A/N: literally my self-restraint lasted like 25 hours.
Okay, well, here's chapter four, and chapter five should be up in like 10 minutes. Because I feel super bad that these are such boring chapters. Sorry, it won't really pick up until like the Earth Kingdom, really.
But hey! We'll meet Katara soon, and I just finished writing out the scene where Noatak meets some familiar faces. :)
Anyways. Just keep reading and don't lose too much faith in me. ;~;
In the end, it was really just Kaya that came to say goodbye. Noatak had to get up at the crack of dawn to catch Korjaq and his trading ship, which was really just a really large longboat with a square hut in the center. It was flat and had walls along the side as well as the trademark coils at the front and end, and the sides were decorated with a simple but familiar blue wave pattern. Noatak was expecting that there would be a below decks, a steering wheel, and some sails at least for a trading ship, but clearly Korjaq liked to be simple.
Really simple. The only storage found was the square hut built right on top of the deck. There were no below decks, and the only place to rest was a laid out blanket in the little hut, and basically all the room was taken up by decorated pots and baskets trademark to the Water Tribe. Apparently, Korjaq was about the only trader in the entire village, which was why Noatak didn't have many options to choose from.
As for the steering wheel and sails, all Korjaq had to work with was a rudder and an oar attached to the back of the boat. Noatak noted the older man's well-honed arms, and he wasn't surprised at the strength that he held. Still, most of the time Korjaq admitted that he really depended on the current of the ocean and rows only if he has to.
So you could imagine his excitement when he heard that Noatak was a waterbender. Almost immediately, he put Noatak to work. He had hardly put down his hand after waving goodbye to Kaya when Korjaq ordered him to hasten their pace down the shoreline.
"So Noatak," Korjaq drawled, splayed out on the deck of the boat and stroking his long, graying beard, "how long do you think you'll be in the Northern Water Tribe?"
"Don't know," Noatak replied, focusing on pulling the ocean water past, rocking forward and back with the ebbs and flows. The rhythm and routine of the motion was soothing, and Noatak tried to empty his mind of all other distractions.
Not that Korjaq was making it easy for him. The old man seemed to be a gossip addict, pestering Noatak with this question and that, and he found himself missing Kaya's quiet acceptance. He was worse than a pair of old Water Tribe women.
"Because you know," Korjaq said, and Noatak could just imagine him nodding with self-assurance, "Kaya's a pretty good looking young woman."
"She's at least three years older than me," Noatak said impatiently, although he knew that didn't count for much. Even in cultures outside of the Water Tribes, three years was nothing. There was just something weird about going out with a girl that was older than he was.
"Like that matters," Korjaq snorted, only reaffirming what Noatak already knew. A frown began to crease his face.
"You two seem to get along pretty well. Anything happen to y'all in her tent of yours?"
"No," Noatak replied dryly.
"Aw, you aren't any fun," Korjaq moaned. Noatak shut his eyes to try and blot him out before opening them again and continued with his waterbending.
"She isn't betrothed, you know," Korjaq pointed out unctuously. "If you were ever—"
"Korjaq," Noatak sighed, controlling his anger, "I'm trying to make us go faster here. If you frustrate me any more I might upend us."
"Yeah, whatever," Korjaq scoffed, but after that he shut up.
By midday, the ship had arrived at the gates of the Northern Water Tribe, and Noatak let the other waterbenders do their job, gratefully sitting down on the deck and resting his legs. He stared up in awe at the primary wall, built completely of ice, with the Water Tribe insignia declaratively blazoned on the surface. He'd never seen anything of such grandeur, and he realized for the first time under what humble beginnings he'd started in. He was a villager's son, born in a village isolated from the world. As the boat began to enter through the countless waterbenders controlling the canals, Noatak couldn't help but feel inadequate. What was he, really, compared to all of these others? It was the first time he'd ever felt second best at something (for once, he understood how Tarrlok felt all those training sessions with Yakone).
Acting like a small child, Noatak craned his neck over the edges of the boat, his eyes widening as he watched the rush of water drain and the ship sinking below the walls of the canal. He stared up and shamelessly gaped, watching every move the waterbenders made. Unconsciously, he began to mimic them.
Suddenly, the ship began to rock, and Noatak and Korjaq shook and bucked on the deck. From above, some of the waterbenders shouted down, clearly annoyed.
"Stop bending the water!" one demanded, sounding impatient, like he was talking to a small child. Jumping, Noatak glanced at the water that was churning, being pushed by the waterbenders on the canal walls and pulled by Noatak. Cringing, Noatak withdrew his hands, wishing he could shrink down so he wouldn't be the subject of the waterbenders' angry stares.
"Good job, kid," Korjaq snorted. Noatak ignored him, hunching his shoulders and slouching.
Great first impression.