I'm back! A few things:
1) Thanks to those who reviewed, it really makes me feel great to see that people read my story. Notes to some individuals who reviewed:
Redleafs16, thank you for the reviews, both for the praise and criticism. I've taken your feedback into consideration, and you'll probably see it take some effect in the story (maybe not this chapter, but definately later in the story). Again, thank you, and I'm glad that you've taken the time to read this in one go as well as review every chapter (your reviews have more than doubled my review count).
To those who gave feedback about the use of cussing in the story, I will (probably) tone down the swearing, meaning that Rin won't swear every other sentence. However, I won't remove it.
Even if you don't leave a review, I thank you for reading my story. Seeing the little view counter go up always gives me a good feeling. Of course, don't let that discourage you from leaving a review.
2) Thanks again to DreadingTheDayWhenYou'reGone for helping to revise this story. I don't do much proofreading, so it's a great help.
3) The chapter title doesn't match the episode title. This is because, with my past chapters, the title of the episode generally matched up with what the plot of the chapter was about. However, in this chapter, "The Waterbending Master" won't have much relevance to what I write. I'll use the same logic for future chapters (for example, I probably won't have a chapter called "Appa's Lost Days" or "The Avatar and The Firelord"). I'm actually thinking about using original titles for every chapter, depending on where this story goes.
Chapter 8: The Northern Water Tribe
"I think I have a spare parka around here," Katara muttered, glancing at Rin on Appa. They were almost to the Northern Water Tribe, and the temperature was plummeting noticeably. "Let me check my bag."
"For the last time Katara, I'm not cold," Rin sighed. She looked over the side of the saddle, watching the endless expanse of ocean under her. Of course, she didn't expect anything different. Not after they had been sitting in Appa's saddle for, well, who knows how long, skimming over the water as they made their way north. Although the air was slightly chilly, it wasn't enough to make Rin uncomfortable.
"Rin, Sokka and I have lived at the South Pole for most of our lives, and it's cold enough for us to wear parkas," Katara argued. "All you have is a tunic and that cloak."
"It's enough," Rin argued back. "And Aang is wearing less than me; why aren't you trying to get him to wear anything?"
"He's got some sort of hocus-pocus airbender magic or something," Sokka said. "Apparently he doesn't get cold, even back at the South Pole."
"And you're not an airbender, so put this on," Katara said, pulling a dark blue parka from her bag and throwing it into Rin's arms.
"Fine," Rin muttered. She put the bottom of the parka over her head and pulled herself through, ending up with a face full of fur.
"Uh, Rin? It's the other way," Katara said.
"I knew that," Rin mumbled, twisting the parka around and pushing her arms through the sleeves. The inside was lined with what seemed to be some sort of fur, probably from a tiger seal. What mattered was it was warm, although a bit itchy. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. Next time, let us help you before you freeze to death," Katara said. Rin was about to correct her and insist that she was fine without the parka, but she decided to let it slide.
"How're our supplies looking?" Rin asked.
"Rin, I already told you, we have enough food," Sokka groaned. "The refugees at the temple gave us more than enough to reach the Northern Water Tribe."
"Just making sure," Rin said.
"Well, that's the third time you've 'made sure' today. Why do you keep asking?" Sokka asked.
"We're over the ocean, with nowhere to restock. I just want to make sure that we don't starve," Rin explained.
"Well, we aren't," Sokka said, leaning his head over the side of the saddle. He was immediately sprayed by freezing water as Appa skimmed over the ocean. "Gah! Aang, can't Appa fly any higher?"
"I have an idea!" Aang shouted back towards Sokka. "How about we all get on your back and you fly us to the North Pole!"
"Gladly!" Sokka huffed, turning around and getting on his knees. "Everyone aboard, Sokka's ready for takeoff!"
"Look, we should just calm down and take a deep breath," Katara suggested. "We're all just a little tired from flying for two days straight."
"Appa's the one doing the flying," Aang said. "We're all just sitting around!"
"Shut it, Avatar," Rin growled. "And I agree with Katara, we should just calm down. All we need to do now is get to the North Pole. It shouldn't be too far off."
"Are you sure? Because all I see is water and a few icebergs. There's nothing out here," Sokka said. Right on cue, Aang yelled, yanking on the reins and swerving Appa to the side.
"What's going on?" Rin shouted.
"Ice!" Aang shouted back, pulling on the reins again. Suddenly, Appa started spinning out, skidding across the water as everyone held on for their lives. As they came to a stop, ice immediately started forming around the bison, trapping him in place. Rin swerved around and saw boats coming out from behind icebergs, moving in to surround them.
An ambush here, of all places? It's literally the middle of nowhere! Rin drew her hatchet from her bag and hid behind the low wall of the saddle, preparing herself for a fight. However, the reaction of the two siblings was much different.
"We did it!" Sokka shouted. "They're waterbenders! We found the Northern Water Tribe!"
"And what a warm welcome they gave us," Rin muttered, putting her hatchet away after a look from Katara.
After a quick apology, the tribes people offered to escort the group to the Northern Water Tribe. Sokka, Katara, and Aang were excited to finally see the city, and surprisingly, Rin felt a bit excited as well.
Maybe it's because we've succeeded in something. We got to the North Pole. I usually don't have to succeed in anything other than not getting caught. And then, as the fabric of the parka rubbed against her, she thought, Huh, this parka is feeling kinda warm.
"There it is!" Aang shouted, interrupting Rin's thoughts. As she looked up, she saw a massive, smooth wall of ice, complete with watchtowers and a giant symbol signifying that they had reached the Water Tribe. As they approached the wall, the waterbenders on the boats created a passageway, giving the group an entrance into the city.
"Wow," Sokka muttered as they passed under the wall. The entire thing was built out of solid, packed ice, most likely by master waterbenders. On the other side of the wall was a giant gate attended by a large group of waterbenders.
"I can't believe how many waterbenders live up here!" Katara exclaimed as the gate came down.
"We'll find us a master for sure," Aang said. Once the gate was fully dropped, only then was the group able to see the full size of the city. Buildings of ice rose up in front of them, lined with a system of waterways and bridges.
"This place is way bigger than home," Sokka said.
"Shit, it's probably bigger than Omashu," Rin replied, observing the buildings around them. Never before had she seen so much ice, much less see it used as a building material. As they were guided through the streets by a group of waterbenders on a raft, people started to come out of their homes. Soon, everyone was lining the waterways and bridges, watching as the Avatar went by. Aang waved back to the crowd with a huge grin on his face. Out of the corner of her eye, Rin couldn't help but notice Sokka getting up and walking down Appa's tail.
"This place is beautiful," Katara remarked.
"Yeah, she is..." Sokka said. Rin turned around and caught Sokka staring further back down the waterway. Following his gaze, she spotted another boat, which seemed to be carrying a teenage, purple-robed girl with white hair.
"Sokka, get back up here. You can make lady friends after we settle down," Rin said.
"Aww... fine," Sokka replied, making his way back up to the saddle. Rin could still make out the blush in his cheeks. She looked over at Katara, who seemed to have noticed the ordeal. After a few more minutes of navigating the waterways, the group was led to a large ice hut near what seemed to be some sort of palace where they were indicated to get off.
"This will be your home during your stay in our tribe," one of the waterbenders explained. "If you need anything, feel free to ask. Also, Chief Arnook would like to invite you to a feast tonight at the palace."
"We'll be there for sure," Aang replied. "Oh, and can we get something for Appa to eat? He's been flying for a long time, and he's kinda hungry. Oh, and he mostly eats plants. Speaking about plants, I'm a vegetarian, so I won't be able to eat any meat at the feast."
"Everything will be taken care of," the same waterbender said.
"That's great; thank you!" Aang said as the waterbenders left. The group grabbed their supplies from Appa's saddle and moved them into the hut. The first thing Rin noticed was that the floor was lined with furs, most likely to keep their feet warm and prevent slipping.
Speaking of warm... this parka is uncomfortably warm. Sweat was already starting to form on Rin's neck, the heat was causing an uncomfortable tingling in her back, and the fur lining on the inside made her skin itch. She pulled her arms back out of the sleeves and threw the parka over her head and onto the ground.
"Here you go," Rin called to Katara, picking up the parka and throwing it over.
"Hey!" Katara shouted, catching the parka and throwing it back. "We're at the North Pole! You're surrounded by ice! You're saying that you don't need it?"
"I wouldn't have given it back to you otherwise. It's too warm, and it itches way too much. I'm fine without it," Rin argued, tossing the parka back with more force than before and knocking Katara over.
"Oof!" Katara grunted as she hit the ground before picking herself and her bags from the ground. "Rin, I'm serious about the parka. It's below freezing, and if you don't put it on, you'll freeze in less than a few hours."
"Look, we'll wait until the feast tonight," Rin suggested. "If I don't need it by then, I'm pretty sure I won't need a parka."
"Wait, Rin won't wear her parka?" Sokka asked as he came out of the ice hut. He looked over at Rin for a few seconds, before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh, is it because you're too proud to wear a parka and want to keep that 'cool' and 'mysterious' look with the cloak and hood? Because I guess I can see why, it looks pretty cool. It's all... mysterious and stuff."
"Sokka, the cloak and what's underneath it are the only clothes I have," Rin replied. "Even if I wanted to wear something else, I can't. And about the parka, it feels too warm."
"Well, if Rin doesn't want to wear it, why not let her, well, not wear it?" Sokka suggested to Katara. "I mean, if she's fine without it, everything's good. If she needs it later, she comes back to the hut and gets it."
"I guess that could work..." Katara muttered.
"Then it's all settled. Come on, let's go unpack," Sokka said, and the two girls followed him into the hut.
After the group unpacked and lounged around for about an hour, a few guards came to escort them to the palace. A brief walk later and they were entering the giant structure made entirely of ice. By then, the sun had just set over the horizon, and people were starting to gather.
"I wonder how many waterbenders it took to make this place," Katara said, marveling at a large fountain.
I wonder how sturdy this place is, Rin thought, placing a hand briefly on a pillar of ice as they moved forward. As they proceeded on, the group was led to the dining area, which consisted of three long tables and a stage in a square formation, leaving an open area in the middle. Up on the highest table, overlooking the dining area, was a man in blue robes.
"You will have seats next to Chief Arnook. He is already waiting for you," their escorts informed them. The group stepped up to the table, and the man stood up to greet them.
"I am Chief Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe."
"I'm Aang, and I'm the Avatar."
"Katara, Southern Water Tribe."
"Sokka, Southern Water Tribe."
"Rin."
"It is an honor to meet the Avatar, as well as our allies from the South," Arnook said, shaking their hands before looking over to Rin. "And where do you come from?"
"Earth Kingdom probably," Rin replied. "Though I don't really go with any nation. For now, I'm with the Avatar."
"She rescued Aang from a Fire Nation fortress," Sokka added. "She's been been a great help since then."
"It's good to know that you have found a dependable ally," Arnook said. "Let us sit down and wait for the feast to start."
Arnook took a seat at the center of the table while the group sat to his left. Aang sat next to Arnook, followed by Rin, Katara, and Sokka. In front of them were plates piled with food, mostly meats and fish with a bit of seaweed here and there. People were starting to file around the tables, and the sky was already starting to darken. Once everyone was inside, drumbeats sounded throughout the room, indicating for everyone to be quiet. Arnook stood up, drawing everyone's attention.
"Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Water tribe!" he announced. "And they have brought someone special with them, someone whom many have believed disappeared from this world until now: the Avatar!"
"I think he forgot about you," Aang whispered to Rin as everyone applauded.
"I'm some random girl from the Earth Kingdom," Rin whispered back. "I don't think I'm really worth mentioning."
"You are sitting up here with the chief, though," Aang argued.
"Eh, maybe they think I'm your bodyguard or something," Rin replied. By then, the applause had faded.
"We also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday. Princess Yue is now of marrying age," Arnook continued, stepping back to reveal the white haired girl from the boat.
"Thank you father," Yue said before turning to the crowd. "May the great spirits of the ocean and the moon watch over us in these troubled times!"
"Now Master Pakku and his students will perform!" Arnook announced as an old man and two younger men stepped up onto the stage and started waterbending. Everyone started to eat their food, including Rin. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Yue moving behind her.
Where's she going... oh, she's sitting next to Sokka. This should be good.
"Hey there. Sokka, Southern Water Tribe," Rin heard Sokka say. She looked up from the fish she was biting into to see Sokka leaning on the table, looking at the princess.
"Nice to meet you," Yue replied, followed by an awkward silence as the two looked around.
"So, uh, you're a princess?" Sokka asked, receiving a nod. "Well, back in my tribe, I'm kind of a prince myself."
"Ha! Prince of what?" Katara teased.
"Technically the South, though that's pretty much prince of a dozen igloos and a bunch of ice," Rin added. She noticed that the water show had finished, and Aang had gone down to talk with the old man who was on stage.
"It's a lot more than that!" Sokka said frantically before turning around. "Do you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation!"
"And failing at it, apparently," Rin mumbled.
"My apologies, Prince Sokka," Katara said sarcastically, adding a bow. Sokka turned back to Yue, who was smiling slightly.
"So it looks like I'm going to be in town for a while, so do you think... well, maybe we could... do an activity together?" Sokka asked.
"Do an activity?" Yue asked, chuckling. Sokka groaned and started stuffing his mouth with food, turning away from Yue in embarrassment.
"Very smooth," Katara remarked.
"I've seen crippled old perverts with better chances than you," Rin added, getting another groan from Sokka. "Don't worry though, I don't think she's put off yet."
"Good news, guys!" Aang said, jumping into the conversation. "Master Pakku's going to train me. Katara, he said that you could come, too!"
"That's great!" Katara replied. "I'll finally be able to learn waterbending from a master!"
"So, what are we going to do while you two are off waterbending?" Rin asked.
"Actually, Rin, I've got an answer to that," Sokka said. "I asked around before the feast, and I found out where warrior training takes place. It's at sunrise tomorrow, and it's only a few minutes away from our hut."
"Why not? Let's do it," Rin replied. There was nothing else to do, and training definitely wouldn't hurt her. Besides, she was part of the war effort now. It was best to get as strong as possible.
She was falling.
As she fell, she looked around. Water was crashing all around her, battering against her sides. She couldn't see past the water. All she could see was the white water around her, falling. It was cold, but strangely, she wasn't shivering.
Suddenly, the falling stopped. She crashed down into a pool of water. It was much warmer than when she had been falling. She let the current take her, slowly drifting until she ended up in a small pool. She had been underwater for a few minutes, but the thought of breathing never crossed her mind.
She looked up, seeing two fish circle around at the surface, one black and one white. Curious, she drifted closer. She felt something connecting the two fish - and whatever it was, it was connected with her as well. She moved closer, reaching out to the two fish. The fish seemed to be emitting a soft glow, slowly intensifying as she drifted closer and closer.
Just before she touched the fish, everything whited out.
"Gah!" Rin shouted, sitting up and looking around. It was still dark inside the hut, and everyone else was still asleep. As she calmed down, she noticed that she was sweating buckets.
Figures that I have a dream about water when I'm drenched in sweat, Rin thought before noticing a fur blanket covering her legs; the rest of it thrown to the side. Did Katara do this? That's nice, but it's probably why I'm soaked in sweat. I need water.
In the dark, Rin made out the outline of her bag and grabbed it, digging through and grasping her canteen. She uncapped it and upturned it into her mouth but came up with only a small trickle of water.
Crap, it must have frozen overnight. Next time, sleep on the canteen. Regardless, she drank from the small trickle of water until she was satisfied, then capped the canteen and threw it back in her bag. She then made her way outside to see if it was time to leave. Though the sun hadn't come over the horizon yet, the sky was lighter than last night, leading her to believe that sunrise would be soon.
"Well, that's enough evidence for me," Rin muttered, heading back inside. She walked over to Sokka's sleeping bag and kicked it. "Wake up, time to go."
"Hmmmmm..." Sokka mumbled, prompting Rin to kick him again, this time harder. Sokka let out a string of incomprehensible grunts but sat up anyways.
"Urgh... is it time to go already?" Sokka groaned, slowly making his way out of his sleeping bag. He was already wearing his parka.
"Come on, get up and get ready. Sunrise is soon," Rin said, grabbing Sokka's boots and throwing them at him. After a bit more grumbling and groaning, Sokka put on his boots and stood up.
"Ready," Sokka muttered, this time a little more awake.
"Finally, let's go," Rin replied, grabbing her bag and putting it on her back. They left the hut and started walking in the direction of the training area. The sky was still as dark as she had found it before.
"I thought you said it was time to go. Aren't we supposed to be there at sunrise?" Sokka moaned. "It's still dark."
"The sky's starting to light up," Rin replied. "Sunrise is soon."
"How are you so active this early in the morning?" Sokka asked. "We've had, what, four hours of sleep?"
"Time asleep is time doing nothing," Rin explained. "Kind of a philosophy I developed over my travels. The less you sleep, the more you get done."
"It's hard to get stuff done when you're this sleepy," Sokka argued, rubbing his eyes.
"Eh, I don't feel it," Rin admitted, climbing down a large set of stairs carved into the ice. Down below, she saw a group of teenagers gathered in a courtyard and instinctively threw her hood up. "Huh, I think that's the place over there."
"I guess it's just teenagers like us," Sokka observed. As they stepped down to the courtyard, Rin noticed that one of the teenagers, older and taller than the rest of them, was watching them as approached.
"Late arrivals, I see!" he called out.
"What? It's not even sunrise!" Sokka argued.
"I'm in charge of this training, southerner. We start when I say we start," the teenager proclaimed, before turning to the crowd of trainees before him. "Since your friends decided to sleep in, we're all going on a run to wake them up! Let's go!"
A collective groan emitted from the crowd of teenagers as everyone started to follow the older boy, running through the streets of the city. Rin felt everybody glaring at her and Sokka, but they ran along anyways, making sure not to fall behind. She felt a tap on her shoulder and whirled around, instinctively backhanding a smaller boy behind her in the head.
"Ow," the boy said, rubbing his forehead.
"Don't surprise me like that," Rin replied without turning to look at him. "What do you want?"
"You're one of the new guys, right?" the boy asked. "Came with the Avatar?"
"Yeah, what about it?" Rin asked.
"I guess you wouldn't know it then," the boy said between breaths. "But Hahn likes to start us off about half an hour before sunrise. If anyone's late, well, we do stuff like this. Oh, and I don't think I caught your name. I'm Tano."
"Thanks for the tip," Rin muttered. "And the name's Rin. That guy leads the training, right?"
"Yeah. Hahn's a bit older than us, and he's decently high up within the tribe, so he volunteered to train the younger boys," Tano explained. After about half an hour of running, Hahn led the group back to the courtyard, where they stopped. Mostly everyone was panting except for Rin, Hahn, and a few other teenagers, Sokka not included.
"Nothing like a little run to make us feel awake!" Hahn shouted, scanning the group. "Now drop down and give me twenty!"
After another hour of various strength and endurance exercises, Hahn let the group take a short break. Pretty much everyone was exhausted except for Rin, who was only slightly sore in her muscles.
"Everybody pick sparring partners," Hahn ordered. "I'll be observing. No weapons for now."
"Rin?" Sokka asked.
"Why not?" Rin answered. They, along with all the other pairs, spread out along the courtyard and got into position, ready to spar. It occurred to Rin that she had never seen Sokka fight. The only two times when their little party of four got into a battle, he was either paralyzed or piloting a giant balloon. "Have you done stuff like this before?"
"My father trained me when I was younger, so I know a bit," Sokka explained, looking around. "So, should we start?"
"Ready when you are," Rin replied, bending her knees and bringing her fists up. She adopted a sturdy stance, waiting for Sokka to come at her - which he did, shouting some sort of war cry as he charged with his fist drawn back. Rin ducked backward and to the right, avoiding a straight punch before stepping back to a safe distance. Sokka followed, fist drawn back once again, but this time Rin ducked below the blow and delivered a full-on punch to his solar plexus. Sokka immediately went down, wincing in pain and gasping.
"You okay?" Rin asked, rushing to his side. "Sorry, I forgot this was sparring."
"I'm... fine," Sokka gasped, sitting up. "You're just a lot stronger than you look."
"Hey! I never said you could rest!" Hahn shouted from across the courtyard. "Get moving!"
"You heard him," Rin said, grabbing Sokka's arm and pulling him up. "Ready?"
"Give me a moment," Sokka replied, taking a deep breath. "Ready."
"Then let's continue," Rin said, and the two got into position again. This time, Sokka didn't charge immediately, instead inching his way closer without breaking his stance. Rin slowly started to circle around him, making sure to keep her guard raised.
"So, are we going to fight or what are we doing?" Sokka asked, slowly stepping closer.
"I don't know, I'm waiting for -"
Suddenly, in the middle of her sentence, she rushed Sokka, going low and sweeping his legs from under him. Once he hit the ground, Rin tried to jump on him, but Sokka rolled out of the way.
"That's not fair," Sokka complained as the two quickly stood up. "I was distracted."
"And that's why I attacked," Rin said, leaping towards Sokka. She kicked out with her right leg, but he blocked and countered with a short jab, barely clipping Rin's shoulder. However, Rin used the opportunity to grab Sokka's wrist and pull him towards her, knocking him off balance before grabbing his shirt and slamming him to the ground.
"I win," Rin declared, punching Sokka lightly on the forehead.
"Hmph... where did you learn to fight, anyways?" Sokka asked, getting up.
"I didn't really learn at any single place," Rin explained. "While I was wandering around the kingdom, before I meet you guys, I had to defend myself from other thieves, bandits, and law enforcement. I eventually learned how to fight by myself."
"Really?" Sokka asked. "I trained with my dad, and he's a great warrior, so..."
"Did you actually fight anyone?" Rin asked.
"No," Sokka answered. "Mostly because the only person near my age back at the village was Katara."
"Does she fight?" Rin asked.
"Only with waterbending," Sokka said. Rin nodded and looked around, seeing that everyone was still sparring with each other.
"Okay, we're moving on to weapons now! I don't want to see any of you hurt each other, so go easy!" Hahn shouted over the courtyard. Rin immediately pulled her hatchet from her bag and looked over at Sokka, who was patting around his clothes.
"Sokka, where's your club?" Rin asked.
"Uh, it's somewhere here, let me just find it... yeah, I think I left it at the hut," Sokka admitted, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, go get it!" Rin said. Sokka nodded and ran out of the courtyard, back in the direction of the house. Rin watched him go until he was out of sight, then wandered around, watching everybody else fight. The weapons of the North seemed to be mostly spears and clubs made of animal bones as opposed to her Fire Nation-made hatchet, which was metal and wood. As she started to put away her hatchet, she noticed Hahn approaching her from the side.
"You there, newbie!" he called. "What's your name? Why aren't you sparring? Where's your partner?"
"I'm Rin, and my partner's gone up to get his weapons," Rin explained without turning to meet his eyes.
"Well, you're sparring with me now, Ren," Hahn declared. Rin was about to correct him, but she decided against it. "Everyone, gather around! This is how you use a weapon!"
He calls me a newbie and immediately wants to spar with me... I think this guy has an ego to fill. As all of the trainees gathered to watch, Rin immediately noticed something: every trainee was a male. She was the only girl there. I wouldn't be surprised if they only teach males. Maybe they think I'm a boy because I still have my hood on. Oh well, I have a fight to get to.
"Wait!" Rin heard one of the trainees shout. Out of the crowd came Tano, who took Rin to the side of the courtyard, away from everyone else.
"What is it?" Rin hissed, making sure to keep her hood covering her head.
"Nothing," Tano replied nervously. "Actually, I just wanted to tell you something. Hahn's kind of... well, he likes to do this to us. He picks a fight, and we can't do anything about it because he's the instructor. If he loses, he just gets angry and picks on us later and makes the rest of the day miserable."
"Are you trying to tell me I should lose?"
"Well... yes? It would make training a lot easier for all of us."
"Listen, water boy," Rin growled. "Do you think I care about you?"
"Uh... no?" Tano squeaked, looking around nervously.
"Well, you're right!" Rin shouted, causing Tano to step back. "I don't give a shit about you, your little pack of water boys over there, or your egotistical instructor! If I can't avoid a fight, I'm at least gonna try to win it, so unless you have some Earth Kingdom money you're willing to give up, you can suffer for all I care!"
Rin stomped over back to the crowd, a lot more angry than she was a minute before. Hahn was waiting with a spear in hand, ready to fight. Out of the corner of her eye, Rin saw Sokka coming down the steps with his club and boomerang.
"Rin, I'm back and I got my... what's going on?" he asked.
"Our instructor challenged me to a spar," Rin explained, slowly calming down.
"What? When?"
"When you were gone. When else?"
"Okay, I guess... well, good luck."
"Ready to fight?" Hahn asked, grinning with a confident, almost arrogant look in his eye. "Everybody watch, this is how you use a spear!"
He hasn't attacked me and I want to kill him already, Rin thought as she readied her hatchet. At the same time, she used her other hand to pull a small pouch from her bag and clip it to her waist.
"Ha! You're using that small thing against a spear?" Hahn said, before turning to the crowd of trainees. "Everyone knows that the spear has a much longer reach. Take notes, kids."
"I'd rather use factory-made steel than the bone of some dead animal," Rin retorted. "Let's get started."
"Yaah!" Hahn shouted as he charged forward, stabbing with the spear. Rin dodged back, making sure to keep a safe distance between herself and the point of the spear.
"Stop running, coward!" Hahn shouted as Rin sidestepped and backpedaled from Hahn, dodging every thrust and poke. She reached into the pouch on her waist and started fumbling inside, but rolled to the side as Hahn lunged forward, stabbing the air where Rin's shoulder used to be. Rin could see that Hahn was getting more and more frustrated, trying to land a hit.
I think this guy is actually trying to hurt me, Rin thought, checking on the contents of her pouch. Luckily, nothing had fallen out. After swapping her hatchet to her left hand, she reached in and grabbed a large stone out of the pouch.
"You're an earthbend- ARGH!" Hahn shouted as he was hit in the head by the stone. He stumbled back and clutched his forehead, letting the tip of his spear drop to the ground.
"Nope," Rin muttered under her breath, swapping her hatchet back to her right hand. "Who said that you have to be an earthbender to throw rocks?"
As Hahn recovered from the rock to his head, Rin took the offensive, dashing towards her opponent. Hahn tried to lift his spear towards her, but the angle was off, and Rin simply dashed past and grabbed the spear with her left hand, throwing her hatchet to the ground with her right. With a grunt, she grabbed both hands onto the spear and snapped it in two while simultaneously kicking Hahn in the stomach. The boy tumbled across the ice of the courtyard before coming to a halt. Everyone was silent.
"Wait..." Rin heard someone say. "You're a girl?"
Oh shit, Rin thought, checking her hood. It had fallen off during the fight, revealing her face and hair. A slow murmuring made its way through the crowd as Hahn got up.
"That spear was made of the best wood we could get from..." Hahn muttered, before looking up and seeing Rin's face. "Wait, you're a girl?"
"I'm surprised none of you figured it out until now," Rin shot back, flipping her hood back over her head and picking her hatchet back up.
"We don't train women here," Hahn said. "Women are supposed to tend to the house and care for children, not fight on the battlefield. That's the man's job."
"Seriously?" Rin asked. "I just kicked your ass."
"Leave," Hahn said, more forceful than last time. With a sigh, Rin walked away and climbed up the steps to the hut. Sokka following close behind.
"Wait, so you're just going to leave?" Sokka asked. "Aren't you mad? He just kicked you out because you're a girl!"
"What do you suggest I do?" Rin asked. "I just beat him into the ground, and he's still not convinced. He should have been an earthbender for how stubborn he is."
"Go and try to convince them!" Sokka suggested. "Tell them that what they're doing is wrong!"
"Sokka, I don't care about whether they're wrong or right," Rin said. "For all I care, they can prevent their women from fighting all they want. What I care about is whether I'll get the training I want or not, and I just kicked their instructor's butt, so I don't think I'm going to learn much from there. You, on the other hand, probably need some training."
"Are you sure?" Sokka asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. I'll be up at the hut," Rin said, turning around and walking up the stairs. Once she got back to the hut, she found Katara sulking in a corner. Her face showed a mixture of annoyance and frustration, with a bit of disappointment added in.
"I thought you were learning waterbending with Aang. What happened?" Rin asked.
"Master Pakku won't teach me because I'm a girl," Katara explained with a pouty look on her face. "So, why aren't you with Sokka at warrior training?"
"Same reason," Rin replied. "Though I beat the instructor in a fight and broke his weapon, so that's all good. I don't think I would learn much from them anyways."
"Easy for you to say," Katara muttered. "I traveled across the world to learn waterbending, and the person who's supposed to teach me won't because I'm a girl!"
"Have you tried training by yourself?" Rin asked. "I did that for a while before I got hired to work on a Fire Nation ship."
Katara ignored the Fire Nation ship comment, which was a surprise for Rin. "You think I haven't tried that? I tried to learn waterbending for years, but without anyone to teach me..." Katara trailed off, looking to the side. "It's hard."
"Wait, what about your family? You're a bender, but from what Sokka told me, your dad isn't, so wasn't your mom a waterbender?" Rin asked, but Katara's sullen expression told Rin that family was a sensitive topic for the girl. "Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have asked..."
"No, it's fine," Katara said, taking a deep breath. "My mom was killed during a raid. She wasn't a waterbender."
"I see," Rin muttered before an idea suddenly popped into her head. "Wait, why don't you just watch Pakku train his students?"
"What do you mean?" Katara asked.
"It's just what I said. Go over to where Pakku trains his students, watch their forms, and whatever they do," Rin explained.
"Huh, that might work. I'll go try that. Thanks for the idea," Katara said, going out the door of the hut. Suddenly, Rin was alone with nothing to do.
Maybe I'll explore the city. I have nothing else to do, and everyone's off doing training. I might find something interesting to do, who knows.
With that, Rin exited the hut and went out to explore the city of ice.
Well, that is pointless. Just building after building of ice. What did I expect?
After wandering the city for several hours, Rin had found absolutely nothing to do. She had stopped for a quick lunch of bread and fish back at the hut, but other than that, all she had been doing for most of the day was walking. Finally, she decided to head back to the hut.
"Well that was pointless," Rin muttered, walking beside the waterways that connected the city. As she turned a corner, she noticed someone lying on the ground in front of her, soaking wet from head to toe. Upon closer investigation, she realized that it was Sokka.
"Hey," Rin said, lightly kicking Sokka in the head. "What're you doing down there?"
"Uh, nothing," Sokka replied as he got up. "Hey, guess what?"
"What?" Rin asked. "On second thought, tell me while we walk back to the hut. You need some dry clothes."
"Right," Sokka agreed as a shiver ran through his body. "Anyways, I got a date with Princess Yue tonight! I literally asked her a minute ago, and she said yes!"
"That doesn't explain why you're soaking wet," Rin pointed out.
"Well, I was kinda distracted, and I fell into the water," Sokka explained.
"Distracted by the princess?" Rin asked with a grin.
"Yeah," Sokka admitted.
"I see," Rin said. "Warrior training finished?"
"It was horrible," Sokka replied. "After you left, Hahn got angry and shouted at us for the rest of the training."
"Then I'm glad that I wasn't there," Rin said as they approached the hut. By now, Sokka was shivering and chattering his teeth. "Go in and change into some dry clothes. Don't want to be sick on your first date."
"Okay," Sokka replied, stepping into the hut and closing the door. Rin stood outside, waiting for him to come out. In the distance, she noticed Aang walking towards the hut.
"How'd waterbending go?" Rin asked.
"Master Pakku's a good teacher," Aang replied. "But he won't train Katara because of some Water Tribe custom or something."
"I heard," Rin said. "I told her to watch Pakku train you and learn from that. Did it work?"
"Master Pakku caught Katara and told her to leave," Aang said. "He said that she should go to the healing huts with the other women."
"Huh, so that didn't work..." Rin muttered. "Oh, and Sokka's inside changing out of some wet clothes. So, what are we gonna do for the rest of the day?"
"I think Katara's at the healing huts, so I guess the rest of us could just hang out until she gets back?" Aang suggested. "It's almost evening."
"I guess we could," Rin said. "I'm going to go grab some dinner from the palace."
Rin walked out of the palace, carrying a bag of cooked meat in her hand. Luckily, since they were guests of the Northern Water Tribe, they were free to take food without any cost. Rin stopped by the healing huts where Aang had said Katara went. As she walked into one of the huts, she spotted Katara sitting down, watching a healing lesson with a group of much younger girls.
"Katara!" Rin called, causing Katara to turn around towards her.
"What is it?" Katara asked, getting up and walking over. "I'm kind of in the middle of a lesson."
"I brought dinner," Rin said, reaching into the sack and handing Katara a few pieces of meat. "When will this be over?"
"Maybe... I'm not sure," Katara said, rubbing her chin. "Probably in an hour or two."
"Got it," Rin replied before turning and leaving the hut. As she walked along the waterways, she noticed the sun setting on the horizon, casting a warm, orange glow over the normally white ice of the city. For some reason, it felt warmer than it had been at noon. As she got back to the hut, Rin noticed Sokka preparing to leave.
"Oh, you're back?" Sokka called over to her. "Did you pick up dinner?"
"Take some and give me the bag back," Rin said, throwing the bag of meat over to Sokka, who immediately grabbed a few pieces and started stuffing his face.
"Thanfff uou," Sokka tried to say through a mouthful of food, giving the bag back. Rin simply nodded and headed inside, looking inside the bag to see what was left. Sure enough, there were a few pieces of meat at the bottom of the sack, along with half of a fish.
"Hey, you brought dinner!" Aang exclaimed. "Did you get anything vegetarian?"
"Get it yourself," Rin muttered, grabbing a piece of meat. "There's only dead animals in here."
"Rin..." Aang muttered with a look of disapproval. "Well, I guess I'll go up to the palace myself. I need to get food for Appa and Momo, anyways."
"You do that," Rin said as Aang went outside and flew off towards the palace. Rin proceeded to eat until she was full, putting a few pieces aside for if she was hungry later. Suddenly, Sokka poked his head into the hut, calling Rin's name.
"What is it?" Rin asked.
"I'm going to my date with Princess Yue now," Sokka explained. "Hold down the fort while I'm gone, 'k?"
"I guess..." Rin replied as Sokka ran off, almost giddy with anticipation. Once again, Rin had nothing to do.
About an hour passed, and the evening had turned to night. Sokka, Katara, and Aang almost all arrived at the same time, with Sokka looking depressed and frustrated.
"How was warrior training?" Katara asked Sokka, who kicked his bag and let out a frustrated grunt in response.
"That bad?" Aang asked.
"Kinda, but that's not it," Sokka explained, lying down on the floor and using his bag as a pillow. "It's Princess Yue. I don't get it, one minute she wants to go out with me and the next she's telling me to get lost!"
"So the date failed," Rin assumed.
"Big time," Sokka said, before turning to Katara. "So how's waterbending training?"
"Master poophead won't train Katara because she's a girl," Aang explained.
"Why don't you just teach her, Aang?" Sokka asked. "I mean, what's wrong with that?"
"Why didn't I think of that?" Katara exclaimed. "At night, you can teach me whatever moves you learned from Master Pakku. That way, I learn waterbending and you have someone to practice with! Everyone's happy!"
"I'm not happy," Sokka muttered.
"And I'm still bored," Rin added. "I have nothing to do since I'm banned from warrior training. I've been thinking about breaking into houses and stealing stuff just to have something to do."
"Sokka, you're never happy," Katara said. "And Rin, I told you when you joined the group that there would be no stealing. Come on Aang, let's go practice waterbending."
"Well, there they go," Rin muttered as Katara and Aang went out the front door. "They might take a while, so I'm gonna go to sleep."
"Agreed," Sokka said, rolling out his sleeping bag. Rin took off her boots and lied down on the fur-covered floor wrapping her cloak around herself and going to sleep
She was drifting.
The waters of the pool were calm and peaceful as the two fish swam around each other. It was relaxing, drifting along without a care in the world. She couldn't see beyond the surface - not that she wanted to. She was content.
Suddenly, a current started up, pulling her against her will. She tried to fight it, but it was useless. It was as if a dark maelstrom had appeared, sucking in everything near it. Everything grew darker as she succumbed to the current.
Suddenly, the current stopped, and she blacked out.
"Urgh," Rin groaned, waking up from the strange dream. It felt like last night all over again, except she wasn't sweating. She looked around and was surprised to see that Katara was already up and changing into her clothes for the day.
"Well, you're up early," Rin muttered as she sat up.
"Wake up the two boys," Katara ordered. "We're heading up to the palace."
"Why?" Rin asked, grabbing her boots and strapping them on.
"Master Pakku caught Aang teaching me waterbending, and now he won't teach Aang," Katara explained. "We need to try and convince him to accept Aang back. He needs to learn waterbending."
"Huh, so I guess Sokka's suggestion didn't work out?" Rin asked. She stood up and went over to where Sokka was laying down, kicking him lightly until she heard a groan come out of his sleeping bag.
"What is it?" Sokka mumbled. "I wanna sleep."
"Hey, Sokka," Rin said, kneeling down and hitting the boy lightly over the head. "Your little idea to teach your sister waterbending got busted, and now Aang can't learn waterbending. We're going up to fix that, and you're coming."
"Really?" Sokka asked, this time a little more awake. "How'd they get caught?"
"Old men like to take walks at night," Rin replied, standing back up. "Get up, we're going soon."
"Wait, what's going on?" Aang asked, having been woken up by their talking.
"We're going up to try and get Master Pakku to teach you again," Katara explained.
"Do we have to?" Aang asked. "I could always find another teacher."
"Aang, as much as I hate to admit it, Master Pakku is the best waterbender in the North Pole, and maybe the world," Katara said. "You shouldn't have to settle for a lesser teacher just because I wanted to learn waterbending."
"If you're sure..." Aang said. Once everyone was up and ready, they exited the hut and started towards the palace.
"Hey, Rin..." Aang said as they climbed up the steps leading to the palace.
"What?" Rin asked.
"Uh, shouldn't you put your hood down?" Aang suggested. "From what the monks told me, it's disrespectful to have headwear on while you're inside, or to hide your face when you talk to someone."
"Why should I respect them?" Rin asked. "They won't train Katara just because she's a girl, and I'm not going to respect them just because they're high rank or some stuff like that."
"Uh, okay," Aang said. As they entered the palace, Rin noticed that Aang had gone to the other side of the group next to Katara and away from herself. A guard approached them and signaled for the group to stop.
"Chief Arnook and Master Pakku are expecting you," the guard told them, escorting them to a large meeting room. The two men were sitting cross-legged on a raised platform, along with Yue and a few high-rank tribesmen.
"Master Pakku told me that you would come here," Arnook said. "So, what do you want?"
"Uh, well, the thing is..." Sokka started, but Arnook cut him off.
"I have already heard about what your sister and the Avatar did last night," the chief said. "Unfortunately for you, Pakku is a man of his word. He meant every word he said."
"Look, Aang's the Avatar," Rin argued. "He's your hope of not getting overrun by the Fire Nation. If you don't train him, it'll be a giant disservice to the world."
"So, what do you want me to do?" Arnook asked. "Force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?"
"Yes... please?" Katara asked.
"I suppose he will change his mind if you swallow your pride and apologize to him," Arnook said. Katara had an angry look on her face, but she softened up after looking back at Aang.
"Fine," Katara said, turning back towards Master Pakku.
"I'm waiting, little girl," Pakku said in an almost teasing manner. Suddenly, something seemed to snap in Katara. Her fists clenched and her face filled with determination and anger.
"No!" Katara shouted as the ice around her feet began to crack. "No way am I apologizing to a sour, old man like you!"
Crash! Two pots on the side of the room exploded, spilling water over the floor of the room. Everyone was silent, stunned by Katara's sudden outburst.
"I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me," Katara shouted, pointing towards Pakku before heading out of the room.
"I'm sure she didn't mean that," Aang said.
"Yeah, I think she did," Sokka replied.
Wow. I'll make sure not to piss her off if she gets better at waterbending, Rin mentally noted as she and the two boys caught up with Katara, who was walking down the stairs to a large courtyard outside the palace.
"Are you crazy, Katara?" Sokka asked. "You're not gonna win a fight against a master waterbender!"
"I know, and I don't care!" Katara shouted, throwing off her parka and tossing it into Sokka's arms.
"Katara, you don't have to do this for me," Aang pleaded. "I can find another teacher. I don't have to train with Pakku."
"This isn't about you! Someone needs to slap some sense into that guy," Katara shouted before turning to Rin. "And don't you try to convince me too!"
"Go ahead," Rin said. "I don't really see the point though, since the old man's just going to beat you into the ground."
"Oh, shut it," Katara growled before spotting Pakku coming down the stairs behind the group. "So, you decided to show up?"
Why wouldn't he? There's probably no chance that he's gonna lose, Rin thought. However, the old man walked past Katara, completely ignoring her.
"Aren't you gonna fight?!" Katara asked as he walked away.
"Go back to the healing huts with the other women where you belong," Pakku replied, waving the girl off. In response, Katara drew up a tendril of ice from the ground, converting it to water and whipping Pakku on the back of his head.
"Fine, you want to learn how to fight so badly?" Pakku asked, turning around. "Study closely!"
"Get back!" Rin told Aang and Sokka, leading them a safe distance away from the fight as Pakku bent two large streams of water towards Katara. Rin turned back and saw Katara get hit by a blast of water, followed by Pakku bending a large swirling wall of water around the two combatants.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," Rin heard Pakku say from behind the wall of water. Suddenly, the water shot off straight towards Rin, who instinctively rolled out of the way. Sokka, however, wasn't so lucky. He was hit directly by the blast of water and thrown into a nearby waterway.
"I'm gonna go grab Sokka," Rin told Aang before running over to the waterway where Sokka had landed. As the boy swam to the edge of the water, Rin grabbed his hand and pulled him back onto the ice.
"Wow, those two can sure hit hard," Sokka said.
"This is the second time you've fallen into a waterway in a day. Let's not make this a daily thing," Rin replied.
"Believe me, I'm not trying to," Sokka said as they walked back over to watch the fight. Katara was standing in a pool of water, throwing razor-sharp disks of ice at Pakku, who managed to dodge or block every hit.
Huh, Katara's a better waterbender than I assumed. Katara bent the water around her feet and threw it at Pakku, who redirected the stream behind him and pushed it along the ground, using the ice at his feet to gather more water. As Katara tried to charge in, he threw the stream of water, washing the girl back and bringing her to her knees.
"Well, I'm impressed," Pakku commented as Katara stood up. "You are an excellent waterbender."
"But you still won't teach me, will you?" Katara asked, panting.
"No," Pakku said as Katara bent a wave of water at him in response. The old master dodged to the slide, sliding towards Katara along a slope of ice and knocking her down. Rin spotted a small, blue band fly off of Katara, identifying it as her necklace.
Katara's looking tired... this is gonna be over soon, Rin assumed as Pakku bent a mass of water into the air above Katara. With a flick of his wrists, the water turned to spears of ice and crashed down all around her.
"Katara!" Aang shouted. He was about to rush over and check on the girl. However, Rin grabbed his arm and held him in place.
"She's not hurt, just trapped. Look closer before rushing in," Rin muttered to Aang. Sure enough, Katara was struggling against the icicles that held her in place, glaring at Pakku as he walked by.
"This fight is over," the old man proclaimed as he passed by.
"No, it's not!" Katara shouted. "I'm not finished yet!"
"Yes, you are," Pakku replied before he suddenly stopped, looking down towards the ground. With a shocked look on his face, he picked Katara's necklace off the ground and stared at it. "This... is my necklace."
"No, it's not. It's mine!" Katara shouted, struggling against the icicles surrounding her. "Give it back!"
"I made this sixty years ago," Pakku said in disbelief. "For the love of my life... for Kanna."
"My gran-gran was supposed to marry you?" Katara asked as the ice around her melted.
"Wait, what's going on here?" Rin asked, approaching Katara. "What happened with your grand-"
"Be quiet," Katara ordered. "I'll explain afterwards if I can, but for now, shut up."
"I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged," Pakku explained as Rin stepped back, letting the two talk. "I thought we would live a long, happy life together. I loved her..."
"But she didn't love you, didn't she?" Katara finished. "It was an arranged marriage. Gran-gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she ran away. It must have taken a lot of courage."
Wait, so her grandmother and that old man knew each other? That's kinda lucky, Rin thought. Princess Yue, who had been watching the entire thing, teared up and ran off while Sokka watched longingly.
"Go get her," Aang said, prompting Sokka to chase after the white-haired princess. Meanwhile, Pakku turned around and walked up to Katara, handing her the necklace.
"I should have learned this sixty years ago," Pakku said solemnly, looking out towards the ocean. "My tribe was too strict with its customs - the opposite of what a waterbender should be. I didn't realize that, and I lost Kanna."
"Hey!" Rin shouted, walking up to the old man. "I'm not sure what's going on, but from what I've heard and seen, your customs are crap. Why did you follow them in the first place? All they've done is take away your girlfriend and stop good fighters like Katara from learning."
"Rin! What are you doing?" Katara hissed, gesturing for her to back off.
"No, your companion is right, although she may be a little blunt," Pakku said, turning to Katara. "I've made my decision. I will accept the Avatar back into my training... and you may come, too."
"Thank you, Master Pakku," Katara said, smiling. As the old man walked back to the palace, Aang walked over to the two girls.
"Thanks for getting us back into training, Katara," Aang said.
"Don't mention it," Katara replied before taking a look around. "Hey, where did Sokka go?"
"The princess ran off crying during your talk with the old man," Rin explained. "Aang told Sokka to use that as an opportunity. Also, he's in wet clothes because you blasted him with water, and now he's probably freezing."
"Well, the easiest way to get someone to like you is to comfort them while they're down," Aang said. "I don't think I'd let Sokka miss an opportunity like that. He probably has the common sense to change out of his wet clothes, anyways."
"Let's hope he does," Katara said. "We should go back now, I'm tired."
And so they walked back together, with Rin watching Katara and Aang smile all the way down.
Note: I don't really know much about sparring. I just think of it as fighting for training.
Thanks for reading! If you have the time, I would love it if you could leave a review telling me what you think of the chapter and/or story, as well as any concerns or criticisms you may have(my current worry is canon characters being out of character, as well as the fight scene above). Of course, you don't need to go into some detailed paragraph on why you do/don't like the story, you can just say whatever you want. If you catch any error (continuity, misinformation, typos, etc), I'd appreciate it if you could tell me. I shouldn't really have to tell you this, but if you liked the story and want to get updates on when I post, the follow/favorite buttons are there for you. The Siege of the North starts next chapter, so until then, have a nice day!