The next late afternoon, Ara woke to the sound of seagull-wolf cries. The young girl had been exhausted, but she immediately was awake, looking up at her surrounding. The tough material of the tent ceiling was above her head, she was wrapped in her own funs, and she was in own room. Geez I must have been really asleep if dad got me home without me knowing, she said, and laughed to herself. She started to lean up, when pain arched through her back, through her knee, chest, and head all at once. Ara groaned in pain, falling back onto her bed, beads of sweat starting to form on her brow. She tried to fight back the tears but the pain was too much.

She winced then took a deep breath as much as her back would let her.

"Dad? Mom? Zuko? Anyone?" she cried out as the pain came once more, and she gasped.

Suddenly light flooded into the tent and Ara shielded her eyes with the arm opposite the wound in her back.

"Ara?"

"Zuko!"

The prince rushed to her side, sliding to his knees next to her bed. She reached out for him, wincing. He took her hand.

"You want your mother to fix you."

"Yes," she winced, looking at him in pain. "Can you get her?"

"Sure," he replied, and quickly got up once more. He left her tent, and a minute later, Katara walked in.

"Rise 'n shine, sleepy-head," she smiled jokingly, and Ara looked at her sarcastically.

"I'd like to mom, but I hurt everywhere. Can you help me?"

"Of course, dear." She zipped up the tent for privacy. "Take off your parka and top. If you can, kneel forward, with your hands next to your knees. I'll see how bad it is, 'kay?"

"Okay."

Ara sat up with the help of her mother, and she groaned, wincing. Slowly and carefully, Katara helped her bend her injured knee into a kneeling position, and she supported her daughter while the injured young girl struggled to take her parka off. Finally she did, not without a few beads of sweat and agonizing pain. But Katara's experienced hands knew exactly where to soothe as she gently massaged Ara's back as she took a knife and cut down the back fabric of her daughter's clothing.

"Now, put your hands forward," the master waterbender instructed, and moving to face her daughter, slowly pulled off from Ara's front the bloody shirt. She rolled it up and put it to the side, then went back to her back. The blue airbender tattoo traveling down Ara's back wasn't disrupted like her father's was, but Katara could see that the wound would still become a nasty scar. But again, Katara took the knife from her side and cut through her daughter's undergarments. Slowly she peeled it from Ara's wound, and as the clothing fell away, tears came to her eyes. The wound was at least a foot and a half long, and at least 1-2 inches wide. From all that Ara had been through, Katara was surprised that it wasn't worse. She said nothing as she bent water from her flask and first cleaned all the dried and fresh blood from the skin. Ara winced and dug her fingernails into her palms, but didn't cry out, even though her soul screamed inside her, begging for the pain to stop as her forehead joined in the anguish as well.

Katara gently patted it dry and sighed. She rolled back onto her heels. "Your father told me that you don't want to be healed," she whispered, a hint of sadness coming from within her. Ara bowed her head and sighed, closing her eyes.

"Is it true?"

The grey eyes opened. They stared intently into space.

"It's true."

Katara's face fell, but she smiled. "And I completely understand."

Ara's head perked up. "You--you do?"

Katara put a cool hand on her daughter's bare back. "Your father told me what you said. He told me everything you went through. I respect your wishes. Whatever you decide, Ara, I will support you."

She grabbed some bandages and linens and smiled. "So I'm gonna patch you up. And this healing is on your own."

The girl smiled. "Thanks mom."

Katara smiled as well. "You're welcome, love. Now sit up as best as you can, and I'll get to work."

Ara arched her back, wincing, as she sat up. She lifted her arms to shoulder height as her mother took the bandages and went to face her daughter once more. And immediately Katara's eyes locked onto the explosion on Ara's chest. Her blue eyes searched into her daughter's downcast ones.

"How--and when--did you get that?" she breathed.

Ara turned her head away. "Azula, supposedly," she mumbled. Katara sighed.

"Well, we match," she said, pulling down her shirt a little ways. Ara looked up and stared in shock. The explosion on her mother's chest matched hers.

The airbender gasped, her eyes staring into her mother's. "B--but I thought you were healed…what happened?"

Katara sighed. "For some reason, lightning strikes don't heal, no matter how experienced the healer, or no matter how hard he or she tries. And the pain, I'm sorry to say, never goes away."

"So--dad--he's been hurting for over--over 20 years?!"

"Yeah," Katara sighed again. "Mine and Zuko's and yours, they feel and will feel like an ache every now and then. But your father's; his is much, much worse. He tries to hide it, but he can't--not from me. I can tell in hurts him, and he can't forget; that day; that pain. I can't forget either, every time he winces, or turns away for a second, or arches his back. When my fingertips brush over it, he pulls away quickly. Even when I curl up to him at night; even in his sleep he winces. His pain is sometimes unbearable." She looked up at Ara, who gazed back with an upset look. "Ahh…don't worry about it right now. We need to get you better."

Katara cleaned and finished bandaging up her daughter, and just as she finished, a deep ship's horn broke the stillness. People started yelling, and Ara perked up. "Grandfather's back! And uncle Iroh!" she yelled happily, slowly getting up. She winced, but her mother grabbed her underneath her arm and her elbow, helping her up.

Ara quickly pulled on her fur blanked that she had had since she was born, pulled on her boots, and limped out into the fresh morning snow. Katara followed after.

The sunlight shining down on the Southern Water Tribe illuminated the ice and snow to near blindness, yet once again lit up the winter landscape to show the port full with a few water tribe ships. But what took up the most room was the fire nation ship that just pulled in.

The airbender limped slowly towards the ship, when she stopped in her tracks as un inhuman scream split the air, and everyone around her stopped as the sound shocked them. But only Ara recognized it. Only Ara knew it.

"Warrior…"

Yelling started coming from the ship as the loading dock door suddenly burst open and shot into one of the watch towers. A while blue shot out of the ship, but didn't go very far as it fell down to the docks--hard. Men with ropes surrounded it and tied it up. And the piercing wail from the animal told everyone that he was in pain, sadness, fear, and agony. But Ara couldn't believe that she had forgotten her best friend.

"Warrior…" she whispered, and suddenly she whistled as loudly as she could in the way she called him. The polar eagle's head shot up, listening for the one sound that kept their bond together. And for a second, he was still, listening; waiting. Ara whistled again, and that set him off.

Like a firecracker, he exploded out of the men's ropes, screaming, beating the one wing that wasn't tied up, knocking men over and into the icy sea, snapping at all in his reach. Ara began to limp as fast as she could go, sucking in a huge breath and screaming at them far below her.

"Let him go!" she screamed, but Warrior's scream overtook hers. He struggled to get to the one person he had endlessly worried about for the past weeks, as he thought she was still left on the battlefield. He came close to killing a few of his captors, not without some bloodshed from his knife-like beak, until Hakoda finally hobbled quickly down the plank.

"Enough!" he yelled in such a loud booming voice that even the polar eagle flinched and stopped his scrambling for a second, but he returned. Hakoda put both hands in the air. "Stop!" he cried. "Let him go!"

All at once, the men let go of the ropes. The eagle screamed angrily, his head turning almost near 360 degrees to search for his girl. His sense of smell kicked in. There! He smelled her. His eyes searched quickly from person to person, screeching one last time.

Ara whistled again, loud and clear to him. The eagle's head shot in her direction, and suddenly he saw her form in the distance, racing toward him as fast as she could limp. Warrior screamed toward the sky, taking off towards her, trying to fly, but couldn't, yet still screeching all the way. He ran as fast as two legs would carry him across the snow . And as Ara ran toward her friend and animal guide, she couldn't stop screaming the bird's name, tears rolling down her face. Both of them continued to run, until Ara stopped ten feet in front of the one and a half ton polar eagle, who kept going and knocked her over into the snow.

Ara began to laugh over and over as the eagle nuzzled, touched, and smelled her all over, trying to make sure she was really there. The young airbender kept stroking the eagle's soft white feather, soothing him, whispering to him, anything to keep him calm now, and at last they both sighed, content, as Ara lay on her back in the snow and Warrior lay next to her, his giant beak resting on her chest as she stroked his head. The eagle's screams transformed now into mere chirps and soft, almost purring noises. And when Ara got to a sitting position, she hugged the eagle's head, resting her forehead on his, both of them closing their eyes as their heartbeats slowed from racing, and both souls were now content.

The girl and the eagle both sat in the snow for a few minutes more, taking in the peace now that the yelling and screaming had stopped, and Ara looked up as she heard the snow crunching toward them. Her smile lit up her face as she cried out to him.

"Grandfather!" she yelled excitedly, and Warrior looked up at the chief happily, both of their faces shining. Hakoda smiled.

"You don't know how much trouble that eagle gave us," he said, bending down to kiss her forehead, though careful of the deep cut across it. Ara laughed as she hugged him tightly, her heart full of joy at her grandfather's deep laugh.

"Yea, I bet he would have," she said as she struggled to get up, but Hakoda grabbed her arm, helping her.

"Are you still hurt?" he asked, looking at her face half twisted in pain.

"Long story," she whispered, but as he helped her stand up, she looked over his shoulder and she saw him. Another smile broke over her face, and she limped past Hakoda to hug him.

"Uncle Iroh!" she cried as she threw her arms around the old man, who laughed happily and kissed her cheek.

"Ara. You're alright. Let me tell you," he chuckled, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "that eagle of yours didn't stop making a ruckus the whole trip. He certainly was agitated over your supposed loss. Now, how is your father? Is he awake?"

"Yes, how is he?" Hakoda asked, coming to stand next to them.

"Actually, he's very awake and up and moving. Mom healed him totally yesterday, and he's well."

"And Zuko and everyone else? How are they?"

"They're all well. Ty Lee's the only one in our family besides me that's still resting, and you two as well. But go get comfortable and go see them. I need to get Warrior comfy, but I'll join everyone in a minute."

The two men nodded and turned away, walking to their tents, and Ara turned back to Warrior, who never took his huge, now-soft eyes off of his friend. She hugged his head and kissed him, and he ruffled his feathers. "C'mon boy, let's go get you some food and rest," she guided him with a hand on his neck, but the eagle saw her limping. In a swift motion, Warrior got behind her and flipped Ara over, over his head and neck onto his back, and she laughed as she hugged him. "You always know what I need, huh boy?"

Warrior chirped.

She hugged his white neck as he carried her to the stable, where she then got off and led him to his nesting box. She stroked him as he had a very long drink of water, and she filled his trough with fish, which he hungrily made disappear almost as quickly as she filled it. And when he finally turned in a circle two times around and settled into his nest, the gigantic bird sighed, closing his eyes and tucking his head into his breast. Ara smiled, kissed his arrow, and slowly crept out of the box. And before she even left the barn, she heard her animal guide snoring loudly.

The water-airbender slowly limped up the icy slope and stairs, where she found her family in the main hall. Hakoda stayed near his son and daughter, while Iroh laughed with Zuko and Toph. But Ara noticed that her father, Mai, and Ty Lee weren't there.

Katara immediately noticed her daughter, and she walked towards Ara, smiling, her arms open wide. Ara gladly accepted her mother's strong embrace, and she sighed, at peace for now, and Katara pulled away first, looking at her daughter. "I heard Warrior is back," she laughed. "I heard him from here. Your bird sure is squawky, isn't he?"

Ara smiled. "You have no idea." But she looked around, past her mother and her family. "Uh, mom, where's dad?"

Katara looked at her questioningly. "He wasn't out there? In the front? He said he needed some air and that he would meet you outside…"

Ara tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, pulling it back out of her face. "I'll go find him, kay? I think I know where he is." She turned to go to the hall exit, and besides her mother, no one noticed her leave.

The young girl searched around the hallways and open rooms and courtyards until she finally found him, staring towards the sea. The soft breeze rustled his clothing like whispers in the air, but he didn't move or notice her come up behind. So she was careful of the scar on his back, now that she knew the history, she lifted her arms a bit higher to wrap around his chest behind him.

He suddenly jumped as he felt his daughter's touch, but knowingly at peace and no cause for alarm, he turned and smiled as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head, closing his eyes. Ara closed her eyes tightly as well as the wind blew past and over them, the element that united them in so many ways brought them closer as one once more.

Aang took a deep breath and sighed, kissed the top of his daughter's head, and then opened his eyes, looking down at her, and feeling him stir, she opened her grey eyes to look at him as well. Those grey eyes of hers locked onto his soul, fixed his stare at her and into her, into her own soul. In her face he saw beauty, hope, and love, but in her eyes, they held something very different. He still saw sadness, anger, confusion, fear, loss. Those grey pools held hope and a spark, but both were slowly dimming. His eyes looked into both of hers, his mouth opening partly in worry.

"Ara…"

"Dad, I'm fine," she said, looking down, breaking Aang out of his trance. "Are you okay? Whatcha thinkin' about?"

Aang turned his face toward the setting sun. "My plan for you."

Ara cocked her head in confusion. "What plan?"

"For you to regain peace, balance, and harmony within yourself again," the avatar said, his arm around his daughter. "But I will tell of it later after I meditate more on it. Come on. Let's go eat."

The duo walked back to where everyone had gathered, but when they entered, confusion crossed their faces to the empty room in front of them.

Ara turned to her dad. "Great, thanks dad. We missed dinner!" Her voice echoed through the stillness of the hall, until Katara walked out behind the corner.

"You may be our daughter, but you've got your Uncle's eating habits," she said, shattering the stillness and making them both jump. "Finally you two come back. I've been looking for you guys. The rest went to dinner."

"Without us?"

"Something's wrong with that picture."

"No," Katara replied, laughing. "We all needed to discuss some plans, and so we decided to take a break from the giant group tonight and have dinner separately. Iroh, Mai, and Zuko went to discuss things and eat with Ty Lee, Sokka and Toph went to have a private dinner by themselves, and you two, dad and I are going to have a family dinner."

Aang and Ara both smiled and nodded, walking back toward the tent with Katara, and as they left, they looked at her.

"So what's for dinner?" they both said in unison. "I'm starving, except for sea prunes!!!"

Katara rolled her eyes, smiling. "Like father like daughter."