Chapter 20: The Siege of the North, Part 1

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It's late in the night, but that does not deter the two giggling girls. One, a Princess, and the other, the Cytherea. The two sit facing each other on the plush bed in the Princess' bedroom, Yue completing the second braid in her friend's hair.

"Beautiful," Yue proclaims, hand threading (Y/N)'s hair into completion. Two matching braids, similar to Yue's come from behind her ears, connected to what her brother proclaims to be her "hair-loopies". At the bottom of her new braids are small beads with the same pattern displayed on Yue's headpiece, a circle with a crescent moon and the ocean, the symbol of the Northern Water Tribe.

Being shown her reflection in the small hand mirror given to her (Y/N) smiles. "Are you sure it's alright for me to wear my hair like this? It's a part of your tribe's customs, not mine."

Yue places a gentle hand on her shoulder, fixing the mirror's position. "Of course- we are sister tribes after all, and if anyone has any complaints, they can come to me." A smile teases her lips, "You look great. You should keep this look forever."

"Maybe I will." The girls grin at each other through the reflection.

~~~

The morning came swiftly, and with morning came Waterbending lessons. Having already beat every one of her peers the day before, (Y/N) lay making snow angels with Aang as her sister battles it out with one of the boys.

"Nice try, Pupil Sangok. A couple of more years, and  you might be ready to fight a sea sponge." Master Paku releases the boy from his trapped position, approaching the rest of the class. "Would anyone care for a rematch with Katara?" At the lack of reply, Paku moves towards Katara. "You and your sister have advanced more quickly than students I have ever trained. You two have proven that with fierce determination, passion, and hard work, you can accomplish anything. Raw talent alone is not enough..."

Paku looks over, not discreet in his reference to the Avatar. The boy in questions sits, chatting happily with (Y/N), air bending offhandedly whilst talking animatedly. When she sits up from making a snow angel, leaning on her elbows with snow sticking to her hair and nose, Aang brushes it off with a loving look, pressing a warm hand to her cheek to try and warm her up. Katara notes that inwardly, as well as the awkward look on the two teen's faces when Paku calls out, "Pupil Aang!"

The two sit up properly, anxiety clear on the young faces. "Yes, Master Paku?"

"Care to step into the sparring circle? I figure since you've found time to play with house pets and distract the other students from the work, you must have already mastered Waterbending."

Aang Airbends himself into a standing position. "I wouldn't say mastered, but check this out!" Aang waterbends snow to engulf him, appearing as a snowman, seconds later tackled to the ground by Momo.

Aang rolls around, laughing, while (Y/N) sits amused at the center with Momo on her lap. Black snow begins to fall from the sky, familiar to the girl but not to Momo, who consumes some before spitting it out, coughing. "Soot," the girl mutters, voice grave, stopping Aang in his tracks.

~~~

The drums ring loudly as people clamour up the stairs. There is little time to settle in, to get comfortable, knowing that the enemy approaches closer with every second.

"The day we have feared for so long has arrived- the Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness that I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe... but they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean, Spirit of the Moon, be with us!" After a moment of silence, the Chief continues. "I am going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission."

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