Position/Team: Earthbender, Fire Ferrets

Write about the persons when they are a part.

Prompts: "Anime was a mistake" [dialogue] (1 pt), Aang [character] (2 pts), Everyone's an animal! [AU] (3 pts)

Earth is mentioned in story.

Word Count: 1179

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Sokka found Aang sitting and sulking on the icy floor. "What's wrong?" he asked, plopping down beside him. "Why the sad face?"

"I thought Katara was going to be here," the monk answered softly. "I haven't seen her since Sozin's Comet and I really miss her."

"Aang, you'll see her soon enough," Sokka offered reasonably. "She's coming home tomorrow morning."

"I know— it's just that— that— I'm asking her to— to marry me," he answered in a rush.

Sokka's eyebrows rose. "Marry her?" he asked in a strangled voice.

"Yes!" Aang cried, pulling a betrothal necklace from his pocket. "I made this and I'm going to give it to her— it's just— just—"

"You didn't think to ask me or my dad's permission?" Sokka interrupted incredulously.

"Nooo…" Aang answered, eyes wide. "Should I have?"

"Yes!" Sokka shouted. "It's a Water Tribe tradition. You're coming with me. The sun's down and the moon's out— come on!" The Water Tribe boy grabbed Aang's arm and dragged him to Hakoda's igloo. "Dad, you busy?" he called.

"No," came the response. "Come on in, Sokka."

Sokka pushed aside the furs and hurried inside. Within seconds he'd explained Aang's intentions and their predicament, emphasizing that it had to be tonight, for Katara came tomorrow and dammit, he'd been waiting to 'vet' Katara's suitors the old Water Tribe way for years and he wasn't going to let his only opportunity slip away!

Hakoda nodded throughout the speech. When Sokka finally finished speaking, he smiled at his son and said, "If that's what you want, Sokka, then I guess it is our duty to welcome the Avatar to the Water Tribe… the traditional way. You get the drinks, I'll fetch the food, and Avatar Aang— have a seat."

Sokka grinned at sight of Aang uncomfortable sitting on his father's monstrous penguin-hide rug. When Aang noticed his mirth and scowled at him, Sokka only saluted before hurrying away to the storeroom. It was time to get Aang drunk, and that called for nothing less than the Water Tribe's finest rum.

. . . . . . . . .

Hakoda smiled to himself as he returned with provisions. His daughter was getting married! He had no doubt she'd accept her suitor, and from what he'd heard about Avatar Aang, it would be a happy match.

Humming to himself, he re-entered his igloo and dropped the sack of food in the entrance. Sometime in the night, a meat-eating contest would occur, and with Avatar Aang being a vegetarian, Hakoda had decided to bring bundles of seaweed as well, so he could still participate.

Stepping into the main room, he was surprised to see that Avatar Aang was already holding a half-empty glass of some dark amber liquid; Sokka must have already begun. Settling himself on the ground, Hakoda refused Sokka's proffered glass and instead asked the Avatar: "What are your intentions with my daughter?"

Avatar Aang smiled dreamily. "Katara's perfect for riding."

Hakoda was speechless. His son, however, was not, for Sokka blanched and shouted, "What did you just say?" Then he shook his head and muttered, "I need a drink." He took a deep swig from the bottle just as Aang continued:

"You know, she's a penguin! And we could go penguin sledding together!"

Hakoda regarded his future son-in-law with a worried gaze, then turned to Sokka. "Son, is he normally like this?"

But Sokka only hiccupped, a goofy grin on his face. "May-may-maybe," he answered. Then he pointed above Hakoda's head and shouted, "Look at that big Magpie-Bee!"

"Where?" Hakoda spun but there was nothing above his head; however, Sokka had collapsed into a fit of laughter.

"The Magpie-Bee can hear me!" his son exclaimed excitedly. "This is so coooool!"

"It is…" Aang slurred, ambling over to Sokka. "And what a cute baby Sabertooth-Moose-Lion cub you are!" he crooned as he ruffling Sokka's hair with a silly smile on his face.

Hakoda glanced between the two boys, then his eyes widened. He snatched the bottle from Sokka, ignoring his son's protests and pleas to the 'Magpie-Bee' to return his precious, and glanced at the label.

It was nearly illegible, stained substances Hakoda did not want to guess the identity of; however, when he squinted he could make out the words: "100—Li-n-eal-Urine".

Lion-Seal urine?! Hakoda thought incredulously. Not stewed sea prune rum? Lion seal urine? When had his ancestors ever drunk that? And why did they still have a bottle of it in their stores? How had it survived that long? Who would drink—

Then the Avatar hiccoughed and his son began cackling and shouting, "Rabbit-deer! Rabbit-deer! What do you hear?" and Hakoda loosed a long-suffering sigh. Only idiots would drink 100 year old Lion-Seal urine. Idiots like his son and, it seemed, his future son-in-law. Exasperated, he tossed the bottle away, wondering how to salvage this situation. He still needed to interrogate his daughter's suitor, but how?

However, Hakoda was unable to think of an answer, for Sokka got to his feet, flapping his arms like a bird and screaming, "Go away, you rabbit-beef! Or I'll eat you! I like meat!"

His son clipped the Avatar on the jaw, and the boy crept away from Sokka, muttering, "My penguin, where are you? I miss you, my penguin!" Sokka chased after the huddled Avatar, pounding the boy's shoulders and back. Yet throughout it all, Avatar Aang only cried, "Penguin! Penguin, I love you—!"

Hakoda sighed. He guessed he couldn't refuse the boy's courtship now, not when even inebriated with some crazy spirit he still professed to love his daughter.

"Hey, Moose-Lion!" the Avatar called suddenly, staggering to his feet. "Do you miss the hippo-pig?"

"No," his son answered solemnly. "All she does is throw rocks at me." He paused, then added very gravely, as if he were confessing his sins, "Anime was a mistake."

Then the two broke out into hysterical laughter, though for the life of him Hakoda couldn't tell what was so funny.

When they'd finally calmed down, he got to his feet and, taking each of their arms, tried to get them to lie on the ground. They'd have to sleep off the fermented Lion-Seal urine.

Yet he was aging faster than he'd like to admit and, even though they were hallucinating, Sokka and Aang escaped him and raced outside, Aang still moaning for his 'Penguin' and Sokka shouting, "Help! Help! The Magpie-Bee assaulted me!"

Hakoda watched them go, shaking his head at their antics. They'd likely confuse the village, naming animals that didn't live at the South Pole, but they'd do no harm. Returning to the warmth of his igloo, Hakoda settled into his furs, ready for a nap after that fiasco.

However, just as he was drifting off, he thought of Katara and her reaction if she discovered he'd allowed both Sokka and Avatar Aang to wander off drunk. She'd murder him if anything happened to them. Dragging himself to his feet, Hakoda stepped out into the cold, cursing his son for insisting they 'vet' the Avatar before allowing him to marry Katara.

The Avatar had better be worth it.