Title: Strange Candy: Bone, Blood, Water

Author: overlithe

Fandom: Avatar: the Last Airbender

Summary: Three creepy ficlets for Halloween. First story: Ummi was not unprepared for her encounter with Koh. Triple drabble.

Characters/Pairings: Ummi and Koh; references to Kuruk/Ummi

Prompt: fanfic100 prompt 081. How?

Word Count: 300

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and concepts created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, and owned by Nickelodeon and various other corporations/people. I only own the DVD sets and a copy of the art book, and I'm not making any money and do not intend any copyright or trademark infringement.

Author's Note: Many thanks to greedyslayer for going over this drabble for me.

Bone, Blood, Water

Water swirled around her, alien, struggled and claws tightened with a clack of bone on bone. I am Ummi of the Southern Water Tribe. I have learned the art of our ancest—Dark coils tightened around her, deeper, deeper, choking off thought. They spun through strange light, fog that stung her skin, stank of blood.

Her captor released her. Ummi sprang back, flesh and bones and lungs throbbing from where she'd tried to bend, and kick, and scream. She shook sticky vines off her face and was sure she saw eyes in the leaves, winking.

A face the colour of new ice turned towards her and in one shivery second she knew exactly where she was, who she was facing. Insect legs skittered on the ground and the Face-Stealer curled around her, big enough to block out even the ghostly light of this place, moving like a leopard-orca. It smelled of dust and stale air.

Do not move a muscle. Her heartbeats felt suddenly very loud in her chest. The Face-Stealer winked and a new face appeared, grey hair wafting in a ghost wind, dead eyes sunk in wrinkled flesh. Don't say anything. Don't say anything. 'What a pleasure to see you again,' the Face-Stealer said in a voice like a razor wrapped in rotting silk. She felt knotted thread unravel, carved bone crumble to dust—the protections Kuruk and Grandmother had given her, melting like smoke under a snow-ridden gale. Not a muscle. Even so, she felt her body tense.

'You, your bridegroom and I have… unfinished business,' the spirit said, and in a flash a new face appeared: a red grin, droopy eyes, comically huge cheeks.

She wouldn't shake. She wouldn't cry.

But before she could bite her tongue—

—she chuckled.

++The End++