The Guider Effect ☼ Zuko || ATLA

Call Me Ekko

   

     Days had gone by since Rein separated from her brother. She spent her time wandering eastbound on foot, occasionally hitching rides on the back of merchant carriages. She felt herself growing weak due to her lack of nutrient intake since she had no money for food. If she was lucky, Rein found edible fruits and berries to sustain herself.

     Kireina had walked approximately one hundred miles since her departure from the gang. She rarely stopped for breaks unless her body begged her to rest. Her main focus was to fight her body's urge to run to Zuko so she constantly traveled the opposite way. As the gang and Zuko headed north towards the North Pole, Rein was moving eastward. Unfamiliar with the terrain, Rein had no inkling whatsoever that she was walking right into Fire Nation territory.

     Cranefish Town was coming into view as Rein stumbled down the dirt road. She was in desperate need of supplies and seeing the city made her heart skip a beat. The thought of warm food, a bath and a cozy place to sleep relaxed her but now she had to find someone willing to help her.

     "You look like shit. Why are you wandering all alone like some crazed zombie?"

     Rein screamed in response, the sudden company scaring her. She clutched at her chest as she gasped for air, trying to catch her breath. "Gosh woman, you trying to scare me into a coma?"

     "Oh, my sincerest apologies Miss." The stranger rolled her eyes.

     Kireina, after finally steadying her racing heart, met the eyes of the stranger standing before her. She was a young girl, maybe Katara's age, donning Fire Nation attire and a sly smirk. Rein stared at the teenager, seeming to recognize her from somewhere.

     "Have we met before?" Rein asked the girl, approaching her slowly. Her features were so familiar to Rein, it perplexed her. The honey brown eyes cut into narrow slits, the creased eyebrows, and the black hair tied back with a gold Fire Nation headpiece- it all reminded her of Zuko.

     "Doubtful. I don't mingle with the commoners." She scoffed, picking at the dirt under her fingernails.

     Rein glared at the stranger, "Alright, well that hits my insult quota for the day. Now if you don't mind, I need to find somewhere to wash up and eat."

     "Actually, I do mind. You're not going anywhere." The girl quipped, raising her hands to reveal the blue fire that sparked from her fingertips. Rein's eyes widened in disbelief, having never seen blue fire before. It blew her white fire out of the water- ironically.

     "Did you loiter around here to find someone to pick a fight with? Because I'm really not in the mood right now, maybe we can take a raincheck or something? We can exchange info-"

     "Raincheck?" The girl repeated in shock. "You can't just raincheck a fight!"

     Kireina jumped and clapped her hands together, "Ah hah! So you were out here picking fights! Let me guess, Daddy is too busy dealing with adult stuff and he casted you aside. Did he tell you to go outside and play? I bet he talks to you like a child and you're out here taking your anger out on unsuspecting travelers to somehow convince yourself that you're a mature adult. I'll wager twenty gold pieces that you're an egomaniac or control freak, or, honestly, you're probably both."