Tougher Than Stone

Chapter 11

-Lienai's POV-

"Liena! What's the trouble today? You can usually lift two baskets of that weight with no problem." Ah crap. Without Nakia to supervise lessons, we'd gotten a tad careless, leading to me accidentally getting pummelled with Gui's earth.

"Sorry, Mom. I... fell yesterday. I was walking along the rock wall by Yu's shop and missed a step, " I made up. Well, not entirely. That had happened before, but I managed to cover it up enough that Mom's sharp eye didn't notice.

"Again?" So apparently she had noticed. Her eyebrows were lifted, but her expression still showed amusement

"Yeah, I thought I could do it... Well, I wasn't going to do it, but then Gui dared me too, so then I had to,"

"Ahh," she rolled her eyes, going along with my story. Grabbing one of the baskets, she helped me take them to the well that all of Shoa's residents share.

Together, we washed the peaches, telling stories and teasing each other the whole time. Nakia may be my best friend, but Mom is my Best Friend.

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

I struggled with the buttons on my dress. Gui's gonna show me some little training bits tonight, just the two of us!I'm careful not to wake my already sleeping dad, and Mom's helping me with the buttons. She pretends to stay oblivious, but she knows exactly what's going on. When we were talking earlier today, she was telling me all about how her and Dad would sneak out at night to meet up with each other.

"As much as I love that you're confident enough to do something like this, you do know what I expect of you, right?" she asks. I actually had no idea if she fully approves of my plan, but now I have my answer. She approves of the plan, but doesn't fully trust the execution of it. Which is, honestly, pretty fair.

"What do you expect?" I shoot back. I have a plan, but before I tell her anything, I need to know what she's expecting. She doesn't know about the school, and the less people that know, the better.

"Well, first of all, you two need a safe location. Second, are you guys going to stay quiet enough to not get caught? I'm only letting you go because I trust Gui's carefulness. I just..." she squeezes her eyes shut, blocking an image from her mind, and sighs shakily. "I can't lose you too. You're allowed to have a childhood, these adventures, these experiences. But you can't be taken away. I can't do that again." When she opens her eyes, there are tears in them.

"Mom..." I don't have any words at this moment. So I encase her in a hug.

When I was little, Dad used to tell me all the time that hugs are a language of their own. That through hugs, we can communicate more than anything we could with words. He would describe hugs as a form of magic.

And he's right. It is magic. Through our touch, I send all the love and affirmation I can. I can communicate a hundred different things, things I don't even know the words for. Like I said, magic.

"We'll be safe." I say, my voice muffled by her shirt. She sniffs loudly, and kisses my head.

"Go get him, Tiger."

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

I sit in the Office, waiting for Gui. He's late. I keep telling myself I should go check on him, but the logic in the back of my head screams at me, 'no, stupid, if he doesn't come he's either in trouble or a jerk. If he's in trouble, then you can't help him, for Mom's sake.' But the war just continues in my head, what if he is in trouble? My help could either save him or get us both killed.

His dad is extremely loyal to the Fire Nation, and no one knows why.

All of a sudden, I hear vibrations and footsteps. A second later, Gui walks into the Office.

"Sorry I'm late, my Dad was, uh... yeah, sorry..."

"It's okay," I said, mostly meaning it. I don't get his relationship with his dad, but I know it's nothing like anything I have. "You're here now," I say, smirking. I grab his hand, gazing at his freckled face.

He blushes and looks down at our intertwined hands. I can't help but stare at his hazel eyes, matching his red-brown locks. His bangs usually cover those eyes, but I reach up and push them out of the way. Not on my watch.

My touch makes his face redder, which makes my smile widen. We look at eachother for another moment, before I laugh and guide him to the training room.

We battle each other halfheartedly for a while, laughing when the other takes them down, our hands lingering when we help each other up. When we take a small break to eat some of the fruit I brought down, Gui points out my dress.

"Yeah, I need to be prepared to fight at any time, even when I'm wearing a dress," is the excuse I give him. The truth is, I'm wearing it because I feel pretty in it, and I always want to feel extra pretty around him.

We throw banters at each other back and forth, and steal small touches, like playful punches and lightly sweeping the other's hair out of their face.

I like it. A lot. Even with my heart fluttering with his every move, I enjoy his company. I like him. A lot. The thought brings heat to my face, an action usually done by Gui. He notices and teases me about it, making both our faces redder.

We finished the night with a kiss on my hand and a heart skip. Before we can head to opposite entry places, I pull him into a hug.

"Be careful, though. Okay?" It's out of character, but I think he knows me well enough now to realize my serious side.

He hugs me back, whispering, "I will, as long as you do the same."

Written by KateWalker553

New chapter coming soon! Probably not on schedule (meaning faster than usual, maybe) but there will definitely be a new chapter up on time next week, whether it be Chapter 12 or Chapter 13. Anyways, thanks for reading, and have a lovely time, little butterflies <3         -Kate