Prisoner of War

The Mask

Rhea jumped from the boat to the ground, doing a barrel roll in the sand. She hadn't bothered lowering the gangway. It was a miracle that she had even made it to land.

She had barely managed to steer the ship away from the North Pole only to get caught in a storm. After three days, of rain and waves and wind, the storm had thrown her ship onto sharp rocks.

Now, she lay on the beach at a loss of what to do next.

A soft noise caught her attention. There was a town nearby.

She stood, brushing the sand out of her hair as best she could and made her way towards the faint bustle of the town.
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The town was small, hardly two miles across, but there was good number of people wandering the streets.

Rhea strolled cautiously into the town.

People turned to watch the stranger as she entered their village. Some gave her strange looks and others ignored her.

It took her a moment to remember why. Her mask was still pulled up over her nose, but she hesitated to take it off. She had been wearing it for so long that it felt like it was a part of her - a safety net, a shield, protection from the harsh world.

She continued through the streets, ignoring the attention and keeping her eyes ahead.

A little girl tugged at her mother's sleeve. "Mommy, why does she wear that mask? Is she sick?"

The woman looked at Rhea, grabbed her child's hand, and pulled her down the street. "Don't stare. It's not polite."

Rhea couldn't help but turn to watch the girl follow her mother away and out of sight. The child hadn't known what the mask meant, but the mother seemed to. That's what people saw when they looked at her - the mask. No one cared about the girl behind it. She didn't exist. People saw her only as a weapon, as the Fire Lord's puppet.

Rhea's heart sank and she walked out of the town, stopping just passed the tree line and collapsing to the ground. She had lost her identity. How could she let this happen? How could she be so weak? Iroh had taught her better than that, but Iroh hadn't been there to protect her, to encourage her, to make her feel strong. He'd abandoned her, left her to the dogs.

For a brief moment, anger welled up inside of her, filling her chest and seeming to press against her lungs, but it faded as quickly as it had risen. It wasn't Iroh's fault. She knew why he had left. She had supported it. The only mistake was that she didn't convince him to bring her too.
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Rhea lay on the ground in the woods.

The night sky was full of stars, more than anyone could count. Another reminder of how small she really was.

She rolled onto her side. The woods were dark and eerie at night, but she refused to make a fire. All of the trouble in her life had started with fire. She wouldn't give it a chance to cause anymore.

Something rustled in the bushes nearby.

Rhea sat up, sword drawn.

The rustling grew louder and closer. Soon she could see the leaves moving in the bush to her right. An ominous clicking sound reverberated out of the darkness.

Suddenly, something leapt out of the brush.

A little owl-cat landed on her lap, purring loudly as it rubbed against her chest.

Rhea laughed as she petted the small creature. It seemed very familiar with people. It might've been someone's lost pet.

It scampered off as quickly as it had come.

Awake now, Rhea sat, sharpening her knife.

A snap sounded in the woods.

She looked up. Had the owl-cat come back? She held out her hand invitingly and mimicked the creature's clicking sound.

A massive figure came crashing out of the trees with a deep, guttural growl.

Rhea stumbled back.

It was an armadillo-wolf. The creature bared its fangs, warm saliva dripping to the ground. Its yellow eyes seemed to stare straight into her soul.

She took short panicked breaths. Any sudden moves would invite an attack. Slowly, out of options, she lifted her hand towards the creature, squeezing her eyes shut.

Its large wet nose nuzzled her hand. Then, she felt it's thick soft fur against her palm.

She sighed in relief as she opened her eyes and found the large canine leaning into her touch. She stood and moved closer to the beast. It exhaled an airy warning, but she stepped forward.

Soon, the wolffish creature was licking her face.

Rhea laughed. At least, animals still liked her.
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Rhea walked through the next town, the armadillo-wolf shadowing her. She got a lot of strange looks, but not because of the mask this time. She had taken it off. She didn't need it anymore. That wasn't who she was. That wasn't who she wanted to be.

Before she rounded the next corner and silenced all conversation, she heard someone say something about the Avatar being in Ba Sing Se. She couldn't say she was surprised.

She thought for a minute. This could be her chance to apologize, to explain everything. As much as she hated to admit it, she did care what they thought of her. She had to get to Ba Sing Se.

As she exited the town with her new companion, she stopped, grabbed his fur, and heaved herself onto his back.

The beast tried to look back at her in curiosity.

"I know this is probably uncomfortable." She rubbed the fur on his neck. "But I need to get to Ba Sing Se; and you can get me there faster than walking. Deal?"

The creature snorted and shook its head, but took off, loping through the forest.
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Even with the armadillo-wolf's help, it was a long journey. Rhea's heart leaped in her chest when she saw the great walls of Ba Sing Se. She never thought that she would be back again, but here she was. Home sweet home.

A/N
OH MY GOSH!!!! FINALLY!!!!! I'm SO sorry for making you all wait so long. I had, quite literally, NO idea where to go with the story. So, here we go. I skipped like the whole second season, but I got it done.
Hope you all enjoyed it.
-Cheshire