War

chpt 4: aura

"No wait!"

The bald boy swiftly moved to stand in front of Danny, arms spread wide.

The halfa blinked.

…

Compared to all the other people he'd seen so far, the boy contrasted greatly. Not only because of the bright yellows and oranges of his clothing, but because of his strange blue arrow tattoos and bald head. The kid was also very small; skinny - and at least a couple feet shorter than him. But what captivated the hero was the startling silver of the kids eyes.

In them, he could see a glimmer of the boy's aura; a white-blue brimming with honesty and love. A type of innocence that only a true child at heart could really have. It was a deep polarity coming from a place like Amity, where the only auras visible to him were that of ghosts. And for someone like Danny, he typically was surrounded by auras with malicious intent.

The fact that the kid's aura was leaking though, even if only a little bit, spoke volumes about him.

"I-I.. um." The bald boy seemed nervous, shifting on the balls of his feet. But then he stuck his hand out and gave an award winning smile. "My name's Aang!"

Danny found himself hesitantly smiling back. The boy was very… bright - and bubbly. Everything about him reminded the hero very intensely of the kid's he had saved over the years and how those same kids would defend him against the adult population of Amity. It was refreshing in a way.

But at the same time, he was weary. Something about the boy seemed… off. Not necessarily in a bad way, just in a weird one. Danny couldn't quite put his finger on it. He shook the small hand. "Danny."

The boy - Aang - tilted his head. "That's an unusual name."

He chuckled. "Yeah, you could say that I'm.. not from around here."

"You're not?"

"Nope." The 'p' came out of his mouth with a pop.

"So, then where're you from?"

It was an innocent question, but one Danny wasn't quite sure how to answer. He didn't think he was from another time period, unless this was some crazy weird future (but that seemed highly unlikely). Another planet? Another dimension?- that seemed relatively accurate.

"Just.. somewhere far away I guess." Danny shifted the blanket around him, fiddling with the edges. "Do-"

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by a loud garble from his stomach. The lack of food had finally caught up to him.

Aang laughed lightly. "There's food up at the chief's home. I'm heading there after I check on Appa.." The boy made a small movement with his foot. "You can come with me if you want to."

"Uh," Danny looked to the darkening sky. It did seem like his only option - he didn't know what else to do or where to go. The woman he woke up to - Tonarri - seemed nice enough even with water powers. And Aang, though he was positive had some form of power, clearly wore his heart on his sleeves. Danny had no doubt that he could trust what the kid would say. Plus, the halfa needed answers, and he wasn't gonna get them standing around.

"Y-yeah. That sounds good." Danny grinned. "Is… Appa the big guy over there?" He casually threw a thumb to point behind him where the large bison had been curiously watching the two of them.

Aang beamed and practically glided over to the front of the large animal. When he stood, he gave the staff in his hand an expert twirl, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Yep! He's my flying bison!"

On cue, Appa roared lightly.

"He... flys?"

The skinny boy nodded enthusiastically and started rubbing the side of Appa's head. The halfa blinked dumbly. But decided to join the boy a second later; massaging between the bison's eyes which enticed a loud, content hum from the animal. He smiled at the sound, and pulled his blanket up farther on his shoulders. His injured side twinged a little from the movement.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Aang staring at him. He ignored it until it became slightly unnerving - he stopped his movements.

"What?"

…

"Appa really likes you." The way it was said was as if he was stating something unbelievable.

"Um, I really like him too."

Aang nodded and looked back to the bison.

'Skreetch!'

The two of them jumped at the sound.

The flying lemur - who had been resting on one of Appa's horns - cried out and came to hover in front of his face, screeching madly. And just as fast, he swiftly turned and landed on Aang's shoulder, hissing.

The two boys blinked. Then Danny found himself chuckling.

"I guess that little guy doesn't feel the same way."

Aang grinned sheepishly. "This is Momo, he's usually really nice. I think he's just jumpy because of the last couple days."

Danny didn't make any comments, assuming the boy was talking about whatever or whoever had caused destruction to the city. The thought made him frown.

The next few moments he spent entertaining Appa while Aang walked around the small shelter, making sure the bison was well kept. Momo went back to perch on Appa's horn again, pointedly watching Danny's every move - the halfa found it amusing.

When the boy was done, they both started making their way back to the large palace. Aang spoke adamantly about his bison while Danny was content to listen and observe the streets of the city.

About halfway through the trip they passed by a house - scorched and melted. There was a small doll, burnt black and somewhat hidden under blocks of shattered ice.

His brows furrowed.

Before he could stop himself, he walked closer to the home, digging through the debris to grab the doll. Light ash fell to the ground as he lifted it - the small fur clothing it had on tickled his skin. The toy had to have belonged to a child. He scowled.

Whoever or whatever had attacked the city had done so brutally. He could feel Aang walk up behind him.

"What happened here?"

He was met with silence.

He turned to look at the kid. It was the first time something resembling a frown was on his face.

"You don't know?" Aang glanced at the destroyed home and back at Danny - pointing to the halfa's chest. "Then.. how did you get hurt?"

The hero looked down at his bandages.

In all honesty, he forgot they were even there - injuries hardly noticeable anymore.

….

He couldn't exactly tell the kid that he was in a fight with some… weird form of ghost after blipping in this - dimension.

So, until he could figure things out and get answers, he decided to play the amnesia card. "I don't really know. It's all a little hazy."

The boy seemed to examine him for a second, before sighing sadly. "It was the Fire Nation… They invaded only a couple days ago."

'Fire Nation.' Danny whispered below his breath. So there was the Water Tribe (where he was) and now a Fire Nation; and for some reason, the two were at odds with each other. Was this place some weird elemental based world? Was this why he was here? If there was Fire and Water, would there be Air and Earth too?

He didn't know if it would be a weird thing to ask, so he didn't. And Aang didn't look particularly happy talking about it.

Even though he'd only just met the kid, he hated seeing him so down - so after a few seconds of silence, Danny carefully set the doll back down and gently put a hand on the boy's shoulder. He could figure everything out later. "So… what do they have to eat up there?"

The question seemed to visibly brighten him up and in turn made Danny brighten. Aang answered eagerly. "Oh! They have a lot of meat and soups here. But I haven't had any of it - I'm a vegetarian - but my friend Sokka seems to love it!"

Danny hummed. The vegetarian diet seemed to fit the small boy rather well. They both started walking again. "So if you're a vegetarian, what've you been eating? I'm guessing there's not a lot of vegetation here."

"No," Aang chuckled. "They usually get greens from imports. But with everything going on, they're kind of short on supplies. I've only been getting food because my friend Katara thought ahead before we came here. She packed a ton of greens and some tofu for me when we were in The Abbey."

Danny nodded, and curiously asked. "The Abbey?"

"It's a place by the Mo Ce Sea. Not too many people know about it." Aang absently moved the staff in his hand. The hero just nodded at the next unfamiliar name. "It was crazy there. Prince Zuko, the Fire Lord's son, chased us with this giant Shirshu. And there was this crazy scary girl with them-"

Danny cocked his head as he listened to the story. Not grasping it completely, but happy Aang was enjoying telling him about it. Though the longer he spoke the more questions seemed to arise in his head. Who was the Fire Lord? Why was his son after a kid like Aang? and what the hell was a Shirshu?

Danny, having the parents that he had, never really traveled all that often. The coolest vacation he could remember having was to New York City, and even then, they were there for a ghost convention. It was nothing but thousands of people who didn't know the first thing about ghosts blabbering on and on about how they believed they were experts.

Then the whole half-dead thing happened.

He ended up going places and seeing things he'd never thought he'd see. Witch trials, Ancient Rome, The Far Frozen, Phariah's keep, etc.

This adventure - so far - felt a lot like his other adventures. But unlike the rest, this felt… bigger in a way.

He guessed it was because Clockwork had made an appearance (which was extremely rare) or because of how incredibly slow everything had been progressing. Usually, the big bad guy behind everything would've shown up by now, or something equal to it. But here he was, walking up to the marvel that was the Northern Water Tribe's palace, about to grab some grub. He wasn't chasing anyone down or getting blasted into any walls or fearing for his half-life...

It was nice - if not highly suspicious.

When they reached the stairs that would lead up to the palace he stopped for a second to just take it all in.

The palace was jaw dropping - unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

The Far Frozen had nothing on this.

Extremely tall columns of ice were on either side of the grand entrance. What he assumed was the Water Tribe's emblem was etched above the open doors with incredible precision. Beside that, designs of all shapes and sizes littered any and every surface of ice. It reminded him of something you'd see in the movies.

The door was open, swung out wide, revealing the inside. Torches lit up each wall and circled around the gigantic first room in a straight patterned line. Some of the flames were covered in glistened ice to cast beautiful shadows on the floor.

He couldn't wait to see the place when the sun vanished beyond the horizon.

There was a good group of people, crowded mostly around the sides of the large room - some walking around with bandages wrapped around their limbs. Glistening ice tables ran along two of the walls holding different assortments of foods - though none of it greens. The smell of meat sizzled in the air heavenly, mixed with the light smoke from the torches.

"Hey Aang!"

Danny turned to the sound of the new voice to see a girl coming up to them. She was like the others, wearing a robe of blue dyed animal skin with darker pants and wrappings around her forearms. Her hair was brown and uniquely done - with small strands looped around her ears. She was admittedly very pretty. He pulled his blanket closer - though most of his torso was covered in bandages, there was still a hefty amount of scarred skin visible under the cloth. He didn't need nor want any unwanted attention.

The girl gave Aang a small hug. "How's Appa? Is he ready to go tomorrow?"

Aang beamed and nodded. "Yep!" He twirling his staff once and gesturing towards him. "Katara, I want you to meet Danny. Danny, this is Katara!"

The girl looked over to him for the first time, examining him. It was a scrutinizing gaze - done by someone who had a certain amount of trust issues. Danny could see it in her eyes, the same look he and his friend often had when meeting someone new. But she deemed him ok for now and held out a hand, much like Aang had done. "Nice to meet you Danny." She smiled warmly.

"Likewise." They shook hands.

Aang angled his head to look around the room. "Where's Sokka?"

Katara looked distraught. "Oh. He's probably off sulking somewhere." She sighed. "He's still having a hard time... accepting things."

They both were quiet for a moment.

Suddenly, Danny felt like he was intruding on something.

"...Should we go look for him?"

"No." Katara finally said. "I don't think that would help any."

"Yeah.. I guess you're right." Aang looked over at him and grinned. "Let's get some food for you then."

Danny shrugged. "I won't complain."

The three of them walked over to one of the tables. Danny examined the food, not quite sure where to start (he wasn't picky - there was just a lot to choose from.) Eventually he settled for some pieces of meat that looked and smelled like chicken along with a small cup of soup.

They all sat over in one of the corners where some thin pillows were laid out. Aang sat down cross legged, Momo in his lap. The Lemur was still watching him intently.

"So… Danny," Katara started. "Aang tells me you're not from here."

He took a drink of the soup - the warm liquid soothing. He shook his head. "No."

"So then, where are you from?"

"Um," He took a large bite from his meat to buy some time to think of something. It was probably too late to fake total amnesia, but he could still use the idea. He shrugged and swallowed. "A small island far away from here. You've probably never heard of it."

Katara tilted her head. To the normal eye it would seem like honest curiosity, but he could see the underlying suspicion. "How'd you get here?"

"Um, funny thing is… I don't remember." Danny sheepishly rubbed his neck, making sure to keep the blanket covering himself. "I remember being home, being cold, then waking up here." (Well, it wasn't a total lie.)

Aang and Katara shared a look. The monk boy looked concerned, but the water tribe girl still looked suspicious.

"So," He gulped. "Do you guys live here or…?"

"Me and my brother are from the South Pole, we're only here for Aang." Katara stated coolly.

"And I'm from the Northern Air Temple, but… I guess I don't really 'live' anywhere anymore." The monk looked sad again - but only for a split second. If he wasn't paying rapt attention he probably wouldn't have noticed. Katara put a comforting hand on the kid's shoulder. "Plus we can't really stay anywhere for too long. The Fire Nation would catch us otherwise."

Danny hummed. "Why is the Fire Nation after you?"

The second he asked the question he wished he could take it back. The two of them looked at him like he had grown a second head. "Um.. what?"

"You don't know?"

"No?"

The two of them shared a look. "Aang's the Avatar."

They were all quiet for a minute.

"Oh!" Danny blinked. "Oh right!"

Inwardly, the halfa slapped himself.

"You have no idea what that means do you?"

"What? No, I totally do."

There was a glimmer of amusement on Katara's face. "Alright then. What does it mean?"

He opened his mouth, but no words came out.

They both chuckled, surprising him. Aang shuffled the lemur in his lap. "Don't worry, it's okay. For the last 100 years, I haven't really been around."

Danny relaxed his shoulders, not noticing they had tensed. Then his brows furrowed in confusion. 100 years? What was that supposed to mean?

The kid must've noticed his confusion because he continued. "We were frozen for 100 years, me and Appa." He looked sad.

Katara nodded. "Being the Avatar, Aang can bend all four elements. It's his job to bring balance to the world and to end the war."

So many questions filled his head. So much so that he didn't know where to start or if he should start at all. Bend all four elements? War?

Aang being the Avatar must be why he stood out compared to everyone else in the city. The reason for his tattoos and clothes. The reason Danny could see and feel his aura.

The halfa frowned.

He didn't like the implications of what Katara said. Was Aang, a borderline malnourished kid being pressured to end a war? The boy didn't look like he could hurt a fly, let alone win a war. Was this why he was here? Oh Clockwork help him.

"There you are!"

Danny started, almost throwing the plate in his lap up at the shrill voice. They all turned to see the figure of Tonarri storming up to them. She looked furious, and somewhat relieved. She got close to him, pointing at his chest like he was a toddler that had been sticking his hand in the cookie jar. "Young man! Where did you run off to?!"

He blinked and leaned back, eyes wide. The people around them had looked over at the commotion and he could feel Aang and Katara's eyes.

"Uh.. I-um, I was-"

"You - are - hurt!" She moved behind him, much more swift than he thought a woman of her age capable of and nudged him up off the floor. "You're coming with me right now! I need to look at those injuries again."

Danny found himself shaking his head, part of his blanket sliding off his shoulder, he quickly pulled it back up. "Whoa! Um.. no, I'm fine, really!"

The woman didn't listen and continued to nudge him forward. Danny looked over his shoulder to Aang for some sort of assistance. But the boy looked about as lost as he was.

Surprisingly Katara was the one who got up first but instead of helping him out of the situation she simply started walking next to them. Danny could hear Aang's small feet coming up behind him, followed by some quiet giggling. Traitors.

He shook his head again and resisted the woman's insistent (but gentle) pushing.

"Ma'm, I swear I'm ok. You don't -"

"Young man, you were hurt real bad." Tonnari gave him a heartbreaking look. One he hated because it was familiar. Sam, and even Tuck, would give him that same look after a harsh battle. It was a desperate look, like they needed to be sure that he was going to be ok. 100% sure. His eyes went downcast - he missed them already. "Now I don't care if you think you're some kind of hotshot, but there is simply no way I can in good conscience let you go until you are fully healed."

Danny sighed and didn't say anything more.

At the very least he might be able to find his clothes.

\ Author Note /

Alright, alright, don't chew my head off or anything - this was supposed to be uploaded like a month ago, but a TON of stuff happened (not all of it particularly good) and I just didn't have the time or motivation to post it. Also - I just realized that this is technically my first Author's note for this story, so Hi, what's up?

Let me know if there's anyway for me to improve my writing - I love harsh criticism- and tell me where you'd want the story to go, which characters you'd want to make an appearance, etc. Also, if anyone has any cool music suggestions, I'm all ears, I'm looking for some new songs to add to my playlist

MikeyLovesIcecreamKitty - I know I told you specifically it'd be out sooner, sorry! But I hope you enjoyed the chapter even if it was late!

Guest 1&2 - loved your reviews XD

Flash Beat - Yay! Updates! Your suggestion of Danny meeting Ron and Shaw has definitely been taken in my notes so look out for that and I guess he did kinda get in trouble with Tonnari huh? Thanks for the review!

Multiverseomniverse104 - The cover art for the story is by me that's why it's not really out there ;)

sonadow2865 - I feel the same way XD

Thornrose270 & Goliath101 - I have continued!