Contest #1: Genfic/Friendship; "Flyng Lessons?", K+
Story Title: Flying Lessons?
Characters: Aang, Sokka, Katara, Appa, Momo
Rating: K+
Summary: Aang attempts to teach Sokka how to fly. Sokka is less than receptive.
Flying Lessons?
"I want to learn how to fly," Sokka announced suddenly, breaking both Aang and Katara out of their individual reveries. It was in the middle of a particularly uneventful flight, and even Momo looked subdued and lost in whatever thoughts he had.
Katara snorted. "Great. Let's toss you off and see how far you go."
"Ha, ha," Sokka answered. "I don't mean it like that. Obviously I don't mean it like that!"
Aang peered up at him in a backwards sort of way, since at the moment he was sitting upon Appa's head and holding the reins. "Well, what do you mean?" he wondered simply, lacking the sarcasm that Katara had in spades.
Sokka scooted closer to the edge of the saddle. "Well, we can't always depend on you flying this thing," he replied, patting Appa's furry head affectionately. "What if you were kidnapped or something? One of us should know how to fly him, and I say that one should be me."
Katara snorted again. "Why, so that you can direct us into even better chaos that would force Aang to free himself to save us?"
Sokka scowled at his sister from over his shoulder. "Why are you not helpful?" he snarled.
"Besides," Aang put in helpfully, "if anything, Appa would probably just save himself and try to rescue me if you two got in trouble."
Brother and sister stared at the Avatar, their faces similar in their shock and annoyance. He leaned back an noticed, then smiled and shrugged. "What? It's true!"
"Well," Sokka rubbed his chin. "Maybe that's because you're the only one who ever flies him!" He stood up and hopped over the lip of the saddle, seating himself beside Aang. "Come on, fess up! How do you fly him?" He reached out, his fingers making spidery motions, trying to snatch up the reins.
Aang leaned away from him, deftly avoiding his busy fingers. "There's a skill involved, you know! You can't just grab the reins and be an expert!"
Sokka's hands were still held out. "Why not? You can do it, and you're just a kid! I'm older, and far more experienced, and therefore I should be all set for it!"
"Right," Katara broke in helpfully, her arms crossed over her chest. "This from the guy who got scared around any kind of herding animal we ever had domesticated, to the point of hiding in the latrine for hours until the animals were out of sight."
Sokka glared daggers. "I'm pretty sure Aang isn't interested in that kind of thing right now, so could you please knock it off?!" he hissed.
Katara's reply was to chuckle, so Sokka decided to ignore her for the rest of the day. He turned back to Aang. "So come on, how do you do it?"
Aang still looked uncertain, especially with Katara's recent storytelling. "Are you sure you want to learn?"
"Yes!" was the reply.
"Okay..." Aang scooted a little over, and Sokka eagerly moved to his side. "It's really pretty easy, if you think about it. Appa is a really smart guy - he can usually sense what you want with the way you sit and shift, especially when you're on his head."
Appa uttered a small moan in agreement, and Aang grinned and patted his head affectionately. "Exactly! The reins are good to help him steer, because sometimes his eyes have trouble focusing on what's before him. The nuns said it was something to do with how they're positioned on his head."
Sokka rubbed his chin, the exact image of a pondering student. Aang took this as a good thing and went on. "Voice commands work, but Appa usually only listens to short commands, like 'yip, yip' or 'stop' - things that are easy to understand. Using the reins reinforces what you say, too, and there are different ways to hold them with each command."
Katara was now close by, leaning over the lip of the saddle with a curious expression on her face. "That's really detailed," she said.
Aang smiled at her, unable to resist. "Of course it is!" he replied. "Flying is really serious business, after all."
Sokka suddenly burst out laughing at this, which earned him a confused look from both Aang and Katara at the same time. He blinked, then stopped in mid-laugh. "What? That was a joke, right?" He paused. "Right?"
Aang frowned at him. Katara rolled her eyes. "Maybe you're not ready for flying lessons, yet," was his answer.
"What!?" Sokka protested. Katara laughed this time. Sokka pestered Aang for hours, but the monk was firmly set in his decision. There would be no flying lessons today.
Characters: Aang, Sokka, Katara, Appa, Momo
Rating: K+
Summary: Aang attempts to teach Sokka how to fly. Sokka is less than receptive.
Flying Lessons?
"I want to learn how to fly," Sokka announced suddenly, breaking both Aang and Katara out of their individual reveries. It was in the middle of a particularly uneventful flight, and even Momo looked subdued and lost in whatever thoughts he had.
Katara snorted. "Great. Let's toss you off and see how far you go."
"Ha, ha," Sokka answered. "I don't mean it like that. Obviously I don't mean it like that!"
Aang peered up at him in a backwards sort of way, since at the moment he was sitting upon Appa's head and holding the reins. "Well, what do you mean?" he wondered simply, lacking the sarcasm that Katara had in spades.
Sokka scooted closer to the edge of the saddle. "Well, we can't always depend on you flying this thing," he replied, patting Appa's furry head affectionately. "What if you were kidnapped or something? One of us should know how to fly him, and I say that one should be me."
Katara snorted again. "Why, so that you can direct us into even better chaos that would force Aang to free himself to save us?"
Sokka scowled at his sister from over his shoulder. "Why are you not helpful?" he snarled.
"Besides," Aang put in helpfully, "if anything, Appa would probably just save himself and try to rescue me if you two got in trouble."
Brother and sister stared at the Avatar, their faces similar in their shock and annoyance. He leaned back an noticed, then smiled and shrugged. "What? It's true!"
"Well," Sokka rubbed his chin. "Maybe that's because you're the only one who ever flies him!" He stood up and hopped over the lip of the saddle, seating himself beside Aang. "Come on, fess up! How do you fly him?" He reached out, his fingers making spidery motions, trying to snatch up the reins.
Aang leaned away from him, deftly avoiding his busy fingers. "There's a skill involved, you know! You can't just grab the reins and be an expert!"
Sokka's hands were still held out. "Why not? You can do it, and you're just a kid! I'm older, and far more experienced, and therefore I should be all set for it!"
"Right," Katara broke in helpfully, her arms crossed over her chest. "This from the guy who got scared around any kind of herding animal we ever had domesticated, to the point of hiding in the latrine for hours until the animals were out of sight."
Sokka glared daggers. "I'm pretty sure Aang isn't interested in that kind of thing right now, so could you please knock it off?!" he hissed.
Katara's reply was to chuckle, so Sokka decided to ignore her for the rest of the day. He turned back to Aang. "So come on, how do you do it?"
Aang still looked uncertain, especially with Katara's recent storytelling. "Are you sure you want to learn?"
"Yes!" was the reply.
"Okay..." Aang scooted a little over, and Sokka eagerly moved to his side. "It's really pretty easy, if you think about it. Appa is a really smart guy - he can usually sense what you want with the way you sit and shift, especially when you're on his head."
Appa uttered a small moan in agreement, and Aang grinned and patted his head affectionately. "Exactly! The reins are good to help him steer, because sometimes his eyes have trouble focusing on what's before him. The nuns said it was something to do with how they're positioned on his head."
Sokka rubbed his chin, the exact image of a pondering student. Aang took this as a good thing and went on. "Voice commands work, but Appa usually only listens to short commands, like 'yip, yip' or 'stop' - things that are easy to understand. Using the reins reinforces what you say, too, and there are different ways to hold them with each command."
Katara was now close by, leaning over the lip of the saddle with a curious expression on her face. "That's really detailed," she said.
Aang smiled at her, unable to resist. "Of course it is!" he replied. "Flying is really serious business, after all."
Sokka suddenly burst out laughing at this, which earned him a confused look from both Aang and Katara at the same time. He blinked, then stopped in mid-laugh. "What? That was a joke, right?" He paused. "Right?"
Aang frowned at him. Katara rolled her eyes. "Maybe you're not ready for flying lessons, yet," was his answer.
"What!?" Sokka protested. Katara laughed this time. Sokka pestered Aang for hours, but the monk was firmly set in his decision. There would be no flying lessons today.