I stopped writing on this fanfiction for a while, and when I came back to it I realized that there were a lot of things that I wanted to change. So this version is a lot like the original, just with corrections, additions, and more. So I hope you all enjoy it! Please let me know what you think

{BURNING WATER}

The ice felt cold against my face. I wanted to roll over and somehow avoid this coldness, like it was just a random patch. But it was everywhere, stinging my skin and making hard to stay unconscious, the way I preferred to be at the moment.

I didn't know how long I had been running, but I couldn't run anymore. Escaping the Fire Nation was difficult, but I could always hide in the Northern Water Tribe (perks of being a water bender). It was simple. All I had to do was find a relatively unguarded area of the wall, unfreeze it, and then freeze it back. It was utterly undetectable. If only I had acquired warmer clothes before I had come. But there was just not enough time. They were probably hot on my trail already.

Footsteps alerted me of a presence before his shadow fell across my limp form. I could feel him brush my hair away and check for a pulse. I shifted towards him, he was warm.

"What's your name?" I heard.

His voice was fuzzy as I struggled to remain conscious.

"Hikari," I whispered. Whoever it was had to be of some help. I couldn't stay out here forever and I had nowhere to go.

He cradled me against him as I lost all coherent thought and a black wave engulfed me.

{BURNING WATER}

I woke to muted voices and warmth. I shook my head only to have a wave of pain shoot through me. Reluctant to be in pain anymore, I settled for just laying there and listening.

"Sokka, she's awake," a female voice murmured excitedly.

Rustling sounded and a hand was placed on my forehead. I hesitated opening my eyes, but ended up face-to-face with a girl close to my age. Her blue eyes stood out strikingly against her dark skin and dark locks of brown hair were braided neatly down her back. She stood and removed her hand, the expression on her face letting me know that she was taking my temperature seriously.

I closed my eyes again, wanting to sleep more than anything. There was more rustling, and I felt another blanket slide over my body.

"Where did you find her again?" I heard the girl whisper. I didn't know that there was another person in the room, but I assumed from her question that it had to be the one who found me.

"She was in an alleyway. I don't know where she came from or how she got in. But that's it," he seemed to have explained this many times, but the girl only huffed.

"What were you doing out late anyway?" the girl grumbled. I rolled onto my side and the head-splitting pain returned. "Oh, I'm sorry! Did I wake you? I thought you had gone back to sleep."

I blinked my eyes open and cringed at the bright lighting in the room. Noticing this, someone quickly snuffed out most of the lanterns.

"I'm Katara, and this is my brother Sokka," the girl told me when she was sure that she had my attention.

Behind her was a tall boy whose blue eyes matched Katara's. He couldn't have been more than fifteen, and his brown hair was pulled back into a short ponytail. He was watching me curiously.

"Where am I?" I questioned.

"You're in the Northern Water Tribe," Katara replied sweetly.

Well, I knew that.

"Yes, but where?" I pressed.

"In our tent, we've been staying here for about a week," Katara replied. I sat up quickly, but soon realized that it was a bad idea. Pain traveled up my spine and spread throughout my head. Did I hit my head or something? I couldn't remember.

"How long have I been out?"

"About two days." My stomach growled and I looked at the ground, embarrassed.

"Sounds like someone is hungry!" a new voice exclaimed from the entrance of the tent.

A boy lifted away the tent flap and stepped inside. He was as young as twelve and had no hair, but arrow shaped blue tattoos were painted plainly on his skin. Anyone could plainly see that he was an airbender, and for a second the sheer oddity of it made me laugh. Katara eyed me worriedly, probably wondering if they had let a complete lunatic into their home.

"I'm Aang, the Avatar," he greeted, totally unfazed. I gave him a small smile and slung my legs carefully over the edge of the bed, as to not hurt myself any further. My stomach spoke again and Katara giggled.

"Let's get you something to eat. And you probably want some warmer clothes, right? You nearly froze out there in that," she teased, leading me to the other side of the tent.

She dug around in a chest on the far corner, and pulled out a few articles of clothing. She set them in my hands and smiled. Did she expect me to change right here? I looked at the boys, who were staring at us. I then looked back at her. She instantly understood. After shooing the boys out, I changed into the warmer set of clothes and sat around the fire pit at the center of the tent. Katara handed me a bowl of some sort of stew. It smelled fishy, but I was too hungry to complain.

I ate in silence for what seemed an eternity before Katara spoke. "So Sokka told me your name is Hikari," she mentioned. My mouth was full, so I only nodded. It was quiet again; the only sound to be heard was me shoveling the food into my mouth. It burnt my tongue but it was the first thing I had eaten in a few days.

"What are you doing so far from the Fire Nation?" Katara wondered quietly.

The question caught me off guard until I remembered that up until about thirty minutes ago I had been dressed in Fire Nation clothing. I thought back to the day that I had left, about a week ago. I didn't own any warm clothes for the frozen environment of the North Pole but I didn't let that stop me. I took what I needed, and I left in the dead of night. And what a surprise it was that I had actually been successful. Yes, they had been after me the first few days, but after I passed through the Earth Kingdom, they had lost track of me. I realized suddenly that I had been thinking deeply and forgotten to answer Katara's question.

"I'm not from the Fire Nation, if that's what you're thinking," I muttered.

"But you're clothes…" Katara protested. I didn't want to tell her that she was wrong, because she had obviously seen my clothes. There was no around it. Besides, she was nice enough to feed me and clothe me so I didn't see why I shouldn't at least tell her something about me. She was digging her own hole with the questions.

"Those damn bastards are the reason I can't be with my mother. Yes, I used to live there, but I'm not from there," I hissed. Katara visibly jumped at the remark and I expected her eyes to fill with pity as most did. But all I saw was cold understanding.

"The Fire Nation killed my mother. All I have now is her necklace." Her hand drifted to the dark blue choker tied around her neck.

I sighed heavily, setting down the empty bowl that I had been eating out of. Katara took it and filled it half-way. She then handed it back. "Then you understand. Most just pity me. I can't go anywhere there without their piteous looks."

"In the Fire Nation? How do you walk freely as a water bender?" Katara asked in wonder. I looked at her in astonishment, barely managing to swallow my mouthful of food before I choked.

"How did you know?" I spit out.

"Well how else would someone be able to get past the Northern Water Tribe walls?" She laughed, stirring the mixture in the stew pot. I was sure that she wasn't cooking it anymore, so maybe it was just out of habit. The sound of the spoon scraping the bottom of the pot filled the tent. Neither of us said a word.

"The people of the Fire Nation knew what I was. They revered me for it, and they feared me," I stopped talking, catching myself. I was saying too much. I didn't want to scare her off.

"What are you, then?" she asked, confused. She was staring into the fire as she asked, and it reflected in her eyes eerily.

"I—I don't want to talk about this," I told her.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Katara murmured, averting her eyes and dropping the subject. Silence settled in and I finished my second bowl of food. I momentarily wondered where the boys had gone for so long.

"So you want to know why I am here," I stated. Katara nodded her head solemnly, and turned away from the fire to look at me intensely.

"I came here because it was my only escape. Away from that damned Fire Nation." I clenched my fist. Katara placed her hand over my fist gently, and I slowly unwound it until my hand was flat on the fur rug underneath us. I stared at our hands until I felt her eyes on me. She was staring at me intently, an idea lighting her eyes.

"You are welcome to journey with us," she offered quietly.

I matched her stare equally, considering the opportunity. Should I take her up on her offer? It honestly beat wandering from house to house. I had no where to stay, no way to make money, and I didn't know anyone. It seemed that this girl was giving me the chance that I had been secretly hoping for.

But I worried. It wouldn't be right to endanger someone who was only trying to help me. Maybe it would be for the best if I just left. "Would it be worth the danger?" I decided to ask. "I am worth much to the Fire Nation," I warned. She simply chuckled.

"And the Avatar isn't? It seems that you and Aang are on the same boat."

I stared at the rug beneath us, then at the fire. Was it worth it? I think it was. At least here I have allies. More than I did in the Fire Nation.

It seems that it has been settled, then.