#I rewatched the Waterbending Master two days ago and was like

[atuats-sidechick]

Can't find anything to watch... Gotta rewatch atla

[number1villainstan]

AtLA Analysis: S1E1: The Boy in the Iceberg

Intro: I’ve decided to rewatch AtLA again, and this time I’m analyzing/writing down my reactions to it as I go. I’m a huge fan of villains (if you couldn’t tell) so this series will likely focus on antagonistic characters and on random details I catch especially about the Fire Nation. However, I will be making an effort to pay attention to characters and parts of the show that I haven’t paid much attention to before. Hopefully I’ll be able to get this done before Fall classes start, so if all goes well it’ll be one or two episodes a day. On the other hand, work is a thing, so that may be an unrealistic expectation. Perhaps instead you should expect a couple of episode analyses on weekends.

Now: on to the show, and on to the analysis!

Oh, it’s been a while! The introduction to the first episode is a little bit different from what I remember of the regular introduction, with Katara saying “My grandmother used to tell me stories about the Avatar...” instead of “Long ago, the Avatar...” after the first line of “Water. Earth. Fire. Air.” I think that’s a nod to where Katara’s character is at the very start of the season, not knowing that the Avatar exists and has been cryogenically frozen for the past hundred years.

She also calls the invading force “the ruthless firebenders,” as if each individual in the population was at fault rather than the governmental system. Points to in-universe prejudice and inter-ethnic tension, perhaps? Or is it Katara’s lack of understanding of population dynamics and government on a large scale, growing up in the small Southern Tribe? Or is it both?

The different first monologue also gives us pieces of crucial information: “The Fire Nation is nearing victory,” and “2 years ago, my father and the men of my tribe left to battle the Fire Nation.” The shot associated with the second line shows a mere four small (?) boats, each holding who knows how many men--but not that many, not enough. This implies that the Fire Nation is everywhere, and most of the fighting going on is between not fellow armies from different nations but FN garrisons and pockets of resistance. No wonder a 17-year-old boy is leading the Freedom Fighters.

She says, in the first monologue, that she has hope that the Avatar will return to save them. This seems naive to me, placing faith in a legend, but she is 14, and struggling to survive in a broken community. All we see of the Southern Tribe is Katara and Sokka’s small village. Are there other fragments of a once-great civilization out there, struggling to survive, or is what we see truly all that’s left? The tragedy of the Southern Tribe is left mostly untold, at least until Hama, but we can see its effects in the very first episode.

We open, of course, with Sokka and Katara attempting to catch fish. Sokka is overconfident and boisterous, bragging to his sister: “This is how you catch a fish.” We also see Katara waterbend, though we get the sense that she isn’t totally a master of the art yet--once Sokka bursts her bubble she has no reflex to keep the water in the air and the fish out of the sea.

We also get Sokka’s line “Why is it that every time you play with magic water, I get soaked?!” and Katara’s exasperated “It’s not magic, it’s waterbending.” A funny exchange, at least on the surface, but further analysis and its placement in context just drives home the tragedy of the Southern tribe’s lost culture. Waterbending is crucial to its culture and its survival, and Sokka can’t even remember the name. Even if he was stubbornly refusing to listen to the stories of his tribe, waterbending should be so suffused into the social environment it would be impossible for him to not know what it is, and he certainly shouldn’t be calling it weird. His referring to Katara’s ‘hair loopies’ as, well, ‘hair loopies’ is another piece of evidence for this. Even with his (admittedly perfectly normal) teenage-boy I’m-invincible-and-know-everything attitude, he should still know more about his culture than he does.

Damn, not even 3 minutes in and I’ve already got a rant on the decline and tragedy of the Southern Tribe. But! On with the show!

Next we see another piece of evidence for Katara’s lack of skill with waterbending: they get caught in a current between dangerous ice floes. If she had had the skill, likely she would have used her waterbending to lift the canoe over the ice and to a safer spot, or to push the ice floes away. Instead, because she is a 14-year-old girl with a power she doesn’t understand and no teacher to guide her, she doesn’t do much but panic and backseat drive. Shouting at your siblings to ‘go left! GO LEFT!’ is peak sibling dynamic, trust me.

Once their canoe is destroyed (how much and what gear was in that canoe and is now lost?) and they get stranded on the ice floe, we get the first blatant look at Sokka’s misogyny: “Leave it to a girl to screw things up!” He says this despite the fact that he’s been living with only women and children for two years now. (The first hint may have been more subtle, with his dig at waterbending, if it was considered a more feminine art in the South, but that would likely be better explored in The Puppetmaster.) This might have several factors behind it: Hakoda’s charge to Sokka to be the ‘man of the tribe’ when he left, for one, which implies a lot about gender dynamics in the SWT.

And then, of course, we get Katara going off (queen shit) at Sokka, calling him out for his sexism (which seems to imply that maybe Sokka’s attitude towards gender roles isn’t actually traditional or expected?). She also says “I’ve been doing all the work around camp while you’ve been off playing soldier!” which, while it probably has some merit to it, mostly implies that these siblings don’t appreciate the work the other does. It implies a lack of respect between the two as well as Sokka’s unhelpfulness. Which, ykno, pretty normal (if not entirely healthy) sibling dynamics, at least to me. (Same with the ultimately empty ultimatum she gives him while accidentally waterbending open an entire iceberg.)

Also, the faces during that whole exchange are fucking hilarious.

IT APPEARS! Who knows how much Spirit Shit these two have seen. From their reactions, I’m gathering two possibilities: a) this is entirely new to them and they have no idea what’s going on, or b) they have some idea of what’s going on but they think it’s highly dangerous. Neither of which points to the flourishing of stories and spirit tales in the SWT.

Sokka’s line “We don’t know what that thing is!” cements the first possibility. It also shows the difference between his cautiousness and Katara’s immediate want to help (“He’s alive!”). They serve as foils to each other right from the beginning.

If I had to pick an inciting incident here, it would likely be when Zuko lands his ship at the SWT and demands the Avatar, although this would be a close runner up. Aang’s waking up is a natural starting point for the way that he changes the course of the world.

What exactly caused that fierce wind and that pillar of light? The wind probably points to high air pressure inside the ice, but if it was an air pocket, then how did Aang survive? And why was he suspended in the ice ball like that? The pillar of light, on the other hand, was definitely Spirit Shit.

Aaand there’s Zuko! The first look we see on his face is amazement, almost disbelief. Did he truly have so little hope in his quest? Of course, it quickly changes to an angry determination. He has a reputation to keep up (and he’s a dramatic theater nerd). But that subtle show of his softer, less angry side right at the start hints at the character arc to come.

Iroh sounds tired in that first conversation: “I won’t get to finish my game?” “Or it’s just the celestial lights!” He’s clearly somewhat disillusioned at this point with Zuko’s quest, or just tired of his nephew’s antics. It seems almost strange, given the light the show later puts him in.

Zuko’s line “That light came from an incredibly powerful source! It has to be him!” tells me two things: number one, that everyone seems to assume that the Avatar is going to be a man (sexism in universe, or out-of-universe lazy writing with a male Avatar character already picked out?). It feels odd. Avatar Kyoshi wasn’t that long ago, and Zuko as a Prince should be well-versed in history, no? Number two, it tells me that Zuko is probably far more experienced with Spirit Shit than Sokka and Katara are. Makes perfect sense, given how he’s been desperately chasing a legend for three years.

“I DON’T NEED ANY CALMING TEA! I need to capture the Avatar!” 1. Further cements Zuko’s hotheadedness. 2. Gives us information on what his goal is and how desperate he is to achieve it.

When we cut back to Sokka and Katara, we see Sokka shielding his sister. He’s protective of her, and she lets him protect her. Clearly, they love each other, despite their earlier bickering.

Aang’s wake-up scene: Sokka poking Aang’s head (cautiousness and nervousness) vs Katara cradling him (kindness), “Will you go penguin-sledding with me?” showing off Aang’s playful side right at the start.

Appa’s friendly nature and relationship with Aang is established right off the bat: licking Aang, Aang’s gleeful “You’re okay!”

What’s sticking out to me most is Katara’s trusting nature vs Sokka’s cautiousness, at least when it comes to Aang. Katara’s in the right here, of course, but she won’t be about everyone. Jet comes to mind, as does Hama. Sokka and Katara balance each other out. I probably won’t be making such close note of that side of them--I feel it’s established by now, and I don’t want to take four hours to watch a 22 minute episode.

Sokka uses ‘feet’ as a measurement device. What’s the story behind that? Just a lack of worldbuilding, or is ‘feet’ an actual in-universe measurement? How big is it? Whose feet are they going off of?

Sokka is also practical: despite his reservations about Appa, he doesn’t refuse to get on and let it and Aang give him a lift. Although he’s clearly not happy about it. He also seems to be sarcastic when he’s in a bad mood. He is, after all, the Meat and Sarcasm Guy.

Holy shit, Iroh just straight up tells Zuko he won’t find the Avatar. I mean, I get that this is the first episode, and we have to establish history and stuff, but like--ouch. Definitely doesn’t fit with the ‘kind old mentor’ character so many see him as. It seems as if Iroh doesn’t have much of a character at this point, and he’s just being used as exposition. I’m of the opinion that Iroh’s character and development is one of AtLA’s weak points, and so are many of my friends, but I might be in a sort of echo chamber. Which is part of the reason I’m doing this rewatch. Also: He straight out says that Ozai, Azulon, and Sozin all went looking for the Avatar as well. You heard it here, folks! Ozai did leave the Fire Nation for at least one point in his life!

Zuko then goes on to say why he’s different: his honor hinges on the Avatar’s capture. He doesn’t outright say ‘banished’ here, though, which is...interesting. It implies almost that he could go home if he wanted to, he’d just go home in shame and he’s just really concerned about reputation. In context it makes sense, but it gives off almost the wrong impression about Zuko’s situation. Although I would make an argument as for Zuko’s shifting definition of honor, from external reputational ‘honor’ to internal moral ‘honor,’ over the course of the series, and therefore this line would give off exactly the right impression for his character at that point in time.

I forgot to mention that first hint of Kataang: “why are you smiling at me like that?” “I was smiling?” (At least, I think it’s a hint of Kataang. I’m aroace, I’m oblivious to these things.)

Aang says that he didn’t know the Avatar when Katara asks. It’s obviously a ruse, but perhaps it might be poetic, if you could argue that at this point Aang doesn’t know himself.

So far, Aang comes across as fun-loving, happy-go-lucky, and sweet. However, with context, that ruse also paints him as a little bit untrustworthy, a little bit avoidant of responsibility. Almost like he embodies the element of Air itself. However, he clearly feels apprehensive about it, from his expression after Katara turns away.

How far were Katara and Sokka from camp when they found Aang? How long does it take to reach the village, give that Aang wakes up there? Is Appa even going in the right direction at first?

The dream Aang has doesn’t give us a lot of information at first. It looks almost as if he’s been possessed (and technically, he kind of is possessed by the Avatar State) after falling prey to the storm. But it does give us a hint that he’s more than he seems, even after watching him emerge from the glowing ice ball.

Katara sees Aang’s tattoos and realizes something--but what? That he’s an Air Nomad? We’ve already established that he’s an airbender. Having to realize on top of that that he’s an Air Nomad implies that there were airbenders outside of the Nomads, and they were well-known enough for Katara to hear of them. However, Gran’s statement “No one has seen an airbender for a hundred years” implies that those airbenders may have been wiped out too.

I already said much on the topic of the SWT dying, but the sheer tininess of the population really drives it home. Also, there are a lot of very young children, although I’m guessing no one under the age of 2 here. What happened to produce so many children at that point in time, and almost none who are Katara or Sokka’s age?

In the shot of ‘the entire village,’ I counted 19 and a dog. Add Katara and Sokka, and that makes 21 and a dog. Katara and Sokka are the only teenagers there. Gran Gran is one of two older women there. There are seven non-elderly adults, all women. Ages of children are hard to guess due to lack of detail, but I count four older children (two boys, two girls) and six younger children (three boys, three girls). Ages are skewed younger for both children and adults. Was this deliberate, coincidental, or influenced by outside environmental factors? If there were other boys Sokka’s age, and they went with the adult men, then why was Sokka left behind? It doesn’t seem likely--there aren’t any girls Katara’s age either. How many men were on those boats? How many women joined them? Who’s missing from this picture?

I’m surprised Aang’s upbeat enough to banter with Sokka and show off his flying skills after Gran Gran said that she and the SWT, if not the world, thought that airbenders were extinct. Perhaps he’s just in denial. That would make sense for his character at this point in time, as does him crashing into the watchtower from not looking where he’s going.

The watchtower is Sokka’s, which implies that he built it. That means he’s planned out and finished a medium-to-long-term project already, one that was made in the interest of protecting the village, which is more than the ‘playing soldier’ Katara accused him of. He’s been working towards the goal that his father set him, which is to protect the village.

Katara says she’s not yet a waterbender, despite her ability. Does the label ‘waterbender’ only apply to those who have mastered the art? Hell, the way they talk about it, it’s almost as if anyone could learn to do it.

“I sense he’s filled with much wisdom.” Is he, Katara? Is he? Or do you just have a crush?

Iroh is hard on Zuko during the firebending training scene, with a callous demand to “get it right this time” after explaining the fire-from-breath philosophy. The sequence itself, despite Iroh’s claim that Zuko hasn’t moved past the basics, looks pretty advanced, pairing acrobatics with fighting against two opponents. Zuko also demonstrates a lot of raw power, firebending at one of his opponents and actually knocking them backwards. Zuko worries about the Avatar’s bending prowess and uses it to order Iroh to teach him the advanced set, though Iroh doesn’t look happy about it. He actively uses his roast duck to hold off on obeying that order, knowing it would annoy Zuko. Zuko looks almost disgusted when he pulls it out. (I agree--where has that been?)

Sokka gives his speech about courage and facing a firebender to six boys, all of whom look the same age, maybe three or four. While there are six male children in the ‘entire village’ shot, they don’t look all the same age in that shot like they do in this. What are their ages? Why are there so many young children and so few teenagers?

In the shot where they’re all walking away, they no longer look the same age. The oldest, however, I’d peg at about seven years old, still much younger than Sokka and Katara. The age distribution of this village is bugging me.

Aang’s comment “Everything freezes in there!” seems off to me. Yes, it’s made of snow, but that snow should still be insulating heat, no? Also, what is that pipe made of snowbrick? It looks well made, better than Sokka’s watchtower. Is it part of Sokka’s watchtower or something else? What is its purpose?

Aang hears about a war, worries, and then is immediately distracted by the penguin. Add distractable to the list of attributes for early-show Aang. It’s also a clear avoidance of the darker things in life.

Despite Katara calling herself ‘not really’ a waterbender before, she tells Aang during the penguin sequence that he’s looking at ‘the only waterbender in the whole South Pole.’ An odd contradiction. Also, we see little evidence that there are any other villages in the South Pole, and yet it seems implausible that Katara and Sokka’s is the only one, or even the only one left. Perhaps the Fire Nation has been slaughtering them one village at a time. But if so, then why would the men leave the women and children?

Aang is also helpful, kind, and optimistic, much like Katara. He offers to fly her across the world to the North Pole to help her find a master as soon as he hears that there’s no one who can teach her in the SWT. Although, as the Avatar, he may have had an ulterior motive there.

During the sledding scene: Katara: “I haven’t done this since I was a kid!” Aang: “You still are a kid!” It’s delivered in a fun setting, in a lighthearted manner, but here lies one of the biggest driving factors of AtLA: the cast are children. Children growing up too quickly in a world torn apart by war. Children taking on adult responsibilities because there aren’t enough adults. Fun gets left by the wayside in the face of fear and pain and responsibility. And Aang wants to bring back fun.

The penguins don’t seem too bothered from being used as sleds. Do they ever get back to their flock, I wonder?

“If you want to be a bender, you have to let go of fear,” Aang says. Granted, it’s in getting Katara to do something stupid, but how much of this philosophy is real? Air is about fun and spirituality; Water is about change and adaptation; Earth is about stability and strength; Fire is about passion and life. Fear gets in the way of all of this.

I’m picking apart every detail I notice. And yes, it’s taking me four hours to watch a 22 minute episode.

Everything about the beached ship is presented as dangerous, dark, and sinister. Even the ripped banner of the Fire Nation, with its black-on-red symbol, seems an omen of terrible things. It’s military, cold, cruel, and dangerous. Even if I like the Fire Nation, I can’t say I don’t like the atmosphere, and at this point in the series it’s perfectly understandable to paint the Fire Nation as this constant, background, oppressive threat.

Okay, so: the ship has ‘haunted [Katara’s] tribe since Gran Gran was a little girl.’ How old is that ship? Why didn’t that booby-trap thread decay? Was it because it was cold? Seriously, how is that booby trap still working? We see Hama help to beach it later in the series, which places Hama as older than Gran Gran by a bit--is Gran Gran younger than she looks, with the stress of the war and being matriarch prematurely aging her? If so, then how old is Hakoda or Kya or whichever Gran Gran’s child is? Is she actually Katara and Sokka’s biological grandmother? What does that mean for marriage customs and family culture in the SWT?

Also: did that flare bust through the roof? Was there supposed to be an opening there?

Zuko calling Aang ‘agile for his old age’ is hilarious. And then we get the first hint that Aang really is the Avatar, with Zuko straight up saying that he’s the Avatar. Of course, if you’re a first time watcher and don’t know anything, then you have no idea if he’s even correct (unless you look at the title). Calling the SWT his ‘hiding place’ does not bode well for the village, but we all know that.

And that’s the end of the first episode! Looks like it only took me three hours. In my defense, I was trying to take care of other things at the same time. Also, I would rather not have later analyses be this long, but at the same time I have a tendency to immediately write down Thoughts(TM) on every single detail that grabs my eye, so who knows.

[kristallioness]

A heavy arrow to bear

Summary: Aang finds out that his and Katara's fates are more intertwined than he thought.

Word count: 1,249

Author's note: For me, this prompt only gave one specific theme to dwell on, namely how similar the destiny of these two characters is. It was hard to come up with something sweet, but eventually (after thinking about the first episodes since I'm gonna start my rewatch tonight) I imagined a dialogue like this taking place at the beginning of their journey. Set between "The Southern Air Temple" and "The Warriors of Kyoshi". 3 days late, sorry!

----------x----------

The campfire sizzled in the chilly air of the Patola Mountain range, the smell of burning blubbered seal jerky being a pleasant reminder from yesterday. Aang had accidentally used it to start the campfire last time, hence Sokka had gathered some real firewood for tonight. He didn't trust the airbender enough to look after his meat.

Katara was sitting near the source of warmth and light together with her brother. With the peak of winter approaching, the days were shorter as well as colder, hence they couldn't take off their parkas at night. She bit into one of the leftover apples, which Momo had gathered for her hungry brother so he wouldn't eat him. Sokka was nomming on some moon peaches, the winged lemur trying to steal a few from the pile next to him when he wasn't looking.

Katara glanced behind over her shoulder, where Appa was resting. They'd left the Southern Air Temple in the evening and decided to make a pit stop on one of the islands that belonged to the air nomads before continuing their journey to the Earth Kingdom tomorrow. It was going to be a long ride across the ocean to reach Kyoshi Island.

Aang was curled up on the sky bison's left front leg, his back turned towards the Water Tribe siblings. He'd claimed that he wanted to go to bed early, but sleep was the last thing on his mind that night. He ran his hand through the soft fur on Appa's paw. He just wanted some time for himself since he had a lot to take in after such an emotional day.

He still didn't wanna believe it - he was the last airbender in the whole world. All of his friends were gone, he couldn't play airball with them ever again. Despite being the youngest airbending master in history, he still had so much to learn and now there was nobody around who could teach him. The nuns, the monks.. Monk Gyatso.

He gripped Appa's fur for a moment. His fingers relaxed to continue combing through the white sea of fluff. If the air nomads were gone, what happened to the sky bison, and the lemurs? His grey eyes grew wide when Momo landed right in front of him, a moon peach he'd stolen from Sokka hanging between his small sharp fangs.

"Thanks, Momo!"

Aang gifted his new companion with a few pats on his head and strokes down his back before taking a bite of the snack he'd brought him. Momo leaped closer to his face and began licking his cheeks. Aang tried to brush him away so he could eat in peace, until something wet rubbed off against the back of his hand. He didn't even realize that he'd been crying.

"Aang? Are you okay?"

A shiver ran down his spine and he nearly dropped the moon peach as he turned around to look at Katara. She'd snuck up from behind without him noticing. He averted his gaze and stared at the snowy ground. He hid his frown behind his hand as he attempted to wipe away the last of his tears. She crawled closer to him on Appa's paw, tenderly running her glove over his cheek.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

Hearing her empathetic voice helped wash away some of his sorrow, even for a little bit. Aang sniffed, lifting his head to look her in the eye.

"K-Katara?"

"Hmm?"

She tilted her head and sat back on her knees, giving him time to gather himself and let him speak. He liked that about her, that she didn't put pressure on him.

"When we were at the Southern Air Temple and I was so mad that I entered the Avatar State, you yelled something to me. Something about your mother."

It was Katara's turn to frown. Unlike him, she didn't look away. Instead, her hand came up to her neck, her fingertips touching the carving in her necklace.

"Yes. I was trying to calm you down. I wanted you to understand that you're not the only one hurting. I yelled that I lost my mom.."

She gulped and hung her head a bit, releasing a heavy sigh.

"I was only 8 years old. The Fire Nation raided our village and killed my mother."

So he'd heard right. She was telling the truth. His people weren't the only ones who'd suffered at the hands of the Fire Nation. This war must've spread really far during these hundred years if they were going after the South Pole, too.

Aang reached out a hand and laid it on hers, the one that remained in her lap.

"I'm so sorry, Katara."

She grabbed it in her own gloves, running her fingers over his to warm them up. She still didn't understand how he didn't feel cold in those light airbender robes of his. She gave him a warm smile.

"Thanks."

Aang started giggling a little since she was tickling his palms while rubbing them together. He stared into her diamond blue eyes while she was busy doing that. There was some kind of a consoling warmth in them, some fondness in her caring smile. His grey eyes stopped at her neck, admiring the Water Tribe symbol carved into the necklace as it shined in the light that came from the campfire further away from them.

"Is that your mother's necklace?"

Katara's eyes grew wide and she looked down to her chest, grabbing the carving in one of her hands as if she was seeing it for the first time in her life.

"How did you know?"

"You kept your hand near it when you talked about her."

Katara didn't know what to say to that. He sure was an observant young man. She ensued a longer pause as she finished warming up his hands. She tucked them under his chin, close to his chest to help him keep warm. Aang's curiosity got the better of him.

"I know I'm the last airbender now, but.. how are you the last southern waterbender?"

"The Fire Nation began capturing our waterbenders long before I was born. The last time they came to hunt them down was decades ago."

Aang pouted and began pondering as all the guilt came rushing back. Maybe if he stayed put, some of the air nomads would still be alive. Katara's mother would still be alive. He could've done something to prevent the war from happening, from escalating this far. He wished he hadn't disappeared in the first place.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect your tribe."

She leaned closer and cupped his cheek, the soft fabric of her glove caressing his skin.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault."

Aang averted his gaze in shame. If only she knew the truth, she wouldn't be so kind to him. He began worrying so much he didn't even notice when Katara wrapped her arms around him to give him a hug.

"Good night, Aang!" she murmured into his ear before releasing her embrace, after which she climbed off Appa's leg. He swallowed the lump in his throat and forced a small smile.

"Good night, Katara!"

She smiled back at him, her brows furrowed. Katara gave him a wave with her fingers before she walked away to join Sokka near the campfire. With the Water Tribe siblings, his new family keeping an eye on him, Aang felt a little bit safer and he managed to fall asleep.

[hope-faith-love-abide]

It’s been quite awhile since I last rewatched ATLA entirely, so I decided to start today. I’ve gone through the first four episodes so far, and it reminded me of how strong even the few first episodes of season 1 are.

S1 seems to be usually thought of as the most episodic and light-hearted season of the series, and I think that is true to some extent, especially since the overall arc of this season is mostly “get to the Northern Water Tribe so Aang can find a waterbending master” as opposed to the other two seasons that get a bit darker as the plot develops more. But the first few episodes really touch on some interesting stuff and convey all the aspects of the series really well.

There’s a lot of humor, of course, something that ATLA does very well throughout the series, but there were also hints and actual moments of the heavier, deeper side of things too. That moment when Aang realizes he was in the iceberg for 100 years in the first episode was really heartbreaking, and then when he’s really confronted with that reality in ep. 3...wow, that hit me really hard. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m older now and it’s been a few years since I’ve rewatched, but I feel like it impacted me a lot more now than it did before. Just imagining what that would really feel like - to think you were only going to be away for a few days and then, instead, you wake up 100 years in the future, and not only are the people you knew 100 years ago probably gone, but everyone in your group were wiped out and there’s absolutely no one left, no descendants, nothing.... Absolutely heartbreaking and awful.

One thing I did notice that I hadn’t paid attention to before - I like that it actually does make sense for Aang to be able to escape from Zuko and his soldiers in ep. 2 even before Katara and Sokka get there. It’s not simply Zuko or his soldiers being incompetent - they’ve just simply never fought an airbender before, so of course they don’t know what one would be capable of. Even Zuko admits, “Looks like I underestimated you.” It’s not a matter of the “generic Stormtroopers are incompetent and can’t aim because plot convenience” trope; there’s actually a reason for them to mess up and underestimate their enemy here. I really liked that.

[kristallioness]

The wolf cries moon

Summary: Aang, Katara and Sokka deal with the aftermath of the Siege of the North.

Word count: 3,052

Author's note: Rewatching ATLA has made me laugh and cry and given me so many feels already, but it's also such a good source of inspiration. I keep noticing some stuff I haven't given as much thought to before, such as this. It took them 3 weeks to travel to the location where they left the Northern Water Tribe boat to head to General Fong's base (according to Iroh, who said that he and Zuko floated on driftwood for so long). These kids were definitely not alright after the siege was over. They went through so much and it's evident that it affected them later. Sokka must've mourned for Yue every night when they were still at the Northern Water Tribe - he'd fall asleep by staring at the moon (as seen in these storyboards). Plus, he said he thought about her all the time ("The Swamp"). I can't believe how minimal I managed to keep the dialogue. I wanted to set the right mood by describing the surroundings and the interactions between the characters. Well, sometimes actions do speak louder than words.

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The light coming from the rising sun that shined over the Northern Water Tribe the next morning didn't seem as bright as many had hoped. As most of the northerners had hoped. A dull grey curtain of clouds covered up most of the sky, but it was possible to differentiate day from night. The moon had already begun losing its full form, but its spirit remained standing strong high up there. She was watching over her people, who were slowly beginning to rebuild.

It'd been two days since Aang and Katara last had a waterbending lesson together. Now it was time to put their skills to the test, but in a calmer, more practical environment. With the help of a few other waterbenders, including Master Pakku, they were almost done repairing the damage to the second igloo among hundreds of others waiting for their turn.

Aang wiped the sweat from his forehead and heaved a sigh of relief as he took a few steps back to let the masters finish off the intricate ornaments on the facade of the building. He looked around the city - everything seemed a bit different than when they'd first arrived.

The normal rhythm of the once bustling tribe hadn't returned. The streets were quieter, the sound of ongoing construction work filling the nearby area. A lot of people remained indoors, trying to get over the shock and forget the horrors they'd encountered during the battle. A group of warriors, including Sokka, continued their search for firebenders trapped in the city, imprisoning the ones they'd already found on the battlefield. Chief Arnook, along with a select few civilians, were helping separated family members find their way back home to reunite with their loved ones. Neighbours offered housing to each other until their igloos were repaired. Everyone simply wanted to get their lives back to normal.

Aang thought that the northerners, all members of the Water Tribes, sure knew how to stick together during difficult times. Their people were so resilient, they didn't stay down for too long.

Katara stepped beside him and leaned against the snow wall behind them, allowing her body to slide down to the ground with a soft thump. She looked just as tired as he was. All three of them had been awake throughout the siege and they'd gotten a few hours of sleep the previous night. It wasn't enough to put their minds at rest from the emotional toll.

Katara reached for the pouch on her back and gulped down some of the fresh cold water. Aang licked his lips. He was thirsty, too. She noticed how he stared at her as she drank, practically begging for some for himself. She gave him a loving smile once she was done and handed the pouch in his hands. The waterbender chuckled at how his face immediately lit up. The airbender quenched his thirst just in time before Pakku called for the two of them to come back and join the group, who were ready to move on to the next igloo.

Aang didn't even blink before his hand met Katara's and she was dragging him behind her as they ran. He was surprised at how fast she'd stood up and grabbed him by his hand to hurry after their master. Did she really get all of that energy from such a small amount of water? The airbender shook his head to clear it from that silly thought and to focus on more important things. Such as the fact that Katara was holding his hand and gazing back at him to be sure that he could keep up with her pace.

Aang didn't wanna think about the following hours of hard labour without her. She'd promised to help out with as many homes as they would get to within the next hour or so. After that, she'd join Yugoda and the other healers to get some practice in that field. The female waterbenders were busy helping the wounded and counting the casualties. Now that Katara was declared a master in combat waterbending, she became more interested in honing her healing abilities as well. Who knew, maybe she'd need them one day.

Katara stopped running to catch her breath once she and Aang were walking beside Pakku. The old master chuckled at his students' enthusiasm. He ran a hand over Katara's back to praise her for all the work she'd done to help with the renovation in the residential area. She could've gone with the healers first thing in the morning, but she insisted on joining his group specifically. Not that it had anything to do with Aang being there, too...

The young waterbender wrapped an arm around his waist in return, almost as if she was trying to give him a hug. The gesture was a bit unexpected, but Pakku appreciated it nonetheless and held Katara close to his side as the trio continued walking. Aang found the image to be rather heartwarming, but his attempt at hiding his wide smile failed miserably.

Pakku noticed how fond of him she'd become once their differences could be cast aside. He was glad, even somewhat relieved that the feeling was mutual. She'd really grown on him, too. Katara reminded him so much of his beloved Kanna, so stubborn and bold. He had no idea whether she was even alive after all those years, whether she'd made it somewhere safe. Until her granddaughter had told him. He knew he'd have to make things right between them as soon as they'd see each other, after decades of being apart. He'll have to take some alone time for tonight to carve her something special, something just as beautiful as the necklace he now saw being worn by the young waterbender next to him.

Katara looked up at Pakku, sensing that he was eyeing something about her. They smiled at each other fondly. Katara still couldn't believe that he thought of her as a master now. Her, the last southern waterbender, a master at the age of 14. She had a hard time getting used to the idea, it all seemed to happen so fast.

It'd only been months ago when she was still back home, trying to learn a beginner's move by herself for hours on end. The idea of becoming a waterbending master being only a vivid dream she'd see every night she went to sleep. Exactly like her dream about the Avatar returning to save the world. But now, she and Aang were friends, travelling the world together. And she would soon be his waterbending teacher. It was surreal to say the least.

She knew Sokka saw her as an equal, capable warrior when they stood on the front line side by side, waiting for the Fire Navy to arrive. What would her dad say when he hears about that? Hakoda had practically scavenged through half the South Pole in hopes of finding her a teacher when she was just a little girl and they'd recently discovered her waterbending abilities. Katara gazed at the cloudy sky, also at Yue, thinking to herself: would mom be proud?

She felt tears forming in the corners of her diamond blue eyes, but she hastily wiped them off before anyone could see. Aang saw it, though. He grabbed her free hand in his, walking closer to both her and Pakku. Katara blinked to get rid of the last tears and returned his gaze with a frown. However, a thankful smile formed on her lips. He always seemed to know how to make her sadness disappear and help her feel better.

By the end of the day, everyone had made significant progress in their work. Aang, Master Pakku and the other masters finished rebuilding a bit more than a dozen houses. They even found time to patch up some of the larger holes in the defensive walls on higher grounds of the city. Katara, Yugoda and the healers had examined more than a hundred patients in the healing hut, sending half of them home to recover from minor injuries. A quarter of them needed to be monitored, so they were taken in for observation. Once the worst cases had been dealt with, Yugoda had allowed Katara to rejoin with Pakku and his group to help with the renovation on the last two buildings. That last hour and a half in the evening working together with Katara had been most enjoyable for Aang.

Before they could retire, Chief Arnook had asked them to join the elite for supper. He shared great news about the tribe being free from Fire Nation soldiers. Aang and Katara were surprised to hear that Sokka had already gone home at nightfall, leaving the rest of the warriors in charge of completing that task. They'd finished their second sweep on the town less than an hour ago. Finally, most of the families had found a place to stay for the night.

When everyone had finished telling stories about their accomplishments, the chief's guests agreed that the first day had been a success. It wasn't much, but at least it was a start.

By the time Aang and Katara returned to their temporary igloo, they were exhausted. If it wasn't so freezing outside, they would've curled up against one another in the corner of the nearest street and fallen asleep right there. They honestly didn't care about anything else but getting some rest after a rough day. Their walk back had been slow, they took the time to gaze at the stars, as well as Yue. She provided them with all the light they needed to get home safely.

As they withdrew the drapes hanging from the door, they saw that Sokka was already sleeping in the dark. He'd probably put out the candles cause he wasn't sure when his sister and best friend would return. Considering everything he'd been through, it was weird that he wasn't snoring like he usually did.

Katara hushed Aang to keep quiet before they stepped inside and tiptoed next to him. She crawled into her sleeping bag while the airbender lay down on the furry floor, quite close to her. Once they felt cosy enough, they simply stared at each other for a while, completely lost in the depths of the other's eyes. For some reason, neither of them felt sleepy. Slumber didn't seem all that appealing anymore.

"You okay?" Katara was the first one to whisper. She reached out her right hand and cupped Aang's cheek.

"Mhmm.." he nodded, his face beginning to flush. Aang hoped that she wouldn't be able to tell the difference in the dark, forgetting that she could still feel the heat radiating against the palm of her hand.

He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. He felt how Katara tenderly ran her thumb across his cheekbone, then stroked his cheek with the back of her hand. Next, he heard shuffling and felt something else gently press against his cheek. He opened his shimmering grey eyes and met a pair of diamond blue ones twinkling right back at him. Katara had given him a good-night kiss. She quickly averted her gaze and blushed, too, crawling back inside her sleeping bag.

Aang felt a wave of energy rush through him, like his heart wanted to explode. He laid a hand on his chest as if he was trying to calm himself down, but feeling his racing heartbeat only made it worse. That kiss was enough to help him get through the next couple of days. He finally remembered to smile at Katara to thank her for that boost.

A minute later, her own heart stopped pounding and the weariness was beginning to take over again. The waterbender's eyes fell shut and she almost managed to drift off into her dreams. She peeked at the airbender, who'd subtly shifted even closer to her. His eyes were closed, his expression so tranquil. His head was supported by a pillow and his hands were tucked underneath it in front of his chest, his knees also pulled up close.

Katara sighed and shut her eyes to follow Aang's example. They'll need all the sleep they can get for the rest of the week. Pakku told them the benders and healers should be ready to depart from the Northern Water Tribe in a few days' time, probably by the end of the week. They promised to help out for as long as they stayed there.

Katara was practically asleep when she suddenly heard snivelling coming from somewhere. She opened her eyes and looked at Aang. He was fast asleep. She rolled to her other side and looked at Sokka, who had his back turned towards her. He didn't seem to budge either. She guessed that it must've been the wind intruding inside their hut. When she'd barely found a comfy sleeping position and the faint cry recurred, she decided to wake the airbender up to investigate.

"Aang?.. Hey, Aang. Wake up," Katara whispered as she gently shook him from his shoulder.

"Huh?.. Katara, what's wrong?" Aang wondered, releasing a short yawn as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

They waited for some time, but eventually they heard someone sniff. Aang propped himself up on his right elbow to look behind Katara's back. She turned around again to look at Sokka. She caught one last shake go through his body and after that, silence prevailed in their little hut. Katara glanced back at Aang. He nodded to her, urging her to check on her brother.

So the waterbender crawled out of her sleeping bag and over to the warrior. She peeked over his shoulder. Sokka attempted to hide his face in his pillow, but Katara could see the frown on his features, his left cheek decorated with a wet streak, his lips pouting. He sniffed again and covered the side of his face with his glove. He knew his sister was right beside him.

"Sokka.. Hey, are you okay?" Katara asked with that special tone of hers as she shook him from his shoulder to wake him up. That was the last thing Sokka wanted to hear right now. Her caring, motherly voice, her gentle touch, her comforting presence - it all reminded him of mom.

She grabbed his hand, slowly pulling it away from his face. Sokka finally opened his heartbroken blue eyes and stared at his sister, sniffing again. He dried off the old streak of tears with his glove as he sat up, averting his gaze for a second. He sighed.

"No.. not really," he answered honestly, looking at both Katara and Aang. She couldn't think of anything else to do, so she simply wrapped her arms around his neck and held her big brother close. Sokka hugged her back, staring at the ground behind his sister with an empty look. His eyes welled up with fresh tears when he felt someone else embrace him from the other side - Aang.

Sokka squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face against Katara, quietly sobbing into the fur around her hood. Once she heard his silent cries, she felt like her heart was being ripped apart, too. What if instead of him and Yue, it would've been Aang the one she'd lost? She'd probably feel the same way he was now, perhaps even worse. At that thought, Katara broke.

Aang was the only one in the group whose eyes remained dry, but besides hearing Sokka's crying, he noticed Katara doing it, too. The airbender pulled his hand away from her back for a second to wipe her cheek. The waterbender opened her eyes and gazed into his, understanding what he'd done. She blinked at him to say thank you before she shut her eyes again. Katara bumped her head against Aang's. The tips of their noses rubbed together, her tears streamed against his cheek, too. She opened her eyes and stared at him longer, his eyes were closed now. Simply seeing Aang right beside her filled her heart with comfort, love and hope. It reminded her that everything was going to be okay. That's when she had an idea.

"Do you wanna see her?" Katara asked Sokka once she'd regained her composure and his crying had ceased, or at least quietened down. She felt him nod against the back of her neck as he hummed in agreement.

Katara was the first one to break their hug. She wiped off the last of her tears into her sleeve before she stood up and stepped in front of the drapes. She pulled the cloth apart and shoved her head outside, taking a quick look around. Having spotted a small pile of snow, she summoned a tiny part of it back inside their igloo. Next, she waterbended the snow into an icy hook and attached it on the side of the doorway. Finally, she pegged the drapes behind the new detail and stepped aside to admire her work.

Aang placed a supportive hand on Sokka's shoulder. From where the boys sat on the floor, they could see the starry sky. The moon shined its silvery light through the opening left between the drapes. Sokka's frown turned into a smile. He could see Yue.

"Thanks, Katara. You're the best sister ever."

Katara walked over to him and knelt down, wrapping her arms around him to give him another big hug. After that, Sokka was ready to try to fall asleep. Everybody resumed their cosy sleeping positions in silence. Katara beckoned Aang to snuggle against her for warmth since the cold air intruded through their makeshift window. The airbender couldn't have been happier about that request. She glanced at her brother, who was lying in his own sleeping bag on her right side, staring at the moon with a loving smile on his features.

"Good night, Yue!" Sokka said in a hushed tone, then closed his eyes and gradually let slumber take over. His friends had no idea how reassuring it'd be to hear him snore once more. Katara had promised herself that she wouldn't fall asleep until Sokka did. In turn, Aang waited for Katara to fall asleep before he allowed himself to drift off into his own dreams.