Hey everyone, thanks for having a look at my newest fanfiction! If you like it, feel free to follow and favorite, and of course I'm always looking for reviews. Enjoy!
The droplets clung to the glass like fleas on a dog, unwilling to relinquish their desperate grasp with a vain hope of survival.
Katara shook her head. No, I'm doing this wrong.
Gently, she coaxed them to depart, to form a sphere of water, and then to disperse themselves in the air.
Sometimes Katara forgot what waterbending was about. Ease, flow, flexibility. Not to force or to push, but to drift, to maneuver with finesse. Water was the calmest element, the opposite of fire, the most violent. Air, on the other hand, was breezy, with the flowing smoothness of water and the impulsiveness of fire. And earth was opposite of air, with the stillness of water but the headstrong will of fire. But Katara was an emotional person at heart, never one to bottle it up, always quick to anger, but also stubborn, unyielding and willing to crush obstacles. How, then, did she end up a waterbender? Of course, she had been told she had much placidity and a soothing personality. But she never really felt this, it was just what she exuded, surface tension masking inner emotion. Someone like Zuko was more fit to be a waterbender.
She had been finding herself thinking of Zuko often lately. It was easy to look at him and see a fiery hot-headed noble, but he was so much more, so enigmatic and foreign. Everything about him radiated calmness, from his deep baritone voice to his serene features. Though seemingly quick to anger, he was also prone to cool silences. In some ways, he was her opposite, irate on the surface but easygoing inside. And of course, it wasn't just his personality that she thought about.
But she had done enough pondering, there was work to be done. She grabbed another glass and glared at the water on it, willing it to dry. There, she had done it again. She blinked slowly, and let go of emotion, flushing her mind of the frustration. Delicately, she cajoled the water into vaporizing, inducing it to dissipate, disappearing in the frigid spring air as moisture. That was altogether too difficult for a waterbending master, she decided.
Lately, though, things had been that way. After her and Aang's mutual breakup, she had moved in with Sokka and Suki, and felt a deep, intense frustration in the pit of her stomach, burning its way to her fingertips like an illness. Sokka had noticed, but was much too busy with his marriage and his tribal duties to devote much attention to her. Of course, he couldn't really be blamed for this. They were no longer children to frolick in the snow, but he was in love and married, and she was no longer his best friend. Though she felt a sense of loss and sadness, she was also understanding. He had matured and moved on from their childhood, and yet she could not. If anything, she felt like a meddler in his life.
To stop her interfering, she had lately been leaving the house, taking long walks or canoeing, by herself, secluded in the frozen icebergs of the North Pole. Sometimes it felt good to traverse the white expanse until her muscles burned with fatigue and she forgot, for a time, her isolation. But before long, not even the furious pounding of her heart and the aching of every joint in her body could stop her from realizing that she was leagues from the nearest water tribe settlement, and further from content. And then the frustration would spark once more, rekindled in the pit of her stomach, the flames gnawing their way to her fingertips, devouring all that lay in their path. No longer sore, she would spring up and begin the trek back to civilization, where she would be welcomed by the waterbending children she taught, that elderly couple she had saved once by preventing their boat from tipping, her evermore distant brother, tribesmen, leaders, all ripe with concern for their master waterbendender.
But master waterbender she was no longer. She could barely heal wounds, and her combat skills were much diminished. Even now, as she attempted a once simple task like drying a water glass, it took an enormous amount of concentration and willpower. Perhaps it would be easier to just use a washcloth. No, that would mean giving in to her uselessness! She breathed in once, and then stared at the glass with an intensity comparable to her discontent, commanding it with all her power to dry itself.
It shattered. Pieces of glass shot in every direction, ricocheting off various kitchen appliances and creating a sizable racket.
Suki burst in the door. "Katara! What's going on?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Suki, I just… dropped it," said Katara, surprised at her own demolition.
Suki sighed, apparently relieved nothing worse had happened. "That's alright, Katara. I'll take care of these dishes, why don't you go teach your waterbending class?"
"No, I can still do them, it's fine," she protested.
"No, you'll just keep the children waiting if you stay here. Really, this is no problem for me," said Suki.
Katara didn't really need to be told twice. "Thanks so much, I'll see you later!"
The waterbending class was one of her favorite activities. The children were all so promising, and she felt like she was really making progress, being productive. It was also a plus that no one really judged her for living with her brother.
As she jogged down the path, her boots crunching in the blanket of snow, she ran into her brother exiting the village.
"Katara, good news!" he exclaimed.
She sighed. "What is it."
"Zuko's sent a diplomat. You should hear what he's got to say!"
"Why don't you just tell me?" she suggested.
"It's a surprise," he said mysteriously. "And Suki needs me. See you later!"
"Later," she replied. What could he mean, a surprise? From Zuko? She hadn't seen him in years. What could he possibly want with her?
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