Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Though it would be cool if creators wrote fanfics more often.
One autumn day two siblings, a boy and a girl, were lying down on an ice floe, not by choice, but because of the waterbending that the latter had released on their canoe in a fit of rage against her brother.
"Okay, you've gone from weird to freakish, Katara." said Sokka, indicating the collapsed iceberg that was behind her.
"You mean I did that?" she asked incredulously. She could barely catch a fish, much less do something like that.
Just then, another iceberg slowly floated to the surface, 12 meters high. Katara tried going forward, but Sokka held her back.
"Wait Sokka, there's someone in there!" she pointed at the bald figure lying meditatively in the ice, glowing arrows on his arms and head.
"Is he.. dead?" asked Sokka.
"I don't know.." Katara answered. Did she really have to see another body?
"I just saw him move!" did he? Wondered Sokka. Slightest movements through the ice continued, and the two noticed that the glowing arrows were gone, but their imprint had continued on the figure's skin.
"Well come on, let's help him!" before Sokka react, she had taken his club and was running over to the iceberg.
"Katara don't be- Ugh."
She struck the ice, forming a hole, and letting out a gust of wind that pushed her back next to Sokka. Cracks formed in the ice from Katara's blow, allowing the person inside to break free, and in a flash of fire, the ice had all melted, and was trickling back into the ocean.
"What was that?" The 16-year old Fire Nation prince asked himself, referring to the spark that appeared in front of him for a split second. If it's him, he thought to himself, no, it will be him, and if it isn't it will lead to his capture.
"Just the celestial lights, Prince Zuko." said his uncle, "We've been down this road before. I don't want you to get excited too much over nothing."
"Uncle, we have to set course there to see what is going on."
"Sit down. Have some tea."
"I don't need any tea! I need to find the Avatar! Helmsman, head a course for.." he struggled to indicate the place where he had seen the odd light, "Over there by that iceberg."
"Ugh... wake ups.." said the young boy from inside the iceberg as he came out of the crater, "Never that great." He was bald aside from the arrow on his head, and wore a set of yellow and orange robes. "Oh! Right. Hello there." He smiled, then seemed to pause for a second before falling over, rolling by Katara and Sokka.
Sokka held his spear cautiously, poking the boy's head with the blunt side.
"Stop it!" Katara waved the spear away. Was he okay? She propped him up against the crater, and saw him slowly open his eyes again.
"I need to ask you something..." he said lowly.
"What?"
"Please... come closer."
Curiosity had her, so she did. "What is it?"
Suddenly the weary child's face became excited and mischievous, "You guys wanna go on an adventure?"
"What? Adventure?" she was not expecting this. Who was this kid? "I don't really.. this isn't really the place for an adventure and also, who are you?"
He rose to his feet, "I'm Aang. Traveling nomad. I seem to have lost my way."
"Lost your way where?" asked Sokka, pointing his spear at him, "Where are you headed? How did you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?"
"I don't know where I was going, but I guess now I'm going with you two. As for the ice, well there was this storm, and I was practicing my airbending among other things, and lastly, I take good care to make sure I don't have to worry about being hurt by the cold."
"Wow. That was a lot of nothing you said just there." said Sokka, having gotten nothing out of that explanation, "But that's right, you are coming with us now! You've got to be working with the Fire Nation."
"Wait wait," said Katara, "Did you... say you were airbending?"
"Oh right, I'm..." he paused. And just stood there, "Well I'm a- ah- ahchoo!" he sneezed, air coming out that blasted him into the air.
"This is some kind of Midnight Sun Madness, isn't it?" asked Sokka. "I'm just gonna go sit in the crater and ponder life, alright?"
"You go do that!" said Aang, cheerily.
And Sokka let out a scream.
Aang slapped his forehead, "Oh that's sad." he ran down into the crater. "Appa!"
Inside the crater Sokka had found himself face to face with an enormous white furry animal; it had six legs, two horns, and the same arrow on its face that Aang had, except brown instead of blue.
"What is that thing!?" he exclaimed as Aang embraced it. He was scared, and also a bit disgusted by that fact that it nearly sneezed on him.
"Appa here is my Flying Bison. An old partner."
It let out a roar.
"That's a good pal."
"Katara," Sokka peaked his head out, "Can we go home now?"
"If you need a lift, Appa can take us there." said Aang.
"Let me guess," said Sokka, sarcastically, "Flying through the sky, right?"
"Oh, Appa can swim too." said Aang, helping Katara up to the saddle.
"Come on Sokka!"
"No, no, I'll just take the normal..." he looked around to find all the ice floes gone with no boat left, "route.. Alright I'm getting in."
"So, first time flyers-"
"You mean-"
"Swimmers, right, hold on tight! Appa, yip-yip!"
The bison made a flick of its tail and lept into the air. For a second, Sokka and Katara expected it to take flight, but shortly enough they were plopped down onto the water.
"Oh, I didn't get your names, did I?"
"I'm Katara, and this is my brother Sokka."
"Um, question here." said Sokka, remembering the flying bison remark, "What exactly are we... riding on? Appa, was it?"
"He's a bison. Bison. Flying bison. Erm, Sky Bison. Platypus bear. Wait no not platypus bear. I don't really like taking care of those, they always-"
"Flying."
"Yeah. I know what you're thinking, shouldn't have been flying in a storm-"
"More like, why isn't he flying if he's a flying bison? What do you have to gain by saying-"
"Well it's just a name." said Aang. There was a pause in the conversation after that.
"Why are they called that?" asked Katara, interested.
"Because they can fly." Aang responded.
Sokka couldn't bring himself to speak.
"I'm going to bed now." said Uncle to Zuko. "Yep, a man needs his rest." He paused and decided subtlety was imperfect. "Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you're right, and the Avatar is alive, you won't find him. Your father, grandfather and great-grandfather all tried and failed-"
"Because their honor didn't hinge on it. Mine does. The coward's hundred years of hiding will end because of me." And with that their conversation was over. Zuko was going to find the Avatar, and that was that.
"Hey." said Katara to Aang, as they laid on Appa's back.
"Hey, you thinking?"
"Well, yes. You're an airbender, so I was wondering if you knew, what ever happened to the Avatar?"
"Oh that guy? Last I heard he went traveling around the world."
"Traveling during a war?" asked Sokka.
"The Avatar has to travel. An inexperienced kid can't save the world, now can he?"
"He's over a hundred years old though! Couldn't he do his.. Avatar training a bit faster?"
"He's been busy. War disrupting the nations. Other stuff."
"You sound like you know him."
"Definitely knew him. Well, I knew people that knew him. You could kinda say I knew him. He was at my temple." he chuckled.
"I wish he could have fixed the world a bit sooner, if he could have!" said Sokka, angrily, "Dads going off to war, families torn apart.."
"War is one of those things that always happens." said Aang, "No need to rush."
"What?!" Katara rose from her seating position, "No need?! Countless people have died!"
"And back when... in all the past wars... those people would have died even if there wasn't one, wouldn't they? I mean.. if you want to stop a war go and do it, but don't let it destroy you."
"Think of all the things that could have been different if people didn't have to die in these wars, Aang. All the people who would have lived. All the possibilities."
For a moment, Aang didn't respond, "Possibilities... Heh. Wait, so you mean, I don't really keep up with these things, there's a war going on? I didn't hear anything (much) about that back at the temple."
Sokka sighed. "Yes. The Fire Nation decided it would be a good idea to try and take over the whole world." he paused, "And they're winning."
"I see. When did this happen? Last month?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Last... try, 100 years, Aang." said Sokka, not amused by this Airbender's lack of basic knowledge.
"Aang..." started Katara, coming to a realization, "Were you in that iceberg for over 100 years?"
All that could be heard was the sound of Appa's swimming. And then Aang spoke.
"Was I?" And then he chuckled to himself, "So.. we're going to the Water Tribe you say? Is it the North? I just love the Northern Water Tribe. Beautiful place-"
"SOUTH." said Sokka, indicating the piece of land Appa had just arrived at. He wasn't going to let his home take a beating by this stranger's standards. After all, warriors could be just as effective in a war as Waterbenders. Or else what would be the point of sending them off? "We are in the southern water tribe."
"Oh that's cool," said Aang, getting off of Appa's back, "I have some good friends in the Southern Water Tribe."
"Well you know what?" said Sokka, not liking their little chats, "They're probably dead."
"Yeah." Aang agreed.
"Sokka!" Katara whacked him on the back of the head, and took him aside "That's not what you say to someone who's been transported to the future! He must be feeling so conflicted and confused right now." The poor guy, she thought, must not have any idea where he is. Not to mention not knowing what happened to his people-
"Mr. Snowman over here?" asked Sokka, indicating Aang's full encasement in snow during her lecture. With a gust, the snow flew out in all directions, "He looks so conflicted."
"Don't be too worried Katara," said Aang, "Ice and snow always look the same."
End Chapter 1
So what do you think? I was originally going to make the first chapter go up to them starting on their journey, but I decided I don't really like info overloaded chapters, so I'm slowing down. No idea how many chapters this'll turn out if I'm always so minimal though.
