All's Fair in Love and War |ATLA| |Reader Insert|

Bato of the Liquid Clan {2}

The next day, Bato brought you guys back to the ship.

"This ship is sentimental to me," he said, "It was built by my father." You stared at the boat and its design. You felt a quick gust of breeze, and turned your head to see Aang walkin back over to you. Then you saw a trail of dust behind him. You quirked a brow at him.

"What were you doing?" You whispered.

"Nothing, nothing at all, why would you suspect I was doing something, ha ha, you're funny Y/n!" He smiled before walking past you. You stared after him, brows furrowed.

"What's ice dodging?" Aang joined in on their conversation.

"It's a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members," Bato explained, "When you turn 14, your dad takes you--you know what?" Bato placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

"You're about to find out."

~
Bato took all of you out onto the sea in the ship, explaining ice dodging to Aang, Katara, and Sokka. But instead of dodging ice, they'll be dodging a cluster of stone rocks.

"Well, good luck you three," you said, sitting down.

"You're not partaking?" Bato asked. You shook your head.

"No thank you. I'll leave that honor to them." You replied, crossing your arms.

"For this to be done right, I cannot help," Bato said, sitting down next to you. "You pass or fail on your own." You took a deep breath and felt the water underneath you, zenning yourself into a meditative state. Even when the boat jerked, your body stayed still, able to maneuver with it. Through your meditation, you could feel something dark creep up inside of you. Something malicious. You opened your eyes and the feeling went away. You looked around and saw that you were sailing on smooth waters. Nothing could've triggered that feeling.

~
You docked the boat and were standing on the beach. Bato had a bowl of paint in his hand. He dipped his finger into it.

"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks," he said, "For Sokka, the Mark of the Wise--the same mark your father earned." Bato painted the mark on Sokka's forehead.

"For Katara, the Mark of the Brave. Your courage inspires us. And for Aang, the Mark of the Trusted."
You watched his body language as he received the mark.

"You are now an honorary member of the Water Tribe."

"I can't," Aang said.

"Of course you can," Katara replied. Aang wiped the paint off.

"No. You can't trust me," Aang pushed, backing away.

"Aang, what are you talking about?" Katara asked. Aang looked at you, and you looked at Aang. He then reached into his shirt.

"A messenger gave this to me for Bato," Aang explained, pulling out a ball of paper. Katara grabbed it and unwrinkled it. "You have to understand. I was afraid you wouldn't--"

"This is the map to our father!!" Sokka yelled, "You had it the whole time?! How could you?!"

"Sokka, Aang just--"

"Well, you can go to the North Pole on your own. I'm going to find dad." Sokka turned and walked away.

"Now Sokka, I think you should--"

"Katara, are you with me?" Sokka interrupted Bato. Katara turned to look at Aang and you looked at her.

"I'm with you Sokka," she replied. You and Aang watched as the three of them walked off, leaving you two behind.