City of Secrets (The Lost Waterbender sequel)

Colder Weather

"I hate the cold," I grumbled, pulling my hood tighter over my head.

Raiko puffed a small breath of fire into his hands. "Speak for yourself. You at least have some biological immunity."

"Really? When does that kick in?"

I guess I'm lucky fate decided to place me in the Fire Nation as a child, because I had learned over the past years that cold weather is the worst. The Fire Nation had a climate that was typically warm year-round, whereas the Water Tribe was a barren land of icy death.

No, I'm not being dramatic.

Raiko and I were currently visiting my family, after being sent on several missions by the White Lotus. A "vacation", they'd called it. Well this snowy block of misery was not a vacation in my opinion.

Now that was dramatic.

"We should be in Republic City," I grumbled. "I know it's a new city, but it's getting bigger and we should be there to make sure everything goes smoothly."

"It's okay," Raiko said. "Between Toph as the new chief, and Zuko and Aang running all the political stuff, it will be okay without your family there for a couple weeks. And if anything, you attract trouble more than solving it."

"That is a ridiculous accusation." I tried to say this with anger in my voice, but I was unable to hold back a smile.

It had been twelve years since the 100-Year War. Ten years since Aang and Zuko began building Republic City; a place where people of all nations could come together. It was hard work; political opposition, tensions between nations, and then of course the whole building a city from the ground up. But with hard work from Team Avatar, the White Lotus, and even some City of Outcast members, we had managed to create the inner workings and buildings of it and were now watching as the population began to grow steadily. Food vendors opened, families started, shops began selling, trading ports opened. It was really starting to become a real
city. Best of all, the civilians interacting with each other were all from different nations. A Fire Nation woman bought chicken from an Earth Kingdom vendor. A Water Tribe man was fitted by a Fire Nation tailor. It was a beautiful thing to witness, especially after my childhood of perpetual war.

My past twelve years also consisted of traveling between the Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribe for personal and work reasons. Between working with the White Lotus and trying to find time for every person I considered family...well it was exhausting. But so worth it.

It was also fun as I had Raiko traveling with me most of the time. My best friend and White Lotus partner, we were rarely apart.

People joked about us getting married all the time, but soon after our time "dating" when we were thirteen I found I wasn't really attracted to him in that way. Or anyone, as a matter of fact. Never have been, and I doubt I ever will be. But it's okay, we've remained close as ever throughout the years.

"Let's get inside before we freeze to death," I said. We'd thought it would be fun to go on a walk around the icy tundra, but we were reminded the hard way about the terrible Water Tribe weather.

Inside the protective walls of the Southern Water Tribe, Raiko and I made our way to the igloo where my father lived. Katara, Sokka, and Aang were inside with him. Toph was still in Republic City with Zuko.

I expected to be greeted warmly, but when I came inside, I was met with the three of them wearing traveling clothes and their bags packed.

"What's going on?" I asked in confusions, removing my hood and stepping closer to the fire.

Sokka tossed me a scroll. "We have to leave. Republic City needs us. Now."

I shot him a confused look before opening the scroll.

Sorry to cut your vacation short, my friends. But it's urgent.

Republic City has some new residents that have been become more of a problem than usual; organized crime. The White Lotus is spread too thin. We need you all to return immediately and assist with stopping them. I apologize for pulling you away from your family, but trouble is brewing, and we need help before this blows up into something bigger. Please return to Republic City immediately.

Sincerely, Fire Lord Zuko

I handed the scroll to Raiko so he could read it. Once he had, he looked up. "I can be ready in ten minutes."

The two of us quickly packed our belongings and prepared to travel back to Republic City. After saying good-bye to my father, the five of us boarded Appa and began our journey to Republic City.

"I guess the peace couldn't last long," Raiko shrugged. "Something alway has to go wrong."

I sighed. "I wonder what shitstorm awaits us this time."