Wild At Heart (Zuko)

Chapter Sixty-Two

Hiding in her regular human skin, Kali moves through the Fire Fountain City. Turns out that she and Zuko ended up going in the same direction, though she went the long way around, following stories of the Avatar, though they were rather hard to come by past Ba Sing Se, most reports say he's dead. Which she knows isn't true. She relied on nature for the rest. Following whispers through trees and leaves. But she knows that here, she has to hide what she is. It's exhausting but it is better than ending up in the Fire Nation's hands. She sighs and stops to look up at a statue in the centre of the city. It's of Fire Lord Ozai, roaring with flames coming from his fists and out of his mouth. She pulls a face and shakes her head. That is rather ridiculous. Bing pulls a face from where he sits on Ran-Ya's back. Neither one impressed either. She doesn't like that there isn't very much in the way of nature here. She can feel fruit and vegetables and the odd planted pot, but that's it. It seems Sozin really went out of his way to void his land from plant life.

"Hey!" Kali turns around to find Aang and Sokka rushing towards her. She raises an eyebrow. Seems the Avatar has found her. "Do you know where everyone is?" Sokka asks her. Aang narrows his eyes slightly at her. She's out of place here. Her clothing is all-natural.

"Do I know you?" Aang asks as he looks up at her, staring into her green eyes.

"What?" Sokka counters turning to Aang. "I think we'd remember seeing her before" Sokka points out and then turns to Kali who tilts her head. "Wait..." Sokka stops and narrows his eyes. "Do we know you?" An assassin is walking across a rooftop behind them. Aang hears him inhaling and becomes shocked when he turns and sees him. Kali follows his eyes.

"Watch out!" She pushes them both aside and stands in front of them, holding out her hands. A shield of tightly woven vines and leaves erupts in front of her. With her focusing on her bending, her skin shifts back to green.

"We do know her!" Aang points out and then his eyes widen as the blast from the assassin hits the shield. Exploding and sending Kali flying back from the spot she was standing and away from Aang and Sokka. Kali hits the ground and groans. That was a hard hit for a firebender. "It's Sparky-Sparky-Boom Man!" Aang yells as he and Sokka race towards Kali. Sokka pulls her up to her feet and yanks her behind the Ozai statue for cover where Aang joins them. Ran-Ya runs off with Bing to find their own cover.

"You know, I'm starting to think that name doesn't quite fit" Sokka states dryly and Kali lets out a breath, and touches her side. Bruised, definitely. "Are you here with Zuko?" Sokka asks her, Kali shakes her head.

"No, it's just me" She assures them. "Who is this guy?" The assassin jumps down from the roof and fires another blast at them. They barely dodge it but are sent flying back by the blast. Kali grabs the earth beneath her to stop her from sliding back. Aang and Sokka go flying past her whilst screaming. Kali gasps a little with what she feels. There is wood close by. She closes her eyes and focuses on it. Flashes flicker through her mind. She lifts her eyes, determined. She clenches her fist and then yanks as Sokka pulls her along. Nothing seems to happen on the surface but in a building close by, she shatters the wooden slats of the cell that is holding Katara and Toph, allowing them to escape. The assassin fires a blast at them which they dodge but still get sent flying. Sokka crashes onto a wheelbarrow, which they hide behind.

"This guy is too good! He shoots fire from his brain" Sokka complains.

"We should split up. He can't chase all of us" Aang offers. The assassin walks out of the smoke. Aang runs off from his left, Sokka from his right and Kali jumps up onto the building behind them to run across the rooftop. The assassin fires a blast at the wheelbarrow and blows it up. Aang runs past him on a roof to his left. The assassin quickly turns and fires another blast, which sends Aang flying into the Ozai statue. He falls from the statue to the ground. He looks up and sees the assassin standing above him inhaling, about to fire another blast at Aang, but his head is suddenly encased in ice. The assassin moves and Aang sees Katara, Sokka, Kali, and Toph standing behind the assassin.

"Aang, get up!" Katara helps him up and they run away.

"Let's get out of here!" Toph adds. The assassin breaks the ice with brute force. He launches another blast at Team Avatar, but Toph quickly launches a boulder at the blast, blowing the boulder up. With the assassin distracted, Kali grows a vine whip and sends it out with a crack. The top of the whip hits him square in his third eye, which momentarily stuns and angers him. He tries to fire another blast, but with his chi is blocked, he ignites the air around him and gets sent back, head-first into a wall. When he stands up and shakes it off, the teens are gone. Running through the streets to escape. Ran-Ya darts out of an alley with Bing and Sokka scoops up Bing allowing Kali to grab Ran-Ya.

"Hey, I got it!" Sokka then states, smiling. "The perfect name for that guy: Combustion Man!"

"Good job, Sokka" Toph praises. "Now let's get outta here before Combustion Man catches us"

"See? It fits so well!"

.......

Appa flies through the air with his saddle full. Ran-Ya is enjoying the breeze with Bing whose tongue lulls out the side of his mouth. Kali watches them warmly but has attached herself to the saddle through vines. She is not sure that she likes flying. To be so far away from nature. She is not alone though, Toph was grateful for the vines that have her safely attached to the saddle. Appa starts to lower himself towards the ground and Kali lets out a relieved breath, turning to look over the edge, to watch the ground get closer and closer until Appa lands with a soft thud. The vines around Toph and Kali retreat, slithering away to nothing. Sokka sits up and stretches with a long yawn.

"Well, I'm exhausted. Hawky, how about you, buddy?" Sokka looks at his new messenger hawk who makes a bird call. Kali chuckles a little. "Yeah. You're such a lazy little bird" Sokka comments, though that actually has nothing to do with what the bird actually said about him.

Aang, Kali, and Sokka get off Appa. Katara is about to dismount Appa but is stopped by Toph. On the ground, Aang turns to Kali.

"Thank you for helping, Kali" Aang offers warmly, she smiles at him and nods. "But...what were you doing there?"

"Actually, I was looking for you" She admits and shrugs a little, curling an arm around herself. "After Ba Sing Se, Zuko and I fled, and kept on going, until..." She lets out a breath.

"He left you" Sokka finishes, and she shakes her head.

"No, he's going to come back and find me" She argues but neither Sokka nor Aang believe her. Thinking that she is delusional. "Things just changed, we both needed to take our own paths for a while, and mine led me here, to you" She looks at Aang. "I'm sure you've thought about it" She points out. "About naturebending" Aang nods.

"I had. But...it's not like there was anyone else to teach me" He whispers. Kali smiles a little, knowing that that is no longer true, but she doubts that Alchemilla would have helped Aang even if he had found Tian Tang. "And with Zuko, I didn't think you would"

"I am here now" She assures him, stepping closer. "And I will teach you if you want me to" Aang nods overenthusiastically. Nature was one that he was looking forward to the most. They find a balance between life and the world and the elements that could help him. To find a balance between each element that will make him stronger. They are the peace that he is supposed to inspire and provide. They are the key. Aang then sighs and slaps his forehead.

"We have no supplies" Aang complains, they had to leave them all behind with the hast of their escape.

"That's not a problem" Kali counters and closes her eyes before she holds out her hands, turning them slightly and lifting them up. From the ground, woven tents start to form. A campfire forms in the centre, along with piles of food. Sokka smirks and looks at Kali who lowers her arms and slumps a little, touching her side. His smile vanishes.

"Are you okay?" She hums and nods. The whole day has taken it out of her and she shouldn't have used that much bending to create the camp. They would have been fine with something smaller, but she just got here, and she needs to show that she is worth having around.