AFTER LEAVING THE NORTHERN AIR TEMPLE, the group decides to camp out for a night before heading towards the Northern Water Tribe. They figure that it might take a day or two of straight flying to find their destination, so Appa could use some rest.

"And Kida could use another healing session," Katara points out.

Kida nods. While the injury to Kida's ribs improved greatly, any sort of physical activity causes it to flare up again; especially today, given the intense hand-to-hand combat training session she and Sokka had earlier.

After helping to set up camp, Katara and Kida situate themselves a little bit away from the others for some quiet. After a few sessions, the duo had a set routine that assured efficacy. In seemingly no time at all, Katara had worked her waterbending magic trick (Sokka's words) and Kida felt calmer than before, the pain in her side gone.

"That should do it," Katara states proudly.

Kida smiles. She puts her shirt back down and sits up so that she can face Katara. "Thanks," Kida says. "You know, for someone who's never had formal waterbending training, you're pretty good."

This time, Katara smiles and a subtle blush rises to her cheeks. Then, her smile fades into a look of concern as she gazes towards Kida. "Hey, Aang, Sokka and I were talking and....well, it doesn't seem like you've been sleeping, lately. Is everything okay?"

For a moment, Kida is frozen. Even after the past weeks —well, really two or so months — travelling with the team, she's still not used to having people care about her. In truth, it was never her intention to care about them, either.

Your family died because of this stupid prophecy, she reminded herself. The least you can do is honor their memory by fulfilling it and helping the Avatar restore balance. That's why you're here. Anything else would just complicate things and get in the way.

But, it was no use.

The worst part was: the closer Kida got to the team, the more she wanted to tell them the truth about who she really was, and the more she was scared that they would hate her if they ever found out. It was a horrible contradiction, a vicious cycle of internal conflict that Kida tried to hide from the team. And in general, she did, except now she realizes that her sleepless nights had not gone unnoticed. This time, Kida couldn't blame the unbearable pain from her injury.

"Yeah," Kida replies. "I just miss my family sometimes, and it's harder at night to forget, I guess." At least, that isn't a complete lie.

"I get it," Katara whispers. Instinctively, she touches her necklace and looks at the sun setting. "Sometimes, I get so overwhelmed with the reality of this war and the toll it's taken on me and the people I love. Then, when Sokka and I found Aang, it was like a sliver of hope." She turns to Kida. "And I realize that now, we have each other, which makes me even more hopeful. We'll fight together and do whatever we can to finally put an end to this war, because we're more than a team. We're a family."

"That scares me," Kida admits, but she doesn't elaborate.

"Kida, we're your family now," Katara assures, grabbing Kida's hand. "We're here for you, and nothing can ever change that."

Kida almost cries then and there, partly from exhaustion, but also from the feeling of finally starting to feel whole again. Instead of revealing any of this, however, she changes the subject:

"I guess I'm just so used to leaving that it's weird staying with the same people for this long. It's a tough habit to break"

"But you can't leave! Sokka would miss you so much," Katara jokes.

Kida snorts. "Yeah, right."

"Well, I would miss you and so would Aang. And, yes, Sokka would too, but he wouldn't admit it. Anyways, my point is that I hope you stay, because we love having you here. Our family wouldn't be the same without you. And, I hope knowing that helps you sleep better at night."

It probably won't, Kida thinks. But — "Thank you, Katara."

As the sun continues to set, the girls fall into a comfortable silence.

»»---------------------►

IN HER DREAM, KIDA IS IN A FOREST. It's dark and she shoots arrows aimlessly at a tree.

"It's not like you to waste arrows," Sokka says from behind her. Kida whips her head to look at him, startled by his presence, and lowers her bow.

"You don't know me," Kida replies.

"Yes, I do," Sokka states. "I know exactly who you are."

Kida shakes her head in disbelief, while her body stiffens in fear.

"A firebender," he spits. It's then that Kida notices Sokka holding her bow with an arrow drawn. Sure enough, she looks down and her weapon is gone.

Before she can react, he shoots an arrow and it pierces Kida's heart.

"You should have died with your family," dream-Sokka snarls. " And you shouldn't have let your guard down."

»»---------------------►

KIDA WAKES UP IN A COLD SWEAT. Next to her, Sokka is snoring softly. Katara and Aang are nearby, both sleeping as well. Even Appa and Momo seem to be having sweet dreams.

As silently as possible, Kida gets up, making sure her knife is strapped to her belt. For a few minutes, Kida walks alone along the frozen beach, allowing the sound of waves to drown out her thoughts.

Then, she hears footsteps approaching. Kida turns around, knife at the ready, only to see Sokka standing in front of her with his hands up in surrender.

"Whoa!" he exclaims. "It's just me."

"You heard me leave?" Kida asks, still a bit wary given the dream she just had.

"Not really," Sokka says. As he gets closer, a wave of relief washes over her as she realizes this is nothing like her dream: they're not in a forest, Kida's bow is nowhere in sight, and Sokka looks different, with his hair down in choppy layers. "The air is always colder when you're not around."

Kida smirks and thinks of something to focus on: the feeling that she gets through her playful banter with Sokka. "Are you saying I'm hot?"

"Ha, you wish," Sokka scoffs. "Seriously though, what's wrong? Because you were doing okay for a bit, but lately, you haven't been sleeping. Are you having nightmares?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Kida answers.

"You never do," Sokka counters. "Whatever's going on, you don't have to go through it alone. We're a family, now."

"Katara said the same thing earlier."

"Because it's true. What's it gonna take for you to actually start believing that we care about you?" Sokka demands. "That you're not alone anymore, and that you don't have to go through any of this by yourself?"

"I don't know!" Kida exclaims, overcome with emotion. She walks to the edge of the ocean and allows the cold water to wash over her feet until they feel numb. She becomes mesmerized by the way the waves push and pull onto the shore. A pair of opposites that coexist and balance out one entity.

Leave or stay. Run scared or stand and fight. Dwell on the past or focus on the present.

Kida realizes that for most of her life, she's been concerned with the former, time and time again. Maybe what Kida needs is to find balance within herself, to go against her instincts so that she could finally start to heal.

Whatever that means, Kida scoffs internally. Suddenly, the sun starts to rise. Has it really been all night? I guess it's a new day, and...and maybe that's a good place to start.

She looks back to the beach and sees Sokka there, waiting for her.

"Aw, you stayed because you care about me so much," Kida says jokingly, elbowing him in the ribs teasingly.

Sokka rolls his eyes. "I stayed because I didn't want you to drown in the ocean," he counters.

"Because you care about me?" Kida smiles cheekily.

"No, because I need you," Sokka says. "I mean, who else would I train with?" he adds awkwardly.

"Right. Can't argue with that."

"That's a first," Sokka states sarcastically.

Kida shrugs. "Race you back to camp?"

»»---------------------►

author's note: tbh, i don't know how i feel about this chapter, but thanks for reading :) the next few chapters might be a little longer, though, so i guess that ~balances~ things out