Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender, and make no money off this fanfic.
Summary: See Previous Chapters.

CHAPTER FOUR

The universe was out to get him, and if laughter and irony were the food of the spirits, then they were following Hahn around like a mobile All-You-Can-Eat Buffet.

Now that they had a few extra ships, the Southern Water Tribe, who had heard nothing from their husbands, brothers and fathers in several years, felt that the arrival of several Northern Tribespeople was significant enough to warrant sending word to the Southern Fleet, and if personal correspondence could be sent at the same time, all the better.

Hahn didn't know why he and Sangok had been stuck with this duty, but he wished he did. At least then he would have had a basis to argue why someone else could do it, and have an idea of who he had offended, so he could make a note to never do it again.

The Southern Water Tribe women and children had been less than happy to see them, and made a point of how long they had ignored the requests for aid. Thankfully, there was little they could do other than accept the admittedly much-needed help with a formality that made an iceberg look warm and inviting, and make it subtly clear that the Northerners were, by and large, still in their bad books.

The Southern Water Tribe warriors that Hahn and Sangok had been sent to find were even less appreciative at first contact, and unlike their families, carried very effective weapons and were in a position to do something about that dislike.

As the Southern Water Fleet all knew each other, Hahn and Sangok were instantly recognized as not part of the camp, and possibly spies who had been dressed up in Water Tribe clothing. The two Northern Tribe boys, having little experience outside the poles, and less in hunting and tracking, had been attacked from behind, knocked out, and awoken to find themselves tied up and being glared at by several angry Southern Water Tribesmen.

Hahn had tried to think of a way to talk their way free, and how to prove that they weren't spies, when Sangok just had to open his mouth, muttering that Sokka hadn't been this good and he just figured out where Katara got 'it' from. If Hahn hadn't been tied up, he would have punched the other boy for provoking their captors, but he didn't get the chance, as they were picked up and carried off to a large tent, where they were tossed at the feet of a tall, well-built man with a stern expression. "Chief Hakoda, we found these two lurking about. The smaller one mentioned Sokka and Katara."

Hakoda, who Hahn belatedly remembered was Kanna's son-in-law and Katara's father, looked even sterner. Fathers tended to be a bit overprotective of their daughters, in Hahn's limited experience, and he found himself very worried for his continued good health. "I see. Would either of you care to explain yourselves."

Not trusting Sangok to avoid saying something stupid again, Hahn started talking, a little quicker than he had planned. "We're from the Northern Water Tribe. We recently encountered your children, and were part of an expedition down to the Southern Tribe. We were sent to bring you news from your families, and I'll give you the letters if you'll please untie me long enough to reach them."

The Chief, who Hahn found a lot scarier that Chief Arnook, and not just because of his build, didn't move. "And how do you know my children?"

Sangok scowled. "It is not fair that a girl trained for a few months can do that sort of thing to boys who've been in training for years."

Again, Hahn had to resist the urge to do something unpleasant to his companion. "Shut up, Sangok. It's hardly Katara's fault that she can wipe the floe with you." He turned the conversation back to Chief Hakoda, "We met Sokka and Katara when the accompanied the Avatar to the North Pole so he could learn Waterbending. After the Fire Nation attack was rebuffed with the Avatar's help, Master Pakku led several of us down to render what aid we could to our Sister Tribe."

Hakoda looked pleased when Katara's Waterbending prowess was mentioned, but scowled again when Hahn said that they had gone down to offer aid. "And can you tell me why you come to assist us now, more than sixty years after we first requested aid, and over thirty years after we gave up asking and being ignored?"

Hahn winced. It sounded really bad when you said it like that. Katara clearly took after her mother in looks, but he wondered how much of her personality had come from her father, as that tone had been scarily reminiscent of Katara when she had ripped him a new one in the Healing Huts. "I don't know, sir."

A small, white lie, but Hahn wasn't about to say that it was probably prompted by Master Pakku wanting to get back together with his ex-betrothed. For once, Sangok had the sense to keep his mouth shut on the topic.

Chief Hakoda relaxed a fraction, but Hahn wasn't going to try and convince himself that the quirk of his lips was anything like an actual non-hostile grin. "Very well. Bato, let him go and accompany him to retrieve these letters."

Sangok's silence obviously wasn't going to last. "Don't forget the letter you wrote to Katara."

Hahn wondered if breaking Sangok's jaw to shut him up would really be overkill. Because right now, it was incredibly tempting.

Katara had to keep reminding herself that Appa was Aang's oldest friend, so they should allow him some leeway in releasing his stress through anger. Even so, there was no need to take it out on the rest of them, especially Toph, who had been forced to choose between defending Appa against an enemy she could barely see, and stopping the Library from sinking into the sands, taking the rest of them with it.

The worst part of the desert was the absence of water. Not only did that make for a very bad situation (Worse when Sokka decided to try cactus juice and became a nonsense-spouting hindrance until it wore off), but it left her very uncomfortable, like a part of her was missing. On the semi-bright side, she and Toph temporarily had something in common.

Ba Sing Se was interesting at first, if you didn't count the surprise at Serpent's Pass and the fiasco with the giant drill. Sharing a girls day out with Toph had been fun, and it was nice to have someone else do all of the cooking and cleaning for once.

Then they uncovered the deception beneath it all. Their hope of aid from the Earth King was futile, as he was no more than a puppet, and the entire city was under tight control, with any potential troublemakers vanishing and being mind-wiped.

Not for the first time, and probably not the last, Katara would have liked Hahn to be there. Without Gran-Gran and the other village women, she felt the imbalance of their little family all the more keenly.

Sokka unconsciously looked to her as Matriarch, in Gran-Gran's absence, but still thought of her as his little sister. Toph was her friend, but instinctively defiant toward any sort of authority. Aang constantly wavered between hyperactive child and wise monk, but could never settle on one or the other. She was sister and friend to all of them, yet that very love only got in the way during those instances that she was forced to step in as parent as well.

They were all near the same age, which made it even harder to exert authority when something needed to be done but none of them wanted to, and Katara was the sole 'parent', with no one to back her up or be her counterpart, especially when the others reacted to her gentle commands by telling her to 'lighten up'.

Hahn knew how to carry the weight of authority, but also how to share the burden that Katara sometimes felt would crush her. It would also be nice to have someone acknowledge that she was, in fact, a girl, rather than an oddly-shaped 'one of the guys'.

Honestly, the only good thing to have happened so far was that they eventually found Appa again.

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A/N:Right, next chapter is up, and I hope you like it. I'm debating whether to send Hahn back to the South Pole, or have some brief interaction with the GAang, maybe while Sokka visits Chameleon Bay or while Aang is unconcious. Feel free to voice your opinions.

For those who were unaware, a 'floe' is a bit like a mini-iceberg, or a large, free-floating piece of ice, often used as a home or resting place for artic marine mammals like seals.

Thanks, Nat