EFFFFFFFFFFFF Just realized something. In Chapter Two I said that Soro was eighteen, but in reality he and Senna are supposed to be nineteen. I thought I'd fixed that. :(

Chapter Three

Senna shifted in her sleep. Her brows were furrowed, her face twisted in a mix of confusion, sorrow, and anger. She still wore the robes she'd worn to the funeral, having come back from it and gone straight to her room, not leaving and not admitting anyone, even Soro (who'd come calling four times), until she finally fell asleep just after having dinner.

She was sitting in her igloo in the Northern Water Tribe, meditating as she often did. A sudden wind blew open the curtain door, but outside she heard only silence, as opposed to the normal daytime sounds of the tribe moving about its business. Curious, she stood up and pushed the curtain aside, stepping outside.

At first glance, she could tell there was clearly something wrong. Outside the igloo was a land of burned and broken devastation, not the ice and snow of the North Pole. She whipped around to see behind her, and found to her surprise that her igloo was no longer there, only more dead and blackened land.

She shivered, though it wasn't even really cold. Spindly trees, the life burned away from them, stood stark against the barren landscape. Some great cataclysm had hit this place, though she couldn't tell what.

She heard a whisper behind her. She whirled around, but there was still nothing there. She heard it again, louder this time: "Danger…"

"From what?" she murmured. "Danger from what?"

"Senna…danger…" the voice said again. "You must…stop…danger…"

"What danger? Why do I have to stop it?" she cried. In a flash, she recognized the voice.

"Mother!"

Senna flew upright with a gasp. She looked blearily at her now messy and rumpled clothes, then fell back on her bed. She'd never had prophetic dreams before. What could this mean? She rubbed her face, still a little sleepy. There was only one way to find out what this meant, she decided. Changing out of her ceremonial clothes, she slipped on a simple tunic, leggings, and boots. She held out her arm, and Kini flew obediently over, hopping from Senna's forearm to her shoulder.

She strode quickly through the halls, purpose to her walk. She'd decided on visiting Master Airun, the palace's chief medic; he was the person most likely to have been attending to Suzuran before she died.

Luckily, Airun was still up, even at the late hour. He admitted her almost immediately.

"What can I do for you, Princess?" he asked, bowing. "Perhaps something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine," she said, waving away the servant who had magically appeared. "I came to ask you something."

"Well, go ahead," he said. "I admit, I am surprised to see you at such a late hour."

"I have a rather important matter I'd like to clear up sooner rather than later." She sat down. "Master Airun, you were the physician attending to my mother when she died, correct?"

A shadow crossed his face. "Unfortunately," he said sorrowfully. "I only wish I could have done more. The illness that struck your mother was unlike any I've ever seen."

"Did she say anything? I mean, before she died? Perhaps a message, or something…"

He sighed with what was almost relief. "I'm glad you've come to me about this," he told her. "Your mother was very ill in her last hours. There were a few minutes, though, when she seemed to be clear again. She was sleeping, and then suddenly she was awake, looking like she had a demon after her. She was terribly pale, even considering that she was sick. She grabbed my arm and told me something, something I was to repeat to no one but you."

Senna leaned forward. "What was it?"

"Well, it didn't make much sense to me," he told her. "She said something about danger to the whole world, then she told me to tell you. She said something about 'by summer's end,' and she kept repeating what I assumed was a warning about danger. Then she said to never mention this to anyone but you, and then she fell back asleep. Two hours later, she died." Airun looked at Senna, who had a pensive expression on her face as she stared aimlessly out the window at the night sky. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss, Princess. I do want you to know that Fire Lord Suzuran mentioned you another time. She told me that she always regretted not being closer to her children, but in particular you. She was very proud of you, and of how well you've shouldered this responsibility of being the Avatar. You and your siblings were never far from her thoughts in those last days, at least the thoughts she spoke aloud."

Senna would have cried, but she was out of tears now, even for her mother. Even though she desperately wanted to run back to her room and cry for the rest of the night, she kept herself composed as she rose. "Thank you, Master Airun, for telling me this…all of it."

"It was the least I could do, Princess. I only wish that my news was not so sad." He bowed, and she nodded farewell and swept out, her mouth tightening as she tried to keep herself from losing her composure.

Anzu hugged her sister tightly. "Promise you'll come back soon," she said, a few tears sliding down her face.

"As soon as I can," Senna promised. "And the next time I come back, I'll be able to kick your butt with waterbending. You can bet on that."

Anzu laughed, a slightly watery sound that betrayed how reluctant she was to see her sister go after only two weeks. "I'm sure. Though you were always better than me at bending in any case."

Senna smiled, then turned to Kuzon. He swept her up in a huge bear hug. "Don't get too cocky," he warned her jokingly.

"Oh, don't worry," Senna assured him. "My waterbending training has kept me plenty humble. In fact, I'm so humble that I've now hit the point of humiliation. But no matter."

"That's my girl," he said, squeezing tight before letting her go and moving to give Soro a proper goodbye.

Senna and Soro made their way up the ramp to the deck of the ship. Soro had chosen to go with Senna, to keep her up-to-date on her firebending training as well. They'd spent a few days with their second firebending master (Senna's first being her mother), learning a couple of new advanced moves to practice. But more importantly, he was coming to keep Senna company. They had both missed each other terribly, and he wouldn't provide too much of a distraction to her training.

Senna waved to her brother and sister until they were out of sight. Soro elbowed her. "It's not like you'll never see them again," he reminded her.

"I know," she replied. "But I miss them already." She sighed. "That's the problem with homecomings. They make you realize just what you're missing out on."

"Well, at least you have your waterbending training to look forward to," he said, his voice full of false cheerfulness. She punched him in the arm.

Senna and Soro were playing Pai Sho on the deck when the captain came over. "I'm sorry, but I need the two of you to come below deck," he told them. "We're approaching what looks to be like a fairly strong storm system."

Senna looked up in surprise. She'd been so absorbed in the game that she hadn't looked at her surroundings in a while. Sure enough, on the horizon in front of them was a huge, roiling gray cloud. She blanched as she looked at it. "Isn't there a way around it?" she asked, her voice hollow and higher-pitched than normal.

The captain seemed surprised by her reaction. "I'm afraid not, Princess," he told her. "The storm stretches for miles. We'd be going too far out of our way, and we don't have enough fuel for such a long detour. But my men have handled storms worse than this."

"It's fine, Captain, thank you," Soro told him, packing up the game. He took hold of Senna's elbow and steered her below deck, Kini flying behind them.

Senna sat curled up on her bed, a blanket wrapped around her. Maybe if I believe hard enough, it'll go away, she thought childishly, then shook her head at her silliness. A crash of lightning, albeit muffled, sounded from outside, and she jumped, drawing her legs into her chest and hugging them tightly. Kini hopped onto her head, nibbling her hair affectionately. The hawk let out a sound of what Senna interpreted as sympathy.

"I hate storms," she moaned. She twitched when the door to her room opened, but it was just Soro.

"You doing alright?" he asked her, concerned. She shook her head, and he came to sit on the bed with her, drawing her into a hug.

"The crew's very experienced in this kind of weather," he assured her. "You've got nothing to worry about."

"So was my father's crew, and look what happened to them," she shot back, her normal sarcasm turning harder in her fear. "I just can't wait for this storm to be over, and for us to be back on dry land." Another crash of lightning, then a rumble of thunder sounded, and she tensed, curling up tighter and squeezing her eyes shut. All pretense was dropped; her witty, sarcastic exterior fell away to reveal the vulnerable, scared girl underneath, something that Soro had seen rarely. He drew her closer to him, letting her rest her head against his chest.

Soro shut the door to Senna's room quietly, only to find the captain waiting outside.

"We're past the worst of the storm," he informed Soro. "I was just coming to tell the princess that."

"That'll be welcome news," Soro said, rubbing the back on his neck tiredly.

"Why does the princess dislike storms so badly?" the captain inquired. "They're common enough at sea, and these steel ships aren't as easy to destroy as, say, a fishing boat."

"But it does happen," Soro reminded the older man. "And you forget that exactly that happened to her father."

Realization crossed the captain's face. "Indeed, I did. The prince consort died so long ago that most do, I think."

"Yes, well, Senna was only seven when her father's ship was caught in that freak storm. She's been afraid of them ever since, and she's uncomfortable enough with being on the open sea as it is."

The captain nodded. "I remember Prince Lu Mao," he said. "He was one of the finest sea commanders I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. His death was truly a tragedy."

"I think part of why his death affected Senna so deeply was because of how her mother took it," Soro mused. "The Fire Lord was never quite the same after her husband died. And to be frankly honest, Prince Lu Mao was closer to Senna than her mother was." He stretched. "I'll tell her the worst is over. Thanks, Captain." He reopened the door and stepped inside.

The captain shook his head. It was sometimes hard to believe that Soro was only nineteen, he thought. The young man acted so much older than that sometimes.

Senna practically ran off the ship as soon as it was docked, Kini following close behind. She'd never been a fan of traveling by sea (though it was one of the few long-distance transportation options available to her), and despite what she would say about hating the cold, she'd missed the North Pole, especially her igloo.

Skidding to a slower pace, she stepped inside her igloo and collapsed on the bed, which was as messy as she'd left it. "It's good to be back," she sighed happily. Kini flew in after her and landed on her own perch, ruffling her feathers.

Soro, having walked at a much slower pace, entered. "I never got a good look at it when I was here last time," he said. "So this is where you live?"

"As long as I'm here," she answered. "They'll find you an igloo too, though I doubt it'll be as nice as mine. I am the Avatar, after all."

"Ha, ha," he replied sarcastically. "You know, you're annoying when you're actually trying to be witty."

She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," she said. "I guess I'm not as funny as I think." The two of them tried to keep serious faces, but burst out in laughter that echoed out of the igloo.

Senna's fear of storms is actually a relatively important character trait. It will show up later.

Well. So far it seems that I'm only posting this for my own benefit, which is...not fun. But what can you do. Internet readers are fickle. And y'all are missing out on what is assuredly my longest fic ever. I'm anticipating twenty chapters, possibly more, and that a long fic for me, who is queen of the seven-to-ten chapter story.

In other news, I need to stop wasting my summer watching cartoons. BUT IT'S SO MUCH FUN. I'm super in love with Young Justice. :D

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Cheers,

~RAH