Mari: Scroll 1

The Siege of the North

It felt amazing to step out and not instantly start shivering from the cold now that she had proper attire. It did still take her eyes a moment to adjust to the bright sun reflecting off the cool, ice buildings. 

"Whoo look at you, you look like a real Water Tribe member now." Sokka whistled as she passed him. She laughed. 

"What are you doing up? Going on a date with Yue?" She teased. A slight blush stained Sokka's cheeks and he coughed.

"We're just going for a walk, you know, friend stuff." He said, looking away. 

"Mhm, sure, have fun with your 'walk'." She said, starting to leave for the Chief's place. Sokka fell in step beside her. 

"Hang on, where are you going?" He asked. Mari reached into her pocket and produced the letter the messenger had given her that morning. 

"Oh the Chief wants to speak to me, probably about nothing." She said. Sokka shrugged. They parted ways as Mari climbed the steps to the village hall and Sokka went to find a certain princess. 

Mari found the Chief talking to a few of the village elders and politely waited for them to finish. She smiled as he turned to face her. 

"Ah, Mari, thank you for meeting with me." He said in his deep, raspy voice. "I wanted to offer you to join Sokka in warrior training. He's told me a lot about you and I feel my men could benefit from you and you from them." He said. 

"I would be honored." She said. The Chief placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Than it's settled, you will join Sokka in warrior training." He said. She nodded. 

"Thank you sir." 

"So they don't have palaces in the Southern Tribe?" Yue asked as her and Sokka walked along a bridge together. Sokka held his arms out to balance himself as he walked on the railing. 

"Are you kidding, I grew up in a block of ice." He said, taking a seat on the edge. "It's not exactly a cultural hub." He dropped his head to rest in his hand. Yue however laughed, placing a tender hand on his shoulder. It brought a smile to his face.

"Sokka, this is wrong." Yue said, the mood changing dramatically. 

"What's wrong?" Sokka asked, throwing his arms out. "We're taking a walk." He pointed out. 

"I'm engaged." Yue pointed out. As much fun as she was having and as much as she loved being with Sokka, it didn't change that fact that she was marrying another man and even taking a walk with Sokka felt wrong to her. "It just feels.." She went to turn away, but Sokka wasn't going to allow that agian. She had let her emotions break up their last outing and he wasn't about to let it happen a second time. 

"I know what you need." He said, hopping off the railing. "You need to meet my good friend Appa." 

"Who?'' Yue said, cocking her head to the side. 

*Mari POV*

I walked down the large stairs, leaving the main village building after talking with the Chief. I couldn't take the smile from my face. The Northern Water Tribe Chief wanted to me to train and teach his warriors. 

My high was cut short as I noticed the horrified and confused looks on a few villager's faces. I followed their line of sight and saw the small black flakes falling from the sky. It was like someone had dumped oil into a cloud and created black snow. My attention was pulled away from the weird snow by the sound of Appa as he landed a few yards below me and I took off running to meet Sokka and Yue.