Relations

Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Stella were led to the old ladies house, which was about a half a mile away from the village. Sokka complained the whole way about wasting time walking to some old hag's shack in the middle of nowhere. He said that they could be looking for a waterbender that could teach Aang instead of having tea at some stranger's house.

"Please, Sokka," Stella said as they trudged through the snow. "Please be polite to her. I don't want to ruin our chances." Sokka looked at Stella as she said this. She looked so serious and solemn. Why was she so interested in this old lady?

"We're here," the old lady said. They all looked at the little house of snow. It looked exactly like the one Sokka and Katara had at home. It wasn't such a surprise as it was to Stella. Stella looked at the house and suddenly had a flashback. She was running around the house when she was little. She ran into the arms of the old lady that owned the house. Next to her stood her mother.

"Stella, are you alright?" Stella was brought out of the memory by Katara's voice. Katara gave her friend a solemn look. It seemed that Stella always was getting blank looks on her face lately. Stella just smiled and nodded.

"Let's go inside," the old lady said invitingly. As they walked in, they notice that the interior was very plain. There was a bed in the back corner of the single room house. There was also a small table in the middle of the room next to the fireplace. The only things that decorated the house were waterbending scrolls posted against the wall. Katara and Aang were amazed at all the different moves they showed. "I've collected those over the years. I guess they are a little musty, but they're still readable."

Katara looked over to Stella again. She had yet another blank look on her face. What was she thinking about? Katara thought. Is she remembering something?

"Listen, grandma," Sokka said. "We would love to stay and chat, but we have a waterbender to find. We need to master waterbending." The old lady turned to the young warrior and smiled.

"Then you have come to the right place, young man." They all looked at her in shock.

"Just who are you?" Stella asked. "I know you know something about me. What do you know?" The old lady gave Stella a big hug and kissed her cheek. Stella was caught off guard when she did this. That was when she started to explain.

"It has been so long, my little angel." Stella's mind jogged when she said that. Her mother had called her that so many times. Why was this lady that she never met before call her that name? "Are you surprised to here that name? Your mother called you that so often." Stella knelt down to meet her eyes.

"Who are you, and who am I?" The old woman led her to the table and sat down. Aang, Katara, and Sokka followed suit. The old lady held Stella's hands.

"My name is Kami, and you, my dear, are my granddaughter." Stella couldn't believe it, but somehow she knew it was true. She could tell by looking into those green eyes. Kami continued to tell her more. "Your mother is my daughter. I taught her all I know about waterbending, and she taught you. Of course, she brought you here so I could teach you some special techniques."

"So wait?" Sokka said. "This old hag is your grandma?" Kami then turned to Sokka with a sly smile.

"This old hag is more than Stella's old grandma. I'm also your grandmother." Everyone was shocked at the statement. If she is Sokka's grandma, Katara thought, then she's my grandma. And if she's my grandma and Stella's grandma… "That's right, Katara. You and Stella are cousins." Katara looked at Sokka. He looked completely heartbroken. Did Sokka actually love Stella? "I'm just joking. I'm only Stella's grandma. You can stop worrying."

"So, you're my grandma," Stella stated. "Can you tell me about my past? Can you tell me why I lost my memories?"

"I'm sorry, my dear. I can't tell you anything about how you lost your memories. I can tell you a little about your past. For the time being, I would like you to introduce me to your friends. I already know Katara and Sokka, but who is this young man here? Could he be the avatar?"

"Yeah, that's me," Aang said. He immediately pulled out his marble and did his trick. Kami laughed at the performance. "So, we are here to learn waterbending. Do you think you could teach us?" Kami thought about this for awhile. She smiled and nodded.

"I suppose my granddaughter is having troubles controlling her bending, both water and fire. I can teach you to waterbend, but you will have to learn firebending on your own I'm afraid. I will start in the morning, so stay here and rest. I'll cook dinner."

Dinner was delicious. They hadn't eaten anything like that for so long. Sokka hadn't said anything all night since he was too busy stuffing his face. When he was done, he immediately fell asleep. Aang and Stella soon fell asleep. The only one that was awake was Katara and Kami. They were sitting in front of the fire deep in discussion.

"What do you think of my granddaughter? She must be a handful."

"She can be trying sometimes, but she can't help it," Katara answered. "I am glad to know her." Katara looked at the old woman and noticed the sadness in her eyes. It was the same sadness that Stella had all the time. "What's wrong? Aren't you glad that you found Stella?"

"I am overjoyed," Kami answered. "She just reminds me of her mother so much. When I heard that Kiyone died, I was heartbroken. I knew that I had to move on, though. The only thing I worry about now is Stella. I've seen how people treat her. They call her half-breed and monster. Some even call her the 'Angel of Darkness.'" Katara thought about that. That was the name Zuko used. Why did everyone use that name?

"You know why everyone calls her that, don't you?" Katara asked. Kami gave her another sad look. "Please tell me. I want to know." Kami took another sip of her tea.

"Stella has the blood of my daughter and a firebender. Everyone made fun of her because of that fact. They were afraid of her powers. About a year ago, Stella destroyed her village with one move. I have no idea how that happened, but her powers are dangerous. No one was killed, but the village was completely gone. That is why they call her the 'Angel of Darkness.' I hope that Stella will learn to control her powers. I have a feeling if she has friends, she will be able to sheath that power."

Katara looked at the sleeping Stella and thought. She looks so peaceful and innocent. How could someone as kind as Stella release such a power? She must have been so lonely and miserable. We will always be by her side. We will not abandon her.

"It's getting late," Kami said. "You better get some rest. You'll need it for tomorrow. And Katara, thank you for taking care of Stella. You are a true friend to her. That's what she needs now." Katara smiled and crawled into her sleeping bag. She looked at Stella once again before she fell asleep. For the first time, Stella actually had a smile on her face, which meant that her dreams were filled with happiness.

Hey, guys. Sorry about the long wait. I've been so busy with school, plus I got about six stories going out right now. I finally got a snow day so I could catch up with everything. That's when all the electricity went out and all my writing was lost. I got it all back though. I hope you enjoyed it. Please read and review. If you have questions, I'll answer them. Thanks again. Cya.