Chapter Text
The cold breeze swept my hair out of my face. I carefully stepped from the boat onto the icy port of the Northern Water tribe, my grandma and cousin a couple steps in front of me. We’ve been out on the ocean for a couple months, with pit stops along the way, just trying to get here. We shuffle up the port into the city, my grandma and cousin trying not to slip. I don’t carry the same caution, but I try to keep pace with them anyway. I take our Ace’s, our whale dog, leash from my grandma as he tugs causing her to almost slip. I can hear my cousin talking, but I don’t care much for whatever he’s saying. I try to soak in the scenery of the Northern Water Tribe, which is much different from its sister tribe where I grew up. Instead of igloos, buildings, made and held together by ice, tower over me. Instead of drag paths that fade away during the winter, people move about actual streets. Although you can’t blame the Southern Water Tribe for being behind. For decades, the Fire Nation has raided us, and taken our water benders. As far as I know, there is only one water bender left in the South, the daughter of Chief Hokada.
“Malaki,” my grandma calls my name. I realize that my family has stopped at a building, likely shared lodging. I was too lost in thought to notice. Stepping into the building, we’re greeted by a kind looking woman, she had smile lines and a loose bun.
“Hello, I’m Kata,” she greets my grandma, smiling wide. “You must be Omah, and these are your grandchildren, Palru and Malaki?”
“Hello, yes, they are,” my grandma turns back to smile at us.
“Let me lead you to your lodge,” Kata’s voice is gentle, and smooth like caramel. We reach our lodge, and I can hear my grandma and Kata talking while I settle into my room.
I don’t have much on me, just a bag filled with clothes and jewelry, and a few scrolls. It’s not that I didn’t take much with me, but that I didn’t have much to begin with. Nobody in the Southern Water has much, thanks to the Fire Nation. But we don’t desire much either, just for this war to end and for our families to come back. I lay on my bed, wrapped in blankets, watching the sunset through the window.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2 months after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
I think I can say we’ve settled in. My grandma is working again, selling properties, a job she had long ago before the raids destroyed the southern tribe. My cousin is in school, getting along with others pretty well. I’ve gotten an apprenticeship with an apothecary.
I had practiced as an apprentice for such things in the Southern Water Tribe with a waterbender named Hama. She, of course, was taken by the Fire Nation, about a year ago. According to my parents, she thought about waterbending differently than most, so I was pretty much her only student.
Today, a nobleman and his daughter walked into the apothecary’s office, her seemingly wanting to be anywhere else.
“We need some cleanser, for her wound,” He demands lifting her arm to reveal a gash along her bicep.
“Oh my,” the apothecary who’s in today, Minola, says. He’s not my teacher, but I spend most of my time here anyways, so I see all the different apothecaries. “How did she get that?” He asks.
“She was fighting with the boys,” The nobleman says, like it’s some kind of war crime.
The apothecary laughs. “Now, miss, I’ve hoped you learned your lesson. There’s a reason women are only allowed to learn healing.” Minola turns to me. “Malaki, can you get the cleanser for me?” I nod and run off into the back. I figure the girl is a waterbender. I’ve heard that women here are only allowed to learn healing, but I never looked into it. I’ve tried not to concern myself with waterbending matters since I’ve moved here. Waterbending became a sort of a taboo subject in the southern tribe due to the raids. I bring the medicine out to the nobleman, and he leaves with a thanks. I can hear him scolding his daughter as they walk off.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3 months after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
I suppose the northern tribe isn’t as large as I think, seeing as I manage to run into the nobleman’s daughter again. I was in the forest looking for some herbs my teacher sent me out to get. The nobleman’s daughter, named Kulla, has been practicing waterbending out here.
“You’re doing it wrong,” I tell her as she fails once more to move the water.
“What do you know? You can’t bend,” She shouts.
“My previous master was a waterbender. She taught me how to fight in a similar way to waterbending,” I say, as I walk over to her to adjust her pose. I show her the movement. “Try it like that.” She copies my motion and the water flows around her. She looks shocked.
“Teach me more!”
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4 months after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
I dodge a shard of ice Kulla launches at me, and deflect a second one with my practice knife. She yells as she sends a wave of ice at me, and I dive out of the way. I lunge at her, and she tries to bring up an ice shield. But my action was clearly unexpected as she loses her footing and falls, the snow she just tried to bring up falling on her. She grumbles about the cold as she bends the snow and water out of her clothes. I offer my hand to help her up.
“You’ve gotten better, my student” I say while patting her shoulder. A smile spreads across my face. We’ve been practicing combat in a secluded spot away from the city. When the season is good for game, the men come to this forest to hunt.
“Student! You said we were learning together!” She fusses.
“Yeah, well I know more than you,” I coo at her, and then jump out of the way as she tries to lunge at me. She shouts obscenities as she makes her way out of a pile of snow. I help pat the rest off of her.
“C’mon, the sun’s almost done setting, we should go home,” I say. Kulla gets up and I let her push me. We laugh when I fall face first into the snow.
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1 year after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
I’m in the backroom of the apothecary’s office, searching for anti-inflamatories. In the past year, I’ve grown used to this place, I know where each medicine and herb is placed. I grab the anti-inflamatories, carefully wrapping them in cloth. In the front of the office, a warrior stands with his daughter, who is sick. The apothecary, and my teacher, Vimede, tells the man how to bring her fever down, and to keep an eye on her. I extend my hand out to the warrior, and he takes it with much thanks.
Vimede turns to me with a scary smile. “Malaki,” she says, gleaming.
“Uhm, yes?” I swallow down hard.
“I think it’s just about time to get you making these medicines.”
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2 years after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
For the first time in a while, I get a good look at Kulla. She holds a book in her hands, and her hair is down, which I rarely get to see. Her hair falls in black, silky waves. Even when we’re relaxed, she seems anxious and on edge. We’ve both been consumed by our duties, mine as an apothecary, and hers as the daughter of a noble. We’ve only really seen each other when we’re practicing combat in the evening. But today, we both have off. Today, we both relax.
Despite not having truly spent time together in a while, we both sit in silence. She’s reading a novel of sorts and I’m flipping through a disease textbook. This is just one of the many books I own. In the Southern Water Tribe, we didn’t have books, just technical scrolls. After moving up North, I’ve gotten my hands on as many books as I possibly can.
I’m so engrossed in my book, that I don’t notice Kulla lean forward and snatch the book out of my hands.
“Hey,” I shout, reaching for the book.
“Seriously,” she teases. “Diseases? I thought it was your day off?” I huff and yank the book out of her hands.
“Kiki?” Her voice seems quieter.
“I told you to stop calling me that,” I groan. Then my voice softens, “What is it?”
“Why didn’t your parents and sisters come with you to the Northern Water Tribe?”
“They didn’t want to.”
“But why did your grandma and cousin come?”
I pause. I look off into the southern direction. Somewhere that way is the life I left behind.
“The Fire Nation was going to come for the last waterbender. My parents wanted to give me up in place of the chief’s daughter. My grandma couldn’t stand for that so they left.” my voice is filled with a solemn tone I had tried to hold back.
“I’m sorry,” Kulla says after a moment.
“Don’t be,” now I just sound annoyed.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3 years after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
“I was thinking,” I start off.
“Oh no,” Kulla cuts me off. I glare at her.
“I was thinking, water is all around us. That's something my first master would say-”
“Well, yeah. We’re in the Northern Water Tribe,” she cuts me off again.
“Yes, but it's not just that. There’s water vapor in the air.” I wave my hand. “Try that.” I ignore the obvious concerning bend in my fingers that even the best healers of the tribe couldn’t fix. I hear a shocked sound come from Kulla as water appears around her hand.
“This is… insane,” she remarks as she pulls more water from the air.
“It’s just waterbending. And I’m not done yet. There’s also water inside us.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means our blood has water.”
“You think we can control it?”
“I think it would take a powerful waterbender.” I wink at her
“You want me to try it? You think I’m powerful?” She’s not used to flattery I guess.
“Yes. I’ll guide you through it.”
“I’ll try,” she nods.
I sigh and roll up my sleeve. Unsheathing the knife I carry for cutting roots, I take a small cut to the palm of my hand and massage some blood out, letting it drip onto the snow. Kulla watches without saying anything. I do a simple motion, one that even a beginner waterbender could master. Kulla mimics me.
It takes 10 minutes and a lot of energy, but she does it. The red disappears from the snow and hovers over her palm.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3 years after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
Kulla has seemed to realize that if she comes into the apothecaries office while I’m working, I’m contractually obligated to listen to her. It’s the ‘don’t turn away anyone that could need help’ policy Vimede set up. So while I’m making medicine Kulla has no need for, I have to listen to whatever she’s yapping on about. She goes quiet, and I think something is actually wrong. I look up and she’s just… staring at me.
“You really like this job, don’t you?” she asks. I sigh in relief and go back to crushing herbs
“Yeah, I wouldn’t want to do any other job. The only downside is I have to listen to annoying people all day.”
Kulla brushes off the obvious attack and says, “I want to teach waterbending.”
“I wasn’t aware being the daughter of a noble made you unable to do that.”
“No, I want to teach combat.”
I look up and smile at her. “And one day, you’ll do just that.”
—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4 years after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
“Kiki, do you ever want to get married?” Kulla asks, watching as I go through fighting stances with my knife.
“Marriage is a scam,” is all I say.
“You’re just upset your first relationship went bad,” she sneers. I throw my knife and it lodges into a tree, narrowly avoiding her head.
“Point taken.”
I groan in pain and collapse onto the snow. Kulla rushes to my side and helps support me.
“Maybe you shouldn’t train so much anymore, with you being sick and all,” she suggests, worry lacing her words.
“Why? I’m gonna be sick for the rest of my life, there’s no point in taking a break.”
“Yes, but you need to rest-”
“Rest won’t fix this.” I stand up with Kulla’s help. We don’t say anything on the way home.
In the past several months, I’ve become ill. It’s my joints, the healers say. They say they can’t fix it. Oh well, life goes on.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4 years after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
The small shark-dog nips at my feet, and I yell at her, “Bella! No!”
She yips and jumps playfully. My grandma had just got her for me, and it seems I have my work cut out for me. I sigh and pick her up.
—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4 years after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
“Grandma, have you heard? The Avatar is back,” I tell her. “He’s in the Northern Water Tribe right now.”
“I told you he would come,” is all she says.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4 years after arriving in the Northern Water Tribe)
The ground shakes. People scream. Men are already being dragged into the healing den.
Kulla runs in. “What’s happening?” She shouts at me.
“An invasion,” I say without looking up from my patient.