Avatar Katara

The Library

A/N Are you ready for the emotional rollercoaster ahead? I'm not!

"This is great and all," Sokka said as the team looked at the massive canyon. "But why are we here?"

Rina rolled her eyes. "Look at it! It's incredible. The Great Divide is the largest canyon in the Earth Kingdom. Geologists say that it was formed by earth spirits who were angry that they hadn't received the proper sacrifices, but I prefer the theory that it was formed by Avatar Kyoshi's massive facepalm after Avatar Roku let the war start."

"That doesn't answer my question. Why are we here? Shouldn't we be making plans?"

"We did make plans," Toph reminded. "We're all picking mini-vacations."

"There's no time for vacations!"

Katara threw up her hands in frustration. "I'm learning the elements as fast as I can! I practice hard every day with Rina and Toph and the scrolls. I've been training my hair loops off!"

"Yeah," Toph agreed. "What's wrong with having a little fun in our downtime?"

Sokka scowled. "Even if you do master the four elements, then what? It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation. Should we head west until we reach the Fire Lord's house?" He mimed knocking on a door. "Knock knock! Anyone home? Hello, Fire Lord? Anyone home? We'll need intelligence if we're going to win this!"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Alright, once we finish our vacations, we'll look for your intelligence."

Everyone laughed.

"Alright, Katara. Your turn. Where do you want to go for your vacation?" Rina handed her a map.

Katara studied it, and her eyes landed on a beautiful oasis in the middle of the Si Wong Desert. "How about the Misty Palms Oasis? That sounds refreshing."

"Oh yeah, Aunt Jinora told me about it. She said that it's a natural ice spring. It's one of natures greatest wonders!"

---

Misty Palms Oasis was a letdown. The houses were made of dried mud, there were no palm trees in sight, and the ice spring was barely even visible.

Also, it was surrounded by desert.

The ice spring was barely a few feet high, and a dog was licking it for water. A couple men she recognized as members of the various sandbender tribes loitered outside one of the buildings. The team entered a restaraunt.

"One mango, please," said a man in the flowing clothes of people who frequented the desert.

The bartender pulled out swords and sliced down some mangos hanging overhead. He chopped them into small bits, then dumped them into a bowl with some water. He served the bowl to the man.

Sokka stared at the drink. "I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy." He signaled to the bartender. "Excuse me!"

The man bumped into Katara, spilling his drink over her. "Sorry!"

"No worries," she promised. She bent the water off and blew away the dried remnants of mango.

The man gasped. "You're an airbender and a waterbender!"

"I am. And an earthbender. And a firebender."

The man shook his head in amazement. "The Avatar, right in front of me. Professor Zei, head of anthropology at the Ba Sing Se university. Now, what tribe do you hail from?" He started measuring Katara's head with a ruler.

"The Southern tribe."

"What is the primary agricultural product of your people?

"Uh, do sea prunes count?"