A/N: I realize this chapter is waaay overdue. Apologies to all my readers. As you may have known, the past 3 years have been full of ups and downs. Around the time I posted the last chapter was one of my worst downs, not because of Covid but because I lost my two beloved furry companions. Covid has been hard for sure but their loss absolutely destroyed me. I still can't sleep peacefully at night sometimes. But anywho I am (somewhat) back and hope you enjoy. I know I didn't deliver on the art but I might start getting back to it soon

Sacora jolted as a pair of gloved hands grabbed her by her frozen shoulders.

"Sacora!" the young man repeated, shaking her slightly. He turned her this way and that, grasped the short braid at the back of her head in disbelief, then turned her back to face him. "I can't believe it! It's you, it's really you!"

She stared at him in an astonished daze – at the little beads adorning the braids in his hair, the gentle downward slop of his nose, and most importantly, the startling blue of his deep-set eyes.

"R-remember?" he choked through tears and laughter, tapping at his chest. "Do you remember me?"

Sacora felt her breath catch in her throat. Her eyes darted over his features again and again, which either blurred or sharpened depending on how harshly the frigid air stung her eyes. Yet, even without full eyesight, she had a feeling deep down that she'd known who he was from the moment he first called her name. "K-K...Koda?" Her lower lip trembled, and not just from the cold this time. "Koda!"

Koda's arms encapsulated her in a bear hug the moment his name left her lips. She clung tightly to him in return, burying her face in the soft furs of his coat to stem the tears streaming down her cheeks. His laughter boomed in her ears as he swung her about with joy, so infectious she let out her own shrieking peal of laughter. She almost couldn't bear to part with his warmth when he set her down, but even so, the arctic air felt like nothing so long as he was there.

Koda held a firm grip on her shoulders as he faced the audience. "Today," he bellowed, "is truly an auspicious occasion! For not only is the Avatar among us, but the spirits have returned a lost child to the Tribe!"

Thunderous cheers resounded from the crowd, filling Sacora with a delirious excitement. Rhythmic drumbeats filled in the air as if on cue, echoing in time with the lively pumping of her heart. With rosy cheeks, she could almost believe they beat for her and Koda alone.

While the crowd was thus distracted, several young men joined them on the stage at the behest of an older man with snowy hair. He ordered them to fetch coats for the children before turning to Koda. "I'll have Inuksuk continue here; you go and take the night off."

Koda's face beamed with joy. "Thank you, Master Pakku!" Without a moment to lose, he grabbed his sister's hand and raced for the stairs.

Kiba meanwhile stared after them in a frozen daze. He was stirred to his feet by one of the benders a moment later and started following them out of necessity, clinging to Akamaru for precious warmth.

"Wait, boy!" Pakku called after him. "Is this yours?"

Kiba turned around to find that strange, yellowed scroll of Sacora's being offered to him. He hastily nodded and snatched it up into his jacket before it could delay him further.

Once properly dressed, they were both ushered to an icy table by the stage, laden with food and occupied by boisterous youths around Koda's age. Kiba eyed them all warily as he pressed himself closer to Sacora. She, on the other hand, seemed more than excited to be sitting next to that strange Koda guy.

Sacora looked at the faces around the table in awe and suddenly stood up. "They're bending students! I shouldn't be here..."

"Nonsense," Koda scoffed. "Tonight is an exception." He pulled her back down, then reached over to the middle of the table and passed them both bowls of a thick, chunky stew. "Come, eat up! It's fresh from the hunt. Oh, and how could I forget–"

Sacora's eyes lit up when he passed along a smaller bowl of a very pungent, funky smelling food. "Pickled fish! My favorite!"

Kiba recoiled from the smell and watched in horror as she scarfed the fish down with vigor.

"Goodness, you're so skinny," Koda murmured. "And you used to be so chubby! There's plenty more. Here, have some–"

Kiba inched himself a little farther from Sacora to avoid the smell, though to no avail. It wasn't just the fish – everything on the table was tinged with the essence of the supermarket's seafood section, mixed with an unbearably gamey scent. How could she possibly eat the stuff, much less like it? Maybe it's not that bad? he wondered, and cautiously raised his bowl to his mouth for a taste, only to gag and spit the stew out on the ice a moment later.

"Someone doesn't like puffin seal," one of the youths remarked, which set the table laughing, much to Kiba's chagrin. Akamaru leaning out and heartily lapping up the stew didn't help, either.

"Whoa! What a funny looking creature," another youth remarked, leaning over his companions to get a closer look at Akamaru. "It looks like a little snow rat. Hey, you," he called out to Kiba. "What is it?"

Kiba wrinkled his nose. "A dog."

There was a short silence, as if he had expected Kiba to say more. "A dog, what?" he finally asked.

The heck? What kind of a question is that? For the pause after the word "dog" seemed to imply there should have been more to the name. "He's...just a dog!" Kiba rebutted. "What, have you never seen a dog before?"

Sacora glanced in concern at Kiba and gave Koda an apologetic smile. "Please excuse him. He isn't used to it," she explained. "He's not...from here."

"I can see that," Koda remarked, eyeing the Inuzuka strangely. "His markings aren't Northern or Southern Tribe."

"Well, um–" she stuttered.

"Perhaps he is from the spirit world?" one of the benders posed. "Where else did your sister just come from?"

"Yes, his eyes have a wild look to them," another one added. "I don't think he's human..."

But before Kiba could even think of a protest, Sacora slapped a hand over his arm. "Kiba's a...a...a friend from school!" she hurriedly blurted. "The marks are because he's...in a kuai ball team, the, um...the Fire Fangs! Right?" She gave him a pointed look when he said nothing, to which he answered with a confused shrug.

"Kuai ball?" someone asked. "What's that?"

"Is it like stickball?"

"No, you have to use your hands and feet," Sacora explained. "There's a net in the middle, and both teams have to keep passing the ball in the air to–"

"'Fire Fangs'?" Koda exclaimed. "School? How could you have been in a school?"

She jolted, as though realizing she had said the wrong thing. Kiba looked from her to Koda, a prickle of discomfort creeping in at the sight of their tense faces. He felt Sacora's hand slide away as she set her bowl on the table, eyes lowering.

"I don't understand," Koda continued. "I thought the spirits returned you to us! I thought you were...you were..."

One of his comrades gave him a reassuring nudge. "Hey. It's okay now. She's here."

"But why?" Koda asked her, ignoring his fellow classmate. "Why does it sound like you've been...no, I should have seen it – the clothes! – they were too thin and short! Sacora, you've...you've been in the Fire Nation?"

And from the way he worded it, Kiba could've sworn that that was a fate worse than death.

"Yes," came the answer at last, delivered after a short period of difficult silence.

"The whole time!?"

Sacora's head whipped back up in alarm at the crackling in Koda's voice. "But nothing bad happened to me! It's just...That day," she faltered, "when the Fire Nation came...when Mama..."

Koda grimaced. "They took you with them, didn't they?"

She nodded. "I met my father. He...took me back to live with his family."

"As a slave?" Koda asked, tightening a fist.

She frowned. "No, as his daughter."

The table erupted in shocked murmurs that confused Kiba more and more. Some bending students beside him whispered not-so-subtly about how strange that was; how...backwards.

"I'd sooner trust a rabid polar bear-dog," one of them was scoffing. "After what they did to the others..."

Kiba cocked his head. "'Others'?"

The bender looked down at him in disgust. "Your great nation left more than one bastard in our tribe," he said sarcastically, nodding at Sacora. "And when they came back four years ago, we all discovered what they do to cover up their shame. Guess they don't teach you about that in your school."

Sacora turned to her brother in apprehension. "Koda...what's he talking about?"

Koda shot his fellow student a disapproving glance before heaving an unhappy sigh. "We lost many people in the attack, but what happened to your friends was...You will hear of it now that you're back, so I suppose there's no use hiding it." He slid a comforting arm around her shoulder. "Now that you're home again, all that matters is...you're safe."

She looked up at his face questioningly. "So...Kirima, Taruq, Uki..."

"Hunted for sport by the very fathers who sired them. Save for Taruq – spirits only know how he survived his wounds."

As the table grew quiet, Kiba suddenly found it easier to swirl his disgusting stew around than to watch Sacora's face fall again.

Koda reached over to stroke her head, eyes softening. "For the longest time, I thought you were amongst them. I'm glad I was wrong." His gloved hand traveled along her hairline to tuck a loose black strand behind her ear.

Sacora stared at her bowl for a moment in thought. "Where's Taruq?" she finally asked. "Is he here now?"

Koda shook his head in amusement. "Taruq this, Taruq that," he muttered. "Some things just don't change...I still haven't forgotten, you know."

She pushed his arm in protest. "Koda!" she whined. "I was only four!"

"Why, what'd they do?" one of the benders asked. Kiba couldn't help but glance over in curiosity.

"They promised to carve engagement necklaces for each other!" Koda blurted. "That's right, both of them! The look on Mama's face when Sacora told her–"

Kiba almost toppled over his bowl in shock. "Engagement what!?"

"I know!" Koda concurred, thumping an emphatic hand on the icy table. "Whoever heard of two necklaces being exchanged? But she wouldn't stop crying when I told her girls don't do the carving. Mama was mad at me for a week!"

"You wouldn't stop teasing me about it, that's why," Sacora huffed while the benders around them laughed.

"Joke's on you," another bender elbowed Koda, "now you're the one carving a necklace. Don't look like that, I know that's how you cut your hand last moon! It's for Nanouk, I bet!"

Sacora perked up. "Huh? Who's Nanouk...?"

"A student of Yagoda," the same bender supplied. "And your future sister-in-law, if I'm not mistaken."

"Wha – really!?" Sacora practically shrieked.

Koda gave the bender a sharp rap to the head. "Will I get to tell my own sister anything myself? The lot of you, I swear..."

The table quickly shifted to a more playful mood as the other bending students started piling on the teases, and eventually, toasts of congratulations. Kiba wrinkled his nose at them and pushed away the putrid stew for good, not even caring that Akamaru had slipped out of his coat to finish it for him. Beside him, Sacora was beaming from ear to ear.

"I can't believe it," she breathed. "My brother is getting betrothed!"

"Congrats," Kiba drawled half-heartedly. He strongly considered bringing up the fact that this Nanouk hadn't said yes yet.

"I can't wait, the wedding will be so much fun!" She turned to him with excitement. "Oh, I bet you've never been to a Water Tribe wedding!"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "You think?"

But she seemed to have not heard him and cupped her face in her hands, as if unable to contain her excitement. "I never thought I'd see it happen! I was gone for four years Kiba, four years! This is the happiest day of my life!"

Um, hello!? What about me? He was about to remind her of that as well as her dead friends, but paused at the sight of her widening grin. He had never seen her like that before. He turned away instead, slumping himself against the table in wait for this torturous feast to end.

Heady steam filled his senses as he held the teacup to his lips, snaking about his jaw in a cloud of sultry, billowing heat.

But the brew had barely reached his tongue when a clang of armor behind him made him turn his head. "Admiral Zhao," the soldier bowed respectfully. "The mercenaries have arrived from the northern post and the last of the fleet has been amassed; they only await the order to sail. I have also brought for you correspondence from the mainland."

Timely and efficient; just as he liked it. "Mm." He indicated the table beside him, and the parchments were placed neatly on its surface a moment later. "We set sail in two days at first light."

"Yes, sir."

The footsteps receded, leaving him alone again with his esteemed guests.

"Very good," said the elderly General Kai, stroking his grey beard. "The Tribes have stood in our path for too long. Once we crush them, we will be but one step closer to victory!"

"A pity that General Iroh was not wise enough to be part of this opportunity," sighed the mousy General On.

Zhao brought the cup back to his mouth for a sip. "Oh, I have a feeling the Dragon of the West will come around soon," he assured them, smiling.

General Kai scoffed. "He had better hurry, then; his talents are being wasted on that wild tortoise-goose chase of his nephew's." He took a long drink of his tea. "Prince Zuko's not a child anymore," he groused. "If he can't commandeer his own ship at this age, how can he possibly capture the Avatar?"

Zhao shrugged. "Mm...but sometimes, I find myself pitying the boy," he remarked, studying the flame-like steam rising from his cup. "Banished out at sea for three years...he might as well do something to stave off the boredom."

"Not everyone has what it takes to become great," General On chimed in.

"But as a member of the royal family, that duty is tenfold," grunted General Kai. "Look at Zhao here – born from a lesser noble family, yet he's throwing his all to the cause. Not even his daughter's disappearance is stopping him, and that was a child he took pains to rescue and raise even though she's his wife's blood. But this royal brat? Pei!" he spat.

General On set his tea down somberly. "That is indeed a trial of resilience," he sympathized. "Four months now, is it? Hopefully, you will hear of something soon."

Zhao bowed his head humbly in their direction. "I am touched by your support. Fan's loss has, indeed, been difficult...but my Nation needs me just as much, if not more. Now, if you'll excuse me, gentlemen–" He began rising from his seat. "I've other business to attend to."

His attention now on the letters, he moved to his desk in the wake of the parting formalities, savoring his tea as he perused the rolled papers. Run-of-the-mill naval reports, forwarded dispatches from the satellite islands, a letter from Yan on the affairs of the household, and – what's this? A missive of high-quality vellum...

You have proved time and again that your quick ascension in ranks was no mistake. I believe, in your capable hands, the Avatar will be finally captured and dealt with. He noted, with pleasure, the insignia of the royal palace stamped on the page. Such loyalty does not go unrewarded...

He smiled. Now that he was someone, even the Fire Lord was compelled to write him letters of praise. Men became quick to flatter him, currying favor when they could with his family, throwing their condolences at his feet in hopes of striking a chord with him...

"Ah, Fan," he sighed. There was still no sign of her or the evildoers who had supposedly whisked her away, despite the best efforts of the city guards. It did initially raise questions of a potential rival who wished him ill – perhaps even someone who had discovered his deception regarding her. But nothing further seemed to happen, and his remaining children were now safeguarded by the city's best. No matter what Fan's fate, she would carry the honor of having had powerful blood course through her veins, blood that dominated even the filth of lowly Water Tribe stock. She had served as an example that it could be conquered to obsolescence.

He set the rest of the letters aside once he finished reading and pulled out from underneath the desk a strongbox of gold. There was an appointment with pirates to uphold and a banished prince to deal with; once that was finished, he would see to it personally that the example became reality.

Sacora lifted the door flap and breathed in a lungful of the crisp arctic air. "Wake up, Kiba!" she called back to him. "It's so nice outside!"

Kiba groaned, but rose from his bedroll all the same. "I need to pee...where's the bathroom?"

"Over there," and to his horror she was pointing at what was basically a small shed erected over a hole in the ice.

"Are you serious!?" he exclaimed. "How am I supposed to use that?"

"There isn't any plumbing in the Water Tribe," she explained. "You're just going to have to get used to the latrines. Now hurry up, we're supposed to meet my brother soon!"

After much complaining, he finally pulled on his coat and marched across the ice to the latrine. Sacora busied herself in the meanwhile with packing away their old clothes into a bag. Just as she was reaching for Kiba's jacket, a yellowed scroll landed squarely on top of it, missing her fingers by a hair's breadth.

"Take me back," Kiba demanded, and she looked up to find him standing before her, arms crossed. "I know this thing brought us here, and it doesn't work for me. You can stay forever if you want, but I'm going home. Now."

She stared at the scroll in shock. "How did you...?"

"Maybe don't drop it next time," he retorted sarcastically.

Sacora stared at the grooves of the scroll's metallic ends, unable to believe she had already forgotten about it. With a defeated sigh, she put the scroll aside and began folding up Kiba's old jacket. "I can't."

"What do you mean, you can't? You used it before! I saw you!"

"I just can't," she repeated. "It's not going to work right away. You need to wait until the next moon."

"The hell!? I've never heard of such a jutsu!"

She unfurled the scroll in a huff and went through the same motions as before in the Hyuga clan hall. "See?" she gestured when nothing happened.

Kiba gripped his head in his hands, crashing onto his bedroll in a defeated slump. "What the hell...how am I supposed to wait a whole month? How could you do this to me!?"

She put her hands on her hips. "Oh, so it's my fault that you ran into me?"

"I thought you were in trouble! If I knew, I never would've bothered!"

"You were just too stupid to see me warning you!"

"I'm stupid? Well, how about–"

Akamaru jumped in between them with an impetuous bark, startling them. With a frustrated hmph, Kiba slipped the little dog into his coat. "I didn't even know you had a brother," he grumbled petulantly. "Or a smelly...tribe."

"I don't have to tell you everything about me," she grumbled back. "Besides, I thought you knew all that, thanks to your jutsus."

"Look, all I heard was that you're from two countries at war and your mom died," Kiba protested, throwing his hands up in the air. "Okay? So, I'm sorry I made your dad sound like a bad guy. You happy now?"

The answer was a glaring no when she shoved the bag of clothes and scroll at him and stormed out of the hut.

Akamaru whined and looked up at Kiba in distress. "Girls," Kiba huffed, reluctantly dragging himself out to follow her.

It was like walking into a dream where everything was at once perfect and magical. Gushing waterfalls and arcing bridges, towering spires of glimmering ice, slender gondolas skimming over pristine canals – even Kiba, grumpy as he was, had still been caught gawking at their surroundings when he thought Sacora wasn't looking.

The heart of it all lay at the highest tier of the glacier-encircled city. Sitting atop a pool of water that gushed elegantly into a moat below, the Chief's Palace loomed stately and proud amidst the icescape, boasting tiered stories of ice that tapered to a point crowned by the symbol of the Northern Water Tribe. Leading up to it was a grand staircase that bridged the moat, flanked by a pair of decorative pillars carved in the likenesses of the Tribe's many spirits.

They both arrived at the spacious courtyard that fronted the palace, and Sacora did not need to wait to recognize the figure standing at the base of the stairs. "Koda!" she squealed, running across the ice with abandon until she was jumping into a hug.

Koda fell back a step with a grunt as he caught her. "Oh! You're heavy," he chuckled. "Must have been the feast last night."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Was not! You're faking it."

"How did you sleep?" he asked as she slid off. "Was it comfortable?"

"Could've been better, but thanks for asking," Kiba replied sourly as he caught up to them.

"It was the best sleep of my life!" Sacora gushed.

Koda rewarded her with an affectionate tousle of her hair. "After a feast like that? Of course it would be! And tonight, you'll both be staying with Uncle Kinook and Aunt Tala – if their furs aren't any 'better', then I'm a buffalo-yak's uncle."

Sacora frowned at their names. "Why them? Why can't I stay with you?"

Koda gave her a sympathetic smile. "I don't have a home yet, Sacora. I live at the barracks right now, and that's no place for children. But I promise you..." He bent down to her level and pinched a cheek with his gloved hand. "Once Nanouk and I are married, we'll bring you to live with us."

Oh, gag! Kiba turned away, making a face.

The sound of a grumbling stomach made Koda straighten up in surprise. To Kiba's embarrassment, it had come from none other than himself. "Right, you both haven't eaten yet," Koda remembered. "Aunt Tala's cooking will definitely hit the spot–" I seriously doubt that, thought Kiba with a grimace. "–but I've got to help Master Pakku supervise a class, so I can't take you. There's someone else who can, though..."

He stepped aside in a flourish, revealing the presence of someone shorter and slighter who had been standing behind him the entire time.

"Hi, Sacora," said that person shyly.

Sacora gasped. "Taruq!" She wasted no time in giving him a hug either, which made Kiba scoff.

Taruq seemed no different at first from the other people Kiba had seen in the tribe. His dark, shaggy hair sported a braid on the left side of his head and his ruddy face was the same brownish skin tone they all shared. Upon closer inspection, however, he could see that Taruq's eyes were the same amber hue as Sacora's, and that his hair was a shade closer to inky black than the typical brown. And then, creeping up his chin were peeping tendrils of healed scar tissue; scars that Kiba suspected ran far below his hidden neck.

"You haven't changed at all!" Sacora continued gushing. "Well, you did get taller. I'm still the taller one, though!"

Taruq rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I didn't recognize you at first," he admitted. "Ah, and you are...?"

Kiba didn't realize he was being addressed until a few seconds later. "Kiba," he answered tersely.

"And that's Akamaru," Sacora added, gesturing at the inquisitive dog in Kiba's coat.

"You all have fun now," Koda said to them as the introductions finished. "Tell Aunt Tala I said hi, and that I'll stop by for stew sometime this evening."

"We will!" Sacora called back, and linked arms with Taruq as she practically rushed across the courtyard. "I can't believe it's been so long! How have you been? Is your mother well? Do the older kids still tease you?"

"Whoa, slow down!" Taruq protested, stumbling over his feet a little. "You're leaving your friend behind!"

"Tch!" Kiba reclined his arms behind his head as he followed along. "Friend's a bit of an over-statement."

"Then...classmate?" Taruq corrected himself, unsurely. "Anyway, I've been good, and my mother's fine. How about you? How was it in the Fire Nation?" His eyes shone with a sudden curiosity. "I heard you went to school there?"

"I did! It's not as bad as Koda might've made it sound." Sacora tapped her chin thoughtfully. "They teach you things like literature, music, math, history...oh, and they're really strict about firebending. If you're a firebender, they definitely put pressure on you to succeed."

Taruq turned to Kiba in amazement. "Are you a firebender, too?"

"Uh...no," Kiba scoffed. "I'm something much better." Sacora shooting him an angry look only served to spur him further. "I'm a shinobi."

"Oh? What's that?" Taruq asked.

"Nothing relevant," Sacora shot back, aiming Kiba a warning look. "He thinks he's all that just because he's on the kuai ball team."

Taruq looked in confusion from Sacora to Kiba."A-anyway, did you know the Avatar is coming here soon to take lessons with Master Pakku?" he mentioned nervously as they went down the stairs leading out of the courtyard. "He came here with two Southern Tribe members. Did you see him? He was sitting with the Chief last night."

"No, I didn't see him," Sacora grumbled. Then, she paused. "Hold on...the Avatar?" She whirled around to face Taruq. "Did you just say the Avatar!?"

"Y-yes? Didn't you hear your brother's speech?"

To be fair to her, Kiba couldn't remember much from before the feast either aside from the biting cold. "What's an Avatar?" he asked. "Is that some sort of celebrity?"

Now both Sacora and Taruq turned on him as if he were the weird one.

"Don't they teach you about the Avatar in the Fire Nation?" Taruq asked incredulously.

"No, no, of course they do!" Sacora hurriedly said with a nervous chuckle. "Kiba's just...confused! He definitely knows that the Avatar is the one person who can bend all four elements and gets reincarnated into each nation according to the element cycle. Right?" She dug an elbow into his rib, which he did not appreciate.

"Ow! What are you doing!?" he hissed at her under his breath. "It's still bruised!"

"I'm trying to help you here," she hissed back.

Taruq furrowed his brows at the two of them. "Okay...well...did they tell you the Avatar had returned?"

Sacora seemed hard pressed for an answer. "N-no," she eventually had to admit. "When did that happen?"

"The statues in the Avatar Temple lit up about four moons ago."

"Four moons..." She frowned in thought and mumbled, "That's about...right when I went to Konoha?"

Kiba rolled his eyes and started heading down the stairs on his own. "Whatever, it's all gibberish to me anyway," he muttered to himself, holding up a hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun against the ice. When his vision adjusted, he saw up ahead some colors he almost forgot existed after being surrounded by nothing but swathes of blue and white. "Oh, that him in the orange and yellow?"

Sacora broke out of her reverie and looked in his direction. It didn't take long for her to spot those colors, and when she did, she stumbled after Kiba in shock. "What the..."

The figure Kiba spotted was not at all dressed for the weather, and bald to boot. He had light blue arrows tattooed on his head and hands, and wielded a staff. Beside him was a girl little older than them in the typical Water Tribe furs, just in a slightly different style than Kiba had seen thus far. A pattern ran down the middle of it and tassels of fur hung from her shoulders in place of the single line of fur along the shoulder's arch. But, most unexpectedly of all...

"He's just a kid!?" Sacora exclaimed.

Taruq caught up to them and chuckled. "I know, right? He looks just our age!"

When the Avatar caught them staring, he returned the favor with a cheery wave. Then, a split second later, a look of recognition flashed across his face. With a flick of his staff, he jumped into the air and almost seemed to float up the steps to reach them. "Hey, guys!" he greeted as his feet settled on the steps beside Kiba.

"Aang, wait up!" His Water Tribe companion rushed up the stairs and soon joined the Avatar. She looked curiously at the three of them in turn, particularly Sacora and Kiba. "Oh...are they the ones who came from the spirit world?"

"I think so, Katara! I heard you're Sacora," Aang pointed at her. "And you're..."

"Kiba," Kiba nodded.

Sacora frowned. "Um. I'm sorry but...you're the Avatar? Like, actually the Avatar?"

Aang chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

She circled around him to get a better look from all angles. "You're an airbender," she breathed. "I'm looking at an actual airbender. But how come you're not...old?"

Kiba chortled. "Well, that's just rude!"

"No, you don't get it!" He was taken aback by the serious look on her face. "Airbenders have been extinct for a hundred years! That's how the cycle was broken!"

Kiba blinked. "Uh...okay..."

"It's a bit of a long story," Aang said. "But Katara and her brother Sokka found me in an iceberg at the South Pole. And now I'm here to master Waterbending!"

"Wow, you've traveled a long way," Sacora remarked. "You must have passed a lot of Fire Nation territory in the Earth Kingdom...if they know of you, they definitely haven't made it easy on you."

"Oh, trust me, they definitely knew," Katara sighed almost in exasperation.

Kiba frowned. "Why would a whole nation try to stop him from learning how to bend?"

"Because once he masters them all, he'll be strong enough to defeat Fire Lord Ozai before Sozin's comet arrives," Katara explained. "And the Fire Nation certainly doesn't want that happening."

Kiba had no idea of who the Fire Lord or Sozin was, but he soon recalled that this world's fire country was the war-mongering type. And then from Sacora's comments, the Water Tribe apparently wasn't the only nation they had beef with. Huh...so this guy's a kind of 'Chosen One'? And the Fire Nation is the final boss? That's so cheesy! I've read manga with better plots than that!

"Wait, don't you know what they think of him already if you're from the Fire Nation?" Taruq was quick to notice.

Oh, crap!

And yet, despite their bad blood, Sacora jumped in to cover for him once again. "I think what happened last night did something to his memory," she interjected. "So...please excuse us! We've got to get some food in him, Taruq." She grabbed both boy's sleeves and started dragging them down the steps.

"Oh, wait!" Aang reached out to her. "You came through the spirit world, right? Was there something you were supposed to tell me?"

The very mention of that made her move faster. "No, sorry!" Sacora called back over her shoulder.

"But don't you think it's odd, Aang?" Katara asked, staring after the trio apprehensively. "If there was a message from the spirit world, it would have come to you through meditation, right? Why would people be used to deliver it? I even heard some people talking about how they were actually in the Fire Nation before appearing here..."

"Really?" Aang scratched the back of his head in confusion. "I've never seen any Fire Nation people dressed like that before. Not even a hundred years ago! I guess it makes more sense than them coming back from the dead, though."

Katara scrutinized their disappearing figures before continuing back up the stairs. "Let's not keep Master Pakku waiting."

"Yeah, it's not like they'll disappear while we're here."

Hushed whispers accompanied wide-eyed stares at the two newcomers standing in the middle of their house.

"He looks like an owl-wolf," the younger brother remarked to the older one.

"Shh, if he hears you, he's gonna eat you!" the older brother hissed back. "And then his snow rat will chew up your bones!"

"Yutu, Mikko!" came the chiding remark. "Behave."

They straightened up in response and continued staring at the pair, fighting the urge to make comments by pressing their lips together.

"Oh!" their mother cooed, her stout frame ambling across the room and over to the girl. "Sacora! I'm so glad you're alive and well! Oh, you've become such a big girl–" She pressed and pinched Sacora's cheeks, and then gave a disapproving sigh. "Poor child, they have starved you in the Fire Nation!"

"It's great to see you too, Aunt Tala," Sacora said, smiling awkwardly.

"Damn, just how chubby did you used to be?" the owl-wolf asked her in amusement. Her reply was an unamused toe-stomp.

"Mikko, you remember Sacora, don't you?" Tala gestured for her eldest boy to come forward. "Come greet your cousin."

"...Hi," Mikko complied. He sort of remembered an older cousin by that name from when he was four winters old, but didn't care overly much for her at the moment. His eyes shifted back towards the owl-wolf.

"Yutu was born after you left," Tala continued, and pushed forward her youngest son. "Yutu, this is your cousin Sacora. She is Koda's sister!"

At the mention of Koda, Yutu's eyes lit up in excitement. "Koda teaches me Waterbending. I wish Koda was my big brother!"

And then the owl-wolf himself was asked for his name, but neither Mikko nor Yutu really paid any attention. Their thoughts were primarily focused on how sharp his canines were, how wild his eyes.

Their mother gathered them all around the central fire so that Sacora and the owl-wolf could partake in bowls of buffalo-yak milk. Mikko had no problem offering Sacora her bowl, but when he had to give one to the owl-wolf, his hand hesitated. The feral, animalistic eyes almost seemed to be peering into his very soul, and the red fangs on his cheeks shone on his skin like blood.

"Raah!"

Mikko yelped as the owl-wolf snapped at him, spilling the bowl of milk in the process.

"Mikko!" Tala chided. "How could you be so clumsy?"

The little snow rat leapt out of his coat a moment later, lapping up the mess happily. Sacora giggled at the sight. "At least Akamaru can help clean."

"Go on, you guys can pet him," the owl-wolf said to Mikko and Yutu when he caught them staring. "He won't bite...unlike me."

"Kiba!" Sacora groaned.

Their father chuckled at the scene as he sipped his own bowl of buffalo-yak milk. "Kiba, is it? The boy looks sharp. I'll take him hunting tomorrow."

Tala handed Mikko a new bowl of milk, which she made him give to Kiba the owl-wolf again – "Properly, this time!" and Mikko once more made the daunting five-step walk over to where he was sitting.

Kiba stared at Mikko once again with that wild, animalistic gaze...before snatching the bowl away from him suddenly. "Thanks," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Y-you're welcome," Mikko stammered.

And when Kiba raised the bowl to his lips, he spit the milk out in Sacora's direction. "Aw man! That's disgusting!"

"What did you spit it all over me for!?"

Koda's promise of stopping by for stew later became a longer visit, until it stretched on into an overnight stay. Sacora was just as overjoyed as her little cousins were, and she could tell that her aunt and uncle couldn't find it in themselves to make Koda walk back to the barracks.

They gave him an extra bedroll to use in the room that was made up for Kiba and Sacora. Kiba had gone to sleep early and was presumably snoozing away already in his own roll.

Sacora, however, felt too excited to sleep. She noticed Koda lighting a lamp in the corner of the room and slipped out of her bedroll to sit by him.

"What are you doing?" he asked her. "Go to sleep – it's late."

"What are you doing?" she quipped, drawing her up knees against her on the fur-lined floor beside him. "You don't have to keep watch, you know."

He gave her a wan smile. "I'm used to going on night patrol. I'm not sleepy just yet."

"You still didn't have to light a lamp." She cocked her head to the side. "And why are you still wearing a glove? It's warm in here already–" Her own hand was sliding said glove off before she registered the hesitant jolt of his body. By the time his other hand came down on her wrist, it was too late. She gasped, looked away, and then looked back at him in apology. "Koda...I'm sorry, I..."

"No, don't be," he assured her, though he quickly slid the glove back on. "I was foolish on a patrol and caught frostbite. It's no big deal."

But Sacora could still see the the remnant stumps of his left pinky and ring finger in her mind's eye even as she looked down at the furs.

(Unbeknownst to them, Kiba had turned around briefly in his bedroll to sneak a look.)

"Was it difficult?" she asked Koda a moment later. "Those four years, I mean. You've...really changed."

Koda rubbed his missing fingers through the glove in thought. "I had nowhere to go for a while. Uncle Kinook and Aunt Tala took me in for a few moons, but they were looking after Mikko and Yutu as well. It was difficult on them. I left for the barracks since I was Pakku's student anyway. I've been there ever since." He looked down at her. "And you? As far as I know, you've changed too. Well...not quite."

"What do you mean?"

He reached around her head and tugged at her little braid. "This. Mama's special braid. I see you still keep it, and that you still suck at making it any longer."

"Hey!" she giggled. "Mama said it was pretty!" She paused, then sighed. "Father would've noticed even if I did make it longer. That wouldn't really be a Fire Nation style."

At the mention of her father, Koda's face soured. "Are you sure he never hurt you? He took you in as family, just like that?"

Sacora hugged her knees closer. She wasn't sure how to word it to avoid making Koda angry; but even so, was there anything about it that would have made him truly fear for her safety? "He tried to erase what I knew of home," she conceded. "And he was very strict about it. It was scary. But...he never struck me." And, as she recalled with a mixture of nostalgia, yet guilt: "When I did well in my studies or firebending, he would praise me. He would say that he was proud of me." And...she thought about saying this aloud, but decided not to. Sometimes, that made me feel happy.

"...I see." He seemed lost in thought mulling over her words, until she leaned against his shoulder with a sleepy yawn. "Well, no matter what, you've got me to protect you now," he murmured. "Now, seriously, go to sleep."

She rubbed her heavy eyelids with a protesting grunt. "You're not putting out the lamp," she pointed out.

Koda tousled her hair yet again. "I'll let it burn a little longer," he said. "If I'm being honest...I'm half afraid you'll disappear if it goes out. That this will all have been a dream."

Sacora suppressed a lump in her throat. Does he get nightmares too? she wondered. Like how I sometimes see Mama...Feeling heartbroken at the mere thought of it, she stretched her arms about him and buried her face into his coat. "I'll sleep right here then," she reassured Koda. "So that you know I'm real. And I'm not going to leave you, ever again."

Notes hooboy it's a doozy

Guest on Oct 26, 2020 - haha fair enough, it was a title I thought up of in middle school after all. I decided to keep it for old time's sake. Also because I'm not the best with titles :p

Fosterchild4 brought up the fact that cutting hair is Fire Nation symbolism of lost honor; I totally forgot about this when writing the last chapter so I went back and fixed Sacora's reaction to Ino's cut hair.

"He's...just a dog!" - Okay sooo this is tricky because in Ch 5 Sacora was not confused at all about Akamaru being just a "dog". In the Tribes however there is an animal called the polar dog. It doesn't have a hybrid name, it's just "polar dog". Visually though, it doesn't look like a dog xD. I'd thought about this and decided to leave it up to different visual interpretations, with Sacora being more accurate since she was able to witness Akamaru's canine behavior vs. clueless Waterbending student who's only seen his head.

"His markings aren't Northern or Southern Tribe" - I thought about having Koda mistaking Kiba's markings for Southern Water Tribe, but even if both tribes lost contact for that long I think they would still remember the overall warpaint pattern through symbolism and stories. Also, Water Tribe warpaint only appears to be in grey, black, and white hues.

"Is it like stickball?" - a reference to lacrosse, which has indigenous origins irl

On Sacora's "short" braid - if you look up my deviantart (same user) or the fic on Ao3/spacebattles, there's a picture I drew that shows the back of her head. It's akin to a short french braid but I don't think I can describe it as "French" in this fic

Mercenaries from the northern post - I found a discussion thread about the barbarians that attack the Northern Water Tribe in TLoK, and someone mentioned an art book stating that they were Northern Earth Kingdom based with a grudge against the Northern Water Tribe, hired by the Fire Nation for the siege. For reference, they were present on the first ship Aang attacks and noticeably not armored like the official military. Thought I might add a little nod to this (hopefully true) fact.

Pei! - is a common Chinese exclamation that basically means spitting to indicate disrespect

"About four moons ago" - Since the events of ATLA supposedly take place in roughly a year, I'm estimating that's how long season 1 went down from the Southern Air Temple ep up till the Northern Water Tribe. And I know so far the way I've set up the moon and scroll thing is probably super confusing at the moment if you're thinking about it in detail...all I can say is there will be an explanation, but its farther down the line.

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