"Well that was just stupid."

The Avatar had been lead away in rusted chains stained with vile age, pulled along by two of the finer firebenders her brother foolishly seemed to believe in, and disappearing off around the corner with his dread thick in the air like smokey sin. And Honora had only stared off after him for a moment or two before she turned and began a brisk pace to the isolation of her room, teeth bared and frightful as her fingers begged to sink into the pale swells of her flesh and tear into it, needing to get the itch of ruin, of her armour off from her body before she'd burst into ivory flame.

It was hard to breathe, her gasping breaths catching in the ruined ash of her throat, choking her on her misery as she stumbled into her safe haven and slammed the door shut behind her with a snarl, feeling very much like an animal ensnared in a trap of it's own creation as her teeth gnashed together. She thought, prayed, believed she'd have more time, at least enough to ensure that Zuko would be alright, would stumble from the ominous promise of her shadow, would be more than she'd ever had the chance to be. She should of had more time, why the hell wasn't she given more time?

Everytime she closed her eyes at night it was to the smell of burning flesh suffocating her senses with its rot, drowning her in that stench that never left, that haunted her with the memories of its devastation. The palace walls, the red silk of the curtains, the flames that brushed her pale cheek as she'd screamed and begged for salvation, forced to watch as skin was stripped from bone and listen to the wet gurgling of death, the accusations that it was her fault, it would always be her fault a phantom that followed her into the wretched night where the ghosts of all the blood she'd spilled condemned her.

And now they were going back there, to the horrors blissfully named home, to the place she had left rage and ash in her vengeful wake, all to prove a point of what happened when you created a monster and expected it not to bite the hand that had once fed it.

Honora tore at the golden armour that adorned her body frantically, ignoring the way the iron sizzled beneath the bare excruciating heat of her trembling fingers that flickered with blue currents, just needing the sudden weigh off of her shoulders before it would melt into her flesh and scar what was already disgusting and ruined. You're a weapon and weapons don't weep, the instruction came swiftly and abrupt, echoing around her mind, snarling at her for the tears building in the glare of her amber eyes, you're a weapon, you're a weapon, you're a weapon...and that is all you will ever be.

And then she suddenly heard the screams as they echoed around the ship as they tore her away from her dread, the shouts, the desperate calls of the Avatar escaping, as footsteps stormed past her head...and she thanked every god she knew for that distraction as she bared her teeth and grinned at the absolute carnage that embraced her like a lost friend before she hit the ground running, rushing across the metal, flying past crewmates as she burst through the doors out to the ships deck...just in time to see the glowing Avatar sending their soldiers soaring overboard with a large wave that he controlled like a puppet to strings.

The air was alight with raw power, overwhelming and dangerous, and even as the Avatar fell to the floor after exhausting himself, it lingered and festered until she could practically taste it on her tongue. And then she found her searching eyes drifted to a large...bison? Yes, there was definitely an extremely large hairy monster bison thing that really was something that she'd have to think about later...because her main focus was on who was in front of it, cradling the boy in her arms while her brother protected them from the remaining crew that charged at them like pathetic amateurs.

Her gaze had zeroed in on the girl who she had just seen freeze the ocean spray to stop a soldier in their tracks, immortalized in ice and damnation...Katara, the last water-bender of the southern water-tribe...and the perfect opportunity for a chance at ruining their little hero operations in their tracks once more as a plan formed in her mind just like the ice the girl had breathed.

Because it wasn't until the trio had begun to climb aboard said monster did Honora finally force herself to strike like a serpent hidden in the grass, kicking out a blade from the heel of her foot to pin the edge of the girls robe to the floor of the deck, holding her prisoner to the sharp edge that had sunken into the metal like mocking butter. And before any of them even had the chance to do something about it, the princess was there, wrapping her arm around the Water-benders throat, and placing sai against her flesh with a taunting snap of teeth. "And just where do you think you're going?"

"Katara!" Her brother screamed, a tremble in his voice, a raw agony as he twisted around from where he stood on the monsters back to stare at them in wide-eyed horror as the girl struggled and fought back against the grip holding her close to a body that felt like it was made of the strongest of steels behind her as he grabbed his club and snarled like a rabid beast. "Get your gross firebending hands off my sister!"

"Why don't you come over here and make me?" Honora smirked, and it was because of that flicker of taunting darkness, that confident cruelty that coated that rough voice of hers that Katara found her eyes drifting down...where she caught sight of the blue currents drifting around those pale fingers, weaving between that silver skin of scars and ruin, and just waiting for a moment to blow as she tightened her hold on the girl and waited with some kind of sadistic delight for her brother to play her hero...and meet his end by her burning destruction that hungered like a promise.

"Sokka! Don't! You have to go! It's a trap-"

"I'm not leaving you, Katara! I'm coming- hold on!" But unfortunately for him, the monster beneath him seemed to have decided something very different when a stray wave of amber flame singed its furry flesh, burning it as it roared in frightened agony...before it took off into the sky as the water-tribe boy screamed his sisters name in terrible anguish, frantically scrambling over the edge of the saddle...just in time to see Princess ram her knuckles into the side of her head, forcing her into unconsciousness in her arms as they flew off and became nothing more than mere specks in the distance.

Having no choice but to leave the water-bender in the firenation's clutches...and not yet knowing that it would be that destined capture would be where absolutely everything changed...where the dark hands of fate pulled at the crimson stained strings of all their ruin...the beginning of the end where everything would come to burn in fire and blood and death.
_______________________________________________

"You're doing it wrong." Honora sang quietly a few hours later, not even lifting her golden eyes from the book in hand though she'd long since memorized it, only truly reading it in an attempt to keep herself busy, to keep herself from falling into the dark abyss of her mind, letting the sun bare down upon her flesh like an embrace of warmth. Sometimes she couldn't tell if she despised the sun or if she craved it, desired that power that would blister it's way through her veins or if she condemned it for that very same reason...because to be powerful was to be feared, but it was also to be lonely.

"I'm doing exactly what the scoll said!"

There was a furious frustration in the air that circled around Zuko like some kind of furnace, getting more and more humid with every hour that passed, with every hour that he failed to do the set correctly all the while under his sisters bored gaze that only made him feel worse...like it was simply a reminder that she had never struggled with such things, a reminder that she was more powerful than he could ever hope to be, more than anyone had any right to be...her name would go down in history as the monster of the firenation, and he was lucky if he'd even get a gravestone.

"And therein lies the problem, little brother. You're too focused on what it's telling you, you're too focused on the power of it, forcing your body to it's limits...when instead you should be focusing on your breathing, and the rest will fall into place." The Princess said easily, finally tearing herself away from the book to glance over towards the sweating boy from where she stood ominously against the railings that dug into the scars of her back, listening to the waves splashing against the side of the hull as they cut through them like a blade to flesh instead of the huffing of Zuko who seemed ready to combust.

"That's your advice for me? To breathe?"

"Well you could always stop breathing and save me the headache of listening to you whine like a child. And you should remember that I don't have to give you advice at all...but I learned that move when I was eight, so perhaps it would be beneficial for you to use those big ears of yours and listen." Honora smirked, a wicked curl against her red lips that spoke of damning things as she met her brothers enraged stare with nothing more than a quirk of her dark brows, obviously unmoved by his attempts to intimidate her as he snarled like a rabid animal as fury overwhelmed him completely.

However, as the seconds stretched on and it slowly but surely became apparent that she wasn't going to even waste her energy to blink at him, Zuko was forced to finally take a much needed breath, the red flush to his pale skin dying down, seeping back into his flesh and letting composure take its place, and then he sighed quietly, looking towards her once more with a far calmer aura than he had a few mere minutes ago. "Fine. Show me what to do."

Perhaps I should teach the little bastard about manners before I teach him to actually firebend, Honora thought to herself with a twitch of bruised fingers, a flickering of rage blossoming in the heat of her stomach at such crude disrespect that was bestowed upon her by her lesser in every sense of the world. Because her father had taught her many things, many awful, monstrous things, and one of them was that respect wasn't earned or given...it was simply taken...and sometimes it was hard to remember that she was no longer his puppet trying to prove her worth through bloodshed.

She was swift to shove down the anger and grief that attempted to maim her and swallowed it whole as it clawed at the roof of her mouth and the swell of inside her stomach where the ash of her sins did lay, vengeful and furious at being forgotten, at being nothing as the princess ignored its cries like she always did because her emotions didn't serve her, didn't make her stronger, didn't keep her brother alive...and so what was the point of them? And with that thought in mind, Honora strolled right up to her brother and began to perfect his stance, kicking at his legs to spread them and ignoring the pained hiss as her boiling skin collided with his own.

"Now, I know this may be hard for you but I need you to think...think about home, about the comfort of fire, about having the Avatar in your grasp, about the sweet juice of grapes on your tongue...think of everything you want and hold it."

Her raspy voice whispered darkly in his ear, the rough spark of it burning him in its passion as she rested her scarred palm against his shoulder, feeling the tension unwind from the straining muscles as he listened to her every word like it was gospel, like it was prayer, feeling the peace that had settled into his skin like a blessing as she stared out at the churning waves that beckoned them both like a mocking spirit ready to drown them in the ocean they had condemned, that they had captured and locked in the rusted iron of the cells below.

"Now try it again." And then instead of uselessly flickering around the seams of his knuckles, this time the fire that erupted from his soul, drifting through the air, moving across the hull of the ship in quick succession as it brushed against the railings before thinning out into the ocean breeze, becoming nothing more than a gust of warmth as Honora took a step away from her younger and smirked dangerously at the shocked look on his scarred features that had once looked so similar to her own. "And that's how it's done, brother mine."

Perhaps she could help him more often, she thought to herself, glancing at the grin that curled over his lips, something that had used to be so common to see all those years ago when he'd been tucked under the comfort of their mothers embrace while she was learning the harsh realities of the world around them through torture and slaughter. Perhaps she could be softer, less sharp around the edges, perhaps she could make sure he was better than she'd ever be without being the monster that had been created through fire and blood and fury, perhaps she could even forgive him...and perhaps she could try and be his sister again instead of his martyr.

But whatever disastrous consequences would come from those thoughts, she'd never know as the sudden call of her name tore her away from such distractions as her head snapped to the side, golden eyes as bright as the sun and just as scorching as they zeroed in one of the crew members running across the deck towards them, cheeks flushed with exertion and his breath a gasping pant as he finally reached the two siblings with a hacking couch that no doubt burned. "The prisoner is awake, Prince Zuko, Princess Honora...how would you like us to proceed?"

How would you like to proceed? Now wasn't that a question? Honora hummed quietly, something wicked and cruel shifting across her gaze that had the man flinching away, that little voice in the back of his head called self preservation blaring out the alarms of danger, danger, do not engage as he tried to soften it, tried to swallow down that fear in his sudden dry mouth as she looked down at him, like the spirit of angi himself was about to bestow some vile judgement upon his mortal soul. "Ah, it appears my work is never done. Send the guards away, and keep practicing while I'm gone Zuko, it seems that I've got a prisoner to terrorize."

It didn't take her long, of course, to make her way to where she'd dumped the unconscious bait, her footsteps tapping against the metal of the ship, filling her ears with its elegant ring as she got closer and closer, smelling the overwhelming stench of fear as it danced through the air and made its home there...and she didn't even hesitate for a moment before she wandered into the mocking prison with a dangerous grin.

The shadows of the cell block were as dark and bleak, a festering coldness that seemed to sink into your skin the moment you stepped foot in its echo with nothing but the quiet thumps of the crew walking around outside of the prison doors to keep you company. And in a way, Honora almost found it peaceful as it washed over her as she lurked around in the darkness, like it was a comforting embrace welcoming her home to hide from the monstrosity of the world outside, like it had when she was younger and far less confident in her abilities of destruction.

And when she eventually grew bored of merely watching the water-bender in her beckoning cell as the younger girl looked around with frantic scrutiny, it was then that she finally chuckled and stepped into the embers of the flickering torch where she relished in the way she gasped in absolute fear at the sight of her, like she was a horror story coming to life in front of the ruin of the shadows around them. "Hello...Katara, was it? Forgive me, I've never been that good with names."

However, it seemed that the fear that had overwhelmed the prisoner at her sudden appearance had definitely not lasted long at all...because not even a second later, before the princess had even cooed the last of her threatening sentence out of her red-painted lips to mock and taunt like a damning wraith, the girl was suddenly lunging forward and kicking at the rusted iron bars of her cell with her teeth bared and blue gaze of the wicked tides furious at being locked away like some kind of animal by her stupid kidnappers. "Let me go, you hear me?! I don't have anything for you! And I wouldn't tell you anything even if I did, so just let me go!"

Of course, even the likes of Honora had to admire her idiotic bravery as she paused for half a second and simply watched as the girl grew rampant, slamming her dark hands against the walls, the floors, throwing some kind of tantrum like a mocking toddler which was obviously not effective for her in the slightest but absolutely amusing to watch from where the firebender was standing as she smirked cruely. "Well, I was hoping that you'd have some originality, but I see I'll just have to make do with the usual...that was a no, by the way, just if you're confused."

But it seemed that Katara didn't share her good spirits as she abruptly twisted her head and glared at her viciously, as if finally remembering that she had an audience with her eyes aching with the weight of unurshed tears as they looked at the golden indifference of the princess in front of her before she let out frustrated sob scream that burned her throat with agony. "What do you want from me? Are you going to take me to the firenation? Make a spectacle of the last water-bender of the south pole? Huh?!"

The bright flames that hung at the side of her cell gave a sudden flicker, dancing between the familar amber and the ominous rage of white and blue, casting a dangerous shadow over the sharp features of her captor as she grinned wickedly. "Oh, don't flatter yourself. You're nothing more than live bait, blue-eyes. I mean, let's have a headcount here, we have your friend, the Avatar, the poster boy for being oh so naively good, and, of course, your precious big brother...who would do anything to get you back. All I have to do is wait for them to come for you and when they do?...They're mine."

"You're a monster."

"I'm efficient...there's a difference."

Monster, monster, monster, the name echoed around in the ruin of Honora's mind, shifting around and pulling at the vile memories that would haunt her like phantom ghosts for the rest of her miserable life, getting louder and louder the more the silence stretched on around them. And then she stood up from where she had been leaning against the wall, rolling her shoulders to ease their burdened ache that had possessed them as she turned her back...only to hear the water-benders sudden shout as she gasped in ominous terror. "Wait! You can't just leave me here!"

"I'd advise that you don't attempt to try and tell me what to do. However, you'll be happy to know that I have no intention of leaving you unsupervised...even the smallest of rats find a way to claw their way to freedom, and I have no doubt you'll be the same." Honora cooed, twirling the keys that she'd pulled out of her pocket as she grinned, all bite and chaos as she finally opened the door to her prisoners cell with a chuckle before stepping back into the shadows that embraced her with their darkness. "Oh, and be careful now, make sure you've got your sea legs, we wouldn't want for you to fall."

And yet Katara only scoffed in indignation, her face twisting in on itself as she glared over towards where the firebender once stood with rage blossoming in her stomach, freezing over her veins, and apparently, her ability to make good decisions as she stood up and tried to take some moral high ground with her nose poised high in the air. "I'm a water-bender, I don't need sea-" but she hadn't even gotten the sentence out before her stupid legs gave way, folding beneath her like ice caving in as she wobbled, desperately reaching out into the abyss for something to catch her so she didn't hit the deck.

Except nothing did, of course, who would there be help for the damned in the face of the damnation itself? And she was swift to find herself on her back with the muscles inside of her legs spasming in numb agony, striking through her very flesh like some kind of shock as she whimpered painfully, clutching at her knees, her calves, her thighs, desperately trying to massage feeling back into them as she lay upon the cold floor with only the dark company of the princesses golden gaze to witness her embarrassing performance that was burning her right through with a kind of shame that hurt. "Well that was just stupid."

"Thankyou! That's really helpful. So what are you going to do now? Huh? Are you going to threaten me some more? Tell me you'll throw me overboard if I try to escape, that you'll burn me-"

But the water-bender was suddenly interrupted by a dangerously soft tut that filled the whole room as if the princess had actually yelled instead as Honora smiled down at her ever so softly, ever so kindly like a mocking saint...but there was absolutely nothing pleasant about that grin, that quick flash of bared and ever sharp teeth that shone in the dying light, a dragon in human clothing, half feral and half mad and merely hiding under the presence of tame and regal in everyone's eyes...but still desperate for flesh between those deadly fangs, for the dark salvation of her mouth against an unyielding throat, for blood on her tongue and ashy fire in the ruined claws of her hands.

"Threaten you? When on earth did I threaten you, sweetheart? All of that was merely nothing more than some friendly girl talk. However, while we're on that subject, here's a little advice, blue-eyes...If you even attempt to try and escape this ship, I will find out, and when I do, I'll drag you back to this cell kicking and screaming...where I'll make what the firenation does to prisoners of war look like child's play."

Smoke, that's what her voice sounded like Katara finally realized as she swallowed thickly, feeling like the darkness of the room had festered around her, feeling that vile shiver erupt over her flesh as she stared up at the girl, struck down by the terrible gold of her eyes, frozen because of that sharp shift in the air like a brewing storm charged with something terrible, that ominous threat that painted her like some forgotten spirit that had become evil in the absence of its worship to become something far worse. The firebender standing in front of her was the living monster that had once made her tribes stories, the ash maker, the sun made human, the darkness that disguised itself in warmth.

Those myths, those horrible legends that had terrified her when she and her brother were younger and had pretended to be asleep to hear such tales, those that had let awful and twisted nightmares seep into the innocence of her dreams and maim them into something far darker and deadlier than her mind had ever tried to make before...and not a single one of those stories had ever even came close to the feeling she got hovering next to the Princess she realised abruptly, fear curling in her gut like a winding snake...that feeling like there wasn't any light left in the world at all, just the Firebenders ivory fire and death.

"Now, why don't you be a good girl and get up to follow me? I believe I have just the babysitter in mind for you."