The Painted Lady and the Blue Spirit

The Uncle

'To Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.
Iroh is dead.
Your presence is requested at the Royal Palace.'

The letter was short and curt, it wasn't written in Zuko's scrawled hand, the words were elegant yet Katara knew they held authority and power over her.

Katara folds the message and puts it in her pocket before trudging to her brother's house.

...

"Are you going to go?" Sokka asks, handing Katara back the letter.

"I don't have a choice," Katara breathes, "This isn't Zuko's writing, I fear something is wrong."

"What could be wrong?" Sokka asks, Katara shrugs her shoulders and then starts to pace, "Did you want me to go with you?" her brother asks, watching as she wrings her hands nervously.

"No," Katara breathes, "I want you to stay here, to keep an eye on Aang and the children."

"Why?"

Katara pauses her pacing, her hands clench by her side as she tells her brother about the argument that they had.

"Tenzin's an air bender," Sokka breathes, almost in disbelief.

"I can't explain it all now," Katara sighs, "Can you just promise me that you'll keep an eye on them; don't let Aang take him away."

"He's the Avatar," Sokka says, Sokka wants to tell his sister that she is insane to think that he could do anything to stop Aang from leaving, but one look at his sisters worried face has him sighing and agreeing to try. 

"Thank you." Katara kisses her brothers cheek before hurrying back home to pack her things.

When she walks through the front door the house is still a mess, but it's an empty mess.

"Bumi?" Katara calls, stepping over the coffee table, "Kya?"

Katara goes to her room to find her two oldest in Bumi's room, sitting on his bed in boredom.

"What's the matter?" Katara asks, noticing their upset faces.

"Father's outside teaching Tenzin," Bumi says, kicking his feet.

"He said we couldn't watch cause we're not air benders," Kya says, flopping back on the bed.

Katara feels as if the vein in her head might pop, she takes the children to the kitchen and grabs down Aang's hidden stash of moon peach cookies.

The children light up at the sight of the sweets.

"Eat as many as you want," Katara smiles as she hands the jar to the children, "I'm going to go have a talk to your father."

Katara decides to pack her bag before going to see Aang, letting the kids have more time to devour as many cookies as they can. Katara doesn't have much she can pack, her clothes are mostly thick, fur lined clothes that would be too hot to wear in the Fire Nation.

Katara goes outside and finds Aang and Tenzin behind the hut, going through air bender poses.

"Aang," Katara says, drawing their lessons to a stop.

Aang looks over to Katara, his eyes rest on the bag over her shoulder and his face falls.

"What are you doing?" he asks, watching as Katara smiles to Tenzin then offers him a cookie.

"Your brother and sister are inside with more," Katara smiles, "Go on."

Tenzin laughs and then runs inside.