Chosen by the Spirits | A male reader x Avatar the Last Airbender story

Chapter 35- Flashbacks and Visions

I woke up in the warm comfort of my bed, peacefully stretching before rolling out of bed. I cracked open the shutters on my window, seeing the icy beauty of the Northern Water Tribe's capital city, Agna Qel'a. It seemed to be a surprisingly pleasant day, not super boiling by any means, but enough sun to be able to enjoy the weather. A child-like excitement began to wash over me, for today was not just any day of the year. It was my birthday. I quickly got dressed and ready before heading into the kitchen to make myself some breakfast. To my surprise, I found breakfast waiting for me on the kitchen table, my parents waiting patiently next to it with smiles on their faces.

"Happy birthday!" They both cheered in unison, causing me to smile slightly. As a prodigy, I had always had plenty of attention throughout my life, but it felt nice to have my birthday celebrated. It almost made me feel as if my existence as a person, not just a waterbending prodigy, was appreciated.

"Thank you," I beamed gratefully as I sat down and began hungrily eating my breakfast. I knew that I didn't have the opportunity to waste loads of my time. Even though it was my birthday, I still had training with Master Pakku. This had always been the case, no matter the occasion, so I had come to accept it.

My father hustled out of the room briefly before returning with a moderately sized white box in his hands. It had a red ribbon tied around it, and he placed the mystery box on the table in front of me.

"Here's a birthday gift for you," my father smiled at me, and I couldn't help but feel excited again, as if I were a ten year old. I had heavily hinted for the last month that I wanted a specific make of a thick, fur water tribe coat. While I was reasonably adapted to the cold conditions of the North Pole, the winters could still become unbelievably harsh. Plus, since my DNA originated in the fire nation, I didn't have the biological adaptations that the native people of the water tribes possessed that kept them naturally a bit warmer. So, I was rather keen to get a thicker, warmer coat to help the winters get more bearable. My parents surely knew of my desire to have that specific coat, so perhaps it was in the box in front of me.

I picked up my parent's gift. It was surprisingly light, but the coat I wanted was advertised to be lightweight, after all. I carefully undid the red ribbon that ran around the box. Once it was removed, I eagerly lifted the lid of the box, peering inside to see what awaited me. To my partial disappointment, there was no coat inside. Instead there was what appeared to be a rolled-up sheet of paper inside. Although it wasn't the coat that I wanted, I still couldn't help but to feel a spark of excitement within me. I hastily reached to grab the rolled paper, unravelling it in my hands once I had done so. All the while my brain was whirring about what it could be: a ticket for a trip somewhere? Unlikely in the isolated Northern Water Tribe, but not impossible! Perhaps new shoes? Mine were getting old and broken, after all. I'd even take a free coupon to a local shop!

I rolled out the paper, expecting to see something exciting written in it. However, the sheet revealed only images, diagrams and instructions that I was all too familiar with. It was a waterbending scroll, and I couldn't help but give an internal groan as I realised this. 'I'll add it to the collection, I guess,' I thought to myself. My mother placed her hand on my shoulder as I pretended to be interested in examining the scroll, even though deep down I was disappointed.

"We know you wanted that new coat, but we figured that this would be great for your waterbending training," my mother said. Of course, everything always had to be about my training. Even though I was already a great waterbender, good enough to even beat some of the elders on occasion, my parents were still obsessed with me fulfilling 'my destiny'.

"Yeah, thanks," I forced a fake smile as I tried to hide my disappointment. "I'll study it later, I have to get to training," I quickly excused myself. I took my old, tattered blue coat that was hanging up on the front door, then quickly left.