"You don't know how much it means to be able to hold my baby sister in my arms again." Sokka's voice says quietly in my mass of hair. Tears prickle down my face as I lean against my big brother for the first time in months. "I've missed you too." I choke out as I bring my arms around his torso and hold him as if he might float away if I don't.
He grabs one if his large blue parkas and slings it over my shoulder, covering me in my thin travel clothing. "There, looking back to your old self." He says, helping me slip my arms into his large parka.
"There's someone who wants to see you." Sokka says as he pulls back and steps to the side, keeping a firm grasp on my shoulder. His body language tenses as a scruffy looking man walks out of one of the doors, letting the sea otter skin fall back over the door. "Dad?" My voice shakes as the word comes out. "It's been a long time Katara."
We sit in front of the fire. Zuko had joined us not long ago, he sits shivering in one of Sokka's old parkas next to me. His hands grasp tightly onto a cup of heated soup, more for the heat than anything. Sokka sits on the other side of me, his body language tense and rigid as we both stare at out father from across the fire.
"I'm glad that you found it a good idea to keep my daughter safe here in her home." Hakoda's deep voice says as he looks at the firebender next to me. Zuko's two personal soldiers shuffle on their feet behind him. Their red metal suits clanking metal on metal. "You men are dismissed. You may go to your quarters set up outside of the wall and warm yourselfs." Zuko says, dismissing the men, still ignoring Hakoda's statement to him.
"He came back shortly after you were carted away for his personal gain." Sokka says, loud enough that our dad could hear, and I watch him visibly recoil back. "Sokka, I understand that you don't like the decisions I had to make, but when you are in a state of power like I am one day, you will realize you have to make sacrifices. Do you think I wanted to have my only daughter shipped off to the enemy?" Hakoda's says, pointing a harsh finger at Zuko.
I shift uncomfortably as the air goes silent after my fathers accusation. I feel Zuko's hand snake behind me and hold onto my waist. My hand goes to my engagement necklace that lays along my bare skin. "What's that?" Sokka says, pulling his cold stare from our father to my necklace underneath my touch. "That's not moms necklace." Sokka continues, pulling dads attention to my neck.
"Are you engaged?" Hakoda says in disgust leaning forward. "Isn't that what you wanted me to be sent away for anyways? What makes the difference now to whether it's political or not?" I snap at him. For the second time tonight, he recoils back into his seat.
"I don't need this kind of disrespect from my children." He finally says, his voice a low grumble. "Well I stopped considering us your children after you abandoned us and then had the audacity to ask such a high request from your 15 year old daughter." Sokka stands and motions for me and Zuko to do the same. "You are not welcome back in my igloo. Or my village." Sokka says, putting a spitting emphasis on my. As he turns and leads us away from the dimming fire.