Chapter 2
I was listening to this album called Time Falls like Moonlight by City Girl while writing this. It's really good writing music! Not too sad or happy to effect the mood of my writing, just catchy. I also felt in the show they glossed over the innate patriarchal set up of the Northern Watertribe, people don't tend to abandon beliefs like that very quickly and I can see it becoming a point of contention between the North and South very easily.
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The Southern Water Tribe, part 1
"Katara, Aang, Toph!" Sokka yelled, running out to greet his friends as soon as soon as Appa's feet touched the snow.
Toph groaned from her position in Appa's saddle, "I really, really hate the snow."
Katara smiled ruefully at her friend, "I'm sorry you had to get dragged back down here Toph." She grabbed two of the packs full of provisions that had been packed for their journey, "I know you can't see very well."
Toph gripped the edge of Appa's saddle and reached for Sokka's waiting hand to help her down, "you're right about that. I wasn't gonna make you face those Northern jerks again without backup though." She shot the other girl a grin, before landing firmly on the frozen ground. Sokka walked with her back to his family's home to grab her a pair of shoes. Even Toph's tough feet couldn't withstand the chill of the arctic tundra.
Aang and Katara shared a smile as Sokka guided their friend over the ice back towards the house. Sokka always did a good job of helping their friend out without making her feel weak, a skill Katara herself was still trying to master.
Aang slid off of Appa's neck and gave the bison a good scratch behind his horn, "thanks for taking us all that way buddy. Go get some rest." The sky bison groaned in response and ambled off towards a small patch of grass that had managed to poke it's way through the snow.
Katara handed Aang the rest of their provisions, only to be bombarded by Momo, who could smell their leftover food. He landed on Aang's arm, squawking at the young monk for access to the berries he could smell in the bag.
Aang let out a twinkling laugh before opening the sack. The two benders watched Momo in amusement for a few moments as he dived in head first before beginning the walk up to the Chief's home at the top of the glacial hill. Aang had to watch his footstep as he tried to avoid the parts of the street coated in a sheet of ice.
They've gotten all this built so quickly. Aang's head whipped left to right as he took in the brand new ice buildings that lined the newly frozen streets of the southern water tribe. Though they may have been built in the same style as those of the Northern tribe, he could tell the Southerners had chosen to design them in a way that differentiated their home from that of their sister tribe. The buildings were definitely less extravagant, there were no needless decorations or carvings adorning the outside of each home, just tokens to identify the family living inside. The buildings were much sorter as well; from what he could tell, none of them were higher than a story, yet they still seemed magnificent.
"We always prefered huts to ice buildings, but I have to admit these are much sturdier" Katara commented as she glanced over to see the awed expression on the Avatar's face, "though they do get much colder. A hut made of skins keeps in the warmth a lot better."
"I just can't believe this is the same Southern Water Tribe I saw a year ago" Aang waved at some of the mothers who recognized him from the last time he had visited their tribe. They seemed to be trading with vendors at the market place with their children by their sides. There were a few men standing a few feet away from the mothers, leaning up against one of the ice buildings. From what he could tell each of the young men was dressed in warriors garb, though it looked different from the traditional wear he had always seen Hakoda and his men wearing.
"Are those some of the men that traveled down from the North?" he asked Katara quietly, trying not to make a point of staring.
Katara nodded and the men suddenly looked their way. Though they seemed content to ignore the women trading in the markets, Katara was not afforded the same luxury. Aang felt a small bubble of anger rise in his throat as he watched the Northerners turn to whisper to one and other.
"Can I help you boys with anything?" Katara called out to them, crossing her arms defiantly.
"Don't think so" one of the men answered, causing his friends to snicker. Katara shot them all a bone chilling glare which seemed to shut them up, at least for the time being.
"How do you put up with that Katara?" Aang asked as they walked away.
Katara shrugged, "I hate it but I don't really have a choice. Construction isn't completely done yet and I'm the chief's daughter, anything I do in retaliation reflects badly on him."
Aang glanced back over his shoulder, giving the young men an unseen glare, "still..."
"Don't worry about it Aang, I can handle them" Katara sighed, ending the discussion. She pushed aside the hide covering the door to her family's new home.
Aang marveled at the beautiful interior. Leave it to the Southern Tribe to take a building made of ice and still make it feel warm somehow. A large fire raged to the right of them, and soft skins lined the floor to protect its inhabitants from freezing feet. There were even large windows around the room, letting the daylight in to illuminate the smooth icy walls.
"Your dad did a good job decorating" Aang smiled as he took a seat by the fire, absorbing its warmth.
Katara walked over to join him, "you think Dad did this?" she snickered, "trust me, it was all Gran Gran." Aang let out a hearty laugh, eyes turning towards the opposite room as a figure emerged.
"Suki!" he exclaimed, rising from his spot near the fire to hug his friend.
"Hi Aang, Katara" she waved.
Katara rose to greet her friend, "you look good in water tribe blue." The two girls shared a warm embrace as Sokka followed Suki into the main room.
"Doesn't she?" he placed a theatric kiss on his girlfriend's cheek.
Suki blushed slightly, laughing "well my warrior uniform isn't really made for the arctic tundra."
Toph waddled in, following Suki and Sokka, "guys..."
Her four friends turned to face her before bursting out into laughter.
"Awe c'mon, do I look that stupid?"
"Yes" Sokka managed through snorts.
Their favorite earthbender had put on some of Katara's extra furs in an effort to stay warm, but as she was nearly a head shorter than the waterbender she mostly resembled a child trying on their mother's clothes to play dress up.
Katara whipped a tear from her eye before striding over to help the earthbender, "alright, let's go find you something that fits."
After the two girls we back in the bedroom, Sokka turned to face Aang, "how long do you plan on staying down here? Not that you're not welcome, I just thought you were a little busy right now."
Aang smiled at the watertribe boy, "I'm not sure yet. It would be nice to stay in one place for a little while and I think Katara could use a little extra back up with the Northerners." He cracked his neck, a little stiff from flying for so long, "she told me you were having a little trouble with the, ah, cultural differences."
Sokka put his arm around Suki and snorted, "you could say that again. Those Northerners are a bunch of pompous jerks."
"Sokka" Suki rolled her eyes.
"Don't get me wrong, they've done a lot to help us rebuild our tribe and I'm really grateful for that but without my sister they would have been taken over by the Fire Nation last year. I just think she deserves a little more respect."
Aang nodded, "I agree, but there has to be away to let them know that without insulting their way of life. I may not agree with how they run things but it's still their tradition."
"Well Avatar maybe you could say something at dinner tonight" Suki suggested, looking at the two boys, "they owe you quite a bit too."
"Aang's basically Katara's boyfriend" Sokka smirked, "I'm not sure how much credit they'll give to his defence." Aang could feel his blush rise all the way to his ears, he prefered not to think about his ambiguous relationship with his closest friend.
"Shut up Sokka" Katara emerged with a much less miffed looking Toph, "I appreciate the thought but I can defend myself thank you very much."
Aang smiled at her, and the gesture was returned. Suki and Sokka shared a look and giggled quietly. The room was void of conversation for few moments before Toph groaned.
"Get a room, all of you" she linked her hands behind her head and walked outside, whistling.
"Uh, we should probably follow her and make sure she doesn't fall into the ocean" Suki laughed, and the group of friends made their way down towards the center of the tribe where the market was now located.
Time seemed to fly as the five friends wandered around and generally caused chaos. Sokka managed to get an entire octopus stuck to his face and when Katara finally pulled it off, the suction marks on his face made it look he'd lost a pretty serious fight. Suki couldn't seem to hold herself together after that, bursting into laughter every time she glanced over at her boyfriend. This caused Sokka to pout, until the marks started to fade and Suki composed herself. Aang and Katara were telling Toph about the time they had gone penguin sledding together, after the siblings had found Aang trapped in the iceberg.
"I mean we did accidentally set off a flare in the Fire Nation ship" Aang admitted with a sheepish look, "but hey, because of that we met Zuko!"
"Yeah!" Sokka yelled, "mean Zuko! He knocked over my watch tower!"
Katara snorted, "you mean your snow fort?"
"It was a warrior's battle station Katara!" Sokka yelled defensively, his pout returning.
"Still I can't believe that was a little over a year ago" Aang wondered, looking around once again at the sparkling ice surrounding them, "and then right after that we met you Suki!"
Suki smiled, "and right after that I beat up Sokka!"
Sokka's cheeks lit up slightly at that comment and his pout deepened to the point that he resembled an impetuous child.
"It's okay Sokka, you made a pretty girl" Suki leaned over to give her boyfriend a peck on the cheek.
Sokka ran his hand over his head with an exaggerated swagger, "that I did Suki my dear."
They all laughed at that. The market had begun to empty as families began to prepare for the tribal dinner the Chief was throwing that night to celebrate the new unity of the Northern and Southern Tribes.
Katara sighed as they all walked back towards the house to put on nicer clothes for the dinner, "honestly Aang? I'm glad you're going to be at this stupid dinner tonight, if I had to go alone I don't know if I'd be able to keep my temper in check."
Aang turned a light shade of red, "does that mean we're going together? Like...together, together?"
It could have been a trick of the light but Aang swore he saw the waterbender's cheeks get a bit rosier, "of course! If I bring a date those Northern boys might leave me alone for once."
"Oh, uh I see" Aang deflated slightly, eyes turning towards the ground. Katara looked towards him and this time she was definitely blushing.
"I also...uh, want to go with you Aang."
Immediately the Avatar perked up, "really?"
Katara rolled her eyes and elbowed the shorter boy beside her, "of course."
Toph snickered from behind them and Aang realized she had been listening to the entire awkward exchange. This time the blush made its way to the back of his neck.
As soon as he reached the bedroom he changed into his senior monk robes. He rather disliked them, there was too much fabric. But as he pulled the wooden pendant over his head, he forgot his discomfort. He never felt worthy to wear a necklace like Monk Gyatso. If his people had still been alive, his pendant would have proven his rank to them and shown that he was now equal to his Master. He picked up the wooden circle in his hands and gripped it tightly, unconscious tears forming in his eyes as he studied the swirls carved into it. Even if he had stopped Ozai, he still felt unworthy. He people had died, and now he was all that remained to carry on their legacy. As much as he disagreed with the philosophy of the Northern Water Tribe, he couldn't fault them for wanting to protect it.
The world was changing, and when you valued tradition change could seem terrifying. Aang knew that had his people still been alive, he may have chosen to kill the Fire Lord. Avatar Yang Chen herself had told him it was the choice she would have made. But it was different for Aang. He was all that remained of the Air Nomads, and he couldn't bring himself to betray their traditions like that. He was the only one left to keep them alive.
"Aang?"
He looked up and realized there were tears staining the wooden circle resting in his palm. He dropped the necklace and whipped his eyes hastily.
Katara walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his small frame, "he would have been proud you know."
Aang wrapped his arms around her in return, "I hope so."
"Toph, Sokka, and Suki left a few minutes ago. Are you ready to go?" Katara gave him a warm smile and took his hand. Aang nodded and followed her out of the room, mind still slightly hazy with emotion. No matter how old he got or what happened to him, the loss of his people would always be his most painful wound.
"We've come along way, we've accomplished a lot Aang" Katara said suddenly as the two of them made their way down the path towards the dining hall, "we should be proud of ourselves too."
Aang looked up at her a bit startled, "I guess...you're right. There's still so much left to do, but we've done a lot already."
Katara smiled at him and gripped his hand a little tighter.
The lights outside of the hall reflected beautifully off the icy walls of the quiet streets. It was almost as if little lightning bugs were flying around, their light flickering on and off. Aang once again had to admire how beautiful it was. The shining ice below him made it feel as if he was walking through a puddle of pure light. The entire town was cold and still, but peaceful.
Katara pushed the hide covering aside and pulled Aang through the doorway. Aang smiled at all the water tribesmen sat around the massive table. Hakoda sat at it's head on a platform slightly above the rest. On his left side was Sokka with Suki beside him and Toph beside her. Katara and Aang took a seat on his right and it seemed that with their arrival, everyone was present. Aang looked out at the people before him. Seated on the left side of the table seemed to be everyone of importance in the Southern Tribe. They were laughing together and drinking what seemed to be spiced rum. On the right side of the table was the Northern Tribe. It didn't take Aang long to notice that only men filled that side of the table. He frowned, this was a celebratory event and even still the women were excluded? The people seated around the table all awarded him respectfully nods to acknowledge his presence, but it seemed that only Katara's tribesmen were willing to do the same for her.
Aang had to admit the left side of the table seemed much more fun.
The first serving was placed on the table before them. It seemed to be some sort of seaweed soup, and from what Aang could tell it was meatless.
Katara leaned over to whisper in his ear, "don't worry, it's vegetable broth. Dad wanted to make sure there was stuff you could eat."
Aang smiled at her, and leaned forwards to thank Hakoda. Traditional meals of the Water Tribe tended to be meat based so he was appreciative of the thought. The Chief noticed his gaze and nodded in return with a warm smile that Aang couldn't help but notice seemed a bit strained. He guessed the tensions between the two tribes were getting to him as well. There was no way the man would be pleased with the sister tribe's treatment of his daughter. The man raised strong children, and Aang assumed he wanted them to be respected as such.
After the first course was finished, Hakoda raised his hand in a request for silence from his guests. "I would like to thank you all for attending this dinner tonight. I know that the relationship between our two tribes has suffered after many decades of neglect, but I hope this beautiful city surrounding us gives you all hope that we can work together once again. Long standing traditions has made it difficult for us all to get along, but I know that everyone seated at this table is mature enough to award their sister tribesmen the respect they all deserve." At that Hakoda sent a rather pointed look at the Northerners sat at the table, who all shifted rather awkwardly under his gaze.
"I would also like to thank Avatar Aang for joining us in this celebration tonight. I know both my children cherish him deeply and let me say on behalf of both Water Tribes, thank you Aang for everything you've done." Hakoda gave him a wink as he finished his speech and wore expression on his face that reminded Aang a little too much of the man's son.
"Thank you Chief Hakoda" Aang addressed him in a clear tone before turning to face the men and women seated before him, "and thank you all of you. I am deeply indebted to both the Northern and Southern tribes and always will be. Sokka and Katara are some of my closest friends and I would not have been able to accomplish what I have without them. Sokka is a noble and brave warrior and Katara is one of the fiercest waterbenders I have ever met. The both of them deserve just as much credit as I."
Aang's speech was met with grunts of approval from the right and friendly smiles from the left. Katara sat a little taller beside him, her face glowing with praise.
She reached under the table and squeezed Aang's hand, "thank you for saying that."
Aang shrugged and smiled at the Water Tribe girl beside him, "it's true. You and Sokka did just as much as I did to win the war. You both deserved to be recognized for that."
A quiet roar of conversation filled the room. Aang looked out at the many friendly faces before him. He recognized a handful of the Northerners from the short time he had spent in their home. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves somewhat, if not as much as the Southern tribesmen who seemed to be going through the tribe's store of spiced rum rather quickly.
Aang noticed that beside him Sokka didn't seem as relaxed as he. Some of the Northern tribesmen were sending over discrete glances towards Suki, Katara and Toph and then muttering amongst themselves. Sokka crossed his arms defensively and frowned towards the right side of the room. Sokka's view of women had evolved drastically over the last year, mostly due to the influence of the strong and confident girls who he had spent most of his time with. Aang could understand why he would feel discontented at the whispers that were passing from man to man about some of his closest companions.
He was sure many of the men before him would be elated to catch Hakoda's daughter's eye. A marriage between the daughter of the Chief of the Southern Tribe and a warrior from the North would cement the Tribes' status as allies and Katara was a powerful waterbender. Likely any children she bore would be powerful as well. But Aang knew Hakoda would never marry his daughter off like that. Arranged marriages were nearly unheard of in the Southern Tribe, especially since many of the men had left to fight in the war. And it was unlikely Katara would show interest in any of them after the way she had been treated over the last few months. Even today, those young men's condescending looks as she walked with Aang said a lot more about how much of a lesser being they saw her then it seemed on the surface. Katara would never put up with such treatment, even if it would benefit her village.
In the eyes of the Northerns Katara was invited to this dinner because she was the daughter of the Chief, albeit a bit begrudgingly, she was welcome here. She could only be here because of her status, no matter how much she had done to restore balance. But Suki and Toph were outsiders. Friends of the Chief's children sure, but outsiders all the same. It seemed that watching two women who were not part of the Southern tribe dine on the same side of the table as a Chief was something that bothered the men to a worrying extent. Aang had only been present for this culture clash for less then a day but even he could see that it would take decades for these prejudices to fade. The fact that gender roles were less strict here as well as the presence of a lax social hierarchy could cause many of the Northern tribesmen to see Hakoda as a weak Chief who did not demand the respect of his people.
Of course it was different in the South. There had never been a strict social hierarchy as there was no royal family or nobility. Hakoda was the closest thing they had to a King and Sokka and Katara the closest thing to royalty, but the duties of a Chief and those of a King differed greatly; a king was to command while a Chief was to lead. The people chose to follow Hakoda because he was a honorable warrior and a strong leader, they could abandon him at any point if his people thought he was no longer capable of leading them. Aang could understand why Katara had been so ready to escape when he had picked up her and Toph a few days ago. Even he was having a hard time keeping his mouth shut and he had only been present for a day.
Another plate was set down before him, pulling Aang out of his ponderings. An assortment of different vegetables and other greens sat before him, and Aang felt his mouth start to water. That soup definitely hadn't done enough to sate his appetite.
Glancing around the room, he noticed the Water Tribesmen had all begun to pile their own plates high with different assortments of cured meats. Sokka looked as if heaven itself had placed itself down before him and Aang couldn't help but smile at his friend's goofy grin.
As Aang began to tackle his pile of vegetables, he noticed that a few of the Northerners had begun to stare at him. He tried to give them a friendly smile in return, but they didn't seem inclined to return the gesture.
Aang looked over at Katara, who was glaring at the men. She shook her head at Aang and shared a look with her father. Aang had no clue what any of it was about, what had he done to upset them so in the last few minutes?
He tried to focus on his meal, but it was difficult to eat with all eyes on him; especially because he really had no clue what he had done wrong. Growing frustrated with the unwanted attention Aang looked back up, ready to ask the men why they were so enamored with him but one of the Northern Tribesmen spoke up before he had the chance to snap at them.
"Avatar Aang, pardon our asking, but are you not fond of the traditional foods of the Water Tribe?"
Aang cocked his head slightly, "I'm sorry? What do you mean?" At this point the side conversations had died down slightly and most were watching the strange confrontation.
Katara grunted behind him and crossed her arms. "You've got to be kidding me" she mumbled, expression growing darker.
"We only ask because it seems you have chosen to forgo our traditional feasting foods for another option."
Aang glanced down at his vegetables and it finally clicked. They felt he was disrespecting their traditional cuisine by refusing to eat it.
Geeze. Aang took a deep breath, trying to piece together an answer that would satisfy the Northerners and explain his own beliefs. Before he could open his mouth however, Katara began to speak.
"Aang is a vegetarian, almost all air nomads were. It's his tradition." Aang could tell the waterbender was positively fuming beside him. The Northern men all seemed rather taken aback by her comment. Katara would never have been permitted to speak that way if they were on the other pole, but Hakoda had done nothing to silence her. It seemed that she could handle the disrespect shown towards her, but not her friends. Aang had to admit his meal was a petty thing to get upset over, but Katara was likely to say something that would put her father in an awkward position.
"Katara it's okay" Aang tried, giving her a pleading look.
"No it's not Aang" she turned to face the tribesmen seated before her, putting on an expression that would've made anyone nervous. "This has to stop. I understand that our cultures are wildly different, but my people have been walking on eggshells around you all because we're grateful for all that you've done for us. And I for one am sick and tired of it. We've done much more to accommodate your ways than you have ours. You've all been nothing but disrespectful towards me and my friends since we landed this morning and that's unacceptable. This is not a Northern Watertribe dinner, and Aang can eat whatever he wants."
"Watch your tone girl" one of the older men warned, and even Aang couldn't help but gawk at him.
"Don't you dare talk to my sister that way!" Sokka yelled, his temper getting the better of him. Suki put a hand on his shoulder, which seemed to be the only thing stopping him from launching himself forward to pumble the old man.
"You let your children speak in such a way?" a man at the end of the table scoffed. It seemed to Aang that he was the men's unofficial leader.
Hakoda straightened, and placed his hands on the knees of his crossed legs "Though they may lack any diplomatic tact, my children are right Kassuq. My people had fed you and housed you in the many long months you have been here and you have paid us back with your hard work in the reconstruction of our city. We are grateful, which is why I have been silent up to this point but my daughter is right. You have not shown her the respect she is due both as my daughter and as a person." Aang tried to nod diplomatically, unsure of how to diffuse the situation without offending either side.
"Your daughter does not know her place" one of the younger benders amongst the Northerners rolled his eyes at the chief, and Aang had to reach over and physically restrain Katara from getting up to fight him.
"You all think you're so much better than me?" Katara yelled, "I bet I could take any one of you in a fight!"
The bender who had just addressed Hakoda stood up and faced his daughter, "fine then. Tomorrow morning."
"Fine!" Katara replied, storming from the hall.
Aang groaned internally and from the corner of his eye he saw Hakoda pinching the bridge of his nose. Katara had held her own against the master who had trained all the best benders from the north, this young fool had no chance against her. But, his defeat tomorrow would only make things worse between the two tribes.
Maybe the relationship between the South's sister tribe was just too damaged to fix.
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I hope nothing got too off character in this chapter. This is pt. 1 of my southern watertribe saga. Please let me know what you think in the comments!