Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, or any of the characters used in this fic. They all belong to Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. I only own any of my original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.
Now And Then
A/N: Set twenty years following ATLA, in which Aang and Katara have started their family.
As they run, she is reminded of the great white plains of ice that had been their playground. A wonderland of snow, where the could hide, build fortresses, play pretend and go to war with snowball fights. That had been their favorite game, she recalls. Making up wild names for their imaginary armies, amassing a collection of white ammunition, charging one another's bases to ascertain victory.
It had all been fun, imagining that they could be as brave as the warriors of their tribe. But when the soldiers had come, and the black snow had fallen, the game had lost its luster. Their world of make-believe had fallen apart before their very eyes, watching as their friends fell to the snow in death.
Even now, she still remembers. The vision just as clear as the morning it had all occurred.
But seeing them, her own children, as they play brings her comfort. A comfort she imagines her own mother must have felt when she and Sokka were that small and innocent.
As Katara walks, she clasps one in her arms, a son, still far too small to walk, seeing how he watches her. With wide eyes, those of his father, he takes in everything. Her hair, her face, her smile. He smiles too, cooing in a way that tells her he's the happiest little thing in the world.
"We're doing well." She strokes Tenzin's fuzzy little head, smiling as he laughs. "They're happy, healthy, and more than I could have wished for." Katara holds him close. "I love them so much."
She watches how her father and brother interact with the children when they come to visit. With them on the island, there is never a sour face in the family. Though different, they love the children all the same, teaching them, loving them, encouraging them in their strengths.
She likes to think that her mother's spirit also contributes to such happiness.
"I was worried when Kya showed signs of being a Waterbender," she sighs. "I was worried that the boys would feel inferior, feel outclassed. But Sokka's helped make it clear to Bumi that being a warrior, a good man, is just as important." Katara hugs the baby. "I hope that, regardless of who he grows into, Tenzin will learn that lesson too."
Thinking about them, the warriors of her tribe, the villagers who had braved the fires of war, the friends whom she had fought with, she was grateful. With people like that spread all over the world, her children, and those of her friends, would grow up with love and courage in their hearts.
But of all of them, her mother had been the strongest. And she was still here.