A/N:
Alright Part two of Where We Stand! Thanks for reading this story and being patient with me. It's been a long time coming but I always intended for this story to have a second part to it. I hope you enjoy!
Full Summary: Second Chances
Sequel to Where We Stand..On the road to finding herself, Katara reunites with her husband that has lost his bending and control of his Phoenix capabilities. While trying to rediscover if they wish to continue with their marriage, their children, attending academy in the Fire Nation and are face with prejudices and the propaganda of the Fire Nation nobles, causing a division between siblings and later an entire family.
What happens when Ozai is the least of the world's worry as a hidden enemy uses the innocence of a child to conjure another massive war? Will this force the most unlikely of alliances? Or will an likely hero be made out of a villian?
Chapter 1:
It wasn't easy. None of it was. With the decision she made to leave but it was a decision made nonetheless. Katara wore it with pride that she had finally stepped out on her own to see what she wanted and live for a time as she would have had she not been forced into a marriage with the tyrant Fire Lord Ozai. And to tell you with truth, the absolute truth, Katara was probably the happiest she had ever been now. Where she had settled down was a small forest village outside of Omashu. In just three months of living there, she had come to be favored by many of the villagers. They called her the blue-eyed healer. A name befitting her as she was the village's sole physician. She took care of the weak and elderly, healed the injured, and restored hope to them all. She felt appreciated in a way she hadn't since before being kidnapped by Azula and forced to marry Ozai. People needed her and she provided them with what they needed most and she had their respect. This was all she wanted.
However; this popularity came with its downside as it attracted people she didn't necessarily want to know she had left the Fire Nation and was traveling abroad. So Katara had to pack her things leaving a few teachings of proper hygiene and medical practices with the villagers.
The waterbender then set out on her way to her next destination. A village in the mountains by a lake. It was a busier town than the last one she was in but it was fine. She could blend in easily. And she did. The waterbender had gotten a job as a waitress at a tavern and had become a bit popular with the guess. Seemed she was prone to that due to her looks. She wasn't vain but she knew that must be it as it was mostly men she was popular with.
"Right over here, Koni! I need ya to fill 'er up!" A regular lifted his jug in the air for his favorite waitress to refilled his ale.
Katara hurried by with a flirty smile and cutesy laugh and filled the man's glass. She blew him a kiss and winked at him. He chuckled and slapped his thigh, signaling for her to sit.
"Sorry, Ming but I'm on the job." She feigned lament. "And besides what would your wife say?" pointing out.
"Argh, my wife wouldn't mind, she likes ya. But I still owe ya a comfy spot for yer bottom to drink after ya beat me last week at drinking." Ming cracked up. "Some kind of gal, ye are. I bet ya had a lot of brothers."
Shrugging her shoulders as she went to fill the next patron's mug, "You could say that." She had spent a lot of time around guys her whole life but that wasn't why she was a borderline alcoholic or had beat this man at his own game. No, it was a much sadder story to that but she would save him the sob story and stick to the one about her many brothers.
"Koni, I need you to run this to table twelve on the patio. You know how impatient Ms. Mishumi get."
Dropping off her pitcher of ale, Katara took the tray in one hand and went on about to deliver Ms. Mishumi's food. Arriving to the old woman's table, Katara placed each plate down carefully and with a smile.
Ms. Mishumi scoffed and rolled her eyes as she picked up her chopsticks. "If you weren't flirting like the harlot you are then my food would have been here sooner."
Katara just smiled and told Ms. Mishumi to enjoy. But as she walked off, she wanted to strangle the bitch and her boss could see it written all over her face.
"What she call you today?" Her boss, Fuishi, asked her as he wiped down the counter of the bar.
Huffing, Katara shook her head. "Harlot."
"You know she's just jealous of your youth, you know." He laughed. "I hear she was the town tramp in her day."
She smells like a whore. That she does. Only whores called other's whore and only whores wore that kind of perfume. Wreaks of a brothel.
The day continued on and Katara served her many regulars, smiled, laughed, and even sung along with the entire tavern as they were all drunk or a bit tipsy. At the end of the night, Katara helped close the tavern with her boss.
"Hey, need me to walk you home tonight?" Fuishi asked her as he locked the doors behind him.
Shaking her head as she smiled at him, "No, it's fine."
"But don't you live outside the town? It's dangerous going out on your own. Plus, there's been those animal attacks everyone's talking about. Can't lose my best employee." He grinned.
Giggling as she shook her head again, Katara decline, saying she was a big girl. Her boss wished her a safe arrival home and she told him the same, saying she would see him in the morning. As the waterbender went on home to a small cottage outside the village in the woods, she let the siren have control as her boss was very much right. The woods were dangerous. In the last month of living here, Katara found that several people had been attacked and killed by some vicious animal that was lurking in the woods. She had seen the bodies. Mangled and torn open. Cattle and other animals had been attacked more frequently. Carcasses of the dead animals were found in the woods during hunts. Meat was started to get harder to come by now. Katara worried she'd have to leave town again if this drew too much attention.
The next morning, Katara return to work but her shift was short. Fuishi wanted her to get home early tonight. Another death took place last night. Every day for the next several weeks, someone was attacked in and outside their home. People started implementing a curfew so that the attacks would stop and they did...for a time. Farmers were then targeted by the beast as early as just before dawn when they'd get up to start tending to crops.
"We can't keep this up! Something has to be done about that damn beast or we'll all be nothing but food for that monster!" The town's wiseman spoke up.
Katara listened to everyone spill their concerns as she took care of her guests. She had started worrying herself. Maybe she should look into this beast. Surely, with her abilities as a siren she could take this creature down no problem.
"Me wife is dead! Killed in her own sleep while waiting for me to come home! I'm just glad she didn't have to wake to see that damn monster eat her alive!" Ming chimed in as he entered the tavern, busting the door wide open.
Katara and the others all gasped. Shocked to hear the news.
"I want that damn beast dead! And I'm gonna kill it!"
The entire tavern cheered in agreement. The people were done living in fear. They wanted their livelihood back and they planned to get it. Whatever that beast was, it was about to be history.
In the kitchen of the tavern, Katara prepped a few appetizers to give the large number of guests that decided to show up for the town meeting. As she did her boss walked up to her and placed his hand on one of her shoulders.
"Koni, I think you should move into town and not live so far from us. It's dangerous." Fuishi remarked.
Sighing as she looked over her shoulders, "I'm fine. I've dealt with a lot worse than a beast in my life. Trust me, I can handle myself." Katara then turned back to what she was doing.
Later that day, Katara was sent home early by her boss wanting her to get home early. However; she didn't head home right away. She decided to stop by Ming's to pay her respects to his wife.
Having brought a meal she prepared for him to enjoy in his wife's absence, the waterbender came upon his home and knocked on the door.
"Koni." He said her name when opening the door, a little surprised to see her.
"Hi, Ming. I was just stopping by to make sure you ate tonight." She said sweetly. "Jin wouldn't want you to starve."
Taking the pot of food from the blue eyed woman, Ming patted her head. "Why don't ya come in and help me eat this? I haven't eaten alone in over thirty two years."
Katara smiled sadly and nodded her head, allowing herself to enter his home. As she did, Ming began setting up the table for dinner, while Katara sat down unsure what she should say.
When their plate were down and they had collected some of the chowder from the pot onto it, the waterbender looked over at Ming and sighed.
Spoon coming to her mouth, her lips pursed to blow on it, "Ming, are you sure it's wise to go out looking for that monster? Don't you think you could be risking your life and everyone else's?"
Eating the delicious chowder, "I believe I could avenge me poor wife."
"Jin wouldn't want you to throw your life away for her." Katara said.
"Forgive me, Koni. But what would a girl like ye know about what it's like to be with someone and then have them torn away from ya in an instance. Gone before ye very eyes." Ming stated as he looked the waterbender over.
"More than you know, Ming." She started thinking of her own experience.
When Ozai had died, she could have easily joined him. She wanted to. Anything to be with him. But now, she was living her life as best she could, wanting to cherish those memories of her late husband. She knew that if she died, he'd be dying a second time and she refused to do that to him.
Ming saw in her eyes that she had meant that. Seemed the girl was more troubled than he had thought. A strange girl just shows up in a town like theirs with no story to tell of where she came from or who she was. It made many a little weary of her but most of them could tell she just didn't want to talk about it.
Sighing as he finished his second helping, Ming pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed out.
"Me wife was all I had, Koni. We had no children to raise, no pet to care for, no fancy mementos to remember each other by. We just had each other and now me second half is gone. I want that beast dead for taking the best woman the spirits could have given me."
Katara felt she could say no more. She had understood what that sort of thing felt like. When her mother died, she had her necklace to remember her by. When Ozai was gone, she had their children and a small necklace he gave her for winter solstice to remember him by. But this man had nothing to remember his beloved by and it hurt her to think she could have nothing to remember her loved ones by too.
As they finished eating, Katara offered to wash the dishes and cook him another meal for tomorrow night. Ming couldn't refuse, saying he was rather grateful to have someone look out for him. When it was finally time for her to return home, Ming wanted to walk her home as it was dangerous where she lived but Katara once again, declined another request. She didn't need to be looked after. She was capable on her own.
"Alright! We're about to head off to get this damn beast and make it pay for what it's done to us! Now everyone that's coming, make sure you stay close together! We need to act as a unit!"
Katara and some of the women of the town watched as a small group of men were all carrying weapons about to fight the beast that had terrorized their town. She looked to Ming who caught her gaze and gave her a smile as she approached him.
"Come back, okay? I made something from my home and I want you to try it. So don't die." She told him.
Ming smiled and patted her head again, "Ye have nothing to fear, girl. I'll be back and with that monster's remains."
"Promise?" She held out her pinky.
Snatching her pinky up with his and chuckling, Ming smiled at her. "I promise I'll eat that delicious meal of yours, Koni. Don't ye worry."
And yet she did. Because night fell and none of the men returned. She sat in his house at his table with the food all spread out for him and yet he hadn't showed up. Katara knee then that he wouldn't be joining her for dinner. He wouldn't be visiting the tavern for his seven mugs of freshly brewed ale. Or be able to make her laugh and be the jolly middle aged goofball of the town she knew him as. He wouldn't be able to make any more of his flirtatious jokes and she be able to remind him he was married. No. The dead couldn't do those sort of things.
Next morning, two men from the hunting party returned in terrible condition and collapsed as soon as they reached the town square. The townspeople all gathered outside their homes and some went to help the men. But when one of them seemed still conscious, the wiseman of the town asked what everyone could already assume.
"What happened to the others?"
Gasping for air as he had run like no other, "All dead. Th-that monster...i-it's n-not w-wh-what you t-th-think…-" and he came to.
Katara stood outside Ming's house and lifted her head to the sky, a tear or two in her eyes. You promised.
Weeks went on by and more people were being attacked. The wiseman of the town tried rounding up more people to take a stand but no one would. Many just wanted to leave the mountain village and save their families the misfortune of being attacked.
Katara got tired of seeing the bodies pile up. Tired of seeing people live in fear. She didn't care if she made herself more known by taking action, she just wanted to live in peace without worry of some man-eating creature terrorizing the place. This was a really nice village with nice people. She could see herself settling down here. So she wanted to protect it.
"I'll take on the beast!" Katara raised her hand in the crowd of people gathered at town square.
People moved away from her so she could be seen.
"I'll go hunt this monster down and end this." Katara said as she walked up to the post where the wiseman stood. "Let me go find this beast."
The wiseman furrowed his brows. "Girl, you should value your life more."
"I value quality over longevity and living like this isn't living at all." She turned to the townspeople and projected her voice for them to all hear as she threw her fist in the air. "We can't continue living our lives like this! We have to take a stand! And I know, I know many of you are afraid but I assure you, less will die when we put this thing down!"
The townspeople liked her. They really did and so to see her want to be a part of another party that would venture into the woods made them all the more worthwhile to join as well. Men started stepping up to join and so did a few women. They were sick of the beast that was killing their friends and family. It was becoming more and more obvious the beast would not slow down or give them a break. It ate like he had a bottomless pit and could devour the whole town in one night if it wanted to.
That night, Katara was on her way home, ready to prepare herself for the hunting party in the morning. However; as she returned to her little cottage, she noticed something.
Narrowing her eyes at the slightly ajared door of her home, the waterbender summoned water to her hand and formed a dagger. It's here. She could tell by the brush of blood on her door's knob. Katara cautiously entered the cottage, one hand out in front of her while the one holding the dagger remained by hide her back. She was going to gut this thing if need be. It killed her friend Ming and his wife. She couldn't forgive that.
A groaning sound came from her dining room. She immediately set her eyes in the direction and clenched her teeth as she carefully stepped towards the dining room. Upon peeping her head, Katara found the room was dark and nothing seemed out of place.
However; the girl ducked her head quickly and jumped back. Claws had come from out of nowhere and swiped at her. She was lucky to have sensed them as her head would have rolled off her body.
Looking up to where the claws belonged to, Katara realized something horrifying. The beast wasn't walking on all fours. It stood on only two. Her eyes widened as she was aware of what she was dealing with. This isn't a beast. It's a man. Is he like us? Maybe. Let's take him alive and find out.
The man let out an animalistic roar echoing loud and burrowing into Katara's eardrums. She stumbled back as she placed her hands to ears. Whatever this man was, he had to be like her. He could use a roar like that to throw off his enemy. That was no normal human.
Locking his eyes that glowed red in the darkness of her home under a cloudy night that blocked the moon, the man lunged at her. Katara was grabbed, nails stabbing into her skin as she was thrown into the wall. Repeatedly, she was banged into the wall, her head hitting it several times before her vision blurred.
Pulled from the wall, she found herself thrown to the ground. Katara pulled back out her dagger and started swinging it about, unable to focus her eyes on the man before her as he lunged at her again but this time as she put her arm up to defend herself, she was bit. A scream tore from her throat as she kicked he man off of her. She hissed and forced herself to her feet, and took the lunged towards him.
Katara planted her fists that wered iced around her knuckles into the man's face. She shouted at him as she buried her fists into his jaw and mouth. Not long was she thrown off of him and slammed into the dining room table. Her back nearly snapping. She cried out from the impact.
"Stop this!" She yelled. "You don't have to keep doing this!"
Katara tried to convince him as words were clearly the only tool she could possibly use because her strength was just not enough to fight him.
As the man approached, seething with rage and breathing heavily, the waterbender continued talking to him.
"You're human! Why are you doing this?!" Katara asked as she formed another dagger in the event she had to kill him.
The man said nothing as he approached. Katara lamented to herself as killing him was her only option now as he didn't seem responsive. As he lunged again, snatching her up and body slamming her on the table, breaking the table with her, Katara screamed again. Her back was shot after that attack.
When he climbed on top of her, hand around her throat as he raised his claws to slash her, his final attack, Katara turned her head to look out at the window. She saw the moon slowly be revealed from the clouds. It was a beautiful waxing gibbous. A full moon was vastly approaching. If only it were here tonight she wouldn't be about to meet her end.
Am I going to die here? She wondered.
Tilting her head back to look at the beast, she watched the moonlight slowly crawl its way up him. She could start to see his hair flowing all over them. Then that he was dressed in all black. Filthy clothes covered in blood and a grey cloak. She wanted to see his face as it would be courteous of him to let her know who her murderer was.
However; as the moonlight lifted the darkness from her face and revealed her blue eyes. The claw lowered. She stared still frightened, probably even more as she was now confused beyond belief. Why is he stopping?
"Katara?" Her name uttered from a hushed voice.
"Huh?" She tilted head to the side in confusion. Who was this guy?!
Retracting his claws from nearly slashing her, the man climbed off of her quickly and took off out the door. Katara laid there in the pile of rubble that was her table and felt so overwhelmed by it all that she blacked out right there.
Morning came and the group The was supposed to go hunt the beast down showed up at her cottage to see the door wide open, blood on the doorknob and broke furniture everywhere. They all feared for the worse but when they saw the waterbender in one piece lying unconscious but alive on her broken table, they were relieved.
Hours later, Katara woke to herself in bed and her boss standing over her.
"Oh thank spirits!" Fuishi shouted as he saw her eyes open.
Wincing at how loud he was, Katara suddenly felt sick. Seeing this, Fuishi have her a bucket that was from the kitchen. The waterbender vomited and continued to do so in great pain. Her whole body ached in terrible pain. She was swore from the legs up.
When she finished, Fuishi took the bucket and set it down. He sat down himself and looked hard at the young woman.
"Was this the beast's doing?" He asked her.
Nodding her head, "how'd you know?"
Scoffing as he nodded his head to her left arm, "I saw how it nearly took a chunk out of your arm there."
Gazing down at her bandaged arm, "oh." Was all she could say as she looked at it. Instantly last night flashed in her head and she remembered her name being uttered. She quickly snapped on a verge of a melt down.
"Whoa, there." Her boss grabbed her. "Calm down. It's fine. The beast is gone."
"No! I've got to leave!" Katara said as she tried to get out of bed against her boss's will. "That thing isn't a beast! It's a man and he said my name!"
Fuishi gaped at her from their realization. All this attacks they weren't caused by some monster but a single man.
Trying to get Fuishi to let her go, "Please, let me go. He might come back after home if I stay." She pleaded. "I need to get out of this mountain town."
Fuishi backed off and let the waterbender go. He watched her as she limped out of bed and started gathering thinks. He began to help her. Not wanting her to over do herself.
As he helped, tossing things into a bag she had opened up, Fuishi couldn't get his eyes off of her. Had she really seen a man and not a creature attack her?
"Wait, I should get my family out of town too." Fuishi thought aloud.
Katara told her to go gather his family and she will meet him there. It was probably safest to travel together. When he did, Katara decided to heal herself. She was going to need her strength to fight if it came to it. That beast no doubt would come looking for her. Especially if they knew her.
La, how do they know me?! It's a surprise. The siren sounded all too gleeful. A surprise? You know who it? Of course I do. I can't believe you don't. Yeah, well I'm not the one who can see so well in the dark, thank you! Sure but I guess I won't spoil it for you. Oh thank you for that. It's appropriated. Katara said sarcastically. If the damn siren knew who it was then she could at least tell her if the person was a threat or not! He's definitely a threat. Should probably get out of the town before night fall. Good to now, thanks. See, that's all she wanted, was a heads up.
…
Shortly after Ozai's escaped, the temple of the Fire Sages was found entirely massacred, except for a small number of Sages that were away from the temple. The palace and city was in chaos. With Sages murdered, it started raising questions. Questions that Zuko couldn't answer as it would destroy peace for them all.
On site of the murder scene, Fire Lord Zuko cringed at the mangled bodies. What had happened? What did his father do?
"Your majesty." Lao presented himself in a low bow.
Stepping towards him, "Lao, what happened here?"
Clearing his throat as he looked about at his fellow Sages dead before his eyes in the worst of ways. "Your majesty, Forgive ya but your father freed himself during our experiments."
"Experiments?!"
"Yes, experiments. Ozai's ability to regenerate and live despite any infliction made him a perfect candidate for medical research and scientific discoveries. I sanctioned these said experiments." Lao confessed.
Zuko gaped as he listened to what Lao had to say about the process of the experiments and the last seven years his father had been locked away down in the temple dungeons. And how it all contributed to him escaping.
"Your father ate these men. He cannibalized them. Taken with his need for human flesh after we fed him executed prisoners to see the effects."
The Fire Lord became angry with this news. Hearing that his father had been tortured nonstop had bothered Zuko immensely. All this time he thought the man was just wasting away but he was being experimented on. This must have further fueled his father's need to escape and gave him ideas. Hell it could have even presented him with the opportunity to escape in the first place. Zuko was to angry that he ordered Lao's arrested for conspiring a prison escape. He held Lao responsible for this.
Back in the palace, Zuko disclosed all the details to Jee and Suki. They both knew exactly what they had to do.
"You want us to get the gaang back together?" Suki asked as she pulled the fan she had masqueraded as a hairpin from her hair and waved it in her face, revealing its blade.
"We need everyone from my uncle to Sokka onboard. My father is on the loose and highly dangerous. Anyone discover he's alive then we're doomed. Can I count on you two to get this taken care of?"
Smirking, "of course." Suki grinned behind her fan.
…..
Fuishi found the waterbender, Koni, coming up to him and his family. He smiled and waved at her, happy to see she had fixed herself up with that magic water healing thing she could do. As she approached he introduced her to his son, daughter, and wife.
"This is Jin, my wife of sixteen years." Fuishi said as he proudly laid his arm around her waist, to which his wife giggled and shoved him away as she walked up to the waterbender.
Bowing her head in a nod, "It is nice to meet you, Koni. I hear so much about you."
Chuckling nervously, "I hope nothing bad."
"Oh just how well you handle the overbearing male guests at the tavern." Jin smiled.
Katara was a bit nervous and uncomfortable traveling with such a family. It was the picture of how her would have looked like were they not tied to a royal family and had Ozai not been executed. It hurt a little to see how close they were. Fuishi played with his children, trying to coerce them into getting in the wagon as his wife giggled happily. She wanted to be a giggling wife. With children that could enjoy their father's presence. Katara was a bit jealous.
Bringing his spare ostrich-horse around for her, Fuishi helped her load her bags on the horse and helped her on it.
"We travel north down the mountain. It's the safest way down. There's a rather large town there and we can stock up on supplies, from there if you want you can come with us to Bei Seng Sei. Jin has family there, they're nice people and will let you stay with us."
Koni thanked him for the offer but she told him that she needed to find her own way. She'd follow him down the mountain but after, she needed to move on to find what she's been looking for.
"Alright, say no more. Just know if you ever come through Bei Seng Sei, we will welcome you with open arms. You were a big help to me in the tavern. No one works as hard as you."
Smiling, "Thanks, Fuishi. It means a lot."
"No problem." He tapped the ostrich horse on its side and looked over to his family that was ready to leave. "Now let's get a move on before night fall."
In his wagon with three ostrich horses pulling it, Fuishi lead the way to the road off the west corner of the village. Katara road closely behind, looking around for any signs of the beast. Sure, he only attacked at night but that didn't mean he couldn't track them during the day.
It wasn't long before night fell and Fuishi pulled the wagon over to set up camp. They were far enough away from the village to not worry too much about the beast man that was eating people. Katara and Jin set up the fire pit while Fuishi helped the kids with the tents.
When camp was all set up, Katara decided to brew some of her famous stew she'd back at the tavern. Fuishi was delighted that his family could finally try it. Saying how great a cook she was.
"And why aren't you married yet, Koni? You'd make a man very happy." Jin asked as she tried the delicious stew.
"I was. A few years ago he passed away and I haven't exactly moved on. I came to the continent to find myself and accept my life for what it is now." Katara only gave a little detail about herself. She didn't want to go into too much detail but she figured since they were kind to her she could open up a little.
Jin looked at the woman sadly, "I'm sorry to hear that dear. Was it the war?"
"Actually, it was after." She started. "A few months after."
"Oh I'm sorry to hear that."
"He sort of had it coming." Katara chuckled sadly. "He wasn't really liked by anyone. Not even his own family. He was sort of a difficult person to get along with, even I had a hard time keeping the peace with him but he was good in spite of his shortcomings. He was a good man."
Just talking about it upset her. She hadn't really said much about Ozai since he was executed. Never expressed how she felt about him as a person. Just whenever someone talked poorly about him she became defensive but she wouldn't say anything. She didn't realize how much it hurt to talk about it.
Getting ready for bed, Katara pulled a sleeping back beside the fire and started to get inside of it when Fuishi raised his brow at her while his wife and kids went inside their tents.
"I like to sleep under the stars when I can. Reminds me of a time when I was teenage with my friends. We used to travel a lot during the war. Trying to get away from the chaos around us."
Fuishi took a seat on a log and longed down at his hands to the fire blazing in the pit. "So you're her. The waterbender everybody hates."
Katara's eyes widened.
Fuishi chuckled, "You don't remember me but your friends and you stopped by my village south of here nine years ago. I never forgot your face. You healed some of us after we were attacked by Fire Nation Troops."
"So you knew all this time?" Katara couldn't believe it.
Nodding his head, "Word got around quick that the Fire Lord made you his wife and I immediately knew people would forget what you had done for them. They'd know you less as Katara the healer and more as Katara the traitor. When you stumbled into my shop looking for work I knew you hadn't changed much. You weren't tainted by the Fire Nation. You were still that girl that wanted to help."
Scoffing as she looked to the Fire, "I'm glad someone thinks that. I can't tell you how hated I am."
"Enough to travel in hiding." He grinned.
"Yup." She sulked.
Fuishi reached into his pouch and pulled out a canteen and tossed it to her.
"For your sorrows, waterbender."
Katara held the canteen and sighed as Fuishi went to join his wife in the tent.
In the morning, Jin spotted the waterbender passed out drunk hanging out of her sleeping bag.
"The poor woman." She sighed.
Hours later, Katara woke up in the back of the wagon with two children peering down at her.
"Are you really a waterbender?"
"Can you breathe underwater?"
Katara jerked up and stared at them wide eyed. "Huh?!"
"Mama and papa, said you were drunk and said you need to lay down a little longer." The girl asked.
"Papa said you're a sad person. Is that because you're a waterbender and cry too much?" The boy asked.
The nerve of these children. The siren said in disgust. They're just curious. Whatever. I miss my own. Ours. Katara corrected.
Making it down the hill, Katara forced herself to sober up and peeked outside the wagon covering. As she did, she saw the town that Fuishi was talking about and looked over to see him riding the ostrich horse.
"We're here, Koni."
"I see."
Pulling over the wagon in front of a place for the ostrich horse's to fed, the small family and Katara took in their surrounding. It was a huge merchant town. One of the many Katara remembered traveling through with her friends. It was nostalgic.
As the small family entered a shop to buy supplies for their long journey, Katara felt it was time to say goodbye.
"Thanks for everything, Fuishi." Katara bower her head humbly. "I'm grateful that you would think so highly of me when I don't deserve it."
Waving his hand as his chuckled, "You have no one to thank but yourself. You are a kind person, Lady Katara. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise."
"But I-"
"From how you talked of that tyrant, it sounds like you could see the best in the worst of people. I do not blame you. You were young, impressionable, in a stressful situation. Anyone with a heart could see you simply lost yours to an older man with not so good intentions. How many young girls don't?"
Katara shed a small tear, "I'm gonna miss you, Fuishi. You've been good to me."
Embracing the waterbender, "And you to me, Lady Katara. Take care of yourself. You have many years ahead of you."
And with that, Fuishi gave the waterbender his spare ostrich horse and Katara took off, waving him goodbye as his family exited the store.
"So she's traveling in secret?" Jin asked.
"Yup, it won't be till she becomes less ashamed of who she was that she'll embrace the woman she's become." Fuishi stated as he watched Katara disappear into the distance.
Shaking her head, "That poor woman. I pray the spirits will be kind to her."
"I pray life will be kinder to her."
Unbeknownst to any of them, the beastly man that had devoured their former townspeople had followed them down into merchant town. He kept close, undetected, and focused. His attention on the water woman. He followed her scent of lavender and rainfall. With his cloak's good pulled over his head, the beast found a fire fox mask just at his fingertips on a vendor's table. He snatched in up before he could be caught and placed it over his face.
Watching the water woman ride past him, the beastly man followed him grinned behind his mask and followed her on foot. Her scent would linger just enough for him to find her even if he couldn't kept up with her ostrich horse.
…..
"Now, can anyone tell me why it was Fire Lord Sozin decided that the expansion of the Fire Nation's territory was necessary?" The teacher asked.
Zhiar with confidence raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Yong." Calling him by his last name. The current royal dynasty's household name. The name of the dragon.
"Because he wanted to share the wealth and riches of the Fire Nation with the other nations." He said happily.
As his teacher praised him for getting the correct answer, a few students nearby him all gave him thumbs up. They were his friends. Ones he easily made on the first day of school. He didn't realize he'd have such an easy time making friends. Little did he know that their parents had told them to befriend him as he was the blood of Ozai.
When class let out, Zhiar watched his sister run out of the classroom as if she were running for her life. A group of boys and girls all chuckled and made some unsavory remarks.
"What's a waterbender doing here at school? I thought they all got wiped out."
"Hey, didn't you hear? She's the Water Lady and former Lord Ozai's daughter."
"Oh, too bad she's a waterbender!"
They all laughed as Zhiar marched up to them.
"Hey! That's my sister you're talking about!"
The children all hushed as the blue eyed boy came up to them with a scowl of a teacher on his face. They knew right away from their parents' story that he was the son of Ozai.
"Uh, sorry man."
"Yeah, Sorry."
"We didn't know you and your sister were close."
"And why wouldn't we be?" Zhiar was confused.
"Ugh, cause she's a freaking waterbender. She's beneath you, man." The little boy that had made the first comment spoke. "We just thought you were raised separately. I have an earthbender half brother but I don't care about him. My pa tells me I'm supposed to be greater than him cause I'm a firebender."
Zhiar was deeply confused as he listened to the kids talk about how the firebenders of a family were always better than the other elements and non-benders.
When he finally went looking for Kya, he found her eating her lunch on the steps of the courtyard where a group of girls teased her for her curly hair. He balled his fists and ran to shoo them away, flailing his arms around.
"Leave my sister alone, you ugly bitches!" He shouted.
Kya gasped and covered her mouth at how bad a word her brother said. Unfortunately, a teacher heard it and took him to the dean's office. There he was lectured for the word he used towards those girls but when he told them why he said the word, both the dean and his teacher looked at him strangely.
They then tried to explain that his peers weren't used to someone different than them being amongst them. Zhiar stressed that they had the same mother and father but no one treated him different. But Kya was a waterbender and it was justified, he started to realize. Kya was different and he wasn't. That's why.
Leaving the dean's office, Zhiar head to the dorms where he and his sister shared a room upon request of the Fire Lord. There, Kya was dressed for bed and sitting at the table doing her homework.
"Kya, what did those kids say to you?!" Zhiar asked, becoming extremely defensive.
Signing to him, *They said I don't belong here.* She looked weary as she continued signing. *They said our father should have banished me for being a waterbender.*
Zhiar was so angry by the comments directed at his sister that he shouted loudly about kicking everyone's butt. Kya calmed him down and did as their mother told them, to keep him out of trouble. She told him that she was fine and would be alright. Besides, she was more worried about him getting into trouble. This made Zhiar calm down a little.
*I'll be fine, okay? Just don't get in trouble for me, big brother.* Kya told him.
"Okay, I won't." Zhiar didn't like having to back down.
The following day, Kya was transferred by the dean to a separate class from her brother. Zhiar knew right away why. Cause she's a waterbender. He still didn't understand why that even mattered.
Class progressed as it usually did. The topic was the war of the South Pole. A war that destroyed all of the Southern Water Tribe's former glory and started the eradication of all waterbenders for the next one hundred years. It was here that Zhiar learned of what his mother's people went through. It was here that he realized what must have happened to his grandmother who his mother told him and Kya stories about. And how she was able to survive.
Over the course of the next few weeks Zhiar learned more about his parents. Both of them. It felt strange at first but it felt kind of cool knowing his parents were famous. His father, the Fire Lord that brought the most wealth and advanced the war in a way that his predecessors had not been able to. He led the most successful campaigns against the enemy forces that had ever been launched. His mother was a rebel. Hailing from the Southern Water Tribe. Discovered the Avatar and became his teacher and protector. She and his older brother Zuko fought against one another until they became allies in taking down the tyrant that was his father.
Zhiar learned how his mother was captured and for her people and his brother, who was speculated to be her lover at the time, she married his father and allied herself with him. She reign over the Fire Nation with his father and they worked in harmony until the end game where discord in their marriage caused them to lose focus and fall apart. He was bothered to know his mother had offered to use him as a weapon against his older brother but let it go when he discovered that she had wanted to save his father. Which meant she remained loyal to his father even in the end when she was allowed to walk free.
After the segment that contained information about his parents ended, Zhiar felt incredibly confident in who he was. His father sounded like a scary person but the fact that his mother had loved him meant that there had to be something about him that was not so scary. That or his mother was just brave and all.
In his dorm room, Zhiar talked to Kya about what he learned about their parents. She sat listening attentively. Wanting to know more. As her brother told her about their parents and how they were on opposite sides of the war, she found them falling in love similar to the romance novel they were reading in her class.
*So dad forced mom to marry him?* she signed with a tilted head.
Zhiar nodded his head, "Yup!" He said excitedly.
*Well that's kinda sad. He took her from her friends and family.* Signed.
"Yeah but with him she got to be rich and wear beautiful clothing and live in a giant palace. She didn't have anything before dad. She was a poor Chieftain's daughter." Zhiar said.
Kya shook her head, *But that's because of what the Fire Nation did.*
"You're just saying that cause you're a waterbender." Zhiar groaned and rolled his eyes.
Hearing her brother call her a waterbender sounded less like an observation and more like an insult. This bothered her a bit. She was starting to think that everyone was starting to rub off on her brother. Hopefully, that wasn't it but she decided against confronting him. He could have his little belief that what their father did to their mother was fair but the truth was the truth. Their father was in no way the good guy.
….
Katara found herself back in a wooded forest heading south to Gaoseng, a port town just outside Omashu. She wanted to settle near the water. Somewhere close to ships that could take her back home when she needed to leave. She only had six months left before returning to her home in the Fire Nation. She wanted to use them wisely and find the person she knew she was under all her misery and self-loathing.
As she traveled in the wilderness, walking with the ostrich horse's rein in hand, Katara smiled at all the beautiful greenery. It was a lovely place to be, in the forest. She felt calm and without worry. It, of course, made her feel nostalgic. Remembering being out here with her friends on the run. For a war torn world, those were simpler times.
The waterbender stopped abruptly by an old withering tree. She placed her hand on it and smiled. Closing her eyes, she used a little moisture from the grass below and brought it to the tree, replenishing it. Her eyes opened as the old tree began bearding leaves and flower buds once more. She beamed at its wonder.
Turning around, Katara pressed her back to the tree and slid down it, tying the rein of her ostrich horse to the unearthed roots of the tree.
"I'm not going any further until you explain why you're following me."
A twig snapped and Katara glanced over to see a tall cloaked figure several feet away wearing a fire fox mask.
"Come. Sit." She patted the ground beside herself for the Fox figure.
Unsure of himself, the fox figure did come closer to the water woman but he did not sit. He just stood there looming close by her.
"So, why are you following me? I know you're the one that attacked people in the mountain village and tried to attack me. I smell blood on you." Her eyes glowed as she stood up and skin illuminated.
The fox figure was seemingly unphased.
"I don't want to do this." Katara raised water from raised water from the ground and formed a robin of water that whirled around her. "But if you don't start talking I-"
Before she could even finish, the fox figure moved quick like lightning and tackled her to the ground. Slamming her underneath his weight. Katara felt the wind knocked out of her as she gasped. His hand went over her mouth and a small whisper to shush came from behind the mask. He then rolled them both into a nearby bush.
"Where's that water bitch at?! I just saw her." A scrawny guy groaned in annoyance.
A heavier man behind him, carrying rope and a large sack, scoffed. "She's a tricky one, I hear. Not easy to catch."
"Well once we catch her, I'll show her a thing or two about tricks. That damn bitch is a traitor! They should have hung her when the war ended."
Katara gulped as she saw from the bushes, the man searching around for her. But how? How did they know she was here in the Earth Kingdom? She came here in secret under an alias and not everyone knew what she looked li- oh dear la! She forgot. Fuishi said he remembered her from her days of youth, what if others did as well.
"Don't. Move." The masked fox growled and then slipped from on top of her, left the bush to handle the men.
Katara watched in terror as the fox masked attacked the two men and shredded them with his claws. She saw with how eyes as the masked man, with his back to her, pull his mask over his head and take a bite out of one of their necks. All she needed to hear was bones crunching in the masked man's mouth for her to nearly vomit. The waterbender wasn't sticking around for this.
Getting up from the bush, Katara jetted away, leaving her ostrich horse as she dashed off.
When the fox man turned around from feeding and went back to the bunch wear he left the waterbender. He noticed she was gone. And without her mount as he looked up saw it standing still tied to the unearthed tree root. He clenched his fist and roared loudly into the forest.
Having run away, Katara could hear the beast was not happy with discovering she was gone. But could he really expect her to stay after seeing something like that? She felt so disturbed and sick to her stomach. Witnessing not just murder but cannibalism. Dear la, she needed to get as far away from that thing as possible.
Good luck with that. He just follows your scent. What? Yeah, didn't you notice. He wasn't behind ya the whole time. He kind of just caught up. The man's following our scent. So I need to bathe? No, you need to get smelly to be honest. Dive into some mud or something. We can't let him get to us. He's a threat. Okay, okay, I need to find a mud puddle.
Hours later as it got dark, Katara felt her energy growing low, she knew it was time to rest but she was afraid of the man coming after her. She decided to sleep in a tree. Climbing one, she made herself comfortable in some rather sturdy branches and shut her eyes.
In the morning, she woke with a jolt as a claw swiped at her head and she quickly dodged it. Dangling out of the branches, Katara looked up to see the fox man standing over her in the tree.
"You ran, waterbender." The fox man crouched.
Glaring up at him as she dangled, "You ate those men."
"I have to eat, woman. Just like you and everyone else." He hissed.
"But why people?! You could eat anything else!" Katara shouted at him.
Reaching his hand as it looked like she was going to fall. "And why not people? I get it's an acquired taste but maybe you should try before you judge, beautiful waterbender."
That voice. Katara get out of here. But that voice. I know it. Katara, you and I have worked very hard together to get our lives on track, we don't need this. Run. But that voice and he knows my name. He even called me…
"Who the hell are you?!" She shouted at the masked man.
The fox man laughed and placed his hand over his mask, "Still don't recognize me, my love."
My love?
"I don't blame you. It's been some time."
The mask came undone and Katara's eyes widened.
"You're supposed to be dead."
Noticing her hands were about to slip, "Katara, give me you hand!" He shouted for her.
Shaking her head in disbelief. "You're supposed to be dead!" Katara screamed and thus her hands slipped.
The fox masked man quickly got a hold of her as she was about to land on the ground. Holding her in his arms with his fox mask over his head, the cloaked man grinned down at her as she gaped up at him.
"I think it's long overdue that we catch up."
…..
A/N:
So we have our little set up here. Katara is face to face with this cannibal who is either one of two people. They both have a similar way of talking to her and their both sort of out on their own navigating their way through what life is like with the new way of things. Zuko plans to get the gaang back together. And the children are facing their own little issues. Know that the beginning of this story, specifically parts with Katara will move faster than the rest of what's going on with everyone else. Just a heads up.
But thanks for reading! And Chapter two should be up soon. Like in one to two days.