She opened her eyes, and at first, her thoughts were blurry, a sort of what am I doing here when it suddenly clicked and she stopped thinking this was all unfamiliar.
This was a pod pop. Of course it was, she had relived that experience in dreams: that made sense. being on this ship so long. The dawning horror of reliving this only meant one thing: she had been podded.
“NO!” She yelled, and now she was scrambling, a second wind coming to her. This was all wrong, they couldn’t do this to her! There were people on th ship she was close to, what must they be thinking? Alex? Ronnae? Eva?
BILLY.
“YOU CAN’T JUST DO THIS!” She burst, pointing a finger at what she thought resembled Stacy most. “What about the people on the ship, I’m trying to help, you can’t!”
And then her eyes went wide-eyed. Oh. Now she understood. Now she knew why she’d been podded. These memories of the ship, all she had been through with them, they were all real, they all meant things to her. But there had been something wrong in all this time, something even she could never have hoped the realize.
She was NOT Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.
How could she be? She trained under Katara, she’s sought the gang themselves for months before she finally caught up with them. She wasn’t even Southern Water Tribe: she had seen Katara before, in that fight against Master Pakku. In the North.
Where she lived.
It all started to come back to her now too: the Buffalo Yak she saw every day, the sea lions lolling her to sleep, her mother Mauja’s pride in her being a waterbender, saying she would be a great healer someday. That old life, where being a waterbender meant pride with your people, betrothal and marriage, all while preserving their ways. And then that changed and she remembered the Earth Kingdom after stowing away from the Northern Water Tribe. There were nights under the stars where she was truly afraid, and always slept by water where she could. Gradually, she started to love things about the Earth Kingdom as well: the way they kept their spirits despite having the Fire Nation banging at their door, the flora, the fauna. She let her hair loose and felt free, able to do as she wanted. And she wanted, she knew, was to join the Avatar and become a master bender like Katara. Finally catching up with them in Ba Sing Se after the war, she became a trusted friend, and helped to institute peace amongst the nations after the war.
She was Kaya. She had her teacher’s memories that whole time.
Tears started to flow freely, and she tried wiping but they still came. She clenched her fists, head down, and then shook her head.
“No, no time to think about this!” She said to herself. “I need to know how much time passed since I was podded!”
But even as this memory gave her some solace, there was the fear that nagged her head.
What if the Gaang didn’t remember her? Those bonds she made with them, everything they went through: was that it?
no subject
This was a pod pop. Of course it was, she had relived that experience in dreams: that made sense. being on this ship so long. The dawning horror of reliving this only meant one thing: she had been podded.
“NO!” She yelled, and now she was scrambling, a second wind coming to her. This was all wrong, they couldn’t do this to her! There were people on th ship she was close to, what must they be thinking? Alex? Ronnae? Eva?
BILLY.
“YOU CAN’T JUST DO THIS!” She burst, pointing a finger at what she thought resembled Stacy most. “What about the people on the ship, I’m trying to help, you can’t!”
And then her eyes went wide-eyed. Oh. Now she understood. Now she knew why she’d been podded. These memories of the ship, all she had been through with them, they were all real, they all meant things to her. But there had been something wrong in all this time, something even she could never have hoped the realize.
She was NOT Katara of the Southern Water Tribe.
How could she be? She trained under Katara, she’s sought the gang themselves for months before she finally caught up with them. She wasn’t even Southern Water Tribe: she had seen Katara before, in that fight against Master Pakku. In the North.
Where she lived.
It all started to come back to her now too: the Buffalo Yak she saw every day, the sea lions lolling her to sleep, her mother Mauja’s pride in her being a waterbender, saying she would be a great healer someday. That old life, where being a waterbender meant pride with your people, betrothal and marriage, all while preserving their ways. And then that changed and she remembered the Earth Kingdom after stowing away from the Northern Water Tribe. There were nights under the stars where she was truly afraid, and always slept by water where she could. Gradually, she started to love things about the Earth Kingdom as well: the way they kept their spirits despite having the Fire Nation banging at their door, the flora, the fauna. She let her hair loose and felt free, able to do as she wanted. And she wanted, she knew, was to join the Avatar and become a master bender like Katara. Finally catching up with them in Ba Sing Se after the war, she became a trusted friend, and helped to institute peace amongst the nations after the war.
She was Kaya. She had her teacher’s memories that whole time.
Tears started to flow freely, and she tried wiping but they still came. She clenched her fists, head down, and then shook her head.
“No, no time to think about this!” She said to herself. “I need to know how much time passed since I was podded!”
But even as this memory gave her some solace, there was the fear that nagged her head.
What if the Gaang didn’t remember her? Those bonds she made with them, everything they went through: was that it?