Avatar Blank Slate | Chapter (3) (Patreon)

Katara's mind was a whirlwind of thoughts as the sky bison glided smoothly over the water.

She sat near the back, balanced carefully on the broad, fur-covered surface of Appa's saddle, with Sokka close by and Aang seated farther ahead. The wind tugged at her hair and cooled her cheeks, and the steady rhythm of Appa's movement beneath her should have been calming. Instead, it only made everything feel more unreal.

A few hours ago, she had been out on the water in a canoe, expecting nothing more exciting than a fishing trip and a routine trip back to the village.

Now she was riding on the back of a giant, supposedly flying bison with a strange boy who had been frozen in an iceberg for who-knew-how-long.

She would have laughed if the situation did not feel so impossible.

Katara looked out over the water, watching the sunlight shimmer across the surface. The sea stretched endlessly around them, cold and blue.

She had always known she was different from the others in her tribe.

She was the only current waterbender among them.

That fact had shaped her life in ways she could not always explain. It made her feel special sometimes, but more often it made her feel lonely. The other girls her age did not understand why she spent so much time practicing. The boys did not know what to make of her. And the adults, though kind, often looked at her with a mixture of hope and pity that she had never quite learned how to bear.

If she was honest with herself, she was not very good at waterbending.

Not yet.

Gran Gran had told her stories about the old days, stories of powerful waterbenders who could move oceans and heal wounds and command the tides as if they were extensions of their own bodies. Katara had always listened with wide eyes, imagining herself among them, imagining what it would feel like to be that strong and graceful.

But when she practiced, the water often slipped away from her control.

It splashed when it should have flowed.

It refused her more often than it obeyed.

Still, she kept trying.

She had to.

If she ever wanted to protect her tribe, if she ever wanted to be useful in a world that seemed to grow more dangerous every year, then she could not afford to give up. Not when the Fire Nation was still out there. Not when the world felt like it needed to take someone else away from her.

Katara glanced toward the front of Appa's saddle.

Aang sat there quietly, his posture relaxed but his expression distant. He looked out over the water with a strange, faraway look in his eyes, as if he were seeing something none of them could. Or perhaps remembering something he could not quite reach.

Sokka sat beside her, arms crossed, staring at the back of Aang's head with such intensity that Katara almost expected smoke to start rising from his ears.

She rolled her eyes.

Of course, he was suspicious.

Sokka had been suspicious of Aang from the moment they found him. To be fair, Katara understood why. Aang had appeared out of nowhere, frozen in an iceberg, with no memory of where he came from and a giant flying bison that seemed to follow him like a shadow. That was enough to make anyone cautious.

But Sokka's suspicion had gone beyond caution.

He had been glaring at Aang ever since they left the shore.

Katara shifted where she sat, deciding she should probably go talk to Aang before her brother managed to stare a hole through him. She began to crawl forward carefully, using one hand to steady herself against Appa.

Before she could get far, Sokka's hand settled on her shoulder.

"I don't think it's a good idea, Katara."

His voice was low, but there was an edge to it that made her pause.

She looked back at him.

Sokka had been like this ever since they met Aang. It had startled her at first. Her brother was usually loud, overconfident, and impossible to ignore, but this was different. There was something protective in the way he watched Aang, something sharp and wary that made him seem older than his years.

Katara knew why.

To Sokka, she was his sister. His only sister. One of the last pieces of family he had left.

The thought made her chest ache.

Their father had been gone for so long now that Katara sometimes had trouble remembering the sound of his voice. Sokka had taken it upon himself to become the protector of their tribe, even when no one had asked him to. He hunted. He guarded. He planned. He worried. He stayed awake for days at a time if he thought it would keep the village safe.

Gran Gran had begged him to rest more than once.

He had ignored her every time.

He was loud, stubborn, messy, and often infuriatingly sexist, but he cared deeply for the people around him. Especially Katara. She knew that. She had always known it.

That was why she softened her expression and gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"It's okay, Sokka," she said quietly. "I just want to say hello. He seems lonely. And… he's probably like us."

Sokka stared at her for a long moment.

Katara could see the conflict on his face. He wanted to argue. She knew he did. But he also trusted her, even when he did not want to. Eventually, with a reluctant sigh, he lifted his hand from her shoulder and nodded.

"Fine," he muttered. "But I'm watching him."

Katara smiled faintly and turned back toward the front of Appa.

She crawled forward until she was beside Aang, settling herself carefully on the saddle. At first, he did not seem to notice her at all.

His eyes were fixed on the horizon, but they were not really seeing it.

He looked foggy somehow, distant and lost, as if he were trapped in a memory that hurt too much to touch. Katara frowned a little, her concern growing. He had seemed cheerful enough before, but now there was something quiet and sad in him that she had not noticed earlier.

She hesitated for only a moment before speaking.

"Hey, Aang."

He blinked and turned toward her, and the change in his expression was immediate. The distant look in his eyes faded, replaced by a spark of life that made him seem younger somehow, more present. He smiled, a little sheepishly.

"Hey, Katara. Didn't see you there."

Katara hummed softly and let a brief silence settle between them. The wind rushed past, and Appa's steady movement beneath them made the world feel strangely peaceful despite everything else.

Then she said, "Thanks for offering to give us a ride back to my tribe."

Aang rubbed the back of his neck with a grin that looked almost embarrassed. "It's no problem. Honestly, I owe you and Appa my life."

Katara glanced toward the great sky bison behind them.

Appa was enormous, warm, and surprisingly gentle. He had already proven himself to be protective of Aang in a way that reminded her of Sokka. The comparison made her smile a little. It was strange, but comforting too. Appa seemed to care about Aang deeply, and that made Katara feel better about trusting him.

She turned back to Aang, curiosity tugging at her.

"So," she said, "what's with the tattoos? Do they mean anything?"

Aang paused.

For a moment, he looked genuinely thoughtful, as if he were searching for an answer somewhere just out of reach. Then he shook his head.

"Sorry," he said. "I don't actually know."

Katara studied him.

That was one thing she had already noticed about Aang: he seemed to know almost nothing about himself or the world around him, and yet he spoke and understood words with ease. Sometimes he even used words she did not know. It was strange. He acted like someone who had been cut off from everything familiar, but not from language itself.

She wondered if it was some kind of trauma response.

Sokka had suggested that earlier, though he had said it in a way that made it sound more like a theory than a real concern. Maybe Aang's mind had protected itself after being trapped in the iceberg for so long. Maybe he had forgotten things because remembering them would have been too painful.

Or maybe it was something else entirely.

Amnesia, perhaps.

Katara had heard of it in stories, though never in real life. The idea that someone could lose their memories but still remember a single friend—Appa—felt almost impossible. And yet here Aang was, sitting beside her with a staff in his hands and a look in his eyes that made her think he was trying very hard not to be afraid.

Before she could think any further, Aang turned toward her and asked, "So, Katara, I was meaning to ask… the nations you guys were talking about. Could you explain?"

Katara blinked.

Ah.

History.

That was not exactly her strongest subject. If anything, that was more Sokka's area. He loved stories about the past, battles, strategies, and old legends. Katara usually listened because she liked learning, but she had never been as interested in the details as he was.

She glanced at her brother, then back at Aang.

"I'd love to," she said.

Aang smiled, clearly relieved.

Katara took a breath and began to explain.

She told him about the four nations: the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads. She described them as Gran Gran had described them to her, speaking of their people, their customs, and the bending arts each nation was known for. The Water Tribes lived by the sea and the poles, where the tides and ice shaped their lives. The Earth Kingdom was vast and strong, full of cities and villages spread across mountains and plains. The Fire Nation was powerful and driven, with people who bent flame and lived on islands of volcanic rock. The Air Nomads, she said, had once been peaceful wanderers who traveled the world.

As she spoke, Aang listened with obvious interest.

He leaned in slightly, his eyes bright with curiosity. It was almost a relief to see him so engaged. The sadness from before faded away as he absorbed every word she said.

Katara left out the war.

She did not want to tell him that the world was being torn apart by the Fire Nation. Not yet. Not when he looked so open and innocent, like someone who had just woken up from a long sleep and was trying to make sense of a world that had moved on without him.

When she finished, Aang nodded slowly.

"I think I get it," he said. "So we're in the Water Nation, right?"

Katara smiled a little at the phrasing. "We're part of the Southern Water Tribe," she corrected gently. "There's also the Northern Water Tribe."

Aang absorbed that with another nod, then frowned slightly as if something else had occurred to him.

"So why were you guys scared that I was possibly from the Fire Nation?"

Katara froze.

The question landed like a stone in still water.

She looked back toward Sokka, who had clearly heard it too. He straightened immediately and moved closer, sitting down near them with a heavy sigh. His expression had gone serious again, the joking edge gone from his face.

"Listen, kid," he said, "I still don't trust you. But what we're about to tell you isn't going to be lighthearted."

Aang looked confused, then turned to Katara.

His innocent expression made something twist painfully in her chest. He really did not know. He had no idea what kind of world he had woken up into. No idea what the Fire Nation had done. No idea why their names alone could make people tense with fear.

Katara took a deep breath.

"My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days," she began softly. "A time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation, and the Air Nomads."

She paused.

The wind seemed to quiet around them.

"But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked."