I've decided that unlike most of my previous stories on Fanfiction (dot) net, I'm going to make these chapters very small and character or event centric. That way, each chapter will have a main character and a piece of the story. I'll try not to do too much back tracking. Since it's hard to stick to one character or setting the entire time, when you see a line, it means I've jumped from one person to another. Either because one part was too small for a chapter on its own or because the two are linked somehow.

I'd like to thank you again for reading this fanfiction. Being that it is a fanfiction, I own nothing but the storyline. Enjoy.


Katara smiled at her young pupils. Today was their turn in the Southern Water Tribe Bending School she'd created. There still weren't a lot of water benders yet, but since she was the most experienced, she felt that it was her job to prepare them and teach them how to use their abilities to help the tribe. She had different methods than Sifu Pakku had when she'd first been taught.

Rather than saying, "Only these will learn this and only those will learn that," Katara had decided everyone needed to know a well rounded course of water bending forms and techniques. Since healing was not as dangerous as some other forms involving pointy shards of glass like ice, the younger ones would start with healing. It was good for teaching control and about the body, which would prove uSiful in every day life.

One of the children, a young boy named Dai with blue eyes and black hair clipped short, raised his hand eagerly.

"Sifu Katara! When will we be done with the healing exercises?" This sent up a chorus of "Yeah"s and "We wanna learn how to fight!"s and "Like you did with the lighting girl!"s. Katara fought back an exasperated look. She had wondered often if it was a good idea to become a Sifu at all with those rumors circulating. She didn't want to teach a fighting school.

She put a finger to her forehead where the pressure was starting to build. Wasn't the whole reason they ended the war so that benders wouldn't have to use their powers against other benders to try to kill them? So that there would be peace? Spirits! Why, everyday, was she plagued with endless questions about when she would teach the techniques she'd learned, even those she never admitted to knowing, to an apprentice.

Katara started the young benders on healing exercises again, muttering something about lack of discipline to which she received groans. While they were working, she took the moment to contemplate her situation.

It wasn't just the students pushing her to teach stronger bending offense. Elders of the tribe and those who'd been injured or lost someone in the war were pushing her to reveal such things as blood bending. Katara still was unsure how anyone had found out that she could. Sokka was loose in the tongue… but he wasn't that stupid. The only others who knew were in other nations at the moment. Katara couldn't figure it out. It was as if someone were trying to sabotage all the work she'd done to try to restore peace in the village. And not just her work, Aang's work too.

Katara and Aang had agreed that while they loved each other there were more pressing things at hand. They were secure in their feelings for each other. They didn't doubt that someday, at some time, they would be together. But today wasn't that day. Katara still had strong ties to the Southern Water Tribe. Also Aang's avatar duties had only just begun. But there wasn't a day that she didn't think about him. He dropped by as often as he could. Every few months he'd make a trip down to see her. He frequently sent letters and gifts. Things to let her know he was thinking of her.

Their relationship was comfortable. That made her happy. What worried her was that the Southern Water Tribe needed something big to open their eyes to the fact that the war was over and that they should let it go, not stir up more animosity by paranoid requests for techniques that should have never been learned in the first place.

The students noticed it before she did. When they stopped their exercises to stare at the window she raised an eyebrow and turned to look. She smiled when she laid eyes on a red clothed hawk with a yellow ribbon tied to it's right foot. She couldn't help the small smile that took over her face as she slowly took the message from the hawk. "…he's coming back." She smiled to herself.


Thank you for reading. I hope it's not putting you to sleep yet. Next chapter will be more interesting I think. This one was more or less catch up with Katara chapter. Next chapter we catch up with the new Fire Lord.