Make a Man Out of You Chapter 2

Make A Man Out Of You

Chapter 2: Cold and Confused

A soft whine escaped your lips as you tried to suppress the sensation of pain. You didn't pack any sunscreen, who would pack sunscreen on a trip to the North Pole? Toph grunted and muttered something about wimps under her breath, while Kai gave you a sympathetic glance and offered a quiet "we're almost there," which you did not believe.

You assumed you would be traveling by ship or maybe even by airship if you were lucky, but you never would have guessed the trip would be by sky bison. Kai, one of the new air benders that were perhaps not so new anymore by now, was the chauffeur. Katara was visiting the North Pole, presumably as a representative from the South in a gesture of good will, and Toph, after disappearing for some time, decided to leave her swamp and go visit Katara. Never the patient one, instead of waiting for the water bender to return home, Toph decided to catch up with her at the North Pole. She stopped at the Fire Nation to find another ship to hitch hike on further up, and ended up joining you in your transportation.

Kai had only been passing by as an air nomad, but offered to take you to the North Pole. What was at first a cool ride, soon turned into a scorching death trap with no overhead protection from the burning sun. Toph had commented it was pathetic that a fire bender would get sunburn so easily, you were in too much pain to reply.

As the climate became increasingly cold the further north  you went, you found yourself debating between the discomfort of the cold or the extra layers of fabric against your skin. You changed your mind about which was worse so often that you caught a cold and were nothing but a sniffling pile of misery by the time you reached the North Pole.

You stumbled off the bison, sneezing and sniffling, with a gust of wind from Kai saving you from falling off the animal and cracking your skull. You heard the faint echo of words spoken around you and miserably stumbled after the group, while some attendants carried your bags.

Toph ran off somewhere, muttering something about the freezing cold floor and hopping around with more energy than a woman her age would be expected to have. She returned soon after, dragging you away by the arm, which caused you to yelp as her bony hand pressed the fabric of your sleeve against your tender skin.

The next thing you knew you were being shoved into a room and Toph was pulling off your coat. " I found you a healer," she explained as she tugged on the red clothing underneath.

You actually liked blue better, but your culture insisted that you wore red. "Cold," you tried to bat her hands away, but she was fast.

"Quit whining and let the healer have a look," with one last tug of fabric, the spunky old woman left you in the cold in your under garments.

"I'm freezing!" A moment later the embarrassment also sunk in. At least the healer in question was female, you thought. The situation was marginally less mortifying since you were all girls as far as you knew.

"Well? Heal her?" At Toph's insistence, the girl in blue robes nodded wordlessly.

She was tan, like the water benders from the poles, had long brown hair and bright blue eyes. The water bender called upon some of the ice from the walls, it became water at her command and covered your tender skin. She almost flinched with slight apology as you yelped at the cold sensation, then relaxed into the healing glow.

Your skin was left as good as new, but you were still cold and sick, so you hurried to dress, shivering all the while. "She's a wimpy one, this one, but she has potential," Toph told the healer. "Well, I'm gonna go say hi to Katara, she should be ready to leave by now if my mental calendar doesn't fail me. I guess we'll both catch a ride, it'll be faster than a boat."

You were too sick to comment on the fact that Toph had traveled all that way and now she was leaving along with Katara, apparently on Kai's bison. Your skin felt renewed and the coat was much more comfortable against it, but you were still lightheaded and it was getting dark...

xoxox xox xoxox

"How is your health, visitor from the Fire Nation?" You opened your eyes to a female monotone voice.

"Better," you muttered. You noticed that the one who spoke was the young woman who took care of your sunburn before. "Thank you for the healing. What's your name?" You sat up but remained under the covers, timidly admiring the decorative carvings on the icy palace walls.

"Eska," the girl replied with an expressionless face. "And I did nothing."

"What a coincidence," you smiled, assuming that by did nothing she meant it was no trouble. "The same name as the chief."

"I am the chief," Eska revealed.

You stared at her, your mouth agape. "Chief Eska?! Your highness, I'm so sorry!"

"I see nothing that requires an apology," Eska spoke in that unreadable voice of hers. "Rest and when you have recovered, we will have a diplomatic discussion  in preparation for my trip to the Fire Nation. Make sure you drink the healing water." Without waiting for a reply, Eska left the room.

You sighed and laid back in bed, unwilling and maybe unable to leave the warmth of the covers, despite feeling much better. You glanced at the icy nightstand, most things seemed to be made of ice in the castle, and spotted a bottle of shiny liquid. It was beautiful, as if it was meant to be left there as a decoration, undisturbed. You gingerly reached for it and took a zip, it was cool, sweet and soothing. Though you started your trip by making a fool of yourself in front of the local monarch and had her serve you instead of the other way around, maybe the diplomatic disaster could still be salvaged.

A knock on the door interrupted your thoughts and you called for the person to enter. You watched with puzzled curiosity as the icy door slid aside by the power of bending, momentary wondering how heavy it would feel to a non-water bender such as yourself. Yet your mind soon focused on more important matters, such as the fact, the so called fact, that Eska had returned. "Chief Eska?"

She tilted her head in confusion and opened her mouth as if to speak, only to think better of it and close it with a shake of the head. Wordlessly she exited the room and you couldn't help it but to focus on the bizarre occurrence and muse that there was something different about her. You couldn't tell exactly what it was, but for a moment her features seemed almost imperceptibly different and she carried herself with an air that you could only think to describe as tomboyish.

To be Continued

I'm sorry it took me so long to post this. I do have this planned to end and it'll be a fun ride. Lots of humor and sweetness ahead.