Should've been me || Katara x OC

four || hair

          when I awoke, I didn't open my eyes straight away. I had no idea where I was. As my senses came back, so did my memories. I remember the avatar, the water tribe girl, Azula.

          I listen carefully for any signs of danger. The only thing I can hear is an old lady's voice. So I open my eyes and sit up.

          'Oh, dear!' The old woman cries, running through the door into the small room I'm in. It's only a bed and a chair in here. As well as a desk cluttered with bottles and bandages. 'Are you all right, dear?'

          'Where am I?' I say.

          She looks puzzled. 'Earth Kingdom village, dear. We're quite in the middle of no where!' She chuckles a little to herself as she takes off the blood-red bandage around my shoulder and starts to strap a fresh one on.

          'how long was I-'

          The bell door chimes as talk, and a recognisable boy in blue walks in.

•-•-•-•

          'Green isn't really my colour,' I frown. I'm kidding, of course, Katara, Sokka and Aang have done more than enough for me in the past few days.

          'It's that or your fire nation clothes, you're like a moving target!' Sokka says.

          'I'm just joking, these are actually really nice!' I'm in a skintight-ish, short-sleeve shirt, light green with outer stitching and brownish-green baggy trousers that go down to the old brown boots. The lady at the till was surprised by the fire-nation money and looked at me suspiciously. But I was glad she had no questions because I had no answers.

          I found that my hands loved my new pockets, the whole walk back. Even with the earth nation clothes, I felt like everyone was looking at me. Like I was a glance away from being recognised.

          Was it my eyes? They're brown and don't blend in amongst a sea of green, but Sokka's are blue! Surely they'd notice his first given his water tribe attire. The lady with the baby, the old man, the couple walking down the street, the little girl with the pigtails... are they looking at me?

          Do they recognise me?

          'Hey, you alright?' Sokka asks, his eyebrows curved while looking at me. 'You seem on edge.'

          I didn't answer. Not until we were out of town and concealed by trees.

          'I felt like everyone was looking at me,' I say quietly, running my fingers through my long, dark hair. 'Do you think they'd recognise me?'

          'Pfft, no way!' Sokka says. 'They don't even know who you are! How could they, you don't live here!'

          'no, but-'

          oh

          'what?' He asks, his eyebrows moving in strange directions again.

          he doesn't know.

          'Nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it,' I mutter.

          Do any of them know? I'd assumed they realised.

          Sokka simply shrugged and we walked back in silence, apart from him muttering 'strange girl' under his breath.

          Maybe I've screwed it all up, travelling these few days without telling them the truth. They don't know who my father is or my titles. How could they? They've never seen my face or heard my name? If they find out, will they still want me around?

          I learnt that Appa is the name of the air bison, and he was frozen in ice with Aang for a hundred years. But they found Momo at an air temple, not too long ago. Now Appa takes them everywhere and they camp where Appa sees fit. So they end up by a lot of lakes and rivers. Today's is beautiful. Tall, dark trees with vibrant green leaves and a deep crystal lake.

          As soon as we arrive, Aang is pouncing on Sokka, begging him to take him into town to get some snacks. I didn't catch much more, but it was a detailed day trip. Katara's sitting by the lake, in the light blue dress she has for being in water. Her chestnut brown hair hanging down over her shoulders. She looked beautiful in the sunlight, shimmering like the water surface. I walk over and sit myself down next to her.

          'I like your new clothes!' She smiles softly. I blush and ruffle my hair in an attempt to cover it.

          'Thanks! I think they're much nicer than my old ones,' I say, turning to face the water. Aang and Sokka's shouts fade further and further into the trees. 'Katara, do you have a knife?'

          'What-?' She sounds alarmed, sitting up and leaning in. 'Why would you need a knife?' Her mind must've jumped to the worst conclusion possible. It makes me laugh, wondering what she's thinking.

            'I want to cut my hair,' I say. 'Don't want to risk being recognised. Not whatever you're thinking!' She relaxes, her shoulders settling again. She stands up to reach for a bag and she pulls out a short, plain knife and passes it to me.

          I stand up, staring down at my reflection in the water. My dark hair is long, down to my waist and it would keep growing left untouched. I lift the knife to my hair, but my hand is shaking and unsteady. The first couple hairs fall into the water when her hand covers mine.

           'Let me do it?' She asks. I nod and inside I'm grateful because I would've done a horrible job. 'How short do you want it?'

          'Short,' I say. 'I don't know anything about hair, can you surprise me?' I smile nervously at her reflection and she goes to work. Cutting hair here and there. She's not getting rid of it in one big go, like I would've. She's being careful, like a paining, strand at a time.

          'Arya...' Katara trails off nervously.

          'What is it?' I ask.

          'That girl, the one with the red eyes... how did you know her?' Katara asks.

           'Oh,' I pause. 'She's my sister.'

          That shocked Katara more than I thought it would.

          'She's your sister? But she looked like she was trying... to...,' Katara didn't finish her sentence and bit her lip nervously instead.

          'To kill me?' I finish. She nods, her gaze falling. I pause, how can I say this without giving it away? 'You're really, really lucky, I wish I had the kind of relationship with her that you have with Sokka.'

          Katara frowns and the knife moves again, cutting more hairs. I've never spoken to anyone like this, what is it that makes her so easy to talk to?

          'I have a brother too, you know.' I say. 'He doesn't hate me!'

          She laughs at that.

          'He left three years ago,' I say. 'And... and that's why I ran away.'

          'To find him?'

          I nod.

         'Then we'll find him! What's his name?' She smiles.

          'Kazan,' I say instinctively. And the saying that name brings back a pain in my chest. Because Kazan was not my brother, but one of the only people who've ever cared about me. It was my fault what happened to him, the servant boy I called  my friend, my best friend.

          But he's gone now. He's dead.