Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Hey guys! So here's the thing: the first chapter is kind of crap but I promise you it gets better! I have plans :)
"Urghhh" Jet moaned as he squinted away from the glare of the sun. He'd been sleeping for hours until it woke him up. Why was no one ever around to wake him up? Even when he was with the freedom fighters, he was always first up. Except then was different. Forest noises like birds and trees woke him before and he had a warm blanket over him for extra comfort. He wasn't comfy now. His bed was the wooden planks of his boat plus a fairly well packed bag for a pillow. If anything, now was when he needed the blanket most: he was in the middle of the Arctic Ocean with no shelter.
Time to get up, I guess. He thought to himself. Tugging his shirt collar higher, he stood and stretched. His boat was little more than a canoe with a sail. It was the cheapest thing at the earth kingdom dock he'd left from. If he'd had his way, he would have travelled on a larger boat with a small crew. However, Smellerbee and Longshot had the money. Not sure they'd be happy to share. Well, not with me at least.
After living far from the sea for so long, Jet was clueless about sailing. He hadn't thought about it before. It was only now, after spending over a week on this god damned boat, that he saw the problem in setting off on his own. His food supply had run out yesterday evening and his water was running dangerously low. He NEEDED to hit land.
Today was his lucky day.
Jet looked out to the horizon and almost collapsed with relief; land. On any normal day, it would have taken until sun down to get that far. This was no normal day. The usually still air attacked the sail, bringing the whole boat forwards. Jet sat down. He smiled as his excitement built. For the first time since he left, he had hope.
The North Pole was buzzing. Families decorated their homes with pale orbs, children ran around playing with their stall-bought-symbolic spirit toys and the streets dressed themselves in the finest white and black banners. An extremely important anniversary had come around: The anniversary of Princess Yue's transformation. It was one year ago the beloved princess gave back her life to keep the balance of the world and become the moon spirit. Chief Arnook, her father, had made sure she was recognised for her bravery, not only because he and his wife would never stop grieving, but because his people deserved to know why they lost their princess.
Plus he looked forward to having the Avatar and Fire Lord visit. He liked to promote a sense of 'unity' now the hundred year war was over. He welcomed all nations into his tribe, especially when a celebration was about.
His special guests were due to arrive today. He'd had every room in the palace prepared to fit them all in. After all, they were all heroes in their own right. From the Earth kingdom:
- Toph Beifong, the inventor of mentalbending and earthbending master
-Earth King Kuei, not forgetting his bear, Bosco
-The Kyoshi warriors, Ty Lee included
-Haru and Tyro
-The Mechanist and Teo
-The remaining Freedom Fighters, after their leader's death, it was unlikely they would make it
-The foggy swap tribe, Tho, Due and Huu
-King Bumi
-Fung
From the Fire nation:
-Fire Lord Zuko and his uncle Iroh
-Mai, a 'close friend' of the Fire Lord
-Master Jeong Jeong, all members of the Order of the White Lotus intended on coming anyway
-Master Piandao
From the Southern water tribe:
-Katara and Sokka
-Hakonda and Bato along with all other warriors
-Master Pakku and Kanna, this was the perfect time for them to return after their marriage
Along with, of course, Avatar Aang, Appa and Momo. Arnook looked out at his busy empire as the guards announced the arrival of the first guests.
Zuko paced around his room. Could this ship get any worse? He looked forward to his brief vacation. Even if Yue's death was partially his fault, Chief Arnook explained in his letter that no one blamed him. It gave him closure to think that he was actually going to be welcomed into a community, instead of exiled from humanity. Being Fire Lord May be extremely challenging, but it had its upsides.
Spirits, he was bored!
He debated going to find Mai for a second, but, after their brake up, he was lucky she even came on his ship. Talking to her would be pushing his luck.
Katara and Sokka starred over the sides of Appa's saddle, excitedly. The event they'd been looking forward to since they received their invite had finally come around. They'd get to return to a place they loved, participate in a festival in remembrance of one of their great friends, see loads of people they knew and their family was coming with them!
The only downside was that they were both distracted. Behind their happy front, they both had their own painful issues to deal with. Sokka was grieving for Yue, their brief relationship the last time he was here would be one of his fondest and most tear-jerking memories. Returning with his current girlfriend seemed somehow disrespectful to her memory, so they travelled with their separate groups. He felt like he needed someone to reassure him that what he was doing was right. He planned on honouring Yue properly this evening. The main festival wasn't until the following evening.
Katara was also grieving, but that wasn't her only distraction. Aang. He sat on Appa's head, steering. Hmm when should I tell him? She wondered. They'd been dating since the end of the war but Katara saw them more as just friends. He was like a brother to her. How will it affect our friendship?
As if reading her mind, Toph crawled over and put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder. "How you holding up, Sugar Queen?" The blind master asked.
"Not bad. I can't wait to finally get to the North Pole!" Filled with doubt, her voice shook. Toph understood. She was the only one who did. Although they didn't usually show it, they were very close friends.
"Guys, do you see that?" Sokka shouted.
"Yes, Snoozles. Of course I do." Toph huffed as she slumped down against the edge of the saddle. Sokka muttered to her an apology and how her response was unnecessary.
"Aang! Katara! Right in front on the sea! Why is someone so far out in a small boat?" He yelled. Aang shouted a command to Appa and he dove down next to the boat.
"Zuko, the ship will be docking soon. Would you care to join us for some tea and a final game of Pai Sho?" Iroh said, slipping into his nephew's cabin. Zuko was sat on his bed, starring at the beautiful painting adorned on the beige wall.
"Okay. I'll be out soon, Uncle." Iroh nodded and left. Time to get ready. Zuko thought as he packed away his few scattered belongings in preparation of the departure of their vessel. When he was done, he breathed deeply and lifted the painting to reveal his most prized possession: his Blue Spirit mask and dual swords.
With them safely stored in his bag, he left to join his uncle.
When Jet first spotted Appa, he thought he was just a cloud. Then the friendly beast splashed into the ocean next to his ship. "Aang! Katara! Sokka! Toph!" He shouted to the passengers. His friends walked to the side of the saddle, and looked down at their should-be-dead ally. Aang sprang down and hovered above Jet's 'ship'.
"Jet! You're alive! Need a lift, buddy?" Jet loved being high in the air. It reminded him of back in the day when he lived in the forest. A wave of regret flowed through him at the thought of how he used to be. I've changed. I'm not that person anymore. He thought whilst accepting the ride and climbing on next to Momo.
Before they took off, Jet was attacked by a very shocked Katara. She pounced on him saying 'how glad she was he's alive'. Sokka and Toph crowded round asking him tons of questions about how he survived. Aang sat at the front shouting back some of his own.
"Haha. Calm down guys, I'll explain everything." Jet announced. He cleared his throat and continued in a dramatic voice. "There I was, lying there on the edge of death. Smellerbee and Longshot sat at both my sides telling me I was going to be alright. I thought different. I knew if I didn't get to a healer soon, I was a goner. Bee and Shot started saying their good byes: I had accepted my fate. Then, a miracle appeared; a miracle in the form of a masked heroine. The Blue Spirit was my saviour. She gave me a special tea that gave me the drive to carry on then nursed me into a suitable state to leave the tunnel. Shot and Bee took me to a healer and I haven't seen her since." Sokka clapped whilst wiping a non-existent tear from his eye. Toph let out a low whistle. Katara went off on a tangent about how she'd heard a lot about this 'Blue Spirit'.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa: she?" Aang said, springing up to where his passengers were sat. He knew the Blue Spirits identity was a secret, but he didn't realise the gender was too.
"Yeah, she. I could tell, see. It was the caring way she helped me and the golden shine to her beautiful eyes that confirmed it. Spirits, I wish I knew who she was." Jet answered with a dreamy look on his face. Oh crap. He doesn't know he has a crush on Zuko. Aang thought, whilst debating whether or not to tell him. No, he can figure it out by himself. Besides, I doubt he'll believe me anyway.
"I think it's sweet." Katara said, drearily "You two could be soul mates. The next time you meet you'll be saving her. She'll fall into your arms and ask you never to let go." Aang made a conscious decision to stay out of it. Instead, he sat there listening to Sokka arguing that soul mates don't exist. Katara was retaliating.
"Okay then, if you're so 'all knowing' about soul mates, give me three examples of people we know." Sokka challenged. He had her stumped. This isn't good Aang thought I should help Katara.
"I have one! Me and Katara!" he said with confidence. Everyone went silent- apart from Sokka who demanded a second answer- and starred at Katara.
"Y-Yeah th-that's right." Her voice shook. Aang pretended not to notice. He thought Kat had been acting strangely lately. I'll talk to her later. He decided. Toph took it upon herself to break through the awkward barrier by asking Aang a question.
"Hey, Twinkletoes, how much longer?" She shouted. He looked up and answered.
"About ten minutes."
She sat huddled in the darkness of the emergency supplies. What in spirit's name is taking this long? For the length of the journey, darkness, warm water and crackers were all she had to look forward to. No one knew she was on the boat. Well, no one knew where she was. They just assumed she was locked away safely in her asylum. Dreyu, her befriended guard, would cover for her. Unlike the others, Dreyu understood her. He got that she, a princess, simply could not stand being caged in when such progress and opportunities awaited. It was agreed that the outside world would help her recovery far better than a padded cell would.
A loud cry could be heard from the distance. "Now docking at the North Pole: all off in three minutes." The countdown had begun. She would finally have freedom. The freedom she deserved for she was none other than Princess Azula.
Up on the deck, every passenger had gathered with their luggage. They waved at the smiling locals that had gathered around to greet them. Everyone joined in except for Mai. She stood at the back of the boat watching the other arrival on the horizon. Why did I come here? She thought. Because I'm naive enough to think Zuko and I still have a chance. They were friends still, but she liked her space when it came to ex-boyfriends. I need a goal. One that I can achieve by the time the festivals over. One that will keep me busy and give me something to do. I know! I'll play match maker. If I can set three couples up, I'll go home happy.
With her new goal in mind, she walked to the other end to exit the boat with a sly smile on her usually frowning face.
Chief Arnook walked through the main hall. Finally, his guests had started arriving. His plan was for them to be welcomed as honoured guests that should be celebrated, so they were walking through the city to his palace. Of course, he'd had the route be replaced with Earth shipped in. He doubted earth benders would be able to cope without earth; Toph definitely wouldn't with it being her vision and all. So the first foot of ice all over the kingdom floor had been replaced with earth kingdom soil. He really wanted them to feel at home, so he'd put an earthy carpet over the normally iced floors of his palace.
This would be the only alone time he would have before the end of the festival; he sat in his throne and thought of Yue.
"I could get used to this!" Sokka said to Aang, Katara, Toph, Jet, Appa and Momo as they walked through the people lined streets of the North Pole. Children stood waving enthusiastically with a look of awe on each one of their faces. Teenagers wooped and cheered their heroes. Adults applauded loudly.
"Yeah, this is great!" Aang said, stuffing his mouth with one of the delicacies offered to him by a middle aged woman.
"Meh, it's not all bad." Toph replied. She was the most sceptical about getting off Appa. Ice had never been one of her favourite things, so she was glad to find that someone had rolled out the earth-carpet for them. It was thick enough for her to see!
They weren't sure if they were the first ones there or not. On the way there, they passed a fire nation ship which the assumed was Zuko's. However, it took them so long to find where to land Appa, the ship cold have docked by now.
"This place is beautiful." Jet said, staring at one of the water symbols on the side of a building. It curled around like a wave with two smaller ones coming off of it.
"Yes, it really is." Katara said, pausing her hurrying for a second. They were in a rush to get to their destination to see if they really were the first there. They approached the palace, took a few moments to admire its magnificence then went in. Delicate icicles made the roves of the tired frozen building. Although it was all made from ice, somehow there were different shades of blue for the curls on the corners of the rooms. They were ushered through to the grand hall.
Zuko stood at the front of the boat. He's then had his ass kicked at Pai Sho by every member of the White Locus except Pakku who was traveling with Kanna and the Southern Water Tribe warriors who had set off a few weeks earlier. The Order were all traveling together on his boat because they'd been visiting Iroh when the invitation had come and Zuko offered them a ride. He had great respect for the Order. Their wisdom and spirit was impressive and he could only wish to be like that when he was their age.
The ship approached the dock, earning a large round of applause from the people waiting. Zuko raised his arm and waved as a friendly welcome. It wasn't very 'him' but being Fire Lord had taught him how to treat crowds. Just play nice. He thought. A little positivity won't kill you. That though almost made him laugh. Zuko, positive! It was something he'd been working on since the end of the war, along with some help from his uncle. It'd been working so far, and he could confidently say that the future for the fire nation would be bright. All I need now is someone to run it with me.
He'd been too busy to think of it lately, but he needed to find a wife. It was expected that he and Mai would be married, but he didn't think he could spend his life with her. In his opinion, Mai was a great girl, she was smart, fiery, beautiful and not too in your face. That wasn't enough though. She didn't have the spark that he wanted. He knew that within the year, whatever flame they had would have burned itself out. He just helped it along. When they broke up, the pressure was put back on for him to find someone. Iroh had been going easy on him: he'd only mentioned it twice. Once a week after the brake up and at the Pai Sho table a few moments before. The race was on for him to find a girl.
The plank was put out for them to walk across and, naturally, Zuko was the first out, followed closely by his uncle. Behind him was the rest of the White Locus then behind them was Mai. She was thinking of how she was going to complete her goal. Hmmm who suits? She debated pairs but finally came up with an idea. Maybe it would be better if they didn't suit. Yes! That was the fruit pie to her banquet of ideas. The stranger the couple, the better! She made a mental note to assess everyone at the festival in case she could use them for her idea.
Walking through the North Pole was boring. Mai just followed her group through the cold streets and tried to avoid the people. They were too enthusiastic for her liking. She just continued planning her mischief.