when it rains, it pours | zuko

one ; awake

Snow was of abundance, engulfing him in its bone-chilling cold. Even so, the cold was welcoming, an old friend he would willingly embrace — ironically, warming his heart.

That was the North Pole for Raiu, a place of security, and it's coldness a haven.

Raiu made his way to the training grounds, unperturbed, as frost clung to his silvery lashes and weighed the curls down, as the snowflakes dampened the strands of his silvery-white hair.

The townspeople occasionally greeted him: "Raiu! Good luck on your training, Paku has been in a particularly bad mood."
"It's noon already Raiu! Paku is definitely going to drown you."
"Have some freshly baked buns before you go!"

Raiu smiled and waved back, though his parents were long gone — leaving him practically alone, the people's kindness here was never foreign to him. In these 6 years, the Northen water tribe and the perpetual winter embraced him as one of their own. His days were filled with gruelling water bending training, periodic naps, same old fish-based meals and stargazing — rinsed and repeated, as mundane as imaginable, but comforting nonetheless.

And yet, sometimes when he was alone, the feeling of inadequacy, of restlessness compounded by a sense of meaninglessness flooded him — Raiu felt lost in this eternal winter. He didn't belong here, despite everybody's kindness and warmth — the cold did bother him. There was a calling from beyond that reached out to him, which had him gazing at the twinkling stars that mapped out the night skies of the North Pole, juxtaposing the inky black darkness and washing him with their pale light.

But until the day came where he reached out for his calling, Raiu was content with falling asleep to the lull of the stars and moon and waking up late to Paku's classes — who had been incessantly patient with his tardiness.

But who would've thought, that was the last day of any semblance of normalcy and coherence in his life.

★

That day, Raiu woke up at dawn — absolutely uncharacteristic of him, but his body was awake. In the sense that his soul had woken up from a century long slumber. From the roots of his hair to beneath the bed of his nails, there was a tingle of electrifying energy which stirred him awake from his deep sleep — something even Master Paku couldn't hope to achieve (waking him up that is).

He couldn't decide between standing or sitting or lying on his bed or even leaning on his icy balcony railing as he watched the sun rise.

Maybe it was one of those mythical productive days which drive him to make breakfast and clean the house and journal about his day. Alas, after taking a morning bath and thinking about being productive, he mindlessly laid down on the bed and his eyes — unintentionally — sealed closed.

When he arose for the second time that morning — or now noon — it was to some sort of fanfare or funeral procession. He couldn't tell, there wasn't much of a difference between the two, besides the obvious death in one. So in the end, it really was like any other day despite the build up.

And that's how Raiu ended up at yet another water bending training late.

"Raiu! I know I've been lenient to the likes of you but you've really been pushing it nowadays!" Master Paku crossed his arms and gave him a seething glare. "One more tardiness and you're out of my class."

He didn't really mean that. After all, he had been threatening him for 6 years and Raiu was still his favourite, adored student who just happened to  have a severely bad sense of time and urgency.

"This is getting old Master. Yagoda herself has said it was a chronic health condition." Raiu shamelessly shrugged and flashed a sleepy smile. "I'll give you a shoulder massage later to make up for it."

"Hmph." Paku crossed his arms and turned back to the rest of his students. "Hurry up and join your classmates." 

"Yes sir." Raiu continued his trudge towards the group situated in a circle.

"As you all know, tonight holds Princess Yue's birthday celebration which in itself is already of utter importance." Paku stroked his beard and recrossed his arms, "With the addition of our honoured guest, tonight makes a fateful celebration."

"Honoured guest?" Raiu yawned in disinterest.

"You don't know? It was all the craze this morning." One his mates responded, "Well, I guess you'll find out later at the banquet."

"Now let's continue our rehearsal for tonight's ceremony." Paku announced, "Raiu come here, you're in the centre."

"Your sole job, is to dazzle."

★

"Tonight we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Tribe. And they have brought with them someone very special, someone who many of us believed disappeared from the world until now... the Avatar." Chief Arnook declared with flare and authority. "We also celebrate my daughter's 16th birthday."

The ice hall resounded into applause and cheers, as the people rejoiced at this fabulous news.

"Now Master Paku and his students will perform."

Aang, Katara and Sokka watched with bated breaths as two students and an old man they assumed to be Master Paku pounced on the stage with their mastery of water. But there seemed to be something missing, or someone — made increasingly obvious as the performance progressed. And right at the climax, a third student appeared in the centre with his fluid control of the water — twisting and turning his body to the flow of the liquid.

Immediately, anyone could tell this particular newcomer was extraordinary. Maybe it was his gleaming silvery-white hair, almost identical to Princess Yue's hair — a relative perhaps? Or maybe it was his bronzed tan skin, although a constant amongst the water tribe, seemed to glisten with every drop of richocheting water. Or maybe it was just his arresting features contrasted against his relaxed expression, with his upturned cat eyes which hinted a tale of floods and sirens.

He was a no doubt what one would call a pretty boy. 

For a split second, even Sokka had paused his drooling over Yue, his attention seized by the young waterbender. On the other hand, Aang and Katara's mouths and eyes were wide open, awed by the display of talent and skill by such a young boy — age possibly close to Sokka's.

But at the end of the performance when the water works ended with a confetti of snow and water droplets — with his face flushed in a light shade of pink in exhilaration, the teen locked eyes on Aang. And Aang could've sworn to have seen the boy's hands tremble slightly.