the bridge ▸ avatar

rebirth.

THE WORLD WAS AT PEACE for the first time in over one hundred years. Cities were rebuilt throughout the four previously divided lands. People of all elements lived in harmony with one another.

Avatar Aang had long passed away and the cycle of the great spirit had been reborn in the Southern Water Tribe through a young girl.

Omala. Earth.

Omala, now a blossoming 16-year-old, had no idea of the incredible power she held deep within her soul and out through her palms. She lived a simple life with her mother, Aahna, and her twin sister, Zoya — their father had passed in a shipwreck during a brutal storm when they were but toddlers.

The pair might've been born the same day, but that made them all the more different at heart.

Zoya was brave, someone who would rush the battlefield without blinking twice and someone who would never give up on what was right or who she loved. Although she couldn't waterbend, she was skilled in instrument. The sword was her first pick — she actually handmade her own when she was 13, with the guidance of her grandfather Sokka, of course.

Omala was free, someone who moved with the current of the sea and never felt doubt. Omala was swift, she was soft, but she struck hard and sharp, just like water. She was a waterbender afterall, the legacy coming down from her grandmother Katara, whom she credits learning much of her skill and technique from at 13.

          Both were warriors.

It was on the date of the pair's 16 birthday that the tribe's chiefs showed up at their hut door. The small family had been cooking up a delicious celebratory meal of sea prune soup and seal jerky when they heard the knock. Zoya answered, eyes wide as five masters stood so elegantly before her.

"We've come to announce the identity of the next Avatar," the closest elder spoke up without hesitation.

Omala peeked her head into view timidly. Aahna stood stone still in the kitchen. Noticing the fear radiating from her daughter, Katara meandered over and gently placed a comforting hand on Aahna's shoulder.

It was quite obvious who the next reincarnation of the Avatar would be, as only one of the two twins was a bender and the rest of those in the hut were no longer in their coming of age phase.

"Avatar Omala," the same elder spoke up, the other four behind him standing stoic. Her face went white at the sound of her name beside the title slicing through the silence. "It's time to begin your training."

Zoya and Aahna gasped, the air seemed to suck itself out of the room, leaving things as if suspended in ice. Sokka and Katara made eye contact, nodding in both pride and approval as they had been lifelong friends and teammates with Avatar Aang.

Everyone dropped to their knees, bowing before her in a righteous and newfound respect.

Omala gulped, not sure how to feel. It was an honor, but it was a responsibility that weighed quite heavily on her shoulders. Should she panic or cheer? Cry? If so, tears of joy or sadness? Saying goodbye to her home, her family, was going to be the hardest part surely. Wait! Would she get a companion? In stories from her grandparents, she had learned that those who came before, well... her... had companions. Avatar Aang had had a flying bison and Avatar Roku had a dragon. She secretly hoped she got something just as cool.

"You leave for the Earth Kingdom in two suns," the elder spoke once more before turning on his heel, the rest following closely behind.

Omala's eyes closed as the news processed in her head. She exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding, her lungs relaxing, and went to sit down at the kitchen table. No one had said a word, or moved a muscle, for that matter.

"Wow! Happy birthday Miss Avatar, your majesty," Zoya laughed shyly, reaching out to hold her sister's hand and offering a playful wink. Omala cracked a grin, the color returning to her cheeks. The tension in the room seemed to release, like a snake from its prey.

"Sokka and I'll help, same as we did for Aang," Katara reassured the girl with a warm smile. Sokka nodded in agreement, mouth already full of seal jerky he'd stolen off the counter.