The Pawn |Katara

EPILOGUE

Four years later

The South Pole had been a desolate place for many decades after the war started, and even after it ended. Too many waterbenders had been taken from their homes and many had migrated, looking for a better life in the Northern Water Tribe. But now times were turning around and the population was growing. Katara had hope one day she would see the tribe grow in size until it was the way it had once been. And the main reason for her hope was standing right in front of her.

It was a little girl, bending water into a round sphere in front of her, trying to ensure she wouldn't lose focus and have it be destroyed. Beside her, a little boy sat, barely three years old, watching her bend. 

"You've become a lot better at this," Katara praised the girl softly. The girl smiled, briefly looked at Katara before she turned her attention back to her sphere. The boy turned to Katara, his eyes wide, his lips forming a pout. 

"Miss Katara, when will I do this?"

"Soon," she assured him with a smile. "You found out you could bend only a few days ago. We have to wait a while until you understand your connection with the water before we start our training."

His eyes got impossibly wider. "But I know I have a connection with the water. When – When Lya made fun of me I splashed water at her!"

Katara had to fight the urge to smile and instead be the good example and the mature person and turn to the boy to level him with a stern look. "That's not nice. We don't use waterbending this way."

His pout deepened. "But you use it on your fireman all the time!"

It was even harder to keep herself from smiling this time, but she managed. "We aren't fighting. We are training, it's different. I don't throw water at him when he annoys me."

"But Chief said-"

The splashing of water saved Katara from having to explain herself—in all honesty, there had been times she had flicked some water at her 'fireman' when he was getting on her nerves but it was nothing too intense really—and she turned instead to the girl who looked at her in disappointment.

"Master Katara I dropped it."

"It's fine," she assured her with a smile. "You did really well, remember last week you couldn't hold it that long." The girl smiled back and gently, she continued. "Now, why don't we-"

"Miss Katara miss Katara!" She instantly turned to see another child, a little boy, run over. He stopped in front of her, panting, and leaned against his knees to catch his breath. 

"Is everything alright?"

He nodded his head, caught his breath and looked up. "I ran all the way here when I saw them." He panted some more, the girl behind Katara giggled but he paid her no mind. He took in another deep breath. "Your fireman is here!"

Katara's lips curled into a smile at once. "Thank you. I-" she turned back to the little girl. "We'll continue tomorrow."

"Yes, Master Katara."

With a last smile at her, she walked off, at a pace a bit slower than running, to the edge of the town. She waved off the few people who greeted her as she passed, calling her greetings over her shoulder. She had reached the edge of the town when she saw him – Akira, dressed in Fire Nation clothes the way he so rarely did anymore, her father walking beside him. They were talking, and she couldn't keep herself from grinning at the sight as she jogged over, unable to keep herself to just walking when she had seen him and he was so close. 

"I saw the new buildings in the edge – have I really been gone that long?"

"A few months is quite some time," her father replied, and she thought she saw Akira frown for a moment, but then he seemed to hear her coming, because he turned to look ahead and saw her. His face split into a grin at once. Katara ran a bit faster as he stopped and opened his arms, and she jumped into his embrace the next moment.