Thanks, papyrus, VividDreamer, Jokermask! And Happy (belated) Halloween, papyrus! XD

This next one I put out on KF on July of 2010 for the Kataang Festival that year. I wrote it just before I started serious work on Second Genesis, and I kinda had this in mind for the segment when the Gaang was at the South Pole. So, to honor the birthday of a certain friend of mine... here we are. XD Hope you like it.

Thanks again for reading, everybody.

The Snows of Yester-Year

The snowstorm came in from the sea and battered the Southern Water Tribe village. Sheets of snow railed against the igloos, but did little more than build up on them. This was home to the Southern Water Tribe. They knew how to build their homes.

Inside it was dark, but warm. Furs, brown, blue-gray, black, and white, hung from the walls of snow and were laid flat on the floor. A single clay oil lamp in the middle of the room gave enough light to see by.

Aang heard the whistle of the storm outside. He was sitting up in his bedding of blankets and furs. "Wow..." he said quietly. "That's some blizzard out there."

"Yes, it is." Katara looked over at him, the yellow-orange light playing over her face. She too kept her voice down. "It might go on for a few days. Depending on how big it is."

"A few days... I hope Appa will be all right."

"He'll be fine." Katara smiled. "We made him a big enough snow cave... and he has plenty of hay..."

Aang looked at the wall toward Appa's snow cave, then lowered his head, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah, you're right. He'll probably just catch up on his sleep."

Katara nodded. "That's what we do. There's no point in fighting the storm."

Momo, curled up and warm, raised his head and chittered agreement.

Aang tilted his head. "So you just stay inside and sleep all day?"

Katara chuckled. "Well, you could go outside and try to do something..."

Aang remembered moving back to their igloo earlier from outside and having to shake snow out of his ears. He made a face. "No thanks."

She laughed. "I thought you'd say that."

The lamp sputtered and the light dimmed. Katara got up and checked the lamp, then fetched a skin full of oil and refilled it. Aang watched the interesting shadows that the lamplight made... and he watched Katara.

Katara grew thoughtful. "Gran-Gran did tell us stories, though... stories that her grandmother told her." She settled back into bed. "She said that once when Avatar Kuruk was here, he battled a blizzard, all by himself. He challenged some of the other Waterbenders to do it, too."

Aang grew wide-eyed. "Did they?"

She nodded. "Yeah, they did. They didn't... do so well. Even together."

Aang smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, that's Avatar Kuruk. Always showing off. He would do something like that." He looked toward the entrance. "I wonder if I could do that..."

She smiled. "Gran-Gran also said that long after that, young male Waterbenders would go out and try and battle the storms, just like he did. Must be some guy thing."

"Yeah, must be. I guess it—hey!" He glared at Katara, who laughed.

The wind whistled against the igloo for a bit.

"Of course... there are times when you have to go out, and away from the village. Dad did that once, when I was a little girl. He had to go hunting. And then a walrusbear found him."

"Oh, no." Aang got wide-eyed again. "What did he do?"

"He hid in a snowdrift. He had on his white furs because he was hunting, so he blended in. Then he got behind the walrusbear... and he jabbed it with his spear!"

"He killed it?"

"No... walrusbears are too big to kill on your own. That's what Dad says. But the walrusbear was so startled, it jumped-and then it fell through the ice. And Dad ran away from the hole as fast as he could."

Aang laughed.

"Of course... we were kids when he told us that, so I don't know if it really happened that way—the walrusbear jumping and breaking a hole in the ice." Katara smiled.

He shrugged. "It's still a nice story."

"Still, most of the time... we stay inside. It's easier to keep warm that way."

"Yeah... I guess that makes sense." Aang laid back down. "It's pretty dark in here anyway."

"Yeah..." Katara laid back down too. "Can't see very much."

They laid there for a while, listening to the wind.

Then a small smile grew on Aang's face. His eyes wandered over to Katara... then back up to the ceiling.

"Of course... I understand how important it is to keep warm."

"Yes. Yes, it is."

"I think it's a very important thing... in a cold place like this."

Katara looked slightly quizzical. "Yes... it's hard to warm up again, once you get cold."

"I mean... you're over there, keeping warm, and... I'm over here, keeping warm..."

Then a small smile appeared on Katara's face. "And... it probably would be easier if we... tried to keep warm, together..."

"Yes, it... probably would be easier..."

They quietly shuffled their furs together.

And snuggled.

Aang grinned. "I mean... if you're trying to keep warm..."

Katara did too. "Then keeping warm together is a lot easier..."

Then there was a very theatrical clearing of the throat.

"I would remind my sister and the Avatar that they are not alone in this igloo..."

"Yeah! It's hard for somebody to get some sleep around here!"

Katara sat bolt-upright and glared. "Oh, hush! You and Toph are doing the exact same thing!"

Sokka's voice went up an octave. "I am not! -I mean-we. We are not."

He looked over at Toph. "...Are you?" Toph frowned, and shuffled her sleeping furs an obligatory few inches away.

Katara laid back down and snuggled into Aang. "Now, where were we?"

Aang smiled. "I think we were talking about keeping warm."

"Yes. Yes we were." Katara smiled... and closed her eyes. Aang kissed her on the forehead softly... and did the same.

They passed the rest of the storm that way... quite warmly.