Chapter 5: Love Caves: we all need them

Book 2 Episodes 2, 3

"Secret lovecave, let's go", Sokka says and leads the other two, equally dirty and disenchanted ones past the relaxing others. I amble after them, whistling a tune from Monty Python's Life of Brian that I remember fondly.

"Stop that, please", Sokka tells me.

I stop and start humming the Logical Song instead.

"How come you're not dirty anyway?", Aang asks curiously.

"I just bended it away."

"No you did not", Katara claims, "I can't bend it away."

"Oh, no not like that. I had some clouds and deflected all the dirt coming my way. Like a shield, only liquid and a bit poofy."

They gape. What, do they think I'm not skilled enough for that? I can bend with my face, after all. This is nothing.

"You're high as a kite and you can still bend with such precision?", Katara asks, eyes wide.

I shrug. "Sure. Wouldn't have been a full Master by fifteen if not."

"Wait, you're a full Master?", Aang questions.

"Yeah. Didn't you know? Why else would I be given command over thirty benders for that wall outside the city?"

"Well you said you were friends with the Chief", Sokka throws in there. True, but it's not like Arnook would give command to an incompetent just because he likes him.

"That's why Pakku looked at you and not at me on the ship when he said Aang needed a Master!", Katara bursts out. Ah, so she's hung up on that.

"Oh, yeah, surprised me, too. I'd originally figured I'd get in touch with your dad and help out a bit, but this is fun, too."

"What?", Sokka asks, "You need to tell us this stuff."

"I just did."

"No, earlier!"

"Why though?", I ask this for the sole purpose of being annoying.

Aang, the sweetheart, steps up to the task, "Because then we can make decisions together. So, if you want to go help out with the war effort, we can find a way to get you there."

"Ah, but you're going to need to be with your earthbending teacher, Aang. And even if I don't stay with you forever, until you've mastered waterbending, it's probable that you'll benefit from my presence", I say reasonably. Good deflection. It's bound to wind Katara up.

"How?", she grouses, "So far, all you've done is sleep!"

"That's not true", Aang defends, slightly cross, "He defeated General Fong! And he taught me how to bend with my face! And he stays awake at night to watch out for us."

Oh, he noticed that? Right, his nightmares are bound to wake him up.

"Now, now. Let's all get along. We need to watch out for the curse", Lily tries to placate.

"Curse?", Sokka's jaw unhinges.

"Oh yeah", Chong says, "All you need to do is trust in love… Or you get lost in the labyrinth forever."

"And die", Lily adds.

"Right", Chong says and wriggles his fingers, "Hey, I just remembered the rest of that song!", he ventures into the cave, plucks an accord and sings: "And dieeeee."

It echoes ominously. Heh, this guy has the best lines. Sokka has the best faces.

There should be a third trait everyone has, but someone's best at. Katara, probably. At being prissy.

Ouch, that's downright pathetic. Take out your underlying issues on a sixteen-year-old girl, why don't you?

"That's it! There's no way we're going through some cursed hole!", Sokka saves me from that train of thought. Let's hope it hasn't lost a caboose somewhere in the dregs of my mind.

The Chinese man points out a bonfire in the distance that looks suspiciously like the Fire Nation conveniently announcing their intentions to kill us. Katara and Sokka it seems, have the same thoughts as me.

"So all you need is to trust in love to get through the caves?", he glances surreptitiously at Katara who is frowning at the rising smoke like sheer willpower can stop the Fire Nation from advancing. Who knows, maybe she's onto something? She is pretty headstrong. There, I did not call her stubborn, just wilful.

"That is correct, Mr Arrowhead", Chong answers, no doubt catching the adoration on the Avatar's face when he looks at her.

"Then we'll be fine."

That's almost too sweet. No, definitely. I keep the bile in my stomach.

"Everyone, into the hole!", Sokka orders and we follow him inside. We're not far in when the entrance collapses.

Appa groans and rushes at the settled rubble, trying to get through with sheer determination. Chong lights a torch. Good man. Katara approaches the flying bison and tries to calm him down.

"We will be fine. All we need is a plan. Chong, how long do those torches last?", Sokka takes charge. Okay. Well, I believe in the power of love, Aang does, Katara does, and the nomads do, so we'll be fine.

"Eh, about two hours each."

"And we have five torches, so that's… ten hours", Lily lights the other four with a swipe on the ground. Pretty nifty, that. But not really what we need to appreciate right now.

Katara seems to think so, too and begins to bend her water to douse the flames just as Sokka stomps over to smother the torches. I manage to intercept her bending by looping it back into her water skin. No one but her and I notice and once she's done glaring at me, realisation crosses her features. If the torches are wet, they can't be lit. I'm not sure how the materials would interact with water, even if we extracted the liquid. She still sends a scowl my way.

Like I said, wilful.

"It doesn't work like that if they're all lit at the same time!", Sokka shouts once he's stomped out the fire.

"Oh… right."

"I'm gonna make a map of exactly where we've been. Then we should be able to solve it like a puzzle and get through."

Good plan. So, does he go with something like 'ten paces in this direction' and 'a five degree slope upwards' to measure the distance and how the tunnels wind? Well, it doesn't really matter. We have the power of Love on our side.

"Sokka, this is the tenth dead end you've led us to", Katara complains under the guise of criticism.

"That doesn't make any sense. We already came through this way", Sokka considers his parchment.

"We don't need a map. We just need love", Chong proclaims and gestures to Aang, "The little guy knows it."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't mind a map, also", Avatar Diplomatic demurs.

Sokka walks a few paces, "There's something strange here. There is only one explanation. The tunnels are changing."

Dun-dun-duuuun.

Oh, right. Some kind of huge natural earthbender-mole-creatures that also taught Toph how to bend because she's also blind live here. Now, if only we could ask them to see us out safely.

Chong is panicking, Aang valiantly tries to believe in the power of love and Sokka is making a face that I think means he's figuring out a plan.

"It must be the curse", Chong intones wandering in a circle, changing directions and holding his cheeks. "I knew we shouldn'a come down here."

"Right. If only we listened to you", Sokka snaps, gesturing with the torch. We're on the third one already.

"Everyone quiet. Listen!", Katara hisses.

It sounds vaguely threatening. But right now, everything sounds vaguely threatening to my ears. The wolfbat that sweeps in looks… not threatening. More like an experiment gone wrong. I'm getting strong Resident Evil shivers. Nonetheless, Sokka seems to think it's something to be burnt alive and tries to skewer it with the torch.

He hits it. But he also lets it go and it lands on one of Appa's feet.

There's no stopping a panicked flying bison.

The ceiling comes down on us. Oh shit.

Then, a strong gust of wind from Aang knocks us all out of the way and he tackles Katara to the ground. Nice save there, Avatar.

Phew.

Sokka immediately begins to dig.

"Yeah, it's no use. We're separated", then Chong says something that once again reminds me how observant this guy is, "At least you have us, heh-he."

"Nooo!", Sokka wails and is promptly buried beneath a pile of smaller rocks.

I laugh at him and pull him out by his ankles. He looks miserable until he sees my face. "Hey, Kaito. I thought you were with Aang and Katara."

I shrug. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings, Sokka", I lecture and stroke my chin.

It gets a grin out of him. He draws himself up. "Alright! The wolfbat! It must've come from somewhere! It needs to eat. So how…?"

"We follow the draft", I say and unscrew my water skin.

"What…?", Sokka questions, then, as I bend some of the water into mist that shimmers in the light of the torch, his eyes light up in understanding. "Oh! Brilliant."

We have to wait a few minutes, but the mist finally drifts towards one of the tunnels. To save water, I bend it back into my water skin. We repeat the process every hundred paces, in case the tunnels have changed again.

At some point, Chong makes the suggestion to amplify our plan with a lovesong. Sokka's expression is hilariously sour and pleased at the same time.

"Ah, Sokka, for someone who believes in curses, not to believe in love is kind of…", Moku finally says, once they've finished the song. It's taken him a while to figure that out.

Sokka bristles, but doesn't answer.

I sling a placating arm across his shoulders. "Oh, Sokka does believe in love, doesn't he?", I wink at him. "After all, his girlfriend's the moon now."

"Oh, so romantic", Lily sighs and Shuika nods.

Sokka's face reddens, even as he frowns at my insensitivity.

Ah, we can't all be a caring sister, or an empathic Avatar. Besides, Sokka needs to talk about this with someone. The nomads will at least make a song of it.

"Yes, very. You see, she was the princess of the Northern Watertribe and forced into an arranged marriage out of a duty to her people. When the Fire Nation lay siege to the city and their commander managed to kill the Moon Spirit Tui, the princess who was blessed by that same spirit as an infant gave her life to resurrect it. And so, the Avatar was able to save the city and drive out the Fire Nation. Now, whenever the moon shines down on us, it is actually the princess who touches upon our souls."

"Oh", Lily breathes, wiping a stray tear from her eye.

"I'm sorry, Sokka", Moku says, shifting suspiciously to hide his eyes beneath the brim of his hat.

"Why did you lie?", Sokka hisses in my ear once the two women have taken him aside to talk about his feelings.

"Huh?"

"Hahn. She wasn't forced into the betrothal."

I pat his back and withdraw my arm, "She might as well have been."

He is silent after that. It's only after we've lit the other torch we have that he speaks again.

"You… you do that deliberately, don't you?"

"Hm?"

He gestures, "The riling people up. Telling Aang that he's not as much of a monster as you are. Lording your control of bending over Katara's head. Telling them about Yue so that I'd have someone to talk about it to. You do it all on purpose."

"Nah. I just go with what feels right", I wave him off.

But he's on a roll. "And that day Yue came chasing after you to warrior training! You led her straight to Hahn!"

"Coincidence, Sokka. I knew Hahn would delay her and so I could get away."

"Yeah right. Like you couldn't have outrun her two streets from the palace", he scoffs.

"Oops?"

That startles a laugh out of him. "Yeah, oops. What else have you done that I haven't noticed?"

"Nothing to do with you, Sokka. Man, you're pretty smart. The other two never would've noticed", I compliment him.

He narrows his eyes suspiciously, "You're redirecting the conversation. Why?"

Ah, maybe I was too obvious. I shrug.

"Nothing to do with me, you say? Okay, I'll believe that. You led Yue to Hahn so she'd tell him how she felt. You reveal your bending abilities so matter-of-factly that Katara thinks you're making fun of her and she tries harder to catch up. You told Aang… you told Aang that because he's never killed anyone you're scarier than he could ever be, Avatar or not", Sokka's eyes widen in realisation. Urgh. I did not want a psych-evaluation when I went about making their lives easier. Or harder, in Katara's case. With her, Sokka is giving me far too much credit. It's just fun to rile her up.

"You think you're scarier than the Avatar in the Avatar State", Sokka whispers.

"Sokka. I beheaded Admiral Zhao with a swipe of my hand. You might want to be very careful what you say next", I say, smiling. I can see it creeps him out. The Unohana-vibes are strong.

But Sokka is not Katara's brother for nothing. He steps closer instead of turning tail.

"So you don't care that you're scary. You like making people uncomfortable. What is it, then? Why mention Zhao specifically?", he searches my face as if it's going to be written out on my cheek in tiny script, "Hahn", he finally breathes and I know he catches the flinch of my eyes. "You blame yourself for Hahn's death."

What the fuck?

How the fuck did he just deduce that from nothing? Is Sokka L reborn?

"Yeah, well, I shouldn't have thought the fight was over with Zhao dead. Hahn paid for that mistake."

"…that mistake. You think you made more that night. What is it? Who else…? Yue. You think you're responsible for her, too."

I narrow my eyes. "What do you want, Sokka?"

"It was your first time in a fight and your mission objective was to neutralise Zhao. You couldn't have known that the Fire Nation soldiers wouldn't stop with his death. And as for Yue… no one thought he would even have knowledge of the Spirit Oasis, no less tell someone else about it. So, I guess what I'm saying is that both aren't your fault. You're not responsible", he pokes a bony finger to my chest.

I grit my teeth. But I am. I was. I should have made sure the Oasis was protected, not just the city at large. I should not have underestimated Zhao, or his soldiers.

"I suppose, then, that we all have burdens to bear that aren't our own."

"What do you mean?", Sokka questions.

"Yue. It was her choice. You can't protect people from themselves, Sokka", and with that, I move to catch up with the nomads who've wandered past us.

When we finally find a way out of the caves, Aang and Katara are already there.

"Ha! The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about – the destination", Sokka marches to the edge of the cliff facing the city of Omashu after hugging the nomads good-bye. I take care to check for my money pouch after Shuika's clever fingers linger a moment too long.

"I present to you the Earth Kingdom city of O… Oh no."

Above the front gate of the city hangs a red banner. Thick ropes of smoke rise into the sky. The Fire Nation has already taken the city of Omashu.

Aang is glum. Understandable. There isn't much we can do for that, though. " I can't believe it. I know the War has spread far", he turns toward us sadly, "but Omashu always seemed ... untouchable."

Which might be true. Until the Fire Nation launched the recent large-scale attack, the North Pole seemed like an easily defendable bastion against the Fire Nation. Only difference was that we had the Avatar and not an insane ruler. And, I suppose, the city would have been melted to the point of no return instead of occupied. The waterbenders would have been… purged, the population closely monitored somewhere as workers with no chance of resistance unless we had all fled in time.

"Up until now, it was. Now Ba Sing Se is the only Earth Kingdom stronghold left", Sokka agrees. He seems indifferent to what this potentially means for Aang. Bumi is his only friend from before he was encased in ice, except for Appa.

Katara is the same. I suppose that I am the only one who could even remotely emphasise with what Aang feels. If I had only one friend from my old life, one person who knows what it was like, I wouldn't wake up after some afternoon naps wondering if the thirty years I remember aren't just fanciful fantasy constructed by a child with overactive imagination. To have someone who understands…

"This is horrible, but we have to move on."

That's not going to fly. "No. I'm going to find Bumi."

"Aang, stop. We don't even know if Bumi's still-", Sokka cuts himself off from finishing his sentence.

"In the city. But there is really no reason not to search for a friend like he seems to be one", I interject before the siblings can alienate the Avatar. Aang shoots me a grateful look. Sokka looks like he wants to both thank me for ending his sentence and throttle me for going along with Aang's desire. Katara just frowns at me disapprovingly like she always does.

We make for the city under a widespread coat of mist, so as not to seem inconspicuous in a dense cloud making its way to the under bowels of the city. Aang leads us to a large round pipe with a closed off end that I have my suspicions about.

"A secret passage?", Sokka asks, "Why didn't we use this last time?"

Aang breaks open the entrance. Urgh. Sewer. "I think I'll just sit this one out", I say and take Aang's place behind Appa's head.

"Wouldn't want Appa to get lonely", Aang agrees.

Katara sneers at me, and follows him while Sokka throws me a look that's probably supposed to be knowing, but comes off as uncertain. I wave them away.

"Yip yip!", I always wanted to say that. Appa and I make for the canyon that I think is most probable for Aang and the resistance to take cover in. I layer the area with a thick fog and find a nice niche without other inhabitants for Appa to hide in. I give him some feed and settle in to think about what my plans are.

With Fong's map, I trace out a plausible route to Ba Sing Se. With Omashu a Fire Nation city until the solar eclipse, it is the only city I could find that leads to a spy network among the Fire Nation citizens. Especially with the Dai Li in cahoots with Azula.

When did that happen anyway? Is there a chance to infiltrate? The only person I specifically remember being brainwashed is that guy with the hook-swords and wheat sticking from his mouth. I… might have to provoke people into acting out. And follow them. And be better than the Dai Li at sneaking around.

I get the booze from Appa's saddle.

So maybe getting the White Lotus involved early might just be the key. I know all the over sixty-year-olds are members. All the white-haired Masters. And Sokka's sword master.

So, maybe not all of the old men. I'd feel too comfortable around people older than me who don't treat me like I'm somehow reliable. That was so disconcerting after the siege. Apparently, even in Zuko's white outfit with the hood on people recognised me. I wasn't even behaving much like my usual self during the fighting and planning and clean-up.

I think, anonymity will do me some good. It's neat that even someone who knew Momo's name didn't know mine. That does help. A little.

At some point, I get drunk enough to brush Appa's teeth. Which is oddly satisfying. But also disgusting. I'm still not sure how to feel about it.

When the moon is high up in the sky, I begin to hum a few of my more favourite songs that I can mostly only remember the chorus to. Which makes me sad. Which irritates me. To which I can only laugh at myself. This is like puberty in one night. Only not so bad. But.

Appa has soft fur.

I'm going to miss that. And I only had it for about a week. Well, better to leave before it really hurts.

The resistance and Team Avatar arrive in my canyon close to midday. They find me severely hungover. And wondering why there's a baby crawling after them.

It waves at me. I raise a hand and curl and uncurl my fingers from where I'm propped against a rock. It decides to come over.

I end up entertaining the child with a bit of bending throughout the entire time they set up camp. Katara looks at me funny, Aang gives me a soft smile and Sokka looks like he wants to say something, but refrains because we're not alone. I even end up finding a niche to change his diaper in and bend him clean. He likes playing with tendrils of water.

When we sit around the fire and I eat, the child manages to get at Sokka's boomerang and chew on it. "No! No, bad Fire Nation baby!"

He begins to cry. Katara whacks Sokka over the head. He concedes the point and lets him chew on his weapon. I just hope he doesn't hurt himself. Sokka, that is.

After a while, he crawls back over to me, demanding to be fed with a few articulate "Foo!"s.

"Oh, he's so cute!", Katara exclaims when the baby giggles as a tendril of soup winds its way towards his mouth.

"Sure he's cute now, but when he's older, he'll join the Fire Nation army. You won't think he's so cute then. He'll be a killer", the resistance leader judges. What a grumpy individual he is. If Pakku were pessimistic instead of sarcastic they'd get along great.

I wriggle my fingers for the soup to go in a spiral and look up at the man who is frowning at the baby. "If you're looking for a killer, you might want to move your eyes up", I say dryly and the tips of his ears redden when he meets my gaze. Katara stiffens and Aang looks sad.

Sokka looks like he wants to say something again. I shoot him a wink. Uncomfortable, he turns away. Heh. Whaddaya know, Sokka's still sixteen.

"Ka!", the baby demands my attention. I give.

A messenger hawk lands nearby. I wonder how those are trained to find people. That might be useful to know. For when I don't want to be found. Or when I want to find someone.

Aang reads the contents of the message. "It's from the Fire Nation governor. He thinks we kidnapped his son. So... he wants to make a trade. His son… for King Bumi."

"Heh, no wonder you're such a brat", I poke his nose. He scrunches it up and opens his mouth in a demand for more food.

"So, obviously, this is a trap", Sokka announces and I nod, even as I twist the soup into a miniature dragon. The baby loves it and readily swallows it down. That'll be a fierce one, I can tell.

The rebel leader nods, "But we need to free King Bumi, if we can."

Aang nods.

"When we spring that trap, we might want to investigate beforehand who is going to be our opposition", I say in a light voice that has Katara shooting me an irritated look. What it's for this time, I have no clue. Maybe she didn't think I could do childcare. She can suck it, I had to look after my brother's kids so often, I could do this blindly.

Sokka strokes his imaginary beard. "Who do you think would be present for the exchange?", he asks the resistance leader.

He shrugs, "The governor himself and his guard detail. Maybe his daughter."

"His daughter?", Katara asks, frowning.

"Yes. Mai. She fights with throwing knifes, stilettos and sai. She is also said to be perpetually bored."

Zuko's girlfriend is here. Ah, isn't this where Azula and the other one come to pick up Mai? Don't Azula and Aang have some kind of rollercoaster-ride-battle? And the one with the chi-blocking skills takes out Katara or something?

"I think it's safe to assume that there will be more guards hidden around the meeting place. Aang, where does the letter say we should bring the kid?", Sokka asks, hands now on both of his knees.

"It says to bring Tom to the construction platform for the statue of Ozai at midday tomorrow."

"So it's safe to assume that they'll be hiding below our feet", Sokka surmises. "How would we get a few of the resistance benders inside the city?"

"That's easy, just use the same entrance we used two days ago", Katara suggests.

"But how do we hide them on our way to the meeting place?", Aang asks, then shakes his head, "Right, we can use the mist."

"To make it less suspicious, we might have to begin fogging up the city before sunrise. The Fire Nation can't have been here long and don't know the weather patterns yet", I say and wriggle my fingers in the baby's grasp.

Sokka nods.

"We also might want to disguise ourselves", I suggest as the kid climbs into my lap and attempts to scale up my chest.

"What for?", Aang asks.

I pretend to chase pudgy hands with my mouth, "For Avatar-related reasons."

Sokka tilts his head, "Yes. We should've done that at all our fights against the Fire Nation. If they don't know what the Avatar looks like, they can't find him. And if they don't know what the people with Aang look like, they can't find him by proxy."

"But we don't have any masks", Katara says.

"I do."

They look at me strangely. I'm not sure if it's because of the child hanging off of my arm, or because of what I said.

"You do?", Aang asks.

"Sure", I tickle the kid and he holds out for about two seconds before letting go of my arm. "I can hardly be seen going to the market in a Fire Nation-occupied-city, can I?"

"Why? You've only been with us since the North Pole", Katara says.

I hold the kid up by one ankle as he giggles, "Look at me, I'm from the Watertribe. Do my eyes give me away? My clothes? My bearing? I know nothing of Fire Nation customs or culture, aside from the fact that they hate all those who aren't Fire Nation. And let's be honest here, I'd never be mistaken for Earth Kingdom."

Aang nods. "No, you're kind of… flowy and earthbenders are rigid."

"But even so…", Katara interjects before I can comment on the 'flowy' part of that statement.

I shake my head and set the kid down. He crawls towards Sokka and his boomerang again. "I'd have to pretend to be a prisoner or something. And that only works with a guard or two. And a prison. Granted, I'd be fed, but I really don't feel like imprisoning myself just for food. Then there's the fact that I'm a bender. I'd probably be killed if that was found out."

"Killed?", Katara frowns.

"Sure. What do you think happens to the benders they catch? I had to lead several rescue missions whenever a patrol was overwhelmed. We didn't always make it in time."

Her entire face and body language shuts off then, going carefully still. Sokka seems to know what that is about. After a minute or so, during which the baby has reacquired Sokka's boomerang, she gets up and leaves. I'm not sure if it's Aang or Sokka who had better go and handle that. Aang seems like the type to want to help, but isn't actually able to because he doesn't have advice to give that would help her. Sokka… well, he's her brother and clearly the superior choice in this case. Both because he knows what has her so upset, and he might have been involved himself and dealt with it already. I don't see him going deathly still in any case.

"Sokka?", I ask, distracting the kid from his boomerang with a snowflake on his nose.

"Yeah?", he's staring into the flames. Maybe he hasn't dealt with it himself yet.

"Why are you not going after her?"

"No. You should go", he stares at me.

"What? Why would I do that?", the kid climbs back into my lap, seemingly understanding that I'm the source of the snowflake.

"Because you're the one who upset her", Aang says.

I frown. Well. How was I supposed to know that it was a sensitive topic? Was their mother a bender, then? Does she feel threatened? I sigh. I had better find out.

I lift the kid onto my shoulders, holding his tiny feet, so he doesn't slip off.

Katara is near a small spring, perched on a boulder, knees drawn to her chest, chin on her crossed arms. I go to lean against another opposite her. The kid wants to be put down, so I let him. He goes to investigate the spring.

"Katara."

No reaction. Wonderful. How I love teenagers.

"I'm sorry for being insensitive."

He head shoots up, eyes wide. Then, they narrow dangerously. Does she think I'm that much of a prick?

I sigh, rub a hand over my chin. "I realise I might not be treating you… very nicely. So, I'm sorry for that, too."

She jerks. "You're actually apologising?"

I smile, "Sure. But I'm not only here for that. If you… would like to talk about it…", I see her rising eyebrows, "Ah. Well, the offer stands."

I lean fully against the stone at my back and watch the kid splash about with the spring.

"I… the benders in our village were all taken. My mother-", she cuts herself off, takes a deep breath and continues, "I had no one to teach me. And when we came to the North Pole I had to fight for my teacher to teach me. And you… you just-! Argh! You seem to just know everything! And your bending! I just… you make me feel so… weak."

And angry. "It's… Katara. Most of what I do, I taught myself. Sure, I had Pakku to guide me for years, but from the time that I understood the basics, I could advance to bending with my fingers only. It's the sequences and katas that you need the Master for. And you've got them down pat. I know I've not explained anything to you, but Katara, I thought you'd rise to the challenge. I thought you thrived off of it. Evidently, I was wrong. And I'm sorry for assuming."

Her teeth clack together audibly as she closes her gaping mouth. "Challenge?"

I shrug. "I've never really had anyone to compete with. I was the kid genius with a penchant for causing chaos. I had a lot of free time."

"Sokka… Sokka said you drank with the Chief."

"I do. Did. He's… a friend, I suppose."

She frowns harder. "Sokka said you behave like what you think we need."

I slide down the boulder to sit. "Look, Katara, there really isn't that much to it. Aang needs someone who doesn't care how powerful he is or what responsibilities everyone else thinks he has. Sokka needs someone who isn't twelve or his sister. You need someone who doesn't need you to be their mother."

"Mother?"

"It's not your responsibility to be one for Sokka, you know? And Aang only ever knew his teacher Giatsu. Me? Well, I'm older than all three of you and I grew up with my mother."

"You said… responsibilities everyone else thinks Aang has. What… Don't you think…?"

"I don't blame you for it. I don't think Aang does, either. You grew up with the stories about the Avatar and how he would make everything right one day. I don't think Aang couldn't do it, far from it. But eventually, it comes down to what Fong demanded. Everyone wants to be saved now. By a twelve-year-old."

She reels back as if stung. Yeah. I don't envy Aang. If even his friends think he needs to defeat the Fire Lord, he won't even think of another way. Of course, this is the path everyone sees, but when it comes down to it, one needs only one assassin. A good one, granted, but really. And once that man is gone, his insane daughter will ascend the throne and go crazy. Crazy enough to be usurped perhaps.

Katara is blinking back tears. Great. Objective make Katara un-upset: not achieved.

I grimace. "Katara. No one ever told Aang that he could just not. Besides, he feels responsible himself. He blames himself for the death of his people because he ran away. At the same time, I don't think the Air Nomads couldn't have just run. Something trapped them in the Temples."

She gapes. Clearly, she hasn't thought about this. I suppose that, when you're told something as a child, you don't ask for the 'how's behind the 'why's. I have no evidence at all to support this theory, but one day I'd like to ask Iroh if he knows of any documentation.

"Why did you come with us?", she asks, finally.

I cock my head, "There aren't many people who can make anything interesting, you know? Aang does that. Be it because he's the Avatar or just because of his penchant for chaos. You and Sokka add more spice to the mix. I just stoke the flame."

"Or douse it", she mutters.

"Huh?"

"With General Fong. You just took what he said and made a fully-fledged plan out of it that made him sound just as insane as he was. I couldn't… even Sokka said he didn't…", where is she going with this? That's almost a compliment. No, this is Katara. Definitely a compliment.

"For all that you've lived through, you still believe in the good in people."

"You don't?", she sounds surprised. Why is she surprised?

I shift to accommodate for the wet child crawling into my lap. "I do", I say, looking down on the dripping boy, "but I'm also aware of the darkness inside."

I bend the kid dry. He shivers and snuggles into my chest. I shrug and wrap an arm around him.

"I… I'm sorry, too", she whispers.

"What for?", I ask, confused.

"I was… I was looking at everything from only my perspective."

"That's what emotions do, Katara. They influence you in the way you act, the way you think, the way you perceive others."

"Are you telling me to get rid of my emotions?", she asks, ready to explode again. What a temper.

"No", I laugh, "I'm just making a statement. Emotions are what makes us us. Don't try to denounce what you feel, that only ever backfires. Just be aware that others around you also have emotions and that they're just as real and valid as your own."

She blinks, stunned. "But you don't act like that at all."

"Well", I say, grinning, "That's because I don't care." I spent another lifetime pleasing people. I have no intention of repeating that. Also, people underestimate me constantly. If you say little and do less you wander to the very back of everyone's minds. From there, you have far more room to act. Katara is the best example of this. Although she is constantly provided with the evidence of my intelligence and brilliance, she only sees the lazy bum hanging onto them as baggage.

She snorts. Ha! Objective: achieved. She's not crying and I'm not expected to act nicer in the future. Life is good. Or going to be. Now, how to tell them that I'm not coming with them on their next adventure once we leave Bumi behind.

"I'm going to sleep", I tell her a few minutes later and shift the child to rest with his face pressed into my neck. She follows me back to the campfire. We take out our bedrolls and lie down. The kid is sleeping soundly on my chest. I drift off to the sound of his puffing breaths.

I'm woken by a baby's babbling. It's not the worst way I've woken up. I have a feeling I'm just in time to prevent a disaster in the form of pee on my bedroll, too and take the kid to a niche where he can pee and I can clean him quickly. It's close to sunrise. Time to wake Katara and Aang for some good old-fashioned weather manipulation.

Aang does great, Katara, not so much. She likes the straightforward approach. Aang's in the right mindset for cloud-manipulation. It's called 'being flowy'. When Aang tries to help her, Katara gets snappish, so I wonder if I should even try. In the end, I decide to make an effort.

"Katara", I say softly, not loud enough that she couldn't ignore it if she wanted to.

She does cease her erratic attempts to bend clouds. Which tells me she's ready to listen if I've got sound advice.

"Have you ever been underwater and just felt the water around you? The push and pull, the flow of it?"

She nods, face set in a determined manner. I'm not sure if she's resolved not to bite my head off, or if she really wants to learn.

"Clouds are sort of like that. But instead of submerging yourself, you need to be the current that guides the clouds where you want them without changing them."

She gets better after that. Which might or might not be attributed to my stellar explanation.

By the time the entire city is covered in thick fog, the sun has risen. We get breakfast and then it's already time to enter the city.