It had been a very long and unusually warm summer. The Southern Water Tribe had enjoyed exceptional fishing, as well as a massive crop of sea prunes unrivalled by past records. The deliciously temperate summer afternoons were often spent on the sea, in a bay created specifically with the purpose of siesta in mind. The bay was shallow, but still deep enough for the little canoes and swimmers willing to brave the still chilly temperatures.

Due to the rekindling of the sisterhood between tribes, the water bender population of the South Pole had risen dramatically, though the oldest of these new benders was little over six years old. It was just as well that Paku was otherwise engaged in a conference in the Fire Nation with the Order of the White Lotus, or else the children would have driven him up the wall.

"Give her back, Tei! She's mine!" Nami scrambled over the top of a large snow heap. She lay on her belly for a moment, exhausted. For at least the last three hours, she had felt that the game was no longer funny, and she wanted Lin-Kee back. After all, she had made her herself, and her mother had only helped a little. All of the other girls' dolls were their mothers' or grandmothers' old hand-me-downs. Lin-Kee was brand new, made of the softest turtle seal skin, and her dress was made of a strip of Nami's own. Grangran hadn't been very happy about that.

Nami was aroused by a cackle from somewhere below her. "Tei! I'm serious!" she wailed, clumsily sliding down the hill. The voice of the boy grew louder as the little girl huffed and puffed over the next incline.

"Isn't it time for your swimming lesson, Lin-Kee? Why yes, Tei, I think it is!"

"Don't!"Nami screamed, tripping over the hem of her skirt.

"What's that, Lin-Kee? Oh no, I forgot, you can't swim!" Nami threw herself onto the crouched form of the boy, pounding his back with her little brown fists.

"Give her back, give her back!" Tei grinned nastily, dangling the girl's doll over the fishing hole.

"But Nami! I haven't finished teaching Lin-Kee how to swim!"

"No! No! She doesn't want to!" Nami pulled at Tei's coat arm desperately. "Now give her back!"

"Okay, but only if she wants to go with you."

"She wants to, she wants to, she wants to!"

"Okay then... Oh! What's that, Lin-Kee? You want to stay with me?"

"No!"

"And you don't want to see Nami ever again?"

"No!"

"That life isn't worth living anymore?"

"No, no, no!"

"You'd rather I drop you in the sea, so you don't have to see Nami's ugly face ever again?"

"Tei! Give her back!"

"She doesn't seem to want to talk to you, Nami."

"Yes she does, yes she does! You're lying!"

"No, I think she's serious. She's lost the will to live." Nami started to cry. Tei shook her off, and ever so slowly lowered the doll towards the little fishing hole. "Goodbye, cruel world!" he crowed. Lin-Kee's tiny seal-skin foot was less than a millimetre away from her watery grave when something odd happened: the surface of the water had quite suddenly frozen over. "Huh?" Tei stared, prodding the glassy shell with a gloved finger. Nami abruptly stopped crying, and sat up straight, wide-eyed. "Nami!" snapped Tei crossly. "You can't waterbend-!" It was then that Tei realized that a long shadow had appeared on the snow next to his. He swivelled around, and gasped. "S-S-Sifu Katara!" he spluttered, the colour draining from his face. Katara folded her arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Perhaps Nami can't waterbend," she said. "But I can." She tugged the doll from Tei's limp grip. She held the doll close to her ear, frowning. "What's that, you say?" she gasped. "Tei did what? Uh huh... Oh dear... I see. Hmm. Mmm. Yes. Yes, I understand. Punished, you say?" Tei whimpered. "Fed to the Tiger Seals?" Katara's eyes flickered to the boy's face (now a mask of terror) for a moment."Yes, I can see where you're coming from. But what about his parents? Yes, that's an even better idea! When he gets back, Sifu Paku will be much harder on him than the seals-" At this point, Tei fell to his knees, and grabbed at Katara's legs.

"Please, Sifu Katara! Not Sifu Paku! I choose the seals!" he wailed. "Don't tell Sifu Paku, please!" Katara looked him with a blank expression. "Well," she said, shaking her head sadly. "It's not up to me, really. Lin-Kee is the real victim here, she'll decide your fate." Katara passed the doll back to its overjoyed owner, who hugged it tight. "What do you say, Nami? What have you and Linn-Kee decided upon for Tei's just desserts? The seals, Sifu Paku, or all your chores for a week?"

"What?" Howled Tei. He was quickly silenced by a glowering look from Katara. Nami frowned, listening to her doll. Her face split into a wide grin, and she turned to Tei.

"Tei," she said loudly, pointing her finger accusingly at him. "We hereby accuse you of high robbery treason kidnappingness of Lin-Kee. You have to do all of my chores for a week," (Tei groaned) "And you have to roll me home!" Nami looked up at Katara triumphantly.

"Do I have to?" Tei asked Katara glumly.

"Either that, or I ask Sifu Paku to sort this out." Said Katara delicately. Tei dragged his feet towards the nearest lump of ice, and promptly began to bend it into a cylindrical shape, grumbling under his breath. Nami beamed, and hugged Katara's leg.

"Thank you, Sifu Katara," she whispered, rubbing her cheek into the soft blue fabric. Katara smiled warmly, and returned the hug.

"You're welcome, Nami. Now, you let me know if that boy causes you anymore trouble, alright?" The little girl nodded, regarding Katara with wide eyes. "Good girl. Now, I think Tei's finished his roller!" Tei shot them a sour look, standing beside a curious looking contraption: two cylinders of ice lay parallel on the ground, a square platform holding them together. Tucking her doll under her arm, Nami pulled herself onto the platform, and settled cross-legged on top.

"Roll!" She cried, pointing ahead.

"The village is the other way, dummy," Tei sniggered.

"I know!" said Nami indignantly. All the same, she readjusted her seated position as so she faced the other direction. "Now, roll!" Tei rolled his eyes. After a few long, horizontal sweeping movements of his arms, the cylinders of ice began to roll, faster and faster, until Nami and her doll were whizzing across the ice flats. The little girl shrieked with pleasure, and Tei stomped after her. The pair were very quickly only small specks on the horizon. The waterbending master watched them until they vanished from her sight altogether.

Katara grinned, settling her hands on her hips. When she had been Tei's age she had barely been able to lift a bowlful of water, and yet the boy was capable of bending ice. She shook her head.

With a whisk of her finger, the little fishing hole returned to its usual watery state. In fact, it was not so much a fishing hole as its shape and size suggested, but Katara's preferred bending source. The water itself was ordinary, but Katara loved the seclusion of the place: surrounded by walls of ice, her own little valley. Here, had she the time, she would pass the hours practicing and, when in a particularly inspired mood, possibly even invent new waterbending techniques. And, sometimes, just sometimes, Katara would spend her time with the avatar by the little hole in the ice, hidden from the rest of the world.

Katara settled on her knees before the hole, pulling a sliver of water from its depths. It had been a good few months since his last visit. Was it two? Or perhaps ever three, or four! It didn't matter, it seemed to her an indefinite period of time. Maybe it had only been a week. Katara felt a deep stab of longing in her chest whenever a scrap of news of Aang's travels around the world reached their village. Sokka had what he wanted: Suki hadn't liked the cold, and so they had agreed to honeymoon on Kyoshi Island. Happy as she was for her brother (she hadn't thought it possible for her brother's egotism and machoism to be cured) and grateful for Suki, she couldn't help but despise the two of them for being so happy upon occasion.

They had saved the world, hadn't they? Fire Lord Ozai and Azula were locked safely away, under the guard of the Order of the White Lotus. The Earth Kingdom had been freed, and the Fire Nation restored to its peaceful, pre-war state. So why? Why couldn't they be together, like Sokka and Suki? Katara knew the answer: how could she not, as it constantly lurked in the back of her mind, poisoning her thoughts and feelings. Aang was the avatar, it was simple as that. He could never truly belong to her. Not all of him, anyway.

Katara's water splashed miserably back into the pool. She had thought that a bit of bending would clear her head, but far from it. She pulled her knees to her chest, and closed her eyes.

"Faster!" Tei winced at the staggering height of the pitch of Nami's voice.

"I'm right here, you know. You don't have to shout."

"I'll stop shouting when you go faster!" Tei thrust his arms forward violently.

"Wheeeeee!" Tei jogged over the hill, and watched as the roller and its passenger hurtled towards the village. The sun was low in the sky, and the village was thrown into twilight: the hue of the ice and the rosy glow of the sunset created a warm mixture of purples, pinks, and blues that splashed across the white landscape. A few stars twinkled above the horizon, dusted by a thin layer of lilac clouds. Tei yawned, and settled himself on the ground, looking up into the sky. The muffled thud of Nami and her roller crashing into the village walls from below didn't stir his attention from the heavens for an instant, though a wide smile spread across his face. It was pleasant out here, away from the other children. Tei was proud to be the oldest waterbender in the village. Oldest after the Sifus, of course, but they didn't count. He was the best too. Tei didn't need to try and make friends: they came to him, mostly out of awe and admiration. But, they were so naturally inferior to him that he did get sick of them, after a while. Sometimes being alone was the best thing for him. It certainly made him happy. But only sometimes.

Tei gazed greedily at the stars. He was going to be the first person in the history of the world to catch one. One day. Funny people had come to the Southern Water Tribe over his relatively short lifetime. Funny people who dressed in green, mostly. And a few who dressed in red. The green ones were the ones who showed him the star charts, and the maps of the world, but the red ones who Tei liked the most. They had plans. Ambitions. And they weren't going to do nothing about it, like everyone down here. If he had the help of the green people and their funny inventions, he could reach the stars one day. Then, he could show the red people, and the Water Tribes, how strong he was. Tei the Great. Tei the Startamer. Startamer. He liked that.

A flicker of movement caught his eye. Tei leaned forward, frowning. Something in the sky? He squinted, looking for the whatever it was. He had sworn... Yes! There it was! A little white spot, growing larger by the minute, gliding in from the north. He knew it was the north. The stars said so. But what was it? It seemed familiar. Tei jumped to his feet, a hot rush of excitement suddenly jumping through his body. He squinted, trying to perceive the shape.

His eyes widened, and his face split into a grin. Tei galloped down the hill, waving his arms wildly, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Avatar Aang! Avatar Aang!"

"Faster!" Tei winced at the staggering height of the pitch of Nami's voice.

"I'm right here, you know. You don't have to shout."

"I'll stop shouting when you go faster!" Tei thrust his arms forward violently.

"Wheeeeee!" Tei jogged over the hill, and watched as the roller and its passenger hurtled towards the village. The sun was low in the sky, and the village was thrown into twilight: the hue of the ice and the rosy glow of the sunset created a warm mixture of purples, pinks, and blues that splashed across the white landscape. A few stars twinkled above the horizon, dusted by a thin layer of lilac clouds. Tei yawned, and settled himself on the ground, looking up into the sky. The muffled thud of Nami and her roller crashing into the village walls from below didn't stir his attention from the heavens for an instant, though a wide smile spread across his face. It was pleasant out here, away from the other children. Tei was proud to be the oldest waterbender in the village. Oldest after the Sifus, of course, but they didn't count. He was the best too. Tei didn't need to try and make friends: they came to him, mostly out of awe and admiration. But, they were so naturally inferior to him that he did get sick of them, after a while. Sometimes being alone was the best thing for him. It certainly made him happy. But only sometimes.

Tei gazed greedily at the stars. He was going to be the first person in the history of the world to catch one. One day. Funny people had come to the Southern Water Tribe over his relatively short lifetime. Funny people who dressed in green, mostly. And a few who dressed in red. The green ones were the ones who showed him the star charts, and the maps of the world, but the red ones who Tei liked the most. They had plans. Ambitions. And they weren't going to do nothing about it, like everyone down here. If he had the help of the green people and their funny inventions, he could reach the stars one day. Then, he could show the red people, and the Water Tribes, how strong he was. Tei the Great. Tei the Startamer. Startamer. He liked that.

A flicker of movement caught his eye. Tei leaned forward, frowning. Something in the sky? He squinted, looking for the whatever it was. He had sworn... Yes! There it was! A little white spot, growing larger by the minute, gliding in from the north. He knew it was the north. The stars said so. But what was it? It seemed familiar. Tei jumped to his feet, a hot rush of excitement suddenly jumping through his body. He squinted, trying to perceive the shape.

His eyes widened, and his face split into a grin. Tei galloped down the hill, waving his arms wildly, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Avatar Aang! Avatar Aang!"