Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For a crown prince, Lloyd manages to be resoundingly unpopular. Having little to no interest in girls, politics, or war hasn't helped, either. Wu has never minded, though. His nephew has grown into a kind and sharp-witted young man, and he has no doubt Lloyd will be a better firelord than his father has when the boy’s time comes.

He only worries about the world his nephew will inherit. His own son is gone – has been for years now – and his brother had taken the opportunity to seize the throne from him. The legacy of hatred his brother has perpetuated is intolerable, but Wu isn’t too bothered by the personal slights. If what the spirits tell him is true, he is exactly where he needs to be.

He has no need for glory or power, not like his nephew. Lloyd has inherited so much, both by blood and by birth if Wu’s visions are to be believed. One day, Lloyd will leave. He will flee the Fire Nation, and when he does he will need a man on the inside preparing for his return. Not a diplomat, not a general, but an ally and a friend, a role Wu is more than willing to fill.

Chapter Text

No matter what Lloyd does, it never seems to be good enough. He’s a disappointment at every conceivable level – and there are a lot of levels to be conceived when you’re the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. His greatest failure, though, has to be him being shit at firebending. For the first several years of his life, there were rumors he was a nonbender. People whispered and gossiped and conspired. He was a disgrace to his family, his kingdom, and his throne. Sadly, none of this changed when he produced his first spark at age seven.

Now, seven is a perfectly average time for bending abilities to show themselves, but being of noble blood, more had been expected of Lloyd. His sister Harumi, for example, demonstrated her affinity for fire when she was only four years old. She’s always been an overachiever and sickeningly sweet about it. Try as he might, Lloyd can’t help but resent her for so effortlessly excelling at everything he tried and failed to be.

“It’s not her fault, nephew,” Wu tells him, “Nor is it yours.”

Lloyd huffs, “Whose is it, then?”

His uncle doesn’t answer. Taking his turn in their game of Pai Sho, he changes the subject. “You need a break,” He says casually, “You’ve hardly ever traveled. What would you say to a trip, just the two of us?”

A confused breath of a laugh escapes him. “Where is this coming from?”

Wu sighs. “My son’s only chance to see the world was taken from him,” He says mournfully before meeting Lloyd’s gaze, “I don’t want the same for you.”

That gets Lloyd’s attention. “What do you mean?” He pulls back, not bothering to mask his alarm.

“Nothing, nothing,” Wu attempts to alleviate the fear he has instilled only moments prior, “I just mean that you’re an adult now. You need to take the opportunity to explore the world before you find yourself ruling it.”

Lloyd smiles slightly, as amused as he is annoyed by his uncle’s unnecessarily concerning way of talking about the smallest things. “If you can get my father to agree to it, sure.”

—

What the hell?!?? What the motherfucking shit hell?!?!!? What the absolute FUCK?!!?!?! There isn’t a single coherent thought to be found in Lloyd’s mind as he races through the forest. He has no idea where he is or where he’s going, just that he’s running as fast as he possibly can in no particular direction other than away. Why is he running from his lovely camping trip with his lovely uncle, you might be wondering? Because he just fucking BENT the fucking AIR!!!! Airbending isn’t supposed to exist. Not anymore, and especially not in the Fire Nation Royal Family. Wait, fuck. He’s a firebender. How did he forget he’s a firebender???? Holy shit, is he the fucking AVATAR!?!?!?!! What the fuck man?!!

Ok ok ok ok. With his legs and lungs ablaze, LLoyd slumps against the nearest tree. He needs to think, he needs to breathe. He… He airbent. Uncle Wu saw. Raising a hand, Lloyd manages to summon a small, unsteady flame. He exhales, letting it go. Exhaling, Lloyd braces himself, raising his hands in a swift motion like he had when playing cards with his uncle. It’s weak, much weaker than it had been the first time, but the resulting breeze was stronger than the fire before it – than most of Lloyd’s fire, honestly.

This is happening, then. Sure, why not? He’s already the greatest disappointment the fire nation has ever had, why not make him the worst avatar in existence as well? Spirits, what is he going to do? He ran. From his uncle. If there’s anyone he could go to about something like this it’s Wu, but he’s thrown that chance out the window. Besides, he… he doesn’t want Uncle Wu getting in the middle of this. He hardly knows what “this” is, but he knows it’s bound to be messy. The avatar is supposed to be extinct, just like the airbenders. The rest of the world isn’t supposed to think of them as anything more than a legend, but Lloyd’s seen the documents, he knows the orders. He may not be trusted with much, but anyone high enough up in the Fire Nation knows that if the avatar is ever to return, your orders are to kill them on sight.

He… He can’t go home, can he? Whatever he is, wherever he goes next, Lloyd is alone, and that’s the only way he’s going to be safe for a long time.

—

Eventually, Lloyd makes a half-successful attempt at pulling himself together. Getting his bearings, he remembers having seen the shore on their ride to their cabin (the cabin he can’t go to anymore, the cabin his uncle reserved for them, his uncle he can never see again). Heading that direction, Lloyd eventually finds himself approaching the edge of a port town. It’s only then that he realizes his mistake.

Stupid stupid stupid. He thinks, slipping into the nearest alleyway. He’s the crown prince, he can’t just expect to waltz through town without getting noticed. How is he going to get anywhere?

“You good, dude?” A voice asks, startling Lloyd far more than he cares to admit. Spinning around to find the culprit, Lloyd takes in the man before him. He can’t be much older than Lloyd himself, with messy brown hair swept up into a beanie. The hat is blue, Lloyd notices. Blue dyes are hard to come by in the fire nation, Lloyd would think the guy wealthy if he weren’t hanging halfway out of a dumpster.

Lloyd probably stares longer than what would be considered polite. Fortunately, the stranger doesn’t comment on it. Less fortunate, however, is what he does comment on. “Aren’t you the prince?”

Lloyd has planned very little in his life, but he has never been more unprepared than he finds himself in this exact moment. “... No?”

Cocking his head and squinting at him, the stranger hums. “You sure? Because you look exactly like him.”

“Uh…”

“Cool.” He says, jumping out of the trash and dusting himself off. “I’m Jay, I won’t tell anyone if you’re trying to keep it on the down low.”

“That… I’d appreciate that.”

Jay nods. “No problem. So, what are you doing here? Not exactly a five star alleyway,” He comments lightly.

“Ah, just… exploring.”

“Mhm…” Jay hums, studying him. “Well!” He claps, “My ship’s about to head to Yu Dao if you need an out.”

Lloyd’s head snaps to attention. “What?”

“You look like you’re running from something, man.” Jay says, his tone plain but achingly gentle, “Take it from me: sailing is faster.”

Chapter Text

Jay is one of the most interesting people Lloyd has ever met. Granted, his social circle has been limited to just his relatives, his servants, and whatever diplomats he ended up exchanging pleasantries with over the years. This guy is way better company than any of them – minus Uncle Wu, of course, but Lloyd’s very much trying not to think about him right now. Fortunately, Jay provides an excellent distraction given he’s hardly stopped talking since they met.

“-Got caught sneaking around again, and they must’ve finally gotten sick of me stealing their supplies for my own projects, so I started working on some of theirs! One thing leads to another, and soon you go from a dumpster-diving inventor to a dumpster-diving smuggler,” Jay beams at him.

“This feels like information you shouldn’t tell people you just met,” Lloyd feels the need to point out.

“Definitely not,” Jay agrees, “But if His Royal Highness is fleeing the country, I figure I may as well offer some dirt in return, if only for peace of mind.”

That’s… weirdly considerate. And the first time Jay’s mentioned knowing who Lloyd is since they started properly talking. “Are you really not going to ask about that?” He can’t help himself from wondering aloud.

Jay shrugs, “I mean, I already did. I’m curious, sure, but your business is your business, not mine.”

“I appreciate that,” Lloyd says genuinely.

“Of course, plenty of people seeking passage don’t wanna get into the details and that’s their right.”

“You do this often, then?”

“Well…” Jay starts, “I wouldn’t say ‘often,’ but you’re not my first.”

Despite keeping conversation largely superficial thus far, Lloyd finds himself asking, “Why? I mean, why do people leave the Fire Nation like this?” Jay’s a nice guy and all, but the two of them are sitting in a cold, dark room with only a lantern and stacks upon stacks of crates containing – going off the smell – a fair amount of fish, fruit, and who knows what else.

“Why are you leaving the Fire Nation like this?” Jay turns his question back at him. A fair response, one he should have seen coming, but Lloyd belatedly notices that Jay doesn’t seem to be expecting any kind of answer.

Rhetorical, then. Lloyd’s leaving to find somewhere safer, to escape the manhunt about to ensue, but mostly out of desperation. Is Jay saying those are the same reasons as his other runaways? That doesn’t make sense, though.

“I’m… figuring some stuff out,” Lloyd starts before even realizing he’s speaking, “I don’t think I’m safe back home right now.”

“Is everything okay?” Jay asks, startlingly serious.

Lloyd almost laughs, “I’m not sure.”

—

Arriving in Yu Dao the next morning, Lloyd is once again reminded that he has zero plan. “Wanna get lunch?” Jay offers, and Lloyd has no reason to say no.

“So,” The older starts between bites of pasta, “Got a destination in mind?” Lloyd hums noncommittally. “Well, I’m in town for a few days, I’ll be around if you need anything.”

“Thank you,” Lloyd says, “For everything.”

“No problem, Your Highness,” Jay smiles teasingly.

—

Yu Dao is densely packed, Lloyd quickly finds. Trying to avoid being recognized means steering clear of large crowds as much as possible, but he still has no idea where he’s going. If it was easier to leave the city, he would have, but the wall surrounding it only has one gate that is under constant surveliance. Not ideal for sneaking in and out unnoticed, so Lloyd goes scanning the perimeter for any other passageways.

A few hours in with nothing to show for it, Lloyd spots a girl his age approaching the wall in the distance. Getting closer, he watches as she ducks into an old shed. Curious, Lloyd stays, waiting for her to come out, but moments pass with no sign of the stranger. Weighing his options, Lloyd decides to investigate. He enters the shed, closes the door behind him, and looks around. The place seems abandoned, and the woman is nowhere to be seen. Scanning the room, one corner seems more used than the others. Opening the large cabinet there, Lloyd is shocked to see his theory about another door to be that quickly verified. Continuing onward, Lloyd emerges on the other side of the wall. Looking around, he spots the stranger again, standing by a pond. No cause for alarm, not until she raises her arm and a stream of water follows.

Now, Lloyd’s never met a waterbender before, but he gets the impression most of them don’t wear Fire Nation clothes and live in Fire Nation colonies. He must have made some sort of noise of surprise because the water drops in a great splash back into its pool as the girl whips around to face him. It’s only an instant before her fear morphs into anger. “Were you following me?”

“Huh? I- Kind of? I was looking for a way out of the wall,” Lloyd admits.

“And what? You just decided to stick around to watch me?” She demands.

“It’s not like that, I’ve just never met a waterbender before.”

“Well,” She starts, “You still haven’t.” Pushing past him, she moves to reenter the city.

“Wait!” Lloyd calls, only to hesitate as soon as she turns to face him again. “I… I’m…” He doesn’t want to say it, he’s not sure that he can, he doesn’t even know if it’s true, but with a flick of his wrist, the air between them swirls. The stranger’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t say anything. Beckoning fire to pool in his palm, warmth and light forms in his hand and the girl inhales sharply.

“You’re the avatar,” She breathes, making Lloyd wince.

“It, uh… It would seem so.” He says, meeting her inquisitive gaze.

Her shoulders drop ever so slightly. “I’m Nya,” She eventually tells him.

“Lloyd.” He responds numbly as the last 24 hours start to truly sink in.

“Oh shit,” Nya gasps, “Like the prince?”

Realizing what he just mindlessly admitted to the stranger, Lloyd frantically attempts to backpedal. “Who? What prince? I don’t know any prince.”

“Holy shit, what are you doing all the way out here?”

“Nothing!” Nya just raises an eyebrow at him, clearly not willing to drop the matter. Sighing, Lloyd offers as much of the truth he can bear to give, “I don’t know yet, I’m just kind of running, I guess.”

Nya nods, considering. “Because you’re the avatar,” She reasons quietly before again looking Lloyd’s way, “Did you only just find out?”

“Yesterday,” He says shortly.

“Hey, no need to get defensive.” She says, raising her hands in mock surrender. “I didn’t realize I was a bender at all until I was 15, no judgment here.”

Lloyd blinks, surprised. “Really?”

Nya laughs, but the sound is more sad than anything else. “Yeah, born and raised in Yu Dao, there wasn’t any reason to think I’d be anything but a firebender, and I wasn’t so…” She trails off, as though the rest of her story goes without saying.

“Your parents are Fire Nation, then?”

“That’s what everyone says, at least. They went to join the war when I was three, my brother and I haven’t gotten any news from or about them in well over a decade.”

Lloyd purses his lips. “I’m sorry for your loss,” Is his conditioned response.

Nya’s breath of a laugh is ever so slightly more genuine this time. “Can’t lose what you never had, can you?”

She clearly wasn’t expecting any sort of answer, but the question has Lloyd thinking. Surely you can miss something or someone you never had, but what would that even look like?

Nya clears her throat, maybe she was waiting for a response after all. “Well, I should probably head back, I guess.”

“Wait,” Lloyd calls before he can think better of it, “Um… Maybe we should stick together?” He suggests weakly, “You know, as benders of different elements in the Fire Nation.”

She frowns. “No one knows about me, Lloyd, and it has to stay that way. I suggest you do the same.” She says sadly, walking past him back towards the city’s walls.

“I don’t have anywhere to go,” He blurts desperately, “Please.”

Nya stops, considering. She looks at him for a long moment before taking a deep breath and sighing. Already seeming to be mentally kicking herself, she relents. “Fine. You can crash on my couch, but you’re helping me explain this to my brother.” She says, pointing at him sternly.

“Deal.”

—

Nya’s place is small, but it serves a multitude of purposes, Lloyd finds. It's her home as well as her workplace, seeming to be some sort of combination of a blacksmith and a mechanic’s garage. The small, dark, two-story lot is unlike anywhere Lloyd’s ever seen, but his intrigue is soon interrupted.

“We’re closed,” Says an unfamiliar voice. Turning around, Lloyd finds a man with dark, spiky hair and a scar over his right eye. Lloyd barely opens his mouth before realizing that the stranger – who must be Nya’s brother – isn’t looking at him.

“He’s not a customer,” Nya starts.

“A friend, then?” He asks, tone indiscernible.

“Something like that. He just needs a place to crash for the night.”

“Nya,” Her brother says, exasperated.

“Kai,” She responds, giving Lloyd a name for the face, but neither sibling pays him any mind beyond that. Glancing between the pair, Lloyd is shocked to see that they seem to be having a staring contest. By the time he realizes this, Kai is sighing in defeat.

“Fine,” He says, turning to address Lloyd for the first time. “What’s your name?”

“Lloyd.” He definitely should come up with a code name or something, but he’s not sure how much Nya wants her brother to know. “You’re Kai, right?”

“Yeah, have you had dinner?” Lloyd glances at Nya, caught off guard by the man’s sudden hospitality. Nya just shrugs, so Lloyd shakes his head honestly.

“Come on,” Kai says, beckoning Lloyd to follow as he heads towards the stairs, “Let’s get you something to eat.”

Chapter Text

Kai and Nya’s couch is far from comfortable, but Lloyd’s too grateful to complain. It’s better than sleeping on the floor of a ship like he had the night prior, at least. Lloyd’s lucky to have met Nya, even if her and her brother were very blatantly dancing around setting a timeframe for how long he was welcome.

“Do you have a job?” Kai asks the next morning.

Lloyd blinks, having never been asked that before, though he should probably be thankful Kai hadn’t recognized him as quickly as his sister had. “No, I just got into town,” He lands on.

Kai hums. “Well, if you’re sticking around for a bit, we could use some help with the shop.”

Lloyd’s still not quite clear on what exactly it is their store sells or does, but the offer of a more long-term stay doesn’t go unnoticed. “Sure, what do you need?”

“Just another set of hands, really. Are you a bender?” Kai asks casually, making Nya – who has mostly just been listening – nearly choke on her toast. Lloyd barely manages to maintain a straight face himself. Fortunately, growing up a public figure in a family of politicians will teach you to lie, if nothing else.

“No,” He says in a carefully neutral tone.

“Nothing wrong with that,” The oldest is quick to reassure, “Nya’s a nonbender and she’s the best mechanic in town, I just do the grunt work.”

“And the customer service,” Nya points out, having no reaction to her brother calling her a nonbender. She has said no one knows, but surely her brother’s the exception. Kai’s probably just operating under the assumption Lloyd doesn’t know. No point bringing it up, he decides, disproving that assumption would only raise questions Lloyd would prefer not to answer.

“And the customer service,” Kai echoes with a shudder, “So, what do you say, kid?”

—

Lloyd was never under the impression he’d be all his father wanted him to be, but he had never pictured himself working a minimum wage job in exchange for room and board. Even less had he imagined he would enjoy it. But, after only a few days, Lloyd finds himself thinking of Nya and Kai as the closest friends he’s ever had. They’re headstrong and dedicated with a great sense of humor. Kai put up a tough exterior, but that illusion starts to crack almost immediately, and Lloyd becomes more and more impressed that he managed to appeal to Nya first at all. He respects and admires Kai – not that he’d ever admit it – but Nya’s the brains and the muscle here. Frankly, Lloyd’s happier than he’s ever been, living with them. It’s only in the lulls in conversation, in the quiet of night, in the dark as he tries to fall asleep that all his lies and secrets catch up to him. It’s only then that the fear and dread sink in, that he starts worrying about his uncle and is unable to stop. The past week may well be the best of Lloyd’s life, but his sleep has never been more restless.

Kai has been kind enough to not pry, but neither Lloyd nor Nya make any effort to hide that he’s a runaway. His first morning there, Nya brought him a small pile of green clothes. He had noticed the day prior that there seemed to be a fair amount of Earth Kingdom citizens around, but he’s defaulting to a “Don’t ask, don’t answer,” kind of approach. It seems like Yu Dao is a decently integrated society, but Lloyd’s been staying inside as much as possible. Kai was the one to suggest not using his name in front of any customers, and that coupled with the Fire Nation Prince wearing green and looking more disheveled than he’d ever been seems to be a pretty solid cover.

Looking back, though, Lloyd doesn’t know how he ever expected it to last.

Most patrons of the Four Weapons are either active or ex-military – something Lloyd has had to get used to – but the soldiers entering their shop this particular morning are different. They’re familiar. “Well would you look at that,” A gratingly slow voice crones, “His highness doesn’t seem to have been captured at all.”

It’s Clouse, one of the Firelord’s main generals. Lloyd doesn’t know why – considering his father seems to actively dislike the man – but Lloyd’s spent more than enough time with him that the second Clouse entered the room, his cover had been blown. The merchandise Lloyd had been arranging is forgotten the moment he hears the general’s voice, the blade cover falling to the ground with a resounding clatter. Instinctively turning to face the newcomers, Lloyd opens his mouth but nothing comes out.

“What’s going on here?” Kai asks with faux politeness so sharp it could kill a man as he emerges from the stock room.

Clouse hums, “Harboring him, are you? If you know what’s good for you, you’ll make quick work of removing yourself from the equation.”

Kai scowls, unimpressed as he moves to place himself between the general and Lloyd, whose feet are still rooted to the ground. “I don’t know what you’re playing at, but you’re gonna regret picking a fight with me in my shop if you don’t leave my friend alone.”

“Friend, hmm?” Clouse echoes, clearly finding some sick humor in the situation, “I wasn’t aware the prince had any of those.”

Lloyd sees Kai stiffen, but the man keeps his gaze forward, staring down the intruders. “If you’re not here to buy something, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave.”

“You can ask, boy,” Clouse starts, “But don’t expect us to listen.”

Kai huffs, before turning ever so slightly back towards Lloyd. “Get ready to run,” He whispers. “I have to make you, then?” Kai taunts the general and his men, “Good, I could use a nice warm up.” That’s all the warning Lloyd gets before Kai lets out a burst of fire. He imagines Clouse deflects it, but doesn’t get a clear view with Kai urging him backwards with his other hand. “Go.” He tells Lloyd, meeting his eyes. He knows Kai to be loud, to make his presence known and to take up space, but with his voice barely above a whisper, there is still the same power behind it. Kai’s eyes are dark, so brown they may as well be the depths of the world’s darkest cave, but emotion shines in them brighter than any star. He doesn’t know what’s happening, he doesn’t know who these people are, but he’s buying Lloyd time, even not knowing if he’ll ever see him again.

It’s another burst of light and heat that knocks Lloyd from where he was frozen in the moment. Scrambling backwards, Lloyd sprints out of the shop, looping around to the garage. “They found me!” He cries the second he spots Nya, the woman looking up at him just in time for Lloyd to watch her expression sober.

“Who?” She asks, deadly serious

“General Clouse,” He says, even knowing the name means nothing to her.

“That seems bad.” Nya says, tossing Lloyd a helmet and hopping up on the motorbike she had been working on. “Where’re we running?”

Lloyd scoffs disbelievingly, even as he follows her onto the vehicle. “I don’t know… Kai first, though.”

“Obviously,” Nya says seriously, revving the engine and racing out of the garage. Lloyd thinks that they may as well be flying at the speed they take around the corner, skidding to a stop in front of the store’s entrance. “Kai!” She calls, taking her brother’s attention from where he was doing an impressive job at holding off a handful of Fire Nation soldiers. Having spotted them, Kai’s shoulders drop ever so slightly as he creates one last great swirl of fire and flame to occupy their attackers as he runs toward the pair. He jumps on the bike and they’re moving.

“Hey!!” One of Clouse’s men shouts, punching one more blast of fire their way. It would have hit them too, if it weren’t for Lloyd deflecting the flame with a push of his open palm.

Even unable to see Kai’s face, Lloyd can sense the man gaping. “So you are a bender?”

A breath of a laugh escapes him, “You could say that.”

“Where am I going?” Nya asks, cutting them off without apology.

Lloyd doesn’t think twice before telling her to head to the dock.

Chapter Text

“Jay?” Lloyd calls nearly fifteen minutes into trying to track down the man.

“Lloyd?” A thankfully familiar voice responds before Jay is appearing, stepping out from behind a curtain separating what is probably a sort of office from the rest of the storefront.

“Yeah,” Lloyd responds dumbly. “Would, uh… Would you happen to be heading out? Like right now?”

Jay laughs, bright and kind. “For the man of the hour? I can be, give me ten,” He says before turning and walking away.

It’s only once he’s gone that Kai can’t contain himself any longer. “Who is that guy? How do you know him? Why were those soldiers after you? Why did you lie about being a firebender?”

Lloyd chews on his lip, a habit his father has always despised. “I’ll explain everything once we’re out of here, I promise. For now, thank you so much for everything. If you want to go your own way, I won’t hold it against you.”

“No way, kid,” He says instantly, “Whatever this is about, I’m already pretty invested.”

“We’re in it for the long haul, Lloyd,” Nya tells him, earning her a sigh of relief. Her resoluteness when knowing what’s actually happening here eases his building guilt about dragging Kai into a mess far bigger than he asked for. The siblings have plenty of differences, but their values align more frequently than not. If Nya’s sticking around, Lloyd doubts Kai wouldn’t readily do the same.

“Okay,” Lloyd says behind the smallest but most earnest smile he has to offer, “The short version is that Jay is who smuggled me out of the Fire Islands and I severely doubt he’s who outed me. I haven’t known him long, but I trust him to get us somewhere safe.”

“Alright then,” Nya agrees.

It’s then that an elderly woman pokes her head into the room. “Jay’s ready for you on dock four, dears,” She says before disappearing again. The trio exchange a glance before heading out, ready to sail to nowhere in particular other than away from here.

—

“I’m surprised you stuck around Yu Dao, if I’m honest,” Jay admits from behind the ship’s steering wheel, “Thought you would have gotten farther before trying to settle down.”

“Yeah, probably not the smartest move,” Lloyd confesses, “I don’t regret it, though.” Glancing at Kai and Nya may not be subtle, but it’s earnest and Lloyd’s pretty awful at staying under the radar, anyway.

“Where are we going?” Nya asks.

“Merchants’ Pier,” Jay supplies, “We had a shipment ready to head out so I said I’d take it early. We’ll arrive around nightfall and can figure out a plan from there.”

“We?” Kai echoes, “I thought you were just our getaway driver,” He jokes.

“I mean, I can be, but if His Royal Highness is gonna keep needing transport, I’m down to stick around.”

“Wait, what?!” Kai gasps, gaze snapping back to Lloyd.

“Uh… Surprise?”

“Damn, assumed he knew, my bad,” Jay apologizes.

“It’s fine, I wasn’t sure how to tell him, anyway.”

With Kai still visibly reeling, Nya asks, “Does Jay know?”

“Know what?”

Lloyd’s whole face twists as he debates how to go about this. Kai deserves to know, probably Jay too, but Lloyd doesn’t like thinking about it, and he definitely doesn’t want to talk about it. Still, putting it off is what got him in this situation in the first place. Taking a deep breath, he steadies himself. “So I might be the avatar.”

“What?!?!!” Jay nearly shrieks.

“What do you mean ‘Might’?” Nya asks teasingly.

Lloyd sighs, “I’m trying not to think about it too much.”

“Hold on,” Kai starts, “You’re telling me the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation has been crashing on my couch for the past week AND is the avatar??? I need to sit down.”

Nya rolls her eyes. “You are sitting.”

A beat passes before Jay quietly asks, “Is that why you ran?” Lloyd only nods, either unable or unwilling to speak, maybe both. Jay only hums sympathetically before returning his attention to sailing their ship.

The four of them sit in silence neither awkward nor comfortable for several minutes before Kai speaks up. “So what now?”

“I don’t know.” Lloyd admits softly, pulling his knees to his chest.

“Well I do,” Nya starts, gaining the group’s apt attention, “Come on, do none of you guys know the avatar cycle? Water, earth, fire, air – it’s the order the avatar is reincarnated in.”

“I know that much,” Jay says.

“It’s also the order they’re supposed to learn the elements in,” Nya says like it's obvious.

“Okay… So air’s next?” Kai starts picking up what his sister’s putting down.

“It would be,” Lloyd bemoans, “If airbenders weren’t extinct and I wasn’t a lousy excuse for a firebender.”

Kai blinks. “Dude, if you need help with firebending, I can teach you.”

“Me too,” Jay pipes up, earning something approximating a glare from Kai, “Or not.” He surrenders, raising his hands. “I’m also not great with fire. If you want to learn lightning, though, I’m your guy.”

Jay hadn’t mentioned he was a bender their first night together, but Lloyd’s attention is more drawn to the latter half of his comment. “Lightning?” He repeats, not even trying to keep the awe out of his voice.

“Oh yeah.” Jay confirms, raising a hand and creating a jolt of lightning between his thumb and pointer finger, fiddling with it as he continues. “Apparently it's pretty rare but I’m way better with it than I’ve ever been with traditional flames.”

“That’s really impressive,” Nya tells him.

“Thanks.” Jay smiles brightly, and – despite everything – Lloyd doesn’t feel so bad about whatever comes next.

—

Pulling into Merchant’s Pier right at sunset, the group swiftly unloads. “I have a contact who runs an inn, they’ll give us a room for the night,” Jay says.

“Contact?” Lloyd questions.

“What exactly is it that you do, anyway?”

Jay cocks his head to the side. “These days mostly sailing and trade, but I’m also an inventor, poet, smuggler,... You name it, really.”

“And you know someone willing to give us a room for free?” Kai asks doubtfully.

That gets a laugh out of Jay. “Not for free, no, but enough of a discount that I got it covered. Now come on.” He waves them toward the largest building this side of the road and walks right in.

Following his lead, Lloyd enters to find a modestly sized lobby, vacant minus a kid lounging in a chair behind the counter. “Gami!!” Jay greets loudly, getting the kid’s attention.

“Jay?” The boy puts down the scrolls he had been reading. “Didn’t expect to see you again so soon!”

“It was a bit spontaneous, I’ll admit,” Jay says, smiling, “Is your dad around?”

Coming around the counter and giving Jay a sideways hug, ‘Gami’ says. “He should be back from the market any minute, need a place to crash?”

“Something like that.” Jay gives the kid an affectionate squeeze before playfully pushing him away. “Unagami, these are my friends Lloyd, Nya, and Kai,” He says, gesturing to each of them in turn. “Gang, this is Unagami.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lloyd waves.

“Well would you look what the tide brought in this time,” An unfamiliar voice sounds from behind Lloyd, but the teasing tone is enough to keep him from falling into a defensive stance as he turns to face the stranger. “And he’s not alone!” The older man notes, passing the trio and heading right towards Jay. “Finally got yourself a crew?” He asks, glancing back at them with a wide smile.

“You could say that,” Jay dodges, returning the man’s earnest grin. “It’s nice to see you, Dyer.”

“You as well, though I imagine this isn’t just a social visit?”

“If you happened to have a spare room or two, my friends and I would be very appreciative.”

Dyer hums, “50% off plus tip appreciative?”

“Make it 60 and I’ll take a look at your latest project,” Jay counters.

“Deal.” The elder agrees, shaking Jay’s hand. Turning to who must be his son, Dyer calls, “Can you get our guests the keys to room 7B?”

“On it!” Unagami says, ducking back behind the counter.

“Just the one night?” Dyer asks.

“We’re not sure yet, I’ll have an answer for you in the morning, you can ring us out then.”

“Sounds good, my boy.” Dyer says, clapping Jay’s shoulder.

“Your keys.” Unagami offers to Lloyd, apparently opting to give his dad and Jay their space.

“Thank you.” The boy smiles before spinning around and walking off again. Weird kid, Lloyd thinks, not that he has much experience, though.

The room Dyer had given them is small for four people, in Lloyd’s opinion, but he’s never exactly stayed in an inn before. There are two beds that could accommodate two people — if they didn’t value personal space — and a couch.

“So what’s the plan?” Jay asks the second Kai closes the door behind them.

“Kai and I can share a bed and you two can arm wrestle for the spare,” Nya suggests.

Jay huffs amusedly, “I don’t mind the couch, but I meant a bit more broadly, like what are our next steps?”

“I teach Lloyd firebending and you’re also there.” Kai says, flopping down on one of the beds.

Jay sighs, “Long term, guys. You know you were declared missing three days ago, right?” He asks Lloyd.

“I didn’t,” He says numbly.

“So what are we doing about it?” Jay prompts, slowly but surely losing his patience, “It only took them a couple days to find you the first time, how long are you needing to stay away?”

Lloyd exhales, collapsing in on himself. “Forever, probably.”

A beat. “I don’t know how realistic that is, Lloyd,” Nya says gently.

“It’s my only option.” Turning back to Jay, he asks frantically, “They don’t know I’m the avatar, do they?”

“Don’t think so, but I’m not sure.”

“I doubt it,” Kai pipes up, “General Assface would’ve brought more than three men if he had that sort of intel.” A sigh of relief escapes Lloyd, his uncle hadn’t told anyone, or at least not the public.

“Okay, we need to keep it secret for as long as possible.”

“Lloyd?” Nya asks, concern evident in the lone syllable.

“The Fire Nation can’t know. I’ll never be safe there if they find out.” At the confusion on his new friends’ faces, Lloyd sighs. “I’ve seen the orders,” He starts, struggling to get his voice to obey him, “‘Should the avatar ever return, they are to be killed on sight.’”

“What?!!?!” All three of them shout.

“But you’re the prince!!”

Lloyd scoffs at that. “If anything, they’d be grateful for a reason to remove me from the line of succession. I’m not exactly well-liked.”

“That doesn’t mean the people would stand for it,” Kai tells him sternly.

Meeting his gaze, Lloyd doesn’t relent. “I’m a shit prince. Shit at politics, shit at strategy, shit at firebending, the list goes on. No one in that palace wants me on that throne, least of all my father.”

No one knows how to respond, Lloyd’s words seeping into the air. “He’d really do that to his own son?” Jay asks quietly, and – remembering all the rumors surrounding his cousin’s death, about how it wasn’t an accident at all – there’s no doubt in Lloyd’s mind. He knows in his heart and in his gut that yes, his father is more than capable of giving the order, of killing his own kin.

Chapter Text

“If you want to go unrecognized, you’re gonna need more than different colored clothes,” Jay is saying the next morning, “Fortunately, yours truly knows how to dye hair.”

“No.” Lloyd refuses.

“Aw, I think you’d look good as a redhead,” Kai teases.

“How about blue hair and pronouns?” Nya joins in.

“No!” Lloyd swats them away, biting back a smile.

“Come on, now,” Jay starts placatingly, “The council has decided. Besides, I already asked Gami to borrow his bleach.”

“You didn’t,” Lloyd glares.

“I did.”

—

A couple hours later, his royal highness the avatar is blond. “See, it looks good,” Jay says, ruffling his newly colored hair. The worst part is that it does, but Lloyd would sooner die than admit it – Jay would be insufferable about it forever, he just knows it.

“It really does suit you,” Nya adds.

“Yeah yeah,” Lloyd brushes them off, “Don’t we have more important things to be doing?”

“Like training? Good point, let's go.” Kai says, already heading for the door.

“Not yet.” Nya grabs her brother’s arm to keep him from running off. “We still need a game plan.”

“Avoiding the Fire Nation and teaching Lloyd firebending are pretty obvious first steps.”

“Try thinking more than two days in advance,” Nya scolds, flicking Kai’s forehead. “We should head to the Northern Water Tribe.”

“You said it yourself that he needs to learn fire and air first,” Jay points out.

“He already has a decent foundation for firebending and there aren’t exactly any other airbenders to teach him. He can work on those while we travel, but if we want to get away from the Fire Nation, heading North is our best bet.”

“She’s right,” Lloyd agrees, “We should start on waterbending sooner rather than later, anyway.”

“We?” Jay asks, making Lloyd pause.

In this close of quarters, he can’t so much as look at Nya without giving her away, so he decides to double down. “Yep, we.”

Jay just shrugs before thankfully dropping the matter. “Well, if we’re heading North, we’re going to have to start traveling on foot. We could backtrack towards Yu Dao, but that’s not exactly putting distance between us and the Fire Nation army.”

“So we go further into Earth Kingdom territory… as a bunch of Fire Nationals.”

“Please,” Jay rolls his eyes, “Get over yourself and wear some green.”

—

Kai’s new outfit is primarily brown, but it’s thoroughly Earth Kingdom. While Lloyd sticks with a more vibrant green, Jay and Nya mix it up a fair bit. Nya’s pants and shoes are brown, but her top is mostly cream with mint accents. Jay went for sage green pants and a top with various shades of beige and tan. If they keep their bending away from prying eyes, they shouldn’t have much trouble passing as Earth Kingdom citizens. Kai and Nya are both a bit darker skinned than the average firebender, but the Earth Kingdom is famously diverse. The only real sticking point is Lloyd's almost golden eyes. Brown eyes are common in every nation, as are Nya's gray, but amber is distinct to the Fire Nation. It only eases his concern slightly when Jay says that anyone looking that closely would be a problem either way. Regardless, there's not much to be done. Their disguises are as good as they're going to get.

After staying one more night at Dyer’s inn, the four are ready to head out, only pausing for Jay to hug the owner and his son goodbye. Jay had sent a message to his employer the night prior, saying he’s leaving their boat in Merchant’s Pier and will be off duty for the foreseeable future. He doesn’t seem too worried about it, so Lloyd’s trying to follow his lead.

When they eventually hit the road, it’s Kai who finally asks. “They seemed friendlier than just ‘contacts.’”

“Business partners can be friends and vice versa, Kai. If we’re more family than coworkers, that’s no one’s business but ours, don’t you think?” Jay counters, and Lloyd can’t tell if he’s kidding or not.

“Fair enough,” Kai relents, making the situation no clearer to Lloyd.

“How do you know them, anyway?” He finds himself asking.

“Dyer and I have similar interests,” Jay says simply, “He’s a good man. Helping him find Unagami when he went missing a couple years back just solidified our friendship as something more than professional.”

Lloyd doesn’t know quite what to say to that. “You’re a good guy, Jay,” Nya tells him.

“I try,” He says with a showman’s smile.

—

Nearing the edge of the town, the four split up to gather resources. Fortunately, the siblings had some presence of mind when forced to flee their home and grabbed a couple of their coin pouches. It’s not much, but Jay seems to have enough funds that anything they’re able to contribute is more to feel like they’re carrying their own weight than anything else.

While Kai and Nya are shopping for food to take with them, Lloyd and Jay are eyeing supplies when they spot a stand with a half dozen ostrich horses for sale. Lloyd can already picture Kai and Nya gawking at the price Jay paid for four of the creatures, but he thinks not having to walk halfway across the world is worth it.

“What are those?” Is the first thing that comes out of Kai’s mouth.

You haven’t seen ostrich horses before?” Jay asks.

“Where did you get ostrich horses?” Nya cuts in.

“The market,” Jay says unhelpfully. An exasperated Nya turns to Lloyd, who can only shrug in response.

Groaning, Nya gives in. “Sure, why not? Thanks, Jay.”

“Of course.” The man beams.

Saddling up, Lloyd’s the one to call. “Let’s head out.”

“Alright, onward then.”

—

Heading Northeast, the group has ample time to bond and/or get sick of each other over the next couple days. All the teasing seems to be in good fun, but it’s an awful lot of time to spend with people you barely know.

“Look Jay, you’re great and all, but if you tell Flame to hurry up one more time I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“Oh yeah?” Jay counters, “At least I’m not the unimaginative idiot who named their ostrich horse ‘Flame.’”

“Like ‘Wisp’ is any better, Zaptrap.”

“You’re both stupid, get over it,” Nya says, sick of their bickering.

“Nya’s right, let’s stop for the night.”

Jay looks back at Lloyd incredulously, “But we’re almost to Gaipan.”

“It’s under Fire Nation control, though,” Lloyd points out, “We should spend as little time there as possible.”

“Fair point.” Kai agrees, already dismounting Flame and leading him to the nearest tree, tying up his reins. “Who’s on firewood duty?”

“That’d be you, pal,” Nya reminds him.

Kai groans, but heads off without further complaint. “Holler if you need me!”

“What I need is a break,” Jay grumbles once Kai’s out of earshot.

“I promise you he feels the same,” Nya tells him, “Both of you are used to being the loudest personality in the room, you’re just clashing a lot right now. You’ll figure it out, just try not to antagonize each other more than necessary.”

Jay’s lip quirks upward. “Tell your brother that.”

“Eh,” Nya shrugs, “He’s a grown up, he’ll figure it out on his own soon enough.” Lloyd just hopes she’s right, for both their sanity.

Chapter Text

The last few nights spent in sleeping bags on the cold and unforgiving ground haven’t been great, but Lloyd thinks he’s starting to get used to less than ideal sleeping arrangements by now. What he’s less used to is the cruel wakeup call he received the next morning. Getting kicked in the side isn’t exactly pleasant. “Wake up,” A stern voice commands. Blinking himself awake, Lloyd finds a blade mere inches from his face. The woman holding it couldn’t be older than himself, but her gaze is hard and her stance is steady. Half asleep, Lloyd finds himself thinking that she seems practiced in the art of threatening people. “What are you doing here?” She demands.

“Uh, sleeping?” Jay answers, earning him a scowl.

“We know you’re Fire Nation, why are you posing as Earth Kingdom?” Another voice cuts in. Looking around, Lloyd finds them to be surrounded by a handful of teenagers who got the jump on them.

“We’re not-” Nya starts, only to be promptly cut off.

“Don’t try to lie to us, Shade saw him firebend last night.” The girl says, nodding in Kai’s direction. “I’ll only ask one more time: what are you doing in our woods?”

“We didn’t know it was claimed, honest,” Jay tells her, “We’re just passing through.”

“To Gaipan?” Another teen asks, “The military outpost? Right.”

Lloyd blinks. “We heard it was under Fire Nation occupation, but it’s still a town, isn’t it?”

“What’s it to you?”

“Look,” Kai starts, “Yeah, I’m a firebender, but we’re not with anyone, much less the military. We don’t want any trouble.”

“And why should we believe you?” The guy who spoke up earlier asks.

“If we were really with the Fire Nation, why would we be disguising ourselves and sleeping in the woods when Gaipan is less than an hour’s walk away?” Nya poses.

The girl in charge exhales, considering. Eventually, she sheaths her sword. “Fine, I suppose allies can come from anywhere, after all.” She relents, offering Lloyd a hand. He hesitates slightly before taking it, letting her pull him to his feet. “My name’s Tox.”

—

Tox’s crew is pretty hardcore, they find out pretty quickly. The oldest among them are younger than Kai, but they all appear to be skilled warriors. Freedom Fighters, they call themselves. “The Fire Nation cannot be allowed to keep doing this: murdering innocents, wiping out entire civilizations and cultures,” Chamille – one of the Freedom Fighters’ leaders – spits, “Gaipan is long gone. Burned and buried along with its people, yet firebenders charge in, taking the land as their own and having the gall to use our name for their outpost.”

“Mill,” Tox scolds lightly, making the other pause.

Taking a breath, Chamille steadies themself. “Their actions cannot be tolerated.”

Lloyd lets their words sink in. An entire village wiped off the map? It’s not right, that can’t be the full story. War has its downsides, of course, but it’s all to improve the lives of both those within and beyond the Fire Nation.

“I agree,” Nya says, “But this shouldn’t be your war to fight, you guys are still kids.”

“There’s no one else left, is there?” They challenge, walking on without waiting for a response.

After a moment, Tox speaks up. “They’re passionate, but we all are. Everyone here has lost someone, most of us lost everyone. We’re sick of waiting for someone else to come save us. It’s been a hundred years, if no one else is going to step up and end this war, we’ll do it ourselves.”

Lloyd nods numbly, unsure what to make of all she and her partner have said. Yes, people die in war, but surely not all of them. What would even be the point? It’s always been to spread a better way of life, you can’t better the lives of the dead.

“I admire your courage,” Jay tells her, “We’re not sticking around long, but is there anything we can help with?”

“As a matter of fact,” Tox starts, turning to face him, “There is.”

—

Let the record show that Lloyd is very conflicted.

“What’s there to be conflicted about?” Kai asks, welding together some machinery they had been asked to help with. “This is these kids’ home, being lived in by the same soldiers that killed their parents. We’re righting a wrong here, Lloyd.”

“That can’t be it, can it? We’re missing something.”

Kai drops his flame. “Like what?” He asks, meeting Lloyd’s gaze.

“... I don’t know,” He admits lamely.

“Lloyd, buddy.” Kai starts, pushing himself to his feet and walking Lloyd’s way. “I don’t know if you’ve quite realized this yet, but you’re the avatar, pal. Your entire job is restoring balance to the world and all that. Imperialism isn’t very balanced, is it?”

“I- What do you mean?”

Kai sighs fondly. “Growing up in Yu Dao, being born to a Fire Nation family gave me and Nya a lot of privileges. Even when we lost our parents, we were able to keep their land. They said our parents owned it, so it was our birthright. Others in our neighborhood weren’t as lucky. Plenty of kids our age had one or more parents who were from the Earth Kingdom, their families didn’t get the same aid we did when their parents left to join the war. They were kicked out of their homes and the land was sold to Fire Nation citizens. Even though we all knew the Earth Kingdom had been there first, they didn’t have any say in what happened to their people or their land.” Kai’s determination is clear, even as his expression softens. “You’re far from the first stray Nya and I housed, Lloyd. Your duty is to those other kids, too.”

Lloyd doesn’t know how to refute that. “My… my duty is to the Fire Nation.”

Kai smiles sadly. “You said yourself that you’d never be welcome there again. If they won’t accept you as their prince, that's their loss, but you’re still their avatar, and you’re avatar here, too.”

“I don’t want to be,” He says quietly.

“I know, kid.” Kai says, pulling him into a tight hug. “I know.”

—

“Tonight we take back our land!” Tox rallies only hours later. “These invaders have stolen our lives, our land, and our family, but no more! Tonight, we take back what is rightly ours and start settling the debt that has been building for the past century!!”

“What is she talking about?” Lloyd whispers in Nya’s direction.

“No clue,” She answers, “But I have a bad feeling about this.”

“The Fire Nation torched down our home, so let’s say we drown theirs?!”

“What?” Lloyd gasps, suddenly on his feet.

Glancing his way, Tox continues. “It’s time to right some wrongs, and with the help of our new friends, it’s time to reclaim Gaipan in the name of the Earth Kingdom!!!” In the distance, Lloyd hears a faint explosion.

Whipping around, he sees it: the dam. Holy shit, the dam.

“What the hell?!” Jay demands, “There are civilians down there!” As Lloyd’s eyes trace the water’s future path, he sees it dead set on the village in the valley. Gaipan is going to be destroyed. Again.

He barely notices Nya breaking into a sprint in the same direction. “Fire Nation civilians no more innocent than the millions of Earth Kingdom lives brutalized and stolen over the last hundred years,” Ash – another of Tox’s inner circle – declares, “We refuse to go down without a fight, not anymore.”

“This isn’t a fight, it’s a massacre!!”

“NYA!!!” Kai screams, tearing through Jay’s argument with the Freedom Fighters as he watches his sister running right towards the village, right towards the incoming devastation. “NYA!!!!!!” He screams again, chasing after her but too far behind to close the distance in any meaningful way. As Nya reaches the bottom of the valley, the water is only a few hundred feet out.

Lloyd watches helplessly as Jay grabs Kai’s arm, pulling the older back. “Let go of me!” Kai cries, elbowing and shouldering and doing anything he can to try to break the hold Jay has on him. Jay only holds him tighter, not saying a word. As the water closes in, Kai stills, the tears in his eyes threatening to fall freely until he sees it. He sees his little sister raise her hands, arm spread wide, bracing to meet the oncoming flood.

The impact doesn’t come.

Watching awestruck, Lloyd sees Nya pull back slightly before pushing her entire body weight forward, commanding the river to follow her lead. The water folds back on itself obediently. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Nya pushes even further, exhaling, and the water freezes. A hundred feet tall and a dozen feet wide, a shimmering wall of ice in a raw display of power and compassion holds back enough water to decimate towns three times the size of Gaipan.

Lloyd can only sigh in relief – she’s safe, they’re all safe. Looking back at Kai and Jay, they seem just as relieved as he is, but while Jay looks thoroughly surprised by this turn of events, Kai is utterly limp in the other’s hold. Shellshocked, Lloyd supposes. He's blown away himself, considering he’s hardly seen Nya bend more water than it would take to douse their nightly campfire. This is something else entirely, something stronger than Lloyd had thought possible.

Neither Jay nor Kai have yet to move when Nya looks back at the trio. Even from as far away as he is, Lloyd can see her eyes are proud – happy, even –but she doesn’t smile.

Chapter Text

When Nya rejoins them on the hill, the first thing that happens is her brother sweeping her into a bone-crushing hug. As soon as Kai opens his mouth, though, Nya shushes him. “Let’s get out of here first,” She says.

They manage to get away from the Freedom Fighters without confrontation, but it’s another twenty minutes before any of them say a word. Back upon their respective ostrich horses, Kai finally asks. “You’re a waterbender?” It’s barely a question, but Kai’s voice is deadly quiet.

“Yeah,” Nya admits, “I don’t know how or why, but yeah.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Lloyd hates hearing his friend so heartbroken.

“You had enough on your plate,” Nya tells him gently. “You’ve always worried about me enough as it is, I didn’t want to add to your load any more.”

“Nya, no,” Kai gasps, “I’ll never not worry about you, you’re my sister. Please, please don’t ever hide anything this big from me again.”

“Okay,” She agrees.

A pause. “How long have you known?”

Nya hesitates, but eventually answers, “Five years.”

“Nya!!”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

When it becomes clear that’s all the siblings are going to say for now, Jay takes the opportunity to ask his own questions. “So,” He starts, “Excited to go to the North Pole? Not that you need a master, going off that display.”
Nya laughs awkwardly, “I’ve never done anything near that scale before, I very much need a teacher.”

Jay nods. “Well at least you and Lloyd can learn together.”

“Wait a second.” Kai pipes up, turning to Lloyd. “Did you know?”

Lloyd feels his jaw clench instinctually. “Yeah, we met when I found her by the river practicing. To be fair, she also knew about me that first night, too.”

“Okay.” Kai starts, rubbing his eyes. “Any other big realizations I should know?”

A beat passes, then another. “Most of my business acquaintances are under the impression I’m a nonbender, if it ever comes up,” Jay says.

Kai just sighs affectionately, “Thanks, Jay.”

—

They only stop for the night once they feel like they’re a safe distance away from Gaipan and the Freedom Fighters. “Why do you hide your bending?” Lloyd overhears Nya ask. Glancing in the direction of her voice, he spots Jay and Nya chatting. They’re maybe ten feet away from him, and definitely aware Lloyd can hear them, so it’s not eavesdropping.

“I’m not great with traditional fire, and lightning’s apparently extremely rare, especially with how naturally it comes to me. It can be really dangerous and really identifiable, so I keep it out of my work as best as I can.” Nya hums, nodding. “What about you?” Jay asks.

“As far as anyone knows, both of our parents were Fire Nation. I’ve done some digging, but never found anything. I have no idea why I’m a waterbender, but I know that knowledge getting out would just make everything more complicated. Kai’s always done everything he can to look out for me, I didn’t want to make that any harder than it already was.”

“You know he wouldn’t have wanted you trying to figure that out alone,” Jay says simply, tone lacking any judgment or ridicule.

“Yeah,” Nya says plainly, ending the conversation there. “Hey Lloyd,” She calls, “Want me to teach you what I know?”

“Sure,” Lloyd answers, surprising himself at how genuine and immediate the response is.

“You two have fun splashing around, Jay and I will get dinner set up.” Nya smiles softly at her brother before heading off into the woods with Lloyd trailing behind her.

Upon finding a pond, Nya kicks off her shoes and continues walking, stopping only a couple steps in where the water laps at her shins. At her expectant gaze, Lloyd follows suit and joins her. “Now what?”

“Now,” She starts, “Do what I do.” Taking it slow and steady, Nya bends her knees and raises her hand in time with her breath. A stream of water follows her movement, curling around itself to form a sphere when Nya relaxes her wrist. Even with the orb steady, Lloyd notes the Nya stays moving, ebbing ever so slightly as she maintains its shape.

Breathing in, Lloyd looks down to the water at his feet. Bending his fingers, he tries to pull it upward, but the water doesn’t follow. He sighs before trying again. Nothing. A third, unsuccessful attempt has him dropping his stance. “What if I’m just an airbender, somehow.”

Nya levels him with an unimpressed look. “That’s not how it works, I’ve seen you bend fire. Besides, I am not letting you give up after three tries, it took me years to figure that out.”

“But I can’t even get it to move.”

“You’re not ‘getting it to move’ because it’s already moving. Water is fluid, Lloyd, you’re just trying to redirect its flow.”

“What if I can’t?” Lloyd asks, an edge of sorrow seeping into his voice unwelcome.

Nya just maintains eye contact before suddenly throwing her ball of water his way. Reflexively bracing himself for the impact, Lloyd squeezes his eyes shut and raises his arms, but nothing comes. “Well would you look at that,” Nya drones sarcastically, “You’re a waterbender.” Opening a single eye, Lloyd sees that yes, the water was stopped midair, hover mere inches away from his bare skin. Nya brings her hands from her sides to gesture dramatically. “Who would have thought, huh?”

Lloyd scoffs, lowering his arms, the water falling with them. “You don’t have to be such a know-it-all.”

“And you don’t have to be such a quitter, but here we are.” Lloyd huffs as Nya tosses an arm over his shoulders. “But hey, you did good. A great start, I’d say.” Returning her smile, Lloyd couldn’t be bothered to disagree.

—

Nya’s teaching style is a bit different from her brother’s, but they both quickly make a habit of not putting up with his bullshit. “Come on, Lloyd, I know you can do better than that,” Kai says after a rather anticlimactic display a couple days later.

“I really can’t,” Lloyd tells him grumpily.

“Nuh uh,” Kai tuts, “What did I say about the self-deprecation?”

“... Not to?” Lloyd guesses.

“Ding ding ding, we have a winner. You’re too self-defeatist to have any fun beating, you do all the work for me.”

Lloyd squints at the older, “We don’t even spar.”

“And we’re not going to until you stop being lame. Now, in air, out fire,” Kai instructs.

Rolling his eyes, Lloyd follows. Every teacher he’s had has drilled him on breathing technique, he was hoping Kai would give him more to work with. Still, Lloyd does as he’s told, inhaling, pausing, and then punching out a foot worth of fire.

Kai hums. Lloyd looks his way without moving from his final position, something Kai makes use of. Ducking under Lloyd’s arm, Kai grabs his fist and examines it. “Relax.” He says, maneuvering Lloyd’s thumb and adjusting the angle of his wrist. “You’re so tense, man.” Kai comments, “Jay! Watch this. Do it again, Lloyd.”

Biting back a huff, Lloyd obeys. Every half hour it’s a coin toss whether Jay and Kai are best buds or bitter annoyances, but Kai’s never asked for Jay’s input on Lloyd’s training before. “You’re trying way too hard,” Jay says, coming up to the pair.

Dropping his stance, Lloyd doesn’t bother masking his frustration. “What am I supposed to do, not try?”

“Think less, at least,” Is Jay’s advice.

“It’s about technique.”

“It’s about breath,” Kai corrects, earning him a loud groan from the younger.

“Everyone says that, but no one ever explains what it actually means.”

“Fire is energy, Lloyd.” Jay starts, producing the first flame Lloyd’s seen from him, small but strong in the palm of his hand. “The energy in our bodies comes from two places: food and oxygen. Food is the main one, but when producing fire, those bursts of energy usually come from our air.” Dismissing his flame, Jay continues, “Firebending is about the flow of energy between our bodies and the world around us. It doesn’t necessarily need to be synced with our breathing, but being aware of your breath is an important foundational tool.”

“So it’s more about understanding where the energy is coming from than the actual counting?”

“Counting?” Kai repeats, confused.

Looking between the two firebenders before him, something clicks. “Are you kidding me?” He shouts, turning around, punching the air, letting loose a burst of fire stronger than just about every other one he’s produced in his life. The poor tree that got in his way. “What the fuck?!?!!”

“Quiet down, man!” Jay scolds him.

“‘Fire comes from the sun,’ No it doesn’t, bitch!! Oh my god.” Lloyd says, burying his face in his hands. “If it was that simple, I’m going to lose it.”

“What’s going on over here?” Nya asks, some combination of concern and irritation in her voice.

Walking towards the tree he had victimized, Lloyd lazily sweeps some water from the nearby river onto the flames. “Oh, nothing, just every firebending master I've ever had feeding me a load of bullshit about what fire even is.”

Nya blinks. “What?”

“I always said nothing comes out of nowhere, but ‘no, fire’s special,’” He mocks, “It’s from the fucking air, dipshit.”

“Alright, calm down, Lloyd,” Jay tells him.

Taking a breather, he continues. “It never made any fucking sense,” Lloyd says, not bothering to hide how frazzled this realization has him, “Kai, I swear, this probably fixes like 60% of my issues.”

Kai takes a moment to respond, still processing himself. “Good, good, but how the hell do none of the best masters in the nation think to explain how firebending even works???”

“I don’t know, dude.” Lloyd says, burying his hands in his hair.

“Okay, okay, let’s cool off a bit, It’s about time we get going, anyway.” Nya says.

“Okay, yeah,” Lloyd agrees, more than ready to take a break.

Chapter Text

As much as Nya has come to consider Lloyd a friend – more family, if she’s being honest – it’s endlessly amusing to her that the crown prince of the Fire Nation is more drawn to water than his native element. Practicing with Kai and occasionally Jay has made significant progress when it comes to Lloyd’s firebending, but both water and air seem to come more naturally to him. Being the only airbender alive, it’s certainly convenient that Lloyd has an instinctive affinity for air. Still, it breaks Nya’s heart that he’s having to rediscover airbending all by himself. It reminds her too much of her younger self, hiding away in their garage or the woods beyond Yu Dao, trying desperately to push and pull at whatever water she can find.

Fortunately, air and water seem to have similar behavior and practices, so she’s able to recommend drills that may translate well to the lost element. Some work better than others, but Nya refuses to give up. Lloyd may only be a year or so younger than her, but Nya will not let him go through this alone, not on her watch.

Chapter Text

Several days into their journey, they had found a rhythm. Setting traps to catch meat overnight had become part of their routine early on, along with a training break in the afternoon in addition to their stops for meals. If they were able to find a body of water, Nya got dibs, otherwise, Lloyd was with Kai. There’s also more casual practice here and there, like now, with Kai showing him how to cook the jackrabbit their trap caught the night prior. “Think warm, not hot,” Kai reminds him. He’s almost done when Nya and Jay come over from where they had been packing up their camping gear.

“We’re on track to reach Chenbao tonight,” Jay says, “If the tides are in our favor, we can reach Agna Qel’a in less than two days’ time.”

“How do you know so much about Earth Kingdom geography, anyway?” Nya asks, this being far from the first time Jay’s been oddly knowledgeable. Granted, Lloyd had never been beyond the Fire Nation’s main island until a few weeks ago, and Kai and Nya had never been outside Yu Dao. Still, it’s overwhelmingly lucky they found Jay.

“I took an interest in cartography a few years back.” He answers, pointing with his thumb back towards Wisp, where his satchel containing an impressive amount of maps resides. “Working in trade provided some more practical information, too.”

“It’s really convenient you’re such a nerd,” Kai prods.

“Sure is,” Jay says, “You guys would be lost without me, literally.”

An amused huff escapes Lloyd, before he realizes something. “I have thanked you, right? For, you know, dropping everything to help me,” He asks.

Jay scrunches his face, shrugging. “You could stand to do it more,” He teases. Lloyd can feel himself shrink into himself slightly, something Jay must have noticed. “Seriously, it’s my pleasure. I live my life by seeing where the wind takes me, and this is already my most interesting adventure yet,” He says with a lopsided smile.

“I would hope so,” Nya retorts, almost offended, making everyone laugh.

Dismissing his fire, Lloyd examines his work. “I think it’s done.”

“Give it,” Kai makes grabby hands at him. Letting Kai take the meat, Lloyd watches him eye it carefully before tearing off a chunk and popping it in his mouth. “Yep, it’s ready,” He announces.

“Dude,” Lloyd deadpans.

Swallowing, Kai again changes the subject. “So how are we getting to the North Pole, anyway?”

“I have some old friends I’m hoping will be willing to lend us a boat.”

“Hoping?” Nya asks.

“More like hoping they’re still in town and don’t charge too much, but yeah.” Jay leaves it at that, and none of them bother questioning any further. They’ll find out soon enough, either way.

—

“You couldn’t have mentioned your friends were pirates?” Lloyd hears Kai hiss at Jay as they stand in a portside shop.

Jay shrugs. “You didn’t ask,” He whispers back. “Clancee!!” He greets as a man in his forties enters the room.

“Oh Jay!” He responds, appearing pleasantly surprised, “Did- Didn’t expect to see you around here!”

“Hadn’t been expecting to head this way either, if I’m honest,” Jay admits with a smile, “How’s the crew?”

“Good, good,” Clancee answers, “About as you’d imagine, I’d wager.” Jay laughs at that, before the older glances Lloyd’s way. “Who are your friends?”

“I’m Nya.” She says, stepping forward. “This is Lloyd and my brother Kai,” Gesturing to each of them in turn, Lloyd gives a polite wave.

“Nice to meet you all,” He says before turning back to Jay, “I take it you’ll be needing a ship?”

“If you have a spare.”

Clancee hums, “Not my call, I’m afraid.”

“That’d be mine,” A much gruffer voice crows from behind them. Spinning around to face the newcomer, Lloyd finds a man with a comically large mustache who would probably shoot anyone who laughed at him. “Whatcha doin’ in Chenbao, Jay?” He asks.

“I’m not here for business, Flintlocke. Can’t a guy visit some old friends?”

“Friends, are we?” He repeats, considering. Stepping closer, he continues. “I heard you’re needing a ship.”

Despite Flintlocke’s commanding presence, Jay doesn’t seem to be intimidated. “If you wouldn’t mind,” He says lightly.

“For you? Of course.” The man’s hard gaze and menacing expression evaporate instantly, clapping Jay on the shoulder. “It’s rather late, though,” He points out.

“Yeah,” Jay agrees, “Do you have any recommendations on where to stay?”

“You can rest your stubborn little heads in the Bounty’s cabins, she’s all yours.”

Jay seems taken aback by the offer, “Oh, I couldn’t.”

“Please,” Flintlocke scoffs, “It’s the least we owe you.”

“That’s right!” Clancee pipes up, “We wouldn’t have nothing if it wer-weren’t for you.”

Smiling humbly, Jay deflects. “I’m sure you would have made it out somehow, but I’m glad to have helped. You don’t need to repay me.”

“Pirates don’t like leaving debts unpaid, kid. Call it even, but we’ll be there if you need us.”

“The same to you.” Jay nods gratefully before turning to face Lloyd and the others, “Let’s get going, guys.”

Once a fair distance from the storefront, Kai asks. “So… Do you have any friends your age, like at all?”

Jay scoffs. “I got you three, don’t I? Come on.”

Upon seeing the Destiny’s Bounty, Lloyd gets why Jay was hesitant to accept the ship. The sailing ship is far from new, but she’s large enough to comfortably accommodate half a dozen people. The main cabin has six beds, with a handful of side rooms, two of which also contain bunks. There’s also a dining hall, two bathrooms, and a lounge. The main deck is fairly standard, but the ship’s exterior has a stunning painting of a red dragon on the side. It’s beautiful, but not very subtle, Lloyd can’t help but think. Regardless, she’ll do the job just fine.

—

“Lloyd?” Kai calls the next morning, shortly after they’ve set sail. Nya is with Jay on the deck, it’s just him and Kai in their shared cabin.

“Yeah?”

“I just… wanted to make sure you’re preparing yourself, mentally.”

Lloyd blinks, surprised. “For what?”

“Right now it’s just us who know you’re the avatar-” Lloyd suppresses a wince, the idea is settling in, slowly but surely. The issue right now is that Kai’s statement is only ostensibly true – Wu must know, as well. Why his uncle hasn’t gone public with that information is beyond him, but Lloyd tries not to hold out too much hope. He’s been trying to not think about his uncle much at all. “-That’s gonna change as soon as we get there,” Kai continues, “They’ll probably know who you are, too. Are you feeling alright about that?”

“I mean, it doesn’t really make a difference either way, does it?”

“Of course it does.” Kai says, sitting down next to Lloyd on his bed. “If you’re not ready, we’ll figure something out, promise.”

“No, no… Thank you, but I’ll be fine. I just gotta rip off the bandage, I guess.”

Chapter Text

Lloyd should really be used to expecting the unexpected by this point, but the ship suddenly stopping has him narrowly avoiding falling on his face. “What’s going on?” He shouts over his shoulder at Jay, only to find him and Nya looking past the edge of the ship, eyes wide in awe.

“Waterbenders,” Nya whispers, excitement palpable.

Following her gaze, Lloyd turns around to see canoes of waterbenders approaching. No paddles to be seen, the tribesmen are using bending to propel and steer their boats. Others have their arms extended, having frozen the Bounty in place. “State your intentions,” One of them declares.

“We mean no harm,” Nya starts, projecting her voice loud, clear, and calm, “We seek an audience with your chief.”

The stranger squints at their ragtag gang suspiciously, taking in their Earth Kingdom garb and general unpreparedness for the cold. Eventually he raises his hand, the ice retreats not a moment later. The guards signal for the opening of the gate and lead them into the frozen city.

—

The Northern Water Tribe is beautiful. The architecture itself is stunning, but the way the ice catches the sunset’s final light is what really takes Lloyd’s breath away. Even as they’re led out of their ship to a sort of meeting hall on the outskirts of the palace, Lloyd remains speechless.

“Your request will be relayed to the chief, wait here.” Their escort says before slipping out of the room.

For a minute, none of them say anything. “This place is gorgeous,” Jay is the first to say.

“Isn’t it?” An unfamiliar voice sounds. Turning around, Lloyd finds someone not much older than himself standing in the doorway. “Apologies,” They say, “I didn’t mean to startle you. I brought warmer clothes.” They raise their arms, drawing attention to the bundle of jackets resting there.

“Oh, thanks,” Kai tells them.

“Of course.” They say, setting the pile of coats on the table. “I’m sure you understand we can’t leave you unsupervised while waiting for the chief’s decision.”

“Makes sense, thanks.” Jay grabs a dark blue jacket from the pile, throwing the oversized thing over his clothes without hesitation.

“It’s no problem.” They say, smiling politely. “My name is Zane.”

“I’m Jay, these are Kai, Nya, and Lloyd,” Jay supplies.

“Nice to meet you all, may I ask what brought you this far north? We don’t get many unannounced visitors.”

“Ah, we’d like to discuss that with the chief directly, if that’s alright,” Kai tells them.

Zane hums but doesn’t push the matter. “Very well.”

Hardly a moment later does the door open again, this time a man in a wheelchair entering the room, followed by a younger woman. “Your request has been approved.” The older says, rolling to a stop at the head of the table and placing his hands in his lap. “I am Chief Borg, how can I help you?”

“Sir,” Nya starts, “We come seeking teaching. My name is Nya, I was born to a Fire Nation family in Yu Dao, but I am a waterbender.” Glancing sideways at Lloyd, she pauses. Meeting her gaze, he gives her the slightest nod. “My friend Lloyd is the avatar.”

The chieftain’s eyes widen comically at that. “Well isn’t that something,” He says, almost to himself, “Would you mind showing us?”

Glancing between Zane and the woman he hasn’t gotten the name of, Lloyd hesitates only briefly. He doesn’t need to trust them, soon enough everyone will know. Taking a breath, Lloyd produces a flame in the palm of his hand. He lets it sit for a moment before dismissing it, then with a flick of his wrist he creates a small swirl of air that grows strong enough to be felt by the chief and his companions.

“Curious.” Borg says, before pulling back slightly, his eyes darkening. “Are you also from the Fire Nation?”

“Yes.”

The chief hums consideringly. “It is the avatar’s duty to bring peace to the world. Your nation has wrought unspeakable death and destruction to my people, to all not born under the Fire Nation. If you aim to help right these crimes against humanity, my people will help you however we can, but we will not harbor those who tolerate such horrors.” Borg speaks calmly, not mincing words or rushing himself, letting the statement stand on its own.

Lloyd still has a lot to unpack, but nearly everyone he met that had any sort of power in the Fire Nation had been cruel and uncaring. If the same was true of his grandfather and his advisors and all this war and bloodshed was just for the sake of it, for the betterment of few at the cost of many? Lloyd doesn’t know what to do about it or where to start, but he can’t let it continue. “Of course,” He says with more certainty than he feels, but he stands by his words regardless.

“Good,” The chieftain smiles, seeming genuine, “We will decide a master for you to study under come morning. For now, let’s show you to your rooms.”

The journey through unfamiliar corridors of a foreign palace is largely quiet, until Zane breaks the silence. “The avatar being born to the Fire Nation has interesting implications,” They comment, earning them Lloyd’s attention.

“What do you mean?”

“The avatar cycle was thought to have ended with the Air Nomad genocide. The last avatar we know the identity of is Avatar Roku, but you being from the same element as him suggests the existence of water and earth born avatars between the two of you.”

“I… hadn’t thought of that,” Lloyd admits, now also intrigued.

Zane hums. “Have you had any contact with previous avatars?”

“That’s a thing?” Lloyd asks, having not known that.

They laugh softly at his surprise. “You should try meditation,” They suggest, slipping off down another hall without so much as a goodbye.

“Don’t mind them.” The woman from earlier says, joining Lloyd. “My fiance has a bit of a flair for the dramatics,” She tells him with a fond smile.

“Fiance?” He echoes.

Looking at him properly, she does a slight double take, but maintains her composure. “Apologies, I haven’t introduced myself, have I? Pixal Borg, daughter of the chief.”

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Lloyd says, bowing slightly. Standing back up, he finds Pixal examining him, intrigued by his response. Belatedly, Lloyd realizes that was probably too formal. She is royalty, though, hopefully she won’t think too much of it.

—

The next morning, Lloyd, Jay, Nya, and Kai are piddling around their room getting ready when a knock sounds. Exchanging a glance with his friends, Lloyd goes to open the door. Swinging it open, there stands a man Lloyd vaguely recognizes as one of the guards from yesterday. “Good morning,” He greets plainly, “The chief has invited the avatar and his companions to breakfast with him and his council, I will show you the way when you are ready.”

Looking back into the room, they’re already up for the day. Jay shrugs encouragingly. Turning back to the stranger, Lloyd tells him. “We’re good to go now.”

“Perfect.”

The man leads them through the heart of the palace with ease and little conversation. When they arrive in the opulent dining hall, Lloyd takes in the handful of men already seated. He can’t help but notice that the princess had been the only woman in the room before their group’s entry.

“Avatar Lloyd,” Oh god, is that weird. Regardless, Borg continues, “Allow me to introduce my council. You’ve met my daughter Pixal and her betrothed. Zane is a skilled master and a trusted advisor in their own right, I promise you,” The chief says with a smile, “Next to them is my brother General Trimaar and his son Benthomaar.” The general nods in acknowledgement while his son — the youngest in the room, maybe 17, if Lloyd had to guess — gives a polite wave. “And last but not least, General Skales, head of our military.”

“It’s an honor to meet you all,” Lloyd says, “My friends here are Nya, Kai, and Jay.” He gestures to each of them in turn.

“They too are Fire Nation?” General Trimaar asks.

“Yes,” Kai answers, “Though my sister and I are from the colonies.”

“And she is the waterbender?” Skales asks.

“I am,” Nya says.

“We have allowed women to learn bending the same as men for years now, but a girl from the Fire Nation…?” Trimaar wonders aloud.

“You won’t teach me?” Nya asks, already furious.

“I said no such thing,” He clarifies, “But you must admit it’s… unconventional.”

Nya scowls at the older, her tone plain when she responds. “I’m aware.”

“Regardless,” Trimaar continues, “I will be training you and the avatar starting this afternoon.”

“Thank you,” Lloyd starts, “Though I should have mentioned this yesterday, I would like to keep my identity as under wraps as possible.”

The chief hums, “Admittedly, news has likely already spread throughout the palace and possibly beyond, but we can attempt some degree of confidentiality moving forward.”

“That would be great, thank you.”

Chapter Text

Despite the lackluster first impression, General Trimaar is a good guy and a great master. Much more pleasant than any of the high-ranking military men Lloyd had known growing up, he’s also adept at teaching in a way that makes sense for both Lloyd and Nya. Training with Kai and Jay has helped Lloyd a lot, but it’s bittersweet that he picks up water faster than his native element. Nya is even more of a natural, something Trimaar commends regularly. “Great work, Nya, just remember to shift your weight through the stances,” He says nearly a week into their training. Nya nods and implements the critique with ease, showing even more control over her stream of water with smaller movements.

“Good,” Trimaar smiles, “Lloyd?”

Standing up, Lloyd bends the light dusting of snow off his pants. “Yeah?”

“Same drill,” The general says, cocking his head at Nya.

Lloyd sighs playfully, but follows suit, “Yes, Master.” As he falls into his stance, Lloyd spots General Skales enter the courtyard, making a beeline for Trimaar. Lloyd tries to mind his own business, but when he glances their way to find a look of horror on his master’s face, Lloyd drops the pretense, walking towards the pair. “What’s wrong?”

The two exchange a look before Trimaar turns back to Lloyd. “Our fishermen have spotted Fire Nation ships in the Northern Sea.”

“Already?” Nya asks gravely, appearing beside Lloyd.

“It would seem so,” Skales supplies, “It appears your presence here did not remain secret for long. You will soon have to show yourself, I’m afraid.”

Lloyd swallows nervously. He knew they would come for him eventually, but so soon? The Northern Water Tribe hasn’t been the subject of a direct attack in decades. Breaking that trend just to get to Lloyd? The thought makes him sick.

“I must go,” General Trimaar excuses himself.

“I’m coming with you,” Lloyd tells him, “I have information that could be useful.” He knows and he hates that what he’s about to do well and truly betrays his people, but the Fire Nation have started far too many fights, the Water Tribe needs all the help they can get. It’s the least Lloyd owes them.

Skales hesitates, but is the first to relent, “Very well.”

He and Trimaar head indoors, Lloyd moving to follow them, but not before telling Nya, “Find Kai and Jay, make sure they’re ready.” She nods resolutely, and Lloyd heads into a war room for the other side.

—

“Is it safe to assume they’re after you?” Cyrus asks Lloyd after the initial breakdown.

He takes a breath. “Yes, but they don’t know I’m the avatar. They’re after the Crown Prince.”

Skales squints at him. “You’re the prince of the Fire Nation?” He asks, tone tight.

“Yes,” Lloyd affirms, fighting the instinct to look anywhere but the men before him, “But I know what my family has done and is doing is wrong. I’m prepared to fight on your side,” He says, praying he sounds more steadfast than he feels.

Cyrus hums. “If you and your friends hold true, you could be a great force in putting an end to this war.” Ending the war? Damn, that is his job, isn’t it? To restore peace and balance because yeah, he’s the fucking avatar. Shit. What would that even look like? What would the world be like if they manage to put a stop to this? The only end Lloyd has ever even imagined was a world belonging to the Fire Nation, but… That can’t happen, can it? What would happen to all these people? All the ones he’s met in the past month and the millions he hasn’t, what happens to them if the Fire Nation wins?

“I’ll do my best.” He tells the chief, and he’s pretty sure he means it, too.

—

Fire Nation ships loom on the horizon by nightfall, but advance no further. At least, that’s what his friends tell him. Lloyd hasn’t been allowed past the palace walls, they don’t know if he’s what they’re waiting for, after all. Either way, it’s a long and restless night.

“Get some rest, they won’t attack until sunrise,” Zane says.

“Why not?”

“They’d be fools to,” The Princess answers plainly, “We’ve fought off their attacks before, they wouldn’t start a fight against waterbenders when the moon is high, not to mention nearly full.”

Kai’s eyes light up in curiosity. “That thing about waterbending at night is true?”

Pixal looks at him, unimpressed. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Kai shrugs, only mildly embarrassed. “I don’t know.”

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” Lloyd admits.

“Firebending is strongest when the sun is out,” Jay tells him, “The same is true for waterbending and the moon.”

Lloyd hums. “How come? I mean, the sun is made of fire, but how does the moon affect water?”

A huff of a laugh escapes Pixal. “The Moon was the first waterbender, our ancestors learned from watching it push and pull the sea.” The princess slides off her seat. “Come, I’ll show you.”

Wherever Pixal is leading them, it isn’t far, but it must be important. The vast majority of the capital’s guard has been relocated to secure the border, but two soldiers stand guard on either side of a round wooden door. They don’t bat an eye at the Princess leading their group forward, though, allowing Pixal to push open the door and enter without comment.

Lloyd follows behind the woman and her fiancé, only to be struck by a wave of warm air and the breathtaking sight of a large garden. It must be hundreds of feet wide with rolling fields of the greenest grass he’s ever seen. Streams flow throughout, with wooden bridges here and there serving as passageways. Despite the walls being sheer ice, the space is impossibly temperate.

The princess strips off her outermost layer and hands the coat to Zane without a backwards glance, continuing onward. “Come on, Lloyd,” She says, beckoning him further.

“How is this possible?” Nya wonders aloud, taking off her coat as well.

“Welcome to the Spirit Oasis.” Pixal says in lieu of an answer, smiling back at them. “The spiritual center of the North Pole, created by and home to Tui and La – spirits of the Moon and Ocean.”

“The spirits are here?” Lloyd asks, surprised.

“Yes.” Pixal comes to a stop, Lloyd almost bumping into the princess at the suddenness of it. Though looking past her, there lies a pond, so he shouldn’t have been surprised. “If you don’t mind my bluntness, you don’t strike me as the most spiritual, Your Highness.” He scoffs both at the title and the comment, but the sound is one of amusement. “But as the avatar, you serve as the bridge between our world and the Spirit World. I think it’s only right you meet two of the first spirits to reside in the Physical World.” She says, gesturing to the two black and white fish swimming lazy but purposeful circles in the pond.

Crouching down to get a closer look, Lloyd eyes them curiously. “Koi?”

“They take the form of them, yes,” Zane explains, “Tui and La are among the few spirits to reside permanently in our world. Their eternal cycle of push and pull is critical to keeping the balance.”

Lowering himself to the ground, Lloyd sits, watching the spirits circling each other as they have for thousands of years. “Mesmerizing, aren’t they?” Pixal asks, joining him as their friends’ voices get further away as they wander the garden.

“They’re beautiful.” He says honestly, soaking in the image for a few more seconds before turning to face the princess. “Why did they come here?”

Pixal hums, eyes not leaving the two spirits in the pond. “Legend says they fell in love with our world and our people. They’re great and wise spirits, their presence here benefits all humanity in many ways.” Her small smile drops. “Without them, I wouldn’t even be here.” She says, finally looking Lloyd’s way. Sensing the somber but reverent tone, he lets her tell the tale at her own pace.

“I was born very sick. My mother died the day I was born, and I nearly did too. My father was desperate, sending for every healer we had, but none could help. No one was even able to identify what was wrong with me. The sun set and no one saw a way for me to make it to sunrise, so my father prayed. He took me here and begged the spirits for a miracle. Laying me in this very pond, Tui took mercy on my father, who had already lost so much. My dark hair turned white as snow and I cried for the first time, loud and alive like never before.”

A beat passes as Lloyd takes in her story. “That’s incredible,” He eventually says.

Pixal smiles at him. “Isn’t it?” Rising to stand, she continues, “Tomorrow will be a long day, you should get some rest, Lloyd.”

Even following her to his feet, he counters. “So should you.”

“Yes,” The princess agrees, “It may well be some of ours last night in this realm,” She says somberly, “Best to make it a restful one.”

Chapter Text

With daybreak came snowfall dark and polluted with soot. The Fire Nation was coming. “It’s different being on this side of it, huh?” Turning around, Lloyd finds Jay approaching. He had snuck out, searching for the best vantage point he could find — one of the palace’s exterior towers — but it seems he didn’t go unnoticed. Lloyd laughs humorlessly as Jay joins him, leaning against the railing but not facing the horizon. “First time?” He asks.

Lloyd casts him a sideways glance, unimpressed. The incoming fleet has yet to attack, even as they close in on Agna Qel’a’s shores in the sun’s early light. “What am I supposed to do, Jay?”

“Other than kick some imperialist ass and hope you don’t recognize the face attached?”

Lloyd buried his face in his hands, groaning. “You’re no help,” He mumbles.

“Wasn’t trying to be. There’s nothing easy about war, Lloyd. Sitting on the sidelines is the closest you get, but that’s not a privilege you have anymore. It sucks and I hate it for you, but if you think you’re the only kid who’s been thrown into a warzone with no plan and no preparation, you’ve got a cruel awakening coming.”

Sighing, Lloyd meets his friend’s gaze. “Yeah, I know, it just…”

“It sucks,” Jay supplies.

“Yeah.”

“You’re allowed to be upset about it,” Jay says bluntly.

“It’s just… it’s not fair,” Lloyd huffs.

Jay quirks an eyebrow at him, letting Lloyd know the other’s gearing up to annoy him on purpose. “How so?”

A beat. “Really?”

“Explain it to me.” Jay swings his arms wide, gesturing to Lloyd. “What’s so unfair about your position, oh your royal highness: the chosen one?”

Jay’s a good guy and all, but man is he frustrating. After glaring at him for a good few seconds, Lloyd accepts that he’s not getting out of this without entertaining the older. “I didn’t choose this, you know. Any of it.”

“Mhm.” Jay hums, gesturing for him to keep going.

“I might never see my family again.” As much as Lloyd’s only really close with his uncle, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss his sister or his dad.

“Uh huh,” Jay agrees infuriatingly.

“I can never go home again, Jay!” Lloyd exclaims, the carefully constructed illusion of peace he’s been carrying shattering in a single moment. “I’m trapped! No matter where I go, I’ll never be safe, I can never settle down! I spent my entire life in one damn city and now I get to ‘see the world,’ except everyone hates me! Whether it’s for being the avatar or being Fire Nation, it doesn’t matter! No one trusts me! I’m supposed to be on the front lines out there-” He gestures towards the port, where the Water Tribe’s soldiers are gathering, where he’s not allowed. “But instead I’m stuck in a whole new castle because I’m a coward! And even if I weren’t, they still wouldn’t let me out there because I’m a liability! And they’re right!! They’re right, Jay!!!” Catching a breath, Lloyd furiously wipes at his eyes. “Because if Wu or Harumi are down there, I don’t know what I’d do! If I stay here then I’m betraying my people, but if I go back then I’m betraying the world, and I don’t know what’s worse!!” Gasping and heaving, Lloyd fights to even his breath. “I want to believe my dad is a good person, Jay. I don’t… I can’t-”

Jay grabs him, pulling him into a tight hug. “Shh… Come on… You’re okay…” He attempts to soothe him.

“Am I awful?” Lloyd asks, muffled against Jay’s coat as his face is pressed against his friend’s shoulder.

“Nah.” Jay says easily, rubbing slow circles into his back.

Lloyd laughs, quiet and bitter and sad. “My family’s full of genocidal assholes and I was too busy trying to- wanting to… to be good enough to notice. I just wanted my dad to love me.” The last sentence was hardly more than a breath, but Jay holds him impossibly tighter.

“You are so fucking loved, Lloyd. You don’t need to do or be anything to deserve to feel loved, okay? Your dad’s an absolute bastard, but you got me and Kai and Nya now, yeah?” Jay pulls back slightly, looking Lloyd in the eye. “No one should have to grow up the way you did. That’s the point I was trying to make. So many people have lost their homes and their families and their lives because of your family. That shouldn’t have happened, but it did. Now it’s our turn to make it right.”

“How?” Lloyd asks hopelessly.

“We clean ourselves up.” Jay starts, brushing away some of Lloyd’s tears with the end of his sleeve. “And we get out there. We fight for these people, for these families, for these homes, yeah?”

Inhaling deeply, Lloyd steadies himself. Ever since he ran away, a part of Lloyd knew he wouldn’t be coming back – that he would never be able to look at his family or his nation the same. He never had the stomach for war strategy that was expected from a future Firelord, but beyond Capital City? Deep down, Lloyd has always been weak-willed, too sensitive for the real world. Seeing the Fire Nation from this side paints an ugly image, one he finds himself increasingly disgusted by. It was always just a matter of time until he fully admitted to himself that he wasn’t willing to tolerate what his people are doing – what his father is doing. Maybe he is too empathetic, too compassionate, but Lloyd would rather care too much than not at all. Every piece of him hurts like hell, but knowing his dad never felt this pain is what truly burns.

Lloyd never really had any friends growing up, but he does now.

He thinks about Kai and Nya. About how they don’t even remember their parents who were sent off to the war when Kai was only five years old, about how they’ve been on their own ever since. About how the support their community provided was enough to keep them safe and housed, but how that didn’t hold true for other families in their colony. About how Kai hadn’t been in school since he was thirteen, about how he’s worked his ass off to provide for Nya ever since. About how Nya studied even harder for her brother who couldn’t, about how she took fast-track courses to start a career as early as possible so she could take some of that weight off of Kai’s shoulders. About how the pair opened their undersized home to street kids even before then. About how Kai has been hiring unhoused orphans almost exclusively for the better half of a decade. About how even when the siblings barely had enough to get by, they did everything within their power to support their neighbors in the same conditions or worse.

He thinks about Jay. About how curious and open-hearted he is, about how guarded he can be. About how Jay’s never talked about his family – much like Lloyd himself. About how Jay is Fire Nation, but no matter where they go in the Earth Kingdom, he seems at home. About how it doesn’t seem to make a difference to Jay what nation they’re in, about how Jay has friends everywhere. Lloyd thinks about Dyer and Unagami, about how Jay called them more family than friends. About how both father and son greeted Jay warmly, hugging him and welcoming them all in. About how – despite the evident love on display – Dyer only offered half off. About how they were the only ones in the inn. About how Jay paid for the family’s meal instead of the other way around. About how Jay later confided in Lloyd that his funds won’t last forever. Lloyd thinks about Flintlocke and his crew. About how Jay – chatterbox that he is – never elaborated on how he knew the pirates. About how a group of men and women twice his age were indebted to him. About how Lloyd remembers Clancee saying something about how they wouldn’t have ‘made it out’ without Jay’s help. About how Jay mentioned the night they met that he’s smuggled his fair share of refugees across borders, though he didn’t dare use that term at the time.

Lloyd thinks about Pixal. About how he hasn’t known the princess long, but her and Zane have quickly become some of his favorite people. About how easily Lloyd can imagine a world without the war where Pixal is his favorite dignitary to have visit Royal Caldera City. About how – in the real world – her gentle kindness and quiet strength would never fit in there. About how the Water Tribe’s princess couldn’t be able to so much as set foot on Fire Nation soil without threat of assassination. About how the same would hold true for all her citizens, regardless of innocence. About how the Northern Water Tribe’s capital is the most beautiful place he’s ever seen and how his family’s army is going to open fire any minute with the sole goal of destroying it.

About how, if Lloyd is honest with himself, his presence here only serves to justify this attack. About how, in an ideal scenario, the Fire Nation generals would happily return home with the news that Agna Qel’a has been conquered and that the prince tragically got caught in the crossfire.

No.

If the Fire Nation wants him dead, there will be no framing it as an accident. No lies about the Water Tribe holding him captive. This fight is coming, and the Fire Nation cannot win. Lloyd won’t let that happen. The North will not fall, not today, and not on his watch. Jay had wiped away about half of his tears, but his other cheek is still wet with teartracks. With a slight wave of his hand, Lloyd waterbends the rest away, creating a small icicle and letting it fall to the floor without preamble, shattering into only a handful of pieces. “Okay.”

—

Lloyd makes his case, but Borg refuses to send him into battle. Lloyd even mostly believes the chief when he says it's for his own safety. He has always seemed like a goodhearted man and a compassionate leader, even when Lloyd fails to believe him genuine. He has never seen Borg waterbend, and the chief has used a wheelchair every time Lloyd’s seen him, but the man dawns armor and grabs a crossbow to head into battle himself, even as he advises Lloyd to stay put.

It confuses him. Realizing that the chief wouldn’t send his men anywhere he wasn’t willing to follow only earns him more of Lloyd’s respect, but Borg’s strategy just doesn’t compute. Being the avatar, Lloyd is an asset to whatever side he’s on. Even without having mastered any element, he’s learned a lot the past few weeks and now is pretty good at both fire and waterbending, if he does say so himself. Yet Borg wants to keep him away from the fight.

“It doesn’t help anyone for me to just hang back here,” Lloyd presses.

“Keeping you safe is priority, you are what they are after, are you not?” Borg counters, not ungently. “Besides, there is much to be done away from the front lines: I want you to help protect my daughter.”

That surprises Lloyd. Pixal may not be a bender, but she’s more than capable of taking care of herself. Not to mention Zane will likely be by her side throughout the battle, and they’re a far more skilled bender than himself. Still, that trust does not go unnoticed. If Lloyd was being kept from the battle because of a suspected lack of loyalty, surely he wouldn’t be assigned to guard the Northern Water Tribe’s only princess.

He’s still considering this when Borg turns to his friends. “Kai and Jay,” The chief greets, “General Skales will escort you to your posts.”

Lloyd blinks. Yeah, his friends are just as determined to help as he is, but posts?? Looking at the firebenders in question, however, they don’t seem surprised in the slightest. “Thank you, Chieftain.” Kai says, bowing slightly. Jay follows and the pair move to meet Skales where he stands not fifty feet away. “Stay safe,” Kai tells him and Nya sternly.

“You too!!” Nya calls, but as soon as the trio leaves the courtyard, she deflates ever so slightly. Regardless, she turns to face the Chief, awaiting her own instructions.

“Nya,” Borg starts, “I would like you to go with my brother and nephew to the front lines. Benthomaar refuses to leave his father’s side, and I would be endlessly grateful if you would be willing to act as his personal guard.”

“Yes, of course.” Nya says, determined, looking around for the young royal. Lloyd follows suit, spotting him standing with his father and a handful of soldiers in a nearby corridor. Lloyd hasn’t talked with the younger very much, but he seems friendly, if a touch shy. He told both Lloyd and Nya to just call him Bentho when formalities allow. It hasn’t come up outside of when he joins the pair during waterbending practice – the teen not yet considered a master himself – but Lloyd appreciates the casual interactions they’ve had. Bentho isn’t much younger than himself, after all, barely older than Harumi. So much as thinking about Harumi in the same sentence as Bentho causes Lloyd’s stomach to twist painfully, knowing his sister would tear the guy to shreds. He doesn’t like to think about Harumi much at all these days, something that comes with its own guilt.
But this isn’t about her. It’s not even really about him, not anymore. The Fire Nation is going to kill these people if they aren’t stopped and Lloyd’s meant to be the one to step up here.

Borg seems to disagree.

“Lloyd,” A familiar voice calls. Pivoting to find the source, Lloyd meets Zane’s gaze. Their eyes are an icy blue, but Lloyd’s always found them to contain such warmth. “Come, Pixal’s waiting.”

And who is Lloyd to refuse?

Chapter Text

Upon finally making it to the palace lounge Pixal had been holed up in, she wastes no time standing and heading right towards the door Lloyd and Zane had just entered from. “Come with me,” The princess beckons.

Lloyd follows obediently as she and Zane weave through passageways and staircases until he isn’t even sure they’re still in the palace anymore. When they finally come to a stop, Zane wordlessly kneels and offers their hand to Pixal, who takes it, using their leg as a step to hop up onto a nearby ledge. Getting situated, Pixal turns around and extends her own hand to Lloyd. Glancing between the pair, he sees no reason not to, and joins the Princess on the palace rooftop with her fiance not far behind. Once they’re all up, Pixal takes a seat and smooths out her skirt, eyes already on the horizon where the battle is playing out. Sometime in the past couple hours, the first of the Fire Nation fleet had made contact with Agna Qel’a’s shores. Now soldiers from both sides litter the outer edge of the city, fire and smoke billowing towards the sky where they were never meant to be. Still, the city itself remains largely undamaged, and Lloyd remains as awestruck by its beauty as ever. From way up here, on one of the highest ledges of the capital’s tallest building, the fire and war could never hope to erase the majesty of the Water Tribe’s architecture, of their accomplishments, of their culture.

But as the war wages on, the silence starts to weigh on Lloyd. Getting heavier with every passing second that people are fighting for their lives and he sits back and watches from a safe distance. Eventually, it becomes too much. “Do you come up here often?” He asks, needing something – anything – else to occupy his attention, if only for a moment.

The princess doesn’t seem put off by the sudden question. “It’s a good vantage point,” Pixal supplies in lieu of an answer, “High enough to see the ocean, but not too high to be easily spotted.”

“Consider yourself lucky, Avatar Lloyd,” Zane starts almost teasingly, “She only shared this spot with me after we’d been courting for nearly two years.”

Lloyd almost laughs before feeling the need to correct them. “I thought I told you not to call me that.”

Zane just hums consideringly, like they’re trying to remember that conversation, as though they haven’t had this back and forth several times by now. “Would you prefer ‘Your Highness’?” Pixal asks, raising an eyebrow at him.

Lloyd just scoffs, “And here I thought we were on a first-name basis.” He laments before a particularly loud attack lands. The trio all turn to see what was hit, any trace of their prior banter evaporating into the cold night’s air as they simply sit, watching the battle ensue as nothing more than bystanders. For minutes, none of them speak.

“I hate this,” Pixal spits, voice low but words sharp. Looking her way, Lloyd watches as she pushes herself to her feet. “I know something we can do,” She says with renewed determination.

Glancing at Zane, they only smile at the princess before rising as well. “Lead the way, my love.”

—

Lloyd isn’t sure what he had been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t another visit to the Spirit Oasis. “What are we doing in here?” He asks as he shrugs off his outer coat.

“This is the spiritual center of the North Pole, Lloyd. We don’t have to just sit around and wait for news, we can use this time to meditate.” Pixal tells him, heading towards the center of the oasis with Zane and Lloyd not far behind.

“Is there a difference?” Lloyd asks, earning him an unimpressed glare from the princess.

It’s not even her who scolds him. “Lloyd-” Zane starts.

“You said yourself that I’m not the spiritual type,” He feels the need to point out.

“No, it doesn’t seem to be something you’re inclined towards,” She agrees, “But you’re the avatar. As the bridge between us and the spirits, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to challenge that. Like today.” Without further ado, she sits down in front of the koi pond, falling into a natural-seeming meditation pose.

Sighing lightly, Lloyd does his best to mimic their postures and relax, letting his eyes slide closed. He’s never been very good at this type of thing, he’s not even sure what he’s supposed to think about. “Considering you have yet to connect with previous avatars, I would suggest starting there,” Zane says as though they could hear Lloyd’s thoughts – or maybe it’s just obvious he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

“What does that even look like? I don’t know anything about them.”

“That is the issue, isn’t it? Look for the edges of yourself and push beyond,” Zane tells him patiently, “Imagine yourself in another family, in another nation, in another time. Who would you have been? Who were they?”

Right, Lloyd’s spirit isn’t just his, it’s every avatar’s. He doesn’t know how to feel about that, so he tries not to dwell on it. Zane’s question is an interesting one, one Lloyd had considered himself several times throughout his life before stopping himself: who would he be if he weren’t the son of the Fire Lord? What would his life look like? Would he even recognize himself?

“Good question.” An unfamiliar voice sounds, startling Lloyd into opening his eyes. Looking for the intruder, he finds Zane and Pixal are nowhere to be seen. Something – everything – feels wrong. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Lloyd.” The voice says, closer now. Whipping around to face the stranger, Lloyd finds a man twice his age standing calmly behind him. “Hi, I’m Scott.”

“Who are you?” Lloyd demands.

The man – Scott – huffs lightly. “I just told you my name, kid, you’ll have to be more specific than that.”

“Where are Pixal and Zane?” Lloyd demands.

“Right where you left them. You’re the one that came to me, you know.” Lloyd scowls, confused but unyieldingly stubborn. He’s not going to entertain this guy until he gets some actual answers. “... Yeah, alright.” Scott shrugs. “I’ll get the ball rolling, I guess. My name’s Scott – as you know – and I’m the avatar before you.”

Lloyd pauses, considering, “Okay… what are you doing here, though?”

Scott just shrugs. “You’re the one who sought me out.”

“I didn’t really mean to,” Lloyd admits, earning a laugh from the older.

“Yeah, that happens sometimes. You were trying to connect with your past lives. It’s always easiest to contact the avatar immediately before you, but you can reach just about anyone if you try and they’re willing to talk to you. You’ll usually end up with me if you’re not looking for anyone specific, though.”

“Wait, this is a regular thing?” Lloyd asks, having not even heard of this before, much less experienced it during any of his half-hearted attempts at meditation.

“It can be. I definitely wish I talked with Skylor more when I was younger.”

“Skylor?”

Something in Scott’s expression falters, his sadness and exhaustion making themselves clear. When he continues, his words are mournful and overcome with regret. “Lloyd, we don’t have time to get too into detail, but after Roku there was Aang, then Skylor, then me. The avatar never left, we just failed. I should have taken matters into my own hands during my lifetime, but I didn’t, and now you’ve inherited the same war I had. I urge you not to make the same mistakes I did. You must be proactive, take action to protect all people of the world.”

Lloyd’s brows furrow in somber curiosity. “What happened?”

“To me? I lived my entire life in hiding. I tried to defend my community, but war cannot be won passively.” Scott tells him, advice clear.

“I don’t know what I can do, though,” Lloyd starts, finally sounding as uncertain as he feels. “I get that I’m supposed to stop the Fire Nation, but I just…”

“I understand you’re conflicted, but this is about more than just you. The world is at stake, Lloyd. It is our duty as the avatar to put humanity above ourselves. I hope you do better than I have.”

“Wait-” Lloyd starts, but Scott disappears before his eyes. Hardly a moment later, Lloyd falls forward, stumbling into his body and almost landing facedown in the grass. Pushing himself up, Lloyd looks around.

“Lloyd?” Pixal calls, looking at him, concern evident in her gaze.

“I… Was I here the whole time?” He finds himself asking.

“Physically, yes,” Zane tells him, “But your eyes were glowing. Were you able to contact any spirits?”

“Glowing?” Lloyd echoes, not addressing their question.

“It happens when the avatar enters the avatar state or crosses into the spirit would,” Pixal supplies. “Who did you meet?”

“He said his name was Scott.”

“Is that a previous avatar?” Zane asks.

Lloyd nods, “Just before me, he said. He also mentioned a couple other names.”

“Curious,” Zane wonders aloud, “There is a lot you could learn from them, both in terms of advice and skills, as well as the history of the war.”

Lloyd thinks he knows plenty about the war, growing up learning about its major events and how to effectively strategize an attack, but bites his tongue. That’s not what they mean, he realizes as soon as the first thought crosses his mind. “Probably, he mostly just told me to be proactive, though.”

“Not bad advice,” A gravelly voice crows, startling them all. Whipping around, Lloyd falls into a defensive stance before he even processes Clouse standing passively, his arms folded behind his back, as though he has every right to be in the Northern Water Tribe’s Spirit Oasis. “Unfortunately,” He continues, “You’ve always been too weak willed to accomplish anything of substance. Running away, though?” Clouse tsks the sound something between impressed and disapproving, “That was a surprise.”

Chapter Text

“How did you get in here?” Pixal demands, not shying away from the foreign general.

Clouse just scoffs, “I don’t believe that’s any of your business.” He doesn’t seem to recognize the princess, or maybe he just doesn’t care.

“What do you want, Clouse?” Lloyd asks, glaring tiredly at the older.

The man in question hums, examining his nails. “A decisive victory for the Fire Nation, of course. What is it you want, Lloyd?”

The way Clouse says his name like an insult used to make Lloyd wince, but he’s gotten used to being called a lot of things the past few weeks, his name is preferred at this point, regardless of the tone. “Little to no mass murder, ideally,” He says.

Something that almost passes as a laugh escapes the man. “Finally grew a spine, I see. Shame that it only showed itself after the treachery.”

Lloyd doesn’t open his mouth, not sure how to respond in a way that wouldn’t start a more physical battle. Clouse is a more than accomplished firebender, but he’s always preferred toying with his prey, something Lloyd has no qualms taking advantage of.

Zane must have come to a similar conclusion. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” They start casually, “My name is Zane.”

Looking at them for seemingly the first time, Clouse barely glances over them before following suit. “General Clouse, advisor to Firelord Garmadon, commander and head of the strike against the North Pole.” Lloyd doesn’t comment on how said Firelord hates this guy’s guts, but he sure as hell thinks it.

“Interesting,” Pixal starts, her tone unimpressed, “You don’t seem to be doing very much striking.”

Clouse’s gaze snaps to the princess, a hint of fury alight in his eyes. “I don’t appreciate the disrespect, young lady,” He hisses.

“Nor do I.” Pixal says evenly, her head held high. Lloyd has never admired or respected someone as much as he does at this very moment. Pix is an absolute badass, tearing the usually unwaveringly pompous general to shreds without batting an eye.

“And who are you?” Clouse seethes.

Lloyd’s eyes flick back to Pixal. Praying her pride doesn’t surpass her wits. Unfortunately, she too is a creature of dignity, and she refuses to go as an unknown bystander. “My name is Pixal Borg, daughter of Cyrus Borg – Chief of the Northern Water Tribe –, Princess and heir to the throne of Agna Qel’a.”

Clouse’s eyes widen ever so slightly before he squints at her. Even as he looks her up and down, Lloyd angles himself forward, ready to step between the two. Eventually, Clouse hums amusedly. “A prince and a princess, it must be my lucky day.” He says calmly before springing to action, bending a large blast directly at Pixal.

Shoving her behind himself, Lloyd deflects the flames. “Took you long enough,” He scoffs, bringing his arms back to a ready position in front of his chest.

“You feel no need to explain your betrayal, then?” Clouse questions.

“Eh,” Lloyd shrugs, “You’ll figure it out sooner or later.”

With the general’s attention soundly on him, Zane pulls water from the river and freezes Clouse up to knees. Something in his eyes flashes as he twists as far as he can to shoot an arc of fire their way. This time Pixal pulls Zane back, and Lloyd spots a large blade by her side he hadn’t seen before. Diving in, Pixal slashes Clouse’s shoulder with her weapon, the man wincing as blood oozes lazily from where her knife had cut through his armor. He swipes blindly at her with his other arm, this time his fire catching her sleeve. Pixal shakes her arm, trying to put it out, but Zane douses the flame more effectively hardly a moment later.

Clearly not to be trusted to just stay put, Lloyd focuses water up from the stream, lots of it. He creates as large a wave as he can – taller than himself –, gaining Clouse’s attention in the process. “By the spirits…” He gasps in cruel amazement. Anything else he may have said is swiftly cut off as Lloyd slams his wave into the general, having it envelop the man completely. Pushing and pulling, leading the water with his whole body as Trimaar had instructed, Lloyd ensures the Clouse is entirely covered before freezing the imperfect sphere, locking him in place.

Both drained and invigorated, Lloyd turns his attention to his newest friends.

“My life,” He hears Pixal say softly as Zane dotes on her. “I’m fine.” Stepping closer, Lloyd watches as Zane bends water over the burn on her forearm, holding it there as it begins to glow. Lloyd has to remind himself not to gawk. He had heard about waterbending being used to heal — Trimaar encouraged Nya to take some healing lessons as well — but this was his first time seeing it in action.

Admittedly, Lloyd hadn’t thought to consider whether or not Zane was a healer. Historically, healing was left to women. Nowadays, women can learn more combat-oriented waterbending if they so wish, but Lloyd doesn’t know of any male healers. He hadn’t even thought about how Zane being neither (or maybe both? Perhaps Lloyd should ask at some point) would factor into how they were trained. Lloyd had been taught the Water Tribes had very strict gender roles, but one of the chief’s most trusted advisors and future in-law is openly nonbinary. Everyone seems to respect them, not even batting an eye on days they wear longer coats and a belt around their waist in the feminine style. Lloyd is more than a little dumbstruck that that inconsistency hadn’t occurred to him earlier, but it doesn’t really change anything he supposes. At least not in the here and now, where he watches idly as Zane heals their fiance’s wound until the moonlight shining down into the oasis suddenly turns a blood red.

“Clouse!” A familiar — oh so familiar — voice spits. Whipping around to face the newcomer, Lloyd sees his uncle angrier than he’s ever seen him. For a moment, Lloyd doesn’t even process Clouse standing at the edge of the koi pond.

“Uncle?” He breathes, shellshocked.

Wu’s eyes are furious as he glares at the other general, but his gaze softens ever so slightly when it darts Lloyd’s way. His attention, however, stays steadfastly on Clouse. “You don’t want to do this,” He nearly shouts, “Attacking the spirits has consequences for the whole world, not just the Water Tribes, put it down!”

Lloyd had been too stunned by his uncle’s presence to even notice the bag Clouse is holding, something inside writhing frantically. Glancing back to the water below, he finds only the black koi with the white spot, its counterpart missing. Fear claws its way into Lloyd’s chest, greater than he knows what to do with.

Clouse only grins wickedly. “Exactly. Such a powerful spirit in mortal form? Imagine what could be done with it, imagine the legend of he who slayed it.”

“You would risk the world for your pride?! Let the spirit go, General!” Wu urges, both commanding and desperate.

“Provoking some of the oldest and most powerful spirits in existence will benefit no one.” Zane adds, their tone calm but deadly serious.

Lloyd has yet to find his voice, let alone his words, but looking at Zane, he notices Pixal standing next to them, looking unwell when moments prior she seemed fine. The princess notices his concern, and only meets his gaze resolutely. Something in his core aches, flooding his mind with fear and dread, and Pixal looks no better off.

Neither the generals nor her betrothed notice. “Set Tui free, nothing has been done that cannot be undone,” Zane tells Clouse, whose resolve seems to falter.

Squinting at them, Clouse’s eyes remain angry and determined even as his shoulders drop in defeat. He sighs, opening the pouch and releasing Tui back into its pond. That anxious thing inside of Lloyd eases and he takes a breath.

It’s as he exhales that a burst of fire hot and bright has Lloyd instinctively covering his face with his arms. His heart drops and the heat lingers on his skin. When Lloyd drops his arms the world is dark.

Chapter Text

Lloyd doesn’t have to look to know the Moon Spirit is dead, the lack of its light and the sorrow in his core is evidence enough. What he did have to see to believe, though, is Pixal with her blade to Clouse’s throat.

“Pixal,” Zane says, attempting to call her back. The princess doesn’t react. “My love,” They try again, “Killing him won't bring it back.”

“No. It won’t.” She says coolly, pressing her blade harder against his skin.

“Your Highness,” Wu starts, “Your people are defenseless, there are more pressing matters.”

She glances at the other general, then Zane. “Indeed.” She agrees, slitting Clouse’s throat then turning and walking away as the man starts to suffocate on his own blood. Lloyd can’t look away. The sounds are horrid. The smell is worse.

A gentle hand rests his shoulder and gently pulls him away from Clouse bleeding out on the floor. Finally taking in how his surroundings have shifted and who it is standing before him. “Uncle.” He gasps, basking in Wu’s unwaveringly kind gaze.

Wu smiles sadly and pulls Lloyd into a tight hug, one he doesn’t hesitate to return in full.

They stay in that embrace as moments pass, before the other pair’s words become less hushed. “Our people are dying as we speak.” Pixal nearly shouts, “I will not stand by and do nothing!”

“I’m not saying you should,” Zane counters, almost pleading, “But don’t rush to a last resort.” Zane begs, grabbing her hand in their own and squeezing it gently. Watching them, Lloyd pulls away from his uncle. Wu squeezes his shoulder encouragingly.

“Who else could save them?”

“I can.” Lloyd says, the words escaping him without forethought. Pausing, he has to think this through. “I can connect with spirits, right? If I join with the Ocean Spirit, maybe-”

“Waterbending is gone, Lloyd,” Zane interrupts sadly, “The battle is over, now we’re just waiting out the massacre.”

“No!” Lloyd shouts, “It can’t- I… I can’t just let my people murder hundreds of innocents. I have to be able to stop this, right? I can do something?” In his desperation, Lloyd turns to his uncle, watching him proudly.

“Follow your instincts.” He says, hand light on his shoulder before pushing him forward.

Okay. Ok. Lloyd takes a breath. Then another. He steps into the pond where La swims frantically around its other half, lost in its grief. “We can do something,” He says nonsensically, “We can help.” His eyes slide shut, and the world goes white.

—

Lloyd may be grossly inexperienced, but he is still the avatar. Zane hadn’t forgotten this, but watching the younger enter the avatar state to fight back his own army? Zane doesn’t envy his position, but they certainly respect it. Lloyd’s body sinks into the pond and its water begins to glow a brilliant blue, a stark contrast from the colorlessness just moments prior. The light emanates outward, water rising, pulling itself into a giant mass that Zane can only just make out the shadow of Lloyd’s body in. Together with the Ocean Spirit, Lloyd moves toward the coast. The tides have shifted, and though Zane cannot see the action, they trust the Fire Nation’s fleet is being thoroughly and swiftly demolished.

The dread in their chest eases slightly, but Pixal’s grip on their arm only tightens. Looking her way, Zane takes in the brilliant blue of her eyes for the last time. “I know my destiny, as do you. My life, I must go.”

Tears rise instantly, their throat closing up. “My heart is yours,” Is all Zane can think to say.

Pixal presses her hand to their cheek, Zane leaning into it desperately. “I know.” Grabbing their face properly, she angles their head downward to press their foreheads against one another in a final act of love. “You are my life.” She says softly, pressing a slow kiss to their lips. “But my death belongs to the world.” Zane’s tears fall relentlessly, but they don’t dare move to wipe them away, not daring to miss another second of looking at the love of his life.

Lowering her hands, Pixal starts to pull away, but Zane grabs her wrist. Rising to follow her, they pull their fiance into a bone crushing hug. They know it’s necessary – that this is how it was always going to end – but that doesn’t make letting go any easier. Eventually, Pixal pulls herself from their hold. “I will see you again,” She promises.

Turning to Lloyd’s uncle, the man holds Tui’s body tenderly before the princess. Pixal simply nods at him, standing tall as she places her hands on the koi.

A flash of light, and she falls. Zane catches her, cradling her body close. “I love you.”

Her form dissipates in their arms, and Zane sobs.

“I will always be with you.” Pixal. Looking up, she floats above the pond, bathed in white light, opaque and dressed in silver armor. “I will never leave you.” She says again, moving close and cradling Zane’s chin in her ghostly hand. “My heart, my love, my life.” Zane kisses her until she fades into nothingness. No, not nothingness. Looking to the sky, there she is. The moon. The princess of the Northern Water Tribe. The warrior who avenged Tui’s death and sacrificed herself so that the spirit may live. The other half of Zane’s heart. There she is, bright and beautiful, illuminating the night sky and restoring balance to the world.

—

Last night is hardly more than a blur. All Lloyd knows when he wakes up is that the sun is shining, the world is quiet, and the walls around him are made of ice.

“Did we win?” He asks, not knowing if anyone is even around.

“We won, hotshot.” Kai.

Turning to look at his friend, Lloyd finds the older sitting on the edge of his bed. Lloyd sits up. Behind Kai’s encouraging tone is an edge of grief. “What happened?”

“You merged with the Ocean Spirit and destroyed the Fire Nation ships – which was awesome, by the way–” Jay bursts from Lloyd’s other side.

Looking his way, Nya is standing beside Jay. She presses a hand to his arm to cut him off, Jay shutting up obediently. “Pixal sacrificed herself, giving her life force to Tui and merging with it in a more… permanent way.”

“Zane?” Is Lloyd’s first concern, surprising even himself.

“More or less unharmed, but not exactly alright,” Nya answers.

Lloyd nods. Belatedly, he thinks to ask “Are you guys okay?”

“We’ll be fine.” Kai answers, saying nothing of the bandage on his brow. It's small, though, so Lloyd doesn't press the matter. “You?”

Lloyd pauses, taking stock of himself. He’s exhausted, but otherwise feels fine. His main concern right now is getting up to speed. He remembers thinking he had to do something and approaching La, but the battle itself is hazy. Before that, however, he only has to focus to recall. He, Zane, Pixal. Clouse collapsed on the ground as he succumbed to his injury. The smell of blood. The sky a brilliant red. “Uncle,” He whispers, realizing he has no idea what happened to him or where he is.

“He’s fine,” Jay is quick to reassure, “Formally, I think he’s being held as an enemy of the state, but Zane’s testimony and the troop of firebenders he took out single handedly paint a pretty good picture. I think he’s mostly just waiting around to talk with you.”

Lloyd exhales amusedly, but there’s something fond about it. He saw Wu only last night, but he misses him terribly, even though he’s still fairly nervous about having an actual, serious conversation with him.

A knock sounds at the door. Kai calls for them to come in and the newcomer does, appearing to be a guard. “Good morning, the Chief has invited the avatar and his friends to breakfast in half an hour.”

“We’ll be there,” Nya tells her, “Thank you.” The messenger nods, backing out of the room and closing the door behind her.

“I, uh…” Lloyd starts, standing up. “I should find my uncle first.”

“For sure.” Kai agrees, and not a minute later is Lloyd roaming the halls, realizing he has no idea where he’s going. He’s fairly familiar with the lower tiers of the palace by now, but where Wu would be? He has no idea.
Lloyd’s hesitant to ask the few guards standing around — unsure if asking about a Fire Nation general would cause more concern than it’s worth — but as five minutes turn into ten, turn into fifteen, he decides to bite the bullet. “Excuse me,” He starts, getting a guard’s attention, “Would you know where my uncle is? General Wu of the Fire Nation, he fought on our side last night and I haven’t seen him since.”

“Sadly, no. My apologies,” They say.

“I do,” A familiar voice calls. Turning abruptly, Lloyd finds Zane walking their direction with a sad impression of a smile on their face. “I can lead you to him if you’d like, Avatar Lloyd,” They offer.

It’s almost certainly unprofessional, but Lloyd doesn’t hold himself back from launching towards the older and hugging them tightly. Zane hesitates, but slowly wraps their arms around him in turn.

“I’m sorry about Pixal,” He eventually says.

“I appreciate the condolences, but it’s not your fault.” Zane tells him, pulling back slightly. “Tui gave a piece of itself to her when she was born, she’s always known she would one day have to return the favor.”

It could be considered good news, but Lloyd frowns nonetheless. “Still.”

The corner of Zane’s lip quirks upward. “Still.” They echo, nodding sadly.

Chapter Text

Zane leads him to a small study, and the first thing that occurs to Lloyd is the irony of a firebender being left alone with shelves lined with Water Tribe texts. But as Wu stands facing away, Lloyd doesn’t know what to say first. Zane seems to notice his predicament and simply places an encouraging hand on his shoulder before leaving him alone with his uncle, closing the door behind him. Of course, it’s this sound that alerts Wu of his presence.

The older turns around, seeming almost calm after realizing who it is. “Nephew,” He breathes.

“Hi uncle,” Lloyd says awkwardly, unsure what comes next.

Fortunately, Wu takes the first step. “I am so proud of you, Lloyd,” He says, smiling.

Something in Lloyd breaks. “Really?” He asks, the word quiet and fragile. “You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?” Wu asks, feigning confusion.

“I… I ran away…” Lloyd answers, “I betrayed our people, I betrayed you.”

“You did no such thing.” Wu says resolutely, closing the space between them to place his hands on Lloyd’s shoulders. “You left because you had to, and you’ve been fighting to do the right thing ever since. The Fire Nation betrayed humanity itself. Standing up against its cruelty is what must be done, and I am so, so proud of you for getting there on your own.”

Lloyd laughs wetly, “Not on my own, really.”

“Well, I’m glad you’ve found good people.” Wu says, brushing Lloyd’s bangs out of his face — his hair was still black last time he saw him, Lloyd realizes, but he quite likes the blonde. It feels more like him, he thinks, but now he finds himself wondering if Wu likes it. Either way, his uncle doesn’t comment. “It’s important for the avatar to surround themself with compassionate and strong-willed people,” He says instead.

Lloyd pauses, considering. He knew Wu saw him airbend, but he didn’t understand. “If you knew… Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“That you’re the avatar?” Lloyd nods in confirmation. Wu smiles, “I always knew you were destined for something great. Besides, you needed someone in your corner back home.”

Lloyd falters, “Wait, you mean you knew? Before that day?”

“I had a hunch,” Wu shrugs dismissively. The motion would be infuriating if it were anyone else or if Lloyd wasn’t well acquainted with his uncle’s nonanswers. Instead, it’s almost reassuring to have someone who knows more than he does that genuinely believes in him.

“So… what happens now?” Lloyd asks.

“I imagine you should start looking for an earthbending master if you’re picking up waterbending as quickly as Zane has said.” Lloyd blushes at the compliment, but that’s not what he meant.

“And you?” He asks, already preparing himself for a goodbye.

Wu shrugs, as though he hadn’t planned whatever happens next out thoroughly. “A few ships fled after the battle last night, I’m sure I can manage to catch up with them.”

“But you betrayed the Fire Nation,” Lloyd points out, disbelievingly.

“None of them know that, now do they?” His uncle says conspiratorially. “Besides, if we’re going to end this war, it would be good to have a man on the inside.” Sensing Lloyd’s hesitance, Wu pats his arm. “You don’t need me, Lloyd, but when you do, I will be there.”

Lloyd nods, fighting to keep his eyes dry when the door creaks open. Glancing that way, it’s Zane. “Sorry to interrupt,” They start.

“No.” Lloyd says, turning back to his uncle. “I should-”

“Go,” Wu says with a proud smile. Hesitating for only a moment, Lloyd bows to the older. It’s time to meet with the chief, he supposes.

—

When he enters the dining hall with Zane beside him, Lloyd finds the room surprisingly empty. Only Kai, Nya, Jay, Benthomaar, and Chief Borg sit around the table. “Sorry I’m late,” Lloyd says, making his way to an empty seat.

“No worries,” Borg says simply, his eyes sad, “Family matters take priority after a day like yesterday.” Somehow, Lloyd wasn’t expecting the chief to have known where he was, but he doesn’t disagree, only nodding.

Borg takes this as a sign to continue, taking a deep breath. “It is largely due to your help that the Northern Water Tribe stands today, I want to be sure to thank you for that.”

“Of course,” Lloyd says automatically.

“Agna Qel’a has been fortunate to remain a stronghold, making it through the past hundred years with relatively little loss. This of course does not belittle the casualties we have suffered, but it is safe to say that things have changed.” The chief, always so composed and well-spoken, chokes on his next words. “I lost both my daughter and my brother last night.” Instinctually looking to Nya – who had been assigned to the general and his son during the battle, who had trained under Trimaar along with him – Lloyd finds only grief in her eyes as she gives the slightest of nods. “There will be a ceremony this evening to honor our fallen and rectify the line of succession, if you would like to address my people.”

“I would be honored,” Is Lloyd’s response, sufficiently humbled and struck by the loss the Water Tribe has suffered because of him.

“Following this,” The chief continues, “We will be taking a more proactive role in the war. We have held a defensive position for the past century, but if these massacres are to come to an end, we must step forward. I cannot ask you and your friends to do what me and my people are unwilling to do ourselves.

“You are welcome to stay, but I’d advise you all to head to the Earth Kingdom in the coming days. If you do not mind, Zane will accompany you on behalf of the Northern Water Tribe. They will continue yours and Nya’s training, as well as sending a message to the Earth King.”

“We’ll be happy to have them join us,” Lloyd says earnestly.

“Good.” Borg nods.“Now, I must prepare for tonight’s address. Let me know if you need any assistance.”

“I will, thank you sir.”

—

Try as he might to prepare a speech for the people of the Northern Water Tribe, Lloyd simply isn’t happy with anything he’s come up with. “You’ll be fine,” Jay says nonchalantly from across the room, “You just gotta introduce yourself, say we’re going to do whatever we can to end this war, and not do anything hugely disrespectful.”

“That’s not as helpful as you think it is, Jay,” Lloyd huffs.

“I don’t know, I think it’s pretty good advice.” The firebender says, shrugging and returning his attention to his maps.

“You can talk about Pixal and Trimaar,” Kai suggests, “Good people died, the public would like to know you feel that loss, too, I think.”

Nya nods, agreeing with her brother. “Besides, I doubt Borg’s expecting much of a speech. Just a public appearance before we hit the road.”

“Yeah, I know,” Lloyd sighs, “I think I’m just too in my head about it.”

“Would you like a distraction?” Zane says, entering the room.

“That sounds great, actually.” Lloyd says, standing up. “Let’s go.”

He wasn’t quite sure what he had been expecting, but it wasn’t Zane leading him to their personal room. It’s not just theirs, either. From the size and the opulence alone, Lloyd would wager it to be a royal quarters, the two-person bed only solidifies this in his mind. While Zane usually wears lighter blues and white or gray, the room is filled with touches of Pixal’s signature purple and navy. From the rugs to the light fixtures to the paintings on the wall, this space is just as much hers as it is Zane’s, if not more. Zane heads toward one of the dressers, packing their bags, leaving Lloyd to wander the room. It’s a piece hanging on the wall that draws his attention most: a painting of Zane standing on a balcony in the royal palace, looking up at the moon. Lloyd had always thought of the night sky as more or less black, but here it has swirls of deep blues and purples and even streaks of silver. It’s captivating.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Zane says, far closer than Lloyd had thought they were. He just nods wordlessly, looking to the other to see a sad but loving smile. “She painted this nearly three years ago. Can you imagine living every day knowing how it ends?” Lloyd expects anger but finds none, only awe and loss in the other’s voice. Zane turns, walking towards one of the nightstands and picks something up. When they face Lloyd again, he sees a necklace held delicately in their palm. “Her betrothal necklace,” They explain, “She hadn’t taken it off in the months since I gave it to her, but yesterday…” Zane trails off, looking only at the jewelry in their hand. A moment passes before they move again, reaching up to tie the necklace around their own neck, fiddling with the charm as soon as it's in place. Zane laughs softly, fondness undeniable. “She’s always been so wise, so stubborn. Spent the past couple years preparing me to mourn her. It doesn’t make it easier, though. Not really.”

Lloyd frowns. “No one’s ever ready to lose someone they love,” He says idly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Zane says, meeting his gaze again. “Pixal always knew her destiny. She was always meant for greatness, it never would have ended any other way. She’s long since made her peace with it, now it’s my turn.”

—

The rest of the day passes in a blur. Not he sort of blur where everything’s moving too fast, but where it doesn’t feel like time is passing at all until it catches up to you all at once. 34 tribesmen died in the last 48 hours, several more injured but most of which stable. Lloyd doesn’t know what to make of that. “We fought off hundreds of Fire Nation soldiers,” Borg continues, “This was a decisive victory, but that loss remains. Tonight we honor our fallen:” The chief lists the names, giving each a moment for the crowd – the hundreds of citizens listening – to mourn each life. “... General Trimaar Borg, and Princess Pixal Borg. My daughter’s death is not like the others as she lives on in unity with the Moon Spirit Tui, but we mourn her nonetheless.

“Given the loss of my only child as well as my brother, the next chief of the Northern Water Tribe will be my nephew Benthomaar when my time has passed.” Borg turns to the younger, gesturing him forward.

“Hello,” He starts, “My time to lead will hopefully be far in the future, but I will fight for a better present every day. Tonight we grieve, and that grief will carry on into tomorrow and the days, months, and years ahead, but this war has gone on long enough. Too many lives have been lost, and it is time we stand with our brothers and sisters in the South as well as in the Earth Kingdom to put a stop to this war. This is not something any of us can achieve on our own, but by coming together with our allies, we can fight back and put an end to this bloodshed. I believe this. I believe in a future where we all can live in peace, and this is in no small part due to the privilege of meeting the avatar.” Benthomaar looks his way, “Who I will now let introduce himself.”

Bentho steps back, Lloyd’s cue to take center stage. “Hi,” He starts, “It’s an honor to stand before you all. You have probably heard about me, but you deserve to know who I am. My name is Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon, heir to the throne of the Fire Nation, and the avatar. Being raised in the Fire Nation, I was told the war was to share our greatness with the world, but over the last several weeks I’ve learned what a horrific lie that was. The only reason for the past century’s worth of bloodshed is greed and pride, and I will not tolerate that. This war is not mine nor is it yours. It is my father’s war, and his father’s before him, and it never should have gotten this far. I will do everything in my power to put a stop to the Fire Nation’s brutality and right my ancestors’ wrongs.”

A few hesitant claps sound when it’s clear he has finished. Slowly, it grows into a steady round of applause, but Lloyd is under no illusion that these people trust his word. Generations have lived and died in this war, he’ll have to do more to earn their faith that they will actually be free of this fear.

Chapter Text

War is merciless, Cole’s seen it time and time again. He saw it when his mother died. He saw it when his father left. He sees it every time a new orphan comes his way. It’s a small village, but there are more children than adults. It was little more than ruins when he first found it, when he first met Geo. Over the past few years, they've turned it into a sort of sanctuary. It’s not the nicest place to live, but it’s defensible. Warding off any Fire Nation soldiers that manage to find them tucked deep within the forest, Cole has been able to be a founding member of what has grown into a small town: the Land of the Lost, as Geo’s taken to calling it. A safe haven for refugees with nowhere else to go. Ba Sing Se isn’t an option for everyone, especially not orphans. It was just Geo, Bonzle, Fritz, and Spitz when Cole stumbled upon the ruins of Taku. Now, they’ve grown beyond that – both in numbers and land – and Cole is proud of what they’ve managed to build, but deep down, he almost hates this place. The Land of the Lost is his home, he’d do anything to protect it, but it should never have had to exist. A village of orphans, of children and teens with nowhere else to go, no one else in their lives, nothing else to their name. Cole loves it here, but he hates that it exists, he hates that he can’t do more. He just hopes that one day, it will no longer be necessary.

Chapter Text

“Now, we’re happy to have you, Zane.” Jay starts as they settle into the Bounty. “But let’s get one thing clear: this is Lloyd’s crew, but it’s my ship, you got me?”

“I got you,” Zane says placatingly.

“Good, good, because I know we haven’t really talked much so I just wanted to make sure you knew.”

“I think they get it, Jay,” Kai butts in, “You’re a control freak, we know.”

“I am not a control freak.” He denies, Lloyd having to stifle his laugh at that. “It’s just that Zane needs to know we don’t really operate under ye ole ‘great avatar! Should we go east or west?’” Jay says, throwing himself at Lloyd’s feet for the bit.

Lloyd just blinks, fighting a smile. “South, Jay.”

“What our dramatic friend is trying to say,” Nya starts, “Is that we all contribute in our own way, we don’t have a hierarchy or anything like that. Lloyd’s the avatar, Kai’s helping him with firebending, I helped him with waterbending, and Jay’s in charge of transportation.”

“Ah, so this boat is yours?” Zane asks, returning his attention to Jay.

“More or less,” He shrugs.

“It was a gift,” Kai clarifies, “It's ours now.”

“Hey what’s this ‘ours’ business?” Jay asks, reeling on the other firebender.

Lloyd just scoffs. “Welcome to the family, Zane.”

—

“We should get our story straight.” Nya says as they start preparing to head into Chenbao, its port visible on the horizon.

“In what sense?” Zane asks.

“We wore Earth Kingdom clothes on our way up to avoid suspicion,” Jay explains, “I mean, I like blue, personally, and if we’re not trying to hide Lloyd’s avatar status then there’s no need for disguises.”

Lloyd’s still a bit hesitant, but he can’t argue with Jay’s reasoning. The world needs to know the avatar is back, whether he likes it or not. “Still probably not a good idea to waltz into Earth Kingdom villages in Fire Nation garb,” Kai says.

“Earth or water, fireboy,” Jay tells him, “Your choice.”

The two continue back and forth, but Zane leaning towards Lloyd catches his attention. “Aren’t they both fireboys?” They whisper, confused.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it, Jay just says stuff.”

Zane purses their lips and hums. “Fair enough, I suppose.”

Eventually the pair’s banter slows down long enough for Kai to realize something. “Hey guys?” He calls, “Uh… what are we doing in Chenbao, again?”

“Other than getting supplies and having somewhere for Lloyd to train that isn’t extremely flammable?” Jay snarks helpfully.

“I am needing to convert my funds to Earth Kingdom currency,” Zane says.

“And I gotta get some new maps, I’m not too familiar with central Earth Kingdom waterways,” Jay adds.

“Hold on, you’re telling me none of your thirty eight maps have the river we need?” Kai asks, disbelief clear.

“Rivers, actually,” Jay corrects, “And sure, some feature them, but not well enough to formulate a timeline or have an idea of the villages on the shores we can get supplies at.”

“Not to mention our ostrich horses,” Nya points out, earning the group’s attention. At Zane’s inquisitive gaze, she elaborates, “We bought some, left them with Jay’s friends before heading into the Northern Sea.”

“Sailing is more efficient, though, is it not?” Zane asks.

“I’m sure it is,” Lloyd agrees. “It’s probably best to leave our mounts with the pirates, at least for the time being.”

“Pirates?” Zane wonders aloud, and frankly, Lloyd’s been wondering too.

“How did you meet those guys, anyway?” Kai asks.

Jay seems almost bashful, an odd look for the usually brash guy. Nya notices it too, “Well now you gotta share.”

He sighs. “It’s a long story, but the short version is that I may have made myself a bit of a rival of their previous captain – not a great guy, by the way – and got taken prisoner. He wasn’t even good to his own crew, and while I have a special talent for annoying people, my stubbornness has earned me some respect among the crew. I helped them, they helped me, and none of us had to deal with Nadakhan ever again.”

“That is… disturbingly vague,” Zane notes.

“Thanks for sharing, Jay. Glad it all worked out,” Lloyd tells him.

“Me too.” Jay flashes him a smile. “Also, we’re here.”

—

Docking at the same port the Bounty was when they first saw her, the group is swiftly greeted by one of Jay’s friends. “Back- back so soon?” The man – Clancee, if Lloyd remembers correctly – asks teasingly.

“What, you didn’t miss me?” Jay counters with a wide smile.

“Never.” A tall, muscular woman deadpans. Lloyd doesn’t recognize her, but Jay does.

“Yeah, yeah,” He says dismissively, “You had enough of me before we even met. Love you too, Dogshank.”

“Dogshank?” Zane echoes.

Her scowl doesn’t waver as she turns to the rest of them. “Finally found people who can bear your company, I see. Keep an eye on this one.” She warns gruffly, pointing her thumb in Jay’s direction. “He thinks he’s funnier than he is.”

“We’re well aware, ma’am,” Nya says with the slightest hint of a smile.

“Ma’am?” Dogshank notes, seemingly surprised. “Oh, I like you.” She decides, leaving Nya beaming as the captain joins them on the dock.

“Added another member to your crew?” Flintlocke asks as he approaches. “Don’t see many lone Water Tribe folks around here. What exactly are you up to, Jay?”

An awkward breath of a laugh escapes the man in question. “Well…” Jay trails off, looking to Lloyd, who steals himself. It’ll be public knowledge soon enough, probably for the best, too.

“I needed a waterbending master, and Zane is a trusted advisor to the chief, authorized to speak on his behalf when it comes to discussing means to end the war.”

“Pardon?” Flintlocke says flatly, not helping Lloyd’s hesitance.

Fortunately, Kai steps up. “Lloyd’s the avatar,” He says simply, “We’re going to fix this and put an end to the war.”

The captain’s lips do quirk upward at that. “Well, I do respect the ambition, at least. But how in the fresh hell did this scamp become a companion of the avatar?” He asks incredulously, gesturing to Jay.

“I’ll have you know-”

“I found him dumpster diving,” Lloyd interrupts smugly.

Jay turns on him faster than Lloyd would have thought possible. “Hey!” Lloyd feels his eyes widen, but only shrugs and purses his lips. Jay sulks for a few seconds before returning his attention to his other friends. “I’ll have you know it was a very clean dumpster…”

—

After a few hours in Chenbao, they set sail once again. Lloyd is sitting on the deck, idly watching Jay teach Nya to sail when Zane approaches. “Hello,” They greet, “I was wondering if you’d like to get started?”

Standing up, Lloyd agrees. “Sure, should we get Nya?”

Zane smiles slightly, looking past Lloyd in her direction. “I’d hate to interrupt. Besides, I’m not under the impression she needs my instruction. She’s a natural.”

“And I’m not?” Lloyd asks, only mildly offended. He’s picked up waterbending way faster than firebending. He knows he’s doing well, but he’s also well aware Nya is better than him.

“Oh, you are,” Zane tells him earnestly, “But Nya’s been teaching herself for years. There’s no replacement for experience.” Turning and walking to the far end of the ship, Jay and Nya are nearly out of earshot when they continue. “Besides, I’m not wanting to start with bending today.”

Zane sits down on the floor, crossing their legs and looking at Lloyd expectantly. “Let me guess: meditation again? Why?” He asks, but follows their lead regardless.

“Your waterbending is quite impressive for only having practiced for a couple weeks, but there is more to bending than physical practices. I’d like to help you develop your mindfulness, as it will help you with every element, especially air.”

“You want to help me with airbending?” Lloyd asks, somewhere between eager and confused.

“Yes and no, air and water are generally considered the closest of any two elements when it comes to technique, but they are distinct. I’m afraid you will have to forge your own path as the last airbender.” Zane says somberly, causing Lloyd to frown. “Still, air is the most spiritual element, known for its freedom from earthly attachments.”

“But I’m pretty good at airbending,” Lloyd can’t help but wonder aloud. “I’ve never been great at spirituality and all that, but air is how I found out I’m the avatar.”

Zane smiles slightly. “It’s fortunate airbending comes naturally to you, but understanding and connecting with an element’s nature will strengthen your bending more than any other singular practice.” Lloyd nods, their words lining up with his experience with firebending all too well. “You don’t have any experience with earthbending, do you?” Zane asks.

“I’ve never tried.”

“It’s not an issue,” They assure him. “I’d like you to close your eyes and breathe deeply.” Lloyd obeys, Zane continuing shortly after. “Reflect on fire: what it is and how it feels. What does it mean to you?”

Fire doesn’t like Lloyd, his mind supplies.

Pushing that unhelpful thought aside, Lloyd thinks about training with a revolving door of frustrated masters as a child. Each of them had a different complaint: that he was too weak, too afraid, too timid, too passive, too gentle. Many said either to his face or to his father – with no mind to his presence – that he would never be a successful firebender. That despite being born a bender, he lacked the power to wield such a force. That he wasn’t strong enough. That he didn’t have the courage to command his flames.

He remembers his mother pulling him aside, telling him that he was capable of greatness. That his gentle soul would be a source of immeasurable power. That — like every other firebender — his heart is the key to his fire. That flames didn’t only come from rage or pain, but desire. That fire is never satisfied, always wanting more. That he will unlock his fire’s true strength when he discovers what it is he wants most.

“Fire is energy,” He starts, “It’s born from passion. I don’t think I really had anything I was passionate about growing up. I was never good enough at anything to really call it a talent. I didn’t have much drive in general. I’ve never really wanted much before.

“I’ve made progress with firebending the past few weeks. I think that’s just as much from Kai and Jay’s advice as it is from me not hating myself as much,” Lloyd admits quietly. “I don’t know, it’s stupid. I’m homeless and am being hunted across the world, but it’s the happiest I’ve ever been?

“I know it’s sad. I don’t mean that it’s been all sunshine and rainbows away from home — the opposite, really — but I just… I’m still figuring out who I want to be, but being out in the world makes me feel alive. That doesn’t make sense, does it? I mean, it’s not even what you asked.” Lloyd opens his eyes, meeting Zane’s gaze.

“I asked you to reflect on your relationship with fire,” They remind him, “There are no wrong answers.”

“I didn’t even really answer the question,” Lloyd argues. “I guess I’m starting to embrace fire on my own terms? Like it doesn’t have to be a reminder that I’ll only ever be a disappointment to my family and my people, it can also be a reminder of what I’ve found for myself outside of it. With Jay, Kai, and Nya, I mean. I have firebending teachers who are kind and good and actually care about other people. Fire can be protective too, not just destructive. That’s still sinking in if I’m honest, but I don’t think I’m afraid of it anymore, at least not as much.”

“You were afraid of fire?” They prod gently.

Lloyd sighs, “Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but I only ever saw firebending used in combat or training, or when people lost their temper. It’s aggressive, you want to avoid it when possible.”

“Not inherently. Fire is life and desire and emotion. It is the only form of bending that comes directly from the wielder. Firebending is an extension of the self. Anything can be a weapon in the hands of someone with ill intent, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything about the tool itself.”

“Yeah…” Lloyd agrees, still grappling with the fact that he doesn’t know if he had anyone in his life growing up who didn’t have ill intent. He and Uncle Wu only became close over the last few years, and he hardly ever uses his bending around Lloyd. After losing his son, Wu retreated into himself. He’s become much gentler, but it almost seems to be more out of guilt than any underlying morals.

Harumi can be vicious, but how much of that is intentional? As much as Lloyd still thinks of his sister as just a kid, she’s 16 now. Is she truly mean-spirited, or is she just a people pleaser? Is she cruel or just competitive? How much of her behavior is just her living up to the expectations that have been set? Lloyd fell short every day of his life, but Harumi is good enough. She goes through life meeting or (more often) exceeding standards. Has she ever cared about why, or is she too caught up in her performance? Can she be blamed if she never stopped to consider how she treats other people? It’s not like either of them had anyone modeling that kind of behavior growing up.

“It just sucks that I’m having to relearn everything I know about firebending because I grew up surrounded by assholes.”

Zane hums sympathetically. “Well, you’re never too old to learn something new. What does airbending mean to you?” They pivot.

“Gosh,” Lloyd sighs. “It’s kind of a double-edged sword. It’s fun, and it’s wholly my own in a way nothing else has ever been. I don’t know if that makes sense… I just- It’s something that I get to figure out for myself. You and Nya and Jay and Kai are great, but it’s nice to be able to just let loose and explore something on my own.” He’s not great at it, but Lloyd enjoys airbending. The small smile he may have been sporting slips off his face as he continues that train of thought. “But every time I find myself thinking it’s nice to have something all to myself, I feel so selfish for even thinking that. An entire civilization was wiped off the map by my family. I shouldn’t get to be happy about anything about this.”

“You don’t think the airbenders would want their culture to live on? For their descendants to find joy in their bending?”

Lloyd scoffs sadly, “I’m not their descendant, I’m the grandchild of their murderer.”

“You’re more than that, Lloyd,” Zane pushes.

“Because I’m the avatar?” He asks, unimpressed.

“Because you’re a person,” Zane says firmly. “We are more than our history. There is loss and pain in all of our pasts, and we nor our forefathers are perfectly innocent. The only thing we have to do is to live, and to try to do better than we have before.”

Lloyd lets this sink in. He does believe his father and grandfather were wrong, he doesn’t doubt it anymore, but wrongs have to be punished. He can’t even imagine what that would look like for his father, and his grandfather is dead. Everything Lloyd does wrong reflects on his family, so wouldn’t the reverse also be true? The Firelord who killed all those people isn’t around to pay for his crimes against humanity, so that burden falls to his family: to Lloyd. ‘Trying to do better’ isn’t enough, it can’t be. Hundreds of thousands of lives were taken. It’s his job to make that right, but… Is it even possible?

Chapter Text

Lloyd and Zane talk for what could have been hours, and he does actually feel like it made a difference. Yeah, he feels a bit shit, but if he’s able to reconceptualize how he approaches his bending, he thinks he can make big strides. Fire doesn’t have to be angry, it can be kind. Air doesn’t have to be a reminder of loss, it can be freedom to be himself. Water doesn’t have to be quiet, it can be strong: fluid but unyielding. And earth? Lloyd hasn’t even attempted earthbending, he’s never really thought about the element or what it means to him. In a way, Lloyd supposes it represents everything he takes for granted, but also the stability he’s always lacked.

Next time they dock, he’s tempted to give earthbending a try, but he’s hesitant. His confidence has come a long way in the past month, if he’s not able to earthbend, it could really set him back. He knows it's stupid, but water and air are so much easier than fire, what if earth isn’t? He’s not in a rush to be bad at something now that he’s somewhat comfortable with fire. So he puts it off. It’s not like any of the others expect him to start earthbending yet, anyway. It can wait a few more weeks.

—

Zane may be a new addition to their little group, but they fit right in. Most of their time sailing is spent on waterbending practice, which leaves Kai and Jay plenty of opportunities to get on each other’s nerves, but Zane has an unusual talent for worming their way into the pair’s little arguments and descending the whole conversation into chaos. Lloyd hadn’t expected someone so put together and mature to be so good at driving other people crazy, but their ability to shift bickering into bantering is wildly impressive. Lloyd and Nya have begged Zane to teach them their technique on multiple occasions, but the older just plays dumb every time.
When on land, however, Lloyd trains with Kai while the others set up camp, gather supplies, and cook. It’s a nice routine, only made better by Zane’s presence with their affinity for cooking. It’s comfortable, but Lloyd should know by now that nothing stays comfortable for long.

“I don’t think there’s much more I can teach you, Lloyd,” Kai tells him one day after they’ve just finished running drills, startling the younger.

“What?” Lloyd asks dumbly.

“You’re a good firebender. You’ve improved a lot in the past couple months. I wouldn’t go so far as ‘master,’ yet, but I think the rest just comes from experience.”

“I- what do you mean?” He’s still thrown, having not expected this conversation in the slightest.

“I mean,” Kai starts, “That you’re going to start earthbending training soon, and I think you should just focus on water until then. You’re in a good spot with fire, Jay thinks so too. A bit more sparring here and there, sure, but I think you’re about ready to move on.”

Lloyd feels unsettled. Glancing at his hands, he’s actually begun to shake. “I…” He can’t speak, he can’t think. He’s panicking. Why is he panicking? He- He can’t see.

—

Kai doesn’t know what he was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t for Lloyd’s eyes to start glowing and the nearly still air to start whipping wildly. This has to be the avatar state, right? But this hasn’t happened before, not like this. A gust knocks Kai into a tree, one he instinctively wraps his arms around to keep from blowing away. “Lloyd?” He calls, barely able to hear himself over the wind in his ears. “Lloyd! You’re okay, bud. I didn’t mean to upset you, I’m sorry. I need you to come back, though, so we can talk about it.” Kai’s properly shouting now, to make sure he’s heard, but Lloyd doesn’t react in the slightest.

“Lloyd?!” Nya calls, rushing into the clearing with Zane and Jay hardly a step behind her. The wind keeps her from getting much closer than Kai is, though. “What happened?” She asks him.

“I was just telling him how we think he’s about done with firebending and he just shut down,” Kai answers.

Nya’s brows furrow as she considers this, but her eyes remain sympathetic. It isn’t her who speaks next, though. “Lloyd?!” Jay calls, pushing against the wind to get closer to his friend. “Hey, buddy, you’re gonna be okay, yeah? We’re not going anywhere. You couldn’t get rid of us if you tried, you know that, right? You’re doing good. You’ve come so far. I know so much has changed recently, but I promise this is a good thing. We’re not trying to pawn you off on anyone else, okay? I’m not going anywhere, Lloyd. Kai and Nya aren’t going anywhere, and I’m pretty fucking sure Zane is sticking around, too. No one’s leaving you, okay? We’re family now, Lloyd, there’s nowhere you could go I wouldn’t be right behind you.”

The relentless wind eases slightly. And then again. It calms until Kai doesn’t have to hold onto a tree to stay in place, not that he does, anyway. The second the air settles, Kai is already racing towards the other, catching Lloyd in his arms before the kid can even start to fall over. “I’ve got you. I got you.” He soothes, lowering them both to the ground. “I’m here, Lloyd. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

—

Lloyd wasn’t asleep, he knows he wasn’t asleep, but he feels like he’s waking up. Someone’s saying something, holding him gently but with a desperation he’s never been on the receiving end of. They’re warm, Lloyd notices. They’re here, he knows, and they’re not going anywhere.

“Kai?”

“You bet, asshole. Gonna have to try harder than that if you want to get rid of me.” The firebender teases, but his tone is overwhelmingly soft. Worried, even.

“You…” It wasn’t Kai before, though. “Jay?”

“Yeah, don’t let this buttwipe take the credit, I was the one who talked you down, he just caught you.”

“Which is also important, mind you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Are you alright, Lloyd?”

Was he? “What just happened?” He asks, moving to stand on his own.

Kai hesitates, looking at the others. “Uh…”

“You went into the avatar state,” Nya supplies, “Do you remember?”

That’s what that was? “It wasn’t like that last time,” Lloyd says idly.

“The avatar state serves to protect you, but it looks as though it operates differently depending on the situation,” Zane starts, “It seems to be a more jarring event when triggered emotionally.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Lloyd thinks aloud, “But I don’t know why I reacted like that, it wasn’t like I was in danger or anything.”

“Not physically.” Kai agrees, gently placing a hand on Lloyd’s shoulder. “But you felt unsafe, at least subconsciously. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out. You know we love you, Lloyd, we’re in this for the long haul.”

Lloyd smiles weakly. “Thanks. I love you guys, too.”

—

After talking it out with the others – mostly Kai – Lloyd came to the conclusion that, frustratingly, Jay was spot on in his assessment of Lloyd’s anxieties. He uprooted all of their lives, after all, why would they stick around more than they had to?

Well, apparently friendship is mutual and Lloyd isn’t the only one who cares about the others. That should not have thrown him for as much of a loop as it did, but it might not just be his family’s politics that are a bit fucked up. He’d rather not think too much about that, though. Instead, he throws himself into waterbending. He, Nya, and Zane are absently passing a stream of water back and forth when Jay raises his voice.

“Hey guys?” He calls, getting their attention. “Some of my maps have this city, but most don’t. I think it’s abandoned, but do we want to swing by anyway?”

Stopping the exercise when the water returns to them, Zane asks. “How far off course is it?”

“Not very,” Jay answers, “A couple hours max. If we stop early tonight, we can get there by nightfall and spend the night there.”

“Even if it is just ruins, there will be some sort of shelter,” Kai points out.

Lloyd nods his agreement, as does Nya. “What city is it, anyway?”

“Taku.”

“Hmm,” Nya purses her lips, “Don’t think I’ve heard of it. I’m down to check it out, though.”

—

And so a handful of hours later, the group finds themselves at the base of a mountain. “Didn’t think to mention it was nestled in a mountain range?” Kai asks.

Jay rolls his eyes. “It’s the Earth Kingdom, Kai. Maps say there are mountains just about everywhere that isn’t desert, how was I supposed to know it was more literal than usual?”

“Who are you guys?” An unfamiliar voice sounds. Turning to find the source, Lloyd spots a pair of kids, no older than ten, looking their way from a dozen or so feet uphill.

“Fritz.” One of them hisses, glaring at the other.

“What?” The other – Fritz – asks, “They don’t exactly look like soldiers to me.”

“Still,” His friend huffs.

“Uh, hi?” Lloyd greets, “Are you guys from around here?”

Both boys steel themselves upon being addressed. “Who’s asking?”

“My name is Lloyd, these are my friends Kai, Nya, Jay, and Zane. We’re looking for a place to spend the night, but don’t know how to get up the mountain.”

The kid they haven’t gotten the name of scoffs. “That’s kinda the point,” He says.

“Is it just the two of you out here?” Kai asks.

“Stranger danger, much?” Fritz almost sounds like he’s joking, but the words are followed by a sharp, two-toned whistle.

The other boy eyes them carefully, “Where are you guys from?” He asks. It’s a fair question, considering Lloyd and Kai are in Earth Kingdom garb while the others sport warm-weather Water Tribe clothes.

“That’s a bit of a long story,” Zane starts, “But I’m from the Northern Water Tribe, and my friends-”

“Get away from my kids,” A new voice demands from behind them. Spinning to face the newcomer, Lloyd finds a man who looks to be around Kai’s age, but is both taller and wider. He exudes strength and a protective fury Lloyd would think overreactive, but if the boys really are his, it’s understandable for the stranger to be protective if his children ran off, considering the state of the world and all.

“We mean no harm,” Zane says placatingly.

“Good.” The man responds, but his guard doesn’t drop at all. “Fritz, Spitz, go home. Tell Geo we got company.” The boys nod and are off without another word before the stranger speaks again. “What are you lot doing out here?”

“Just looking for a place to camp out for the night,” Nya answers.

“And you just wandered all the way out here?” He asks incredulously.

“We were looking for Taku,” Jay pipes up, “Weren’t sure if it was still standing, but we’ve been on the road long enough that it was worth a shot.”

The stranger hums, defenses lowering ever so slightly as he takes them in. “What’s you guys’ story?”

Lloyd’s friends look at him. “It’s a long one, but the long and short of it is we’re heading to Ba Sing Se. We don’t mean any trouble, really.”

The man looks over them one more time before his shoulders drop. “Alright, come on.” He says, beckoning them to follow before turning on his heels and walking back the way he came.

“What?” Jay asks, confused by the change in attitude.

“Refugees, right?” He asks, “We’ve got a camp set up. Dinner is soon, too.” As if just noticing the abruptness of the exchange, he turns around. “I’m Cole, by the way, and you guys are?”

“I’m Nya, this is my brother Kai and our friends Jay, Zane, and Lloyd.” She introduces, earning a quirked eyebrow in her direction.

Cole glances between her and Kai once more before asking, “Where are you and your brother from?” And shit, maybe they didn’t think through having the siblings wear clothes from different nations. That’s not even avatar related, it’s just odd.

“Yu Dao,” Kai answers honestly, “We’re a pretty mix-matched crew.”

Cole laughs softly at that. “Yeah, I gathered,” He says, not batting an eye at a waterbender being from a Fire Nation colony. “Anyway, we’re here. Welcome to the Land of the Lost.” Cole announces as they enter the outskirts of the city’s ruins. While the buildings themselves appear barely more than rubble, the area is teeming with life. There’s a group of kids playing soccer, a handful of teens chatting in a circle, a handful of young children drawing in the dirt with the company of a young woman, and a smattering of other families gathered around. Most of them don’t pay their group any mind, but a few wave in Cole’s direction, a gesture he returns with a smile as he makes a beeline further into the camp.

“Land of the Lost?” Lloyd belatedly echoes.

Cole huffs fondly. “Bonzle was partial to calling it Orphan City before I showed up, but I had to ruin it by having a dad who’s still alive. Last time I checked, at least,” He says with a casualty that almost makes Lloyd sick.
He doesn’t get the chance to formulate a response before he spots Fritz and Spitz again, accompanied by two young adults. One is stirring a large pot of something while the other is lounging, appearing bored. The kids are the first to notice their approach.

Fritz nudges the other. “See? I told you they were fine.” He says, pointing their way.

“Eh,” Cole shrugs, “They passed phase one, at least.” He jokes before leaning close to the one cooking and pressing a quick kiss to their cheek.

Looking their way, Cole’s partner(?) smiles politely. “Nice to meet you folks. Geo, he/they.”

“Zane, they/them. My companions are Lloyd, Nya, Kai, and Jay.”

“Bonzle.” The remaining stranger says, giving them a two-fingered salute. “So what’s y’all’s deal?”

It’s important to spread the word, Lloyd reminds himself, hope is a powerful thing. “I’m the avatar. We’re heading to Ba Sing Se to find an earthbending master and meet with the king about how to end the war.”

The group’s reactions are surprisingly mild, them all looking surprised and/or doubtful. “I thought the avatar was just a myth,” Spitz says.

“The avatar used to exist,” Geo tells him, “but they haven’t been seen in generations. Until now, apparently.” They look pointedly at Lloyd, but his gaze isn’t unkind.

Lloyd smiles softly at the kids. “It was a surprise to me, too. I’m still more than a little unclear on the history myself, but here I am.” He summons a flame as he talks, before dismissing it and creating a light breeze around the group.

“Woah,” Fritz gasps.

“Huh,” is Bonzle’s reaction. “Well, if you’re looking for an earthbender, Cole’s the best I’ve ever seen.”

The man in question huffs lightly at the compliment. “Maybe, but I’m needed here,” He says.

“Oh yeah, cause we’d never survive without you. Oh wait, we did,” She deadpans.

“Are you trying to get rid of me, Bonz?”

“Why I’d never,” She says, mock-offended.

“We wouldn’t want to take you away from your friends, anyway,” Lloyd tells him.

Cole looks his way warmly. “Thank you for taking my wants into account, unlike someone.” He glares teasingly at the woman, who just shrugs. “I guess I could give you some pointers if you guys are sticking around for a bit, though.”

Looking back at his friends, Lloyd tries to gauge their thoughts. “We should get to Ba Sing Se sooner rather than later,” Zane says, “But I suppose we could spare a couple days.” Jay nods and the siblings voice no disagreement.

Lloyd isn’t exactly emotionally prepared to try earthbending, but since finishing his firebending training, it makes sense to get going. His anxieties are quiet enough for the time being that he’s able to push them aside fairly easily. “Sure, that’d be great.”

Chapter Text

The next day, Lloyd’s friends offer to help around the camp after breakfast, leaving Lloyd to approach Cole. “Hey.” He greets, walking up to where Cole was pulling water from a well. The older turns to face Lloyd with a neutral expression. “Uh, were you serious about teaching me some stuff?”

“Sure.” Cole shrugs, picking up the couple of buckets he had filled and moving to carry them back towards the center of their community. “I’ve helped kids with their bending here and there over the years. No offense, but I don’t imagine it will be much different.”

Lloyd smiles at the man’s jab. “Yeah, I’ve never actually tried earthbending, so those kids probably had a leg up on me.”

“Really?” Cole asks, “Any particular reason?”

And well, this guy knows nothing of Lloyd’s actual story. He could dodge the question easily enough, but something about Cole feels safe, and Lloyd finds himself wanting to share with him. “Well, I’m from the Fire Nation-” Lloyd starts, keeping an eye on Cole’s reaction, but the man only purses his lips, no disgust or apprehension in his expression. “And I’ve never been good at firebending. I’ve gotten a ton better in the past couple months, but I had always been a huge disappointment to my family. Air and water have come fairly naturally to me, so I guess I’m expecting to struggle with earth, so I’ve been putting it off a bit.”

“Hmm.” Arriving at their destination, Cole sets down the buckets and continues on to a more open area. “Well, you’ll never know if you don’t give it a proper try, and now’s as good a time as any.”

“Okay.” Lloyd agrees as they come to a stop, still within the Land of the Lost, but away from any real structures or people. “So what do I do?”

Cole smiles cheekily. “What would be your first instinct if I weren’t here?”

Lloyd considers this. “Well, Zane said earth is about stability and strength, so I guess I’d try to, like, settle into my body and my surroundings?” It made sense in his head, but he’s not sure if it comes across in words very well.

“Good.” Cole encourages, lowering himself to the ground and taking a seat. “Zane is right, but earth is also about resilience.” He says, drawing the symbol for earth in the stone with his finger as though it were sand. “It’s about will, consistency, and relentlessness.”

Lloyd winces. “Not a good sign for me. I couldn’t even tell you how many times I’ve been called weak-willed, and nothing in my life is consistent.”

Cole’s lip quirks upward, but his eyes are sympathetic. “Consistency isn’t about staying the same, but staying true to yourself. Knowing what you want and being steadfast in your pursuit of it is the core of earthbending, at least for me.”

“Yeah, none of this is boding well for me.”

With a swipe of his hand, the earth shifts to erase Cole’s drawing, and the man stands. “Right, being self-deprecating is just counterproductive. Get up.” Lloyd does so, and Cole continues, “We’re gonna punch some rocks.” He stomps once, and a boulder emerges in front of them. Lloyd just stares at the rock that’s just as big as he is, if not bigger, glancing between it and Cole. “Come on, widen your stance and get low.” Oh, they’re doing this. Okay. “Steady. Be unmovable.” Lloyd digs in his heels and does as instructed. “Are you sturdy?” Cole asks.

“Think so.”

“Nope!” Cole says, pushing him over, Lloyd stumbling to keep himself from falling over entirely. “If you don’t believe you’re strong enough, why would the boulder? Here.” Cole falls into a stance: feet wide, knees bent, hands in fists ready at his side, core engaged. Lloyd nods, doing his best to copy the earthbender. Cole rises, moving closer. He pushes Lloyd’s shoulders down. “Relax. Calm and in control, yeah?” He nudges Lloyd’s elbows closer in before taking a step back. “Good, now punch the air, show me your form.”

Punches Lloyd can do, it was all his firebending teachers’ back home favorite drill. Oddly enough, Lloyd’s only just now noticing that he rarely sees Kai or Jay bend with their hands in a fist. Interesting, but that’s a thought for another time. Taking a deep breath, Lloyd steadies himself before throwing a punch straight out in front of him.

“Mkay,” Cole nods, laughing slightly, “I can definitely see the firebending roots. It’s not about speed or aggression, but power. And while breathing’s always good, it’s not a focus. If anything, earthbending is more about your heartbeat. Steady, constant, strong, necessary, but rarely consciously noticed.” That… makes sense. “Again, but engage your whole body. Be anchored down, let power come from your legs rather than your chest.”

Lloyd nods sharply, letting his body untense as he sinks into it before throwing another punch. “Good!” Cole says, “Now do it again, but at the boulder.”

“At the boulder?” He echoes, thinking that seems a bit fast.

“Yep.” Cole confirms, angling Lloyd’s shoulders to face the boulder head on. Lloyd shakes it out before falling back into his stance, more than a little hesitant. “You got good form and good power, you’re just lacking confidence. Dial in and prove to both yourself and the rock that you’re in control. Unstoppable force versus immovable object type beat, one of you has to yield and it’s not going to be you, yeah?”

Lloyd exhales sharply, summoning his strength. “Okay.”

Cole takes a step back. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Steadying breath, relaxed shoulders, anchored down, strong root. Lloyd punches the rock at full force. It only slides a few feet, but holy shit it slid! He did it! “I did it,” He breathes disbelievingly.

“Hell yeah you did.” Cole says, clapping him on the shoulder. “Congrats Lloyd, you’re an earthbender.”

—

They take a couple breaks, but Lloyd spends most of the day with Cole, learning so much. “Guys! Look what I can do!” He says, excitedly showing off his new moves to his friends at dinner. He can move rocks and make little stone pillars pretty reliably and he’s so fucking proud of himself.

“That’s incredible Lloyd,” Nya encourages.

“Master of all four elements, here we come,” Jay beams.

“Now hold on,” Kai says, “We don’t want the kid to get a big head.”

Zane shrugs. “Eh, I think Lloyd’s earned it.”

—

The next morning, Lloyd is again training with Cole – and having a blast doing it – when three sharp whistles sound in rapid succession. Cole instantly drops his form, turning in the direction of the distant sound. “What is it?” Lloyd asks, concerned by the earthbender’s reaction. The whistle sounds again, this time overlapped by another person’s repetition, sounding closer. In a matter of moments, it’s a cacophony of short, shrill whistles echoing across the camp.

“Firebenders,” is all Cole says before taking off, sprinting in the direction of the first whistle. Lloyd takes off after him, the sounds tapering off until the Land of the Lost is dead silent, the only thing Lloyd can hear is Cole’s thundering footsteps as he races across the camp, Lloyd only a beat behind him.

“What’s going on?” Nya asks, appearing at Lloyd’s side.

“Firebenders, apparently.”

Nya’s expression sours. “I’ll get the others.” She says, heading off to do just that.

Lloyd keeps running after Cole until the man comes to a sudden stop, Lloyd almost running into him. “What-” Cole points off the edge of the mountain, following the gesture, Lloyd spots three people clad in red riding mongoose lizards. The middle rider has blindingly white hair. “Shit,” Lloyd breathes.

Harumi.

“Do you know them?” Cole asks.

“My- My sister,” Lloyd manages, his throat feeling tight, “They’re after me.”

Cole steels himself, nodding slightly. “Okay. You need to get out of here.”

“What? No!” The other’s statement shocking him out of his panic. “This- She must have followed us here.”

“Lloyd,” Cole starts, “Does your sister pose a threat to you?”

And god, what Lloyd would do to be able to answer that question the way he so desperately wants to. “... I don’t know,” He admits, unable to look his friend in the eye.

“Then it’s my job to keep her away from you.”

“What? No, this is my fight,” Lloyd argues.

“You’re the avatar, Lloyd. If you’re going to end this war and save the world, you have to make it that far, and you’re not in a position to fight right now.” So Cole did notice him freaking out, great. “Get your friends and get out of here.”

“I-”

Lloyd barely registers the sound of fire before it stops, his sister dropping to the ground before him and Cole. “Hello Lloyd,” Harumi greets sweetly, “You’ve made quite a scene, you know.” She says, picking at her nails absently.

“What do you want, Harumi?”

Her pleasant smile drops, “You to stop embarrassing yourself. Running off to the other side of the world because you got sick of being second best? That’s just pathetic, even for you.”

“What is your problem?” Cole asks, boggled and offended on his behalf.

The princess seems to notice him for the first time. “Sorry, who are you?”

“A friend,” Cole says evenly, “And you are?”

“Princess Harumi of the Fire Nation, here to retrieve my brother, and I assure you you do not want to get in my way.”

“Rumi, please,” Lloyd croaks.

Her gaze slides his way. “Come home, Lloyd. I’d hate for this little camp to become collateral,” Harumi pauses, considering, “Actually, I don’t really care. It’s up to you how messy this gets, but you know you won’t win.”

Harumi’s friends are closing in. Neither are benders, but that doesn’t mean they don’t pose a threat. Ultraviolet is deadly with her daggers and throwing knives, and while Cole is a big guy, he has nothing on Killow. The man has a good foot on Lloyd and is a force to be reckoned with. He rarely carries a weapon because he doesn’t need to. Lloyd trusts Cole can hold his own, and his friends are plenty capable, but this isn’t a fight Lloyd feels good about. “You don’t have to do this, Harumi. This war only hurts people on all sides, it’s not worth it,” He all-but begs.

His sister scoffs, now flanked by her companions. “Wow, you’ve always been weak, but this is a new low. You were already a disappointment, Lloyd, must you do all this just to dishonor Father more?”

It’s nothing he hasn’t heard before. Weak, incompetent, embarrassing, disappointment, dishonor. Maybe it’s the familiarity of her venomous words that has Lloyd biting back hot, angry, shameful tears. He doesn’t even notice Harumi moving forward, only seeing Cole slide her backwards with a swift brush of his hand. The girl fumes, raising her fist to fire, only for a blaze of lightning to rain down between them and her. Lloyd’s attention snaps the way it came from just in time to see Jay jumping down from a nearby ledge. “Am I interrupting something?” Jay asks cockily as he moves toward the group.

Something dangerous flashes in Harumi’s eyes, the princess smiling wickedly at the blue-clad firebender. “A lightning bender. Finally, a decent challenge.”

“Thank you?” Jay responds, confused, before Harumi unleashes a barrage of white-hot flames that he manages to deflect, the fire fading closer to the standard orange as Jay takes control. Lloyd finds himself frozen in place, unable to bring himself to move against Harumi. When he finally tears his gaze from where Jay and Harumi are locked in combat, Lloyd looks around to find Cole holding off Killow while Nya fights Ultra.
The others are nowhere to be seen, but as Lloyd surveys the area searching for them, he finds only the humble, hand-built camp on fire. The residents of the Land of the Lost have taken shelter as their home burns. A cobbled-together safe haven for orphans and refugees destroyed, actively crumbling and collapsing as a result of his little sister’s carelessness.

No, Lloyd realizes, Harumi is too cunning, too precise to cause this much damage on accident. She’s doing this on purpose. He hasn’t even been here long enough for her destroying the camp to have been part of Harumi’s orders, she just wanted to. She’s doing this just because she can.

Something inside Lloyd breaks.

—

Cole has to remind himself that he doesn’t really know Lloyd. He’s always been too caring for his own good, Cole knows, but he can’t be bothered to care right now. This kid – the goddamn avatar – is scared shitless of his own sister. Cole doesn’t need to know any more. Did the princess imply Lloyd is Fire Nation royalty? Yes. Does Cole give a shit? Not at this particular moment. He’s more concerned with the safety of his family and his new friend. You don’t grow up in a war zone this long to not have learned how to compartmentalize, so Cole files that tidbit away and continues beating up a guy twice his size (which, mind you, is saying something). At least until an abrupt gust of wind nearly knocks both him and his opponent over.

Having already been engaged in combat, Cole somehow becomes even more alert, swiftly erecting walls around the warrior he had been fighting before turning to the only bender capable of such a thing. When his gaze lands on Lloyd, the kid is half-knelt on the ground, his eyes glowing a brilliant white as his fingers dig into the ground blindly, clawing like talons. The air only grows more panicked.

Cole twists, drawing up the earth to anchor his feet to the ground as the wind whips violently. Looking around, he watches Harumi get knocked over, somehow making the near-fall look graceful as she uses her firebending to propel herself back, away from the worst of the storm. The other girl that was with her honest-to-god growls from where she has her knives dug into a tree before pulling them out and falling back to retreat with the princess. Watching her run leads Cole’s gaze right to Nya, where she is using her waterbending to secure both herself and Jay to a tree. The Finders are all still hiding, and Kai and Zane are nowhere to be seen.

Chapter Text

When Lloyd wakes, it’s quiet and warm. Opening his eyes, he finds himself back in his quarters on the Destiny’s Bounty, tucked soundly into bed and alone. Groaning, he sits up. “Did I pass out?”

“After nearly blowing us off a cliff? Sure did, buddy.” Jay appears in the open doorway.

After a moment, Lloyd remembers. “Harumi,” He says, something close to terror seeping into his voice.

Jay enters the room properly, moving to sit beside Lloyd on his bed. “Fled pretty quick after you went into the avatar state.”

Lloyd blinks. “What? I- nevermind,” He shakes his head, “Harumi ran? That’s not like her.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Jay shrugs, trying to lighten the mood. “Anyway, you doing alright? Zane’s gonna want to check in on you.”

He doesn’t even process the question. “Is Zane alright? Did everyone make it out okay?” He asks frantically.

“Everyone’s fine,” Jay says placatingly, “Are you?”

It’s a frustratingly good question, Lloyd can’t help but think. He can more or less remember what happened, but he wasn’t in control. He was just… afraid. “I don’t know,” He laughs weakly.

Jay frowns, but as he opens his mouth, another figure enters the room. “Lloyd, you’re up!” The man greets.

“Cole?” Lloyd asks dumbly, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m tagging along for a bit, unless you mind,” Cole teases.

“Of course not, but what about your family? You said you didn’t want to leave the Finders.”

The older smiles sadly, leaning against the doorframe. “I’ll come back. They can manage just fine without me, and I owe it to everyone we’ve ever hosted at the Land of the Lost to do what I can to help end this war. If that’s teaching the avatar earthbending, I’m in.”

“Are they okay? What happened?”

“They’re fine,” Cole reassures him plainly, “Let’s head upstairs and we can all debrief.”

Lloyd nods, pushing himself to his feet. “Yeah, alright.” Jay smiles at him unconvincingly, but the effort is appreciated. Lloyd did have a huge meltdown, after all, they’re already being generous by not getting onto him or so much as mentioning it, though Lloyd doubts it will stay that way for long.

The walk to the deck is short but quiet. At least until Jay shouts, getting everyone’s attention. “Lloyd’s up!” Kai and Zane halt their conversation and turn to the newcomers. Nya looks their way, but doesn’t move from the ship’s wheel, instead beckoning them over with a tilt of her head.

“You good, Lloyd? You were out for a while.” Kai says, slinging an arm over Lloyd’s shoulders which softens the concern in his voice.

Instinctively looking to the sky, Lloyd finds the sun halfway to the horizon, it’s already late afternoon. “I’m fine,” He dismisses, “What about you? I didn’t see you after Harumi arrived.”

Kai hesitates, looking toward Zane. “Kai and I were on damage control,” They answer in his stead, “Trying to minimize the damage done to the Land of the Lost and keep everyone safe.”

“Okay,” Lloyd sighs, relieved, “And they’re alright?” He asks again, still not trusting it.

“No one got hurt,” Cole answers, his tone both gentle and firm.

Lloyd hadn’t even realized how tense he was until those words – that reassurance – finally sinks in, making his shoulders drop. “Good, good.”

“By all means,” Zane continues, “We are justified in being worried first and foremost about you. The avatar state may not have been seen in a hundred years, but it surely should not render you unconscious.”

Lloyd winces. “Well, powerful but vulnerable, right?” He tries.

Zane squints at him. “How much do you know about the avatar state, Lloyd?”

Lloyd looks around at the others. “Uh, just that?” He says, figuring this group wouldn’t want to hear that the extent of his knowledge about the avatar — about himself — consists of the Fire Nation policy for how to eliminate them.

They sigh lightly, closing their eyes. “Right.” Zane says when they meet his gaze again. “The avatar state is triggered when the avatar is in either extreme danger or distress, it allows them to harness the power of all prior avatars.”

“And if killed in the avatar state, they can’t reincarnate,” Lloyd finishes. He catches Nya looking at him funny, but thankfully she doesn’t say anything.

“Yeah,” Zane hedges, “The avatar state takes a lot of time, practice, and discipline to master, Lloyd.”

“Of which I have none,” He deadpans, earning a surprised snicker from Jay, who is promptly shut up by Kai’s elbow in his ribs.

Zane is visibly fighting back sighing again, when he instead turns to Cole. “Do you want to take it away?”

“Sure,” He agrees, “I don’t know why I’m doing an announcement like you don’t all already know this, but I’m coming with you guys to teach Lloyd earthbending. We need to get to Ba Sing Se sooner rather than later so any aid we can get from the Earth King can happen as soon as possible, though, and sailing is the fastest way there, so I don’t know how much actual earthbending we’ll get done, but we’re going to do what we can.”

Lloyd nods. “Cool, but, uh… I know we were already planning on going to Ba Sing Se, but what exactly is the plan?”

“You — the avatar — and Zane — a delegate from the Northern Water Tribe — are going to request military aid from the Earth Kingdom so we can stop the Fire Nation,” Nya explains.

That’s not exactly the answer Lloyd was looking for. Harumi is after them now, they can’t afford to waste any time or opportunities, because Harumi will take advantage of every extra second they allow her. “Okay, but-”

“But what does that actually look like?” Kai says.

“The Fire Nation’s strength comes from its structure,” Cole says, “They don’t have the other nations outnumbered, just separated and too busy struggling to survive to take action.”

“So we need to rally the people,” Jay summarizes.

“And get Lloyd trained up,” Nya adds.

“Okay, this is starting to sound like a plan,” Kai says, “What’s our eta?”

Nya is the one at the helm, but she swiftly deflects. “Jay?”

“A little over a week, roughly, depends on weather and how long our stops are.”

“We’ll need to make a supply stop pretty soon,” Kai points out.

Jay hums, considering. “There’s a village about a day’s trip out,” Cole says, “It’s on our way.”

“Fire Nation?” Nya asks.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been, myself. Last I heard, soldiers came through regularly but there isn’t any formal military presence.”

“That’s probably the best we’ll get in this region,” Zane comments.

“Right,” Lloyd agrees, “Pit stop tomorrow, then.”

—

Between training with Zane and sparring with Nya – in which she repeatedly and resoundingly kicks his ass every time – Lloyd feels like he’s making a lot of practice with waterbending. He’s still mastering the techniques Zane has been teaching him, but practicing with both them and Nya has helped him become far more comfortable with the element. Of course, that going well means it’s time to pivot to something Lloyd isn’t as good at.

“This isn’t a punishment, Lloyd.” Zane reminds him as they sit down to meditate at literal dawn. Lloyd really hadn’t expected this ‘rise with the sun’ bull from his waterbending master, so he might be just a bit pissy.

“Then why now? It’s too early for this, and shouldn’t I be focusing on bending, anyway?”

Zane quirks an eyebrow at him. “We’ve established that meditation is an important tool for all, particularly benders and especially the avatar.”

Lloyd sighs, already knowing this is a losing battle. “Fine, what’s the deal today?”

“You’ve entered the avatar state by accident a few times now, connecting with the avatar spirit will help you maintain control when in that state.”

“Okay?”

“You communicated with a prior avatar in the spirit oasis,” Zane says matter-of-factly, “I’d like you to try to do that again.”

Lloyd frowns, confused, but doesn’t argue, simply falling into his meditation posture. Right, how did he talk to that guy last time? He’s pretty sure he was just thinking about what the avatar is and does, which seems relevant here, too. So yeah, okay. He’s the avatar, this can’t be that hard. Um, the avatar’s job is to maintain balance in the world. But that seems a bit unfair, considering there isn’t any balance to maintain, at least not nowadays. Instead, Lloyd is tasked with ending a hundred year war his family started. His grandfather is dead, has been for ages. Shouldn’t it have been the avatar back then who should have stopped all this before it even happened?

“You make it sound easy,” An unfamiliar voice says. Opening his eyes, Lloyd finds a young boy – or at least the spirit of one – sitting across from him. “We could pass blame forever,” The kids says lightly, “Everything wrong with the world is technically the avatar’s fault, if you think about it.”

Lloyd blinks. “Who are you?”

“I’m Aang.” The kid beams, and as Lloyd takes in his shaved head and the arrow tattooed on his head, he belatedly realizes that Aang must have been an airbender. “Lloyd, right?”

“Uh, yeah?” He confirms dumbly, “Sorry, you’re a past avatar, right?”

“Yep! Or, well, I would have been,” He sombers abruptly, “I never actually learned any other elements, was too young.”
Lloyd feels sick, but he can’t stop himself asking, “How young?”

“12. Traditionally, we’re supposed to find out that we’re the avatar at 16, but us last four haven’t been so lucky.”

He doesn’t want to know, but he needs to. “What happened?” Lloyd asks, voice barely more than a whisper.

“The Firelord at the time used the Great Comet to wipe out my people, myself included,” Aangs says, startlingly bitter for how unusually jovial the kid seems to be by default.

“And the others?” Lloyd asks weakly.

“Not my story to tell, but obviously we haven’t had the best luck.”

Lloyd bites back a ‘No shit.’ “Well, that’s something we have in common, I guess,” He says instead.

Aang gives him a small smile. “The world never makes it easy on us, but that’s why we’re needed.”

Chapter Text

Lloyd doesn’t get much more out of Aang, strictly speaking, but the knowledge that none of the past cycle’s worth of avatars made it past the age of 50 strikes him. All three avatars lost to history died younger than Lloyd’s own mother. Aang was fucking twelve. All Lloyd’s frustrations about how ending this war should have never fallen to him now have nowhere to go. Who’s job should it have been if not Aang, if not Scott or Skylor or Roku? Deflection of responsibility is what got them this far, and Lloyd has to learn from his past lives.

“Scott?” He calls after Aang’s spirit dissipates, their conversation complete.

The spirit appears only seconds later. “Lloyd,” He greets.

“What-” Lloyd cuts himself off, burying his head in his hands. He rubs his eyes before meeting the other’s gaze. “How am I supposed to fix this? Fix the world?” He says helplessly.

“You’re already doing so well, Lloyd,” Scott tells him. “As I said before, the most important advice I can give you is to take action. I spent my life preoccupied with the safety of myself and my loved ones, but by focusing on my home, I neglected the needs of the world until they came to my doorstep. I sat back, protecting my family, my town, and left all of humanity vulnerable in the process, including us. Be smarter, be stronger than I was, Lloyd. You must be proactive.”

And with that, Scott disappears and Lloyd slams back into his body, nearly falling sideways.

It’s Kai who reaches out a hand to steady him. “Hey, you’re alright, yeah?”

… Sure. Taking in his surroundings, Jay is at the helm, the sun is nearly at its peak, and Zane is nowhere to be seen. “How long…?”

“A good few hours,” Kai answers, “Zane said you were in the spirit realm and that you’d be fine, but I figured I’d keep an eye out, just in case.”

“Thanks,” Lloyd says automatically.

“So… how’d it go?” Kai asks awkwardly.

“Oh, uh, I met Aang, the last Air Nomad avatar. He was only twelve when he died.” Kai’s face drops, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead he squeezes Lloyd’s arm sympathetically, encouraging him to continue. “Yeah, that happened. Like, I can’t even be upset with him or the others for not doing their job anymore because how is a kid supposed to stop a war?”

“You’re a kid, too, Lloyd,” Kai reminds him.

Lloyd looks at him flatly. “I’m 19, don’t act like that’s not different.”

“It is,” The firebender agrees, “But it shouldn’t be on you either. The whole thing sucks, but you can’t blame the victims. That includes yourself and your past lives.”

Lloyd scoffs, “I’m not a victim.”

Kai squints, confused. “Everyone I’ve ever met is a victim of this war, of the world that came to be because of it. Except higher-up military folks, but even then.” He waves his hand dismissively.

Lloyd isn’t convinced. Sure, in the Earth Kingdom just about everyone’s been negatively affected by the war, but Lloyd’s Fire Nation royalty, at least he was. Okay, his childhood wasn’t perfect, but is that really because of the war? All the privileges he grew up with certainly were, so he’s pretty firmly in the ‘benefitting from the death and subjugation of others’ category. He keeps this to himself, though.

—

A few hours later, they’re docking at the edge of a small Earth Kingdom village. The Fire Nation presence here is not something that escapes Lloyd’s notice, and he isn’t sure what the current news is regarding him, so he keeps his head down. Splitting up to grab supplies, Lloyd, Cole, and Jay are checking out the local fruit stand when a Fire Nation soldier approaches.

“Whatcha got there?” They ask threateningly.

Jay just looks back from the fruit in his hand to the soldier. “Papaya?”

The soldier laughs shortly. “So hard to come by anything fresh out here. You’d think if earthbenders were capable of anything it would be passable farming, but alas…”

“Sorry, can we help you?” Cole interjects, faux-polite.

“Yeah actually, you’re going to buy me and my mates some fruit.”

“Uh, no thanks,” Jay deflects.

The soldier’s eyes darken. “I wasn’t asking.”

They move to raise their hand, but the ground lurches underneath them, and they barely manage to stay on their feet. “Hey asshole!” A teenager with bright pink hair storms up to them. “Surely a big strong firebender like yourself can afford his own groceries, yeah?”

“Sora?” Cole says, surprised, earning the kid’s attention.

“Oh, hey Cole,” The stranger — Sora — say pleasantly.

Meanwhile, the soldier is scowling at them. “Don’t start a fight you can’t finish, kid.”

“I didn’t,” Sora tells them simply, “If you want to spend your money in our village, be our guest, but — like I told the last Fire Nation gang that rolled through — we don’t tolerate threats or harassment here.”

Lloyd sees the soldier tense, readying to lunge at Sora, and starts to move to stop the confrontation, but Sora simply twists her ankle and the other’s feet are now trapped in stone. They pull back their fist, but Sora erects a wall between them before the soldier summons his fire. When the flames dissipate, she drops the wall. “In case you haven’t caught on yet, you’re not winning this fight. Ready to get out of here?”

The firebender seethes but stays silent, a beat passes, then another before they nod. “Good.” Sora says, removing the restraints. “Now leave.” And they do, turning and walking away at a steadily increasing pace the further they get. “Well that was easy.” Sora says, turning back to the trio. “Hi, it’s been a while, Cole. Who are your friends?”

“This is Lloyd and Jay.” Cole introduces, gesturing to each of them in turn. “The Fire Nation’s been giving you trouble?”

“Eh, not as much as I give them,” She says smugly.

“Good.” Cole smiles. “You and Arin are doing alright, then?”

Sora shrugs. “As well as we can be. He’s just over at the shop if you want to come say hi.”

“You have a shop?” Cole asks, impressed.

The pair start walking, Lloyd and Jay trailing behind them. “I mean, we also live there,” Sora says, “But yeah. We mostly do mechanic work, but Arin also sells his pies.”

“Pie?” That gets Jay’s attention.

Sora smiles. “Yep, he’s a great baker, you guys should try some.”

“We just might have to buy a couple,” Lloyd agrees.

Soon, they’re coming to a stop outside a small two-story building. “Home sweet home,” Sora says, sounding genuine, “Come on in.” She opens the door and beckons them to follow as she shouts. “Arin, guests!”

“What?” Someone – presumably Arin – hollers back distantly, a concerning ruckus coming the moment after. “Hey, Riyu-” Arin calls, voice louder now as rapid footsteps bring him closer to the group. “You need to stay-!” Sprinting down the stairs is a wholeass baby dragon, being chased by a boy with dark, curly hair and a light brown, almost orange, hoodie. Seeing they’ve been spotted, the teen drops his outstretched arms. “Hidden,” He finishes lamely.

The small dragon runs straight up to Lloyd, who instinctively shows the creature his palms and slowly lowers himself to its level. “Hey, buddy,” He greets, only somewhat awkwardly, “Can I…?” He points to the young dragon and looks between the two teenagers. Getting a shrug from Sora, Lloyd slowly reaches towards the small, blue dragon, who stays still, simply making eye contact with him. It can’t be more than a baby, not yet the size of a koala sheep, but there is an intelligence, an intent in its gaze. When his hand makes contact with its smooth, cool scales, the dragon exhales before leaning into the touch, making Lloyd just beam.

“Wow, he really likes you,” Arin observes. Lloyd laughs happily, petting the little guy with less hesitance now.

“Lloyd likes him, too,” Jay says, “But why and how do you have a baby dragon?!” He exclaims, clearly boggled.

“Yeah,” Lloyd agrees, but doesn’t look away from his newest friend, “Dragons are supposed to be extinct.”

Despite not looking their way, Lloyd can hear Sora’s scowl. “No living thing is ‘supposed to be’ extinct.”

“He didn’t mean it like that,” Cole hedges.

Sora sighs. “I’m sure he doesn’t,” She says, sounding unconvinced.

“We grew up in the Fire Nation,” Jay tells her, “We’re just surprised is all.”

Lloyd barely catches the heavy look Arin throws at Cole, silently pressing him for why he would bring strangers from the Fire Nation into their home. Cole just keeps his expression open and easy, but with a sympathetic look and an apologetic smile.

Every time, it takes less and less effort for Lloyd to gather his courage, but it still isn’t exactly easy. Maybe it never will be. Nonetheless, it only takes Lloyd a few seconds to coax himself into telling them. “I’m the avatar,” He says simply.

Arin’s eyes instantly fill with awe, but Sora is more reserved. “Really?” The boy asks.

Lloyd even manages to smile as his eyes catch a glass of water on a nearby table. Knowing that the teenagers almost certainly have a suspicious-at-best relationship with fire and now able to bend every element at least semi-successfully, Lloyd bends the water from the cup in a small stream towards him, shaping it into a sphere before sending it back. He then flicks his wrist, creating a light breeze through the room.

“Damn, and you’re Fire Nation?” Sora clarifies.

“Yes, and I am going to end this war.” Lloyd tells them, and, for the first time, he thinks he actually believes it.

Chapter Text

Jay ducks out to go meet up with the others and bring them back to Arin and Sora’s place, while Cole catches up with them. Lloyd attempts to be friendly, but he’s preoccupied with the young dragon he finds himself increasingly attached to with every passing minute. He’s almost entirely tuned out when he hears his name. “What?” He asks, looking in the trio’s direction.

“Oh, just asking if Cole is your earthbending teacher,” Arin supplies.

“Yep.” Lloyd confirms, Riyu still comfortably situated in his lap.

Sora gives him a small, approving smile. “Consider yourself lucky. Cole’s the best earthbender I’ve ever seen.”

Cole laughs, clearly flattered. “I could say the same about you,” He replies. Sora responds with a bashful shrug, but neither confirms nor denies the claim.

A knock sounds at the door before Jay opens it without waiting for a response. “I’m back with the rest of team avatar,” He declares.

“Team avatar?” Lloyd echoes teasingly as Jay, Kai, and the waterbenders join the group.

“We needed a group name,” Jay shrugs, “I’m open to suggestions.”

“Ignore him,” Kai cuts in, “I’m Kai. You’re friends of Cole’s?”

“Yep, spent some time in the Land of the Lost a while back,” Sora supplies, “But we can take care of ourselves. I, at least, am more helpful out here defending our village than helping to build up a refugee community, not that that’s not incredibly important work.”

“You know where you’re needed,” Zane says, “That is admirable.”

Sora gives them a small smile. “Thanks, and you are?”

“Zane,” They answer simply.

“And I’m Nya.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Arin, this is Sora, and that’s Riyu.” He says, gesturing to the small dragon Lloyd has yet to separate from.

“Oh my god, you have a dragon?” Kai exclaims.

The teens exchange a look. “Well…” Arin starts, “Zanth found Riyu a few weeks ago. We’re more than happy to have him here, but…”

“Zanth?” Nya asks.

Sora’s eyes light up. “Come with me.”

—

“Zanth and I go way back,” Sora explains as the group heads out of town. “She saved my life long before I met Arin.” They reach a small cliff face, but Sora doesn’t stop moving, only earthbending a door into the side of it and leading them forward.

She scoops up an unlit lantern, taking a moment to fumble for a match before Lloyd offers. “May I?” She raises an eyebrow at him but hands him the lantern, which he lights before passing back to her.

“My parents were very loyal to the earth king and believed he could do no wrong, but I was always a curious child. I wanted to know more about the outside world, which wasn’t allowed in Ba Sing Se, so eventually I ran away. I was ten. I got as far as I could before taking shelter in a cave. Pretty quickly I realized it wasn’t just a cave but one of many entrances to a great cavern where one of the last dragons in the world resides.” As Sora speaks, Lloyd sees a hint of light coming from around an upcoming corner. Once they turn, Lloyd can see a large, well-lit room deep underground. “Welcome to Hope’s Burrow.” Sora announces as they step into the wide open space.

There are fire pits and pools of water and plants peeking out between the rocks. Far beneath where Lloyd would think any ecosystem could maintain itself is a cavern filled to the brim with light and life, and in the center of it is a brilliant teal dragon, eyeing him carefully. Upon Lloyd meeting their gaze, the dragon rises, heading his way.

Riyu — who until now had yet to leave his side — sprints forward, meeting the larger dragon halfway. Lloyd starts to call out for the smaller, but stops as the large dragon simply leans down, resting its head on the ground near Riyu and letting him climb on top of its head before standing tall once again.

Sora walks right up to the pair, leaning against one of the grown dragon’s legs. “How are you doing, girl?” She asks, “Zanth, this is the avatar, Lloyd, and his friends,” She introduces, “Everyone, this is Zanth.”

“Incredible.” Kai breathes, reverence clear as he takes a step closer.

“Yeah, she’s pretty great,” Arin confirms, “Riyu is too, of course, but he’s a bit more of a restless soul. Not very well suited to living in hiding, are you buddy?” He asks, earning a chirp from the young dragon.

Lloyd sighs, “He shouldn’t have to hide, neither of them should.”

“Yeah, well, the Fire Nation hunted them nearly to extinction for bragging rights, so…” Sora says bitterly, Lloyd knows it’s not directed at him though.

“I need to do something about this,” Lloyd says.

“Yeah, but it can wait until after we end this war,” Jay tells him.

“Yeah, of course,” Lloyd agrees weakly.

It seems no one knows how to respond to that, so the group stands in silence for a moment before Zane clears their throat. “Thank you for sharing this place with us,” They direct to Arin and Sora, “But we should resume our journey.”

Nya nods, “It was great to meet you, though.”

“Yes, thanks for trusting us with this,” Cole says warmly.

“No problem,” Sora waves him off,” Now go save the world or something.”

The older earthbender laughs but gives her a little salute. “Pleasure to meet you Zanth, Riyu,” He tells the dragons.

Riyu yips, hopping down Zanth’s neck before gliding off her back in Lloyd’s direction. “Yeah, I’ll miss you too,” He admits quietly. It’s odd how quickly he got attached to the young dragon, but Lloyd has to keep moving. He has a job to do.

Lloyd pets Riyu thoroughly before eventually pushing himself to his feet. “I’ll see you again someday, yeah?” Riyu genuinely barks at that, running around Lloyd’s feet to stand between him and the exit.

“What is it, Riyu?” Arin asks, coming closer. “Lloyd has to get going.”

He yips aggressively, and Lloyd thinks he understands. “You want to come with us?” He asks, and there’s no denying the way Riyu’s eyes light up as he hops excitedly.

“Oh, I see,” Sora starts as she walks over. “You meet the avatar and now you’re too good for us?” She teases, only for Riyu to lunge at her, knocking her over and licking her face affectionately.

“You’re really leaving?” Arin asks, sounding as though he already knows the answer. “Come here.” He wraps his arms around Riyu, hugging him tightly, Sora joining in a moment later.

When the three finally separate, Cole is the first to speak. “We’ll take care of him.”

“You better.” Sora threatens wetly before giving Cole a short but bone-crushing hug.

“Take care of yourselves,” Arin tells them.

Lloyd nods. “You too.”

—

Surprisingly, adding a baby dragon to the group doesn’t actually change all that much. With their human crew up to six, the main cabin is full, but there are still two unoccupied bedrooms. Jay is the one to suggest Nya take her own room – since it’s technically his ship – but she refuses. If they pick up more people on their way, maybe, but until then it’s a firm no. Lloyd is pretty sure her stance is solely on principle of being the only woman in the group, but he is firmly staying out of it. Besides, Riyu is small enough to share a bed, and he’s taken to sleeping with Lloyd, sleeping with his chin resting on the avatar’s chest. Riyu just… fits. Lloyd hadn’t realized he was missing out, but it’s like he was always meant to have Riyu by his side.

The next few days pass without much fanfare. Lloyd spars with Kai a couple times, but most of his time is spent training with Zane and Nya. Given that they’ve been sailing straight through since stopping in Arin and Sora’s village, he hasn’t had much opportunity to work on earthbending, but Lloyd is feeling quite confident with his waterbending these days.

“Time to stop splashing around!” Jay calls during one of their sessions, “We’re only a few minutes out from port!”

“Finally, back to solid ground.” Cole says as he and Kai come up from the lower decks.

“More importantly,” Zane adds, “We are nearly to Ba Sing Se.”

“That too,” Cole concedes, sounding unenthused.

It’s not the first time Cole has seemed less than excited about their destination Lloyd has noticed. “Not a fan?” He asks.

Cole shrugs. “I mean, I’ve never been, but it doesn’t sit right with me that the vast majority of the Earth Kingdom is left to fend for themselves while the upper class live comfortably behind their wall.”

Zane frowns slightly, but doesn’t say anything. “I get that.” Kai agrees, slinging an arm over Cole’s shoulders. “But that’s why we’re here, to inspire action.”

“What my brother said,” Nya seconds, “Now are we ready to hit the road or what?”

Chapter Text

After finding and paying for a place to dock the Bounty for the indefinite future, it’s only a few hours walk until Lloyd finds himself at the base of the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. After the attack at the North Pole, this city very well may be the last stronghold that remains unscathed on this side of the war. Lloyd isn’t sure what it is that thought makes him feel, but it’s not great. Regardless, they still have to actually get into the city.

There aren’t any clear entrances – which Lloyd supposes makes sense – but there are some guards nearby. Riyu obediently hops into Cole’s backpack to stay out of sight, and Lloyd starts trying to flag someone down. “Hello?” He calls, earning the unimpressed attention of one of the soldiers. “Hi, I’m the avatar. I’m here to meet with the Earth King.”

The man’s expression remains neutral. “Is he expecting you?”

“No, but-”

“Do you have papers?”

“No-”

“Then you must make an appeal with immigration.”

“What?” Jay exclaims.

Zane gently pushes both him and Lloyd aside to address the soldier directly. “Hello, I am a delegate from the Northern Water Tribe traveling with the avatar and his companions. As a foreign dignitary with the permission to communicate on behalf of our chief, I humbly insist that you allow us to meet with your king to organize collaborative efforts to end this war.” The man hesitates, likely due to the sheer respect Zane’s calm and clear voice demands.

“I will fetch my commanding officer.” He says, turning and stepping towards the wall before bending the earth beneath his feet upwards, carrying himself to the top.

“We could just do that,” Cole points out.

“We should probably act like we respect their policies, at least for now,” Nya says, sounding just as unhappy about it as their local earthbender.

A few minutes later, an older gentleman in a far more elaborate uniform descends from the wall. “Apologies for the delay,” He starts, “My name is General Hailmar, head of Ba Sing Se’s military and responsible for her protection. You claim to be the avatar, yes?”

“Not just claim, sir.” Lloyd says, turning to Nya, silently asking her permission which she grants with a slight nod. With a simple motion, Lloyd pulls water from her pouch, bending it between himself and the general and forming a small sphere to demonstrate. He waterbends it back in Nya’s direction and she swiftly takes over as Lloyd produces a small flame in the palm of his hand.

The general’s eyes widen. “I see, and how may we be of assistance, young avatar?”

“We seek an audience with the Earth King,” He says simply.

Hailmar considers this for a moment before nodding to himself. “Very well, come come.” He says, beckoning them closer to the wall. Surprised at the man’s apparent cooperation, Lloyd shuffles forward with his friends in tow. Soon enough, the general is earthbending them over Ba Sing Se’s outer wall. “The monorail is this way.” He says, leading them onward. “I will send ahead word of your arrival and someone will meet you in the Inner Ring.”

“Thank you,” Lloyd says pleasantly.

Hailmar heads the opposite way the second the conversation is over.

“That seemed weird. That was weird, right?” Jay asks.

“A bit,” Kai agrees, “But then again, I’m not sure what exactly I was expecting.”

As they begin to walk towards the station, Zane says. “I imagine there will be more formalities when we get into the city proper.”

“Probably,” Cole adds.

—

The monorail is nice, sleek and sophisticated. It is a bit off putting how quiet it is, though. No one has spoken to or otherwise acknowledged their party since they boarded. Lloyd doesn’t think he likes it. Maybe it’s just because this place is the most similar to home he’s encountered on his travels. Maybe it’s just because – in bigger cities, in high society – he’s all too used to being pampered to as the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. Lloyd realizes with a start that he’s hardly thought about his title at all the past couple weeks. It’s been quite nice to live humbly, to travel (relatively) freely. Nothing about this world is ideal, as he’s come to realize, but Lloyd has certainly gained an appreciation for life outside the Fire Nation.

As they come to a stop, Lloyd is pulled from his thoughts. “Right, so what now?” Nya asks as they step off the train.

“Hello.” The voice from behind almost makes him jump. Turning to face the source, Lloyd finds a young woman no older than himself. “My name is Sally. You are the avatar and his guests, correct?”

Her tone is uncomfortably flat and her smile overly forced, but Lloyd has been made to be pleasant to far more insufferable people in his life. “Yes,” He forces it to come out as a statement rather than a question.

“Perfect. Allow me to lead you to your quarters.” Without waiting for a response, Sally pivots and walks determinedly onward. Lloyd has to jolt to action to keep up with her.

“Our quarters?” Kai asks, confused. “We’re here to meet with the Earth King.”

“Yes, but he is quite a busy man. It will be at least three to five business days before you will be able to arrange a meeting. In the meantime, he has provided a place for you to stay in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Ba Sing Se.” Walking out of the station and into the street, Sally leads them right to a carriage. “You first.” She says, opening the door and urging him inside. Lloyd abruptly feels like he’s back in Imperial City. He straightens his posture and does as he’s told out of pure habit. As he takes a seat inside the carriage, he feels oddly ashamed of his behavior.

“Welcome avatar and companions to the greatest city in the world.” Oh, and now Lloyd really feels like he’s back home.

—

Sally gives them a long tour before finally dropping them off at a rather pleasant and expensive-looking abode. She leads them inside and shows them around before circling back to the front door. “Please, make yourselves at home and do let me know if there’s anything I can do to improve your time here. I will see you tomorrow.” With that, she steps outside and closes the door behind her.

“Tomorrow?” Nya says what they’re all thinking.

“What is happening here?” Jay asks, boggled.

“No clue.” Cole says, setting down his bag and finally letting Riyu out. “But I don’t like it.”

Watching Riyu stretch and take a look around the unfamiliar space, Lloyd admits. “It reminds me of home.” This makes everyone pause.

“The Fire Nation Capital?” Cole eventually asks.

“Yeah.” Lloyd sighs, sitting down on a nearby couch. “Just the formalities and luxury of it all, I guess.”

Zane hums. “Well, it is the Earth Kingdom’s own capital. Did you feel like this in Agna Qel’a, as well?”

Lloyd shakes his head. “I don’t know. I think it’s the bureaucracy and faux pleasantness. Like, we hadn’t even been in the North for an hour when we first met the Chief.”

Jay considers this, “I think Borg is just really chill. This is probably more normal.”

“I suppose,” Lloyd concedes, but his anxiety is not soothed.

—

There is not much to do in their extremely nice accommodations, so they simply turn in for the night – they each have their own bedrooms, repeat, this place has six bedrooms! The next day, however, they’re already getting antsy.

“I’m going to go explore,” Nya declares, “Anyone want to come with?”

Lloyd goes to open his mouth, but before he can speak, Cole is lightly nudging his arm. “We should take this time to train, don’t you think? We can go look around closer to lunchtime.” Lloyd suppresses a huff – because he is, in fact, looking forward to earthbending, but training is training – and acquiesces.

“I’d love to join you, Nya!” Jay says eagerly, causing Lloyd to side eye him teasingly. He’s starting to think Jay might be into her, and now that he’s looking for it, he can’t stop finding little hints.

“Sweet. Kai, Zane?”

“I need to wait for Sally’s return so I can try to expedite our meeting as much as possible,” Zane says.

“And I’ll keep them and Riyu company.” Kai says from where he is sitting on the floor with Riyu in his lap.

“Alright, well we’ll see you guys later.” Jay says, bidding them goodbye before he and Nya head out.

Not ten seconds after the door closes behind them does Cole clap his hands. “It’s training time.”

Lloyd does sigh this time, “It’s never not training time.” He complains, but gets up and follows Cole to the backyard regardless.

—

After drilling earthbending exercises for a few hours, Lloyd is more than ready to go do something else. He’s been doing nothing but training all week it seems, and now he’s finally in an urban center that actually has recreational activities. He wants to sit in a restaurant, dammit.

“Okay, okay,” Kai laughs, “Let’s go, then.”

“Finally,” Lloyd complains loudly, earning a laugh from Cole.

“You’re not the only one who’s hungry, kid.”

For now, they’ve decided it’s safest to keep Riyu out of the public eye for as long as possible, so Lloyd gives him a goodbye pat on the head before standing to leave. When he opens the front door, however, he finds a stranger standing on the other side. “Hello,” She greets, “My name is Sally. I have come to update you regarding your request to meet with the Earth King.” Lloyd stares dumbly, this is a different woman than yesterday — she has longer hair and lighter eyes — but she is dressed identically and speaks in the exact same timbre. “Your request is being processed and you should receive a time for your meeting in the next week.”

… Huh?

Zane gently ushers Lloyd aside to address this new, second “Sally.” “Excuse me,” They start, “Yesterday your colleague told us we would have an appointment within three to five business days. We were hoping to fast-track this process, yet it has been slowed?”

Sally laughs, an insincere, practiced sound. “Politics. Everyone wants everything so fast, but that’s simply not how the real world works. The King is a very busy man, but we will get you in to see him as soon as possible.”

Wow. Lloyd forgot just how much he hates belittling non-answers. As the woman turns to leave, he has to ask. “Excuse me,” He calls, stopping her. “I’m sorry, but what happened to the guide we met yesterday? Her name was Sally,” He adds as an afterthought.

The Sally before them gives him a forced smile. “I am Sally. Enjoy your stay.” She says, walking away as quickly as she can while still appearing unhurried.

Lloyd frowns. “Somethings off here.”

“Really? What tipped you off?” Kai asks sarcastically. “We can figure it out after lunch, though.”

Chapter Text

Ba Sing Se is a lovely city, at least the bit that Lloyd has seen is. The days waiting for news from Sally 2.0 are mostly spent in their accommodations doing — you guessed it — bending exercises. Cole’s earthbending lessons are outside for obvious reasons, as well as the fact that no one would question earthbending in the Earth Kingdom capital. Waterbending, however, is kept indoors.

“I don’t get it,” Jay says, not for the first time, “We’re not hiding that Lloyd is the avatar, so why are we hiding that he’s the avatar?”

Zane sighs, “We are trying to avoid unwanted attention, Jay.”

“I’m sorry, I thought we wanted special treatment? Shouldn’t we be leveraging Lloyd’s power to actually get stuff done?”

… Lloyd can’t argue with that. “He does have a point,” He agrees, earning a halfhearted glare from his waterbending master. “It has been nearly a week,” He feels the need to point out, “But what exactly do you suggest, Jay? We storm the palace and demand to see the King?” He asks rhetorically.

Two hours later, they’re doing exactly that.

“Hello,” Lloyd starts, summoning all the authority he can muster, “I am the avatar, I need to speak with the King immediately.”

The guard at the palace’s front gate doesn’t so much as bat an eye. “Do you have an appointment?” She asks plainly.

“It seems His Majesty’s scheduling department lost our request for a meeting. The matter is urgent.”

“You must have an appointment to meet with the Earth King,” She tells him simply.

Lloyd fights back a frustrated sigh, maintaining his impression of a politician who thinks he’s more important than any and everyone else – which, if he thinks about it, he kind of is. Ick. “It is about ending this war,” He says firmly.

Something dangerous flashes in her eyes for the briefest of moments. “Do not speak of the war in Ba Sing Se. Our great city is a sanctuary, safe from such horrors,” She grits out.

It’s Jay who scoffs. “Sorry ma’am, but exactly how long is that going to last if your king refuses to meet with any of his allies?”

The guard on the other side of the gate, who up to this point had not acknowledged them in any way, speaks up. “His Majesty is more than capable of protecting his citizens. You would do well to not suggest otherwise.”

“Is that a threat?” Nya asks, stepping towards the soldier.

“Of course not,” He denies unconvincingly, “Merely a piece of wisdom.”

Nya huffs slightly, dropping her shoulders and closing her eyes. “Right.”

“To clarify,” Cole cuts in, “You’re not going to let us in?”

“I will.” Another voice declares. Looking in the newcomer’s direction, Lloyd finds none other than the general who let them into the city. “An honor to see you again, young avatar.” He greets politely, even bowing from the other side of the gate. As he rises, he addresses the guards, “Let them in. Consider the avatar and his companions my guests.”

The pair aren’t happy with this development, but do not object, simply doing as they are told and opening the gate for them. “Thank you, General…” Lloyd trails off, hoping to get the man’s name again.

“Hailmar,” He supplies, “And I don’t believe I ever caught your name.”

“Lloyd, sir. And these are my friends Jay, Nya, Kai, Zane, and Cole,” He introduces.

“A pleasure.” The general acknowledges before leading the group onwards. “You seek council with the Earth King, correct?”

“Indeed,” Zane confirms, “We come to discuss strategies on how to put an end to the Fire Nation’s tyranny.”

Hailmar stops abruptly mid-step, nearly causing Lloyd to bump into the older. After a moment, the general continues, “Well, I wish you the best of luck. Fortunately enough, His Majesty is currently between meetings.” He tells them, coming to a stop in front of a large set of double doors. “Would you like me to introduce you?”

Lloyd considers his offer. It would be more formal, but it would also dampen the impact of them coming here uninvited. This is not your average political introduction, after all, he is here to enlist aid for ending his family’s war. He should be the one to introduce himself. “No thank you.” The general nods before turning and walking away, leaving Lloyd and his friends standing awkwardly outside some sort of hall. Taking a deep breath, Lloyd steadies himself. “Right, here goes nothing.”

With no further delay, Lloyd pushes open the doors and walks in determinedly. It may be another country on the other side of the world, but Lloyd knows a throne room when he sees it. A man who can only be the Earth King sitting on a large, ornate chair that sits atop a platform is all the hints he needs and more. A part of Lloyd’s mind presses how offensive it is to enter a throne room without being invited in, but he pushes the thought aside, approaching the king. The man stares at him appraisingly, before sending away the young woman standing before him with a mere flick of his wrist. The girl – who could only be a couple years younger than Lloyd – hesitates, but exits without complaint as he closes the distance between himself and the Earth King.

Reaching the base of the steps to the king’s throne, Lloyd bows deeply before standing to make his case. “Your Majesty, my name is Lloyd Garmadon, son of Lord Garmadon, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, and the avatar. I come here today to request your nation’s aid in ending my father’s war.”

The king squints at him silently before leaning back in his throne. “Ba Sing Se has no place in your war, and your war has no place in Ba Sing Se.”

“Respectfully, Ba Sing Se may be safe, but the rest of your people are suffering, struggling to survive. Is it not your duty to provide them protection?”

The elder’s calm and removed expression disappears. “Do not speak to me of duty, runaway,” He spits. “I will not tolerate such insults from an intruder in my court. Leave at once.”

Lloyd has to bite his lip, knowing from experience that talking back to men like him will only get him hurt. He moves to leave, but Zane apparently did not comprehend the warning for what it was.

“Your Majesty, I am Zane Julien, a trusted advisor of Chief Cyrus Borg of the Northern Water Tribe. My people have agreed to back an offensive motion led by the avatar, but strength in unity is the only way to put an end to all of our people’s suffering.”

The king’s face contorts in anger and Lloyd knows nothing but fear as the man stands. “My people,” He starts unyieldingly, “Are not suffering. You know nothing, young prince. Now leave while I still am feeling so generous.”

Lloyd grabs Zane’s wrist tightly, his nails nearly breaking their skin. “Of course, sir. Thank you for your time.” He says sheepishly before leaving as fast as he can without breaking into a sprint.

“What the hell was that?” Cole breathes disbelievingly, but he gets no response. Lloyd can barely breath as he runs through the hall, needing to be anywhere but here. He’s barely even aware of where he’s going until he turns a corner, slamming right into someone.

“Oh my god,” He says, steadying them on reflex alone, “I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be.” The stranger says, and only now does Lloyd place her as the woman from earlier, who was with the king before them. “I need to speak with you.”

Lloyd honestly isn’t exactly in the headspace for any more of whatever the hell that was with the Earth King, but he isn’t quick enough to refuse before the girl is gently grabbing his wrist and leading him and his friends away. “Come with me.” She says, and he does. He follows her blindly, almost in a sort of haze.

Suddenly, they’re stopping and Lloyd finds himself in a large, ornate bedroom. “It’s the only place we’re guaranteed privacy,” She explains, “Apologies for the mess.” She leads them towards a large living room set-up and takes a seat on the couch. Her pleasant expression falling away to reveal concern and fear. “Is it true?”

“What?” Lloyd chokes out.

“What you said, about the rest of the Earth Kingdom. Obviously, I’m fortunate to be safe inside our walls, but is it really that bad out there?”

“I mean, yeah,” Kai starts, “It’s a literal war zone. Sorry, who are you?”

“Oh, sorry, Princess Vania, daughter of King Vangelis and heir to the throne of the Earth Kingdom.”

“That was your dad?!” Jay exclaims.

The princess frowns. “I know he is quite stubborn, but I’ve never seen him like that before,” She admits.

“You saw him?” Nya asks.

“Well, I listened in,” Vania clarifies, “But still…”

“I’m sorry,” Lloyd manages, “I know what it’s like to realize your parents aren’t the people you thought they were.”

Vania smiles appreciatively before taking a steadying breath. “I know it’s not looking good right now, but we don’t know that,” She says hopefully.

Lloyd doesn’t know if there’s anything he can say to that, but a loud shout sounds before he can. “What?!” The voice demands.

“My father.” Vania says, already on her feet. She kicks off her shoes with impressive speed and runs toward the door, leaning against it to hear better. The princess beckons them to follow, so Lloyd does.

“-can NOT be true. We had a deal!”

A beat. “A deal, Your Majesty?” Someone asks hesitantly.

“I refuse to deal with another Garmadon today. Make it disappear, Hailmar, or so help me, I’ll blow it all up myself.”

“But sir…” The voices trail off as the two speed through the hallway. With Lloyd’s head spinning at the mention of ‘another Garmadon,’ he barely registers the princess’s choked sob. Looking her way, her eyes are dry but betrayal and sorrow are written clearly across her face.

“What- A deal?” She echoes, shocked.

“Hey.” Cole starts reassuringly, resting a hand on her shoulder. “We’re gonna figure this out and make it right, okay?”

The princess exhales, nodding determinedly. “He was talking with Hailmar. If you hurry, you can catch his monorail.”

—

Hailmar seems decent enough, but they all agree not to confront the man until they’ve safely arrived at the outer wall.
“General Hailmar,” Lloyd greets somberly, “What’s the threat?”

When the man meets his gaze, Lloyd finds an uncertainty that unnerves him. “A drill.”

—

‘A drill’ turns out to be an understatement. It’s fucking huge, one of the most impressive pieces of technology Lloyd has ever seen and it’s heading right towards them. Fortunately, it’s both slow as hell and branded with a very large Fire Nation emblem, so there’s no wondering who sent it. “What are you thinking, General?” Nya asks Hailmar.

“Our earthbenders can erect barriers to slow it down, but there’s no telling how much manpower they have inside.”

“Have your men do that, let us worry about the inside,” Lloyd says, “I have a feeling my sister is behind this.”

“Uh, is it a good idea for you to confront her?” Jay asks, his hesitance clear.

“I’ll be fine. She’s chosen her side, I just have to accept that.” Lloyd tells the other, and he almost believes himself. Almost.

“Right.” Hailmar says, reminding them of his presence. “When you’re ready, I can give you and your friends a ride down.”

Cole smiles wickedly. “That’s alright, I got this.” And then the earth falls out from beneath them.

“Cole! Warn a guy first!” Kai scolds.

“Whoops,” The earthbender apologizes unconvincingly, “So what’s the plan?” He asks, looking to Lloyd.

“Find a way in, incapacitate as many soldiers as possible, and figure out how to shut it down.”

Zane purses their lips. “More of a collection of goals than a plan, but it’ll do.” And with that, they set off to find a way to stop this attack.

It’s only as they’re surveying the machine for an entrance that it truly hits Lloyd what is happening here. This is a direct attack on the Earth Kingdom capital. The first one in over a decade. Ba Sing Se has always been considered impenetrable, but that hasn’t stopped people from trying. An attempt on the last great stronghold in the Earth Kingdom is not something that occurs randomly or by chance, this is symbolic. It’s only been a month since the siege at Agna Q’ela. The Fire Nation is done playing the long game, and it’s probably because of him. Something dark and pitiful curls in Lloyd’s gut, but he pushes onward.

It’s not even them who find the entrance, a door creaks open on its own after minutes of failed attempts, the sound rallying them to attention.

“Well if it isn’t my brother,” A familiar voice coos. “The avatar, huh? Maybe it will finally be a fair fight.” Harumi taunts, stepping out of the drill’s cabin, Ultraviolet and Killow not far behind.

Lloyd falls into a bending stance on instinct alone. It’s one Nya taught him, but he’s found it quite variable. “It doesn’t have to be this way,” He argues.

“Oh really, what do you propose?” His sister counters mockingly. And yeah, he doesn’t have a very good answer to that.

“You’re after me, right? Well I’m right here, you don’t have to storm Ba Sing Se to track me down.”

Harumi pouts playfully. “But where’s the fun in that?” Wasting no more time, she shoots a blaze of fire in his direction, any patience for conversation gone. Lloyd deflects her flames, and his friends dive to action. Kai jumps between the siblings and launches his own fire in the princess’s direction.

Turning back to Lloyd, Kai tells him, “Take Nya and Jay, stop the drill.” All he can do is nod.

With Zane engaging Killow and Cole UV, Lloyd is able to catch Jay and Nya’s attention with relative ease, and a simple sideways nod is enough to convey the plan. As their friends battle, the trio manages to slip into the drill, Jay securing the door behind them.

As Lloyd turns his attention to those inside the drill, prepared to fight, he is taken aback to find close to a dozen Fire Nation soldiers already knocked out. “What-” He breathes, confused.

“Did you forget you had friends on the inside, nephew?” Wu teases as he appears before them, his tone unnervingly light considering he seems to have incapacitated all those men himself. “Come now, we must move quickly.”

Chapter Text

Wu stands at the end of the drill’s corridor, paying no mind to the unconscious soldiers littering the path between them as he beckons Lloyd, Jay, and Nya further. “Uncle?” Lloyd can’t help but ask, even as he follows the man deeper into the heart of the machine.

Wu takes a moment to hug him, the embrace short but soothingly tight. “I have already cleared most of the path. I trust your friends can handle the rest and stop the drill while we catch up?”

Lloyd blinks. “I don’t think-” His uncle cuts him off with a meaningful stare. They need to talk. “... Okay,” Lloyd relents, “Nya, Jay, you guys got this?”

Nya smiles wickedly. “Definitely.”

“See you later, stay safe!” Jay says before following after Nya, is already on the move.

“You too!” Lloyd calls. After Jay turns a corner and the sound of footsteps fades away, he turns back to his uncle. “What’s going on?”

Wu smiles sadly. “I have full confidence that your allies will be able to stop today’s invasion, but that is in no small part due to how half-hearted this attempt is.”

“What?”

“Harumi’s mission is to retrieve you, the drill is merely something to lure you in. As much as your sister would love to be the one to claim Ba Sing Se for the Fire Nation, it is not an ambition she expects to be fulfilled today.”

“But… there are plans?” Lloyd catches on.

Wu nods, pulling a scroll from his sleeve and handing it to Lloyd, not bothering to unfurl it. “Your father seeks a decisive victory in the next few months, and the heavens agree on his timeline. The Great Comet – the one my father used to wipe out the Air Nomads – will return in just under 20 weeks. Garmadon plans to use its power to burn the Earth Kingdom to dust.” Any air in Lloyd’s body is punched out of him. Twenty weeks, he only has twenty weeks. “Fortunately, there is an opportunity between now and then we can take advantage of: the solar eclipse. Next month, there will be a day where firebenders are at their weakest. We must strike then.”

“What? How am-” A loud screech echoes through the drill as the forward motion Lloyd had barely noticed comes to an abrupt stop. Lloyd breathes harshly, “A month?”

His uncle grabs his shoulders, steadying him. “You can do this, Lloyd, I know you can. You can start to heal this broken world.” The last sentence is barely a whisper as Wu presses his forehead to Lloyd’s. Lloyd exhales, letting his shoulders drop as he soaks in the faith his uncle has in him. He doesn’t deserve it, but he has to try.

“Lloyd!” Jay shouts frantically in the distance. “We have to go!” His friend’s voice is already closer, so Lloyd gently pulls away from his uncle. He falls into one of his forms, his guard up, but only Jay and Nya appear. The pair barely slow down as they approach.

“Drill’s out of commission and seems mostly empty, we gotta get out before people start waking up.” Nya explains, grabbing at Lloyd’s wrist and gently but insistently pulling him towards the exit.

Blinking, Lloyd nods, only to hesitate. “Uncle-”

“Go,” Wu cuts him off, “Get those plans to the King. I will cover you.”

Lloyd exhales sharply, but doesn’t argue further. He itches to hug his uncle, but there isn’t any time to waste. “Thank you,” He says instead, and Wu gives him a gentle smile before urging him onward.

—

The drill is far too close to the city’s outer wall for comfort when they emerge into the daylight. Kai, Zane, and Cole are still fighting off Harumi and her friends, looking a little tired out but no worse for wear. It’s then that Lloyd realizes they don’t actually have a plan for getting away from them. Cold, bitter fear makes itself known in his chest before a rough but gentle hand lands on his shoulder. Wu looks at him with so much love in his eyes Lloyd bluescreens. The contact ends after only a moment, though, before Wu is walking forward, towards where the combat is taking place. He raises one hand almost casually, a wall of fire shooting up between Kai and Ultraviolet. He repeats the motion twice more, calm and composed as he elegantly cuts off Harumi and her team from Lloyd’s friends. Doing a wide, circling motion with his arms, Wu bends his freshly constructed walls to herd the trio together, blocking them off from their combatants. Wu moves closer to where he has his niece and her allies trapped as Lloyd watches, frozen in place.

“Lloyd.” Someone says, nudging him gently. It’s Cole. “We gotta go.”

And then they run.

—

Ba Sing Se hadn’t been properly breached. At least, not until Cole broke through her outermost wall so they could escape. “We need to get this to the palace.” Lloyd says, holding up the scroll Wu had given him.

“Divide and conquer,” Nya announces, “Jay, Kai, and I will run and get Riyu and our necessities. Meet back at the Northwest edge of the city in two hours.” It’s a barely manageable deadline, but the sooner they put distance between themselves and Harumi the better.

“Okay,” Lloyd agrees, and they split up. Leading the Fire Nation straight to the heart of the Earth Kingdom should never have been the plan, but they need reinforcements. The Earth King let them down, though. What benefit would getting him this intel even have?

Lloyd has the sinking feeling they’re running to nowhere, but he can’t stop now.

“Wait.” Zane says, blocking Lloyd’s momentum with their arm.

“What?” They don’t have time to waste.

“Listen.” They say, pulling Lloyd aside. Cole must have kept moving, though. Lloyd can’t see him anymore. Reminding himself that the earthbender can take care of himself, Lloyd turns his attention to the direction Zane is nodding.

“... stormed the palace this morning, and I heard the princess staged a coup.”

“No way. What is she, 16?”

“Doesn’t matter how old you are if you’ve got the avatar on your side,” The first voice says bitterly.

“So what, she killed her dad?”

“Threw him in jail, last I heard.”

“What the fuck?” Lloyd breathes, shocked and concerned and oddly proud of Vania.

Zane steers Lloyd to look at them. “If the Earth Kingdom is in the middle of a coup, it would be safest to take our leave now.”

Lloyd sputters. “But Vania, she’ll be a better ally than her father. We can work together.”

“Lloyd, you cannot have you name tied to this coup anymore than it already is. This situation is getting more dangerous by the minute. We have to leave Ba Sing Se.” Zane’s probably right, Lloyd knows, but he doesn’t have to like it. “We can come back when things have settled down, for now we need to go.”

He doesn’t like this, not at all, but he relents. They have to leave.

—

Their attempt to get out fast doesn’t hold together very long. It seems that a decent portion of Ba Sing Se’s military is not in favor of Vania overthrowing her corrupt father, and the avatar’s involvement has also become public knowledge startlingly fast. Chaos is unfolding before them, the streets descending into madness as the people start to riot in lieu of an accepted ruler. Zane is still wearing their Water Tribe blue, which some guard-types make the (correct) assumption that they’re with the avatar, so they and Lloyd have to split up.

Of course, they had already gotten a fair share of attention by then, so now Lloyd is running on his own from some Vangelis-loyalists who have identified him as part of the avatar’s posse and have a bone to pick with him. Good news: they don’t know that he’s the actual avatar. Bad news: he’s not learned enough earthbending to take on multiple pursuers, so he can’t defend himself without revealing himself and drawing even more attention.

He’s stuck between a rock and a hard place as he tries to maneuver his way through a city he’s not familiar with to get to a rendezvous point he only vaguely knows the location of. So yeah, it’s only a matter of time before he finds himself taking a wrong turn and ending up in a dead end. Fortunately he’s managed to lose most of those tailing him, but there’s still two or three coming up behind him.

Cornered, Lloyd pulls himself into a fighting stance, trying to suppress his anxiety so he can focus, but before the soldiers can even follow him into the alley, they’re blasted sideways. It… It looks like airbending. Lloyd barely has time for this to sink in before his rescuer emerges, arm still outstretched in the direction of Lloyd’s pursuers. Still reeling at the prospect of another airbender, Lloyd only registers the familiar face when the newcomer looks his way. Because Lloyd knows the man — the airbender — before him: the other former crown prince of the Fire Nation, who was supposedly murdered nearly a decade ago, his cousin. “Morro?”

Chapter Text

Morro was born and raised to be Firelord, yet somehow he wound up on the run in the Earth Kingdom. It gets better (or worse, depending on your perspective) because he’s a fucking airbender. Yeah. That’s a whole thing.

Backing it up a bit, Morro (and everyone else) was under the impression he was a nonbender for the first fifteen years of his life. The illusion only broke after his mother’s death. All the reports around it were resoundingly vague and the way the situation evolved in the royal family was suspicious to say the least. It had only been a couple weeks since she passed when his dad sat him down and told Morro as much of the truth as he knew. His uncle – Prince Garmadon, at the time – was vying for the throne, and almost certainly was responsible for his sister-in-law’s death. He aims to cut Wu out of the line of succession and, by extension, Morro.

It’s then that Morro’s father broke, telling his son how he feared he isn’t safe here anymore, that Morro’s uncle may very well be planning to have him killed. His dad cries. Morro doesn’t, not yet. Getting out of the palace isn’t enough, his dad’s already arranged a ship to the Earth Kingdom. There are already plans to fake Morro’s death. Wu tells him again and again how much he wishes there was another way, that at least he could go with him, but if they both disappeared there would be a much larger search.

It was also in this conversation that Morro’s dad told him that his mother’s side of the family is descended from airbenders. The long and short of it is that Morro’s dad’s dad was responsible for the genocide his maternal great-grandparents managed to escape. His mom wasn’t an airbender, but apparently her sister was. There were survivors of the Air Nomad genocide, some of which went on to have kids. Apparently there are little communities of Air Nomads’ descendents – some of whom are airbenders themselves – on the far edges of the Earth Kingdom. Morro has family there, if he can find them.

He did eventually manage to find other airbenders, but not before discovering that he himself is one. Fast forward to today, and no one knows how many surviving airbenders there are, but there are only a handful of masters in the world and Morro is one of them. Still, Morro finds himself drawn back to where he began when he hears about the return of the avatar.

War is shit. The avatar is going to need an airbending teacher, and all the other masters are community leaders of one sort or another, so Morro takes one for the team and goes out to find the avatar in hopes of ending his family’s war.

With his luck, Morro shouldn’t have been half as surprised as he was to learn the avatar is his little cousin, because of fucking course it is.

Chapter Text

Morro almost – almost – smiles at Lloyd’s address. “God, you really are all grown up and shit, huh?” He says before beckoning Lloyd out of the dead end he had been backed into. “Let’s get you out of here.” Morro doesn’t even wait for a response before he’s checking back the way he came and heading off.

Stumbling after him, Lloyd feels like he’s in a fever dream. “You’re alive?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re an airbender?!” Lloyd exclaims, under his breath this time.

“And you’re the avatar,” Morro counters, sounding almost bored. “How about we catch up when we’re out of the active war zone?”

“Oh, sure,” Lloyd says dumbly, thoroughly in shock. He and Morro were never close by any means, but it still sticks with you when your cousin is shipped off to die at the ripe age of fifteen. “Uh, so what’s the plan?” He asks, still running blindly behind the other.

Morro doesn’t bother answering him, stopping abruptly and making a foothold for Lloyd with his hands. “Up,” He nods towards the low rooftop. Lloyd goes, and moves to offer the other a hand, but Morro lands on the roof with a soft whoosh before he finishes the gesture. Morro cocks his head to the side and then they’re moving again. “Any part of a plan worth salvaging?”

“Reconvening with my friends at the northwest dock in just over an hour.”

Morro hums, considering. “Ship?”

“Yep.”

“How many?”

“… Just the one?”

“How many friends?” Morro clarifies.

“Oh, five plus a young dragon.” That does earn him an inquisitive glance from his cousin, but Morro’s eyes are back on the route ahead of them not a moment after.

“Probably need the boat, then.” He seems to say to himself.

Finally, Morro drops back down into a side street, softening his fall with his airbending in a move Lloyd manages to replicate effectively enough. Morro nods appraisingly before moving onward, towards a small tunnel. “Immigration,” Morro says under his breath as a means of explanation. There’s a long line at the end of the hall coming from the other direction, but Morro leads him down a side path no one pays any mind. The “out” cue, it seems. There are a few people in the general area, but Lloyd imagines there may be a rush soon, given the uncertainty and chaos within the city.
Emerging on the other side of Ba Sing Se’s outer wall, Morro quickly pivots towards a teenager accompanied by a llama bear with a small wagon behind it. “‘Phrasia,” He calls.

The girl looks up, her dark eyes brightening upon spotting Lloyd. “You must be the cousin! Nice to meet you, ready to hit the road?”

Lloyd hesitates, feeling awkward, “His friends have a ship at the northwest dock,” Morro says instead.

The younger nods. “Right.” She says, turning to pat her llama bear on the head before lightly hopping on their back. “Let’s get going then.”

Once they’re properly on their way, the girl turns to Lloyd. “I’m Euphrasia, by the way, I don’t think I said that earlier.”

“Lloyd.” He says in return, nodding in greeting. “How do you and Morro know each other?” He can’t help but ask.

Euphrasia smiles weakly. “There aren’t many of us airbenders left, we gotta stick together, you know?”

“There are others?” Lloyd asks, turning to his cousin. “Where? How?”

“The Air Nomads were nomadic, not everyone was home when Gramps struck. The survivors went into hiding and some of them went on to have families. No one knows how many airbenders there are now – and that’s probably for the best – but I’ve only met a couple others. There are descendants who aren’t benders who are involved in the community, too, of course. Elders and historians and such trying to preserve the culture.” Morro’s tone hovers somewhere between nonchalant and bitter, mostly managing to sound casual but there’s no mistaking the edge in his voice.

“That’s… good,” Lloyd lands on. “Where are these communities?”

“Not one set place,” Euphrasia answers, “For safety we split up and rotate camps pretty regularly. It’s part of living in hiding.” She says with a shrug that leaves a pit in Lloyd’s stomach.

—

By the time they finally arrive at the dock, Lloyd hasn’t gotten too much more out of the pair, and it feels disrespectful to pry. Fortunately, they aren’t the first to return to the Destiny’s Bounty. Kai is the first to spot them, running over to Lloyd and throwing himself into a hug. “We were getting worried, you jerk!” He says, even as he holds Lloyd tighter. Pulling back, Kai feels the need to clarify. “You made it out okay?”

Lloyd can’t help but smile. “I’m fine.”

Kai’s attention finally lands on the other two. “Who are your new friends?” He asks, guarded but not unkindly.

“Funny story, actually, but we should get going. Morro and Euphrasia are coming with us.” Lloyd says decisively. Though the three of them hadn’t properly discussed the matter, neither airbender moves to argue as they board the ship.

—

“Your cousin.” Jay repeats. “Morro. Your cousin, Morro. As in the dead prince Morro?”

Said ‘dead prince,’ does not seem amused by Lloyd’s friends’ reaction. “... Yes.”

“And you’re an airbender?” Nya asks, “How does that work?”

“My mom’s parents were survivors of the Air Nomad Genocide,” He says plainly.

“Shit,” Cole says sympathetically.

“Yeah.”

A beat. “So what’s next?” Kai asks.

Lloyd sighs, his hold on Riyu tightening. He glances in Morro’s direction before returning his gaze to the young dragon in his arms. “Wu said we need to move fast. My father is only going to get more aggressive and the comet our grandfather used against the Air Nomads is returning in just a few months.” Lloyd pulls the scroll out of his belt and passes it to Zane for them to read.

“You saw my dad?” Morro asks, tone indiscernible.

Lloyd nods apologetically. “A few hours ago.”

Morro frowns and Euphrasia leans in his direction, bumping their shoulders together gently.

“Your uncle suggests we plan an attack during the solar eclipse next month.” Zane summarises, having finished reading the scroll. “It’s too valuable an opportunity to pass by, even if it is relatively short notice to organize our allies.”

“What allies?” Morro asks.

“The Northern Water Tribe, primarily,” Nya supplies, “But between us we have some friends who would probably be willing to join.”

Cole nods, “Like Arin and Sora. And I have a good feeling about Vania, it’s just a matter of if she’s in a position to lend aid or not.”

“Additionally, there’s a stamp at the bottom of Master Wu’s note.” Zane points out, turning the scroll to show the group. “It looks familiar, but I don’t remember where I’ve seen it before.”

Lloyd, on the other hand, recognizes the flower immediately. “It’s a Pai Sho piece,” Morro beats him to it, “The white lotus.”

“What does it mean?” Kai wonders aloud, only getting a shrug from the older airbender.

“Wu loves Pai Sho, it might not mean anything,” Lloyd explains, but doesn’t fully believe it. The symbol isn’t serving any function there, it was stamped onto the scroll intentionally, there has to be a purpose.

“Right,” Jay agrees noncommittally, “So where are we heading?” He asks from the helm.

“The Northern Air Temple,” Euphrasia says plainly. At the questioning look she gets from the others, she continues. “There should be other acolytes there. Even if not, it’s a safe place and it’s on our way back North.”

“Acolytes?” Lloyd asks.

“Descendants of Air Nomads. Specifically those of us working to preserve the culture and history. We shuffle between campsites, the ruins included.” Morro explains.

“Oh,” Lloyd says, unsure how to respond.

“Alright,” Jay starts, “Northern Air Temple, here we come.”

Chapter Text

Brief introductions had been made earlier, so after their little group meeting, Lloyd took a minute to collect his thoughts. Morro’s alive, which is inarguably a good thing, but Lloyd wasn’t exactly mentally prepared to be confronted with his family — with his past — in such a direct manner. Things have been good, out here. Lloyd feels more at home with the friends he’s made on the run than he ever did back in the palace. He feels guilty just thinking about it, but it doesn’t matter. He’ll have to face his demons sooner or later. He’ll have to fight his father in just a few weeks. His chest tightens just thinking about it.

“Hey.” Euphrasia greets, poking her head into the cabin. “Oh, sorry, do you want to be alone?”

Lloyd waves her off. “It’s fine, what’s up?”

“Riyu and Anada are getting along and it’s adorable, I thought you’d want to come see?” She offers, earning her a smile from Lloyd.

“Sure.” He says, moving to follow her out to the deck.

True to her word, the teens resurface to find Riyu energetically coaxing the llama bear three times his size to play. Lloyd would almost be worried about it if Anada wasn’t so gentle and calm, even as Riyu lures her into what looks like a game of tag. Yeah, Euphrasia’s right, this is the cutest thing he’s ever seen. “I’m glad they’re becoming friends,” He says.

“Isn’t it beautiful? They’re from opposite sides of the world, opposing sides of the war, and yet they just want to play and be together,” The younger notes softly.

“Kind of like you and Morro?” Lloyd guesses, making the other laugh.

“Sure. I mean, Morro’s a bit of a bitch, but he’s my best friend,” She says with a shrug and a smile. “What about you? Were you and Morro close when you were kids?”

Lloyd doesn’t manage to suppress his scoff. “No. I mean, I was a shitty firebender, but at least I was a firebender, right? There have been non-bending Firelords before, but… I don’t know, I don’t feel like we ever even had the chance to be friends? That sounds stupid,” He says, self-conscious about rambling nonsense to a stranger.

“It doesn’t,” Euphrasia argues, “You were always being compared to each other. Everyone in your lives taught you to resent each other. That’s not your fault, and it’s not his, either.”

Lloyd considers this. “Yeah. I mean, that makes it sound worse than it was, but you’re kind of right. I can’t remember why I never liked him,” He realizes before cutting himself off. “Sorry, this must be awkward for you.”

She shakes her head. “Not at all, I’ve helped Morro dissect all kinds of shit from his childhood, I’m more than happy to do the same for you.”

“Our- our childhood wasn’t shit,” He argues automatically. With a wince, Lloyd realizes that Morro lost his mom and everything he’d ever known when he was just fifteen. “Well, mine wasn’t. It wasn't perfect, sure, but…” He trails off, unsure how to justify his claim. Harumi had always been their father’s favorite, it was no secret. It was okay, though, because Lloyd had their mom. Until she died, at least. And yeah, he’s come to realize he’d never had any real friends before meeting Jay, and sure, all of his teachers treated him like dirt, but… Shit. “I’m lucky,” He tries, unconvincingly.

Euphrasia stays quiet, looking at him comfortingly. “I am. Maybe it wasn’t great, but I still had a home. My family loves me.” It sounds desperate even coming out of his own mouth.

“I never said they didn’t,” Euphrasia points out gently.

Sighing, Lloyd leaves the younger with the animals wordlessly, heading over to where Kai and Cole are chatting on the other side of the deck. “Hey,” Kai greets before eying him more closely, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” He says automatically.

“It’s been a long day, man,” Cole says, “I’d be more surprised if you weren’t physically and emotionally exhausted, a lot has happened.”

Kai nods, “Wanna talk about it?” He offers.

What Lloyd blurts out, even he wasn’t expecting. “My dad loves me, doesn’t he?” Shocked at his own words, he backtracks. “I mean, I know now that he’s not a good person, but I’m still his kid, right?” The two exchange a look Lloyd can’t decipher. “Sure, he’s always liked Harumi more, but…” He’s trying to convince himself, he realizes, deflating all at once.

“I’ve got you,” Cole says, pulling him into an all-consuming embrace.

Sniffling, Lloyd buries his face in his friend’s shoulder. “I will never be good enough, will I?” He says wetly.

Kai rests his arm across Lloyd’s shoulders and leans his head against his. “You’re fucking amazing, Lloyd. I am so lucky to know you, not because you’re the avatar, but because you’re you. The firelord is a genocidal bigot, don’t believe a word he says. You have always been good enough, you have always been worthy, and you are so fucking loved.”

Lloyd sobs. Kai and Cole only hold him tighter.

—

The next day after breakfast, Lloyd finally feels almost ready to have a proper conversation with his long lost cousin. Knowing he’ll never be entirely prepared, he decides to bite the bullet. “Hey Morro?” He asks, the man in question humming as he looks Lloyd’s way. “I was wondering if you’d want to, like, catch up?”

The corner of his mouth quirks upward ever so slightly. “Sure.”

Morro leads him to the deck, everyone else – except Nya, who’s steering the ship – is still downstairs. Without a word, Morro hops up to sit on the ship’s railing, dangling his feet out over the water. Lloyd hesitates only briefly before following his lead. Neither say anything for a long moment. Eventually Morro holds up his hand, wiggling his fingers in the passing breeze. “How’s your bending going?” He asks casually.

“Uh, I’m pretty confident with fire these days, and water’s coming along well, I think. I’ve only just started earthbending a little over a week ago.”

“And air?” Morro asks, still fiddling with the wind.

Lloyd huffs out a small laugh, “It’s how I found out, actually. I’ve since practiced a bit, experimenting and such, but I have a lot left to learn.” Pausing, Lloyd lets himself admit, “I’m glad I don’t have to figure it out alone.”

Morro shoulders him harshly, but the motion is still playful. “Damn right you don’t. In case you haven’t figured it out yet,” He starts somewhat condescendingly, “You aren’t alone anymore, Lloyd.”

Lloyd exhales sharply, Morro cutting straight to his core. It’s like the older sees right through him, sees his loneliness and insecurity and fear, but instead of using it against him, of mocking him, Morro only pokes at it gently. All compassion and understanding, and Lloyd doesn’t know what to do with it. “Thanks,” He says, knowing it’s not enough.

A beat passes, the pair just quietly enjoying the breeze as the Bounty sails down the river. “What about you?” Lloyd asks, unsure where to start, “How did you find out you’re an airbender?”

“It’s not that good of a story,” Morro warns, “Wu had already told me my family has ties to the Air Nomads, so – besides the initial shock – it wasn’t too unexpected, I suppose.”

Lloyd rolls his eyes, “Come on, it can’t be that boring.”

Morro raises an eyebrow at him almost challengingly. “I fell off a cliff.”

Lloyd waits for him to continue. He doesn’t. Lloyd can’t help but laugh. “You’re not even trying. No- you are trying, no one’s that bad of a storyteller.”

“I wasn’t as careful as I should have been and I tripped, there’s not much to it.”

“Right,” Lloyd says sarcastically, but Morro’s made it clear he doesn’t plan to elaborate. “So, uh, how have you been? Like, overall?”

The older shrugs. “I mean, it was a shitshow for the first year or two, as you might imagine. It got better after I found the Acolytes and started making a life for myself, though. Nothing is ever easy, of course, but out here – even wandering aimlessly half of the time – I’m more at home than I ever was back in the Fire Nation.”

“Yeah…” Lloyd agrees softly, “I feel the same.”

Morro offers him a gentle smile, something that is startlingly unfamiliar but also painfully reminiscent of his dad. Lloyd had never seen as much of Wu in his son as he does now; it’s a melancholy realization. “So, how were things in that hellhole after I left? You get the full Crown Prince treatment?” He asks, sounding vaguely bitter but not at Lloyd.

“Way more expectations to not meet, if that’s what you mean.”

“Essentially,” Morro agrees. “What about Harumi? She’s gotta be pretty grown up now, too.”

Right, Morro hadn’t seen her since she was, what, eight? “Uh, well, she’s hunting us down, so there’s that,” Lloyd admits.

Morro frowns. “Really? He got her that good?” Lloyd knows exactly who ‘He’ is, but still shrugs. “Shit,” The other says sympathetically, “I’m sorry, Lloyd.”

“We were never close,” He points out sadly.

Sighing, Morro speaks quieter now, “I hate what that place did to us.”

Lloyd doesn’t know what to say, humming noncommittal instead. A part of him resents the palace he grew up in, but verbalizing that… He’s not there yet. “It’s a hollow excuse for a home,” He can admit, “After my mom died-”

“What?” Morro cuts him off, “Misako- When- What happened?”

Lloyd scoffs, “The same thing that happens to everyone in our family, apparently: a tragic accident no one is willing to elaborate on. It was only a couple years after you left.”

“Damn. I’m sorry, Lloyd.” Morro apologizes, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. They’ve never done this sort of thing before, gentle touches having no place in the heart of the Fire Nation. It’s weird, but not bad. Maybe Lloyd could get used to this.

Chapter Text

It almost doesn’t feel like Lloyd and Morro are getting reacquainted so much as meeting each other for the first time. Not that they don’t talk about their shared history, it’s just that they’re adults now. They’ve grown into themselves- into people who don’t know each other. Honestly, Lloyd thinks he’s probably had more personal development in the past couple months than most of his teen years combined, but the same doesn’t seem to be true for Morro. He’s a legitimate airbending master with years of experience and all the confidence that inspires.

He’s been teaching Lloyd some training exercises, but today Morro wants to switch gears. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“Huh?”

“Fight me, is what he means,” Euphrasia explains, moving closer.

Looking between the pair, Morro shrugs, smiling. “Go easy on the avatar, ‘Phray.”

“No promises.” Euphrasia teases as she falls into a calm and easy bending stance.

—

Yeah, she whoops his ass. Lloyd thinks he did alright, but Euphrasia is clearly a master in her own right. Lloyd was set up to fail, but he knows by now that it’s still a good learning opportunity. At his request, the younger walks him through a move she used to make a sort of shield with the air. He’s almost got it down when Jay approaches.

“Hey,” He greets, “We’re nearing the end of the river, we should probably make some plans.”

Lloyd nods, “Yeah, let’s get everyone together.”

“Everyone else is already in the bridge,” Jay smiles.

Lloyd, Euphrasia, and Morro follow the firebender to the rest of their group, discussions already in progress when they enter. “-connections, but not many fighters, besides, Lloyd learning earthbending is more important,” Cole says.

“What’s going on?” Lloyd asks in lieu of a greeting.

Nya turns his way with a gentle look in her eyes. “If we’re going on the offensive during the eclipse, we’ll need all the help we can get. We should start reaching out to our allies as soon as possible.”

“... Okay?”

“The Bounty can’t take us any further right now, Lloyd,” Kai clarifies, “So we’re thinking Jay and Zane should take it and circle back around to gather anyone who would be willing to help us fight.”

Lloyd startles, “What? You’re leaving?” He looks between the two in question.

“Just for a couple weeks, we’ll meet up again soon,” Jay comforts, and everyone’s caution catches up with Lloyd.

“You guys are acting nice so I don’t have a breakdown again, aren’t you?” Lloyd asks, struggling to keep the hurt out of his voice.

“We’re not ‘acting’ anything,” Zane clarifies, “We learned that scenarios like this may be triggering for you, so we talked about the best way to approach the matter, but we aren’t trying to mislead or deceive you, Lloyd.”

“What’s going on?” Morro asks, confused.

Lloyd groans, turning to his cousin. “I have a meltdown one time and they start going behind my back to make plans,” He says bitterly.

Morro quirks an eyebrow at him. “And you’re offended by this,” He states, obviously, “Why?”

Lloyd falters slightly, “Because-” Looking back at the others, he tells them, “Don’t treat me like a child,” He spits, harsher than he expected to.

“We’re not,” Kai says, stepping closer, “We’re treating you like someone we care about.” The simplicity and earnestness of his words knocks the fight right out of Lloyd, leaving him with a hot feeling of embarrassment instead.

Jay must pick up on this shift, as a moment later he has his arm swung across Lloyd’s shoulders, pulling him into a firm but reassuring side-hug. “As your first and best friend, I humbly accept the responsibility for making sure you don’t forget how loved you are, Lloyd. We're splitting up because we have to, not because we want to.”

Lloyd scoffs wetly, “Okay.”

“Okay?” Jay asks again, getting a nod in return. “Good,” He squeezes Lloyd tighter before loosening his hold on the younger. “Zane, take it away.”

The waterbender does. “Jay will drop me back at Agna Qel’a to meet with Borg and organize our troops. Jay will then continue on to meet up with as many of our allies in the Earth Kingdom he can find. We’ve been working on a list.”

They essentially had already planned on all of this, this is just the practical steps towards what they had already discussed together. “Okay, but what about waterbending?”

Zane smiles proudly, “You’ve made excellent progress thus far, Lloyd. If you do need any pointers, I’m sure Nya would be more than happy to help you.” Looking her way, Nya winks at him with a satisfied grin. Zane just acknowledged her as a master, she doesn’t seem surprised in the slightest, just humble and confident. It suits her well.

“Alright,” Lloyd agrees, “And what about the rest of us?”

“Other than working on earth and air? Make your presence known,” Cole says. “The avatar is back, the world needs to know.”

Morro nods sagely, “We get to fuck shit up? Hell yeah.”

“I can also try to contact the other Air Acolytes,” Euphrasia suggests. “I know the common routes well enough that I’ll definitely run into at least some. Most are nonbenders, but they can still fight.”

“You can split off of my route whenever you want,” Jay offers.

“No need,” The teen waves him off, “Anada and I can go on our own, it’ll be faster that way.” To Morro, she adds, “Can I trust you to make the avatar a passable glider?”

“I hate you.” He deadpans, before pulling her into a bear hug.

“May the wind guide you, too,” She responds, both snarky and affectionate. Addressing the group once again, she continues, “I should go sooner rather than later. I’ll go pack.” She gives Lloyd a smile and Riyu a pat on the head before taking her leave.

—

The group sees Euphrasia off barely ten minutes later, her and Anada jumping off the Bounty. Anada dives right into the river before heading to land, while Euphrasia hops through the air on her way to shore. She waves to them as Anada shakes herself dry, before turning and walking onward.

As she disappears into the distance, Lloyd turns to check in on Morro. “You doing alright?”

“Yeah,” Morro says easily, though his gaze still follows the young airbender, “She can take care of herself. She’s probably one of the youngest airbending masters in history, you know? Not that we really have the records to back that up, though.” He shrugs sadly before turning away.

“How many masters are there these days?” Lloyd wonders aloud.

“Just the two of us that I know of,” Morro says, referring to himself and Euphrasia, “Our teacher died a few years back. I’ve met a few other airbenders, but none as skilled as her.”

“Or you,” Lloyd points out.

Morro meets his gaze. “Yeah, it’s not the same, though,” He says, looking away.

He doesn’t have to elaborate for Lloyd to get what he means. Euphrasia is the future of the Air Nomads, Morro was born and raised Fire Nation nobility, just like Lloyd. No matter how much of themselves they've found in airbending and its culture, they will always feel like imposters.

—

It’s not even an hour later that they’re saying goodbye to Zane and Jay, too. Lloyd hates it, even if he understands the necessity. “It’s only for a couple weeks,” Jay reminds him, “You’ll have mastered all four elements by the time I get back.”

Lloyd rolls his eyes. “Please don’t even joke about that,” He bemoans.

“Alright, alright, no pressure. Just know that I believe in you, yeah?”

Lloyd smiles, “I know.”

Jay gives him one last back-breaking hug before heading off to say bye to Kai and Nya. Zane takes his place almost immediately.

“Stay safe, Lloyd, remember your strength,” They say encouragingly, “And I beg you, practice your meditation. Tell Pixal I love her.”

Lloyd blinks, surprised, “What?”

“You’re more powerful than you know, and you are braver than you think. Trust yourself.” Zane squeezes his shoulder groundingly before wandering off. They’ve never reminded Lloyd more of his uncle, and now they’re leaving too. At least this time, Lloyd knows what to expect. He’ll see his friends again, he knows where and he knows when, it’s just a matter of what comes after that scares him.

Chapter Text

And then there were five, six including Riyu. As evening approaches, Lloyd finds himself wondering how far they’ll get before stopping for the night.

“There’s a small farming village a few miles north of here,” Morro responds when Lloyd voices his question, “If we keep moving for a couple more hours we’ll have some time for training in the morning and we can still get there by lunchtime.”

“Is it safe there?” Kai asks.

Morro shrugs. “Maybe 50 people live there. I’ve never seen Fire Nation pass through, but there’s always a chance.”

“You’ve visited often?” Nya asks conversationally.

“Yeah, it’s a safe spot for the Acolytes. Not that they know who we are,” Morro adds, “They’re just good people who are willing to make fair trades.”

“You airbent in Ba Sing Se,” Lloyd recalls, “I imagine you usually avoid bending in public, though, right?”

The look Morro gives him speaks volumes to how stupid he finds his cousin’s question. “I’m just asking,” Lloyd says defensively, “And besides, is that going to change now? Since you’re helping us stop the Fire Nation.”

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t plan on advertising it, exactly, but I expect I’ll be introduced as the avatar’s airbending master at some point or another.” Morro meets Lloyd’s gaze with a smirk. “I just wish Gramps was around to see the day.”

A laugh escapes Lloyd, “Gosh, can you imagine? He’d kill us.” The previous Firelord died when Lloyd was eleven, but he remembers his cold disapproval. It’s not challenging at all to imagine him turning his fire against his own grandchildren for threatening his legacy. It’s for the best that he's gone. Lloyd would be less conflicted over fighting him, but he’s known as the First Master for a reason. Lloyd is far from confident about defeating his father, but at least Garmadon isn’t famous for harnessing the power of a fucking comet. He wouldn’t exactly bet on himself in that fight.

“Not if I kill him first,” Morro counters, not sharing his unspoken sentiment.

“You think you could have taken him?” Cole asks, sounding impressed.

Morro shrugs, “I’d find a way.”

“Have you fought firebenders before?” Kai asks. Morro glares at him challengingly. “I’m not doubting you, dude, just offering to spar sometime if you’re interested.”

Morro’s expression doesn’t falter, but he nods minutely. “Sure.”

“Cool,” Kai agrees.

—

They end up stopping shortly before sunset so Kai and Morro can duke it out without worrying about Kai’s fire drawing unwanted attention. Cole and Nya set up camp and make dinner while Lloyd watches with Riyu’s head in his lap as the pair fight.

“Fire isn’t something you play around with unless you’re willing to risk getting burned,” Kai had warned before they started.

Lloyd can feel the grimace Morro bites back. “I know.”

With the airbender’s permission to not hold back, the two masters begin. Morro waits for Kai to make the first move, and after a beat, he does, sweeping his arm to create a blazing arc of fire. Morro redirects the flames over his head with one hand, pushing outward with the other, sending Kai sliding backwards. The firebender restabilizes himself with a brief flame facing behind him. It’s then that they properly begin.

Lloyd watches with rapt attention as the battle truly gets going. Everything happens so fast, he only barely manages to catch what’s happening. Wind and heat emanate from their direction, and Lloyd finds himself reveling in it. Kai’s the one who helped him stop being afraid of his fire, but only now does Lloyd realize he’s never seen the man properly let loose. He’s still holding back to some extent, as to not actually harm Morro, but the pair seem fairly evenly matched. Neither is able to hold the upper hand for more than a few moves at a time. Morro’s landed more hits, but Kai has more than handled himself despite not yet having to manage so much as brushing the other with his flames. Both masters’ skills are on display: Kai’s power and control are undeniable and startling, even from a safe distance, and Morro’s focus and ingenuity are stunning. He never lets his guard down for a moment, evasive and level-headed at every turn. From an offensive standpoint, Morro seems to be at a disadvantage, but that doesn’t stop him. There’s no end in sight at all.

Someone taps Lloyd’s shoulder, breaking him from his single-minded focus. It’s Nya. “Wanna help with damage control?” She asks, jerking her head toward some grass and a tree that caught fire.

Lloyd exhales, amused. “Sure,” He says. As he stands up to head that way, Riyu moves to the ground, content to continue watching the display.

As he and Nya douse the flames, Cole hollers at the others. “Y’all ready to call it yet?!”

Pausing, Kai and Morro exchange a glance before looking back to Cole. “But we don’t have a winner.”

Cole scoffs, “It’s obviously a draw, come eat already!”

Nya and Lloyd can’t help but laugh at the way both Kai and Morro deflate slightly, visibly disappointed even as they bow to a good match.

“I’ve never seen Kai fight like that,” Lloyd admits.

Nya shrugs, “He’s an overachiever – something we have in common. He’s always craving a challenge. Morro giving him a run for his money probably made his week,” She says with a smile. “Now your goal is to get him going like that and win.” Nya tells him, elbowing Lloyd in the side as she does.

He laughs, mildly intimidated by the expectation. Sure, he’s gotten the upper hand on Kai a few times when sparring, but the older’s never tried as hard with Lloyd as he just did with Morro. Has Kai been holding back against him?

—

The next morning, he brings it up with Cole during training. “Are you going easy on me?”

Cole is visibly taken aback by the suddenness of it. “What?”

“Kai’s never fought me like he fought Morro. How am I supposed to defeat my father if I can’t even take Kai?”

Cole frowns, considering. “Well, you’re still new to earthbending, so no, I haven’t gone all out with you, but you know that. As for Kai, you’ll have to ask him, but I’ve fought my fair share of Fire Nation soldiers, and none of them have pulled anything near as impressive as Kai. I think he’s just an exceptionally talented firebender – not that he needs anyone telling him that –” Cole jokes, “But if you feel like you need him to push you harder, that can only happen if you tell him.”

Lloyd sighs, having expected the answer but appreciating it nonetheless.

He works on his earthbending with Cole for an hour or so more before they start getting ready to continue on. “Have you been avoiding me?” Kai asks bluntly, his tone light as he moves to help Lloyd finish gathering his things.

Lloyd doesn’t know what to say, so he just freezes as he tries to figure out a response.

Kai’s expression softens. “Did I do something?”

Lloyd chews on his lip. “When you were fighting Morro- You’ve never done anything like that with me. If you don’t trust that I can handle myself against you, how am I supposed to defeat the Firelord?”

Kai pauses, considering this. “I hadn’t intended to go easy on you, not recently, not more than is normal when you’re not trying to actually hurt your opponent. I’ve never fought an airbender before.” For a moment Lloyd is almost offended, before rationalizing that he’s never used other elements when sparring with Kai. “I don’t have a ton of fighting experience in general, to be honest. I’ve never had someone match me blow for blow like that before. Morro and I were just having fun pushing each other around. I’m sorry that made it seem like I don’t believe in your abilities. If you want to have a proper match sometime we can definitely do that. Admittedly, it is a bit different when we’re doing lessons, because in that scenario I’m responsible for knowing your limits and keeping both of us safe. But you’re a strong firebender, Lloyd. You can hold your own and I know that, you just need more opportunities to prove that to yourself.”

Taking this in, Lloyd fully believes that Kai didn’t mean to set him up for failure. As much as he wants to argue with Kai taking responsibility for Lloyd’s firebending when he was teaching him, Lloyd knows by now that his dynamic with his friends is different when they’re acting as his teachers. They’re still friends, of course, but there is an authority there. Unlike his firebending teachers back at the palace, though, this power imbalance isn’t used to belittle or mock Lloyd, but to ensure his safety and wellbeing. It’s taken some time to get used to, but he knows they mean well. “Okay,” Lloyd eventually says.

“Okay?” Kai confirms.

“Yeah.”

“Good, I’m gonna hug you now.”

—

After his conversation with Kai, Lloyd gets thinking. “Hey guys,” He starts at dinner that night, “I think I could use some combat practice, especially using multiple elements in the same fight.”

Nya’s eyes shine with pride as she grins wickedly. “That sounds like a good idea. Should we do teams?”

“Sure,” Kai agrees, “2v3? Lloyd and someone else against the rest?”

“So I’m always going to be at a disadvantage?” Lloyd complains teasingly.

Morro levels him with an unimpressed look. “You’re the avatar, dumbass.” Which, admittedly, is a fair point.

After looking around for a little bit, they find a good area, a flat, open space near a stream with minimal plant life. “Alright,” Nya starts, “How do we want to do this? Lloyd picks his teammate?” She suggests, the others nodding or shrugging their agreement.

“Um, I guess Morro,” He says.

The airbender moves to stand beside Lloyd. “Cool, are we just going for it?” He asks.

“Sure,” Cole says.

“Sounds good to me,” Lloyd agrees. The other three wordlessly fan out around the cousins, Kai positioning himself right in front of Lloyd. His first teacher smiles at him encouragingly, before tossing him a wink. “Okay, go!”

Kai aims a fire punch right at him, which Lloyd deflects easily, airbending with an open palm to knock the older back. Kai’s smile turns more competitive as he jumps, producing a flaming arch with a sweeping kick. Lloyd pulls a barrier from their earth to shield him before he can think. Pleased with his instincts, he exhales sharply, pushing the earth towards Kai, forcing him to dodge.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lloyd spots a wave coming his way. Turning to face it, he rolls the water over his body before deflecting it into Kai, soaking the firebender thoroughly. “Nya!” Kai scolds, “We’re supposed to be on the same team!”

“We are,” She hollers smugly, “Get good!”

Lloyd takes advantage of his distraction – and the fact that Kai is still drenched – to pull the water out of his clothes and use it to freeze his legs in place. Kai’s hands are still free though, which he takes advantage of to shoot a fireball at Lloyd. He redirects it towards Nya, who extinguishes it with a water whip. Grounding himself, Lloyd shifts the earth underneath Nya’s feet to distract her, and creates walls to shut Kai in the next second.

“Good form!” Cole shouts, but not a moment later does Lloyd feel the ground move below him, rocks jutting out of the earth to unsteady him. He manages to not fall over completely with a rather clumsy gust of wind, but it does the job. Pulling himself into a more stable stance, Lloyd turns to blast fire at Cole, which he dodges with a duck.

He and Cole go back and forth for several minutes, before Morro makes his way over from where he presumably beat Nya and just fully brushes Cole into the river. With a heavy exhale, Morro sighs. “Good game.” He says, offering Lloyd a high five. Smiling, Lloyd completes the gesture.

Chapter Text

Group sparring matches become part of their routine over the next few days. Between that, airbending, and earthbending lessons, they make use of their breaks while still making good time. As their journey progresses, the elevation gets higher and higher, but Lloyd still has to crane his neck back to see the Northern Air Temple atop a mountain.

“How are we supposed to get up there?” Kai is the first to ask.

“Historically, flying,” Morro answers. “There are tunnels and staircases, too, but we have a couple earthbenders that could get us up faster.”

“I see how it is.” Cole jokes, moving to bracket the other three between him and Lloyd. “Ready?”

Lloyd nods, he and Cole extract a platform from the earth beneath them and start to pull it up the mountain. Lloyd would worry about drawing attention, but they haven’t seen anyone since the farming village a few days ago. The area is mostly deserted, according to Morro, which is just as convenient as it is depressing.

When they reach the top, Morro is the first to step off the platform. “Welcome to the Northern Air Temple.” He announces, already leading them forward.

“It’s beautiful.” Nya notes as they step through an arch in the outer wall, finding themselves in a courtyard tiled with dilapidated patterns swirling fluidly despite the discoloration from time and ash. There are statues of various creatures scattered around, and the area is encircled by towers, passageways lining the edges.

Morro hums in melancholic agreement, moving forward into one of the halls. As Morro guides them through the temple’s twists and turns, Lloyd can see where ash has been carefully scrubbed away, revealing ancient murals and mosaics of a people thought to be long extinct. Just how many airbenders did survive? How close did the world come to losing this people – this culture – forever?

Eventually, they turn down a hall with only one large, extremely complex mechanism at its end. “Alright, Lloyd, have at it.” Morro says, gesturing him forward.

“What?” He asks, confused.

Morro sighs half-heartedly, “This is the entrance to the sanctuary- the most spiritual place in the Temple. It can only be opened using airbending and, historically, was restricted for use only by elders and the avatar.”

Lloyd considers this, examining the door more closely. There are two horns near the bottom, and piping connecting them through a swirling mechanism containing lopsided joints and three blue spirals. Following his intuition, Lloyd bends air into the horns, through the coils, realigning the joints, and flipping the spirals. When all three are flipped, the door begins to open, letting light into a large, dark room.

Exhaling sharply, Lloyd can sense the weight of this chamber’s spiritual energy before he even steps foot inside, but he knows he’s meant to follow it. Entering, Lloyd’s eyes take a moment to adjust to the dark before he can properly take in the sheer number of statues lining the walls and filling the room. It’s like the air has been punched out of his lungs as Lloyd is drawn further in, looking up to see statues as far as the eye can see. Returning his attention to the ground level, there are numerous statues perfectly spaced in a spiral. Awestruck, Lloyd’s feet continue to guide him to the center of the spiral – to the end – to an empty spot. “Aang,” He breathes, tears threatening to spill.

“Oh, young avatar,” An unfamiliar voice calls, pulling Lloyd from his stupor. Turning towards the source, he finds an old woman standing near the edge of the room, but nowhere near the entrance. “This chamber houses so much history, but it’s the absence we feel the most, is it not?”

Wiping his eyes, Lloyd glances around, finding Morro leaning against the door and his friends waiting in the hall outside. “Who are you?” He asks.

The woman laughs, “I’m no one special,” She says dismissively, “The real question is: who are you?” Her gaze is piercing, staring right into his soul.

“My name is Lloyd.”

She hums, “That it is.” She seems unsurprised, turning on her heel. “Follow me.” She disappears into the darkness behind her. Lloyd, stumbling to follow the elder, glances back at Morro, who nods encouragingly but stays where he is. Lloyd nods back, and follows the stranger into the darkness.

Entering a dimly lit hallway, Lloyd follows the woman blindly through the tunnel’s twists and turns until finally she pushes aside a curtain and leads him into a room lit by candlelight. A small table with two chairs is the centerpiece, surrounded by bookshelves filled with scrolls and texts, with a desk slotted against the far wall. “Sit,” She instructs simply.

“Why am I here?” Lloyd wonders aloud, confused as to why a stranger would invite him into her private study.

“Why is anyone anywhere?” She replies cryptically, pulling a steaming teapot and two cups from seemingly nowhere. “Tea,” She says. It isn’t a question, but Lloyd still nods, accepting the cup placed in front of him.

It’s jasmine, he realizes, taking a polite sip of the scalding drink. It reminds him of his uncle. Returning the teacup to the table, Lloyd notes that the elder doesn’t seem to be in any kind of hurry. “Are you an airbender?” He asks.

The woman laughs harshly. “No, child. I’m just an old woman.” For some reason, Lloyd doesn’t believe her.

“Why did you bring me here?” He repeats, confused as to what exactly she wants if not to talk to him.

She smirks, taking another sip of her tea, not batting an eye at the heat despite supposedly not being a bender. “Can’t a girl want to make a cup of tea for the boy who will save the world?”

Lloyd frowns, unsure of her confidence but unwilling to argue it here, not on these grounds, not in these ruins. Not knowing how to respond, he drinks some more of his tea. She does the same. Eventually, both of their cups run dry. “You should get back to your cousin, he’s sure to have finished showing the others around by now.”

Had she just been stalling? That wouldn’t make sense, and she speaks far too casually for it to be true. This just seems to be her polite way of shooing him off, he guesses. “Alright.” He says, standing. “Thank you.”

“Mystake,” She supplies, “It’s been a privilege to spend some time with you, Avatar Lloyd.”

Lloyd returns her gentle smile. “You too, Mystake.”

—

Lloyd spends the next half an hour wandering around before he finally runs into his friends. They seem to be just about done setting up camp in a large, enclosed room. Lloyd imagines it may have been a classroom or a gathering hall of some sorts, before.

Cole spots him first. “Hey, how was it?”

“Weird. Not bad, just… odd.”

Morro laughs briefly, “Yeah, she’s just like that. Did she tell you much?”

“Nothing,” Lloyd admits.

Morro hums, shrugging. “That’s not out of the ordinary. She knows a lot, but it’s a coin toss on whether she’ll actually say anything substantial or if she’ll just be absurdly cryptic. She’s smart, though, and she knows what she’s talking about. She has great insight when she’s not just messing with people.”

“She was messing with me?” Lloyd asks, it would explain Mystake’s behavior, but it doesn’t quite make sense either.

“Eh, that’s just my personal theory. Euphrasia thinks she’s too wise to realize her meaning usually goes over everyone else’s heads.”

“But you think the old lady is just clowning?” Kai asks, he and Nya joining them now that everything’s set for the night.

“She’s spent most of her life alone, she deserves to have her fun. But that’s just my take, of course, draw your own conclusions.” And it strikes Lloyd that he could never imagine the Morro he knew a decade ago saying these sorts of things.

—

The next morning, Lloyd wakes to someone poking his side. Opening his eyes blearily, he looks up to find Mystake with some sort of staff in her grip that Lloyd is sure is what she was tapping him with. “Help with breakfast, would you?” She says, leaving no room for argument.

Sitting up jostles Riyu from where he had been snoozing curled up against Lloyd’s side. The small dragon stands and stretches, happily accepting Lloyd’s head pats. Standing up, Lloyd looks around, spotting Nya and Cole still asleep while Kai and Morro’s sleeping bags are vacant. Riyu weaves between Lloyd’s legs lazily as he makes his way over to Nya, circling for a moment before laying down at the waterbender’s feet. Lloyd smiles at the display as he follows Mystake out of the hall. She’s using the staff as a walking stick, Lloyd notices. She didn’t have it yesterday, though, surely he would have noticed.

“Mobility needs tend to be variable, child,” She says, not so much as glancing his way.

“What- I didn’t-“

“Mhm.” Mystake snarks, turning into a room. Lloyd follows her into what turns out to be a kitchen, where Morro is already working, mixing ingredients in a bowl.

“Morning Lloyd, Mystake,” He greets.

“Good morning.” She replies, tossing the staff his way, Morro catches it easily. “Your glider’s good as new, I’ll have the avatar’s ready by dinner.”

“Glider?” Lloyd echoes dumbly.

Morro nods, “I’ll teach you how to use it later.” Addressing Mystake, he asks, “Where's your cane?”

She scoffs, waving him off. “Somewhere or other, I’ll be fine.”

Morro raises an eyebrow at her but doesn’t seem surprised. “Okay, let me know if you want me to get it for you.”
“The only thing I need from you boys are some fresh fruit pies.” She says, shoving Lloyd lightly in the other’s direction. “Teach your cousin some culture, would you?”

Morro’s smile is lopsided and genuine as he salutes the elder. “I’ll do my best.”

Chapter Text

Lloyd spends most of the day with Morro, the older showing him some pieces of airbending culture they’ve managed to maintain. His cousin teaches him how to incorporate airbending into baking, and they spend a few hours practicing what Morro calls the airbending gates. Morro sets it in motion – a small arena of spinning doors – and Lloyd has to try to get across without touching anything. It quickly becomes evident that this is an exercise in both agility and patience, but it still takes Lloyd much of the afternoon to make it through successfully.

When he does, Nya and Kai whoop encouragingly as Morro claps him on the shoulder. “Nice work, Lloyd,” He says, plain but genuine. Lloyd smiles widely at both the accomplishment and the compliment.

He takes another break after that, but soon Morro asks if he wants to play a game. The crash course in what he calls airball is a bit more literal than Lloyd would have preferred at first, but once he starts figuring it out, it’s quite fun.

It’s freeing, all of it.

When it comes time for dinner, Mystake gives them all tasks to help: Cole and Nya gathering and washing vegetables, Kai roasting them, and Morro making the sauce. Lloyd stands awkwardly, awaiting his own instructions, when the elder pivots and walks right out of the room. “Are you coming or what?” She beckons, Lloyd moving to follow her a moment later.

The elder leads him outside and down a set of stairs. The sunset illuminates the valley below in golden light, leaving Lloyd awestruck by the view. Mystake leads him to an open grass area. “Ah, here they are.” Turning her way, Lloyd spots a handful of large, unfamiliar creatures with light fur.

Instantly intrigued, Lloyd asks, “What are they?”

“They are the original airbenders, young avatar: sky bison. There are very few left in the world after the genocide, but they have always been sacred amongst Air Nomads.”

The bison have noticed him now. Lloyd holds his hands out in peace as he slowly approaches. “They’re beautiful.” He says, looking at the handful or so now grazing in the clearing. Three of them are significantly larger than the others, but they’re all bigger than Lloyd and nearly as tall, if not taller.

The one closest to him moves to close the distance, looking at Lloyd with a curious gaze. “Hi,” He feels the need to greet. “You’re a baby, aren’t you?” He asks as the young bison moves to bop their head against Lloyd’s palm.

“She’s a year and a half old, the rest of the calves the same.”

“They’re siblings?” Lloyd asks, entranced by the softness of the bison’s fur as he pets it gently.

“Flying bison are severely endangered, Lloyd. I have only heard word of two other herds, similarly humble in size.”

Lloyd frowns, but nods in understanding. As he removes his hand from the bison, they turn and walk back towards the rest of their herd. “Traditionally, young airbenders would form a bond with a sky bison calf, and the pair would be companions for life,” Mystake says before clarifying, “I am not giving you a bison. They need to stay safe, away from prying eyes, at least until the war is over.”

“Of course,” He agrees easily.

“That said…” She starts teasingly as she approaches one of the adult bison, “I think Ella has grown restless. She would be happiest out in the world, with her chosen.” Mystake strokes the bison – Ella’s – neck, and Ella leans into the touch.

“Her chosen?” Lloyd can’t help but ask.

Mystake ignores him, or maybe she doesn’t. “You can’t force a bond between an airbender and a flying bison, but Morro and Ella made it look so natural. They’ve been best friends for years, but she had to stay here when your cousin travelled.”

“You want her to come with us,” Lloyd realizes.

Mystake nods. “The time has come for this war to end, for the avatar to return, and for airbenders to not have to live in hiding anymore. We are on the brink of a very exciting moment in history, Lloyd.”

That’s a lot of pressure, but the way she worded it makes it feel a bit less heavy. More hopeful. “Yeah, I think we are.”

—

As dinner is coming to a close, Morro announces, “We should start packing up so we can leave bright and early.”

Lloyd startles. “What? We’re leaving already?”

“We were never going to stay here, Lloyd,” Nya reminds him.

“Yeah, but…”

Morro rests a hand on Lloyd’s shoulder. “I’m glad you like it here. Today has meant a lot to me, but the plan was always to keep moving. We gotta start heading south, the sooner the better.”

Lloyd sighs but nods. Turning to Mystake, he says, “Thank you for having us, it’s been a pleasure meeting you.”

“You as well.” She says, bowing her head. “I’ll see you off in the morning.” She says before taking her leave.

They don’t have much to pack, but – considering they discussed taking Ella over dinner – the others are eager to meet the flying bison. They take the same route down as Lloyd did only an hour earlier, but he takes in more of the layout now that it’s dark and the scenery is less distracting. As they enter the clearing, Lloyd spots a pile of fur curled up in the corner, indicating that the calves are already asleep for the night. Ella, however, notices them right away. She stands before floating towards them, landing softly right in front of Morro who instantly collapses into her in an all-consuming hug.

“Hey, girl,” Morro breathes before finally pulling back. “You already met Lloyd, this is Kai, Nya, Cole, and Riyu.” He introduces, gesturing to each of them in turn.

Ella’s intelligent gaze flits over each of them, before settling on the young dragon. Riyu cocks his head at the larger creature, then Ella lowers her head to the ground to better see him. Riyu starts, backing up and half-hiding behind Lloyd’s legs.

“It’s alright, buddy,” Lloyd comforts, “She’s a friend.”

Riyu looks at Lloyd, then back to Ella. The sky bison lays down fully, resting her chin on the grass. Riyu approaches slowly but steadily, eventually getting close enough to gently tap his forehead against her nose. Ella exhales, it’s quite loud, considering her size, but Riyu isn’t startled, only taking a step back and cocking his head to the side. Ella stands, nudging Riyu with her nose right back, which gets a playful chirp from the young dragon.

“That was so adorable it hurt,” Cole whispers, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“Yeah, it was cute as hell,” Morro agrees with a smile. “Now let’s let her rest, we got an early start tomorrow.”

—

It doesn’t take them long to get everything loaded into the saddle Mystake dug out for Ella. Shortly after breakfast, they’re saying their goodbyes.

When the elder approaches Lloyd, she holds out her staff to him. Lloyd glances between her and the object. “Your glider, young avatar,” She explains, “Fly freely, Lloyd, and may the winds guide you.” She then pulls a small pouch from her pocket. “And a token to remember me by. Never forget that you have more allies than you know. You are never truly alone.”

“Ready to go?” Kai asks from atop Ella, already settled into what he’s claimed as his spot in her saddle.

Looking back to Mystake, she nods encouragingly, a small smile on her face. Lloyd bows. “Thank you for your hospitality, it’s been an honor to stay here.”

“Of course, now get going, you kids have a war to end.” She shoos lightheartedly.

No pressure, Lloyd thinks sarcastically, but it’s not nearly as intimidating as the same sentiment has been in the past. With one last smile, Lloyd jumps on Ella’s back – the move assisted by airbending, a move Morro had given him pointers on – with the rest of his friends.

“See ya, Mystake. Ella, yip yip.” Morro says, and then they’re flying.

“Wow,” Cole breathes, awed.

Morro smirks. “Wow indeed.” A few moments later, they level out to where they’re no longer ascending, and Lloyd considers the pouch still in his hand. Seeing no reason to hesitate, he opens it and reaches inside, to find only a flat, circular item, slightly larger than the standard coin. Fishing it out, Lloyd recognizes it immediately, a small gasp escaping him.

“What is it?” Nya asks, leaning over towards Lloyd.

He presents it to the group. “A white lotus tile.”

That catches Morro’s attention, him turning from where he had been looking ahead of them. “Like from my dad’s letter?” Lloyd nods.

“Didn’t Zane say they recognized the symbol as well?” Kai points out.

“Pai Sho is played all over the world,” Cole says, “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything.”

“But the white lotus piece isn’t particularly important, why that one?” Nya wonders.

Lloyd considers this, “Play styles can be like signatures…” He remembers, “Uncle Wu always said Pai Sho was more than just a game.”

“So there’s some sort of hidden message here? What are we supposed to learn from a circle with a flower on it?” Kai asks, confused.

“I don’t know,” Morro admits, “But it’s safe to assume that it means something.”

Kai sighs, not particularly satisfied with that being the end of the discussion, but there isn’t much more to be said.

With the conversation having died out, Lloyd starts to fiddle with the staff Mystake gave him– his glider, apparently. “Hey, Morro?” The man in question hums, prompting, “How do these gliders work?”

Morro’s eyes are brighter than Lloyd’s ever seen when the older whips around to meet his gaze. “Oh boy,” He says excitedly, rubbing his hands together, “This is going to be fun.” He stands up, moving closer to Lloyd before crouching down in front of him with his hands out. Lloyd hands him the staff/glider, which Morro takes with a surprising level of reverence. “Airbenders have used staffs like these as far back as we can trace. They increase the
wielder’s reach, and can be used for all sorts of airbending techniques, but perhaps their most well-known use is for flying.” Morro runs his thumb over a spot on the staff, angling it so Lloyd can see. “The button’s right here.” He presses it, the staff expanding instantaneously. There’s two semicircles of lightweight fabric, supported by wooden rods: a main one, and a smaller one towards what Lloyd is sure is the back. The fan-shaped instrument is astonishingly intricate, with wings the color of ripe persimmon. Morro hums appraisingly, “A good color for you. Mine’s yellow.” He says, grabbing his own and popping it open, revealing a nearly identical design but with daffodil yellow instead of an orange-red.

Morro stands, looking over the edge of the saddle. “Ready to try?”

“What?!” Lloyd exclaims, “You just want me to jump? There’s not some sort of lesson first?”

Morro laughs, “You ever hear that thing about baby birds falling out of their nests? Yeah, that.” He says, and then the mad man leaps.

Lloyd can feel his eyes bulge out of his head, as he scrambles to look for Morro. Only the airbender isn’t far at all, only a few feet away, sailing casually through thin air. “Sorry, couldn’t resist,” He grins.

Lloyd looks to his friends, seeking some sort of backup, but they all just shrug or shake their heads unhelpfully. His cousin must notice his apprehension, as he twists and moves upward slightly, to be more level with Lloyd. “Seriously though, there is no doubt in my mind that this is well within your skillset. Traditionally, airbending children start gliding from a very young age, and you’re a very fast learner, Lloyd. You’re a good airbender, and even if you aren’t ready yet, I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Lloyd takes a deep, steadying breath. “This is crazy,” He says.

“Yep, so it's right in your wheelhouse,” Morro teases.

With another sigh, Lloyd stands, glider in hand. Morro smiles encouragingly, turning ninety degrees to demonstrate where to put his hands and feet. “Like this, and try not to overthink it.”

“Yeah, okay,” Lloyd says sarcastically, even as he takes another deep breath to calm his nerves. “Just gotta rip off the bandage, I guess?”

Morro nods, as Kai tells him, “Good luck, have fun!!”

“Right.” Lloyd says, moving to the edge of Ella’s saddle. “Here goes nothing.” And he jumps.

Chapter Text

“I think I’m getting the hang of it!” Lloyd says excitedly, landing back in the saddle from his little practice flight with his glider.

“Sure are,” Morro says, “You’re a natural.” He says it so matter-of-fact that Lloyd doesn’t know how to respond. He’s gotten better about accepting compliments over the past couple months, but it feels different coming from his cousin. Something about their upbringing, no doubt, but Lloyd prefers not to dwell on it.

“Thank you.” He manages, sitting down as Ella continues flying them southwest. Riyu moves to curl up closer to Lloyd as soon as he’s seated. “Hi, buddy.” He greets the young dragon, patting his head in what he’s long since identified as Riyu’s favorite spot to have petted.

Morro pauses, considering. “Does Riyu know how to fly?”

“No?”

“He’s still a baby,” Cole argues.

“Is he?” Nya asks, “He wasn’t even up to Lloyd’s knee when he met him, and now he’s halfway up his thigh.”

“He’s definitely grown,” Kai agrees, “Too much to hide him, at least.”

“We’re not exactly hiding anymore, if you haven’t noticed.” Lloyd points out, gesturing to the giant flying bison that’s been their ride for the past couple days.

“I noticed!” Kai says defensively, “I’m just saying that Riyu’s growing pretty fast, and I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t have a great grasp on what standard developmental milestones are for young dragons.”

“Sky bison start to fly within a few weeks,” Morro says.

“Yeah, but dragons aren’t airbenders,” Cole points out.

At this comment, Lloyd’s gaze automatically slips to Morro, who is looking right back at him with a cheeky shrug. High-ranking, powerful firebenders are occasionally referred to as dragons, after all, and Uncle Wu is perhaps the most famous alive. “Either way,” Morro starts, “He and Lloyd can practice together, I’ll be there if needed.”

Lloyd nods, turning to Riyu. “Want to give it a try, boy?” The young dragon shrinks into himself, visibly nervous. “It’s not that scary once you get going, I promise,” Lloyd reassures, “We can go together.” He stands, opening his glider once again and gesturing for Riyu to follow, which he does very hesitantly. “Morro?” Lloyd asks.

“I’m on standby,” The older confirms.

Lloyd nods. “Okay, Riyu, just jump, spread your wings, and glide. Flap as needed, okay, buddy?”

Riyu chirps anxiously, but steps to the edge of Ella’s shadow to stand beside Lloyd. “You go first and I’ll be right behind you. Okay, three, two…, one.” As the countdown concludes, Riyu hesitates only a moment more before diving right off. Lloyd follows just a second later and catches up to the young dragon easily as he figures out how to steady himself. “You’re doing great, Riyu!” Lloyd encourages, getting an excited coo in response as Riyu starts to flap. It takes him a few tries to get the hang of it, but soon he evens out. “Great job! Think we can get back up to Ella and the others?” Riyu nods determinedly, flapping harder as he tries to gain elevation. Lloyd shifts his glider too, bending himself an upward air current but keeping Riyu out of it so he can figure it out on his own.

The dragon makes decent progress before faltering slightly. “You getting tired, bud?” Lloyd asks, but Riyu squints, focusing harder. He propels himself upward even harder, flapping until he finally reaches Ella’s saddle, and then ungracefully lands right in Cole’s lap.

“That was amazing, Riyu!” The earthbender encourages, “Are you sure that’s your first try?”

Riyu barks in playful disagreement before padding over to where Lloyd drops into the saddle. He sits down obediently, allowing the dragon to rest his chin on Lloyd’s thigh. “That was fun, wasn’t it?” He says, petting Riyu affectionately, “We should do it more often.”

“Definitely,” Morro agrees, “But for now, we should probably figure out what exactly we’re going to say.” He says, nodding to the village in the distance, growing ever closer.

“Morro’s right,” Nya agrees, “So far all we’ve planned is ‘public appearances wherever we go.’”

“I thought we were just gonna show up like ‘Hey, this guy’s the avatar, we’d like to buy some food and if any of y’all want to help end the war you’re welcome to come with,’” Kai says, earning him a glare from his sister.

“That was kind of my impression, too,” Lloyd admits.

A small laugh escapes Cole. “Sure, why not?”

Morro groans, “Are you seriously making me be the responsible one?” He all-but begs Cole.

“Oh, Morro, you’re still new here. Zane’s the default, then Cole and I take shifts. We can get you on the rotation if you want,” Nya teases.

“Or he could be the new default,” Kai suggests.

Morro turns to the firebender. “And where exactly are you and Lloyd in this hierarchy?”

“If I’m in charge, something has gone very wrong,” Kai says, both casual and dead serious, “And Lloyd’s the baby of the group so he gets a free pass.”

“I am nineteen,” Lloyd objects. He has no real desire to be ‘in charge,’ but he is a whole ass adult like everyone else here. Yeah, the others have a few years on him – except Euphrasia, when she was with them – but come on.

“Yes and you’re getting as much of a refund on your childhood as we can possibly manage. You already have to fight your dad and save the world, you don’t need anything else on your plate.” Kai says, leaving no room for argument.

Lloyd doesn’t dispute it because, like it or not, Kai’s right. He can barely think about having to fight his father without getting stressed to the brink of a panic attack. He’s working on it – as necessity dictates – but he really does have enough going on.

“So,” Kai says, pulling everyone’s attention, “We park Ella in town square and go from there?”

“It’s a farming village,” Cole says, “Even if they have a town square, it won’t be big enough for her.”

“Whatever, you get the gist. Sound good?” They all shrug and go along with it.

Half an hour later, they’re touching down at the edge of the farmland.

“Mommy, what is that?!” A little girl asks loudly, drawing their attention as they finish getting unpacked for the night.

The mother shushes her child, but Morro steps towards them. “Her name’s Ella, she’s a sky bison. Do you want to say hi? She’s very nice.” The child looks to her mother, who nods reluctantly, before bolting in their direction.

“Hi Ella!” She greets sweetly, only a few steps away from the bison’s face now. “Can I pet her?” She turns to ask Morro.

“Of course! Thank you for asking.”

“A sky bison…” The mother mumbles.

“Isn’t she beautiful?” Lloyd starts, “My name’s Lloyd.”

“Yena,” The woman supplies, “You’ve met my daughter Enny.” She says with a smile.

Lloyd nods, “Such a curious kid, very kind, too.”

“Yes.” Yena agrees fondly, watching her girl stroke Ella’s nose, before returning her attention to Lloyd. “Where did you and your friends find such a creature?”

“Mommy!! They have a dragon!!!” Enny shouts.

Ah, she’s spotted Riyu. “Oh my,” Yena gapes, “Who are you people?” She asks teasingly.

“Well, I’m actually the avatar,” Lloyd says, summoning all his self-assurance for it not to come out shyly.

Yena blinks. “The avatar… has returned?”

“Yes, and my friends and I are going to end this war.” This declaration comes out easier than the previous.

Yena looks at Enny again. When Lloyd follows her gaze, he sees the girl chasing Riyu playfully, laughing brightly. “I always hoped we would see peace. If not in my lifetime, at least in hers.”

If he had to guess, Lloyd would estimate Yena to be 40 at most. That she has accepted this war would outlive her broke his heart. “It’s gone on far too long already,” Lloyd agrees solemnly, not knowing what else to say.

“Indeed.” Something mournful crosses Yena’s expression, but she soon pushes it away. “What brings you and your companions here?”

Lloyd isn’t quite sure how to respond, but fortunately Nya cuts in. “We’re ready to go on the offensive, it’s time the world knows that the avatar is back.”

Yena nods. “I’ll be sure to spread the word, then. We’re a small community, news travels fast here.”

“Mommy, the dragon’s littler than I am!” Enny shouts.

The woman laughs. “I see that, sweetheart.” She then turns back to Nya and Lloyd. “You should join us for lunch, I insist.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Lloyd objects politely.

“Nonsense, it would be an honor for my family to host you, and I’m sure Enny would love to hear your stories.”

“That’s very generous, if you’re sure…”

“Of course! I counted five heads, would your animal friends be needing snacks, as well?”

—

Yena’s family home is small, only housing herself, her daughter, and her nephew. The nephew, Junjie, is around Lloyd’s age and uses crutches, but appears uninjured and moves with practiced ease. Junjie is more inquisitive than his aunt, but not quite as much as his younger cousin.

“Mommy said the avatar went away a long time ago, but you don’t look that old.” Enny wonders aloud as Yena dishes out stew for everyone.

“Did your mom tell you how there’s a new avatar every lifetime?” Cole asks, “Lloyd’s the first avatar we’ve known of for a while, but there were other avatars way back when,” He explains gently.

“What happened to the ones in between?” Junjie asked quietly, seeming hesitant to ask such a question in front of the little girl, but his curiosity evidently won out.

Lloyd sighs, shrugging weakly. “War. The Fire Nation knows only the avatar can stop them, so they’ve been hunting us in secret for the past century.”

“Why is it a secret?” Enny is the one to ask.

“Because the Firelord wanted everyone to think the avatar was already gone and that they could never come back,” Morro answers, “The avatar represents hope and unity and balance, all things the Firelord wants destroyed.” His words are hard, but Morro meets Lloyd’s gaze with something akin to compassion. Pity, perhaps.

Lloyd swallows, staying silent.

“But he’s not gonna win, right? Now that Lloyd’s here?” Enny asks, tentatively hopeful.

“That’s right,” Kai reassures her, “We’re going to do everything we can to save the day, and we won’t stop until the war is over.”

—

Lunch was delicious, and they stick around for a few hours afterwards to make themselves helpful. Feeding a group of their size is no small feat, especially in such a small community, so they seek to repay Yena’s generosity with service. One of her neighbors has a forge, so Kai and Nya take the opportunity to repair any tools in need of attention. The rest of them end up wandering around looking for odd jobs in need of attention.

As it turns out, there are no ablebodied adult earthbenders in the village, all of working age having been enlisted to fight long ago. One of Enny’s friends is a young bender, though, so Cole and Lloyd invite her to tag along so they can give her some pointers as they go.

They’re cleaning up and smoothing out the more worn paths when the kid addresses Morro — who has been following along pulling weeds and picking up the odd piece of litter — for the first time. “Enny said you’re an airbender, but my Daddy told me they were all gone.” Her tone clearly indicates it to be a sort of question, but Morro understandably doesn’t know how to reply. To be fair, Lloyd is rather clueless himself.

“Oh my god, Kaiya,” The girl’s older sister scolds, clearly embarrassed from where she was tending the livestock only a few yards away.

“What?” The younger pouts, “It’s a question!”

The preteen — Lanai, if Lloyd remembers correctly — sighs heavily. “I’m sorry about her,” She apologizes to them.

“It’s alright.” Morro assures the older before turning to address Kaiya. He lowers himself to her level, and Lloyd realizes he’s never even imagined Morro interacting with kids before. “You know how sometimes grownups go off to help with the war?” Kaiya nods, “They do that to keep the war from coming here, because you and your family and your community are worth protecting. Sadly, when the war first started, we didn’t have anyone ready to go off and fight, so the Fire Nation brought the war straight to the Airbenders’ homes.” Morro smiles sadly as he tries to balance honesty with preserving what remains of the kid’s innocence. “We lost a lot that day, and the world thought that was the end of us, but we’re still here. As long as there are good, kind, and brave people still left in this world,” He says, nudging her playfully, “Hate will never win. We just have to keep the hope alive. Do you think you can help with that?”

“Yeah!! Bad guys always lose eventually, right? That’s how we know the world is good!” Kaiya declares confidently, earning melancholy smiles from everyone in earshot.

Lloyd’s first thought is that she’s a child who has yet to learn how wrong she is, but he resents the thought the moment it occurs to him. Maybe the six year old is naive, but she should be. She should get to grow up believing that the world is just. Lloyd knows he’ll have to face his father to end this senseless violence, to save the world, but saving the world is so daunting. Proving a little girl right, on the other hand? Lloyd thinks he might just be able to do that. For Kaiya, for everyone.