"Noatak!" Tarrlok's cry reached out into the blizzarding wind.
I am such an idiot. Thought Noatak. What am I doing?
Nevertheless, Noatak found himself moving on through the blizzard away from his brother, father, and village – the only life he had ever known. He couldn't take it anymore. His father had gone too far, and he couldn't take the pressure of being the gifted son. He was going to be his own person, but first he had to get out of this blizzard and away from the North Pole.
By the time an hour had passed, Noatak was making almost no progress. The wind was too strong and the ice pounded at his unprotected face. He looked around for options. He could barely make out a small cave up over to his left, but he decided to go for the little piece of shelter. Inside he was surprised to see an elderly man, huddled in a corner trying to keep warm. He had not been so prepared for the outdoors as Noatak had, and Noatak offered him a blanket from his hunting pack.
"Thank you," said the man in a scruff voice. "I don't think I would have survived if it hadn't been for you."
"No problem," said Noatak who was now huddling against the wall as well. The man noticed that something was wrong with Noatak. He seemed distracted when he spoke.
"Say, you need something?" asked the man.
"I need to leave the North Pole," Noatak replied. The man nodded.
"Hmm, it appears fate has brought us together. As it happens, I'm really an explorer from the Earth Kingdom. I came here to study the Northern Water Tribe's customs, but my trip is over now, and I'll be heading back to Ba Sing Se in a couple days. Care to join me?"
"I would love to!" said Noatak. "Thank you, sir!"
"Call me Lu Xing," said the man warmly.
The blizzard lasted through the night, and Lu Xing told Noatak of his travels to far off and bizarre places as well as his greatest role model and hero – Avatar Aang.
"He came to Ba Sing Se for the Trials. You know, when they had to try all of those crazy war criminals. And anyways, I saw him and Katara in the market when I was buying some bread to feed the turtle ducks at the pond, and I dropped a coin in the street. I heard someone behind me pick it up and there stood Aang! My hero! To this day I still have the coin he picked up for me," explained Lu Xing animatedly.
"Aang is pretty cool and all, but really? You kept a coin that he touched?" asked Noatak in disbelief.
"Yes. To me, Avatar Aang is the greatest person to ever exist," Lu Xing said, the memory making him smile. Noatak thought this guy was crazy, but Lu Xing was his only way out of here. Lu Xing eventually quieted down and the two went to sleep.
"Looks like the blizzard stopped! Well, it will take about a day to reach my boat, and then we'll head home. Personally, I'm very sick of all this cold weather. It's amazing you've lived here your entire life! I could hardly stand a week visiting," said Lu Xing in amazement. The two began to walk away from the cave. As they walked, Lu Xing told more stories. There seemed to be no end with this guy.
When they made it to the village where Lu Xing was keeping his boat, it was night, andthey got two rooms at the local inn to rest up a bit before the journey. Before wandering off to sleep, a thought occurred to Noatak.
"Lu Xing, this whole time you never asked me why I was leaving, told me I was too young to go, or even asked me my name," said Noatak.
"Yes," answered Lu Xing.
"Well, why?"
"One look at you in that cave told me you were leaving something terrible behind. Too young or not, I knew you had to go. Your name and past belong to you, and I don't need to know about them," was Lu Xing's answer.
"Thank you for that," said Noatak.
"You're very welcome. Everyone deserves a second chance for a good life."