#like look. in appa's lost days she had five other warriors with her

[ranger-kellyn]

on the one hand, i feel kinda bad not giving suki really any extended family. it's such a me move. bad and/or absent parents ✅ any extended family is either dead or MIA ✅

on the other hand: i'm already having to balance sO MANY what are essentially OC relationships to her, that i just. can't. add more. not if i want anything meaningful lmao

[oneatlatime]

Appa's Lost Days

Dare I hope?

You know, if ten year old me had turned on my TV to watch my weekly dose of Avatar and been greeted with a nearly two minute long uninterrupted sequence of a frightened and distressed animal being mistreated, that TV would have turned right back off again.

I don't buy that a ten tonne bison who has the leverage of his own weight as well as his airbending abilities would succumb to so few people.

Name one other character that Avatar has presented as so thoroughly without any redeeming characteristics. Even Zhao was at least kind of funny. Everything about the chucklehead on the left is rotten to the core. "What's your dad going to do when he finds out we broke his stuff while doing crime?" "Nothing. It's not his stuff; it's previous crime."

I thought beetle-headed was a commentary on their intelligence, but it's actually a description.

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that I should have waited to get my hopes up until I came to an episode called Appa's Found Days. Is this whole thing going to be a series of near misses with the Gaang?

You know, if I had a nickel for every time an animal companion on this show has been threatened with a trip to the butcher's, I'd have two nickels. In the space of two episodes.

This is not fun to watch guys.

Not if I break you first asshole.

The way this Nurse Ratched type circus guy says "earn it" is chilling.

Of course the Fire Nation would find a way to turn bending into animal abuse. Of course.

a) that cage is way too small b) who knew cabbage suction could be so cute?

Completely unsubtle parallel with the boy here, right down to the complete disregard they show to the threats thrown their way.

Stubborn and wilful are not adjectives I would use to describe Appa this episode, or ever.

Wind buffalo. Wind Buffalo. Really? Was Fart Cow taken?

That's a very relatable facial expression.

That makeup and costume is awful.

Now that's satisfying.

Is the Fire Nation kid voiced by Aang's voice actor?

Nevermind. THAT'S satisfying.

I was right - this episode is Appa always being a step behind the Gaang.

Baby Appas! This almost makes this episode worth it!

It's funny how a single feature can contribute so much to a character's design. Arrowless Aang is just some kid. Let me rephrase that, since such a big part of Aang's character is the fact that he's just some goofy kid. Arrowless Aang is indistinguishable from other kids for the first time this series, because every other time we've seen him on screen he's either the only child airbender with his arrows, or the only airbender left.

Lady monks. Nuns? I don't think I've seen those before.

Appa and Aang share a dreamscape? That could be useful.

There's dumb, there's really dumb, and then there's 'wake a completely asleep and therefore harmless unknown creature with threats of violence' dumb.

Close call for Iroh. Do you think he's suspected that Appa (and presumably the Avatar) haven been in Ba Sing Se this whole time?

Bipedal Appa is strange. A very effective fighter, but strange to look at.

I'm amazed that giant boar thing walked away from that.

And now they're hitting me with an 'Appa's given Up' montage. Someone who works on this show hates me.

*Heroically refrains from ranting about the impracticality of using white fabric for an active warrior's glove.*

"This could be our most important mission yet." Foreshadowing?

Did Suki and Appa actually meet at any point in the Warriors of Kyoshi episode?

Turns out 'Aang' is a magic word.

Appa kisses!

Appa is apparently legally banned from having anything good for more than five minutes. Although it's good writing that they're using a previously established weakness - Appa's shedding - to bring the danger ladies back in.

I guess they have Azula drop the line about her brother to remind the audience of who she is, but surely Suki's like "Who are you? Who's your brother? Why should I care?"

Azula going after the Kyoshi warriors is completely unnecessary right? The Avatar isn't there. Neither are Zuko and Iroh. It doesn't even net her Appa. She's just looking for someone to beat up.

WOW this is bad writing. Like really bad. My Immortal levels of bad.

Would it be too much to ask for the Kyoshi warriors to do even slightly ok against the Azula ladies? Couldn't they at least get a couple of hits in?

Kudos to Suki for essentially sacrificing herself and her warriors to save Appa. 'Most important mission yet' was a bit on the nose.

Out of options, Appa goes home. Ouch.

Someone explain this to me. Air Bison teething ring?

My what a human sounding cough you have buddy.

This is why you don't use Air Bison as guard dogs.

I like what this Guru is saying. Fear displacing trust but not love feels more accurate than how I usually see the consequences of trauma discussed.

The music playing throughout this sequence fits so well. I think it's some sort of metal thing you hit - I want to say a variation on tubular bells, and maybe something Glockenspiel adjacent? It's unlike anything I've heard in this show before and it fits so well that I'm nerding out a bit.

Disney princess Guru. Aang has Disney princess moments too. Maybe it's an Air Nomad thing?

No wonder the monks built a temple here. Even destroyed, it's gorgeous.

And Appa decides to trust again. I love it when an animal visibly comes to a decision about your trustworthiness.

This energy reading stuff makes sense given that Aang and Appa already share a dreamscape.

He IS a great beast. The best!

OH COME ON

Someone whip up a wanted poster for Long Feng: Cattle Rustler. It had also never occurred to me that he was an earthbender.

That flip move with the earthbending platform must have caused Appa to land on his back. I bet that hurt.

One of the times I am very grateful that the closing credits music is so upbeat.

Final Thoughts

@aboutiroh I see why you recommended I save my chocolate for this episode.

The Tale of Momo was really just a preparatory taste of things to come, huh? Almost a microcosm of this episode.

This is the first episode where I had to take breaks while watching. Especially the circus sequence, I think I got up twice to do things like get a cup of tea and stare randomly out windows at squirrels. I didn't even have to do that with Zuko Alone, despite freaking out a lot about it, because at least that episode took breaks from the child abuse to check in with Aang being miserable. This episode was unrelenting.

If I had seen this episode when I was the age of the target audience, this may well have turned me off the show for good. If my Mom had seen this episode, I would have been banned from watching the show entirely. Not a decision I'd agree with, but my Mom is the type of person who banned her kids from watching Bambi.

To watch through all of that unrelenting animal (at best) unhappiness, and still not get Appa back at the end of the episode? That's a bit much. It's not often that this show ends its episodes without at least a little bit of something positive.

Once again, the music did a lot of heavy lifting this episode. The animal noises weren't quite as emotive as the ones in Momo's Tale, but Appa's face is more expressive, and more was shown through his expression than through Momo's, so I feel like this episode had just as much non-verbal animal communication as Momo's Tale.

I think I'm renaming season 2 "the Suki redemption arc." I really didn't like the Warriors of Kyoshi episode, and I didn't like what her character did in that episode. But every time Suki appears in season 2? She absolutely nails it.

The show since losing Appa has taken to wallowing. Even with bright spots like the poetry bouncer, the overall tone since Appa's appanapping has been ever more dark. If this keeps up for many more episodes, it will no longer be fun to watch.

Somehow I don't think this one is going on my rewatch list.

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Zuko x female reader series: Part Six

After leaving the firenation you and Zuko track the avatar down, break into a fire nation prison and you get into a fist fight with Sokka...but your fun summer aside, It all comes down the agni kai between Zuko and Azula. Although you’re only there for support you end up doing more harm than good for Zuko...

Part One here

Part Two here

Part Three here

Part Four here

Part Five here

Tagged: @taeeemin​ @creation-magician​ @kaylove12​

The first meeting

After leaving the fire nation you’d found the avatar pretty easily and now it was just the matter of convincing him not to attack you that was the problem. Zuko rehearsed his speech to an audience of you and a frog you’d befriended and you and said frog glanced at one another not convinced as Zuko finished his speech. Zuko saw you expression and groaned “this is stupid! I’ve dragged us out here for no reason, they’re not going to let us stay”. You shook your head “no they will it just depends on what you say! Come on we can get this right! Try again but this time maybe don’t seem so...teriffied?”. Zuko sighed but tried again.

Zuko wouldn’t let you come with him the first time he approached them incase they reacted badly and you agreed only because one fire bender was less intimidating and punchable then two fire benders. Despite all your rehearsal the inital meeting didn’t go well but Zuko eventually managed to get the gang to agree to your presence. He only had to risk getting attacked by them and then save their lives from an assasin, almost dying in the process, but he came back beaming to tell you the gang was expecting you. Zuko led you to their camp and the gang came into view, each and every one of them staring at you. You stared back, putting names to faces and Zuko stopped infront of Aang. “Aang, erm everyone this is y/n, she’s a firebender so she can help teach you aswell”. Aang smiled at you hesitantly but the two water siblings huffed and the earthbender just frowned. “Nice to meet you, cool airbison” you said in greeting and Aang couldn’t resist a smile “thanks his name’s Appa!”. “He’s glorious” you grinned “can i stroke him?”. In reply Appa licked you and you made a noise of disgust and suprise. Aang laughed “that means he likes you! He must smell Zuko on you”. You exchanged a raised eyebrow with Zuko but smiled back at Aang “great I made a friend already!”. The water tribe girl, Katara according to Zuko, made a noise and rolled her eyes walking away. Her brother and the earth bender stared at you but seemed equally curious as they were angry at you, which for a first day you took as a win.

The gang’s reaction to you and Zuko

Straight away you could tell the gang was confused how you and Zuko worked. You knew Zuko had mentioned you were dating but still the gang all seemed shocked at the concept. The Zuko they knew was so different to the one you knew and even though Zuko was never one for PDA even watching him be casually sweet and attentive to you was like seeing a completely different person from the angry man they first met. The day after you arrived Aang started his firebending training and Zuko asked you to help. You were more than happy to but soon realised something was wrong with Zuko. He trired showing Aang the forms but he didn’t have any fire. You basically ended up demonstrating everything to Aang while Zuko got more and more stressed that he couldn’t do it. Aware Zuko didn’t perform well under pressure you told Zuko you should break away from the training session to give him and Aang time to bond. You’d barely been back at camp 10 minutes when Zuko and Aang came into view on their way back to camp, training apparently abandonned. Aang reached you first and explained Zuko still couldn’t fire bend. You looked up the hill to where Zuko was slowly sulking his way back to camp and frowned, he looked sad, his body language defeated, head slumped. You weren’t having this and without a word to the gang marched over to Zuko.

The gang’s POV

The gang watched super confused, and partially fearing for your safety due to the look on Zuko’s face, as you marched over to Zuko. You reached him and they all held their breath. They couldn’t hear what you said but whatever it was made Zuko more upset, he exploded, gesturing wildly to where him and Aang had been training and they all recognised that temper. What they hadn’t seen though was someone control it. You touched Zuko’s hand and his whole body seemed to deflate. You gripped his hand and stared speaking to him calmly with a small smile on your face. Zuko sighed but smiled too and you hugged him tightly. They were all shocked when Zuko sunk into you and wrapped his arms around you burying his head in your neck. You seperated and said something making Zuko smile and took his hand leading him back to the camp. Sokka raised an eyebrow but Katara rolled her eyes “so he’s kind to his girlfriend, big deal he still tried to kill us”.

Zuko and Aang’s went on a fieldtrip to re-learn firebending and when they returned the gang all watched amazed as Zuko animatedly told you details of what had happened. None of them had ever seen the boy smile let alone talk so happily, it was odd. You smiled at Zuko brightly and after he’d told you everything he seated hismelf beside you an arm around you. You leant into him, tracing his hand around you, and Zuko grinned at whatever you were saying. "Is anyone actually buying this?" Katara asked watching and Sokka frowned "what the fire duo?". Katara nodded and Aang shrugged "they seem pretty happy maybe Zuko was always tring to kill us because y/n wasn’t with him". Katara scoffed as Sokka nodded like that was a plausible excuse for trying to kill them.

The first fight

Your first argument with the gang was with Sokka and unsuprisingly it was about food. The daily rations had just been split 6 ways and there wasn’t much of it, something the ever perceptive Toph noticed. "That’s it for food?" she asked when Sokka passed her a bowl and he sighed "yes there’s not much to go around now there’s 6 of us". You were sat nearby and thought the tone Sokka used was very pointed but didn’t comment.  Aang frowned "so we'll get more food, no big deal". "I mean it kind of is a big deal" Sokka sighed "it was hard enough the four of us and now there’s six of us...”. “I needed a firebending teacher Sokka you know that” Aaang shrugged and Sokka rolled his eyes. “Yes and I get letting Zuko in to teach you but do we really need to be responsible for every run away from the firenation?" Sokka asked talking about you. "First it’s his girlfriend but what next? His whole extended family? His gardener? This is hard enough as it is without Zuko’s girl tagging along". "Zuko’s girl? Tagging along?" you asked loudly and Sokka jumped seeing you’d heard. “You think that’s what I did?” you smirked "I was no use to Zuko during the escape, I didn’t help him get here or anything?”. “I didn’t say that” Sokka started but you cut him off “and we brought food too so i’m not the reason food’s short, you’re the one who eats like a horse. I’m just as much an asset as Zuko". Sokka raised an eyebrow "really because he’s a fire bending prince". "And i’m a fire bending navy expert, what can you do?". Sokka blushed "well i....". "Water tribe right?” you said not giving him the chance to repeat himself “but you can’t water bend can you?" you asked smirking as the boy glared "i can still fight" Sokka cried. "Really prove it, fight me" you grinned. Sokka frowned "i’m not going to do that". "Why because i’ll beat you?". "I’m a warrior of the souther water tribe" Sokka argued and you rolled your eyes "big deal i’ve been sparring with Azula Mai and Ty lee since I was 7, have you ever played fire knives with Azula? I don’t think so, you’ll be easy". Sokka glared and you knew you’d triggered him. "Okay no bending" Sokka said and you nodded "sure and no weapons, that includes boomerangs". "Guys are you sure..." Katara started but Toph shushed her “shut up Katara I want to feel Sokka get his ass kicked”. You and Sokka stood feet away from each other and Sokka smirked looking past you to Zuko "don’t worry i won’t hurt her too much" he said cockily and your anger peaked. You were going to teach this water tribesmann who was useless.

_ _ _

The fight over, you and Sokka sat beside one another on the floor. Sokka held an icepack to his head for the swelling, it was the only injury you’d given him Katara couldn’t heal, while you inspected the red mark from where Sokka bit you when you had him in a headlock. "I’m sorry about that" Sokka blushed "i don’t usually bite, it’s not noble for a warrior to do". "Any victory is a victory no matter the means...even if you lost" you replied. Sokka frowned but you smirked at him to let him know you were joking and Sokka laughed. "I let you win". You raised an eyebrow and Sokka sighed "okay maybe i didn’t but there’s no shame in losing to a better opponent". You grinned "friends?" And Sokka nodded "friends".

Zuko and Katara’s POV

Zuko and katara watched you two confused. You’d gone from arguing, to physically attacking one another to now laughing like old friends. "Is she...does y/n always fight people?" Katara asked hesitantly. Zuko shrugged "usually not physically but yeah she does that, does your brother usually bite people?". Katara shook her head "nope just your girlfriend". "I don’t know if i should be offended or pleased?" Zuko frowned.

The prison break

True to your promise, after you fight you and Sokka became fast friends mainly because you had the same reckless energy and it was utter chaos when you two were brainstorming ideas. Zuko was kind of jealous at first but you reassured him he’d always be your best friend even if he was your boyfriend and Zuko didn’t mind as much. Sokka didn’t object to you coming with him to rescue his dad and considering you actually knew where the prison was considered you a pretty important asset.

You were meant to stay on the ship during the prison break but that idea went to pot as soon as the steam made the ship useless. So you entered the prison with Zuko and Sokka and soon enough Zuko got caught. You managed to get the job guarding his cell though so could keep an eye on him when there was an announcement important guests had arrived. Your plan to escape was soon so you ditched your guard uniform and headed to your meeting point when you came across one said important visitor who spotted you straight away.

Mai.

You swore inwardly but tried to offer a friendly smile incase she was in a forgiving mood "hey Mai...". A knife was embedded in the wall next to you and you nodded "okay okay, before we start trying to kill each other any chance you'll accept my apology, realise me and Zuko didn’t mean to hurt you and let me go?". Mai sent a knife for you and you used your bending to only just knock it off course. "Fine i guess violence is the answer" and launched into an attack. You didn’t want to hurt Mai so mainly avoided her attacks in an effort to tire her so you could then take her out carefully. The best way to do that was to make her lose focus. You’d been told your best weapon in a fight was your mouth, you could make people angry and lose concentration easily and so tried to use some of that now on Mai. "Also just to clarify i’m not fighting you because of Zuko, i mean two girls fighting over a guy is so gross and demeaning i’m fighting you because you’re trying to stab me! Alright? Okay good, just wanted to make that clarification". "Stop talking!" Mai cried and you smirked, it was working. You carried on talking nonesense, apologising for that time at school you’d accidentally fell on her in gym, that time at the dinner party you’d knocked her drink over, that time when you were eight and called her knives dumb etc, until finally Mai’s anger peaked but it didn’t make her an easier opponent, the anger seemed to fuel her. Mai threw a knife and before you could move it landed in your arm. The pain was red hot and more intense that any burn or hit you’d been inflicted before. Angry and barely thinking you retaliated. You yanked the knife out of your arm and sent it right back at her. Mai hadn’t been expecting that and neither had you. It cut her hand and you stared "Mai i’m sorry...". "Stop apologising" she cried trying to attack you again “fight!”. “I don’t want to fight you” you cried and Mai glared “well i’m not letting you go, this doesn’t end until me or you can’t get back up”. You winced “I hate to disagree with you but no”. You shot a wave of fire at her knocking her back against the door of a cell. “Sorry” you winced and kicked her in the chest. She tumbled into the room and you slammed the door shut. Mai beat her fists against the door in rage and you grimanced opening the eye hole. "Mai i’m sorry but I’m not fighting you so this way I don’t have to, i hope you can understand that and some day we can maybe be friends again" and then rushed away. Your escape was still in motion and you had serious time to make up for. You ran down a tunnel and shot out into the sunlight of the main yard. You spotted Zuko and Sokka and worked your way through the crowd to them. You reached Zuko and the others and were panting hard "Mai’s here...very angry...we need to go". Zuko nodded gripping your hand "yep that seems wise, let’s go!". “The barge is this way” Suki cried and you all took off running again.  

You’d finally reached the barge with minimal trouble when the pain in your arm flared and you held it awkwardly trying to ease the pain. Zuko spotted the blood on your arm and frowned “Y/n!”. "It’s fine" you smiled seeing his worry and he shook his head ripping a piece of fabric off his shirt “No it’s not, here”. He wrapped it around your arm tightly "i’m sorry we'll get you back to Katara soon" and squeezed your hand. You smiled and Zuko looked at you for a few more seconds before he had to turn away to help Sokka. Mai wasn’t the only one in the prison, Azula and Ty lee were here too of course. You watched the fight from the barge, furious you couldn’t join in but your arm was making you feel faint so you knew fighting was not an option for you. Azula and Ty lee appeared to be winning but thanks to Mai you got away. You cheered for Mai as she attacked the guards, taking out multiple men at once and Zuko looked at you confused “y/n she just stabbed you”. “But she saved us Zuko” you smiled “my apology worked...that or she just wants to kill us herself...no it’s hopefully the first one!” and then you prompty fainted from blood loss.

_ _ _

When you came round you were back at camp, arm healed courtsey of Katara, Zuko asleep at the foot of your sleeping bag. You sat up carefully not wanting to wake him but Sokka didn’t get the memo. “Y/n” he yelled seeing you and rushed over. Zuko jolted awake and stopped Sokka from touching you “don’t she could still be sore!”. “I’m fine Zuko” you smirked but still he pushed Sokka away from you so he could hug you first. “You worried me when you fainted...I had no idea your arm was that bad...i’m so sorry”. “Don’t be” you smiled “i’m fine aren’t i? and we got Sokka’s dad! and Mai might have forgiven us! All in all it was a good trip”. “Only you could think you almost dying was a success”. “Almost” you said pointedly “almost dying Zuko”. Zuko rolled his eyes and kissed you making Sokka groan “ugh I think I’ll take my hug later...” and left you and Zuko alone.  

The campsite

Azula soon found your hiding place in the western air temple forcing you to move to a camping ground and there was a limited number of tents. Katara was trying to sort out the sleeping arrangements but she miscalculated.  "And y/n you can share my tent" Katara announced, her long and careful explanation finished and you and Zuko exchanged a look. "That’s sweet Katara but i’m fine bunking with Zuko". You’d barely finished your sentance when Sokka spluttered in suprise. "But you can’t do that" Sokka cried and you raised an eyebrow "why not?". "Because you’re dating" he cried but you and Zuko shrugged "and?". “And? well it’s...it’s against the rules! I’m not allowed to share with Suki, tell them Katara!" he cried pushing his sister forwards who frowned awkwardly. "Well we’re older than you" you shrugged and Zuko nodded "and smarter". "Plus we’re engaged" you pointed out and everyone’s eyes widenned "what?". "Is she lying?" Aang asked Zuko shook his head "i mean no...just i didn’t actually ask her my father did it for me but yes, technically speaking we are engaged". You nodded to Sokka "are you and Suki engaged?". "Well no..." he blushed. "Then that’s why you can’t share a tent" you retorted and pulled Zuko’s arm as you went into the tent "night guys". Zuko followed you as Sokka called out protests and Katara just sighed "leave them alone Sokka". Sokka stared mouth wide-open before an idea formed in his head and he started towards Suki’s tent. "Go to your own tent Sokka!" Katara called and Sokka cursed "ow come on!".

You moved around campsites pretty regularly after that incase Azula found you again and ended up in an old villa Zuko’s family owned. Everything was going fine, you had a beach day, Zuko and Aang got better at firebending, you even managed to drag Zuko to the theatre and then Aang went missing. With Aang gone Zuko figured the only person who could take on his father was his uncle and so you set out to find him. Zuko recruited an old friend to help and you soon found King Bumi and the white lotus who took you to Iroh’s camp site. Bumi told Zuko the tent Iroh was in and you saw Zuko tense and fear covered his face. “Don’t worry” you said patting his arm “your uncle will forgive you, just tell him what you told me and it’ll all be okay”. Zuko nodded but seemed unable to do much else, he looked paralysed. “Can you...can you come with me?” Zuko asked softly and your heart exploded in sympathy. “Of course I will” you nodded hugging him tightly. The others all dispersed and you and Zuko walked arm and arm to the tent. Zuko took a breath before entering and you looked at him “ready?”. He nodded looking at you before fixing his eyes on the tent opening and he stepped inside. You followed a few steps behind and saw Zuko look around before his posture slumped. It took a few seconds for your eyes to adjust but Zuko filled you in on what was happening “we should go he’s asleep”. You frowned knowing Zuko wouldn’t get any rest until this was done. “Why don’t we wait for him to wake up?”. Zuko looked at you before nodding “yeah okay”. You sat crosslegged on the floor beside one another waiting for Iroh to wake up. The hours stretched on and on and you felt sleep trying to take you but you resisted. You kept ahold of Zuko’s hand letting him know you were there with him. You were sure the time felt far worse for him and weren’t going to leave him, even if it was just to sleep. When Iroh did move Zuko jumped and you swallowed. “It’s okay” you assured him and he nodded standing up. Zuko moved forwards and you didn’t follow. This should be between him and his uncle, but when Zuko started to cry your heart did crumple slightly. Just as you were begging Iroh to forgive him already he wrapped Zuko into a tight hug and, also crying, forgave him. Tears fell down your cheeks too as you smiled at the sight of Zuko and his uncle. Iroh noticed you when he opened his eyes and he smiled warmly.  "Y/n get in here" Iroh grinned holding out a hand to you. You blushed “ow are you sure? I mean this is your family moment...I don’t want to intrude”. Iroh scoffed "any girl who visited me in prison and snook me snacks is family in my eyes". You grinned and Zuko frowned "wait you visited my uncle in prison?". You shrugged "not too often about once a week". "How did i not know this?" Zuko asked and you paled "i purposefully didn’t tell you, i wanted you to work out your feelings on your own, i hope you’re not mad". Zuko shook his head "of course i’m not mad now come here". You smiled and stepped forward to join the hug between Zuko and Iroh.

Afterwards you caught Iroh up on everything he’d missed and Zuko explained his idea to have Iroh overthrow Ozai. Even as Zuko said it you got the feeling it wouldn’t happen, you could tell by Iroh’s reaction he had something different in mind. When Iroh said it wasn’t him who should be the new firelord you knew where he was going, you’d already been suspecting Zuko should have more say in how the fire nation was run and Iroh apparently agreed. "Me? Firelord?" Zuko asked "but i can’t...". Sokka, Toph, Katara and Suki just looked to you, now very used to you giving Zuko pep talks and you were on it. "You can" you smiled taking Zuko’s hand "i figured you’d have to do it for a while now and you’ve proven yourself Zuko, you can do this". Zuko stared at you blankly as his uncle joined in, listing the reasons why Zuko would make a good ruler. Zuko gripped your hand tighter as what you were both saying set in. "Okay" he barely whispered "i’ll go see Azula and become..." he swallowed and you smiled "you won’t be facing her alone" you told him and Zuko beamed at you.  

The Agni Kai

Judgement day here you and Zuko returned to the fire nation so he could fight his sister. Katara accompanied you as you figured you’d need a healer no matter who won. You landed in the courtyard and told Appa to fly away in case Azula tried to hurt him. You stood behind Zuko, beside Katara, waiting for the fight of his life. If he won he became firelord, if he didn’t...lets just say there’s no way Azula would let any of you live. The fight began and you stayed out of the way of Azula and Zuko’s duel as much as you could. With the comet fueling their bending it was one of the most intense fights you’d ever witnessed but Zuko was performing well. As Azula started to lose you could see her eyeing her surroundings for a way out and she fixed on you. You were ready for this, back at camp Iroh had warned you about this and given you a crash course in deflecting lightning, you pushed Katara back and readied yourself to deflect your first lightning bolt ever as it hurtled towards you. Zuko yelled out chasing it but was too slow, not that it mattered. You caught it and using the technique Iroh had taught you shot it right back at Azula. It worked and you were thrilled until you realised Zuko had been running towards you and was now right in the path of the deflected bolt. The bolt struck both Zuko and Azula within seconds of one another and sent them both flying back at the force. The smoke cleared and you went cold as you saw Zuko smouldering on the ground. "Zuko" you yelled rushing to him, it had hit him on the shoulder and the wound was badly burnt. "Katara" you called and she rushed over. "Heal him! Please! please!" You pleaded "i didn’t mean to hit him, i didn’t know he was so close". Katara worked and you stared at Zuko’s burn, the burn you’d given him until his breathing evened out and you gasped in relief. "I’m going to go make sure Azula’s okay and bind her" Katara told you and you nodded barely even listening as you cradled Zuko "Zuko are you okay?" you asked "Zuko i’m so sorry!". "Don’t be" he smiled weakly "i should’ve learnt long ago you don’t need me to save you, when did you learn to do that? More secret visits with my uncle". "Maybe" you smiled before frowning at Zuko’s burn that would surely form a scar despite Katara’s help "i can’t believe i did that to you". "Don't' Zuko said moving your gaze to his face "you did it, we did, we won". You nodded smiling and hugged him, carefully, but none the less passionately.

When Zuko was well enough you helped him to stand and walked him to the balcony overlooking all of the firenation. Zuko looked over the city below and you followed his gaze. It was still barely light but dusk was approaching and small lights were lighting up around the city. They news would be spreading as you stood here that Zuko was the new firelord and the war was finally over. You smiled standing beside him "surveying your new kingdom? Looking for a place to build a statue of yourself?". Zuko tutted but smiled. "This doesn’t feel normal" he sighed "this...that i’m...". "Firelord" you smiled "Firelord Zuko". Zuko nodded "it even sounds weird you saying it". You smiled and wrapped an arm around his waist. Zuko didn’t hesitate to wrap his around your shoulder. "It sounds weird now but you’re going to be an amazing Firelord Zuko, you’re kind and smart and actually want to help people! We haven’t had a firelord with that mentality in...well forever! I have total faith in you". Zuko sighed "i’m glad someone does". "Hey" you said tilting his face to yours "remember what i said to you on that ship all that time ago, i never lie about important things. You will be an amazing Firelord Zuko, just you wait and see". Zuko smiled and kissed you softly. You smiled stroking his cheek as you kissed him back. Zuko broke away but pulled you to his chest wrapping his arms around you. You smiled looking out at the city. "With you with me i can’t mess this up too badly right?". You smiled "that’s right, together we can handle this".

2 years later

"Y/n" Zuko groaned as you messed with his hair but he didn’t push you away. You’d been on your longest voyage since you’d been dating and honestly Zuko wouldn’t push you away from him even if you were stabbing him he’d missed you so much. You’d returned this morning after a 6 month naval trip to the water tribe and Zuko had left your side once. He had to leave for a small disaster in one of the colonies and that had killed him but now he was back in his rightful place beside you and that was all that mattered. You were messing with his hair, trying to get his hair free of the crown he’d had to put on to attend his crisis meeting. You were never of a fan of anything restricting Zuko’s hair and finally yanked the clip from his hair and smiled as it fell down in all it’s glory. "There" you said patting his shoulders and Zuko shook his head blowing a piece of hair out of his face. "Y/n you know i can’t have my hair down all the time". "But why not? You’re the Firelord and now is the time for important changes!". Zuko rolled his eyes but smiled "and this is the big change you think i should make?". You nodded "ow yes, you need to look respectable as Firelord and with your hair down you look really really good" you sighed and Zuko smirked. "Well i’m glad you like it but it’s not practical, how would i even wear my crown?" Zuko asked and you frowned before pushing him down so you could reach his head. "Hmmm maybe we could fashion a little stand, or pin some pieces to hold it in place...". "That sounds like a lot of effort" Zuko commented when you gasped "or you could plait it!". "Plait it?" Zuko asked and you nodded. "I saw lots of men with plaits in their hair in the water tribe on my visit, Sokka’s dad has one and it looks very good on a man". Zuko raised an eyebrow "you think Sokka’s dad looks good?". "No...well yes Hakoda is hot but you’re missing the point, let’s do your hair like that!". "No i think we should go back to the Hakoda’s hot part..." Zuko commented but you hushed him and pushed him to sit on the floor as you fiddled with his hair. Zuko sighed but liked the feeling of you playing with his hair so smiled and closed his eyes. You were gentle and your touch soft so Zuko relaxed into you until you abruptly stood up "done!". You showed Zuko himself in the mirror and he smiled "wow it does look good". "I told you" you grinned when the door opened and Sokka walked in. You’d brought him back from your trip as a suprise for Zuko and he’d wasted no time settling into the palace and letting himself into rooms without knocking apparently. "Zuko where do you...." Sokka started before he stopped dead in his tracks seeing Zuko’s hair. He started laughing with glee while crying "water tribe!" multiple times as he pointed at Zuko "you’ve got a water tribe hairstyle!". "Yeah y/n apparently thinks they look good on the men in your tribe" Zuko said raising an eyebrow, still not over your comment about Sokka’s dad, but you weren’t listening. As soon as Sokka heard you could plait hair he’d grabbed you "do mine! do mine!" and shook his hair loose. Zuko watched as you pulled Sokka’s hair into a plait delicately until it looked like his. "Finished" you smiked and Sokka rushed to the mirror before laughing at himself in glee too. You smiled as Sokka grabbed Zuko "we look like twins!". Zuko raised an eyebrow but you saved him the effort of replying "now do mine Sokka!". Sokka complied and you made Zuko watch so he could do it for you when Sokka wasn’t here.

Plaits all finished it was quiet a sight, the three of you sat together with matching hairstyles. You had a games night and then relaxed and chatted. You soon fell asleep against Zuko, your journey and reunion with him tiring you out too much to wait for Sokka to leave, and unbothered Zuko and Sokka carried on chatting.The conversation went quiet and Sokka looked at you "is she asleep?" he whispered and Zuko frowned "y/n?" he called but you didn’t stir "i think so". Sokka smiled "so wanna see the necklace?". Zuko nodded and Sokka went into his pocket pulling out the betrothal necklace Zuko wanted. "I had Piandao help me make it like you wanted" Sokka told him and opened the box. Zuko didn’t want a design exactly like the water tribe one, the fire nation was different and so a different necklace was needed. The one he asked Sokka to make was thinner, with a black cord crisscrossing several times before dipping down where a red stone sat, glimmering in the light. Zuko grinned, it was exactly like he’d imagined it. "Do you think she'll like it?" Sokka asked and Zuko nodded looking down at you "yes". "Well she better or she’s never going to say yes to marrying you". Zuko gulped, that was true but Sokka hit his arm "i was joking, of course she'll say yes, she loves you more than anything, anyone can see that just watching you two together". Zuko smiled down at you asleep against his chest and thought about the proposal he’d prepared. He was going to take you to your favourite restuarant, a tradition you’d still kept up even after he turned into the firelord, and treat you to your favourite foods. Then you’d walk back to the palace through all your favourite spots in the gardens and end up by the turtle duck pond. He’d have your turtleduck come over with the necklace securely attached to his back and Zuko would ask you then and there. "I hope so" he sighed when you moved in your sleep suddenly. "Zuko can we go to bed" you yawned "i’m tired and the light is very bright". Zuko and Sokka froze as you sat up and you frowned "what? Did i drool or something when i was napping?". They both sighed in relief, you hadn’t heard. "Yeah we can go to bed" Zuko nodded and Sokka stood up "i’ll see you guys tomorrow" and sneakily left the box on a table for Zuko. You were oblivious already pulling the covers back to get into bed. Sokka grinned at Zuko and made his way to the door "night y/n" he called and you said a sleepy reply before face diving into the bed. Zuko smirked closing the door and turning the light off before joining you. You sighed sleepily as Zuko snook closer to you and pulled you against him. You shuffled your head getting comfy against him and eventually stopped "goodnight Firelord" you said sleepily and Zuko smirked, he still hadn’t gotten used to it but he liked how it sounded when you said it. "Goodnight y/n" he smiled kissing your head but you were already asleep. "I really hope you say yes" he whispered before resting his head beside yours and going to sleep.

You said yes of course.

______

So that’s it! I had to get in a comment about Zuko’s hair progression one last time because honestly that was one of the greatest things about the whole series. This was kinda hard to write cus so much happened once Zuko joined the gaang but i tried to split it into parts so hopefully it wasn’t too disjointed 😐

Thank you for all the likes and support it means a lot :)

[theemptyskies]

Ok I'm posting this first chapter a little late haha. It was for @azulaweek for Day 2 Rare Pairs and Day 4 AU.

It's going to be a Buffy the Vampire Slayer and AtLA crossover.

Hope y'all enjoy! Shout out to @juniperhillpatient for motivating me to give this a shot. You're awesome 🙂

Any feedback is appreciated ❤

Displacement - A New Beginning

Content Warning: Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Blood and Gore

Summary

The rise of Vaatu leads to unprecedented darkness falling upon the world. Unexpected events lead to Azula learning to live in an unknown world, preparing for an uncertain future.

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A spell to close the Hellmouth in "The Zeppo" has unexpected consequences. With no way of sending the newcomer home, Buffy, Faith and the Scoobies do their best to help the young girl adapt to her new home.

Or

While facing the possible end of the world, Azula finds herself transported through the newly created hellmouth, ending up in Sunnydale. Watch as she grows and adapts in this new world, learning to overcome the pain of losing loved ones, finding a family, and starting to see this as a new opportunity at life.

Anyone who thought the Fire Nation was evil was a fool. At least they should feel they are, given the darkness that has enveloped the world in the four years since the war has ended. It all began last year when Avatar Roku warned Avatar Aang that there was a risk of a dark spirit breaking free. He called it Vatu. It was the spirit of chaos and darkness, the antithesis to the Avatar spirit. 

The spirit had a sort of cult worshipping it. Avatar Aang tried to stop them himself, not wanting to involve their friends and risk our safety. That was his first mistake. It left Katara and myself woefully unprepared for the cult's ambush. We fought them off as best as we could, but there were far too many. In the end, our cottage was left in ruins, dead waterless foliage caked in our enemy's blood, I was nearly beaten unconscious, and Katara was taken. 

They times the kidnapping perfectly, just a day before their planned ritual to free Vaatu from his imprisonment. Avatar Aang, the foolish child that he is, refused to leave Katara's rescue to Sokka, Toph, and myself. His inability to let go of the infatuation he holds for Katara gave the cult enough time to break Vaatu's bindings. It was then the darkest days came.

Upon its release, Vaatu, with the help of its cult, performed a ritual. Black tendrils erupted from its body, tearing across the skies and burrowing into the earth, its physical dorm dissolving in the process. Agni's light was blocked by shadows stripping bending from Firebenders across the glow. From the five largest points, great beasts emerged. Enormous, otherworldly, monstrosities that the worst of nightmares couldn't compare to. Following their emergence, a diverse horde of smaller, equally horrid, creatures poured from the openings. 

There was no time to prepare. Within hours the largest cities were reduced to unrecognizable ruins. Formerly bustling streets were transformed into rivers of red. Body parts left strewn across the rubble. Images of beast feasting on children still haunt my mind. Even our own friends weren't able to escape the carnage. We managed to find Ty Lee the last of the living Kyoshi Warriors, just as she was impaled on the claws of a bald, gaunt humanoid-looking monster. It managed to rip an arm from her body by the time we closed the distance enough for Katara to decapitate it with a disk of ice. Her last words will forever be seared in my mind.

"I'm happy you're ok 'Zula."

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Over the two weeks, since The Emergence began, Aang was almost non-stop searching for and rescuing survivors. We established a temporary refugee camp at the unoccupied Southern Air Temple. Like an endlessly erupting volcano, the creature continued rising from the pits Vatu created. Isolated locations like the Air Temples and Water Tribes were the only places still safe, for now at least.

Knowing that allowing events to continue unimpeded, Aang turned to the spirits for guidance. The Air Temple's sacred grounds made the transition from the mortal world to the spiritual plane much easier. Sitting in the temple powerless as Katara held me, waiting for Aang to return from the spirit world, listening to the distant roars of monsters below the clouds, I don't think I ever felt so terrified. 

Almost like she could sense my fear, Katara held me tighter, softly kissed the top of my head while gently running her fingers through my now unkempt hair. It's strange how the moment I felt the most fear was followed by one where I felt incredibly safe. As her gentle caresses lulled me to sleep, I heard a whisper from my lover. A hope a clung to until the very end.

"Everything will be ok Zula. We'll make it through this."

Two days later, Aang returned from the spirit world. With the help of Avatar Roku, he had managed to make contact with Rava, the spirit of light and the source of the Avatar's power. With the information she gave us, we were able to come up with a plan. Vaatu's ritual tore open portals that were connected to another dimension. They were directly connected to the five largest beasts that first erupted from them. While the portals themselves couldn't be closed, the pits that housed them would be sealed, finally stopping the endless stream of monsters from pouring into our world. All they had to do was kill the five great beasts.

Admittedly, it wasn't much of a plan. As Sokka had put it "So all we have to do is take out monsters the size of small palaces? Great! You know, for once, why couldn't the world-saving plan be easy." I rolled my eyes at his remark at the time but didn't make a retort. The small smiles that our friends held were worth dealing with his rather poor sense of humor. Besides, he was family after all, and if he said something too stupid I'm sure Katara would've happily frozen him to the ceiling.

Rava's power, being the opposite of Vaatu's, would lure the massive beasts to Aang, acting as a sort of beacon. The general plan was that Aang would activate the Avatar State, he would kill the beasts near the pits, we would keep the army of smaller monsters away from Aang while he fights the bigger ones, don't die. Said like that, the plan sounded risky but simple. Unfortunately, it was anything but simple.

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There were a few Earthbenders among the rescued survivors that volunteered to help. We knew we couldn't hold back a never-ending army. After talking with Sokka, rapidly formulating and dismissing plans, the best we came up with was having the Earthbenders create a dome over the pit. This would grab the attention of the surrounding creatures. While they focused on not letting the army break through the barrier, the rest of us would protect the Earthbenders until the beast was slain. 

Naturally, it wasn't that simple. Rava failed to mention that as each beast died, only some of Vaatu's energy returned to the pit, sealing it. The rest dispersed to the remaining beasts, making them stronger. The first there battles went relatively smoothly, the growing strength of the beasts was more and more apparent with each successive fight. We experienced a handful of losses but nothing unexpected. Merely some inexperienced volunteers. It was the fourth battle that hit our group the hardest. 

The battle started just like every other, sealing the pit and fighting the surrounding beasts. However, due to the strength of this beast, this fight lasted far longer than the last. With our growing exhaustion, it was only a matter of time before someone made a mistake. As Sokka slew one of them, another managed to catch him off guard from behind. Faster than anyone could react, the hairless humanoid snatched his wolf-tail, yanking him back, and sunk its fangs into the side of his neck. Within seconds his skin lost all color and he was left hanging limp in the thing's arms, his sword slipping from his hands and his vacant eyes forever left wide in horror.

That fight ended soon after, with the Avatar finally defeating the creature. I had to nearly rip Katara away from her fallen brother, the last of her biological family. I held her as she cried during the entire flight back to the Southern Air Temple. Upon our arrival, Aang approached us after climbing off of Appa.

"I'm sorry for what happened to Sokka, Katara." He began. At the sound of his voice, I felt Katara stiffen in my arms. 

"You're sorry..." It was a whisper I barely heard as she pulled away, her face displaying a hatred I didn't know she was capable of. He began to speak again but she cut him off.

"How dare you come to me and say that!" She growled at him. "Like I'm sorry will make it all better! You could've stopped all of this! You could have prevented Vaatu from breaking free and none of this would've happened! Now SOKKA IS DEAD!" A loud slap echoed across the now silent temple as she struck Aang across the face. 

Her voice lowered to a whisper as she continued, tears freely falling from her eyes. "S-s-sokka is d-dead and it's all your fault... Just stay away from me..." Finishing her quiet statement, Katara ran inside the temple, away from the sympathetic stares of the gathered survivors. 

Aang watched her go, holding his own tears back before turning to me. He unfastened the strap holding Sokka's blade across his back. With both hands, he held it out to me. "Will you please give this to her. He would want her to have it."

I accepted the blade and he turned, beginning to walk away. "She didn't mean that you know. Katara's hurt and angry."

I don't know why I felt the need to offer him that small comfort. Maybe it was because Aang had taken the time, despite his exhaustion, to do this for her fiance. Regardless of the reason, he paused, shaking his head.

"Doesn't matter Azula. Even if she apologizes, we both know she's right." With that statement, he walked away. Turning, I walked in the direction Katara had run. I knew I wasn't the best at providing comfort, but that's all I could do for her now. I don't remember ever seeing her so broken, and I don't think there's anything I could've said to help.

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Katara squeezing my hand pulled me from my memories. "Are you ok?"

I turned to look at her, seeing the concern reflected in her eyes.  I looked over the edge of the Bison's saddle, noting that the sea was replaced by land below us, before responding "Ya, I'm fine. Was just thinking about everything that happened. What brought us here."

Katara stilled, appearing to look at something that wasn't there. She was probably lost within the same memories I was moments ago. I squeezed her hand softly, wondering for a moment how her hands remained so soft after the countless battles they've been through. She jerked slightly, her eyes regaining focus before giving me a small smile. It was a rare sight in recent months but still as beautiful as the day she proposed.

"Despite everything that's happened, I'm glad you've been here with me Zula."  Katara said softly before leaning in and giving me a soft kiss that left my heart stuttering. It's amazing that, after all this time, she still has the same effect on me. It faintly reminds me of how nervous I was when I admitted out loud to Ty Lee and Zuko that I wanted to marry her. Though the nervousness I felt that day grew to be far greater when she walked around the corner in the palace hallway, clearly having heard what I said. 

I couldn't stop the small smile from forming on my face as the memory washed over me. Leaning my forehead against hers, I recalled her walking up to me, her wide-eyed, surprised, expression shifting to one of pure happiness. 

"Ya know, I've been nervous all week about giving this to you, but suddenly I feel a lot more confident." She had said jokingly, a smirk plastered on her face as she pulled a small rectangle box from her robe. She opened the box, standing barely a foot away, revealing a blue necklace, simple in design. The pendant had the symbol of the Fire Nation in the center. Only, instead of black over a red background, it was ivory over a pale blue. It was simple but perfect. 

"In the Watertribes, we use necklaces to propose. I wasn't so sure before, but something tells me I can guess your answer. Will you marry me?" Her eyes twinkled in amusement as I nodded dumbly, too shocked over what had just happened. It certainly wasn't my most elegant moment. It had taken me a few moments to process what had happened before I launched myself at her, pulling her into a searing kiss which she smiled into. Pulling away from me, with eyes full of joy and a smile lighting up her face, Katara asked "Can I put it on you?"

I nodded again, not trusting my voice. Katara pulled the necklace from its case and walked around me as it looked over at Zuko and Ty Lee both wearing equally large smiles. As soon as it was fastened, Zuko pulled us both into a large hug, quickly followed by Ty Lee, who couldn't contain her excitement. "Oh my gosh Azula! Congratulations! You're getting married! There is so much planning we have to do! The decorations, oh you know there has to be music..."

I looked into Katara's eyes, not pulling away from her, returning the smile. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be." I said softly so only she could hear, before closing the distance for another kiss.

We were pulled from our moment by Appa beginning his descent, and Aang jumping off, unfurling his glider and flying away, creating distance for his battle. Looking back towards the rapidly approaching ground of the western Earth Kingdom, I could see the sea of black dots below us start to become more defined, revealing the mass of creatures we'll soon be fighting. Appa landed with a massive gust of wind sending monsters flying, giving us a few moments to disembark and fall into formation.

As soon as Toph landed, she quickly entombed the pit in a think earthen dome, soon backed by two other Earthbenders, preventing the swarm of monsters from continuing to grow. Katara, myself and the other volunteer survivors formed a protective perimeter around them. I quickly unsheathed Sokka's black blade instead of using my dual tanto. Katara handed me the sword before we left the temple, saying Sokka would want to be here fighting with us. Looking at the gleaming dark metal, I knew she was right. 

The luminous light of the Avatar state in the distance, shortly followed by a deafening roar and rumbling earth signified the start of the battle. The monstrosities surrounding us, the same kind that butchered Ty lee, righted themselves before charging. There was a vindictive pleasure in cutting them down, watching their bodies crumble into dust as their heads rolled. The creatures were stronger and faster than normal people, that was unquestionable. However, for a veteran of the 100-year war, their attacks were laughably easy to read and counter.

As the battle drew on, the quakes from Aang's battle with the giant, snake-like beast continued, and exhaustion slowly began to seep in. There was a yell to my left followed by a sickening snap that drew my attention. The limp body of a survivor was held by one of our enemies, head twisted to an unnatural degree. It carelessly threw the body into another ally that was attempting to flank it before running towards the earthbenders.

"Katara!" I yelled, directing her to the monster. She quickly launched a disk of ice, decapitating the beast.

"Fall in!" I yelled, causing our allies to move closer to the earthbenders, closing the gap in our defense.

I risked a glance towards Aang's fight to see the serpent falling from a newly formed mountain, who's shadow covered our battlefield. The end of its tail was coiled around the light of the Avatar State. Not a moment later, a massive quake tore across the Earth, the impact echoing in its wake. Chaotic black and red energy tore through the air, washing over us, blasting through the cover of the pit, and, for the first time in ages, I felt my Firebending return as Agni's light shined once again.

Unlike before, when the energy entered the hole it pulsed. Before I could react, some of the energy solidified, wrapping around my waist, before it began to drag me with it. 

"Azula!" I heard Katara yelled as she raced towards me, skating across her ice. Using it, Katara launched herself off the ramp, rapidly closing the distance between us. Her left hand gripped mine as she used the last of her water to freeze her feet to the ground, stopping the energy from pulling me further.

I smirked at the display. "Very impressive Master Katara." I said causing her to roll her eyes.

"Only you could brush off nearly dying so easily." She said, her light tone trying to hide the strain of fighting the pulling tendril of energy. Her expression softened before she looked me in the eyes and said "I told you we would make it through this remember. I'm not gonna let you make a list out of..." Her words abruptly stopped as warm blood splattered across my face. "Zula... Your face..." Her voice was weak, words barely audible. My mind shut down, a sinking emptiness filled me as I started at the now crimson fist sticking through my fiance's chest. I couldn't help but look into her wide, horrified, blue eyes as the first extracted itself. Her grip on my hand didn't lessen as the bloodied hand gripped her hair, pulling her head to the side.

Gaunt, bald, fanged monsters peered at me from over her shoulder, giving me a sickening, malicious, grin before sinking its teeth into the side of Katara's neck. Her mouth opened in a silent scream, the grip on my hand weakening. The slick blood coating her front caused my hand to slide out of hers within a moment, my grip causing her ring to slide off with it. I watched, unable to speak, as the tendril of energy pulled me into to pit. The last thing I saw being the light leaving Katara's beautiful eyes as it tore its fangs from her throat.

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"For untold eons, demons walked the Earth. They made it their home, their, uh... their hell. But in time, they lost their purchase on this reality, and the way was made for mortal animals, for-for man. All that remains of the old ones are vestiges, certain magicks, certain creatures." -- Rupert Giles

[vulcan-highblood]

(Blue) Spirited Away

Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender Pairing(s): Gen Chapter: 3/? Words: 4k Summary:  Prince Zuko wasn’t able to escape the Northern Water Tribe after the disastrous conclusion to the Siege of the North. However, Aang is more than happy to invite his old pal, the Blue Spirit, to join him and his friends on the first leg of their journey to the Earth Kingdom.

(An AU where Aang never learned the true identity of the Blue Spirit, Zuko is desperate, and Spirits enjoy interfering in the lives of mortals)

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

Read it on AO3

Chapter 3: Lost and Looking

Aang couldn’t believe it. The warriors really hadn’t been joking when they’d said that the Blue Mask Guy could disappear like a polar bear dog! He’d been right there, and Aang had turned around for a second, and he was gone! Just like when Blue Mask Guy had rescued him from that Fire Nation fortress, he remembered. The guy had been wobbling really bad after getting hit in the head (mask?) by an arrow, but he’d managed to stagger to his feet and Aang had dragged both of them to safety. He’d set the guy down on the ground, put his back to the guy for a second just to look in his robes to see if he still had frozen frogs (he did), and when he’d turned back around the guy was gone.  

Part of Aang had started to wonder if he’d ever been there to begin with. And now he was at the North Pole! But why? “Hey!!” he shouted, “Mask guy?” He didn’t even know his name!  “Masky?” Aang shouted, using the wind to carry his voice a little farther. “Blue Mask Guy?” Why was the guy’s mask so familiar, though? He recognized the guy, now, of course, the two swords and the way he moved so fast and quiet was hard to mistake. But the mask itself was familiar too… if only he had paid better attention during the spirit tales at the temples…

But no, he realized with a frown, that wasn’t where he’d seen that mask before. Where… oh! He remembered then, where he’d seen it. He’d gone to see a play with Bumi, they thought they’d bought tickets for a theatre troupe performing Clash of the Earth Masters, but when they’d arrived, it had turned out that they’d been given the time for Love Amongst the Dragons instead. Despite the goofy sounding title, Bumi and Aang had been pleased to discover there was a lot of intrigue, excitement, amazing stunts, battles, and really cool dragon costumes! The antagonist of the play, The Dark Water Spirit, had worn a blue and white mask almost identical to the one worn by the blue mask guy. In the play, the blue-masked spirit had been an antagonist, a trickster who had fooled the Dragon Emperor into binding himself to a mortal form.  A spirit who fooled dragons rather than facing them head on… it made sense, then, that this guy had chosen a guise like that to break into a Fire Nation stronghold, since the Fire Nation was the home of the dragons. But why was he in the North Pole? There were no dragons here, were there? There certainly shouldn’t be, Aang couldn’t imagine that the cold dry weather would be very good for their scales. Kuzon’s dragon sure hadn’t liked the cold air up high, preferring to fly closer to the surface than Appa. 

Of course, he’d figured out quickly that most people couldn’t fly as high as he and Appa could when he’d first taken Bumi for a ride. He hadn’t understood at the time why Monk Gyatso had cautioned him about flying too high, but then Bumi got sick. That was when he’d learned that airbenders naturally drew the air to their lungs when they went too high, but other benders - especially earthbenders - didn’t have that ability, and going too high could make them really sick. Of course, he’d apologized to Bumi after the incident, and Bumi had felt better soon, but it was a lesson he remembered, and meant that he’d kept a close eye on Sokka and Katara whenever they had to fly too high, and he tried to keep that time limited. Now that he thought about it, maybe that was why Kuzon’s dragon hadn’t gone as high, since Dragons were the original firebenders, much in the way that Air Bison were the original airbenders. But the sun was high up in the air, and it seemed to do just fine. 

Waving the thought aside, Aang refocused. So the guy was wearing the mask of a water spirit antagonist to the Dragon Emperor. That probably meant something, right? Maybe he was fighting the Fire Lord, too! He had sure been helpful once before. It still didn’t answer why he had come to the North Pole, but then, they hadn’t been expecting the Ocean to fight back. Maybe he’d come to help fight the Fire Nation here, too? 

Filling his lungs with air, Aang yelled once more, “WHERE DID YOU GO?” making a face at his own volume as he did so. It didn’t seem to make a difference, the whole area was silent and still now. Shoulders slumping into a sigh, Aang started to trudge off in a random direction. He still wasn’t exactly sure which way was back to Sokka and Katara, and he should probably climb another building to try and figure that out, but he didn’t really feel like it when he’d just failed twice. He’d hoped to bring the blue mask guy back to Chief Arnook, but instead he’d just brought up more questions. Why had he broken into the place where they were holding all the firebenders, but not take anyone? He didn’t understand what was happening. Maybe he should go back and ask Katara and Sokka if they had any ideas!

He winced at that. He hadn’t exactly told them that he’d been kidnapped while they’d been sick. It hadn’t really seemed important, and then they kept having more adventures after that, and it had slipped his mind. Now he was beginning to regret that, since he had the feeling that Sokka, at least, wouldn’t be happy about being left in the dark on the subject. Still, he didn’t really have a choice. He hadn’t been able to keep Mask Guy around, but maybe Sokka could figure out a way to convince him to stay.

Nodding to himself, Aang scrambled back atop the most sturdy-looking building and swept his eyes across the landscape, this time looking for familiar territory. He thought he recognized an area ahead and to the right, so he decided to head that direction.

~~*~~

How long did it take to tell someone you were leaving? Sokka wondered absently, frowning as his stomach rumbled slightly. He wasn’t hungry. Well okay, yes, he was hungry, he was always hungry, but he didn’t want to be hungry. He was tired, and sad, and now also worried about Aang. Where was he? It was, like, a five minute walk to the reception hall where Chief Arnook was probably coordinating the rebuilding efforts. How in La's name had it taken Aang so long that the sun was starting to sink below the horizon again? Admittedly, they were only a few months on from the North’s Winter Solstice, so the days were pretty short, but Sokka was fairly certain that Aang was supposed to be back by now. 

“All right, that’s it,” he declared, standing and stretching his back out. “You coming, Katara?”

“Coming where?” Katara asked, glancing up from where she’d been going over their supplies and creating tight bundles to pack up their food and other sundries. 

“To find Aang,” Sokka replied. “He’s been gone for hours, and we both know it doesn’t take that long to talk to someone.”

Katara’s eyes widened suddenly as she leapt to her feet. “Zuko!” she spat. “We never saw what happened to him after he left-”

Sokka felt the blood drain from his face at her words. He hadn’t even considered that, he’d sort of assumed that any firebenders left in the city were either in pretty strict confinement or dead. But this was the jerkbender they were talking about. If anyone would find a way to skulk out of this and kidnap Aang while he was at it, it would be Zuko. “Oh man,” he said nervously. “Yeah, we definitely need to go find him.”

Katara nodded firmly, her packing forgotten in light of this new information. “Come on,” she commanded, somehow managing to forget that this whole manhunt had been Sokka’s idea, and who had put her in charge? 

Sighing, knowing by now when to pick his battles (and it certainly wasn’t when Aang was involved), Sokka followed her from the hut and down the street. He hadn’t really had a plan beyond ‘go find Aang,’ though, and it seemed that Katara hadn’t had a plan either, as she slowed to a stop in the middle of the road to glance at him. “Which way?” she asked, frowning as she spun to and fro, examining each side street like it might be hiding the airbender behind any corner.

Sokka considered the question. “Maybe we should just head for the ceremonial hall?” he suggested. “That’s where Aang said he was going, so if we’re going to find a clue, that’s a good place to start -”

“Hey guys! Where are you going? Did you finish packing?”

“WUH!” Sokka did not yelp, he simply… expressed his surprise. Loudly. 

“Aang!” Katara exclaimed, whirling around to face their absentee airbending Avatar. “Where were you? We were just going to look for you!”

“Oh, right,” Aang at least had the decency to look somewhat sheepish at the accusation. “Well, I went to tell the Chief we were leaving, but when I got there, they were talking about this guy in a mask who broke into the firebender prison with his swords, which sounded cool, and they were looking for him, so I offered to help-”

There seemed to be no end to this sentence in sight, so Sokka sighed inwardly and steeled himself for the rest of the run-on, since there seemed no point in trying to interrupt Aang until he’d finished his explanation.

“Because I’m pretty good at finding things, but I didn’t want to bother you guys or Appa, so I just walked around the city for the while, and got a little lost, I think, but that was okay because I found him! He was wearing a blue and white spirit mask and he had two swords and I recognized him!”

Hold on, that was weird. “You recognized the guy with swords and a mask?” Sokka demanded incredulously, not sure how one pulled off something like that. It was a mask, how could you recognize someone whose face was covered?

Aang paused then to take a breath, and suddenly his posture shifted, his shoulders hunching slightly. “Oh yeah, I uh, I never told you guys about what happened when I went to get those frozen frogs,” he said.

Frozen frogs? It took Sokka a moment to realize what Aang was talking about. “The frozen frogs that you put in our mouths?” he demanded incredulously. “Like the frog that gave me this wart?” he added, sticking his tongue out and pointing.

“I keep telling you, Sokka, there’s no wart!” Katara groused, giving him an exasperated look. “We even had Healer Yugoda look at it and she said the same thing!”

“My tongue feels different! I know it’s the frozen frog that did it!” Sokka insisted, though since his tongue was still sticking out, it didn’t look as though Katara or Aang were really able to parse his words. With a sigh, he released the sides of his mouth and pulled his tongue back in. He got no sympathy from these people, none. Why did he even bother?

“So what happened when you got the frozen frogs?” Katara asked Aang.

“Weeeell, I… kinda got captured by the Fire Nation?” Aang said weakly.

“You WHAT?!” Katara shrieked. Sokka was very glad he wasn’t the one facing down that particular yell, his sister had a pair of lungs and she was not shy about using them. “Was it Zuko?” she demanded.

“No, no!” Aang frowned a little, then. “Worse, actually,” he said after a minute. “Even when Zuko manages to capture me, he usually just ties me up with rope and says he’s taking me home. Zhao is worse. He put me in chains and said that they would keep me alive, but just barely,” he shuddered a little, obviously still feeling anxious about what had been said to him.

Sokka tried to imagine keeping Aang tied down and barely alive, and had to suppress a shudder himself. He hated the Fire Nation, especially Zhao. Sokka felt the anger he’d been fighting back surge through him again at the name. Zhao, who had killed the moon spirit -as good as killed Yue. While Sokka found himself suddenly caught up in his anger, though, Katara was focused on the details.

“Wait, so Zhao kidnapped you? And you didn’t tell us?” Her hands were on her hips and she was giving Aang one of her patented looks.

“I was getting frozen frogs!” Aang protested, “Besides, I escaped!”

“How?” Katara demanded. “You just said you were in chains!”

“Yeah, but the guy in the blue mask showed up and cut the chains with his swords! It was awesome,” Aang mused. “I really thought he was going to cut me in half, at first. He’s really scary looking in the mask.”

“Okay, hold on, you lost me,” Sokka cut in. “Who is this guy in the mask?”

“I don’t know,” Aang said, “But he saved me from Zhao, and he fought firebenders with nothing but two swords and a bunch of cool moves.”

Sokka spared a moment to mentally mourn the fact that apparently this guy’s non-bender status was enough to warrant the designation “cool moves,” while Sokka was still relegated to something of an afterthought. Unfair, that’s what this was. Sokka had cool moves, too!

“But then when we were escaping, his mask got hit with an arrow so I had to drag him away,” Aang continued, “And when I looked up, he was suddenly gone! Poof! Like a spirit!”

Like a spirit. Tui and La, Sokka was so tired of these stupid Spirit Tales coming to life around him. First magic water, then the Avatar, getting kidnapped by angry bear spirits in a forest, the girl he liked turning into the moon, and now some masked guy vanishing into thin air? He was so over it. “Okay, so he walked off while you were distracted,” Sokka interrupted. “Not like it’s that hard.” He pointedly ignored the disgruntled look Katara shot in his direction.  “What does this have to do with…” he frowned. “Wait. Are you telling me the same guy who busted you out of Zhao's Fire Nation Prison is here? Now?!”

“Yes!” Aang insisted. “I met him in the abandoned area where the catapult damage hasn’t been repaired yet -  I think he was sleeping, actually,” Aang mused, breaking off mid-sentence as he considered the idea before shaking his head and returning to the topic. “And he was still wearing the mask and had the swords, but he was wearing furs that were more pale, instead of all-black like he did when he broke me out.”

So the guy knew how to disguise himself for different terrain. Sokka found himself feeling impressed despite his instinct to dislike the guy. Maybe he was cool, after all. Not as cool as Sokka, of course, but he’d leave his options open, he guessed. “So what did he do?” Sokka demanded.

“What did he say?” Katara added. 

“Nothing!” Aang said. “I mean, he looked pretty tired, and once he saw it was me he put his swords away. But when I asked him what he was doing, he didn’t answer. Actually, I don’t think he can talk? But he like, waved his hands at me some, and when I looked around to figure out how to get back to you guys, he disappeared again! Like a spirit!” He leaned forward conspiratorially, “Actually, I think he’s wearing a water spirit’s mask,” he stage-whispered. “I recognized it from a play called Love Amongst the Dragons.”

Setting aside the fact that Aang apparently had terrible taste in theater, Sokka considered this statement. “What water spirit?” he finally asked.

“Uh, the Dark Water Spirit, I think?” Aang said. 

“Huh. I don’t know that one,” Sokka commented. Not that he knew much about any lesser spirits, he was doing good to know of Tui and La. Or Yue and La, now, he guessed. 

“Maybe we could ask Master Pakku!” Katara suggested.

“He’s probably busy…” Sokka began to protest, but Katara was having none of it.

“This is important!” She insisted. “If he’s wearing a water spirit mask, maybe he’s from the water tribes, and that’s why he’s here!”

Aang’s face seemed to say that he was about as convinced as Sokka, which was to say not at all, but he also wasn’t about to argue with Katara.

Sighing, Sokka decided he wasn’t in the mood to argue either. “Fine, fine,” he grumbled under his breath, “Let’s go talk to Master Pakku.”

~~*~~

The old man was getting ridiculous, Pakku reflected wearily. Honestly, it had been barely a day, and already The Grand Lotus was getting antsy, threatening to go out and find his nephew himself. His nephew! The Fire Lord’s Firstborn Son. The Avatar’s pursuer. And, if the stories of the Avatar’s group could be trusted, a singularly unpleasant individual. Why Iroh would be so set on bringing back that horrible child was quite beyond Pakku, it was good riddance as far as he was concerned.

But the old man was getting more anxious as the day dragged on, and Pakku hadn’t managed to find the boy among any of the Fire Nation prisoners… Nor, he’d noted with an equal measure of satisfaction and disappointment, had they found Admiral Zhao, the moon-killer. From what he’d heard, the boy was not an especially competent bender. He wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn the boy had failed to subdue Zhao, and had been lost in the night’s chaos. But the old man refused to believe it, insisting that his nephew was out there, somewhere, and outright refusing to leave until the nephew was found!

Didn’t he know what a risk Pakku was taking even housing one firebender? True, Iroh had clearly acted on their behalf last night, and even more importantly, in favor of the spirits and the balance of the world itself. Normally this would be enough to at least give him the benefit of the doubt, if he weren’t also the Dragon of the West, and that wasn’t exactly something he wanted to advertise. The longer they put off his departure, the more likely they were to be discovered. Pakku couldn’t risk that. 

“Grand Lotus, I urge you to look at this from my perspective,” Pakku said, practically tossing a plate of sea-prunes onto the table as he sat, accepting a steaming cup of kelp tea and sipping it while glaring over the rim of the teacup at Iroh.

“And I urge you to look at it from mine,” Iroh replied, voice calm but resolute. “I cannot in good conscience leave until I am certain of Prince Zuko’s safety.”

“I’ve already given you my word,” Pakku insisted, his sour expression having nothing to do with the sea prune he popped into his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully, washing the pickled snack down with another sip of perfectly balanced kelp tea, trying not to feel insulted by the fact that Iroh was somehow better at brewing his own culture’s tea than he was himself. “I will ensure that Zuko is seen safely to the Earth Kingdom, just as I am ensuring you passage.” Although I personally disagree that he has earned this special treatment, considering his reasons for coming here are significantly different from your own, he thought irritably. “I’ve already sent word to our contact in Omashu to be watching for him, precisely for a situation such as this,” he added. 

Iroh simply sipped his own kelp tea, his eyes watching Pakku without so much as a hit of malice, as he simply said, “I am afraid that is not acceptable to me. I must know.”

Pakku set his teacup down in order to pinch the bridge of his nose in what was likely a fruitless attempt to ward off an oncoming headache. “Grand Lotus-”

“Please, Master Pakku,” Iroh interrupted, his voice catching, “I must know. I can’t bear not knowing.”

Pakku had never married, never had children of his own, yet he’d felt his heart tug at the mere sight of Kanna’s necklace worn by Katara, had felt his heart and mind settle at hearing that she still lived. He could not in good conscience deny Iroh the same chance to find his answer, even if that answer turned out to be one different than the one he expected - no, needed - to hear.

Inclining his head slowly, Pakku sighed. “One more day, Iroh. Then we need to start considering… other possibilities.”

“I understand,” Iroh said, his shoulders set in a stubborn way that reminded Pakku unsettlingly of Katara when she had decided the world should be a certain way, and nothing could convince her otherwise. “I am sure  you will find him soon.”

For Iroh’s sake, Pakku hoped that was the case.

[the-power-of-stuff]

ATLA Big Bang posting starts this week and I am so excited! I can’t wait to share my fic with you all, but my posting date isn’t until October 28 (I think), so in the meantime, I thought I would introduce you to my Kyoshi Warriors!

Although my fic is definitely Sukka, it is Suki-centric and focuses a lot on her interactions and relationship with her fellow warriors. I based the characters off of who appears in “Appa’s Lost Days” - there are five other girls with Suki in the Appa rescue scene, all with distinct hair styles and headdresses and faces (unlike the girls who appear in “The Warriors of Kyoshi” who are all identical). So I watched that scene about a million times (dodging a minefield because that episode makes me lose it every time I watch it), then had my Japanese fluent hubby help me come up with some names. And here they are!

Note: Name kanji are really interesting in that there are potentially dozens of different ways to write a particular name, as well as different ways to pronounce a particular kanji. We came up with the pronunciations first, and then I decided I really wanted meanings and kanji to go along with them.

Name: Ran 

Pronunciation: rahn

Kanji: 蘭

Meaning: orchid

Ran is the one in “Appa’s Lost Days” who first discovers Appa’s fur on the bushes and says, “Must’ve been some fight.” She also faces off directly with Mai later in the episode, getting pinned to a tree by Mai’s knives.  

(An alternate way to write Ran is 乱 meaning war, rebellion, that sort of thing. I thought the “orchid” reading was prettier and more nuanced in terms of this character’s personality, but find the “rebellion” homonym to be very interesting.)

Name: Mio

Pronunciation: mee-oh

Kanji: 美桜

Meaning: beautiful cherry blossom

Mio has no speaking parts in the show, but she does get a couple badass combat moments (such as whacking Mai’s stilettos out of the air and then rushing her with her katana), and she’s shown pretty prominently in the last episode when Ty Lee explains how she ended up a Kyoshi Warrior. 

(There are many many many ways to write Mio, some of which include kanji for “light,” “kindness,” “peace,” etc. When I first looked up the meaning of Mio, without the kanji, I got results for “beauty” and “cherry,” and I guess I stuck with that!)

Name: Mana

Pronunciation: mah-nah

Kanji: 真凪

Meaning: true calm

Mana also gets a speaking part in “Appa’s Lost Days”! After Suki gathers the warriors to get Appa out of his cavern, Mana says, “I can’t believe you found the Avatar’s bison. Didn’t you just see the Avatar a few days ago?” 

(My first translation of Mana, without the kanji, had to do with love and affection. But, as with the others, there are many ways to write this name, and I decided I liked these kanji better because, like Ran’s, this reading felt more nuanced in terms of her character.)

Name: Kei

Pronunciation: kay

Kanji: 蛍

Meaning: firefly

Kei has the least-prominent screen time of all the warriors. She’s standing in the back of pretty much every scene she’s in, and she doesn’t get a battle sequence of her own during the fight with Azula. But at the very least, she gets a semi-close up of her face in the “Didn’t you just see the Avatar a few days ago?” scene.

(Kei was the only name I had a hard time finding a meaning for prior to having kanji, which was probably the catalyst for me asking my husband for help. I latched onto the “firefly” reading immediately because I thought it was so pretty. Another way to pronounce this kanji is hotaru.)

Name: Chie

Pronunciation: chee-eh

Kanji: 千恵

Meaning: thousand blessings

Chie also has no speaking parts in the show. Nor does she get a cool combat moment. But she is one of the warriors in the last episode that Ty Lee puts her arms around when she says, “We’re gonna be best friends forever!”

(Another way to write Chie uses 智 for “chi” which means wisdom. This was the original meaning that I gravitated towards, but hubs and I ultimately decided we liked the stateliness of the reading above.)

[lobster-tales]

Baking/Domesticity - Azulee

Day 2 of Winter ATLA Femslash Week. This work is also available here on AO3. 

Prompt: Baking/Domesticity or Angst with a Happy Ending

Five years had passed since Azula last saw Ty Lee. She was prepared for anything, except forgiveness.

Azula had never been so cold, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. A frigid breeze wafted from the ocean behind her. The evergreen trees resisted the wind, their ice-encased needles clinking. Around the base of the wooden building, snow piled a foot high. The entire scene was like a painting; wintery and pristine. Azula ignored the cold beauty around her, though, instead training her eyes on the green door hanging. 

She heard movement behind her. Azula instinctively tensed, though she knew the approacher was friendly. 

“Azula, you’re shivering,” Katara said, pausing at her side. “Come on, let’s go in.”

She said nothing, only fought the shudders that came with the temperature. 

Katara leaned to see her face. “Everything okay?”

Again, silence. 

“Look, Azula, I know it’s been a while, but-”

“Five years.” Azula heard herself speak. “It’s been five years since I’ve seen Ty- …” The name felt like lead in her mouth. “... Her.”

Katara smiled reassuringly, an expression she seemed to wear daily around Azula. “She’s excited to see you again, I promise.” She reached out and moved the door hanging aside. Warm air spilled from the opening. 

Azula kept her eyes forward. She inhaled deeply, stepping over the threshold. 

The training room was filled with girls in their early teens, each wearing the red, black, and white makeup of a Kyoshi Warrior. Azula noted that some of their paint was smudged or uneven, and she recognized them as new recruits. Their voices hushed as the newcomers entered and removed their parkas. Azula felt out of place, like an exhibition. 

“Katara!” A warrior taller than the rest ran forward, embracing Katara. “You’re here!”

“Hi Suki!” Katara squeezed her once before stepping back. “You remember Azula?”

Azula saw a flicker in the warrior’s lilac eyes. The concern was replaced by a cautious warmth. “Of course,” Suki said, halting as if she was unsure whether to bow. “Ty Lee’s been asking for you.”

Azula scanned the room with her eyes. Though the girls were all wearing makeup, she knew she would have recognized Ty Lee among them. “Where is she?”

“She thought you would be here later.” Suki grinned at Katara. “Usually when Team Avatar says they’re on their way, we expect at least a two day delay.”

Katara chuckled. “That’s only when Aang is with us. There’s always some landmark or kitschy shop he wants to visit on the way.” She nodded towards Azula. “But this one runs a tight ship. She even had our bathroom breaks scheduled.”

Azula straightened her back. “I make it a habit to be punctual.”

Suki exchanged glances with Katara. “So Aang won’t be joining us?”

Katara shook her head. “He’s doing business in the Fire Nation. He let us borrow Appa so that we could come visit Ty Lee.”

“Where is she?” Azula realized her tone was sharper than she intended. She met Suki’s curious gaze with an apologetic one. “That is… I’d like to see her. Please.”

“... She’s this way.” Suki shot a glare at the gawking Kyoshi Warriors. “Break time is over. Dance of the Bear, now!”

Suki led the guests out of the room as the girls scrambled into position. They moved down a narrow hallway, past paper walls. “She’s been spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately. Before she came here, she’d never learned to cook. And trust me, it showed.” Suki shook her head fondly. “At first, you couldn’t pay any of us to try her food. I mean, you can’t blame her for being a rich ki-” Suki paused, aware of Azula’s presence. “Uh, well, a Fire Nation noble.”

They both glanced at Azula, who kept her mouth shut. Truthfully, she wasn’t insulted. Rather, she felt unsure how to express that without making some social error, as she so often did with these things. Everyone always acted like they had to walk on eggshells around her. 

Suki continued. “But she’s improved a lot! Her favorite is dessert.” She chuckled. “In fact, she makes so much that we have to lock our cabinets up at night so the new recruits won’t get into them!”

Katara laughed, but Azula’s mind was elsewhere. Every step down the narrow hallway took them closer, and she still had no plan. Rarely did she go into a situation without strategizing first, or at least having a speech prepared. She tried to think of something, anything that would be enough to cover the five year absence. Her heart pounded as they rounded a corner, into the kitchen. 

The light filtered from a window above, illuminating the flour particles in the air, it’s brightness shadowing Ty Lee’s form. She had her back turned to them and was singing to herself, badly and off key, but paid no mind. Azula peered at her through the sunbeam. She wished she was invisible, wished she could disappear and spend the rest of the day just watching Ty Lee from a distance. 

Suki called, “Ty Lee! You have a guest.”

Ty Lee froze. She faced them slowly, wiping her hands on the apron as she stalked through the sunlight. The beam illuminated her features, and Azula held her breath at the sight. Ty Lee was unscathed, her cheeks round and full, eyes still bright and inquisitive. 

She stopped a few feet away from Azula, searching her face. “Azula? Is that really you?”

Azula didn’t blame Ty Lee for not recognizing her. She often didn’t recognize her own reflection, with her hollow eyes and gaunt features. Rehabilitation had humanized her from the ghost she’d been five years ago, but healing takes time, and the deepest scars don’t live on skin. 

“Yes,” Azula said, a cobbled together speech forming in her head. “It’s me. Hello, Ty Lee, I know it’s been- ah!”

Ty Lee pounced on her, throwing her arms around her shoulders and crying out, “Azula!” She buried her face in her neck. “I missed you so much!”

Azula had prepared herself for the worst, for Ty Lee to run in fear from her, yell at her for putting her in jail, throw things if that helped. She was ready to be chastised, hated. It was what she deserved. 

She knew deep down that Ty Lee would forgive her. Azula spent so long convincing herself it was false hope, that she needed to expect disappointment. Those hours of breaking down and reconstructing her walls, lost, as those same walls crumbled around her heart. 

Azula began to cry, and knew from the wetness on her collarbone that Ty Lee was crying too. In the years of being Ty Lee’s friend, Azula had never hugged her back. It was improper for a princess to embrace anyone, even a nobleman’s daughter. Now, Azula cinched her arms around Ty Lee’s waist, refusing to let her go. 

“Azula?”

“Yes, Ty Lee?”

Ty Lee raised her head, smiling apologetically. “You’re… gonna… break my ribs…”

“Oh!” Azula released her quickly, taking a step back. “Forgive me.”

Ty Lee laughed, using the back of her wrist to wipe away the tears on her face. “Don’t worry about it.” She gazed at Azula, when horror began to creep across her features. “Oh no!”

 Azula felt a twinge. She knew it, something was wrong. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what she’d done wrong.

Ty Lee darted to a sink, wringing out a soaked rag as she rushed apologies. “I’m so sorry Azula, I didn’t mean to- I should have taken the apron off-”

Blinking once, Azula glanced down at her dark red robes. A layer of white flour had settled where Ty Lee had pressed against her. The powder was thick enough that she knew her clothes would need to be washed to get it out. 

Azula avoided messes when she could. She’d rarely so much as have a hair out of place. As a princess and leader, she was expected to keep up appearances. 

A sound filled the room. Katara and Suki stood near the door, mouths gaping at the giggles coming from Azula. The sound escalated, and Azula threw back her head as laughter poured from her throat. Ty Lee’s shocked expression bloomed into a smile. 

Azula held her arms open wide, and Ty Lee leapt into them, welcomed. They held each other, mingling laughter, tears, and flour. There was no more appearance to keep up. Azula was no longer a princess or a leader. She was just happy to be Ty Lee’s friend again. 

[pidgebeifong]

atla artist au

Aang is a painter. He’s loved painting ever since he was a child and first experimented with finger paints on the walls- which was, in hindsight, maybe not the best idea. He loves the way it detaches him from his worldly concerns. It’s almost like a form of meditation for him- the rest of the universe just falls away whenever he picks up his paintbrush, and all he can see is his canvas and the worlds he will create with a swirl of lemon yellow sun here, a wave of cerulean blue ocean there, a blur of sunset orange clouds at the edges. Everything he owns has been stained with paint in at least three places, which makes dressing for formal events a real pain. Sometimes he’ll deliberately paint his jeans with sunflowers or bees or anything that’s a sunny, bright yellow- his favourite colour- and wear them proudly for days. Katara jokes that she doesn’t even remember what the real colours of his hands look like, because they’re forever stained with paint that’s sunken so deeply into the folds of his skin that it makes it nearly impossible to rub off. People always ask him what his favourite thing to paint is, expecting it to be something like sunsets or mountains, but the truth is his favourite thing to study and paint is his Labrador, Appa, the first thing he ever drew. He started drawing at around five, the same age he adopted Appa, and to this day he can never get the way Appa’s golden fur shines just right under the blinding sunlight. He loves going to nature reserves and parks to study how light affects the leaves and flowers. Sometimes everything will just be too much, and he’ll jam as many paints into his pockets as he can, take a sketchbook, a water bottle and a paintbrush, and get on the bus to a park. He’ll sit quietly for hours, trying to capture moonlight on water or the flapping wings of a hummingbird.

Katara is a writer. She literally can’t remember a time she hasn’t loved to write. She has stacks and stacks of unfinished manuscripts lying around on the floor, tacked up to the walls in her room, and crumpled on the bedsheets. She has easily over a thousand different scenes written for her future novels on the Notes app in her phone, and she has a bad habit of scribbling ideas down on her hands on the rare occasions she doesn’t have her phone on her and there’s no paper in sight. She’s practically nocturnal at this point, because all her best ideas come to her at 3am, when she’s sleep-deprived and half-hallucinating. She always carries at least three pens on her at all times, and gets panicky when she’s forced to remove them whenever she has to dress up for anything formal. She’s really hypocritical whenever she gets on Aang’s case about his hands always being paint-stained, because all her hands are covered in ink, too- half-finished notes and ideas that got left on the cutting board. Katara hates cutting out characters that simply aren’t necessary to the scene and don’t add anything of value to the plot, because they’re her babies damnit and she worked hard on them. One would think that this would make her more sympathetic to her characters, but Aang and Sokka are appalled the first time they’re allowed to read one of her (mostly) finished manuscripts (who is she kidding, she doesn’t have a manuscript that’s even remotely finished for the life of her) and see how much torture and anguish and heartbreak she’s put her characters through. Katara is a huge advocate of making all her characters hit the lowest point they could possibly go, and then instead of making them get back up again, she gives them a shovel and instructions to dig lower. However, she’s a huge sucker for happy endings, and she practically dominates the tag #angst with a happy ending on AO3. She gets around three hours of sleep every night, none of them consecutive, and survives on black coffee and willpower alone. Everyone knows her as an avid reader, but she hasn’t really read an actual book since two years ago, and spends most of her time scrolling through 250k fanfictions at 2am.

Sokka is a photographer. He doesn’t have the skills that Aang has with his paintbrush, or the way Katara can make entire universes come to life with a few words, so for a long time he used to think that he was just going to be the ordinary guy in the group who’d only be known for loving meat to what is frankly an unhealthy degree, and that his only contribution to the team would be a slew of bad jokes and sarcastic remarks. He finds his calling very late in life, but the moment he picks up his first camera at age fourteen, everything just seems to fall perfectly into place. Sokka’s world always moves too fast and changes too quickly, but he can capture moments that will last forever with the click of a button, and he guesses that that’s what he loves about photography- that he can freeze moments in time and always be able to come back to them. Well, as long as he doesn’t lose his camera, but he’s got the photos all backed up on iCloud anyway, so that’s not really an issue. Sometimes, he’ll accompany Aang to nature parks, and Aang will paint the twisting vines of a plant while Sokka captures Aang’s relaxed, happy expression. His favourite photos are the ones he takes of his friends when they’re caught unaware- candid portraits of Suki laughing or Katara ruffling Aang’s hair or Toph trying and failing to hide a grudging smile. He loves old photos, too- loves the aesthetic of black-and-white photos, how they capture a scene that he knows full well happened decades ago but somehow make him feel like he’s living in the same moment. Experimenting with light is one of his favourite things to do- he loves playing with golden hour sunlight or early morning rays, loves hearing the satisfying click of his camera and knowing that he’s got another picture for the album (and his hugely successful Instagram account that has well over 50k followers).

Toph is a sculptor. She was born blind and never really got to experience art the same way the others did, so for a long time she buried her disappointment deep within her and never let jealousy rear its ugly head whenever she heard Katara singing praises about the latest painting Aang had just finished, or the beautiful photograph Sokka had captured of all of them laughing as a group, but then she discovered sculpture. An art she could appreciate from beneath her fingers, an art she could see by running her hands over it and feeling the crevices and curves and edges breathe themselves into life beneath her touch. Despite discovering the term for it late in life, Toph found that she’d actually been sculpting at a very young age. She’d been experimenting with PlayDoh and clay since before she could walk, but she’d never known that there was actually an art form in it that people did professionally until Aang had taken her to a museum and put her hands on a beautiful sculpture of an ancient Greek god. It was one of the only times she’d ever cried in her life, but those had been tears of pure joy- she didn’t want to sound like a sap, but she hadn’t realized that something so beautiful in the world existed until that life-changing moment at the museum. Sure, they’d been chased out by one particularly angry security guard who kept waving his baton around threateningly (‘can’t you two juveniles see that the sign clearly says no touching?!’ ‘actually sir, I’m blind so that would be a hard no’) but it had been worth it. Ever since then, Toph has been addicted to sculpting, feeling things take shape under her capable hands. She’s been told she can replicate faces with an accuracy that’s both astonishing and unnerving, despite not even being able to see (it only took a lot of years and  lot of hours spent tracing the lines of Aang’s face) and her work has been proudly displayed on Katara’s bedside table, Sokka’s desks and Aang’s shelves.

Suki is a martial arts instructor who has a degree in badassery. She started her own school at just fifteen years old, and named it the Kyoshi Warrior Academy, in honour of Kyoshi, her late martial arts instructor whom she had a deep respect for. She had black belt status in five different martial arts by the time she turned thirteen, and was a legend for her skill, hard work and talent in the martial arts community. She’s lost quite a few matches, but she’s more than made up for it with every win she’s achieved. The first time she met Sokka, she thought he was trying to steal from her, so she judo-flipped him, pinned him down and tied his wrists together, all of which took a maximum of three seconds. (‘wow, that’s kinky. so are you into that kind of thing?’ ‘shut up, asshole. what do you want from me? my wallet?’ ‘actually, I was going to ask you out on a date, but I mean sure, if you’re offering. I could use a little cash right about now, actually, because I think you just broke all the cards I have in my wallet when you body-slammed me to the ground, along with at least ten of my bones.’) Sokka had severely underestimated Suki’s skill at first, despite their rather unfortunate encounter (during which she actually had broken the bone in his arm, but he’d tried to wave it off and say that he didn’t mind, then subsequently screamed in pain because he’d tried to wave his broken arm), but he knew that he’d have to change his mindset in order to win her over. Eventually, he ended up changing his misogynistic mindset not only to go out with Suki, but because he realized that it was the right thing to do- something Katara was over the moon about. She and Suki have been joined at the hip ever since, and Sokka often jokes whether Suki is only dating him for his sister (‘damn, suki, it’s like you only come over for katara’ ... ‘wait. why aren’t any of you saying anything. katara did you just wink? sUKI DID YOU JUST KISS MY SISTER’S CHEEK-?! oh my god this is the worst betrayal I’ve experienced since toph said that she didn’t need to see my photographs in order to tell that they were ugly’). Jokes aside, Suki adores her boyfriend and his sister, and often teaches them self-defense in her free time. One of her best students is a girl named Ty Lee, who all her friends except Zuko seem to really hate for some reason. However, Ty Lee is a natural at self-defense and she and Suki get along like a house on fire. Katara still refuses point-blank to go to classes whenever Ty Lee is in attendance, but Suki has given up trying to understand why. In conclusion, Suki is one of those movie heroines who can munch a sandwich while apprehending twenty supervillains all twice her size, and still come out victorious.

Zuko is a theatre kid and aspiring actor. (Was anyone surprised by this, really?) His natural melodramatic emo kid personality makes him the perfect role for starring roles in school plays (at least, that’s what Azula always likes to say) and acting to him comes as naturally as breathing. He’s not-so-secretly a Shakespeare nerd and can literally recite Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, two of his favourite plays, word for word. He also loves Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen- and alright, maybe he also harbours a love for High School Musical (he’s never told anyone that, but everyone knows anyway because he made Azula suffer through all five movies with him which eventually led to her becoming so fed-up constantly belting out the lyrics at the top of his lungs that she recorded the audio and sent it to everyone at school, including Mai, whom he couldn’t look in the eyes for a straight two weeks). Before his mother left them, she used to say that Zuko got his acting genes from her, because she used to play the lead role in Love Amongst The Dragons every year in her old high school. Zuko asked Ursa if that meant Azula got her dancing genes from Ozai, and they’d both have a quiet little laugh as they imagined Ozai trying to dance ballet. Although Zuko adores the drama and the poignant atmosphere that comes with performing Shakespeare’s plays, Love Amongst The Dragons holds the top spot for his favourite play by far. He goes to see it every time the ache for his mother is too painful to ignore- even though the new actors, a group called the Ember Island Players, all but butcher it every year- and sometimes, he’ll deceive himself into thinking that his mother’s somewhere in the audience too, watching the play right there with him like they used to do all the time. He once took Azula to see it with him, just like they used to do when their mother was with them, and Azula cried when he told her that the reason he liked it was because it reminded him of their mother. The sight of her crying was so unnerving that Zuko went alone after that. Azula never protested, though, or teased him for liking the play again.

Azula is a dancing prodigy. She specializes in ballet, but she also does contemporary and modern. She tried her hand at tap and jazz, and although she naturally excelled in it, as usual, she decided that it just wasn’t for her. At the age of fourteen, Azula is already a world-renowned dancer and has broken records and made history with how skilled she is at dancing. She moves her body so fluidly that it’s hard to believe she’s even a person and not just a wisp or smoke, delicately floating and twirling and twisting through the air. Azula has a lot of pent-up anger and frustration about having to constantly seem perfect all the time in order to make up for the failure that Zuko is, and she’s found that physical exercise- namely, dance- is the best way to relieve her stress. She also knows a fair bit of martial arts- out of everyone, she and Ty Lee are the only ones who have managed to defeat Suki at hand-to-hand combat. If asked about it, Suki will vehemently deny that such an incident ever happened, which only serves to amuse Azula further. Azula started ballet at age three and advanced much further and quicker than any of her peers, which incited a lot of jealousy and basically ensured that she had virtually no friends in the ballet community, but it wasn’t like she was particularly desperate for companionship in the first place. She’s so famous that she’s a verified account on Instagram with over a million followers- she does some spare modelling work on the side when she can, and her stunning looks combined with her raw talent have made her into one of the most unattainably perfect girls to ever rule Instagram. Somehow, her dancing doesn’t distract her from her grades, because she also has a stellar report card that’s displayed on the wall of her numerous trophies and awards she’s achieved over the years. (Zuko has a half-broken shelf that sports exactly two awards, and one is a certificate of participation.) Azula was born for the spotlight. Whenever she steps onto a stage, the room goes completely, eerily still, as if holding on to her every move. She’s one of the most beautiful dancers to ever perform, and audiences sing praises about her every twirl, her every arch, as if a single pirouette she’s executed is already perfect enough to win her ten awards. She’s mesmerizing on stage, and kind of terrifying in the way that one would find someone too perfect to be terrifying. Her every move is effortless, graceful, as if she’s a weightless feather drifting through the breeze. She’s incredibly captivating and is set to be one of history’s stars.

Mai is a musician/singer. Her parents were extremely traditional and gave her piano and violin lessons for her fifth birthday, but she actually ended up enjoying them a lot. She has a great voice, too, so she started a YouTube channel a while back that features her doing covers and singing her own original songs sometimes. It’s now amassed a few thousand followers. Zuko has an admittedly great voice, too, and sometimes she invites him to her channel and they do these amazing duets. All of their followers ship them together, but Mai always denies that she likes him, despite her cheeks always blushing a bright pink whenever he’s brought up on live-streams. Her parents don’t approve of her channel, which they only found out about because they were being overbearing and went through her phone yet again, and they want her to go to school to study business instead. Mai doesn’t plan on giving up on her YouTube channel anytime soon, though. Before she discovered singing, she was clearly passionless about most everything, but now that she has, it feels like a fire slowly consuming her from the inside out. And she kind of likes it, to be honest. It feels good to be so passionate about something, especially since Zuko likes it just as much as she does. She’ll never admit it, but she knows how to play quite a few My Chemical Romance and Panic! At The Disco songs on the piano (which Zuko absolutely loves her for, because he’s the picture perfect stereotype of an emo boy). Writing and singing songs provides her with some sort of cathartic relief that she can’t really obtain from anywhere else. She’s incredibly musically talented, and was playing grade eight piano material at just eleven years old. She taught herself the guitar and the harp after her parents refused to give her any more lessons for fear that she would become too invested in music (Asian parents, y’all- they provide you with piano lessons but expect you to become a doctor or a lawyer because God forbid you pursue a career in music despite having studied it since you were five) and refuse to pursue a career in business.

Ty Lee is a gymnast. She tried ballet along with Azula, but didn’t like the discipline it took and ran out of patience with all the tedious instructions necessary to follow along with the class, finding that gymnastics was more to her liking. However, she and Azula make an awesome duo whenever they showcase their talents together. Ty Lee’s actually so good that trainees are already speculating that she could achieve a spot on her country’s national gymnastics team. She can do backflips, handstands, cartwheels and splits on a beam one after the other without even needing to catch her breath, and she’s impossibly fit. She loves crop tops- she thinks they show off her figure, which is nearly unattainable for most people. She’s also naturally talented at martial arts, and Suki frequently tells her that she learns faster than Suki can teach. She’s done every form of gymnastics imaginable- rhythmic, acrobatic, artistic- you name it, she’s done it. Originally she only took an interest in it because Azula begged her to join ballet with her, and Ty Lee found that she did like the strenuous physical exertion that ballet entailed, but everything just moved too slowly for her. Ty Lee likes fast-paced action, so gymnastics is the perfect fit for her. Sometimes, Azula will teach her some new ballet moves she learnt in class, and in return, Ty Lee will teach Azula a few gymnastics moves she invented by herself after following the standard textbook forms grew too boring. They once entered a talent show together and blew the crowd away with Azula’s captivating dancing and Ty Lee’s breathtaking gymnastics.

[kristallioness]

Heaven on earth

Summary: Aang and Katara discover the beauty of an old pagoda in the Earth Kingdom, located in a sacred place for the air nomads.

Word count: 2,375

Author's note: This is 1/2 of the prompts that I submitted this year and which eventually got chosen (the other one didn't, again)! I wanted to submit this specific prompt because I already had an idea for it last year when someone first submitted it under the name "Sacred (Place)", but it didn't make the final cut. Now I can finally share what I had in mind and why I wanted to write it. The idea came to me when I watched the 4th episode of "Kaks Kanget Kagu-Aasias" ("The two tough ones in South-Eastern Asia"), which was an Estonian TV series running in spring 2017. The two tough ones, Kristjan Jõekalda and Teet Margna, are our own local, famous, very rich, funny and beloved Estonian TV hosts/entertainers. They've travelled through South-America (Ecuador, Peru, Argentina, Chile), Russia, India, the United States of America and their last journey took them across 4 countries in South-Eastern Asia, one of them being Myanmar. In Myanmar, they visited Bagan and introduced the Shwesandaw Pagoda, where Teet (being the braver one in the bunch) climbed to the top floor to have the most marvellous view of the sun setting. That breathtaking view and the entire landscape filled with so many beautiful temples was what inspired me to write this story with Aang and Katara. I could just imagine them exploring a similar place in their world. Set postwar, prior to "The Promise" trilogy.

----------x----------

"You sure you don't wanna come with us?" Aang asked for the nth time that evening. He was holding onto Katara's hand to help her climb up on Appa's saddle.

"Nah, it's just some old ruins. You guys go and have fun. It'll give me a break from your constant oogies," Sokka said as he dumped the pile of firewood in front of him, with Momo leaping closer to sniff whether he'd brought something edible along with him, too.

"Ugh.." Katara merely groaned and rolled her eyes as she hopped to the front of the saddle. Aang airbended himself on Appa's head and grabbed the reins.

"Okay. See you later, Sokka!" he exclaimed cheerfully, waving to both him and his pet winged lemur, who stayed behind to keep the warrior company.

"Appa, yip-yip!"

The sky bison growled and took off from their campsite. The main trio of Team Avatar were camping near the Northern Earth Kingdom while helping the Fire Nation colonials move back to their homeland. After another small village had been cleared of the Fire Nation families, they had the rest of the day off.

"So, where is this place exactly?" Katara wondered as she leaned over the edge of the saddle, crossing her arms and supporting her chin on top.

"About a mile away from our camp. If we walked, it'd take us about an hour to get there. But thanks to Appa, we'll be there in a few minutes!" Aang stated in a chipper tone, glancing over his shoulder to grin at her. He scratched the sky bison's head to thank him for providing them with such a short, cosy ride to their destination. Appa released a long, low growl at the show of affection.

Katara looked down below. They were flying over a territory full of thick fir forests, the evening sun that still shined behind them casting shadows over the tall trees and the ground beneath. Soon she could spot a couple of foliage trees in between, the density in general slowly becoming more scarce.

"Look, there it is!" Aang shouted excitedly, pointing a finger straight towards the horizon. When they got closer and Katara lifted her head to look in front, she gasped at the sight.

"Wow!"

She saw hundreds of pyramid-shaped buildings spread across the vast landscape. Gravel roads wreathed with bushes and trees connected them to each other. Plots of neglected farmland filled the empty square spaces in between.

"There's so many of them..."

Katara crawled to the side of the saddle and peeked over the edge. She was amazed by this place to say the least. Aang tugged at the reins a little bit to let Appa fly in a more relaxed manner so they could enjoy the view.

"These are all temples, stupas, pagodas, sanctuaries and monasteries. About 2,200 to 2,500 are still standing, though there might be even less now because I'm not sure how much damage these old structures received during the war.." he explained, scratching the back of his head for a moment.

"But thousands of years ago, there used to be more than 10,000 of them. They were built and used by air nomads from different villages, who didn't live too far away from each other. These small villages began to merge and turn into bigger groups of air nomads living together, until they decided to reside in only one sacred temple, which later became the Northern Air Temple."

Katara thought that it made sense, since they were in this part of the Earth Kingdom that remained very close to the Northern Air Temple.

"These plains are called 'the sea of temples'."

"I can see why," she giggled since it did seem like there was no end to these ancient buildings. They were flying right in the middle of this earthly sea, surrounded by something from each cardinal point, no matter where they looked.

"Do you wanna see one of my favourite places in the world?"

Besides his tone, his enthusiasm reflected from that familiar shimmer in his grey eyes as Aang gazed at her. It must've been something special to him if she distinguished that certain look in his eyes. Katara chuckled, then returned his warm smile.

"Of course, sweetie. Show me."

She watched how Aang guided Appa down closer to the ground, changing their course towards one of the highest pagodas nearby. He knew exactly where they were going and why. A small cloud of dust and gravel formed around the sky bison's feet as he landed in front of the pagoda. The airbender grabbed his staff before he jumped off the sky bison's head and thanked him by scratching the fur behind his ear.

"Nice job, buddy! It's been a long day. Get some rest while Katara and I go exploring around this pagoda."

Appa grunted, laying his head on his front paws and closing his big brown eyes to take a short nap. In the meantime, Katara had slid down his tail. Having dusted her tunic, she walked over to her boyfriend.

"So, where to now?"

"We're gonna climb all the way up there!" Aang said, slowly pointing his finger up along the staircase that led to the fifth level of the pagoda. The building itself had five square-shaped floors where people could walk around on, with a cylindrical stupa in the center decorating the top.

He grabbed Katara's hand and laced their fingers together as they approached the bottom of the stairs. At first as they began climbing up, it was Aang who led the way, always being a step in front of her and maintaining a good grip on her hand.

Katara followed a step behind him. Each step was practically up to her knees, hence the climb progressed in a rather slow pace. She counted the number of steps it took for them to get to the first terrace. More than 11 of those steps later, halfway up to the second level, she tripped when her foot got caught behind one of them.

Katara yelped as she lost her balance and began falling backwards, but she didn't even manage to blink before she was already back upright and in Aang's embrace. He saved her by catching her just in time.

"Katara! Are you okay?"

Her heart dropped and her diamond blue eyes grew wide as she met his worried gaze. Luckily, Aang had reacted fast enough and tugged at her hand to pull her back up to his side. She'd landed a step higher right next to him. His free hand was wrapped around her shaky body to hold her steady now.

Katara glanced behind and saw a few pebbles making their way down the stairs, dropping to the wider platform on the first level a couple of steps below. She took a very deep, calming breath.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay.." she stammered, holding her hands close to her chest. She felt her heart beating fast after she had a slight scare.

"You have to be more careful. This climb is pretty steep," Aang reprimanded her a little bit. He frowned when he saw how scared she looked and gifted her with a kiss on the cheek, rubbing her arm to comfort her.

"C'mon, let's take these final steps together and then have a nice walk around the pagoda before we continue. Okay?"

"Mhmm.." she hummed and nodded in agreement, her gaze fixed right in front of her feet. After that, they began walking up side by side, literally. Aang declared each step they took out loud as they moved one step at a time. He held his arm tightly around her waist to prevent her from falling again, supporting his own weight on the tip of his staff.

"Just one more.." he said as they lifted their left feet in unison, followed by their right ones. They'd reached the second terrace.

"There we go.. Let's take a break, sweetie."

"Sounds good," Katara agreed, heaving a sigh of relief. She was still shook from the near tumble as she let Aang give her a tour around the pagoda.

She entwined their hands as they strolled along the line of stones that'd been piled up on the edges of the terraces to form protective barriers. She gently ran her free hand over the rough pieces of earth while listening to her boyfriend talk about the history behind these old structures. She hummed now and again, showing that she was paying attention.

The cracks in the stones and the crumbled parts in the barriers betrayed just how old the pagoda really was when she saw them up close. Katara didn't wanna damage these old ruins any more than they already were. She wanted them to preserve their original state.

As they reached the back of the pagoda, her fear seemed to have slowly faded away. She wore a loving smile on her lips as she gazed at the horizon, marvelling at all the other buildings that stretched out over miles while Aang pointed at some of them and told tidbits about their origin. At least the ones he knew something about.

By the time they came full circle and arrived back at the stairs, she'd practically forgotten about the small incident. She instinctively wrapped her arm around Aang's waist and kept close to his side as they continued climbing to the top, one step at a time.

Less than ten minutes later, they'd finally made it up to the highest terrace safe and sound. As soon as they took a few steps away from the stairs, Aang hopped in front of her and stopped them in their tracks.

"Close your eyes, and don't peek!"

Katara giggled and did as she was told. She felt how he gently grabbed her hands, slowly lifting them up to cover her face with them.

"You're not peeking, are you?"

"Mkmm.." she replied, shaking her head. Aang held onto her shoulders to help her move. She sensed how he turned her around and they treaded closer to the barrier.

"What are you doing?" Katara wondered, a hint of excitement in her tone.

"Trust me. I wanna show you something. Be careful with your steps, you might trip behind a rock!" he warned her again, trying to guide her through a path where there weren't any bumps. They stopped in front of the wall that reached up to their waists.

"Are your eyes still closed?"

"Mhmm."

Katara heard how Aang dropped his staff somewhere, after which he grabbed her hands and lowered them onto the grained stones in front of her. He checked whether she was peeking.

"Are you ready?"

She chuckled, a wide grin decorating her features when she nodded to him.

"Then open your eyes."

She gasped, her hands landing back on her mouth. They were facing towards the stunning sunset that fell upon the plains. Neither of them could see it from the second terrace down below since it wasn't high enough, and she hadn't noticed it behind her back while they were busy climbing to where they were now.

"Aang.. this is beautiful!" was all she could muster as she clapped her hands together. He took a step closer and snaked an arm around her middle, pulling her by his side.

"I know. That's why I wanted you to come here. The sunsets in this place are some of the most beautiful ones in the entire world."

He was right. Katara leaned forward to place her elbows on the barrier, supporting her chin in the palms of her hands. Aang followed her example as he supported himself against the rocky wall.

They simply stood there in silence, enjoying the sunset, admiring how the shadows of the temples fell to the ground and onto the flora surrounding them. Katara felt enchanted by this gorgeous scenery. She averted her gaze back towards Aang when she heard him sniff. She noticed that he looked a bit sad. He wasn't crying, but it was evident that he was trying really hard to hold himself back.

"This.. this reminds you of home, doesn't it?"

He didn't look at her. He blinked and rubbed his right cheek with the back of his hand, the side of his face that she couldn't see from that angle. She guessed that he was crying. He nodded to her.

"Mhmm.."

Katara didn't say another word. She grabbed his free hand and gave it a squeeze. Aang stared at their entwined hands, then squeezed his eyes shut and softly bumped his temple against hers.

She felt how something wet trickled against her cheek. When she opened her eyes, she saw that Aang was crying a little. He sniffed and wiped his cheek dry by rubbing it against hers this time. She returned the gesture by fondly rubbing their noses together as well. She wrapped her other arm around him and hugged him as tight as she could.

"Thank you, Katara," he murmured, then kissed her cheek. She hummed in delight.

"No, thank you, Aang.. for bringing me here."

Katara loved it when he shared bits and pieces of his culture with her. It was something that she felt was unique in their relationship, something that nobody else could be apart of. She wouldn't have wanted this lovely evening to go any other way.

When Aang opened his grey eyes and met her loving gaze, she cupped his chin and ran her thumb across his lips, making him smile. She pressed a tender kiss there, releasing a short giggle afterwards. He rubbed at his cheeks to dry the last of his tears as they finished watching how the sun fell behind the mountain range in the horizon.

"So, how are we gonna get back down? Would you like to climb down or glide down?" Aang asked, scratching the back of his head. Katara already knew the answer to that question.

She giggled and pulled him beside her, gripping his waist firmly. Aang grabbed his staff and opened it into a glider, giving them a boost with his airbending to hop into the air. They glided back down to Appa so they could head back to their campsite and regale Sokka with stories about their adventures in the sea of temples.

[headquartersforlievmuses]

► Katara

Katara is a waterbending master, born in the Southern Water Tribe to Chief Hakoda and his wife, Kya. During her childhood, she was the only waterbender living in the South Pole. At first she lived a peaceful life with her family, until she lost her mother in a Fire Nation raid. After her father left to battle against the Fire Nation in the Hundred Year War, Katara was raised by her grandmother, Kanna, alongside her older brother Sokka. As a teenager, she and her brother discovered the young Air Nomad Avatar, Aang, who had been frozen in an iceberg with his bison, Appa, for one hundred years. In need of a waterbending master, the siblings and Aang left the South Pole on a journey toward the Northern Water Tribe. Katara and Sokka eventually became close friends with Aang, and after their journey to the North Pole, continued to travel with him across the world as he mastered the remaining elements, earth and fire. The siblings' assistance helped Aang halt the Fire Nation's ambitions of world domination, ending the century-long war, and finally restoring balance to the world.

The murder of Katara's mother, Kya and the later departure of her warrior father, Hakoda, left her feeling traumatized and alone. Though she was cared for by her grandmother, Kanna, she invariably found herself filling the mother role left behind by Kya, even to her own older brother. As was the custom of the Water Tribe for women to see to domestic duties, Katara soon took on many of the responsibilities expected of an adult and quickly became independent and strong willed. Morally and emotionally driven, she developed a great sense of justice and compassion for others, becoming fiercely protective of those in need.

Initially, Katara's waterbending abilities were limited because there was no one to teach her at the South Pole. However, after acquiring a waterbending scroll, and formal training at the North Pole, her determination and hard work allowed her to surpass Aang and completely master the element. She became Aang's waterbending instructor after their departure from the Northern Water Tribe, replacing Master Pakku, who had instructed them during their time there. Her mastery of water made her a formidable asset to the group. After the Hundred Year War ended, Katara and Aang began a close romantic relationship that eventually led to marriage, and raising a family with three children: Bumi, a nonbender who gained the ability to airbend later in life, Kya, a waterbender, and Tenzin, an airbender.

Later in life, Katara became highly regarded as a master healer, said to be the best in the world. After Aang's passing, she became Avatar Korra's waterbending teacher and helped her to recover physically from her ordeal with the Red Lotus.

Born into the diminished Southern Water Tribe to Hakoda and Kya, Katara faced the reality of her tribe's dwindling strength from an early age. At the time of her birth, forty-five years of repeated Fire Nation invasions intended to capture and imprison the tribe's waterbenders had left them devoid of benders. The tribe's defenses would have crumbled under the might of the Fire Nation; however, because of their relative inaccessibility in the South Pole, and the perception that they were a non-threat, they were mostly left alone. However, when Katara was eight, the Fire Nation again raided the village when charged by Fire Lord Azulon to find and dispose of the last remaining waterbender in the tribe. During the battle, the leader of the raid Yon Rha confronted Katara's mother, who was taking refuge in the family's igloo. Seeking shelter with her mother, Katara ran back to her home and interrupted their exchange. Realizing the intentions of Yon Rha, who had demanded Kya tell him the identity of the waterbender, Kya insisted Katara leave, and gave herself up as the last waterbender, lying to protect her daughter. Katara ran to fetch her father, Hakoda, but by the time they returned, Yon Rha had left and her mother had been killed. The death of their mother had a profound impact on both Katara and Sokka.

With the absence of a mother figure in the family, Katara soon found herself filling the role left behind by Kya. Katara began to take on many of the domestic responsibilities expected of women of the Southern Water Tribe, despite her young age. Several years later, her father Chief Hakoda, left to fight in the Hundred Year War with the rest of the men of the Southern Water Tribe. Katara and Sokka were left in the care of their grandmother, Kanna. Though Kanna loved the two and cared deeply for them, Katara was left feeling traumatized and alone.

Living in a tribe consisting almost entirely of women, children, and elderly, Katara took care of not only her own family, but aided others as well. She developed a protective and motherly personality which she would carry with her for the remainder of her life. Even to her own elder brother, Sokka, she was sometimes seen as a maternal figure. Much later, Katara overheard her brother admitting to being unable to picture his mother, whose image had been replaced by Katara's. Katara displayed deep affection for those she traveled with, as well as being fiercely protective whenever danger threatened their safety. The inner strength she had developed in the absence of parental figures aided her in keeping Aang and their friends together through their most difficult experiences.

As part of the Harmony Restoration Movement, Katara and her friends began moving Fire Nation colonials back to the Fire Nation, starting with the more recent colonial establishments. A year later, when Aang, Katara, and Sokka were assisting in the relocation of a Fire Nation colony led by Mayor Nishi, the team found out that Zuko had withdrawn his support for the movement, so they immediately traveled to Yu Dao, the colony where the Fire Lord was staying. After landing, soldiers ordered Aang to leave.

Once there, Katara and the rest of Team Avatar encountered a protest that included several members of the Freedom Fighters and learned that Zuko was preventing people from entering and exiting Yu Dao, so she and Aang flew over the colony's walls with his glider to meet the Fire Lord. They were, however, confronted by Fire Nation soldiers who prevented them from talking to Zuko, so they had to fight them. After Aang defeated several guards, Katara became enraged when she saw the guards were trying to set her boyfriend on fire and knocked them out. Zuko suddenly grabbed Katara, admonishing her for attacking his "people". Aang, angry at Zuko's action, warned him to let her go, but after he insisted that she had first to agree to stop attacking his people, Aang separated Zuko from Katara with airbending, prompting him to retaliate, causing the airbender to block the attack and enter the Avatar State. But Katara, telling him that he would not be able to control himself in an altered emotional state, managed to calm him down. The Fire Lord agreed to talk and gave the couple a tour of Yu Dao, pointing out how heavily integrated the lives of the citizens were in the colony. At this, Katara proposed a meeting with the Earth King concerning the matter, to which the Avatar and the Fire Lord both agreed.

After leaving Yu Dao, Smellerbee said that Aang had three days to make a compromise before the Freedom Fighters take action. On Appa, Aang thanked Katara for not letting him kill Zuko while in the Avatar State. The group continued to Ba Sing Se in order to inform Earth King Kuei about the colony's situation as Toph explained to Katara what Sokka meant with 'oogies'.

As Katara arrived in Ba Sing Se with Aang, they met two girls, who claimed to be members of the Official Avatar Aang Fan Club, much to the airbender's excitement but Katara's indifference. After learning they were looking for a place to stay, the girls immediately offered their clubhouse. They spent the night and the following morning there as Aang entertained the girls, much to Katara's annoyance and apparent jealousy as she was left out of the party. She reminded Aang that they had to meet with the Earth King, finally getting him to leave the clubhouse. After leaving, Aang thanked Katara for allowing him to spend some time with the girls, as he had felt like he was at home again, but she, feeling guilty because of her attitude, responded that she did not deserve it.

When Aang and Katara went to the Earth Kingdom Royal Palace and met Kuei, they communicated him the news. At the king's final decision of sending troops to attack Yu Dao to solve the conflict, the couple showed their surprise and disagreement, however, they were not able to change the sovereign's mind. Realizing that sending in the army would be seen as a declaration of war, Aang and Katara hurried back toward Yu Dao in an attempt to persuade as many of the Fire Nation colonials there to evacuate.

Upon their return at Yu Dao, Aang attempted to evacuate the city, though they were met with severe resistance from both earth and firebenders. After fighting off their attackers, the couple noticed Smellerbee, Kori, and the Yu Dao branch of the Official Avatar Aang Fan Club, much to Katara's annoyance. However, she came to the fan club's defense when Aang got angry at them for sporting Air Nomad attire, opting that it was probably a mistake. When an angry Aang stormed off, she followed him onto the roof, and comforted him when he verbalized his conflicting opinions about his promise to Zuko, and the separation of the four nations. Offering him her opinion, she reminded him of the words Guru Pathik and Huu told him prior: separation is an illusion, so is the separation of the four nations, who are actually all the same.

Later, when Aang entered the Avatar State to fulfill his promise, Katara calmed him down, and explained that when she saw Kori's family, she saw their future, outing her doubts about what would happen to them as a couple if the four nations would remain separate. Sharing a kiss, she convinced him to find a quiet place to think about it all before jumping to action based on rushed conclusions.

When the battle unfolded, Katara used her waterbending to confront King Kuei and eventually took him into the city to show him the lives he would change were he to persist in his war.

Sometime after the battle for Yu Dao, Katara attended a meeting together with her friends and several government officials at the home of the governor of Yu Dao to discuss the future of the city. She was listening attentively to the lecture that an Earth Kingdom professor gave on ancient Earth Kingdom philosophies regarding the four nations, though got annoyed and subsequently shushed her brother and boyfriend as the two kept talking among themselves. Aang swiftly apologized, but when Sokka commented that he was not surprised that she, his "boring sister", was interested in the "boring" lecture of the professor, she promptly waterbent the water from her glass into his face, transforming it into a snowball midair. She repeated the action a few moments later after a similar insult by her brother.

A week later, Katara traveled to the Fire Nation Royal Palace together with Aang and Sokka upon Zuko's inquiry. Upon arrival, they were delightfully surprised when they discovered Iroh there as well. Zuko explained that Iroh was there to act as interim Fire Lord while he would be gone, looking for Ursa, a journey on which he invited Team Avatar to accompany him. The amicable atmosphere quickly changed, however, when Azula emerged from behind Zuko, and Katara promptly attacked the princess with ice spikes, which she easily avoided. Zuko explained the situation and after some words, Team Avatar accepted that Azula would come with them in search for Ursa.

The following day, as Aang was preparing Appa for the journey toward Hira'a, taking care of Azula's luggage, Katara voiced her still present concerns about the princess's presence on the trip, though she took confidence in the knowledge that if Azula did try something, there would be four of them to take her down. When Azula subsequently zapped Sokka with her lightning, Katara was quick to trap the princess's hand in ice with her waterbending to prevent any further action. As the tension subsided, she released her, withdrawing the water into her pouch, though warned Azula to never touch her brother again, albeit to little effect.

As they set off on their journey, Katara rode atop Appa's head, sitting next to Aang. When Sokka commented how the adventure felt like "old times", Katara and Aang kissed, after Aang had stated that it was better than old times, since he could now kiss her whenever. The mood was broken, however, when Azula had another one of her aggressive psychotic episode, followed by Aang's making a gruesome expression, caused by the presence of the wolf spirit, though no one could see the creature. Sokka mocked the Avatar, much to the annoyance of Katara, who asked him to stop as Aang's situation was serious, though when he would not let up, she ended his mockery with another snowball to the face. Their playful antics suddenly became serious when Azula had dived off Appa and set fire to Aang's glider, who had swooped down to save her from plummeting to her death, subsequently sending him crashing down on the ground. As they landed, Katara and Sokka quickly jumped off to tend to the downed airbender, while Zuko went after his sister.

Arriving at the outskirts of the village, the group went in disguise, so the Fire Lord and Avatar could avoid attracting attention, and came upon the entire town attending the Hira'a Acting Troupe's version of the play, Love amongst the Dragons. After the play concluded, Zuko started asking about Ursa. This caught the attention of Noren, the director of the acting company, who invited them all to his home, where they could talk more freely. Aang and Katara complimented Noriko, Noren's wife, about their lovely home, and the Avatar asked how long they had been married. Noriko happily informed them that it had been nearly five years, subsequently embarrassing the young couple when she noted that they were perhaps a bit young to be already thinking about marriage, though she soon digressed, concluding that love was ageless. Under the cover of being drama historians, they did not find any new information regarding Ursa, but they did learn that her ex-boyfriend, Ikem left town, heading toward Forgetful Valley.

As they left the family's home, Azula voiced her disgust and stated that if it wasn't for Zuko, she'd burn their house down, convinced that their happiness was all an act. Katara became upset and tempers flared between her and Azula, before Zuko announced that they will be going to Forgetful Valley.

Upon arriving, Azula's first thought was to firebend a path, which Zuko and Aang quickly put out. Suddenly, Aang started to make a weird facial expression similar to their encounter with the wolf spirit. Sokka noted that there were facial markings on all the plants and animals surrounding them. Aang spotted a flutter bat, who had exactly the same pattern on his wings as he had on his face, and followed it down to a round pond. Aang felt a spiritual calmness surrounding the water, sensing a resemblance to the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole, and asked everyone to be respectful. However, Azula disregarded his request and fired a lightning bolt straight into the pool, believing that her mother was there. Soon after, the group was attacked by plants and vines, though the skirmish was cut short as Katara deduced the attackers to be waterbenders, and forced them to reveal themselves.

When Katara was a young girl, her mother was killed in a Fire Nation raid. This event had a tremendous impact on Katara's life and personality and arguably shaped her into the person she became. She was emotionally driven, involving herself completely in the heartache and needs of those around her. Placing her whole heart in the affairs of others, as well as bearing her own heartache, she was often easily reduced to tears. According to Sokka, Katara largely prevented their family from falling apart and took on many responsibilities to the point where she filled the void left by their mother (so much that he pictured her in place of his mother). As such, Katara had a maternal personality and often acted as a motherly figure to the group, something that often irritated the rebellious Toph. Her loss was also part of what drove her in her fight against the Fire Nation, although she did not exhibit as much outward prejudice as her brother. She was also a bit of a stickler for morality, even to the point of causing Sokka and Aang to faint from shock when she stated she wanted to pull a scam, as she had berated Toph for scamming people. According to Sokka, she was an optimist.

She has a soft spot for children. When aiding in baby Hope's birth, she stated that she helped her grandmother deliver many babies in their tribe,[47] and in Jang Hui, she gave a portion of her food to a little boy. She even went as far as to care for and defend Tom-Tom, Mai's little brother, despite the fact that he was from the Fire Nation and that everyone else, with the exception of Aang, was distrustful of him for it.

Katara is caring and compassionate, and is often marked by a fierce determination to aid others. She stated herself that she would never turn away from people who need her help. Katara was even willing to defend Fire Nation civilians such as when she helped the village of Jang Hui and when she fought Hama, who was from the Southern Water Tribe, to protect the Fire Nation village she was living in. This strong desire often frustrated others, particularly Sokka.

Katara was portrayed as the most mature member of the group, rarely taking part in Sokka and Aang's goofy pranks and Toph's less silly ones, though she did have a sense of humor. Katara was described as being motherly by Toph and Sokka. While the team traveled through the Si Wong Desert, Katara was able to hold the group together in its most desperate moments.

On the other hand, Katara could be overly domineering. For all her kindness and compassion, she was sometimes self-righteous, had a nasty temper, and could be fierce when provoked. With lack of sleep, this side of her can quickly become more apparent. She was also set in her ideals and frequently refused to relent on her views in the face of opposition. Combined with her strong sense of compassion, this gave her a strong sense of justice and she would run headlong into often dangerous situations to help others, which was best illustrated at the prison rig and at Jang Hui. Her short temper had frequently clashed with others; she showed open, but short-lived, jealousy of Aang's talent, and was frequently perturbed by Toph's confrontational and rebellious nature.

Despite being one of the more compassionate members of the group, Katara was one of the least willing to let go of a grudge, especially against those who she felt had betrayed her trust. She held a considerable grudge against those who had threatened Aang, as Zuko had, or done things she considered morally wrong, like Jet. At the Western Air Temple she showed outright hostility toward Zuko and threatened to kill him if he slipped back to his old ways. Upon her re-encounter with Jet, Katara reacted hostilely at the mere sight of him, and she was harsh and unforgiving of Zuko even long after he had joined Team Avatar and gained the trust of everyone else. However, this could be because Zuko's betrayal of her at Ba Sing Se was far more personal than his betrayal of anyone else. For a while, she was also argumentative with her father because she felt that he had abandoned her and Sokka when he left to fight in the War. However, Katara was sometimes willing to give people second chances; with much reluctance, she allowed Jet to guide Team Avatar to Appa, and she appeared to be saddened by his death. Also, she offered to try and heal Zuko's scar when they were enemies. Eventually, even after his betrayal, Katara decided to forgive him, embracing him as a friend, after he helped her find the man who killed her mother.

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