This starts sometime during the hundred years Aang is in the iceberg. AKA, everyone's an OC. Tho' Bumi might make an appearance or two. You never know...

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Meldi was in yet another heated argument with her teacher, though today, it was about something different. Her long black hair had fallen from its traditional not-so-tidy bun, and was dancing in patterns across her back and shoulders as she gestured violently. Water rose up and splashed other students halfway across the room – no one seemed to think this was odd or even slightly annoying. Sifu Brieca, however, looked murderous.

"Well, why not?" Meldi shouted. "They learned it from badger-moles, for crying out loud! Why can't I learn it from an Earthbender?"

"Only the Avatar can use multiple elements!" Brieca said, obviously struggling to keep any illusion of calm about her. Meldi scowled. That was the traditional response. The Avatar this, the Avatar that... It seemed ridiculous, to her. The Avatar didn't just wake up all-powerful one day. They were all just too scared to try. She told them so.

"The Avatar can use the elements because he is the spirit of the world incarnate! His past lives –"

"Teach him to use the other elements, right?" Meldi interrupted. "Is that what you were going to say?" Brieca didn't respond. "If he can learn from dead people, I should be able to learn from the living!"

"That's not how it works!" Brieca asserted. "And I'll hear nothing more of this, do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am." They both knew it was a lie. They'd both said the same things when Meldi argued that girls should be allowed to fight alongside the men. Still, it would content the Waterbending master for a while. Indeed, she went about her teaching as though nothing had happened, drawling on about the art of healing, and demonstrating for a few of the younger girls. Sensing her teacher was adequately distracted, Meldi left, barely remembering to grab her jacket on the way out.

Stupid, that's what they were. Everyone was stupid, and they didn't want to admit she was smart. She was right, she knew it, she only wished she could prove it. Meldi imagined the Waterbenders at the South Pole were more reasonable; it was a little fantasy of hers that she would go there one day, and find people who understood her frustrations. It wouldn't amount to more than a dream, though. After the last few Fire Nation attacks, communications had been cut off entirely. They didn't even have contact with the Earth Nation, anymore! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Meldi didn't really know where she was going, she just needed to keep walking. She bent ice under a few people's feet to make herself feel better. A few people looked around accusingly for the culprit, but most knew it was her right away. She got 'a good stern talking to' once or twice; everyone else contented themselves with glares. She could care less.

"Mel!" Her best friend Satano raced up to her, slipping a few times on ice that she had absolutely nothing to do with, and falling flat on his face at her feet because of ice she had everything to do with. He stood and dusted himself off, carefully replacing the headband that kept his sleek brown hair out of his face. It always amazed Meldi that he could wear things like that and not look like a girl; very few of the other boys had hair past their jaw line, and those that did wore it back, not down. "You're skipping class again," he scolded.

"So are you!" Meldi retorted.

"I'll have you know it let out early," he said indignantly. Meldi sighed. He was too straitlaced to skip, she should have guessed.

"Come on," she said, tugging on his sleeve. "You have to show me the whip again: I forgot how to do it."

"Mel!" he hissed. "Don't be so loud about it! I'm not supposed to be teaching you anything." Satano looked around nervously, as though even the snowmen could be listening. "Girls aren't supposed to fight..."

"And boys aren't supposed to heal," she finished. "Its their loss, really. You're one of the best healers –"
"Shh!" he insisted loudly enough that he drew the attention of everyone around them. He looked at Meldi helplessly, shrinking back as though everyone intended to attack him. "Mel," he whimpered. "Do something..."

The instant Meldi grinned, Satano knew that had been the wrong thing to say. Things had a tendency to explode violently when she smiled like that. He threw his arms over his head for cover. Meldi kicked a pile of snow up into the air, which condensed into a set of perfectly round snowballs that she caught in her arms. A few of the brighter onlookers ran. The snowballs were as hard as rocks. She threw one into the air experimentally. More people shuffled away nervously. "Aw, you're no fun," she whined. She tossed all of them above her at once, where she bent them back to individual snowflakes again, creating a small flurry.

Satano looked up hesitantly. "Snow?" he said incredulously, catching a few flakes on his palm. "All of that lead up so you could make it snow?"

"My audience left," Meldi said bluntly. She punched him lightly on the arm. "Some brave warrior you are," she teased.

"Shut up..."

They headed for their training spot without any more disturbances, much to Meldi's annoyance. She paused as they crossed one of the bridges near the docks. The ships didn't go anywhere, nowadays, but they used to make runs to the Earth Kingdom for supplies and information. She'd contemplated stealing one, but the ships that could handle open water weren't the kind of thing even two Waterbenders could handle on their own. And that was assuming she got Satano's help. He made a face every time she suggested it. Stupid customs or not, he didn't want to leave the North Pole.

Meldi's eyes widened as she looked along the row of ships. "That's not one of ours," she said, pointing at what had to be an Earth Kingdom vessel.

"No, its not," Satano agreed. "So what is it – Mel, where are you going?" The confirmation was all she needed; in an instant she was darting down the spiral stairs to the ground below. With a sigh, Satano ran after her.

Meldi waved at one of the sailors on the deck. "Hey!" she called.

The sailor scowled. "Get off the docks, kid! We're castin' off at dawn, and we need to get this rig loaded up!" Indeed, crates were scattered across the dock, and a few men were dragging one up the gangplank.

Meldi smiled. He'd told her exactly what she needed to know, and she didn't even have to ask. She liked it when things were easy. "Sorry!" she yelled back. "Have a safe trip!"

"Yeah, whatever," he grumbled, waving her away absently.

She dashed happily back to the bridge, linking arms with a confused Satano and skipping up the stairs. She'd be on that ship tomorrow. Finally, she'd found a way out of this place.