A/N. So, sorry Jet fans, but I made him even more irritating than in the series…. Can you imagine what a pain an older Jet would have been? I can, and here he is lol.
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender
Several days after his zoo building project, Aang stood by the table in the kitchen. It was early in the morning, and he had left Katara's bedroom silently. He was still sleeping there, to his delight. Yesterday, Sokka had come back from his haiku debacle, grumbling about hating poetry. But he had given Aang several books he had borrowed from the university's library, by posing as a student who lost his papers.
Now, the airbender sat in front of the pile. Each book treated about the history of the Air Nomads, and their culture. Aang hated it. None of these books had been written by airbenders, but rather by earth kingdom erudite. Of course, it was better than nothing. But reading the stale sentences about a people who had been known for freedom of spirit, inventiveness and art, well… it stung.
He sighed, pushing through the pile. A history of the Air Nation, no. A Study About Air People, Spirits, everything but that. Encyclopedia of the fauna and flora of the Eastern Air Temple, wait. What?
Aang opened the volume, to be greeted with articles treating about lemurs, spider crabs, and… Sky Bisons. Seeing the small illustrations made his heart ache for his lost companion.
"Hey…" A voice came from behind him. Turning he saw Katara stand at the door. She had already dressed and was looking at him with such a gentle gaze it made him blush.
"Hey…" He smiled, pushing a chair next to him from under the table. She walked up and sat down.
"What are you reading?" The waterbender asked. He pushed the volume towards her, so that she could see.
"The Sky Bisons, when bonded to an Air Nomad, would be a lifelong companion. Capable of reaching the age of eighty, they had an almost human like intelligence." Katara read aloud. When she stopped, the waterbender looked at him.
"Appa… Does that mean anything in your language?" She asked him.
"I got him when I was just five years old. It means friend. I was not very creative with names," The airbender laughed, still feeling the ache to find the bison.
"Maybe we could use this? Like, you know, the Fire Nation had posters of you in their occupied territory… Maybe we could do the same? Like search posters. We put them in the city, and then, if people have information, they can come and help?" Katara suggested, still looking at the pictures in the book.
Why had he not thought about it? That was… genius! Without thinking, he grabbed her fingers with one hand, and the book with the other.
"We go to a printer! And make flyers! Oh Katara!" He nearly danced around her. That would be a game changer! Of course they couldn't explore the whole city, it was too huge! But, this way… Maybe… just maybe, they would find a clue about Appa!
Katara laughed aloud at his antics, and the sound made him even happier. Find Appa. And then, get out of this city! And then… Maybe then, they could talk.
"Please say you have a reason to be this happy this early." Came the groggy voice of Sokka from the corridor. The water tribe emerged in the kitchen, his hair loose and looking very tired.
Aang released the waterbender's hand immediately and made his way to Sokka.
"We are going to make flyers to distribute, searching for Appa!" He said excitedly to the other boy, who looked deadpanned at him.
"Do you think it will work?" Sokka asked him, while pouring juice in a cup.
"What do we have to lose?" Katara interjected.
"Yeah, that's true… Alright, if you two sneak outside now, maybe you could evade our observers. I heard one just outside my window. That's why I'm here." He sighed. Aang saw, not for the first time these last few days, the bags under the older boy eyes.
"Still no word from Suki?" He asked gently, knowing that the last few letters Sokka had sent had gone unanswered. The water tribe just shook his head, turning his gaze to the lemur who was chittering at the fruit basket.
"After this, we will go to Full Moon Bay to see what is happening" Aang saw Katara gently putting a hand on her brother shoulder, and then turning to the airbender.
"There is a printshop next to the University… Maybe we should go there?" He nodded, and she went to prepare a bag, and the money they still had laying around.
"Aang. Do you think something happened?" Sokka asked suddenly, when his sister was out of earshot.
"Happened?"
"To Suki. Maybe… Long Feng got a letter I sent her? And did something to her?" The boy sounded afraid and disheartened. As much as Aang thought the Minister capable of such a thing, he didn't have the heart to tell Sokka.
"No… Maybe there is just a problem with the post service. Don't worry, as Katara said, we will go look for her after the poster business." Aang squeezed the water tribe boy's arm, and then got up to join Katara at the door.
As they walked over to the university in the Middle Ring, Aang had to force himself not to touch her. He had become a bit more confident, touching the waterbender, these last days. Or rather… nights. They still spent them in each other arms. He had tried to stay away, because it became increaslingly difficult to hide that from people. From the Dai Lo, or from Sokka. But each night, as he considered sleeping in his own room, a force of nature pulled him to the waterbenders door. He knew he shouldn't. But he couldn't stop either. It was just… Too peaceful. Each day brought new stress of disappointment, and having Katara with him, even if they didn't speak, was a medicine to the many wounds of his soul.
As they entered the printshop, the man behind the counter raised his eyebrows slightly, before putting a finger to his lips. That surprised Aang. Most people in Ba Sing Se didn't want to talk to him or did it while looking over their shoulder.
The man grabbed a chalkboard and wrote something.
I know who you are. Dai Li in the backroom.
Aang felt the hand of the waterbender pull him outside, to an alley next to the shop.
"What are you printing Lei?" A voice sounded from the window of the printer.
"Oh, just the usual instruction manuals for students, why?" another voice, older, answered.
"We had a tip off you spread rumours about some sort of war. You wouldn't have anything illegal here, would you?" The first voice said, sounding threatening. The sound of falling objects could be heard, and the protests of the older man. Aang wanted to help, but he still felt the hand of the waterbender, firmly holding him. Turning to Katara, he saw her shaking her head.
"I only print what is accepted by the Cultural Ministry, of course." The older man said from the window under which they were crouching.
"Of course. Well… All seems in order." The sound of the Dai Li agent spoke, softly. It didn't sound alright.
A door opened and closed, and just then, the man they had seen at the entrance put his head out of the window.
"Back door, through the alley, right, and then the red door." He whispered. Aang and Katara got up, and made their way to the door. As they entered, Aang could see they were standing in a print workshop, with the machine standing in the middle, and papers of all kinds hanging from strings all across the room.
The man, probably Lei, walked to them.
"Sorry about that. The Dai Li always inspect my stocks, one or twice a month, but for some reason, they have begun to do it at least twice a week. What can I do for Avatar Aang and Master Katara?" He bowed politely, sounding genuinely… nice. It was the first person, except of the zoo keeper, that had been kind to them.
"Could you print something for us?" Katara asked, sounding pleased by the attitude of the man.
"Is it illegal?"
"Ehm… Probably? It concerns a search flyer. My Sky Bison is missing, and apparently, he is supposed to be in the city somewhere." Aang explained.
"Ah, in that case, welcome to my shop." The man smiled. A real smile, not the fake grin from Jo Dee, or Fake Dee.
As Katara was writing the message for the flyer, Aang pulled the book from his bag, looking for the page about the Flying Bisons. When he had found it, he showed it to the printer.
"Could you perhaps also put one of these in the flyer? It would make it easier for people who have never seen one."
The printer nodded, still smiling. When Katara finished the message, the printer called his apprentice, and they began to work the machine. First, they lay out the letters inside the press, then, the man began to carve, with an experienced hand, the outline of a Sky bison in wood. Aang looked at how the man worked, truly impressed. As he finished the carving, the printer put it next to the letters in the press, smeared inks over it, and closed the machine. Pulling a sheet of paper from a stack, he put it in the press, and moved a handle. The machine moved down, and when it came back up, the sheet was impressed with the message, and a picture nearly identical to the one from the book.
As the press went up and down, each time making another flyer, the man turned to them.
"I hope you find you bison, Avatar. Stay away from the Dai Li. They have become a great nuisance for the prosperity of this city. As is Long Feng." He spoke, quietly now.
"Why are you the only one talking to us in a normal way?" Katara asked, also looking at the movements of the printer.
"Let's just say that not everybody in this city believes everything we are told. And some of us know what the Avatar could do to bring peace and prosperity back to us." The man answered, without even hesitating. It felt good. To hear people believing in him. Even though his friends did, most of the people he met were either too impressed with his title, or too angry with him because of what he had let happened.
But this man was just… normal. He treated him like he would treat any other customer. As the apprentice stacked the flyer in neat piles of at least fifty, the printer changed the size of the letters, and began to print larger sheets. A search poster… This man was making it possible for him to find Appa… He could kiss the man if he was inclined to.
"Here you are. If you need any more, just come to the shop, knock on the backdoor, three times. I'll know it is you." The printer said, handing them the piles of flyers in several bags. "Just make sure you are not searched by the Dai Li in vicinity of my shop, if possible."
"How much do we owe you?" Katara asked, already reaching in the bag they had taken with them.
"Nothing. Let's just call it a good deed, for the sake of the world. Because I suppose you will need everything at your disposal to defeat the Fire Lord."
Aang couldn't believe his ears… This was the first time in weeks someone had done anything for them… out of the goodness of their heart. He felt such relieve he could cry. This was the way it was supposed to be. Not everybody trying to use the other for their own benefit.
"Thanks." He bowed politely to the man, and they left the shop. Before leaving, Aang looked at the sign outside the shop. It was a stamp in the form of a lotus. He had never seen such a sign. But for some reason, it made him comfortable… As if he knew somewhere, deep down, something he couldn't place exactly…
When they came back to their home, they were greeted by the common room, plastered with at least dozens of sheets of paper, scribbled with something that looked like a peanut. In the middle of this paper massacre, sat Sokka and Toph.
The water tribe boy was drawing another peanut on paper.
"Hey! We found a printer for the flyers!" Katara announced, while Aang bent down and looked at one of the drawings. There was an arrow on each peanut…
"Hey! I was designing the Lost Appa posters! I was working on my Appa!" Sokka announced, clearly confused, holding up the paper. Dear Spirits… the peanut was supposed to be Appa?
"Ehm… His arrow is supposed to be on his head." Aang said, trying to sound reasonable. It was difficult, with Katara next to him trying to hold in her laughter, and failing miserably.
"That is his head…"
Oh spirits, Sokka, why are you torturing yourself?
"Why are feet coming out of it?" Katara also bent down, looking at the drawing, and again trying to hide her amusement.
"Those are his horns! I haven't seen him in a while, okay?" Sokka tried to sound hurt, but Aang could hear the amusement in his voice. Even he knew how bad his drawings were.
"Well, I think it looks just like him." Toph announced, with an evil grin on her face.
"Really? I worked so ha... Oh, why do you feel the need to do that?"
"Let's just stick with the professional version." Katara stated, and with that, Aang left the house, took his glider, and began distributing the flyers.
It took him most of the rest of the morning, but by the end, he had spread the papers all around the northern part of the city in all three rings. He even managed to drop some above the Palace of the Earth King. When he landed in the garden of the house, he saw Katara sitting there.
"So, managed to circulate them?" She asked, and when he nodded, the waterbender smiled.
"Don't expect that people will immediately come forward. It may take some days." Katara smiled at him, and not for the first time, he was dazzled by her. If only they could get out of the city…
"Would you like to go waterbending with me this evening?" He blurted out. Their training had limited itself to the little pond in their garden, but it wasn't enough to make the bigger movements. For that they needed a bigger surface.
"Avatar Aang! Take a girl to some remote location, alone? What are you thinking?" Katara answered, in a voice eerily similar to Jo Dee's.
"I think she can defend herself honestly…" He smiled. Aang liked how sometimes, she would get in a sort of teasing mood. He understood. It made it easier to talk about these things without taking it too seriously…
From the house came a call, sounding like Toph.
"Guys… Come here please!"
As he helped Katara up, Aang saw, from the corner of his eye, a Dai Li agent in the bushes of their garden. Seriously? Really, not one moment of peace?
They made their way to the house, and when they entered, the airbender nearly let his mouth fall wide open. Because there stood Jo Dee. The original one that is.
"Hello, Aang and Katara." She bowed politely, with the fake smile and all. The airbender didn't like this at all. Because, before her disappearance, she had always called him Avatar Aang.
"What happened to you? Did the Dai Li trow you in jail?" Sokka asked, immideiatly going for the direct route. Good. For once, Aang's patience not there. He wanted answers.
"What? Jail?" Jo Dee laughed, "Of course not, they are the protectors of our cultural heritage."
"But… you disappeared at the Earth King's party…" Aang saw Toph plant her foot down firmly on the floor. She was clearly trying to read the woman's emotions.
"Oh, I simply took a short vacation to Lake Laogai!" Jo Dee smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. Actually… Her eyes looked completely blank. Katara had whispered to him, at night, that their guide had panicked at the party before disappearing…
"Why are you here?" He asked. Aang had a feeling she wasn't here for tea.
"Dropping flyers and putting up posters isn't permitted within the city. Not without proper clearance."
Alright. That was it. He didn't even listen to what Sokka was saying to the lady. Aang turned and marched off to the garden. When he went outside, he stomped his foot down, and moved the earth to reveal a very disoriented Dai Li agent.
"You. With me." He commanded. The airbender had enough if Dai Li spies, of Jo Dees, of Ba Sing Se. He just wanted Appa, and then go far from this stinking city. The man, looking quite afraid, stood up, and walked meekly behind him.
"…. Forbidden by the rules of the city-" He cut Jo Dee off.
"We don't care about the rules. We are not asking permission anymore. We are going to find my bison on our own. Oh, and take this friend of yours with you." He shoved the Dai Li agent to the woman who had lost her neutral expression and was now looking as if she was seeing water on fire.
"As much as I love decisive Aang, that one has the potential to come back and bite our asses" Sokka tried, in a calming voice.
"I don't care. From now on, we are doing whatever it takes to find Appa." The airbender muttered.
"Yeah! Let's break some rules!" Toph shouted and bent a hole through the wall of their house. Well… He understood the sentiment. But their new impromptu window gave the whole street a view on their living space.
"Come one, let's go." He said, and the others followed.
When they arrived in the Lower Ring, Aang and Katara gave the other two half of the flyers and posters, and they agreed to meet up at the gate in an hour's time. It was better to avoid being alone in the Lower Ring. When Sokka and Toph had disappeared in the crowd, he turned to Katara.
"So… What do you think of the whole Jo Dee affair?"
"Well, as Sokka said… This one might come back to bite us in the ass… But… You were right. Enough is enough. We have complied with their rules, and nothing. Now, what is the worst Long Feng can do? The Avatar is quite the public figure. And I heard from one student yesterday, quite a popular guy in the Lower Ring." She smiled at him while putting a poster on a wall.
"Really? They are saying that?" He hoped she was right. He didn't crave attention, or worship. But it felt better to be liked for having built a zoo than to be hated for being the reason why the world was at war for nearly a century.
Katara nodded and walked to an abandoned part of the square to glue another poster. Aang moved to the opposite side of the square and handed a child some sweets he had in his pocket. This was what he was meant to be. A simple Air Nomad, honouring their tradition of charity and helping people in need. Not Avatar Aang, a weapon to destroy the Fire Nation. He didn't want to destroy, or fight. He wanted to just be Aang, a monk in the community. But his community was gone. And if he didn't defeat the Fire Lord, he would surely be the last of the Air Benders.
Just then he heard an angry shout. And he recognized the voice…. Katara!
He quickly ran towards the sound and saw Katara pinning a guy to the wall with ice spikes. Dear Spirits, what was happening? When he got closer, he saw the guy was wearing ragtag armour, an orange tunic and leather trousers… Wait… A mop of brown hair, tall, handsome… Oh no. Not him. Not now.
He walked up next to Katara, and yes! Of course, it was him. Hurrah. Jet. What luck. How. Freaking. Splendid.
"I can help! I know you are searching for Appa!" The young man defended himself, showing one of the flyers.
Aang didn't want to have Jet with them. Not now. Not when things were finally looking up with Katara. Not now… Please Spirits, not now.
But… If he indeed knew something about his bison's whereabouts…
"Katara… we have to give him a chance." He turned to the waterbender, who was looking positively enraged. But as she looked at him, he saw the anger soften. Just a bit.
"Let's ask the others. But I'll keep my eye on you!" The last part she said to Jet, again with that angry look. Then, the waterbender turned around and began to walk back to the gate where they had agreed to meet up with the others.
Aang melted the ice, and Jet walked up to him, looking to where Katara was stamping away.
"I have to say, I don't like her turning her back on me. But, let's agree : What a view." Jet smiled, pointing his chin to the waterbender.
Aang boiled inside. Think of Appa. Don't think of the chauvinist, stupid, stupid looking… Jet.
"Repeat that, and I will make sure she hears it. Then, you can deal with her anger. And after that. With. Mine." He muttered.
This was going to be a long day…
Answers :
CoyoteLemon : You'll have to wait for just some chapters, and then… Release…
Ashley Barbosa : Jealous Aang is here. But let's be honest, Jet is an a-hole here. So he has reasons to be angry with him.