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A/N: I apologize for the short chapter, I promise a longer one soon!
"So why does your father call you a stormbender exactly?" Iroh asked serenely as he moved his ever-famous lotus tile into a new square.
"Huh? Oh, well, he used to compare the elements to storms. Like lightning from firebending, rain from waterbending, and of course the wind. I'm not sure why he started saying it actually. But, he never taught me, only my brother." She looked down avoiding his eyes.
Iroh silently watched her move a piece to another space on the board, her hand had a sense of fluidity and grace he had not seen in some time. At the thought, he began to draw connections to the way she followed him down the hall, how she walked, spoke, and moved. They were all that Fire Nation women were brought up to do. He didn't doubt she was from his nation and home, but he found it difficult to place her in a society of dark-haired people bent on perfection.
He placed his cup back on the table and looked up to her again, "May I ask why you insisted to stay aboard this ship? I'm not turning you away, I'm merely curious."
She looked up this time, for a moment, showing off a pair of glistening blue-green eyes, before looking to the side, "I…do not have a place to stay out here. I am sorry for asking if it has troubled you."
"Not at all!" he insisted, then turning to a quieter, gentler tone of voice, "Why is it that you are out here by yourself at your age?" Iroh's expression was mixed between curiosity and concern.
"It is…complicated. I'm not so sure you would care to hear." Kaida replied uneasily, fidgeting slightly as she felt the ex-general's gaze fall upon her once more.
"I have plenty of time," he smiled and picked up his cup of tea once more.
She paused for a moment, as if debating to tell the truth or keep it secret still. "I live in a Fire Nation colony with my aunt here in Earth Kingdom. I've only been here for a little while. When a nearby town began to riot with our own, things got out of hand…"
He stared intently over the edge of the cup, "That's how you came to be here?"
Kaida nodded, "I thank you for allowing me to stay, even if my request was made in haste."
He merely grinned, "It will be nice having a new face on this lonely ship of my nephew's."
"I assure you, she won't. She may be like your sister, completely out of the way." Iroh tried to persuade him as calmly as he could, in contrast to the boy's fiery temper.
"If she's anything like Azula, then I don't want her here at all!" The young man growled and turned back to the map he had been studying.
"Well don't take my word about her, why don't you get to know her yourself?" Iroh strolled out of the Prince's room giving a second glance back at the teenager.
