Scars and Ashes (Avatar: The Last Airbender Fanfic)

Lady Kya

The icy halls of the vast dwelling of the head chieftain echoed with children's laughter, the trappings made from pelts that hung from the icy blue walls muffling the sound here and there. The wife of the head chieftain lifted the basket she carried up over the heads of the three girls who hurried past, an eyebrow lifting as a smile twisted across her light brown features, her vivid blue eyes twinkling in delight. "Katara! Why are you, Nutha, and Niyok in such a hurry today?"

"No reason!" Katara answered, grinning mischievously ear to ear before disappearing around the corner in time for a roar to erupt from the direction the girls had just come from.

"Hey!" Katara's twelve-year-old brother hurtled after the girls, pieces of ice sticking to his hair and the furs he wore; his mouth twisted in frustration as he waved his fist in his air. "That's not funny, Katara!"

"Sokka," Kya called out, smiling gently as she spoke.

Sokka stopped upon hearing her speak, standing up straight, clearing his throat while trying to look more like an adult despite not having yet participated in the coming-of-age ritual, being two years too young. "Ah. Mother."

Kya watched him tuck his hands behind his back as she smiled. "What did you say or do to your sister this time?" She nodded her head, looking him up and down. "She obviously used her water bending on you again."

"Nothing," he said, continuing to stand up straight. Then he cleared his throat. "Well, maybe.."

"Lady Kya," a woman with gray streaks in her black hair called out, interrupting the conversation between Kya and her eldest, resulting in Sokka turning and leaving, knowing his mother's attention was elsewhere.

This didn't stop her from saying, "Whether there's a reason or not, focus on warming up instead of chasing after that sister of yours," Kya called out to him before turning to her fellow tribe member. "You don't have to call me Lady Kya simply because my husband is the head chieftain, Oyu."

The woman laughed, watching Sokka leave. "If there's a reason, it is just as likely to be an innocent misunderstanding as it is a purposeful act of antagonizing the other sibling."

Kya laughed. "With how stubborn both of my children can be, yes. You wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes," Oyu said, her smile turning to a frown. "Gilak and his wife Kasah wanted to remind you they'd like to speak with you and Chief Hadoka regarding their son Rarlak and Katara after the men return from the hunt."

"Ah," Kya said, her fingers reaching up to touch the carved stone attached to the chocker at her throat, frowning. Her vivid blue eyes narrowed as her mouth twisted into a frustrated frown. "They know I feel Katara's too young to be discussing this. She's only eleven, after all."

"They have a lot on their shoulders, being the children of the head chieftain, don't they?" Oya said. She nodded towards the basket. "Try and remember to start back before dark. The last time you were uncharacteristically late for a planned meeting made Chief Hadoka worry something happened."

"I certainly don't like making him worry," Kya said, laughing. "Keep an eye on Sokka and Katara for me? They seem inclined to cause trouble today."

"I noticed," Oya said. "And, of course, I will."

Kya nodded and headed out, pulling the hood of her blue robes lined with white fur over her head and heading to the outskirts. As she approached, her eyes caught sight of the lone area in the village with wooden buildings where the traditional buildings of the Southern Water Tribe mingled with the traditional building style of the Fire Nation.

Her mouth pushed into a thin line at thoughts of the political tension that often accumulated in the area, yet she quickly pushed the thoughts and frowns aside for a warm smile instead before heading into the area, her ears soon discerning the din of the blacksmith mingling with the sound of children running through the streets.

Her head turned whenever any children ran past, taking in the various ways the characteristic features of warm colored skin and vivid blue eyes mingled with Water Tribe members were known for with the pale skin and colored eyes the members of the Fire Nation were known for, while noticing the children turn back when they came close to where the wooden buildings ended.

Every so often, she'd stop by the home, dropping off small containers of paste made of blubber and pepper berries for some of the elderly who lived alone in the area, to dropping off salted fish and seal jerky to some of the widows in the area, always keeping an ear out for any unexpected need within the less fortunate part of the village.

As such, she noticed Dun, the tribe member in charge of acting as an intermediary between members of the Southern Water Tribe and members of the Fire Nation, moving through the crowd as if in search of something, but there was a hint in the elder's eyes that something wasn't quite right. She lifted a hand, ready to call out when the elder she'd just delivered a container of paste for their aching joints said, "He's been asking around regarding a healer not connected to anyone in the Fire Nation for some reason, but it seems important as he's trying to remain quiet about it."

Kya pressed her lips together, then headed over to the man who indeed seemed to be speaking low to some of his more trusted associates. "Dun?"

The man straightened up at the sound of her voice, his blue eyes widening. "Lady Kya. Making the usual rounds of helping the less fortunate here in our capital village?"

"Yes, but if there is anything I can personally help with," Kya said, smiling her usual warm smile.

Dun stared for a moment, then said. "Yes. I think you can, but the fewer who know, the better."