Chapter 2: The Last Waterbender (In the South)
Katara
It was early in the morning when Katara slipped out of the tent she shared with Gran-gran and her brother. For the last couple of years, this had been her routine, it was important to her that she kept it up. The early morning winter wind tried to tease her hood off, but she held it up with one gloved hand.
Slipping between tents and igloos, she crept out of the village. It was still early spring, which meant that the sun would only show itself above the horizon for a few hours towards midday. This meant the entire pole was lit only by the soft blue light cast by the full moon.
The wind had pushed about the freshly fallen snow into dunes that sloped and curved across the ice. It made the very ground Katara walked on look like she was crossing the waves of the ocean with only her boots separating her from a watery grave.
About a mile out of the village, she found them. Four slopes spaced evenly apart with a decent sized valley in the centre. Her practice ground.
Katara sighed and placed her feet on the edge of the pit, then leaned forward.
Sealskin boots slid down the sheer ice slopes, and almost halfway up the other side. Katara twisted her body and eventually came to the flat centre. A perfect bowl of ice surrounded her, one that only a water bender could make, but also one only a water bender could escape from.
She pushed up her hood, basking in the light of the moon for a moment before falling into her practice.
Sokka could never understand the struggles that came from teaching herself with nothing but the moon, the ocean, and ice as her guide.
She stretched, relaxing her muscles. Slowly she slid one foot out, then the other. Propelling herself across the slick surface, adjusting to the feeling of the ice. Anyone raised in the South Pole knew how to walk on ice, but most ice was pocketed and uneven. The ice here was thick, smooth, and undamaged. Nothing in the pole knew how to walk on ice like that.
She had accidentally caught several animals in it, the first few months. Including a polar bear dog pup, which the tribe had adopted and who now protected the village. But now any animals that travelled this close to the village knew well enough to stay away. The fact that anything she caught was announced as one of Sokka's kills was beside the point.
Once she was gliding across the ice sheet, she began bending, starting with her most basic. Pulling and pushing the water like the moon, back and forth. The water responded, even when she raised it up into the air. She lifted the water streaming it around her body, lashing out at invisible enemies. She switched movements, flashing hands froze and defrosted the liquid as quickly as she could.
A faint noise caught her attention. The water was dropped, turning into rough unpolished ice. Was someone watching? Where were they? The hills she had made were designed, so if someone came over them, they would fall in, or she'd spot them. They were steep enough that no one should be able to see her pending until they were on top either. Of course, they could be lying on their stomach and peeking over the edge, there was nothing she could do to prevent against that.
The sound was louder now, and she realized someone was shouting wordlessly above her. She threw herself back, as the person falling from the sky spun, slowing his descent. His feet touched the ice gently, then flew out from under him, so he fell backwards onto the ice.
He was a boy, about her age, maybe a bit younger. He had short, thick, black hair and bright eyes that she couldn't quite identify the colour of. What drew her attention most was his clothes. A red shirt under a short burgundy vest over charcoal pants and dark brown boots with the toes curled back. He held a thick brown blanket around his shoulders, but it was clear neither the blanket or his clothes were made to handle South Pole weather.
He stood up, grinning sheepishly.
"Um, hi. I'm Aang,"
"You're an Airbender," Katara said. That was the only way he could have come from… however high, he had been flying. But…
"I thought Airbenders were extinct?" She asked. The boy, Aang, grimaced.
"We aren't extinct, we're in hiding," he grumbled. Katara frowned.
"Then, why are you here?" She asked, looking around. There was no reason for anyone who wasn't water tribe to be in the south, especially this time of year. The fire nation only came when the moon never rose, and the sun shone through the night. Traders preferred the middle of spring or fall when the sun and moon shared the sky equally.
"I'm looking for someone to teach me waterbending, I'm the Avatar."
Before he could say anything else, Katara turned the ground beneath his feet into water and froze it again. Leaving him trapped from the waist down.
"You're lying to me,"
"I'm not lying to you! What have I lied to you about?" Aang demanded, hands waving. Katara glared, crossing her arms.
"The avatar has been held prisoner by the fire nation for over thirty years," she said. Aang groaned.
"I know that I don't know how or why, but I'm the Avatar. I guess the previous avatar died when I was born, and the fire nation didn't announce it? Someone I talked to said that if the Avatar died, they wouldn't tell anyone,"
"Prove it," Katara said, still glaring down at the boy. Aang huffed and held out his hand. A small ball of fire burst into existence just above his skin.
"I can bend two elements already, so I just have to master the last two. That's why I'm here to look for a water bending master. Now can you please let me up it's cold," the last part was a clearly desperate plea. Katara faltered. He didn't look like he was going to hurt her, or try and kill her, but if he was the avatar after the avatar of earth…
"How can I trust someone who's fire nation?" She asked. Despite her misgivings, her hands dropped to her sides.
"Please, I'm not lying. I want to become a fully realized Avatar, so I can stop this war. Why won't you believe me?" He was getting desperate, and his lips were turning blue. Katara closed her eyes and thirst out her hands.
There was silence, then a splash and his cold chattering voice approached her.
"Thank you,"
"You're coming with me to my village," Katara decided, opening her eyes. Aang had wrapped his blanket around himself and was all but curled into a ball. That wasn't good.
"Mind if we take a quicker way?" He asked. Katara didn't answer. Her arm was halfway out of her parka sleeve when Aang pulled a small metal tube from under his shirt and blew into it.
There was a groan, and a huge animal dropped from the sky. It landed outside the bowl, sending snow showering on both of the teens. Aang wasted no time in speeding up the sheer wall and onto the animal. Katara felt her mouth drop open.
Slowly she followed him, bending the ice to create several holes to allow her to climb up the side of the bowl.
Pulling herself up past the hill. She stood next to the animal, staring up at it in wonder.
The creature was huge, fluffy, and warm. The second Katara touched it; she could feel its body heat radiating around itself. Tucked securely in the groove between head and neck, she noticed the brown blanket and a tuft of black hair. The animal was probably the only reason Aang hadn't already frozen to death.
Sighing, she pulled the rest of her parka off.
"Here, this should help keep you warm," she said. One pale hand darted out from the folds of fabric and snatched the garment from her.
"Climb on," his words were muffled. Katara looked between the massive animal and Aang, then down at herself. Huffing, she reached up and dragged herself onto the animal's neck.
Aang emerged from his cocoon wearing her parka.
"Do you want to share my blanket?" He asked, gesturing towards the fabric that was still wrapped around his legs. Katara shook her head. Aang shrugged, then grabbed the reins and snapped them.
"Appa, yip-yip."
Katara nearly screamed as the animal lunged into the sky. Then the movement evened out. She glanced over the side and gasped with surprise.
"He's flying!"
"Well, he is a sky bison," Aang said, grinning.
"So which way to your village?" Aang asked. Katara pointed.
"We mainly fish in my village, so we're right by the ocean," she explained. She paused, then added, "I'm assuming not many fire nation families have flying animals. How do you have one?" Aang shook his head.
"None. I told you, I'm an Airbender,"
"The Avatar after earth is always fire. Which means you're the Avatar of fire. And I can't be wrong; otherwise, you would have said something by now," she argued. Aang sighed and ran his hand down his face in tired frustration.
"I didn't say anything because I have no idea if I'm the Avatar of Fire or the Avatar of air,"
No idea? How was that possible? From what she knew, the avatar's element was always known by the previous avatar and their native element. How could there be any confusion?
"How do you not know?"
"Because the first element I mastered was air, but the last known Avatar was earth," oh, so that was how. Katara looked at Aang, trying to wrap her head around what she knew and what he was saying. Either the cycle skipped fire (which she wouldn't be against), or he was the avatar of fire but for some reason learned airbending first, which shouldn't have been possible. The whole thing made her head hurt.
The bison began to descend. Katara leaned over the edge to see her village fast approaching. What took her half an hour to walk, the bison had crossed in about a minute. The animal's speed was unlike anything she had ever considered possible.
Appa landed with a shower of snow and loosely packed ice outside her village wall. It was still early morning, so most of her tribe would still be sleeping, with only a few early risers like herself beginning to prepare for the day. Which meant Sokka would still be asleep, but gran-gran would not.
Then she heard a shout and her heart sank.
Her brother wasn't asleep.
"Let my sister go, monster! I have a boomerang, and I'm not afraid to use it!" She glanced around Appa's large shoulder to see Sokka standing in front of the village's wall, holding his boomerang in one hand, and his club in the other.
Quickly she slipped off the side of Appa, nearly getting a face full of hard-packed ice.
"Sokka, stop, I'm fine!" She said, holding out her arms to show him. Her brother narrowed his blue eyes, leaning forward, his warrior's wolf tail waving in the breeze cheerily. Just like her, he had warm brown skin and blue eyes, a trait shared with a little less than half of the village. While having brown skin was not unheard of, it was also not the norm.
Then he darted forward and tried to drag her back away from the bison and Aang, who was trying to untangle himself from the folds of the blanket. She rooted herself in the snow, covering her boots with ice.
A moment later, Aang slid off Appa, the blanket still wrapped around him even though he was wearing her parka.
Katara groaned, looking between the two boys. She released her feet and grabbed Sokka's arm.
"Sokka, this is Aang. Aang, my brother Sokka," she said.
Sokka glared, but Aang waved, smiling nervously. Katara sighed. She was not looking forward to this, but there was not really another option. She needed to talk, to have someone explain this whole situation and right now there was only one person in the village who had ever left the south pole.
"Is gran-gran awake?" she said. Sokka gave her a deadpan expression.
"I'm awake, aren't I?" he said. With one hand, he returned his boomerang to its sheath on his back. Katara nodded.
"Good, come on Aang," She took Aang's hand and dragged him into the village. Most of the villagers were just waking up and beginning their morning routines. A few of the women glanced at them but decided not to do anything. Katara appreciated. This was going to be hard enough, but she needed to make sure. Even though she didn't think that Aang was going to do anything to hurt anyone.
The tent that Katara shared with her brother and gran-gran was on the edge of the tribe. The older woman was already outside. She was heading towards the igloo that was used for drying and cooking meat and seaweed.
"Gran-gran!" Katara called. Her grandmother paused and turned. Kanna, Katara's grandmother, was slightly shorter than Katara with a wrinkled face, dotted with brown age-spots. But her face meant comfort and security to Katara, and right now, she needed that. Along with the answers that her gran-gran was bound to give them.
Kanna stopped and looked at Aang with wide eyes, taking in the curled toes at the ends of his boots, how his clothes were all brown, orange, and burgundy, and his curious expression. She moved towards them, with a speed that did not show her age.
"What are you doing so far from your nation, boy?" She asked. As always, gran-gran was right to the point. But she didn't even know everything yet.
"Gran-gran, this is Aang. He says he's the avatar," Katara searched her grandmother's face. Hopefully, gran-gran would be able to tell her if the goodness of the Avatar would override the evils of the fire nation. Or at least, if he was telling the truth at all. She didn't think he was lying, but she needed to make sure.
There were several long moments of silence as the two looked at each other. Finally, Aang bowed, placing one hand upright against his fist.
"It's an honour to meet you," he said. One of gran-gran's eyebrows rose.
"I'm afraid I cannot agree with that. What element have you mastered, boy?" she asked. Aang straightened.
"Air, it's my first element, and I'm pretty close to mastering Fire too. I came here looking for a waterbending teacher," he glanced at Katara as he said that. Katara grimaced.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible. There are no waterbenders in the south pole," Kanna replied. Aang frowned.
"That-"
"He saw me waterbending gran-gran," Katara said. She winced, expecting a lecture to start, but to her surprise, her gran-gran only sighed.
"I see. You won't be able to learn your bending here, Katara is the only water bender who survived your nation's attacks on us. The rest were taken or killed." gran-gran said. Aang blinked then looked at Katara. There was something in his eyes, confusion? Guilt? She wasn't sure which.
Why would he be guilty though? That didn't make any sense.
"Oh… okay," Aang frowned, then looked up to meet gran-gran's eyes.
"Is it possible for me to stay for a little while? I need to stock up on supplies and things… and I'm almost out of food,"
This wasn't what Katara had been wanting to hear. Why wasn't gran-gran asking to see if he was trustworthy and letting him know where the men were? Had she already decided that Aang was going to betray them or fail?
That didn't sit right with her.
"Gran-gran, if he's the avatar shouldn't we…" she faltered trying to find the right words, "be trying to help him end this war?"
"And what makes you think he wants this war to end the way we do?" Kanna asked. Katara blinked then turned to look at Aang. She hadn't even considered that he might want the war to end with the Fire Nation as the winners. That should have been obvious. She felt the hope that had been slowly growing start to sink into the bottom of her stomach.
"I don't want a side to win, I want the war to end. It's hurting my people as much as it is yours," Kanna snorted, but didn't say anything. Katara frowned, that was hard to believe. The Fire nation had been attacking for a hundred years if it was hurting them as much as Aang claimed, then why hadn't they stopped the war by now? No one would keep a war going if it was damaging their side as well... right? That was just stupid.
"Either way, you may stay the night, but in the morning, you leave," Kanna said sharply. Aang sighed but nodded.
Kanna vanished into the igloo. Aang turned to look at Katara.
"So how did you learn to waterbend if you're the only waterbender here?" he asked. Katara flushed deeply.
"I taught myself," she admitted. The look of complete surprise and awe that filled Aang's face was well worth the admission.
"Wow, I learned from my mother, and then I spied on my sister and cousins to learn firebending. I can't imagine how hard that was, you're incredible,"
How dark was her face right now? Katara quickly raised a hand to try and hide the heat she felt building there. No one had ever acknowledged how hard it must have been or how much she had worked to achieve all she had. And here was this stranger, born from their enemy, who not only recognized it... was impressed by it.
Aang smiled brightly.
"So... I'm here all day. What do you do for fun?"
