Katara, Sokka, and Ayaan were having fun playing in the snow. Katara hit Sokka square in the face, earning a small cough from Ayaan trying to suppress a laugh. Sokka prepared his retaliation with a massive snowball, but before he could attempt the toss it at her, the black snow began to fall.

It was after this that everything began to go downhill.

"I'm going to find mom!" Katara left for their house before Ayaan could stop her. Sokka ran with the warriors who were leaving, trying to figure out what was happening. Ayaan, being a bit older than them, was able to figure it out quickly. He'd never experienced it before, but their dad told him a lot of things when they were training together, so he knew.

This was a Fire Nation raid.

"Everyone, get to the back of the village!" Ayaan gathered the women and elderly. As most, if not all of them, had been through a raid before, he only had to speak once before everyone was moving, carrying their infants to the safety of the igloos and huts furthest from the battle that had already started. With a glance making sure Sokka was okay, only being around fire navy soldiers who were already taken down, skilled warriors all around him as insurance, he left for their house to get Katara and his mother to safety.

"You heard your mother. Get out of here!" Ayaan ran even faster. He didn't recognize that voice. A stranger was in their house. Katara ran out, spotting Ayaan who was already racing inside. Stealthily and quick, he spoke to his crying sister.

"Dad's at the northeast side of the village. Go, Katara. Everything will be okay."

She nodded, running as fast as she could towards where their dad was. Ayaan raced into the house, finding the firebender standing above his mother with a heartless smirk on his face.

"I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today." He knocked her down with a strong kick. Groaning from the attack, she didn't see the fire coming from his hands, but before he could strike again—

"GET AWAY FROM MY MOTHER!" Ayaan tackled him to the ground. The fire dissipated because of the sudden attack, but he quickly regained his bearings. He punched the abnormally strong child, managing to get him off. Ayaan recoiled from the hit, but jumped back protectively in front of his mother who was stunned for a moment before realizing what had just happened.

Ayaan attacked the man again. His body was small compared to the man, and he'd only just begun his training with his dad. This man was trained, strong, and a skilled firebender. The twelve year old was no match for him. The fight didn't last long before Ayaan was downed yet again. In a bit of panic, Ayaan shot a piece of ice at the man with his waterbending. It hit him just below his right eye, drawing blood. The firebender's eyes widened.

"There was another? Interesting." The firebender wiped the blood away. The informant only told him that there was one waterbender still in the southern water tribe. They'd only seen Katara bending that day, the boy was too subtle about it for him to notice. The firebender was angered about his information being inaccurate, but it was no matter.

"I'll just kill you both!" He sent a vicious attack to the strange white haired boy, sending him sprawling towards his now terrified mother. It made sense. If she was a bender, then it was bound that at least one of her children would be one as well. Once he got this job finished, he'd enjoy a handsome paycheck for the extra bender he took out and a nice vacation away from his annoying mother.

Seeing his opening, the firebender smiled viciously at the them. He took a breath, the fire raged. It all happened too quickly.

"NO!" Ayaan heard his mother's voice. Then there was searing pain across right cheek, his mothers screams, and the man's laughter.

And then there was darkness.

The firebender, stared at the bodies of the mother and son. Before he could check his handiwork he heard voices coming closer.

"Tch. My work here is done." With that, he made his escape, retreating to his ships and sailing off with his men as their goal was reached. With the mission over, there was no need to stay in this miserable little village a second longer.

The raid was over as quick as it started, only half an hour had went by. The black snow stopped falling as the ships sailed away, their remains littering the snow with ugly black patches.

"Kya! Ayaan!" Hakoda was running as fast as his feet would carry him to their home after Katara came to him with tears in her eyes. Ayaan was the only one there protecting Kya, and Kya wasn't a fighter, she was too frail to fight off a fire nation soldier. He reached for the animal skin that served as the door to their home, only to widen his eyes in horror at the sight beyond it.

"No... please no..." He fell to his knee beside the bodies of his wife and son in the corner of the home. Scorch marks and blood were all around, it seemed like his son had put up quite the fight. Kya was hovering protectively over him, taking what Hakoda knew was the final blow. She had protected Ayaan with her dying breath.

"Kya..." Hakoda could not stop the grief from crushing him, the anger overwhelming him. His broken sobs escaping the confides of the tent to the other villages who had heard that a firebender had been there. It was at that moment the young Katara and Sokka went inside, and the villagers could here their horrified screams and sobs.

They didn't need to see to know what they found in the house, the entire village mourned.

Katara and Sokka made their way to their dad, sitting near them to cry silently. Hakoda went to the bodies of his wife and son, removing them form the corner they'd been trapped in. He gently laid Kya down to prepare her for burial, reaching for his son, when he let out a loud gasp.

"He's still breathing... AYAAN IS STILL BREATHING! I NEED HELP IN HERE!" Hakoda yelled. In the blink of an eye his men came in, including his best friend Bato, all of them in tears.

She saved him. Kya had sacrificed herself and saved their eldest son, who was clinging to life with every ounce of strength his injured and weak body could muster.

Ayaan laid there, weak and still as if dead, but the small, painfully small breathes he was taking could be seen now that Kya was moved from on top of him. His right cheek, down his neck, shoulder and right side were burned severely and injuries from his fight obvious, but he was fighting for every breathe he was taking with all he had.

Maybe it was the moon's blessing that made him strong enough to survive. Since birth, he had always been a bit stronger than normal. His vitality was something envied in the village; it was how he kept up with two hyperactive children and little toddlers all day without getting tired. Hakoda thanks the moon for his perseverance as his eyes traveled to his wife, the grief returning full force.

The warriors and women along with Hakoda worked quickly. They gathered all of the bandages and medicine they could and brought him out of their house into the medical hut at the furthest part of their small village. They cleaned his wounds to the best of their ability, applying the medicine with it that they'd acquired for burns thanks to their experience in battling firebenders.

But they knew that it would leave a massive scar on his body.

The moon had already begun to rise by the time they had finished dressing his injuries, all of them praying to it that another soul not be taken from them that night.

Katara and Sokka could only weep, each holding one of his hands as they hoped the spirits from their mother's story would help their big brother. They couldn't bare to lose him too. They mourned for Kya when they finally laid her to rest, afterwards never leaving Ayaan's side. Hakoda, after doing his duties as the chief of their small village, did the same thing.

Kanna, their grandmother and Hakoda's mother, felt her heart breaking in two watching them cry themselves to sleep. They would stay in the hut for hours on end, not bothering to leave, barely eating the food she would bring to them. She would go home, only to weep until she succumbed to sleep.

The days went by like this. And once again, they were by his bed when they heard something.

"Ughh..." A quiet, painful groan made the four snap their heads up. Katara, Sokka, Hakoda, and Gran-Gran began to cry again when they saw Ayaan's grayish blue eyes finally begin to open, dazed and unsure of anything but the pain he felt on his right side. "Wh-wh-wha—"

"Shh, don't talk, son. You're in the medical hut. You've been asleep for 5 days. You got some bad burns on your right side, but, you're gonna be okay." Hakoda said quietly, coming closer to him so that his boy could see him clearly. Hakoda could see how his dazed eyes began to clear, probably remembering what got him there in the first place. The question was struggling to get out of his throat, but he managed to utter a single word to his father to convey it.

"Mom...?"

All of their hearts sank even lower than they thought possible, not knowing how to tell him what happened. The grief was much too fresh, the absence of her loving voice too apparent. Katara was the first to break down and cry, followed by Sokka who could only hug her and cry himself, Hakoda couldn't face his son and tell him the heartbreaking news, silently letting the tears run down his face. Kanna comforted her grandchildren, and in hearing their cries, Ayaan understood what they couldn't say.

Ayaan didn't need ask anymore.

Careful not to aggravate his wounds, Hakoda lifted his son into his embrace, constantly apologizing for not being there to protect them both. Katara and Sokka soon joined in, getting onto his bed and hugging him from behind. Gran-Gran embraced them all as they sat there, being strong for them as they could do nothing but cry.

His eyes seemed to lose all life in them as his own silent tears fell. He did not hiccup like his brother or wail like his sister; he was utterly, utterly silent. It was a heavy silence. It hurt more to see him than it did to see his father and siblings cry. He made a vow to himself in that moment.

'Never again.'

He would never let this happen to them again. But to keep that promise, he needed to be stronger.

'Much stronger.'

...

..

.

A lot changed for the trio. The warriors were building more warships and weapons, the children who hadn't been born before the raid were now waddling around the village. Sokka began to train, or at least try to train, with his brother who was finally able to after a year of healing.

His burn scar, which even healed was large, was a maroon red color, darker than his lighter brown skin. It had two end trails that ended on the bottom right side of his face, one going over his nose and the other just shy of that. It extended down that same side of his neck, shoulder, and arm up to his wrist, seeming to wrap around his arm. Part of his chest and upper body, going around towards his back were also cover by the scar. It was by luck alone that the burn scar was not rough, it was actually smooth, as if it healed evenly.

The ones who applied the medicine to him everyday thought it was a miracle from the Moon and Ocean Spirits.

It didn't take away from his looks at all, in fact, it did the opposite. It made him seem even more mature, the color in contrast to his skin making him stand out in a crowd even more than he did before. Although everyone was angered and saddened by the story behind it, the scar itself was not seen as a sign of shame or a target for ridicule.

The only person who hated his scar was himself. To him, it was a permanent reminder of the day he failed to protect someone precious. But he did not want to hate himself, he couldn't.

His silver white hair was a remainder of the wish that person had for him to live, and so was that scar. That person told him every single day that he was a beautiful gift and a joy. That person loved him no matter what he did, how he looked, or where he'd go.

To hate himself would be disrespecting that person's memory.

So he chose to hate the ones responsible for taking that person away.

The Fire Nation. The ships whose flags bore sea-ravens. The man he cut beneath his right eye with his useless waterbending, whose face was seared into his memory like the scar on his body.

That was what he chose to hate.

In the second year after the black snow fell, Ayaan began training in earnest. Soaking in his father's teachings, his ability to fight was like second nature to him. His body grew, his muscles firmed, and his instincts sharpened. He would often go hunting alone, sharpening any skill he could. His hearing, his sight, his reflexes, his speed. Anything he knew could be better, he worked to make it better.

The only thing he could not better was his waterbending.

In the south pole, the only benders were his little sister and himself. They didn't know the first thing about bending the element, and parlor tricks would do little to nothing on the battlefield. That did not mean he did not try to train in it. But on his list, it would always be second.

He noticed that he and his siblings didn't play together as much as they used to. Katara had taken up some of the responsibilities of the village, helping Gran-Gran and the other women out with daily chores. Sokka started building his watchtower, teaching, more like attempting to teach, the younger children the ways of warrior and to "become men".

Ayaan himself became quieter. He was less outgoing than he used to be, smiled less, spoke even less so. Any frustrations he had, or problems he had, or even his own thoughts, he kept them to himself. As he became older, there were certain burdens he didn't want to worry Katara and Sokka with. So he took on more responsibilities as the eldest brother, and as the eldest son of the chief.

It worried his siblings to no end. Sometimes, they felt like the Ayaan they knew vanished and a new one took his place. In a way, they were right. After that day, everything changed. The Ayaan who thought their peaceful days would last forever was gone. But, that didn't mean he stopped spending whatever time he could with them.

He listened to their problems the same way he always had, even if he didn't confide in them with his own.

He trained with them during the day and took their mother's place telling them stories at night to help them sleep. If it wasn't him, it was their Gran-Gran, telling them about the time the Avatar was around and the nations were at peace. Ayaan didn't care for those stories as much as he used to, to him they were just that: Stories.

The Avatar was gone, he wasn't coming back. Or she. He wasn't sure.

Where was the Avatar when this war started? Where was he when the Fire Nation took the lives of thousands? The Fire Nation is about to win their war for world domination, but where is he? Ayaan didn't want to place any hope in a myth that disappeared when they needed him most.

Katara seemed taken with the stories, and knowing that she needed something to cling to, something to give her that little bit of hope she'd almost lost completely because of their mother's death, he did not voice his own opinion on the matter.

Katara, Sokka, Gran-Gran, Their Dad, Their home, that was his hope. That was all the hope he needed. Even after all they'd been through, this place was still here. They were still here. And coming home to this place after training on his own in the wilds of the south pole and seeing their faces is what gave him hope for tomorrow.

He may not of spoken much anymore, only a short sentence here or there and minute facial expressions, but every action he did showed them how much he loved them. He made sure to give them enough love to make up for their mother who couldn't be there and their father who was preparing for war. If they wanted something, they didn't have to ask before he got it, whether it be an animal meat they were craving or just time to spend with him.

Anything he could give them, he would give them. So what if Ayaan didn't smile as wide as he used to, or laugh until his sides hurt? The fact that he even gave out a smile at all was a blessing to them. The fact he became their pillar of support was a blessing to them. All of the words he used to speak to them he showed them instead.

And he survived. All of the painfully long nights where he thought he hid how much pain he was in; all of the times they'd watch him leave, only to find him crying alone where no one could see him; All of the times he'd stare at his reflection in the water, tracing the scar with an unreadable expression on his face.

Katara and Sokka had seen it all, and knew how strong he had been to get through that silent turmoil. The moment he smiled again, even if it was small, even if he was silent...

That day was the happiest day of their lives.

And it was like this that three years passed by.

After the preparations were finished, Their father and the men of their tribe left to aid in the war. With what happened three years prior, they could not and would not sit idly by and hide. With their boats they journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation.

As they were putting their luggage on the boats, 11 year old Sokka come towards them with his own. He had on his self made battle attire and his boomerang on his back. His birthday was just around the corner, but that didn't matter to him at that moment.

Hakoda spotted his youngest son and withheld a sigh, "Sokka..."

"I'm coming with you."

"You're not old enough to go to war, Sokka. You know that."

"I'm strong, I'm brave... I can fight! Please, Dad..."

Ayaan gently put a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Sokka, no."

"But Ayaan! I know I could help! Both of us could! How come you aren't preparing to leave too?!"

"I am not needed there."

"What do you mean...?"

Hakoda shook his head, fighting off the sadness that was creeping on watching his sons. "Being a man is knowing where you are needed the most. And for you right now, that's here, protecting your sister. Helping your brother."

"I don't understand..." Sokka said, teary eyes looking up to his father and his brother. Ayaan only put give him a sad smile. He was still too young to properly understand.

"One day, you will." With that, Sokka broke down, running up to hug him as tight as his small arms could. Ayaan didn't join the hug, knowing that Sokka needed it more than he did.

"I'm going to miss you so much..."

After saying their goodbyes, Ayaan, Sokka, and Katara watched as they left, sailing away.

As much as Ayaan wanted to go with them too, as much as it hurt to see their father and tribesmen leave to waters unknown, he had a responsibility. He had to protect his family. So he stayed. He trained harder.

He'd keep them safe. This time, he wouldn't fail.

It was like this that two more years passed by.

A/N: The next chapter will begin at the start of the series!