Chapter Text
Sokka peered over the edge of the canoe into the arctic water, inspecting the icy depths while trying to locate a fish to spear for dinner. His mittened hand gripped the side of the boat as he raised his spear upon noticing a small, silvery fish swimming close to the surface, directly in front of him. He leant over the side and lined himself up for the perfect catch, focused solely on what’s in front of him. “It's not getting away from me this time.” Sokka cleared his throat and held his chin high as he grinned over his shoulder in the direction of Katara. “Watch and learn, Katara. This is how you catch a fish.”
Katara remained indifferent to his claim and stayed sat at the back of the boat, staring absently into the water on the other side. The subtle glint of a scale captured her attention; her expression shifted from bored to attentive as her brow furrowed in concentration and apprehension. She shot a quick glance towards her brother as she removed her glove from her left hand. Katara’s chest slowly rose and fell as a deep breath was drawn into her lungs, readying her. She outstretched her arm until it was directly over the fish. The wavy motion of her wrists started to cause ripples which soon began to grow a small pocket of water which expanded when she waved her arms in fluid motions as a bubble of water containing a fish rose out of the water with a splash. She staggered to her feet suddenly as she tried to gain better control of the water she had haphazardly bent by bringing herself to eye level with the newly trapped fish. “Sokka, look!”
Sokka, remained focused wholly on the fish in front of him, completely unaware of what was happening behind his back. He whispered, “Shh! Katara, you're going to scare it away.” A look of bliss adorned his face as he licked his lips and wiggled his fingers, not taking his eyes off the fish. “Mmmm... I can already smell it cookin'.” His eyes were locked onto it as he slowly prepared his spear. He kept his movements so gradual and slight as he prayed that the fish wouldn’t notice he was there.
Behind Sokka, Katara was still making circular movements with both her arms, suspending the bubble of water that holds the fish in the air and moving back and forth biting her lip slightly due to the focus it took to control the water. She was struggling with the water that passed right in front of her face when she gleefully shouted “But, Sokka! I caught one!” The bubble containing her fish slowly drifted around her to hang over Sokka, who was still oblivious. As the bubble hovered over his head, Sokka raised his spear to strike the fish he was following; he burst the bubble of water with the blunt end of his weapon, causing Katara to lose control of the water. It rained down on Sokka, dousing him and the boat in water and soaking into his fur. “Hey!”
As Sokka let out a gasp of discomfort, the fish tumbled through the air and Katara followed its arc with her eyes as it flew over her head and splashed back into the sea. Sokka turns to face his sister, placing his spear perpendicular to the rim of the boat as he yells irately. “Why is it that every time you play with magic water, I get soaked?” He clenched his fists and a few drops of water fall from his soaked gloves.
Katara sighed lightly before answering in slight annoyance. “It's not magic, it's water bending! And it's—”
“—Yeah, yeah, ‘an ancient art unique to our culture’, blah, blah, blah. Look, I'm just saying.” He grabbed his warrior's wolf knot with his left hand as he turned away from her, wringing the water out of it. “If I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself.”
Katara crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow sceptically. “You're calling me weird? I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water!” She smiled smugly at her brother; he flexed at his reflection in the water, making eye contact with himself and pulling tough faces between grins. His happy look vanished upon hearing his sister's remark, and he turned around slowly, meaning to face her.
Before he could say anything, however, the canoe suddenly shuddered, and they both gripped the sides of the boat to try to keep themselves from falling over. Sokka whirled around toward his end of the canoe, looking frantic. The boat was caught in a rapid current, which was pulling it swiftly toward a jumble of large icebergs which blocked the end of the narrow passage formed by the towering walls of ice. Sokka desperately paddled the boat in an attempt to stay clear of any floating chunks of ice. He managed to gain just enough speed to keep the boat from being crushed by two icebergs which slammed together behind them, narrowly missing the canoe.
“Watch out!” Katara's face and voice had been flooded with panic as she yelled commands to Sokka. “Go left! Go left!” The blocks of ice started drifting closer together In front of the boat, narrowing their path. They managed to stay clear of some of the icebergs, but it suddenly veered to the right with the current and got trapped between three large chunks of ice. They scrambled to throw themselves out of the canoe and onto one of the icebergs; Katara nearly slid off the other side into the water but came to a halt at the very edge. She raised her head and looked around in search of Sokka. He had landed more centrally than she did, but despite her bitterness was relieved to see he was safe. “You call that left?”
A vile crunch echoed around as splinters of canoe scattered themselves around the pair. They both flinched, and when Sokka saw how close Katara was to the water, dug his spear into the ice to improve his grip and reached out a hand to Katara. She shuffled on her hands and knees away from the rim and towards the middle of the floe to sit next to her brother
Compared to the vast array of larger icebergs and tiny floes of ice, they were nothing. Behind them stood a massive, towering shard of ice, its craggy peak rising high above the siblings
Sokka’s voice abruptly erupted out of his mouth as his agitation about the situation grew “You don't like my steering? Well, maybe you should've—” He waved his hands crazily in the air, mockingly imitating Katara’s bending. “—Waterbended us out of the ice.”
Katara climbed onto her feet again, facing Sokka so that the pointed iceberg was behind her before indignantly replying. “So it's my fault?”
“I knew I should have left you home!” Sokka huffed, his annoyance building, “Leave it to a girl to screw things up!”
Katara's face was contorted with fury. She pointed accusingly at her brother, who made no movement as she screamed her disgust at him. She brought her hands up to her head and swung them back down and behind her in her rage; the movement created a small wave of water behind her. “You are the most sexist, immature, nut brained,” She swung her arms back down again, creating a slightly larger wave; she raised her hands back to her head during a brief loss for words. “I'm embarrassed to be related to you!” As she threw a hand upward, a short jet of water shot upwards as well. She swung both her hands back forcefully once again and her unconscious water bending hurled a wave directly into the towering iceberg behind her; with a loud, splitting crack, a hooklike fissure arced up its surface and out its side, leaving a spray of ice where it ended.
Sokka, who was at first somewhat disinterested as this was not the first time he was the receiver of this speech, glanced briefly in his sister's direction and saw the iceberg. He returned to looking back down at the ice by his foot but only for a fraction of a second before he did a double take, his expression morphing into one of terror. As Katara continued with her verbal outburst and arm movements, little chunks of ice from the iceberg splashed into the water, unheard and unnoticed by Katara.
Katara pointed to her chest as she shouted, “Ever since mum died, I've been doing all the work around camp while you've been off playing soldier!” She emphasised the last words with a strong swing of her hand, water bending and deepening the crack in the iceberg.
Sokka's terror deepened, and his voice trembled slightly coming out quieter than he intended, “Uh... Katara...” He pointed to the iceberg behind her, trying to communicate with his gestures what he could not with words to a rage-fuelled Katara as she continued her outburst, a finger pointed in Sokka's face.
“I even wash all the clothes! Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, not pleasant!” As she yelled that last word, she unconsciously water bent once again, causing two new splits in the chunk of ice.
Sokka’s eyes opened wide, and his face went pale as he screeched, “Katara, settle down!”
Angry shrieks continued to tumble out of Katara’s mouth “No! That’s it! I am done helping you. From now on, you’re on your own!” As she stomped a foot firmly onto the ice, a huge wave emerged. It sent a number of fissures to snake their way up the iceberg. As one of them reached the top, it completely split in half. Upon seeing Sokka’s petrified gasp for air, Katara looks behind her.
The two halves fell away from each other, one half landing on the ice and shattering into a thousand glassy crystals, the other collapsing into the water and forming a wave far larger than any that Katara had cast. It radiated towards them and caused them to tumble forwards onto the ice as it pushed their floe backwards.
By the time the waves had subsided, they had slid forward, resulting in their heads hanging slightly over the edge of the ice. Sokka held a protective arm in front of Katara, preventing her from slipping any further forward and enabling her to move easily to the safety of the middle. As he crawled to her back in the middle he muttered, “Okay, you’ve gone form weird to freakish Katara”
Katara looked blankly at him for a second, struggling to understand how she was connected before astonishment spread across her features. “You mean I did that?”
Sokka sarcastically glanced at her while smirking, nudging her with his elbow. “Yep. Congratulations.”
Several small bubbles appeared on the surface of the water directly in front of them. A small spot of water began to glow with a brilliant, bright, bluish hue. The two siblings scrambled back in renewed terror from the edge, just as a large, roughly spherical iceberg broke the surface of the water. It continued to rise far above the surface, revealing its massive form as the source of the glow. The crashing waves generated by the iceberg's rising push the floe backward as the berg itself rocks to one side, before coming to rest with its rounded dome exposed above the water. Mesmerized by the iceberg, Katara strays closer and stares at the iceberg; behind her, Sokka halfheartedly stretches out his hand, as if to hold her back.
Within the ice was a human shape, perched in a lotus position. Glowing, blue arrows stretched down his arms onto his hands, and another arrow covered his head and dipped slightly onto his forehead. Below the boy, a larger, indistinguishable mass was frozen. Its cream fur had the same patterning as the boy but with soft brown arrows that were no glowing. As Katara cautiously approached the figure in the ice, her eyebrows raised in confusion. Suddenly, as if her presence had activated him, the boy’s eyes open, but he remained otherwise motionless. The same brilliant light emanated from them, illuminating the ice further. The surrounding shards of ice gleamed, occasionally refracting a kaleidoscope of colours. “He's alive! We have to help!”
Before Sokka can react, Katara had snatched Sokka's club out of its sheath on his back. She pulled her hood over her head, determinedly heading in the direction of the strange boy sealed in the iceberg. Sokka reached out his hand in an attempt to hold Katara back, though she was already running across the ice. “Sokka Katara, get back here!” He grabbed his spear from the ice and runs after Katara, who had already reached the ice's edge. “We don't know what that thing is!”
Katara hopped across the short distance between her floe and the iceberg, balancing on precariously on five tiny chinks of ice; Sokka, close behind her, did the same but with far more struggle. After reaching the iceberg first, Katara repeatedly struck the iceberg with Sokka's club. On her fifth strike, the club broke through the surface and a great gust of wind, which escaped from within the iceberg, threw her and her brother back from the side of the dome. Splintering cracks quickly work their way over the whole iceberg and, in a massive outward explosion, the entire orb of ice destroyed itself. A beam of light burst from the core of the iceberg and rocketed into the sky, emitting ripples of light.
≿━━━━༺༻━━━━≾
An outdated Fire Nation cruiser sailed through the icy sea. The raised spiked bow was the same dull, gray metal as the rest of the ship. The front section of the main deck was equally unembellished; it was featureless, except from a staircase leading to the lower deck and a hatch through which the catapult could be deployed. A boy dressed in black and red armour looked up from his telescope upon realising how close the beam of light he observed was. As he gazed at the light, his ponytail fluttered in the wind. He was mesmerised, and once again hopeful. “Finally! Uncle, do you realise what his means?!”
Zuko turned to face his Uncle, Iroh, who was sat at a small table while playing a game. Iroh calmly answered Zuko while still holding a tile. “I won’t get to finish my game?” He sighed uninterestedly and placed his tile on the table, trying to show Zuko he was giving him his attention without spurring him on yet another fruitless hunt for the avatar.
“It means my search is about to come to an end.” Zuko turned to face the light so he could stare at it once again, desperately trying to reassure himself that this was the real deal, his ticket home, or if it was just another false alarm. He gestured at the light while facing his Uncle yet again “That light came from an incredibly powerful source! It has to be him!”
Iroh calmly but sceptically replied “Or it's just the celestial lights. We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko.” He looked down at the tile in his hand which depicted the symbol of air bending. “I don't want you to get too excited over nothing.” He places it on a tile carrying the symbol of fire bending and gestures toward the open place at the other side of the table while continuing in a relaxed voice. “Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming Jasmine tea?”
Furiously, the banished prince yelled “I don't need any calming tea! I need to capture the Avatar! Helmsman, head a course for the light!” Zuko agitatedly jabbed in the direction of where the light once was since it had now faded into nothingness. Iroh calmly continued with his game, placing another tile bearing the air bending symbol on the previous one. As he did, a gust of wind washed over him and shook his tiles.
“You wouldn’t want to be unprepared when you meet the avatar.” Iroh gestured to a seat on the other side of the table where there was a pot of ink, a pile of paper and a brush, “Start your planning now. I’m here to help when you need me.”
“How about this. My plan is for you to teach me the advanced firebending techniques.”
≿━━━━༺༻━━━━≾
The gale had begun to settle so Sokka—who had protectively clutched Katara to shelter her from the wind—released her as he looked around and surveyed the surrounding. He looked at his sister who was still clutching his sleeve as he helped her get to her feet. He pointed his spear at the crater, ready to defend them, though lowered it in shock as a figure emerged slowly from the depression in the iceberg. Light still encircled the remains of the former mountain of ice which was now reduced to a hollowed-out crater. Sokka brandishing his spear in defence once again, warned the boy “Stop!”
Now standing atop the crater, the figure slowly erects himself and looks down at them, and the two siblings stare back in wonder and fear. The circles of light finally dissipate as the boy stops glowing, allowing them to see more than just his silhouette. He was nothing more than a young boy. He wore a long sleeved yellow shirt with an orange shawl around his shoulders; his trousers were the same yellow as the shirt and his boots were simple and brown. They had never seen anyone who looked like that before, and he was most certainly not water tribe. He gave a moan of exhaustion and suddenly fainted.
Katara dashed forward to catch him before he hits the ground, and Sokka followed behind and pocked at the boy’s head with the blunt end of his spear. Katara waved the spear away, getting annoyed, “Stop it!” She lowered the boy down and gently placed him against the base of the crater.
Slowly, his gray eyes fluttered open, and he gasped in awe as he beheld the Southern Water tribe girl who stared back at him with deep, blue eyes. Her hair loopies sway softly in the wind as she waits for him to say something or move, anything to show he is okay. After a moment of waiting, Katara hears “I need to ask you something.”
“What?”
“Please... come closer.”
Katara leant in curiously. “What is it?”
In a clear, happy, hopeful tone, the boy said “Will you go penguin sledding with me?”
Katara looked at him awkwardly for a second, hesitating out of shock before replying “Uh, sure... I-I guess.”
The boy elegantly rose to his feet in one swift motion which surprised the other two. Katara looked at him in awe while Sokka backed away in shock, aiming his spear at him again. Katara glanced at him in disbelief. The boy from the iceberg looked around and rubbed his head, while Katara scrambled back onto her feet. “What's going on here?”
Sokka aggressively pointed at the top of the crater with his spear. “You tell us! How did you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?” He pokes the boy in his side with his spear, checking to see what he is made of and if he was fully thawed.
The boy lazily pushes the spear away, casually looking at Sokka as he said “I'm not sure.”
A low, gruff noise suddenly filled the air, coming from within the crater of the iceberg. Quickly, the boy scrambled up the ridge of ice and happily jumped on the head of a large, furry creature that has the same arrow-shaped marking on his forehead as the boy. “Appa! Are you all right?” He hung down the side of the beast to look at its eyes, which are still closed. “Wake up, buddy.” He opens an eyelid that immediately closes again once it is released. He jumps down to the front of the bison and tries to lift its enormous head. Appa finally started to react to Aang by opening his mouth and licking him with his giant tongue. “Ha, ha! You're okay!” The boy hugs the bison's nose, before stepping back so that the creature can stand up on his six legs and stretch itself.
Sokka craned his neck to see the whole… thing. “What is that thing?”
He grinned proudly as he announced “This is Appa, my flying bison.”
“Right, and this is Katara, my flying sister.” Sokka’s sarcastic tone earned an odd look from Katara.
The boy looked questioningly at Sokka for a moment, unsure why Appa was so surprising and what he did to earn that reaction. However, his attention was diverted back toward his bison when Appa started to inhale deeply. Realizing what was about to happen, he ducked before Appa sneezes. A large, green blast of goop was sent flying directly onto Sokka; it splattered over his face and torso then oozed down him until his was completely covered in flying bison snot.
Sokka squealed in disgust and frantically tries clean it off, rubbing his face in the snow under the amused gaze of his sister. Too cheerfully to sound helpful, “Don't worry, it'll wash out.” Stretching strings of olive slime reached from Sokka’s face to his glove, dripping down onto his fur as he retracted his hand. Katara covered her mouth to hide her gagging, not wanting to show the strange boy her nausea. Fortunately for Katara, the boy remained oblivious to her disgust and continued “So do you guys live around here?”
Sokka pointed his spear accusingly again at the boy who was surprised to see the thing; he hissed to Katara, “Don't answer that! Did you see that crazy bolt of light?! He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy!”
Katara pushed Sokka's spear away again and addressed him sarcastically. “Oh yeah, I'm sure he's a spy for the Fire Navy. You can tell by that evil look in his eye.” She smiled as the boy shot the two of them an earnest grin. “The paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. You never told us your name.”
“I'm A-a-a-Achoo!” His sneeze created an almighty blast of air that propelled him into the air. Despite soaring rather high in the air, he landed on the ground gracefully and unharmed. He sniffled a bit, wiped his nose on the back of his arm and finished introducing himself, “I’m Aang”
Sokka’s jaw dropped in total disbelief. “You just sneezed…” He weakly pointed to the sky with one finger without taking his eyes off Aang, “And flew ten feet in the air!”
Aang looked questioningly toward the sky, but his tone doesn’t convey the surprise the siblings expected. “Really? It felt higher than that.”
Katara gasped for air as she comprehended what she had witnessed, “You're an air bender!”
“Sure am!”
“Giant light beams, flying bison, air benders—” Sokka walks away, shaking his head at the ground. “—I think I got midnight sun madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense.” As he looks back up to find his canoe, he sees the splinters of wood and remembers how it was destroyed. He quickly realises that he is stranded in the middle of the ocean with no way home.
The colour had drained from his face, but before Sokka could get in too much distress, Aang offered to help. “Well, if you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give you a lift.” He air bent himself onto Appa’s head and gripped the reigns.
“We'd love a ride! Thanks!” Katara ran to the side of the bison enthusiastically, reaching up to grab Aang’s hand as he offered her help getting up.
“Oh no! I'm not getting on that fluffy snot monster!”
While Katara was climbing on top of Appa with the help of Aang, she teased Sokka, “Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know, before you freeze to death?” Sokka opened his mouth in defiance and pointed at Katara, ready to retaliate, but he couldn’t think of anything. He sighed and bowed his head in consent and defeat.
Once both siblings were on Appa’s saddle, Aang turned to face them. Sokka had his arms crossed in front of him with a sulking expression like a petulant child while Katara was full of awe and anticipation.
“Okay, first time flyers, hold on tight! Appa, yip-yip!” Aang whipped the reins, but Appa growled in response. His tail moved lethargically up and down, then he took a huge jump into the air. He soared through the air for merely a few seconds, making it appear as though he would fly, before he belly-flopped into the water with a splash. The bison decided upon trudging through the water slowly. Katara crawled to the front of the saddle while Aang tried to get Appa flying, whipping the reins again. “Come on, Appa. Yip-yip!”
Sokka’s dry voice rung from the back of the saddle where he continued to sulk, “Wow, that was truly amazing.” He huffed under his breath as katara shot him an angry glance, too intrigued by the strange boy and flying bison to care what Sokka’s instincts were telling him.
“Appa's just a little tired. A little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see.” Katara nodded in recognition and then smiled at Aang, who returned her gesture, though his was far more giddy. Once she had moved back onto the saddle, she realised that he was still smiling at her. He had twisted around so he could face her, despite it being awful for his steering.
Katara shifted her weight, slightly uncomfortable, “Why are you smiling at me like that?”
Aang laughed it off. “Oh, I was smiling?”
Flattered, Katara blushed and smiled back. Sokka threw his head back and stuck his tongue out in disgust while groaning loudly. Katara glared at him while Appa continues to make his way through the icy sea, flapping his tail in the water.
≿━━━━༺༻━━━━≾
Zuko was standing on the helm of his ship, staring into the distance when he was approached by his uncle. “I'm going to bed now.” Iroh yawns and stretches. “A man needs his rest.” He left a short pause, double-checking Zuko’s expression before accepting he should abandon his attempt at a veiled suggestion and deliver his request more clearly. His tone was tired as he suggested far less subtly “Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you're right, and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather and great-grandfather all tried and failed.”
Zuko momentarily looked apprehensive, but he soon retorted, “Because their honour didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture. Mine does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over.” He scowled, and returned to scanning the horizon. “I don’t need rest. I need the Avatar!”
“But Zuko, what about that plan you started?” Iroh searched Zuko’s face for any recognition that he remembers or cares about his plan. “I put it in your room, you should probably go and finish it. And perhaps you could take a quick nap first?” He began to walk to the command tower where Zuko’s room was, hoping that Zuko would follow him. Once he was sure Zuko was following, he added, “What will the avatar think of you if the first impression he gets of you is you yawning?” He pushed open the door to Zuko’s room and held it while the young prince walked in. “It’s on your bedside table next to some tea.” He began to leave the room, but just before the door shut, “Good night.”
“Good night, Uncle.”
≿━━━━༺༻━━━━≾
Appa was still swimming in the water, but Aang had shifted to lying lazily on his back with his arms tucked under his head, doing his best to look casual. Katara crawled to the front of the saddle to have a better look at Aang. He leant on the front of it, propped her elbow on the side and rested her head on her arm. “Hey.”
“Hey. What'cha thinkin' about?”
“I guess I was wondering, you're being an air bender and all, if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar?”
“Oh, no. I didn't know him. I mean, I knew people that knew him, but I didn't. Sorry.” He smiled weakly at Katara, guilt eating him up from the inside.
“Okay. Just curious.” Katara’s eyes close slightly in disappointment for a second before giving Aang a final smile. “Good night.”
“Sleep tight.” Aang uncomfortably turned around to mask the look of guilt that crossed his face.
・・・・・
Lightning twisted over the bruised sky as the rumble of thunder shakes him. Aang clung to Appa’s head with one hand and to the reins with the other. A piecing scream at the top of his lungs was pulled from his body as they went down. They plummeted into the waters of the ocean, knocked unconscious by the impact. As they sunk, Aang released his grip on the rein as he drifted off. His eyes and tattoos suddenly started to glow brightly as he slammed his fists together. A pale blue, translucent sphere encased Appa and Aang as it slowly solidifies into an icy globe.
・・・・・
Katara gently shook the air bender’s shoulder, concerned. “Aang? Aang! Wake up.” Aang shot up, threw the covers of his body and gasped for air. Katara—who was perched beside him—stood up when she saw that Aang was awake. “It's okay, we're in the village now! Come on, get ready.” She pointed to the door of the tent. “Everyone's waiting to meet you.”
Aang happily got out of bed and started to dress himself while Katara took a step toward the door. Before she left, however, she glanced back at Aang and gasped and stared in wonder at the blue, arrow-shaped tattoos that trace his arms and legs and reach up his back and to his head. Before Aang is able to get up, Katara pulled him along by his arm to meet the rest of the village.
Aang is dragged out the tent toward a small congregation of villagers. He passes Sokka, who is sitting at the side of the tent, sharpening his boomerang.
“Aang, this is the entire village.” Katara indicated to the line of villagers in front of them. “Entire village, Aang.”
Aang bowed respectfully toward the villagers, but they cowered away in fear. A look of shock and mild hurt emerges on Aang’s face. Awkwardly, he turned to face Katara and quietly asked, “Uh, why are they all looking at me like that? Did Appa sneeze on me?” Aang checked his clothing while an elderly woman, Kanna, steps forward out of the line of villagers.
“Well, no one has seen an air bender in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct, until my granddaughter and grandson found you.”
“Extinct?” Aang spluttered in disbelief, struggling to comprehend what he was being told. He was only at the air temple with some of the other air benders the other day.
Katara gestured towards the woman who just spoke to Aang, “Aang, this is my grandmother.”
Flatly, with a dull look on her face, Kanna replied. “Call me Gran-Gran.”
Sokka strutted toward Aang and abruptly snatched his staff out of his hands and starts to examine it. In an annoyed huff, he complained, “What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this!”
Aang used a small air current to get his staff back. “It's not for stabbing! It's for airbending.” He opened his staff into a glider which made Sokka gasp in fright and cover his head with his hands. “The air nomads are pacifist monks. What would we possibly need to stab?”
Sokka looked concerned at the idea that Aang didn’t seem to know that all his people were dead, or that there was a war going on “You realise that—”
One of the younger girls from the village giggles and clapped, cutting Sokka off, “Magic trick! Do it again!”
“Not magic, airbending.” Aang moved his glider around him, visually demonstrating what he was talking about. “It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly.”
Sokka’s lip twitched into a smirk before he mockingly stated his disbelief, challenging Aang. “Ya know, last time I checked, humans can't fly!” Aang accepted Sokka's challenge with a cocky smile. “Check again!” Aang grabbed hold of his glider and pushed himself off the ground. Katara and Sokka flinched to cover their faces against the sudden wind while the rest of the village stared in awe as Aang made some loops and turns in the sky. Aang makes another loops and speeds up to soar past the gazing villagers.
Aang's shadow passes over Katara, who smiled broadly at him. Aang, intending to further impress the villagers, flew sideways and closed his eyes while grinning widely. He promptly flew head-on into the village's watchtower; he abruptly stopped and struggled to yank his head out of the snow. Katara covered her mouth out of shock and to hide her laughter as she watched Aang struggle to free his head from the icy watchtower. He tumbled downward onto a pile of snow at the base of the tower that crumbled from the building. Katara immediately rushed to his side while Sokka stared in shock at the damage inflicted on his watchtower. “My watchtower!” Aang lies covered in snow at the base of the partially collapsed tower. Katara and some other girls of the tribe run toward Aang, smiling. Sokka runs toward his watchtower and starts to pat it in the hope that he can save it from collapsing any further. While Aang spins his staff around to retract its wings, Sokka is being knocked down by a large pack of snow that falls down.
“Great. You're an air bender, Katara's a water bender.” Sokka grumbled. “Together you can just waste time all day long.” He pushed snow out his way to free himself from the snow that used to be his watch tower.
Aang bursts out with, “You're a waterbender?
“Well, sort of. Not yet.” Katara said nervously.
“All right, no more playing. Come on, Katara, you have chores.” called Kanna.
≿━━━━༺༻━━━━≾
Iroh had sunk into a low chair on the deck of Zuko’s ship, having expected to be there for a long time. He was facing Zuko and two soldiers who were both in their fire nation uniforms. He firmly told Zuko, “Again”
Zuko punched the air in the direction of the two firebenders and showered them with flames. They blocked his attack with ease, without flinching, and retaliated with blasts of their own. Zuko shifted his weight to his side to duck under the flames. One solider jumped forward and aimed an attack at Zuko’s feet. The prince barely propelled himself out of the way; he twists midair and directs another fire blast with his fist at the bender who had just aimed for his feet. Both soldiers jumped out the way as Zuko landed, waiting for another attack.
Iroh sighed while he pushed himself to his feet “No!” Zuko lowered his arms and turned to look at his uncle. “Power in firebending comes from the breath” Iroh moved his both hand up in front of his chest while he takes in a deep, overly exaggerated breath to emphasize the breathing motion, “not the muscles.” He stretched his left arm out as if he was sending a fire blast. “The breath becomes energy in the body. The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire!” Iroh directs a fire blast at his nephew that evaporates just before it scorched him. “Get it right this time.”
Iroh watched as Zuko prepared to shoot another flame at one of the firebending soldiers with even less control and vast amounts more fury. “No, I didn’t really mean it like that, Zuko. I mean get breathing right this time. My apologies for not being clear” He took another deep, controlled breath. “Take a couple breaths nephew. Let me see your technique.” He waited patiently and in silence for Zuko to breathe, and relaxed as he saw the boy trying. He had to admit that they were not smooth or calm, but it was an improvement from no breath control. “Thank you, now you may continue.”
Zuko stood rigidly in front of the two other benders; his hands balled into fists so tight that his knuckles whitened. His nostrils flared with as he did the ‘breathing’ his uncle had just taught him so poorly that it was unrecognizable. He drove a fiery punch forward, spreading violent, uncontrolled flames. Finally, once everyone had done the appropriate flinch, block or jump, he stormed towards his Uncle with barely suppressed rage and addressed him. “Enough! I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set! I'm more than ready!”
“No, you are impatient.” Iroh corrected as he sunk down onto his chair. “You have yet to master your basics. Drill it again!”
Zuko clenched his teeth so hard a muscle in his jaw started to jump rhythmically. He turned around and suddenly directed a powerful fire kick toward one of the soldiers who attempted to stop the fire blast, but he was unable to and got thrown on his back by its power.
Zuko’s suppressed anger was very apparent in his voice; he could barely mask the shakiness. “The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last airbender.” He started to yell at his uncle who did not look pleased with the attitude of his nephew. “He must be over a hundred years old by now. He's had a century to master the four elements! I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him.” Blood roared in Zuko’s ears and puffed out his chest in an attempt to intimidate “You will teach me the advanced set!”
Iroh conceded reluctantly and replied, “Very well,” Zuko opened his mouth to argue but froze after processing what he had heard, his expression flipped and immediately brightened. He pulled at Iroh’s arm, inpatient to start. “But first, I must finish my roast duck.” Iroh quickly munched down the roast duck, much to the dismay of Zuko.
“But you said you would teach me it—”
“— And I will once I have eaten.” Iroh took another bite of his roast duck before he continued, “Sit next to me and meditate. You are getting very worked up over this. You cannot bend without a clear mind.” He patted the space next to himself, hoping that meditating for a minute would help Zuko relax.
Zuko did not sit and meditate; rather, he kicked the table causing everything on it to topple over and yelled. “I hate this! I you! I hate bending!” He was gasping for air between ragged sobs, not able to get his emotions under control. “You said you would, and now you’re not—”
Iroh put down his lunch and rushed to stand by Zuko, standing slightly to his right so he could see how sincere Iroh was being. “I didn’t realise how important this was to you that it had to be done immediately. You are so important to me, and I didn’t understand that my actions would hurt you.” Iroh placed one hand on Zuko’s chest to feel his breathing, and the other on his shoulder to ground him and prevent him from running off. Iroh started taking his exaggerated breaths until Zuko began to catch on; once Zuko was breaking in a more regular manor, Iroh wiped Zuko’s tears and led him into the centre of the deck to continue.
Iroh demonstrated the first part of the move without the flame, then took hold of Zuko’s arms to guide him through the motion without him having to think or struggle too much. “Show me the first section of the move without any fire now. You're a bit shaky and this is very new, so I don’t want anyone getting hurt.” Zuko did what he was told. It was awful. “That was a good attempt. May I suggest a couple, small tweaks?”
It was as if a fog had descended over Zuko’s mind. He knew what he wanted to say, he had a vast vocabulary, he had training in what to say in every possible context most princes would need, but he had no words. He stared at Iroh for help, as if he were lost. Relief flooded his system as Iroh offered him a lifeline, “Just nod or shake your head.”
Zuko nodded and observed as Iroh demonstrated again, slower, and provided little tips. “When you get into a position, make sure you can feel the floor beneath your feet. Feel how secure it is and how stable it makes you. It will help your bending be more balanced.” That, and it was an attempt to help Zuko stay grounded when fighting in the future. Zuko loved learning bending but refused to learn coping skills out of spite. Iroh easily remedied this will a bit of mild disguise.
Iroh watched as Zuko tried. It was better, so much better. It wasn’t good but it was a great start for someone who had just spent the better half of 20 minutes shouting, crying and kicking things. “That was amazing, Zuko. It’s really coming along nicely.”
After a moment of hesitation, “Thanks.”
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Back in the Southern Water tribe, Sokka was pacing to and fro, his arms behind his back in front of a small group of young boys. With a stern expression, he commanded. “Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a firebender.” He brought out his club and held it proudly. “In the Water Tribe, we fight to the last man standing! For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?” He clutched his fist to emphasize the men as he stares down the people in front of him. The six little boys stuck with him were as uninterested as it was possible to get, their eyes wondering around and one had his arm waving in the air. “What is it now?”
“I gotta pee!”
Sokka continued on his rant, “Listen! Until your fathers return from the War, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe, and that means no potty breaks!” He made some wide arm gestures to emphasize his words again.
“But I really gotta go!”
Sokka sighed and gave in to him. “Okay, who else has to go?” Every child immediately raised their hand; Sokka was surprised for a second, before facepalming in frustration. “What's wrong with you?! We don't have time for fun, games and constant toilet breaks with the War going on! Go…”
“What war? What are you talking about?” Aang slid down Appa’s head and landed silently on his feet next to Sokka, clearly oblivious.
Sokka raised one eyebrow in disbelief. “You're kidding, right?”
Aang looks questioningly at Sokka, but the expression on his face changed to enthusiasm when he caught sight of an otter-penguin. “Penguin!” Aang exclaimed enthusiastically. The animal was startled by Aang's outburst and quickly waddles off. Aang sprinted after it, he enhanced his speed with his air bending as he raced past Katara and Sokka, leaving a deep trail in the snow as he dashed after the penguin.
“He's kidding, right?” The siblings glance at each other, not sure what they need to think of Aang's reaction.
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Aang was chasing the penguins while laughing. “Hey, come on little guy. Wanna go sledding?” He jumped at a penguin, but the animal evaded his attempt and Aang belly flopped into the snow.
Katara watched him, amused. “Hehehe, Aang, I'll help you catch a penguin if you teach me waterbending.”
Aang, having grabbed the tail of a penguin, held onto it as it pulls him through the snow for a short way before letting go and looking up at Katara. “You got a deal! Just one little problem...” He airbended himself into a sitting position. “I'm an airbender, not a waterbender. Isn't there someone in your tribe who can teach you?”
“No. You're looking at the only waterbender in the whole South Pole.”
“This isn't right. A waterbender needs to master water.” Aang thought for a moment. “What about the North Pole? There's another Water Tribe up there, right? Maybe they have waterbenders who could teach you.”
“Maybe, but we haven't had contact with our sister tribe in a long time. It's not exactly ‘turn right at the second glacier’. It's on the other side of the world.”
“But you forget, I have a flying bison.” Aang happily pointed at himself. “Appa and I can personally fly you to the North Pole. Katara, we're going to find you a master!”
Katara’s voice was unsteady as she said, “That's... I mean, I don't know. I've never left home before.”
Aang Well, you think about it, but in the meantime, can you teach me to catch one of these penguins?
Katara mockingly imitated a teacher, putting one hand on her hip while making unnecessary gestures with the other and deepening her voice. “Okay, listen closely my young pupil.” She inclined her head toward Aang, trying to look wise. “Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art.” She conjures a fish out of her sleeve. “Observe!” She tossed Aang the fish who caught it with an uncomprehending look on his face, the penguins immediately began crowding him. He laughed as the penguins swarm over him, pulling him down amidst their ranks.
Each sat atop a penguin, Aang and Katara slid down a protruding iceberg. They soared through the air for a moment before they landed on the slope and continued their journey downward. They raced down and Aang used another iceberg as a ramp to propel him into the air and to soar over and past Katara. She in turn used the next jump to land next to Aang again. The two laugh and shout out as they gleefully ride over snowy bumps. The two ride through a tunnel of ice. Katara is in the lead and tries to hold Aang back by constantly changing her direction when he wants to pass her. Aang solves this problem by increasing his speed with airbending, enabling him to race over the ceiling past Katara. The tunnel levels out on an open plain of ice where the two get off their rides. The plain itself is dominated by a large metal ship, elevated and held in place by a large protrusion of ice with the bow pointing toward the sky. Curious, Aang gazes at it.
“Whoa! What is that?”
“A Fire Navy ship. And a very bad memory for my people.” Aang had started walking towards the wreckage, but Katara caught the bottom of his orange shawl before he could get too far away from her. “Aang, stop! We're not allowed to go near it! The ship could be booby-trapped!”
Aang If you want to be a bender, you have to let go of fear.
Katara pondered over that remark for a moment, then built the courage to walk toward Aang—admittedly with a scared look upon her face. The two ventured closer toward the ship. Aang helped Katara to climb some of the blocks of ice that lay beside the ship, allowing them to crawl through a hole in the hull of the ship. The two walked through the silent rooms of the shipwreck.
Katara’s voice echoed through the room. “This ship has haunted my tribe since Gran-Gran was a little girl. It was part of the Fire Nation's first attacks.”
“Okay, back up. I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation. I've never seen any war.”
“Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?” Questioned Katara softly, concerned for her friend’s well-being
Aang hummed for a second while he thought about it, uncertainly, he answered, “I don't know. A few days, maybe?”
“I think it was more like a hundred years!”
Aang was in full disbelief as he replied in a slightly accusing manor. “What?! That's impossible! Do I look like a hundred-twelve-year-old man to you?”
“Think about it. The War is a century old. You don't know about it because, somehow, you were in there the whole time!” Katara watched Aang's expression changed to one of comprehension at her words. “It's the only explanation.”
Aang backed away and slumped to floor in shock. “A hundred years! I can't believe it.”
The water tribe girl squatted beside him. “I'm sorry, Aang. Maybe somehow there's a bright side to all this”
“I did get to meet you.”
Katara was smiling warmly at him while she offered her hand. “Come on, let's get out of here.” She pulled him to his feet and guided him to the exit of the room. “Aang, let's head back, this place is creepy.” Aang ventured down yet another room with Katara on his trail. There, he tripped over a thin rope; as he stumbled, metal bars slide downward over the entrance, barring it and trapping them inside.
“Huh?” He ran towards the bars and peeked through them, “What's that you said about booby traps?” The gears and engines of the shipwreck suddenly powered up, beginning to function. In shock, Katara and Aang chased the whirling sounds and stiff movements of the machines until suddenly, a flare is fired and explodes high in the sky. “Uh oh...” Aang noticed a hole in the roof of the ship and pulled a surprised Katara into his arms. “Hold on tight!”
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Prince Zuko, was peering through a telescope, following every movement the duo made as Aang, still holding Katara, jumped down the side of the ship. “The last airbender! Quite agile for his old age.” He turned and angrily yelled to a soldier behind him. “Wake my uncle! Tell him I found the Avatar.” Zuko peeked through his telescope again to see that Katara and Aang were running. He followed the direction they were running in with his telescope and discovered that they must be headed for the nearby village he spotted earlier. “As well as his hiding place.”