I rolled my eyes as my brother, Sokka, speared the water for the fifth time. He was trying to get a fish for dinner. It swam over to my end of the canoe and I got a thought. I took a deep breath and raised my arms. I felt the flow of the water in my arms and I smiled. I was doing it! I was waterbending!
The fish swam frantically in the small bubble of water I had managed to lift from the ocean and made my job much harder than I anticipated.
I turned my head ever so slightly and whispered,"Sokka!"
"Wait, its right in front of me," he said quietly. I turned a little more and saw the shadow of another fish right below the surface.
"But Sokka, I got one!" I whispered in an excited voice. I moved the bubble above his head to show him but he went to spear his fish at the exact same time. The bubble popped and the fish fell to the bottom of the canoe. The water on the other hand landed directly on Sokka, drenching him.
"Why is it every time you play with magic water I get soaked?" Sokka yelled.
I giggled and tried to tell him that we did have a fish when he yelled again.
"I don't care if it is really important, my hunger issue is more important than your magic water." He said before turning his back toward me.
A jerk went through the canoe and Sokka flew back into me. A current swept us into the water and was leading the canoe right into a large block of ice. Before Sokka could return to his spot at the front of the canoe we hit the sheet of ice. I flew off the canoe and slid along the length of the ice to the edge. Sokka grabbed my arm just before I touched the frigid water that surrounded the South Pole.
"Great Sokka, you turn around to yell at me and you manage to get us thrown off our canoe and in the middle of the ocean on a block of ice. Congratulations!" I said sarcastically.
"Oh maybe you could have waterbended and we would be just fine," he said. Sarcasm leaking off of his words. "This is why you don't bring a girl along when you have to find food." He mumbled before grabbing the canoe.
"Excuse me? You are the most sexist boy I have ever met. I can't stand the simple fact that I'm related to you." I yelled at him, flinging my arms in the process. I heard a crack from behind me but ignored it. Sokka looked at me and a look of shock flew across his face.
"You know ever since mom died I have had to do everything, and I mean everything while you pretend to be a soldier."
"Umm Katara?" he said.
"I have to cook and clean and wash all of the clothes. Do you know how bad your socks smell? It's not pretty!" I yelled while pointing a finger at him.
"H-Hey Katara settle down, please?" Sokka said while backing away from me.
"NO! You know what I'm done helping you. From now on you're on your own!" I yelled while flinging my arms to my side. I turned around just in time to see the giant iceberg behind me split in two pieces and the wave form. I screamed as the piece of ice we were on flew backwards.
Suddenly everything was still and Sokka was glaring at me.
"Is there a way to turn off this magic water thing?" he asked while wringing the water from his hair. "You know what I don't care. The canoe is in bad shape and probably won't take both of us back. I'll go get another one. Stay here Katara."
I sighed and nodded. I watched him gently make his way back to the small village I grew up on. I wondered over to a huge glacier and sat down. My coat suddenly did not feel as thick or as warm sitting there by myself. I was practicing my bending when a blue-ish glow came from under the water. A large circle shaped block of ice rose from the water causing the iceberg I was on to jolt. I quickly dropped the water I was bending and stood up. I tried to bend the ice but a huge crack appeared instead of the water melting. The ground shook and a beam of pure white light shot from the top and blinded me. I hid my eyes in the hood of my coat and waited until the world dimmed a little.
I moved my hood and stared at the block of ice. It was bobbing in the water as if it were about to sink again. I got scared, what if that were a Fire Nation Signal?
The last time the Fire Nation came to the South Pole was a few weeks ago and like most of their visits, it didn't end well. The spoiled prince nearly melted my home in his fruitless search for the Avatar.
(ZUKO'S POV)
I walked across the deck of my ship and sighed. The area around the South Pole was frigid and boring. I don't understand why the Avatar would hide here, but Uncle thought it would be a good idea to look here. We randomly showed up at the South Pole once a month it seemed.
Speaking of my lazy Uncle, he was playing Pai Sho instead of making tea for once. I shuddered and it wasn't because of the cold. I was simply sick of tea.
As I paced the deck and focused my breathing to warm myself, a beam of light too pure for this Earth lit up the sky.
"Finally." I said excitedly. "Uncle, do you know what that light means?"
"I won't get a chance to finish my game?" he said, not even looking at the light but at me.
I rolled my eyes and tried to control the anger that was building inside of me. I glanced briefly at him. "No, it means my search is over. I'm going home."
I thought back to the day it happened, the day I decided to speak out. It changed my life forever and left my scarred; Physically and emotionally.
"Prince Zuko, we have been over this before. Do not get your hopes up." My Uncle stated.
"That light came from an incredible power source. It's him, it's the Avatar!"
"Zuko, it's just the celestial lights, we have been down this road only to have been following the wrong thing the entire time. Now just sit and have a nice cup of calming Jasmine tea."
"I don't need any calming tea." I yelled angrily. I laughed inwardly at my own irony.
"I need to capture the Avatar. Tell the captain to head a course to the light. I am finally going home."
I turned and stalked to my bunk, ignoring Uncle as I went. I opened the door and slammed it shut quickly walking to my bed. I took my shirt off and lay there staring at the ceiling. My hand found its way to the scar that marred my face.
Marking me, the mark of the banished prince.
I ignored the prickling sensation behind my eyes as I thought about my mother. She was there when no one else was and when she disappeared, so did most of my hope. But I had a small sliver of it left that she was alive and looking for me.
I closed my eyes and thought about my father. He said my younger sister Azula was 'born lucky', while I was 'lucky to be born'. At a young age Azula was a firebending prodigy while I was struggling just to learn simple moves. My mother always supported me and had very little patience for Azula's trickery and attitude.
When she disappeared Azula and my father used that to their advantage and treated me less like a brother and the heir to the throne, and more like a servant they were forced to deal with.
I opened my eyes and climbed out of bed. I grabbed a clean shirt and put it on. I put on my armor and went back to the deck of my ship and stood there for a while as the area where the light came from got closer.
The plinking sound of shoes against metal came up behind me. I knew it was Iroh seeing as he was the only one that would talk to me directly. "Captain says we are only a few minutes out. It would be wise for you to use your schooner to approach the area where the light came from."
I nodded and made my way down to where my schooner was stored. I pushed off and made my way to the iceberg where the light came from. Once I docked, I noticed a glowing blue orb and a short girl bending the ice around it. A small body fell out of it and into the frigid waters below.
"Did she just kill someone?" I asked myself. I climbed out my boat and walked over to the orb. A short WaterTribe girl was standing in front of me with a terrified expression on her face.
"I don't know who you are. But please don't hurt me." She said quietly.
"What is your name? And who is the boy that just fell into the water?"
"I'm Katara and I don't know." She said as the boy suddenly shot out the water, his eyes glowing with an eerie blue-white color. He used a huge vortex and propelled himself away from us. A huge fluffy looking monster jumped in the water and followed after him.
"The Avatar! Where is he going?" I yelled.
"The Avatar is dead." she replied matter-of-factly.
"Oh, so your brother has glowing eyes and air bender tattoos?"
"No! My brother isn't even a bender. It doesn't even matter, I need to go back to my village."
"No, you aren't going anywhere." I said before grabbing her and pulling her towards my boat. "You are my bait for the Avatar."
She shoved me off and slapped at my hands. "I won't be going anywhere with you!"
I rolled my eyes, grabbed her, and threw her over my shoulder.
She struggled and kicked in an effort to get away from me but I overpowered her. I needed someone like her to draw the Avatar to the Fire Nation. I tossed her below deck and locked the door. She screamed and threw a fit below deck but I ignored it.
I was going to get the Avatar and I would finally go home.