Fire and Wind: Initiation

Seng didn't want to believe what she was hearing, or even what she was seeing. Her mind starkly rejected the mere notion that this teenager, this girl barely out of prepubescence, could be the little sister that she left behind all those years ago solely to protect.

No, this couldn't possibly be her Kaya. Because the wide-eyed girl who barely ever had a bad thing to say about anyone would never join a group like this. She would never throw it all away and leave everything behind to fight the Fire Nation with tactics more commonly seen from the barbaric tribes wandering the Si Wong desert because if she did… If she did it would mean that everything Seng did in the first place, abandoning her family and home just to protect them, was completely meaningless.

She still hasn't responded to the girl's question and her odd behavior was clearly being noticed. Kaya’s dark eyebrows scrunched together and the left side of her mouth twitched downwards before her right. The motion was familiar and it sent a painful thrum through Seng’s heart as she recognized it.

“Is something wrong?” She asked, leaning down as if to try and look Seng in the eyes.

Panicking slightly, Seng took a step back, roughly pulling her hold down to obscure a bit more of her face as she shook her head, “N-No. I'm fine. You just… remind me of one.someone.”

Kaya laughed in relief and the sound almost made Seng flinch, “Oh, okay! Sorry if I’m disturbing you. I know I can be a little annoying but I’m just so excited!”

“It’s not a bad thing to be excited.” Seng muttered, “Showing your emotions is just human. It’s one of the things that differentiate us from the animals we eat.”

Her words reached Kaya’s ears and the girl immediately paused, staring at Seng like she was seeing her for the first time and the airbender cursed internally as she realized what she had just said. She used to give her siblings advice like that all the time as she taught them how to hunt. It wasn’t a far shot to say that Kaya probably recognized it from one of her lessons.

Seng played it cool, tilting her head in mock confusion as Kaya stepped closer, “What is it?” She asked, deepening her voice to throw the girl off of her scent.

“You seem familiar too…” Kaya asked, eying her with intense interest. Blue orbs bore into grey, separated by a thin veil of darkness, “Do I know you from somewhere?”

“Probably. I travel around a lot so it isn’t impossible that we’ve crossed paths once or twice.” Seng deflected, before gesturing up above, “We should probably be paying attention to this though. We can introduce ourselves later.”

Kaya blinked, “Oh, right!” She turned back towards the stage that she had somehow forgotten about, giving the speaker her rapt attention instead of Seng herself. The airbender’s eyes dug into the back of her head for a long moment before she too faced the stage, trying to put her chaotic thoughts in order.

Her face was calm but questions whirled through her mind at a dizzying pace as she tried to unravel the mystery of her sister’s appearance here. Why was Kaya in Omashu, hundreds of miles away from home and seeking to join an open rebellion? Was she alone? Where was the rest of their family? Were they here too? Were they safe? Seng’s body burned with the questions and the protective instinct that she thought she left behind with her family. She wanted nothing more than to grab Kaya by the shoulders and drag her out of this mess that she had wandered into and take her back home but she stayed her hand. She was missing too many pieces of the puzzle.

The airbender took a deep breath, calming her rampant thoughts and roiling chi. The man on the stage was giving some preachy speech about nationalism and loyalty and fighting an impossible enemy because the children of the Earth Kingdom don't surrender. It was suicidal dogma that would lead everyone here to their deaths but the crowd is eating it up, she can tell. Even her sister.

“...But before you can join the true children of the earth, you must first prove your commitment to the cause!” He called to them, revealing what Seng had already suspected. This wasn’t the resistance, not yet. This was just the interview process. The question was, what did he expect them to do in order to prove themselves? Seng half expected him to demand them all to cut a finger off or get some secret tattoo to join their little club which, if that was the case, would have her grabbing her sister and leaving this place as soon as physically possible, Azula be damned.

Lucky, she didn't need to worry about missing limbs or additional scars. Mostly because what the man was about to suggest was far worse.

“All of you no doubt know about our efforts to right the burning blight that plagues Omashu.” Said the man, gesturing to the walls around them as if something was there other than the dark stone of the cavern, “Those pompous Fire Nation nobles think they own us just because their banners fly in our city, but time and time again we have shown them just how wrong they are. And now you will too.”

Seng listened with rapt attention as the man went on to explain how resistance scouts had been wandering all around the city through their tunnels, watching and listening for any and all opportunities to strike back at their oppressors. She had never heard of earthbenders being stealthy before but it was clear to her that these guys didn’t fancy themselves as regular soldiers. The way they acted and operated was more akin to rebel guerrillas, so there was probably a different method to their madness. How else could they have possibly managed to kill and kidnap so many people despite the patrols wandering all across Omashu’s streets?

‘By conscripting their new recruits to do their dirty work, apparently.’ Seng thought darkly as she listened to the commander detail the absurd task that would get them in good with the resistance. Kidnapping a noble from his home and bringing him back alive.

Listening to the commander talk about the man, it was clear that he wasn’t a good person and had it coming for a long time, at least in the commander's humble opinion. They wouldn’t be alone at the very least, as they were being assigned a couple of actual resistance members to assist them in their task, but the fact remained that the resistance was relying on inexperienced conscripts to do their dirty work. They must have known about the chances of failure that inherently came with such a mission and didn’t want to commit too many of their resources. Seng would bet all the gold on Azula’s ship that they would all be abandoned the moment things went sideways, leaving them to catch the heat.

Azula had given Seng permission to do whatever it took to join the resistance and find out where their main hideout was, and she had used those words exactly. Seng didn't imagine that helping the resistance kidnap yet another noble was in the card but then again it was Azula so that wasn't exactly farfetched. It wasn't like she could just go and ask for permission either way.

Seng glanced at Kaya, noting that the excitement on the girl’s face had shifted drastically as she learned of the task they would be performing. Her protective instincts, long since snuffed out from so long spent away, flared up once again.

She didn’t know what Kaya was doing to her or why in the world she was with the resistance, but she’d do her best to make sure she’d live to regret her decision. And hopefully slap some sense into her once she got the chance.

{— Later That Night, Upper Omashu —}

Seng was no stranger to sneaking around at night. In fact, she’d say that she was an expert at it by now. Her companions… were not. At least one of them anyway.

Seng turned to glare at the man behind her as he once again kicked a stone tile across the roof, sending it skittering towards the edge where it stopped just short of falling below and exposing them all. The man, Shu, gave her an apologetic glance as he shuffled uncertainly. Seng held her glare for a long moment before grunting and turning away and continuing to crouch-walk along the roof.

It was windy this high up and the chill of the night had long since seeped through her cloak and tunic and into her skin itself, but that wasn’t the reason she was in such a foul mood right now. She was angry because, for whatever reason, the ‘veteran’ organizing this operation decided that it would be a good idea to split their forces into two distinct groups, one to assault the home and grab their quarry, and the other to keep a lookout for any patrols.

Seng could see the rationale behind it, of course. She would have given anything to have someone watching her back on a few of her more dangerous heists when she was a thief, and this operation was nothing if not dangerous, but she still didn't like the fact that it separated her from her sister. If Kaya got caught, there was no telling what would happen to her. It wasn’t like Azula had any clue who she was and even if she did, Seng honestly doubted she would be treated differently from any other rebel.

They needed to get this done quickly and quietly to minimize chances that they'd be caught. Luckily, Seng wasn't the only one wih that thought.

“Alright,” The resistance veteran, a man named Yuan Li, turned to them as they reached a vantage point overlooking their target, “We need to do this fast and quietly. In and out, no lollygagging, and absolutely no bending from either of you.”

“How are we going to get in?” Shu asked. Yuan Li motioned them closer, pointing at the house.

Seng saw what he was gesturing to immediately. A window had been left open on the top floor facibg in their direction. There was a greenhouse directly underneath it, perfectly situated for them to use as a platform up.

Seng was surprised that anyone would sleep with a window open in the midst of an active rebellion but rich people usually weren't the smartest. Besides, it wasn't like a closed window would stop anyone from breaking in if they really wanted to. Spirits knew it never stopped her.

Yuan Li turned to face her, “You're the smallest and probably lightest out of all of us so you'll be in the lead. Keep an eye out for any servants or guards once we're inside..one stray glance could mess up this whole operation.”

The man was oddly professional and sounded like he knew what he was talking about. Probably ex-military if she had to guess. Taking his advice, the Airbender took point.

Shrouded in darkness, the three of them approached the house, sticking to the shadows and out of sight. Seng's dark clothes and cloak obscured her well as she kept an eye out for anyone watching them. Shu’s fumbling footsteps nearly gave them away as a patrol passed them by but they managed to get inside the house without any other complications.

Without the light of the stars above, it was pitch black inside the house, even darker than outside. Seng was used to not being able to see where she was going thanks to years of trekking through the wilderness and Yuan Li didn't seem out of his element either. Shu though…

Seng and Yuan Li turned around as a heavy thud sounded from behind, watching as the man groped blindly in the darkness. Sighing, Seng reached out and grabbed him tightly by his bicep, hissing in his ear, “Stay. Still.”

“I can't see!”

“You have to wait for your eyes to adjust. Moving around blindly is just going to get us caught. Stay still and keep your eyes open.”

Thankfully, Shu was much better at listening than he was at sneaking. The man went still, allowing his body's natural processes to catch up to his surroundings as Seng stepped back.

Yuan Li glanced at her as she stepped in front of him, “You've done this before, haven't you?”

“Not like this.” Seng said plainly. Juan Li nodded, accepting her words without any judgment, before motioning forward, “Let's go. The master bedroom is usually on the other side. These people like a window with the view so they can see how badly they're destroying our city.”

Seng led the way through the house, using the skills she had learned over the years to skulk through the home in silence. Her footsteps didn’t even creak the wood under her feet as she distributed her weight perfectly, gliding over the floor like there was nothing but air under her feet. Eventually, they came to their destination, a door like all the rest they had passed but one which hopefully held their quarry inside.

Yuan Li halted them with a gesture and made a motion with his hand, ushering them backwards. Once they were out of the way, he opened the door with a silent cream, revealing the black within, before stepping into the darkness.

“Should we follow him?” Whispered Shu, but Seng shook her head, listening to the quiet creaking of the house in the wind, and waiting.

A moment later, there was a gasp, and then a muffled scream accompanied by the grinding of rocks shifting against each other unnaturally. Shu jumped but Senv stayed completely still, eyes focused on the darkness of the room beyond as footsteps approached.

Yuan Li appeared from the shadows, hefting a body in his shoulders. It was an old man, arms and legs bound in stone cuffs with a fabric gag in his mouth. He looked weak. Aged to dust by time. It was clear that the binds were absolutely unnecessary and borderline abusive, but Seng stayed her tongue, knowing that this was neither the time nor the place to speak such opinions.

“Let's go.” Said Yuan Li, already a step ahead of Seng and Shu. They followed after him, sneaking back through the house the way they came.

“I was expecting a lot more fighting.” Shu whispered as they crept along, “This was so easy…”

“It usually is when they can't fight back.” Seng said, earning a glance from Yuan Li.

Despite her words, Seng actually agreed with him. She was surprised at just how easy this all was. They had a Fire Nation noble in their hands and it was as easy to grab him as it would have been to lift one of his paintings off the wall to sell to the highest bidder. Where were the guards? Did they have literally any defenses against this exact thing from happening apart from the guards on the street outside? If this was how they protected the nobility in Omashu, then she wasn't surprised in the slightest that things were so awful.

They were almost out when something nearly went awry. Shu, living up to his secretly-given title of ‘least stealthy person to ever exist’ let out a cough that wouldn't be too difficult to hear from all the way downstairs. It was so loud in fact, that it almost masked the horrified gasp that came from less than a foot behind Seng.

The airbender turned and locked gazes with a pair of horrified eyes peering out from a nearby doorway. It was a young servant girl, either sleeping or cleaning when they happened to pass through. Her expression was horrified as she watched them kidnap her employer and Seng could tell that she was about to make another sound, one that won't be quite so easy to mask with an ill-timed cough.

Quick as a whip, Seng pressed a finger to her lips, eyes glinting like sharpener blades in the night. Slowly the airbender shook her head, doing her best doing her best to impart through action alone that the woman absolutely did not want to make a sound right now, before gesturing for her to close the door. The girl stared at Seng, glancing between her and the kidnappers who were well ahead of her by now, before slowly slipping back inside the room and shutting the door without another sound.

‘Smart girl.’ Seng thought, before running to catch up with the other two before they notice that she was even missing. If Yuan Li had noticed that the maid was there, there was no telling what he might do to her. He might have killed her or just clamped her up and taken her with them, which for all Seng knew could be a fate worse than death. She’d do better to just stay quiet and pretend she didn't notice anything when the guards showed up tomorrow morning.

Getting out of the area was a lot harder than getting in thanks to the extra body they were hauling with them, but they managed and soon enough they were back down in the tunnels below the city.

“I can't believe it was that easy! I was looking forward to kicking some Fire Nation butt!”

Somehow Seng ended up walking right next to Kaya and the girl was clearly unhappy that their mission was as successful as it had been. Seng glanced at her, taking in her unhappy expression and twitching fingers, and frowned.

“Aren’t you a little young to want to fight the Fire Nation? Can you even bend in a combat sense?”

Kaya smiled sunnily, “I can! I've been practicing fighting with my waterbending for years. Ever since my sister disappeared…”

Seng twitched at the mention, looking away from the girl as her expression became downcast once more, “I see… My condolences.”

“She isn't dead.” Kaya said confidently, “She's just hiding. When the Fire Nation is gone and this war is over, we can both go back home and be a family again. I just have to find her.”

Both? Did Kaya run away? Is that why she was all the way in Omashu? Seng wanted so badly to reveal herself just then, to tell Kaya that her sister was right here and that she wasn't going anywhere, but she knew that would be foolish. As long as she had this collar around her neck, as long as the Avatar was alive and her deal with Azula stood as they had spoken it, she would never be able to go back home.

She swallowed her feelings and desires, locking them up right in her heart and throwing away the key, and when she spoke next, her voice was calm and almost monotone, devoid of all of the desires that she had thrown away.

“I wish you the best of luck.”