This fan fiction is slightly AU. Actually, it's big-time AU. I have included two OC's who have a romance, and I'm introducing some new element bending(Not real elements, but I don't care). The Shinjuns are the fifth group of people in the four nations, and they reside all over the world in different places, somewhat nomadic. They are people who have human faces and bodies, but they normally have tails and ears of animals. They know only a few bending techniques: Sand-bending, lightening-bending, and Shadow-bending. Ever since the war started, the Shinjuns were against the Fire nation, and for their intolerance of them, they were captured and turned into slaves for rich Fire nation people. Some have escaped, others are still bound to nobles and soldiers in the Fire nation. This one story is about a Shinjun named Hoshiko, who meets the last air bender…


1

Tears fell as the girl stared at the fire that consumed her home, her father still inside. She saw the armored man turn to her, a terrifying look about him. Her mind was screaming at her legs to get up, to run away, but they didn't listen. Her legs were glued to the ground, her tears never ceasing. As the man began to walk over to her, she felt her arms being yanked and she tried to keep up with the one who was dragging her along. Her tears kept coming as she sobbed instead of breathed. She was pulled behind a barrel in an empty alley.

"Hoshiko!" The teenage boy hissed at her, "Stop crying! If you aren't quiet, we'll be caught." She covered her mouth and nodded, still crying. The boy pulled her up against his chest as more armored men went by. He held her tightly so they could conceal themselves. Once they passed, he grabbed her hand and they ran into the forest behind their village. They ran about fifteen feet before a wall of fire stopped them from going any further. They screamed and fell back, looking up at the man who had made the fire.

"You won't go any further, demons!" He said as he raised his fist, preparing to shoot another stream of fire.

Hoshiko sat up in her sleeping bag, gasping. She looked around her campsite and looked down at the blonde sleeping next to her on the other side of their burnt up campfire. She took in deep breaths and held her head. Trying to rid the nightmare from her mind. She heard shifting and looked to see her friend sit up.

"Hey." She greeted sleepily, rubbing her eye. "Why are you awake?"

"Nightmare." Hoshiko answered. She looked up and saw the gentle blues of the morning creeping their way into the sky. "It's almost dawn, we should go." Her friend nodded, standing and stretching out her drowsiness. She looked at Hoshiko and saw her packing up the sleeping bags.

"Did you say nightmare?" Xana asked, her sleepiness slowly lifting. Hoshiko froze. "It was the one about your home, wasn't it?" Hoshiko looked to her and nodded, her blue eyes showing the fear she felt back then.

For the past two weeks, Hoshiko had been experiencing the same nightmare, always about the same thing. How she and Kotaro had run from the soldiers, who they now knew were Fire nation. She had not seen Kotaro in two years, she also hadn't seen her family, or any other friends besides Xana that were alive (that she knew of).

They had found each other two months ago while traversing the same Earth kingdom town. They were best friends when their homes still stood, now they're forced to live life as refugees. They stuck together, thick as thieves, for two months.

But now, they had decided to part ways.

They were both looking for any members of their tribe, if there were any more. It's easy to tell their tribe members apart from regular people. That was because they weren't human.

Every member of the Shinjun tribe wasn't human. They normally had the ears or tail of an animal. Xana had green, scaly skin, and long blonde hair. She had the scaly tail of any common lizard, and her amber eyes could be soft and warm as sunlight itself, but they could also be as harsh and as unforgiving as a blade fit for battle. Xana herself was a generally kind person, who could be eccentric at certain times, but not all the time.

Hoshiko had two black cat ears to match the color of her short dark hair, and a long black tail, her blue eyes were large and innocent in appearance, but in reality, they had seen more cruelties than she cared to see ever again.

Xana sighed, "I can't imagine what it must be like to relive that awful night." She looked to her friend, her eyes soft, "You must miss him a lot." Xana spoke of Kotaro, her dearest and closest friend from her tribe. Hoshiko nodded numbly.

"I do miss him, and I miss everyone else, too." She said, "But mourning for them isn't going to help us." Xana smiled at her and nodded.


Xana and Hoshiko stared at the map in front of them. "So, where will I go and where will you go?" Xana asked her friend. The first thing Hoshiko saw was the walls around Ba Sing Se.

"You… You will go further east. To Ba-Sing-Se." She said, pointing to the city, "Fire Nation tried to break through it before, and failed. You should be safe there."

"And yourself?" Xana asked. Hoshiko kept looking over the map, and looked at the picture of the North Pole. The home of the Northern Water Tribe… She thought.

"I'll head as far North as I can go." She said, pointing to the North Pole, "I'll see if I can find a place to stay in the Water Tribe."

"But it's still winter!" Xana exclaimed, "And you wanna hide out in the frozen tundra? You'll freeze!"

"The Northern Water Tribe has survived a hundred years of war very easily." Hoshiko said, "I should be just as safe there as I was in Ba-Sing-Se, if not more." Hoshiko saw her concerned friend's face, "I'll be alright, I'll be surrounded by water benders, and you'll be perfectly safe around earth benders." The reptilian girl sighed.

"Okay, then." She said, standing, "I'll head east, and you'll head north." Hoshiko nodded, standing as well. "I'm gonna miss you, you know."

"I'll miss you, too, Xana." Hoshiko said, "At the very least, you were good company to keep around." Xana laughed, when she stopped the two of them shared a sad look before hugging each other, "Goodbye Xana."

"Goodbye Hoshi." Xana said, using Hoshiko's favorite nickname. She smiled and waved to her friend as they went their separate ways.


Hoshiko looked up at all of the ships, unsure of which ship was the one she required. She finally came upon a ship that had a dark blue and light blue triangle design on the side as well as some animal pelts made of white fur. The ship was being loaded up with different boxes of various shapes and sizes by men with dark skin and brown hair that was styled in all different types of ponytails or topknots. All of them wore blue tunics, and she saw thick coats hanging off a few hooks on the ship's wall. She saw a man with blue eyes directing the supply load, and she assumed he was the man in charge.

She walked up to him, "Excuse me, sir!" He looked over to her. "Where is this ship bound?"

"We're headed northward, miss." He told her, keeping an eye on the men, "We're delivering- Hey! Chakko! You be careful with that ink barrel!" He reprimanded a young man who was carrying a mid-size barrel, and had almost dropped it. "We're delivering supplies to some nobles up north."

"How far up north?" Hoshiko asked, the man turned his attention to her, and her eyes were instantly drawn to the burn mark surrounding his eye in a crescent shape on the left side of his face.

"All the way to the arctic, why?" He asked, suddenly suspicious of the young Shinjun.

"I need to get to the Northern Water tribe." She told him, "It's safest there. How much would it cost me to come aboard your ship?"

"What about your parents?" He asked, "Or your siblings? Aren't they worried about you?"

"Oh… No, sir." Hoshiko said, "The Fire nation destroyed my village, and in doing so, they burned down my home. I managed to get out, but my family…" The man's eyes softened as they looked at her. "A-Anyway, I need to get to the North Pole. If only to be safe. How much?" The man shook his head.

"No price." He said, "You can come on the boat, we're headed for a noble in the Northern Water tribe, actually. I can give you a spot somewhere on deck, I won't promise the warmest bed, but…"

"Give me something to make a hammock and I'll be fine." Hoshiko said, the man nodded.

"What's your name, girl?" He asked.

"Hoshiko, sir." She said, bowing slightly.

"A pleasure, my name is Shin-jii." He introduced, "Captain of this fine vessel."

"Then the pleasure is all mine, captain." Hoshiko said, smiling at him.


Hoshiko stared out at the ice burgs surrounding the ship. She had been on the ship, which she had learned was called the 'Arctic bear,' for almost two weeks. According to Shin-jii, it would only be one or two more days until they reach the North Pole. She looked up at the dark night sky and stared at the Northern lights dancing around the stars. The crewmates had gotten used to having her on board, even if she didn't do much. A crewmate named Katsu had lent her a parka for the freezing winter nights through the arctic waters. She snuggled into the thick coat and tucked her legs into it, in an attempt to keep herself warm.

She heard footsteps and looked to see the crewman called Chakko come on board. She paid him no mind as he went around the ship, knowing that it was his turn for watch. The footsteps became a little louder and they stopped, Hoshiko opened her eyes to see Chakko standing a couple feet from her hammock, which she had made from an old sail that Shin-jii said was too small for their ship to use.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He asked her, Hoshiko looked at the blue-eyed water bender, who looked back.

"The lights?" She asked, he nodded. They both turned their attention to the sky, seeing purple mesh with green, pink, and blue. "They're gorgeous."

"They say that the spirits of all our loved ones travel through those lights." Chakko said, "That light is a one-way ticket to the afterlife." Hoshiko looked up at the lights.

"Now that's a way to travel." She said, Chakko laughed, and she laughed with him. "So, what do you know about the Northern Water Tribe?"

"Well, it's big." Chakko said, "And cold." Hoshiko smirked, "And there are plenty of water benders there."

"What about other Shinjuns?" She asked, Chakko looked down at her and his eyes met her hopeful blue eyes.

"Well, I've seen a few Shinjuns…" He said, "But they're all Polaris types, you know, bears and foxes and seals. Not really a whole lot of others, especially not refugees searching for a safe place from the fire nation."

"Oh…" Hoshiko murmured, turning her eyes to the sky again. Chakko looked down at her with pitiful eyes. He looked back to the sky and observed the lights.

"Do you have any friends in the North Pole?" He asked, Hoshiko shook her head.

"The only Shinjuns outside my tribe that I know of are a few desert-residing Reptilians." She said, Chakko nodded.

"I see…" He murmured, "So, when you get there, you have nowhere to stay, and no way to make any money?" Hoshiko shifted her weight nervously.

"I'll figure something out." She muttered. Chakko shook his head.

"If that were true, then your help wouldn't result in things getting worse than they were before." Chakko said laughingly. Hoshiko shot him a glare, but he didn't notice.

"I'm a shadow bender." Hoshiko told him, Chakko looked down at the young Shinjun, his eyes wide in shock, "And I'm a pretty damn good one."

"Well, that changes things…" He said, "A shadow bender… I never would've guessed." Hoshiko shrugged.

"I can't do it all that well on a ship, so I haven't bothered to use it." She said, "I'll use shadow bending to see if I can snag any jobs in the Northern Water Tribe." Chakko smiled, knowing what he could do.

"Hey, you know, I've got a buddy back home who could use some extra help." He told her, Hoshiko looked up at him, "He runs some stables in the city. I think he could use some help, and he'd be more than willing to help a refugee." Hoshiko smiled at him.

"You'd talk to him for me?" She asked hopefully.

Chakko nodded, "Sure. You need help, and I'd be glad to supply it." Hoshiko's smile grew.

"Thanks."


Hoshiko marveled at the gigantic, icy walls that bore the symbol of the water tribe. "Wow…" She breathed, "It's beautiful."

"Isn't it?" Shin-jii asked, Hoshiko turned to him, "Home sweet home." He looked out at the walls as they were opened for them with water bending, and helped them get into the city.

"Well hidden from the Fire nation, and stocked full of water benders." Hoshiko mused, "A good place to hide." Shin-jii nodded in agreement. "Do you have family here for you, Captain?"

"I do." He said, "A wife, and in a few months time, a child."

"Congratulations." Hoshiko said, "What will you name it?"

"If it's a boy, we're thinking of naming him Takashi." He said, "If it's a girl, we're thinking Mizuki, after my wife's mother." She nodded.

"Those are wonderful names." She said. The ship came to a dock and everyone began to carry off some of the cargo onto the snowy ground beneath them. Waiting for them was a man who was most likely in his late forties, with dark brown hair and beard to match. Shin-jii came up to him and bowed deeply. Hoshiko stood behind Shin-jii and was quiet as they exchanged words.

"Shin-jii, it is good to have you back." The man said, clapping Shin-jii's shoulder as he stood, "How did the Earth Kingdom treat you?"

"Very well, sir. Just as its waters did." Shin-jii replied, "I hope you don't mind, but I brought along some extra cargo with me on the way over." He looked at Hoshiko and gestured for her to come over, he placed his hand on her shoulder when she stood next to him, "This is Hoshiko, sir. An escaped slave of the Fire Nation."

Hoshiko bowed respectfully to the man, and he nodded back, "It's a pleasure, Miss Hoshiko. I am Arnook, Chief of the Northern Water Tribe."

"It is an honor to meet you, sir." Hoshiko said, "Thank you for allowing me to enter into your borders." The Chief smiled.

"It's no trouble. Anyone looking to escape the Fire Nation is welcome here." He said, "Although, most Shinjuns head to the Earth Kingdom than the Northern Water Tribe."

"Your people have survived one hundred years of war, sir." Hoshiko said, "I believe it's very safe here." She smiled sheepishly, "And I've always wanted to visit this place." The Chief laughed, and she did as well.

"Well, it's certainly a pleasure." He said, "We have other Shinjuns here, as well. I'm sure you will feel right at home soon enough."

"Thank you, sir." Hoshiko said.

"Hoshiko, I need to speak with the chief alone for a moment." Shin-jii said, "Why don't you get your things ready? I understand Chakko can set up a job for you."

"Yes, I'll go speak with him." Hoshiko said, leaving the two to converse. She walked over to Chakko, who she saw was embracing a young man happily. She waited until they had broken apart before she said anything. "Um, Chakko?"

"Oh, Hoshiko, hello." He said, his arm around the man's shoulders, "Sangook, this is Hoshiko. She came to escape the fire nation. Hoshiko, this is Sangook, my brother."

"It's nice to meet you." Hoshiko said, "Chakko, I know you just got back, but… About that job?"

"Oh! Yes, of course." Chakko said, he turned to his brother, "This will only be a moment." He nodded and walked away, waving goodbye. Chakko waved back and turned to Hoshiko, "My friend's name is Ping. His stables are just down that way." He pointed in the direction Sangook had left in, "Just cross two bridges, and when you get to the third, turn right and it should be there." Hoshiko nodded.

"I suppose that means I go without you, then?" She asked, Chakko gave an apologetic look.

"I have some more unloading to do." He said, "I'll meet you there, okay?" Hoshiko sighed.

"Sure." She started walking away. She followed the path Chakko's brother had taken and traveling across the bridge. She gazed down at the water as she crossed it. Then she looked up to the icy buildings around her. This was it. This was where she would stay until the war was over, or at least until the Fire nation tried to take this place as well. She knew one of the two would happen, eventually. For now, though, it's a safe haven.

She heard a shriek, which was quickly cut off. She turned her head in the direction she heard the sound. None of the humans around her seemed to notice it, but her hearing was better than most. Her black ears twitched as she closed her eyes, cocking her head to the side and trying to listen. She vaguely heard the sounds of a rough voice whispering something to someone. She couldn't make out the words. She heard a tiny, muffled shriek. She opened her eyes and let her ears lead the way as she quickly turned through an alley way between two buildings, running down the road they led to before coming to an empty part of the town. She saw most of it was rundown, and the snow from some of the buildings had collapsed, leaving the buildings lopsided.

She could very clearly hear the shrieks now. She quietly snuck past a building and stopped at a corner, where she could hear two voices speaking and leaned her back against the wall.

"This is way too easy!" One said, laughing.

"I know, how lucky is it that she's not a bender?" the other said, laughing with the first. "Now you just keep quiet, and this'll all be over quickly." She heard a muffled scream, then the sound of someone hitting someone else. "Shut up!" She leaned her head past the wall and saw two men in ratty water tribe clothes going after a pretty water tribe girl, who was obviously a noble, with snow-white hair. She understood what was happening now. She had been stolen from the streets for some reason because these men wanted to be pleasured by her, willing or not.

As quickly as she could, she made a shadow nearby rise up from the ground, and, using it like a whip, smacked both men on the backs of their heads to get their attention. It worked as they whirled around to see her standing there, glaring with every last drop of hate she could muster. They shared a glance before smiling and looking back at her.

"Well, lookie here." One said, "A little Shinjun's come to join the fun." Hoshiko looked back at the girl and tried to use her eyes to signal her to leave, but she didn't understand.

"You know, I dated a Shinjun once." The other said, "She wasn't as hot as she is," He pointed to Hoshiko, "But damn! Was she a squealer! Turned me on like nobody's business." The other man looked at Hoshiko, and his smile widened.

"You think all Shinjun's are squealers?" He asked.

"I think we're gonna find out." The other said, his smile just as big. Hoshiko gulped nervously and got into her fighting stance. As the two men began to charge her, she brought up shadows that wrapped around them and pinned them to a wall. She turned to the girl, who was still where the men had left her.

"Go!" She yelled to her, "Run! Get out of here!" The girl did so, running as fast as she could from the scene. Hoshiko was suddenly met with an icy feeling as a giant stream of water pushed her back. Causing her to release the two men she had been holding, and slam against the wall opposite them. She looked up as they dusted themselves off, glaring heatedly at her. Hoshiko met their glares with one of her own, standing and getting into her stance.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" One of the men growled.

"Helping someone." Hoshiko said. She brought up three streams of inky black and had them strike at the two men like a viper attacking its prey. They defended against it by turning the snow around them into water and bringing it up like a shield. They used that same water to attack as they attempted to strike back, but she brought up her shadow and turned it into an orb-like shape in front of her and slid back as the water pushed her back a few feet.

The fight continued until it carried out into the streets. Hoshiko making small javelins and throwing them at the water benders. They would miss by a hair, or would be taken out by the water they were using. Eventually, the water benders made their own water-octopus. She did the same with her shadows, only the tentacles didn't look like tentacles, but more like pillars of black ink. They would strike again and again, shadow meeting water, then recoiling their attacks only to try again. Eventually, Hoshiko tried a different attack, where she stuck the end of one of her tentacles into the water, making it go though it all the way to the water bender. At the sudden pain of being sliced at his side, he fell, the water splashing around him. She attempted to do the same with the other one, but he began to bend the snow under her feet, making her lose her footing.

He brought the snow around her, trapping her in an icy cocoon and pinning her to the wall of the building behind her. He made it tighter and tighter around her, causing her to cry out in pain as she felt her joints pushing against her other joints. She heard the sound of marching and the snow fell from her. She went to her knees in relief as she gulped in breath after breath. She looked up to see the white haired girl had gone for help, coming back with a small platoon of six water tribe men, obviously warriors. She pointed to the man that had pinned her to the wall.

"That's him!" She exclaimed, "Arrest him!" She pointed to the other one as he got up, holding his side, "And him as well!"

"Yes, princess." The men said as they grabbed both of the men and walked away. She walked over to Hoshiko and offered her hand to her.

"Are you alright?" She asked, Hoshiko took her hand and offered a weak smile.

"More or less." She replied as she dusted some remnants of snow off of her, "How about yourself?"

"Perfectly fine, thanks to you." She said, Hoshiko wrapped her arms around herself and began to shiver, suddenly feeling cold, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Well, the snow was pretty cold…" Hoshiko muttered. She felt the girl put her hand on her shoulder.

"Come, I'll take you to the healers." She said, Hoshiko nodded in thanks as she was led to a tent nearby, where an old woman waited with a few other water tribe women. She had Hoshiko explain her symptoms to her before she held out a bowl of water and bended a stream into the air. She placed the water at her chest, and Hoshiko felt her skin become warmer, almost as if someone had started a campfire, and she was sitting comfortably in the center of it. She exhaled happily as the cold left her. "Better?" the girl asked.

"Much." Hoshiko said, "Thank you for taking me here."

"Thank you for helping me." The girl replied, "Oh, I never got your name."

"Hoshiko." She answered, the girl's face beamed.

"Oh, how odd!" She almost squealed, "Doesn't hoshiko mean 'star?'" Hoshiko nodded, "My name is Princess Yue."

"But, yue means moon." Hoshiko said, the girl nodded. Hoshiko felt herself smile, "That is strange!" She pointed to Yue, "A moon," She pointed to herself, "And a star!" the girls laughed. "Oh, wait, Princess Yue? You're the tribe's princess?" Yue nodded.

"That's right." She said.

"I just met your father a few moments ago, Chief Arnook, right?" Yue nodded again. "We should probably take you to him, just so he knows you're safe."


"Where is my daughter?" Arnook shouted again, servants of the palace were scurrying around everywhere. "She has been gone for hours! WHERE IS SHE?"

"Father, I'm fine!" Yue called as she walked in, Hoshiko behind her. He calmed down the second he saw her. He strode across the room and embraced his daughter warmly.

"Where were you?" He asked worriedly, "You don't normally leave the palace for two hours without telling someone."

"I ran into some trouble." She admitted, "But Hoshiko saved me." She turned to Hoshiko with a bright smile, who smiled meekly back. Yue turned back to her father, "She spoke to me on the way here. She's in need of a job and a place to stay. Could we provide those for her here? At the palace?" Arnook looked down at his daughter, then at Hoshiko since for the first time since she entered the palace.

"I met you at the harbor." He said, approaching her, "You saved my daughter?" Hoshiko blushed shyly.

"I… suppose I did…" She mumbled. Arnook put his hands on her shoulders.

"Thank you." He said, "And I must agree with my daughter on the terms of getting you a job." He smiled, "I think it would be best if you were, perhaps, a… personal guard for Yue." He turned to the princess, "Is that good?" She smiled warmly and nodded. "Very well, then!" he turned back to Hoshiko, "Do you accept?"

"Yes sir!" Hoshiko said eagerly. This was good, she had made it to a safe place, she had gotten there in one piece, and now, she had a job.

This was good.