Avatar: The Warring Earth
Syaoran and Tiki—Will You Go Penguin Sledding With Me?
By Twins of the Pen
Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.
"Oh come on, Syaoran! Get up already!"
Why was each morning a fight with this guy? It wasn't like he had gone to bed super-late, either. They'd gotten to the South Pole midday yesterday, where Shun had promptly found them a place that was not underground, which really was a relief after being in underground bases off and on for months. Besides, being under the ice and snow sounded like a terrible idea. This little lodge that Shun managed to find and pay for with his super-secret money stash? Awesome. Syaoran's sleeping habits? Ridiculous. Really, this was ridiculous! If his sleep patterns kept being out of whack like this, Tiki was going to drag him to a doctor herself.
The tiny airbender huffed, her bangs going aloft for a couple seconds. Deciding to use her last resort, Tiki left Syaoran's room for a second, only to return with a plate of sizzling sausages. She tried not to gag—this was for the sake of getting Syaoran out of bed. Besides, it's not like she was being forced to eat it.
"Syaoran," Tiki sang, waving the plate right under Syaoran's nose, "I've got sausage!"
That did the trick.
One whiff of the breakfast meat and that was it, he was up. His nostrils flared and green eyes fluttered, awakening the sleeping Avatar. Syaoran sat up fast and his mouth was practically salivating. "You are the best friend ever," the Avatar mumbled, grabbing the plate right from Tiki's hands and eating with his fingers. When the heat of the food got to him, Syaoran waved at his tongue. Which is when he looked at the clock.
"Oh, come on!" Syaoran groaned, turning tired eyes onto Tiki, "You said I could sleep in this morning! It's not even 11 yet! Why are you waking me up now?
Tiki rolled her eyes. "I did let you sleep in," she insisted, resisting the urge to hit him over the head with one of his pillows. "Besides, you shouldn't sleep the day away. Not when it's so beautiful outside!"
True, it was also freezing out—the South Pole was not known for its balmy climates. Even so, the sun was shining, there was fresh snow on the ground, and Tiki was bored. Why shouldn't she have a snow day after being cooped underground for who knows how long?
Tiki moved Syaoran's half-eaten sausage to his nightstand and tugged on his arm. "Come on, get up. Let's go for a walk or something. I'm dying for fresh air!"
"You're crazy," Syaoran mumbled, tugging out of his arm and rolling back over onto his bed. "Just go back to bed, it's nice and warm there," he mumbled as he crawled back under the covers, where it was comfortable and heated, unlike the air outside.
Peeking over at the small airbender, he added, "Why don't you go ask Shun? I'm sure he would love to play in the snow with you."
"He's busy," grumbled Tiki, lying through her teeth. Well, as far as she knew, he could be busy—probably with ZanYi. The truth was, she didn't really care if she went for a walk outside or not. She just wanted to spend some time with Syaoran… but it appeared the feeling wasn't mutual. The tiny airbender tried not to take it personally, but it was extremely difficult, considering the fact that she had a crush on the Avatar… urgh, boys were so stupid! "Nevermind," she huffed, trying to sound more irritated than disappointed, "if you don't want to hang out with me, just say so."
Despite wanting to storm out of the room, Tiki's shoulders slumped as she headed for the door. All she wanted to do was be with Syaoran, away from everyone else, just the two of them… but apparently, that was too much to ask.
Syaoran's green eyes followed the retreating airbender before rolling up to the ceiling. See, this was normally when he'd just go ahead and go back to sleep… But ever since he was nearly killed, his brain was starting to think about things differently.
For example, that he liked Tiki.
And it kind of sucked.
"Wait."
The Avatar pushed himself back up with a groan, rubbing a hand over his incredibly messy hair. He was going to regret this later, he just knew it. "I'll go, I'll go," he moaned, regretting this every moment but unable to choose any other option. If this whole kind-of-sort-of-crush on Tiki made him as whipped as Shun, Syaoran was going to have to start running. Fast.
'Yes!' the little airbender thought. Despite her excitement, Tiki turned to Syaoran calmly. "Then you'd better hurry up and get dressed." Once she left the Avatar's room, however, the tiny airbender bounced on the spot, her giddiness making her giggle. Syaoran had agreed! Yes! Now all she had to do was think of the perfect fun thing to do while they were out…
"PENGUINS!"
Tiki's eyes widened, sparkling as she laid eyes on the herd of otter penguins she and Syaoran had just stumbled across in the forever winter landscape. The bright sun blended into the endless sky, dazzling down on the perfect hills and fields of snow. And amongst that snow, a herd of waddling, black creatures doddled about. They were sooo cute! Immediately, the tiny airbender dashed over to them, undeterred as they waddled away from her. "C'mere! I just wanna hug a few of you!"
"Those cannot be penguins," Syaoran muttered, just looking at the beasts in front of him. In the stories his mom used to tell him, penguins had two arms. These things had six and whiskers and just looked... weird. Then again, he grew up knowing what a regular bear looked like, which was apparently a strange phenomenon as well. Perhaps he was the weird one here.
Still, those things just looked strange and were not his idea of a safe idea.
"Let's walk the other direction, Tiki," the Avatar suggested, taking a couple steps back, grabbing her arm to tug her back with him, "You may think they're cute, but let's not test the theory."
Tiki did not appreciate being yanked back from her goal… even if it meant that her back was now pressed to Syaoran's chest. Just when did he get so buff…?
No, no! Focus, Tiki!
"What? They're harmless!" Tiki proclaimed, "Here, I'll show you!" Swiftly, the tiny airbender stole the package of beef jerky hidden in Syaoran's jacket pocket and dashed back over to the otter penguins. "Look, look! I have food!"
That caught the herd's attention, especially after she ripped the package open and offered a piece to the nearest otter penguin. Tiki giggled and fed the otter penguins as they began to gather around her, shooting Syaoran a superior look. "See?" she checked, "Perfectly harmless. Besides, they're a lot of fun when you want to go penguin sledding!" Because, hey, if Avatar Aang could do it, Tiki could too, darn it!
"Oh come on!" the current Avatar protested, his hands falling heavily to his sides. "You have no idea how long I've been hiding that pack of beef jerky from ZanYi!"
If the lieutenant knew that he was sneaking snacks like this, whether she was his current teacher or not, that woman would work him so hard in retribution. For someone who took such bad care of herself sometimes, she sure was strict on dietary restrictions and health.
However, as soon as he cried out, it seemed as though the otter penguins expected him to have more of the food, because they soon began to waddle towards him. "Hey, hey! Back off guys, she took my food!" Syaoran told him, backing up slowly as the creatures began to encroach on his personal space. One of them happened to trip on the way over to him and then start backsliding down the hill. And while normally a moment like that would make him smirk or something, Syaoran was a little more pressed by the animals that were still encroaching on him. "Tiki! Tiki, a little help here!"
Unfortunately for Syaoran, his plea for help came a little too late. Tiki had already saddled an otter penguin, and as Syaoran was getting mobbed by the others, she was racing down the nearby hill on the obliging otter penguin's back. "WHOO-HOO!" Tiki squealed, throwing her arms out briefly as she and the otter penguin hit a bump and were propelled into the air. Ah, this was amazing! If she couldn't airbend, this would definitely be an excellent alternative.
The landing was a little rough, however: she ended up falling off the penguin and crashing into the snow below. But, like the otter penguin, Tiki shook herself off and headed back for the top of the hill, laughing all the way. "Let's go again! Let's go again!"
By this point, Syaoran nothing more than a flailing, grumpy teenager under some very eager otter penguins. But Tiki? Tiki rode down the slope again, squealing in delight. And again. And again. And again.
A/N from DJ: Here's a little something for you guys! Water is still coming soon - how soon, I won't say! xD But this is NOT part of Book Three: Water. This piece is the prize for Ging, one of our readers who also won my holiday contest on DeviantArt! If you'd like to see her first place piece, take a look here: fav. me/ d6z3rvj [without the spaces]. It's a great piece and I hope you all got a little giggle out of this! Tootles!