It was hard to get up the next morning, but the smell of breakfast convinced Katara that leaving her warm sleeping bag was worth it. As she peeled back the blanket, she took notice of her stomach area. The bruises she was used to seeing were gone. No greenish yellow healing, no scars, nothing. She was staring at only her skin. Gently, she placed her hand over one of the known spots and pressed.
Nothing.
So, she did it again but harder.
Nothing.
Katara smiled with glee as she realized that Aang's idea had indeed worked. He had healed her completely. Physically, she felt like her old self again. She was ready to fight the spirit that her hurt and figure out the problem once and for all. But mentally, she wasn't her old self. Yes, she was still feisty and full of fire, but she didn't want to be angry with Aang anymore. She had spent too much time doing that already. She gave him the cold shoulder, and he choose to help her twice!
She had spent a lot of time thinking about what had happened, and she knew that it was all in the past. She had been given a second chance at life. She had even been given a second chance with Aang. He was there, single, and willing to work things out with her. Maybe it was time to stop being angry and start healing her mental wounds.
Katara got dressed and brushed her hair into the same style she wore when she was younger. It was even longer now, and she figured it would be easier to fight a spirit if her hair was out of her face. Secretly, she hoped it would remind Aang of how much he liked her seven years ago.
When Katara exited the tent, she was greeted by everyone else sitting around the fire. Despite being the last one out there, none of the others had started taking down their tents. That was a good sign.
Sokka was cooking over the fire, which surprised everyone except for Katara. Since Sukki had gotten pregnant, Sokka started to learn to cook, and he was actually good it. Yet, everyone else was teasing him about his new skills.
There was gap between Mai and Sokka that she assumed was for her, but she choose to sit in a smaller space between Sokka and Aang. She ignored the looks that followed.
Aang was ecstatic. Perhaps their talk last night had broken the ice between them. Testing the water, Aang asked her, "How are you feeling?"
Katara smiled at him as Sokka handed her food. "Much better. Thank you." The short interaction gained a lot of interested stares from their company. Katara noticed this and was instantly annoyed. "Aang used the Avatar State to heal me last night. I'm good as new now."
"Are you sure?" Sokka asked her in an over protective voice.
She narrowed her blue eyes at him. "Yes, there's no bruising or soreness. I guess it's a good thing I came along."
Sokka ignored her comment that was directed towards him and told her, "Maybe not. The spirit had it out for you, remember?"
Zuko, tired of the siblings banter, interrupted before Katara had a chance to reply. "Hey Aang, did you talk to your past lives about the spirit?"
Aang nodded. He had talked to a few of the past Avatars, but it was Avatar Yangchen that was the most helpful. "Yes, Avatar Yangchen told me that there are two sides to a spirit- a light and a dark side. When the surrounds or spirit get thrown out of balance, one of the sides take over more than the other."
"So," Sokka said trying to understand Aang's revelation. "This is a dark spirit, but it can be turned back into a light spirit?"
"Um, close enough," Aang shrugged. Sometimes it was difficult to understand the spirit talk, but Sokka had gotten the most important aspect out of what he had said. "Something has caused this spirit to become more dark. Has anything drastically changed here lately?"
Katara gritted her teeth as a rude comment appeared in her mind. Instead of commenting on how he would know if he had visited more often, she reminded herself of her new mentality. "Our population has drastically increased over the last few years," she offered. She had heard someone mention something similar in yesterday's meeting.
"With more people comes the need for more land," Zuko explained. "Perhaps the spirit is angry that it is losing land."
"Like Hei Bai was upset that his forest had been burned down!" Sokka excitedly made the connection.
Aang thought about it for a moment. "Are there any known spirits in the South Pole?"
Katara and Sokka looked at each other and shrugged. If there were, the knowledge died in the war. Sokka told Aang that, and Aang and Zuko grimaced as if it was their faults.
"As Firelady," Mai shared. "I have been learning a lot about the cultures of the other nations to be able to repair our relationships with them. Before the war, the Southern Water Tribe was thriving and they had a lot of unique traditions."
"Traditions?" Katara asked. Since her Gran Gran was originally from the North Pole, a lot of the traditions of the South were lost over time.
Sokka spoke up, "The only traditions I remember had to do with warriors and men, like ice dodging, receiving ceremonial marks, and war paint."
"Yes, there are actually a lot more. If we hadn't left in such a hurry, I would have brought the scroll along with me. I'll send it when I get back." Mai told the siblings. Then, she turned to Sokka. "Sokka, did you say something about lights in the sky earlier?"
Sokka nodded to her. "They're called the Southern Lights."
"I didn't see any lights last night," Aang added. In fact, he had never seen any lights in the sky. Not even years ago when he lived there part time with Katara.
"That's because they've been disappearing for a while."
"What do you mean?" Aang asked genuinely interested. Now that sounded like something a spirit would be angry about.
"Well, over the last few months- and years really,- the Southern Lights grew darker and darker, but we assumed it was because the lights of the tribe were getting brighter with the growing population. A few weeks ago, they disappeared over the tribe completely. You can sometimes still see them far in the distance though."
While Sokka was explaining the strange phenomenon, something Mai had read came back to her. "Have you guys ever heard of the Glacier Spirits Festival?"
Sokka and Katara looked at each other again. In recent years, the tribe had started celebrating a lot of festivals, but none had that name. They both shook their head no.
"What about a festival around the winter solstice?"
Katara was the first one to anwer. "We've recently started having a Winter Festival." As she spoke, her eyes flickered to Aang.
At the mention of the festival, Aang's face flushed, and his cheeks became tinted red. He remembered the very first Winter Festival because he attended it as Katara's boyfriend. It was just like any other festival in the world with some Southern Water Tribe activities and food, but Aang was more interested in remembering what he and Katara had done after the festival.
Oblivious to the interaction going on, Mai continued to rack her brain for some specifics about the Glacier Spirits Festival. She rubbed her temples to try and help. "If I remember correctly, the tribe's elders would dance with the spirits in the sky, and that's what created the Southern Lights."
Everyone was silent for a moment while they tried to make sense of the information Mai gave them. Eventually, Sokka spoke up. "So, because we don't celebrate and dance with the spirits in the sky, the Southern Lights are disappearing?"
"That's probably what's upsetting the spirits," Zuko added.
Katara voiced her own concern. "But that festival hasn't been celebrated in years. It was before Gran Gran's time. Why would the spirits be upset now?"
Everyone looked at Aang, but he was looking at the ground. They were missing something, but he didn't know what. He would have to consult with a past life, maybe one from the Southern Water Tribe.
When Aang didn't answer, Zuko tried to offer an answer. "Well, the winter solstice was last month. Maybe it's a big anniversary of the Southern Tribe not celebrating the right festival?" It was a stretch, but they had no other reason for the sudden attack.
The conversation ended after that when no one else had any other thoughts to share. They all began to pack their things, loaded Appa, and got ready for another day of searching.
After another uneventful day of flying, Aang spotted a mountain range. Curious, he asked Sokka about it.
"I've never been this far away from the tribe," was Sokka's answer. "This is at least a few day's walk, and the cold temperatures would be dangerous. Katara, do you know anything about these mountains?"
Katara had spent a lot of her childhood helping her Gran Gran and the tribe's other elderly members, so she had heard rumors and tales about a mysterious mountain range. "Someone told me once that there was a mountain range that they sent criminals as a punishment. I was warned to never go there."
"Hm," Sokka thought aloud with his hand to his chin. Sarcastically, he said, "That sounds like a place that dark spirits or ghosts would haunt."
Katara glared at her brother. "Well, I forgot about it until now. I don't think about my childhood a lot." Her words stung him, and everyone knew what major life event she was referring too.
Silence filled the group for several moments as they approached the mountain range. It was Aang that broke the silence. "I think we should take shelter from the wind behind this snow mound for the night. Tomorrow we can explore the mountain range in daylight."
They all agreed since the sun was already setting. Around the winter solstice, they had fewer or no hours with daylight. Luckily, they were past the no daylight point and had several hours to work with.
After setting up their campsite and eating dinner, Mai pushed Katara into the girl's tent. Sokka shrugged to the other men and mumbled, "Girl talk." The three men continued to sit there and talk about things in life, until the opportunity arose for Sokka to ask Aang about his budding relationship with Katara.
"What do you mean?" Aang asked nonchalantly, but he was freaking out on the inside.
"You know what I mean. You've been staying up late chit chatting and healing her..."
With a shrug, Aang said, "I'm surprised she wants to talk to me at all."
Sokka scuffed. "Me too. To be honest, I'm surprised she handled seeing you again so well."
"Really?" Aang asked in awe. He would have never guessed that she didn't want to see him based on how she was acting.
"Yeah," Zuko chimed in. "Her and Mai have been sending letters back and forth since you guys broke up. She never lets me read them, but I always assume it's about you."
Aang sat quietly and digested what they were saying. In a low voice, he told them, "She told me she didn't hate me."
"Katara?" Zuko laughed. "Katara doesn't hate anybody. She tired to hate me, and she couldn't even hate the man that killed her mother. She wanted to, but it's not in her nature. Katara doesn't hate."
Katara doesn't hate, Aang thought to himself. Katara doesn't hate.
Sokka was right that they went into the tent to "girl talk." That was exactly what Mai wanted to do ever since that morning when Katara willingly sat next to Aang. The girl crossed her arms and gave Katara a pointed look.
"What?" Katara asked defensively.
Mai continued her stare. "You know what."
Katara let out an exasperated sigh. "We made up," was all she offered.
One of Mai's dark eyebrows lifted. "When? When he was taking you to your room after the feast or last night in your tent?"
Katara rolled her eyes. "I'm going to kill Sokka."
"Don't change to subject."
"Fine," she muttered in a low voice. "He touched one of my wounds when we were dancing and had to carry me to my room. That night, he found me outside the palace and told me he wanted to talk, but I wasn't ready. Then last night, neither of us could sleep because of the full moon. So, we talked and decided that the past should stay in the past."
"Hmmm," Mai mused over this explanation. "So, does that mean you're going to get back together?"
"What?!" Katara exclaimed so loud that the men outside of the tent heard. In a quieter voice, she asked. "What do you mean?"
"I saw the looks you two were giving each other today. There's no denying that there's still something between you two. Aang has been a lost puppy for the last three years."
Katara took a moment to think about what Mai was implying. Throughout the day, her and Aang has caught the other staring at them. They'd blush and then look away. It was almost like a game, but their eyes didn't meet for long. It was true that the spark was still there, but Katara wasn't sure it meant what she thought it meant. "I don't know, Mai. I'm scared to get hurt again."
Mai studied her friend's worried expression and dug deep within her to find some wisdom to off. "I may have been spending too much time with Iroh," she laughed. "But Aang is a good person. Surely, he won't make the same mistake twice."
"Well, I never expected him to make that mistake in the first place! Nothing is certain!"
"Katara, everyone talks about what to do when they get burned by a lover, and you were without a doubt wronged. But no one talks about what to do when the man is good. He made a mistake. I guess the question you should be asking yourself is if you want to let that mistake decide your future. It's already decided the last three years."
"You're right," Katara muttered. She meant it, but it was still hard to hear. "He told me that he wanted to stay and make things right between us."
Mai's lips curved into a small smile. "That's a good sign. Are you going to let him, or are you going to fight him the entire time?"
With a devious smile, Katara replied, "Where would the fun be if I made it easy?"
