I don't really feel like keeping you guy's from reading the story so...

Chapter 6: Male bonding

Leaving for warrior training the next day, Mako hoped his weapons master wouldn't notice that he neglected his training for an entire week. Being busy working on his waterbending, he simply was too tired to train with his axe as well.

Coming up to the palace's front courtyard, which was also used as a warrior training ground, Mako saw there was a lot of commotion coming from the palace's entrance. Wanting to know what all the fuss was about, he moved in closer and saw Pakku and that girl, 'what was her name again? Tara… KAtara, that's it!'. So he saw Pakku and Katara argue about something, probably about her wanting to learn waterbending, when Pakku nonchalantly walked away.

Glancing over the crowd for a familiar face, he saw the avatar and that boy who came with him to the north pole. Seeing the expression on their faces, he knew that they were concerned for their friend. Going over to them to gather some information on the situation, he saw Katara bending a water whip that smacked Pakku right in the back of his head.

"Hey Aang, do you know what's going on here?" he asked, surprised to see the girl provoke an attack from the old master.

Turning around to answer the question that was directed at him, "Oh hey Mako. Katara just challenged Pakku to a duel. I just hope he won't be too hard on her."

'If she's anything like Kyra, I wouldn't worry about her.' Mako thought. "Well… I've never seen master Pakku hold back for anyone." he said in a knowing voice.

Watching the fight with interest, he assessed the moves of the female waterbender. She could hold herself quite well against Pakku, not an easy feat to say the least.

"She's very good…" seeing Katara fall down and having some trouble standing up, Mako knew the fight was over. The master ended the fight by encasing her in a jail of icy pikes, effectively restricting her of any arm movements. "…very good indeed."

Trying to hear the conversation that followed, Mako strained his ears.

"This is my necklace." Pakku said with a look of wonder on his face.

"No it's not, it's mine. Give it back!" the girl yelled from where she was trapped.

Looking as if his mind was in a different place, Pakku elaborated. "I made this sixty years ago for the love of my live… for Kanna."

'No way! Kyra's famous great-aunt was to marry Pakku? So she left to get away from the marriage." Mako connected the dots quite quickly and was impressed with himself.

As if voicing his thoughts, Katara said "My gran-gran was supposed to marry you?"

"I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged. I thought we would have a long, happy life together… I loved her." He said we a sad expression when he recalled the memory.

Shifting her stance to a less hostile one, she finished the old man's story. "But she didn't love you, did she? It was an arranged marriage. Gran-Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs rule her life, that's why she left. It must have taken a lot of courage."

Princess Yue, who was standing next to the southern tribe warrior, suddenly ran off crying. Seeing the avatar tell something to his friend, the older boy went after her. Not knowing what that was about, he decided that he should finally start with his warrior training.

Running a little late, he saw there was a new figure sharpening his boomerang at the corner of the training grounds. Remembering him as the avatar's male friend, he figured he should go over there and introduce himself.

Walking up to him, he saw an angry frown on his face. "You're one of the avatar's friends, right? Katara's brother? I'm Mako."

Hearing his sister's name, Sokka looked up to see a tall, well built older boy standing there with one arm stretched out to him. Taking Mako's arm, he wondered how he knew his sister's name. "Yeah, I'm Sokka. I saw you before, do you know my sister?"

Seeing the protective glint in his eyes, Mako knew he had to choose his next words carefully. "I haven't spoken to her yet, but she made quite an impression fighting master Pakku."

"Yeah, she does that…" Sokka said not fully focusing on the conversation.

Seeing this, Mako thought he knew why he would be so distracted. "So… you and Princess Yue seem to be pretty close." he said, trying to be casual about it.

"What? How would you…" Paranoid that soon the whole tribe would know, Sokka quickly wanted to know who this guy was working for. "Are you one of Hahn's friends?" he asked nervously.

Wanting to reassure the younger boy, he told him what his deal was. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Hahn is an idiot with an ego as big as the Earth Kingdom, tightening our bonds with our sister tribe would be much more convenient than marrying her off to that warrior." sarcasm surrounding that last word.

Not used to thinking politically, Sokka knew he liked this guy. 'What did he say his name was?...Mako, I think.' Needing a short pause to recall Mako's name, he finally spoke. "Thanks, Mako. At least someone has my back on this."

Wanting to distract Sokka, he changed the subject. "So are you gonna train with us today?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd give it a go. What weapon are you mastering?" Sokka asked

"I like the axe, it's got a nice swing to it. I can see you like using a boomerang and the club." he noticed the weapons while he was walking up to him earlier.

"Yeah, but what I would like to really master is the sword."

"Ah, not many warriors choose the sword. I think they underestimate it in the north pole. You need a lot of skill to completely master that weapon." Mako said, curious about Sokka's preference.

"One day I'll find a master who wants to teach me…" Sokka said with hope-filled eyes.

"Until that time, maybe you want to spar with me? I'd like to see how warriors fight in the south."

"Yeah sure, but I have to warn you. I'm the best fighter in my entire tribe." Sokka said trying to sound convincing.

Judging by the way he went into his first stance, Mako could see that he still was at beginner level. "I'll take your word on it." he said chuckling lightly.

Offended by his short laugh, Sokka immediately attacked Mako. Already predicting this, Mako simply sidestepped, took the arm holding the weapon, and disarmed Sokka while throwing him over his hip.

"First rule in a fight. Clear your mind of any thoughts. When you can't concentrate, you can't react. Same thing goes for anger, it can really mess up your fighting."

Surprised he was beaten so easily, Sokka took Mako's advice at heart and kept practicing with him for the rest of the day.

Actually meeting someone who was nice to him and didn't look down on him, being a peasant from the south, Sokka invited Mako to come over to their house and talk some more about weapons and fighting styles.

AN: Still waiting for those reviews, I'd actually like more than one. Go figure xd