Civil Wars - Part 1

At the Southern Air Temple, Tenzin was relaxing outside in a chair as Pema cradled baby Rohan on the steps and Kya was sitting on a rock, feeding lemurs with Ursa beside her reading a book.

Tenzin sipped his tea happily, relaxing in his chair "Ahh, I haven't felt this at peace since--"

"WOOHOO!" Bumi suddenly jumped in, interrupting Tenzin, who looked shocked before sighing " Aaand, it's over"

"Gooood morning, Universe" Bumi yelled, leaping onto the rock with his sister and cousin, dressed only in a robe and his boxers.

"Bumi, please, cover yourself." Kya covered her eyes

Ursa did the same, using one hand to shield her gaze while the other held her book open in her lap.

"Where's mom?" Bumi asked, having not yet seen his mother that morning

"Where do you think? She's in the sanctuary" Ursa replied, turning a page in her book.

"Oh right...Well, lookee here, "Vacation Tenzin" has finally decided to join us," Bumi then smirked at his little brother

"Yes, he has. It's so nice to get to spend more time with my family" Tenzin smiled, taking Rohan from his wife "Isn't that right, my little Rohan?"

The baby cooed and smiled up at his father

" And I've really enjoyed having you two around" Tenzin turned to his siblings " Reminds me of all those great vacations we took as kids with Dad"

Ursa finally looked up from her book, scowling "Uhh, I think your memory's a little foggy. Bumi and I weren't on those great vacations. It was always just you and Dad"

Tenzin looked puzzled "No, that can't be right. What about the time he took us to Kyoshi Island to ride the elephant koi?"

"Nope, we weren't there." Ursa went back to her book, turning the page

"Hmm. Oh, remember Ember Island? Those amazing sand palaces we built on the beach. We went there every summer with our uncle and aunts. Even Grandpa Iroh tagged along sometimes" Tenzin smiled at the memory

"Yeah, only because of mom's persistence that we all went" Bumi corrected "Apart from that we never saw the place"

Tenzin frowned "I could've sworn"

Jinora and Meelo suddenly flew in on air scooters, laughing. As they landed on the ground, Poki jumped onto Meelo's head.

"Morning, kids!" Bumi waved as the kids ran up to them.

"Morning, Uncle Bumi! Do you have a baby in there?" Meelo pointed at Bumi's stomach making the other adults laugh.

Pema then frowned when she noticed someone was missing

"Where's your sister?" She asked her children

"Who?" Jinora replied

"Ikki" Pema got up and approached her kids "About this tall. Talks real fast. I'm sure you know her"

"Uhh ..."

"There was a lemur fight, but the bison told us not to worry because a giant was coming. Then we almost got eaten by a shark squid!" Meelo grinned

"The shark-squid? He's here?" Bumi exclaimed "It appears my old nemesis has found me"

Pema crossed her arms in annoyance "Jinora, were you and Meelo teasing your sister again?"

"I don't know...Maybe... Yes," The 10-year old hung her head in shame.

"She ran away," Meelo added

Pema went red with anger "Honestly, I don't know why you kids can't just get along!"

Tenzin walked up to her "It's all right, dear, Ikki couldn't have gone far"

He handed Rohan back to his wife" I'll find her"

"Commander Bumi reporting for duty! Search-and-rescue missions are my speciality." Bumi saluted

Ursa walked over, wrapping her arms around her brothers' shoulders "What do you say we all go together?"

"Count me in" Kya added, also walking over

"Sure, I could use the help." Tenzin smiled

"When I get back, we'll come out with a plan to take down that shark squid once and for all!" Bumi turned to Meelo

"Yeah!" The little boy grinned

*

"So, what's going on with you and Desna?" Mako asked Elira as they walked down the street of the Southern Tribe

"Ugh! Not you too, Mako!" The airbender groaned as Pichi chittered on her shoulder

"I'm just saying it's obvious he has a thing for you. In his own strange way" Mako said

"Look, yes I'll admit that he's handsome and he's a great listener. But..."

"You're in love with Bolin" Mako smirked and Elira blushed

"I-I never said I was in love with him" She stuttered, playing with the ends of her hair.

"Really, cause your face does" Mako laughed, nudging the girl "Why won't you just tell him? Seriously, it's been months and all you do is drop hints that we both know he's not gonna pick up"

Elira sighed "Because I don't want to ruin what we have. I know, if I never tell him I'll never know how he feels. But, it's better than making things awkward between us. Besides, he's happy with Eska"

"El! Mako!" Bolin suddenly ran up to them, awkwardly hugging his brother " I'm so happy to see you!"

The two shared a glance

"Uh, you all right, bro?" Mako asked

"No! No, I'm not all right. I can't take anymore. Listen, I don't want to live in icy bliss with Eska! Don't make me. Oh, please, please don't make me!" Bolin wept, clinging to his brother

"Uh, hey, if you're that unhappy, just break up with her," Mako said

Bolin looked up at him with tears in his eyes "Break up with her? You can do that?"

"Yeah. Guys do that all the time." Mako shrugged nonchalantly

"How?" Bolin asked

"Just tell her you're not that into her anymore"

"Oh, no, no, I don't think she'd like that." Bolin shook his head looking scared.

"Ending a relationship is kind of like pulling off a blood-sucking leech" Mako placed a hand on his shoulder "You just gotta rip it off and get it over with"

"What? No, you do it gently. She may not show it, but she has feelings, just like every other human being, and she clearly likes you...In her own way" Elira cut in "But, Mako is right. You need to end things, you'll feel a lot better afterwards."

Bolin's face brightened and he smiled at the two "Thanks, guys. Whew. I'm lucky you're so good at breaking girls' hearts, Mako. Ha, Korra better watch out"

Mako folded his arms and glared at his brother.

" Oooh, no, it's just a-, uh, you kn-, uh, never mind" Bolin backtracked before running off again

As soon as he was gone, Mako turned to El with a teasing smirk "Happy, huh?"

"Shut up" The girl scowled

*

"Ikki! Ikki! Ikki?" Tenzin called, searching for his daughter. They had been searching for hours and the sun was beginning to set but the little airbender was still missing.

"Ikki, where are you?"

"Over here, Dad!" Bumi replied in a childlike voice before jumping out of a bush.

"Just kidding. It's me!" He laughed

Tenzin groaned in annoyance as Kya and Ursa ran up behind him

"There's no sign of her anywhere," Kya said

"Why would Ikki run off like this? Ah, it's probably my fault." Tenzin sighed

"Probably." Ursa crossed her arms

"Excuse me?"

"I'm guessing you've been so busy with your "duty" to Republic City that you forgot about your duty to your kids" Ursa declared

Bumi snickered "Duty."

"What are you, five years old?" Kya huffed, looking at her cousin annoyed

"Ursa, you're right. I haven't been spending enough time with them. I wish I could be as good a father as Dad was to us" Tenzin stated

"Tenzin, your problem is you're exactly like Dad" Ursa glared" He was so focused on saving the world and doing his duty- Don't laugh - that he never had time for us"

"Dad was under a lot of pressure."

"He always had time for you, though, his precious little airbender" Bumi pinched Tenzin's cheek, making him flinch.

"Dad loved us all equally" Tenzin pushed him off, walking away slightly" Besides, it all happened a long time ago. Why are we even talking about this?"

"Because you seem to have some grandiose delusion that we had a perfect, happy-go-lucky childhood. Guess what. We didn't!" Ursa snapped, getting frustrated with her little brother.

"We need to keep moving if we want to find Ikki before dark." Tenzin walked away as Ursa glared at him

"See what he's doing there, guys? Classic airbender technique. Cutting and running when things get tough!" Ursa called out mockingly

"Yeah. Did Dad teach you that move?" Bumi added, teasingly as Tenzin stormed away.

*

Later, El was heading back to her lodging with Pichi, laughing as the lemur flew about trying to catch the snowflakes falling gently from the sky. Walking up the path to her cabin, the airbender stopped when she noticed someone waiting for her on the porch.

"Desna? What are you doing here?" She asked stopping as Pichi landed on her shoulder

"I came to find you" The prince replied in his usual tone "I was wondering if you would dine with me tonight?"

Elira looked taken back for a moment at his request. Was he...asking her out? Wait, maybe this could be a good thing. Maybe if she hung out with Desna more, she would forget her feelings for Bolin. And she wouldn't have to ruin their friendship!

Elira looked up at the prince silently awaiting her answer.

"Sure!" She smiled "It'll be fun"

It was not fun. Elira thought it would just be her and Desna. Nope. They were joined by Mako, Korra, Bolin and Eska. As they all sat around one table, Mako and Korra did not look pleased about having their date crashed.

" Isn't this fun, huh? We never get to spend enough time together, just the ... six of us. So fun" Bolin chuckled awkwardly

"Excuse us while we retrieve more sustenance," Eska said before she and Desna both got up and walked away.

"You guys gotta save me." Bolin pleaded as soon as the twins were gone

"I thought you were breaking up with her?" Elira scowled from the end of the table, looking bored.

"Yeah, what happened to "ripping off the leech"?" Mako added

"I tried! But anytime I bring up the subject, she threatens to freeze me in a block of ice and feed me to dolphin piranhas!" Bolin exclaimed

"So it was more like you tugged at the leech."

"Yes, over and over and over, but it won't come off. Why didn't you warn me your cousin had the power to reach into my heart and crush my soul with her bare hands?" Bolin questioned Korra

"Uh, 'cause I thought it was pretty obvious?" She replied

"No, no, not to me it wasn't. I'm very bad at reading people. You should know that by now. Oh, man. Oh! Do something, Avatar!" Bolin begged, placing his head on the table.

Elira frowned in concern and got up from her seat. Moving to hug her best friend from behind making him look over his shoulder at her "Calm down, Bo. How about I try talking to her for you? See if that helps"

"You will?" Bolin asked helplessly

Elira smiled softly and nodded. The earthbender grinned, turning to hug her around her waist "Thank you, El!"

Elira hugged him back, resting her chin on his head. She saw the teasing smirks Korra and Mako were giving her and simply rolled her eyes at them.

*

It was pitch black out, yet Ikki's whereabouts still remained unknown. Tenzin led the group, holding a lantern while Ursa held a small flame in her palm.

"You know, this reminds me of a search-and-rescue mission I commanded years ago in the mountains outside of Ba Sing Se" Bumi ranted on

His two siblings sighed in front "Here we go."

"For five days we scoured the beast of a mountain, fighting our ways through blizzards, sandstorms, and three typhoons. Finally, we found the men huddled in a cave, seconds from death. With no time to lose, I piled all twelve of those poor souls on my back and single-handedly carried them down the mountain to safety."

"And how exactly is that supposed to help us find Ikki?!" Tenzin snapped, getting annoyed

"It was supposed to inspire you. Clearly, you know nothing about being a leader of men" Bumi scowled as Kya and Ursa rolled their eyes and walked away

"That's probably why the Avatar fired you"

"I'm sick of your far-fetched tales. Three typhoons?" Tenzin scoffed

"Well, I may have thrown in an extra typhoon or two for dramatic effect, but-"

"Hey, dunderheads!" Ursa called to her brothers "Quit arguing and get over here. We found footprints"

Tenzin quickly rushed over, seeing footprints leading down a path illuminated by Ursa's flame and now the lantern.

"Come on!"

"No, follow me! This will get us down fifty times faster" Bumi grinned, leaping onto rocks alongside the waterfall.

"Bumi, it's pitch black and the rocks are slippery. You're going to hurt yourself." Kya warned

"Come on, you wimps! If I can do it, it should be no problem for a trio of benders." Bumi taunted, continuing down the rocks

"Fine."

Kya then descended the waterfall using waterbending to hold her while Ursa used her firebending to slow her fall and Tenzin leapt from ledge to ledge, using airbending to boost his leap. All three quickly overtook Bumi, who grumbled.

As they reached the bottom, they looked up at Bumi still on the rocks, smirking.

"You were right, Bumi! That was faster!" Ursa teased

"At least fifty times faster, by my calculations" Tenzin added and they all laughed

"Oh, so Tenzin's the funny guy now," Bumi grumbled

"If you need an airlift down, just say the word." Tenzin offered

"Bah, I don't need your help" Bumi began climbing down again I've got everything under control--Agh!"

His foot hit a slippery patch and he lost his grip. Falling, he crashed into another rock, through the branches of a tree before landing in the water with a splash.

"Bumi!"

*

"I told you those rocks were slippery. You're lucky you didn't kill yourself" Kya scolded, healing Bumi's head once he was out of the water.

"You done with the lecture, Mom?" Bumi scowled

"Oh, grow up!" Ursa snapped " You know, you haven't changed one bit since we were kids. You're still trying to prove you can do everything a bender can. Well, you can't. Deal with it!"

"And you're not our mother. You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do. Deal with that" Bumi snapped back

The two women glanced at each other before Kya stopped waterbending, causing the water to splash onto Bumi.

"Good luck healing yourself with your special nonbending powers." She crossed her arms

Bumi shook the water off his head " Hey, hey, back me up here, Tenzin."

"Kya and Ursa are right. You're the oldest of us, but you always acted like the youngest. I had to become the responsible one" Tenzin huffed

"You think you're the responsible one?" Ursa marched up to him " Where were you after Dad died and Mom was all alone? Because I was the only one out of the three of us who packed up and moved my whole life to be with her"

"Sure, after years of flitting around the world" Tenzin resorted

"I was helping people. Trying to make a difference in this world. Like our parents!" Ursa yelled

" It was time for you to settle down somewhere. All three of you have no idea how it feels to have the future of an entire culture on your shoulders" Tenzin argued, agitatedly

"Excuse me?" Kya placed her hands on her hips. "I may not be Firelord like Izumi, but I still have responsibilities to my country"

"Yeah, boo-hoo. Must've been real hard for you, Tenzin, flying around the world with Dad, riding elephant koi all day" Bumi rolled his eyes

"Oh, so that's what this is all about." Tenzin narrowed his eyes

"That's what it's always been about. You think you're some saviour who has to carry on Dad's legacy." Ursa rolled her eyes

"Who else is going to do it?"

"How about all of us?"

"Yeah, we're Aang's kids too," Bumi added

"And you talk about being the future of an entire culture and the pressure on your shoulders. And while Bumi and I may not understand, do you know who does? El! You know your daughter? The one whose whole life you've dictated" Ursa snapped

"Yeah, ever since that kid let out a single puff of air, you've tried to turn her into a carbon copy of you!" Bumi added again

"I'm preparing her to one day shoulder the responsibility of an entire nation! She can't do that when she acts like a child!"

"That's because she is one!" Ursa glared "She may be considered an adult now that she's 18, but she's still young. Let her live her life the way she wants to"

"Tenzin, have you ever even considered that maybe all El wants is to be a normal teenager" Kya tried to get through to her cousin

"But she's not a "normal teenager", she is my daughter!' Tenzin exclaimed

"Exactly! She's your daughter! Not some poodle-monkey you can train to do what you want" Kya huffed

"It is her birthright. I know what's best for her, Kya!"

"We never should have come on this vacation," Ursa muttered irritably

"I couldn't agree more." Bumi huffed

"Well, I didn't want you to come in the first place. I can't be around you two right now. Go back to the temple and see if Ikki returned. I'll keep looking out here." Tenzin snapped

" Fine."

"Fine"

"Fine"

Tenzin stormed off down the path while his siblings and cousin headed back up the waterfall.

*

The next morning, El made her way to the palace where Desna and Eska were staying with their father with Pichi perched loyally on her shoulder. As she approached the doors, she was stopped by two of Unalaq's guards.

"State your business" One of them demanded

"I'm Elira, I'm here to see Princess Eska," Elira replied

"Right this way, Master Elira" The guard opened the door and led the airbender inside.

Elira followed the guard through the extravagant palace, marvelling at its beauty until they came to a stop in front of a set of large grand doors. The guard knocked loudly and after a few moments, Eska's bored voice responded.

"Enter"

The guard pushed open the doors and bowed "Princess, you have a visitor"

The guard backed away and gestured for Elira to go in. As she stepped into the room, she spotted Eska sitting at her vanity appearing to be doing her make-up for the day. Glancing around, Elira was surprised not to see Desna anywhere. There were two beds and the prince hardly left his sister's side.

"You search for my brother. He has gone to relieve himself" Eska said and Elira couldn't help feeling awkward.

"Oh, right, um... Actually, I came to speak to you" She explained "It's about Bolin"

Eska remained silent so El continued. "See, the thing is, he's not exactly...Happy with your relationship. Look, I understand why you like him, I've known Bo since we were kids and he's an amazing guy. He's sweet, he's funny, and he's got a big heart. But sometimes things don't work out the way we want them to.

And trust me, I know what it's like when someone doesn't feel the same way about you. Someone you can't stop thinking about...It hurts but, you can't make people like you. All you can do is be there for them whenever you can. Because just having them in your life is better than not at all. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Eska narrowed her eyes at the airbender and stood from her seat "I understand your level of concern for my boyfriend goes beyond companionship"

" Excuse me?" Elira narrowed her eyes right back at the princess.

"You are envious of our relationship. So you fabricated this lie because you desire Bolin for yourself"

Elira glared "I do not and I am not jealous"

Liar

"I'm merely protective over my best friend. I came here to explain that he's not happy and wants to break up because you refuse to listen to him!" Elira sighed to calm herself "Look, I can't tell you what to do. But next time Bolin brings up the subject, can you please listen to what he says?"

Eska went silent again for a moment before speaking "Very well, I will take your request into consideration"

Elira smiled, feeling relieved "Thank you, Eska"

Grinning, the airbender spun on her heel and skipped out of the room. Not seeing Eska's eyes narrow once again.