As soon as Sokka joined Katalina and Zuko outside, she grabbed him by the wrist and started pulling him with her. He had stumbled a bitch to catch up, but was able to regain his balance once she let go of him.

"C'mon, you two were alone for all of ten seconds," he stated. "What could have happened in ten seconds?"

"Nothing happened," she lied.

He thought for a moment. "Can I ask you one thing about him without you getting me? And then we can drop the subject for now?

"Fine."

"Do you think there's a chance he could like you, too?"

"Honestly, I have no idea."

"Well, maybe he does but just hasn't realised it yet."

"You asked your one question, Sokka. Now it's time to drop the subject."

"Okay."

They continued their fast-paced walk in silence. Eventually, they arrived at where Sokka and the others were living. They went around to the back where Appa was kept.

"Here he is," Sokka announced.

Katalina smiled. "What a beautiful creature." She approached the bison, but when he turned to face them, she jumped back.

"Don't worry, he doesn't bite," he told her. Then he thought for a moment. "Well, actually he does, but only if he doesn't like you."

"Good to know."

He laughed. "Appa, this is Katalina," he introduced her. "She's a good friend of Zuko's."

"Why mention that?"

"Because Appa likes Zuko. Back when Appa had been kidnapped by sandbenders and brought here to the city and kept hidden by Long Feng, Zuko was the one who found him and set him free. And that was before he joined us."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Wow, that's a very heroic thing for Zuko to do. Especially since he was technically still your enemy at the time."

"Trust me, we were just as surprised."

Just then, a small creature flew towards Katalina. She let out a gasp as she ducked and covered her head with her arms. She could hear Sokka laughing.

"Relax, it's only Momo," he informed her.

"Who?"

"Momo, our pet lemur."

She straightened herself out. "Oh yeah, I think Iroh mentioned that you had a pet lemur as well."

"We found him at the Southern Air Temple."

She now saw the lemur resting on his arm. "Oh, he's so cute!" she exclaimed.

He laughed again. "Momo, this is Katalina."

Momo flew over to her and licked her face. She laughed.

"Are you ready to ride Appa?" he then checked.

"What?" She paused. "Oh yeah…the thing we came here for."

"Don't worry, you'll be perfectly safe. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Except falling to my death."

"Just don't fall of, then," he replied. She shot him a nasty look. "You wouldn't fall off anyway! Come on Lina, stop worrying so much. Toph rides on Appa and she can't even see when she's in the air."

"If that was supposed to make me feel better, it didn't work."

"You said you would go."

"That was just to get Zuko off my case."

"I don't care. You're going. Now come on."

He climbed onto Appa. Katalina hesitated, but she still followed. Once she was settled in the saddle, Sokka crawled onto the bison's head to take the reins.

"Are you ready?" he repeated.

"Not at all," she denied.

"Great," he responded. "Yip, yip!"

The flying bison took to the sky.

"You know, instead of watching the ground get farther away, I'm just gonna watch the sky grow closer," she decided. "That sounds a bit more relaxing." So she lay on her back and looked up at the blue sky. Momo rested on her torso. "Wow, this actually is pretty relaxing."

"Just wait till you see the city from this height."

"Hey, no one said that I would have to look down at Ba Sing Se from way up here," she pointed out. "And I refuse to do so."

"It's really not that bad, Lina."

"Easy for you to say; you practically used to live up here."

"So what? Zuko got used to it. He said so himself."

"Yeah, well, I'm not Zuko. So don't try to compare me to him. Just because we're both from the Fire Nation, doesn't mean we like the same things. Take the war, for instance. That's a perfect example of how different we can be."

"That's actually a pretty bad example given the fact that Zuko did eventually turn against the war. It just took him longer to do it than it took you."

"We're still not the same."

"I wasn't even trying to compare you to him in the first place."

She let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry."

"I'll forgive you once you look over the edge."

"Excuse me? You really expect me to look down at the city?"

"Don't you want my forgiveness?"

"I think I could live without it."

"Shut up and look!" he finally ordered.

Now Katalina took a deep breath and let it out. She sat up, causing Momo to jump off of her, and then she closed her eyes. Slowly and carefully she leaned over the saddle. She opened her eyes, saw how high up they were, and hastily jumped back, gasping.

"Everything okay back there?" Sokka checked.

"Fine, fine, just taking it all in," she replied. She took another quick breath, closing her eyes again. She leaned over the saddle once more, this time opening her eyes more slowly. She saw the city of Ba Sing Se and gasped once more.

"What is it this time?"

"Nothing. The city is just so beautiful. And I can't believe I never realised how huge it is."

"It is the biggest city in the world. That's why all the refugees came here during the war."

"That's also why it's so easy to get lost."

"Did you get lost a lot when you first arrived here?"

"No, actually. Looking at it now, though, I'm surprised I never did." She chuckled and petted Momo. Then she looked back down at the city. "Everyone looks so tiny from up here."

"Still afraid of heights?" he then wondered, smiling.

"Yes I am, but I'm not so much as bothered by them anymore," she answered, still petting Momo's head.

"What made you afraid of them to begin with?"

"Well, I guess it was really always more of a fear of falling," she admitted. "But when Zuko and I were little—and I mean, like, seven or eight—we used to go out and explore and the Fire Nation and have our own little adventures. And one day we discovered this hidden pathway, so we followed it. It led us higher and higher until we reached the end, which just so happened to be an extremely tall cliff side. And me being my curious self, I looked over the edge to try to get an idea of exactly how high up we were." She paused. "That was when I fell." Now she let out a sigh. "If Zuko hadn't been up there with me at that moment, I don't think I'd be up here with you right now telling this story."

"So he saved your life?" he clarified.

She smiled. "He did."

"And you said that you two were seven or eight when this happened?"

"That's right."

"When did you two first meet, then?"

"We were five-years-old. So we've practically grown up together."

"No wonder you've developed feelings for him," he thought aloud.

"Excuse me?" she replied.

"Sorry, getting off the subject now," he said back. "Do you wanna fly?" he then asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you wanna take the reins and fly Appa?"

"Oh, I don't think so," she denied. "That's probably not the best idea."

"Please, it's easy! All you have to do it hold onto the reins. Then Appa does the rest of the work."

"Well, when you put it that way it does sound pretty simple."

"Then get your ass over here. And don't worry, I'll stay by your side the entire time," he promised.

She laughed. "Okay." She crawled out of the saddle and cautiously moved over to Sokka. Momo followed her. And once she was seated next to him, the lemur seated himself around her shoulders.

"Here you go." Sokka handed Katalina the reins. "Now you can go wherever you please."

"Wherever?"

"Don't go down. Not yet, at least."

"I actually wasn't thinking that."

"Then where are you thinking of going?" he wondered. "Because you do have to stay here in Ba Sing Se."

"I wasn't thinking about leaving, either."

"Should I be scared, though?"

"Why should you be scared?"

"Because you're flying now."

She laughed again. "I'm not gonna do anything stupid," she assured him. "So," she then thought for a moment or two, "where do I wanna go?"