After Pakku's display and the feast everyone sat in a corner enjoying their drinks and each other's company, Levi was the same, or mostly, as he sat alone enjoying his drink and watching Sokka like a hawk to keep him from approaching any drinks or Yue, both of which weren't good for his health, it was then that he saw Chief Arnook approaching him from the corner of his eye.
"I hope you're enjoying your time with our tribe young friend," he said with a bright smile on his face.
"I am, It would have been more enjoyable if your men didn't try to kill me as soon as they saw me," replied Levi with the same bright smile making Arnook's facial expression change as he smiled helplessly, he didn't expect Levi to be so blunt.
"I can't express my apologies enough young friend, the war with the fire nation had us all on our toes, especially during the past few months, they've become more aggressive, and we had to look out for ourselves, but it still doesn't justify us attacking you, for that I hope you would accept my sincere apologies," said Arnook in one breath making Levi's expression soften, he even felt that if they were alone Arnook might have given him a slight bow.
He liked to believe he was a good judge of character and he saw how honest Arnook's expression was, he also couldn't blame them for being extra careful, "Ha-ah, I am sorry too, I almost killed your man also" said Levi sighing, he knew when to push forward and when to take a step back, plus this was the northern water tribe, it was basically a sister to the southern water tribe, he had pushed enough and it was time to take a step back
"You certainly did." said Arnook with a complicated expression, "You're a formidable water bender, with you around the southern water tribe is sure to flourish, I can't wait to see when you take after your father's position."
Levi wanted to retort that he wasn't interested in such things but he held his mouth shut, he didn't know if maybe one day he'd change his mind, and Arnook didn't need to know that, "Thanks, I had a good teacher." said Levi.
"Is that so? I know most of the water benders of the South Pole, is it Tenzin, Or maybe his son? Or maybe that young man Tobirama I've heard great things about him, a master water bender in his twenties truly a prodigy...of course that's nothing compared to you hahaha." said Arnook in a light-hearted tone in the end.
"Thanks, I certainly don't mind the compliments." said Levi flashing him a cocky smile making Arnook laugh in return and relax even more, "As for my master, It was Tenzin He…passed away a while ago," said Levi, his tone neutral and steady.
Arnook's expression took a turn for the worse from its relaxed state, "I am sorry, he was a great man and an even greater bender, his death is a great loss both to water benders and to the resistance against the Fire Nation."
"That he was." said Levi nodding in agreement before he picked up the cup of wine placed before him, "To Tenzin." he said as Arnook also picked up a cup of wine from one of the passing attendants and clanked his, "To Tenzin."
Finishing his wine Levi smiled slightly before throwing it to the side, hitting Sokka who was also reaching for some wine accurately on the head making Arnook raise an eyebrow, "Nice throw."
"Thanks, I've…" started Levi before pausing, hesitating on what to say, "...had a lot of practice," he added. 'On live targets.' the last part he said silently to himself, if Arnook noticed something strange he didn't comment on it.
The rest of the night was spent with Levi watching Sokka like a hawk, and even catching sight of him when he wasn't looking, making Sokka scratch his head and wonder how he was doing it, after that they all went back to their beds.
***
Back in Chief Arnook's room, after the feast.
Arnook was again sipping on Pakku's tea as the latter sat across from him, his eyebrow twitching.
"Arnook." Pakku forced out, barely holding the urge to strangle the chief in fear of causing a civil war, "Why did you call me here?" he forced out, he didn't know how long he could hold himself and wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.
"Oh, sorry about that, I got lost in the amazing taste of this tea," said Arnook, unaware of how much damage his words had dealt as he almost gave Pakku a heart attack.
"I've talked to that kid you mentioned," he said finally drawing Pakku's attention away from the tea
"Oh, and what do you think?"
"He is a dangerous kid alright." said Arnook, a drop of sweat sliding on the side of his face, "But he can be reasoned with so I doubt we will have much to worry about," said Arnook making Pakku relax and release a breath he didn't even realize he was holding.
He had spent years in power and knew all the ins and outs of politics, he wasn't afraid of a dangerous person, a lot of people were dangerous, he was afraid of a dangerous person that can't be reasoned with, those were mostly the worst types of people, 'Like the fire nation.' he couldn't help but think.
"So we should just sit on our asses and do nothing," asked Pakku, he had clearly hoped to hear a different reply from the chief.
"What else do you propose we do?" Arnook shot back, making Pakku stumble for words, seeing him not replying, Arnook continued, "There is also the Avatar and the Kid's sister, they seemed to be interested in learning water bending, do your best to guide them."
"WHAT?" shouted Pakku, his tone angry, "The Avatar is fine, but the girl? Women are prohibited from learning water bending, I can't possibly teach…."
Arnook interrupted him mid-sentence, "You think I don't know that elder Pakku? But You still need to teach her nonetheless, if not you can go explain it to him." said Arnook not mentioning who he meant, but Pakku understood.
He could only heave a sigh as he nodded his head, it seemed he'd have to go against the traditions this time, either that or go against that terrifying kid.
"Although I wonder, why don't he teach them himself? I am sure he's more than capable," said Arnook suddenly.
"How should I know?" replied Pakku in an annoyed tone as he sipped his tea, vowing to get every last drop of it and hide his stash back home.
"Speaking of which, he is the student of your friend Tenzing from the South Pole," added Arnook.
"Oh? Is that so," said Pakku as his eyes shined, this time he was really interested, Tenzin had told him about the exceptional student he had taken under his wing, and even sent letters from time to time, but everyone over-praised their students, there was nothing strange about it, it was like a mother seeing her ugly son as the most beautiful man in the world, but seeing Levi now it seems he had been sorely mistake.
"It seems I'll need to have a chat with my old friend sometime soon," said Pakku with a slight smile, he was happy his friend got such a student.
Hearing him Arnook's face turned complicated and even a little bit hurt, "Pakku its…" he didn't know how to break the news to him, seeing his excited face at meeting his friend soon.
"What is it? Spit it out," said Pakku, annoyed.
"Ha-ah, Tenzin, he passed away a while ago." Arnook forced out.
It took a moment for Pakku to process what Arnook said, his eyes visibly dimmed when he did before he spoke, "Is that so, what a shame Indeed." 'It seems you went forward ahead of us, old friend.' The last part was said inwardly where only he could hear.
Arnook was surprised as he looked at Pakku, he wasn't as sad as he had imagined him to be.
But Arnook was still too young to understand, sooner or later they all expected this, him, Iroh, Tenzin, and the others, they were all in their twilight years and their time was nearing, Tenzin was just the first to go away.
The best they could do was prepare the next generation to take after them and carry on their will, so Pakku wasn't sad, in fact, he was even happy that Tenzin found someone like Levi to carry on his legacy, he could only hope to find someone like that.
***
North pole - northern water tribe
Levi was jumping from the rooftop of one building to another, following Sokka who was in turn following Yue who was sailing in a boat, he couldn't help but have an exhausted look on his face as he felt like a stalker jumping from one rooftop to another with his stealth skill on, Sokka had even looked directly in his direction one time without spotting him.
'Why am I so invested in this? Surely losing her can't be that bad, I should just go back and focus on leveling up my skills and abilities.' This thought crossed Levi's mind more than one time, but he still kept on following him, he cared for his little brother way too much.
Just when Princess Yue was passing below a bridge Sokka sped up, planning to beat her to the bridge and pretend he ran into her by sheer coincidence, sadly for him Levi was right on his trail.
Theft
Sokka's running ground to a halt as he stood there in a daze wondering where he was and what he was doing, soon though he spotted Yue who sailed past him in her boat as his eyes shined and he prepared to chase after her.
Theft
Again he stood in his place with a blank look, before long Yue's boat took a turn and she disappeared from sight, Sokka finally came out of his daze and started to look around confused and scratching the back of his head, "What am I doing here?" he couldn't help but wonder as he turned around and walked away.
'Ha-ah, what a frightening ability.' Levi couldn't help but exclaim, sighing.
Against stronger opponents, the chances of success were drastically lower, but against a much weaker Sokka it was pretty much a guaranteed success, the most terrifying aspect was that it left no trace behind, even the victim wouldn't notice.
Levi couldn't help but shiver as he thought of another possibility, 'Could I steal memories?', he knew the answer to that already, not right now, but soon enough he would be able to. He would be able to erase the memory of someone directly from another's mind, or he could simply review the memories before giving them back. It was frightening no matter how he thought about it, he could only thank his lucky stars that he was the one with this ability and not someone else.
Turning around, Levi was about to head back to his rooms when his ethereal sense caught something, turning back around the sight he saw almost made him puke blood, Yue's boat had made a complete 180° turn and was coming back. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened and it was driving Levi crazy.
The first incident was this morning when he was having a chat with Sokka in order to divert his attention away from Yue, and it seemed to be working until some random passerby mentioned her sixteen birthday and how she is of marriage age now, making all his previous efforts useless as Sokka's eyes shined like stars and he went away.
In the second incident, Levi had made use of Void Monarch to make Sokka walk in a loop for a while before he sent him in the opposite direction, all the while his poor brother didn't notice anything, but to his immense frustration, Yue also changed her direction and almost crossed path with him again, making Levi work overtime.
And this was the third incident today, there was no reason for her to turn the boat all the way around, she could have just taken another path if she wanted to go back but she did. It was like the universe was doing everything in its power to make sure the two of them met, thinking that Levi's expression couldn't help but turn dark.
'I know it's hard to change the future but I'll be damned if I can't change something as small as this.' he thought, this was more than protecting his brother now, although that was still the main objective, he had to prove it to himself that he can challenge this world's twisted logic and fate, the fate that killed his mother.
***
An: difference between thoughts and memories, I know some of you would ask so I am answering in advance.
Thoughts are the thoughts that are occurring in the present, just as you're reading this there are thoughts floating around in your head.
Memories are like saved files that we only access from time to time, like the password to your phone you're not thinking about it 24/7, or your partner Birthday, things like that, feel free to ask if you don't get it.
***
If you like my story and you're interested in reading 30 chapters in advance and supporting me you can subscribe to my patreon
Pat reon.com/xXTheDarkOneXx (Remove the space)
Also if you would like to join my discord server here is the link below
discord.gg/y5pAQGQRH6