Katara hiked her bag higher up her shoulders as she moved through the market of Ember Island. A few feet in front of her, and too busy marveling at a stand of swords, Sokka's attention had drifted from helping his sister do the shopping. She sighed, knowing full well that allowing her brother to assist had been a bad idea indeed. As she bought a bag of apples, and sent a slight frown at her brother, Katara wished for a second she had asked Zuko to come down to help her instead. It didn't strike the waterbender as strange, her desire to spend time with the firebender. Zuko had become her friend. He was family at this point, just like the others were.

As her eyes scanned over the crowd of red, she felt a familiar sense of being a fish out of water in the land of fire. All around moved happy Fire Nation people, content to live in their nice little world. The vacation island had indeed been a much loved break after their run through the country. The island didn't focus on the war, and other than that play they had visited the night before, the war and Avatar just didn't get brought up a lot. It was indeed a vacation site, free of the war, free of the burdens of life. It allowed her and the other's the chance to breath. It was definitely a relief to not have to look over her shoulder every second in fear that someone would recognize them.

She kept her eye on Sokka as she moved from the apple stand and down the market street. Katara enjoyed the open market place more than she wished to tell. Everything was lined up down the street, selling anything from apples and bread, to skirts and jewelry. With her check list finished, the waterbender decided that looking at that second half of items could not hurt. Her eyes spotted a peculiar table, which up until that point, there had been a large crowd of teenagers and younger children moving around it. But seeing it clear, Katara had ventured over.

That was how she found herself now, staring down at the strange stand. Laying on the right side of the table, there were what appeared to be clothe bracelets; the ends not connected. They looked to be simple scraps of clothe at first sight, and as Katara looked closer, she could not figure out quite what they were. The sizes ranged from ones as thin as ribbon, to larger more bulky ones which were skillfully woven with colors. To the side of the, was several baskets of unstrung beads that rested in little bowls.

Her fingers moved through a bucket, smiling at the way the spheres rolled off her hand like water. She knew what beads were, they were customary in the Water Tribe and ivory beads had been a hair decoration for her since she was three. But these beads were different. Unlike the beads she had made growing up; which were carved from bone and tended to be larger, bulkier, more cylinder shape, these were much smaller; ranging from roughly the size of her finger nail to that of a copper piece, rounder and carved from wood. They were a mix of painted colors and unpainted shades of brown wood. Upon closer inspection, Katara found her eyes narrowing at the thin characters that each bead in that basket contained.

"I see you found the charm makers." The voice, containing a childish hint over the mature sound, drew Katara's eyes upwards. She spotted the woman on the other side of the stand. Her black hair was cut short, stopping just below her shoulders, and framed her pale face, bringing out her dark ember eyes. A loose red top covered her torso, which extended into the knee length black skirt. She couldn't be more than twenty five. "They're a big sell here on Ember Island."

Katara shifted her gaze away to check on her brother, before turning back to the lady. "These are lovely."

"Have you ever made a friendship bracelet?"

"I'm sorry?" Katara looked at the woman for a moment. "A what?"

"A friendship bracelet?" The woman raised an eyebrow. "They're a Fire Nation custom among the younger kids. You must be a colonial."

"Yes." Katara nodded. "I'm from the colonies. Just visiting the mother land."

"If that is the case, than I cannot allow you to return without knowing how to properly create one of these." The woman smiled. She reached over to grab one of the bands of cloth, one that was a simple ribbon of grey. With her other hand, she reached into the basket closet to her and pulled out a red flat bead about the size of a copper piece. "Are you ready to learn?"

Katara could only nod. The woman smiled before continuing. She lopped an end of the cloth through the tip of the stone before tying the ends tightly together, and held it out for Katara to see. "A friendship bracelet is a popular thing with the youth these days. It's a bracelet that you give one friend from another."

"What makes it so special?" Katara asked touching the character carved beads once more. Her eyes remained locked on the object the woman held, finding the way the stone sat similar to the way the pendent sat on her mother's necklace. Her hand left the beads for a moment to unconsciously touch her neck where the red necklace now sat. "It just looks like any other bracelet."

"I am getting to that. Patience is not among the youth." The woman smiled, turning what seemed to be an insult into a light joke. "As I was saying, a friendship bracelet is a bracelet given from one friend to another. You place it around their wrist, and tie a knot that is difficult to untie afterwards. This makes the bracelet sturdy. As, it is often left on until it wears out. But the knot is what makes these bracelets so special. Because the knot is difficult to both tie and untie by the wearer alone, you need a friend to tie and untie. Hence the name, friendship bracelet."

"Oh." Katara murmured. "I got what the bracelets are, but what are the beads for? Are they just a decoration or are they part of the knot?"

"That is for you to decide." The woman spoke. "The bracelet is a symbol of a bond between friends. The beads are both an extra support for the knot, as well as indeed just a decoration to make each bracelet different."

"How much are these?" Katara reached for the sake of money in her bag. The small purse still held a nice deal off money; courtesy of Toph's scamming runs and Zuko having nicked some money from the palace vault before joining them.

"A copper piece for every two bracelets." The woman answered. "And six beads for another copper piece."

"I'm going to need six bracelets." Katara smiled as she pulled out the amount and handed it to the woman. "And twelve beads. I can pick any twelve, right?"

"Whichever ones you wish." The woman smiled as she slid the money into her pocket. Katara nodded in response as she selected what she wanted. Sliding the bracelets, and beads into a side poach of her bag, she thanked the woman and left to find her brother. Finding Sokka was easy, and in a matter of ten minutes, the siblings were heading back to the house.

-oOo-

So that is the end of that one. It was a lot longer, but in the end I really did not like the second half. So I stopped it at Katara getting the bracelets and heading home. It fit the theme for this chapter, so I was happy.