nothing to lose | zuko x oc

prologue

someone once said that there's nothing more frightening than a person who fears nothing.

because if someone fears nothing, it means that they have nothing to lose.

vada had nothing to lose. she had already lost everything. her parents, her home, her title.

all because of one tiny mistake. the mistake of wanting to learn to fight with using her bending, instead of just healing.

see, vada grew up in the northern water tribe. with her parents as very important people (chief arnook's brother and sister-in law) she was always forced to dress, act, and speak right

she had no freedom.

so when she secretly studied master pakku and his waterbenders, her uncle had stripped her of her title and her parents had disowned her.

she had lost everything because of her own curiosity.

with nowhere else to go in the icy landscape of the north pole, vada had then decided to run away. she stole a canoe and used what little bending skills she had to propel herself southward.

but the fact that she feared nothing, and that she had nothing to lose, that fact made her optimistic. with almost every decision she made, she argued with herself that she had nothing to lose.

over the next two years, vada would have studied different styles of bending to incorporate it into water. it was hard at first, but over time, she became one of the most powerful benders in the earth kingdom.

after finally mastering waterbending, she would go from town to town, ridding them of firebenders alone with her eagle-wolf, koa.

she became known as the she-wolf, the guardian of the earthkingdom people.

no one really knew her name, she was just known as a warrior. a protector of the people.

~

vada hissed as she slumped down to her knees by a small creek. she had encountered some firebenders not long ago, and she dealt with them as quick as she could, with what little water she had left in her cannister.

however, since there were five of them, and only one of her, she got burnt on her shoulder pretty good.

she pulled down her robes, revealing her red shoulder. the skin raw was bubbling with blisters, but the cool air calmed the burning sensation slightly.

she bent up a bubble of water and held it ofer her burn. within a few seconds, it began glowing a prominent, electric blue.

she let out a hum of relief, as the pain was soothed.

but vada was ripped from her euphoria by a sound. it was very quiet, but she did hear it.

quickly, she removed the water from her shoulder and bent it into the forest, and around the intruder's ankle.

as she pulled in, a raspy grunt left the intruder's throat.

out from the bushes came a boy. vada's eyes widened, he couldn't have been much older than herself, why was he travelling alone?

she let go of him and the boy jumped to his feet, ripping out duel swords from the holder on his back.

"calm down, I'm not here to attack you." vada said calmly, turning back to the creek and continuing to heal her shoulder.

the boy then stumbled over to the creek as well and began filling his water pouch. vada looked him over. he seemed malnourished and in need of a good meal. but he had a prominent scar on the left side of his face, that concealed his otherwise handsome features.