ultraviolence | avatar, the last airbender

06

AANG'S EYES NEARLY FELL out of their sockets. Kiara was at first hesitant, but then started to wade towards the shore. Her father outstretched his arms and Kiara accepted his hug. Kiara thought it was strange, but she was oddly happy to see him. "Don't act so surprised to see me," He said. "We were bound to run into one another. Now tell me, what are you doing with the avatar?"

Kiara and her father did not have a typical father/daughter relationship. He tended to be more distant and cold. When he was at dinner with her and her mother, Kiara noticed herself sitting up straighter. Her father was a man who paid attention to manners and behavior. It was usually due to his important role in the Fire Nation military. He often wasn't at home because of this. When he was at home, he would spend his time teaching Kiara skills that would be useful for survival. He was less of a father figure and more of a teacher. The two only hugged about three times in her entire life. She wanted to impress him, but usually he always had a correction or critique of some sort for her. Kiara wondered if he would have liked her more if she were a boy.

Kiara turned around to see Aang. Both of his arms were still pinned against tree. Kiara turned around to face her father. "We need to get our friends medicine. They are very sick. The herbalist told us to find them frozen frogs," Kiara said.

Her father shook her head at her. "Nonsense. We have some medicine back at the stronghold. You can take some of the supply and take it back to your friends."

"Okay," Kiara said hesitantly. She didn't know what to think. She hasn't seen her father since her mother disappeared and Kiara ran away. Kiara always imagined when she would cross paths with her father again, but she didn't imagine it going like this. Her father was calm and collected, instead of furious at her for leaving. She would have thought he would have told her how she was a bad daughter and drag her back to the Fire Nation.

"Admiral Hiroto," One of the Fire Nation soldiers said. "What do you want us to do with the avatar?"

Instead of ordering them, Kiara's father looked down towards her. It was almost as if he was asking her to respond. Kiara hesitated, before saying, "Can you unpin Aang?" in a small voice.

"Of course," Her father said with a nod. The Fire Nations soldiers shot him a weird look, but he stuck his hand out as a sign for them to stop. He looked towards Aang with a smile. "Any friend of my daughter's is welcome."

One of the soldiers went to Aang and took the arrows out of the log. Aang waded through the water and joined them on the shore. Kiara walked alongside her father, with Aang trailing closely behind.

"Why are you in this part of Earth Kingdom, Dad?" Kiara asked. "I thought your base was on the eastern side."

Kiara's father chuckled. "Kiara, you remember Commander Zhao?" He asked. Kiara nodded. Of course she did. She couldn't forget those gnarly sideburns even if she tried. "He requested my presence at this specific stronghold so he could recruit the Yu Yan archers. I have to go through the intelligence reports with you. They're lengthy but we accomplished some small but meaningful victories for the Fire Nation. I saw a glimpse of your fighting before I intervened."

Kiara nervously tugged on her clothing. "What did you think?" She asked.

"You did outstanding," He complimented. Kiara felt herself start to smile. "I've taught you well. Although, one tip I have for you is to learn how to arm yourself quicker. Every millisecond spent arming yourself is a disadvantage."