Avatar: The Warring Earth
Book Three—Water
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.
The trek to the city was a long and hard one. The wind had picked up once they were on the ground, and Tiki shuddered violently, her arms crossed tightly around her tiny frame. She had let her hair down to give her ears some shelter from the cold, and fixed her bangs so that the arrow was no longer showing, but if the wind continued the way it was, all her efforts would be pointless. Luckily, Shun noticed this early, and he gave her a winter hat to pull down over her bangs to keep them in place. The city was in sight now, and Shun marched forward determinedly, leading the pack. Tiki stayed close to Syaoran, resisting the urge to take his hand. She wasn't sure if that was a sisterly thing to do or not. Either way, the pair of them were following Nyla, who had yet to complain about the cold, despite the fact that she was wearing a dress and high heels. Tiki had to admire her tenacity in this moment.
Once they were close enough to be seen by the guards, Jin made eye-contact with Shun. The giant waterbender gave his brother a nod, so Jin slung an arm around ZanYi's shoulders. Shun looked away quickly, knowing he—and ZanYi—wouldn't like that. But it had to be done, for the sake of infiltration. ZanYi wanted to scowl at Jin, but knew she had to hold it down, like bile. This was work and she would be the professional that she was. It was smart of Shun to look away; it made things a bit easier for the both of them.
With a slight curve on her lips, the lieutenant moved Jin's arm to wrap around her waist. She tugged him down gently and, while keeping that curl on her mouth, told him, "Remember: I'm supposed to be your wife, not some girl you met at the bar. But if you move that hand any farther south, I will take you down once we're past the guards." With a soft—and a bit mocking—peck to his cheek, she moved into his side. That wasn't terrible: it was a bit warmer there. However, at that moment, she preferred to be cold than having to play wife to the brother of the man she was involved with.
Syaoran watched the lieutenant slip into character and looked back to Tiki at his side. They had to be siblings, which meant she was going to be his little sister, like Sora. So what would he do with Sora?
The Avatar pulled Tiki over and put her in a bit of a headlock, a bit tighter than normal, but still loose. "We're siblings, so that means we bicker and argue, no matter how old we are," he muttered to her, trying to help her out.
Tiki glanced up at Syaoran with her blue-eyed gaze. "How is that different than normal?" she taunted him, throwing an elbow to his gut to get out of the headlock. Nyla turned and fixed them with a very mother-ish look.
"Cut it out or you're both getting smacked," she threatened before turning back around.
Tiki stared wide-eyed at their 'mother's' back. "The scary thing is I don't know if she's acting, or serious," she mumbled to Syaoran, continuing to follow Nyla until, at last, they all reached the front gate of the city.
"Halt!"
Shun was surprised to find that there were actual Water Tribe men guarding the city, but when he looked up to the watchtowers above, he saw men clad in Neo-Equalists uniforms, watching. So this would not be that easy after all.
"State your business in the city!"
"Greetings, brothers," Shun greeted, bowing to show his respect to the Water Tribe guards. "I seek shelter within the city. My brother and his wife, and my sister and her children have come with me. Our home in the South Pole was destroyed by benders escaping raiders, and we had nowhere else to go. Our parents live in the North Pole, so we were hoping to come and stay with them for a while."
The guards glanced at each other. "We've heard that excuse a lot lately by people just trying to get into the city," one noted. "How do we know your parents are actually here?"
That brought Shun up short. He had no idea whether his parents were there or not… and it was unlikely the guards would be willing to just let him check. As he struggled with the question, a Neo-Equalist from above called out, "No business, no entrance! Move along!"
"Sorry… brother," one of the guards mumbled, beginning to push them back. Shun cursed under his breath. It couldn't end here, not when they were so close…
"Ai!" Shun spouted unexpectedly. The guards froze, staring at him. "Let me see Ai!"
"…What do you want with the princess?" one of the guards questioned as he eyed Shun suspiciously. Tiki's mouth came open with a pop, but Shun pressed on.
"Tell her that Shun Jiang is here to see her. She'll know what that means."
The guards exchanged glances once more, struggling with a decision, it seemed. Finally, one of them nodded, "If the princess is willing, she will be along shortly. Wait here… and for your own good, don't try anything funny."
Shun let out a deep sigh as the guard walked away. This was a very slim chance they had, but Shun had to take it. It was currently their only hope.
"…Shun, are you sure about this? It's a long shot that she remembers you," Jin muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
"It's our only chance, Jin," Shun's gait tightened. "Let's hope my old friend does remember me."
"Princess?" Syaoran repeated, resting his arms on Tiki's head, "Another one?" He caught ZanYi giving him a sharp look and he gulped. "The first one looks like she's about to kill me," the Avatar muttered quietly to the airbender under him, averting his gaze from where ZanYi and Jin were. Seriously, though? The princess of the Northern Water Tribe? Shun better know what he was doing if he was trying to call on big names like that. Syaoran almost wasn't sure if this would help their cause or hurt it.
Tiki ducked out from under Syaoran's arm, keeping up their 'sibling rivalry' charade for the sole guard still in their presence. "You might not want to say that too loud before someone else tries to kill you," she advised him, shifting her gaze up to the Neo-Equalists in the watchtower before glancing back down at the Avatar. "We're not exactly amongst friends right now."
ZanYi was thinking along the same sentiments, but she fought to keep her face neutral of her furrowed brow. While she tried to covertly think of any sort of back-up plan she could, ZanYi said, a bit skeptic, "The princess, huh? That's quite the 'old friend' your brother's got there." She had directed her comment to Jin, peering up at him, but Shun would have to be daft to miss it.
Jin picked up on the fact that ZanYi wasn't exactly happy with Shun at the moment, and he decided to take the opportunity to tease his little brother. "Well, what can I say? Shun's really popular with the ladies, whether he realizes it or not." Shun turned to give his brother a burning look, and the disk jockey shrugged. "What? You can't tell me I'm lying—I was there when we went shopping yesterday. The women in the city looked ready to pounce on you at any minute. You're a good-looking guy, bro: own it. Maybe then you'll be able to get a wife as attractive as mine."
Shun narrowed his eyes pointedly before turning away from Jin, choosing to say nothing. It would look bad if he hit Jin right now… though he wished Nyla was close enough to do so for him, or that ZanYi would oblige. Shun was as painfully aware of that arm around her waist as she must be.
It took a few more minutes, in which Tiki shivered more and more, but finally the guard reappeared down the road with a beautiful woman that must be the princess. As she got closer, Tiki was able to discern more of her features: the dark skin that was characteristic of the waterbenders as well as the blue eyes, though hers were deep blue, like sapphires. She was about ZanYi's height, and she carried herself with all the dignity and grace that a princess should. Her dark hair was long, and half of it was tied up into a ponytail while the other half was left down, along with two thick strands framing her face with Water Tribe clips to hold them in place. She was clad in the traditional royal garbs that Tiki had only seen in history books, and her hands were stuffed in a pure white muffler. The only thing that threw the picture of majesty off was a blue streak through the princess' hair that started at the root of her head and wound itself all the way down into one of her clipped strands of hair. Her sapphire eyes widened once they set sights on Shun, who smiled in return.
"Hi, stranger," he greeted—affectionately, Tiki noticed. "Remember me?"
"Great spirits," Ai spoke, her voice feathery and light. "I am glad I decided to see you for myself." Ai pulled her hands out of her muffler, handing it the guard next to her before she grabbed Shun's large hands, squeezing them as she smiled up at him in delight. "Welcome home, Shun."
"So… you do know this man, Princess?" the other guard wanted to check. The princess deigned to look at him, as if he was clueless.
"Well of course I know him," she insisted, "He is my betrothed, after all."
Tiki stiffened, as well as did several other people in their party. "Be-betrothed?!" When the guards turned to stare at her for her outburst, Tiki rushed to cover her mistake. "Uncle Shun, you never told us you were betrothed to the princess of the Northern Water Tribe!"
"It was to be kept a secret, until he came back to me," Ai filled in, sending Shun a surreptitious wink. "Isn't that right, my Shunny Bear?"
Shun bit his lip to keep from laughing, though a smile did shine through. Ai hadn't changed a bit. "Ah, yes, that's correct," he affirmed, bowing to the guards, "I apologize for not mentioning it earlier."
The guards merely looked at each other in confusion, but Ai was pulling Shun past the gate. "What are you two waiting for? Let them in! This is my soon-to-be family, after all." The princess glanced up to eye the Neo-Equalists watching from above. "And anyone who takes issue with this can feel free to come and address me about it. Neo-Equalists may be occupying the city now, but I'm still the authority around here until my parents return." Linking an arm with Shun, Ai proceeded to lead him into the city with her head held high. The guards bowed out of the way to let the rest of them pass, and Shun breathed a sigh of relief. So far, so good.
"It's good to see you again, Ai," he said, smiling down at the woman next to him. She smiled back at him, and Shun got just a glimpse of the real Ai behind the princess mask.
"It's great to see you, too. I had heard your family fell on misfortune, so it is good to see you alive and well. We have much to discuss, but it will have to wait until we reach the palace, away from… prying ears."
"Are you just trying to get me all alone, Ai?"
"You know me so well, Shunny Bear."
"I'm confused," Tiki murmured to Syaoran as they followed Nyla once more. "I thought 'Ai' was the name of his motorcycle? If I had known he named it after a girl back home, I would have teased him more about it."
Syaoran, however, gulped a little. Leaning over to Tiki, he whispered to her behind a hand, "If I were you, I wouldn't tease him about it right now, unless you want to get burnt later." Walking behind Jin and ZanYi, he could practically feel the heat rolling off of her in waves. Granted, it was not actually there—the lieutenant was still too much of a professional for that—but Syaoran knew she was itching for her flames. Her fingers kept twitching, clenching, like she was trying to keep the fire down.
And ZanYi wasn't saying anything, knowing that her voice would come out sharp if she did. Shun was betrothed? To the Northern Water Tribe Princess? The lieutenant wouldn't have even conceived the notion that Shun could be playing her, but now she was forced to reconsider that. Was he just after royal bloodlines? Or had he just been trying to find a way to get back to the North Pole to see his fiancée? Her face was still neutral and if anything, ZanYi was even closer to Jin then, trying to remind herself to keep cool and follow the ruse. Needless to say, though, if he could not explain this, Shun was going to be a crispy, dead man later.
Leaning back over to Tiki again, Syaoran added, "So, is Shun just being oblivious again? Because there's no way he can think being so immediately friendly and affectionate with his betrothed in front of ZanYi is doing him any favors…"
Tiki frowned. Something about this wasn't making sense. True, this Princess Ai had to mean something to Shun in order for him to name his motorcycle after her, but he seemed genuinely in love with ZanYi. What was going on?
"I don't believe it," she said immediately to Syaoran, but keeping her voice down in case she was wrong. "Shun doesn't seem like the type of guy to do something like this. There must be another explanation." But, looking at the pair of alleged lovebirds from behind, there didn't seem to be another explanation. Still, Tiki had faith in him—this kind of behavior she would expect from Jin more than Shun.
People bowed to the princess as they moved through the elegant city, buildings fortified by modern construction and frosted over. However, Ai mostly paid them no mind, her eyes always looking forward. Finally, they reached the palace. Tiki tried not to let her mouth drop open again at the magnificence of the building—it looked like a giant, blue and white ice sculpture. The Water Tribe guards at this door bowed them inside, and Princess Ai led them into the foyer. Tiki gaped at the high beamed ceiling and the rich furnishings, the lavishness reminding her of Master Fei's home, except where everything was red and gold there, here was decorated richly in blue and white.
"Please wait for me," Ai requested, stepping away from Shun and bowing to the group, "I will change into something more comfortable. Until then, my attendants will lead you into the sitting room and get you something warm to drink."
"Oh, I like it here already," Tiki sighed with a smile, gratefully following the attendants that appeared into a cushy-looking sitting room. She flopped into a chair and sighed, the seat nearly swallowing her it was so soft. "I could get used to this."
Syaoran followed suit, finding the seats quite lush. "Oh yeah, this is nice," he agreed, allowing the seat to swallow up half of him. Royalty sure had it easy: by far, the two places that were the most extravagant were this palace and ZanYi's old home. This palace was obviously much larger, but then again, it wasn't built on a volcanic island—there was more space here.
He looked to the lieutenant, who then did not take a seat, but rather leaned against one of the walls with crossed arms. Unlike normal, it was casual enough, like she was just making herself comfortable, her expression mild. But the Avatar knew better and grimaced.
This was the calm before a storm—her hands strumming against her arms attested to that.
"Quite the connection you have there, Shun," she remarked, dropping the charade now that they were all alone. "You must be very close."
Shun caught ZanYi's tone, and he immediately knew he was in trouble. "It isn't what you're thinking," he insisted, "Ai's a joker—she only said that to get us into the city. We're just childhood friends."
"He's right," Jin affirmed, deciding to help his brother out. "The princess and Shun were close when they were kids. Of course, we always said they'd get married, but—"
"Jin."
"Just being honest, little bro."
Nyla sat back in a chair closest to Tiki, rolling her eyes as she observed her nails in a bored fashion. "You're not getting insecure, are you? Because that's really stupid. You should know by now how he feels about you. If you don't, you're even stupider—"
"Nyla," Shun said sharply. Nyla shrugged, but she shut her mouth nonetheless. With a sigh, Shun approached ZanYi, her fierce gaze not deterring him in the slightest. He should have realized his 'performance' with Ai would have given ZanYi the wrong impression, and now he was feeling like a horrible human being. "She really is just an old friend. I promise."
ZanYi eyed Shun, finding the expression he now wore to be his sincerest and most honest. He was definitely telling the truth—to his knowledge. However, the waterbender also had a track record of being completely oblivious to the affections of the women around him. So while she certainly believed that Shun was being truthful, the lieutenant would have to watch and see about the princess to make a final verdict.
"Fine," she told him with a nod of her head. "If you were actually betrothed, we would be done." ZanYi didn't mess with that. A commitment was a commitment; she wasn't about to get in the way of one, nor would she be with a man who would break such things—or hide such things.
Syaoran breathed a sigh of relief. The two weren't going to bust out into a feud, so everyone was safe. It's almost a miracle, considering how Nyla always managed to put her two cents in. ZanYi's self-control truly was admirable. "And we're safe from this team's princess's wrath," he muttered to Tiki, thought not quietly enough. He got another dark look from ZanYi.
"Call me that one more time," she dared him. Syaoran knew better than to take her up on it and wisely shut his mouth.
Tiki shook her head at the Avatar. "I'm starting to think you have self-destructive tendencies," she said. This was the second time he had slipped up and called ZanYi 'princess' today, and if he dared to do it a third time, that would be the final nail in his coffin. So Tiki hoped he would not slip up again—she liked him alive.
"Sorry for the wait!"
Shun turned at the familiar voice, and he grinned: now here was the Ai he knew. She now wore a black T-shirt, the emblem some rock band Shun had never heard of, with a ripped denim vest and a denim skirt, wearing black and white leggings underneath, ankle boots on her feet. Her hair was tied all the way up this time, and now Shun could see the several piercings she had in her ears. With a wicked grin, she bounded across the room and barreled into Shun, giving him a tight hug. "This is so awesome! It's been forever, Shun! I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me!"
"Ha ha, with how you dress and act, how could I forget you, Ai?" Shun teased, ruffling the princess' hair. She threw a punch to his gut, and he huffed, doubling over. Ai smirked at him.
"Still a punk, huh? You'd always run home crying to mommy when we fought. You may be bigger than I remember, but you're still the same, Crybaby Shun."
"I'm—ugh—not crying…"
"Not right now you're not." Ai looked around the room, surveying the people here. "So, I vaguely remember your siblings," she said, nodding to Jin and Nyla before her gaze switched to Syaoran, Tiki and ZanYi. "But who are these people? You gonna introduce me or what?"
Syaoran's eyebrows went up to his hairline. This was not the same demure princess they'd just seen a moment ago, was it? But it had to be; Shun was still calling her Ai. No wonder he named a motorcycle after her. This princess was no princess at all if she took away the fancy get-up. He took on the introductions, seeing as how Shun was doubled over. "Um, well, I'm Syaoran Wong," he started before gesturing over to the airbender next to him, "and this is Tiki Chouko. And that's—" The Avatar looked over then to ZanYi, but the woman straightened up herself a bit, pushing off of the wall.
"Lieutenant ZanYi Tsong," she finished for Syaoran, appraising the woman. This definitely did not seem like the same woman from before, at least in attitude. However, the rough treatment she gave Shun was so far an indicator that she felt the same as Shun: just old friends. ZanYi didn't mind the punch to the gut she'd given the waterbender—served him right for not telling her about Ai.
"I've never heard of you," Ai began, pointing at Syaoran. Moving on to Tiki, she commented, "but you are the daughter of the Chouko couple, the airbenders that were murdered. I'm sorry to hear about their passing. You have my sympathy."
Tiki ducked her head. This was the first time her parents had been mentioned by a stranger without being called traitors. Although Ai spoke bluntly, the tiny airbender could tell that the princess was sincere in her words. It made Tiki want to cry, but for a different reason. "…Thanks," she mumbled, a little self-conscious.
While Syaoran was a bit disgruntled that Ai had dismissed him so easily, he supposed that was a good thing. If she hadn't heard of him, then his identity was still relatively secret, which was a good thing here in the Northern Water Tribe. Joint occupation with Neo-Equalists was going to have to keep him under wraps. Seeing Tiki's down-turned face, however, he gave the airbender a pat and ruffle to her hair. It was good to see that there were people who didn't think her parents were traitors. That was probably one of the things that hurt Tiki the most, and Syaoran was glad that Shun's friend didn't go there.
Ai gave Tiki a smile before turning to face ZanYi. "Lieutenant Tsong, huh?" There was something of a glint of recognition in Ai's gaze as she grinned at ZanYi. "So you don't like it when people address you as 'princess' either, right? I can jive with that." Ai stepped forward, a hand outstretched and her wild grin in place. "You, I like. We're probably gonna get along just fine."
Shun finally managed to straighten up, and he sent an encouraging smile ZanYi's way. Ai really was a cool girl, once people got over the shock of her being a princess. And, just like ZanYi, she hated the title of 'princess', and only used it when she had to throw her weight around. Shun had a feeling that the two princesses in the room really would get along just fine.
ZanYi eyed the hand with a quirked brow, but after a brief moment of deliberation, she accepted the hand of outstretched to her. There was a bit of a smirk on her lips as she gave Ai's hand a firm shake. Dropping her hand, she turned to Shun with a bit of a nod. "You're off the hook now," she affirmed a second time, feeling confident in their platonic relationship. And if that changed while they were there—well, ZanYi was a firebender in the North Pole. Things could start melting fast.
Appraising Ai for another second, the lieutenant focused then on Shun. "Okay, so we're in the city. Now what, Shun?" she asked him. "We need to get your siblings somewhere safe, and I don't think any sort of bender training would be wise with all of the Neo-Equalists in the area."
"Oh yeah," Ai chimed in, crossing her arms and peering up at her old friend, "that reminds me: what brings your merry band of misfits here? The city's no longer safe, as you saw—NEs are everywhere. The only place that's remotely safe from their influence is the palace, and I have the lovely privilege of having it all to myself at the moment." Sarcasm dripped from every syllable, piquing Shun's curiosity. He raised his eyebrows at the princess, but she shrugged him off. "Well?" Ai asserted again. "Care to explain?"
"Ai: I need to find my parents," Shun began with a serious expression. "Jin and Nyla said that, a couple years back, they tried to escape Republic City to come back here. So I need to ask you: have you seen them?"
Ai's eyes saddened. "Too many people come and go through this city, Shun. Even if I was allowed outside these walls very often—which I'm not—I wouldn't know. I'm sorry."
Shun sighed. He expected as much. "All right. Thank you," he said to her before turning to ZanYi. "We'll have to find somewhere to stay for the time being, away from Neo-Equalist eyes. Maybe we can camp out in the thicket we hid Bumi in and—"
"Whoa, wait a minute!" Ai cut in, tugging on Shun's arm. "You're leaving already?"
"I need to find my parents. And until I do, we need to find a place to stay, Ai," Shun explained. The princess deadpanned him a look.
"Hello? What do you think you're standing in, a shack? You can stay here! I have plenty of room! Besides, it gets lonely with no one but the servants to talk to! Seriously," she insisted when Shun began looking worried, "you're all welcome to stay. I have so much room here that I don't know what to do with it all. And no place is safer from Neo-Equalist eyes than this place. They keep trying, but they haven't succeeded yet. As long as I'm here, you'll all be safe."
"Ai, are you sure?" Shun wanted to check, looking anxious. "I don't want to impose—"
"Impose? Please, you're like family! You're like the crybaby little brother I never had! Stay, I insist!"
"…Ai… I'm older than you."
"By a couple years, so what? I notice you didn't object to the crybaby part, though. Interesting."
Shun gave Ai a playful shove before turning to the rest of the team and his siblings. "What do you all think?"
"Palace living? Hell yeah!" Jin cheered, already looking quite at home with his feet up on the coffee table.
Nyla shot him a look. "You just want to get close to Ai," she pointed out flatly.
"There's nothing wrong with wanting to get to know a beautiful lady."
"Still a pervert, then, Jin?" Ai questioned with a grin.
"Pervert? Ouch! That's cold, Princess."
"Call me Princess again and I'll show you cold."
Tiki snickered under her breath. "If Ai's offering, I see no reason to turn it down. I just want to be safe," the tiny airbender contributed once Shun's gaze rested on her. He nodded, taking her opinion into account.
"Syaoran? ZanYi?"
Syaoran nodded, jutting a thumb over at Tiki. "I'm with her on this one. I won't object to staying here; this seems pretty nice, not going to lie," he answered, feeling the seats again. If the rest of the palace was going to be this lush, the Avatar was not about to refuse. They had been traveling around so much; it would be nice to have a little bit of luxury for once. He then looked over to ZanYi, as if expecting a verdict. The lieutenant's answer almost always carried the most weight with the group—and rarely did Shun contradict her.
But this time, she nodded. "Safety is our priority, so if this really is the safest place, we can stay here," ZanYi answered Shun. The last thing she personally wanted was to go back out of the city and stay with Bumi. It was much too cold already; the firebender did not want to be outside any longer than she had to be.
"Awesome," Ai enthused, her wild grin broadening. "Finally, something fun to do! Now I have a legit reason to skip my studies!"
"You haven't changed at all," Shun commented, chuckling at his friend. She poked her tongue out in response.
"As if you'd have me any other way."
Breakfast at the Northern Water Tribe palace was much like eating at a bakery: almost half the goods on the table were smothered in whipped cream and chocolate chips, so it was clear that Ai hadn't really grown out of her sweet tooth.
"This is nothing," Jin had said when Tiki and Syaoran's jaws dropped at the sight of the glass table loaded up with sweets of every kind. "When Ai was little, she used to bring baskets of this stuff whenever she came to see us. It was probably why she was so pudgy—ow!"
"I heard that, Jin Jiang, and if you like your reproductive organs where they are, I suggest you shut your mouth immediately."
"Yikes. Touchy."
Nyla had gone to change into some of Ai's warmer clothes, and she returned now a bit later, scowling when she saw that both seats next to Shun were taken by Ai and ZanYi. She settled down next to Jin just as her brother was explaining their escape from Republic City. "And then this really big Neo-Equalist showed up, right?" he told emphatically. "And he was all threatening, like, 'Surrender, bender scum!' But I was like, 'Excuse me, that's racist!'"
"Jin, that is not what happened," Shun cut his imaginative brother off. Jin frowned at him.
"Way to ruin my heroic tale, bro."
"Oh, you mean the heroic way you hightailed it out of the living room as fast as you could while tripping over your own two feet?" Nyla asked scathingly, pulling a crepe towards her.
"Thanks for that, Ny," Jin said sarcastically.
Ai began to giggle, but sobered a second later. "Seriously, though, you had to escape a raid? That's awful."
"It got us out of the city faster than we had anticipated," Shun allowed, "but we were on our way here anyway."
"That reminds me," Ai began, casting a curious glance around the table, "you never told me what you're doing here with the daughter of the Choukos, the heir to the Fire Nation throne, and an earthbender. Why are you all together like this?"
"Okay, get this," Jin butted in before Shun could answer. "Syaoran Wong here…" Jin paused for dramatic effect, "…is the Avatar."
Ai stared at Jin for a full five seconds before turning to Shun and saying, "Your brother sucks at lying."
"What?! Why don't you believe me?"
"Because it's you, Jin," Ai rolled her eyes. "If I remember correctly, you were that jerky older brother who liked to tell tall-tales to his younger brother just to mess with him. Shun was afraid to sleep without a light on for a couple years because you told him dark spirits were going to get him in his sleep!"
As Shun blushed and covered his face with a hand, Jin laughed, "I forgot all about that! I didn't think he'd actually take me seriously!"
Taking pity on Shun, Tiki chimed in, "But Jin is telling the truth this time: Syaoran is the Avatar."
"No way," Ai denied again, looking from Tiki to Shun, asking for his confirmation with her eyes. When he nodded, her eyes widened. "What?! You're training the Avatar in waterbending?! Ah man, this sucks! Why is your life more exciting than mine?! My waterbending is WAY better than yours!"
"I wouldn't put money on that," Jin said with a smirk, "Shun isn't the little crybaby we all used to know and love."
"Jin."
"Just saying it 'cause I love you, little bro."
Shun sighed. He was starting to think that staying in Ai's palace would probably be a bad idea after all, considering how much he was being abused already—and the day was just beginning.
Syaoran frowned. "Why is it that nobody ever believes I'm the Avatar?" he asked aloud, swallowing a bite of his pancakes. "Seriously, nobody does!"
"That's a good thing, Syaoran," ZanYi reminded him, opting for a milder meal of some of the fruit on the vast table. "We don't need you publicized. We manage to get ourselves into enough trouble as it is."
Syaoran could concede to that and went back to his food, savoring every bite, despite trying to keep himself from straight out shoveling it into his mouth. Looking to Shun next to her, she gave him a smirk. "Dark spirits?" she repeated, very much amused and mocking. "I'm not going to be forgetting that tidbit." In a way, the lieutenant found this to be payback for his obvious mirth on Roku's Island. Dealing with Master Fei had been trouble of its own without the rest of Team Avatar encouraging him. Now it was Shun's turn to suffer.
"Dark spirits nearly took over the world in Avatar Korra's time," Shun justified with a pained look shot in ZanYi's direction, "you'd sleep a little less soundly too if you grew up near one of the spirit portals. Anyway, do you have a pool or something here that we can use for practice, Ai? I'm in charge of teaching Syaoran waterbending, so any help in that department would be appreciated."
Ai paused to think about it, taking a bite out of her chocolate chip pancakes topped with whipped cream. "Well, there's the lake in the inner garden. It's technically outside, but it's inside the palace, so no one nosy should be able to see what you're doing." Ai swallowed to clear her mouth of food. "I still can't believe you're in charge of something like that. Are you sure you're up to it?"
"I can handle it, Ai," Shun promised, beginning to get a tad offended.
Ai appraised Shun once more. The obvious doubt in her eyes sort of hurt Shun's feelings. "This is something I'm going to have to see for myself," Ai decided. Leaning forward with an excited glint in her eyes, she continued, "Hey, let's spar later! You can show me what you've got then, and it'll be fun!"
"I don't think that's a good idea," Shun denied. He had already been embarrassed enough today—what more did they want from him? Ai scowled immediately.
"Oh come on! It's just a friendly sparring match! Don't be a punk!" she taunted.
"Someone's spoiled," Jin noted under his breath. And other than a jab to his neck, Ai paid him no attention, her sapphire gaze fixed resolutely on Shun. Finally, the giant waterbender sighed.
"Fine. But only because I know you won't give up until I give in," he replied, already looking weary.
"Yes!" Ai cheered, throwing her arms into the air in triumph. Shun rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. It was nice to know some people hadn't changed as much over the years… unlike his dear sister…
Syaoran chewed thoughtfully, mulling this over. "I hope you're as good as you seem to think you are," the Avatar figured he'd warn the princess, reaching for another stack of pancakes. "You're going to need it. Shun's waterbending is pretty beastly when he actually decides to fight." Sure, the waterbender may like to focus on healing—another thing he was great at—but Syaoran had been in battles often enough to know there was more than that. Shun knew how to waterbend; he was practically one with water, if his initial training sessions meant anything.
And while he expected ZanYi to agree, the Avatar found a rather flat look on her face. The lieutenant looked to Shun with a lifted brow. "So you'll spar with Ai so easily, but you still refuse to with me?" she asked him a bit pointedly. ZanYi saw nothing wrong with a friendly spar—what she held offense to was that it was really seeming to be only her he wouldn't fight.
Shun eyed the look on ZanYi's face. "Ai's different," he began, attempting to explain in a way ZanYi would understand, "she's the kind of girl that, once she gets an idea into her head, she won't rest until she follows through, whether other people like it or not."
"To the stress of my elders: yes," Ai proclaimed proudly. "But don't take it personally, Lieutenant Tsong—Shun had a gentle spirit when we were kids, and I see he still does. He always refused to fight girls, no matter how much I used to push him around." Ai's grin turned fond as she gazed up at Shun. "I used to think he was just being sexist. But now it's actually kind of sweet. He's underestimating me, though. You too, so-called 'Avatar'," Ai pointed a threatening butter knife at Syaoran. "There's a reason I'm known as the Ice Princess here, and it's not because I'm a princess, or because I live surrounded by snow."
"Really? Then it is it your cold disposit—mmprph!" Jin's quip was cut too short by Ai shoving a forkful of pancakes into his mouth.
"You really shouldn't talk with your mouth full, Jin," Ai chided him, a wicked smile playing across her features.
Syaoran held up his hands in surrender, but shrugged. "I'm not underestimating you," he told her honestly, ready to placate before he had someone else ready to kill him. "You're just underestimating Shun. I don't know how bad he was when you last knew him, but I can't name a waterbender that can match him, aside from a couple soliders we've met."
"He beat Zaron," ZanYi noted evenly, and while that would mean nothing outside of their team, it meant a lot to Syaoran. His eyes widened a little, looking then at Shun, and then back to Ai.
"I wish you the best of luck," Syaoran told her again, meaning it. ZanYi's brother had been no pushover; he personally could attest to that one. Training with both Tsongs was one of the scariest days of training he'd had over the past several months. Then he looked curiously back to ZanYi. "Wait, why was Shun fighting the sergeant major?"
ZanYi leveled him a look that told him the answer was obvious and that he should know better. Then the light-bulb came on. "Ohhh," he said. ZanYi's brother had been highly protective of her; if Shun was fighting Zaron for real, then that meant it was probably over the harbored feelings the waterbender had.
The lieutenant nodded and then gave Shun one more sideways look before returning to her fruit. "You're still giving me excuses, Shun. You've sparred regularly with Tiki too, so it's not girls you have a problem sparring with."
Shun began to frown. Was it really that big of an issue? Did ZanYi believe she was being treated unfairly? "Since you seem to feel so strongly about it, do you mind if we talk about it later? Alone?" Honestly, Shun felt that ZanYi should know why he was unwilling to spar with her… why he was unwilling to hurt her, ever. Did she really think that he was discriminating against her? He was willing to spar with Tiki and Ai because he was not in love with them. The thought of hurting ZanYi on purpose was nearly enough to make the gentle man sick.
He turned back to his plate, but was promptly distracted by the odd look Ai was giving him. An eyebrow was quirked, and her lip was curled, as if she had just found out a juicy piece of gossip about him. Shun raised his eyebrows in response. "What?"
"Nothing," Ai said innocently in a tone of voice Shun immediately distrusted. Before he had a chance to put a stop to whatever Ai was planning, however, ZanYi finished her fruit and looked up to Ai again. "After everyone finishes eating, would you mind showing us to our quarters? Since Syaoran and Tiki were up all night with Bumi, they're going to need to rest."
"Seriously? You're going to make me take naptime?" Syaoran interjected, earning himself a skeptic look.
"Are you really going to complain about a chance to sleep?"
"…No."
"Are you tired?"
"…Yes."
"And if you have stay up until after your waterbending training tonight, are you going to gripe about how sleepy you are?"
Syaoran sighed, disgruntled. "There's a fair chance," he admitted, grumbling. ZanYi crossed her arms as she leaned against the high back of her seat, a smirk on her lips.
Now that Tiki was full, she was struggling to stifle huge yawns. "Sleep would be good," she enthused, rubbing her eyes.
Ai smiled and stood up from her chair. "Then I'll get a maid to show you to my wing. You can bunk there," she enthused, ringing a bell. A lady-in-waiting promptly appeared.
"Yes, Princess?"
"Show these two to my wing," Ai directed, gesturing to Syaoran and Tiki, "and light a fire in each of the rooms as well. I want my guests to be toasty warm, like marshmallows." The princess turned to Shun next, mischief alight in her dark blue eyes. "So how about I show you the lake now? You can see what you're working with, and decide whether or not you'll really be a match for me in our spar."
Shun sighed. "Might as well," he relented, standing up as well. Ai wasn't going to let this go anytime soon, so he might as well go along with her. He turned his attention to his siblings. "What about you two?"
"Uh, go on without me," Jin insisted, "I'm suddenly feeling very, very tired."
That was a lie, Shun suspected. He didn't miss the way his brother had gaped at the lady-in-waiting when she appeared. He was going to have to warn Ai later about keeping an eye on her staff before Jin could be set upon them. "Nyla?"
Nyla shrugged, "I guess I'll go to the lake. I don't have anything better to do."
Lastly, Shun turned to ZanYi. He knew she hated the cold and would probably not want to go outside, but the offer was still available to her. "Do you want to join us, ZanYi?"
The lieutenant hesitated. First, the inner garden would be outside. It was freezing outside. That sounded horrible. And she would be putting herself purposefully in the same proximity of Nyla, which never seemed like the best of ideas.
But ZanYi had slept enough on Bumi to get her to that night, so she wasn't feeling particularly tired. She frowned a bit. "It wouldn't hurt to start getting the layout down," she mused.
"All right then," Ai chirped to the somewhat reduced group, "just follow me!" As Ai led the way to the lake, she couldn't help but shift her gaze over to Shun and ZanYi every now and then.
Now, this was interesting… Ai could have sworn that, when the Jiangs and company were trying to enter the city, that Jin had his arm wrapped around ZanYi. But there was something in Shun and ZanYi's gazes when they looked at each other, a kind of tension between them. Was Jin aware of this? Was it possible that Shun was sneaking around with his brother's girl right under Jin's nose?
Ai didn't peg Shun to be that type of guy… but for all she knew, he had turned into a massive playboy in the past few years. He had certainly grown attractive enough for it. Regardless, Ai would find out what was going on between Shun and the firebending lieutenant in due time—she would just have to be patient for the time being. She could be patient… if she tried hard enough.
A winter wonderland awaited them outside, snow softly falling to the ground. Miraculously, however, the lake in the center was not frozen over. "They say this lake was made from the waters of the Spirit Oasis," Ai told them, crouching down to dip her hand into the water. "It's cold, of course—but compared to the temperature of the air out here, it's almost warm."
"So it's man-made?" Shun asked.
"Something like that."
Shun took the view in, finding it to be beautiful. The cold didn't much bother him, so he could see himself training Syaoran out here as well. They would probably have to cut training short, however, since the Avatar might catch his death out here if they practiced for too long. And Tiki and ZanYi would probably not be coming to watch…
The giant waterbender glanced over at the lieutenant. She had let her hair down as a measure against the cold, a look Shun found highly attractive. Silently, he stepped closer to her, sliding an arm around her waist. Nyla had moved away to the other side of the lake so Ai could explain an inscription over there to her, so Shun thought it was okay for him to have this moment with ZanYi.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, leaning down so his lips were at ZanYi's ear. "I know you don't like the cold, and I brought you all here for selfish reasons. We'll leave as soon as we can, I promise."
The arm wrapped around her waist was warm, and it was a warmth that she didn't cringe about, one that she welcomed. Just the mere memory of Jin's arm having to hold her made her stomach squelch. Nothing about this romantic relationship was up her alley, but if it was going to be somebody, it was going to be Shun. Only Shun would she put up with like this.
ZanYi glanced up at Shun, frowning mildly. It wasn't exactly a secret how much she disliked the cold; after all, she was a firebender, and one that had been in a brief captivity that exploited that. But that was not the point. "You were going to take us north or south anyway," she shrugged. Her breath came out in clouds, and ZanYi knew that was a sign this place was too cold. But nonetheless, she would get over it. "It's not about what I like anyway. You need to teach Syaoran waterbending, and if you think one of the poles is the best place to make him a better rounded Avatar, then that's what matters." The lieutenant looked away, watching as Ai showed Nyla around on the other side. "Besides, this is your family we're talking about. Your friends. You can finally have your life back."
ZanYi had a point: Shun could start again here, with his friends and family… as soon as they found Kohaku and his parents, of course. He was so lucky already to have found Jin and Nyla, and luckier still to be able to see Ai again. Once his adventures with the Avatar were over, Shun could see himself settling back down in the North, free from Neo-Equalist oppression. He would stay with his family, or at least stay near them, and he would get to visit Ai. It was a perfect picture… that is, until he tried to fit ZanYi somewhere in it. Then, the entire thing simply shattered.
Shun had thought about this before a little while, but now that ZanYi had brought it back up, Shun began to consider it again—what did this mean for the two of them? What would happen when the war was over? Would they go their separate ways, with ZanYi heading back to Roku's Island and Shun migrating back to the North Pole? Shun didn't want that. He didn't want his old life at all, if it meant he couldn't have ZanYi in it as well. Maybe Jin was right and he was being naive, but the giant waterbender knew what he felt with ZanYi was real. He loved his family, but he was unwilling to sacrifice his relationship with ZanYi to be with them, and vice-versa. This was a troubling thought: how was Shun supposed to balance the time he spent with his family with the time he spent with ZanYi? And that was banking on if she wanted to stay together after she was done with Team Avatar, or the war. There were too many variables to consider here, and it was starting to make his head spin.
"I'm fine with my life now," Shun replied quietly, his arm tightening around ZanYi.
"Yes, you're fine with always being on the move because we're constantly being tracked by NEs," the lieutenant quipped sarcastically. ZanYi couldn't even follow that thought process. However, when his grip around her tightened, she turned to look back up at him and what she saw there confused her.
Shun should be happy to have his family back, to be meeting up with his old friend, as wild as Ai was. He'd seemed fine all morning during breakfast, where their shared past was quite obvious to Team Avatar to be a happy past.
So why did he look so unhappy now?
"What's up, Big Guy?" she asked him, tilting her head a little to peer up at him.
Shun looked down at ZanYi. Had his emotions been displayed on his face? Whoops.
He considered, for a moment, asking her again what her plans after the war were. He suspected she still planned on remaining a part of the military, but where would she live? And more importantly, would she still want him around? Did she even want him around after she was able to go back to the AKs? Would she have figured out her feelings for him by then?
…But no, that was asking too much of her too soon. ZanYi was still trying to figure out how she felt about him—he could not ask her such a serious question right now. What would she think if he asked her to live with him out of the blue? No, that would have to wait until she was ready to discuss such things.
"…It's nothing," he eventually replied, leaning down to kiss the lieutenant's cheek. He straightened up and let go of her as soon as Ai came bounding up to him, Nyla in tow.
"Hey, when did you want to have that sparring match?" Ai wanted to know, grinning her wild grin. "Do you want your butt handed to you now, or do you want to post-pone the butt-whooping until later?"
Shun sighed, but he could not help but smirk at Ai's self-assured attitude. "Let's make it after lunch," he decided. "It might be a little warmer by then."
Ai shrugged. "Your funeral, Shun." She waved them all back into the palace. "Come on, let's go back inside. Now that I'm sufficiently cold, I want some hot chocolate. Any takers?"
As the others replied positively to the offer, ZanYi looked curiously at Shun, lips pursed. He wasn't answering her, which meant he did not want to talk about whatever was on his mind. Normally the lieutenant would have been fine with that, if Shun, as of late, hadn't been in want for her to share her thoughts with him. But then again, Shun was honest and he didn't hold back much from her. So ZanYi would continue as she normally would and let him come to her when he was ready.
"I'll take you up on that, Ai," the lieutenant agreed with one last look up at Shun. Whatever it was that was bothering Shun, however, ZanYi hoped it wouldn't plague him long. The waterbender had enough trouble on his plate right now; he didn't need to invite any more.
But even if he did, Shun knew she would be right there to fix things. That's how they worked, and that's how she was going to keep them working. ZanYi would not leave Shun to fend for himself.
Ever.
A/N from DJ: New character alert! And she is a constant ride of adventure xD But at least they've made it into the North Pole! That's a start! We'll just have to see where it takes us~ Now for the acknowledgements!
Masseffect321: Haha the headlines almost read differently - those Jiang men have a tendency to almost get themselves crisped!
ANewButOldGuest: Haha sorry for the mix-up! We realized it before you reviewed that we had gotten the guest reviewers mixed up, but sadly you saw it before we fixed it xP But I'm so glad you're enjoying things! Actually, Eva is seeking to be a professional writer, so if you like things here, that's a good start! And we will be attempting to wrap in aspects of the latest Korra into things. Problem just is that the entire series was written before season two even aired, so while we are editing, we can't do anything that may greatly alter the entire series we've already written. Tough conundrum.
Guest: Thanks for the praise and support!
DAve and Bob: Thank-you very much for the kind words! I'm so glad that you enjoy the writing, because we strive to push our quality high. So I'm glad to hear we're doing our jobs right!
ThatSameGuest: It is absolutely tremendous that you got an account by that username xD I'm so glad you were able to catch up - though I'm sure our pause helped give you time. It's nice to be back, and hopefully we can keep this up!
Abbydobbie: Thanks for the favorites on all three books thus far! I'm so glad to see that you like them, and we hope to be able to hear from you soon!
All right, y'all, that's it for today! Enjoy the chappie and hopefully we'll see you guys again next week! Tootles, my poodles!