Chapter Three: Home Again

A week after the celebration, the group found themselves lingering over their goodbyes at the Jasmine Dragon. The tea shop was still a great success and the gang enjoyed reminiscing over a good pot of tea and some pastries.

Katara stood alone on the patio, gazing towards the sunset. The sky was burst of fiery colors- reds and oranges and golds. Sensing someone behind her, she glanced over her shoulder.

"It feels strange being back here, after all this time," Aang said, rubbing the back of his head.

Katara smiled, turning her gaze back towards the sun. "It's nice. I forgot how much I missed Iroh's tea."

Aang stepped up next to her. "Are you going to tell any of us where you went?"

"Do I have to?" she asked quietly, meeting his gaze.

"No," he said, leaning against the railing. "Are you okay?"

"You keep asking me that."

"You started avoiding giving me an answer."

Katara narrowed her eyes. "I'm fine. Or at least, I'm going to be."

Aang nodded. "Do you need anything?"

"No," Katara said, her eyes softening.

They stood together in silence for a long time, both of them watching as the sun sank below the horizon.

"Do you think we'll ever be able to do it?" Aang asked quietly, breaking the silence. "Do you think we'll ever be able to truly achieve peace?"

Katara glanced at him, brow furrowed. "Why would you ask that?"

Aang sighed. "There's been some… unrest lately. And it seems all we do is try to renegotiate and go around in circles…"

"Aang, you can't make everyone happy. Peace is only going to happen when people learn to compromise."

"You're right," Aang said, smiling. "Maybe I'm just overthinking it."

"No, you're just under a lot of pressure. You are the Avatar, keeper of the peace and all," Katara said, smiling back.

"You got me there."

Katara straightened. "We'll figure this out, like we always do."

Aang nodded again. "I know."

Katara reached up and squeezed Aang's shoulder. She walked back inside the shop, leaving Aang alone with his thoughts.

Ooo0ooO

A knock on her chambers doors drew Katara's attention away from the book she was reading. Looking up, she called out, "Come in."

Suki peered in, grinning. "Busy?"

"Hey Suki," Katara said, putting her book aside.

The Kyoshi warrior walked over and sat down next to Katara, glancing at the book. "I figured you might be awake, with it being the full moon and all."

Katara sighed, leaning back. "Yeah. I was thinking of going out and finding the closest lake or river… waterbending usually helps with the restlessness."

"Well, then, let's go, Master Katara," Suki teased, grabbing Katara's hand and dragging her to her feet.

"Isn't Sokka going to miss you?"

Suki smirked. "He can survive without me for a few hours."

Katara laughed and walked out of her chambers with Suki. When they turned a corner, Katara saw a flash of red before stopping in her tracks, gasping.

Zuko looked down at her with a surprised expression. "Sorry. I didn't know anyone else was still awake."

"Katara and I were just going to grab some fresh air," Suki told him, looping her arm through her sister in law's.

Zuko raised a brow at them.

"Full moon," Katara explained.

"Oh, that's right. How could I forget?" Zuko smiled slightly.

Katara smirked. "Well, if you ever need a reminder, I could always use a sparring partner."

"I'll keep that in mind," Zuko said. "Good night, ladies."

Suki and Katara bid him goodnight before continuing down the corridors. Suki glanced over at Katara. "What was that about?"

"When Zuko was after Aang, he tried kidnapping him in the Northern Water tribe. We fought and I knocked him out during a full moon." Katara shook her head at the memory. "He did return the favor when the sun rose."

"Sokka told me about that," Suki said, her eyes widening. "Aang was in the spirit world, and that Fire Nation general killed…"

"The Moon Spirit," Katara finished, her eyes darkening.

Suki frowned. "Do you know whatever happened to him?"

"When we told Iroh later, he claims that since Zhao had angered the spirits, they would have taken him to the spirit world to… punish him."

Once they were outside, Suki looked up towards the moon. "I don't know why anyone would try to do what he did."

"He was power hungry, all but driven to madness," Katara said. "Zuko told me his pride often got in the way of his judgment."

"Speaking of Zuko, I noticed you guys are talking a lot."

Katara shot her sister in law an amused look. "Friends tend to talk to each other."

"True." Suki smirked.

"I don't like that look in your eye. It's the same look Toph gets before she trips someone using earthbending."

Suki hummed, before pointing ahead of them. "Looks like we found your water, waterbender."

Katara glanced over and smiled at the large lake before them. "Perfect."

Ooo0ooO

The following morning, Sokka, Suki, and Katara were on a ship that was sailing back towards the Southern Water tribe. The trio stood on the decks, looking back towards the Earth Kingdom that was rapidly becoming a line on the horizon.

Sokka stood next to his sister, with an arm casually thrown over her shoulder. "Everyone is going to be happy to see you, especially Dad and Pakku."

When she didn't respond, Sokka looked down at her. "Katara?"

Katara blinked. "Yeah, it'll be nice to see everyone."

Sokka sighed. "Look, if it's too soon for you to go back, Suki and I will understand."

Suki, who was standing on the other side of Sokka, nodded. "There's no pressure."

"I want to go home, really, I do. It's just going to be…"

"Different," Sokka finished.

"Dad isn't mad?" Katara asked.

"Like I said, leave a note next time. But no, he isn't mad. Concerned, but not mad."

Katara leaned against her brother. "I just don't know what I'm going to do without her."

"You still have us, and Dad and Pakku," Sokka reminded her gently.

Katara gazed out towards the ocean. "I know."

Ooo0ooO

Hakoda stood on the docks with Pakku and Bato, watching anxiously as the ship on the horizon got closer. It had been over a year since he last saw Katara, and although they had been apart longer than that before, this time was different.

"Relax, Hakoda," Bato said, obviously sensing his friend's unease. "It'll be all right."

"I don't know why she didn't talk to me before she left," Hakoda said, hands clenching at his side.

"She was grieving. You know very well that grief doesn't always make someone think clearly."

"She's strong, Hakoda. We all needed some time," Pakku said, dipping his hand into his pocket, fingering the betrothal necklace there.

"I know," Hakoda sighed. "I just missed her. It was never easy being away from her or Sokka."

"Your children are out there making a difference, Hakoda," Bato pointed out.

Hakoda nodded, turning his gaze back towards the ship.

When it finally docked, Sokka was the first to emerge with Suki at his side. Katara came out after them, with her hood up against the cold wind.

Hakoda stared at Sokka and Katara, wondering how it was that every time he saw them, he could still see them as young children, but now they were both adults.

When they approached, Hakoda looked at Katara, marvelling how she looked like the mirror image of her mother, Kya, and in turn, just like his own mother, Kanna. Her blue eyes met his, and he found himself reaching for her, drawing her into his embrace.

"I missed you," he said simply, resting his chin on top of her head.

"I missed you too, Dad," Katara whispered.

Later, Katara wandered along in the village. Although it was still not as large nor as impressive as the Northern Water tribe, it was growing thanks to the aide from its sister tribe. The wind was cold and biting, and she found herself oddly missing the warmer climate of the Earth Kingdom.

"You look like you could use some company," a voice said from behind her.

Katara turned. "Pakku."

The older waterbending master approached her, his hands tucked into his sleeves. "I have something I want you to have."

Katara looked as he drew something out of his pocket, before her eyes widened. "Pakku, I can't."

In his hand was the betrothal necklace he had carved for Kanna after they had been reunited. It was very different from the one that had been passed on to Kya, then later to Katara. That necklace had been given to Sokka by Katara, so he could give it to Suki when he had asked her to marry him. Although it had been strange not to have the necklace, Katara had grown accustomed to no longer wearing it. Plus, she enjoyed seeing Suki wear it, since it made her family, even more than she already was.

This betrothal necklace was a smooth, round piece of moonstone attached to a dark, midnight blue silk cloth. The moonstone was white but in the right light, it turned a pale blue. The carvings etched into its surface depicted an image of the crescent moon over the ocean. When the necklace moved, you could almost see the tides moving, and the image of the moon reflecting on the surface of the sea.

"I gave this to your grandmother a month after I returned to the Southern Water tribe," Pakku told her. "I know I didn't want to live another day without her by my side. When I was younger, I grew up listening to my own mother tell me stories of the Moon and Ocean spirits, how they were among the oldest of the spirits, and how they gave up their spirit form and took on corporeal forms in our world. She told me how they taught the first benders how to push and pull the waves…"

Pakku drew a breath before continuing. "When I lost Kanna, I thought that I would never be able to move past my grief. I had this necklace, this reminder, and I remembered my mother's stories. It took my a long time to realize that although Kanna may be gone from this world, she is still with me and with you- in her own way. Sometimes I feel her spirit with me during a full moon, or when I'm waterbending…" Pakku looked down at Katara before taking her hand, pressing the necklace into it. "I know why you left," he said. "Let me give a piece of her back to you."

Katara's eyes swam with tears before she threw her arms around Pakku. "Thank you."

Pakku pulled back, nodding, before he continued on his way.

Katara looked down at the necklace in her hand. She traced the images with the tip of her finger, before she fastened it, where the stone sat in the hollow of her throat.

Ooo0ooO

Miles away, across the ocean, an island sat quiet and still off the coast of the Fire Colonies. This island was almost completely uninhabited, except for the lone structure that sat in its center.

The massive prisoner tower was composed of white marble, and it only bore a few windows. Its walls reached up towards the sky, and it had guards posted all around it, all of which were highly trained.

Inside that tower, a lone prisoner sat in the corner of their cell by one of the few windows. Their gaze was dull, unseeing. They didn't feel the wind, nor did they smell the salty air.

A bird flew by the window before landing on a small ledge.

The prisoner's eyes flickered, and something within their depths stirred and awoken. They focused on the bird before a cruel smile crept across their lips.

There was a terrified squawk and the snapping of bones, before the bird's lifeless body was thrown from the window.

The prisoner shifted, their gaze now focusing on the thin strip of land across the stretch of ocean.

"Soon… soon I'll be able to go home."

Ooo0ooO

Disclaimer: I do not own ATLA or any of its characters.

Author's Note: Please review!