Chapter 9: The Second Storm
This chapter is a biggun! I probably could've cut it down into 2 chapters but I wrote the end before I wrote the start, so it wouldn't have really mattered regardless.
This chapter follows that of 'The Avatar State,' 'The Cave of Two Lovers' and 'Return to Omashu.' I know some of you might be annoyed how little I'm including Zuko and Iroh thus far and I'm sorry to say that probably won't change much until a bit, but for the sake of story continuity their journey stays the same. (Azula tries to capture them, live as fugitives, etc etc) This chapter is important to understanding some of the context behind the changing story, and manages to go over some important points in Aang's journey as well as Ren's.
Rated M for slight swearing.
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Previously, on Avatar:
Sokka, Katara, Bato have left the small Earth Kingdom town with their new ally, Kirima! But tensions are running deep within the group, after Sokka chose not to rescue his mother!
Zuko and Iroh are being hunted by his sister Azula, after their mutiny against Zhao at the North Pole. On the run, the pair are forced to assume new identities and lives, but the prince is still unsatisfied. Will he ever regain his honour? Will he be able to find the Avatar?
Meanwhile, Aang has left the North Pole with his elusive new waterbending teacher, Ren! Who is this mysterious man? What secrets is he hiding? Can they trust each other?
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Aang was an Air Nomad. He was naturally funny, free-spirited, cheerful and generally got along well with most people who weren't trying to kill him or his friends. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule. And it was just his luck that Ren, the person he was stuck with for the remainder of his training, was one of those people.
It was surprising, to say the least. Ren had seemed so much more relaxed at the North Pole and had actually smiled once or twice while Aang was up there with him (of course, it could just be equally likely that Aang had imagined it. The man was as serious as Monk Tashi sometimes) but while they were flying south-east towards a military base, Ren had been acting distant.
Aang supposed at first it was just a sake of homesickness, something he never really understood being a nomad. "Don't worry about it, Ren!" Aang had exclaimed to Ren the other day over a lunch of smoked fish and tofu. "The monks always told me that home is where the heart is, not where you live." Aang was hoping that would elicit some revelation on Ren's part, but all he got in response was a disinterested grunt. Aang ruled out homesickness.
But then, what? Why had Re barely spoken a word to he, Appa and Momo ever since leaving the Northern Water tribe? Was it… was it Aang? Apparently not, because when Aang had asked him what he was doing wrong, Ren just raised an eyebrow and told him his waterbending stance was too wide. Right, like that's what Aang meant when he asked.
Fortunately, Aang and Ren were soon to find a reprieve from the tension, however brief. The duo were nearing the secluded fortress of General Fong, one of the last remaining strongholds of the Earth Kingdom army. They were anxious to arrive, as Appa had been growing very tired and was bordering on falling asleep from exhaustion.
Upon their landing in the main courtyard, the group was met with a military procession marching towards them, being led by a tall man with a large, bushy beard. His headquarters was fortified by tall walls that encircled the compound, with smaller houses and barracks scattered within the area for his troops.
"Welcome, Avatar Aang!" The mann stepped forward and splayed his arms wide as if to show off his fortress. "I am General Fong, and welcome, to you great heroes! Appa, Momo, the wondrous Ren…"
Ren, who was in the middle of stretching his legs after landing, grunted again. Aang looked at Ren and sighed, before plastering a fake smile on his face and turning back to Fong. "On behalf of my master and I, I thank you for your hospitality." He pressed his fist into his palm and bent into a deep bow.
Without further ado, Fong ushered his guests inside the palace. "We have much to discuss, Avatar."
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It became clear after a day that, in fact, there really wasn't much to discuss.
General Fong had lured them into the compound under the pretense of giving them an escort to Omashu, where they could find Bumi and begin Aang's earthbending training. However, Fong was much more interested in using Aang as a weapon and, after guilt tripping Aang into agreeing, spent his time trying to lure Aang into the Avatar State. He tried scaring him, attacking him, anything to lure out the defence mechanism, but the last straw was when Fong threatened Momo.
He had held the lemur's throat in his vice grip and was prepared to choke him if it was necessary. Aang couldn't control himself and his tattoos glowed extraordinarily, much to Fong's initial delight. But after Aang had destroyed the compound, buried Fong up to his head in the earth and left immediately with Ren on Appa, he doubted Fong would be smiling much now.
What ticked him off more than anything was Ren, however. The whole time, Ren was little help. True, he had initially argued against the plan to activate the Avatar State but Aang knew it wasn't on the proviso of protecting Aang. All he wanted was to fulfil his mission and be on his way. As soon as Aang had been hooked into helping Fong and his troops in attempting to activate the Avatar State, Ren stopped arguing instantly, which secretly hurt.
Aang thought of Katara and Sokka then. He knew that contrary to Ren, they would've done anything in their power to keep him safe. They had actually cared for Aang, much unlike Ren. He thought about the betrothal necklace, which he had grown to accustomed to touching as a good luck charm. Spirits, how he wished Katara and Sokka were there instead of Ren.
Aang scrunched his face and grunted. It was against his nature to dislike someone like this. He was taught to respect and understand all life, a valuable and lasting lesson instilled in him by his former airbending masters. There were sure to be circumstances surrounding Ren's irrational behaviour, and he would just have to wait patiently for Ren to open himself up. Aang couldn't force him to talk, despite how desperate he was for someone to chat with. And no, Momo didn't count.
Besides, if nothing else, Ren was a great waterbending instructor. Despite his silent methods, and his tendency to only provide criticism rather than appraisal, Aang was fast progressing. He had already mastered all the basic forms and Ren had last taught him the 'octopus' technique, a handy tool in defence when surrounded. Gosh, if earthbending and firebending were going to be as easy as this, the war would go by in a jiffy!
So their routine went on as they travelled from Fong's military stronghold to the fortified city of Omashu, where they would seek out Bumi for an earthbending teacher. Aang would train, Ren would stay silent, and the tension between the two only grew.
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To put things into perspective, Ren had only left the Northern Water Tribe once his whole life, and even then it was nothing more than a week-long trip with some traders to an Earth Kingdom village. All he was doing was collecting some rare spices to help brew a cure for a new sickness sweeping the tribe. And that journey alone had been daunting enough. His trip with the Avatar and his animal friends was on a whole new level.
He could tell that the Avatar was desperate for a friend. He was only twelve, and already bore the fate of the world on his narrow shoulders. But they were just too different. And Ren had no reason to trust another person, especially not so soon after losing Yue and disappointing Arnook. Of course, the chief had said otherwise, but Ren believed otherwise. There was no way a man could truly forgive another for failing to protect his daughter. It just didn't seem plausible.
And he was afraid of what would happen while he was away. The military presence of the Fire Nation would only grow stronger in the North Sea, especially after rumours of the Avatar's departure would slowly begin to spread. They would not be safe forever and the Fire Navy would return with an invasion force, but at least if Ren was there to help defend it, maybe it could be stopped. It was a fool's wish, his subconscious nagged, but he was adamant. If they Northern Water tribe fell, and Ren wasn't there to help defend, it would be his fault. He would have failed everyone.
Those thoughts kept him preoccupied on their journey to Omashu. Between that, and training the Avatar to waterbend, he didn't have time to worry about the fracturing bond between the two.
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Their trip to Omashu was far from simple. They met with a bunch of obnoxiously-loud nomads while on a break, who had tried and failed to convince Ren of a secret 'cave of two lovers' hidden in the side of the mountain. Ren was adamant not to waste their time pursuing a path that may not even be real, so he, Aang, Appa and Momo flew around the mountain to approach Omashu. They were met with a maelstrom of flaming projectiles from a stationed Fire Nation army and their trebuchets, but Ren was able to fend off the fireballs with ease with water he kept in a large waterskin on his back while Aang directed Appa and blew away the occasional projectile.
They landed atop a ledge on a tall mountain with a direct line of sight to the city, where a Fire Nation flag was draped over the top of the outer walls. Aang was rightfully mortified; the city was the second to last remaining Earth Kingdom stronghold besides the city-state of Ba Sing Se. The invasion of Omashu was a major leverage for the Fire Nation in the war, providing them with immense influence in the western region of the continent.
Ren knelt down on the rocky ground and hummed. "The smart thing to do would be to leave. We shouldn't risk you getting caught by the Fire Nation."
"No. We need to rescue Bumi. He's the only friend I have left from my past."
Ren sighed. "I thought you'd say that." He pointed with a stick towards a pipe jutting out of the side of the city. "There's a sewerage pipe over there. That's our way in. We can waterbend the water around us so that they can't hear our footsteps, and then we'll have to look for a metal prison."
"Why metal?"
"The Fire Nation might be evil, but they're not stupid. Earthbenders can't bend through metal, so that's where we'd find King Bumi."
The plan was sorted. They flew down to the pipe carefully, with Aang bending the air around them so that they looked like a cloud. Once in the pipe, Appa and Momo were told to stay put just past the entrance of the pipe. Despite Aang's protests, it would be just too hard to travel through the city quietly with them. And so they hid behind an easily removable metal grate, ready to attack anyone who came down to threaten them.
They were walking through the pipe for ten long, stinky minutes before they came across a circular metal manhole in the surface, above a wall with rungs carved in. Ren climbed up first and slid the plate off as quietly as he could, peeking his head out for any Fire Nation troops.
It was safe. He had emerged into a quiet backstreet, and could hear the hustle and bustle of the main shopping district not too far away. He climbed out and was quickly followed by Aang, who jumped out of the tunnel with a gust of air.
Ren took one last glance around before turning to Aang. "Can you fly up and take a look around? Try and find where this prison might be, then meet me back here."
Aang cocked his head. "I thought we shouldn't fly or risk getting seen?"
"That's only because Appa's huge and obvious. If you fly up high enough you could pass off as a bird."
Aang smiled sheepishly. "Oh, right. I get you." He whirled his staff around and snapped it open, revealing a brilliant red glider. Aang took two running steps and jumped, soaring off into the sky, clinging onto the arms of the glider to float around on the air currents.
He rose. Ten metres, twenty metres, fifty metres, a hundred metres. From this height, Ren was nothing more than an ant. He scanned the city, looking for any glint of metal in the sunlight.
So far, the only metal large enough to be a prison he could see was the huge statue of a Fire Nation man at the highest point in the city. Aang had never seen him before, but he assumed this must be Fire Lord Ozai. He flew close to the metal man's face and stuck out his tongue, blowing a raspberry in its direction.
He looked away and he saw it; a metal cage, held aloft above the ground by a metal chain. It wasn't particularly large, especially from his height, but it certainly looked Bumi-size, and it was good a guess as Aang had as to his whereabouts. It was surrounded by a few Fire Nation soldiers, patrolling the ledge it was stationed above. That had to be it.
Aang nosedived back down towards Ren, flitting in between streets of terraced houses and Omashu's delivery chutes, scaring a cabbage salesman to death as he flew through his cart, knocking over all the produce.
He cushioned his landing with a large gust of air, and dropped at Ren's feet. He gave his staff another whirl and the red wings locked back into the main body.
"I think I found it," Aang said, gasping slightly for air after his strenuous flight. "Up in the city, there's a metal box that's being held above the ground."
Ren ground his fist into his palm. "If Bumi is half the earthbender you say he is, then that'll be where they're keeping him."
It hadn't occurred to Aang until just now, but Ren seemed so much more alive during combat scenarios and missions. On their travels where they weren't doing anything in particular, Ren was cold and passive but now, when in the midst of a plan to free Bumi, he seemed more sociable and alert. Just generally more there. Aang wondered why, but ultimately shoved the thought out of his mind. "So what's the plan now?"
Ren stroked his chin. "I say we just sneak our way up through the city. Don't get seen, don't cause any commotion, don't get recognised. We get to Bumi, take out the guards and free him. After that, well… let's cross that bridge when we come to it. We'll go at night. Meet back here at sundown."
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The city had changed since Aang was here last, about two months ago. The population had dwindled, and people were calling it New Ozai now rather than Omashu. An Earth Kingdom man had recognised Aang at one point, but graciously gave him a cloak to wear to disguise his tattoos. He could freely wander the streets.
There wasn't anything in particular he was looking out for, but he eventually stumbled upon a large bulletin board near the new Fire Nation army barracks, dotted with wanted posters. He scanned the board, looking for any familiar faces. He wasn't sure what to feel when he saw himself, posted near the top with the header of TOP PRIORITY.
Further down, Aang spotted posters of Katara, Sokka, and Bato, accompanied by a picture of a woman Aang had never seen before.. She was named Kirima, and claimed to be a waterbender from the South. Apparently they got into an altercation, and burnt down a forest, resulting in the 'untimely death of a valiant and noble soldier.' Aang frowned. It wasn't like Sokka and Katara to go out looking for trouble like that. He hoped that they were alright.
Strangely, though, Aang saw posters of Prince Zuko and General Iroh, each also labelled with TOP PRIORITY. Aang knew they were outcasts from the Fire Nation, but this was new to him. Apparently they were wanted for claims of high treason and for mutiny in the invasion of the North.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when someone came and tapped him on the shoulder from behind. He whipped around, holding onto the hood of the cloak to prevent it from flying off, and saw Ren standing with another man. Aang sent Ren a puzzled look, to which he mouthed I'll tell you later. "Aa- I mean, Lee, I want you to meet Yung. He used to serve as Bumi's head of security."
Aang smiled, pressing his fists together and bowing slightly. "It's an honour to meet you, Yung."
"The honour is mine, Ava- Lee. How about we talk further at my headquarters? I have some people who would love to meet you."
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"So, I hear from Ren here you're wanting to free Bumi?"
The three of them were seated around a table in a dingy chamber located in the underbelly of the city. Hundreds of people were huddled inside, clinging to each other for warmth. Aang felt bad, faced with another reminder of his own failures. Unfortunately for him, he could give himself the luxury of worrying about them right now as much as it tore him. They had a job to do, Ren had told him, and if they didn't do it more people would suffer.
So he nodded. "Yes, sir. Is there any way you can help?"
"I know where he's being kept. I can take you to him. But in exchange, we need your help with a mission."
"What is it?"
Yung looked hesitant. "We'll tell you when we get there."
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They snuck through the city with Yung and a few other earthbenders, moving their way up to a high ledge in the city. They were well concealed under the veil of night, but had to be wary of the occasional patrol passing through. As they moved through, Ren noted that a few of the earthbenders split off from the group. "They're just our backup, in case something goes wrong," Yung had assured him.
Down the edge of their destination were two long, steep ramps, leading directly down to a path below. By this point, only one other resistance member besides Yung remained with the group and he had pulled a large boulder out of the ground, stationing it on the ramp. Yung stood broodily, overlooking the walkway below, scanning the ground for signs of life.
"So, Yung, what are we actually doing?" Ren asked, as he approached Yung from behind. "You still haven't told us why we're here."
"Freeing this city for good," Yung responded, his voice grave. Ren was about to ask what he meant, until Yung's attention was shifted to a procession of red-clad people walking down below. They were illuminated by a few lamps held by what seemed to be guards. Ren's eyes widened.
"The targets are approaching!" said the other earthbender, taking a horse stance behind the boulder. Aang's eyes widened as well, finally realising what was going on.
Yung's voice was cold. "Take them out."
At the same time the earthbender brought his fist down on the boulder, sending it careening down the slope, Aang and Ren both shouted, "NO!" They leapt into action, Ren pulling his water from his waterskin and whipping it around Yung and his croney, Aang jumping off the edge of the cliff and struggling to keep up with the boulder.
Aang felt the wind rushing past his face which, under different circumstances, would have been exhilarating. But he was far too concerned with the horse-sized rock hurtling down the ramp, and the oblivious people walking underneath. He yelled for them to get out of the way as loudly as he could, catching the attention of a tall girl with black hair. She met his gaze and instantly understood what he was trying to do, and yelled to the others.
In a quick scramble, all of them had jumped to the sides of the impact zone, but that wouldn't be enough of a buffer from the chunks of rock that could still hit them after impact. Aang kicked his legs, using his airbending to push himself finally in front of the boulder.
The boulder was fifteen metres away from impact, and Aang was just reaching the ground.
The boulder was ten metres away and Aang had landed with a roll, causing pain to shoot up his left leg. He ignored it.
Five metres away, and he was hurriedly standing up, gripping his staff in his hands.
The boulder was two and a half metres away from the ground when Aang swung with all his might. His staff hit the boulder, instantly crumbling it into a dust cloud that floated over him. He lowered his staff, standing still for a moment, before reflexively reaching down to his ankle and sinking to the ground.
He hissed, feeling the bones in his ankle. It was sprained, alright. He could barely move it. Looking around briefly, he saw that the group of people had mostly dispersed, save the tall girl with the dark hair. On closer inspection, her face was pale and she bore an unreadable expression, somehow somewhere between shock and complete and utter boredom.
Aang gasped out his words. "You need to run. More earthbenders. Trying to kill you." He winced with each word, as if the mere act of speaking seemed to amplify his pain.
The girl nodded. "Thanks," she said, with a monotone expression. But before she turned to leave, she asked him something. "Are you the Avatar?"
Aang felt his heart drop. He had tried so hard to keep his identity hidden in Omashu. But as much as he felt he should lie, he just couldn't right now. So he nodded, refusing to meet the girl's eyes.
With the slightest sympathetic glance, she pursed her lips before turning to run off, presumably to find her family. Aang, on the other hand, just groaned. Oh boy, things just got harder.
; ; ;
It took Ren a few minutes, but before long he was down the cliff face, tending to Aang's ankle. He had managed to fight off the earthbenders with relative ease, but had struggled to find a way down without going back directly from whence they came, in fear of running across Yung's backup. Speaking of Yung, he and his buddy had been carefully placed in a side alley, hidden from the main road.
Ren had knelt down next to Aang, and pulled his water into his hands. The water glowed, and he pressed it against Aang's ankle, moving his hands around to let his chi flow. A soft gasp emitted from Aang.
"You can heal?" he asked, big grey eyes wide open in amazement.
Ren nodded. "I'm one of the only boys in the tribe who ever learnt how. Yugoda taught me when I was younger."
"Why don't the other boys know how?"
Ren paused, hesitant to go into detail. He was still too reserved. "A story for another time," he decided, finishing up with his water and pulling it back into his waterskin. Aang stood up gingerly, testing his weight on his ankle. It wasn't yet fully healed, but it was almost back to normal. "Take it easy for an hour or so," Ren noted to the airbender.
"So what now?" Aang asked as he was stretching out. "We've got the Fire Nation to watch out for, and now probably the rebels too. How are we gonna get to Bumi now?"
"We've got a few hours till dawn. I reckon we try and get to Bumi now, rather than wait in this city for much longer."
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Mai wasn't sure what had just happened. All she knew was that for some reason the Avatar had saved her, and she and her family were being guarded inside their house.
She had been taught from a young age that the Avatar was the scourge of all evil, and that they were no longer the embodiment of peace and prosperity that they once were. Yet that twelve-year-old airbender had just risked his life to save the very people who wanted to capture and imprison him. Either that little boy had something to gain from saving her, or the Fire Nation had been lying.
She didn't want to believe that the Fire Nation was wrong. Of course, no one would ever knew she felt this conflicted. Her face was her mask; she strived to appear as uninterested and detached as possible from reality. She wouldn't let the Avatar's presence faze her.
So she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had saved her, so in exchange she'd keep her mouth shut. If anyone asked, the young boy that had saved them was an earthbender. In exchange, she had rewarded him with money to support his poverty-stricken family. Her mother would mutter, "Just another selfish Earth Kingdom peasant," and the incident would be dropped.
In other news, her 'friends' Azula and Ty Lee were coming to visit. Knowing Azula, she had managed to rope Ty Lee into some awful plan, and she was looking for Mai next. It would probably entail violence, perhaps some hiking, and maybe an opportunity to see Zuko again (of course, this was definitely not important to her). And as much as she wasn't keen on getting roped into another of Azula's schemes, she really hated New Ozai. There was nothing to do apart from frown and wave at all of their new subjects. No one was willing to stand and be a target for her knives.
So she decided. She would keep silent about the Avatar to repay his actions, and she would shove her thoughts as to why he'd save her in the back of her mind. She'd accompany Azula and Ty Lee on whatever absurd mission they had in mind. And she certainly wouldn't think about Zuko.
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After a few hours of sneaking, they were just below Bumi's prison. Through the dim rays of dawn Aang could make out Bumi's sleeping face, causing him to smile. His face didn't look bruised or cut, meaning he hadn't been beaten. Sure, Bumi was strong, but he was still old and vulnerable to abuse.
Along the way, Aang had found Flopsie, Bumi's trusty goat gorilla. He was being kept in a cage during the night, and Aang had refused to leave him locked up in a Fire Nation zoo. He had broken the lock and after a bit of hesitance on Flopsie's part, rode swiftly through the streets of Omashu. Aang was surprised how quiet Flopsie was, for such a large beast.
There was only one guard stationed out, and he looked half asleep. But Aang figured that another guard would be rotated in soon.
Turning to Ren, he whispered, "I'm going to fly up and free Bumi. Can you keep watch?"
Ren nodded. "I'll give a signal if something goes wrong."
Aang unfurled his glider and kicked off, gliding silently through the night towards the cage dangling from a crane. He landed on the top of the cage, careful not to fall off, but his impact had stirred Bumi from his sleep. "Who's there?" he asked, glancing around from his head hole.
"Psst, Bumi! Up here!"
Bumi's eyes widened with alarm. "Aang, is that you? Where did you come from?"
"Don't worry about that. We're gonna get you out of here." Aang turned to the chain Bumi was suspended on, and worked on blowing on the chains. As he worked, he froze the small molecules of water in his breath onto the chain, starting to freeze it.
"Aang, stop your blowing for a minute. I need to talk to you." Bumi said from below. Aang stopped his bending for the moment, and bent over the side of the cage so he could make eye contact with Bumi. "Listen to me, Aang. There are options in fighting called jing. It's –"
"Bumi, I know what jing is! I know all about positive and negative jing, where you attack or retreat. What does that have to do –"
"There's a third. Neutral jing. Where you do nothing!"
"There's a third one now?"
Aang's whisper conversation was growing slightly louder due to his frustration. "Well technically, there's eighty five, but let's just focus on the third. Neutral jing is the
Bumi nodded sadly. "I knew that when the Fire Nation came, we wouldn't win. We were unprepared, and were caught on the surprise. If we had fought back, many people would have died." Bumi snorted. "I'm not as dumb as I look, Aang."
"I never thought you were," Aang replied sincerely, slightly downcast. "I get it. You can't jjust leave your city. These are your people. You have to be there for them."
"Very wise, young Avatar."
Aang nodded. "Will you be safe here, though?"
Bumi gave his distinct snorting laugh, and smiled. "Of course I'll be safe, Aang! There's not much that can exactly hurt me in here. Besides, I can still earthbend from here," he said with a wink.
"How?"
"Well they didn't cover my face, did they? Dumber than they look, those firebenders are." As if to prove his point, he clenched his jaw and a clump of jennamite flew up out of the ground into his mouth, which he started munching happily on.
Aang laughed, happy that his friend had still not changed one bit. His face saddened, though, and he sighed. "I guess I'll need to find a new earthbending teacher now."
Bumi nodded. He tried to speak, but his words were mostly muffled by the crystal. "Your teacher… mmmf… mastered neutral jing… waits and listens… crunch before striking." He took a big gulp, swallowing the last of the jennamite. "You'd better go, Aang. The guards will switch once the sun has fully risen. I'll see you again when the time is right. Oh, and give Flopsie to Yung. He's the only other person who could ever get along with my dear boy."
Aang nodded, stood up and popped open the glider. "I'll see you, Bumi." With that, he jumped off of Bumi's cage causing a little rattle and flew down to Ren's hiding spot. He landed silently behind Ren, who turned his head curiously after noticing an apparent lack of Bumi. "Where is he?"
He sighed again. "Bumi's staying. He can't leave Omashu yet. We need to find someone else to teach me. Someone who… waits and listens? I couldn't hear exactly what he said."
Ren sighed. "All this, for nothing. Let's go find Appa and Momo and get out of here."
; ; ;
The two animals had hated having to hide for almost a whole day, but they were still overjoyed to see Aang and his new companion. They squeaked and roared, nuzzling up to Aang, causing him to laugh. "I missed you guys!" he exclaimed, latching himself onto Appa's furry forehead. Of course, his jovial mood was dampened almost instantaneously by Ren.
"Let's move." Ren was quick to climb up onto Appa's saddle, seemingly back to his old nature of recluse, brooding and quiet. Aang sighed. Here we go again, he thought.
The sunlight was not yet at full force, giving them a chance to fly out of Omashu's sewage pipe and the surrounding mountains without getting easily spotted by the Fire Nation soldiers. Aang munched on a handful of nuts as they flew, tossing one back to Momo occasionally. And off they flew, with no real direction for now.
Ren was stumped, and panicking. On Pakku's map, Bumi was the only White Lotus member he had listed who could teach Aang. What the hell was he supposed to do now?! He had to train Aang and find his other masters, he promised Pakku that much. He couldn't fail. No. He decided to take another look-over of the map, and saw a large township a bit inland from Omashu. "Gaoling," he muttered, crossing his fingers. "That's where we'll find a master." He looked up. "Aang! Head east!"
"Why?" Aang called from up front.
"We're going to Gaoling. We can find a master there."
"Alright, then. Appa, yip yip!"
; ; ;
The day after the news of the Avatar's departure, Azula and Ty Lee showed up. Azula's nostrils had flared when Mai told her she had heard they missed the Avatar. Of course, she was still more than capable of tracking him even after he had left, but it was still a thorn in her side that these incompetent soldiers couldn't get him. Nonetheless, they had a third target now.
So, with Mai now part of the group, they set off in an armoured car, ready to hunt. Zuko and the Avatar wouldn't be hard to find simultaneously; the three had figured that Zuko would be drawn to the Avatar like a moth to a flame, the last home for Zuko to ever return to the Fire Nation with a shred of dignity.
; ; ;
That evening, the two sat around a small campfire, sipping away at their pre-prepared soup from small bowls. They had holed up for the night in a large, damp cave in a cliff face, with plenty of space for Appa to escape the torrential downpour outside. Unconsciously, Aang noticed the cave seemed a lot like that one he and Katara had been in a while ago, where he told her about his past. He waved the thought off.
The tension in the cave was thick. Not uneasy, as it might've been before, but awkward and slightly uncomfortable. The two were teetering on the brink of friendship, yet Ren was still holding back something. He was still recluse when they weren't on a mission, still held something close to his heart. And Aang understood. Really, he did. It had taken an enormous swell of courage to confess his past mistakes to Katara, about how he ran away from the Air Nomads. Maybe doing the same here would help? It was worth a shot, he thought. It could hardly get worse from here.
Aang eased his bowl down from his mouth and wiped his face with his sleeve. Rubbing his palms together, he stood up. "Hey, Ren, can I, um, tell you something?" Aang stuttered, eliciting a warily curious response from Ren and a raised eyebrow. He mentally kicked himself. Ren gave a small nod and set down his bowl, leaning back onto his hands.
"Right. Well." Aang coughed, unsure exactly where to start. "So, um, about 112 years ago I was born as the Avatar, but I guess you already knew that and–"
"Aang, relax." Ren's words were surprisingly gentle and soothing, and he wore a faint smile. That alone was enough to calm Aang down, simply the sight that maybe he was getting through to Ren.
He took a deep breath. "Alright. I hear so many people telling me that I should be so happy to be the Avatar and that I'm blessed. And I guess as time goes on, I'm beginning to understand what the Avatar actually means to other people. But for such a long time, I wished I wasn't the Avatar."
This caught Ren's attention. His expression turned from curious to outright surprised, and he could hardly keep his voice steady as he asked, "What do you mean? Almost every kid I knew wanted to be the Avatar. Why were you upset?"
"Well I think before I knew I was actually the Avatar that I might've wanted to be, but after I was told I actually was the Avatar? My whole life changed. I lost my friends because they thought I was different to them now, I couldn't be a kid anymore, and I had to spend so much time training. The only person who still treated me the same was my master, Monk Gyatso." Aang sighed. There was still more to the story, and Ren was hooked.
"Of course, that wouldn't last long. The other monks were angry with Gyatso for still treating me like a kid, and they wanted to send me away to one of the other temples to train. I overheard the conversation, and I ran away before they could take me. And after I ran away…"
"The Fire Nation wiped out the Air Nomads," Ren finished, realisation sparking in his eyes. "What happened to you then?"
"Appa and I got caught in a storm as we were flying over the South Sea. We got stuck in the water and my Avatar State activated, trapping us in a block of ice. Then, 100 years later, Katara and her brother Sokka set me free." Aang paused, scrunching his eyes shut. "I can't make guesses anymore as to what would've happened if I hadn't run away. I'm here now, and I've been blessed with a second chance to stop the Fire Nation. I've got to make the most of it and move on, but sometimes it's just so hard not to regret what I did."
Ren was quiet. Aang's story had resonated within him, bringing up pent-up emotions and locked memories from his past. The Avatar had just exposed his most vulnerable side on a silver platter to Ren, but why? He would be a fool to trust Aang. The only person he could reliably trust was Arnook, and even that took years…
Still, Ren felt like he had to share. If he couldn't trust the Avatar, if Aang was as devious as he was childish, then it wouldn't matter if Ren told his story or not. The world would fall anyway. He had to trust in the boy.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It was a hundred years ago, I've –"
"Not for that. Although, I am sorry for that too." Ren gulped. "I wanted to apologise for being so isolated recently. It's not easy for me to trust people." Sparing a glance over at Aang, he added, "No offence."
"None taken. And you don't need to apologise, Ren. Everyone has their own –"
"I'm not finished." That shut Aang up quickly. "You deserve to know the truth."
"The truth? About what?"
"About everything."
; ; ;
-12 years ago-
The flickering lights of the street lamps cast eerie reflections off the icy terrain as Ren walked home. He had finished training with Pakku earlier than he would have liked, but nonetheless he was happy. He learnt a new technique – freezing water around someone's body to trap them – and he couldn't wait to show his dad when he got home. Maybe this time he'd be interested.
It was a fairly easy life that Ren lived. He spent his time at school, training with Pakku every second day, and occasionally sitting in with his father in the chief's discussion hall, where his father and a bunch of other equally eloquently spoken people shouted at each other like barbarians. It was a simple life, but Ren knew he could be off a lot worse.
Ren and his father lived alone. His mother had died during childbirth, and he was told he looked a lot like her. He had the same eyes, the same nose, the same smile, but otherwise he was a direct replica of his father. Usama was a tall and well-built man, with a head covered with short brown hair. His hairstyle was unique but impractical in the North; he always wore a beanie to keep off the cold. He was about 30 but was still in great shape, and he took great pride in the fact that he was an influential man in the tribe despite not having the affinity for waterbending. Most importantly, though, he loved Ren to death.
His father was very important to the tribe. When Ren was six years old, his father had been moved up to the position of personal adviser to Chief Arnook, after the unfortunate and mysterious disappearance of Advisor Lonna. One day, he went out on a hunting expedition in the North Sea, looking for seal turtles, and came back 2 weeks later, his carcass rotting on the deck of his boat. No one knew how he had died; his body had been decomposing for too long to find out exactly what had killed him, but the very next day my father had regretfully filled the vacancy left by Lonna. He said that he took the burden with a very heart, and that he would strive to match Lonna's greatness.
Ren noticed, though, that many people had been wary of Usama's ascension to power. He remembered his father's anger when it came around time for Ren's birthday. Once, at his sixth birthday, when Ren had a small gathering of friends over for a little party, his father had been sulking in the corner for most of it. Ren had heard him muttering not-so-discretely under his breath things like "she should've been here to see it" and "no one even tried to save her." When Ren had confronted him about it afterwards, Usama merely ruffled his hair and told him not to worry his six year old mind about it. He then proceeded to walk into his study and punch the wall and scream for the rest of the night. Odd man.
Four years later, however, and everyone seemed to have forgotten about Lonna's death, some claiming Ren's father Usama had been doing an even greater job. He had encouraged Arnook to secure many profitable Earth Kingdom exchange routes, and even brought about better diplomacy with the Fire Nation. They had held negotiations with Azulon's representatives regarding a peace treaty and a decreased military presence in the North Sea, in exchange for the military support of the North in the war against the Earth Kingdom. Many had been against the decision but after Usama's convincing words, most people seemed to agree that this was the best course of action.
Life seemed to be looking up for Ren. There wasn't a single thing that could dampen his mood right now.
He arrived home, the sun setting behind the icy walls of the tribe long ago. A light was flickering from the office area, indicating to Ren that his father was hard at work. He smiled, and reminded himself that it was always best not to disturb Father during his work.
He silently entered their large igloo, and cautiously set down his small tote bag on the sealskin rug so as not to distract his father. Their house was cosy; tucked away to the side of the palace in close proximity to the Chief should he need any immediate assistance, but not so small that it felt cramped. It was free, given as a gift to Usama for his promotion to personal advisor. It consisted mainly of o main, central living space with two corridors branching off either side; one led to Ren's room, the other to his father's quarters and his study.
Ren sat cross-legged down in front of a fire crackling in the stone fireplace in the corner, placing a piece of parchment supported by a slab of wood on his lap and fishing a stick of charcoal out of his bag to do his homework. He wasn't allowed to use his father's ink; that was expensive, and used exclusively for sending letters and writing bills.
Ren could hear talking coming from his father's room. It was faint over the sound of the fire, and was muffled by the woollen carpet, but it was there. Initially, Ren took no notice of it at first. It wasn't abnormal for Usama to be practicing his speeches to himself in the vague reflection of the igloo's icy walls, or for him to have meetings with other members of the council.
But when a man yelled, whose voice was certainly not his father's voice let alone anyone else's from the tribe, Ren's attention was shifted quickly from homework.
He had listened in to his father's conversations before, and had been punished as a result. Ren was wary of this, but his ten year old self was troublesome, and his curiosity had been perked. He unfolded his legs from beneath him and rolled onto his stomach, crawling his way silently towards the door of his father's room.
He was only a few feet from the door when he could hear the voices better. They weren't perfectly clear, but he could make out their sentences without too much noise. It sounded like there was only one other person in there with his father judging by the conversation.
"Well, if you're done yelling at me, Zhao, how about we get to the business at hand? It won't until my son comes back from waterbending training." Ren recognised that voice as his father's.
"Relax, I'll be gone before he comes home. Let us finish our business, and I'll be off." This voice was new. Ren had never heard it from anyone, inside or outside the tribe. Maybe he was a new Earth Kingdom trader?
"Arnook is planning a fishing trip tomorrow at noon. From what I've gathered, he will personally be on that expedition, accompanied by no fewer than four other men, likely waterbenders."
"No matter. Waterbenders or not, he won't be able to compete with our new Fire Nation warships. They'll blast your puny fishing boat out of the water."
Ren stifled a gasp with his hand. Fire Nation? But he thought they had a peace treaty! Why attack Arnook?
"Make sure to recover their bodies, and make it look like they drowned or were eaten by manta sharks. If not, they'll know that they were murdered by you lot."
"Don't you think I know that, you fool? Don't speak to me as if I'm some incompetent idiot. Just make sure you play your part, and I'll play mine. As soon as the bodies come back, Yue will be forced into the role of chief. You'll maintain your position as personal advisor and, because Yue is only four and not of marrying age yet, you will virtually have complete control over the tribe. Don't forget all this, because once Arnook leaves tomorrow your security will probably be on the lookout constantly and I won't be able to return."
"Of course, Zhao."
"Right. Once Yue is chief, you will allow myself and the Fire Navy to enter this backwards tribe, and we will take power. All the waterbenders will be killed –"
"Except for my son?"
Ren heard a sigh. "Yes, we've already been over that part. You and your son will be spared from any violence, and will lead the new Fire Nation colony here as a reward for your years of service to the Fire Nation. Fire Lord Azulon commends you for your service, you have bestowed honour onto your family, yada yada yada, you're rich. Don't screw this up, or both our necks will be on the line."
"O-of course, Admiral Zhao."
"Glad you understand. Now, while we've still got twenty minutes until your little twerp comes home, let me see the rest of the intelligence you've collected."
Ren had stopped listening by this point. His face drawn in an expression of horror, he slowly tried to stand up, using the icy wall as support. He walked backwards down the hallway, one hand clutching his stomach to prevent himself from vomiting. Oh, spirits. This was not happening.
Ren was too in shock to look behind him while he was walking. The corner of the carpet was turned up and Ren tripped over with a loud thud. Instantly, the murmuring of the voices behind the door stopped, and he froze on the ground. He heard a shuffle, before his father called out. "Ren? Are you home?" His voice sounded strained, but he was clearly trying to keep it under control. Ren tried to answer, but all that could come out was a small squeak.
Ren watched as the door to the study tentatively opened. His father's head poked out, a tight smile on his face as he tried to maintain a sense of calm. But as soon as he saw Ren's expression, horrified and scared and disgusted all at once, he knew he had heard. And when Ren saw the realisation finally wash over his father's face, he got up and ran.
He bolted out of the house, taking him as far and as fast as his ten year old legs would let him. He could vaguely hear the sound of his father yelling after him, but he didn't dare look back to see if he was following. Ren would be punished beyond all hell if he was caught, he knew that with absolute certainty.
He ducked and dipped across streets and in between houses, the calls of his father growing ever distant. He reached one of the outer canals of the village and waterbent his way across, turning the flowing water beneath him to ice with a flick of the wrist as he ran across, melting it once he had crossed. Finally, he was safe from his father's pursuit, and he could stop, sit, breathe and comprehend everything.
His father was a spy. A traitor. He wanted to kill Arnook and all the waterbenders, just for money? But why? He was Arnook's best friend, and he loved the tribe more than anything. Or at least, that's what Ren had thought. What if it was all just a big lie, to cover up his father's ugly dealings? How long had he been doing this for? Why? Why, why, why?
Ren was torn. On the one hand, he loved his father to bits. They had been there for one another amidst everything, sharing the loss of his mother, bearing the publicity of being the primary advisor and his son. He was always helping with his homework, or taking him on fishing trips. He was the only family he had left.
But was he really? Yugoda, the healer, had been acting like a grandmother to him his whole life. She healed his cuts after sparring became too intense, she cooked him food when his father was away, she even taught him how to use waterbending to heal (secretly though, Pakku would be very angry if he found out his star pupil was doing waterbending specifically for girls). She loved him, and he her.
Then there was Arnook, the man that acted more like a father to Ren sometimes than Usama. He was kind and gentle when his own father was sometimes rash and violent; he had given Ren a safe room to sleep in many a night. He told Ren stories about the great stories of the tribe, and taught him about the Avatar and how he would one day return. He loved Ren like the son he never had, and probably saw him as chief of the tribe for the future.
Then there was Yue, his childhood best friend, who he loved like a sister. She played with him, laughed with him, he even let her play dress up on him sometimes. He taught her to read, to count, to walk, and he hoped that one day she would become a waterbender so he could teach her.
There were more. His friends, Pakku, the soldiers, his teachers, the old men, the little babies. There were so many people in this city that he loved, and then he knew. Regardless of how much he loved Usama, or how hurt he would be, he couldn't leave this city to the merciless hands of the Fire Nation. Little did he know it, but that was the moment his childhood ended.
He stood up and brushed off the small piles of snow that had gathered on his shoulders. It was dark out now save for the dimly lit street lamps and the reflection of Tui off of the ice. He began to walk back towards the main palace, formulating exactly what he wanted to say and do.
Those thoughts of his went out the window when he reached the stairs leading to the entrance of Arnook's palace. There, at the foot of the stairs, sat Usama, staring at him intently. He was about fifteen metres away, way too far for him to be able to hurt Ren, but he had never looked scarier.
"Hello, Ren," his father said coolly, managing to hide his nervousness well. Ren gulped.
"Father, move out of the way please. I must speak with Chief Arnook of an urgent matter." Ren rarely ever spoke so formally, but he would feel guilty if he spoke normally with his father. He had been taught in soldier training to dehumanise the enemy.
Usama stood up. "Don't use that tone with me, boy. You will speak to your father normally."
Ren could sense a standoff between the two. His father's hackles were beginning to raise, so Ren sure as hell wasn't going to lower this. He had run away from confrontations for too long. "Unfortunately I cannot, Advisor Usama."
Ren had struck a blow, and his father gritted his teeth. "Ren, you seriously don't know what you're dealing with here. Go home now and we can forget anything ever happened."
"But I'm not going to forget, father. How can you expect me to just sit by and do nothing, while you conspire to overthrow Arnook? Does his friendship not mean anything to you?"
"Of course it does. Leaving Arnook to die is one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but it's for the good of the tribe. You can't expect your young mind to comprehend the underlying politics at play here –"
"For the good of the tribe? Have you gone mad? You want to kill all the waterbenders and let the Fire Nation take over! How is that good for the tribe?"
"They wronged us, Ren? Don't you understand? They left your mother to die and said that she was beyond healing. But I knew, I knew she could be saved, and you want to know what everyone did? Nothing!"
"Don't you DARE talk about mother like that. You've gone insane!"
"No, Ren. You're the one who's insane if you would defy me like this. After everything I've done!"
Ren was sobbing by this point. "I thought I knew who you were, I really did. I thought you were a good man, I loved that version of you so much. But that man is dead, and you killed him. You're not my father anymore."
"I'm sorry, Ren." Usama began to walk closer, tears forming in his eyes. "You'll come to appreciate what I've done for you someday." He reached a hand behind his back and unsheathed a club. Ren's eyes widened, realising what Usama wanted to do.
Before he could get the chance, Ren screamed and moved both his arms up quickly with open palms. The ice under Usama's feet quickly materialised into water and drenched his body in a miniature tidal wave, temporarily immobilising him. Ren then scrunched his hands into fists and froze the ice surrounding Usama's body, trapping him within a thick block of ice. The club fell out of his hand.
"It's a trick I learned today," Ren explained harshly. "Do you like it?" He sniffled, and wiped his nose with his sleeve.
As soon as Usama realised he had been beaten, his eyes softened drastically. Ren knew this strategy. He had seen it many times before in the discussion room in the palace.
"Ren, please. Let me out. We can talk about this over dinner, okay buddy?"
Ren wouldn't budge. "I just don't get it, father. Why? You say that this is for the good of the tribe, yet you want to wipe out nearly a third of our people. What does this serve?"
Usama paused, choosing his words carefully. "The tribe let your mother die, Ren. People will say that they couldn't have saved her, but you have to trust me when I say that she could've lived if a healer had gone to her."
"How can I trust you, father? How could I ever trust you again? Look what has become of you!"
"Ren, let me out, and I'll show you everything."
Ren scrunched his eyes. If he stayed here any longer, he'd be guilt-tripped into letting him go. He had to leave now. He pressed forward, ignoring the desperate pleas from his father.
Only when his father yelled "Traitor!" did Ren halt, halfway up the stairway. "What did you just call me?" Ren said icily, turning to face Usama.
"You traitorous boy! How dare you betray me! I am your father! You pathetic excuse for a son! Let me out and fight me like a man!" Usama was manic, his face beet red and spit flecks flying out of his mouth as he yelled. "You failed, Ren. You failed as my son. I deserved better than you whiny, pathetic, sack of shit!"
You failed, Ren. You failed, Ren. Those words floated through his subconscious, haunting his happy memories of his father. He shook his head and glared down menacingly at his father, sick of seeing his face. He wanted him gone, but the part of him that still clung onto the idea of Usama as his dad refrained him from leaving Usama to the hands of the tribe.
"Out of respect for the man you once were, I'll give you a minute to run to the harbor and sail away before I alert Arnook and the guards. If you dare touch my home, I will personally see to it that your traitorous behind is brought back here. Goodbye, Usama." He flicked his wrist and the icy prison containing Ren collapsed, sending him spluttering to the floor.
"I'll be back, boy. And when I do, you won't be given amnesty again." Usama spared one last, hateful glance at Ren before turning on his heel and running to the harbour.
Ren didn't hold true on his promise, though.. He gave Usama well over a minute. He sat on the stairs, unmoving, watching as his figure ran down the main road and faded further and further into the distance until he reached the wall. A few minutes later, he saw a boat slowly leaving the port and sailing off into the distance, illuminated faintly by the moonlight. Only once Ren was confident that his father was far enough away to escape Arnook's wrath did he allow himself the luxury of crying.
It wasn't small, little sobs like he would normally. It was gut-wrenching cries and moans, his eyes watering like crazy. So many pent up emotions from the night burst out in a flurry, leaving Ren feeling sick and hollow inside. He cried and cried and when he felt he could cry no more, he cried a bit extra.
Only once his tear ducts had been virtually drained, did he notice the figure sitting three stairs behind him, gazing at him. Arnook must have been woken up at some point by Ren's display of emotion and had quietly come out here to talk. Or he could have been loud, Ren wouldn't know. Honestly, he could probably have woken up a mountain with cries that loud.
"Problems with Usama again, Ren?" he asked gently, laying a hand on Ren's shoulder. Boy, was that an understatement.
Ren abruptly stood up and turned to face Arnook, simultaneously wiping his face and nose with his sleeve. And he told him everything. About how his father blamed the tribe for his mother's death, about his dealings with the Fire Nation, about his plan to assassinate Arnook. And while at first Arnook had laughed off his claims, he grew deathly silent once he realised Ren had been going on for too long for it to be just a joke.
Ren brought him to his father's study, where years upon years of Fire Nation letters were kept along with catalogues of items and lists of people, including one naming every waterbender in the tribe. Transcriptions of unauthorised meetings, maps, diagrams of military equipment, construction plans of the main wall. Anything a power hungry man could ever need to overthrow Arnook.
The Fire Nation man named Zhao had left already, it seemed. But he had not taken the liberty of burning the evidence, a foolish move for a man claiming to be a high ranking officer. It was revealed through the notes that the Fire Nation had planned for an invasion of the North. In the treaty between the two, when Arnook had planned to send troops to the Earth Kingdom in support of the Fire Nation, Zhao would invade when there was a decreased military presence in the homeland, making it vulnerable. Arnook swore to abolish this agreement and remove his troops from the war. He thanked Ren for his bravery and that he had saved the tribe, and Ren felt undeserving. All he had done was betray his father. That wasn't an action that warranted all the laurels he could be given. He would need to work to deserve his praise.
And so then he bent down on one knee in front of Arnook, and pledged his life to him. He would make up for the years of betrayal by Usama's hand, by putting himself at the mercy of the very man Usama tried to kill. He would restore his family's name. After all, there was nothing left for Ren to lose at this point. He felt utterly empty.
Ren was congratulated. Usuma was forsaken. Ren's brave actions were noted by everyone, and received appraise. Arnook allowed him to move in, and become his adopted son. He even got a peck on the cheek from some of the girls at school.
He didn't care for any of it.
The only people he ever trusted again were Pakku, Yue, Yugoda and Arnook, and even they were now kept at an arm's distance. He refused to ever be let down by someone again, to fail again. His loss was replaced by determination to defend the tribe and to be the man his father was meant to be. He never wanted to leave the tribe for fear of Usama returning,
But those words always came back to haunt him. You failed, Ren. The mantra would make itself into his nightmares, and would fuel his desire for redemption. He failed to save his father. He wouldn't fail ever again.
; ; ;
"No one from my tribe heard from him ever again. There were rumours that he'd been stationed as a political envoy in the Earth Kingdom, or that he'd been thrown in jail. No one really knows, though."
Aang was silent for a while, still taking it all in. Ren appreciated it, satisfied that Aang wasn't taking his story lightly. "I found out from Pakku, though, what he's really been doing. The Fire Nation disguised him as a trader and sent him to the South Pole, to the other water tribe, to hunt down and inform on any waterbenders down there." Ren glanced down, tears in his eyes. "It sickens me to think how he could help the Fire Nation get rid of all the Southern waterbenders. How he could just turn on our sister tribe like that."
He looked up, and saw Aang's large, grey eyes gazing at him solemnly. There was no childish glee in there right now, all that he could see was empathy. "I'm sorry about your father."
"He's not my father anymore. Arnook is."
"If it's any consolation, he failed. Your first dad, that is."
Ren gasped ever so slightly. "How do you know?"
Aang brought his hand up to the necklace, rubbing its surface with his thumb. "I met a girl from the South Pole named Katara. She's a waterbender, but she doesn't have a master to train her. She was travelling with me for a while before she went with her brother and a friend to look for her father." A knowing silence fell between the two after he finished.
Ren beckoned with his hand towards the necklace. "She give you that?"
"Yeah, she did. She said it was something to remember her by."
Ren smirked. "You do realise that giving someone a necklace like that in our culture usually means marriage, right?"
"Yes I know, but… well, y'know… it's not… she's just a friend!" Aang spluttered, his cheeks turning a rosy shade of red.
Ren gave out a deep and hearty laugh, his shoulders rocking with his joy. He hadn't laughed in years. He forgot how good it felt.
Once his joy had subdued, he faced Aang again. "Thank you for understanding, Avatar Aang. I know I haven't been the best guide for you lately. It will not come easy to me, but I must learn to trust you. It's hard for me, especially with this fear that I'll fail those that are close to me or that I won't be good enough. But I haven't let down Arnook or Pakku yet, and I don't want to let down you."
Aang contemplated this for a moment. "If it's any consolation, Ren, I'm not a spy. The Avatar can't belong to one nation like that. It would be going against my very purpose. You can trust me. And please, just call me Aang."
Ren smiled. "Good. Now, if all's said and done, I suggest you get some sleep. We've got a long way to go from here. I'll take first watch."
Aang nodded and yawned, stretching his arms above his head and cosying his way into the nook of Appa's neck. He buried his face into the soft fur and began to snore.
Ren watched the boy sleep for a while. In a way, he was reminded of himself. This young airbender felt he had let down his whole race, and was reminded constantly by this war torn world that he had failed. On a much greater scale than Ren ever had, mind you. But he saw how he moved past it, how he didn't let the past define his actions or decisions, how he lived selflessly and forfeited his childhood for the sake of the world.
Maybe they weren't so different.
; ; ;
Notes: Okay so this isn't exactly pivotal anymore but I have just realised I didn't mention what happened with the Northern Air Temple, as obviously in canon, the trio go there and meet Teo and the Mechanist before the North Pole.
Also something interesting I have thought about with both Aang and Katara now both having teachers will probably make them both more powerful. One thing I thought wasn't thought out as well in the show was the fact that despite Katara only learning waterbending under a tutor for a matter of days, she was apparently skilled enough to teach Aang over the rest of the journey (not trying to diminish her abilities, just always seemed weird that within the space of about 2 episodes Katara went from knowing barely anything about waterbending to practically becoming a master). I think that now they both have the opportunity to learn bending from different people, Aang from someone who has been bending for much longer at a high standard, and Katara getting to learn over a longer period of time, will beef out their skills a bit more.
Thought it might be cool as well to do the brief recaps like they do in the show as well.
One sentence in there also gave me a cool idea. Aang and Korra always give off this idea that the Avatar represents and unites all nations, but at the same time that power could be used for quite evil purposes. What if there was an evil Avatar, one who used their unbalanced powers to rise up to rule a nation? Might be a cool idea for a one-shot maybe, let me know what you think.