CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
( UNDER THE STARS & LIGHTS )
TEN YEARS AGO
"IT'S A CLEAR NIGHT!" The five year old spun away from the opened window of the bedroom and immediately ran into Biming. The boy steadied them both, but she was quick to get out of his grasp and race out of the room, barely even fazed by it.
"Wha- Flo?" Biming called after the youngest, but he went ignored. He sighed a bit too dramatically for a sickly six year old and ran after her as fast as he was able. Even Ju-Li, who called out for her as well from her pallet of a bed, didn't get an answer.
Flo quickly made her way to the main area of their home. When she didn't find who she's looking for, she made her way to the kitchen. At the table Hachi, Lei, Kuron and their father sat together as they played an easy game of mahjong. With a huff, Flo turned back around before any of her older siblings could grab her – they loved doing that, to pull her into their laps for hugs and cuddles or to tickle her, or simply picked up to carry her in odd ways just to be annoying – and left right when Gang questioned what she was doing.
Finally, she went to her parents' shared room. Deep down, she knew she probably should have checked there first but denial was a strong thing even at her age.
Fen laid on her own bed pallet, asleep. The moonlight filtered through the window; it was bright, both because of the lack of clouds and because of the full moon. The silence was almost unnerving. It made Flo pause just inside the doorway, hesitating as she caught sight of the slow breathing of her mother's chest.
It gave enough time for Biming to catch up. Both of them stood still, then without any word spoken between them, he grabbed her hand and they walked further inside together. The wooden panels of the floor quietly creaked under their feet as they tried not to make too much noise.
Unfortunately, neither of them got far. Not because of the noise, no, but because someone caught them.
"What are you two doing?" The harsh whisper came from Ju-Li, having followed them to make sure they wouldn't get into trouble, and both spun around in an instant. Biming tried to smile innocently, meanwhile Flo kept a calm expression. Before either of them could answer, she continued, "We're supposed to be letting her rest – you are supposed to be resting." Ju-Li pointed an accusatory finger at her youngest brother.
"I was just following Flo," Biming muttered with a ducked head.
"And I just wanna see Mama," Flo said.
Ju-Li crossed her arms. "You're sick, Biming, you shouldn't even be walking around, and Flo you'll have to wait until morning." Luckily, that was enough for Biming to let go of Flo's hand and head to Ju-Li. No one wanted a fight.
Except for maybe Flo.
"No," she said, a bit too loud for comfort with someone sleeping a few feet away.
Ju-Li let out an exhausted sigh, borderline annoyed. She guided Biming back out into the hall before she took a step inside the room to get the other one. "Flo, please," she tried.
"No," Flo repeated. When Ju-Li reached out for her, she ducked away. "No, it's a clear night! The stars are out!"
"Be quiet, Flo!" The eldest hissed. "Look, I'll stargaze with you, but you have to leave and let Mama rest." When she got yet another repeat of that awfully annoying two-letter word, Ju-Li looked about ready to scream. Flo, at noticing it, gave her the stick eye and promptly stuck out her tongue. Ju-Li clenched her jaw. "That's it."
Flo barely had time to blink and process her sister's tone before anything happened. She gasped as Ju-Li lunged at her, and somehow didn't get caught when she belatedly dodged out of the way. She ran a few paces and made it to the door by the time Ju-Li caught up. Next thing she knew, she was over Ju-Li's shoulder, the oldest's grip tight and unrelenting.
"Let me go!" Flo shouted. She kicked and hit to get free, but Ju-Li was ten years older and had a life time of dealing with younger siblings – a few measly kicks and hits weren't about to make her give in. "Ju-Li, let me go! Put me down!"
"Hey, what's going on?" Their father's voice entered the mix as Ju-Li continued to carry Flo away. Firm yet concerned. Footsteps followed him, and Flo just knew her other siblings had joined in to see what was happening.
"She's being a brat, and wouldn't leave Mama's room when I told her to."
"You're a brat!"
Hachi snorted in amusement. "She told you, Ju."
"Shut up," she snapped.
"Not helping," Kuron added.
"Neither are you–," Hachi began but got cut off.
"Kids," Gang spoke loud and firmly. After a beat of silence – excluding Flo's struggles to be put down – he sighed. Then, he took Flo from Ju-Li, although he didn't put her down, knowing that if he did she would run off somewhere and the situation would last much longer than anyone wanted. Begrudgingly, she let him hold her, all the while glaring at her older sister. Ju-Li rolled her eyes. "Alright, what's the story? Why were you in mine and Mama's room when I told you kids to let her rest by herself?" He gave her a reprimanding look, then Biming the same one. Biming's eyes widened and he side-stepped to hide behind Lei.
"The stars are out," Flo explained. "There aren't any clouds."
An expression she didn't understand crossed over his face for a second. "Ah. And you want to go stargazing tonight before bedtime, huh?"
"With Mama. It's been forever." Flo leaned forward with raised brows and wide eyes as she emphasized the last word, as if that somehow got her point across better. Her father chuckled lightly, but not as much as he would've if certain things were different.
It was true that they haven't stargazed in a long time. A while ago it became a tradition of sorts. Being in the Earth Kingdom army off and on, Gang knew a bit about how to navigate using the stars (not a lot, but enough), and Fen had an infatuation with them so she had learned what she could about them when she was younger. After having kids, they shared their knowledge and often laid down outside on clear nights together, pointing out the constellations they knew and making a game out of who could find the Northern Star first. Sometimes they made up their own constellations and backstories for them.
The family adored those times spent together, but it was more often than not Flo demanding everyone to stargaze as of late. Ever since Fen fell sick five months ago, those times have dwindled greatly, even with Flo's begging, and even more so when Biming began to get sick as well.
"We can do it."
Gang gasped when he looked at who spoke. "Fen! You should be resting." He finally let Flo down, and she moved until she was leaning against Hachi's side while Gang moved to his wife; Hachi patted her head somewhat absentmindedly.
"Maybe, but I wanted to know what the commotion was about," Fen said. Her eyes looked to her oldest and youngest. "It did start near my bed, after all."
Flo blinked and began to shrink back to hide behind Hachi like Biming did with Lei earlier. Ju-Li spoke up first, "Sorry Mama," and Flo echoed the sentiment, though it was a little muffled by Hachi's cloak.
"It's all right." She chuckled shortly but it formed into a dry cough. Hachi settled an arm over Flo's shoulders when she wrapped her arms around him. "We can stargaze tonight as a family if we're all up to it," Fen told the kids once the coughing fit ended. Her lips curled into a tiny but genuine smile. "I know I am."
"Fen," Gang tried but one look from her had him keeping his mouth shut. He could tell that she was struggling to keep herself up, even when using the wall to support herself. The coughing fit hadn't helped ease his worry for her at all.
"No, really, it's okay. I want to do this." The woman's smile turned reassuring to both her kids and husband. As Gang stepped forward again, now right in front of her, Fen's gaze shifted to him and it turned sad. "Just one more time, Gang," she whispered to him. It was so quiet that the kids couldn't hear. "One more time as a family. Let's give them that. We both know I'm not going to last much longer."
Gang wanted to argue. He didn't want to think about that – about how his wife, the mother of his children, the love of his life, had a limited amount of time left because of the sickness they couldn't afford to get medicine for. A sickness that had also begun to plague Biming. But it was reality, unfortunately. He sighed, and turned around to give the kids what was a hopefully real looking grin. "You heard your mother. Go get everything ready. We'll be outside soon."
Flo was the first one to dash away to grab a few blankets and pillows, and Lei and Biming followed her immediately. The other three hesitantly trailed off. Hachi dashed forward and gave their mom a gentle hug before leaving, while Ju-Li and Kuron shared matching concerned glances at each other after watching their parents, but didn't say anything. Once the kids were out, Gang pulled Fen into a hug with shut eyes. Fen returned it as tightly as she was able to.
Neither of them moved. They just held one another, and listened to their kids making racket: Ju-Li and Kuron trying to order the others around, Biming coughing every once in a while, Flo and Hachi both talking and laughing loudly, and Lei complaining about how bossy Ju-Li and Kuron were. It was music to their ears.
Moments later, after the kids all finally worked together to lay some blankets on the hard ground outside, leaving a few to cover up with, the family settled down on their backs and stargazed for the last time as a whole.
+++
PRESENT DAY
"Flo?"
There was a split second where Flo wanted to snap again, almost thinking Sokka had followed her when she didn't want him to. But then the voice registered, and she looked ahead rather than at her feet and saw Princess Yue standing on one of the bridges. They weren't too far away from one another, and the setting sun gave enough light for Flo to see the Princess' red eyes.
Absentmindedly, Flo took notice of how it was clear she just finished crying not too long ago, yet she still looked beautiful.
"Princess Yue." She hesitated. "Are you okay?"
"Perhaps I should ask you that," Princess Yue said. "Not many people walk around this time of day like a kicked polar bear-dog pup."
"Not many people are crying on bridges, either."
Princess Yue sighed sadly. "No... No, I suppose not."
Flo winced. "I'm sorry. That came out–" The older girl was quick to interrupt.
"No, it's okay. You didn't mean any harm, and it's the truth." Her eyes casted down onto the canal. Silence fell over the area, but Flo got the sense she wanted to speak more and decided to go up on the bridge as well. She leaned her back against the ice railing and crossed her arms, while Princess Yue had her hands laid gently on it. "Your friend, Katara... She called her grandmother brave for going against the tribe's traditions."
Flo nodded. "She did... Did that- Did what she say offend you?"
"She didn't," Princess Yue quickly assured. "Not at all."
"Oh..." She trailed off, not knowing what to say. Flo didn't even know what she intended to do when she left hours ago, but it wasn't this.
The situation was way out of her depth. Maybe she should've just walked away.
"I'm sixteen," Princess Yue spoke quietly. "I'm sure you remember my father telling everyone that I am of marrying age now."
Flo turned so they were facing the same way, and looked at her. "...You don't want an arranged marriage," she speculated just as quiet. The princess' lips wobbled. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. Flo minutely tensed and thought, Oh no.
"No." Princess Yue's breath shuttered, and the tears began to fall freely as she said, "But I'm already engaged." She lifted her hands to cover her face as she cried for a second time.
In that moment, Flo felt panicked because a girl she didn't know well was crying in front of her, but she also felt sympathy for her. Flo didn't know what to do, so she patted Princess Yue's back in what she hoped was a comforting manner. "I'm sorry. That sucks."
Princess Yue abruptly giggled wetly. She sniffled, then wiped under her eyes in an attempt to control her tears as she wetly said, "You don't comfort others much, do you?"
"Um. No." She removed her hand. "Sorry."
"Don't be. Thank you for trying, though. I should be the one apologizing for just loading you with this."
"I asked," Flo said. "You aren't loading me with anything. I... I'm not a good talker, but I can listen if you want me to."
Princess Yue gave her a ghost of a smile. "You're sweet. Thank you." She didn't say anything else for a few minutes, staring up to the darkening sky. "As the princess, I have a duty to my people. Everyone expects me to do certain things – such as being engaged to a man that will take over as Chief after my father. I will happily do it, too, but... I don't love him. I'm falling for someone else but that doesn't matter, either, because who it is... If we marry it will be going against the norm here. I thought I knew what I would do when this time came. But I don't. I'm torn between wanting to follow the duties for my people, or going against everything and following my heart.
"Because of this I have been...hiding, I suppose. My best friend came searching for me and I ran and hid. After, I tried spending time with your friend Sokka just to get a sense of normalcy but everything was so fresh and I felt guilty, and..." The tears were back. She wasn't sobbing, though, so Flo counted that as a good thing. "I want to go through with my duties as a princess, but that means hurting my best friend and I don't want to do that."
"Have you tried talking about it with your father?" Flo asked.
She shook her head. "I'm afraid he won't listen, if I did."
"Oh." She sighed. "Well, that sucks."
Princess Yue giggled again, and Flo softly smirked in accomplishment. "You have such a lovely way with words."
Flo shrugged one shoulder. "I try."
"May I ask why you are out here?" Princess Yue asked when a few moments of silence went by. "I can listen, too. If you want me to, I can even give advice if that is what you need."
Flo looked at her with uncertainty. "I don't know..."
"You don't have to. I'm offering – returning a favor."
Flo thought about what to do – what she wanted to do. She didn't want to speak about any of it at all, but deep down she knew she probably should. There were a lot of things she probably needed to talk about, actually.
With a sigh, she finally made up her mind and kept her eyes on her hands and the intricate designs on the ice railing. "I have lost a lot of people in my life," she started slowly. "So when I originally joined Aang, Sokka, and Katara to make sure nothing happened to them – they weren't the best at fighting – I had no desire to be their friend. Just a protector, I guess. I didn't want to get attached. But now..." She shook her head. "Before, I had a boyfriend and this group of friends, before. We were traveling at some point, and Jet and I got into this huge fight. The next morning I woke up to all of them gone after he told me we would talk it out in the morning."
Princess Yue gasped. "He what?"
"Yeah. He's an ass."
"And a coward! I can't imagine how that must have felt for you. I'm so sorry." Princess Yue said, "You're scared they're going to do the same thing, aren't you?"
Flo let out a little hum. "Or die," she mumbled. The longer time went on, the more she realized how everything truly fucked her up in various ways. She involuntarily made a face and rubbed at her forearm. "...They keep promising they won't leave, but I don't know. Its hard to believe them. It's stupid."
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Princess Yue turn fully toward her. "It's far from stupid! There is nothing wrong with being fearful of losing people you care about."
Flo scoffed. Try being terrified, she thought.
"Flo. Look at me." Reluctantly, she did. "Being scared of losing people is normal. It means you care for them, and no one wants to lose their loved ones, friends and family alike. But it happens, because that is life. People die. They come and go."
For long a moment, Flo didn't speak. Her throat was too tight to. Then, quietly, she said, "I can't lose anyone else."
"Who's to say you will any time soon?" she asked. "What good does it do to focus on a bad outcome that might happen? There is nothing wrong with being scared, but you can't let that fear take control of your life."
"...What good does it do hiding from your best friend?" Flo retaliated with, a little harsher than she intended. Did Princess Yue have a point? Yes. But Flo didn't want to admit it right then. "Whoever it is will find out sooner or later, and the longer you wait... It would be better if your best friend found out from you than anyone else."
She looked down, hands folded together. "I know."
Flo picked at the railing with a gloved finger, looking away, too. "But I get telling them might be scary... Earlier, I accidentally said something that caused Aang to figure out something I wasn't ready to tell them. I ran ran off, even when he and Sokka tried to stop me. But- But maybe it'll be okay in the end."
"Are you tell that to me, or yourself?"
"Both, I guess."
Princess Yue sighed. Neither of them spoke, and let the silence drag on before she finally said, "We should both talk to our respective friends, shouldn't we?"
"Probably, yeah."
By now, the sun was basically completely set. It was dark; the stars were coming out one by one.
Tired of all the emotions, she took in a quiet breath and asked, "I should get going. Um, sorry for interrupting your alone time."
"It's okay. I think I needed someone to talk to who wasn't a close friend or family member." She smiled knowingly. "Maybe you did, too, Flo. I'll see you later?"
Flo hesitated, but then slowly nodded and allowed a tiny smile to form. "Yeah, sure. See you later, Princess Yue."
+++
Flo headed back to the hut. She didn't want to, but it was beginning to get late and she didn't want to risk the chance of the others coming to find her.
As she headed there, the conversation with Princess Yue swirled sound in her head. Nothing she said was wrong, Flo knew that. The fear of getting close to people and losing them had taken over her life. It probably wasn't a healthy way to live, but it was a way that felt safe – better. She was right when she said that people came and went. Whether they died or didn't, some people were going to come into your life and either stay or leave.
But just because the princess was right, didn't mean Flo liked it. Quite the opposite, actually.
There was an odd sense of comfort of just...not risking anything. Of keeping others at arm's length. Of pushing them away when they got too close. Of avoiding friendships. Of staying in her comfort zone, a little bubble of just herself and Sleemo.
But it wasn't just Flo and Sleemo anymore, which was frightening. Aang, Sokka, and Katara were making their own spaces within it, and she could easily do something to push them away, but she didn't know if she actually wanted to do that. They were kind and admittedly fun, but...
With an agitated sigh, she turned a corner and finally came up to the hut. She stopped just a few feet away as she remembered something.
Flo's head dropped and she let it hang low, and let out a quiet, annoyed groan.
They were probably going to bring up how she couldn't read.
Great.
She shook her head and took the last few steps. She only slightly hesitated before stepping in, and was unsurprised at the happy shouts of her name when they saw her.
"Flo!"
She crossed her arms and loosely gripped her elbows. With a thin smile, she said, "Hey."
"Where were you?" asked Katara as she walked up. "I got worried when the boys said you ran off and then disappeared for most of the day."
"I- oof." Flo's eyes widened when the younger girl yanked her into a hug, arms around her neck. It was a tight one, so she couldn't move to hug her back, but Flo doubted she would even if she could. The action shocked her too much. Then Katara pulled back, hands on Flo shoulders. "Um."
A wrinkle formed between Katara's brows. "Are you okay?"
"Uh. Yeah," she said unconvincingly. She slid herself from under Katara's hands. "I'm fine."
"Are you s– oh, my gosh!" She jerked her hands away and clasped them together, holding them to her chest. "I completely forgot you don't like hugs, I'm so sorry!" Katara exclaimed.
"It's o–"
"I can't believe myself, that was–"
"Katara!" Flo raised her voice to get her attention. Katara shut up and stared at her with a guilty expression. She exasperatedly sighed and said, "It's okay. I would have pushed you off if it wasn't."
Relief visibly washed over her. She grinned. "Oh. Okay. But are you sure you're okay?"
"I said 'yeah'."
The response earned her a deadpan expression.
"Which was totally a lie," Aang piped up from where he sat.
"He's right," Katara said. She leaned forward and conspiratorially whispered, "Did the boys do something? We can leave and have girl time."
The question made Flo smile somewhat in amusement for a short second. "No, they didn't do anything. I... Its nothing."
"I don't think it's really nothing, Flo," Aang said.
"Aang," Sokka warned.
"What?" he questioned. "I'm not going to lie."
"Hey, I'm just trying to keep her from getting mad at you."
"Why would she get mad at me?"
He shrugged, arms crossed and not looking at anyone. He only glanced over at her once, and Flo couldn't fully read his expression but it was far from happy. It made the full force of the guilt of yelling at him surface; she had been continuously and successfully ignoring it until now.
Katara huffed and placed her hands on her hips. "Alright, what the heck happened between you two?" she asked, eyes pointedly going back and forth between her brother and Flo. "Ever since last night you've been acting off around each other."
"Don't worry about it, Katara," said Sokka before Flo could think of something to say. "It's fine."
"Well, based on your faces, you don't look fine," she said.
Aang nodded. "Yeah. Are you sure we don't need to worry about it?"
"He said don't worry about it, so don't," Flo said. "Look. Yesterday we just got into a little argument, and then earlier I yelled at him when he tried to follow me after he and Aang figured out I can't read; I got embarrassed. I didn't want to talk about it. I still don't. That's it. I'm tired. Can we please stop this and just get ready for the night?"
There was a moment of silence as the others took in the words. They almost looked stunned.
"Flo..." Katara began, expression now somewhat unreadable. The older girl pursed her lips and walked over to her bedroll without a word. Katara sighed minutely. "...Okay. Yeah, sure, it's been a long day. We should get some rest."
As everyone got ready for bed and fell asleep, their hut was filled with a weirdly tense atmosphere for the rest of the night.
+++
The following morning, Flo woke up to Katara rushing around because she couldn't find her boots, causing her to be late for her first lesson with Master Pakku. Aang was already gone and Sokka wasn't awake yet, so Flo groggily got up and helped her. They eventually found the boots, and the younger girl rushed to leave once she had them on.
"Bye, Flo, thanks for the help, see you later!"
Flo gave a noncommittal, half asleep hum in response before going back to her bed roll and laying on top of it, face down. She didn't get much sleep at all, mind whirring constantly about what happened these past few days, so she felt exhausted. She knew there was no chance of going back to sleep, though.
She sat up crisscross. When Momo flew over and began to chitter at her, she blearily stared down at him on her knee. Sleemo came over as well and curled in her lap. The lemur threw his arms up and chittered louder.
"What, you had a weird dream or something, Momo?" she asked when there was a pause.
Momo continued on. He leaned from side to side as if he were blowing in the wind. Flo couldn't help but smile at him, amused.
Shuffling caught her attention, and she glanced to see Sokka awake. He was leaned back on his elbows, and stared in confusion at them. She flinched back as Momo suddenly appeared right in front of her face, mere inches away. Her eyes widened. Momo continued to chitter dramatically. He stopped. Curled up with Sleemo. And that was that.
"What," Sokka blearily mumbled, "was just happening?"
"I don't know. I don't speak lemur."
"Oh." He fell back and closed his eyes with a grunt, arms coming to lay across his eyes.
Flo leaned back on her hands and stared at the ceiling.
"Where are the others?"
"Waterbending lessons." She just got a half asleep hum in response.
As the silence stretched on, her mind conjured up her talk with the princess (specifically how she said that they both needed to talk with their friends), and the conversation with the others once she got back to the hut. She didn't want to talk about anything. She wanted to just brush everything aside, and forget what happened.
She wanted things to go back to normal.
...But the normal now was nothing she was used to. And she knew, even if she didn't say it out loud, that she didn't want things to go back to before the others worked their way into her life. That meant losing them.
Flo looked at Sokka, only to see that he had sat up and was already staring at her.
His eyes widened a little at getting caught. "Uh."
"I'm sorry," she blurted, making up her mind on what to do on the spot.
Sokka was immediately wide awake. His back straightened and the sleepy glaze vanished from his eyes. He pushed away the stray strands of hair off his face. "Flo–"
"Don't say I don't have to be," she interrupted him. "I yelled at you twice. I'm sorry. And...you were right, the other day. I didn't mean it when I said maybe I shouldn't have called us friends. I'm sorry for that, too."
"I know," he said. "It's okay, I forgive you." His eyes casted downward. "I probably shouldn't have brought up Aang as your little brother. It freaked you out. I'm sorry, too."
"You didn't know that would happen." She frowned a little and mumbled, "I didn't, either, honestly." She scratched Sleemo behind the ears, and the hawk-cat began to purr quietly. "You were just trying to be a good friend, and I turned it into a fight."
"Why did you react like that?" Sokka asked, not unkindly but curiously. "We have called each other friends before. You've said it yourself a couple times."
That was actually a good question, and he was right. In fact, Flo knew she even called Aang as another The Duke to herself at least once or twice. And Aunt Wu had asked if Aang was her little brother, and it didn't make her freak out like she did the other day.
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "Maybe because then I thought there was a chance to still leave before getting too attached to you guys."
"Oh." Sokka said, "Well, we aren't going to leave you–"
"Can you stop promising that?" Flo pleaded, interrupting him. He looked at her in surprise; he wasn't expecting her to say that. "I'm not just worried of you guys leaving me behind, I'm scared of you guys dying. People don't come back from that, Sokka."
"But I can try not to die," he said. "I can promise that."
"I guess," she said quietly. Flo had no rebuttal to that. She still sort of wanted to tell him to not promise that, either.
He pointed a finger at her, then. "You better do the same, because I don't want to lose you, either."
She blinked, taken back. When was the last time someone told her that? She didn't remember. "What?"
Sokka hesitated. His cheeks turned a faint shade of red. "I- I don't want to lose you." There was a beat of silence. "And Aang and Katara feel the same, obviously." He chuckled, though it sounded nervous. It died out quickly, though, and a bit of his seriousness came back. "You're a part of this group. We all gotta stick together."
Flo seriously had no idea what to say or do.
Really, when was the last time she got told that? And, truthfully, she didn't think anyone would feel that way about her – not after all this time, not after being left time and time again and be alone for so long. It just...wasn't something that crossed her mind. Or if it did, she just assumed they wouldn't care if she left.
So to hear someone say that – and that someone being the guy she's starting to like as more than a friend – sort of broke her brain.
"I- okay," she choked out. "I'll..." Her words trailed off as something abruptly came to mind.
"You will live a happy life with friends and family alike. A reunion is definitely in your future as well – it is important to your life's journey."
"Reunion?" Flo asked. "With who?"
"Well, your family, of course!"
Flo forced a little smile. "I'll try, too." She had no idea if that was a lie or not.
He smiled. "Good."
She lowered her eyes to her lap. Sleemo still purred happily as she absentmindedly loved on her, and Momo was curled into a tight ball as he slept. She ignored the thoughts of Aunt Wu's fortune telling to the best of her abilities. It would do no good right now to think about that.
They were safe within the walls of the Northern Water Tribe.
(For now.)
+++
The rest of that morning went... Well, it just went. She didn't really know how to explain it other than that. Sokka went to warrior's training again; and, again, he offered for her to join him, but Flo declined, mainly because he was about to be late and she wanted food.
Though, after, she did quickly stop by the training area to bring him some jerky she bought knowing he didn't get breakfast. She didn't want to go in there and bring attention to herself, though, so she snuck around until she found a good high hiding spot and attached the bag to an arrow. Then, she shot it right between his feet as he talked to Bardo. She only stayed long enough to witness his yelp of surprise, and then left as quietly as fast as she came.
Flo made her way back to the hut. She didn't want to risk going back to the library and couldn't think of anything else to do, so she guessed spending some alone time with the animals would be a good way to go about her day. Unfortunately, that little plan of hers derailed when Akiko, the secret firebender, made an appearance just a few steps away from her destination.
"Can I hang out with you?" Akiko asked without preamble. She wore very similar clothes as she had been before, except now she had a bag with her, one hand holding the strap that was thrown over a shoulder.
Flo's boots scuffed the snow as she came to a stop. "Um. Why?"
The shorter girl shrugged, lips pressed into a thin line. The expression on her face was subdued, more so than the other day.
"Is Princess Yue busy or something?" she asked. Immediately, Flo knew that was the wrong thing to say.
Akiko's crumbled. Her lips wobbled but no tears fell. "I don't know. I don't care, either."
Slowly, Flo nodded. Was this going to be a conversation like she had with Princess Yue? She hoped not. If one more person cried in front of her, she's hunting down Aang and forcing him to deal with it. "...Okay," she said. "Uh, well, sure. I guess. I'm just going back to our hut."
"Do you mind if I meditate there?"
"As long as you don't melt it."
The glare she received hardly fazed her. Flo has ran across people with scarier, and plus, Akiko's glassy eyes and overall sad expression wiped away anything that could even potentially be seen as intimidating.
Flo was hesitant to let Akiko into the hut she and the others have been staying in. Akiko had yet to show that she was like any other firebender, but there was still a part of her that had Flo distrusting the other teen. That Fire Hunter mindset that she knew she was capable of going back to if she really wanted.
That wasn't her anymore, though.
So, she motioned Akiko to follow her, and went to the hut. Flo grabbed her things and sat next to the steps against the wall, while Akiko situated herself smack dab in the middle. She took out four candles, set them up, and set each one on fire using one finger. Four small pale yellow flames shone brightly.
"Yours is different," Flo found herself saying.
Akiko looked at her. "What? My fire?"
She nodded. "Every other firebender has orange fire."
"Oh, yeah." She stuck out a hand and made one of the flames bigger. "My mom says it's because I've grown up in such a cold climate. It's apparently hotter than normal fire."
"Right." Flo's tone came out short and tense. She eyed both the girl and the flame with caution.
Akiko looked at her with furrowed brows, then with a look of realization, yanked back her hand. She held it close to her chest in a closed fist and the flame went back to a normal size. "Sorry."
Flo forced herself to relax. "It's...fine." She pulled out the things she needed to make some arrows. "You should probably start meditating and get it over with before my friends get back."
The hut was filled with silence after that. Sleemo came out from wherever she had burrowed herself for warmth and yet again curled into the hood of the parka Flo wore. She still wasn't completely at ease with a literal firebender a few feet away – as Akiko meditated, the flames grew and shrunk with each intake and outtake of breath – but Sleemo's purring helped to keep her relaxed.
Still, she began to wish she still had that knife Jet gave her – the one that she tossed at his feet the last time she saw him. Just in case. She'd be the first to admit that having a weapon like that gave some sort of comfort. Unfortunately, that knife was long gone and she had yet to find time to get another.
She stayed focused on the arrows the duration Akiko meditated. It was a while before she done, maybe an hour or two, and Flo had made a small handful of arrows to use the next time she needed them.
"Thank you," Akiko said once the candles were out. She looked better than before. Not as sad and more at ease. "Usually I go to my own place, but I didn't want my parents or grandmother being nosy and ask if I'm okay."
"You're welcome." Flo hesitated before saying, "You can come here again if you need to."
"I can? But you're obviously not comfortable with my bending," said Akiko. "This can be a one time thing, I just needed space from everyone else."
"I'm uncomfortable because you're the first firebender who hasn't tried to kill me or my friends."
She frowned. "That's terrible."
A memory came to Flo, then. "Actually, there was one other person," she corrected. "An old man at a temple we had to help Aang get to. He helped us while the others chased us."
Akiko stared. "That's still terrible."
Flo shrugged. "I'm used to it."
"That doesn't make it better."
"I wasn't trying to."
Akiko shook her head, seemingly baffled. She muttered something and tossed the candles she had brought back into her bag – perfect timing, too, because Aang and Katara stepped in. Whatever conversation they were having came to a halt the same time they froze in place at seeing Akiko. Everyone stared at each other in silence.
"...Anyway, I could totally take on a polar bear-dog on my own. Unlike y..." Sokka trailed off as he entered, too. He stepped around his sister and Aang. "Uh, hello...?"
Akiko waved. "Hi. I'm Akiko. I asked Flo if I could hide here from annoying family members," she said.
Aang grinned. "Oh. I'm Aang, the Avatar. It's nice to meet you."
"You too."
"How did you even meet?" Sokka asked. "You're like the least sociable person I know, Flo."
Katara smacked him in the back of the head. "Sokka!"
"Ow!"
Flo rolled her eyes, and the corners of her mouth twitched up. "It's fine, Katara. He's right. We met the other day. It wasn't on purpose at all."
"She helped me out then, too," Akiko said.
"That's cool. I'm Katara, by the way. This loser is my brother, Sokka. If you need space from your family again, you can come back."
"Thanks, Flo told me the same thing." She stood with her bag in hand. "But I should get going. My grandma asked me to help her to make lunch earlier, and I don't want to keep her waiting."
"I smell smoke," Sokka said, and sniffed the air.
"I had to melt the glue to fix some arrows." Flo motioned to exactly that. "Can't exactly do that with ice."
"Speaking of–!"
Akiko began a quick but casual leave. "Thanks again, Flo," she said as she passed.
"–you shot an arrow at me!"
Flo ignored him. "You're welcome. Bye, Akiko."
Katara and Aang said bye, too, and Akiko finally left with a wave.
Sokka, meanwhile, was too busy being dramatic about the fact that Flo shot at him. He pulled out the arrow that he had carefully put in his machete's sheath, and waved the end with the fletchings and nock in her face. In his other hand was the jerky; the bag looked to be half empty. "An arrow, Flo!"
"I didn't hit you," she said. She grabbed the arrow and put it with her others. "And it had a bag of jerky on it. Really, you should be happy. You had to skip breakfast."
Sokka floundered for a response. "Well... I- you..." He huffed and plopped down to sit beside her. "You're a menace." A pause. "...Thanks."
Flo didn't look up as she began to put away her things. The items to make the arrows with went in one bag, while the newly made ones and the one she shot at Sokka with went into the quiver alongside the others. She shrugged one shoulder. "You're welcome."
"...So, I'm guessing you two made up?" questioned Katara. She stood more inside the hut than before, and Aang was lying down with his head propped up by his bedroll. He was looking at them, too.
"Yep," Sokka said, then ate a piece of jerky. "All good."
She smiled, relieved, and sat down on the steps. "Oh, good. Now I don't have to figure out which one of you I have to yell at."
They both stared at her, taken back, then shared a look.
"I just found it weird," said Aang. "You bicker but never, like, actually fight."
"Well, we're good now." He knocked his shoulder into Flo's, then kept it there. She leaned with the force of it, and straightened. She didn't move away, though. "Best friends, even!"
"Sleemo is my best friend."
"I can never win, can I?"
Aang sat up. "So, uh, not to dampen the mood or anything, but I'm curious and you don't have to answer, but–"
A small pit of dread formed in her gut. "Is this about the library thing?"
"Uh." Aang gave a sheepish smile and his shoulders hiked up a bit. "Maybe?"
"Flo," Katara started. "Ignore him if–"
"No, um, it's fine."
She didn't immediately continue. Her face warmed a bit from embarrassment and she hoped it wasn't noticeable. She didn't look at any of them. "I think I said it yesterday, Aang. I just wanted to look at the star charts they had, but they're for scholars only."
Katara smiled lightly. "I didn't know you liked stars that much."
Flo debated with herself on whether or not she should explain why. She soon came to a decision. "They remind me of home. Not the Earth Kingdom, but the village I'm from. My family and I stargazed a lot together. Mom was fascinated by them and my dad knew some things about them from his time in the army because they used them to navigate. They loved telling us about them. On clear nights, we would all go out and lay on some blankets, and Mom would tell us about constellations and Dad taught us about navigating. Sometimes we made up our own constellations with stories and everything."
"That sounds fun," said Aang.
She couldn't hold back a smile. "It's was."
Katara said, "Sokka and I stargazed with our dad and Gran-Gran sometimes. He showed us how to navigate with stars, too. Oh! Have you ever seen spirit lights?"
"No. What's that?" Flo's never even heard of them before.
"They're lights that go across the sky at night during certain times of the year. Mostly the winter, I think. They're said to be spirits dancing across the sky. Gran-Gran says they're a reminder to the Water Tribe's connection to the spirits, and represent the balance between our world and theirs..." Katara eyes turned solemn. "I've never actually seen them. Gran-Gran told me they haven't appeared ever since the raids started."
"Maybe you'll see some here," Aang said hopefully. "They're gorgeous! The Southern Air Temple is close enough to the Southern Water Tribe that we saw them sometimes."
Katara gasped. "Really?"
Flo sat a bit straighter. "What do they look like?"
"Like... Um, they're curvy – sorta like waves, I guess," he said. He wiggled his arm as a demonstration. "They're usually blue or green, but one time I saw pink, purple, and red. And they're bright! They moved, too."
"They move?" Flo repeated.
Aang nodded and grinned. "Yeah! It's why one name for them is The Dance of the Spirits."
Katara looked amazed. "When Gran-Gran said they danced, I didn't think she meant they actually moved. That's so cool!"
"Yeah, it's–"
"I have an idea!" Sokka suddenly yelled. He shot to his feet and hurried over to Aang, and grabbed his arm. He dragged him to his feet and they headed to leave. "You're coming with me."
"Wait, huh?"
The girls and Aang shared a glance of confusion.
"Sokka, what?" Katara questioned. "What are you doing?"
"I have a plan!"
"I feel like I'm being kidnapped."
"Can we at least know what the plan is?"
"We were having a conversation," said Flo, a little peeved.
"You'll find out soon!" And he walked out with Aang behind him.
Flo frowned. She looked at Katara. "I might actually shoot him next time."
She grumbled. "Please do."
+++
Because Sokka so rudely dragged Aang away mid-conversation, Katara and Flo spent time together. It was nice to have some alone time with her without the boys, and it was less awkward than Flo expected.
It was while Katara was telling her about her first lesson with Master Pakku that Aang ran in. He brought along with him a blast of freezing cold air that made the girls shout in surprise and shiver.
"Aang!" Katara yelled. "It's freezing!"
"Sorry, I'm sorry, but c'mon! Sokka told me his plan and we have everything figured out, so c'mon!" He ran over and grabbed one of their wrists each. He leaned back to drag them to their feet, but Flo tensed so she couldn't be moved while Katara leaned the opposite way to free herself.
"Why? We were talking about the spirit lights and my idiot brother dragged you away," Katara said. "No one but you has seen them in a hundred years and I want to learn about them, not do whatever lame plan he conjured up."
Aang shook his head earnestly. "It's not lame, I promise."
"Aang, she doesn't–"
He talked over Flo like he didn't hear her. "And I'm not the only one who's seen them."
Flo stared. "...What?"
He excitedly beamed at them. "I'm not the only who has seen the spirit lights!"
Katara blinked in disbelief. "But... What? How?"
"The Northern Water Tribe has never been raided or even in the war, so their connection with the spirits is still strong," he explained. "Meaning the Dance of the Spirits still happens! Sokka and I asked Chief Arnook about it, and he says it happens fairly regularly during winter. It's been a while since the last time it happened because of a storm that passed through before we got here so there's been clouds and stuff, but he thinks it may happen tonight because it's been clear all day so the night most likely will be, too, and I think he said something about me because I'm the Avatar but I stopped listening." He paused to take in a breath of. "But yeah, we might see the spirit lights!"
"You're not joking?"
"I swear on Appa's life that I'm being completely truthful and serious, now come on! We need blankets, too! It's getting dark out, we can't waste time!"
That was all it took for Katara to jump to her feet and run out.
"Wait! You don't even know where you're going!" Aang chased after her.
Flo sat there for a second longer. This was not how she was expecting her night to go, and Aang talked to fast that she was still processing his words.
Just as Aang exited the hut, her brain finally seemed to work again, processed everything that just happened, and she scrambled to catch up with the others. She quickly went back into the hut, though, and went over a woven box none of them had yet to bother with. In it were extra blankets. She grabbed the first few on top, hurried back out, and caught up with Aang and Katara.
He led them to a partially secluded place a little bit away from the Water Tribe's city. By the time they got there, the sun had set and the temperature dropped. Katara grabbed one of the blankets Flo brought and wrapped it around her shoulders for extra warmth, and Flo was about ready to do the same. Sokka was already there with Appa and Momo. He stood on Appa's saddle, hands on his hips.
Sleemo, who had been in Flo's hood the entire time, flew over to Momo, who was curled between two of Appa's legs. She situated herself into a comfortable position beside him.
"Finally!" Sokka yelled, throwing his hands in the air. "What took you so long?"
"They didn't want to come at first," Aang said. He took the blankets from the girls and jumped into the saddle. He began to place them and two others that were already there around the limited space.
"You dragged Aang away while we were talking about the spirit lights," Katara said. "We were a bit annoyed and I wanted no part of whatever plan you had until Aang told us what is was." She climbed up into the saddle with his help. "Are we really going to see the spirit lights?"
He nodded with a smirk. "Yep. According to Chief Arnook, anyway."
Katara beamed and tackled her brother in a bone crushing hug. "Oh my gosh! Sokka, you are the best brother, ever!"
A choked sound escaped him as he hugged back. "Ka- Katara. You're choking me." He made the sound again when she visibly hugged him tighter. Then, as she stepped back with a smirk, he glared incredulously. "When I say you're choking me, that doesn't mean hug me tighter!"
"I know." She smiled innocently. "That was for interrupting mine and Flo's conversation with Aang."
"...Why do I even do these nice things for you."
"Because you love your favorite sister. Obviously."
He scoffed and muttered, "Obviously," sarcastically.
Flo watched the interaction from where she still stood in the snow. Her eyes soon drifted up to the sky, and her head tilted back to take in the stars directly above. The sky was clear of any clouds and crescent moon hung high. Hundreds of thousands of tiny lights twinkled against a black expanse.
"So are you just gonna stand there and get a cramp in your neck, or are you coming up here?" Sokka asked, catching her attention. "We also have blankets – unless you feel like turning into a giant icicle. I personally wouldn't want to turn into one, but each their own, I guess."
Flo, surprising herself, laughed. "Shut up."
Sokka grinned, and when she reached up to climb, he grabbed her wrist and helped. He didn't let go until she was steady on her feet.
They all settled into Appa's saddle, using the blankets to cover up from the cold. Flo pulled the one she used up and over her nose, eyes wide with amazement as she stared at the stars and took in how different they were from the Earth Kingdom.
And then it happened.
A bright green line swirled and danced through the sky. Then another one, and another after that, and a couple more after that. In some places the green faded to a beautiful blue. The spirit lights moved all across the sky. Swirling and dancing and shining brightly. The sight momentarily took her breath away.
"They're stunning," breathed Katara.
"Yeah..." Aang softly agreed.
They stayed there for hours just lying there. Even once the lights faded out after about an hour, they stayed. Everyone pointed out constellations they recognized; though, the ones that Aang knew had apparently moved within the last 100 years, and Flo found the one she made up with her brother Hachi. They worked together on finding the Northern Star, too.
It was one of the best nights Flo's had in a long time. A night that would no doubt become one of her favorite memories, no matter how old.
***
A/N— This chapter is nearly 8.8k words long... I wanted it to be 6-7k max and that didn't happen, as you can tell lol. Fun fact: the spirit lights weren't planned, but the stargazing was. It was originally going to be Sokka getting help from both Aang & Katara to surprise Flo with it so they could all stargaze together, but then I remembered about the spirit lights from The Legend of Korra, and everything derailed and I'm not mad about it all. Also, picturing the northern lights in a sky with zero (0) light pollution has me wishing I could see it for myself in person
I feel like this is somewhat of a filler chapter, but also a stepping stone in Flo & Sokka's relationship. And also she & Yue are sort of friends now, too. I hope you guys liked the fluff in this one bc the end of the next one is when the Siege of the North starts :)
As usual, thank you for reading!! xx