When the adults arrived, they hastened quickly into the temple. The energy shifted into something manic and fearful, making Katara shy and awkward. Instead of sticking around, she darted out of the common area and found a dusty staircase. The steps were carved into the stone and spiraled upward, so that the voices quickly turned to unintelligible noise after only a few turns. Katara climbed until her legs got tired and then stepped out into a hallway.
Rooms with rotted doors stood like open mouths along the hall. The staircase she had used was about midway and Katara craned her neck from side to side to see which way she should go. The spire whistled like a cracked flute; Katara was aware of the thin streams of breeze that curled through the loose stones and broken windows. Feeling a pull to the left, she wandered down the quiet stone hall, averting her gaze from the open door frames.
About a quarter down, Katara heard the faint rustle of paper. Her steps quickened and she halted just before the door where she heard the noise. Someone was rifling through the contents of the room, pulling out papers and pausing to breathe and flip through the sheaves.
"Hey." Katara said as she popped around the frame. Sokka ignored her and yanked out a pad of papers from between a stack of books that were perched on a stool. The papers came free and the top half of the book stack toppled onto the floor. A large dust cloud exploded into a large puff, causing them both to start coughing. Waving her hands, Katara dispersed the cloud and approached her brother.
"What did you find?" She asked and peered around his hands as she turned to stand next to him. Sokka handed her the papers as he turned back and walked over to a desk. Katara scanned the pages in her hand, unable to make sense of the neat columns of characters.
"I was just looking around at first, but then I found this." Sokka spoke while he stepped back to her side. She looked over at the new papers he held, filled with rows of runes.
"Nutaaq?" Katara asked, taking the papers from him and adding it to her stack. The papers were a daily log, talking about chores and supplies purchased from nearby traders. Names that felt unfamiliar in her mouth were shaped out in her people's runes.
"I think this monk came from the village we were at. His father was an Airbender and his mother sent him here." Sokka explained.
"How do you know that?" She questioned. Sokka went back to the desk and returned with two tattered books.
"Here." He said and flipped open the top book. "The monk's name was Natar, a Water Tribe name. He talks about his mother, Atuat, was a Waterbender." Sokka pointed to the familiar symbols and Katara nodded.
"He was recording the history of the Air Temples. Look how he writes in Common and in Nutaaq." He continued. Katara saw how the left page was written in Common but she didn't understand how it related to the runes on the right.
"We could use this to learn Common writing. Gran-Gran can teach us to speak it." Sokka concluded. Katara frowned and shook her head.
"How do you know which words mean which runes?" She asked, still staring at the page. In her mind, the Common characters were attempting to make a picture, and Katara could not parse one out.
"Because of this book." Sokka said and thrust the first one into Katara's hands. She scrambled to hold it and the papers, but dropped the lot as Sokka opened the book in his hands. It was a beautifully illustrated story, one that she knew well.
"The Legend of Sedna." She whispered in awe.
"With Common written in the spaces around." Sokka explained. "We can match the runes to the characters."
"But why would we want to?" Katara asked, looking over at Sokka.
"Natar was an Airbender who wanted to collect knowledge. Knowledge that he wrote down in Nutaaq. He might have something on waterbending, or the North Pole." Sokka said. Katara was silent and chewed on her lip as she looked back down at the book. One whole page was painted with bright blue and green ink, with silver lines carving out Sedna's face. It was when she was being taken out to sea, before she was dropped into the icy ocean and created all the sea life. She looked so sad, but her mother had always called her serene.
"Sokka." Katara said suddenly, still looking at Sedna's face.
"What?"
"There are grown-ups here."
"WHAT?!"
The pair rushed back down the stairs together and back into the common room. Everyone seemed to be gathered, with the younger boys now gone to watch the varied flocks. Torches had been lit, as well as a large communal fire in the center. Adults stood or crouched together in a large group, though no one seemed to be leading a meeting.
Sokka became reticent and Katara hid behind him, craning around him to look at everyone. She had been told that this very thing had been impossible, and yet here they were. A small army of young adults.
An elder, someone they had made the crossing with, spotted them and waved them both over. Quietly, and with Sokka's hand clamped tightly on her own, they approached. More and more people turned and began to whisper.
"This," The old man began as the children got closer. "Is our Waterbender." He put a hand on Katara's shoulder and it felt like a boulder, pushing her into the floor. She grabbed onto Sokka's arm and dipped her head in a brief nod.
"By her lady's most frigid depths, is it true?" The adult was a woman, younger than Katara's mother had been, but far older than her own years. She smiled broadly as Katara nodded.
"A Waterbender!" The woman whooped, turning toward the crowd. Cheers went up and Katara felt herself smile. Kanna finally emerged and ushered them both under her arms.
"Are any of you Waterbenders?" Katara asked, trying to speak loudly enough to be heard. The woman turned back, looking sad.
"Unfortunately, no. Iqaluit was one of the first places to be purged of our Benders. Even before the formal decree went out, a whole fleet went from slaughtering Airbenders to raiding our village." She answered. Katara, overwhelmed, began to cry. The woman winced but startled as Sokka stepped up to her, glowering.
"Then what do you want with my sister?" He demanded, puffing his thin chest out. The woman regarded him for a moment and then grinned, still knowing better than to laugh.
"A Waterbender gives us a fighting chance. Now, we have a plan." She answered. She clapped a hand hard on Sokka's back, making him cough and lurch forward. She continued to push him, turning him toward the others. Katara cried out, reaching for him, but Kanna hushed her.
"We have a new Wolf Warrior, and he protects the Waterbender!" The woman called out. While everyone cheered, she leaned down toward Sokka.
"What's your name wolfpup?" She asked.
"S-s-sokka." He stammered, his face flushing.
"To Sokka and to Katara! The Saviors of the South Pole!" The woman said, standing tall. More cheers and applause filled the room. It rang in Katara's ears and she held her hands over them. But looking at Sokka, she saw him stand tall with pride.