AtLA Rewritten: Edition 1

Chapter 20

Katara was the first to wake. She woke everyone, and they were ready early. "Let's go into town for food and water," she suggested. "We don't know when we'll be back." Athlea scribbled a note and left it on the counter.

They made their way to the bus, half-asleep, and arrived in town at dawn. "Make it quick," Zuko muttered. "We need to be out of here by the time people start arriving." At this time the guards hadn't arrived yet. Many of the shop owners lived in their shop, so they had a small sliver of time before they could be recognized. Katara led the way in and out of shops.

Athlea stopped to tie her shoes, jogging lightly to catch up. She ran a hand through her hair. "This is annoying," she mumbled.

Zuko smirked at Athlea. "Katara is the mom of the group." He shrugged. "Get used to early mornings when we travel."

"How do you even have energy, Katara?" Toph asked, walking behind the waterbender.

"Because I slept," Katara called, not bothering to stop or turn around. 

"She's the mom of the group. What do you expect?" Sokka mumbled, eyes half-open. Zuko laughed.

Finally Katara was done, and they were layered with more clothes, food, and water, along with a couple bending scrolls and a scroll for Sokka. "Okay," she announced. "This is good." She led the way onto the bus.

There was only one other person on the bus. Katara glanced at her as they got on; she was a bit younger than them, and hidden behind a newspaper. Her hair was braided at the crown of her head, and her round blue eyes glared for a second before disappearing behind the paper. She was wearing a white tank with a pencil skirt, red combat boots and a red fur shawl over her shoulders. Her hair clips were gold. Katara finally looked away, feeling a bit unsettled. Athlea's features were cold and distant as usual. She raised an eyebrow before turning away.

Katara gently hit the back of her hand against Athlea's. "She has blue eyes," she hissed. However, the bus stopped soon enough. She glanced over at the girl and... She was gone.

"Shh."

Katara led the way off the bus. "That was weird," she muttered. However, as she turned toward Sokka who was getting off the bus, she saw the girl pressed against the side of the bus. Was that... Yue?!

Sokka blinked and followed Katara's gaze, his eyes widening. "Yue?!" 

Athlea crossed her arms, looking the girl up and down.Katara leaned over toward Athlea. "Yue is Sokka's ex-girlfriend that turned into the moon," she whispered.

"Into the moon..." Athlea echoed, raising an eyebrow.

Aang's jaw dropped. "Impossible."

"I'm not Yue," the girl snapped, holding her hands up, "and if you try to kiss me I swear I'll break your neck." 

Athlea's eyes narrowed. "I'd suggest you calm down and use your aggression elsewhere," she stated coldly, her gaze icy.

She took a deep breath, lowering her hands. "Sorry. I'm Dai. I know Yue and I look a lot alike--I'm her sister." She bit her lip. "I have a lot of explaining to do," she muttered. She pulled the fur against herself, glancing at all of them, her eyes lingering and narrowing on Aang. She looked back at Sokka. "Can we, uh, go inside and discuss things? That greeting was a bit aggressive, I know. I meant what I said, though." She gave Sokka a look of warning.

"She had a sister?!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Yue had a sister..." Aang echoed.

"How...? What...? When...?" Sokka rubbed his temples and took a deep breath.