What was supposed to be a fishing trip for two siblings turned out to be a sudden Iceberg-Excavation. Katara stood beside her brother as they stared wide-eyes and mouths agape at the beam of light and fire swirling together as it shot into the sky. The light was a searing white tinged with blue, but the fire was a brilliant, silvery-white… however, the fire itself didn't remind Katara of the violence the Fire Nation was known for throughout the long One-Hundred Year War.
No… for some reason, it seemed to exude the warmth of protection, like their father's hugs, when he was still there in the Southern Water Tribe, or Sokka's natural protectiveness as an older brother.
Not too far away, a ship made of metal carved its way through the icy waters. A young man stood at the ship's front, looking at the beam of light and fire shooting into the sky. A horrid scar made up some of the left side of his face, golden eyes wrought with determination, bitterness, and a deep anger. But there was hope in those battle-scarred eyes as well. He watched the column of light and fire vanish gradually, and when it disappeared completely, his eyes narrowed.
"Finally."
He turned to another person who was on deck, an old man playing a game of Pai Sho and had a cup of tea and a kettle off to the side. "Uncle, don't you know what this means?" the old man sighed and set a card down. "I won't get to finish my game…?"
"No," The teen growled and turned back to the remaining glow. "It means my search is about to come to an end! Three years of scouring the world and I've found them! I can finally restore my honor."
The old man sighed. "That glow could just be the celestial lights, Prince Zuko. We've been down this route so many times before and I don't want you getting too excited over something that may not even be there…" the old man set a card down and gestured to the warm kettle. "Please, come and sit with me. Take a sip of some calming jasmine tea."
Zuko whirled around, gold eyes blazing. " I don't NEED any calming tea! What I need is to capture the Avatar and eliminate his Protector!" the old man's face fell, a look of concern and worry for the young prince etched in his eyes. As he listened to the young man tell the helmsman to set a course for the light, a wind blew and rattled his cards.
Whether the wind was one carrying peace or one that carried chaos, the old man, Prince Iroh, Dragon of the West, couldn't be sure.
As the light and flame burnt themselves out, a figure emerged from the top of the ice. His eyes glowed with mystical blue power, and an arrow on his head glowed menacingly as he looked down at the two siblings. A moment after the first figure emerged a second one shot through the steam and spun into the sky, black wings stretched wide and white fire curling around their limbs. Eyes glowed a golden-yellow and a tail whipped in agitation behind their form. Lips were raised in a silent snarl and showcasing elongated, wickedly sharp canines while fire curled from the corners of their mouth.
Katara's face went from awestruck to fearful in an instant as she saw the flames coming from the second figure. Sokka raised his spear and held it threateningly at the two figures from the ice, but he was shaking just as bad, if not as much, as his sister. "S-stay away from us! We're warning you!" The two mysterious beings from within the ice stood/hovered silently, staring down at the two water tribe teens, before the boy with the blue glow fainted. The winged boy lunged forwards and grabbed the other in a protective embrace, wings fluttering as he brought them both to rest gently upon the ice. As soon as he touched down though, he too passed out.
Katara gasped and moved to catch the younger-looking one but the winged being seemed to be ahead of her, even while unconscious. He wrapped his wings around the younger and took the brunt of the fall, the membrane thundering like flapping as they brushed against the cold surface they laid on.
Katara reached for the limb over the younger boy hesitantly before gently lifting it off and setting it to the side. Hearing a groan, she looked down at the bald boy in her arms. Meanwhile Sokka poked at the scaly being with his spearhead, drawing a pained grunt from him and a harsh flinch. "Sokka leave it alone!" Katara's voice made him back off, especially when he heard the bald kid groan. Katara stared as cloud-grey eyes slowly opened and blinked into her ocean blues. However, they didn't focus on her for long.
"C-can you come a bit closer? I need to ask you something…" Katara blinked and came closer. "What is it?" the boy blinked tiredly before his eyes snapped wide open. In an energetic voice he asked, "Can you go penguin sledding with me and by brother?" Katara blinked and sat back on her heels in confusion. "Uuh… sure?" the boy seemed to float up and land on his feet, looking around at the cold environment in confusion. "Where are we? Wait, where's Ren?"
Ren? What's a Ren?
There was a groan and a rustle of snow and clothes as the boy behind them shifted, his tail flicking in irritation.
"Keep it down, you little lemur…" a rough voice grumbled. Katara and Sokka jumped and spun around to see the boy with wings and a tail moving to roll onto his back. "It's too earl-GAAAHAH!" the winged one let out a cry of pain and arched his back upwards, face scrunched in pain and eyes squeezed tight. The boy who was evidently 'Lemur' gasped before scrambling to the older-looking boy's side. "Ren, are you okay?! Where are we?! What day is it?! How many berry-cream pies did you pack?!"
A clawed hand covered in scales came flying up and pressed into the younger kid's face, shoving him back and into the snow. "I'm fine… just have a freaky pain in my back- I guess I wlept wrong… No idea where we are, but we must be up north or south since it's so cold, and if you hadn't eaten all of the pies within the half hour we left the island then I'd know how many I pa-!" the creature paused before looking around anxiously. "Wait, where's Amaru and Appa?"
The being, whose name was apparently Ren, spun around with his tail waving about and wings raised slightly for balance as he looked for his companions. When he moved and his shirt hiked up a bit, the two water siblings had to stifle gasps of shock at the horrible wound on his back; it was dead center between where his wings connected with his shoulder blades- it was raw and red, with lines running jaggedly from the point of entry to branch out all over his back and wings. The front of his shirt was charred as well, and an exit point was in the center of his chest. The harsh lines and branches reminded Katara of a bolt of lightning in the way they seemed to wrap around the strange boy's shoulders and reached out on his wings in a painful clawing shape. It even reached up and over the scales on his face to curl around his eyes in faint, opaque pinkish trails.
Though where flesh was exposed, it looked more natural to a certain type of wound… more like-.
"A burn…" Katara's voice made the two boys look at her, as if finally realizing she and Sokka were still there. "What? No, that's not right… Ren can't get burnt, he's a half dragon!" Sokka snapped out of it and scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. And this is Katara, a half penguin." Ren stuck his tongue out at the other boy and spread his wings slightly, flapping them leisurely before humming at the feeling of stretching muscle. Though, a specific movement made zings of pain in his back and he paused, wincing faintly.
This'll give me a problem with flying… he thought as he plastered an easy look over his face to mask the pain. I'll have to avoid flying by myself for a while. There was a low rumble and a groan from the other side of the iceberg, and the formerly icebound boys blinked before they dashed up to the top. Aang giggled as he floated down while Ren sighed in relief and slid carefully down the slope when he saw their two animal friends were merely asleep.
"Rise and shine, Amaru! You've slept long enough!"
"Appa, get up buddy!"
Ren jogged closer to his black dragon and took a deep breath before breathing silver flames gently onto the motionless serpentine form, being sure to warm up his friend thoroughly while not melting the ice they were on. Aang tried to lift Appa up by the lip before the Sky Bison licked the boy, lifting him up before setting him down. Amaru's golden eyes fluttered before he yawned and chomped down on Ren with a growl. The dragon rolled the half-boy around in his mouth briefly before spitting him out, covering the silver-haired boy in dragon spit. Ren, though thoroughly soaked, cackled as he rolled across the ice and righted himself.
Appa shook himself awake while Amaru stretched, his fluffy grey-black mane rippling in the air and his wings flapping to stretch out the kinks.
Katara and Sokka's eyes went wide at the sight of the two mythical animals. "Well, they look okay to me!" Aang said to his brother while Ren shot the younger a thumbs up while Amaru gave a sloppy lick to Ren's face, then Aang's in greeting.
"I-is that a-?"
"A dragon?" Ren finished for the shocked Water Tribe girl cheekily. "So it is~! This is Amaru, my flame-brother." The half dragon smiled, his sharp canines peeking out of his mouth in the dying light as he patted the black and scaly beast on the nose fondly.
"And this is Appa, my flying Bison." Aang scratched the natural Airbender under the chin and earned a groan of pleasure from the animal. Sokka couldn't even bring himself to retort, the sight of an honest to spirits dragon being enough to take the fight out of him. "Is he okay?" Aang asked Katara, who snorted.
"Yeah, don't worry, it's a welcome change."
Ren smirked before looking around curiously. "Sooo… you guys live around this icy puddle or what?"
"No, don't answer that!" Sokka had pulled himself together and shoved his spear into Ren's and Aang's faces, alternating between the boy and the dragon hybrid as if he couldn't decide which was more threatening. "Didn't you see that beam of light and fire a minute ago?! They could have been doing that to signal the Fire Navy! I wouldn't be surprised if the weird guy was a Firebender!" Katara rolled her eyes at her brother's paranoia but she couldn't shake the vague dangerous feeling she got when she looked at Ren.
Silbver fire danced along his scales and seemed to be reflected in his eyes. His tail flicked, a small ember or two flying from the tuft of white and black fur at the end to spiral harmlessly into the snow at their feet as he used his claws to comb absently through the tuft.
"Well, I should hope I'm a Firebender," Ren said, placing his clawed hands on his hips. "I mean, that's the only thing I'm really good at besides flying, eating, cooking, and fighting." Ren held out a clawed hand and lit it on fire, the silver flame covering his skin and whooshing merrily before it changed color to a soothing blue, then a vibrant green and a shimmering violet. The alternating colors made Katara and Sokka jump away with gasps of fear and surprise. He then let the flame envelop his entire body, sighing in relief as the familiar warmth surrounded him. "See? Instant heater~!"
"Hey, save some for me!" Aang huddled a bit closer, leeching off some of the heat while Katara and Sokka gaped at the two. The girl watched their interaction, namely Aang huddling under Ren's wing and the boy rolling his eye in a way that reminded her of herself and Sokka. They really are like brothers, despite looking nothing alike.
"Well… My name's Katara, and the paranoid one is my brother Sokka. You two didn't tell us your names, but I think I got them from your conversation… You're Ren," she pointed at the dragon-boy who flashed a smile at her and nodded. Ren wagged his tail and his wings twitched slightly. "Yep. Ren, spirit-child of the Dragons, at your service."
"And you're Ahng, right?" Aang smiled, but then frowned. "You said my name wrong… you said it like AHng… it's AA… aa-aa-aaaa!" he started to stretch the 'A' out in jerky syllables and Ren backed away cautiously. "hoh, boy." Aang's nose twitched and his fingers jerked as he leaned back. "Ah, crap, take cover!" the half-dragon ducked behind his dragon companion just in time for Aang to sneeze and fly fifteen feet up. Ren peeked up from behind his dragon friend and shot the boy a double thumbs up and let out a whoop. "New record!"
Aang slid down the iceberg's side and huffed. "I'm Aang, not Ahng." the boy sniffled and wiped his nose before he grinned. "Nice to meet you!"
Sokka and Katara stared at the boy who had just sneezed and was shot like a cannon ten feet into the air.
"I think you broke em', kiddo," Ren chuckled. Sokka stammered as he pointed at Aang and then the sky in astonishment. "Y-you just sneezed, and blasted ten feet in the air!" Aang tilted his head in confusion. "Really? It felt higher than that…"
"New record, kid." Ren said absently.
Katara blinked in realization and smiled widely as she stepped a little closer. "You're an Airbender?" Aang nodded brightly. "Yep!"
Sokka groaned and turned around. "Okay so we got Dragons, half-dragons, flying bison, light beams with fire and an Airbender along with a nice Firebender… I'm going back home where things make sense, cuz being out here may have given me a dose of Midnight Sun Madness."
He then paused as he looked out at the water- their boat was nowhere to be found. "Hey… if you guys are stuck, Appa and Amaru can give you a ride… if you wanna." Katara looked over to Ren who was scratching his dragon behind a large deer-shaped ear and the giant lizard purred at the feeling. "I'd love a ride!" Katara said, climbing onto Appa- she still had some reservations about Ren and his dragon- he hadn't attacked them yet, but he was still a Firebender and she knew how ruthless they were… but he looked at everyone like they were things to be protected, no matter if they had just met. Not to mention he wasn't going after the Airbender either, since they were the reason the Nomads were-.
"Oh, no. I'm not getting on that fluffy snot monster OR the Firebender's pet!"
"Hey, Amaru isn't a pet! he's my friend, family even!" Sokka scoffed but Katara cut off what he would have said next. "Well, are you gonna wait for another monster to give you a ride back home? Ya' know… before you freeze to death?"
With a pouting Sokka secured on Amaru's rear saddle, the large serpentine dragon now stood alongside Appa as if preparing for a race. "So they give us directions and we race there, with me as the ending victor, right?" Ren called to the Airbender. Aang laughed. "Just because we were napping doesn't mean we're any less fast than you!" Ren snorted and leaned over on Amaru's neck, huddling the scales under him with his knees and holding onto the mane. "Okay, Sokka! You need to hold onto the rear mane! Stay low and trust Amaru and I to get you where you need to go." the dragon's wings flapped slightly, brushing off whatever remains of ice and snow there were on the membrane before readying to fly.
"Appa-."
"Amaru-."
…
"Yip-Yip!"
Ren let out a booming bark-growl and the two animals jumped into the air. Amaru spread his wings and the reflection of the remaining sunlight on his scales send small reflections of white dancing across the surface of the iceberg and water. Ren let out a whoop as his dragon took to the air, but his face fell when he heard a loud splash and turned around. Sokka was looking terrified, but behind him Appa was… swimming.
«Amaru… why is Appa…?» the dragon huffed, a jet of fire shooting from his nostrils as he turned around to circle the Sky Bison. «I do not know…» the dragon swooped down and let out a low questioning growl to his water-locked friend who answered with a groan of his own. The dragon spoke to his partner who gave a quiet aah in understanding.
"Hey, Aang? Amaru says Appa needs more rest!" the boy pouted. "Awwww…."
It would be a long and boring ride back to the Water Tribe, then.
Ren rummaged around his saddle bags after a while and found his bamboo flute, puffing on it to get back into the practice while Aang chatted quietly with Katara. Sokka had eventually begun to relax, though he kept shooting Ren weird looks. "If you're gonna stare," The half-dragon said as he let out a low note "There are much better angles you can do it from on Appa…"
Sokka jumped. "No. I'm just wondering if since you and the Airbender kid were stuck in the ice together, you must've known him, right?" Ren blinked. "Yeah, he's like by little brother… what about it?" The water tribe boy looked away with a grimace, as if he couldn't believe he was asking this question. "Well… if that were true, you two must have lived together with the Airbenders. The last Avatar was supposed to be an Airbender… ugh… I'm just wondering if you knew who the Avatar and his protector were, or who they could be… maybe if you knew them." Ren's eyes went wide and he shot upright on Amaru's horned head. "Wha-? No! Where would you get an idea-? Pffft, that's crazy talk! Hahahah… ehh… ha."
Sokka narrowed his eyes at the half dragon and filed that reaction away for a later date.
"Meh… just curious. Well, I'm gonna jump down and crash with my sister. Night." Ren waved, not looking back but acknowledging his passenger's departure. "Yep, 'Night."
Looking down at Aang, the boy looked up at him at the same time and they both shared a grimace. Now that they thought about it, they had both done something serious, not to mention cowardly- they had run away from their duties and places… and it left a bitter taste in the young Airbender's mouth while Ren felt like his stomach was curdling.
It was storming, that much Aang knew. Ren flew beside them, and Amaru beside Ren.
There was a flash of light and a streak of silver before someone was screaming in pain. Ren had been struck by lightning, and the concussive sound around them of the thunder made Appa and Amaru spiral out of control.
They crashed into the waves below and the next thing Aang knew he was forming an air bubble around the four before freezing it over.
"Aang…"
Then it got cold.
"Aang...!"
It was so cold-.
"AANG! Get up!"
Aang shot upright with a gasp, seeing Katara looking down at him from the tent flap. Ren was beside him and already awake, slipping on his pants over his undergarment. "Ooh, welcome back to the land of the living, princess~!" Ren crossed his arms over his bare chest and leaned back on his tail, the scattered scales on his ribs and sides gleaming in the torchlight.
"Hurry up, the village wants to meet the two of you!" Katara exclaimed, and Ren rolled his eyes, waving her away. "Alright, alright- unless you wanna see a couple of guys get dressed, you should skedaddle back out and wait outside like the rest of your village!" Katara flushed and scoffed before going to turn away. She paused when she caught sight of Aang's arrows.
The light blue trailed over his arms and over the tops of his feet to wind around his legs and vanish under his monk's robes. The boy took a glance over at Ren's wings as they fluttered and bent so he could put them through his own clothing, but before he'd completely slipped it on Aang caught sight of the charred skin and scale that led to the point the lightning struck.
His grey eyes flashed with guilt, but before he could ask about it Katara grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the tent. Ren huffed and jogged out after his brother with an exasperated groan, nodding to Sokka who just narrowed his eyes at him untrustingly.
"Aang, Ren, this is the entire village." The girl gestured to the gathering of children and young women. "Entire village, meet Aang and Ren." The young Airbender bowed while Ren crouched, fists planted on the ground. He curled his tail around and spread his wings as well as he could before bowing his head with respect to the eldest there- the dragon's equivalent of a respectful greeting to an outsider nest.
The children huddled closer to their mothers and the mothers frowned at the two, namely the half-dragon Firebender.
"Why are they looking at us like that…?" Ren muttered to Aang, who shrugged. "Maybe Amaru and Appa sneezed on us?"
"No one has seen an Airbender in over a hundred years, nor have we seen anything that resembles you," The woman nodded at Ren. "Either." An elderly woman spoke up as she bravely stepped forwards. "We thought the Airbenders were all but wiped out until my granddaughter and grandson brought you both here… and from what she tells me, you are half dragon, and we have seen your full-blooded dragon as well… the dragons have been extinct just as long as Airbenders have been." Ren's eyes widened, pupils thinning as he heard the words 'Dragon' and 'Extinct' as if they were in the same subject of speaking. "Wait… Extinct?" Aang voiced their thoughts, eyes wide with shock.
"Aang, Ren, this is my grandmother."
The old lady kept her half-mast look, merely saying "Call me Gran-Gran."
Ren pursed his lips and sighed, bowing his head to give a more human form of respect before backing away. "I need to check on Amaru- it's a new place with new smells and such so he can be overwhelmed easily." With a casual wave over his shoulder, he walked away, but Sokka followed him with his eyes full of distrust.
As Ren circled around a tent and out of sight from everyone the half-breed finally let himself lean on something, eyes narrowed as his wings fell limp to the snow under his feet. With every beat of his heart, Ren felt the entry and exit points of his wound throb with pain- it was as if the writhing energy from the lightning was trapped under his skin and scales, slowly charring him up from the inside out in a grating and uncomfortable sensation.
The first time he had ever been burnt, and it was by lightning.
It hurts… he thought. It feels like stone grinding into my back, or Bumi decided to play the role of a masseuse …the half dragon slid to the ground and took deep breaths as he clutched at his chest tightly. A low growl made him look up and he saw Amaru looking down at him with worried golden eyes. «I'm okay, flame-brother…»
The black dragon whined before leaning over and nuzzling the teen gently. «No you are not…! The lightning did much more harm to you then you thought! You need more rest… see if they have a healer…»
Ren grit his teeth as a small movement on his part jolted his back- he couldn't lie to his Flame-Brother; he was more hurt than he let on in front of the others. I can't let myself get caught being like this… Ren thought. But what happened in the storm wasn't a fluke, and it looks like I really don't get a choice in how I act or tackle this 'Protector of the Avatar' role. The biggest threats to Aang are what I'll be jumping in front of from now on. It happened with the lightning- my body just moved in its own… and It's gonna happen again… I know it.
The half dragon pushed himself up and patted Amaru's snout reassuringly as the blue dragon nuzzled into his side comfortingly.
«I may not like this fate…» Ren murmured. «But I guess I'll just have to get used to it.» Amaru snorted and shook his large head. «You have never bowed to something you truly did not want to do before… why do you bend now? Did your mind get twisted from the lightning strike?»
Ren smirked and scratched the dragon under the chin. «Yeah, you're right… It's not that I'm bending to my fate though, Amaru.» Ren looked up at the sky and sighed, a plume of mist and fire curling from his mouth. «Because I'm not looking out for the Avatar at all… I'm just an older brother watching out for his little brother…»
In Man Tongue Ren chuckled lowly. "Guess I should think about this in a new perspective."
On the Fire Nation ship, Zuko was sparring against two soldiers.
Iroh watched; brow furrowed as his nephew failed in grasping the fundamental principle once again. "Not good enough," The man said, shaking his head. "Once again!" with an exchange of fire and blows Iroh sighed in frustration and broke the three up once more. "No, Prince Zuko! Firebending comes from the breath and the lungs! Not the muscles."
Zuko sneered at the old man as he began his lecture. "The breath becomes energy, and that energy extends past your limbs to become fire." With a punch to the air, Iroh produced a billow of flame that curled around the prince's face without doing harm.
Zuko growled lowly. "Enough! I've been doing the same sequence all day. Gove me the next set- I'm more than prepared!" Iroh shook his head. "No, you are impatient! I won't teach you the next set until you have completed the basics! Do it again!"
Zuko snarled and lashed out at one of the guards, knocking him off his feet with a powerful plume of fire. Turning back to his uncle Zuko marched up to him.
"The sages speak of the Avatar being an Airbender. They speak of his protector being the ultimate guardian, raised by the first Benders from every element themselves of the previous incarnation the Avatar was born into: the previous Avatar was a Firebender, so his protector this time would have been raised by the Dragons themselves! If I'm to face them both, or even just the Protector, I'll need more than basic training and sets to defeat them! they're both over a hundred years old by now- they have had a century to master their elements and combat prowess. You will teach me the advanced set!"
The ship was silent save for the groaning of its course carved through the waters. Eventually and with a sigh, Iroh caved. "Very well… but first, let me finish my roast duck and steamed pork buns~!"
"Hey, where's Ren?"
Back at the village, Aang looked around for his wayward brother's unmistakable shape, but didn't see him. "AHA! I knew it! He probably flew off to look for a Fire Navy ship to flag down and betray us!" Katara frowned at her brother before turning back to Aang. "We'll help you look for him if you want. He can't have gone far."
"Look! It's the dragon!"
Everyone looked up to see Amaru flying overhead, swooping and winding through the air like a ribbon in the breeze and breathing out puffs of fire. The thing about the flames was that it wasn't just one color- there was gold, red, blue, pink, purple, green, orange, and silver. Even a few speckles of black were intertwined in the random shots. On his neck where the saddle had originally been sat Ren, his own wings pressed close to his sides to not provide drag for his animal friend. The half dragon was firebending into the air as well, and his flames were a range of colors also (though he always settled on silver much more than any other color). Ren looked down and waved jovially at his brother and the tribe members below.
Sokka scoffed. "Isn't he supposed to be older than you? He acts like a little kid." Aang hummed. "Ren's only four years older than me- being raised by dragons, he didn't have much time to act like an actual kid so he does it when he can… he's gonna be looking like this for a really long time, so he likes to take advantage." That's one of the reasons why we ran away in the first place, he added to himself grimly.
"What do you mean by that?" Aang looked at Sokka who was eyeing Ren strangely. "Ren is half dragon, and his dragon half is made up of the spirits of past dragons brought to physical form. from what the Golden Dragon told me, dragon spirits work differently than mine or yours do. Unless Ren can find a mate to stay with for life, he won't age like we do… If I had to guess, by the time you're ninety, He'll look like he's in his early twenties."
With Sokka spluttering on that chunk of knowledge, Amaru came in for a landing and hummed proudly as the children cheered for his performance. Ren found himself mobbed by the little gremlins and looked around from one child to another to answer their questions.
"How can fire be so pretty?"
"Why can't you fly?"
"Where did you find your dragon?"
"Are you more of a lizard or a person?"
Ren tittered nervously and looked over at his brother in a silent cry for help. Surprisingly it was Sokka who came to the rescue. "Alright, knock it off! It's time for your lessons!" the children let out cries of disappointment but gathered around the older boy nonetheless. Ren tilted his head as he watched the little group with curious eyes.
"Now men, it's crucial that you show now fear or mercy when facing a Firebender." Ren's tail, always constant in its movements and a tell for his emotions, stilled when he heard that phrase. That's weird… the silver-haired hybrid thought. It's almost as if… Aang's gaze was wide as well at the words. As if…
The two boys shared a worried look. Is there bad blood between the Firebenders and these people…?
"We're Water Tribe. We fight to the last man." Ren huffed in the nonsense of that phrase. Dragons may have been prideful, he remembered, but at least they knew when they were to fly so they could fight another day. Staying to fight would just mean death if your opponents were greater in number or strength than you.
"Hey, I gotta go to the bathroom." Ren let out a sound in his throat giving his acknowledgement but kept focusing on the lesson. No… no, he's going about this all wrong… Ren's gave narrowed, ash grey and ember-orange eyes glowing slightly as he watched Sokka lecture children in the arts of battle. Stepping forwards, Ren called out the other boy's name. "Sokka, stop." The other teen glared at the Firebender. "What do you want? I'm trying to give a lesson here!" Ren crossed his arms, tail twitching in his irritation. "Why are you teaching five- to seven-year-olds how to fight?" Sokka grit his teeth. "Why do you think? We have no time for fun and games with a war going on!" Ren jerked back as if he'd been struck- yeah, he'd heard the word war being thrown around, but…
What?
"What war?" Aang trotted up to the group. "what're you guys talking about?"
Sokka's eyes slid from Ren to Aang, and he saw that they… they really had no idea of what he was talking about.
"You're kidding, right?" Aang opened his mouth to reply but his gaze snapped to something past the older three. His eyes twitched and he screeched at the top of his lungs, making Ren clamp his hands over his ears and grunt in discomfort.
"PENGUIIIINNNNNN!"
Snapping his head around Ren saw the four-finned landlocked bird and made a gesture for it to get the heck outta dodge. The bird jumped, as if saying 'Oh, crap' before waddling away as fast as it's stubby legs could take it. In a rush of wind and a cloud of powdered snow, Aang was racing off into the distance after the poor animal and leaving Sokka, Katara, and Ren behind. "Uh oh… there he goes…" Ren sighed, face-palming in exasperation. "I swear the squirt has a one-track mind."
Jogging after the runaway Airbender, Ren set off to track down the younger in an ice box.
Sokka shot his sister a look and repeated his dumbfounded question.
"He's kidding… right?"
Ren followed the sound of giggling to an ice beach where a huge flock of penguins were grunting and chattering about. The scent that was distinctly Aang, mountains and forests and island winds, led the half dragon to the next hill of snow to see his younger brother chasing the flightless birds. Katara came up behind the half dragon and laughed at the young Airbender's antics.
As she went to teach Aang the 'ancient ways of penguin-catching', Ren looked out at the sea, his brow furrowing as he looked at the waves. His vision tunneled when he saw a swell lap at the side of an iceberg and make a sheet fall into the ocean with a thunderous crash.
"Ren! Hey!"
The half dragon jolted and looked down at Aang, sky-grey eyes wide with concern and looking up into ashfall grey-orange ones. "Are you okay?" small palms were pressed into Ren's back, the pressure grounding him and soothing the beginning panic that had been welling up in his chest. Ren forced a smile and snagged the Airbender in a noogie, spinning him about and grinding his knuckles into his bald head. "Never better, squirt. Never better."
Aang shoved Ren away and the two raced after Katara to catch a penguin to go sledding on. Ren couldn't shake the feeling, though…
Something would intrude on their peace, and soon.