𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙁𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 ⚠ slow updates ⚠ *editing*

A Song to Serenade You With

*lovely seeing you beautiful readers again...enjoy~*

Hestia slept well for the first time in what seemed like forever. The nightmares that plagued her had vanished, at least for now.  She enjoyed the feeling of peace. Waking up in the dead of night with tears streaking her face and staining her pillows wasn't the ideal wake-up call. 

She sat before her small vanity, brushing her thick tresses out. Her reflection in the mirror watched her moves. She hadn't changed much, perhaps she'd gotten a bit thinner - traveling with Aang and his friends meant hardly any money for food, not that she minded. She wasn't the biggest eater.

"Ow," She winced, the bristles of her brush snagging a knot. Her fingers find the knot in her hair, making quick work to detangle. "Hm." She carefully looked, and then decided to braid her hair. 

A simple style, and out of the way. She liked how agile she felt when her heavy hair was pulled back, and she wasn't as warm. If she let herself be lost in her imagination, Ursa would sit behind her, brushing her hair, smiling contently. Sighing, Hestia tied the end of her braid, setting the brush on the vanity top. It wasn't like old times when a motherly woman would help her with the simplest of things such as brushing through tangled hair.

She could hardly remember her own mother, aside from her encounter in the spirit world, she had vague memories. Her finger caressed the braid draped over her shoulder. She recalled her mother's thick ebony hair that shone even in the dark. Unlike her own, her mother's had been straight and soft as silk. She missed playing with her mother's hair. 

There were many things she missed that she couldn't get back. 

Her jaw tensed. Finding the person who killed them would take longer than it would to tame a Sabertooth Lion Moose. 

"That's enough," she told herself and stood, leaving her chambers to find Zuko or Iroh.

Upon entering the deck, Hestia was overwhelmed with the salty sea air. As refreshing as the ocean was, her stomach churned. Perhaps she'd lost her sea legs during her time on land. She was thankful they weren't sailing in the cold. 

They'd been docked at a harbor - an Earth territory harbor - for nearly a week now. She didn't know which one as there were so many Earth harbors strewn across the continent. They restocked the kitchen, the infirmary, such as the like. The chef was certainly relieved to have a fully restocked kitchen again. And the ship's doctor with the medicine and what not.

A soft breeze weaved through her hair, causing her to tuck strands behind her ears.

"Ah, Hestia!" 

She turned slightly to the voice. A regular opponent of Iroh during Pai Sho, Lee. An older gentleman: a kind person and often helping the chef or ship's doctor. He was around her height, had a balding head, a slight hunch, and trimmed beard. When he smiled, he was missing his left canine, but it didn't waver her image of him. He was a good man, and that's what Hestia will forever remember him as. 

"Lee?" 

"Ready for tonight?" He grinned.

Her brows furrowed. "Tonight?"

"Don't tell me you forgot."

"I'm sorry, Lee, but my mind's been in its own world these past few days." She smiled apologetically.

"It's all right; it's music night."

Music night. "Oh! Yes," She smiled, remembering now. "I never miss music nights, Lee."

"Will you be singing this time?" 

Hestia blinked, taken aback. "You want me...to sing?"

"Why not? You haven't sung in a long time, and you've got a beautiful voice."