Icarus

A penny for a thief

"Y'know you're a pretty chronic shopper," Sokka raised his eyebrow at her baskets of foods and clothes. Katara frowned at them, this seemed like bare necessities.

"I'm sorry, maybe you're right. We are running low on money." She pulled out a little bottle of tea leaves, "Uncle brought me here before, there was this little brew of tea he found."

She giggled at the memory, Uncles depressed face filtered up and she was filled with warmth. "He must've tried twenty times to recreate it! I've never seen him look so defeated. Every time he'd sip it and his whole body would deflate. Zuko had to turn the whole ship around back to get him a bottle of it so he would stop moping around."

"That's a funny story Katara!" Aang agreed, munching on a new pear they wouldn't have had if Katara hadn't gotten it she noted.

"Is this the same Uncle who kidnapped you?" Sokka asked, "just wondering."

Katara bit her tongue, he just had to be so frustrating with his snide comments all day. It was like walking on egg shells, no matter what she said suddenly she was fire national hellspawn. It was right back into the line of fire, battle after battle. When would Katara finally win this awful war. Sokka loves to just sit there and pretend like Katara should've been miserable in the fire nation. She hated that island, and she hated the people but she'll never hate her days on the sea. That's the closest she's ever been to herself, and Sokka would just have to live with that like everyone else does.

Aang swallowed, looking between them. She could tell he always got uncomfortable between a line of fire. She wonders how he was gonna handle this war, handle the fire nation in particular. They were verbal brutality just as much physical, they'd cut you with their words than burn you with their flames. She hopes he never meets Azula. Azula's words still had her tight in the throat at times, just the memory leaving her dry.

She changed the subject, it was the easiest way to handle these situations, "it looks like we should head back, we went over budget."

Sokka scowled, "maybe we should put the tea back."

Katara's lips pressed down, "maybe we should put you back."

"Guys..." Aang shifted between them.

"Why would you even want anything from fire nation." Sokka grabbed for the tea.

She doesn't know. But she does, she wants it bad. Even though it's hurt her.

"It's just tea Sokka!"

"It's just a boy Katara." He mocked.

Katara took a step back, the tea yanking back into her brothers hand. She pointed her finger at him.

"I take a lot of crap from you Sokka, but I am done." She rubbed at her reddening eyes.

Sokka's eyes drew back in hurt, "Katara..."

"I'm done!" She shouts back, going the opposite way.

She will not allow her to taint the only good thing that came from her stay at fire nation. She will not allow him to ruin the memories of the people she's grown the closest too. No matter how much that bothers him.

"I've waited all this time to see my brother now I'm running away from him, go figure." She laughs to herself.

Something bumped into her, she looked up only to see she had gone in the wrong direction.

"Huh..." Katara looked around. A little shop, with little trinkets all around.

Over her left shoulder she saw it, glistening against the sunlight. A waterbending scroll.