Dawn filtered through the clouds like a wound of light.
The air in the camp was cold, damp, smelling of turned earth and old ash. The White Lotus campfires were just beginning to stir when Ty Lee was already in the training area.
Barefoot.
Without her usual hairstyle.
Her hair loose, damp with dew.
She had been awake for hours.
Hours of thinking.
Hours of feeling the weight of the previous night's memory: Azula returning with Ren… different.
Softer.
More surrendered.
And Ty Lee feeling that stabbing pain in her chest, as if someone were trying to untie her ribs from the inside.
I don't want to feel this…
I don't want to be jealous…
But it was there.
And this morning, the only thought cutting through her mind was one:
Ren has to see me. For real.
The training area was empty.
The ground was a circle of hardened earth, scarred by multiple fights.
The cold air brushed her skin, raising goosebumps on her arms.
But Ty Lee began to move without waiting for anyone.
First she stretched her legs.
Then her arms.
Then her neck, until she felt tiny pops.
Her breathing was deep.
Controlled.
Forced.
She did a series of quick pirouettes, immediately falling into a rhythm of movements she normally only used in advanced exhibitions: jumps, acrobatic flips, inverted poses that demanded absolute control of balance and concentration.
But today, it wasn't concentration Ty Lee had.
It was anxiety.
It was a desire to be seen.
It was a desperate need not to be left behind.
As she spun in the air, a thought hit her with force:
What if Ren only looks at Azula?
What if he never sees me?
What if he never notices how strong I am… how useful I am… how loyal I can be?
She landed harder than necessary.
Her ankle twisted slightly on impact with the ground.
A dry pain.
Quick.
But Ty Lee gritted her teeth and pushed on.
She jumped again.
And again.
And again.
Her movements were perfect, but her breathing wasn't.
It was accelerated.
Disordered.
Laden with emotions she didn't know how to manage.
—"Don't stop…" she told herself, her voice trembling. "Don't cry… not now…"
She propelled herself forward for a double somersault.
The world spun.
Her body spun.
But for an instant, she lost the emotional and physical axis that was normally her center.
She landed badly.
Very badly.
Her knee hit the ground with a dull thud, and Ty Lee let out a choked whimper.
She remained on her knees, breathing raggedly, her hair stuck to her cheeks by cold sweat.
The pain wasn't the worst part.
The worst part was the knot in her chest.
The worst part was the feeling that she was failing.
The worst part was thinking of Ren…
and Azula…
and the possibility of being left behind.
Her vision blurred.
The tears came without permission.
—"Stupid…" she whispered, trembling. "Why do I care so much?"
—"Because you want to be chosen."
Ren's voice fell behind her like a soft, but devastating, blow.
Ty Lee tensed.
Her heart overflowed in a single beat.
She turned slowly.
Ren was there, standing with his arms crossed, his gaze fixed on her.
His expression was calm, but his eyes…
his eyes saw everything.
The sweat on her skin.
The tremor in her hands.
The twist in her ankle.
The desperation trapped behind her broken smile.
Ty Lee swallowed.
—"R-Ren… I… I'm sorry… I was just—"
—"Forcing yourself," he interrupted, approaching slowly. "Breaking your body to scream something you don't dare say out loud."
She lowered her gaze.
Her hands twisted nervously in her lap.
Ren knelt in front of her, close enough for them to be at the same height.
He took her by the chin and lifted her face with a gentleness that left her breathless.
Their eyes met.
And Ty Lee trembled.
—"I don't need you to break yourself for me to look at you," Ren said, his tone low, warm, dangerous. "I already see you."
A silent sob escaped her.
Ren slid a hand down to her injured ankle, examining it with agile, precise fingers.
Ty Lee gritted her teeth.
Ren smiled.
—"You got hurt trying to prove something I already know," he whispered. "That you are valuable."
Ty Lee's breath hitched.
—"I… just… don't want to be less than Azula…"
Ren tilted his head, studying her with a mix of curiosity… and absolute control.
—"Ty Lee," he said, moving even closer. "You and Azula are not competing.
She has her place.
And you… have yours."
Ty Lee frowned through her tears.
—"What… what is my place?"
Ren brought his lips to her ear.
He didn't touch her.
He didn't brush her.
But his voice enveloped her like fire.
—"Beside me," he whispered. "If you can handle what that means."
Ty Lee's body shuddered with an emotional jolt so intense she forgot the pain in her leg.
Ren stood up, but didn't let her fall.
He took her by the arms and lifted her firmly.
—"Come," he ordered, softly. "I'll check your leg in my tent. I don't want you getting injured again trying to get my attention."
Ty Lee, trembling inside, nodded without being able to speak.
As she walked leaning on him, a single thought repeated in her mind, obsessively:
Ren saw me.
Ren chose me.
Ren… wants me near.
And that thought was enough to make her forget the pain.
And to ignite a new fire in her heart.
A very dangerous one.