K, sooo i finally finished this. But, you need to keep a couple things in mind. I did not write it all at once, so it may seem like things are weird, this is part 2, so i suggest reading the first part again to understand a few things, and the most important thing, at least two hours skip with the little lines.
This is Penguins and Panic Attacks part 2... AKA: Storms
Tenzin clutched tightly to the penguin, but leaned back into his laughing father as their penguin flew down the hill, followed quickly by two others. He was uncomfortable with the thought of being alone on one, so his father had let him share a large penguin, that only looked slightly put off by the weight of two riders.
Kya and Bumi, however, were perfectly fine on their own, and were in the middle of a race. Though Kya had the upper hand with waterbending, Bumi was easily evading anything she could throw at him, even having the animal go off slopes that had him flying. Then he would raise his hands and holler as loud as he could, bracing himself as his ride hit the snow once again. He laughed the entire time, Kya getting frustrated when he ended up ahead of her.
She leaned back slightly and lifted her hands to create a wall that would have her brother going in a completely different direction, and Bumi's penguin screeched in protest as he actually aimed towards it. Kya shook her head as Bumi and the penguin turned right, the penguin sliding along the ice and being pushed back a ways. Kya laughed and thought she would be in the lead for sure now, but Bumi wasn't finished.
He found another slope and leaned forward as he disappeared from view for a split second and shot up above his sister and father. All of them stared up in awe as the boy laughed in joy, raising his hands up and yelling, "Style points!" before hitting the snow in front of his father and laughing as the penguins reached the end of the hill.
His slowed to a stop and bucked him off, turning to him and screeching for a moment before waddling away. He sat in the snow, laughing, as his sister got off her penguin and walked up to him.
"Bumi, you are crazy."
"I'm a mad genius, Sis. There's difference," he replied smugly, grinning as his father walked up to him.
"That you are," Aang laughed. He looked up at the sky, which had quickly grown dark, and frowned.
"Dad, I think a storm's coming," Tenzin piped up from a few feet away. He was also watching the sky and sniffed.
"Are you catching a cold?" Kya asked. She looked at her brother curiously. He didn't look so good, but he just shook his head and pointed up.
"No. I just think there's a storm coming."
"I think we should get back," Aang said, eyes never leaving the sky. "It's going to be a big storm."
They all started walking back, but it seemed the storm had already begun to pick up. The wind blew harshly and the three kids weren't doing so well walking against it. Soon, it was getting hard to see through the flurry of snow around them. They didn't get too far after that before Aang, seeing that it would be impossible to find the way back, sighed and used waterbending to form an igloo around all of them. They all huddled together, Tenzin sitting in Aang's lap, and Kya and Bumi on either side of him.
"Now what do we do?" Bumi asked. His nose had begun running from the cold, and he sniffed. "I'm tired of the snow."
Aang looked down at the three of them, wondering how the afternoon had gone so wrong in the first place, but tried to be calm and mature, "We just have to wait until the storm passes."
"But you're the Avatar. Can't you get rid of the storm?" Bumi asked in a small voice. The temperature was quickly dropping and they were all starting to feel it.
"There are plenty of things I can't do," Aang replied sadly, hugging the three of them closer to keep them warm.
"Where are they? Shouldn't they be back by now?" Katara was pacing in the living room to her father's home. They should have been back hours ago. There was a storm raging outside that didn't look like it was going to stop anytime soon, they might be freezing, and then there was always the possibility…no…sure fact of life, that her children were hungry. "They're stuck out there," she said, shaking her head and reaching for her parka. A hand stopped her from putting it on. She was soon wrapped in Hakoda's embrace.
"Katara, I'm not letting you go out in that storm. We'll wait it out and look for them when it stops," Hakoda said evenly.
"How can you be so calm while your grandchildren are out there in a storm, probably freezing to death?" Katara asked, in her motherly rage.
"Because I know that Aang will take better care of them than he will himself."
Katara stopped fuming for a second to listen to the wind shaking the door, "I know. I'm going out the second that storm clears up and if anything happened to them," she shook her head and hugged him back, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes, "I don't want anything to happen to them."
The Avatar wiped sweat from his brow as he held his hand out in front of him and his children. In it was a small flame, easy for him to keep control over and keep the kids as warm as possible, but he was getting tired. The light was casting shadows on the walls of the igloo, and two of the children had their hands up to the flame, trying to get warm through their gloves, but it wasn't working for either of them, while the third was snuggled against the Avatar's chest, trying to keep warm from there. Kya put her hands down and leaned against her father's shoulder.
She looked up at him sadly, "Daddy, you should stop. You're just going to exhaust yourself."
Aang looked down at her before shaking his head, "We need light."
"Yeah, but you don't have to do that to yourself," Bumi piped up before sniffing again. He had also stopped bothering with the flame and was nearly sitting in his father's lap with his brother.
Tenzin sneezed a gust of air and flew backwards into his father's chest, but the Avatar didn't budge. Instead he smiled sadly at the boy, who rubbed his nose with the back of his glove, before making the flame in his hand so small, he could just barely make out their forms.
"Why does it have to be so cold here?" Tenzin asked before sneezing again. As a response, Aang shifted so he could take off his cloak before wrapping it around the three of them like a blanket without making the light in his hand disappear. That left him with just his normal robes, which weren't very good for keeping out cold, and Kya looked up at him, her expression a mixture of thankfulness and fear.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked.
"I'm a firebender, Kya. I'll be fine. I'm just worried about you three."
Kya scrunched up her nose and was about to say something about that, but Bumi spoke up.
"What happens when airbenders catch colds?" he asked curiously as Tenzin sneezed again.
"We don't usually. But, I'm guessing you're going to find out if Tenzin keeps this up," he replied gravely. This sneezing was only going to get worse. Aang had seen a few sick airbenders before the war, and had even been sick plenty of times in his life, but most sick airbenders couldn't get out an audible sentence before blowing themselves backwards or sky high. "I'm sure we're going to have our hands full when we get back home."
"Can I help?" Kya asked. She was already about to pull off her glove, but Aang stopped her by grabbing her wrist.
"I don't think you can heal a cold, but don't take off your gloves. We'll just have to wait," he looked down at Tenzin, who was curled up and nearly asleep. Sighing, he shook his son awake. "Tenzin, try not to fall asleep."
"Dad, what if we can't get home?" Bumi asked quietly, his voice shaking.
"Don't talk like that Bumi!" Kya said, "Daddy knows what he's doing. We're going to be fine."
Aang smiled, "I've been caught in more than one storm, one not too far from here actually. That was before the war, when I lived with the Air Nomads."
"Really?" Kya asked. Bumi also looked surprised. They knew about the war from what they had heard at school and were told by their parents, but storms seemed to be conveniently left out of most topics discussed.
Aang nodded. Now, all three of them were looking up at him, waiting for him to continue. "When I was told by the monks that I was the Avatar, I didn't know what to do. I was just a little older than Kya is now. Everything changed for me," he said, shaking his head slightly and remembering how his life had changed so quickly. "I suddenly wasn't allowed to play with my friends because they thought it was an unfair advantage, I spent most of my time with my guardian, Gyatso, and then they were going to send me away from him."
"That's awful!" Kya exclaimed. "Why would they do that?"
"They thought he was to attached to me," Aang frowned.
"What did you do?" Tenzin asked with a yawn.
"I took my glider and Appa and left the Southern Air Temple behind me."
Bumi's eyes widened, "You ran away? And then what?"
"That was when I got caught up in the storm. It was so strong, me and Appa were pulled under the water, so I froze the ice around us. The next thing I could see was your mother's face. She rescued me from the iceberg I was in for a hundred years."
Kya sat on her knees and wrapped her arms around her father, "I'm sorry that happened."
"I'm not," he replied. When she looked at him like he was crazier than Bumi, he continued, "If I hadn't, I would never even have a chance to have met your mother. Then you three wouldn't be here with me right now. I don't regret a thing I did."
Kya smiled before Bumi started laughing. When she asked why, he just turned and pointed at Aang, "You're really old."
Kya punched her brother's shoulder before Tenzin spoke up, "Does this mean mother will save us like she did when she found you?"
Aang smiled slightly, "I don't doubt she would be out here in a heartbeat if your grandpa let her." He stopped to listen for a second, but he could still hear the wind pounding against the make-shift shelter. "How about I tell you a story to pass the time?"
"Which story?" Bumi asked.
"How about I tell you about when your mother, uncle, and I traveled around the world?"
"We've already heard all the stories," Bumi complained. "We already know all about the war and how you kicked the Fire Lord's butt."
Aang grinned, "You haven't heard the story like I tell it." The three kids grinned at each other and looked up at him expectantly as he began his tale, the light in his hand flickering as he waved his arms around for emphasis.
"Katara, will you please stop and sit down?" Hakoda asked, his eyes following his daughter as she paced around the living room. He was sitting on the couch, cup of tea in hand, trying to make sure she didn't run off into the storm, but she refused to sit down until she knew where her family was.
"No," she replied evenly, biting back the urge to snap at him at he would have been out there if it were her.
He set his drink down and stood to place a hand on her shoulder, "Will you at least slow down then?"
She stopped and looked at him then, "No. Two more minutes and I'm going to go find them."
Hakoda just sighed when he realized how serious she was. He couldn't blame her, but it wasn't smart to go out in a blizzard at all, especially when things can change so quickly. He watched as she put on her boots and said, "I'm going too."
"No. Dad, you have to stay here. I'll be fine. The storm's calmed down a little and I'm a master waterbender if you haven't noticed," she said pulling her parka over her head.
"I've noticed," Hakoda smiled, "but master or not, you're my daughter and I'm not going to sit back while you are out there alone."
Katara smiled at him slightly before grabbing his boots for him.
Soon, they were out in the storm, Katara in the lead, using waterbending to keep the snow from their eyes. Hakoda was carrying a lantern and had tied one end of a rope to his waist and Katara wrapped the other around herself so they would keep close to each other. The wind was slowly quieting and Katara figured the storm knew how serious she was about this now, because she was not going to turn back.
"So what happened to him?" Kya asked. All three of the children had been completely absorbed in the story, and Aang was enjoying recounting things from his point of view.
Aang scratched his beard in thought, "That was really unclear at the time."
"How's it unclear? Isn't he dead?" Bumi asked.
"Well, yeah, but…"
"Can you please just tell us what happened ne-," Tenzin was cut off by a sneeze, and he rubbed his nose again.
Aang paused for a second, thinking, when Kya suddenly spoke up, "Wait. I think the storm stopped!" He listened for a second and grinned.
All of a sudden he was standing, setting Tenzin on the ground and moving towards one of the walls. He used waterbending to move all of the snow and ice away and climbed out.
Kya, Bumi, and Tenzin all looked at each other before standing to follow, when the Avatar was back, grinning like a madman.
"You three can come out now. I think someone wants to see you."
Kya and Bumi instantly ran to the hole, Tenzin following slowly and pulling his father's cloak along with him, and looked out just in time to see a figure in the distance. Aang waved as it began to run, pulling something behind it. The two figures stopped for a second before the first one began running again, the second following a bit slower now.
"Mom!" The two children yelled at the same time. When Tenzin looked like he was about to sneeze again, Aang picked him up so he wouldn't fall over or fly away. Neither would be good. Kya began jumping up and down in the snow that went to her waist, and Bumi looked like he was suddenly tired. They began moving as quickly over the snow as they could.
Katara practically ran into them, hugging Kya and Bumi first, and then pulling Aang, who was still holding Tenzin, in and wrapping her arms around all of them as tightly as possible.
"Are you all okay? No one's hurt? Aang, why aren't you wearing your cloak? Are you all okay? Let's get you out of the cold," she managed in one breath, turning them and pushing them slowly in the direction of the tribe.
Aang put a hand on her shoulder and smiled, "You're beginning to repeat yourself. We're all fine, more or less. It was getting cold, so I gave them the cloak, and it's still cold out here, so it would be nice to go back."
She took a deep breath and smiled before hugging him closer, "That's why I was out here in the first place. You had me scared to death." She then thought for a second, "What do you mean, more or less? You were in a blizzard for nearly twelve hours. I'm sure there's something wrong."
"Well," Bumi began, ticking off points on his fingers, "I'm starving, tired, freezing, and I really gotta pee. So, can we please hurry?"
"Same," Kya informed.
"Same," sniffed Tenzin.
"That makes four of us then," Aang smiled as Katara sighed. He yawned before handing Tenzin, who was falling asleep, to Katara. "We all just need some sleep and warmth."
"Don't forget food," Bumi chimed in sleepily.
"How are you so sleepy?" Kya raised an eyebrow at them, "It's like you've never pulled an all nighter before," but then turned back to her mother, "Oh, and keep a tight hold on Tenzin."
"Why?" Hakoda, who was just a few step away asked. He had finally caught up, and was coiling the rope around his shoulder.
"Because I think he caught a cold," Kya said tiredly as Katara wrapped her arms more securely around her son. "Daddy was holding him earlier too, so he might catch it. Just warning you now."
"Thanks," Katara replied, looking at her husband, "You were stuck out here for hours. So, what did you do to pass the time?"
"Dad told us some stories about the war!" Bumi said, regaining enough energy to jump up and down for a few seconds.
Katara's eyes widened slightly, "Which stories?"
"Well…" Aang began.
"We were up to the point where the guy with the funky eyebrows you had a crush on died," Bumi stated, walking a bit quicker to match their pace.
"Wow. Way to be insensitive Bumi," Kya rolled her eyes. Bumi just shrugged.
Katara bit her lip, nodding her head slowly and glancing at Aang, who picked up Bumi because he was struggling in the snow, "Yep. And that's about as much of the story you can hear for now."
Kya and Bumi began to protest, but Aang shrugged, "I think she's right. I'll tell you what happened next when you're a little older. You might not be able to handle it right now."
Bumi puffed up his cheeks and whispered to his father, "Can't you just wait 'til Tenzin's asleep?"
"I don't think so," Katara said, shaking her head. Tenzin was already asleep, but Kya seemed as lively as ever. "So, other than the snowstorm, how was your day?"
Kya and Aang shared a look before Aang gave a sheepish smile, "It was…interesting."
"What happened?" Katara prompted.
"We'll tell you what happened when you're older," Kya smirked. Katara just scoffed while everyone else laughed.
I guess Aang still doesnt have any luck with storms, but i do believe i was really tired when i was writing parts for Katara, so if that's weird, it was probably because i was sleep deprived. Okay, just saying.
So, this part isnt one of my favorites, but yeah. I have no clue when the chapter will be up because of school, and i am working on a request, and all in all, i'm a little stressed out. So, review if you can or want to. If you want to know why i split the chpter up in the first place, it's because i dont really like when they get so long, and it gave me a chance to fix some things in here. Ciao