Pink Skies
Chapter 13: The Ice Village
Lin hadn't had enough time to Brace before they collided with the ice, and she fell to the floor, hitting her back against the wheel. The boat shaked and groaned, and she was already thinking about the days of repairs they had ahead of them.
When it was stable enough she stood up brushing herself of the dust she had collected on the ground. Kya was sitting on the floor, scratching at her wrist. Izumi had already made it to her feet, cursing.
"Just my fucking luck. At this rate we won't have a ship by the time we reach the fire nation. Fucking ice. Drop the fire bombs!" She hollered, making her way down the steps. Lin chuckled, watching her go. She offered Kya a hand pulling her to her feet.
"You okay?" Lin asked.
"Yeah, just a splinter."
"Let me see." Kya showed Lin her hand, and sure enough a piece of wood was embedded between her thumb and pointer finger. The area was already red and swollen, but Lin could get a grip on the piece with her teeth. She brought her girlfriend's hand to her mouth, receiving some resistance.
"What are you doing?" Kya asked.
"Do you want me to get it or not?"
"With your mouth?"
"Kya, my mouth has been in more sensitive areas." Kya's mouth went agape, but she nodded, a blush forming on her cheeks.
Lin gripped the splinter between her teeth and pulled, Kya winced, but she felt the small thorn in her mouth. She spit it out with a grin.
"Why did you enjoy that so much?" Kya asked.
"I love doing things for m'lady" Lin replied with a jest.
"Hmm, try that on your other girlfriend, see if it works out for you." They laughed linking arms, walking over to inspect the damage.
The crew had already begun dropping jars of alcohol and gunpowder to melt the ice, and it was working, albeit slowly.
"There's not going to be any left by the time we're out of here." Ping complained, dropping another.
"How am I supposed to stand this cold sober?"
"Relax," Izumi said, "we'll restock when we dock. Besides, it's not that cold, be happy it's summer. Who knows what this place is like in the winter."
"Its very cold," Kya answered, "I don't remember a lot, but I do remember staying indoors next to a fire, wrapped in furs." The others blinked at her, resulting in a shrug.
"What you asked."
"Right, um, keep the fire coming!" Izumi called pulling them over for a sidebar.
"I want you guys to go down there and talk to the local who waved us down." The Captain ordered.
"Why because I'm water tribe?" Kya asked, crossing her arms.
"What? No, because Lin is my first mate and you're not going to help with the fire bombs I figured you'd go with her."
"... yeah you're probably right about that." Izumi rolled her eyes, kissing them both quickly on the cheek.
"Dont take too long," she said, before leaving them to it.
"How are we going to get down there?" Kya asked as they stared at the water below them.
"Jump?" Lin offered. She got a dirty look from Kya, but she didn't care.
Getting any look from Kya felt like a dream.
She was still living in a blind bliss since getting her girlfriend back. She felt powerful, immortal even.
She knew it was a dangerous feeling, it could make one overly confident, mess with their thinking.
But she could hold onto it a little while longer.
"We'll take the row boat." Lin said, evoking a sigh of exasperation. She waited for Kya to make the move, and slowly followed suit.
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Izumi looked through her spyglass, sighing with defeat. They would be stuck here for hours, maybe days considering it would freeze again in the night.
She had wanted to help Kya best she could, but perhaps she jumped into this too quickly. She wasn't prepared to sail in icy waters, let alone outside of the fire nation.
She didn't have protection out here, it was dangerous. If the locals identified them as a pirate ship, it could mean disaster. She watched the slow progress with dreary eyes, shaking her head.
"Stop." She said weakly. No one listened so she repeated herself at a greater volume.
"Stop!" This time the crew hated, holding the jars above their heads.
"Dont waste anymore, it will just freeze again. Take five, I need to think this through." She walked away from the edge, hoping to clear her head. She paced aimlessly, half waiting for Lin to return with a solution, half waiting to think of one herself.
She found herself on the third deck, tossing an apple, well on its way to rotting, in the air when she heard a tap. She turned around, seeing Suyin wrapped in a blanket on her cot. She sat upright, her hands above the covering.
"Wheres the kids?" Izumi asked. Su held up her hands, gesturing.
Eating. She signed.
"Mmm," Suyin signed something else, but Izumi couldn't make it out.
"I don't understand," she said. Su furrowed her brows before raising her hands again.
Why no move?
Great, even she had figured out they were stuck.
"We hit ice, if you can believe it. We can't get it to melt." Su pursed her lips, thinking.
"I know, I've been wandering around hoping your sister comes up with a solution so I don't have to."
Oars. Suyin gestured.
"What?"
Oars. Row-boat.
"We can't fit everyone on a row boat," Izumi explained, "besides that doesn't help free the ship." Suyin facepalmed, pointing to the small hatches on the side of the ship. Izumi had always assumed they were for extra cannons, but perhaps the ex-Captain was onto something.
"Oars... we could stick them through the hatches and row ourselves free, we would be able to push ice out of our way." Su nodded, silently clapping.
"Thank you, Suyin," she said, "I will see to it you have an extra ration of your choosing tonight." The younger woman smiled, dipping her head.
Silent Suyin was much different then the person they had slain on the Flying Boar. She had a peaceful energy about her, as though her spirit had corrected itself. Izumi still didn't trust her, but it was a start.
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By the time they had made it to the local, Lin's teeth were chattering. Being close to the water didn't help with cold, and their lack of protection wasn't making things better. The person pulled their boat to the shore, assisting them out.
"Thank you," Kya said with a grin. The man looked her up and down, narrowing his eyes.
"First mate Lin Beifong, with the Ozai's Revenge," Lin butted in, shaking his hand. He accepted the gesture, but his focus remained on Kya. He was no older than sixteen, with hair pulled back into a ponytail, the sides were shaved with an intricate pattern and a sole braid fell loose from the back.
"Tonraq," he replied.
"Thank you for warning us," Lin said, "even if we still crashed."
"Of course. Breaking the ice is damaging to the environment, it displaces the polar bear dogs and elephant seals."
"Sorry about that," Kya said, "we can make it up to you. We have plenty of fire nation goods on board."
"We aren't merchants, Kya." Lin said.
"Not merchants? Then what are you?"
"We're p-"
"Part of the fire nation royal navy! Sent here on an expedition to find someone." Lin looked at her and Kya angled her eyes toward the village.
Lin owed Kya one, it never occurred to her how they might feel about harboring a ship of scoundrels, albeit, pretty cleanly scoundrels.
"Well, waste no time then, we will have Longships come out and help you, the dock isn't very big, but we should be able to squeeze it in. Getting it out, however, might be an issue."
"And issue for Izumi to deal with later." Lin said, she placed her hands on her hips with satisfaction, halting when she heard creaking behind her.
Rows and rows of Oars extended through the third floor hatches, and the ice started to part with the stroke of the wood.
"Row! Row!" Voices shouted from the ship.
"Looks like you don't need help after all," Tonraq said. "Come with me, I'm walking the rest of the way, we can meet the crew there."
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Kya bounced, anyone could be her mother, at any moment a woman could walk up to her and declare herself as the wife of Aang, as her mother.
It was exciting, but she was extremely nervous.
What if she hated her?
What if she held a grudge for leaving?
Her attention was drawn back to the ship, when the front of it finally collided with the dock. People from the village took hold of the ropes the crew threw to them, and soon enough, they were harbored. It didn't take long for the Captain to swing onto the dock, creating the dramatic entrance she craved.
"Flashy," Lin commented, crossing her arms.
"You're just jealous because you had to walk here."
"And I still beat you." Izumi pursed her lips, slapping Lin on the ass as she went by.
"Real professional!" Lin shouted.
"Thats not what you said last night!" The Captain hollered back before walking up to a well built man. He had a stature to him, and Kya placed him as the chief. She took Lin by the arm, dragging her over to their third half. The Chief was talking to Izumi when he paused, facing Kya dead on.
"Katara?" He asked.
"Kya," she replied with a smile. He returned her grin, pushing past the Captain and embracing Kya in a hug.
"She's going to be so happy," he whispered over her shoulder.
"You know my mother?"
"Know her? Ha! She's my sister!" Kya widened her eyes, she had an uncle? One she didn't remember.
She had some apologizing to do.
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"Tonraq tells me you have goods to trade," Chief Sokka said as they made their way through the village.
"We aren't much of merchants," Izumi replied, thinking, "but we might have something your interested in. For the right price." The Chief laughed, smacking her on the back a little harder than he intended and Izumi had to stop herself from falling over and wincing in pain.
"You're no merchant but you sure know how to bargain. We don't get many traveller's through here, so name your price." She nodded, allowing herself time to catch up on the breath he had knocked out of her.
"Lets discuss it when we get there."
"Procrastination, I like your thinking." She looked at him, but he was steadfast, trudging forward.
"You know, Kya, you look just like your mother. You had me confused there for a minute, thought I had drank some cactus juice without knowing."
"Really, what is she like?"
"She's a stickler for the rules, but an amazing doctor. Kind of annoying if you ask me, but apparently that's 'just how sister's are.'" Kya cracked a smile, Izumi was filled with joy. Maybe this side mission would be worth it after all.
When her feet had gone numb they reached a stop, the Chief standing outside the door to a small wooden home. The frame was weak on the bottom, but the roof looked to be newly replaced.
Izumi just hoped it would be warm.
"Katara, there's someone out here who wants to see you!" Sokka called, knocking his knuckles against the door. The door opened and a woman looked at them. Her hair was tied back with two pieces falling to the front, beads attached to them. Her eyes were round and soft like Kya's, and the resemblance didn't stop there.
Sokka had been right to assume them as family, because the more Izumi compared the two the more she saw it.
Katara was older, sure, but her features had youth to them. Her eyes were still bright and her skin still smooth, aside from a few wrinkles under her eyes. Katara took one look at their group and broke into tears.
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Kya embraced her mother, crying into her shoulder. Memories started to flood back and suddenly vivid images of her child hood home wracked her brain.
"I'm so sorry," she said, "I shouldn't have left you." They fell to their knees, Katara kissing her daughter on the forhead and hugging her in a cycle.
"I love you," Katara whispered back. When they could composed themselves enough to sustain a conversation Kya pulled back, staring her mother in the eyes.
"I saw dad," she said, "he loves you." Katara teared up again, and this time Sokka stepped in, meeting his sister on the ground in an embrace.
"Tenzin too, they're together, or they were." Kya didn't have the heart to tell her Aang was dead, but from the look on her mother's face, she didn't need to elaborate.
"I can feel him," she said, "he's waiting for me." Kya grinned, wiping her eyes.
"Plese, get yourselves out of the cold, I can't imagine youre used to this weather." She said inviting them in.
"The day the fire nation has ice is the day the sun runs out of fuel," Izumi replied. They watched Sokka and Katara remove their foot wear and quickly mimicked them.
"Please, introduce me to your friends." Katara said, passing each of them a fur to wrap up in.
"This is Lin," Kya gestured to her shorter girlfriend. "And this is Izumi," Kya noticed that without her boots, the Fire Princess wasn't all that taller than her.
"Izumi, hmmm, how do you get around carrying the name of the Fire Princess with you?"
"I have aliases, sometimes a fun disguise." Izumi replied.
Ever since Kya had returned both of her girlfriend's had come out of their shell. It was as though their defenses had been lowered so that love could get in.
"Mmm, and Lin what might be your surname?"
"Beifong." Lin replied. Katara and Sokka shared a look, a small grin appearing on their faces.
"Well isn't that funny," Katara smiled, "you must tell us how you came to be here."
"Oh boy," Kya said, scratching her chin, "it's a long story."
"I don't have anywhere to be, and I would love nothing more to hear my daughter's sweet voice." Kya's eyes lit up, and she wanted to tell her mom everything, right from the moment she left to the second she came back.
But she couldn't, because some of those details wouldn't make her feel good, and she wanted her mother to feel like it was worth it.
Or rather, Kya wanted to convince herself it was worth it.