Hello everyone! Welcome to chapter 81 of Sparks Ignite! I hope you guys enjoyed that last chapter! This chapter is helping to set up what's to come. So stay tuned! As always, I do not own avatar or its characters. Onto the story!
Fate and Destiny are a funny thing. They are so permanent, but yet can be changed by the smallest thing. It can cause the moon and the sun to collide. Or the most opposite Sparks to Ignite.
Chapter 81: The Festival
The festival was full of light and cheer.
Children were running from game to game, collecting coins for prizes. The air was filled with smells of the food stands, that held delicacies from all over the water tribes. People were dancing along to the music that sang swiftly around them.
"This might be the greatest festival in the history of all southern water tribe festivals!" Sokka yelled, getting excited like a young schoolgirl. He looked around excitedly as he pushed his wife in a wheelchair. Suki was beginning to feel much better, but her body had still taken a toll. Even after all of Katara's healing, it would still scar. She had tried her best but there was nothing more she could do. So, it was still smart for Suki to take it slow.
Their son was wide eyed and taking in everything around him. He was only two weeks old, but he could hear all the new sounds and see all the new things. He was absorbing all of the new things around him.
Across the way, Sokka saw his favorite festival game. He gasped in audible shock, "They've got the poundy poundy game!" he yelled in excitement. He started jumping up and down like a little kid, wanting to go over there but not wanting to leave his wife by herself and the baby.
Suki rolled her eyes, "Go ahead"
Sokka practically squealed and first kissed his wife, then his son on the forehead, "You're the best! Come on Zuko!" he dragged the other boy behind him, while Zuko looked to Katara for help.
Katara giggled and sent him a smile for good luck, but not stopping her brother from abducting her boyfriend.
Boyfriend.
That sounded nice, she thought.
Katara went behind Suki and began wheeling her around the festival, not opposed to the bit of girl time.
"Sokka told me he hasn't been the greatest sleeper so far" Katara asked her curiously. Suki sighed, looking down at the newborn in her arms, "It's nothing I didn't really expect… Gran Gran says that Sokka was a pain in the seal blubber as a baby. I figured his son wouldn't be much different" she chuckled, reasoning with herself.
Katara smiled at them, "I'm sure you both will get the hang of it…" she told her, having faith in her best friend.
But instead of feeling more relieved, like Katara thought her comment would make the girl feel, she looked even more downcast. Katara frowned, parking the wheelchair next to a bench and sitting next to her, "There's something more than sleep deprivation going on… Are you and Sokka okay?"
Suki shook her head quickly, "No no, not at all… Sokka's a great father…" she sighed, thinking for a moment, "I feel… guility…"
"What do you mean?" Katara asked her, giving her friend her full attention, even though she could see Zuko out of the corner of her eye using every muscle he had to lift the heavy hammer up into the air.
Suki sighed again, looking down at her son, "He is absolutely perfect… And I couldn't change a single thing… But at the same time… I'm a warrior… I trained for years to become one… I don't want to just be the Southern Water Tribe Chief's wife… I think I was born for something so much more then that…" she paused thinking for a moment, "But then I look at his face and feel so guilty for wanting something different…"
Katara watched her as she spoke and understood what she meant. She didn't want to be the Fire Lord's wife or a baby making machine for him. She was a master waterbender, just like Suki was a master in her own right.
She tried to grace the Kyoshi warrior with a smile, "Being a mother doesn't mean your life is over… Just means you're onto new things… But being a warrior never changes"
Suki smiled at her, "Yeah I guess you're right" she said as she rocked her now sleeping son.
Zuko and Sokka came back over after a moment of silence, both out of breath from the festival game. Katara gave them a look of amusement, "Have fun?"
"Oh you could say that" Sokka said. He had his hand behind his back but when he approached, he pulled his hand back and in it was a small stuffed polar bear dog. Suki awed at the gesture as Sokka put the small toy next to his sleeping son.
Zuko went to stand next to Katara and rested his hand at the small of her back, wanting to feel close to her. It amazed him how even just being away from her for a few minutes made him want to be close to her again. Maybe it was because they had barely been separated since he arrived, or maybe he just loved her that much.
Katara looked around the festival and remembered one face that was missing. She turned to Zuko and beckoned him to follow her, and they managed to slip away from the happy family who were gazing down at the sleeping baby.
"Where are we going?" he asked, confused as they started walking away from the festival. Katara shrugged, "My dad has to miss the festival, the least I can do is check on him and make sure he's okay…"
They walked out to the front gate of the village. Hakoda stood with fellow tribesman, their eyes trained to the horizon. They had received a warning, a warning they could not ignore. And tonight would be the perfect opportunity to strike, when everyone was gathered. It almost made Hakoda want to call off the festival. But they couldn't stop living.
Not now. Not ever.
The two saw Katara's father deep in concentration. Katara started to walk over, but Zuko stopped. She went to ask him if something was wrong but he answered for her, "You go ahead, I'll wait here until you return" he told her, with a smile gracing his features.
She smiled back and gave his hand a squeeze before walking over to her father. He was deep in concentration, focusing on what was in front of him, so much so that he didn't hear her steps approaching.
"Hakoda" a solider alerted him, "You have a vistor"
The tribe's leader turned and saw his daughter behind him, "Katara what are you doing out here?"
"Thought you'd might like some company" she offered, shrugging, "Are you planning on staying out here all night?"
Hakoda shrugged slightly, "At least until the festivals over… Then we'll know everyone is safe" he told her, but he was still forlorn. He sighed, looking away, "Malina was attacked… You and your brother were almost kidnapped… And then that message… we can't risk not being vigilant…"
Katara nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder, but she didn't say anything, looking away from him. Hakoda noticed his daughter's attitude, it was one she didn't carry very often lately, not since the Fire Lord had arrived.
"You're worried about something too…" he told her, "Tell me"
He always had a way of knowing when it came to his daughter.
"It's nothing…" she told him, shaking her head. But Hakoda knew better, "It's Malina" he countered.
Katara felt herself blush and she looked away, nodding in affirmation. She was silent for a moment, before speaking in almost a whisper, as if she were talking to herself, "Why didn't you tell us about her?"
Hakoda sighed, "I should have… And I'm sorry about that… But I wasn't sure if you and Sokka were ready" he told her, confessing, "Nobody will ever replace your mother… She was perfect in every way I can imagine" he smiled to himself, thinking about their late mother.
"I just don't understand… why her?" Katara asked him. Hakoda sighed, thinking he understood, "I know Malina can come off as gruff"
But Katara cut him off, "It's not just that, Dad. I'm friends with Toph" she paused for a moment, looking away, "She doesn't really understand us…"
"So much has changed since I've been here last… It doesn't even feel like the home I grew up in anymore…" Katara confessed to him quietly. She hadn't admitted it out loud yet but it was true. It didn't feel like home anymore. It felt so different.
Hakoda thought for a moment before responding, "You know what it's like to be in love right?" he asked her. Katara was a little shocked at this question. She turned around to look at Zuko, who was standing, looking at the sky and the stars, analyzing them, and she nodded.
"So you know the right kind of love… The kind that's real, that sacrifices…" he paused, "That kind of love doesn't blind you… It helps you see…"
Hakoda paused to let her absorb that before continuing, "Malina still has a lot to learn about our way of life… But deep down, she's got a good heart… And only wants what's best for our quiet little village…"
Katara looked down, thinking about it for a moment before looking back at her father with a smile and nodding. She sighed, putting her pride aside for her father, "I can't say that I agree with all of this… But it's not my decision… And I want you to be happy" she smiled back at her father.
And as much as she didn't care to admit it, it wasn't her decision to make. Soon, she would be on a boat going to the fire nation. That wasn't to say she wasn't going to visit. But she wasn't here to make decisions. The south pole was her father's and brother's home. They were the ones to make decisions. They had to make those choices. And while she'll always be there to give her opinion, it wasn't her home to make decisions for anymore.
She had a new home somewhere. Or more like someone.
Hakoda noticed her eyes flickering towards a certain firebender behind them. He smiled, "Go on and enjoy the festival" he told her. Katara smiled and hugged him tight quick, before running back over to a certain golden eyed boy and taking his hand before running off into the festival.
Ta-Daa! Another long chapter! Stay tuned for next chapter! Until next time!
