Chapter Text
By definition alone, home is a physical or psychological sense where someone resides. At least that’s the definition that Katara understands and believes about a home. Katara’s home is in The Southern Pole amongst the people of the Southern Water Tribe. She was born and raised there, as a daughter of a thriving Southern Water Tribe Chief. She remembered the waterbenders dancing around while celebrating the Winter Solstice, hunters coming back home carrying lots of meat for the long winter season. The vast icy tundra, where all of them settled and live, was a home that she knows and where she belongs. Of course, that was all before Fire Nation began their raids that eradicate Southern Water Tribe of their own waterbenders.
The aftermath of the last raid by the Fire Nation left such a devastatingly deep scar in the whole community. The last raid cost them their last defense of waterbenders but also cost them their beloved Chieftess’ life, Katara’s mother Kya. Another thing that the last raid by the Fire Nation did is that it robbed her of the feeling of safety in her own home. This feeling is increased by the time her father decided to lead their warriors to fight the war in the Earth Kingdom. They left shortly after everything happened, leaving all the children and the women including Katara, Sokka and their elderly Gran-Gran. They left them all in the ruin of their once safe and stable home, still broken and mourning about what happened to their home. From that on, Katara determined not to let the war take more from her and her people. She will help make a home for the rest of the people that got left behind with nothing but a makeshift hut. To do that, she helped around the camp of what was left of the Southern Tribe. She cooked, mend, helped babysat some of the youngest kids, even helped Sokka find some food to be brought back home. Eventually, the people started to recover from grief and decided that life must go on especially for their kids. Katara’s effort to make this little area of what was left from the old Tribe their home turned out to be fruitful. They worked together to make this a home, this is their home now. This is Katara’s home and she will do everything in her power to keep it.
It was what happened until she and Sokka discovered the long lost Avatar during their hunt for some fish for the Tribe. When Katara saw the younger boy doing an airbender trick, hope filled her heart so much that she felt like she could burst. The return of the Avatar could guarantee that the war will be ending sometime soon. He will end the war and her father will be back home and they’ll finally rebuild their home properly and become a family again. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that and Katara figured it out pretty quickly when a Fire Nation ship docked in their camp.
A teenager, not much older from Sokka, showed up with armor and a few soldiers to guard him. His eyes were like a flame, burning anger and eagerness is so palpable in those eyes. He grabbed Katara’s Gran-Gran while saying, “Have you seen the Avatar? He’s about this age, master of four elements?”
The Fire Nation is looking for Aang and knowing what Katara knows about them, nothing good will come out of it if they find him. The people didn’t answer because by the time these Fire Nation people came, Aang was long gone. At least that’s what she thought before he suddenly appeared, sliding in front of them with a penguin, surrendering himself so her people could be safe. Things after that unraveled quite quickly, Katara was upset and yelled at Sokka for not caring that the Avatar was captured by the Fire Nation, their last hope for peace after he tried to protect their home.
“I know you don’t like Aang but we owed him–”
“Katara!” Sokka interjected, “Are you going to talk all day or are you coming with me?”
Katara ran and hugged Sokka hard, he finally saw where she’s coming from and they’re going to save Aang. Before they could leave on the boat that Sokka managed to acquire, Gran-Gran stopped them only to give them things that they’ll need for their journey. Seeing that, the feeling of eagerness to leave in Katara is suddenly replaced by a rush of uncertainty. This is the first time ever that Katara will leave her home, her safest place and the place where she belongs. Katara has a feeling that if she leaves now, she and Sokka won’t be back for quite some time and she doesn’t know what to feel about it. After all, the war has taken so much from Katara and she once promised that it will not take her home away from her. It seems like though, going through with this rescue mission, it will guarantee that she’ll be taken away from her home all because of the war.
Gran-Gran saw a hesitant look in her and gave her an understanding look, “My little waterbender, you won’t leave home for long. It is you and your brother's destiny to help the Avatar now, we will still be here when you come back home.”
“I know Gran-Gran,” Katara replied even though they both know the last promise is a tough promise to keep. “I’m just–i will miss home a lot.”
“I know and it is understandable,” Gran-Gran said. “You will miss home but along the way, the feeling will subside because you’ll forge and find your own home through your journey. After all, home is not only a physical place but it could always be the people too or a person which you found belonging with the most.”
It was quite a cryptic message for a fourteen-year-old Katara but she found herself nodding. In the end, Katara and Sokka left with all of the supplies that Gran-Gran gave them on Appa, which is Aang’s animal companion who showed up shortly as they were about to leave. It was time to rescue Aang and maybe end this war and save the world.
***
As they try to find their way to the Northern Water Tribe to find a Waterbender master for her and Aang, Katara remembers what Gran-Gran says about home. She still hasn’t fully grasped yet what she means by people or person could be a home too. Isn’t a home a space where you belong? All that Katara knows is that a home is something that you built as a sanctuary to feel belong. The feeling of belonging in a place that you felt the safest in. How could people or a person could be a home or invoke a sense of belonging similar to being at home?
Throughout her journey with Sokka and Aang so far, they never really have the chance to settle down and build a home-away-from-home for themselves. They’re always on the move, never spending more than two days in a place with Prince Zuko keeping on following them and hell bent on capturing Aang. Remembering Zuko put a scowl in her face, what a stubborn and annoying guy. His insistence and ambition to take Aang to Fire Nation is something that Katara never understood. Aang is the last hope for peace, the key to ending this war. Giving him to the Fire Lord aka his father is a sure way to kill any hope of peace. She remembers how he tried to ‘reason’ with her into giving up Aang and Sokka’s location. She scowled harder remembering that, he tied her to a tree!
“Try to understand,” the Prince softened his voice as he walked towards her. “I need to restore something that I lost, my honor.”
Katara throws her face away from him. She doesn’t care about that at all. Why does capturing Aang help him regain the perceived honor that he lost? What’s that got to do with the Avatar at all? It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t really have to make sense though. He’s a fire nation, they spread war, hatred, destruction and grief whenever they go. This will be just another thing for him to do, the Prince of Fire Nation, determined to go home to reclaim an honor.
When he saw Katara did not budge, he pulled something from his pocket. “In exchange maybe I could restore something that you lost.”
“My mother’s necklace!” Katara exclaimed, shocked that the blue ribbon necklace adorned with a circular carved disk as its pendant was in Zuko’s hand. “How did you get it?”
“I didn’t steal it if that’s what you’re wondering,” Zuko said snidely. “Tell me where he is.”
Katara refused to break even when he eventually got mad and told the pirates to search the area for them. In the end, they ended up getting away from those pirates but unfortunately, not without Katara’s necklace. That fact really makes her feel sad, that necklace is the last item she’s had of her mother. It was the last thing she owned that reminds her of her mother and now it’s still with their enemy. Basically, the last person she’d ever trust with the necklace.
Night came pretty quickly and they decided to put up their tent and camp on the shore of a beach that Katara wasn’t familiar with. They scout the area quickly before determining that it is safe enough to camp for the night. With that decision, all of them started to do the chores that they’ve been doing since they started to travel together. Sokka will go out and try to find some wood for their campfire with Aang tagging along to find some edible plant while Katara will prepare their pots and pans to cook. Katara had to admit, establishing this routine lessened the feeling of homesickness for her.
Traveling all over the world, it’s been a dream come true for Katara who’s never been anywhere but the icy tundra that she lived in. As much as Katara was excited to explore and find herself a Master Waterbender while also helping to save the world, one of her biggest downsides to it is that she missed home. She felt a heavy weight of homesickness weighing her down whenever they started to settle to rest. She missed huddling around the campfire with Sokka while listening to stories that Gran-Gran always tells. She missed her Gran-Gran five flavored soup, she missed her small hut that she lived in, she missed home. Fortunately, every time she missed home, she could always touch the pendant of her mother’s necklace and somehow the feeling would subside. It wasn’t enough to completely heal her homesickness but it is enough. Now that she lost the necklace, the feeling of homesickness suddenly weighed her down ten times more than usual.
“Are you okay?”
Katara turned around and found Sokka carrying some wood, walking towards her. “Yeah, i’m fine. Where’s Aang?” Sokka shrugged, dumping the wood in front of them before starting the fire. “He’s still at the market, apparently he still wants to find some more vegetables. Also, you suck at lying Katara. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Katara grumbled, grabbing the pot that’s been filled with the ingredients for a soup. “I just missed home, that's all.” Katara didn’t turn to look at Sokka but she knows that he’s giving her a sad look. “I’ll be fine in a minute, don't worry about it.”
“It’s okay if you’re not okay too,” Sokka said to her. “This is the farthest and the longest we’ve ever been from home. I mean i get it, i miss home too.” Katara turned to him, “You do?”
Sokka nodded, “Of course! What, do you think i don’t miss home and Gran-Gran at all?” Katara shrugged, lowering her eyes. “Well, you didn’t look like you missed home that much.” You didn’t mope like me, Katara thinks sadly.
“Well,” Sokka paused before continuing. “I do miss home and feel a little bit guilty for leaving too. I mean, i’m supposed to be in charge of our village while Dad’s gone. Now i’m also leaving them.”
“How did you deal with that?” Katara asked. “The guilt and the feeling of missing home?”
“I remember i got Gran-Gran blessing and reassurance that they’ll be fine. They’re resilient, you know. Besides, this is the right thing to do. You were right at that time.” Sokka explained. “As for missing home, well i’ve never fully missed home the way you do, i guess. I mean yes, i missed the hut, the stories, Gran-Gran, and venturing to hunt for our village but i do carry a little piece of home with me everywhere.”
When Katara raised her eyebrow, Sokka said, “You. I remember Gran-Gran said to you that a home doesn't necessarily have to be a place, right? Especially since we travel a lot now. I mean, this routine, you, Aang, even Momo and Appa are my home now. Of sort. It’s not necessarily a place but i do feel safe and belong with you all, it feels right. That’s gotta be what home is like, right?”
Katara went silent for a few moments before punching his arms, “Who are you and what did you do with my ‘feelings-are-icky’ brother? Why are you so introspective?” Sokka grinned at her, “Don’t get used to it.”
That’s that. Sokka’s words remain in Katara’s thoughts for the rest of the night. Katara cannot believe that she’s about to admit this, but Sokka is right. She remembered everything that they’ve been through together so far. Running away from Zuko and his soldiers, taking care of each other, keeping each other safe, making each other laugh and comfortable. Home is not only found in a place. Instead, people or a person that gives you a sense of belonging and safety could give you the feeling of home. Remembering those memories and the feelings that come with those memories, Katara finally grasped what Gran-Gran meant. She belonged with them, she felt safe with them, she felt accepted with them. It might not be a proper home that she knows of but it still feels like a home. She found a temporary home with her two companions.
***
Katara knows that a home is not necessarily only a place.
Yes, home is a place where you belong, where you grow up and build your own life there. Home could also be a feeling that you felt with someone where you feel like you belong, accepted, and safe which is what they called a sense of home. Four months ago, Katara finally realized that you could build your own sense of home by feeling safe, accepted, and belonging with someone. It doesn’t fully banish the feeling of homesickness to her actual home, of course, but having a sense of home is enough to subside it. She found that sense of home with Sokka and Aang throughout their journey to help Aang. It doesn’t matter where they go, it doesn’t matter that they never settled long enough to build a place they could call home. The feeling that she felt around them reminds her of being at home. With that discovery, she felt like it is her responsibility to help everyone to feel at home within their group. So far, she’s been succeeding, with Sokka and Aang tend to feel right at home as long as they’re together doing their routine. That is until they found the fourth member of their group, Toph, Aang’s earth bending teacher.
When they arrived in Earth Kingdom, they stopped by Gaoling to replenish their supply as they headed to Ba Sing Se. As they were shopping for their supplies, they saw a man giving each person that passed him a flyer while saying something about a free Earthbending class. Aang took one flyer for them to read and Katara decided that maybe they should stay for a while so Aang could meet this Earthbending Master. It could always turn out to be a master that Aang needed to learn from so they did decide to stay. The next day, Aang dejectedly reports that it is not the Earthbending Master that he was supposed to seek. At this point, everyone feels kind of dejected until they overheard about Earth Rumble Six, an underground Earthbending competition. That is where they eventually found Toph, the master that Aang was supposed to learn from.
Initially, Katara was excited with the addition to their group. I mean it’s always been great to see Aang taking a step closer into mastering another element beside Air and Water. It means that they could end the war quicker. Besides that, Katara was also excited because there’s going to be another girl in the group beside Sokka and Aang. She will finally find someone to relate to, someone to spend some time together with. It will also be easy to ease her into feeling a sense of home with her. Well, unfortunately, that’s not what happened. Toph was doing everything she could do to challenge Katara’s knowledge about feeling a sense of home around her. She’s been very selfish since the first time they arrived on their first campsite. She refused to help out with anything. She claimed that she carries her own weight, meaning she doesn’t need to help with anything but that’s not what being in a group is to Katara.
Feeling belonging is crossed out since she insisted on being on her own.
“Wait, can you help unload our stuff?” Katara asked Toph who already began to walk away from Appa and the group. Toph turned around looking confused, “You want me to help you unload Sokka’s funky smelling sleeping bag?”
Katara frowned, “Yeah, and everything else. You’re a part of our team now and–” Toph suddenly pointed a finger in her direction, “I didn’t ask YOU to unload my stuff. I carry my own weight.”
“That’s not the point!” Katara exclaimed and walked towards Toph’s retreating back. With her being exhausted and having not really caught a sleep yet, her anger reared its ugly head. “Ever since you’ve been joining us, you’ve been selfish and unhelpful!”
“What?!” Toph stopped in her tracks, pointing a finger again to her. “Look here, Sugar Queen–” SUGAR QUEEN?! “I gave up EVERYTHING i have to teach Aang Earthbending. So don’t talk to me about being selfish!”
At that point, Katara should’ve realised that Toph was acting like this perhaps because she just made a big decision in her life. She might act like she’s older than she looks but she’s still a twelve years old girl, as old as Aang now. She gave up her home so she could teach Aang an Earthbending and gain a piece of freedom. Even though she was extremely restricted at home, it is still a home, her sanctuary. It must have been easy to give it all up but unfortunately, Katara wasn’t seeing sense. She’s tired, exhausted, hungry, and angry. All she feels right now is anger because Toph didn’t want to contribute or be a part of their group properly.
“Sugar Queen?” Katara screeched. Suddenly, an earth tent formed in front of her, blocking her vision of Toph. Toph hit her hand on the ground again and a door closed in front of Katara. “Did you just slam the door in my face?! How can you be so infuriating!”
Strike the feeling of acceptance, with everything that happened clearly Toph did not want to accept to be fully in a group.
Katara banged on the earth door but to no avail, Toph did not budge. Grumbling angrily, Katara ended up yelling at Aang and then just started to unroll her sleeping bag. After a few moments of her settling down in her sleeping bag, she couldn’t get herself to sleep. She’s still very angry and feeling extremely petty. Katara looks with contempt towards Toph’s earth tent, “The stars sure look beautiful tonight, too bad you can’t see them Toph!”
Sokka, who lies beside here, grimaces and hangs on to his pillow. Suddenly, she felt the ground move and she was flying a few feet before landing harshly on top of Sokka with her sleeping bag. Sokka shouted, dumped her beside him and say, “How could a guy get any sleep with all of this yelling and earth bending?”
Strike a feeling of safety too then, because how could she feel safe around someone who’s so readily to attack the other member of their group when all they’ve been doing is keeping each other safe?
Before Katara could retaliate, Toph came out of her tent and informed them that whatever pursuing them earlier is getting closer. All of them are puzzled as to how they could find them and keep on following them but they ended up flying away from their second campsite. Aang flies them towards a small patch of land at the peak of a hill, reassuring them that they won’t be able to follow them here. Sokka flopped on to the land and decided that they didn't need to set up a camp.
Katara, still irritated, said, “That’s good because Toph is not going to help anyway!”
“Oh, i didn’t realize the baby still needed someone to tuck her in bed!”
“Come on guys,” Aang said tiredly. “There’s still something after us and we don't know who or what it is.” Katara looked up to the sky, “Maybe it’s Zuko, we haven’t seen him since the North Pole.”
That certainly is the thing that makes the most sense. Zuko has been relentless in his quest to capture Aang, he even went to the North Pole with nothing but his bending. He looked terrible, bruises around his face but very determined. It is something that Katara would’ve admired in a person had it not been in Zuko.
“Who’s Zuko?” Toph asked tiredly. Sokka answered, “Oh, just some angry freak with a ponytail that has tracked us all over the world.” Hearing that, Katara grinned and said, “What’s wrong with ponytails, ponytail?”
Katara giggled as Sokka protested that his hair is not in a ponytail but in a warrior’s tail. Katara retorted back that it makes him look perky and Sokka went on a tangent about it that Katara tuned out. To be fair, Katara is not only teasing Sokka with her previous statement. There’s nothing wrong with ponytails, in fact a ponytail-like hairstyle did look good for some warriors in their tribe from what Katara could remember. A weird ponytail that Zuko wore is also oddly look good on him–
No!
Katara shook her head and decided to sleep. No, she’s just tired and delirious because there’s no way that she just thinks that Zuko is good looking. She ended up turning her line of thinking towards Toph and how she challenged the sense of home that Katara found in the group. With their long journey and the danger of the mission that they’re doing, it’s important to Katara to build a sense of home for their group. The feeling of homesickness could weigh someone down and ruin their focus on what was important, she would know. Also, all of them are currently far away from home and only got each other to lean on. That’s why for her, feeling a sense of home within their group is important. She had a high hope that Toph will fit right in with their group and easing her into being okay in having a sense of them with them will be easy. That turned out not to be the case, instead Toph ended up challenging Katara’s own sense of home within the group, something that she didn’t think anyone in the group were affected the way that she was. Before she could go far with that thought too, Momo screeched again and they could hear the machine that’s following them who turned out to be the three girls that were attacking them from Omashu. At this point, Katara thought as she embarked on Appa, I would rather take Zuko than these girls.
Katara was proven to be right, these girls are relentless. They ended up having no sleep at all to the point of everyone being exhausted, even Appa. They ended up landing in the middle of a forest to rest. As they prepared to go to bed though, Katara couldn’t help but feel the anger from Toph’s inaction from before. In hindsight, she should’ve kept her mouth shut and maybe tried to talk things out with Toph after they had a proper rest. Unfortunately, she’s tired, running low on sleep so she ended up letting out a sharp jab at her. “Of course, we could’ve gotten some sleep earlier if Toph didn’t have such an issue.”
They were running on little sleep and haven’t really eaten yet since early last night. So of course, the little spat between Katara and Toph nearly blew up into a fight that ended with Toph blaming Appa that ended up making Aang feel insulted. Aang blew up on her and said something that he didn’t mean to say, pushing Toph away and ended up with her leaving. That immediately sober Katara up, she went too far this time. Katara realized that they were just trying to get used to each other but ended up insulting each other and making the other feel unaccepted, unsafe, and not belong in their group. She could’ve found another way to approach Toph, to explain that doing this thing could make her feel at home with their group but no she went too far. Well, they (minus Sokka) went too far on each other. Eventually they decide to separate, Katara and Sokka are going to be with Appa trying to find Toph and Aang is going to try to mislead the girls by flying in his glider and carrying some of Appa’s shed.
They eventually met each other again in an empty town, still running low on rest, cornering the leader of the girls. Apparently, as Katara and Sokka were tracked down by the other two of the group, the leader managed to track Aang. Katara didn’t really know the full details but Zuko and his uncle ended up there too, taking a stance against the girl. There’s so many things going on but one thing is, she senses a familiarity between Zuko and this girl. She looks like she's from Fire Nation so she’s not surprised if Zuko somehow knows her. It was strange though because he seems like he’s siding with them, cornering this girl.
The girl smirked, “Well look at this, enemies and traitors all working together.” Traitors? Katara turned slightly towards Zuko who stood not too far from her. Could he be…? “I’m done. I know when i’m beaten. You got me, a princess surrendered with honor.”
What happened next is really fast.
Before Katara could process what the girl just revealed, she shot lightning at the direction of Iroh who’s too late in dodging it. Katara could hear Zuko scream in horror and they all tried to attack her simultaneously but she got away. As they turned around to look at Zuko and his uncle, Katara could see Zuko look so devastated and broken. She’s never seen him in this position before. Her heart felt a little tug of sorrow, she ended up offering her expertise in healing for his uncle. Zuko was still grieving and terrified though so he ended up yelling at them to leave him alone.
Reluctantly, their group moved away from him towards Appa. Katara was the last one to leave, hoping that she still could help his uncle. As she walked away though, Katara heard a soft sniffle and a murmur of “You have to wake up Uncle. You’re all that i have, don’t leave me.” Those words from Zuko makes Katara even sadder and make her realize a similarity between her and Zuko, who she perceived as the enemy and someone that she hated. They both cling onto the sense of home that they build of their own by surrounding themselves with people that gives them the feeling of safety, belonging, and acceptance.
For whatever reason, he’s not back at his own home in Fire Nation and ends up in the Earth Kingdom with his uncle. From his clothing, it seems like they’re trying to blend in and he also didn’t look like pursuing them is the most important thing for him again. Those things only could be because of one reason, they might be on the run from Fire Nation. Zuko’s own nation, his own home, turned their back on him. Iroh is his only shot at having a resemblance of a home now, the person where he could feel safe enough to be with. War took his sense of home and his home away just like what it did to her. War forced them both to build a home away from their actual home by surrounding themselves with people that gave them the sense of belonging, safety, and acceptance. Zuko just lost someone that he felt safe with, someone that he could call home again. Katara could never imagine if any one of their group was in the position that Iroh is right now. Yes, she realized, even Toph.
The realization was quickly forgotten from Katara’s mind though, she got it when she’s running low on rest and food. She barely remembers some details the next day after they get enough rest but one thing for sure that she knows is that she needs to make things right with Toph. Katara then approached Toph who’s packing her stuff. “I’m sorry i’ve been so mean to you.”
Toph still has her back turned towards Katara, she sighed. “It’s just that it’s important for all of us to contribute and be included in every single group activity to me. It could build a sense of home between us, since you know, we’re all far away from our own home. A sense of home is the next best thing to help us focus and not feel overwhelmingly homesick.” Toph didn’t answer her so Katara continued, “I should’ve known and be more understanding that, in your own way, you’re dealing with the fact that you just left home too and got used to us. It must be hard and i’m sorry that i pushed you too far on it.”
“I’m sorry too,” Toph said softly, as she turned around towards Katara. “I just used to exist and carry my weight all on my own even at home. I get it now that we’re in this together now as a group and you’re right, we need to get along and help each other out. Also, I shouldn't have snapped at you that hard and leave when things started to get hard. I’ll try to be better and more open with you guys.”
Katara gave her a smile, “Thanks, Toph. I’ll try to be better too and a little less pushy. So, we’re good?” Toph nods before grinning, “I’m still not doing too much of the chores though. Since i can’t see and all, work those boys more!”
They laughed together before following Sokka and Aang to Appa. Katara knows now that yes, Toph might challenge her feeling of home in their group. She also at some point made Katara lose that feeling because she felt like she failed to make everyone feel at home with their group like she was with her constant argument with Toph. Now she knows that Toph will find her own sense of home with their group, it just needs to be slow and at her own pace. Baby steps.
***
It’s been almost six months since Katara found the Avatar inside an iceberg and ended up going on a journey to end the war with him and her brother, Sokka. It’s also been almost six months that she’s been away from her home in the South Pole. Earlier on the journey, she often feels homesick because she’s so far away from her home, the place where she grew up in. Flashforward almost six months in, she’s feeling less of a homesickness towards the South Pole and their little village. Sure, she still misses Gran-Gran and the things that they usually did together but the feeling of missing them didn’t weigh her down the way that it was earlier in their journey.
Now, being home could be felt at the apartment in the upper ring of Ba Sing Se where they’ve been living for nearly a month after finding Appa and enlightening The Earth King over the situation in his own land. She could always feel a sense of home whenever she, Sokka, Aang, and Toph spend time together either to talk strategy on what to do next or just simply spending time with each other after a long day. Feeling a sense of home can also be found in the memories of the journey that they went through to reach Ba Sing Se, where they have to lean on each other, reassure each other, be each other's family during all the tough challenges that they’ve faced so far. In short, home for Katara now is being with their little group no matter where they go. She feels equally right at home whenever she’s with any of them. Katara understands more now about what Gran-Gran said all those time ago about what is a home.
Home is not only a physical place, it could always be a group of people or a person that gives you a sense of belonging, safety, and acceptance. That is the truth but from Katara’s experience though, the meaning of a home, especially one that you find in a person, expanded again from what she knew from Gran-Gran. To her, a person that could give you a sense of home is someone who you are familiar with and grow close enough to form a strong bond of trust. It could be friends, another family member, lover, partner in crime. Once you form that bond, the feeling of belonging, safety and acceptance will slowly show and maybe if you’re lucky like her, you’ll find a sense of home with them. That’s how she felt with Sokka, Aang, and Toph, also Momo and Appa. They’re people that she grew close to and trusted and eventually, they formed a sense of home in each other. That’s what a meaning of home is to her, a place or a person familiar to you that gives you the sense of belonging, safety, and acceptance. She’s convinced that she’s right about this too. So, why all of the sudden she started to question her understanding over the definition of home?
Katara was summoned into an audience with the Earth King, she thought it was a real summon from King Kuei to discuss the invasion plan. When she arrived at the palace, though, she was quickly ambushed by the Princess of Fire Nation and their friends masking as the Kyoshi Warriors. They dragged her into a catacombs cell and she spent what felt like hours trying to get out of there but to no avail. With no water left in her waterskin and the whole cell feeling more like a wall of rocks with no door, she ended up sitting down on the floor, glaring at the glowing green rocks around her. Not long after, she felt the ground shaking and someone opening a channel from the higher ground in her cell. “You’ve got company.”
The Dai Li that helped Azula to throw her into this cell-dungeon-catacombs holding place is now throwing what looks like a guy towards her. He rolled downward before stopping in front of her, on his knees. He looks up and Katara recognizes immediately who he is.
“Zuko!” Katara said before glaring at him. Zuko turned his back to her. “Why did they throw you in here?” He stayed silent and for some reason this pissed off Katara even more. “Oh, let me guess, it’s a trap. So when Aang shows up to help me you can finally have him in your Fire Nation little clutches!”
The shaggy haired guy in front of her did not give her an answer, just turned to her direction slightly but turned away again, still keeping his mouth shut. Katara kept going, “You’re a terrible person, you know that? Always following us, chasing the Avatar, trying to capture the world’s last hope for peace?” Again, no answer. “But what do you care, you’re the Fire Lord’s son. Spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!”
“You don’t know what you're talking about!” He yelled.
“I don’t?!” Katara shouted. “How dare you! You have no idea what this war has put me through, me personally!” Katara turns away from him then falls down on her knees, bowing her head, tears streaming down her face remembering what the war has taken from her. “The Fire Nation took my mother away from me… my home and everything.”
“I’m sorry,” she could hear him from behind. “That’s something we have in common.”
Katara gasped then turned around. There wasn’t any conversation between them for a few moments. Usually, she will welcome the silence since she felt like there’s nothing that Zuko and her could talk about. Now, though, the silence feels so loud and uncomfortable. Katara turned towards him after wiping her tears.
“I’m sorry i yelled at you before,” Katara murmured. He shook his head, “It doesn’t matter.” Katara, somehow still felt guilty for yelling so she tried to explain her anger. “It’s just that, for so long now whenever i would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face.”
“My face,” Zuko said sadly, touching the scar on his face. “I see.”
Fuck, here you go again Katara, going too far and messing things up. “No, no, that’s not what i meant.”
“It’s okay,” Zuko softly reassured her. “I used to think the scar marked me, the mark of the banished prince cursed to chase the Avatar forever but lately, i’ve realised i’m free to determine my own destiny. Even if i’m never free from my mark.”
There’s so many things that were unsaid in his statement about himself and the circumstances that led him to be unable to return to his own home. Katara somehow got it, even though she didn’t know the full story. Something happened that made him lose his home and ended up with a scar at the same time. It might be connected, the scar is a symbol that he might not be able to come home ever. It was getting obvious that was the case with the way Zuko cradled his scar with his hand and a pained voice that he used in telling her about his view earlier. Katara then looked up to him, “Maybe you could be free of it.”
Zuko looked at her in disbelief, “What?” Katara walked closer to him. “I have healing ability.” Zuko looked down, “It’s a scar, it can’t be healed.”
Katara pulled a small vial that’s been dangling on her neck all this time during their journey to Earth Kingdom and showed it to him. “This is water from the Spirit Oasis in the North Pole. It has special properties so i’ve been saving it for something important. I don’t know if it will work but–” Katara stood in front of him, reaching up to touch his scar with her hand.
Seeing a slight nod from Zuko, Katara placed the palm of her hand on his scar. He closed his eyes, feeling pained for a second before leaning into her palm. This is bizarre, both of them have been enemies for the longest time yet here they are. Standing close to each other while Katara contemplated using one of the most important things that she owns on him, to heal him. With the silence starting to stretch between them, Katara started to see him in a different light after replaying their short conversation in her head. Him listening to her resentment and blame, him telling her that he understood that feeling as well, she felt like she was being seen for the first time ever by someone. Like he sees all the ugly and beautiful parts of her and oddly she saw it in him too. She felt safe and accepted by just being around him and relating to the situation that was implied happened to him. Oddly enough, she felt a sense of home in him, stronger than she’s ever felt with other people before in a short amount of time. Katara tilted her head, how is that possible? He’s not even someone familiar or close enough to her that she could fully trust to invoke a sense of home but somehow he did. They were enemies for La’s sake! Maybe she felt trust enough during their short conversation that make her feel like this but still.
“What happened to you?” Katara asked, whispering to him and breaking the silence between them. “How did the Fire Nation take your home and mother away from you just like they did mine? You’re their Prince…”
“The Fire Nation took my mother away from me and to be honest the details are still unclear,” He said quietly. “One day she was there, tucking me to bed and the next–”
Before he could finish his explanation, Katara heard a big explosion and she saw Aang and Iroh in front of a wall that they just bent as an exit for them. Suddenly, Katara feels happy and excited, Iroh is working with Aang to save her and Zuko. With her conversation with him earlier, his saying that he will determine his own destiny and her giving him a chance to heal, there’s a slight glimmer of hope in her heart that he might join her–them. Katara would be happy if Zuko and his uncle ended up helping them out, they do need a firebending master for Aang and maybe they could be that for him.
(Secretly, she hoped that if they turned to help them, Katara could explore this feeling about him more. It doesn’t really make sense why she felt so strongly right at home with him. It doesn't align with her knowledge of feeling a sense of home in a person. Zuko was not familiar nor close enough for her to trust her like she thought about earlier but maybe he could be if join them? Katara is definitely convinced now that she could trust him to do the right thing, at least. After all of those explanations about changing and determining his own destiny that they had earlier.)
Katara hugged Aang before leaving as instructed by Iroh. Katara followed Aang through the tunnel that Aang bended that led to a big chamber filled with water on both sides. They run as fast as they could, intending to find Sokka and Toph and fly away towards safety. They were discussing how to find Toph and Sokka when they felt a blast of heat from behind–it was Azula. Katara and Aang defended themselves from her attack until they found themselves in a stand still. It wasn’t long though, because another blast of fire appeared in front of them all and Zuko walked in, ready to attack.
For a split second, Katara felt hopeful and happy again, thinking that he might be here to join them in their fight against the Fire Nation Princess. Her hope was dashed away when he shot a fire blast at Aang who used his airbending to defend himself. Katara didn’t have time to feel sad or disappointed because Azula started firing at her. They fought hard and Katara got the upper hand until Zuko broke her water whip grip on his sister’s arms. Katara glared at him and aimed her attacks towards him, which he defended with his own fire. “I thought you had changed!”
“I have changed,” he said coldly.