Chapter Text
“Mama, tell me about Yume and Kazuo.” Katara tugged on her mother’s parka, wanting her mother to stay just a bit longer.
Her mother laughed, patting her daughter’s head as she sat down on her bed. “Okay, my little seabird, but you have to promise me to sleep afterward, okay?”
Katara nodded enthusiastically, gripping her blanket tighter, waiting for her mother to start the tale she could have recited by memory at this point.
“Long ago, there was a big fight between two cities and they stopped talking to each other. They bend different elements. One day, Yume was wandering away from her city - her curiosity over what was on the other side of the border overruled her people’s warning. As she walked through the long grass, she stumbled upon a boy. The boy wore different colored clothes than her but this didn’t stop her from talking to him.” Kya started, amused at how intensely Katara was listening. This wasn’t the only story she told her but ever since the night Kya told her about the Tale of the Twin Souls, it has been the only thing her daughter wanted to hear.
“What happened next?” Katara asked, her eyes wide.
“Yuma noticed the boy was hurt. ‘My name is Yume. What happened?’ she asked him. ‘I fell’ he answered. That’s when Yuma decided she was going to help him. But because he didn’t look like the people at her home, she knew he was from somewhere else. When she found out what village he was from, she didn’t understand - Yume never heard of the village and the boy didn’t know about hers.
“They spent all day together, learning about where they were from and when they went home, they decided they were friends. ‘I’m Kazuo, Yume,’ the boy said before running away. But when they asked their parents about the city they never heard of, they were forbidden to speak about it.” Kya paused, knowing this is exactly when her daughter will talk.
“Why could they not talk about it?”
The mother tried to smile, but she could tell it was forced. This is the part of the story she didn’t like explaining - it hit a bit too close to home. But with her daughter staring at her like that, Kya wouldn’t be able to keep anything from her. “Their villages fought over land and decided to no longer be friends. But this didn’t stop Yume and Kazuo - every other day they met up. Soon, they started to like each other, wanting to court one another.
“Then one day, their villages started talking again and the couple were excited. One day, Kazuo was upset - he found out why the villages were talking about each other again. They were going to fight again. Yume and Kazuo loved each other, they couldn’t join their villages. They didn’t know what to do. But when they were deciding to run away, they realized something incredible - they could bend each other’s element as well as their own. No one was able to do this before so with this, they fought for peace instead of running away.”
Katara sighed wistfully, wiggling to get closer to her mother and Kya paused to run her fingers through her child’s hair. “What happened next?” Her daughter asked.
“The two villages didn’t want peace. Instead, they wanted Yume and Kazuo to stay out of it. Deciding that it would be best to run away, they planned to meet up out in the tall grass. When they met up, they were ambushed - people from both villages were there. They didn’t want them to leave.
“Knowing they had only one way to get out, they displayed how both elements balanced each other, how fighting was going to hurt everyone. The other villagers didn’t like that so they attacked.”
The young child sat up abruptly, just like her mother knew she would. “They just wanted peace and to be able to love each other!” Katara cried out, shaking her fist in the air and Kya smiled.
“You’re right, my little tigerseal. Yume and Kazuo knew they wouldn’t make it out of there. Angry at the villages, they fought back, letting the love they had for each other guide them.” Stopping, Kya waited until Katara settled back down in her bed before continuing. “In the end, both of them fell, holding each other as they took in their last breath. A light so bright came from the sky and covered the two of them and the villagers stopped fighting. When the light disappeared, only a flower remained.”
“What flower, mama?”
“A flower they’ve never seen before. The color was so vibrant, so stunning. When the villagers realized what happened - they stopped fighting. The two people who fought for peace instead of revenge were now no longer with them but everyone else was and that didn’t seem right. They agreed to stop fighting each other and to start working for peace. They decided to combine both villages, including the land they fought about. Both villages, now just one, lived in peace and harmony, a promise to no longer fight. They made statues of Yume and Kazuo and called them the Twin Souls.
“They say that whenever people are fighting, two people will come from them and be able to bend each other’s elements. Their souls are tied with each other, their love so strong, it would bring peace.” Kya finished up, leaning down and planting a gentle kiss on Katara’s head.
“Thank you, mama.” Her smile wide, the young child snuggled deeper under her fur, sleep not present in her eyes. Giving her mother another smile, she turned away and hummed softly.
Standing up, Kya continued to study her daughter before stepping away and towards her shared room with her husband. “Goodnight, Katara.”
“Good night!”
Kya waited until she was in her room before sighing, slipping her parka off as she sat down next to Hakoda. There was something on her mind, something she was both terrified and proud of. She realized the possibility of it weeks ago and the more she watched her daughter, the more she was certain of it. Glancing at the man next to her, she realized she needed to tell him.
“Hakoda,” she whispered, her hands finding his.
He gave a gentle squeeze, a slow breath leaving his lips. “Our daughter is a waterbender.” He responded, his voice just as soft as hers, almost as if he was afraid that saying it out loud would make it a reality.
“She doesn’t sleep until the moon begins its descend and doesn’t wake up until the sun is no longer at noon,” leaning her head against his shoulder, Kya didn’t know what else to do, afraid that word would spread to the firenation. But to be the first waterbender born in a generation - and Kanna was the first to point it out, soon after Katara’s birth, having been surrounded by those who could be in her younger years.
It wasn't the only thing that had Kya on edge, realizing that maybe, her daughter would be someone known to the world. She remembers why she started telling Katara about Yume and Kazuo. She remembers when the young girl came to her one day, telling her about a dream - a dream of two lovers fighting together to end a war between they're people. Kya knew then her daughter was extraordinary. When Katara had told her of them using two elements, the mother had to hold back her tears.
Hakoda nodded, untangling their joint hands to wrap his arms around his wife’s shoulder, bringing her close as he rests his chin on her head. “Mother was right. What should we do?”
“What can we do, Hakoda? There are no other waterbenders here.”
“Let’s talk to the Elders tomorrow, my love. I have a feeling our daughter is destined for great things.” Staring out towards the direction of his children’s room, he sighed. “She’s our last hope.”
-
Katara hadn’t felt the true impact of war until the day of black snow.
That day, she understood that there was a fight happening across the waters - war they called it.
War, she thought bitterly. That was what was happening between Yume’s and Kazuo’s villages. They were engaged in war. Despite this understanding, Katara still loved the story and tried to recite it to herself on the nights when sleep was a stranger.
Though she often wonders when the Yume and Kazuo of this war would step forward and bring peace once again. Do souls reincarnate? She asked her grangran this and she was even more confused than before.
She found out what the Avatar was then - a person who could bend all four elements, bringer of peace. They said that the last known Avatar was an airbender but then the firenation had soon attacked.
Kanna didn’t have to explain what happened after that - Katara was all too aware. But then the elderly woman explained the element cycle and suddenly the young girl understood why those men and women in red came, why her father left, why she was the only waterbender of her tribe.
It also explained why the elders asked if she felt warmth from within her, why they’d ask if she felt like she could fly and if she knew where stones were underneath her feet. They thought she could be the new Avatar.
She didn’t like that idea - the thought that the Avatar was alive up until sixteen years ago left an acidic taste in her mouth. Or maybe that the cycle is in constant motion because of the killing - who really knows which element the Avatar could be born from now?
All Katara knows is that she’s only a waterbender - the last waterbender from the Southern Water Tribe. And that’s the reason those men and women in red stole her mother from her. On that day, her tribe was no longer the same. Then the men all left - they wanted to avenge the deaths of their people. All that was left of her tribe were the elderly, the children, Katara, and her brother.
“Which you quit moping around? I have a good feeling we’re going to catch a lot of fish!” Her brother’s sudden shout cut through her thoughts, and immediately felt the rush of irritation only her brother was able to cause.
“I’m not moping around, you dimwit.” She muttered, rolling her eyes as he waved her off. Turning away from him, she looked over the edge of the raft and saw a fish nearby. Even though no one was able to teach her much, she always tried her best to bend. Thinking this was the best opportunity, she took off her gloves and placed her hands over the little raft and took in a deep breath.
After a few minutes, her concentration proved to work when she raised her hands, the fish, surrounded by some water, followed. “Hey Sokka, look!”
Since she was so focused on her tasks, she wasn’t aware of Sokka’s spear, and the bubble of water popped over his head, the fish plopping back into the ocean.
Apologies were on the tip of her tongue when her brother turned to her, outraged. “Why do I always get wet whenever you play with your magic water?”
Swallowing her words of sorry, her nose flared. “How many times do I have to tell you, it isn’t magic water! It’s waterbending!” Throwing her hands up in the air, a huff of anger passed her lips, furious that her brother seemed to not understand. “If I knew how to control it, I would! It’s not like I can just,” lowering her arms, she balled one of her hands into a fist and punched it forward, her stance squared. “And control it-”
Her words died in her throat, her eyes widen as she took in what she did. She wasn’t expecting anything to happen when she did it. Especially not flames to burst from her fist.
It disappeared before reaching Sokka but Katara was no longer paying him any attention. She stared at her hands in disbelief, not understanding what just happened. It wasn’t possible - she was just a waterbender, no way could she have just tried bending fire. It must have been a trick of her mind, it couldn’t have happened.
Katara wanted to accept this conclusion but that bliss was ruined by Sokka’s shriek. “Did you just try to burn me? That’s not very nice, Katara!”
Eyebrows furrowed, she looked up at him, trying to keep the panic she was feeling at bay. “That wasn’t fire, right? There’s no way. I’m a waterbender.”
Instead of reassuring her like she was hoping, he pointed a finger at her, his eyes nearly popping out of their pocket. “Are you kidding me? You nearly incinerated me with fire magic!”
For some reason, the way Sokka said that made her angry. She wanted him to deny it, that it was fire, but to still call bending magic? Why was it so hard to get anything through his head?
"Listen here, Sokka. How many times do I have to tell you, it's called bending? Not magic, you absolute buffoon." She forced out between her gritted teeth, narrowing her eyes at him, daring him to continue.
"Whatever it is, your pent up female rage made the fishes go away and you nearly burned off my eyebrows!"
Her thoughts were no longer on the flames that bounced off her fingers but on her brother and what he had just said, acting as if her anger was unjustified.
"Female rage?" She said, her voice soft but it held a chill, and she was satisfied when he seemed alarmed.
"You know what? I'm done with you, Sokka."
"Katara-" He held up his hands but Katara wasn't finished.
"No, you don't get to interrupt me. You think a girl is only good for cooking, for sewing, for washing your spirit-damned horrendous socks. " After each word, her voice was getting louder, until she was shouting. She usually held her complaints, never wanting to reflect badly on her family but she is through.
But what she didn't realize what was happening to a nearby iceberg, her focus solely on her brother. "I don't care what grangran says, I'm not doing anything for you anymore-"
Her sentence was cut off when Sokka glanced behind her and gaped as he dived to the edge of the raft, trying to move it away. His sudden action had her momentarily confused until she heard a large crack. Turning around slowly, her eyes landed on the large iceberg and with grin realization, she understood what happened.
"Don't just stand there, help me with your waterbending!" He cried out, still trying to get them out of the way but failing.
Before she even had the chance to do so, the iceberg cracked, doing a better job than Sokka in pushing them away. But Katara knew they got lucky when they landed only a few feet away. Something about the large chunk of ice captured her attention and when she squinted, she realized there was something there. So instead of leaving, like her brother had suggested, she stepped closer to it.
"Sokka, give me your boomerang, I think I see someone in it." She grabbed his item without waiting for his permission and began pounding on the ice, knowing without a doubt this isn't what she was supposed to be doing. If someone was trapped there, they're most likely to have died.
Sokka sighed, sounding exasperated. "We nearly got knocked over by this iceberg, I don't think-"
Just then with one final hit, the ice broke apart and shot a light so bright into the sky, the siblings were forced to retreat a few steps. At first, Katara wasn’t sure what compelled her to start hitting it, just that she needed to.
And when she found the boy in the iceberg, alive and asking to go penguin-sledding , she was glad she trusted her instinct. But something was strange about him, the way he moved, it was almost like he was floating.
It was soon after she voiced this when he explained why.
“That’s because I’m an airbender!”
An airbender? She felt knees nearly give out. She thought they were all gone - the fire nation had seen to their extinction.
The airbender, Aang she’s come to know, frowned at her, cocking his head to the side. “I guess the airbenders haven’t been here in a while!”
“Yeah…” her brother started, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “In about a hundred years, actually.
The young boy sucked in a sharp breath, whirling around to face him. “What do you mean a hundred years?”
“Aang, what year do you think it is?” Sokka asked carefully, wrapping an arm around Katara. She was too busy staring at the boy in orange, wondering how an airbender wandered to the shores of the South Pole.
But when he answered Sokka’s question without hesitation, that’s when they both knew then.
Aang had been in that iceberg for the entirety of the war.
And since he was somehow encased in it without harm, there was only one conclusion for it but Katara didn’t want to voice it. Because despite all of this happening, she hadn’t forgotten what happened on that small raft.
What happened when she didn’t bend water but fire.
And as unlikely as it was for Katara to be the Avatar, she was hoping it would be the reason for that strange occurrence.
Much like what happened while they were fishing, Sokka broke the false sense of understanding she was hoping to achieve.
“You’re the Avatar.” He whispered, eyes wide as he pulled his sister closer. “Unbelievable.”
Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t sa-
“Yup. Surprised?” He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck but the waterbender was no longer listening.
Falling to her knees, she felt her breathing leave her all at once because it didn’t make sense. She was able to control another element but the Avatar was right in front of her. She wasn’t the Avatar - but that was fire.
With sudden clarity, it hit her, hard. She gasped, gripping her arms tightly as she hunched over, shaking her head, no, no, no, no-
‘Two people will come from them and be able to bend each other’s elements’.
If she could possibly bend fire then-
No, it couldn’t be possible, it was simply a tale, a legend, a bedtime story, it wasn’t possible.
That’s right, it wasn’t possible, she concluded. But when she jerked her head up and locked her gaze with Sokka, the fantasy was completely shattered.
The fire nation took so much from her. Her home, her people-
Her mother.
The tale of the Twin Souls was one of the last pieces of her mother she had left. And they tainted that too.
If it really was possible, she decided she would hate her twin soul - vowing to never love them.