Sukara had no shoes. The only thing Hata could give her to help with the cold while she got her strength back, was the blanket that she had given her when she had first woken up.
It felt strange not being able to bend the way she used to. She could only hope that it would return in time.
Her feet were burning in the snow by the time she came to the outer walls of the Southern Water Tribe. The guards that spotted her, treated her with kindness and even took her to a healer to help with the frostbite.
"If you don't mind me asking, what were you doing out there in the mountains?" the healer asked Sukara as she bent water across her feet.
"I'm not sure," Sukara said, trying to avoid the question.
"It's dangerous to be out in the snow for too long," she told her, "I can feel some tension in your body, are you hurt anywhere else?"
"Oh you know, sat in one position for too long," Sukara said to the healer with a slight smile, "it's just an ache."
"My husband had similar aches after I first found him in the ice," the old woman told her, "you haven't been sitting inside the glacier have you?"
Sukara looked up sharply. She wasn't sure if the woman already knew who she was or not. She didn't know what to say, all she knew was that Hata had told her not to tell anyone who she was. But the woman didn't seem afraid or angry with her at all.
"It's alright, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she laughed as she watched Sukara's panicked expression, "I can feel that something is wrong with your chi, lean forward so I can help you."
"What's wrong with my chi?" Sukara asked, more panicked than before.
"I'm not entirely sure but it just feels out of balance," Katara said, pulling Sukara forward so she could use her healing on her back, "hopefully this will help."
The water on her back began to sting. She could feel it running through her spirit and her soul. It pushed through the knots and scars left by her imprisonment.
When her mother had made the decision with her brother to bring an end to her reign, they had pulled her spirit from her body, along with her brother's, and purified them into the extreme versions of themselves to balance them as true spirits. Her family created Raava and Vaatu. The peace of her brother forming Raava, and the chaos inside her forming Vaatu. They did this hoping that it would stop the pain she had caused but, they had only made something worse and forced her brother's spirit to keep her entrapped anyway it could.
The water finally broke through, her chi began to flow properly and her eyes lit up just for a moment. It had happened quickly enough that Katara didn't notice.
"That feels much better," Sukara told her, "thank you."
"That's alright," Katara smiled as she helped Sukara up, "if you don't want to talk about the past, do you have any plans for the future?"
"I would like to see the world," Sukara said softly.
"Will you be heading to Republic city? Or are you thinking of a more traditional journey?" Katara asked.
Sukara didn't know what that meant. Hata hadn't mentioned anything called Republic City. "Sure, it's my first stop."
"It's a nice city," Katara told her, handing her a coat from off one of the hooks on the wall, "you'll have to go through there anyway to get to the Earth Kingdom. The ferries leave at 9am, noon and 3pm everyday."
"Thank you, you've been very kind," Sukara said, taking the coat.
"It's really no problem," Katara smiled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, "helping people in need is what I do best."