DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the characters from Avatar. They belong to Nick. I also do not own some of the dialogue in this story. It belongs to Nick also. I also DO NOT own the words to the song, "One Moment in Time" They belong to Whitney Houston. I'm just borrowing them for this story.
May the light of God shine upon everyone and keep them safe as well as the power of water be with everyone always
Lauren
A/N: I was nasai aeing, listening to this song just the other day and this story came to mind. I hope everyone likes it. It takes place before The Inquisitive Master.
"One Moment in Time"
"What do you mean you won't teach me!" Katara shouted, angrily. She advanced towards Pakku, who stood there, not intimidated in the least by her anger. "I didn't travel across the entire world so you could tell me no!" She planted her hands on her hips and gave him a glare that was similar to the one her mother showed when she was standing up for what she believed in.
"No." Pakku said simply and with no emotion.
Katara sighed and tried a different approach.
"But there must be other female waterbenders in your tribe." She said, her voice desperate and her blue eyes full of hope.
"Here, the women learn from Yugota to use their waterbending to heal." Pakku explained. "I'm sure she would be happy to take you as her student, despite your bad attitude."
Katara glared at him and thrust her hand forward, causing a water whip to rise out of the nearby stream. She threw it near Pakku, but not close enough to hurt him. She wasn't stupid and new her place. She knew he was an elder and even though he was acting like a jerk, she needed to respect him.
"I don't wanna heal," Katara said, thrusting another water whip towards the water tribe man. "I wanna fight!" With that, a wave rose out of the water and hit the side of the citadel.
"I can see that," Pakku said, non plussed by her fighting technique. "But our tribe has customs, rules!"
"Well your rules stink!" Katara declared, letting her left hand lay at her side before planting both hands on her hips again.
"That may be so," Pakku said, "but customs are not to be ignored. They are meant to be followed."
Katara glared at him before turning on her heel and leaving his sight. She wasn't going to let him stop her from learning how to waterbend. Nothing was going to stop her. She was going to show him that she was as good as any boy and even better.
Katara threw a water whip in anger as she reached the room that she was sharing with Aang and Sokka. She flopped down on her bed roll and let out an anguished cry.
Sokka, who had just come into the room, noticed Katara and gave her a Look.
"What happened?" He asked, in his usual sarcastic manner. "Did another water whip get the better of you?" He let out a laugh at his own joke, but his mood quickly changed when he heard Katara let out another sob. "Katara? Tara, what's wrong?" He was at her side in a flash, his instincts as a big brother kicking in full force. His little sister was crying and it was his job to find out why. He had promised Katara that he would protect her and right now, it looked like she needed him.
Sokka sat down beside Katara and put a hand on her shoulder. When Katara didn't pull away, Sokka reached out and took her into his arms. He started stroking her cheek and put a hand through her hair comfortingly. This was an easy task for once, since Katara's hair was down.
"Shh, it's okay, Tara. It's all right. Your big brother's here now. What's wrong? What happened? What's gotten you so upset?"
Katara let out another sob and gasped for breath, making Sokka even more worried. Something big had to have happened to get Katara this worked up.
"Katara? Come on, sis, take a deep breath for me. Come on."
Katara did so, although she was still highly upset.
"Thatta girl. Good girl. That's a girl. It's all right, Tara, it's going to be all right."
"No it's not!" Katara choked out, her words coming in between heart wrenching sobs that broke Sokka's heart.
"What do you mean?" Sokka asked, hugging Katara close and continuing to stroke her cheek.
"Master…Master Pakku won't teach me!" She took a deep breath before letting out another sob. "I wanted to learn for…I wanted to learn for Mom! I wanted her to be proud of me! And now I won't be able to…" Her voice trailed off, giving way to tears.
Sokka just hugged Katara and whispered soothing words into her ear. He didn't know what else to do. And as he held his upset and distraught little sister in his arms, his courting issues didn't' seem that important anymore, not compared to Katara anyway.
"Mom's proud of you already," Sokka assured Katara, who was finally starting to calm down a little bit. "I know she is. She loved you."
Katara nodded, but she wasn't convinced.
"I always wanted to be like her," she confessed, her voice soft and full of longing. "I looked up to her. Mom was the best! She was everything I wanted to be and now I can't even be as good of a waterbender as she was. You were right!"
"Huh?" Sokka asked, totally taken aback by his sister's words. "How did I get dragged into this?"
"Back when we were little, you said that I would never be like her or as good as her when it came to waterbending!"
Sokka felt as if he had just been slapped in the face. He had totally forgotten that he had even said that to Katara. And now that it was coming back to bite him, he felt terrible.
"Tara, I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I was just being a big brother, but you're a great waterbender. I mean that. You've taught yourself this whole time and it's paid off. And if I know you, you won't let this Master Pakku stop you from mastering waterbending." He smiled down at her, hoping he could cheer her up.
Katara thought about this for a moment and a small smile spread across her face.
"You're right," she said, wiping at her eyes. "I don't need Master Pakku's help. I can teach myself and I'm not going to let him stop me."
"That's the Tara I know," Sokka said, patting Katara's shoulder, lovingly. "Now, go show him whose boss!"
Katara giggled, feeling a lot better.
"Thanks, Sokka," she said, laying her head on Sokka's shoulder.
"It's okay," Sokka told her, stroking her hair gently. "I love you, Tara. I know I don't say it often, but I do. And when you hurt, I hurt. I'm glad I was able to help you feel better. But one thing?"
"What is it?" Katara asked, getting up and putting on her parka.
"Did you say I was right?" Sokka asked, getting a dreamy look on his face.
Katara nodded, feeling slightly annoyed.
"Yes," she said, through gritted teeth. "I said you were right."
"You said it again! You said I was right!" Sokka shouted, as if he had just won a victory against the fire nation. "You actually said I was right!"
Katara glared at Sokka and slapped him in the arm.
"Don't push it." She said, some of her old personality coming back.
Sokka smiled as he watched Katara leave. He knew that his 'Tara was going to be all right. She had the determination and will to succeed and she didn't need anyone's help. She would master waterbending in time and maybe show that Master Pakku a thing or two.
Now that Katara was feeling better, and Sokka had done his brotherly duties, it was time for him to focus on his own problems. He sighed as he left the room in search of Princess Yue. He hoped that she would give him another chance and let him show her what courting was all about. Sokka really wanted to take her on a picnic, but he wasn't sure if she would allow him to do so. She had been pretty passive when he had asked her out before, but like Katara, Sokka didn't give up too easily, especially when it came to impressing girls.
Katara, meanwhile, was sitting by the stream, practicing her waterbending. She really wanted to master the art and she was determined to show Master Pakku a thing or two. She never gave up and she wasn't going to start now.
As Katara threw a water whip at the side of a glacier, she smiled. She had perfected that move by now and it was time to move onto some more advanced ones.
Katara practiced for two weeks straight, making sure she did it in secret, so as to not get caught. Her practicing was serving her well, but little did Katara know that she was about to be called out.
It was late one night and Katara had gone to the citadel to practice her bending. She had no idea that Master Pakku had followed her or that he had been watching her practice since that Friday.
As Katara started practicing, she became absorbed in her self teaching lessons and jumped when a voice interrupted her concentration.
"You are a stubborn one. Just like your grandmother."
Katara jumped a mile and nearly fell into the water. She whirled around, hand over her heart to find none other than Master Pakku, standing behind her.
"What do you want?" Katara spat, her tone full of bitterness and resentment. She gave Pakku a glare that could have cut through the thickest iceberg.
Pakku ignored her question and surprised her with a question of his own.
"You know you're breaking the rules, right?"
Katara's back was turned to him, so she didn't see the rye smile that made its way to his lips.
"I don't care!" Katara exclaimed, her anger rising once again. "Nobody's going to stop me! Not even you!" She then added in a smaller voice with a hint of tears, "I have to learn. I want to make my… my mother proud of me."
Pakku sighed as he saw Katara in a new light. At first, he had just seen a girl wanting to break rules and disobey authority, but now he saw something different in her. And that something was potential and drive. He also noticed that Katara's desire to learn waterbending was not to show off, but to gain the approval of someone she loved and missed. Someone who had been taken away from her at a young age. Someone who should have been there for Katara now. Someone who should have been waiting for her when she returned from her quest to welcome her with open arms.
As Katara threw another water whip, she felt the tears come to her eyes. She tried to bite them back, but it was no use. They came, steady and fast.
As the water whip made contact with the glacier that Katara had been using as her target, the young waterbender collapsed to her knees, sobbing.
Pakku didn't know what to do except try and soothe her. He approached Katara with caution, not wanting to scare her. He sat down next to the distraught teenage girl and put a hand on her shoulder. He was surprised when Katara didn't pull away. She didn't' make any efforts to look at him or even to acknowledge his presence, but she didn't pull away either.
"I just wanted a chance!" Katara said, tearfully. Her tone was longing and desperate. A daughter longing to please her mother. "I just wanted a chance to prove that I was just as good as anyone when it came to waterbending! I wanted my mother to see what she missed. I wanted her to know that I never gave up and that I want to succeed! I was never good enough for my father, but my Mom…she loved me for who I was! She accepted me for who I was, but she never stopped encouraging me to reach for the moon. She always believed in me and told me I could do anything! And I always believed her, but now I know she was lying!"
Pakku shook his head as he felt a wave of guilt wash over him.
"No," he said, patting Katara's shoulder gently. "Your mother was right, Katara. I was the one who was wrong."
This got Katara's attention. She looked up at master Pakku and gave him a confused look.
"What?" Katara asked, totally taken aback by the water tribe man's statement.
"I was wrong to refuse to teach you because you're a girl. I should have given you a chance instead of turning you away. And you do have excellent talent and drive. I didn't notice that before. But now I do. And I'm willing to give you the chance I should have given you before. I'm willing to teach you. I can see you have true potential and that's something I look for in all my students." He gave Katara a warm smile. "I just hope you don't mind getting up before sunrise."
Katara shook her head as a smile spread across her face. She let out a sigh of relief and wiped at her eyes. She couldn't believe that Pakku was actually changing his mind..
"Thank you, master Pakku," Katara said, bowing to her new waterbending master with respect and gratitude.
"You're welcome, pupil Katara. Now, I suggest you get some sleep. It's just six hours before sunrise."
Katara nodded and they walked back to the city together.
"Good night, master Pakku," Katara said, as she stood outside the door to her room she shared with Aang and Sokka.
"Good night, Katara."
As Pakku was about to walk away, Katara stopped him.
"Master Pakku, wait."
"Yes?" Pakku said, turning around to face Katara.
"How do you know my grandmother?"
Pakku smiled and gave Katara a wink.
"I'll tell you that story tomorrow."
Katara was about to protest, but figured she could wait until tomorrow. It gave her something to look forward to.
The two bowed to each other before Katara entered the room and Pakku left to return to his own quarters. Katara wasn't surprised to find that Sokka was already asleep. But what surprised her the most was that Aang was. She smiled to herself as she got ready for bed and gave Aang's shoulder a pat.
As Katara lay down, she clutched her necklace tightly and gazed up at the moon.
"Thank you, Mom. Thank you for helping master Pakku realize that I deserved a chance. I promise I'll do my best and make you proud of me. I love you." With that, Katara closed her eyes and fell asleep to sweet dreams.
Katara was determined to show master Pakku that he hadn't made a mistake in giving her a chance and she was going to take her training seriously. She would become a waterbending master and have her one moment in time to prove that she was more than just a mediocre waterbender from the South Pole. She was just as good as anyone else and she was determined to prove it. Not just to Pakku, but to herself as well.
Each day I live
I want to be
A day to give
The best of me
I'm only one
But not alone
My finest day
Is yet unknown
I broke my heart
For every gain
To taste the sweet
I face the pain
I rise and fall
But through it all
This much remains
I want one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
Hen all of my dreams
Are a heart beat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
And in that one moment in time
I shall feel eternity
I live to be the very best
I want it all, no time for less
I've laid the plans
Now lay the chance
Here in my hands
Give me one moment in time
Hen I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are
A heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
One moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
And in that one moment in time
I shall feel, I shall feel eternity
IF you seize that one moment in time
Make it shine
Give me one moment in time
When I'm more than I thought I could be
When all of my dreams are a heartbeat away
And the answers are all up to me
Give me one moment in time
When I'm racing with destiny
And in that one moment in time
I will be, I will be free
I will be, I will be free
THE END