"Aunt Wu!" Katara flew into the old woman's arms hugging her tiny frame.
"Alright, alright." Wu said rubbing Katara's back and holding her at arms length, "My you've grown look at you!" Katara laughed but sobered quickly looking down at the old woman.
"Aunt Wu, I need a reading." The woman laughed.
"No dearie you really don't." She cackled.
"Uhm yeah? I kind of do?"
"Naw, not at all I already have what you need." Aunt Wu said grabbing her hand, "Irotah if you don't mind I must commandeer your charge."
"Wait how do you know I'm staying with Irotah? And how do you know what I need even I don't know tha—"
Aunt Wu turned and looked at the girl before tapping a pink manicured finger at her eyes. "Fortune teller, remember? Also a moon spirit contacted me. Such fickle creatures they are." She shrugged and pulled Katara along the cobbled street to her home.
She slid the door open and pulled Katara inside, a familiar voice came from the hallway and a tall girl stepped into the hallway balancing a tray in her hands. Even though her wild hair had calmed down considerably Katara still recognized her.
"Mistress Wu? Do we have guests I'll make some tea right away—"
"Meng!" Katara said rushing forward and hugging the girl knocking the tray from her fingers.
"Ah, who are you? Wait I know you, you're Katara!" The girl said looking down at Katara with a big toothed smile.
"The pretty water bender is even prettier now—no fair! I bet Aang's real happy with that."
Katara fidgeted "We're kind of not together anymore… and what's it to you? I hear your have a very handsome lad named Gin vying for your attention."
Meng blushed, "How did you?"
"She's staying with Irotah at the moment." Aunt Wu piped up, "And Katara is no longer with to Avatar but the spirits are telling me she is shacking up with the young Fire Lord." Katara blushed.
They all sat nursing their tea in silence. Meng was rebraiding her hair, Katara was fiddling with the Earth Kingdom robes she had been given and Aunt Wu was messing around with some bones.
"Aunt Wu?" Katara put her cup down.
"Yes Dearie?"
"You said you had something for me?"
"Huh? Oh yes, Meng will you please go fetch the package that arrived this morning." Meng got up and left, coming back a few minutes later with a crate rolling it into the room.
"The moon spirit had me order the following items for you." She opened the crate twiddling her fingers in the air before plucking an item from the box. She held up an interesting white sash and blue robes. "The moon spirit thought you might like this, the sash was bloody hard to get its moonworm silk."
She set them in Katara's lap and she fingered the sash it felt like cool liquid as it slipped from her fingers and into her laps.
Aunt Wu pulled out an assortment of daggers, potions and a knap sack.
"There was one other thing that confused me; I want to know what you make of this." Wu pulled a white longbow from the crate holding it out to Katara; she took it running her fingers over the smooth surface.
Her mind took her back to when she was a waterbending student; one day after a special lesson her had sat her down for a story.
"Legends say there was once a special sect of waterbenders that used bows and ice arrows, their aim was said to be the truest of the four nations. But apparently they were wiped out by oppressing forces, their white mahogany (A wood native to the South and North Poles) bows destroyed or hidden forever."
"Its white Mahogany. It was almost as hard to find as Moonworm silk, they say that a sect of wat—"
"Yeah I know water tribe warriors." Katara fiddled with the bow. "I'm really no good with weapons like this." Katara said meaning to hand it back to Wu. But the old woman held up a hand.
"Why do you go into the garden and try it out?"
Katara stood in the garden, it was a sweet smelling and pretty garden with a clear blue pond in the middle, a little red bridge going over it to the other side. Meng was setting up a target about fifty feet away from Katara and Aunt Wu was sitting in a lawn chair with her fingers steepled in concentration.
"UH…" Katara said looking at her bow, "Aunt Wu? There's no bow string." She held the piece of wood up.
"You don't need one, you're a water bender aren't you? Use your bending."
"But… My arms…"
"You've got feet." The woman sighed, "I'm kidding I unearthed this scroll for you to learn the Archer Water bender technique. Better hop to it."
Katara glanced at the scroll, apparently the sect of archers used their feet when bending, it created a different style of water bending giving the bender greater aim and strengthening the ice arrow.
Katara moved her feet awkwardly into the first position wiggling her fingers and gathering the water she would need, she drew her knee up and knocked the water arrow back squinting her eyes at the target. She set her foot down and drew a half circle in the dirt in front of her and breathed on the water, it solidified into a sharp pointy looking object and she drew her foot back, then forward letting go of the bending in her hand and stepping forward quickly the arrow shot towards the target but before it hit it melted and splashed the target.
Katara growled.
"Sloppy." Aunt Wu said. "These movements have to be sharp but fluid Katara and your concentration has to be absolute. Also your arrow just looks like a chunk of ice, if you refine the arrow it will last longer and do more damage."
Katara looked at the old woman and got back into position.
"Again." Aunt Wu said.
It had been two days since she had come to Aunt Wu's, all of Irotah's children came to watch her train at one point or another watching her now refined arrows strike the target.
Katara had excelled in the last few days, her motions at first were jerky and unpracticed but now she flowed easily from one position to another getting acquainted with her legs in a way she never had before.
"It's almost like fire bending, they use their legs whenever they bend it's like their one whole instead of just using their legs." Meng said one afternoon as she served Katara a cool drink, the weather was almost blistering with heat.
"Why is it so hot?" Katara asked freezing some water to her forehead "Its not even spring yet."
"Its because we are so close to the volcano. The land is naturally heated giving us a full on summer most of the time." Meng explained sitting on the porch and sipping her own drink.
"Katara." Aunt Wu said from behind them as she came outside, her hands buried under her large sleeves.
"Hm?" Katara asked standing up.
"Hit the target for me, this time concentrate more than you ever have before." Aunt Wu didn't smile and her face was grave.
"Is something wrong?" Meng asked getting up.
"No nothing dearie, Katara?"
"Okay." Katara gathered her bow and stood before the target, she tightened her shoulders and drew them back and wiggled her fingers gathering the exact amount of water that she needed then went through the motions, her legs working in time with her free hand and creating the arrow and locking onto her target. Then everything clicked, things narrowed down in a way they never have before and the adrenaline pumping through her heart caused gooseflesh to prickle down her arms. Katara leaned forward and loosed the arrow.
It sliced through the air, hitting the dummy and going through the dummy. A choked cry came from the other side of the dummy as one of the soldiers from Azula's band fell to the ground, an arrow sticking out of his throat.
"Oh my—" Meng squealed a hand flying to her mouth, Katara turned and stared at Aunt Wu hard.
"Did you know he was there?" The old woman nodded.
"It is as fate told me a few moments ago. And you are ready; you must go now and prepare to face Azula."
"But you are being attacked!" Katara said.
"The village of Makapu can hold its own." Meng said. "Aunt Wu, should we give the thing to her now?"
"Yes I believe we should." Aunt Wu stuck two fingers into her mouth and whistled. A crash from somewhere in her house and a giant white dog burst through the paper doors. The dog was bigger than an Ostrich Horse!
"A few days after the moon spirit contacted me this Polar Bear Dog came loping into Makapu like she owned the place."
Katara gasped, she had seen these in the Northern Water tribe before. She reached out towards the Dog and it bumped her hand with its head. "Does she have a name?" Katara asked forgetting that the town was under attack.
"How should I know? All that thing does is eat and sleep. Now get on and go before I knock you into next week!"
Katara scrambled onto the dog's sleek back and gripped its fur. "Goodbye! Please stay safe." Katara said over her shoulder and clicked her tongue spurring the dog into action..
"We will! And make sure you bring your handsome fire bender round, eh?" Aunt Wu's voice said in the distance as the dog took her to Yue knows where.
I'm ready to face her, Azula. Maybe I can finally go back to what I used to be. Just Katara. She thought as the dog made its way through the forest and to her destiny.
So I really wanted Katara to have her own Polar Bear dog like Korra does in the legend of Korra. I like to think when Korra came to train Nukka (Katara's Polar Bear dog, it means little sister in Inuit) has just had a litter of pups and Katara gave one to Korra so she would feel more at home and welcomed.
Headcanon accepted? I think so. (Even though Nukka will be like 70 lets just say they have long lifespans ok?)
ANYWHO. You guys get some Zuko in the next chapter and things will be getting wrapped up soon.
Read&Review as always I really want more reviews, it helps me write.
-LittleMoonLover-