Katara reached up to wipe a heavy snowflake from her eyelash. She had been patching up the weak spots of one of the igloo houses, using her bending to freeze thick layers onto the structure. As she resumed her position, she noticed a black smudge on the hand she had used to wipe her face.

That definitely wasn't snow.

Looking up, she noticed that the cloudless sky seemed to be filled with black particles floating down over her village. Her veins seemed to ice over as she remembered the last time she had seen black snow.

She had only been a little girl then, maybe eight years old. It was the day her mother had been taken from her, dying to protect her daughter and the only waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe.

Katara stood straight as a spear as she scanned the ocean for the ships she was certain would be on their way. She spotted them immediately, three dark silhouettes bearing down on them with a speed ten times faster than the ships her father had left on many years before.

The Fire Nation would be here within minutes to destroy what was left of her home.

She called for her brother, Sokka, who was preparing meat a few huts away. His head popped out, goofy expression in place until he noticed the black ash in the air. He immediately called out an alert to the village, commanding everyone to gather what food they could and head to the caves that had been built after the previous attack.

Within a minute, the small population of the tribe was making their way through the deep snowdrifts in hopes of reaching the caves that would shield them from the intruders.

Only Katara and Sokka remained, preparing to defend their land as their father would have.

Katara spent the next few minutes constructing walls to protect the village for as long as possible, allowing the people more time to get to the caves. Sokka spent that time trying to convince Katara to join them.

"You know the tribe wouldn't stand a chance if the soldiers find the caves! You have to be there to protect them!"

"Mom didn't give her life to protect me just so I could run and hide! I'm ready to fight them. You know I'm ready."

"Katara. Dad left me in charge of you and the people. I can't stand around and let you get hurt!"

"Then stop standing around and bring me those knives. I can freeze the ends in ice and throw them."

Grumbling to himself, Sokka did as was asked.

Accepting the knives and preparing her weapons, Katara put the finishing touches on her barricades, and turned to face her brother. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, he had her wrapped up in the tightest hug of her life. She held on for a few seconds before letting go.

"Sokka," she said gently, but with determination, "I can do this."

He still looked worried, but nodded his head, smiling a bit at her stubbornness. "I know you can. Just… be careful. I need you around to tell me when I'm doing something stupid."

Katara laughed a bit, almost forgetting the imminent threat that faced them. "And I need you around to ignore what I say and do the stupid thing anyways."

The both turned at the sound of the first ship hitting the icy shore.

Reading his trusty boomerang, Sokka gave his sister one last glance, saying "let's make Dad proud," before leaping over the snowdrift and heading towards the soldiers exiting the ship.

Staying out of sight, Katara began hurling bullets of ice and the knives towards the men dressed in reds and blacks. She grinned in satisfaction when she heard men fall from her attacks.

When the other ships reached land, she constructed a tower so that she could have a clear view of her enemies. Then, she summoned all her energy into calling a huge wave from the ocean, pulling it up high above the ships decks. After making sure Sokka was clear out of the way, she let the water fall, allowing it to crash down onto the soldiers who remained on the decks.

The next few moments were a frenzied battle between fire and ice.

As their flames began to attack, she formed walls of water to protect herself while sending water whips through them to knock her enemies off their feet. She managed to collect a handful into a ball of swirling water and began to freeze them into an icy prison.

Her guard was let down, however, a strike of fire to her back was enough to stun her, freeing the men from their bonds. She sent a series of ice disks at the men gaining in on her, using a spout of snow to rotate and maneuver her to knock down as many men as she could.

Her master waterbending skills could have easily outmatched a dozen of the best firebenders, but there were just too many. Her barriers were quickly reduced to slush, leaving her out in the open with be completely circled by enemies in a few minutes.

Katara raised herself up on a platform of ice, getting her out of reach for a moment as she looked around worriedly for her brother. She spotted him just in time to watch him be restrained by three as he was knocked down by a powerful blast of fire from a fourth.

She felt her platform begin to crumble beneath her, causing her to plummet to the ground before being able to strengthen it.

The soldiers were practically on top of her now, and they didn't even need to use fire to kick out her legs from underneath her. Her arms were pulled behind her back and bound, sufficiently cutting off her bending. She struggled as hard as she could, trying to knock her captors off of her by thrashing her body weight against them, but it was no use.

As she was dragged through the wet ground and onto the metal of the ship, Katara caught sight of the remaining soldiers retreating as well. A few still remained to hold Sokka back with fire, but they too made it onto the ships as her brother was left behind, unable to do anything to save his sister.

"KATARA!"

She watched helplessly as Sokka frantically ran to pick up his boomerang and throw it at one of the ships. They were already far enough away that his usually perfect aim did nothing but strike the side of a ship.

After that, a heavy cloth bag covered Katara's head, cutting off her vision.

She could feel herself grow dizzy shortly after, but desperately tried to hold on to the sound of her brother screaming her name over and over-

Katara woke in accordance with her dream-self passing out. Her stomach felt like it had just taken a hundred foot fall without the rest of her body.

She had only been away for a few days, but already began to worry that she would soon forget about her tribe, about her brother. Even in her dreams, she could tell that details were slipping away. This time, Sokka's hair was too neat, and his voice was… different. Not annoying enough, maybe? She knew it may just all be in her head, but she hadn't been away from her brother since the time he and her father went camping without her for his ninth birthday.

Was he thinking about her? Was he looking for her, or did he stay to protect the tribe? Part of The selfish part of Katara hoped it was the former, but she knew that the entire tribe was more important than just one member, regardless of who that member was.

As she began to feel the claws of sleep start to pull her back, Katara vowed that if he did come rescue her, she'd kick his ass for leaving the tribe alone.

Curling into herself on the mattress, she imagined snowflakes dancing beneath her eyelids until she drifted back to sleep.

.

When she awoke, a bowl of broth with some kind of meat in it waited on the ground beside her.

After wiping the sleep from her eyes, Katara sat up and picked up the bowl. It seemed to have been originally hot, but had cooled off by this time. She wondered how long she had slept. Thankfully, she had not been awoken by a kick to the face as she was yesterday.

Taking a sip from the bowl, she couldn't help but wonder if Zogen and his men had finally given up on hurting her for information. She didn't think she could take anymore after yesterday, and briefly wondered if they would just continue their methods until she died, as she obviously could not ever give them the information they sought.

A twinge of fear accompanied the sound of the door scraping open, but she quickly relaxed when she spotted the shaggy mop of hair and dirty clothes.

When the door had closed, Zuko smiled at seeing her awake as he set down the container of water.

"Good morning. Er, afternoon, actually," he corrected.

Katara shrugged as she reached for the water. What did it matter how long she slept? It's not like she had any pressing activities planned.

Zuko shook his head. He felt almost embarrassed to admit that he had been hoping she would be up earlier, like him, so they had more time to spend together today. He had really enjoyed her company yesterday, and had thought that she had too.

"So uh," he began, "how did you sleep.?"

Katara swallowed her sip of water before responding. "Decent enough. I really needed it. Healing myself wore me out." Picking up her bowl of soup again, she grabbed a piece of meat with her fingers, pausing to say "thanks for this, by the way," before popping it into her mouth. It wasn't nearly as tasteful or filling as meat at the South Pole, but it was better than the stale bread she had yesterday.

Frowning a bit, Zuko recalled "I brought that over when I checked if you were up an hour ago. It has to be cold and nasty by now."

Katara shrugged again. "I'll take what I can get in here."

Zuko reached out his hands, making a "give it here" motion.

After receiving the bowl from the girl, he calmly focused on the bowl, making sure to produce enough heat, but to hold back any flames.

Katara watched with interest as her soup began to produce steam. Taking it back from the boy, she slurped a mouthful of the now-warm broth, looking up at him gratefully from beneath her eyelashes.

"That must come in hand," she observed. "I've never seen firebending used in a way that wasn't…"

"Destructive?"

She nodded.

Zuko gave her a small understanding smile. "Fire isn't all bad. Back in the Fire Nation, there are entire festivals for bending dancers. They make shapes out of the flames and dance with them. And there are balloons that can carry people into the sky using heat. Some artisans even learned how to blow colored glass, melting the different minerals together and bending them to make bowls and glasses. My mother had dozens of rainbow plates hanging on the wall."

Katara couldn't help but be in awe. Both at the things firebenders could use their element for that weren't evil, and at the way Zuko seemed to brighten up at the mention of the beautiful things his home had given him.

If I miss my home after only a few days, I can't imagine how much he must miss his after years.

Suddenly feeling a chill at the thought of her home, Katara drew her robe tighter around herself.

He movement did not go unnoticed by Zuko, who laughed lightly. "And the permanent heat isn't such a terrible perk, either."

Katara stilled for a moment, remembering the way he had held her until she had fallen asleep. He had been even warmer than her thickest fur blankets from home.

Seeming to be thinking of the same event, Zuko awkwardly scratched behind his ear. "Um, about that…" He looked to her face, but the girl's eyes were studying her now-empty bowl. "I'm sorry I… invaded your space last night. I know you didn't know me or anything so I'd understand if you were mad or uncomfortable or-"

"Zuko," she stopped him. "It's fine. I was cold. You were just being kind. Thank you." She gave him a reassuring smile, hoping he couldn't see the blush that had crept to her cheeks at the mention of him "in her space."

He seemed to open his mouth to say something more, but the door opening suddenly surprised them both.

The two men who stepped in also seemed surprised at finding the room holding two occupants, and both raised their arms in a defensive position at the sight of the bucket of water.

Katara didn't waste a second. She immediately took this opportunity to direct the contents of the bucket at at their arms and legs, freezing them into place so they couldn't use their bending against her.

The door slammed shut. She had them. She could get them to release her. She could extract her revenge on them and make them hurt as much as she had…

Standing up, eyes never leaving the two guards, she directed a thin, sharp dagger formed of ice at each of their throats, allowing the edges to just barely cut through the surface of skin.

She could feel the power of the situation running through her. She was going home. They wouldn't hurt her anymore. She could be the one to relish in their screams, to enjoy the pain she caused them.

Zuko stood very still, taking in the girl before him. He could see every minute shift of her fingers as she brought the sharp ice farther into their throats. She truly held all the power, here. These two men would be dead with a flick of her wrist. They deserved it, of course, but he knew the girl well enough by now to know that she wasn't a killer. Even when he had been in the same position, with a shard of ice at his throat, he had seen on her face that she never intended to kill him.

But now, her face showed a completely different side of her. Her eyes were sharp and dark, narrowed and angry as she imagined all the ways she could hurt these men before her. Her forehead did not hold the winkle lines of curiosity that they had held when she questioned him, but was flat and sure. She looked so cold, but at the same time, he half expected to see steam coming from her nose on each heavy exhale.

Zuko had not seen this woman before. He wasn't sure if she was even thinking clearly at the moment, so blinded by the rage and power that took hold of her. She wasn't a killer. He knew that having her hands stained with blood would not suit her. She would beat herself up over it until it destroyed. As fierce and determined as she was, she had a kind heart, one that wouldn't take away life so casually without feeling the weight of it afterwards.

He worried for her, but feared there was no way he could stop her. Not like this. Not when her entire body had grown so rigid that he felt she would shatter the moment he reached out to her. Not when she seemed to be freezing the men into place with just her eyes.

Katara could feel him looking at her.

She didn't shift her stance, remaining posed to attack, as she focused her vision on Zuko's face. His eyes were serious and a bit fearful, warning her to back down. Not paying any mind to him, she raised her arm a bit, preparing to drive her daggers through their throats so they would never hurt anyone again.

To her surprise, Zuko tentatively lay a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"Don't," he murmured. "Even if you took these two out, you know you wouldn't stand a chance against all the guards who would come to take their place."

Katara glared at the men, but she knew he was right. Still, she had to try, didn't she?

"Katara."

It was his tone that stopped her. He seemed to be almost pleading her, begging her not to do something that would only get her more hurt.

Like a switch, his voice caused her reason to overpower her rage. What did she think was going to happen? Even killing these two wouldn't drive Zogen into releasing her. If anything, he would take away more privileges, not allowing her any food or water until she died in here, alone and in pain from all the extra torturing she would be sentenced to…

Slowly, she lowered her arms, letting the water melt and drop back into the bucket.

As the guards were released, they stared at her in a mix of fear, anger, and surprise. The one rubbed his neck and quickly knocked on the door to be let out of the room, but the other just looked at her, then at the boy, then back to her.

After considering something for a moment, he gestured to Zuko. "Take the water out of here. Then return to your bunk until you are told you may leave."

His voice was calm as he gave the orders, which unnerved Zuko far more than if he had snapped at him.

Sparing Katara a helpless glance, he did as was told, following the guard from the room.

After emptying and returning the bucket, Zuko stood in his room, replaying the last few minutes in his mind and wondering what the hell was going to happen now.