Avatar: The Last Airbender - Book 1: Water Reader Insert

The Boy in the Iceberg - Part 3

"It's ok," The voice said again. He realized it was only Katara, the sweet girl he met the day before. "We're in the village now. Come on, get ready. Everyone's waiting to meet you." With that, he got dressed and stepped outside.

Sokka and y/n were sitting outside of his tent waiting for him and Katara. Together, the four walked through the morning sun to the center of the village.

"Aang, this is the entire village. Entire village, Aang." Katara introduced. Aang bowed and everybody flinched, staring.

"Uh... Why are they all looking at me like that? Did Appa sneeze on me?"

Gran Gran stepped up, "Well, no one has seen an airbender in a hundred years. We thought they were extinct. Until my grandchildren found you."

Thoroughly confused, Aang asked, "Extinct?"

"Aang, this is my grandmother," Katara said, cutting him off.

"Call me Gran Gran."

"What is this, a weapon? You can't stab anything with this," Sokka asked, snatching the staff from Aang's grip.

Aang chuckled, "It's not for stabbing. It's for airbending." Aang used his airbending to take it back. The staff sprouted wings, wide and bright orange. It was a glider by the looks of it.

"Magic trick, do it again," said one of the little girls in the huddle. The young ones of the village approached, taking an interest in Aang.

"Not magic, airbending. It lets me control the air currents around my glider and fly." Aang explained.

"You know last time I checked, humans can't fly," said the all-knowing Sokka.

"Check again!" Aang leaped into the air with his glider. There was a flurry of commotion, villagers watching in awe. He did a few loops and flew around a bit putting on a good show. Aang's gaze caught on something in the crowd, or rather someone.

Following his line of sight, one could pick out the object of his fascination. Katara shared his gaze, oozing admiration. Not even a day of knowing each other and they were captivated by one another. It was a gaze that was unable to be broken, that was until Aang crashed into the village watchtower.

Everyone collectively gasped. He struggled for a bit, rustling out of the collapsed snow before climbing out safely. He tumbled down the piles of snow before him. Katara raced over to the airbender.

"My watchtower!" Sokka cried.

y/n watched on, unsure of how she was going to deal with them all now. Before, she only dealt with Sokka's boisterousness and the siblings' bickering, but now with Aang, the chaos may have doubled.

"That was amazing." Katara reached out to help him stand.

"That was pretty cool," y/n added, walking up beside her. Though she didn't sound extremely enthusiastic, Aang grinned happily all the same. He was pleased to impress not only Katara but also the somewhat stoic girl beside her.

Sokka rushed past them, disappointed that his tower was destroyed. He fell to his knees, scooping up some of the fallen snow. He looked into the sky like a silent plead begging the question why. In an attempt to fix his fallen building, he started patting snow over the cracks that had formed. Yet, what remained of the tower collapsed, burying him.

"Great. You're an airbender; Katara's a waterbender. Together you can just waste time all day long." Sokka grumbled sulking away.

"You're a waterbender!?"

"Well, sort of. Not yet," Katara admitted albeit embarrassed.

"All right. No more playing," says Gran Gran, "Come on, Katara, you have chores."

As she walked away with her grandmother, Katara spoke excitedly, "I told you. He's the real thing, Gran Gran. I finally found a bender to teach me!"

"Katara, try not to put all your hopes in this boy."

"But he's special. I can tell. I sense he's filled with much wisdom."

Y/n watched as the villagers went back to their duties and decided to do the same. Since the fishing trip the day before was a bust, she was headed to the outskirts to fish. As she made her way back to her tent, she saw Aang entertaining the little ones.

"See? Now my thongue is thtuck to my thaff."

Pleased to see he would do fine on his own for a little while, she gathered her things, ready for a peaceful day of fishing alone.

***

"Now men, it's important that you show no fear when you face a firebender. In the Water Tribe, we fight to the last man standing. For without courage, how can we call ourselves men?" Sokka addressed dramatically, pacing back and forth.

"I gotta pee!" exclaimed one of the little boys.

Sokka was not having it. "Listen! Until your fathers return from the War, they're counting on you to be the men of this tribe, and that means no potty breaks!" He flung his arms around in order to emphasize his point.

"But I really gotta go!" the boy insisted.

Defeated, Sokka sighed, "Okay, who else has to go?" All the kids raised their hands. Though surprised at first, Sokka couldn't help but facepalm. His patience was wearing thin and being the man of the tribe was not going as expected. Some days he hated his self-appointed role.

As all the kids headed to the bathroom Katara approached her brother, "Have you seen Aang? Gran-Gran said he disappeared over an hour ago."

Their eyes follow the children as they walked off. Just as they got there, Aang exited the outhouse igloo.

"Wow! Everything freezes in there!" he exclaimed. Laughter erupted from Sokka's "soldiers".

"Aah!" Sokka pointed at Aang, "Katara, get him out of here! This lesson is for warriors only!" He stomped off.

"Wee!" All the children started to play, only adding to Sokka's frustration. They made great use of the air bison's tail, Appa being kind enough to let them slide down it. Katara couldn't help but laugh, the sight too adorable.

Sokka ran over, "Stop!" and tripped, "Stop it right now! What's wrong with you?" He took the spear they had been using as an obstacle to jump over. "We don't have time for fun and games with the war going on!"

"What war?" Aang questioned, "What are you talking about?"

"You're kidding, right?"

Aang's face contorted, growing somber. Before too many could catch on, his attention shifted elsewhere.

"Penguin!" A penguin sprang off a drift in the distance, disappearing amongst the snow. Before anyone knew what was happening, Aang shot after it.

"He's kidding, right?" Sokka asked sharing a glace with Katara. It seemed one of them was going to have to break the news to Aang sooner or later and both hoped it wouldn't have to be them.