ANYTHING BUT; avatar the last airbender

chapter 2

[act one; chapter two     -     a red shadow]

    Zuko thinks of her. He finds himself in Ba Sing Se and knows that Lian is so close. He knows that she is so close, yet so terribly far. He misses her. He misses her laughter and her stubbornness. He misses her curiosity and constant questions. He misses watching her discover her power, how she could bend the earth to her very will. How, in his whole life, he had never seen someone so in control of their bending, so much so that he was, at times, afraid. Not of her. Never of her. But of what power those around him beheld. His father, his sister, his uncle, and now his best friend.

    Zuko misses Lian, and he has no idea what to do.

    He hopes, as he sits in this new place, this new start, that Lian still laughs. That she is happy. That she is not plagued by the war his family started. He hopes for her, and wonders, briefly, if she hopes for him.

———

    "You know, doing that could get you all in some serious trouble."

     Katara spins on her heels, surprised by the sudden sound of a newly familiar voice. She gasps, holding her hand, clutching the fliers, to her chest.

    "Lian?"

    The Princess smiles, crossing her arms over her chest. "Hello again."

    "What are you doing here?"

    "Looking for you and your friends, of course." The older girl approaches the water bender, stopping at her side, observing the posters in her hands. "I heard about the lost Sky Bison, and I thought I might come help."

    "But...Joo Dee said we weren't allowed to hang them. You're the Princess, shouldn't you agree with all of these things?"

    Lian laughs. She clutches her stomach and shakes her head. "No," she smiles. "I don't agree with a lot of things here, in Ba Sing Se. Like not speaking about the war."

    Katara goes still, and, suddenly, erupts with energy. She gently grasps one of Lian's hands, holding it in her own, shaking it lightly in what seems to be excitement. "I didn't think we'd talk to anyone who knew about the war, or was willing to speak about it!" She sets the remaining fliers on the ground, not quite forgotten, but no longer her main point of focus. Instead, her focus is on the girl in front of her. "Wait, how are you even here, we're not in the—"