The Thief |Sokka

THREE

"How is she?"

"Many bruises, a couple of fractured bones, nothing some sessions of healing can't fix. What I am more confused about is how she got those-"

"Katara-"

"Come on, Sokka, I didn't ask until now was I not patient enough?"

"She might have or might have not fallen over from a gondola several metres high and hit the rocks."

"What? And the burns?"

"The prison may or may not have been in a volcano."

"What?!"

Jaya softly groaned. The voices promptly quieted. She gritted her teeth, forced herself to slowly open her eyes. Only to snap them shut again a moment later. With a groan, she attempted to open them again. This time, she succeeded.

The image above her was blurry. Soft light was coming in through a window and the matress beneath her was softer than those she had slept in in the last few years. Above her, a figure of a person was. She blinked once, then twice, until their features came into focus. It was Suki.

"Suki," she murmured, slowly attempted to push herself up. Suki moved to the side to let her stand up. 

"We thought you had died," she told her, her tone more quiet than Jaya had ever heard it. Her worry to her was easily detected.

"Chit Sang and dad saw you fall," another voice spoke, and when Jaya turned, she saw the guard from the prisons. Now he was no longer wearing the Fire Nation uniform, he looked like a whole other person. His skin was darker than any person's in the Fire Nation and his eyes were a shade of blue she had never seen in a person before. She blinked, and even in the state of confusion she was she knew she was staring. She turned to the last person in the room, a girl that looked a lot like the guard from the prison. She guessed they were siblings.

"This day has been awfully confusing," she muttered as she placed a hand on her forehead. "I'll explain everything, just give me a moment."

"Of course," Suki told her at once.

"You had many burns and bruises and a couple of fractured ribs," the girl that hadn't spoken before told her, watching her with an attentive gaze as she attempted to stand up only to wince. "I healed you. I'll have to heal you a couple more times until you feel no discomfort."

"You-" she cut herself off with a shake of her head as she turned to the girl. "You're a waterbender. I – thank you." Before she could say a word, she had turned to Suki. "These are the people you told me about, aren't they?"

"Yes," Suki nodded, "these are the Avatar's friends. This is my boyfriend, Sokka." The nameless guard now had a name, and she sent him a nod of acknowledgement. "And this is his sister, Katara."

"Nice to meet you," she told them as she stood up on unsteady feet. She found her balance before anyone could help her. There were way too many thoughts running through her mind but the most prevalent one was not quite a thought but a realisation. She had escaped that prison. She was safe. She could leave, do anything she wanted after she healed. The world was once more at her feet. Warmth spread in her chest, then down her stomach until it seemed she was covered in. That was what happiness felt like, she supposed. In her mind, she had already started planning all she could do, all the places she could go to. Before she did anything, though, there was something that needed to be done. She turned to Suki. "Is there any place I can take a bath-"

"I'll take you there," Katara volunteered at once as Suki and Sokka exchanged a smile.

"Thank you," Jaya smiled at her briefly as she followed after her, through the corridors to a room that had two waterfalls falling inside, creating a small pool. Katara left her alone quickly and so Jaya didn't waste a moment to take off her clothes and jump inside. She resurfaced slowly with a deep sigh.