Rising Sun

Tales

Aang's Point of View

I kept searching through my closet and looking for the appropriate outfit for the night. My wardrobe has never consisted of large amounts of fancy clothing, it didn't suit my "modest" life. It's always minimal, comfortable yet handsome looking pieces placed neatly on the shelves. Although I enjoyed the simplicity, I was getting frustrated about being unable to choose what to wear. I checked the time and realised it was getting late. I sighed, feeling pissed off, and quickly grabbed my apricot coloured sweatshirt, light blue jeans and a pale yellow beanie to keep my shaved head warm in the cold air. As I ran my uninjured hand through my nape, I figured it was time to shave my head smooth again.

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Zuko's Point of View

I groaned as the sound of my alarm woke me up. It was afternoon, the sun was beggining to set, painting the sky in tangerines and deep crimsons. I was supposed to be in the warehouse at ten to get my money. Money that I did not spend one hour of hard work to earn or put a single drop of mental effort into. All I did was bleed. Punching desperate men in the guts, slamming their bodies on the cold damp ground was all it took. I was ashamed of my occupation at first, I thought it was nothing but brainless savagery performed to entertain sick minds of revolting people. Although I am aware it certainly is a dishonorable act, the feeling of shame is long gone now. It somewhat relieves me that I don't ever touch my gain other than contributing to house expenses, in order to avoid being such a burden on my uncle.

Staring at the sunset for a minute or two had cleared my mind, and burned my eyes. I got out of bed and took lazy steps towards the bathroom. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I took a glance at my appearance on the hard-water stained mirror. My black hair had gotten a bit longer than shoulder lenght, I needed to trim it an inch or so later. My face looked ghost white, my usual slight frown only enchanced the "dead inside" expression. I did not care though, my maroon coloured burn scar gathered all the attention anyway. I quickly untangled my hair and put it up into a loose bun, a classic. Stripping off of my sweatpants, I began browsing through the hangers to find something comfortable to wear outside.

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Aang's Point of View

I slowly glided a cotton cloth over my antique razor, adorned with the Air Nomads' spiral trinity. The sharp scent of clove oil was pleasant and reminding. My cultural heritage has always been dear to me. I am one of the very few people who are still trying to keep our history and traditions alive. After centuries from the genocide of Air Nomads, people had given up. I am just a teenager who immigrated to Fire Nation lands three years ago, followed by many struggles, but I haven't given up. There is still love in this world as much as there is cruelty, maybe even more, and I am here to survive.

I quickly got rid of the annoying hair on my scalp with a few strokes of the blade. I cleaned up and spent a moment in front of the mirror, making sure I looked presentable. When I stepped into the livingroom, I saw Momo playing with the flowers i recently put on Appa's fur. I gave both of my animal friends a kiss on the nose and headed to my room to change. I impatiently took off the canvas shorts and baggy tshirt I wore to school. I put on the clothes I picked up earlier and grabbed my keys. Shortly after looking for my cellphone and wallet, I got out through the door of my flat and rushed down the apartment's stairs. The sun was set, I could only see weak rays of light peaking over the old buildings. I heard a 'bling' noise, it was a text from Sokka, giving me directions for the place. I waited for the right minibus to take me there and when it finally arrived I was on my way to my very first highschool party.

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Katara & Jet

"This place is so fucking loud!" Katara shouted in Jet's ear along with an exaggerated laughter. The sophomore grinned at the girl, clearly giving out his intentions. By the looks Katara gave him, she didn't seem to be mad about it at all. She took another sip from her Corona. Despite the extra loudness caused by being underground, the music was making everyone feel their hearts pounding. As the dark skinned girl was checking her phone to see if there were any news from her brother, she felt an arm being wrapped around her shoulders. She faked a smile at Jet and pulled away, lightly pushing him with a hand on his chest.

"C'mon Katara, I was gonna show you a little dance." His sneer looked nasty like the rest of him, Katara loved it.

"Oh I would love to dance with you, but my brother's about to arrive with a companion. I'll definitely make sure to find you later though." She said the last sentence almost skin to skin with the boy. She didn't even feel the need to mention her boyfriend, it would just ruin the fun.

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Toph & Sokka

"Yes, m'aam. I will keep an eye on your daughter the entire time. My sister and Aang are waiting for us in our house, probably setting up all the board games." Sokka felt a kick on his ankle at the last two words.

"Uhh- you know, we'll be playing taboo and..." He had to stop forgetting the fact that Toph was blind.

The short girl cleared her throat. "Mother, father, I will be safe at Katara's house, mostly chatting about our summer vacations. Sokka will bring me back with a taxi around 12 o'clock. I wish you a good night." Toph corrected the mistake Sokka made, and Sokka just watched in awe how well the girl could lie.

"That's more like it. I am calling Lee now, he can take you to-"

"Father, don't you think that'd be a bit inappropriate? Sokka came all this way to pick me up, and a taxi is waiting in the courtyard." Toph interrupted her dad.

"Fine. Have fun and don't be late."

The kids respectfully bowed to Mr. Beifong and rushed their steps to the taxi. Sokka held Toph's hand, making sure she didn't stumble. The blind girl grunted in order to suggest his help was unnecessary and she could have run the whole courtyard with ease, but it was obvious that she appreciated the sincere touch of their hands. Sokka knew that by the way she tried to hide her smile.