Greetings, avid readers!
I'd like to start with thanking all the reads, favs and follows in this story. Even if silent, your support means a lot. As for the ones that took their time to write a review, thank you as well!
I'm back on track, so no flames for updating late! The weather is warming up, but it's still in that confusing cold-mornings-hot-days-chilly-nights time and it pisses me off.
My weekly obsession is... hubby. Well and my cat. But that's my obsession 24/7, so it's not really fair. Hm, oh! My new reusable coffee cup! My brother got it for me, it says "Come to the Dark Side, we have coffee". Still patiently waiting for Ms. LiAnne Kay to publish tHE GOODAMN BOOK!
cupidsrose, thank you so much for your support! All is well, and I wish the same to you! I particularly like aged-up stories, it lets us imagine what they would be like all adult and responsible (even though I fully believe that, when together, Aang, Zuko and Sokka would still share a singular braincell)
Brain Fart, Toph is my favorite female character! Followed closely by Katara, of course
Dommie, hey baby, yeah I'm alright, don't worry. And I agree, Momo is vicious, but I love him!
This is my first try at a Avatar fanfiction. Go easy on me. Reviews and flames are always welcomed, for they keep my cat and I warm at night.
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar nor any of the characters. Such credit should go to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I do own a... certain amount of characters that will be recognized further into the story.
Thank you, and enjoy the chapter!
Chapter XI: The South Pole
X—X
Ahria tucked Momo closer to her neck as the air temperature dropped and the view turned shades of blue and white. She looked down at the dark blue waters, covered in large blocks of ice, and smiled. She had never been to the Southern Water Tribe, so she hoped it to be everything she had heard in the stories Old Mako told her.
They had been flying for a few days now. They stopped to rest and eat along the way, but mostly to let Appa rest. At the last market they had been to, Ahria had acquired a handful of peaches and was sharing them with Momo, who seemed to have decided she was its favorite person in the world.
Not that she was complaining.
Toph was next to her, eyes fixed on whatever as she meditated. Aang was up front, guiding Appa, and Katara sat next to him. She smiled and turned back to look at the darkening horizon. The icy natural sculptures, standing tall and imposing, were beautiful to look at, though frightening during the nights. Toph cocked her head and frowned.
"Weren't we supposed to be arriving?"
"We are," Katara answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Because I don't hear anything."
Aang frowned but was quick to spot their landing place, and proceeded to do so. Once they all jumped off the sky bison, everyone looked around. There was nothing in sight, just empty ice and dark caves. Katara stepped forward and heard a 'crash' before her leg was involved in an ice trap.
"Look out!" Aang called out, and Toph ran back to Appa, where she felt safer.
A barrage of arrows came flying down at them, and Aang knocked them away. Then, a wave of spears followed, and Ahria slid in front of Katara, airbending the spears away. A group of people heavily dressed in furs came from the snow, spears, and shields in hand.
"Wait, we're friends!" Aang called out.
"Aang, they really don't care!" Katara shouted, trying to break the ice with no success.
"But-!"
"Ah, no way!"
Ahria moved her arms to push them away with a blast of wind, but still, they kept on. Toph kept shouting at the people, Katara tried without success to break the ice, and Aang kept trying to negotiate. The waterbender screamed when she felt something dig into her flesh and begged Aang to see reason.
"Screw this."
Ahria, who had been shielding Katara from the attacks, moved. She ran to the front, fists tightened around air blades, ready to strike. Aang called out to her and she gasped, breaking her concentration. One of the hunters saw that and threw a spear at her feet, causing her to jump and do a one-hand backflip to get away.
Arrows flew in her direction and Ahria gasped, jumping and doing a butterfly kick, pushing away the weapons. She lands on her left leg, wincing, and created an air whip, knocking the spears out of their hands. Almost everyone was spear-less, but then they pulled out swords. Ahria grumbled but rolled her shoulders.
"Fairy, jump!" Toph suddenly screamed.
The young woman did as she was told, and not even a second after, the ice beneath her exploded. Pushed herself higher with her airbending and side-flipped spun in the middle of the air, landing in a three-point landing. She then pushed her arms out and a blast of wind pushed everything and everyone away, successfully shattering what was holding Katara's leg prisoner.
She threw her head back and screamed. "Enough!"
Her voice seemed to echo through the pointy ice. She stood up and declared. "We are friends, not foes."
"Anyone that can airbend like that is sure to be a friend of mine." a smooth voice called out, and one of the warriors removed his wolf mask.
A tanned young man with broad shoulders and a lean body raised up. His hair was brown, like Katara's, and shaved in the sides, up in a wolf tail. The small goatee surrounding full lips tugged in a smirk, and his bright blue eyes could rival the sky on its brightest day. He walked up to the group and frowned.
"That wasn't Aang."
"It was not."
"Ahria, this is Sokka, Katara's brother." Aang stepped forward. "Sokka, meet-!"
"Rea. A pleasure to meet you." she bowed her head.
"Likewise. Never thought I'd see another airbender."
"Well, there's a whole colony of them, if you're interested in meeting more," she smirked.
"Seriously?!" Sokka looked up at his early companions and sister. "Come on. Let's gather for a hot meal. And you need warmer clothes than that."
"Much appreciated."
–X–
It was not long before they were all gathered inside a large stone room, sitting at a table that faced a large fireplace. The heat was comforting and Ahria cradled the steaming mug in her hands as she watched Aang and Sokka exchange jokes and Katara finished healing her own leg.
Her pearly eyes fell on the woman sitting next to Sokka. She was beautiful, slim face and captivating sunflower eyes, with long lashes and a pretty smile. Despite the softness in her looks, Ahria could tell there was a battle hardness underneath. And she saw most fitted that her hand and Sokka's were entwined under the table.
"So, Rea... you're really from a community of airbenders hidden in the forests of the Earth Kingdom?" the pretty woman asked.
"Hm, yeah. I am. That's the reason why we're here actually." she replied.
"How come?"
"Well, you see, about two months ago we were in the Earth Kingdom when..."
Aang started telling them the whole story, how they came to find her, how she seemed to manipulate all the elements, and how the avatar and Katara had chased her down for a month to find her. How Aang had indeed found her training, to which Ahria turned to him, surprised to learn this.
The couple listened intently as Aang described the Air Dome in detail, keeping a few private moments for himself. How the people seemed to long for freedom, but the Elders would never let them go without hard proof. And how Aang had suggested that he brought back leaders of all the nations to prove them wrong.
"So we went to get Toph, grabbed Appa and Momo, and came here!" He finished. "Why did you attack us?"
"We didn't know it was you." Sokka licked his lips. "Sorry Katara, by the way."
"You're paying for this, Sokka." she glared. "What the hell is going on?"
"Predators. Ever since the Northern Tribe opened its gates, we get massive predators that try to invade our village during the night, to take away our food and provisions." He explained. "We're somewhat organized usually, but it's hunting season, and most men are out in the glaciers to hunt for the winter."
"We make do with what we have." She replied. "Sokka's been doing his best."
"So, you're here to get me to go with you to this... Air Dome to prove to a bunch of old people that the war is over?"
"You and Suki." Aang nodded.
"Sure, but... there's a few things we need to handle first."
"How long do you need?"
"About a week."
"And I'd need to make a quick stop in the Northern Water Tribe. I was going to be heading there tomorrow to gather with a few hunters to strategize the best way to hunt these predators." Sokka frowned.
"Great, we'll all go!"
"Aang," Ahria spoke up. "We can't. We need to go to the Fire Nation to get Zuko and go back."
"Please, Ahria! We'll be helping Sokka and the tribe! Please!"
"Aang..."
"How long do we have?"
"A month and 12 days," she replied and Aang gave her the puppy eyes.
"Please?"
"... ugh, fine." she rolled her eyes, and he yelped.
"Speaking of fine," Toph spoke up after a long time. "Rough landing you did there, Jumpy. What's wrong with your leg?"
"... it's an old battle wound," she replied, looking away.
"I can give it a look if you want," Katara suggested, and Ahria's eyes jumped to hers.
She nodded shyly and the waterbender smiled. "Can you do that after dinner? Gran Gran wants to see you."
"Sure!"
A/N: I promise this is the last short one, okay? I think I'm getting to the point of no return where I can't drop the story... but still. Keep in mind, I'll keep this story up or drop it depending on your feedback.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to review if you want, or if you don't, I hope you liked it!
First to review gets a cookie!
Lots of love from this weirdo,
LoneeWolf :)