Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire [Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic]

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Izara was in the cafeteria on her dinner break. Luan was currently talking to one of the other high-ranked guards about something, so she was sitting alone.

A few minutes after she started eating, someone came over, eating the last of their bread and asked to join her. It was an average-sized man with short, dark hair and a scar on his left cheek. Someone she would recognise anywhere.

"Kazan?! What are you doing here?" She stood up to greet him, and he pulled her into a hug which she didn't quite expect but returned all the same.

"I think I should be asking you that, newbie." He replied and let her go, and they sat down again. "You finally broke away from Uzan, hey? Glad to see it."

"Yeah, it only took the Fire Lord to visit for it to happen. I think I sort of just got lost in the monotony of it all." She shrugged and continued eating, not wanting to forget her food.

"The Fire Lord went to the Supremacist siege. Was that where you were? I heard Uzan was leading it." Kazan asked and continued when Izara nodded. "Ah, did you stow away on his ship or something?"

"Not really." She swallowed her mouthful and explained. "Uzan got injured during the siege, and his second in command was nowhere to be found. I took over, and the Fire Lord saw it all happen. He offered me a job, but I thought I was just to be a plain guard in the city, not the Palace. This all happened in a flash. I might be dreaming. Who knows?" She shrugged and kept eating while Kazan laughed. They had always gotten along quite well when he was under Uzan's command, being similar in age.

"Well, I'm glad to see you all the same. Let me know if you need a hand with anything, and I'll help you." He replied, smiling proudly at her.

"Honestly, I really need to learn the sets for the training sessions with Suki. I don't know any of them, and I want to get them down pat as soon as possible. Also, we both know my firebending isn't exactly great, so if you can spare some time to help me get up to speed, I would greatly appreciate it." Izara asked with a dramatic expression, making Kazan laugh. She had always enjoyed their conversations, and it was good to know that he had ended up in the same place she had.

"Yeah, are you free tomorrow after the day shift finishes? I'm on days, so I can train with you after if you want." He offered with the friendly voice and smile that she remembered.

"That would be amazing. Thank you, Sifu." She put down her chopsticks to give him a bow; even though she was cheeky, she really appreciated it.

"Whatever." Kazan smacked her arm playfully in retaliation.

"So, where did you go after my Uncle? I know you got transferred, but you somehow ended up here." Izara continued eating, and Kazan took a breath before he spoke.

"Well, I was under Captain Chen, and he transferred to the city guard. He was getting a bit older and wanted to be closer to his family. He offered to recommend me to the city guard as well, but I ended up moving up to the palace guard last year."

"Good to know that you're here. I've felt out of sorts since I got here."

"Yeah, I'll bet. Everyone's been talking about you. 'The new guard led part of the siege on the Supremacists'." Kazan put on a voice as he quoted 'everyone'.

"How does anyone know about it?" Izara was not pleased to hear that people already knew things about her.

"Word travels fast here." Kazan shrugged.

"It's really not as impressive as it sounds. In fact, it was pretty damn disgraceful that I had to step up. The second in command was nowhere to be seen, and my Uncle entered the fray, probably in some sort of idiotic move to impress the Fire Lord, but only ended up getting injured." Izara rolled her eyes as she spoke of her Uncle.