Tenzin, the son of Avatar Aang stood on the docks of Air Temple Island, looking out at the statue of his father across the harbor, not to far away from the island. His newly announced wife Pema was back inside the house, ready to sleep the night away, but Tenzin wasn't ready to just yet. It had been a couple of months since his father died, and the White Lotus had already begun their searches for the next Avatar, scouring the Northern and Southern Water Tribes for any clue of his/her existence. So far, many of the claims had been proven to be false, causing great annoyance for them.
"I'll miss you dad," Tenzin says quietly, turning away to head back to the house. The sudden sound of a baby crying caught his attention, and he looked around in confusion.
"Hello?" he calls out, squinting his eyes, trying to see through the darkness of the night, moments after the sun had set.
The baby continues to cry and Tenzin follows to sound of it, looking out towards the water to see a small raft floating in his direction. His eyes widened in shock when he realized that a baby was crying in that raft, all alone and scared. Without a moments hesitation, Tenzin leapt into action to save the baby.
Using a gust of wind, Tenzin directed the raft through the water until it reached the docks, where he quickly picked it up. Inside the raft and covered with a blanket of furs lay a tiny baby boy, a little smaller than average, with reddish-brown hair, and constantly bawling, flailing his eyes out.
"Shhh, it's ok little one, you're safe now," he says quietly, if not a little awkwardly, unsure of how to handle the infant.
Deciding Pema would be much more suited for the task, as he was horrible with handling kids, he quickly rushed off of the docks and to the house, the baby still crying the whole time. A few air acolytes stared at him as he rushed by them, wondering why the airbender was carrying a baby from the docks that was clearly not his. When he was out of sight, they returned to their duties.
Tenzin rushed into their house and to the bedroom, where Pema was reading a book in the chair, with her nightgown on. She looks up in surprise when Tenzin bursts in, taking notice of the baby.
"Tenzin? What- who is..." she stutters, flustered and confused at the sight.
"I don;t know where the baby came from, but he was floating through the harbor on a raft. I think he was abandoned," Tenzin replies quickly in agitation, while trying his best to calm the baby down.
Seeing that his methods weren't working, Pema snatches the baby from his arms, and starts to calm him down. "Oh you poor thing! It's alright little one, you're fine. I've got you," she soothes the child, rocking him gently. Slowly but surely the babies cries lower to sobs until finally calming down as he looks up at Pema and Tenzin in confusion, but slight wonder.
Tenzin sighs in relief. "Thank the spirits he's quiet," he says.
Pema smacks her husband on the shoulder. "Don't say that, he's just a baby!" she scolds him.
"I'm sorry Pema, I just... I don't know how to handle kids or infants!" he stammers, his face going slightly red in embarrassment. She smiles warmly at him.
"I know, and it's a good thing you came to me. You get so flustered when you don't know how to handle something," she teases lightly, and he lets out a sigh.
The baby coos in confusion, getting their attention. "What should we do with him?" Pema asks, tickling the babies chin, and he giggles a little bit, flailing his arms excitedly. This action reveals a small bit of writing on the blanket, and Pema moves it up to read it better.
"This writing has a name, Hiccup. With some sort of image, maybe their family seal or something," she observes, moving it to allow Tenzin to get a better look. He examines the writing and the small image with it, which is a circle with some form of serpents entwined around a sword, possibly dragons.
"Well, at least we have a name, and maybe a way to find the family." Tenzin says.
"Are you sure that's a good thing though? You said that he seemed abandoned," she replies sadly, gazing down at little Hiccup who waves his arms up at her.
Tenzin sighs. "I know Pema, but for all we know it could've been an accident, and Hiccup might have gotten lost," he reasons. "I'll see if I can find his family in the morning."
"And if we don't find his family?" Pema questions.
"I'm not sure Pema," he replies honestly.
Pema looks back at Hiccup, watching as he stares up at her with adorable eyes. She returns her look to Tenzin with a determined look in her eyes. "Alright. But if we don't find his family, then we should keep him," she states firmly.
Tenzin stares at her in surprise. "Keep him?! Are you sure about that Pema?" he asks in disbelief, and she nods her head in confirmation.
"We can't just leave this baby all alone in the chance that his family really did abandon him!" she argues. "I don't want to send a child to the orphanage if I can help it, especially such an innocent soul as little Hiccup here!" she proclaims.
Tenzin stutters, waving his hand as he tries to come up with an argument before sighing in acceptance, being unable to find a proper reason to not keep the baby. "Very well Pema. If I can't find his family, then we'll raise him as our own," he says.
Pema smiles happily and gives Tenzin a hug with one of her arms, supporting Hiccup in the other. "Thank you Tenzin," she says gratefully.
The next day, Tenzin did what he said he would, and the couple brought little Hiccup to the police station, in search of a way to see if they could find Hiccup's family. Lin was in a bad mood, not too willing to see them, as her breakup with Tenzin was still fresh in her mind, but upon hearing the reason, she reluctantly relents, agreeing with the need to find the baby a home. They police department spent the whole day searching through their records for a match to the name Hiccup and the image drawn on the blanket, but by the late afternoon, they had found no connection, which left Hiccup in Tenzin and Pema's custody.
"Welcome to the family little Hiccup," Pema says happily, tickling his chin with her finger. Hiccup giggles and tries to grab her hand, and Tenzin watches from beside her, a small smile on his face. Perhaps this arrangement wouldn't be so bad after all...