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muffinlance · 1 year

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Fellow Prisoner Li, Part 6: Bloodbender (Positive)

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“When the moon rises,” Hama spoke softly, as they guarded the door of the inn.

Katara eyed the sky above the trees. Evening was coming, but the sun would still be up when Tui fully rose. But it wasn’t night that gave them power: it was the moon. The moon, which wasn’t quite full anymore.

“You’re stronger than I ever was,” her waterbending master said, squeezing her wrist. “And we have to try.”

Fire Nation imprisonment was what they were bound for, if they didn’t try now. Katara had already stared into that fate, and broken its last survivors free.

She stretched out her fingers, slowly. Watched the Fire Nation princess, impatiently pacing across the clearing.

She’d do more than try.

* * *

“A spirit,” the princess repeated, pinching the bridge of her nose. “That kidnaps people. Every full moon.”

“Yes, princess,” one of the guards said. They’d just come from the town.

“Then find me his bones, if you must, but find him,” the princess snapped. She had no patience for this.

Katara would have as much patience as she needed. Just like Hama, in that prison.

Just like the moon, as it sang to her blood. Soon.

* * *

Soon.

* * *

“Princess, we found—”

“There was a cave, we’ve got more people seeing to the rest—”

“Bring him here,” the princess said, belying her own demand by stalking closer to the soldier who was carrying a limp form. Azula’s back was to the inn. The attention of the other soldiers was on the newcomers, and what they carried.

Now.

Azula stopped mid-stride. Jerked, like someone had pulled her strings taut. It took a moment for the soldiers to notice that something was wrong. Took them longer, to identify the source.

Katara didn’t need to stand to do this. She sat on the steps of the inn, and crooked her fingers, and made the princess spin towards her in a pirouette human muscles were not made for.

“Good,” Hama whispered, into her ear.

“You’re going to order them to let us go,” Katara said. “Or this will be the last thing you feel.”

It… looked horrible. Worse than when Hama had her practice, during the full moon, on the chicken-pig that was to be their dinner. They’d butchered it afterwards, and the master had shown her the way the blood vessels had burst and muscles torn where the soft flesh had twisted too hard against bone. Slow movements, Hama had said. Smooth. Like hanging a rag to drip, not like wringing it out.

Unless you want them down, she’d added, and turned her knife away from anatomy and towards making them a stew. Then as fast as you can.

The princess jerked in her hold, as much as she was able. Her torso was free, the soft organs and lungs and heart left alone. Her head, as well. Katara held her by arms and legs, as she’d been taught.

Don’t try for the head unless you want them dead. The brain has a lot of water.

“You dare,” the princess spat.

Katara looked at her. For the first time, she was not at all afraid of the Fire Nation.

“Order them,” she repeated.

“Princess—” said a solider. One of many who were uneasily shifting into stances ready for attack.

“Stand down,” the princess barked. “Let them leave. Kill them if they kill me.”

Katara stayed sitting on the steps, her fingers cramping, meeting the princess’ gaze with her own as Sokka worked to free Appa from the net. As Hama helped the elders into the saddle, one by one. As Sokka politely—Excuse me, I’ll just be taking that, thanks for the find—reclaimed Li.

She couldn’t see their firebender breathing, from here. But she could feel the blood in his veins. She could feel it all around, in every enemy and every friend, pounding against her head. Her fingers twitched involuntarily. The princess grit her teeth against a gasp.

“I’ll just be taking this, too,” Sokka said, scooping the princess up in the same bridal carry he’d just used for Li. “You can tell your Fire Lord to expect our ransom letter.”

“Sokka,” Katara said, between teeth clenched with strain. She couldn’t tell him I can’t do this much longer, because she didn’t know what would happen if the soldiers or princess heard. But she couldn’t, it was… it was too much, and everywhere, and she wasn’t sure for how much longer it would just be the princess.

Pulling water from plants had been easier. She hadn’t cared which ones had wilted.

“Katara,” Sokka said. “It’s free royal hostage.”

The princess went in the saddle. Hama helped Katara up, too. And then they were in the air, and—and she could let go. Relax. Let the only pulse she felt be her own.

She’d done it.

She was crying, and Hama was hugging her, and another elder on her other side was too, and the moon was high above them white and brilliant and she’d done it.

“You’re so strong,” Hama said, holding her tight. “Such a master you’ll make. You’ll never have anything to fear, my child. It’s the world that will fear you. Our beautiful, brave southern bloodbender.”

The princess sat in the back of the cramped saddle, rubbing slowly at her arms. She was watching Katara. Katara couldn’t read her expression, through the tears. And to be honest? She didn’t really care.

She’d done it, she’d done it, and she could have done so much worse.

If the princess didn’t recognize mercy when she saw it, it was only because she was still alive to disagree.

#Katara: this new skill is terrifying (positive)#Hama: if you’re the monster your enemies warn their children about then you’re doing it right (affirmative)#Meanwhile Aang sitting up on Appa’s head: I guess that was technically non-violent and I sure do support non-violence (edge-of-breakdown)#can't wait to learn that haha (breakdown intensifies)#One hundred years late #Aang regrets not paying more attention in Bending Ethics 101 #Fellow Prisoner Li #Avatar The Last Airbender #atla #Katara #Hama #bloodbending #is extremely useful #it's not its fault it's the powersaw of bending #respect your tools #(and clean the blood splatter off them when you're done)#chapter links will henceforth be to the AO3 posting because those are so much simpler than Tumblr ones

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