Avatar Niva - Pride
This vignette takes place in an AU where Niva wasn't caught leaving in Homecoming
"And in more recent news, today marks the fourteenth year of the last time Avatar Niva was seen anywhere. The reclusive Avatar was active for only six years before mysteriously vanishing from the public eye. There have been rumours and claims, but no confirmed sightings. The world continues to ask, where is Avatar Niva? Why has she abandoned her duties?"
Lavi gave a sad smile to the radio. "I'm sure she'll turn up. Probably in all the tiny villages, away from the big cities."
It had been twenty years since Niva vanished, leaving only a note on Lavi's pillow saying that she was free to live her own life without having to look out for her. Lavi hadn't had the chance to even say goodbye, let alone tell Niva that she was a delight, not a burden.
Lavi had tried to look for her, but Niva proved to be extremely reclusive. So she returned home after a few months before setting back out herself. She returned to the Fire Nation and reconnected with Pifa.
Lavi's time modifying her weapons while travelling with Niva had led to her taking up engineering. Nothing fancy like what Future Industries had, she simply stuck to repairing machines and infrastructure around her village. It was a simple job, but it paid the bills. The Fire Nation was as industrious as ever, and that meant every cent of taxpayer gold went to the Capital City and stayed there. Small villages like this were left to rot, which meant plenty of work for her.
The door to her shop opened and drew her attention away from the radio. One of her regular customers had stepped in with a teenage girl following in his wake.
"Isa," she said. "What's up?"
"Nothing good, sadly," Isa said, leaning against the counter. "Do you know how to fix... all the electrical wiring in a house?"
"What happened?"
"This one happened," Isa said, gesturing to the girl beside him. "Lightning in the socket, overloaded everything."
Lavi winced, glancing at the girl. She looked annoyed.
"It was an accident!"
"You almost set the house on fire!" Isa spat.
"Hey hey!" Lavi said, shouting over the both of them before looking at Isa. "Yes, I can fix the wiring. It'll take a while, and I might be able to install a resistor so this doesn't happen again."
Isa sighed in relief, but Lavi could hear his teeth grinding. "Thanks."
Lavi glanced at the girl. "What's your name?"
The girl huffed. "Ykoma."
"Okay, could you come back here so I can measure the voltage you're putting out?" Lavi asked.
Ykoma raised a brow. "You know about lightningbending?"
Lavi nodded. "My sister's a lightningbender."
Ykoma was intrigued and followed Lavi behind the counter. Lavi smiled and closed the gate.
"Just gonna borrow her for a few minutes for the resistor," she said.
"You can borrow her for the rest of her life," Isa huffed.
"Oh don't be like that," Lavi laughed, heading into the back with Ykoma. "I'll be out in a few."
She closed the door to her workshop and gestured for Ykoma to stand on a red x on the floor. "Right here, sweetie."
Ykoma shuffled into place as Lavi wheeled out a lightning rod. "So how's your sister a lightningbender? Isa said you were Earth Kingdom."
"She's Avatar Niva," Lavi grunted as she hauled the rod into position.
"Whoa!" Ykoma gaped. "No lie?!"
"Hey if I was going to lie, I'd say I was the Avatar, not her sister," Lavi laughed.
"That's cool! Think I could meet her?" Ykoma asked.
"I haven't seen her in a while, but I'm sure you will," Lavi smiled, collecting the rod to the generator. "Okay, get ready!"
