Chapter Text
I gasped for breath before beginning to cough, struggling to breathe as I clutched my chest. A few seconds passed before I finally got my bearings. I groaned as I pulled myself up to a sitting position. I heard a slight groan as I looked through the cage from the back of the police car. "Hey. Hey! Are you alright!"
"I," he moaned in pain, "I think so. Are you?"
"Yeah, I think so." I gasped as I looked out the windows only seeing white. "What the hell happened?"
"I don't know," the man groaned as he sat up. "One minute we're on the highway, the next. . ."
"Is this. . . snow?" I asked. "I know it's winter, but I don't think that there was that much on the ground a few hours ago."
"Because there wasn't." he said, shifting before trying the radio. Static. Nothing useful. Trying to start the car failed as well.
"Hey, can you let me out of here?" I asked.
The man looked back at me with a scoff. "Yeah, right. Just let you go. Sure."
"I didn't mean like that." I said with irritation. "If you think I'm gonna run off in a blizzard, you're nuts. I just–"
"Just shut up." He said with annoyance. "And don't try anything. I'm going to go see where we are."
"Hey, wait!" I yelled out as he opened the door and stepped out, letting a blast of freezing air in that made me want to shrivel up and die. I'd never felt that cold before. Never in my life. Even with the winter clothes and coat I had on, I was freezing. As he shut the door, I breathed out a sigh of relief. It was infinitely colder than before, but I was warm again.
Yet, I instantly felt the heat leave my body as my eyes widened horror as I heard the cop let out a blood curdling scream as blood splattered the window, causing me to instantly sink to the floor in fear. What the fuck!
The screams didn't end and when his body burst through the window to the side of me, I didn't dare move. I held my breath as his screams seemed to fade out into the distance. I couldn't hear anything else. Just the wind. My lip quivered as I slowly sat up, chancing a peek out the broken window.
Blood was everywhere. Claw marks on the side of the vehicle and footprints that looked like that of a bear. A bear in the snow. I shuddered as I looked down, seeing his belt laying there on the ground. My eyes narrowed at the gun.
Quickly looking around, I pulled myself out of the car before quickly grabbing the gun with shaky hands. The cold was horrible. I didn't know how long I could chance it out here if I was being honest. This was the weather you died in within an hour. And that was with warm clothes.
A howl sounded from off in the distance and I made sure to quickly climb back in the car, looking for anything I might need. Quickly scavenging the car's contents, I found my bow and arrows in the trunk along with a rifle and a lot of ammo. It would have to do. Looking around, I searched desperately for somewhere to go and it didn't take me long. Off in the distance was a fire. Now for the hard part. Getting there.
My pulse drummed in my ears as I ran with everything I had. It felt like it had been hours but I knew that was plain wrong. I doubt it had been 5 minutes. The panting of a very large animal was directly behind me. For every step I took, it seemed like they took 4 more. The fire was close now. And those were walls. Walls meant civilization. Almost there. Almost–
Pain exploded down my back as I felt myself fly forward into the snow. It was horrible, like my back was on fire. I quickly turned around and pulled the pistol out, unloading all of the bullets into its face. It stumbled back for a second, yipping in pain before snarling and lunging at me again. The only respite was the rifle stock that I had somehow, in a fit of desperation, lodged into it's mouth to stop it from biting me.
Seeing that biting wasn't going to get me, the creature switched to using its claws, raking a massive paw down my chest. I screamed in agony, trying desperately to get it to let me go. It ripped the rifle from my hands and in that split second, I noticed 4 others running up to me, teeth bared and bloody. Just as it lunged at me, I threw my hand out in desperation with nothing left as an answer. And I was bathed in bright warmth. And then nothing.
I blinked in exhaustion as I felt a wash cloth gently rubbing against my chest. When the sensation bordered on painful, I let out a slight gasp causing them to pause.
"Sokka! Vale shorin ka'te nohal, esh varo kelin ta'mei."
"Huh?" I muttered in confusion, blinking away the confusion before slowly trying to sit up only for searing agony to erupt across my body. I cried out before I felt the gentle hand firmly push me back down. She said something else but I couldn't understand her. Whatever language it was was nothing I could speak.
A second later, another person entered the. . . was this a tent? A boy who looked around 15. I looked down at myself only to find bloodied bandages wrapped tightly around me. My back hurt more than my chest by a wide margin though.
The boy walked up to me with a narrowed look in his eyes before he held up something that I didn't recognize. "Darek lon si'vera, Agni toresh elamai. Shai koren vi'tala, Agni ran tuval. Kesh no'rakai, ilun vesh torai, mehla suven korashi!"
I gave him a confused look, "I'm sorry. I don't understand what you're saying." I said, my voice hoarse.
They glanced at one another in confusion before turning back to me. "Grak torven iskhal drauk?"
I shook my head before wincing at the motion. "I don't understand you."
"Esu, Katara." She said, putting a hand to her chest. A second later, she put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Aru, Sokka."
I blinked in confusion before eyeing them up and down, trying to compare the face to the name. What. The. Fuck!
Sokka and Katara? Like. . . Sokka and Katara? I could feel my eyelids getting heavier as I fought to stay awake. They said something else but I was too out of it by this point. And then darkness took me.
"He's a spy." Sokka said with absolute certainty.
"You can't be sure of that." Katara said with some uncertainty but didn't outright disagree with her brother. "And even if he is, he's too injured to fight anyone, much less us."
"It's a rare thing for someone to survive a pack of polar bear dogs, much less kill one mid attack." One of the women pointed out as the tribe discussed what to do with the new arrival.
"With fire bending I imagine it wasn't too hard. Especially with these. Must be a new fire nation weapon. I've never seen anything like it, but the sounds alone were as deafening as their cannon fire." Kanna said as she gestured to the rifle and revolver on the table.
"I have, Gran Gran." Sokka said as he picked up the revolver, fiddling with it while keeping careful vigilance not to touch the trigger. "A similar weapon was in father's scrolls detailing war strategies and dangers of certain weapons. It strongly resembles a hand cannon. In fact I'd bet on it that it works the same. There were 6 holes in the bear dog's skull and we pulled out six small metal pieces. After that was when we all saw the firebending. So we can deduce that he ran out of ammo and 6 shots is all it holds. Although I'm not quite sure how to load it. We also have 2 boxes of the ammunitions."
"We shouldn't mess with them. At least not till he can tell us how it works. If he's not faking that is." Katara said as she picked up the strange looking bow. "Although, I've never seen a bow like this. What's with the wheels?"
"It reduces draw weight while maintaining the tension behind the shot and not sacrificing the power. It's a really smart design. I don't know how he would have thought of it." Sokka said without sparing a glance before picking up an arrow. "Bad arrows though. Not very strong and the metal would surely crack on impact. Must be for hunting."
Sokka set everything down before humming. "I don't like this. If he really doesn't speak the language, that's cause for concern. And did you see the tattoo on his arm? It glowed. I don't like it one bit."
"So what should we do?" A girl a little older than Sokka asked in the back.
"If he's a spy then we do what's necessary. Banishment." Sokka said gravely.
"Sokka, he wouldn't survive a day out there." Katara admonished.
"I know." Sokka said quietly. "But we've got to think about the tribe first. And that means treating him as the threat he is."
"What about the large metal thing out in the tundra?"
"I'll handle that later. Nothing's gonna move that thing. Believe me, I tried." Sokka said.
Katara looked uneasy as did a few others but the decision was ultimately up to Sokka. They all nodded at the verdict before Kanna spoke up. "When he is fit to move and speak, we will question him then."
THE NEXT MORNING
I sat up in pain groaning with effort. My back and chest hurt horribly, pulsing with every movement. I looked down at the bandages and while there was no blood this time, I had horrible bruising around my midsection and arms.
I shook my head before looking around the tent. Simple to say the least. Hopefully that had been a dream and I wasn't losing my mind. I walked over to the exit and took a step out at the sounds of people talking. And immediately gasped at the cold, quickly taking a step back in. Damn! There was no way I could step out there without some warm clothes, much less shirtless.
I heard footsteps approach the tent before a woman entered. She looked a little older than me. She was quite pretty but she was eyeing me with some heavy caution and disdain. Huh. I suppose that makes sense. And she was wearing blue and white fur clothing. Nope. Looks like I was losing my mind.
"Neha sori veka talin. Oshi mevara ken suli?"
"Oh my god." I muttered before shaking my head. "No. I can't understand you. I. . ." I scoffed in irritation. "Uhhhh. Sokka. Katara."
Better to interact with the people I sorta knew of. Sorta. She narrowed her eyes before pointing at the ground. "Ashral." She said firmly. The message was clear. Stay here.
With that, she left the tent, leaving me alone. I took a step back and sat back on the bed. Looks like this was where I was staying. About 10 minutes later, a young teen who looked to be about 15 or 16 entered alone. He looked familiar with the hair. Sokka, no doubt about it.
"Can you understand me? Because we're gonna be here a while if not." I said with a sigh.
He narrowed his eyes before walking up to me and held something out to me. Jerky. I took it gratefully before he held up something else. The revolver. Gotta give him points. He didn't aim it at me so that was good. "Aven noresh kai?"
"It's a revolver." I said as I munched on the jerky.
"Huh?" Sokka said in confusion.
"Gun." I pointed at it.
"Gun?" He said as he looked at it. I nodded before gently holding my hand out. He narrowed his eyes before hesitantly handing it to me. I took it before fiddling with it for a moment. Finally, I got the cylinder to slide open. His eyes widened before I shook it a bit, ejecting the casings. I held one up before Sokka took it and pulled out a fresh bullet from his pocket.
I mimed putting it in before closing it and pulling the hammer back. The subtle click was all he needed to understand. He took the revolver back before loading it. A moment later, he opened it and took the bullet back out.
He nodded before holding up a scroll with the fire nation symbol on it. And a whole bunch of writing I couldn't read on account of it not being english. I shrugged at him. I didn't know what he wanted. Did he think I was a spy? It was likely. But maybe I was wrong. Not like I'd know if I was.
For the next hour, Sokka and I played charades to the best of our ability. And all I could gather was that I was attacked by an animal and they had managed to bandage me up. I guess besides the cuts and major bruising, my injuries weren't that bad. No, it was the cold that had almost killed me. And Sokka thinks I'm a Fire Nation soldier judging from the suspicious looks I'd been receiving. That made perfect sense.
Katara walked in with a bowl of stew. She also had a giant fur blanket that looked very familiar. A moment passed before I understood it was from the polar bear dog I'd killed. They exchanged some words before giving me a nod and going to exit the tent. Before they could leave, I called out. "Leon!"
They paused and looked back at me. I patted my chest. "Leon. My name is Leon."
"Li Ono." Katara said. I went to correct them before Sokka nodded as well, repeating the name. And then they were gone. I looked at the food and took a bite. And promptly hoped there were spices here.
2 MONTHS LATER
I swiftly learned there was not. I also learned that if I was to stay here, I needed to contribute. Because I had no clue where to go or who to ask for help. The obvious answer would head to the spirit portal in the south pole. Except Korra had to unlock it originally and I didn't know the language to ask where it was.
So I resigned myself to helping out. I suppose when they realized I wasn't faking and didn't understand what they were saying, they lightened up on the distrusting looks. It had been 2 months and I'd sort of fallen into a semi-regular routine.
We'd gone to check out the car and had found out that it had swiftly sunk into the icy waters when the ice had given way under it.
Sokka had given me the rifle back when I'd explained it was for hunting. Needless to say, the tribe had a hell of a lot of meat. For all the good that it did, it had a detrimental effect. The ammo was basically gone. I guess there hadn't been much rifle ammo to begin with. And non stop hunting for 2 months to provide for upwards of 80 women and children, which was more than the show portrayed by a bit, well, food was pretty important. And that included ammo going quickly.
Next was the revolver. That had only around 60 bullets. We'd used 54 bullets. So, 6 shots was it. Sokka and I had come to the same conclusion. Save it for a necessary moment. Well, that moment had come fast. A kid had gotten grabbed by a wolf. I don't really remember there being normal animals besides the bear from the Earth Kingdom. So seeing a wolf had been a bit strange all in all.
We got the kid back, to say the least. But the gun was scrap without ammo. So was the rifle. So, I made a gunstock club and gave it to Sokka. And the revolver was put away somewhere in Kanna's things. Not like I cared.
Hunting with my bow was a lot harder to say the least. This had actually been where Sokka had taken the lead. And it wasn't just hunting. Sokka was 15 and I was 21. A stark difference in physicality so I was the honorary moving even so, if there was physical labor to be done, it was just me and Sokka.
All the same I suppose. Not like I had much of a choice. And then one day, I did something that made me pause.
"Come one, light damn it." I growled under my breath. The spark rocks weren't doing enough and the seal fat wouldn't take. I let out a sigh of annoyance before a voice sounded behind me.
"Oshka Mil Afska, Li Ono?" the woman said with a smug smirk.
"Fuck off, Kima." I said in exasperation, getting some giggles from the side.
I narrowed my eyes in irritation. I'd been trying to light this fire for 15 minutes by this point. "Come on, just fucking light!" I snarled before I jerked away as flames lit up my vision. I rolled away from the blaze, coughing as the heat battered against my skin. I looked up in confusion at the fire that had basically exploded in my face.
I looked at the small jar of seal oil to the side before quickly moving it away from the fire. I didn't realize that oil could blow up like that. Not to self, less oil next time. I looked back at the women ready to throw a smug smile at getting the fire started before pausing at their faces. The same distrust was present again. "What?"
"Ishka etu firebender."
I recognized those words by this point. Sokka said it enough for me to have ingrained it into my mind. "What? No." I shook my head.
They pointed at the fire in expectation. "Fire bender."
I pointed at the oil. "Too much." I said, making the motions to explain the explosion. I literally could not be a fire bender. Or any bender for that matter.
They shook their heads before hurrying away from me. Sokka came to talk with me again and with a bit of experimenting, I was quick to find out that I could firebend. Barely. Just like Katara, bending wasn't easy. It was hard as hell and all I could do was send out a wave. And not a big one either. Any movements failed to produce any fire. So besides starting a camp fire, it was useless to me.
But it had one big effect. The looks that everyone around me wore I'd worked so hard to make go away came right back that day. Gone was the slight jokes or attempts to understand me. Gone was the cordiality and friendliness. It was right back to the distrust. And I couldn't blame them.
1 WEEK LATER
What a useless ability. Forget bending. There were some days I just couldn't! What a useless fucking superpower. No matter how much anger, or breathing, or yelling, none of it mattered on certain days. One day I could be getting the hang of it, the next I was basically my boring nonbending self again. What gives?
Either way, my worries on how to get home were quickly washed away. Especially when Katara and Sokka brought back Aang of all people. Everyone was gathered around the area, awaiting Katara's introduction as I sat beside Sokka, sharpening a knife.
"Aang, nalen Village. nalen Village. Aang." Katara said, happily.
"Iul teshi. Koran mi talo Appa sneilo eru."
Kanna stepped forwards, "N'vari shenako airbender koran. mi talo eshen."
"Eshen?" Aang said. So this was the conversation that they were having about the airbenders being extinct if memory serves.
Aang began flying around and eventually crashed into Sokka's makeshift watchtower. Sokka was pissed to say the least and made his irritation known. "Riku Airbender, Katara's a waterbender, and Li's a firebender. Ulki jai oshka."
Aang looked at us in astonishment before saying something I couldn't understand. "And there goes that hope. Sorry, bud. I can't understand you." I sighed before standing up and heading back to my tent. I guess that Katara and Aang had left. Towards the ship no doubt.
I could hear the argument happening outside regarding Aang and the fire nation ship just from the few words I recognized. I stepped out with a sigh, seeing Aang leaving before Katara yelled at her grandmother. She gave me a look that I couldn't decipher before storming past everyone and into her own tent.
I received some looks as well that I ignored. By this time, I didn't expect anything different. Sokka was painting his face and readying himself for the fight with Zuko and everyone else resumed their daily routines, although there was a tension in the air that was stifling.
Over the next few hours, I waited until finally a large boom shook the village. Zuko's arrival. I walked outside, readying my bow before taking a spot from between an igloo. And then the ship appeared. I'll be honest, I don't think I'd ever seen a boat this large in my life, much less this close. It was kinda scary if I was being honest. The ramp dropped and outstepped the prince himself, flanked by 6 other men. Sokka charged forward before being swiftly kicked into the snow off of the ramp by Zuko. I winced before taking aim. I waited until he said his piece, shoving Katara's grandmother back into the crowd before letting loose. Just as he went to whip his hand forward to firebend, my arrow whipped past his face and into the snow beside him, causing him to flinch back.
I stepped out with another arrow knocked. "I know you can't understand me, but I hope you can infer that I didn't miss."
Every man beside Zuko shifted into a slight stance, ready to firebend but no one made a move. I had a single arrow knocked. That was at least an injured man if not a dead one.
Of course Sokka had to ruin it though. With a battle cry he rushed forward before Zuko ducked, throwing him towards me and disrupting my aim. Enough time was given for Zuko to rush forward and shoot a bolt of fire in my direction. Specifically at my feet. Now his intent was clear. He didn't miss either.
I grunted before putting the bow down. "Sokka, stop." I said firmly before he ignored me, taking a spear and rushing Zuko again. Within 3 seconds, Sokka was disarmed before Zuko was struck in the back of the head by the boomerang that had been thrown moments beforehand.
Zuko glared down at Sokka who looked hesitant now. With a snarl, Zuko's hands lit up with fire daggers. I quickly threw my fist out with a loud angry growl, trying to muster up what I could. A good sized bolt of fire rushed at him, catching him momentarily off guard before he quickly deflected it. Sokka took the time to scurry away before Zuko looked at me in surprise. "You're a firebender?"
It was nice picking up some words. It let me understand small moments like this. I didn't answer, only keeping my stance up. It was a bad stance for bending, even I knew that. I knew some kickboxing with a little wrestling. I knew for a fact that this guy would destroy me. And I was far from Mako and Bolin's style of bending.
Before something else could be said, Aang appeared on a penguin. "Hi Katara, Hi Sokka, Hi Li!" he said happily.
"Hi, Aang." Sokka said dryly.
Zuko and Aang quickly began fighting. . . sort of. Mainly it was Aang deflecting some fire before one of the fires got a little too close to the crowd. I swatted it to the side, keeping it away from the crowd. Not like it mattered though, the same thing played out. One of the kids screamed and Aang surrendered.
Zuko eyed me for a second before saying something I couldn't even begin to make out. I tilted my head in confusion. "You're gonna have to repeat that because I couldn't understand a single word."
He narrowed his own eyes in confusion before shaking his head in frustration.
"Katara! Are you gonna talk all day or are you coming with me?" Sokka said loudly, pointing at a boat that had Li putting something inside of it.
Katara's eyes widened in joy, "Sokka!" she said happily before hugging her brother.
"Get in." Sokka said, "We're going to save your boyfriend."
"He's not my–"
"Whatever." Sokka said, shrugging and cutting her off.
"What do you three think you're doing?" Katara and Sokka looked at one another before Kanna held up some sleeping bags. "You'll need these. You have a long journey ahead of you."
As she stepped up to them, she gave a gentle smile. "It's been so long since I had hope. But you brought it back to life, my little waterbender." she embraced Katara before pulling away and looking at Sokka, "And you, my brave warrior. Be nice to your sister."
"Yeah. Ok, Gran." Sokka said, patting her back.
"Aang is the avatar. He is the world's only chance. And you both found him for a reason and now your destinies are intertwined with his."
Katara glanced at Li in the boat. "There's no way we're gonna catch him in this boat. Even with you and Li rowing together."
He glanced up at them with a raised eyebrow before a roar caught their attention. Katara's eyes widened. "Appa!"
"You just love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't you?"
"Have you explained to Li where you are going with him?" Kanna asked.
"I tried. Sorta. He just kinda agreed to come with." Sokka said sheepishly.
"So he most likely has no clue what's going on?"
"Yeah, that's about right." Sokka shrugged.
"Good luck, Li." Kanna said to the strange foreign man. "Even enduring the harsh treatment of our tribe, you still helped hunt and gather for us while you stayed with us, especially when you did not need to."
He simply gave a clueless smile and a thumbs up, oblivious to her words. She gave a chuckle before Katara called out to them. "Good luck, Sokka."
As we sat in the saddle of the sky bison, I could hear Katara say something to him while mentioning Aang's name. The small words that Sokka was saying told me he was trying to make him fly. Maybe the words were the same?
"Yip yip?" I tried. And promptly freaked out as I scrambled for a hand hold.
Sokka screamed out in joy before quickly schooling his features at Katara's smirk. I snorted at his reaction, getting a dirty look before we approached the giant naval ship. Just as we descended to land, I saw Aang in the avatar state whip a large water spout at the soldiers.
"Now abor ish sonka waterbending!" Sokka exclaimed in amazement.
Seeing it in real life was sorta cool if not a little freaky. Just as we landed, Sokka and Katara jumped off Appa and rushed for Aang who had fallen to the ground in exhaustion. Sokka quickly grabbed his staff before heading back towards Appa. 3 soldiers approached Aang and Katara with spears raised before I flicked a small bolt of fire at them, causing them to back up.
As we swiftly took off, Aang was quick to deflect a large fireball that Iroh and Zuko shot at us, causing an avalanche to bury their ship. I stayed silent as Aang and Katara talked. I didn't understand the words, but I knew exactly what these 2 phrases were.
"Why didn't you tell us you were the avatar?"
"Because I never wanted to be."
I let out a sigh. I bet all 3 of them thought I had no clue what was going on. To be fair, I didn't. I only knew the overarching story of Avatar and besides a few episodes, I was probably going to be completely lost soon enough. This took place over a year. And I know there were time skips. Man, I was so fucked if I couldn't get a grasp on this language.
"Mi'shara ven waterbending!" Katara said excitedly.
Aang grinned, "Wes aca lins torvash!"
"Nalen vari Sokka, shenako ul teshi Firebenders." Katara said to Sokka.
"Ist cols tah. Ist vala cols tah." Sokka said slyly.
Koran mi talo Firebending eshen, Li Ono!" she said to me.
I shrugged, throwing my hands in the air at a loss. "Sure. I agree with whatever you just said. Let's do it."
They all smiled before Aang pulled out a map and began pointing at certain spots. I recognized a few words. Llamas, koi fish, and hog monkeys. I guess animal names didn't really change too much besides a few. Thankfully.
As we landed at a nearby island, everyone began setting the camp up before I slid off Appa and grabbed my bow. I was genuinely nervous about it breaking if I was honest. I did not have the tools to fix a compound bow and once it was busted, it was pretty much useless.
As I turned to walk into the woods, Katara shouted out. "Li Ono! Drakk ven ul tharn. Krost val?"
"Hunting." I said, holding the bow up. I knew this word from Sokka enough. She nodded hesitantly before I took off. I was actually fairly happy that I was out of the tundra that was the southern water tribe. I liked the cold. Growing up in Montana made sure of that. But there was a big difference between snowy forest and icy wasteland.
Now though, now I was in an area with grass and dirt and birds and bugs and trees. It was refreshing. Still chilly but definitely an improvement. And so I headed out, intent on finding some food.
I grunted as I adjusted the animal over my shoulders. I didn't recognize it but it looked like a cross between a mountain goat and a sheep. Strange. But it was something to eat and maybe Sokka could use the fur for something. It was dark by the time I came back to the camp, and besides Sokka, Katara and Aang looked about ready to pass out.
I gave a whistle as I came into the clearing. Sokka gave an elated grin. "Alright! Ezra us Li!"
Aang looked a little put off at the sight of the animal. I tossed him a bag with some fruits in it. If I'd remembered correctly, Aang was a vegetarian. He smiled brightly before Sokka helped me get started on preparing the animal.
An hour later and we had some food.
I'd stayed up a bit later, pondering what I should do and how I could get home. There were 2 spirit portals. One in the south pole, one in the north. If I was right, I should be able to go into either and head home. If I could just find a way to talk to Aang, he could open one for me.
I shook my head in exasperation as Aang landed Appa on the air temple. I was too tired and waved them off, choosing to stay on Appa. Sleep sounded better right now anyways.
"What do you think, Appa?" I asked aloud.
Appa gave a low groan at my words.
"Yeah, that sounds about right." I said with a shake of my head before I slowly dozed off.