The Next Generation

Chapter 1: The Offspring

Kaya is the daughter of the Avatar, Aang, and his wife, Katara, of the Southern Water Tribe. Kaya is not a water bender like her mother. She is an air bender, as her father was born. She is fun-loving and light-hearted. She has dark brown hair and gray-blue eyes.

Yue is Kaya's cousin. She is the daughter of Sokka, of the Southern Water Tribe, older brother of Katara, and his wife Suki, of the Kiyoshi warriors of the Earth Nation. Yue is a water bender. She is quiet and compassionate. Her hair is blue-black and her eyes are turquoise.

Lu Ten is the son of Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai. Like his father, he is a fire bender. Lu Ten is dedicated and serious, like his father. He also has dark brown hair and his eyes are golden.

"Look at her…." Lu Ten, now 15, said to Kaya as he watched Yue, who was practicing her bending with Katara.

"Yeah, she has great form, huh?"

"Yeah…. But I mean…. Look at how shiny and soft her hair looks…. And how sparkly her eyes are…. She's like a fragile little butterfly…."

"Lu Ten, you have a thing for my cousin." Kaya smirked. Lu Ten blushed.

"I do not…."

"Don't lie." Kaya hit him lightly. He looked away from her.

"She doesn't even notice me…."

"What are you talking about? The three of us are best friends."

"Yeah, but that's all she thinks of me as, a friend. I want to be more than just a friend to her."

"Look, I know my cousin. Yue is very sensitive. And she really doesn't have a lot of self esteem. So whatever you do, you have to do it carefully."

"What do you mean?" Lu Ten looked at her curiously.

"Well, if you were to just come out and tell her straight, she won't really believe you. She's very skeptical, like Uncle Sokka. She thinks that no one could feel that way about her, so she'll reason with herself that you are simply taking pity on her or playing some cruel game or something."

"Oh, I get it. Why do girls have to be so complicated?"

"Well, we do try." Kaya smirked.

"Kaya," Katara turned to her. "Your father is looking for you. How long have you been just sitting around slacking off?"

"As long as Yue's been practicing…." Kaya muttered, shoving Lu Ten playfully before getting up to find Aang.

"Alright, Yue, that was great. Go ahead and take a break. Remember, Toph is coming for dinner tonight. Since your parents are away, they left Aang and me to watch you, so I want you to be on your best behavior, even though I know you always are." Katara smiled proudly before departing. Yue reclined on the grass next to Lu Ten, who blushed slightly.

"You have really good form…." Lu Ten said after a while.

"Thanks. You're an amazing bender, Lu Ten…."

"I'm not as good as I should be."

"What do you mean? You're great."

"Yeah, but I'm the prince. I'm supposed to be the best. I know I'm nowhere near being the best."

"Who said you have to be the best?"

"Well…. No one…. But I'm the prince. I'm going to be Fire Lord someday…."

"But Fire Lord Zuko wasn't the best…. Wasn't his sister better than him? And isn't your Great Uncle Iroh the best fire bender in the world?"

"Well…. Yeah…."

"That's what I'm saying. You don't have to be the very best. You're great the way you are."

"You really think so?"

"I know so, Lu Ten. I'd be really disappointed if you changed somehow."

Lu Ten blushed a little.

"Hey, Yue…. You wouldn't want to spar a little bit with me, would you?"

"Well, Toph will be here soon. But I think there's some time for that." Yue smiled as Lu Ten stood up, offering his hand to her. She took it and stood up. Lu Ten took an offensive stance, whereas Yue took a defensive one.

"Yahoo!" Kaya glided over the two, laughing, Aang following, also laughing. Yue smiled, and Lu Ten just watched for a minute, and then shot a fire ball at Yue, who pulled water from the jar and shot it at the fire ball, reducing it to steam.

"Lu Ten, Aang, Kaya! Yue!" Katara called. "It's time to get ready for Toph!"

"Sorry, Lu Ten…." Yue sighed, sending her water back into the jar.

"It's not your fault."

Yue smiled and they went inside.

"Yue, Lu Ten, you look like you were just in some kind of battle," Katara frowned. "You go right up to your rooms and make yourselves presentable."

"Yes, Aunt Katara." Yue said, bowing slightly. They both went upstairs.

"You know, for looking like you were just in a battle," Lu Ten said before Yue went into her room, "you look pretty good…."

Yue blushed. "You, too…."

"Hey, cuz!" Kaya pounced onto Yue, smirking. Yue blushed even more. Lu Ten sent Kaya a small glare.

"Come on, we have to get all fancy for Ambassador Bei Fong!" Kaya laughed.

"Yeah yeah…." Lu Ten sighed, going into his room.

Kaya and Yue went into their room.

"You know, most people would kill to have Prince Lu Ten live with them." Kaya smirked.

"I'm glad Fire Lord Zuko decided to have him live here…." Yue said. "I think that he's right. He wants him to grow up away from being treated like a spoiled brat, the way Azula was. He wants to protect him from that."

"But you know, as the daughter of the Avatar, I get some spoiled aspects myself." Kaya smirked.

"And I'm the daughter of the Water Tribe Ambassador. And you know that Ambassador Bei Fong has not only the title of Ambassador, but she's also in the richest family in the Earth kingdom."

"That's true. I don't really like living here, in the Fire Nation, though. I wish we could live with Teo and Ty Lee."

"You'd feel really at home there, huh?" Yue took off her practice garb. Kaya did the same.

"Yeah. And I'm sure you'd feel at home down with your parents in the Southern Water Tribe."

"I would. But I'm happy to be fortunate enough to have been there and then even other places in the world. Most teenagers, even the children of Ambassadors, don't get to go where we've gone."

"Yeah. And this dinner tonight is supposed to be really important. My mom is great when it comes to raising kids, and you know that part of the reason Toph is even coming is to check out if her kid should live here, too."

"How'd you find that out?"

"I intercepted the messenger hawk." Kaya smirked.

"Wow…. Imagine, the fearsome foursome, generation two…."

"Yeah. Only in this fearsome foursome, there will be a bender from each element. We'll be the best."

Kaya and Yue got into matching dark blue gowns. They brushed their hair and then exited their room to see Lu Ten waiting for them. He stared at Yue.

"Wow, Yue…. You look great…."

Yue blushed. "You look pretty good, too…." Lu Ten was wearing formal wear. He blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ahem!" Kaya smirked.

"Oh, you look nice, too, Kaya…." Lu Ten muttered.

"Thank you!" Kaya threw her arms around him, kissing him on the cheek.

"Hey!" Lu Ten pushed her off, glaring.

"Kaya! Yue! Lu Ten! Toph is here!" Katara called excitedly. Kaya sighed, and then smirked, grabbing Lu Ten's hand and heading down stairs.

"Whoa!" As Lu Ten was yanked after Kaya, he reached out and grabbed Yue's wrist, pulling her along, too. When they got down to the entrance hall, they all separated, invoking their best behavior and bowing to Toph.

"Ha!" Toph laughed. "Twinkle toes, your daughter moves just like you!"

"I know!" Aang patted Kaya's head proudly. "And Toph, next to Kaya is Lu Ten, Zuko and Mai's son. And then the last one is Yue."

"Sokka and Suki's kid."

"Right."

"It's nice to meet you," Kaya, Yue, and Lu Ten said, all bowing again.

"Yeah. It's amazing that after all this time, this is the first time we've met each other's kids. I mean, it's not like I haven't spent time with you guys."

"I know," Katara said. "But this is great that we have this opportunity now."

"Yeah, anyway, let's catch up. I have a lot to tell you guys."

"Right. Kaya, be nice." Katara said sternly to her daughter. Aang smiled proudly as Kaya smirked. Toph followed Katara and Aang down the hall, leaving a girl a little shorter than Kaya, who was only a few centimeters shorter than Yue, who was several centimeters shorter than Lu Ten. The girl had brown eyes and long brown hair. She wore a green kimono.

"Hey!" Kaya waved. "I'm Kaya! And this is my cousin Yue, and this is the crown prince of the Fire Nation, Prince Lu Ten!" Kaya put her hand up to her mouth and lowered her voice slightly. "Don't look him in the eye…. It makes him angry. And if you even think of talking to him, you better say it to me first so I can let you know if it's okay to say to him. He's the crown prince, so he's kind of a spoiled brat."

"Kaya!" Lu Ten glared at her, his fists clenched.

"See, what did I tell you?" Kaya smirked and winked.

"Don't listen to her!" Lu Ten said, shoving Kaya aside. "I'm Lu Ten. I am the son of Fire Lord Zuko and Fire Lady Mai. But I haven't seen them for several months. I grew up here. Kaya is a trouble maker, it's best if you ignore what she says."

"Um," the girl looked around. "I'm Haku. I'm an Earth bender. Can any of you bend?"

"Are you kidding!" Kaya said excitedly. "I'm the Avatar's daughter! What kind of disgrace would I be if I couldn't bend!"

"Yeah, we bend." Lu Ten said, ignoring Kaya. "I'm a fire bender, Yue is a water bender, and Kaya is an air bender."

"That's nice. Now there are all four elements. Um, Mom told me to ask for a tour…." Haku glanced toward where his mother had gone.

"Great!" Kaya said. "We'll show you our bedrooms! You know that you're gonna live here, right?"

"Yeah." Haku nodded. "Mom told me that I'd share a room with Lu Ten."

The three leading Haku up the stairs froze, Yue and Lu Ten blushing as they turned to face Haku.