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Aang watched her peel the mango with her teeth unsuccessfully.

The Water Tribe girl - with her big blue fluffy coat laid out beside her, cocoa powder skin, hair loopies that fell into her eyes, and starry blue eyes that reflected arctic waters - sat on top of the several blankets he'd brought for her as she stared at the sea. The bandages wrapped inelegantly around her forehead looked bone white against her dark skin. The sadness that had enveloped her entire presence was close to suffocating, until she'd started peeling away at that mango.

The pure fascination and awed wonder on her face was priceless. It was hard to keep down his smile for several minutes.

"What should I do?" Aang whispered to Appa, crouching down next to the sky bison that dug away at the sand in boredom. She didn't have the smile problem now - now she just looked terribly pensive. He would have suggested meditating if he was sure it wouldn't get him smacked. "Do you think she ran away from home?"

The sky bison paused, gave Aang a look, then the Water Tribe Girl, and then went back to digging at the sand. Aang nodded, standing from his crouch as he squinted at her.

"You're right," the young monk murmured. "I mean, she looks around my age. Maybe a little older?"

"You two can stop talking about me now."

Aang went stock still, slightly afraid as Water Tribe Girl looked over her shoulder at them. She smiled kindly, then winced, reaching to press a hand to the bandages wrapped around her forehead, but seemingly thought better of it. The Girl waved Aang over instead before patting the space beside her on the blankets. He swallowed thickly at the motion.

Appa nudged him, pressing his wet nose against Aang's lower back. Aang got the message - just go already.

"I don't meant to intrude, really," Water Tribe Girl said, giving a tinier smile, as though she were trying to keep her face as still as possible but couldn't help herself. She turned around to continue investigating her mango. Aang gave a tiny smile himself. "I know younger monks aren't really used to being around girls, but I swear we don't bite."

Aang gaped. Was she messing with him? "I-I-it's not's not- I can't- you aren't-!"

Water Tribe Girl interrupted him, waving the mango above her head. "Do you want to share? This thing is too big to finish alone."

Aang gaped, then glared at Appa who grumbled amusedly in return.

This was so not funny.

It wasn't that he wasn't used to girls - the girl monks at the Eastern Air Temple were really great. They always made him flower crowns whenever he went for training with various different airbending Masters, and maybe he was jealous that they got to keep their hair after they got their tattoos. Her being a girl wasn't the problem. Even if she was a ridiculously pretty one.

He just wasn't used to Water Tribe girls who wore clothes made out of dead things. He wasn't used to really anyone of any gender stumbling onto and passing out ashore with their a face covered in blood.

Watching her coming out of the water like that from above Appa, a small head of dark hair popping above the surface as it dragged the rest of her through, had given him the fright of his life. The blood pooled around her dramatically, pooling on her face before staining the rest of her upper body. It was as if a corpse was being brought to life before him, awakened harshly from its eternal slumber.

Aang tried focusing on the present as he made his way over to the blankets set up in front of the sea. He wasn't sure if it had anything to do with her being near her bending element, but the water always had a calming effect. She hadn't wanted to stray too far from it, even when he'd all but begged her to climb up on Appa to go the temple for medical supplies. She'd been moaning in pain almost immediately, begging him to put her back into the water after she'd gained consciousness again.

He was startled. Why would he save someone from potentially drowning, only to let them potentially drown again?

But he'd relented, managing to shift her from towering from his side to laying limply in his arms. She'd been heavy, almost too much for him to carry, but he'd managed to stumble her over just to where the tide lapped against the sand teasingly. Her head lolled back and the water had reached farther to her. As if the liquid had a mind of its' own - "Waterbender, huh?" he'd thought to himself - it was reaching over the split skin across her forehead and staunching the bleeding almost immediately.

He knew waterbenders had healing abilities, so he waited a bit longer, biting his lip as the skin on her forehead mostly cleared away with blood. He wasn't sure if the gaping, split flesh was any better of a view.

Aang didn't think he'd ever seen gore like that before, and it startled him. He was worried she was going to die.

He'd called over Appa to watch her as he'd brought her to him and jet off towards the temple on his glider. Naked fear pushed him into a whirlwind of action as he swept past his fellow monks in training, raided the medical room gracelessly, and wrapped everything he thought he would need into a large pile of blankets before he was off again.

After managing to get back to Appa, who had taken to nuzzling the unconscious girl with a low whine of concern, he'd slapped a disinfectant, some sealing gel and the bandages onto her wound. For the first time he was lucky that he'd spent a fair amount of his early childhood years injuring himself as he tried advanced air bending techniques that usually launched him into the air and bringing himself down quite painfully. His work wasn't nearly as neat as the medic-trained monks, but it was good enough.

At least she wasn't bleeding anymore.

And now, they sat side by side on the blankets as the tide licked its way up the sand towards them. Aang bit down on his lip as he stared out at the limitless sea; his mind relayed information as he wondered where she could be going. To the south was Southern Water Tribe lands (presumably where she'd come from). To the east was Kyoshi Island. To the west was a smattering of coastal Fire Nation islands.

Where was she trying to go? An exclusively male air temple, or even the surrounding mountain ranges, were obviously not her destination.

"There was a storm. My boat capsized pretty quick, so I started swimming until it let up last night. I don't know how long I'd been swimming," Water Tribe Girl said, pulling out a small knife from her pocket. She began slicing into the mango with a strained look. "And I don't know how long I'd been hurt. But once I saw the shore I just...blacked out, I think."

"Well, I'm glad you made it through safe enough," Aang offered helpfully. He took the proffered slice of mango from her with a smile. "You're from the Southern Water Tribe, right? It's hurricane season right now. The older kids always tell us not to go travelling there around this time of year."

Water Tribe Girl bit down on her own slice of mango almost angrily. "No one told me that."

Aang frowned. "No one could tell if you if you ran away without notice."

She turned and blinked at him, her face a strained mask of hidden emotions. "How did you- well...I told my older brother. He said he was worried, but that I'd be better off finding a master than being stuck at home," Water Tribe Girl said. She sighed with a sad smile stretching across her face. "All my seal jerky's washed up now. He'd be so mad if he was with me."

"He likes meat, huh?"

"Too much. Kind of obsessively."

He laughed, and she gave her own little giggle. They were quiet again as Aang was handed another slice of mango. They ate in an easy silence. He sucked at the skin, bottom teeth scraping against the yellow sweetness that still clung stubbornly, and watched her shrug off her coat. Aang had managed to dry most of it after he'd bandaged it up. It seemed a little useless now, with how warm it already was right now. It would be warmer still the farther north she went.

"What's your name?" Aang asked. He felt it would be easier to get her to open up if he knew her name. Plus, he was kind of annoying himself with addressing her as Water Tribe Girl in his head.

Water Tribe Girl stiffened, looking worried and somewhat scared. It didn't make sense to him. Was she scared of him intruding too much, or just answering the question? Why would she be scared of him? Regardless, it had him back tracking instantly.

"You don't have to say if you don't feel comfortable," Aang said. He gave her an encouraging smile, which seemed to help. "But, I won't give you my name either. Just to be fair."

Water Tribe Girl managed a small smile back. "Just to be fair."

He nodded, went back to sucking on the mango skin, and tried again. "Can you tell me where you're headed?"

"The Northern Water Tribe," she answered. His eyes widened - was she travelling on boat that far, by herself? During hurricane season? Admittedly, he was quite careless himself when he traveled. He'd flown into many a storm on Appa before on his visits around the world. But the fact that she'd swam through it impressed him immensely. "I need to...find a certain man and ask him to become my teacher."

Aang frowned. "They only teach boys there, you know. You couldn't find any teachers from home?"

Water Tribe Girl scowled and shook her head.

"They don't teach girls at the Southern Water Tribe either, you know," she said, mimicking him.

His frown turned into a full on scowl.

She handed him another mango slice.

Unnoticed to herself, she was gripping her small hunting knife - or maybe fruit knife? - until her knuckles turned several shades paler than her own skin. "My grandmother died a few weeks ago. She told me to go north and find Pa- find a certain man and ask him if he could teach me. Some chauvinistic idiot who doesn't believe that it's proper for girls to know how to fight," she spat, enraged beyond belief. She pointed to a short choker at her neck. "The necklace is supposed to instantly convince him."

It was kind of scary, seeing such a nice girl get so bitterly angry, but he shared the sentiment at least. He knew that the Air Nomads were incredibly unique in their views on things like gender, or marriage, or the sacredness of life that either greatly differed or outright contradicted the rest of the world. But the rest of the world didn't always make sense either.

What did gender have anything to do with a spirit-given gift like bending?

Aang knew more than a few girls who could beat him up. Lots of them didn't even need air bending to do it. Maybe this man Water Tribe Girl had to find - presumably a waterbending Master - needed to find a few himself. Aang sincerely hoped that she could fill that roll for him one day. He'd definitely cheer her on.

"You don't feel like going to ask, do you?" Aang guessed.

"I'll probably...have to grovel, to make him go against a tradition that old," she said. A distinct bitterness that he did not like found its way into her voice. "Travelling to the other side of the world means I'll probably end up loosing something along the way. I just- I don't want it to be my dignity, you know?"

Aang nodded in understanding, taking the mango and knife from her as she let them both flop into her lap for a good minute. He wouldn't fault her for being having self respect, and no decent person should. Water Tribe Girl watched him with bright blue, unnervingly expressive eyes. He began cutting up the mango properly, laying out the slices on the blankets as he spoke.

"If he forces you to grovel, then you'll just have to should force him out of any other options. Most people couldn't surivive a storm that capsized their boat by swimming through it." At this point, he gave her a look, and then the mango slices. Water Tribe Girl immediately took one and mumbled a soft thank you. "Your grandmother wouldn't ask you to do something this hard if she didn't think that it would be worth the results. You should go, and then make him regret ever thinking that a girl couldn't be an awesome bender."

Water Tribe Girl sighed. "You're right," she said. "I just...I want to learn. So badly. I've wanted to for so long. I couldn't be able to handle it if he told me no. Going all that way for nothing."

"Then don't give him an option to say no," Aang replied, a surprising lance of anger and stubbornness making its way into his voice. "It's a stupid tradition anyway! Show him how stupid it is."

Water Tribe Girl looked at him for what felt like a long time, until his anger fled from him and he felt embarassed for getting worked up so easily. Not that it wasn't worth getting worked up for but - he just hated getting angry. It made him feeling emotionally and even spiritually drained. But she stared, sucked on a mango skin, a very thoughtful look on her face.

Aang made it to the large, slippery mango seed at the middle, which he promptly fed to Appa. The sky bison enjoyed cracking into the large mango seeds more than he liked the flavor of the outside flesh.

"You're right. You're right!" Water Tribe Girl said, tossing down the mango skin and standing. There was a light shining in her eyes. Lots of hand gestures ensued, which he enjoyed more than he probably should have. "I'm not going to let him tell me I don't have potential just because I'm a girl! And I'm not going to grovel! Or beg! I refuse! I don't care what Gran Gran says!"

Aang stood too, crossing his arms and smiling happily. "That's the spirit."

Water Tribe Girl grinned at him, giving herself a little fist pump. It made him smile at her adoreableness, and she smiled back. "My Gran Gran would have liked you. You're really wise for your age," she said.

"I'm not that young. I just turned twelve," he replied. Aang wasn't fond of the insinuation that he was a kid to her. "How old are you?"

She smiled. "I'll be fifteen in just a few months."

It almost rankled him that she was close to three years older than him, but he bat away at the childish thoughts. It wasn't often than he thought of himself as a child these days, what with the very intimidating Avatar discussions the monks had amongst each other, and how quickly he was rising to airbending Master status. But now, he sort of did feel like one. Especially with her being taller than him.

Well, not by that much, but still. Still.

Water Tribe Girl gave another sad smile, and yet against she pressed her hands to the necklace that hung at her throat. It was tied like a choker, with a small circle of a strange white stone hanging from it. The stone was carved intricately with waves and a shoreline. It looked like it had taken a long time to be made. He'd seen many different variations of them on Water Tribe women in the North Pole when he visited.

With a deep, determined breath, she took it off.

"I'm supposed to show that man this necklace. He gave it to my grandmother when they were young, and she kept it ever since," she explained as it laid in her hand. She reached forward and tied it around his neck, just under the collar of his shirt. Aang frowned, touching the worn leather and carved stone necklace himself as she pulled away. "I don't want to show it to him. I don't want him to know that I'm her grand daughter. I want him to teach me because...because it would be a waste not to."

"I shouldn't take this. It's probably important to you," Aang said.

"The most important thing in the world," she said bluntly. This was where she pursed her lips. "It's the betrothal necklace he gave to my grandmother. She ran away with it. She gave it to my dad to give to my mom for their engagement, and my mom gave it to me. It's the last piece of her that I have of her. Of the both of them. What if he asks to keep it? I couldn't handle that."

"Couldn't you say no?" Aang said.

"I'm...I'm sort of bad at saying no sometimes," Water Tribe Girl muttered. Which worried him. She was about to go out travelling on her own, after all. He wanted her to be able to say no when she needed to.

"Won't mother your mother miss it?"

There was another sad smile here. "She's gone now."

He shook his head. "Then I definitely can't take this."

Water Tribe Girl held out the hand that reached to unclasp it behind his neck. There was a bright determination in her eyes and it mesmerized him like nothing in the world ever had. "One day we'll meet again and you can give it back. When we're both bending Masters. I...I know I can trust you. I know you'll keep it safe," she said. The smile she gave him was earnest. "Besides, so many people have owned it since that man made it. You're a neutral party."

"I don't know," Aang said, sincerely conflicted. It was a huge world, and she didn't have a sky bison to fly around in. What if he never saw her again? What if he never got to return the necklace to her? Something this precious shouldn't stay with him just to prove a point, even if he did understand.

"Just this one last favor. Please."

He sighed and acquiesced silently. It earned him another blinding smile.

"I haven't done you any favors. I hardly think keeping something around my neck counts as a favor," Aang told her. She didn't owe him anything.

Water Tribe girl smirked, shrugging a bit as she touched her bandaged forehead. "Only a monk would think saving someone's life wouldn't count as a favor," she said. Aang couldn't say she was wrong.

She surprised him when she stepped away and bowed low. In fact, it made him gape embarassingly.

"Thank you for saving me. Thank you for the advice. Thank you...thank you for reminding me why I need to do this," Water Tribe Girl said, voice full of reverence. She rose, still smiling. "Thank you for giving me hope again."

Water Tribe Girl stepped forward, leaned down, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Aang gaped even more incredulously as he watched her pull away, wave excitedly to Appa (who had decided to settle down for an afternoon beach nap) and then walked right into the sea. It took him a minute to understand that she was going to swim, and it took all of his strength not to try and drag her back to shore. He watched the water climb up to her knees, her waist, and then finally her shoulders as she began to swim. Aang truly couldn't help it went it started screaming out instructions.

"Head north east to Kyoshi Island!" he shouted, watching as she paused to look back at him. His heart was slamming inside of his chest like it never had before. "Follow the Yu Lin star when night falls! The third brightest in the sky! Sneak onto one of the cargo ships heading to the North Pole! The ones that smell like herbal tea! They head straight to the North Pole!"

Echoing and far away, she answered. "I will! Thank you!"

Aang swallowed thickly as he watched her head sink under the water.

"Goodluck," he said aloud to himself. Then he looked down at the coat she'd left behind in her haste. Aang frowned. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

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A/N: The prologue of my sort of Republic City!AU for the Gaang!

The only reason I started writing this is because I was binging on Zutara fics and got angry and had lots of feels. I love Zutara a lot, but oh my god, I'm tired of reading about how immature and selfish and attention seeking and annoying Aang is. I'm tired of reading about how wrong he is for Katara. Because no. Not even. Hush.

One thing that's a tenant to their relationship in the series is Katara's faith in Aang - you listen to her talk about it before each episode after all. She knows he'll save the world. But I think that she connects deeply with him, past his status as Avatar, because she believes in him. The goodness of his heart, the need to always help others, his Air Nomad values/beliefs, all of that, she believes in him, and she knows it all culminates in this boy that's gonna save the world. Because he already ran away once and he couldn't bear to do it again. And I love that about her. About them.

Expect some shennanigans, Kataang goodness, Toph keeping the streets safe as a cop fresh out of the academy, Sokka exercising everyone's nerves, shennanigans, a young King (prince?) Bumi, Zuko being the awkward tea obsessed baby turtle duck that he was born to be, amongst other things in a series of random one shots that hopefully won't be too long, since I'm leaving the country soon. Wish me luck.

I hope you enjoyed! Remember to review!