Chosen by the Spirits | A male reader x Avatar the Last Airbender story

Chapter 11- Travels

I awoke on a surprisingly comfortable bed that was in one of the ship's many rooms. I rubbed my eyes as they adjusted to the dark room. Peering at the clock that lay at the bedside, I noted that I had slept for a whole ten hours. Due to my constantly packed schedule, the best I ever managed to get at the Northern Water Tribe was seven hours, so I felt refreshed and optimistic to start the day. I had spent the majority of the previous evening on the ship chatting to master Pakku, and beating him at Pai Sho. I was quite gifted at that game; it was a pity I never got to play it much.

Once I had rolled out of bed, I got dressed before I made my way to the exposed deck of the ship. As I strolled out onto the deck, I saw master Pakku sat cross-legged, meditating on the wooden floor. He must have sensed my approach, as he spoke to me while I stood next to him.

"Good morning, (Y/N)," he pleasantly greeted me without opening his eyes. "Sleep well?" he asked.

"Yes, surprisingly," I told him. I looked to the distance in all directions. As far as I could see there was only deep, blue ocean, with the waves crashing onto each other. "Where exactly are we?" I cluelessly asked the waterbending master.

"We're currently travelling between the fire nation and earth kingdom," he explained. "Don't worry, we're in earth kingdom waters," he added. The fire nation had a relentless and powerful navy, so it would have been reckless to sail on fire nation waters. "We'll be arriving near Omashu in a little under an hour. I suggest you gather all your things," he told me. It then struck me that I hadn't packed anything to bring with me on my travels. In my last hour at the tribe, I hadn't wanted to hang around in my house for too long as I was in no mood to talk to my parents after our disagreement. Therefore I hadn't packed anything, so I had brought no belongings onto the ship with me, except for Kyana's necklace.

"Uhh, I didn't really bring anything with me," I hesitantly told master Pakku, who didn't seem surprised in the slightest at my confession.

"Check in the wardrobe in the guest room that you stayed in last night," he responded casually. "There may be a few things for your travels in there,". I swiftly followed his command, leaving him to continue his meditation. Leaving the deck of the ship, I headed back to the guest room. Upon arrival, I immediately paced over to the wardrobe and slid the two doors open. Inside was clothing, hung from the racks of the wardrobe. There was the familiar sight of a water tribe insulating coat for cold weather, but there was also more casual clothing, likely so as to not make it obvious that I'm from the Northern Water Tribe. I grabbed a pair of grey trousers and a navy blue shirt and jacket, and dressed myself in them. I checked myself out in the mirror, and I could tell that, from a distance, it looked indistinguishable as to where I am from. 'That'll help to not draw attention to myself' I thought. Underneath all the hanging clothes in the wardrobe, I noticed that there was a large rucksack. I took the bag out of the wardrobe and opened it, peering inside at the contents. I spotted the essentials that I'd need while travelling: some food and water rations, basic toiletries, and some survival tools. I decided to stuff the rest of the clothes into the bag, but while I did, I noticed something else hanging from the wardrobe rack. There was a large brown sack, with long straps. It took me a minute to figure out what exactly was, but I was quickly able to identify it as a waterbending pouch. Travelling waterbenders would carry them around to store water in case they got into sudden combat. I slung it around my shoulder and then threw the rucksack on my back.

Around thirty minutes later and we had arrived at my destination. I stood with master Pakku on the deck of the ship, and he explained that Omashu was a few miles east. We said our farewells and wished each other luck on our travels.

"Goodbye, master Pakku," I said to him with a sad smile. "Thank you for everything,"

"Our paths will cross again soon, (Y/N)," he said to me, returning a smile. "I just know it,". For the final time, I bowed to him out of respect, and he returned the gesture politely. Then, with my rucksack slung on my back and my waterbending pouch hanging near my waist, I left the ship. I waved goodbye to master Pakku as he sailed away southwards. Now, I was officially on my own for the first time ever.