Kindred Souls

By: ChiaraBrie

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. This story is pure fiction, from a fan =]

Summary: Seven years have passed since the war ended, and Katara has been longing to find her own path in life. Then one night, something troubling comes in a letter: Zuko is missing, and no one knows where he is. Tired of standing by as the scarred and healing world goes up in flames, she decides to find him. Little does she know, the two are about to embark upon a journey of a lifetime, finding something both of them were looking for…and something neither of them expected. Zutara pairing.

Chapter One: Where The Fire Lily Grows

"Do you know where you're goin', Miss?"

A toothless old man, standing behind a rotted ticket podium, gestured with his thumb towards the pointed iron ship. Burly men lifting heavy crates and loading various goods stomped up the gangway behind him, shouting out to one another as they made their way inside.

"….Miss?"

Katara snapped out of her trance and turned her bright blue eyes to the crouched vendor. Without smiling, she placed her money into his hands. "One way, please." Not bothering to hide his disbelief, the old man pocketed her coins, and handed a tiny slip of paper back to her.

"I won't lie, it won't be a pleasant voyage for such a young lady," he whispered.

"I didn't expect it to be," Katara responded as she pocketed her ticket. She gathered her pack, and began walking onto the ship when something caught her eye. Contrasting heavily with the dark and gloomy ship was a spot of blue among the snow—a blue she instantly recognized as her own. The man with a high ponytail locked eyes with her, and walked forward to meet her. Katara quickly turned away.

"Wait! Katara…Wait!" cried Sokka, as he tried to squeeze through the dense crowd. Stopping in her tracks, Katara sighed.

"I'm going Sokka. Don't try and stop me again." Her brother grabbed her wrist, turning her around to face him. He was a full head taller than her, with broad shoulders and a strong jaw. Normally a comical man, Sokka tried to smile and ease his sister's harsh tone.

"Look. I know why you think you have to leave, but you're also abandoning our lives here! What about Dad? After all that time apart, we are finally a family again."

Katara yanked her wrist out from his grasp and replied "The war has been over for seven years! We have spent time here, as a family, but with the way things are going now, it's about time that someone did something."

"And why does that someone have to be you, huh? Isn't that what the Avatar is for?" Sokka's voice was rising now, which only fueled Katara's rage. "You see," she said, "it's that kind of thinking that has caused the problem in the first place. The Avatar is just one person. He can't do it all on his own. Especially the way Aang handles things…" The bitterness in her voice was apparent.

Sokka calmed himself, and responded in a lower voice. "I know you and Aang have had your…different opinions on how to handle things…"

" 'Different opinions' is putting it lightly," scoffed Katara.

"But, what I am trying to tell you" Sokka continued, "is that the world just needs time to heal. You putting yourself out there, in danger, just to try and push people along the road to acceptance isn't going to work! The war lasted one hundred years Katara. Don't you realize it might take another hundred to forget?"

Katara locked eyes with her brother, who was so like and unlike her in every way. Sokka had found a new life in the Southern Water tribe. He was rebuilding the city larger and stronger, he was second in command to their father in all political affairs, and he had just proposed to Suki by carving his own decorative necklace like their mother's (albeit more clumsily).

Yet life for Katara was not the same. The higher the city walls rose, the more confined she felt. She was cut off from the world, which was in such a state of turmoil that Aang has been so busy, she hasn't seen him in 5 years.

"I feel like there are times you forget that we helped to end the war Sokka. Not just by falling into line while the 'better men' did something. We were kids, and we made all the difference. The Avatar is just one person. He cannot fix all of our world's problems. We have to be that change."

Sokka, who was running out of bargaining pieces, desperately pleaded with her. "But you can't go wandering through the Fire Nation alone. It's the most dangerous place to be right now since Zuko's disappeared. Not to mention, the citizens of all nations are at each other's throats! No one trusts each other anymore. And Fire Nation people are getting hit the hardest. The Earth and Water tribes (yes, even our tribe Katara) are taking out one hundred years of frustration on them."

Katara turned to walk away, leaving her brother, and her home, far behind her. Something inside of her was pulling her from there, that much she knew. After sleepless nights tossing and turning, she was ready to find her own destiny.

"How do you expect to do it? How will you find him?"cried Sokka. Katara didn't answer him. In all honesty, she didn't quite understand it herself. But what happened the night before was impossible to ignore.

She knew she had to do something.

At the top of the gangway, she turned around and found Sokka in the crowd, watching her go. The hardness left her eyes for a moment, and she smiled at him.
"Good bye," she mouthed to him. Sokka, sad but understanding, waved.

The iron ship billowed smoke as it pulled out from the Southern Water Tribe port, passing another cargo ship on its way. Since the war ended, the throughways of trade had opened up. All nations were trading goods long forgotten about during the war; and what's more, the availability of trade allowed the divided worlds to reconnect on neutral grounds: business was business.

However, despite the prosperous market for interchanging goods, the Fire Nation was still in ruins. Having lost the war they started, their country was in serious debt. From what she understood, the capital island had now become a rundown slum, where people were made to work hard to push out items to trade.

There was nothing to be done about it, she was told by her father. Hakoda explained that wars do not end with the last battle, but continue on in other ways.

Katara made her way to the top deck, and watched as her wintery homeland shrank behind her. She pulled her furs tighter around her, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the cold. Her long dark hair, which she wore down her back in loose curls, flew in the wind. The last time she left the Southern Water tribe, she was on top of Appa, beginning the journey that would change her life forever- with Aang.

Remembering the face of the young avatar on their last visit years ago, Katara frowned. It was not something she liked to think about. As she closed her eyes, she heard his voice rebound inside her head.

"Katara, you have to let me handle this the way I want to. I'm the avatar, not you!" Katara had never heard Aang scream so loud. Two years ago, he was barely her height. But now, he was a tall and lean man, which made his appearance all the more commanding.

"I know that Aang. I'm not trying to be you. I am trying to show you how the world is now. You can't always run from things that are unpleasant to you," replied Katara.

Aang marched over to her bedroom balcony, in the new house she shared with her family. He gripped the icy banisters and clenched his teeth, trying to control his temper. "You think I don't see it? How even after I defeated Ozai, people still hate each other? You think I can't understand—"

"No. You can't," she interrupted. "You can't seem to grasp that the hands off approach taught to you isn't going to work. You need to get involved, every day, in the lives of the people. You need to show them there's hope for peace! Running around, sitting in meetings like…like…some kind of prince! That's not your job!"

"I am doing the best I can! I need to sit in on those meetings, I need to govern this whole world. What would you know, being stuck here in your tiny village?" The remark cut Katara deep, and she stayed silent.

Aang, sighing, turned around and pulled her into his arms. "Katara, I'm sorry. You know I love you more than anything. Please, forgive me." Katara stayed frozen in his embrace. His arms weren't the same—they hadn't been for a while. Aang kissed the top of her head, and looked down into her large blue eyes.

Both of them saw what was there.

"Aang, we've known each other now for a long time. And I have grown to love you…but what we want from life isn't the same." A tear rolled down her face.

Aang wiped the tear with his thumb, unable to stop the flowing of his own. He loved her, more than life. But his duty was to the world, and they both saw the world differently. There could be no balance between them till the suffering was over.

"I will end all this, Katara. I will do it, I promise. That's the only way for us to be together, isn't it?" Katara averted her eyes.

It always seemed that way. They were waiting till this or that was over, so they could enjoy themselves. She remembered how she couldn't bear to kiss him during the war, saying that things were too confusing to get involved with him that way. She remembered pushing him away at Ember Island, yelling at him to stop. They never were on the same page.

But as she grew up, she understood what that meant.

"People shouldn't be waiting for each other to live out their lives separately, so they could meet later on when it could work. They should be able to live and grow together, face these troubles, and move on. I love you too Aang, but I need to take my own path now".

The words cut like a knife, to both of them. Aang shook his head, ignoring what he heard. "You'll see. When all the strife has past…we can be together again." Before she could answer, he walked out the door.

'That was five years ago,' she thought. And she hadn't heard from him since, besides off handed information from Sokka or Toph.

'Until last night'.

Katara clutched the letter in her hands, and made her way down to her room to unpack.

Her stateroom was one floor below deck, with nothing more than a tiny porthole letting sunlight in. The single bed and nightstand were plain, and uninviting. Not bothering to notice, Katara threw down her belongings and flopped on the bed, already exhausted from her emotional turmoil earlier this morning. Not to mention, her lack of sleep last night.

Suddenly, there was a loud rapping on the door.

Katara got up from her bed, perplexed, and answered it. A tall man wearing a fire nation uniform stood before her (minus the skeletal masks, which were outlawed when Prince Zuko took the throne). "Yes?" said Katara, making sure her voice was strong. She needed to appear secure on a cargo ship loaded with Fire Nation passengers.

"Dinner will be served at six in the evenings. Any attempt to steal food from our supplies will be met with swift retribution. Water is rationed as well, according to the capacity on board. No bending is allowed while we sail. Any attempt to bend will—"

"Be met with swift retribution," finished Katara. " I wonder, is this something you inform all of your passengers about?"

The guard looked her up and down, eyeing the symbolic blue of her clothes.

"Dinner will be served at six," he replied, and turned away.

Katara slammed the metal door behind her, trying to calm herself. She would need to get used to this type of treatment once she landed on shore.

The gust from the slamming door sent her backpack to the floor, its contents spilling out. She began to pick up the mess, stuffing scrolls and clothing back inside. Among the clutter, she saw a splash of deep ruby red.

Katara stopped her rummaging, and delicately lifted the red flower. She brought the petals to her nose, and inhaled deeply, remembering how she acquired it last night. 'Holding onto it is the only way I know it wasn't all a dream…'

She remembered lying in her bed, watching the full moon rise into the night sky, waiting for the same feeling of emptiness to settle over her before she went to sleep. But tonight, since the moon was at its peak, she grew a little excited.

Her gaze flicked over to the wall outside her window, where a bunch of white flower bulbs remained closed. In a few minutes, their petals would open up to absorb the moonlight. Lunar flowers always made her smile, no matter how low she was feeling.

But before she could see them start to bloom, Sokka entered into her room without knocking. "This is for you, the messenger said it was urgent." He handed over a sealed scroll, and waited impatiently for her to open it.

Sitting up in bed, Katara broke the wax and quickly began to read.

"It's from Aang," she whispered. Her eyes scanned the letter before beginning to read aloud:

Katara,

I hope this letter finds you well. It has been too long since we last spoke. I am currently working on suppressing rebellions in the northern Earth Kingdom, where some Fire Nation colonies are being raided by the citizens of their neighboring cities.

I know when we last spoke, you told me I needed to get into the lives of the people more than the politics, but the politics are suffering too. Just last night, I got word from General Iroh that he would be acting as Fire Lord. Zuko is gone. No one knows where or why, but he's missing. But I'm sure he is fine. He probably went to train with the dragons like he does every now and then…but I can't help but wonder.

Anyway, besides telling you about our friend's disappearance, I'm writing to you to tell you that every day I am working to heal the scars of the world, and the ones between us. But so far, there is not much improvement. There are times I see such goodness in people, yet I always find hatred as well. But I still have hope. For them, and for us.

Please try and keep safe. I will write to you again.

P.S Momo and Appa say Hi!

Love, Aang.

Katara smiled at the boy like qualities of the air bender, which shone even in the most depressing of times. " I wonder what happened to Zuko?" mused Sokka, who seemed concerned for only a moment. "Eh, I'm sure Aang's right. You know Zuko, always training and being serious and stuff."

"But General Iroh had to take over his duties. It must be more serious than that," she replied.

"Well one thing we know, is that Aang is out there, and we have nothing to worry about. Now I'm going to bed, I promised Suki we could go penguin sledding in the morning." And with that, Sokka left her alone.

But Katara was not easily placated. She kept rereading the part about Zuko's disappearance. She felt sure that it was important. Why did no one else think so? Or maybe, she was the one overreacting.

Ever since they met, Katara always felt a certain…connection with the angry firebender. Even when he was the cause of all their problems, she still noticed there was something about him that made her tremble.

It was his eyes.

No matter how enraged or confused he was, whenever they met, she saw through it all straight into his core. Behind all that anger, was immense sadness—a sadness she understood deep within her soul.

And as time went on, and they joined forces to help Aang overthrow Ozai, Katara got to know him better. Even though their time together wasn't long, she felt comfortable with the prince in ways she hadn't reached with the others. Whenever she thought about it, it was all too confusing.

At that moment, the moon began to shine its full light into her room. Katara got up, and walked out to her balcony to watch the blossoms open, abandoning her thoughts for a moment.

Slowly and gracefully, the petals began to unfold, revealing the milky white stem of the lunar blossom. She reached over and touched the petals, marveling at their softness. Her entire wall, covered in their vines, burst to life in the moonlight. But something wasn't right.

In the center of the flowers, she saw something she didn't expect. Moving the flowers aside, she gasped at what she found. There, among the wintery plant life, was a ruby red flower.

Where the lunar blossoms were delicate and rounded, this flower's petals were more jagged and tough. The stem was a glowing yellow, and its aroma was a warm cinnamon scent. She plucked it from the wall, and was bewildered. She had seen this flower before, in a far away land, in a different time.

What was a fire lily doing, blooming in the cold?

On the floor of her stateroom, Katara still mused over the flower. She was sure that it was a sign, something she couldn't ignore. Moments after she had learned about Zuko's disappearance, she found a flower that didn't belong growing in the winter tundra.

'His flower,' she reminded herself.

On the last day they stayed at Ember Island together during the war, Katara had a moment alone with Zuko, who was plucking the very same bloom she now held in her hands. 'My mother,' he confided to her, 'would grow these every year. She said that a person's soul, if it burned bright enough, could help them grow. Her flowers were always in bloom.'

It was moments like those that brought warmth to Katara, who always found herself fascinated with the banished Prince, whether she would admit it or not. Both of their mothers were torn from them, and both of them were irreversibly scarred from the ordeal.

There were times when their two souls seemed so alike.

And after finding the flower, growing so far from home where it wasn't meant to be, she knew what she had to do. She finally saw her own path begin.

Perhaps she wasn't the avatar, who was the spiritual savior of the world. Maybe she wasn't next in line to lead her tribe to greatness, like Sokka. But she was important, right! She could do something to help.

And at that moment, she knew exactly who needed her, because his nation needed him. Katara knew what she had to do.

' I will find you, Zuko. I promise.'

Authors Note: Welcome to my first fanfic! I have many ideas as to where this story will go, and I hope over time, you will join me in its journey. As always, reviews, questions, and comments are greatly appreciated. ChiaraBrie