After leaving the shop, Katara went home to change and talk to her father. Apparently, Thuy's debut was going to be a very large ordeal. As she was born in the swamp, she symbolized a partnership between the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribe. Historically, such a relationship had been impossible as many of the closest Earth Kingdom city-states feared any growing power among the ice bound tribes.
As Avatars Kuruk and Kyoshi never had children - and the Air Nomads didn't keep that sort of record back when Avatar Yangchen was alive - only the descendants of Avatars Roku and Aang would be going. To sort of welcome Thuy into the family, or so Hakoda assumed.
Sitting on her couch, Katara pulled up the mini series on the Avatars on Webflicks. Starting the episode on Avatar Roku, she fast forwarded to the end.
His only living descendants were Zuko and Azula.
That surprised Katara but, as Tenzin narrated the episode, she found that their connection to Avatar Roku was through their mother. She was an only child, born of the only child Roku had. And she had disappeared halfway through the war.
Flipping to the next episode, Katara watched a bit about Avatar Aang. Tenzin, with more emotion in his voice as he spoke about his late father than the previous Avatars, explained how Roku's death is what allowed for the conflict between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom to begin.
Roku, having been close to Fire Lord Sozin all of his life, had defused a lot. While attempting to stop a volcanic eruption, both the Avatar and the Fire Lord perished. Aang was raised during a time of turmoil as Fire Lord Azulon sought to fill his father's throne, but was isolated in part due to being an Air Nomad.
The back and forth between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom went on for the Avatar's lifetime. It was only because of his intervention that it didn't escalate.
Ultimately, Avatar Aang had a family. His eldest son Bumi left the monastic order and founded the secular Urban Dust, his daughter Yangzom became the youngest spiritual sage of her time, and his youngest son Tenzin became a revered historian. All of them Airbenders, they scattered across the world and, in a moment of unintentional hilarity, not even Tenzin could figure out who had children and where. His older siblings having passed on, only his children were the official descendants of Avatar Aang.
Katara chuckled as she saw a shot of Rohan in their Airbender robes and with a shaved head. They looked happy standing with their family. Her smile fading, Katara clicked back an episode to see the shot of Zuko with his. He didn't look nearly as happy. Or really, he didn't look happy at all.
With a sigh, Katara switched off her TV and got up. She would probably have to sit and watch the whole series, if for nothing else than to give her even the slightest bit of knowledge about the current global climate. It might help to know more about Thuy as well, if they were going to be working together when Katara became queen.
Katara shuddered and headed for the door.
Rohan met her in a park and Katara looked around as she got there. It was still early in the evening and, with the summer solstice behind them, the sunset made the world rosy. Rohan sat on a low cement wall, overlooking an outdoor amphitheater with their glider folded up next to them.
"So, do any air deliveries today?" Katara asked, eyeing the glider. Rohan laughed and rubbed the back of their head.
"Nah. Unfortunately, I was on time for everything today." They replied.
"You know, I'm curious, why is it that the Avatar's grandchild is a delivery person?" Katara questioned.
"Well, since an Avatar is born every generation, it'd get pretty expensive to keep their kids living in the lap of luxury." Rohan said and Katara shrugged. "And grandpa certainly blew through any niceties when he had three times as many kids as the last three Avatars combined."
"And then your dad having four!" Katara added as she sat down next to them. "The audacity!"
Rohan chuckled and they both looked down the overgrown slope. Children jumped from one spot of exposed rock to another and shrieked with delight. It was a gentle scene as the day was ending and the air was finally cooling.
"It's nice having a big family. It'll be nicer once Jinora has her kid." Rohan tilted their head and looked over at Katara. "Do you and Sokka get along?"
"Yeah. Why do you ask?" Katara leaned back, putting her hands on the warmed stone.
"You look sad." Rohan said bluntly. Katara felt the blush and she turned her face.
"It's just Sokka and I. And our dad." She added hurriedly.
"I think we were lucky, all of the Air Nomads. Our temples are so hard to reach, we were really protected." Rohan said. "Except for Uncle Bumi, but Pop said that he got to play Sky Pirates and fight the Fire Nation, which the monks wouldn't've let him do."
"It's funny how there will always be pirates. Waterbenders were the pirate kings but got wiped out during the war." Katara said and then sighed. "A lot of Waterbenders got wiped out in the war."
"But you're still here." Rohan said, putting their hand on hers. "And the Avatar has been found with a whole stash of lost Waterbenders!"
Katara laughed and sat up, sliding her hand from under Rohan's. "You're right."
Standing up, she held onto the strap of her purse with both hands. "Ready to go?"
"Yup!" Rohan said, jumping up. They took their glider up and spun it, stamping it down on the ground as they stood to their full height.
"How do you feel about pizza?" They asked.
The pizza place they ended up in was small, but lively. Rohan left Katara and their glider at an outdoor table, and she watched them through the large plate glass window. People were pressed shoulder to shoulder as they stood eating the largest slices of pizza Katara had ever seen. Rohan was quickly enveloped as they got closer to the counter and Katara pulled her phone out of her purse. Opening her Clicktalk app, she snapped a picture with the hanging restaurant sign behind her. Typing in a caption, Katara glanced up to see if she could spot Rohan. They were tall, but had somehow been completely swallowed by the crowd.
As she posted her picture, she saw two arms rise up over the bobbing heads and smiled at the sight of the blue arrows. Holding up two plates, the arms pushed through the crowd till Rohan freed themself, heading for the door.
Setting down the plates, Katara watched as they then reached into their pants pockets, pulling out two soda bottles with a flourish.
"Now watch this." They said as they sat down. Using their airbending, Rohan flicked the bottle caps off and sent them spinning. They caught them in the air and made the caps dance around each other before letting them drop.
"That is a cool trick." Katara said with a laugh. Looking down at the pizza, she pulled a plate over to her side of the table. The slices were as big as her face and the pepperoni slices were twice the size she had seen on other pizza.
"I thought Airbenders were vegetarians." Katara remarked, picking up her slice and folding it in half.
"Common misconception. Avatar Aang was a vegetarian but he was an outlier and should not be counted." Rohan replied before shoving pizza into their mouth.
"So do you and like, the other Avatar descendants hang out?" Katara asked before taking a bite.
"You mean with Zuko and Azula?" Rohan questioned with their mouth still mostly full. They paused to swallow. "Sometimes, but it's usually just at formal functions. Apparently my uncle Bumi saved Iroh's butt a bunch during the early part of the war and so the current Fire Lord doesn't really like us."
"Then you know Iroh?"
"Sure! I get tea there all the time and hangout. Pop says Iroh's the little brother he never had."
"Well, you should know Zuko at least."
Rohan took a moment to eat before responding, looking off into the street.
"Zuko is Zuko." They said softly, then turned and smiled. "Actually, my sister Jinora was better friends with him. And Meelo is absolutely obsessed with Azula."
"I can't imagine anyone being obsessed with Azula." Katara said dryly and Rohan laughed.
"The very reason you can't is exactly the reason why he is." They said and shook their head. "Anything he wasn't supposed to do or was considered dangerous was always the first thing at the top of his to-do list."
Katara and Rohan laughed, and Katara picked up her bottle of cherry cola. She liked this, liked getting pizza and being out. Everything was more open and sticky; the sweetness of the soda spilling into the rest of the evening and making her feel happy. It was somehow more expansive than being at the beach.
Everything had been picked out and packed up before she had even gotten to the beach house. Now, in retrospect, she knew that someone had come in to make their meals and take care of everything for the royals. Here, she had her choice of toppings and soda, and she sat outside listening to people pass by.
What would Zuko have picked if he had gone off the tracks for once?
"So, do you happen to know anything about the new Avatar?" Katara asked.
"Only that Pop can't wait to train her. He was so happy he almost cried." Rohan replied.
"I guess that makes sense, that she would train with Aang's family." Katara said and drank more of her soda. "I wonder if she'll train with Zuko."
"Maybe, it'd certainly be good for them if she did." Rohan said idly. "Think she'll do any training in the North Pole?"
"I don't see why." Katara shrugged. "She's already a Waterbender."
"Yeah, but like, for her spiritual training."
"I thought that was an Airbender thing." She said, picking up her pizza.
"Don't you guys live with two actual spirits?"
The flash of black that glowed swept over her mind and Katara choked on her mouthful of pizza. Rohan reached out, alarmed, but Katara held up a hand and grabbed her soda. Take a drink, she felt the lump painfully move down her throat and she could breathe.
"Okay, well yeah." She said and Rohan sat back, chuckling in relief.
Pushing her plate away, Katara leaned back in her seat. "I think I'm done."
"Sure. Would you like to go on a walk?" Rohan asked. Katara smiled and nodded.
"That would be nice." She said.
As Rohan took their plates and walked over to the trash, Katara pulled out her phone. A few people had viewed her Click but she had a message from-
"Zuko?" She murmured. Opening the reply, all it said was
I love that place! Try it with white sauce!
Frowning, Katara put her phone away.
"Shall we?" Rohan asked.
Katara stood and they started down the street. Rohan used their glider as a walking stick and people kept out of their way. Eyeing them out of the corner of her eye, Katara smirked.
"Are you doing that on purpose?" She asked. Rohan smiled slyly.
"Whatever are you talking about?" They shot back.
"Why did you ask me out?" Katara questioned suddenly. That seemed to surprise them and they thought for a moment.
"Every once in a while, my family gets on my back about dating. I'm aromantic and they don't get it, so I take someone out from time to time to get them to stop asking questions." They answered honestly.
"So you don't, like me?" Katara asked.
"Do you like me?"
"Well." Katara fidgeted and Rohan laughed.
"We literally just met today. It's not about liking someone, it's about getting to know them." They said. Looking at Katara's pained expression, they shook their head.
"From what I understand, people click and then they go out and the whole thing is riddled with hormonal traps." Rohan gestured with a hand and Katara watched them. "But honestly, romance is just like any other relationship to me. You have to know the person right?"
"Sure, but…" Katara started and Rohan held out their hand. Unsure, Katara still took it.
"Your heart is pounding isn't it?" They asked. Katara's face burned and she yanked her hand back.
"S-shut up!" She stammered and Rohan laughed.
"It just happens, and I'm not even the one you want right?"
"Not the one…?"
"Oh come on, I saw how Zuko was looking at you." Rohan said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Katara sputtered and Rohan continued to laugh.
"It means that maybe I also asked you out because the last time I saw Zuko, his sister was being really mean and he didn't do anything."
"That still doesn't make any sense." Katara said in a huff.
"You are totally clueless." Rohan said, wiping their eyes. "Let's just have a good night, and I promise you it'll make things more fun for you."