Guardian Twins 3

Chapter Three:  Encountering the Elf

Emerald green eyes hovered over the camp waiting for someone to wake.  The boy with the top knot seemed to be the alpha.  He's the one she would face.  She stayed awake all night and waited for sunrise.  
When it finally came and the men began to stir inside their tents she stood and so did her fur.  These were only humans, seeing a wolf guardian at full power might damage them.  The scared one and the old man were one thing, but the soldiers seemed weaker.
Her elfin form would have to do, besides, dying of shock was too easy, especially after what they did to her people.  She slid behind a rock wall and formed.  She didn't mind being an elf, but the she-wolf suited her well.  She watched and waited for the boy with the scar on his left eye to appear.  When he did, she sent him a telepathic image of where she would be; one of the perks of being a grandmaster in the element of air.  Afterward, she spun and disappeared.  She'd need a little prep time before the boy arrived.
Her old chamber, where she slept when the monks were still around, was dusty and unused.  Once the monks were gone she stopped going in there, she simply stayed in her wolf form and slept anywhere she liked.  
She opened her closet.  Only one uniform was left untouched by time, the air uniform made by the monks.  It was given to her after the last avatar was born.  A monk named Geioso presented it to her.  It was orange and wrapped around the chest and only came just above the naval, but it covered scars that only her husband had seen, and he had died long ago.  It was held up by one sleeve.
The bottoms were a pale orange and hugged her legs; it also had a see-through skirt, made of a very soft silk that had a slit up the sides.  It was comfortable and easy to move in.  She never wore shoes; they always got ripped up anyways.  Lying over the edge of her bed was the orange robe she was supposed to wear when the avatar was being appointed.  She draped it over her soft white shoulders.  
She brushed her normally messy hair with a fish bone, until her blond locks shined.  Her hair was usually cut short, but over the years she didn't bother with cutting it.  Now her hair was long enough to cover her knees, but because of how wavy her hair had become, it only covered to the top of her tail bone.  She took two pieces of her bangs on either side and tied them behind her head in a braid to cover up her pointed ears.
After she was dressed, she went to her favorite place in the southern air temple to wait for the young boy; a waterfall.  It used to be beautiful, full of life and water.  Unfortunately, shortly after the monks were gone, it too died.  There was no one to take care of it, and the firebenders have dammed it up in their raid.  Once the avatar was gone and the monks and the kids were murdered, she lost interest in it.  It seemed pointless to keep it going for one elf.  Even all the animals were either dead or had fled.
Just thinking back on it made a lump in her throat, sighing, she sat hard on a polished stone and waited impatiently for the alpha.
*~*~*~*~*~*
Zuko strolled out of the tent sleepily.  He walked absent mindedly passed his men.  "Prince Zuko!?" One of the grunts called, "Where are you going!?"  Zuko continued walking as if still in a dream.  Not hearing nor seeing anyone around him.  
Hearing the grunt's loud voice caused Iroh to stretch and yawn.  He bent backward until his back popped; he scratched his belly and smacked his lips.  When the grunts continued shouting at the unresponsive prince, he stood and opened his tent.  Zuko was walking in a random direction, or so it seemed.  Iroh plodded after his nephew.
"Prince Zuko?"  He questioned.  Zuko still stared blankly and didn't respond.  He simply sighed and followed him.  The soldiers looked at each other in complete bewilderment, but didn't pursue them.
When Zuko unknowingly lead his uncle to a dried up riverbed leading down to a waterfall, Iroh sighed again, "I am sure at one time, this was quite a wonderful view."
"You would be right," a woman's voice rang out.  She was sitting on a rock below them.  'Finally, I thought he'd never show up.  He brought the old man again, oh well.'
"We'll come down to you miss," Iroh called to her.  He kept eyeing his nephew, who seemed to have snapped out of his trance.
"That's alright, I'll come to you."She leapt up and ran to each stone, jumping each step, she was careful not to use the air currents.
"How did you get up here that quickly?  Are you an airbender?!" Zuko questioned immediately after she reached the top.
"Sugar, airbenders used currents of air to accelerate their movements.  I simply know my way around.  Now I have a question for you; AND I expect it to be answered with the same respect I answered you," she spoke softly, smiling.
Zuko and Iroh looked from her to each other.  They nodded suspiciously.  Her smile instantly faded and her voice changed to harsh tones.
"AFTER YOUR PEOPLE GENOCIDED A GREAT RACE, WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO COME POKING AROUND?!" She screamed, thrusting her finger into his chest.  "CAN'T YOU PEOPLE JUST LEAVE THEM ALONE?! OR DID YOU COME HERE TO DEFILE THEIR RESTING PLACE?!  WASN'T KILLING THEM ENOUGH FOR YOU?!"
Zuko blinked in shock and his mouth fell open for a moment.  The girl's face was full of the anger she had bottled up for years.  She barred her teeth at him, fighting the urge to let her fangs extend.  "WELL?" She exclaimed.
The prince tried to regain his composer by clearing his throat.  "We are looking for the Avatar," he told her, trying to sound dramatic.
"Well," she sighed looking disappointed, "join the club."
"You're looking for him, too?" Zuko questioned.
"You could say that.  So do you have a name or should I just start calling you scar?"
Zuko cleared his throat again, "I am Zuko, son of Ursa and Ohzi, crowned prince of the fire nation and heir-"
"Prince, huh?" she interrupted his well rehearsed introduction.  Unimpressed and uninterested, she walked to the edge of the dead waterfall.  Iroh sat on a flat stone, sighing as the word battle continued.
"What now?!" Zuko snapped.
"Come here, let me show you something."  Zuko did as she said and stood beside her.  "Do you see all of this, it used to be beautiful.  You could hear the birds sing and the lemurs chatter.  Down there the monks would bake the most wonderful pastries you've ever eaten.  And straight down there near the waterfall, the children would practice."  She turned and looked him in the eyes, "The children would practice.  The fire nation destroyed it all!  Even the animals and the children!  The fire nation is already on my hate list, being their prince doesn't help you any."
"Well, you're right there," Zuko sighed.
"What?"
"I was banished."
"For what, wanting to murder another race?"
"NO!" He snapped.
"You're right, that's would have made you-"
"I WAS TRYING TO PROTECT MY MEN!"
Iroh was genuinely surprised.  Zuko was opening right up to her.
"What?  From whom?"
"They were green soldiers; they would do anything to defend our nation.  Their general wanted to sacrifice them and I spoke out of turn during a war meeting.  Let's just say it didn't end well."
"Oh, how sad," she stepped toward him and touched him face softly, "is that how you got this?  Or was that after?"
"No," he started; not even trying to move her hand, "my father-"But the sound of the earth cracking under them stopped him short.  He jumped backward on full alert.
"Oh, it does that; weak rocks just being pushed around."  She stepped forward, but the whole cliff side gave way.  Zuko reached out and pulled her to safety just in time.
She gripped tightly to his uniform, stunned, but when she realized she immediately released and jumped away.  'He's warm.'  He grabbed her arm again, "Wait, you didn't tell me your name."
She smiled, "Kit, just call me Kit." 'Could he really be different? Is it possible he's not like the other firebenders that killed the monks?  I wonder if I stayed with him, if we could change the war.  He is looking for the avatar.  And they can't expect me to stay here forever, right?'