New Feelings

"Wow! That was a great nap!" Aang said as he stretched his arms and legs. The crew had just landed Appa in a portside town so they could rest. But that wasn't the only reason why they stopped.

"Why are we stopping?" Sokka asked. "We should be looking for a waterbender master, not taking little shopping trips."

"Come on, Sokka," Katara said. "We need to get supplies for our trip. Besides, we could use some new clothes."

"I don't need any new clothes!" Sokka yelled. "I'm just fine."

"Unfortunately, I do." Everyone turned at the sound of Stella's voice. She did need new clothes after what happened on Zuko's ship. Her new kimono was practically shredded. She was forced to either wear a long blanket or Sokka's clothes.

"I don't see anything wrong with the stuff you're wearing," Sokka said.

"Listen," Stella started. "I can't wear a blanket everywhere I go. Katara's clothes are to short on me, and your clothes, let's just say they are a little wide."

"Are you saying that I'm fat?" Sokka asked.

"If that's what you want to here, then yes," Stella said with her face close to his. Katara and Aang sighed as the two fought. It was now a daily routine for Sokka and Stella. They argued and teased each other all the time, but they got along pretty good. In fact, sometimes Aang and Katara would find Stella and Sokka staring at each other and blushing. They only wish that Stella and Sokka would be like that all the time.

"Alright, you two," Katara said as she pushed them apart. "The point is that we need to find some new clothes for Stella. That's all there is to it. Sokka, why don't you take Stella around while Aang and I get some food?" Stella and Sokka immediately turned their backs to each other in disgust. "Fine, Stella and I will get some new clothes and you two can get the food." As the girls started walking off, Sokka started yelling at them.

"Wait! I can't shop for food! That's a girl's job!" Katara and Stella turned around with a huge stream of water and sent it flying at Sokka, completely soaking him.

"It wouldn't hurt to try something new, Sokka," Katara said as she turned around and walked away.

"Maybe we'll pick up some dry clothes for you while you try to figure out how to do our job," Stella said. She quickly turned around and ran after Katara, leaving Aang to the soaking Sokka.

"How can she be so cold?" Sokka asked.

"Maybe you should be nicer to her," Aang said. "I think she actually likes you."

"Yeah right," Sokka said. "I'd sure hate to see how she treats someone that she hates." Sokka thought about what Aang said. Maybe I like her, too.

Katara was waiting for Stella to come out of the dressing room. She sure was taking a long time to pick an outfit. Stella finally came out with a smile on her face. "What do you think, Katara? It's the latest fighting style." It kind of shocked Katara. Stella had changed from moccasins to black fighting boots. She also threw out her skirt and changed into blue, baggy pants. Her blue top was still the same style as Katara's except Stella's wrists and hands were taped up to show only her fingers. Stella beautiful, blonde hair had been cut to just below her shoulders so it would be just long enough to make a braid at the nape of her neck. Katara had never seen anyone wear something like that, other than her father.

"What's wrong with a dress?" Katara asked after they had purchased Stella's clothes. Stella's smile changed to a stern look. "Stella, are you ok?" Stella shook her head and gave her friend a smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm really sorry about the old dress you bought me. I really liked it."

"I should be the one saying sorry, Stella."

"No, it's my fault. I let Zuko capture you. I wasn't strong enough to protect you. I should have been there for you and I wasn't. I don't have many friends. I better take care of the ones I got."

"Does that mean Sokka too?" Stella started blushing at Katara's question.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't deny it. I see how you look at him. You like him, don't you?" Stella had to think about Katara's question. Yeah, of course she liked Sokka. But did Sokka like her? Then she remembered the incident that occurred on Appa.

"You are a good person. You are a part of this family. Just think what we would do without you. You are too important for us just to dump on some pigheaded prince."

Stella couldn't quite get over what Sokka said that day. There were times when he could be the world's biggest jerk, but other times, he was really caring.

"I don't know yet, Katara," Stella said with her head down, but Katara knew she was trying to hide her red face. "I guess I like him a lot. He can be a pain sometimes, but…"

"But…" Katara knew she was getting somewhere. Stella couldn't explain these feelings. She never experienced it before. Could this be…love?

"Excuse me." The two girls turned around to find an old lady in her late sixties. She was dressed in a dark blue Eskimo coat and had her gray hair pulled back into a low ponytail. She looked very friendly, but her most shocking feature was her green eyes. They looked just like… "Stella?" Both girls gasped at her.

"How do you know my name?" Stella asked as the lady smiled at her.

"I know more about both of you than you know. You two look like you just got here. Did you come on that flying bison?"

"Yes," Katara answered quickly. "We needed to get some supplies for our trip through the North Pole."

"And what would you want to find in a place like this?" the old lady asked.

"We are looking for a waterbender master," Katara said. The lady rubbed her chin and smiled again.

"Take me to your friends and I will take you to my home. You must need a place to stay. Don't dawdle, child. It'll be dark soon." The lady started walking down the streets as Katara and Stella gave each other worried looks.

"Should we follow her?" Katara asked.

"Yes. I don't know why, but something tells me we can trust her." The two girls quickly ran after the old woman, wondering what would lie ahead for them.

Hey everyone. Sorry it took so long to update. I finally got my internet back. Yey! Before i bore you, here are some reviews.

evil-gurl113: No, I thought it was funny. I guess i never thought about how much Stell gets hurt. I don't think she gets hurt every chapter. If she does, it's because she is still kind of weak. She'll be a lot tougher and more careful from now on.

fizzyrainbowmegan: Wow! That's a long name. I was thinking about having Katara tell Stella about her mom. She seems to do that a lot.