Avatar - The Last Airbender (Storyteller Version)

Interlude IV

Several days later, Aang, Katara, and Sokka stopped on a beach to rest. There they found a boat which belonged to the fleet of Sokka and Katara's father, Hakoda. Before long, they also met Bato, a kind man from the Southern Water Tribe who happened to be close friends with Hakoda. Bato took the children to an abbey, where he had been nursed back to health after he was badly injured by a Fire Nation soldier. All through the evening, Sokka and Katara visited with Bato, sharing stories about their home in the Southern Water Tribe. None of them noticed Aang looking very distressed and lonely. But the real trouble didn't start until Bato invited Sokka and Katara to accompany him to find their father. The two siblings were very excited, but for Aang, it was too much. He raced away from the abbey, and so he didn't hear Sokka or Katara turn Bato down, stating that they had promised to help their friend. Aang sat on the beach, very worried. Were his friends going to abandon him? A moment later, a messenger on an ostrich horse appeared, with a document addressed to Bato. It was a letter from Hakoda, with a map to find him. Impulsively, Aang hid the message in his tunic, vowing never to show it to Katara or Sokka. But he soon realized he couldn't keep such a secret from his friends. So the next day, he came clean and showed them the map. Sokka was so angry with Aang for not telling them about it that he decided to abandon him and find his father.

Katara reluctantly joined her brother and Bato as they started off toward the rendezvous point — but she felt very, very guilty about leaving Aang. Then they all heard the sound of a wolf howling. Bato explained that it was crying in pain because it had been separated from its pack. Hearing this, Sokka recollected the day his father left him, especially his last words: "Being a man is knowing where you are needed the most." At that instant, Sokka realized he made a mistake, and had a change of heart. As much as he wanted to see his father, being with the Avatar was where he and Katara were really needed. The two of them bade Bato goodbye and started back toward the abbey. But just as they did so, Prince Zuko appeared, accompanied by a bounty hunter, June. June was mounted on a beast called a shirshu, who had a strong sense of smell. Using Katara's necklace as the scent, he had hunted down the companions! Fortunately, Aang wasn't too far away. He swooped in to rescue his friends, facing Zuko head-on. Katara and Sokka got in on the action, too. Sokka advised the nuns to pour out their perfumes, and Katara waterbended them into a thick mist. The perfumes blinded the shirshu, and sent it scattering.

The children had won, and even better, Aang had managed to retrieve Katara's necklace! She was so happy to have it back that she kissed Aang on the cheek. Soon the three of them resumed their journey to the North Pole, promising never to separate again. Nor would they ever forget the lessons they learned that day.