The Lunar Warrior [ATLA FF]

Book 1: Water | 24 | The Crazy King III

Ayaan stood with a bland expression on his face. By then, his brown hair had long since faded back to its silvery-white sheen. For some reason, the guards that were escorting him, Katara, and Sokka kept gawking at him. Normally, he didn't care about this. Because, well, it was normal. But he didn't like anyone here, so he was currently unnerved.

"Stop staring." He snapped, glaring at them with his icy blue eyes. The guards whistled, looking forward as if they hadn't been caught, though you could see the cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.

Sokka, the ever-observant boy that he was, did not miss this. He also didn't miss the expression of discomfort and suppressed anger from his brother. Fun fact he just learned: When Ayaan is truly upset, his eyes become a brighter shade of blue in contrast to their usual grayish hue. That's closer to their father's eye color; their mother's eyes had been darker, or should he say duller, blue.

He tried to ignore the fact that her memory was getting further and further away from him with each passing day. He tried to not let that bother him. Even though, at the back of his mind, it did. A lot.

Long observation short, Ayaan's glare is scary, super manly, and a skill he must learn.

But when he tried to glare, he heard snickers. They were laughing! How dare they laugh at him?! What Sokka failed to notice was that instead of scary like his brother, his glare was cute. It was like a pup trying to match up to a wolf. If you put both of them together, which do you believe will be scarier? He tried to hide his shame behind irritation, but this was also seen as cute.

Another failure.

The watertribe siblings each had their charms; Ayaan, obviously, was the guy everyone wants. He was the full package with his only known flaw being his obliviousness. Katara was a beautiful young lady who was determined and hardworking. And Sokka, while Ayaan was more mature in looks, didn't lose in that battle. He was smart, funny, and had been working on his many flawed views for a while now.

But when you compare him to Ayaan, the only word that comes to mind is 'cute'. A puppy to a wolf.

"Quit laughing at him, you scum." A growl was heard. When they turned their heads to the sound they found a livid Ayaan glaring at them like a wolf-bat out of hell. They shut up, knowing that the barely restrained, feral beast behind them was a hair away from pouncing and ripping them a new one.

'Terrifying...'

A wolf indeed.

They continued to walk in complete silence for a while.

"Halt." The guard said, the others immediately stopping before a wall. The other escorts that had been there before made themselves scarce, leaving just the guards and the children. Sokka and Katara were still struggling with their captors, but their ironclad grips were impossible to escape from with their lack of skill. Ayaan, while he could easily ignore the pain in his shoulder and fist to pummel these men, stood eerily still and silent.

He needed to know where his other family was; he needed to locate Aang. Before he did anything, he needed to know this.

And he was sure that he and the king were on the other side of this wall they'd stopped in front of. He could hear their voices. One jovial, the other angry.

"I don't have time for your crazy games!" He heard Aang yell, the white-haired teen surprised and pleased by the aggression he could hear in his voice. "Give me my friends back! We're leaving!"

And then the wall opened, the guards dragging them out.

The King gestured to them as he spoke, "Oh, I thought you might refuse, so I will give your friends some special souvenirs."