𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍 | prince zuko

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CHAPTER SEVEN

     AFTER THE DISTASTEFUL ARGUMENT SHE HAD WITH ZUKO, Yan walked down the streets of the Upper Ring to calm herself down. She took in several deep breaths, the argument replaying over and over in her mind. She couldn't believe Zuko could be so closed-minded! How could he be so ignorant and blind to what was happening? How could he possibly think anyone would want to prove their worth to an evil man who physically scarred them? She didn't understand Fire Nation traditions or knew what an Agni Kai was, but it sounded wrong. And for Zuko wanting to show his father his worth? She thought he sounded foolish.

She boarded the monorail, quiet as she rode back to the Middle Ring. As she walked down the street to reach her house, she passed by a group of teenagers who were dressed in odd clothing. Yan turned to stare at them; the older girl and boy were dressed in blue, one boy was wearing yellow and orange, and the shortest girl was garbed in green. She quirked her brow as they walked down the street away from her.

"Don't worry about them, Yan. Just walk away." Yan said to herself as she walked in the direction of her home. She stopped in her tracks and sighed heavily. Again, she turned around and followed the strangely-dressed group. From where she stood, she could slightly make out what they were saying.

"Maybe if we ask around, we could find Appa, Aang. How hard could it be to spot a giant flying bison?" the older boy dressed in blue said. The shorter boy dressed in yellow and orange shrugged his shoulders solemnly.

"I don't want to get my hopes too high, Sokka." he sighed. Yan stopped and pretended to look into a fountain when the group would stop and turn to make sure they weren't being followed. Once they were a bit farther away, Yan continued to follow them. When they turned a corner, she stayed against a building, straining to listen to what they were saying.

"... feel like someone is-"

"... don't see anyone."

The dialogue was broken as the group was further away than she was. As she looked around the corner, however, a boulder the size of her head came hurtling towards her. Yan quickly moved away from the flying rock, her brown eyes wide.

"One of them is an earthbender..." she said to herself. She took in a breath and bent small rocks that she held in her hand. She dropped them quickly after; she didn't want to make herself seem like a threat to these strangers and make the already tense situation worse.

"I don't want to hurt you!" she shouted so the group could hear her. A whip of water nearly struck her in the face so she moved away quickly.

"Why are you following us?" a female voice questioned. Yan stepped around the corner, putting her hands up. The girl dressed in blue blew cold air onto the ground, freezing Yan's feet in place. Her clothing and tattoos reminded her of Nukilik, along with the fact that she was clearly a waterbender.

"I'm not following you for the reason you may think. I just want to talk." she truthfully said. The group exchanged looks, the boy in blue stepping towards Yan cautiously. He didn't lower his boomerang, looking her up and down as he tried to understand her motive.

"They are telling the truth." the shortest girl in green said as she crouched down and touched the ground beside Yan. The teenage boy turned to her, asking how she knew, the girl further explaining that she could feel the difference in a lying person's heart rate along with other aspects.

"You're the Avatar, aren't you?" Yan asked the smaller boy dressed in yellow and orange. The boy's eyes widened, but he didn't deny the question. He nodded slowly, much against the girl in blue's protests. "You have come to the worst place the Avatar could ever be. Come with me, I know somewhere we can talk."