After we finished hugging, Sokka smiled at me.
"Katara, we'd given up hope of finding you!"
I smiled. He stopped smiling and asked a question very low in my ear.
"They didn't…they didn't…hurt…you, did they?" He looked concerned.
"I'm fine."
Sokka pulled two people out from the crowd. A young woman and the tattooed boy I'd seen earlier.
"Katara, this is Aang. He's the Avatar. We're taking him to the North Pole to learn Waterbending."
"The Avatar!" I gasped. I bowed as low as I could to him.
"You don't have to do that," Aang said, blushing and looking embarrassed. He wore loose monk clotheing in red and yellow. He had a shaved head, as I had noticed earlier. He had a blue arrow tattooed on his head and on his hands.
"At the Fire Court we were forbidden from even mentioning the Avatar," I told him getting up.
"You…you were at the Fire Court?" Aang asked nervously.
"Aang, this is my sister, Katara," Sokka told Aang. He leaned over and whispered something in Aang's ear. Aang gasped and said "I'm sorry this happened to you."
I shrugged. "I got out."
Sokka put his arm around the woman.
"Katara, this is my fiancée, QuaMae."
QuaMae had brown hair. Her eyes were brown with thin rings of green on the outer edge. I couldn't see her skin because it was covered in red and white makeup. Her face and neck were painted white while red was painted from her eyelids to her eyebrows. She had dark red almost purple lipstick.
She wore a green dress with armour and gold insignias on it. She also had her hair up in two buns with two chopsticks thrust through them to keep their shape. I then noticed that she wore a headband that was green with a gold square on it.
"QuaMae is one of the warriors we met on Kyoshi Island," Sokka told me.
"It's very nice to meet you," I said. I was pretty shocked. Sokka was getting married. A thought struck me and I started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Sokka asked.
"You're 18 and you're still not married?"
Sokka blushed.
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(A/N Just so you know, part of the AU is that I messed with everyone's age.)
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There weren't enough tents to spare me one, so I would be sharing a tent with my future sister.
"So, QuaMae," I said as she rolled out her blanket and lay down.
"Yes?" she asked. I couldn't help myself.
"Can I ask you about something?"
"Sure."
"You know my mother is dead?"
"Yes."
"Well, she died when I was twelve, so she never got a chance to tell me about The Nature Of Things."
QuaMae was confused.
"I have some questions about Girl Things."
"Oh!" QuaMae instantly blushed. She had taken off her makeup to sleep and her skin was as dark as Sokka's and mine. "Well, Katara…when a man and a woman love each other VERY much and they decide to get married—"
"Like you and Sokka?" I asked determined to make this as difficult for her as I could.
"Yes," QuaMae said. The blush that had started to fade flared up again. "And after they get married, on the wedding night, they, um, this is going to awkward."
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I really did know everything she told me. I just wanted to see her squirm. It's not that I'm a cruel person, I just wanted to know what kind of girl Sokka was marrying.
And QuaMae seemed nice. She didn't try to baby or sugar-coat me. I liked her.
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Later we climbed on board our boats and were off. I stayed at the rail watching the docks disappear, knowing that I was straying furthur and further from Zuko. I didn't think I would ever seen him again.
I was thinking about our last night together, the night he was burned. The way just touching him sent delicious shivers down my spine. I sighed.
"So what was his name?"
I whipped around to see QuaMae grinning at me.
"I-I-I…don't know what you're talking about!" I said nervously.
"It's okay, Katara. I was once fourteen, I've had crushes before. I know what you're going through."
Now it was my turn to blush.
"You can tell me, I won't tell anyone."
I looked over at the ocean and saw Aang. He was riding his flying bison, Appa.
"Uhh, it's Aang!" I said quickly making something up. "You know, the master of all four elements thing." I grinned weakly at her.
QuaMae sniffed and her eyes filled with tears of joy.
"That's so…SWEET!" she squeaked. "Maybe he even likes you too! I won't tell anyone!" She giggled.
I sure hoped she didn't tell anyone. What if he DID like me back? That would be awkward.
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A few weeks later, we were out sailing when a Fire Nation ship pulled up next to us.
"Damn!" Sokka hissed. "Katara, Aang, QuaMae, hide!" We were hustled into the captains quarters which were rather small. QuaMae (and I'm sure she did this on purpose) pushed me up against Aang.
We pressed our ears against the door, listening to what was going on.
"We're looking for the Avatar!"
I gasped. "I know that voice," I whispered to myself.
I darted for the porthole and peeked out the window.
"Zuko!" I cried out.
I sprinted for the door and tried to open it. QuaMae and Aang gripped my waist and pulled me back.
"Katara, no!"
"Let me go, let me go!"
I ripped free and threw the door open. I ran out on deck.
"ZUKO!"
He turned aroud.
"Katara!"
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