III.
Kukuh's First Winter in Omashu
Kukuh ploughed through the snow that covered the streets of Omashu. He was tired, having spent the entire day training with his new master, prince Kuarsa.
Kuarsa was a great teacher, but unforgiving when it came to exercising.
The man had had his share in exercises too, as it showed. He was a fine example of an earth bender, buff, confident and patient. It was his goal to make Kukuh into such an earth bender.
The first aspect of Kukuh's training focused around developing his muscles. Increasing power and stamina, those were the main goals set by Kuarsa for the first few months.
Five hours a day, Kuarsa had devoted to pure physical training, though he hadn't overburdened Kukuh, they had started out slow. Besides, the five hours also included massages and visiting the palace's sauna.
Why Kuarsa did it this way, Kukuh didn't know, he was no teacher, but it had surely worked, for Kukuh noted he had grown in strength and muscularity.
Physical training wasn't everything Kukuh went through on a normal day of training, he received training in the basics of earth bending as well and besides that, he learned a lesson or two about statecraft and politics from Kuarsa during the time they spent in the sauna.
Whereas Kukuh found the training sessions far more enjoyable than the training sessions of Miss Shaku, and though he never scrupled going to the palace for another training session, the sessions did drain him of his energy.
He hadn't been amused to find out that all the roads were covered in a thick layer of snow.
Kuarsa had been, telling him going home would be a great cooling down exercise.
Cool, yes, great, no.
How glad he was, to finally be able to step inside, into the warmth and comfort of his estate, being greeted with a smile and two helping hands, taking off his snow covered coat and boots.
"Thank you Gan," Kukuh said, wriggling his toes. He didn't feel them anymore, they were that cold.
"You're welcome master Kukuh," Gan said, throwing Kukuh's coat into a small basket and walking into the living room with Kukuh's snow covered boots; he would put them near the hearth.
"Master Sen is still in bed," Gan said as Kukuh entered the living room.
"Still?" Kukuh asked.
"Has he even been up today?"
"No, I haven't seen master Sen for the entire day," Gan answered.
"Though, come to think of it," he said, drying the floor with a piece of cloth, because Kukuh had caused a lot of mess, dragging a lot of snow into the room, "Lua mentioned she believes that master Sen is ill."
"I see, I will check on him soon," Kukuh said.
"Did Lua give him something to eat?"
"Yes master Kukuh, she brought him a bowl of steaming broth and she kept him company for a while," Gan answered.
"You could take a hot water bottle to him," Gan said, "I readied it in the kitchen, but I didn't have the time to bring it to master Sen."
Kukuh climbed the stairs, his feet tingling as they started to warm up again.
"Sen, are you awake?" he whispered, tip-toeing into Sen's room.
He got no answer, Sen was asleep, breathing uneasily.
Kukuh approached him, laying a hand on Sen's cold, but sweaty head.
"Fever," Kukuh noted, putting the hot water bottle beneath the blankets, near Sen's feet.
"Rest Sen," he said, planting a soft kiss on Sen's forehead. "You'll get better in no time."
He left the room after that, hearing soft humming coming from Sen's bed.
He crossed the hallway into his own room, and, seeing the hot bath Lua had prepared him, he didn't hesitate for a moment but to jump in.
Kala's First Winter During the Siege
"I'm so happy you finally asked me to come by," Kala said, pressing herself closer to Akkik.
Together they lay on a soft cloth made of animal skin, near a small fire, in Akkik's tent.
It had been the first time after a month that Akkik had asked her to come by, he had avoided her for the rest of the time, only briefly talking to her when he had to see her during meetings amongst other things.
Private moments were sparse, but that hadn't been an obstacle in the past, so Kala saw through Akkik when he used it as an excuse.
Akkik didn't respond, he gently stroked her hair in all its length, starting from the crown of her head, along her shoulders and back to her bottom, where the black colored strings of hair finally met their end.
Kala rested her head on Akkik's arm, while he put his other arm around her pulling the two of them in a tight embrace.
Kala, approving of Akkik's action, hummed softly, intertwining her hand with Akkik's, kissing it softly.
She listened to Akkik's slow, but steady breathing and his, somewhat elevated heartbeat. She noticed she started to much his rate of breathing and heartbeat after a while, finding it a curious process, but at the same time incredibly beautiful.
For her, it meant just one thing, she and Akkik were meant for each other, sharing a connection that went deeper than most connections. Only the connection to her father was deeper, for she and her father shared the same blood, but sharing the same heartbeat felt rather close to that.
For a moment, a few thoughts came to Kala's mind, how she could use this situation to take the next step in her relation with Akkik, but realizing she was enjoying this too much, she let the opportunity pass.
Akkik was changing her, slowly, but surely, she noticed. She had intended it to be the other way around, luring him into her web where she would devour him.
It was turning out to be quite different.
Sure, he didn't call the shots, though he had been in charge when he chose not to see her for over a month, but she wasn't really in charge either.
It had been her intention, to take charge and never lose control. She had approached it as a duel, the strategy she used in it, she had wished to implement on conquering Akkik. Akkik's defense had proven to be vulnerable at times, evidently so, but with each move she made, he was able to keep her at bay.
Now, his defense was stronger than ever. Over the past few months, Akkik had become more calculative.
Or maybe she had gotten weaker? Lazy? Perhaps the words of chief Ghanak had made her lose all motivation, or her focus? Had he made her doubt herself, or her plans and was that having a paralytic effect on her?
"I know that look," Akkik said, pulling her even closer to him, "what are you thinking about?"
She looked at him from the corners of her eyes, into Akkik's bright blue eyes.
"Nothing," she said, "nothing of importance."
He moved his head closer to hers, while she, more aggressive as she was in nature, not wishing to wait until he was close enough, grabbed his head and pulled him in, pressing their lips against one another.
Tongues swirling, intertwining, like their hands were.
Manak's First Winter During the Siege
Since a few weeks, Manak had been stationed in Gangkou Garam, one of the many ports to the southwest of Omashu.
There, he had been given the command over a small regiment with the orders to keep the little village and the harbor under water tribe control. He didn't act like he was in charge of the regiment of soldiers, he acted like he was the righteous ruler of Gangkou Garam.
There was no one to stop him, no one that really cared. Chief Ghanak, who had stationed him there, probably knew, but he allowed Manak to have fun. The soldiers were given a lot of freedom, so they remained content and the people… the people were glad they were still alive.
Manak enjoyed the good life, governing the small village and the surrounding lands, hardly ever leaving the village.
He woke up, like every day, next to his beloved second in command, the lieutenant who had changed him, who saved him from endless grief after his wife committed suicide.
Kun was still sleeping, but Manak, seeing the sunrays enter through the windows of the house he had made his home, was fully awake.
He grabbed himself another blanket, for it was cold, it was winter.
He wasn't hungry, nor thirsty, nor did he need to go to the bathroom, which was perfect, because he could stay in bed and act lazy, maybe have some fun once Kun woke up.
But why would he wait for Kun to wake up, that could take a long while, and Manak wasn't willing to wait that long, if he could wake him up.
He smirked, rolling to his side and slowly disappearing underneath the blankets.
"Mmmh," Kun moaned, slowly opening his eyes. He woke up feeling strangely satisfied.
It took him only a second to realize why.
"Good morning," he chuckled, patting Manak's head, which was still hidden beneath the blankets.
Manak crawled from underneath the blankets, leaning over Kun and staring him in the eyes.
"Good morning," he said, kissing him.