Freedom

Chapter 51: The Southern Bender

They all stood in silence, their jaws hanging low. Their eyes blinked dumbly, unsure if they were dreaming or if the older woman had actually said what she just said.

"You're from the Southern Water Tribe?" Katara said stunned. Hama put the comb back in the box and said, "Just like you..."

The gang was silent for a moment, looking amongst each other. They knew that their gig was up; there was no sense to hide now.

"How did you know?" Katara asked her. Hama shrugged nonchalantly, a small smirk on her wrinkly face, "I heard you talking around your campfire" she told them.

"But why didn't you tell us?" Sokka asked her, his eyes wide as he looked at the woman from his homeland. He tried to put the puzzle pieces together in his mind. She looked around the same age as Gran Gran. Did they know each other? How long had she been in the Fire Nation? Why was she in the Fire Nation?

Hama saw his expression and explained, glossing over the important details, "I wanted to surprise you! I bought all this food today so I could fix you a big Water Tribe dinner..." she gestured to the one basket she was holding, showing some vaguely familiar food items, "Of course, I can't get all the ingredients I need here, but ocean kumquats are a lot like sea prunes if you stew them long enough"

Aang rolled his eyes, "Great..." he said, noncommitting.

They quickly went to work, preparing for tonight's dinner. Hama stirred a pot over the stove. Katara stood next to her slicing some vegetables. She leaned over and looked inside the pot. The liquid bubbled while the oval kumquats floated to the top. Katara inhaled deeply, the scent bringing her back to sitting around the fire in her hut back home.

"I haven't smelled that since we left home..." Katara smiled, shaking her head in disbelief. Hama smiled back at her, stirring the pot in front of her, "I spent weeks trying to perfect the recipe... I just couldn't quite get the texture right..."

Katara added the chopped vegetables to another pot, hearing a sizzle when they hit the metal, "I can't remember the last time I cooked on a real stove... probably not since..." her voice trailed off.

If Hama noticed, she decided to ignore it, "There is nothing like cooking over a fire..." she mused, "But sometimes convenience is even nicer"

They exchanged laughs and smiles, the smells of their cooking filling the home.

Katara placed the last tray on the table, looking at all of the food, before nodding, "Perfect, I'm just going to wash up quick" she dusted off her hands on her skirt before walking outside to the well, not realizing a certain firebender followed her there.

When she raised up the bucket, she looked back, hearing his footsteps and smiled. His face held a grim look, not holding anything back, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Katara looked back at him, her mouth falling into a frown, confused, "What is it Zuko?"

Zuko let a breath, "I know how you're going to react to this... And you won't like what I'm about to say..." he saw her furrow her brow, her guards going up, "But I don't think we should stay here much longer. I don't trust that woman" he crossed his arms, waiting for the argument.

Katara looked at him, fuming, "Are you still on about this? She is one of my people! How else could she have that comb? She is a nice lady and has opened up her home to us! Don't abuse her hospitality by convincing yourself she's some sort of psychopath!"

But Zuko wouldn't listen to her, "I have a bad feeling about this place... I have since we stepped in here... I get that she's from your home but..."

Katara stuck a finger in his chest, cutting him off, "You have no idea what it's like to be the only bender of your kind... You have no idea what's it's like to be the only one of your kind" she argued.