Prompt 10: Foreign (#27)

A/N: AU, where the four nations are more separated. Inspired by I'll Walk You Home by Justthisguyyouknow. Kind of a weird format, but I think it worked pretty well.

In the Earth Kingdom, unless you were enlightened intellectuals or the rare, experienced traveler, you wouldn't have the chance to learn about more than the regions immediately next to the village or town or city you were born. Information was scarce, and information on the other nations scarcer still.

Of course, everyone knew of the Fire Nation. They breathed fire, ate brimstone, drank magma and had skin that was crimson like blood. Their eyes burned with hellfire, and when a Fire Nation soldier locked eyes with you you could feel yourself burning up before you could even defend yourself.

They said the Firelord, ruler of that mighty nation, was a dragon, or at least half dragon, the unholy product between the copulation of a savage dragon and a hapless woman. When he breathed, the skies burned, and when he walked, the earth blackened and scorched.

The Air nomads, many knew of as well. They were the wise men of the mountain, able to soar through the skies like birds, unbound by the earth. They had homes fashioned from clouds and ate fruits from the stars.

Of course, the freedom didn't save them from the fury of the Fire Nation. The stories told of that day were frightful and terrible - their sky-cities blasted from the air by flame and fury, the people chased into hiding and hunted down, their entire history stripped from existence. They faded into legend, their airbending ways becoming the stuff of myth and stories to be told around fires by parents to children.

The Water Tribes, though - not many truly understood those. Since the Hundred Year War, very few people have ever seen the Water Tribesmen. They knew of them, certainly - warriors and savages clad in blue, wearing the skins of animals and wielding barbaric weapons like spears and clubs. They knew that their bending was bizarre - not solid, like earthbending, nor aggressive, like firebending, but fluid and flexible - like a ritual dance.

And so it came to be that the Water Tribe became synonymous with mysticism and the unknown. Their warriors were wild, but powerful. Their bending held untold mysterious properties - healing and freezing as well as controlling water. And their men… they were regarded with suspicion and often open contempt. They snatched away women, enthralling their hearts with Water Tribe sorcery and their 'wet kisses.' They were not to be trusted around crops, or merchandise. They were not to speak to children for fear of corruption.

The young Earth Kingdom girl knew of this. She knew the risks of associating herself with such people. Yet she went with the Avatar and his Water Tribe companions, eager to see the world beyond the walled fence of her home.

She was cautious, at first, regarding the two Water Tribespeople with suspicion, and in some cases, open hostility. She has heard of the tales, of the Water Tribe women who worked magic and witchcraft. Her personality was not much better, either - demanding, and overly prissy. Though a kinder side eventually came through, and they eventually became fast friends, the girl knew they would be too different to truly understand each other.

The boy - he was intriguing. She knew she was not supposed to be near Water Tribe men. But he was hardly a man - though definitely not a child. He acted as one who was forced to grow up too quickly, and for that he had her sympathy. Though clumsy and at times idiotic, his earnest and genuine ways quickly earned him a place as the young girl's trusted friend. He was kind, and caring, yet not overbearing, trusting in her ability to defend herself. He knew when to give a hand, and when to let her take charge. They became a team, a sarcastic, sometimes infuriating, team that was practically infallible between his tactical mind and her earthbending prowess.

The girl had almost put the teachings of her parents behind her. Both Water Tribe people seemed kind, and not at all as the stories say they were. Then she appeared, and the girl was suddenly convinced the tales were true. He seemed callous to her suddenly, his kindness seemed painful and hollow. They still spoke, but when they did, all he talked about was her. She couldn't stand it. He seemed so blind to her pain that she was reminded of the stories of Water Tribe men toying with women's hearts.

He was foreign, she reminded herself. She should not hold him to the same way of thinking she had. He was different, and they would always be different.

Years passed. They fought Ozai, who turned out not to be half dragon but simply a powerful, but fallible, man. They brought the son of Ozai to the throne, who proved not all firebenders were evil (though his golden eyes did seem to gleam with flames). She pioneered a new form of bending. She was happy - for the most part. She was still bitter over his choosing of her over her, but they remained friends, though they drifted apart over time. They were different, after all.

Then he stumbled into her home one day, eyes red, pleading for companionship. She left him. He was hurt, and broken, and needed a friend. She had forgotten the feeling, but it was something she gave gladly. She saw, behind the silly, sarcastic mask, a scared and insecure man forced to the forefront of the world as a leader, when really all he wanted was to go home and fish. She saw that perhaps they were not so different after all.

And then - she made her decision. She met another man, a kind, quiet, gentle man who came not from an exotic other land but from the same town she was from. He was like a rock - with an unshakeable resolve and quiet demeanor - and she liked rocks.

They settled down. They had a child. Her oldest friend smiled and nodded when she invited him to the wedding, though she couldn't miss the hint of sadness in his eyes. The wedding came. The groom did not.

She was heartbroken. She cried, and she wept, and in her fits of sadness and rage she raised a new mountain and carved a new valley. When the dust settled, he was waiting for her. The Water Tribe boy, who loved meat and boomerangs, who was no longer a boy but a man of high standing, took her back to her home, and comforted her.

More years passed. They lived together, though they were not wed. She needed someone to watch over her child while she watched over the city they lived in. He was willing - her daughter was virtually his daughter. And one day he sat down and had her daughter on his lap and he told her he was going to propose to her mommy.

And he did. And it was beautiful.

And despite being foreign, he was not so foreign that she could not love him.

And love him she did. As she always has.