Accidental Avatar

Out in the Tundra...

We moved slowly to avoid making too much noise, so we wouldn't draw attention and startle the seal things nearby. We were in a bit of an exposed spot, so I pushed us a little faster to avoid notice. It was freezing out here, and even though I was dressed warmly enough, I could feel the cold beginning to seep in through the clothes.

Zuko ran up a small ice hill and observed while I tried to hide the little boat as best I could with some waterbending, putting snow over the boat. He headed back, indicating the wall was completely guarded, and therefore out of the question. I shrugged, and he pointed at some very noisy turtle seals behind me. I turned to see them diving into a hole, and I immediately tensed up. There was no way I was diving in there. It was cold, wet, and dark, and I couldn't swim. Zuko seemed to sense my panic, and he put a hand on my upper arm.
"They're coming up for air somewhere," he said quietly.
"That's not the problem..." I muttered, hugging myself tightly. "It's the 'can't swim' part that's the problem."

Zuko stared into the pool.
"I can't leave you here. It's not safe," he stood up and waved me over.
I stepped forward hesitantly, eyeing him suspiciously. He took a rope and lashed it around my waist.
"What are you doing!?" I whispered harshly.
"If you can't swim, just hold onto me, and I'll get you through," he responded quietly. I can't tell what he's thinking or even his expression because his face is covered in a mask and hood.
"What about the freezing water?" I demanded, still whispering.
"I can warm you up when we get to the other side."
"..."
"What?"
"Nothing. You'd get annoyed," I responded, shaking my head, the wig forgotten but in place. "Let's get this over with," I said with an annoyed sigh as Zuko secured the other end of the rope around his own waist.
He pulled the mask from his face and took a deep breath. I mimicked it and tried not to think about how cold that water must be. He dove, and the rope tugged at my waist as I dove in after him.

The water was so cold that I released most of my breath in a shocked gasp, swallowing some water as I did. In a panic, I started thrashing, but the water was so cold that my limbs didn't want to work right. Zuko paused and turned slightly towards me. I was clawing at the ice, which was cracking and starting to move. He pulled the rope until he had me close enough that he brought his mouth crashing against mine. In total shock, my mouth opened instinctively, and a puff of air entered from his. He pulled away and indicated I stay calm, and we continued to swim. Me? Well, I'm not really that cold anymore, and I'm sure Zuko set my face on fire.

After swimming for so long, I thought my lungs would burst if I didn't surface soon; the panic was starting to set in again. I was holding tightly to Zuko's shirt and had my eyes tightly closed as if that would somehow make the surface come sooner. Soon I could hear sound again, and I took a deep gasp of breath as I was pulled out of the water and flopped down near Zuko. We both lay there gasping for air when my muscles started to tense. I was freezing and pretty sure if I didn't warm up soon, I'd start going into hypothermia, but my brain didn't do more than make me curl into a fetal position. I felt like I was still underwater, and my eyelids felt heavy. Suddenly, I felt something warm on my back, and my muscles started to loosen.

"Amaya?" I could hear again, and slowly I became aware of Zuko's hands on my back, moving in a circular motion as he tried to spread the heat.
"Five more minutes, mom..." I groaned, rolling over. "Ugh, never letting you talk me into that again."
He helped me to my feet, and I waterbent the excess freezing water from both our clothes, and we made our way out of the cave. We came to another hole-thing, this one up above us with water spewing out, and I actually threw him a withering glare. Why didn't I remember this?
"Could you waterbend that?" He asked, wrapping his rope back over his shoulder.
"Well, never hurt to try," I said and started bending the water out the way