Author's Note: I'm sorry that I haven't updated in a while, but I've been keeping quite busy lately, and the next chapter shouldn't take too long :)
Someone asked me how old everyone is, and even though not many characters have been introduced this early on into the story, I'll humor you:

Zuko - 18
Katara - 16 (will be 17 later in the story)
Suki - 17
Yue - 16
Ty Lee - 17

I believe that is everyone for now (if not please let me know.) From now on I will post the ages at the end of every chapter in which a new character has been introduced. Okay, that's about it. Enjoy the chapter everyone! :)

Katara • 38°F

TWO DAYS EARLIER

The entire week after I'd last seen my wolf remained a blur in my mind. He stood at the forest's edge as he usually did, his gaze falling into nowhere, while mine rested on him.

I wanted to be near him and touch him, more than ever before. But something had been holding me back and before I could manage to blink, he disappeared. I hadn't seen him since.

My days flew by without me noticing – I was stuck in constant thought of when I'll next see him, making it hard for me to function properly. Yet it seemed that nobody noticed my absence of mind. I sat motionlessly in classes, not hearing anything the teachers would say, barely writing anything down. It became a routine to blankly stare ahead of myself, waiting for the last period. Today was no different.

Well, actually…

Our homeroom teacher was talking – or asking – about what we wanted to do after we graduate from school, and he decided to bring an officer to class. Perhaps he was hoping to get some of us interested. The middle-aged man stood before the entire class, waiting for us to fall silent. It was cruel, I thought, that he'd brought him here now; it was last period, and gossip about Ty lee's death was still spreading like wildfire.

Then again, maybe that was exactly why he'd brought him in now.

"Class, this is officer Zhao. He'll be introducing his career to us today," officer Zhao gave him a grateful nod and turned to the class. He spoke, and it was the first time I'd actually bothered to tilt my head up. I felt my lips fall into a frown with the first glimpse of his face. He held a strongly protective, yet overly smug grin on his face. His hair was definitely something new; long and messy, falling down his neck and connecting in sideburns on his hairless chin.

"You know kids," he spoke to us, as if he were talking to a group of preschoolers, "the police business is one you should take seriously. I know I do," he chuckled. I could almost hear the entire class roll their eyes. "I've always wanted to be a police officer. It's an excellent, although difficult, career," he stroke his chin. "Would any of you, perhaps, be interested in taking this direction?"

Suki snorted next to me and my eyes fixated on hers. "Please." I saw with the back of my eye someone raised a hand. I didn't have to look again to know who it was.

"Is it true that someone abducted Ty lee Asai's body from the morgue?" Jin was a sweet girl, or at least that was the public opinion. Personally, I had nothing against her. She always seemed very nice, with her hair braided and placed over her shoulders, always holding that big smile on her face. But apparently she had a tendency to ask inappropriate questions.

The officer made a displeased grimace at her question, uncertain of whether or not to answer it. "You should understand that I am not allowed to discuss this subject. The murder is still under investigation and it's strictly police business to know all the details." He seemed pretty pleased with his answer, but that didn't stop Jin from raising her hand again.

"We all already know what happened; the wolves killed her." Her words struck me in the chest like daggers; I couldn't believe she actually said it. "But why would someone steal a body?"

To everyone's surprise – or at least mine – the teacher turned toward officer Zhao with pleading eyes. "Please, officer, Ty lee was very beloved in this school. I think her friends deserve to know; they deserve closure, we all do."

Liar. I was surprised that everyone was this hungry for more gossip, but the officer seemed to believe him. "Yes, it's true. We don't know much about what happened this early into the investigation, and I'm afraid I can't share any details. Sorry." His voice was stiff and unwelcoming, as if he was daring us to ask another question. As expected, yet another hand flew into the air, only this time it wasn't Jin.

The short girl with a crooked smile and messy pigtails that stuck out of her head opened her mouth to speak. "Don't you think we should be afraid of the wolves? This was an unexpected and unprovoked attack," as far as you know, I thought bitterly, "doesn't that mean they're dangerous?"

Officer Zhao scratched his sideburn, "Well, I'm not sure what you are implying. The wolves are usually peaceful creatures, and I'm sure this was only a one- time thing. You have to keep in mind, though, that there is no strong evidence suggesting that this was, in fact, a wolf attack."

"That's right," it was the first time I joined the discussion. My voice was too mellow and too shaky for me to recognize it as my own. "It could have been just dogs or nothing of the sort at all. We can't go around pointing our fingers at peaceful creatures – even if they are wild animals – when we have no proof of their supposed behavior." I could feel the entire classroom looking at me – their judgmental stares were burning my back and I could all but hear what they were all thinking.

My thoughts were interrupted when the officer cleared his throat and spoke again. "Your friend is right; people should stop blaming wolves for this. Accidents occur, it's not something we can stop, but we shouldn't pin the guilt on animals that can't defend themselves.

"What does she know?" the little girl with pigtails – her name was Meng – exclaimed. A soft blush spread over her face when she realized her tone was too loud for the classroom. "She was attacked by them too, and now she's defending them," again, I knew all eyes were on me. I felt my face turning hot, a layer of redness spreading over my cheeks. I hadn't realized anyone still remembered my attack. As it turned out, everyone did.

"It was a long time ago." I stuttered, "I hardly even remember it. It might not have even been wolves at all, but some stray dogs," I shrugged. I caught myself thinking how I was repeating myself, but no one else seemed to notice.

Professor Kuei tossed a poisonous look in Meng's direction. "I think that's enough Meng. We've strayed too far from the subject anyway; this discussion is not why we're here. Officer, if you'd please continue the lecture."

I didn't pay attention to what the officer was saying for the rest of the class. It didn't really matter. All I was able to do was stare in Meng's direction contemptuously. When the minutes finally ceased to drag on and the bell rang for the end of last period, I was up and on my feet in a matter of seconds, wanting only to get as much distance between myself and civilization as possible in the smallest amount of time.

"Katara!" I felt my feet slow down unwillingly, but my mind had already escaped far away. I turned with a huff. "Hey," Yue's beautiful smile caught me off guard. I took a few steps back, but it didn't seem to bother her – or she didn't notice.

Yue was one of my closest friends; we'd known each other since we were barely tall enough to reach the lowest shelf in her bedroom. Aside from Suki, she was the only real friend I had.

"Do you wanna come over later to see my new painting?" Yue was, much like my mother, an artist. The only difference was that Yue didn't spend all her time locked up in her room with a paintbrush between her fingers. When I would actually think of it, I was jealous that – even if only ostensibly – Yue had more in common with her than I ever would. She stared at me with those big blue, pleading eyes and I had to force a smile to my lips.

"Of course, I would love to," only after I'd spoken the words I realized they weren't a lie. It would be nice to spend some time together; we hardly saw each other anymore. Yue grinned at me, her long hair falling around her face. I'd always admired her hair and more than once I wished I could trade my curls for her straightness. In my thought, I hadn't realized Yue stopped smiling and was now holding a slightly worried frown. I followed her gaze and found myself facing the only person I couldn't handle seeing then.

Toph Bei Fong.

She stood there beside her locker in all her usual beauty; her long carbon hair braided, falling over her shoulder while her bangs hung over her pale eyes. Her skin seemed whiter and unhealthy, but was still flawless. Her eyes, normally squinted a little and unreadable, were now tired and swimming in their sockets. The dark circles that formed beneath them were contrast to the rest of her face. She looked at me and I looked away. I could never put my finger on the reason why Toph frightened me; she just did. Perhaps it was her appearance – the black makeup that she wore daily as well as the judgmental glares she would shoot me every once in a while were enough of a reason as it is. But there was always something else about her; the feeling that she could make you disappear.

So, naturally, as I watched her move toward me my heart rang in my ears, but my feet were stuck in place. "I heard you were defending those awful predators today in class," she said, without first saying anything else. Her voice was mellow and soft, perfectly matching her royal appearance. It almost made me think that she could be nice if she wanted to. "Well, let me just tell you that you can defend them all you want, but it won't do them any good."

Although her words were – somewhat – threatening, her tone was still masked and unreadable.

"I don't think the wolves had anything to do with Ty Lee's disappearance, Toph," I whispered. Toph's eyes grew wider with shock, and I couldn't tell whether it was because I spoke her name or because I mentioned Ty Lee. Probably both.

"You're sick," she hissed. "It doesn't matter, though. Whatever you say or do, you can't stop them. Soon, your precious wolves won't ever be a problem again." She said nothing else and left, the sound of her feet kicking the ground following her down the hall.

I didn't have to think about her words to understand their meaning – they were going to kill the wolves – my wolf. Only then did it strike me that Ty Lee Asai wasn't just any dead girl. She was the niece of Lao Bei Fong, Top's father. I never learned the entire story behind Ty Lee's stay at the Bei Fong residence but from bits and pieces I'd gathered from my parents' mumbling, her family died in a car crash about a year and a half ago, so, being the only family she had, her uncle took her in.

I felt fear creep up my body, suffocating me. Lao Bei Fong was a powerful business man who could, driven by anger and grief over losing his niece and supported by power and money, well enough extinguish an endangered species if he so desired. This horrific realization all but stopped my heart and my breath escaped me in a shiver.

…

I had trouble adjusting to the growing feeling of discomfort that was trapped within me. I had yet to figure out what to do about the wolves being hunted down and killed. Blood-stained images flooded my mind like a hurricane. I felt my stomach turning at the thought of my wolf lying on the ground; face down, a trail of blood leaking from his open mouth. He'd be calling for me, I thought, and I wouldn't hear him. As I paced about my room aimlessly I started biting my nails and losing my breath and thinking about my wolf and all my walls were closing in on me. I felt abandoned – by my family, my friends – even though I had no reason to.

I let myself fall onto my bed and, even though I wasn't tired at all, I soon drifted into a restless sleep.

…

Toph • 38°F

My eyes rested on the distance as my thought drifted into yesterday. I thought about going to the woods with my dad to see it happen for myself, but as the sun neared the horizon with every passing minute, I started thinking against it. Would I feel satisfied with knowing they're gone? Probably. Butperhaps I lacked the strength to do it. Ty Lee was gone now, and whether or not I witness the wolves' slaughter, there's nothing I could ever do to change that. I could never undo the past, no matter how much I wished I could.

I knew my mother was standing behind me even before I felt her arms on my hand. I heard her sigh in my ear and I rolled my eyes. I hated it when she did that.

"It'll be alright, you know," she said. It had become somewhat of a mantra.

"I know," I hissed through gritted teeth. "You don't have to repeat yourself for the thousandth time."

I didn't know if my words had hurt her or not and I didn't really care. The fact was, I didn't know. The fact was I didn't want to know. I didn't want to hear how she was in a better place or how everything would be alright because everything was not alright. And I hated it.

…

The cold wind was biting my skin and pulling my hair as I stood beside the road. Patrol cars were parked everywhere around me and I felt trapped between them. I raised my hand over my head when it started drizzling. I sighed heavily and my breath came out foggy. My eyes lingered on it until it disappeared.

"Everything okay there, honey?" I saw my dad turned to me and I gave him a quick nod so he looked away. I was anxious for some reason, and the feeling crawled up my spine like a snake. I tried to shake it off but it kept growing until, finally, they left.

I felt a smile come to my lips only to fall into a guilty frown mere moments later. I forced my feet to move toward the end of the road where I could still see some of the police officers. I knew I shouldn't be here, it was enough that my dad let me come along. I knew he was only able to do that because of his reputation. Still I stood there for endless moments, as the cold tore through my clothes and slithered against my skin. In the next moment everything fell still and silent.

"Dad?" I called out. No answer. "Dad!" my voice met only silence again this time. I listened to nothing for a while before an ear piercing sound echoed through the air. A gunshot. Several minutes passed before the silence was broken again, this time by a howl. And then another.

And then another.

Toph - 16

Thanks so much for reading! Please tell me what you think :)

p.s. someone also asked why Katara didn't become a wolf, but she got bitten. If I answered this question I would be revealing a lot of the story's plot, so you'll just have to stick around and find out for yourself. :)