Aboard the Water Navy ship, Prince Sokka stared out of the spotting deck. The sun was setting and there had been no more pillars of light to be seen. The original had occurred a few hours walking distance from a nearby Fire Tribe village, making it a likely destination for the Avatar. As Sokka considered his next move, Iroh approached from behind.
"I'm going to bed now." He said, making an exaggerated yawning gesture. "A man needs his rest, old or young. You need to sleep too, Prince Sokka. Even if the Avatar is still alive, you aren't going to find him. Three generations of your family have all tired and failed."
The Water Prince did not take his eyes away from the waters ahead of them. "Their honor didn't depend on his capture and return. Our does. His hundred years of hiding in cowardice are at an end." Iroh said nothing as he turned to leave, but stopped when Sokka spoke again. "This Fire Tribe village. It's the one you're from, isn't it?"
The older man paused, not turning around. "It is." He answered, flatly and evenly.
"Then if they won't listen to reason, hopefully they'll listen to you. For their sake."
Iroh said nothing. He left the spotting deck as the Prince continued to gaze ahead. The offer of sleep was appealing. Anything to hold off what he would have to do next.
Low over the tree tops, Appa flew. At the direction of the tattooed young airbender, the bison flew low enough so as not to be spotted from a distance.
"Hey." Azula said, crawling up to where the airbender sat.
"Hey." The boy answered. "What's up?"
"Well, you're an airbender." She said, still sounding somewhat unconvinced. "I'm wondering if you knew what happened to the Avatar."
Aang looked noticeably uneasy. "No. Uhh… I mean, I didn't know him… I suppose I knew people that knew him, but I never did. Sorry." He stammered.
Azula shrugged, seeming satisfied by his answer. "Alright, I just thought I would ask."
Turning away, the young girl went back to sit by her brother. She didn't notice the look of fear that had appeared on Aang's face. He stared ahead as he let his memories wash over him.
Clouds of ash and soot filled the skies above the flying bison. Lightning crashed, striking the island and water as the volcano below erupted. In the bison's saddle, Aang fought with the reigns. The only light they had were the occasional flashes of lightning and the red hot magma.
The boy cried out as a bolt of lightning nearly struck the animal and its mount. In a mixture of panic and exhaustion, Appa crashed to the ground. His massive body came to rest directly before the encroaching lava. The flying bison groaned. He didn't have the strength to fly any more. Aang looked around frantically, the scorching heat of the lava almost overwhelming them. He began to lose consciousness, the lava mere feet away. Yet before he could, his eyes and tattoo's started to glow white. Putting his hands together, he surrounded both himself and Appa in a ball of wind. It rapidly cooled the air around them. As it did, it pulled the lava up and around them, until they were encased in huge ball of solidified magma. Deep within, the boy pulled moisture from the air before freezing it. With it, he locked himself and the bison into a from of frozen stasis.
"Aang? Aang!" The voice of Zuko snapped him out of his trance.
"What?" He asked, startled.
"The village! It's just ahead! You can see it!" The boy said, pointing at the approaching buildings in the distance.
"Oh. Sorry." Aang apologized. "I was… thinking..." His voice trailed off for a moment before he shook his head as if to clear it. "Any way! Let's go meet your village! Appa! Yip yip!"
The command wasn't needed, as the bison had already started descending. It aimed for the center of the village, readying itself to land.
The first rays of morning light had begun to fill the sky when Sokka started to descend into the ships lower levels. They could have reached the village hours ago, but he had ordered them to anchor off shore, out of sight. He'd told himself that he was planning, preparing for the next move, but in truth, he was stalling out of fear. Fear of her.
He stood before a thick steel door, encased in ice. Ice that he was certain had a red tinge to it. He raised his fist to pound on the door. It was coming. As his fist came down, her voice came, echoing from inside. Cold as the ice that encased the door.
"Come in, brother." He hated it when she did that.
He pushed against the door, causing it to swing open. He tried to ignore the knowledge that the ice was the only thing holding it shut and what that meant. Cold mist poured out of the room like a heavy fog. The cold that fell from the room was more than even he could stand. It was colder than anywhere in the arctic lands of the Water Nation. The same red-tinged ice covered every surface within. It made up the furniture within, from the desks to the chairs. Even the bed in the corner was a slab of ice atop which rested a mattress of snow. Books rested on ice shelves. The room had no moisture that could of ruined their pages, it had all been frozen.
Standing in the center of the room was the princess of the Water Nation. Her stillness was unnerving, but then again everything about her was. At the palace, the guards and servants alike had called her the Yellow Empress. There were those who feared her more than the Emperor himself. They all had names for her. Pride of the Emperor. The Beast of the Blood Moon. The Newborn Slayer. Wolf of the Wastes. All were fitting.
Hung over her shoulder was a simple, brown leather water skin. Yellow cloth was wrapped around her feet and calves, leaving only her toes exposed. A yellow and white cloth hung from a yellow belt to cover her lower torso. From her arms hung loose, fur-lined, yellow armwarmers. They covered her hands and stopped just short of her shoulders. A simple yellow top left her shoulders and midriff exposed. Sokka wondered, not for the first time, how she never froze. So much skin exposed to the elements, yet she never appeared cold.
A single blue line ran down her chin from her blue, tattooed lips while the same blue ink tattooed her eyelids. A single horizontal line marked each cheek and along the top of each shoulder ran three more lines. They looked like the claws of a predatory beast had raked her shoulders. But instead of blood they left behind cold blue flesh.
Despite all this, it wasn't her tattoos, attire or stillness that were the most unsettling. It was her expression. Or her lack of one. There was no hint of a smile, or even a grimace. Her eyes were cold in the truest sense. They were totally devoid of emotion or feeling. Long, black hair hung past her shoulders. Loose save for her pure white bangs that hung in front of her face, tied by two simple grey hair-ties.
"Katara." Sokka said, trying his best not to shiver but failing.
"Where." She stated, her voice flat. She didn't ask, she only stated. She knew there was only one reason he would come for her.
"Roku's Island." He replied. He could at least be thankful for her being straight to the point. It meant he didn't have to spend any more time than he had to here.
"Fire tribe." She acknowledged. "Sedition?" The inflection of a question seemed wrong coming from a face as expressionless as hers. From a voice so flat.
"No. Not yet. I'll take the lead. If that fails, Iroh will try to appeal to them. Otherwise..." His voice trailed off.
"Ah, yes. Roku's Island. Iroh's people." She noted. "The timing is not ideal." She said, shifting the subject with abruptness.
"I know. Can you still do it?" Sokka asked, hating himself as he did.
"No." She answered. "But other options exist. I'll prepare."
Saying nothing, Katara turned away from Prince Sokka. She walked, almost completely barefoot, across the ice to the shelves. From there she picked up a book, took a seat and began to read. That was all Sokka needed. He turned and left the room. He tried not to rush, but it was hard not to when he had his back turned to his sister.