Acts of Betrayal

Silence seemed to stretch on for what seemed like an eternity. In the hot desert sun, silence grew. Silence found its way and rooted its way into everyone then.Then it came.

"Why are you still here?"

The sound came out harsh, and for all intents and purposes, he had meant for it to be. She was to blame, she wasn't by his side, she had betrayed them, both him and his uncle.

And now-

Now Iroh was on the ground, barely breathing.But she was standing there."I want to help" Came the honest reply from Azira."Haven't you done enough?" He spat out.

Azira was no stranger to the fury of Zuko. He shared the same fury that his family did. But she had a fury, fury that had been hers. Hers and her mother before hers. Hers and her grandmother's.

So Azra did not back down."We need to get him out of the sun or we will lose him."Zuko nearly snarled at her words, hands curling into fists. But Azira was a waterbender. And she was a healer. She had helped patch him up a number of times, back when they had been friends.

"Fine" He bit out. "I'Il take his arms-

"I'll get his legs."

Together, and with great effort, the two of them were able to hoist the unconscious Firebending Master into their arms and carry him towards one of the more untouched homes of the abandoned village.Upon laying Iroh down in the hut, Azira immediately felt his forehead. "He's burning up.

"I'll get water.

Without another word, Zuko retreated from the hut quickly. Azira was left alone with ghosts of her pasts and the unconscious man who had been more of a father to her than her own.The simple fact of the matter was that she could feel and sense the blood pulsating and pumping Iroh's heart. A lot of it happened to be building up in the shoulder. Azra swallowed dryly--

With the full moon approaching, going to be that very night, she was more than terrified of herself. Of what she was capable of.But if she could just-

Azira gently placed a hand on the burned shoulder. She felt the tug and the pull, like an ocean current within Iroh. And so she let the current win. She let it move. And when he did, his breathing steadied.

Zuko returned, nearly slamming the door open as he set down a pail of water. They worked in silence, Azira occasionally giving him a word or two, and then back to silence.

She began to work on the burn, using the water as a healing point.And then Zuko was the one to wrap up the burn wound. Monotonous, in silence, but feeling all too wrong.Finally, when the sweat on her brow was nearly dripping, Azira sat back against the wall of the hut.

"That's it? Why isn't he awake?" Zuko demanded.Azira piqued an eyebrow and scoffed, almost too tired to deal with Zuko's attitude. "He was blasted in short range by your psycho little sister with lightning, fell unconscious, has heat stroke, and had a buildup of blood. What do you think?"

For what seemed like the first time in his life, Zuko was speechless. "Oh" he finally said. "Oh is right:." Azira huffed.

Silence again.

Then the awkward. "So you learned healing?"

"Well with you burning me, it seemed important to learn-"

"That was an accident-"

"So you keep saying." Azira snapped. "Doesn't change the facts."Zuko crossed his arms, keeping his distance from the girl. "When do you think he'll wake up?"

She gave a shrug. "it's hard to tell. He could be out for a few more minutes. Could be a few more hours."

"The minute he wakes up and he's fine

l'm gone. Trust me."

"It's a little hard to do that, considering that you betrayed me." Zuko soured, glare deepening. "The only reason I accepted your help is because I wouldn't have known-"

"What to do without me? Yeah, I'm seeing that" Azira said stiffly.Silence again, accompanied by the beating heat and the sound of crickets chirping. Azira leaned her head back, wondering how in the world she had ever decided to stay back and help.

If there was one thing that Azira was absolutely certain of, it was that Zuko was her blind spot. She had considered

them friends. And now, seeing his reaction-she was starting to think that maybe he had considered her a friend too.

"I didn't want to hurt you, she finally croaked out."So you keep saying. Doesn't change the facts." Zuko echoed.

"No, it doesn't" Azira murmured softly. "But it doesn't change how I feel about it, either."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was several more hours before Iroh started to stir. Zuko hurried forward, peering over his uncle. Iroh's eyes began to open and Zuko let out a sigh of relief."Uncle, you were unconscious" Zuko said. "Azula did this to you. A surprise attack" he helped his uncle into a sitting position.

Iroh glanced sideways, eyes landing on Azira standing near the door. He suspected she would still be here. There was no way a lightning wound would be at this amount of pain without a waterbender present.

"Not so surprising" Iroh finally spoke.

Zuko reached down, grabbing a cup of steaming tea that he had brewed."l hope I made it the way that you like it" He said, handing it to Iroh.

Iroh gratefully accepted the cup, took one sip, and then locked eyes with Azira. She gave a shrug; both she and Iroh knew that she was the better tea-making student when it came to her and Zuko."Mm, good, Iroh said stiffly. "That was very.bracing" He finally settled on the word. He turned his sights on Azira again. "Thank you for your help."

For the first time in what seemed like a long time, Azira's stone cold features seemed to soften. "of course, Iroh. Your wound should heal soon."

"I imagine it would not be this painless without you."

"No, I imagine not" Azira said, then gazed outside. "I should go. I'm sure I'll run into you both again. But I've had enough of reunions for today"

"Azira-" Iroh started.

"Just let her go, uncle." Zuko insisted. "She chose her side."

Noting the hurt look in Azira's eyes, Iroh just gave a nod. He wasn't so sure that she had. He watched as the Fire Nation girl, and waterbender, turned tail and walked away. Again.At some point, he hoped his nephew would understand her. Because they needed each other. They just needed to see that in the way that he saw it.To be perfectly honest, Azira wasn't sure where her friends would go after that.

Somewhere with a lot of stone and rocks seemed to be an optimal opportunity for Aang to learn Earthbending-

But there was a lot of desert between here and that.If she remembered correctly, and she suspected that she did, Ba Sing Se was to the North, just beyond the Serpent's Pass. She wasn't completely certain that was where they were heading, but given the fact that she kept on finding some of Appa's fur every now and then, she suspected that she was on the right track.

Still-

Right track meant days of desert travel. And she was completely on her own, no weapons. Just a canteen of water and some food she had scavenged before leaving the village.It wasn't much. But she had done much more with much less.

She did it once, she could do it again.

Night had almost fallen and Azira was more grateful than ever that she was in the desert-completely and totally by herself.At the sight of the full moon above her, Azra wanted nothing more than to throw up. Because for the first time in her life-the full moon was silent.

She could hear no blood coursing in her ears-she could not feel the pumping and beating hearts in people's chest.

She did not feel the crave of power. Power was the kiss of death. This she knew, this she would never forget.The hunger for power was the most surprising part of the night.The way that her actual physical hunger became pangs of withdrawal for blood-

Azira curled up in a fetal position on the sand, winces tearing from her throat. She could feel her own blood and heart-almost desperate for some sort of control to exert.It was strange, but the full moons she had spent with the others-they were easier to endure. With Sokka's incessant talking, Aang's steady presence, Katara's calm nature-she felt safe around them.

She knew that she wouldn't hurt them. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she did.But herself? It was as if the habits from when she were a child were making manifest in spite of her loneliness.

"l am not afraid. I am not afraid." Azira chanted this over and over and over again to herself.She shoved her eyes shut, put her hands over her ears and she tried to block out the alluring power of the moon.Because once she went there, she could never go back

The sensation of every single lizard creeping on the sand, every single thing that had life and a pulse and breathed for miles-

She felt it all.

And in the back of her mind, she could hear Hama laughing.

"I told you, little girl. You're just like me! Just like me-"

Azira tore her eyes open, staring wide at the moon with a guttural expression and tears streaming down her face."Please, please, please-"

A brilliant light seemed to fill the air and when she blinked-

It was Yue, floating above her in the air. She descended down in front of Azira before Azira could even speak, hands gently drying at the tears on her face.

"Why do you call to me?" Yue's voice seemed silvery, like a whisper or a siren-song.

"l can't-the pull of power, it's too strong. I'm a-a monster." Azira sobbed out, refusing to look Yue in the eye.Yue gently lifted Azira's head, warmth seeping from her gaze. "The moon does not call to you in darkness. Hama does. My light is that of good. Of hope. Do you remember that?"

Azira inhaled sharply at the thought. And like a candle being lit in her, she could feel it within her. "I do."

A smile spread across Yue's features. "Go to the Serpent's Pass. And do not give in to your darkness anymore. You are a light" When the light faded, a determined look was on Azira's features. And though it was the middle of the night and she was exhausted, though she was weak and tired-Azira felt a sense of determination.

She had somewhere to be.