the wind in my sails | aang x oc

five

liara sat between aang and katara by the campfire. appa and diki were both outside, munching on some hay.

her orange blanket was laid neatly beside aang's, and she gently took the bowl of rice that katara handed to her.

"I've got some bad news, everyone." zuko stated, walking into the room where all the children sat. "I've lost my stuff."

liara looked up at the scarred boy, eyeing him strangely. what did he mean? "don't look at me, I didn't touch your stuff." toph said quickly, folding her arms dismissively.

"I don't think that's what he means, toph," the airbender girl told her friend.

"she's right, I meant my firebending. it's gone."

just as he said that, katara burst out with laughter. liara's eyes widened. zuko just lost his bending and she was laughing?

"sorry, I'm just laughing at the irony. this could have been so much better while you were still hunting aang."

he hunted aang? now liara was very confused.

"its not lost.. it's just weaker now."

katara smirked, "maybe you're not as good as you think you are."

"ouch." toph added, causing zuko to frown.

zuko sighed, "I bet its because I changed sides," he stated calmly.

"that's ridiculous." katara interjected, taking a bite of her rice.

"I don't think so," liara said quickly. "even a hundred years ago, most firebenders fueled their bending with rage, maybe you don't have enough rage to fuel it anymore."

sokka smiled. "let's make him angry, then."

he began poking zuko with the handle of his sheathed sword, but zuko merely told him to cut it out.

"even if you're right, liara, I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. there has to be another way to fuel my bending."

"I recommend using the original source to learn fire bending." toph said as she ate her rice.

"like jumping into a volcano?" sokka grinned.

liara shook her head, "no, the original fire benders were dragons. zuko has to learn from them."

zuko plopped down onto his seat. "well that's impossible. the dragons aren't around anymore."

"why? roku had a dragon. and there were plenty of dragons around when I was a kid," aang pointed out and liara nodded in agreement. "there's a dragon's nest a little ways southwest from here."

"well they're extinct."

"oh."

zuko sighed "maybe there's another way. the sun warriors were the first people to learn from the dragons. their ruins isn't too far from where we are now."

"maybe we could poke around and learn something. the monks always said that sometimes the ghost of the past can fill the present." aang stated.

"yeah."

~

liara sat by the tea table, smiling at iroh as she did so. "hello," she greeted politely as she sat next to yao. iroh was across from her and he gave her a soft grin. "hello, liara."

"can I ask for your advice?" she asked the man, pouring herself a cup of turmeric and ginger tea.

"ask away, child."

liara took a breath and drank a small sip of her tea, "well, this might sound strange, but a hundred years ago, my temple was attacked by the fire nation. I had to kill a soldier to get away... but it haunts me."

"in my sleep, I dream of his face when I took the air from his lungs. sometimes I can still sense them collapsing in on themselves. I still remember the feeling of the power I had over him in that moment. sometimes, I think I'm going crazy."

iroh stroked his beard. "the most dangerous man is one who feels no remorse for his sins. there is no refuge from memory and remorse in this world. you should learn to live with it and not hide from it."

liara stayed silent for a moment, "so this will still be in the back of my mind constantly." she said, looking up at the man meekly.

she didn't know how to feel about this. she had to live with this for the rest of her life and there was no turning back. not at all.

"yes, but it's better you regret the things you have done, rather than the things you haven't. if you didn't take that man's life, then you wouldn't have escaped and you wouldn't have found your friend again." iroh told her.

"I see."

"do not regret the past, but learn from it, my dear."

liara sighed and downed the rest of her tea. she couldn't let this go. there was no escaping the regret. although, she could just go on, and try to live with it. she could let time heal her fresh wounds even if it would leave scars.

and with more time, scars fade. and so does most feelings. she would just have to deal with this. for now, she'll let time heal her, even if she wouldn't be the same.