A Different Destiny

Chapter 26

Katara followed Gua down a narrow set of wooden steps; they descended two flights before reaching the galley area; she could tell by the smell of stew in the air. She was a little surprised at the size and quality of the ship. Afterall, it was bigger than most of the homes she had seen in town, though she guessed that made sense for a merchant. Likely one operating out of a town this size had one or two max. Guessing from the size of this one, most of the funds had gone into it. Smart move, many merchants just setting out are more concerned with having a large fleet in their company.

While that works fine and well during fair weather, smaller ships are quicker than larger ones, and having an entire fleet at the will of one merchant or a handful, meant more opportunities for trading. But these smaller ships often found themselves at the bottom of the seas, crews aboard as they weren't meant to withstand strong winds.

Many entrepreneurial merchants, just starting out, had found their wealth slip away faster than a drunk at the gambling tables. All their investments and wealth gone, these merchants often found themselves in a dark new position. Having previously lived comfortable lives of middle class men, many lost their homes and were forced into jobs as laborers just to feed their families.

Kang had played things smart, sure a larger fleet may have been more flashy but he could transport far more cargo. Katara figured that someone in the Earth Kingdom had to be starting a new project, maybe a military venture. She briefly thought of the Mechanist the Gaang had met on their way to the Northern Air Temple.

While their time at the Northern Temple had been far from relaxing Katara felt a pang in her chest as she longed for those days. She had faced pirates, angry electricity-wielding fire benders, and earth benders twice her size. If you had told the little girl who had set out from the Southern Water Tribe with Sokka all those months ago, she would've been shaking in her sealskin boots.

But now Katara wanted nothing more than to feel the Gaang around her. She missed her brother's incessant commentary and constant skepticism. She missed Aang and the way he would find new ways to make her laugh every day, whether it by turning himself into a living snowman or taking her penguin sledding.

She even missed Toph's dirt.

With the Gaang behind her, Katara felt like they would take on the world.

But they didn't.

Now she was what felt like a million miles away from her brother and everyone else. With no one of even knowing if they're okay.

"Uh hey are you feeling alright?" Gua asked, giving her a concerned look. Her face must have given away just how lost in thought she was. All she could do was muster a nod in response.

Gua's expression softened as though he could tell Katara wasn't letting on how bad she was really doing right now. She saw his arm twitch as though he were going to move towards her, but he quickly corrected himself. If she wasn't always on her toes from everything that she'd been through, she might have missed the small movement.

Reluctantly she felt a rush of gratitude towards Gua. It was the first moment he had dropped his unbothered facade. While he had been pleasant the entire time she had interacted with him, right up to the point of her smashing a pitcher in front of him. He seemed to be interacting with her more like an angry co-worker. But in that moment, she could see the worry on his face.

"Right- uh, just wait here a second. I'll grab us something and we can go eat up on the desk. When you've spent as much time as I have down here chasing the rats out and cleaning up, you take every second you can up top." He said, glancing towards the ceiling.