Avatar: The Last Airbender

Book 3 – Fire

Chapter 1: Snowstorm

"Are you sure this place is real? It's a bit unusual that there's an entirely different world no one in this world has heard about," said Sokka. The group was standing in front of a cliff face, supposedly where the entrance to this new place would be.

"Avatar Roku said it was, and he would never lie to me," said Aang. "The entrance should be right… about… here. I'll go through first." And without looking back, he passed through the barrier and into a different world.

The others quickly followed. But what had once been warm earth underneath their feet became cold snow, and the sudden temperature drop made Aang shiver. They were in a quiet forest of fir trees, that was, until they heard a noise.

A group of dogs emerged from the trees. Each was in one of two lines, tied to a central rope. This central rope was attached to a type of sled, upon which a girl was riding in back. She was wearing a red parka with black trim and had brown hair and dark brown eyes. Sokka thought she was rather attractive, but knew better than to share these thoughts.

"Uh, hi," said the girl. These kids looked really suspicious. Just look at those clothes! And what was up with that guy's half shaved head and that girl's loopy hair thingys? Living in a small town, she didn't see unusual things too often. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for a firebending teacher," replied Aang. This girl looked as weird to him as he did her.

"Aren't you an airbender?" the girl had noticed the large, light blue arrow tattoo on his head.

"Actually, Aang's the Avatar," answered Katara for him.

The girl gave them a confused look. "You're kidding, right? No one from your world knows about this place, other than that Avatar before you, Roku. But he swore he would never tell a living soul! You can't really be… I'm just seeing things… Yeah… Too many Rockstars…"

Aang made a water whip and grabbed a branch off a nearby tree.

The girl snapped out of her thoughtful doubting. She was simply surprised to see the Avatar. Aang was pretty used to it by now. "So you DO tell the truth! My name's Narka. I live in North Village, the closest town to here. I'm also a master firebender, and would be pleased to take up your teaching position. It's not like there's much else to do in this frozen wasteland."

"Sure!" Aang was amazed by his luck. He entered a new world, and the first person he meets is a friendly master firebender who's more than happy to teach him!

"Do you need a place to stay? I've got plenty of room at my house."

"Thanks, but we couldn't-" Katara started, but Narka cut her off.

"It's no problem!"

"Well, I guess we could stay."

"It's settled then. But first of all, what's up with those traditional clothes?"

"Traditional! They're normal, opposed to yours!" blurted Sokka, who suddenly wished he hadn't said it. There was something he really liked about her, and it wasn't just because she was attractive.

"You've got a lot to learn," the girl chuckled. Sokka blushed, and with that, she lead them on.

It seemed like an eternity since Zuko had last heard word of the Avatar, and he was quickly loosing patience. Oh, and that one girl, that Water Tribe pheasant, how he longed to see her face again. "Where on earth could he be!" Little did he know Aang wasn't even on earth, or his earth, at least.

There were deep gashes in the snow along the trail, as if someone had smashed a thick sword into it. Up in front, Narka was chatting with Katara.

"It must be horrible, always being followed by the Fire Nation," said Narka.

"Yeah. We can't go anywhere without them right behind us," replied Katara.

"Don't worry. They won't follow you here. They've never shown any signs of knowing about this place."

Aang looked over at Sokka. He was staring at Narka, looking mesmerized. "Sokka, what are you staring at?" he asked.

"Nothing," answered Sokka, who looked away, blushing.

The trail suddenly opened up to a large house. It looked very inviting. Smoke was curling from the chimney, and it looked as though people were moving around inside.

Narka walked up the front steps to the door. But as soon as she opened it, an animal ran out and jumped on Aang, knocking him over.

"PASKA! OFF!" yelled Narka. She quickly ran over and pulled the animal off, who had begun licking Aang's face in earnest. "KENNEL! NOW!"

The animal obediently ran off behind the house.

"What was that thing?" asked the Avatar, a little shaken.

"That would be a dog. Sorry about that, she's still in training." Narka helped Aang to his feet.

"Training for what?"

"Dog sledding. I'll show you tomorrow. Let's get inside."

"Narka? Is that you?" said a man at the door. In the dim light cast from inside the house, the group could see that he looked almost exactly like Aang, except much older.

"Well, it's not really me. We've got some guests."

"I'LL PULL OUT MY REVOLVER!" said the man.

"You won't need to do that, dad! They're friendly! Shouldn't you use you're airbending anyway?"

"He's an airbender!" asked Aang, noticing the man's tattoos, much like his.

"Yeah, so? Oh, that's right, in you're world you're used to being the only airbender," answered Narka.

"But if you're a firebender, wouldn't he be one too?"

"He's my adopted father. You can just call him Boske. Look, let's head inside, it's starting to snow." Narka quickly changed the subject.

The house looked even bigger on the inside. There was a crystal chandelier in the entrance hall, and hundreds of pictures of dogs covered the walls. But the group wasn't paying attention to these things as they dropped their bags next to the door. They were looking into the family room, where Boske and who appeared to be his wife were watching television.

"What's that thing?" everyone except for Toph said (she couldn't see it).

"You guys are REALLY stuck in the past! That's a television. You can watch a lot of shows on it," replied Narka. "Here, let me introduce you to my mother. Her name is Maia. She's an airbender, just like my dad. Both my parents run our dog sledding kennel, Starfox Kennels. We've won 10 International Championships!"

The group said hello, and after chatting for a while, Narka showed them around the house.

She first led them up to her room. "This is my radio. I can listen to music on it, in addition to getting warnings of heavy blizzards." She turned it on, and realizing it was on one of her favorite songs, turned it up very loud.

"What kind of music is this!"

"Rock! I'll turn it down if you don't like it!"

She then showed them the rest of the rooms. In all, the house had 10 bedrooms, 11bathrooms, 3 kitchens, and 3 stories. Even Toph was amazed at it's size!

"And now, to my favorite room, the office! This is where my computer is. I can send messages to my friends on it, listen to music on it, and do about a million other things with it! Alright, lets head down for dinner, and after that I'll show you the guest house."

So they had dinner (Pizza, Sokka thought it was amazing) and Narka showed them to the guest house.

"-and you can come for breakfast at eight. After that, Aang, I'm going to give you you're first lesson. Just come and wake me up if you need me. Goodnight," and with that she closed the door and went to bed.

Narka's sleep didn't last long, though. Aang came and woke her up twice (first was where was the bathroom again, and second was what are we doing tomorrow for the lesson) and Katara came in once to say that Narka's other dog in training, Orekai, was barking.

"SHUT UP, OREKAI!" she yelled out the window. "Anything else I can assist you with?"

"Uh, no, not really."

"Then PLEASE go back to bed!"

The next morning, they had pancakes for breakfast (again, Sokka thought they were amazing) and Narka gave Aang his lesson for the next hour, sometimes giving comment. "Loosen up your arms, you need more flexibility while in combat." "Remember to control what you're doing." "Feel your chai moving through your body." "You did pretty good today."

"Oh, thanks. Weren't you going to show me what dogsledding is?"

"That's right. Why don't you gather up your friends and tell them to meet me in front of the barn at eleven?"

At eleven, they all stood in front of the barn, helping Narka put together the dog sled.

"Slip that hole over her head, like that. Good. Now just attach her to that metal ring right there, and we'll be ready to go. Whoever does the best gets to learn to drive the sled today!"

Sokka did best, so after each of them got a ride on the sled (Katara's lasted half an hour, Toph's only a few minutes) Narka told him the commands. "I'll be sitting in the sled in case anything goes wrong." Sokka yelled "HIKE!" for go, and off they went.

However, they quickly encountered problems. The earlier night's snowfall left a large snowpack in the middle of the trail, and they had to lift the sled over it. One of the dogs also got into a fight, and they had to break it up.

But their worst problem came when Sokka gave the wrong command on a sharp turn and they plunged off the trail. The dogs broke into a frenzy when they narrowly dodged a tree. Narka screamed out "EASY, EASY, EASY!" but the dogs would not stop. As if this wasn't bad enough, Sokka stepped on the brake funny, breaking both the brake and his ankle. The dogs ran on until the middle of the night, and by then they were obviously lost.

"So now we know what happens when we give the wrong command! We have no food, medical supplies, or shelter, and my cell phone service doesn't work! I don't even have my iPod!" complained Narka.

"It's really hard to tell those commands from one another!" Sokka made an excuse.

"Really."

"C'mon. Lets make camp. You start the fire, seeing as you're so 'skilled'. Make it big enough so that other people can see it."

"Okay then, Survival-Skill-Sokka!" Narka said in a rather irritated voice as she headed off.

I can't believe I did that! Thought Sokka. All I wanted was for her to like me, and now it's exactly the opposite!

"Boske, Narka and Sokka have been gone for hours! We need to go look for them!" said Katara.

"They have? Alright everyone, pile up on the snowmobile! Lets find them as quickly as possible! There's supposed to be a huge snowstorm coming in tonight!"

And so, after quickly explaining what a snowmobile was to the group, they headed off into the darkness.

"Ouch! Be careful!" said Sokka. Narka was surveying the damage to his ankle.

"This is pretty bad. Here, let me wrap it up in my parka," said Narka, who did just that. "We've only got one more problem. Food!" Narka looked over at Sokka's weapons sitting in the sled. "You don't think I could-"

NEVER! "Can't you just use firebending? Those weapons are special."

"If you haven't realized, the whole animal would catch fire."

"All right. But don't do anything stupid. You might not get anything anyway." Girls weren't made to hunt! That's a man's job! We'll probably starve out here if anything!

Narka came back half an hour later with a huge reindeer. "You do a really good job of keeping that machete sharp!"

"Oh, uh, thanks, I guess." It'd better be, after all the hours I put into it!

"How do you like your meat?"

"Any way is fine. Where did you learn to hunt like that?"

"I've been lost out here a few times."

Snow began to fall thickly around them, and the wind began to howl. "We need to get out of the wind. Let's try and find a cave over in there," Narka pointed to a steep cliff.

It didn't take long. There seemed to be caves everywhere. When they found one big enough, they brought the dogs inside, along with the sled and the reindeer.

"Would you please get another fire started! I'm freezing and hungry!" Sokka said impatiently. This girl's proving to be more talented than I thought!

"All right, all right!" Narka set to work.

"The snowmobile can't go any farther, and this storm's too thick to walk through. We'll just have to hope they'll be alright until it passes," said Boske.

"They'll be fine, Katara. Sokka knows how to deal with these things," reassured Aang.

"I hope they're getting along. Sokka can get kind of spacey when he's not in a good mood," said Katara. Please don't do anything stupid, Sokka, thought Katara as they sped back home.

As the hours stretched on, Narka forgot about her anger with Sokka. The two had been talking for what seemed like forever to pass the time. Man, could Narka talk!

"My parents used to train sled dogs. That's how I got to know Boske and Maia, my adopted parents. We have so much fun at the International Competition! There's one coming up in three weeks, actually! We take all our fully trained dogs to the Weshaki Track, the longest, most difficult track in the world. It's a really boring drive though, two days! Oh well, it's not that bad, we usually take up the motor home, it's really big."

Sokka didn't want to have to pop the question, but he knew he would have to do it sometime. "Narka," Sokka asked slowly, "how did your parents die?"

"We were skiing right after it had snowed really hard. It was a big mistake. An avalanche fell. I was lucky they found me in time," Narka said sadly. Sokka didn't notice her eyes beginning to water.

"You aren't the only one who's lost family."

"Oh, Sokka!" Narka buried her head in Sokka's arms and began to cry. Sokka couldn't help but shed some tears as well. What am I doing! Men don't cry! This is so embarrassing! But on the bright side, she's starting to like me!

"Narka, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a while, but I couldn't find the right moment."

"What is it?"

"I've wanted to tell you ever since I met you, I… I love you," Sokka turned the brightest red you'll ever see. Why did I just say that! What kind of an idiot do you think you are, Sokka!

"I love you too." And to Sokka's surprise, their lips locked. Just like that.

A strong gust of wind blew through the entrance, and Narka shivered. Sokka was jerked back into his senses. "This is the strongest snowstorm I've ever been through. We'll need to make a wall of ice in front of the entrance, to stop the wind." The two set to work cutting ice blocks, Sokka trying to help through the constant shoots of pain searing up his leg. But Narka seemed to be faring even worse without her parka. She pushed on until dark spots began to appear on her face. Having lived in a tent at the South Pole for sixteen years, Sokka instantly knew this was frostbite. This girl had done enough for him, he needed to do something for her. Narka couldn't stop working though, Sokka couldn't build the wall all by himself with a broken ankle. He took off his parka and gave it to her. "Sokka, you can't! You're health is more important than mine!" Great, now he's getting all 'you're so much more important than me that I'll kill myself just so you can stay warm'! He is pretty thoughtful, though, not to mention he's really, really hot!

"Narka, you're catching frostbite! You have to go on, I can't build this wall with a broken ankle, but I won't let your condition get worse than mine!" Since when do you freeze your butt off for someone else! Oh, shut up, stupid Inner Sokka!

"You may think you can handle this, but I've lived through the same freezing temperatures you have all my life! If I catch frostbite in it, you can too!"

"But I don't have it yet. If we switch off the parka, maybe I can keep from catching it, and yours can't get worse. It's a win-win situation!"

"You're a smart guy, Sokka," (Did you here that! She gave me a compliment! I don't think I've ever done this good in a relationship!) said Narka, finally accepting the parka. After switching off a few times, they had finished the wall. It kept out the wind well, except for through the hole they had left so they could get out to go to the bathroom. Though the wall was made of ice, it trapped heat, keeping the two warm. Narka's frostbite slowly began to heal, and before they knew it, they had fallen asleep.

"Unfortunately, this storm is to last for a week, the longest reported in history for North Village. We are advised to cut our portions smaller and keep as warm as possible. Our water, sewer, electricity, and cable connections are all protected, though you should be keeping a large supply of water and have a generator in case these connections are broken. Keep in mind that even when the storm ends, we will be stuck inside our homes for at least another week," said the weatherman. The group had left the television on the news during all their waking hours, in case something interesting came on. Katara had been worrying more than ever now, especially after this report. Yeah, Sokka had survived on his own before, but not for two weeks! And what about Narka? Katara silently thanked the spirits for her brother being stuck with a firebender.

But she didn't have lots of time to worry. Though the house was large, it was not quite large enough to suit fifty dogs, a giant flying bison, and two horses (these belonged to Narka, dogs were not her only favorite animal), which were quickly agitated with their cramped conditions. Aang had learned his lesson yesterday, when he snuck up on one of the horses and received a swift kick in the stomach. Of course, these were not their only problems. Toph ate some bad meat and now had stomach flu, and Maia caught pneumonia. Poor Katara and Boske, trying to take care of everything while just barely taking care of themselves! Katara prayed silently for the connections not to break.

The storm was still raging when Sokka woke up. He had forgetten that his ankle was broken, and stepped on it. "Ouch!"

"Are you all right?" Narka said sleepily. Sokka's cry of pain had woken her up.

"I'm fine. I just stepped on my ankle." Sokka shivered slightly. Narka was the last person to have the parka before they fell asleep, and his arm felt very numb from lying on the cold ground. Narka threw him the parka.

"First things first. We're running low on food, seeing as we have to split it eleven ways, so we'll need to get some more. I'll do the hunting, seeing as I'm uninjured. You try and keep the fire going while I'm gone. Oh, and if it's all right, I'll need my parka back while I hunt. We both need to keep warm, and I've got no clue how long this storm will last."

Narka found her task extremely difficult. She could hardly see though the thick snow, and highly doubted there being any animals out. Luck dawned upon her though, she found another reindeer trying to dislodge itself from in between two rocks, where it's leg was caught.

Sokka cursed his broken ankle. How he wished he could be out there helping her! He was starting to get really bored, not doing anything except sitting and staring at a fire. Why was he always the one who caused the trouble? "Because I'm just the stupid guy with a boomerang," he said to himself. "Always pushed to the side. No one thinks I'm important. Can't I ever be useful to anyone?"

"Whoever said that to you, they're wrong," said Narka, who had just walked in. "You're important to me!"

"How am I important? I can't even bend!"

"Sokka, you've helped me feel something I haven't felt in a long time, much more important than bending! You've shown me what it feels like to be loved!"

"Haven't your parents shown you that?"

"Not as strong as you showed it last night. You're the first person I've been able to tell how I truly felt about my real parents. The first person who's actually shared a part of my pain. You know what it feels like to live every day, always carrying the weight of having lost someone very close to you, knowing you'll never see them again. That's why I think you're so important. That's why I love you."

Suddenly, Sokka thought of Yue. How would she take this?

His answer didn't take long to come. That night, he went to see her. Sokka looked up at the moon. "Yue, it's been a while," he said nervously.

"Sokka, you know that as long as you are happy, I'm happy as well. What are you so afraid of?" whispered the wind into his ear.

"I... didn't think you would accept this…"

"This girl is very kindhearted, but also needs help. She needs someone, just as you need someone as well. I cannot be with you all the time, but she can."

"Yue, I love her, but I love you as well! I don't know what to do!"

"There is no problem in loving two people. I'm sure this girl will understand."

"Thank you for understanding. I… guess I'll talk to you later."

"Goodbye, Sokka."

"Katara, when is this gonna be over?" asked Toph. She had gotten over her stomach sickness, and the only thing to do was teach Aang earthbending. The storm had been raging for the past two weeks, and if it wasn't over within another day, they were going to have to evacuate. Even she was beginning to worry about the two in the cave. She liked Sokka's funny personality, and she wanted to get to know this other girl.

"I really don't know, Toph. I'm worried about them as well." I wish I could at least see what he was doing. That would help. I wonder if that girl has any love advice. I think it's time I asked Aang. He seems to like me back.

"Oh, hey Katara!" Aang walked up. He's looking at me! It wouldn't be hard to say Katara's love for him had increased over the past few months. "Can I have a waterbending lesson now?"

"Okay!" Welcome to heaven!

"Soooo…. What's it like living in a tent in the middle of nowhere?" Narka was bored out of her mind.

"Incredibly boring. Like it is right now." replied Sokka. He had been able to do more things now that his ankle had begun to heal.

"Nice. Can you walk on you're ankle now?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I think we're gonna head back tomorrow, raging storm or not. This all meat diet isn't going to well."

Sokka was feeling the same way. I never thought I would miss vegetables so much!

Katara looked out into the snow, tears brimming her eyes. They had been forced to evacuate. They had all the cars and trailers loaded up. But she just couldn't do it. She couldn't leave her brother like this.

"Katara, it's time to go." Aang said.

"I'm not going."

"We have to! You can't stay here all by yourself!"

"I'm not leaving them."

Now Maia came up. "I know you miss them." She whispered into Katara's ear. "You used to live in the Southern Water Tribe, right? I trust you can handle this. I'm letting you stay. But the first sign of danger and call us, okay?"

"Thank you so much!" Katara hugged the airbender. She then turned to Aang. "Be safe, Aang. We can't afford to lose the Avatar!" Then something weird happened. The two kissed. Aang blushed. "I will."

"Here's your things. We'll call home as soon as we find out when we can come back."

"Goodbye!" And the others sped off into the distance.

Katara brought her stuff into the house and settled down into an empty room. "And now I wait."

"C'mon! Let's go!" Narka called across the cave. They were supposed to leave an hour ago!

"But I can't find my boomerang!" explained Sokka. Of course, he couldn't go anywhere without it!

"How could you have lost it in here?"

Sokka found it near the edge of the cave and slipped it into its case. "Okay, I'm ready."

The two set out. The dogs were very well rested, so they were able to keep a pretty good pace, even though when they got home it was nearly dark.

"Oh, no."

"What?"

"Everyone's gone!" Suddenly a light shone through a window. "Well, maybe not everyone." Katara's face appeared at the window, and no sooner had they seen it than she had tackled Sokka to the ground.

"Thank goodness you're back! I was so worried!"

"Get off, get off! I broke my ankle!"

"Lets get you inside, then! I've got a nice fire burning."

Katara cooked them a meal of noodles (after Narka explained the stove and how it was heated without wood) and gave them salads as well. "This is probably the first time you've eaten a salad first! I didn't know this was possible!" she said to Sokka as he wolfed it down.

"Well, you would do the same if meat was the only thing you'd eaten for the past two weeks!" he said with his mouth full.

"Yeah, I probably would. Where were you, anyways?"

"Inside a cave. We built an ice wall to protect ourselves from the wind. I took care of you're brother's ankle. I had to wrap it in my parka, so we traded off his," answered Narka.

After dinner, Katara wrapped Sokka's ankle properly, and decided to talk to Narka.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I… was wondering if you could give me some advice. You see, there's a certain person-"

"Aang? Yeah, I know. It's written all over your face. He likes you back as well."

"He does?"

"Yep. Just ask him if he wants to do something with you, like go for a walk. There's nothing unusual about loving him, you know. He's a sweet kid."

"Thanks. I've got another question for you…"

"Fire away."

"You and my brother hooked up over the past few weeks, didn't you?"

"Well… yeah, we did. Don't worry, we didn't do what you might think we did! We're WAY too young for that! Are you okay with us being together?"

"Of course!"

"Good." Narka really trusted this girl. She was kind, caring, and understanding. "Katara, there's something I have to tell you. I don't want you to tell Aang or Toph, they'll find out in due time. Your brother already knows."

"It's about your parents, isn't it?"

"I miss them so much. They were great. I just wish I could see them again."

"I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. I know how you feel."

"I thought you would. Sokka actually cried (here Katara snorted with laughter). My parents died in an avalance. I was caught in it too. I was the only survivor.

"My life became a living hell. I didn't know who I was. My grades slipped, and I spent less time with the dogs and more time in my room, keeping to myself. I had no one to go to. My friends were there, just as any good friends would be, but it wasn't the same. None of my other friends had had this happen, so they didn't feel for me as much.

"Slowly, I came back to earth. The pain still continued to burn inside, though. Then you came. Your brother showed a true understanding of what happened. He took away some of the burning. Never tell him he isn't important. He truly cares for me. I really need him. I love him so much."

Katara had never heard such a sad story. "Sokka needs you as well. He's getting over my mother's death slowly, but our father is an entirely different matter. He wants to be with him, to fight, but he's too young. So instead he tries to impress him by protecting our village. He's already found something more impressive than anything else. You. I trust you to show him the way."

"Thank you."

Later that night, Katara came to talk to Sokka. She found him in his room. "She told you, didn't she?" he said as she entered.

"Yeah, she did. Don't worry! She didn't hesitate to tell me you cried."

"HEY! That's not fair! A man needs dignity and respect!"

"That'll come later. I'm proud of you. You helped her when she needed you most."

"Does that mean I can sleep in for a week?" he asked.

"Whatever."

"Sokka 1, Katara 0."

"Shut up."

"We'll be coming back today. Did everything go alright?" said Maia into the phone.

"Sokka broke his ankle, but other than that, we're okay," replied Katara.

"See you tonight. Bye!"

"Bye."

Katara hung up the phone, which Narka had taught her to use. It was hard for Katara to accept the fact that people could talk to you from around the world on a piece of plastic and wire. "I'll ask him when he gets back. I'm so nervous!"

"Oh, you'll be all right!" said Narka from the couch in the family room.

"What's this all about?" said Sokka, who had come from upstairs.

Katara blushed. "You'll see," answered Narka as Sokka plopped down next to her and watched Seabiscut.

"What's this movie about?" asked Sokka.

"Well, it's about a horse who no one thought would amount to anything. He had perfect breeding, but that couldn't explain his incredibly short height. Forced to race twice a week in cheap little races, most thought his fate would land with a track accident or being put down. But an amazing horse whisperer found him and could see his potential. The horse, who's racing name was Seabiscut, was saved and went on to become one of the best racehorses in the world!"

"Interesting. Do you race your horses?"

"Oh, heck no! They're just for pleasure riding."

Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot!

"We're home!" came the call as the front door opened.

"I missed you!" said Narka as she hugged her parents, and then went outside to unload her horses.

"Aang, uh, wouldyouliketogoforawalk?" Katara spilled after she welcomed Aang back.

"Um, okay," replied Aang.

The two walked through the woods. It was a good thing it was getting dark, because both were turning a bright red. This is the perfect time to tell her, thought Aang.

"Katara, uh, there's something I've wanted to tell you for a while now…"

"Yeah, me too…"

"DO YOU LOVE ME?" they both blurted at the same time.

"Oh, what the heck…" said Katara, who grabbed Aang and kissed him. This took Aang by surprise, but he seemed to settle in just fine.