Katara crawled over to speak to Aang, "Hey..."
"Hey, what are you thinking about?"
"I guess I was wondering, you're being an airbender and all... if you had any idea what happened to the Avatar." Y/n perked up at this.
"Uh, no. I didn't know him. I mean I knew people that knew him. But I didn't, sorry."
"Ok. Just curious. Goodnight."
"Sleep tight."
Disappointed with his answer, y/n sighed. She scooted over beside Sokka, in search of heat. She took note of the furrow of his brows. He didn't bother looking at her, instead taking in the monotonous landscape of ice around them. Though, the setting sun provided a nice change in the scenery. His frustration sent a shot of guilt through her.
She didn't always use to give him a hard time. They were once inseparable, learning to track, hunt, and fish together. Survival training with him was once the highlight of her day. They'd follow Chief Hakoda across the snowy plains, taking in the landscape, each moment an adventure she never wanted to come home from. Especially when they would sneak off during group hunts and go penguin sledding instead.
Everything was better when it was just her and Sokka. And she figured he felt the same. But he didn't. He made that much obvious shortly after the Chief set out to fight in the war against the Fire Nation.
He started fishing on his own, sneaking out earlier each morning before she had time to wake up and join him. Similar instances followed concerning hunts and even boomerang practices. With Sokka out on his own, anytime Katar asked, y/n would take her out and teach her what her father once taught them.
Now, she and Sokka barely spoke to one another, only as needed and with increasing amounts of sarcasm and spite. She never understood what happened between them but with any snarky comment he threw her way, she learned to send one right back. This continued until she barely recognized herself and who she once was in his presence.
The only conclusion she could come to was that he only passed the time with her as a favor to his father. Sokka admired him more than anything in the world and if Hakoda asked him to walk through burning coals he would, no questions asked. But once his father was no longer around to tell him what to do, Sokka no longer needed to waste his time with her. The pity he once felt for her, parentless and alone, had probably worn off over the years. She supposed she couldn't blame him if that was the case.
With another sigh, she tried to shake away her wandering thoughts and the dull ache beneath her ribs. The nostalgia was making her sick. She wanted to sleep. Not thinking twice about it, she slumped back. Though she couldn't look at him quite the same anymore, the feeling she got sitting next to him hadn't changed much over the years. Not that she realized. The bit of heat he put off next to her was enough to ease her to sleep.
While he'd been watching the setting sun, he was well aware of the girl's presence beside him. It was odd for her to choose to be so close to him, he wasn't sure how to react. So, he ignored her. She sighed, probably annoyed with him. She was only ever annoyed by him anymore it seemed. It surprised him when a weight fell on his shoulder. He didn't look to see, he just hoped she was getting well-rested while they had the time.
Instead, he accidentally caught his sister's gaze. She gave a knowing look and he huffed, brows furrowing again as he turned his attention back to the setting sun, ignoring the heat fluttering dully in his chest.
***
Aang awoke with a startle, a voice calling to him, "Aang, Aang, wake up!"
He was breathing heavily. In an attempt to catch his breath, he sat up.
"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.