Book 2: Water. Chapter 1: Journey to The North Pole
Two days had passed since the group left The Northern Air Temple. The Earth Kingdom Mountain Range seemed to stretch forever, but soon after the third day, the rocky mountainous terrain slowly became colder, snowier, and slicker. They had all seen snow before, but this was a different kind of snow altogether. It seemed to cover the entire world the second they crossed over The Mountain Range and into The Artic Circle. It wasn't long before Lana and Kas were wrapped in their Water Tribe clothes and in every blanket they had packed in Lolla's saddlebag. They had never felt cold of this magnitude before. Not even The Northern Air Temple in the dead of winter chilled them like this artic wind and ice. "You're lucky I love you," Lana said as her teeth chattered. Zorok sat relaxed along the saddle, looking up at the sky. "It's not that cold," He said with a slight smile. "Says the Firebender!" Lana said, annoyed. Zorok chuckled a bit at her accusation. "It's too cold to Firebend. I couldn't heat a bowl of soup, let alone my body," He said as he sat up to look at them. "Then how are you not an Avatarcicle right now?" Kas wrote on her paper and handed it to him. "Gotta love Airbending," He said with a devilish grin. Lana and Kas looked confused for a second, but almost at once, they both remembered The Air Nomads' way of keeping themselves warm during the winter. "Well, lucky you. While you're sitting all toasty warm Avatar over there, we're slowly chattering our jaws into dust," She said, annoyed. "Who said I'm toasty? I'm cold, just not as cold as you guys. Maybe if we all huddle, I can Firebend my body heat and make us all warm," He said as he crossed his legs and scooted forward. The two huddled as close to him as they could without sitting on his lap. They didn't feel warmer at first, but a few minutes later, they could feel the blankets slowly begin to heat up, and for the first time since they crossed over The Arctic Circle, they felt warm. "See, it's not so bad once you warm up a bit," He said with a smile. "Speak for yourself. If we weren't latched on to you, we'd be frozen solid," Lana said as Kas shook her head in agreement. "Well, I'm happy to share the warmth," He said as he wrapped them both in a hug.
The three stayed huddled together throughout the rest of the day and well into the night. The sun had long set, and Zorok and Lana had fallen asleep, but Kas stayed awake mesmerized by the alluring glow of the aurora borealis. She had never seen something so beautiful in her entire life. The way the white mixed in harmony with the blue and green left her in awe. They didn't clash with each other but instead flowed together like there was no difference or separation among them whatsoever. She wondered what Zorok would say about them. Would he understand and feel the same as she did if he looked at them? When her curiosity finally improved, she carefully reached over and lightly shook him. "Hmm?" He asked, still half asleep.
Kas pointed at the lights and smiled a bit. "What? The lights?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes a bit. Kas shook her head enthusiastically and began writing in her new notebook Gosarik, and The Air Sages had gifted her. "I've never seen such pretty lights. Where do they come from?" She wrote and handed it to him. "Oh, I'm not sure exactly," He said. She continued to look on as Zorok stretched a bit, causing Lana to cuddle closer to his warm body. "I've heard about the lights from Waterbenders passing through Ba Sing Se. I think they said it's the remnants of some great cosmic divergence a long time ago," He said, looking up as well. "What the heck does that mean?" She wrote and passed it to him.
"I don't know. It's a lot of spiritual Water Tribe stuff. I'm sure I'll learn all about it once we get to The North Pole," He said as he laid back and rested his head against Lollas' saddle. "Are you nervous?" Kas wrote. "No, not really. I'm more worried about how you two will be able to go on without my charming personality and razor-sharp witts," He said playfully, causing Kas to roll her eyes. "I think we'll get along just fine," She wrote. Her tenacity and wit caused him to smile a bit. He would miss nights like this. It wouldn't be long, but he knew he would long for them soon. "What are you two talking about?" Lana asked, slightly annoyed at being woken up. "We were looking at the lights in the sky and talking about how lost you'll both be without me to keep you entertained," He said smugly with a smile. "Keep dreaming. We'll be fine without your leadership skill, oh mighty avatar Zorok," She said with a sleepy smile as she yawned. "I know you will. You're both tougher than week-old Elephant-Koi hide," He said playfully. "Are you going to be ok?" Lana asked. Zorok thought about it for a bit. He knew it was part of being The Avatar, but it still hurt a little. He wouldn't let them know, however. He smiled at her and spoke. "I'll be fine. After all, I'll get to look at these beautiful lights every night," He said, looking up again. "As long as you'll be ok," Lana said as she cuddled up to him again. Within minutes, she was fast asleep again, and Zorok followed quickly. Kas watched as they fell back asleep, holding one another, and smiled.
After a few more hours of flying, Kas decided to call it a night and directed Lolla to land on a large slab of ice adrift in the endless icy sea. It was more than big enough to hold them, so Lolla landed quickly, happy to finally get a break as she had been flying for 9 hours straight. When she landed, she felt the ice shift a little but settle back down relatively quickly. Kas didn't bother to wake Lana or Zorok. She knew they were both exhausted from the cold and exerting energy to keep them all warm. She stepped down from Lolla's saddle and stretched as she got the blood flowing to her legs and arms again. "Man, a fire sure would be nice," She thought as she slowly stepped closer and closer to the ice's edge. When she was on the very edge, she looked at her reflection. Her hair and gotten much longer than she was forced to keep at the orphanage. Her skin no longer bore bruises and lacerations from the horrible people who worked there. For the first time she could remember, she admired herself a little. As she playfully rearranged her hair, she suddenly felt something beneath her feet. The ice was beginning to crack. She tried to jump back, but she was too late. Before she knew it, the ice gave way underneath her, and she plummeted into the icy water beneath. Her whole body felt like it was on fire. She hurt more than she ever had, from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, and worst of all, she couldn't scream for help. She tried desperately, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make a sound loud enough to wake them before her mouth filled with painfully cold water. She felt herself slipping into the blackness until she finally passed out and sank below the water.
Thankfully for her, the second the ice gave way, Lolla began thrashing wildly on the remaining ice slab. Just as she slipped below the water, Zorok and Lana had woken up and jumped off her back. "Lolla! What's wrong!" Lana asked very concernedly. She had never seen her act in this way before. She just kept staring at the broken edge, groaning loudly and frantically. When Zorok finally pieced it together, he quickly looked around for Kas but couldn't find her. "Kas fell in the water!" He yelled as he dove in after her. The second he did, however, he regretted it. He had never felt something so cold in his life. Not even his Airbending training could keep him warm in the icy depth of The Arctic Sea. He felt his vision fade as that familiar powerful feeling began to swell within his stomach until everything went dark. He wasn't transported to The Spirit Realm, however. This time he felt that same feeling of being a passenger in his own body as he watched himself Airbend a large air pocket around himself and heat it with internal Firebending. He watched himself swim at lightning speed toward Kas's unconscious body and Waterbend it back to the surface as he followed close behind. When the two were back on the ice, he repeatedly watched himself breathe small gusts of warm air into her mouth until she finally started living. Kas began coughing the second her eyes opened. She had swallowed more than a few handfuls of ice water while she was submerged. She got to her hands and knees and rapidly began gulping down air as fast as her lungs would let her.
"Kas! Are you Ok!" Lana said, panicked as she knelt at Kas's side and began rubbing and patting her back. Kas held a thumbs up at her as she coughed and resumed coughing and gasping for several more seconds until she collapsed. Soon after, Lana began hearing another set of gasps and coughs, this time coming from Zorok. He had returned to normal and desperately tried to breathe and warm himself, but it was no use. If he thought he was cold before, he was dead wrong. His body was almost entirely in shock. His muscles felt like rubber, his bones felt like glass, and his skin was completely numb. "Oh no, oh no," Lana said, panicked. The North Pole could have been on the other side of the planet for all she knew, and her two best friends were slowly freezing to death.
"Zorok! I don't know what to do!" She yelled with tears as she cradled Kas's unconscious body and desperately tried to keep her warm. Like the flicker of a candle, Zorok's eyes changed back and forth from normal to the white glow of The Avatar State. His body was fighting itself for control. No! I don't need you!" Zorok strained as he fought to keep The Avatar State at bay. "Zorok! You are in danger! Let us help you!" The Avatars said in his head. He gritted his teeth hard and raised his head slowly. "I can do this on my own! Trust me!" He said forcefully. Lana was crying as she held Kas and rubbed her over and over, but she was also confused. Why was he fighting so hard? Maybe The Avatar State could save them. Why was he saying he didn't need it? "Zorok! She's freezing! Help me!" She yelled frantically. At this, The Avatar State could take complete control of Zorok's body. He caused steam to shoot out of his nostrils like a dragon which dried his clothes in seconds. He then ran over, put both hands on Kas, and started bending her body heat, causing it to rise so it wouldn't shock her. When her breathing steadied, Zorok stood and slid his foot slightly.
The second it made contact with the ice, it became as hard as the ground. It had refrozen to near permafrost. Lana watched as Zorok bent the water around them and began piloting the ice slab like a boat with a sail. "Get her off the ice," Zorok and the hundreds of voices said in unison. Lana wordlessly lifted Kas back onto Lolla's saddle and jumped on after her. She watched Zorok steer them and propel them at an incredible speed. "Kas! Can you hear me!" She cried as she tried to wake her. Kas stirred a little and opened her eyes slowly. When she saw Lana holding her, she smiled a bit. Her body hurt immensely, but she was glad they found her. "Zorok, she's ok," Lana called out to him in relief. As soon as he heard her, The Avatar State dropped, and the ice slab fell from a fast pace to a slow, steady drift. Zorok dropped to his hands and knees, out of breath. The Avatar state had sapped a good amount of his remaining strength and had barely left him with enough the lift himself. With all his strength, he lifted himself off his knees to his feet and slowly climbed back onto Lolla's back.
"Zorok! Are you Ok!" Lana asked as he lay down next to her. "Yeah... I'm fine..." He breathlessly said as he began rapidly drifting off to sleep. Lana looked back and saw Kas was breathing normally and had also drifted off to sleep. She couldn't imagine how hurt and tired the two must have been after being submerged in the arctic water. Sensing the danger was over, Lolla groaned loudly, settled herself on the near rocklike surface beneath her, and made herself comfortable for the night. Lana, however, was still shaken by the events. They had stepped a toe into the arctic, and two had nearly frozen to death. As much as he dreaded leaving Zorok, she couldn't wait to be out of this place and back to solid earth.
Lana sat watching over Kas and Zorok well into the night and watched as dawn came, bringing unique patterns of purple, blue, pink, and white. The beguiling sight of the green and white light sprinkled throughout the night sky was equally matched as the sun slowly rose over a seemingly neverending cascade of sapphire blue water and crystal clear ice. She had never seen colors like this back in Ba Sing Se. The sky seemed to reflect the water rather than the water reflecting the sky. It was so clear that she couldn't tell one from the other if she stared long enough. "Well, it may not be solid earth, but if every morning looks like this, I guess I can understand why people would live here," She thought. It wasn't her world by any means, but she knew Zorok would adapt to it well enough. He had done it who knows how many times before, or his spirit had at least. She knew he could do it again. She watched him, and Kas sleep for a few more minutes before grabbing the reigns and lightly brushing them against Lollas neck. She groaned a little but slowly began waking as the rays from the sun hit her in the eyes.
"Come on, Lolla, it's time to get going," She said as she scratched behind Lolla's giant ear. Lolla, rather than getting up, laid flatter as she enjoyed the scratching. "Lolla, you silly bison," Lana said, defeated, as Lolla drifted back to sleep. Lana looked over at the two sleeping, not wanting to wake them. They had been through a lot, but they had to get moving. Lana reluctantly crawled over with no other options and began lightly shaking Zorok. "Zorok, I need your help," She said as she shook him. He groaned a bit and rolled over, looking up at her. "What's the problem?" He asked, exhausted. "I can't get Lolla up. Can you try?" She asked helplessly. Zorok yawned greatly and smiled at her. "Yeah, sure," He said as he got to his hands and knees and began crawling to Lolla's head. When he reached it, he rested on her forehead, looking down at her. "Hey, Lazy-Horns, we gotta get this show on the road," He said playfully as he lightly tapped her head. She lazily groaned a bit but nothing more.
"Aww, come on now, girl, you wanna eat, don't you?" He asked temptingly. Lolla groaned approvingly and lightly nodded. "Well, we can't feed you until we get to the North Pole. If you want food, we gotta get moving," He said. Lolla groaned again and slowly rose to all fours. She stood for a few seconds before slapping her tail against the ice and taking flight North. Zorok, unfortunately, wasn't ready for her to take off so suddenly. He fell forward, holding reigns, and dangled for a few seconds before Airbending himself back onto her head and laughing a little.
Lana, having watched this entire interaction, was also chuckling to herself. Zorok may have been The Avatar, but a Skybison herder, he wasn't. As she chuckled at Zoroks' goofiness, she decided to lean over and shake Kas. It was getting close to breakfast, and she knew Kas would want to eat. "Kas, It's time to get up," She said softly as she lightly shook her awake. She shook her again, but still, she didn't wake up. "Kas?" She said, slightly confused. She shook and shook her, but she wouldn't wake up. "Kas!" She yelled, now shaking her vigorously. Lana felt her skin and began growing worried. Kas was burning up. "Zorok! She's so hot!" She said fearfully. Zorok rushed over and put his hand on her forehead. Her temperature had to have been 103, at least.
"What do we do?" Lana said, growing more fearful by the second. "I- I don't know!" Zorok responded, now starting to get scared as well. "How far are we from The North Pole? Maybe The Waterbenders can help her!" She said frantically. Zorok pulled out the map given to him by The Air Nomads and tried to figure out where they were, but it was fruitless. Without the stars, he couldn't tell a lemur-bat's butt from a hole in the ground.
"I- I don't know. Maybe a day?" He said, trying his best to remain calm. "Zorok, I don't think she can make it a day. She's burning up!" Lana yelled as she knelt at Kas's side. "There's nothing else we can do. We'll have to hurry," He said as he crawled onto Lollas' head and grabbed the reigns. "Lolla, Yip Yip," He said, snapping the reins. She flew faster than any of them had ever seen before. She could tell something was wrong with Kas. "Lana, there's water and a cloth in my bag. Wet the cloth and dab her forehead with it," Zorok said as he climbed back onto the saddle. Lana did as he asked and wet the cloth profusely. She then began lightly patting Kas's forehead. Zorok began stripping her parka and pants off to alleviate her temperature. When she was down to her undergarments, he stopped as she started shaking from the cold. "Zorok, stop! She's freezing!" Lana said, trying to put the blankets back on her. "But she's burning up! Shouldn't we let the cold air cool her off?" He said, unsure. "I don't know! Earth Kingdom Military Training didn't exactly cover this!" She snapped.
After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Lana finally spoke up. "Maybe The Avatars' will know what to do," She said, obviously out of options. Zorok, however, looked sternly at her. "No, I'm not asking them for help ever again," He insisted. "What? Why not?" Lana asked, confused. "They lied to me. They said I would be in control of myself when they helped me, and I wasn't," He said. "But Zorok, look at her. She's sick. If we don't get help soon... I don't know what will happen, but if something happens to her," She said, looking down at Kas with tears in her eyes. "Lana, I can't. What will they know? They don't care about you or Kas. They only want to keep me alive so they can keep existing," He said. "Zorok, please, if something happened to her I..." Lana said, not able to finish. Zorok looked for an alternative and luckily spotted one as he saw a lone Watertribe ship sailing through the endless Arctic Sea. "There! There's a ship!" He said as he crawled back onto Lollas' head and retook the reins. "What if they can't help us?" Lana asked, concerned. "They're Waterbenders. If anyone knows what to do, it's them," He said as he began steering Lolla toward the ship. It took nearly 20 minutes, but the two managed to get close to the vessel.
"Hello?" Zorok called out. He looked and saw multiple Waterbenders on board, looking at them. "Hey! How can we help you?" A voice called out from the deck. Lolla now hovered 10 feet from the deck and was keeping pace easily. "Our friend is sick. Is it Ok if we land?" He asked. "Sure," The voice called out again. Lolla landed on board and began lying down to give the group less distance to jump down. As the two began lowering Kas off Lollas's back, they were surrounded by familiarly dressed Watertribesmen. "What happened to her?" One of them asked as they got her down. "She fell in the water last night. Now, she's burning up and has the chills," Lana said somberly.
The Waterbenders gathered around them for several seconds before one of them began pushing his way through the rest. When he reached the group, he knelt at Kas's side and started bending water back and forth across her forehead in repetition. "The fever is upon her. We must get her to a proper healer, or she'll die," The Waterbender said calmly. "How far are we from The Northern Water Tribe?" Lana asked, concerned. "Four hours. Lucky for you, you ran into us. If not, she wouldn't have made it with you two being lost," He said. Lana looked back at Zorok; both of them knew he was right.
"Who are you guys?" Zorok asked as he watched the Waterbender apply the water. "My name is Akiron. I'm the leader of this squad," He said. Before Zorok could respond, Akiron spoke again. "Hey! What are you all standing around for? Get back to your stations and steer us through this ice!" He barked. All at once, the Waterbenders began rushing back to their various sailing stations. "You, help me get her below deck. She's going to go into shock if we don't get her out of the cold," Akiron said. Without hesitation, Zorok helped him lift her and carry her below decks to an empty bed in the galley. "You, woman, keep an eye on her. If her lips start turning blue, don't keep it to yourself," He said as he walked back up the stairs. "My name is Lana," She responded harshly. Akiron, however, didn't react. He waved her off and continued up the stairs and out the galley door.
"Well, at least we know they're friendly," Zorok said jokingly. Lana, however, wasn't in a joking mood. She just sat by Kas's side, watching over her. If anything happened to her, Lana would never forgive herself. She lightly stroked Kas's beautiful black hair, tearing up as she did. Kas looked so helpless. She was strong and capable; it was hard for Lana to see her like this. "Lana, she'll be ok," Zorok said, laying a hand on her shoulder. Lana put her hand on his and silently began crying. Zorok knew no words would soothe her here, not when Kas hovered so close to the edge of death. He wordlessly walked to the other side and sat next to Kas as well.