Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, or any of the related characters. The Avatar universe is created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and owned by Nickelodeon. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only.

Book 1: Dark

Episode 2: Unexpected Alliances

Well, wasn't that a pleasant surprise? She paced towards them and called, "Hey, library guy!" after Gyila. Gyila turned back and saw Mona.

Gyila exclaimed. "Oh hey!" Mona could swear his eyes started to shine. He had the most beautiful, almost majestic, green eyes. She could see them more clearly under the bright sky, in contrast with Wan Shi Tong's rather gloomy library. The way his face got all lifted up while smiling was a beautiful scenery. He was quite big and tall; he looked strong. His slightly wavy brown hair covered some parts of his airbending tattoos. "That's a shame. He looks like he can pull being bald." she taught. She glanced at the guy next to him. He was somewhat shorter than Gyila, but he looked strong as well. He seemed way too familiar, with his short brown hair, tan skin, and charismatic face, but Mona couldn't just put her finger on why. Ever since she came to the Southern Water Tribe, she tried to live as "traditional" as possible in order to strengthen her bending and spirituality, so she minimized her screen time. And when she was studying at Ba Sing Se, she was way too busy researching. Maybe he was a mover star?

"Kairo, this is Mona," Gyila introduced them.

"Mona as in Mona Sanreq?" asked the unmanageably familiar stranger excitedly. Mona's confusion was easily visible on her face, so Gyila explained that they read her papers about the water tribe cultures that she mentioned to Gyila.

"Especially the paper about the integration of cultures' after the opening of the portals... You are brilliant!" exclaimed Gyila. Mona couldn't help but blush, "Aw, you are just spoiling me now," she said.

"And this is Kairo, my brother," said Gyila, and they shook hands.

That is it! She remembered reading on the news about his work in the Fire Nation Capital a year ago or so. "Wait, aren't you the Avatar?" Mona asked excitedly.

"One and only," Kairo said in a funny-cocky way. "Yeah, they are definitely brothers," she thought. They both had that charismatic aura.

Mona couldn't help but laugh at Kairo's confident declaration. "The Avatar, huh? I have read about your work in the Fire Nation Capital. Nice to meet you, Avatar Kairo."

Kairo grinned, appreciating the warmth in Mona's greeting. "Likewise, Mona."

"So, what brings you two in here? Anything to do with trying to figure out thousands of years old conflict between the water tribes?" She was being sarcastic, of course. She was sure this was the reason.

"Yeah... Our situation sounds even more miserable when she puts it like that," said Kairo. He did not sound hopeless; it sounded like he was objectively pointing out how miserable they were, that is all.

"Well, what is your plan? Gyila couldn't find anything in Wan Shi Tong's library," asked Mona curiously. She desperately wanted to join them. Ever since she started Ba Sing Se University, the Southern Water Tribe has been her main focus of research, but her dream research topic was the separation of the Water Tribes. Since this event occurred thousands and thousands of years ago, she struggled enormously, even with the help of one of the wisest spirits, Wan Shi Tong.

"Well..." started Gyila's sentence. "We were thinking of wandering around the spirit world, trying to figure out if we can find any spirits that can inform us."

Mona thought for a moment. Yes, she has been to the spirit world countless times, but she had a strict route that she never broke. She also begged Hoaq for months to accompany her. After five months, she felt confident enough to travel on her own. "Wandering around the spirit world" was definitely out of her comfort zone.

"You should come with us!" exclaimed Kairo. Mona was touched by an invitation from the Avatar.

"Do not worry; I am very familiar with the spirit world. I can guide us there," Gyila comforted with a soft look in his eyes and a warm smile. Knowing this sure did help Mona with her nervousness. She felt like even looking at his face calmed her, but she quickly brushed that thought away as she was again acting like a silly twelve-year-old.

"Well, if you insist..." Mona jokingly said, and they all shared a pleasant laugh.

With that rather confirmation of their alliance, they started walking. Mona offered to host them in her house for the night, and they were going to leave early in the morning. It was already afternoon, and the trip to the South Pole could be dangerous during nighttime.

Her house was a small igloo, not in the center of the Southern Water Tribe, but quite near too. She wanted a place where she could access the center's facilities, restaurants, markets, and the library in particular, but she also wanted a more traditional lifestyle away from all the noise and crowd. She had had enough of the crowd and city life her whole life, both in Republic City and Ba Sing Se. Her house was a twenty-minute walk away from where she saw them.

"So..." started Mona. "Is your mission in any way related to Varran's latest speeches?" asked Mona shyly. She didn't want to put her nose in private matters, but Varran's speeches about uniting the tribes were a hot topic in the Southern Water Tribe. Mona kept an open mind about it but also believed that the Southern Water Tribe's independence was important. She still couldn't help but feel like a stranger. After all, up until last year, she had no idea what state her hometown was in.

"I suppose you already heard about the issue, huh?" asked Gyila. And without waiting for an answer from her, "Yes, it is. No point in hiding it, I suppose, especially since you were kind enough to open your house to us," added Gyila.

"Not to mention we are a team now!" added Gyila with his index finger up. Mona chuckled in response.

"Oh, don't mention it. I was feeling lonely anyway. I haven't been the greatest at making new friends since I arrived here," she said and laughed. She only had one friend in the Southern Water Tribe, Master Sadin's pupil Hoaq. And she found him unbearably annoying, too, most of the time. When she first arrived here, he used to mock her all the time because "she didn't know about her culture." It was not until Hoaq accompanied Mona to Wan Shi Tong's library for months that they started to get close.

Gyila empathized with her. He had friends, of course, but none of them were his close friends. Especially after breaking up with his last girlfriend, Rala, one and a half years ago, he was quite lonely. His best friend has always been his brother, but now he felt like he was his only friend, other than Raang, a very promising soldier and both his and his brother's close friend from Omashu. But it has been years since Gyila last saw Raang.

Kairo, on the other hand, couldn't really empathize with Mona. He never really struggled with making friends. He kindly remembered his best friend from the Fire Nation Capital, a young detective named Akuren. He loved his brother enormously and missed him while they were away, but he couldn't help but compare his time in the Fire Nation Capital and Southern Air Temple. He knew he should give this foreign place more time and a chance, but compared to Fire Nation Capital, Southern Air Temple was honestly very boring, at least so far. He remembered the times when he and his partner Akuren would kick criminal butts.

"What do you think about Varran's ideas?" asked Kairo in hopes of pushing his thoughts away. "Jinora told Gyila that even some people in the Southern Water Tribe agreed with him," he continued.

"I don't really have an idea," admitted Mona. "I still feel like quite the outsider here, like I should not have ideas about the politics," and she told them her story. How she was raised in the Republic City, how she studied at Ba Sing Se and how she came to the Southern Water Tribe a year ago in hopes of reconnecting with her culture and hometown.

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Kairo. "Have you read your papers, really? If you do not consider yourself a part of this tribe, then no one should."

Mona smiled, "You are so kind, Kairo. Thank you." She was touched.

"I understand you. I sometimes feel the same way about Omashu," added Gyila. "Omashu?" wondered Mona.

"Kairo and I's hometown is Omashu, and our parents are even one of the noblemen and noblewomen in the city. But because I left home when I was ten to become an air nomad, my connection to my hometown has been severed ever since. Whenever I see news about Omashu, I feel distant, like I should not have ideas, too."

Mona liked how similar their stories were, but Gyila had another culture he felt and was indeed a part of. Mona didn't even have that. She felt like she didn't belong anywhere sometimes.

"Both of you, get over yourselves. I understand you all, but you are both educated, brilliant, and wise people. Even if you feel distant, your ideas matter and can contribute to the fate of the cities positively if you like it or not."

Kairo sounded like he was lecturing them, but both Mona and Gyila needed to get over their insecurities. "You are right," admitted Gyila. "You know, you are becoming a very wise Avatar," he added. Kairo smiled from ear to ear. He didn't say anything, but he seemed like he was proud of himself.

The twenty-minute walk felt like so much less while having these heartfelt conversations with the new and kind strangers Mona had met.