Chapter Text
The annoying rays of the Sun seeped through the curtains of the high window. Jack turned his face away, but eventually the rays found him again. He had two options now, he could get up and deal with his obligations as spirit bearer, or he could waterbend a wall of ice in front of the window to sleep more and face Ana’s wrath later.
Before he could do either, he felt something light and tiny touch his face . He opened his eyes begrudgingly to see Ana standing next to his bed.
“Good morning Jack!” Ana said, far too peppy for his still half asleep brain, as she peppered more soft and light somethings from before all over his face.
“Ana, what are you doing?” He asked slightly annoyed.
“Waking you up of course! Are you ready for a wonderful day of duties?!” Jack knew she wasn’t honest, they both hated the stupid errands the northern water tribe made them go through. Ana endured it with sarcasm, and he should probably do the same if he wanted to survive the day.
“Not at all! I’d rather study botany with Mei outside. Also what the hell is this?” He picked at his face with a sleepy hand and brought a tiny, soft and light pebble in front of his eyes -a grain of rice-
“You’re using rice to make me get out of bed?”
“Exactly!” Ana grinned smugly.
“I don’t see why this would make me get- ouch!” A sharp sting on his right cheek made him flinch and turn his face. Patsy, his polar chicken companion, stared curiously at him with big, beady eyes.
“Patsy what the hell?” The chicken jumped clucking and started to peck his face chasing every single grain of delicious rice. Jack bolted out of the bed, and sent a murderous gaze at Ana.
“You are the worst!” She merely shrugged to brush it off, and went to the door.
“You have thirty minutes to get ready, don’t make me go after you.” Jack frowned at her as he walked to the bathroom.
“Yes, yes. Now go bother someone else please, I want to shower in peace.” Ana grinned knowing she had succeeded at pestering him, and closed the door.
Jack got rid of his shirt and pants as he got to the bathroom, Patsy following behind clucking softly. Jack growled slightly and started rambling at the chicken.
“And you evil bird! Next time you peck my face like that I swear I’ll make you my dinner.” He punctuated his sentence by poking at the chicken’s fluffy chest. But she tilted her head confused and clucked loudly, as if she was mocking him.
“Enough clucking! It’s too early in the morning for all this noise .” The chicken visibly inhaled to cluck even louder, but Jack held her beak closed. Patsy kept trying to push the angry sounds out despite it, until it ended up going south, the sound of the strong fart echoing in the bathroom.
“Agh! Enough! Go wait outside you hellish bird!” As quickly as possible, Jack took the flatulent bird back to the bedroom and slammed the door shut. On the outside, Patsy tilted her head confused and pecked the door while she clucked softly waiting for her owner to get out.
Ten minutes and a relaxing warm shower later, Jack exited the bathroom with Patsy jumping quickly behind him. He sat on the bed to dry his hair with the towel, Patsy hopped on the bed after him. The chicken started to peck at him softly, to which Jack let out a soft laugh
He picked some food from a bowl on his nightstand and and watched in amusement as the chicken hastily devoured it all.
“You are starting to put on some weight, I might need to put you on a diet!” He said as he poked the chicken slightly on the side of her belly. The chicken straightened instantly, giving Jack an alarmed look. She ran away clucking hysterically, following Ana’s path, as Jack fell back on the bed trying to control his laughter.
He wiped a tear from his left eye and sat on the edge the bed, taking a few breaths to calm down. He gave a quick look to the clock and proceeded to get himself dressed for his water priest duties. He didn’t want to have extra training with Ana as punishment for taking too too long to get ready.
*You shouldn’t be so rough with that poor bird, young bearer.*
* True, that bird truly cares about you, although its simple-minded methods might not show it. *
The voices of the Moon and Ocean spirits startled him, looking at the pond -where the corporeal form of the spirits danced one around the other- annoyed.
“It’s been decades since we were united and yet I can’t get used to your voices appearing randomly in my head” He said as he hastened to get dressed.
*You say that, but even after millenia of being in this world we haven’t gotten accustomed to seeing those of your kind naked.*
* Certainly, your morphology is quite interesting. I have to say though, that we find this form more to our liking. *
Jack instantly covered his manhood. He shouldn’t have anything to fear from the spirits watching him naked since they are just two fishes that love each other. But if he were honest with himself, he didn’t want his nakedness to be a conversation topic for the spirits , they surely had better things to discuss than the morphology of a human body.
“Don’t you have anything better to talk about? There must be some water spirit matters that require your attention while I get dressed.” He felt more relaxed after covering himself with his underwear.
* It could be said that yes, we have a wide array of matters to discuss. But even such old beings as us, are tired of facing the same quandaries both humans and spirits face.*
* So we decided to revel in conversations that revolve around sillier matters.*
* Besides, some water spirits are annoying whining pricks and it’s a pain listening to them, so this is far more enjoyable.*
*Completely agree.*
“Woah! I didn’t expect you two to say that to be honest. I guess we are quite similar regarding how we view our job.” Jack said as he pulled on his boots.
*We wouldn’t describe this as our job.*
* Exactly, this was our decision to make the world a better place. We apologize that you have to support us now, and that it causes you so much trouble, but it is for the greater good.*
Jack sighed and slowly put his shirt on. “You don’t cause me trouble, nor does this “job”. It’s just the way the elders approach all of ‘this’.” He said as he motioned to himself. “I’m actually ok with this duty, I’ve found friends and a group I call family even if it’s not perfect. But in the end, it’s everything else that makes it all worse.”
*Certainly this is not how we wanted for the waterbenders to behave.*
“It’s okay guys, not your fault. Just as you said that some spirits are a pain to deal with, well it happens the same with humans here.” He put his robe on, just as Ana knocked on the door and came in.
“Are you ready habibi?” Jack nodded slightly, letting Ana steady his robe and lifting his hood, covering most of his face to his nose. He would always find it silly that no one was allowed to see his face, but he prefered that to deal with people, to be honest.
“Good, let’s go then, the car is waiting.”
As soon as the doors opened to the outside, the thunderous roar of people gathered at the entrance of the palace echoed in his ears. They all cheered for him, some begging for his blessing and others wishing him a good ritual.
As always, with no effort at all, he would create a small healing rain that rose from the side canals that carried water all around the city. As he descended the stairs, the water would bounce on each step and thus splash feebly on the crowd, who cheered jovially.
Some members of the crowd didn’t miss the chance to jump into the canals that now glowed with the power of healing energy. Some to get their injures healed or their fatigue, others to help those who couldn’t swim like young children and elder members of the family.
Jack was glad that he could help them like that, but he wasn’t a miracle worker and these fanatics truly believed that he could cure everything and anything. Sadly there are injuries and diseases that waterbending can’t fix, no matter how much you want to believe it could . But he has long lost the drive to tell them -as he mentioned before they are fanatics- and no matter what Jack says, they’ll end up believing what they want.
Maybe he should ask the spirits what they think about the human perception of waterbending. Were the spirits that crazy with the healing effects it had?
Some kids approached him, bearing offerings to him in exchange for his water blessing. It wasn’t entirely proven that it always worked, but it is true that Jack could give the blessing of the Moon and Ocean to other people. The amount of effects it had on the receiver is so wide, that it became a popular demand. In his honest opinion, it all relied on the actual trust the receiver had on the giver. Just because you want to believe that the sea won’t harm you, it doesn’t mean that it’ll actually happen. That’s what made sense to him, why Ana has been the only receiver whose blessing worked full time.
She never had a problem sailing, the times she had to get into dangerous waters she came out without a problem, claiming that it felt as if the waters were gentle with her. Under the moon she was in her element, able to see with almost total clarity and practically unheard.
Now here she was, his practical bodyguard stopping the kids from getting any closer and inspecting them and what they carried. Ana wouldn’t let anyone get close to him and he was thankful everyday for having her by his side.
The first kid approached, eager to get his blessing. His parents probably told him too many stories of what great deeds people with the blessing have accomplished . He won’t say nothing anymore, it’s not his fault if the blessing doesn’t work in the end, after all they are all fanatics.
“O Spirits of the fathomless waters, of the fallen, the ascended, the flowing, and the becalmed. Caretakers of the shallows and the depths...”
Koi fish made of water emerged from each side of the stair’s canals. They danced in unison and got close to the kid, swimming in the air around him. His eyes glowed in harmony with the fishes, Jack’s eyes glowed too but the hood only let an eerie glow peek from underneath.
“Receive of us our meager offerings, cleanse these ones of earth and stone, and grant them your blessing. That they might drink deep of the divine…”
The koi fish hastened their swimming, curling their glowing blue bodies into a circle of bright shimmering water , that closed over the head of the kid creating a gleaming coating of blue that lasted for only a few seconds .
The blessing was applied, and Jack eyed the other kids setting their offerings to a side while waiting for their turn after being checked by Ana, while a handful of servants from the palace came and hastily retrieved them. Jack hoped for one of them to be from that mother, who baked those awesome butter cookies. Normally he shared the offerings between Ana, Rein, Torb, and Fareeha. But those cookies were only his.
Four blessings after, he managed to reach the bottom of the stairs . This kind of interactions always drained the energy from him more than anything, although he would do it more frequently in exchange of more cookies. They were so good!
The car was waiting by the end of the stairs, and he was thankful he wouldn’t have to wait anymore to get away from these fanatics. He didn’t want to cut some of his hair again, like the last time when the car got delayed -one of the fanatics sabotaged it on purpose- and one of the fanatics begged him for a strand of his hair. Or the time when Ana beat the shit out of one of them for trying to pull his hood to see his face. He had to admit tho that it was fun seeing Ana kick rude people’s asses.
Said guard -always by his side- opened the door for him to get inside. Before, he gently bowed to the crowd and proceeded to make another healing rain. As the car drove them away, Jack felt more relaxed and calm as he heard how the cheering and clamouring faded slowly.
“One would think that you’d get used to this by now.” Ana joked lightly.
“I got used to feigning it, but I’ll never enjoy these public appearances. Especially when they are done in a way they like.” He said as he pulled the hood down, finally able to relax for the ride. Ana knew very well who he meant by they , and she smiled softly to reassure him and then turned to search for something in her backpack.
“By the way, someone made a personal offering since they got a card from you commending them for their baking skills.” Jack’s face lit up instantly. “More specifically, their cookies baking skills.” She said as she pulled out a pink box from the bag.
“Oh blessed be the Moon, finally something good happens this morning.” Ana hit him instantly on the forehead, but Jack didn’t care, he had cookies now!
“You know you shouldn’t say those things out loud, it could affect your reputation.” She scolded him while she passed the now open box full of cookies.
“After so many years I think I have all the rights.” His tone was indifferent, which made Ana sighed in resignation. She couldn’t blame him that much, she was awfully aware of how their fellow citizens treated Jack. As a tool, an idol to ask for relief in moments of need, and on which they could and do constantly depend . She loved him as she loved her daughter, he was her little brother after so much time, she taught him to fight, to survive in the wilds or in case something goes wrong and he ends up on his own. She wanted a better future for him, but there was so much she could do, and it truly pained her that it would never be enough. Especially knowing the curse Jack has to carry thanks to his family heritage.
She observed him, watching idly and bored how the light snowflakes fell over the car’s windows. She shifted a bit in her seat and reached a hand out to gently fix his messy hair
Just a few more minutes and they would arrive at the greenhouse where the tribe farmed Winter Bells, the flowers that once blessed with spirit water turned blue and would protect an area around them against corrupted spirits.
They needed them for sailing, because even though Jack had lately been controlling the water spirits to the point where they are safe, one never knows when one could appear. Or for a human to do something foolish and anger them, it hasn’t been the first time someone brings doom to the tribe by being foolish regarding spirits’ protocol. So having a bunch of winterbells around at home or on your clothes could be a lifesaver.
Just after crossing a pile of snow, the greenhouse came into view, and as always the workers started to cheer, excited to see the spirit bearer’s car getting close to their humble farm. Jack got out of the car and an excited kid came up to them with a winterbell crown in her hands, her gleeful grin warming Jack’s heart. He couldn’t lower his hood, since he was strictly forbidden from showing his face unless allowed by the council or the Tribal Princess.
To not sadden the young girl he put the crown over the hood, making a few fishes of water from the snow that jumped around the kid playfully. Her mother came and silently thanked him for the gesture, knowing well that he couldn’t wear the crown as her daughter wanted. Jack smiled at her, as silence was mandatory for the time before the ritual since it was preferable that the nearby spirits weren’t startled. As he got close to the greenhouse, the other farmers and caretakers of the farm bowed slightly to him, while he made the customary gestures with his hands to show them his gratitude.
Honestly Jack truly liked these people, they believed in him like the fanatics, but their approach towards him was totally respectful. They were aware of his duties as Spirit Bearer, and didn’t see him as a tool to fix most of the problems the tribe could face.
The owner was waiting for them at the entrance of the greenhouse. The middle aged man bowed at him and Ana, handing him the key for the spirit water well inside.
Ana stayed outside guarding when he passed the door. Now hidden behind the thick glass of the greenhouse, Jack was finally able to pull back the hood and properly wear the winterbell crown.
The winterbells inside were at their full bloom, like the ones on his crown they all bored a slight pink shade at their base, while the edge of the petals shone with the brightest and purest white.
Now more relaxed and at ease, Jack unlocked the well and at the tune of soft whistling a pair of little water spirits got out, hopping on their little foot made of water. Jack loved these spirits. They are known as Healing Droplets, they inhabit pure waters and will heal anyone in need that get close to the water to drink. Three squishy-looking balls of glowing water made up their bodies, they had two watery 'arms' sprouting from their middles, and floated or hopped around on the bottom tiniest orb, wiggling and jiggling and leaving tiny sparkles of water in their wake. Their heads wore tiny ice-cream-like hats, and on top of the hat a small drop of clear water glowed slightly, being the source of their power and their way of focusing strength for their waterbending.
The droplets started to march around Jack, recognizing his essence and instantly cheering in tiny, sparkling voices like summer raindrops , as some of them rested on his shoulders while others played with strands of his hair to get his attention. Jack played with them at first, but he was here to fulfill his duties so he quickly put them to work. He started to weave the water around all the plants and pots that filled the greenhouse, the droplets picking water from the main current that Jack created inside, some of them mimicking Jack’s dancing moves, others joining their hands and hopping in unison around the plants to create small rainfalls.
Slowly, the ritual finalized and all winterbells inside the greenhouse shifted/changed the pure white color into a deep blue one instead, with only the pink shade left behind, made all the brighter by the glow of the petals. Done with the flowers in this greenhouse, Jack decided to move on the next one connected by a corridor, marching with the droplets behind repeating the same waterbending moves that made up the ritual dance.
After a while the three greenhouses were done and Jack moved outside, where the main production got taken care of. The greenhouses were used to conserve the plants that had gotten ill or weren’t developing properly as the others so they would get healed by the ritual first. The droplets spread widely along the field as Jack, now with the hood back and the crown glowing softly blue, created a bigger current that covered the entire space for the droplets to waterbend. In no time the fields would show a beautiful blue, ready to protect against corrupted spirits.
The healing droplets stayed to play for a while with the kids and would retire to their well once Jack left the farm. They were playful but only felt most comfortable when someone with high spirit affinity was nearby.
Now able to talk, the farmer owner and the other workers would thank Jack for his hard work, he would thank them in return for taking care of the farm and this year’s harvest. They gave him a small offering in the form of two plushies of the Koi Spirits, Jack bowed to them and got in the car followed by Ana.
“Well that settles this morning duties. Rein and Torb are visiting this afternoon, will you join us?” Asked Ana.
Jack was good friends with Torbjorn and Reinhardt, the latter being the Spirit Bearer of the city of Ba Sing Se made their friendship all the more unusual to the world. It’s not prohibited that Spirit Bearers can become friends or connect between others, but they would usually work alone or work in their territory, be they the Spirit Bearers of the four main cities or the ones from smaller cities. Reinhardt was an adventurer by heart, so once he cleaned the Ba Sing Se area he ventured to other places and cities. After visiting the Northern Water Tribe he quickly fell in love with Ana, and since then the Spirit Bearer visited the tribe frequently.
But regardless of his good friendship with the Spirit Bearer and his fellow squire, Jack wanted to relax today with the fish spirits.
“I think I’ll pass today, I’ll greet them tomorrow. Once we get there I’d like to meditate with the spirits.”
“And eat cookies.” Added Ana, getting a laugh from her protégé.
“And eat cookies too.” She knew him too well.
As the car got on the roads of the city, getting closer to the palace, a cloaked figure in dark clothes loomed over one of the high buildings, tracking the slowly driving/rolling away car with an intense gaze.