Chapter 3

Half an hour later, (after many good-byes and many tears), the five of them were on Appa flying toward the North Pole. Kura was clinging to the saddle and trying not to look down. She'd ridden Appa a couple times before, but had never really gotten used to it. Toph was also squeezing the saddle in fear.

"I was just getting used to this with Twinkle-Toes at the reins," she was saying to nobody in particular, "but Sokka's flying is so horrible, it's like starting all over!" He was pretty bad, but as Kura had no point of reference, she kept quiet.

Despite the terror of flying on him, she absolutely loved Appa. And it seemed to her that Appa had grown quite fond of Kura too. She suspected the bond may have been...sort of 'left over' from Appa's deep friendship with Aang. Kura knew every Avatar must have an animal guide, but she wasn't sure if two Avatars could share one. She decided that she would ask Aang about it when she spoke with him.

That was another thing she was unsure about. Kura didn't think she knew how to contact her past life. And yet...she felt like she almost did know, somehow. Even so, she wasn't quite convinced that she could, even if she did know how. But everyone seemed pretty sure that this Spirit Oasis place would help her get the hang of it. She hoped this was true.

"Katara?" she said. She'd been wondering something for a long time. It would be a while before they reached the North Pole, so she figured this would be the best time. Katara turned toward her and nodded. "What...What was Aang like?" she ventured. Katara's eyes shot open for a split second, then softened.

"I can understand why you'd want to know. You're wondering about what it will be like when you meet him." she replied. Kura nodded her head meekly. "Don't worry about anything." Katara reassured her, "Aang is the nicest kid you could meet."

"Emphasis on kid!" Toph interrupted. Sokka and Zuko chuckled in agreement. Katara smiled.

"Well, yes, he was a little childish. But that was what was great about him. He encouraged us to slow down and have some fun.

"He was very kind, as I said. Being raised by monks, he would never hurt a spider-fly. He was a little unsure of himself at first, but grew to be a real leader. He was also quite wise, despite his sense of fun." Katara went on. Kura noticed she had an almost dreamy look in her eyes. She supposed Katara must miss Aang very much.

"What did he look like?" Kura asked.

"Well, he was bald, and had arrows tattooed on his head, hands, and feet." Katara said. Kura looked at her funny, thinking she must be joking. "No, really! It's true! That is the traditional look for the monks. Obviously not the female ones...I hope." She laughed. Kura laughed too. "He had big beautiful blue eyes. He liked to wear orange and yellow pretty much all the time. He was absolutely devoted to Appa." she continued. She had that dreamy look in her eyes again. But this time, she started to tear a little, and before she knew it Katara was crying. Not very violently, but not exactly silently either. Zuko walked over and put her arms around her from behind. Katara looked up at him, still crying a little. He kissed her forehead, and she pulled him around in front of her in a hug. Kura decided to let them be. She turned to Toph, who looked sick.

"Is the flying that bad?" Kura asked her.

"No," Toph replied, "I just still can't get used to that!" She gestured to Katara and Zuko.

"So they weren't always like this?" Kura responded curiously.

"Nope." the blind girl said, "Twinkle-Toes was completely in love with her, and Katara eventually began to fall for him, too." Kura was struck dumb. Katara...and Aang? Toph grinned at her surprise and continued, "Yeah, Aang was a little slow on making his move. He was a little nervous I guess. He was nervous about everything! Anyway, before the two of them could really become an item, he...well he..." she trailed off, frowning sadly. Kura nodded her head in understanding. Toph took this as an opportunity to continue. "I guess Aang never knew about Katara and Zuko. I mean, he knew she trusted him, but he never knew about..." the two looked to Zuko giving Katara a butterfly-cricket kiss and cooing to her. Toph looked at them with disdain. "I feel like what Katara is doing...well I feel she's almost betraying Aang. They were just warming up to the idea of dating, and then poof! She uses up the special healing water on his stupid scar, kissed the jerk and left Aang in the dust!"

Toph was crying angrily now. Sokka saw this and left the reins to comfort her. Kura felt bad for her, and she did actually agree with her. Kura loved Katara as a sister, but now that she knew of this, she was ashamed of Katara for doing such a thing.

Seeing that Appa had been left unattended to now, she walked over to where the reins were.

"Hey, buddy." she said to him. He roared quietly. Kura grabbed the reins. She obviously had never driven him before, but she almost felt that she had. Kura saw by Sokka's compass, which he'd left hanging behind her, that they weren't headed exactly North, so she adjusted the direction. She didn't know how she knew how to do it, but she did. She gently tugged at the reins in the direction she wanted to go, and he turned smoothly as she'd directed. The turn was much gentler than the jerky movements caused when Sokka was steering.

Kura turned to show this to Sokka, to find the other four passengers staring at her. "What?" she said anxiously.

"That was...it was just how it was when...when he did it." Katara said softly.

"I think you should drive from now on!" Sokka said.

"What?!" Kura spluttered, "Me?! No! I don't even know what I was doing! Sokka's had more experience with him; he should do it!"

"Oh, yeah, and his driving has been perfect!" Toph said sarcastically.

"Hey!" Sokka said, then he paused, and said, "Actually...she's right. I've really been doing the same thing you just did. He just goes better with you."

"But he'd known you for almost thirteen years!" Kura exclaimed, "I've only known him for -"

"Twenty-four years?" Katara interrupted, "Not to mention the hundred years frozen."

"But that was Aang! He -"

"Was your past life? And therefore the same person?" Katara cut him off again. Kura was about to argue again, but then thought about it. What she said was actually true. Besides, the real proof was what she'd done just moments ago. Appa did really fly better with her.

"Well...Maybe, you're right..." she said. Appa roared happily.

"That settled it!" Sokka said. "Even you can't argue with a ten-ton flying bison!" Kura shrugged and nodded. She went over and took the reins. Readjusting Appa's course a little, she let the others get some rest. Sokka said that without the stops Aang had made, they'd get to the North Pole in a couple days. Before going to sleep, Sokka said that they'd probably arrive the evening of the day after tomorrow. He also said to wake him if she got tired and he'd steer for a while. After everyone had fallen asleep, Kura noticed they were flying over an island with a statue of a lady with white face paint and green clothes. Somehow, she knew it was Avatar Kioshi, the last Earthbending Avatar.

She almost was liking the thought of being the next Avatar. It meant that she wasn't just some little girl from the Southern Water Tribe. She was a part of something. Something big. However, it also meant that the world was depending on her to do something...big.