A/N. My keyboard has a slight problem with the letter N, so that hampered my ability to write quickly, sorry! But here is a new chapter!

"Dropping out of the sky. Sure." Katara heard her father grumble, but not in an unsympathetic manner. The waterbender had seen, and felt, the awkwardness that hung between her dad and Aang. Sure, she could understand him being angry about the whole married thing, and she could even imagine him being hurt about it. But that was not the best way to deal with such things… Certainly not if they were to spend a considerable time with each other in the coming weeks.

Settling her back against the edge of the saddle, Katara smiled. She could nearly hear Aang laughing out loud. Of course, he was too far away for to actually hear it, but she knew him better than anyone alive she expected. And she had seen him often enough at the start of their journey, jumping right of Appa's head without any warning.

The soft bellow from the bison was followed by a slow descend, and Katara watched her father slide back to the middle of the saddle, fumbling with the parka she had handed him. She could see his anxious looks. The pale blue eyes darted from the sky to the landscape around them, and the waterbender saw that he was breathing hard and fast.

"All right?" She asked, knowing that he wasn't.

"Yeah sure." Her father's voice was hard, as it always was when he lied. She looked at him, and Katara saw the anxious look change into something more… sheepish.

"Stop that." He said, but not unkindly.

"Stop what?"

"Looking at me like your mother would have done when I lied." The sheepish look was now outright bashful.

"Don't lie then." She crossed her arms above her chest, putting her hands underneath her armpits. With Aang hurtling down towards the ground, the nice warm air around them had disappeared, and so the harsh cold wind whipped around them. Appa was probably bending some of the wind away, but the bison didn't bend everything away as Aang would do.

"Just… How can I face all the tribe folk? I led their families away… And some don't have husbands or sons anymore because of that choice." She heard the old anguish in his voice, but resisted the urge to tell him that he made that choice long ago, and had all the time of the world to life with it… But Katara didn't say it. It didn't serve anyone to reopen old wounds… That, she had learned the hard way.

"You told those men they had a choice, and they chose to follow you to the Earth Kingdom." She spoke instead, glancing over Appa's saddle to look for the village. She heard a soft grunt from her father, and he didn't speak anything else. But to be honest, the waterbender only heard the grunt with half an ear, because she had spotted the place where she had grown up… And it had hardly changed.

Katara didn't know if she should have expected it to have changed… But in her mind, it would have changed with the arrival of the waterbenders from the North Pole. She knew perfectly well what those guys were capable of… And this was not it. If her eyes didn't deceive her, she could see one or two igloos the size of the one her grandmother had occupied, and there was a small wall around the village, replacing the snow embankment Sokka had made with so much effort…

It had not kept out the only attack it had to suffer, from Zuko's ship… But still, she could imagine Sokka's grumbling when he would learn that the defences that he build with his own two hands were replaced by something waterbenders could make in the matter of an hour.

But otherwise, the village looked mostly the same as it had done the day she had found Aang… And that was something Katara didn't like. Pakku had promised them he would do everything he could to help their tribe, and make their lives better... And, assuming he had arrived a month after they had left him, as planner, he would have had several months to do so! With what? Around ten waterbenders? Seen how fast they had restored the North Pole after the battle, she would assume ten benders could have a lot more than build two igloos and a low wall.

"Tui and La… That is not good." She heard her father sigh, and glancing over her shoulder towards him, she saw that he too was looking over the edge of the saddle, but slightly eastwards. Following his gaze, she saw that a figure in orange and saffron, whom she assumed to be Aang, was standing in front of the wall, with three blue-clad people next to him.

Tapping Appa's fur on his right side, Katara heard the soft bellow from the bison as he steered himself to the right, towards where Aang was being approached by one of the three people, and it looked rather unfriendly. Squinting her eyes, the waterbender guessed the person standing next to Aang was older than most people, judging by the slightly stooped back.

"Mother!" Her father groaned, "I knew she would be trouble."

Glancing towards her dad, Katara sighed. Of course, Gran Gran would have had the letter, and, of course, Pakku would have written the bare minimum. Quickly scrambling to Appa's head, Katara grabbed the reins and tugged towards the ground. She hadn't saved Aang life so that her grandmother could skewer him.

Katara felt the bison's paws land hard on the ice that covered the snow, and poor Appa sunk into the snow, groaning loudly as the cold enveloped his six legs. Quickly grazing her hand over the bison's ear, she let herself glide of his head to land next to him. Looking around, she saw Aang standing with his back towards them, facing the three people. Katara had to shiver seeing him looking so unnatural, only clad in simple airbender tunic, a shoulder bared. She knew he could keep himself warm, but still, to see him stand there with only that, it made her brain hurt. But before she could stop herself from worrying about that, she saw a hand appear on the airbender's arm, and push him sideways with surprising force, as she knew Aang wasn't the easiest to move.

"Kat!" She heard her grandmother speak loudly, a voice clearly filled with relief. Seeing the old woman stand next to Aang, Katara met the icy blue eyes of her grandmother, eyes that were filled with tears as the woman moved towards her. The waterbender felt her own heart fill with joy. Gran Gran had not changed at all during the year they had been apart, her face withered and lined. Before she could even move towards her grandmother, Gran Gran surprised her by the speed with which she bridged the distance between them. As soon as Katara felt the short arms of her grandmother close around her, she knew that this had been a good idea.

Sure, they were missing everything of importance, and hiding half a world away wasn't ideal… But feeling her grandmother burying her head against her was worth all of that. The old woman's arms closed with surprising strength around her, and Katara lifted her own arms, circling them carefully around her grandmother's shoulders.

Standing a few seconds like that, the waterbender felt all the stress and worry slowly leaving her body. Spirits… her grandmother's hugs still had the same effect as they had when she had been little… Katara let her chin rest on her grandmother's head, taking the hug in as much as she could.

Suddenly, she heard a throat scraping next to them. Opening her eyes, that she hadn't even realized she had closed, the waterbender saw her father stand next to them, looking rather sheepish.

"Hello Mother." Her dad spoke too quickly, stumbling over the two words, sounding so much like Sokka it was uncanny. Katara felt the old woman's head move so that she looked towards him, ad she could feel her grandmother sigh in pure relief.

"Koda. You are a little late, don't you think?" Gran Gran spoke softly, but Katara knew her better than that. Like her father and brother, her grandmother used humour to hide her true emotions, but unlike the men in their family, it was not easy to detect the subtle jokes in her remarks. Katara saw her father's face redden, and to be honest, she couldn't hide a smile seeing her father being reduced to a bashful child in front of his mother.

"Ehm… we were needed, and you know, travelling isn't that easy, and with the Fire Nation blockading nearly all the Earth Kingdom's coasts…"

"Koda." Katara felt her grandmother untangle herself from their embrace, and walk to her son, "You are so easy to tease." And with that, she saw her father hug Gran Gran with a fierce strength. It was easy to forget that her father had missed them too, and, of course, he would have feared for his mother… And it was weird. Weird to see two people that had not seen each other in six years fall into something that was so intimate and loving that Katara didn't really know where to look.

"Is it too early to flee, she nearly stabbed me." She heard the airbender's voice next to her, something that startled her. Normally, in the south, the first indication of someone coming towards you was the crunching of snow beneath their feet. Glancing to Aang, she saw him smile at her that half-looped grin she loved so much. Looking down, she also saw that his feet hadn't left any prints in the snow.

"You are hovering my…" she began, before checking herself. She had nearly called him my love, as she always did… But that would need some explaining she guessed. Seeing the alarmed look in the silver eyes, Katara assumed he thought the same thing, so she didn't say anything else, but she did hear snow cracking underneath his feet as he stopped airbending.

Katara watched as her father released his mother, and turn his back towards them, probably to clear his eyes from tears, and she saw him lifting his hands to his face, confirming her thoughts. But her grandmother didn't hide the tears that had streaked two lines on her face as she turned towards her and the airbender.

"I guess I missed some important things. I'm going to kill Pakku, that old fool." Her grandmother rolled her tear-filled eyes.

"Lady Kanna…" One of the two people Katara hadn't even looked at now spoke up, clearly annoyed at the insult to the old waterbending master.

"What, I have every right to call him that. And you are a fool too, Maruk. Your grandfather was an idiot, and you are clearly his grandson." Gran Gran bit back, and Katara didn't miss the fact that her voice didn't sound like she was joking. Most of the time, when Gran Gra said such things, it was in a loving way, clearly not meaning any insult. But now, it sounded rather like that. An insult. Looking at the northern tribesman, named Maruk, Katara saw him inhale deeply, before plastering such a fake looking smile on his face that she was surprised he managed to pull it off.

"Avatar Aang, Lady Kanna seems to have forgotten her manners. Let me introduce ourselves. I am Maruk, Master Pakku's deputy, and this," the man gestured to him companion, "is my brother Loatuq."

Katara crossed her arms, smelling the usual sexist ideas of the north creep up. The guy, Maruk, had not deigned to introduce himself to her, although it was clear she was someone from this small village. Looking at the man, the waterbender guessed he was around twenty-five to thirty, with the typical features from the north. She knew she was going to hate him. Or at least, dislike him…

"Good to meet you." Aang bowed, but Katara heard the slightly formal way he spoke, like he always did when he was being nice out of decency, "Have you met Master Katara?" The airbender took a step sideways, gesturing a hand towards her.

"Master Katara." Maruk smiled slyly, bowing in such a way that the waterbender knew it was meant as an insult, and not as a mark of respect. She just nodded, feeling that her dislike was being justified by the manners of the man. Turning back to her grandmother, Katara immediately knew that the old woman knew… something.

Sure, she and Aang had been standing side by side, but that was not weird… But the look her grandmother was giving her was quite... Well, knowing. Like she was seeing right through them, and was inspecting whatever she was thinking could be true.

"Let's get inside," Gran Gran glanced at Aang, "before some of us freeze to death." With that, the two northern waterbenders turned to the solid ice wall, and with one move of Loatuq hands, the wall melted and a gate was created.

"Is there some place I can make a shelter for Appa?" Aang asked, and Katara saw he had directed the question to her grandmother, but Maruk answered before Gran Gran could even open her mouth.

"For the beast? Sure, there is nothing else than space here." The northerner gestured a hand towards the vast tundra on which they stood, and Katara bit the inside of her cheek to avoid saying something… unkind. But she was getting some serious bad impressions. Why was the guy acting like her grandmother couldn't decide what to do in her own home? And why was he acting like the boss of everyone, them included?

"There is also some space next to my home, airbender." Her grandmother interjected. Katara looked at her while they entered the village and saw that Gran Gran was keeping a firm grip on her dad's hand. It may have seemed like a subdued welcome, but that was Gran Gran… Acting like everything was alright, but being ecstatic inside… Much like Sokka to be honest.

"Keep watch Maruk. You never know, maybe the next flying animal is an enemy." Her grandmother called to the man, who seemed angry but obeyed, staying outside the wall as his brother froze it shut behind them.

Looking around, Katara didn't know what to feel. It felt… like home, but at the same time… It felt as if home had shrunk, and she was seeing all the problems her home had. She saw the tents, how horribly inadequate they were. She realized how much better it could be… And felt horrible. Her people had done the best they could, but at the same time… Katara knew that with a flick of a finger, she could change all this…

"Alright?" Aang whispered next to her as Gran Gran and her father walked past them, and Katara could have sworn she saw her grandmother smile without looking directly at them.

"Yeah… Just a lot to take in, being home." She answered, before turning to her grandmother, "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, they went hunting yesterday. You know, with the Eternal Moon Season coming and all." Her Gran Gran shrugged, but her father seemed surprised.

"Hunting?

"Yes Koda. You know, when all the abled bodied men were gone, we still had to eat." It sounded like a reproach, but Katara had heard the argument enough times to know it was just being practical, "Nanüu got quite good at trapping tiger seals, and you should see little Jintua catch otter penguins."

"Jintua is a ch…" Her father began, before stopping mid-sentence. He had probably realized that most of the people he considered to be children were grown up now… or at least, in their late teens.

"It seems children do grow up Koda. Yours included." The knowing smile was once more on Gran Gran's face, and Katara felt her cheeks heat up slightly. The woman knew… or probably suspected something. That was it. How could she know! The only person who could have some information about her and Aang was Pakku… And they had parted ways before she and Aang had even considered being together! No, Gran Gran probably thought so, because all grandmothers suspect that their grandchildren like or love someone!

"I know… I was reminded of that during the spring." Her father grumbled, "Katara kicked that knowledge into me."

"Ah… seems that at least one of my offspring has brains." Katara felt her grandmother pad her arm with a mitten clad hand, "Did you kick him hard, dear? Pakku told me you got very skilled at waterbending. You could have frozen your father in an ice block. That would have given him some time to think."

"Pakku said that?" Katara straightened her shoulders, feeling the slight pride at that knowledge. Pakku had said it to her once or twice, but apparently, it wasn't just a compliment. He really thought so.

"He told me all about your time at the North Pole. Sorry about not telling you about him, and the way they behave up there. I thought it more prudent to let you beat some sense into the old tiger seal. Did you really fight him to get him to teach you?" This time, even Gran Gran sounded impressed, and Katara felt herself blush slightly. Sure, her grandmother had always been proud of her and Sokka… But to hear admiration in her voice, that was nice, and a little awkward.

"I may have done so." She spoke, trying to sound modest.

"I believe his own words during one of his lessons were The only of you idiots who gave me some difficulty was the girl." Aang suddenly interjected, and Katara heard her grandmother snort.

"That sounds like a compliment, coming from Pakku. He also told me some… interesting things about you, airbender." And for some reason, Katara suspected that those things had not been about Aang's waterbending…

Falling back a few steps behind her grandmother and father, she glanced towards Aang, who had clearly had the same idea as he too had slowed his walk. Raising an eyebrow to the airbender, she mouthed a short question.

She knows?

Aang looked at her, with a bashful expression. Clearly, he was not comfortable.

Don't know. His lips moved in response, and Katara knew one thing for certain. This was going to be so, so, awkward. They had not talked about what to say to her grandmother, about the whole being married part… Or even about the being together part. She had wanted to speak about that with the airbender, but during their journey, her father had always been there…

And now, at the south pole… privacy was something that didn't exist here. The igloo was her grandmother's, so they couldn't talk there alone… and the tents were exactly sound proof. Their only option was, hope for the best…

"Come on, inside." Her grandmother spoke, and, looking up towards the others, she saw that they had arrived at Gran Gran's home… And that the elderly woman was looking at them with an amused expression.

Spirits…

Quickly ducking into the short icy corridor, Katara didn't look at her grandmother. As she emerged into the circular room, memories flooded back. It looked exactly the same as it had done a year ago. The same wooden bed stood in the back of the room, with a hearth in the middle, spilling smoke upwards towards the hole in the icy above their heads. Several chests stood against the circular wall, all draped with fabrics with intricate tribal patterns. Katara recognized one she had helped Gran Gran with several years ago, and one that her own mother had made for her mother-in-law. Smiling at the feeling that grew into her heart, she heard shuffling behind her and saw that her father had also entered.

"Like I never left…" He sighed, and she heard the emotion in his voice, "Even the smell." Her father smiled, looking at the fire in the hearth over which hung her grandmother's cauldron.

"I don't think redecoSokkarating was on her mind, with and me around." Katara answered, but realized that it might have sounded bitter, "I mean, we always made her do things. She didn't have the time."

Even with that explanation, it still sounded like She had other things to do, like raising your children. If her father had been offended, he didn't show it, only nodded. Katara stepped aside as her grandmother emerged from outside, followed by Aang. She saw the airbender look around the igloo, and before he could hide it, she also saw the shock. He knew that Gran Gran's igloo was one of the biggest spaces there were in the village, and he probably just realized how bad the situation of the Southern Water Tribe actually was.

"Please, sit!" Gran Gran gestured towards the several wooden stools around the fire. Each was covered by an animal pelt, but Katara quickly grabbed the pelt from the stool next to the one she had always used when spending time in this igloo. Folding it and putting it on the chest behind her, Katara nodded her head towards the stool for Aang, and she saw the grateful expression in the silver eyes.

"Why didn't the northerners do more?" She asked her grandmother, who was taking the cauldron from the fire. Her father quickly moved in to take the heavy ware from his mother, and handed her a small kettle.

"You mean, why didn't they do anything better?" Her grandmother smiled, clearly aware of her feelings. Katara nodded.

"They seemed… Rather disappointed when they arrived. Pakku was immediately full of ideas and plans, but I had to remind him he was at my home, not his. They wanted to do things, but I stopped it. And Pakku listened." She explained.

"But… why?" Katara asked. Why not take the help?

"Because this village has a right to decide its own future. I insisted that we had to wait for the men and my grandchildren, so, they didn't change much. They build two extra igloos but insist that they are for themselves." Gran Gran poured some water in the kettle, followed by some leaves of the tea that she made from seaweed that they used to collect for her in the bay next to the village.

"But… weren't they sent to make your life easier?" Her father asked, sounding confused as he too sat down, next to Aang.

"Koda, I don't need an easier life. I survived so long, a few extra years in this village won't hurt me. And the women agreed with me, they wanted to wait… So that they would know how large the home will need to be." At those words, Katara looked at her father, who looked a little ashamed.

"There have been some deaths…" He admitted, "Iqaluk for one… And Kranook…"

"The dead can wait Koda." Gran Gran spoke, but Katara also heard the sadness in her voice, "You will need to speak to their families… But that will wait until tomorrow. Now, I want to know some things about the living. What happened?" That question was clearly addressed to her.

"That is rather a long story Gran Gran." Katara smiled.

"That is what your airbending… friend… said too. Koda, maybe you should take the young airbender and help him with that animal of his?" Her grandmother spoke sweetly, but Katara didn't miss the slight irony her grandmother put into the word "friend". Yeah… She knew more than she was letting on, right?

"But.."

A look from the elderly woman made her father stop talking, stand up and gesture Aang to follow him outside. The airbender turned to her, with a worried look. He and her father had been rather awkward around each other, and that was understandable, Katara admitted. Still, it was clear that the two men were being thrown out for some reason.

Nodding to the airbender, she watched as the two exited the igloo. Her grandmother hummed softly as she hung the kettle above the fire, and then sat down on the stool Aang had vacated.

"So, tell me. From the beginning." Gran Gran smiled at her, and Katara couldn't help but feel all the worry and stress slide slowly from her shoulders.

"You wouldn't believe half of it." She laughed softly.

"Oh, I travelled around too, don't forget. Did you see Omashu?" Her grandmother surprised her.

"Yes! Did you visit it?"

"I believe that is where Pakku lost track of me. He visited some places a few years after I left, trying to retrace my steps. But yes, I saw that city! It was… horrible. All that stone, and those streets." Her grandmother shuddered excessively.

"Don't let Aang hear that, he loves that place. Or rather, he loves Bumi, and the delivery system." Katara laughed but stopped when she saw the pointed look from her grandmother. That look from the ice blue eyes hung between amusement and kindness.

"Oh… Does he love anything else?" Her grandmother asked innocently, but Katara ignored the hidden meaning. By now, the waterbender was convinced that the old woman knew something.

"Lots of things. The sky, nature, any animal he comes across, his friends…" She began to list off, ignoring what her grandmother had meant.

"A certain waterbender?" Gran Gran asked, and Katara could feel her face heat up drastically. Leave it to her grandmother to be blunt and direct.

"I don't know what you mean." She tried, but the elderly woman just let out a short laugh.

"Sure, and I'm a tiger seal cub. I had some inkling about his feelings when he said your name before you landed, but when I saw how the boy looks at you, I knew. Don't tell me you didn't notice?" The amused expression in those icy eyes was too much, and Katara turned her focus to the kettle above the fire.

"Oh, you did notice."

Damn her grandmother and her uncanny ability to sniff out secrets.

"I may have noticed." She admitted.

"Ah… Noticed?"

"So, Omashu!" Katara interrupted her grandmother, "lovely city! Then we went up the Western Coast of the Earth Kingdom!" She quickly began to talk about the travels of last autumn and winter. But all the while she talked, Katara saw the slightly amused expression of her grandmother and knew that before evening, she would have a rather awkward talk about actually being married.

That was going to be fun.

Answers:

Shade5280 : Don't worry, I've been a little absent too! Thaks for the compliment!

Handler: Oh, you think I'm giving them a break? Hehehe

McChartney : I have pity with Pakku lol! THe guy is going to sleep o the floor for some weeks I gather! Great to see your review!

Jjsmith103: I hated having to put the writing on hold, but there was so much happening that I couldn't make time for it. About hiding away, I'm planning another POV after next chapter that will have some influence on that! You'll see!