"Katara, wake up, we're going fishing." Sokka said while tapping her with his foot.
The waterbender grumbled before moving to sit up. She then rubbed one of her eyes while glaring at her older brother with the other.
Sokka grinned playfully before walking out, "I'll meet ya at the boat."
The girl yawned before getting up and getting dressed, it seemed like she was the only one left in the hut. Her mother must've been off teaching the young children.
After Nereus was kidnapped, Hakoda, Bato and the rest of the men decided to put in effort to end the war. Kya was distraught that her husband was going yet she didn't say anything to him at the time. Sokka had even tried to go with them yet Hakoda needed him with Kya and Katara to protect them.
That had been years ago.
Katara started to search in her trunk for her gloves when she came across a small gift Nereus had given her.
It was a bone carved into a whale. Katara smiled as she ran her thumb over the figure, Nereus had apologized about the quality since it had many nicks and sharp points yet she didn't mind at all.
She hadn't forgotten her friend, no not at all, on some nights she would even dream of her. She sighed heavily as she placed the figure back and got out her gloves. One day. One day she would find her.
(OO)
" It's not getting away from me this time. Watch and learn, Katara. This is how you catch a fish."
Katara rolled her eyes while lazily watching her brother aim his spear at the fish swimming along side the boat. So far he had tried for the last hour and the fish seemed to enjoy teasing her brother. She lazily waved her hands over the water, the currents left by her action swirled and danced.
"You know that you're not going to catch it like that..." she muttered.
Sokka quickly turned and glared at her before turning back to the fish, " Shhh. Katara, you're gonna scare it away. Mmmm... I can already smell it cookin'!"
The waterbender rolled her eyes before deciding that this was a perfect time to try to control her element. She sat up straight and held her hand out toward the waters, she then weaved her hand slowly and concentrated on the flow of the water. As she was doing this Sokka was about ready to pounce.
A small splash was the only noise the water ball made as it floated out of the water, Katara then grinned as she saw the fish swimming within it.
She then tried to poke her brother, "Sokka look!"
"Will you be quiet or we won't have dinner!"
"But I caught one!" Katara laughed.
However as she now looked at her brother she noticed that the water ball was edging closer and closer to the butt of his spear. She gulped and cringed once he popped it and both the fish and water fell.
Sokka sighed loudly while turning and glare at his sister, " Why is it that every time you play with magic water I get soaked?"
Katara rolled her eyes as she tried not to laugh at Sokka's appearance.
"It's not magic. It's waterbending, and it's-,"
Sokka waved his hand at her to stop, he then acted to yawn before turning away from his sister, "Yeah, yeah, an ancient art unique to our culture, blah blah blah. Look, I'm just saying that if I had weird powers, I'd keep my weirdness to myself."
Katara laughed loudly as she crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow, "you're calling me weird? I'm not the one who makes muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water."
As she said this Sokka stopped looking at his reflection and grimaced, "be that as it may, if you were as sexy as me, you would be doing the same thing."
Katara gagged, Sokka glares at her as she did it.
"If I was you I'd drown mysel- GO LEFT!" She suddenly barked.
Sokka jumped before looking in front of them and an iceberg was quickly floated toward them, due to panic, he had turned right. Yet the boat still collided, knocking both of them out. As their boat sinks Katara stares at him with a scowl and her hands on her hips.
"You call that a left?"
Sokka growled, "well if you don't like my steering, why didn't you do your water thingy to steer us."
Katara growled back, "I would if I knew how to!"
Sokka then threw his hands up, "I knew I should've left you home. But mom wanted me to take you along, a girl shouldn't be out here doing man things anyway."
Katara stared at him as if he had suddenly grew a second head, she then pointed a finger at him, "you are the most sexist, immature, nut brain I know!"
Sokka was about to shoot back until he noticed something behind Katara, he then tried to calm her down, "uh Katara..."
However Katara was not having it, she jabbed a finger at Sokka, "I'm embarrassed to be related to you! While me and mom are taking care of the camp, you're off playing soldier! And have you forgotten that Nere-,"
Suddenly a loud crack stopped Katara dead in her sentence, finally noticing her brother, she turned around as well to find a huge iceberg starting to crack open wider, most of the ice pieces had melted away and most of the big pieces fall into the water. Both Sokka and Katara hold on to their little iceberg as the waters were violently waving. Once the waters calm down they stand back up and stares at the structure.
Sokka then clapped his hands sarcastically, as he glanced back at his sister a smirk grew on his face, "well Katara, I knew you were weird but you just created a whole new level for yourself."
Katara balked, "you think I did this?"
Sokka shrugged, "naturally."
(Fire Nation)
A vibrant orange flame shot toward its target, however it moved just as quick at the fire did, she shot her own azure flame back.
Nereus danced away from it and slammed her foot down onto the ground, once it hit rock a stream of fire erupted and rushed forward.
Azula smirked before jumping away from it and countering with a fire whip, however her pet bended backwards to barely miss the attack.
Nereus jumped onto her hands and flipped backwards, once again a current shot out from her feet.
Azula twisted with the flame, making it her own, and shooting it back.
As Nereus was in the process of jumping away from it, a sudden blast of heat knocked her senses and she didn't see the foot emerging from the azure current.
Nereus was sent flying until she fell onto her side and skidded to a halt.
Azula grins before standing straight and puts a stand of her hair back in place, "once again you're not paying attention, pet."
Nereus sighed before rolling onto her back, she placed her hands behind her head and smiles, "I'm doing better though..."
Azula glowered before strolling to her pet and leaned against a column, she then crossed her arms, "if I am to use you in battle then you will have to be perfect."
Nereus grimaced before nodding and sitting up.
It has been eight years since Nereus came to be Azula's pet, and in those eight years many things has happened.
Zuko was gone, that was a good thing. He had talked back at a general and publicly embarrassed his father. For his efforts he was banished and left with a burn on his face.
She was glad he was gone, her master had been much happier since he's been gone.
She had finally been introduced to Azula's other friends, Mai and Ty Lee. She didn't know them for long however since the gloomy one went to Ba Sing Se and the cheery one ran away to the circus.
She was even allowed to go with Azula to her Academy, however while she was not a student herself, she had snuck into some of the classes acting as an exchange student. Not many of the teachers were the wiser.
She was also better at her firebending, not as good as her master but Azula stopped complaining about it a few years back, so she could only guess that she was doing better.
Her master was also learning to bend lightning, a rare ability that few could master, yet her teachers kept telling her that she was just 'one hair out of place'.
Of course while Azula was still snappy at them, her true frustration lashed out at Nereus, most of the time the pet had to deal with her master's crankiness and dodge fireballs.
Their relationship had also deepened during her time living in the palace. While they still bickered and Azula daily belittles her, she found herself just nodding and letting go of it.
Well most of the time.
Her... feelings toward her Master also seemed to deepen, once infatuated now was a shy relationship she couldn't describe.
"Is Li and Lo coming today?"
"Sadly," Azula muttered, "those weirdos always makes me want to throw something at them. With their synced speech and spirit awful stares."
Nereus snorted, however she yelped and rolled away once Azula tried to stomp on her head.
"Well they say you're getting better!"
"But better is not perfect!"
Nereus huffed as she bounced onto her feet, she then crossed her arms and pouted, "oh come on, Master! You're being impatient, things like this take time and if you rush then you might hurt someone."
Azula glared, "at this point I would not mind in the slightest, I already have a target in mind."
"Eh..." Nereus trailed off once she caught the glare, her pout and her demeanor seemed to calm down and she bowed her head, "sorry..."
She didn't expect her master to acknowledge it anyway as Azula stormed off.
Nereus sighed heavily before walking over to a column and slid down it to sit cross-legged. It was times like this she missed her friend.
She barely went a day without thinking about her, Katara was probably still doing her chores and bickering at Sokka. Maybe she was happy, maybe she was different. Maybe she forgot about her or never stopped thinking about her. Suddenly a thought invaded her conscience and caused her to snicker, her friend was probably engaged by now. Her smirk then faded as she inhaled deeply.
She wondered what her friend was doing at this point.
(OO)
"I told you! I'm pretty sure he's the real thing, Gran Gran!" Katara gleamed as she waved her hands excitedly.
The old woman chuckled before helping her daughter-in-law with supper, "I wouldn't get my hopes up about him, Katara."
Kya handed her daughter a pot of raw sea prunes to prep, "he might've been a survivor that got frozen in that iceberg. There's always the possibility that the Avatar had been... well vanished."
Katara poked out her bottom lip as she grabbed a prune, "well its pretty suspicious to me, the Avatar vanished and then we find this kid. Doesn't that click in your mind, mom?"
Kya smiled before shaking her head, "it does, sweetie. Yet he says he's not the Avatar."
"And we can't put something there if it doesn't belong." Gran Gran pointed out.
Katara went to speak before sighing and shaking her head, there was no point trying to tell them.
In the iceberg she had found him, a young boy named Aang and his sky bison Appa. At first she was pretty skeptical herself, yet the more she talked to him, the more she got the feeling that he was important. And when she found out he had left just before the invasion, something clicked.
Yet he denies anything. He knew people who knew the Avatar but he didn't know them personally.
She was going to find out if he was the real thing, and if he is the Avatar, then she was going to do everything in her being to help him end the war.
(OO)
"Hey, little guy, do you wanna go sledding?"
Katara had finally found the boy, she smiled humorously as he tried to catch one of the penguins.
He then noticed her and smiles, "I have a way with animals..." he then impersonated the penguin who was waddling away.
Katara giggled before slyly edging closer with a playful grin, "well if I help you catch a penguin, will you teach me waterbending?"
Aang beamed happily, "sure!" He then flinched and stammered as he scratched his head, "I mean... I can only airbend. Isn't there more waterbenders in your tribe?"
Katara smiled inwardly as she kept that little slip up under lock and key, she then sighed sadly, "well there was another bender like me, but she's gone. You're looking at the only waterbender in the South Pole."
The airbender's smiled slowly faded into that of confusion, "oh? What happened to her? And aren't you guys in touch with the Northern Tribe?"
Katara looked away briefly as a flashback of her friend smiling at her past by, "she was taken by the Fire Nation, like so many of the waterbenders of my tribe. And we haven't had contact with our sister tribe for years."
Aang looks down at the snow below his feet and swallows lightly, "well I'm sorry for your lost." He then smiles reassuringly, "if you wanna know about waterbending then we'll have to go to the North then."
Katara balked, her mind thrown from the sudden change of conversation, "how? It's not like 'turn left on the coming glacier' they're on the other end of the world."
The boy grinned playfully, "actually it'll be pretty easy, I do have a sky bison who can get us there in no time!"
The waterbender cringed, so far she wasn't impressed with the creature, however she hadn't seen him in action yet, "no offence but... I'm not really fond of boat rides."
Aang flinched before laughing nervously, "ah I guess that its understandable to doubt him, given that he did swim us here and all. But I promise once he rests up that he'll be flying."
Katara nodded before hugging herself in rising uncertainty.
"What's wrong?"
"I've never left home before..."
The boy nodded timidly before using his foot to kick the snow, "well how about you think it over?"
The girl looked toward him and smiled, "I will. Now... how about I show you the proper way of catching a penguin?"
Aang instantly brighten up as he nodded excitedly.
Katara smiled just as bright then clears her throat and mocks a teacher's voice, " Okay, listen closely my young pupil. Catching penguins is an ancient and sacred art. Observe."