Katara, of the Fire Nation

Chapter 7

"So," Katara asks, leaning back in the saddle as she glares at Kiki, "You're a water bender?"

"Yes," Kiki smiles, wisely sitting as far away from Katara as she can, "Aang is going to take me to the North Pole so we can learn together."

Katara contemplates throwing Kiki off the bison, Sokka holds onto Katara's hand and tries to hug her.

"What are you doing?" Katara hisses, pulling away from her brother and stopping herself from reacting too violently.

"Katara," Sokka soothes as the Avatar sits on the horn of the saddle.

"Why didn't you tell us that you were the avatar?" Kiki asks, changing the subject as Katara moves away from her brother.

"Why would you need to go to the Northern Water tribe if you're the avatar?" Katara asks, "Shouldn't you already be a master?"

Aang goes into a spiel about how he ran away when he found out he was the avatar, Katara becomes agitated at the story.

"So I betrayed the people who kept me safe, for an inexperienced kid?" Katara asks, looking back over her shoulder.

"Katara, the Fire Nation kept you prisoner," Sokka says, "They took you from us."

"I was given up," Katara growls, her voice is like thunder as she glares at Kiki.

"They killed our mother," Sokka continues, "Kept you prisoner and did spirts knows what to you."

"Not all of them were bad," Katara says, turning her back to the group to stare at the last place she saw the ship, her heart yearns to go back.

"Why did you help me escape?" Aang asks, Katara turns back around to find the avatar staring at her with wide eyes.

"Hope," Katara says, "Hope that you might finally end this war. But instead, I get this, a boy who doesn't even know how to bend water."

Katara looks back to her brother and then asks, "Where is father?"

"He went to look for you," Sokka explains, "For years, he spent years looking for you. Searched every fire colony, but then he and the other warriors were called to the earth kingdom. He couldn't find you, so he decided to help in the war."

Katara sighs and then looks to her brother as he unties the bracelet around his wrist.

"Mum gave this to me," he explains, "I was with her when she died, she was screaming your name."

Katara's eyes widen as she sees her mother's betrothal necklace, Katara's heart skips a beat.

"She would have wanted you to have it," Sokka says, handing the necklace to Katara.

Katara stares at the necklace as Sokka places it into her palm.

"Kat," Sokka says, holding his sister's hands, "We can go home, come home with me."

"I can drop you off, back at the tribe," Aang adds.

Katara looks to the avatar and then to the frozen ice and snow around her.

"There is nothing for me there," Katara says, her brows knit in a tight frown as silent regret fills her chest.

"There is safety," Sokka says, "We can keep you safe."

"Like you kept me safe the last time?" Katara asks, a little too harshly as she looks back to her brother, "No. I'm going to come with you."

"Kat-"

"Don't call me Kat."

"It's not going to be safe," Sokka continues.

"I can handle myself," Katara says, gripping her sword handle tightly.

So Katara stay's with her brother and the Avatar, several times she finds herself wanting to strangle Kiki, but she manages to keep her anger in check, using the meditation techniques that Iroh taught her.

Katara becomes the unofficial mother of the group; when Aang has a break down at the Northern Air Temple, she is the one who calms him down. Aang becomes attached to Katara, he becomes jealous when she meets becomes entwined with Jet, he follows Katara like a lost puppy, which sets her on edge. But Kiki and Aang become close too, which helps keep him away from her as they journey from place to place, Kiki teaches Aang small water bending tricks.

"Maybe you could show us what you know," Aang says, speaking to Katara as Kiki and the Avatar practice by the water.

"No," Katara says, watching as her brother picks mud from the bison's toes, "There's nothing I can teach you."

"Do you not know how to bend?" Kiki asks, putting her hands on her hips as a smile spreads over her face, "You used to practically flaunt your talents when we were younger."

Katara's meditation practices don't help her in this situation, she bends water from the stream, she creates a giant wave that crashes onto the shore, saturating Kiki and Aang.

"Katara!" Kiki shrieks, then she looks down the river and gapes, "You've washed away our supplies."

Katara doesn't apologise, she folds her arms over her chest and then walks away from the situation.

A few moments later, Sokka informs Katara that they are going into town to get some more supplies.

"What do you have against Kiki?" Sokka asks before he leaves.

"Her family is the reason I was taken," she snarls, "her family is the reason why our mother was killed. I don't like her, and I never will."

When the trio return from the markets Katara's disapproval of her only grows as Kiki flaunts a scroll, a water tribe scroll that she stole from pirates.

"Are you insane?!" Katara asks as Kiki sets up near the water with the scroll, "Pirates?!"

Both Sokka and Katara are against Kiki's decision to steal, but Aang seems okay with it.

Katara looks at the scroll, it's not one that she has read before, but Katara ignores the scroll, and she ignores Aang when he calls for her to come practice, if that's what you call it.

"You're hogging the scroll," Katara points out, "Both you and Aang need to learn."

Kiki snaps at Katara, then at Sokka who tries to defend her, then she snaps at Aang when he tries to help her through the moves.

Katara debates with herself, she debates whether or not to drown Kiki as she apologises.

That night as the gang sleeps, Katara wakes and leaves the campsite to train by the water's edge.

Katara cannot get a handle on the water whip, her movements are stiff and she cannot control the water.

Just as she whips herself in the face she hears a twig snap, when she turns around she is grabbed by a pirate.

Katara screams and then fights the man off, she doesn't have her sword so she strikes out with her bending, she splashes the pirate, but when she turns around she is grabbed by someone else.

"Zuko?!" Katara gapes, her heart leaps into her throat as he squeezes her wrist and pulls her close.

"I'll save you from the pirates."