Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Water, earth, fire, air... Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the fire nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished.
A hundred years passed and the new Avatar, an air bender named Aang, was discovered. Now travelling by his side are Katara and Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, and Ashlynn... An ex-member of the Fire nation, and Prince Zuko's lifelong companion...
"Come on guys, I'm sure there's a town around here somewhere where we can resupply our food and needs," Ashlynn said midday following their departure from the abbey. "Good idea," Aang agreed, and steered Appa towards the ground below. Within their line of sight was a clearing in a forest, in which bulletin board for wanted posters and a map was located.
When Appa landed each person dismounted and ran to the board. "This is sure to give us a good idea of what's around here," Katara said, examining the map. "I recognize this area, actually," Ashlynn said without looking at the map once. The forestry and fiery glow to the area gave her a sense of familiarity, and she was almost certain she'd been to the same place at least once before.
"Really?" Aang asked curiously. Ashlynn nodded. "I'm sure the Fire Days Festival is soon, unless it already passed."
"Actually, it's today," Katara replied and pointed to an ad next to the map. Aang and Ashlynn read the poster as well. "Wow Aang, it'd be a perfect spot for you to get a good view at real fire benders," Katara suggested aloud. "I'd have to disagree. Even if it's a small fire nation town, it's still fire nation. People will still be looking for Aang," Ashlynn reminded them casually.
"I'd have to agree. There are wanted posters here, one is of Aang," Sokka told them, and pointed out a picture of Aang mounted upon the board amidst several other wanted posters. Ashlynn recognized a few others, but didn't speak of her knowledge on the matter. "Yeah- Maybe it's best we kept moving onward," Katara sighed with frustration. "Come on guys, I really got to learn fire bending, and I really doubt I'll get many opportunities like this one," Aang pleaded.
Katara thought about it for a moment, then sighed and nodded her head reluctantly in agreement. Sokka just gaped at her with disbelief. "We can wear disguises," Ashlynn reassured Sokka. "And leave if there's trouble," Katara added. Sokka frowned and followed them back towards where Appa had landed. Then, together the companions walked towards the foot of a cliff, where they had to stop, or else Appa would surely be spotted.
"Alright, Appa and Momo you guys wait here while we go into town," Aang told his furry companions. They obediently, and gratefully walked back to the edge of the forest and made an attempt to sleep.
Katara proceeded to remove their cloaks from her pack. She tossed one to Sokka, and one to Ashlynn, and placed the third on herself. Together, the three threw up the hoods to conceal their faces. Aang did the same with his own clothing, despite the fact that there wasn't much of a hood to be had. Then, together they walked off in the direction of the town.
The town was alive with music and laughter. There were drums sounding the background, setting a perfect mood for the occasion. Kids were bustling about with firecrackers, and adults were watching performances, or dancing to the music. Everyone in the town was wearing a mask, as it was a part of the festival. Even though she wore no mask, Ashlynn felt immediately at home. It had been a while since she'd last set foot in a cultural activity such as the festival.
"We'd better get masks," Katara said quickly, and looked around for a stand. "Over here," Ashlynn responded, and pointed in the direction of a mask-stand nearby. Together, the four friends walked over and each bought a fitting mask.
Then, they each looked around for an activity to participate in. Ashlynn craved dancing, but said nothing of it. She was a particularly good dancer, in terms of fire-nation dancing, but didn't wish to embarrass herself in front of her friends whom weren't relatively close to being fire-nation.
"Hey look, food!" Aang exclaimed as he set eyes upon a food stand. "Finally, I'm starved!" Sokka said with a certain desire in his eyes. He marched right over to the stand and paid for the food, without bothering to notice the name of the food: 'flaming fire flakes.' After a bite he yelled out in surprise, realizing that the food was spicy. Ashlynn giggled, and took the food from him.
"You can have it," Sokka uttered, even more miserable now that his tongue felt like it was set on fire. Ashlynn giggled again, and proceeded to eat the fire flakes. "How can you stand that," Sokka cried out in an almost horrified tone. "I grew up in the fire nation; I've developed a taste for spicy," she winked, and continued to snack. Sokka glared at her a moment, and together they followed Aang and Katara as they viewed different activities.
They walked by a group of people playing a moody song with various instruments. There were people dancing traditional fire-nation dances. Ashlynn gazed at them longingly, and sighed as her desire to relieve her natural urges began to swallow her emotions. She finally gave up when a young man asked her to dance.
"Care to dance, pretty lady?" the man queried. "Sir, she's with us, I---" Sokka began to protest, but Ashlynn interrupted him. "I'd love to," she smiled from beneath her mask. She felt like the young man was smiling back at her from beneath his.
Sokka, Katara, and Aang each watched with shock but with awe as they watched their friend begin to dance almost as naturally as eating and bathing. It looked as though she was born to be a dancer, or at least like she'd practiced it her whole life. Sokka frowned with jealousy as the pair grew closer and closer with each step, and secretly wished he were capable of doing fire nation dances. It angered him that their natural dances required such closeness. "When will this stupid song end, we're wasting time," Sokka spoke bitterly to Aang and Katara.
Just as he questioned it, the song ended. The crowd around all the dancers clapped excitedly, and the man and Ashlynn bowed to one another deeply. Ashlynn hurried back over to her friends. "That was a beautiful dance," Katara said with admiration. "Yeah, really beautiful..." Sokka followed sarcastically. "You're a wonderful dancer," Aang grinned. "Thanks guys," Ashlynn smiled, and was very grateful for the opportunity to be able to participate in one of her own cultures activities.
"Hey look at this crowd forming," Aang said suddenly as a wave of people went rushing passed them into a growing crowd before a stage. "It's got to be something good, with all these people here," Aang smiled with excitement, and ran into the crowd to find out what was catching everyone's attention.
It turned out to be a man showing off his skill in fire-bending.
"Wow I got to learn these tricks!" Aang declared determinedly, and pushed his way through the thick crowd. Katara, Sokka, and Ashlynn each linked arms and followed Aang through the crowd, being careful not to lose one another. The four companions halted right in front of the stage, giving Aang a glorious view of the expertise moves of the fire-bender.
The crowd roared with applause as the man finished his current move. "For my next act I need a little help from someone in the audience," the man said. The only person to raise their hand was Aang. The man considered him for a moment, but then pointed at Katara. "What about you, little lady?" he suggested. Katara backed away, making sure her face remained concealed by the mask.
"She's shy! Give her some encouragement, folks!" he said to the crowd, and each person exploded into abrupt yelling as they urged her to go up on stage. The man grasped Katara's quivering arm and pulled her up next to him.
"Don't worry Aang, she'll be fine," Ashlynn reassured Aang who was getting more and more worried with each passing second.
"This next move is called Taming the Dragon! This lovely young lady is going to be my captive princess," the fire-bender explained as he sat Katara down in a chair at the center of the stage. He bound her with ropes so she'd be unable to run away. He then took a step back and proceeded to conjure up fire in the shape of a dragon.
Aang finally had had it when the fire-bender allowed his flaming dragon to swoop down right over Katara's head, nearly setting her hair aflame. "We got to help her," Aang cried, and jumped up on stage. "Aang, wait!" Ashlynn shouted and followed him up on stage, ignoring Sokka's frustrated cries for her not to join him.
Without thinking twice- Aang air-bended the flaming beast into oblivion, and sent a gust of wind throughout the crowd, and also knocked over the skilled fire-bender. The whole crowd booed, and Ashlynn ran over to Katara and untied the ropes. Then, someone from the crowd shouted "Hey, that kid is the Avatar!"
Ashlynn turned toward the sound and saw that everyone was gasping and looked as though they were prepared to strike. "Time to go," Sokka quickly said, and hopped up on stage and grasped Ashlynn's wrist and pushed Aang with his other hand in the direction to the side of the stage where there wasn't part of the crowd waiting to butcher them.
Katara followed behind them as they each hopped off the stage, ignoring the guards' orders to halt and remain put. Then, from within an alleyway a man said "Follow me, I'll get you guys out of here." He was garbed in a dark cloak and all but his eyes were completely concealed. Without hesitation, the group followed the man. When they passed him he threw a smoke bomb in front of the guards, giving them time to disappear from their line of vision.
They ran through the heart of the town, narrowly avoiding being captured by the guards. Then, they ran down another alleyway, which led to a dead end right in front of an enormous box filled to the hilt with unlit fireworks. Suddenly, Appa swooped down upon them. "Wow, that bison whistle really does work," Sokka exclaimed, making it clear that during the scuffle Aang had called Appa to them.
Everyone hopped into Appa's saddle, and with final determination to fight the guards off, the mysterious man tossed one more bomb into the center of the box of fireworks.
Fireworks shot off in every direction, and Ashlynn gasped as one flew up past Appa's side. She watched it shoot up high into the sky, and gazed in awe as the area lit up in multiple colors.
"You're pretty good with explosives," Sokka told the mysterious man as he revealed his face for the first time by pulling down his hood. "I'm... familiar," he replied in an almost sad tone. "You're fire nation!" Katara gasped in realization. "I was... My name is Chey," he introduced himself. Aang then introduced the group as he flew Appa down to a safe spot hidden within the nearby forest.
Before getting too familiar with one another's stories, they made a fire, and sat around it to exchange experiences and get to know one another better. Ashlynn found Chey's story to be rather intriguing, especially because it involved the legendary Jeong-Jeong.
Chey left the fire nation, and served the fire-bender known as The Deserter. He was a high ranked soldier in the fire nation, but couldn't take the insanity of what the fire nation was involved in, so he left. Chey had followed him shortly thereafter.
"That's amazing, I'd always hoped I'd get the opportunity to meet Jeong-Jeong," Ashlynn said excitedly. "It really is an honor," Chey replied with a half smile.
"We got to go see him! He's a fire bender not with the nation, this is perfect!" Aang cried out, standing up suddenly. "We're not going out of our way to find some crazy old man to train you, Aang," Sokka declared. "He's not crazy!" Chey and Ashlynn retorted. Chey eyed her for a moment, and then continued. "He's the perfect person to train the Avatar, that's why I followed all of you," Chey explained.
"Sokka, this could be my only chance..." Aang begged.
"It can't hurt just to talk to him," Ashlynn reassured Sokka.
Then, a group of disguised people with spears jumped down from the trees above and surrounded them. "Don't move," they ordered to each and every one of them.
"Quickly, come with us," another man demanded, and prodded the tip of the spear into Chey's back, forcing him to move ahead unless he wished to be punished. The rest of the group unwillingly followed them into the dark depths of the forest interior.
"Jeong-Jeong told you not to look for the Avatar, Chey," one man spat angrily after several minutes of walking. "Oh, so you know them?" Sokka asked bitterly. "Sure I do," Chey said with a worried chuckle afterwards.
The men guided them to a small clearing, where several huts surrounded a flowing river. By then it was late, and the moon was shut out by thick clouds, making it darker than normal. One man ordered Chey to go see Jeong-Jeong, and pushed him off in the direction of the master's hut. Then, he showed Katara, Sokka, Ashlynn and Aang to a hut where they could stay for the remainder of the evening.
They set a small fire to keep warm with in the center of the hut, and quickly set up their sleeping bags. Sokka was the first one out, and Katara was the second. Thirdly, Ashlynn fell asleep. Aang stayed up the remainder of the evening.
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Ashlynn awoke in the morning and, as usual, everyone else was up before her. She crawled out from underneath her blankets and removed her cloak. She then removed her shirt, and pulled another one, designed for swimming, from Katara's bag. She threw that one on over herself, snagged her own bag, and left the hut.
Down by the river, the legendary Deserter was busy teaching Aang while Katara practiced her water-bending. Ashlynn studied Jeong-Jeong for a moment, and grinned as she realized how lucky she was to be so close to such a legend. She then walked down to the river.
"I hope you don't mind I borrow your shirt Katara, I need to sew mine up from the whip it received from that bounty-hunter," Ashlynn said. Katara shook her head. "No, it's fine!"
Jeong-Jeong walked past Ashlynn, and she quickly gave a respectful bow. He stopped a moment and eyed her carefully. Then, after a courteous nod, he continued on his way, leaving Aang in a disciplined squat. Ashlynn then walked over to where Sokka was fishing, and decided to keep him company as she sewed up her white shirt.
"Hey bud," Ashlynn smiled as she crawled up onto the rock Sokka was seated on. "Hey," he replied with slight enthusiasm. She set the pack next to herself and retrieved a needle and some thread. She saw Sokka smile out of the corner of her eye. However, it didn't last long.
"Wow!" Sokka exclaimed suddenly and dropped his fishing pole without a second's thought. "What is it?" Ashlynn asked worriedly. "Your back..." Sokka responded as he turned for a better view of the wound on her back. "Oh, I forgot about that," Ashlynn said and bit her lip and gave him an apologetic look. "The same whip that your shirt got?" he asked, and she nodded in response.
Ashlynn twitched with stinging pain as she felt Sokka place a rough hand on the edges of the raw, scabbed skin. "Sorry I couldn't prevent it..." Sokka whispered suddenly as he withdrew his hand. Ashlynn ignored the awkward feeling she had, and continued to sew her shirt. "It's okay, she wasn't a match for me anyway," she reassured him. She looked up suddenly and saw Katara staring at them. When Katara saw that Ashlynn noticed her looking, she quickly turned away.
"Hey guys, Jeong-Jeong and I are going up to that mountain. Be back later!" Aang told his companions excitedly a few moments later. "See you, Aang," Katara said and waved goodbye.
Katara continued her water bending, while Sokka continued fishing. When Ashlynn finished sewing her shirt she slipped off her accessorized pieces of her outfit, leaving just the swim top and her shorts on. She stepped into the cool water, and let it cover her feet. She inhaled, and then sighed with cooled relief.
"I always wished I were a water-bender," she told Katara as she walked through the water over to her. Katara was standing next to where the river became deeper, and so Ashlynn emerged fully into the water, appreciating a cold, relaxed sensation. "How come?" Katara asked as she set down her water and removed her outer clothing. She stepped into the river as well, dressed in a suitable swimming outfit underneath her usual dress.
"It seems like such a peaceful skill. I love water, despite that I'm fire nation," Ashlynn explained as she allowed the still waters to float her around the area. She closed her eyes as she tilted her head up towards the blazing sun.
"I caught one!" Sokka shouted suddenly, and the sound of splashing fish caught on the line could be heard from where Sokka was sitting. "Good, now why not join us?" Ashlynn giggled, and swam over to Sokka. "Why?" he asked dumbly. "Cause it's fun," she giggled again and splashed him.
Sokka covered his face to deflect the water headed in that direction, and then set the fish inside the net he had to keep the fish in. He then immediately stripped down to his swim clothing, and jumped in after Ashlynn. She laughed, and ducked underwater and quickly swam away. Sokka chased after her, and Katara chased after him, and together the three spent the remainder of the afternoon enjoying the short vacation.
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In the early evening, Jeong-Jeong and Aang returned. Aang had yet to learn fire bending, and for that he was frustrated; All Jeong-Jeong wanted to teach him was discipline.
Katara, Sokka, and Ashlynn had lain out by the river, and each in turn fallen asleep throughout the day, but now they were up and back to productive activity. Ashlynn took up the duty of washing their travelling clothes, while Sokka continued fishing. Katara, of course, remained with practicing her bending skills.
When Aang finally accepted the disciplinary acts as necessary, Jeong-Jeong decided it was time he practiced fire-bending. Jeong-Jeong left him with an annoyingly difficult task, when one of his men came and warned him of nearby trouble. Without telling them what was going on, Jeong-Jeong left with the man, ordering Aang to continue concentrating.
"This is the worst bending instruction ever," Aang sighed bitterly. "Think about it Aang... Jeong-Jeong is a master, and he knows what he's doing," Ashlynn reassured him. "I'm sure there's a good reason for what he's taught you," Katara followed. Sokka remained silent, as he had no say in the matter. Aang sighed, and returned to the new stance he'd learned as he tried to concentrate.
Ashlynn watched as Aang suddenly turned the leaf he was holding into a well-fed flame. She stood up, suddenly concerned, for she doubted Aang could act mature enough to keep it at a minimum.
"Look, I'm fire-bending!" Aang shouted with glee. "That's great Aang! ...But, you should take it slow..." Katara warned. Aang disregarded her comment, and began tossing the flame about. Ashlynn ran over to Katara's side. "Aang, stop, you'll hurt someone," Ashlynn demanded. He ignored her as well.
"I wonder how that fire-bender did that trick..." Aang said, and suddenly shot a ring of flame out in all directions. Ashlynn and Katara cried out suddenly, and Ashlynn fell flat on her stomach to avoid the sudden flame. Katara, however, wasn't so lucky. She shot her hands out in front of her, and as a result got burned by the fire.
"Katara- I'm so sorry!" Aang gasped suddenly, and flew over to where Ashlynn and Katara were huddled. Katara was crying, and Ashlynn was trying to comfort her. "What'd you do?!" Sokka cried out suddenly as he joined the fray. "It was an accident, I---" Aang started, but then Sokka lunged at him, knocked him over, and pinned him to the ground.
"We warned you! We told you multiple times not to mess with this stuff! How could you? You burned her! You almost hurt Ashlynn too!" Sokka screamed into Aang's face, whom was on the verge on crying too. Katara suddenly got up, and ran away, still crying. Aang watched her with genuine worry, while Ashlynn glared at him from afar. Even Zuko, as impatient as he was, had never been so careless.
Jeong-Jeong suddenly reentered the clearing. "Jeong-Jeong, this is your entire fault! He burned Katara!" Sokka shouted, wrongly accusing Aang's teacher. "I know, but now is not the time. Each of you must leave- Now!" Jeong-Jeong ordered. "I...I'm sorry..." Aang tried to say, but Sokka marched off to pack their things, ignoring him completely. Ashlynn ran off in the direction Katara had gone to, leaving Aang behind to own up to what he'd done.
When Katara came into view, Ashlynn gasped and watched as Katara placed her hands in the water of the river. As she did so, a glowing light surrounded her hands, and she pulled her hands from the water. Her hands were miraculously cured.
"You have healing abilities," came the voice of Jeong-Jeong. Ashlynn shot him a confused glance, curious as to how fast he got over here, especially given his older age.
"I always wished I were blessed like the water benders who sometimes have such abilities. But, I am cursed," he said solemnly as Ashlynn sat down next to Katara.
"You have powers that I'll never know. You're a master at what you do, and that's a great gift," Katara said with admiration. "No... Water brings healing, and life. Fire... only brings destruction," he sighed sadly. As soon as he said this, a giant flame was shot at in their direction. With quickened reflexes, Jeong-Jeong stood up and fire-bended it out of their way, protecting Ashlynn and Katara.
Down the river were three iron ships, clearly belonging to the fire nation. "Get your friends and leave!" Jeong-Jeong commanded with a cry, and without hesitation Ashlynn and Katara ran back towards where the huts were.
Sokka was busy placing all their belongings up onto Appa's saddle. "Are you both alright?" Sokka asked, and Katara nodded. "I'm fine, where's Aang?" she question, and Sokka pointed towards Jeong-Jeong's hut. Katara ran to grab Aang.
"Why are you both in such a hurry," Sokka inquired bitterly. "Because, there are fire nation ships down the river. I believe it's Zhao and his soldiers, and they have Jeong-Jeong," Ashlynn explained. Just then, Aang and Katara ran past them. "Where are you both going?" Ashlynn shouted after them, and followed quickly. She noticed that Sokka followed behind her.
Down the river, the three boats had docked, and they had Jeong-Jeong in custody. "Oh look, the Avatar," said Zhao, who was, as expected, the commander of the small fleet. He then ordered his men to bind Jeong-Jeong while he settled the long needed physical dispute between himself and Aang.
Jeong-Jeong sent a blast of fire in all directions, clouding his appearance, and then ran into the forest. Zhao's soldiers followed him.
Ashlynn went to help Aang, but Katara grabbed her shoulder. "Don't. It's his battle," she told her. Ashlynn hesitated a moment, then nodded, and together her, Sokka, and Katara watched the battle from afar. Appa walked up aside them a moment later, and then the three crawled up into his saddle as they continued to watch the battle.
Each of them laughed and applauded as they watched Aang guide Zhao up onto his own ships. Zhao had little self control over his own bending; his mind was only set on getting Aang into his hands. Everywhere he sent a blast of fire, a sudden flame shot up on his ships. Finally, Aang made it obvious to him that he'd burned each of his ships. Zhao's angry shouts could be heard from over the roaring fire as he was lost within the flames.
Aang had jumped into the water and swam to shore shortly after his fight. "Aang, let's go," Sokka shouted over to him. Aang jumped up into the saddle, and they hurriedly flew up into the air.
"Aang, you're burned," Katara pointed out after a few minutes of flying. Aang looked down at his burnt arm, and then curiously watched as Katara bended water from her water sack, and healed Aang's wound.
"Wow, when did you learn to do that?" Sokka asked with awe. "I guess I always had it in me, I just didn't know," she replied quietly.
"Well then, would you mind?" Ashlynn requested while pulling off her top and pointing to the wound on her back. Katara nodded eagerly, and healed the wound from the whip on her back, leaving only a thin scar along it.
"Thanks," Ashlynn smiled.
Then, the group silently rode off into the night, continuing on their way up to the North Pole.