Ew filler... Well, here it is, alternate universe. This one was almost all too easy.


Chapter 17: Zutara week, Alternate Universe

"Uuuuuncle" Tsou whined loudly, "skip to the end, I want to know how it ends. What happened?" Sokka laughed, how could someone this age have a patience so tested?

The dark haired boy was nearly 24 years old, with the patience of a 5 year old. "Calm down son, if you want the ending you need to hear the whole thing."

"But uncle, I don't want to hear the whole thing." The boy fell forward on the pillows, his long body stretching over velvet fabrics. If one thing was sure he'd inherited his sister's patience. She could never wait for anything never had the patience for waiting, everything had to be now, now, now.

"You know you're a lot like her." Sokka was just sad the boy never got a chance to meet his grandparents.

In the background Kura laughed too, his wife snuggled in his arms with their young child, daughter. Sokka had gained quite the audience.

"Grandpa." Oran, Kura's Water Tribe wife was a typical Water Bender. Strong willed, unwavering in her ways. But she made a good mother to their daughter, Korra. It shocked Sokka when her first heard the name, but creativity was theirs. Korra was a combination of both their names. Kura and Oran. "How do you know all of this?"

Tsou bolted upright, pleased with the challenge, "Yeah? How do you know this?"

"I was there, remember, I was alive when this happened."

"Yeah, but you should have been in the South Pole, there's no way you were there!" Tsou's eyes were big, excited from his discovery. A satisfied 'ha' even managed to escape his lips as he waited.

"Do you think we didn't talk after that? We had letters written every day, I know what happened."

"I don't believe you…" Tsou's pale gold eyes fell into a hard sliver of suspicion.

"No? Alright, Tsou, son, do me a favor and go look at her." He pointed to the wall of ice, "Come on, all of you, go look, what do you see?"

The small crowd pulled themselves from the pillows on the floor, Oran held back a moment, settling her precious sleeping baby girl into a cradle of pillows, but she too eventually joined.

"Now tell me, everyone, what do you see?" Sokka sat back, his eyes suddenly dark with thought. Every now and again pain struck him so deep he couldn't ignore.

Behind the glass they stood a perfect image of grace, strength, love and self sacrifice. Many times Sokka wondered if she knew it would end like this. At what point did she know it was her final moment?

Again Sokka longed for things to be different. Over the years he'd spent many sleepless nights wondering the 'what-ifs'. What would she be like? Would she have grown old then happily passed in her sleep?

"I see a woman."

"No," Sokka corrected, "You see the greatest mother, friend, and sister, that ever walked the earth. You see a strong girl whose life was cut dramatically too short. Now sit back down so I can finish the story."