The Spark of a Firebender

Questions

"Are we there yet?"

"Does it look like we're there yet?" Kyra asked with annoyance, after Zuko had asked the same question for about the seventh time in the past hour.

The two of them were riding once more through yet more barren land, with hardly any vegetation, not civilization in sight.

"We've been doing this for ages, you said it wasn't far from the canyon!" Zuko complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kyra said sarcastically, glaring over at Zuko, "Next time we can move the town to you!!"

Both of them were tired, of travelling and also of eachother after a long day or little food and water, but Zuko was acting especially annoyed at Kyra, putting all the blame on her.

They had both grown closer, particularly since their encounter with the canyon crawlers, and Zuko had learned to trust Kyra, and her to him aswell, but today neither of them were feeling happy with eachother, which annoyed Zuko even more.

"Maybe you should, then we'd actually be there by now!"

By "there" Zuko was referring to the town Kyra had promised wasn't far away, just a few miles away from the caynon, but after a whole day or travelling, it appeared she had been slightly wrong about the distance.

"I just haven't been there for a while, okay?" Kyra said, attempting to calm Zuko down, "It can't be far now."

The plan once they got to the town was to ask around if anyone had seen the Avatar, and then try and find him with the given information from the villagers.

Kyra wasn't very confident in the plan, or in the idea of finding the avatar in general, but as she had said herself, she had nothing better to do.

"...Okay," Zuko managed to say, which was probably the friendliest thing he had said since the morning.

"...So, you want to tell me more about this Avatar then?"

"Yeah, okay," Zuko agreed, "He's 112 years old, but he only looks 12--"

"Hang on," Kyra grinned, laughing, "All this time-- you've been chasing a 12 year old!?"

Looking reluctant, Zuko said, "Well, yes, but he's a very good airbender!"

Kyra was bursting with laughter now, but managed to hold it for Zuko's sake, "Er-- ok, Lee, what else? How many elements has he mastered yet?"

"Just airbending, right now," Zuko admitted, to which Kyra looked like she needed to laugh even more. "But he's got an waterbender and her brother travelling with him!"

Kyra was beaming now, trying despeartly not to laugh, "So how's he getting around then? On his glider?"

"No...his... flying bison."

Not able to hold in her laughter anymore, Kyra broke out into a fit of giggles, Zuko looked defeated while she carried on for a good while.

"A-a -- Flying BISON!" Kyra spluttered, nearly falling off her ostrich-horse with laughter.

Zuko didn't look amused, not looking over at her as they rode side by side, trying to ignore her loudness. To be fair, when he thought about it, he supposed it did sound rather ridiculous...

"S-sorry," Kyra said through giggles, finally composing herself, "Ok, so what else?"

Slowly, careful to give all the details, Zuko told her everything. Well, nearly everything. He told her about how he had been travelling with his uncle to find him, how they had found him at the North Pole, and had been tracking him all the way through the Earth Kindgom, even how he and his uncle had separated recently.

But Kyra stopped him here, holding up her hands to pause him, "Wait, so, why did you go off without your uncle?"

"Well--" Zuko wasn't sure how to answer this, but he decided to be as truthful as possible, seeing as Kyra had only told him the truth since they'd met. "I'd been...stealing a few things, and he didn't like this so...I said it was best we went separate ways."

"...Wow," Kyra scoffed, "That is such an asshole move!"

"What--? No it's not!" Zuko protested, glaring over at her.

"Yeah, it is," Kyra argued, giving him a look as she explained, "Sounds like to me that he's been there for you all the time you were looking for the Avatar and you just give him up for the smallest thing? What, because he'd slow you down?"

"Sort of," Zuko admitted, feeling slightly ashamed.

Kyra shook her head, "When you see him again, you're giving him the biggest hug."

Zuko looked up at her, raising a brow, "I'm not going to see him again though...And I'm not really a hugger."

This only made Kyra laugh more.

"Okay, my turn," Zuko announced suddenly

"What?" Kyra asked, looking immensely confused.

"Well, I've answered loads of your questions," Zuko replied evenly, keeping his gaze focused ahead as they rode. "I think it's only fair that I get to ask you some things too."

Kyra seemed to consider this for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly. "I guess that's fair," she conceded. Turning to face him more directly, she asked, "Alright, what would you like to know?"

Zuko took a moment to gather his thoughts, mulling over the various questions he had been wanting to ask Kyra. There was so much about her past and her motivations that he was still curious about.

Zuko considered Kyra thoughtfully for a moment, then posed a different question.

"You mentioned what happened to your parents before," he said, his tone cautious. "How long were you on your own before you found me?"

Kyra's expression shifted slightly, a hint of something pained flickering across her features. She was silent for a beat before responding. "It was... a long time," she said quietly, her eyes focused straight ahead as they rode, "I don't exactly know how long. A few weeks maybe?"

Zuko nodded, then posed another question. "Okay- how do you know earthbending? There didn't look like there were any schools in the village you lived in."

Kyra's expression shifted, a small, wistful smile appearing on her lips. "My parents," she replied. "They both taught me. They were very talented earthbenders."

Zuko raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Your parents were both earthbenders?" he asked. "That's... impressive. What were they like?"

Kyra admitted,  "My parents were a bit...unique, I guess you could say. They were always fascinated by the elements and spent a lot of time studying different bending techniques, even ones from different nations."

She paused, her gaze growing distant for a moment. "They wanted to pass that knowledge on to me, to help me understand the world and how to protect myself. I'm grateful they did, even if..." Her voice trailed off, the unspoken weight of their loss hanging in the air.

Zuko wasn't sure had to respond, but he did know what people often said in these cases.

"I'm sorry."

***