Tales of Four Nations
Collections of one-shots from the ATLA and LoK universes.
For Season 4 of the Pro-Bending Circuit
Round 5 of FF's Pro-Bending Circuit, season 4
Prompts:
- (color) red and green
- (smell) gingerbread cookies
- (restriction) no dialogue
- (AU) musicians
Word Count: 801 words
Summary: Katara and Aang struggle to find a gift for each other during the Christmas season. Christmas AU based on 'The Gift of the Magi'.
The Gift of the Avatar: Chapter 1
It was the morning before Christmas.
Inside a tiny, cluttered hut in the South Pole, a young woman named Katara sat at her dining table and stared forlornly at the eighty-seven cents cupped between her palms. The smell of freshly baked gingerbread cookies wafting from the kitchen did nothing to soothe the ache in her chest.
Eighty-seven cents! What could one afford with eighty-seven cents?
Budding musicians were never paid much, let alone musicians in the South Pole, where manual labor was celebrated; where frivolous activities such as music were deeply frowned upon.
Did it matter that Katara and Aang put all their heart into their work? Did it matter that music was their life, that every note they produced was the result of hours of sweat and tears?
No. No, it did not.
She sighed.
Well, at least they had each other.
And eighty-seven cents, Katara thought miserably.
She shook her head. That wouldn't do! Aang deserved more than this, he deserved the world. Unfortunately, Katara couldn't give him that, not this year. But she had to give him something.
She glanced at their fir tree in the corner of their minuscule living room, sparkling with green blinking lights and shiny red baubles. It was small, ridiculously so, but decorated with care and great attention.
As legend would have it, the world was once in chaos; the Fire Nation waged war against the Earth Kingdom and created colonies, pillaged the Water Tribes and wiped out the Air Nomads. All that changed when the Avatar- master of all four elements- appeared, bringing balance to the world and restoring unity between the four nations.
Christmas was a celebration of the new era of peace, a commemoration of the harmony between the elements. Each household would honor such traditions by decorating their home with the colors that belonged to the other nations. Katara being from the Water Tribe and Aang an Air Nomad, their home twinkled with streaks of red and green, as tribute to the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom.
So, as the Avatar brought balance to the world, Christmas was a time to bring gifts to one's close ones, as a symbol of respect and appreciation, as well as a desire to preserve balance. And there was no one Katara respected or appreciated more than her boyfriend, Aang.
It almost physically hurt, to not be able to afford a gift.
Her eyes trailed around the messy living room to fall on his tsungi horn, propped up against a wall on the far side of the room. Ah, his most prized possession. Intricately carved with Air Nomad symbols, it was a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation to finally find its place between Aang's talented fingers and lips.
The wood was worn, but of remarkable quality; the acoustics of such an instrument were worth their weight in gold. It was a priceless instrument, really, and should be handled with the utmost care.
Wait, that's it. A case. That was exactly what the tsungi horn needed! A beautiful leather case, just like the one she saw in the music shop window display just the other day, when she had sent her waterphone for tuning.
Her eyes shifted to the waterphone in question, glinting beside the tsungi horn as a ray of sunlight caressed it just so through the window.
It suddenly hit her. Her waterphone was in pristine condition, and would surely fetch a handsome sum- just enough, she thought, to buy a tsungi horn case for her beloved.
She stood up and headed towards her waterphone. Something tightened in her chest at the mere idea of parting with her instrument, and she let out a shaky sigh. Trailing her fingers along the cool metal bars, she blinked back tears, before tightening her grip around its base.
She loved her instrument, she truly did. She just loved Aang more.
It was worth it, she told herself. Love was worth this.
Katara headed back to the dining table, where her eighty-seven cents lay, clutching her instrument. Vibrations spread along the waterphone's bars as they hit her legs, and it emitted a soft wailing song- a sort of mournful farewell, she could not help but think. Her lips pressed into a straight line as she fought against the sadness in her heart.
Before she could overthink it, Katara grabbed a tote bag that hung on the back of a chair. She then assembled the scattered coins, collecting them in one palm and slipping them into the pocket of her parka.
Facing the door, she took a deep breath. No regrets, she thought. She was doing this for Aang.
Waterphone dangling in a bag in one hand and love clutched tightly in the other, she stepped out the door.
Notes: this is part 1 of a four part story. I have also written part 3, which will be posted here, and my teammate has written part 2 and 4
