Hello cuties! Please read this note about the story before reading if you are easily confused! Otherwise you can skip it! :)

This story is, obviously, an AU.

Now, in this AU the Fire Nation is already in total control of the Earth Kindgom (though there are still pockets of rebellion) and have already wiped out the Air Nomads, as in canon. Everything is pretty much in canon except for a few changes like the Southern Watertribe being slightly larger with Hakoda still as chief and the Fire Nation never having discovered either of the Watertribes. Zuko still has his scar, attained the same way, but never had to go in search of the Avatar. Since he is older in this story I have changed his personality a bit. I believe he would have turned out to be a decent human regardless of whether or not he went in search of Aang. He is, of course, still very cocky and entitled and hasn't gotten a hold on his temper (I feel he never would have gotten these traits under control unless he searched for the Avatar with Iroh) Basically he's still a jerk, but a decent human being underneath the pall of being a Fire Nation prince.

Aang had not yet been discovered but he will be in this story eventually.

The Water Tribes are more Inuit and American Indian based in my story than in canon. They wear furs of natural color rather than the blues of canon. They are very strongly rooted in their spirituality/traditions/ceremonies… things of that nature

I think that's about it, Enjoy!

It had all started with the man with fire for hands.

She had been chasing The Great Red Deer, spear in hand, bow slung over her back. The Red Deer was known for being able to run for miles, to survive, and if anyone could free the animals spirit by bow or spear, it was a sign from the spirits. The hunter was said to be destined to change the world.

The young woman's breath froze in the air as she ran after the deer, her strides long and calm. She could see the red blur in the distance nearing. She had been pursuing the deer for hours. Her lungs burned, her throat numb from the icy air. She was unlike any woman to ever to grace the Southern Water Tribe. She was a warrior, she was a hunter. She ran.

Her spirit and the Red Deer- Loota-Kohanis- were linked from her birth. It was said two comets had bolted across the sky on the night she was born. Every other night of the year these comets were not bright or impressive, but slow and persistent, leisurely loping across the sky. All except for one night of the year. The Shaman, an ancient man who was entwined with the spirits like lover's fingers, had seen the two running lamps in the sky. The solstice, the night she was born, was the night the two spirits returned to the Spirit World, leaving the mortal world in a bright flash of light, streaking across the sky, marking the start of the Days of Dark.

It was Chuchip and Kohanis; the woman and the deer. Chuchip was the first person, a woman, to ever free the Red Deer's spirit. Kohanis was a proud stag- the Great Red Deer. The two spirits met again in the spirit world and ran across the skies.

Now, hundreds of years later, a young woman was running after a Red Deer. A stag.

It had taken a toll on both of them. The woman's chest ached and every stride was agony. They had been running since the dawn of that day. The deer suddenly slowed and stopped. He turned broadside and locked eyes with the girl. She stopped dead in her tracks, the two warriors staring each other down. Frozen breath spilled from both of their mouths, their chests heaving with the effort of the chase. They regarded each other and the deer flicked his tail once, at peace, as though she were not even there. She pulled her bow from her back, knocked an arrow and took aim…

The stag dropped in the snow, his spirit leaving his body with the final heave of his lungs. The girl dropped to one knee, holding her bow above her head to thank the spirits for her kill and the precise aim with which she took the animal, causing him no pain. She approached the red mound in the snow, the only spot of color in this blank landscape. She gave the proper thanks, chanted the prayers of honor and the songs of the hunt while she skinned the stag. It was not the first large game she had skinned and cut to carry home. However, it was the first red deer she'd killed, the first to be taken by her tribe in almost a hundred years. When a hunter killed a red deer, there was so much more ceremony. The red deer was honored above all in her tribe. Only the Great Wolf matched Loota-Kohanis in splendor and glory. She buried the hide in the snow while she worked on cutting the meat and antlers from the carcass. She buried the heart in the snow and left the lungs lay atop the burial spot of the heart. It honored the buck this way, the heart returned to the earth and the lungs returned to the air and sky. She put the rest of the meat in her game bag, yanking the drawstrings when she was done. Her hands were stained red and completely numb. She uncovered the hide and stiffly rolled it up, tying it together in a bundle with a leather thong. The watertribe girl tied the pelt to the bag, slung it over her shoulder, her bows and quiver following right after it. She stood and thanked the spirits once more before reaching down, grabbing the rack in one hand and her spear in the other. She had a long journey home.

She had been welcomed back to the village two days later with shock, initially, and then celebration. When she had first been spotted by one of the scouts, many of the tribe's people came to the edge of town to welcome her back and help prepare the food that she surely carried. She never came back empty handed. But when they had seen the great antlers held in both hands, they had parted silently. She faced the antlers forward, held firmly at her waist, as she entered the village. Ceremony called to enter this way. Everyone would know just what it was the hunter carried and allowed the glory of the deer to face its final resting place, ahead of the one who released its spirit.

She walked straight down the center of the tiny town to the hut of the Shaman. He was standing outside his home before she even arrived. At this point the whole village was gathered behind her at a respectful distance. The young hunter dropped to one knee and hoisted the rack above her head, her arms shaking with the effort of not only her long journey home, but also with the immense weight of the bone antlers. She dared not say a word until the Shaman blessed or cursed her. The Shaman would know if the hunter had acted in honor or shame. He would know if the hunter had performed all the ceremonies and given the proper thanks. He could read the spirits that way. The woman before him held her breath waiting, she felt nothing but respect and admiration for the animal she had killed. Surely the Shaman must feel her reverence. She didn't know how much longer she could bear the weight of the rack. And then, he spoke her name.

"Mingan, the grey wolf, has truly followed in the footsteps of our mother, Chuchip," he spoke just to her and whatever deities were around them. "She has honored our tribe on this day." And then he yelled loud enough for the whole village to hear; "The spirits smile at her!"

She stood, turning to the village people and flashed them a blinding grin. They whooped loudly in a scrambled chorus, turning to their neighbors and celebrating. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Chief Hakoda approach her, waving an arm to quiet the crowd. "In honor of Loota-Kohanis and in celebration of Mingan, we will feast and honor the spirits! The celebration begins at dusk!" He cried, his teeth white against his brown skin. He gave her a slap on the back in passing before walking down to join his people.

The feast that ensued lasted three nights. Mingan was honored in front of the entire tribe, placing her with the great hunters of time past. The Shaman blessed her and told the origin stories of the world, of the tribe and of Chuchip and Kohanis.

A week later and Mingan was back on the ice. Despite being among the most honored women in the village, she still had to help with providing food for the winter at hand. She could out run and out shoot any man. It was what made her an excellent, fervent hunter; she was out to prove once and for all that a woman could do anything man could do. Women were treated fairly equally in her tribe but were still not considered to be much good at heavy lifting, hunting, fishing or crafting weapons. And any woman who was considered good at these things had been dead for two hundred years or were just old tales that vanished into the air as soon as they were spoken. She knew now that women would be seen as better hunters by her people, and Mingan was determined to make it stick. She would carry on just as she always had, tumbling with the rough group of boys she pal'd around with, bringing home food for the village and helping wherever else it was needed. She had not changed in her mind, she was still just Mingan.

A young man, a Prince, was also on the ice. He accompanied Admiral Zhao and a large crew of men to the South Pole in search of oil. It was a new resource, only recently discovered in the south-most tip of the Earth Kingdom. However, it could only be found in small pockets underground. In hope of finding larger, more reliable sources, Fire Lord Ozai had sent a recon team to the icy underbelly of the world, his son included. He hoped it would give his heir a little grit, and that he would come back a better man. Ozai had put his son under the tutelage of Admiral Zhao, though the young prince could belay any orders the Admiral gave if he saw fit.

To Zuko it was a chance to prove himself, to learn and to show his father he was a man, ready to become Fire Lord. To the Admiral, this trip was an opportunity to gain favor with the Fire Lord, even if he did have to deal with his bratty son. Zuko and Zhao had never been fond of each other and both planned to stay out of each other's way for the duration of this expedition even if the Admiral was supposed to be teaching Zuko the ways of command. They both knew that wasn't happening.

Besides their differences, they both had to keep the men steeled up. There were vicious rumors of a savage people that lived on this snow, demons that could take the shape of animals and vanish into thin air. Neither Zuko nor Zhao had ever heard these rumors, nor had many of the men, until they reached the southern parts of the Earth Kingdom. Once the colonies they were passing through caught wind of where they were going, the rumors spread throughout the crew like a disease. More being adding to the fables at every town they stopped in. By the time they were ready to set sail to the South Pole over half the men were shaking in their boots. Zhao quickly straightened them up, berating them at how ridiculous they were acting and that they had better shape up or consider themselves out of a military career. It did nothing but make the men more careful about how they gossiped.

Zuko thought all of these rumors were silly stories children told to each other to inspire fear.

He had left most of the drilling to Zhao and the men and took it upon himself to record whatever strange beasts that lived there. He would work with the drilling crew of course, but he was also here on a mission of exploration. And he wasted no time on the endeavor. The moment they made landfall (after hours of breaking through ice) he left them to explore this Agni forsaken land.

Maybe it had all started with the girl with feathers in her hair.

CHAPTER 1:

They had met in stunned silence. The wind rustled the feather in the girl's hair and the white fur of her coat.

The driving snow had melted around the man's body.

They stared, and breathed. They had never seen someone like the other.

The man wore armor that shined like wet ice in the sun.

The girl looked wild; feral and untamed.

There was a whoosh of air as the man's hands turned to fire.

It had taken all of two seconds for the shock to fade and for an arrow to be nocked and aimed at the junction of his neck and shoulder, where his armor did not protect.

Maybe that was all that it took for him to send a blast of flame at the girl in animal furs.

She rolled out of the way and leapt to her feet. She re-aimed her arrow -almost clumsy with bewilderment- and let it sing through the air. It slammed into the man's strange armor with a thunk. He snarled in surprise, and maybe even pain, before he let loose a torrent of fire. He could not help but notice the girl's lightning fast reaction.

She dodged out of the way of another ball of fire. Mingan swept another arrow from the quiver on her back. She could see the young man becoming unglued, his eyes burning as he swept a line of flame at her. She ran, keeping a bead on the man with fire for hands. He was an easy target. His black armor did nothing to blur the lines of his form in the snow, he did not move much, staying rooted to the same spot.

Another arrow flew through the bitter air. It would have pierced his skin had a sharp wind not snatched it from its lethal course. In shock at her failed arrow, fire licked through her animals hide pants and singed her legs. She cried out in pain and tripped over her feet, tumbling to the ice-covered snow.

The thin sheet of ice broke under her weight and she sunk into the fluffy snow beneath. She heard the tell-tale sound of footsteps breaking through ice. She barley caught the man in the corner of her eye before she rolled out of the way of a burning fist. She scrambled to her feet, seeking purchase on the undamaged ice around her. She had no other weapons that could be reached in time to defend herself so she chose the only one she had; her legs.

She turned on her heels and ran. She was only just sorting her legs out when a hand snagged her ankle, bringing her toppling to the snow. She landed hard on her side. She only had time to roll on her back and put her hands up in front of her face before the man leapt on top of her. A short cry passed through her lips at her sudden and unforeseen position. The man's eyes were the color of fire, but it was the second thing she noticed. The first was the angry scar that covered his left eye.

The man was not sure why he had made the first move to attack this dark-skinned creature. He never thought things through. In truth, he had simply been startled, perhaps even curious. But as soon as she drew her bow his inner-fire, the thing that controlled his knee-jerk, self-preservation reactions had taken over.

The girl was light on her feet, her running steps not even cracking the ice like his metal boots had the whole time he'd been here. She had impeccable aim; he had a small mark on his shoulder to prove it.

It was his burning curiosity that had made him grab her ankle and pin her to the ground. He wanted to know more about her. Boy, what a charmer.

He had never seen blue eyes before and it had distracted him for a second. It was foolish, he had been trained his whole life to never lose focus, and yet something as simple as blue could cloud his thoughts. So, to say the least, he was not prepared for the blow to the ear he received. The thin gloves on the girl's hands didn't do much to soften the blow, but she apparently thought different.

She ripped her glove from her hand with straight, pearly teeth that looked dangerously sharp to him in that moment. He managed to see the next fist coming at him and shouldered it.

She tried to wriggle out from under her attacker and when she found she was making no progress she slammed her knee into his ribs. She cried out in pain when her kneecap cracked against armor. She tried to hit him, aimed to knock his bared teeth out. His larger, hot hands blocked her fists. He immobilized her legs, pinning them between his knees. Panic was beginning to creep into her chest.

She clawed at his face, almost laughing in joy when she felt one of her nails rip into his cheek.

Her arms were strong, he would give her that. He drove his elbow into her arm, pinning it down in the snow. His other hand was curled tightly around her other wrist. Maybe he could talk to her now that she wasn't trying to kill him.

Options were becoming slim for her. She had almost resorted to spitting in his face when she saw the pale skin of his throat peek through the high collar of his shirt. She locked down onto that little sliver of exposed flesh, just under his jaw. She still had one weapon left.

It took Zuko a long second to process why the cold tip of her nose was suddenly buried along his jaw. The intense pain of teeth sinking through his skin jerked him back to reality. He was sure she was going to take a huge chunk out of his throat. It reminded him of that time a young eel hound had latched onto his hand as a child.

Mingan felt unnaturally warm skin against her lips and blood in her mouth. With a strangled howl the man tore away from her and she managed to scramble out from under him. She leapt to her feet and snagged her bow and spilled arrows a few yards away. She was pulling her bow and arrow up to kill him when he spoke.

"Stop!" He shouted, holding a hand to his neck. Blood stained the tops of his pale fingers as he looked up at her.

The woman's chest was heaving under her furs, her bow aimed at his skull. But, she seemed surprised to hear him yell out. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," she growled lowly, the sharp flint tip of her bow still aimed between his golden eyes.

"I want to talk."

A sharp, laugh rang from her mouth. "You attack me and then you expect me to talk!?"

Zuko rose to his feet looking at his blood stained palm. Mingan took a wary step back. "I am in within every right as Prince of the Fire Nation to kill you where you stand." His voice was surprisingly level and calm. He sounded more annoyed than anything.

"Fire Nation? Is that your village?" She asked, suddenly curious, the tip of her arrow dipping towards the snow an increment. Zuko gave her an incredulous glance and then wiped his hand on the bottom of his cloak.

"Yes, I suppose. Were you unaware that there are other people in the world outside of this wasteland?"

"No," she snapped. "I am not stupid."

"Could have fooled me," he mumbled touching his torn flesh tenderly.

"What was that?" Mingan asked sharply raising her bow again. Zuko put his hand out, signaling her to just relax.

"Nothing. What are you doing out here anyway?"

"You are in no position to be asking questions," the strange girl snarled.

"I'm not?" He bit back alighting a small flame in his hand. "I bet fire travels just as fast as an arrow."

"Care to find out?" She quipped pulling the string back farther.

Zuko straightened up at this. This girl had audacity, talking to a Prince like that. He straightened his collar and rolled his shoulders. He thought diplomacy might save them some blood-shed. She had already proven she would not hesitate to harm him. "Anyway," he said clearing his throat, "What's your name, girl?"

Her eyebrows furrowed a little. "Mingan." She studied him for a second. "What's yours?"

"Zuko, crown prince of the Fire Nation, son of Fire Lady Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai," he stated proudly.

"I asked for your name not your whole life story," Mingan retorted rolling her eyes.

If it was anyone else he would have burnt them to a crisp, but he was far too curious to lash out at this girl. "You never answered my question, what are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she answered coldly.

Zuko snorted steam, annoyed. "If you must know, I am exploring. My people have never been here before. I'm taking personal observations."

"I see. I'm hunting," she said turning her head a little to get a different angle on him. "How many of you are there?"

"A hundred or so. We're looking for oil," he answered.

"Oil?"

He rolled his eyes. Was this girl really so naïve? "Yes. Black, sticky, comes from the ground?"

"We don't have any of that here," Mingan answered confidently.

"You don't?" Zuko reiterated.

"Are you deaf?" She said tersely, her grip tightening on the bow.

Zuko felt heat rushing to his limbs. This girl was infuriating! Not to mention disrespectful! "You should watch how you speak to me. I am within every right to kill you for your insolence," he threatened again.

"You are not my Prince. You have no rights here," Mingan fired back. Zuko was about to give her a good tongue-lashing but she cut him off. "How do you make fire with your hands?" She asked, peering out curiously from behind her sights.

The Prince was caught off guard at her suddenly soft expression. "It's just like any other kind of bending. You just feel it and-" fire came to his palms.

"How do you not get burned?" She asked, her big blue eyes staring him down from under her furrowed brow.

"Fire is as every part of us as breathing; our own fire cannot burn us."

She nodded, seeming to be satisfied with that answer. "Are there benders here?" Zuko asked.

"If I put this down do you promise not to attack me?" She asked, releasing the tension on the string the tiniest bit.

"On my honor… but if you try anything I'll kill you where you stand," he added as an afterthought.

Mingan nodded and put the arrow in the quiver on her back, slinging her bow across her shoulder, the string crossing her chest. She inched towards her discarded glove, her eyes never leaving the man. She snatched it off the ice once she was close enough and scurried away from him again. When she was a safe distance from the man with fire for hands, she put her glove back on and glanced down at her ruined pants. She glared at him and touched her angry red flesh. It was not badly burned; the air would keep it cool enough. "We need to get out of the wind," she said looking around quickly and heading towards a little cropping of rocks a few hundred yards away. She almost laughed when she heard Zuko following loudly, his feet crashing through the layer of ice with every step.

"You didn't answer my question," he called from behind her two minutes later.

"Less talking, more walking." She heard him growl angrily and she almost laughed. It did not take long for her to reach the shelter of the rocks. Mingan brushed away a thin layer of snow on the rock floor, enough for a little fire. She always carried a small supply of kindling and whale blubber when she hunted. By the time Zuko arrived, tromping angrily through the snow, she already had the fire breathing on its own, and had set to examining her leg.

"Answer my question!" He snarled ripping his boot off and shaking snow out of it. Mingan looked up at him blankly and went back to checking her burn. She wouldn't speak to him if he was going to act like a child. Zuko plopped down on the other side of the fire and glared angrily at her over the top of the flames. "Will you answer me now? Are there any benders here?"

"Yes, waterbenders, not many though," She said around the piece of jerky hanging out of her mouth. She couldn't help but think of Katara, she was the only one in their tribe. It was quiet for a long moment. "What is that you're wearing?" She asked nodding towards him.

"Armor."

"Yes, I know that, but what is it made from?"

"Metal," Zuko answered.

"Metal?" She asked after she swallowed the last scrap of jerky. Mingan inched around the fire towards him to get a better look.

"Yes, here," he said snagging her wrist and putting her hand on his chest. She shot him a little glare and then curled her fingers and knocked her knuckles against the breastplate.

"Metal." It sounded like a question. "Interesting," she said scooting away. Zuko studied her, she seemed like an intelligent young lady, but she was dressed like a savage. He understood where the rumors came from now. Her coat was made from some kind of fur, tiny grey hairs peppering the otherwise completely white pelt. It had blended in with the snow and blurred her outline. It had made her harder to see in the driving snow. No wonder the rumors had gotten started about shape-shifters and vanishing into thin air. It was just good camouflage.

It was easy talking to her, Zuko realized. She listened carefully and asked questions, genuinely curious about his culture. The Crown Prince was just as curious about her people as she was his. These people did not sound like the savages the stories claimed them to be… not Mingan at least. The way she described their way of life was archaic but not savage. They had form of government, albeit an ancient one. He told her briefly about the Fire Nation, how hot it was and all the colors there. She seemed interested particularly about the colors and the wildlife.

Zuko felt almost silly when he drew a small leather journal from under his armor and showed her the pictures he had drawn of the animals he had seen here. Despite this being his first day in the South Pole, he had seen a variety of creatures.

She pointed to the drawings eagerly and told him what their names were. She obviously did not know how to read, or at least she didn't comment on the silly names he had placed next to the pictures. He thought he might discover new species and felt a little jilted when he found they already had names that had been established thousands of years ago.

Mingan thought Zuko was a pretty good artist. He seemed to catch even the smallest details of the animals he drew. She saw strange marks next to the pictures, unsure of what purpose they held. She was almost sure it was writing. Her people had a small written language, ancient of course and mostly useless. Only the Shaman, Hakoda and his children knew how to read and write.

"That's a tiger-seal," she told him pointing at the striped animal in his book.

"I see," Zuko said quietly scratching out his words and writing in the correct name. He turned the page.

"What is that!?" Mingan yelped pressing closer against Zuko's shoulder, trying to get a better look. It was such a cute creature, one that took up the whole page. She shrunk away a little, realizing how over-excited she had gotten. Sometimes she just couldn't help her impulses.

"That's a turtle-duck. They live in the gardens in my home."

"It's so cute, I wish we had them here," she almost crooned.

"My mother was particularly fond of them," he said as casually as he could. The ache in his chest for his mother still existed.

They must have talked for hours because it suddenly seemed very dark in the shadows of the rocks. Zuko leapt to his feet and gathered his journal and kohl pencil quickly. "I have to get back or they're going to send a search party out." He suddenly felt fear in his belly at the thought of his men discovering Mingan. They would tear her to pieces.

The odd pair found themselves meeting in a spot sheltered from the wind, every two or three weeks and talking until dusk. There was a lot to be learned.

Almost three months later and Mingan surprised him yet again.

"I would love to see your camp. I bet there's lots of new things there I haven't seen before," she said shyly, very uncharacteristic of her usually brash nature. Zuko tensed. He knew the men's opinion of her people, which he had found to be pretty untrue, but still. They wouldn't even think of allowing her to live for more than five minutes.

"That's a bad idea," he said firmly. He couldn't help but think of Zhao. That wicked man would either kill her on the spot or use her for his own vile purposes. She was certainly pretty enough for his tastes.

"I wouldn't get in the way, I promise. And maybe I could teach them about my people. It's not like I don't know what you think of us."

Zuko sat up straighter. "And just what do we think of your people?" He challenged.

"You think we're savages, barbarians." She remained calm, much to Zuko's surprise.

"How do you know that?" He asked in a low voice.

"Because I saw the way you looked at me. It wasn't your eyes that saw me, but the eyes of a whole nation, formulating lies and judgments."

Zuko was impressed by her accurate insightfulness. But that was beside the point. "No," he said again, walking over to the still burning fire and picking up his pack. It was getting late.

"Why? It's not like I'm going to go in there wielding a club or something," she protested angrily, scrambling to her feet.

"Mingan, it's a bad idea. A really bad one."

"Surely your people aren't so stubborn?" She pressed.

"I said no!" He snapped.

She gave him a hard look and her bottom lip pushed out a little. "Fine."

It was silent as Zuko packed his few belongings and eased the strap over his shoulder. He rubbed the back of his neck. He felt bad for yelling at her, but would she listen any other way? "I had a good time today," he forced out. She smiled a little at him.

"Well, um, I guess I'll be seeing you then," she shrugged, looking at her feet.

"Yeah," Zuko mumbled.