Book I: Earth. Maps Are Hard
Verse: Avatar 'verse
Book: Earth
Rating: G
Pairings: Bike Chanderson friendship
Word Count: 800
Summary: Blaine has always wanted to see the world. Why should being the Avatar change that?
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Soon there will be Kurt. I promise.
It’s been weeks since they’ve left home, and now Blaine really can’t stand the sight of water. They’ve been lost for landmarks since passing the Northern Air Temples, following the curve of the land and only vaguely knowing it’s the Earth Kingdom. Blaine had joked with Mike about bringing a companion who was more useful at map reading, and had been playfully shoved into the water as a result.
Blaine studies the map now, Pav curled around his back and asleep as Mike fishes for their dinner. Blaine continues to glance up, trying to match the contours of the land to the squiggles on the map, groaning in a frustrated way when he can’t make heads or tails of it.
“Just put it away. It’s only annoying you.” Mike glances over for just a moment, before turning back to the task at hand. Blaine has always appreciated Mike’s ability to focus, especially when all Blaine ever seems to do is bounce from one task to the next.
When Blaine glances up again, he sees something new which is reason enough to clamber to his feet. He nearly trips as he stumbles to the front of the boat, peering out over the water and letting out a cry of delight.
“Mike!”
His friend turns from his perch, eyebrow raised in interest as Blaine points to a lump in the distance.
“The Fire Nation!” Blaine’s voice is high with his excitement. Finally, something to help them get their bearings. They’re so far south now that anything Blaine or Mike know of the land comes strictly from stories. It feels fantastical and thrilling and dangerous.
Mike just nods and turns back to his fishing and Blaine huffs in exasperation.
“One day, Michael, I am going to find something that you don’t just take in stride.” Blaine watches as Mike’s shoulders shake quietly with laughter, and then turns back to look at the islands in the distance.
Fire is probably the element he is most concerned about learning, but he knows he has time. After all, he has to master Earth before he can move on. But Fire is his opposite. He knows enough about Earth and Air to know that he can find the power within himself to wield them. But Fire?
“Hey Mike.” Blaine doesn’t turn around to see if his best friend acknowledges him or not. It’s not as if the boat is very large, after all, so even if Mike decided to ignore Blaine at some point he would still have to listen to him.
“We’ve been at sea for awhile now, and as good as we are at sailing, I know it’s wearing on both of us.” His hand finds the edge of the boat, steadying him as the ship rocks from side to side. “I’ve been thinking that, maybe, we stop at the Fire Nation. They have ships that run from the Capital City to Omashu, and we could leave ours there. After all, we’ll have to go back.”
He turns to look over his shoulder, where Mike is looking at him with controlled interest. He doesn’t look against the idea, but he doesn’t look for it, either.
“I know it might be silly, but. I don’t want all of this to just be about me becoming the Avatar. Part of us set off to explore the world and, here it is.” He gestures around himself with his hand. “We’re passing right by it without a second glance.”
The world is a peaceful place. It’s not perfect, and it will always need an Avatar, but Blaine has time. He has what seems to be an endless amount of time ahead of him.
Leaning against the hull, crossing his arms. The unspoken “so?” hangs between them in the air, disrupted only by Pav’s snuffly snores.
“Okay.” Mike’s face splits into a grin. “No need to look so nervous, Blaine.”
Blaine glares at him, flicking his wrist slightly so that water sprays up and into Mike’s face.
“Uncalled for!” But Mike is still smiling as he wipes at his face. “Stupid waterbenders.”
“Hey, that’s the Avatar, to you.” Blaine has a laugh in his voice, moving to adjust the mainsail as Mike reels in his line and shifts the rudder to set them in the right direction. He has reached the point with Mike where being the Avatar is just another part of being Blaine, rather than defining who he is as a person entirely. It’s more ammo for them to use against each other in their banter, more like a joke among friends than a title bearing the weight of the world.
And, this way, Blaine can get used to the word. He’s the Avatar. He knows that people the world over will act as if they know him because of what he is. Blaine’s just glad he still has Mike, who has and always will know him for who he is.
Picture References
A Map of the World
Male Water Tribe Outfit (with undershirt)
Male Water Tribe Outfit (without undershirt, bottoms are the same)
Blaine and Mike's Boat
*A note that Mike and Blaine do both wear a neck accessory, it's different than Sokka's necklace in the images (and will be mentioned later in the story).
**Polar bear lions are something that I honestly pulled from nowhere. I knew I wanted to cross something with a polar bear, and I love the other lion crosses on the show so why the fuck not? Unfortunately, this means there aren't any pictures I can show you. But for your imagination purposes, a polar bear lion has the head and face of a polar bear (so the round ears, too), the mane and body of a lion, and also the tail of a polar bear (so it's a little stub instead of this long tail). It's large enough for Blaine to ride at the same time as carrying some cargo, although Blaine doesn't have any sort of saddle. Pav could probably carry two people, but not for any great distance.
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