You walked along the edge of the water, the flow of the tide seeming to shift to follow you. You were tired. You had been traveling for a long time, looking for a waterbending scroll that had been taken from the North Pole. The North Pole was where you had grown up. You were training to be a healer, much to your dismay. You wanted to become powerful, but the women were not allowed to train for war.
You knew the thieves were probably watertribe. You assumed this, figuring that they would have taken the scroll to practice. This was why you were sticking close to the water.
You suddenly heard voices and your head shot up in surprise. You crossed the small body of water that was being spit out from a waterfall, and crept around to a tree. One of the voices, a female, by the sound of it, was rising. She was shouting at somebody. You poked your head out from behind a tree, and saw a boy, about your age, you'd guess, leaning on a rock. He wore watertribe clothing. A girl, a year or so younger, was shouting at someone, as you suspected, though the victim was blocked by her body. She also wore watertribe clothing. There was a tree stump a few feet away from them, with the scroll open. The girl suddenly walked over to it.
"I don't know what came over me. But you know what? It won't happen again." She declared as she rolled up the scroll, handing it to the boy she was yelling at. "Here, this is yours. I don't want anything to do with it anymore."
Your eyes stayed trained on the scroll while you worked out a plan in your head.
"It's okay, Katara." The boy spoke.
"What about Momo?" The male your age asked. "He's the real victim here."
You looked down and saw a white lemur, rubbing his behind. Katara got on her knees and pet the creature's large ears.
"I'm sorry, Momo."
"And what about me? There was that time when-"
"No more apologizes!" Katara snapped. Momo flew away at the sudden outburst. You quirked an eyebrow.
It had gotten dark, and they had set up camp. There was a fire going, and Katara and her two companions were laying in sleeping bags around it. The scroll was tucked in a bag. You climbed out of the tree you were perched in and silently made your way towards it. You stopped short upon seeing movement. You quickly ducked into the shadows. Katara had stood, and she was making her way towards the bag. She carefully pulled out the scroll and began walking backwards, watching to see if her comrades would awaken.
She turned around and stopped, upon being met with a face. The face of a small lemur. He made purring noises.
"Shh. Momo. Go back to sleep." She instructed quietly, beginning to move past him. He purred again, earning him another shushing. She walked into the forest, disappearing among the trees. You walked into the camp and observed the sleeping males. The one about your age was of the watertribe. The sides of his head was shaved, while the hair atop his head was pulled back into a tiny ponytail. The other male had yellow and orange-red clothes. He had blue arrows tattooed on his body. Your eyes widened. He was an airbender. The last airbender. More importantly, he was the Avatar. Momo made screech noises as he flew towards you. You pressed your finger to your lips and pulled out a piece of bread, handing it to the small creature. He shut right up, and started pulling the food apart, eating it.
It was then you had a thought. Would the Avatar steal a scroll? Surely the Avatar is supposed to be noble and pure. He only looked to be about thirteen. You crouched down and had begun to stroke the lemur's soft fur, thinking this over. You didn't know how much time had passed, but it was daybreak. You heard stirring behind you. You spun around and saw the elder boy starting to roll over. You quickly ducked behind a tree, hiding yourself from view.
"Where did she go?" He said as he picked up the pack, emptying its contents. "I don't believe this."
The Avatar awoke and yawned. "What's wrong?" He asked sleepily.
"She took the scroll! She's obsessed with that thing!" He held his arms out for emphasis. "It's just a matter of time before she gets us all in deep-ahh!" He was cut off as a rope wrapped around his arms and pulled him forward. The man who had done this stood before them, spinning the rope. It held a ball at the end for a weapon. He swung the ball at the boy, but he rolled and picked up his club, letting out a yell before charging. You raised your eyebrows, impressed. The Avatar turned around and saw a large man with two crossbows. They had a net strung between them both. He shot the net and the Avatar shot a ball of wind at it, but seeing as it was a net, the air went through the holes and the Avatar fell to the ground, engulfed in the trap.
The man that had been attacking the other male lassoed the Avatar and drug him off.
"Oh, what? I'm not good enough to kidnap?" The boy asked. You rolled your eyes as they shot a net at him, dragging him with them. They disappeared into the trees, you walking out from behind yours. Your eyebrows pinched together as you followed, being careful not to make your presence known.
You were about to emerge from the bushes when you saw two groups of men. One was a group of pirates who had the two boys, their hands bound. The other was a group of firenation soldiers. The leader of the group was a boy a year or so older than you. His head was shaved except for a ponytail. He had a burn mark on his left eye, and he held the scroll.
"Nice work." He said, taking a few steps forward. Your eyes caught a glimpse of Katara, tied to a tree.
"Aang, this is all my fault." She voiced.
"No, Katara, it isn't." He assured.
"Yeah, it kind of is." A new voice added. The man who said it stood next to the girl. He was elderly, short, and round. His response took you aback and you had to fight laughter. The bushes you were in moved, and you knew you were dead meat. A hand reached in and grabbed your wrist, pulling you out of your hiding place. You were held slightly off the ground, looking into the face of the leader, Prince Zuko. You'd read about him and his family. The man who had made the comment was his Uncle, Iroh. You glared at him, only inches from his face, as everyone else gasped. Zuko turned to the Avatar, Aang.
"So you're getting new recruits?" He inquired.
"I've never seen her in my life." The Avatar commented.
"Liar!" Zuko hissed.
"No he's not. We've never met her before." The other boy stated.
"They're not lying. I'm here from the North Pole, to retrieve what was stolen!" You admitted, reaching for the scroll in the Prince's other hand. He held it out of your reach. You reached again, but he held it up higher. You let out an exasperated sigh.
"Give me the boy!" He shouted.
"You give us the scroll." The lead pirate retorted.
"You're really going to hand in the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment!?" The boy asked, his voice raising a few octaves. You winced slightly.
"Don't listen to him! He's trying to turn us against each other!" Zuko said.
"Your friend is the Avatar?" The lead pirate asked, ignoring Zuko's request.
"Sure is. And I bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market than that stupid scroll."
"Shut your mouth, you watertribe peasant!" Zuko yelled.
"Yeah, Sokka. You really should shut your mouth." Aang whispered.
"I'm just saying. It's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Firelord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life."
You smiled at the boy's cleverness, even though the scroll meant a great deal to you.
"Keep the scroll. We could but a hundred with the reward we'll get for the kid." The pirate stated, beginning to walk away. You looked at Zuko, to Iroh, and back at Zuko, awaiting his response, which you got almost immediately.
"You'll regret breaking a deal with me." Zuko assured, a menacing look on his face. You gulped. Zuko dropped you on the ground, a grunt ripping itself from your throat. Zuko and a few of his men shot fire at the pirates, sending all but one who jumped above it a few steps back. You sat on your butt at Iroh's feet, staring in amazement at the fire. It was beautiful, and living in the North Pole, you haven't see much of the unruly heat source.
One of the pirates charged the group, throwing small balls towards the firebenders. The balls erupted in clouds of smoke. Several firebenders with spears rushed out of the smoke, charging the Avatar and his friend, Sokka. Pirates appeared around them, guarding their prize. The pirates threw more balls down, causing more smoke to rise. The firebenders were quickly drug in.
"Thanks, Momo."
You turned, seeing Katara rub her writs, smiling at the lemur.
"I owe you a bushel of apples." She determined, running off into the battle. A grunt was heard and you turned, seeing Zuko stumble a few steps out of the smoke. He placed the scroll in the tie around his waist before dodging a blade. The head pirate was behind the blade, and Zuko wasted little time in shooting fire at him. You watched in amazement as it danced around, little sparks of yellow, orange and red flying from it. You knew you should have been scared, terrified even, but you couldn't tear your eyes away from the flames.
Something in the back of your brain told you to get the scroll while he was occupied, but you figured getting that close would be a mistake, so you stayed put, unsure of what to do. You weren't sure whose side to take. That is, until you remembered that the pirates had taken the scroll, not the Avatar. You still didn't know how they ended up with it, though. Maybe they were returning it.
Speaking of the scroll, it flew by you, over your head. Momo was carrying it, being chased by a lizard-bird crossbreed. The scroll was dropped into the smoke and you lost sight of it. The smoke disappeared for a second, before reappearing. You furrowed your eyebrows, but you got enough time to find the scroll. You ran in the midst of the smoke and stumbled around, reaching around where you had seen it. You tripped over an unconscious body and fell flat on your face. You groaned loudly, rubbing your jaw. You began feeling around for it, crawling further and further until you were out of the smoke. You looked up and saw Aang, Katara and Sokka pushing the pirate ship. However, the massive vessel refused to budge. You slowly made your way over. Aang and Katara had bended the water, forcing the ship back out. You leapt onto the ladder, just as the ship was almost out of reach.
"Sokka, can't you make it go any faster?" Aang asked upon seeing the enemy vessel making its way towards them.
"I don't know how. It wasn't made by the water tribe!" He retorted. Just then, four pirates jumped on the boat, swords drawn. Aang bended a wave, forcing them off the deck. One managed to stay aboard though, and Katara used the water to send him overboard as well.
"Hey! You did the water whip!" Aang announced.
"I couldn't have done it without your help!" She told him.
"Will you two quit congratulating each other and help me out!?" Sokka pleaded. You looked and saw he had a pirate behind him, and one before him. They were in a tangled mess, and you weren't sure which legs were Sokka's. You rushed over and pried the smaller man off of Sokka, allowing him to knock the larger out as you threw one off the boat.
Sokka turned to you and froze, now seeing who it was. You wore your hair part up, part down, and you also wore watertribe clothes, though yours were from the North Pole, not the South. He looked you up and down before muttering a small, "thanks."
You smiled softly.
"Aang, look!" Katara shouted, pointing ahead. You looked to what she was shouting about and saw a waterfall.
"Oh, no." Aang muttered. Your eyes widened. The pirate that had attacked Zuko earlier approached Aang, who blew into a whistle, but there was no sound. Sokka hit the pirate over the head and roundhouse kicked him off the side of the boat. You grinned, impressed again, as you approached them.
"Have you lost your mind!? This is no time for flute practice!" Sokka yelled at Aang.
"Sokka, it's a silent whistle." You informed. "One for animals."
"How do you know my name?"
"Katara said it." You said, pointing at Katara.
"How do you know Katara's name?" Sokka retorted.
"You said it. So did Aang." You explained, a smug smirk making its way onto your face. "It's not rocket science."
Sokka slumped in defeat. You turned, remembering you were coming upon a waterfall, and you saw Aang and Katara waterbending, pulling the boat to a sudden stop. You and Sokka both lurched forward, him landing atop you. You blinked repeatedly several times, looking up at the boy. He groaned as he peeled his eyes open. They came into focus as he looked down at you. His face flushed pink as he scrambled off of you, making spluttering noises. Your face was only slightly red as you looked at him, amused by his over-the-top reaction.
"We're doing it!" Katara said, as the ship came to a full stop, now turned ninety degrees.
"Well you can't bend forever!" You noted. "We have to find another way off!"
"We can't! Look!" Sokka said, pointing to the firenation ship making its way toward the group. It crashed into the pirate ship, knocking it over on its side.
"Jump!" Aang instructed. Everyone leapt off, the other three holding hands. You were about to try bending when a giant flying bison came into view, everyone landing in a saddle on its back. You landed on your butt, mouth agape, eyes wide. The creature flew away, up, up, up, into the air.
"I knew a bison whistle would come in handy." Aang declared. "Thanks, Appa."
"Yeah, we owe ya one." Sokka added. The creature let out a grunt-like sound in response.
"What just happened?" You muttered. Sokka and Aang smiled at you.
"Aang, I still owe you an apology." Katara voiced. "You were just so good at waterbending without even trying. I got so competitive that I put us all in danger." She admitted, hands folded in her lap. You felt like you had no business in this conversation, so you opted for petting Appa instead. Momo was apparently jealous, as he nuzzled your free hand, pulling a small giggle from your throat as you stroked him as well.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay." Aang assured.
"Besides, who needs that stupid scroll anyway?"
"Is that really how you feel?" Sokka asked, waving the scroll teasingly in front of her.
"The scroll!" She exclaimed, reaching for it. He held it out of her reach.
"First, what did you learn?"
"Stealing is wrong." Katara said. Sokka handed her the scroll. "Unless it's from pirates!"
Aang laughed. "Good one, Katara!"
You frowned, sitting cross-legged, Momo on your lap. "That scroll belongs to the North Pole." You said.
"Well, that's where we're going. We have to teach Aang waterbending, and I'm going to learn, too!" Katara announced.
"Well, I guess it's okay, then." You muttered, going back to petting Momo. You looked out over the edge of the saddle and gulped.
"Is it too late to mention I'm afraid of heights?"