Hot Ice, Strange Snow

by Redbayly

Destiny is a funny thing. A split-second decision results in Zuko being injured during the escape from Pohuai Stronghold. Aang is determined to turn an enemy into a friend and, despite their doubts, Sokka and Katara find themselves also starting to better understand their erstwhile pursuer. For Katara and Zuko, this new understanding could even lead to something more.

15. Calm Before the Storm

Hey, everyone! I am so sorry for putting you guys through another long wait for this chapter. I've had a lot of stuff going on, not least of which was a nasty fall which I'm still hurting from.

But I'm back now and ready to bring you the next part of the NWT arc.

Watch out, North Pole. Katara is here to kick ass and eat sea prunes. And she's all outta sea prunes.

Trigger Warning: References to domestic abuse (including child abuse), social/family pressure, forced marriage, teen pregnancy, terminal illness, homophobia, and mental health problems (including body image problems and suicidal ideation).

I would also like to warn my readers that the absolute last POV section in this chapter is the most potentially triggering. There is a scene of domestic violence, as well as details of suicidal thoughts, victim-blaming, and a (non-explicit) implication of marital rape. If you feel uncomfortable with reading anything like that, please skip over it.

Calm Before the Storm

Pikatti was, understandably, very hesitant to go along with Katara's idea.

Still, Katara could see it in her eyes how desperately she wanted to learn waterbending beyond what was taught in the healing huts. As Katara told her all about her experiences with the Taihua Mountain Gang and finding new ways of using her waterbending, Pikatti's resolve to be a good little Northern girl started to crumble.

"I…I suppose, as long as you're sure we won't get found out," she said.

"Just let me show you a few moves," said Katara. "We only need a place where no one can walk in on us."

"I think I know a spot."

Katara followed Pikatti down to the lower levels of the city until they arrived at an area where the ice walls met the cliffs. Nervously, Pikatti raised her hands and shakily waterbent a loose section of ice away to reveal a large cave.

Katara blinked in surprise.

"My dad said I wasn't supposed to say anything about this," Pikatti said. "But, years ago, I was…I tried to teach myself waterbending. I got a little too excited and knocked open a spot in the ice. Dad couldn't let anyone find out I'd been waterbending, so he told me to cover it up and never mention it again."

Pikatti led Katara inside, closing the ice behind them.

"I know I shouldn't have come back, but I loved the thought of a little place where I could get away for a while. So, I started making it bigger."

"You made this all yourself?" Katara said in amazement.

It was huge on the inside, at least as big as a house. It was oddly-shaped, but Katara figured that was because Pikatti had been playing around with her bending and seeing what she could make. The walls and ceiling were warped and wavy, but in a way that was strangely beautiful. There were even some ice sculptures and engravings.

"I just like making things, I guess," said Pikatti. "I've always wondered what it would be like to be a builder. You know, use my waterbending to design homes and temples and fountains and things."

"Well, if you ever want to give it a shot, we could definitely use someone like you in the South Pole."

"Really?"

Katara explained to her that the Southern Water Tribe was, by and large, a loose collection of villages that usually only had a rough watchtower and a few igloos. The only location with anything larger was the gathering place where the South's capital once stood. The giant walls that once shielded it had crumbled and thawed to maybe half their original size and had never been truly repaired since all their waterbenders were taken away.

"I'm sorry, Katara," said Pikatti. "I never knew things in the South Pole were so…"

She seemed unsure how to finish that thought, as if she was afraid of causing offense.

"Things will be different," said Katara. "I'm going to make sure of that. For now, though, let's start with your stance."

Pikatti was a very attentive student. She was determined to follow Katara's instructions perfectly and would immediately correct herself whenever she made a mistake. By the time Katara called it a day, Pikatti was already doing a decent water-whip.

On returning to the guest house, Katara encountered a mopey Aang and grouchy Sokka. As it turned out, Aang wasn't doing so well in Master Pakku's class and Sokka had been stood up for his date with Princess Yue.

"Where've you been, anyway?" said Sokka. "Aang said Master Pakku wouldn't teach you waterbending, so I was starting to worry you were plotting a revolution as payback."

Sokka gave a chuckle that trailed off when Katara didn't join in.

"You're not actually plotting a revolution, are you?"

"…Define 'revolution.'"

"Katara," Sokka groaned. "Please, I know things are messed up, but we can't have the Northern Water Tribe fall into anarchy while we're here."

"I'm not planning anything that extreme. I just, maybe, kind of, started teaching another girl waterbending in secret."

"What?"

"I had to! You don't understand, Sokka. They won't let girls learn how to use waterbending for anything other than healing. Even bringing it up can bring a lot of shame on a person's family."

"Katara-"

"I asked Pikatti why she can't even learn how to waterbend to build things and she said the tribe's 'esteemed scholars and shamans' decided decades ago that waterbending harms women's bodies. That it makes them less likely to have children and causes them to 'lose their femininity.'"

"Katara-"

"What does that even mean?! And they make it sound like bearing children is the only thing women are good for. It's so stupid!"

"Katara."

"I'm not going to stand for this, Sokka. If you think I'm going to just wait around and do nothing while countless women are treated like this-"

"Katara!"

"What, I'm not allowed to be angry?"

Sokka rubbed at his forehead and Katara also noticed that Aang had shrunk back towards a corner of the room in the face of her tirade. She felt a little bad for venting all of her frustrations at them, but she was still simmering with rage over the injustice that the Northern Water Tribe had dressed up as sacred tradition.

As far as Katara was concerned, any tradition that trampled on other people's rights was a tradition that needed to die a painful death.

"Okay, I hear you, Katara," Sokka said after a minute. "It really is a crappy situation and you have every right to be furious about it. But I need you to take a breath and think things through."

Katara bristled. She was perfectly calm and rational.

"Look, I know everything about this is terrible, and I'm not trying to tell you not to get involved, but I'm asking you to not go charging in and burn the city down."

"I wasn't going to do anything that extreme, Sokka."

It was a tempting thought, though. Even if the Water Tribe couldn't actually burn, it could melt. A more vindictive part of her reveled in the idea of destroying the whole thing and rebuilding it from scratch. It would serve them right if a teenaged girl caused the downfall of their old way of life.

"I mean it, Katara. I know you well enough to tell what's going on in that head of yours. If you want to start teaching Water Tribe girls in secret, fine. Great. Go with it. I'm one hundred percent in your corner. But we kind of need the place to still be standing in case the Fire Nation causes problems. Things could get pretty ugly if you decide to destroy the whole tribe and beat up every man who's been a jerk to women."

"Sokka, there's no need to overreact," said Aang. "I'm sure Katara wouldn't do anything like that. She would never actually hurt anyone."

A brief thought of how great it would feel to slam Master Pakku's face into an iceberg flitted through her thoughts.

"She's just upset because it's not fair that girls aren't allowed to learn waterbending." Aang smiled at her.

Katara smiled back, but it was a little forced. Aang, sweet and innocent as he was, didn't understand that this wasn't just about who was and was not permitted to learn waterbending. It wasn't like this was a mean group of little boys saying there were no girls allowed in their snow fort. This was a problem with the Northern Water Tribe's whole society.

It was something that ran deep in the entire system. And the only way it was going to change was if more people stood up and said 'enough.' That being said, she could see where Sokka was coming from. As much as the Northern Water Tribe's society disgusted her, she didn't want the Fire Nation to come in and butcher them like they had in the Southern Water Tribe. If the tribe wasn't unified, they wouldn't stand a chance. Katara wasn't about to sacrifice everyone's lives to suit her vision of a more equal future. Once the threat of the Fire Nation was gone, however, there would be no stopping her.

"I promise I won't destroy the whole tribe, Sokka," she said.

"That's all I ask," he said with obvious relief.

She wouldn't destroy the whole tribe. Just the parts that needed to go.

---

Yugoda shook her head in disappointment.

Pakku had completely disregarded any of the arguments she put forth to convince him to make an exception for Katara. He just defaulted to the same old excuses about respecting tradition and preserving the stability of the tribe and not encouraging dangerous behavior in a little girl.

"Girls simply lack the drive and determination to be true warriors," he'd said. "Especially girls so young. Their only interests are in attracting boys and whatever silly trinkets catch their eye. Boys are much more reliable and less prone to foolish distractions."

Yugoda had wanted to argue that point and the fact that it was pure nonsense, but Pakku kept interrupting her every time she tried.

Not even reminders that, as members of the Order of the White Lotus, they were supposed to not put stock in arbitrary differences like nationality, age, or gender, nor in broad generalizations of those differences. They were meant to hold to the principles of philosophy, beauty, and truth, to shine a light of wisdom and dispel the dark clouds of ignorance.

That was why the senior members had bestowed Yugoda the title of a Grand Lotus while Pakku was still at the rank of Master Lotus.

Pakku's attitude towards their female colleagues might also have had something to do with it. Agent White Jade had threatened to lace her next report with poison from her namesake plant if Pakku didn't watch his step. And Agent Snapdragon had said she would feed him to her komodo-rhino if he mentioned the phrases "a woman's place," "man's responsibility," "little lady," or "don't worry your pretty little head" in her presence ever again.

The funniest response had been from Agent Panda Lily. She'd sent him a lengthy horoscope filled with details about how different bad things were going to happen to him on certain days. Pakku had tossed the horoscope away and dismissed it as nonsense, but Yugoda had saved it and paid close attention to each of the predicted misfortunes regularly. Agent Panda Lily's forecast was still going strong with an almost terrifying accuracy and, if it held to its trend, Pakku was due for a serious reality check in the near future.

Yugoda scanned the horoscope as she waited for her students to arrive.

A southern storm brings changes, whether you are prepared or not. Either flow with the current or be drowned by it.

Also, you will fall into a canal at noon.

She chuckled quietly to herself and pondered over the serious implications of the first fortune and the amusing randomness of the second. As her students started to shuffle in, with a much more cheerful Katara and an unusually excited Pikatti, there was little doubt in Yugoda's mind that things were bound to change very soon. If Katara was anything like Kanna, then that line about a 'southern storm' was right on the mark.

As the day went on, Yugoda kept an eye on Katara. She was sticking close with Pikatti, who was introducing her to a few of the other older students. Yugoda was thrilled that Katara seemed to be making the best of her time in the healing huts, drawing in a few of the quieter girls like Ahnah and Lusa. She also humored the energetic questions of the girls from the junior classes, telling them of her travels as she joined them in practicing healing forms.

At first, the little ones asked why Katara was in their class when she was one of the 'big kids.'

"Well, I've never actually had any real training," Katara explained.

"Really? Why not?" said Akka, the youngest girl in the class.

"I'm the only waterbender in the South Pole."

It was hard to get the children back in for their lesson as they continued to bombard Katara with questions about why there were no other waterbenders in the south and how did Katara get so good at healing without a teacher. Honestly, Yugoda didn't try too hard to get the students to come back in, as she was more than a little curious about what Katara had to say, herself.

Katara was quite the storyteller. Something that made her very different from Kanna. Kanna was a very straight-to-the-point sort of woman who liked simple facts with little embellishment; though Yugoda did remember her friend could go on talking for hours about a subject that interested her and was, for the most part, a good public speaker. At least, that was how she was when Yugoda knew her. There was no telling how much Kanna could've changed over the years. But Katara's way of speaking was very different, though no less intense and passionate and fiery than Kanna could be when she was on a roll.

There were a couple of points when Yugoda noticed Pikatti would give Katara a light elbow jab and shake her head, which caused Katara to frown and change the direction of what she was saying.

Pikatti must have warned Katara about the laws and Katara was trying to be cautious when talking about using combative waterbending. She definitely wasn't happy about it, though.

After story time was over and Yugoda was able to get everyone back to their lessons, she continued to watch Katara's progress. She was a naturally talented healer, especially with little to go on by way of instruction. From what Katara had said, the closest she ever came to an actual teacher was a doctor in the Earth Kingdom.

As well as a waterbender in a group of Earth Kingdom bandits.

When Katara had mentioned the rogue healer, Yugoda's tired old heart nearly skipped a beat. She wanted to ask Katara more about that. Could it possibly be…?

"Thank you for the lesson, Healer Yugoda," her students said, giving her their farewell for the day.

Had the time gone so quickly? She smiled and wished the girls a nice day. Once they were gone, Yugoda quickly disappeared from the healing hut. There was still business to handle and she needed to meet with Pakku again.

No one paid her any mind as she made her way almost invisibly to their secret meeting place. There were very few White Lotus members in the North Pole and many of them couldn't make it to regular meetings, so it was usually just the two of them and the Guardian of the Gate discussing important matters. She hoped to get her grandson inducted into the Order as an initiate soon, but she was still uncertain if he was ready.

Something to handle later. In the meantime, the Guardian showed her inside the meeting room and she sat down to brew some tea and wait for Pakku to arrive.

She didn't have to wait long before he came stomping through the door after giving the Guardian the passphrase and sat down in a huff. A part of Yugoda wanted so badly to tell him about Kanna and Katara and that he was being an arrogant humbug, but she held her silence. He needed some humbling and it wasn't going to come from Yugoda springing all that on him.

"Pakku, what's gotten you in a foul mood, today?" she said as she offered him a cup of tea.

"If you must know, I was taking a brief walk along the canal during lunch and lost my footing."

Yugoda blinked.

"Were you hurt, at all?"

"Certainly not! You know I would never be so foolish and clumsy as to get hurt falling in the canal and…Yugoda, why are you laughing?"

---

Pikatti was unsure about bringing more people into the lessons, but Katara insisted.

She was going to make a difference. Right here, right now. Obviously, they had to be careful. They couldn't just pull every single girl from the healing huts into this. Someone like Nauja would go and squeal on them in a heartbeat, and Katara wanted to make sure enough girls got training that the Northern Water Tribe would have no choice but to accept it.

So, Pikatti had taken her to speak with a few of the other girls she was on good terms with. Thankfully, there were plenty of girls who weren't like Nauja and her cronies. The hardest part would be in convincing them to take the risk.

Most of them were very quiet and meek, much like Pikatti had been at first. None of them was willing to look Katara in the eyes, either, as if lifting their gazes was somehow indecent.

Ahnah, Yura, and Tuta were from 'respectable' backgrounds, with Ahnah's father being an esteemed waterbending master, Yura's grandfather a councilman, and Tuta's father a senior shaman of the Temple of the Moon and Ocean. Lusa and Ajei were from humbler origins like Pikatti, daughters of tradesmen who were able to benefit from being born with waterbending. All of them, though, were brought up to be demure and obedient, to sit at home and do nothing but heal, cook, sew, and tend to children. They weren't even permitted to learn their fathers' trades for fear of being seen as 'unwomanly.'

That was what drove Katara to lead that group of girls off to one of the empty healing huts to discuss her plan to train them. She started by trying to appeal to their interests and ambitions. She told of the thrill of defeating opponents or the joy of shaping ice and snow according to whatever creative mood struck. While a couple of the girls seemed genuinely intrigued, there were some who needed extra persuasion.

"I'm not doing this," Tuta said when Katara finished. "I'm not going to bring shame on my family."

"Waterbending is a part of you," Katara told her. "How is that shameful?"

"It's not meant for us to fight. My Father taught me that it goes against womanly virtue. It harms our bodies and our souls. Our way is the path of healing, nurturing, and gentleness. We must be dutiful and properly care for our homes, our husbands, and our children. That is simply what we were made for. Anything else is a violation of the laws of nature."

"And do you think that will keep you safe if the Fire Nation shows up? Do you think they'll care that you're devoted to being sweet and gentle and won't raise a hand to defend yourself?"

Pikatti tried to hold Katara back but she shrugged the hand off her shoulder and got up close to Tuta.

"They'll see your passiveness as weakness, kill you, and then say you deserved it for not even trying to fight back."

"I'm not weak," Tuta replied softly, her voice straining and it was obvious she was intentionally moderating her tone. "I am simply strong in the way a real woman should be."

"A real woman? As opposed to what, exactly? In my tribe, real women gut and clean fish, or hunt seals on the ice floes, or serve in the Council of Elders. They'll do that as often as they sew and cook. I've seen real women in the Earth Kingdom fight their way out of Fire Nation prisons, or lead bandit gangs, or climb mountains taller than you can imagine. I've even been to Kyoshi Island where all the warriors are real women."

Katara took a breath.

"And the Fire Nation has real women who will happily kill you just easily as any man would. All these ideas about shame or a 'woman's place' won't protect you and they won't do anything except keep you trapped and ignorant."

Tuta was looking at Katara with wide, uncertain eyes.

"A woman's worth doesn't depend on who her husband is or how many children she has," Katara continued. "A real woman is a woman who knows who she is and what she wants."

"But that is not our way," Tuta protested with a stubborn tilt of her chin and Katara wanted badly to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. "Our traditions are ancient and need to be respected. They have kept us alive for generations beyond measure. Who are you to question that?"

"Well," Ahnah spoke up, keeping her eyes on the ground and her head low, "Katara does have more experience with the world than we do."

"So what if she does? The Northern Water Tribe is a place set apart from the rest of the world. The spirits, themselves, decided that it would be the natural order for men to dominate and women to submit. That is the way the Northern Water Tribe has always been and always will be."

"If you're not prepared, then there won't even be a Northern Water Tribe in the future," said Katara.

"Is that a threat?" Tuta narrowed her eyes.

"More like plain fact. I already told you, the Fire Nation doesn't care about your traditions. Sooner or later, they will come for you and destroy everything in their path. Don't you get it? They want every single one of us dead. To them, we aren't even human."

Katara grabbed one of Tuta's hands. Small, soft, and untouched by hard work, nails delicately maintained and not a hint of a callous on her palm.

"If you survive an invasion," Katara said, "how long do you think you'll last in a prison camp, shoveling coal or beating metal from sunrise to sunset?"

Tuta snatched her hand away, fear seeping into her face. The other girls were shifting nervously on their feet.

"Are you saying…" Ahnah spoke up again. "Our only real option is to defy our families and our traditions?"

"What good will your traditions do you when there is no one left alive to keep them?"

Tuta was trembling. Ahnah didn't respond, but she'd finally raised her head to meet Katara's gaze. Ahnah had eyes that were dark as a stormy sea.

"Will your traditions and your feelings of shame save you?" Katara continued. "Will they protect your families? Are you just going to lie down and die like 'good little girls' when your fathers and brothers have fallen in battle and your sisters and…and your mothers have been burned to death in your homes?"

Silence.

"If you don't want that, there's another choice. You can fight back. You can take a stand and do whatever you can to save your tribe."

A breath.

"The only thing I have left to ask you is this: Do you want to learn waterbending?"

No one moved for a solid minute. Katara forced herself not to shake, but she genuinely wasn't sure if anything she said had gotten through. As much as she wanted these girls to share her passion for waterbending, she knew that most of them probably didn't even understand how disadvantaged and excluded they truly were. They had spent their whole lives being told how wonderful it was for them to be healers, what a great honor it was and that they were credits to their families for having such a gift.

And Katara had come barging in to tell them it wasn't enough.

So, she'd appealed to the one thing that any daughter of the Water Tribes would understand. Duty. Duty to their families and their tribe. It was a low-blow, to be honest, but they needed to get the reality of the situation into their heads and realize how perilous their position was in the world and how much was at stake if the Fire Nation came to call.

Katara didn't want anyone else to go through what she had. If she could keep just one girl from dying or losing a loved one by teaching her to fight, it would be worth it.

Then, slowly, hesitantly…Ahnah took a step forward.

---

Zuko vaguely recalled a time when everything didn't smell like fish.

The entirety of the small port he'd gotten to stank to the skies of rotten fish. At least he was far enough away from Zhao that he wouldn't be a problem for the near future; well, not until Zuko was in the Northern Water Tribe, anyway. He hadn't really had much luck in figuring out that step of his plan, as yet.

He had a decent amount of money on him, enough that he could definitely book passage on a ship. The problem was that no one was going to the Northern Water Tribe.

"Are ya crazy, kid?" was the far too frequent response he got.

"There's not much business to be had up there," was another. "Water Tribe don't much care for outsiders."

"Fire Nation's too active in those waters, right now," was the most sensible excuse.

"Ain't that the place with all the cannibals?" was the most ignorant and prejudiced.

Apparently, even Earth Kingdom people weren't immune to the Fire Nation's propaganda.

So, Zuko sat in the back of a seedy tavern by the docks, halfheartedly eating some sort of fish stew and listening as the merchants and fishmongers and sailors talked.

"Got a fresh shipment. Prime blue lotus. Best to be had."

"Trouble's brewin' in the North Sea, lately. I tell ya, the Fire Nation is planning somethin' big."

"Of course I have the money. I just left it in my other robe."

"…all this trouble, recently, at least my daughter is safe in Ba Sing Se. Some recruiters from an earthbending academy showed up and offered her a place."

"Have ya heard what Guan caught his wife doing when he got back? I don't think I'll ever look at a squid-shark the same way, again."

"So, the Kyoshi girl says, 'Is that the Unagi in your trousers or are you just happy to see me?'"

"The fortuneteller said I'd meet my true love in this tavern, but the only person I've met is you, Chen."

"Yeaaah, ha-ha, and we're just friends, aren't we, Zigao? Just a pair of rough fellas in this crazy world. Nothing strange about that. Ha-ha. No, sir. Nothing, at all."

"…"

"And the fish I caught was this big!"

"…hic…It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se…hic…but the girls in the city, they look so pretty!"

CRASH!

"MY CABBAGES!"

"We'll be setting out tomorrow. I wish I had a few more crewmen, but it's hard to get anyone to sign up for a voyage to the North Pole."

Zuko shot around in his seat, searching for the man who'd said that. His eyes rested on a grizzled seadog with a thick scar down his jaw that cut through his beard. The man's hair was thick and greying, and there were messy braids and dreadlocks in it, fastened with blue and green beads. He had a dark complexion, though whether it was from the sun or just his natural look was hard to say. The man he was talking to was a buff, plain-faced Earth Kingdom man, likely a dock-worker from the sheer size of his muscles.

Zuko was on his feet and headed in the man's direction before he even knew what he was doing.

"Excuse me."

"What do ya want, kid?" the man snapped.

Zuko stiffened at the man's attitude, wanting to shout back but reminding himself that getting angry wouldn't do him any favors.

"Did I hear you right? You need some extra hands for a job in the North Pole."

"Listening in on other folks' conversations is a good way to get you killed, kid."

"You need another deckhand or don't you?" Zuko said, crossing his arms.

The man gave him a shrewd look.

"You looking for work, kid?"

"Maybe. You going to the North Pole?"

"That's a tough place to go, 'specially for a young swab like you."

Zuko ground his teeth.

"I can deal with it," he said.

"Can you?"

Zuko removed his hat so the man could get a better look at his face. He kept his eyes narrowed but didn't blink as the man met his gaze. Of course he lingered on Zuko's scar for longer than Zuko was comfortable with, but Zuko didn't flinch.

"Aye, maybe you can," the man said. "Name's 'Captain Yelu.' My ship is at Berth Sixteen. We sail at first light. Don't be late."

---

Sokka was getting bored.

Between Aang struggling to learn from Master Pakku, Katara secretly plotting social revolution, and Princess Yue refusing to even acknowledge his existence anymore, he was feeling like the only one with nothing to do. Sure, Chief Arnook had arranged for him to attend warrior training, but that started getting tedious when Sokka realized it was more for show than actual effectiveness as the Northern Water Tribe hadn't had to fight an actual enemy in decades.

All right, there was some actual combat training when Head Warrior Nanuq was overseeing things, and they were planning for some hunting expeditions in the near future, but it largely boiled down to a bunch of guys preening and posing and talking about how much better they were than other people.

Or maybe Hahn was just a major outlier who broke the average and shouldn't be counted.

Seriously, that guy was an obnoxious dickhead. Knowing that the Northern Water Tribe had arranged marriages, Sokka couldn't help but feel sorry for whatever poor girl got stuck marrying that jerk. Hahn was so full of himself he'd probably forget his own bride at the wedding and marry a mirror instead because he felt it was the only thing that came close to reflecting his perceived greatness.

The warrior lessons were, mercifully, only a couple of hours every morning, so Sokka didn't have to put up with Hahn for very long.

So, with warrior classes occupying such a minor part of his day, Sokka had lots of free time to spend walking along the canals and taking in the scenery. He did a little shopping, now that he had the chance, and used some of their newfound wealth to purchase a few things. He did get some funny looks from the women in the clothing store which annoyed him.

What, guys couldn't appreciate nice fabrics or fancy beadwork?

It was tricky to find a good range of colors, too. Of course, Sokka loved the color blue, it was a symbol of his proud Water Tribe heritage, and the North Pole definitely had more variety in shades than back home (they even had more than two different shades of purple!), but after seeing all the colors available in the Earth Kingdom, it left him feeling kind of underwhelmed.

He wasn't much in the mood for shopping that day, though.

Instead, he found himself traipsing along, straying through ice sculpture gardens and intricate fountain displays. He didn't really pay attention to where he was going until he bumped into someone, causing them to drop a bunch of scrolls and frantically start scrambling to pick them up.

"I'm sorry," Sokka said, stooping down to help them.

The person, a girl about his age, gave him a quiet 'thank you' and hurried off with her head lowered and eyes to the ground.

That was another weird thing he'd noticed. A lot of the northern girls didn't talk much and avoided making eye-contact with other people, especially boys. Sokka couldn't picture any of the girls back home acting like that. As if they were afraid being noticed would result in them being hurt. He barely even knew the girls his age back in the South Pole, but he knew none of them would be that skittish or quiet around guys. He even saw a cousin of his from his mom's clan throw a mean punch at a boy twice her size and lay him out cold.

It made him embarrassed to think he'd ever been dismissive about girls fighting. Maybe being in the Northern Water Tribe and seeing how different girls acted up here put things in even sharper focus for him.

For so long, he'd harped on at Katara about guys being better at hunting and fighting, acting like all women were good at was cooking, cleaning, sewing, and looking after kids. Often giving his sister attitude about how she should act 'more like a girl.' Now, though? Now, it just felt weird. Seeing Water Tribe girls be so submissive. Moving about slowly, cautiously, as if they were trying to take up as little space as possible or blend in with the background.

It was kind of creepy, now that he thought about it. Definitely not normal. Or, at least, it shouldn't be normal.

As he watched the girl he'd bumped into disappear into a nearby building, he realized he hadn't been to this part of town and decided to take a look around.

It seemed he was in a massive complex, as all the structures were linked to a central building. An excellent work of architecture, it rose in a series of enormous towers and every archway, window, and pillar was ornamented with skilled icework that depicted water patterns or animal figures.

Going inside the main building, it became clear what the place was. It was a library. While there weren't any books or scrolls on display, there were rows and rows of shelves packed with what were likely waterproof boxes. Obviously, this wasn't like the library at the Northern Air Temple. Maintaining any sort of paper or parchment in arctic conditions would be tricky, so they needed to keep the texts air-tight.

"May I be of assistance, young man?"

Sokka turned to face a wizened, older guy in an exceptionally thick parka. The man had a beard so long it reached almost to his feet.

"Uh, I guess so?" said Sokka. "It's my first time here and I was hoping to take a look at the…um, history texts. Yep. History. I'm crazy about history."

"Certainly," the man said. "We have an extensive collection on our tribe's illustrious past. If you'll wait a while, I can find an archivist to assist you in finding something to your preference."

Sokka noticed a number of people bustling around and putting boxes in order.

"I should be fine," he said. "I can just ask someone in here."

The man gave him a funny look, not unlike the women in the clothing store.

"I'm afraid we don't have many men working in the library, right now."

"Well, what does that matter?" said Sokka.

"Ah, nothing at all. It's just, we have more qualified archivists that can help you if you wait a moment."

"I'm sure the ladies who work here know what they're doing."

"…Very well."

The man actually looked annoyed by Sokka's insistence, giving a huff and turning to snap at one of the girls.

"You, there," he said. "Take this young man to the history section."

"Yes, sir," the girl answered.

When the man stomped off, the girl rolled her eyes.

"Is he always like that?" said Sokka.

"Pretty much," said the girl. "If Ujarak could have his way, all of us would be banned from the library."

"Sorry about that. I'm 'Sokka,' by the way."

"Sesi. You said you wanted to check out the history section?"

"If it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all. Follow me."

She led him up an icy stairway and down a hallway. As they walked, Sokka realized that, for every one man he saw, there were maybe twenty women.

"Um, excuse me for not understanding what's going on," Sokka said. "But, what's that Ujarak guy's deal?"

Sesi gave him a searching look.

"Ever since he became head archivist, he's been restricting women from joining," she explained. "He can't kick out the ones who already work here, but he's been turning away new applicants."

"But why?"

"I'm not sure. Women were always in charge here in the past. Especially the ones who don't have healing abilities."

"Well, that makes sense, I guess. But if things were working that way, why change it?"

"It's been like this since the council shut down the school."

"What school?"

"My grandmother told me that, back in her day, the library was a part of one big school where all the children in the tribe could come to get an education. And it was all run by women back then. The head librarians and teachers were even the main advisors to the chief once. But then the council shut the whole thing down and started replacing female scholars with male ones."

"Why would they do something like that?"

"No one knows why it happened. But it did lead to a big protest. My grandmother and her sister both joined in and got in huge trouble because of it."

Sesi explained that her great-aunt had been one of the main instigators of the protest. She'd petitioned the council numerous times to reopen the school, arguing that it would cause greater social divides between classes as well as between men and women. While the library was still open to the public, there were restrictions against 'uneducated' people – in other words, the poorer citizens who no longer had access to a public school and couldn't get an education elsewhere.

"The council dismissed her every time," Sesi continued. "My grandmother said her sister planned to open her own school, but their relatives put a stop to it. Next thing they knew, they had husbands chosen for them."

Sesi wrinkled her nose.

"I guess that's going to happen to me before too long."

Before Sokka could offer his sympathies, someone suddenly stepped out from an entryway and nearly crashed right into them. When the person lost her footing while trying to avoid the collision, Sokka caught her and the two of them spun around. As he looked into the familiar, shimmering crystal of Princess Yue's eyes, everything seemed to move in slow motion. They were very close, with Sokka having wrapped his arm about her waist to keep her from falling. An adorable blush spread across her cheeks, her rosy lips turning up in a shy, sweet smile.

"Sokka," she said, and it was like music.

"Princess Yue," he replied, thanking the universe that his voice didn't crack just then.

That had to have been her heartbeat he felt as they pressed close together, because he was certain his own had stopped.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought them out of the moment and made Sokka realize the world wasn't slowly spinning anymore. Sesi was staring at them, looking like she was extremely uncomfortable and even a bit irritated.

Sokka straightened himself up and tried to act casual.

"Ah, yes, Your Highness," he said. "It's nice to see you again. You come here often?"

"Every now and then," said Princess Yue. "I like to browse a little."

"Don't be so modest, Your Highness," said Sesi. "You're the brightest young lady in the entire North Pole. Hardly a day goes by when you aren't studying."

"I'm not that great, Sesi. I'm just an amateur scholar, at best."

Sesi pouted like she wanted to argue the point, but held back.

"So," Sokka said, trying to cut through the awkwardness, "since we're both here, how about we have a study session together?"

Princess Yue seemed uncertain.

"Would that be proper?" she said.

"Don't worry, Your Highness," said Sesi. "I can be your chaperone."

Chaperone? What was there to chaperone? Would people just assume that a guy and a girl spending time alone automatically meant they were going to start making out? Not that Sokka wouldn't be over-the-moon to kiss Princess Yue, but he wouldn't do that in a library of all places.

Well, not unless Princess Yue was into that.

Sesi smirked and linked an arm with Princess Yue, and they continued on towards the history section. The two girls began whispering to each other, occasionally giggling. Sokka was left to walk a 'respectable distance' behind them.

After reaching the history section and finding a comfortable spot to sit and read together, Sokka started to ask Princess Yue her opinion on where to begin their little study session. Princess Yue had become much quieter and more withdrawn ever since the night she abandoned their almost-date. Sesi picked up on the tension, because she started to interject with all she knew about Princess Yue's preferred history topics.

"Her Highness is especially fond of our tribe's early history," she said. "You know, Agna Qel'a wasn't always a city. It started as a shrine to the Moon and Ocean, the holiest site in the North Pole."

Sokka couldn't tell if Sesi was trying to help kickstart a conversation or if she was showing off her superior knowledge of history. She also seemed wary of Sokka's attempts to get close to Princess Yue, as if she thought he was intruding despite the setup being his idea. Sesi kept bringing up how much more she knew about Princess Yue than he did and how the two of them had been friends for years.

It was starting to grate on Sokka. He was trying to be considerate and not assume Sesi was out to make him look stupid, but it was difficult when she brought up a bunch of obscure facts that Sokka had no way of knowing and gave him a condescending smile and acted fake-apologetic for not explaining more fully.

"It's getting rather late," Princess Yue spoke up, cutting into Sesi's lecture about how the royal family was established. "I should probably leave. Good evening."

She hurried out before either Sokka or Sesi could stop her. Alone together, the two of them shot glares at each other.

"What is your deal?" Sokka said. "Do you have some kind of problem with me?"

"What are your intentions towards Princess Yue?" she snapped back.

"I just wanted to spend some time with her. You know, be friends and talk."

"I don't believe you. I saw the way you were cozying up to her at the banquet. You've been seeking her out from the start. I want to know what you're up to."

"Well, it's not that complicated. I think she's pretty and sweet and really smart, and I want to get to know her."

Sesi narrowed her eyes at him.

"And what makes you think she wants to get to know you?" she said.

That stung. It was exactly the sort of thing he was worried about. Since he met her, Princess Yue had been friendly enough, but there was a weird distance between them. Sokka didn't want to admit it, but he knew it was because he was just some Southern Water Tribe peasant and far below the notice of a princess.

"Look," he said, "I get that you want to protect your friend, but I really meant what I said. If Princess Yue wants me to leave her alone, she can tell me to my face."

That seemed to throw Sesi off, but Sokka was already turning to leave. He didn't get more than a few steps before she stopped him.

"Wait." She was watching him as if she didn't quite know what to make of him. "You like her. That's it?"

Sokka shrugged.

"I don't know why anyone wouldn't like her," he said. "But why else would I try to spend time with her?"

"You're not out to propose to her?"

He was not blushing. Absolutely not. The library was just unusually warm for a building made entirely of ice.

"Marriage isn't really high on my to-do list right now," he said.

"If you like Princess Yue – I mean, like-like – why wouldn't you think about proposing to her?"

"Because I'm sixteen."

"Sixteen is the marrying age. I think I mentioned earlier that I'm likely going to get a husband soon, myself."

She looked a little sick at the thought, much like before.

"It's not that I don't want to get married someday," Sokka told her. "And whatever guy is good enough to marry Princess Yue is probably the luckiest guy in the world."

"I won't argue about him being lucky," Sesi muttered.

"But I'm kind of fighting a war, right now. Maybe when I'm twenty I'll start thinking about marriage."

"Twenty?" Sesi blinked at him

"Or older. Twenty-five. Maybe even thirty."

She had the most confused expression Sokka had ever seen. It was as if the concept of someone choosing to wait until their twenties or thirties to get married was mind-blowing.

"Is it really that weird?" he said.

"I know some men wait a few years," said Sesi. "And I know there are some who choose to stay bachelors. But you mean to say, your family won't demand that you marry?"

It was Sokka's turn to be confused. He knew that girls got forced into arranged marriages in the Northern Water Tribe, but he didn't realize that boys were in a similar situation. Even if there was less pressure on boys, it sounded like the expectation was still there.

"Uh, no?" Sokka replied. "In my tribe, no one is allowed to force anyone to get married if they don't want to."

He then explained to her how things worked in the South Pole. Sesi looked like she was struggling to comprehend that there were places where people were allowed to marry when, if, and to whom they wished. Katara definitely had a point about the northern culture. If the nonsense was so ingrained that people were growing up thinking that it was a universal standard to have an arranged marriage at sixteen, something needed to be done.

It seemed that Sokka was going to have to do his part. If this kept up, he may even have to start up his own secret lessons for the non-bender girls to show them some of the moves he learned on Kyoshi Island. He still had the uniform, after all, and it would be a shame to not get it out at least one more time. He only wished he'd had time to learn more from Suki before they left.

Sokka couldn't help but feel like he was trapped in a circle of cosmic irony.

---

"Pupil Aang, would you care to demonstrate your progress on water phasing for the class?"

Aang looked up nervously when Master Pakku called on him, as his attention had been drawn to some interesting cloud shapes. He knew he should've been listening, but Master Pakku wasn't the most engaging teacher he'd ever had. To say nothing of how annoyed Aang was by how mean Master Pakku was to Katara. Or how mean he was, in general.

"Uh, sure," Aang said as he stood up in front of the other students.

He should've been in a beginner class, but Master Pakku decided that, as the Avatar, he should be able to keep up with the older students. So, there he was, thrown in with boys closer to Zuko's age than his. None of them seemed particularly impressed that he was the Avatar, and more than a few of them had taken to teasing him when he couldn't match their abilities – ones which they'd had years to develop.

It wasn't that Aang was bad at waterbending. He'd done really well when practicing with Katara, after all; however, Master Pakku just couldn't motivate him to practice the way Katara did. As a result, his performance in class wasn't going well.

He took a deep, steadying breath.

Bending an orb of water, he began to move it around to warm up.

Streaming the water, Katara had called it during their first practice together.

He tried to focus on the flow of it, to move his energy with it rather than to force his control over it.

Turning the water into vapor was pretty simple as a next step. He'd had experience with cloud-bending and it was much like that. Water in its liquid state was similar enough to air that phasing between them was fairly easy.

What wasn't so easy was the next phase.

Aang tried. And tried. And tried. But the water stubbornly refused to change to ice for him.

When the snickering from his classmates started, Aang's face grew warm and he glared at the water, trying to make it do what he wanted. The water trembled and popped, dousing him and prompting the other boys to burst out laughing.

Aang gave a weak smile and half-hearted laugh, hoping that joining in with them would make it so they were laughing with him instead of at him.

Master Pakku fixed him with a disappointed scowl and Aang slumped under the weight of it.

"Pupil Aang, have you been practicing the forms I have taught you?"

"Yes, Master Pakku."

"Then why have you only been getting worse at waterbending since you started attending my classes?"

"I don't know, Master Pakku."

"Perhaps you aren't taking your responsibility as the Avatar seriously. Need I remind you that the safety of the world depends on you mastering all four elements?"

Aang hung his head.

"I suggest you apply yourself more diligently to your studies."

"Master Pakku," one of the boys called out. "Maybe you should send him to the healing huts. That seems more his speed."

The other boys all seemed to think this was hilarious.

But that gave Aang a moment of pause. One of the duties of an Air Nomad monk was to spread good to others when he could. Learning healing might give him an additional way to do that. A way that wouldn't involve violence. And, as the Avatar, it was also his responsibility to help people. What was more helpful than healing people when they were hurt? Besides, it would give him a chance to spend more time with Katara.

"That's a great idea!" Aang said brightly. "Which way do I go to get to the healing huts?"

Everyone went quiet.

"Pupil Aang," said Master Pakku. "Your joke is in very poor taste."

"I wasn't joking," Aang said, feeling confused. "Healing sounds like a great skill to have. Why wouldn't I want to learn it?"

One of the boys who'd been laughing at Aang started to choke. Master Pakku's scowl deepened. The rest of the class just continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"What?" said Aang. "Is there something on my shirt?"

He checked his clothes, but there wasn't anything wrong.

Master Pakku turned his back and shouted, "Class dismissed!" before stomping off.

"What was that about?" Aang thought aloud.

An older boy, not one from Aang's class but one who had been watching from the sidelines, came forward and put a hand on Aang's shoulder.

"You insulted Master Pakku," the boy said.

"Huh? How did I do that?"

"When you said you wanted to learn healing. You implied that you'd rather learn a skill for women than have Master Pakku for a teacher."

"What's wrong with learning healing?" said Aang.

"Because healing is for little girls," one of his classmates said with a sneer. The boy came up and jabbed Aang sharply in the chest. "You want to be a girl, Avatar?"

"Kautak, leave him be," said the other boy, moving between him and Aang.

"Well, I have been a woman in about half of my past lives," said Aang. "Avatar Kyoshi, Avatar Yangchen – I wouldn't be surprised if my next incarnation is a female waterbender."

Kautak looked grossed out by that. Aang was only more confused. After all, didn't everyone have past lives? Sure, Aang was a bit different because he could actually talk to his, but that didn't mean no one else had past lives of their own. When Aang pointed that out and told Kautak that he probably had female past lives too, Kautak got angry and tried to move in on him again.

The other boy continued to stay in front of Aang and put his arms out protectively.

"Out of my way, Kisuk."

"I told you to back off and leave the Avatar alone."

The other students were gathering closer, including some from the advanced class that Kisuk had come from. There were murmurs of "fight" drifting from the crowd and Kautak was much less sure of himself than he'd been a moment before. Another boy stepped out from the group and stood beside Kisuk.

"What are you doing, Chaska?" Kautak asked the newcomer.

"What does it look like? If you don't back off, we are going to have a problem."

Kautak took a few steps back. Chaska was fairly intimidating. Tall and broad, he was likely the oldest student from the advanced class. And he had a deep, rough voice that was more like a man's than a teenager's. Kautak turned and cast a glare over his shoulder at the three of them before stalking off to his own friends.

"Not worth my time," Kautak grumbled as he left.

Once the crowd dispersed, Kisuk let out a breath.

"At least that's over," he said.

"You're lucky I got here before you two had a fight," said Chaska. He then looked at Aang. "You okay, kid?"

"I'm fine," Aang said. "But what was all that even about?"

"You seem to be on a roll with insulting people today, Avatar," said Kisuk, but he appeared to be more amused than anything.

Aang tried to explain that he wasn't insulting anyone. Everyone did have past lives. Some of those past lives were more than likely women. And of course he thought learning healing was important, because anything that could potentially save lives or reduce the suffering of others was always a good thing. And plenty of monks at the Air Temples were trained in medicine as well as the nuns.

"So, do you think it would be okay if I transferred over to learning healing?" Aang asked.

"I'm afraid that's not gonna happen," said Kisuk. "Men aren't allowed to study healing."

"Why not?"

"Because that's 'women's work,'" Chaska said dryly. "Obviously, no 'self-respecting young man' would ever want to do something for girls when he can be a master waterbender."

Aang got the impression that Chaska was being sarcastic. But he also sounded almost…bitter?

"Hey, how about this," said Kisuk. "Chaska and I are top of the class. We can help you practice."

"I don't remember agreeing to that, Kisuk," said Chaska.

Now Aang realized he'd seen them before. They were the two students who performed alongside Master Pakku at the banquet.

The three of them walked together towards one of the training grounds, Kisuk promising that he and Chaska would make sure Aang got up to speed with his classmates. As they passed by some of the other advanced students, a boy waved to get their attention.

"Hey, Kisuk, when are you finally going to make your proposal for Sesi?" the boy said.

Kisuk froze and his smile faltered. Chaska made an irritated sigh and muttered, "Not this, again."

"Kisuk, are you listening?" the boy added. "My aunt's getting impatient. She expected you to make an offer for her daughter last month and she's been nagging me to talk to you! I'm getting sick of hearing about it, so could you please hurry up and get it over with?"

Chaska took over leading them away as Kisuk had frozen up. As they walked, the other guy continued to call after Kisuk.

"Is something wrong?" Aang asked.

"Just…a bunch of dumb expectations," Kisuk said with a sigh. "I suppose you'd know something about that, right, Avatar?"

"Aang. My name is 'Aang.'"

"Aang."

Kisuk and Chaska took him through phasing a step at a time. Chaska was very direct in his instructions, not really giving him much by way of encouragement but he definitely knew his stuff. Kisuk was a gentler coach, quick with a smile and a "good job" or a "you're a natural at this."

"I'm sure you'll beat the Fire Nation in no time, Aang," Kisuk said as Aang finally began to phase the water from liquid and vapor to ice more and more easily.

"Yeah, I'm sure they'll run terrified," said Chaska.

Kisuk gave his friend an elbow-jab.

"I mean…you're doing…a lot better than before?" said Chaska.

"I'm starting to think you're hopeless, Chaska."

"Well, we can't all be content with mediocrity, Kisuk."

As they continued in their practice, Aang noticed a group of girls was watching them from nearby. At first, Aang thought he was the focus of their attention; after all, as the Avatar, he got interested looks wherever he went. But as he watched more closely, he realized the girls were staring at Chaska, giggling whenever they got a good glimpse of his face.

"Aang, kindly focus on your training," said Chaska.

"Uh, sure," said Aang. "I had a question, though."

"Hmm? What is it?" said Kisuk.

"I thought girls weren't allowed to learn waterbending."

"They're not," said Chaska.

"Then who are those girls over there?"

Kisuk snickered.

"That's Chaska's fan club."

"Kisuk," Chaska grumbled.

"What? It's true. Being Master Pakku's top student, of course you've got admirers."

"Shut up, Kisuk."

"Each of those girls has been practically begging to be the one to get a betrothal necklace from you."

"Kisuk, I'm warning you."

"Is there something wrong with them?" Aang asked. "They all clearly like you a lot. Do you not like any of them?"

"No. I don't. And I never will."

"Try explaining that to your folks," said Kisuk. "Hasn't your dad been telling you to make an offer to someone?"

"You're one to talk, Kisuk. Are you going to make your proposal to Sesi like your parents told you?"

Kisuk went rigid again.

"Uh, guys?" Aang said.

"After all," Chaska continued, "everyone knows that you and Sesi are a perfect match. The only thing that would make it a better arrangement is if she was a healer like her sister. So, why haven't you proposed, yet?"

"I…I don't…I can't…"

"Guys?" Aang tried again.

"Or, maybe you could finally man-up and tell your parents which girl you actually want to marry."

Kisuk's face went bright red.

"Too bad you're too much of a coward to say anything."

"Fuck off!" Kisuk snapped, giving Chaska a shove.

Chaska scowled and shoved him back.

Before Aang knew what was going on, Chaska and Kisuk were pummeling each other. A crowd rapidly formed around them, the other students shouting "Fight! Fight!" and cheering on either of the two boys.

All Aang could do was stand there and wonder how two friends went from playful teasing to trying to throttle each other. Was it a Water Tribe thing or a big kid thing? He couldn't recall anything like that happening at the Air Temples. The closest he'd ever seen was when he was visiting the Fire Nation and Kuzon's cousin got into a fight with her best friend because they both really liked the same boy. Kuzon's cousin had gone as far as to rip out a chunk of her friend's hair and give her a black eye. As it turned out, the boy they'd been fighting over hadn't liked either of them and ended up dating Kuzon's older brother.

"Sometimes, people don't know how to deal with their feelings," Kuzon had said. "And the only way they can cope is by getting angry."

Aang had thought that was pretty dumb. Why would people hurt each other instead of talking things out? If they were upset or sad or wanted attention, what good was it to get angry? Aang certainly tried to avoid getting angry, himself. Well, unless it was something important, like when he saw the damage to the Northern Air Temple. That was something worth getting angry over.

But fighting a friend over something like romance seemed very silly.

Aang would definitely never do that.

---

As another day passed, Yugoda saw Katara and her friends talking.

No doubt they were making plans for another of their illicit waterbending lessons. The changes she'd seen in her students in the short time since they'd started sneaking off with Katara simply astounded Yugoda. They were all more confident, more outspoken. She'd even noticed that Nauja had somewhat reined in her attitude towards girls like Pikatti now that she saw they had friends willing to back them up. She hadn't stopped entirely, however, which was still very much a sore point for Yugoda.

Yugoda shook her head at how bad Nauja had gotten. She'd tried for ages to get her to stop bullying her classmates, but each time she tried to discipline her and teach her better behavior, Nauja dug in her heels and only got worse. It was always the same excuse of 'my father is the head warrior,' so she believed it was her right to do whatever she wanted.

Maybe a lesson from her peers was the only thing that could get through to her.

It warmed Yugoda's heart to see the effects Katara was having on the girls at the school. She was so much like Kanna, in that regard; always trying to improve the lives of the people around her, always taking care of everyone else, always striving for things to be better.

"Katara," Yugoda said to her as she was about to go. "Might I have a word?"

"Yes, Master Yugoda," she replied.

That was another thing. Katara always called her "Master" instead of "Healer." Like she saw Yugoda's skills as equal to those of someone like Pakku. Not that Yugoda, herself, didn't also believe that, but it was rare that anyone else would acknowledge it. The other girls had also started picking up on this and were following Katara's example.

"I was wondering if you had some free time," said Yugoda. "I was hoping we could have a chat about your grandmother."

"Oh! Of course, Master Yugoda. I'd love to!"

Katara had some time open between the end of class and later that afternoon (when she would be meeting with her waterbending students), so Yugoda invited Katara to her house for a short visit and some lunch. Katara was prompt and arrived right at the appointed time. Yugoda showed her around for a few minutes before they headed into the kitchen where Yugoda had been fixing up a nice stew.

Once they were seated on the warm furs and enjoying their meal together, Katara asked the first question.

"So, what was my Gran-Gran like when she was younger?"

"Very strong-willed," said Yugoda. "When we were children, she was always getting me and a bunch of our friends into all sorts of mischief. Everyone always blamed the boys in our group when we got caught, but it was Kanna who was the real mastermind behind everything we did."

Katara was clearly astonished by the revelation.

"I never would've pictured her as the troublemaking type," she said. "I mean, I can definitely see her as a leader, but…"

"Well, she did mellow a bit as she got older, but she always kept that wild streak of hers. She was always defiant of our tribe's more ridiculous customs and she could get very loud when she was trying to make a point."

"Now, that I can picture. I've seen her put more than a few arrogant jerks in their place."

Katara shared some stories of her own about Kanna. She told of how Kanna had shouted down a group of clan chieftains who were trying to enforce laws that went against their tribe's code. She mentioned a time when Kanna had slammed a fellow elder's head into the wall of the meeting lodge for making offensive comments about Katara's mother's family. And yet another time when Kanna had responded to a bunch of young hunters who thought a woman couldn't keep up with them by catching more game than all of them combined.

"So, she's still the same Kanna I remember," said Yugoda. "Hearing she finally got a chance to go hunting is a pleasant surprise, as well."

"She didn't hunt when she was here?" said Katara.

"Oh, goodness, no. That's another thing women aren't permitted to do. In our tribe, the warriors also serve as hunters, but it is a duty strictly reserved for men."

"So, there are a lot of unreasonable rules in the north?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Kanna always thought it was unfair and she got in a lot of trouble when she tried to follow her father on a hunting trip, once."

"Gran-Gran's father was one of the warriors?"

"Not just any warrior. Kato was the head warrior back in the day."

"Wait, isn't that one of the highest positions in the tribe? Nauja always goes on about how her dad is the head warrior."

"Yes. Your grandmother was born into a very old and very respected family. Her father was actually the youngest man to ever hold the position of head warrior. He was also one of the kindest men I have ever met and he was always doting towards his daughters."

"Not doting enough to let them learn to hunt, though."

"Actually, Kato wanted to. Kanna told me it was his idea to sneak her into the hunting party so she could learn. When she was found out, she chose to take the blame to not get her father in trouble."

"My great-grandfather actually wanted to let women learn to hunt?"

"Your grandmother had to get that rebellious streak from somewhere, didn't she?"

Katara paused.

"You said my great-grandfather doted on his 'daughters.' So, my Gran-Gran had siblings?"

"Just the one. Her younger sister 'Tehya.' Tehya absolutely idolized your grandmother. I think she would've joined her in running away if she'd had the chance."

"Gran-Gran never told me she had a sister. Is Tehya still…still around?"

Yugoda smiled and informed her that, yes, Tehya was still alive and that she would be happy to arrange a meeting for them. Tehya even had children and grandchildren running around the tribe.

"I'm sure she would be thrilled to meet you," said Yugoda.

Actually, she knew it for a fact that Tehya wanted to meet her grandniece. The only person who mourned Kanna more than Pakku was Tehya. In fact, Tehya had gotten into a screaming match with Pakku on more than one occasion, blaming him for Kanna leaving and all but swearing a blood-feud against him. Yugoda had informed Tehya of Katara and her connection to Kanna and Tehya had broken down in tears, thanking the spirits for their mercy. She had likewise asked Yugoda to check if Katara would be willing to see her; it was the most vulnerable Tehya had ever been in front of her and she seemed genuinely concerned that Katara wanted nothing to do with her.

Yugoda then decided to tell Katara more about Kanna's hobbies and interests when she was young.

"She spent most of her time at the library. Every day she was in there learning something new that had captured her interest."

Katara went quiet for a moment, clearly thinking deeply about something.

"Did she ever have an interest in languages?" she said. "Like seal script?"

"Oh, yes! She was fascinated by languages and literature. Poems, old stories, spiritual texts, she could understand them fluently in their original styles and translated them for modern readers. She was even appointed the primary translator at the library. She was a dab hand at writing, herself, too, and practiced Earth Kingdom style calligraphy."

"She was a writer?"

"She was. And some of her works are still at the library."

"Really?"

"Certainly. Quite a few are rather inflammatory, though, so they're kept locked away in the restricted archives."

"I can't believe I never knew about any of this. I mean, I've always known Gran-Gran is smart, but I had no clue it ran that deep."

"Kanna was definitely the most accomplished lady in the North Pole. There wasn't a subject in the world she didn't want to learn about. Languages, literature, history, science, mathematics, medicine, art, you name it and I'm sure she's studied it."

"How did she have the time for all that?"

"Well, being a non-bender girl from a wealthy family, she didn't have much to do besides a few household chores. And it certainly helped that her father didn't force her to marry at sixteen."

"He didn't? But, didn't you say she had an arranged marriage?"

Yugoda let out a deep breath.

"She did, but not until after her father's death. You see, Kato wanted his daughters to be free to follow their own interests. To marry only when and if they chose. It caused a lot of conflict between him and the other council members."

"Why?"

"Things were very difficult back then. Our tribe was becoming more isolated, especially since the Fire Nation's attempted invasion was still fresh in people's memories. The chieftain at the time was determined to maintain our way of life, to restore us to the 'natural order' of things. And many of the men on his council insisted that women needed to always be in the care of men for their own wellbeing."

"That's absolute nonsense."

"A lot of women certainly thought so. But you have to understand, things weren't always like this. Before the war started, there were a number of women who did know combative waterbending. Not as many as there were male waterbenders, but they were a decent-sized group. They were some of the bravest fighters during the invasion, and even the healers were willing to charge into the battle to tend the wounded."

"So, what happened? Why was there such a shift?"

"Because of how many of them died. Don't get me wrong, plenty of men died, too. But the loss of so many women caused the birthrates to plummet. The chieftain was still young at the time and his mother had been one of the women who was killed, so the council convinced him it would be better for women to return to their 'original' roles as wives, mothers, and healers. That was when laws were passed to bar women from learning to fight."

Katara looked furious.

"After all that those women did for them, that's how they're repaid?" she said.

"That's exactly the response those women had. There were protests from the female waterbenders who'd survived, but those were met with threats of exile if the women didn't settle down, get married, and have children."

"I would've chosen exile," Katara muttered.

"A few did. But most of them couldn't bear to leave their homes and their families. Even some of the women who left came back, but they faced a great deal of scorn for it."

"They were shamed for coming back?"

"Unfortunately, yes. You see, exile is considered one of the greatest marks of shame. It means you've been cut off from your very identity as a member of the tribe. And to choose exile, to willingly leave the safety of the tribe, is seen as more or less a death sentence. When those women returned and asked to be accepted back, it was practically like they'd come back from the dead, in the eyes of the tribe. Ever since then, any woman who runs away from the tribe and returns is referred to as a 'ghost.'"

"So that's why more women didn't leave? Because of the shame?"

"Exactly. It's why none of us ever expected Kanna to run away. She knew that, if she left, she wouldn't be able to come back or she and her family would be disgraced. Some women's families refuse to even take them back, because it's better to have a daughter who's dead than one who's a 'ghost.'"

"That's…that's just horrific!"

"It's how the council kept the women from leaving. Once the protests died down, they rushed to impose more restrictions. They banned female waterbenders from using their abilities in construction or performing or even steering ships. Eventually, they issued a blanket ban against women using waterbending for anything other than healing or the most basic domestic tasks."

"And that's how it got to this point, isn't it? That's why no one even talks about women using waterbending other than for healing?"

"I'm afraid so. And your great-grandfather was one of the last few holdouts against the laws. It's why his refusal to arrange marriages for his daughters caused so much friction."

They sat in silence for a while, until Katara asked another question.

"If my great-grandfather was opposed to arranged marriages, how did Gran-Gran still end up with one?"

"The circumstances around that are rather…complicated. Perhaps it would be better for you to ask Tehya about what happened. She could explain it far better. I only really know what Kanna told me, but she and I weren't able to speak to each other for about a month before she left."

"I'm sorry. That must've been awful."

"I'll admit that it did hurt. Kanna and I were friends since we were children, and I didn't get to see her one last time. But, as far as I can tell, she didn't want to see me because I would've tried to talk her out of it."

Katara blinked at her in surprise.

"I was always the rule-follower in our group," Yugoda explained. "And I didn't really understand back then why Kanna hated how things were. If she'd come to see me and told me what she was planning, we would definitely have gotten into an argument and I might even have ratted her out."

Yugoda shook her head.

"I'm not proud of that. I think Kanna wanted to leave with only good memories of our friendship, so that's why she never said, 'goodbye.'"

"And you still see my Gran-Gran as a friend?"

"Of course. I've had quite a few years to accept her decision to leave, and I actually admire her determination. I even told my own daughter about Kanna." Yugoda paused. "Though, my husband often says I maybe told Ivalu a little too much."

"Why would he say that?"

"My daughter was always a bit of a free spirit. So, when the time came for her to be betrothed, she and her father got into a terrible fight over it. Then, the day before the wedding was meant to take place, Ivalu was gone."

"Wait. She ran away, too?"

"My daughter always had a great admiration for your grandmother from the stories I told. I don't know if Kanna ran away because of her betrothal, but Ivalu certainly saw it that way."

"Did your daughter ever come back?"

"No. As far as I know, she's running around in the Earth Kingdom somewhere."

Or dead, as everyone told her. In the eyes of the tribe, it would be better if Ivalu had died on the ice floes instead of moved on to find a better life outside the North Pole. Even Yugoda's husband had said it would be for the best if their daughter was dead. As much as she loved Inuk, she would never forgive him for saying that.

Katara seemed about to ask Yugoda something else, but was cut off as a newcomer entered the kitchen. It was her teaching assistant Sialuk.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Master Yugoda. But there's been an incident."

---

Two boys had been brought in after a nasty fight at the training yard.

Aang popped in on Katara and told her about it while she and the other girls met up in one of the unused classrooms. Apparently, the two boys had been helping Aang practice but just started hitting each other out of nowhere.

"Kisuk and Chaska are going to be in a lot of trouble," Aang said. "Master Pakku's still yelling at them and won't allow them to get healed until he's done."

"Kisuk and Chaska?" Ahnah said. "Excuse me, I…I need to go help with something."

Ahnah darted out of the room, brushing past Sialuk as she entered the hut.

"Where's she going?" Sialuk asked.

Everyone just shrugged.

"Are Kisuk and Chaska okay?" Aang asked.

"They'll be fine," said Sialuk. "Once their families are done yelling at them."

"I thought Master Pakku was yelling at them," said Katara.

"He sent someone to get their parents. Now they have to wait for another lecture to end before they can get treated."

"It's absolutely disgraceful behavior," said Tuta. "Picking fights like that over a disagreement."

"Well, they are boys. What can you expect?"

"That's no excuse." Tuta gestured towards Aang. "Do you see the Avatar beating people up for no reason?"

Aang had started playing with Momo and stopped paying attention after his question about Kisuk and Chaska was answered.

"Let me guess," said Katara. "After they get told off, that's going to be it, isn't it? Just two boys letting off steam."

"See?" said Tuta. "Katara knows what I'm talking about."

"At least we don't have to worry about behavior like that here," said Ajei.

"Of course," said Lusa. "Girls have more sense than to start pointless trouble."

That was when the sound of high-pitched laughter came from just outside the hut. Another group of girls entered, chatting amongst themselves and giggling. Katara frowned when she recognized Nauja and her cronies.

"Oops, didn't realize this hut was being used for trash storage," Nauja said.

Katara smirked.

"Yeah, but it's full," she said. "You'll have to dump that tacky parka of yours elsewhere."

"Tacky?" Nauja snapped. "I'll have you know this parka is of the highest quality. It's probably worth more than your entire dinky backwater of a village, Southerner."

"A pity the price wasn't enough to afford style to go with it."

"What would you know about style, Southerner? Restitched hand-me-downs are probably the height of fashion in whatever hovel you crawled out of."

"Bit of advice, Nauja. Next time you go shopping, maybe spend your money on a new personality. This one's a little too cheap."

Nauja bristled, her face turning a bright red.

"Huh, you know, Nauja, you might almost be pretty if makeup could cover up that nasty attitude."

"You…you…"

"What about me?"

"Do you know who I am?!"

"Why? Did you forget?"

"My father is the head of the warriors! And you dare talk to me like this? You should be ashamed!"

"If your father is the head of the warriors, he should be ashamed."

"Nauja," Sialuk spoke up. "Maybe you and your friends should leave."

"Oh, now the old lady is having a go at me?" Nauja hissed.

Katara frowned at the weird insult, not quite sure what Nauja was getting at. From what she'd been told, Sialuk was only seventeen.

"Nauja, you're being disrespectful," said Sialuk.

"Didn't you hear that southern peasant's insults towards me?"

"And you provoked her. I suggest you stop making things worse."

"I don't have to listen to you, Sialuk. You think you're something special just because of your husband. At least my father wouldn't marry me off to someone with grandkids older than me."

Sialuk was clenching her hands at her sides. The other girls all moved to stand by her. Yura had an arm around Sialuk and glared with a deep, sincere rage towards Nauja.

"What?" Nauja sneered. "Comforting your grandmother, Yura?"

"You need to leave," Pikatti said with an intense determination.

"Did you say something to me, fish-gutter?"

"Leave. Now."

Katara hadn't seen Pikatti so angry before. Normally, she was frightened of Nauja, but now she was getting bold. Even Nauja picked up on it and she and her little gang were looking less certain. This was the first time they'd tried to cause trouble since Katara and Pikatti had assembled their training group and it must have only just dawned on her that she wasn't nearly as tough as she thought. When she finally realized how many of them were against her, Nauja backed off.

"They aren't worth our time, girls," Nauja muttered as she led her group out. "Let's go before we catch the stench of losers."

Once they were gone, Sialuk collapsed.

Thankfully, Yura still had an arm around her and was able to support her long enough for Katara to help lower Sialuk gently to the ground. Tuta got a handful of healing water and placed it on Sialuk's forehead. Katara hadn't known that healing could be used for more than physical injuries, but, sure enough, Sialuk's eyes opened again and she began to frantically apologize for her fainting spell.

"It's not your fault," said Yura. "Nauja was way out of line."

"Why did she keep calling you a 'grandmother'?" said Aang.

That struck a nerve judging by the looks Yura and Sialuk made when Aang asked. Katara suddenly felt embarrassed, as if she was the one who'd brought it up instead of Aang.

"It's because Sialuk is married to my grandfather," Yura said.

Aang looked like he was ready to ask another question, but Katara caught his attention and made a gesture for him to stop. It was clearly a very personal matter and both Sialuk and Yura seemed very uncomfortable discussing it.

As they helped Sialuk to stand, Katara noticed her wincing where they held her arms.

"Did you hurt yourself, again?" Tuta asked. "Here, let me see."

Sialuk yanked herself away, flinching in obvious pain.

"I'm fine. Don't trouble yourself."

Tuta put her hands on her hips and pouted.

"Why are you always like this?" she said. "Let me see your arms."

"Tuta, maybe you should leave her be," said Yura.

But Tuta ignored her and grabbed Sialuk's right hand and pulled up the sleeve of her parka. Sialuk's skin was covered in a patchwork of bruises. Some were yellowed, older, further along in naturally healing, but others were deep purple or red, fresh injuries that she would have had to have gotten within a day or two.

"Sialuk, why didn't you say it's still happening?" Yura said, tears brimming in her eyes.

"It's nothing," said Sialuk, trying to pull away.

"This doesn't look like 'nothing,'" said Katara. Her previous embarrassment over Aang's question was replaced by anger as she recognized the marks for what they were.

"It's nobody's business but mine."

"Stop being difficult," said Tuta. "Here, let me fix this."

"No!"

Sialuk fully pulled herself free, tugging her sleeve back into place. Her expression was wild, terrified.

"You never saw anything. None of you!"

She ran out of the hut before they could stop her.

---

Sokka felt that he'd made a pretty good pitch.

After talking to Sesi a bit more about fighting, he was positive that she would be up for learning a few moves. He decided he wanted to introduce her to Katara first, just to make sure they were on the same page and so that Katara could decide whether or not Sesi should be let in on the secret lessons. Katara had said she already had some trouble keeping a couple of her students from tattling the first time she introduced the subject and he didn't want to cause her any unnecessary stress.

So, he and Sesi headed down to the healing huts.

A couple of girls who spotted Sesi giggled and whispered amongst themselves, only to quickly disappear when Sesi glared at them. Just as they started to look around for Katara and her friends, a girl came barreling into them.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said, looking practically near tears.

"It's okay," Sokka assured her. "No harm done. I was just looking for my sister. Katara."

"O-Oh, she's in there. Excuse me."

Sokka and Sesi watched her hurry away before heading in the direction she'd pointed them to. Sure enough, they found Katara and her friends inside, though they seemed very upset about something. Katara, after smiling at Sokka, suddenly glowered when she saw Sesi.

"What are you doing back here, Nauja?" she said.

Sesi crossed her arms and huffed.

"I'm not Nauja," she said.

"Really? You look just like her."

"Seriously! Why does everyone think we look alike? I mean, yeah, she's my little sister, but it's not like we're twins!"

"Oh, I'm…I'm sorry, I just-"

"Ignore her, Katara," one of the girls said, rolling her eyes. "Sesi's always like this."

"What's that supposed to mean, Tuta?" said Sesi.

"Sesi, if you were wound any tighter, you'd launch yourself to the moon."

Sesi seemed very offended but turned away with another huff. It was therefore left up to Sokka to try and smooth over the rocky start to his introduction. After explaining that he and Sesi had met at the library and that he was all for girls learning to fight and that, maybe, perhaps, possibly, some open-minded group that was secretly meeting to do just that was interested then Sokka was willing to give some pointers for non-bending self-defense. And maybe, perhaps, possibly this hypothetical group would be interested in having Sesi as their first non-bender student.

Katara, having apologized to Sesi for the mistaken identity thing, was completely on-board with the idea. The other girls, not so much. Apparently, they didn't have a whole lot of trust for Sesi considering she was Nauja's sister and this Nauja girl clearly made their lives miserable on a regular basis.

"I can understand that," Sesi said. "But you guys only have to deal with her for a few hours at the healing huts. I have to go home and be around her all the time."

As Sesi went on to describe it, Nauja was torturous to live with. She routinely insulted Sesi for being a non-bender, purposefully messed things up with the intention of blaming Sesi to get her in trouble, damaged Sesi's belongings, and would roughly pull on Sesi's braid at any opportunity.

Everyone agreed that Sesi definitely had it worse from Nauja than they did. There weren't any arguments against her joining their training sessions after that. They all decided to start over and properly introduce themselves to each other and Sokka committed the names and faces of Katara's new friends to memory.

"Great, we've got that all cleared up," Sokka said, dusting his hands together for dramatic effect. "Now we can move on to – wait, Aang, what are you doing here?"

Sokka couldn't believe he'd missed the familiar bald head and bright yellow and orange clothes amidst all the dark hair and blue parkas. He needed to up his observational skills. Missing the fact that Aang was right there was an unacceptable oversight on his part.

"I'm waiting to see if my friends from the waterbending school are okay," Aang told him. He then turned to Katara. "Do you think I can go see them, now?"

"I'd assume the lecturing period is over by now," said Katara. "So, sure."

As Katara headed out of the hut with Aang, the girls followed behind her like they were her personal entourage. It made Sokka's head spin for a moment to think of his little sister clearly being a leader, but, at the same time, it wasn't all that surprising. Sokka might be the best at keeping their team focused and plotting their travel routes and coming up with clever ideas and unmasking psychotic pretty-boys who used kids to commit terrorism, but Katara had always been the people person. She just had a natural talent for speaking to others and convincing them with her words in a way that Sokka couldn't really compare to.

She was a lot like their dad in that sense. Always quick with an inspirational speech or words of comfort.

Perhaps it was only a matter of time before she became a war chief with her own team of wolf warriors. All this current group was missing was the war paint.

They soon arrived at another hut where two boys were being fussed at by a gang of elderly ladies as their bruises were treated. Aang zipped over on his air-scooter and began to bombard the guys with questions. All but one of the old ladies and one girl quickly excused themselves.

"Aang, we're fine," one of the boys said. "It's not a big dea-OW!"

"Please don't move around so much, Kisuk," said the girl who was tending him.

"Ooh, be careful, Ahnah," said Tuta. "I don't think Sesi likes you handling her future husband so much."

Kisuk glared at her, but not half as much as Sesi did. If Sesi was a firebender, Tuta's head would've burst into flames from the intensity of that glare alone.

"He's not my future husband," Sesi said firmly.

"Oh, come on, Sesi," Tuta pressed. "Everyone knows you two are basically betrothed by now. Isn't that right, Master Yugoda?" she asked the one elderly lady who had remained.

Master Yugoda looked up from healing the other boy, her expression filled with that frustratingly amused knowingness that far too many old people had. Like she was laughing at the situation without actually laughing.

"Well, there hasn't been any official betrothal, yet," she said. "And my grandson hasn't finished carving a necklace for the girl he likes."

Kisuk's face was turning red. Ahnah, who was still treating his injuries, kept her expression neutral but Sokka noticed she was very tense.

"See?" Sesi continued. "There's nothing going on between us."

"I think someone's protesting a bit too much," said Tuta. "We all know you two are going to get together. You don't have to be so shy around us."

"We're not together!"

Tuta clearly didn't believe her and Sesi was getting more and more upset. Kisuk cleared his throat.

"We really don't see each other that way," he said.

"Of course you both are going to deny it," Tuta insisted. "Sesi's always been so proper that she hates gossip and you're too humble to admit to courting the head warrior's daughter."

"Tuta, if they say they're not together then maybe we should take that as fact," Katara spoke up.

Both Sesi and Kisuk breathed sighs of relief, probably because it was the first time anyone actually listened to them. The other girls nodded and seemed happy to drop the discussion, but Tuta still wasn't convinced.

"But everyone knows those two have been sweethearts since they were kids," she said.

"I don't think 'everyone knows' is a compelling argument," said Sokka. "Especially when both Sesi and Kisuk have said it's not true. By that same logic, I could go around convincing everyone that you're betrothed to…" He scrambled around for a name from warrior class. "…to Hahn, but would that make it true?"

"Ewww," just about every girl in the room said in unison. Even Kisuk and the other guy looked grossed out.

"Well, it would be impossible," said Tuta. "After all, Hahn is already betrothed to someone."

Sokka noticed Sesi clench her fists at that. That was strange.

"And a more egregious insult to the institution of marriage I can't even imagine," Sesi said.

"I think I can," said another of Katara's friends, Yura if he remembered correctly. She glanced towards the door. "Excuse me." She then hurried out without another word.

"So, why are you all even in here, anyway?" said the guy Master Yugoda was treating.

"I was worried about you, Chaska," said Aang. "You and Kisuk just started hitting each other for no reason and then you got yelled at for over an hour by Master Pakku before he let you get healed and then your parents showed up and-"

"All right, I get it."

"Don't be so rude to him, Chaska," said Kisuk. "He's just being nice. And it's your fault we're in here, anyway."

"None of that," Master Yugoda said, voice suddenly stern. "I won't have you two starting up another brawl. I'm especially surprised at your behavior, Kisuk. You know better than to act like this."

"Yes, Grandmother," Kisuk said in a small voice.

"You know, maybe if you two had been healers, you might have learned a bit more patience."

With that said and her work healing Chaska finished, she got up to leave. As she passed Katara, Sokka noticed Master Yugoda give his sister a slight smile and a subtle nod before heading out.

"If we'd been healers?" Chaska scoffed. "How would that even work? We're not girls."

"What?" Katara said sharply. "Think you're too good to learn healing?"

"That's not what I said."

"Boys aren't allowed to learn healing, Katara," Aang explained.

"I wish we could," said Kisuk. "Maybe it would keep us out of trouble."

"Yeah, you'd be the second-best healer in the whole tribe," said Chaska.

"Wait, second?"

"Well, obviously, I'd be in first place. Just like in waterbending class."

"You…if we could learn healing, I'd be ten times better at it than you."

Sokka immediately recognized the calculating look on Katara's face.

---

Being on the water felt as close to home as he could remember.

Even as far as he was from the Fire Nation, sailing through the frigid North Sea, Zuko could at least tell himself that the ocean was all one thing connecting every corner of the world. The water beneath the ship was the same as the water rushing to the shores of Kochi and Thousand Flower and Black Sand and Hing Wa and Ember. Even Capital Island, for all its size, was surrounded by the same ocean.

It was familiar, comfortable.

"Hurry up!"

What wasn't as familiar or comfortable for Zuko was being ordered around.

Even on the old rust-bucket that could only barely be called a Fire Nation cruiser, Zuko had been the one giving the orders. Sure, he'd pitch-in and do his part on major tasks alongside his crew when needed, but that was only because they were such a small force. And because Zuko wanted to make sure it was done correctly. And because sitting around while other people did things made him feel anxious.

Azula would probably laugh at the thought of doing any sort of menial labor, even for the sake of being undercover. Fighting? No problem. Lying, cheating, stealing, and scheming? It's only to be expected. But to actually have to risk her perfectly-manicured nails lifting a box when she could order or manipulate someone else to do it? Inconceivable.

Not that Zuko was much better. Shouting orders at people was just the only way he knew how to get things done. Being on the other end of the orders was extremely eye-opening. Especially because there was no way Zuko could shout back or start a fight if he wanted to get to the North Pole without being thrown overboard or stabbed by a fellow crewman.

So, he quickly learned to bite his tongue and do what he was told.

"You really are new at this, aren't ya, Swab?" said Captain Yelu.

He'd taken to calling Zuko 'Swab' at every opportunity. It got old very fast.

Zuko glowered down at the knot he was tying but didn't say anything. The captain gave an amused snort and moved forward to show him how to actually tie it. He was a broad man but not as tall as Zuko thought he would be from when they met at the tavern, and he barely even noticed the cold wind that rocked the ship and sent the rest of the crew shivering back below deck whenever possible.

"There. Now you try it, Swab."

Zuko copied the knot-tying as he'd seen the captain do it.

"Not bad. I s'pose you are a fast learner. Finish up and then go get yourself somethin' to eat."

The mess hall was loud, even with their small crew. Perhaps it was the same back on his own ship, but Zuko had never eaten with his men before. With the way he was welcomed in by the pack of rowdy sailors, all eager to share their wisdom with the young 'Swab,' he wondered how much he'd missed out on in nearly three years at sea.

The men had, understandably, wanted to know what experience the newest member had. So, Zuko told them the truth – or, rather, as much of the truth as he dared. He'd been at sea for almost three years alongside his uncle. He didn't have much practical experience, but he could pick things up quickly when he needed to.

He kept his responses short, not wanting to risk saying something that might give away his identity. Though it became a bit difficult when Captain Yelu's two young children started prodding him with questions.

Apparently, the captain always traveled with his family. His wife, Nalan, was the ship's navigator and knew the North Sea like the back of her hand. The two of them had decided to raise their daughter Makata and son Eje to become skilled seafarers. At the moment, however, they were rambunctious kids and far more perceptive than they should be, for the sake of Zuko's disguise.

Neither of them was satisfied with Zuko's bare-bones backstory.

"If you were at sea for two years, how come you're so bad at knots?" said Eje.

"I wasn't working on the deck."

"Well, what were you doing?" said Makata.

"Watching and learning from my uncle."

"Oh, so you didn't do any actual work?"

"I did work. Just not what I do here."

"So, what did you do?" said Eje.

"…Fought pirates, mostly."

That only served to get the kids even more interested and Zuko found himself having to give a modified version of the story surrounding the waterbending scroll incident. Obviously, he couldn't tell the kids, or the crew who were also listening, that he was Fire Nation and had been attempting to capture the Avatar.

He made it sound more like he was trying to find some friends of his and discovered that they had stolen a waterbending scroll from a gang of pirates. He'd then tried to trick the pirates into helping him locate his friends, only to get double-crossed and a big fight breaking out.

Thankfully, that sated everyone's need for a good story and Zuko was able to slip back out to the deck for some quiet.

He leaned against the rail, feeling the frosty wind on his face. It reminded him, faintly, of when Katara tried to heal his scar. The cool, gentle touch on him and the strange sense of comfort that came with it. He wondered how she was doing right then. Probably training like crazy. Zuko had no doubt that she was going to be a waterbending master in no time.

He still wasn't sure how Katara and the others would react to seeing him and it continued to leave Zuko unsettled.

"Nice night, isn't it, Swab?"

The sound of Captain Yelu's voice threw Zuko right out of his thoughts.

"Is there something you need from me, Captain?" he said.

"No, not really. Just got the sense you were a bit lost, right now."

"I don't know what you mean."

The captain moved to stand beside him and looked out over the dark waters ahead. A faint hint of moonlight peaked out from the thick clouds above, casting a rippling shadow of silver on the waves.

"What really brought you to the North Sea, Swab? I doubt it was just because you wanted a change of scenery."

"I'm trying to find some friends of mine," Zuko answered.

Captain Yelu looked at him closely.

"Is it about a girl?"

"…sort of."

"I see. Let me guess, you did somethin' you ought not have and you're trying to make amends."

Well, that and to warn everyone about an impending Fire Nation attack, but, yes.

"I just have some very important things to say."

"You know, Swab, I've been around for a while and I know a few things. May offer some advice?"

"I guess."

"The most important things you will ever say in your life are 'thank you' and 'I'm sorry.' And sometimes, you'll say them with tears in your eyes."

Zuko frowned as the captain turned and began to walk away. He then paused a moment and glanced back over his shoulder.

"As long as you're sincere to those you care about, they'll see you for who you are, lad."

He then raised a hand and, with a flick of his thumb, flipped a small object over to Zuko.

"Also, you might want to mend your pockets," Captain Yelu told him. "Or else risk dropping secrets on your way."

Zuko looked at the item in his hand. It was the lotus tile his uncle had given him. He hastily checked his robe for the spot he normally kept the tile and found that there was, indeed, a hole.

Captain Yelu simply started whistling a sailor's tune and headed to his cabin.

---

Katara was very proud of the group she'd assembled.

Her original team of Pikatti, Ahnah, Tuta, Ajei, Lusa, and Yura had made some impressive strides in the short time they'd been working together. Thanks to Yura, they'd convinced Sialuk to join, as well.

When Yura had left the healing hut, she'd gone to find Sialuk. It turned out that Sialuk had had a panic attack, which was sadly a not uncommon thing. Katara was furious about what was revealed about Sialuk's home life and what she had to go back to every day. Katara hoped that, by learning waterbending, Sialuk might be able to find some measure of strength and comfort. At the very least, she could have an outlet for what she was going through and friends who could support her.

It took every ounce of Katara's self-control not to go find Sialuk's husband and chop him into fish food. If Sialuk decided to ask for a way out, Katara was ready and willing to act. In the meantime, she could only encourage Sialuk as best she could, telling her that she had a place to go when she needed to get away and that, as friends, they would look after her.

In the actual lesson, Sialuk was clearly afraid when she started. The water seemed to sense it and trembled under her control, but Yura's presence by her side reassured her and she saw some initial improvement.

"We've been friends since we were little," Yura told Katara. "I have to do something. I can't let her keep living like this."

Yura had been proving very capable at the lessons since they started. Even if she didn't have the same passion for waterbending that Katara did, it was obvious she was pushing herself. And seeing how she made sure to stay close to Sialuk, Katara now understood what was behind that motivation.

The other girls each had their own levels of ability and interest in what Katara taught them.

Pikatti was, in a manner of speaking, Katara's star pupil. She took every word Katara said to heart, driving herself forward constantly and pushing the boundaries of what she could do. It was like she no longer felt she had anything to lose. Her past fears had been steadily washed away, at least within that cave.

Ahnah was similarly talented. Despite being one of the quietest in the group, there was a vicious streak with Ahnah's waterbending. She definitely had the makings of a fierce warrior, as each strike she dealt was practically radiating with a furious energy. She needed to work on her precision, though, as she nearly blasted a hole right through the cave wall, which would not have ended well for anyone if Katara and Pikatti hadn't stopped it in time.

Ajei and Lusa worked best together. They had developed a sort of system in their short time training where they would reinforce each other. When one began to falter, the other would support. They didn't really work well on their own, which Katara hoped to change. While working together was good, they needed to learn how to function separately.

Tuta was struggling the most. She was still very reluctant to even be there and still frequently made comments about how they shouldn't be doing this, but Katara had a sense that Tuta wasn't about to run off and tell anyone about what was going on. Another problem Tuta was having was an obvious lack of energy. She was soft and plump and, honestly, kind of cute, but had never had much experience with physical activity, leaving her muscles underdeveloped. She didn't know how to handle a lot of exercise at once; she didn't even know how to regulate her breathing properly and nearly passed out on the first day.

Katara had to figure out ways to get her in a better state to cope with the training. It was slow-going, at the moment, because Tuta didn't seem interested in improving and Katara wasn't going to force her into anything she wasn't willing to do. She didn't even demand Tuta do waterbending moves when she didn't want to.

There were times Katara wasn't sure what Tuta got out of joining their group. She'd been the most vocal opponent of it, but Katara's argument must have done its work as Tuta continued to come every day. Perhaps it had been emotionally manipulative on Katara's part to talk about the threat the Fire Nation posed, but that was a tragic reality. Katara didn't want to instill fear, but if it motivated Tuta to come back, then it meant Tuta had a greater chance of surviving in the future.

Of course, the lessons were likely to become very different going forward, as, aside from Sialuk, there were several new members present.

Sokka was really getting into teaching his hand-to-hand lessons. He'd even put on his Kyoshi Warrior uniform and actually used some war paint he'd gotten to improvise the makeup as best he could.

The girls were confused by this and Katara was worried the boys who'd joined them might start laughing. Kisuk looked like he was going to, but stopped himself when Ahnah said she liked the uniform.

"This is the clothing of a Kyoshi Warrior," Sokka explained to them. "They normally don't accept men in their ranks, but I was lucky enough that their leader gave me a chance. The uniform is a symbol of bravery and honor."

He then had Sesi try to hit him. She was hesitant, but then threw a punch which Sokka blocked easily. Kisuk was still skeptical about Sokka's abilities – probably more because of the very feminine outfit than anything – until Sokka invited him to do the same thing. Sokka not only blocked Kisuk's punch, he twisted his arm behind his back and got him in a prone position. It seemed he wasn't exaggerating the skills he'd learned from Suki.

"You know, that wouldn't have done much good if he'd been waterbending at you," said Chaska.

"But he wasn't," said Sokka. "Not all fights can be solved with waterbending. And there's always a chance you'll be in a situation where you can't defend yourself with waterbending."

That was a fair point. There was no telling what they were going to encounter in the future and it was best to always have a backup plan. On realizing that, Katara was actually excited to learn some fight moves from her brother. He'd never been interested in teaching her in the past, but things were definitely changing now.

Sesi, of course, was the one who was the most invested in Sokka's lessons. She threw herself into practicing with an almost manic intensity. When Sokka gave her a knife to practice with and told her she could keep it, she stared in awe at the weapon like a mother does at her newborn baby.

When it came to teaching Kisuk and Chaska healing, that led right into a contest to see who could master it first.

Kisuk was the first to produce a glow that would barely be able to heal a papercut. Still, he took that as a sign of victory and began to crow about it. None of the girls was particularly impressed. Even Aang only said a friendly, 'Good job.' That didn't matter to Kisuk. Just being able to learn clearly meant something to him. And Chaska, too, once he managed to create a dim glow.

Still, Katara felt the real victory was her own.

Not only had she broken into the other side of the Northern Water Tribe's system, teaching boys that they had a right to learn healing just like girls deserved to waterbend, but she also now had two of the top waterbending students in her corner. And Kisuk and Chaska were willing to share what they knew from years of training with Master Pakku. Their experience helped bolster the lessons and Katara found that her own waterbending was also benefitting from it.

It had actually been easier to convince them to join than she'd expected.

Both boys were angry at being yelled at and wanted to get some sort of karmic revenge against their teacher, even if they did deserve it for fighting. They were also not as interested in the tribe's rules as their classmates, despite being Master Pakku's most prized pupils. When Aang told her of how they faced down the bully who'd wanted to pick on him, Katara had a feeling they would be more open-minded than others at the waterbending school.

Kisuk, as it turned out, really liked to teach. While he was a little hesitant at first, he was quickly caught up by the enthusiasm the girls showed. When Ahnah quietly asked if he would help her practice, he just about tripped over himself to do so.

Chaska was harder to get through to. He'd figured out what was going on faster than Kisuk did when Katara and Pikatti had started dropping hints and hypotheticals back at the healing hut.

"Doing this is a violation of at least a dozen laws," Chaska had said. "We could all be exiled for this."

"Those laws are ridiculous," Katara snapped back. "Why shouldn't women learn to fight or men to heal?"

"I'm not saying it's right, only that the laws are there. Is it really worth the risk?"

"You won't get anywhere if you don't take a few risks. Besides, those laws only have weight if people care enough to follow them. If enough people disobey, are they even laws anymore?"

In the end, Chaska decided he would only agree to help if Katara proved to him that she had the will and the drive to become a waterbender. Pikatti widened the cave enough that they could have a duel.

Chaska was brutal in his attacks. He didn't hold back for a second or "go easy" on Katara because she was a girl. She appreciated that. In the end, Katara lost to him, but Chaska said that he really admired her style and the unique forms she'd developed and that she'd proven that she did have what it took to become a master. Katara didn't tell him that, while he might not have been holding back, she definitely was. She'd only been aiming to impress him with her skills. If she'd wanted to hurt him, she would have used every single move and trick she knew to take him down.

But she was allowed to keep a few secrets to herself.

"Good work, everyone," she said as their training session wrapped up. "I don't want to keep you guys too late, so I'll just say that it's an honor to train alongside you. Same time tomorrow."

After saying their goodbyes for the evening, everyone headed home.

Katara was still buzzing from the lesson, however, and felt like she could do more. The moon was out and, as the light touched her, she realized she wouldn't be able to sleep if she didn't burn off some energy.

"Hey, Aang," she said. "I was wondering something."

"Wondering what?" said Aang.

"Since I've been able to adapt firebending and earthbending moves to waterbending, do you think there are any airbending moves that might work, too?"

"Oh, uhhh, I'm not sure. I don't really see how."

"Well, air and water aren't that different if you really think about it. I don't think I could adapt something like the air-scooter to water, but there must be a few things that would work for waterbending."

"Maybe. I suppose we could try it. We'd need more space than the cave, though."

Sokka decided to head back to the guest house while Katara and Aang chose to find a place to practice. They settled on a spot beneath a nearby bridge and the two began their air-to-waterbending test.

---

Pikatti focused on the ice.

Pulling it up from the ground and smashing it, imagining she was striking Nauja's face. She knew it wasn't healthy to imagine hurting someone, but Nauja always drove her to a point of rage. A rage she had to suppress for her own good. Anger was inappropriate for a woman. Violence was unacceptable for a woman.

Remember your place, fish-gutter.

Pathetic excuse for a healer. Not fit for anything other than popping out babies and keeping house for a man who couldn't afford a better wife. Even her smelly, fishermen family are embarrassed of her. An absolute failure.

Smash!

I don't care what you think! I don't care! I don't care! I don't care!

"Remember, if you ever want to start over somewhere new, the South Pole would definitely welcome a person as talented as you, Pikatti."

That had been the first time anyone had said something so kind to her. Had made her feel like she was actually worth something. A girl from the Southern Water Tribe, with sparkling eyes and a fire in her heart, had given Pikatti more respect than anyone in her own homeland had shown her.

Not even her own family.

When she went home and sat down to dinner, she kept her head bowed and didn't speak unless called on. She didn't say a word the whole time.

She wanted to scream.

"I've heard from a few fellas that might be interested in making offers," Dad said. He looked at her. "You're gonna be sixteen before too long, Katti. It's time to start considering your options."

Options? It was painful trying not to burst out laughing. She probably bruised a rib from the effort.

"I wish you would try harder at school, though," Mom added. "You could already be a proper healer, now, if you really worked at it. And your choices for a husband would be even better."

Pikatti flicked a glance towards her older sister who was visiting them that evening while her husband was working late. Aakulu was squirming in her seat and looking like she might throw up again, her large belly, eight months along, making it difficult to move around to attend to her three other kids. Aakulu was barely twenty-one.

Her gaze then drifted to her eldest brother's wife who had recently given birth to her seventh baby. There was already talk of how she was going to have another one once her healing time had passed.

"I know, sweetie," Mom said, patting her hand. "You'll have a family of your own, soon enough. Just be patient."

She must have noticed what Pikatti was looking at. But Mom just didn't see what she did.

What would they do if she ran out the door right then and didn't come back?

When the time came to put the little ones to bed, Pikatti was on her feet to assist before the order to do so even passed her mom's lips. Her eldest niece was a squirmy one, though, and started running around the house, refusing to go to bed. Pikatti offered to go and wrangle rambunctious little Nivi while her sister-in-law took care of the others.

She chased the child outside where Nivi began playing in the snow.

"Nivi, it's time to sleep. Get inside before you get sick."

"Aunt Katti, look what I can do."

That's when Nivi started to move the snow without touching it.

The water was responding to her already.

Suddenly, the girl before her wasn't Nivi. The five-year-old girl who'd waterbent for the first time, smiling up with pride and excitement over finding her new gift, was Pikatti. Dreams long dashed were floating around her, just out of reach once again.

Once she told her family of this blessing, they would take it away.

"That's wonderful, Nivi," Pikatti said, ruffling the girl's hair.

"I haven't told anyone else," Nivi added. "Not even Mama and Daddy. I wanted you to be the first."

She lifted Nivi up into her arms, keeping the girl facing over her shoulder so she couldn't see the tears rolling down Pikatti's cheeks. Then, she said the words she wished someone had told her when she'd first found her gift.

"I'm so proud of you, kid. I'm sure you'll be a great waterbender."

---

"Where have you been, Ahnah?"

"I'm sorry, Father. I was practicing late at the healing huts."

"Hmph, it's unseemly for a girl your age to walk the streets this late."

"Yes, Father. I'm sorry. I'll try to be more punctual."

"You missed supper," Mother added, frowning. "You know the rule, Ahnah."

If you don't show up, you don't eat.

Maybe, if she was stronger, more like Katara, she could tell her parents what she thought of their rules.

Instead, she kept her eyes on the floor as she walked past them to the room she shared with her sisters. Imi was still awake, sewing, while the others were fast asleep. When Ahnah sat down, Imi glanced at the door to make sure their parents weren't lurking outside. She then slipped a few strips of seal jerky to Ahnah without saying anything.

Ahnah gave her a nod in thanks, but Imi only blinked and went back to her sewing.

She'd always been like that. Imi didn't like words. Sometimes she cried when Mother and Father tried to make her speak.

Imi didn't even look up when Ahnah tip-toed back out of their room and snuck up to the roof. She sat up there for a good, long while, just watching the ocean in the distance, hearing the rush of the fountains emptying into the canal, and feeling the cold wind on her face. Up there, nothing mattered. She was far away and eating her seal jerky.

"Have you gotten any offers for her?" Mother's voice rose from the small window of their room. Even from behind the pelt cover, Ahnah could hear it.

"None worth looking at," said Father. "You'd think one of our daughters would have an army of suitors to choose from. She's almost seventeen, for pity's sake."

"…It really is a shame she never truly blossomed the way I thought she would. The women in my family have always been considered great beauties."

"I'll say that's definitely true, my dear."

"I don't know why Ahnah hasn't inherited that."

"If only she'd been a son. She's a strong waterbender, but what good is that if all she's ever going to be is a healer? If she'd been a boy, maybe then we'd have someone who could hold his own against that bratty son of Taqqiq's at the waterbending school."

Ahnah would hardly call Kisuk 'bratty.' Father was just making up things to get angry about, as usual.

"That Taqqiq and his family all think they're better than us."

Ah, there it was. Father's rivalry with that family, again. It always came up. Every single day for as long as she remembered, Father would find any reason to mention it. When Ahnah had first started at the healing huts, Father had gone into a fury when she was put in Master Yugoda's class.

"My daughter can't learn from that woman," he'd said. "After all the grief her husband's family has caused mine! Put Ahnah in any other class but that one."

The matter of how many sons that family had was also a constant complaint in their house. Taqqiq was the eldest of six sons and, himself, had four sons of his own. But Father didn't even have a single son to his name, only five daughters, the eldest of whom wouldn't even be able to find a husband before her seventeenth birthday.

Ahnah drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. She lowered her head, ignoring the stinging in her eyes, and continued to listen to the noise she wished would stop.

"Why couldn't she have been a boy?" Father said. "Was it too much to ask of the spirits to bless us with just one?"

"I know, dear," Mother consoled him. "It's not your fault. I'm…I'm sorry I couldn't..."

"No. No, my love, it's not your fault, either. Fate just wasn't on our side in this. There, there, don't cry."

Father didn't like women crying. It seemed Ahnah failed in that, too.

---

"You've been out late."

Kisuk smiled at Grandma Yugoda. Most boys, when asked, would say their fathers were the ones they looked up to more than anyone. For Kisuk, though, it had always been his grandmother.

She sat him down and gave him a bowl of stew she'd kept warm for him since he'd missed suppertime. The rest of the family was still up, talking and maybe playing games, but Kisuk didn't really feel like joining in with that just then. Instead, he sat in the kitchen with Grandma, who was watching him closely, as if she knew what he'd been up to that night.

"I hope you and Chaska don't get into any more fights," she said.

"Not planning on it."

"Because you're a bright boy and know better than to resort to violence, especially towards a friend."

"I know, Grandma. And…and thank you."

"For what?"

"For reminding me of what's important."

As a little boy, Kisuk had wanted to be a healer. The memory of when he'd started wishing for that still stood out in his mind. He'd taken a nasty fall while doing something stupid and reckless, he couldn't even remember what it was other than that an older boy had dared him, and he'd sprained his ankle and was lying on the ground screaming and crying. Grandma Yugoda had come rushing over and healed him right away, and then told him a joke about koala-otters.

Why are they koala-otters and not koala-bears?

I don't know.

Because they don't have the right koala-fications.

He'd laughed and laughed and started inserting the word 'koala' into all his conversations for about a week afterwards. And it was that incident that made him want to be like his grandmother. To make other people feel better when they were hurt or sick or even just sad. He wanted to be the one to turn tears into smiles and laughter.

Perhaps getting into that fight with Chaska had been a good thing, as much as he regretted it. If they hadn't gotten hurt and sent to the healing huts, they might never have gotten the chance to meet Katara and join in an illicit waterbending class. He still felt awful about hitting his friend, though.

"Grandma?"

"Yes, Kisuk?"

"If I was involved in something that the rest of the family might not approve of, would you still care about me?"

"Of course, Kisuk. Nothing in the world could make me stop caring about you. Whether I approve of what you're doing…in this hypothetical case, that is…would depend on the nature of what it was."

"I see. And what, hypothetically-speaking, would meet with your approval or disapproval?"

"Well, if you were running around and getting into fistfights with your friends, I wouldn't be too happy about that. But if you were, I don't know, in a secret club where you were learning healing and teaching what you know about fighting to your female peers, I wouldn't see anything wrong with that."

Kisuk smiled and took a sip of stew.

"And what if I, again hypothetically, wanted to marry a girl that the rest of the family doesn't like?"

He thought of the dark sea glass pendant he'd spent about a year carving to get exactly right, which he still wasn't satisfied with, that now seemed to be burning guiltily in one of the inner pockets of his parka.

"I'd say that I am sure you are a very good judge of character and that I'm certain any girl who catches your eye is absolutely wonderful."

Kisuk let out a relieved breath.

"Thanks, Grandma. I really…it means a lot to hear that."

"No trouble, my boy. No trouble, at all."

"Um, Grandma, one more thing."

"Yes, Kisuk."

"If there is a girl I want to marry other than the one Mom and Dad chose, is there a way I can convince them to accept my decision? Hypothetically, of course."

"Hmm, whether they will accept it, I can't actually say. Your parents, dear as they are to me, are not always so easy to convince when they've made up their minds."

Kisuk felt his spirits sink.

"That being said, perhaps you need to consider if their consent truly matters in this case. After all, this is a decision which you and the girl you marry will have to live with."

Kisuk was stunned. Was his grandmother actually suggesting that he not get his parents' permission? Before he could ask her more, Dad poked his head into the kitchen.

"Ah, son, you're home," Dad said. "I have something important to discuss with you."

Kisuk followed him into the trophy room. Dad went on a lot of hunting expeditions and the pelts of his finest kills lined the entire room, along with a collection of weapons. He and Head Warrior Nanuq were old friends and some of the weapons had been personal gifts. At least one had been given by the head warrior to Dad after Dad had saved his life.

"Take a seat, son."

Dad seemed unusually serious. Kisuk had a bad feeling he knew exactly where the conversation was headed.

"You know I only want what's best for you, son," he said. "That I wish for you to live a happy, successful life. To have a family of your own and make the best of all the wonderful opportunities you have."

"I know, Dad."

"And you understand that I would never want to pressure you. I am certain you're planning to make the right choice, eventually, but I can't help but feel you don't recognize the awkward position you've put me and the family in because of your hesitation."

"Is this about Sesi?" Kisuk said in heavy resignation.

"You haven't presented a betrothal necklace, yet."

"Dad, I'm not sure if-"

"I know, son. You're not sure if your necklace will be good enough. Our family's never been all that great at handicrafts. But if you're that uncertain, we can hire a carver to make one for you."

"No, Dad, that's not it. I don't think Sesi and I-"

"Ah, now I understand. You're worried the two of you might not have waterbender children because most of her family are non-benders. It is a pity Nauja isn't the elder daughter. But she's still only fourteen and you aren't getting any younger."

Dad chuckled. Kisuk just felt gross.

"But you don't need to worry, son. Their family always produces at least one waterbender in each generation. And even if all your sons are non-benders, they will undoubtedly be strong warriors. As long as you can have a good life with a family of your own, I'll be satisfied."

"Dad, you're not listening to me. The truth is, I don't-"

"Don't know if she likes you back. Of course, why didn't I get it sooner? You two have never officially courted each other. That's why you're hesitating."

Dad reached over and mussed his hair.

"You always were a shy one, Kisuk. You've just got the jitters because you and Sesi haven't had the chance to face your feelings for each other. Ah, son, that'll all turn out well once you two get married. Nanuq and I have talked the whole thing out and we're both positive that you and Sesi will be a perfect couple. If she's still a bit skittish around you, that's perfectly normal for a young lady. You just have to wait it out and she'll come around. You'll see."

"Dad-"

"Chin up, son. Just go for it and things will all be all right. Now, head on up to bed. We can see about finding a necklace in the morning. Before you know it, you and Sesi will be making your vows to the spirits."

With that dismissal, Kisuk dragged himself up to his room. He immediately dropped face-first onto his bed and screamed into the furs. His little brothers eventually showed up and expressed their sympathies for his plight by poking him and laughing.

---

"Tuta, you're finally home, I was beginning to worry."

She apologized to her stepmother for her tardiness. Thankfully, Father was staying late at the temple again, so he wasn't around to make a fuss. Tuta explained that she was training a bit late with her friends, taking care to omit the fact that she was actively breaking the law. She wasn't lying, of course. Lying was a terrible thing to do. She was just very cautious about her wording.

Stepmother seemed to be satisfied with her answer and that was what was most important. As long as Stepmother was happy, Tuta could be at ease.

"That's good to hear, sweetheart," she said. "It's such a relief to hear you're doing better. Come, sit down, I should have supper ready soon."

She bustled about energetically and wouldn't let Tuta lend a hand.

"You've had a long day," Stepmother said. "It's hard work being a healer. Don't stress yourself."

"I'm perfectly fine," said Tuta.

Stepmother didn't acknowledge her words beyond a pacifying nod. She didn't believe her. No one ever seemed to listen when Tuta said she was all right. It had been like that for as long as she could remember. All the way back to when her mother passed away.

According to everyone and their grandmother, Tuta was doomed to suffer the same fate.

She could still recall the symptoms from her mother's final days. The tiredness, the headaches, the sudden pains, the corpse-like complexion, the sad, dispassionate resignation. She couldn't even picture her mother without seeing the hollow shell of a woman that she'd become right at the end.

And the possibility that the same fate awaited Tuta had meant her life after her mother's death was one of strict order. She needed to be a good girl and to follow all the rules if she wanted to stand a chance of getting the spirits' blessing. If they looked favorably upon her then Tuta might be spared her mother's horrible destiny. Women were naturally weaker and in need of protection, but Tuta was doubly so on account of her mother's illness. Just practicing at the healing huts was likely causing a massive strain for her delicate health. If she felt the slightest discomfort, she was to come home immediately and rest.

It was not as though Tuta was ungrateful for the care her family showed her. She loved them all dearly and would do anything for them that they asked. Except, the only thing they asked was that she be a well-behaved young lady and not overtax herself.

As Stepmother filled dishes to overflowing with food and set them before her, Tuta felt a pang of shame that she was deceiving her.

Father arrived not long after, proclaiming that the head shaman had predicted great things for the coming year. He kissed his wife and gently patted the top of Tuta's head as if she was still a small child. Tuta gave a soft 'Welcome home, Father' before silently returning to her meal. She would not be permitted to leave until she ate everything Stepmother had served to her.

Mother had refused to eat in her final days. She was so thin that she was nothing more than a skeleton with skin hanging off her like a shroud.

Tuta didn't have that problem, as yet. She'd actually become quite round from all the food Stepmother made her eat and the fact that she was forbidden from doing any sort of strenuous exercise. It wasn't that she minded having a few extra pounds on her, but she'd recently found herself running out of breath or straining to walk long distances or struggling with any type of physical exertion, especially while training with Katara.

Well, you shouldn't even be training with Katara, an unhelpful voice echoed in her mind. You should be at home resting. Stepmother was worried because of you.

It was terrible of her to be breaking so many rules.

If word got out about it, her family would be disgraced for her actions. Why couldn't she just be grateful for all that they sacrificed for her sake? Her father was such a good, noble man in tune with the will of the spirits. If he said that this way of life was best for her, who was she to deny it?

Yet, despite knowing it was wrong, Tuta wasn't ashamed of herself.

It had been tiring work so far, but Tuta actually found she was starting to feel better than she had in ages. She'd never trained her muscles before and the ache was horrible, but strangely nice at the same time. Being able to get so close with her element in a way other than healing was almost transformative.

Almost a spiritual experience.

Tuta had long admired her father and his close ties to the spirits. She'd often dreamed of what it would be like to carry such a responsibility on her own shoulders. To show other people the way to truth and guide those who strayed back to a virtuous path and thus establish greater balance in the universe.

When she'd asked her father if she could train as a shaman, however, his response had been less than encouraging.

'The duties of such a position are too great a burden for you, Tuta. Besides, girls are not meant to lead as a shaman does. No, the most spiritual thing a girl can do is faithfully serve her husband and raise her children to revere the spirits.'

Tuta had asked Katara about what shamans in the South Pole were like.

Katara said they didn't have shamans. Instead, an angakkuq was a spiritual leader and guardian of the tribe's history, traditions, and legends, a peacemaker and healer and teacher. Sesi had then chimed in that, from what was written at the library, the North Pole used to have angakkuqs instead of shamans and scholars.

Maybe, with what little time Tuta had left to live, she could try and revive the tradition.

"Shaman Quanah, are you in?" a voice called from outside.

Tuta's heart began to pound in her chest as she recognized who it was.

"Who could that be at this hour?" her father grumbled as he got to his feet to answer.

He returned shortly afterwards with a tall, handsome boy that Tuta knew very well. Far better than was strictly proper, but she would never tell her parents that. Not that they'd done anything irreparably damaging to her reputation, but they had been alone together and gone beyond simply holding hands.

"Akicita, how lovely to see you," Stepmother said warmly. "Come, sit down. We were just starting supper."

"Thank you, Imma, but I'm here about a very important matter that I need to address right away."

He looked over at Tuta with the kindest, most beautiful eyes and offered her a reassuring smile. She smiled back as she knew exactly what he was there for and she was certain her family would agree. He was from a noble background, was a respected member of the warriors, and had always shown himself to be a good and capable young man. He was a perfect match for her.

"I am here to ask if you will agree to grant me your daughter Tuta in marriage."

He dropped to his knees and presented the betrothal necklace he'd carved. Once Father gave permission, Akicita – her beloved Aki – would tie it around her neck and there it would stay for the rest of her life.

"No."

Tuta blinked.

She couldn't have heard that right. She almost thought her father had refused Akicita's proposal.

"My daughter will not be marrying you."

A pain began to bloom in her chest, punching right through her and knocking all the air out of her lungs.

"Sir, I am aware I'm not good enough for Tuta," Akicita said. "But may I ask the reason for your refusal? Perhaps there's a way for me to prove myself."

"It is not your fault, young man," Father said. "I'm sure you've heard that my daughter isn't in the best of health. I can't risk her life by agreeing to any sort of marriage."

"Sir, there's nothing wrong with Tuta. She seems as healthy as she is beautiful."

"I think I know my own child's health and wellbeing better than you, Akicita."

"Shaman Quanah, I promise you, I would do anything for Tuta. If she's sick, I can take care of her."

"Enough. You've made your offer and I've said 'no.' That is the end of the matter."

"Sir-"

"I think it would be best if you left."

Tuta exchanged a glance with her Aki. He was devastated. She wanted to reach out to him, but she was shaking so much that she couldn't do anything. Stepmother noticed and, mistaking it for Tuta being so overwrought by the situation it triggered her illness, she rushed to wrap a blanket around her and chimed in her agreement with Father's order for Aki to leave.

So, head bowed in disappointment, Aki left, sparing one last look at Tuta as he did so.

"The nerve of that boy," said Father. "Thinking he can come in here and take advantage of my daughter."

"Father," Tuta finally managed. "He's a good man. Why wouldn't you agree to a betrothal?"

"Tuta, you mean the world to me. But after what happened to your mother…well, I suppose it was my fault. Perhaps if I hadn't married her, she would have had a few more years. I never want to see you go through that. A marriage would only put an unnecessary strain on you as it did for her. I cannot allow it."

"But it's a woman's duty to get married and to bear children. It's the most sacred thing in the world a woman can ever do."

"I know, sweetheart. I know. It pains me to deny you such an important thing, but I only want what's best for you. Just imagine what would happen if any children you have also inherit your mother's illness. Could you bear the guilt of inflicting such suffering on innocent lives?"

"Don't worry, Tuta," Stepmother added. "Everything will be all right."

Tuta nodded silently. Her family knew what was best for her. They only wanted to protect her.

She kept repeating those thoughts even as she lay in her bed weeping for the life she would never be permitted to have. The life that every other girl would have, whether they wanted it or not.

---

Before Chaska could even set a foot in the door, a blast of icy water knocked him down.

No, not just water, but ice shards. Pointed. There were slashes through the parka and Chaska could feel warm blood trickling down from where he'd been scratched. Father was being more proactive.

"Pathetic. If you're going to waste time and stay out late, you are going to make up for it in training."

He was still angry about Chaska's fight with Kisuk. Not the fight, itself, but because Chaska hadn't won. He hadn't beaten his friend into an unrecognizable, bloody pulp. Frankly, Father probably wouldn't have been satisfied unless Chaska had killed Kisuk – which would only result in him getting angry if Chaska got exiled for murder.

Another blast came careening towards him and Chaska was ready that time to deflect it.

Father's attacks were relentless. He wouldn't stop until Chaska was completely beaten down. He was tempted to fake it, but Father would see right through him. He always seemed to know when Chaska was trying to get away. He wasn't allowed to stop until Father said so.

The fight dragged on. The neighbors often complained about how late into the night they went on for when Father was feeling particularly vindictive, but Father had a way of persuading them not to bring the matter before Chief Arnook. None of the neighbors ever spoke to them because of it.

"You're not trying hard enough, boy! This is what happens when you stay out late and slack off."

Even if Chaska managed to get a word in and say he was late home because he was training somewhere else, Father would only argue that Chaska should still be better than this regardless of whether or not he was tired. He was the top student, after all. He wasn't allowed to be tired.

He pushed back with everything he had, but it was like throwing himself against a wall. After nearly two hours of being hit, sliced, and tossed around, Chaska fell to his hands and knees, shivering from the cold and exhaustion. He thought he might throw up, but forced it down. Father would only get angrier if he showed such weakness.

"Disgraceful. What a miserable performance. How you made into the top student position, I will never understand. Go get yourself cleaned up before you shame this family any further."

With that, Father turned and left. Right before he blacked out, Chaska saw Mom racing out the door.

When he woke up, he was in his room and bundled up in a mountain of furs as Mom healed his scratches and bruises. His younger siblings were there, too, watching him with deep worry. They always got upset when Father was in one of his moods, but he only vented it on them if Chaska wasn't there to take the blows instead.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Chaska said.

She sniffled and didn't look up. He'd gotten hurt again and now she was sad. It was his fault that she had to worry. If he could just do better, maybe she would be happy like she was when Chaska was younger.

"Are you finished in there, yet?!" Father called from outside.

"J-just another minute, dear," Mom answered.

That wasn't fast enough and Father barged in anyway. His siblings all squeezed into a corner and tried to make themselves as small as they could. Father scoffed at the sight of Chaska lying there. He grabbed Mom by the arm and pulled her up.

"He's healed enough," Father said.

"Please, dear. Let me finish-"

"You can't keep coddling him. He's a man now and he needs to learn to deal with a little pain."

"But-"

He dragged her out, stopping only a moment to shout at the rest of his children to go to bed. Chaska tried to sit up, but a sharp, throbbing pain in his stomach where Father had kicked him sent him toppling onto his side, choking and retching. His brother Minik rushed over to support him and rub his back. He then helped Chaska to lie flat again.

"I'm sorry," Chaska said again.

"Don't," said Minik. "It's not your fault."

Little liar. It was always Chaska's fault.

"I…I think I can help."

That was when Minik bent water around his hands and set them on Chaska's stomach. The water was glowing. Chaska could have laughed. Minik was a natural healer. Even untrained, he was doing a better first attempt than Chaska had managed at the secret lessons. Maybe he should bring Minik along next time he went.

The kid would do really well.

That is, so long as Father didn't find out and snap Minik's wrists for daring to use girly bending. It wouldn't be the first time that Father had done something like that. Chaska still had scars on his hands from when he'd been caught doing it.

He'd been six when that happened.

"…I'm only doing it because I care!" Father's voice echoed from outside. "He'll never get better if I'm too soft on him! The world won't give him a pass for being weak!"

Mom was always quiet, so Chaska couldn't hear her response.

"No, I'm not being too harsh! If he's going to become the top waterbending master after Pakku retires, he can't be allowed to get sloppy or other men will walk all over him!"

If someone else wanted to succeed Master Pakku, they were welcome to the position. At that moment, the only thing Chaska was aspiring to was sleep.

"…And he's still slacking on finding a wife! How is he expected to start a household and continue the family line if he can't even decide on a woman! At this rate, we'll be dead before he fathers any children of his own!"

They would definitely be dead before that happened. Whether Chaska was married or not, that would always be the case.

"And you're not doing anything to help, Mirra! All you do is smother him like he's a child! He's already eighteen and you haven't been able to find a single girl for him!"

It wasn't for lack of trying on Mom's part. She'd been doing her best and Chaska should have made it easier for her. She wanted him to find a girl he would be happy with, to choose for himself, but all Chaska told her was "Whatever you want." That had only made her cry.

Mom cried because of him a lot. Chaska hated himself for it.

When Minik finished healing him, he and the other kids tucked themselves in beside Chaska. His youngest sister, Lalli, kissed his cheek and told him to get better soon, resting her tiny hand in his. She was only four years old and he was already willing to do what she asked of him.

He fell into a more restful sleep than he'd had in a while, buried under a pile of furs and younger siblings.

---

Sesi ran through the side streets, ducking into shadows and vaulting over walls.

She was good at not being seen, but now she was going to make that skill a weapon rather than a shield. Sokka had encouraged her to use whatever she had to make herself stronger and more capable as a warrior. Up until she met him, Sesi's experiences with boys had been middling at best. But Sokka was the first boy…the first male person of any stripe…to tell her she could be something more than just a quiet, well-behaved assistant at the library. Not that she didn't love her work, but she didn't want it to be the entirety of her life.

Blood was pounding in her veins as she continued to run until her lungs burned. Seeing a canal ahead of her, she pushed herself into a sprint and leapt across. She stumbled a little as she hit the other side, but soon got back on her feet and pressed on. She eventually reached the side of a building that led up to the higher level where her house was.

It was constructed right into the wall. The bottom floor exited onto the main street, but the top one opened onto a street in one of the more exclusive residential areas.

Taking a steadying breath, Sesi moved as quietly as she could and stepped onto the first windowsill. She jumped and grabbed tightly to the one above it and pulled herself up. And then to the third floor. And then the fourth. Going for the roof was tricky, but she managed to reach it, the toes of her boots just barely touching the window lintel beneath her.

She gritted her teeth and pulled. Sesi nearly collapsed in relief as she rested on the thin ledge at the base of the roof's dome. After pausing a minute to collect herself, she carefully inched along the ledge until she came to the opposite side of the building.

She dropped easily onto the ground below and walked the rest of the way home.

When she saw who was waiting at the door, Sesi wanted to turn and leave. Nauja was standing there, arms crossed and a self-satisfied look on her face.

"You have some nerve, Sesi. Where were you?"

"None of your business, Nauja."

She tried to shove past, but Nauja shot her hand out and grabbed Sesi's braid, yanking it so hard Sesi's neck snapped back painfully.

Sesi had had enough. Before Nauja could start her obnoxious giggling, Sesi twisted around, grabbed her sister's hand, and bent it back the way Sokka had taught her. Nauja yelped in surprise and pain, but Sesi didn't let up.

"You ever touch me again, I'll give back twice what you inflict on me."

Sesi released her and Nauja glared.

"I'm telling Mother and Father what you did."

"Tell them what?"

Nauja looked at her hand which had no sign of bruising and scowled. Even if their parents did tend to take Nauja's side when Sesi had tried to stand up to her before, it would be a very bold claim that Sesi, a helpless non-bender girl who spent all her time at the library, would ever do anything physically violent.

Not that Sesi wanted to make a habit out of this. She hoped to never have to hurt Nauja again, but pain, of one form or another, was the only thing her little sister ever truly understood.

"Nauja, is Sesi home, yet?" Mother called from inside.

"Yes," Nauja answered calmly, though still with that ugly expression on her face. "She's back safe and sound."

Mother came bustling out of the other room and began fussing. She checked Sesi over for any type of injury and then started her lecture about how it's not safe for a young lady to be out so late. Sesi wanted to remind her mother that it wasn't really that late, the daylight was simply in short supply because it was winter. She wanted to, but she didn't. Talking back would just mean an additional lecture.

"Nanuq, tell your daughter to be more conscious of the time," said Mother. "And of the risks to her safety."

Father blinked as he looked up from a new animal pelt he was examining. He'd been out hunting again.

"Oh, well, Sesi," he said, halting and unsure, "Your mother and I were very concerned. Very concerned. After all, you're going to be getting married before too long."

Sesi felt a pit open up in the bottom of her stomach. She tried to tell herself she was just hungry.

"Naturally, once young Kisuk comes around with a betrothal necklace, you won't have to be as focused on the time. As it is, with the engagement not yet announced, there's always a risk of some bad man cornering you and trying to force you into a situation where you might be made to do things a girl should only do with her husband."

It took considerable strength of will to maintain a blank expression. She knew plenty about what dangers were out there, and that trying to be a good little girl wouldn't protect her. If her parents thought that being engaged would keep those dangers away, they were fools. A betrothal necklace was just a chunk of sea glass. Sesi would rather put her safety into her own hands.

"I understand, Father."

"Good girl. Now, run along to the kitchen if you want something to eat."

She did just that and felt the tension drain away when she saw who was waiting at the cooking pot. Her grandmother motioned her over and passed her an extra-large bowl of caribou-rabbit stew.

"Your father means well, but he's still an oaf."

"I know."

"…It is a bit strange, though. I've never known you to be so late getting home."

"I've made some new friends. We had a lot to talk about."

Her grandmother watched her closely, as if she could read Sesi's thoughts.

"There's something you want to ask, isn't there, Sesi?"

Sesi took a long sip from her bowl before setting it down.

"How did you deal with it?" she said. "When they told you who you would marry."

"Not well. Your grandfather wasn't a bad man, but there were days I wanted to throw myself into the sea rather than be with him."

"Were you in love with someone else?"

"HA! I'd just as soon have spent the rest of my days as an old maid if I'd been allowed."

"…"

"Is that something that appeals to you, my girl?"

"…In a way, I suppose."

"You don't want Kisuk, I know that much. You don't want any other boy in the tribe, either."

"No. I can't say I do."

"Is there any person you would like to be with if you could?"

Sesi's cheeks went warm as an image of moonlight and frost passed through her head. Her grandmother patted her knee.

"Don't worry, child. I know things will turn out well, in the end. Keep your spirits up." She stood up to leave, but paused a moment longer. "Oh, and one other thing, Sesi."

"Yes, Gran-Gran?"

"I've recently learned of some distant family of ours. I'm hoping to meet them soon and I have a feeling you'll get along swimmingly."

---

"Goodnight, Yura," Ajei said as she and Lusa turned onto their street to head home.

Yura waved after them but did not continue on her own way until the two girls had gotten safely inside. She then began her long trek back up to the higher district. She always felt nervous walking about at night, though less-so since she'd started training with Katara. While crime was fairly low in the tribe, there were dangerous individuals in all corners of the world. Even as safe as the Northern Water Tribe seemed, Yura knew there was a darkness that lurked in men's hearts.

She saw the effects of it every day when she saw Sialuk.

Yura was not an angry or vengeful person by nature. However, listening to others go on and on about all the great things her grandfather did for the tribe, how he was such a good and honorable man, how proud she must be as his grandchild, it filled her mouth with bile that she could only swallow and pretend didn't burn.

At least she, herself, was free from her grandfather's iron grasp. Her parents and her uncles – as well as her uncles' families – all lived in the same little stretch of neighborhood where Grandfather could keep tight control over all of them. As a child, Grandfather had always imposed rigid guidelines for how she and the other children were allowed to act, even overriding any decisions made by their own parents at times. Thankfully, she was able to escape like the other daughters of the family did.

Marriage meant that Grandfather no longer had a say in her life. She belonged to her husband, now. And Yura was so grateful that Shikoba was such a wonderful man. He never made any demands of her, always gave her space, and he even joined her in taking care of the house. Theirs was a functional, if strangely distant, marriage.

Shikoba was a good man, but it was almost like he didn't truly regard himself as her husband.

She arrived home without incident to the sounds of laughter and excited conversation. Shikoba must have brought Klah with him to join them for supper again. Her husband had been spending a lot of time with Klah, recently. They had become close friends through their work and Yura was, of course, very happy that her husband was becoming more sociable. He was normally shy around others; he even insisted that Yura have her own room instead of them sleeping side-by-side every night.

Despite her mostly positive feelings about the situation, though, she did sometimes feel a little excluded.

Still, she smiled and walked in, determined to be a good hostess. Her smile faltered when she saw how close her husband and Klah were sitting. Klah was resting his head on Shikoba's shoulder and they were speaking so intimately, so unlike how Shikoba did with Yura.

When they saw her, they quickly pulled away and greeted her nervously, like little boys caught doing something they shouldn't.

"Welcome home, darling," Shikoba said. "Klah and I already made supper. I'm sorry we didn't wait for you, but I wasn't sure when you'd be back."

"It's all right," Yura said evenly, sitting down beside him. A twisting, uncomfortable, ugly feeling emerging in her stomach. "Some of the ladies and I were practicing late."

She told them that Katara, the new student from the South Pole, had started up a study group and that they were refining their skills together. Shikoba seemed delighted to hear it and was as kind and encouraging as he always was.

Eventually, Klah bid them farewell for the night and headed off to his own home.

"Perhaps he should find himself a wife," Yura said once Klah was gone. "He'd have someone to cook his meals instead of coming here all the time."

"Do you not like him?" Shikoba asked, looking genuinely worried.

"It's not that. He's a very nice man. But you would think he'd make some young lady an offer. He's already, what, twenty?"

"Maybe he's not interested."

There was a strange, almost defensive tone to what Shikoba said.

"How about I ask him if he'd like to meet some of my friends?" Yura said. "There are a lot of girls waiting for offers."

"Darling, I…I really don't think he'd be interested."

Shikoba was definitely being furtive with her and Yura couldn't help the slight flicker of anger. She wasn't stupid. Just because things like this weren't talked about didn't mean she didn't know about them.

Yura also wasn't blind to her own natural appeal. Plenty of boys had ogled her when she was unmarried, and some still did. She might not be an ethereal beauty like Princess Yue, but she had some very prominent attributes that most members of the opposite sex tended to notice before even glancing at her face. Shikoba had never particularly cared.

She plastered on a fake smile and linked an arm with his, leaning in very close. One last test.

"Darling, it's been a long time since we…well, since we've shared the same bed." She fluttered her lashes and pressed even closer. "I was wondering if we might trade furs tonight."

Shikoba began coughing and peeled himself out of her grasp. He then started to ramble about being tired and not feeling so great and not wanting to risk her getting sick and a whole stream of other excuses. Yura could do nothing but sit there with a bewildered look on her face as her husband slowly back out of the room before disappearing off to his own quarters.

A part of her was deeply indignant and not a little dejected over the matter.

If he was…one of those…how had he had the nerve to make a marriage offer to her? Despite the unhappiness she'd seen coming out of her family, she did want a husband and children. She wanted a normal married life. And Shikoba, the handsome young man who'd been her rescuer, clearly would never be able to see her in the way she desired.

It was as if he was simply using her like a shield. A way to hide his true nature. Yes, he did treat her well, but Yura knew that was all it would be for as long as their marriage lasted. She couldn't even bring herself to hate him for it. She'd drunk her fill of hatred from her grandfather and, in many ways, her father and from little bullies like Nauja. If they knew of what sort of man Shikoba was, they would call for him to be exiled or even put to death.

As wronged as Yura felt, she could never wish that on anyone. And certainly not on Shikoba.

In some ways, she supposed, he was as trapped as she was.

Yura held up her hands and stared at them. Only an hour or so before, she'd used them to break the same sorts of unreasonable laws that kept her husband and Klah trapped into hiding behind women like her. Yura hadn't initially joined Katara's lessons because she wanted to fight the, admittedly, very flawed system they had in the tribe. She was more in agreement with Tuta, that it was better to learn the fighting skills to be prepared in case of an emergency.

Or to protect a dear friend who needed her help, she thought as the image of Sialuk's bruises flashed through her mind's eye.

But now, thinking more about what those skills truly meant, she'd realized how foolish it was to deny anyone the chance to learn. There was no inherent difference between male and female waterbenders, so why should they divide the two groups so strictly? If the logic behind forbidding the two groups from learning from each other was flawed and ridiculous, maybe there were other aspects to their way of life that should be questioned.

Maybe there was a chance for both Yura and Shikoba to get what they actually wanted in life.

---

Her hands were shaking.

She was out far too late. The sun was already down. No matter what excuse she gave, Sialuk already knew things would not go well. Her stomach was churning and she stopped to catch her breath, afraid she was going to vomit. She leaned against a wall for a minute, trying to make the shaking stop.

After she managed to steady herself, she continued onwards, dreading each step that brought her closer to that place.

She refused to call it 'home.'

When she arrived at the door, she considered turning around and running. She could hide in the cave where they had been training. The others wouldn't mind. Katara and Yura both offered to protect her if she asked. She felt another wave of nausea as she remained staring at the door. Her hands felt clammy in her gloves.

Her breathing became ragged as she tried to force her nerves to calm.

"Sialuk," a deep, rough voice called from inside. "I know you're out there. Get in this house, now."

She braced herself and entered.

Yuraq was sitting by the fire, pale eyes narrowed and colder than ice. Sialuk didn't say anything. She didn't want to make it worse.

"Do you know why I chose to marry you, Sialuk?" Yuraq said, rising to his feet.

He towered over her, a wall of muscle from his years as head of the construction waterbenders. Even at his age, he was still imposing and strong. More than forty years her senior, twice a widower, but he'd still been a perfect match for Sialuk in her family's eyes. She'd told herself so many times that she didn't hate them for it that she almost believed it.

"I asked you a question, girl."

"I…I don't know, Yuraq."

He gave an irritated huff.

"I chose you because I assumed you were someone who understands the duties and responsibilities of a respectable wife."

He suddenly grabbed her arm in a crushing grip, right over the bruises he'd left the day before.

"Is this what you consider acceptable behavior for a wife?" he snarled. "Out past dark and not at home to attend your husband."

"Y-Yuraq, please," Sialuk stammered. "They needed an extra set of hands at the healing huts. I was only-"

"Shut up! You think I don't know you were staying away on purpose? I know what a high opinion you've always had of yourself. Think you could've found a better husband than me. Let me tell you something, you stupid cunt. I could've picked any girl in this tribe and you can't show even simple gratitude that I settled for you."

"Yuraq, stop. You're hurting me!"

He twisted her arm, so sharply she was worried it would dislocate. He then shoved her towards the wall. Sialuk knew better than to stop herself from hitting it. He slammed his fist right beside her face, making the ice crack from the impact.

"You come home late, again, the wall won't be the only thing that gets cracked. Now, get me something to eat."

She went numb and, trembling, focused entirely on cooking his supper. Once she'd served it to him, she sat there in silence, waiting for permission to get her own portion. He smirked and kept eating. Permission never came.

After he finished, he stood up, grabbed her arm again, and yanked her up after him. Sialuk again felt her stomach twisting when she saw they were heading to their bedroom. Despite knowing better, she began to struggle.

Yuraq didn't like that.

Sialuk dealt with what came next the same way she always did. She let the numbness take her over and allowed her mind to slip away. She had a different place than usual to retreat to.

She was back in the cave, laughing for the first time in what seemed an eternity. She wasn't scared anymore. She was surrounded by warm, smiling faces. People who were genuinely pleased that she was there. Friends who wanted her to know what it was like to learn waterbending. People who actually cared.

Katara was walking her through the basics. Showing her how to connect to her element. It was like there was a snap inside Sialuk and she finally understood what she had been missing her whole life. It gave her strength. It gave her freedom. Yura was thrilled by her success and hugged her like they were children again, just two little girls who only saw bright and happy futures ahead of them.

Sialuk asked Katara questions about the Southern Water Tribe. A lot of questions. More than what was commonly considered polite.

The answers she got left Sialuk room to imagine a new life. One where she ran away to the South Pole. Even if the people there were suspicious of her at first, she could earn their trust. A healer would probably be welcome, and now that she was learning waterbending from Katara they would be even more likely to accept her. She could establish herself. She could live how she wanted.

Maybe she could actually find a man to be happy with. Southern men couldn't be any worse than…

She quickly went back into her mind before that errant thread brought her screaming into the living nightmare she was running from. She pictured a cozy, quiet life in the South Pole. She would find a clan willing to take her in and she would work hard to prove herself. She would build a modest igloo and fill it with only good things. If the spirits saw fit to allow it, there would be a young man there who would treat her gently. A man who could make her smile. A man who would hold her and kiss her cheek and tell her she was safe. She didn't ask for a great, strong warrior or even someone with exceptional good looks. Just a kind man.

A fantasy. A beautiful, ridiculous, impossible fantasy.

As a little girl, she'd dreamed of finding love. She'd looked up at the stars and asked the spirits to send her a wonderful man to be her husband. The day she turned sixteen, her family smashed those dreams and expected her to thank them for it.

She couldn't tell if it had been hours or minutes, but Yuraq finally rolled onto his side of the bed and went to sleep. Sialuk slipped out to the kitchen to heat up some water. She wanted to erase as much of what happened as she was allowed to. She wanted to feel at least a little clean.

She made the water scalding and ignored the burn as she used her waterbending to scrub herself raw. Her skin reddened and chafed but she still couldn't get rid of that sense of dirtiness that lingered on her. She wanted to heal the marks on her body, both the ones from before and the new ones, but she didn't dare. Yuraq would notice.

You're not allowed to remove them. They're your reminders. Be a good girl and you won't get more.

She scrubbed harder, dousing herself in the water and bending it all over, trying to get it deep into her and wash away the stains beneath her skin.

For a minute, Sialuk stopped and considered. What if she stepped outside? What if she sat outside the door, naked and dripping wet, and let the cold take her? Yuraq always slept late, so he wouldn't be able to keep people from seeing. A whole street full of people would find her there. They would see the bruises, and the scratches, and the bite marks. Everything he forbade her from healing.

They would know what kind of a creature he really was, then. It would be worth it to tear the mask of a respectable man from his face. To teach him to feel shame for once.

She had already said goodbye to her childish dreams. Why would she waste false hope on any other kind of escape from this life when there was a certain one waiting just outside the door?

But would it even hurt him? Would anyone even care? It was her own fault, after all. She brought it all on herself. He only got angry because Sialuk wasn't trying hard enough. She was lazy and disobedient. Other men looked at her, so she must be harboring adulterous thoughts. She stayed out late to illegally practice waterbending instead of going home to cook her husband's supper.

"You shouldn't provoke him," her mother's voice cut in. "A good wife knows better than to make her husband angry. What did you expect to happen?"

It was what she'd been told when she dared to show her mother the bruises. Her mother had then apologized to Yuraq on Sialuk's behalf. Sialuk ended up with even more bruises after that.

She dried off and wrapped herself in a thick, fur blanket. She sat there at the hearth for a long while just watching the embers fizzle out and die, only their smoky souls left behind to rise into the cold, dark night. A strong whiff of the smoke sent her grasping for a bucket into which she emptied only burning bile. Perhaps it had been a good thing that Yuraq hadn't allowed her to eat.

After rinsing the foul taste from her mouth, Sialuk pulled the blanket tighter and shivered. She started to count the days and felt sick again. Two months. It had been two months and she'd missed her moon time again.

She curled up on the floor and wept.

---

Author's Note: I've long thought that Katara should've had more of a chance to inspire the girls in the North Pole to defy tradition and insist on learning waterbending. The most we see in canon is some little girls cheering during Katara's fight with Pakku, but nothing more than that. One of the ideas I think Netflix was right to come up with in the live action series was to have the women all stand up and join the battle.

Consequently, I wanted to dip into the minds of the girls (and couple of boys) whose lives she's affecting. Just playing around with character concepts and such, showing their different struggles. Sorry to end on a very dark note, but it was floating around my head for ages that, in such a patriarchal culture, Sialuk's story would be a very tragic reality for a lot of girls.

Some of the worldbuilding I've done in this chapter is meant as a kind of parallel to what's going on in Ba Sing Se. While the NWT isn't brainwashing or outright enslaving people (though treating women as property is basically slavery), they are enforcing sexist and classist policies in the name of 'tradition' and 'culture' to their own detriment.

I wanted Yugoda to be involved in the Order of the White Lotus. Also, I thought it would be interesting if Yugoda was a higher rank in the order than Pakku, so she holds the status of a Grand Lotus (in the show, Iroh is referred to as 'a' Grand Lotus and not 'the' Grand Lotus, which implies there are more).

Also, fun fact: The real-world White Lotus Society was a secret religious and political movement that believed the Maitreya Buddha would soon enter the world, and they also worshipped the Queen Mother of the West and other local Chinese gods. They became notorious for instigating uprisings against the government. One White Lotus member was a former beggar named "Zhu Yuanzhang," who used the society to rise to power and establish the Ming Dynasty as the Hongwu Emperor.

And, yes, I had to do the C-drama romantic trope of catching your sweetheart as they trip and the world goes slow-mo as you spin around. It seemed to fit for Sokka and Yue.

Speaking of C-dramas, your special recommendation in accordance with our ongoing female empowerment theme is "New Life Begins."

Each of the nine states has to send a tribute of girls to serve as wives and concubines to the princes of Xin state. Li Wei is the only girl sent from Ji, a state that prizes monogamy and regards men and women as equals, and she is determined to make such a bad impression that she'll be sent home. However, she ends up being selected as the concubine for Yin Zheng, the Sixth Prince, a sickly and reclusive young man who has been mostly ignored by his father (though Yin Zheng seems to be far more intelligent and ambitious than his reputation would indicate). The two get off to a tricky start, but Yin Zheng promises to help Li Wei go home, even as he starts falling for her. Li Wei also becomes friends with the other tribute girls, who each have their own complicated relationships going on: the rough and tough Princess Shang Guan Jing from the matriarchal state of Dan who is married to the whiny and lazy Fifth Prince Yin Qi, the beautiful Hao Jia who has become the concubine to the Crown Prince in hopes of a better life (only to find he is a very cruel, controlling man), and a whole horde of women who are the wives and concubines of the vain and arrogant Third Prince Yin An. The girls are determined to face the toxic environment of the palace as loyal friends, staying true to each other no matter what comes their way. And Yin Zheng is there to lend a hand whenever possible, determined to change the system from within while Li Wei and her friends challenge it head-on.

I absolutely adore this drama. It was so refreshing to find one where the main focus was on the friendship between female characters as they support and trust each other in the face of sexism. The romance between Li Wei and Yin Zheng is more understated, but it's still there and is very sweet. Yin Zheng is quite possibly the least toxic male lead I have ever seen – he already wants to reform society and improve everyone's lives, and he's willing to put aside his own desires to honor Li Wei's wishes. Even though he's in love with Li Wei, he agrees to divorce her after she becomes his legal wife so she can go home with her reputation intact, showing his respect for her culture as she would be looked down on for having been a concubine and not a legal wife. From what I recall, the only iffy moment he had was when he got jealous about Li Wei being close with another guy (but, get this, he admits it and the two of them actually talk it out like adults).

The drama, while mostly lighthearted, also deals with serious topics like sexism, forced marriage/concubinage, toxic masculinity, toxic femininity, domestic abuse, postpartum depression, child neglect, abandonment issues, body-shaming and double-standards, reproductive freedom, cultural differences, and internalized misogyny.