Malina Noongwok

Malina possesses two things if nothing else: (1) a strong sense of self and (2) a deep-rooted respect for mother nature. Because of these things it is highly unlikely that one would catch Malina behaving in a way that is unbecoming or disrespectful to the land. She never litters; she never wastes; she never takes more than what is needed. The young woman is also quick to scold anyone who does.

Unless she's scolding someone who disrespects nature, though, Malina is otherwise very shy. She hardly speaks without being spoken to, and avoids interaction whenever possible. It is much easier for her to find a friend in nature than she can in other humans. (The world is becoming a place much different from the one she was born into; her way of learned life at the South Pole differs heavily from the way of life in Republic City, for example.) Malina finds peace in nature, whether it be sitting under a tree or wading through a stream or playing with an animal.

As mentioned before, she hardly speaks. Because of this, she is a terrible joke teller and an awful liar. She does, however, tell amazing stories that have been passed down for generations upon generations in her family. If only she could find someone with the time to listen.

In battle, Malina is stoic. She doesn't speak at all and utilizes both her bending and weapon usage to her advantage when it is appropriate to do so. The young water bender does not fight to kill, rather she fights to stay alive. When the opportunity presents itself, Malina escapes and lives to tell the tale.

She is loyal to the water tribes, but does not hate nor fear the other nations. As far as she is concerned, all four nations are needed to keep balance in the world. The thought "The world would be better if only the water tribe existed" has never crossed her mind before. Friends of any background are welcome, so long as they respect Malina and what she stands for. Anyone fortunate to make a friend out of her has been blessed with a friend who is dependable, trustworthy and trusting beyond belief. Anyone unfortunate to make an enemy out of this girl can never rest easy.

Izo is Malina's husband, meaning she looks to him for support. She thinks of them as more of a team function. Malina is incredibly independent, and does not rely on Izo for protection or survival solely. She relies on him for something much more profound: companionship. Malina defends her husband with her total self in almost all cases.

Since the birth of her daughter, the world has taken on a much different light in her eyes. Malina loves her husband Izo, but nothing compares to the love a mother feels for her child. To Adira, Malina becomes: a comforter, a confidant, a best friend and a protector. (Anyone who dares put Adira in danger has hell to pay.) There is a special compartment of Malina's soul reserved only for Adira, and Malina would go to the lengths of the world to prove this. To be an example for her still impressionable daughter, Malina takes care to exhibit all of the qualities she believes the world's inhabitants should cherish to the best of her abilities.

Malina believes that the Avatar cycle has not yet ended, and that the world will once again return to equilibrium when he or she returns to the public eye.

There are many physical aspects of Malina that make her, as a whole, striking. What is probably her most notable feature is her incredibly long hair; it is fine as silk and falls down to her waist when left unrestrained. It is brown in color, just a few shades darker than Malina's chocolate eyes. Her skin tone is an even almond, and there are no scars, piercings or tattoos that could serve as identifying marks of her person. There is such a youthful air to her appearance that many find it hard to believe she is older than twenty-five, let alone over thirty and a mother.

When dressing, Malina likes to keep it simple and usually only dons garments that she's made herself from the game she's hunted. When the occasion calls for it, though, the water bender will buy finer, manufactured clothing to wear. Around her neck is a simple crafted necklace which bares the symbol of her native tribe. It should also be noted that she goes barefoot the majority of the time.

Malina has a very ordinary stature, standing at five foot seven and weighing in at just short of one hundred and forty pounds. Her body is tone from a life of chores and manual labor. The cuts in her arms and legs are well defined, and the lines on her abdomen are evidence that she has a strong core. She is naturally curvy, and her choice of clothing seems to accent her desirable figure. [The above picture was drawn by *depingo of DeviantArt.]

Malina was born into a very large family that resided in a small village at the South Pole. This village consisted of less than fifty citizens. They were all benders.

Malina was born third to Mr. and Mrs. Noongwok, who would then go on to have four more children. Even with seven children and two able-bodied parents, the Noongwok family still had much to do in helping to keep the hamlet running efficiently. Up until the age twelve, Malina was tasked with helping to take care of the babies of the village along with the other young girls that she had grown up alongside. At twelve, she took on women's work, and was tasked with cooking, cleaning, drawing water while the men hunted. Her older brothers would teach her the latest hunting techniques they had learned while she would teach them what very little she knew in the ways of healing. Malina picked up on hunting much quicker and easier than her brothers did on healing.

At age twenty, Malina was now the oldest child to still be living at home (her brothers had married and begun to start their own families). She was now strong from chore work, and was expected to pick up the slack of the older women in the village by cooking and cleaning and drawing water for several households a night. Malina did not mind this work though. She enjoyed life with her three younger sisters and younger brother and mother and father. She visited her eldest brother often to play with her nephews and also helped out at her older brother's house too because his wife was expecting. Life at the South Pole was good, and Malina could not wait to meet a wonderful man and begin a family of her own.

Living at the South Pole had kept Malina's village out of tune with many of the technological advances being made in other parts of the world. They knew of Republic City, but none of them had ever been to the land created by Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko where benders of all nations lived in harmony. But then one day shortly after Malina turned twenty, Republic City came to them them. Representatives from some big industry looked to seize the property the village sat on, claiming it sat on an oil reserve that was needed to power the new vehicles of Republic City. Malina's people refused to move, but construction began anyway. No one could even sleep anymore because the sounds of big business - a sound none of them was accustomed to - kept them up at night. With no other option but to leave, the families of Malina's village resolved to move to the main village of the South Pole. There they would be far away from the nuisance of industry.

They spent a day packing up their belongings and were supposed to mobilize that night, but by then the snow had turned black with soot. It reminded older members of the village of how their parents had described snow when the Fire Nation raids took place. This oil rig being built had not only displaced an entire village, but it would destroy the plot of nature it sat on. The entire population was now with a heavy heart as they trekked to their larger sister tribe.

It was easy enough to establish residence there once the chief of the tribe had learned what happened. The people of the sister tribe were very welcoming. Malina helped her parents build a new home before she broke the news to them: she was leaving. Obviously, there was much going on in the world that she didn't know about. Malina expressed that she wanted to leave the South Pole and visit other locations to see how nature was being affected there too. The wind was speaking to her and asking her to follow it, and she could not decline its offer. After bidding each member of her family goodbye, Malina left on a small canoe and headed for the next shore she could find.

Through the course of events, Malina met a young air bender by the name of Izo Rekuseki. After living a nomadic lifestyle with him for a few months, he proposed to her; and it wasn't too long thereafter that Malina discovered she was with child. The Rekusekis settled down in a small Earth Kingdom village in the southern region to raise their soon-to-be-born child. Life would continue to be simple, until that Summer came.

A girl was born, and they named her Adira. From the warm June day she was born, Adira never made parenting easy - but she did make it worth it. Malina tries her best to instill in her daughter a respect of nature and a love of self. The bond between Adira and Izo, Malina believes, is strong because they are both air benders, but Malina is sure that the connection between mother and daughter is inherently more powerful.

Their temporary settlement in the Earth Kingdom village will be over soon now that Adira is old enough to keep up with the nomadic lifestyle. Malina is excited to return to living life day by day, enjoying new surroundings frequently.