Chapter 1: Fly Away

Another session, and still no progress.

Korra allowed (who was she kidding? Relied on) Katara and Naga to lift her up off the floor and back into the wheelchair. As she was lowered into her seat, the girl groaned.

The wheelchair. The Avatar glared down at her prison, a metal and puke-green contraption that was her primary mode of transportation. It was absolutely ordinary and served its purpose well. It rolled. It allowed other people to move her from point A to point B. And she hated it.

She hated what it represented. It was a crutch. Training wheels. An open admission that says I can't do it myself. It kept her firmly on the ground and was a constant reminder that the ground was where she'd stay.

"What are you thinking about?" Katara ventured to ask. The waterbending master, graceful and muted in age, had taken to her seat in the corner of the healing hut. Korra remembered the stories she had heard about the woman who sat before her. Stories of a younger Katara. Full of fire, they had said. Anyone who dared to stand in the way of what she believed was right was verbally rebuked faster than a winged lemur could steal food.

Korra sighed. "I miss flying," she responded. "I think it was my favorite part of airbending. The freedom of it all was unmatched. You could go in any direction whenever you wanted. And here I am," the girl gestured, "tethered to the ground."

Katara nodded sagely. "A long time ago, Aang took me out on his glider." Korra hadn't heard this story before. She leaned forward with rapt attention. "It was my birthday. We had been going out for what, a few months?" The elder woman closed her eyes, as if to recall the memory. "He had brought me up onto the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. The view," she sighed, "was amazing. And then he asked if I trusted him."

"What did you say?" Korra inquired, her troubles temporarily forgotten.

There was a chuckle. "Of course, I said. And suddenly he had his glider out. Alright then sweetie, he replied. I'm going to give you the sky." Katara smiled at the memory. Korra cringed.

"Sweetie?!" Korra exclaimed, disgust evident in her face. She even stuck out her tongue a bit as if biting into a bad onion banana.

"Oh give it a break," Katara countered. "We were young. I had just turned fifteen. He was thirteen," the woman said with a wink, "give or take a hundred years." The Avatar snorted.

"Right. That's not creepy at all."

"You realize you're talking about yourself, right?"

Korra considered that for a moment, then waved it off. "Point taken. Continue."

"Now, I had flown before. At the Northern Air Temple, back during the war. And obviously sitting on Appa's back for the better part of a year. This was special though. This was with Aang. Which, as far as I'm concerned, was the first time. So I was to fly with him." Katara took a sip of her tea to collect her thoughts. "The logistics of it all weren't really thought of beforehand. After a few minutes, we settled on me with top of the glider. I'd hold onto his waist with the glider between us. It was a nice arrangement. I was pretty proud of that one."

A howl slightly resembling a wolfbat emerged from Korra. "You player you," she said slyly.

Without acknowledging the comment, the waterbending master continued. "Aang hadn't realized how much different it'd be to pilot the glider with the extra weight. I didn't know this at the time. I thought he was just diving for dramatic effect. The speed was frightening yet exhilarating. We were probably five seconds away from becoming roadkill when he figured it out and got us flying." A huge smile broke onto Katara's wrinkled face. "It was the most beautiful sunset I'd ever seen."

Korra sighed dreamily. "And that was it?"

"Almost. When we got back to the wall, he apologized. I guess he thought I knew that he didn't have control. I may have given him a huge shove after that." She paused. "And a kiss."

There was a squeal from Korra. "Best present ever?"

"At the time," Katara nodded. "Turns out that was a last minute idea. He had completely forgotten my birthday and didn't know what to get me." Korra chuckled at that. Classic Aang. "Speaking of which," Katara said, standing up with a slight groan. "I have something for you."

"What?" asked Korra, confused. She watched Katara make her way to a room in the back of the hut, and disappear for a couple of moments. She returned with a worn red and gold cloth, folded with care. The golden emblem consisted of three diamond shapes arranged to face left, right, and down (or up? Korra couldn't make heads or tails of it). Katara placed it in Korra's hands and knelt to look the Avatar in the eyes.

"Happy birthday, Korra."

"Hap- what?" Korra looked at the cloth, bewildered. It was her birthday? When? She did a mental count in her head. "It is my birthday. How did I forget?"

"Sometimes things pass you by without realizing it. You become focused on another task or fact entirely and everything else sneaks up on you."

Korra looked up from the cloth, tears in her eyes. "Thank you Katara," she said, voice wavering slightly. The moment passed, and she shook herself back into shape. "What is it?" she asked.

"That," Katara replied, "was Aang's headband."

The Avatar looked down and remembered a story. Aang had fought with Azula and Zuko and lost, nearly dying in the process. When he awoke, he and his friends had been forced to take up false identities since he was presumed dead. "This was from his time in the Fire Nation?"

Katara nodded. "Aang at the time was feeling horrible. He felt he had failed as the Avatar for not being able to fully activate his Avatar State. For choosing that instead of me. It was a rough period for him, but he still kept on and attempted to find the best in people. To always see the bright side of things and others."

With a steady eye, Korra took in her waterbending teacher and healer's face. "There's a message here, isn't there?"

Getting back up, Katara replied, "There is always hope, Korra. You may feel like you're not moving forward, but you are. Even if a bit slowly." She stepped behind Korra and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair. "You may not be able to fly now," she said, "but just imagine how amazing it will feel when you can. After all the hard work you've put in. Won't it be great?"

Korra turned to look back at the woman helping her along. "I guess it will." She smiled. Then a pause. "Wait," she said. "I think this is the first time I've ever gotten a present from you for my birthday."

"Oh," Katara brushed idly, "I was never really a present person."

"Well, I appreciate it so much." Looking down, Korra looked at the headband. What it meant. What it could mean. She raised her head. "I think I can take it from here," she stated. Katara nodded and released her grip on the handles. "Thank you again," she said, as she wheeled off towards the main complex.

Later that night, Katara was settling into bed. She lay there for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling. Suddenly she groaned, and rose. The woman turned to look at the picture on her nightstand. It was a picture of her family from decades past. Bumi leaning back with a hand on a table, an easy grin and a mischievous glint in his eye. Kya standing on the table, too short to stand normally. Her hands were behind her back, her eyes wide. Tenzin, just a baby, tucked into Katara's arm. Aang with one hand on his wife's shoulder and the other on his eldest son's.

Nineteen years. Nineteen whole years since the last time she had heard his voice. Katara picked the photo up with teary eyes and gave it a kiss.

"I miss you sweetie," she said.

A/N: Thanks for reading! These will not be in any particular order and will range throughout the series, with a few possibly being pre-LOK but post-ATLA. I appreciate any feedback you may have, so shoot away!