The Avatar and the Fire Prince

Book 2: Water, Chapter 14: The Waterbending Master

"I'm not one to complain, but can't Appa fly any higher?" Sokka muttered grumpily as he draped himself over the back of the bison's saddle.

Aang closed his eyes and pressed his lips into a thin line as he felt a small spike of irritation flare within him. They had been flying for nearly two whole days straight, only stopping to rest one time when they had been lucky enough to come across an iceberg that was large enough for Appa to land on, and he was beginning to grow worried that they had somehow gotten themselves lost.

"I have an idea!" he replied sarcastically, turning around to face Sokka and pointing his index finger directly at him. "Why don't we all get on your back and you could fly us to the North Pole?"

The Water Tribe boy merely looked over his shoulder with a deadpan expression. "I'd love to," he replied, just as sarcastically, pointing to his back and shaking his rear. "Climb on, everyone. Sokka's ready for takeoff."

Momo immediately chirped innocently and hopped onto Sokka's back, and he shot the lemur an unamused glare.

"Will both of you be quiet?" Zuko grumbled from where he laid on his side, hands over his ears. "I barely got any sleep last night.

"Same here," Sokka said, folding his arms. "But you don't see me complaining."

"Yeah, because you're not one to complain," Aang replied sarcastically.

"Boys," Iroh interjected. "There's no need to be snippy with each other."

"We're all just a little tired and cranky because we've been flying for two days straight," Katara said.

"And for what?" Sokka replied. "We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe. There's nothing up here."

"According to the map-"

"How do we even know if that map is accurate, uncle?" Zuko interrupted, clearly having given up on getting any extra sleep as he sat up with a sour expression on his face.

"It's been correct so far," Iroh replied calmly, removing the map from his satchel and unfurling it. "We've been flying in a straight line since we left the Northern Air Temple, so unless we somehow got turned around, we should reach Agna Qel'a eventually."

"But how much longer is that going to take?" Zuko demanded. "We're in the middle of the ocean. No land in sight. Appa can't just keep flying in one direction until we happen to stumble into the Norther Water Tribe."

"No, he can't," Aang grumbled in agreement.

Suddenly, several spikes of ice shot out of the water in front of him, and with a yell, he quickly yanked Appa's reins as hard as he could, just barely avoiding them.

"Hang on to something, everyone!" he shouted as Appa picked up speed, swerving to the side to avoid another large spike of ice shot towards them.

Unfortunately, Aang seemed to have pulled the reins just a second too late this time. He heard the sound of crunching ice followed by a loud roar from Appa, and suddenly they were spinning out of control. With a large splash, the bison landed into the water, and Aang whipped his head from side to side as he watched the ocean water around them freeze instantly, trapping Appa in place.

From behind the large walls of ice that surrounded them, six boats emerged, each with several men dressed in familiar blue fur robes standing upon them.

"They're waterbenders!" Katara exclaimed, her expression shifting from one of fear to relief. "We found the Water Tribe!"