A/N: Here we go, chapter 2! Thank you to those of you following and liking my story so far! And thank you to everyone who has given it a read. I hope that you continue to enjoy it. And did you all see Korra this past Friday? AHHH! (PM me if you want to spazz about it, I don't want it to be spoiled for anyone who hasn't seen it yet!)
Thanks again to Sarah for being a great beta!
Chapter 2
Katara need not have troubled herself over Cale.
Granted, the earthbender boy had begun the journey with clenched fists and white knuckles, but now he stood at the head of the ship, enthralled by the view of the sea before them and the clouds around them. His stocky form was rigid, and his one arm was flung out. The other looped around a rope. He was hale and hearty and more than likely repressing a whooping cry of ecstasy.
It was Lana heaving over the side, sniffling miserably at the idea of being sick in front of her mistress, despite Katara's consoling murmurs. When the poor girl returned to Katara's side, the waterbender continued passing a cool, water-gloved hand over her sweating brow. There wasn't much she could do for the nausea until they were on firm ground.
It was going to be an arduous nine hours. The last hour had not been pretty. She was still simmering from her less than pleasant farewell with Gisō, Lana would not stop apologizing for vomiting in front of her, and Cale was surely about to topple over the side…
"Cale, if you do not back up, I swear I will see you stripped of your rank."
Cale leapt back from the railing and spun around. His cheeks were flushed—with embarrassment or exhilaration, Katara could not tell—and he bowed quickly.
"My apologies, my Lady, I did not realize how fun this would be."
Katara rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't apologize. Lana is doing that enough to last me a lifetime."
Cale frowned anxiously at the girl curled at Katara's side. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Of course she is. She's just airsick. There is little we can do until we land."
Cale nodded but continued to look piteously on the maid. An hour and a half and the boy was already in love. Katara rolled her eyes again. She supposed any young man with eyes would find the nymph-like figure of the pretty redhead a picturesque image. Especially with the way she tossed her lovely face to and fro and moaned weakly.
Katara huffed and stood. Cale snapped out of his silent worship and hastened to follow. "No, no," Katara held up her still gloved hand. "I'm simply retiring below to my rooms. I have guards down there already."
The command to watch Lana need not have been spoken.
Upon reaching her rooms and shooing away the guards' questions after her comfort, Katara tossed her travelling cloak onto a divan and sprawled across her bed. It was surprisingly cozy and soft. She had to remember to thank Sokka for his uncharacteristic forethought. She remembered belatedly that he had had help on the project…
Raised voices roused Katara from dreams of snow and laughter. She sat up and stretched, casting sleepy eyes around the room for the possibility of a wall clock. There was none. The voices grew louder.
Exasperated, Katara scrambled out of the bed and stomped over to the door and flung it open.
Cale was quarrelling with the guards.
"What's wrong with Lana?"
The boy blushed crimson. "She's got a fever, my Lady," he bit his lip. "She won't take a drink."
Katara frowned. That didn't seem normal to airsickness. She dismissed the protesting guards and followed Cale back to the deck. "I didn't want to move her anywhere," the boy was explaining. "She seemed so miserable."
Katara softened toward him. His adoration of the girl was kind of cute. "You were right not to move her, Cale. I will take it from here. Go find me some sweetened water from the kitchens."
Cale nodded and bounded off.
"Lana?"
The maid opened her eyes. "My Lady, I don't feel well."
Katara smiled kindly at her. "You have a fever. I will take care of you."
For a moment Lana's shiny eyes widened in horror and Katara thought she was about to have a fit. "My Lady…your hair!"
Katara's hand flew up. The display of braids Lana had so meticulously manhandled into submission this morning was a mess. Katara looked shamefaced for the girl's sake. "I'm sorry, Lana! I fell asleep. You will have to give me another gorgeous makeover when you're healed."
Lana giggled deliriously. "It will be my pleasure, Lady Katara." She lay back on the divan Cale had led her to.
Katara furrowed her brow and set to work. Lana appeared to have exacerbated her simple airsickness into a fever panic. There was nothing else wrong with her. Katara checked twice and brought the fever down using her bending and the sweet water Cale had returned with.
After twenty minutes of working, Katara beamed up at the pacing Cale. "Crisis averted. She might still be sick from time to time, but I've calmed her down." She stood and stretched, and then handed the sweet water skein to Cale. His eyes widened.
"You should watch her for a little while. I need to speak to the Captain. Sit with her and make sure she drinks frequently."
Cale turned red and sputtered. "But, but my Lady…is it appropriate? What if an officer sees?"
Katara turned on him with a stony stare. "Then they would see a soldier doing his duty. Being in the Fire Nation's infantry is more than bending and swordplay, Cale. A soldier should always know when to fight and when to serve." She glanced back at Lana. "He should also know how to fight non-traditional enemies."
Cale stood straighter and his chin rose in pride. "Yes, my Lady. I will see that she is taken care of."
"Good."
Katara grinned smugly to herself. Where that bout of inspirational wisdom had sprung from, she was uncertain. Perhaps it was the cooling air. The closer she came to home, the more confident she felt.
She found Captain Long at the front of the ship giving orders to several young men and women. It seemed to be a learning exercise designed for new sailors; several of them were looking wobbly and others leaned so far forward on their toes to hear every word, Katara thought they'd tumble. She stood a few paces away, loath to interrupt an important lesson.
"And remember," the captain admonished, "incompetence of any sort will not be tolerated on this ship or in my fleet as a whole. You must be aware of all that you do and of the repercussions that could ensue. Sailing is not to be taken lightly."
Katara repressed a giggle at the unintended pun and watched as the rookies filed past her. Each stopped, wide-eyed, to pay respect. She inclined her head to each, smiling.
"My Lady Katara," Captain Long approached her and bent. "How may I be of assistance to you?"
"Good morning, Captain. Or rather, should I say good afternoon? Do you have the time?"
The captain straightened. "Yes, it is just after midday, Lady. I sent the messenger hawk to the Fire Lord moments ago."
"I slept for a long time, then!" Katara exclaimed. "I hadn't realized."
Captain Long's strict temperament and immobile face melted a pinch. He smiled gently at her, and Katara was struck by how much he reminded her of her father, Hakoda. The captain couldn't have been much older than the Southern Chief. "You were tired, my Lady. It is not surprising you needed to recuperate. Awakening early and air travel—even the smallest amount—will take it out of you."
"Thank you." Katara looked out over the ocean and breathed in the salt air. Far to their left, the horizon betokened the Earth Kingdom territories. Pelican-lizards screamed and soared around them, seeking morsels. "Do you still think we will reach my home by sunset?" She indicated the distant mass of gray clouds.
"Oh, indeed. I have been sailing for years, my Lady." He chuckled as if his age amused him. "I started on the water but traded it for the sky. Best decision I ever made." His eyes searched her face. "I know true storms when I see them. Are you well?"
Katara stared back at the wind battered face and clear brown eyes. She needed her father very much, all of the sudden. She swallowed hard and shook her head up and down. "Yes, I'm well enough, Captain. Thank you for such a smooth journey."
The old gentleman placed his fist to the heel of his hand. "The honor could not be greater, Lady Katara."
Katara observed that only two hours remained in the trip. The sun was making its way west and the air had dropped in temperature considerably since their departure. She retired below deck and retrieved a white yak fur coat from a trunk. She slid it on over the scarlet dress and hugged herself. The fur was a home away from home.
She gazed briefly to her sleeping maid. Lana had finally stopped being sick and had kept some of the cook's stew down. Katara had been mildly surprised. Because she was the guest of honor, the cook had prepared numerous traditional Water Tribe meals. The sea prune stew hadn't been much of a hit among the sailors, but Lana had eaten it with gusto. Perhaps hunger had won out over preference.
She carefully closed the door behind her and stepped over Cale. He snored heartily in the hallway, glued to Katara's and Lana's sides. Katara rolled her eyes but grinned.
Out on the deck, sailors ran back and forth, barking orders at each other. It was pouring cold rain. She sought the captain and found him at the helm.
"I thought you said you knew real storms when you saw them?" Katara kept a jovial expression.
Captain Long quirked a lip. "This is nothing, my Lady. A little rain never hurt anyone."
Katara scrutinized the scene on the ship. After a minute she realized something. "There are no waterbending sailors."
The captain hesitated momentarily. "There were no applicants, my Lady." He sized her up for a few seconds before going on. "I have always had the feeling that the waterbenders are still having a hard time adapting to the firebenders. Unrest was all they knew for years before the treaty was signed and you wed Fire Lord Gisō. It might all look nice on paper, but folks are still distrustful."
Katara's heart sank a little. She wasn't so naïve to think that her marriage would solve the world's problems. She had been hopeful that things would be almost entirely fixed by now, though.
Rather than respond to the captain's admittance, Katara walked purposefully to the center of the deck. She wasn't one to hide behind wedding silks and gilded doors. She had worked hard to make the Fire Nation better. She had spent countless hours with Himitsu in the infirmary after the war and later on, and she had accompanied Gisō on several outings to assess damage and create building projects and community aid services. Now she knew that she must expand her attentions to the other realms.
She stood still as earthbenders, firebenders, and nonbenders ran back and forth to make sure everything stayed on course. Even a few airbenders who hadn't found their destiny among the monks were present in the Fire Nation's International Reserves. About a dozen could be seen creating bursts of wind for the stock-still masts that helped the engines move the ship.
There wasn't much for her to do. She wasn't a qualified sailor like Sokka or Hakoda. But she could keep everyone comfortable. Taking deep, centering breaths, Katara slid into bending form.
The atmosphere seemed to slow around her. The shouts became muffled, as though she was hearing them from under the ocean. She stepped her right foot to the side until her left leg was slightly bent. Her arms pulled back to her sides, and she shifted her weight to her right leg and pulled her left leg with her until her heels touched.
Next, she spun in a slow circle, arms out to either side. Every few seconds she would stop spinning and stand straight with her legs together. She repeated this pattern, and the rain stopped.
Collective gasps and murmurs of awe did not distract her. She smirked to herself and continued her dance. The airship sailed on, and the rain simply moved around it. If the soldiers didn't know better, they might think she had created an invisible force field around the craft.
A few appreciative cheers went up. Katara was pleased. She knew how uncomfortable working in a polar deluge could be.
Katara kept the dance up for the near half hour that the rain continued to fall. Once it cleared off, she allowed her aching muscles to relax. Cale was immediately at her side, helping her to a divan.
"My Lady, that was incredible!"
"I didn't want everyone soaked for hours. Did people dry off?" She felt giddy and dizzy. She hadn't bent like that in months.
Cale nodded vigorously. "Everyone was really happy you did that. You even had the captain smiling."
The minutes crawled by while Katara made circuit after circuit around the deck. She had watched various benders scrimmage together in practice, had watched nonbenders contest with numerous and terrifying looking weapons she could not name—except the boomerang—and she had spoken to many different sailors. Many of them ingratiated themselves immediately. A few shuffled and mumbled nervously around her. One or two were suspiciously steely-eyed at her presence. She remembered their faces, but let the glares slide. For now.
Excited voices drew her to the front. People were pointing and laughing; a few had their tongues out.
Snow.
Katara glided to the rail, gently moving men and women aside. They moved willingly, a few touched by her emotion.
"I can see it," she whispered.
The vast sheets of snow and ice spreading out like blank canvas below the ship only meant one thing. The South Pole. Within a few minutes, the occasional outer village would fall under the ship's shadow. Katara was leaning precariously, trying to see…
"My lady."
Katara turned and saw the captain holding out a pair of high-power binoculars. She felt her elation grow and took them.
At first she could see nothing but white. Slowly, she got the lenses to focus and found what she was looking for. Members of the Southern Water Tribe were looking up, pointing, and smiling excitedly. Children ran along after the ship, waving merrily. Katara waved back, even though she knew no one could see.
"How much longer until we land?" She asked the body nearest her.
"Only fifteen minutes, Fire Lady," a woman answered.
Katara stepped up onto one of the benches that lined the rails. A few soldiers closed around her to make sure she'd keep her balance, though no one reprimanded her action. She felt a smug satisfaction. She wrapped an arm around one of the many ropes leading up and up into the masts, just as Cale had done earlier, and watched her home appear. Holding up the binoculars once more, Katara began searching.
She found Hakoda first. His distant figure was gesturing and instructing the Tribe's movements. Waterbenders were already moving water in intricate patterns to make her arrival spectacular. Women and children were waving banners covered in the waterbending sigil. It looked like people were already cheering. She didn't hear it over the roar of the engines.
Katara kept sweeping the binoculars back and forth, picking her family friends out of the crowd. They were passing over the village—over the tents and ice fortresses, over the skating rink someone had engineered between now and her last visit, over her childhood home…
And there he was.
Sokka was standing outside the landing space the waterbenders had cleared. He was astride a camel, looking up at the ship with uncontained wonder. Laughter burbled up from Katara's belly. She let go of the rope and waved wildly. Several pairs of hands reached out to steady her.
The descent began. Katara looked at Sokka again to find that he had been joined by Suki—his wife, the Kyoshi warrior whom came from the Earth Kingdom. They had met during the war, and Sokka had fallen hard. Literally. The Kyoshi warrior had attacked him, mistaking him for a Fire Nation spy. It had been the beginning of something beautiful.
Katara watched the both of them as the craft neared the ground. When she no longer needed the binoculars, she pulled them away and watched as Sokka finally found her in the line of soldiers. His eyes widened and he scowled. Katara stared, mystified as he withdrew his trusty boomerang, pulled his arm back, and let it fly.
She tracked its path. The spinning instrument hurtled through the air and began arcing around the ship. Katara felt her mouth drop open as the boomerang seemed to ignite. She narrowed her eyes—no—not the boomerang—a tower.
Gasps erupted around her as the area encircling the ship lit up in the twilight. The boomerang was still wrapping around. It was in the process of somehow lighting towers spread out at every twenty feet or so. Sparks would cascade from the tops of the towers, and blue and red flames would snap into life. Katara felt tears prickle at her eyes.
"Lady Katara," a voice interrupted her gazing. Sokka had caught the boomerang and was stowing it away. She turned around. Captain Long extended a hand. "Shall we?"
A ramp was lowering to her left. She grasped the gentleman's hand and stepped down from her perch. Lana and Cale were there, both appearing better than they had the entire ship. Lana looked mildly horrified. Katara's hand flew to her hair and she held back a laugh. Everyone was smiling and saluting her.
She cleared her throat. "Thank you all for your service and kindness during this flight. I hope for you all to join the festivities this evening and in the coming days. My home is yours."
Cheers went up and Captain Long began leading her down the ramp. Near the bottom she dropped all pretenses and raced into her family's arms. Sokka caught her first.
"Sokka!"
"What do you think you were doing standing on that ledge like that? What if you fell? Were those binoculars? Do you still have them? I can't believe you would recklessly endanger yourself when you were almost home free."
He was hugging her so hard Katara didn't have breath to answer his tirade.
"Can't you believe it? Sokka, your sister needs to breathe." Katara sent an appreciative look at Suki. The warrior was smiling. "Hello, sister."
"Suki!" She embraced her sister-in-law tightly. "Where's Tikaani, I want to meet him!"
"I'm not done yelling at you!" Sokka huffed.
"I'm sure you'll be doing a lot of that while Katara's here. The both of you will do a lot of yelling." Hakoda beamed at his family and held out his arms. "Katara."
She lost herself in the safety of his hold.
When she backed up, Sokka was still glaring at the ship. "How did you know the towers would light? That was phenomenal!"
Suki put an arm around her husband. "He was out every day measuring exactly where everything needed to be. He got some Fire Nation traders to help him with the powder and spark-rock boomerang."
"Sokka!" She threw her arms around him again. He patted her back, embarrassed.
"Well, I just wanted your landing to be special."
"It was; thank you. Thank you all!"
Someone cleared their throat. Katara blushed and turned around. "Of course. I'm sorry, Captain. Dad, this is Captain Long. Captain Long, Hakoda, Chief of the Southern Water Tribe and commander of the fleets."
The men shook hands, scrutinizing one another. They seemed to like what they saw.
"Thank you, Captain, for bringing my daughter home safe." Hakoda bowed to the captain.
"It was my honor and duty to see the Fire Lady fly in comfort and safety. I thank you for your impending hospitality. My crew will be happy to spend some time on the ground."
Hakoda nodded. "Of course. Once they are finished with the ship, my men will direct them to where they will be staying. Will you join me and my family, now?"
"It would be a privilege."
Katara beamed at them both. Sokka was hopping from foot to foot, clearly impatient to get moving. "Let's go, Katara, there is someone you have to meet and a dinner you have to eat."
Katara and Suki grinned and rolled their eyes.
