Ayaan stood with a bland expression on his face. By then, his brown hair had long since faded back to its silvery-white sheen. For some reason, the guards that were escorting him, Katara, and Sokka kept gawking at him. Normally, he didn't care about this. Because, well, it was normal. But he didn't like anyone here, so he was currently unnerved.

"Stop staring." He snapped, glaring at them with his icy blue eyes. The guards whistled, looking forward as if they hadn't been caught, though you could see the cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.

Sokka, the ever-observant boy that he was, did not miss this. He also didn't miss the expression of discomfort and suppressed anger from his brother. Fun fact he just learned: When Ayaan is truly upset, his eyes become a brighter shade of blue in contrast to their usual grayish hue. That's closer to their father's eye color; their mother's eyes had been darker, or should he say duller, blue.

He tried to ignore the fact that her memory was getting further and further away from him with each passing day. He tried to not let that bother him. Even though, at the back of his mind, it did. A lot.

Long observation short, Ayaan's glare is scary, super manly, and a skill he must learn.

But when he tried to glare, he heard snickers. They were laughing! How dare they laugh at him?! What Sokka failed to notice was that instead of scary like his brother, his glare was cute. It was like a pup trying to match up to a wolf. If you put both of them together, which do you believe will be scarier? He tried to hide his shame behind irritation, but this was also seen as cute.

Another failure.

The watertribe siblings each had their charms; Ayaan, obviously, was the guy everyone wants. He was the full package with his only known flaw being his obliviousness. Katara was a beautiful young lady who was determined and hardworking. And Sokka, while Ayaan was more mature in looks, didn't lose in that battle. He was smart, funny, and had been working on his many flawed views for a while now.

But when you compare him to Ayaan, the only word that comes to mind is 'cute'. A puppy to a wolf.

"Quit laughing at him, you scum." A growl was heard. When they turned their heads to the sound they found a livid Ayaan glaring at them like a wolf-bat out of hell. They shut up, knowing that the barely restrained, feral beast behind them was a hair away from pouncing and ripping them a new one.

'Terrifying...'

A wolf indeed.

They continued to walk in complete silence for a while.

"Halt." The guard said, the others immediately stopping before a wall. The other escorts that had been there before made themselves scarce, leaving just the guards and the children. Sokka and Katara were still struggling with their captors, but their ironclad grips were impossible to escape from with their lack of skill. Ayaan, while he could easily ignore the pain in his shoulder and fist to pummel these men, stood eerily still and silent.

He needed to know where his other family was; he needed to locate Aang. Before he did anything, he needed to know this.

And he was sure that he and the king were on the other side of this wall they'd stopped in front of. He could hear their voices. One jovial, the other angry.

"I don't have time for your crazy games!" He heard Aang yell, the white-haired teen surprised and pleased by the aggression he could hear in his voice. "Give me my friends back! We're leaving!"

And then the wall opened, the guards dragging them out.

The King gestured to them as he spoke, "Oh, I thought you might refuse, so I will give your friends some special souvenirs."

Each guard put something on their finger, a ring, it seemed. Well, tried. Ayaan promptly headbutted the man that tried to put his own trinket on, his docile nature gone out the window like a lie.

"Do not touch them!" He all but growled. Many of the guards were on him at a moment's notice, needing to work together to restrain the strangely powerful teen. The ones he'd injured the day before had warned them that the moment they did anything to the other three Ayaan would go ballistic on them.

They were also told that the way he attacks is vicious and precise. The teen was a scary opponent to have; he knew exactly where to aim to cause the most pain, and always attacked the places where the bones were the easiest to break when the battle could not be ended quickly.

'Scary...'

'Vicious...'

They knew for a fact they would not be able to get the jennamite ring onto this vicious kid's finger. So they settled for something a bit larger and easier to get on, a bracelet. The moment it was on, it tightened on his wrist and they quickly made their escape away from the boy's rushing, furious fist.

(A/N: Didn't even realize that it was called "JENNA"-mite until I searched up the correct spelling)

"What the hell did you put on us?!" Ayaan yells, unable to remove the purple bracelet. Sokka and Katara had rings, blue and green respectively, made of the same material.

"Jennamite, my boy!" The King answers joyously. "Also known as Creeping Crystal." He returned his gaze to Aang as he continues to explain, "It's a crystal that grows remarkably fast. By nightfall, your friends will be completely covered in it. Terrible thing, really. I can stop it, but only if you cooperate."

Ayaan's expression became monstrously cold. If looks could kill, everyone in the room except his family would be dust.

'Friendliest people in the world, he said.' Ayaan growled mentally. He was sure he hated this place now. He was positive of it at this moment. He wanted to ram every single person in this room with the sharp end of his spear.

The weird crystals were true to their namesake and began to 'creep' up their bodies, slightly growing in size. He heard Sokka's horrified yell about it already beginning to creep, as well as Katara's scared whimpers as she gazed at her green ring. Ayaan brought his bracelet up to examine it. Unlike his siblings, he didn't make any indication of him being afraid.

No, he was pissed. He was worried for the others, running on even lower hours of sleep than usual, and now this. His three idiot family members got them into this mess, but honestly, why was he even surprised? Aang was the Avatar, he had silver-white hair since birth, they were at war; anything that can go wrong will and has gone wrong. He was not even going to begin to get into his accident-prone brother and sister.

'I really want my spear. Right now.'

Because it was bigger, it grew bigger. He was sure that he'd be covered in it much faster than his siblings would. Slamming it against the ground proved useless, and he was held back when he tried to smash it against one of the guards faces. All three of them were now hostages against Aang.

The guards knew better than to stand near him, though they still made sure to keep him a ways away from their king. Though they knew the old man was more than strong enough to take care of himself, it didn't lessen their guard at all.

'This kid is damn scary...'

"I'll do what you want," Aang said solemnly. Ayaan's expression was locked in a scowl. Only one thought was on his mind as they were led to a different location yet again.

'I'm going to stab every enemy in this room the moment I get my spear.'

He listened to his anger over the wailing voices of his uselessness and complete self-loathing. If he concentrated on that, then he could hold on. He went towards his siblings, the two noticing that his bracelet had grown bigger than their rings had. He put a reassuring hand on both of their shoulders, giving the worried Aang a nod as if telling him that they would be okay. That he would be okay.

Katara and Sokka relaxed a bit under his touch, noticing that his expression hadn't faltered even once since they were taken from the room. Their brother was strong, even in a situation like this. It gave them hope and gave Aang a bit of courage. If he could hold his head high, then so should they. So both of the siblings gave Aang the same votes of assurance that Ayaan had, causing the airbender to smile, although it was small.

For Ayaan though, things were slightly different. He had to keep his expression taut. With his years of hiding how he was feeling from everyone he cared for, he was extremely experienced in it. They needed him to be strong, he knew this. So, he kept up the image of strength.

He needed to be their pillar. They were all scared, and he knew it. So, he could not let them know what he was feeling beneath his anger. He could not let them know his endless doubts, concerns, constant self-loathing, and depreciation right now.

Ayaan hardly got any sleep the night before, constant nightmares kept him at arm's length from rest. Some were the same dreams he always had, about his mother and burning away. Newer ones were of them, himself unable to protect them from the dangers they were bound to face, just like now. Screams, blood, fire, and now, stone. People, weapons, and their own idiocy.

It was like he was at the top of a massive and slick slide, desperately holding on to the only handle that kept him from slipping down into the darkest pits of his mind. He could hear his demons laughing at him from the darkness, sneering and coaxing him to give in. His mind was a warzone of its own, one that he ignored in lieu of his family's needs.

So many different ways for them to get hurt, so many ways he could fail them.

Ayaan let none of it show on his face. The slight bags under his eyes were natural to them, as they were in this type of situation. There was no way they could tell. The only one who would ever be able to tell that he wasn't okay was their grandmother. She was the only one, and for as long as he could, he planned to keep it that way.

They needed a strong Ayaan right now, and that was what he was going to give them.

...

..

.

The trials were weird, just like the King.

First, Aang had to get a key from a waterfall. How do you leave the key to your lunch box in a waterfall? Of course, with this refreshing abundance of water, Ayaan wanted to try to use it. But he was nowhere near adept enough to utilize this weapon, and by this time, his body had been encased in the strange, purple crystal. The only things free were his head and his legs, just barely.

It was infuriating.

'I'm going to stab them all.'

So, he was forced to watch as Aang eventually used one of the hanging rocks to snag the key from the waterfall. Ayaan let a proud smile slip him at the action. His wondrous aim and airbending prowess were on full display. He was quick to school his expression back into a set scowl, though.

Their situation was still dire, and they were still covered in this strange rock. For some reason, it smelled a bit sweet. Why did the crystal smell sweet? The strangeness of it all made him even more irritable. He hated this place, completely.

And then the next test ensued, and he was met with an adorable beast.

It was a large creature; unlike anything he'd seen before. A goat gorilla, it was called. He had a gorilla's face and body, a goat's hind legs, tail, eyes and horns, and a rabbit's ears and speed. His fur was a soft cream color and was obviously well cared for. He was aptly named "Flopsie", and Ayaan was certain it was because of how his ears 'flopped' on either side of his head. He had big green eyes and enormous teeth.

But despite his unnerving appearance, he was extremely affectionate and loved to have his belly scratched. This was proven by the King's action towards him, and how he readily landed on his back to receive his beloved belly rub.

That was, until the moment Flopsie noticed Ayaan, and then all calm went out the window between his younger siblings.

"It's coming this way! Why?! Why is it coming over here?!" Katara yelled, backing away from the rapidly approaching pet.

"Stay back you beast! Back you!" Sokka was yelling too, only Ayaan wasn't as scared as they were.

It stopped directly in front of him, and not a second later, he was licked. Ayaan grimaced in disgust and delight at the affection, but he could not break his angry stature. And he was indeed, very much, angry.

"Flopsie?!" Even the king was surprised by his pet's sudden action. Flopsie was currently rubbing his face on Ayaan, the beast instantly attached to the boy. The boy, fighting back the delighted tint of red on his cheeks, kept frowning. He could not give in, he would not give in, but...

'His fur is really fuzzy. Very, very soft.'

Ayaan seriously wanted to pet this very affectionate beast. But he would not lose to his urge to pet this very fuzzy creature giving him attention right now.

'I'm almost thankful I'm encased in this frustrating crystal. My hand would have betrayed me and I would be petting Flopsie right now. I'm sure of it.'

Momo flew down at that moment, screeching at Flopsie with an almost possessive gusto. Not expecting it, Flopsie backed away from the creature. He wrapped his tail around his human's neck and his little arms held on to his human's face. He rubbed his own little head on Ayaan's cheek, sending his message to the larger beast very clearly.

'Mine.'

"Calm down, Momo. I'm okay." Ayaan said soothingly. Momo continued to rub his head affectionately on Ayaan, his green orbs still glaring at the larger animal with confidence the boy hadn't ever seen from the lemur before then. Inside, he was bursting with pride. He made sure to remember to give him lots of treats and praise later.

Flopsie on the other hand, sulked, going back to the King who continued to baby talk to him, showering him with affection while trying to figure out what had just happened. His pet was very kind and friendly, sure, but the way he was so drawn to Ayaan was a bit strange.

'Beings that are more spiritually in-tune are drawn to those loved by spirits, animals being the most affected. He had been like that too...'

The King was even more convinced of it now.

Aang, also awed by the exchange just now, flew over to his friends. "Guys, are you okay?" He asked. They were steadily being covered by the jennamite, slowly, but surely. Ayaan was even more covered in it than his siblings, but he had an almost bored look on his face.

Flopsie and Momo may have calmed his anger, just a bit. He was able to quell his anger and irritation a little, they were being so very cute. Momo continued to hug his head.

He nodded to Aang's question, Katara and Sokka giving their assurances that other than the jennamite, they were fine, too. But Ayaan had a policy about honesty, and that was to say it bluntly: "I hate this place."

He didn't see it, but the King and the guards winced at the blunt statement. Of course, they knew they couldn't reveal that they would be allies towards the Avatar until later. Their king had filled them in on the gist of what he was doing as far as these 'tests' went. He had to give them a bit of information, especially as they were his trusted guard.

So knowing that they would need to make up for this massively negative first impression hurt, just a bit. But it was understandable.

"Oh, come on, Ayaan." Aang tried. "Omashu isn't all bad, is it?" Although they were having a trying time right now, he wanted to keep his optimism.

Ayaan was having none of it. He actually frowns at Aang's optimism, deeply, causing the airbender to falter a bit. The others were surprised too; that expression he had from before was returning, a wolf-bat from hell. "When we leave, you three are going through training. Since you can take on a super slide joy ride, I'm sure you can handle the upped difficulty."

They forgot that Ayaan was angry with them, too.

"Be prepared." He added darkly.

All three of them paled considerably, "Noooo!"

"Ehem!" The King had his hand over his mouth, pretending to cough to get the children's attention. After they had their moment to mentally reel themselves back in, Aang returned his attention to the king. He steeled his resolve and faced forward.

"I'm ready for the next challenge," Aang said resolutely. His completion of the tasks before this one gave him confidence in his skills. He was sure he could take whatever this crazy king threw his way.

The King regained his regal persona as he responded, "Your final test is a duel. And as a special treat, you may choose your opponent."

Ayaan had an iffy feeling. 'Up until this point, he didn't have a choice within the challenges aside from how he completed them. Something isn't right...'

Two strong-looking men come out of nowhere, standing in front of the siblings and beside the king. Keywords: Strong looking.

'Who are these bastards?' Ayaan gazed upon them with a certain disdain, as he did everything in the palace at this point. 'The king gives off more presence than them.'

Ayaan did not realize that he was the only one trained enough to discern that fact.

"Point and choose." The king said. But there was something in his tone that told Ayaan that he knew something.

'Something ain't right...'

"And you can't help him, you three." He quickly addressed the siblings that stood behind him, slowly being encased in crystal.

'I want to stab everyone here with my spear.'

Ayaan was done with everything at this point.

"So ... you're saying whoever I point to, that's the person I get to fight?" Aang asked.

"Choose wisely!" The King nodded, that crazy grin growing wider on his face. Ayaan wanted to say something, King's orders be damned, but the crystal went over his mouth like a gag and his eyes like a blindfold. It was like it knew what he was going to do and deliberately grew like that. All anyone could hear were his muffled grumbles, which got angrier by the second.

'Aang! This King is up to something! Don't choose him!' He wanted to shout.

"I," Aang raised his pointing hand into the air, going between his three choices, "choose," He thought and thought, before finally coming to his decision, "you."

Ayaan didn't have to see to know what happened. 'Damnit!'

In the end, he pointed to the King.

"Wrong choice!"

Now Aang was facing one of the most powerful earth benders they'd ever encountered.

Ayaan, audibly, with his entire jennamite-encased being, sighed.

~QUOTE FROM A FUTURE CHAPTER~

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Control your emotions. Your anger and hate?"

"My family." He answered simply. "Whenever I thought I'd lose it, I had them to fall back on and support me." He said, thinking fondly of his grandmother.

The boy looked down, a complicated expression on his face. "I... don't have that," he said, thinking of a certain uncle he'd wronged, "Not anymore..." The slightly older boy pat him on his back, causing the golden-eyed teen to look at him with confusion. His next words left the boy speechless.

"You have us now."