Shattering Ice -1B
Title: Shattering Ice
Rating: Older Teen
Chapter: 1B
Fandom: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pairings/Warnings: Kana/Pakku
Summary: After watching her only grandchildren disappear into the mists afte the Avatar, Gran-Gran returns to her tent and remembers a time when she was their age and the events that led her to leave her own home.
Shattering Ice
Chapter One B
By DamageCtrl
*All Standard Disclaimers Apply: I do not own A:TLA or anything associated with it.
Back in the crowds, Kana half heartedly watched the confident young man show off his skills against three waterbenders his age. He was obviously the best of the group and was not shy about it. Grumbling, Kana turned around and frowned.
Her way out had been blocked off by a rather large group of female admirers. Wonderful. She was about squeeze her way through and escape while her friends were distracted, when a voice caught her attention. She stopped in midstep and lowered her head dejectedly.
“What do you think, Kana?” one of her friends asked. “Amazing, isn’t he? He’s been training under his father privately for years.”
“They’re from the north side,” another friend informed her. A content sigh escaped her lips as dreamy eyes focused on Pakku. “The eldest son of his family, too.”
“Good for him,” Kana sighed. “Okay, I’ve been here for several minutes now. By the time I get home, it’ll be dark.”
“If you’re going to be late anyway, you might as well stay with us.” Yugoda suggested.
“No,” It was a firm and steady reply. “I have to get home. Come by the booth one day and visit me.”
“Can you come tomorrow?” another friend asked. “We’ll hunt down the twins. I’m sure they’d love to see this!”
Kana let out another heavy breath. Did the not understand what she was trying to say? “I can’t come back tomorrow! You know I have more important things to do than watch some spoiled rich boy show off!”
“Spoiled rich boy?” The crowds had suddenly gone silent and Kana could feel eyes plastered upon her back. Beside her, she could see the wide, surprised eyes of her friends as they fixed themselves on the figure standing behind her. A small, mocking laugh sounded behind her. “I’m sure you’re not talking about me.”
Kana lowered her head and mentally cursed her luck. So much for sneaking away unnoticed, and getting back home. Gripping her basket against her, she turned around and slowly brought her eyes up.
High quality black boots. Brand new dark blue pants. Brand new dark blue over coat rimmed with…was that artic weasel fur? She blinked and shook her head. No time to get distracted by the inviting, fluffy white fur. She lifted her head up and met the half-amused, half-smirking look on his self assured face.
Pakku kept the look of sheer confidence on him as he watched the drab blue clad girl turn around and face him. Big, deep blue eyes were narrowed into annoyed slits as she lifted her hooded head to meet his gaze defiantly. Her heart shaped, brown face was framed by the white fur that lined her hood. He could barely make out the small tuffs of brown hair escaping it.
“Well, unless Anyu over there suddenly struck it rich,” Kana said, lifting her chin to acknowledge one of the young men the new guy had been showing off against. “Then, yeah, I am talking about you. Spoiled rich boy. All you’re doing is showing off. The only reason you’re so good at bending is because you have time to practice.”
Ice blue eyes narrowed. “In order to become a master bender, one must practice,” Pakku retorted. “That is a given. I thought even children can figure that out.”
“And the reason you have so much time to practice is because, unlike the rest of us, you don’t have the responsibilities of helping your family or work,” Kana replied sharply. “So your father spent a lot of time teaching you. That only means you had a lot of leisure time. It’s not like you had chores or anything. You didn’t have to work as hard as everyone else here to control your bending.”
“She does make a good point…” another male bender mumbled. Pakku looked over his shoulder and shot him a glare.
“So, I’m apparently unworthy because my family can afford to spend time teaching me?” Pakku asked, annoyed. “I’m sorry if I was given an advantage.” He grumbled sarcastically.
Kana merely lifted her nose at him and turned back around. She didn’t have time to deal with him. She had food to cook. “Yugoda, guys, I’m heading home. I’ll see you some other time.”
She took two steps when a male voice reached her. “You can think whatever you want,” Pakku’s mocking voice sounded. “But in five years, I’ll be the next waterbending master and you…you’ll be just another woman gutting fish for her husband in the market place.”
Kana’s jaw locked. Her fingers dug into the basket in front of her and she whirled around. A deadly gleam was in her eye as she stomped forward. She shoved her basket in Yugoda’s arms as she passed.
“I’m sorry,” she hissed in a low voice as she stood inches from Pakku’s taller figure. “If you think that there is something wrong with working hard for a living. But I would rather be another woman gutting fish for some faceless husband in the market place than be the poor, sad woman who will have to put up with you for the rest of her life!”
She heard him take in a sharp gasp as she whirled around. Kana snatched the basket from Yugoda and stormed down the stairs. As her friends called after her, Pakku stood rooted in his spot, his eyes wide.
“Did…did she just say that…?” he began to mumble. His face twisted into a scowl. She had just insulted him! “How dare she!?”
Behind him, the other male students began to try to appease the crowd and take attention from the shocked and now furious waterbender.
“Pakku,” Anyu placed his hand on the other bender’s shoulders and shook his head. “I didn’t know you were so sensitive over what someone says about you.”
The young man let out a scoff and twisted his shoulder away from the other man’s hand. “Hardly,” Pakku stated coolly. He ran one gloved hand through his hair and turned back to his peers. As he lifted up his hands, and bended up a ball of snow with ease, he mocked the very idea. “What would I care about the opinion of some temperamental girl who can’t even bend?”
Kana fell against her door as she panted and fumbled with the door knob. She had made it half way down the stairs from the lodge as dignified as she could, then took off running. She had taken every short cut she knew of as she wove through the city, trying to get to her house before her father.
As she dashed passed the docks, she could see the boat her father and uncles were on and mentally groaned. She had pulled all her strength together to make it to their house before her father made it back. As soon as the door opened, she stumbled through and ran up the stairs to their flat. Their house was right by the far edge of the southern docks. Further down was were the trade ships from other countries docked. Smaller fishing vessels docked closer to where they lived.
That would prove a problem considering it wouldn’t take her father long to return.
Kana burst through the door and practically threw her basket of groceries into the kitchen as she made a beeline for her bedroom. Tugging off her sweater, she quickly changed into thinner house clothes and headed for the kitchen.
By the time the door opened and her tired father came through, she was half way through cooking dinner. As she lifted a spoon to her lips, her father’s head peeked from behind the wall to the kitchen and smiled widely. “I thought I smelled something good.”
“Hi, dad,” Kana beamed him a smile as she shoved down the guilt. “Catch anything good today?”
“You’ll have quite a time at the market with today’s catch in the morning, Kana,” the man said as he walked in and looked over his daughter’s shoulders. “Trying for sea prunes again?” He placed his hands on his stomach and pretended it hurt. “I don’t know if I can survive another batch.”
“Mom said it was good,” Kana retorted proudly. “She liked it.”
Her father laughed and patted her on the shoulder as he passed. “Once you’re finished, pack some for her. I’ll go drop it off at Hey’s house.”
Kana perked up. “You know Mom’s there?”
“Your Aunt Nauja met us at the dock,” the man told her. “I had stopped by there on the way home and Akna has her hands full.” Kana’s smile faltered.
“Is the birthing going okay…?” she asked solemnly.
Her father lowered his eyes. “We don’t know…let’s just pray to the spirits that it will be a successful birth,” Kana nodded and returned to her pot. “I’m going to rest a bit before I head out.”
“I’ll call you for dinner, dad.”
“I’ll eat when I come back from the meeting.” he said from the open area. Kana looked over her shoulder and frowned.
“What meeting?”
“Chief Sura has called a meeting…” he trailed off, unsure how to explain it to his daughter. “It’s a serious topic and will affect trade.”
Kana’s eyebrows furrowed. “I see…”
“I’ll tell you about it when I get back,” he assured her. “Don’t worry too much, Kana. I’m sure the fish trade will be fine.”
Kana nodded and gave her father a smile. “If you say so dad…” she let out a sigh and stirred her pot. “Looks like I’m on my own tonight…”
“If you need anything, your cousin Chu is next door.”
“I know, I know…” Kana rolled her eyes. “I’m fifteen, Dad. I can stay a few hours by myself at home. I do it all the time.”
The man chuckled and stretched out on one of the cushions. “Tomorrow, you’ll need to get up early. Your aunt will need help setting up at the market.”
“Get up early,” Kana mentally nodded as she nodded and began packing a meal for her mother. “I got it.”
“Pakku!” A petite woman stood at the door step to the frozen yard beyond their home. Her hands were clasped together in front of her as thick blue robes protected her from the cold. A soft frown reached her face as she watched her son repeat yet another move. “Pakku!”
“What is it, mother?” Pakku raised his arms and moved to the side as he concentrated on moving the snow around him into ice.
“It’s late,” the woman told him, exasperatedly. His thick over coat was folded neatly to the side. Sweat was dripping on his forehead from hours of concentrated practice. “You should get to bed soon.”
“Let him practice, Sesi.” a deep voice said from within the large house. She turned around and saw a tall, dark haired man approaching her. His dark blue outer wear was still on as he stood by her side and looked out at his son.
“Siku,” Pakku’s mother bowed her head respectfully. “Is the meeting over already?”
“For tonight, yes,” Siku nodded. “However, tomorrow we’ll have a council meeting with Chief Sura and the masters.”
“It is dire times then, my husband…” Sesi whispered. She turned back to her son outside.
“Pakku!” Siku’s strong voice cut through his son’s concentration and the ball of snow Pakku had been controlling fell lifelessly to the ground.
The young man turned around immediately and faced his father with a quick bow of his head. “Yes, Father?”
“Tomorrow, I have a meeting with the council,” he told him sternly. “I need you to go to the southern docks tomorrow and meet with some Earth Kingdom merchants. I am expecting a package for your sister’s dowry and need you to pick it up.”
Pakku bowed his head obediently once more. “Yes, Father.”
“Early tomorrow morning.” Siku stressed. He turned around and headed back into the house. The woman at his side looked back at her son and smiled warmly.
“Get some rest, Pakku.”
The young man nodded and returned her smile with a small one of his own. “I will, Mother.” He watched as both parents disappeared into the house before he returned to his practice.
His hands rose and so did the snow he had dropped earlier.
Spoiled rich boy.
Pakku gritted this teeth. Her defying, stubborn voice had plagued him since she left. What was her problem, anyway? He didn’t even know who she was, how dare she judge him.
His body twisted to the side, bending the snow with him as he did so. What was wrong with being rich? So his father, the greatest waterbender in the city, just happened to teach him himself. What was wrong with that? He was lucky to have enough time to spend on his bending.
Didn’t work for it? Of course he worked for it! It just wasn’t the kind of work she thought it was. Just because he didn’t spend his other time toiling over a stove or freezing his nose off over the water fishing, didn’t mean he didn’t work at mastering his bending.
If anything, he worked harder than all those other students. Didn’t they realize what he had to live up to? His father, his grandfather, all his forefathers had been master waterbenders. There wasn’t a man in his family who didn’t marry a waterbending wife just to ensure waterbending progeny. He had a lineage to uphold.
He had been striving since he first bended, to live up to the reputation his family had come to attain through the generations. Just because she didn’t understand that didn’t mean she could immediately categorize him as some spoiled rich boy. So what if he never went hunting or gone fishing? He had to bend.
The snow fell to the ground and Pakku stared at the pile. His chest rose and fell with each ragged breath as he narrowed his eyes. So what if he didn’t know how to do much else? He turned around and looked past the yard and down the tiers of the eastern part of the city at the glowing city before him.
His family’s wealth and status didn’t come from hunting or fishing. It came from bending. So what did it matter if he didn’t know how to do other things? He knew what mattered.
“So what…” Pakku repeated to himself quietly as frowned and gritted his teeth. So what if she’s right?
She could smell the salty sea air drifting into her cold room and rolled over on her bed. She tugged the thick fur blankets up to her head and groaned.
Get up early…
Her father’s voice echoed in her head and she immediately sat up. Long brown hair that had neatly been in a braid when she went to sleep, was now a loosely coiled mess with a good handful of hair escaping around her. Her hands rose and rubbed her half-asleep eyes before reaching up and unbraiding her tangle of hair.
She ran her fingers through it a few times before letting out a heavy breath and making a mental list of what she had to do that day. It was a lot. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked over at the window by her bedside. The morning sun was about to break in the horizon.
Her father was probably already out at sea with his brothers. She wondered if her mother had finally returned home from the birthing. Silently, she hoped it went well. Kana reached over and grabbed her robe. She still had to practice her flute for the festival at the beginning of the new moon before she went to the market. She would join her cousins in performing in their neighborhood as they did every year.
Kana crawled over to the edge of her bed and sat beside the window. In the distance, she could see the ships docking in their spaces, waiting for the day to begin. Sighing tiredly, she folded her arms across her window sill and gazed out at the ocean beyond their gates in the distance. Her arms rose and pushed the windows open.
Years ago, when she would go to the market with her mother, she would awe at the different items the traders from other countries brought. She would hear the stories of the Earth Kingdom and wondered what would it be like to be in a place where the season was a perpetual springtime? Just like in the scrolls they sold.
A wry smile graced her face. One day…when she was older. She would go aboard a ship, not just to play with one of the Earth Kingdom children she had met, but to travel. She’d get to see what was out there; what was beyond the market and whatever future staying in the Northern Water Tribe would give her.
“The wife of a fisherman…” she mouthed quietly, remembering the words of the bender she had met the other day. “At least a fisherman can get me out of the city…”
Baring the cold, she slipped into her house boots and went to retrieve her instrument. As she examined the wooden instrument, she sat back on her bed and brought the flute up to her lips.
When his father said early, he had assumed before the break of dawn early. He was apparently wrong. The Earth Kingdom trading shops that were docked at the southern docks had yet to open and begin trading for the day.
Grumbling, Pakku scowled. Nothing was open yet. He couldn’t even get something warm to drink. For what seemed like the tenth time, he began pacing the length of the docks impatiently. He still had to get up to the front of the lodge for morning bending lessons with Master Sae Kung.
He was halfway back down to where the ships were docked when he heard something break the empty silence of the morning. He paused in mid step and looked back over his shoulder. A wooden flute? This early in the morning?
He stopped completely and craned his neck to the sound of the high pitched melody. His mother played the flute quite well, he remembered, but whoever was playing now, as much as he hated to admit it, was better. Narrowing his eyes, he began to weave through the narrow inner streets and follow the sound.
With each step, the sound seemed to grow stronger…more powerful. Silently, Pakku slipped through the narrow alleys until he came to a street corner just a few feet away from the every edge of the docks.
He stood in his place and listened for the sound. He was close…it was right above him. His head was drawn upwards to the third story window of one of the houses…and he froze.
His hands unclasped at his sides as he watched long brown hair billow in the cold morning breeze. Soft pink lips were placed against the tip of a wooden flute as deep sapphire eyes calmly looked out to sea, far beyond the docks and ice walls. Slender fingers danced across the holes of the instruments with each note as free strands of hair danced around her soft face.
Pakku stood in his spot, mouth slightly agape as his eyes drank in the sight of the young woman sitting by the window, playing the flute. For a moment, he completely forgot about the chilling wind or the very reason he was there in the first place.
There was just him, her, and the sound of her flute. Slowly, his eyes drifted closed as he lost himself in the music. Each smooth sound filled his veins as he saw the young woman in front of him, playing for him and only him. She’d look at him with those blue eyes and he’d happily drown within them. He knew he would.
He didn’t know how long he was standing there. He didn’t even realize that she had stopped.
“Pakku!” a hand slammed on his shoulder and the bender’s eyes flashed open. His body seemed to jump as the hand removed itself from his shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“What…?” The young man turned around and saw one of his fellow benders standing there looking at him with a raised eyebrow. “Anyu…what are you doing here?”
“I live in the area,” Anyu said as he crossed his arms over his chest. He frowned and looked at the other pupil. “What are you doing here? This is a long way from the east side.”
“Oh…” Pakku shook his head and rubbed his forehead. “My father sent me to the docks to pick up something from the Earth Kingdom merchants.”
“Well, this isn’t the trading docks.” Anyu smirked.
“I’m aware of that,” Pakku hissed. “I was just going for a walk and…” His voice trailed off and suppressed the urge to look back at the open window. His eyes narrowed and shot an annoyed glare at Anyu. “Why am I even wasting my time explaining it to you? I have an errand to run.”
He brushed passed Anyu with a scowl and the other young man laughed. “See you in class then. I’ll tell Master Sae Kung you’ll be late!”
Pakku growled and whirled around to reassure his fellow student that he would not be late, only to find that Anyu was already jogging up the street. Pakku narrowed his eyes and frowned. He turned once more and paused as his eyes settled over the now vacant window.
A tinge of disappointment bubbled in his stomach. He would’ve liked to see her once more before he left. Pakku frowned and shook his head. He had to get back to the docks. With one last look at the window, he turned and jogged off.
Kana placed her flute back into its case and walked back across the room to her window. She reached out to close it and stopped. Her eyes immediately narrowed into guarded slits as she watched the dark blue-clad figure running into one of the streets across from her house.
The corner of her lip curled up distastefully as she grabbed the edges of her window and pulled it closed. Great… she thought to herself sarcastically as she closed the doors. She snorted and turned her head away. “Exactly what I want to see first thing in the morning…spoiled rich boy.”
Author's Notes: This story is written for
thefireisblack, who requested this fic after answering a mini-challenge of mine. It was betaed by Nakuru.