Chapter Text
Freefall: Prologue
“Here, have my parka.”
The simple green dress of the Earth Kingdom refugee proved ineffective against the frigid breeze. The shivering Earth Kingdom woman gazed curiously up at Kya with her parka clutched in her outstretched hand. Of course, a refugee from the Southern Water Tribe would have more suitable attire for this kind of weather.
“The extra blankets they’re giving out are too thin, and there aren’t enough for everybody,” Kya said simply, coming down to kneel so she could be level with the woman on the floor. She stared at the baby in the woman’s arms, swaddled with two scant blankets and sleeping soundly. Should be around five or six months old, Kya thought to herself. “I have a feeling you’ll need the extra layers.”
Everyone on the second floor knew that the woman has had a rough go of it; her fussy baby made sure everyone in its near vicinity didn’t get a good night’s sleep. That didn’t help. There was also the distress of being separated from her husband after rushedly leaving her hometown in a southern Earth Kingdom colony–well–southern Fire Nation colony by now.
Wordlessly, the young mother accepted the overcoat and clutched it tight to her chest. Willing herself not to cry as she mouthed ‘thank you’.
Kya nodded in regard and stood to make her way back to the railing. Dinner was hours ago and night had fallen, so the constellations and waxing gibbous moon were clearly visible in the sky now.
Kya found Katara where she had left her; leaning on the railing and wistfully staring out at the open sea to her right. Kya put a hand on her shoulder. Katara didn’t turn but breathed an audible sigh.
“What’s on your mind, Katara?” Kya implored.
“We can’t be that far from home,” Katara responded slowly.
“That’s right.”
“And we won’t be able to go back, even if we’d see our igloo right there .”
Kya rested on the railing with her daughter and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. “That’s right,” she said again.
A few days ago, with their initial route unexpectedly blocked by a new Fire Nation patrol path, their ship had no choice but to turn back southward and take a long reroute around before making its way north again. That meant the weather was growing more frigid, especially at night, as they were forcibly turned toward the South Pole before they could make their way north again, much further east this time and away from known patrol paths.
She didn’t need to see Katara’s face to know her eyes were now brimming with tears. “Do you think they’re okay out there?”
“If I know anything about your dad and brother, I know they’d be fighting as valiantly as they could. They’re determined, just like us, to see this through to the end.”
Katara wiped at her eyes. “It’s been too long, Mom.”
“I know…” Kya said sadly. “We’ll just have to keep on praying and hoping for the best from afar.”
Katara sniffled in response.
“Hey, look at me,” Kya urged, placing a motherly finger under her daughter’s chin and turning her head to meet her glistening eyes. “Your tears might soon freeze in this weather,” Kya said with a chuckle, wiping her tears away gently.
Katara’s frown deepened. “It’s not that cold.”
Kya smiled sadly. “You’ve always been so serious.” Katara turned away to stare intently at the ocean.
“You really gave your parka away?” Katara asked after a moment, eager to divert the subject.
“Anyone could see that she needed it more than I did.”
“Well…it’s only going to get colder again the closer we get to the South Pole.”
Kya played with a fraying thread of her long-sleeved shirt. “Even our inner clothes are better at keeping in heat. I’ll be fine.”
“Well…that was really nice of you, Mom. You should borrow mine if you get too cold.”
“You silly chicken-goose, a mother will always keep her child warm if she can help it, even if she has to go cold.”
The familiar sound of footsteps making their way up the metal stairs sounded and another Earth Kingdom refugee appeared on the second-floor deck. He was on the farther end of the ship–closer to the stern while most refugees gathered near the bow–but they knew what the announcement was for and could still hear him when he announced, “light’s out in ten minutes!”
The volume of chatter around the deck increased as people made arrangements with one another and began making their way to where they slept; some elderly and injured refugees filed to the limited cots in the sleeping quarters while the rest slept on thin mats or blankets on the deck.
Kya straightened and rubbed the back of her neck as Katara stretched both arms to the sky and yawned. Katara was using her parka as a pillow while she could still manage the current nighttime weather. Still, it was going to be another sore night on the floor.
After they both made their way back to their makeshift sleeping areas (one of their fellow Water Tribe neighbors being an excellent snorer), Kya rolled out the blanket she retrieved from the shelves everyone packs their sleeping stuff in during the day, then folded it in half to give it a meager but noticeable extra cushion, and brought out her sizable sealskin pouch to use as her pillow instead. It had their gloves inside, so it offered some decent cushion. Katara was already settled on the floor on her back, hands loosely interlocked over her stomach as she stared at the ceiling.
There wasn’t much else to do but take in the surroundings, think, and chat while on the ship, other than the occasional odd job the few crewmembers might need assistance with; like fishing, tending to an injured refugee, or even engine maintenance. It grew pretty monotonous pretty quickly, but there was always the unshakable, looming sense of danger and anxiety that never went away; every shadow, lump and bump that appeared on the horizon could be a Fire Nation ship, or patrol skiff, or watchtower.
Katara could practice waterbending, but they were constantly on the move, and even when they stopped once to refuel, she somehow felt shy at the thought of the other strangers finding out she could bend, albeit rather poorly, but she could bend. It wasn’t a dirty secret unless they were from the Fire Nation–but she was still wary regardless if they knew each other at the South Pole or made their acquaintance on the ship.
Kya finished rustling and turned to Katara, noticing the familiar, intensely sad look in her eyes. “We’re going to see them again, Katara.”
Katara bit her lip to keep the tears from welling up in her eyes again. “I–I hope so.” Gosh, I can’t even think about Dad and Sokka without wanting to cry, she thought. Pretty much everybody on board was missing or mourning somebody. The sounds of crying to full-on sobbing used to permeate the usual thrum of the engine when the lights were turned off. The occasional crying and sniffles could be heard, but they happened less since they’d been here for almost a week and a half.
Kya lied down on her right side, tucking a hand under the sealskin pouch and extending the other towards Katara. Katara shifted her position to lie on her left side and took Kya’s hand in both of hers, keeping them close enough to her mouth that Kya could feel her warm breath when she exhaled. Katara’s eyelids fluttered as sleep began to overtake her.
“Somehow, someday, we’ll see them again and it’ll be a reunion to outdo all reunions,” Kya murmured even though her heart seemed to skip a sore beat with the statement. Sokka must be as tall as Hakoda by now. He was barely taller than me when they sailed away to fight in the war. He’d be even more handsome.
She squeezed Katara’s hands reassuringly before they both drifted off to sleep.
There was a loud WHOOOOSH –then the shouts came. It was still dark out and people were tripping over each other, bleary-eyed, half-asleep, and panicked by whatever was going on.
Kya jolted awake and yanked Katara upright by her wrist. She woke midair with a start and stumbled to the railing as her mother guided her.
“What is happen–” Katara was cut off by another whoosh that came from the floor below. The undeniable glow of flames, stark against the inky night sky, swept over the edge of the first-floor railing with an accompaniment of screams.
Fire Nation.
The world seemed to tilt sideways as panic seized Katara’s heart. Kya pulled her close, clutching her so tightly it was almost uncomfortable.
The only way to the second floor was through the stairs. Once the soldiers made it up, they’d emerge on the deck out of sight near the bow before rounding the corner and seeing the group of refugees huddled by the railing’s edge on the stern. Even with a couple of earth benders on board, nothing could be done in the middle of the ocean. A smaller group by the bow, comprised mostly of men, frantically dragged out the few cots from the sleeping quarters to try and block the metal door. She could make out the intimidating voices of Fire Nation soldiers coming from below.
Some people crumpled to the floor in a panic, hands over their heads. Katara could hear a baby wailing. Most had made their way to the railing, desperate to put as much distance between themselves and the stairs. Katara looked at the ocean below and wanted to scream–if she was a more proficient Waterbender, she could do something.
Wait, she could do something. Could she?
Katara wrenched herself away from her mother’s grip and took a good look at the Fire Nation ship positioned next to theirs. It was gigantic, longer than their ship, with a menacing, metal-plated hull and pointed bow. A triangle-shaped flag with an indiscernible symbol flew at the top of the mast in the frigid wind. The point of attention though was the plank that had been set up almost haphazardly, extending downward from the Fire Nation ship and going over the first level’s railing. She could barely make out a couple of dark figures gingerly making their way across, doing their best to rush on board despite the threat of being thrown off balance while the waves rocked both ships.
She did her best to quiet her mind amidst the chaos and closed her eyes. She wasn’t pretty far from the water, so it was a challenge to feel what she was looking for. She called upon all her past experiences–all those quiet mornings, afternoons, and evenings that she would hide away to practice when she had a rare free moment. Some days, she had curious otter penguins come and watch. I can’t think about that now. Despite the lack of a teacher, she carried on even if she was sloppy. But today was a day she couldn’t afford sloppy.
Once she felt the tinge of a response from the water, her whole body moved downwards before she came back up, leading with her arms in a large, instinctive swooping motion.
It was enough! It must’ve been the adrenaline because the water responded and lapped the surface of the gangplank. If she had been more experienced, she could’ve knocked them off with a powerful surge, but she had managed to make the board slippery and both figures landed in the ocean with two distinct splashes.
She was whipped around by her mother–her eyes so wide that Katara could see more white than blue. “Now they know a Waterbender is on board–” Kya grabbed Katara’s shoulders so tightly it hurt and shook her. “The tides aren’t that strong, they’ll know it was unnatural!”
“ So? I’m the only one in my native element here! I have to do something!”
“Katara, Gran-Gran’s sacrifice cannot be in vain.” A chill ran down Katara’s spine and a loud banging resounded from where the stair exit was. The cacophony of screams and shouts grew even louder.
They’re here.
Both Katara and her mother whipped their head back at the same time, both pairs of blue eyes resolutely locked on each other’s. Despite being knocked into from all directions and nearly pushed over by the frantic movements of those around them, time seemed to slow down, and she could only register the look in her mother’s eyes as she straightened themselves.
Kya’s brows then suddenly furrowed and she speedily undid the clasp of her betrothal necklace. Despite the chaos, she pulled Katara close enough and fastened the necklace around Katara’s neck, giving the pendant a slight tug to make sure it was secure.
Her mother’s words were loud and fast. “If you make it out of here, Katara, run . Worry about yourself and only yourself, stay hidden, defend–” BANG. “ Defend yourself! The last Waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe!”
“They’re melting the hinges!” came a panicked voice from the bow.
Kya firmly gripped Katara’s upper arm and wrestled her way back toward the railing with fierce determination. Another bang sounded as the metal door was knocked to the ground, followed by a sweeping whoosh of flames. Kya led her forward and knocked Katara’s back against the railing, slightly knocking the wind out of her.
Kya allowed herself one valuable moment before pushing her daughter over the railing and into the ocean.