those amber eyes (slow updates)

The General

The following book may potentially contain extreme violence, explicit language, smut and death. Any chapter containing any of the above themes will have an asterisk (*) warning.

* Y/N's POV
Dust and smoke filled the air, I could barely breathe, the cries out for help and the screaming of the dying rung in my ears as I felt someone's flames lick the surface of my skin.

It was one of them. I furrowed my eyebrows and took my stance, generating lighting and striking it towards him, but he dodged it and continued to throw flames at me.

I danced past his attacks, but suddenly, from behind me, I felt something sharp and cold pierce through my skin as I fell to the ground. At first, I didn't feel the pain, I could just see the blood seeping through my clothes, it was sort of pretty, like swirls of scarlet adorning my shirt.

Then, all at once, the excruciating pain surged through every nerve in my body, but I couldn't scream, I couldn't cry out, the roof of my mouth was dry, and I couldn't swallow.

All I could do was lie there, on the cold ground, feeling the pool of blood beneath me grow, and all around me, everyone I've ever known was out there fighting, and I watched as my comrades fell one by one.

The sounds of cries grew quieter, and my vision became blurry, and I guess I must've blacked out, because when I woke up, I was on a ship.

I sat up from the bed I was laying on and winced before holding onto my side.

I was bandaged up.

I pulled myself to my feet before leaving the cabin room and walking around.

Where am I?

There wasn't a soul in sight.

I made my way to the front of the boat, night had fallen and the moon lit the sky, I leaned over the railings and inhaled the salty air.

Where are my comrades? Did they survive?

I heard footsteps approaching behind me and snapped my head around to reveal a tall, attractive man with amber eyes, he was wearing the uniform of a soldier.

"I'm glad to see you're up and walking now."

I raised an eyebrow before asking,

"Who are you? Where are we?"

He stood beside me with his hands behind his back and perfect posture and looked out to the horizon with me,

"I'm General Iroh of the United Forces. I found you in Shu Jing... you were in pretty bad shape."

"My comrades- Did you find them?"

"All of the wounded and alive are aboard the ship, and your town is safe now."

I exhaled in relief,

"So they're okay?"

He nodded.

"Thank you, General... so, umm... where are we headed?"

"We're going back to the capital, I've called healers from the Water Tribe to aid your people, then we'll escort you all back home safely."

"Wow... thank you, that's really nice of you..."

"So, what's your name, soldier?"

"Oh, I'm not a soldier, my name is Y/N."

He scratched the side of his head,

"Not a soldier? We found you with... wait, so you're a civilian?"

"It's a little more complex than that- agh!"

I doubled over holding my side as a piercing pain weighed down my body. Iroh grabbed onto my shoulders and said,

"Hey, you should rest, you need time to recover."

I pulled myself up with his aid and nodded as he brought me back to my little cabin room, after he set me down, he turned to leave,

"Wait."

"Yes?"

"My brother... I need to know if he's alive."

His gaze softened but his eyes were sad,

"I don't know... there were a lot of survivors."

"But how many didn't make it?"

His eyes darted away from mine,

"I can't tell you that."

My heart sunk.

My brother, my friends... what if they died, what if they couldn't get away.

I felt a tear escape my eye and roll down my cheek.

Iroh looked up and exhaled before sitting on the edge of my bed and rubbing my shoulder in attempt to console me before awkwardly telling me,

"Uh, right, I'm not really good at this kind of thing... I know I can't make it better but um... don't worry too much, it's okay... well, of course it's not okay, your brother might be dead... wait, no, I didn't mean it like that. He's probably fine, I think. I mean statistically speaking there's a three in five chance that he's okay but... ugh."

He smacked his other hand into his head and I felt myself chuckle through the tears,

"Thanks, General Iroh."

"Oh, uh- just Iroh is fine."

I smiled at him and he smiled back for a moment before his expression became serious and he asked,

"So whilst I'm here, do you mind me asking, why were you out fighting with everybody else if you aren't even a soldier."

I hung my head,

"You don't understand, none of us were soldiers... we were all just doing our best to defend ourselves."

"So... why were they attacking you?"

"I don't know... they've done it before, so many times... ever since Avatar Aang died, they just keep coming back, but it's never been that bad before..."

He placed his hand on his chin and looked down,

"I see..."

He then sighed before standing up,

"If you're feeling any better in the morning, I can help you find your brother."

"Wow, really? That's so nice of you, that'd be great, thanks."

He smiled and nodded before walking out and leaving me in the tiny cabin alone.

I slowly leaned back so I was laying flat on my back and stared up at the ceiling. I didn't know how to feel, I had a horrible pit in my stomach,

What if they took my brother away, the same way they took my parents?

I'd failed to protect him, and now he's probably either dead or injured.

I felt the tears falling down the sides of my face and past my ears.

What a mess.