ANYTHING BUT; avatar the last airbender

chapter 5

[act two; chapter five     -     marble statue]

    She can feel the exhaustion seep into the fabric of her soul, soaking entirely into her bones. She felt it in every sluggish step she made, moving closer and closer to their destination. She felt it in the way her vision was dazed and blurred, every individual object ahead of her sliding as though it lay atop a plane of ice. She felt the exhaustion with every stumble of her feet, one after another, until, after a point, she tripped, Sokka catching her arm.

    She had waved him off.

    (No mistakes.)

    "I'm okay, really."

    (A statue made of marble.)

    "Are you sure?"

    (Perfect. You must be perfect—)

    "Lian?"

    She looked over her shoulder, meeting Sokka's drained eyes. Like her, exhaustion had become a friend. His eyes were heavy, the circles beneath them weighing the rest of him down as his feet slid over the dirt beneath them.

   Lian admired him. She found herself astonished by those whom she was surrounded by. They were pillars of stone, each and every one of them. Despite the exhaustion and the hunger and the fear, they continued on. Pushed through it.

    She looked down, then, glancing at her right hand. Her bandages had come undone hours ago, though she had no energy to fix them. She could see the scars, the way they made themselves known through the fabric, the red skin raw and fragile against the burning sun over her head. And then she saw it—shaking. Her hand was shaking. Back and forth, back and forth. Shaking against her leg, her shoulders tired. Tired from holding her arms. Tired from keeping her balanced.

    She pulled her shoulders back, anchoring them against her back. She could not show them her exhaustion. It must be saved for her. It was her burden, her weight to carry. So she would shove it back, she would bear it for as long as it took. She could not let them see the shake or the way she threatened to topple over the edge, to let everything crumble. Her reserve, her strength, her smile, her power. She could feel it all, the cracks and small splinters.

    (You are marble.)

    "This is humiliating."

    It was Katara who said it. Something that, Lian knew, they all had been thinking. The elder girl said nothing in response, keeping her eyes focused on what lay ahead, ensuring that her feet took one step after another. She could feel her skin burning under the heat of the sun, her neck uncovered and bare.

    (She felt it almost immediately, the heat to the back of her neck. The way all of her hair, her long, beautiful hair, had become something of a nightmare. It nearly ceased to exist, short and choppy against the burnt skin of her neck. She could hear Azula's laughter, Iroh's shouts, and Zuko's gasps. She was burning. She was burning alive—)