Rewrite, Rewind

Chapter 22


It was New Year's Eve; half the city was taking up spots along the shore to watch the fantastic fireworks and the dragon parade that swept through with laughter and harmless dragon breaths. The royal family chose instead to spend their time with the circus, the twins have never been to one and were excited to see one. Azulon agreed as it had been many decades since he last been to one as well. Ursa was more hesitant, mostly due to some rumors she had heard about this particular circus team.

"I'm just concerned father," Ursa whispered as they all took their honored seats in the tent. "I've heard…. Not so pleasant rumors about this particular circus caravan. The Wandering Tricks aren't known for their kindness to the living." Azulon entered first with Liah at his side, Ursa followed with her twins behind her, Xiulan behind them with Ikem bringing up the rear. Their guards each slipped into the special box and filled each corner, allowing Liah who stood on Azulon's left shoulder.

"I'm sure it's all just theatrics," Azulon murmured as he took his seat with Liah's and Ursa's help. "I doubt they have anything that'll scare the children. Relax, daughter." It wasn't often that he called her that and Ursa took the hint with a hesitant smile and worry in her eyes, slowly she took her seat at his side and ushered the children closest to her. It was fairly normal and harmless play, Azulon discovered, as acrobatics twirled through the air, trained animals did their tricks, and the Ring Master with his graceful flames and colorful words. The Ring Master stepped out in a swirl of overflowing crimson and pink robes, every inch of skin covered, even his face was hidden behind a brightly painted decorative mask. The man did not need to shout, his voice carried through the warm air like a touch of a cold wind; no one dared to speak when he spoke.

Isn't he hot? Ursa thought with a concerned frown on her face, the Fire Nation wasn't one for its cool nights. The nights were only a few degrees cooler thanks to the active volcanoes on every island, the days were always two steps away from blistering hot. She studied the Ring Master as he moved, it unnerved her how he moved like a stiff mannequin. Every step thundered heavily with his weight; every wave of his arm was a jerky motion as if he were unfamiliar with the movements of his body.

It was only when midnight drew near that Azulon regretted not listening to Ursa's concerns.

"And now to all my honored guests." The Ring Master was standing on the edge of the ring, ignoring how his workers filled it with buckets upon buckets of water. "As the midnight hour draws near for the next year to begin, I present to you my greatest treasure to date." Ursa's hands tightened on her seat, ready to fling herself in front of her children, shielding their eyes from the view. She watched as several thickly-dressed workers carefully lowered a large item covered in a black sheet from above, how they managed to get the heavy thing in the air was something she didn't particularly want to know.

"I journeyed to the south in search of new creatures to display in this circus and this is one of the creatures I discovered." the object settled in the center of the ring and one of the hands walked over the Ring Master with a large case in their heavily gloved hands. "This creature is called a fox-owl. It is known to be the spirit familiar with the very first water-avatar, Princess Yōko—"

"I don't believe you!" Azula shouted, red faced and angry

"Azula," Ursa's voice was a gentle administration

"Everyone knows the very first Avatar is from the Fire Nation! It was AGNI!" Azula shouted, but instead of taking offense to the young girl's angry shout, the Ring Master only chuckled.

"I never said the first Avatar," The Ring Master chuckled like an arctic wind, sending shivers down Ursa's back. "I said the first water avatar. I do agree that the first Avatar in creation was Fire Nation, but I am not speaking of Agni. I'm speaking of princess Yōko. The first Water Avatar to be born. It is said that the Spirits of the south were frightened by her raw power and so bestowed upon her the teacher of water and wind itself; a gentle little Fox-owl spirit."

"OOOOH!" Azula and Zuko 'oo'ed and awed together, relaxing back in their seats, Xiulan giggled at them.

"This here," The Ring Master turned and gestured for the young worker to set the box on the edge of the ring, "is the last Fox-Owl of the south pole." the cage opened and a blur of white burst out, a gust of wind swirled around the wet ring, nearly dowsing the torches lit around the tent. Ursa moved to protectively shield her children, she felt a thick hand clasp tightly to her shoulder and felt another tiny hand on her left arm. She knew in that instant that Ikem had instinctively followed her example and covered the children with her, their heads were nearly touching in their effort to shield the children. She heard more than felt the guards move defensively, sweeping into a steel wall between the royal family and the gusts of gold wind, hot flames bursting in their palms as they erected a flaming wall between them and the mysterious creature. From the corner of her eye, Ursa caught sight of Liah's long red-brown hair, tumbling over thin pink shoulders as she braced her body over Azulon's.

"Fear not honored guests, it is merely the creature I spoke of." the Ring Master's voice was followed by soft whining. It put cold shivers down Ursa's back as her maternal instinct was to check the status of her three children at the bewildering child-like noise. After here quick once over, Ursa realized that the whimpering was not coming from her three children and with a fearful heart she turned to look at the circus ring. It sounded like a child, that soft whining. Ursa clutched her twins closer to herself, one hand clasped tightly to Xiulan's arm as Ikem and her parted to look behind themselves at the ring below. Ursa found herself shaking in her seat as the guards slowly moved back to their stations, allowing her to stare at the tiny white creature moving in circles around the ring. Wherever it touched, ice grew, the pool of water soon solidified, its cold touch reaching to expand beyond the ring. Several circus hands were moving around the ring, fires in their palms and another flame-whip that reached out and smacked the growing ice back into the ring.

"Fox-owls are the only known animals that are elemental-benders and as such are extremely rare, as I'm sure you all can see." the Ring Master waved a hand at the ring, where young fire benders were thawing some ice before it could escape the ring. "Wherever they go, ice follows. They don't have to worry about drowning because their every step freezes the path in which they walk." The creature kept moving about, preventing Ursa from getting a clear view of it. Finally, it stopped before the Ring Master, sitting and whining pathetically, like a simpering wounded child.

It was as small as her children, covered in a thick fur with some spots looking more like feathers. Its head was large and nearly perfectly round, some spots looking more like feathers than white fur. It bore no discernable ears, a small round muzzle, large golden eyes the size of her hands, and twelve white whiskers twitched in the air, searching for a familiar scent. It had six meaty limbs, cat-like paws tipped with thick bird talons that rapped along the ice with nervous ticking. Along its broad back two pairs of thick white wings twitched nervously, the second set sat more like a silken cape hitched to its back legs. It bore a thick tail twice as long as its own body, swishing the flexible appendage back and forth with long white fur that swept out like a curtain.

The perfect mix of Fox and Owl. It was such a frightening creature to behold and yet sorrow clutched at Ursa's heart as she stared at the simpering, shivering child-like creature. Even though it was a foreign creature, a creature she had never seen before, she couldn't help but think it was just a child. A pup taken from its home. A baby lost without its parents. Ursa looked at her three children, the twin's golden eyes were wide and entranced, smiles on their faces as they stared unashamedly at the foreign creature. Only Xiulan seemed saddened by the creature in the ring, there was a smile on her face but it did not seem to reach her eyes like it usually did.

If something happened to her and Ikem, what would happen to her children?

Would Ozai claim them? No, he'd take Azula and abandon Zuko and Xiulan to their fates.

Ursa turned to look at her adoptive father, wondering what he thought when he saw the strange creature. Liah was kneeling at his side, her face flushed as she stared resolutely at the ground in embracement; Azulon was chuckling, patting the tin hand resting on his arm affectionately. He turned his attention to her and Ursa found herself glancing at the twittering nervous pup and then back at him pointedly. Azulon looked down at the creature, he stared for a long moment, his smile falling from his face, his brows pinched ever so slightly; then the Fire Lord's wrinkled mass of flesh smoothed into a blank slate. The only emotion on the old Fire Lord's face were his sunburst golden eyes, white-gold flames burning with a fury Ursa had never seen before.

He said nothing, staring down on the ring with his expressionless wrinkled face. The Ring Master didn't seem to notice, he continued talking about his discovery of the creature. Something about a burnt village with frozen corpses and then—Ursa shivered violently as the Ring Master's bright orange-yellow mask turned up, looking up to the acrobats dangling from robe overhead. In a flourish of twist and giggles, the acrobats propelled themselves to the sides of the ring, pulling a rope with them as they descended; lifting the black sheet of cloth off the object they had set in the middle of the ring.

"The last decedent of the Southern Water Tribe." The Ring Master's voice sounded with firm finality as if there could be no mistake in his words. It was an orb, large enough to require at least ten strong men to lift, glowing a frightful ghostly blue. Inside the icy-orb was a young child, head bowed, hands raised to either side, seemingly standing on her tiptoes. Yes, her, Ursa could see it from her distance. The child was without a doubt a young girl, no older than Ursa's own twins. With long white hair, the top half pulled up into three braids to twirl about into a bun on the back of her head. The rest of her long white locks were left to surround her in an ethereal veil of white moonlight. She wore thick leather and fur robes, accented with green, purple and pale blue beads taking strange shapes all across her robes and twined through her hair.

"She's so pale," Azula whispered, "Is she from the fire nation?"

"what do you mean?" Ikem asked, frowning from his seat, looking as if he hadn't decided to leave with Xiulan or not.

"Well her skin is as white as ours," Azula answered. "But I've never seen anyone with white hair before, except grandma and Grandpa."

"How can someone so young have white hair though?" Zuko asked, "Even if she is Fire Nation, she's too young to have white hair."

"Not if she was touched by the spirits," The Ring Master's voice carried over the hush of the tent, having heard Zuko's concerned whispers. "You see, whenever someone is touched, or blessed in the Water Tribe's perspective, their hair turns white like moonlight. To the Southern Water Tribes, it's a sign of the spirits favoritism, so this person is groomed to be the next village chief."

"Oo! Cool!" Azula leaned forward with her brother, both wide-eyed and curios.

"But you see this child isn't just any old Southern Water Tribe person," The Ring Master moved along the edge of the ring, his young fire benders moving with him to melt stray icicles. "She is a part of the tribe known as the 'bird' people. These people are well known to have strong connections to the spirit world, so they tend to be paler then even us Fire Nation Natives. Some legends say the Bird Tribe are decedents of the spirits Tui and La, the great water spirits of the North and South pols. And do you know the greatest secret of this reclusive Southern Tribe?" Ursa held her breath, glancing fearfully at her husband, biting her lip in uncertainty. He looked ready to leave; the image of a child caged in ice piercing a place too close to his heart.

"The Great Fox-Owl guards them," The Ring Master drawled, waving a hand at the nervous winged pup, clicking its long talons across the ice and shifting its big golden eyes from side to side. "So long as we have the girl, the Fox-owl will remain loyal and follow wherever she goes. Honestly, we've tried to free the girl from her ice but none of us can get close enough and those of who do are not fire benders." Ursa stood up, she could sense with a sickening level of dread where the Ring Master was going with this, she moved to stand before her children—she wasn't fast enough.

"If any of you think you can pass the Fox-owl's test, feel free to come down." the Ring Master waved his arms about, his dull and cold voice sounded with a dare, provoking those who ordinarily wouldn't bother with the neatly-hidden request. "But be fair warned, only those chosen by the Fox-owl may cross the ice. If you do not pass its test, the ice will melt and you will be submerged in water."

"That's only like, what, a foot of water?" one of the other guests in the tent questioned, "Not like we'll drown!" Ursa didn't pay them any mind, she was ushering her children onto their feet.

"No but you might lose a foot, or some toes," The Ring Master waved a dismissive hand. "You've never been to the south so it's understandable that you wouldn't know." Ikem stood and readied to pull Xiulan away from the show.

"know what?" the man from before asked, sounding insulted with the dismiss of the Ring Master. Ursa looked back at her adoptive father but he showed no signs of leaving with her, Liah waved a hand at her, indicating that the two will follow later.

"Well, you see the water in the South Pole is so cold that it can freeze your fingers and toes right off," The Ring Master tilted his painted mask towards the man. "If you're lucky at least. Why do you think even the Tribes of the South Pole wear gloves? Even their once water benders didn't dare to travel without gloves."

"What happens if you're unlucky?" a young wife asked, one hand tightened on her son warningly. Ursa was trying to hurry, ushering her children down the long winding steps that lead them out of the tent.

Why were the steps taken so long to travel down? Did it take them this long to climb the steps?

"You could lose a foot," The Ring Master shrugged again, seemingly not caring. "the choice is yours. I won't force anyone to go. All I know is that the Fox-owl has let dozens of people onto its ice but none have ever gone more than a dozen paces into the ring before the ice broke beneath them. None of these people have lost toes or feet, as they were chosen by the Fox-owl beforehand, the creature carried each one out of the ring without them becoming harmed by the water."

"So you're saying that if the person was chosen by the Fox-owl, the fox-owl will carry those who don't pass its test back to safety?" The man asked, his voice full of disbelieve. Ursa could see the exit, she gently tapped her twin's shoulder's, urging them to pick up their steps.

"That is correct," The Ring Master agreed with a smirk. "Those of you chosen will know, instinctively, when you hear the fox-owl's voice in your mind. Again, only those of you who are Fire Benders may come down here. If you're not a Fire Bender then the test is pointless, as the ice won't break beneath you if you're bender-less."

"What do you mean?" someone else asked, they were almost at the exit when Ursa realized that the one questioning the Ring Master was her daughter.

Ever the curious one, Ursa thought with a sigh as she stopped walking, glancing nervously at the ice-encased child.

"Well, young one, Fire Benders have a naturally high body temperature." The Ring Master explained patently, "As such ice will melt quickly underfoot. If one isn't a Fire Bender, the ice won't melt. What the fox-owl and us, want is to free the survivor of the Bird Tribe. She is the last of her people after all. It would be a shame if the renowned spirit-speakers were to die in a giant ball of ice."

"Sooo, only a Fire Bender could save her?" Zuko asked, a big smile on his face.

"That is correct," the Ring Master agreed. "Only those chosen by the Fox-owl may step foot on the ice and approach. Anyone else is asking for trouble."

"We'll be leaving now," Ursa demanded, her voice firm as she moved her children towards the exit, trying to ignore the presence of the two men standing guard for the tent. She tugged gently at her children's shoulders, looking over her shoulder for her husband and eldest child.

"Zuzu! Azu!" Xiulan was reaching forward, panic on her round face. Ursa jerked on her children's clothes, only to see that her children's thin jackets were in hand and her twins were racing towards the ring.

"NO!" Ursa moved to charge but found herself blocked by the Ring Master; his gloved hands seemed unbearably cold against her bare arms.

"The Fox-owl has spoken." His voice was as cold his hands, instinct drove Ursa backward, into the warm embrace of her husband. A shout behind had her seeing one guard restrained with a blade to his throat, the other held back by the silent threat.

"Blue Fire, blue fire!" Azula was repeating herself, all but singing the words as she climbed onto the ice with her brother. Zuko was silent, a big grin on his face as he moved effortlessly over the ice.

"Zuko! Azula!" Zoko kept moving forward, his steps firm and sure as if he's been walking on ice all his life. Azula hesitated. Hope flared in Ursa and she leaned as close to the Ring as she could, taking in a deep breath of cold air. "AZULA!" Azula was looking about on the ice, her face pinched in confusion, "AZULA! AZULA!" the girl was turning in circles, confusing Ursa as she watched her daughter spin in circles. "AZULA! COME HERE!" her voice cracked painfully and Azula turned to look in the direction of her brother.

"Mama?" her soft voice was like a thunderclap to Ursa. No, wait, that was the sound of cracking ice.

"AZULA!" Ursa tore herself away from her husband, the cold fingers of the Ring Master scraped across her bare arm; but nothing was going to stop Ursa from reaching her child. Nothing. Ursa charged the ice ring, her hands outstretched as she reached for her daughter. The ice broke, Azula started to fall, a frightened gasp and time seemed to slow. Then Azula's tiny hands flared up in white-gold light, soon followed by stuttering of bursts at her feet, and Ursa almost wasn't ready to catch her flying daughter. She did catch Azula, the little girl was a shivering mess, her clothes damp and crunching where Ursa touched as if the cloth had been frozen.

"Azula!" Ursa was crying, big fat ugly tears and horribly sounding voice that cracked with every vowel. "Azula baby say something!" Her daughter's face was pinched in pain, water droplets on her eyelashes steamed as she took deep breaths to warm her body. "Azula!" she shook her daughter, watching as an icy-crescent melted away with Azula's rising body temperature.

"Mama?" artic blue-iris flickered up to her, eyes of the blind. Ursa whimpered, pulling her daughter's face into the crook of her neck as her arms snaked around her tiny bone-fire body. "Cold," Azula shivered, reaching up to clutch at Ursa's cloak. Ursa ignored the gentle touch of her husband, looking up to search the ring for her son. Instead, she found a grown man being gently disposed on the outside of the ring by the Fox-owl's silk-like wings. Then a woman and another child, the fox moved in bursts of white blurs all along the blistering white ice of the ring, stopping only to gentle deposit the failed tester.

"Where's Zuko?" Ursa couldn't find her son, he wasn't among the slowly coming to failures.

"There!" It only took Ikem a moment to locate Zuko, "he's almost to the orb!" Ursa looked, half mystified and half terrified, at the sight of her almost ten-year-old son approaching the ice-encased child.

"Zuko!" Ursa cried out, "Come back—" her voice cracked and its volume died, forcing Ursa to cough and hack on her abused vocal cords.

"I'll get him!" Ursa looked up to see one of the fathers in the ten charge the ring, his own wife and child forgotten in the stands. His wife called out to him, tried to stop him, but as the man's right foot crashed down on the ice, both hands sputtering behind himself with bursts of orange fire, Ursa remembered what the Ring Master said.

"Only those chosen by the Fox-owl may attempt to wake the girl." The baby fox-owl glanced at the man moving to enter the ring.

"I don't expect you to know." She watched as its talons rapt across the ice, sending out a spiderweb of cracks.

"the southern arctic waters have a habit of freezing limbs right off your body. Not even their water benders dared to travel without gloves."

Ursa wanted to scream, to tell him to watch out for the ice, but even if her voice found sound again it would've been too late. The man's foot found no perches on the ice, it melted straight through to the water beneath. Ursa doubted that her desperate clutching off her daughter's ears had stifled that man's pained screams. Words couldn't describe the agony that followed that barbaric sound. Even Ikem tried to cover Azula's head with his own hand, even going so far as to pull Ursa into his protective side, turning his back to the screaming man. From over her husband's shoulder, Ursa watched as the fox-owl charged the man. In a flash, its silken wing swung hard enough to rip the man from the artic pool and just as quickly its fat meaty paw crashed down on his frozen ankle. The man's frozen limb shattered like a glass figurine falling upon stone, the beast's wing lashed out again, flinging him back into the stands.

"I warned you only the chosen are allowed onto the ice," the Ring Master's cold and disinterested voice sounded from above her and Ursa shrank into Ikem's arms, looking over her own shoulder to stare in terror at the man towering above her. The Ring Master's painted mask didn't tilt and his large body frame gave away nothing, then, blessedly, he turned away from Ursa and Ikem, moving to examine those who failed the test. Ursa looked back to her son but sitting regally before her was the fox-owl, big golden eyes staring down on her like Ozai's impassive expression on their marriage night.

"Traitor," the soft voice of a sullen child whispered to Ursa


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