Yeah I'm doing it. It took a while to write this because of procrastination reasons and I'm still in the planning process. This chapter is friggin boring I'm so sorry you guys were all so excited to read it too. Ugh. If anyone is confused yeah ask because I'm pretty sure I'm stupid and don't put enough description. 

Book One: Water

            “Wake up!”

                Wonshik is jostled from his dream of endless ocean waves when a seal-skin pillow wallops him square in the face. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he finds himself gazing up at the inside of his tarp, the scent of leather and musk is strong and familiar. It’s still dark, the orange sun barely peeking through the horizon streaking low light into the open flap of his tent, held open by a slim figure. The shape prods at him with a metal object; that boomerang again.

                “Quit lazing around, Wonshik!” his assailant’s voice is shrill and annoying. “We’ve got a village to feed!”

                “Sokka keep it down!” a feminine voice hushes, “you’ll wake his sister.”

                Her voice always sounds like a crest of crystal bells against the low tide. It brings Wonshik sitting upright faster than he ever does before.

                “I thought you were dead,” Sokka drawls sarcastically, “now hurry up. By the time we’re out there it’s gonna be nightfall.”

                “The sun’s barely risen,” he counters, pulling himself out of the warmth of his blankets and peeks out the tarp flap, “Is Katara coming too?”

                “Yeah I don’t know why she’s coming,” the boy shrugs and his ponytail bobs, “girls shouldn’t be doing men’s work anyways.”

                “I heard that, you jerk,” Katara’s voice is stern. She marches over through the snow and grabs her brother by the collar, earning a yelp when he is pulled out of the entrance of Wonshik’s hut. He hears a thump and another muffled complaint when the flap is pulled open once again. Her face is clearer with the morning sun illuminating her cheeks and the olive glow of her skin. Her lips are pulled into a warm smile, something Wonshik enjoys seeing often.

                “Sorry about that. Good morning by the way,” she smiles with her teeth this time, her pale blue eyes taper at the corners.

                “Uhh,” he scrambles for his parka, “g’mornin.”

                “Take your time,” Katara glances out at Sokka, who is now bitterly making snowballs in the snow, “Sokka is just a little high strung.”

                “I know,” Wonshik leans over to kiss his sleeping little sister’s cheek. She is still curled up, her small form rising and falling with her breath, “I go fishing with him all the time.”

                “Imagine living with him.”

                He laughs, a little louder than intended. Katara hushes him and he feels familiar warmth tickle his cheeks. He tugs on his boots and watches as she disappears out the tent, most likely to humor Sokka some more.

                “You going fishing?” a small voice from behind him asks.

                “Yeah,” Wonshik turns and pats her head, “Go back to sleep, Jiwon.”

                “Be careful.”

                “I will.”

                With that, he tucks an extra blanket over his sister and ducks out of the tarp. The entrance was always a bit too short for him. Sokka is already halfway down to the dock, yelling at him to hurry. The snow crunches under his boots and he pulls his parka closer, the thick fur presses against his ears and keeps them from freezing in the cold air.

                “So I realize one boat isn’t big enough to carry three people,” Sokka is sharpening his spear and turns to Katara, “you being here really causes an inconvenience on us you know.”

                “Excuse me!?” she brushes one of the loops of dark hair from her eyes, “I just wanted to help.”

                “Its fine,” Wonshik places a tentative hand on Katara’s shoulder, “We have more than one boat you know.”

                “Well there we go.” Sokka starts to load their supplies, “Me and Wonshik can take one boat and you can take the other since you’re so keen on helping.”

                “Why me?” she retorts, “You so scared you need Wonshik with you or something?”

                “No!” he fumes, “Fine. I’ll go alone.”

                “No you won’t, I promised Gran-Gran I’d take care of you!”

                “Well I’m pretty sure I can take care of myself, thank you very much,” Sokka is unbelievably stubborn. Wonshik wonders how the two are even related.

                “Guys, I can take the other boat,” he butts in, ignoring the two frowns that shot his way, “I wanted to take a different roundabout anyways.”

                “Are you sure you’ll be okay by yourself?” Katara asks.

                “I’ll be fine,” Wonshik responds, a grin finds its way on his cheeks, “I’ll see you later.”

                “Yeah, see you.”

-- 镜子 --

                It is around mid-day when it happens. Wonshik swirls the frigid water with the tip of his finger. He knows it’s dangerous, hanging off the edge of his boat like that, but he feels safe surrounded by the endless blue. He rarely gets this time alone and it feels calming, like the dreams that float his mind at night. Lifting his finger from the surface of the ocean, a little stream of water follows it. It twirls in a clear coil in the air, dancing to Wonshik’s movements.

In those moments of solitude, he bends the water with his body, a slight detail he leaves out of introductions. It’s not like he really hides his ability or anything, he just feels there isn’t really a need to tell anyone. At a young age, his father once told him his abilities are to be protected. His mother tells him to live like a normal human and wait out the war, and that’s exactly what he intends to do. But it doesn’t stop the dreams of waves and ice from swirling through his mind, almost begging to be crafted, to be moved.

                A startling blast of wind knocks his concentration and his coil of water drops, almost drenching him in cold. A bright light is in the sky, touching the clouds in a cylinder of white. Wonshik thinks he’s seeing things, but even after rubbing his eyes a few times, it stands perfectly in his vision. There is something unworldly about the light, Wonshik feels a queasy feeling in his stomach and he starts to paddle the boat back towards the village. The sky is clear again, slowly growing darker as the sun sets.

               By the time he reaches the village, the sun is gone and the sky is dark. Jiwon rushes to help him unpack his supplies, her little fingers fumble the rucksack of fish until Wonshik pulls it out of her grasp.

                “Did you see the light in the sky earlier?” she asks.

                “You saw it too?” he pulls the rope on the dock tight.

                “It was really bright. Everyone saw it.”

                Wonshik picks up the sack and tugs at his sister’s hand. They walk towards the huts together, their boots crunching under the snow.

                “I played with Suzie today.”

                “Did you?” he smiles and glances down at her. She swings their hands as they walk.

                “We made ten snowmans and mom got mad because we used our salmon for the noses.”

                A laugh ripples through his throat, “Did you eat the salmon after?”

                “Yes.”

                Wonshik chuckles, his attention back to storing the fish. Jiwon watches as he shovels into the snow. A few villagers pass by and greet him, to which he would pass them an extra fish.

                “Where’s Sokka and Katara?” she asks.

                “You mean they’re not back yet?” Wonshik’s thoughts flit back to their argument in the morning and worries.

                “No,” she kicks her boots and snowflakes fly up, “It’s got pretty dark.”

                “They should be back soon,” he says, “hopefully.”

                “What’s that over there?” Jiwon points to the direction of the water. There’s a massive shape of some animal in the water, coming towards the dock area.

                “Go back and give this to mom,” Wonshik hands her the rucksack, with the remaining fish. She nods and goes back to their hut.

                The town is quiet, no one outside at this time of night. Wonshik pulls the shovel as a makeshift weapon, cautiously walking towards the large creature at the edge of the ice. It seems to have made a stop. He can hear the rumble of the beast’s thundering breath, barely making out the white puffs that escape its large mouth. Upon advancing, he notices the animal has fluffy white fur all over its body; a patch of grey on its forehead is shaped into an arrow. There’s a saddle on its back. Wonshik crouches and lifts the shovel. Is there someone on it?

                “How do you get off this thing?”

                “Shh!”

                “Ugh it smells!”

                Wonshik immediately recognises that voice. He lowers the shovel and stands, incredulous.

                “Sokka?”

                The boy turns around in the saddle and grins, “Hey! Help us down will ya?”

                “How on Earth did you find this thing?” Wonshik grasps Sokka’s hand and helps him down from the brute, “And what is it?”

                “He’s a flying bison,” Katara says, reaching her hand out for him as well, “and his name is Appa.”

                He flushes and grasps her hand. Just help her like you did Sokka. No big deal. She smiles at him in gratitude and he swears his heart stops.

                “Yeah so long story short Katara used her dumb water magic powers and we found these two trapped in an iceberg,” Sokka gestured to the bison- or Appa.

                “Two?”

                Katara elbows her brother for his use of terminology, “We found an airbender, Wonshik! His name is Aang.”

                He follows her line of sight to Appa’s head. In the furry mass lies a boy dressed in orange clothing. Like his animal, there’s a blue arrow on his bald head. He’s curled up, sound asleep. There is something about that boy that makes him feel uncomfortable.

                “You found them in ice?” Wonshik isn’t sure if he fully understands their story.

                “Yeah I don’t really get it either,” Sokka picks under his fingernails, “but I’m beat. We should probably bring Aang inside and get some sleep for tonight.”

                “Good idea.”

-- 镜子 --

                “I think I finally found someone to teach me water bending.”

                “You mean the bald monk kid?” Wonshik picks at the lint on his jacket, “I thought he was just an air bender.”

                “I don’t know, he seems special,” Katara moves the waves with her hands, “Maybe he could be…Never mind.”

                “Be what?”

                “I don’t know,” she sits down again, next to Wonshik. They watch as the waves wash against the ice in quiet waves.

                “I think he might be the Avatar.”

                He considers the thought, “He was encased in ice when you found him.”

                “You should have seen it!” her eyes seem to shine in excitement, “there was this huge blast of air and his eyes and the arrow on his head was glowing! He’s special. I know it.”

                Wonshik isn’t sure if he likes the way her eyes light up when she talks about Aang. A jealous knot twists in his stomach.

                “If he were the Avatar,” he reasons, “doesn’t he have to save the world? Not teach you water bending? No offence.”

                Her expression drops, “I guess you’re right. But I’d like to learn some day.”

                “Maybe when the war is over.”

                “Maybe, but it’s kind of frustrating having something you can’t use,” she sighs, “not that you would really understand. Sorry.”

                The knot grows painful, “Yeah. I guess I wouldn’t.”