#This last chapter Sokka really got going and hopefully the next one can help him process some of this

[ssreeder]

Chang: I killed Zhao

Sokka: *sokka.exe Has stopped working*

Heeeehhheheee,

Sorry, not sorry :)

I think these Nick Miller gifs describe Sokka’s current emotional state:

[zukkaoru]

22 for mailee zukka or sokka & katara!!!

jupiter!! hello!! this is. about half as long as it would have to be if i wanted to fully capture the feeling of this song. but hopefully it's still alright since it's already uhhh kinda long

22. sincerely me - artist vs. poet + mailee

and i wish that you could see oh, what you do to me and i hope this letter covers everything i'm yours, sincerely me

word count: 1927

Mai,

Kyoshi Island is warm this time of year, but it’s still nothing compared to Caldera City. I think you’d like it here in spring, actually. All of the flowers are blooming and the snow is melting and it’s really very beautiful. One of the other warriors taught me how to press flowers, so I’ve included some with this letter. I don’t know the meanings like you do; I just picked ones I thought looked prettiest.

A group of us are leaving for Gaoling in a few days. We’ve been trying to go on more recruitment missions, because Suki wants to create different chapters of the Kyoshi Warriors - that way we aren’t limited to helping Kyoshi Island. She has big dreams, but she’s got enough determination that I don’t doubt they’re possible to achieve.

Sokka, Katara, and Aang stopped by the island for a visit last week. It was nice to see them again even if I don’t know them very well. But seeing them reunite with Suki made me miss you even more. You should come visit when you get a chance! You can even bring Zuko if he can afford a break. I’d love to see you again!!

How is Zuko, by the way? You didn’t mention him in your last letter. Are you two still doing alright? Or do I need to catch the first boat to Caldera and kick his ass for you? Because I will.

Okay, I have to go - Tuq is calling me. I look forward to your next letter, and I’ll write again once I’ve returned from Gaoling!

Yours always,

Ty Lee

— —

Ty Lee, 

Zuko is fine, but Zuko and I aren’t great. There’s too much stress with him being Fire Lord, I think. And we’re both realizing some things that make a relationship a little complicated. It’s nothing you need to worry about, though, I promise! We’re talking through it, so no need to beat Zuko up.

Besides, I’ll do it myself if I need to.

I love the flowers; they really are quite pretty. The pink ones are plum blossoms. Those mean “resilience” and “perseverance”. The yellow ones are daffodils, which mena “respect”. And the white ones are Tsutsuji, or azaleas. The white ones specifically mean either “modesty” or “first love”. It was a nice collection, you chose well.

Kyoshi Island does sound beautiful. I’m not sure when or if I’ll be able to visit, but maybe someday. Or I guess maybe if I need some distance from Zuko. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens.

I hope you enjoyed your trip to Gaoling! Zuko says Toph is from there. They didn’t like it much, but I believe that has to do with the circumstances of their upbringing. I’m sure it’s a fine place to visit. Suki’s idea about different Kyoshi Warrior chapters sounds helpful as well. Maybe you could come recruit in Caldera City sometime.

I miss you too. I hope we can see each other again soon.

Sincerely,

Mai

— —

Mai,

Gaoling was incredible! It’s so SO cool getting to travel around the Earth Kingdom and being able to really appreciate the cultures. I’ve learned a lot since I came to Kyoshi Island and we started going out on recruitment trips.

Although I do agree: A trip to Caldera would be nice. I’d love any excuse to see you! I know we’re both busy, though.

I’m sorry to hear about the complications between you and Zuko. And I know you can kick his ass yourself, but my offer still stands if you should need it. Or, like you said, you can come visit me here to get some distance from everything.

It’s hard to believe it’s nearing a year since the end of the war and me moving to Kyoshi Island. It’s still weird not having you close by, but it’s nice we can at least write letters. It doesn’t replace seeing you face-to-face, but it helps.

Spring is making me miss you more, I think. Remember when we would try to catch falling cherry blossoms, just the two of us in your backyard? I miss being that young and carefree. I miss seeing you like that. It was the one time you would let your guard down and allow yourself to smile.

I don’t think I ever told you, but you really do have the prettiest smile.

If I can ever convince Suki to take a Kyoshi Warrior trip to the Fire Nation, I’ll be sure to let you know. But until then, I’ll miss you and I’ll keep writing.

Yours always,

Ty Lee

— —

Ty Lee,

Sorry for the long break in letters. I’ve read all three you sent, but I was having trouble writing a response. Zuko and I have officially ended things. I moved out of the palace. I’m living with Aunt Mura now and working full time in the flower shop. My mom keeps trying to convince me to move home and I’m running out of ways to politely decline the offer.

I’m sorry this letter is no good. I don’t have much else to say.

I hope I’ll see you soon. I miss you.

Sincerely,

Mai

— —

Mai,

There’s no need to apologize! I’ll treasure any letter you send regardless of how long or short it is. It’s as close as I can get to having you with me.

I’m sorry to hear about you and Zuko. :( I know I’m far away, but let me know if there’s anything I can do!

I will say, I’m glad you moved in with your aunt instead of your parents. I know you don’t want to be too mean to your mom, but you’ll be much better off staying with Mura. Hopefully your mom will back off soon and understand that you don’t want to live with her anymore without you having to tell her it isn’t good for your mental health.

I hope you’re enjoying working at the flower shop! I know you always really liked that place. I used to think it was so unlike you to be happy helping out there, but I understand better now. It’s fitting, I think. You remind me of flowers sometimes; flowers don’t always recognize their beauty and worth either. But remember that you are always worthy of love and happiness.

I hope it doesn’t sound like I’m trying to guilt you with how much I say this, but I miss you. I don’t think I’ll ever stop missing you. A summer thunderstorm rolled through last night, and I thought of us hiding under the blankets in my bedroom. I was way more scared than you were, but you hid with me anyways. I really appreciate that. I’m not scared of thunder anymore, but I wouldn’t say no to building another blanket fort hideout.

The summer sun here is hot, but the heat of Caldera was worse. Take care of yourself. Remember to drink water and don’t stay out in the sun for too long without anything to shade you. 

Yours always,

Ty Lee

— —

Ty Lee,

I miss you too, no guilt intended.

Mura and Zuko both say I should visit you. Would that be okay? You asked if there was anything you could do to help, and all I could think was that I really miss your hugs.

Sincerely,

Mai

— —

Mai,

PLEASE come visit!!! I will give you as many hugs as you want!!!!!!!

Yours always,

Ty Lee

PS: Wait, you’re still talking to Zuko? Also you don’t have to wait for another response from me before you leave Caldera. Just come. I’ll tell Suki to expect you soon. Unless you don’t want to come, in which case, you’re free to stay! But I really really would love for you to visit.

— —

Ty Lee,

Yes, Zuko and I still talk. It’s complicated.

Next week is the last week of summer, and there’s usually a rush in the shop that week, so I’ll leave at the start of the following week.

See you soon!

Yours,

Mai

— —

“This is so much better than the letters,” Ty Lee whispers, burying her face in Mai’s shoulder. She’s clinging to Mai like her life depends on it, but Mai doesn’t mind because she’s doing the same in return. And Ty Lee is right; this is far better than the letters they’ve exchanged in the past year. Mai has kept each one, safe in a box on a shelf in her room where she can reread them whenever she’s missing Ty Lee more than usual.

But Ty Lee in person is a million times better than ink and paper and even the pressed flowers.

“I missed you,” Mai says, as if that hasn’t been stated in every letter sent between them. But it’s important, and it means more than just those three words. It means I’m glad to see you again and Times may change but our friendship remains and I’m home.

It expresses the love that the two of them spent so long pushing down and ignoring, because how could they be together in a world that would lock them up for their feelings?

“I missed you too.”

The hug breaks, but Ty Lee doesn’t let go of Mai’s arms, and Mai doesn’t want her to. Mai wants her to hold on forever, never wants to be apart from her again. She wants to throw caution to the wind and beg to stay.

But she doesn’t. Not yet.

She takes a deep breath, inhaling the clean Kyoshi Island air, tinged with the first chilled breezes of autumn. She looks around to assure no one else has come outside to check on them. She never figured out, exactly, what to say now. But she knows she needs to say something.

Zuko had convinced her, actually. Mai, I know you. You won’t do this without a push, so I’m pushing you. Go to Kyoshi Island. Tell Ty Lee how you feel. I’m almost certain she feels the same.

And once Zuko had pointed out the signs, Mai couldn’t stop seeing them either. It was written between each line in every letter Ty Lee sent her. It was in the pressed flowers and the neat creases in the paper. It was in the space between every single letter.

I LOVE YOU.

“Ty Lee,” Mai whispers. She leans in slightly on instinct, desperate to be closer. They’ve been so far apart for so long and even though Ty Lee’s hands remain firmly wrapped around her arms, Mai can hardly stand the space still lingering between them. She wants to melt into Ty Lee’s body so they can never be separated again.

“Please stay,” Ty Lee says. One hand drops Mai’s arm to cup her cheek instead. “I don’t think I can bear to say goodbye again. I know I told you I didn’t want to guilt you into coming here, and I didn’t, but— I couldn’t say everything in the letters. Some things need to be said in person.”

“You did say it,” Mai assures her. “And I think I’ve always felt the same. That’s why Zuko and I never could have worked. I always— It was always you. I’ve always been yours.”

Ty Lee smiles. “Your letters said it too. I was worried I was reading them wrong.”

Mai shakes her head. “You should know no one knows me as well as you do.”

“Mai—” Ty Lee starts, then stops abruptly. Instead of saying anymore, she lifts herself onto her tiptoes, angling Mai’s face downward.

Mai takes her cue and closes the distance between them.

[atlabeth]

everything happens for a reason part 7 - zuko x fem!reader

I think my ways are wearing me down

part 6 | masterlist | part 8

a/n: as said very astutely in my outline, "y/n just keeps taking L's"

i actually had to take breaks while writing the final scene and watching the episode LMAo i forgot how fucking sad this scene was!!

warning(s): you know what happens in this chapter. its siege of the north part 2. its so much more angst like SO MUCH ANGST. im so sorry i got so sad while writing this

wc: 4.0k

chapter title comes from brand new city by mitski!

Y/N adjusted her hold on the basket of clothes as she knocked on the door with her free hand, pushing it open after waiting a few moments.

“Prince Zuko?” she called in a whisper. They had gotten past the point of formalities, but it was a precaution she opted to take when they met like this. She spotted him sitting on his bed and he gave her a thumbs up, a sign she took to mean they were in the clear. Y/N closed the door behind her and bounded over, then set the basket on his bed.

“Alright. I brought you the book that you wanted to borrow.” She unearthed the novel from the pile of clothes with caution, taking care to not ruin the hard work that went into folding all of them. “I had to hide it so I could get in here — no one thinks anything of a servant bringing clothes around, but books are a little more suspicious. But here you go! My very own edition of ‘Keiko and the Koalaotter’.”

“Thank you!” The prince grinned as he took the book and examined the cover. “I’ve always been curious about Water Tribe culture, even more after you started teaching me about it. They don’t really tell us about it in our classes.”

“It’s not really accurate to actual Water Tribe stuff, but it is cute,” she laughed. “I remember begging my parents for a koalaotter for weeks after I finished it. They told me that there was no way to get one all the way in the Earth Kingdom, but I never listened to them.”

“Oh, that reminds me!” His eyes lit up as he ran over to the windowsill. “I got you a gift too!”

“Zuko, really? You shouldn’t have.”

“Well, I did. So don’t even think about not accepting it,” he joked. He picked something up from a vase and bounded back over, doing as good a job of hiding the flowers behind his back as his excited grin.

“What is it?” she questioned.

“They’re silver wisterias!” he exclaimed as he presented the bouquet. “They grow in the palace gardens. They’re really pretty, and so are you, and I know how much you love the gardens, so I thought you’d like it.”

She felt her cheeks heat up when she accepted the gift, twirling the stem in her fingers as she inhaled its sweet scent with a smile. “That’s really thoughtful of you, Zuko. Thank you.”

“Of course! You could wear one in your hair, pin one onto your uniform, put them in your room, whatever you want.”

As she carefully ran her fingers over the petals, she couldn’t stop the nagging question at the back of her mind from escaping.

“Why are you so nice to me?” she blurted out, causing Zuko’s brows to furrow in confusion.

“Because you’re my friend. Friends are nice to each other.”

“I know, but why are we friends?” she pushed. “You know that you could get in trouble for talking to me like this, but you still do it. Why?”

He pondered the question for a moment before he answered. “Well.. you don’t treat me like everyone else. I’m the prince, so everyone here has to do what I want and be nice to me. But you’re not like that. When it’s just the two of us, you treat me like anyone else, and I like that — I know that you always mean what you say, so when you’re nice to me I know it’s because you like me, not because you have to be. Why do you do that?” the prince asked as he turned the tables. “You know that you could get in trouble for talking to me like this, but you still do it. Why?”

She punched him playfully on the shoulder and giggled. “Someone’s gotta keep you humble.”

His cheeks flushed a bright red as he rubbed his arm shyly. “I’m really glad we’re friends. Sometimes it feels like you’re my only one in this whole nation.”

“So am I,” she beamed. “Always and forever, right?”

“Right.”

-

Y/N’s eyes snapped open and she gasped, immediately whipping her head around frantically to see if the Avatar was still there, but Katara shook her head.

“He’s gone,” Katara said miserably, confirming her suspicions. “I woke up a few minutes before you and I checked everywhere.”

“Great,” she muttered. She rubbed the back of her head and winced — she had a feeling she would be plagued by headaches for at least the next couple of days.

“So…” Katara began. “You and Zuko both recognized each other. He— he said he thought that you were dead.”

Y/N pursed her lips, wondering how to start that story, when Sokka and Yue burst into the oasis on Appa.

“What happened?” he questioned. “Where’s Zuko?”

“He took Aang,” Katara mourned. “He took him right out from under me.”

“It’s not your fault, Katara,” Y/N insisted. “It really looks like he’s improved since… since last time.”

“‘Last time’?” Sokka asked, prompting a sigh from Y/N. She looked to Yue for help, and the princess nodded supportively.

“We have… history.” She looked at her hands for a moment before continuing. “I’m not from the Northern Water Tribe. My mother is, but I was born in a small village in the Earth Kingdom. I told you that my village was invaded, Katara, but after it, my mother and I were captured for being waterbenders, and they took us to the Fire Nation to work as healers and servants in the palace.”

“I became friends with Zuko there. He was nothing like you saw today, or like anything you know from the past. He was kind, and caring, and passionate, and he made my dismal life a little bit brighter. And… we ended up falling for each other.”

“We went too far, the Fire Lord found out, and— well, he was going to kill me. My mother managed to get me out, but she stayed behind, and I haven’t seen her since that night. I haven’t seen Zuko since that night. I always held hope that I would find my way back and see them both again, but now that Zuko is like… like that?” She bit down on her lip and shook her head.

“Now I don’t know what to think. He’s completely different than anything I knew, than the boy that I fell in love with. And I can’t help but think about what happened to my mother if that is what happened to Zuko.” And I can’t help but think that it’s my fault for not being there for him.

A collective silence hung in the air for just a moment before Sokka broke it. “You had a thing with Zuko?”

Y/N let out a surprised laugh as Katara hit him on the shoulder. “Sokka, now is not the time!”

“No,” she chuckled. “No, it’s alright. It’s a lot, I know. It’s just… impossible. That the Zuko I knew turned into someone like this. I mean, you saw, Katara— he didn’t even hesitate to try and hurt me.”

Katara pulled her into a warm embrace before separating and looking her in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Y/N, for all that you’ve been through. And I know that fighting against Zuko hurts, so if you can’t come after Aang with us then I completely understand—”

“No,” she said once more, something hardening in her eyes. “I’ll help you find Aang, it’s the least I can do. Besides, I… I have to see him again. I have to see him again to know that this is actually real, that— that this is actually who he is now.”

Katara nodded solemnly; Sokka had already started walking back to Appa with Yue. “Well, Zuko couldn’t have gotten far. We’ll find him — Aang’s gonna be fine.”

Katara looked back hopefully at Y/N and she met her eyes with a smile, though slightly strained, as she jogged to catch up with them. But as she climbed onto Appa with her fellow waterbender, the anger in his eyes was all she could see.

The boy she fought might’ve been the Fire Prince, but it was not her Zuko.

-

Cold.

That was all Zuko seemed to know as he trekked through the frozen tundra, the blizzard around him threatening to end him at any moment. No more had he despised the Water Tribes than he did in this moment, but the weight of the Avatar on his back and the promise of his honor was enough to push him onwards.

The only thing on his mind that he couldn’t shake was her.

Zuko thought she was dead, honestly and truly. Few were lucky enough to escape his father’s wrath once it was incurred upon them — Zuko himself wasn’t even an exception — and though he wanted nothing more than for her to be one of the few, he knew that she was dead. There was no other explanation.

For years, the waterbender had been a staple in his mind — a memory of a childhood love, of a better time. He thought about her when he fought against his soldiers on slow evenings on the ship, her words of encouragement and joking retorts echoing through his ears as he went through every form. He thought about her when he talked to his uncle, his attitude often mirroring hers. The morning of the Agni Kai, he almost turned to her for reassurance before remembering.

Spirits, Zuko thought about her every time he looked at the water. And even all these years after her disappearance, he was still plagued by nightmares of her fate.

He had resigned himself to mourning her. Zuko truly thought she was dead.

But there she was, in the flesh, with the Avatar and his friends. Breathing. Alive. His enemy.

How the fuck was he supposed to deal with that?

She was even more beautiful than he remembered, but it was obvious the years since her escape had weathered her. He noticed a certain emptiness in her eyes, the brightness from their childhood a distant memory. It was obvious she had grown — she carried a certain elegance that he didn’t remember, and her skill in waterbending had improved so much since the days of their sparring sessions.

It felt like he had betrayed her. The expression she wore after his first blast was like a physical weight, the guilt of broken promises heavy over his head when he struck the final blow. So familiar to their friendly fights, yet such a far cry.

But they weren’t kids anymore. She had changed, and so had he.

It had been years. Any feelings he still harbored for her didn’t matter anymore.

Zuko had a mission, and he was going to complete it no matter what.

-

The tundra was treacherous, the blizzard making it difficult to see anything at all. Y/N had taken to holding Yue’s hand, something the princess had offered when she had seen how restless her friend was, as well as gnawing on the bottom of her lip. She feared for both Zuko and Aang, and she could only hope that they would be able to find them before something happened to either of them.

“Don’t worry,” the princess reassured. “Prince Zuko can’t be getting too far in this weather.”

“I’m not worried they’ll get away in the blizzard,” Katara murmured. “I’m worried that they won’t.”

“They’re not gonna die in this blizzard,” Sokka said as he gripped the reins tighter. “If we know anything, it’s that Zuko never gives up.”

Y/N chuckled softly and nodded. “You’ve got that right.”

Yue gave her hand a squeeze and a small smile, a sentiment that Y/N returned as Sokka continued. “They’ll survive, and we’ll find them.”

It took a few more minutes of riding and searching, but eventually a bright blue light streaked through the air. Katara gasped and pointed up. “Look!” she exclaimed. “That’s gotta be Aang! Yip yip!”

Appa groaned once more and Sokka turned to follow the light — it had stopped in a small cove before glowing brilliantly then disappearing — and sure enough, Zuko and Aang were down in the snow.

“Appa!” he cheered as they landed, causing Zuko’s eyes to flick up too. Y/N met his gaze for just a moment before he broke it, throwing Aang to the side and easing into a bending stance as Katara slid off of Appa’s back.

“Here for a rematch?” Zuko challenged, the undeserved confidence he spoke with a glimpse of the past.

“Trust me, Zuko,” Katara countered as she raised her hands, “It’s not going to be much of a match.”

She blocked his fire blast then sent a current of snow at him, launching him up into the air on a frozen column before letting him fall to the ground and knocking him out. Y/N couldn’t help but wince, and as Sokka jumped down to free Aang, she slid down as well.

She ran over the pile of snow and bent it off of Zuko, then knelt down next to him and pulled off her glove. She put two fingers on his neck and confirmed what she already thought, but it was still a relief. He was alive, but he wouldn’t be for much longer if he stayed out here.

“What are you doing?” she heard Sokka yell. Y/N turned to find everyone back on Appa already, staring expectantly at her.

“We can’t leave him!” Y/N protested.

“Sure we can!” he countered. “Now come on, let’s go!”

“No,” she insisted, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. It was ice cold. “If we leave him, he’ll die!”

“She’s right.” Aang airbended himself off of Appa and helped her pick up Zuko; Aang bringing himself and the prince back onto the bison with his element and Y/N climbing back up with a hand from Katara.

Sokka rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Let’s bring the guy who’s constantly trying to kill us.”

Y/N ignored the remark and met Aang’s eyes, mouthing a silent ‘thank you’. He smiled and nodded, then grabbed the reins and took off.

As they flew through the sky, Y/N glanced down at Zuko. He looked so much more peaceful now than a few moments ago, his features relaxed rather than tense. It was strange seeing him like this after all these years; angry, scarred, changed. Nothing like the reunion she had imagined.

She bent some of the snow falling down into water and molded it over the cuts on his face, the element taking on a slight glow as she started to heal him.

“Oh, Zuko,” she murmured. “What happened in those four years?”

As if her concentration had broken, the water previously under her control lost both its shape and glow as it pooled on his face. She frowned and attempted to bend it off, but none of the usual power she felt at night was flowing through her veins.

It was at that moment that Y/N looked up and noticed her surroundings.

Everything was cloaked in a veil of red, a crimson moon their backdrop as they continued through the air. “My bending isn’t working,” Y/N muttered, earning a curious look from Katara.

And to make matters worse, Yue winced and held her head, Aang doing the same.

“Are you okay?” Sokka questioned as he reached out to comfort her.

“I feel faint,” she muttered, the effort it took not lost on Y/N.

“I feel it too.” Aang pressed his palm against the side of his head and grimaced as his gaze shifted upwards. “The Moon Spirit is in trouble.”

Y/N’s eyes widened immediately as they flicked towards Yue, the princess choosing not to meet them as she began to tell them all the story of her birth and how she owed the Moon Spirit her life. By the time she was done the Water Tribe siblings were staring at her with disbelief, but there was no time for questions as they flew into the Spirit Oasis.

The sight that awaited them shocked Y/N to her core. A Fire Nation admiral — one she recognized from all the years ago, yet unable to place a name — held a bag with one clenched fist, the other posing the unsaid threat.

“Don’t bother,” he spat in response to their fighting stances, the two words overflowing with unearned confidence. But as cocky as he may have been, it worked — he knew that they were rendered helpless when he held the possibility of a dying spirit against them.

“Zhao, don’t.” Aang dropped his staff and held his hands up in surrender, an action Y/N and the others mirrored.

Everything after that happened unbelievably quickly. After General Iroh — a man she knew as both the ruthless general that laid siege to Ba Sing Se for six hundred long days and Zuko’s surprisingly kind uncle — threatened the admiral with his own firebending, Y/N foolishly believed it to be the end once he let the fish back into the pond.

But any hopes of peace were dashed with the slice of firebending the admiral sent at Tui, plunging the world back into shades of grey just as quickly as it had returned.

“NO!”

A bloodcurdling scream rang in the air; Y/N thought whoever produced it must’ve been insane. It took her a moment to realize the strangled sound had come from her, and that Sokka’s grip on her arms was the only thing stopping her from foolishly throwing herself into the raging battle that had started.

Did the admiral not understand what he had just done? To attack any spirit was to inflict the rage of many others, to kill a spirit was to sign not only one's own death warrant, but those around him as well.

To kill the Moon Spirit meant to destroy waterbending as the world knew it. To kill the Moon Spirit meant to disrupt the balance of the world. To kill the Moon Spirit meant to kill Yue.

The admiral should’ve considered himself very lucky that her waterbending was gone. With it, Y/N knew she would’ve done something she would regret.

As soon as the flames of Iroh’s onslaught disappeared, Sokka’s grip loosened on her arms and she all but sprinted over to the pond. A choked sob fell from her lips when she saw the dead fish in the water, palpable horror in the air as the rest of the group joined her.

Not even Aang’s feat of merging with the Ocean Spirit could help — it might’ve saved the tribe from the attack on the Fire Nation, but it could do nothing for the dead spirit. Y/N watched on mournfully as Iroh placed Tui back into the pond, the mortal body of the fish laying there unmoving.

“It’s too late,” Katara lamented. “It’s dead.”

Iroh looked up and met Y/N’s eyes, recognition flashing through them for just a moment before they moved to Yue’s. The blue hues of her irises were even more striking than usual — they were the only sign of color in the world around them.

His own widened with surprise as he gestured at her. “You have been touched by the Moon Spirit. Some of its life is in you.”

Yue seemed to understand what he was saying as she raised her head, her features taking on a mask of stoicism. “Yes, you’re right. It gave me life… maybe I can give it back.”

It was as if lightning had struck Y/N, the way that fear was jolted into her heart. “No!” she cried at the same time as Sokka, a reprise of her earlier plea. “Yue, you can’t!”

“You don’t have to do that!” Sokka reached out for her hand but she wrenched it out of his grasp — nothing they could say was going to change her mind.

“It’s my duty.” The princess stated it so plainly, carving the letters on her headstone herself.

“I won’t let you!” Sokka insisted. “Your father told me to protect you.”

“Yue, your duty isn’t to die for your tribe!” Y/N cried. She couldn’t think, spirits she could barely breathe. She couldn’t go through this again. She couldn’t go through this again. “Please, there has to be another way!”

She smiled sadly at Y/N and shook her head. “This was what I was born to do.” The princess glanced at the pond then took a step forward, wrapping Y/N in the tightest hug she could muster. She pressed her lips against Y/N’s cheek in a feather light kiss before she pulled away and continued forward and placed her hands against the koi fish.

The fish began to glow, Yue closed her eyes, she collapsed into Sokka’s arms.

And that was it.

The color returned to the world, but Y/N was frozen in place. She couldn’t do anything to save her friend, the girl that she was pretty sure she loved, as she died in front of her. Her cheek was still burning from where Yue’s lips had touched, and she wanted to bottle that warmth because she knew that was the last time she would ever feel it.

The first tear to fall snapped her out of her paralysis as she fell to her knees next to Sokka, her body cradled in his arms as he mourned for a lost love. Y/N wanted to scream, she wanted to sob, she wanted to do anything to get this anger and sadness out but she could do nothing but stare, eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears.

Her body slowly faded away, and Y/N could’ve laughed at the irony. Yue gave her life for the spirits and all they could leave them with was the fleeting memory.

The fish in Iroh’s hands began to glow and he placed it back in the water, and almost immediately it returned to its natural rhythm. The oasis took on the glow of the fish and it formed the cruelest joke of them all.

Princess Yue. She was ethereal, both her hair and white dress flowing down her back and a peaceful expression on her face. She was more beautiful than ever, and her voice echoed through the oasis as she spoke.

“I will always be with you, Y/N. Thank you for making me feel alive.” A small smile, much like the one she gave her just moments ago, played on her lips. “I love you.”

Y/N could do nothing but stare, awestruck and heartbroken, as she whispered something to Sokka and kissed him.

And then she was gone.

Her gaze was trained forward, tears spouting and falling down her cheeks, some dim part of her still hoping that it was just a cruel joke by the spirits. She couldn’t go through this again.

How could they do this to her again? How could they introduce a light into her life and make her fall in love, then wrench it away from her grasp? She felt selfish for only caring about herself. She couldn’t go through this again.

Yue was gone.

She couldn’t go through this again.

Another strangled sob fell from her lips and Katara pulled her into a hug. That simple motion seemed to open to the floodgates, and suddenly she was choking on her own tears. Katara’s arms around her were the only tether she had to the world right now, she had to focus on it or else she would lose herself to the grief.

It felt like the minutes were hours with how long it took until Y/N was finally able to walk out of the oasis, but Katara and Sokka stayed by her side the entire time. When they finally stumbled out into the real world, Y/N felt weaker than ever. The constant go go go of the siege had finally caught up to her, and she was so damn tired.

“Always and forever.”

“You’re stuck with me.”

She was losing hope in promises.

-

perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77

ehfar: @chandies-sideblog @persica27 @anzanity @randomthingssss @escapingthoughtsandsecrets @shanksfav @shephard17895 @ilovespideyyy @carisi-sonny

atla: @marianne1806

[babypandawrites]

Allies, Pt. 11

The Siege of the North, Part One

Pairing: Sokka x F Reader Warnings: General War Things, Injury, Getting Knocked in the Head Word Count: 2,625 Summary: With the Fire Nation launching a huge attack on the Northern Water Tribe, and Zuko trying to take the Avatar, things do not go well.

Note: This is honestly one of my... worse chapters- but we can pretend its not :’) I was struggling a lot with some of the parts and ended up having to make them super rushy so sorry about that- Also! I have made a poll relating to the story that I would appreciate you guys answer! I’ll be tagging post relating to the series with #book one allies ! And on an absolutely unrelated note, support the ATLA Fan Musical Project! The team working on it is super talented and all the songs they’ve put out so far are amazing! Katherine Lynn-Rose is one of the leading team members and has some of the songs up on her YouTube channel, along with a link to the ATLM discord server! Which you guys should totally join, it’s super chill and supportive! 

-Navigation- | -Atla Masterlist- -Last Part- | -Allies Masterlist- | -Next Part- 

Taglist: @boomeraangin | @brokennerdalert

“So, this is where you’ve been spending all your time.”  “Huh?!”  The sudden voice startled Y/n, causing her to lose her balance from where she stood on a raised stool. Sokka slid behind her and caught her by wrapping his arms around her torso. Though with her feet still resting on the stool, it left her in kind of an awkward position.  Chuckling softly, he helped her get on her feet. “Sorry, didn’t think I’d catch you off guard.”  “It’s fine, thanks for the catch.”  Getting back up on the stool, Y/n grabbed the small rag she had tucked into her waist band, and used it to wipe down the top of a cabinet.  “When did you get a job?” Sokka poked around one of the clothing racks as he asked. “Why did you get a job?”  “The day after we got here and to make money, obviously. Kind of the point of a job.”  “Getting a job when we’re basically honored guests, makes sense.” Walking back over to her, he gently nudged the stool with his foot. “This thing doesn’t seem very stable.”  Looking at him with a glare, she smacked him in the shoulder with the rag she held. “It’s not, so maybe don't do that when I’m standing on it!”  “Sorry.”  Sighing, she went back to wiping down the cabinet, this time going for the top shelves. “And it’s not like I have anything better to do. I can only talk to Momo and Appa for so long until I start to feel like I’m going crazy.”  “Nothing better to do? You have friends, three of them, one of them standing right here!” He pointed to himself.  “You guys are always busy. Speaking of which, don’t you have an activity to do with Princess Yue?” She tried to ignore the weird knot in her stomach at the thought.  Sokka looked at her with a blank expression. “You're never going to let me live that down, are you?”  Laughing, Y/n hopped down from the stool. “Nope.”  “And for the record, I already saw Yue today…”  She raised an eyebrow at him, when he trailed off with a saddened tone. “You alright?”  “I’m fine. Just- It didn’t go well. I don’t wanna talk about it. How much longer are you gonna have to do your job?”  “Few more hours.”  Sokka let out a groan, as he turned to walk to the door. “Guess I’m hanging out with Momo today.”  “I’m sure he could use the company.” Y/n tossed the rag she had into a bin.  “Oh no.” She was about to go into the shop’s backroom, but stopped at hearing Sokka. Turning, she noticed he had frozen in the doorway. Furrowing her eyebrows she joined him at the door, looking over his shoulder.  “What is it?”  He kneeled down, and scooped up a handful of darkened snow. “Soot.”  Eyes widening, she jumped over him to get outside. Ash was falling from the sky rather than snow, and was starting to coat the ground. She held her hand out, gulping as ash started to gather in her palm. “Fire Nation.”  “Yeah, and by the looks of it, there’s a lot of them.” 

The pair had joined Katara and Aang at the citadel, the group currently sat on the building’s ground with their backs leaned against the wall.  “The day we have feared for so long has arrived. The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness that I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe. But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence-” Chief Arnook raised his arms up. “-I call upon the great spirits! Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!” He lowered his arms. “I’m going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission.”’ Sokka stood up from the ground. “Count me in.”  Katara looked at her brother with an expression of shock and worry. “Sokka!” Y/n shared the expression. “What are you doing?”  Several other men stood as well.  “Be warned. Many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task.”  The volunteers began to form a line in front of the Chief, each receiving a marking on their foreheads with a red paint.

A tense silence settled across the air, as the Northern Water Tribe awaited the Fire Nation's first attack. Several warriors lined up along the top of the tribe's wall, Y/n and the rest of her friends stood with them.  The wait was nearly suffocating.  A singular Fire Nation ship could be seen in the distance, but there were bound to be more out of sight. Gulping, Y/n’s hands clenched into fist. This was going to be a full scaled attack on a very powerful tribe, it would really be like nothing she’s had to face before. And honestly? It was kind of horrifying.  After a brief moment of waiting, the ship catapulted a huge fireball at the tribe's wall, crashing right through the middle of it. Several people were thrown back from the impact, along with the ice and debris from the wall. Y/n pushed herself from the ground, dusting the snow off her clothes, just in time to see more fire balls come over the city walls. 

Thus started the relentless attack on the Northern Water Tribe. 

As nightfall came upon them, the Fire Nation’s attacks stopped. Neither side had yet to win, and Y/n was sure that the attacks would continue at sunrise when firebending would have more power.  “They’ve stopped firing.” Yue said, as Y/n joined her and Katara on the citadel steps.  “For now.” She added.  When Appa flew in from the distance, Katara pointed at him. “Aang!”  The three ran down the citadel steps, to meet him at the plaza. Appa landed on his belly, clearly tired. Aang slid down from the bison’s saddle, sitting on the ground.  “I can’t do it.” Aang dropped his head into his hands. “I can’t do it.”  “What happened?” Katara asked.  “I must have taken out a dozen Fire Nation ships, but there’s just too many of them. I can’t fight them all.”  “But, you have to! You’re the Avatar!”  Y/n shot a glare at the Princess for that comment.  “I’m just one kid.” Aang buried his head into his arms, as Katara sat down next to him to comfort him. Kneeling to his side, Y/n reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. Eventually, the four gathered into one of the citadel’s rooms, moon light shone through the window.  “The legends say the moon was the first waterbender. Our ancestors saw how it pushed and pulled the tides and learned how to do it themselves.” Yue explained, as she looked out at the moon.  Katara nodded along with her words. “I’ve always noticed my waterbending is stronger at night.”  “Our strength comes from the Spirit of the Moon, our life comes from the Spirit of the Ocean. They work together to keep balance.”  Aang perked up. “The Spirits! Maybe I can find them and get their help!”  “How can you do that?” “The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the Spirit World. Aang can talk to them!” Katara explained, answering Yue’s question.  Yue smiled hopefully. “Maybe they’ll give you the wisdom to win the battle!”  “Or, maybe they’ll unleash a crazy amazing spirit attack on the Fire Nation!” Aang widely opened his arms as he spoke. Though the look Katara and Yue gave him caused the boy to clasp his hands behind his back. “Or wisdom. That’s good too.”  Y/n leaned closer to Aang, putting a hand next to the side of her mouth to whisper secretly. “I thought it was a good idea- You should ask the spirits about a crazy amazing attack on the Fire Nation.”  Aang grinned at her, whispering back. “I will.”  “The only problem is, last time you got to the Spirit World by accident. How are you going to get there this time?”  “I have an idea, follow me.”  The three followed after Yue, as she led them to a courtyard behind the citadel, then to a wooden door.  “So is this the way to the Spirit World?”  Yue let out a quiet laugh at Aang’s question. “No, you’ll have to get there on your own-” She pushed the door open. “-But I can take you to the most spiritual place in the entire North Pole.”  Entering through the door, the group found themselves in an oasis of sorts. Unlike the rest of the North Pole, it wasn’t cold and covered in snow- It was rather warm actually, and there was a landing covered in grass. At the back of the chamber was a waterfall, which flowed into a long pool of water. Two wooden foot bridges led to the grassy landing. 

Aang ran across one of the bridges, laughing. He landed on the grass, rubbing it fondly. “I never thought I’d miss grass this much!”  Joining him on the landing, Y/n breathed out a laugh, slipping her coat off. “Ah- This is the kind of warmth I’ve missed.” It didn’t seem possible somewhere so warm was in the North Pole but- she wasn’t going to complain. This was great!  Shortly after them, Katara and Yue walked onto the landing as well, Katara smiling as she also took off her coat. “It’s so warm here! How is that possible?”  “It’s the center of all spiritual energy in our land.”  Momo skittered up to the pond, trying to grab the two fish that swam in it. One was black, the other white, they swam in a circle around each other. The three girls watched the lemur, before he ran away from the pond.  “You’re right, Yue. I can feel...something...it’s so… tranquil.” Aang sat down in front of the pond, his legs crossed. Closing his eyes, he closed his hands into fist and put his knuckles together to meditate.  Y/n moved to stand with Katara and Yue, as the Princess whispered. “Why is he sitting like that?”  “I think he’s meditating.” She whispered back.  “Yeah- he’s trying to cross over into the Spirit World. It takes all his concentration.” Katara added, also whispering. “Is there any way we can help?”  “How ‘bout some quiet?!” Aang turned to look at them. “C’mon guys! I can hear every word you’re saying!”  Cringing inwardly, Y/n mumbled a quiet sorry as the boy went back to trying to meditate. After a few moments, Aang’s eyes and tattoo’s started to glow white. Both Yue and Y/n looked at him in wonder.  “Is he okay?” The Princess asked.  “He’s crossing into the Spirit World. He’ll be fine as long as we don’t move his body. That’s his way back to the physical world.”  Y/n nodded in understanding at Katara’s words. “Neat..”  Yue started to walk away. “Maybe we should get some help?”  “No, he’s our friend. Y/n and I are perfectly capable of protecting him.”  “Yeah, we got this.”  “Well, aren’t you big girls now?” Zuko’s voice suddenly echoed softly through the area.  Gasping, Y/n turned to the source of his voice, along with Katara.  “No!” Zuko walked over one of the bridges towards them. “Yes! Hand him over, and I won’t have to hurt you.”  Katara and Y/n both took on fighting stances, as Yue ran away from the trio to not get caught in the crossfire. Zuko launched forward, sending several blasts of fire their way. Katara pulled water from the pond and used it to block the attacks, eventually shoving him backwards and knocking him to the ground.  Y/n didn’t drop her guard and was ready to jump in if she needed to, but she decided to hold back for now since Katara was handling things pretty well. Honestly, much better than she would be able too.  “I see you’ve learned a new trick. But I didn’t come this far to lose to you.” Getting up, Zuko fired another blast at them, which Katara easily blocked. She sent a stream of water at him, knocking him backwards again, before freezing the water beneath him. Katara raised a sphere of water from the pond behind Zuko, and encased him in it before freezing him entirely.  “You little peasant. You’ve found a master, haven’t you?” Zuko’s words were muffled by the ice. Right after he stopped talking, the ground started to shake as the ice started to glow yellow and orange. With an explosion of fire, the ice shattered, freeing Zuko who immediately ran at Katara.  Watching the two fight with a close eye, Y/n moved to stand closer to Aang- Just incase Zuko pulled something sneaking and tried to grab him. Which he did try to do. Slipping behind Katara he tried to grab Aang by the collar, but before he could Y/n grabbed his arm and twisted it before she raised a leg up to kick him back. Before he could recover, Katara blasted him with a jet stream of water, knocking him much further away from the three. She bent a huge wave of water that pushed Zuko at least ten feet up one of the walls, before freezing him in place. 

When Zuko’s head drooped in defeat, Y/n and Katara shared a satisfied look of victory. At least until, the sun started to rise. Y/n expression fell, realizing what that meant for them.  Zuko’s head snapped up with a look of determination as the sunlight reached him. He breathed steam, enough to melt the ice that was holding him in place. Sliding down the rest of the ice, he charged at Katara and fired a blast at her. Caught off guard, she was only able to block it partially, and got thrown back into the gate’s post- causing her to be knocked out.  Y/n rushed to Aang, standing between him and Zuko, taking on a fighting stance. Zuko breathed out a chuckle as he approached her. “Do you really think you can beat me?”  “I’ve done it before.”  “I’ve learned a lot since then. More than you ever will.” He shot a large blast of fire at her. Pressing her palms together, she thrusted her arms forward and dispersed the flames to go around her and Aang. Zuko ran at her as she did, grabbing her by the shoulder and shoving her aside.  Y/n tumbled to the ground, but made a quick recovery and rushed forward as Zuko grabbed onto Aang’s collar. She threw a punch at his face, which he ducked under, elbowing her in the gut before shoving her backwards again. Leaving Aang for a moment, Zuko stood in front of her, as she started to get up. Her gaze snapped over to Aang for a moment, he was just left to lay on the ground. Instead of trying to attack Zuko, she attempted to jump towards Aang. Before she could get too far, Zuko gripped onto her hair and yanked her back.  Gritting her teeth, Y/n reached back to grab his arm, heating her palms to burn him. “I’m not letting you take him!”  “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.” Zuko spoke through gritted teeth, yanking her head back again, before shoving it down to collide with his knee. Her grip on his arm loosened, as her vision started to dot black. Arma falling limply to her side, she collapsed to the ground, when Zuko let go of her hair. “Your decisions have made you weaker, but mine, they’ve made me stronger.”  On the verge of unconsciousness, Y/n watched as the Prince grabbed Aang and threw him over his shoulder. “No…”

[bellatrixobsessed1]

From Chin To Yon Rah (Part 41)

I typed this chapter on mobile so it might have more typos than usual and I, a responsible fic writer, do not proof read.

Warmth. There is a sense of community in warmth and trying to stay in a state of it during the colder months. Wujing makes a celebration of doing so. And that is how she finds herself seated around the largest fire she has seen in the Earth Kingdom. She is their go to women to keep it lit until the festivities are over.

They seem to rather adore her fire and on nights like these she yearns to display a vivid blue. Perhaps one day. One day after she tells Hajime who she is. Though she isn't sure when she would tell everyone else. She hopes that everyone will take just as well to her fire when it burns blue. Perhaps if she is lucky, they will enjoy it more.

Until then she adds more orange to the blaze while Atsu shifts his weight in her arms. "My turn, Atsu!" Caihong declares.

"No-o." Atsu shakes his head, "she's my mama, go by yer dad!"

Despite the boy's protests, Azula lifts the blanket and let's Caihong crawl under it and next to Atsu. Hajime steps away from the fire and returns to her side. "I'd say that this is a promising way to start the winter."

"We've had a productive year. We have more than enough to get the Wujing through the winter." Seukhyun notes.

"No thanks to you, boy." Ojihara jests.

"I did most of the work ol' man!"

Listening to the father and son go back and forth is one more constant in her life. A thing that wouldn't feel right if absent.

Azula, to the best of her ability with to little beasts in her lap, moves closer to the fire. "Hey!" Atsu shouts, "I was com-fera-table!"

"I wasn't." Azula shrugs. Truth be told her legs are tingling from having held the same position for so long. "I need to stand up."

Neither of the children takes the cue so she tells them both to stand. She doesn't know why she expected to be met with anything other that a, "no, Rikka! We're cozy!" And an agreeing not from Atsu.

"Hajime, hold these things." She sets Atsu and then Caihong in his lap.

"These things are called children, Rikka." He laughs while Atsu folds his arms and pouts.

"They're more like chittering toad-squirrels if you ask me." She stretches her arms and then her back with a contented sigh. She makes her way even closer to the fire.

"Cider?" A man offers. She recognizes him from the market square, a clothes salesman she thinks. She can't quite recall his name but it could be Poying or maybe Poyang. The man is quite fond of telling everyone that he has a tinge of Air Nomad blood. Azula isn't the only person to take this with several grains of salt.  But he is an honest man otherwise do she takes the glass with a thank you.

"Gimme'a sip, gimme'a sip!" Caihong makes a jump or two for Azula's cider.

Poyang chuckles, "aye, lil' one we got plenty more, ya don't have to snatch Rikka's."

"You don't have to take me." She repeats smugly, holding her glass just out of Caihong's reach. The girl sticks out her lower lip, folds her arms across her chest, and gives her foot a stomp--making sure to rumble the ground for good measure.

Hajime gives her a little nudge. "Aww don't tease Cai."

"She's gonna get her drink anyways." Seukhyun dismisses just as Poyang comes back with more cider.

"Poyang has the best stuff!" Atsu declares after his first sip.

"Cause his brother's the apple man!" Caihong declares enthusiastically.

"One day we'll have to visit his orchard together." Hajime offers.

"We have a lot of one days to get to." Azula points out. But she supposes that they will have a lifetime to do them.

"It's nice to have a lot to look forward to, isn't it?" He slings an  around her waist and pulls her closer. Hot cider splashes onto her shirt. She crinkles her nose, "thanks, Hajime."

"You said that you were getting cold. I thought that I'd help you warm up."

"Won't be so warm when this cider freezes…"

"That's what you get for not sharing it!" Caihong declares smugly. That impish little earth gremlin…

That day she learns that there is a special bond, a sense of community, that comes with the seeking of warmth.

.oOo.

She hadn’t expected to outlast him, but her demise comes as a surprise all the same. And maybe it is because she had wrapped her topmost parka around him. Maybe it is because she had stripped off her remaining glove to keep a fire going for him. For the both of them.

But she is weak and grows weaker as the cold burrows into her wound and seeps deeper into her bones. She looks at the teeth marks with much hatred. Could those have been prevented?

“Azula?” Sokka murmurs. It is the first sound that he has made in a while. And she could cry. Maybe both of them will die, but at least she won’t have to watch another lover do it before she succumbs for herself. She is so terribly cold, she can’t imagine that it will be much longer now.

"Yeah?" She answers.

"What happened?" He slurs.

"First we got caught in a blizzard and then we we got attacked by wolves…"

"Where's dad?"

Azula grits her teeth. "We couldn't find him, remember." They might have fared better against the wolves if they had. As things were they had taken a good chunk out of her arm before being struck down by Sokka's boomerang. The man best appreciate her taking those teeth for him instead of focusing on her own fight. On the grander scheme of things she supposes that it doesn't matter at all. They had done more damage than even that in shredding Sokka's parka and stealing one of her gloves. If they hadn't, she might not have had to spare one if her own.

Agni, she isn't built for this weather. She isn't adapted to withstand it. And it hurts so terribly. Everything stings and tingles. Her face and toes especially. Her fingers had tingled  it that has subsided to a more than alarming nothingness. She sniffles, if only to remind herself that she still has a nose. Her cheeks are so red and she feels as though they have been slapped repeatedly. In a sense, they have. The winter slaps them with a force that a human hand couldn't possibly manage.

She had never realized just how much the cold could burn. Very resentfully, she thinks that the cold might just be higher than even her fire.

She huddles closer to Sokka, rather she tries to do so oh to find that they are as close as they can possibly be. And there is nowhere near enough warmth between the two of them.

"Take your parka back, Azula." Sokka says.

She shakes her head.

"Azula, you need it more, you're not…"

She shakes her head, "no." She won't be the weak one here. She can't allow it. She can't allow it especially if it means watching another lover die. "No."

At least now she can say with conviction that she does love him. Very much. Just as much as she loved Hajime. And more than enough to let herself succumb to the cold to give him a chance.

He tries to remove his parka anyhow so she rolls atop him, he is too weak to shove her off. Which is good because she would have been too weak to resist if he had.

The bite marks on her arm flare. She closes her eyes and shudders as another pang passes through her. How long have they been out here like this? Long enough for the blizzard to pass.it occurs to her that she and Sokka are half buried.   The realization come with a jolt of panic--a queasiness in her belly and a spinning in her head. She doesn't want to be buried in a coffin of snow. She doesn't want to be buried at all. The panic is fleeting when she recalls that she has already unburied herself in putting her body atop Sokka's. Though that isn't to say that more snow won't come to cover them up, she hopes to be hours dead by then.

"You know, I always thought that I would die in combat." She mumbles, pressing her ear to his chest so that she can hear his heartbeat. So that she can be sure that she isn't alone. "That would have been more glorious than this."

"You're not…"

But she isn't done lamenting, "but I also always thought that I would be alone when I died. So I guess that this is better." It's certainly better than dying alone and dehydrated in a grassland.

"We're not going to die."

"We're in the middle of nowhere and the rest of the village didn't expect us to venture this far out to the glacier. We've been out here for hours, my arm won't stop bleeding…"

"Yeah." Sokka's expressions darkness. "Looks pretty grim doesn't it." He is so cold that his breath no longer comes out in puffs. He is quiet for a very long while. "Katara, Aang, Toph, and I were once lost in a desert with ver little water. You made it out of several situations like this…"

"Yes, Sokka and it was mostly luck. How many times can I keep getting lucky?" She doesn't have the energy for shouting. For changing her tone and diction at all really.

She feels Sokka's hands patting her hair. "Hopefully every time."

.oOo.

There is no worse feeling than watching Azula go limp and mostly quiet. For the last several minutes, the oh sign of life was an occasional wimper. Her body is still trembling but not as violently as it had been. She is shutting down. And she still won't take his parka.

"I'm so cold, Sokka." She whispers, her voice sounding so pathetically small. But she is afraid. He can tell, if only because he is terrified too.

"Yeah, me too, Azula."

She rubs her face against his chest. She gets no warmth out of it because there is none left in him. He looks to the sky. To the glimmering cosmos above. Maybe he'll be reborn as one of them…

Azula clings to him with what can oy be the last very last ounces of her strength.

"It's okay, Sokka." She tries to smile though her face is too stiff with the cold. "I told you on the first day that I came back that I had more waiting for me in the Spirit World…"

"Don't say that." He squeezes her tighter.

"It's okay." She says again. "I think I that he wanted me to do a bit more exploring but he'll be happy to know that I got this far."

He wonders if she is thinking of Caihong at all. He wonders if that will do her any good anyways. He doesn't want to say it, especially not to her. But she is right, she is dying. He doesn't think that she will last the night even of he does force her back into her parka.

He hugs her as tight as he can. And then he rolls her onto her back. She murmurs some sort of protest, some sort of distress. But there is something that he wants her to see. Something that he needs her to see.

"Look up, Azula. Open your eyes." He gently slaps her cheeks and her eyes flutter open. They are unfocused and mostly vacant. He slaps her cheeks again until he has her at least a little more alert. “Look at the lights, Azula.”

He thinks that she might have smiled. "That's nice, Sokka." But her eyes close again and the moment is good.

She doesn't cry. She doesn't bargain or beg. She simply squints and, to the best of her ability with blackened, numb fingers and clumsy daze, touches his cheek. And then her hand falls and her eyes close once more. No amount of slapping gets them to open again.

In the distance he hears barking. Sprits, he prays that the wolves aren't back. He squeezes her hand if only to feel her slowing pulse.

[snowe-zolynn-rogers]

Avatar Zuko Rewrite

Pairings: Zukka (pre-romantic, unrequited)

Word Count: 1,461 Words

Summary: Lee gets his first airbending training lesson, Katara starts to trust Lee. Aang wants to stay at his home a few more days.

Warnings: Injury Mention, Food Mention, Torture Mention, Death Mention, Half Blind Character, let me know if I should tag something else.

Chapter 8

Sokka woke up the next morning with a ache in his back from air ball with Aang and he woke up hearing Lee laughing at Aang’s joke he caught the end of 'Xiu-Mei said the walrus wanted to eat her, she swore by it’.

It dragged him out of bed and he debated a moment if they wanted time alone. So he decided to take a bath and clean off. After, he figured to head after them and see what they were doing. He found them in the kitchens with a net full of fish.

“Oh, hey, Sokka!” Lee greeted him between knife swipes to the beheaded fish, separating the filet from the bones.

“Convinced Aang to catch fish?” He asked.

“I thought you and Katara would miss home. I figured I’d make you jerky so you’re not so homesick.” Lee explained.

“I just helped catch them.” Aang told him.

“So you both left and Katara said nothing?”

“Katara’s still asleep.” Aang told him.

“Well, at least she’ll be happy to have Water Tribe food again.” Sokka told them.

“Well, Mister Water Tribe. Help me finish these and you’ll have your swordfishsalmon jerky faster.” Lee joked with him, handing him another knife.

“Aang, you condoned this?” Sokka asked as he began working the same way Lee was.

“Well, yeah. I mean…” Aang shrugged. “I’m vegetarian but I won’t stop any of you from eating meat.” Aang told him.

It was tedious but eventually they finished, it was a fish Sokka usually caught so it was easy to work with. Lee had several bottles on the stone counters. Sokka could recognize a few, soy and molasses, but not the rest. Once Lee had cut the fish into strips and had put it in the bowl to sit for a bit, Aang finally spoke again.

“You could make them faster with airbending, Lee.” Aang told the raven.

“I can’t use mine that well.” Lee told him.

“Well, let me and I’ll teach you.” Aang made a ball of air the size of the bowl, covering the fish to make it marinade quicker. “There. Now I can show you how to dehydrate them.”

He let them splat back into the bowl. Sokka watched intently. This was probably Lee’s first lesson in airbending, besides the ones he’d taught himself, which was doubtable that he ever really had taught himself anything.

“Okay. Hands like this.” Aang directed Lee’s hands to their places. “Now try to make a ball of air over the fish.” Aang told him. Lee’s hands slowly, almost fearfully, made a ball of air over the bowl of fish.

“Now, I want you to draw the air from them. Pull the air in them into the ball of air.” Aang instructed him. Sokka was a bit amazed at the way Lee caught on so quickly but he guessed Lee was used to having to catch on quickly, with being raised in the Fire Nation and all.

“Okay. Now drop the fish in here.” Aang held open a food pouch wide and Lee dropped the fish into the pouch. “Now let go of the air.” Aang instructed and the ball of air dropped, leaving a faint swordfishsalmon smell to the air. “See? You’re not bad. You caught on quicker than me. What were you so scared of?” Aang told him and Lee smiled a bit, cleaning up the dishes as Aang set the jerky on the counter.

“I just…I’m afraid it’ll be destructive. I’ve had my bending be destructive before. It’s scary when you can’t control what happens.” Lee looked a bit disheartened and Sokka frowned, he was too cute to look that sad.

“You did pretty damn good at controlling it now.” Sokka told him.

“Because I could focus it. Last time I couldn’t focus, I destroyed things. I…I turned everything in my room on the ship to ash. That’s why I left, I could have hurt people.” He told him.

"Did you hurt anyone?" Aang asked.

“No. I left before I could. I didn't want to hurt my uncle.” Lee was finally opening up more. Sokka wanted to jump on the opportunity but he knew that might scare him.

“It sounds like you and him were close?” Aang asked.

“He’s like a father to me, more so than my real father. I miss him, but I don’t want to hurt him with my bending. I’ll find him again when I won’t hurt him.” Lee assured them.

“So you lied to us to come with us? Why am I not surprised that the Fire Nation boy lied to us?” Katara appeared in the doorway.

“I didn’t lie. I didn’t tell you why I ran away from my uncle's ship.” Lee explained.

“Another Fire Nation lie?” She asked.

“I’m not lying. You just didn’t ask why I left the ship. I’ll tell you if you want but don’t assume you know my life!” Lee was beginning to get angry.

“Hey, calm down.” Sokka told him, hands gently coming to rest on the raven’s shoulders. Aang looked a bit unnerved by the way air was swirling dangerously around Lee's hands.

“Sorry.” He released the air, huddling his hands to his chest. “My uncle came back for me because my father had arranged my execution, he told me that when he found me. I hadn't fought back, of course I understood. Firebenders are so proud of their bending but I didn't use mine because it's air, I couldn't use it in front of the Fire Nation court. They’d wiped out anyone with airbending because, in the Fire Nation, you get killed if you’re the Avatar. They saw all of the Air Nomads as a threat to ending that cycle. Nobody is allowed to become the Avatar in the Fire Nation, you’ll be tortured however long and however the Fire Lord sees fit until you’re in the Avatar State and then he, personally, will kill you to end the cycle. Any airbender is another potential Avatar for them, another cycle around, and longer they need to worry about the Avatar trying to restore balance. Even if the last Air Avatar was killed, the cycle would only go the next three cycles. They only have so long they need to worry. Let alone that if the Water, Earth, and Fire Avatars following the Air Avatar could just be killed to end the cycle faster.” He took a breath, calming down. Sokka squeezed his shoulders to comfort. Katara still glared. This was useful information, they would possibly use it while searching for the Avatar.

“And that stupid Fire Navy ship?” Katara sneered.

“The day I left, his crew had said that I was a threat to the Avatar cycle because they were scared of me. They’d seen me airbending but I'm the son of a firebender, so of course they were. I only ever tried to practice in my room and that was even rare. But I’d gotten scared, we’d almost run into an iceberg because nobody was paying attention. One of them had pushed me off the deck to try to keep me away from the iceberg and Uncle jumped after me because he knew I can’t swim. I airbended us to shore and the crew saw me. When he got me back onboard, the crew tried to lock me in my room. I turned everything to ash with my bending because I was scared. I decided it was better to leave and keep him safe than stay and maybe hurt him. I was going to hopefully train myself better than to ever do what I did again.” Lee was trembling and he refused to look at them, he was scared, hands swirling air but he stopped them fearfully and held them close to his chest again.

“So you didn’t lie to us?” Katara asked.

“I didn’t lie. I was just scared and I was running to protect someone. I thought not telling you was fine until I could gather my thoughts. I still am I guess.” He told her, seeming to relax against Sokka’s hug. Aang joined in and then Katara, all hugging Lee tightly. "Okay, well me and Aang made you two swordfishsalmon jerky. I'll probably start cooking breakfast soon." Lee told the two siblings, holding out the pouch of jerky for them.

"Oh, I'll help." Aang told him, buzzing after the other airbender. Sokka looked at Katara, smirking.

"Starting to trust him yet, 'Tara?" He asked.

"I guess. Now, let me try the jerky." She grabbed the pouch from her brother and bit into a piece of jerky.

"You just like his cooking, don't you?" Sokka asked.

"...Maybe." She answered, a bit angry he'd figured it out. But at least she was starting to trust him.

Taglist: @darkrainbow333 @magic-but-its-green @the-lemonade-artist @a-chaotic-being @wasinotwantedatthisexactsecond @lgbtforeverything @brain-deadx0 @everythingisstardust @emoqueerpan @thatoneperson1967

[callioope]

Continuing my reactions to Avatar: The Last Airbender

This post is about Book 3. See my overall impressions and thoughts on Book 1 here. See my thoughts on Book 2 here.

ETA: crap i forgot the keep reading line initially SORRY if anyone saw this before i edited. anyways. please see the tags as a disclaimer before reading. gosh it’s late i need to go to bed.

General

Starting S3 now and dang Katara & Toph have gotten so powerful!!!!!

I literally recorded ZERO reactions from Chapter One through Chapter Twelve. And my first reaction is basically my excitement that Zuko is finally with the Aang crew! But let me try to skim through an episode list to recall my reactions.

You may have already seen my post expressing shock that MARK HAMILL voiced the Fire Lord. Still not over that revelation.

So, ultimately, I binged this show in less than a week. I think I started on Monday? And finished Saturday afternoon. That alone should speak to how much I enjoyed it! 

Aang

Okay, a bit weird to have barely any thoughts under Aang when he’s literally the protagonist, but I think (since I wrote other sections before this) that I touch on some of my thoughts on him under other characters. 

I will say, his journey really intensifies in this season. First, when he awakens after being unconscious for several days and has no idea what’s going on, and is still healing and more helpless than he’s probably ever felt in his life. I did really like his arc in this season, but what a stark contrast to the Aang of Book 1. He has to grow up so fast. I gotta say, a lot of Aang’s journey reminded me just a little of Ender in Ender’s Game. 

I do say this later, but his final decision about how to handle Ozai was amazing. I loved every second of his journey to get there, and I was rooting for him to find a path that felt true to him — and not what everyone else kept telling him he had to do. 

There was one small thing that bothered me, which was that his eventual regaining of the Avatar state did not really seem to come about through intentional action of his own. After he goes down at the end of Book 2, sorta feels like they never even talk about him going into the Avatar state again and he doesn’t until the final moment. That moment doesn’t seem a conscious choice on his part; the scar on his back collides with a rock jutting out and seems to jolt him into the Avatar state. I would have liked to see a little more agency on his part in regards to the Avatar state. 

Sokka

My boy! My boy Sokka! Truly the mother of the group. IDK why they pretended in the beginning that Katara was the mom because it’s definitely Sokka. His maps! His scheduling! He is ridiculous and I love him for it. 

I adored that he got his own training master episode! He got to learn some sword stuff and even got to make a fancy space sword! Everyone else got super powerful with their bending and I’m glad Sokka got his own arc of self-improvement. He has come a LONG way from episode 1. He couldn’t really hold his own at all that early, and now look at him! Planning battle strategies! Taking down the Fire Lord’s air fleet! He’s come so far and I’m so proud!

Oh, you know, I just realized that I didn’t really talk about ships with Sokka in Book 2 but he did continue to have the most active romance arc. It was nice to see Suki return in Book 2, and I am glad we found out what happened to her. I liked Sokka and Suki, I have nothing against it. I was very surprised that so little happened with Toph and Sokka. There did seem to be moments where it seemed like Toph might actually harbor a crush on Sokka, but nothing came of it and she certainly didn’t say anything about it. That felt a little odd to me. Why hint at something but then make nothing of it? 

Katara

Sigh. This is early in the post, but probably one of the last parts of it that I’m actually writing. I’ve definitely been putting it off. Unfortunately most of what I have to say about Katara is about shipping, and I’m really not happy about that, but then it’s what comes to mind over anything else. Which is sort of ironic considering some of her lines in the theater episode...

So in the theatre episode, Aang confronts Katara about how nothing has happened in their relationship after they kissed. She responds by saying she is “confused.” I had some issues with the script here, to be honest. It seems to imply that she’s confused about her feelings for Aang. But she also says that she’s been more focused on the war, and that totally makes sense. I really would support this moment if that’s where they left it: “I don’t have time to think about romance, my mind is preoccupied with the war.” 

But no, they say she is “confused.”

This is pretty baffling to me, and honestly seems to come out of nowhere. Book 1 it was very obvious that both Katara and Aang have feelings for each other, and Book 2 might have backed off a little from that but then we get moments where Katara is so keyed in to Aang’s struggles with the Avatar state and also the only one who can bring him out of it. Now, all of a sudden, she is saying she is confused? Where is this coming from? 

I could definitely see people argue that it’s because she has feelings for Zuko. If I shipped them (I don’t, but I also Get It), I could point to numerous moments in the series as ‘clues/support’ for this ship. Zuko and Katara have a moment at the end of Book 2 where they talk about the loss of their mothers. (“We’re both sad about what happened to our mothers!” not really a foundation for a relationship, but Katara is the most betrayed and distrustful of Zuko when it comes to the idea of letting him join their crew and it is because of this moment. She obviously begins to feel some kind of connection — I’d argue platonic but ship and let ship.) 

And yeah, Zuko and Katara have their bonding adventure, but again I don’t think this has to be read as romantic. Clearly the idea here is that Zuko “understands” a part of Katara that Aang doesn’t — except that in the end, Aang is the one who is right about her. She cannot give in to revenge. It’s not her, and Aang knows that. I mean, they’re both right — Katara had go to on the journey to learn that about herself, and it was important that Zuko was the one who helped her. But still. 

Finally Zuko and Katara go together to face Azula. Again seems like plot is pushing them together for Tension. They definitely work together here and Katara heals him and all that but she’d have healed anyone. (Like yeah if you ship it of course you’re gonna be excited over those moments.)

But.

Like. The thing is. When the dust settles? Zuko and Mai return to each other like moths to a flame. I could believe that Katara might have had feelings for Zuko, but I don’t think he ever returned them. I think it was always Mai for him. 

I don’t really want to fan the flames of ship wars — I’m trying to walk a fine line of “I totally understand why people ship this, but I don’t,” and hopefully I’m succeeding, but I’m sorry if I’m not. 

My main gripe is how the show handled this dynamic. It seemed like they half-heartedly thought about creating a love triangle, but then they didn’t follow through. I don’t particularly like love triangles, so I’m not actually mad that there wasn’t one. But what bothers me is that the Aang and Katara moments are so heavy handed in the beginning, that a sudden subtle take on how Katara feels in Book 3 feels strange. It feels like if she was having feelings for Zuko, it should have been more blatant. The depictions are inconsistent — if the writers were even ever intending for Katara to have feelings for Zuko in the first place.

Like, I really can’t tell if those moments implying Zuko and Katara were intentionally trying to start a love triangle OR if it was just sort of a mistake OR if it was maybe creators trying to address and then negate Zuko and Katara as a ship? I mean it’s weird because the play episode really emphasizes Zuko and Katara but then that play is really supposed to be all levels of inaccurate and get under the characters’ skins. 

So, I don’t know. Obviously we all bring different interpretations to a piece of media and I am by no means saying anything here is a “correct opinion” (because I hate that attitude when it comes to story interpretations). Sorry if you don’t agree, hope I didn’t make anyone mad. Ship what you like! You do you, man. 

On that note, please see further disclaimers about shipping and canon at the end of the “Zuko and Mai” section below.

Toph

Loved how Toph was the first to warm up to Zuko. It made a lot of sense. I mean obviously they were looking for a fire bender to teach Aang and it was like “Hello, powerful fire bender on a silver platter!” but also, Toph is someone who joined the crew later on. The group had to adjust to her, and she probably knows what it feels like to be an outsider. Now, granted, she was never alienated from the group in the same way that Zuko (rightfully) was. But she can also understand Zuko’s position as someone who comes from a wealthy family, the sort of pressure that comes from that. None of this was really addressed explicitly, and it might not have really fit then and there, but it was what I was thinking as she was standing up for Zuko.

Um, and also, on that note? Huge bummer Toph did not get her special bonding adventure with Zuko. Toph, I’m with you on that one! Why did Sokka get two episodes for his? 

Zuko

No “& Iroh” on this post because — Iroh spent much of this season in jail, and then the next half just ??? who knows where. 

So, I believe I stated in the last post how shocked I was at Zuko’s betrayal. Knowing he eventually joins Aang’s crew, it seemed like his time in the prison with Katara would ultimately lead to that, and then NOPE! He has this nice heart to heart about his mother, and then… it really shocked me.

But.

As I watched this season, it became clear that this has to be Zuko’s journey. He has to go back to the Fire Nation. He has to win the approval of his father. He has to get everything he wants in order to realize that it really isn’t what he wants. This is integral to his ultimate revelation and redemption and he couldn’t have stayed truly good without verifying and knowing how empty the win of his father’s approval is.

Realizing this, I loved it and appreciated the moments we get. Zuko’s visits to Iroh. Even when Zuko is being cruel, you can see how hurt and lost he is. And Iroh gives him the cold shoulder he deserves, even though of course this is breaking Iroh’s heart, too. 

Now, I absolutely must discuss the Fire Kids Beach Party episode! Because as ridiculous as parts of it are, it provides such an important and necessary insight to all four characters (Zuko, Azula, Mai, and Ty Lee). You see the privilege that they’re all used to, it’s good that no one knows who they all are. (although maybe a little surprising because Zuko’s scar certainly reveals who he is but anyways.) 

and it’s funny how you almost end up rooting for them before you’re like “no no no. they are bad people doing some bad things.” I mean, almost rooting for them. And sure, the campfire scene is a bit Breakfast Club-y but I do think it’s important. And I just loved the moment Zuko admits he’s angry at himself, how his burst of fire as he says it almost covers it up, it’s so hard for him to say. Fabulous character development going on here, fabulous. 

[Uh, side note, so apparently Zuko is descended from Avatar Roku! This is ridiculous but can we get Zuko calling Aang great-grandfather, mainly to get on his nerves?! O:-) this would amuse me greatly]

And GOSH the catharsis when Zuko finally realizes his father’s approval is not what he wants and not worth it! It’s so well earned. It’s so satisfying. I was so excited and just like, so anticipating Zuko going to meet up with the crew. Zuko practicing his speech in the woods to the frog? Amazing. Endearing. I love him so much. 

And despite that and because of it, I also loved how difficult it was for him to earn their trust. It had to be difficult. It would not be believable if it wasn’t. Every character regarded him exactly as you would expect them to, exactly as he deserved. And Zuko tried so hard to be sincere and contrite, and it was hard for him, but he was doing pretty well all things considered! And still, they distrusted him. Yes. This was good and right. And I loved it. 

AND ANOTHER THING I LOVED was that once that initial barrier was surpassed, Aang actually warmed up to Zuko pretty quickly. This is not surprising; he’d reached out to Zuko in the past. First when Zuko (masked) rescues him, and Aang says they could have been friends. Later, at the end of Book 1 when Zuko again kidnaps him, there’s just a moment… I think when Aang spares him. It’s like, my impression is that Aang can sense that their destinies are connected, and he’s not really sure how but he knows that Zuko is important. Also, I mean, Aang just doesn’t kill people and revenge is not his way. 

Each character getting their own side story with Zuko was also integral to his arc — perhaps moreso, theirs, though. Because it was necessary for them to overcome their distrust and forge the bonds necessary for the Avatar’s crew to function. Bummed he didn’t get one with Toph. Toph was robbed.

And side note, but I really would have like an Aang and Sokka bonding episode? Like, Book 1 is all Aang and Katara and Sokka, but some 1:1 time would have been nice. There was almost a chance when Aang flew Sokka to his father and the water tribe (and at the time I was like, “Oh? Aang and Sokka bonding?!”) But then it was really only a few minutes. But yeah, that said, it does make sense to focus on carving out 1:1 time for Zuko and each member of the crew to ease him into the group.

Sokka: You happy now?

Zuko: I’m never happy.

This made me sad. And also made me go “classic Zuko.”

Every time Zuko was like, “What would uncle say?” And then say the most ridiculous thing? Fantastic. Amazing. Fuel for the fire that was my love for this show.

Zuko and Mai

Mainly the Beach Party episode was important in helping me warm up to Mai. Once Zuko is back in the Fire Nation and they’re together, I was of the mindset that Mai would have to do something pretty big in order for me to enjoy seeing their relationship become canon. This episode is not that episode, but it is an important insight into Mai’s character that explains some of her actions. The fact that she’s basically internalized apathy because she’s been forced to repress her emotions. It wasn’t enough for me but we get more later, this is an important stepping stone. 

It’s also important in establishing just what Zuko and Mai’s dynamic is. It’s a bit shaky in this and they end up breaking up but then they just get back together like immediately (moths to a flame…) In hindsight, I just think they’re behaving like normal teens who care about each other but are still navigating what it means to be in a relationship. At this moment in time, their relationship is not good, but by the end of the show I can believe as they mature that it could be a good relationship.

So the actual moment that I was like, “Okay, officially supporting Mai and Zuko now” was when she helps them escape Boiling Rock. I don’t think we’re ever told the full contents of Zuko’s letter to her, but considering what she says to Zuko earlier in this episode, it doesn’t seem likely he explains himself very well. At least not for Mai to understand. And he still isn’t able to explain himself well to her as they talk face to face. Then he locks in a cell and flees! He leaves her again. 

You wouldn’t blame Mai for hating Zuko. You wouldn’t blame her for actively working against him. But is this what happens? No. Not at all. She helps them get away. She betrays Azula for Zuko. Azula!!! Azula who is very powerful and very scary! This is a clear and distinct line in the sand, and … it almost comes out of nowhere, but what it demonstrates is how she really feels about him. She’s decided to trust him and put her faith in him when she really would have been justified in not doing so. 

I’m also going to say that despite some rather odd implications of Zuko and Katara in parts of the series (namely with other characters who really don’t know them), I never feel like Zuko is interested in Katara. I would buy interpretations that Katara might have considered Zuko, the way some parts of her story are portrayed, but I don’t get anything on Zuko’s side and that is all the more reinforced by how he acts around Mai, especially in the end of the series when they’re reunited. 

(Now, that said — because I don’t abide ship wars, ship and let ship, and power to multi-shippers — I can totally 100% see the appeal of shipping Zuko and Katara, and I would contend there is even some canonical implication of it. And I can’t blame people for not totally loving Zuko and Mai. Now, I do think the canonical implications are sort of muddied and confusing, but though I have actually not written it yet, you’ll have read my thoughts there in the Katara section already. OH, and OF COURSE, MORE IMPORTANTLY — ships being canon should not matter! Ship what you love! Who cares if it’s canon! Finding canon justification for ships should not be necessary for shipping! It can be a fun exercise but should never ever be a reason for approving or disapproving of a ship, it’s just a cherry on top!)

Azula

We get some pretty interesting insights into her character this season. I’ve already mentioned the Beach Party episode, and there was some good stuff in there for her. I particularly appreciated the moment that she admitted she knew her mother thought she was a monster, that she even admitted to being a monster, and then admitted that it still hurt anyways. Honestly that’s probably her best moment.

I also thought her breakdown at the end was well done. Mai and Ty Lee’s betrayal just broke her. She probably knows her attitude puts people off, but those two were the only ones she ever really got on with. And it turns out, she really didn’t get on with them, they’d only ever been intimidated and manipulated into being her friends. She has no one, she pushes everyone away. Literally — and it is ultimately her downfall. 

It’s an interesting contrast to her brother. We literally get an episode “Zuko Alone,” and then it turns out the theme of “Azula Alone” is such an integral part of her arc, as well. The last person she has is her father, and he leaves her, too. Sure, he tells her it’s because she’s to stay behind as the new Fire Lord, but honestly Ozai was never truly close to anyone, either. But yeah. Iroh spends a lot of time and effort trying to help Zuko redeem himself. He never tries with Azula? I think, maybe it would have been nice to see him try with her, and be just utterly rebuffed. Now, Zuko also rebuffed him a lot, too. So Azula’s rejection of Iroh would really have to be something. This is the kind of stuff I’d look for in fic. Speaking of fic: I mean, I’d really love Zuko to find his mom, mom to come back, and then maybe some kind of attempt at reparations between mom and Azula. It doesn’t have to work, I just want to see the effort, you know?

Final Thoughts: Ending & Denouement

I loved Aang finding a different way to defeat the Fire Lord. I loved how every past Avatar he talked to was like “no dude just kill him.” And I loved that that was not enough for Aang. He’s pushing himself and ultimately the spirit of the Avatar to think harder, to try harder, to seek a different way. And that mercy was so integral to Aang’s character, and important to his arc that he struggled so much with it. And he’s just a kid! Oh, Aang. And I loved that he was able to find the answer he needed, the fact that it was taking away Ozai’s fire bending. Yes. Perfection.

I was a little disappointed by how little we got post-Ozai’s defeat. I was hoping the epilogue might have shown a little more in the years and decades following. It would have been nice to see glimpses of everyone prospering as they got older. 

Also, as I was watching Zuko’s coronation, I was sorta like, “uhh wait that’s a little too easy.” Now we don’t know when that happens so it’s possible some bit of time has lapsed and I’ll take that. But I thought there would have still been some trouble with some of the Fire Nation troops. Some of them would have remained loyal to Ozai. Many of those general had probably committed war crimes and would have needed to be rounded up and put on trial and put in prison. There’d be so much work to do!

That said, I do understand that we want to see our heroes with a happy ending, ultimately. I guess just a simple like “X years later” before the ending scenes would have sufficed for me to be satisfied that enough time had passed for those things to have been dealt with. IDK, I can probably suspend disbelief enough to headcanon that myself. I’m just saying. Some acknowledgement of resolution and reconstruction as a *process over time*, albeit unnecessary, would have been nice to have!

On that note, we don’t actually find out what happens to Azula. Presumably she is also in prison with her father. 

More importantly, we were Robbed of a Zuko and Ursa reunion scene!

[gloves94]

Kingdom of the Sun [Fire Lord Zuko] 3

Chapter Warnings: Heavy petting, angst Story Rating: M Pairings: Zuko/OC

Kingdom of the Sun MASTERLIST Last Airbender MASTERLIST My MASTERLIST

"There you are!" A familiar feminine voice echoed the cave. The cold lovers turned to see Suki and Sokka creeping inside of the hole in the wall that they called an ice cave. Sokka was holding a gas lantern that seemed to glow in the darkness. It had been awfully quiet outside, the only sound that could be heard was the howling wind that blew by. Sokka looked at the couple that was inside. Specifically, at how they were sitting. Zuko was sitting against one of the icy walls slightly hunched forward. In between his wide open legs sat the auburn-haired girl wrapped in his thick wool cape, his arms were around her holding against his body, his head comfortably resting on top of hers. Sokka also noted the discarded winter clothing and weapons that had been carelessly thrown across the small space. A sly knowing grin made way to his face. Those two were freaky and he knew it. "Looks like you two kept busy while hiding out here in your little snow bungalow." He said while childishly sniggering at the red-faced girl’s expression. "I fell through the ice and almost died. Zuko's just… keeping me warm." She explained. The Fire Lord simply breathed out a firey exhale which made him resemble a dragon and shot his friend an irked glare. “Mhnn… Sure,” The Water Tribe boy arched a teasing eyebrow the knowing smirk still plastered to his face. Suki stood next to him with her arms crossed over her chest, her expression mirrored his. The Kyoshi Warrior laughed a little, her eyes drifting up eyeing the cave’s dripping ceiling “I’m surprised the place didn’t melt down.” “Get dressed and let’s get back up. Luckily nobody got hurt. We captured the one responsible for all of this mess.”

xxx The celebratory mood had definitely been killed. It was a miracle Katara’s grandmother hadn’t had a heart attack on the spot or something. It really seemed like it had all been one massive distraction, the only casualty of the several explosions being Tsai’s ship. Thankfully there was no one on board at the time.

She hated to admit it, but her mother had been right. She should’ve known this would happen. Now dressed in warmer clothes, yet still feeling cold and uneasy at the cold brush with death she stood with the group as they huddled outside of a snow building where the assassin’s accomplice was being held. Several oil lamps planted outside illuminated the space. Aang and Katara were still dressed in their ceremonial robes and Tsai couldn’t help but feel guilty about having ruined their ceremony.   “He hasn’t said a single word since we captured him,” explained Chief Hakoda who was stepping out from the holding building.

“What matters is that nobody got hurt,” Aang said a hard look on his gray eyes. “This doesn’t make any sense,” Katara said holding a hand against her mouth in a pensive matter. “Why would anybody do this?”

It had obviously all been one large ploy to distract everybody. The assassins knew they wouldn’t be able to kill anyone with the Avatar and his team nearby. A diversion to scatter the group in their separate ways seemed like the best option to then strike.

“I’m sorry,” Tsai stepped forward, eyes lowered in a guilty expression. “This is all my fault. My mother warned me not to come. It’s been happening more and more often now but it’s not rare for somebody to come and try assassinate me- “ “Or me-“ Zuko added at her side, arms crossed over his chest. She looked at him with a concerned expression. He wasn’t wrong. They could’ve both been targets. Two birds one stone. Whoever sent these assassins knew that the Fire Lord and the girl from the Republic of Nations would probably be together. “It was obviously meant to be a distraction so the assassins could strike.”

“Regardless, I’m pretty sure he’s not coming back out of the water.” An unpleasant chill went down her spine as she thought of the man’s dreadful ending. The terrible feeling of the icy water still prickling at her skin like needles. “Question is- who sent them?” Chief Hakoda asked stroking his chin wisely, slightly pacing around in the snow. Tsai looked pensive. Her head lowered with burdening shame before allowing a sigh of defeat escape her lips. “It’s my father,” She admitted. “He’s beyond reason. He’s behind the Anti-Revolutionary Movement. Wants to take the colonies himself as an absolute monarch.” “But the revolution is over,” Sokka butted. “The Republic of Nations has been well established for some time now. He can’t create an uprising, much less by-“ Suki added before her tone faltering in hesitation at the end. “It’s okay, you can say it,” she drowned out to her friend. “By killing me,” she finished her friend’s words. “It’s not the first time that one of our dads went nuts and tried to kill someone in the group.” ‘Although, hopefully it’s the last…’ She thought the last part to herself. Zuko pinched the bridge of his nose. Tsai couldn’t tell if it was either due to frustration, the painful memory of his father or just plain irritation. “So, your father thinks he will accomplish just what by killing you?” Toph asked bluntly with her arms crossed over her chest. “Many see me as a symbol of the independence of the colonies,” She trailed off holding her arm uncomfortably. “He thinks that killing me will send a message, spark a coup d’etât, a movement. We’re not fighting a man here; we’re fighting an ideology.” “What ideology?” Aang probed. “Anarchy,” Zuko responded with a sullen tone. “Your father is an anarchist. I wouldn’t be surprised if his ideals went hand in hand with the New Ozai Society.” The group shared a moment of silence. The hollow wind blowing by. The oil lanterns crackling lightly in the darkness. “So, what are we waiting for?” Toph arched a challenging eyebrow breaking the group silence. “Let’s go back to the Republic and wait for the snakes to come out of their holes,” she punched her own fist an excited grin on her face. Scattered humorous huffs were heard.

Now this was more like the good old days. “It’s not that simple Toph,” Katara butted. “All of these people, they’re underground. They’re not gathered in one place. There’s no way of knowing who’s who or who’s involved.” “There is one way…” Zuko’s eyes glinted darkly as he raised his head up to the building were the hostage was being kept. “He won’t talk.” Hakoda answered as he read the torturous idea the Fire Lord had in mind. “I’ll make him,” Zuko spat in an angry tone. Tsai looked at him with a concerned expression, she didn’t know if it was instinctual or not, but she wrapped her hands around his arm for a moment in an attempt to ground him and his infamous temper. “Zuko’s right. We have to get him to talk,” Sokka trailed off pensively. “Not here. He’ll return to the Fire Nation with me.” The group murmured and discussed ideas to make the captured prisoner cooperate. And yes, Aang’s ‘Why don’t we just ask him nicely?’ was immediately discarded. Lion Turtles, the boy had the patience of a saint.

“For now, this works in our favor. I think our best play is making your father and the other Anti-Revolutionaries think that you’re dead.” The Chief said placing a comforting hand on Tsai’s shoulder for a moment. “What?” Her eyes grew a little wide in surprise. “And then what? He’s going to attack the city again! My brother can’t hold him off alone! What about my family?” “Don’t worry,” Toph continued to squeeze her knuckles and Tsai got the impression that regardless of the situation the girl just really, really wanted to beat someone down. “We’ll lend him a hand.”   “It’s also best if your mom and brother think…” Sokka trailed off uneasily. She lowered her head a little. “Geez…” She huffed at the thought. “If my mom finds out I’m not really dead, then I really am dead,” she said dramatically at the thought of facing her mother’s wrath. “I can’t do that to them. It’s too painful,” she pleaded with the group. How could she put her family through such a painfully emotionally ordeal? It would be cruel and unnecessary. “It’s for the best.” Katara said reaching for her arm just like her dad had done a moment ago. “We’ll go deliver the news ourselves. We’ll also be on guard if anything arises.” Katara explained in a comforting tone. “I’ll have an army sent to the Republic of Nations for precaution.” The Fire Lord spoke still seeming deep in thought. “And what am I going to do?” She said frustrated stretching her arms out. “Hide away here in a snow bungalow? “You didn’t seem to mind before,” Sokka muttered under his breath laughing to himself. Earning him a punch on the side to keep quiet from his girlfriend. “You’re more than welcome to stay if you’d like,” Chief Hakoda said in a welcoming tone before retreating and walking inside of the building where Ty Lee and other Southern Tribe Warriors were guarding the prisoner. Her face turned a little blue at the thought of being in the ice tundra for another day. “It might be best if you return to the Fire Nation with Zuko,” Aang said. Her eyes peeled wide open as panic surged through her. Going back to the Fire Nation? With him… She swallowed the breath that had caught in her throat. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea. After all, Fire Nationers weren’t particularly welcoming to her…

Unconsciously her body flinched slightly at the thought. Her mind drifting to unpleasant memories of the last time she was in the nation. “Aang’s right,” Suki added. “There’s no way anyone would be able to hurt you inside of the Fire Nation.” “You’ll be safe there,” Katara insisted. All of her friends were trying to make the girl’s concerned expression morph into a more relaxed one. But how could one relax in a situation like this? Going back to the Fire Nation with Zuko… Yeah maybe they had gotten a little carried away earlier, but it had been a life or death situation. She had a terrible feeling that there would soon be a confrontation between the two of them and frankly she was dreading it. “I’ll keep you safe,” She turned to look at his golden eyes and whole heartedly knew that he meant it. His hand placed gently in the middle of her back. The look in his eyes made her blood warm her ears and she felt an unflattering patch of red form on her neck.

She turned away hoping nobody would notice the blush creeping on her face. Her hands reaching for her hard temples as she rubbed them lightly already anticipating a terrible headache to come. “My mother is going to kill me…” xxx

By the time it was past midnight everybody had once again gone their separate ways. They had all hugged tightly and exchanged their good wishes. Except for Toph. When Tsai attempted to hug her, she made a massive pillar of black earth rise from underneath throwing her off her balance and told her to go hug a snowman or something. The only hope of reuniting in the future being Aang and Katara’s soon to be wedding.

Zuko had decided to travel by airship since it was considered to be faster. Tsai was to be his honored guest and Ty Lee and Suki accompanied them as their Kyoshi Warrior bodyguards. She presently lay alone in a cold bed with her arms wrapped around herself in an attempt to keep warm. She rubbed her feet together, against each other like a cricket, as she was still suffering from the effects of having fallen into the freezing arctic ocean just a couple of hours ago. She would be very surprised if she didn’t develop a cold in the next day or so. She couldn’t sleep. She didn’t know what was keeping her up, if it was her cold body, anguishing concerns over her family, the stress over fighting all of these groups that sought to destroy her and Zuko. Horrible thoughts about the last time she was in the Fire Nation…

She couldn’t be here anymore. She wanted to talk to someone. Carefully tiptoeing out of her room, making sure not to make any noise. She was bluntly caught in the act only a moment after. She stood like a deerdog in headlights. Suki standing outside in the middle of the corridor with her arms crossed over her chest coolly. She gave her friend a knowing look. "Did you want to talk to Zuko?" She asked with a knowing expression on her features. “Me?” Tsai chuckled nervously. “Nope,” she said popping the ‘p’ in the word innocently. “I just got lost.” She lied awkwardly, a nervous grin giving away her intentions of entering the Fire Lord’s chambers in the middle of the night.

Her friend laughed a little and walked towards her shaking her head lightly. “I just want to talk with him,” she explained averting her eyes. With a smirk Suki reached for her sleeping shirt and unbuttoned the top two buttons of it, pulling the hem low to make her cleavage more pronounced. Her hands moved expertly as they reached for the sides of her head and ruffled up her hair making it messier and appear more voluptuous. She finished by pinching her cheeks hard making them turn a blushing red. “Ow!” the other protested. “I told you we’re only going to talk.” She said swatting her hand away. “Sure.” Both girls shared a light laugh. “Go get him,” Suki said nudging her on. “Have a nice talk,” she wiggled her eyebrows teasingly. Actually, causing the other girl’s face to turn even redder. Tsai walked inside of the room carefully. It was pitch black with the exception of a dim candle that sat on the nightstand on the empty side of his large bed. Quietly, she slid her bare feet across the floor hoping not to bump into anything until she reached the edge of his bed. She gathered he was probably fast asleep from the unmoving lump that lay underneath the bed’s covers. The mattress sank under her weight as she climbed on the bed and crawled towards him. She reached for his naked shoulder his name about to drop from her lips when she was suddenly jerked down, a sharp object zooming towards her.

She lay frozen, pinned under a heavy naked torso a blade hovering mere inches away from her eye.

Zuko looked down at her, a firm hand wrapped around her throat lightly pressing down, his knees bended on top of her legs keeping her immobilizing his enemy. His hair loose and undone falling on either sides of his face.

The thought of him welcoming every assassin that attempted to strike him like this made Tsai grow a little envious.

His molten golden eyes looked down at her barely illuminate face. He looked at her messy, long hair sprawled out on the pillow, her flushed face, parted open lips as she held in what he interpreted to be a shaky breath of surprise. He whispered her name in surprise and lowered the knife. “I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I’ve grown used to sleeping with an eye open,” he put the blade on the nightstand next to the candle. “I never thanked you for what you did for me. You didn’t have to do any of that.” She began. If the two of them were to return to the Fire Nation together it would be best to get the uncomfortable confrontation out of the way. It wouldn’t be pleasant. This conversation was bound to happen anyways, it was best to get it out of the way and discuss, well, define, just what the hell the two of them were. That is- if they were anything at all to begin with. For all that she knew maybe the two were rekindling old emotions, burning off some frustrated pent up steam. His eyes lingered on her expression. Yet he said nothing remaining silent. His warm body still pressing against hers. There was an intense look in his eyes, a raw emotion she was unfamiliar with burning in them. The look made her feel vulnerable as he studied her. Not removing himself or his prying eyes from her he waved a hand over the candles and the two were consumed by a sudden darkness.

Guess there wouldn’t be much talking tonight. Blindless lingered in her eyes for a moment before they adjusted to the absence of light. The hand on her neck lowered and splayed over her chest, his digits tracing the flesh over her clavicles. His other reached for her side, fingers almost like snakes slipping underneath her shirt with such ease and tenderness that goosebumps became erect on her arm. He leaned in with a calculated manner, stopping only a torturous distance before her mouth. His nose tracing her features, bumping into hers. She could feel his breath warming her face. Slowly, torturously his mouth barely grazed hers. “I miss you,” she admitted breathlessly and in return he kissed her hard. He kissed intensely with longing, teeth clicking together as their lips moved against each other. “I miss you more,” he spoke gruffly against her mouth. A rough groan dripping with wanting escaped his lips. It was the involuntary king that made his chest rumble. He pressed his groin against hers grinding into her.   His other hand slid further up her body. Fingers mapping out her skin. His other hand rounded around her head tangling in her locks of hair. She held her longing breath, the girl practically dripping with anticipation. A familiar itch between her legs begging to be scratched. She reached for the other buttons of her night shirt and began undoing them. Again, his hand snaked back down to the exposed skin above her clavicles. The warm hand sliding lower and lower until it reached her breast. It lingered there for a long moment, his fingers pressing down on her skin, yet remained stiff. He remained frozen for a long moment. Long enough for her to consider voicing out a concern but didn’t. Instead, she felt the unwelcome absence of his warmth as he removed himself from her. The cold aid greeting her harshly.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized scratching his nose nervously. She saw him retreat and sit on the edge of the bed both of his feet planted on the floor as he lightly slouched completely turning away from her.

She lay still. Cheeks puffed. She wanted to be angry, she wanted to pull at her hair due to all the pent-up frustration and storm out of the room- but she wouldn’t. She had to be patient. She had to be understanding. She had to be respectful.

Just like he had been when he made his own demands to her the last time, they were together… Her pride was wounded. She knew, deep in her heart that he didn’t mean to hurt her, that he didn’t mean it like this, that he had his own reasons for being so reserved. That he wasn’t being a tease. Knowing that she had also hurt him all the same if not worse the last time they had been together in the Fire Nation made everything impossibly worse. But the ugly feeling of being undesired by the person you desire the most… It hurt. Once again… he had neglected her. She silently let out a breath she had been holding and pushed her pride and sexual frustrations to the side.

“I’m under a lot of stress,” he confessed. “I can’t sleep, I can’t think, I can’t-“ He sighed in distress, his voice trailing off and buried his head in his hands in frustration. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She saw his back muscles moving slightly as he hunched over. She looked at him with sadness, with guilty from wanting more of him. Her body still hot. However, those were demands she could not make of him. After all love was patient, love was kind… Zuko’s body stiffened when he felt a touch on his back, it took him a moment to relax when a pair of arms wrapped around his torso holding him in a close embrace. She pressed her cheek against his back and closed her eyes listening to his drumming heart beating. “It’s okay,” she whispered reassuringly planting a gentle kiss in between his shoulder blades and then another one on his shoulder. “Let’s try and get some sleep,” she comforted him and pulled his torso to lay back on the bed. “Come on.” She insisted when he remained still. However, after a moment he caved. He lay on his side turning away from her. He seemed distant and cold. She said nothing, swallowing her pride and respecting his space. Maybe it was best if she left. Maybe it was too painful, too confusing, not only for him, but for her too. Too many emotions for one day. She tossed the covers off her body getting ready to return to her chambers. “Stay,” he demanded. His voice soft.

She wasn’t expecting him to say anything. She froze, her eyes looking back at the Lord that had now turned to face her, slightly sitting up.

Coming here tonight had been a bad idea. Scratch that. Coming to the ceremony, specifically to seek him out had been a terrible idea. What was she hoping to accomplish? The two of them getting back together... Their relationship returning back to normal only for the two to again split when push came to shove? He looked at her with pleading eyes. He reached for her arm and despite never having felt the sensation of skin burning in her life she guessed this was probably what it felt like. Anguish knotting in her throat rendering her silent. She gradually turned and caved to his touch. Slipping underneath the bed covers and facing him. Her hand touching his face, she caressed the scar that marked him, tracing it with the back of her hand. She looked at him with an endearing expression in her eyes and a heavy heart before lightly pressing her lips against his scarred skin.

After all this time she still loved him…

He said nothing in return and leaned forward burying his face on her chest. He took in a deep breath inhaling the scent he had missed so much, welcoming the familiar touch he starved for, lightly kissing the flesh he longed for. And he still loved her… He knew they would be having the unpleasant conversation that would define their relationship soon. Their emotions, their future, their intimacy, their fall… It would all have to be painfully dissected. But for now, this would do. This unspoken sad language the two of them seemed to share. He placed a hand on her side, his fingers lightly tracing circles on the skin underneath her shirt.

She held him close in a bittersweet embrace. Love, sadness, much regret, wanting and disappointment were all in the bed with them. Not another word was exchanged between the two. It wasn’t necessary. She rested her head on top of his and she ran her fingers through his hair soothingly.

Some moments later she could feel his rhythmic breathing warming her skin, his hand still draped on her side. He had fallen asleep. She couldn’t see his expression yet felt a little relieved knowing he was actually resting. One of her legs possessively tangled in between his.

Tsai was left alone with her distressing thoughts; painful tears prickled the edges of her eyes threatening to spill. She missed him so much. She still loved him so much. How could they have allowed themselves to do this to each other? A single tear slid down her face and she pressed her lips kissing the top of his head.

Her mind drifting to an unpleasant memory. She could still vividly remember their downfall.   It had been that horrible day...   She could still remember the smell of moisture and myrrh incense in the Dragon Catacombs…

She squeezed her eyes shut tight and prayed for the dark memory to go away, but it didn’t…

xxx

AN: Sorry this took me so long, I wasn't sure in what direction to go in this chapter, but overall I'm happy with it! (of course angst because I can't just let these 2 be happy) Alright, next chapter is going to be a flashback chapter and we're about to find out what happened in the Dragon Catacombs... prev: https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/624849870080131072/kingdom-of-the-sun-firelord-zuko-2 next: https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/625513136018112512/kingdom-of-the-sun-fire-lord-zuko-4

Kingdom of the Sun MASTERLIST Last Airbender MASTERLIST My MASTERLIST

[popsunner]

Moonlit Champion: Part One, Fire

@cubedleo ITS FINALLY HEREEE (lemme know if y’all want on a taglist ig??)

A/N: I have finally managed to bs a first chapter to the Spirit Sokka AU are y’all proud of me. AO3 link!! 

Summary: Death by fire was a horrible thing to watch, and Sokka realized then that the raging element would take him one day too.

Sokka had imagined what dying would feel like since the day his mother was killed.

He used to sit by the fire at night and stare into the flames, wondering what it would be like to be engulfed by them. To feel the heat slowly inch up his body, smell his own flesh burning, taste the smoke from his disintegrating skin.

It was… never very accurate when he was little. His father never let him see his mom’s body, and Katara never talked about it.

Like everything else, that changed after he met Aang.

The first time Sokka saw fire kill someone, he froze. He could hear Katara screaming behind him, telling him to hurry, Momo tugging at his arm.

Death by fire was a horrible thing to watch, and Sokka realized then that the raging element would take him one day too.

When Katara asked if he was okay, he lied and said yes.

Funny, how things come back to a person in times like this.

Sokka sees the world in slow motion, his limbs too heavy to move in time. The only thing moving in real time are Katara’s screams, and the flames.

Sokka wonders what his mother was thinking about before she died.

Because all he can think about are the three little kids he’s leaving behind, and that just might burn more than the fire.

Well, not really. The fire burns a lot.

Sokka doesn’t realize he’s screaming until Aang’s hands are cupping his face, saying something Sokka can’t understand. For a second, cool relief sweeps through his body like dipping his blistered and tired feet into a cold lake after a full day of walking, and his mouth clamps shut. Just as quickly as it comes, it’s gone again.

“Not enough,” Katara says, and she sounds angry. Sokka tries to turn so he can see her, tell her that it’s okay, that she’s doing great, but his body won’t comply.

“Dad? What does it feel like to die?”

Hakota raises an eyebrow, eyes rimmed red. “I don’t know. And hopefully neither of us will for a long time.”

“Do you think mom was scared?”

“Get some sleep Sokka, we’ll talk in the morning.”

His chest. That’s where the fire bender got him. He’d meant to shield himself, but his brain sort of stopped working when he saw the fire on its way towards Aang.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been a human shield, but it’s probably the last.  

“Sokka?” That’s Toph, definitely Toph.

This time, Sokka manages to turn and find her, he pretends he does it on his own, and that it isn’t Aang’s hands guiding him. “Oh, hey guys, we win?”

“Always do,” Aang says. Which is, obviously, a lie. They lose a lot.

Sokka smiles, and his face crinkles and cracks like walrus jerky left in the sun too long. “Word to the wise, if you wan’ a tan, don’t ask a fire bender.”

Katara snaps at him to stop joking around. Probably, at least. He doesn’t really hear her. There’s an ocean in his ears, he thinks it wants him to sleep.

It’s loud, everything is loud. Sokka wants to sleep.

He closes his eyes, and the sounds stop.

“Hello, my love.”

Sokka exhales, and the burning fades to nothing.

“Mom?”

***

“Katara! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Gran gran made dinner.”

Katara sniffs and wipes her sleeve across her face, turning away from her brother. “I’m not hungry.”

“Oh.” She can hear Sokka sitting down next to her, scratching the back of his head. “Well I’m not either.”

Scoffing, Katara reaches back blindly to shove him. “Liar, you’re always hungry.”

“That’s not true!”

“Yes it is. Go eat, Sokka.”

“Fine.” Sokka doesn’t get up. “After you tell me what’s wrong.”

Katara whips around to glare at him, hands clenched into fists. “Mom is gone, that’s what’s wrong. And now- and now dad left too!”

Sokka’s nose is red from the cold, but his eyes are red from crying when he thinks Katara can’t hear. She wants to punch him when he smiles. “You’ve still got me!”

“Until you leave.” Katara hugs her knees to her chest and huffs. “Everyone leaves.”

Sokka throws his arms around her haphazardly, almost knocking them both over. “Not me!”

Faking annoyance, Katara glares at the wide expanse of snow surrounding them. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Katara’s hands shake with the water she’s pressing against her brother’s chest. He doesn’t move. “You promised.”

“Katar-”

“I need to focus!” Katara snaps, and Toph falls silent. Katara’s eyes sting and she prods deeper, further into the jagged burn that she’s trying not to think about while focusing all her strength on it at once. “Wake up, Sokka. You promised.”

Sokka doesn’t wake up.

Aang is staring at her desperately, his hands cupping Sokka’s face, sitting crisscrossed under his head. Katara realizes how young he looks. Like a scared twelve year old who doesn’t want to lose a member of the only family he has left.

When she looks at Toph, gray eyes wide and feet dug a few inches into the ground, searching for any sign of life, Katara sees the same thing. A scared child.

If she was brave enough to look at her reflection in the water under her hands, she thinks she’d see it in her own face too.

“Don’t make me lose you,” Katara whispers, and her voice breaks. The water falls from her control, and her brother doesn’t move.

Katara blinks and she’s home, and her mother is on the ground, and her mother is dead. She never told Sokka what she looked like that day, no matter how many times he asked.

She blinks again and she’s sitting in a puddle across the world from her home, and her brother is on the ground.

And her brother is dead.

***

Toph doesn’t remember how long they flew for. It’s hard to keep track of anything up in the sky even on a good day, and today wasn’t a good day.

Today was the farthest from a good day she’s ever had.

When they land, everyone disappears. Toph can still see them, still sense them. Aang is on a big rocky overhang with his back to the horizon, Katara is in a nearby cave with… with-

Toph props her feet up on a rock so she can’t see anymore.

“Hey, not that it matters to you-”

Toph inwardly groans. Whenever someone starts a sentence that way it usually ends with ‘you kind of stink’ or ‘your manners are terrible’ or even ‘your parents must be heartbroken’.

“-but I’m proud of you,” Sokka finishes.

Under her, the soft dirt turns to rock. “What?”

Sokka shrugs. “You grew up being told you couldn’t do anything, and look at you! You’re the best earth bender I’ve ever met, and probably will ever meet, and you did it all on your own. That’s pretty cool.”

“You’re a sap,” Toph says with a scoff, leaning over to punch Sokka in the arm. She smiles when he falls over.

They’re quiet for a while, and Sokka doesn’t sit up again. “I’m proud of you, Toph.”

Toph lays down next to him, and pretends she can see the sky. “Whatever. Thanks.”

A wave of hot air blows through her clothes and Toph doesn’t need to have her feet on the ground to know it’s Aang. She shakes her head. “We could all use some cheering up right now.”

Next to her, Momo chirps. Toph nods. “I know. Hard to do without him.”

Her eyes sting and she growls, clenching her teeth and daring the tears to fall.

They do.

Toph looks up and pretends she can see the sky.

“I’m proud of you too, Captain Boomerang.”

***

Aang runs.

There are still Fire Nation soldiers lining up to fight them, there are still burning buildings that need to be put out. There are still people watching, waiting for the Avatar to help them.

He drags his family to Appa and he runs.

The thing he’s running from -the person he’s running from- comes with them.

Aang doesn’t look back. At the town, or at Sokka.

When they land, he sits on Appa and stares at the fading sun until no one is around, and then he runs some more.

He’s hit with a wave of deja vu when he ends up on a cliff, his eyes scan the horizon like he’s waiting for something. Something that will never come again.

Air whips around him and he turns, falling to his knees with the sun at his back. He closes his eyes.

“Why don’t you ever stop to have fun with us?”

Sokka looks up from his maps, raising his eyebrow at Aang. The wind is wilder up on the cliff edge, and his hair threatens to fall from its ponytail. “What do you mean?”

Aang shrugs, counting off on his fingers. “Whenever we stop to go swimming or climbing or riding you always sit out, unless money or food or information is involved.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Sokka gestures to himself and winks at Aang, “I’m the fun guy!”

“Well… you give us fun ideas.”

“Exactly!”

“But you never do them with us.”

Sokka smiles at him softly and sets down the map. “Aang, what’s your job?”

“To restore peace to the four nations, defeat the Fire Lord, and master all four elements,” Aang says automatically, then adds, “But probably not in that order.”

“Yep!” Sokka nods over his shoulder, “What are Katara and Toph’s jobs?”

“To teach me water and earth bending?” Sokka grins at him like he won a prize, and Aang goes red. “So what’s your point?”

Sokka stands up and bonks the top of Aang’s head with a rolled up map. “Those are pretty high stress jobs for two twelve year olds and a fourteen year old.”

“I guess so?”

“So what’s my job?”

It takes Aang a second, but when he gets it he smacks his fist into his palm and nods. “To make sure we have fun!”

“To make sure you know you’re still kids.” Sokka shrugs, “And also plan all our attacks and travel. Plus keep you guys alive so you can actually do your jobs.”

“That’s a lot for a sixteen year old. You know you’re a kid too, right?”

That seems to surprise Sokka, and he frowns. “Well yeah, I guess. But sixteen is basically an adult.”

Aang stares at him, and then pulls a mock mature face. He jumps over Sokka’s head and sits down in the middle of his pile of maps, dangerously close to the cliff edge. “Come on! Let’s finish this together!”

“I thought I just explained to you why you don’t help with this stuff.”

“Hey, if you’re going to make sure we get to be kids, I’m going to make sure you get to be a kid-that’s-basically-an-adult.”

Sokka pinches his nose, and then sighs. “Okay, fine. If that’s what makes you happy.”

“It does, very much. Now! Teach me how to plan, and I’ll teach you how to surf a bear fish!”

“That sounds insanely dangerous.”

“We fought a whole fleet of soldiers six hours ago,” Aang deadpans.

“Okay, good point. But please don’t sit so close to the edge.”

A whole fleet then, and they couldn’t manage eight guards today.

Aang is never going to forget the look on Sokka’s face when he pushed him out of the way of that blast.

“You’re a kid too,” Aang grits out.

No one answers, and his stomach churns and bile burns his throat.

He slams his hands into the ground and screams, and a wave of fire engulfs the sound.

Aang stumbles back, staring at the burnt patch of ground in front of him. The dead grass he killed with his anger. The brother they killed with theirs.

“Why?” Aang whispers.

No one answers, and his stomach churns and the remnants of his fire burns his throat.

***

“Hello, my love.”

“Mom?”

The voice giggles, eerily familiar and warm. “No, silly. It’s me.”

“Yue?”

“You sound surprised, did you think I’d left you alone?”

The inky white around him ripples, Sokka had just meant to shrug. “You’ve been looking out for me?”

“How could I not?”

Sokka wants to hold her, wants to brush his thumb across her cheek and kiss her. He doesn’t even try. “I have to go back, Yue.”

“Why?”

“Are you really asking that?”

She giggles again, and Sokka thinks she sounds more confident than she ever did when he knew her. “Wouldn’t you like to see the people waiting for you? Wouldn’t you like to stay with me? Wouldn’t you like to see your mother?”

Ahead of him is a little house made of ice, and Sokka knows it’s his. “She’s in there?’

“We all are.”

“Mom?” Sokka whispers. He moves forward, then freezes.

“You promised.”

“Yue? Was that you?” Sokka spins in a circle, and the house stays in front of him the whole time. “Yue?”

“You promised.”

Sokka’s fingers move, and he jumps at the sudden control. “Katara.”

His surroundings ripple again, and he thinks he sees a flash of blue. He tries to take a step towards his house, but his feet aren’t there. Despite that, the igloo seems to move closer.

Katara.

That’s the face he pictures when he tries to imagine what he’ll see in that igloo. If he goes, he could finally see his mother's real face again.

“The burden I put on her was never fair,” he says to the igloo’s dark doorway. “Maybe… I could take it away.”

“Neither was the burden you put on yourself.”

Sokka wishes he could close his eyes. “Mom?”

“You could leave yours behind too.”

For a moment, Sokka considers it. Would it be so bad? Maybe if he was his sister, or Toph, or the Avatar, sure. But he’s just… Sokka.

His surroundings shake and he stumbles onto his feet, knocking pressure through his ankles. “I’m proud of you too, Captain Boomerang.”

If Sokka wanted, he could reach out and touch the igloo.

When they first met, Toph barely said anything to him. She dismissed him, didn’t give him the time of day. It pissed Katara off, it frustrated Aang, it didn’t bother Sokka. He’d been ignored his whole life. Not on purpose, but gran gran, most of the villagers, even his mom always gravitated towards Katara.

One more person was nothing.

Then one day she asked him if he thought he was weak because he didn’t have bending, and Sokka said no, and she huffed and punched his arm, and never ignored him again.

It feels like a lifetime since he’s seen her or the others.

One step. He has his feet now. All it would take is one step, and he’d be with his mom again.

“This is what I want,” Sokka tries to convince himself.

“Why?”

Aang's voice sends him to his knees, pain rips through his chest and he screams through his teeth, clutching the front of his shirt.

Tears prick at his eyes and he looks up, into the igloo, his home. One foot more and he’s inside, and the pain will go away.

If he does go, will he still be haunted by the look in Aang’s eyes when he realized Sokka sacrificed himself for him?

Doesn’t the kid have enough weight on his shoulders?

Don’t they all?

This time, when Sokka wishes he could close his eyes, he does. “Yue? I can’t… send me back, princess. Please.”

“My brave warrior, all you had to do was ask.”

When Sokka opens his eyes again, the igloo is gone, and the moon is all he can see.

***

They’re on the beach, and the sun went down an hour ago, and the remaining members of Team Avatar haven’t said a thing to each other since the battle. Sokka lays on the sand, and he looks so peaceful Aang can almost pretend he’s asleep.

He never thought he’d miss Sokka’s snoring.

“Are you sure about this?” Toph asks, breaking the silence, hands clenched at her sides.

Aang watches Katara set Sokka’s helmet on his head gently, her shoulders stiff. “We have to move on in the morning, you know that.”

Toph sniffs. “Yeah, I know.”

“Hey Toph?” Aang whispers, his voice still hoarse from fire bending on the cliff. “Can I hold your hand?”

Wind whipping through her hair, Toph looks like she’s going to say no, and then she reaches out and grabs Aang’s hand in both of hers, and presses her body against his side. “Sure, Twinkletoes.”

Katara stands and lifts her arms. Her stance is off, one of her feet too far behind her, her posture twisted and sagged.

“Do you want help?” Aang asks.

“It’s water tribe tradition for families to send off their loved ones.” Aang slumps, and then Katara’s voice switches into some resemblance of familiarity. “I’d love some help.”

Only using one hand so he doesn’t have to pull his other from Toph’s iron grip, Aang exhales slowly, and the two water benders convince the tides to lead Sokka out to sea.

It hits Aang that this is the last time he’s ever going to see his friend.

Something roars inside him. Roku, Kyoshi, any Avatar who’d ever lost a friend, who ever let their family die. It burns like fire and crashes through him like a landslide, swaying him like the wind and drowns him like the ocean that will be his friend’s grave.

Katara takes his hand, and the glowing he hadn’t even noticed fades from his tattoos.

“Don’t let anger be your last memory of him,” Katara pleads, her voice cracks twice.

Toph’s grip on his hand tightens. “This is it?”

Eyes fixed on Sokka’s limp form, bobbing up and down slowly, Aang takes a breath. “This is it.”

Everything goes white.

Is this grief? Aang wonders as the sand makes contact with his knees.

When he found out his people had all died, he was so caught up in so many other things that he only had time to feel the loss for a moment, and it sent him into the Avatar state. Now, with a full day to let the truth sink in before he has to let Sokka go, he can’t help but think that is what losing someone is really like.

“What’s going on?” Toph asks, and her voice is scared.

“There’s a light. Aang, what-”

Before she can finish, before Aang can process that he’s not the only one seeing this, a wave of calm washes over him, like the first time he tried water bending.

“Do not worry, just as you look out for the world, I have been looking out for you.”

“I know that voice,” Katara whispers, he still can’t see her. “Princess Yue.”

“Who?”

Just as soon as it came, the white is gone. Aang squints as his eyes adjust and focus on one thing.

The moon. More brilliant than he’s ever seen.

“Sokka!” Katara shouts, and she’s running, pulling her hand from Aang’s. She stumbles through the shallow water, sloshing forward instead of using her bending.

Aang tugs on Toph, “Come on. Let’s go see what she’s doing.”

He winces at his choice of words, but Toph doesn’t snark back like she usually does. Now is not the time.

Katara splashes around frantically, shoving water back and forth and soaking herself head to toe. “Where is he? The tide isn���t that strong, he should still be here!”

Toph closes her eyes, and after a few seconds, she shakes her head. “He’s not on the ground, as far as I can tell, at least.”

“Where is he?”

Aang feels dizzy. He puts a hand to his head, stumbling back. Toph holds him steady. “Twinkletoes?”

“Something’s happening.”

Katara stops looking for her brother, stepping back so she’s closer to Toph and Aang.

Aang isn’t sure what’s going on, he’s not even sure it’s bad.

His breath evens out.

The ocean explodes.

A boy bursts through the surface, silhouetted by the moon's light. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, or maybe it really is Sokka.

Katara takes a step forward, the water lapping against her hips. “Sokka?”

The boy’s hair is pure white, and even though he was just submerged in water, it doesn’t look wet at all.

“I think it’s a spirit,” Aang says.

“Who is?”

“Aang, it looks like Sokka.”

“Who does?”

“I know, but-”

“Can someone please explain to the blind girl what’s going on?” Toph shouts.

Katara shakes her head, “I’m going to get him. Even if it is a spirit, he looks unconscious.”

“Who does?”

Aang pulls Toph’s hands from his own, guiding her so she can latch on to Katara. “Let me go. Bridge to the spirits, remember?”

He needs to do something before he breaks.

Toph growls. “You guys suck. Sokka always tells me what’s happening.”

“Well he’s not here, is he?” Katara snaps, and then her eyes widen. “Toph, I’m sorry. I’ll- go, Aang. I’ll fill Toph in.”

Aang nods, reaches out to squeeze Katara’s hand, and dives into the ocean.

It doesn’t take him long to get to the boy, who’s still floating upright in the water despite being knocked out. When he finally gets a good look at the boy's face, Aang’s control of the water around him slips, dunking him underwater suddenly. He resurfaces, coughing and gasping.

It really is Sokka.

[mystic-kitten-writer]

Limerence [M] ︳21

Pairing: Zuko x OC

AU: Adult-Verse

Genre: Romance, mainly fluff with future smut, and if you squint hard enough - you’ll find some angst.

Rating: SFW

Words: 5400+

Notes: Fair warning - tomorrow’s chapter is yummy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Masterlist ︳20 ︳ 22 [M]

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

Limerence: (English/n.) the state of being infatuated with another person.

The moment their eyes locked they knew - the flames within him twisted while the water within her turned. It was a connection, a connection that would lead to love, adventure, and drama.

Coup d'etat

(French/n.) A sudden decisive exercise of power in politics.

~ Azula ~

            “You never told me your brother was sleeping with a fine ass bitch like that – the last time I checked, he was with that grump.” Kayto hummed as he flicked his long delicate fingers upwards, a smirk painting his face as he lazily lounged against the wall of the mountainside. The sun was shining radiantly and cast shadows amongst Kayto’s figure, highlighting the faint brown undertones in his black hair. “Did you see the ass on her? And those red pouty lips, mhmm- the things I would do to that little flower. Just bend her over and-”

            “Watch your tongue, boy.” Yakone hissed. The first words he spoke since we’ve met up. I couldn’t help, but grin, entertained at the hostility Yakone showed towards Kayto. It was fascinating how stingy Yakone has become of Zuzu’s girlfriend since he found out that she is his deceased sister’s daughter. Maybe for once in his damn life – he was starting to form a heart.

            Kayto’s eyes widen, taken off guard from the growl that erupted deep in Yakone’s chest, but in a flash, he beamed, “Ahh, you already claimed her? You do know – ‘sharing is caring’ Yakone. I wouldn’t mind sharing a beauty like her.” Kayto chuckled, pushing back his long locks, but Yakone scoffed.

            “That’s my niece; you’re so eager to fuck.”

            Kayto’s body tensed, no longer leaning against the mountainside as he stood up straight, “No offence Yakone – but she’s far too stunning to have any relation to such a brut like yourself.”

            “He’s saying the truth you fool,” I mumbled out, my arms crossed. Kayto frowned, stepping forward, “And when were you going to tell me this? Kind of important information, wouldn’t you think?” I smiled innocently as Yakone crossed his arms and leaned against the rocks, “You have one job boy – make sure your idiot of a brother-in-law doesn’t sign those papers. If they build that damn new Nation, I'll make sure you never see the light of day again.”

            Kayto sighed heavily, not taking Yakone’s threat at all serious, and dramatically patted his head, “I don’t see why it matters. Let them build the damn Nation – it means more money and goods to steal.”

            “You’re an idiot.” Yakone grumbled, but Kayto just snickered, “And why so? There’s really isn’t much reason not to let them play builders.”

            “Do you know what’ll happen if they build that Nation?” Yakone hissed irritably. The way the vein in his head pulsed with impatience as his hands fisted into a tight ball, he was annoyed at the nobleman, and I couldn’t help but watch them entertained. Keeping to the sideline as they argued between each other.

            “You think it’ll be easy to loot? If that Nation is built we’ll be going against not one, but a united force of all the damn Nations. The closer these Nations work together, the harder it is on us.” Yakone growled as he stepped forward, “We need to make sure the Nations don’t work together. Make them fight one another. Ozai was right about one thing – this world is about survival. I’ll kill and destroy anything to make sure I come out on top, and the best way to do that is from the underbelly, but I wouldn’t mind killing that bastard Zuko along the way. I want him dead.”

            Kayto frowned, his hand tightly gripping the front of his shirt as he watched Yakone, wise man to be afraid of Yakone. Yakone was a tyrant – and while I may not show it or ever voice it, even I know my place with him. “You’re a savage Yakone.” Kayto scowled, before turning on his heel, “I’m leaving, I got a meeting with your favourite man – Zuko.”

            “Don’t let your King sign those papers and try not to be such a horn dog, or else,” Yakone warned, waving his fingers tauntingly, showing how easy it would be for him to bend us against our will with a flick of his wrist. Kayto simply shrugged, “I get it. Azula-”

            I nodded my head, watching the way Kayto grinned wickedly, “Any message you want me to relay to your dear brother?” He mused. I laughed, pushing my hair back as I pointed my chin upwards, “Don’t worry. I plan on visiting him. Some brother-sister bonding time, it’s important, after all.” Kayto snickered before leaving. His green robes blended in with the shrubbery around us as if he was taking a pleasant morning stroll.

            I shifted my weight as I gazed at the back of Yakone. He was crouched, looking over the ridge, seemingly interested in watching the rays of the sun twirling along the trees - the water from the two-day rainfall was glistening under the sun. It was odd, how such a cold-hearted being ostensibly enjoyed the view of nature – who would’ve thought he was a nature lover…

            “You want to kill my brother, hmm?” I spoke. Yakone didn’t flinch a bit, still crouched over as he gazed beyond the horizon. “And you wish to kill my niece.” He spoke flatly. I frowned as I kicked the dirt underneath my feet, walking over to him, “Nothing personal, she just happens to be the wick I need to destroy my brother.”

            Yakone scoffed, before straightening out and turning to face me, “And your brother is the target of my plan. It seems like we’ve gotten ourselves in a bit of a stalemate, huh?” I scoffed - the irony. We both seek the same things – yet the outcome we desired was entirely different.

            Yakone wanted Zuko dead while I wanted him alive.

            I wanted Ying Yue dead, while he seeks to protect her – the last living relative of his.

            I let my hand gently wander down his chest as I hummed to myself, “...It would seem so…stalemate.”

~ Ying Yue Jiang ~

            “And then the next thing you know Suki is completely covered in mud!” Toph shouted, tears in my eyes as we laughed hysterically down the halls. Suki flushed in embarrassment as she swung her arms around as if she could somehow deflect the humiliation from her, “GOSH. IT WAS ONE TIME.” Suki cried out frustratingly. I grinned as I bumped my hip against hers, “Not fun being teased, huh?” I snickered.

            Suki rolled her eyes, linking her arms with me as we giggled loudly amongst ourselves. Today was girls night since I cancelled last minute the other day. The whole ‘confessing my feelings to Zuko’ was a lot, and today, I felt comfortable enough to tell the girls the details. And it was also a chance to ask for some more…personal and intimate advice involving me, Zuko, and hopefully, the bedroom. Gosh, since when did I crave physical intimacy like this?

            Toph laughed as she stomped forward, “Well, let’s go to the wine cellar and grab some bottles to bring to the spa.”

            “I didn’t know Zuko offered some wine for us; I have to thank him later,” I spoke with a smile. But Suki snorted, “Uhh, I wouldn’t mention it…since he didn’t really offer…more like we know where he hides the good stuff, and we’re going to borrow some for tonight.” My eyes widen as I looked at Toph and Suki, “We can’t steal wine from the kingdom!” I screeched. Toph shrugged, “I don’t think it’s stealing…we’re bringing back the bottles...”

            “Empty?” I argued.                      

            “Hey, at least we returned most of it, right?”

            I mentally facepalmed, I swear these two drink far more than acceptable. “We just had lunch, isn’t it a bit early to get drunk?” Suki grinned madly, “It’s never to early to drink. Let’s go, Princess; we got some bottles to drink and some gossip to share~!” I couldn’t help but giggle once again, snuggling up into her arm as we skipped along the kingdom. But a broad set of doors and people standing in front caught my attention. “Hey…isn’t that…”

            “They’re already done the meeting?” Suki questioned. Toph stopped walking, “Seems so, I can feel them all leaving the room.” I scanned about, seeing our boys standing in front, yet the looks on their faces seemed far from happy. Aang and Sokka looked defeated, their shoulders’ slumped as they muttered to themselves, noticeably exasperated. But my eyes trailed behind them, Zuko standing with his arms crossed as he listened to whatever they hushed about.

            Although his face remained neutral, I knew better. His clenched jaw and pursed lips; Zuko was pissed. “Let’s go see…” I muttered as we slowly strolled towards them. I knew the boys were having trouble. Zuko came back to bed last night, seemingly as frustrated as he was now. Apparently, the Earth King refused to accept the construction of the new Nation, and that was before they even discussed the funding. Don’t tell me the King refused to sign the papers once again…that would be another day wasted.

            Aang spotted us, his face brightening up, but more importantly, he seemed relieved to see me. “Yue is everything between you and – you know, okay?” Aang whispered as he walked over to me and enveloped me in an embrace, “It’s perfect, tell you about it later?” I whispered back, Aang nodded, “Good, I had a feeling. Zuko’s been smiling all morning – it’s scary.” I snorted as Aang moved along, walking over to greet Suki and Toph.

            Sokka, in an instant, ruffled my hair, “Hey Princess. You guys drunk yet?” I blushed sheepishly as I slapped his chest, of course, he has to ruin my hair.

            “Come on – girls night doesn’t always involve getting drunk.”

            “Pft, tell me one girls night where one of you haven’t gotten completely plastered.” I opened my mouth to argue but to be fair; he had a point. With a huff, I danced away from Sokka, not bothering to hide the fact that I was searching for one man in particular. As my eyes gazed about, they finally fell upon the real reason why I came here.

            “Zuko…”

            I waltzed towards him, my hands delicately falling upon Zuko’s chest, feeling the silk underneath my fingertips. The way his amber coloured eyes shinnied and his shoulders relax sent a smile on my face, his hands cupping my own, “Love…” Zuko muttered as he softly kissed my forehead.

            “Rough meeting?”

            “He won’t sign the fucking papers.” Zuko spat under his breath, making sure that the Earth Nation advisors who were standing outside with us didn’t overhear. I sighed, Zuko seemed stressed, I could feel it in his touch. “What’s stopping him?”

            Zuko huffed painstakingly loud, “That fucking asshole – Kayto. The Earth King seems pleased with the idea, and every time we think we sealed the deal, that asshole whispers into the King’s ear like a little devil on his shoulder. I swear, I’m gonna kill him myself.”

            I sighed, letting my hand gently caress Zuko’s face, trying to soothe him. This was beyond worrying – Zuko needed the Earth King to sign those documents. Sure, Zuko could just build the Nation without his acceptance, but we all knew that would be another thorn between the two Nations. “I’m sorry; I want to help-”

            “No. You stay out of this – I don’t trust that asshole one bit, something about it feels…strange.”

            “But Zuko-”

            “I said no love, be a good girl and listen,” Zuko demanded, cupping my chin tightly and forcing me to look at him. His soft lips barely brushed against mine as I pouted defeatedly, my cheeks glowing at his tone, I’m such a sucker for this man.

            There was just something about his overbearing presence that had me yearning for more, and based on the way Zuko’s hand mischievously trailed along my back, he knew just as well. Every faint touch of his seemed to etch itself into my skin, my body craving more. Without much thought, my fingers found it’s way down Zuko’s broad chest, feeling the way it rose with every breath and the muscles that lurked underneath his robes. “Don’t tease babe; I’m not exactly feeling patient today.” Zuko groaned with bated breath.

            “Maybe that’s the point…” I kittenishly muttered back. Zuko licked his lips slowly, eyes narrowed, as his hand trailed along my lower back, “Babe-” Zuko warned, but I could hear the hint of neediness lingering as he spoke between bitten lips. Gosh, how much I want him to touch me, do something - anything.

            “This is outrageous! How about I talk with the King?” Suki groaned loudly. I jumped.

            So caught up with Zuko, I idiotically forgot that the gang was here, right beside us. “The Kyoshi warriors have served him many times; he’ll probably hear me out.” Suki continued.

            Zuko grinned, watching the way I flushed realizing how out right needy I was being, letting lust take over for a split moment. His grasp loosened, and I found myself turning on my heel and letting my body rest against his. I hope no one noticed-

            “Look at you – I haven’t done a single thing, and you’re all hot and bothered.” Zuko teased lowly into my ear. I didn’t think twice as I anxiously crossed my arms and puffed up, “S-shut up.” I muttered harshly, listening to the gang speak amongst themselves, although nothing stuck with me.

            I could hear Zuko chuckle in my ear, the way his chest hummed in enjoyment as his arms snaked around my waist. Every gesture of his had me quivering – no matter how innocent his gesture was. What’s wrong with me? But I snorted to myself; I knew exactly what was wrong with me – I had an agonizing craving for a particular man named Zuko. And every day was just another tease of what could happen. Of what I could experience – and it seems like I’m reaching my breaking point. Oh, the irony - I was supposedly the patient one, the one with the best self-control in the relationship. Ha, self-control my ass.

            “That’s not the problem; it’s his brother-in-law,” Sokka moaned, seemingly in response to whatever Suki had said earlier. Aang huffed exasperatingly as he crossed his arms, “I don’t get why Kayto hates the thought of a United Nation – it’s the least we could do to prevent another pointless war – no offence Zuko.” I could feel Zuko shrug from behind me, “None taken.”

            Suki sighed, “Sorry guys, I don’t know what I can do to help. The whole voyage here, I was rooting for you.”

            “We could get Princess to just flirt with Kayto; he seemed to like you.” Toph blurted without a care in the world.

            Within seconds my eyes widen, and I could literally hear and feel Zuko revolt in disgust, “Over my fucking body she will.” Zuko hissed furiously. Toph shrugged her shoulders, “Whatever, from the party, it seemed like he had the hots for her. Let the Princess strut her stuff.”

            Toph knew, and I found a cold sweat start, gosh. While I loved Toph’s abilities to Earthbend, sometimes it proved intrusive – could she feel Zuko and me fighting that night? Wait…can she tell that I’m all bothered because of Zuko right now? I could feel my cheeks get all rosy once again as I twiddled with my fingers, I swear she knows more than she lets up.

             “I prefer to build the Nation and cause another pointless war than to let him place a single hand on her.” Zuko huffed possessively, the grip around my waist tighten. His fingers dug into my dress, pulling me so close to his chest I could feel Zuko’s heartbeat on my back, “I’m not telling her to sleep with the guy, I’m saying flirt. Some sweet talk, you know- play politics.” I groaned as I pulled at Zuko’s hands, “You’re hurting me~!” I whined from underneath his grasp, “S-sorry love.” Zuko grumbled shyly as he loosened up his grip. I’m not jealous he says  – pft.

            “Speaking of the devil…” Suki whispered harshly, facing us with wide eyes.

            I would be lying if I said Kayto wasn’t anything but handsome – because he was just that. He could effortlessly be the poster model for the Earth Nation with his glowing tanned skin and emerald eyes. If one didn’t know better, they would easily swoon over him. Kayto had such a way with words, flirting - but no amount of good looks or charming smiles could hide the appalling personality that lurked underneath. He was a playboy, that much I could figure out. The way he coolly flirted with the maids, he could make any woman, or man for that matter, weak in the knees.

            A low growl erupted from Zuko’s chest from spotting Kayto waltz out of the room, a flirtatious smile painting his face as his eyes briefly lined up with mine. “Oh, relax, will you – what are you, a lion?” I grumbled while trying to smile back at Kayto politely – it’s all politics after all. I could hear Zuko click his tongue against his teeth and snarl into my ear, “Do I look like a fucking kitten to you?”

            “Well if I do recall, you were the one letting me play with your hair all morning.” I smugly retorted. Toph snorted, “She got you there your highness.”

            “If you wanna play like that, don’t forget that lions pounce on their prey – devours them whole.” I gasped and keenly bit my lip feeling Zuko’s teeth against my ear. The jolt of pleasure that ran up my spine caught me off guard, I can’t believe he’s seriously doing this right now- “Z-Zuko-” I gasped, and I could feel the growing smirk on his lips, “How about I show you how well I can eat you up.”

            “Zu-Zuko. N-not now…” I tried my hardest to whimper out, my hands tightly holding his, fighting back the moan that desperately wanted to bubble out.

            “Funny, you seemed quite eager just a few moments ago, babe.”

            “I-It’s girls night.” I blubbered, his teasing nibbles along my neck, coaxing me into wanting to forget about girls night altogether and spend the rest of the day with Zuko. But as the words slipped out of my mouth, within a flash, Zuko pulled away – did I say something wrong?

            “I swear I’ll lock you all up in jail if you steal wine from the fucking cellar again.” Zuko snickered, doing a complete 180. My eyes widen, and I could feel my wrist being pulled, Suki tugged me away from Zuko, “Sorry, what was that? Take as many bottles as we want? Awe, you’re the best!” Suki giggled.

            Within a flash, Toph sprinted away with Suki hauling me along. I looked over my shoulder, Zuko bearing the biggest grin of his face as we dashed. But I could feel my heart flutter realizing what he mouthed to me as I dashed down the corridors, ‘I love you.’

             I giggled, time for some sweet-sweet revenge for all of that damn teasing.

            “LOVE YOU TOO, ZUZU~!” I shouted.

            Zuko’s cheeks flushed red as Sokka and Aang looked at him with bug eyes. Despite the growing distance, I could hear all the commotion Aang and Sokka were causing, “You said it - You finally told her?!”

            “You love my innocent little sister!?” Sokka shouted.

            I knew Zuko was going to kick my ass tonight when we went to bed, but seeing the way he blushed was totally worth it – I really do love you.

              “We have six bottles – isn’t that just a tiny bit, overboard?” I questioned timidly as I watched Suki and Toph carry them tightly to their chests. The grins on their faces told me otherwise, “Overboard? Oh please, wait till you come to the Earth Nation – then we’ll show you a mighty fine time.” Toph snickered. I gulped loudly as I pushed two bottles of wine against my chest, suddenly the thought of visiting them in the Earth Nation seems both enthralling and damaging to my liver.

            Maids and guards observed us with faces of delight, watching us carry these bottles of alcohol to the spa area. The sunlight seeped through the windows, a nice change from the terrible rain storms we have gotten over the past days. It would be nice if Zuko and I could go for a nighttime stroll…or maybe go to the hot springs together – to relax…

            “What the- what happened?” Toph shouted.

            Suki and I stopped dead in our tracks, hearing the absolute terror in Toph’s voice. We sharply turned around to look over at Toph, her mouth almost hit the floor as she clenched at the bottles so tightly, her fingers were turning white, “W-what are you-”

            “The Waterfall. I-It’s gone. What happened?”

            Damnit.

            Toph’s brows were furrowed together as her feet were firmly planted on the ground, I turned my head to the side, and sure enough – we were right in front of the gardens. “Does this have something to do with your scar - why you lied about it the other day?” Toph groused. Suki turned to face me, her eyes wide, “What? Why would you lie about a scar- the waterfall, why didn’t you or Zuko-”

            “We didn’t want to worry you guys. Zuko did an investigation, and it was just an accident.”

            “An accident? Bullshit. I’m an Earthbender Yue – I can tell you’re lying.”

            “I’m not lying.” I huffed anxiously, and for the first time, I spoke my true feelings revolving that fateful day. “I’m telling you the truth - what I know…but…I don’t believe what Zuko told me. He didn’t seem so sure about it himself. I would’ve annoyed him, but I was too hurt to bother and-”

            “Too hurt? What in the world happened!?” Shrieked Suki. I opened my mouth and closed it, great - this was not how I expected girls night to go. “Does Sokka and Aang know? They have to know, why didn’t you guys say something-” Suki cried, I pouted as I anxiously bit my lip. Why did I have to be the person to tell them? Ughhh – my damn luck!

            “Let me explain, from the start,” I muttered. Without realizing, I found myself guiding them towards the wreckage.

            Zuko didn’t bother tidying up the zone, merely bordering it off from the gardens. It’s not like he had time to fix it, between my party and the Earth King’s arrival, this was the least of his worries. It was eerie, despite the sun beaming radiantly and the blooming flowers surrounding us, seeing the waterfall in nothing but piles of stone with some flowing water felt wrong. Just days ago Kiyi and I were feeding the turtle ducks together, just moments ago I was under those piles of rocks trying to save innocent children.

            “Were any of the kids hurt?” Suki questioned, a giant frown on her face as she gazed aimlessly at the debris. The look of pure shock in her eyes as she observed the destruction, I couldn’t blame her one bit. It looked terrible, just a giant pile of mess. I shook my head as I anxiously gripped the bottles tighter to my chest, “N-no but Zuko did an investigation, and the guards said it was nothing more than-”

            “A natural erosion of the rocks – leading to a landslide.” Toph finished.

            Suki and I sharply turned to her. The whole time Toph was silent, not one snarky or sarcastic remark escaped her. Letting the bottles lay on the grass, she hunched over, her hands firmly placed against the ground. Her fingers dug into the ground, concentrating intensely as if she was feeling or searching for something. “That’s what they wanted to make it seem like – an accident.”

            “What do you mean by them, Toph.” Suki interrogated. I could feel my gut drop; she can’t possibly be hinting at what I think she is. “It wasn’t an accident. Someone tried to hurt, or worse, kill you, Yue. Or you were at least a target. It would make the most sense.”

            “Toph. That’s a big accusation you’re saying.” Suki spoke - her tone low, trying to be cautious. It was terrifying to see Suki sober and Toph speaking calmly. Kill me? Please be a foolish joke. “I-I, don’t understand.” I whimpered, looking at the rocks, was it true? Did I actually see someone that day at the top of the waterfall? Was it really a person and not just a figure of my imagination. Oh my gosh-

            “I can feel it; they built tiny pockets of space in the foundation of the waterfall. Whoever did this, they hired some Earthbenders – skilled ones at that. Anyone could stand at the top of the falls, and with a little kick, cause it to all come crumbling down, destroying almost all evidence with it…” Toph muttered, before standing up straight and wiping her dirty hands against her shirt. “Who else knew?” Toph asked.

            “Knew what?” I gasped out. My chest felt tight as if I couldn’t get in enough air into my lungs.

            “About you guys feeding the turtle ducks at the waterfall.”

            “N-no one. It was an idea Kiyi told me, and I asked Zuko if it was okay, and he said sure, and Lia put the food down for us during my ceremony.” Toph hissed as she stomped her feet against the dirt, “No. That’s not right. Someone else would've had to know. Yue, this was an inside job. Someone in the kingdom is a rat.” I took another deep breath, gazing at the rocks. I could feel the blood rushing to my head as I tried to let their assumptions sink in.

            This was insane.

            This can’t be true; I knew a few people were upset by the rumours that I was a Waterbender, but to think they would kill me over it? That’s crazy. “But why. Why target Yue? It hasn’t even been a full month since she’s been living here- the people love her! Did you forget about the articles petitioning for Zuko to marry Yue soon?” Suki argued.

            “I don’t know… we’re missing something. But what…” Toph muttered to herself as she moved her feet against the ground. “We need to tell Zuko. We need to increase security-”

            “No.” Toph sternly spoke. Suki frowned, “Why not? There may be a killer on the loose, and clearly they have no moral boundaries if they’re willing to kill children.”

            “If we tighten security, then they know that we know. We need to act natural. Resume our day as if we discovered nothing. We’ll tell Zuko, but that’s it. From now on, we keep a lookout for anything out of the norm.”

            “And the Earth King?” Suki pestered. Toph shrugged, “He’s fine. This is a personal attack. Whoever planned this seems most interested in our Princess…”

            “Hey… you okay?” Suki spoke softly, turning to me. It was then I realized I hadn’t uttered a word. I felt cold, my hands shaking. Someone wanted to kill me – how the hell am I supposed to react to that? But I found myself going back to one single thought over and over again - if they were willing to hurt Kiyi or Zuko to get to me…does that mean…

            “Toph. Be honest with me.” I spoke quietly.

            Toph frowned, waiting for my question, “Am I a danger to Zuko? If I stay, will Zuko get hurt because of me?” I could see Suki look at Toph, worry painting her face, anticipating for the answer. With a giant sigh, Toph crossed her arms, “Zuko is smart and skillful – you’ll be stupid to underestimate him. He’s a king for a reason, and from now on, I advise you stick to him.”

            “But is there a chance that he’ll get hurt.” I pressed on. Toph huffed once more as she impatiently tapped her foot, “It doesn’t matter whether or not he may or may not get hurt. Because whether or not he’s willing to risk his life for you isn’t something you can decide for him, it’s his choice – his life. Would you be willing to risk your life for him?”

            “Of course-”

            “Then you answered your damn question. You guys love each other, right? That’s what you screamed out to him before we left - right?” I huffed, my fingers digging into the labels wrapped around these bottles, “Yeah…I-I love him.”

            “And the moment you screamed that his heart went bonkers. So stop asking stupid questions, that man is crazy about you. We’ll talk to him about this ‘murder on the loose’ stuff tomorrow; we have a girls night to celebrate.”

            “You really think we can wait to talk with the boys till tomorrow…?” Suki asked, anxiously looking back and forth between what was left of the waterfall and us. Toph just sighed, leaning over to grab the bottles that she laid on the ground, “We survived this long haven’t we? If whoever really wanted to do something, they would’ve done it already. Clearly, they’re waiting for something, so let’s act natural and just go on with our day. It'd be more obvious if we made a fuss about it.”

            Suki sighed, taking in a deep breath before letting her shoulders relax. And just like that, a huge smile painted her face, “Let’s go have some fun.” It was my turn to pout as I sullenly huffed to myself, trying hard to breathe and not let my emotions run rampant. “You expect girls night to resume like normal? As if there isn’t someone trying to kill or hurt me?” I hissed out furiously.

            Toph shrugged, walking over to me, and it was then I noticed, one of the bottles was uncorked. “Nope, that’s why we start drinking now. Take a swing Princess, because today is going to be our last before murder-mystery-game-night starts.” I let out a shaky breath; this is absolutely insane. But despite my survival instincts screaming at me to run to Zuko now and hide for my dear life, I found myself dropping my bottles and grabbing Toph’s.

            One giant bitter tasting swing and a silent curse, I pushed the bottle back to Toph, “Let’s have a girls night.” I hiccupped, feeling a faint burn run down my throat after chugging a good bit down, certainly not how wine is intended to be drunken may I add. But before Toph could put the cork back into the bottle, Suki quickly reached over, and took a giant swing of her own, “I really needed that.” Suki sighed, and Toph snickered, also stealing a massive swing.

            Toph lazily wiped her mouth with her sleeve, before light-heartedly swinging the bottle side to side, “See, one bottle down, five more to go. Easy stuff.”

            “Toph…” I mumbled, “What’s up, Princess?”

            “…six bottles doesn’t seem like enough.” Suki and Toph laughed, wrapping a free arm around my waist, squishing me in between them. “You’re safe with us. Zuko will throw a temper tantrum should anything happen to you.”

            “Thanks, guys…”      

            “That’s what sisters are for.” Suki gushed, and surprisingly enough, Toph grunted in agreeance, “Now let’s start talking about why you and Zuko haven’t done the damn deed yet. What are you guys waiting for? Are you trying to be the next ‘Katara and Aang’ and wait for years?”

            Toph groaned loudly, “Don’t get me started; you don’t even want to know what these two nasties were doing earlier.” I blushed furiously while Suki gasped, “This is it! Operation ‘get Princess laid’ is officially in the works!”

            I sighed.

            I should’ve left with Zuko when I had the chance.

Copyright © 2019 Mystic-Kitten, inc. all rights reserved. No reposting, modifying, or translations of any kind allowed. Thank you for your cooperation. 

Disclaimer: I do not own any Avatar characters portrayed in this story besides Ying Yue Jiang, Lia, Kima, and any future creations.

❤ Buy me a coffee? ❤

[akaiikowrites]

to build a home pt 3

Summary: “I’m just… Fucking… Look, my heart burns for you.” Katara’s the most terrifying girl in the world. Zuko’s kind of in love with her.

Notes: It took almost ten months but we're back at it again with more High School AU. Light on the "high school" in this chapter. But for a good cause? There's going to be one more chapter after this, so we're in the home (ahahahaha bad puns) stretch. Thank you again for all the kind feedback on my trash.

Rating: PG-13/T for cussing, sexual(ish) content, and pure old fashioned Wisconsin cheese.

Part: One and Two

Uncle doesn’t complain that he spends a lot of their remaining vacation taking pictures and texting. Actually, once Uncle catches on that it’s Katara on the other end, he makes a game out of finding things for Zuko to tell Katara about. It’s both obnoxious and endearing. Because he feels generous, Zuko decides it’s more endearing than obnoxious, and humors his Uncle.

(It helps that Uncle found the weird statue of a crab in hula gear that had Katara laughing so hard that Sokka was able to steal her phone and get a picture of her mid-cackle.)

But their last night in Ember Cove, Zuko leaves the phone in their room and goes out onto the porch. It’s not that he doesn’t want to talk to Katara it’s just that he’s realized soon they’re going to have to actually talk about things that matter again instead of whatever dumb thing they just snapped a picture of. Uncle is out on the porch with a cup of tea. When Zuko takes a seat on the porch steps, Uncle says, “It is a beautiful night. Very peaceful.”

With a sigh, Zuko lets his head thump back against the railing and wonders how he’s supposed to explain any of this. Part of him had hoped Uncle would pry. Instead, it seems that his Uncle is feeling philosophical enough to let Zuko come to him. Fuck.

It takes almost a half hour for Zuko to figure out what he needs to say. During that time Uncle finishes his first cup of tea in slow, deliberate sips. Then rises and disappears back into their rented cabin to make himself another cup. Zuko finds the exact words as Uncle emerges back into the humid night and takes a seat in the well-worn rocking chair he favors. There’s a creak from the chair and a satisfied hum from Uncle as he takes the first sip of his fresh cup. Zuko breathes in deep and says:

“Katara knows about Mom. I didn’t tell her but she knew. That’s why she became my friend. Because she felt bad for me and wanted to fix me. Help me. I don’t know.” The old frustration surges up. Fresh and raw as it had been the first time. He can feel his hands curling into fists but he doesn’t try to stop it. Just lets the feeling rush through him because he needs to do this. Bleed the poison out of this wound. He just doesn’t want to hurt her again. “That’s why I didn’t talk to her. Because it’s fucked up. Making someone your friend so you can fix them. But she called. Christmas morning. Told me that her mom died and she blames herself and that’s why she does it. Fixes people. Helps them. Whatever it is she does. I don’t want to be a fucking project to her but she needs me and I don’t know how to forgive her but I can’t—”

There are no more words and he’s honestly amazed he made it this far. It feels like the inside of his mouth has been all cut up with razor blades, like he needs to punch something to focus the pain, like he’s exactly the kind of wounded creature who needs a beautiful girl to save him. Zuko knows his eyes are pleading as he looks at his Uncle.

“Katara is?” Uncle says. Philosophically.

Zuko launches to his feet and begins to pace across the width of the porch. “I don’t know. Katara’s…Katara.” Pacing isn’t helping but he knows he can’t vent his anger by hitting something. So he growls, and tangles his fingers in his hair, and clenches his eyes shut. “Katara is someone gentle, and smart, and fierce. She sees all the worst things about life and then decides she can somehow change it. She takes in people because they need it, not because they deserve it. She stays kind even though nothing else is kind. She demands a better world.” Without meaning to his feet come to a stop. He opens his eyes. His hands slide from his hair to fall to his sides. “She makes me want to demand a better world.”

Out here the light is pretty shitty. Reliant on the small lamps that light the pathways between cabins and the heavy moon above them. But Zuko’s pretty sure he’s not imagining the faint gleam to Uncle’s eyes. Or the hoarse edge as he says, “Then the question is, nephew, if your pride is worth more than all that Katara is.”

No. It’s not.

Zuko Himura 11:48PM we need to talk when i get back

Katara Foster 11:49PM i know

It takes them all day to get back to Republic City. They nearly die once because Uncle sees a tea shop and whips their car across five lanes of traffic to get at it. When they pull into the driveway there’s a good six inches of fresh snow that’ll need to be cleared tomorrow. Zuko goes straight upstairs because a week and a half solid of socializing with Uncle is exhausting. (It’s good, too, in a way that he can’t articulate.) After kicking the door shut and dropping his bags, he collapses face first onto his bed, ready to take the world’s longest nap.

The world’s longest nap is only about three hours long.

Zuko wakes up blearily to the faint whine of the tea kettle. It stops but he’s awake, now, so he half rolls onto his side. For a while he just lays there. Cocooned in the warm dark, looking out the window, at fresh snow that swirls backlit against streetlights. Somehow the room feels safe, and cozy, and less like a place he just goes to fall asleep or do homework. The therapist would call that progress if he still went to them every Tuesday.

Falling snow reminds him of Katara. Of that day when they went to the coffee shop. With a groan that sounds more like a growl he rolls onto his back and puts an arm behind his head. The hand resting on his stomach taps out a rhythm.

Even a month later his body remembers her—warm and small and laughing—cuddled against him. It had seemed like too much to handle at the time. What kind of loser jerks off to the memory of giving a girl a piggy back ride? But now he wonders what would’ve happened if he’d pulled her into an alley that day and kissed her. Maybe everything would’ve been different if he’d been braver. Probably not.

Reaching into the front pocket of his jeans, he fishes out his phone and turns it on. Light flares brilliant and white and makes him squint. It’s almost eight. He ignores the next texts from Sokka, the Ultimate Frisbee group chat, and an unknown number to pull up Katara’s conversation.

Katara Foster 2:49PM text me when you get home k?

Feeling a little like a jerk, he taps in, got home a couple hours ago but needed a nap. Then he erases that and sends home instead. That makes him feel more like a jerk but he’s barely had time to feel the full weight of his jerkish behavior when the three little dots that signal an incoming response pop up.

Katara Foster 7:53PM good

Katara Foster 7:54PM are you like super tired?

Even with the nap he feels kind of worn at the edges. But he dutifully says not really why? She reads the message immediately but it takes a full six minutes for her to reply. Zuko imagines it might be because Sokka started doing something obnoxious or GranGran needed help with something. That doesn’t help the nerves. Especially when the three dots pop up and just. Stay there. Taunting him.

Katara Foster 8:02PM meet me at the coffee shop

Katara Foster 8:02PM please

Of course she’s beaten him there. She’s hunched over a steaming cup of coffee that’s cradled in her hands. When the bell above the doorway goes off she looks up, instinctively but not hopefully, like she’s already done this a few times. Except this time it’s actually him. Or at least he assumes that’s why her entire face lights up and she straightens her shoulders and the coffee cup is left forgotten on the table. Zuko barely has time to brace himself and open his arms before she’s in them, face pressed tight into his chest, fingers digging deep into his leather jacket.

“Hey,” he says. It feels like the air’s been knocked out of his lungs and it’s not just because she slammed into him. One arm’s curled around her waist reflexively but he tries to smooth the other over the back of her skull because he’s fairly certain she’s shaking. “Hey, are you okay?”

Katara pulls back very carefully but stays in his arms. It’s okay. Now that he’s touching her, he’s not sure he could let her go, even with everyone in the coffee shop eyeing them. He can’t remember if she’s always felt this delicate or if maybe he only thinks she feels that way because he knows she’s not invincible now. Zuko wants to pull her closer and wrap her up in his jacket. Keep her safe for once.

“I’m okay, I’m just so glad you’re here,” she says. There’s a very soft lilt to her voice that makes him think she’s holding back tears.

Not thinking about the consequences, he leans down and presses a soft kiss to her forehead, lets himself stay there for a moment as he breathes in the scent of her. He pulls back. Katara’s got her eyes closed. The lines of her face are still and easy in a way they hadn’t been before and he realizes suddenly how tense she’d actually been. Slowly, like someone coming up from a deep dive, she opens her eyes.

“I’m here,” he says. Their eyes lock. It occurs to him that she is steel and glass layered together so firmly that he’s not sure if he’s glimpsing the vulnerability beneath her strength or the courage beneath her fragility. “I’m here,” he promises.

Somehow they manage to completely avoid talking about it.

At first, in those hazy moments in the coffee shop in the hour before closing, Zuko thinks maybe it’s because they’re still too raw. Or because the coffee shop is too public. Or even because they’re too enamored of being around each other again, their knees bumping under the table, her hand eventually settling on his bare forearm like an anchor.

But the last three days of winter break go by and they’re around each other constantly. They have the opportunity. It’s just that they don’t want to, maybe. So it’s like:

One day, they’re sledding in the park with everyone from the Foster’s neighborhood, including one boy with a shaved head who watches Zuko with intense suspicion. Another day, they’re walking through the mall with Sokka and Suki, playing with the Christmas decorations that haven’t been stripped down yet. That last day, they’re going to the indoor pool at the local YMCA so Katara can do some back to school thing for underprivileged elementary students, and Zuko can’t even remember how he got dragged into this when he hates the pool but it’s worth it for the way Katara smiles at him over the heads of thirteen shrieking eight year olds.

After the YMCA, Katara offers to drive him home but Zuko says he’ll walk. It’s only a mile and a half. It’s not even snowing now. What he doesn’t say is he needs time to think because it finally occurred to him as she ruffled her towel over his chlorine damp hair that she’s waiting on him.

Walking is a bad idea. He wakes up the next morning with a sore throat, a stuffy nose, and the kind of vague headache that feels like being underwater. Uncle takes one look at him and says to text Katara for the homework.

The door to his bedroom creaks open. Uncle left him alone after lunch to nap. He’s not sure if he actually slept. It feels like maybe he has.

“No more tea,” he groans. Uncle force fed him an entire pot, he’s pretty sure, and his throat feels better but if he never has to drink another cup it’ll be too soon.

Someone laughs and says, “You sound terrible.” Dread, or mucus, clogs his airways as he turns over to face the doorway. Hazy winter sunlight softens her edges. Zuko watches, feeling bemused and enchanted, as she pushes up the sleeves of her loose cable knit sweater to her elbows and puts her hands on her hips. Purposeful. Amused. Fond. Home improvement stores don’t have paint that can match the blue of her eyes. Zuko can’t breathe and he’s pretty sure it’s not just because he’s needed to blow his nose for the last nine minutes. “You look terrible.”

“You’re awful,” he says. Rolling away from her, he fishes around in the covers for his little packet of Kleenex. Nothing immediately meets his fingers. So he tries to sniffle without it being loud just to get the worst of the snot controlled. Which of course means it seems to echo off every available surface.

Another laugh, muffled this time. “Wait, I need a picture for Sokka.” Floorboards creak beneath her weight and he hears a heavy bag dropping to the floor. The bed dips beneath her as she puts a knee on the edge.

“No,” Zuko says. With great feeling.

“Aw, c’mon,” she says. One day he’s going to figure out how she can sound teasing and worried at the same time. Leaning over him, she grabs the packet of Kleenex and puts it into his hand. “A picture for me then?”

“No,” he says. With even greater feeling.

Katara’s lower lip juts out just a bit. If she’s trying for a convincing pout then she’s failing because he knows what he genuine pouts look like. They involve a slight crinkle at the corners of her eyes, like she’s trying not to cry. It’s a manipulative pout and he’s on to her. “But…” she says. “I need it.”

“Why?”

One of her shoulders lifts in a shrug. “To prove a point. Mostly to Song and Jin. This would prove that you are not handsome and brooding at all times.” Arguably, he’s not handsome at any times. He can’t say much about the brooding. Why Katara would care about any of this in the first place he can’t imagine. “None of the girls at school would think you were some mysterious bad boy if they could see you with a runny nose.”

Since he clearly has no fucking dignity left as she looms over him and confirms that he looks exactly as pathetic as he feels, and that she plans on letting everyone relevant in his age group know as much, he makes deliberate eye contact and blows his nose in a fresh Kleenex. Being herself, Katara maintains eye contact, and then once he’s done goes, “Feel better?” It’s a challenge. Like he’s ridiculously gross and she knows they’re both acknowledging that fact. But also like she wants him to know she saw that petty display of pissiness and she’s above it. Zuko could tell her she doesn’t have to bother. Everyone already knows she’s the most terrifying girl in school. Reaching toward his nightstand, she grabs an entire box of Kleenex, probably one that Uncle left during one of Zuko’s many naps. Handing it to him, she says, “I think you need these.”

“I might hate you,” he says, batting the box away so it thumps onto the floor.

There’s a flicker behind her expression. Fleeting helplessness writ large in the way her eyebrows nudge toward one another and her teeth catch her lower lip. Gone before most people would really catch it. But he caught it and now he’s reminded that she’s not the most terrifying girl in school when it comes to him.

Feeling like a jerk, again, he reaches out and wraps a hand around her wrist. It’s cool to the touch because of his fever. Rubbing a thumb over the soft skin of her inner arm, he says, “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Don’t be,” she says. “I shouldn’t have pushed. You don’t…” It kills him a little, how she pauses, her eyes settled on some loose thread in his comforter. Even though he knows she won’t say it he knows what she’s thinking. You don’t let yourself be vulnerable. Disappointment clings to those unspoken words. Because Katara’s waiting on him. After giving him all the rawest parts of herself on a silver platter. Katara’s waiting on him. Or maybe not, because her eyes are shuttered and her smile now is strained, and she’s saying, “I’m sorry,” like it’s an absolution.

Panic claws at him and he fumbles for explanations. Zuko’s never been good with words and sick muddled as he is they refuse to come at all. In his mind there are the memories—of being sick after his mother left and burning his hand on the stove while he made chicken noodle soup because his father would not feed him if he was weak and he hadn’t eaten for two days—that he needs to share with her so she’ll understand but he can’t figure out how and she’s standing up with that same strained smile as she murmurs goodbyes about letting him rest.

If he lets her go now, he thinks, there will never be another chance.

Zuko uses his grip on her wrist to tug her hand to his face. Most of the skin of his scar is dead, nothing to feel there but pressure and the occasional pain that comes with sudden weather front, but he swears he can feel the rasp of her fingertips as they settle over the ruined skin. Katara doesn’t look like she’s breathing. “Stay.”

Now she sucks in a shaky breath. Her free arm wraps around her own waist like she’s trying to hold herself together. “Why?” she asks. “You haven’t forgiven me. You haven’t even asked if I still—”

Focusing on her glassy eyes, he says, “It doesn’t matter.”

Katara lets out a choked sound and pulls her hand free of his grasp. Wraps her other arm around herself. “The hell it doesn’t,” she says.

Later, he thinks he’ll try to figure out how things went this bad this fast. How they got from gentle teasing to restrained tears. How they even managed to reach this point in the first place instead of exploding or fizzling out so much earlier.

But this, at least, he has words for. Zuko’s voice is hoarse and awful and steady and he tries to gentle it for her but he has to say it, whether she wants it or not, because he can’t lose her like this. “I realized I’m going to choose you being in my life because I can’t imagine not choosing you.” In the hazy winter sunlight, she’s still soft at the edges and so beautiful it aches, and he’s willing to beg. “Please,” he whispers, “Stay.”

Tears build like a flash flood in her eyes and go spilling down her cheeks. One of her knees bumps his ribs as she scrambles onto the bed and tumbles into him. Ignoring that he’s sick and gross and wearing a sweat stained tee she crawls under the covers and presses against him full length. All their limbs are tangled up together. It feels natural to wrap his arms around her and pull her closer. Anchor her into him so that maybe the world will stop tilting wildly on its axis or maybe that’s just his inner eardrums protesting. But when she touches his scar again it’s achingly gentle and she’s saying “I’m here, I’m here, I’m here.”

[shadow-wasser]

WIP Fic Whenever: Atlamorphs 3

WIP Fic Friday Whenever is a place where I will put a ‘quick and dirty’ first draft of either a short story or a chapter from a longer story. This will hopefully encourage me to improve my writing output. An Animorphs/Avatar: the Last Airbender Crossover. Yes it’s strange.

This Isn’t Fun

(Tell me. What is this… Avatar?)

“A being of great power. One with control over all the elements. The humans believe that he or she is a kind of god incarnate.”

(And yet this Avatar is a human?)

“Yes, but extremely powerful. The current one destroyed almost the entire Fire Nation naval fleet, which, though exceptionally primitive, was the most powerful one on this planet.”

(I want him alive.)

“Yes, Visser.”

-------------------------------

My name is Aang, and believe it or not, I used to be a normal kid. I went to lessons and played airball with my friends and flew on my bison. All I ever worried about was whether it was going to rain and spoil the day’s flying or not.

That was like a lifetime ago.

That was a lifetime ago. Even more than that.

You see, I’m the Avatar. Usually the monks would have waited until I was sixteen to tell me, but I guess they must have been worried about the Fire Nation, because they told me early. Everything changed, then. Everyone treated me differently. I couldn’t play with my friends anymore, and they thought my mentor, Monk Gyatso, was being too easy on me. They were going to separate us, and I… I couldn’t handle it. I was upset, so I ran away. It was the last time I ever saw the other airbenders.

I got trapped in an iceberg, and slept in there for a hundred years. And meanwhile, this horrible war started. I need to stop it.

But before I can face down the Fire Lord, I need to learn all four elements. I have air down pretty well, and I’m learning water. Earth is next, and I’m going to learn it from my old (really old) friend, Bumi. An Earth Kingdom general named Fong was going to escort us to Omashu safely.

We’d been flying southeast for several days, when Sokka suddenly yelled; “There it is!”

Appa rounded the mountain top, and Fong’s fort came into view. We were pretty far into the Fire Nation territories at the time, and seeing Earth Kingdom colors was a real relief.

The fort was round, with walls coming from four sides and a big tower in the middle. I guided Appa to the roof of the tower, where I could see some people waiting, including a man with a huge beard.

I got off Appa along with Katara and Sokka, grimacing. I’d been sitting in the saddle for ages, and my backside was really sore. I was so preoccupied with my discomfort that I almost missed what the man with the huge beard was saying.

“Welcome, Avatar Aang! I am General Fong.” The general bowed deeply. “And welcome to all of you, great heroes! Appa! Momo! Brave Sokka! The mighty Katara!”

“Mighty Katara?” mused Katara. “I like that.”

Well, it looked like our reputation preceded us. I gave the general a grin, and heard whistling and booms from behind us. Earthbenders were lighting fireworks that burst in the air, making a spectacular show. I was amazed that they’d made such an effort, just for us.

“Not bad, not bad!” remarked Sokka.

“Now, if you’re ready, we can get down to business,” said the General.

“Business?” asked Sokka. “You mean going to Omashu, right?”

“Of course, of course,” smiled the General. “Omashu will be waiting for you! But first, I would be honored if you would have a look at our underground fortifications.”

Fortifications? “Um, I really don’t know much about-”

“Ah,” he interrupted. “But I’m sure you’ll find them quite interesting.”

I looked at Sokka and Katara. They looked as confused as I did. “Well… I guess we could have a look.”

General Fong smiled. “Excellent! Please, follow me.”

We went with General Fong down a long, spiraling staircase, past one floor after the other. Behind us came Fong’s soldiers, walking in perfectly straight rows without speaking.

We eventually came to a stone door, which General Fong grabbed and slid smoothly to the side. Behind the stone was a short passage and another door, a metal one. This was a little strange, since earthbenders can’t bend metal, and they usually like to build with what they can bend. Which makes sense- after all, why do more work than you have to?

General Fong waited for all the soldiers to file inside the space between the two doors. One of the soldiers slid the door closed behind us.

Even then, I wasn’t at all scared. I assumed they were just being cautious. Military people are like that, sometimes.

The light was dim, only coming from the glowing crystals set into the ceiling. General Fong smiled. “Do not be alarmed at what you are about to see, Avatar,” he said. “It is a revolutionary new concept, one that will advance the security of the Earth Kingdom like no other.”

“Okay,” I replied, slightly confused.

He pressed his hand to a metal plate, and the door opened.

That was when I started to worry.

Inside the door was a small, raised pool of some kind of liquid. It was not water, definitely not. It was dark and sludgy and seething. A pit settled in my stomach. Something was wrong.

“Please step in, Avatar Aang,” said General Fong, every word seeped with respect and graciousness.

“General Fong? I don’t understand. What is this?”

“It is a Yeerk pool.”

At this point, the alarms ringing in my head became deafening.

I heard Sokka swallow a yelp, and Katara gasped.

“A Yeerk-!”

“Let me explain. The Yeerks are our allies from another world.” General Fong’s voice was gentle, like one of the Monks at the temple explaining the rules to a stubborn student. “They have given us the technology and know-how to win this war, once and for all. They will help us, and we will finally defeat the Fire Nation. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Maybe I should back up a bit here. You see, just a few days earlier, we had found a strange creature in a big, metal, flying machine, and he had warned us about this. Not about General Fong specifically, but about Yeerks. He told us that they were creatures from another world, and they were coming to take over our bodies and use us as slaves.

His name was Elfangor, and to help us, he gave us a power, to turn into any animal we touched. He called it ‘morphing.’ We… haven’t used it much. Sokka thought it was too dangerous, because if you stay as an animal for more than two hours, you get stuck that way. So, we agreed not to do it anymore.

Anyway, after Elfangor gave us the power, we had to leave. I don’t know what happened to him after that.

I was backing away from General Fong, my head spinning. This couldn’t be happening. Wasn’t General Fong supposed to help us?

But as we backed away, we hit the wall of soldiers behind us. One put a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him. He did not return my gaze.

“So what do they want?” spoke up Sokka. “In return for helping us? What’s the catch?”

“Just a small thing,” said General Fong, still calm, still smiling. “Their own bodies are very weak. They need to share ours, or they won’t be able to do anything. If you allow them, they will be able to end the war for us. And we don’t have to do anything!”

“No,” I said.

General Fong’s smile faltered. “No? But why not? Don’t you want to win the war? Don’t you want peace? I thought we were allies, Avatar Aang.”

“Not like this. This isn’t right.” I felt my stomach clench. These Yeerks… they had gotten to General Fong, somehow. Elfangor had warned us about this, too. The Yeerks could posses people and turn them into what he called ‘controllers.’ General Fong could be a controller.

“Are you certain I cannot change your mind?” General Fong continued. “Katara? Sokka? Surely you want to defeat the Fire Nation?”

“Not if it means giving up our freedom,” stated Katara, standing straighter. “And not if it means making pacts with evil spirits.”

General Fong sighed. “It’s a pity you feel that way. Take them.”

Two strong arms wrapped around me, and bodily lifted me up. My eyes went wide. They were manhandling me!

The soldier grabbing me began walking toward the pool, so I inhaled a deep lungful of the stagnant air and blew down, hard. The soldier and I rocketed upwards, and I curled down to brace for the impact. The soldier was taller, so he hit the ceiling first, cushioning me. As his grip weakened, I slipped out, bending the air beneath my feet to float down to the floor.

Back on the ground, Sokka and Katara were having a harder time of it. Katara was struggling, but couldn’t get her hands free to open her waterskin, and Sokka was trying to fend off a soldier with only his boomerang. I moved to help them, but two more soldiers rushed me.

They were wielding swords, so I slipped around them, then answered them with a blast of air that sent them reeling.

“Don’t kill him!” General Fong was shouting. “Don’t kill him don’t kill him!”

The soldiers swiped at my feet, and I quickly flipped out of their way, looking around desperately for a way out. I’d left my staff with Appa, so my airbending was limited, and there wasn’t any water!

Wait.

Once, Katara had bent perfume by manipulating the water in it. If that black stuff was partly water…

I reached out to the pool with my bending, and grabbed it. My feet shifted into a waterbending position and I let loose with a graceful water whip that –

“Stop!”

The soldiers immediately fell back, though I noticed they were still guarding Katara and Sokka. I frowned. What was going on?

Then I noticed. They were all staring at the ‘water’ that I held suspended in the air. I looked at it too. It was smooth and black, like liquid obsidian. And then, as I watched, something dropped out of it with a soft plop. It looked like a large slug.

It was a Yeerk.

I looked at General Fong, aghast. He looked terrified.

“Step on it, Aang!”

I looked up in surprise. It was Sokka, who was pinned to the floor. “Aang! Step on it! Show him you mean it!”

“Be quiet, Human!” barked one of the soldiers, and kicked Sokka in the head.

I shook my head. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. The Yeerk - and it had to be a Yeerk, it looked exactly like what Elfangor had showed us – was helpless. I couldn’t just kill it, even if it was an evil creature. But… maybe General Fong didn’t know that?

I lifted the orb of yeerk pool liquid higher. General Fong took a step closer.

“Nuh- ah!” I said, and made as if to drop the liquid. He stopped.

“You don’t know what you’re dealing with, Avatar,” growled General Fong. “We have powers that you can’t even imagine. Don’t make us your enemies.”

There was another plop as another Yeerk dropped out of the liquid. General Fong flinched.

“Let my friends go,” I demanded. “Let us all go.”

General Fong swallowed, then, looking defeated, nodded.

“Let them go.”

The soldiers released Katara and Sokka, who held his head and groaned. Relief washed over me. It was going to be okay!

“Come on guys,” I said, still hovering the Yeerk liquid. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Let ours go as well,” said General Fong.

I paused. “What?”

General Fong pointed at the Yeerk liquid. “Them. Let them go.”

I supposed that was fair, and moved to let the liquid flow back into the pool. But Sokka's hand on my arm stopped me. “Don’t, Aang. That’s our only way of knowing they won’t kill us as soon as we step out.”

I looked at General Fong, who was gritting his teeth. Another Yeerk plopped out of the liquid.

Sokka was right. They didn’t want us hurting the Yeerks in the liquid, so they wouldn’t hurt us as long as we held them hostage. The whole situation made me feel uneasy.

We backed out of the room, the soldiers opening the doors behind us. I had to really concentrate on keeping the Yeerk liquid suspended while climbing the stairs.

We emerged into the light, followed closely by General Fong and the soldiers, to where Appa was still waiting. He was looking agitated, and flared his nostrils at me.

“Hey, buddy.” I called out softly. “How are you doing? We’re going to leave now, okay?”

Appa snorted, and turned his head to look over the edge of the tower. I looked too, Sokka and Katara guarding my back. On the other side were-

My breath caught in my throat. They were giant metal machines, vaguely insectlike, with spears coming out from the front. What were they? How had we not noticed them before? Had they been brought up while we were down below?

But I couldn’t gawk for long. I climbed onto Appa carefully, trying not to spill the Yeerk liquid. It was very difficult, and I almost lost it several times, which elicited gasps from the gathered soldiers each time. But Katara helped me keep it steady.

I felt as though it was time to say something. “Okay,” I said. “We’re going to go now.”

Another Yeerk fell out of the liquid, into the saddle. All the soldiers watched it as it flopped.

“First, the Yeerks, Avatar.” General Fong’s voice was firm. He tilted his head, and one of the soldiers ran over with an empty bucket. “Just put them in there, and we can both be on our separate ways.”

I looked at Sokka. He bent down and picked up the Yeerk that had fallen out earlier, a look of disgust on his face. “Give the rest back,” he said. “We’ll keep this one.”

“Are you sure that’s-”

“Come on, Aang. Let’s go.”

I poured the rest of the liquid into the bucket, and slid over to Appa’s reins. The soldiers just stood there, watching us as we took off. I allowed myself a sigh of relief. We’d made it.

Then, as we crested the wall of the fort, Katara gasped. I whipped around to see what she was looking at.

One of the machines had lifted into the air, and was following us. It flew smoothly, levitating without any movement. I had no idea how it could do that.

“What, it can fly?” gasped Katara. “What are they– They agreed that we could go!”

“Maybe they decided that capturing us was worth losing one Yeerk,” mused Sokka, glaring at the octosluglike creature he held. Then he stood up.

“Hey!” he called. “Hey!” He waved the Yeerk in his hand around.

“Sokka?” I frowned. “What are you doing?”

“I’m letting them know we mean it.”

Sokka leaned over the saddle and held out the Yeerk, threatening to drop it.

“Sokka, don’t!”

Sokka’s face was grim. “They need to know what they’re risking.”

The Bug Fighter still hovered behind us, matching our speed easily and silently.

I felt tense. I didn’t want Sokka to drop the Yeerk. It was just a slug. It couldn’t hurt anybody, not like that! And if he dropped it from this height, it would die. But was just threatening to drop it so bad, if he didn’t actually do it? I wasn’t sure.

Then, the decision was made for us.

Momo, who had been pacing around the saddle during our getaway, looked up at Sokka as he waved the Yeerk around. Then, in a flash, he jumped onto his arm and scampered down it, grabbed the Yeerk out of Sokka’s hand, and ate it.

We all stared. “Oh, no,” whispered Sokka.

The Bug Fighter sped up, and then it was flying directly above us. I could look up and see the intricate mechanical workings of its belly.

A door opened, where there had been no door before. And out came a monster.

It stood upright, and was covered with what looked like Dao blades, on its arms, legs, long tail, and snakelike neck. It had a beak, and glaring red eyes. I’d never seen a spirit monster like it before.

The monster dropped into the saddle, its huge, horned head less than a foot from my face. “Give up nrreknesh,” it said.

In response, I blasted it in the face with wind.

The monster reeled back, thrown off balance, and Katara water-whipped it, drawing a line of yellow-green blood. It whirled around, swinging its long, bladed tail, and in Appa’s saddle, there was nowhere to dodge. And Katara… her arm…

“AHHHHHHHH!”

No! Not Katara! Not her not her not-

I reached out to the air around me, spun it just so, tightened it and swirled it until it held the force of a typhoon, and threw it at the monster. It was flung bodily from the saddle, limbs flailing as it tried to grab on to something that wasn’t there. As it flew over the side, it slashed down with its arm blades, tearing a chunk out of the saddle. And then it was gone.

I immediately ran to Katara, along with Sokka. She was still screaming, and oh spirits there was so much blood!

“Katara!” Sokka was screaming. “Katara, heal yourself! You’ve got to heal!”

Katara moaned, and fumbled with her waterskin. She was having trouble opening it with her left hand, so I helped her. She gloved one hand with water and pressed it to the wound (oh spirits, her arm was barely attached), but was shaking hard, and the water wasn’t staying still. I suddenly began wishing fervently that I had studied some healing in the North.

I felt it more than heard it, a displacement of air above me, and looked up. Appa had been weaving from side to side, trying to get out from under the flying machine, but now it was peeling back. I hoped that that was the end of it; that we’d won, it was leaving.

Then I saw the second machine, and the third, coming right behind it.

“Oh no,” moaned Sokka, following my gaze. “Katara? Katara, are you… will you be okay?”

Katara was breathing in gulping, shaky gasps. But she had managed to staunch some of the bleeding. “I don’t know. I- I can’t move my arm.”

I felt sick. Katara was hurt badly, and the flying machines were gaining. Making a decision, I scooted to the front and grabbed Appa’s reins, bringing him down.

“Aang! What are you doing?” asked Sokka.

“The machine might not be able to follow us into the trees,” I explained. “We might be safer down there.”

Appa touched down between the trees, and I jumped off. I looked up. The Bug fighters were larger than Appa, but not by much. They were circling, and descending. Had they seen where we’d landed? I wasn’t sure…

“I have an idea,” I said.

Sokka, who was still with Katara in the saddle, stared. “You have an idea?”

“Yeah,” I replied, and put my hand on Appa’s flank.

I’d only morphed one animal before, and that was Momo. All I’d had to do was concentrate on him, picture the lemur in my head and focus. It was a bit like meditation, actually.

Now, I meditated on Appa.

The first thing that happened was that my arms began to swell, inflating like they were being filled with air. My face bulged and my bones creaked, and a tail began to swell from the back of my spine. It didn’t hurt, but it sounded like it should.

“Aang?” came Sokka’s voice. “Aang, what- what are you doing?”

“Nrraaaaeeeeennnn mmmmmmmruh!” I replied. It wasn’t exactly what I’d meant to say, but that’s what came out.

As my body grew, my clothes grew tight around me, then ripped along the seams. Whoops. Forgot about that. I’d have to try to fix those later. Horns grew from my forehead, and white, fluffy fur sprouted all over my body.

“Aang!” Sokka was shouting. “Aang!”

A pair of legs, just like Appa’s, sprouted out of my middle, growing out of me like branches from a tree. The world changed around me, becoming duller in color, and somehow wider. I breathed in, and the scents of the forest swirled through me. My ears twitched. I was Appa.

It was different than being Momo. I felt less excited, more calm. But there was power underneath the peacefulness. If my herd was threatened, I would defend it with all my strength.

“Aang!”

Oh right. Sokka. Wow, he was small.

(I’m okay, Sokka,) I thought at him. (I’m going to lead them away from you guys.)

“This isn’t a good idea, Aang! They could kill you!”

(I’m not letting you get hurt.)

I lifted my tail, and shoved the air down. And just like that, I was airborne.

When I had flown as Momo, it had been different. I’d had to constantly flutter my wings, staying up by muscle power. But Appa flew by bending, by moving the air with his tail and legs. He flew like I did.

As I crested the treetops, I could see the flying machines had landed in spaces between the trees not far from where I had brought Appa down. Monsters were coming out, both sword-blade monsters and another kind, like septapedes the size of tree trunks, with bloblike red eyes and a huge mouth full of sharp teeth. They reminded me of Koh. I flew directly above them. They looked up at me.

C’mon! Follow me! I knew better than to think it at them, of course.

I circled around, and bellowed, just for effect. One of the blade monsters lifted its arm, and there was a beam of red light, and-

(Ow ow ow ow!)

Whatever that light was, it hurt! It was like they’d shot fire at me! They were trying to shoot me down!

But I was still alive. I could still fly. I could lead them away…

But the monsters didn’t seem interested. They were still going towards `Katara and Sokka. And Katara was hurt. She wouldn’t be able to waterbend well, and there was no way Sokka could fight them all.

They were helpless.

I turned and flew back to where the real Appa had landed, getting there before the monsters did. Sokka and Katara were still in Appa’s saddle. Katara was terribly pale, and looked like she might faint.

“Aang! What are you doing? You can’t just leave!” Sokka looked furious and terrified, all at once.

(They’re coming! They didn’t follow me.)

Sokka groaned weakly. “Oh. Great. Wonderful.” He withdrew his club and boomerang, and, with one last glance at Katara, slid down from Appa’s saddle.

Appa himself was eying me warily. Unrelated male sky bison don’t usually get along, but I smelled just like him, so he should be fine, right?

csh

My ears flicked, and I turned to face the noise. (What’s that?)

“What? What’s what?”

(That sound. It-)

Then, the first blade monster burst through the trees.

Without a pause, Sokka threw his boomerang, whistling through the air straight for the monster’s face. But the monster swung its arm, a blade catching the weapon and knocking it uselessly to the ground. Then, it leapt forward, kicking at the air with its leg-blades.

Startled, I reared up before I knew what I was doing. A septapede monster and another blade monster were coming now, and their strange, acrid smells were assaulting my bison nose. Sokka had a drawn, bug-eyed look, even as he let out a war-cry and charged the foremost blade monster. The creature swung one arm at him, which Sokka blocked, and then swung the second.

Sokka was being attacked. My herd was being attacked.

“Grrrrrruhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnggggghhh!”

I charged. One moment, the blade monster was in front of me. The next, it wasn’t. Simple as that. The lumpy, sharp thing under my feet? What did it matter?

I saw Sokka out of one eye, looking shaken. He was part of my herd. I would protect him.

“Mmmmrrrggghhh!”

I looked in the direction of the distress call. Another bison was being threatened by a septapede monster and a blade monster. He wanted to charge them, but a rider was in his saddle and he didn’t want to hurt her. I understood this instantly.

I had to protect them. My herd.

I charged again. The septapede was not as lumpy as the blade monster had been, and simply splattered underneath my feet. But the second blade monster was more agile, and leapt up. It landed on my back, and I reared, even as its blades bit into me. I rolled onto my back, and the monster was crushed.

More were coming. I could smell them. I swung my tail as they emerged, blowing them back into the trees.

I roared. They ran.

It was safe now. The herd was safe. I-

I…

I had killed them.

Oh, oh spirits. I had killed them.

“Aang! Aang!”

I’d killed them. Just crushed them, under my feet. I could still feel the stickiness of their blood between my toes.

I felt sick, and my legs gave out. Dimly, I felt my side hit the ground.

“Aang! You’re hurt! Aang, talk to me, buddy!”

Sokka ran into my field of vision, waving his hands frantically. “Oh man,” he said. “Oh man, Aang. Please say something.”

(Sokka?) I thought finally. (What happened?)

Relief was clear on his face. “Thank goodness! Aang, you fought them off, but you’re hurt. The spiky thing got… it got you. Your back is…. It looks pretty bad.”

(Oh.) So that explained why I felt so lightheaded, at least partly. I hadn’t realized he’d hurt me that badly, though.

“You should change back. I’ll get you on Appa, and we’ll find a village or something to help you and Katara. Okay?”

(Sokka, I killed them. They’re dead.)

Sokka paused, and glanced over to the side. “Yeah, you did. And a good thing, too. I wouldn’t want that thing to get back up.”

Of course Sokka wouldn’t understand. He was a warrior, not a monk.

I felt something nudge my side, and with a great deal of effort turned my head to look. It was Appa. I understood. He saw a wounded herdmate and was trying to help them get up. He would do anything for his herd. Even risk his life. Even kill.

I closed my eyes, and pictured myself– bald, pale-skinned, short, tattooed. Did I even deserve those tattoos, after what I’d done? Did I even deserve to call myself an Air Nomad? I hadn’t even been in the Avatar state or anything. I’d been Appa, though. Was that an excuse?

No, I had to concentrate. I was too tired to fly, and vaguely aware now of a warm, wet stickiness down my sides. I had to let Sokka help me.

I felt myself shrinking. It was like a free-fall, only while still standing on the ground. My bones creaked, and my innards squished and shifted. And oddly, the pain in my back faded. Strange.

I opened my eyes, and I was me again, my hands on the ground in front of me. I turned around and looked at Sokka.

“Oh,” he said.

I reached around with an arm and felt my back. I felt something sticky, but there was no wound. “I’m not hurt.”

Sokka blinked. He looked at Appa, then back to me. “You know what? I’m going to get you a blanket.”

He quickly scrabbled into Appa’s saddle, and threw me down a blanket to cover myself with, seeing as how my clothes had been shredded. As soon as I had it around my waist, I jumped into the saddle with Katara. She was still managing to hold the bleeding, but was pale and looked exhausted.

Oh spirits, I thought. Please don’t let her die.

“Katara?” I asked. “You okay?”

“Hurts,” she replied through grit teeth.

“Katara,” said Sokka. “Listen to me. Do you think you can keep it up until the next village? It could be a few hours away.”

Katara moaned, and her head fell back.

“No?” I looked at Sokka. He looked very sad. “Then I want you to morph Momo. Right now.”

I stared at him. What was he talking about?

“No, really! Listen, Aang got hurt when he was Appa, really badly. But when he morphed back, he was fine. So I don’t think injuries carry over when you change. If you morph Momo, you might be fine. And then we’ll have two hours to get to the next village before you change back. Do you hear me, Katara?”

“You sure?” asked Katara, her voice quiet.

“Yes. I– I’d rather have a lemur for a sister than no sister at all.”

Katara began to change.

And, as she did, she began to heal.

As Katara’s face bulged into a muzzle, her arm began to knit back together, the bone and muscles reconnecting even as I watched. As she grew fur, the wound closed up, and my heart leapt.

Thank you, I thought, praying to Elfangor's spirit. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[shadow-wasser]

WIP Fic Whenever: Atlamorphs 2

WIP Fic Friday Whenever is a place where I will put a ‘quick and dirty’ first draft of either a short story or a chapter from a longer story. This will hopefully encourage me to improve my writing output. An Animorphs/Avatar: the Last Airbender Crossover. Yes it’s strange.

This is Fun

Water. Earth. Fire. Air.

Long ago, the Four Nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But, when the world needed him most, he vanished.

A hundred years passed and my brother and I found the new Avatar, an airbender named Aang. And since then, we’ve been traveling the world, learning and training.

Then, not so long ago, a strange being from another world came to us and gave us a gift, and a warning. The gift was the ability to morph, to change into any animal we touch, and the warning was that a race of evil creatures, the Yeerks, were attacking our world, and they wanted slaves. Us.

It was a strange idea, and the whole thing felt dreamlike, unreal. I had just been told that not only do I have to worry about the Fire Nation and Prince Zuko and Sozen’s comet, but also Yeerks and morphing and Visser Three. It was too much. I desperately wanted it all to be a dream, and when I woke up the next morning, much later than I normally did, I managed to convince my bleary self that it was.

Then I opened my eyes, sat up, and saw two Momos.

The two lemurs were play fighting, tumbling around on the ground and squealing loudly. They would stop and groom each other, then go back to wrestling, making quite a racket. They were probably what woke me up.

I swallowed the pit of dread that was building in the back of my throat, and forced a smile. “Hey, Momo,” I called in a cajoling voice. “Did you find a friend?”

(Katara! You’re awake!)

The pit of dread expanded inside of me, and it became hard to breathe.

One of the lemurs broke away from the other and scampered up to my sleeping bag, looking up with big green eyes. (Can you understand me?)

“Aang-“ I managed. And then: “Oh, spirits,” and: “It’s real.”

(Yeah,) came Aang’s voice from inside my head. (I guess it is.)

I covered my face with my hands and shook my head in near-despair. “You’re a lemur. How did you even…”

(I just… pet him.) The Aang-lemur scratched his ear thoughtfully. (And I thought about becoming Momo, about what it would be like to be him. And then, I did. I became him. Hey, can I groom you?)

“You… what? I… I suppose you-”

Aang-lemur scrambled up to my shoulder and began picking interestedly through my hair. I couldn’t think of anything to say. I was talking to a lemur. To Momo, for all intents and purposes. Except it was Aang too.

(It’s weird,) said Aang-lemur after a second. (I’m me. I know I’m me. But I’m also Momo. I keep getting Momo-y thoughts, like wanting to eat a bug, or be groomed.) He made a ‘chrrrrrrr’ sound.

Then I remembered something. “Aang!” I gasped. “How long has it been?”

(Oh, you mean the two-hour thing? It hasn’t been that long. I think it’s only been…) Aang-lemur tilted his head to look up at the sun. (Less than an hour.)

“Aang… I think you should change back. We need to figure out what to do.”

(Huh? Oh, okay. But first, check this out!)

Aang-lemur jumped from my shoulder, just like Momo so often did, and spread his wings. He flew in a loop, his laughter echoing in my head. (I can fly, Katara! No glider!)

He landed right next to the real Momo, who leapt out of the way. (It’s so fun, Katara. You’ve got to try it.)

“What? Me?”

(Yeah. Elfangor gave the power to all of us. If I can do it, you can too.)

Then, as I got to my feet, he began to change back.

He sprouted upward, growing from Momo-sized to Aang-sized in a few seconds. The real Momo ran away squealing as Aang’s tail vanished into his back, making a disgusting shloop sound. His wings shrank into his arms, his ears shrank into his head and rounded, and his eyes went from green to gray. His face flattened, and a nose grew out. He was looking more like Aang, only covered in fur. He smiled. “Hey, Katara.”

“Aang!” I shouted, and covered my eyes. “You’re naked!”

“I- whoa! I am!”

“Well, put some clothes on!”

I heard the sound of Aang rustling through this bag, and then, “You can open your eyes now.”

I opened my eyes, and saw Aang, wearing his usual yellow tunic. He was beaming.

“Wow, Katara, I can’t even tell you how cool flying is! And now you’ll be able to fly too! And Sokka! Gee, I wonder what it’s like to be Appa? I should try him next…”

“Hey, guys, I’m trying to sleep here!”

We both turned to look at Sokka, who stuck one irritated eye out of his sleeping bag. “Could you keep it down?”

“Sokka, get out of bed!” I shouted. Maybe my voice was a bit shrill, but this was huge! “This is kind of important!”

Sokka grumbled and sat up so slowly I could have sworn he was doing it on purpose. “What?”

“We need to talk.”

“I can turn into Momo, Sokka!” chirped Aang happily.

“Wait, you did what with Momo?”

And before I could say anything else, Aang had sprouted Momo ears.

“Yow!” screamed Sokka, and leapt out of bed. “Aang!”

Aang paused in his transformation, looking at Sokka with green eyes. “Oh, this is cool,” he noted. “I can stop halfway.”

“Oh, man,” said Sokka, looking at Aang with horror. “Oh man.”

“It’s okay, Sokka,” I said, feeling rather disconnected from the proceedings and barely understanding my own words, which sounded hollow and distant even to me. “He’s just morphing Momo.”

Aang grinned, then reversed the transformation, ears shrinking.

“I was really…” started Sokka, and he gulped. “I was really, really hoping that it was just a dream.”

“Me, too,” I admitted.

“Sokka, you were there. Elfangor gave the power to us.” Aang looked up at Sokka, frowning. “Don’t you remember?”

“Look, Aang, maybe you get weird powers from freaky spirit-ish things all the time. Maybe this happens to you every day. But please, please, take a moment to think how that must have looked to normal people. You know, like me.”

“Yeah, I guess it was pretty weird.”

“Pretty weird?!” echoed Sokka, a look of incredulity on his face.

“Yeah. And it feels weird, too. Like it should hurt, but it doesn’t. You should try it!”

“Aang, before we do that, we need to talk,” I interrupted. “About what happened.”

“Okay, talk.”

“So,” said Sokka, with a long sigh. “What happened last night was real.”

“Of course it was real!” objected Aang.

“And somehow,” continued Sokka, not looking at the Avatar. “Some weird… spirity… thing gave you the power to change into animals.”

“Not just me,” corrected Aang. “You, too. All of us.”

“Which is fine by me,” Sokka went on gamely. “Because any new power we can use against the Fire Nation is a good thing. It’s still really messed up though, and I don’t ever want to look at it again.”

“But Sokka, he gave us the power so we can fight the Yeerks!”

This time, Sokka seemed to hear. “Right,” he said. “Yeerks.” Suddenly, my brother looked very tired. “Look, Aang, I know you’ll want to get involved with this, but don’t you think we have enough to worry about? Fire Lord first, then Brain Slugs, okay?”

Aang shook his head. “We may not have that kind of time.”

“So what, you think we should fight two wars at once? One of which is against monsters that possess people? What kind of bending could help with that? Sokka shook his head. “It’s not our fight, and we shouldn’t get involved.”

Aang looked at me. “Katara, what do you think?”

I bit my lip. “Sokka, Aang is right. Elfangor said these Yeerks are attacking our world right now. Who knows what they could do?”

“They enslave you,” said Aang, looking haunted. “They crawl into your head and make you do whatever they want. Elfangor showed me.”

“That sounds pretty important, Sokka. I think we should fight them.”

Sokka shook his head. “Aang, you can fight the spirit monsters if you want. But I think it would just end up getting us killed.”

“But we’re all in this together. Right, Sokka? I mean, you can’t just…” Aang looked back at me desperately.

“Sokka, this is important! This is the fate of the world!” I cried. “We’re the only ones who know about this. If we don’t fight them, we could all be possessed! By Yeerks!”

Sokka groaned, and lowered his face into his hands. “This is crazy,” he said. “You’re both crazy.”

“It may be crazy,” said Aang. “But our world is being attacked. It’s something we have to do. Something I have to do.”

Then he grinned. “So, who wants to find out what it’s like to be Momo?”

------------------------------

“You’re crazy,” said Sokka. “I’m stuck here with two crazy people." He looked like he wanted to throw his hands into the air. I was a bit surprised he didn’t.

I had to admit, sitting there with Momo on my lap, that it seemed pretty unbelievable. If I hadn’t seen what I saw last night, and if I hadn’t seen Aang morph, I would have been right with Sokka. But I did see it. I couldn’t ignore it.

“You just concentrate. Just think about becoming Momo. Picture him in your mind.” Aang leaned forward earnestly. “It’s so fun, guys.”

“This is crazy.”

“I heard you before, Sokka.”

Momo was being very quiet, just sitting there calmly while Sokka and I pet him. I felt ridiculous.

“I think you can let Momo go now.”

Momo sat still for a few moments even after I drew my hand away, but then leapt up with a chitter and ran over to Appa.

“Now,” Aang instructed. “Think about Momo again. About being him. Concentrate.”

I did, and I didn’t feel anything. “It’s not working,” I said, feeling oddly relieved.

That’s when my tail sprouted.

“Ah!”

“Katara!” cried Sokka. “Are you alright?”

It didn’t hurt, not exactly. But, like Aang said, it felt like it should hurt. I was so shocked by the sensation of my backside growing a tail that I stopped concentrating, and it stopped sprouting. The tail was long, and hairless, like an elephant-rat’s. It didn’t look like Momo’s at all.

I swallowed. “I’m okay,” I said. “Just surprised, that‘s all.” My tail twitched. I could feel it. “This is seriously weird.”

Sokka grimaced. “I told you it was crazy. Why did I even agree to this? We should stop now.”

I looked at my brother. Black fur was growing from his face. I almost laughed at the sheer weirdness of it.

“Sokka, it’s okay,” I said. “I’m alright.” I looked at Aang, who nodded encouragement. I went back to thinking about Momo.

A prickling sensation swept over my skin, including the skin of my new tail, as black and white fur sprouted. I heard a creaking sound as two of my fingers twisted and grew longer and longer, stretching skin between them. It was horrible to look at, yet fascinating. I couldn’t believe that those long, spindly things were my own fingers.

“Eeei wrrr.” I said, which didn’t make much sense since my face was pushing out into a muzzle.

The world expanded around me, and then I was having trouble seeing, with huge blue sheets getting in my way. It was my clothes.

Then, I felt… different. It wasn’t a big change. A new awareness entered into my mind. It was keen, and curious, and interested. It wanted to see things, and why was I under all these sheets?

I pushed the sheets away with a white-furred hand, extracting myself from them. I was blasted with sound. So much sound! I could hear the birds in the trees, the clicking of insects underground, the rustling of far-off leaves. I could hear the breathing and heartbeat of something big behind me, a presence I immediately filed away as comforting and familiar and acceptable. Another heartbeat, faster and accompanied by scratching, scrabbling noises, came from in front, from another pile of enormous clothes with a lump moving around inside them. I breathed in, and scents tantalized me. No food was nearby, but I could smell a playmate.

“Chrrrrrrrrl!” I said, an invitation to play with the other lemur. It smelled like me, so it must be family!

“Hey, you guys okay?” I felt my ears flick in the direction of the sound, and turned to look at the presence behind me. He was big, but not scary. He was good. He was… Aang.

I blinked. Aang. Right. The Avatar. And I was Katara. How could I have forgotten?

I could still feel Momo’s mind there, next to my own. But I was me, too. I realized who the ‘other lemur’ was.

“Wrrr chrrrr.” I said, and panicked for a moment. Then I remembered how Aang had talked with his mind, and thought at the pile of clothes: (Sokka? Are you okay?)

(No, I’m not okay!) came Sokka’s voice in my head. (I’m Momo! How is that okay?)

(Well, you’re supposed to be Momo. Come out of there.)

(I’m all tangled up.)

“Guys? Talk to me, guys.”

I turned to Aang, and thought at him. (Sokka’s stuck.)

Aang walked over and lifted up Sokka’s shirt, revealing a lemur that was utterly tangled in a loincloth. The avatar broke out in a huge grin. “Hey Sokka! You did it!”

Sokka managed to extricate himself from the loincloth, the fur on his back bristling. (Yeah. Great. I’m a magical transforming freak. Just what I always wanted.)

Sokka looked at me. (Katara? Is that you? What are you doing?)

(Hmm?) Without realizing it, I had started combing through the fur on my tail. I dropped it, embarrassed. (I don’t know… grooming?)

(Don’t act like a lemur, Katara. You’re a human.) Sokka sounded odd. Frightened, almost.

“Actually, she is a lemur,” spoke up Aang. “I think when you morph, your mind gets a bit of both.”

(Wonderful. I have a lemur brain. Why am I doing this, again?)

“Because Elfangor gave it to us, to help us. And besides, now you get to fly!” Aang picked up his glider, and snapped it open. “Come on, guys!”

I looked at my arm. It was white, and furred, and the two long fingers were folded back. I extended them, and watched the wings as they unfolded. I took a deep breath. Well, here it goes.

I spread my wings, and jumped.

For a moment, I was terrified. I had jumped at least three body-lengths into the air, far higher than I had expected. I didn’t know how to fly! I was going to fall! But then my wings started flapping, and somehow… I just knew what to do. Or the lemur part of me knew what to do, since the human part of me was still going ImgonnafallImgonnafallImgonnafall!

How can I even describe it? The wind was rushing around me, blowing the fur back from my face while my arms worked up and down and the ground just fell away… It was a bit like gliding at the Northern Air Temple, but so much better. I wasn’t just going in circles, I was going up, down, twisting sideways and catching at the wind.

(Whoaaaaaaaa!)

“You go, Katara!” shouted Aang. I banked in a tight circle, and then Aang was in front of me, on his glider. He turned sharply upward, and I followed, changing the angle and tuck of my wings automatically.

We went higher and higher, and then Aang shouted: “Look around!”

I stopped and hovered, not even thinking about what I was doing. We were so high, the trees looked like sticks, and Appa looked like a mouse. The huge sky was open above me, and the horizon stretched to all sides, until it hit the mountains in the distance.

(Oh, wow! I can’t believe this!) I thought. My wings were getting tired of hovering, but it was just so beautiful, I didn’t care. (This is amazing!)

Aang grinned at me from his glider. “It’s flying. You're flying, Katara!”

A gust of wind rocked me, and I flew in a circle around Aang. I had never felt so… free. I wanted the feeling to last forever.

Then, (Where’s Sokka?)

We both looked down. I could see Appa, and maybe our sleeping bags, but I was too far away to make out much else. But I could hear something moving around down there.

Aang tilted his glider and started to slide back down, and I folded my wings into a steep glide. My stomach swooped as I descended, the ground rushing up at me in a way that should have been terrifying, but my lemur self saw as completely normal.

Aang reached the ground before me, and I landed on his shoulder, gripping his shirt with the claws on my feet. It felt like the most natural thing in the world.

“Sokka?” Aang called. I looked, following his gaze.

There were two lemurs playing on the ground, much as Aang had been with Momo earlier. Only not quite. Aang and Momo had been playing happily enough, but now it looked like only one participant in this lemur pair was at all interested. The other was running in circles, trying to escape as the other lemur leapt after him.

(Gnnnngh! Get him off of me, Aang!)

Aang laughed. “He’s not going to hurt you. It’s a game.”

One of the lemurs (they looked and smelled exactly the same! How was I supposed to tell which one was Sokka?) stopped, and was immediately pounced on by the other. It squawked as the other lemur began chewing on its ear.

(You call this playing?? It’s more like murder!)

I thought-laughed and spread my wings, fluttering down to where Sokka and Momo were ‘playing.’ (Hey Momo!) I thought, still giddy after my flight. (Come play with me!)

The ear-chewing lemur looked up at me, then pounced. The next few moments were a blur of white and black fur, in which I was buffeted by wings and limbs. But… it wasn’t in earnest. It was a game. Momo wasn’t really trying to hurt me. So, I hit back, careful not to scratch.

A few moments later, Momo had leapt off me, and was running his fingers through the fur on my back. It felt really good. Calming, like when I was a very small child, and my mother would braid my hair. It was a good memory, and I ‘chrrrrrr’ed.

“See? Katara gets it,” Aang was saying. “You’re a lemur. You play like a lemur.”

(I am not a lemur, Aang.) Sokka’s thought-voice sounded angry. (And neither is Katara. I think we should change back now.)

“Huh? But you haven’t even flown yet! And we have plenty of time…”

(I don’t want to do this anymore. If we need to fight these… Yeerks, then we’ll fight them normally. As people. Not as… as lemurs.)

Aang sighed. I looked at him. He looked disappointed. “Alright. I just thought that… you would think it was fun.”

(Well, it’s not. Now, how do I change back?)

“Just… concentrate again. Only this time think about yourself as you.”

Sokka sprouted upward, his wings shifting into hands and his face emerging from a still Momo-ish body. He was naked, so I turned away, even as Momo still tried to groom my face.

After a moment, I heard his voice: “Katara, you change back too.”

I didn’t like that tone. (Sokka, you’re overreacting. We were given this gift, why don’t we use it? I’m not doing anything dangerous.) I looked back over at Sokka, who was pulling his tunic on.

Sokka glared as he stuck his head through the shirt hole. “It is dangerous! If you stay a lemur for more than two hours, you’ll stay a lemur! Forever! I am not having a lemur for a sister!”

(Don’t be so pushy!) I thought. Maybe it was the Momo in me that was feeling so contrary. I couldn’t tell. (I’m fine!)

“Katara!”

I heard the thump, thump of Sokka’s feet coming over. I looked up at him, completely unfazed. (What?)

Two enormous hands wrapped around my middle and lifted me into the air. I pushed away from my giant brother, but he was far stronger. I looked into his face, which looked the size of Appa’s. My fur bristled, prickling up my back. (Sokka! What’s your problem?)

“My problem? My problem?? I’m not the one who’s a lemur right now!”

“But, you’re talking to one,” pointed out Aang.

(Sokka, you’re freaking out,) I noted.

“Freaking OUT?? I- I- I’m sick of all this! Of giant monsters and talking lemurs and moon spirits and-”

(Moon spirits?)

Sokka took a deep breath, and seemed to regain some control. He put me down. “I…” he closed his eyes. “I’d really feel better if you changed back now.”

I paused. (Alright, if you feel that strongly about it.)

I concentrated on myself. And, for a moment, nothing happened. Then, my fur melted away. I was a hairless lemur. I was not pretty. (Turn away, you guys!)

After they did, my legs swelled, growing to human size, and my tail sucked in. I can’t even imagine what I must have looked like then, with a Momo head and body and these huge legs sticking out. As the rest of me caught up, I headed over to my pile of clothes, pulling them on as fast as I could. Being a lemur was fun, but the process of morphing gave me the heebie-jeebies.

“Okay,” I said, as soon as I was decent. “I’m good.”

Sokka turned around, frowning. “Alright,” he said. “We’re not doing this anymore, okay? We’re going to fight the Fire Nation, and forget this ever happened.”

“But-” started Aang.

“No buts, Aang! I don’t care if you think it’s ‘fun.’ It’s dangerous.”

Aang frowned. “But it is fun! And it could be really useful!”

“Look, Aang, what if we were inside when we morphed? How would we keep track of the time? I will not risk myself, my sister, or the fate of the world with some freaky spirit’s idea of a gift.”

Aang deflated.

“Have we decided, then? No more… ‘morphing?’”

Aang closed his eyes, and nodded.

I frowned. I didn’t want to agree. I wanted to fly again, to feel that rush… but then again, if Elfangor hadn’t told us everything about morphing… if there were other costs…

I nodded, looking at the ground. No more morphing.

And if we found the Yeerks… we’d fight them as ourselves.

[shadow-wasser]

WIP Fic Whenever: Atlamorphs 1

WIP Fic Friday Whenever is a place where I will put a ‘quick and dirty’ first draft of either a short story or a chapter from a longer story. This will hopefully encourage me to improve my writing output. An Animorphs/Avatar: the Last Airbender Crossover. Yes it’s strange.

A Visit From Above

I’m Sokka. No, I don’t have a last name. I’m from the Southern Water Tribe, and my life used to be pretty normal. Or sort of normal.  Or… well, kinda. Actually, not really. I mean, it was normal for a while, but then the Fire Nation came and… whatever. Let’s just say that I have a pretty good reason to hate the Fire Nation.

What’s important is that one day, my sister and I found the Avatar. I know, crazy, right? He wasn’t even an old man or anything; he was just a kid named Aang. And after that we ran around, all the while chased by the Fire Nation, trying to get to the North Pole so my sister and Aang could learn waterbending. I was hoping to find my dad, who had left to fight the Fire Nation. And I had to protect Katara, ‘cause you know, she needs me.

I kinda thought my life couldn’t get any weirder, what with all the crazy kings and angry firebenders and giant spirit monsters.

Well, I was wrong.

The day started out pretty average. Or, at least, it was as average as life got for us. We were making good progress across the northern Earth Kingdom, but my sister constantly insisted on stopping to practice waterbending. You see, we’d just left the North Pole, where Katara and Aang had been training, and now she was a certified master. You’d think once she became a master she’d chill out for a bit. But no, not Katara. It was like she had to be better than anyone, even Aang!

By that point, we were really far into the Fire Nation territories, and evidence of war was everywhere. Ruined and abandoned towns and cities reared up from the ground, some of them so old they were already decomposing. Aang brought Appa down to one of these, next to a small dam and pool. Once, it was probably used to stock fish for a town but now it was covered with scum and smelled like rotting seaweed. Yuck.

But I guess smelly water is fine for waterbending, since we had no sooner unsaddled Appa than Aang and Katara went to it. They practiced their waterbending forms until nightfall, and by the end of the day, Aang’s legs were shaking and Katara barely had the strength to lift her dinner to her mouth. Obviously, they picked me to take first watch.

Frankly, I doubted that we even needed a watch. What Fire Nation patrol would be anywhere near this ruin? Everything valuable had long been looted out, and it’s not like it occupied a crucial military position. I thought it was a travesty that I wasn’t allowed to sleep, especially since I was the one who made dinner! I even made a vegetable dish for Aang! It was ridiculous…

I sighed and leaned back, gazing up at the stars. And the moon.

It’s a long story.

Anyway, I was thinking about the stars (and her eyes) and the constellations (and her hair) and the stories around them (and her lips). The stars in the northern hemisphere were different than the ones I had grown up with, and I wasn’t quite sure how to navigate by them.

After a while, my eyelids began to grow heavy. I began to think: Ah, what did it matter? How could you navigate with these stars? They move around too much, all glowy and colorful…

Wait a minute. Colorful, moving stars? Stars didn’t move like that, so unless I’d already fallen asleep and was dreaming, there was something definitely wrong.

Suddenly, I felt wide awake. I sat up and stared. No, I wasn’t imagining it. A huge blue star was moving around, flashing crazily right above me. My mouth dropped. What in the world was that?

“Guys!” I hissed. “Guys! Something’s happening!”

“Hwazza?” said Aang, yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Fire Nation?”

“No, I… I have no idea.”

“Oh, wow,” said Katara, staring at it as she stood up slowly. “It’s beautiful.”

Aang got to his feet, staring at the light. “I… I think it’s coming closer.”

The three of us stood together, not quite sure what was going to happen. Aang picked up his stick and I scrambled for my boomerang. And as the glowing shape came closer, it was revealed as… well…

The only things I had ever seen that even came close to it were the Fire Nation warships, all shiny metal and thrumming engines. But other than that, I didn’t really have a reference. I had no clue what I was looking at.

It looked… sorta like a giant scorpion-bee. It had a body, I guess, and wings, sorta, though they didn’t flap. And it had a tail, like a scorpion bee. And it was all metal, with glowy blue bits.

By that point, I would almost have preferred that it was a Fire Nation machine. Because this… thing, whatever it was, was way freakier than anything I’d seen from them. Of course, being the great warrior I am, I was ready to fight it anyway.

As it got closer, all of my danger sensing hairs prickled. “It’s gonna land,” I whispered.

And it did land, touching the ground with a quiet crunch.

We stood there for another moment, waiting for it to do something. Aang was the one who stepped forward, staff at the ready. You know, ‘cause he’s the Avatar. Handling weird stuff is in his job description or something

“Hello?” he called. “Hello?”

(Hello.)

I blinked. I knew I had just heard someone say ‘hello.’ But at the same time, no one had said anything. It was like a voice inside my head, with no sound. I looked at Katara. Her eyes were like saucers.

“Aang,” I said, and my voice was not strangled with fear (okay, maybe a little). “Maybe you shouldn’t go up to the weird flying mind-talky thing?”

“No, Sokka, I think it’s a spirit,” replied Aang, his eyes wide. “And it’s hurt. See, it’s burned.”

He pointed, and yeah, there were deep, melted burn marks on its… um… front-part. My first thought, which believe me made much more sense than the truth, was that it had been attacked by the Fire Nation.

“Are you okay?” called Aang. “I won’t hurt you.” He put down his stick and held out his hands, to show he was unarmed (not, of course, that it mattered with Aang).

(I know.)

“I’m the Avatar. How can I help you? What do you need?”

(Do not be frightened.)

“I’m not.”

Speak for yourself! I thought, because, alright, I’d seen a lot of scary stuff (like the Fire Nation attacking the Northern Water Tribe, or giant Canyon Crawlers, or Aang in the Avatar State), but this thing? It was terrifying not because I knew what it could do to hurt us, but because I didn’t.

A thin arc of light appeared, like a doorway lit from within, opening slowly in the smooth side of the thing. I stood there, thinking how I had to protect Katara and keep her safe from the whatever-it-was, so I stepped in between her and it. The opening grew, like a crescent moon at first, then a full, bright circle.

And out stepped a…

Well, I guessed it was a spirit. It wasn’t all that much stranger than Hei Bai, to tell you the truth. The weirdest part was that it had no mouth.

It had four legs with hooves, and a body like a foxalope, and two arms and a head kinda like a person, except for the lack of mouth and the three slits for a nose. Also, it had eyes on stalks like an octoslug, coming out of the top of its head, in addition to these big green eyes that were where you’d expect them to be. The spirit was blue, all over, and had a really long tail, with a sickle at the end. The sickle looked sharp. And you know… deadly.

Then, it staggered, and fell to the ground. Aang immediately went to its side, and I saw Katara run over and kneel down. “No! Katara!” I said. “That thing could be dangerous!”

“Sokka, it’s hurt! Look, its side is all burnt up.”

The spirit’s side did look pretty burnt-up, but frankly that wasn’t what I was worried about at that moment.

“But Katara…”

“It’s a spirit, Sokka! We need to help it!”

(You cannot help. I am dying.)

This spirit’s voice was not like Hei Bai’s. Hei Bai, at least, had the decency to roar out loud where I could hear it properly.

Aang gasped. “What? No, please! Let us help you. What… what should we do?”

“I’m a healer,” stated Katara without preamble. “Show me where it hurts and I’ll-”

(No. I am dying. There is nothing you can do.)

Then, just for an instant, I felt it. The pain, I mean. From the spirit. It was awful, and I found myself running up to the creature, even sheathing my boomerang. I guess… I felt sorry for it, but at the same time I figured that since it was so badly injured, it couldn’t hurt us. Much.

Katara quickly drew up some mucky water from the stock pond and pressed it to the spirit’s side. It closed its eyes in what I assume was gratitude.

(Thank you. But please. I have to warn you.)

It sounded like bad news was coming, and, judging by the looks on Aang’s and Katara’s faces, I didn’t think any of us wanted bad news.

“What is it?” asked Aang, sounding like he didn’t want to know the answer.

(There are others coming. Yeerks.)

“Yeerks?” I said it out loud. It was a weird word, and it didn’t sound pleasant. “What’s a Yeerk?”

(They are aliens. Beings not of this world. From the stars.)

I frowned. He could have just said ‘spirits’ and been done with it. I mean, there was a time I wouldn’t have believed it, but a lot of things have changed, after meeting Aang.

“And the Yeerks are coming?” This was Aang. Of course, he would take it all in stride, being the Avatar and all.

(Yes. They have come to destroy you.)

There was a quiet moment, through which I could only silently curse. The Fire Nation was taking over the world, the comet was coming at the end of the summer, and now? Now we have a freakin’ invasion from the Spirit World!

“What do you mean?” asked Aang, his voice cut through with anxiety. How could I blame him? Spirit World stuff is his responsibility, after all.

(The Yeerks are different. They are not like you or I. They have no body. They live inside other species. They are…)

The spirit seemed to be at a loss for words. So it closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate. Suddenly a picture popped into my head. I saw a gray-green, slimy thing like an octoslug, only no tentacles. I grimaced. It wasn't a pretty sight.

(They are almost powerless without hosts. They- )

There was another blast of pain from the spirit, making me twitch. There was also a feeling of sadness, and despair. I felt another spike of pity for it. After all, Spirits were people too. Well, not really. But close enough

“I’m so sorry,” babbled Katara, still intent on her healing. “I just- I’ve never seen burns like these before. And your chi is... different. I’m not quite sure how to even start.”

(I do not blame you. But please listen. The Yeerks are parasites. They must have a host to live in. In this form they are known as Controllers. They enter the brain and are absorbed into it, taking over the host's thoughts and feelings. They try to get the host to accept them voluntarily. It is easier that way. Otherwise the host may be able to resist, at least a little.)

“You mean they… possess people?” That was Aang again.

(Yes, in a sense.)

I groaned. An army of Spirit-octoslugs, taking over your mind! NOT what I had been expecting that morning, not at all.

(We had hoped to stop them,) the spirit continued. (Swarms of their Bug fighters werewaiting when our Dome ship came out of Z-Space. We knew of their mother ship and were ready for the Bug fighters, but the Yeerks surprised us - they had hidden a powerful Blade ship in a crater of your moon. We fought, but... we lost. They have tracked me here. They will be here soon to eliminate all traces of me and my ship.)

“Okay,” I said. “Most of that made absolutely no sense, and… wait. Soon? They’ll be here soon? How soon? Like, right now?”

I drew my boomerang and looked around hurriedly, half-expecting the octoslugs to burst from the bushes ready to eat my brain.

(Soon. We do not have much time.)

Katara’s hands went to her mouth in horror, withdrawing her water for a moment. “What do we do?” she asked breathlessly.

The spirit smiled. Don’t ask me how I knew it was smiling, with no mouth. It was something with its eyes. (I sent a message to my home world. We Andalites fight the Yeerks wherever they go throughout the universe. My people will send help, but it may take a year, even more, and by then the Yeerks will have control of this planet. After that, there is no hope. You must tell people. You must warn your people!)

“Warn them that evil spirits are taking over? Oh MAN. You guys really could have chosen a better time for this! We’re kind of in the middle of a war right now, in case you haven’t noticed.”

Aang and Katara glared at me. “What?” I objected.

I looked back down at the spirit, and was met with a pair of strikingly green eyes. (Perhaps there is a way to better your chances,) it said. (Go into my ship. You will see a small blue box, very plain. Bring it to me. Quickly! I have very little time, and the Yeerks will find me soon.)

Ship? I looked up at the big, metal object. That thing is a ship? Like the Mechanist’s airship?

Aang got up and walked in, while Katara went back to trying to heal the spirit. I continued to glance around, waiting for the Yeerks to arrive.

After a few moments, Aang came back out of the ‘ship,’ holding the box and looking pale. It was a very small box, not much wider across than Aang’s palm. I wondered what could possibly be inside.

“Here,” said Aang, handing the box to the spirit.

(Thank you.)

The spirit held out the box, and we all looked at it. To tell you the truth, other than its bright color it wasn’t much to look at. It was featureless, except for some sort of writing around the top. I didn’t know the language.

(There is something I may be able to do to help you fight the Yeerks.)

“What is it? Some kind of spirit weapon?” I asked.

The spirit looked up for a moment, and I felt his confusion, but then he continued. (I know that your planet is undergoing war, and this will be difficult. But I may be able to give you some small powers that may help.)

We all looked at each other. Powers? I was no bender, but if he could help Aang…

(If you wish, I can give you abilities that no other human being has ever had.)

“You mean like… a new kind of bending?” Aang’s eyes were wide.

(No, this is not your ‘bending.’) answered the spirit. (This is a piece of Andalite technology that the Yeerks do not have. A technology that enables us to pass unnoticed in many parts of the universe - the power to morph. We have never shared this power. But your need is great.)

“Morph?” wondered Katara. “What’s… morph?” She looked at Aang, who only shrugged.

(To change your bodies,) the spirit said. (To become any other species. Any animal. You will only need to touch a creature, to acquire its DNA pattern, and you will be able to become it. It requires concentration and determination, but, if you are strong, you can do it. There are . . . limitations. Problems. Dangers, even. But there is no time to explain it all . . . no time. You will have to learn for yourselves. But first, do you wish to receive this power?)

Before I could even process what the spirit was saying, Aang bowed deeply and said; “Thank you, kind spirit. We are honored to receive your gift.”

I looked at Katara, who nodded with fierce determination in her eyes, putting her water away.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “How do we know that this… morphing thing is even safe to do? You said there were problems and dangers! I’m not about to enter some spirit war without even knowing what I’m doing!”

“You shouldn’t turn down gifts from spirits, Sokka,” said Aang calmly.

(I am no spirit.) said the… not-a-spirit. (But time is short. We must-)

The two stalk eyes floating above his head suddenly turned upward, and my gaze followed them. Two bright red stars were moving through the night sky.

(Yeerks,) said the not-spirit, and I could feel his hatred.

Then the not-spirit looked at me again. (There is no more time. You must decide!)

I looked at Aang and Katara, who looked back at me, their expressions hopeful. I groaned, and, though the rational, logical part of my mind protested, nodded. Sometimes, I’ve learned, you just have to accept the impossible.

(Each of you, press your hand against one of the sides of the square.)

I did, as did Aang and Katara. Then the not-spirit did as well, placing a blue, surprisingly delicate hand with too many fingers on top of the box.

(Do not be afraid,) the not-spirit said.

Something like a shock, only not painful, seemed to run through me. A kind of giddy tingly feeling.

(Go now,) the not-spirit said. (Only remember this - never remain in animal form for more than two of your Earth hours. Never! That is the greatest danger of morphing! If you stay longer than two hours you will be trapped, unable to return to human form.)

“Oh,” I said. “Great.”

Suddenly, I felt a wave of fear from the not-spirit. It was looking up with all four eyes now, searching for something.

(Visser Three! He comes.)

It was said with such vehemence and terror that I jumped. “Vis- Visser what?”

(Go now. Run! Visser Three is here. He is the most deadly of your enemies. Of all Yeerks he alone has the power to morph, the same power you now have. Run!)

Aang stood up, and Katara quickly followed. “I’m not running,” he said, his face grim. “You said these Yeerks are possessing people. So we’ll fight them!”

The not-spirit made the smiling eyes again. (No. You must save yourselves. Save yourselves and save your planet! The Yeerks are here.)

“But we can fight!” objected Katara. “I can waterbend, and Aang’s the Avatar! We can help you!” She gripped the lid of her waterskin.

The not-spirit turned its large eyes on Aang. (If you are truly the Avatar of this world, then it is even more vital that you survive. You cannot win this battle, as you are. Wait, and you will find the right time. Now, you must go.)

“Aang!” I said, looking up. The two big red lights had been joined by something else. Something big, and black, blocking out the stars.

Katara looked up, and gasped. She got to her feet and ran, stumbling over the rough ground. Appa was on his feet and bellowing, confused.

“We need to saddle him!” yelled Katara.

“Be quick about it!” I yelled back. I cast my eyes around desperately. “Where’s Aang?”

“I don’t know!”

“Look, see that wall over there? Get Appa behind it!”

Katara nodded and grabbed Appa’s reins, leading him over the rubble.

“Aang!” I called. “Aang, where are you?”

“Right here,” panted Aang. “Sorry, I… I got delayed.”

“Aang, quick, help us saddle Appa.”

The saddle was on him in about two seconds, and we got on.

“Yip yip,” I called, and we took off, Aang looking behind him at the strange not-a-spirit and his ‘ship.’

We weren’t too far away when a light, as bright as the sun but red, blazed into life back where we had left the spirit. Katara gasped.

“Turn around,” said Aang, his hands clutching the rim of the saddle.

I stared at him. “What?”

“Turn-”

“I heard you!”

“Sokka, I think he’s in danger. We need to go back and help.”

“Aang, he wanted us to leave! And when a spirit says ‘go away’ it’s probably a good idea to go away!”

“But-”

“I don’t want to get involved, Aang. This is spirit stuff.”

“No, he wasn’t a spirit.” Aang had that odd look in his eye, the look of being far, far older than he appeared. “He was something else.”

“But he said he was from another world,” objected Katara. “What else could he have meant?”

“He didn’t mean the Spirit World,” insisted Aang. “He meant something else. Something that wasn’t our world or the spirit world.”

“Well, like what?” I asked. The whole thing sounded ridiculous to me.

“I don’t know, but… when I stayed with him, he gave me a vision. He showed me a lot of things, about the Yeerks, and himself, all jumbled up. I’m trying to make sense of it, but… I think there are a lot of worlds. Not just two. And he came from one of those. Up in the sky.”

A shiver ran up my spine. Lots of worlds? How many could there be? Dozens? Hundreds? I suddenly felt very, very small. I didn’t like the feeling.

“Please, Sokka, he needs us.”

I paused, and looked back. The red light was still shining, like a fire but unflickering and far brighter.

“Aang… it… it’s not our problem. Let’s go.”

Aang stared back at me, looking hurt as we soared farther and farther away from the strange… creature.

But running away wasn’t going to help.