Adult-FanFiction.org : Cartoons

Slow Heat	By : Spleef Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > General Views: 77367 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 24
- 25
- 26
Slow Heat

Chapter 25 – The Beach

Here's the next installment of Slow Heat, which covers episodes 3.16 and part of episode 3.17 of the show (with my own twists, of course)
Has anyone wondered what the hell Li and Lo have to do with the royal family? I found it interesting that the kids went to stay with them in the 'Beach' on the show. Before, I figured that they were nothing more than Azula's tutors. But it seems that with them hosting the royals and their friends, they're more than just tutors.
On the Nickelodeon site, it said that Azulon was the first-born of Sozin. So this and the Beach made me wonder. The most likely answer is that Li and Lo were probably Azulon's younger sisters and are thus royals themselves, and they ARE the right age, after all. Though I wonder why, if they were royals too, they weren't staying at the Royal Summer House, instead of their own little beach house with that horrible, tacky wallpaper. Just a thought.
As always, enjoy and let me know what you thought!

o0o0o9i
Three Weeks BSC
(Evening after Black Sun, Beginning of September, 1101)
Katara

After nearly half a day of riding Appa, we made our way back to the Western Air Temple, much dispirited and disheartened. No one had followed us, at least.
My heart felt heavy. We had been so close to the end! Granted, the Avatar was alive and unhurt, and as far as we knew, the world still believed him dead. But the Black Sun had been supposed to be our perfect window of opportunity. It had been so well-planned out! With the tactical knowledge of men like my father and Tyro, along with Zuko's knowledge of Sozun and its weak points, it was supposed to be the perfect strike. How carefully we had discussed different strategies and options!
I was barely aware of the stone I felt under my feet when I clambered off Appa. Haru climbed off and Bended a platform for Teo as Chit Sang lifted him – chair and all – onto the earth. My stomach rumbled hungrily, but we had no supplies. In our rush to get away, we had left behind our food and cookware.
And I remembered the wild strawberries that grew in the Temple gardens. At least we could eat, and we had plenty of water to wash ourselves with and drink.
For a couple of hours, we were all silent. We took account of what we had – Sokka grumbling loudly at the lack of food or cookware – while we tried to decide what to do next. A small army of men taking advantage of a Firebender's weakness was one thing, but a group that didn't even come to a dozen against the Fire Lord without Black Sun to help us was another thing altogether. We drank from the fountain and tried to settle ourselves.
I was about to suggest that we gather strawberries, so we could at least take our mind off the war, at least for a bit. An explosion caused the temple to shake. A couple more followed, though fortunately they weren't anywhere near us.
I realized that I had had that thought too soon when an airship emerged menacingly from the canyon mist. I couldn't believe it. They had found us. How? I had barely asked myself that when I saw two more of them penetrate the fog.
I looked up at the first ship and my insides turned to ice when I recognized Azula.
Another bomb came at us; this time with far deadlier accuracy. Aang was quick to act and effectively repelled it with an blast of air, causing it to explode harmlessly in the air. At this moment, all of us had already scrambled to our feet. Several more bombs destroyed parts of the temple, including a bridge that Zuko and I had crossed quite a few times to seek out privacy.
The roof above my head collapsed, but before I could be crushed, I felt a warm body fling itself at mine, and I found myself on the ground with Zuko over me. My heart skipped a beat as I looked up at him, feeling his own heart pound against mine.
“What are you doing!” I asked. At that moment, I hadn't realized that Zuko had just saved me.
“Keeping rocks from crushing you!” he replied firmly as he looked down at me. I looked down to hide my blush.
“Okay, I’m not crushed. You can get off me now.” I replied, already pushing him off.
“I’ll take that as a thank you.” I heard him mutter. As much as I wanted to simply enjoy his warmth and give him a heartfelt thanks, we had much more pressing matters at hand. With barely a backwards glance, I ran off, and I heard his footsteps behind me.
“We can escape through here!” Haru said as he grabbed my arm. I noticed a newly made tunnel in the rock wall where a lovely painting of air bison had been. I was a little sad at the loss of a painting, but I was certain that the spirits who still resided here would forgive us when we were just trying to escape the Fire Nation's attempt to eradicate us.

o0o0o0o
Zuko

I glanced at my sister coldly, hearing the grinding sounds of Haru and Toph Bending earth somewhere behind me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as she stood there regally, her eyes gleaming excitedly.
“You mean it’s not obvious yet?” She opened her arms in a cruel mockery of a loving gesture, “I’m about to celebrate becoming an only child!”
A long time ago, I would have been emotionally cut down from this. But now her words only served to sting a bit.
“We'll see about that.” I replied firmly.

o0o0o0o
Katara

Azula had to have seen the Airbending blast which saved us. She would know by now that Aang was alive. If not, good. But we would have to hide again, and I had an idea. I didn't want to see any more people hurt. I glanced at Haru and Teo.
“Azula's after the Avatar. She doesn't care about any of you. Go and hide!” I asked, pointing towards the tunnel.
“You're sure of this?” Teo asked. I nodded as I leaned down, placing my hands on his shoulders. He was such a nice boy, and I liked hanging around with him. And Teo, unlike Haru, had been comfortable around Zuko and Chit Sang. Chit Sang had even taken to helping Teo move his chair across the rockier places when he had wanted to explore the small island. I hated to be parted from them, but it had to be done.
“The temple's falling down around us. You have to get out now!”
“But what about you?” Haru asked, his eyes wide as he looked down at me.
“I... I'm staying with the Avatar. We need to finish this.” I let out a slow sigh.
“I understand.” This came from Chit Sang, and he looked at the others. “We'll wait a while and then try to find you again. Okay?”
“Be careful.”
“You can count on it, Katara.” He gave me a quick hug, and I responded. Then Haru came forward. His hug was a bit tighter and longer, and I had to gently push him away. I gave them a quick wave before I went back to Appa, seeing Chit Sang and his three companions escape into the darkness.

o0o0o0o

Zuko! Where was he? I couldn't stand the thought of losing him. He had battled with his sister spectacularly, and then he had fallen into the mist. I wanted to have Appa circle back and look for him, but then we'd just get bombed. Oh, Zuko... I remembered his plea for me to stay in Sozun with him when this was all over. I remembered his gentle words and loving caress. The way he freely shared his warmth with me...
I felt my eyes mist up with tears.
I heard an loud explosion, and then saw two bodies falling through the air.
“Zuko!” I cried out just as Appa veered sharply to fly under him. When my hand touched his, I grabbed hard and pulled him close. I didn't care if Sokka saw me. I was just so relieved he was alive. I could feel my nails digging into his back as I hugged him tightly, shivering slightly at the feel of his body and how solid he felt in my arms.

o0o0o0o
Zuko

For the first time in my life, I felt as if I were truly equal to my sister, perhaps even surpassing of her in Firebending. Even if it had ended in a stalemate, I still felt good.
I barely noticed Katara's nails in my back as I felt her hug me tightly. After several moments, I gently pulled away and quickly turned around to see what had become of my sister.
... Damnit. She truly had been born lucky.

o0o0o0o
Katara

After Zuko saw what happened to his sister, he turned back to me and settled down with a quiet sigh. I wanted to take his hand and hold it, but Sokka was watching us.
“That was pretty bad-ass of you, Zuko.” Sokka said in thinly veiled admiration and pride. Zuko chuckled softly. It was hard to not appreciate the fact that those two were getting along well. Lately I had wondered if I could reveal the truth to Sokka – not the dirty details, of course – but the fact that Zuko and I liked one another more than just friends. Would he be happy to have the Fire Lord as a brother-in-law?
The sky was already overcast, and the darkening twilight sky was perfect because it meant that Appa could conceal himself. We rose into the clouds and Aang and I Bended it around us extra thick.
“I know where we can go where they'd never think to look for us. And it's perfect that you're headed in this direction.”
“Why?” Aang asked as he looked over his shoulder.
“It's the other way, but they won't know because if anyone saw us, they saw us head this way. And now we have the clouds.”
“Perfect! So, where's this place?”

o0o0o0o
Katara

“I guess you're right. Who would think we'd hide here of all places?” Aang asked. It was now raining softly, but he and Toph had to stay outside and Bend a hole into the mountainside and disguise it so that Appa could hide in this makeshift cave and be out of sight in case airships were used to search for us here. And just our luck that this courtyard was in front of the mountain. We could check on Appa any time we needed to.
“I know you don't like it. But it's the only way to keep you safe.” Aang said as he rubbed his bison under its chin.
“Don't worry. We'll make sure you can come outside and play. But we have to check the skies first, okay?” I walked over to Aang and gave Appa some attention too, cooing at him. “But I know you're tired. We all are.” Calling today 'big' was an understatement to say the least. All of us were tired, and emotionally wrung out. We had faced a bitter defeat and run away from it like cowards. If Dad was here he would be scolding me to not think like that, but I couldn't help but feel that way.
“Get some sleep. We all need it.” Aang murmured. With barely a soft grunt, Appa flopped down, resting his head on his paws and closing his eyes.
I turned away from everyone else to gaze at the large building that surrounded us. We had landed in its courtyard and we had not even seen the front of the house, what did the Summer Palace look like?
“There should be some things in storage here, Blankets and mattresses. Extra clothes, cookware, weapons. Maybe even some preserves, though I think it/d be best to buy food in town. There's even a private hot spring and a cool stream on the property, so we're good as far as water goes.” Zuko explained as he approached the door, trying to open it. It was locked, but a precise kick from Zuko remedied that. Everything we needed here? A luxurious hiding place? No wonder this was a vacation island, from what he had told me. Of course, this wasn't meant to be a vacation for us...
We searched most of the rooms, Aang and Zuko making small flames in their hands to light our way. Eventually we came to the upstairs grand hall, which led into a chamber that split off into two halls. One led to the upper east wing of the palace, the other to the upper west.
“Why don't we split up and come back here to decide what to do and where to sleep? I'll go this way with Katara, and the rest of you can go the other way.” Aang said as he started off for the eastern wing. I stiffened and glanced over at Zuko. Before either of us could say anything, Sokka shrugged.
“Sounds fine. I'm tired anyway.” He headed in the other direction. Toph had a small smile on her face, and I realized that she was looking forward to a opportunity to be alone with Sokka, at least kind of.
“Sokka, I have such a hard time seeing on wooden floors.” She held out her hand in his direction. Zuko was closer, so he took her hand.
“I'm here.” Zuko said as he grasped her hand gently. She let him hold it, but I had seen the flicker of disappointment.
“Zuko, you need to concentrate on the flame.” I commented, “Sokka can follow you and help Toph.” I gave him a quick but meaningful glance.
“Oh, you're right. Here.” He guided Toph over to Sokka, and I could tell by the faint glimmer of her smile – visible even in the darkness that surrounded the flames Zuko and Aang had made – that she was grateful for what I had done.
“I'll see you in a bit, guys.” I said softly, giving Zuko a slight wave. He smiled faintly and waved back.
I marveled at what I saw. Even dusty and neglected, this place still had a quiet majesty. What was a real vacation like here? Frolicking on the beach, sitting on the veranda, doing whatever else rich and idle people did here. I was eager to explore the island, but that definitely could wait until tomorrow. At this point, I was fighting yawns that came more and more frequently.
“Looks pretty fancy up here.” Aang said as we peeked into a room. There were several rooms like this, and with their size and uniformity, they must be for the royal children or other relatives, so the Fire Lord could have the opposite wing for himself and whatever concubines he favored. If these rooms on this wing were so nice – I saw four-poster beds and heavy pieces of ornate furniture wherever I lifted the dust covers – then what must the master suite look like? What did the rooms at the Imperial Palace in Sozun look like?
I let out a huge yawn. It had to be at least past midnight. Even sleeping on the floor sounded good to me. I wanted to plop down on the next bed I came to, even if they were all draped in thick and heavy sheets.
“Aang.” I murmured. “I don't care about seeing more rooms. We can explore tomorrow.” I let out another yawn as he turned around to look at me. He didn't look much better than I felt, and I was happy when he didn't offer any protest.
When the others met up with us, I noted with satisfaction that Sokka was still holding Toph's hand. It was so cute!
“This place is like I remember.” Zuko said, “I think right now it's best that we just sleep in one room. We're all tired and I don't think any of us want to bother with dragging out all the extra mattresses or blankets or whatever.”
Two of the mattresses – more like futons, really – were dragged out, and I honestly didn't give a damn that they were lumpy from being folded up. We decided to sleep in the main room on the second floor. Toph and me flopped down on one while the boys settled onto the other. I don't think it even took a minute for any of us to fall asleep. And that night, my sleep was dreamless.

o0o0o0o
Two Weeks, Six Days BSC
Zuko
When I woke up, I almost didn't know where I was. I was on a lumpy mattress, in a dusty room. My body felt sore. I heard quiet snoring come from my left side, and rolled over. It was a small (but rather unpleasant) shock to see the Avatar right next to me, his body leaned against mine as he slept. Sokka was on his other side, splayed out and snoring. I quickly sat up. I saw Katara sleeping on the other mat alone. Toph? Where was she? I lay quietly for a few minutes, figuring she might be going to the bathroom. After a while, she still didn't come back and I couldn't help but wonder if Fire Nation soldiers were outside waiting to snatch us. It was still very early in the morning, and I calculated that we had gotten maybe... four hours of sleep.
I crawled over to Katara's mat and climbed on it. I most certainly didn't want the Avatar cuddled up against me!
“Katara.” I whispered, jiggling her gently. It took several tries, but she finally stirred awake.
“... Zu?” she murmured. I smiled to myself.
“Where's Toph?”
“She couldn't sleep up here. She said she'd feel better sleeping outside on the earth. She's probably near Appa.”
“Oh, good.” I sighed in relief. I climbed off the mat and walked to the shutters at the front of the house, peeking through them. There was nothing odd on the beach. I moved to the windows on the other side of the house, making sure to check in each direction. When I looked through a window that looked down at the courtyard, I saw Toph's little rock-tent. And in the shadows of overhanging rock, Appa slept quietly. If my sister knew where we were, she'd have attacked us already, when we were exhausted.
Hopefully Agni would continue to smile down on us.
I decided to go back to sleep on Katara's mat. There was more than enough room for both of us, and if I was asked, I'd just blame Aang. But dear Agni, it was so hard to not reach out for her and cuddle. She was barely a foot away from me, and I couldn't spoon against her and share my warmth with her. It was one thing to be seen on the same mat, but another to be caught snuggling with Katara. I concentrated on how tired and sore I felt, doing whatever I could to take my mind off the sleeping Waterbender next to me.
Someone or something was poking me. I muttered and rolled over, feeling something warm come up against my chest as I settled down. But then I was poked again, and raised my hand to wave whatever it was away while cuddling into that warmth.
“Zuko!” I heard Aang's voice and held back a curse as I opened my eyes. I found Katara's pretty little face mere inches from mine, and would have kissed it if it wasn't for the presence of this bothersome child. Her breasts were pressed against me, and I realized that that was the warm thing I had felt before. Memories flashed through my mind of playing with and kissing these breasts, even rubbing my scar against them and hearing her soft coo of pleasure.
Annoyedly, I rolled over, staring at the dark-haired kid that seemed to be hovering over me. He didn't look happy. See if I care, I thought to myself.
“What were you doing with Katara? Where's Toph?”
“Outside.” I muttered. “Sleeping. Wanted to be on earth. Go away.” I rolled over again.
“That's your excuse for snuggling with Katara?” I heard the disapproval in his tone. I was already in a pissy mood due to yesterday's events and then being woken up by this brat. I wasn't going to let myself be scolded by this barely pubescent Avatar!
“I don't need to explain myself to a little kid.” I growled. “Especially one that was snuggling with me when I woke up this morning!”
“... What?”
“That's right. I woke up around sunrise and there you were, cuddled up against me! And I don't appreciate you poking me!” I rolled over again, presenting my back to him, though I was careful to not snuggle against Katara – as hard as it was not to.
“We've all had a long night. Go back to sleep, or go away.”
“... Okay.”

o0o0o0o
Katara

After a long night – and morning's – sleep, we were all feeling better. Zuko was right, there were extra clothes here, both for royals and servants. By noon, we were all dressed in 'new' clothing and perfectly disguised as Fire Nation kids here for vacation. Because of the money that I had managed to save, we could buy the food we needed. I could feel Aang's eyes on me as I covered Zuko's scar and wrapped a bandage around it. I had cut the strips of fabric from a old servant's outfit, so the wrapping looked more like what a rich kid on vacation would have – and it matched Zuko's outfit too! His shaggy hair had grown long enough to be pulled back, but I wasn't sure if having his hair pulled back would make his features more recognizable, so Zuko and I talked about it a bit and decided to just leave it down. I smiled as I rumpled his hair, and he chuckled softly as he looked up at me with his uncovered eye.
“Come on, let's go!” Aang glared at us impatiently. The patience that I had held for him at the Black Cliffs was gone. I remember waking up to find that Zuko had rolled up against me, with Aang poking him. It was such a odd thing to wake up to, and I know I'd never forget that.
“Give it a rest.” I replied shortly as I checked his bandage one last time to make sure it was secured. It was harsher than I had intended, and I saw a flash of hurt in Aang's eyes. But before I could apologize, Zuko stood up.
“Ember Island's always been busy this time of the year from what I remember, though I don't know if things might be different this time because of the war. Still, there shouldn't be any problems. Fruit is cheap here because of how easily it grows, so we should be fine with the food budget, this property has several fruit trees so we can save the money for rice and meat.” he explained to us. We had agreed that Zuko was the (sort of) de facto leader when it came to exploring the island.
To leave the house without using the front door, Toph had made a tunnel. We emerged from the ground in a secluded area, and I could see the resort town in the distance. It looked so pretty and clean, the buildings and houses far nicer than what I usually saw in towns. It was so small that it almost looked like someone's private compound! But it did look fairly busy, with a decent amount of people – and a lot of youths on top of that.
“One of us buying a lot of supplies would rouse suspicion. So Katara, why don't you give everyone some money?” Zuko asked as he turned towards me. I nodded and pulled some coins out of my bag, this was what was left of Toph swindling these con artists before.
“Be sure to buy some treats too. Fire flakes or candy, or some pepper-cake. It'll help to make us look like vacationers.” Zuko explained as he started walking. We all fell into step, and I sidled up to his side.
“I've never heard of cake with pepper in it.” I said as I glanced up at him curiously. It was hard to imagine someone grinding peppercorns or cutting up hot-flavored vegetables to put in a sweet cake.
“It's not made with that much sugar. Just a bit. It's really more of a snack or something to go with a meal than dessert. The story is that a couple of hundred years ago someone was making volcano-cake, and got a couple of ingredients mixed up. After they saw what had happened, they tried it again, adding pepper and a couple of other spices. But trust me, it's really good.”
“Volcano-cake?” I asked. So many Fire Nation foods had such exotic or spicy names!
“It's a special treat usually made for couples, betrothed or married. The man and woman share one cake, and with the chocolate frosting on the outside, it looks like a volcano. Some chefs will even add red frosting to look like lava.”
I couldn't help but imagine Zuko and myself sharing a cake, and blushed just a bit. Was Zuko thinking the same thing?
Shopping in the marketplace was uneventful, even though we all kept alert for danger. I was at one stall, looking at the various vegetables displayed there and wondering what I should buy. Much of it was new to me, having been in Fire Nation only for a couple of months and some of that at the Air Temple.
“Hey.” I heard a familiar voice, and turned around to see Zuko. I smiled a little before I glanced at what was in his hands in curiosity. It was wrapped up in white paper and was round, about as big as a circle formed by Zuko's hands touching, thumb to thumb, fingertip to fingertip. “I got us some pepper-cake to share.”
“Ooh, great.” I smiled. Zuko glanced at the vegetables and effortlessly chose some of them. I didn't argue as I paid form them. I knew Zuko would tell me about the fruit later, and let the vendor bag it all up for us. Zuko hoisted it across his shoulder and handed the cake to me.
“What a gentleman you are.” I gave him a brilliant smile. He grinned back, and we strolled along the street until we came to what was a park area, with a few benches and a fountain surrounded by palm trees. We sat down, and I opened up the wrapping. The smell of spice wafted up to my nose, and I cooed as I realized that the cake had been made fresh. It was still a little warm!
“So... how do I eat this?” I asked.
:”With your hands. It's popular on picnics and other outdoor activities.” he explained. I nodded and broke off a chunk with my hand and popped it into my mouth. I was almost overwhelmed by the flavor and wished I had taken a smaller bite! I let out a small whimper as I quickly swallowed it. I tried another piece, considerably smaller, and found the taste to be very spicy but pleasant. The crust was reddish-orange on the outside, and a light orange-tinted golden color inside. The next piece I broke off, I offered to Zuko. He smiled and leaned his head down, snatching it from my fingers with his lips.
We laughed and relaxed, sharing the little cake and enjoying the beauty of Ember Island. No one paid us any attention. I did notice that most of the people milling around the market or park in rich silk clothing were teenagers, with a few older women. The servants – I assumed that from their plainer and more utilitarian clothing – were more widely varied in age.
Were nobles sending their kids here to hide them from the War? I liked the peace of this beautiful island, but I also knew that hiding from reality wasn't healthy. The Earth King had been sheltered for so long by Long Feng and his cronies, look at what had happened to him. He was a sweet guy, but naive. What did these kids think of the War? Had they ever been touched by it? Did they stop to question the history of the war, or consider its consequences on everyone? I had seen the propaganda in Fire Nation towns, and wondered if any Fire Nation citizen wondered about how much of the truth was in the posters and fliers sent around?
Before I knew it, there was just a piece of the cake left on the paper, enough for one bite. Since Zuko had bought it and treated me to it, I figured I'd let him have it. I waved at the piece and shrugged. He took it, but instead of eating it, he offered it to me. I grinned and took it with my teeth.
“What are you doing?” I heard an all-too-familiar voice ask, and had to stop myself from acting too surprised or embarrassed as Aang approached us, a bag of rice under one arm.

o0o0o0o
Zuko

Figures, I thought darkly as I glanced over at the Avatar.
“I was just giving her a piece of pepper-cake.” I replied firmly. After what had happened this morning, I had decided to be firm about what I was doing with Katara. I wouldn't tell him we were together, but I wasn't going to make any excuses or try to 'cover' myself.
“With your hand?” he asked, raising his eyebrow at me.
“So?” I shrugged. “There's no law against feeding people. I see you got rice. Where's Sokka and Toph?”
“I... uh. I guess they're still shopping around. Sokka wanted some meat.” He wrinkled his nose in distaste. I had to admit, I understood where he was coming from. Once, after one of our Firebending sessions, I had asked him about his aversion to meat, and he had explained the Air Monk's belief in living in peace with the universe and respecting the lives of others. I didn't stop eating meat altogether, though I had been thinking about what he said and my eating habits, and how the nobility regarded meat. When I was little and we had feasts or other grand occasions, meat was piled high on the tables. Now I felt sick thinking about it. I still ate some meat, but not as much as before.
“Well then, let's go find them. We already bought fruit and vegetables. And I found some spices.” I explained as I rose from my seat. I didn't know much about cooking, but I had bought a few basic spices. Salt, pepper, sugar, and a couple of other things that were easy to cook with. The vendor had glanced at me curiously as I examined the spices at his stall, but when I had said that it was for a party, he shrugged and smiled. Apparently, teens buying supplies for parties was the norm here.
Katara rose with me, and we stalked forward to find Sokka and Toph, the Avatar trailing behind us sulkily.
“What are you pouting for?” Katara asked playfully, trying to make light of the situation.
“Nothing.” he muttered. We shot a quick glance at one another before looking forward, and I heard Katara sigh softly.

o0o0o0o
Katara

When we got home, eating was the first thing on all our minds. We had no supper or breakfast, and my stomach was growling. I gathered the supplies from everyone and went out into the courtyard to cook. I'd explore the kitchen later, but for so long we had been cooking over campfires and what not. I was so used to it, and almost mindlessly I divided up the supplies, deciding what to use for now and what to put away for later.
“Can I help you cook?” Aang asked, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Considering what happened this afternoon, it would be unwise to continue to 'favor' Zuko.
“Sure.” I replied cheerily, and was relieved to see him smile.

o0o0o0o
Zuko

The evening went by peacefully. We sat around the fire and talked about what we would do next in regards to ending the War. Now it was up to the five of us to take down the Fire Lord. An daunting task indeed, and one which required much thought. But we would not give up.
I found myself wandering the halls of the house, thinking to myself and letting my mind wander where it would. The others were relaxing or sparring, and I was glad to be alone. I walked into the large front room, losing myself in the light and shadows created by the pillars in the twilight sun that filtered in through the shutters. I remembered playing in this room when I was little and it had been raining outside.
Mother had always been a good playmate, and so was Uncle and Lu Ten. My father... he wasn't much for playing with either me or Azula. I let out a low sigh as I stood there, slowly turning around and taking in my surroundings and savoring the bittersweet memories.
My eyes widened as I saw the portrait of my family, and I slowly approached it. I remembered posing for the picture, feeling my father's hand on my shoulder and seeing Azula sit there so primly. I felt my heart beating within my chest as I stared at it for several long moments.
With an angry grunt, I slammed my fist into the picture, setting it ablaze.
- 24
- 25
- 26
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Slow Heat