The Avatar's Advisor (HIATUS)

Lost and Found

I don't know how to tag the potential trigger warning, so... just Polu yelling and insulting his parents and accusing his mother of being the worst parent out there.

I guess.

And a proper TW: brief mention of self-unaliving

Later that day, Polu finds his cousin walking along one of the bridges spanning the canal. "Sadu!"

The boy spins and grins down at Polu. "Hey! Done with training for the day?"

Polu doesn't respond until he reaches the top of the stairs. "Yeah." He gestures to the fans tied to his belt. "Turns out Master Pakku knows what he's talking about."

Sadu chuckles as he leans against the railing. "That generally happens with masters."

The waterbender grabs one of his fans and twirls it around. He watches with a sense of satisfaction as snowflakes dance with his movements. "I'm glad that I'm not just a bad waterbender. Something about how the fans move helps me concentrate on making my forms smoother- so Pakku says."

"That's pretty impressive," Sadu compliments. "It almost makes me wish I could do that."

"You can't bend?" Polu raises an eyebrow at his cousin.

The younger boy shakes his head. "My mom's entire family is made up of nonbenders. Turns out the element skipped over my father, too."

"Oh." Polu frowns. "But you don't wish you could bend?"

Sadu smiles lightheartedly. "Not really, no. I'm not generally one for being patient enough to work with water. I think I'd have been a better firebender."

Polu cringes at the thought.

"Sorry, forgot they're a sensitive subject."

"It's alright," Polu assures. After an awkward beat, he asks, "Do you train with other nonbenders, then?"

"I do," Sadu confirms. "It's a nice escape from the pressure of the family business."

The Advisor's face scrunches in thought. "You advise the Chief, right?"

Sadu nods. "My grandfather is the current advisor. When he passes, it'll go to my father, then to me."

Polu hums. "So you're Chief Arnook's right-hand-men." His eyes widen with realization. "You're not the one engaged to Princess Yue, are you?"

Is Sokka losing Yue to my cousin? That definitely won't cause any tension.

"No, no." Sadu huffs and rolls his eyes. "That's Hahn. An arrogant, egotistical prick. Why the Chief chose him over literally anyone else is beyond me."

"Great," Polu scoffs. "Another kid married to the worst fucking option. That always seems to be the case with this shit."

Sadu's eyes soften with sympathy. "Painful reminders?"

"Yep," the taller spits. "I don't understand why you'd do that to your kid. It's like parents forget that their child has wants of their own."

The lull in conversation turns into an uncomfortably stretched silence.

"So... do you want to meet the rest of the family?" Sadu offers.

"Oh, right!" Polu stands upright. "I forgot you mentioned that the other day. I'd love to!"

The younger boy grins and leads the Earth Prince off of the bridge.

~~~~~

Several long minutes of walking later, the boys stop in front of a big house.