The Guider Effect ☼ Zuko || ATLA

~Zuko

     It had felt like years since Kireina ran away from Azula but in reality it had only been about three weeks. She spent the first week hiding out in the forest's of the Earth Kingdom, foraging food and stockpiling it. Her second week was spent walking along the shores in search of a boat she could steal, to which she was successful. Although, she felt horrible towards the kind family she robbed.

     Rein needed to get to the North Pole, there was no fighting the feeling of urgency in the depths of her heart. She felt like she was strapped for time even though she had nowhere she needed to be. The pit of anxiousness grew deeper and deeper in her stomach, making every day an exhausting one.

     It was day five of Kireina's journey by sea and she felt absolutely disgusting. The salty air made her body dry and sticky, her hair was a greasy mop atop her head and her skin burned from the rays of sun that shined on her, leaving her no shade to escape. Every other hour she propelled the small steel dinghy through the ocean using her bending until she grew weary. The poor girl had never felt so uncomfortable.

     The bender slowly drifted into Northern Water Tribe territory. Large bergs of ice and snow loomed over her, temporarily relieving her from the scorching orange orb in the sky. Out of nowhere, her heart began to beat excessively and she could sense her body being pulled northeast.

     As if she lost control over her movements, she changed her course and began traveling eastward. With every ounce of energy she had left in her being, she thrusted her hand behind her and bended the boat through the choppy water. The large white wall of ice began peaking over the horizon, sending Rein's heart into overdrive. She craved land to walk on and to stretch her limbs out after nearly a week on being cramped on a five and a half foot dinghy.

     The blue sky began to turn a deep grey and ash started falling all around her.

     "Fire Nation." She whispered to herself, her voice cracking since she hadn't spoken out loud for quite some time. Within seconds, the enormous fleet of ships entered her vision and the scene unfolded. It was war. Fire balls flew through the air and she could faintly make out Appa soaring above the wall. Rein continued in the direction her gut was urging her to go, trying her best to stay out of sight knowing well that Zhao was on one of the ships.

     Dusk was rapidly approaching, leaving Kireina with merely minutes of daylight before she would be traveling blindly in the dark. Rounding a bend, she was faced with a single ship floating solo between two large icebergs. She recognized it as Zuko's vessel, her second home.

     Iroh stood at the bow, watching his nephew row away towards land oblivious to the fact that Rein was only twenty feet away. A gust of wind caused his grey hair to shift and he whipped around to spot Kireina, or at least what looked like her. She looked severely malnourished and her skin was multiple shades darker from the last time he saw her. It seemed she could barely hold herself up but nonetheless, a smile graced her face when she met his eyes.