CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
( INCOMING PERIL )

THINGS WERE GOOD. LIKE actually good. Peaceful, in a way.

Flo never thought her life would be like that again.

It made her suspicious. Anxious, even.

The past few weeks or so went by smoothly. Katara obliterated all the boys in her and Aang's waterbending lessons. Aang vacillated between taking the class seriously and goofing off. Sokka went to warrior's training everyday and was doing well. Flo went with him and practiced archery a lot of the time, which soon led to Ujaraak, the friend of Akiko's father, showing her how they made their arrows; it was a little different than how she was taught, and she soaked up the information like a sponge. At some point, she finally bought a new dagger, one made from a leg bone of an animal with leather wrapped at the handle for a secure grip. It felt nice to have a weapon for close range attacks again.

Akiko sought her out sometimes to mediate, though not a lot. She and Princess Yue seemed to be better, because Flo saw them occasionally spending time together. Speaking of, Princess Yue spent time with Flo, Sokka, Katara and Aang semi-regularly. She was very interested in their adventures so far, so at first a lot of their conversations (or, well, their conversations; Flo let the others do the talking for the most part) were just stories of where they've been and what they've done.

So, yeah. Nothing happened, really. Not anything bad. It was all sort of mundane, almost. She didn't need to carry her bow and arrows or her new dagger everywhere because there weren't any threats. Life was going on by and things were good.

And Flo anticipated for something to ruin it all.

She's felt like this for the past few days. Everything has gone by too smoothly for her to really dismiss it.

Something was going to happen, wasn't it? It always did. As if the universe was intent on ruining everything for her and making her life miserable.

For once, Flo wanted things to stay good. She didn't believe that it ever would, though. Not with a war going on. Not with Aunt Wu's prediction of her family 'reunion'. And if by some miracle, things did turn out good and stayed that way, then it definitely wouldn't be any time soon.

She could feel it in her bones.

Things were about to get bad.

+++

For the sake of not ruining everyone else's good moods, Flo went about her days like anxiety wasn't clawing up her throat and squeezing her chest tight like a gecko python restrictor.

When Aang dragged her out to explore and find animals one afternoon, she pushed aside her exhaustion from lack of sleep and went with him. They found puffin penguins and turtle seals, and may have had a run in with a large leopard seal bear that they agreed to not tell Katara and Sokka about because they had promised the others that they wouldn't be around any predators. So, if they asked, no, she and Aang found only harmless prey animals and didn't run from a 13 feet tall predator that chased them.

It certainly got her mind off of her anxiety inducing thoughts for a while, so she didn't really mind the danger they accidentally put themselves in.

At breakfast with Sokka everyday, she acted the same as she usually did. It was admittedly a bit hard to put up a front. Usually she didn't hide how negative she felt; honestly, if she was truly happy, or something close to it, it was sometimes harder to express that than anything, let alone faking it. She didn't think Sokka caught on. She hoped he didn't.

Then there were times where Katara asked for some girl time and to take a break from being around the boys. Sometimes Princess Yue came with them. Flo felt a bit out of place when that happened, which distracted her from that impending dread in her gut. Admittedly, spending time with only the girls was fun. She just wasn't used to it. The last girl she willingly and actively spent time with as a friend was Smellerbee, and she was very different than Princess Yue and Katara.

During all of this – putting up a façade, not letting the others see what she was feeling, distracting herself for her own sake – she wanted to run off to be alone. Hide away with Sleemo. Start pushing the others away again, or just disappear completely. But that would cause suspicion and concern on their part, and Flo didn't need to be worried about like that.

And it was successful – until she had a nightmare.

+++

It started out innocently enough.

Snowballs were being thrown every which way by Sokka, Katara, Aang and herself. They were on teams: Aang and Flo against Sokka and Katara. The snowball fight was a touch chaotic, and everyone was laughing and having fun.

And then, abruptly, Flo tripped backwards and fell.

No longer was she in a Water Tribe-made parka and boots. She was back in her Earth Kingdom clothes, and instead of falling on fluffy snow, she hit the dirt ground harshly that made her grunt with the impact. Fighting was still going on around her – more intense and vicious rather than chaotic and fun, shouts and grunts to accompany it instead of laughter.

Flo pushed herself onto her elbows, brows furrowing at noticing the Freedom Fighters attacking a group of Fire Nation soldiers. Then she realized that her hair was longer, too. It was back to the length it was before she cut it on Kyoshi Island. The dagger Jet gave her all those months ago was in her boot just like it used to be.

A fire blast came at her before she could question anything. She rolled and began to fight the soldiers like it was second nature.

But with each one she downed, two replaced them. The soldiers swarmed her. Her arrows were running low. Through a gap in the men and women surrounding her, she caught sight of Jet, Longshot, Smellerbee, and everyone else making an escape.

Panicked and desperate, she threw a punch and shoved between two soldiers to run to catch with the Freedom Fighters. "Wait!" she herself yell. "Wait, come back! Don't leave me behind!"

She broke through the swarm of soldiers. The Freedom Fighters were nowhere to be seen or heard.

Flo looked around frantically. "Jet? Jet!" she yelled. "Longshot!" Her eyes raked over the treeline. "The Duke?"

None of them appeared.

None of them came back.

Fire was aimed at her again. She yelped in surprise and spun around. She knocked a few arrows, aimed and shot, then turn and ran – right into someone.

Aunt Wu smiled kindly at her. It didn't ease her panic and fear and the urge to keep running. "It is time, young one."

Flo breathed heavily from fighting and running. "What?"

"It's time! Aren't you excited? You get to see your family again!"

"...What? N- No, I can't. They're all gone," she said.

"And you are about to have a reunion with them!" Aunt Wu excitedly exclaimed. "Be happy! Now, it's time for you to go."

Flo shook her head. "No." She tried to shove Aunt Wu's hands off of her when she grabbed Flo's shoulders. "No, let go of me!" Flo ripped herself from the old lady's grip right as Aunt Wu turned her around.

Flo stumbled forward. When she looked up, she saw that she was at the same place the soldiers ambushed her – that ambush that led to her washing up on Kyoshi Island. Immediately, she readied her bow, anticipating the attack this time.

But it wasn't a group of soldiers.

It was the Dragon of West who came to fight.

It was the Dragon of the West who attacked and bested her, who stared down at her with the sun behind him, looking nothing like he did at the Abbey.

A bright, hot flame grew in the palm of his hand.

"Death to the Fire Hunter."

Flo woke up with a gasp and the image of a huge flame being hurled at her face stuck in her mind's eye. She thrashed around and struggled to get out of the sleep roll, everything about it feeling constricting and suffocating.

The hut felt suffocating. Like the walls were closing in, even though it was dark and she couldn't even see them.

She struggled to catch her breath, like she had actually been running and fighting for her life.

With urgent movements, Flo grabbed her boots and gloves and hastily slipped them on. Her bow and arrows were nearby so she grabbed them, and then her new dagger. Then, not even bothering to see if anyone else was up, left.

As she walked, she put the quiver and bow on her back, and placed the dagger and its sheath on her side. It was a struggle to do so, thanks to her panic and constricted lungs and shaking hands. She breathed in deeply as a means to get some air in lungs, over and over again. It worked for only a few seconds, and she was back to feeling like there was too little air.

Flo found herself going to the stables. When she got there, she went straight for Appa and sat on one of his legs, pulled her legs to her chest, and rested her forehead on her knees with her eyes squeezed shut. Her hands gripped his fur tightly. She faintly heard the meows of Sleemo, and then felt her as she rubbed against the front of Flo's legs, purring incessantly.

She was vaguely aware of someone coming towards her – someone light on their feet. They were beside her quicker than she expected.

"Flo?"

Aang's voice sounded distant in some odd way.

"You can hear me, right?" It took a moment, but Flo managed a jerky nod eventually. "Great! Uh... Okay. Now what?" The last part was seemingly said to himself, and if the situation was any different, she might have found humor in it. "Um, do I need to bend air into your lungs?"

She shook her head. She wracked her brain on how he could help. How did Katara help her last time...? "Bre- Breathing exercises," she stuttered out.

"Okay. I can do that. Copy me, okay? In... Hold... Then out..."

It was a struggle at first. Her mind was still reeling from the nightmare and her anxiety barely lessened at all. But she breathed along in sync with Aang eventually. It just took some time, and at one point he made her sit straight rather than curled into a ball because, "Sitting like a shrimp won't help."

By the time her breathing was back to normal, Flo felt completely and utterly exhausted. She slumped and laid back on Appa, eyes landing on the sky above. Sleemo moved to curl up on her chest, still purring, the weight of her easing away some of the lingering anxiety.

"Thanks," she muttered.

Aang laid down, too. "You're welcome," he said. "Was it a nightmare?"

"Well it wasn't a dream with rainbows and butterflies." Flo frowned. "Sorry, by the way."

"What for?"

"Didn't you say my panic attack freaked you out or something?" she asked. "Back when you were dealing with Hei-Bai."

"Only because I didn't know how to help, and I couldn't since I was in the spirit world," he told her. "You don't need to be sorry for something you can't control."

"I wish I could." That way she wouldn't be waking up after a nightmare with the feeling that she was suffocating. She placed her hands over her face and groaned quietly. Seriously, could her brain not just let her be happy? Could the universe? "...Did I wake you up?"

"No, I was already awake."

Flo removed her hands and turned her head to give him a doubtful look. "Really."

He innocently grinned at her and nodded. "Yep."

She didn't believe it for one second, and made sure her expression showed that.

"Katara and Sokka were still asleep when I followed you," he went on to say. That Flo was more inclined to believe. Sokka slept like a log, and while Katara didn't, she wasn't really a light sleeper, either. "You don't have to, but you can talk to me about it."

Flo looked back up to the stars. There were clouds hiding them, and the spirit lights weren't dancing around in the sky. She sighed. "It's..." If she talked about it, she would have to explain Aunt Wu's prediction, and she didn't want to tell Aang that it was implied she was going to die. Who knew how he would react to that? "Maybe another time, Aang. It's a lot."

"That's fine," he said easily. "Hey, can I tell you more about Kuzon? Or Monk Gyatso? Oh, wait! Have I ever told you about Tala?"

She looked at him with a bit of confusion. "Who?"

He grinned. "Tala! She was a friend of Gyatso's and a nonbender from an independent island in the Fire Islands, but actually traveled around the world a lot. She visited the Southern Air Temple sometimes, and Gyatso actually once told me she was like a little sister to him. They were super close."

"Were you close to her, too?"

"Yeah! Even Kuzon knew her, but that's mostly because she had to get us out of trouble a few times. Oh, and there was this one time when on my birthday she came to the Temple, told Gyatso, 'I'm kidnapping your student,' and took me to a fall festival in in the Earth Kingdom as a present."

Flo found herself smiling. "She sounds like she was fun."

"She was the best! And there was this other time she and Monk Gyatso pranked the elders..."

+++

Eventually, she and Aang went back to the hut. He fell asleep quickly, but Flo stayed awake for a while longer, on top of the sleep roll and huddled under a couple of blankets. Sokka and Katara were none the wiser about her nightmare and panic attack the following day. She was pretty sure they noticed something was off, because Flo couldn't bring herself to act like she'd been doing. Exhaustion still clung to her and the anxiety never went away.

By the next day, she was sure she avoided any questions from either sibling about it. Unfortunately, that belief was proven to be wrong when Katara found her after waterbending lessons and asked, "Can we talk?"

Flo nodded, a little distracted. She was in the middle of re-stringing her bow. "Sure. About what?" Maybe Katara needed help with something? Or–

"Are you okay?"

Oh. Her movements faltered only slightly. "Why are you asking?"

Katara shrugged with crossed arms. Out of the corner of Flo's eye, she saw her rub a hand up and down her forearm. "You just... I don't know. I feel like you've been acting weird these past few days. Everything's been okay, right? We haven't had much trouble with anything lately."

And that's exactly part of the problem, Flo thought. "I'm fine," she said. As she finished re-stringing her bow, she looked over to where Katara stood. She looked unconvinced and concerned. It irrationally made Flo annoyed. It seemed as though that showed on her face, since Katara winced and grimaced.

"I'm not trying to be a mother arctic hen or anything," she said. "I just... If there's anything I, or even the boys, can do, I want to know so we can help."

Flo sighed. Her shoulders involuntarily drooped by a fraction. "You guys don't need to worry."

"So there is something wrong?" Katara walked over and sat down beside her.

"...I had a nightmare the other night that gave me a panic attack, it's nothing," she decided to say. "Aang helped me. You don't need to worry."

Katara frowned sympathetically. "Geez, again? About your family?"

"No." She shook her head. "About a couple different things."

"Oh... You can talk to me about it, if you want. It might help," she said. "It did with Aang, back when he was having nightmares about when he ran away."

She vaguely remembered Katara and Aang explaining what had happened during the time Flo and Sokka had helped that old man go fishing in the middle of the storm. He didn't seem to have many nightmares, if any, since. So the offer wasn't a bad one, but the idea of having to explain why she had one was anxiety inducing. She didn't like thinking about it, let alone talking about it. If she could just ignore it forever, that would be great.

Also? She's had way too many emotionally charged conversations for her liking while here at the Northern Water Tribe. Spirits, even ever since she joined the other three. Emotions were not her forte, and she wanted to go back to how she never talked about anything, ever, because it was easier. All she ever had to worry about was when and what she was going to eat, a place to sleep, Sleemo, and possible run-ins with Fire Nation soldiers.

"Thanks, but I don't think talking about it will make them magically stop."

Katara rolled her eyes and exasperatedly frowned. "I said 'help'. Not that they'll go away completely."

Flo sighed. "Even if I did want to, I have no idea how to tell you."

"Okay, well, I'm here if you figure it out and want to tell someone."

"...Thanks."

The conversation died down after that. It switched to random, mundane things. After a while, Katara asked if she could braid Flo's hair and the older girl agreed.

The silence over them allowed Flo's mind to think more. Between everything going too smoothly for her to trust it, and the 'family reunion,' she really just wanted to...disappear. Go away and travel with only Sleemo; become a vagabond again. It's not like the others needed her. They were far better at fighting now. They didn't really need her protection.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she saw her family again, after all.

Flo minutely froze, eyes glued to her hands.

She didn't mean that. She didn't.

Seeing her family would be amazing, but only if they were alive. And they weren't.

She didn't want to die. Thoughts like that hadn't popped up in nearly a year or so. She didn't want that anymore. Hell, she never even thought about thinking like that, or even about the times of when she did.

All she wanted was to leave, to go away and be by herself again. To disappear. She was tired. That wasn't the same thing as wanting to die. That wasn't the same as not caring if she did. Right?

"Flo?" The finished braid gently hit the upper part of her back between her shoulder blades. Katara placed a hand on her right shoulder, and leaned around to look at her. "What's wrong? You got really tense."

She shook her head.

Katara moved to sit in front of her. "You talked to me about your mom. You can talk to me about whatever is going on, now, too."

Flo pulled her knees up, ankles crossed, and wrapped her arms around them. "You don't want to know, Katara."

"Sure I do. It's why I asked, dummy." With a small, jesting smile as a a way to lighten the atmosphere some, Katara reached over and gently flicked Flo's forehead.

It only worked for half a second. Flo half heartedly rolled her eyes with no real annoyance and a quiet huff. But that was it. Her eyes casted downward and she could feel Katara watching her.

"I really do think talking will help," she said. "But I won't make you."

Silence stretched on again. Flo debated about it in her head. She soon came to a conclusion about what to do, and looked up. "If I tell you, you can't tell anyone else."

Katara agreed easily. "Of course."

Flo nodded, relieved with that promise. "Good." It took another few beats of silence to pass by before she finally managed to say, "I- My nightmare was... I don't want to die. Not- Not anymore." The moment a swarm of emotions were visible Katara's eyes, Flo looked away. "But back when we went to Aunt Wu's to get predictions, one of the ones she gave me really freaked me out. She told me I was going to have a reunion with my family."

A heavy silence filled the air.

"...What? But," Katara stammered, "but your family is dead."

Her eyes narrowed into a glare at a random spot on the floor. "Yeah."

"That can't be right!" she abruptly exclaimed. It caused Flo to look back at her. Katara's eyes were shiny and her brows were furrowed. "Maybe you misheard or something."

"I didn't," Flo said. "She said I'll have a 'reunion' with my family and that it will be an important of my life's journey. Death is a part of life."

"I refuse to believe that's what she meant," Katara hotly said. She sounded far too close to tears for comfort. "You're not going to die any time soon."

"She said–"

"She said a lot of things! And things happened in ways we weren't expecting, like the volcano! She never said it wouldn't erupt, just that it wouldn't destroy the town. She didn't actually say that you will die, did she?"

Flo frowned. "No, but–"

"Then you aren't going to die," she decisively stated. "You're not."

"Katara–"

"And even if she did mean that, who's to say that it happens any time soon? It might be when you're old or something."

"I have no other family, Katara. We're in a war," Flo stressed. "We're helping the Avatar and constantly evading threats and fighting the Fire Nation. If I don't end up like the rest of my family, then I'm going to be genuinely surprised."

Pure determination and seriousness came over her expression. "Well then, prepare to be, because we aren't going to let that happen. And we're telling Sokka and Aang–"

"No, we are not," Flo said. "You promised not to tell anyone, and that includes the boys."

"What? They deserve to know!"

Flo's jaw clenched. She wasn't wrong. Now that she's told Katara, the boys did deserve to not be in the dark about what Aunt Wu had said. But she didn't want them to know. One person was enough, and it wasn't like their lives were in immediate danger right now, no matter how anxious and all the lack of attacks from the Fire Nation made her.

"They do," she agreed reluctantly. "But... Let me tell them on my own time. Okay?"

Katara didn't look happy. She crossed her arms. The corners of her mouth turned down. "I don't like keeping this from them. But fine... I make no promises if your life is in danger, though."

Flo sighed. "Okay."

"...And- um, what about the other thing?"

She blinked. "What other thing?" she tried, hoping Katara would change her mind.

"The 'not wanting to die anymore' part."

Flo felt her chest tighten, and her cheeks warm. "I shouldn't have said that," she muttered. "Don't worry about it. I haven't thought like that in a while. S'why I said not anymore."

"But you used–"

"Please," Flo interrupted. "Don't. Not right now."

Katara didn't do anything at first. "Okay," she said quietly. Then, without warning, scooted closer and wrapped her arms around Flo in a hug. Her face went into Flo's shoulder. Neither of them spoke or moved for a good few seconds.

Hesitantly, Flo moved a hand to pat Katara's arm, and then rested her palm on her shoulder.

"Just so you know, I'm glad you're alive," Katara mumbled quietly, then sniffled.

A lump formed in her throat, but she swallowed around it and blinked back the sudden tears that stung her eyes. Flo didn't respond, and didn't push Katara off.

+++

The following day, Flo felt...not okay but less anxious. She had another nightmare last night, so she was once again awake before everyone else, but it didn't send her into a panic attack, much to her relief. But she did feel guilty about the day before, about how what she told Katara made her cry and get emotional. That hadn't been Flo's intention at all.

Everyone went about their day as normal. The only difference in the routine was that Aang, before going to waterbending lessons, asked Flo to take Appa out for a flight. Other than that time they watched the spirit lights, none of them had taken Appa out for a ride, and Aang didn't want to keep him grounded for too long. Flo agreed easily. She loved spending time with Appa, or any of their animals.

So, after practicing archery and fighting techniques with her new dagger, she headed Appa's way.

When she got there, she was surprised to find Sokka pinned by the sky bison with slobber all over him, and Yue not too far away, giggling at the scene. Flo stopped in her tracks.

"Eugh! Appa, get off!" Sokka yelled.

"What's going on?" Flo asked, watching amusedly as Appa didn't let Sokka go.

"I think Appa missed Sokka," Yue said. "He pounced on him almost immediately."

He finally managed to get away from Appa. Sokka made another sound of disgust as he did so, flicking off the slobber. Appa groaned; he sounded pleased with himself, maybe even amused.

"Why doesn't he do this to you?" Sokka whined.

"Because I come here when I can't sleep. He's seen me a lot more than you lately," Flo said. "What are you guys doing here?"

As Sokka complained some more under his breath and worked to get the rest of the slobber off, Yue answered, "Sokka thinks I need cheering up, so he brought me here to take a ride on Appa. What about you?"

Flo blinked. "Oh." A vague, uneasy (...unhappy?) feeling formed in her chest. "Um, Aang asked me to take Appa out for a flight this morning."

"He did?" Sokka asked. He walked over, most of the slobber gone.

"Yeah, before you woke up."

"Huh." He smiled. "You should join us. The more the merrier!"

Flo's eyes moved back and forth between the other two. "No, that's fine."

His brows grew a little closer together. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I, uh, I just want some alone time. I don't get that as much as I used to." That was the truth. Ever since joining the others, her alone time was practically nonexistent. At least, until they got to the Northern Water Tribe. Now, she was able to have more of it, but still less than she was used to. And her conversation with Katara just made her want to keep to herself and not really talk to anyone. She felt drained, emotionally and physically.

Taking Appa for a flight by herself gave her that isolated alone time. Being with two other people was the exact opposite of what she wanted.

That was all.

She was not declining the offer for any other reason whatsoever, not at all.

"Oh, okay," said Sokka. "You can take Appa for a ride if you want, then. Yue and I will do something different."

Instead of agreeing, she continued to ignore that uneasy feeling in her chest and said, "No, you go ahead. Spend time with Appa so he doesn't lick you to death next time you see him." Flo began to back up.

"If you're sure," he said. He smiled wide. "See you later!"

"Um, yeah. See you. Bye, guys." She turned around as they both echoed the goodbye. Then, she was off to find something else to do.

+++

Sokka watched Flo walk away. She looked really pretty today. Her hair wasn't in its usual half-up topknot; it was still in the braid Katara did yesterday, but because she slept in it, it was messy. A few strands were loose but not quite free, while a couple others were completely out of the braid. Her bangs were ruffled, like she woke up and didn't bother fixing anything about her hair. Yet it suited her somehow. It didn't look bad at all.

She also seemed a little happier than usual – until recently, that was. Up until a couple or so days ago, her smiles and all were real and genuine, and she didn't act as distant as before. Now, she had reverted back a bit, so Sokka had asked Katara yesterday to see if she could get any answers. All Katara told him later was 'personal reasons'.

He believed it, definitely, but he also knew his sister like that back of his own hand, and knew Katara was hiding something.

If that didn't already worry him a little bit, then the forming dark bags under eyes and her somewhat sullen mood today definitely did.

Princess Yue cleared her throat.

Sokka startled and blinked rapidly, eyes falling to her. "Uh."

"We're going on a ride on Appa, remember?" she questioned in a teasing manner with a matching smile.

He immediately felt his cheeks warm. "Um, right. Right! Yes, yes we are. Let's go." It's 'cheer up the princess who was sad about not being able to be with the person she loved time' not 'stare at the girl he had feelings for like a major weirdo time'.

Princess Yue giggled as he sped walked over to the sky bison.

With Sokka's help, she got into the saddle, and he climbed in with practiced ease that only came with having done it hundreds of times within the last few or so months. He grabbed the reigns, and she got into a comfortable sitting position beside him.

"So, how does this work?" Princess Yue curiously asked.

"You hangin' on tight?"

"Mhm."

"Yip," he smirked, "yip."

Appa flew into the air with a groan.

Princess Yue yelled. "Oh, my goodness!" Once Appa was cruising in the air, she leaned forward to look down. "Wow! I can't believe you do this everyday."

"Yeah, we pretty much live up here," he said, and stretched. He rested his elbows on the edge of the saddle, then put his chin in his hand. His mind drifted back to Flo. He had really hoped she would've said yes to coming with them. Maybe this would've cheered up her down mood, too.

She crossed her arms and hugged herself. "Is it always this cold in the sky?"

"Hm? Oh. Not when you're with someone." He turned around, one hand still holding the reins, and reached behind them for a blanket they left in Appa's saddle from when they watched the spirit lights. He handed it to Princess Yue, who took it gratefully. "Or if you have blankets."

She smirked teasingly as she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. "Someone like Flo, perhaps?"

He blushed yet again. "What? Pfft, no. No way. She- I don't- she isn't a cuddly or touchy person, so, uh." He nervously and awkwardly laughed. "Why bring her up?"

Princess Yue raised an eyebrow and he felt somewhat judged. "I'm not blind, Sokka."

A little embarrassed, he grimaced. He thought Katara only caught on to his feelings for Flo because she was his sister and she knew his tells; otherwise, he thought he hid it pretty well. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Sort of," Princess Yue admitted. Sokka dramatically groaned and hung his head, and she laughed. "I don't think she notices, if you're worried about that. I suspected at first, and I only truly noticed after spending time with you guys after a while..." He practically heard her smile turn sheepish. "I may have also asked your sister to see if I was right or not."

Sokka straightened and his eyes widened. "What?" His voice cracked. "Katara! Oh, I am so shoving her in a canal when I see her again."

Princess Yue laughed. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about, Sokka," she said. "I find it cute how much you like her. Sweet, even." She smiled encouragingly. "You should ask her out."

He stared, blinked a few times, then laughed. "Princess, I mean this in the most polite way possible, but you're crazy. I can't ask her out. She doesn't even like me the same way."

"How can you be so sure?" she questioned. Snow began to fall. "I thought my best friend didn't feel the same way, either, but it turns out I was wrong. But it's too late for us now. I have to marry someone I don't love. I'm not saying either of you will be in my exact position – I just don't want you to wait until it's too late to act on your feelings."

"I don't–" Sokka was ready to deny and correct Yue that he didn't love Flo; not in that way (not yet). But something dark among the white snowflakes caught his attention in the corner of his eyesight and he cut himself off as he looked directly at it.

He held out a gloved hand and watched the dark snowflake land on it. Immediately, he snapped his eyes up and looked forward to the expanse of the ocean. The sight in front of them made his stomach drop.

Out in the distance were large, unnaturally dark clouds.

"Oh, no..."

+++

Flo was on her way to find Ujaraak to make more arrows, though as she walked she was distracted by her own thoughts. That unhappy feeling in her chest when Princess Yue said she and Sokka were going to ride Appa bothered her.

...Surely it wasn't jealousy, right? Yes, she might have the tiniest of crushes on Sokka that she'd bet would go away by spring time, but that hardly meant anything. She didn't think her feelings were strong enough to warrant any type of jealousy. Besides, Princess Yue was in love with her best friend – it was stupid to even feel that way because of that.

So, no, she refused to say it was jealousy. Disappointment? Flo pursed her lips; that felt like it sounded almost pathetic, if that were the case. They were all friends, why did it even matter?

Ugh. Feelings were stupid. Who allowed this happen? She hated it.

With her eyes casted to the ground in a frustrated scowl, Flo stopped in her tracks when a few dark specks landed in the snow. All thoughts of how she felt vanished. She bent down and picked up a little bit of the snow where the dark spot landed; more landed on the ground.

Abruptly, the anxiety and fear of something terrible happening came back. Her eyes lifted to the sky and watched with dread as snow mixed with soot fell from the sky.

It wasn't a sight she was overtly familiar with. But she recognized it for what it was from having been around the northern parts of the Earth Kingdom. The Fire Nation's machines and all caused the snow to turn gray if there was enough smoke. It was an ugly sight that Flo hated, and now it was here at the Northern Water Tribe.

She stood and climbed the nearest building. People were stopping and staring upwards, or coming out of their homes to do the same. Murmurs rippled through the city. None paid her any mind.

Dark clouds were visible far out into the distance. Her eyes raked across the skyline, and could just make out the shape of Appa landing on the top of the glacier beside the tall, outer wall of the Northern Water Tribe.

Flo jumped off the building, softening her landing by tucking and rolling. She took off into the run, weaving around tribe members who went the opposite way when a gong began to be repeatedly hit.

Much to her relief, it didn't take long to get to who she was running to. She caught sight of Aang and Katara, with Momo and Sleemo right behind them, going in the same direction as everyone else, and hurried to get to them.

"Flo!" Aang yelled with relief when he saw her. His expression shifted to slight confusion. "I thought you were taking Appa for a ride?"

"Where's Sokka?" asked Katara. Worry creased her brows, eyes roaming to everyone else in search for her brother.

Flo changed direction and found herself walking between them. When Katara unintentionally slowed down, she gently grabbed her elbow and pulled her along. "He's with Princess Yue on Appa," she said. "I'm sure they're fine. They're probably on their way back already. I'll head to the stables to get him, okay? Don't worry."

Katara nodded. Her shoulders loosened from being tense, but not completely. "Okay. Hurry."

"I will."

They separated ways once again. As Katara and Aang went with everyone else to gather in one place, Flo ran to the stables; this time, Sleemo came along with her. She didn't even make it all the way there until she almost literally ran into Sokka for a second time when she turned a corner.

His hands went to her biceps to steady them both, and she instinctively gripped onto his sleeves to not fall.

"Where's Princess Yue?" She didn't see her anywhere.

"She went to find Akiko," he said. The expression on his face was very similar to the one Katara wore, and Flo knew what he was going to ask before he even said it. "Where–"

"Katara is with Aang," she said before he could finish. "They're heading to the same place everyone else is." She dropped her hands and backed up to get him to let go of her arms. "Let's go. I told her I would hurry."

Sokka took off, and Flo was forcefully turned as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along. She struggled to keep up at first since she didn't expect it, but that didn't last for long. Once she got her bearings again, she moved to beside him so she was no longer being basically dragged.

He didn't let go until they got to the growing crowd. They spotted Aang and Katara near a pillar and headed over. The siblings shared a quick hug and sat down. Flo sat down, too, between Aang and Katara. Sleemo perched on her knee.

Silence fell across the crowd as Chief Arnook stepped up, Princess Yue and Master Pakku sitting on the dais behind him. "The day we have feared for so long has arrived," Chief Arnook spoke. "The Fire Nation is on our doorstep. It is with great sadness I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our tribe..." A pit formed in her stomach. "But they will never vanish from our hearts. Now, as we approach the battle for our existence," he raised his arms, "I call upon the great spirits... Spirit of the Ocean, Spirit of the Moon, be with us! I'm going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission..."

Sokka stood. "Count me in."

"Sokka," Katara protested.

Other men – warriors – stood as Chief Arnook continued to speak, "Be warned: many of you will not return. Come forward to receive my mark if you accept the task."

Katara sucked in a quiet breath of air. Flo reached out and patted her knee in what she hoped was a comforting manner. The younger girl grabbed her hand with both of her own immediately.

The warriors walked up and formed a line before the Chief. One by one, Chief Arnook dipped his fingers in a bowl of red paint, and put three lines on each of their foreheads. The men then walked to the side, and stood on the dais.

Sokka was one of the first ones up there. When their eyes met, Flo almost immediately looked away and to her lap.

Sometimes she really hated her life.

***

A/N— me: hm. i should let flo be happy at some point
also me: *does the exact opposite*

Can you blame me tho the poor girl's life since age 10 has sucked majorly. Like it just makes sense to me she used to be at least a little suicidal, more so passively than anything. I wasn't even 100% sure I was going to do this until I wrote that part with Katara bc part of me feels like I shouldn't make this too serious since this is a fic for a kid's show, but also Flo's life has been terrible so ofc her mental health mirrors that.

Also btw, if something (like a paragraph or the +++ that i use to separate scenes) is centered when they usually aren't, or vice versa...ignore it lmao. Wattpad (on the app anyway) is being a little bitch where if I change whether a paragraph is centered or not, it moves the ENTIRE chapter and it's lowkey pissing me off so I'm not going to try and fix it. Maybe I will when it gets its act together. And it's not letting me add gifs (the images won't load) so during book 2 the chapters might start lacking a gif at the beginning if I can't figure out how to fix that :/

Anyway, enough of that! I plan on writing the rest of this part before I update again, so you guys won't have to wait too long between the last 2 chapters, just fyi. So I'm sorry in advance if it takes awhile to update again lol

Gosh and I'm sorry for such a long a/n but ONE MORE THING: if I post another a:tla fic would y'all be interested in that? I have the general idea of the main plot planned but not who the love interest is gonna be; it'll either be an OC x Katara fic or possibly a Yue lives fic with her as the love interest instead. But idk. Let me know what you guys think! :)

With all of that said, thanks for reading!! I hope you guys enjoyed this one xx :)