ANYTHING BUT; avatar the last airbender

chapter 3

[act one; chapter 3     -     mom, am I still young?]

trigger warning: pregnancy related death (end of chapter)

    Lian feels like a stranger. She feels as though she is back, trapped within the shadows; forced to watch as the world moves on around her, leaving her behind like a forgotten statue. She watches as they celebrate, as they reunite. Yet, there she is. Alone.

    She looks over at them as Sokka speaks up, drawing her attention. "Look, we escaped from the Dai Li, we got Appa back, I'm telling you, we should go to the Earth King now and tell him our plan. We're on a roll."

    "He won't listen."

    Sokka turns to her as she speaks. He watches her, just as much as she watches him. Lian's braid sits heavy on her back, weighing her down as she looks up at him. Her green eyes, so dark they were nearly black, seemed to swallow every ounce of hope whole.

    "What?"

    "He won't listen. Long Feng isn't dead. And I guarantee that he is with my father. If Long Feng does not listen, neither will my father."

    "Well, we've been doing so good—"

    Lian cuts him off, standing up. "A few hours of good doesn't change anything."

    "Then we build off of it," Sokka says. Lian sighs, and he can see that his words are getting to her. Making sense, hopefully. Surpassing her hesitance and questions. "If we want to invade the Fire Nation when the eclipse happens, we need the Earth King's support."

    As much as Lian wants to believe it, truly, she can't. She can't help but feel that they won't succeed, that her father has gone too far down the rabbit hole that the Dai Li have dug for him. That no matter how far she reached, he would always be too far. It makes her heart hurt, makes it sink into the pits of her stomach. But part of her also can't help but try to believe Sokka's words. That these people—these good, kind people—will persuade him to see the things he has been blinded from.

    But Toph, it seems, believes the same things that she does. "What makes you think we'll get it?" She turns her head away, "I don't know if you've noticed, but things don't usually go that smoothly for our little gang."

    Sokka sighs, trying to remain hopeful. "I know, but I've got a good feeling about this." He waves his arms in the air, gesturing towards their newest member. "Plus, we've got Lian, now. She's his daughter, and, from what I've seen, a good bender! This time'll be different."

    But Katara, unlike her brother, much agrees with Toph and Lian's sentiments. "Sokka," she says. "Long Feng is in control of the city. His conspiracy with the Dai Li is too powerful. I think we should just keep flying and leave this horrible place behind us."