Title: Age Matters
Summary:
In which Avatar Aang was 16 years old when he ran away, and everyone else is older too.
The Iceberg (Sokka - 19)
"Ey, Kid. Wake up. Sir, are we sure the southerners stopped the practice of banishment long ago. What if this guy's a criminal or something?"
"That kid isn't a criminal, look at him. You forget, Nikola, I'm originally a southerner. Let's just wrap him up in blankets and put him in a holding cell for now. We can question him later."
"Alright Sir. But what about that strange light?"
"Nikola. The strange light IS the kid."
"Oh… so what do we do with the buffalo?"
The Last Airbender (Katara - 18)
"Are you sure you're still not coming with us?" Sokka asks his sister.
"Hey, someone needs to stay here with gran-gran. And, look at it this way, they all think our people left to go to the Earth Kingdom. Nobody even suspects that you're all in the North. Sokka, Dad comes home here more often than you think, now."
"I suppose. But there's only twelve of you in here, that's including the children. That doesn't sound like a good-
"We're managing just fine. You know, I think I'm actually the better hunter between the two of us now. Bato's been teaching me." Katara chuckles
Sokka smiles; "But really… How's everyone?"
As if on cue, the laughter of three children reaches the siblings' ears. The teenager Sokka found earlier can be seen in the air.
"Is that?"
"An airbender. Yes he is, and he's been frozen inside an iceberg for, maybe, longer than he thinks." Sokka answers
Kyoshi Warriors (Suki - 19)
With the Banished Prince hot on their trail, Sokka decided his ship is better off heading for the North by themselves. He did leave Nikola and Nikola's brother to take care of Gran-Gran in place of Katara, but also in order for Hakoda to receive an explanation.
Katara hoped that would go over well; Gran-Gran is forgetful now, Nikola is Nikola, and Katara doesn't know about Nikola's brother, but well…
With these worries in mind and the Avatar being less spirited since their visit to the Southern Air Temple, Katara is unsure if she made the right choice going on this crazy quest.
A day later, as they flee from the Fire Nation, the avatar throws himself off of the flying sky-bison. He resurfaces with the Unagi, the airbender directs the Unagi's water to rain down the burning village and during all that, Katara asks Sokka what's wrong;
"Suki kissed me."
Katara's eyes widen. "Sokka, No! You're betrothed! To Princess Yue nonetheless. What is wrong with you?"
"I didn't initiate anything! She's been training me all day, and then before I had to leave, well, she kissed me and that was it." To Katara, Sokka looks as if he wished that that wasn't it.
Katara grits her teeth; "You better be sure that's all that happened. Tribe union or not, Yue is going to be your wife!"
"I know. And I do love her, believe me."
Katara gives him and the avatar the cold shoulder long into the night, although Aang hadn't the slightest idea what Katara's mad at Sokka for- the tribesman wasn't the one who successfully rode the Unagi, after all.
Heir? (Bumi - 116)
"Aang, before you leave. I have one last request…" The weary old King states
"Yes Bumi?"
The King gestures that they walk and talk, Katara and Sokka give him a nod as they continue loading the supplies on Appa.
"I'm an old, weary, heirless King. Some even say I'm crazy, being a hundred and sixteen year old now. What I'm about to ask of you might come off as unfair, seeing as you're the avatar and you shouldn't put your attention to just the one kingdom…"
"Bumi, what is it?" Aang tries to give off a calm smile, it's not like Bumi to skirt around anything.
"Will you be the heir to Omashu?"
"I… what?"
The unexpected question caught the avatar off guard. He tries to process what his oldest friend is asking of him. He produces a mature answer;
"I'll think about it."
Bumi hums. "If I don't survive this war, Omashu will be left without a leader, my advisors only know so much about ruling such a strange kingdom…"
"Then I better end the war quick. Can't risk you not surviving it. I'm sorry I can't give a good answer, Bumi."
"That's alright, Aang."
Boys (Haru, Jet, Teo - 18)
Sokka and Aang wonder why every boy they run into is Katara's age. Sokka is especially not pleased about this; Haru was technically betrothed, Jet is a bad guy, and Teo's…
"I can't even get mad at the guy."
Aang sighs with him. "I know. It's because of the wheelchair."
"That. And he seems really nice, his father's a genius too. But I'll be damned if he's the third guy going on Katara's kiss list."
"what list?" Katara asks upon arrival.
Aang and Sokka flail in surprise.
"What're you two talking about?"
Arrival in the North
When they arrived in the North Pole, Sokka is immediately greeted with praise- talks regarding his discovery of the Avatar had made it around from his men's word of mouth.
Aang and Katara orbit each other on the first couple of days, neither really familiar with anyone. Katara did know one other person aside from her brother, Lady Yugoda- a waterbending healer who travelled with Sokka a couple of times.
A day later, Katara's being taught properly by Yugoda without the pressure of time or risk of their patient's life.
Katara learned everything in less than a fortnight, only then did she find out that she won't be taught how to fight like a man; Outraged, Katara seeks out her brother.
"You have to try and ask nicely, Katara. Master Pakku used to court Gran-Gran before she ran away."
Asking nicely didn't work, but a good one-on-one showed Master Pakku she's got more than raw power to show up for.
Of Women and Craziness
Yue's sacrifice made Sokka stay in the North Pole and help rebuild. He wasn't a waterbender, but he does know how to plan and design how structures are made. He's even decided to make a more weapon-like version of the water canals installed in the outer walls.
A few days without Sokka, after an almost-kiss happens in the Cave of Two Lovers, Aang is reminded that Sokka is no longer present, which makes the young avatar giddy. But 'giddy' is not the same word he would use when they got to the city of Omashu. The insignia of the Fire Nation is everywhere, on their contraptions, air balloons, drills, and their flags. Aang truly believed a sight never looked more un-beautiful to him.
On the contrary; Azula, Ty Lee and Mai were probably three of the most intimidatingly beautiful women Aang has ever seen- unlike Katara though, the trio of Fire Nation ladies were much more scary.
Azula had a habit of throwing her blue fire everywhere- but still remaining quite aesthetically pleasing. Ty Lee managed to render Katara bend-less, smiling charmingly as if unaware of what she had just done. Mai is quick to cut, bruise, and chase him- but more impassive and just as appealing as the other two. The avatar and waterbender almost didn't make it out of the city, almost- thank the spirits for Appa.
At the end of the day, Aang finds his oldest friend, the Crazy King who tells him he wished to remain a prisoner. "Does he want to NOT make it through this war?" was his first thought.
He isn't given enough time to mull it over; one second he's chasing a girl in a very mucky swamp, the next he's confessing to have committed a crime that happened over three-hundred or so years ago. It's crazy to think that it all happened in less than a fortnight.
Later on, on their way to Ba Sing Se, Katara tells him about her encounter with Suki- including Suki kissing Sokka months ago.
"Where's Sokka?" Suki asks
"Uh… he's decided to stay in the North Pole. His betrothed recently died."
Katara tells Aang about the lengthy silence after that, but how Suki complied to let Katara borrow Kyoshi's garments anyways.
Girl in the Wall (Toph - 16)
It was hard to find an earthbending teacher nowadays because, apparently, the Fire Nation decided to colonize a whole lot of the Earth Kingdom's land. Aang had to specifically wonder, 'what the hell is the Earth King in Ba Sing Se doing?'
It was very possible that they, too, were in a tight spot like Omashu. But seriously?
This was his question as he faced the 'General' that he and Katara just finished aiding. Now, a giant drill lays broken, penetrating a few inches of the outer walls.
"I'm not the one in-charge of the Earth King's men. I'm only the General in this side of the wall. See," He gestures to the three-starred badge. "If you want to talk to anyone about the war effort, talk to the Great General BeiFong."
"Is… is that like Chang Kai-Shek?" Katara asks
"Yes. I don't doubt that the Great General BeiFong will live up to Great General Chang's legend."
Aang wonders how Katara knows about the great warrior long before even Avatar Roku's time.
Nevertheless, when meeting with this General, the two expected a man. A burly, muscular, dirty man.
Instead, standing in the South Outermost wall, is a lone girl with a bandanna (she's wearing it with the front side on the back)- and on that bandanna is the Earth King's emblem.
Her hair is long, untied and reaches to her hips. Her hair flies wildly with the wind while she's earthbending from the wall. Her back is turned to them, focused on the outer side of the wall.
Katara and Aang look down to see that she's winning a fight between several Fire Nation puller-tanks. The tanks can't even lift themselves any higher than ten feet before they're suddenly flung or impaled.
"Hey, isn't it supposed to be your lunch breaks? What're you two doing back here, soldiers?" she asks casually
On her armor is a badge with five stars accompanied by a flying boar in the center.
It's only been two minutes since their arrival. She managed to finish the fight with a grand earth wave, followed by a laugh so familiar to Aang enough to raise the hairs at the back of his neck.
Katara tries to say; "Uh… we're not-
"We wanted to talk to you about the… war efforts. Great General." Aang states
She turns to them. Aang thinks, she has the oddest eyes he's ever seen- but also the most captivating.
"Long Feng's not here. He hired me for this, it doesn't mean my title's the shit. He's the one you need to talk to if you're so concerned about the rest of the Earth King's cities. What, Ba Sing Se taking in refugees not enough for ya?"
The three of them soon find out that the Dai Li can brainwash people, that the Earth King has no idea of the war, and no soldiers have been stationed outside the walls at all. Well, except for General How and his fleet but those were technically men from both Omashu and Ba Sing Se.
For a compromise with her parents, Toph stays in Ba Sing Se where she can delegate both the soldiers and the Dai Li into protecting all of the Earth Kingdom- not just Ba Sing Se, but cities that aren't taken over by the Fire Nation. Aang stays and becomes one of Toph's new soldier in training. Katara plans with the King, with Toph, and with the Generals, as she shares correspondence with her father regarding a now more stable war effort.
A professor accompanied by volunteering Sand benders came to tell them about 'The Perfect Day to invade the Fire Nation' which sounds so ridiculously unbelievable- but then again, who ever thought a blind sixteen year old girl could invent a subform of Earthbending that currently only she can perform?
Soldier
Training under the Great General, Aang is quickly reminded of the severity of the war. The duration of his earthbending training is four months- longer than his waterbending training, but not as long as his airbending training.
Within that four months, Aang is able to witness soldiers coming to and from the front lines- some are even sent to undergo the same training he receives from sun-up to lunch time. Great General Toph BeiFong is a girl, yes, but not just any girl- she's an heiress, a planner, a war mistress, but a soldier above all else. At the end of a bad day, if she needs to let out some frustration, let off some steam- the Avatar is just the perfect sparring partner.
If she ends up confessing how afraid she is, how clueless she is, how she doesn't appreciate the King basically depending on her and Katara- well, that's for Aang to know and to keep. The Great General is a soldier, but human too- and what a human she is; strong, powerful, determined, oh how the list goes on. She cared for her soldiers like no other, plans everything so thoroughly, is determined to teach them metalbending like her own life depended on it.
"I can't believe I'm saying this but... you know what? this title? Long Feng could have it back. Cuz shit, man, people keep handing me paperwork as if I'm actually gonna see what's in it." She says before chuckling. She's drunk.
The schedule is simple; Train with the soldiers, eat lunch, train with the Dai Li, see Toph. Usually, she comes to him looking for a 'progress demonstration' (spar) - it was just tonight that she didn't come find him.
Aang shakes his head, hopefully this is the only time that he'll find her drunk in her office. It is. (because she's a soldier - and she promised him so the morning after)
Post-Ba Sing Se
When Aang woke up from another long rest, they were in a Fire Nation ship. Aang meets Hakoda, and Hahn- a Northerner who travels with Hakoda, who turns out to be Katara's new boyfriend, and now Sokka's also re-joined the war effort.
"A fortnight from what I can tell." Toph answers
"and you have hair" Katara adds
No, Aang is not comforted by the fact that people think he's dead. That is not comforting at all.
So he runs away, not even caring about the plans everyone else has been crafting. When he returns, Toph hits him upside the head before explaining to him that they've all planned for something on the Day of the Black sun. That plan has something to do with the amount of soldiers willing to follow her into battle. (it makes her more guilty than flattered)
Poppy BeiFong confesses to him that it was she who had started to sink the entire innermost ring to the ground because she selfishly rather liked the palace, her husband's estate, Ba Sing Se University and the Central Fountain. Toph barges in and says, "I knew I got it from somewhere- which is why I helped you sink it, mom." (not one average earthbender will be able to unsink it)
It was Lao BeiFong who suggested; "Maybe we shouldn't pretend to be Fire Nation soldiers. We should be travelling merchants instead."
They passed three Fire Nation ships by that excuse alone. It helped that their ship is being followed by the obvious trading ship.
"Tell me again why your parents aren't in their ship and are on this one instead?" Sokka asks one time when Lao is drunk and whiny.
Toph punches Sokka instead of answering. (it was her parents' anniversary - bottles of sake continue to make the rounds)
Disclaimer. I own nothing.
This is a oneshot that I typed in spur of the moment.
It was originally longer, but now it's shortened.
Edited: 12/22/2018
