Post by Yug on Apr 6, 2013 17:03:13 GMT -5
Water. Earth. Fire. Air. My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days; a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements. Only he could stop the ruthless firebenders, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years have passed, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe finally journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help end the fight against the Fire Nation, leaving my brother to watch over the tribe. I don't know where the Avatar is, or if he will come, but even if he never returns, I will find a way to stop this all.
The frigid air of the South Pole freezes their breath, as Aya and her brother Sokka sit in their canoe, Sokka staring hungrily at the small fish dancing beneath their boat, his spear held at the ready, and his concentration broken every time Aya's mouth opens.
"Sokka, why are we even out here? Father left enough boys in the tribe when he left, shouldn't they be out here with us? With all the men gone from the village, the boys should learn how to provide in their stead."
"Aya, I'm more than enough man for the village right now. And the boys should be boys; let them play around while the real men get to work."
"But the real men are at work, Sokka. All I see is a boy trying to act like a man."
"You know what, Aya? You can see how manly this boy is when I catch this fish and bring it back for the rest of the tribe to eat!" He turned back to the small fish, determination burning fierce in his eyes, before being replaced with confusion. "Huh? Where'd it go?"
"You were going to catch this to impress everyone else? Well then think of how impressive I'll appear with it." Sokka turned around, and was met face to face with the same fish. It was suspended in a bubble of water, as Aya sat back in the nose of the canoe, swirling her hand in an almost lazy fashion to keep the orb afloat.
"Gah!" Sokka jumped back, rocking the canoe and breaking Aya's focus. The orb burst, the fish escaped and ice cold water splashed all over Sokka. "Argh!" He stood up in protest and surprise, rocking the boat even more, until he fell out, his heavy furs weighing him down. Aya stood up immediately.
"Sokka!" She leaned over the edge of the boat, her eyes almost filled with concern. She gritted her teeth and raised her arms. "You-" the water around Sokka began to swirl. "Complete-” Straining, Aya lifted a pillar of water with Sokka inside. "BUFFOON!" Aya released her hold over the water, and dropped Sokka and a school of fish into the canoe. "You idiot, what were you thinking, jumping in after the fish!? What would have happened if you drowned or froze? Ugh, maybe you should keep all the boys with the tribe, if the men are this foolish."
Sokka was shivering and coughing on the floor as the fishes flopped around the boat and smacked him in the face. "Why *cough* Why are you blaming me!?"
Aya crossed her arms and looked away. "Well, it was obviously your fault for being surprised by a silly fish."
"What do you mean 'my fault'!? You're the one who pulled the fish out with your magic water!"
"It's not 'magic water,' it's waterbending, a time honored art that our tribe has kept for-"
"-For generations and generations until the Fire Nation killed all of them, yeah I know. Obviously the Fire Nation didn't honor it so much. Anyway, why is it every time you 'waterbend,' *cough*, every time you 'waterbend,' I get soaked? Ugh, I knew bringing my kid sister was a bad idea."
"Kid!? I'm only a year younger than you, you fool!"
"Yeah, well every time you play around, I get messed with in some way, just like a kid, ruining everything else and making the grown-ups' lives harder. You should have just stayed with Gran-Gran; maybe she could have helped you figure out how to do that cross-stitch."
"Excuse me!?"
"Yeah, you heard me. Girls shouldn't be out hunting with the men, because they'll just mess everything up, like n-no...na...a-ACHOO!" Sokka's sneeze almost knocked him out of the boat again, but Aya grabbed his hand. "Okay, that was just a fluke, but girls still mess everything up!"
Aya's face turned dark. "You foolish, sexist, immature, nut-brained-” She punctuated each adjective with a violent arm movement, and the water around the canoe began to violently surge. Sokka looked around nervously.
"Ah-alright Aya, you've made your point, please calm down now, hahaha?"
"Oh, you think it's funny when a GIRL gets angry at you, that it's not serious at all, well guess what you miserable idiot!? This! Is! Serious!" She stamped her foot with each exclamation mark, and the waves rose around them.
"AYA! WATCH OUT!" Sokka grabbed the oar and began to try and paddle, as the waves churned and tossed the canoe around, sending Aya to the floor with the fish, while Sokka tried to steer the boat. "Hold on, I think I got this! I think we can make it!"
An enormous iceberg breached the water, right in front of the canoe. Sokka shrieked like a girl. Aya froze in place. The canoe smashed into the iceberg, sending Aya, Sokka, and the fish onto a ledge on the icy mountain. The fish flopped around sadly. Sokka got up, checking himself for bruises. "Ugh...Aya!" He scrabbled over to his sister, who was stirring weakly. "Aya! Please, be okay!"
Aya's ice blue eyes snapped open. "Of course I'm okay! Your concern is unneeded!" Jumping to her feet, she fastidiously brushed snowflakes off her front and turned on her heels, crossing her arms again before mumbling "But thanks."
Sokka smirked. "What, what, what? I don't think I heard that last part right."
"Then maybe you should clean the fish out of your ears." Still smiling, Sokka turned and started to gather up the fish. The first one he picked up jumped and smacked him in the face before hurriedly jumping into the sea. The rest of the fish followed suit, quickly flopping as fast as they could back to the sea. The iceberg had begun to shake violently.
Sokka immediately grabbed Aya, who yelped in surprise, and dropped to the floor, while Aya smacked him over the head. "What was that for!?"
"Stay down! If you're standing up, you might fall!" The iceberg continued to shake, until another one broke the surface, about twelve feet in front of their iceberg. It was large and circular, and there was the indistinct figure of someone in the lotus position inside. The shaking stopped. "What...what is that?"
Aya turned her head to her brother. "I think you mean 'who.' In any case, let's see if we can get him out." She got up and inspected the canoe. Sokka walked over to her. Aya looked back. "Sokka, the canoe is broken. You need to fix it." He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, okay. Let me just grab my imaginary hammer, along with my imaginary sealskins and imaginary awls and imaginary knives! All aboard the S.S. Imagination, our destination is where ever Aya thinks she can go in a broken boat."
Aya scoffed. "Forget it then. I should have remembered that only the men from our tribe could fix boats." She gave the ice floes a critical glance. "Hmm, just a little push..." Her brow furrowed, Aya slowly whirled her arms, causing small waves to nudge a couple of ice floes within jumping distance. She picked up Sokka's boomerang and hopped over the ice floes.
"Hey! Give back Boomerang!" Sokka scrabbled to his feet and ran after his sister, who had reached the iceberg and started to hit the ice with Boomerang.
"I'll. Get. You. Out!" Each word was punctuated with a strike at the ice. Suddenly, the figure's arms and head began to glow with an arrow pattern, and it opened its glowing eyes. The boomerang broke through a layer of ice, and a gust of wind came bursting out. Sokka immediately tackled his sister and kept her to the ground. "Get off! I can stick to the ground by myself."
"Well this is the second time I've done it for you, so clearly, you can't!" From the crack Aya had made, more cracks spider-webbed across the icy orb, and blue energy began to shine through. Soon the entire iceberg was shining with cracks, and burst open in a pillar of blue energy that shot to the sky. The wind subsided as quickly as it came, and a haze of water vapor hung in the air. Sokka jumped to his feet and grabbed his boomerang, peering into the crater from the explosion of energy. The silhouette of a figure appeared through the mist, and Sokka threateningly pointed his boomerang at it.
"Oh stop that, you couldn't even scare an otter penguin." Aya marched into the crater, with Sokka sputtering at her to stop. The silhouette suddenly collapsed, and Aya quickly bent the snow around it into a soft surface. She walked up to where the figure had collapsed and found a young boy, probably around twelve or thirteen. She lightly smacked him on the cheek a couple of times. "You. Are you alive?" Slowly, the boy opened his eyes, and his grey eyes began to focus on Aya's own blue eyes. He opened his mouth.
"I...I need to...to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Will you go penguin sledding with me?"
"What?"
"Penguin sledding! I heard that all the people in the Southern Water Tribe penguin sled, and I've always wanted to try it. So what do you say?" Aya looked at the boy in her arms, silently pleading her to ride penguins, and back to Sokka, who was hurrying over waving his boomerang in what he probably thought was a scary fashion.
"I...I suppose I could?" His eye's sparkled with excitement.
"Yes!" He jumped out of the snowdrift and to his feet in a fluid motion. He looked at the girl in front of him and the boy behind her, who had dropped into a defensive stance, holding a small boomerang at the ready. "Soo...what's going on here?"
Sokka grabbed Aya, yanking her back and behind him. "Why don't you tell US? Why were you in the iceberg? Why aren't you frozen anymore?" Sokka brandished the boomerang in the boy's face.
"Umm..." The boy pushed the boomerang away with a finger. "I'm not exactly sure why myself."
"What!? That's ridiculous; how on earth do you expect us to believe that?"
He shrugged. "I dunno."
"Do you know anything at all?"
"I know that-" He was cut off by a low growling sound. "Oh, Appa!" The boy ran to a large pile of snow with two small black cones sticking out. "You in there buddy? Hey!" The pile of snow began to move, until an enormous bull-like creature with six legs and arrow marking like the boy emerged from the snow. "Haha, hey you're alright!" The boy laughed as the creature licked him with a tongue as big as he was. The beast shook the snow off, rolled around, and stretched. Sokka looked at the animal in the snow with some curiosity and trepidation.
"What IS that thing?"
"This is Appa, my flying bison."
"Right and this is Aya, my flying sister. Don't put your fingers near her, she bites."
"And punches." Aya punched Sokka in the shoulder.
"Haha-whoa!" The boy quickly dived away from Appa, who had begun to inhale in an odd way. Sokka just moved closer.
"What's wrong with it?" Appa sneezed green mucus all over Sokka. Sokka screamed and rolled around in the snow, trying to wipe the bison goo off his face. Aya only shook her head. The boy just laughed. While Sokka wiped his face in the ground, Aya turned towards the mysterious boy.
"I believe you never gave us your name."
"Oh, right. I'm A-a-ACHOO!" He sneezed, and a gust of wind knocked Aya to the ground and sent the boy flying into the air. He landed neatly on his feet before a stunned Aya. "I'm Aang." Sokka gaped at the boy, forgetting about the freezing bison boogers in his hair. "Y-y-you just flew ten feet in the air!"
"Really? I thought I went higher than that..." Aya snapped out of her confusion
"You're an Airbender!"
"Yup! And you're from the Southern Water Tribe, right?"
"Yes, I am Aya, and the one who likes to overreact is my brother, Sokka." Aya picked herself off the ground and dusted herself off. She held her hand out to Aang. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Airbender Aang." Aang just stared at her hand. "...You shake it."
"Um, why?"
"It shows unity and concord, and implies good will."
"But don't old people do that?"
"Mature and mentally developed people shake hands as well, so shake!" Aang jumped at the force in her voice and quickly reached out and shook. Having finally gotten the last of Appa's boogers off him, Sokka looked up to see Aang and Aya shaking hands.
"Don't touch him! We don't know if he's a spy for the Fire Nation or not!"
Aya sighed. "Of course, Sokka. An Airbender would indeed be a loyal servant to the Fire Lord, much like how you and Appa are getting along swimmingly." As if to emphasize her point, Appa gave Sokka a good lick.
"I'm not even going to bother to try and wipe anymore bodily fluids off me. I'm just going to get off Crazy Ice Island and back to the tribe, where things make sense." Sokka turned on his heel and took two steps before stopping dead in his tracks. There was no canoe. There was no more ice floe bridge. There was no way off Crazy Ice Island.
"Well," Aang airbended himself onto Appa "If you guys are stuck, I could always give you a ride on Appa."
"That would be fine, thank you. Come along, Sokka."
"What!? Why do we have to ride that fluffy snot monster!?"
Aang reached his hand out to Aya who took it, and climbed onto Appa's back, where a large saddle was. "Well Sokka, you can always just wait for the next monster to come along and take you home, or you can freeze to death. And if you choose to freeze to death, I will personally dump all of your belongings in the public trash heap." Sokka opened his mouth to argue, and then stopped. He climbed on, slapping away Aang's hand and falling once, before settling in the saddle with Aya. Aang looked back to make sure they were both situated well.
"Alright first time flyers hold on tight! Appa, yip-yip!" Aang snapped the reins and Appa took an enormous leap, before belly flopping into the water. "C'mon boy, yip-yip!"
"Wow, I can't believe how high in the sky we are. I'm pretty sure our canoe couldn't fly as fast as this could."
Aya shot Sokka a cold glare. "Sokka, be silent." Aang rubbed one of Appa's horns.
"I'm sure he's just tired. Just give him a while to rest, and he'll be up in the air in no time, you'll see." Aya nodded.
"I'm sure he will, Airbender Aang." Aang smiled at Aya, but she was not paying attention to him. She was deep in thought. Appa continued to swim, with Sokka occasionally grunting to indicate to take a left or right, and Aang occasionally looking back to sneak a look at Aya. Eventually, she moved to the front of the saddle and sat down next to Aang. "Excuse me, Airbender Aang."
"Yeah Aya?" Aya looked at him, her eyes intense.
"I need to know something. Since you are an Airbender, am I correct in assuming that you knew the last Avatar?"
"Umm..." Aang looked away from Aya and scratched his head. "I...I knew a guy who knew him, but I never actually met the guy himself." Aang kept his gaze straight ahead for a while, before turning back to see Aya. Her brow was furrowed, and she had a slight frown.
"I see. Well, thank you anyway...Aang." She got back up and went to the back of the saddle, and put her head down. Aang looked away, and sighed, guilt present in his face. Sokka moved up to Aang.
"What did you say to her?"
"Nothing. And I don't think that's what she wanted to hear." Appa swam in silence for a couple of seconds before Sokka spoke again.
"You just need to keep going straight from here. Why don't you go to sleep?" Aang rubbed his eyes.
"That sounds good. Can you hold onto Appa's reins for me?" Sokka took the reins, and Aang moved to the back of the saddle. He glanced at Aya's sleeping form, before falling asleep himself.
Aang shot awake at the sound of a blanket being thrown off of him. Aya was standing above him, holding the covers. "The village is waiting to meet you. Here is some breakfast. You can find something you can use to wash up in the corner there."
"Oh, uh thanks Aya." She walked out of the tent before he could finish his sentence. He bolted down a loaf of bread with some soup and poked his head out the tent flap. Aya was talking with a very old woman, while Sokka was sharpening his boomerang. There were children running around, but they all avoided looking at or being near Aya, who gave them no mind at all. He slowly came out of the tent, clutching a staff. Aya noticed him walking out and signaled to one of the children. The child went and told another child, who told another, and another, until slowly, a fair sized group of elderly people, women, and young children had gathered in front of Aang, whispering.
"Everyone, this is Airbender Aang. Aang, this is the Southern Water Tribe." Aang bowed low, but the children backed away and the women began to whisper amongst themselves. Aang was nonplussed.
"Do I have something on my face or-"
"It is because you are the last Airbender anyone has seen since they went extinct a century ago." The same old woman who Aya was talking with earlier stepped out from the crowd. Aang was even more confused.
"Wait, extinct?"
"Aang, this is my esteemed grandmother." The old woman shrugged.
"Call me Gran-Gran." Sokka moved towards Aang and snatched his staff.
"What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this." An air current pushed the staff out of Sokka's hand and back into Aang's.
"That's because I don't stab people with it. I-” As Aang and Sokka continued to chatter, Aya walked away with her grandmother.
"Well Aya, did he have your answers?" Aya sighed as Aang jumped into the air and flew around on an orange glider before crashing into a wonky watchtower made of snow, as Sokka looked on aghast.
"No, grandmother. He did not even know the Avatar himself."
"So back-"
"No, not quite back to square one. I know it is illogical to think so, but I believe Aang can help me to learn how to become an even better Waterbender." Gran-gran looked amused.
"Of course he can. He can teach you that Airbenders cannot waterbend." Sokka had stalked off in a huff by then.
"Perhaps he can't. But still. I cannot help but feel I can learn something from him." They both watched as Aang stuck his tongue to his staff. "....I can learn....something from him."
Sokka paced purposefully. "Alright men, with this newcomer in our walls, we might be seeing some action soon. So you always have to remember that when you face a Fire Nation soldier, never back down! Fight to your last breath! Without courage, how will we call ourselves men?" The six year old boys in front of Sokka simply yawned. One raised his hand. "Yes! You there, soldier!"
"I have to go potty."
"A Fire Nation soldier won't let you go potty in the middle of a battle; hold it in!"
"Yeah, but I gotta go real bad."
Sokka pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay fine, who else has to go potty?" Every other hand shot into the air. Sokka rubbed his eyelids. "Okay fine, dismissed." The kids run off to the bathroom, chattering. Aya walked up to Sokka.
"How goes your training with the future men of the village?"
"Great. Just great. So great that you don't need to poke your nose into it because I have it completely under control." Aya silently watched as one of the kids threw a snowball into the igloo that served as a toilet.
"Of course you do."
Aang popped his head out of the igloo, laughing. "Alright, who threw that one?" Aya sighed and turned away.
"Well at any rate, maybe you could ask Aang to help you with the children. He appears to be of the same mental age."
"Waaah!" One of the kids cried out. Both Sokka and Aya spun around immediately, Sokka's club at the ready, while Aya prepared to waterbend. One of the children had gotten buried under a load of snow, while all of the other children giggled. Aya rolled her eyes.
"Oh for heaven's sake." With a swift motion, all of the snow was sent flying off the child, who ran off after the others. Aang looked at Aya with interest.
"You're a Waterbender?"
"Yes, I am. I am the only Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe left actually. All the others died when I was young." Aang's face dropped.
"Oh...I'm...I'm sorry." Aya shrugged.
"You didn't know. And at least I have our sister tribe in the North Pole. At any rate, if anyone deserves sympathy for being alone, it should be you, Aang."
"Me? Why me?"
"Beca-” Aang’s focus shifted away as something caught his eye.
"Hold onto that thought for a second Aya." Aang sped off towards a lone otter-penguin. "PENGUIN!" Aya and Sokka looked at each other.
"Well, I suppose I should go after him then."
"Yeah, you do that. I think I'll just duck into the potty." Sokka jogged to the long line of children in front of the bathroom, while Aya went off in search of Aang.
Aya found Aang frolicking amongst the otter-penguins, laughing as if he hadn't a care in the world. She stood there and watched him, until Aang noticed her and waved her over. "Hey Aya. Wanna help me catch some of these penguins?" Aya lifted her leg over a small penguin.
"I don't see the point in doing so. Aang, don't you realize that there's a war going on?"
"Wait, what?"
"Yes, a war. And it has been raging for ov-"
"Hold on to that thought Aya." Aang crept up on a penguin. "Al...most...got...him..." He jumped for the bird, but it let out a squawk and slid away. "Shoot. Oh well. I'll just have to try again!" Aya rubbed her eyelids.
"Look, Aang, could you please just listen to me?"
"Umm...maybe if we go penguin sledding first? We could race!" Aang smiled, his eyes sparkling with hope.
"No. We don't have time for this kind of childish purs-"
"Aww, it just sounds like you're scared you'll lose." Aang was still smiling when Aya shot him her death glare.
"Me? Afraid? Of losing? I am never afraid. And I never lose."
"Prove it then."
"With pleasure." Aya pulled a fish out of her sleeve and tossed it in front of Aang. Within seconds, a stampede of penguins had run over Aang, all of them fighting for the single fish. Aya plucked two penguins of more or less equal size out of the horde. "Well then, Airbender Aang. Shall we?"
With both of them sitting atop a penguin at the peak of an iceberg, Aang grinned at Aya, who merely stared frostily ahead. She threw a snowball in the air. The instant it touched the ground, they were both off. They sped down the iceberg, Aya's face set in a confident smirk while Aang whooped like a wild man. Aya soon took the lead as they entered an ice tunnel. She kept the lead as she continually headed Aang off, using waterbending to steer and accelerate. Suddenly, she felt a gust of air as Aang used his airbending to boost himself. Aya gritted her teeth and pushed forward, until she was neck and neck with Aang. The end of the tunnel was approaching quickly, and neither one of them had a lead. Aya bent a small ledge of snow up on Aang's side of the tunnel, trying to slow him down, but Aang blew the snow barricade away with a small motion, and gave himself a small boost. He burst out of the tunnel, followed seconds after by Aya, who immediately got up from her penguin.
"I demand a rematch. Such circumstances were unfavorable in all regards. Your build is much slighter than mine, thus my penguin was unable compensate for the weight difference, while yours was more than able to." Aang just started to laugh. "What on Earth is so funny about wanting a rematch?"
"Haha, not that. It's just you didn't want to do this at all, and now you want a rematch? You were having fun, weren't you?" She turned around with a huff.
"Not at all. It was merely to defend my pride after you implied I would lose."
"But you did lo-"
"I did not! I already explained why you had an unwarranted speed boost. Thus that round was to be considered null and void."
"Haha, suuuure. Hey, what's that?" Aang was pointing at a large, metal ship covered in rust, but with still visible flame motifs.
"That's a Fire Nation warship. We should not be here. No one ever comes here for a reason."
"Come on, let's go explore it."
"Didn't you hear what I just said? That ship is not to be explored. Not even by me. We leave it undisturbed to remember all of those from our tribe who died in the war." Aang had already climbed aboard and reached his hand out to Aya. Sighing in frustration, she took it. The two walked in frosty silence, Aang already feeling somewhat uncomfortable for having brought Aya when she did not want come. Aang finally broke the silence. "So, you said this ship was a war memorial?"
"That's right. Although I suppose memorial is incorrect, as the war against the Fire Lord has yet to end."
"Wait, back up. You're saying that the Southern Water Tribe is at war with the Fire Nation? Did the Fire Lord beat your chief in a race too?"
"Funny, but no, he did not. And it's not just my tribe. It's every country against the Fire Nation." They came upon a room filled with weapons. Aya took a closer look at some of them, leaning over while Aang scratched his scalp.
"So wait, the nations of the world are all against the Fire Nation? But my people hate war. Why are they fighting?" Aya didn't even look back at Aang.
"They aren't." Aang let out a sigh of relief.
"Well that's good. I know Monk Gyatso would never allow anyone in the temple to raise their staff against another person." Aya straightened, and turned towards Aang.
"Aang, indulge my curiosity for a moment. How long were you in that iceberg?"
"Um..." Aang scratched his arrow tattoo. "A couple of days, maybe a week tops?" Aya looked Aang in the eyes, and Aang felt a chill run up his spine. "Um, maybe it was more like two weeks, or a month?" Aya shook her head, and put her hands on Aang's shoulders.
"The war against the Fire Nation began after the Fire Lord ordered a systematic elimination of the Air Nomads, over one hundred years ago. I'm sorry Aang, but your people have been dead for a long time." Aang sunk to his knees.
"No....no...that...that can't be, no, it can't! It can't!" He shot to his feet and ran off. Aya reached out to stop him.
"No, wait! This ship is more than likely trapped! Gah, he'll get us killed." She ran off after Aang, but then shrieked as she fell. Aang heard Aya’s scream and ran back.
"Aya! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I just tripped over....oh no." There was a thin length of silver wire stretching across the hallway. They heard the movement of gears long since rusted and pipes that hadn't had water running in them for decades. "Aang, MOVE!"
They ran to the nearest opening in the ship they could find: in the roof. Aang grabbed Aya in a bridal carry and jumped out of the opening, cushioning their landing with air currents. The two ran back to the village, while behind them, the old war ship sent up flares, alerting any ships that could see them of its location. One ship had the fortune of being able to see them. In fact, it had already been at the location, after seeing the pillar of light Aang's release had made. A young man in armor pulled his eye away from his spyglass. He had seen two people running from the wreckage, one wearing Water Tribe clothing, and the other wearing Air Nomad robes. "Finally. I've finally found him." He turned around, and began to shout orders to his soldiers on the deck. "Prepare for combat! I want everyone on this boat fully armed and aware. Let everyone know that the Avatar has been found!"
The frigid air of the South Pole freezes their breath, as Aya and her brother Sokka sit in their canoe, Sokka staring hungrily at the small fish dancing beneath their boat, his spear held at the ready, and his concentration broken every time Aya's mouth opens.
"Sokka, why are we even out here? Father left enough boys in the tribe when he left, shouldn't they be out here with us? With all the men gone from the village, the boys should learn how to provide in their stead."
"Aya, I'm more than enough man for the village right now. And the boys should be boys; let them play around while the real men get to work."
"But the real men are at work, Sokka. All I see is a boy trying to act like a man."
"You know what, Aya? You can see how manly this boy is when I catch this fish and bring it back for the rest of the tribe to eat!" He turned back to the small fish, determination burning fierce in his eyes, before being replaced with confusion. "Huh? Where'd it go?"
"You were going to catch this to impress everyone else? Well then think of how impressive I'll appear with it." Sokka turned around, and was met face to face with the same fish. It was suspended in a bubble of water, as Aya sat back in the nose of the canoe, swirling her hand in an almost lazy fashion to keep the orb afloat.
"Gah!" Sokka jumped back, rocking the canoe and breaking Aya's focus. The orb burst, the fish escaped and ice cold water splashed all over Sokka. "Argh!" He stood up in protest and surprise, rocking the boat even more, until he fell out, his heavy furs weighing him down. Aya stood up immediately.
"Sokka!" She leaned over the edge of the boat, her eyes almost filled with concern. She gritted her teeth and raised her arms. "You-" the water around Sokka began to swirl. "Complete-” Straining, Aya lifted a pillar of water with Sokka inside. "BUFFOON!" Aya released her hold over the water, and dropped Sokka and a school of fish into the canoe. "You idiot, what were you thinking, jumping in after the fish!? What would have happened if you drowned or froze? Ugh, maybe you should keep all the boys with the tribe, if the men are this foolish."
Sokka was shivering and coughing on the floor as the fishes flopped around the boat and smacked him in the face. "Why *cough* Why are you blaming me!?"
Aya crossed her arms and looked away. "Well, it was obviously your fault for being surprised by a silly fish."
"What do you mean 'my fault'!? You're the one who pulled the fish out with your magic water!"
"It's not 'magic water,' it's waterbending, a time honored art that our tribe has kept for-"
"-For generations and generations until the Fire Nation killed all of them, yeah I know. Obviously the Fire Nation didn't honor it so much. Anyway, why is it every time you 'waterbend,' *cough*, every time you 'waterbend,' I get soaked? Ugh, I knew bringing my kid sister was a bad idea."
"Kid!? I'm only a year younger than you, you fool!"
"Yeah, well every time you play around, I get messed with in some way, just like a kid, ruining everything else and making the grown-ups' lives harder. You should have just stayed with Gran-Gran; maybe she could have helped you figure out how to do that cross-stitch."
"Excuse me!?"
"Yeah, you heard me. Girls shouldn't be out hunting with the men, because they'll just mess everything up, like n-no...na...a-ACHOO!" Sokka's sneeze almost knocked him out of the boat again, but Aya grabbed his hand. "Okay, that was just a fluke, but girls still mess everything up!"
Aya's face turned dark. "You foolish, sexist, immature, nut-brained-” She punctuated each adjective with a violent arm movement, and the water around the canoe began to violently surge. Sokka looked around nervously.
"Ah-alright Aya, you've made your point, please calm down now, hahaha?"
"Oh, you think it's funny when a GIRL gets angry at you, that it's not serious at all, well guess what you miserable idiot!? This! Is! Serious!" She stamped her foot with each exclamation mark, and the waves rose around them.
"AYA! WATCH OUT!" Sokka grabbed the oar and began to try and paddle, as the waves churned and tossed the canoe around, sending Aya to the floor with the fish, while Sokka tried to steer the boat. "Hold on, I think I got this! I think we can make it!"
An enormous iceberg breached the water, right in front of the canoe. Sokka shrieked like a girl. Aya froze in place. The canoe smashed into the iceberg, sending Aya, Sokka, and the fish onto a ledge on the icy mountain. The fish flopped around sadly. Sokka got up, checking himself for bruises. "Ugh...Aya!" He scrabbled over to his sister, who was stirring weakly. "Aya! Please, be okay!"
Aya's ice blue eyes snapped open. "Of course I'm okay! Your concern is unneeded!" Jumping to her feet, she fastidiously brushed snowflakes off her front and turned on her heels, crossing her arms again before mumbling "But thanks."
Sokka smirked. "What, what, what? I don't think I heard that last part right."
"Then maybe you should clean the fish out of your ears." Still smiling, Sokka turned and started to gather up the fish. The first one he picked up jumped and smacked him in the face before hurriedly jumping into the sea. The rest of the fish followed suit, quickly flopping as fast as they could back to the sea. The iceberg had begun to shake violently.
Sokka immediately grabbed Aya, who yelped in surprise, and dropped to the floor, while Aya smacked him over the head. "What was that for!?"
"Stay down! If you're standing up, you might fall!" The iceberg continued to shake, until another one broke the surface, about twelve feet in front of their iceberg. It was large and circular, and there was the indistinct figure of someone in the lotus position inside. The shaking stopped. "What...what is that?"
Aya turned her head to her brother. "I think you mean 'who.' In any case, let's see if we can get him out." She got up and inspected the canoe. Sokka walked over to her. Aya looked back. "Sokka, the canoe is broken. You need to fix it." He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, okay. Let me just grab my imaginary hammer, along with my imaginary sealskins and imaginary awls and imaginary knives! All aboard the S.S. Imagination, our destination is where ever Aya thinks she can go in a broken boat."
Aya scoffed. "Forget it then. I should have remembered that only the men from our tribe could fix boats." She gave the ice floes a critical glance. "Hmm, just a little push..." Her brow furrowed, Aya slowly whirled her arms, causing small waves to nudge a couple of ice floes within jumping distance. She picked up Sokka's boomerang and hopped over the ice floes.
"Hey! Give back Boomerang!" Sokka scrabbled to his feet and ran after his sister, who had reached the iceberg and started to hit the ice with Boomerang.
"I'll. Get. You. Out!" Each word was punctuated with a strike at the ice. Suddenly, the figure's arms and head began to glow with an arrow pattern, and it opened its glowing eyes. The boomerang broke through a layer of ice, and a gust of wind came bursting out. Sokka immediately tackled his sister and kept her to the ground. "Get off! I can stick to the ground by myself."
"Well this is the second time I've done it for you, so clearly, you can't!" From the crack Aya had made, more cracks spider-webbed across the icy orb, and blue energy began to shine through. Soon the entire iceberg was shining with cracks, and burst open in a pillar of blue energy that shot to the sky. The wind subsided as quickly as it came, and a haze of water vapor hung in the air. Sokka jumped to his feet and grabbed his boomerang, peering into the crater from the explosion of energy. The silhouette of a figure appeared through the mist, and Sokka threateningly pointed his boomerang at it.
"Oh stop that, you couldn't even scare an otter penguin." Aya marched into the crater, with Sokka sputtering at her to stop. The silhouette suddenly collapsed, and Aya quickly bent the snow around it into a soft surface. She walked up to where the figure had collapsed and found a young boy, probably around twelve or thirteen. She lightly smacked him on the cheek a couple of times. "You. Are you alive?" Slowly, the boy opened his eyes, and his grey eyes began to focus on Aya's own blue eyes. He opened his mouth.
"I...I need to...to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Will you go penguin sledding with me?"
"What?"
"Penguin sledding! I heard that all the people in the Southern Water Tribe penguin sled, and I've always wanted to try it. So what do you say?" Aya looked at the boy in her arms, silently pleading her to ride penguins, and back to Sokka, who was hurrying over waving his boomerang in what he probably thought was a scary fashion.
"I...I suppose I could?" His eye's sparkled with excitement.
"Yes!" He jumped out of the snowdrift and to his feet in a fluid motion. He looked at the girl in front of him and the boy behind her, who had dropped into a defensive stance, holding a small boomerang at the ready. "Soo...what's going on here?"
Sokka grabbed Aya, yanking her back and behind him. "Why don't you tell US? Why were you in the iceberg? Why aren't you frozen anymore?" Sokka brandished the boomerang in the boy's face.
"Umm..." The boy pushed the boomerang away with a finger. "I'm not exactly sure why myself."
"What!? That's ridiculous; how on earth do you expect us to believe that?"
He shrugged. "I dunno."
"Do you know anything at all?"
"I know that-" He was cut off by a low growling sound. "Oh, Appa!" The boy ran to a large pile of snow with two small black cones sticking out. "You in there buddy? Hey!" The pile of snow began to move, until an enormous bull-like creature with six legs and arrow marking like the boy emerged from the snow. "Haha, hey you're alright!" The boy laughed as the creature licked him with a tongue as big as he was. The beast shook the snow off, rolled around, and stretched. Sokka looked at the animal in the snow with some curiosity and trepidation.
"What IS that thing?"
"This is Appa, my flying bison."
"Right and this is Aya, my flying sister. Don't put your fingers near her, she bites."
"And punches." Aya punched Sokka in the shoulder.
"Haha-whoa!" The boy quickly dived away from Appa, who had begun to inhale in an odd way. Sokka just moved closer.
"What's wrong with it?" Appa sneezed green mucus all over Sokka. Sokka screamed and rolled around in the snow, trying to wipe the bison goo off his face. Aya only shook her head. The boy just laughed. While Sokka wiped his face in the ground, Aya turned towards the mysterious boy.
"I believe you never gave us your name."
"Oh, right. I'm A-a-ACHOO!" He sneezed, and a gust of wind knocked Aya to the ground and sent the boy flying into the air. He landed neatly on his feet before a stunned Aya. "I'm Aang." Sokka gaped at the boy, forgetting about the freezing bison boogers in his hair. "Y-y-you just flew ten feet in the air!"
"Really? I thought I went higher than that..." Aya snapped out of her confusion
"You're an Airbender!"
"Yup! And you're from the Southern Water Tribe, right?"
"Yes, I am Aya, and the one who likes to overreact is my brother, Sokka." Aya picked herself off the ground and dusted herself off. She held her hand out to Aang. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Airbender Aang." Aang just stared at her hand. "...You shake it."
"Um, why?"
"It shows unity and concord, and implies good will."
"But don't old people do that?"
"Mature and mentally developed people shake hands as well, so shake!" Aang jumped at the force in her voice and quickly reached out and shook. Having finally gotten the last of Appa's boogers off him, Sokka looked up to see Aang and Aya shaking hands.
"Don't touch him! We don't know if he's a spy for the Fire Nation or not!"
Aya sighed. "Of course, Sokka. An Airbender would indeed be a loyal servant to the Fire Lord, much like how you and Appa are getting along swimmingly." As if to emphasize her point, Appa gave Sokka a good lick.
"I'm not even going to bother to try and wipe anymore bodily fluids off me. I'm just going to get off Crazy Ice Island and back to the tribe, where things make sense." Sokka turned on his heel and took two steps before stopping dead in his tracks. There was no canoe. There was no more ice floe bridge. There was no way off Crazy Ice Island.
"Well," Aang airbended himself onto Appa "If you guys are stuck, I could always give you a ride on Appa."
"That would be fine, thank you. Come along, Sokka."
"What!? Why do we have to ride that fluffy snot monster!?"
Aang reached his hand out to Aya who took it, and climbed onto Appa's back, where a large saddle was. "Well Sokka, you can always just wait for the next monster to come along and take you home, or you can freeze to death. And if you choose to freeze to death, I will personally dump all of your belongings in the public trash heap." Sokka opened his mouth to argue, and then stopped. He climbed on, slapping away Aang's hand and falling once, before settling in the saddle with Aya. Aang looked back to make sure they were both situated well.
"Alright first time flyers hold on tight! Appa, yip-yip!" Aang snapped the reins and Appa took an enormous leap, before belly flopping into the water. "C'mon boy, yip-yip!"
"Wow, I can't believe how high in the sky we are. I'm pretty sure our canoe couldn't fly as fast as this could."
Aya shot Sokka a cold glare. "Sokka, be silent." Aang rubbed one of Appa's horns.
"I'm sure he's just tired. Just give him a while to rest, and he'll be up in the air in no time, you'll see." Aya nodded.
"I'm sure he will, Airbender Aang." Aang smiled at Aya, but she was not paying attention to him. She was deep in thought. Appa continued to swim, with Sokka occasionally grunting to indicate to take a left or right, and Aang occasionally looking back to sneak a look at Aya. Eventually, she moved to the front of the saddle and sat down next to Aang. "Excuse me, Airbender Aang."
"Yeah Aya?" Aya looked at him, her eyes intense.
"I need to know something. Since you are an Airbender, am I correct in assuming that you knew the last Avatar?"
"Umm..." Aang looked away from Aya and scratched his head. "I...I knew a guy who knew him, but I never actually met the guy himself." Aang kept his gaze straight ahead for a while, before turning back to see Aya. Her brow was furrowed, and she had a slight frown.
"I see. Well, thank you anyway...Aang." She got back up and went to the back of the saddle, and put her head down. Aang looked away, and sighed, guilt present in his face. Sokka moved up to Aang.
"What did you say to her?"
"Nothing. And I don't think that's what she wanted to hear." Appa swam in silence for a couple of seconds before Sokka spoke again.
"You just need to keep going straight from here. Why don't you go to sleep?" Aang rubbed his eyes.
"That sounds good. Can you hold onto Appa's reins for me?" Sokka took the reins, and Aang moved to the back of the saddle. He glanced at Aya's sleeping form, before falling asleep himself.
Aang shot awake at the sound of a blanket being thrown off of him. Aya was standing above him, holding the covers. "The village is waiting to meet you. Here is some breakfast. You can find something you can use to wash up in the corner there."
"Oh, uh thanks Aya." She walked out of the tent before he could finish his sentence. He bolted down a loaf of bread with some soup and poked his head out the tent flap. Aya was talking with a very old woman, while Sokka was sharpening his boomerang. There were children running around, but they all avoided looking at or being near Aya, who gave them no mind at all. He slowly came out of the tent, clutching a staff. Aya noticed him walking out and signaled to one of the children. The child went and told another child, who told another, and another, until slowly, a fair sized group of elderly people, women, and young children had gathered in front of Aang, whispering.
"Everyone, this is Airbender Aang. Aang, this is the Southern Water Tribe." Aang bowed low, but the children backed away and the women began to whisper amongst themselves. Aang was nonplussed.
"Do I have something on my face or-"
"It is because you are the last Airbender anyone has seen since they went extinct a century ago." The same old woman who Aya was talking with earlier stepped out from the crowd. Aang was even more confused.
"Wait, extinct?"
"Aang, this is my esteemed grandmother." The old woman shrugged.
"Call me Gran-Gran." Sokka moved towards Aang and snatched his staff.
"What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this." An air current pushed the staff out of Sokka's hand and back into Aang's.
"That's because I don't stab people with it. I-” As Aang and Sokka continued to chatter, Aya walked away with her grandmother.
"Well Aya, did he have your answers?" Aya sighed as Aang jumped into the air and flew around on an orange glider before crashing into a wonky watchtower made of snow, as Sokka looked on aghast.
"No, grandmother. He did not even know the Avatar himself."
"So back-"
"No, not quite back to square one. I know it is illogical to think so, but I believe Aang can help me to learn how to become an even better Waterbender." Gran-gran looked amused.
"Of course he can. He can teach you that Airbenders cannot waterbend." Sokka had stalked off in a huff by then.
"Perhaps he can't. But still. I cannot help but feel I can learn something from him." They both watched as Aang stuck his tongue to his staff. "....I can learn....something from him."
Sokka paced purposefully. "Alright men, with this newcomer in our walls, we might be seeing some action soon. So you always have to remember that when you face a Fire Nation soldier, never back down! Fight to your last breath! Without courage, how will we call ourselves men?" The six year old boys in front of Sokka simply yawned. One raised his hand. "Yes! You there, soldier!"
"I have to go potty."
"A Fire Nation soldier won't let you go potty in the middle of a battle; hold it in!"
"Yeah, but I gotta go real bad."
Sokka pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay fine, who else has to go potty?" Every other hand shot into the air. Sokka rubbed his eyelids. "Okay fine, dismissed." The kids run off to the bathroom, chattering. Aya walked up to Sokka.
"How goes your training with the future men of the village?"
"Great. Just great. So great that you don't need to poke your nose into it because I have it completely under control." Aya silently watched as one of the kids threw a snowball into the igloo that served as a toilet.
"Of course you do."
Aang popped his head out of the igloo, laughing. "Alright, who threw that one?" Aya sighed and turned away.
"Well at any rate, maybe you could ask Aang to help you with the children. He appears to be of the same mental age."
"Waaah!" One of the kids cried out. Both Sokka and Aya spun around immediately, Sokka's club at the ready, while Aya prepared to waterbend. One of the children had gotten buried under a load of snow, while all of the other children giggled. Aya rolled her eyes.
"Oh for heaven's sake." With a swift motion, all of the snow was sent flying off the child, who ran off after the others. Aang looked at Aya with interest.
"You're a Waterbender?"
"Yes, I am. I am the only Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe left actually. All the others died when I was young." Aang's face dropped.
"Oh...I'm...I'm sorry." Aya shrugged.
"You didn't know. And at least I have our sister tribe in the North Pole. At any rate, if anyone deserves sympathy for being alone, it should be you, Aang."
"Me? Why me?"
"Beca-” Aang’s focus shifted away as something caught his eye.
"Hold onto that thought for a second Aya." Aang sped off towards a lone otter-penguin. "PENGUIN!" Aya and Sokka looked at each other.
"Well, I suppose I should go after him then."
"Yeah, you do that. I think I'll just duck into the potty." Sokka jogged to the long line of children in front of the bathroom, while Aya went off in search of Aang.
Aya found Aang frolicking amongst the otter-penguins, laughing as if he hadn't a care in the world. She stood there and watched him, until Aang noticed her and waved her over. "Hey Aya. Wanna help me catch some of these penguins?" Aya lifted her leg over a small penguin.
"I don't see the point in doing so. Aang, don't you realize that there's a war going on?"
"Wait, what?"
"Yes, a war. And it has been raging for ov-"
"Hold on to that thought Aya." Aang crept up on a penguin. "Al...most...got...him..." He jumped for the bird, but it let out a squawk and slid away. "Shoot. Oh well. I'll just have to try again!" Aya rubbed her eyelids.
"Look, Aang, could you please just listen to me?"
"Umm...maybe if we go penguin sledding first? We could race!" Aang smiled, his eyes sparkling with hope.
"No. We don't have time for this kind of childish purs-"
"Aww, it just sounds like you're scared you'll lose." Aang was still smiling when Aya shot him her death glare.
"Me? Afraid? Of losing? I am never afraid. And I never lose."
"Prove it then."
"With pleasure." Aya pulled a fish out of her sleeve and tossed it in front of Aang. Within seconds, a stampede of penguins had run over Aang, all of them fighting for the single fish. Aya plucked two penguins of more or less equal size out of the horde. "Well then, Airbender Aang. Shall we?"
With both of them sitting atop a penguin at the peak of an iceberg, Aang grinned at Aya, who merely stared frostily ahead. She threw a snowball in the air. The instant it touched the ground, they were both off. They sped down the iceberg, Aya's face set in a confident smirk while Aang whooped like a wild man. Aya soon took the lead as they entered an ice tunnel. She kept the lead as she continually headed Aang off, using waterbending to steer and accelerate. Suddenly, she felt a gust of air as Aang used his airbending to boost himself. Aya gritted her teeth and pushed forward, until she was neck and neck with Aang. The end of the tunnel was approaching quickly, and neither one of them had a lead. Aya bent a small ledge of snow up on Aang's side of the tunnel, trying to slow him down, but Aang blew the snow barricade away with a small motion, and gave himself a small boost. He burst out of the tunnel, followed seconds after by Aya, who immediately got up from her penguin.
"I demand a rematch. Such circumstances were unfavorable in all regards. Your build is much slighter than mine, thus my penguin was unable compensate for the weight difference, while yours was more than able to." Aang just started to laugh. "What on Earth is so funny about wanting a rematch?"
"Haha, not that. It's just you didn't want to do this at all, and now you want a rematch? You were having fun, weren't you?" She turned around with a huff.
"Not at all. It was merely to defend my pride after you implied I would lose."
"But you did lo-"
"I did not! I already explained why you had an unwarranted speed boost. Thus that round was to be considered null and void."
"Haha, suuuure. Hey, what's that?" Aang was pointing at a large, metal ship covered in rust, but with still visible flame motifs.
"That's a Fire Nation warship. We should not be here. No one ever comes here for a reason."
"Come on, let's go explore it."
"Didn't you hear what I just said? That ship is not to be explored. Not even by me. We leave it undisturbed to remember all of those from our tribe who died in the war." Aang had already climbed aboard and reached his hand out to Aya. Sighing in frustration, she took it. The two walked in frosty silence, Aang already feeling somewhat uncomfortable for having brought Aya when she did not want come. Aang finally broke the silence. "So, you said this ship was a war memorial?"
"That's right. Although I suppose memorial is incorrect, as the war against the Fire Lord has yet to end."
"Wait, back up. You're saying that the Southern Water Tribe is at war with the Fire Nation? Did the Fire Lord beat your chief in a race too?"
"Funny, but no, he did not. And it's not just my tribe. It's every country against the Fire Nation." They came upon a room filled with weapons. Aya took a closer look at some of them, leaning over while Aang scratched his scalp.
"So wait, the nations of the world are all against the Fire Nation? But my people hate war. Why are they fighting?" Aya didn't even look back at Aang.
"They aren't." Aang let out a sigh of relief.
"Well that's good. I know Monk Gyatso would never allow anyone in the temple to raise their staff against another person." Aya straightened, and turned towards Aang.
"Aang, indulge my curiosity for a moment. How long were you in that iceberg?"
"Um..." Aang scratched his arrow tattoo. "A couple of days, maybe a week tops?" Aya looked Aang in the eyes, and Aang felt a chill run up his spine. "Um, maybe it was more like two weeks, or a month?" Aya shook her head, and put her hands on Aang's shoulders.
"The war against the Fire Nation began after the Fire Lord ordered a systematic elimination of the Air Nomads, over one hundred years ago. I'm sorry Aang, but your people have been dead for a long time." Aang sunk to his knees.
"No....no...that...that can't be, no, it can't! It can't!" He shot to his feet and ran off. Aya reached out to stop him.
"No, wait! This ship is more than likely trapped! Gah, he'll get us killed." She ran off after Aang, but then shrieked as she fell. Aang heard Aya’s scream and ran back.
"Aya! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I just tripped over....oh no." There was a thin length of silver wire stretching across the hallway. They heard the movement of gears long since rusted and pipes that hadn't had water running in them for decades. "Aang, MOVE!"
They ran to the nearest opening in the ship they could find: in the roof. Aang grabbed Aya in a bridal carry and jumped out of the opening, cushioning their landing with air currents. The two ran back to the village, while behind them, the old war ship sent up flares, alerting any ships that could see them of its location. One ship had the fortune of being able to see them. In fact, it had already been at the location, after seeing the pillar of light Aang's release had made. A young man in armor pulled his eye away from his spyglass. He had seen two people running from the wreckage, one wearing Water Tribe clothing, and the other wearing Air Nomad robes. "Finally. I've finally found him." He turned around, and began to shout orders to his soldiers on the deck. "Prepare for combat! I want everyone on this boat fully armed and aware. Let everyone know that the Avatar has been found!"
