Last of Our Kind

This chapter is sort of filler and is basically a collection of omakes (deleted/extra scenes) of the Gaang's time up North.

There's a little Sokka+Yue scene that I wrote based on a video I recently saw in my class on the Maya, it was about how the hieroglyphs were decoded and it gave me an idea about Southern Water Tribe writing systems.

Also, someone you might recognize from LoK makes an appearance.

I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or the following quote.

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go..."
―Dr. Seuss,Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Stranger in a Strange Land

It sort of goes without saying that not everyone was pleased about Wenona and Katara being permitted to learn Waterbending, even after what happened during the fight between Wenona and Master Pakku. The first week was the worst, the boys who hadn't witnessed the fight for themselves were constantly snickering or making sexist jibes at the sisters; the boys who had seen the fight didn't harass the girls, but they didn't tell off their buddies either. Surprisingly (or not, depending on your point of view), Wenona and Katara were advancing very quickly, something that annoyed the male students to no end.

There was one boy, however, who was actually fascinated with the sisters; though he did make himself a nuisance in other ways.

"Not bad…for girls."

The two sisters looked up from their practice to see the one boy who annoyed them more than any other in the class.

"But you're getting the wrist movements wrong," he said in a condescending tone.

"When we want your opinion we'll ask for it, Yakone," said Wenona sharply.

"Now, now, there's no need to be like that," he said with a smug grin. "I'm only interested in helping my fellow students."

"Right," Katara said dryly, "Because you did such a great job 'helping' Sangok yesterday."

"Oh, come on, that was just a bit of fun."

"You knocked him off a bridge and nearly made him break his neck."

"Accidents will happen."

"Ignore him, Kit-Kat," Wenona said. "He's just trying to be an ass."

The two girls went back to their Waterbending, but their 'associate' was not in the mood for being ignored.

"You know, you actually were very impressive in your little fight last week," he said quietly to Wenona. "I have a great admiration for power, you know. Perhaps we could go hand-to-hand sometime?"

Wenona glanced over at her sister, who nodded in response. Within a matter of moments, Yakone was being pelted with barrages of ice. As he walked away, he glared at the sisters and threatened to get back at them.

"I'd like to see you try," Katara responded.

"Um, Sokka."

"Oh, hi, Princess Yue," Sokka said with a bright blush.

"I was just wondering about this letter you sent me." She held up a sheet of paper with a series of strange, little pictures on it. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what it says."

"What? I wrote it in classical Water Tribe script that…was developed in my homeland." He slapped himself on the forehead. "Sorry. I sometimes forget that other people don't know my tribe's writing system."

"Why do you have your own writing system, anyway?" said Yue, taking another look at the letter.

"Well, it was one of the things my people created as a form of national identity," Sokka explained, moving to stand beside her and look at the letter himself. "It's also great for sending codes because only we can read it, or speak in the old dialects. Guess it didn't occur to me that one Water Tribe wouldn't be able to understand the language of another Water Tribe."

"It's a very interesting writing," Yue said fondly. "What does this little image of a turtle-seal mean?"

"That's supposed to be a fish." Sokka looked slightly embarrassed. "I was trying to use formal glyphs, but they never really come out right."

Yue paused for a moment and a blush spread through her cheeks.

"Could you teach me?" she said.

"Really? You want to learn?" Yue nodded shyly. "Then, it would be my pleasure, Your Highness," he said with a mock-bow and a grin, causing Yue to giggle.

They headed back to the palace and found an empty room for the lesson. Sokka pulled out some sheets of paper and some ink, and the two sat side-by-side.

"There are two types of Water Tribe script," Sokka began. "There's Minor Script, which is for everyday use and short notes. It looks like this." He began to write out a simple alphabet made up of lines, arcs, and dots. "This system is based on consonants and vowels, with two signs for each letter, one for lower-case words and the second for a capital to indicate names or titles. My name would look like this." He drew out the letters for his name. "See? Now you try."

Yue took up the brush and wrote out the three letters that made up her name.

"Like this?"

"Perfect," Sokka said, a dreamy look in his eyes as he glanced at her. He then shook himself out of the daze. "The next form is Major Script. This is much more complicated as it's a phonetic system and we only use it for formal things like documents or…or very special letters."

Sokka cleared his throat and continued.

"It's made up of a series of little drawings," he said. "I guess I'm not that good with it."

"No, no," Yue protested, "I thought the letter was wonderful." Even if I couldn't read it. "I really like learning this, Sokka."

"It's nice that someone does," he replied. "Nona always insists that the modern kanji is fine and only learned the basics of the real Water Tribe script. Katara learned it, but never uses it, either. Keng's still learning it as he didn't start until a couple years ago. I'm the only one who really tends to write in our native alphabet."

They spent the next couple hours going over the two alphabets; Yue preferred Major Script as it was so artistic. Eventually, it started to get late and Sokka had to leave, but he promised to continue their lessons later.

Yue nearly broke down in tears when she went to bed that night. She wished so badly that she could be with Sokka, or at least someone like him. Sokka never spoke to her as if she were too stupid to comprehend things unless they were explained slowly, as though she were some primitive or a child; he treated her as an intelligent young woman who was fully capable of understanding what he said. Yue wasn't stupid, she'd just never been allowed to learn as much as she wanted, "for her own safety" as everyone had said.

As she washed her face clean of the tears, she slowly Bent the water in the basin; she wished she could've learnt more than just Healing, that was why she had such a growing admiration for Sokka's sisters. She wished she could be strong and independent, too.

Considering that Wenona and Katara had earned the right to learn Waterbending, it was only a matter of time before other girls decided they wanted to do so as well. About a week after the fight with Master Pakku, no less than fourteen young women and girls were waiting at the training area. Naturally, Master Pakku was quick to confront them.

"What are you all doing here?" he asked.

"Master Pakku, we…that is…" the eldest girl spoke up nervously. She took a steadying breath and bowed respectfully, the others following suit. "We would be honored if you would teach us Waterbending."

"Why should I do that?" he said evenly.

"You agreed to teach the Southerners," another girl added. "Do we have any less right to be taught than they do?"

"Well…" He glanced over at Wenona and Katara, who were staring at him expectantly. Pakku gave a resigned sigh. "Get in line."

The Northern girls all smiled at each other in disbelief as they hurried over to join the other Waterbenders. Pakku was actually quite surprised at the willingness of his new students to learn; most of the boys in his class complained about the fact that he had them out in the cold for hours starting at sunrise.

Pakku turned and faced Wenona and Katara.

"This is all your fault, you know," he said calmly.

"Good," both girls replied with large grins on their faces.

Katara and Wenona watched with suspicion as Aang entered their residence, brushing snow off of his robes and sporting a slight limp.

"Aang, are you alright?" Katara asked.

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine, Katara," Aang replied in a chipper tone. "I'm just great!"

"Uh-huh," Wenona said skeptically. "And where exactly have you been? We left Waterbending practice ages ago."

"I was…I was meeting up with some friends from class," Aang said defensively.

"Really?" said Katara, frowning. "Is that why you seem to be a wreck?"

"T-The guys just play a little rough is all."

Wenona and Katara both exchanged looks.

"Okay, and who were these little friends of yours?" Katara pressed.

Aang mumbled something.

"I'm sorry, we couldn't hear that," said Wenona. "Could you speak up?"

Aang gave a short sigh.

"It was Kinto and Qimmiq," he admitted.

"Those are two of Yakone's cronies," Katara exclaimed. "What were you doing with them?"

"They dared me to ice-sled down the palace steps and, well, Kinto Bent the ice so that I ended up crashing into a building before I could Airbend myself out of harm's way."

Wenona's eyes narrowed and she turned for the door.

"Nona? Where are you going?" Aang said worriedly.

"I'm going to teach those punks not to mess with kids ever again," she replied.

"No!" He darted in front of her to block her way. "Please. I don't want to cause trouble."

"Aang, those guys are bullies and need to be taught a lesson," Sokka spoke up. "I'm with ya, Nona."

"Guys, stop," Aang persisted. "Violence isn't going to solve this and I don't want anyone getting in trouble. If you go over and beat them up, what do you think will happen? I was stupid enough to let them talk me into doing it and you would be held responsible for getting back at them."

"Fine," Wenona agreed grudgingly. "But that doesn't mean I won't wipe the floor with them at practice tomorrow."

"Wait!" said Katara. "I think I have an idea of a way we could get back at them."

The next day, after Waterbending class, they put their plan into action. The sisters walked over to where Yakone and his two 'buddies' were standing and laughing.

"Well, look who it is," Yakone said as he saw them approach. "Here for that hand-to-hand session I promised?" He grinned unpleasantly at Wenona who glared back.

"No, we're here because we don't like you picking on our friends," Wenona retorted. "You and your two lackeys against me, Katara, and Aang in an ice-boarding match. We win, you have to be nice to Aang and all the younger Waterbending students for the rest of our stay here at the North Pole."

Yakone smirked and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Fine," he said, still smirking. "But, what do we get if we win?"

"What do you want?"

He leaned over and whispered something in her ear, making her pull away suddenly and scowl at him.

"You have got to be kidding me," she said.

"Your decision, girlie," he replied with a shrug. "Deal or no deal?" He held out his hand.

Wenona hesitated before accepting.

"Deal," she muttered, doing her best to crush his hand in her grip.

Wenona and Katara walked back over to Aang, who was standing nearby with Master Pakku. The old Waterbending master seemed concerned.

"I happened to overhear your conversation," Master Pakku said. "Why exactly are you challenging those three boys to an ice-boarding match?"

"It was the only way we could get back at them for bullying Aang," Wenona explained. "Why? Do you think we're not capable of handling them?"

"No, I think you are more than capable. And I will gladly cheer the three of you on in your competition. I was merely concerned about two of my best pupils getting involved in a wager with those ne'er-do-wells. They're from very powerful families here and are used to getting things their own way and are willing to do whatever it takes to win. Just be on your guard."

The trio was surprised for a moment, but they smiled and bowed to Master Pakku.

The following afternoon, once class was let out, the two teams met by the river-street and waited for the race to start; one go around the entire city on ice-boards, first person to get back to the base of the palace steps wins for their team. Both sides glared each other down when an exclamation came from a short distance away.

"Hey! Is it too late to join the race?" It was Keng, accompanied by two of the new female students.

"Keng, what are you doing here?" Wenona demanded. "This is a serious competition."

"I know," he replied. "Aluki, Nujalik, and I want a chance to participate."

"Keng, you could get hurt," said Katara.

"Don't worry," said Aluki, a short girl with pigtails. "We'll make sure your little brother is safe."

"Yeah, no one will hurt Keng while we're around," added Nujalik, another short girl with a round, cheerful face.

"Okay fine," Wenona relented with obvious annoyance. "Can we please just get on with this?"

"Ready when you are, ladies," Yakone said with a smug grin.

The teams got into position, Sokka stood back and waited to give the signal.

"Ready," said Sokka. "Set. GO!" As soon as he said that, the Waterbenders were off, inadvertently splashing him with water. "Thank you, the Universe," he muttered sarcastically.

The two main teams rushed at high speeds through the city on their ice-boards, ducking and dodging anything that got in their way; Keng's team, however, was making its way slowly and steadily after them on connected water-boards (because Keng wasn't powerful enough to ice-board without help and they had all decided to work as a team). Yakone and Wenona were in the lead, with Aang close behind; Katara was vying for position ahead of Kinto and Qimmiq, both of whom were quite aggressively trying to ensure she didn't make it.

Katara suddenly heard a cracking sound and looked down to see her board breaking beneath her feet; she glanced up and saw Kinto waving a hand in her direction, a wicked smirk on his face. Katara growled and strengthened her board before putting a surge of energy into the water beneath it, propelling her forward. Just in time, she noticed Qimmiq trying to ram into her side and pulled away, allowing him to crash into Kinto instead.

"See ya later, boys!" she called out to them as they fell into the water.

As the two sat there and glared, Keng and his team passed right over their heads, knocking them back underwater.

"Sorry!" Keng shouted.

Wenona and Yakone were now neck-and-neck and things were beginning to turn violent. Both were now doing incredibly risky moves with the intention of knocking each other down; Wenona nearly fell off her board when Yakone sent up a sudden blast of water that struck her in the face.

How did he do that? She thought. He wasn't even moving his hands…Oh Naraka, he can Bend with his mind like I can!

That's when Wenona started to reciprocate the actions and began Bending water using only her will and a rush of energy. With that, she upended Yakone's ice-board and sent him crashing into the water. Unfortunately, she was so caught up in celebrating her victory that she missed the turn and crashed into the sidewalk. As she sat up, she saw Aang and Katara both pass by, closely followed by Keng and the two girls.

"Hi, Nona!" they all shouted.

"Yeah…hi," she said morosely.

The race soon came to an end with Aang and Katara tied as winners and with Keng and his team in second place. Wenona managed to come in third, with Yakone and his buddies in last place. While disappointed that she had lost to her younger siblings and Aang, Wenona was at least happy they had beaten Yakone's team.

"Remember our little wager," she said to him in a sing-song voice.

"I'll get you next time, Southerner," Yakone growled as he and his two partners skulked away.

"Hey, Nona, what exactly was our forfeit if we had lost?" Aang asked.

Wenona scowled.

"Katara would've had to go out with Kinto," she said.

"WHAT?!" her sister shouted.

"I was surprised, too." Wenona shrugged. "Apparently, the creep has a crush on you."

Katara glanced over to where Kinto was getting patched up after the race and saw him shoot a flirtatious grin at her. The younger Waterbender grimaced and turned back to her siblings and friend.

"You all have done remarkably well," Master Pakku said as he came over to congratulate them.

"I didn't," Wenona said regretfully. "I came in third because I let myself get distracted."

"But you still finished the race and you beat out your opponents. Considering those boys have more years of education in Waterbending than any of you, I think you should all be proud of yourselves."

"Thank you, Master Pakku," they all said together.

"Great, now that this is done," said Sokka, who was still soaking wet, "could someone please help me out here, I'm freezing?"

Wenona Bent the water out of her brother's clothes.

"There, better?" she said.

"Marginally."