ᵃᶜᵗ ᵒⁿᵉ┊͙✧˖*°࿐𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖽𝖾𝖾𝗉 𝖻𝗅𝗎𝖾

☽𖤓

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 lapping against the ice had always served as a calming agent in soothing Touka's mind that always seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once. Water was an extension of herself, a way to connect to the earth in ways most could never even imagine.

She could feel each wave, every vibration, each and every movement moved through her like it did the water. Closing her icy blue eyes, and taking slow, calming breaths helped her form a closer and quick connection.

Learning to disconnect was the first way she truly mastered waterbending. Removing herself from the rest of the world while she solely focused on the water and its energy flowing through her was something she was good at.

At least she was when she wasn't surrounded by her siblings who argued over the simplest of things. Sokka being the main problem as he provoked Katara without even realizing he was doing it.

Most of the time anyway.

The sound of her younger brother's voice broke her through her wall of concentration making her eyebrow twitch but she continued to keep her eyes closed while sitting on the floor of the canoe.

"It's not getting away from me this time." Sokka's voice captured her attention once more making Touka's nose scrunch, leaving a wrinkle between her eyebrows. "Watch and learn ladies, this is how you catch a fish."

Touka couldn't help the small quirk on her lips given that they had all been out on the water for quite a few hours and he still had not caught anything despite Touka offering to help. The boy had simply brushed her off saying it was the 'man's' job to catch the food, to which both girls rolled their eyes.

The white-haired teen peeked her eye open when she felt eyes on her catching Katara looking at her with an exasperated look before she looked over the boat. Touka had taught her plenty of times how to catch fish using their waterbending instead of spears, the technique proving to be far more reliable. However, the young girl was still a little rusty with her form more often than not losing the fish before it was placed in the basket.

Slowly she removed one of her gloves and placed it aside, pulling her mouth into a grimace awaiting her own failure as she began to pull the water around the fish creating an orb of water that floated up and out. Touka watched with a small impressed smile while Katara maintained form and kept the fish contained.

"Sokka look!" Katara attempted to get their brother's attention but he waved her off continuing to keep his gaze on the water below.

Raising his spear higher into the air, he shushed her. "Shh, Katara. You're gonna scare it away." Licking his lips, he held the side of the boat tighter. "I can already smell it cooking."

Touka picked up the woven basket, holding it over her head when Katara called out to him, hovering the fish above them. The older of the trio had seen what was going to happen when Sokka raised his spear successfully confirming Touka's assumption. The ball of water popped when the end stabbed it, fish flying back into the water and Sokka ending up covered in water as he usually did.

The girl covered her mouth with her hand, stifling her laugh, knowing it would only make her brother angry if he saw even a sliver of a smile on her face.

  "Why is it that every time you two play with magic water, I get soaked?" Sokka spoke through gritted teeth, his hands clenching causing the water to fall onto the floor of the canoe in front of Touka's feet. She shuffled herself away, not wanting waterlogged shoes.

Touka then rolled her eyes, wiggling her fingers towards him. "It's called waterbending, Sokka. Not magic." She watched as he huffed.

Waving his hand towards her he turned back to the water, peering down. "Yeah, yeah, it's an ancient art unique to our culture, blah, blah, blah-" His words eventually slowed when he caught the looks both his sisters were sending his way. "Look, I'm just saying that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself."

The white-haired girl immediately picked up a drop of water with her bending and threw it at the back of his head, watching with a smirk as it splashed upon impact, the water falling into his fur coat.

His head snapped around, swiping the water off his neck as Katara crossed her arms deciding to respond with words instead of violence like Touka.

  "You're calling us weird?" Katara crossed her arms with a scoff. "We're not the ones who make muscles at ourselves every time we see our reflection in the water."

Before Sokka could respond the canoe jerked sending the siblings crashing into the right side of the canoe.

Touka groaned as her shoulder hit the wood, her hand holding onto the side while Sokka continued to try and steer them out of the strong current and away from the chunks of ice that were knocking them around.

Katara tried shouting directions but was unheard as Sokka continued steering with the oar.

Touka raised her hands to pull the boat from the left and out of the current to the mainland that wasn't very far. Although Katara crashed into her side throwing her out of the boat before she could even lift a wave.

They all gasped as the canoe was crushed between two blocks of ice just as they made it out onto another block.

Touka's bright blue eyes were wide in shock before she closed her eyes and fell back, lying against the ice beside Sokka. The water around them calmed dramatically when Touka slowed her breathing, allowing herself to control the waves so she and her siblings didn't fall off the ice.

Sokka and Katara remained sitting up, the former glaring at her brother while Touka continued lying in the middle of them.

  "You call that left?" The brown haired girl referred to her ignored instructions making Sokka glance at her. "You don't like my steering? Well, maybe you should have waterbended us out of the ice."

Mumbling under her breath, Touka sighed. "I tried." But she was ignored.

Throwing her hands up Katara stood. "Oh, so it's my fault?"

  "I knew I should have left you home." Sokka kicked the ice with his foot. "Leave it to a girl to screw things up."

Touka's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at her brother's childish way of thinking. She sat up, crossing her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at her younger brother with her sister.

She only shook her head in disappointment with a sigh of his name while Katara's entire face twisted in anger, her arms being thrown to the side.

  "You are the most sexist, immature, nut-brained," Water splashed harshly around them making Touka smile slightly even as her sister continued on her rant. "I'm embarrassed to be related to you!"

Touka's smile dropped slightly when her sister's anger became more apparent as there was more force behind her arms being thrown. "Katara." She tried to calmly ease her back down. Sokka instinctively moved closer to his older sister with wide eyes.

  "Ever since mom died, Touka and I have been doing all the work around camp, while you've been off playing soldier!" Katara furrowed her brows, pointing her finger in Sokka's face as yet another crack appeared in the towering ice behind her.

Sokka peeked his head around Touka's head holding up his finger behind her. "Uh, Katara?"

  "I even wash all the clothes. Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you. Not pleasant!"

Touka could only watch and plant her feet into the ice beneath her in an attempt not to slide off.

  "Katara, settle down!" Sokka called out, panic in his voice.

  "No! That's it. I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!"

Her final shout was all it took for the waves to rise high above them, the cracks in the ice causing it to give way, pieces falling into the water below.

The trio gasped, falling flat onto the ice in an attempt to hold on. Touka gritted her teeth while digging her fingertips into the hard ice. She froze the water around them to stabilize the piece they had been pushed harshly back on.

The waterbender rested her head against her forearm, allowing the ice to now melt once they stopped swaying. Under her fingertips she could feel a rumbling, her eyes peered over the edge and into the water. She quickly waved her hand to quiet her siblings down when she noticed the rumbling growing as well as the water around them that had started to form into small waves again.

Sokka grabbed Touka whose eyes were still watching the water with avid curiosity away and up to stand beside Katara.

White hair fell from her braids and into her face when she tilted her head to the side, noticing something trapped in the ice that had suddenly burst through the water. Her blue eyes widened when what appeared to be a young boy opened his glowing eyes.

Pushing Touka out of the way slightly Katara grabbed Sokka's spear from him, taking off towards the glowing boy insisting that he was still alive. Sokka's mouth dropped when Touka just shrugged her shoulder and took off behind her sister after pulling up her hood.

"Katara! Touka! Get back here!" The young boy shouted whilst trailing after them in a failed attempt to keep his sisters away from the unknown. "We don't know what that thing is."

Touka stopped a little behind Katara, watching as she swung the club against the ice, grunting each time she swung as hard as she could. She could hear Sokka stop a few feet behind her, eyes wide with worry.

It only had taken a few swings from the young waterbender for the ice to crack, a strong gust of air sending both girls back into their brother who caught them in his arms, preventing them from flying into the water. Touka gasped ducking her head when the crack grew, a bright light surging from the ice and into the sky.

Sokka covered their heads with his arms while shielding his own from the icy debris flying past them. When the wind had slowed to a stop he raised his arms, standing up with them, moving his spear in front of their bodies.

Touka moved away from her brother, eyes watching the boy they had seen appear the glow slowly fading as he stumbled. Katara lurched forward to catch him in her arms. Her sister's eyes ran over his form, noticing the tattoos on his head and arms making her step closer only to be pushed out of the way by Sokka who began prodding his head with the end of the spear.

Reaching out the grab it, Touka shook her head at him when she pulled the spear down. "Quit it, it's just a boy, Sokka." She continued to keep a hold on his spear even after she spoke those words, her eyes moving back to the boys whose own eyes had fluttered open.

A small groan escaped him before a gasp followed after he met Katara's blue hues. "I need to ask you something."

"What?" Katara hummed her hands hovering over him from where she had laid him. The boy's eyes squinted, his words coming out slightly scratchy. "Please come closer."

"What is it?" The girl tried once more, leaning in a little closer as he had requested.

Touka released Sokka's spear, nearly falling backward when the bald boy shot up, his words louder and filled with more excitement this time.

"Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

Katara shrugged agreeing with a raised eyebrow that had her face twisted in confusion.

Touka's lips quirked into a small smile when the boy seemingly floated off his back and onto his feet.

The spear in Sokka's hands shot back up only to have Touka grab the end of it and tilt the weapon away from the boy's face who was unaware and gazing at his surroundings.

"What's going on here?" He questioned, his words trailing off in a daze. His hand reached up to scratch the back of his head.

"You tell us." Sokka spat out at the boy, snatching his spear back from Touka who narrowed her eyes at him. "How'd you get in the ice? And why aren't you frozen?" He poked him in the ribs with the end of the spear while the other boy waved him off.

Touka's body tensed when she heard a low grumbling sound but relaxed when the boy with tattoos seemed to recognize the sound and bounded back up to the top of the ice to look down into the pit he had emerged from.

The white-haired teen soon followed, her siblings trailing behind her around the ice to where the boy had disappeared. Upon first sight of the animal she had never seen, Touka couldn't help the gasp that escaped her before a smile appeared when it yawned.

Another gasp was heard causing Touka to turn her head spotting her brother with his spear raised once again earning an eye roll only he ever got.

"What is that thing?" Sokka probed, pushing his sisters behind him.

Unfazed the boy gestured with pure unbridled excitement toward the mysterious creature with his arms wide. "This is Appa, my flying bison."

Sokka's face dropped instantaneously at his words, unamused he pointed to the sister closest to him which ended up being Katara. "Right, and this is Katara, my flying sister."

Appa, who had now stood up, face began to twitch making Touka and Katara lean out of the path of its sneeze, but Sokka hadn't been as quick to notice the signs of the sneeze and was quickly covered in the green mucus.

Touka covered her mouth with her hand, trying to contain her laughter and slight disgust when Sokka fell to the ground attempting to remove the slime from his body.

"Don't worry it'll wash out." The boy who stood close to Appa told him with a bright smile still covering his face. "So, do you guys live around here?"

"Don't answer that. Did you see that crazy bolt of light? He was probably trying to signal the Fire Navy." Sokka stuck his spear in his face once again from where he was still kneeling on the ground, feeling Touka's unimpressed glare burning into the side of his head.

Touka crossed her arms nodding. "Oh, yeah. This kid's definitely one of the Fire Navy spies." She smiled at the boy as Katara picked up where her sister had left off, turning towards him with false worried eyes. "You can tell by that evil look in his eye."

Touka giggled softly when the boy cracked a grin at her words. Sokka frowned looking between the three of them unamusedly.

Shaking her head, Katara gestured towards Sokka. "The paranoid one is my brother Sokka," Her hand then fell to Touka. "and this is my sister, Touka."

Touka raised her gloved hand in a small wave to which the boy responded with a kind smile. She noticed his smile was just as bright as the light reflecting off the snow.

"You never told us your name."

Going to answer the boy's mouth opened before closing, his face scrunching much like his bison's did before. He closed his eyes as a sneeze came out of him, his body launching into the sky.

Touka followed his body with her wide eyes when it fell back down, sliding down the ice and back in front of them as if nothing had happened.

"I'm Aang."

Sokka's brows hit his hairline. "You just sneezed and flew ten feet in the air."

Tilting his head, Aang looked up at the sky. "Really? It felt higher than that."

At that moment it hit Touka, the reason his tattoos had looked so familiar was because she had seen them drawn before. The very same tattoos were drawn on a scroll that her mother had that was about the air nomads. Their mother had kept a scroll that contained information about every nation, hoping to keep her children informed of every culture not just their own.

Stepping forward and moving closer to him. "Airbending tattoos." She had mumbled, Aang's eyes flickering over to look at her confused since he hadn't heard the quiet words. "You're an Airbender."

Having heard her that time he nodded. "Sure am."

Hitting his feet against the ice, Sokka scoffed into the air. "Giant light beams, flying bison, airbenders—I think I got midnight sun madness. I'm going home to where stuff makes sense."

Touka with amusement in her eyes followed her brother's form waiting for him to notice that they were stuck since their canoe had been smashed, leaving them stranded.

"Well, if you guys are stuck, Appa and I can give you a lift." Aang suggested just before he airbended his way on top of Appa.

Katara and Touka looked at each other before agreeing, thanking the Airbender as they attempted to climb atop the bison. Touka reached out and took one of Aang's hands that he held out toward her and Katara.

"Oh, no! I am not getting on that fluffy snot monster." Sokka stomped towards them, disagreeing as if they had some other way home.

Touka sat down in the saddle, finding it surprisingly comfortable, running her fingers through the fur covering the bottom of the saddle.

"Are you hoping some other kind of monster will come along and give you a ride home? You know, before you freeze to death." Katara spoke to him teasingly, taking a seat beside Touka.

Touka had a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips when he couldn't find any words to counter Katara's. She raised her hand and waved him towards them, patting the spot next to her. "Just get on the bison, Sokka."

Soon after Sokka was found pouting in his spot next to Touka who stared ahead with Katara waiting to see what Appa could do.

"Okay. First-time flyers, hold on tight." Aang turned his head towards them with a smile, holding the reigns. "Appa, yip yip."

Touka held onto both her siblings when Appa jumped into the air, legs spreading out beside him as he fell back down, bellyflopping against the water.

Even if he didn't fly it was still a far more interesting ride than a canoe would have been leading to Touka watching the bison glide through the water with a sparkle of amazement in blue eyes.

Sokka grumbled over Aang's words that were attempting to get Appa into the air and out of the icy water. "Wow, that was truly amazing."

Touka flicked her brother's ear, his hand flying up to swat hers away.

"Appa's just tired," Aang spoke with an upbeat attitude. "a little rest and he'll be soaring through the sky. You'll see."

The older teen smiled, running her hand through the white hair that had fallen into her face throughout the commotion. She went to get comfortable against the side of the saddle but a sharp burn ran through her shoulder suddenly causing a quiet gasp to escape her.

Her hand rubbed over her right shoulder, where her birthmark was. She massaged her skin through her coat, hoping to ease the burn that radiated from what she felt was underneath her skin, and seemed to surge through her whole body. The sensation left a warm feeling coursing through her.

Touka didn't say anything to her siblings who had not noticed her furrowed brows that were slanted in a way that expressed subtle pain. The feeling of the burning that was slowly dissipating had left her feeling overwhelmingly confused.

The burning had been happening for the past few days, but she hadn't thought much of it. However, the more it happened the more she began to think it wasn't normal, and that maybe she needed to see the tribe healer whenever she felt it was going to start burning again.

But, until she could she was left to her thoughts just as another who was still a few hours from her was dealing with the same situation she was.

The very same incident that left the boy grabbing his shoulder through his armor, fingers tensing against the metal covering. The exact pain she felt was identical to his own.

The burn was more persistent this time leading the boy to lower his head and hiss through his teeth, hands clenching the bars on the edge of the ship as his golden eyes never left the glowing beam of light.

+.*.｡𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗋𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗍𝖾!.｡*ﾟ+

𝗆𝖾: 𝗌𝗈𝗄𝗄𝖺
．．．
𝖺𝗎𝗍𝗈𝖼𝗈𝗋𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗍: 𝗌𝗈𝖼𝗄'𝗌

𝖿𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗅𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝗌𝗈 𝗁𝖺𝗋𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗐𝗋𝗂𝗍𝖾, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗂 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗂 𝖽𝗂𝖽𝗇'𝗍 𝖽𝗂𝗌𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗈𝗂𝗇𝗍! 𝗂 𝖺𝗆 𝗌𝗈 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗂𝗍𝖾𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗍𝗈 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽 𝗂𝗍, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗎𝗇𝗍𝗂𝗅 𝗂'𝗆 𝖿𝗂𝗇𝗂𝗌𝗁𝖾𝖽 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾'𝗌 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝗇𝖾!

𝖺𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝗐𝖺𝗒𝗌 𝗂 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗀𝗎𝗒𝗌 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝗍, 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂 𝗐𝗈𝗎𝗅𝖽 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾 𝗍𝗈 𝗁𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗒𝗈𝗎𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌! <𝟥𝟥

𝗐𝗈𝗋𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗎𝗇𝗍: 𝟥.𝟨𝗄