When we were younger, Sokka could never sit still. He was always fidgeting with something or bouncing around somewhere. Even in his sleep, he would twitch or roll around. The first time that I ever saw Sokka be still was when our father told us that our mother had died. Sokka froze when he heard those words. His body was so straight and rigid that I wondered if he would ever move again. Part of the reason that I never went hunting with him and my father was because I couldn't stand to see Sokka so still, the way he must be if he hopes to catch any sort of animal. And when our father left for battle and I had to accompany Sokka on his hunting trips, I could never watch. I could never watch him be still because it always reminds me of that first time that I ever saw him that way. And then again when our father passed, Sokka was still. He was still for a very long time and the same fear of never seeing him move again crept in. He would lie on his blankets, staring up at the cloth ceiling of our sealskin tent for hours without so much as moving a single muscle. It unnerved me and I couldn't stand to see it.

Which is why I don't like being around Sokka when he tends to his Chief-ly paperwork. He just sits there, scribbling and reading silently. He stays very still. Needless to say, I don't like it. And right now is no exception.

"So? What did they say?" I ask, getting antsy from watching Sokka's stillness.

He sighs and glances up at me. "No word of Aang."

I sink back into the pillow I'm using, feeling defeated. No word of Aang has been the standard response that Sokka has given me for the past two months. Two entire months have gone by and I have no idea where he is or what has happened to him.

Earlier in the year, after Aang and I had traveled to our sister tribe in the North Pole to learn waterbending, preparations had been made for many of their healers and benders to join us here in the South Pole to help us rebuild our tribe. But with all of the air and naval attacks all over the world, it just wasn't possible. The members of the Northern Water Tribe are safe behind their giant ice walls. And we can't risk letting the Fire Nation gain control of them. The war has only gotten worse since then. We've been having a hard time getting the supplies that we need sent to us. As soon as I'd returned home from my Fire Nation escapades, I begged Sokka to go with me to find Aang. But without the aid of the North Pole, we are just too ill equipped. The Fire Nation army is atleast ten times the size of the Southern Water Tribe warriors. Probably even more than ten times.

"Don't worry, Katara. Aang will be alright." He assures me with a small, unconvincing smile.

Before I left General Iroh's ship, he told me that if ever he knew something about Aang or his whereabouts, that he would notify me immediately. I dread the idea of receiving letters, because the next one I get could be Iroh writing to tell me that Aang is dead. For now, I can only wonder what Ozai is planning for Aang. Why has he kept him alive all this time?

Sometimes, I wake up screaming from awful nightmares. Or nightmare, rather, because it's always the same one. Two variations, but ultimately the same nightmare. In it, either I'm watching Aang be burned alive by Ozai or it's happening to me. And when I do wake up, I can always remember so clearly how it felt when Zuko's flames had surrounded me. The excruciating pain of being on fire rivals all other pain. To have felt my flesh just melting away like that, and to imagine it happening to Aang… sometimes I don't even want to fall asleep.

Once, nearly a month ago, I woke up thinking that Chen would be sitting across from me against a tree sharpening one of his dao swords and silently guarding our site. But then I reminded myself that Chen doesn't exist and he never did.

It just goes to show how wrong everything is. It's so wrong that I'm sitting here in the South Pole, with no way to help Aang. And it's all my fault that he's in trouble in the first place. It's even worse that no matter how hard I try to forget about Zuko, I just can't. I find myself wondering where he is and how he's doing. But I shouldn't wonder and I shouldn't care. Zuko saved my life, but so what? He ended it, too, because if anything happens to Aang then I don't stand a chance. None of us do. So it's cruelly unfair that I have to have these weird, lingering feelings about him. It only makes me angrier. And I never used to be an angry person.

The last story that Iroh told me before I left his ship was the story of Zuko's banishment. I really regret asking because now that I think about it, I wish I didn't know. I don't want to know that Zuko's father burned him for refusing to duel him. I don't want to know that Ozai banished Zuko at the age of thirteen and left him with nothing. I don't want to know that Zuko spent six years desperately searching for the Avatar all because he wanted to prove himself to his father and restore his honor. I don't want to know that stuff. Because that makes Zuko seem like an actual human, rather than the cold and calculating monster that I keep trying to make him out to be. Knowing about Zuko's past makes it a lot harder for me to hate him. And I really, really, really want to hate him.

"Chief Sokka?" A male voice calls from outside his tent. I glance up, shaking my head of the Aang and Zuko reverie that constantly fills it these days.

Sokka sets his paperwork down in his lap. "Come in."

The flaps swing open and Dante walks in. Dante is Sokka's second in command. Sokka was only seventeen when our father passed and not yet old enough to assume his role of Chief. Dante lead the warriors for nearly a year until Sokka's eighteenth birthday. When our father was still alive, Dante was his closest friend. I've known him for as long as I can remember.

Dante walks in and smiles when he sees me. "Hello, Katara." He turns to Sokka. "Sir, we just received a messenger hawk, but the letter inside is addressed to someone named Amala. Do you have any idea who that is?"

"None at all. Could I see the letter?" Sokka frowns and rises to meet Dante.

I feel my face flush and my heart starts to pound against my chest, trying to fight its way out. There are only two people who would possibly be writing to me right now under that alias. It would be Aang, writing to me as Kavi to let me know that he's escaped from the Fire Nation and on his way here. Or… it would be Iroh, writing to tell me that Aang is dead.

"It's for me." I whisper.

Dante and Sokka both turn to me, their confusion easily shown in their expression. I know that I should explain, but I'm not entirely sure if I can speak right now. "Amala, huh? Is that the alias that you use?" Sokka asks.

I had to tell Sokka what happened in the Fire Nation. Now that the Fire Lord thinks I'm dead, everyone else has to as well. I nod. "Who…" I swallow thickly, trying to force the words to come out. "is it from?"

Dante frowns when he sees my reaction. "It doesn't really say. Actually, I'm not sure at all what it says. It didn't make very much sense."

Sokka starts to chuckle, completely oblivious to my unease. "It's probably from Anil."

"Shut up!" I snap, immediately wishing that I hadn't sounded so angry. Anil is one of Sokka's warriors and he's eighteen. I kissed him one time last year and Sokka found out and refuses to let it go. Anil didn't help the situation at all, either, because he was always asking about me and what not after he moved to a nearby village. I'm not interested, and for that reason Sokka just loves to give me a hard time about it.

I reach up to take the letter from him, my hand shaking violently as I do. I hold the white envelope in my hand for a long moment, staring hard at the elegant calligraphy on the outside that spells Amala. Aang's handwriting looks nothing like that, but I suspect that Iroh's does. I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. Am I ready for this? Will I be able to handle whatever it is that this letter will reveal to me? If Aang really is dead, will knowing for sure make me feel better or worse? Maybe I just won't open it.

But then… what if this letter is assuring me that Aang is still alive?

With that thought in mind, I quickly tear the envelope and open the letter. Breathe, Katara.

"Hello, Amala. It's been a while since I last saw you. I suspect that you are doing well. I'm writing to tell you a story that I heard recently during my travels. It's about a young boy who reminds me of my nephew. You've met my nephew, have you not? Anyway, this young boy in the story worked in the mines in an Earth Kingdom town. As I know you are well aware, mines are very dangerous. Especially when there is fire involved. The boy was said to have discovered a gold site. He believed that this gold site had belonged to the Spirit of Kavi. But he was mistaken. The gold had belonged to Kavi's evil twin, who sought to destroy the spirit. When the boy discovered this, he ran from the mines and told everyone he knew to stay away from them also. Glad to have escaped the danger that Kavi's evil twin presented, he celebrated by dancing at a tavern down town. I believe the tavern was called the Falling Rock Light Show, or some other strange name. Now, wasn't that a lovely story? I believe that you should meet up with nephew and tell him the story that I've just told you. I think he will enjoy it. Just as I know that you have. I hope to see you in the near future."

There is no name at the bottom, only a drawing of a white lotus flower. I drop the letter in my lap, feeling overwhelmed with confusion.

Dante raises an eyebrow. "Strange, right? I guess it makes sense to you though."

"Um… yeah. It's from an old friend. He's… really old. Not much of what he says ever makes sense…" I try to laugh, but it comes out in a strangled way.

I know that Dante is seeking a further explanation, but seeing my odd reaction to the letter is enough to send him on his way. "Well, then. I'll be going. See you later, Katara. Chief." He nods to Sokka, who waves in return.

Sokka takes a seat beside me. "What's going on, Katara? Who is that letter from?"

I sigh with frustration. "It's from General Iroh."

"The Fire Nation guy who brought you back here?" He frowns. "Let me read it."

I pass the letter to him.

Obviously, when Iroh says Kavi he means Aang. That much is clear. And from what I can gather, Aang is still alive. But I don't understand what any of the rest of it means. But Iroh wouldn't send me a crazy letter for no reason. With Zuko's life on the line over my pretend death, anything he writes to me would have to be extremely cryptic. Although I didn't think it would be this cryptic.

Maybe when Iroh says that the young boy from the story reminds him of his nephew, that's because the story is about his nephew. He did say that there was fire involved. So that means the story is about Zuko! And Zuko…found a gold mine? That makes no sense. Why would Zuko even be looking for a gold mine? I doubt the royal family of the Fire Nation needs any more money.

Think, Katara. Think. What is he trying to tell you?

Okay. As far as I know, Aang does not have an evil twin. Aang doesn't have any siblings at all. But… the spirit of Aang might! One of the previous Avatar's must have had a twin! That's who Iroh must be referring to.

But why was the twin evil? The letter says that the twin wanted to destroy the Spirit of Kavi. So…the Avatar's twin wanted to destroy him.

And he needed a gold mine to do it? Once again, that makes no sense.

C'mon, Katara. You're almost there.

So. Zuko found a gold mine in the Earth Kingdom that once belonged to the evil twin of the Avatar. And then Zuko went dancing at the "Falling Rock Light Show" tavern to celebrate. Whatever that means.

Hold on. When Zuko and I were dancing in the Earth Kingdom, I remember passing a tavern with a similar name! What was it called?! Not Falling Rock…It was Meteor Shower tavern! I remember because I thought that the lanterns overhead could possibly look like a meteor shower.

Whatever the Fire Lord is planning, it involves a meteor shower and a previous Avatar. But without Aang, I have no idea how to find out what or who. That must be where Zuko comes in. Iroh says that I'm supposed to "meet up" with him. An idea that I abhorrently resent. But I suppose if it means helping Aang in any way, that I'll do it. But it's gonna be tricky. I'll have to find Zuko and get to him without letting his father or anyone else know that I'm even alive.

Iroh's letter says that Zuko was in the Earth Kingdom. Sokka isn't gonna like this at all, but I guess I'll be headed there with Appa tomorrow. It rained today, so I should be able to bend the clouds enough to keep us hidden.

It's a big risk. But Aang is worth it.

I know what you all are thinking with the meteor shower, but it's not what you expect. ;) It's completely unrelated to Sozin's comet!
Thankyou to all the lovely people who are reading this!