Hey guys! I just wanted to let you know that I changed the cover! I made it by myself and I'm really proud of it lol. That's all I wanted to say lol. Enjoy!
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Katara didn't think she could move at all. Her feet felt like they were frozen to the ground and there was no way that she could break through the ice. Not even with the warmth of her brother next to her. No, the fear was slowly taking over like ice cold water rushing through her veins. She would've froze in place if it weren't for the golden-eyed boy from the ball.
"Would you like to train with me?" he asked her.
Katara glanced at Sokka who gave her a nod. He whispered, "Be careful. I'll be watching."
"Okay."
Katara and the other boy headed off into one of the corners where most of the other people weren't. She couldn't really remember his name right now, but she remembered that he was very nice to her when they were dancing.
"You shouldn't show fear around here," he said once they were as alone as they could be. "There's people that will target you in the Games because you look terrified."
"But I am terrified," Katara said quickly.
"Even if you are, you shouldn't show it." He twirled his fingers and a small orange flame appeared above his palm. "Two people in particular will notice and they will hunt you down."
"How do you know that?"
He let the flame dissipate before stepping into a fighting stance. With a gesture to her, Katara mimicked him. Her legs still felt like they were ice cubes, but she ignored it as he flicked a fireball at her.
"I know because they're my cousins," he said as she dodged the flying fireball.
Katara frowned and straightened up slightly. "I thought all families live in the same District."
Before she knew it, he jumped at her with a burst of fire and tackled her to the ground. She definitely knew she wasn't ready to go into the Games now. Everything would take her by surprise and she would die.
"Really, Lu Ten?" someone drawled. "You have to attack every girl here?"
Katara pushed Lu Ten off of her and noticed a girl about her age or possibly younger standing in front of them. Her eyes flashed like lightning when they saw Katara. When the flash was gone, all that was left was a sense of coldness. Katara immediately knew that this girl was trouble.
"Really, Azula?" Lu Ten asked with an annoyed tone. He stood up, helping Katara up, too. "Do you have to follow me everywhere?"
"Don't flatter yourself," Azula replied, arching an eyebrow at him. "I don't follow anyone. I lead them."
Another girl joined Azula. She looked totally different than the other girl; Azula had on a black jumpsuit while this new girl had on a pink one. There was even a smile on this girl's face.
"I was just about to ask where your cronies were," Lu Ten said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I guess you still haven't figured out how to think by yourself, Ty Lee. All you are good for is to follow every command given to you."
Ty Lee - the girl in the pink jumpsuit - gasped in surprise. Her face grew a little red as she ran away from them. Katara didn't realize that Lu Ten could be that rude because he was so nice to her, but apparently he knew these people and did not like them.
Azula turned her attention back to Lu Ten. "You know where to find us if you want to join the winning group."
"Why would I ever join you?"
"Because you don't want to die."
"I'd rather die than join you and Zuko."
Azula barked a laugh and took a step away from them. An evil glimmer entered her eyes. "You'd rather die? Be prepared, Lu Ten. You better watch your back in the Games or something, oh I don't know, drastic will happen. And after that, who will take care of Uncle Iroh? He will be all alone, and you wouldn't want that, would you?"
Lu Ten glowered as Azula walked away from the two of them. His hands were clenched into two tight fists, and he was shaking. "So," Katara said awkwardly, "I'm assuming she's related to you."
"You got that right." Lu Ten shook his head and the mean look on his face disappeared. He squared his shoulders and said, "As you can see, we have a strained relationship."
"Why?"
He got in his fighting stance again, so Katara followed suit. For some reason, she felt like she had known him forever. He had this quality about him that made her feel sort of safe, like he wasn't going to hurt her even though they were supposed to hunt each other down in a few days.
"I guess I should tell you a little background on my family," he said with a sigh. She flicked a water whip at him, which he dodged. "I didn't know you were a waterbender."
"Always have been." She ducked from one of his flying fists. "Anyway, go ahead about your family."
He chuckled. "Yes, my family. My family lived in the Capital up until I was about nine." Lu Ten kicked at her, so she jumped out of the way and sent another water whip at him. "We all lived near each other until my uncle - President Ozai - moved to District One with Azula. I think him and his wife got divorced or something because they have always hated each other."
"The President is your uncle? No wonder she acted like that," Katara said as she blocked one of his punches. He gave her an approving smile.
"Yeah, maybe," he said with a laugh. "A few months later, my aunt and Zuko moved to District Two because they were getting threatened in the Capital. A little bit after that, my dad and I moved to District Five to get away from the Capital. We hated it there."
"I don't understand how you can just up and move to different Districts like that," Katara said with a frown. She used one of the basins of water next to her to create an ice disc. She flung it toward Lu Tun, who sidestepped it. It fractured against the wall. "I thought we're supposed to stay in our Districts and that there wasn't any fluidity at all here to move."
"There is if you have money," Lu Ten said darkly. "We're not the only ones who have done it. You just wouldn't know because the government covers it up."
Katara couldn't believe that he was actually telling her this stuff. They were supposed to hate each other, not trust each other. But he didn't seem to care. He had this type of attitude, one where she could trust him with her life. She barely trusted herself to stay alive, so this was very strange.
He straightened up and sighed. "My fellow tribute from District Five wants me to go over to her. I guess we have to cut this training session short."
"Yes, I guess so," Katara said with a nod. "Thank you for rescuing me when I was looking terrified."
"You're a better fighter than you think," Lu Ten said as he backed away from her. "Don't sell yourself short!"
He disappeared into the crowd that were sparring together. Katara didn't really know where to go next, so she hovered near the edge of the crowd. There seemed to be a match going on in the middle of the crowd, and she could see her brother in the middle sparring against that one girl that he was always talking to.
The group cheered when Sokka got knocked down. The girl he was fighting flashed a grin before sitting down on Sokka's back triumphantly. She raised her hands, signalling to the group to quiet down. "Thank you, thank you," she said with a wide smile. "I am Suki from District Ten, so I would not recommend going against me in the Games or you'll end up like Sokka here!"
"You're not that good," a girl called out. She stepped into the circle just as Sokka stood back up. He shook Suki's hand before heading to Katara.
"What were you doing?" she whispered to him. "Are you crazy?"
He had a large smile on his face even as one of his eyes was slowly puffing up. "It was just a friendly match," he said with a shrug. "You should do it. It might help you get some of your anger out."
"You need ice for that eye," Katara said. She went back to the water basin and froze a few chunks for Sokka. She headed back to him and handed him the ice.
"How am I supposed to use this if it'll melt in my hands?"
Katara tore a strip off of her shirt and gave it to him. "Better?"
"Yes. Thank you."
He pressed the makeshift ice pack to his eyes and turned back to watch the new sparring match. It was Suki against a short girl. The short girl stomped the ground and a piece of earth flew up. She kicked the piece of earth toward Suki who dodged it. Katara let out a gasp when she saw the little girls' eyes. They were a pale green and it didn't seem like she was even looking at Suki. Was the girl blind?
"These people are good," Sokka whispered to Katara. "Really good."
"That is what's so scary about all of this," Katara whispered back. "They're better than I ever will be. How am I supposed to survive against all of these people?"
"You'll have me, and we'll team up with some other people," Sokka told her with a certain assurance. "It won't be you against everyone else. It'll be us against them, and we will win. I promise."
"I hope you're right."
"I know I'm right."
---
After a long day of sparring and training with her waterbending, Katara was glad to finally go back to their penthouse. She wanted to curl up on her bed and fall into a deep sleep to get out of going into the arena. There was no way she was going to survive against those people. She couldn't even lie to herself about it.
She trudged through the door and said to Sokka, "I think I'm gonna hop in the shower before going to bed."
"Okay." He pulled her into a hug. "Sleep well. If you have any nightmares, come and get me."
"Okay."
He entered into his room, leaving her alone in the hallway. It looked like Malina and Hama were already in bed because all of the lights were off. However, someone grabbed her arm, their claws digging into her wrist. Katara opened her mouth to yell something, but the person slapped their other hand over her mouth.
"Don't freak out," Hama said quietly. "It's just me. I wanted to talk with you. Alone."
She didn't let go of Katara until they were out on the balcony. When the door shut behind them, Hama finally took her claws out of Katara's wrist.
"What is wrong with you?" Katara asked angrily. She rubbed her wrist as a frigid wind blew by them. The moon was hidden behind clouds, so Katara couldn't really see Hama. "I was about to hurt you."
"I want to talk to you," Hama repeated. "Just you."
"Why?"
"I want to teach you something," she said with a nod. "Something that saved my life during my Games."
"This couldn't have waited until the morning?"
"No. We need the moon for this."
"For what?"
A slice of moonlight fell on Hama just as she lashed out with her arms. Katara jumped out of the way, but Hama was reaching toward a plant next to her. She drew out all of the water from it, letting the water hover in front of Katara.
"You need to know where you can find water anywhere. When you're in a strange land, you do what you must to survive," Hama said. "Like all plants, and all living things, they're filled with water."
"What are you talking about?" Katara asked, suddenly afraid. In the faint moonlight, she could see a gleam enter Hama's eyes, and it didn't look good at all.
"What I'm about to show you, I discovered in that wretched arena. I felt the full moon enriching me with its energy. There had to be something I could do to win." Hama flicked the water over the edge of the balcony before facing Katara. The moon was finally out from behind the clouds, and Katara realized it was full. "Then I realized that where there is life, there is water. It can only be done during the full moon, when your bending is at its peak." Hama gestured toward the sky. "Bloodbending. Controlling the water in another body."
Katara stared at Hama, horrified. Controlling the water in another body? What monster would do that to another human?
"Once you perfect this technique, you can control anything . . . or anyone."
"But, to reach inside someone and control them?" Katara asked uneasily. She didn't want to anger Hama just in case she would attack her. "I don't know if I want that kind of power."
"The choice is not yours," Hama said, her voice dropping to a low hum. "The power exists . . . and it's your duty to use the gifts you've been given to win this war."
"War? What war?"
"This annihilation!" Hama exploded. "The annihilation of our youth just for the fun of it! Katara, they are trying to wipe you and everyone else out! They are trying to weed out the people who know the truth. Do you know the truth?"
Unsure of what Hama wanted to hear, Katara said, "I know."
"Then you should understand what I'm talking about," Hama said with anger in her voice. "We have to fight these people whenever we can. Wherever they are, with any means necessary! You must carry on my work."
"I won't!" Katara said defiantly. She didn't care about pleasing Hama right now. She wasn't going to sacrifice her morals just because of this crazy woman. "I won't use bloodbending!"
"You have to if you want to win the Hunger Games," Hama said with a death glare. "You have to if you want to take down the powers that are holding you here!"
"What are you talking about?" Katara asked. She opened her mouth to say something else, but her arm suddenly twisted to one side, then to the other side, and finally ended up behind her back.
"If you aren't willing to learn, I will teach you with force," Hama hissed. "It's impossible to fight your way out of my grip. I control every muscle, every vein in your body."
"Stop!" Katara yelled as Hama forced her down to her knees. "Please!"
"You have to learn!" Hama screamed. "If you don't, you will die."
A few tears rolled down her cheeks as Hama lifted her up to standing. Katara tried her hardest to fight against Hama, but there was no way she could do it. She hadn't worked on her waterbending enough to fight against the master.
"Hey!" a voice yelled. The door opened, slamming into Hama. "Let go of my sister!"
When Sokka knocked Hama down, he also made her concentration loosen up. Katara shook out her arms, happy that she could move by herself again.
"I'm teaching her something that will save her life in the Games!" Hama yelled. "It saved mine, and it will save hers!"
Sokka suddenly went very stiff. His arm jerked to the side, and he said, "Hey, what's going on?"
"You aren't going to get in my way," Hama said. "It's time for you to leave."
Everything in the next second seemed to slow down. Katara was about to rush toward Hama, to knock her down, but Sokka's yell stopped her short. Turning her head, Katara looked just in time to see Sokka go over the edge of the balcony.