THE AVATAR'S BIG SISTER 2.
── ♢ ♢ ♢ ──
"𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 you for coming everyone."
Two days had past since the Northern Troops arrival to the South. According to my wonderful uncle, since Korra opened the Southern portal, they need to protect it from the people who would do the spirits harm. Unfortunately, the troops have been bothering everyone in the town, so Dad decided to hold a meeting here at home.
"I know these last few days have been very troubling," he acknowledged as several men and women sat down in a circle in the living room.
"Troubling?"
We turned to look at Varrick, who was helping himself to some kale cookies Mom made from the assorted refreshments on a small wooden table against the wall.
"Troubling is when I get that itchy rash that won't go away and Zhu Li's not around to scratch it. This is shocking! Nay, sickening! But these kale cookies? Opposite. Remind me to get the recipe later," he murmured the last part to his assistant, Zhu Li.
"What's your point, Varrick?" Dad pressed sternly, quite annoyed at the slender man.
He frowned, dropping more cookies onto his plate in his hand. "My point is, Unalaq's already booted our chieftains out of their palace. How long before he starts telling us what kind of cookies we can eat?!"
"Probably a couple of days." Zhu Li answered dryly.
His bottom lip jutted out, looking over behind his shoulder where his assistant stood with hands folded. "Rhetorical question, Zhu Li, you gotta keep up."
He turned back around and waved his arms around, enraged, which caused the cookies on his plate to fly out. "Not to mention, I've got a cargo ship full of halibut that's rotting thanks to this harbor lockdown? Who wants to buy a ship full of stinking fish?!"
My eyes widened as he slammed his plate onto the floor, which for some reason, no one had cared to notice as they listened to him with intent.
He frowned once again and muttered, "Seriously, it's not rhetorical. I need to sell these fish."
"Chief Unalaq is here to help the South," Korra countered, now standing up to face everyone. "He wants to show us how to restore balance with the spirits so they'll stop attacking."
"The only spirit I'm interested in restoring is our spirit of independence! Am I right, people?!" Varrick shouted, wildly pumping a fist into the air.
Everyone started to murmur angrily in agreement, causing Korra to groan with annoyance. "All Unalaq is trying to do is make our tribes unified again."
"No! He wants control of our wealth. My wealth. And I like my wealth! If Unalaq doesn't pull his forces out, then we have no choice but to fight for our freedom!" He pumped his fists in the air again and everyone shouted, "Yeah!" in agreement.
She scoffed, "You want to start a war? Are you crazy?"
"Korra, there's no reason that his troops needs to make Southern's lives miserable," I asserted with folded arms. "He started this, not us."
"Katrina's right," Dad concurred, standing up. "Maybe you could speak with your uncle. Tell him how frustrated we all are. Do it for me?"
"I'll do it for the tribe," she muttered bitterly as she turned around and walked out, slamming the door behind her.
♢ ♢ ♢
I slumped back onto the couch after everyone left, letting out a small tired sigh as I eyed over at Mom, who had a surprised face as she held up a now-empty cookie platter. "I can't believe he ate all of these," she whispered in bewilderment, making me form a small smile.
I raised an eyebrow as someone suddenly knocked at the front door. Mom called from the kitchen, "Katrina, can you get that?"
Humming in response, I carefully got up and opened the door which revealed to be Iroh, who had worn his typical black trenchcoat accustomed to the freezing temperatures of the South.
With a flustered yelp at his unexpected visit, I quickly slammed the door—ignoring his confused noise coming from outside and hurriedly ran to the nearest mirror, checking my appearance. "Oh, what am I doing? I always look good." I scolded to myself with an obvious scoff, running back to the front entrance.
"Hi, Iroh!" I greeted with a grin, opening the door fully to a raised brow firebender.
"Should I even question why it seemed like two different people had opened the door just now?"
"Oh, just come in!" I insisted with bottom lips jutting out, pulling his arm inside the hut. As I gestured him into the living room, Mom popped her head from the kitchen's entrance with a wide smile and exclaimed, "General Iroh! What a pleasure having you here!"
His eyes perked up, quickly bowing down with deference. "Thank you for letting me in your humble home."
She bowed her head along with him, stealing a teasing glance at me before straightening. "Of course, of course! Make yourself at home, alright? Say, Katrina, why don't you make Iroh some tea or—"
I erupted into small nervous laughter, quickly clutching a hand on her shoulder as I eyed the firebender. "Uh, if you can excuse us for just a moment!"
Sending a sheepish smile towards Iroh once more, I hurriedly pushed my mother into the kitchen, baffled. "Mom, please tell me you were joking. Make tea?! He's not some potential suitor wanting my hand in marriage, we're just friends!"
Her bottom lip jutted out, lightly smacking my arm with the beige dishcloth in her hand causing me to yelp. "I obviously know that! Making tea for a guest is just for politeness! Kids this days. . ."
"Well, kids these days don't make tea, Mom." I explained with a bright grin, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "They wait until their friend starves to hunger to the point they or you ask if the two of you want go out and eat, hence a perfect opportunity for a date!"
Her lips suddenly tugged into a smirk and echoed, "Date?"
I slapped my hand over my mouth, backing away with nervous laughter. "What? No, no, no! Date is actually. . . modern slang. . .used for hanging out—okay, okay, I meant date as in a date." I added the last part with a sheepish murmur as she sent me an unimpressed look. "Alright, I may or may not like him as more than just friends. . ."
She letted out a small excited squeal, clasping her hands with a dreamish expression. "Oh, I'm so happy! Finally, my daughter isn't going to be alone for the rest of her life—"
"Mom, for the last time, we're not getting married!—"
"Uh, Katrina?" I heard Iroh hesitantly called out from the living room, making me slap a hand over my mouth once again, suddenly realizing how loud I must've said that. With an embarrassed intake of air, I stepped into the living room with a dismissive hand.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! I. . .uh. . .me and my mom were just conversing about the, uuhh, marriage proposals I had been sent! I was just telling her that I just am not ready to, you know, get married just yet!"
His eyebrows rose up, concerned. "Marriage proposals?"
I rubbed the back of my neck, gulping. "Oh, yeah! Lots of guys usually send me those 'cause, you know, I'm really beautiful and talented unlike most of the girls in our hometown! B-but, don't you fret about that! I declined all of 'em. . ."
Glancing over my shoulder to see if Mom wasn't there, I smirked and whispered with a wink. ". . .all for you, General."
Iroh's eyes sparkled with amusement as he leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "All for me? Well, I must say, I feel incredibly honored."
"You should be!" I jested in a matter-of-fact tone, gently leading him to sit down on the couch. "Anyways, tell me about your day."
He leaned his head back, humming. "Well, I had to spend most of the day with Master Katara, listening to her childhood stories about my grandfather. It was quite hilarious. I'll make sure to tell you about it sometime."
"Oh, yes please!" I chuckled, turning my body slightly towards him as I leaned my head against an propped elbow that rested against the back cushion. "Actually, kinda' off topic, but I'm curious. How many times did that little lady mention her wondrous mother?"
He started counting on his fingers and as it reached to six, I gasped with a chortle. "Shut up, even the touching her necklace thingy she always does? You know, I actually made this weird bet with her when I was young that if she ever mentioned her mother fifty times throughout my lifetime, then she owed me dumplings for a whole year. I don't know, I was hungry when I made that bet."
"Her dumplings are really delicious," he agreed.
"Right? Anyways, she probably forgot about it but she's over at forty-six mentions, so I need to go remind her about that."
His eyes widened, taken aback. "You remembered?"
"If there's a yearly supply of Master Katara's dumplings on the line, who wouldn't remember?"
We both erupted into laughter and talked more about his time here at the Southern Water Tribe. Of course, the mood started to change once the question of my day was forwarded to me. I letted out a small sigh, nonchalantly saying, "Nothing much, just that my tribe is literally about to go to war with the North and we have to depend on my little sister, who, for some reason, seems to care more about my silly uncle."
"Seems like everything's going great," he responded sarcastically before softening his tone. "But if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here."
I smiled, glancing down at my fingers as I fiddled with them. It was still so hard to comprehend these past days, with the troops disrupting the peace of the South to Unalaq threatening to release my secret to Korra, whose relationship with each other had been quite unstable so far.
"Say, why don't we go out for a quiet dinner?" Iroh suddenly suggested with a warm smile, making me perk up at his offer. "Just to take a break from all this chaos."
"Dinner, you say?" I echoed with a slightly loud teasing tone just so Mom could hear from the kitchen, who I knew was rolling her eyes, before lowering my voice back to normal. "I accept your little date offer, Mr. Iroh."
He looked at me with concern. "That is not exactly what I implied—"
"Oh, you implied it!" I sang brightly as I stood up and grabbed his arm, heading towards the front door.
♢ ♢ ♢
I eyed Iroh as we both awkwardly smiled, glancing over at Bolin, Eska, and Desna, who were seated at the opposite side of our table. Apparently we weren't the only ones who wanted to have a peaceful dinner.
Bolin started to laugh nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Isn't this fun, huh? We never get to spend enough time together, just the. . .five of us. So. . .fun."
Iroh nodded slowly, not knowing what to say. Eska and Desna both looked at each other, then back to us. "Excuse us while we retrieve more sustenance."
I raised an eyebrow, fighting a teasing smirk. "Wow, Bolin, you didn't tell me you were dating both Eska and Desna—"
"No, no, no, no, no! I'm just dating Eska!" The earthbender quickly corrected before sending me pleading eyes. "Katrina, you gotta' save me from her!"
"You know if you're unhappy, you could just break up with her."
"I tried! Mako told me that breaking up with girls was like ripping of a blood-sucking leech, so I took his advice, but anytime I bring up the subject, she threatens to freeze me in a block of ice and feed me to dolphin piranhas!"
I blinked multiple times, trying to process what he said. "Mako said breaking up with girls is what now—?"
"So it seems like you've been tugging the leech?" Iroh curiously asked Bolin, cutting me off.
"Yes! I tugged over and over and over, but it just won't come off." He looked back at me with a sorrowful expression. "Why didn't you warn me your cousin had the power to reach into my heart and crush my soul with her bare hands?!"
I folded my arms against my chest, leaning back into my chair. "Because I thought it was pretty obvious? I mean, have you seen her?"
"No, no, not to me it wasn't! I'm very bad at reading people! You should know that by now!" he sobbed out, burying his face into the palm of his hands. I broke into another awkward smile, trying to comfort the poor kid before leaning towards Iroh with a hushed whisper, "Let's eat quickly and get outta' here!"
♢ ♢ ♢
"My apologies for back there," Iroh sighed out as we strolled through the seemingly crowded town of the Southern Water Tribe. "Not that there's anything wrong with some company, but I really assumed that we would be having dinner alone."
I waved my hand dismissively and nonchalantly replied, "It's alright. I mean, it actually took my mind off of the whole Unalaq-slash-Northern troops situation, so if you intended this evening to do just that, it worked!"
He chuckled softly before we immersed ourselves into a comfortable silence amongst the chatters of the townspeople that were probably heading home to their families after a day of work or were conversing with merchants for priced goods.
"You know," I had begun to muse with a small smile. "I feel this unexplainable sense of nostalgia. During my childhood I rarely went out of the White Lotus Compound—a place where Korra and I had to stay for our protection—only when I did with several guards trailing behind me, of course, I would go through here and admire the other children my age who were in their own little innocent worlds, singing and giggling without a care in the world."
I hesitantly glanced at Iroh, worried if I was talking too much, but he had been seemingly listening intently, making me unconsciously continue with a small sigh. "It made me feel like somewhat of an outcast, I guess. That I couldn't hang out with other children without having guards behind me or that I couldn't live normally like I had used to. . ."
That was only half the truth, however, what truly made me feel like an pariah amongst the tribe was how I was a bloodbender. Because of that, I had felt too mature than what I should've been. That I was on a different wavelength to the children my age who were busy engaging in their classwork while I was stuck in classes at the Compound being taught to forget about bloodbending. If I had not jeopardized my life, would I had still considered myself a normal child even if I still had to be enclosed between four walls?
I shook my head, dismissing the thought. "Enough about me, why don't you tell me about your life, Prince of the Fire Nation? I always find myself forgetting that you hold such a high status."
He chuckled nervously, "I'm actually glad you forget. I try to distance myself from that role."
I raised a curious eyebrow. "Why's that?"
"Being a general and exploring the vast world has always been a dream of mine growing up; except it was rather difficult to entertain that idea when my mother was more interested in seeing me sat upon a throne. The reality of royalty is that you need to maintain your role. If you go out of line you are considered an dishonor amongst your ancestors. I truly hate being shackled into a person my mother wants to be, being the face of the Fire Nation, restricting myself in the world of corrupted politics—I'm just not that type of person."
I hummed knowingly, "I get it, you want adventure and freedom to be important in your life."
"Unfortunately, my mother fails to understand just that to this very day," he said with a bitter smile.
"I'm guessing she wasn't very supportive when you decided to join the United Forces, huh?"
He shook his head with a tiny sigh. "No, she definitely was not. She told me how the role of the Prince of the Fire Nation wasn't to solely dedicate his life to the military, but my grandfather, Fire Lord Zuko, managed to convince her."
Putting a comforting hand on his shoulder, I softly told him, "Hey, even if you feel down about your mother not approving your path, just know that because of your hard work and dedication, you broke a record in the history books to be the youngest general ever. That's an achievement I know everyone should be proud of. I think just your braveness to turn down your born-status and chasing your dreams is truly aspiring."
His lips tugged back into a smile, although he seemed a bit hesitant to the compliment. "I'm flattered but, really, it's not—"
I stopped walking and quickly putted a finger up to his lips, scolding, "Don't you dare finish that sentence! I will not allow you to put yourself down like that. Honestly, Iroh, you're amazing that what you do. Who the hell cares what others will think? At the end of the day, you're doing what you love and that's all that matters."
He chuckled brightly as I tightly enveloped him with bottom lips jutting out. "You better not think I'm joking, 'cause I'm not, Iroh! I'm serious as the most. . .the most seriousest person in the world!"
"Thank you, Katrina," he simpered, pulling his head back. "I never knew I needed your positive outlook."
"Honestly, what. . ." I slowly trailed off my witty remark as my attention drifted over his shoulder and beyond, the too familiar scene of where my childhood incident took place just straight ahead. A burning discomfort formed inside my chest, the constricted feelings of fear and panic strangling the air out of me to which only escaped was a jagged breath.
"Katrina?" I heard Iroh called out with a slightly confused tone, trying to glance at what I had been staring at, but all he would've seen was just a patch of mere ground. However, that certain spot of freshly dropped snow sprawled out beautifully amidst the connected buildings had instantly brought the horrid memory of a certain seven year old girl who had been almost abducted from her kidnapper. The memory of the girl who tried to fought back but with a price.
It was almost as if I could see the size-four boots imprinted against the blank ground, who stood against that man with an exhilarating amount of power that surged through her veins and to her tiny hand that, with just a twist of a finger, can easily destroy anyone no matter what strength. The child who had been blinded with fury that she ruthlessly murdered the man with a flick of her wrist.
I was just protecting myself, but if I had knew the man, the bloodbending—all of it was where the mental and physical torture that I would endure all through my life would had begun, I would've rather been kidnapped. Why the hell did I even put up a fight? I probably would've been handled just as bait, nothing much. I wasn't the Red Lotus or Uncle's (if he truly was behind it) target anyway.
I clutched the firebender's arms tightly, the feelings of nausea, misery, fury, and even unconsciousness targeted straight at me all at once. Sudden warmth cupped against the right side of my cheeks, shattering my thoughts revealing reality. "What's the matter? Are you feeling alright?"
The discomfort I felt brewing inside my chest replaced with what should've been a warm romantic feeling, but instead was heart-wrenching guilt as my attention shifted to Iroh staring down at me with concern. I had no plans on dragging the poor firebender alongside my pathetic problems nor did I want him to even be aware of them.
His already perfect perspective of me might change drastically; changed into the perspective that the White Lotus had viewed me as : an inhumane monster, and I feared greatly for that. Would he be understanding and take my point of view, who truly knew? But I wasn't going to take my chances. Things were perfect just the way they were and I wasn't going to let my stupid past ruin it for me!
With a sharp intake of air and a forced laughter I quickly grabbed the worrisome hand that was gripped on my face and turned around, speed-walking the opposite way from the area. "I. . .I actually just thought of something we should do, Iroh! It's, uhhh, a surprise!"
Sure, so it may had seemed like I was just pathetically running away from my problems. . .quite literally at this point—but it wasn't bad as one claimed it to be! Again, sure it may bite you in the butt in the future, but at least the present moments can still be enjoyed peacefully!
"Whe—so sorry about that—Where exactly are you taking me?" he questioned hesitantly with a raised brow after sending multiple apologies to strangers that we had rushed past through and may had accidently bumped into.
I forced another smile, hurriedly eyeing around for a passable excuse for my behavior when suddenly, the spirits above decided to help a poor lady like me and bestow the blessing that was just to my right.
I quickly leaded the firebender towards that direction for a couple of minutes before approaching the outskirts of the small town where several small children were engaging in the known activity, penguin sledding.
The nauseated emotions I felt because of that horrid scene quickly faded away, pure excitement now replacing it as I clasped my hands with a bright grin at the sight of many otter penguins waddling around through the empty snowy hills.
I turned to Iroh, quickly wrapping my hands around his arm, sending a pleading look. "Please, please, please go penguin sledding with me? I know you're too mature of a man to do such a kiddish activity, but you'll have so much fun, you won't regret it!"
His amber orbs flashed with the same avidity momentarily before it disappeared. "But, your injury, remember? What if you sustain a more serious one?"
I blinked, slightly taken aback before breaking into a bright grin and proceeded to squish his delicate cheek. "It's so funny how you seem to be more worried about my health than myself. Besides, it's already healed enough!"
He flushed, seemingly avoiding my teasing gaze and murmured with bottom lip slightly jutting out, "Well, someone has to look after it if not you, who always seem to ignore everyone's instructions to take care of yourself."
"Aw, you're blushing!" I remarked with a huge gasp, whose face decided to betray him and turn a shade brighter. I confidently approached behind him and wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my chin on his shoulder. Continuing to tease the poor firebender, I feigned my tone with dramatic curiosity. "Is the General of the Forces suddenly starting to have certain romantic feelings for a certain woman, perhaps?"
He rolled his eyes and slowly spun around, trying to make me drop down to face him. "Alright, alright, if you are surely fine as you claim to be, then yes, we can go penguin sledding."
I couldn't help but let out an excited squeal, the child in me that dreamed of sledding down hills on the back of a penguin otter becoming very prevalent.
I scanned around and went over to a small child who had tons of fishes in her small blue pail, used for bait. "Hello, there! Do you think I could borrow two of those, please?"
Instead of handing the bait over to me, she eyed me with an unimpressed eyebrow. "Aren't you a little too old to go penguin sledding, Miss?"
My eyes widened, taken aback at her offensive comment with a gasp. "I—no, I'm not! Adults can go penguin sledding too, you know? I—Honestly, how old do you think I am?"
Her tiny lips twisted, deep in thought. "Uhh. . .thirty?"
"Thirty?!"
"Well, yeah. . ." She innocently murmured, her lips tugging into a grin. "You kinda' have some wrinkles like my mom has so—"
"Wrinkles?!" I cried out with another gasp, a hand hurriedly hovering over my forehead. I silently cursed, thinking it must've been from all that stress that had probably taken years off my poor life. Iroh had approached beside me as I quickly turned to him with misty eyes. "I don't have wrinkles, do I?"
He unexpectedly leaned closer with pursed lips, his eyes seemingly scanning every inch of my features; an amused smirk growing with every glance. If I hadn't felt self-conscious at the moment, I would be positive my chest would've exploded open at his distance—close enough where his breath was very evident as it occasionally brushed it's fieriness against my chilling skin.
After a tense moment, he pulled back and finally answered nonchalantly, "Not any that I'm aware of, no."
I huffed bitterly with bottom lips jutting out and pointed an accusing finger at the child, who broke into jeering laughter. "You're a cruel, cruel five year old girl, you know that? Now, can you please lend some of your fish baits?"
She hummed, putting a finger up to her chin before answering with a simple "Nope."
"Pretty please?" I asked once again, clasping my hands together with pleading orbs.
"No! Go fish out your own baits, lady!" she huffed out, grabbing one of her own and luring a penguin otter with it.
My eyes narrowed with a bitter scoff, muttering to myself as I turned around and started walking off, "Kids these days. . .not having a single drop of respect for their elders. . .guess that means we gotta' do things the hard way and get it ourselves."
I abruptly halted and curiously glanced over my shoulder when I heard the firebender, who had kneeled down to the little girl's level, softened tone that was wrapped up with a warm smile. "Hey there, I've noticed you've met my little friend over there."
"She's your friend?" The girl asked, looking unimpressed. He simply smiled and glanced over his shoulder, responding, "Yeah, you could say that."
I crossed my arms with a small smirk. "I hope you didn't just friend-zoned me, Princey Boy."
The little girl's eyes suddenly twinkled with a dreamish look, quickly looking back at Iroh with pure excitement. "Prince? You're a prince?!"
He glanced down with a simper and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yes. . .uh, prince of the Fire Nation—"
She gasped dramatically before jumping up and down with a squeal. "Oh my gosh! No way, no way, no way! A real-life prince! I can't believe it!"
She suddenly gasped once more, now pointing at me with a grin. "Does that mean you're a princess?!"
I fiddled with my hands and simpered with slight awkwardness. "Well. . .not exactly."
The five year old frowned when Iroh suddenly smirked widely and teased, "What? I thought you were my princess, darling."
My eyes bulged out of their sockets at his sudden flirtiness, blazing heat arising my cheeks before shakily pointing an accusing finger at him. "Hey, hold on, you—-mmph!"
He had stood up with the sly smirk still plastered upon his lips and approached me, cupping my face to teasingly squish it which made me cut off my sentence. "What's this, I see? Are you blushing, princess? Is she suddenly starting to have feelings for a certain someone, perhaps?"
"How dare you use my flirting lines against me!" I spatted with bottom lips jutting out against his hands that pressed against my flushed face as he smiled brightly, clearly enjoying being the upper-hand for once.
The little girl squealed once again, making him pull back as she whispered to herself, "A real live prince and princess?! Oh, those kids at school are going to be so jealous once they here about this!"
She lifted her head up with a curious eyebrow. "Say, what's a prince and princess even doing here in the South?"
Although I really wished I was, I smiled sheepishly at the false idea. "I'm actually not a pri—"
"Well, we actually wanted to go penguin sledding because you know, being from the Fire Nation, there isn't any snow or any penguin otters to do such a thing." Iroh explained with a smile, gently wrapping an arm around my shoulder, making me facepalm myself.
"No penguin otters?!" She echoed with innocent shock, covering her mouth. "That's horrible!"
He chuckled sweetly, "I know, isn't it? You think you could, perhaps, help us out and share some of your fish baits—?"
The little girl ran and practically shoved her pail of little fishes into his arms, still having that dreamish look glinted in her huge orbs. "Y—Yes, yes, of course! Have as many as you want! It would be my pleasure!"
I letted my jaw freely drop open at her sudden gesture before sputtering, "Hey, wait a second! When I asked you to lend me some fish, I received attitude, but when he asked you, he basically got everything!"
"Well, that's because I didn't know you were a princess, silly!"
I couldn't help chuckling as I eyed the firebender next to me, who quickly grabbed two tiny fish from her bucket and handed back to her, and joked, "Say, is this what people mean by royal treatment?"
"You could say that, I suppose," he responded with a shrug before turning to the small girl. "Thank you so much for your kindness, Miss."
Her eyes perked up, blushing a bit. "Y-You're welcome!"
I rolled my eyes with a small smirk, grabbing hold of the firebender's arm. "Alright, alright, let's go, my prince! The penguin otters awaits!"
THE AVATAR'S BIG SISTER 2.
004. ROUGH TIMES PT. TWO
── ♢ ♢ ♢ ──
𝐈 letted out a joyous sigh as I entered into my parent's igloo hut around the late evening, finding Mom sitting peacefully on the couch in the living room. Her head lifted towards the entrance with a huge smile. "Katrina, honey, you're back! Tell me, how was your little date with General Iroh?"
I couldn't help but break into a wide grin, recalling our fun time together in the last hours as I slumped besides her. "It was amazing!" I bubbled, grabbing her arm. "We went to this restaurant and went penguin sledding!"
"Did you, now?" She smirked with a chuckle. "Seems like you two had fun. He seems to really like you, honey."
I simpered with flushed cheeks, dropping my head down before a saddening thought popped into my mind. I lifted my head with hesitancy, wondering if I should mention the horrid scene of my childhood I had seen during our time together, but my mouth started to spit out another thought.
"Oh! Mom! Did you know that Eska's dating Bolin?. . .Or at least, was dating, since he's trying to break up with her."
"Bolin? The one with the emerald eyes, right? My goodness, really?"
I nodded, sharing the same disbelieved expression. "Yes! I couldn't believe it, either. . .well, if it had to be someone, it had to be that innocent earthbender. I mean, no guy from the North or South would risk being with her!"
Before she could respond, the front door suddenly opened which revealed an irritated Korra, who muttered bitterly, "Did Dad send you to talk to me?"
"Your father doesn't know I'm here." Mom replied with sorrowful eyes as she slumped on the couch next to me. "Korra, what's going on between you two?"
She averted her eyes away and scoffed, "Ask Dad."
Mom shifted her attention to me, her pleading expression wondered if I had knew anything. I rubbed the back of my neck and answered, "Well, I'm not exactly sure but I know it has something to do with that fight they had during the trip to the South Pole—
"That's exactly what's it about." Korra snapped, cutting me off. "I found out that I've been lied to my whole life. Unalaq told me everything. How I was trapped down here while I trained; how Dad got banished from the North."
Mom sighed out, "So, the truth is out, huh?"
"How come you or Katrina never said anything about Dad getting banished?" She pressed, furrowing her brows tightly.
"We were trying to keep our family together, to at least try to give you two a normal childhood. . .of course, until your father blabbered it to Katrina."
"Okay, first of all, it's not really his fault. I kinda' nagged him to tell me." I clarified sheepishly, leaning back into the cushions before dropping into a seriously bitter expression. "And second of all, we spent our whole childhoods in that Compound away from the tribe, away from everyone. If you think that was normal, then we got a problem on our hands."
"Katrina, you're well aware that we had no choice." She disputed dejectly, though her eyes were rimmed with guiltiness that she had to hide with Korra's presence. "It was for the sake of everyone's protection."
"The thing is, I never wanted a normal childhood." Korra countered pleadingly. "All I ever wanted to be was the Avatar, but everyone keeps holding me back, even my own family! Unalaq's the only one who believes in me."
"Holding you back?! Not believing in you?!" I echoed, utterly flabbergasted at her words. "That's not true—"
"So, then why is everyone in the South turning against me when all I'm trying to do is help them?!"
"The problems between the North and the South started long before any of you were born." Mom explained softly. "You can't expect to undo them in a day."
"So I should just sit back and let the Water Tribes go to war?" She retorted with a scoff.
"No, but this situation might be out of your control. Varrick's been plotting a rebellion against Unalaq. He asked your father to join, and—"
I putted a hand up, signalling her to pause. "Wait, wait, wait, hold on. Dad's part of a rebellion? That's seriously nothing all like him."
She scrunched her face, averting her eyes to her right. "I don't know, but I don't want you two getting caught in the middle of it."
"It's too late, Mom." Korra snapped frustratedly, storming outside. "I'm already in the middle of it."
"Korra!" She called out before deeply sighing with her head down. I stared intently at the front door, pondering over what to do next before tiredly getting up and headed towards it.
"Where you going, Katrina?" She questioned with a raised brow.
"Where do you think?" I retorted nonchalantly as I opened the door, looking back over my shoulder to her. "I'm going after Korra."
♢ ♢ ♢
I took one of my Dad's snowmobiles and followed Korra to the Southern Water Tribe Palace, where Unalaq was residing. "Korra!" I called out as I noticed her figure entering inside, stopping my vehicle just near the wide, elegant stairway that lead up to the entrance of the enormous building.
Running up the long flight of stairs with a tired huff, I entered inside into a spacious room where Korra had been rushing through. "Hey, loser!" I called once again with annoyance, causing her to spin around with a defensive stance.
"What're you doing here?" She questioned after realization, dropping her posture. Before I could respond, she took a double-take over her shoulder, noticing something particular inside the next room straight ahead.
Curiously rushing behind her, we both entered inside another spacious space that had a gorgeous navy carpet laid out alongside rows of banners with the Southern Water Tribe emblem hanged on the walls. It wasn't difficult to notice that several Northern Troop soldiers had strangely been tied up unconscious around one of the pillars that stood in the room.
"Uncle?" Korra called out worryingly, running off towards a staircase.
"Oh, stop running off!" I scolded with a hushed whisper, following behind her into another hallway before she abruptly halted at a corner and peeked around.
My eyes went round with consternation at the three masked men seemingly standing guard in front of an entrance in the hallway, one of them exiting it holding an unconscious Unalaq over their shoulder. The man turned around, his bulky figure showing an odd resemblance to—
"Dad?" Korra whispered in bewilderment before approaching them. "Dad! Don't do this!"
"Turn around, Avatar, and pretend you didn't see anything." One of the four men ordered with sharpness. I was perplexed at how the figure holding Unalaq could be my father. The man I knew well would never resort to such ways and even though I despised his younger brother, this was just morally wrong.
I confidently approached besides my little sister with a pleading expression, facing the masked group. "Listen, just leave Unalaq and go. We'll tell him that we tried to stop you, but you escaped. Please, we can still avoid a war—"
"No, we can't." He interjected bitterly before suddenly bending an ice barrier, separating us from them. We hurriedly rolled back to avoid it and jabbed a gaping hole with our waterbending to follow behind the group that were escaping down a flight of stairs.
Korra was right behind their trail, waterbending the handrails into ice. We both leaped onto it and quickly slid down, blocking the men at the front steps.
"Get him outta' here!" One of them ordered before bending another ice wall towards us. I rolled out the way and hurriedly turned to Korra. "I'll go after Dad!"
She nodded as I rushed behind the group and down another set of stairs that led outside. Before I knew it, three of them bend several streams of water bullets at me.
"We're all part of the same tribe! I don't wanna' hurt you!" I grunted out, rolling out of the way to avoid their attacks. Unfortunately, their response was more speeding water bullets towards me.
"Alright, you asked for it." Narrowing my eyes with irritation, I swiftly bended water of their attacks and wrapped it around my arm into a prolonged whip. I spun around and shooted my water-enveloped arm around the three men. Harshly sweeping my arm to the left, they flew out of the liquid grip and landed afar onto the snowy ground with a prevalent thud.
The roaring sound from a snowmobile caught my attention, the man that was supposedly my father escaping with Unalaq hauled on the back of the vehicle.
"Dad, stop!" I hollered pleadingly as I rushed and raised my arms up with clenched fists, bending a curved ice ramp in front of them. The snowmobile drove and slid off the ramp, falling onto the ground.
I hurriedly approached him, who groggily raised his head, and pulled off his cerulean-colored mask which revealed a complete stranger.
I shifted back a step, taken aback yet quite relieved that the man wasn't Dad. Slightly clutching the cloth material in my fist, I sternly questioned, "Who're you? Where's my father?"
"He wouldn't help us." The stranger responded with a sneer as Unalaq had started to stir. "He's a traitor, just like his daughters."
♢ ♢ ♢
"Thank you both for saving my life." Unalaq, who had just became conscious moments ago, thanked Korra and I as the police proceeded to put handcuffs on the men back inside the palace.
I stayed silent out of bitterness for the blasted man while Korra murmured, "I'm just glad we got here in time."
"Find Varrick." He sternly ordered one of the Northern Troop soldiers. "I want him to freeze in prison with the rest of these traitors."
Korra and I simoustanly eyed each other with worry before she turned to him. "Wait, you can't just lock them away. That will only make the South angrier."
He raised a curious eyebrow and questioned, "You want them to go free?"
"No," I responded with furrowed brows, straightening a bit before continuing. "however, let them stand trial for what they did. After all, every Water Tribe citizen deserves that right."
He mused at the suggestion for a brief moment, his grim face softening down. "Very well."
Korra smiled, bowing slightly with respect. "Thank you, Uncle."
♢ ♢ ♢
Korra and I traveled back home in silence as the sun started to rise. As I opened the front door, we noticed Mom and Dad sitting down, eating. Their heads lifted up towards the entrance with widened eyes.
"Is it okay if we come in?" Korra asked sheepishly.
"Of course." Mom answered with soft concern. "We heard what happened. Are you two okay?"
I couldn't help but let out an exhausted sigh, glancing over at Korra who had looked she was about to burst into tears. She hurriedly ran and enveloped our father into a tight hug, beginning to weep.
With bottom lips jutting out and a rush of sorrow, I slowly followed behind and accepted his hand as he gently pulled me down to be in his arms alongside Korra. He caressed the back of our heads and comforted, "Girls, it's okay."
"We're so glad you weren't there. We—I don't know what I would've done." Korra sobbed out with trails of tears gliding down her cheeks.
I nodded and added with a murmur, "I know I have a grudge against Unalaq, but I couldn't imagine my own father stooping so low and do such a thing, you know?"
"I had no idea how far Varrick was willing to go." He explained dismally. "My brother and I have our differences, but I would never attack him."
Korra pulled back with a sniff. "I'm sorry for thinking you had anything to do with the rebels, and for all the pain I've caused you, Mom, and Katrina."
"I'm the one who should apologize. After I saw the Southern Lights return, I was so proud of you. I never should've held you back."
I grinned, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'm proud of you too, little sis."
"When your father and I found each other, all we wanted was to live a simple life and raise a family. But, then we all discovered Korra was the Avatar, and simple was over." Mom looked over to her with a saddened smile. "We knew one day the world would need you and you wouldn't need us anymore."
Her misty eyes softened. "Of course I still need all of you."
"Family group hug!" I bubbled out as I wrapped my arms around everyone, making them erupt into laughter and enveloped each other into a tight hug.
We all pulled away with confusion at the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the front door. My eyes instantly narrowed in bitter disgust at Unalaq's sudden appearance.
"We weren't expecting you." Dad said, narrowing his eyes.
Four soldiers suddenly appeared, surrounding us. "Tonraq, Senna, you are under arrest and will stand trial."
"Trial? For what?" He questioned his younger brother, who had furrowed his eyebrows as if it was obvious.
"For conspiring to assassinate me."
♢ ♢ ♢
Korra and I watched with utter disbelief as our parents were being loaded into a police truck. As it drove away, I turned to Unalaq with clenched fists and raged out, "You're making a huge mistake!"
He folded his hands behind his back with a stern expression. "I wish it hadn't come to this, but your parents held meeting with the rebels, right here in their home."
Korra shook her head and scoffed with sudden anger that I haven't seen from her towards him, "I can't believe you're doing this to your own family."
I crossed my arms with a silent huff. I should've expected this from him, especially with his grudge against our father.
"Rest assured, I've appointed Judge Hotah to oversee the trial. He is the most fair and honorable man I know."
My lips tugged down into an even deeper scowl. "Uncle, our parents had nothing to do with the men who attacked you."
"I'm sure you're right, so we should have nothing to worry about." he hummed nonchalantly as I glanced at Korra with hesitancy. I knew well that there must've been some ruthless motive behind all this, but what exactly other than hatred for his younger brother?
♢ ♢ ♢
I nervously stood between Korra and Iroh on the sidelines of the Royal Palace's spacious courtroom, bullets of sweat forming against my forehead. There was so much unexpectancy that could emerge during the trial for Mom, Dad, and the rebels who had taken part in the incident.
Unconsciously, I leaned my head against Iroh's firm shoulder, who thankfully allowed me. I hated that he had to see me in this type of light, but if it weren't for his comforting words and gestures that he had been for the past minutes, I'm surely convinced that I would've fainted by now.
I attempted to make eye contact with either one of my parents, trying to reassure them that everything will be alright, but it seemed that they were too focused on the judge that was approaching. Iroh gently brought another consoling hand to my back as the trial officially started.
"This trial will now come to order! Judge Hotah presiding."
Unalaq proceeded to face in front of the judge and explained what happened. "I was asleep in my chambers when the rebels attacked. They overpowered me and the next thing I remember was waking up in the snow after my dear nieces, Katrina and Avatar Korra had saved me."
After, the judge brought Korra up for questioning. At first, I was perplexed as to why they hadn't called up forth for questioning first since I was older than Korra, but I wrapped up the thought with the brief answer that she was called because technically she was considered an authority figure.
"According to Unalaq's testimony, you attended a meeting where Varrick tried to incite a civil war." Judge Hotah reported with a raised brow. "Is that true?"
Her eyes crinkled with hesitancy before softly responding, "Yes."
He gestured a hand towards the rebels and continued. "And where these men present at that meeting?"
"Well, yes, but—"
"And where exactly did this meeting take place?" he pressed on when suddenly Bolin, who was seated in the stands besides Asami, quickly stood up with his hand raised and exclaimed, "Objection!"
"Quiet down out there!" Judge Hotah scolded and shifted his attention back to Korra. "I'll ask you one more time. Where did the meeting happen?"
She inhaled sharply and stayed silent momentarily before defeatedly sighing out, "My parents' house."
I folded my arms against my chest, tightening my fists until it felt like they turned pale. "They should've letted me do the talking, not Korra," I murmured furiously only so Iroh could hear. "Clearly she's giving in to these pathetic questions and making it worse!"
"And who led this meeting?" Judge Hotah interrogated when Bolin stood up once again with his hand raised and interjected, "Your honor, if I may?"
He raised an irritated eyebrow. "May what?"
The earthbender pursed his lips nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "May I. . .declare a mistrial?"
"Sit down!" Hotah ordered once again and looked back at Korra with a frustrated sigh. "Varrick and your father led the meeting, didn't they?"
"My parents are innocent!" she protested with clenched fists, but he raised a hand as a gesture to put a pause.
"I've heard all I need to. I'll return shortly with my decision."
I had officially concluded that this whole trail was a stupid joke, not to mention, unfair. Judge Hotah didn't even bother to listen to our side of the situation. Our father called upon a meeting not to make plans for a civil war, but to discuss the matters regarding the Northern Troops that rudely stormed into our tribe, proclaiming that it was all for protecting the spirit portal, but that doesn't mean it gives them the right to treat our people unjustly.
The Rebels? They formed and planned the kidnapping without his knowledge and not to mention their anger was fueled by Varrick, who honestly should've been standing here in court too. But even with that, they all shouldn't be blamed. Their intentions was solely to have peace once again, even if their actions didn't clearly translate into that.
"Good job, Avatar." I muttered sarcastically as Korra dejectedly walked back to the sidelines. She retorted, "I tried, okay?"
After a few grueling minutes, Judge Hotah reentered the courtroom and brought Mom, Dad, and the rebels to face before him. "Senna, please step forward."
My heart started to race with anxiousness as she hesitantly stepped forward. "I have found you. . .innocent. You are free to go."
I letted out a grateful exhale as a guard removed her handcuffs that binded her hands. "Girls!" Mom exclaimed happily, running over and enveloping the two of us. Our small smiles dropped as the judge started to resume with his convictions.
"On the charge of treason, you are all found. . . guilty. The punishment for this crime," he paused momentarily, making the courthouse fall into a tense silence as we waited with grueling suspense. "is death."
I felt my whole world collapse alongside the strength of my knees, with Iroh swiftly gripping my shoulder and waist just in time. I was riddled with tears of consternation, clinging tightly onto the material of the firebender's coat as he whispered comforting words, but also had the same nervousness glinted in his amber orbs. This couldn't possibly be happening. Dad wasn't involved with his brother's stupid kidnapping attempt; he wasn't deservent of this extremely harsh and unfair punishment.
"You can't do this!" I yelled furiously as the judge started to walk off the platformed stage. Korra had shared the same infuriated emotions as I had, following right after with a pointed threat, "You take their lives and we'll take yours!"
"Korra, Katrina, calm down. I'll talk to him," Unalaq reassured us in an strangely calm manner before approaching Hotah. "I know I promised to respect whatever decision you made, but I must ask you to reconsider. Show these men and my brother mercy."
I pulled back from Iroh's careful grip around me, both sending each other a confused look at his sudden compassion.
Hotah sighed after a brief moment of thought. "Very well. I'll change their punishment. Your lives will be spared, but you will live them out in prison."
Dad and the rebels's expressions softened into relieved ones at their sentence, while I turned to the firebender next to me and murmured, "I'm not sure if I should be grateful or suspicious at his gesture."
"Perhaps both," he responded quietly and stared at my uncle, who was being thanked by my little sister, with skepticism "Isn't it a bit weird that he suddenly had a kind heart towards his eldest brother who he had a grudge against since?"
I added, "He also insisted the rebels to be shown mercy, when he literally threatened to freeze them all last night."
"It was odd that the judge was quick to agree to his suggestion, too."
I hummed in agreement, feeling anxious yet grateful that I wasn't the only one suspicious about all of this, but at least my father won't be meeting death anytime soon.
♢ ♢ ♢
Mom, Korra, and I followed the guard to Dad's jail cell located at the Southern Water Tribe Prison. He opened the door, revealing him seated on a metal bed with a tired expression.
As he lifted his head towards the entrance, we all rushed inside and enveloped him with a tight hug. Mom pulled back and putted a worried hand on his firm shoulder. "Are you alright, honey?"
"I'm fine," he responded with a small, saddened smile.
Korra plastered on a determined face and said, "Good, let's bust you out of here right now."
"I agree," I concurred with a quick head nod. "You didn't do anything wrong, anyway."
"Girls, no." he shut down sternly. "Saving me would start a war. If fighting were to break out, the North would crush the South. I'll be alright. Just promise me you or Katrina won't do anything rash."
We both eyed each other hesitantly before murmuring quietly, "We promise."
[ back to the village ]
"I'm so sorry about your father," Iroh had sighed with sympathy as I slumped down onto the bed in the guest room that Katara lent him for his short visit here.
"It's whatever, I guess." I murmured deflectly, shifting my attention to my nails to distract myself from breaking down. Truthfully, I wanted to avoid the topic that had started putting a hurtful lump inside my throat whenever I thought about it. My father was almost sentenced to death for something he didn't even do, and although he had a so-called reasonable punishment, he was still unfairly seated in jail.
Just thinking about it, the whole trip back to my homeland had been such a rollercoaster of emotions. Korra and I had started bitterly arguing with each other; something we hadn't done before. Unalaq confronted me about my secret bloodbending past and threatened to tell everyone about it, knowing he wouldn't hesitate to imply that I was a murderous monster of such and take down the chance for explanation. Finally, the political state of our tribe was tense with the North causing such chaos amongst the southerns that we may see a war in the near future.
Iroh sat down beside me and gently putted a hand on my shoulder. I slowly glanced over at him, meeting his softened eyes that seemed genuinely concerned.
Before I even realized it, I was already nuzzled in the warmth of his arms, teardrops rippling down my cheeks as a wave of mixed emotions targeting straight at me at once.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, suddenly feeling very insecure about my weakened composure as he gently rubbed my back. "I really hate being like this."
He pulled back with widened eyes and proceeded to cup one side of my face to make me look at him while wiping a few teardrops with the other hand. "Katrina, don't apologize for your feelings. It's alright to let your emotions out. . .you know, whatever you're dealing with, I'm truly confident that you will overcome it."
He dropped his hand with an upcoming thought. "You know if I remember well, I think my great-grand uncle used to tell my grandfather, Fire Lord Zuko, this. . .uh, what was it again?"
He twisted his lips in deep thought as he tried to recall his memories, which I concluded to be absolutely adorable. His golden orbs lighted up with realization and said, "You must never give into despair. . . allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts—- or wait, was it something else?"
I couldn't help breaking into a chortle, wiping the rest of my tears. "Well, whatever it is, it's really great advice. Your great-granduncle must've been a very wise man."
Iroh nodded and chirped, "Indeed, he was. Having heard many stories about him from my grandfather, I came to be quite glad I was named after him."
"You know," I sniffed, my voice filled with playful admiration, "the name really suits you." A flirtatious smirk adorned my face as I continued, "Especially with all of your handsome features—""
He released a tired sigh, yet it couldn't hide the bashful smile tugging at his lips. "You can't go a day without showering me with your embarrassing compliments, can you? Although, I suppose I never really mentioned it, but you're quite beautiful too. But you probably knew that already," he added with a laugh.
"Obviously," I smiled sarcastically, wiping the wetness around my eyes.
He leaned back, crossing his arms with an amused smirk. "I must admit, I've never met someone quite like you. I know it sounds cliché, but usually, I'm surrounded by very stern, serious people. And even with all the teasing, you're a breath of fresh air, Katrina."
"Well, someone's got to keep the spirits up around here with all this drama," I replied, attempting a joke that couldn't quite hide the bitterness in my tone.
He placed a hand over mine, his expression serious. "Hey, you don't have to bury your emotions to spare yourself or others. It may not be easy, but if you keep suppressing them, they'll only grow worse over time. It'll consume you, Katrina. Just be aware of that. And like I said before, I'm here if you need me."
The problems of the past and present were colliding together causing such stress upon me that I just couldn't handle it anymore. I wanted to run, I wanted to cry, I wanted to escape from this blasted world. . .however, there had been one person that made me stay for a just a while more.
The firebender had been the highlight, the fresh breath of crisp air amongst the chaos of the trip. During our time together, I found myself growing fonder and more curious at the man. When I was with him, I felt like my positive, bubbly self always became prevalent.
I know," I murmured, sighing softly before looking up at him and pulling him into a gentle hug. "Thank you, Iroh. There were moments when I felt down, and you were the first one there to comfort and console me. It's strange, knowing each other for such a short time, yet you've been there for me. I appreciate that so much."
His face softened as we parted. I continued, "And, well, I genuinely enjoy being around you. You're understanding, kind, and comforting. I know I flirt and joke around a lot, but it all comes from a genuine place. I understand if you prefer to keep things as they are, but... I want to know more about you, and I want to be there for you, no matter what our relationship may be,"
A sincere smile appeared on my lips. "You're a wonderful man, Iroh."
He unexpectedly leaned in and softly placed his lips onto mine. The rush of sensations crawling across my body was maddening as I quickly kissed him back with heat rising from my stomach to my chest, my heart almost thumping out. When he pulled back, I couldn't help but gape at him before letting out an delighted squeal as I quickly got up and jumped around with clasped hands.
"The General kissed me!" I sunged excitedly, making him extremely flustered as he eyed the door worriedly.
"Keep it down, will you?! Master Katara might hear—"
I mischievously gasped at the mention of her name before excitedly running towards the door with a huge grin. "Master Katara, you will never believe what—"
He yelped with embarrassment, quickly running and grabbing a hold of my waist to stop me before I could reach the door handle. "Oh, no you don't! If she knows of this, she'll never let me hear the end of it!"
"Aw, you don't want her to know that Zuko's grandson is secretly a romantic?" I snickered, playfully punching his broad chest.
"I couldn't help myself," he chuckled sheepishly, dragging a hand through his slightly ruffled hair. "the opportunity was too tempting."
I smirked. "I knew you liked me."
"Alright, you got me. Happy?" he smiled with a tired head-shake before leaning towards me again, but before his lips had brushed against mine, a familiar annoying voice had appeared from outside which was calling my name multiple times.
He pulled back with a smirk, "Well, that's quite unfortunate. Looks like you're being needed somewhere else."
I silently cursed against the harsh reality that was my little sister with bottom lips jutted out. Slithering out of his grip with an irritated sigh, I putted a hand on the door handle and turned back to him with fake tears and a dramatic hand on my heart. "It pains me, but alas, our time must come to an end. Just know that I will miss you, my lovely prince, and there will never be a day that I won't remember your wonderous voice that—"
"Just go already," he laughed out, playfully giving me a light shove on the shoulder towards the door. I pouted and sarcastically letted out a huge dejected sigh once again, opening the door and went into the hallway.
"Until we meet again, princess!" Iroh suddenly joked with a smirk, leaning against the doorway with a farewell wave, making me grin brightly with a giggle. How did I ever get so lucky?
♢ ♢ ♢