No one knows where the dragons came from. Some people say they came from Agni. Another theory is that they came from a world beyond our own, the Spirit World, and increased their numbers here. Some other schools of thought say that they came from the sun on a ray of purest light, and when that ray struck the earth, a dragon was born. Still others think that dragons were born in the depths of the world and came to the surface through volcanoes.

All anyone knows is that they've always been there as long as anyone can remember. It was they and their fiery breath that gave rise to an entire bending discipline. It was then that they earned their spot in the legends. Many children considered themselves well and truly gypped if their bedtime story didn't include at least one dragon, preferably more. And the only thing better than a story about a dragon was a story with a Dragora on the dragon's back.

It was a well-established fact that dragons vastly preferred a woman's touch to a man's, though men had been known to ride dragons. However, a man had never achieved what a Dragora had, the Sankole, the Dragon Bond. It was a bond so intimate that the Dragora were said to be able to read their dragon's thoughts. It was a stressful thing though, and many Dragora went grey during the bonding. Some of the more crass individuals thought the bond was a sexual thing, but in fact it was an intimacy that could only be obtained through the knowledge of one another's thoughts.

Dragora were not born special. Nothing marked a girl as a Dragora from birth. It happened when she stumbled upon a dragon who, for whatever reason, her personality, her intelligence, her determination, her situation, just something, liked her. But once the girl agreed to the Sankole, there was no going back, they were together to the end, reading each other's thoughts until the day they died.

This was probably why Dragora most commonly served as soldiers, peace-keepers, and warriors. Dragons amassed knowledge like a king amassed allies. Much of that knowledge was martial or philosophical. The Dragora learned from her mount and many became warrior-monks. Because of that, many great Dragora had been elevated to something like the Avatar in legends, mastering many disciplines. In fact, many were non-benders, and that didn't change after the Sankole. Those who were benders benefited greatly from their dragon's knowledge of their element, but they didn't gain control over other elements. It was sad that many thought the dragons no more than unthinking beasts, an exotic means to get from point A to point B.

Of course, it could only be so long before someone saw the opportunity the Dragora presented and took advantage of their power. It was Fire Lord Sozin who began travelling; enlisting the aid of many Dragora under the guise of needing extra forces to help quash a rebellion. When they discovered his true goals, many Dragora left in disgust. Others stayed for a variety of reasons, national pride for some Firebenders, disdain or hatred of another bending discipline in some cases. Some stayed behind, seeing that the war was inevitable, hoping they could end it quickly and with minimal bloodshed, some even resorting to assassination to try and achieve their goals. They were always found out and severely punished.

Sozin lived, his war happened, the Avatar vanished, and the Dragora faded from the grand figures of justice they had once been to the rare, mystical thugs of the Fire Nation. Those that left early on fought against the Fire Nation. Many Dragora and dragons died in the battles, and dragons retreated into hiding in an effort to keep from being dragged into the war. In the end the Fire Nation was left with five Dragora.

A figure stood on top of a high plateau of ice, blue eyes staring out over the ocean. Ice floes bobbed and drifted on the surface, occasionally smacking into the more solidly anchored glaciers and breaking. Jagged edges lanced into the air, harsh angles producing some of the most rugged terrain in the world. The scene was only a few degrees colder than the girl's eyes. They drilled into the sky, staring intently across the water to the thin needle of blue light piercing the sky clouds above it. Dry, musty air raced past her, nothing but a gentle ripple now, and she inhaled deeply.

"Something old is free," she said softly. The ground beneath her feet rumbled, but she seemed remarkably unperturbed. The shaking was explained as a massive beast, all muscle, scales, and claws, made its way up the steep incline to reach the girl. Its scales were as many shades of blue as you could think of, from sky blue and almost white on the back, to deepest blue underneath the muzzle and throat.

"Sangilak," she said, calmly placing a hand on the dragon's side. It hummed, muscles loosening in relaxation as she wormed her fingers between the scales and scratched the almost scalding skin beneath.

"The Avatar awakes," said a deep, powerful voice in her mind.

"Hiding frozen beneath the sea," she mused. "Ingenious, if one can survive."

"And he can. Things are shifting Kyuri. The world groans under my feet."

"Times are changing," Kyuri agreed. "But we are exempt."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Often the people who play the biggest parts are the ones who try to stay away."

"I will stay away," Kyuri swore, and she meant it. She meant it right up until the day after that when the black snow fell from the sky.

Kyuri knelt and plunged her hand into the snow, coming up with a handful. Snow dripped from her hands, a grayish sludge that smelled vaguely of coal. She threw it to the side in disgust, wiping her hands on her leggings.

"The Fire Nation has returned," Kyuri said as she watched the tainted snow fall thicker. Smoke from the Fire Nation ships floated into the atmosphere, was absorbed into the snow, and fell back, spreading their evil influence across the land. "If they hadn't, I would have been content to stay away."

"But now your pride will not allow it," Sangilak said into her mind.

"My pride," Kyuri said with a humorless smile. "Yes, I have no shortage of that. Come, Sang, we're going."

"I knew we would eventually."

Kyuri turned sharply and slipped inside a wide ice tunnel. Reflections of her, turned short or tall by the angle of the ice, flickered around her, surrounded by the flashing scales of Sangilak as he walked beside her. The tunnel opened up soon into a high cavern. A hot spring burbled in one corner, steam rising thickly into the air. Kyuri ignored the one luxury she possessed and made directly for a trunk made of bones and skins of various arctic animals. Reaching inside, she pulled out a few layers of clothes and donned them quickly. She fastened several buckles, sheathes dotting her body, soon filled with various weaponry, both from the Water Tribe and not, that Sangilak had accumulated knowledge over and trained her in.

Sangilak had once been called Hao, and before had another Dragora, a woman from the Fire Nation named Yoshio. They were a pair that fled from Sozin when they found out his true motives. They came to the arctic in hopes that he wouldn't pursue them and that Sangilak's coloring would blend in with the natural scenery. The cold had been Yoshio's death, but many of her personal effects remained behind when Sangilak found Kyuri in the snow, more than half dead, and dragged her back to the cave. Many of the weapons Kyuri was now strapping on belonged to her predecessor.

"You are heavily armed."

"I am overly paranoid," Kyuri corrected. A deep rumble came from Sangilak's chest. Many would have called it ominous, threatening even, but in actuality it was the dragon's version of laughing, something not many people besides a Dragora would know.

Perhaps the most likely reason the Dragora were more myth than fact in the minds of the people was their secretive nature. The details of the Sankole were unknown, the way they communicated was unknown, the way they trained was unknown, the traditions and practices of the Dragora as a whole were unknown.

One of the many things people glassed over was that traditionally a Dragora was supposed to hide her face with makeup when she went somewhere public with her dragon. It kept her from being recognized if she went somewhere alone. The patterns and colors were up to the individual, but the face should be at least partially covered. In all honesty it was a throwback to the time when women went with their faces covered in veils, highly impractical for fighting, and as women gained power many abandoned the practice. Kyuri was one who had not.

She crossed the room and knelt in front of a particularly reflective patch of ice, one that didn't distort her features in the least. She dipped her fingers into a small jar of blue face paint, the same kind used by the warriors of the Southern Tribe, and began sketching a design onto her face. She covered her eyelids and up to her eyebrows, sweeping paint around to her ears. Wide triangles jutted from under her eyes onto her cheekbones. Spikes extended from the paint by her temples and narrowed down to her chin on either side. It was the same design Yoshio had used, only Yoshio's had been red. For Kyuri, it was a gesture of respect, even though it was one only she and Sangilak understood.

"Done prettying yourself?"

"Hush," Kyuri rebuked. Sangilak had always laughed at her for following the tradition. It was one he found silly, even though both his Dragora had followed it.

Kyuri crossed to a pair of saddlebags she kept packed with fresh provisions for emergencies. She picked them up, testing their weight and contemplating for a moment whether to take them.

"You fear we won't return." Kyuri didn't have to respond, Sangilak knew the answer.

"I'm being silly," Kyuri said, shaking her head at herself. "We will protect the village then return here to live in peace."

"A pretty thought, but we both know you see things through to the end."

"Sometimes it's quite annoying how well you know me," Kyuri said with a huff of air, a gesture rather childish for her.

"One day we will return, I assure you. But better safe than sorry, in the words of a human."

Kyuri agreed with Sangilak. She was nothing if not prepared, part of the reason she was taking so many weapons with her, so she carried the bags to Sangilak and secured them around his legs in the same way a human would wear a pack. Sangilak lowered himself to the ground and Kyuri seized one of the spikes on his back, pulling herself up and settling between them. Sangilak lumbered out through the tunnel into the open air. Kyuri took a deep breath of the chilled air and recalled the days when she was afraid of heights. She had gotten over the quickly. Her fears were much more sensible now. Falling was far more terrifying than heights, after all.

"Into the sky?" Kyuri questioned, beginning their own little tradition before they took off.

"To win or die," Sangilak completed, then launched himself into the air. His wings beat powerfully on either side of her legs, but Kyuri kept her seat, the product of years of balancing. She was capable of riding Sangilak from everywhere except his wings. Once, they had attempted, but he had been pulled sideways into a glacier. It was then that Kyuri discovered a dazed dragon staggering around drunkenly is the funniest sight on earth. Sangilak had almost roasted her for laughing.

They reached the village quickly, both a product of distance and Sangilak's speed. Kyuri held Sangilak back, observing the scene below and forming a plan of attack. There were only seven soldiers, but that was formidable seeing the only people left were the women and children. Kyuri's lips curved into a smile as she watched Sokka, a teenage boy now, seemingly the only one in the village, lunge at the leader. He was determined, possessing what was politely called a 'warrior's heart' and what Kyuri referred to as pure idiocy. Those that charged into battle foolishly against an enemy with no plan and no chance simply for the fact that they could deserved what they got, and Sokka was promptly and humiliatingly defeated. While Kyuri admired his desire to protect his village, he was plainly outclassed.

Clang.

Ah. But apparently he was very accurate with a boomerang. She had never been very good with those.

However, now Sokka was faced with an annoyed opponent, many times stronger than he, and a bender, as shown by the flames coiling around his fists. They dove for the fight, hoping to stop it before the Water Tribe boy was hurt, and they weren't the only ones. The Fire Nation leader went flying as a young Airbender boy riding a penguin of all things slammed into his knees and laid him out flat. There was a loud crash as Sangilak landed on the wall of the village. There was not space amongst the tents, so Sangilak decided to take out the wall.

Their arrival caused more of a stir than the Airbender boy's. Apparently they knew him. Kyuri's existence, however, they were completely ignorant of.

"Kyuri!"

She had forgotten something. Sokka was there, so that meant Katara was too, and Katara would undoubtedly recognize her, no matter how much she had changed.

Katara was standing amongst the villagers, staring stunned at the dragon that resembled a glacier come to life, and the Dragora on its back. The body was taller and thinner, a woman's now instead of a child's. The face had changed from round and pudgy to sharp and angular. Black hair hung in jagged layers around her face, the rest pulled into a ponytail, the top part a bun and the rest trailing down her back. It was a changed person, but a person she knew nonetheless, a person she had believed dead.

Katara and Kyuri had been fierce friends when they were little, despite the fact that Kyuri was older by two years. It was always, 'You'll never guess what Katara and Kyuri did the other day.' Then came the day of the raid. Katara lost her mother, Kyuri lost both her parents. She came into their hut to find them both dead on the ground, her father's spear sticking out of his chest and a Fire Nation soldier standing over them. He struck, and she ran screaming into the tundra, staggering around until the cold and blood-loss overcame her. When Kyuri woke up, she was faced with an icy cave and an equally icy dragon.

"Katara," Kyuri acknowledged.

"No way," Sokka blinked.

"Are you looking for me?" the Airbender boy, the Avatar, asked.

"You're the Airbender?" the Fire Nation leader asked. "You're the Avatar?"

"Aang?" Katara blinked.

"No way," Sokka repeated.

"This village is under my protection," Kyuri said, dropping to the ground in a crouch and straightening slowly.

"I want the Avatar, and then I'll be gone," the leader said, and Kyuri finally got a good look at him. Her head cocked in surprise. While the spiked helmet and armor gave him an imposing, indomitable appearance, behind that he was only as old as she, with gold eyes and a wicked burn scar over the left side of his face.

"Perhaps you misheard," Kyuri said calmly. Her arms crossed and she drew two katana from behind her shoulders. "This village is under my protection. You'll note the boy is in the village. Ergo, he is under my protection."

He gave her a dismissive look and turned to the Aang, who was looking between Kyuri and Sangilak curiously. The boy began to circle, Aang keeping his distance from him.

"I've spent years training and meditating, preparing for this, and you're just a child."

"You're just a teenager," Aang pointed out. The teen attacked with a snarl, sending fire streaming towards the boy, who quickly twirled his staff and diffused it. Kyuri leapt, rolling across the ground and taking out one of the soldiers blocking her path by swinging her leg into the back of his. He crumpled and she braced her hands, propelling herself into the air, flipping once, and landing directly in front of the Fire Nation leader.

"You don't seem to understand," she said, and behind her, Sangilak growled, lunging forwards and placing his feet on three of the soldiers, pinning them to the ground. "Leave, or I will force you."

"Out of my way!" the boy roared. Kyuri raised an eyebrow. "Fine."

He punched, fire trailing from his palm and Kyuri flipped to the side, her legs coming up and hooking his arm, forcing it to the side. She came back up inside his guard and swept her fist sideways through the air, aiming for his temple. He blocked. A fist came in hard for her kidney, but Kyuri dropped into a split, the fist flying over her head. She rolled onto her back, a leg flying up and hitting behind his knees. He dropped and Kyuri propelled herself to her feet. She raised her leg, preparing for a kick.

"Stop!"

They both froze, the boy with an arm cocked for a punch and Kyuri balancing easily on one leg, the other partially extended. Blue and gold eyes went to scared grey, watching the scene nervously and looking back at the villagers periodically.

"If I go with you, will you leave these people alone?" Aang asked. Kyuri's opponent nodded.

"You don't have to do this," Kyuri cautioned.

"Yes I do," the small boy nodded.

"You do this willingly?"

"Yeah."

Kyuri relaxed her stance, resuming her normal pose with her hands clasped behind her back. "Then I withdraw. You are free to take him," she added to the boy on the ground. He got to his feet and shot her a furious look, but was more focused on the Avatar as his soldiers cuffed him. He turned to his ship, soldiers following with the shackled Aang.

"Aang, no!" Katara called desperately. "You don't have to do this!"

"I'll be okay," Aang assured her. "Just watch out for Appa for me."

"Set a course for the Fire Nation," he barked. "I'm going home."

The gangplank raised and the party was concealed, ice cracking and falling into the frigid water with a splash as the ship withdrew and chugged back out to open sea. The villagers watched it go, looking both relieved and worried. When the ship was no longer in sight, attention turned to the next order of the day, their surprise guard.

"Kyuri," Katara said, edging forwards slowly towards the stoic girl. "Is… is that really you?"

Kyuri dipped her head sharply in acknowledgement, eyes watching the horizon. She jerked and gasped as Katara ran at her and tackled her into the snow in a fierce hug. Kyuri lay there stiffly, allowing herself to be hugged as Katara muttered into her shoulder, "Oh, I'm so glad to see you, we thought you were dead, and you're a Dragora and oh my gosh you're alive."

"Katara," Kyuri said slowly, cheeks pink. "Could you please get off me?"

Katara slowly let go and sat back on her heels. She watched in confusion as Kyuri rose to her feet, brushing snow off her back. The Kyuri she remembered was cheerful, always playing pranks, and frequently got them in more trouble than she had ever imagined possible. This Kyuri was stiff, formal, restrained. Everything about her spoke of rigid control. Her face was carefully blank. The paint made her look ferocious, like some sort of primal spirit.

"Are you okay?" Katara asked slowly. "You're… different."

"I am," Kyuri admitted, eyes flicking to Sangilak. "Things have changed since we last met Katara. You don't know me anymore."

Katara recoiled as if struck, feeling hurt. She didn't know her anymore? It was true, but Kyuri had once been one to lie through her teeth if it meant not offending people. Had becoming a Dragora changed her so much? Once, Katara had dreamed of becoming one. Now it seemed more a curse than anything else.

"Kyuri," Sokka said, coming forwards and hugging her tightly. While he and she had never been as close as Kyuri and Katara, they had been good friends. It was Sokka who had attempted to teach her to throw a boomerang accurately. He had failed dismally, but it was the thought that counted.

"Please let go of me," Kyuri said. Sokka stepped back, looking at her carefully.

"You really are different," he said. Kyuri nodded.

"A decade is more than enough time to change a person's outlook," she said, and stepped to the side, placing a hand on Sangilak's head and scratching under his chin absently.

"Miss?"

Kyuri looked down sharply to see a small girl tugging at her hem. Compared to the other villagers, Kyuri's dress was outlandish. She wore a bodysuit of black fabric covering her from her wrists to her ankles with a high mandarin collar. Tight black leather boots ran to her knees. Red plates tied on with equally blood-colored ribbon armored her shoulders, elbows, and knees, another plate covering her stomach and upper thighs, tied in place with a red sash. Her forearms were covered in metal bracers.

"What?" Kyuri asked the child. The little girl looked at her with big blue eyes.

"Is that your dragon?"

"Dragons don't have owners," Kyuri said. The girl lowered her eyes.

"Oh. But he won't hurt us, right?"

Kyuri's stony expression softened momentarily. "No, he won't."

"Good!" the little girl squealed, hugging her about the knees and then rushing back off to her mother.

"We have to go after him," Katara said suddenly. "Aang gave himself up to defend this village, we can't let the Fire Nation have him!"

"You are correct," Kyuri agreed. "We, all of us, owe the boy. I will join you. I do have one question though. What's an 'Appa?'"

A low groan echoed over a snow drift and a lumbering shape wandered over. It was a sky bison, complete with horns and the arrow on its head.

"Mode of transport?" Katara suggested, looking at the bison. It was already saddled, with reins wrapped tightly around its horns.

"You love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't you?" Sokka asked. "Fine, give me a minute to get some supplies."

"No need," said Gran-Gran, appearing behind them. In her arms were two rolled sleeping bags and a pack of food. "You two children brought Aang here, and that brought us hope. Katara, you discovered him for a reason. I believe your destinies are linked. Sokka, be nice to your sister."

"Okay," Sokka grouched, taking the bags from his grandmother. Katara hugged her and exchanged a tearful farewell. Kyuri stood to the side and watched clinically as Katara and Sokka mounted the giant bison.

"Beware child, you will need to be brave in this mission," Gran-Gran said to Kyuri. Kyuri looked at her sharply.

"Do you think I can't be?"

"I think that true bravery is about a willingness to show emotional need."

"I like her," Sangilak said in her mind.

"Hush," she hissed back silently.

"One ought to hold on to one's heart, for if one lets it go, one soon loses control of the head too," Kyuri replied coldly. Gran-Gran shook her head sadly.

"You've turned into a cynic, child," she said wearily.

"I have turned into a realist," Kyuri corrected. She seized one of Sangilak's spines and pulled herself into the rider's seat. "May the moon shine brightly upon you," she said in a traditional Water Tribe blessing, pressing her pointer and middle fingers to the center of her forehead and tracing a crescent.

"And may the waves rock smoothly beneath your boat," Gran-Gran completed, mimicking the movement and looking mildly surprised. It was an old, out-of-date custom that no one in the village really used anymore.

Kyuri leaned forwards and Sangilak took the cue, launching into the air with a roar. Below them, Appa groaned and seemed to follow the dragon's cue, rising into the air beside them.

"The Fire Nation ships have a decent head start," Sokka called over the chilling wind roaring in their ears. "It may take some time to catch up to them."

"They don't know the landscape," Kyuri pointed out. "They will be skirting glaciers and moving slowly. We may catch up quickly."

"Kyuri, can I ask you something?" Katara called.

"You just did, but continue." Katara looked at her, not sure if she was joking or not, and saw her face was completely blank.

"What happened?" she asked. "I mean, why did you leave?"

Kyuri inhaled sharply. That was not something she had expected to come up within minutes of their reunion. But then again, she did owe the girl an explanation. She remembered fondly the days when they went penguin sledding and told ghost stories about the captured Fire Nation ship they were forbidden to approach. And, if the fireball the day before was any indication, Katara apparently had approached.

"I found my parents dead in our hut. I was attacked. I panicked. I ran." Kyuri said shortly. "I nearly died. Sangilak found me."

"I guessed that," Katara said. "But you could have come back after the raid was over. Why didn't you?"

Kyuri sighed. "Ghosts, Katara. The village is filled with ghosts." With that, she fell silent, sharp blue eyes scanning the horizon, completely aware of the fact that Sokka was looking at her nervously and Katara was examining her intently.

Katara couldn't believe it. The clumsy, loud-mouthed Kyuri, who blabbered as much as a tiger seal, was gone. She was replaced by a warrior with lithe muscles and hawk eyes, who economized words to the point of rudeness.

"There!" Sokka called, pointing to the smokestack of a ship just visible over a glacier. As they watched, two figures raced onto the bridge and one threw something. An orange glider sprang into being and the figure leapt onto it, soaring for a moment before the other leapt as well. The Fire Nation leader latched onto Aang's foot. Kyuri, experienced with the laws of the air, immediately understood that his weight was too much.

"Sang, dive!" she said sharply. Sang dove obediently and Kyuri's arm reached out for Aang. If she could get him onto Sangilak's back they were home free. No such luck, however. Her fingers curled around his collar, but it wasn't a tight enough grip. Aang's weight yanked her slightly off balance, and his falling glider hit her temple. Dazed, Kyuri slipped and fell beside Aang in a tangle of limbs, the crossed sword sheathes on her back pressing painfully into her shoulders. Groaning, she propelled herself to her feet, going immediately to Aang's side.

"On your feet, now, go," she commanded, hauling Aang upright. Sangilak landed behind him and Kyuri pulled the groggy boy towards him. Fire roared behind them but she ignored it. As she had expected, Sangilak lowered his neck, the fire breaking harmlessly against his scales.

"Hey, you're that girl," Aang said weakly.

Sangilak roared and Kyuri turned to see a soldier with a short dagger buried deeply in the gaps of one of his scales. Kyuri's eyes blazed and she immediately abandoned Aang, moving to Sangilak's side. The soldier yanked the dagger out and turned on her, swinging, but Kyuri raised her arms and crossed them, catching the blade between her two metal bracers, throwing it back and going for her swords all in one movement.

She drew them and faced down the soldier, who looked highly unnerved.

"You're… you're a…," he whispered.

"Dragora," Kyuri filled in with flaming eyes. "You harmed my dragon." She struck out with one blade and the man frantically parried it with his dagger, but he could see he was destined to lose as she came in with her other sword, stabbing into the flesh of his wrist. He dropped his dagger and the hilt of her sword slammed against his unarmed temple. He dropped like a stone and Kyuri turned to Sangilak, observing his wound.

"You can't keep killing people who offend you."

"He's not dead, just unconscious. He's lucky."

"Kyuri, I can fend for myself. I am a dragon."

Kyuri smiled and in a rare moment of affection replied, "Yes, but you're my dragon."

"Hmph."

"Hmph yourself, Sang."

A groan split the air and Kyuri looked up to see that Katara and Sokka had caught up.

"What is that?" demanded a voice and Sangilak lifted his head, turning his mouth towards the leader of the Fire Nation soldiers.

"Appa!" Aang called, hopping down from Sangilak. The man attacked then, and Kyuri made to go to Aang's side and help, but she was suddenly cut off by a large group of soldiers.

"You and your beast aren't going anywhere, girl," one of them growled, and Kyuri narrowed her eyes.

"I beg to differ. Move, fool."

"As if!"

Kyuri's blades hummed as they sliced through the air, deflecting the sword thrust that came at her and working at a spear with the other. She processed everything going on around her. Aang back on his heels at the edge of the boat, falling… The seven soldiers around her. Fighting them two at once was impractical, she didn't have that kind of time. Kyuri leapt suddenly and Sangilak flapped one wing, the burst of air flinging her forwards while he swung his tail at the other soldiers, knocking them to the ground. Kyuri crossed her arms and stowed her swords in the sheathes on her back and then raised her hands, turning her torso in a circle and then shoving forwards. Water spiraled around her before flying at the soldiers, washing them overboard.

Kyuri felt water slam into her back as she was shoved into Sangilak's massive body and looked over her shoulder to see Aang on the deck of the ship, water flying from around him and eyes and tattoos glowing. Her eyes widened.

"This is the power of the Avatar? It's incredible."

"Did you expect a charlatan, who merely pretends to bend multiple elements? The Avatar is the embodiment of spirits of those who came before."

"I know Sang, but… Is it really right for any human being to have such power?"

"It's not our place to decide such things. The spirits thought it was, and so the Avatar exists."

"I understand."

Aang swayed and Kyuri darted forwards, catching him as he fell to the deck below. Appa landed on the ship and Katara and Sokka raced forwards to Aang's side. Kyuri handed Aang over the care of Katara while she moved to the bow and grabbed the glider that had been lost during the fight.

A pale hand grabbed it and Kyuri's eyes flicked along the length of the arm and to a scarred face. Blue met gold, ice met fire, and there was a pause, so short it was almost undetectable, before Kyuri stretched out a hand for the boy dangling over the side of the ship. Hesitantly, he took it, and she pulled him on board.

"Why did yo-?"

He was cut off as a patch of water sitting on the deck rose up and bound him in ice to the rail, holding him firmly. Kyuri blinked dispassionately at his enraged expression before she ran to Sokka and Katara, tossing Aang his glider. Soldiers poured from belowdecks and Katara swung her hands half-heartedly, a dismal attempt to bend. The water behind her froze, trapping Sokka. Kyuri scowled and waved her hands, defrosting Sokka before correctly performing the move Katara meant to use. Katara gaped at her as she cross to Sangilak, swinging into the dip between spikes. Sangilak took off and Sokka called to her. Katara mounted Appa and they followed after Kyuri.

"Shoot them down!"

Kyuri's eyes slanted back but Aang was already moving, swinging his staff at the incoming fireball. It flew off course and slammed into the icy cliff next to them. Snow and ice groaned and shifting, pouring down onto the unlucky ship passing below. Those on Appa cheered and Kyuri shook her head.

"This was not a victory. Merely an escape."

"Let them have their moment. This is the bonding of friendships we are witnessing, quite a special thing. You do remember what friendship is right?" Sangilak added slyly. Kyuri glared at him.

"Yes, I remember. Just like you remember how friendship got Yoshio killed."

"That was harsh, Kyuri," Sangilak winced. "Sometimes I do wonder at just how cold you have become."

"I love you Sang, you know I do. But the fact is that I've grown unaccustomed to… well, other people in general. I have grown so used to it just being you and me that I don't know if I even remember how to interact with humans anymore."

"That is truly sad."

"Trust me, I'm aware. But Sangilak, I'm not sure I want to let anyone else in, least of all Katara. I know seeing how much I have changed would only unnerve her. I saw her reaction to me."

"Hmm, perhaps the Kyuri Katara knows is still present."

"If she is, she is probably buried far too deep to resurface easily."

"Kyuri, that was amazing!" Katara called across the gap from Appa. "I didn't know you could Waterbend, and you're so good at it!"

"Neither did I until just before I bonded with Sangilak. He taught me everything he knew, which was quite a lot."

"You know how to do actual moves!" Katara realized excitedly. "That's amazing! We don't even need to go to the North Pole, you could just teach Aang and I, and then we-"

"No," Kyuri said sharply. "I can't."

Silence came from the other animal as all eyes turned to Kyuri, surprised and in some cases offended by her sharp response.

"Oh," Katara said softly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to press."

Kyuri sighed. "Tradition says that a Dragora is not to teach any bending learned from her dragon. A dragon's knowledge of bending is sacred and shared only with its Dragora. I learned everything I know from Sangilak."

"Why just knowledge about bending?" Sokka demanded. "That's stupid."

Kyuri glared at him. "It's tradition. It goes back to the days when people would approach Dragora constantly. One incident in particular, in which a man took knowledge given to him by a Dragora and ended up nearly destroying half of the Earth Kingdom, was the cause. From then on Dragora were not allowed to share information on bending."

"Oh," Sokka blinked. "Well… This Dragora stuff sounds hard!"

"There are a lot of traditions involved, I guess," Katara shrugged. "It… seems like a pretty tight-lipped group."

"Indeed," Kyuri nodded. She saw Katara's crushed face and something inside her rose up, something almost like… guilt? "However…" she began hesitantly and Katara's head snapped up, looking at her interestedly. "Teaching other martial knowledge is not forbidden. If you so chose I could… teach you to fight with any number of weapons."

"Really?" Katara blinked. "I never really thought about using an actual weapon, I always just thought I'd rely on bending in a fight."

"That's foolish," Kyuri said bluntly. "To rely on only one form of defense is to court death."

"Hey!" Aang spoke up eagerly. "I know that saying! A monk from one of the Air Temples said that!"

Kyuri nodded. "There's a reason I usually only use bending in a fight to conserve time. In my opinion, learning to bend or use a weapon is useless if you can't defend yourself without them first."

"Why do you say that?" Sokka demanded. "If you can hit something with a boomerang, why do you need to know some fancy kicks?"

Kyuri looked at him. "Weapons can be lost, bending can be taken, but so long as you can stand on your own two feet, you can fight."

"You can't take someone's bending away!" Aang protested. Kyuri's lips twitched upwards slightly.

"Interesting theory." She hopped, shifting to the balls of her feet on Sang's back.

"What are you doing?" Sokka yelped before Kyuri sprang into the air and bridged the gap between the two animals. Appa groaned as Kyuri hit his back and rolled, stopping herself against the lip of the saddle. She moved to Aang's side and her hands blurred, striking three times in quick succession.

"Bend," she commanded.

"That hurt!" Aang protested, rubbing his shoulder tenderly and wincing.

"What's your problem?" Katara demanded.

"Bend," Kyuri repeated. Aang flicked his wrist, but nothing happened. He flicked it again, frowning, and then his eyes widened in horror. "It will return in a few minutes, don't worry. Understand me now? No offense to any of you, but you were hopelessly, helplessly outclassed in martial training by those soldiers."

"I have my staff!" Aang protested.

"And how many people can you kill with a stick?" Kyuri said bluntly. "Bending aside, Sokka and I are the only ones who would probably get out of a physical fight. If you want, I'll start training your tomorrow."

That said, Kyuri moved to the edge of the saddle and jumped off, Sangilak swooping low to catch her. It was silent.

"That was blunt Kyuri. You didn't have to terrify them."

"Sangilak, they're marching to war and you know it as well as I. Do you think they'd last long as is?"

"Honestly no, but they have more chance than you made out."

"Not much more chance. I want them fit for fighting. An injured compatriot makes for a lowered morale."

"They aren't an army Kyuri. They're three children."

"Who are marching to war, like I said. Sang, I love you and I respect your opinion, but they need to understand who and what they'll be facing and be prepared to fight them. It's not my style to tread lightly around serious things to spare feelings."

"Don't I know it."

So, first chapter. What do you think? Tell me in a review! i hope some of my reviewers have followed me from Amaya's series, and while I know it's pretty different, I hope you at least gave it a try. I've done something silly and cheerful, so now I'm trying something a little angstier.

ANNOUNCEMENT! I want drawings of Kyuri. Any medium, any style. Send me a PM or leave me a review with a link, and the best one will be the story ID pic for this story! Interested?