Lost Arrow [A:TLA au]

prologue

PROLOGUE
( KYIOSHI ISLAND )

BEING COMPLETELY ALONE FOR five years did something to a person. With five older siblings and two parents lost to war and an illness within ten years of her life and then to leave and venture through the world by herself at the mere age ten, Flo continuously felt loneliness time and time again. She went from having a large family to having no one at her side, no one to turn to when she needed help. No one to cry to, to laugh with, to jab at teasingly, to comfort. Not even a home and little to no money. All the fifteen year old had were arrows, a bow, a small pack of essentials, and a hawk-cat she saved a few months back. (And, okay, there was that short amount of time when she live with the Freedom Fighters, but she didn't count that because of certain reasons to do with their leader of a dickhead, okay?)

So after nearly dying because she got ambushed by the Fire Nation, stealing a small boat, passing out in said boat, and later waking up in a stranger's house set the girl completely on edge. She wasn't used to help; she was used to patching up her own wounds if she got any, and somehow not dying of thirst or starvation during her journeys, and moving from one place to another because she refused to stay in one place and get attached. Once she was fully awake, the teen took in as much of her surroundings as she could while she laid there on the pallet. Everything was made out of wood – the floor, the ceiling, the beams. The place was decorated minimally but it still looked nice. Homey. The air was cold, biting at her skin on her face while her body stayed covered by a few blankets.

Gradually and carefully, Flo sat up. The blankets pooled around her waist, and her deep brown eyes widened at the bandages around her entire torso, some places more raised because there were bandages under the ones wrapped around her. Her bare arms and shoulders then recognized the winter's chilly air, and she shivered. She didn't wait at all to bundle back up in the blankets, even if it did hurt some to move. While she sat there and warmed up, Flo noticed her clothes just a few feet away. She couldn't but notice how clean they looked – even her shoes! She blinked, shocked and surprised, and started to wonder who saved her and cleaned her clothes when an all too familiar dark brown hawk-cat came flying through one of the windows and right into Flo's chest.

"Oof, ow. Hi, Sleemo," Flo greeted the winged feline, too hurt and tired to properly smile at seeing her companion. She moved around and wrapped the blankets around herself and her pet. Sleemo purred and curled into her owner while Flo closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into the fur. The animal's presence relaxed her instantly. The tension in her shoulders melted away little by little as she held onto her pet, but it didn't last forever as someone walked in.

"Oh! You're finally awake!"

Flo sat up straight and moved as if she was readying her bow and arrow, only to freeze when she realized the weapon wasn't anywhere nearby. Sleemo flew out of her arms and onto the windowsill, fur and feathers puffing up to make herself look bigger as she hissed at the girl. Flo eyed her; she couldn't be much older than Flo, if at all, and her face was covered in white, red and black make-up and her hair was cut short, the top pulled back into a small ponytail. She wore dark greens and blacks with some gold here and there, and folded fans were stuck into her belt.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," the girl quickly apologized. "You can trust me. I'm the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors."

Flo didn't say anything for a moment as she processed her words. "This isn't the Fire Nation?" she hesitantly asked, visibly becoming relieved as the warrior shook her head.

"You're on Kyoshi Island, have been for about a week actually. Whoever got to you really did a number on you." She walked forward and grabbed the folded clothes, and sat on her knees as she handed them to Flo. "I'm Suki, by the way."

Flo took her clothes without hesitation. "Flo," she introduced. "Where's my bow and arrows?"

"In a little closet in the hall. I didn't want anyone messing with them while you were out, so I put them up," Suki explained. A little laugh bubbled up as Sleemo came down from the window and rubbed her head against the warrior's knee. Sleemo didn't purr, but it was clear she liked Suki. "What a cute hawk-cat. What's her name?"

"Sleemo."

Suki whipped her gaze back to Flo, halting her hand as she pet Sleemo. "That's..." Her face twisted as she tried to figure out what to say.

Flo just shrugged. "It's the only thing she responds to."

"Oh."

Flo awkwardly smiled. For years, she hadn't properly spoken with anyone. Most conversations were with random merchants, and those times Flo didn't speak much more than a few words. She never spoke first, never started conversations, never edged one on. Her people skills were undoubtedly nearly non-existent; even after having been with the Freedom Fighters, though they weren't as bad as before then. Thankfully for her, her talk with Suki soon ended. After the fellow teen explained Flo's injuries – a couple bruised ribs, minor burns here and there that shouldn't scar, a badly twisted ankle, and a head wound just above her temple – Suki told her where she could get clean and then left. Sleemo followed the Kyoshi Warrior, leaving Flo alone again.

The fifteen year old limped to the bathroom and cleaned herself up. When she was done with both that and fixing the bandages, Flo froze as she finally caught herself in the small mirror. She didn't recognize herself. Five years changed her drastically. She wasn't a baby-faced ten year old anymore. Her face had thinned out, and at first she didn't know if that was because of the lack of food or just the fact that she's gotten older. But as she noticed how easily her ribs were seen, she knew it was the lack of food. Her dark brown eyes had bags under them, and the bruises from the fight and the gash above her temple made her look older than she actually was. Her hair didn't stop at her chin anymore, nor did she have bangs that stopped just above her brows. It grew out, now stopping just at the lower part of her back.

She frowned deeply and quickly got dressed. She pulled on the beige, slightly loose pants first and then the thin earth green tunic. She put the small, leather made belt at her waist and tugged on the dark brown boots and put on the forearm guards and fingerless loves. She refrained from putting on the dark cloak just yet and instead left the bathroom, finding her bow and arrow and the small dagger that was usually sheathed on her belt. Once she set the cloak with her bow and arrow, she grabbed the dagger and went back to the bathroom. It was time for a haircut.

***

A/N— So this is Flo! She's very reserved and quiet, and doesn't exactly know how to socialize very well but in the actual first chapter, she'll be less awkward with people because it's set three weeks after this. And, yes, she was apart of Jet's little band of murderous kids at one point, and that'll be explained in more detail later on.

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