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hetalia2011-04-11 12:56 pm
2ad-idem.livejournal.com) wrote in hetalia2011-04-11 12:56 pm
Entry tags:
[FanFic] Avatalia: Earth Book, Chapter Three
Title: Avatalia: Earth Book
Author/Artist: Ad_Idem (Left & Right)
Characters: Canada, Seychelles, America, Kumajiro, Ancient Rome, England, Spain, France, Denmark, Prussia, Norway
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Pirate Potty Mouths, fusion fic, Human names (mostly)
Summary: Avatar:TLA AU. With the threat of an Ice Age, Avatar Roma sends Al, Matt, and Sey of the Southern Water Tribe on a quest to unite the kingdoms. Fire Prince Ludwig begins with his motley crew to build an army to ward off Ivan and his brutal general.
FFN
Previous: A Peculiar Storm
Right: Thanks to everyone who favs/watches this story! It's really exciting and Left and I both REALLY enjoy this series we're writing. So much so that it's almost comical. Ahem. But in all reality, we greatly appreciate any and all support! I just hope you don't mind having a chapter beta read by me because I'm not NEARLY as good at it as Left so there may be a hitch here or there.
Disclaimer: We would claim to own everything if it wasn't highly illegal to do so. Or ... on ... a fanfiction site...
The hope he was clinging to desperately for his brother's safety as well as the return of common sense to his favorite Polar Seal was beginning to dwindle.
Seychelles could see it in his eyes.
Curled into his side as Matthew encircled her with his long arms, Sey looked at her closest friend and teacher. It made her heart ache. "Matt,
it's going to be okay," she reminded him. "You really have to stop worrying yourself. Kumajiro is a big, blubbery mess of fur. He was made for this sort of thing."
"Not this bad," Matt responded almost without a thought. "Each year this gets worse." He then brought down his thumb enough to pull her flush against his chest. She did not protest. "And either way . . . Al isn't made for this weather. He barely can stand summer weather."
With that thought he moaned and buried his face against Sey's hood. Matt just did not know what to do anymore. There were no obvious answers.
The younger waterbender scowled and turned more directly to her teacher. She cupped her hands beneath his chin and forced him to look her in the eyes. There she held his gaze as she brushed the bangs from his forehead.
"You can't give up like a dainty little wallflower, Matt," she said rather sternly to him. "It's … very unbecoming for you. You're stronger than that. And I don't like having to remind you of that all the time."
He made a small noise of protest and looked away from her, his glove-less hand returning to the corner of his mouth. "You don't have to all the time."
She grabbed his thumb and jerked it away from his teeth before they could sink into the flesh. The dark eyes of the waterbender native narrowed.
"Stop that," she ordered. "You're making me a nervous—"
They both rocked back and forth with the hard earth, loose snow falling from the cracks of their igloo as the disruption shook them all. It was so shocking that only Matthew's quick dodge kept them from going into the recently made fire.
Matt pulled Sey back as their igloo crumbled around them, razor-sharp wind whipping their faces as their walls fell away. Unsure of what was going on, Matt stepped in front of Sey and waited.
"Mattie!"
Despite the howling wind, Alfred's voice was so easily discernible that for a minute Matt thought he was still dreaming. Then Alfred slid down the back of a furry white mass and dashed up to them, slamming into Matthew with a full-body hug that sent them reeling back.
He was now sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Al-Alfred?" Matthew spluttered, trying to right himself. Sey made a squeaky noise like a mouse being stepped on, and Matt realized they had slammed her into the wall of the igloo. "Al, you're squishing Sey-"
But Al wasn't listening. "What are you idiots doing out here? What is wrong with you, coming after me?"
"What's wrong with us?" Sey's voice was able to finally raise itself over the shrill cries of the wind. She shoved harshly against the twins to give herself some breathing room. "What's the matter with you coming out in this storm to begin with?"
Matt was silently agreeing with his young friend but felt too much emotion to show it. He lunged, wrapping his arms back around his brother.
"I thought I was going to come out here and find an Al-cicle," the waterbending twin sighed with a great relief. He then looked over Alfred's shoulder to see a yawning sack of blubber. Whatever composure he previous had was lost and he released his brother and shoved past him to check on the Giant Polar Seal. "KUMAJIRO!"
Alfred stood where he was shoved for a moment and blinked in bewilderment. He then scowled. "Oh, I see how it is!" He then buckled under the punch of a certain female Water Tribe native. "Ow! Sey! What the hell?"
She pointed a gloved finger at him. "You owe us, you armadillo-wolf skulled idiot! Now help us rebuild this igloo. We can't go back home until after this storm blows over!"
Alfred snorted and shook the building snow from his hair. "We're not going to rebuild anything."
Sey just stared at him. "Are you insane? Of course we do! We'll freeze to death!"
"No we won't. Not when we have our very own earth shaker!" Al waved his hand grandly at Kumajiro and his twin, who was still hanging off the creature's face. Kuma gave a small squeaky nod.
"The wind has finally gotten to your brain," Sey said, staring. Despite the tone of her voice, her eyebrows knitted concernedly. "Al, Kuma is a giant Polar Seal, sure, but I don't think he can rebuild an igl—"
"Well hello, poco waterbenders!"
Matthew, who had been more than content with burrying his face into the furry face of his once-lost companion, nearly jumped out of his skin at the lofty, sing-song voice which was carried by the winds from the back of his furry friend to him. He joined Seychelles and Alfred in glancing to the back of the aquatic companion to see an older, though charming man sitting atop the beast.
Matt stepped back slightly, though his hand never left his Polar Seal's nose as the man slid down the slope of Kumajiro's shoulder and landed on the snow covered Earth.
Sey frowned before glaring at Al. "You're bringing an outsider to our territories, Al? Are you trying to get yourself exiled? And an Earthbender? Your dad will flip—"
To this the Brave rolled his eyes and threw his arms into the air. "OH, poor Arthur! Hey, guess what, Sey, I don't care! Besides, it's not like I'm staying at the colony for too long after I get back. I'm just making sure you two idiots and the Avatar get there safely in this storm. Because I'm a hero like that."
"You're an idiot," Sey growled.
She and Matthew both took a collective breath before nearly snapping their necks to look back at the man before them. Their jaws dropped.
"The Avatar!"
"Of course," Al said triumphantly. He folded his arms and cocked his head as the tall man stepped closer. Matt shrunk further into Kuma as he neared. "Who else would I bring into your territories, Squirt?"
"Brrr," the Avatar shivered, rubbing his hands together. "It is far too cold to talk like this!" In a wave and a slam of his foot, the earth leaped to attention and encircled them, Kumajiro, and the now burned out fire into a much warmer, larger igloo made of rock. Another wave and the fire jumped to life. "Ahh," he smiled. "So much better now, si? What were you saying little waterbender?"
Sey had the decency to gape open-mouthed at the man. Alfred couldn't help but chuckle at her.
"You made her speechless. That proves you are the Avatar – only someone with awesome power can do that." He turned in a full circle, waving for his twin to step closer. Kuma moved for him so he was nearly breathing down his back. Al shook him off with an annoyed roll of his eyes. "Guys – Kuma – this is Roma, the Earth Bender. Oh, also, he's the Avatar. Cool, right?"
(&)
What a miserable time to be drunk.
Arthur found himself blinking wildly before at last his vision cleared and he was able to block the thrust of his rival's ax blade with his own cutlass. But that damn Antonio was always a bit stronger and a bit taller … and a bit less drunk. The angry Britannia captain could only let out a fierce growl as his back slammed with the deck of his own ship, all of his strength focused on keeping the cutlass and ax far enough away from his head to avoid a beheading.
"It appears, for you, amigo, things have taken a turn for the worse," Antonio spat, sarcasm leaking from his every soft spoken word.
"Indeed, a real turn for the shitter," Arthur snapped in short, choked breaths right before the opposing captain was flipped off his feet and knocked back away from Arthur.
The flash of blue told the bleary eyed captain all he needed to know about the cause.
Sitting up, Arthur turned and nearly lunged at the long haired blond approaching him casually. Francis' arms waved around his body delicately, redirecting the liter of water used to knock the other pirate flat on his ass. It did little to help the state of things on the rest of the ship which had erupted into bloody panic with the invading forces of Antonio's bundle of scallywags.
"I had to defend my honor, you prat!" Arthur roared.
"Non, Arthur. You are a pirate," Francis said with a disapproving shake of his head. "Honor is not any of your concern."
Arthur bristled under Francis' stare. "We have a code!" He defended, straightening his collar. He hardly had a minute to think of anything else to say when, swift as the water currents that brought his Brittana to his homeland, Arthur's cutlass whipped around and stopped the incoming ax a mere few inches from impaling itself into Francis' shoulder. Francis gasped.
"Pay attention or stay out of the way, Frog." Pushing forward, Arthur threw Antonio's blade back, sending the man sprawling back into, thankfully, one of Arthur's crew mates. As Captain Antonio defended himself against the onslaught of another, Arthur turned back to his friend, assessing the damage to his ship as he did so.
His crew were handling themselves as he trained them to. However, that also meant half of them were half-blinded by their rum soaked veins, and it could be seen in the way Antonio's crew were quickly over-powering them. Like koala-sheep herding, they were all moving to the center of the deck, where Arthur stood with Francis. He scowled.
Francis, who was also watching the carnage unfold, sighed and shook his head. "Arthur," he started, "it is not weak to ask for their hel—"
"No!" Arthur snapped, blocking another blow from some one's wandering throw of their blade. "This is my ship! I will protect it or sink with it—"
His words were drowned out by a deep, growling roar. It shook the floorboards of the Brittana and soon everyone stopped mid-swing to listen. It would have looked rather ridiculous, had their attention not all been drawn to the huge wave careening toward them at the exact same time. Francis smirked as Arthur growled,
"Bloody hell."
Den, who landed sluggishly on the ground after a blow from a familiar white haired first mate, was able to roll out of the way of some strikes before looking up to the approaching doom. The spiky haired pirate looked up to the deck where the captain stood.
"We have a problem, Captain!"
"I can see that, Den!" Arthur roared back before throwing his hat to the side and gripping tighter to his cutlass. He looked through the blurry whiteness of the winter storm to his old friend and scowled. "Fine, call the elders, dammit. At the very least tell them to not let these freebooters reach the colony. They'll make a bloody disaster of the place."
Francis rolled his eyes at this as Arthur leaped to the lower deck without taking the sensible approach known as stairs. "Of course, one set of pirates much improves the situation brought about by another."
He then wasted no time in removing a horn from his belt and giving it a quick, tight blow, sounding like the bellow of a caribou-rat. He then focused his energy on the crashing wave.
The wave was moving fast, building speed and height as it neared the ship. Its roar was so deafening, one could scarcely hear the reaction to the conjoined ship's crews. Except for one very clear, "Mierda."
Francis, however, wasn't listening. He knew what was coming and how to bend it to his own will, but he could not do it alone. Putting faith into his colony, Francis closed his eyes as the wave broke and, pausing slightly for everyone to gape at, finally crashed atop the deck.
Moving with the current, Francis led the water through and around the crew, sweeping away some less than friendly companions in the process. Although you could not see them, Francis knew they were there – many age-worn hands of waterbenders guiding the wave over them –and then, with one last pause of breath, the wave was gone.
Francis opened his eyes to the entire crew – plus some – staring wide-eyed at him.
"The fuck was that!" Den scrambled to his feet, dripping wet, but very much alive. "That was friggin awesome!"
Muttering to himself about the need of the colonists to be overly showy, Arthur straightened his jacket. Looking down to the youth, he offered a hand to let him up, pulling the boy to his feet.
"That, Den, was my colony's senile bastards having a good laugh from the sidelines," he explained before looking to Francis as the man walked calmly down the upper deck's steps. The older man was fluffing the feather plume of the captain's hat. "And you!" Arthur hissed.
"Don't think I didn't notice how lax your form is! What were you? Kneading bread or waterbending?"
"Mon ami, not all waterbenders can have the natural finesse of your dearest Mathieu," Francis responded before offering the Captain his hat. Arthur took it and shoved it roughly back to where it belonged before storming over to the corner side of the boat and leaning out toward the opposing pirates who were all but washed up on the docks.
"Hey, you sorry sods!" the Captain yelled out with an amused grin working its way onto his face. He rested an elbow on the banner and laughed, particularly at Antonio's glares of anger. "If you're thinking of taking on my ship in the midst of winter on the bloody South Pole, perhaps you should learn to bring some coats!"
He laughed a deep, throaty laugh along with the majority of the crew until a familiar, soft tap was felt on his shoulder. Arthur whirled around to face his pale, unnervingly calm first mate who sighed.
"Well? Out with it, Nor!" the Captain demanded as a wave of nausea he had suppressed with his excitement began to come back.
"Um," was all the other announced before pointing to the docks where the very village elders responsible for the harrowing rescue … were clothing the enemy pirates with warm blankets and coats from their—Arthur's—village!
"Wh-what—the bloody hell!" Arthur turned, staring accusingly at the blonde-haired waterbender. "What are your colony's idiots doing!"
"Ah, so they're my colony's senile bastards now?" Francis shook his head, tsking. "You should make up your mind, Mon ami."
"Looks like they're confusing the enemy for friendlies, Captain!" Den supplied helpfully, peering over the edge of the deck until his feet were nearly off the planked floor. "Actually, it looks kind of nice. And warm."
Antonio waved from the shoreline. His first mate jeered something that ended in suckers followed by a cheer from the rest of the crew.
Arthur growled, storming back to the mast. "Never mind them! We need to get unhooked from their blasted excuse of a ship and get back to our mission!" Francis smiled but nodded approvingly at the Captain's back.
Author/Artist: Ad_Idem (Left & Right)
Characters: Canada, Seychelles, America, Kumajiro, Ancient Rome, England, Spain, France, Denmark, Prussia, Norway
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Pirate Potty Mouths, fusion fic, Human names (mostly)
Summary: Avatar:TLA AU. With the threat of an Ice Age, Avatar Roma sends Al, Matt, and Sey of the Southern Water Tribe on a quest to unite the kingdoms. Fire Prince Ludwig begins with his motley crew to build an army to ward off Ivan and his brutal general.
FFN
Previous: A Peculiar Storm
Right: Thanks to everyone who favs/watches this story! It's really exciting and Left and I both REALLY enjoy this series we're writing. So much so that it's almost comical. Ahem. But in all reality, we greatly appreciate any and all support! I just hope you don't mind having a chapter beta read by me because I'm not NEARLY as good at it as Left so there may be a hitch here or there.
Disclaimer: We would claim to own everything if it wasn't highly illegal to do so. Or ... on ... a fanfiction site...
Avatalia: Book Earth
Chapter Three: Impressive Bending
The hope he was clinging to desperately for his brother's safety as well as the return of common sense to his favorite Polar Seal was beginning to dwindle.
Seychelles could see it in his eyes.
Curled into his side as Matthew encircled her with his long arms, Sey looked at her closest friend and teacher. It made her heart ache. "Matt,
it's going to be okay," she reminded him. "You really have to stop worrying yourself. Kumajiro is a big, blubbery mess of fur. He was made for this sort of thing."
"Not this bad," Matt responded almost without a thought. "Each year this gets worse." He then brought down his thumb enough to pull her flush against his chest. She did not protest. "And either way . . . Al isn't made for this weather. He barely can stand summer weather."
With that thought he moaned and buried his face against Sey's hood. Matt just did not know what to do anymore. There were no obvious answers.
The younger waterbender scowled and turned more directly to her teacher. She cupped her hands beneath his chin and forced him to look her in the eyes. There she held his gaze as she brushed the bangs from his forehead.
"You can't give up like a dainty little wallflower, Matt," she said rather sternly to him. "It's … very unbecoming for you. You're stronger than that. And I don't like having to remind you of that all the time."
He made a small noise of protest and looked away from her, his glove-less hand returning to the corner of his mouth. "You don't have to all the time."
She grabbed his thumb and jerked it away from his teeth before they could sink into the flesh. The dark eyes of the waterbender native narrowed.
"Stop that," she ordered. "You're making me a nervous—"
They both rocked back and forth with the hard earth, loose snow falling from the cracks of their igloo as the disruption shook them all. It was so shocking that only Matthew's quick dodge kept them from going into the recently made fire.
Matt pulled Sey back as their igloo crumbled around them, razor-sharp wind whipping their faces as their walls fell away. Unsure of what was going on, Matt stepped in front of Sey and waited.
"Mattie!"
Despite the howling wind, Alfred's voice was so easily discernible that for a minute Matt thought he was still dreaming. Then Alfred slid down the back of a furry white mass and dashed up to them, slamming into Matthew with a full-body hug that sent them reeling back.
He was now sure he wasn't dreaming.
"Al-Alfred?" Matthew spluttered, trying to right himself. Sey made a squeaky noise like a mouse being stepped on, and Matt realized they had slammed her into the wall of the igloo. "Al, you're squishing Sey-"
But Al wasn't listening. "What are you idiots doing out here? What is wrong with you, coming after me?"
"What's wrong with us?" Sey's voice was able to finally raise itself over the shrill cries of the wind. She shoved harshly against the twins to give herself some breathing room. "What's the matter with you coming out in this storm to begin with?"
Matt was silently agreeing with his young friend but felt too much emotion to show it. He lunged, wrapping his arms back around his brother.
"I thought I was going to come out here and find an Al-cicle," the waterbending twin sighed with a great relief. He then looked over Alfred's shoulder to see a yawning sack of blubber. Whatever composure he previous had was lost and he released his brother and shoved past him to check on the Giant Polar Seal. "KUMAJIRO!"
Alfred stood where he was shoved for a moment and blinked in bewilderment. He then scowled. "Oh, I see how it is!" He then buckled under the punch of a certain female Water Tribe native. "Ow! Sey! What the hell?"
She pointed a gloved finger at him. "You owe us, you armadillo-wolf skulled idiot! Now help us rebuild this igloo. We can't go back home until after this storm blows over!"
Alfred snorted and shook the building snow from his hair. "We're not going to rebuild anything."
Sey just stared at him. "Are you insane? Of course we do! We'll freeze to death!"
"No we won't. Not when we have our very own earth shaker!" Al waved his hand grandly at Kumajiro and his twin, who was still hanging off the creature's face. Kuma gave a small squeaky nod.
"The wind has finally gotten to your brain," Sey said, staring. Despite the tone of her voice, her eyebrows knitted concernedly. "Al, Kuma is a giant Polar Seal, sure, but I don't think he can rebuild an igl—"
"Well hello, poco waterbenders!"
Matthew, who had been more than content with burrying his face into the furry face of his once-lost companion, nearly jumped out of his skin at the lofty, sing-song voice which was carried by the winds from the back of his furry friend to him. He joined Seychelles and Alfred in glancing to the back of the aquatic companion to see an older, though charming man sitting atop the beast.
Matt stepped back slightly, though his hand never left his Polar Seal's nose as the man slid down the slope of Kumajiro's shoulder and landed on the snow covered Earth.
Sey frowned before glaring at Al. "You're bringing an outsider to our territories, Al? Are you trying to get yourself exiled? And an Earthbender? Your dad will flip—"
To this the Brave rolled his eyes and threw his arms into the air. "OH, poor Arthur! Hey, guess what, Sey, I don't care! Besides, it's not like I'm staying at the colony for too long after I get back. I'm just making sure you two idiots and the Avatar get there safely in this storm. Because I'm a hero like that."
"You're an idiot," Sey growled.
She and Matthew both took a collective breath before nearly snapping their necks to look back at the man before them. Their jaws dropped.
"The Avatar!"
"Of course," Al said triumphantly. He folded his arms and cocked his head as the tall man stepped closer. Matt shrunk further into Kuma as he neared. "Who else would I bring into your territories, Squirt?"
"Brrr," the Avatar shivered, rubbing his hands together. "It is far too cold to talk like this!" In a wave and a slam of his foot, the earth leaped to attention and encircled them, Kumajiro, and the now burned out fire into a much warmer, larger igloo made of rock. Another wave and the fire jumped to life. "Ahh," he smiled. "So much better now, si? What were you saying little waterbender?"
Sey had the decency to gape open-mouthed at the man. Alfred couldn't help but chuckle at her.
"You made her speechless. That proves you are the Avatar – only someone with awesome power can do that." He turned in a full circle, waving for his twin to step closer. Kuma moved for him so he was nearly breathing down his back. Al shook him off with an annoyed roll of his eyes. "Guys – Kuma – this is Roma, the Earth Bender. Oh, also, he's the Avatar. Cool, right?"
(&)
What a miserable time to be drunk.
Arthur found himself blinking wildly before at last his vision cleared and he was able to block the thrust of his rival's ax blade with his own cutlass. But that damn Antonio was always a bit stronger and a bit taller … and a bit less drunk. The angry Britannia captain could only let out a fierce growl as his back slammed with the deck of his own ship, all of his strength focused on keeping the cutlass and ax far enough away from his head to avoid a beheading.
"It appears, for you, amigo, things have taken a turn for the worse," Antonio spat, sarcasm leaking from his every soft spoken word.
"Indeed, a real turn for the shitter," Arthur snapped in short, choked breaths right before the opposing captain was flipped off his feet and knocked back away from Arthur.
The flash of blue told the bleary eyed captain all he needed to know about the cause.
Sitting up, Arthur turned and nearly lunged at the long haired blond approaching him casually. Francis' arms waved around his body delicately, redirecting the liter of water used to knock the other pirate flat on his ass. It did little to help the state of things on the rest of the ship which had erupted into bloody panic with the invading forces of Antonio's bundle of scallywags.
"I had to defend my honor, you prat!" Arthur roared.
"Non, Arthur. You are a pirate," Francis said with a disapproving shake of his head. "Honor is not any of your concern."
Arthur bristled under Francis' stare. "We have a code!" He defended, straightening his collar. He hardly had a minute to think of anything else to say when, swift as the water currents that brought his Brittana to his homeland, Arthur's cutlass whipped around and stopped the incoming ax a mere few inches from impaling itself into Francis' shoulder. Francis gasped.
"Pay attention or stay out of the way, Frog." Pushing forward, Arthur threw Antonio's blade back, sending the man sprawling back into, thankfully, one of Arthur's crew mates. As Captain Antonio defended himself against the onslaught of another, Arthur turned back to his friend, assessing the damage to his ship as he did so.
His crew were handling themselves as he trained them to. However, that also meant half of them were half-blinded by their rum soaked veins, and it could be seen in the way Antonio's crew were quickly over-powering them. Like koala-sheep herding, they were all moving to the center of the deck, where Arthur stood with Francis. He scowled.
Francis, who was also watching the carnage unfold, sighed and shook his head. "Arthur," he started, "it is not weak to ask for their hel—"
"No!" Arthur snapped, blocking another blow from some one's wandering throw of their blade. "This is my ship! I will protect it or sink with it—"
His words were drowned out by a deep, growling roar. It shook the floorboards of the Brittana and soon everyone stopped mid-swing to listen. It would have looked rather ridiculous, had their attention not all been drawn to the huge wave careening toward them at the exact same time. Francis smirked as Arthur growled,
"Bloody hell."
Den, who landed sluggishly on the ground after a blow from a familiar white haired first mate, was able to roll out of the way of some strikes before looking up to the approaching doom. The spiky haired pirate looked up to the deck where the captain stood.
"We have a problem, Captain!"
"I can see that, Den!" Arthur roared back before throwing his hat to the side and gripping tighter to his cutlass. He looked through the blurry whiteness of the winter storm to his old friend and scowled. "Fine, call the elders, dammit. At the very least tell them to not let these freebooters reach the colony. They'll make a bloody disaster of the place."
Francis rolled his eyes at this as Arthur leaped to the lower deck without taking the sensible approach known as stairs. "Of course, one set of pirates much improves the situation brought about by another."
He then wasted no time in removing a horn from his belt and giving it a quick, tight blow, sounding like the bellow of a caribou-rat. He then focused his energy on the crashing wave.
The wave was moving fast, building speed and height as it neared the ship. Its roar was so deafening, one could scarcely hear the reaction to the conjoined ship's crews. Except for one very clear, "Mierda."
Francis, however, wasn't listening. He knew what was coming and how to bend it to his own will, but he could not do it alone. Putting faith into his colony, Francis closed his eyes as the wave broke and, pausing slightly for everyone to gape at, finally crashed atop the deck.
Moving with the current, Francis led the water through and around the crew, sweeping away some less than friendly companions in the process. Although you could not see them, Francis knew they were there – many age-worn hands of waterbenders guiding the wave over them –and then, with one last pause of breath, the wave was gone.
Francis opened his eyes to the entire crew – plus some – staring wide-eyed at him.
"The fuck was that!" Den scrambled to his feet, dripping wet, but very much alive. "That was friggin awesome!"
Muttering to himself about the need of the colonists to be overly showy, Arthur straightened his jacket. Looking down to the youth, he offered a hand to let him up, pulling the boy to his feet.
"That, Den, was my colony's senile bastards having a good laugh from the sidelines," he explained before looking to Francis as the man walked calmly down the upper deck's steps. The older man was fluffing the feather plume of the captain's hat. "And you!" Arthur hissed.
"Don't think I didn't notice how lax your form is! What were you? Kneading bread or waterbending?"
"Mon ami, not all waterbenders can have the natural finesse of your dearest Mathieu," Francis responded before offering the Captain his hat. Arthur took it and shoved it roughly back to where it belonged before storming over to the corner side of the boat and leaning out toward the opposing pirates who were all but washed up on the docks.
"Hey, you sorry sods!" the Captain yelled out with an amused grin working its way onto his face. He rested an elbow on the banner and laughed, particularly at Antonio's glares of anger. "If you're thinking of taking on my ship in the midst of winter on the bloody South Pole, perhaps you should learn to bring some coats!"
He laughed a deep, throaty laugh along with the majority of the crew until a familiar, soft tap was felt on his shoulder. Arthur whirled around to face his pale, unnervingly calm first mate who sighed.
"Well? Out with it, Nor!" the Captain demanded as a wave of nausea he had suppressed with his excitement began to come back.
"Um," was all the other announced before pointing to the docks where the very village elders responsible for the harrowing rescue … were clothing the enemy pirates with warm blankets and coats from their—Arthur's—village!
"Wh-what—the bloody hell!" Arthur turned, staring accusingly at the blonde-haired waterbender. "What are your colony's idiots doing!"
"Ah, so they're my colony's senile bastards now?" Francis shook his head, tsking. "You should make up your mind, Mon ami."
"Looks like they're confusing the enemy for friendlies, Captain!" Den supplied helpfully, peering over the edge of the deck until his feet were nearly off the planked floor. "Actually, it looks kind of nice. And warm."
Antonio waved from the shoreline. His first mate jeered something that ended in suckers followed by a cheer from the rest of the crew.
Arthur growled, storming back to the mast. "Never mind them! We need to get unhooked from their blasted excuse of a ship and get back to our mission!" Francis smiled but nodded approvingly at the Captain's back.
To Be Continued...
A/N: (Right) Hey, everyone! We're finally caught up in LJ with the FFN version so, hopefully, we won't fall behind again! Let's totally ignore that it's my fault and keep with the positives. Hopefully Avatalia will be updated on schedule this week too ;) So keep tuned in for it and all the other bazillion-jillion things we've got going on!