Chapter 4

Prompt: Snowdrop

Title: Winds of change

Universe: Alternative Universe (Avatar verse)

Author's Notes: Unbetaed and I should clarify that Usagi and Mina travels are happening some time before Endymion chapters, just in case.

This one is a little longer than the other ones and some new interactions start to happen. Also my autocorrect keeps changing Diana to Daiana, so if you see any of that let me know

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"Just let go. Let go of how you thought your life should be,

and embrace the life that is trying to work its way

into your consciousness."

-Caroline Myss

..

The weather was colder than what they had expected; the snowy air chilling their bones. Both girls were used to feeling the sun constantly on their faces after sleeping out in the open. But even with icy conditions they liked to thank for the little things.

The first days on the refugee's ship were faced with a terrible storm and they were prohibited to go outside; but now as they get closer to the water north tribe the weather seemed to welcome them, a good omen an old lady in the ship had said.

Milena prayed for that.

But really, Milena had to admit that the view was quite beautiful and the cold sensations in her fingers and the weird taste that the snowflakes left in her mouth were memories she wanted to keep with her, for them to replace the smoke and screams of her dreams.

The blonde girl looked at her friend and smiled. Ula was running around while playing with some kids, her smile seemed to light the place and everyone mood got better after looking at the girl with the weirdest hairstyle and the more radiant aura they had ever seen. It was the first in weeks that Ula smiled like this.

The last few months had been extremely hard for both girls. Another year had passed after the destruction of the temples and Hania's death, but both incidents were fresh in their minds; but while Ula was melancholic about the past she still lived in the present, Milena was not only sad about the past but worried about the future.

Food had been running low again after they had to escape from the last town they were in, when they meet fire nation troops walking down the street as they owned the place; another town had been taken and they still had that pair of firebenders following them.

But the most important thing was that Ula air training was over, if they were still at the temple the younger girl would had received her tattoos by now, but some things couldn't be; not only the tattoos would reveal Ula's identity but there weren't any tattoos sets left. The problem they now had to face was how to find a waterbender teacher.

Milena had wanted to go to south tribe, it was smaller and chances of getting betrayed by someone were less likely, they could go and find a teacher for Ula to learn in peace without words of their location getting into the fire nation ears.

But for one her friend was right, the south tribe went into hide after the war had started and no one knew their exact location, for that reason only there could be months before they found it. They also had to think how to get there, not many ships went to the south and less were keen to take two mysterious girls on board, and the one's that would, well she didn't want to think about that. Then there was the fact that that the south tribe was smaller and their chances of finding a waterbender was limited.

In the other hand, the North tribe was well known for their marvelous teachers and they were welcoming refugees, so they would had both transport and food for free without getting to much questions. The taller blonde couldn't argue with such a mature reasoning and let the discussion as lost for her, which end with a victory air dance from Ula's part.

So here they were, Ula playing a snow fight and Milena with a green headband around her forehead and a lemur-cat on her shoulder, praying that for once things would go right.

.

..

"How much longer Mil? I'm hungry"

"Not much Ula. Now stay quiet, it's disrespectful" she said chastising her friend

The younger girl pouted and thought that although entering to the city was fast, the bureaucracy that followed wasn't. The guide was explaining to their group that they would be getting separated in smaller groups and later this week everyone was getting an interview to see what kind of job they were more suited for, which in exchange would provide them with food.

Ula turned the voice out and gave her full attention to her surroundings. Everywhere she looked everything was white and blue, the constructions were tall and intricate with a lot of details and she wondered how they were supposed to be warm when they seemed made of ice. Unconsciously she wrapped her arms tighter around herself, she hated the cold. They had given them some warmer coats after there arrive, but she was still shivering, her skin way to used to the shining sun. She peeked at Milena which looked as if she was taking a walk down the park, if her friend was cold she didn't showed it, not that Milena showed much emotion lately Ula thought with a scowl.

"Mil" a tag in her friend sleeve "Hey Mil"

"What Ula?"

"How are we going to get in the water bending classes? I heard some rumors on the ship that they only teach healing to the girls in here"

A frown "I don't know yet Ula"

"Maybe we should talk with the king and tell him the true? If we explained why we are here then they will teach me and we won't have to work"

Milena rolled her pretty blue eyes but stop from commenting. Telling someone as the king that they were the Avatar and her companion would surely bring a lot of attention, but what other chance they had?

Both girls musings were interrupted when their tour guide voice changed from bored to courteous and serious.

"Oh princess Amaia what a pleasure of you to come and welcome our guests" he did a small reverence "everyone, this is princess Amaia of the North tribe, second heir to the throne".

A small reverence was given from the group, followed by some "my lady" or "princess", making the young girl blush. Ula couldn't help but admire her. She was petite all over with big blue eyes, a shade between hers and Milena's, like the sky after a storm; her hair was short and a weird mix between blue and black; her fingers were long and slender; all of this with a remarkable crimson shade on her cheeks. The blonde girl thought that she looked pretty shy and even if she wasn't clothed in extravagant clothes, still moved with elegance, as the princess she was.

"Please, it's not necessary" her voice was really low but still incredible gentle "I just wanted to welcome all of you and let everyone know that if they need something to come to me, you can usually found me in the healers building" With that she smiled and left, being followed by two other females, probably her wards or ladies in waiting.

Ula could only smile, she didn't know why but she was convinced that she had found her teacher.

.

..

The snow was still falling down the window, making everything the same color as always. Blue, white and grey.

Sitting by the window with some tea and a book in her hand she couldn't but get distracted and think about the group of people she met today. They were around 60 people, most of them from the small villages around their city, but there were still a big amount from the earth kingdom; apparently they thought that in this case water was more secure that land, or maybe the earth capital had finally stopped taking refugees because of it capacity, she would have to ask his father about that.

Her mind automatically went to two blonde girls that couldn't but stand out in the crowd, one was tall and even under all her coats she was curvaceous and fit with a commanding presence that demanded attention; glistening skin, blue eyes the color of the sea and long golden hair. She was beautiful indeed, but what caught Amai's attention even more was the green fabric in her forehead.

The other girl, clearly her companion, was tiny and like looking to a work of art, that was the only thing Amaia could compare her to. She was full of color and life. Her eyes were the same blue the paintings her father had of the clear sky, her long blonde hair remind the bluenette of light wheat and her ivory skin gave her cheeks and lips a pinkish tone because of the cold. She was radiant as the sun, so full of life; it reminded her so much of only another person.

So deep in thought she was that the girl didn't heard the footsteps until the voice startled her, making the book drop to the floor.

"Lady, deep in thought again?"

She blushed, as always that he caught her distracted.

"Zephyr, you startled me! I was thinking of the new group I met. Almost everyone seemed so sad or uncomfortable. I hope they can get used to living here"

The young man was silence for a moment weighing his next words, he was always quite impulsive, but couldn't help but notice that the princess seemed quite sad lately.

"Why don't you talk to Mikaela and ask her to go some time instead. You just come back sadder every time"

"I'm not sad Zeph, you know it. I'm just worried about this war and that puts me deep in thought, you know someone still has to welcome them and Mika is really busy lately"

"Yes, I know" he said with a sad look "She hadn't been the same in the last two years"

An uncomfortable silence settled between them while they looked the snow falling outside the window, both of them thinking of their problems and if solutions were to come someday.

"So" the girl broke out the silence "Did you learnt something new today? What are you going to teach me?"

His green eyes shined like gems and a smiled appeared at her words "Amaia, I don't know why you insist in this. I'm pretty sure that the day were the student passes the teacher came a long time ago, you are already better than me"

Her face turned as red as an apple but she couldn't fight the smile that appeared on her face "I… I need the practice and you are a good opponent and friend"

"Ah" a little of the shine disappeared from his eyes "Well, let's start then" he said while closing the door.

The girl just nodded and the water from a near vase appeared on her hand, but before they could even start a voice coming from the window stopped them.

"OH MY GOD. I knew it!"

Both Zephyr and Amaia faces became white, her water dropping to the floor because of the shock.

On the edge of the window stood a blonde girl with a weird hairstyle, her hands together and a big smile fixed on her face. Amaia recognize her immediately but was too surprised to speak.

"Who are you? How did you get in here? We are like 5 floors up!" Zephyr aggressively demanded.

The girl didn't seem to notice the hostility or just decided to ignore it. With the same cheer in her voice and the bright smile in her face she answer making everything weirder than before.

"Oh nice to meet you, my name is Ula and I'm the Avatar!"

Amaia could only pass out

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..

Milena was officially going to kill her; she was going to make an air cocoon around her until she promised to stop running away on her own. Night was quickly approaching and they hadn't been in the city for at least an entire day before Ula was already out and around running away.

The tall blonde had been looking for her friend for at least an hour now, and she still didn't have any luck. She contemplate asking for help to some of the locals or even to the guards but a) the locals looked at her as if she was some kind of creature of outer space and b) it would drag to much unnecessary attention. So now she was sitting in someone stairs freezing her butt with a sleeping Diana on her shoulder and…

That's when it hit her that she had Diana! The grey lemur-cat had an intense connection with Ula since they found her three years ago all alone and lost in a cave, the animal could easily found her owner in most places. She pulled the pet down and started shaking her until she woke up.

"Hello little girl! I'm sorry to wake you up but I need your help. I need you to found Ula for me, can you do that?" The animal jumped to the floor stretching her body and started walking, only looking behind her from time to time to make sure Milena was following her; without more options in hand she could only oblige and follow.

Walking down some blocks she couldn't help but admire the amazing view that the falling snow made with the crystal like constructions; it was almost like one of the tales Master Artemis used to tell her when she was younger and couldn't sleep, about a princess living in a castle of ice waiting for a prince to save her. What a fool she had been back then.

Diana stopped abruptly in front of a big building and with a "meow" and cat like grace started climbing up to an open window five stores up. She couldn't remember if their guide had talked about this place but the building was impressive, the entire design making it seem as if it was important.

The doors were closed and no one stood guarding them; giving a look around she realized that actually there was no one around, probably because night had already came and the snow kept falling, making the weather even chillier than before. Taking another look around she say fuck it and jumped, giving herself impulse with some air blast coming to a rest in the open window. However what she found out inside almost made her fall back.

It was a small blue office, ugh again blue she thought, a big desk near the window and with at least three enormous bookshelves and some paintings covering the walls; in the middle of the room there was a boy around her age with honey blonde long hair up in a ponytail and, ugh shit, the princess. Both their eyes, a pair blue and the other rich light green, were big with shock and amazement; the source of it being Ula, who was deep in concentration making some objects around the room float with her airbending.

Even with all of this there was an air of calm and confidence inside, that was until Diana thought it was moment to jump into the room and interrupt the situation with a soft "miau"; Ula dropped the objects to the floor, when she looked up her ivory face became as translucent as a window.

"Crap" she murmured.

Both her companions turned around wide eyed at the sight of yet another blonde girl appearing on the window.

"Well are more of you blondes hidden around the city? Do you live under the ice so that no one can find you?" the blond man asked exasperated.

"Zephyr!" The princess, Amaia she remembered, chastised him

"Well it's true! First we have this girl with weird hair" he signaled Ula "appear on your window all smiles and cheers claiming she is the Avatar, and now we have another blonde with a green piece of fabric in her forehead and a lemur-cat, she clearly being an airbender GIVING THAT WE ARE IN A DAMN 5TH FLOOR!" He screamed. That information seem to snap Milena out of her shock and she pulled herself into the room, eyes burning with anger but not directed to the boy, Zephyr, but to the small shock blonde in the middle of everything.

"You told them? What the hell were you thinking about?" she asked, her voice full of impotence.

"I… I..." Ula started until Milena interrupted her.

"No, forget it. You clearly weren't thinking!"

"Hey! That's not fair and you know it" she defended herself "You are clearly being irrational and..."

"I'm being irrational? We come to a new city we know nothing about, we aren't in here more than a day and you decide to go and reveal yourself AS THE AVATAR to the princess, no less! You didn't even ask me, you just waited until I was distracted and run away!"

"Of course I didn't asked you, I knew you were going to say no"

"Yeah, because the idea was dangerous Ula, that's why! Don't you see I'm trying to keep you alive?"

"I know Milena, but you can't keep me in a cage" she was starting to cry "I need to make my own mistakes, to follow my instincts; and look, I was right, they are nice people and can help me"

Milena look wasn't as severe as before but she still was angry "I don't care if you think they are peace guru's. You are too important Ula, I can't lose you too!" she explained voice tightening in her throat at her friend look

"mmm…. Excuse me?" the petite bluennete interrupted "Nice to meet you, Milena right? I'm Amaia and this is my friend Zephyr" She pointed to the young man sitting on the floor that awkwardly smiled and waved his hand "Why don't you sit and we talk about this?"

She didn't knew why, but the princess presence made her feel calm and secure so she nod and stood on the floor in front of Zephyr, still giving a side glance to Ula as she sat next to her with Diana purring between her legs

After a few minutes everyone was sitting with a cup of tea in their hands and Zephyr decided to break the ice, he didn't do awkward situations well.

"So….. you are an airbender too?" he asked nonchalant

Milena took a deep breath and nodded; then she made a decision and pulled the green fabric from her forehead and her sleeves up, revealing her tattoos. They stared transfixed at them for some minutes until Amaia was brave enough to ask, her will to know winning the best of her.

"But if she is the Avatar, why only you have the tattoos?"

Milena looked at Ula, now with her head down and looking at the floor, the older blonde knew that this was something that still haunted her friend.

"When the fire nation attacked her training wasn't ready yet, so she never got to have her tattoos. Now that she can, well… there aren't airbending tattoo sets left"

"Oh!" the princess flushed deep red "I'm sorry I didn't meant to nose around"

"It's okay" she assured her with a smile that didn't reach her eyes "I know you didn't"

Another silence followed while everyone tried to put their ideas in order.

"So" Zephyr started "Ula told us that you both came here looking for a waterbender to continue her training, is this right?" She nodded "Well then, we can teach her if she wants to, it would be a great honor to us"

"I don't know, we…" she started but a light pull on her sleeve stopped her and her eyes meet Ula's

"Please Mil, they are good people I just know it and I know you can feel their kindness too" she smiled and took her friend hand "I know you want what is best for me and I love you even more for this, but please trust me."

Milena looked around, her own eyes connecting with the princess one's first then moving to the green gems of Zephyr to go back Ula's, clear as the sky she remembers so well. She gripped her friend hand tighter and closed her eyes; she could feel the goodness and true in everyone words.

Slowly opening her blue orbs she gave them her answer.

"Okay. Okay, I trust in all of you"

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A/N: I know that the animal guide is supposed to be something they can travel with and all that, but I can't really see the girls going into hiding with a freaking sky bison so Ula now has a pretty grey lemur-cat named Diana.

Again, please, i would love to know your opinions/feedback with this, even if it's bad i want to know. I really really want to improve on my writing and reading what you think of this would help me a lot! (and also encourage me to continue writing this lol)