he knew about her 'date' with Yue, and then Kida almost freaks out when she starts to think about why she would even care about that. Thankfully, she's saved by Aang and Katara storming in, seemingly as frustrated by their day as Kida and Sokka were.
"He won't train Katara because she's a girl," Aang explains. Next to him, Katara looks as though she's brimming with anger, until Sokka suggests:
"Why don't you just teach her, Aang?"
At his suggestion, Katara's face lights up. "That's a great idea, Sokka! Aang learns from Master Pakku during the day, and at night he teaches me!" Excited, her and Aang rush back out to begin training.
"We could do the same," Kida realizes, but Sokka shakes his head.
"We would need access to weapons that are only available in the training room," Sokka points out. He sighs. "I know you're both, but if there was a way to make them see you as a warrior instead of a girl..... Wait! I do have a plan for us, too," Sokka assures. He sits up, cross-legged. "How do you feel about cutting your hair?"
»»---------------------►
THE NEXT THING KIDA KNOWS, Sokka sits behind her as he attempts to shorten her hair.
"Spirits, you have a lot of hair," he groans while he tries to saw through another section with his blade.
"Well, I'm sorry that we don't all have perfectly balanced hair like you," Kida jokes.
The thing is, Kida knows that Sokka's plan — having Kida disguise herself as a boy so that she would be accepted into warrior training — didn't really make any sense and and probably wouldn't work, but since he stood up for her earlier, Kida decides that the least she owes him is to put up with one of his ridiculous schemes. She sees how excited Sokka is about it, anyways, so that makes it easier to go along with it.
Once he's done, Sokka gives Kida his knife to check out her reflection. Her hair is much shorter than it was before, now falling in line with her chin instead of past her shoulders. Then, he moves to sit in front of Kida.
"What are you doing?" she asks.
"I'm braiding your hair," he explains. Sokka braids a few strands together with some blue string, fully concentrated. For some reason, Kida feels the need to tell him about Yue, and she figures now is a good time.
"Princess Yue asked me out."
Sokka freezes. Without saying anything, he moves back behind Kida and starts gathering her hair in a wolftail. "Oh." is all he replies.
Kida feels uneasy, like she was expecting more. Then, she realizes that part of her hoped that he would object. "So...do you think I should go?"
"Do you want to?" Sokka wonders, his voice softer than before.
"I don't know," Kida responds. "I guess that's why I'm asking you," she admits awkwardly.
Again, Sokka waits a few minutes before responding. At this point, Kida knows that he's done with her hair, but he's still playing with it nervously.
"Does she make you happy?"
Kida reflects for a moment. "Yes, but —"
"Then you should go," Sokka rushes, as if he's scared of what Kida would say next.
"Okay," Kida mumbles. "I'll go, then." She's not sure if Sokka hears, but when he smiles softly, she figures that he does. Hoping to change the subject, Kida picks up his knife again and examines her reflection. "I look so much better in this wolftail thing than you do," she teases.
Sokka pretends to be offended. "You wish." He gets up to leave — to where, Kida doesn't know— but Kida grabs his hand to stop him.
"Thanks, Sokka." He smiles back at her, but she sees right through it. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, of course!" he exclaims, much too enthusiastically to be real. "I just...need to go for a walk, that's all."
Before Kida can ask anything else, Sokka leaves their room.
»»---------------------►
KIDA SHOWS UP TO TRAINING WITH SOKKA THE NEXT MORNING. Unlike the day before, her hair is short and mimics the Water Tribe style and she wears one of Sokka's tunics. Unfortunately, Hahn is leading training that day.
"You're not fooling anyone, sweetheart," he says to Kida when she walks in.
Kida makes her voice lower. "I'm not quite sure what you mean, Hahn."
"Yeah," Sokka jumps in. Since last night, he's been back to his normal self and Kida knows better than to pry any further. At least, not this morning. "This is my good friend's brother... Ki...ran."
Hahn narrows his eyes in suspicion. "Well, your friend's brother looks a lot like the girl we kicked out of training yesterday."
"They're twins," Sokka offers. He looks to Kida for help, but she shrugs. It was a longshot, anyways, she tries to communicate to him, and he seems to understand.
"Look, I'm done with you two making a mockery of my tribe's traditions," Hahn snaps.
"We don't mean to," Kida replies sincerely, returning to her normal voice. "In fact, I want a chance to learn from your traditions."
Once again, Hahn laughs in her face. "We don't need a girl learning about these traditions, let alone some lowly Earth Kingdom peasant."
"Don't you dare —" before Sokka can continue, Kida steps in and places a gentle hand on his arm. Her glare at Hahn though, is anything but gentle.
"Is that right?" Kida demands. "So you wouldn't mind then,if I challenged you to a duel?"
"I wouldn't even give you the time of day," Hahn counters.
Kida smiles, challenging him. "You're just scared that a girl is going to show you up in front of everyone." She steps closer to him; Hahn is taller, so Kida has to look up to meet his gaze, but she refuses to back down.
"What is going on here!" the Chief demands. He stands between Kida and Hahn, and Sokka pulls Kida away gently. After Hahn explains, in his completely biased retelling, what happened, the Chief doesn't look as angry as Kida expected. In fact, he barely looks angry. "I see," he starts. "Just now, your sister." The Chief points to Sokka, then continues. "Proved that our views about what women can or can't do are rather outdated, and herself to be a very capable fighter."
Upon hearing this, Kida makes a mental note to hug Katara and tell her how proud she was of her for sticking up for herself, whatever happened.
"I can only imagine that Kida is just as capable," the Chief finishes. He turns to Kida and smiles, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "My daughter also mentioned something about it." At the mention of Yue, Kida blushes, which doesn't go unnoticed by Sokka. "I will allow you to attend a few warrior training sessions."
Kida thanks him profusely before Chief Arnook turns his attention to the rest of the trainees, then she turns to Sokka. She playfully shoves his shoulder.
"I guess your plan did work, after all."
Sokka smirks. "Did you ever doubt that it would?"
"Absolutely," Kida replies, causing both of them to laugh. "Now, come on! We've got some training to attend."
Sokka smiles and follows her lead.
»»---------------------►
author's note:
kida is the DEFINITION of chaotic bi but honestly, same.
as always, thank you for reading, your comments make my day!