THE HEART OF THE FORSAKEN; atla

───── 04

"─iss? Miss? Are you alright?─are you even awake? Hello?"

Soza slowly opened her eyes before she squinted them shut almost immediately, grunting. The sun shone directly down on her face, before a blurry figure casted a shadow over her head. 

"Oh thank God! I was seriously getting worried about you!" 

As Soza's eyes adjusted to the light, she took in the boy kneeling over her. He reached out a hand ─ she accepted. He appeared to be her age ─ perhaps a year or two older. Shaggy black hair, tanned skin ─ with a small scar peaking through on his cheek ─, and dark eyes. He was wearing casual working class clothes, and when he helped Soza stumble to stand, he stood a couple inches tall than her. 

"Oh right─ the name's Haoyu, sorry I forgot to say, and you are..?" when he smiled, dimples showed and his eyes crinkled.

Soza's eyes widened just slightly. "Oh─um," she couldn't say her true name, who knows what news reached this town, "It's, ah, Mingxia. No surname."

Haoyu released a breathy laugh, still smiling gently. "Great to meet you, Mingxia. As much as I want to continue this conversation, I think we should move somewhere indoors," he glanced down at Soza (Mingxia), who appeared rather dazed and sickly, "where we can be out of the sun and you can sit down and drink something?"

"I'd like that."

"So, you've been traveling?"

"Yes, I have."

"Do you have a destination in mind? Or are you just wandering aimlessly?"

Soza looked down at her hands. Just a couple months ago her hands had been pristine, porcelain and smooth to the touch. Now, as she ran her thumb gently against the worn teacup in her palm, she could feel the calluses rub against the china. So much had changed. 

"I don't know." Soza was quiet, her words small and her tone soft. "I've been thinking about traveling over to the Earth Kingdom, however, I don't know if that would be possible."

Haoyu grasped his own cup of tea and sat down across from her at the small table. "Do you not have things for the border cross?"

Soza nodded. "I left home in a hurry," she paused, "family issues."

"Ah, I see."

Soza glanced up. "Is your family here?"

"I don't live with my parents," Haoyu inhaled, "I am─ technically ─ from the Fire Nation colonies, my parents and my siblings lived there. I haven't seen them in years."

"What made you move out here? Back to the homeland?"

Haoyu smiled, dimples peeking through. "Family issues."

Soza exhaled, her eyes softer.

Haoyu looked over, meeting her eyes. He seemed to be in thought, tilting his head just slightly. "Will you stay?" He spoke up,"─ here, at the land and town, I mean. If you really have no where to go─I have extra rooms, and it'd be nice to have a helping hand."

With Haoyu's question' genuine, kind and soft; Soza paused, her breath catching just lightly in her throat. If she was thinking more logically, it would be smarter if she left the Fire nation. With her brother as the new Fire Lord, his influence would only become larger and the possibility of her identity becoming unveiled would loom ever greater over her. 

However, she did not want to leave; she deeply loved her home.

"Thank you, Haoyu." She choked out, meeting his gaze directly, "I am in your debt."

The boy grinned. "Happy to have you, Mingxia."

A quiet hum settled over the room. Sunlight spilled through the window over Soza's head, highlighting the dust in the air. Surprisingly, Soza did not find the quiet uncomfortable; both her and Haoyu sat comfortably. 

Content with each others presence, and the comfortability of being around someone who had no knowledge of their past; no knowledge of what the other person thought in the present; and nothing they could do about the future but wait.