Fire in the Ice
Floating in a small canoe in the middle of the arctic ocean was not the plan of escape Severus Snape originally had in mind. Presently, the gloomy boy was huddled under a comically large pile of blankets with a despondent but accepting expression. He had nothing more to do than arrange his blankets so he spent most of his time staring bleakly at the surrounding ocean dotted with icebergs and the occasional lonely Skua.
What had he ever done that warranted such unfortunate tidings from the Spirits?
All he wanted was to escape Kyoshi. The plan had been simple, stow away aboard a ship heading for the Earth Kingdom, make a plan from there. Too late was it revealed to Severus that his destination was the South Pole and that he was aboard a Fire Nation War Vessel full of trained Fire Benders and a Spirit Walker. From the stories he knew, Severus would rather take on a whole troop of Fire Benders than a Spirit Walker.
He was "discovered" later the next day though, he suspected that the Spirit Walker knew of his presence aboard the ship long before they even left Kyoshi. As to why he did not give away the stowaway boy, Severus could only guess. Probably something to do with the power a killer feels when a cornered animal would rather leap into freezing arctic waters than face them.
Knocking out the cook was a simple task, he was, after all, from Kyoshi. It was only a matter of timing after that. Loading his sack of supplies and a large cannister of water aboard the humble wooden escape craft, Severus hastily lowered himself into the deadly water by a single rope pulley. He escaped death by a hair when a broadsword went whistling over his head, missing him by a hair, Severus luckily dropped flat on his stomach based off pure gut instinct and a bad feeling. He wasted no time with the pulley, instead cut the rope and free fell the rest of the way.
Only when he was in his small, sail-less, wooden vessel being rapidly abandoned by the speeding ship did he see the gleam of a cruel smile. Shrouded hands held his sack of food and water canister, while two oars rested innocently on the railing beside him. Behind the dark figure, was another man, moonlight shining on his long blonde hair making it appear like molten sliver, a gleaming broadsword held from where he had almost cleaved Serverus's head off his shoulders, silver blade winking in the moonlight. It was not the weather that made Severus's blood run cold.
He played right into the palm of their hands. Worse, Severus thought sullenly as he watched the vessel fade from sight, he never even played. He was but a puppet wriggling feebly on the end of his strings.
That was yesterday. Now he was in almost in a state of hypnotism as he stared stoically at the surrounding icebergs, weighed down by their hidden masses. There was not a single ripple upon the glass coat of the ocean. Even his boat had stopped bobbing.
A particular iceberg caught his attention. Where all the ones he had passed thus far had been rounded, this one appeared to have once been column-like. With the afternoon sun being warmer than that of the morning, it had melted drastically more on one side. The balance between whatever weight it was hiding under the water being the only thing that was keeping it upright. That balance was at best, precarious. It now lugged heavily to one side, ready to flip at any moment.
Of course, the Spirits had to have one more laugh at his expense.
There was a mighty groan followed by a monstrous splash and the iceberg flipped. A perfectly round sphere of ice mightily surged its way towards the surface, from which it had been withheld for a hundred years.
All in all, had Severus been standing he would have fallen over.
After being pushed a few metres away by the wake, Severus turned to send the meanest glare he could muster at the offending iceberg when he realised that the ice was swathed in a slightly glowing blue hue. Squinting against the glare, he could make out a shadow in the centre of the sphere. The distorted shadow opened glowing eyes.
The hairs on the back of his neck rose and sent chills down his spine. An overwhelming amount of power radiated from the colossal sphere of ice, causing beads of sweat to form on his brow.
A hairline fracture appeared in the ice with an echoing boom. The sound resonated within his chest making his very bones tingle with energy. He could not look away. Boom. Another fracture. He could not turn away. BOOM. The ice shattered like glass. Shielding his eyes from the light and wind that exploded outwards Severus felt something like a cold hand grip his heart. After the had gathered his bearings and his courage, he slowly opened his eyes again what he saw made his heart skip a beat.
Standing on the edge of the sphere was a girl.
A girl with fiery red hair and glowing eyes, her orange and yellow robes fluttering in the wind of her own power.