꧁ chapter one ꧂
the avatar

✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁎⁺˳✧༚

"I'M NOT ONE to complain but can't Appa fly any higher?" Sokka complained.

"I have an idea, why don't we all get on your back and you could fly us to the North Pole!" Aang sat up, pointing at Sokka angrily.

"I'd love to," Sokka quipped sarcastically, "Climb on everyone, Sokka's ready for take off" He continued, gesturing to his back.

Momo chirped before jumping onto Sokka's back.

"Look, we're all just a little tired and cranky because we've been flying for two days straight" Katara cut in, trying to calm the boys down.

"And for what? We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe," Sokka replied, looking around at the vast ocean that surrounded them, "There's nothing here"

A splashing sound suddenly made Katara and Aang sit up from their lazed positions, searching for the source of the noise.

Aang let out a yell and violently yanked Appa's reins to the side as the water in front of them shot up and turned into ice. The sudden force tilted Appa sideways while Katara and Sokka let out screams of fear.

Appa abruptly knocked straight into an ice spike sending everyone tumbling straight into the water, which instantly froze around them, effectively trapping them.

Katara looked up in shock as she saw multiple Water Tribe boats approach them,

"They're waterbenders! We found the Water Tribe!"

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"There it is!" Aang pointed excitedly at the wall of the Northern Water Tribe city.

"The Northern Water Tribe" Katara spoke in awe, unable to take her eyes away from the sight.

"We're finally here" Sokka said, looking up in relief.

A tunnel opened through the wall, allowing them to enter the city.

"I can't believe how many waterbenders live up here!" Katara spoke, fascinated by the canal workers' bending.

Aang turned to Katara,
"We'll find a master to teach us, no problem"

As the trio passed through the channels of the city, Sokka turned to notice a beautiful girl travelling on a boat beside a slightly younger one, and blushed at the sight of her.

"This place is beautiful" Katara said, amazed by the scenery.

Sokka swooned,

"Yeah, she is"

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"Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Tribe. And they have brought with them, someone very special, someone whom many of us believed disappeared from the world until now... The Avatar!" Chief Arnook announced as the crowd broke into applause and cheer.

"We also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday. Princess Yue is now of marrying age!"

"Thank you, father. May the great Ocean and Moon Spirits watch over us during these troubled times" Yue spoke, smiling sweetly as she stepped forward.

"Now, Master Pakku and his students will perform!" Chief Arnook introduced, motioning to where the performance was taking place.

"Can you believe the Avatar is actually here?" Meiluna whispered to her sister.

Upon hearing no response, Meiluna turned to where her sister stood and found her already walking towards the guests.

"Hey!" Meiluna yelped stepping forward almost tripping over her own feet.

"Let's go say hello" Yue insisted.

Watching her sister leave, Meiluna quickened her pace to join her.

"You know, back in my tribe, I'm kind of like a prince, myself" The boy next to Yue spoke confidently.

"Ha! Prince of what?" The boy's sister teased.

"A lot of things! Do you mind? I'm trying to have a conversation here" He said as he tried to avoid further embarrassment.

"My apologies, Prince Sokka" The girl mocked, as she gave a slight bow.

Meiluna laughed as she observed the Water Tribe boy try to woo her sister.

"Hi, I'm Yue's sister, Meiluna" She smiled politely as she faced the girl.

Katara looked up before realising the princess had spoken to her.

"Your highness," She bowed her head "It's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Katara"

Meiluna smiled as she turned to the boy on the other side of her, bowing slightly,

"You must be the Avatar, it's an honour to have you here"

The Avatar smiled as she took a seat beside him,

"Thank you, Princess"

Meiluna noticed her and Katara's older siblings interact with each other. Sokka seemed to have stuffed an excessive amount of food into his mouth.

"Very smooth" Katara mumbled.

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"Your highness!"

Meiluna turned around to see the Southern Water Tribe boy running to catch up to her.

"Sokka?" She looked at him oddly as he slowed down to walk next to her, catching his breath.

"Princess-"

"Please," Meiluna interrupted him, "You can call me Meiluna"

"Meiluna," Sokka smiled as he looked to her, "I wanted to ask you something"

"Go ahead" She nodded.

"Uh, well," Sokka looked around awkwardly, "You know Princess Yue?"

"You mean my sister who I've known my whole life?" She asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, that one," Sokka laughed nervously, "Do you think she likes, you know, doing stuff?"

Meiluna stared at him with a puzzled expression.

"Like, with other people? Like me?"

"Are you trying to describe a date?" Meiluna asked as Sokka felt a blush creep up his neck.

"Well, if you want to put a label on it," Sokka spoke as Meiluna gave him a pointed look,

"Yes"

Meiluna laughed while Sokka seemed to get even more embarrassed than he already was.

"Come on, I'll help you find her!" She smiled as she grabbed his hand, guiding him through the crowd.

"So, what's the game plan?" She asked after a short while of wandering.

He looked at her in confusion,
"What do you mean?"

"What's the plan when you find her?" Meiluna elaborated.

"Oh," Sokka pondered for a minute, "I didn't really think about that"

"Don't worry, as a woman myself-"

"Aren't you 15?" Sokka cut in.

"I know a thing or two about what a woman likes" Meiluna continued, completely ignoring his comment.

Sokka raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to bestow her advice upon him. Meiluna suddenly felt a bit flustered under his gaze,

"Well, I've never actually been on a date before"

Sokka noticed the hint of sadness in her voice.

"Me neither"

Meiluna looked at him in surprise.

"There aren't really a lot of girls back home" He added awkwardly as Meiluna nodded.

She then noticed her sister's white hair peeking through the crowds of people surrounding her.

"Look!" Meiluna lightly hit Sokka's shoulder.

He looked up and noticed the the girl of his dreams before panicking and looking to Meiluna,

"What do I do?"

"I'll go first and talk you up," She suggested, "Then when I leave, you can swoop in and ask her out, deal?"

Sokka nodded quickly,
"You're a way better wing woman than Katara"

"What do I tell her?" Meiluna asked quickly.

"Oh," Sokka thought for a second, "Tell her I'm the best warrior from the South Pole"

"Something believable!"

"That is believable!"

Sokka huffed in annoyance as Meiluna ran up to her sister.

"Yue!"

Yue quickly turned and smiled at her sister,
"Luna, what are you doing here?"

"I was talking to the Avatar's friend," Meiluna told her, carefully watching her reaction, "The Southern Water Tribe boy"

Yue's eyes lit up as she mentioned him,
"That's nice"

"Did you know he's the best warrior from his tribe?" Meiluna added.

Yue looked at her quizzically,
"Who told you that?"

"I just overheard," Meiluna replied vaguely, "What do you think of him?"

Yue bit back a smile,
"He's sweet, and funny"

"And cute?"

"Very" Yue laughed.

Meiluna gasped teasingly,
"You love him!"

"I do not!" Yue lightly pushed her sister before her hand instinctively shot up to her betrothal necklace, "Besides, it wouldn't even matter if I did"

Meiluna frowned at the action.

"It's not like you're married yet," Meiluna attempted to lift her sister's spirits, "I think you deserve to have some fun"

Yue looked gratefully to Meiluna before gently hugging her,
"Thanks Luna"

She hugged her back, secretly giving Sokka a thumbs up and waving him over quickly before she pulled away from her sister.

"Uh, I have to go now" Meiluna announced awkwardly.

"What?" Yue looked at her strangely.

"Have fun with your lover!" Meiluna blew a kiss to Yue before speeding off in the opposite direction.

Yue tilted her head in confusion when she saw Sokka run up beside her. She smiled as she thought of her sister.

Maybe she did deserve to have some fun.

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"I'm going to meet him tonight" Yue beamed as she burst into Meiluna's room.

Meiluna squealed excitedly as she hugged her sister.

"I never would've guessed that he'd ask you out" Meiluna laughed.

Yue rolled her eyes,
"Oh, really? You didn't plan this whole thing?"

Meiluna smiled innocently,
"I believe it was all Prince Sokka"

Yue flopped herself onto Meiluna's bed, unable to contain her happiness.

"You deserve this Yue," Meiluna spoke softly, "Now, get up! I have to get you ready for a date"

"What's wrong with how I look now?" Yue frowned slightly.

"Nothing, I just like playing dress up"

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The next morning, Meiluna woke up early to attend a meeting.

She walked alongside her father, noticing Yue on the other side of him, looking especially downcast.

Maybe Sokka didn't show up?

Meiluna glanced at her sister briefly.

No way, he'd have to be crazy to stand up Yue.

She met Meiluna's gaze shortly before averting her stare back at the ground.

"What do you want me to do? Force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?" Chief Arnook questioned.

"Yes... Please" Katara answered hesitantly.

"I suspect he might change his mind, if you swallow your pride and apologise to him" Chief Arnook continued.

Katara looked at Aang then agreed reluctantly,
"Fine"

"I'm waiting, little girl" Master Pakku said with a smug look on his face.

"No!" Katara shouted as the ice around her began to crack, "No way am I apologising to a sour old man like you!"

Two pots holding water immediately smashed open.

"Uh, Katara?" The Avatar asked, looking slightly worried.

"I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me" Katara announced as she stormed out.

Yue let out a gasp at this act of defiance while Meiluna's mouth fell open.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that" Aang attempted to diffuse the situation.

Sokka looked back at his sister,

"Yeah, I think she did"

Meiluna knew as soon as Katara challenged Master Pakku to a fight, things were about to get crazy. And there was no way she was gonna miss the fight of the century.

"Are you insane, Katara? You're not going to win this fight" Sokka spoke frantically.

Katara took off her coat at tossed it at him without looking,

"I know, I don't care!"

"You don't have to do this for me. I can find another teacher" Aang tried to reason.

"I'm not doing this for you. Someone needs to slap some sense into that guy!" Katara snapped as Master Pakku descended the stairs, "So, you decided to show up?"

Master Pakku ignored her question and walked straight past.

"Aren't you going to fight?"

"Go back to the healing huts with the other women where you belong" Master Pakku replied, barely sparing a glance back.

Meiluna rolled her eyes at this comment.

Katara clenched her fists, then sent a water whip straight to the back of Master Pakku's head.

"Fine. You want to learn to fight so bad? Study closely!" He yelled, turning around to face her.

Master Pakku created two streams of water from the nearby pools and sent them both at a charging Katara, who fell back from the impact.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you" He taunted as he joined the two streams of water together to create a ring of water encircling the two of them.

Katara redirected the water, unfortunately blasting Sokka away. Master Pakku built an ice wall in defence that Katara slid up easily as she landed on a nearby post. Pakku used this opportunity to melt the ice and direct the water at Katara, who was freezing her feet down before directing the blast away.

"You can't knock me down!" Katara shouted fiercely.

"Go Katara!" Aang encouraged.

Katara charged at Pakku with full force as he drew up a wall of ice. Katara quickly liquified it and attempted to land a hit on Pakku, who managed to evade her. He whipped a stream of water at Katara and ended up throwing her into a pool.

Katara emerged, summoning a pillar of ice which she used to throw a series of ice discs at the old man. Pakku deflected them with his wrist while Katara sent a stream of water in his direction. He generated it into a larger stream of water and returned the blast, sending Katara backwards. She got up suddenly and brought down the two ice pillars next to Pakku, which he deflected by turning it into a dusty mist of snow.

"Well, I'm impressed. You are an excellent waterbender" He spoke as the mist cleared.

"But you still won't teach me, will you?" Katara gritted through her teeth.

"No"

Katara sent a wave of ice at Pakku, who merely raised himself onto an ice pillar to dodge the attack. He proceeded to liquefy the pillar, charging straight at Katara, who sent a powerful stream of water his way.

Pakku avoided the attack and surged past her, knocking her necklace off in the process. Katara fell roughly to the ground while Pakku froze a stream of water into several ice shards, trapping her in between.

"This fight is over" Pakku spoke as Katara struggled to break free.

"Come back here! I'm not finished yet!" Katara cried out.

"Yes you are," Pakku replied.

He then noticed the necklace on the ground and proceeded to pick it up to examine,

"This is my necklace"

"No, it's not. It's mine, give it back!" Katara yelled back.

"I made this sixty years ago for the love of my life," Pakku reminisced, "For Kanna".

Katara unfroze the ice surrounding her before speaking,

"My Gran-Gran was supposed to marry you?"

"I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged. I thought we would have a happy life together. I loved her" Pakku spoke sadly.

"But she didn't love you, did she? It was an arranged marriage. Gran-Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she left. It must've taken a lot of courage" Katara responded.

Yue suddenly burst into tears, swiftly running away from the situation.

"Go get her" Aang nudged Sokka.

Sokka turned to look at Meiluna as she simply gave him a nod of approval before letting him chase after her sister.

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Meiluna stood at the sidelines of Master Pakku's waterbending class.

"Not bad, not bad," Pakku laughed, "Keep practicing and maybe you'll get it by the time you're my age"

He then turned to the Princess,
"Your highness, would you like to join?"

"Oh, thank you Master Pakku, but I don't think I'm-"

"You are a talented bender, Princess, don't underestimate yourself" He told her.

Meiluna had never thought of herself as a fighter. She felt as though her role in her tribe was to maintain peace and harmony. She was never a violent person. Watching Pakku's classes over time, she had picked up many defensive and protective waterbending techniques that she liked to practice by herself. She didn't think she had it in herself to purposefully hurt or attack another person, so she was conflicted.

Was she worth teaching waterbending to?

"I think that's a great idea" The Avatar smiled brightly at her.

How could she say no to that face?

She turned to Master Pakku, bowing slightly,
"Thank you for giving me a chance"

Aang turned around and noticed Katara running up to them.

"Hey Katara!" Aang called out.

Meiluna smiled seeing the girl approach them.

"What do you think you're doing?" Pakku asked her, "It's past sunrise, you're late" He continued with a slight smile, before getting into a bending stance.

"Good to see you here" Aang smiled at his friend.

"You too"

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