The King's Comrade

Kano walked along the avenue toward the towering structure of the Aowaka School. It stood like an aged sentry at the very end of the way, it's man stairs climbing up to the doors of the training hall. He'd walked this stretch of the Waterbenders' Quarter more times than he could remember. However, this was the first time he'd walked it as Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. Since he'd returned to the Northern Water Tribe a week ago from his adventures abroad, he'd been holed up in the palace under his grandfather's watchful eye while every elder under the sun briefed him on the current status of the tribe's resources. He'd finally snapped and used his authority to demand a break. He was still weeks away from going through the trials and being officially declared the chief, but he still had the authority of an heir apparent.

It was a strange thing, traveling through the city with his new status. Before, he was just Kano. Everyone knew him for one reason or other. However, he had always just been the helpful kid from the Aowaka School. Now he was their future chief and no matter how much it made him uncomfortable, they insisted on showing him an excessive level of respect. It was strange. He was less than half the age of most...

He climbed the steps of the Aowaka School. As he reached their summit, the landing which led into the training hall, he looked over his shoulder at the only building in the tribe grander than the one he now stood at -- the Palace. It was hard to believe that was his new home.

After a few moments, he turned and headed inside. Nothing had changed. Not a single thing. The icy training hall was filled with students practicing and the spouts of the Waterbending Wolf's statue were still flowing with clear water, creating a gentle and calming cascading sound. He scanned the students. There were familiar faces and there were some he didn't know. It seemed the months he had been gone had been good for enrollment. He was just about to turn and head into the barracks when a familiar voice called out...

Kano spun on the spot the moment he recognized the voice. Sure enough, it was exactly who he thought it was.

"Y-Yasu!" he said with a broad smile, grasping his hand briefly before throwing his hands around the man and grasping him in a brotherly sort of hug. This was a pleasantly unexpected surprise. It had been months since he'd seen Yasu. He was as close to a best friend as Kano'd gotten since Hun-Hun had left the North over a decade ago. They'd spent years training together.

"LOOK OUT!" called an urgent voice.

Kano pulled his head back just enough for an icy spike to fly past harmlessly. It was a matter of common occurrence, things like that in this place. Especially when Tonu was practicing. He was notoriously clumsy. Kano didn't even bother looking around for the source. He carried on his conversation with Yasu like nothing had happened.

"How have you been?" he asked as Tonu came running past, the voice of Instructor Katona cursing after him for his mistake.

"Oh, Yasu, you have no idea the horrors of red tape I've been wading through and I'm not even chief yet." Kano said in an exhausted sort of voice, shaking his head. Nevertheless, he had a grin on his face the entire time. He was happy to have some portion of his former life available to him at that moment. It wasn't like the elders or the ministers gave a twist about his feelings.

Zulera being in town was news to him, though. Last he knew, she was at the Western Air Temple. Of course, that was months ago. He'd heard a rumor that she had headed toward Omashu. There was rumored to be some big event in the works under the Earth King's watch, but they were keeping the details more successfully secret than they had been keeping their military projects. If she was in town, though, he had no doubt that trouble was soon to follow. She seemed to attract it wherever she went. For the moment, he was going to go on the theory that it was a rumor only.

"The Avatar is a real piece of work." Kano chuckled, nodding at Yasu's comments. "I won't deny that she's got some good looks, but she's a little pint-sized. If memory serves, your ride has a height requirement..." he held a hand down, indicating a height just below his own waist. He laughed. "Hm... but she does enjoy flashing people her breasts. After months of traveling with her, I still don't have a clue what all that's about..."

"Ha, I was nothing like that." Kano laughed, waving a dismissive hand at Yasu's less-than-subtle suggestion. "We were fighting a band of thugs on the road up to Caldera City and she decided to flash them as a distraction. Which... was a bit more than a distraction for the thugs, I admit. But we didn't spark up a relationship or anything. Friends? I... think so. Lovers? Not a chance. Heh. That woman is out of her mind..."

Kano walked through the barracks hall with Yasu to the dining hall. It was the same, fur-covered, cozy old room it always was. There were steaming pots suspended over the fire. No doubt, it was some stew his mother had put on for dinner later. He could hear someone puttering around in the kitchens next door. He had a few coins that said it was his mother hard at work. She did so love her kitchen. It wasn't the kind of thing one expected of a master earthbender, to enjoy cooking Water Tribe food so much she voluntarily spent her days doing it. Still, he owed much of his health to her exemplary culinary skills.

Settling down in a spot next to the long, ice table. If it were anyone else, he would have indicated for his company to do the same. But Yasu was no stranger to this place. He knew he was more than welcome at Tako's table. If he wanted to sit, he could go right ahead.

Kano couldn't suppress a frown. It wasn't displeasure with the question, but rather his own situation. From the moment he first stepped through the doors of the palace upon his return, the simple fact that he was in a cage of duties and formality slowly began sinking in. It seemed to weigh on his very soul, the mere thought. It felt like what he had gained in power, he had lost in freedom. Now he understood why so many young kings simply went insane...

He looked over at Yasu slowly.

"For the moment, I'm... I'm stuck here." Kano said with a pang of dread at the thought. There was a time in his life when he couldn't have imagined longing to be anywhere but there, in the Northern Water Tribe. But now? Now it just felt like a prison made of ice. "My duties to the North won't permit me to go anywhere at the moment. I've been stuck in meeting after briefing after meeting since I got back. Heh... I was lucky even to slip out of the palace for an hour or two today."

He managed half a chuckle at this last bit, but it was pitiful and wholly unconvincing. His gaze fell back to the table. He found himself examining the cracks in it's icy surface as though he hoped there were some untold wisdom infused in those aged lines...

Eyes softened as he understood Kano's plight all too well, but from the wrong perspective. To be able to wander... that is what drove him, not to get away from this place. He liked it here, but it was all he knew. Comforting, like the soldier banter. "It must be difficult. It's not something I would take on by choice. " He took a breath, falling into deep thoughts for a moment. Stomach growled as the stew seemed to have reached a boil, but before it could be brought he cleared his throat and hoarsely spoke.

"What you do- it's amazing. Running the tribe... I don't know anyone better suited." He straightened in his seat, twiddling his thumbs on the table and smiling brightly with a seated bow of thanks to the gentleman that brought him his serving. Without waiting for Kano to begin eating, he dug in, savoring the flavors. "My compliments to the chef!" He loudly spoke to the retreating server, grinning broadly since Kano's mother had probably heard.

"Don't you go eating all of it, Yasu, or I'll have your hide!" the stern yet obviously bemused voice of Suna, Kano's mother answered from the kitchens. She knew Kano's friends far too well. Of course, she also knew Yasu as a veteran student. She may have been Kano's mother by blood, but she acted as a mother to many in the school. Most were boarding students long removed from their families.

Kano swallowed a spoon-full of the stew and instantly experienced a contentment that only his mother's cooking could inspire. It was something he hadn't felt in almost a year. Between his adventures and all the palatial duties of the chief, he'd not had time to even visit his own home.

"You know, I wish I had your confidence about all this." he admitted finally. "I haven't even officially been made chief and I'm already a little overwhelmed by all this."

Kano nodded slowly at the suggestions. It wasn't a bad idea. And after all, why not? It wasn't like he was clueless, bound to run the tribe into the ground if he didn't absorb several libraries worth of politics, economics, and law in the space of a week. There was no good reason it couldn't be stretched out over a longer period of time to allow him some breathing room. He was a devoted student, but the elders were asking too much, too fast.

He remained silent, deep in thought as he slowly ate his bowl of stew. Compared to his pace, Yasu was speeding along like he was riding an eel-hound with a speed-demon problem. As he spooned the last dregs of his stew into him mouth, he came to a decision.

"I think I'm going to let the Small Council know they'll be working on my schedule from now on." he said. It was a truly cathartic declaration. It was the first time he'd actually made a decision in his new position with such finality. "I'd like to be the sort of person who can stand being holed up in a palace for months on end without it bothering me, but I'm just not. I'm too used to doing things... other ways."

"Were it that easy." Kano laughed, inwardly appreciating that image as though it was a vacation unto itself. "I think I should probably just start with getting out of the palace in the afternoons. That, at least, I think I can sell my grandfather on."

He shook his head, still chuckling at that idea. It wasn't a bad one. In fact... it was quite appealing, really. Warm weather... and women. What wasn't to like? But he had his duty. And until that duty allowed him to make off for long periods, he'd have to bow to its demands and do thinks Hakano's way. That was the simple truth of the matter.

"But anyway." he said finally, gulping down a large mouthful of stew from a newly re-filled bowl. He was in considerably brighter spirits now. The wonders good food and company could work... "Enough of that depressing business! Tell me. You still worth a sparring match?"

"Only if you're up for it." Kano smiled. "You know what they say -- You can't get better if you don't bend. Besides. You're not nearly as bad as you think you are."

"Heh heh." Kina, one of the more senior students said, leaning over from her stew. "Yeah, he is."

"Rich of you, Kina." Kano chuckled. "You're no bending prodigy yourself."

Kina shrugged, chuckling as well. Most gathered around the table caught wind of the challenge Kano had just levied and abandoned their own conversations to listen in on him and Yasu. They chuckled as well, one or two flicking droplets of water at Kina, who was completely unphased by the icy liquid hitting her.

"How about this?" Kano said, looking around at them all. "Yasu, Kina, Paila, Senk, and Kodo... versus me?"

Now that was a challenge. Even he didn't know if he could handle that.

Kano smiled.

A minute or two later, the group filed out into the training hall where Instructor Katona and her students were still practicing. The moment they emerged, she looked around.

"What's all this?" she asked, looking from one senior to the next.

"I challenged the five of them to a match." Kano explained simply, as though this was perfectly reasonable. He shed his parka and began stretching. He wasn't wearing his kimono under his jacket today, so his arms were largely bare. It'd been the first time in awhile that he felt the bite of the cold on them. It felt good.

However, there were a few new things adorning his arms. Whereas he used to have nothing but the Mark of Mastery on them, he was now wearing a pear of blue silk and brown and black leather bracers lined around the top end with fine white fur. They were adorned with the full moon flanked by two crescents, the symbol of the Chiefdom. They were artifacts of the Chiefdom, bracers worn by every crowned prince since the foundations of the Northern Water Tribe. They had belonged to every chief since. Though he didn't have to wear them, he liked the way they felt. There was a third piece to the set -- an armband which would be worn on the left arm. It would be given to him at his coronation. It was the closest thing to a crown the Northern Water Tribe honored.

But all that was business for another time. He rolled his head around on his neck and then moved toward the outer practice yard. It was a sunny day. It was the perfect place for this. Plenty of room and it'd let the spectators watch from the comfort of the Training Hall. He looked over at Yasu and the others walking parallel to him with a devilish grin on his face. This was going to be good.

As soon as they were out in the light of the training yard, he took up a position about twenty feet away from the others and entered his opening stance. All this was made all the more entertaining by the fact that he knew most of the instructors loved to watch him fight. Sure enough, Instructor Katona was at the gates, sitting on a stool of ice with her arms folded. Her students were arrayed on the ground around her, legs crossed. Kano chuckled.

"Looks like we have ourselves an audience." he said. "Let's give 'em a show, eh?"

Kano smirked at this opening volley. It wasn't bad as team attacks go. Kina's use of an ice chunk was typical and Senk always like piggy-backing his attacks onto others to amplify the power. Yasu and the others were a bit less predictable. However, the first attack was always a trial run, just to see what the reaction would be. So he decided to give them a run for their money.

He intercepted Yasu and Senk's combined attack, spinning on the spot. As he brought it back around, he fired it out, compressing the water into a beam sharp and powerful enough to slice Kina's ice chunk clean in two. As the two halves passed him, he liquefied them and spun the water into a belt around himself in midair, spinning it swiftly. Both Paila's and Kodo's attacks ended up simply adding themselves to the belt and then, with a spin of his hands, the water condensed into an orb before him briefly before exploding into a cloud of steam.

The wind swept the steam about the area a bit before clearing it. However, when the cloud was finally cleared, Kano was nowhere to be seen.

Kodo, Kina, and Paila. They always fell for stuff like this. Floating just below the surface of the ice, Kano waited patiently. He could hold his breath for truly impressive stretches of time. He could afford to wait. He was still right beneath where he had been standing. The three of them walked toward the spot slowly, looking for him. He had no idea where they thought he had gone. It wasn't like there were that many hiding places out in the training yard.

And then...

Bingo. Kano grinned. The three of them had moved into a triangle formation overhead, a basic defensive formation that Instructor La Tao liked to advocate in situations where one's enemy was nearby but the exact position was unknown. It would have worked well too if it weren't for the fact that they chose to make their stand exactly where he wanted them.

In a single explosive moment, Kano burst through the ice, carried on a column of water. When he landed, the ground froze solid beneath him, much of the water that had carried him skyward splashing out in all directions over the newly solidified floor. With a complex and fluid motion, Kano bent the water up all three of their bodies. Before they could react, they were completely bound in it. Closing his open hands slowly, the water froze and the three were left standing there like a trio of struggling, ice-wrapped mummies.

Kano relaxed from his stance and walked leisurely past them. He flicked each one in turn. Ever so slowly, the three of them keeled over and hit the ground with thuds and cracking noises where they ultra-hard ice binding them chipped the ice of the ground. With a grin, he swept his foot sideways, making all three slide clear to the edge of the arena, right up to the feet of Instructor Katona who looked down at them, arms folded, a raised eyebrow and a frown.

"Imbeciles." she muttered.

Kano, meanwhile, resumed his stance, his full attention focused now on Yasu and Senk. These two were going to be more difficult. They, at least, knew how to work as a team.

Kano watched the wall go up. With a grinding and popping sound, the ice cracked slightly, the line of the crack snaking it's way across the ice surface, stopping right at his feet. He looked up from the crack at the wall now barring his view and shook his head, dropping his stance. He began shaking his limbs out, getting ready for this. This technique he was going to use was tricky and it didn't react well to even the slightest misstep. It was something he'd adapted from earthbending into a waterbending technique. In order to pull it off just right, he'd have to ride a fine line between fluidity and power of movement.

Once he was sure he was prepared, he sprang into complex, fluid movement. It was a timely sort of dance. At first, nothing appeared to be happening. And then, two by two, squared pillars shot skyward at either end of the wall, on the far side from him. They rose perfectly flush with the previous pillar in the line, forming two more walls. When all was said and done, Senk and Yasu were boxed in on three sides. Kano was about to make himself the fourth wall...

Swinging his arms around once more, he leaped into a dive straight at the icy floor. Just as he made contact, the ice liquefied. He bent himself a pipe-like path through the ice, traveling beneath Senk and Yasu to the far end of the enclosure he'd just created. He burst up through the ice, freezing the pipe of water instantly behind him, and assumed his stance once more, facing Yasu and Senk. It was time for a good two on one fight...