AN: Yeah, I warned you all about sporadic updates (sorry)... If you want to learn more about the mania that is my life, I now have a livejournal, you can find a link to my page by clicking the "homepage" button on my profile. Please friend me, as I am new and have none yet and look like a complete loser. (Yay!) I would love to be able to interact with all of you guys there!

But anyway, I've got a really long note at the end of this chapter so I'll just leave you to read... (BTW, this is the longest chapter I've ever written!)

Disclaimer: Don't own anything.

Pragmatic

An A:TLA Fic brought to you by:

Electric Risk

Arc I: Ice

Scroll Three: The Departure

"I'll do it."

The room fell silent, as if to hold its breath. Candlelight danced in strange shadows on the wall of the Fire Lord private office, making caricatures of the three inhabitants: the young girl with flaring arms rippling at her sides in stubbornness, yet with quaking legs, an older larger man seated behind the table, almost immobile and rooted like a mountain except for his wavering hands clasped over the table top, and the father seated on the opposite end of the room, mouth agape swaying in soundless shock. Nothing else dared move lest it somehow take back the young waterbender's words, or adversely, turn them into a binding contract. The ship groaned as a strong current rocked in at its docked point; through the open porthole they could hear the light lapping of the windswept water on the hull. The whole room seemed to swell and contract with the slight motion, like taking a deep breath, and in that second, it seemed her words were finally absorbed, her conviction noted.

"Katara," Hakoda said desperately, unconsciously lurching forward, "you really don't have to do this, we can get by some other way. This isn't your problem, you need not feel any obligation, you don't have to-"

The young woman knelt by her father's seat, taking his hands in her own. "I've made my decision, dad," she said with a confidence she showed more than felt. "This is for the best. And you heard him; if I absolutely can't stand it there, he won't make me stay." She took a deep breath, "It's time I started pulling my weight around here anyway. Please," she finished, "let me do this."

Hakoda looked at her, her wide eyes –with a touch of fear, uncertainty-, and sighed. "You're too selfless for your own good, but if this is what you really want, I won't stand in your way." And he wouldn't. It might be the hardest thing he'd ever have to do, but he was a man of his word. If this is was the course his daughter truly wanted to take, who was he to block her?

Katara nodded and rubbed a stray tear from her eye. She wanted to smile, to reassure her father, but her face was grim. In her mind she repeated a mantra over and over: 'It's for the best. It's for the best. It's for the best…'

"When will you leave?" the grieving father asked, tearing his eyes from his daughter and regarding, at last, the Fire Lord. "You mentioned that you couldn't be away much longer…"

Iroh hesitated, realizing full well how difficult this was for the pair, taking no pleasure in their pain. "I was hoping to set sail in no less than two days. I have my most trusted advisers in my place as head of state, but I fear things are still quite unstable in the government and it is possible for things to… get out of hand in my absence. I'd rather avoid such risks."

"I… see." He slowly digested the words. He looked at his fifteen-year-old daughter who still knelt by his side, noting how young she looked in the candlelight. She clutched his hands tighter. "Don't worry, sweetheart. We will all visit you as often as we can. You'll hardly miss us." He gently wiped a tear away from her cheek.

"Two days," Katara breathed, burying her head in her father's shoulder. "Just two days."

The Fire Lord sighed and turned away, helpless to do anything else. "I am sorry, my dear."

Katara and Hakoda requested privacy for the announcement the decision and pending engagement to Sokka and Suki. It was granted without a second thought. The young couple did not take it well, though Sokka was admittedly more vocal about it than Suki.

"What?" young warrior cried, tossing his hands haphazardly into the air. "You can't be serious! Dad, you didn't actually agree to let her do this, did you? This is just some great big joke right? Ha-ha?"

"Sokka," Hakoda barked. "Calm down. This was your sister's decision and you will support her."

"Oh I'll support her all right!" He declared loudly, "I'll support her right into the loony-bin! And you!" He turned to his sister, pointing sharply. "How could you say yes? What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking," Katara ground out, getting angrier by the second as she poked her older brother square in the chest, "about the people I would help." Jab. "I was thinking I could finally do some good for my family and friends." Sharp jab. "I was thinking you would be there for me, support me, but maybe I put too much faith you." She let out one final screech of frustration clutching her hair, freezing and cracking all liquid filled containers in the vicinity. (A fine looking vase showcased on its own shelf got a nasty crack down the middle.) Then she stomped away to seethe in a corner.

Sokka was startled, to say the least, by his sister's outburst, but she got through to him, if only a little. It slowly became apparent to him that the whole thing was out of his hands, but that didn't mean he had to like it. He sighed and looked to Suki, who appeared just as concerned about it all as he was. She took his hand.

"It'll be okay, Sokka," she promised softly. "You'll see. Katara is strong, she can get through anything."

The Water Tribe warrior shook his head forlornly and whispered back, "She's signed her life away."

Hakoda placed a strong hand on his son's shoulder. "This was her choice, Sokka. She's growing up and it is time we acknowledged that. She's sacrificing her potential happiness for the good of her people and there is something deeply admirable in that. Yes, I would rather she didn't go, but she wants to do this and it is not our place to talk her out of it, do you understand?"

With a withering sigh, Sokka nodded in defeat.

The family's departure from the Fire Nation vessel was a somber one. The plans were set: Katara would set sail with the Fire Lord the day after next and then it would be a three day trip to Capital City where she would meet her intended. She would sleep but two nights in her village before being whisked away forever, however long that was.

They dawned their coats and gloves and waited for the great mouth of the ship to open and release them. As it slowly descended, they were greeted with darkness, thick and inky. There was no moon to light their way tonight. Lord Iroh gave Sokka and Hakoda lanterns to supplement, though their range of light was short. Finally, the group bid their good-byes with all politeness, but no warmth. Iroh nodded them off, torn between duty and their plight.

As the steel mouth of the ship closed, the scraping sound of the jaw's hinge screeched out over the silent tundra. No one spoke, lost in thought, the future swimming through their minds: the end of possibilities that were once so trivial and now so precious. So distracted were they, that none saw it coming. Something whistled through the air...

It happened so fast.

Hakoda was down, knees buckled as he tumbled to the snowy floor, clutching at his chest with a low moan of pain. His lantern was snuffed out by the ice and fall. Still, the light from Sokka's small flame was enough to expose the red inching over the blue-white ground and the horror etched on the siblings' faces.

Blood.

Color drained from Katara's face. Another parent lost. She was hindered only a moment with grief before the blind empowerment of rage overcame her with the force of a tidal wave. This was just too much, especially after all that had happened. There was no moon tonight, but not even that could protect the man who shot her father. The arrow aimed for his heart stuck obstinately from his chest. In an instant, the snow beneath their feet became her weapon. The very ground that monster stood upon, crouched upon, crawled upon, as was most likely for a wretch like him. This was the moment she waited for. This was her moment of truth; the climax of the night she'd felt in her gut. The horror she'd anticipated.

She thrust out her arms, pausing only a beat before clenching her fists, which caused the snow and ice to condense instantly with a crunch, creating a slick solid ground around her family spanning out far beyond the illuminated reach of Sokka's lantern. But, she could see him now, vaguely, the dark shape rising from the flat ground, she could hear his cry as he lost his footing and slipped, falling hard –she hoped.

Distantly she could hear Sokka too, shouting at her, trying to get her attention, but she was too far-gone. She charged, automatically making the ice propel and slide her feet forward with each hurried step. She got close to him, and he was still incapacitated, a look of terror marked in his eyes, anger too. Fluidly, she spun, making the ice around her father's attacker swell and spiral around him, imprisoning him; his legs, torso, and arms trapped in the ice.

"Monster!" she rasped, her voice hoarse. She realized now, that she had been screaming, probably since she saw her father fall. Almost unconsciously done, daggers of ice formed in her hands with a lethal purpose. "You killed him, you monster!"

"I am no monster, little girl!" The imprisoned man sneered. "You, you are the monster! Your family is a disgrace! There are bigger things at work here than you know! Consorting with the enemy! Your family brings this village shame!"

"I'll kill you!" Katara screeched, lunging at the immobile man. An icicle stopped one inch from the man's face, centered perfectly between his eyes, the other poised for a second blow over her head. She'd been restrained at the last second. She struggled violently to get out of the tight grasp.

"Katara! Snap out of it!"

She blinked; it was Sokka. He continued to speak.

"He's okay, Katara," he murmured softly in her ear, his arms latched under her own, hugging her back to his chest. "The wound isn't fatal. He'll be okay. Don't do it, Katara. Calm down. You have to calm down."

Her shoulders sagged, her arms dropped, the ice daggers fell to the hard ground, snapping on impact. She felt so heavy, so tired, so relieved. Katara slumped to the ground. Sokka knelt beside her, a hand rubbing small circles on her back as she slowly came to grips with what she'd been about to do.

The man in the ice cackled. "Weak! You're weak, that's why you'll never succeed in this life! Can't even face your own-"

"Oh shut up!" Sokka cried, jumping to his feet. Barely batting an eye, he bludgeoned the man over the head with his boomerang, knocking him out cold. Katara looked at her brother curiously, cocking her head to the side, silently asking if he'd had the weapon on him the whole time.

He shrugged. "Always be prepared, right?"

Katara cracked a small smile at him and wiped tears from her face with the back of her gloved hand. When Sokka held his hand down to her, she gladly accepted it and got to her feet. Together they walked back to the scene of the attack, planning to come back for the perpetrator in a little while. As an afterthought, not wanting him to freeze to death (yet), Katara retracted the ice-prison, certain that he would not be leaving on his own any time soon.

"Suki's with Dad right now," Sokka remarked. "And thanks to your screaming, everyone in a ten mile radius probably knows that something bad just happened." He tucked her under his arm and gave her shoulder a small squeeze, offering the comfort only an older brother could. "You've really got a pair of lungs on you, you know?"

When they reached ground zero, a small crowd already gathered, flanked with multiple lanterns making the spot a beacon in the darkness. Fire Nation soldiers. They carefully lifted Hakoda onto a cot, preparing him for transport. The Fire Lord was there too, a grim expression on his withered, suddenly older face. He approached them.

"I am so sorry about your father," he told them gravely. "I can't help but feel it was my presence here that brought all this upon you. But tell me, could… do you know, was the attacker…"

"Was he Fire Nation, do you mean?" Sokka asked bluntly.

The old Lord released a heavy sigh and nodded.

The young warrior tapped his boomerang on his shoulder, "It was dark, but who else would it be?" His voice held no more warmth than the ice they stood upon.

"I feared as much…"

"No," Katara shook her head, her voice, though clear, exposed how weary she was. "He said we were consorting with the enemy, he said…" She brought a hand to her brow, she could feel a headache coming on fast. "I don't think he could have been Fire Nation."

At that moment, a figure swiftly descended upon the group from the direction of the village. It was Kuto and he used a similar propulsion method as Katara had during her attack. "Bato said he heard someone screaming and sent me to investigate," he said as he arrived. Regarding Hakoda in his injured state, his face became gaunt, his lips thinned. "What has happened here?"

"My father was attacked," Sokka snapped, pointing with his boomerang to the incapacitated Chief, "What does it look like?"

"Sokka," Suki admonished weakly.

Kuto, as usual, ignored it, appealing to the other members of the group. "Where is the attacker now? Did he get away?"

"No," Katara shook her head. "I caught up to him and Sokka knocked him out. He's back there." She gestured vaguely over her shoulder to the black horizon.

The Waterbending Master placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder, forcing the boy to look him in the eye. "Show me."

He nodded silently, and passed his sister over into Suki's care without argument. "Alright."

Kuto and Sokka returned to the group shortly, the assailant tossed haphazardly over Kuto's bony shoulder. He deposited the wretch unceremoniously at the feet of Katara, Suki, and Lord Iroh, eerie looking in the yellowed light. Looking at him now, as he lay sprawled on the ground, a large welt forming near his temple, it was easy to see where this man hailed from. Traditional, blue-dyed sealskin adorned him head to toe, the bow he still clutched made of bone; a telling mark hearkening from a land where wood was scarce.

He was Water Tribe.

An ironic laugh tumbled from the old Master. "I knew this man," he said, nudging him with his boot. "Name's Yann. I trained him since he was a lad as a private tutor after he was kicked out of Master Pakku's school. He was mediocre, really, but wealthy and well placed in society. It is no surprise they sent him to do this dirty work, probably called it an honor."

"Wait a second," Sokka turned on him, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Are you saying you expected this? Why didn't you warn us? We could have been on guard! We could have done something about this! We could've-"

"Sokka." The weak groan of his father stopped him. The Chief's eyes opened a crack, his hand still secured around the arrow they hadn't had the tools or ability to remove yet.

"Dad." He knelt by his father immediately, taking his spare hand. Then he glared up at Kuto, silently demanding answers.

"Your father expected this attack as much as I did," Kuto explained somberly. "Indeed, he has been at odds with the North for some time now. His eye, for instance, you don't think the Fire Nation did that, do you? I'd been in the platoon that turned on him." He sighed warily. "The man that did it to him was my comrade." He paused, lost momentarily in memory. "Two years ago when the war was still in full swing, Hakoda had shown mercy to a Fire Nation family in one of the colonies. Granted, this was just after the tragic death of Princess Yue, which the North felt most acutely. Your father was dubbed a traitor for not dealing with the enemy in an appropriate manner. Do keep in mind that the 'enemy' was a women with two small children, probably a widow." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and continued. "I saw my old friend attack Hakoda, calling him a traitor to the cause, and knew in my gut that he was in the wrong. I took appropriate action, only too late to save your father's eye. My friend was incapacitated and the rest of the platoon quickly turned on me as well. Hakoda and I barely made it out with our lives.

"Bato met us and harbored us with his men. Your father, you see, was a notable warrior and leader. The North did him an honor, or so they claimed, by accepting him into their ranks, but in the end, they turned on him, unable to see past their petty prejudices to spare the life of one innocent woman and two innocent children. I never did find out what happened to them, although I can't imagine it was anything good."

Suddenly, the secrecy of the wound made sense. Why he wouldn't talk about it, though it's origins seemed so obvious. Hakoda didn't want to turn their sister tribe into an enemy, he wanted to avoid that course of action as long as possible. Now it was all for naught. The damage was done. It was painfully obvious that things were slipping down a steep slope where, it seemed, a new war stood to meet them at the bottom. Katara bitterly wondered if they were in store for another hundred years of battles.

Since it was the closer of the two possible destinations, the group, now consisting of Kuto, Sokka, Suki, Katara, Lord Iroh, three faceless soldiers, the unconscious assailant (so dubbed Yann), and, of course, Hakoda, headed towards The White Lotus. There, Yann was secured in the small brig of the ship and Kuto was able to remove the arrow that struck dangerously close to Hakoda's heart. In less than an hour, he managed to seal the wound and stave off the chance of infection, but the damage was done.

"You'll have to avoid strenuous activity and stress," Kuto announced as he wiped his brow. Healing the chest cavity was meticulous, careful work involving the remeshing of flesh; he even had to repair a couple of the lesser arteries. The old master was weary for it. "You're heart is irreversibly weakened now, I'm afraid."

Hakoda grunted, feeling somewhat better, "Wonderful. That'll be easy enough to achieve, especially since we just suffered an offensive attack from our sister tribe. No stress whatsoever."

Kuto rolled his eyes. "You always were one for drama."

Lord Iroh took this moment to clear his throat. "Chief Hakoda, our agreement stands, even now. You have my full support should you need it. In fact, I shall insist that you have in your keep three of my best guards with more to arrive as fast as I can send for them."

"Haven't you done enough?" Sokka barked, leaping to his feet from his place at his father's bedside. "It was your interference that brought all this on us in the first place! They might not have liked my dad so much before, but if you hadn't showed up they probably would have left us alone! Then my dad would be fine and my little sister would be sold off to pasture for your spoiled brat of a nephew!"

This time, no one halted Sokka in his tirade. So he continued. "Given the circumstances," he concluded, "I don't think Katara should go anymore. She needs to stay here or who knows what'll happen! What if they attack again? What if they target her specifically? I can't let that happen." He crossed his arms and nodded decisively.

"I understand that you are upset," Iroh replied evenly, "but I am afraid the effects of my visit are irreversible. If I leave now, your village will be at their mercy…"

Sokka shocked everyone, letting out a furious growl as he slammed his fist into the wall.

Katara placed her hand on top of his. He looked at her, his face strained with concern, torn. His little sister looked so tired, the bags seemed to sag ever more under her cerulean eyes. Those eyes begged him to calm himself. "Please, Sokka. You've got to understand; we need this. The village needs this, we can't get by without their help."

He pulled his little sister tight against him. "I can't lose you, Katara. I won't let anything happen to you. I promised mom I'd protect you. If you go with them, you could be targeted…"

"And if I don't go with them, our village will fall apart, our people will starve, and then where will we be?" she muttered into his shoulder, trying to fight back tears.

"We'd be together."

"Together and dead, more like," she countered. "Besides, the purpose of the union in the first place was to help create peace. If we back out now, we're just giving into hate. That's what caused the last war and it is the only thing that will cause another. If we run away now, we let them have power over us; we let them tell us what's right and wrong. Do you really want that after what they did to Dad?" She took a deep breath. "This isn't going to be easy, Sokka, but it's the right thing. I already gave my word that I would go." She smiled up at him, though it felt a little hollow. "Besides, we both know I can take care of myself."

For her sake, he cracked a small smile in return. "Yeah, and I'll probably still be able to hear your crazy war cry even if you are over in the Fire Nation."

"See?" Her grin brightened and she let her head fall heavily to his shoulder, she was so tired. "It all works out."

It felt like years past by the time the sun rose, by the time the family made it back to their village. Katara watched it blearily from her window as it ascended from the horizon, as though the light erased the terrors from the night before, yet she was sure her father's blood still stained the snow. She was exhausted but too riled up to sleep, unable to fully wrap her mind around what happened, how her life took a that sudden shift. Suki sat next to her, leaning on her shoulder and holding her hand. The waterbender tensed her fists. "We were so close to having a funeral today…"

"You can't dwell on that, Katara," Suki replied sleepily. "Your father's fine, he's going to be okay."

She sighed and stood, feeling fidgety. "You should try and get some sleep, Suki. Don't stay up on my account."

"Nh-hn." She rubbed her eyes. "I can sleep later, you leave tomorrow, after all."

Katara let herself collapse on the other bed. "Don't remind me."

Suki propped herself up on her elbow and glanced at her friend. "You scared?"

"Of course," she said. "I'm leaving to go live in a country full of people I've been terrified of since I can remember. I'm getting engaged to a boy I've never even met!"

"Why'd you agree to do it then?"

Katara stretched herself out and rolled over on to her stomach. She had to think about this carefully, for really, why did she agree? "I agreed because… because I had to," she shrugged at last. "I mean, what else is there for me to do here? I can't single handedly rebuild this village with my bending, no matter how much I'd like that… Sokka's going be Chief someday and I'm just… useless. I have to do something, Suki. And maybe something good will come out of this for me. Maybe I'll fall in love with the prince, or I won't have to marry him and I'll, oh, I don't know, spend the rest of my life going on crazy adventures. Who knows?"

Suki hummed, playing with the sleeve of her sleeping shift. "Yes, that's always a possibility. What do you think he'll be like?"

"Spoiled, probably. He is a prince after all. He was a prince during the war. He's probably bitter that his uncle stopped it." Katara supposed.

"I don't know." Suki said. "I seem to remember hearing that the Fire Princess and her father were imprisoned after the war because they refused to see reason. Lord Iroh seems like an intelligent man; maybe he saw that Prince… –Zuko- was it? Maybe he saw some good in Prince Zuko –I mean, they were in exile together a couple years at least."

"Maybe," Katara agreed. "I guess so. I hope he's not a jerk. I bet he hates the idea that he's got an arranged marriage. I bet he thinks I'm going to be some ditzy, backwards girl from the middle of nowhere."

Suki laughed. "Well then I guess you'll just have to show him better."

"Yeah," she chuckled half-heartedly, but then the smile vanished. "You'll visit me though, right?"

"Sure," she nodded. "Without a doubt. Sokka and I will definitely visit." To lighten the mood, she added, "And then we'll get kicked right out again once he threatens to bludgeon your fiancé over the head with his boomerang!"

"Hmm," Katara chuckled. "You might have to take it from him, Suki. He may cry and put up a fight, but I can't have a fiancé with debilitating head trauma because of an over protective older brother. Might make me look bad." Katara's eyes flashed as that new, horrifying possibility crossed her mind. "Wait, what if the people really don't like me? What if they think I'm some kind of… I don't, home wrecker or something?"

Suki groaned. "Katara, don't worry about it. Things will work out. I do, however, think you need to get some sleep, otherwise you'll just keep scaring yourself with off the wall theories."

She sighed, "You're probably right." She crawled on top of her bed and paused, "Sokka really is a great big brother, isn't he?"

Suki laughed, "What brought on this sudden affection?"

"It's just that, we get on his case so often," she played with the ends of her hair, "I wonder if he knows that we appreciate him, is all. I'm leaving soon and I just want to make sure he knows that I think he's great."

Suki's smile softened. "Sokka would go to the ends of the earth for you and he knows you'd do the same for him."

"Good," Katara murmured. "Sweet dreams, Suki."

"Sweet dreams, Katara."

Throwing back the heavy fur blankets on her bed, Katara snuggled deep into the warmth, yet sleep did not come easy. Suki was out as soon as she was situated in her own bed, Katara jealously listened to the gentle sound of her even breathing for a long time. The worries for her future would not let her alone and she couldn't help wondering where her life was headed.

Katara begrudgingly awoke to her brother's prodding. She sleepily realized that Suki's bed was already made and said girl was nowhere in sight.

Sokka sat at the foot of her bed and sighed. "Gran-Gran's lost it," he said. "She found out a little bit ago what happened to Dad last night and now she's flying off the handle… We wanted to let you sleep in a little longer, till she calms down. We kinda wanted you to be there before we told her the other news."

Katara blinked. Oh, the other news. Her engagement. Her departure. The upheaval and variable ruination of her life as she knew it. Somehow, it sounded much more trivial the way Sokka phrased it. "Well," she shrugged. "Gran-Gran's old fashioned, she'll probably be glad I've landed such a powerful husband in an arranged match. Maybe she'll calm down?"

Her brother scratched the back of his head. "I dunno… Dad seemed pretty concerned about it. Something about something that happened when Gran-Gran was younger. He wouldn't tell me."

Katara flopped back on the bed. She had no will to face the world and would have much rather gone back to sleep, where she could dream and pretend she wasn't about to be shipped off to become someone's royal arm candy. But Sokka wasn't having any of it. He yanked her up to a sitting position by the arms. "Oh no you don't," he said. "We've got a lot of ground to cover today and we need you with us to do it. After you get cleaned up and eat, we have to tell the villagers what's going on. You're a big part of all this, you know."

"I know," she groaned, gripping her blanket.

Sokka's hand landed on top of hers, he tilted up her chin so he could look her in the eye. "You can still back out, Katara. It'll be okay if you do. We can get by. You don't have to do this."

"It's not that easy, Sokka. I feel it in my gut. I have to do this." Her eyes iced over with resolve, and she gave her brother a sad smile. "I'm really going to miss you."

His voice was shaky as he replied, "I'm really going to miss you, too." He pulled her into a tight hug and they stayed like that for a while, not knowing when they'd get the chance to be brother and sister again.

Once everything was settled with Kanna and Katara was ready, they made a formal address to the villagers. Hakoda explained what transpired the night before, although omitting just how close he'd come to death, and also announced the engagement of his daughter. The people were uneasy, especially when Fire Lord Iroh made an appearance. He explained to the villagers his intentions and assured them of his loyalty, though it did only little to assuage their worries. Then, for symbolic appearance mostly, the two leaders embraced and shook hands.

The rest of the day had Hakoda, Fire Lord Iroh, Sokka, Suki, Bato, Kuto and Katara in meetings to draft a formal treaty that would officially unite the Fire Nation and the Southern Water Tribe. They also ironed out the final stipulations in the agreement regarding Katara's trip and subsequent stay in the Fire Nation palace. By the end of it, everyone was the worse for it, bags etched under their eyes.

The sun rose obstinately early the following morning. Katara could not hide her malice towards the brightening horizon. The last night with her family seemed too brief. They tried to make it a jolly affair after the long meeting, but depressing undertones were impossible to erase. At the night's end, everyone parted with tearful 'good night's, dreading the encroaching morning that would break off a piece of their beloved family.

Lord Iroh waited at the village gates flanked with four soldiers. His old eyes were weary, but his gentle smile was a comfort. Three of the soldiers did not wear their customary skull-plated helmets and carried rucksacks over their shoulders, the fourth stood behind, fully garbed in his armor.

Katara and her small family took their time walking, prolonging the departure as much as they could manage. Katara's belongings were already stowed on the ship and it would not be long before she, too, was on board for good. It was decided that the final goodbyes would be among immediate family only (plus Suki), because of the delicacy of the situation. Katara made her farewell address to the villagers the previous afternoon and to Bato and Kuto at party the night before.

Kanna, the last of the family to discover the arrangement was decidedly against the whole thing and made her stance on the matter as clear as she could. In her mind, nothing could redeem the Fire Lord and she couldn't for all her years and wisdom understand why her own grand daughter would choose to subject herself to such a life. She threatened to disown Katara if she insisted on going through with it, but to no avail. The girl's mind was fixed. Sokka and Hakoda attempted to placate her and help her understand that Katara was allowed to make her own decisions, but nothing worked. Kanna was just as stubborn as Katara was, in that respect.

As a result of the rather upsetting fight, Kanna refused to be present for her final moments. Katara was hurt, but she tried to hide it. She focused instead on her father, brother, and friend. She embraced each, failing and not really caring at this point, to restrain her tears.

"Be good Sweetheart," Hakoda said, holding her close one last time. "I know you'll make us all proud, you've already made me proud."

Katara clutched his jacket, burying her face in his shoulder. "I'll try Dad," she cried. Then, throwing her arms around his neck, "I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you, too," he replied, squeezing her a little tighter, "everyday."

Next, she said goodbye to Suki. They embraced and Suki murmured, "You show that Fire Brat what you're made of and don't let anyone push you around, okay?"

"Okay," Katara nodded, her voice wavering. "I'll try."

"You'll be great, Katara," she smiled. "They'll have to love you. And we'll visit, I promise. We'll visit soon."

"You better," Katara said, attempting to sound threatening. She missed her mark, but at least it lightened the moment.

Last was Sokka, and he was by far the hardest for her to leave. For years they were each other's only real companions while their father was away at war. They had never truly been apart before and so the concept of it now was difficult to bear. Katara could form no words in her throat as she wrapped her arms tightly around her brother's neck.

Sokka tried to make light of the moment. "Hey, not so hard! Some of us have to breathe!"

"Sorry," Katara laughed and sobbed at the same time.

Sokka put her at arm's length, hands on her shoulders and he surveyed her. "Well, you going to be alright without me?"

She smiled, "I'll try to make do."

He nodded, "Good. I left a surprise for you in one of your trunks, by the way. So take care of it! I'm going to monitor its condition when I visit in two months, okay?"

"Alright." She sighed heavily and addressed everyone, "Well, I guess this is it."

"Indeed, m'lady," Lord Iroh replied, stepping up by her side. "Shall we?"

She nodded reluctantly and together they walked towards the ship. Only one soldier accompanied them back, the other three remained with the rest of Katara's family as they were the guards Iroh promised them the night of the attack. Katara cast one furtive look over her shoulder and had to will herself not to run back to them. The trip to the ship seemed to drag on forever and Katara found herself barely registering Iroh's light small-talk. All she could think about now was the opened mouth of the ship.

As she stepped on to the lip and walked once more into the shadowed darkness beyond, she knew with full certainty that turning back was no longer an option. When it closed behind her, she could almost feel the ties to her village snap. Still, she could not resist running to the deck so that she could watch as the distance grew between her and the village, her family. As they neared the edge of the territory, Katara spied a hunched figure on the shore. She leaned over the railing, squinting her eyes. A lightness filled her heart.

It was Kanna, one arm raised to wave goodbye.

AN: Man this was a hard chapter to write! Soap opera much? ...shakes head... I hope it didn't turn out too crazy! Especially since I originally planned to kill Hakoda... but luckily a friend talked me out of it. Hopefully you all agree that I took it in a much better direction. Oh, and I also apologize about the sappy chapter ending. I just felt that after all that emo garbage, we should have something to lighten the mood a bit.

The next chapter shall be entitled "The Art of Zin" (not a typo). It might turn out to be a shorter chapter, a sort of interlude of Katara's three days at sea with Iroh and the crew. Hopefully I'll get it out before the end of time.

Prince Zuko is scheduled to make his grand entrance in Scroll Five... and then chaos shall ensue.

Well, please, please, please let me know what you thought! Your input means the world to me and would be especially wonderful after the absolute hell this chapter put me through...

Thanks for reading!

That said...

SPOILER ALERT FOR TBR 1 & 2!!

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OMFG!! Was anybody else bewildered by rocket-powered Azula? Cuz I sure as hell was! I found all of that action a tinsy bit over the top. Even Suki's repetitive bouts of GURL POWER!!111one ...Perhaps I am too critical?

Over all, I did enjoyed the episode. It reinforced the notion that Sokka's pretty much a genius, Ty Lee and Mai are good (I don't what to think about the bizarre display of Maiko behavior...), Zuko is awkward, yet still wonderfully bad-ass, and Azula is a rocket scientist's wet dream, regardless of the fact that she's missing a few nuts and bolts. Also, Hakoda totally pwns.

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Ehem... Much love,

Electric Risk