Combines multiple ideas.
Has: Female!Aang (Aana); living!Gyatso; kind-ish!Zuko.
What if: Gyatso had found Aana before she left? What if he left with her, so she wouldn't be alone? How would Gyatso's living change the fate of the Avatar world?
What if the mark on Zuko's face held a different meaning for the banished prince? What if he took it as a reminder about what he tried to stop, five years ago, and stayed on that path? Trying to find the Avatar and help bring an end to the war?
Episode one, Book one: Water: The Girl (And Her Teacher) In The Iceberg
A girl, an old guy, and a giant furry flying monster. All of them had weird arrow tattoes on them. How did to Southern water tribe kids find them? Well, it went a little something like this.
Sokka, future leader of the Southern Water Tribe, was fishing with his sister, Katara, in the Southern Arctic Circle.
"This is how you catch a fish," he turned to see his sister was looking, "watch and learn." He turned back over to the left side of the boat.
Katara, his sister, had been watching, but wasn't listening. I knew I should have stayed home to help Gran Gran with village duties.. Katara thought, before looking over the right side, and seeing a fish. She didn't have a spear, like her brother, but she didn't need one. She raised her arms and concentrated on the water around the fish, before pulling her arms back.
Out of the water, in a bubble, came the fish, swimming in it as though it wasn't out of the large body of water at all.
"I'm doing it! Sokka loo-"
The blunt end of the spear poked the bubble, popping it and drenching both of the siblings. Just before the boat docked itself against an iceberg.
Sokka threw his hands up, angry, as he groaned loudly. He then turned to Katara. "Way to go Katara."
"Me?" Katara countered, glaring at him, "what did I do?"
"You and your freakish water always mess things up, leaving me to do everything." Sokka said, he knew it wasn't true and that it would hurt, but he was so angry.
"You do everything?!" The cord was struck and the outcome wasn't going to be pleasant. "Ever since mom died, I've been helping with the chores. Have you even smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you-"
"Katara.." With each sentence, Katara had been moving her arms up and down, flexing the water and cracking a glacier that was behind the girl.
"-not pleasant! From now on, you're on your own!" With that outburst, the glacier broke, parts of it blowing off and the rest bobbing on the top of the water.
"You've gone from weird," the siblings made eye contact, "to freakish, Katara."
Katara saw something in the ice. It looked like a girl. Upon looking closer, she was another thing in the ice. It looked like an old man. She grabbed her brother's sword and ran to the base of the iceberg. She started to hit it, trying to get the people out.
"Katara, what-"
"There's a girl and an old man in the ice! We have to get them out! They'll freeze to death!" Katara kept on hitting the ice, grunting. Sokka must have joined her, because she heard his grunting too.
The two may have fought, but if there was one thing they put their fighting aside for- most of the time- was another living being. The iceberg split, and a gust of wind threw the siblings back. The gust was very strong, considering it threw the two back, but it wasn't just cold, it was freezing. The two looked up to see a broad blue light shooting up into the sky.
Zuko, who had been fighting some soldiers with the basic set of firebending, was growing frustrated.
"No! Firebending is not about the muscle strength. It is about using the power in your breath." His uncle said, frustrated with his inability to have patience with the basic set.
"I am tired of being drilled, day in and day out, with this basic set. The Avatar has had one hundred years to learn the elements; air, water, earth, and fire. If I am to be his equal, and restore my honor, I am to learn the next set of firebending." Zuko said, walking up to his uncle.
"No. I will not teach you the next set. You are too impatient." His uncle glared at him.
Yes. You. Will." Zuko said, getting in his uncle's face.
Iroh shrugged, "alright, you win. I will teach you the advanced set," he picked up his plate of duck, "right after I finish my roast duck."
Zuko pulled away as his uncle started cramming pieces of the duck into his mouth as if he wasn't firenation nobility but some commoner instead, and though back to the conversation they had had the day before.
"Prince Zuko, it is time to stop searching here. We have found nothing."
"No, uncle. He is here, I know he is."
Iroh rolled his eyes, "your father, grandfather, and great grandfather tried, and failed, to find him. What makes you so sure that you will? And what will it accomplish?"
"They did not find him, they felt their honor was not at stake. Finding him will accomplish great things. Proving that I am greater than them. Than her. That I can take from them what they have, and mold it into something different."
"If you want to prove you are greater than them, then try a different approach."
Zuko turned around to face his uncle, "like what? Sending new recruits to the front line to find him? To fight a more experienced enemy?" He stepped up to his uncle, glaring, "let's not forget why I have this-" he touched his burned eye- "trying to stop those new recruits from being slaughtered. That didn't work, they were under my father's command. The recruits under my command are to be trained to fight the enemy, not sent in throwing fire like inexperienced children looking for attention, not like me." He stared hard into his uncle's eyes, "are we clear?"
Iroh nodded, pride in his eyes, "yes, Prince Zuko."
That day, the day he got his mark, taught him that war wasn't the way to peace. That those in higher power would not listen to those with different ideas. One day, he would find the Avatar. And, together, shoulder to shoulder, they would usher in a new age. One of peace. Like before the war. He looked out at the water, seeing the ice getting pushed aside, when he saw a reflection of light in the water.
"There!" He yelled, pointing to it as he turned around, "that light, it came from an incredibly powerful source. The Avatar has returned! Tell the captain to got towards that light!"
Then, after it faded, a girl, maybe a year older than Katara, walking up to the large part of the iceberg, the air markings on her that had been glowing flickered before becoming a light blue, before she fell down the slope.
Katara caught her, before she fell all the way down the slope, and lowered her down to the bottom of the iceberg. Sokka, although her helped free the girl, poked her temple with the blunt end of his spear. To him, she was a threat, despite being unconscious, now that she was out of the iceberg.
It was then that, when her head had been turned to the side, the two noticed her hair was in a ponytail, but it was way longer that Sokka's, and was black. Her clothes were in three layers: tan-yellow shirt and pants. An orange shaw was over her shirt and her dark brown boots completed the odd ensemble of her clothes. Her eyes were covered by bangs, that had an odd pattern of being blown off to one side.
Katara smacked the spear away, pulling the girl's head away from the spear, "stop it Sokka."
The girl slowly opened her eyes, groaning. She sat up, to see the two siblings arguing.
"She could be Fire Nation, Katara." Sokka said, matter of factly.
"I don't think so." Katara said.
"Oh really," Sokka asked, ignoring the yawning female Air Nomad, "then what is she?"
"I'm a monk. Not from the Fire Nation. From an Air Temple." Aana said, sleepily, making the two siblings turn to her.
"You're an Air Nomad?" Katara asked, excited.
"Uh, yeah.. I've never been anything else." Aana started to look around, wondering how far she, Gyatso and Appa had flown.
"I'm Katara."
"I know," Aana said, starting to stand up. "I'm Aa- Aa- ACHOO!" She sneezed, and then flew fifty feet in the air, before sliding back down the slope and landing where she was originally standing. "I'm Aana."
"You're an Airbender! A real Airbender!" Katara was now excited.
"You just flew ten feet in the air!" Sokka said, pointing upwards.
Aana shook her head "nope. It was higher than that."
Aana started looking around again, before Sokka said, "oh please, Katara." Aana turned to look at him, mild boredom on her face, only to look wide eyed at the spear tip that was placed at the tip of her nose. "She could be Fire Nation!"
"No, I don't think she is, Sokka. She looks, not violent at all. She's good, I can tell."
"I told you, I'm-"
A loud groan cut Aana off. While Sokka fumbled around with his spear, that he nearly dropped and was trying to catch, Aana smiled widely, climbing up the slope.
"Appa!"
The two siblings looked at each other before following her. They saw a huge eight legged, white furred, horned, creature with the same markings as the girl, but it's markings were grayish-brown. On it's back was a saddle.
The girl then tried to wake Appa up, only to fall on her face when she did wake Appa up. The beast then began to lick her, before the girl stopped him.
"Where's Gyasto?" She sounded panicked, genuinely concerned.
A soft groan was heard from the saddle. Over the side of saddle, the face of an old man appeared. He had one hand on the side of his head as he yawned.
"Gyatso!" Aana called, leaping over the head of Appa and up onto the saddle. She put one of the arms of the old man over her shoulder, saying "I'm gonna help you off of the saddle, okay?"
Gyatso nodded, "thank you, Aana. I don't think I can Airbend with my head spinning."
"Anytime, Gyatso, anytime." Aana and the old man jumped down, landing on the ground in slow motion.
"Wow! Another Airbending monk!" Katara was really happy. Either one of them could be the Avatar, or have known them.
Aana, letting go of Gyatso so he could lean on Appa, nodded, "yup. This is my Airbending Master, Monk Gyatso. He raised me, protected me, and taught me everything I know."
Katara bowed respectfully to him, even Sokka did, because it was tradition in their tribe. After the bow, Sokka sighed. He didn't catch anything, and he was starving. His stomach let itself be known. Aana laughed a little, pointing at Sokka, before her stomach growled too.
"Aana, let us share lunch with our young friends, before we take them home." Gyatso said, smiling at Aana.
Aana nodded, "good idea."
After getting the sacks of food, containing apples, oranges, strawberries, and various other types of vegetarian foods that looked like they could be pack in a hurry, the two monks let the water tribe kids take their fill. After they were done, Aana let Gyatso pick his food out of the bag. Gyatso took two apples, letting Aana have what remained, which was three apples and two oranges.
"Gyatso.." Aana said, looking at the older monk as he gave Appa one of his apples just in case he too was hungry. The older monk seemed to pay her no mind, patting Appa on the snot, smiling as the bison nudged against him.
Katara and Sokka looked at each other, now feeling bad about taking some of what remained of the monks food because that was all they had. They had a feeling that that was it, when Aana looked guilty that she had more apples than her mentor.
They ate in silence, despite being one hundred years old, the food tasted like it had been picked yesterday. Appa eating the cores and other bits of food that no one else would eat. The two siblings caught Aana looking very guilty when Gyatso gave Appa the rest of his apple- three quarters of it.
Gyatso leapt into the saddle, using Airbending, possibly to no longer be in view of Aana's guilty face. The three finished eating, Aana reluctantly giving her untouched food to Appa, knowing Gyatso wouldn't eat it. Katara looked at Appa in curiousity.
"How did you get from an Air Temple to here?"
"On Appa. He's a flying bison."
Sokka snorted, "yeah. And Katara can walk on fire."
"He can fly us to your home, we'll get there in no time." Aana said, tossing the sacks up onto the saddle before Airbending herself up onto Appa's head. She helped Katara onto the saddle and went to help Sokka, but he climbed up on his own. Both of the siblings were in the saddle with Gyatso, who was putting away a portable Pai Sho table. He reclined on the bags behind him, a smile on his face.
"Appa, yip yip." Aana said, flicking the reins that were tied to the bisons horns. The large hairy beast jumped up, and seemed to think better of it, before falling into the water.
"Yup.. That was some real magical flying." Sokka said, sarcastically.
"Do not underestimate a sky bison." Gyatso said, his hands behind his head, "Appa has flown up many miles from our temple home, so he is tired."
Aana nodded, "Gyatso's right. Give Appa some rest and he'll be soaring through the air in no time."
Aana lay on top of Appa's head, looking up at the night sky. Her head lost in her memories.
"Hey, Aana." The girl snapped out of her daze to see Katara looking at her in concern from her seat on the saddle. "Are you okay?"
Anna nodded, "yeah. Just thinking."
"What are you thinking about?" Katara asked, wondering what was going on in Aana's mind.
"About the temples Gyatso and I visited before you and Sokka found us. And about the friends I've made at each of those temples." Aana said, pulling a marble from the inside pocket of her shawl and having it float around with Airbending, "what about you?"
"Just wondering if you or Gyatso knew the Avatar. The Avatar disappeared a long time ago, so I was thinking that you might have heard Gyatso talking about him."
"Nope." Aana said, nearly dropping her marble because of her terrible skills at lying, "Gyatso never mentioned him."
"Oh. Okay." Katara said, a little disappointed, "goodnight Aana."
"Good night." Aana said, watching Katara vanish over the saddle, before putting the marble back, knowing it was only a matter of time before someone found out about her having the life she never wanted.
While they were talking, Sokka was staring at Gyatso. The older monk was spinning marbles between his hands using Airbending, out of what appeared to be boredom. He seemed too old to move fast, but that didn't stop Sokka from keeping an eye on him, his vision darkening until he fell asleep.
Gyatso, seeing Sokka falling asleep, took off his cape and put it over Sokka, before taking a spare cape and putting it over Katara, and using Airbending to silently move onto Appa's head, beside Aana. His apprentice's head fell against his shoulder, making it obvious that she was asleep. Gyatso took the reins from her hands, and looked out at the water, feeling a change in the wind. Whether it was good, or bad, was up to fate.
Aana was screaming, holding onto the reins. She felt Gyatso grabbing the reins as well. Appa was pushed down by a strong gust of wind, smashing into an iceberg and falling into the water. Gyatso let go, making Aana panic because she no longer felt his hands on hers, and then everything went blue.