(1) Augmentum | Zuko

Chapter Fifteen

Noivern is laying on his back as two villagers take care of him and the other pokemon. Vulpix and Rockruff are chasing two younger children around who laugh hysterically pulling along ribbons along the ground. Wartortle is stuffing apples and lettuces into his mouth letting a happy content noise out. One villager rubs Noivern's belly with a brush whilst another villager cleans his huge ears. Noivern grunts happily and is clearly enjoying all the attention. Appa is getting the same sort of attention close by. On one of the roofs, Rana is watching them softly, taking in the moment of quiet. She's wearing a more Kyoshi inspired dress, apparently, it had belonged to her vastayan daughter so is still traditional to her people. It's a longer version of her old dress in green instead of red, longer down her legs on one side. The sunlight catches a jade lotus pin that covers the button holding the two sides of her dress together. It's beautiful. A gift given out of love. Her fingers run over the petals of the lotus as she smiles down at Noivern who looks up at her.

.....

Katara, Aang and Momo are inside, seated in front of a long wooden table. The table is covered with eighteen different plates of food. A villager enters and places another plate on the table and exits. Aang throws his arms up in the air happily.

"Alright!" He cheers. "Dessert for breakfast!" He then begins to stuff his face, even talking with his mouthful. "These people sure know how to treat an Avatar! Mmm... Katara you've got to try these!" Aang offers Katara a sweet.

"Well, maybe just a bite..." Katara takes the candy from Aang as Momo seizes the opportunity and snatches another from his other hand.

"Sokka, what's your problem? EAT!" Aang comments and looks across the room to where Sooka is sitting hunched and glowering in the corner of the room.

"Not hungry"

"But you're always hungry!" Aang points out.

"He's just upset because a bunch of girls kicked his butt yesterday" Rana comments as she walks into the hut and takes a seat at the table beside Katara who smirks.

"They snuck up on me!" Sokka defends.

"Right. And then they kicked your butt" Rana adds and grabs an apple from the table with a smirk. Katara chuckles.

"Sneak attacks don't count!" Sokka stands to his feet angrily and begins pacing around the room, gesticulating wildly to the air. "Tie me up with ropes! I'll show them a thing or two. I'm not scared of any girls" He has paced around to the breakfast table and is ferociously grabbing sweets off it. He begins to lower his voice and talk to himself. "Who do they think they are anyway?" Sokka grunts and shoves a sweet into his mouth. He walks out of the room. "Mmm... this is tasty" Rana and Katara share a look before descending into soft chuckles.

"How can he have a water-bending sister and think girls are....less than?" Rana muses.

"He doesn't think 'magic' counts" Katara comments.

"I can set him on fire for a bit, if you want," Rana tells her, Katara smirks and shakes her head, knowing that Rana is teasing, hopefully teasing.

"What's he so angry about anyway?" Aang asks. "It's great here. They're giving us the royal treatment"

"Hey, don't get too comfortable. It's risky for us to stay in one place for very long" Katara comments, Rana hums around her apple in agreement.

"I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides, did you see how happy I'm making this town?" Aang turns around to look out the window at the two villagers working on Avatar Kyoshi's statue. "They're even cleaning up that statue in my honour!"

"I don't think that's for you" Katara argues. "I think that's for Rana. You know, with them being related"

"Right" Aang agrees a little and looks at Rana, she looks down and shrugs a little.

"But it's nice to see you excited about being the Avatar. I just hope it doesn't all go to your head" Katara steers the conversation a little.

"Come on, you know me better than that. I'm just a simple monk" Aang points out as he stands up and goes to the window. He looks down in surprise and confusion to find that the courtyard is full of little girls from the village, screaming and cheering at him. Aang's face breaks out in a large smile and he blushes. Katara, standing slightly behind him, crosses her arms, sticks her tongue out and makes a long, exasperated raspberry.

"Can you believe...." Katara starts as she turns around to look at Rana, but stops when she notes that the vastaya has gone. She sighs a little and turns back to Aang.

.......

Aang is standing next to Koko, one of the young girls from the village. An artist puts up his paintbrush next to them as a reference for painting the scene. He lifts his paper to begin his ink painting, covering the spot where Aang and Koko are standing.

"Painting the Avatar... that's easy enough..." The painter comments to himself. He drops his parchment for another look and now there are two girls standing with Aang. "Oh... there's another one... I'll make an adjustment here, and..." When he drops his painting now, there are four girls standing around Aang. "There's more... what..." Now when he views the scene it appears that every girl in the village has joined the group. He has a look of utter disbelief and irritation. After surveying the scene for a few seconds, he looks to where Rana is sat under a blossoming tree in quiet conference with her pokemon, the sun setting behind them. He looks at Aang again before turning his art supplies towards Rana.

....

The next day, Rana practices her air-bending under the blossoming tree, her eyes closed as she moves her arms, running through the moves without trying too much to actually bend. Behind her, her pokemon are lined up and trying to copy her movements, she is very much aware that they are doing it and trying so very hard to ignore them and concentrate. She wants to be mad at them for disturbing her, she so very does, but she's a little touched by it. That they want to join in even with their lack of arms.