Take a ruler and slap my wrists. I was procrastinating. Because I'm from Procrastination Nation. I have dual citizenship. Anyway, Azula this chapter, I'm afraid, but she'll return in the next chapter-hopefully. And I just ruined your day again.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

Chapter Twenty One

"Kojimi, really, we've overstayed our welcome." Katara said softly, holding up the few possessions that she still owned, "It's time we've moved on." Really, it was. They should have left days ago-when they had first reunited-, but the temptation of staying under a real roof had been too nice to pass up. But they had a task at hand and time-as they had already learned-was never on their side. The North Pole was still too far away to idle. Behind her, her friends gathered their own things in an electric silence. They, too, were prepared to depart the city of Shintashi. The city was nice in its own right, and perhaps they would be able to return in the future, but they had something more important to deal with.

The young woman standing before Katara made a tsk sound deep in her throat before nodding. "I understand. You all have the world to save." Kojimi thrust out her hand as an offer for Katara to shake it, but the waterbender grasped her wrist and pulled her towards her chest in a constricting hug. Kojimi had done too much for just a handshake. "Besides, we have to get ready for our parents to arrive." She turned her lips up into a smile, "I've taught you things, and you've taught me things." The woman brushed her finger across her eye, "You'll visit, won't you?"

Before Katara could speak, Toph nodded her head eagerly, "You can count on it!" She grinned, "When we come back, we can pound some more bread!" She seemed certain that they would return to the city one day and Katara hoped that they did. But they had to move on for now. "Just wait until we get back here."

"Okay, Toph, we will." That was Anandi, the woman who the ability to airbend. She had decided not to accompany the teenagers, for it wouldn't be too long until her child-Toph was certain it was a boy-was born. The lady extended her arms for Toph to step into them and she enveloped the girl into a hug. "I wish I could say 'don't grow up too fast', but we all know where that would go."

And when Katara thought about it, she realized that everyone had grown up too fast for the last hundred years. All because of an idealist with a taste for sadism and destruction along with a way with words. But what was done was done, and now it was up to them to pick up the pieces and put them back together. As Sokka would say, they would need a lot of paste.

"We should really be going," Zuko said, as if he didn't want to prolong their departure any further. "We have a lot of distance to cover and we have to find somewhere to rest." He had two bags slung over his back. One contained food items that could withstand travel. The other held his own possessions-he had changed into the outfit that Sokka had been carrying during their separation. Katara's dress, the one given to her by Roshni, was still tucked in her bag amongst her other things. She couldn't quite bring herself to wear it again, not yet, though she feared that she would grow out of it.

Hattori, the newest addition to their team, stepped forward and threw his arms around Anandi. Katara had initially been unsure of the strange boy, but she had decided that he was nice company. Besides, he was a firebender and they could use his ability when nights started to grow cold. The firebending boy pressed his face into the folds of Anandi's clothes, as though he was trying to capture her scent to take with him. "You know you're going to miss me, Anandi, admit it!"

The woman pushed the boy away, grinning. "I'll let you believe that." But Katara could see the sad tears that were beginning to well up in her gray eyes, threatening to spill over onto her cheeks. She was going to miss Hattori-dreadfully- and it made her sad to admit it. Her dear friend was leaving her. Katara knew that feeling. At least Anandi would see him again, one day. Katara had lost a dear friend, too.

Only her best friend was dead.

And suddenly, something in her surge, threatening to run over the surface. She was suddenly angry-so angry. Here was this woman, embracing her friend and promising they wouldn't forget each other. She had someone to look forward to seeing again. Katara didn't. She had no one to wait for, now. But then, she felt ashamed, as well. She had great friends who would be at her side no matter what. She had a family who would love her unconditionally and would always be there. It was not something to take for granted.

Katara adjusted the strap of her new water pouch, tightening it almost uncomfortably around her waist before loosening it. She moved towards the door and exited quietly, nearly unseen. Her stomach felt tight and seemed to flip over in her belly, her emotions in turmoil. Perhaps, she thought, it was nervousness. How long had it been since she had flown on Appa? How long had it been since her hair blew in the wind as she watched the world pass below her?

There was Appa, his saddle readjusted, with his feet tucked under his massive body. As the girl approached, the bison groaned and twitched his great tail. Katara felt the corners of her lips turn upward into a smile as she crossed the distance between her and the beast, running her hand along his nose and pressing her face into his muzzle. Sometimes Katara wished she could fly away like Appa, but it seemed that wherever she went, she was never totally at peace.

"When are you going to stop running?" Zuko asked quietly, throwing his supplies onto the bison's saddle. He looked at Katara from the corner of his unscarred eye, waiting for an answer. And because she had none, she laughed. The former prince was silent for a moment, as if he was judging her sanity, and then he smirked as he reached for her bag.

Katara handed it over to him and shrugged, "I'll stop running," She said, "I'll stop running when it's safe to walk." The azure eyed waterbender turned her gaze towards the door of the house where the others were approaching them. "I'll steer first," She said and Zuko nodded as he clambered up onto Appa's saddle. "Here come the others."

From the roof of the house, the winged lemur, Momo, flitted down to land on Katara's head, chattering loudly. The waterbender smiled and peeled the little animal from her hair, holding up to her face. The patches on his fur were slowly growing back and he was growing rather plump from all the rich foods he had been eating. Katara smiled and looked up.

Sokka was struggling to drag his pack and Suki's, much to the Kyoshi Warrior's protest. Behind him, Toph proudly carried her own bag above her head, as if she found it necessary to gloat about her strength. Toph had always been proud of her abilities, even if they did get in her uncomfortable situations at times.

As her friends climbed onto Appa's back, the waterbender heaved upward onto Appa's neck, taking the reins and pulled them taut. Zuko crawled to her side, leaning against the side of the saddle so that he could see in all directions. Katara snapped the rope gently, urging the beast to fly with the command of "Yip, yip!" Appa slammed his great tail onto the ground and thrust himself upward into the sky, taking to the air with a rumble deep in his throat.

They rose higher into the sky, rising above the city and circling once, twice, three times before Appa took the direction in which Katara had nudged him to. The skies were clear and Katara took it as a good sign. They would make it safely to the Northern Water Tribe. She hoped. No, she knew. Hope didn't get her very far nowadays.

"I told them." Zuko said softly, when he didn't think the others were listening. "I told them how I couldn't save you and Suki. I couldn't save anyone," He whispered, "And I'm sorry." Katara felt the muscles in her shoulders twitch and she turned towards the older boy, meeting his gaze. She had never seen such a morose stare, and it made her sad as well.

"I know you told them," Katara replied and inside, she brightened. Sokka had thrown his arms around her and nearly squeezed the life from her when they had returned from their day out. "And there's not need to apologize, I've already forgotten about it," No you haven't, stop lying. "Sometimes, bad things just happen. I mean, look at the situation we're in now! But look on the bright side."

Zuko snorted and his dark hair blew sideways in the wind. "There is no bright side," He deadpanned, looking off to the lands they were heading towards. "If we couldn't even hold Omashu, how are we supposed to get the Northern Water Tribe back?"

Katara bit her bottom lip. "Well," She began, "We'll come up with a plan. And maybe Iroh and the others managed to keep hold of it." The chances of that were slim. "Maybe they're working to take Ba Sing Se back as we speak." That was impossible. The Phoenix King had made the palace of Ba Sing Se his own when he took the city and it was heavily fortified, nothing could get in or out. "Perhaps they are in the Fire Nation. Maybe Azula hasn't found out about them yet."

"Azula finds out everything." Zuko argued pessimistically. "We've lost nearly everything-"

"Except each other." Katara finished for him and reached back to grasp her friend's hand for a brief moment before they both pulled away. Sometimes they just needed to touch, just to remind each other that they didn't have to the carry the burden all by themselves. "We'll always have our friends."

"Yeah," Zuko agreed, "yeah."

"And what makes you think," Said the pale, sad eyed woman, "What makes you think that I can get into Ba Sing Se?" She clasped her thin hands together, pressing her thumbs against each other as she looked down at the plate piled with food that hadn't been touched in several minutes, since she had begun this conversation.

"Because," said the younger woman who faced her. She had warmer skin and dark hair spilling around her shoulder. The top of her lip had a cut that looked like it had been picked at and along her cheek was a fading bruise, contrasting sharply with the heavy dark half-rings under her hazel eyes. "If anyone can get into Ba Sing Se, it's you, milady," She smiled, then and reached for the strip of meat that remained on her plate. "If you can't do it, after all you've done, no one can."

Her companion's eyes grew distant for a moment and she blinked, "No one has called me that for a long time," She said finally. "I've done some very bad things, and sometimes I regret them." The woman wrung her hands and moved her food around, "But I'll do it. I'll get into Ba Sing Se and do what I can. Does that seem fair enough?"

"We wouldn't ask for anything different, milady." The younger female reached across the table, extending her hand. "You already know where to find me," She said and stood, "If you have any questions, feel free to ask. My name is Roshni," She moved away, then. "Then again, you probably already knew that, didn't you?"

The older woman smiled and shook her head as Roshni walked away. She rested her chin on her knuckles, closing her eyes and letting the tension in her shoulders lessen. She was once called the Killer of Kings, though she didn't think that title was appropriate. It was true, of course, but she had done what she thought had to be done at the time. Part of her regretted it-she was part of the cause of this-and yet, she would never deny what she had done.

She would do it again, if she had to. She wouldn't hesitate to do what needed to be done, no matter the cost. Because she had had enough of this. She would help bring it to an end. Even if it killed her. That didn't bother her.

She had seen worse, anyway.

The fire crackled and danced along the wood, casting a soft brown glow on six faces that huddle near the flames, holding their small rations of food over the fire to warm it. The shadowed trees loomed above their heads, their leaves whispering softly in the nighttime breeze. This is more like it. More like the old times. They were all silent for once, simply enjoying the pleasure of being with people they loved. Katara sat next to the small bowl of remaining stew that she had hastily made. There normally wouldn't have been so much to spare, but she had made too much.

"Someone say something," Toph said before tilting her bowl up to her mouth and wolfing down the rest of her dinner. "I'm tired of just sitting here in silence. Someone tell a story before I implode from talking in my head."

Katara looked across the fire at the younger girl, knowing she couldn't see her. But before she could say anything, Hattori spoke, his eyes searching the flames. "There was once this boy," He began and his gaze shot up to look at them all, "There was once this boy who lived with his grandfather, who made swords for a living. He loved his grandfather, because he taught him everything he knew." Hattori said and set his bowl on the ground next to him. "And so, one day, when the boy was eleven, a group of Fire Nation soldiers stormed into their house and demanded that his grandfather began a school for swordmanship.

"But naturally, he refused and they fought. He told his grandson to get into the house-he was only a little kid-and then he set out to defend his house. He lost. Horribly. His home was set afire and the little boy was still in the house. He died in the fire." Hattori flicked his fingers and a tiny flame appeared along his fingertips. "At least, that's the believable part of the story. The part that no one believes is that he came back alive because the Spirit's decided it wasn't time for him to go. And that when he woke up, he was different."

Silence.

And then Sokka scratched the back of his head, averting his gaze towards the trees that surrounded their tiny campsite. "Rough story, man. Really rough," He said and passed his bowl towards Katara, looking at his younger sister pleadingly, "Seconds, please?"

Katara rolled her eyes and accepted the bowl when Suki offered it to her. She bent down and ladled the remainder of the stew in her brother's rations. At least it wouldn't go to waste. Across the fire, Toph arched her back and threw herself backwards on the ground, putting her arms behind her head and yawning loudly. She was tired and Katara found herself yawning as well.

They weren't staying in the forest, though. They had only stopped long enough to easy their aching rears and to eat. From the corner of their tiny campsite, Appa growled at Momo as the little lemur insistently pulled at his ears.

"Do we have to get ready to go now?" Toph groaned as Zuko threw dirt on the fire. "I'm tired!" She sat up and her pale eyes were narrowed angrily at the older firebender. "Please can we stay until dawn? Please?"

Zuko shook his head as Katara collected the chipped bowls. "No," The former prince said rather bluntly, kicking more dirt onto the ashes of their campfire. "We can't. You can sleep on Appa, once we're ready to leave. We can't afford to stay here."

Toph grumbled irritably under her breath and sat up. Katara was sure that if the girl had sight, she would have been glaring at Zuko with a look that could kill. "We can't afford to do anything," She said and frowned as she pushed herself to her feet.

"It'll all be better, soon." Katara said and if Toph could tell she was lying, she didn't say anything.

A day after the teenagers left the small city of Shintashi, a group of uniformed soldiers marched into the city, led by two komodo-rhinos adorned in deep red saddle blankets. One was a man and the other was a younger woman, dark circles under both of their eyes. The man's intuition had been right this time. He dismounted his beast and handed the reins to one of his subordinates, nodding his head as his female companion followed suit.

With his assistant at his side, the military man entered the city's only diner, dragging his hand down his face. He and his men were tired after the long journey. But they weren't here to rest. Not yet. Almost immediately after they entered the darkened room, they were approached by an aging woman. The hostess.

"Can I help you, kind sir?" She asked and her tone was sickeningly sweet. She recognized the insignia on their armor-who didn't?-and she knew the power that these people held. She bowed to her unexpected visitors and the man exposed his teeth in a smile.

At his side, the woman frowned. The man reached into his armor and undershirt, pulling out a heavy purse. He took the hostess's hand and ran his fingers along her palm before placing the purse there, patting her gnarled fingers. "Half of this is for your silence. The other half is for the information you will give me. Now, tell me, have you seen a brown skinned girl recently? Of about this height, dark hair, and blue eyes." He watched the hostess's face. "Possibly traveling with a pale girl and scarred girl."

The hostess blinked. "I have. They left just a day ago, actually, with a boy who looked like her brother, a blind girl, and some other boy. I think they said they were going up north." At these words, the female soldier beside the man jolted, "There's a pregnant woman staying here who was with them. You could ask her." She explained, greed glittering in her eyes.

"I have nothing against a woman with child," Said the man and jerked his head, turning to leave. "Thank you, Ma'am, for your kind help. It has been marvelous speaking to you!" And before he and the woman left, he took her hand and kissed her fingers, smiling cunningly.

It wasn't until the man and the woman left that it occurred to the hostess that she should check the purse to see what they had given her. She gently pried it open and looked inside, emitting a loud gasp. For in the purse, there was merely a large, gray, rock.

No, the hostess isn't bad. She's just...greedy. And...Time skip next chapter. Just a head's up.