Book 1
Flowing Flames
Chapter 1
The Girl from the Wastelands
She was kneeling in front of the throne, her head down, and fist on the ground.
"Your brother and uncle have been away for 2 years already. Their reports only bring words of vagueness and shadows. Iroh has been a critic of the way things work ever since his humiliation in Ba Sing Se, and I fear that Prince Zuko may be badly influenced under his watch. Your mission will be simple, check on the status of the prince, and report back to me. Make sure that they don't pose a risk to our nation." Ozai said.
She looked up, a smile decorating her face. "Of course father. I will make sure that Zuko and Uncle are kept in line."
Ozai smiled back at her.
"Your highness, we have sighted Prince Zuko's vessel. Shall we approximate?" Captain Kayo said from the doorframe of her quarters.
The princess smiled and adjusted the headpiece with a small red flame decorating her topknot. "You shall, captain. Make sure that my brother doesn't spot us as long as possible." She got up from her desk and walked past him. "I want to make sure this family reunion gets to be a surprise." She smirked as she walked out to the deck of her cruiser.
The glacial breeze greeted her outside, as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It's moments like these when she wished she was born a firebender, and when she was the most relieved that her grandfather saved her from this wasteland.
She observed the icebergs that surrounded them. How could anyone live in this place? It was beyond her.
She walked closer to the edge of the ship, leaning onto the railing, staring at the ocean. Watching the waves clashed against the ship, how the ship disturbed the natural flow of the sea, and how the different ocean creatures interacted with the water. She fixated on a pair of dolphin-crocs that were swimming alongside her vessel. They jumped over the water and hovered for a few moments, few moments in which she let herself wonder how it would feel, the wind in her face, the fr–
"Your highness." Sounded the voice of the captain, slowly interrupting her train of thoughts.
Katara got up, and turned to him. "Yes."
"We are approaching the prince's vessel. We should be making contact in a few minutes." He spoke.
She turned back to the ocean. "Good job, captain. Prepare my crew and ship to match their speed."
He nodded, bowed and turned to do as told.
"Again." Iroh said, as he observed Zuko facing two Fire Nation soldiers.
The boy launched two fire blasts as he jumped over the soldiers, trying to push them with a fire arc from his foot. When he landed, Iroh got up and sighed. "No. Power in firebending comes from the breath, not from the muscle. The breath becomes energy in the body, the energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire!" He said as he punched the air, flames extending from it. "Get it right this time." He sat back on his stool.
"Enough. I've–" Zuko barked before being interrupted by Lieutenant Jee arriving from the bridge.
"Prince Zuko." He dipped his head as he stopped in front of him.
Zuko got his hand behind his back. "Lieutenant. I hope your interruption is due to something important."
He raised his head. "It is. We have sighted a–" He didn't get to finish his sentence as a ship significantly bigger than the one they were on blocked out the setting sun.
Zuko stared at the ship. Who was it? Why were they here? And most importantly, how did they not spot it before?
Iroh stroked his beard. "Now, who could that be?"
Zuko just kept staring at the massive cruiser as it came to a stop, and a bridge being lowered. He observed a darkened figure standing at the other deck, hands on their back, they were being flanked by three soldiers on each side. His eyes widened before they settled on a glare. "I may have two ideas as to who it could be." The prince said.
As the figure walked over the bridge, they were finally able to spot her features. "Hello uncle." She dipped her head at him, then looked at Zuko with a smirk. "Brother."
He just kept glaring at her. "Katara."
Princess Katara's smirk grew. "It's been two long years."
"I would say it's been too short of a time." He said before turning around, starting to walk away.
"Oh, come on, Zuko. It isn't like father had sent Azula." Katara got close to him and pinched his cheek, which made him snap at her as he attempted to attack the girl with a fire fist. She just jumped to the side and grabbed his wrist, pinning it behind his back, causing the prince to grunt. "And I really thought that we were on good terms." She whispered.
Before Zuko could respond, Iroh interrupted with a cough. "My niece, to what do we owe the pleasure?"
Katara released Zuko's wrist and chuckled. "Well, father wanted to check on the status of your mission, and your wellbeing. That's all. Obviously he wouldn't just send any old captain."
Zuko kept a glare on her as he stretched his arm. "As you can see, we are doing fine. We're actually making progress." Zuko walked past her.
Katara raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
Zuko stopped, staring at her over his shoulder. "I'm guessing you were able to spot the beam of light earlier."
Katara put a hand on her hip and chuckled. "Really, Zuko? Some spirit lights got you this excited?" She rolled her eyes.
"That's what I told him!" Iroh exclaimed.
Zuko growled and turned towards him. "You stay out of this, uncle." He turned to Katara next, who was slowly walking towards him, her face now softer.
Once a foot away, she asked. "Is it really that important to you?" Not a hint of sarcasm accompanied it.
Zuko's glare relaxed for a moment, before turning his back on her. "Why would you care? You weren't the one who lost father's favor."
She softly placed a hand on his shoulder. "I care, because you're my brother, and we've been worried ever since your banishment."
"Who is 'we'? As far as I'm concerned, daddy's little princess doesn't give two coins about me" Zuko pulled away from her hand.
"Even if she doesn't express it in a…" she thought of a word, "typical way. She does care about you, Zuko."
The prince lowered his head for a bit, eyes shut. Azula always lies, but he never knows with Katara. The boy took a deep breath and started walking to his personal quarters. "Lieutenant, keep our course. I want us to reach the nearest village as soon as the princess' ship lets us pass."
Katara sighed and turned to her uncle. "Like you said, it has been two long years. You have to give him some time." He spoke, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She looked at his hand with a smile, placing hers over his. "I know, uncle." She closed her eyes for a moment, then turned to her ship. "Captain Kayo! Retract the bridge and follow the prince. We'll be escorting and aiding in his mission."
"As you order, princess." He bowed, before giving said orders to the rest of the crew.
Katara smiled and turned to her uncle once again. "So, do you think we could have a game of Pai Sho over some tea?"
Iroh smiled back at her. "Of course, we can."
Earlier in the day
Sokka had his spear prepared, waiting for the right moment, having figured out the fish's movement pattern. He bit his tongue softly, thrusted the weapon, and…
"HA, I GOT IT!" Sokka exclaimed, holding it up proud of himself. He looked to his side, showing it off to Atka.
She was relaxing beside a pile of at least a dozen big fishes.
"So that's what? 20 to 3?" She laughed and laid back in the boat.
Sokka frowned. "Show-off." He muttered, while throwing his fish to a much smaller pile. He then grabbed the paddle with the intention of returning back to the village.
"Oh, come on." Atka got a bit closer to the boy and punched his arm playfully. "It wasn't your day, that's all." She chuckled.
Sokka simply scoffed at that, and kept paddling, looking forward to getting back to the village and getting some rest. He kept his gaze forward, but there he couldn't avoid glancing at his resting friend. Her side-shave was covered by a few wild strands, and her eyes closed.
The girl opened her right eye and smirked when she saw Sokka watching her. "Enjoying the view?" She said, making Sokka roll his eyes and look away.
"Oh, shut up." He turned back around with his arms folded. He had closed his eyes in protest, but something bright caught his attention, so he opened them again rather quickly. "What's that?"
Atka was chuckling from their interaction. "What's what-?" Her chuckle stopped as she stared in the same direction.
The direction of a glowing spherical iceberg. "Woah…"
Sokka narrowed his eyes. "Is there… someone inside of it?"
Atka focused her eyes on it too, seeing that person-like spot on the ice. "I think there is…" She scrambled to get a paddle, kicking Sokka accidentally in the process.
"Hey!" He exclaimed.
"Start paddling, you dork." She responded, doing as she said.
Sokka was the first one to hop out of the boat, pushing his friend to the side. He placed a hand on the iceberg. "How is this even possible?"
She quickly jumped out as well. "I don't know." She smacked the ice with the handle of her machete.
"What are you doing?!"
She shrugged. "Do you have any better ideas?" Getting no response, she kept smacking.
Sokka sighed and started to help out with his club. Soon the cracks grew larger, some light leaking out. They took a step back as the ice began to shatter and burst, almost blowing the Water Tribe kids off the ice.
A beam of light shot out into the sky, creating beautiful waves of blue light which filled the horizon as far as they could see, and making animals howl for miles.
Atka looked up at the spectacle, deeply fascinated. "It's so beautiful."
Sokka could only panic, thinking this was a Fire Nation trap. "Oh, spirits."
After a while the light faded out, and Atka climbed up the ice. "What are you doing?!" Sokka asked in a high-pitched, concerned tone.
"There was a person inside. We need to help them." She responded bluntly.
Sokka grunted but followed her regardless. When he reached the top his eyes went wide. There really was someone there, a bald kid wearing vibrant yellow and orange clothing, who fainted when the light from his eyes and arrow tattoos vanished. "What the-"
The girl managed to catch him in time. "Hey, kid." She softly slapped him, which made him start to cough. "Kid?"
"Is he even alive?" Sokka asked as the kid fluttered his eyelids open, causing him to stop. "Apparently yes."
"I have something to tell you." The kid muttered in a weak voice, eyes narrow, still adjusting to the light.
"What?" Atka raised an eyebrow.
"Please, come closer..."
"Okay...?" She did so reluctantly.
The kid took a few seconds, then his eyes opened suddenly. "Will you go penguin sledding with me?" Atka leaned back.
"What?!" Both Sokka and Atka exclaimed in confusion.
The girl scratched her chin. "Well... We haven't gone penguin sledding in a while, it could be fun." She looked at Sokka with an unbearably naïve expression.
"Atka!" He scolded her.
Her eyes widened a bit. "Oh, right. Kid, how are-" She jumped back as he got up seemingly with no effort. "Woah…"
Sensing danger, Sokka stepped in between the two. "Okay, how are you alive? What's your name? Are you with the Fire Nation? And," he poked him with his cub, "how are you not covered in ice?"
"No idea. Aang. No? And I don't know" The kid shrugged. He looked around. "Speaking of which, where are we?"
"Well, Aang-" Sokka's attempt to respond was interrupted by a big growl coming from an even bigger snow pile beside them, noise which made him and Atka point their weapons at it.
"APPA!" The kid excitedly howled, generating a gust of wind that blew the snow away, revealing a giant six-legged furry monster. He hugged his head in excitement. "Are you alright, buddy?"
Sokka and Atka took a few steps back, shock and some fear showing on their faces. "Wh~ what is that thing? But more importantly, how did you do that?" Sokka said.
He turned to them with innocent excitement. "Oh, this is Appa. My flying bison!" He smiled.
"Flying Bison? Powerful winds?" Atka muttered. "Are you an airbender by any chance?" She asked with the confidence that Sokka had on every fishing trip. Aang nodded like a dork in response.
"A bender?" Sokka turned to walk a few feet away. "Great! That's simply… great." His voice lowered significantly.
"What's his deal?" Aang whispered to the girl. Sokka now far enough removed to not hear their conversation.
She looked with concern at her friend, turning away from Aang. "In our tribe there are no more benders, ever since his sister was captured... taken the Fire Nation. They were very young when it happened. He blames bending for her disappearance."
"The Fire Nation?" Aang seemed distressed at this. "That's hard to believe. Why would they even do that?" He looked at Atka with a thirst for answers.
She, on the other hand, stared at him in disbelief. "Why would they even do that?!" She slowly got more frustrated, pacing away from him. "They've been waging a war ever since they…" She stopped abruptly, looking at him with a sense of guilt. "Since they..." She said, slower this time. "You have been in that iceberg for a long time, haven't you?"
He turned to Appa and pet him, head low.
"If you have no clue that a war is happening… you must be over a hundred years old. Or Stupid." Sokka walked back to them, having caught more from their conversation than they thought he could.
"But that's impossible!" Aang turned back to them.
"Exactly!" Sokka responded.
"But think about it, you two." Atka said. "Being trapped in ice, in the way you were, should have killed you. But here you are instead."
Sokka shook his head. "Impossible. And in any case, we should be heading back home." He walked to their boat. "And you." Pointing to Aang, "I don't care what you're going to do. But that beast obviously doesn't fit here."
Atka sighed. "Yeah, you're right." She followed her friend.
"Wait!" They stopped and looked at the airbender. "I could give you a ride." He pointed to Appa, and he growled in agreement.
Atka turned to Sokka. "What harm could it do?"
He rolled his eyes.
"Or do you want to paddle all the way back?" She put a hand on her hip.
He sighed. "Alright. Then help me get the boat on that monster."
"I can help!" Aang said excitedly. He created an air blast that almost pushed Sokka over the edge and into the cold, arctic water, launching the boat towards Appa and into his saddle.
"Show-off." Sokka murmured. Atka giggled at him, Aang joining her.
The sun had been hovering over the horizon for a few hours now, giving the sky a perpetual orange hue.
Zuko didn't care. His eyes were fixated on the empty deck, and on the scratch mark left by his sister's ship.
Why did father send her? Had he even sent her? He scoffed at that thought. Of course he did. He sent his little weapon to 'check' on him. He sighs, and shakes his head. What was he thinking? If anything this was proof that he cared about him. He wanted someone of trust to inform him about his firstborn… Right?
"Can't sleep?" Katara interrupted his thoughts as she leaned on the railing beside him.
"Why do you care?" He grunted, not looking at her.
Katara looked to the sky. "Because you're my brother." She answered for the second time that day.
He sighed. "Can't sleep either?"
She looked at him and smiled. "Too much light."
They stayed in silence for a bit.
"Well... if neither of us can sleep... Do you want to spar before we get to that village?" She puts a hand around his shoulders.
He moves his gaze to the horizon. Sigh. "I guess that would be nice." His mouth gave a small glimpse of a smile.
Katara warmed as Zuko arrived at the deck, both having changed into their Fire Nation armor. She stood straight, finishing to stretch her arms. "So, bending or no bending?"
He threw his cape away and took his fighting stance, keeping his gaze on Katara. "The Avatar must be over a hundred years old by now, that means over a hundred years to master all the elements. I need to be prepared for everything."
She smirked. "Very well." She moved her arms in an arc above her head, getting a stream of water from the sea to a blob in front of her. She glanced at him. "Let's fight." She thrusted her palm forward, followed by a spinning kick that sent two turbulent but quick water streams.
Zuko rolled to the side, and punched the air, generating a fireball, which was blocked by a thin wall of water barely able to absorb it.
The water splashed on the ground. She was left panting, with her arms up.
He relaxed. "What's that? The princess is tired?" He mocked her, with a subtle smirk.
She grinned and dropped to the ground, spinning with her leg extended. The water on the floor lifted like a wave towards Zuko, pushing him backwards. She stood up. "Oh, the little prince got distracted?" She laughed.
He grunted, and lunged forward with fists in front of his chest, fire daggers forming. Katara ducked and got her arm, covered in thick ice, in between her face and his attack. "It looks like you still have some fight left in you. But..." she swept her leg under him, making him fall on his back, "Still no awareness." She smiled, offering a hand to him.
He looked at it, but scoffed and turned away to get himself up. "You were just lucky." He murmured.
Katara frowned, angry at what he said. "Lucky? Lucky?!" As soon as he was up, she pushed him to the wall, her forearm against his neck. She didn't care how much she was pressing on, just that he was able to hear her out. "Listen here, brother. I'm not the one who was born on royalty. I'm not the one who was born a bending prodigy." She whispered between her teeth.
"I had to train hard every day to go toe to toe against you two, to meet father's expectations. I had to train every day to gain the respect of all these people under us. I wasn't born lucky. I had to make my own luck." Her glare could cut through steel, and it was definitely getting engraved into Zuko's eyes. "I am skilled. And that's why I. defeated. You. Understood?"
Zuko was keeping an intense glare at his sister, grunting and starting to struggle for air. He opened his mouth.
"That's enough! Both of you!" Their uncle's voice resonated against the wall.
Katara scoffed, pulling away from Zuko and starting to walk towards her quarters, not facing her uncle, while Zuko rubbed his neck, taking deep breaths to recover air.
"Wait." Katara stopped, not turning back. "I came to give you an update. We will arrive at the village in half an hour. Go prepare yourselves."
She nodded, resuming her way.
Iroh sighed, and Zuko looked at where she went. He wanted to be furious. Instead, he felt regret, staring down at his feet.
There was a thick mist surrounding him. Even though he couldn't recognize where he was, he recognized how it felt. That anger that he carried with him only a few hours ago. The movements of his body, no longer under his control. How he pushed them away with a burst of wind, how the last he heard was an…
"Aang. Wait!"
From his friend. From Gyatso.
How it felt in those last moments of consciousness. The water wanting to enter his lungs, and Appa was sinking. That last…
Yelp.
He bolted up, looking around him. The first thing he noticed were his folded clothes beside him, then the frozen bricks making up the igloo he currently resided in. But, before he could linger too much on that, someone opens the tent, and he turns to see it was Sokka.
"I heard you yelping. Are you alright?" He asked with a warm tone.
Aang nodded "It was just a nightmare… What happened?"
He sat down with his legs crossed. "You fainted not too long after your buffalo started swimming here," Aang was about to ask something, "Don't worry, he's fine. He's resting at the edge of our village. The kids are enjoying having a giant fluffy beast to play with" Aang seemed to relax with the explanation. "So, continuing. I guided him here while Atka took care of you. I'm sure she'll be happy to see that you're okay."
Aang looked down. "Atka? That's your friend's name, right?" Sokka nodded, and Aang scratched the back of his neck. "I just realized I didn't ask your guys' names."
Sokka softly smiled at him. "My name is Sokka. And I suppose it's understandable, considering that you were trapped in ice for a hundred years." He chuckled.
The airbender chuckled with him.
"Good, you're awake." Atka sat beside Sokka with a smile. "The people of the village are waiting to meet you." She raised an eyebrow seeing his bare chest, and punched Sokka on the arm. "You didn't give him any other clothes?!"
"Ouch! What? I thought his sleeping bag would be enough" Sokka responded, rubbing his arm.
Aang took his clothes, and started putting them on. "Don't worry, the monks taught me how to keep my heat on with airbending." He got his head through his cloak, and stood up, grabbing his staff. "So, you said the village wanted to meet me?"
Atka nodded, standing up and grabbing his hand to bring him outside. "Aang, welcome to our village!"
His eyes widened slightly when seeing the village population, getting surprised by the small size of it, and the lack of adult men, only being present women and children. The only outliers being his two new friends, and an old woman sat on a stool, who was looking at him with curiosity. But, in any case, he still greeted them with a respectful bow. The village responded with a mix of caution from the mothers, and fascination from the kids.
He leaned towards Atka. "Why are they looking at me like that?" He whispered.
"No one has seen an airbender in almost a hundred years." The old woman talked without getting up, a lack of energy in her voice that could be felt by Aang. "We thought they were gone, together with the Avatar…"
The boy averted his eyes with that last part.
Sokka got close to the woman, giving her a warm hug. "And this is my grandmother."
"Call me Gran Gran." She said without reacting to the hug. Aang smiled, somewhat awkwardly.
Atka smiled at this scene, then turned her attention to the boy by her side. She wondered something. "Hey, Aang?" The airbender turned to her, nodding. "Since you're an airbender, did you get to meet the Avatar?"
Aang's eyes widened, started coughing and turned away. "Oh, the Avatar..." He straightened his back, looking at the horizon. "I… didn't get to meet them. I think they were from another temple." He scratched the back of his bald head with a crooked smile decorating his face.
Atka raised an eyebrow. "I see…" She looked away and walked over to Sokka. "Anyways, I think you had promised the kids that you would tell them a story once we were back?" She placed a hand on her hip.
Sokka's eyes widened. "Oh, I did promise that, didn't I?"
She rolled her eyes, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the kids who had gone to play a bit away. Before they got too far, she turned around to see the airbender, just watching them. "You can join us if you want." She smiled.
"Umm..." He sounded a bit surprised, but that quickly turned into a warm feeling of joy. "I'd love to." He smiled and sprinted to catch them.
Katara had been looking at her own reflection casted by the helmet on her hands for a few minutes, her head in another place, back that caldera, seven years ago.
The murmurs were loud, the people had reunited in the palace courtyard for an announcement to be made by Fire Lord Azulon. All were wondering what it could be. A few rumors had been circulating around, some generals talked with disdain about a new member of the royal family that had been adopted by Prince Ozai. But the vast majority of the attendees scoffed at that.
"How ridiculous." Some of them said.
"I've heard they are planning some kind of direct action against Ba Sing Se, it may be that." A low ranking officer whispers to his friend.
"It would be scandalous. Could the royal family really pick an orphan from the streets? Please, be a bit more realistic." A high-class lady said loudly in a mocking tone, enough to be heard by a scared girl, who was sitting beside the curtains separating that hall from the palace entrance.
She was hugging her knees, her head buried in them.
"Katara?" Lu Ten's voice made her look up. The old teenager was smiling at her, his soft voice comforting her. Her eyes went wide, wanting to tear up a bit, but resisting it. "What are you doing here so early anyways? Uncle Ozai has been looking all over for you."
Her head turned to the side from which the voices came from. "I'm scared, Lu. I'm scared of their reaction~" Her voice quivering.
He grabbed her shoulders, firm and caringly. "Katara, you have nothing to be scared of. You are a member of this family, and whoever has a problem with it… well, I cannot even begin describing what uncle would do to them." He said with a light tone.
She chuckled and jumped to hug him. "Thank you, Lu."
He reciprocated the hug, but was interrupted by Ozai's voice. "There you are Katara." He said, his tone unusually calm.
Lu Ten stood up, his hands behind his back. Katara followed him. "Oh, uncle. I just found her and was going to bring her back after she calmed down." He looked at her cousin with a smile. "She was feeling a bit nervous about the people's reaction. But she's better now, isn't that right, Katara?"
She looked at his cousin, smiled and nodded.
Ozai got closer and on one knee in front of the girl, a warm air surrounding him. "Katara, you are my daughter, officially now. And with that you must not be afraid of what other people think about, because that won't change reality. Understood?"
The seven-year old nodded. "Yes, father."
An hour or so later it was finally time for the announcement. Fire Lord Azulon in front of the multitude of subjects, with his sons and grandchildren -minus Katara- on his right side, started speaking. "Two years ago, the Southern Raiders brought to me the last waterbender of the south, a child, a little girl, abandoned in the middle of a snowy tundra by her family. They brought her to me, and I had a decision to make, to be like those savages of the south, or to be better. I decided to be better, and take her under the care of my family, directly under the wing of Prince Ozai. Today we announce her, not just as a ward, but as a daughter of the Fire Nation. A princess of the Fire Nation. Princess Katara." He stood aside, making way for the princess, who walked with her head low until she stopped beside her grandfather, who started applauding, followed by the rest of the royal family, and the audience.
As she raised her head, she saw the overwhelming response that the Fire Nation citizens were giving her. All the doubts that had been racing through her head, dissipating. She smirked. This was her life. The life she very much deserved.
Her eyes widened when she felt a pair of hands grabbing her shoulders from behind. She turned around to see it was her father. She looked around and saw her siblings by her side. Zuko had a genuine smile on his face. Azula had her eyes narrowed at the subjects like the inferior kind they were, while she sported a smile that even when it carried some kind of sincere happiness, it also hid a tiny bit of jealousy towards her.
Her smile grew. This was her family. The family that had chosen to love her, that destiny had brought her to.
The helmet reflected a sun ray that took her out of her memory. She rubbed her eyes before looking at it again, noticing someone else in the reflection. She sighed. "How long have you been there?"
"A few minutes." Zuko responded.
She left the helmet on her bed and looked down to her feet. "Look, I'm sorry for what happened earlier, it's been a tough two years back home, and I've been a bit tense lately. I guess it all just exploded with that comment you made." She grunted and lied back down on her bed while grabbing her face.
Zuko went to sit down. "Why are you really here?" He said calmly.
"I already told you!" She got up, turning at him. "Father sent me to check on your wellbeing. He cares about you." She got closer.
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure."
"Okay, believe whatever you want about father. But at least believe this. I care about your well being." She grabbed his hand. "I care about you." She looked away. "And I wouldn't like for you to end up just like Lu." Some tears slipped through her shut eyelids.
Zuko's head turned to her. He thought for a bit, opening his mouth to say something, but decided against it. Instead he went for a hug that was immediately reciprocated.
"I've missed you. And I'll help you with anything I can so you can come back home." She swept away her tears.
Zuko let out a sigh of defeat. "Alright. But it has to be me who captures the Avatar. Father can't think that you did all of the work. Got it?"
Smiling at him, her response was a simple nod. "Of course. I'm just there to cheer you on."
At that her brother did something she hadn't seen him doing so far, and something Zuko hadn't caught himself doing for the past two years - he smiled.
Adding nothing more, she grabbed the helmet specially made for her, the body of it a deep red wine, decorated with a front piece, a seven-point red flame, representing her position in the line of succession, with some navy-blue details added to it. She put it on, and got back up. "Let's get you back home." She turned to Zuko, extending her hand. Which he gladly accepted.
"...the little penguin was finally free! She was finally able to reunite with her family, so she slid through the great tundra of the south pole until she arrived back at her cove. When she arrived, all the penguins celebrated. Especially her big penguin brother, who exclaimed. "She's back! She's back!" With a great smile as he hugged her for all the time they couldn't hug." Sokka smiled as he saw the fascination of the kids, their smiles, and how a little girl hugged her own handmade penguin plushie.
That same girl raised her little hand. "Is this story true, Sokka?"
He smiled. "I think the magic of it would be gone if I gave you an answer. But... I think there's always some truth in all stories." He winked.
She smiled at this, and ran to join the rest of the kids who had scattered already.
Atka and Aang walked towards him, smiling. "As always you have a way with children." Atka said.
"Yeah! They were fascinated throughout the whole story! It was amazing!" Aang complemented.
Sokka smiled back. "It's nothing really." He looked at the kids that had started a snowball fight. "But, yeah. Being able to let them be happy while our dads are gone, makes it… amazing."
The boy raised an eyebrow. "Oh, What happened to your fathers?" He lowered his tone, trying to be respectful. "Are they-"
Atka shook her hands. "Oh, no, no. They're not dead." She sighed. "They just went to help in the war, and..." She looked at Sokka. He nodded, knowing what she was going to say next. "They're also looking for his sister, Katara."
Aang looked down and closed his eyes. He felt more than a little guilty. How much pain has him running away caused? How much...
But before he could keep going down that spiral, Sokka, not wanting to stay on that topic, decided to change course, getting closer to the stick he was holding. "So, what's this thing? I guess it's not for fighting." He touched the top of it. "Seeing how it doesn't seem very stabby."
Aang opened his eyes, having to process the question. He shook his head, chuckling a bit. "No, it's not for stabbing." He flicked a little switch in the middle, wings erecting from it. "It's for airbending, it lets me control the air currents around it to fly." He moved it in a mock-up of how it really worked.
A light laugh wasn't able to be held back by Atka. "Oh, I'm sorry, but flying? I mean no offense..." she put a hand on her hip, "but, come on!"
Aang raised an eyebrow with a smug smile. "Oh, really?" He grabbed the glider by its front handles, and with the help of airbending, he jumped 20 feet in the air. Up there, he leaned forward and started doing some tricks, glancing at the surprised faces of his new friends from time to time.
The wind on his face felt so nice, something that he didn't know he had missed so much, but apparently, he had been trapped in an iceberg for a hundred years, meaning he hadn't felt it in a hundred years. These thoughts were suddenly over, when his face clashed against a wall of compacted snow.
"Aang!" Both Sokka and Atka ran towards the boy who had stuck his head on the wall surrounding the village. They pulled him out of it.
"Are you alright?" Sokka asked, grabbing the boy's head carefully in case he had fallen unconscious.
Aang grabbed his head, frowning from the pain, but quickly turning into a laugh. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I just got distracted." His eyes gleamed. "I haven't flown with my glider for a hundred years, and it just felt incredible!" He got up with the help of airbending. "Wow, now that I think of it, I haven't been home for a hundred years… And I didn't get to clean my room after I…" His energy suddenly dropped.
"Aang?" Sokka asked worriedly. Both him and Atka got up too.
"I..." He sighed. "I just... kind... ran away after a big fight with the monks..." He chuckled nervously. "And… I guess maybe it's a bit too late to apologize to them now..."
Sokka and Atka got closer to him, a hand from each teen on his back. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure that they didn't hold any grudges." Sokka said.
Aang slowly nodded. "Yeah, I think you're right…" He closed his eyes.
"Hey, you said you wanted to go penguin sledding. Would that cheer you up?" Atka suggested, with a comforting smile.
Aang turned slowly at her, a smile growing on his face. "That would be nice."
Atka matched his smile, and looked at Sokka. "Are you coming with us? You know, we haven't gone sledding in some time."
He waved the suggestion off. "Nah, I think that Gran Gran needed help with some chores. But you two go have some fun. I'm sure the kid needs it."
"Alright, Mr. Responsible." She mocked as she grabbed Aang's arm. "I'm going to go have fun with my new best friend." She teased.
Sokka crossed his arms while rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Have fun," he started to walk away, "Don't stay out for too long. Be back here for lunch."
Aang looked between the two of them as they left Sokka. "So, are you two… you know..."
Her expression went from confused, to thinking, before her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, like, is he my boyfriend?" She laughed, scratching the back of her neck. "Oh, no, no, no. He's like a brother to me." She looked down with a subtle smile. "Yeah…" She murmured to herself.
"Oh." The boy looked around, trying to think of a way to change the topic, when he spotted a penguin in the distance. "Penguin!" He then took the lead, dragging the older girl to the top of a hill where the penguin was standing.
"Wow" She took a moment to recover from the whiplash of being dragged by a boosted up airbender. "That was…" she shook her head, "something."
He scratched his head. "Oh, sorry." He chuckled. "Airbending allows me to run really fast. Got a little excited."
"That's cool. So, how do you know about penguin sledding?" Atka said while walking to the colony of otter-penguins nearby.
His eyes widened. "Oh, since I was little the monk wanted me to see the world," now that he thought about it, there was another reason for that, "I made a few friends in every place, including here, and they showed me how to sled."
"Oh, so... you've traveled all around the world?" Atka looked away, dreaming. "That must be nice, huh?" She said a bit louder than she would've liked.
"Yeah..." He smiled at himself. "Well, it wasn't the whole world... but, you know, I traveled to a lot of places, so still..." He looked at her for a few moments, the winds in his head flowing. He got an idea. "Hey, you could come with me and explore the world on Appa!"
She shook her head lightly, surprised by the suggestion. "What?"
"Yeah! We could fly on Appa to all kinds of places and cities! I could even show you the Air Temples!" He said with a gleam in his eyes.
"Woah woah woah woah…" She stopped walking, and shook her hands. "Stop there, Arrows. You don't expect me to abandon my life? My family?" She sounded harsher than she intended.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to come off that way." He turned around, and sat on the snow, hugging his knees.
She sighed and pinched her nose bridge. "Okay, right, you're a child." She whispered and sat down beside him. "Look, I don't know how it may have been a hundred years ago, even when I would like to explore the world, it's too much of a risk. And with our parents off at war, it's our responsibility to help and protect the village. I would love to go and tap-tap- or... what did you say to your friend?"
"Yip-yip" He said with a soft smile.
"That. And also, if the Fire Nation ever discovered that there was an-" Her speech was interrupted by a small quake and the small black particles falling on the snow. "Huh?" She turned around, looking at the village, when her eyes went wide. "Oh no." She said as she saw a Fire Nation ship breaking the ice, with an even bigger one waiting a bit further away.
"What's-" He managed to say before getting his head pushed down.
"Keep low. It's the Fire Nation." She glared at the ship.
"But, we have to help! Can anyone besides Sokka even fight?" The kid said, getting up.
She grunted. "I hate to say it, but you're right. But how do you expect us to get there?" He was about to suggest something. "And I don't want to get dragged again."
"Hey, I wasn't going to propose that."
"Then what's your plan?" She rested a hand on her hip.
He smiled and turned to look at the penguins. "Well, we came here to do some penguin sledding."
She smiled back. "I like your style. Very well, let's go."
A few minutes earlier
The ship shook a bit as it cut through the ice. The orange tint from the lamps illuminated all the soldiers already in position and making way for the prince and princess.
"I'll stay behind, to not steal your spotlight." She smiled at him with a hand on his shoulder. She also sighed. "I really hope that you're right about this light coming from the Avatar. And that these last two years will finally be over."
He smiled back. "They will be. They will be." He put his helmet on, and went to the front of the formation as the ship came to a full stop.
The white light from the ice quickly drowned the lamp's own, as the nose of the ship slowly turned into a bridge leading down onto the ice.
Zuko was the first to descend, escorted by a soldier on each side. Then it was Katara, who kept her promise, staying a good ten feet, her being escorted by five other soldiers on each side.
Ever since getting to the Southern Ocean, the cold wind had been sending shivers through her spine. But as soon as she put a foot on the snow, a stronger shiver traveled through her. The temperature wasn't particularly colder, the wind was the same as it had been for the last few hours.
"I'm Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." Her brother's speech pulled her out of her thoughts. "I've come with no hostile intentions." She rolled her eyes at the diplomacy of her brother. Personally, she would've gone for something a bit more harsh. "That is, if you tell me what I want to know."
"And what is that you want to know?" A boy no older than Zuko asked, his face painted with gray, white and black. Her eyes narrowed at him. She didn't know why his voice rang something in her head.
"Yesterday, a light beacon appeared on the horizon." the boy's eyes widened for a moment. He knew something. "It happened very far from here." Zuko narrowed his eyes. "So, I'm going to ask this once, and only once. Where's the Avatar?"
"I don't know what you are talking about!" The boy said with a cracking voice, as he stood his ground in front of an old woman sitting on a stool.
Katara wanted to exclaim that he was lying, but something coming from the village wall interrupted this.
A kid even younger than herself, and an older girl soon stopped behind the villagers mounting… otter-penguins?
That confusion subsided when she took a good look at the kid. "Those are air nomad's clothes." She said, loud enough for Zuko to hear.
He was about to say something, but the kid was quicker. "You were looking for me?"
"You're the Avatar?" Asked Zuko. "You're just a child." He grunted.
"And you're just a teenager." The Air Nomad retorts. She had to admit that in any other context she would have laughed at that.
The other boy seemed to be stunned by the revelation, but just for a moment, as he soon put himself in front of the supposed Avatar. "If you want him, you're gonna have to get through me." He glared at her brother, and the rest of the soldiers. "I won't let you take anyone else from this village."
Her eyes widened a bit. The boy didn't seem that old, so at most he would have been a baby when the last raids happened, maybe a friend was taken prisoner? No, the rage in his eyes seemed more personal, like it was someone even closer... Could it be? She smirked.
"Very well, if-" Zuko's comeback was cut short as the boy launched himself against him, pushing him a few feet back. She prepared herself to help him, but she didn't have to, as the boy's club was blocked and thrown away by Zuko, the prince kicked Sokka back. The Water Tribe boy had one last thing on him, a boomerang that he launched at Zuko, who easily dodged it.
"Are you done?" He taunted the boy on the ground.
What a disappointment. She thought, realizing too late that the boomerang had come back, now directly aiming at her head. In a moment, she felt her helmet getting knocked off as she stumbled.
"So, what were you saying about 'no awareness'?" Zuko said with a smirk.
"Not the time, Zuko." She grunted while looking at her helmet for a moment, getting closer with a glare that could cut through steel.
She had failed to notice how the old woman had gotten up from her stool, before muttering.
"Katara?"
Everyone turned to the old woman. The boy, and the girl who was now holding a machete, were completely stunned as they gazed at the princess.
"Ka... tara?" The boy said, trembling.
Zuko looked very confused. Of course, he hadn't figured it out yet. The boy was never exactly the quickest.
Katara simply smirked. Her suspicion was confirmed. "Well, it seems like destiny really works in funny ways. Bringing me back to the place I was born in." She laughed.