(A/N)- Soooooo, I lied, this chapter is gonna be another little in-between thing and then there's another Interlude chapter and then is gonna be the long juicy "The Waterbending Master" one. I went back and checked my overall story plan aaaaaaand it turns out I had accidentally combined two separate Northern Air Temple chapters into one chapter, throwing off the rest of my chapter count. Oops.

Please accept this humble offering nonetheless.

Disclaimer: Mgkfhkfh the Netflix live action actually sort of looks good? Begrudgingly I am impressed.

Into The City

A white wall of ice loomed before them, emblazoned with the symbol of the Northern Water Tribe, the swirling wave-shapes cutting gracefully into the frozen surface.

The three of them marveled, struck dumb with awe as they watched a section of the wall partition itself at the motion of the waterbenders on the skiffs to either side of them, sliding down into the water to reveal a long tunnel through.

Their escort gestured towards the tunnel, inviting them to enter.

Angka gently nudged Appa with the reins. The bison was only too happy to float lazily through the tunnel, the icy sides smooth and polished.

They emerged into what looked like a loch, as for a canal, which was quickly filled up with water by benders standing on the parapets above. Angka gasped at the display, thrilled.

Glancing back she saw that Katar was gaping just as excitedly at the other benders, and she couldn't help but be happy for him. These must have been the first other waterbenders he'd met. It must have been so wonderful to know he wasn't alone.

There was a small pang in her heart at that—that he could have this happiness and she could not—but she pushed it down, determined to be grateful and glad for him.

She owed him that, after all he'd done for her.

And the way his face was lit up, a light behind his eyes that was so full of joy and wonder, made her quickly forget any sorrows she might have dwelled on.

He was craning his neck in all directions, gawping, trying to take everything in at once.

She couldn't blame him. The elaborate blue-white walls of the city, the canals and bridges and fountains, the towering buildings, it was all so breathtaking. She felt like she could live there a thousand years and never get tired of experiencing it, exploring it.

"It's beautiful..." she heard Katar breathe.

Grinning, she looked over her shoulder to check on her Water Tribe companions. As expected, Katar's eyes were fixated with the benders gently steering them forward, watching their technique as they slowly guided Appa along the channels.

Sokki, meanwhile, was looking in the complete opposite direction, watching a small boat pass them by in another channel. There was a boy seated up at the prow. Rather pretty, if Angka had to give her opinion, white-haired and dressed in elaborate furs.

"Yeah..." the Water Tribe girl was saying absently, eyes following the boy as the boat he was on drifted further. "He is."

Angka giggled privately to herself, making a mental note to tease Sokki about her obvious crush later.

Two minutes here and already swooning over cute boys, she thought, amused.

Her heart clenched and nearly outed her for a hypocrite a moment later, as Katar saw fit to slide down out of the saddle and join her on Appa's head. Angka ducked her gaze, one hand rubbing up nervously by her ear, blushing at Katar's proximity.

"I can't believe how many waterbenders live up here!" he was telling her excitedly.

"Yeah," she agreed. "We'll find a master to teach us no problem."

She meant it as an encouraging statement, as a happy congratulatory kind of sentiment, but couldn't miss how Katar's face fell a little bit, his smile turning sad, dipping his chin as he sat next to her.

"I guess..." he started. "I guess you won't need me to teach you anymore," he finished, voice lined with regret.

Angka's heart wrenched, something in her breaking at how crestfallen he sounded. "No!" she blurted.

He looked up at her.

She scrambled for words. "I—I mean—" she stammered. "You can still teach me things! I'm sure there's lots of stuff I won't get right away and I'll need a waterbender who knows me to explain it to me in a way I'll understand." She was babbling, her tongue running far away from her. She grabbed onto Katar's wrist to let him know how serious she was. "Just because we'll both be learning from an actual master doesn't mean I don't want you to teach me!" she said, almost shouting the words, her voice louder than she'd meant it to be, more desperate.

Katar blinked, taken aback. "I... I just thought... since I'll be learning too that... that you'd want me to focus on that."

"I do!" She shook her head, vigorously, latching on to both of his hands and turning towards him on her knees. "I want you to become the amazing waterbender I know you are!" she told him. "I just... I don't want you to stop teaching me."

The fervent eye contact was proving too much for her. She blushed and turned her face aside, hands still gripping his.

"I like how you teach me," she confessed, softly. "I like learning from you."

Her heart pounded in her chest for several seconds, loud and painful-feeling. She waited with tense anticipation for Katar's reaction, fearing she'd said too much, given too much of her true feelings away.

From the corner of her eye, she caught him smiling, warm and affectionate.

"All right," he agreed, and her eyes darted back to him, seeing his breathtaking face and falling a little more in love with him all over again. "We'll both learn together. And I promise, anything you don't understand and need more help with, I'll help you, okay? And you do the same for me."

Her heart swelled. She felt like she was flying on her glider, a thousand yards above the earth.

"Okay..." she breathed, happy to agree, to be able to keep him next to her just a little longer, have an excuse to watch him move, watch him coach her so patiently through the forms and motions of waterbending that she was starting to feel like second nature thanks to him.

Reassured that he wasn't going to abandon her to study at the side of whoever their new waterbending teacher would be, that he would continue to help and instruct her even if they were both learning from someone far more competent, she released his hands, taking up the reins again with a flush, and turned her eyes hopefully forward, eager to begin her training in earnest.

(A/N)- Angka has Separation Anxiety about the possibility of Katar not being her primary waterbending teacher anymore and Sokki is busy getting distracted by her crush, these girls are hopeless.

Short and sweet, next up is an interlude, like I said. Hoping to maybe get that done before the end of the year but *laughs in sporadic posting schedule* we all know how I am about writing plans when it comes to this fic.