"Bye! See you again sometime!" I grin and wave down at the girl sitting on the ground and cheerfully waving up to us.
"She seems nice enough, but I don't really think we want to meet up again anytime soon," Sokka says with a vague smile. "She doesn't seem all there, don't ya think?"
I give him a look. "Don't fall for it. She's nuts, mad, bonkers, off her head! But I'll tell you a secret: all the best people are. And she's the smartest, most altogether person I know..."
"Well, you got the bonkers part right," Sokka muttered.
"But she's a waterbender!" Katara said, looking over at me with a confused expression. "Why was she with Zuko? And they did seem very close..."
"Who knows? Maybe we should ask next time?" I say, grinning. "Although, make sure there's no water around to bend and that you are out of arm's reach. Her aim isn't great, but be ready to dodge. You never know what might set her off."
♍
After a moment of silence, Aang spoke up. "So...where do we go?"
"We're getting you to the North Pole." Katara said, smiling over at Aang.
"Yeah, we've lost too much time as it is." Sokka agreed.
"Don't you want to go see your father?" Aang turns to face us, his expression confused.
"Of course we do, Aang," Sokka responded seriously. "But you're our family too. And right now, you need us more."
"And we need you," Katara added, her smile gentle.
"What did I tell you? Ohana." I say, grinning over at Aang, who smiled happily at me.
"I wish I could give you a little piece of home, Katara..." Aang said, glancing over at me with a subtle wink. "Something to remind you..."
"I'll be ok," Katara said, her smile faded somewhat as she looked down into her lap.
"Still! Just a little trinket..." Aang made a show of thinking. "Maybe something like...THIS?!" He held up a necklace, which I had never seen before, but it was rather nice.
"Aang!" Katara started forward in surprise, her face brighter and happier than I had ever seen it. "How'd you get that!?" She took it from him and put it on her neck.
"Zuko asked me to be sure I got it to you." Aang joked.
"Oh, that's so sweet of Zuko!" Katara joked back. "Would you give him a kiss from me when you see him?"
"Sure!" Katara leaned forward and planted a kiss on Aang's cheek, causing the young Avatar to blush and look very pleased with himself.
"Oh, don't forget about Amaya!" I added in a jokingly serious voice. "She might not appreciate the idea of Katara giving Zuko kisses!"
"Oh yeah, don't forget that, Katara! She's crazy!" Sokka added. We all laughed as we flew off into the distance.