𝙊𝙗𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 ᪥ 𝙄𝙧𝙤𝙝 𝙄𝙄 ˡᵉᵍᵉⁿᵈ ᵒᶠ ᵏᵒʳʳᵃ

𝚂 𝐢 𝚡

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𝙲 𝐞 𝚕 𝐞 𝚋 𝐫 𝚊 𝐭 𝚒 𝐨 𝚗
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          𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙐𝙉 𝙎𝙄𝙏𝙎 𝙄𝙉𝘾𝙃𝙀𝙎 above where sky meets ocean, bringing another long day to a close. Halah examines her reflection in a tall mirror mounted to a wall in her room. She looks... strange with the braids Pema wrapped around her head, two more rest across her shoulders from behind her ears. The top half of her hair is tied back and twisted into a bun. Pema lightly dusted her cheeks with a soft pink powder and swiped black liquid over her lashes.

Stood before the reflective glass, a terribly nervous Halah wrings the black and purple ring around her finger in anticipation, then brings a hand up to her chest to toy with a matching necklace fit snugly at the base of her throat that her mother sent with the dress. She can't lie, the woman has impeccable taste. Halah enjoys the way a dark color scheme look on her.

Knocking sounds from the door. "It's time to go, Halah. Are you ready yet?" It's Jinora.

"Yeah, you can come in."

Jinora's jaw drops open at the sight of Halah all done up. "Wooow," she drawls and presses her clasped hands to the underside of her chin while bouncing on the balls of her feet. "You look so pretty!"

Halah smiles. "Thank you, Nora. You look lovely as well."

Ikki pops in the doorway. The two wear similarly styled long-sleeved dresses; Jinora in red, and Ikki in yellow. The pins in their hair and the slippers on their feet are the opposite color.

"Ooh! Your dress is beautiful!" Ikki chirps. "Purple is my favorite color."

Then, Iroh appears. He can't help but stop in his tracks and examine Halah from the floor to her eyes. Halah shuffles her feet under his stare. "T-That looks very nice on you."

Why is it suddenly so hot in here? Halah refrains from fanning her face. Iroh clears his throat and straightens his shoulders when Pema calls for Jinora and Ikki and they dart out of sight, leaving Halah and Iroh alone in awkward silence. It doesn't last for long, to Halah's relief, and Iroh grunts again.

"I guess that's our queue to leave." The corner of his mouth twitches. "Are you... sure you want to do this? It's not too late to say you'd rather stay."

Halah turns away. Something in the pit of her stomach keeps her feet planted, and a little voice in her head tells her—begs her—to stay. It feels wrong leaving Air Temple Island at this time. She's never one to question her instincts, but now is not the time to start second-guessing. But the amethyst flash of her toxic ring catches her eye, and that same voice demands that she take it.

          Quickly, to avoid Iroh's suspicion, she swipes the ring from its place and replaces it with the decoy. Her hand instinctively pats her leg to be sure she isn't imagining her throwing stars strapped to her thigh before willing herself to the door. Her feet feel twice their weight, and she brushes past Iroh in the doorway.

          "It's too late for a lot of things, General," she says cooly.

Iroh is unable to find the words to reply. Her words make him shiver, but he stops his thoughts from venturing to the reasons why and follows the Avatar down the hall and outside where the airbender family awaits them in the saddle on the back of Oogi, Tenzin's flying bison. The kids don't give Halah a chance to take a seat before they demand she sits next to them. They argue back and forth on who wants to be directly beside her. Halah ends the brawl by pulling Meelo into her lap and squeezing in between Ikki and Jinora. Oogi lifts himself into the air and takes off towards the illuminating city. Halah circles her arms around the girls, not a care in the world that the wind is disheveling her perfectly placed hair. She closes her eyes and tips her chin towards the sky, relishing in the feeling of freedom and the air cooling her face and blowing the nerves away. With her eyes shut, Iroh's stare that never leaves her content form goes unnoticed.