The Lunar Warrior [ATLA FF]

Book 1: Water | 21 | Everything Was Fine Until...

Art drawn by me! Look at the improvement! Gotta go back and re-draw some of my old art for Ayaan!

His hair was the same color as his siblings' hair. He looked more like them now. After Katara had dyed it for him, he put his loose hair back into its traditional wolf-tail style. Katara's gloved hands clapped together in anticipation as Ayaan came forward. "How do you like it, Ayaan?" She asked, eagerly awaiting his reply.

"It's nice." He whispered, unable could not suppress his smile. His cheeks warmed happily, the wind blowing softly past him. "I like it."

Sokka and Katara stood like they were struck by lightning.

They'd never seen him look so pleased before. This was bad, very bad. Just look at that confident smile! This was meant to help him blend in, but it just transformed him from an exotically handsome young man to an extremely handsome young man.

Even if they dressed him in rags, with his amazing physique? He'd make it look like a robe for the gods.

'He's lethal,' Katara thought. 'But he looks so happy...'

When was the last time she'd seen him smile like that?

Katara felt bad that what they'd used was the only bit of the dye she'd gotten. It was specially made on Kyoshi so she wasn't sure when they'd be able to get any more.

'A weapon.' Sokka thought. 'Ayaan's looks are a weapon.'

He stared for another moment.

'This must be one of his secrets to manliness. I must learn!'

"Wow, Ayaan! That color looks great on you!" Aang said, completely missing the point that it was supposed to make him less, well, less 'Wow'. Well, he was happy, and it was so rare to see him smiling so... openly like this. Usually, it was just a small smile here and there, and it only lasted a split second.

"Come on, grandkids! Let's go!" Aang said, getting into character once again. The three of them followed the airbender across the massive bridge.

Ayaan looked over the edge; a chasm. It was a large and deep gorge, so vast in its depth that one could only see darkness. While Ayaan was not afraid of heights, thanks to their frequent flights on the magnificent Appa, this sight still unnerved him. So, he returned his gaze towards the front, where a thick and tall wall of earth and earth kingdom guards entered their sights.

While they wore similar colors to that of the Kyoshi Warriors, the overall garb was very different. A wide hat with fabric lining it, a loose pant, and it seemed most preferred to go without footwear. Was it due to their earthbending? And these warriors were all just a bit shorter than him... Well, that was just because he was unusually tall.

He was certain he was over six feet in height. It was a strange feeling when he began to dwarf the people he used to have to look up towards, like Gran-Gran. He could easily carry Gran-Gran if he needed to, too. He was sure of it. Maybe it was because he was used to carrying heavy prey from his hunting trips? He'd been hunting since he was young, so it was possible.

But Gran-Gran was not heavy at all. She weighed nothing to Ayaan. He remembered her laughing when he gave her hugs, especially now since he basically picks her up when he does.

Ayaan sighed a bit.

'I miss Gran-Gran.'

Taking him away from his thoughts, he heard Aang begin to speak. "You guys are going to love Omashu. The people here are the friendliest in the world." He said, recalling his time here a hundred years ago.