AN: Hello! This is my first story on here! I will be writing a couple chapters to start off and if I get good reviews then I'll continue! Tell me what you think!
For two years, Akari's had the same recurring dream, this night was no different. It started off the exact same way, Akari walking alone down the ice walkways of the Northern Water Tribe. Everything was peaceful, the full moon was out and there was not a cloud to cover the stars above her. It was… tranquil.
By this time Akari knows that the scene is too good to be true, she knows what's about to come.
In one split second, the waterway streets around her are roaring and the wind whips hard. Somewhere from below, large boulders of rock and soil make their way to the surface, spiraling around her. The water pulls up and surrounds her, the air is twisted and formed into a ball and her body slowly lifts itself off the walkway. Flame erupts from her hands, feet, and mouth and they, too, follow suit.
Civilians rush out of their homes with horror splashing onto their faces, and they run. They run away. From her. From the destruction that she's bringing onto her village.
And then everything goes black.
When Akari first got the dream two years ago, she passed it off as her own fear. She knew what it meant, the four elements. Only one person could possibly bend all four- the Avatar. There had been talk that the Avatar, who at the time would have been an airbender, was still alive. But he, or she, went missing 100 years ago, shortly before the war broke out.
After the dream (or nightmare Akari called it) continued to show up, months on end, she thought to put herself to a test. There was no possible way she could be the Avatar, not as young as her as she was only 12 when the nightmare started. If the past Avatar truly died all those years ago, then the next one would have been water tribe. That was the cycle. Air, water, earth, then fire. But there was never an Avatar born to a water tribe, so the world believes the airbender to be alive.
One day, a couple months after the nightmare started coming, Akari left the safety of the tribe and went past its large and foreboding walls. She walked until she reached land, where few trees stood. She tried day after day and spent hours meditating, hours wondering why she was wasting her time when it was clearly futile. And on one fateful day, she did the impossible.
She bent the earth.
It was small, she'd admit, a couple of rocks moved, but she did it. She bent the earth beneath her feet.
At first, Akari kept it to herself. She went out everyday to improve the skill, slowly progressing until she could form a pillar. Then a wall. Slowly and steadily she improved to the point where she would bring up a boulder, aim, and kick it a good distance.
For almost a full year, Akari practiced her earthbending. Though she was improving with no master, she still needed one if she wanted to get better. The problem, however, was her waterbending. Women in the Northern Water Tribe aren't allowed to practice waterbending, unless you're being taught how to heal. Though she appreciated Yagoda's lessons, she wanted to learn more.
So she rallied up some girls, those willing to learn how to fight. How to waterbend. And with some persuasion, she encouraged the men who were learning under Master Pakku, to help teach them.
For that year, Akari learned to waterbend in secret with others, and then parted ways to go and teach herself earthbending. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
She picked up waterbending quickly. Perhaps it was her natural talent, or the fact she was secretly an Avatar (though she still didn't believe she was), but everything the men taught her, every motion and stance, she got it down within the day. Akari practiced both bendings by herself too. And soon enough, she was better than the ones who were under the tutelage of Master Pakku.
She was confident in her abilities enough to go to the chief.
The morning was calm. The sun warmed the areas not covered with shade and a gentle breeze blew by. However, since they were in the North Pole, it was still very, very cold.
Akari stood in front of the doors leading into the palace. Her fingers trembled with fear and a tinge of worry. "What if they disapprove? What if they hate me for practicing waterbending?" She thought to herself, "No… no, they would understand. They have to." With one deep breath, she opened the doors.
Chief Arnook and his daughter, Princess Yue, sat in front of her in the large room. To Akari's surprise, Master Pakku was there, too.
Akari bowed before them, water tribe style. "Chief Arnook, Princess Yue, Master Pakku. An honor to meet you." Akari has seen them all before, but this is the first official time she's spoken with all three, let alone at the same time.
"Akari," the Chief said, "please stand. What brings you here today?"
She did as she was told and looked the Chief in the eye. She glided past Princess Yue and landed her eyes on Master Pakku. He looked intrigued, but there was a hint of an annoyed expression on his face. "I'm sorry to intrude, but I thought you should be the first one to know of this," she said.
A mix of looks were exchanged between the three of them; fear, worry, intrigue, superstition, and finally, confusion.
"And what is this news you deemed so important you asked to see Chief Arnook?" Master Pakku questioned.
"It regards the Avatar, sir…" Akari waited, going over how she would say her next few words…"I believe I am the Avatar, sir. I discovered my ability to earthbend some time ago, and since I could already bend water, I put the pieces together." She did not want to tell them of the nightmares which have been haunting her in her sleep for the past year.
"So," the chief drawled, "you have known you could earthbend for almost a year and you didn't think it'd be wise to inform us earlier?"
Akari gulped, "I wanted to be sure, chief. For a moment I thought I was imagining it. I apologise for informing you so late." She paused for a moment before adding, "at some point, chief, I will need to leave the Tribe. I would need to go south towards the Earth Kingdom so that I can start mastering the elements."
"Yes, I suppose so. You would need to master water before you do, though" said Chief Arnook.
"About that…" Akari replied, "I've been teaching myself for a little while."
After she said that, she regretted it immediately. Master Pakku was not happy regarding the fact that she, a woman, was learning waterbending.
"You are a woman!" yelled Master Pakku. "Women in our tribe are forbidden to learn waterbending! You have brought a great deal of shame and dishonor upon your house name!"
Princess Yue flinched at the sudden outburst of Master Pakku, but remained silent.
"Master Pakku," the chief turned to face the waterbending teacher, "you are to remember that she is now the Avatar, it is imperative for her to master all the elements. Including waterbending."
Akari watched as Master Pakku opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly before he could. He shot her a hateful glare and remained looking absolutely enraged, but he didn't make a snarky comeback towards the chief.
The chief stood tall before he talked again, "since you have been privately teaching yourself how to waterbend, I would like you to spar against Master Pakku's students later today so that we may see how far you've come. If we deem it adequate, you may begin your journey to the Earth Kingdom."
Akari was very happy after hearing those words. "Thank you, Chief Arnook" she replied. With that, she bowed once more to the three, and strode out.