"You expect us to eat this for dinner?"

I was staring at Sokka's hand; he was holding about five nuts. He went out scouting for food about an hour ago and came back with nothing but a handful of nuts. I was pretty sure that one of those nuts is actually a clod of dirt.

"Well I'm sorry, but this is all I found. There is nothing out there." Sokka said to me pleadingly. He probably thought that I was about to yell at him, like I usually did. But lately I had been trying to control my attitude, so I had to contain my anger.

"Its ok, I'll try to find something on Appa's saddle, there might be some Duckbear jerky in my bag." I said, forcing a smile. But my smile must not have had the desired effect, because just then Sokka's eye started to twitch.

"Yeah, you don't need to do that Katara. I'll just keep looking." Sokka said nervously, running into the forest.

"No! Sokka wait! I'll just-" Katara started, but was cut off by Toph.

"Just let the wimp run, he needs his exercise anyway…" Toph said with a grin, causing me to giggle. "With any luck, he might actually find something."

She walked to me and sat on a tree stump; her eyes gazed off at the distance to the unseen. I turned around and look at the camp we had just made. We decided to make camp at a small clearing in the middle of a dense forest, so there was not too much room to move around. The whole perimeter of our camp was surrounded by pine trees that let out the most delicious smell. There was an empty fire pit in the middle of the clearing, which means that we weren't the first ones to find this place a suitable camp, but they were long gone. The grass was worn down from being constantly walked on, but the clearing was still beautiful in its own way. It had charm, I guess I could say.

"When did Aang say he would be back? He has been out for a long time, don't you think?" I asked tentatively. He left a while ago to check the area for dangers and stuff like that. "You don't think he is in trouble, do you?"

"You know what I think? I think you worry way too much. You just need to relax, go find a puddle to bend around or something." Toph said while lying down on the stump.

"You are probably right; I'll just go and find a stream or something. Tell everyone where I went when they get back." I said, and then I walked out of the clearing.

I remembered flying over a stream on the way to camp; I remembered it not being too far from here, so it shouldn't take too long to get there.

But I was wrong.

After about thirty minutes of walking, my feet started to hurt really badly. I flopped down onto the ground and pulled my bending water out of my flask. If I was lucky, I could probably sooth my feet with my healing. I formed a healing glove and placed it on my foot. The relief hit me almost immediately. I felt a lot better when I stood up and continued my journey to the stream.

Eventually, after what seemed like an hour of walking, I started to hear the sound of running water. With a smile on my face, I started to run toward the noise. For some reason, water always made me happy, whenever I was sad or depressed, if I just go and play in some water I will get better.

I reached the water and striped into my white breast bindings and leggings so I could move around a lot easier. I easily dove into the water head first and did a couple of laps up and down the stream.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Walking back to camp was easier than it had been to get to the stream. The scenery was much better too; there were lots more wild flowers and chirping birds. The different path I was taking seemed to be getting there a lot faster also. I subconsciously reached up to hold on to my mother's necklace, but found nothing there.

"OH CRAP!" I yelled, racing back to the stream. I must have forgotten to put it back when I was done swimming. Wild animals could have taken it, or it could be floating down the stream right now! I mentally slapped myself for freaking out, I was sure it was still where I left it. I crashed through the trees that surrounded the stream, whirling around frantically in search for my necklace. Luckily, it only took me a few seconds to spot it next to a nearby rock. I thanked the gods as I picked it up and clasped it around my neck.

It happened suddenly: I felt as though a hook wrapped around my stomach had just been jerked backward. I felt the ground leave my feet as I began to be dragged brutally backward by this unseen force. I closed my eyes by instinct and started to scream, I prayed to the gods to spare my life. Hopefully this would all be over soon.

My feet slammed into the ground with such force that my knees gave way and I fell on my face. I jumped up as fast as I could, with some difficulty, and looked around. I appeared to be at another clearing at around sunset, this time bigger than ours, with old, hollow, trees everywhere. I got this unsettling feeling that I did not belong here, but as I looked around, I saw that there really was no way out of this place. There were dead trees around that gave off a menacing presence as I walked around looking for a clue as to where I was. As I was about twenty feet from the place I originally appeared, I saw a figure in the distance. I walked hesitantly forward, wondering the whole time if I should really approach this person. When I got closer, I noticed that the figure was a woman with dark, mocha brown hair that was waist length. I also noticed that she was wearing blue. That fact made me very happy; maybe she was from the southern watertribe.

I reached her and cleared my throat to try to get her attention. It didn't work though, she didn't even flinch. I gently placed my hand on her shoulder, trying again to get her attention. Finally, she slowly turned around and looked into my face.

What I saw brought tears to my eyes.

"Mother?" I almost whispered.

"Yes." She said and smiled maternally. Her eyes were the exact same blue as mine, her hair was the came mocha brown color.

The flood gate opened and I burst into tears.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"But I don't understand…how can I be here with you?" I asked my mother. I was resting my head on my moms lap; I never thought I would be able to do this again.

"Do you know where we are?" She asked me.

"Actually, I don't. Where are we?" I was surprised that this question didn't pass through my head earlier. Now that I thought about it, this place looked like nothing I had ever seen before. It was like an alien planet.

"Katara," mom says, grabbing hold of my shoulders and sitting me upright, "we are in the spirit world."

"WHAT?!" I practically yelled. How could I have possibly traveled to the spirit world? Did I do anything to anger the spirits? Did I die? How could I have possibly died, did I fall into the river? The shock of what she said made me start to hyperventilate.

"Calm down sweetie, you're not dead."

"Why am I here then?" I asked a little more calmly.

"One of the gods must have sent you here, but that doesn't mean this is a punishment. It could only mean that he has something planned for you."

"If he has something planned for me, then why am I in the spirit world?"

"Katara, we don't question the gods. Whatever they have planned for us will become apparent soon enough." My mom said, staring into my eyes.

I immediately feel guilty.

"Your right mom, but I still would like to know why I am here." I was still a little wary about being in the spirit world, but I will just stay quiet. This was strange and confusing but I was just glad that I am able to be here with my mother again.