Chapter 274: The Tearjerker (1)
Aang groggily opens his eyes before jumping from the blanket and rushing out of the igloo.
"Did they come here?" He cares little about the vast stretch of snow around him as he locates one of the men who returned from the prison Gaoling, indirectly ruled by the Beifong Family. The man chuckles, patting Aang's shoulder as he replies, "Not yet, Aang. But if they told you they'd be here today, then give it some time. It's only early afternoon. Hmm. I can't wait to see our tough little Chieftain."
Aang snickers, but his eyes dim slightly. He hadn't met with Nik after the fiasco with Regret in Bhanti Island. And his urge to meet with his friends before they leave has reached its peak.
"Wait!" Aang cuts the southern warrior with sparkling eyes and a wide grin. "Did you hear that?"
His onyx eyes widen as he rushes past the man. "I hear a dragon!"
He jumps on the undersized wall of snow and ice before staring at the enlarging dot in the distance.
*Guuaaagggggggh*
A few Sky Bisons near the settlement raise their heads and growl in welcome since they are as sensitive as Aang.
Others collect near Aang as most of the men are still out hunting for the settlement, leaving the kids, women, and the few men wounded in the war to continue the lifestyle of a hunter.
"-whooooooooooo! AANG!" The boy now knew why Nik always empathized with him. Both of them were out of their time and worlds! So, when he hears Nik's voice echo forward, reflecting similar excitement and eagerness to meet him, Aang grins widely, waving his hand!
"Right here!" He shouts back before moving his hands swiftly to create a steep slide of ice reaching the sky!
In the distance, Nik's eyes widen before he chuckles.
Aang remembered.
Nik pats Ignit's neck from the side, speaking, "Don't crash into the settlement. Slow down before falling, alright?"
She snorts and nods as he jumps off her back, speeding and gliding toward the peak of the exciting slide.
'Here I come!'
Nik grins, no longer airbending himself as he falls upon the smooth icy slide. Much to the surprise of the gasping villagers, his body speeds down the slide until Aang gently stretches his right leg forward, crouching his body to create a gust of wind—cushioning Nik's impact.
*Thud*
Ignit starts flapping her wings to slow her charge against the snowy plain before she drops—on her fours.
'Was that... landing?' She tilts her head and looks at the snow before a rumble of loud laughter snatches her attention.
"You're finally here!" Aang cheers as he jumps into Nik's hug before they start rotating around!
"Of course!" Nik laughs. "And not a spirit in sight! Hah!"
"Don't jinx us!" Aang complains as Nik places him down before smirking. "Right, sorry. Let me bring others out, and we'll have some fun!"
"Snowball fight!"
"You go it!"
Meanwhile, Ignit turns her head to stare at the group of Sky Bisons that reach her before a few of the young Bison trot forward, skipping in the air as they fly around the dragon.
*Grough*
The largest of them grunts with the soulful eyes of a cow, welcoming her before slumping on the ice, encouraging her to do the same.
*Snort*
She refuses to muddy her dignity as she flicks her tail around and walks away from the crowd, the lone wolf she is. Then, she returns without raising a ruckus.
What can she do aside from getting lost in the vast southern pole?
Being spiritual and intelligent allows her to understand how embarrassing the situation really is.
---
Nik did not want to stay with Sokka, who reintroduced his mother to the crowd and explained what happened with his father. Not that Nik feared the gut-wrenching conversations since he experienced the sensation whenever he told a good portion of the truth to the people he wanted to take along—Nik simply wanted to have fun with Aang and others, including the kids he met in the tribe when he arrived in the world for the first time before they get to their final farewell.
And it is final to a certain extent.
Even if Nik can return to this world later, he will avoid doing so—until he somehow manages to contend with the Primordials! And who knows how long that will take him.
He shakes his head as he balls a good chunk of snow before chucking it at their resident target, who realizes how deeply she screwed up by offending others since her days of walking on the ground barefoot—Toph.
*Pufff*
Several snowballs crash into Toph as she simply gives up and falls back into the snowy ground, "Laugh it up, you chucklefucks!" She snarls while crossing her arms. "I'm going to steamroll the lot of you with a boulder!"
"Bitch, I didn't throw any snowball at you!" Ty Woo sticks her tongue out, and deep-red overcoats hang over her and her sister's bodies, preventing the cold from turning them into a shivering mess.
"Exactly~!" Jin chimes, more than happy to poke against another 'top-tier' Bender of the group aside from Azula, who snorts from a distance. "This is pathetic." She drawls and peeks a glance in Ignit's direction.
"Will you stop sucking up to Ignit and join the fun?" Nik rolls his eyes, tossing another snowball at an amused Mai, who dodges before staring at him.
"Really?"
*Crash*
The snowball turns midair, crashing into the back of her head before crumbling on her shoulders.
"Chucklefuck! Chucklefuck!" Jerkzu, who adds a new word to his expanding encyclopedia of insults, starts laughing while Aang and others quietly step away.
"What's going on? I'm blind!" Toph hisses as Ty Lee helps the woman up before whispering, "Mai is slowly taking out her knife. Oh, she pointed it at Nik—she threw it."
Ty Lin(1) hums, "And he caught it."
"Wow," Nik stares back at Mai. "You really aimed for my head."
"That's where your screws are loose if you think I'd be interested in this. You should have left me with Mom and others in your world."
Nik blinks, "Alright. I just wanted you to enjoy the snow. If you don't like it, I'm happy to send you back."
Mai frowns at this while staring confrontationally at Nik.
"Just don't include me in these games," Mai grumbles, standing beside June, who caringly brings cups of snow for Nyla to eat. Seeing her pet Shirshu trembling, June smiles widely, "Nik, Nyla's about done with the Southpole. Could you send him back to his nest?"
"Sure," Nik walks to Nyla and pets him gently before sending him back.
"Woah!" Other children native to the tribe gasp as they leave the remaining Ty Sisters and clamor around Nik. "Do it again!"
"Sure!" Nik agrees readily as he suddenly waves his hand, sending a snowball in his direction crashing back at a familiar face. "Too young, Tom!"
Tom-Tom wipes his face with a huff and makes another snowball with a grin, continuing his battle against the Avatar!
"These boots are really hard to bear through," Toph grumbles as Ty Lee helps her walk aside near Mai and June, who deem the game too childish for their taste, but not tedious enough to watch it.
Nik had planned a number of things he wanted to do before he left this world.
One such thing catches his attention since there's no other reason to wait. He looks at the group of kids around him and chuckles, "Do you want to see something crazy? I can make that tough girl cry."
The group blinks as Ty Lee giggles, "He is pointing at you, Toph."
"Me?" She points at herself incredulously as Azula moves toward the group with a smirk, "Now that's a thing that will make my day. Poor Toph—crying her eyes out."
"At least she isn't a jealous princess who snaps at others out of her insecurities," Mai mutters casually, stumping Azula till her cheeks turn red with humiliation and not the cold! Spewing flames from her eyes, the Princess snarls, "At least my engagement band isn't a glorified crotch tattoo!"
"Careful what you speak around the kids," Suki snorts as she flings a snowball in Azula's direction.
"You- you dare?!" Azula's eyes widen in disbelief as Suki shrugs. "Come on, really? You have trouble with snow on your face but not other white things?"
Azula stammers with a flush, crossing her arms and snorting away, while other girls, like the Ty-Siblings, who aren't used to such things, and Aang, flush in the realization of Suki's words.
"Fuck them! It's about me," Toph interjects as she frowns at Nik. "You're getting cockier ever since you learned that Bonebending. Do you believe I really won't master it eventually?"
"Bonebending?" Aang blinks at the new term. "I know about the bloodbending. So, can bones be controlled, too?"
"Yeah," Nik nods at him. "Kyoshi taught me. I want to talk about a lot of things before I leave, but as Toph says, this is about her. Hmm, wait a minute, I need Poppy here, too."
---
Katara notes the tension in the surroundings. Nik was right to take the children alongside him before Sokka started the discussion because others couldn't afford to get distracted by the curious group of kids.
Kya's return was a welcoming surprise for the village, but when Nik left without bringing Hado out, the men of the tribe let out a collective sigh of disappointment. What Sokka had to say about Hado was accepted rather easily by the group.
Katara believes this wouldn't be the case before they experienced the war for themselves. But after the tortures of war carved them, the men of the tribe were somehow relieved Hado started a new life without sounding too obvious because of their family's presence. And if Katara can sense this, she knows Sokka and her Mother perceived it, too.
Rena stood beside Katara, her eyes mapping Sokka as she soaked his rather telling presence of a Chieftain with what Katara considered a gaze she wished she never let out too obviously with Nik.
'Did I look that hungry?' Katara looks away as she can empathize with Rena.
Sokka wanted to complete a few important tasks before they left for good—just like Nik.
Sokka's conversation, meanwhile, steered in the direction of Nik's ability. He remained as vague as he could, but she knew there were only a few things he could hide if he wished for settlement to trust them and follow them.
Similar to Yue's and Suki's case, the settlement could choose not to follow them. Not everything works as planned. But Sokka wanted to try his hardest to bring his village with him!
"You're saying we can farm and fish?"
"Fishing will take some time. It's our fault for not realizing that we can always cultivate fertilized fish eggs, but there are many schools of fish in every world! And we will have land, spices, and a lot more! Wood, too!" He charms their pragmatic side. The war has left the men worn and injured. The number of hunters in the tribe cannot match the strength they had in their primes.
They need respite.
Sokka wants the same for them!
But unless you share a life-death adventure with someone or experience deep emotional bonds and changes with 'that' someone—people will always feel hesitant.
"I don't know about this," One of the women mutters under her breath. "Sounds too good to be true—food, land, warmth, and wood? Are you sure Nik isn't making a fool out of you? Look. Aside from being naked the first time he appeared here, he made a good impression, but this sounds a little too much."
"It is too much," Sokka nods as he sits in the center of the large igloo, surrounded by the small tribe in the enclosed space.
"But I trust Nik with my life! He saved me from not one but two spirits! It sounds like a lot, but you will live a peaceful life. I won't lie and say there are no risks involved. But the same can be said by living here. How long do you plan to hunt and fish until a Polar Dog gets you or your joints give up in the middle of nowhere? We could have survived if our side of the tribe was as united as the northern one. But it isn't."
Sokka pulls away from his cheerful persona and lowers his head. "Whomever I truly treasure is going to leave with Nik aside from my father. But right now, I'm glad he doesn't remember me and is living a healthy life. I want to live like him. Happily! But I won't ever be happy knowing that I left my village for peace without even fighting for the rest to make the same decision!"
He feels Rena and Katara staring at him. Scoffing and fighting down his blush, he glares at them, "Can you stop that?"
"What?" Katara smirks. "You look good, Chieftain."
He rolls his eyes and glances at Kya, who sports a proud smirk.
"Can we see it before deciding?" One of the hunters ponders. "If that world is as great as you say."
"Let me bring Nik," Katara smiles as she nods at the rest and leaves.
Their group isn't far away, but seeing the large group staying silent in the distance instead of their snowball fight makes Katara quicken her pace until she finds Nik and Toph standing a little farther from the group.
'When did Poppy get here?' Katara tilts her head before she waves her hand at Nik.
"Are you doing anything important? Other hunters would like to see you."
"Ah, just in time," Nik waves her over. "Wait for a second. Join the rest."
He grins as Katara blinks curiously and stands beside Yue and Suki, inquiring, "What's going on?"
"We don't know either," Yue mutters, batting her white eyelashes. "Nik said he'll make Toph cry."
Interesting enough for everyone else to watch, Katara agrees.
"I still can't see how I'm going to cry," Toph smirks cockily. "Are you going to speak about your sad life until you met me and Mother?"
"It wasn't too sad," Nik lies through his teeth. "But enough about me. Can everybody see this?"
Nik snaps his fingers, creating a peal of Golden Flames.
"You got this from Ra, but you never told us what it did," Zuko recalls the exchange Ra practically forced Nik into, firming Nik's belief to only return to this world once he can contend with the meanest of the Primordials.
"Yep," Nik nods, staring directly at Aang. "You can learn this in time." He stretches his hand forward, setting Toph's head ablaze with Golden Flames!
***
Alternate Title: Aang Being the Little Brother; Shared Origin Despite Distant Dimensions; Out of Time and Space; The Slide; Snowball Fight; Toph Getting Railed From All The Sides; Toph's Going To Renact Some Indiana Jones Scenes!; The Heavy Discussion; Azula Brown-Nosing Ignit; Azula Only Likes ONE White Stuff, And It's Not in Oreo!; Mai Stays; Making Toph Cry?; Using The Flames of Nirvana
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