Chapter 2: The boy in the iceberg
Water.
Earth.
Fire.
Air.
Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony.
Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.
Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them.
But when the world needed him most, he vanished.
A hundred years passed, and my brother and I discovered the new Avatar an airbender named Aang along with his sister Aliyah, the Protector.
And although his airbending skills are great.
He has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone.
But I believe Aang can save the world.
Aliyah's POV
I'm awake. But I can't seem to be able to open up my eyes. What happened? Where am I? Think, Aliyah think. Aang leaving, us fighting, Appa flying, chasing after them, the storm, the crash, then-
"Aliyah!" My brothers voice called out. I opened my eyes and looked around. Aang was right in front of my face, and there was a water tribe boy and girl behind him. The girl was looking at me excitedly, while the boy was looking at me with a mistrustful gaze. Aang then pulled me into a tight hug.
"Aang what happened? All I can remember is crashing into the water." I said.
"Well you see Liyah, when we crashed we were encased in ice under the water." Aang said rapidly.
"Right, um ok, wait, where's Appa?"
Aang stood up and moved over and gestures behind him. I see him and get up quickly, a little too quickly, and I ended up stumbling back wards a bit. Someone grabbed my arm in order to stop me from falling. I look up to see the water Tribe boy holding my arm. Once I'm steady I mention a quick thanks and bolt over to Appa. I give him a peck on his nose and jump on top of him before he can lick me. Aang then looks at the siblings and asks,
"So do you guys live around here?" The girl is about to respond when the boy cuts her off.
"Don't answer that! Did you see that crazy bolt of light? They were probably trying to signal the fire navy." I rolled my eyes ready to say something when the girl did it for me.
"Oh yeah I'm sure they're spies for the fire navy, you can tell by that evil look in their eyes." Aang and I looked at each other then looked at them with a big grin. She continues saying,
"The paranoid one is my brother Sokka, you never told us your names."
"I'm A-A-Achoo!" Aang began to say until he sneezed and flew high into the air. We watched him land and he responded as if nothing had happened.
"I'm Aang, and this is my sister Aliyah!" Sokka and his sister looked at him in disbelief.
"You just sneezed and flew 10 feet in the air!" Sokka said.
"Really? It felt higher then that." Aang said confused. The girl then looked as if she had a revelation.
"You're an airbender!" She said as though it was some great mystery.
"He sure is." I said sliding off of Appa.
"Giant light beams, flying bison, airbenders, I think I got midnight sun madness. I'm going home where stuff makes sense." Sokka said. Then he paused realizing he had no way of getting home.
"Well if you guys are stuck, Aliyah, Appa and I could give you a lift." Aang offered quickly, then hopped on top of Appas head. I chuckled and followed him up.
"We'd love a ride, thanks!" The girl said happily.
"Oh no, I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster." Sokka said rudely. I shot him a glare.
"Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home, before you freeze to death?" The girl snapped back while climbing onto Appa with Aang and I's help. I like her I thought to myself. Sokka made some noises of protest before sighing and climbing up too. He sat at the back with his arms crossed. The girl sat beside him, while I sat at the other end with my back to Aang. Aang got situated at the front and said,
"Okay! First time flyers hold on tight! Appa yip yip!" Appa groaned and then flapped his tail to take off. We were up in the air, and then crashed into the water.
"Come on Appa yip yip." Aang said again. I patted Appa's side and I could feel his exhaustion.
"Wow, that was truly amazing." Sokka said monotonously. I glared at him and said,
"Appa is just tired is all." I said defensively. Aang nodded in agreement.
"A little rest and he will be soaring through the skies, you'll see." Aang said happily. The girl climbed up to where I was sitting and looked at Aang. Only to find him staring at her with a big goofy smile on his face.
"Why are you smiling at me like that?" She questioned. His grin dropped and he replied,
"Uh oh, I was smiling?" Sokka let out a big groan. Aang then focused on the path ahead. I looked at the girl.
"I'm so sorry I'm all this I seem to have not learned your name." I said quickly.
"Oh I guess you're right! I'm Katara, are you a bender too?" She asked animatedly. I looked away a little sad.
"No, I'm not a bender, but I am an air nomad."
"That's ok, I'm a waterbeneder, but my brother is not. I'm the only one in our tribe." She sympathetically. Sokka settles in and took a nap. I was leaning over the side of Appa's saddle and was playing with his fur. I looked up when Katara climbed to the front of the saddle and started talking to Aang.
"Hey."
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" He asked.
"I guess I was wondering, your being an airbender and all... if you had any idea what happened to the avatar." I looked up quickly at Aang, curious of his answer. I knew he didn't want to be the avatar, but he did know it was his responsibility. Just as his safety is mine.
"Uh. No. I didn't know him. I mean I knew people who knew him, but I didn't. Sorry" he said to her.
"Okay, just curious. Good night." She said.
"Sleep tight." Aang replied. She climbed away and Aang and I shared a look. We knew that even though Katara and Sokka were trust worthy enough, it wasn't safe for them or us to tell them who we were yet. I decided to then go to sleep for a bit.
I woke up to someone poking me. I opened my eyes to see Sokka and Katara looking down at me.
"Um, what's up guys?" I questioned.
"Sorry to wake you up Aliyah, but Aang is asleep and he isn't waking up, and we're here and don't know how to get off." Katara said apologetically. I nodded then stood up and yawned. I looked around to see us stopped right in front of a small village. I walked up to Appa's head and rubbed his face.
"Yip yip Appa, up on to the ice. Okay bud?" I said to him softly. He groaned and then climbed on to the ice. When we got up I tried to pick up Aang and failed. I ended up dropping him and he was still asleep.
"Need some help?" Sokka offered from behind me.
"Uh sure thanks, I will take some of your stuff down. Be careful he's heavy for an airbender." I said before grabbing Sokka's stuff. He picked up Aang (with a bit of struggle) and I helped them off of Appa.
We began walking towards the tribe. When we got in, an older woman came straight towards us.
"Katara, Sokka, where in earth have you been? Who's this? Who's that? What is that?" She said very quickly. Katara and Sokka looked very scared, so I stepped up.
"Um hello ma'am. My name is Aliyah, and this is my brother Aang, and that is our pet flying bison Appa. We are air nomads who were trapped in ice and these two freed us and so we gave them a ride home on Appa." I said quickly. She looked at me questioningly, and then Sokka and Katara nodded quickly in agreement.
"Well, i apologize for my lack of manners. My name is Kya and I am these twos Gran Gran." I nodded in understanding. She then looked at Katara.
"Katara would you be so kind as to show our guests where they may stay and then go to bed yourself Please." Kya asked tiredly. Katara nodded and started walking.
We got to a small tent with some animal furs across the floor. Sokka laid Aang down and left without a good night. Katara seemed as though she didn't want to leave.
"Katara as much as I want to get to know you more, I don't want your grandmother to be angry with us. I promise you can come get us first thing, ok?" She smiled and nodded, said good night and left.
I took Aangs shirt off of him and tucked him in. I went to place a kiss on his temple when I was pulled into a vision.
There was an old man and a boy with a scar, I saw a bolt of light, and a ship with the fire nation sign on it. I wondered what my vision meant, but decided to go to sleep. If i was going to understand it the spirits would guide me in my sleep. I touched Aang and could feel his distress. I gripped his hand and tried to take his pain. I couldn't get it all, but I could see his face relax a bit. I then grabbed some furs and wrapped myself in them before falling asleep.
I heard Aang gasp and shot straight up from bed. I looked around for danger only to see Katara comforting him. I rubbed my eyes when she said,
"Come on get ready. Everyone is waiting to meet you guys." She said happily. Aang grabbed his shirt and put it back on. I stretched and noticed Katara watching him. The second his shirt was on she grabbed him and pulled him outside. I let out a chuckle and followed them out. Katara dragged Aang in front of a large group of mainly women. I walked up and sat beside Aang.
"Aang, Aliyah, this is the entire village. Entire village, Aang and Aliyah." Katara announced. Aang and I bowed and noticed the villagers back away from us. Aang looked at Katara confused and asked,
"Why are they all starring at us like that? Did Appa sneeze on me?" Kya walked forward and answered his question.
"Well no one has seen airbenders in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct, until my granddaughter and grandson found you and your sister."
"Extinct?" I questioned.
"Aang this is my grandmother." Katara said fondly.
"Call me Gran Gran." She said to Aang.
Sokka then walked over and grabbed Aang's glider.
"What is this a weapon? You can't stab anything with this." Sokka said confused. Aang then pulled the glider back with his bending and replied,
"It's not for stabbing, it's for air bending." He then hit the side and the wings popped out. Sokka flinched and children looked in awe.
"Magic trick do it again!" A little girl said.
"Not magic, airbending. It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly." Sokka looked at him accusingly.
"You know last I checked, humans can't fly." I rolled my eyes at him.
"Check again." Aang said before taking off. Everyone watched him in awe as he soared through the sky. Sokka turned to me and said,
"So why aren't you up there, huh?" I rolled my eyes.
"Do you see any arrows? No you don't, that's because I'm not a bender." I snapped at him.
We then heard a thud and turned to see Aang stuck in a pile of snow. He pulled himself out; Katara and I ran over to him after Sokka mentioned something about a watch tower.
"That was amazing." Katara said helping Aang up. Aang twirled his glider and the wings went away. A giant pile of snow then fell on top of Sokka.
"Great, you're an airbender, Katara is a waterbender, together you can just waste time all day long." He said before marching away grumpily. I had to stifle a giggle.
"You're a waterbender!" Aang said excitedly.
"Well sort of, not yet." Katara replied. Gran Gran then came,
"Alright, no more playing, come on Katara, you have chores." She said and the two walked away. The group of kids surrounded Aang and so he licked his staff and his tongue got stuck to it. I rolled my eyes and walked off to find something else to do.
I noticed how cold I was, so I went back to our tent and grabbed one of the furs from the ground. I wrapped it around myself and walked outside. I looked around and saw Sokka and a group of young boys. Curious, I walked over so I could hear and see better, but far enough that I wouldn't get yelled at.
"Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a firebender. In the water tribe we fight till the last man standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?" Sokka said dramatically. The boys just stared blankly at him, until one raised their arm and said,
"I gotta pee." Sokka got frustrated and said,
"Listen until your fathers return from the war, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe! And that means no potty breaks!"
"But I really gotta go." The kid said. Sokka let out a sigh, then said,
"Okay. Who else has to go?" All of the boys raised their hands. Sokka groaned and smacked himself. I couldn't help but giggle when all the boys left to go pee.
Katara came a moment later,
"Have you seen Aang?" She asked Sokka. "Gran Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago." Sokka shook his head. Katara turned to me. "Aliyah have you seen him?" I simply stood up and pointed to where my brother was. Sokka looked at me enraged.
"Wow, everything freezes in there." At the sound of my brothers voice we turned to see him talking to the kids.
"Ugh. Katara get them out of here, this lesson is for warriors only." Sokka was fuming at Katara and I until we heard a "weeee" come from a kid. We all turned to see Aang and the kids using Appa as a giant slide. Katara let out a laugh and I chuckled and came and stood beside her. Sokka then ran over and began yelling at Aang.
"Stop. Stop it right now. What's wrong with you? We don't have time for fun and games with a war going on."
"What war?" Aang said while sliding off of Appa. I turned and looked at Katara in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" I said.
"You guys are kidding right?" Sokka said turning to me. I just stared back at him even more confused. Out of no where Aang screamed,
"PENGUIN!" And then bolted after the poor thing. Sokka looked back at me.
"He's kidding, right?" I just rolled my eyes.
Katara then chased after Aang. I stayed to be with Appa. I climbed on top of him and sat on his head. I watched as Sokka gathered up the kids again to let them have a break.
I turned onto my back as they left enjoying the warmth Appa was giving me. I could feel that he was much better today.
"You were kidding right?" I jumped from my spot. I looked down and saw Sokka staring up at me. I nudged Appa and he laid down so I would be more level with Sokka.
"What do you mean?" I questioned him. He looked at me in disbelief.
"You know the war that's been going on for 100 years started by the fire nation?" He said sarcastically.
"What? No. You're just kidding about that. Believe me if there was a war I'd know, my people and I would do whatever was needed." I replied honestly.
"Well, I hate to break it to you, but this isn't a joke. This war has been going on for a century and there's no airbenders anywhere." He said seriously. I looked at him, more confused then ever. "Aliyah, how long were you in that iceberg?"
"Um, I'm not sure it didn't feel very long, and Aang and I look the exact same. Why?" I asked.
"Aliyah, I think that you and Aang were in that ice berg for a hundred years." I raised my eyebrows. "Wait and before you tell me off, think about it. The war started 100 years ago and you and Aang have no recollection of it. Also no one has seen airbenders in almost that much time as well, let alone a flying bison." I looked at him and I wanted to believe that it wasn't true, but deep down I knew that it was. I slowly slid off of Appa and stood face to face with Sokka.
"Are you telling me that Aang and I are probably the last of our people?" He nodded slowly. I took a breath. I know I shouldn't tell him without Aang here but I think he should know, because if there's a war Aang and I will have to help end it. I took a few more deep breaths blocking out the tears. Sokka grabbed my hand.
"Aliyah?" I looked up at him.
"Sokka I have to tell you something." He looked at me confused. "Aang is the a-"
I was cut off by a large flare going into the air. Sokka let go of my hand.
A/N: so this is my first story. I hope you liked it and I will try to update ASAP. Dec. 19, 2018