It was a clear day in the tundra for a change and little Katara was enjoying every moment she could, exploring the ice and snow and feeling it calling to her. She wandered the plains while making sure she wasn't straying too far from her village, but of course, somehow she managed to lose track of her home and her footprints were invisible, covered by the wind that was quickly picking up. In the distance the young girl spotted the solid outline of what could only be shelter. She ran to it, fighting the bitter winds and struggling to keep herself upright. She found herself in the wake of an old wooden ship that was not one of the southern water tribe. It was sturdier and built for strength and speed, like the ones the Fire Navy sported during their raids. These thoughts fled her mind as a particularly harsh gust threatened to knock her off her feet. She forced her way into the old boat and curled up under some tarps in the hull, falling asleep before she could say Southern Water Tribe.
Katara was awoken by the rocking motion of a boat at sea. The push and pull of waves from each side pulled her from the clutches of sleep and the young girl was forced to realise that the abandoned old ship was probably more old than it was abandoned. Katara threw the covers off and raced to the door of her shelter to see how far the tides had carried her away but was met by a face she had never seen before. His features were not Water Tribe and they weren't quite Fire Nation. The man looked at her with such pure disgust and hatred that she retreated back to her tarps and tried to shrink away.
"Cap'n, you are going to want to see this. We got a stowaway." He spat the word like she had seen her brother say Firebender. The same sort of way that went with the face her brother had when she tried to bend water.
A tall man with broad shoulders and a limp to his step trundled in after the first. He was easily twice the first's size and drew more fear in Katara than she knew possible.
"I- I am sorry. I didn't know this was your ship." She squeaked, half her words lost in her throat.
"Well Cap'n what do we do with her?" The first one asked.
"Chaman, you know full well what we do with her kind. Bring it to the deck." The tall man, Cap'n, left the way he came and Chaman began approaching her.
"Struggling will only make this harder for you." He approached her gently, something friendly in his face but also indecision. Katara didn't know what she was most afraid of, the open sea behind her, how she was far from home or what this man and Cap'n had waiting on the deck.
He grabbed her swiftly and threw her head over his shoulder. Before she knew it Katara was facing the ground and ascending the few steps on the other side of the door. She passed through another room before more steps followed. The rough bumping made the ordeal seem twice as strenuous. She breathed a sigh of relief as they broke the surface of the deck, the pure smell of salt wrapped itself around her in an embrace, the sharp sea vapour a gentle caress on her face. The subtle comforts of home, unfortunately, were short lived.
"Is that what I think it is?" A husky, distinctly male voice whispered as she and Chaman passed.
"She's not technically a woman, they can't be serious." Another returned. These statements forced Katara to prize her eyes open. From her position all that was visible were damp planks of wood that were on the verge of rotting and various puddles of netting. Occasionally she caught glimpses of men who were mixes of horrified and a gleeful disgust.
"Chaman, stand it up on the edge. First mate Yudhis, bind its hands behind and its ankles." The man called Cap'n bellowed from the head of the ship. Another man approached her, he was burly, dressed in savage cloths that emphasised his girth and contrasted with the scars that littered his golden skin, his hands laden with a thin coil of rope.
The beast of a man forced her hands behind her roughly and fear began to flow through her blood. Adrenaline coursed through every fibre of her being but her muscles remained locked in place. Waves began to crash against the hull of the ship and the clouds began to tease the line between a drizzle and a hurricane. Yudhis jerked the ropes roughly, causing a burning sensation to gnaw at her wrists. He cut the rope before moving to her ankles and binding them so tightly if she were to move, her legs would move as one. He finished as roughly as he had her hands, she could feel her hands and feet aching as the blood pooled with nowhere to go. She could feel her fingers and toes crying out for a breath of fresh air and still, she found herself frozen. Katara couldn't breathe. She finally understood what was about to happen. She had heard her father years ago telling tales of Earth Kingdom men who feared women aboard their ships would anger the spirits and that as a result would send storms to punish them. The boat began to rock dangerously and the fear she felt she could see reflected in the eyes of the crew.
"With haste now Yudhis, be done with it. Send the Ocean our sacrifice so the Moon will still her wrath!" Rough hands crushed her chest and forced her onto the flimsy, narrow lip of the deck. Her body felt as though it was no longer her own. Katara was stilled by her fear. She could not muster the will to cry out, she could barely manage to breathe. In front of her the waves rolled in time with her breaths, rocking her perch dangerously. Behind the crew began stamping their feet on the deck in an unrecognizable chorus. Yudhis's breath was lightning on her neck and his voice rumbled as thunder in her ears. "Jump or I will make you."
She knew this was coming but knowing and experiencing are two separate entities. Katara was not prepared for the blood rushing in her veins or the pounding in her head or the fear that she was sure rolled off of her in waves. She peered into the crystal depths that seemed to grow darker with every passing moment. The hand Yudhis had clutching her back tightened its grip, almost tearing the think fabric of her parka. "So be it." He roared before thrusting her forward. The hand disappeared from her back and for an instant she found her will again, but that instant ended as the deck of the ship left her feet and she found herself falling towards the rushing water.
Katara was engulfed in ice and salt. The chill of the water bit at her face and her hands while the salt burned her nose and eyes. The ropes chafed and cut at her wrists as she finally managed to gain control of her limbs, the blistering cold restarting her. The minimal oxygen she managed to draw in was burning up in her lungs faster than a fuse on a stick of dynamite. Katara sunk lower into the rolling waves, tossed and tossed like a doll that has been out grown. She forced her eyes open and a ghostly light filled her vision. Her eyes burned but she dared not close them. The moon shone down on her but even its piercing glow wasn't enough to give her strength. Blood drained from her wrists and ankles, warmth drained from her skin and the last remnants of her breath were released in desperate gasps. Katara began to grow weak, her legs flailed together trying to propel her towards the fading glow of the moon, to the air her lungs were so madly coveting but the roiling waves forced her lower and lower down. The ropes on her wrists began to loosen marginally but it was too little too late. Her lungs burned for air, heavy under the crushing pressure of the sea. Her vision, long since blurred by the burn of saltwater began to darken, black spots formed first at the edges but soon spread until all she could see was nothing. In a panic, she forced her eyes shut and in one last desperate attempt she tried to draw oxygen into her lungs but to no avail. The saltwater burned its path down her windpipe and filling her lungs. Her chest was on fire, her blood tingling with a lack of oxygen, all her muscles burning and screaming for release. The ropes at her wrists gave way and she clawed at the water, trying to push herself up. The water in her lungs dragged her down and down, a shock running through her veins. Katara brought her hands to her throat in a reflexive motion. Her body felt as if it was on fire, her legs especially so. She tried again to draw in a desperate gasp, she nearly cried out when she felt her body relax as it absorbed a smidge of oxygen from her lungs. The fire at her legs didn't cease but the pressure on her lungs grew lesser and lesser. Her body began to feel lighter and a sense of euphoria flowed through her chest. She was flooded with a sense of peace, for a while she floated while her legs burned and her body tingled and her mind found freedom.
Moments that felt almost eternal passed and she forced open her eyes to see where she had wound up. Glancing around, the ocean had calmed exponentially and the water had shifted from angry blues and greys to a more tranquil shade of crystal blue, the kind her mother's eyes used to be like. She smiled fondly at the memory before drawing in a deep breath, which to her surprise filled her body with a rush and slight relief. Katara panicked before glancing down at her legs only to find that they weren't there anymore. In their place was a beautiful blue tail rimmed with delicate silver and green fins. Her parka must have been carried off in the currents as she no longer had it, or any form of clothing on. The blue scales that adorned her tail spread up her stomach in a dazzling pattern to where they covered her chest in place of her old bindings. Her back was mostly bare aside from a large fin that fanned along her spine in shades of saffron and blood orange. Her hair had been swept loose of its braid and bun but her signature loops stayed in place. She was a sight to behold, that much was certain. From the chocolate hair that haloed the caramel skin of her face, to the gills that spiralled from her dark lips to her throat, to the astonishing blue scales that decorated her body, to the saffron and blood orange dorsal, and the emerald and silver fins that rimmed her body. Katara, princess of the Southern Water Tribe was a goddess of the ocean, her past left far behind her.
For what felt like centuries she roamed the waters of the South Pole discovering a world she had not known to exist. The clusters of fish and penguins swam with her playfully as did the seals and whales during summer. She was at peace but she was also very empty. It wasn't often any more that she braved the surface for answers. She had learned the hard way that the men she would call to would drown before helping her and that the air from the surface burned her throat and her lungs. For the first century she called to the earth kingdom ships for help but received none. It wasn't until she came across one ship in particular that her mind was changed, and not for the better. A very familiar ship, that struck fear in her, through to her very core, crossed her path and she didn't know why until she broke the surface and the faces of two men lit her memory like a spark onto tinder. She faintly remembered the names Cap'n and Chaman but more vividly she remembered the burn of ropes on her hands and these men ordering her to drown. It was the first time Katara had called to men in hopes that they would jump overboard. The first time she tried, not to ask for help, but with the intention to hurt. She forced the painful surface through her gills and sang out to the ship. She sang to Cap'n and to Chaman and with all her might and will, calling them to jump. At first nothing happened, the men scrambled about on the ship but then, the two she was calling to approached the side and gazed into the water.
"Come, Come to me, Come into the sea,
Wear a bracelet of ropes,Side by side with me.
Strange things did happen here,No stranger would it be,
If we met up at midnight,In the deep blue sea." She sang with all her might, crystal eyes locked on the men who took her life.
Cap'n and Chaman stood side by side gazing in her direction before they both turned and locked hands. She watched carefully, deep blue eyes flaring and taking in each detail. Another approached, hearing her song and watching as the men, hand-locked swayed gently before they both leaned back and tumbled overboard. Several others came to the edge but none tried to help. The sea had swallowed Cap'n and Chaman the moment they broke the surface. The other man stayed by the edge gazing into the depths, one that she recognised with a fervent anger. She didn't remember much but she remembered the rough hands at her back and the command to jump or he'd make her. She turned her song onto him and sang with a stronger will than she had previously mustered. The burn of the surface long forgotten.
"Come now come now, Come into the Sea
Where you strung up a girl, And then you murdered She.
Strange things did happen here, No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight, In the cold blue sea." The man stumbled for a moment before he gripped one of the sail ropes, leaning up on the lip of the deck. She sang to him as strongly as she could, rage fuelling her every breath.
"Come, come, come now, Come into the Sea,
Forget how to breathe like you forced She.
Strange things did happen here no stranger would it be,
If we met up and midnight in the strangling sea." The man did not fall as the others had; theirs had been somewhat graceful descents. He leapt from the deck before his body turned limp, disappearing into the waves. The other ship members started screaming and scrambling. "Siren!" they called. "Siren," over and over. Katara watched in humbled amusement at the chaos she had wrought. The men who'd cursed her were now scrambling in fear of her. She laughed heartily before diving under the surface and eyeing where the men had disappeared too. Their bodies lay twitching slightly before falling still, tossing in the currents like she once had.
Her laugh filtered out like the wind on fragile icicles. She swam easily away filled with adrenaline and empowerment. She had brought fear to men who had frozen her with it. She had made them jump like they had made her. She felt like the ocean had given her a second chance, a chance to free the Southern waters from men who mean nothing but harm and disharmony. It was to her dismay that ships stopped coming through her waters. There were no more ships like the one that took her, there weren't even any like the one that took a women she once loved. She roamed the cold, empty seas in search of her purpose. The ships had stopped coming, thus removing her purpose and destroying her path.
Much time passed before Katara resolved to try more inland water streams. She dodged a few ice rafts on her way before a canoe stopped her. She gazed at the small boat from a distance, marvelling at how the currents mastered it instead, unlike the larger ships she'd seen. What shocked her most was its rider. He had the same heritage that she did and had a face that tickled her memory with dissatisfaction. She followed the strange boy who looked like her through the rapids until he lost the canoe completely. It was crushed between two ice rafts and the rider thrown onto the larger one. He cursed heavily, something regarding a sister and a grandmother. She laughed gently before diving and facing an iceberg that looked impossible. She had become accustomed to icebergs being small on the surface and large below it but this one was wrong, it was spherical and completely submerged. She swam towards it; full pace with intent to ram it into position but the iceberg didn't budge. It was a stubborn one. She tried again, this time using her hold over the currents to aid her movements, again to no prevail. The third time she moved on from ramming. She swam in a tight circle, before slapping her tail towards the iceberg. Her small hold over the currents sent a shock wave to the iceberg, which appeared to awaken it. The iceberg grew alight with a turquoise sheen and began to rise. Katara panicked and shot to the surface to see what she had done. The iceberg rose completely, sitting on the surface of the water as if it always had. The boy looked astounded and stared on in horror. Inside the glow was the outline of a boy and a blob, Katara panicked and slammed the club the familiar boy had dropped, his gaze too enthralled by the mysterious iceberg. She slammed it into the ice, over and over, her fourth strike finally making a dent. She took a burning breath of surface before striking again. The club shot from her hands and back towards the dark skinned boy but she had done her work. The iceberg began to open, the brilliant turquoise light shining up into the sky, like she had imagined the southern lights to. The boy approached the rim of the iceberg, eyes glowing with the turquoise fire, arrowed marks over his body glowing with the same ferocity. She watched as the glow faded and a boy a few years shy of the first began to appear. He was impish yet had a commanding presence. She sensed that perhaps, he was filled with much wisdom. He had pale skin and wore bright robes that bore similar shades to her dorsal fin. The two argued a little before leaving on a giant beast, the blob silhouette, she assumed.
Katara followed the duo, occasionally ducking under the waves as the marked one glanced at her.
"Did you see that Sokka?" She heard him say.
"See what Air boy?" Sokka replied.
"I don't know, but it was beautiful. The fin was deep orange and saffron I saw that much." Air boy gasped. In another life, she may have blushed.
"I think you were in that iceberg too long. There aren't any species with yellow or orange around here, they'd be easy pickings for the predators." Sokka sounded bored, and a little sarcastic. Katara couldn't decide whether she cared to know him further or not. She ducked up above the surface again, trying to catch a quick glance at Air boy. She was met with silver eyes and a face full of a wonder she missed. His whole being lit up and his voice refused to work. Katara grinned gently and offered him a wink before diving back under, making sure her fins were in plain sight for the boy. She heard a boyish laugh before a disgruntled groan and a 'What?' from Sokka.
"Mermaid." Air boy stated gently. She watched as the silhouette of Sokka sat up quickly, panic evident in his rigid posture.
"No, no she can't be out here. Aang we need to go. Make this thing fly now." Sokka's voice was either as panicked as one could get or the water was playing tricks on her.
"Relax, she seemed friendly, besides I thought you said there were no orange and yellow coloured species out here." Aang/Air boy laughed easily, he seemed to be lying on the beast's head.
"She's legend, the Siren of the South." Sokka was breathing heavily. Katara frowned, she liked Siren of the South but 'mermaid' seemed to have a nicer connotation. "She started by hunting small ships, here and there. It was a year or so after I lost my sister. Then a larger Earth Kingdom trading ship lost three men. Those who heard her song were mostly unaffected and they said she was singing for vengeance. Then the ships stopped coming and so did word of her. You said yellow and orange fin right? What else Aang?" Sokka was panicking but she had to admire his resolve. He was to be a fine leader some day.
"Flowing chocolate hair and blue eyes. She seemed so familiar, as if I should know her. Like I might have known her in a previous life." Aang sat in the same spot atop the beast's head.
"Did. She. Sing. To. You?" He said each word in its own sentence.
"No, she broke the water as you said that orange and yellow species weren't real, grinned at me as if to share a secret and winked before diving again. Sokka it's not a big deal. Mermaid's are in many cultures' history. To the monks to see a mermaid on your travels was a sign of a peaceful voyage. They are lost souls who are trying to find their way home and only bring harm to those who have or intend to bring it. If you saw one on your travels and she offered you no ill will, it was to say that you would find peace in life and you would return safely." Aang sat up and gazed into the water.
"Siren, Aang. Not mermaid. There is a different. Siren's don't bring good luck, they bring fear." Sokka was clutching a stick in his hand.
"Only to those who have a reason to feel it. Did you do something? Is that why you're afraid right now?" Aang asked gently, his eyes still locked on the water.
"Not directly. I failed to protect my sister. My father offered me one command after we lost our mother, look after your sister. It was almost six years ago, I took my eyes off her for one day and she was gone. She got stuck in the tundra and a blizzard came, there was no point in a search. Even if she found shelter, the storm raged for a month, no eight year old can survive out here, alone, no food or warmth for a month. I let her down, and I'm probably the reason that we are both going to be taken by the Siren." Sokka's fear dissolved into resignation, like he really believed he would die.
"Sokka, there is a difference between your siren and my mermaid. The mermaid was peaceful; the wink was not of ill will. This is a symbol of good luck. If your siren meant us harm we'd hear her song, she has been along side us from the start and we have not heard a peep. She is here to bring us peace and safe return." Aang started to lean over the edge of the beast's head.
"What are you doing? You'll fall in!" Sokka pulled him back onto the beast.
"I'm looking for her. I saw her for a moment but then I lost her. You should see her Sokka, she was beautiful. She almost looks a little like you."
"Like me? What is that meant to mean?" Sokka's voice flared with an anger that fizzed at the back of her mind. "She has Water Tribe features, relax its common. The mermaids generally look like the culture they are nearest, it would make sense that she were to have Water Tribe features."
"I'd prefer not to talk about it. Besides, we're here now." Katara glanced from the boys on the back of the beast to a small village on the ice. Huts dotted the horizon with several people who resembled Sokka.
She watched from a distance as the village embraced the boy and gave him hospitality. She felt a pang of longing but dismissed it quickly. She watched as the boy wandered off to a shadow in the distance, the others seemed busy and he had no real idea how to help. Katara watched as he disappeared into the shadow, minutes passed before a spark flew from the shadow and the boy appeared again, moving speedily across the snowscape back to the village. They didn't appear to be happy with his antics. There was a bit of arguing before the boy and the beast left. She followed them discretely, eager to know more about this strange boy with markings. He stopped once the village was but a shadow on the horizon and lay down on an icicle. If he spoke, she could not hear him. He was much too far for that. She watched curiously as he lay there, not wanting to disturb. He shot up suddenly, and gazed in the direction of a ship approaching the village. It was not one she recognised but it was similar to a ship that took someone of hers once. He left the beast and with a funny stick chased down a penguin, riding it back to the village. She followed, barely keeping his pace. He slid the penguin gently into the space between those disembarking the ship and those she assumed were Water Tribe villagers. He greeted Sokka briefly before turning to the one leading the black warriors. They surrounded him, he moved swiftly shooting jets of air and snow towards them. This only seemed to anger the scarred leader.
"Looking for me?" He ordered, his voice young but teeming with authority, so very unlike the voice that spoke of monks and mermaids.
"You're the Airbender? You're the Avatar?" The scarred one asked, surprise and mocking in his tone.
"No way." She heard Sokka say quietly.
"I've spent years preparing for this encounter, and you, you're just a little kid!" The scarred one circled him, anger emanating off him.
"Well you're just a teenager." Aang returned, only to face a ball of fire coming from the others hands, igniting a rage in Katara's heart. Aang spun his staff dodging the blows before turning his gaze on the villagers gently. He sent a blast of air at the scarred one before holding his staff out.
"If I promise to go with you will you leave this village alone?" He asked sternly. The leader nodded.
"No Aang," She whispered, "Don't do this!" She watched in horror. Aang turned towards her slightly before ascending into the ship.
"Set our course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home!" Scarry called. The black warriors disappeared into the ship and it left, leaving a massive crack in the ice.
She followed it out of anger, hoping that she could save this ridiculous, selfless boy. She was used to men being selfish and only using others for their own personal gain, but Aang was something else. She followed the ship for kilometres, her strength never failing her. The ship came to a slight rest between two cliffs. Something began to rage on the deck and she caught a glimpse of yellow for a short second. The black warriors began to spill out onto the deck and she watched as Aang shot from the top of the ship only to be dragged down by Scarry. The two began to fight on deck and she feared she'd be too late. Katara swam as quickly as she could to the ship only to see a splash of yellow and orange falling from the side of the ship.
"Aang!" She called, rushing to him. He hit the water and began to sink before she could reach him. Katara held him tightly in her grasp before whispering to him, "Stay with me." She spun rapidly and launched them into the air, her water column reached several meters above the side of the ship and they landed heavily back on the deck. She took in a painful breath and lashed out at the black warriors, who close up appeared to have red on their uniform as well. She struck at them with her tail, freezing the water at their feet. Aang began to wake just as his beast descended from the sky. Katara looked up to see Sokka on his head, steering him onto the decking. Aang's beast landed in a rush of wind, knocking the black and red warriors down and extinguishing any fire they had. Aang stood abruptly and she drew in another jagged breath, staring into his silver eyes. She offered a small smile before nodding towards the beast. "Go," She ordered, "Get on that beast and be safe, Aang." Katara pulled in as much oxygen from the surface as she could and forced the water on the deck to pull her to the edge. She felt hands on her shoulders and she turned to see silver.
"You saved me, now allow me to save you." He said in a gentle tone. He airbent a cushion under her and gently lowered her into the water. "Be safe until we meet again-" He paused, she knew his name but he didn't know hers. Sensing his dilemma she called up to him, "Katara. And don't fret, it is destiny, Avatar Aang." She grinned lightly before disappearing in a flash. He caught glimpses of her heading north-east and decided that he was going to follow.
"Aang if you're done flirting with the Siren of the South get on this thing before they thaw out!" Sokka called angrily. He turned laughing, and leaping onto the beast's head.
"Let's go boy, Yip Yip!"
"So what did the Siren have to say? Anything interesting?" Sokka half gested, not caring for the answer.
"Just her name and destiny." Aang said wistfully, hoping that she was serious when she said they'd meet again.
"Name huh, didn't know they had those. What was it? Not that I care." Sokka grunted from the saddle.
Aang turned to him gently, his eyes lost in a daydream. "Katara, her name was Katara." He turned back to the open ocean. "Until we meet again, Katara." He said gently, oblivious to the Water Tribe Warrior who looked as though he was about to faint or throw up or both.