The morning came fast, and all that was left was to pick the food prepared for them and say their goodbyes. Most of the temple inhabitants were still asleep, so Teo and his father were the only ones who came. Mechanist was holding a few sheets of papers rolled together, which he handed to Sokka.
"I made a few notes as well. You may never have to deal with anything like it, I really hope so. But I will sleep better knowing that you have this."
"It never hurts to be prepared, am I right?" Sokka said as he took them with a smile. Then he offered a traditional Water Tribe handshake, which the man gladly accepted.
The prince glanced at him, daos securely strapped to his back confirming that he couldn't agree more with that statement. He'd rather just carry them with him at all times than have to go back for them.
Meanwhile Teo came closer to Aang "Come visit us again sometimes. We can have another gliding competition. You're all invited too, of course." he added with a smile looking at Katara and Zuko. The latter didn't really know how he felt about that invitation but he gave a polite nod.
"Maybe we could stop by on our way back from the North Pole." Katara responded happily "I wouldn't say no to another gliding lesson."
"I could show you the ropes too sometimes." Aang offered immediately, with a blush.
"Sure, why not?" she responded eagerly, and the young monk's heart leaped.
"Okay, I think we're ready to go." Sokka said, turning towards Appa.
They mounted the bison and flew away to the accompaniment of Aang's usual "Yep, yep!"
Before they reached the appropriate flight altitude, Zuko asked "Just for the record, we're going straight to the North Pole now, right?"
"Yup, that's the plan." Aang said with a grin.
"But you do know the way?"
"Well, it was at the North Pole last time I checked, so I'd say we go north." Sokka said, snickering. "You want to lecture us on that too?"
Zuko groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "North Pole is at the north-west of here, if anything. But finding the Northern Water Tribe there may not be that easy."
"Of course you just know the map by heart." the Water Tribe navigator grumbled as he pulled out their map in annoyance "How hard can it be?"
"I take it back. How can it be so hard to find?!" Sokka moaned, though his voice was almost drowned in the howling wind.
Zuko had insisted they should try to follow the coastline once they spotted the land, since the Water Tribe was bound to have an access to the sea. The high mountains formed a natural barrier around the coast, and they decided it was best to fly above, so their view wasn't obscured in case the Tribe was on the other side. They've already been doing it for hours by now, but the snowfall was beginning to turn into a blizzard.
"We should find a shelter!" Aang decided. He was shielding his eyes from the blinding snow with his hand, trying to spot a cave or any place offering protection. Appa didn't even have this much of a convenience to deal with biting snowflakes, so he relied on his friend to choose flight direction. They were getting painfully aware that it wasn't a good solution, as they just narrowly avoided a protruding part of the glacier.
Seeing this, Katara leaned out to get Aang's attention.
"It's no use looking for a shelter, Aang! Just land anywhere and we'll make a cover with ice." she advised, and Aang quickly gave a nod. He directed Appa to fly towards the closest flat surface on the mountainside when they heard a high-pitched roar.
"Hey, what was that?!" Sokka asked loudly, deeply unsettled. He considered himself a pretty good hunter, but the sound didn't remind him of any animal he'd heard on the South Pole.
"I'm not-" Aang turned his head to answer, but then suddenly a large creature crashed into Appa's side with another ferocious roar. The bison bellowed in shock, not fully comprehending what hit him as sudden impact pushed him away in the air.
The force of the blow sent the group flying from the saddle, and before they realized it they fell into the blizzard; only Aang's quick reflexes made him use airbending to propel himself back towards Appa where he gripped his fur immediately. He realized his friends were still racing towards the mountainside, so he tried to pull Appa down to catch them. It was only when his faithful companion didn't react immediately that Aang noticed large claws embedded in his side. Following them with his eyes, he finally saw the silhouette of a large polar owlbear, who was still trying to peck Appa who didn't have much options for defense from this position.
Aang looked back down desperately, only to see his friends disappearing from sight. A brief glance at the empty saddle allowed him to see that their belongings had also been swept away, along with his glider. Tears glistened in his eyes, and he squeezed them tightly, realizing he won't make it to save his friends, but then Appa let out another pained roar as he tried to break free from the beast's grip.
That's when the usual peaceful demeanor of the young Avatar got tossed aside; he climbed the bison's back enough to catch balance, and thrust his arms forward. The air around them whipped into a frenzy, striking the owlbear with a great force.
The invisible strike dazed the animal, and it stopped trying to peck the bison, looking for a source of attack in confusion. When it noticed Aang, the owlbear gave an ear-ringing roar, spreading the claws of one paw to reach for the boy. But he used this opening to send another, even more powerful wind wave at its now uncovered side. It pushed the creature away, forcing it to let go of Appa. The wings flapped desperately, as it tried to recover the balance in the air.
The young Avatar wasn't done yet, however. With a fierce shout he called upon the air once more, creating a swirling vortex that spiraled around the beast. The owlbear struggled against the pull of the tornado, but it was no match. With a final motion Aang directed the vortex downward, sending the owlbear plummeting towards the glacier. The beast crashed into it hard, whipping up clouds of snow and rock debris on impact.
The animal shook its head hazily as it tried to recollect itself; the eyes examining its surroundings slowly. Seeing it, Aang assumed they were done here. Now that the greatest emotions had subsided, he was actually relieved that he had not gone too far in anger. He leaned forward as far as he could, trying to assess his companion's state. He feared to see traces of red, but all he saw was perfectly white fur covered with snow.
"You okay, Appa?" he asked just to make sure. The bison grumbled calmly in response, and Aang felt a small smile of relief enter his lips. It seemed like this thick fur had protected him once again.
The smile faded as he turned his attention back to the direction he saw his friends disappear. He felt the panic starting to rise, but then suddenly he heard something, like a voice calling. He jumped on Appa's head quickly and caught the reins but then the animal behind them gave another angry hiss, with its eyes locked on the sky bison.
"Oh, come on! Leave us alone already!" the kid whined with annoyance. But as he looked around for anything to help him deal with the angry animal, he caught a glimpse of something moving in a rock crevice he didn't even notice earlier. The curious eyes of a polar owlbear cub were watching him from a safe distance, and suddenly Aang understood the whole situation.
"You're protecting your cub! But we weren't going to hurt you!" he called desperately in their defense, but the mother owlbear had no way of understanding his words. Instead the fact that he was looking at her cub seemed to enrage her even more.
"Appa...? Do you think you'll still be able to fly at full speed, buddy?"
The moment they were thrown out of the saddle, Zuko actually thought he was done for good. Still, his instincts didn't leave him, and he managed to turn in the midair to see his collision course. He was racing into the cliff, and he braced himself to catch it - and praise Agni, he managed to do so, even though the impact knocked the air out of his lungs. A stabbing pain that exploded in his ribs was worrying, but he was more concerned with the threat of imminent death, which he realized after a short glance down the abyss below.
Trying to find support for his feet on the slippery ice wall was like trying to thread a needle blindfolded. Except the second thing didn't involve the risk of breaking one's neck.
He gave up on this and tried to pull himself up with just his arms, but then his left one screamed in protest. He cursed himself for not trying to heal it further last evening.
"Perhaps Katara could have done it better, but no, I just had to experiment, didn't I?"
Sokka's descent couldn't be called fortunate either. One moment he was wondering how different the northern wildlife species could be from the southern ones, and another he was rocketing through the sky right into the unforgiving ground. He tried to think of anything to help him ease the fall, but all he could think of was rolling forward on the impact. He aimed for that, and it almost worked. Almost, because the moment his legs took the first of the impact, he felt a sharp pain shooting through his calf. Despite this, he managed to pull off the roll, although he lost control of it and ended up tumbling in the snow.
For a while he was just lying there, taking deep breaths and comprehending the fact that he made it alive.
"Yes! Sokka: 1, universe: 0!" he yelled enthusiastically, but his joy lasted only until he moved his legs to get up and felt a joint of pain from his calf. Groaning, he reached for his leg, and realized it may be broken. "Okay, fine, we're even."
He rose to a sitting position and brushed the snow off his hands, looking around. The snow storm was raging all over, but as he squinted his eyes against it, he could actually make out a figure against the stark white, struggling to maintain its grip on the mountainside. He realized it was Zuko, who apparently had a similar amount of luck that he did.
Despite all the mistrust and bickering, Sokka didn't hesitate. He gritted his teeth, half on all fours (or rather three, to spare his broken leg), half dragging himself across the snow-covered ground towards him.
"Zuko!" he shouted, his voice barely cutting through the storm.
Prince's eyes met his, a mix of surprise and wariness within them. With a reluctant nod he accepted the unspoken truce. Sokka reached out, his hand grasping Zuko's, who let go of the cliff to hold onto them. With a concerted effort, they managed to pull Zuko onto the ledge. They collapsed next to each other, breathing heavily.
"Just don't think this means I like you." Sokka grumbled.
Zuko huffed "Yeah, no kidding."
For Katara it was a matter of seconds, when she realized she was going to crash right into the solid ice. It was more of an instinct than a decision, but she reached out to it and turned it into water. The ice-cold liquid surface broke her fall, but its overwhelmingly freezing temperature left her shocked. The water flowed down quickly, and she coughed and wheezed, trembling from the cold. She removed the water from her mouth and clothes, but the feeling of coldness remained. She sat up on her knees looking around her, but everything around was engulfed in a blizzard.
"Sokka? Aang? Zuko...?" she called weakly, but the only response was the howling wind. She felt a panic starting to set in, and she took a deep breath "ANYONE?!"
Her breathing quickened nervously, but she tried to reason with herself - they probably just can't hear her through the storm. She looked around herself, but there wasn't even another flat surface other than where she created it by melting ice. It wasn't very reassuring either. She stretched her arm above her head, creating an 'umbrella' against the snow with her waterbending; it didn't extend her vision much, but it really made things easier when the snow wasn't hitting your face. She examined the mountain, trying to recall the moment of hit - they couldn't have fallen that far from each other. If her trajectory sent her into this place, then she might be able to see them somewhere around. Unless-
Nope. Looking down the mountain was a bad idea. The slope was almost vertical in places, except for a few jagged ledges. She gulped, trying to blink away the mental image of her brother and friends falling down there. Not that she would call Zuko a friend, she corrected herself in her mind, although it wasn't like she wanted him to fall either.
She assumed that Aang probably did not fall, or at least landed lightly, being both air- and waterbender. The cold didn't bother him either. This was something she envied him a little bit once she found out about it, but at this moment he was the one she knew she didn't have to worry about. But the boys were probably just as cold as she was, which was one of the reasons she wanted them to land - because even though they wouldn't complain about it, it was difficult for them too. She almost felt sorry for Zuko who probably wasn't used to such temperatures as much as Sokka and her. All the more reasons to get everyone back together.
Standing back up was the first step. She was pretty high up, so it would make more sense to move downwards. She actually considered creating an ice bridge to the closest ledge below, however risky it may have seemed, when she caught a glimpse of something moving through the air. Although everything around seemed equally white, she took her chances and screamed at the top of her lungs "APPA!"
It was a good thing that Aang never underestimated his companion's instincts, however surprised he may have been when suddenly, mid-flight, Appa dived, turning sharply towards the direction they had fled from, pursued by a still enraged mother owlbear. She didn't see it coming either, and she didn't manage to turn around as smoothly without aid of airbending, giving them a little edge.
"What is it, buddy? You think we can lose her?" he asked quickly, glancing over his shoulder with worry. However as he turned his head he noticed the reason for Appa's detour. "KATARA!"
She was standing on a strangely cut fragment of the glacier, but all that mattered was that she was safe. She continued to wave her hands in the air, calling them over with a relieved smile "Aang! Here!"
He wished he could hug her right now, but instead he had to urge "Hop on, quick! She's still chasing us!"
His tone was enough for her to leave questions for later, and she jumped into the saddle as soon as Appa pulled close enough. She was honestly hoping to see boys in the saddle already, but it was empty. She scooted closer to Aang to ask "Did you see Sokka and Zuko?"
"Not yet...!" there was a pained tone in his voice as he answered hesitantly "We have to get rid of this angry mama owlbear first! Try to keep an eye out for them along the way."
"Owlbear...?" she mumbled in disbelief, as she finally looked behind them, seeing a shadow of a flying beast through the blizzard. She turned back to Aang "Wait, how do you plan to get rid of her?"
"I don't know! Fly higher? I don't want to harm her!"
"But- uhhh" she groaned impatiently, looking around for anything to help. She usually respected the peaceful nature of her friend, but she wouldn't mind if he gave it up for a moment now that they needed to find her brother and Zuko. Unsurprisingly, the only thing she could see was snow but it actually gave her an idea. "Maybe we could create some cover? More snow, or-"
"Maybe we could bend some sort of cloud around Appa?" Aang quickly caught on "Clouds are made of air and water, so between the two of us we should be able to do it!"
"It's worth a try!"
After regaining his breath the Water Tribe boy sat up, mindful of his leg. He tried to see their surroundings through the snowstorm again, but to no avail.
"Have you seen the rest?" he asked, without much hope.
The firebender hearing this tried to sit up as well, but he hissed as his ribs responded with another wave of pain. He turned to the side and lifted himself up carefully, propping himself up on his elbow. "I was a little busy trying not to fall down the cliff."
"KATARA! AANG!" Sokka yelled loudly, making Zuko cringe at the sudden loud tone, but otherwise there was no response.
The prince got up, looking down the mountain again - this time searching for any familiar shapes. He didn't see any, neither down there, nor anywhere on the mountain in their currently very limited range of view. The blizzard hardly allowed him to see the outline of the mountain, but even that much was enough to conclude that they were much lower than before.
"I don't think they can hear you!" he said skeptically, giving Sokka a look.
"You don't say!" the teen huffed sarcastically in response "APPA! AANG! KATARA! MOMO-"
"Then shut up!" Zuko snapped "You know it's useless!"
"And you're not even going to try!?"
"Because I know it won't work! We're literally yelling just to hear each other!"
"Yeah, and what do you propose instead? They have to be here somewhere!"
"Oh, I don't know, try to hide from this blizzard? Cause I don't know about you, but I'm freezing!"
Sokka gave him an incredulous look "But if they'll be looking for us now, they won't be able to find us if we move from here, moron!"
"And how do you know they will? In case you didn't notice, we were attacked! They may not be coming."
These words froze Sokka even more than the North Pole's weather. "You think-"
"I don't know! But can you tell for sure they'll actually find us?"
"Not if we move, they won't! This snow will cover any tracks!"
"Then you're free to stay, you... ice-man! I'm not going to wait here for this." the prince yelled, moving away to examine the further part of the ledge they were on.
"Fine!" Sokka yelled, crossing his arms on his chest. He turned his head away, trying to see if he couldn't catch any sign of Appa through the biting blizzard, but he could hardly see anything at all. It was actually starting to look worse and worse for them - especially if it came to a fight. If the bison moved from that place, he may not find the place where they fell in this blizzard. He realized anxiously that he might lose the angry jerk from his view very soon as well at this rate and he whipped his head back in his direction.
"Wait!" he yelled, and he saw the prince turn around impatiently in the distance.
"WHAT?!"
"I think I broke my leg on the fall!"
Zuko cursed silently, but immediately walked up to him and stretched out his hand without saying a word, not even looking him in the face. Sokka took it reluctantly, and suddenly he was hauled upwards. He was about to complain about the roughness, but up close he noticed the strain on the firebender's face, topped up with his other arm clutched around his chest.
"You ok?" he asked with concern.
The prince looked at him with unease, but since the other boy was openly vulnerable too, he admitted "Probably cracked a rib or two. I've had worse."
Considering other injuries they had already witnessed him having, Sokka could actually believe it, so he just shrugged. "If you say so..."
They stood in front of each other, and Zuko shifted uncomfortably when he noticed that the other wasn't going to move first, seeing how he was still looking around. He glanced down to see which of the boy's sides needed support and moved in closer there impatiently.
"Are we going or what...?"
The level of awkwardness in this question almost caused Sokka to laugh, but the fact that the guy was willing to help him move without the need to ask made him grateful.
"I guess..." He gave one last look in the direction they fell from, in anxious thought that this may be a bad decision. And yet it felt like the best choice for now, so he leaned on the firebender's shoulder. "Have you seen if we can even get through there?"
"Well, not yet! But I'm not going to take chances with this cliff here." he answered, his annoyance taking over the uncomfortableness.
"Geez, relax! You don't have to be such a jerk all the time!"
Zuko bit his tongue to stop himself from another response for the sake of survival, as he told himself.
"Let's just go." he said impatiently, and started to move. Sokka didn't argue with that, and he walked along, supported on his shoulder.
The idea might have seemed a bit crazy to use two kinds of bending together, but it came out surprisingly natural. With Katara gathering water from the surroundings in the form of small droplets, and Aang using air to disperse them even more and help with shaping, they managed to create an actual cloud.
"Hey, it's working!" Aang called enthusiastically. Katara responded with a smile, none of them even thought about stopping. At the speed at which they were flying, some parts of the cloud were getting out of their control, so in addition to keeping it in place, they had to keep adding water to it. The effort seemed to pay off, as they realized the owlbear started to slow down, losing their trail.
The Avatar noticed it with relief, and nudged Appa "Now go up, buddy!"
The bison compelled, rising upside in the air and soon they heard the beast pass below them. They all let out a breath of relief they didn't even know they were holding.
Katara moved closer to Aang and asked, lowering her voice as much as possible "What now?"
"I think she'll settle down soon if we stay hidden." he replied just as quietly, straining to hear any signs of the angry animal around. The only sound he heard was howling blizzard, which he took as a good sign.
"But we need to look for Sokka and Zuko." she insisted "They might need our help. I managed a quite soft landing thanks to my waterbending, but they- Not to mention this storm. If we-"
"I know..." he responded hesitantly "But the place she attacked us is near her nest, that's why she attacked us."
Katara bit her lip nervously "But we need to get back there anyway."
"You're right." he said, looking around in thought "Okay, let's try to get back there with the cloud cover. Maybe the owlbear won't attack us if she won't see us."
For a moment nothing was happening, and they realized Appa wasn't moving.
"Can you get us back there, Appa...?"
The bison bellowed helplessly, turning his head and trying to see, but the cloud was limiting their view as well to the point they didn't even see the mountains. The kid realized the problem, furrowing his brows.
"Okay, we may have a little problem."
Katara shifted impatiently "Then let's just drop this cloud. If it will attack us again we should be able to fend it off together."
Aang looked at her with hesitation. The idea with cloud was to avoid the fight, but Katara may have been right. The boys might need their help, and looking for them didn't seem possible without taking some risks.
"Alright. Let's try."
I hope you'll enjoy this part of the story, because I decided it needs a little twist before they reach the Northern Water Tribe. But don't worry, they'll get there eventually (at least I think so ;) )