9/9/11 UPDATE: I'M REVISING MY STORY. WHY? BECAUSE IT SUCKS, THAT'S WHY.
A/ N FYI Katara was 8 years old when the Southern Raid attack was launched to find the last waterbender in the South Pole. The OC is two years older than her, naturally making her 10 when the event occurred. Sokka is older by his sister by one year. Four years have passed since then. Just so you know this is AR and not AU.
I would like to thank ZStar2010 and IceBlueCrystal for being AWESOME beta readers; I appreciate their help (and enjoy their fanfics :) This chapter is for them putting up with me and my forgetfulness xD
DISCLAIMER: In no way do I own Avatar: The Last Airbender...I wish I did ;(
I bring you, the official start to my fanfic. Enjoy.
Her eyes flashed open and she felt her whole body stiffen in fear. A cold sweat had broken out and she felt like the pain that had plagued her for the past few days would never leave her. She recalled the scream that had woken her for the past three nights. It echoed inside her head and haunted her. It was unlike any other nightmare she had experienced. On rare occasions did she have the same dream twice let alone multiple times. It was inconceivable to her since it was the same one from almost a year ago. She figured she had come down with a sickness; perhaps a fever was the cause for the restless nights. That was the only explanation given to her by her caretaker and took her word. However she couldn't help but treat it as an allusion, regardless of her disbelief in premonition. The girl felt as though she was on fire despite the frigid temperature around her.
She sat up too quick, and regrettably, causing her head to swim and dazed her slightly. The covers were thrown haphazardly before her, an obvious result of her alarming dream state. Wasting no time, she slid her feet into a pair of brown and white fur slippers and snuck to the adjacent wall. When her forehead met the icy surface a sigh of relief escaped her lips as her fever was challenged by the cold. The young girl pulled away from the wall to avoid a painful adhesion. Instead of returning to the comfort of the thickly covered sleeping area, she grabbed her blue and white parka and slid it over top her nightwear. Carefully she navigated past the sleeping forms around her, successfully reaching the exit without disturbing them.
She lingered a while, scuffing the bountiful white powder onto a neat little pile before kicking it all away from the walk space. Arms crossed and gaze fixated on the sun she contemplated why that particular dream insisted on revisiting her, even after such a long time. The bite of the wind brought her back to her senses; no longer was she surrounded by the hellish nightmare. "Out of the fire and into the snow."
She sighed closing her eyes, a mental image of the sun radiating in her mind. Normally she welcomed its light and beauty yet for the time being she silently cursed its persistence during the winter. Nevertheless she welcomed the cold, as a friend to sit beside her, embracing its presence. She sighed wearily her eyes opening to the sight of the distant glow.
"Dang midnight sun…" She mumbled, rubbing her hands on her arms up and down then brought them together, one hand in the other, and blew a hot breath between them. She mentally scolded herself for forgetting her mittens inside but was gratefully for the frosty air. It told her she was awake and alive not trapped in the suffocating heat of her dream.
She gripped the soft fur that lined her hood and with a single swift jerk it glided over her head. The girl immediately noticed the heat trapped inside- insulated by the soft inner lining- a major contrast to the thick water proof outer layer. Another arctic blast surged through; a cold burn tickled the bare flesh on her face warning her to retreat into the shelter of the dome. She took one last fleeting look staring at the golden aurora lightly brushing over the fragile village of snow and ice and wondered if she would ever feel warmth again.
Morning arrived as soon as she feared it would, for the unfortunate girl battled with insomnia for the remainder of that bright night. She trudged to the kitchen, still in her parka and hair disheveled. She found an old woman and two other children, both barely younger than her, seated on the thick pelts that comprised the flooring.
"I see you've decided to join us." The old woman spoke and gave no effort to mask the displeasure in her voice. The girl simply nodded back indifferently discarding the shrewd comment sitting across from the young boy and girl starring at her untidiness.
Like she doesn't see the dark circles under my eyes. She thought hatefully but quickly dismissed it knowing she should be grateful for taking her in when she didn't have to.
"You're still sick. I'm assuming either the five flavored soup isn't working or you haven't had enough." Obviously she meant the latter; there wasn't anything that her soup couldn't cure, except the girl's nightmare. Neighbors would stop by when their sick needed a reliable antidote, but she couldn't see how they tolerated the taste.
"Yes mam." Lana replied weakly.
The woman slid a steaming bowl of her revered soup over and Lana promptly absorbed the contents.
Out of nowhere the girl across from her looked at her with her blue orbs and asked her a question she didn't anticipate. "Why don't you ever call her Gran- Gran?"
Kanna shot her granddaughter a look that spoke 'You know better', her famous expression. Katara cowered and resumed her meal.
"Because, she's not my grandmother." The girl grumbled. Another spoon of the soupy mess down. She tried her hardest not to grimace when the liquid streamed down her throat and hit her stomach.
The old woman sighed, seeming somewhat annoyed. "You can call me Gran- Gran." Kanna said dryly ending the conversation.
For as long as Lana remembered living with the small family, never once did she call Kanna that. She never said the words "sister" or "brother" must less Gran- Gran. It was always "mam" this and "mam" that. She knew still had to show her respect, though it was going to take some getting used to the new title. Somehow it made her feel closer to them.
"Sokka stop slurping your soup." Kanna snapped at the young boy, bringing her attention back into focus. He had the bowl pressed to his lips and tilted. He held the container sulkily under his chin, spooning the remnants of his meal before making a hasty exit, grabbing his boomerang on the way out.
Lana became curious as to why Sokka had been rushing through his meals for the past week or so and wondered even more why Kanna let him go so willingly. She made to stand, but was cut short by said woman offering her his bowl.
"Lana, why don't you help Katara with her chores?" Her tone suggested it as a command more so than a question.
She sighed and reluctantly took it from her aged hand and watched Gran- Gran walk away.
"Scrap the ice Lana. Thaw the dinner Lana. Sweep the snow out of the igloo Lana." Said girl mocked as she made her way up the steep snowy slope. "Well I just have a question…" she started sarcastically and then abruptly spun around facing the village in the distance. "What snow are you talking about 'cause from what I see, it's everywhere!" she screamed out to the barren hills and kicked at the mound disturbing the white surface. The wind howled around her as if it mirrored her whirlwind of growing frustration.
"It's all I'll ever see." She said in a defeated whisper. Lana slid her hand inside her sleeve and wrapped it around a leathery object, sliding her fingers across a thin smooth surface attached to it.
As quick as it came, the wind died and so did her anger. The winds of the South were ominous; one minute it was calm then the next agitated.
Lana looked over a ridge and saw Sokka swinging his boomerang wildly around as if he were fighting an immaterial enemy. So that's where he's been.
And then there was a noise disturbing the silence. At first she thought she was hearing things, small sobs here and there, but dismissed them as the cries of the ghost of Nini. She shuddered recounting the terrifying details of the story Katara's mother Kya passed onto Kanna to be told around the campfire. Even though it was only told once, it stuck with her, chilling her to the bone.
The weeping continued, putting her slightly on edge. Cautiously Lana peered over the hilltop sinking as the snow shifted beneath her footsteps. She breathed a sigh of relief that took the form of a cloud of hot air that soon dissipated in the cold.
Katara was situated on the snowy ice ledge overlooking an abyss. She had a perfect view of a rustic Fire Navy icebreaker suspended in air by thick shards of ice in the chasm miles below them. Lana's heart jumped in her throat when she caught sight of the all too familiar red flag adorned with a black sea raven high atop a pole.
It had been four years since the last raid initiated on the South Pole. Lana's father had left her in the care of Kanna and departed with every last man of the Southern Water Tribe to fight in the war against the Fire Nation. She constantly felt distant from the tribe feeling as though she didn't belong, a feeling of deep and utter loneliness had surrounded her.
Lana looked down at the last native waterbender of the entire South Pole. "Katara?" she asked meekly. The child sniffled. She's been crying…why do they have to cry? She whined inwardly. She settled down beside her tensely though couldn't think of what to say, having no words of comfort for herself let alone for the little girl.
"Do you miss them?" She caught the older girl off guard as she bawled; tears flowed down her small face.
"All the time." Lana's voice went unwavering; an emotional barrier separated her from sympathizing as she pushed back her own aches stabbing at her heart. She flinched at the feeling of a tiny pair of arms wrapped tightly around her.
Katara cried like the world was going to end and it truthfully wasn't too far from it. Lana held her; the only possible thing she could do, and rocked from side to side as she felt her own tears stung her eyes, wanting to break free.
A/ N Of course R & R, I like ConCrit, blah, blah, blah. I'm open to questions you have about Elena Lana, though I will not tell you everything. There's a lot more to the story :) The next chapter is longer, I promise.