As I Fall: LOK

Chapter Five

The wind howls as it gushes against the hut, blowing flakes of snow through the nighttime air.

Shivering, Haitana pulls the blanket securely around her, but ultimately decides that this shake was not caused by the mere temperature. Unable to pull her mind from its constant state of turmoil, she pushed herself off the bed with an unsteady composure.

Outside of her room, she sees a flicker of a light beaming against the floor of the hallway, swallowing all the corners filled with darkness. In front of the crackling fireplace sat Iroh, scanning over some papers with a gentle finger.

Turning around to go back to her room, Haitana bumps her shoulder against the wall of the hallway, catching his attention. Mentally, she curses at herself for being so clumsy— for now, she can't avoid him.

"Fauna?" He whispers through the quiet air. His voice like sweet honey, the warm in all this cold.

Sheepishly, she turns back around. "Ohhh, hey, General... didn't see you there," she forces out an awkward laugh, unsure.

"What are you doing awake?" He questioned her, standing up from the lounge with eyebrows knitted together.

"Can't sleep," she explains shortly, wrapping her arms around her as she shivers yet again. "Mind if I join you?" She asked softly, almost in a scared tone. Haitana wasn't sure why she asked, she wasn't even sure she wanted to join him, but like it was against her will, her mouth spit the words out.

Nodding, he motioned to the spot on the couch, "not at all," he confesses, sitting back down.

The two were stiff, almost sitting shoulder to shoulder, and too awkward to move. They sat still, like statues, just staring at the fire as it churned in front of them. Every once in a while, Iroh would rub the back of his neck unsure, and Haitana would twirl a rogue curl of her hair.

Finally, after what felt like ten minutes, the girl let out a big sigh. "I—" she started, but so did Iroh.

"Wha—- oh sorry, you go first," he spoke at the same time as her, like they both thought about breaking the tension in that very moment.

Turning her body adjacent to him, she finally met his eyes that she had been avoiding for so long. "I just wanted to apologize," she explained. "I think I was just upset that there were things I didn't know about my father. It really wasn't anything against you."

As she confessed about her sour mood, Iroh found a grin creeping onto his face in spite of himself. It was strange how their circumstances had almost flipped. "I understand," he said softly, placing his arm around the back of the couch. "I think I would have been pretty upset too."

Slouching into herself, she let out a baited breath. "Yeah," she exhaled, looking down at her lap.

"It explains why you're such a good firebender, though," he continued. Flattery— Haitana never knew how to respond to it. Of course, she wanted people to think she was a great bender, but hearing it? That was a different story. Before she could utter a pathetic thanks, Iroh kept speaking. "Did he ever take you to the Sun Warriors to see the Masters?"

A beaming smile crossed the girls face, remembering the time she had seen the dragons. Haitana had only read about dragons— they had almost gone extinct. Seeing them, there in person, was one of the most amazing sights to behold. "He did," she answered dreamily, remembering the beautiful hues as they lit up the sky above her. "It was the best sixth birthday ever."

"Sixth!?" Iroh questioned wildly, eyes almost widened all the way. "What do you mean? He took you there when you were six?!"

Haitana furrowed her eyebrows with confusion, looking back to Iroh. "Umm.. yeah?" She whispered, still uncertain by his response. "I had already been bending for two years at that point. And... controlling the eternal flame really isn't as hard as the Sun Warriors made it seem. And—"

"I didn't go until I was fifteen!" Iroh said, almost jealously. But, like something confirmed all of his suspicions, he found himself in even more awe. Who was this girl: the girl who spoke to animals, the girl who walked with flame, the girl who stayed on his mind much longer than he would like? He found himself leaning forward, wanting to know every piece of her. "You are otherworldly, Haitana," he said, only inches from her delicate face.

The girl flushed, not even noticing that he had used her full name. The only thing she could focus on was the way his breath fanned over her reddened face, like a beaming ray of sun. His eyes searched every inch of hers, trying to see all the thoughts that laid behind them. Tracing every inch of his face with her gaze, she found herself carving out each feature as though he were made of stone.

She wanted to reach out— to delicately run a finger along his jawline... to his lips, but she couldn't. Haitana couldn't do anything except sit and admire. It was too scary— it was too fast, and the girl found herself pulling away before she dove too deep.

Clearing her throat, she whipped her head back to the fire in a quick motion. Her eyes scanned for anything to distract her, and like a saving grace, howling sounded from outside the hut. A great roar followed by a stampede of footsteps.

Running for the door, Iroh followed, and eventually so did Elian as he was tossed from his dreamless sleep. The three stepped outside, into the chilly nighttime air, and looked around for the source of all the chaos.

"Uh, what is going on?" Bolin asked, approaching the three firebenders with a yawn. Haitana only shrugged, still searching for the commotion, only to see a dark, large shadow across the horizon.

Revealing itself to be some sort of dark entity, it charges for the accumulating group, trying to attack the Avatar. Mako and Bolin run toward them, starting to defend Korra, while Elian motions Iroh and Haitana to follow him around the back of the hut.

"What is that, Dad?" Haitana questions worriedly, hurrying after the older man as he seems to be in a rush.

Elian glances back to her, only once, before saying, "it's those angry spirits Unalaq was talking about at dinner," he explains. "Spirits are different from Animals, Haitana, but not completely. Do you remember how to tame canyon crawler?"

Haitana nods, "of course."

"Good," Elian states, almost too calm for the circumstance. "Your friends need help. Iroh and I will distract the spirit from behind; use the same techniques that you would for the insectoid."

As the two men made their way behind the neighboring hut, walking off with a quick pace, Haitana sighed— once again she needed to fight. Would this ever get easier?