#baavira

Your camp makes its roots just outside the capital city of the State of Ru, just north of Lake Laogai with a faded view of Ba Sing Se’s outer wall on the horizon. Ru’s governor seems to have no qualms with Kuvira’s presence—as she’s responsible for the restoration of order in her state—but she explicitly stated that she has no provisions to aid Kuvira or the rest of the Earth Kingdom. You can tell that the frustration is starting to weigh on Kuvira by the brooding posture she holds as she walks around camp, but you have nothing to offer that would be at all helpful to her.

“This is a heavily wooded area with valleys rich in ore—teeming with resources,” you hear her in conversation with Baatar. “If she would just let us harvest them, it would be for the good of her state and the rest of the Earth Kingdom. There would be no consequences.”

“She could be worried about the spiritual consequences if we begin messing around with nature,” Baatar offered.

Kuvira let out a dry laugh. “Yuanming is not a spiritual woman, Baatar. She just doesn’t trust us because we’re from Zaofu, the biggest hoarder of innovation and resources in the world. If I could just make her understand that we’re trying to undo that…”

“But even if she did give the go-ahead, Kuvira, we only have two mechasuits—not even fully equipped for harvesting resources.”

“We start with the ore to upgrade and build more mechasuits—then we start harvesting other resources. We have plenty of earthbenders, too—maybe we can find some volunteers in the surrounding areas to help with mining, since it will be for their benefit. I know we can do it, Baatar. Don’t stop coming up with ideas—I need you.”

At least she isn’t giving up hope, you think to yourself as you continue with your work. You find satisfaction in knowing that no matter how small your job is, it’s doing something to help Kuvira—even if you have no immediate solutions to give.

As night falls, you find that your assigned tent is adjacent to Kuvira’s—surprisingly, they’re about the same size. The inside is outfitted with a cot, a lantern, a metal desk and chair, and a basin. It doesn’t look like you’ll have a roommate.

“You’re currently the only other woman in this camp,” Kuvira explains as she walks past to her own tent. “It’s not that I don’t trust my men, but you can never be too careful. I’m sure you can defend yourself just fine, but I’d sleep better knowing that I will find out immediately if something happens.”

Given Kuvira’s undertone in that last statement, you don’t really want to ask what will happen after she hypothetically finds out.

A mix of feelings stir inside of you as you watch Kuvira enter her tent. You’re touched that she thinks so much of you that she wants to keep an ear out for you, but worried at the same time that she assumes you’d be useless in a fight.

Unable to sleep, you wander to the training yard set up on the other side of camp, treading quietly as to not wake anyone. There are punching bags, weights, and spare metalbending implements underneath a sheltered area of the fenced off area, separate from the wide open space set up for earthbending practice.

Halfway through your workout routine on the hard ground of the open area—push ups, sit ups, running through various fighting forms as if you’re sparring with a shadow—you hear a soft variation of Kuvira’s voice directly behind you. “I was wondering where you went. It looks like I touched a nerve.”

You flinch and whirl around—you hadn’t detected a hint of her approach at all. She snuck up on you like a cat.

“It’s not that,” you protested, a little flustered that she caught you off guard. She simply stared down at you with her emerald eyes shining in the lamplight. “I just…want to stay sharp, that’s all. I don’t want to be useless.”

“You aren’t a bender, right, (Y/N)?”

“Not since the last time I checked.”

“Then I’ll level the playing field.” Kuvira smiles and unfastens the cable housings on her belt and lets them drop to the ground with two heavy thuds. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Her ready stance she faces you with is oddly simple for a bender of her caliber, but it reminds you of the pro benders that you would see in the newspaper and the young benders in your neighborhood that would pretend to be them. Feet apart, one slides back to support as the other one bends slightly forward and her center of gravity stays in the middle—a half-moon stance; that much you know—and her guard up, shoulders slightly forward, fists held in front of her face. You wonder if she’s going easy on you, but it looks so natural to her that you feel that the stance must be her go-to.

“I-I don’t want to fight you,” you stammer. “I don’t want to hurt you by accident—I don’t exactly have any experience pulling my punches.”

Kuvira chuckles. “Don’t worry about me, (Y/N) —I’m a big girl. I can take a hit.”

If you had looked away, you’d have missed her wink. You tried not to succumb to the fluttery feeling in your stomach as you resigned to your own stance—much deeper, almost close to traditional earthbending.

Kuvira waits until you throw the first strike—the mark of a master earthbender—and she pivots out of your arm’s reach and her hands graze your waist as she deflects your entire body. You’re left not completely sure where you should turn next, but your instincts tell you that the now out-of-sight Kuvira is about to use your own attack against you. You whirl around to catch her fist that flies towards your throat at top speed, but it softly lands home in your hand—a masterfully pulled punch. Your heart beats rapidly with adrenaline—you’d caught her strike by the skin of your teeth and it looked so swift and forceful that it may have glanced off and hit you anyway if she’d meant it.

“I’m impressed, (Y/N),” says Kuvira, withdrawing her hand from yours and straightening up. “I certainly expected you to be a fighter, but not one that can keep up with me.”

You’re still suspicious that she was going easy on you.

“I spent my entire childhood learning how to fight,” you explain. “Growing up in the Lower Ring, that was necessary to avoid getting successfully mugged. Especially when you’re a girl.”

“Who taught you?”

“My grandmother, Guan Ling. She was an amazing earthbender—she successfully protected our family when my good-for-nothing father got caught up with a local crime boss. They tried to burn down our apartment and our entire neighborhood would have gone with it—but she stopped them. So it felt like the universe was being cruel when she passed away in the riot fires. My sister, her baby, and I were the only ones who were able to escape. She’s with her husband right now—he was luckily at work when it happened. But I don’t really have anyone.”

Kuvira sets a firm hand on my shoulder. “You have me now, along with the rest of us here. I know we’re not quite like family yet—trust me, I know all about that.” Kuvira pauses and you have no idea what she’s thinking. “But, we’ll be taking back the Earth Kingdom together and that will unite more than just the citizens.”

You’re touched, but you can’t find the words to tell her just how much.

“You should get some sleep, (Y/N). Governor Yuanming finally agreed to letting us harvest some resources—the real work starts tomorrow. I need you well rested.”

You bow and salute with your right fist pressed into your open left hand. “Yes, ma’am. And…thank you, Kuvira.”

Kuvira’s warm smile is playfully crooked before she walks off. “Anytime—sleep well.”

—

Weeks of hard work fly by and the number of tents at your camp begin to increase as resource processing begins and volunteers join from both Ru and other nearby states—Kuvira sent out multiple radio messages promoting her cause and encouraging anyone to join. You get a new tent-mate, a nice girl named Ruomei—even though your tents are still next to each other, you see less and less of Kuvira as she spends sleepless nights working with Baatar on fitting the mechasuits with chainsaws and processing ore into metal. You pass by their workshop one night and see Kuvira manually working the mechanical bellows with her metalbending as sweat stains the back of her undershirt and dampens the strands of hair falling in her face. She looks exhausted—you decide not to interrupt. You worry about her state, however, as the heat pouring out of the bay doors feels uncomfortable on your skin, let alone hers.

Over the next few months, new recruits start pouring in from all over the Earth Kingdom. Kuvira, Baatar, and an eccentric Water Tribe man named Varrick—along with his overworked assistant whose name you’re sure is Zhu Li because of how many times you’ve heard Varrick yell her name—have assembled more mechasuits and are now working on an even bigger project. They’ve built what they’re calling a “maglev” train—high speed transportation on a magnetic railway system—and have already linked Ba Sing Se to the capital city of Ru. Thanks to Ba Sing Se’s self-sustainable agriculture system having been restored to full production, supplies start pouring in from the walled national capital by rail. Kuvira spends most of her time training new recruits along with some of her original men that she’s appointed as commanders.

Your camp is disassembled and new troops are dispersed across the state of Ru—now, your permanent quarters are established on Kuvira’s maglev train as a member of her personal unit, along with a few of her original men from Zaofu, a couple of volunteers she deemed worthy; and Baatar, Varrick, and Zhu Li. Two entire train cars are dedicated to the latter three’s sleeping quarters and a mobile laboratory. The entire train functions as a mobile command center for Kuvira and her “inner circle,” as she has begun referring to her engineers.

When the rail to the capital of the state north of Ru—Wuben Zhimu—is fully built, the train begins its maiden voyage. Kuvira cuts her hair—the long braid with strands artfully falling in her face has been replaced by a neat braided bun held together by a metal clip. Her Zaofu guard’s armor has also been swapped out with a green uniform along with shiny metal pauldrons, arm cuffs, and back armor made from strips that can be detached and used as projectiles with her metalbending.

When she hands you your new uniform and armor in a similar design, you ask why the change.

“It promotes unity within our cause and shows the Earth Kingdom governors that we mean business,” she tells you, giving you a small grin.

You’d meant why the change to her hair, but you decide not to clarify. Your grandmother used to tell you that hair holds memories, and sometimes when you have bad memories, it’s best to cut them off. You wonder if it has anything to do with her leaving Zaofu. 

Kuvira does mean business. Among the other soldiers on the train, she has a stone cold, commanding presence. It almost makes you want to freeze every time she comes up to you. But she has warm eyes for you when she’s speaking, and never a harsh tone. It makes you want to melt. You’ve heard her bark orders many times, but never at you. Could it be that you’re never just sitting around doing nothing? You’ve heard other soldiers complain that Kuvira is such a hard-ass with them, even though she’d seemed so warm and welcoming when they were first recruited. 

Could Kuvira’s warmth just be her tactic to get people to join? That didn’t really make sense to you, though—if that were the case, then why does she treat you the way she does when you’re alone together? Why would she give you the time of day if she didn’t care?

“To thank you for your hard work,” she explains as she places a fresh cup of tea on your desk one day. Before you can react, she’s already swept out of your quarters.

What’s with the secrecy? What’s with the special treatment? Does she have feelings for you or something? You think about her compliments, her smiles, her gentle touch when she sparred with you back at camp. As the dots connect, your heart begins to beat faster. A warm feeling spreads through you with an undertow of anxiety as you realize that you’ve fallen for your commander, and you've fallen hard. 

The distance between the two of you since things got busy for everyone makes you wonder what to do. Under what premise could you even ask Kuvira how she feels about you? She’s the savior of Ba Sing Se, the provisional leader of the Earth Kingdom, and the only one who’s working towards uniting the nation after the chaos following the death of the Earth Queen. You’re just a soldier of her movement. What exactly even are you to her? Are you someone she considers dear to her, or are you just her most useful follower?

Those questions brew in your head well after nightfall, and you can’t stand it anymore. You know that her sleeping quarters are in the second car of the train along with yours—you decide to go. If she rejects you, decides to kick you off, so be it. But you couldn’t take all of these unanswered questions.

Your pulse is wild with nerves as you approach her door—you hesitate several times as you raise your hand to knock. Just as you finally gather your courage, you hear hushed voices before your knuckles can touch the metal.

“You know how deeply I care for you, Baatar. We’ve been through everything together, and I could have never done any of this without you.” This must have been said after a long silence.

Baatar’s voice was full of hurt. “So why not now, Kuvira?”

“Please understand. Now might not be the time for this to happen. We have so much on our shoulders—the weight of the future of an entire nation. I need more time to give you my answer, but I promise you I will. I love you, Baatar.”

A lump raises in your throat as you withdraw your hand. You feel cold all of a sudden, nearly too frozen to walk away. But you do, your shoulders slump. Succumbing to the burn of threatening tears, you feel foiled and betrayed. You guess you have your answer now—Kuvira merely wants to keep your loyalty strong, as you are her most useful soldier. And used you, she has.