Water
The Duel
"Master Pakku," Katara began, her voice as clear and loud as she could manage. "I'm here to ask you to reconsider allowing me into your waterbending lessons."
Things felt different than she expected. The sky was brighter, the air more crisp and cold, and the arena more crowded than she'd planned for. She'd expected Aang to be here. Maybe Yue too. But instead, they'd both been joined by Sokka—who must have been skipping his own lessons to be here this early—and Yugoda, and half the boys from Pakku's lessons, and at least a dozen other faces that she didn't immediately recognize.
It was lucky that she didn't mind being the center of attention. She hadn't really expected for so many people to gather, but there was nothing wrong with it. This was a big deal. They should all care.
Pakku stared at her for a prolonged moment, then at last, gave a condescending smirk. "Fortunately for you, I have reconsidered your future in waterbending."
"You—have?" She was thrown off balance by that, and she hated how uncertain, how confused her voice sounded. She didn't believe Pakku. She couldn't. But the words themselves were still startling.
He nodded, still wearing that awful smug look on his pruney old face. "Yes. As a matter of fact, I've reconsidered it at this very moment, and I've decided that I was far too lenient when you presumed to intrude on my lessons. Your contempt for this tribe and its customs should have led me to bar you from all waterbending lessons. Healing included."
And there it was. Katara wished that she could be surprised. Maybe it would be less maddening if Pakku could manage to be at least a little original with his threats and insults. He was a sexist old snow goat, so of course his first and only idea would be to exclude her from everything.
Her temper flared, and she stepped forward, almost to the center of the arena. "How has it never occurred to you that if people have contempt for your customs, then they might deserve it? You won't allow girls to fight, and we're treated like we're helpless, and yet we're expected to be able to fix everything that the men break. Haven't you ever thought about how wrong that is? How can you consider us helpless if we can undo all the damage you can cause?"
If Pakku was listening, he gave no sign of it. He began to turn away. "I do not know what sort of unrefined slush pile the South Pole has become over the years, but girls have no need for combat here. You are a girl, and you are here. You will not fight."
"I do need to fight. I won't be here forever," Katara shouted. "And I don't know what sort of lies you tell yourself about the outside world, but no one out there is going to hold back because I'm a girl. I was already captured and held prisoner on a Fire Nation ship for weeks. You do not get to tell me that I don't need to know how to fight back."
"Then perhaps you should have known your place from the beginning, little girl. If you had stayed home where you belonged, then it never would have happened."
Her vision flashed red. "They came to my home. If I hadn't been trying to teach myself to fight for so many years, then they would have gotten me months earlier."
"Then clearly your friends need to pay better attention to their lessons to defend you properly. You've already proven that you cannot do it yourself." Pakku heaved a mighty sigh. "This conversation is pointless. You cannot fight, and you will not fight."
"I can fight," Katara retorted as he began to walk away. "I just haven't had any training."
"And you will receive none."
"You at least have to let me show you what I can do!"
Pakku didn't stop, but he did look back over his shoulder. "I don't need to do any such—"
It wasn't much of an opening, but Katara didn't need much. If there was one thing she'd learned in all her practice, it was precision.
Rather than listening, she screwed up all the concentration she could muster to draw the scant moisture straight out of the air—more to prove a point than anything else—shaped it into a small, sharp disk, and launched it after Pakku.
The disk found its mark, and almost in slow motion, half of his floppy mustache detached itself from his face and drifted away, one silvery strand at a time.
Katara let out a slow breath. The cluster of people behind her were practically silent, and her voice carried across the arena with ease. "Are you going to listen to what I have to say, or do I have to take off the rest of your mustache?"
Pakku felt his upper lip, and for the first time, the contempt in his eyes was overcome by anger. He turned back to face Katara. "Little girl, you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into."
Katara was fairly certain that she did know. She was fairly certain that she'd gotten herself into a fight.
The first wave struck before she had time to react, but Katara sprang back to her feet almost as soon as she'd landed, pulled the water together again, and hurled it right back at Pakku. She wasn't a perfect fighter—or even a good one—but she wasn't going to be easily defeated either. If she could help it, she wouldn't be defeated at all.
Fighting Pakku was like nothing she'd ever experienced before. Which made sense. Pakku was, after all the first and only waterbending master she'd ever faced. The first waterbender she'd ever faced at all. But there was something else too—Pakku was holding back, and she could feel it in every attack. It wasn't that any of his blows missed their marks—they didn't, but they felt restrained, blunted every time they struck. It was like Pakku wanted to beat her with as little effort as possible. Like he wanted to prove that she was as weak as he thought and to put her in her place by besting her with little force or skill.
As much as it infuriated her to be so wildly underestimated, she could use it to her advantage. It was easier to block and to dodge this way, and Katara turned the water back on Pakku at every opportunity she could find. He had experience, but she had originality and speed. While Pakku could knock her to the ground, Katara could always get back up, and every blow she landed seemed to take him off his guard.
It wasn't much—a lump of ice to the back of the knee, a large, watery orb that briefly captured his arm, and sharpened ice disks that lopped off more of his hair—but even the smallest disruptions changed things.
Gradually, Pakku's fighting shifted. Attacks came faster and more forcefully, and Katara had to focus harder on ducking and dodging out of the way. She couldn't quite manage to block anything. She wasn't skilled enough to break apart the walls of water that the old man sent her way now that he was taking the fight more seriously, but she could feel each attack coming. She could feel the point where she ought to grab the water to turn it back around, but she couldn't find her grasp. Not yet.
She opted for dodging as much as she could and launched one last chunk of ice at Pakku's shoulder before his bending finally caught up with her, leaving her pinned tight between a cluster of icy spikes.
"This," Pakku said, sounding just a little out of breath, "is over. You cannot fight. You will not—"
"I can't win," Katara retorted. Her breath came in quick, cloudy bursts, and she could feel the eyes all around the arena fixed on her as she strained against her icy restraints. Pakku had pinned her arms too well for her to release herself, but maybe if she wriggled enough, she'd be able to find a weak spot and melt herself free. "I can fight. You can't pretend that I didn't just fight you."
"You are undisciplined and sloppy. There is no way you could possibly contend with a serious opponent."
Her vision flashed red around the edges. "I've never had any real training, and I still made you work to beat me. How many of your little boys could do that? Do you turn them away if they can't beat you in a fight before they even start training?"
Brows drawn into a harsh line, Pakku melted the ice around her, bringing it down in a rush so that she toppled onto her hands and knees. "They are expected to show respect for me and for our customs. You have done neither. You will never see your first day of training, and if I have my say in the matter, you will never see another healing lesson." He turned sharply away from her.
Katara scrambled back to her feet, and when she straightened, she found her hair hanging loose, and Yugoda standing beside her.
The old lady patted her back—or perhaps more accurately, the back of her neck. "Don't lose hope, dear."
Katara shot a confused look over her shoulder. Who said anything about losing hope? Sure, she felt a little like crying, but that wasn't despair, and it wasn't sadness either. It was rage. She was furious and determined, and ready to start another fight if she had to. Surely she could outlast that old snow goat sooner or later.
She shook off Yugoda's hand and surged after Pakku. "You tried to take me down with a bunch of simple moves, but you couldn't," she called out. "You underestimated me, and that scared you into taking me seriously. Don't try to deny it. I could tell that you were holding back at the start. How am I too weak to fight when you couldn't even slow me down at first?"
Pakku ignored her.
"And who do you think you are to take away the last of my tribe's waterbending like this? I'm the last living waterbender from the South Pole. If I can't learn, there will be no one to teach our people in the future."
At that, Pakku finally stopped and turned back. "Understand this, little girl. I am not—" His eyes drifted back over her shoulder, and his voice trailed off. "What is that?"
"What is what?" But just an instant after she'd asked, she felt the hollow space at the base of her neck. Her hand flew upward. No. The pendant was gone.
Pakku moved surprisingly quickly, and by the time Katara whirled around again, he was stooped near the center of the arena. "This is—" he scooped up her necklace from where it had fallen.
"It's mine." She darted across and tried to swipe it out of his hand. Spirits, she was going to have to do something about that clasp before she lost her necklace for real.
"That's absurd. I carved this very pendant for the love of my life." Pakku closed his hand around it before Katara could snatch it back from him.
That seemed wrong on so many levels. She almost thought that he was joking or lying, but Pakku thought too highly of himself to lie, and it was painfully obvious that he'd never had a sense of humor. Still, she didn't want to believe it. Gran-Gran may have grown up here, and she may have been engaged before she left, but that didn't mean that Katara could picture her and Pakku together, even temporarily.
Katara grabbed the end of the necklace band and tugged it free from Pakku's hand. "Maybe my grandmother was the love of your life, but something tells me that you weren't the love of hers." Yuck. Even the thought of it made her insides feel all unpleasant and wiggly.
"Your grandmother?"
From the edge of the arena, Yugoda called, "Come now, Master Pakku. You must have noticed how much she resembles Kanna by now."
Katara looked back over her shoulder. Wait. That smile was far too knowing. Had Yugoda planned for this? Was it maybe even possible that she'd unclasped Katara's necklace too?
Fumbling a bit as she clasped the necklace back in place, Katara watched Pakku turn several shades darker while Yugoda remained smiling, calm and patient as ever. The others—Sokka, Aang, and Yue—couldn't seem to decide where to look.
"I—" Pakku broke off, staring at Katara like she'd grown an extra head. He cleared his throat, then harrumphed and looked away. "See that Kanna's granddaughter is not hurt, Master Yugoda." And with that, he stalked away.
"Are you certain you have everything, Prince Zuko? You have enough food and water? What about soap? Do you have enough soap?"
Zuko turned his head just far enough to peer back at Uncle through a single narrowed eye. "I'm breaking into an enemy city, not starting up a new bathhouse. How much soap could I possibly need?"
Uncle's forehead was creased with lines of worry, and he clasped his hands together. "If I knew more of your plans, perhaps I would not have to worry so much. I do not know how many supplies you need because I do not know how long you intend to stay at the Northern Tribe."
Zuko didn't know either, but his plans seemed pretty clear to him. Now that Zhao's ship had landed at Kokkyo Island just outside the Northern Tribe's waters, he had to wait until nightfall, lower his stolen lifeboat into the sea, and make his way toward the city. He had a map to follow, and roughly a hundred miles to row. He would reach the Northern Tribe within a few days, and once he was there, all he had to do was to keep Zhao from getting to Katara.
Perfectly simple. There just wasn't any way of knowing how long it would take until he made it to the city and saw for himself what sort of situation he was dealing with.
"There's soap in there somewhere," he said, surveying the mounds of tightly-packed supplies in the lifeboat. "And before you try to shove anything else in there, remember that I'm trying not to sink the lifeboat."
Uncle still didn't look satisfied. "Do you have enough warm clothes? This journey may well be colder than our visit to the South Pole, and you will find no shelter for a very long while."
"I know, Uncle."
"And your bending will be a great help, but you must not rely on it alone. If you tire yourself too much, there will be no way to regain the heat that you have lost."
"I know, Uncle."
"And you must do your best to remain unseen. The Northern Tribe patrols their waters well, and they will not be pleased if they find you there. Even Avatar Katara—"
"Uncle!" Zuko snapped. "I know." He winced when his voice echoed off of every steel surface in the loading area. There was probably no one near enough to hear him now that they'd landed, but the moment when Taro had caught him near the komodo rhinos was still far too fresh in his mind. He couldn't give himself away now. Not when he was so close to finally getting free from Zhao's grasp.
"I know," he repeated, quieter, when he was certain that they were still alone. "I'll be careful, Uncle. I have been thinking about this. I know it's going to be dangerous. I'm not planning to get myself killed."
If he did, then Zhao would win. Even if it was just to spite Zhao, Zuko had to make it through this.
"Please do look after yourself," Uncle said quietly. He came a little closer and clasped Zuko's shoulder. "I could not bear to lose another son."
"I—" Zuko shook his head. Not now. He had important things to do. He couldn't let himself be distracted by Uncle's strange desire to claim Zuko as his own. Hadn't Uncle ever realized the kind of disgrace that came from being associated with Zuko? Or did he just not care? After all, if Uncle cared what other people thought of him, he never would have joined Zuko in the first place. Travelling with Zuko was considered a punishment for everyone else.
Why anyone would throw away all the respect and honor of the royal family for Zuko of all people, he would never understand. But he didn't dare to question it either. Uncle could have made a good life for himself on his own. Zuko couldn't say the same. And maybe it was selfish, but he wasn't going to give Uncle any ideas about leaving. Not when he still needed Uncle's help.
"Don't say that, Uncle." His chest felt a little tight, and he refused to meet the old man's eyes.
Instead, he adjusted the straps holding in his crate of food and looked out over the still, slate-colored water. It looked cold and empty out there. His breath came in soft, silvery puffs of mist, and the air bit at his cheeks in a way that it couldn't when he'd been wearing his helmet.
"Would you prefer me to lie? You may not believe it, Prince Zuko, but you are and have been for several years, the family I hold most dear. The only family I am truly proud of." He paused, and Zuko felt his face heat. "And when I believed that I had lost you—"
Zuko stiffened. "I didn't mean to make you think—"
"I do not blame you, Prince Zuko. You could not have changed anything." Uncle's hand tightened on Zuko's shoulder. "I am only grateful that you made it out safely. What I meant to say was that I didn't know how I could carry on when I believed that I had lost you. I know that you have a tendency to take risks, and I only hope that you will consider them carefully before you act. You have an important place in this world. Please do not forget it."
Zuko met Uncle's eyes for just a second before he had to look away again. Uncle meant well. He knew that. But that didn't mean that Uncle was right. How important could a disgraced, banished prince possibly be? He was presumed dead, and as far as Zuko was aware, only three people minded at all. And Taro had also hit his head pretty hard. It was impossible to know how genuine his feelings about Zuko's supposed death had been when there was a head injury to consider.
"I'll be careful," he said gruffly. "I have the map. I know what I'm getting into." Focusing on practical concerns was easier than letting Uncle get hung up on feelings.
"And do try to get along with Avatar Katara if you can," Uncle added. "Hers may be the friendliest face you see for quite some time."
At that, Zuko stopped short. "Uncle—I'm not—what—I'm not going to the North Pole to make friends!"
"Perhaps not, but it would do you good to have friends."
"I don't need any friends, Uncle."
And if he did need friends, he probably wouldn't pick Katara. He'd pick—well, he couldn't actually think of anyone who he'd choose as a friend, much less anyone who would want to put up with him. But it would probably be someone from the Fire Nation. At least they would be on the same side of the war. Well, mostly. The Fire Nation would probably think that he was on the wrong side now, but Zhao's plan was objectively stupid. Objectively bad for the Fire Nation, if they'd just open their eyes.
In any case, his weird alliance with Katara wasn't the beginning of a friendship. They just yelled at each other a lot, and Katara had a strange way of saying just the right thing to get inside his head. It didn't mean anything, and Zuko didn't want it to either.
"I don't mean to tease you. I simply do not know what you plan to do once you reach the North Pole."
"I'm going to make sure that Zhao can't get to her."
Uncle hmpfed. "Yes, you have said as much before. I had hoped that you might have considered your course in more depth."
"I have. It doesn't really pay to plan weeks ahead when I don't even know what to expect tomorrow, though, does it?"
"Perhaps not in any great detail, but it would be beneficial to know your own direction." A pause. "How far have you planned your mission?"
Zuko shrugged. "I think I know how I'm getting into the city." He couldn't be entirely certain about it until he reached the North Pole and saw how accurate his maps were, but based on what he'd seen so far, he was fairly certain that he could find his way through the walls. "And I'm not going into the city until dark, so no one will be able to see me. I'll learn my way around while they're all sleeping."
There. He had thought things through. He wasn't entirely stupid. After all, he'd had plenty of experience sneaking around where he wasn't meant to be. Uncle didn't know the full extent of it, of course, but he ought to be able to guess at Zuko's stealth skills.
"Hmm. I am pleased to hear it."
He scowled. "But you're still worrying for no reason."
"Mmm. Reason or not, I will always worry for you, my nephew. Believe it or not, I am convinced that it is good for your health to feel a little concern directed your way from time to time." Uncle folded his hands over his stomach and leaned back against a barrel.
Zuko glanced back for just and instant before he busied himself with his supplies again. "I think I've soaked up a healthy amount of your worry already, Uncle. You don't have to wait with me. Your cabin is a lot more comfortable than this."
"Indeed it is." Uncle still didn't move, and he waited until Zuko looked back again before continuing, "But if I am not to see my family again for some time, then I would like to make the most of the time we have left."
Zuko had to look away. That expression on Uncle's face—the soft, sad affection—it made his insides squirm. He'd half forgotten that Uncle was going to be stuck here with Zhao. Of course Uncle could handle himself just fine. He was good at dealing with Zhao, and it wasn't like Zhao was particularly bright or perceptive.
Still, icy fingers of guilt spread through his chest and clenched into knots. Uncle had to stay here. Alone. Surrounded by people who thought that Zuko was dead, and unable to acknowledge the truth to anyone at all. Flashes of the grief that had filled Uncle's eyes after the explosion came back to Zuko, and he adjusted a bundle of clothing inside the lifeboat.
Maybe it was for the best that Zuko was leaving. He couldn't cause any more pain if he wasn't around. Not unless the loneliness somehow bothered Uncle more than Zuko's constant risk-taking.
"You're going to be okay with Zhao and everyone," he began haltingly, his voice stiff. "—right?" He refused to look back.
"Of course I will be."
"Good." He rustled around a bit more until he found his stolen swords tucked away beneath a bundle of blankets. Good. He probably wouldn't need to use them, but he felt better just knowing that they were nearby.
"Prince Zuko, no matter how many times you check over your supplies, they will not change."
Zuko scowled as he covered his swords back up. "Weren't you just asking me a million questions to make sure I had everything packed?"
"Were you not assuring me that you had things perfectly under control?"
With a groan, Zuko let his head hang back and stared at the steel ceiling. Technically, Uncle had a point. He was as close to ready as he could possibly be. Now it was just a matter of waiting until the cloudy sky grew dark enough for him to row away unnoticed.
The problem was that he was terrible at waiting. He always had been. It was even worse now, because he was both tired of sitting around and anxious for what he would find after he left. He wasn't scared or anything. But there were hundreds—thousands of unknowns before him, and the less time he had to agonize over it, the better off he would be. If he was busy fighting the tides, he wouldn't be able to worry about the city walls or the waterbenders who would inevitably try to block his path.
"Come sit for a while," Uncle said, patting the next barrel down the row. "You have a long journey ahead. You may as well rest while you still have the time."
For a few seconds, Zuko just stared, but then he heaved a long sigh and crossed the loading area to take a seat beside Uncle.
"I'm not tired," he pointed out as he settled back against the wall. "Not even a little bit."
"Mmm."
"I'm not. I've been ready for this ever since I found out what Zhao was planning." He watched the ever-darkening sea over the rim of the lifeboat. "I don't need to rest."
"But you'll humor your old uncle for an hour or two, won't you?"
Zuko frowned. He didn't really want to. He hated waiting. He was no good at it. And sitting around with Uncle meant thinking about how alone he was going to be very soon. How alone they would both be.
He would probably miss Uncle enough all on his own. He didn't need to make it worse by starting to think about it now.
But Uncle was probably going to miss Zuko too, and if this made the old man feel a little better about his impending departure, then there wasn't much else for him to do.
"It's not like I have many other choices," he answered, keeping his gaze deliberately fixed on the distant horizon.
Uncle seemed to ignore the edge to his voice, and gave his shoulder a soft pat. "I appreciate it, Prince Zuko."
"I've told you, I'm fine, Master Yugoda. I don't know why Pakku even asked you to do this. It's not like I could have gotten hurt with the way he was holding back the whole time." At worst, there might be a few small bruises popping up in the next few days, but Katara couldn't feel anything. Nothing actually hurt. She was just annoyed and angry, and she was fully ready to burst back out of the healing hut to confront Pakku all over again. She probably couldn't beat him this time either, but she'd learned some of his moves a little better—sooner or later, she'd either shave him completely bald or succeed in knocking him off his feet.
"Are you kidding?" Sokka asked from the corner. He and Aang had both followed her back to the healing hut—Yue had started along with them too, then apparently thought better of it and simply wished her well before the group left the arena—and they'd been watching from the corner ever since. "That guy may be an old relic, but that was a real fight."
"And Master Pakku is really good," Aang added. "I bet he felt bad about fighting with you and just wanted to make sure that you were okay afterward."
"Your friends have a point." Yugoda pulled the water away from Katara's back. "Master Pakku may not know what to do with it some of the time, but he does have a heart. He most likely wanted to be certain that he had not harmed you. And it appears that he did not."
"I already said that. I would have known if I was hurt." Katara pulled away and slipped her parka back over her head. The healing huts were warm but not that warm. "And if Pakku was going to get all worried about whether I'd get hurt, then maybe he could have tried listening rather than fighting me. I would've stopped after cutting off his mustache."
Aang gave a little smile, and Sokka rolled his eyes.
Yugoda, for her part, just raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. It was hard to tell whether she was annoyed or trying to hide amusement.
"What?" Katara asked. "He wouldn't listen to anything I had to say. What was I supposed to do?"
Yugoda shrugged. "I didn't say that you did anything wrong."
"Maybe not, but you're giving me a face." Katara frowned. "I really don't know what else I could have tried. Pakku wouldn't even listen until he saw my necklace." And even then, he hadn't actually cared what she had to say.
"Yeah, what was that all about?" Sokka asked. "That guy was really in love with Gran-Gran?"
"He was. And the two of them were betrothed for a short time before Kanna left the North Pole."
"Ew."
Katara shot a look at Sokka before turning toward Yugoda again. "Why didn't you say anything? I know that she was engaged, but you never mentioned who she was engaged to."
"Would you have believed me if I had?"
She had to think about that for a second. No, probably not. And if she had believed it, Katara would have been just as disgusted by it as she was now.
"Did you unclasp my necklace so that Pakku would see it?"
Yugoda gave a sly smile. "Would I do such a thing?"
Yes. Definitely yes.
"I wish it had worked out better," Katara said. If Pakku had actually listened and considered letting Katara into waterbending lessons, then maybe she wouldn't be back in the healing hut again. Maybe she could be celebrating her victory rather than sitting around and fuming.
Maybe the thought of Pakku being in love with Gran-Gran wouldn't make her feel quite so sick to her stomach.
"I wouldn't be quite so quick to consider today a failure," Yugoda said.
"How?" Tiredness was beginning to catch up to her at last, and Katara felt just a little less inclined to find Pakku and challenge him again tonight. "Pakku said that he was going to kick me out of healing lessons too."
"If Master Pakku had that right, then he would have used it plenty of times before." Yugoda put her hands on Katara's shoulders and began steering her for the door. "Now, I believe that it's time for the three of you to be heading home. It's been a long day, and I would like to meet with you after healing lessons tomorrow."
"All of us?" Sokka asked.
"No, that won't be necessary. Just Katara. I would be happy to see you all another time, though."
Katara stopped, looking back over her shoulder. "Why tomorrow? I'm here now. I could just—"
Yugoda shook her head. "Tomorrow. I have a few arrangements to make first. Now off you go. Get a good night's rest." She ushered the three of them out through the broad training room and out into the street.
"Well," Sokka said when they were alone. "That was enlightening."
Aang raised an eyebrow. "Was it?"
"Sarcasm, buddy. I was being sarcastic." Sokka sighed. "Well, on the bright side, you did get Pakku pretty good. Other than that, this whole thing's a bust."
"I'm not sure about that." Katara looked back at the healing hut for a few seconds. "Master Yugoda must know something she's not saying."
"Do you think so?" Aang asked.
She shrugged. She hoped so. There had to be some reason why Yugoda wanted to meet with her tomorrow afternoon. She doubted that it could be anything good. Or anything that she was actually hoping for, at least. It was probably about getting more healing lessons or something to make her feel better about Pakku's refusal to teach her. She had to tell herself that. She was tired of getting her hopes up.
Katara turned toward Aang as they started the walk back to the house. "Do you think you could start teaching me some of the things you've learned in Pakku's lessons?" They would have to sneak out to Isux Lake to get away with it, but she couldn't see anything wrong with that. She was a little worried about how she'd like training with Aang, considering how things had gone the last time they'd practiced together, though.
"Yeah!" Aang was practically bouncing already. "Do you want to start tonight?"
After a brief pause, she shook her head. Even if she weren't already tired, training with Aang when she was frustrated probably wasn't the best idea. "I don't think so. We can try tomorrow night instead."
Author's Note:
I'm guessing that there may be some people out there who wanted Katara to go into the Avatar State and just comprehensively wreck Pakku's shit (possibly with the help of Avatar Haasi and her sea monster). To be fair, I did consider it. But the more I thought about it, the more I leaned away from going that direction. Even though Pakku didn't canonically accept Katara as a student because of her abilities, I think that that was what Katara wanted out of that fight, and it kind of felt like whipping out the Avatar State might cheapen the work she's put in to get this good on her own. (Plus, Katara has only ever gone into the Avatar State to protect herself and/or people she cares about at this point, and no one was actually in danger here.) Of course, Pakku is still a sexist old fart and kind of a sore loser, but I promise that our girl will be forcing him to deal with that a bit more as things progress from here!
I also really enjoyed writing the nice little scene for Zuko and Iroh before Zuko set off on his own. There's just so much love between them (even though Zuko doesn't know how to handle it), and I couldn't possibly resist the opportunity to have Iroh (basically) say, "Katara's a good influence on you, be nice to her." 😏
Oh! One more note that I meant to put on the last chapter but forgot: the name of Isux Lake always reads to me as "I-sucks" Lake, but "isux" (there should be a ^ accent on the x, but I cannot for the life of me find it in my special characters) is an actual Aleut word that means "seal" and is pronounced more like ee-such (with the "ch" being basically how "ch" is pronounced in German, not English) according to my research. So the place where Katara and Yue had their conversation in the last chapter, and the place where Katara is thinking about training with Aang is actually Seal Lake, and not a self-depricating comment 😅
I hope you liked the chapter! I'm having SO MUCH FUN working ahead, and I'm very excited to share more of the story. Hope to see you back here in two weeks, and in the meantime, reviews are always appreciated!
