The Fire Within [Zuko x OC]

Fire, Ice, Avatars, and Penguins?

It's been a few weeks since I've passed out. Shinto went back home, albeit upset she had to leave me.  The woman who has been taking care of me, Gran Gran, claims that the scar on my back will never heal. 

It's been a long few days, being confined to a bed. The only people who would talk to me are Gran Gran, Katara, and Sokka. The rest of the village was afraid of me. 

I was currently sitting up, attempting to get out of bed by myself for the first time. Sokka had made a walking stick out of a broken spear for me.  Suddenly, Gran Gran's voice reaches my ears.

"Well, no one has seen an airbender in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct until my granddaughter and grandson found you."

"Extinct?" That voice, I don't recognize it. Curiosity getting the better of me, I force my legs over the side of the bed, sparks of pain flaring up my back.

"Aang, this is my grandmother." Katara's kind voice makes me smile as I work through the pain, leaning on the walking stick as I slowly stand up.

"Call me Gran Gran." Making my way to the pelt door, I swing it aside to see the entire village surrounding a young boy.

I see Sokka grab the boy's staff. "What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this."

"It's not for stabbing," He creates a jet of air that sucks the staff back into his hand. "It's for airbending." Aang then opens the staff into a glider with red wings.

"Magic trick! Do it again!" One of the little girls says, clapping her hands together.

Aang shakes his head. "Not magic, airbending. It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly."

 "You know, last time I checked, humans can't fly." I roll my eyes at Sokka, his stupidity makes me so irritated sometimes.

Aang laughs and exclaims, "Check again!" He launches himself into the air with his glider. He soars through the air, doing loops as the villagers on the ground point to him in wonder.

The villagers around me point and whisper amongst themselves as I hobble my way to stand next to Katara and Sokka.

I can see Aang look down at Katara, who smiles at him. He is so enthralled with her attention that he slams right into Sokka's guard tower. He pulls his head out of the tower and falls to the ground with his glider.

"My watchtower!" Sokka yells, running over to the snowy remains like a child

"That was amazing." Katara exclaims. She runs over to help Aang back to his feet. He twirls his glider shut as Sokka examines the damaged tower behind him. After Aang closes the glider a huge bank of snow buries Sokka, making me let out a snort of amusement.

"Great. You're an airbender, Katara's a waterbender, together you can just waste time all day long. While Shenmi and I do the real work."

"You're a waterbender!" Aang claims, his eyes filling with wonder.

"Well... sort of. Not yet."

"All right. No more playing. Come on, Katara, you have chores." Gran Gran calls out. She looks over at me, noticing me for the first time. "Shenmi, back to bed. You shouldn't be out here." 

I sigh and look down. "Can't I just stand here and watch? I wont exhaust myself, I swear!" I beg, wanting to get out of that hut and explore where I have been staying.

"Tomorrow you can. But for now you need to rest. Come along." 

With a sigh, I'm limping behind Gran Gran and Katara, back to my prison.  They start talking about something, my curiosity diminished. Katara tends to complain as much as Sokka does about food

Leaning once again on the stick, I slowly make my way back onto the bed, my eyes already closing before my head hit the pillow.

-----------------------

I'm awoken hours later at sunset by the screams of the villagers. Protective instincts kicking in, I jump up from the bed and don my winter coat that Gran Gran made for me, the walking stick forgotten as I force myself to walk outside. 

What greets my eyes sends a shiver running down my spine, causing my back to burn slightly.

Coming to a slow halt, is a Fire Nation ship. As it slows, the bowsprit lowers, making a plank from the ship to the snow covered ground. Sokka narrowly dodges it, rolling out of it's way into the snow.

As the smoke clears from the entrance of the ship, the unmistakable figure of Scarface stands there. He takes one quick look around before walking down the bowsprit, the villagers silent as the grave as he approaches. 

Sokka, the idiot he is, gets up and charges Scarface with an adolescent war cry. As he runs up the steps to him, Scarface casually and expertly kicks his weapon out of his hand and then kicks him in the face, sending him sprawling on the ice to the planks right. Wow, great technique... Sokka's head gets stuck in the snow and he struggles comically to free himself. The villagers around me draw back in fright, the ease with which their only warrior has been dispatched by the invaders shocking. 

Meanwhile, Scarface has walked right up to Katara, Gran Gran, and myself. "Where are you hiding him?" He shouts. When no one responds, he grabs Gran Gran and whirls her around. "He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?" Again, no response. Angered, he pushes Gran Gran towards Katara and with a cry of frustration he launches a gout of flame over the villager's heads. Everyone cowers back in fear, my back starting to send pain signals at the intense heat. "I know you're hiding him!"

Behind Scarface, I see Sokka get up, his face paint largely gone. He retrieves his weapon and charges Scarface with another cry. He turns to Sokka in annoyance. He dodges Sokka's charges and flips him over his head. He then fires a blast of flame at Sokka, but Sokka rolls out of the way, throwing his boomerang at Scarface as he does. Caught by surprise, Scarface barely avoids the boomerang. He turns to look back in anger at Sokka over the near miss. 

A little boy finds another spear and Throws it out to Sokka as he exclaims, "Show no fear!"

Sokka catches the spear and charges at Scarface, who, as Sokka reaches him, breaks off pieces of the spear shaft with his wrist guards. After the head of the spear has been shorn off, Scarface grabs the spear, boinks Sokka on the forehead with it several times, then breaks it in half and drops the pieces on the ground. Sokka, after getting bonked on the head, has also sunk to the ground, rubbing his head. I stare at Sokka, the man standing sternly over him. In the sky the boomerang reappears, slamming Scarface in the back of the head, knocking his helmet off kilter. Furious, Scarface begins to spit fire out of his hands as he hovers menacingly over Sokka.

"Hey Scarface!" I call out, not wanting Sokka to get hurt in the way that I have. "Remember me?" He turns towards me, his eyes burning with hatred at the nickname I gave him. I walk towards him, Undoing the jacket and bandages, letting them fall. 

Scarface looks at me, actually looks at me, noticing the scar that covers my back and wraps over my bare shoulders. My eyes fill with anger, my body heating up as I feel the energy bouncing around inside me, wanting to be released in the form of fire. "Thanks for the scar. Now we match!" I shout. 

"You!" He shouts, realization dawning. "Come to gain another scar?" He asks, an evil smile upon his lips.

"Actually, I wanted to give another one to you!" I shout in return, fire sprouting from my hands. The villagers gasp and move away from me, shocked that they had helped and healed a firebender. 

"I knew you were a firebender! You're a traitor to your country!" He looks over his shoulder quickly, "Guards! Arrest her!" Before anyone could react, they surrounded me, grasping my hands and hair, forcing me to my knees as I scream out in pain. 

The pain becomes so intense, I black out, the last thing I see is Aang coming towards us on a penguin.