disclaimer; I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender and I don't really want to. No profit is gained from this fanfic.
warnings; OCC-ness, lack of Beta, and a weird update schedule 'cause I write whenever I can get the right words out
Notes are on chapter 1.
A/N: A-hem! I guess this is where I apologize for the wait… So, I'm sorry. Perhaps it really was too selfish of me to go into a mini-hiatus so that I could enjoy my summer vacation. But seeing that this summer is extremely probable to be my last "free" one, without actual worries of college and transcripts and money and work and all that adult stuff, I can't find it in me to be regretful.
Enjoy the chapter!
chapter 03:
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Zuko woke up around the time Appa finally reached what seemed to be the main glacier. He stretched and glanced over his shoulder at a sleeping Aang, who was lying on Appa's head. Watching a bit of drool escape from the corner of the bald boy's mouth, he smiled indulgently at the sight. Then he turned back to the Southern Water Tribe siblings (he had deduced that to be where they were based on the fact that the North Pole was too far for it to be possible that he and Aang had ended up there). As expected, the gangly teenaged boy—Sokka, if he recalled correctly—was utterly dead to the world, sprawled out in one of the sides of the saddle and snoring. When he turned to the friendly girl—Katara, was it?—he became startled.
"Why are you awake?" he half-inquired, half-demanded suspiciously.
She barely managed to cover her yawn. "I needed to give Aang the right directions," she told him wearily.
The image of a drooling Aang surfaced to the forefront of Zuko's mind. "He's asleep, though," he eyed her critically.
"Yeah. I was going to wake," her own yawn interrupted her, "…wake him up soon," Katara informed him, attempting to blink the sleep out of her eyes.
Zuko grunted.
Katara observed him with an amused glint in her eyes, slightly more awake now that she had someone to talk to. "You can stop being suspicious of me, you know," she smiled. "I'm not going to attack you."
He raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Your brother did."
"Sokka's…" Katara tried to find a word, but couldn't. "Well, he's Sokka."
"And you let him," Zuko continued as if she hadn't spoken.
Katara frowned at that. "I'm sorry. I really am. It's just that…" she trailed off, unsure of whether she should tell Zuko. "The war has gone on long enough," she concluded solemnly, eyes soulful and sad.
"What war?" he immediately demanded. "There is no war." His words sounded like a lie to him as he caught a glimpse of the tired sorrow in Katara's blue eyes.
"Zuko," she began, voice soft, "the four nations have been at war for a hundred years." She looked at him curiously. "Just how long have you and Aang been stuck in that iceberg?"
"I…" Zuko searched for an answer. "I'm guessing the last hundred years?" It seemed about right. She kept saying it all commenced one hundred years ago, that the Air Nomads hadn't been alive for a century, that there was a hundred-year war still going on right now.
Seeing the clothes Aang wore, Appa the flying bison himself, the fact that an Airbender and a teen from the Fire Nation were friends, and that the two's knowledge of the current events in the world was extremely outdated, Katara was inclined to agree. "I think you're right," she said in astonishment.
Zuko gave a noncommittal sound.
Katara turned her attention to their surroundings. "We better take a right turn here," she said. She was surprised when Appa turned right without some kind of prompting from Aang.
"He can understand us sometimes," Zuko explained, seeing her amazed expression. "Especially little stuff like that."
"Oh."
"Why don't you go to sleep now?" Zuko offered. "I won't be going back to sleep anytime soon." No, he'd already slept most of the afternoon away. He blamed the cause on being trapped in an iceberg for, as he'd decided, a hundred years. It had left him with a tired ache in his limbs. He supposed that's why Aang continued to slumber even after he'd accidentally raised his voice when asking about the war. (He had no explanation for the continuation of Sokka's.)
"Are you sure?" Katara couldn't help but pose the question. She yawned at the reminder of sleep.
Zuko nodded.
"Okay." Then she instructed him where to go, keeping the directions as simple as she could and pointing out certain obvious landmarks that would help. "You got all that?" she asked, wanting to be certain they wouldn't get lost.
"Yes," he answered, becoming exasperated.
Katara nodded to herself in satisfaction and laid down beside Sokka, not so gently pushing him to his own side of the saddle. She ignored his groan of disapproval at being moved. It wasn't long before her breaths evened, fast asleep.
Zuko's gold eyes wandered up to the starry sky. I wonder how much the world has changed…
Appa making another right turn broke him from his reverie.
"No, Appa, we continue straight on from here," Zuko corrected quietly. Although he now knew the two boys would remain in deep sleep for at least several more hours, he couldn't be too sure of Katara. He, himself, was a light sleeper and the slightest sound was enough to awaken him—unless he was truly exhausted.
The bison followed his direction.
Zuko gave him a pat on the back in response and decided to pay more attention.
Silent hours passed by before he could make out what he assumed to be a small village in the short distance as they gradually reached the top of a snow hill. It was enclosed by a low, roughly-circular wall of snowy ice and, inside, a sizeable igloo and eight tents ran in a circle around the communal fire pit that was placed at the very center of the village. Several smaller igloos clustered by the northern block, close to the tower that had been built into the protective wall. An open entrance laid at the south, leading into the community.
Zuko took note of all that in the luminosity of pale moonlight.
As they approached, he began to question people's reactions to a ten-ton bison that carried four teenagers into their village. The carried being two of their own kin, and two strangers—one of whom was an Airbender while the other was a Firebender from the Fire Nation. He rapidly deducted that they wouldn't be too happy, especially with him, and stopped Appa.
"Ka-…" He cleared his throat, hoarse from not speaking for an extended amount of time. Then he tried again, "Katara." he called.
The sleeping girl didn't respond.
"Katara," he prodded. "Wake up."
It didn't work.
"Katara."
She shifted, but still wouldn't wake.
"Katara."
He was speaking too low for her to hear him.
Oh, for the love of Agni… Zuko dropped the mantle of hushed silence. "Katara!" he uttered sharply.
Katara finally woke with a jerk, the commanding tone rousing her. "What?" she gazed at him blearily. She felt as if she hadn't slept a wink throughout the last few hours.
"We're at your village," Zuko stated. "I don't want to get any closer without one of you awake to explain our presence."
"Our?" Katara asked dazedly. The last she remembered, she and Sokka didn't need to explain their own presence at home.
"Aang and me," Zuko cleared.
"Oh." She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Right," she regained her bearings. "I'll alert Gran-Gran about you guys." She threw a leg over the left side of the saddle and carefully climbed down to walk the short distance to her home.
Zuko hoped her "Gran-Gran" didn't prohibit them from entering. He was beginning to get hungry.
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"You speak the truth," Kanna observed after she had been woken up—having been asleep, beaten by her old age as she had waited up for her missing grandchildren—and told the story.
"Please, Gran-Gran?" Katara begged. "Let them stay! I promise they won't be any trouble. Sokka already attacked them and they don't have anywhere else to go."
Kanna remained quiet.
"Zuko won't hurt anyone," Not without a cause, at least, she added in her mind, "and Aang's an Airbender! An Airbender, Gran-Gran. He's the last of his kind! We can't turn him—neither of them—away!"
"Tell me more about the Fire Nation child. This…Zuko," Kanna entreated, eyes obscure. The foreign name felt odd to her as she spoke it.
Katara gave a pause, carefully considering her words. "I don't know much, because I just met them. But Zuko's alright. The only time he acted violently was when he tried to protect Aang from Sokka's spear. Other than that, he hasn't attacked us at all."
Kanna hmm-d before facing another question, "Is he a Firebender?"
"Maybe," Katara mused. "I'm not sure. He hasn't created any fire. But he's had to have some training to be able to move like he did." Honestly, she still couldn't get the image out of her mind. He was fast! It had been as amazing as Aang shooting off ten feet into the air.
For a few, long minutes, Kanna didn't say anything, deep in thought.
Katara was tempted to bite her lower lip in worry.
"Alright, my kind little Waterbender," Kanna conceded. "They can stay." But I will keep a close on this Zuko.
"Thanks, Gran-Gran!" Katara practically squealed in joy, hugging her grandmother. "I'll go tell Zuko." She loosened her arms from the embrace and exited the tent.
Kanna gazed after her, smiling, and began to make sleeping arrangements as she waited.
It wasn't long before her granddaughter returned, along with Sokka and who she guessed were Aang and Zuko.
Katara entered first, moving aside to hold the tent door open and to let the boys pass after her. She was followed by a widely yawning Sokka and, finally, an exasperated raven-haired boy who stayed close to a bald one who clung to a staff, more asleep than he was awake.
"Talk later," Sokka enunciated. "Sleep now." He dragged himself over to his bed and flopped on to it, absently throwing his covers over himself. He was snoring away again in no time.
Kanna watched him in amusement before letting her attention drift to Zuko. "I am Kanna. You may reside in our village for as long as you need."
Katara had said as much, Zuko thought back. "Thank you," he voiced, inclining his head in gratitude.
"You're welcome," she returned politely. "Now, your friend Aang can sleep here," she pointed to one of the spare cots the village had, left behind by the men and stored along with pots and pans in a smaller tent. "You can have the other," she motioned to the cot resting besides the aforementioned one. Both of them made the large tent seem more cramped than it already was, but it had been all that could be done on such short notice. "Goodnight," she headed back to her own bed.
Katara smiled at her, "Goodnight, Gran Gran." before turning to Zuko. "Do you need any help with him?"
He shook his head, "No, I can handle this. You should go back to sleep."
"If you say so…" Katara eyed him dubiously but complied, tired. She headed to her own cot, removed her thick coat and almost jumped into her covers trying to escape the cold, night air. Wrapping the blankets around her tightly, she fell asleep.
As quietly as he could, Zuko maneuvered both himself and Aang to the spare cots, grunting slightly under the extra weight the younger boy presented. Navigating inside the small gap between the makeshift beds, he carefully deposited Aang on to one.
Aang's eyes flickered open and he uttered something incoherent.
Zuko reached for the blanket placed at the edge of the bed and pulled it up to cover the Airbender. Finished, he sat down on his own cot. With a half-lidded gaze, he reflected on the glimpse of emotion he'd caught behind "Gran Gran" Kanna's eyes. Hardly anyone had ever looked at him like that. Like I'm not… He shook the thoughts out of his head and decided that maybe he needed more sleep. He grabbed his blanket, pulled it over himself as he laid down, and closed his eyes.
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The crew was up early, and having already eaten breakfast, some were busy readying the ship while others practiced their Firebending. Inside, in one of the many rooms on the lower deck, Lieutenant Jee observed the stoic Mai. As much as the experienced man disliked following a fifteen year-old around, it was she who had been placed in charge and therefore Jee would follow her orders. It helped that she respectfully referred to him as Lieutenant and that she let everyone go about doing their own business on the ship without questioning whether it was the correct way.
"What would you have us do, Lady Mai?" he inquired, pushing his thoughts on the matter away. He had his own opinion on their next course of action, but contented himself to listen for the moment. If the girl's plan had holes, he would fill them in. If she needed advise, he would give her some.
Mai glanced up from polishing one of her knives. All she wanted was peace and quiet, and something untroublesome to entertain her. Nonetheless, she strategized while moving on to polish another knife of hers, having already hidden the previous one in her sleeve.
First of all, they had to assume that the Avatar they were facing was a fully realized one and while he would lack earth to bend, he still had plenty of water, air, and fire at his disposal. In any case, he would prove to be a formidable opponent. They couldn't instigate a fight and expect to win against him—not the Avatar, whose power was infinite.
However, everyone had a weakness. It was a fact—one that Azula wouldn't allow her to forget. You had to search for those vulnerabilities and never disregard one over the other just because of size. Because they could be somewhere out in the open or they could be buried twenty feet under, but they were definitely there. And once found, they could break a person if everything was played just right.
So, what was the mighty Avatar's weakness?
What was the one thing that he, for the lack of a better word, cared about?
The answer came easily to Mai, after having heard the numerous Avatar stories/rumors growing up. Said tales had one thing in common.
The Avatar was concerned with his duty to the world and to the people. Above all: the balance.
A thought came to her. "Tell me, Lieutenant," she glanced up at the man, past the glinting metal of the dagger in her hands, "is the Southern Water Tribe different from the Northern?" It was a subject that had never interested her.
"The Southern Tribe seemed to have a more open mind, allowing their women to fight whereas the Northern one did not. That was the most notable difference in the reports," the Lieutenant told her, wondering where the sudden question stemmed from.
Mai made a little, incomprehensible sound, watching her reflection on her now glistening weapon. In other words, the Tribes' cultures were dissimilar. Therefore, if this tribe was completely wiped out from existence (nevermind its current defeated state), the sorry "balance" for today's world would be further disrupted, becoming even more unstable.
And that power source had been noted to be extremely close in proximity to the northern shore line of the South Pole, where previous reports indicated that a pitifully small village dwelled.
She put her dagger away and relayed her thoughts in the most concise manner possible. At the end, she added one more thing, "We'll be using the nearest village as hostage. Prepare your men."
Lieutenant Jee nodded an affirmative at the order, standing from his chair and exiting the room. The plan wasn't a bad one and he had nothing to add to it.
Mai settled down to wait, occupying the time with sharpening and polishing her weapons.
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Aang jerked awake, taking sharp, ragged intakes of breath as his heart beat furiously within his chest. Rising to a sitting position, he worked to calm himself.
A canteen of water was shoved into his face.
"Drink," commanded Zuko, frowning with silent concern.
Still panting, Aang obeyed, hands coming up to grab the offered item. He brought the water to his mouth and gulped it down.
"Slow down or you'll choke," Zuko warned him.
Aang did, slightly. A second later the canteen was empty and, lowering it from his lips, he took a deep breath to further relax himself. Finally back to normal, his eyes found Zuko to his right.
"What were you dreaming about?" probed Zuko.
Aang tried to remember. All he could dredge up was a massive amount of water, cold air, blinding light, and the sound of drums. And fear. "The storm," he mumbled. "I was dreaming about the storm."
Zuko grimaced at the remembrance. "Stupid storm," he grumbled, wishing he could forget it entirely. It was an experience that he could've done without. Fire and water didn't mix.
Aang grinned at him and then gave a cursory glance to his surroundings. "Hey, where are we?"
"In Katara's village," Zuko answered.
"Oh." Aang observed the tent with curiosity for a minute and then faced Zuko again. "How are the people here?" he asked excitedly, always happy to come across new people.
Zuko had barely opened his mouth to speak when Katara burst into the tent.
"Is Aang awake yet?" She saw the boy in question watching her. "Oh good! Come on, you two. Everyone's been waiting to meet you." she smiled and waited as patiently as she could for them to rise.
While Zuko simply stood up, having been ready for a while now, Aang searched for his tunic (having taken it off sometime during the night) and found it tangled with his blanket. He quickly put it on, oblivious to Katara's study of his tattoos. Before he could say something, Katara grabbed both him and Zuko by the hand and pulled them out into the open, almost forcing him to leave his staff behind.
A small crowd, composed of women and children, met them.
"Aang, Zuko, meet the entire village. Entire village, Aang," she pointed at said boy, "and Zuko," she pointed at the other, respectively. She smiled encouragingly at her village.
Aang waved at them brightly, smiling widely, while Zuko gave a nervous smile and a small wave in turn.
They received strained smiles and a pair of women who were staring directly at Zuko, at his blood-red outfit outlined with gold, drew their child close.
Aang thought it was directed at him and his lively demeanor faltered, but he preserved. Zuko knew better.
"Uh, why are they all looking at me like that?" Aang searched for an answer.
Kanna, who had been standing a small distance away from the rest, came forward. "Well, no one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years. We all thought you were extinct until my grandchildren found you."
Aang did a double-take, "Extinct?"
Katara intervened before the conversation could head in that direction. "Aang, this is my grandmother," she introduced.
Aang bowed. "Pleased to meet you."
Walking over, Sokka grabbed the staff out of the Airbender's hand. "What is this supposed to be, anyway?" He examined it. "You can't stab anything with this," he criticized, his mind labeling it as a lame weapon to own.
"It's not for stabbing," Aang told him, creating a jet of air to suck it back into his hand. "It's for Airbending." He proved his point by opening the staff into a glider with red wings.
A little girl pushed herself away from her mother. "Magic trick! Do it again!" she ordered gleefully. "Again!" The rest of the children joined her.
Aang smiled at them. "Not magic, Airbending," he gently correct their error. "It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly."
Sokka laughed at him. "Humans can't fly."
Still smiling, Aang launched himself into the air with his glider and soared. The villagers below pointed and stared in wonder and he entertained them further by doing loops. Several of the younger boys extended their arms and began to run in circles, trying to copy Aang.
Sokka scowled at being proved wrong while Zuko grinned up at his friend.
"It's amazing, Aang," Katara complimented, smiling.
Aang basked in the praise and, his attention diverted, crashed into a tower of snow. He wiggled slightly and yanked his head free, falling backwards on to the snow with an, "Oof!"
"My watchtower!" Sokka gasped, eyes as wide as saucers. He frantically ran to it in hopes of salvaging it. It was futile and he mourned his master piece, holding the ruined snow in his hands. "All my hard work…"
"Sorry," Aang apologized as he picked himself up with Katara's help.
"Airbenders, Waterbenders," Sokka complained moodily as he stood and examined the damage on his tower, "together you can waste time all day long."
Pleasantly surprised, Aang turned to the girl. "Katara, you're a Waterbender!"
She smiled at him. "Well, sort of."
Anything Aang would've said next was cut off by Kanna, "Alright. That's enough playing. You have chores, Katara." She motioned for her granddaughter to join her.
The reminder of chores made Katara scowl and she took her leave with the rest of the women (who only left after instructing their children to stay close to Sokka and to not bother the raven-haired boy in red clothes).
Alone, Aang walked over to Zuko, who had kept his distance from the group. "What's wrong?" he eyed his friend. "You're not usually this quiet." Zuko raised an eyebrow at that and Aang realized what he'd said. "Well, you are," he amended sheepishly. "But you've never tried to leave so soon."
So Aang had noticed, Zuko observed. Even as Katara had begun to introduce everyone, he had seen the women's eyes. They were afraid. Of him, regardless of the fact that Zuko had never done anything to them or even met them before now. So he'd tried to make himself as unnoticeable as possible, willing himself to fade into the background. It hadn't worked. Not even Aang's impromptu show with his glider had distracted them from constantly shooting fearful glances his way.
People weren't supposed to be scared of him. Because people shouldn't be scared of a thirteen year-old with shaggy hair and a scrawny build that came with adolescence; because people shouldn't see an innocent boy and immediately think of the century old monster who destroyed lives and appeared in nightmares, and stole all that was good, and hurt everyone.
"It's nothing, Aang. Don't worry about it," Zuko counseled. "I'm going to go check on Appa, okay? I'll see you later." He left.
"Later…" Aang watched him go until one of the toddlers demanded his attention, wanting him to join their "warrior game" (to which Sokka loudly protested against before lecturing the little boy for referring to it as a game).
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"Katara," Kanna began, voice stern, "do not place all your hopes in this one boy." She studied the cloth in her hand, deemed it clean, and moved on to the next fabric.
"He's special, Gran Gran. I know he is. I can sense it," she told her elder, pausing in her work. "And he can teach me." She smiled at the idea.
"Be reasonable, my little Waterbender. What can an Airbender teach one who bends water?" Kanna questioned while she placed the fabric in her hands into the pile on her right, unwilling to let Katara dream just so that said dreams would end up broken.
The reality brought a frown to Katara's face. "They can't be that different. I'm sure we can both think of something."
Stubborn girl, Kanna thought fondly and proudly of her grandchild as she separated yet another fabric into the right pile. Just like her grandmother.
"In fact, I know we can," Katara continued, cementing her belief. She returned to her chores and became disgusted at the sight before her. "Eww! Sokka's dirty socks." She tried to put it in the sullied pile of clothes without actually touching it but was unsuccessful.
Kanna laughed.
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It was quiet on the ship, the crew at attention. They had spent all morning and most of the afternoon readying themselves and the ship and now they waited for additional instruction.
"Listen up, men," Lieutenant Jee commanded, posture conveying power. "You have transformed this ship into a prison for the Avatar and you have done well, all things considered. However, we all know that mere steel cannot detain him. No, it must be us who confine him, who render him powerless until we either reach the Main Land or back-up. Whichever comes first. The task ahead might sound impossible, but it is not. We are Fire Nation. We are honorable men who serve the Fire Lord. We will sustain and we will triumph, and we will bring glory to our great nation." He looked into the crewmen's eyes. "Do not fail."
"Yes, sir!"
"Now, to your posts," he ordered.
"Yes, sir!" The crew dispersed with a determined gleam in their eyes.
Lieutenant Jee turned to his right, facing a bored Mai and her attendant. "We should reach the village in an hour or two."
"Good," Mai acknowledged. "Send for me if you need me before then. I'll be in my room." She disappeared into the door heading to the lower deck, her attendant walking quietly after her.
Kids these days, Jee noted dryly before turning to face straight ahead and settling to wait for the upcoming fight.
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QUESTION: Am I being too precise with the story? Like, am I wasting time and not moving forward fast enough? Because, technically, I haven't even gotten past episode 1 yet.
~Erykha