Chapter 1: the Introduction
"How is it so warm here? I don't see how anyone could survive!" Tukodi wiped the sweat off her brow. Her other travel mates just laughed in agreement, still fantasizing about returning to the frigid waters.
Shortly after the departure of the Avatar and his southern companions, the most successful healers and many master Waterbenders left their home to help rebuild their broken sister tribe at the south pole.
Tukodi was a Waterbender. There was no avoiding that.
She was a girl, so she could not be trained as a fighter, although she wanted to. She learned to accept the fact that she would only be a healer at a young age, but that didn't stop her from making icicles out of the street corners. Understandably, she was one of the first to offer to go help out the Southern Tribe. Tukodi often laughed at the fact that Katara was able to learn how to fight, but not her. She never admitted that she was jealous of the Southern girl, but she was. Never enough to be mean of course, but just enough to not want to talk to her.
Leaving the North Pole, she thought, would be a chance for her to learn more about her craft. Her mother wasn't too keen on letting her leave her home
at such a young age, but her uncle would be on the journey with them, so she reluctantly let her leave.
The Earth Kingdom was very warm this time of the year. The nearing summer solstice meant the temperature was rising by the day. Even the shore water was getting warm.
The small group of teenage Waterbenders discussed the events of the day, consisting of Master Pakku slipping on some ice left over by Kavik, a dog being snuck onto the ship, and a fight between two older gentlemen that resulted in both having frostbite on their hands and forearms. Tukodi snickered a bit, remembering the look Pakku gave Kavik right before he froze his feet
to the deck.
"So, where do you think we'll be headed next?" asked
Anoki as he sipped his icy tea.
"I'm not sure. From where we are right now I'd say we're headed to... here," Kaviq pointed to the map. "There's a small port town just south of us right now. We're getting low on supplies. I'll ask Master Taok if we can stop over there. I hear the town has some interesting nightlife, too," Kaviq winked at the rest of his bunkmates an left. That was Kaviq again; the constant party animal, always looking for a reason to stop over at a town, or check out some Earth Kingdom girls. He was seventeen, and a fairly proficient Waterbender.
Tukodi, Anoki, and the younger girl Ryva didn't pay much mind to Kaviq leaving the small room, and Tukodi stretched herself out on the leather cushion. The three teenagers lightly skimmed their scrolls while they hummed. Kaviq soon returned through the narrow door with good news.
"We're stopping tomorrow morning for a few days to refresh our supplies and catch up on the news. I hear the Avatar is getting some help to Omashu. That makes me feel better, at least," he said, flopping on the cushion next to Ryva. "C'mon. We'd better get some sleep," and with that, he blew out the lamp.
In the dark and quiet of the early morning, Tukodi felt the waves of the ship rocking slowly. She had woken up only a few minutes before, but she was wide-awake. The darkness pressed on her eyes as she made her way up onto the upper deck to look at the stars, and she wished she had taken the lantern.
The dawn air was cool and misty; perfect for perfecting a special Waterbending move she had adored since she was young. She drew her hands over her head and pulled the moisture out of the air, doing this until she had suitable amount of fresh water to work with. Freezing the water was still no easy feat for her, and separating the water from the air was hard enough for her.
"Man… I wish I had a teacher that would actually teach me instead of tell me to go back to the healing huts," she whispered to the dewy sky.
The door to the under deck creaked open, and Tukodi whirled her body around. Master Pakku stood in the doorway, a small smirk on his face.
"You're doing it wrong," he said firmly to her and smiled.