Disclaimer: I continue not owning Avatar

CHAPTER 3

Katara woke up in the early afternoon. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. She had been woken up by a smell. A heavy, musky, burnt kind of smell. She knew immediately that Captain Liung was coming her way. As the full moon drew nearer, her senses sharpened more and more. It was convenient at times, but this was just painful.

"Rise and shine," Liung said, throwing her door open. She rose to her feet slowly and moved toward the door, hands folded neatly in front of herself to keep the shackles on her wrists in a more comfortable position. She prevented herself from gagging as she felt the heat radiating from him as she drew closer.

"Oh, have you been crying?" Liung said maliciously, reaching out and stroking her cheek. Katara jerked away from his hand in disgust. She had been crying. She couldn't help it. It had been a rather new experience for her. She hadn't really truly cried in a long, long time. "I understand. The full moon is making you edgy," Liung said in response to the look of revulsion on her face. "Well, come along then, little waterbender. We're off to that pesky town."

The guards grabbed her by the elbows and shoved her down the hall. As she passed her father's cell, she closed her eyes and inhaled, taking in his familiar scent. She sighed a little. It reminded her of home. She stopped for a moment, frowning. Her father and her brother both smelled rather similar, but she realized that another boy smelled a little like her father. Aang. The Avatar's scent reminded her of home, made her comfortable. Maybe that was what had drawn her to him so strongly in the beginning. Maybe that was a little part of the reason she was falling for him.

Her musings were interrupted when she was pushed roughly into the back of a cart drawn by two rhinos. Two guards rode in the back with her. Katara didn't make a sound. She just stared blankly at her feet.

After a while of riding in silence, one of the guards looked at her curiously. "Not much of a talker, are you?" he said to her.

Katara glanced at him for a moment before returning her forlorn gaze to her feet.

The other guard elbowed the first. "You heard the captain, no talking to the prisoner."

"Come on, she's just a kid," the first guard argued. He moved toward Katara and crouched in front of her, looking curiously at her. "What's wrong, kid? Cat got your tongue?" he asked, tilting her chin up with his fingers just like Liung had. Katara shuddered and closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from just kicking him and getting it over with. The guard jumped back from her as though her skin had burned him. The second guard looked at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, glancing at Katara, who was watching them warily.

"Nothing," the first guard said shakily. "It's just... for a second there, she looked just like my daughter."

"So?" the second guard said, raising an eyebrow. Katara returned her focus to her feet.

"I dunno, it's just kind of weird," the first guard said, staring at her. "The captain tells us these waterbenders are barbarians, but she's just a little girl. A little girl who looks just like my little girl."

Katara looked up at him stonily. He looked away quickly. Luckily, the cart rolled to a stop. The admiral opened the back. "Bring her out," he said simply. The soldiers each grabbed one of her elbows, but Katara noticed that the first one was being much gentler than the other.

Katara looked at the town in front of her. The Fire Nation soldiers were lined up in ranks in front of it. A much smaller force of Earth Kingdom soldiers stood facing them from across a wide canal. The smell of both armies nearly overwhelmed her. She stopped dead in her tracks, drew her bound hands to her forehead and closed her eyes. The guards looked at her curiously. After a few moments, she opened her eyes, sighed, and continued walking. The guards placed her beside the captain, who stood in front of his troops right next to the canal. The Earth Kingdom soldiers all looked at her curiously, taking in her dark water tribe skin and the heavy shackles on her wrists. They didn't understand why this water tribe girl was standing before them.

"People... people are going to die..." Katara began quietly, eyes roving over the small houses. The streets were deserted.

"No no, the people are all safe in their homes," Liung said simply.

"In the middle of the day?" Katara questioned doubtfully.

"Whenever we come they send out an alarm, and all of the citizens take cover," Liung continued. He looked down at her. "I hope you can waterbend wearing those chains, because I'm not removing them."

Katara didn't argue. She looked at the canal. She felt that familiar itch under her skin. The water was calling her. She stepped toward it, and the once calm water shifted. She looked up at the Earth Kingdom soldiers. They were staring at her, confused, curious. She looked behind her. The Fire Nation soldiers and the captain had all backed away from her.

The man in charge of the Earth Kingdom troops stepped forward, shouting from across the canal. "What's the meaning of this, Liung? You send a little girl, a prisoner against us?"

Katara bit her lip and looked at the man. He looked back at her. She felt tears stinging her eyes again. Second time in two days. A new record. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. The man looked confused. She stepped toward the canal, stretching her bound hands toward the water. An immense peace washed over her as her mind went blank. She was in her element now. Of course, that didn't change what she was doing. Water sloshed up out of the canals, forming a huge wall before her. She saw the terrified looks of the soldiers beyond the water. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Katara sat in her cell, in the same position as usual. She was staring at the door. She hadn't said a word in the hours since the Fire Nation took that town. She had been wearing the same blank expression the whole time. The sun was setting. She could hear the guards walking down the hallway. She could feel their body heat and smell them too. She began drumming her nails on her shackles. Her heart rate was increasing. The hair on the back of her neck stood up.

She groaned and closed her eyes, leaning back and thumping the back of her head against the brick wall. She could smell her father down the hall. It reminded her of Aang. Aang. Her pulse kicked up another notch and her mouth went dry. She groaned again and continued thumping her head on the wall. "If I'm on edge like this now, imagine how I'll be tomorrow night," she sighed.