"The regular?"

"Yeah," Noatak said.

The day off for the fishing boat seemed to be welcomed by most of his crewmates, but Noatak spent his day laying in bed and reading an old book on ancient bending rites. Noatak just wanted to stay inside to avoid the pomp of the Avatar's arrival. He still heard all of the details when he went out at night to the bar he regularly haunted.

"Did you go out to see the Avatar?" the bartender asked.

"No. I stayed at home," Noatak said.

"Good idea. If it weren't for the fact that I got some of the best business I've had in a while, I would have done the same."

Noatak nodded and grabbed the glass of fire ice. He hated the stuff when he first learned to drink, but back in Republic City, he couldn't get enough of the stuff. Fire ice reminded him of that Spirits forsaken of a home village he grew up in where the old men gathered around fires and shared a bottle- even his father partook of this gathering. The funny thing was, Noatak liked to imagine doing that when he did drink it. Noatak knew that fire ice was a shitty alcohol and drank it despite his acquired taste for finer spirits like plum wines or dragon bush liquor. Good fire ice went down smoothly like ice water and burned a bit in your stomach. The terrible stuff burned the whole way down, but even a terrible glass of fire ice managed to get you as drunk as a good glass of fire ice. Tonight's glass, thankfully, was a good one.

"You know what they're saying about the Avatar?" the bartender said.

"What's that?" Noatak said.

"They say she can't bend shit now. Just air. She had to leave Republic City because of it. Got her bending taken away by some weirdo. I heard he's dead though. But you knew that, right? You said you used to live in Republic City," the bartender said.

"I did," Noatak said.

"Then you know?"

"I know about the person you speak of. He died in a boat explosion."

"Yeah, well, ever since he took her bending, she got chased back to the Southern Water Tribe, but I hear she was on suicide watch there. That's why they made her go here."

"And where does one hear of these things?"

"The radio. Don't tell me you're one of those newspaper guys! The radio broadcasts have all the info."

"Sounds a lot like gossip to me."

"Look, I'm just stating the facts. No need to get upset."

Noatak took one last sip of his fire ice and placed the glass back down on the bar. He got up and searched in his pants pocket for a couple wrinkled Yuans to pay for his drink. He slammed it on the counter and left the bartender to his usual job of cleaning glasses. What a shitty bartender, Noatak thought as he exited the bar. The brisk night air touched his face. Without a scarf at his disposal, Noatak flipped the collar of his jacket, which only slightly covered half of his face. The moon hung low tonight. It was a waxing gibbous- Noatak noted. He never needed moon phases, but he never stopped thinking about them as he felt the moon's power lend itself to him.

Noatak heard some footsteps behind him as he made his way home. Despite having enough money to go to a better bar, Noatak settled for one on a terrible side of town that was considered to be gang territory. He was never scared about making the long walk from the bar to his home though. His experiences in Republic City left him desensitized about getting into fights with gangs. The kind of people that ended up in those gangs were usually weak and scared to actually fight- they weren't like his father. Noatak never saw his father in his prime, but when he got to Republic City, he ended up reading all of the old news articles on his father's criminal history. He even saw a picture of his father's true face, which revealed Noatak's own blend of his father's harsher features with his mother's soft ones. The only thing strange about learning about Yakone's history was the fact that he had been easily wiped away from Republic City's memory. Noatak wondered if that was to be the same fate for him- something to be swept under a rug.

The wind blew harder the closer Noatak got to the edge of the fishing district. Noatak picked up his pace. Even though it had been a year since he got back to the Northern Water Tribe, Noatak felt the cold stronger than he used to as a child- Republic City's warmer climate made him a little weak against the cold. He heard his footsteps on the wet pavement clearly. The footsteps he heard earlier were still following him. He turned back slowly and saw nothing. Shit, Noatak thought, I'm going crazy hearing things. He continued to walk but with soft steps so he could hear the stalking behind him. The steps still padded toward him but stopped suddenly. Before Noatak could properly react, a whip of water slashed at his ankles. He tripped forward with his face right on the cobbled streets. Noatak pressed up from the pavement and slowly gathered himself. Three men dressed in black and blue surrounded him with water whips ready to get him- their faces obscured by their caps and scarves. The leader wore a blue armband with a black wave painted on it. They were members of the Black Squalls, the largest gang of the Northern Water tribe.

"Just give us your money, and we won't hurt you," the leader said.

Noatak shrugged.

"I actually would advise you not to upset me," Noatak said.

"Oh yeah? Whatcha gonna do if we upset you?" The leader said.

The two other gang members readied their water whips. Noatak stuck out his arm and gathered the water from their water whips to his hand. With a fast and quick movement, Noatak's hand cut across the air with the water following his movement. The water sliced through and violently crashed to the ground. All three of the gang members staggered back.

"What the fuck!" one of the lackeys said.

"Shit! If you wanted to play, why didn't you say so?" the leader said.

The leader blasted water right at Noatak. He swiftly moved to the side and redirected the water back at the leader. These gang members were a bit sluggish but were brute with power, Noatak noted. He could easily chi block them and run off. In fact, Noatak preferred that situation to the recent clumsy display of his water bending. He readied himself to begin his attack while the gang attempted to pummel him with water attacks. Noatak needed them to wear themselves out so he could have the perfect moment to attack all three. He witnessed them start to slow down their assault when he heard something from the rooftops. Whoever it was made slight and conscious movements. The only kind of person who made those kinds of movements was a person who wanted to be unseen. However, Noatak noted that this person must have been an idiot because he could see their shadows from the corner of his eyes and hear their footsteps rattle on the tin roofs. The person ran towards him. Spirits no, Noatak thought. They flipped through the air and landed gently onto the ground. Really?

"Hey, looks like someone wants to join in on the fun," The leader said.

The person dressed completely in black with the exception of an old blue mask. Noatak recognized the mask as that of the Blue Spirit's- the hero from tale he was somewhat familiar with. Clearly this person wasn't the famous Fire Lord but a woman- made obvious by her curves in the tight cat suit she wore. The person pulled out a broadsword from the scabbard on her back.

"Whoa there! A sword? Really? Must not be a bender," The leader said.

The masked woman pointed the sword right at the face of the leader. Noatak wanted to slap the palm of his hand to his forehead for this stupid act. Was she that stupid to point her sword at him like that? She was exposed in her stance. Noatak considered her lucky that these water benders were more inept at fighting than she was. She stepped around the thugs and turned to Noatak. He saw bright turquoise eyes look at his. He knew those turquoise eyes. Her head motioned to the side to signal Noatak away from her. He stepped to the side and let her continue at whatever she was trying to do. This is the first time a woman has ever tried to save me from a fight, Noatak thought.

"C'mon! Make a move! I'm tired of this dancing," the leader said.

One of the goons made a quick jab of water towards the woman. She averted the attack by jumping abnormally high into the air. Her landing was even more unusual to see. She flipped about and landed hard with her sword slamming a severe gust of wind at all of the thugs. Noatak shielded himself from the wind with his jacket. He suddenly knew who this masked woman was.

"Someone has some really fancy moves there," The leader said.

The leader readied an ice dagger into his hand as the woman placed her sword back into its sheath and pulled a stiletto from her boots. She quickly jabbed him in the shoulder. Too late, Noatak noted. The other goons whipped at her feet and caught her. One of the thugs pressed her masked face to the ground as the other stomped on her back with his heavy boot. The leader pulled out the stiletto from his shoulder and crouched right beside her.

"So the bitch likes to play… How about we play a game that I like? Maybe these guys can have their fun too. I think they like the sound of that. Now let's just see what is under this mask. Don't worry. I promise I'll fuck you even if you're ugly underneath there," The leader said.

The leader took the bloody stiletto, pulled back her hood, and cut the ribbon holding the mask. He pulled the girl's hair back and snarled in satisfaction.

"Oh… am I going to have a night," he said.

Fucking pig. Without any more thoughts, Noatak quickly made for the leader and jabbed him. It had been a while since he did any chi blocking, but that kind of information never faded away from Noatak's mind. He could always recall the approximate location of where to incapacitate a person. A few stabs to the shoulders and arms would be enough. The other thugs panicked. One of the guys tried running off and took the mask from the woman, and the other attempted to punch Noatak. Noatak stepped aside and let the guy's follow-through tumble him to the ground. He elbowed the thug in the back and then chi blocked him before the thug could react to him. The woman panicked. She covered her face as she tried to look for the mask. Noatak would ignore her for now. He needed to get that other guy before he ran off completely. He could see the watery footsteps of the last goon in the street. Noatak didn't want to water bend in front of her, but he was going to have to sacrifice some pride if he wanted to catch that last guy. He followed the footsteps until he could hear them close by. Noatak then took his arms and pulled the water the footsteps back towards him. The last goon fell, and Noatak slowly walked up to him. What Noatak would have wanted to do was to blood bend the shit out of all these assholes. He fought the idea even though he could feel the blood running fast through this guy's veins. Instead he chi blocked the thug, leaving him temporarily paralyzed.

Noatak grabbed the wooden mask from the ground where the thug had dropped it. He paced back to where the woman had huddled next to a building. Her face was buried close to her chest as she cradled herself crying. Noatak neared her and placed the mask in front of her. He closed his eyes shut so he wouldn't have to see her.

"Here," he said.

The woman quickly grabbed the mask and placed it over her face. Noatak opened his eyes and stared at the eyes looking back at him.

"I didn't need your help," Noatak said.

With those words, Noatak parted ways and walked back to his apartment. When he got back, he collapsed onto his bed with his mind swirling with thoughts. That woman needed more training if she wanted to continue what she was doing. He laughed to himself at the thought of how she was possibly the most aggressive air bender in history. Yes… her. That woman. The Avatar. He was to blame for all of this. If it weren't for him, she would still be able to bend all the elements and live a life of glory in Republic City. He ruined everything for her, for his brother, for his followers, for his parents, and for himself.