waterbending training!
a/n: 2.1k words for you pretty people!!
warning: blood mention, violence
💧✼ ҉ ✼ ҉ ✼💧
authors pov
10:12 AM. NORTHERN WATER TRIBE
"water is life," y/n and katara walk into the building, looking around in awe. "water allows life to flourish,"
they both watch as a women pour water over a bloody wound.
"and to heal," the woman waves her hand over the wound, the water binding to the blood and flesh, healing it. y/n gasps in awe, as katara just stands there.
the rest of the waterbending class, go to their separate parts of the classroom to practice their water healing technique, as the teacher turns around, beaming at y/n and katara.
"master pakku told me we'd be having special guests today," yagoda says, looking at the two girls.
"thank you for having us," y/n says, both of them bowing their heads.
"i'd heard stories of water healing," katara starts. "but i didn't think it was still being practiced,"
"oh, yes," yagoda says. "it's a vital part of our culture. would you like to try it?" katara and y/n nod at her question, following yagoda to a wooden body. yagoda kneels down, moving her hands over the wooden body; allow water to run through it. "feel the flow of energy through the body. connect that flow to the energy in yourself. healing..." yagoda gets up, motioning for one of the two girls to try it. y/n looks at katara who allows y/n to go first. so said girl kneels down. "is more than a physical process," y/n breaths in, moving her arms forward and backwards, the water following her command. "it's about empathy. you must understand what it means to feel pain. then take that pain away,"
"you are a natural," yagoda says as y/n shrugs.
"i'm pretty sure she's been like this since birth," katara says, jokingly rolling her eyes as y/n laughs.
"hush, katara," she says. "thank you, yagoda. i've been getting pretty good at picking things up. we both have. we've had to think on our feet a lot,"
"nothing to focus your mind like a fireball coming at your head," katara mumbles. the two younger girls blink, in sync which would have been considered scary. but both of them remember their fights with the firebenders. and they both sucked.
"but that reminds me," y/n says, getting up from her knees. "when do we start fight training?"
"excuse me?"
"our basic forms are really good," y/n says. "in my opinion anyway, but we would really need the practice. especially in uh..."
"accuracy and increasing power," katara finishes, standing next to her sister.
"i'm sorry, but women don't fight," what? "we use our skills to heal, not to harm,"
"we don't want to just heal," katara says.
"healing is a noble and scared tradition," yagoda says to the two younger waterbenders. "the highest of callings,"
"we didn't mean it like that," y/n says. "we would like to know how to do both. we really want to learn combat with waterbending. so we would really like to learn fighting techniques,"
"in the northern water tribe, women aren't allowed to fight,"
"aren't allowed?" y/n repeats.
"that's not right," katara says.
"but that is our way," yagoda tells the girls. y/n looks at yagoda in disbelief, before katara takes her hand and they both walk out of the building.
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"um, hey! princess yue!" y/n says, running over to the princess who was tending to a child. katara told y/n that she need to talk to pakku about this whole arrangement for the both of them and that she'll meet her in the healing hut after. "hey, hi. is it okay if i talk to you?"
"of course," yue smiles. "run along now," she says, facing the child who smiles, running away. "how can i help you?"
"since you're a spirtual leader," y/n starts as they walk through the city. "i was wondering if you could help me with something?" yue nods, edging y/n to go on. "first, how's my brother?"
yue blushes, looking away which makes y/n laugh softly.
"how's mine?" she counters, making y/n look away.
"fair play, your highness," y/n says. "but i wanted to ask, was there a way to see who would have became the avatar?"
"uh...i'm not sure," yue mumbles. "i want to say yes because there's a way how to do everything. but if there is, i haven't figure it out yet. why?"
"uh..." y/n looks around, pulling the princess away from prying eyes. "if aang-the avatar...if he hadn't made it out of the ice, apparently, according to a spirit, i...i would have been the avatar..."
yue gasps, looking at y/n.
"really?"
"yep," y/n nods, quickly.
"which spirit?"
"uh...i don't know what it was called," y/n says. "but it looked like a centipede and it looked like it was wearing make up?"
"koh," yue nods. y/n shivers at the name. he was scary. how did he even make minho be there? "some spirits can tell when a person's spiritually in tuned...but to suspect you would have been the avatar? i'm not so sure,"
"oh okay,"
"i'm sorry i couldn't have been much help," yue says.
"you did what you could and that's more than enough," y/n smiles, hugging the princess. yue smiles, letting go of y/n. "now, i need to go and get ready fight and old man,"
"oh okay-wait, what?"
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"it doesn't matter what other people think," sokka says as he stands next to katara, both of them watching y/n practice her moves. "it doesn't matter if dad didn't think i'd be a great warrior, but i can still be great in some way. the point is, i get to decide, just like the both of you get to decide who you are. not pakku or anyone else,"
y/n turns around, smiling at her brother.
"thanks sokka," katara says.
"i have made it up in my mind," y/n says, getting her siblings attention. "i'm going to challenge pakku to a fight," katara's eyes go wide as sokka looks at her in disbelief. "i know. terrible idea. he's a master, i'm just...i'm just me. he's most definitely going to beat me but it doesn't matter,"
"you guys remember when you both wanted us to go with aang. back at the southern air temple," sokka starts. "that we would help him save the world? you were right. both of you were right," y/n felt something in her hear at that moment. she can say what it was exactly. what whatever it was. it made her beam. "if we hadn't gone with him, i wouldn't have seen how three kids from the southern water tribe can measure up to anyone. firebenders, earthbenders, spirit creatures, even strapping, young northern water tribe warriors- "
"sokka," katara says, holding in a laugh. "if you're trying to talk sense into y/n, you're not doing a very good job,"
"sense? who's talking sense?" sokka laughs. "no, what i'm trying to tell you is...go kick his ass,"
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"what's going on?" pakku says, looking at y/n is disgust. "i'm not going to fight you,"
"because you're scared?" y/n questions, tilting her head. "you're scared that you might be wrong?"
"please," pakku's hand rest behind his back as he speaks. "go back to the healing huts with the other women," he walks off, y/n's eye twitching in annoyance. she brings her hand up, creating a water whip and hitting the back of pakku's neck.
"whoa!"
sokka and katara look at their older sister proudly but aang looks over at y/n, concerned. did katara not tell her what he told her?
"fine. you want to learn how to fight?" pakku asks, looking straight at the girl. "study closely," he moves his hands up, the eater from the fountains following his every command.
y/n lowers herself, keeping her stance wide. ready for anything.
pakku bends to the water towards the younger girl, y/n bending it around her body with ease and using it to lift herself up.
they collide in hands, y/n trying to land a hit on him. but pakku blocks them all. he pushes the girl back, making katara get ready to defend her. but sokka puts a hand her her shoulder. y/n can do this by herself.
y/n bends water from the fountain into ice, launching it towards pakku's face. he moves his face in the last second, slight astonishment in his face.
he bends a icy wind towards y/n's direction, the ribbon falling out of her hair, letting her short hair be free. she drops to the ground, breathing out heavily. she can do this. no, she will do this.
"had enough?"
"not even close. is that all you got?" y/n taunts, getting up. katara squeals, jumping up and down as sokka looks at her proud. the crowd forming cheers her own, making her a slightly bit more confident in herself.
moving her leg, y/n bends a large amount of water from the fountain, shocking paaku. he gets on the defensive as y/n throws it towards him.
he puts his hands up, taking water from her and twisting it around the girl. y/n looks around confused, putting her hands out at the water circle, throwing it on the floor and use it as something to slide on. she slides towards pakku, who puts a ice shield up, making y/n fly over him and land on the water fountain, turning it to ice.
aang looks at her with a smile on her face.
y/n brings up ice, like she did that one time when they were running from the fire nation soldiers. she starts to slice her arms, creating ice disks, aiming them straight towards the master.
he ducks them all, the last one giving him a reflection of his face. and the absolute fear, he's getting from this girl.
and he's had enough.
he bends a wave, flying over y/n. y/n squints her eyes at him, trying to see as he starts to throw icicles towards her direction. the icicles grow and he bends them to trap the southern water tribe girl in her place.
y/n grunts to free herself, but it's no use. she's lost. pakku releases her, the girl dropping to the ground. she gets up, breathing heavily, looking at pakku.
"i'll say this," he says to her. "you're an excellent water bender,"
"but you still won't let me fight," y/n says. "right?"
"no," pakku says, looking at the girl and walking off.
"that was incredible!" y/n turns around, seeing arden looking at her. "i have seen anyone water bend like that,"
"guess, i'm just one of a kind," she smiles, looking at him. she touches her hair, realising that the ribbon that minho gave her isn't there. she looks at thr ground for it, but she can't see it. but she can't even look properly, the crowd are all talking to at the same time. she can't concentrate.
"no one's pushed master pakku like that,"
"those ice disks. how did you do that?"
"can you show me?"
"miss, i think this is yours," y/n smiles at the small girl, holding the ribbon.
"thank you, sweetie," she says, taking it and tying it on her wrist. next to her bracelet.
"well," sokka says, getting his sisters attention. "i doubt anyone's going to say you're not strong enough now,"
"yeah, but i did lose," y/n shrugs, looking down slightly.
"did you?" katara says, making y/n smile at her. katara looks over to aang. "you said you're afraid of loosing us, and that's why we can't stay by your side, but it's our decision to fight,"
"not pakku's and not yours," y/n says, agreeing with her sister.
"yeah," sokka says, agreeing with both his siblings. "do you think we came here just to leave you on your own? silly avatar,"
"i don't know if i can protect you," aang says with a sigh.
"you can't,"
"yeah, and worrying about who will or won't get hurt, it's not just the avatar who has to deal with that,"
"that's what it means to be a family, and you're our family," y/n says, looking at aang as katara and sokka look at each other.
"kuruk, roku, kyoshi," aang says. "they all said that i need to do this by myself," he shows them the book. "the avatar must bear the burden alone,"
"this is the past," y/n says, taking the book from him. "now, only one person can tell you the future. the person who will write the legend of aang,"
"she means you," sokka says, slightly ruining the moment. "you got that, right?"
momo chitters, gettnig the gaang's attention. the flying lemur points at the soot which is mixing in with the snow, falling from the sky.
"soot,"
"that only means one thing,"
"the fire nation's here,"
"okay," aang says, looking up at the sky with the rest of his family. "time to fight,"