Safe & Sound | Book 1

1: First Impressions

Art: The Boy in the Iceberg by Stephanie Cost

(Links for art can be found in the External Link)

While this story is not an 18+ type of story it is intended for nostalgic viewers, meaning those who were around when it first came out and are of age now. (Therefore being the same age or older than the protagonist.) 16+ is probably my cut-off point and the older I get, the less I even like that. If you are younger, please do not read or I'll have to put restrictions on this.

Also, this is not a reader insert story, just a first-person OC because that's how I used to be comfortable writing.

The sky was a pitch-black blanket dusted with hundreds of shimmering stars while the pale disk of the moon stood firmly among them. Our currently calm, icy black waves tried to mirror the beautiful sky with the best of its ability but it just wasn't smooth enough to do it justice. Most of the people of the village were fast asleep, leaving only I awake while I waited up for my infuriating little brother and sister. I continued to shift between angry and worried as the minutes grew to hours.

What could be taking them so long? I had only sent them out to go fishing. Knowing them, they had probably gotten themselves stuck on an iceberg. They were both strong enough people with plenty of intelligence between them but sometimes I worried that they didn't know it themselves. Or maybe it's the fact that they did know it and thought they were better than they actually were. Either would be plausible.

"Kida?" I heard the familiar voice of my sister. I spun around and saw my siblings walking towards me. However, my splash of relief quickly faded when I saw that they weren't alone. Walking between the pair was a strange, little bald boy and a giant furry beast.

"Katara? Sokka? What happened? And who is he?" I demanded, trying to sound less fearful than I felt. It wasn't every day that a little boy and a giant fluffy monster appeared on your doorstep.

"Hi, you must be Sokka and Katara's older sister, I'm Aang," the boy introduced before either of my siblings could.

"Hi, I'm Kida." I heard my voice shake as I spoke. I was still not sure what was going on. "Um, exactly what am I missing here?"

"Katara found a new boyfriend in an iceberg," Sokka informed, making me even more confused. I raised a brow and watched as he traded Aang's side for mine. He crossed his arms and pursed his lips as if pretending to be a parent disapproving of a stray - he clearly didn't realize he helped bring the stray home.

Katara gave our brother a killer glare before finally turning to me. I watched the sheepish smile stretch onto her face as she tried to make her body as small and innocent looking as possible. "Well, we kind of found Aang in an iceberg and since our canoe got destroyed-"

She didn't get to finish her explanation. My focus instantly snapped to the last few words she got out. "You destroyed one of our canoes!"

"It was an accident!" she said hurriedly, raising her hands in defense. "Anyways, we found Aang and he gave us a ride back home on Appa."

"What's an Appa?"

"Who's Appa," Aang corrected. The interruption caused me to throw a quick glare at the boy until he pointed at the monster behind him. "And that would be him!"

I brought one hand to my forehead to soothe my delirious brain. "Winter hasn't even started yet," I muttered, "how am I already having delusions?"