Katara stood in the open snow, a cold wind blowing across her. It was midday now, and the sky was clear. She let out a sigh, nothing to do now, but wait. Her students were gone for now, with it being the solstice, the parents were celebrating that they had survived yet another year. She took a deep breath. She was done with crying, she needed to accept some things. Aang needed time, and maybe she didn't. She recalled the conversation last night with the warrior.

"Well, Katara, let's look at it this way. How long has he loved you." She had blushed at that, but knew the answer.

"I know now that he's liked me since he found me. Before now I got an idea in the Cave of Two Lovers before we went to Omashu. For love, I don't know when the change happened." She told her.

"And, how long have you loved him?" She asked in rebuttal.

Katara looked away and then at her hands which were in her lap.

"Since the day he died and I saved him." She said. "I didn't realize it was that at the time, but it was." She said.

"So you too are obviously in love with each other." Suki said.

"Probably more in love than Sokka and I." She added.

"It's not my place to say, but I think no matter when you get married it will be a lasting and happy affair." She said.

He was the Avatar, and completely in control. She was a master water bender now and knew she loved him. She took out the necklace and put it around her neck, tucking it down in her parka. She wanted to marry him, it just took a different perspective to let her see. If only she knew where to look to find him, she could tell him her decision, if he still wanted her of course. She willed him to want it.

Iroh walked out of the small kitchen that adorned the igloo into the sitting room, finding Ursa there, standing, and it looked like she was packed.

"Iroh, I want to go back." She said to the older man. "I want to see how my son is caring for the nation, how it has changed since I left, and most of all, I want to confront my husband." Iroh looked at her for a long moment and nodded.

"If that is what you want, we will go, but please, do not seek out Azula. She is...different." The mother looked away and then faced him again. "I'm ready Iroh, take me to the Fire nation."

Aang was flying, he had been flying since he had finished speaking to Roku. The sword was strapped to his waist, having tied his belt around it. Looked like it would be hand delivered now. He was getting tired. He hadn't slept properly and hadn't eaten. He would need to have his strength if he was to make a difference. He was finally reaching the temple, it caused his heart to pang. Hopefully they hadn't stayed. It was as empty as he found it when he arrived last time. Appa walked over to him and grunted. Aang hugged the bison gently.

"I'm sorry for running off boy." He told him. "I need to get some sleep though, we'll be flying soon, so don't get too lazy." He joked, the buffalo grunting again. Picking up an apple, Aang headed towards his room, needing his strength for what was to come.

"Have to do better than that!" Suki taunted Sokka, as she leapt over his kick. He grumbled and threw his boomerang which she ducked before running towards him, drawing her sword. Sokka caught the edge of hers with his own, pushing it aside before she swung wide. He hit her in the back with the hilt, causing her to turn further than she had planned, the boomerang returning and knocking the sword out of her hand. He stepped on her disarmed sword and pointed his at the warrior.

"Not bad, Sokka." She said grinning before using a concealed fan to knock his sword away from her, along with knocking him to the ground. "Not great though." She joked. Her giggle was cut short as she was pulled down into him.

"I really appreciate all the positive comments, they are so encouraging." He said in a quiet teasing voice.

"Yeah, I'm so sure." She said before leaning in and kissing him.

"Okay students, we've had enough training for one day." Katara said dismissing them. Most of them filed out happy to be free from training, but as she wet her face to remove the sweat, the crunching of snow alerted her that she was not alone. Turning she saw one of her best students. It was a young boy named Lee Fo, probably about eight years old.

"Sorry to disturb you Sifu Katara." He said. "But I have a question." She nodded to him.

"What's your question, little one?" She asked, folding her arms across her chest relaxed.

"Well, you mentioned an octopus form a while ago to us, but you haven't said anything about it since. Are we still going to learn it?" He asked, the eagerness not hidden very well in his voice. Her mind went back to Aang, when he pretended to be an octopus, the only time she had applied it in battle. She closed her eyes for a long moment before returning her gaze to the young water bender. She placed a covered hand on his shoulder.

"That move is still a bit complex for everyone. We will get to it when I feel we are all ready." She told him. He nodded, obviously a little disappointed.

"Thank you Master." He said with a bow which she returned. She had lied to him, but she was sure he didn't know that. There were memories associated with that form that were difficult to think of. One was always hard, and the other was only since Aang had left. She needed to be strong. Maybe he would come back and see her wearing the necklace, see how much everyone needed him, and he would return. She could only hope he felt that way, because if he didn't, she didn't know what she was going to do with herself. For now though, it was time for a snowman. She grinned as she started rolling snow without touching it.

Zuko sat on his throne, the fire burning all around him, his eyes closed. There was nothing left to do at this point. The South Pole was safe, the water benders behind it rounded up and returned to the North Pole for proper conviction, and he had found his mother. He smiled, he had, she was there, and he would see her again. His face fell again though. He wished that she could come here, see what he was doing with the nation, have her see that he was marrying Mai. He was dealing with issues in the city as usual, it was the most common thing these days. No rebellions to speak of really, since the colonies were being evacuated of soldiers. Things were finally going smoothly. Gentle footsteps made him open his eyes. Mai was approaching him.

"A hawk came for you." She said. He dropped the flames and she crossed the threshold with no fear, handing him the letter. She kneeled beside him and laid her head upon his lap as he opened it. His eyes grew wide and he smiled widely.

"My mother is coming."

"What?"

"She's coming home! Uncle is bringing her!" He said excitedly. Mai looked up to him as she felt the intensity of the flames in front of them grow.

"Careful big boy, you don't want to burn this place down." He laughed, and grabbed Mai into a tight hug.

She smiled and closed her eyes, hugging him back, enjoying seeing him so happy.

Katara was finished, the snowman was done! Just in time too, it seemed. The snow was falling heavier, looked like a storm was coming. She looked over and was sure it was perfect. She had made Aang on his Air Scooter, Momo on his shoulder. She created a small igloo over it to protect it from the wind that was beginning to pick up. Funny, she was protecting an Airbender from the wind. Sokka came running over to her.

"Come on Katara, this is looking bad, dad wants you inside with the rest of us, everyone else is inside!" She smiled. "Okay, okay." She said, following her overly excited brother to her familiar home, wondering what the plan was if they once again got snowed in.

Aang felt the cold wind on his face. The storm was close. He ran over to Appa, wearing heavier robes than before to shield him from the cold. He hopped on Appa's back with his staff in hand, the small lemur gliding up to meet him.

"Appa, yip yip." He said, a grunt followed by lift off. "We have to beat the storm to the South Pole or it will be too late." He told him. The bison flew sideways and Aang hopped off his head. There were clouds everywhere, and he had a feeling that this was only the beginning. He had finished his task on the mountainside finally, and was ready to face however bad of a storm this was going to be. He started air bending behind him, trying to slow down the clouds, which were going to lead to the destruction of the South Pole, and everything he had left in this world.

Everyone was grouped together in the main room for warmth, the temperature had dropped and seemed to be getting colder. It hadn't gotten this cold in a long time, not since she was a child.

"Everyone should sleep in here tonight, we need each other's heat to stay warm." Hakoda said to everyone. It was a good idea. Sokka and Suki were huddled together already, but Kanna seemed relatively untouched by the weather. She was watching the window with determination, it seemed that she feared something about this storm, and that wasn't good at all. Katara was by her father who was watching over everyone. She wished Aang was here, he could make them a fire and stop it from melting their shelter. It would be perfect. Hopefully he wasn't in this storm. If he was out in it, he may not be okay either. It had been a storm that caused him to find his way here in the first place, and she didn't want him missing for another hundred years. She wanted him back now. She turned toward the window, worried. "I hope you're okay Aang." She whispered to herself, hoping somehow he could hear.