Chapter 94: Festivity (1)
Shout-out to Malidiir~
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***
It was as Nik and many others might have concluded. Aang's appearance with Pakku wasn't a coincidence since this is one of the most difficult but also secret paths to get closer to the Northern Water Tribe with the higher chances of getting by unnoticed.
What made Nik and many others feel shocked, however, was that the reason the Avatar's group managed to appear at the same time happened to be due to Mai's... well, kind of expected nitpicking to make constant stops. If it wasn't for Nik storing many things at once, they would have to make regular stops, too.
Sokka's lips were parted in shock as Nik waved his hands up and down. The motion of his body caused the water in front of him to bobble up and down, too.
"You're lying!" Sokka and others were in one of the many igloos built to give them a comfortable place to stay. The location was turned into a village from the Southern Tribe as there was also a pit dug out to well... poop freezing shit.
Sokka stood and walked around Nik. He glanced around suspiciously and then pointed at Katara who sat down like others, "You're the one waterbending, right? This is all just a trick!"
"No," Katara shrugged, "I don't have enough energy to build that high of a slide. I can easily break it though."
Sokka blinked and Aang's eyes widened, "You built it?" The boy inquired.
"Yeah, it was good, right?" Nik chuckled as he sat down next to Suki. The two sides of the team had shared their stories. From Nik's side, the story of battling against the Freedom Fighters, suddenly encountering a world of mist and reliving their nightmares, journey to the Makapu Village, and even Nik's ability to bend water was all described briefly. Even the story of their voyage was quite interesting.
Similarly, Sokka and others explained how Tom-Tom tagged along, causing Mai to travel to the Makapu Village with a tip included from Katara's letter to Sokka that found its way to Bumi's hands. Not to mention their encounter with Pakku and finally meeting with Sun before leaving with Mai.
"What is it?" Nik inquired as he found Mai gazing at him intently.
"What?" She inquired in return. The atmosphere within this particular igloo turned slightly tense. After all, Mai attacked Nik without any reason but the affected parties knew well enough what irked Mai the most.
But she wasn't the only one staring at Nik.
With a soft sigh, not wanting to deal with Mai and the cold temperature at once, he looked towards Aang, "Yeah?"
"Oh, nothing," Aang shook his head but his eyes continued to linger on Nik. Now that it was pointed out, others realized that Aang was acting a bit strange. After all, the stories were concluded and the giant slide was still up there. Instead of making the slide more dangerous, ehm, fun, Aang was still inside.
"Did you knock your head?" Tom-Tom nudged Aang's shoulder as he blinked again, "Uh... was I staring?" He rubbed the back of his head with a confused expression, "It's... just that I feel like I've seen Nik before."
"Well, duh! It was in Omashu," Sokka rolled his eyes.
"No, not that," Aang frowned and closed his eyes, muttering, "Much before." Even after a few minutes of silent pondering didn't help Aang as he shut himself out from the surroundings.
The moment he opened his eyes, he only found Mai sitting down with her tarp and blanket.
"Where are the others?" Aang inquired, a bit dazed.
"You didn't hear?" Mai looked at him with an indifferent gaze, "The old man you brought and the old woman they brought got into a fight."
"You didn't go to see?" Aang inquired only to realize what a foolish question it was. And as expected, Mai's lack of care... more specifically, her selective indifference crushed his naive, bubbly, and cheerful heart.
"Go outside? In this climate?" She rolled her eyes and covered herself properly before lying down with a more comfortable expression.
"Um, hey, Mai?" Aang called out again.
"Hgh... what now?" She grumbled. In fact, her rather honest nature made Aang quite comfortable. It's hard to meet people who wouldn't just try to fawn over him because of his status. Almost all the adults who knew his identity did that and even Pakku saw him as the Avatar before coming to his senses.
"Did something happen between you and Nik?"
"No... now between me and him," Mai replied strangely and turned to her side, facing the curving surface of the igloo.
Shrugging, Aang walked out. But the feeling that he knew Nik from somewhere long ago kept on gnawing at him. As if he... was a long-lost relative.
---
"Take it back," Pakku remarked coldly. The chilly winds of the north failed to suppress his presence. It was similar for his opponent, too.
"What if I don't?" Hama scoffed. Her hair swaying. Other waterbenders observed things from the distance with Nik and the others, too.
"Hey, guys! What's going on?" Aang filtered through the crowd and stood next to Tom-Tom.
"That woman just said to Pakku he's an old fool and loser," Tom-Tom replied with a hushed whisper.
Aang's eyes widened. But unlike him, there was a sense of goading pleasure in Tom-Tom's and Sokka's gazes. Although Pakku trained him strictly until Tom-Tom himself got personally trained by Mai, which, to the boy's experience was even worse. After all, Pakku still had trouble training in projectiles which made the boy's training lax. However, Mai was an expert on the matter with hidden weapons and knew how to train others in it.
The two old individuals continued to stand off against each other. Tensions grew higher until—
*Roar*
*Roar*
*Roar*
Dozens of loud roars sounded as their arrival had attracted the ire of the local beasts that lived around.
"Tch!" Pakku and Hama clicked their tongues but then Nik only made a slightly nauseated expression. Unlike others, Nik realized that this was a rather simple case of attraction of two opposite sides and it was clear in the old man's and old woman's eyes, too. Although Nik wouldn't go out of his way to embarrass someone close to him... his own preferences that stayed at milfs or godly gilfs in the past life made sure that he could never imagine Hama and Pakku together without the stuff happening... and then feeling worse about imagining it in the first place.
The roars caused Mai to finally walk out. But there happened to be a tinge of excitement in her eyes as if the act of moving and using her hidden weapons was what made her feel alive in the first place.
---
After making a short work for most of the Tender Sea Lions who were now cleaned out and skewered on long metal pipes, a fire was quickly set up with Aang coming into play as he used his airbending to make sure that the fire remained alive. Although, he wasn't happy that his airbending was used to cook meat. Not because of the mundane application but because the Air Nomads didn't dine on the flesh of other living animals.
Sokka, on the other hand—
"So good!"
— held a giant skewer for himself, choking on the meat. Given that the Northern Water Tribe and its surroundings were filled with various beasts and also prospered in the trade that brought in various other types of meats and fruits, the group of waterbenders went all out. After all, the cold was comfortable to them and they felt at home which only served to increase their appetite. Of course, this made the situation more festive than necessary.
"Alright!" Yoki exclaimed, "We promised to use the first half of our stock when we successfully return! Nik!"
Yoki laughed, slapping his hand and then spreading his arm, creating a giant bowl within the layer of the ice and snow. The interior was hardened and Nik took out three kegs and let them down before opening their mouths.
*Glug*
*Glug*
*Glug*
Brownish red alcohol began to fill up the giant bowl as the eyes of most of the men regained their splendor.
"Is that..." Pakku gulped uncharacteristically.
"Yeah, one of the cruisers we looted was taking our finest booze to the Fire Nation," Yoki grinned.
*Snort*
Hama scoffed, "It's just alcohol. Some master you are, losing all your cool at once."
"Shove it!" Pakku scowled in return.
Nik stood over the slowly filling bowl and narrowed his eyes. He was already on his fifth skewer of meat.
'Two more and then I'll start drinking.' Nik thought with a steady mind.
Drinking now would only give rise to a false sense of inflation. He would rather fill his stomach than get intoxicated. Of course, he can still get intoxicated once he had his fill.
As he sat down, Aang instantly exclaimed, "Just how many mangoes do you have?"
His face was covered with juices. Momo and Appa weren't any different. The boy still savored the sweet taste but also felt scared that eating so many in one go would deplete the stock by quite the margin.
"I have a farm of mangoes, don't worry," Nik smiled, waved his hand, and brought out another mango. Just as Aang's gaze brightened, a white shadow leaped and snatched the mango from his hand before quickly digging down with its tiny mouth as the ripe mango spurted with delicious juices.
It was Momo!
*Krrt*
"Momo!" Aang groaned.
"Your appetite is gross," Mai finally spoke out. Her words caused Aang to go silent. Appa to finally lie on its belly and Momo's large ears to droop down.
"Five skewers of meat and still not enough?" She glanced at Nik. This instantly caused a reversal as Aang chased Momo for his mango while Appa lapped up the remaining few in front of him before groaning in satisfaction.
Nik, however, glanced at Mai before commenting with a shrug, "I'm not the only one who likes meat back to back."
Suki pursed her lips and looked down a bit shyly. She knew it wasn't meant for her... but it did fit her situation, too. Mai's expression turned sour and she continued to stare at Nik hardly.
"*Nom* Thatt's right! It's sooh gwud!" Sokka exclaimed with his mouth full only for Katara to blush, "Shut up, Sokka!"
"No, Sokka's got a point. This meat tastes delicious!" Tom-Tom drooled and Mai's gaze hardened, "Not another word." She warned her younger brother.
Of course, Nik's feelings for Michi didn't mean he had to show the same affection to Mai just because she was feeling bothered. For the next few minutes of silence, Nik devoured two more servings of meat while matching Mai's gaze as both of them refused to look away.
Meanwhile, many were getting drunk already.
"Here, you should try some," Katara offered a wooden mug filled with the alcoholic contents to Suki.
"What bout me?" Sokka questioned.
"Get it yourself!" Katara hissed.
"Tch, I can never understand you. One time you're hugging me into the ground and the next moment, I have to get my own fill..." Sokka grumbled as he stood. Of course, his words made Katara feel embarrassed as she flicked her finger discreetly and Sokka accidentally fell down by slipping and losing his balance.
"Can I have some?" Tom-Tom looked at Mai with an imploring expression.
"If you want some, sure. Mom wouldn't let you have any once we return either way." Mai replied, causing Tom-Tom to happily follow Sokka to the booze bowl.
"You're going to let him drink?" Suki instantly inquired with a slight frown.
"Why can't he?" Mai finally looked away and matched her gaze.
"Because it isn't healthy," Suki pressed.
"Alcohol will affect his training tomorrow. Then comes punishment. It will be enough for him to realize what he should drink and not," Mai replied calmly and then glanced at Nik once again only for him to roll his eyes.
Pecking Suki's lips, causing her to not know where to look, he stood up. The action caused Mai's brows to twitch as she muttered under her breath, "Damn coward!"
Nik heard it loud and clear. This is what Mai named him. After all, back then, he let his 'wife' almost serve Kai if she hadn't stood up for herself. Even after knowing that Katara was only a friend, this distaste was only anchored by Nik's rather 'cowardly' act of sleeping with her mother. Of course, in this scenario, Nik was the only individual held wrong in Mai's eyes.
"Could you get me another mug?" Suki inquired with a smile finally.
"Me, too," Katara coughed but didn't stop drinking.
Thinking for a moment, Nik sat down once again and whispered something in Suki's ears. Her eyes widened and she looked back at him questioningly only for Nik to nod in confirmation.
"What's going on?" Katara inquired. This only made Suki lean against the waterbender and whisper something into her ear as Katara's eyes gained an excited glint, too.
"Really?" Katara looked at Nik.
"If you're interested, sure," he nodded.
"Can I?" Katara then looked at Suki only for the Kyoshi Warrior to roll her eyes, "What's with the hesitation?!"
Katara grinned brightly, "Then sure!"
"What's going on?" Mai finally couldn't keep her curiosity. Of course, a greater part of her felt that this was a poor attempt at gaining her attention. So she 'graciously' quenched their thirst.
The trio fell silent. Suki felt slightly bad for isolating Mai from the conversation but the fact remained that the trio hardly knew her. Just like Nik, the other two knew Michi more than Mai even if that included understanding some of Michi's naughtier side.
"We are going to return to our personal stay and drink our hearts out," Nik responded, not minding Mai's curiosity.
"Why did you whisper it then?" Mai questioned with a frown. After all, if he wasn't intending to keep her out of the loop, there was no need to whisper.
"That isn't the only thing I said to Suki," Nik blinked and now even Katara was looking at Suki for answers only for her to keep a straight face.
"Not interested," Mai rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, good for you. I never issued an invitation," Nik shrugged as he stood up.
The trio soon entered an igloo with Sokka already scuffling around with a slightly older man for the next round of alcohol. Aang denied the beverage when Tom-Tom offered some and Mai, annoyed by the equal show of disinterest from Nik, returned to her stay, too.
"Huff!" Nik exhaled, bringing out the seventh, unmarked barrel. Yoki was right in thinking that there were only six such since Nik, too, kept on keeping small percentages on the slight for his personal use. After all, he was acting as a personal, mobile warehouse for the group so he deserved remuneration in kind.
"Hey, wasn't it a bit too cold back then?" Katara inquired as she and Suki helped set up the place with their personal effects and various rugs to make their temporary stay more comfortable.
"Was I?" Nik inquired as he opened the mouth of the barrel and sniffed the contents. His expression instantly turned amazed and quite enticed.
"Yeah, you were," Suki reproached, "And can you blame her?"
Nik blinked and looked back, "Relax. It's not like we were fighting."
"You weren't?" Suki scoffed.
"No, it's called tit for tat. There wasn't any fight but verbally aggressive communication instead. There's a difference." Nik smiled and took out three wooden mugs, "Besides, did the two of you want Mai present here? We're secluding ourselves... for what's to come later."
Nik remarked with a severe expression. The waterbenders... had great libido. At least, those who were suppressed in the prison and alcohol is a great social lubricant that slides many parties right into the private spots. Instead of getting targetted needlessly since they had faced the attempts many times in the ship itself, the trio took an early retirement. As for the other members of the group... they should be fine, right? Nik reasoned that Sokka might get lucky. As for Aang and Tom-Tom...
Nik couldn't really empathize well. He might not be their age when he began his work but he certainly began his training at that age and who's to say Pakku and Hama wouldn't intervene... if they aren't boning by the time themselves.
Suki, Katara, and Nik held their mugs before silently draining its content whole.
*Cough*
*Cough*
Suki and Katara coughed instantly while Nik pursed his lips before exhaling hotly. Waving his left hand, Nik controlled the alcohol and filled their mugs again.
"It's great to keep us warm!" Nik smiled insincerely. He used the most traditional and direct method ever. Getting the girl drunk. It has quite the effect on the individuals one has an established relationship with.
Suki pouted, sensing a plot afoot. She gazed at Nik suspiciously only for him to drink. But this time, he didn't directly gulp everything down.
Even Katara sighed and drank. A smile made way to her lips as she leaned against Suki, "Nik, tonight is the full moon, right?" Her eyes gained an odd glint, "Wouldn't it have been better without me as a third wheel?"
While Suki understood the underlying context, she couldn't realize why the full moon was so important to the situation. Nik, who understood how much the flow of blood helps in certain matters, glared at the waterbender oddly, "Why do you think you're here? As a support, of course. Somebody needs to keep on pumping the blood, right?"
Katara rolled her eyes and scoffed. It really was a tiresome task to get a reaction out of Nik.
Suki frowned at this and called out softly, "Come on, that's so obscene to talk about!"
Katara and Nik looked at her as he questioned, "But it isn't to do it?"
Suki blushed. She couldn't deny it or agree with it due to Katara because she admitted to Katara how good it felt... and she couldn't agree to the statement just out of embarrassment. This was strange since Suki had personally admitted it to the duo separately yet when they were together, it was quite hard to do so.
Katara, too, rolled her eyes, "Come on! You can do things in public but won't admit it?"
"Hah?" Nik gasped exaggeratedly, "You told her?"
"You two are simply the worst!" Suki scoffed, taking a swig from her mug.
Katara shrugged, drinking again while Nik lay down. His mug was set aside and his hands held over his stomach.
"Feeling full?" Suki questioned.
"Barely," Nik replied. At least, he wasn't full mentally even when he felt like bursting at the moment.
"Hey, how long can you drink without breathing?" Katara questioned and waterbent a thick tube of alcohol. The construct moved closer to Nik as he pondered and opened his mouth, more than happy to partake in the drinking game made on the spur of the moment.
Suki and Katara took a breather from their drinks and watched in amazement as Nik sat up and swallowed like a champ.
'Damn,' Suki clicked her tongue. Half of her wondered where Nik trained to have such a skill... and the other part wondered how can she lag behind in something so basic.
Katara, for the whole part, was horribly confused as she continued to push more and more alcohol while Nik drank and drank.
Until he didn't.
"Ugh... I feel so dizzy!" Nik groaned and the women finally sighed in relief.
So there is a limit after all.
What terrified Katara was Nik's words after he remained the slightest bit of his composure.
"Alright, your turn!" Nik gazed at Katara intently before looking at Suki, "And then it will be yours turn, too!"
***
A/N: Pakku still isn't aware of Katara's identity since she wore a large overcoat which hid her choker. Still, even if he knew, things wouldn't be as emotional because the northern tribe already allows females to learn techniques aside from healing. Besides, a reformed Hama and Pakku make a cute couple.
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