Katara was set to spar with a young boy named Sangok. She eyed her opponent with a look of determination. Sangok looked at her with a frightened expression on his face, shaking slightly. He summoned a globule of water, froze it into an iceball, and fired it at her. Katara, however, was quick to melt the iceball and, turning around swiftly, bent a wave of water at him, which she proceeded to freeze, thus suspending Sangok in an icy trap.
Master Pakku was Displeased. "Nice try, Pupil Sangok." Sangok was trying to break free. "A couple of more years and you might be ready to fight a sea sponge." Pakku unfroze the ice; Sangok fell to the ground dazed. "Would anyone care for a rematch with Katara?" All of the students looked unwilling. "Katara, you've advanced more quickly than any student I've ever trained." Katara smiled brightly. "You have proven that with fierce determination, passion and hard work, you can accomplish anything." He turned to Aang irritably. "Raw talent alone is not enough." Aang was lying on the ground with a lazy smile, floating Momo around on an airball above him. "Pupil Aang!"
Aang stopped bending at the sound of his name; Momo landed on his head. "Yes, Master Pakku?"
"Care to step into the sparring circle? I figure since you've found time to play with house pets, you must have already mastered waterbending." Master Pakku said sarcastically.
Aang jumped off the ground with airbending. "I wouldn't say mastered, but check this out."
He twisted around, bending some snow around him to make a snowman of himself, which Momo knocked over. Pakku and Katara wore similar expressions of disdain. Pakku shook his head in disappointment, while Katara looked on in irritation.
Xxx
Later Aang related Khione's story to Sokka and Katara.
They were both shocked, but agreed to trust the young Queen and keep her secret.
"We have to help her find her sister." Katara determined. "Maybe she can divine where she is and we can go there!"
"I don't know if that's how Pyro—pier..." Sokka attempted.
"Pyromancy." Aang said. "Generally in divination it shows you what you are meant to see; what the Spirit World believes necessary to show you."
"Thank you Encyclopedia Avatar." Sokka chuckled.
Queen Khione approached and bowed to them shyly. "Thank you for keeping my secret." Snow and black soot started to fall from the sky. "Hey, look! What's happening?'
"Oh no ..." Sokka said nervously.
Civilians stopped to observe the sooty snow. Aang laughed as he gleefully rolled around in the snow in a circular pattern. Momo opened his mouth and caught a sooty snowflake only to bristle and spit out the contents. Aang stopped playing around and looked up at the snowfall with a concerned face. Civilians water standing near a fountain. The fountain's water turned black.
Sokka Picked up a handful of black snow. "Soot."
"What?" Khione said.
Sokka, Khione, Katara, and Aang were standing right outside the outskirts of the city, near the shores of the North Pole seas. Sokka was kneeling down, observing the snow.
"I've seen this before, right before my village was attacked. It's soot mixed with snow." Sokka rose.
"But why?" Khione asked.
Sokka Looked out over the horizon. "It's the Fire Nation." Sokka looked at Khione, concerned. "They've closed in on the North Pole and from the looks of this stuff," He gestured to the enormity of the sooty snowfall. "I'd say there's a lot of them."
A huge mushroom cloud loomed over the horizon.
Xxx
Queen Khione stood on the Dias, speaking to her people.
"Northern Water Tribe, my people, the time has come! The Fire Nation are coming for the Avatar, and our Northern Wall will be breached! The time has come to fight!"