chapter

Chapter 29 - When the Snow Starts Honking in Ostrich-Horse

~In which… The might of the Northern Water Tribe goes against a well-prepared 41st Division and an optimally-levelled Khan. At first, Katara is pleasantly surprised at how easy fighting against the Fire Nation was. Then realises that they're fighting against the 41st Division. ~

(7 Days before the Armada arrives)

"Messenger hawk from 1st Regiment forward recon, sir. Successful abduction of an enemy sentry. Interrogation confirms massed enemy force is mobilising today. They're holding a military parade beforehand."

"How cute. Immediate dispatch of messenger hawks to all Regiments: The day has come. For Fire Lord and Fire Nation, show them no mercy."

[Agna Qel'a]

Katara, with her wide smiles and all her fine furs, stood in her water tribe blue sleigh and waved at the cheering crowds.

A pair of buffalo-yaks pulled her sleigh along the snowy streets as the cheers of the Northern Water Tribe clamoured all around her. Along the streets, from their window sills, and even on top of the buildings, there was nothing but the crowd's smiling faces, grateful for the work she's about to put in and cheering for her triumphant return. It felt like the entire Water Tribe was out in the city to cheer for her.

Katara smiled and waved back. She just wished she could have experienced this with her friends, and not… him.

"Aw yeah! Who's the Head Chieftain?! I AM!"

Riding alongside her in the sleigh was Hahn, their brash and newly appointed head chieftain of the entire Northern Water Tribe, pumping his fists in the air and making his great blue cape flutter like some kid with a blanket.

"Give it up for Head Chieftain Hahn!" he cheered for himself, "The greatest and most valiant leader in Northern Water Tribe history! The first one in a thousand years to defend our homeland! Alright!"

With that, Katara was reminded that this was a military parade too.

The ten thousand brave Water Tribe warriors, clad in proud Water Tribe blue parkas and marching all around in formation, weren't just for show. And neither were their heirloom whalebone spears of every shape and size. In her opinion, they were the toughest looking guys that Katara had ever seen, especially since most of them were much older than her. Some looked even older than her dad, but they only looked even more professional for it. Meanwhile, arctic camels and buffalo-yaks, part of the few that they could commandeer throughout the city, pulled sledges laden with their supplies. They really were going off to defeat the Fire Nation. Off to war.

But what made her even prouder was…

"And give it up for the beautiful Radiant Moonflower Warrior-Sisters!"

… Her own company of all-female warriors, familiar faces of the women and girls who she had personally trained these past few days, was with her- trailing right behind the 'Royal Sledge' in an orderly formation. Their backs straight, chins raised, walking prouder and garbed in the same blue military parkas as the men. Katara thought they looked more dignified than they had ever been before. Because For the first time in Northern Water Tribe history, they were marching alongside the men as equals.

The crowd roared their delight at the 'Radiant Moonflower Warrior-Sisters.' And Katara grinned. They couldn't settle for a name, so they ended up combining the two most popular ones instead. Marching with ten thousand brave Water Tribe men made her proud to be Water Tribe. But it was marching with these few hundred that made Katara proud to be a woman.

"Hey, Katara! Katara, over here!" Sokka's shouting managed to climb above the crowds. And Katara easily spotted her brother's whalebone crutch waving in the air above the sea of blue parkas, "Katara! You gotta kick serious Fire Nation butt for me, alright?!"

She laughed as she waved back to her brother, "I will!"

"Be safe, Katara!" Aang shouted as well, waving with his one good arm. He tried to raise his other one, but Master Yagoda was there to slap him over the back of his head.

"We will!" Katara said with a laugh too. "Rest up, okay?!"

Yeah, they were doing this to fill the people with hope.

A heavy hand slapped her shoulder. "Look at us, Karara!" Hahn laughed, his voice booming over the sound of cheering crowds and stamping feet. "The pride of the Water Tribes! With warriors like these, a waterbender like you and a leader like me- we'll crush the Fire Nation's invasion before it really even begins! Our destination: the Fire Nation base at Nanuq's Peak!"

"Just remember what Master Pakku said." she replied evenly.

"Yeah, yeah." Hahn rolled his eyes, still waving at the crowd, " 'Listen to the wisdom of the tribal leaders you command.' Pfft, getting to that ice hovel in the middle of nowhere will be a bigger challenge than actually beating them."

"That. And he also said that without most of our mounts, we can't just attack willy-nilly, got it?"

Hahn snorted, even rolled his eyes, "Hey, we Northern Water Tribe warriors are the best in the world. We'll take on whatever comes our way easy! Besides, we have numbers on our side. The Fire Nation can't do anything when we outnumber them ten-to-one! Just a few days sleeping on a sleigh is worth it in exchange for being able to kick Fire Nation rears. Trust me, we'll be back in time for a full moon feast!"

"Whatever you say, Hahn. Just remember, we're here to defeat the Fire Nation and rescue our chieftains, not for fame and glory, okay?"

"Funny joke, Karara," He laughed again, "Defeating the Fire Nation and rescuing the chiefs IS fame and glory."

"You're hopeless."

"Hopelessly ready to kick some Fire Nation butt! Hah!" Hahn winked before turning around and shouting, TROOPS! AT DAWN, WE MARCH TO VICTORY!"

Katara just sighed in exasperation, the sound lost to the cheers of the crowd. Master Pakku did say it wasn't going to be a tough job being the First Wave. Especially to Hahn since she was also duty-bound to protect him from his own half-baked ideas. But she had practice with Sokka. He couldn't be any worse than her brother.

"Hey, First Wave, uh ma'am!" Her Second Wave, a girl her age with caramel skin tone, jogged up beside the sleigh. Long black hair spilling down onto the furred shoulders of their unit's military blue parka, and her wide smile shone brightly as she looked up to Katara. "The girls and I just wanted to thank you again for standing up for Northern Water Tribe women- for giving us this chance. We won't let you down."

"I know you won't," Katara nodded, her own smile broadening. "This is just the beginning. After this, Agna Qel'a is going to see a lot of changes happen for the women of the Northern Water Tribe, I'm sure of it. We'll make sure of it"

"The First Wave setting the tide for victory, right?"

"Yes. Moon Spirit willing, we'll ride that tide all the way back home too." she said as she felt an optimism filled her. She then glanced around at the rest of her unit, seeing the same fire in their blue eyes. "So, smile and wave, women of the Radiant Moonflower Warrior-Sisters! It'll be good training for the victory parade too."

"Yes, First Wave, ma'am!"

Katara held her chin high- doing her best impression of a professional soldier-woman as she smiled. It was a good feeling, to be looked up to and respected.

Yeah, maybe being First Wave wasn't so bad after all.

honk

(6 Days before the Armada arrives)

"Messenger hawks from the 3rd and 4th Regiments, sir. Spotrep confirms enemy forces advancing along the anticipated axis. Estimated fighting strength: ten thousand. All elements from both regiments are moving to flanking positions as of the last report."

"Delay the dispatch. They have their orders. Let's see if our enemy has learned anything from our previous engagements, or if our newest and most basic [Engineering] toy will see some use."

[Northeast of Agna Qel'a]

The first day on the march had been easy. Uneventful, but easy.

They had marched out at dawn just as Hahn announced. The ice gates of Agna Qel'a swung open to them to show the field of white snow stretching out endlessly ahead of them. The Polar Wastes: The place that had been the subject of all the stories their mothers scared them into eating their vegetables as children, and also the place where so many of their scouts had never returned from. There had been a… pause as they stared at it. Must have looked funny too- how an army of ten thousand men and a company of women looked scared of a bit of snow- scared of leaving the safety of the city.

But it had been only a brief pause.

Putting left foot in front of right, they had marched out the gate, and spent most of the day marching over said snow; and soon, the troops knew that the Polar Wastes were just snowfields all the same. Like a thundering herd of cattle, they all kept marching on even as the snow grew deep under their feet, as the arctic winds howled at them to turn around, and even as Agna Qel'a disappeared over the snow-covered horizon behind them. And now, the white just stretched out in all directions, occasionally broken up by hills and mountains.

"Marching to battle is a lot more boring than I thought." Hahn sank into his seat beside her until his boots were up against the dashboard of the sleigh. "Are we there yet, Karata?"

"Let me check…" Katara unfolded her map with a loud rustle of paper. It was a bit barren given that it was the Polar Wastes, but the notes were long and accurate. The product of the wisest minds of the Northern Water Tribe.

"Pfft, cute drawings." Hahn commented as he peeked over her shoulder, "Did one of the mapmaker's kids doodle on that map?"

"… uh, this is my brother's drawings." She quietly admitted.

"Sohka drew that? Ahahahaha!"

Katara felt some heat on her cheeks from the second-hand embarrassment. "He's not the artistic type, okay?!"

"Sure, sure~" He lazily waved his seal-jerky in the air, before munching on it, "But seriously, how close are we to Nanuq's Peak?"

Tracing their position on the map, she replied, "We're still at least two days off. The terrain is a lot tougher to traverse on foot than we thought."

"Oh come on, it's just walking! People do it everyday!"

"In deep snow?" Katara shot back.

"I wouldn't know- this is the first time I've been outside the city before." Hahn shrugged as if it wasn't expected of him as Head Chieftain of the North Pole, "So, it's unacceptable that the first time I did was being tied up, gagged, and taken prisoner by the Fire Nation!"

Katara just glanced at Hahn's boots, clean of any snow and any evidence that he had actually even stepped foot off the royal sleigh even once. "I wish I could tie you up and gag you," She muttered under her breath, folding up the map. She took it back, Hahn was a whole different sack of sea-prunes altogether- way worse than Sokka on his worst day!

"Whazzat?" Hahn asked mid-yawn, absolutely oblivious as he stretched his arms above his head.

"I said I should start up camp and make an igloo," Katara rolled her eyes.

"That's a good idea, First Wave!"

"Right…" Hopping out of the sleigh and onto the snow, Katara called out to her Radiant Moonflower Warrior-sisters who were trailing behind the sleigh, "Everyone! Tell the others that we're setting up camp for the night!"

All the girls' eyes lit up. "Thank the Moon spirit! I mean, right away, Master Katara!"

They scrambled away- snow crunching underfoot- as they hurried to tell the good news. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good a news as they thought.

The camp setup quickly devolved into a chaotic scramble as ten thousand people tried and failed several times to organise and disseminate orders. The Waterbenders' first try at forming up enough igloos for everyone to sleep in had to be redone after Hahn told them that he wanted his to be at the centre of camp. Orders were lost in the shuffle: some repeated, some misinterpreted and some even made to the wrong people. The noise of clan leaders squabbling over wrong orders, the grating of tools on ice, and the grumbles of tired soldiers combined to make a racket that only added to Katara's exhaustion and her growing headache. The troops are asking how the patrols should be laid out and how wide? How should she know?! Just circle the area! In what sequence Is the watch? Whoever can wake up! How big are the rations? Just eat a little! By the time the last igloo was formed, the stars were out, a freezing fog settled over the camp, and Katara tiredly shuffled into one of the igloos in the woman's part of the base, tiger-seal blubber lamps lighting up and warming the small space.

"Hey, First Wave! You did great today" Her Second Wave grinned up at her with the other girls. Who were warming themselves

"Uggh… no talking." She groaned back as she buried herself into her warm bedroll. "Sleep now."

"Rest

Yeah, But what was important was that she was done for the day. No more Hahn dumping all the work on her, no more orders to give to people, or finding people to give orders to. Just snuggled up in her bedroll, safe and warmish and falling… fast… aslee-

(A few hours later)

"honk"

Her eyes snapped wide open.

"Did anyone else hear that?" she slipped out of her bedroll and into a crouch. Her bleary eyed troops, still in their bedrolls, rubbed their eyes in confusion.

"Wuh? Hear what, Master Katara?"

She strained her ears against the igloo walls, heard nothing, but wasn't about to take a chance. "Armours on!" Katara hissed at them. And they hurriedly slipped on their padded military parkas, half-brave expressions all around. Good enough, she nodded, "On three, we dissolve the igloo. Get ready for anything. One… two… Three!"

With a synchronised sweep of their arms, they melted their igloo. The snow fell on their tense shoulders- just the six of them back to back in their blue parkas, standing in the dark. The night sky was dotted with stars, and the moon was bright; but still, the light of their tiger-seal blubber lamps only illuminated so far before everything turned into a inky blur of dark shadows. They scanned the area with their blue eyes, looking for intruders, but only finding the round domes of the other igloos right at the edges of their lamplights.

"Can't see shrimp, but… It's all quiet, Master Katara. Can we build up the igloo now?"

"Wait… " Katara strained her eyes in the distance, "Our patrols have blubber lamps too, right? Shouldn't we be seeing them walking around the camp?"

"The First Wave's right… I don't see any lights anywhere close to camp."

A massive shadow darted between the igloos some ways away, like some great shark-squid lurking in dark waters. Then several more continued to dart. And Katara knew exactly what they were.

"The Fire Nation's here! Sound the alarm horn!" she hissed at her Second Wave who immediately began patting her bedroll down.

"Yes, it's in my- No, it's not in my bedroll!" She reported, face pale, "First Wave, what do we do-"

Katara was about to bark out to borrow other igloos' horns when suddenly, explosions thundered across the camp. The rolling rumble felt through the ice-cold ground was like the gallop of a herd of giant animals. Except… the night continued to be dark- no great orange fireballs that usually came from explosions. Just a horde of shadows receding back into the night.

Then, and only then did the alarm horns begin to echo.

"FOR THE NORTHERN WATER TRIBE!" their brash head chieftain, garbed in his blue fur pajamas and gripping whalebone spear in hand, charged out of his sleigh-turned-tent, only to whip his head around and find no one to attack. "Wait, what? Where's the Fire Nation?"

"I… don't know."

"Come back here, cowards!" Hahn shouted into the night just as Water Tribe soldiers began crawling out of their igloos too.

Katara scanned the camp, her eyes narrowing as she took in the chaotic scene. The absence of fire and the strange, muffled explosions that just didn't add up. She noticed the scattered remains of one of the igloos they were using to store their supplies: torn supply baskets, the lingering acrid stench in the cold air like raw fish left in the heat. Her mind pieced together the events. "Hahn…" Katara muttered, the cold realisation dawning on her, "They didn't come to fight us- something else."

She rushed to the nearest stack of supplies, ripping open a supply basket that was covered in green goo. The realisation hit her like a tidal wave. "They went after our supplies. And if there was an explosion for each supply igloo…" she whispered, her voice growing firmer as the full extent of the sabotage became clear. "At least half of our supplies are gone, Definitely more than half, actually. Might even be close to all of them!"

He furrowed his brow, "What does that mean?"

"It means that we won't have enough to make the entire round trip." She said, "If we can't get any more, we might even need to turn back."

"Are you nuts?!" Hahn roared, huffing and puffing and looking the fiercest Katara had ever seen him be, "By Tui's fin, do you know how utterly embarrassing it would be if we marched back to Agna Qel'a right after our parade?! Do you want us to look like a couple of school kids running home because we ran out of snacks?! No way! NO WAY! Send a couple of people back to Agna Qel'a on our fastest buffalo-yaks! Send all of them even! I don't care how you do it, but we're not stopping this attack on the Fire Nation base just because they were cowards and put rancid [Stink Bombs] in our food instead of fighting us in battle!"

Having said his piece, Hahn stomped off, his heavy boots crunching angrily through the snow, but not before turning back one last time, his voice rising above the murmur of the waking camp.

"That's an order from your Head Chieftain! And triple the watch tonight!"

"Yes, Head Chieftain Hahn." Katara bowed stiffly, but the moment he was out of sight, she released a breath she didn't realise she had been holding.

"First Wave Katara? Do you think we'll be alright without our supplies?" Her Second Wave asked, nervously twirling a strand of her long black hair around a gloved finger.

Katara glanced at the rest of the troops behind her, all worried and uncertain looks still on their faces as they pulled their blue parkas tighter. The Northern Water Tribe, Aang, Sokka, and now her warrior-sisters were all counting on her. They needed something more, Katara realised.

Standing a bit straighter, she pulled her shoulders back and gave her bravest voice, "The Fire Nation is going to have to try harder if they want to beat us. They might have gotten the first strike in, but we're still standing! Like Hahn said, we can send a couple of people back to Agna Qel'a for resupply. We're not going to run out of food. But we might need to space out our eating schedule tomorrow. I'm sure you brave Radiant Moonflower Warrior-Sisters can handle that?"

"Yes, First Wave!"

Katara smiled. "One of you is going to visit the clan behind us- look for volunteers for the supply run. The rest of your warriors, see to the wounded! Make sure everyone is accounted for and ready to move at dawn."

"Yes, First Wave Katara!"

As the girls scattered to do the tasks, Katara took a moment to actually appreciate the silver lining to Hahn. As frustrating as he could be, his stubbornness was at least infectious to people around him. And right now, they needed every bit of stupid toughness they could get. They'll need it to make it through what was definitely going to be a long, busy night. But she knew they'll pull through…

*HOOOONK!*

The Ostrich-horse's call echoed in the distance. And Katara glared at the black of night.

It was going to take more than just a large-scale Fire Nation prank to scare them.

(5 Days before the Armada arrives)

"Messenger hawk from the 3rd and 4th Regiments, sir. The raid on enemy supply depots was successful: All objectives neutralised and no friendly casualties reported. Units are proceeding to interdiction operations. Attached Barbarian allies are requesting authorization to use more [Dew of the Mountain: Frostbite] to keep up fog cover, sir."

"Immediate dispatch: Authorisation granted. The entire 3rd and 4th Regiments are now authorised to the emergency stash. Stagger skirmishes across the next 24 hours. Give the enemy no respite."

"EAST! They're coming from the East this time!" One of the men shouted, and everyone else began shouting "East!" up and down the camp.

"Again?!" Katara shouted incredulously before passing on the information, "East!"

Their first real taste of battle since leaving Agna Qel'a and she hated it already. When the first attack came, the morning sun had barely crested over the horizon, casting a weak light through the dense fog of the Polar Wastes. By then, it had already been a long night for her: tending to the wounded, taking stock of their remaining supplies rounding up and sending off the supply runners to Agna Qel'a. She barely had time to take a sit down before the Fire Nation attacked. Those same dark shadows from last night cut through the shroud of the fog to reveal the glaive-wielding Fire Nation soldiers with their feathered red armour and their massive flesh-eating ostrich-horses. Alarm horns had sounded before being replaced by screams.

It was past noon now, and the chaos had only gotten worse since then.

"Come on, First Wave! East!" Their Head Chieftain, Hahn, shouted and waved his spear over his head as the galloping buffalo-yaks pulled his sleigh through the snow.

"That's South, Hahn!"

"Dammit! It's getting so hard to know which way is which under this fog! Can't you Waterbenders do something about that?! You make fog all the time!"

"We're waterbenders, not a bunch of airbenders! It's harder to pull fog back into water than to push and spread it out!"

"Whatever! Just hop in!"

Katara cursed under her breath as she hopped into the sleigh and they galloped off, quickly directing the troops to form a defensive line facing East. No one wanted to have their backs turned against massive man-eating monsters with beaks larger than their heads. They've seen for themselves what would happen if they did.

"HONK!"

The Fire Nation cavalry in all their honking horror barrelled towards them. Just five of them against hundreds along this frontline. And yet, Katara could see the way those whalebone spears shook as trembling hands held them.

As the shouts of "East!" echoed through the camp, Katara quickly assessed their options. The constant attacks were forcing them to adapt on the fly, and she knew they couldn't afford to keep being caught off guard.

"Men! Waxing Crescent formation!" Hahn called out, his voice cutting through the chaos. If there was one thing Hahn could be trusted to do, it's to put his big boasting mouth to good use. The Water Tribe warriors responded immediately- having drilled that formation endlessly before they left Agna Qel'a- and arranged themselves in a wide arc. Their whalebone spears bristling outward like the spines of an Earth Kingdom boar-q-pine. The waterbenders among them moved to the front, raising thick [Ice Walls] to absorb the initial orange firebolts before they could reach the ranks behind.

Katara gave a brief glance to the sides, and saw that their flanks were secured by an endless wall of spears. Their flanks were secure… this time. With the enemy moving so fast and so randomly, it was hard to know if it would hold.

But at this point in the frontline? Where the Fire Nation had to get through her and Hahn first?

They'd definitely hold this point.

If the Fire Nation cavalry tried to break through, they would find themselves funnelled into the crescent's curve, surrounded on three sides by spear-wielding warriors and waterbenders ready to strike. It was a defensive strategy that concentrated their force to counter a single point of attack; and counted heavily on them having the numbers to pull off- which they definitely had. They were still an army of 10,000 after all, standing against the Fire Nation's paltry 1,000.

They were definitely going to win in the end; but by the Moon Spirit, were the Fire Nation putting up a fight!

"Waterbenders, ready the [Icicle Spray]!" Katara shouted, positioning herself at the centre of the formation. The waterbenders crouched low behind the [Ice Walls], hands hovering over the snow as they prepared to launch a volley of sharp ice shards in a coordinated counterattack. She'd seen icicles just glance off the ostrich-horse feathers as if those monsters were made of solid steel.

But there was still that hope that one would somehow get lucky.

"HOOONK!"

Those beady black eyes of the Fire Nation Ostrich-Horse grew closer, massive beaks open to reveal those barbed maws that could and have torn men in half. There was a ripple on the line of whalebone spears- men struggling to hold steady in the face of being eaten alive.

"Hold your ground, men! It's just ten of them!" Hahn roared out. But just as the Fire Nation Ostrich-Horse cavalry were about to crash into their spear line, those massive birds immediately turned around, honking out what sounded like laughter.

"Honk! Honk! Honk!"

"COWARDS!" Their Head chieftain still had the energy to shout at the rears of Fire Nation ostrich-horses as they retreated back into the fog. "You Moon-damned Fire Nation cowards! Fight us with honour dammit!"

"They're coming around to the south!" another voice called out, and Katara's heart sank. The Fire Nation soldiers weren't content with just a frontal assault- they were circling them in the fog like a tiger-shark circled around a rowboat. And just like a tiger-shark, the moment they sensed you weren't looking, they struck. From any angle and every angle, they struck and forced the entire army to shift and pivot constantly.

"Move! South! SOUTH!" she shouted, her voice hoarse as she urged the Water Tribe warriors to reposition again. But the snow was knee deep, and every step a struggle as they had to push their legs through the drifts to meet the new threat. But halfway through the reposition, another voice called out from the southern line.

"South is another feint!"

"By the Moon Spirit, this is the third time!" Katara could feel the frustration building. Each time they managed to form a defensive line, the Fire Nation forces would retreat just as quickly as they had arrived, only to reappear moments later from a different direction. The pattern repeated throughout the entire morning and into noon, an annoying long string of feints that left them breathless, disoriented and frustrated.

They were playing a Cat-Owl and Lizard-mouse game! And they were losing.

On one hand, there were never more than ten of those ostrich-horse riders attacking them on one front. But on the other hand, even with just ten, they couldn't ignore them- they had to treat each feint as if it was a real attack. Because as much as seeing those ostrich-horses retreat so often should have made them less scary to face by now.

The entire Water Tribe Army had already learned their lesson.

Earlier in the morning, they had ignored a squad of Fire Nation cavalry thinking it was just the latest feint after the last dozen or so. But that one time that they didn't, the Fire Nation demonstrated what a single squad of those ravenous, honking monsters loose behind their lines could do: Killing forty people before they retreated. The other seventy had only survived because of the efforts of her own troops of waterbender women with extensive healing experience- not that they wanted another seventy people with missing limbs in their already cramped medical igloos.

So they definitely couldn't ignore any of these possible feints, not anymore. But it was also pushing them past their physical limits.

Damned if they do, damned if they didn't.

"Katara!" Her Second Wave, face flushed with exertion, and long black hair in disarray from her parka's hood. "They're trying to flank us again, this time from the west!"

Katara clenched her fists, the threads of her mittens creaking. "All right, let's move! West! WEST!" she called out, forcing her tired legs to carry up onto the sleigh. "Stay together! Don't give them space to move between the spear blocks! Waterbenders get ready to form [Ice Walls] and [Icicle Sprays]!"

"FOR THE NORTHERN WATER TRIBE!" The men shouted in response, but the constant maneuvering was wearing them all down, it was getting increasingly noticeable now. Even Katara could see the exhaustion in the men- the way their whalebone spears seemed to flag in the fog as if they were already struggling to keep from dropping them. And who could blame them? After last night's raid by the Fire Nation that destroyed most of their food, the entire army had slept with one eye open. And by that, she meant that no one got any sleep. The Fire Nation only deigned to attack them again once they were looking for a bite of breakfast. And they ruthlessly press their advantage, because of course they sensed it. These damn dirty Ash makers.

Another wave of firebolts blasted against their [Ice Walls].

"Take this, Warm Lander filth!" Hahn shouted as he threw a spear- landing far short of course.

Even she couldn't blame him for hat, her arms aching from waterbending defences against the never-ending barrage of attacks. The lack of food and sleep and the sheer strain of a protracted 10-hour-long battle was taking its toll on them. It felt like she was fighting to move her own body as much as she was fighting against the Fire nation forces.

And as it was half expected, that advancing line of murderous, brown-feathered monstrosities turned around and dashed away.

"Honk! Honk! Honk!"

Just like that, their enemies disappeared into the fog, and although they waited with held breaths, it was only when no new shouts of attacks came, did they release it. Mists formed from their mouths as they gasped for air.

"I think… I think that's it for now." Katara muttered, slumping onto the sleigh's dashboard, her breath coming in ragged gasps and her raw throat aching from all the shouted orders. And like a living wave, a lot of the men in their blue parkas immediately collapsed tired on the snow. She could relate: By Tui's Gills, she'd murder someone for a good night's sleep right about now.

"Ah yeah! Victory!" Hahn shouted, standing up on his seat and pumping his fist in the air. "VICTORY!"

"VICTORY!"

"Nnng… victory…" Katara mumbled into her sleeves. Because was it really? How many times have they shouted that? The Fire Nation attacked them four times this hour, but will the next one (And Katara would bet her last wrap of pemmican that there would) have five or maybe six?

"Master Katara," her Second Wave spoke again, voice trembling with fatigue, "What do we do? They're not stopping, and our troops... they're so tired. We're so tired."

Katara took a shaky breath and swallowed hard, her throat dry. "We keep going," she said, forcing the words out through sheer willpower. "We don't let them break us. We've come too far to turn back now. Everyone is counting on us: From the people in Agna Qel'a to the people being held captive on that mountain to everyone on the Earth Kingdom who had been brutalised by the Fire Lord's 41st Division. We can't give up now. Keep bringing the wounded to the rest of the girls."

But even as she spoke, she knew they were being pushed to their limits. The Fire Nation's relentless feints and attacks were wearing them down, sapping their strength with every passing hour. Katara looked out over the battlefield, her heart heavy with the realisation that this was exactly what their enemy wanted.

"That's right!" Hahn loudly agreed with her, puffing his chest out proudly as he announced, "Chin up, men! We drove them off! They keep running away because the cowards know they can't take us in a straight fight! We have them scared for their little sorry base! They know that once we get there, we're going to flood those caves like an arctic rat nest and pump out the Fire Nation filth from our land! And there'll be nothing that they can do about it! So, break up camp and prepare for marching order, men! Let's close some distance before night comes!"

Yeah, it doesn't matter how tired Hahn was. You can always trust him to have energy to blow hot air.

Her Second Wave quietly admitted. "Master Katara, I don't think I have it in me to continue marching. None of us do."

"Hey, I heard that!" Hahn glowered down at the girl, "Don't you understand how little actually got done on the last day?! We haven't moved this spot since the sabotage last night- we're still one measly day away from Agna Qel'a for Moon Spirit's sake!"

Her Second Wave shrank under their Head Chieftain's shouts, bowing her head until her blue parka's hood hid her face. "My deepest apologies, Head Chieftain Hahn!"

Katara's hand rested on his shoulder. "Hahn…" she said, her voice firm as she met each of his eyes. "We survived today, let's make sure we survive tomorrow too. Give the troops some time to rest."

He dragged his gaze over the exhausted men. But Katara knew he was looking, but not seeing. Hahn clicked his tongue, "Fine, hold the order to break up camp. But we're moving out tomorrow! And someone get my igloo up agai-"

"Hooooonk!"

"EAST!"

"By the Moon Spirit... not again!" Katara groaned. She was starting to hate that sound- that honking. Stupid, relentless Fire Nation. And stupid, evil birds. Her stomach grumbled, and it made her wonder what ostrich-horse tasted like.

Just like arctic hen, she'd bet.

(4 Days before the Armada arrives)

"Messenger hawk from the 1st Regiment, sir. Infiltration is a success. No casualties. Furthermore, a large enemy supply caravan have been intercepted shortly after departing from Agna Qel'a. The captured supplies have been secured at the designated location, and attached is a rough inventory of the goods. Postscript bears a black lipstick mark."

"How kind of the Agna Qel'a Resistance to solve all our supply issues for the foreseeable future. Dispatch a messenger hawk to the 3rd and 4th Regiments: Cease interdiction orders. Give the troops time to recover… and the Water Tribe army time to starve."

Parked in an ice tent she had formed, Katara sat in the sleigh as the snow continued to fall- hanging her head as her empty stomach continued to grumble.

"First Wave, ma'am, will the supply caravans arrive soon?"

She raised her head to see her Second Wave approach, the other girl's brown skin and blue eyes were just barely peeking out of the furred hood of her blue parka. "Yeah, they're coming." Katara said with a reassuring smile. "We just need to hold out until they do."

They still had some supplies left. Slightly less than a stomach full, but naturally, they were rationing it to hold out for the caravans. Despite that though, Katara knew for a fact that her brave band of warrior-sisters had already snacked away theirs this morning. They all hoped- knew- that supply caravan were coming very soon. Katara glanced behind them, over the weary heads of the brave ten thousand who were painfully hungry, past all the igloos, past the endless white snow that stretched all the way to the horizon, and all the way to Agna Qel'a who surely had sent the supply train their way by now.

Katara murmured, "Any moment now, there'd be a whole herd of buffalo-yaks pulling sleighs stacked high with food and supplies."

"Mmm… I hope they sent some steamed penguin-fish…"

"Yeah, me too." She said back. But for now, they had ten thousand hungry mouths and only crumbs and the daydreams of food to feed them. "Speaking of… Can you remind the others to make rations last until the resupply arrives?"

Her Second Wave smiled wide. "Sure, Master Katara, but some of the Third Waves went over to the clan marching behind us and convinced them to share their pemmican rations with us. It even has bits of dried sea prunes in them!" She offered a small lump of pemmican to her, "Want some?"

"That's kind of them… and that looks awfully tasty." She said, her rumbling stomach moving her mittened hand for her to accept the fist-sized portion of delicious seal meat, lard and sea prunes.

"Yeah, a couple even volunteered to carry some of our packs!"

"They did?" Katara mumbled through a mouthful of pemmican. Almost moaning at the rich, salty flavour mingling with the tang of dried sea prunes. Food always tasted best when you were starving.

"Yeah, the girls said that they were really nice guys!"

Katara glanced over to the squad of women who were talking and laughing with some of the more muscular men from the next unit, their voices carrying lightly over the snow. It was hard to read from this distance, but the carved whalebone charm on the lead man's blue parka signified him as a chief or someone close to one. She swallowed, shivering at how good it felt to have something in her belly, "Good for them. But… How are the injured?"

That put a damper in the other girl's expression. "We saved who we could, Master Katara. The fifty-seven who survived are all stable, but…" She paused, glancing in the direction of the medical igloos. Easily spottable from the rest of the igloos from how they flew blue flags with the half-moon on them, "… some of the men won't be able to march."

The way she said it made Katara notice the brown stains on her Second Wave's parka. From her mittens, to the furred cuff and all the way to her elbows. Dried blood. A lot of it. A cold pit formed in her stomach, "Do you mean they won't be able to walk in time for our offensive or… not at all?"

"Some of the first but mostly the second," the other girl said quietly, bowing her head in shame.

"By the Moon and Ocean spirits…" She murmured.

The other girl continued, even more quietly, mittened hands clenched, "We could only do so much with only our waterbending! And I don't know if that's even possible for wounds that severe, maybe if Master Yagoda was here, maybe she would know what to do. She'd know how to help the people that we're too stupid and too bad of healers to do anything about-"

"Hey," Katara gently held the other girl's shoulders and looked her in the eye. "You all did your best. That's all anyone could ever ask you to do."

She smiled sadly, "Thank you, First Wave."

"We'll ask some of the Waterbenders to make ice sleighs for the injured." Katara said, "Leave it to their clans to decide to either bring them along with us or send them to head back to Agna Qel'a."

"Okay… We won't let you down, Master Katara."

"I know you won't." She smiled at her second-in-command, "But remember, we need to stay sharp. Just because the Fire Nation hasn't attacked since yesterday doesn't mean that they've given up, and I don't think they will either. So, don't let them catch us with our guard down, especially when we still don't have our food."

"Yes, First Wave."

"It's only until tonight anyway. By then, the supply caravan will have caught up to us by then, and we'll have full bellies when we go to sleep."

Her Second Wave smiled brightly and pumped a fist to her parka's chest in a salute, "I'll be sure to-"

"Katara!" Hahn's voice boomed, and interrupted her thoughts.

They whipped their heads towards the new arrival. Hahn, who strode into the ice tent with his usual swagger, chin raised, smile smug. His fur-lined blue cape fluttered behind him, and the carved whalebone spear in his hand seemed almost ceremonial in its pristine condition, untouched by the battles they'd faced. Not for the lack of trying, but still…

"Hey, Head chieftain, something on your mind?" Katara asked.

"We're moving out in half an hour. Time to break camp and get those lazy men back on their feet. We've got a lot of ground to cover before nightfall! And make sure these ladies are good to go too!"

Katara's eyes widened as she watched Hahn produced some pemmican from his pocket and presented it to buffalo-yaks. The beasts, with their hunger to match three grown men, naturally scarfed it down from his palm.

No…

"No?" he glanced at her, an eyebrow raised, "Something wrong with the men, First Wave Karata?"

Katara looked up at him. Had she said that outloud? She coughed. "Hahn, the troops are exhausted. Maybe we should give them more time to rest- at least until the supply caravan catches up with us."

"Rest?" Hahn rolled his eyes at her concern. "I already gave them almost an entire day after yesterday's battle to catch their breath. An entire day! We're not here for a vacation, Katara, we're here to fight. We can make camp when the caravan arrives. Can't let the Fire Nation think we're slowing down."

"The supply caravan-"

"By Tui's Gills, they'll catch up!" He groaned impatiently, "We only sent like 500 men with them, they'll definitely be faster and they'll definitely catch up. But until that happens, we got to keep moving."

"… Understood, Head Chieftain," she replied, keeping her tone neutral, but couldn't help how her jaw clenched, knowing there was no point in arguing further.

"Good." Hahn grinned, completely unaware of how close he had been to getting ice water dunked over him. "Half an hour, Katara. Make sure the royal sleigh and your warrior-sisters are ready. Let's show those Fire Nation scum what we're made of!"

And with that, he turned on his heel and marched out of the tent, his voice already booming orders to the men outside.

Katara let out a slow breath, her stomach twisting with unease. "You heard him," she said quietly to her Second Wave. "Let's get everyone ready to move."

"Yes, Master Katara," her Second Wave responded, the reluctant weariness evident in her voice as she headed out to relay the orders.

Katara remained in the sleigh for a moment longer, and it was only when watched the other girl march off to tell the others did Katara let that brave mask of pep and calm slip off her. She stared at the palm of her furred blue mittens, now empty of that delicious sea prune-flavoured pemmican, and resisted the urge to lick at it. Even that big juicy lump of food wasn't enough, only barely keeping that gnawing hunger pangs away… She knew that they couldn't keep this up. Every step they took without not enough food or rest was another step closer to the breaking point. Another step to just deciding that they'd be better off just turning around and back to Agna Qel'a.

A small voice in the back of her head whispered that it wouldn't be so bad if they did give up and-

"-No, I can't think like that." Katara berated herself, forcing herself to stand and begin to make ready the 'royal sleigh.' "We can't just give up!"

Hahn, that stubborn goat gorilla, was right- they had to keep moving. People were still counting on them to pull off this mission. The chieftains and Princess Yue- their lives were still at stake. They couldn't slow down now just because they were hungry or tired. And if they failed here, if they had to retreat back to Agna Qel'a in defeat, Katara knew just who'd have to undertake this mission: Aang and her brother. It would be nice for them to be all together again, but at the same time, she didn't want them facing battle again, not so soon after they nearly got…

*HOOOONK!*

Katara flinched at the sound of another Ostrich-horse's call rolling through the frigid arctic air. But she forced herself to focus on the task at hand, tugging at the harnesses on the buffalo-yaks to check the knots.

"The supply caravan will be here any minute," she whispered to herself, her breath coming in fogs again as the temperature began to drop fast. "All the pemmican you can eat. Maybe even some sea prunes to stew, just like Gran-gran used to make. We'll march with full stomachs, we'll make it far, and we'll be that much closer to coming home."

She had to believe it. There was no other choice. For Sokka. For Aang.

[Agna Qel'a - The Gaang's Ice Cottage]

Aang leaned his head out the window, just to breathe the fresh air of Agna Qel'a.

The breeze that brushed over his cheeks and his blue arrow tattoos was freezing, but still better than the cottage's stagnant air. He remembered the last time he had been here: Katara and Sokka were with him, smiling and laughing. So carefree. But then, the Fire Nation had to attack. And now, the city was injured- and slightly scarred. Like him. Aang found his fingers absentmindedly brushing over the cast of his broken arm, then glanced at his glider staff resting against the wall like an unused broom. Just another week at most and he'd be able to fly and fight again. He'll be able to go back to helping people again. Katara, Sokka… everyone.

The front door of heavy furs opened behind him.

"Aang, we're back with some grub!"

Aang grinned, "Hey, Sokka! Hey, Momo!"

"Hope you didn't get hungry waiting on us." Sokka laughed, his whalebone cane tapped along the floor as he set down that sack full of food. "It's the same food we sent Katara and the others. Most of it's fish, but I think you'll like the seaweed, moon peaches, and the sea prunes."

"Oh, that's neat!" Aang said, helping him unpack the bowls and little boxes of food.

With a grunt, Sokka sat down across from him, "Speaking of, Aang… I never got to ask, but why'd you leave Master Yagoda's healing hut anyway? I thought you loved her stews?"

"I do, but I guess I got tired of everything else." He shrugged, taking a bite out of a moon peach pie, "Sleeping on this bed surrounded by a thousand candles, getting all these offerings and having all these visitors to pray for me and to bless their family's whalebones and blue jade. Even after Master Yagoda stopped people from visiting, I couldn't even look out the window without people pointing, shouting and cheering at me from the sidewalks and rooftops. I couldn't take it. So, as soon as Master Yagoda let me, I moved back here. "

"Yeah, I can see why that'd get annoying," Sokka mumbled through a mouthful of his steamed fish, then wiping it with the sleeve of his blue parka.

Aang winced, "I don't want to call people annoying…"

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with calling out people when they're being annoying. Just got to square up and tell them how you really feel about what they're doing."

Aang thought about it and a smile tugged at his mouth, "Well, I do like the sound of opening up to people."

"Not what I meant, but you know what? Close enough!" Sokka laughed, "Proud of you for standing up for yourself and moving out of there. I know how boring it is getting stuck in there, healing huts always smell so weird with all that dried seaweed mixed with whatever. It's the worst. And from what I've heard, things were getting too crazy too."

Aang raised an eyebrow, "Crazy how?"

Sokka just shrugged. "Master Yagoda said that someone broke into the room where you stayed. She said she heard some voices coming from it, but when she went and checked, no one was there but someone had definitely rummaged through the room. Must have snuck in through the window or something. Your fans just go too far sometimes."

"Yeah, and I don't like it…" Aang furrowed his brows in worry, staring down into his bowl of sea prune stew.

Sokka sighed, probably noticing how his face scrunched up with worry, "Listen, Aang, I get it. It's not easy being the Avatar, with all the attention and the expectations. I know it's a lot. Maybe too much at times. But try to give my people a break, okay? We don't mean any harm. You're just… you mean a lot to them and the world as the Avatar, no way around that. Especially now, with everything going on."

Aang looked up, straight into Sokka's blue eyes, "But what if I can't live up to that? What if I let them down?"

"You won't, Aang. Not possible," Sokka shook his head firmly, his warrior wolftail swaying in the cool air of the cottage. "You're the Avatar. Even if you do nothing, you're still helping the world by just showing them that there's hope. So, trust me, you're making a difference, even when it feels like you're not doing enough."

Aang opened his mouth to protest, but Sokka beat him to it.

"But!" Sokka interrupted him with a smile, as if he knew that he was going to say disagree, "… But I know you're not the type of guy who'd just let everyone else do the work for you. So, if you want to help us now. You gotta do is stay alive. Easy peasy, right?"

"Thanks. I'll try to remember that."

"What can I say?" Sokka nodded smugly. "All that advising with the Northern Water Tribe big cheeses was good practice."

"I still feel off- like we're still in danger somehow. Did something happen?"

"Oh, there's been some fighting at the walls yesterday. Nothing major," Sokka said, setting down his empty food bowl, "Those 'Fire Nation Elites' aren't as scary when they can't get close with their ostrich-horses. Or when they look so small from up high in the wall. No one was even hurt in the fighting, and we haven't seen them since they rode off yesterday. Pretty lame of them to give up like that. Smart, but pretty lame."

"But Katara's out there. Without us." Aang pressed his lips together, the idea of Katara being out there with those giant ostrich-horses really bothered him a lot.

"Hey, I don't like leaving my sister alone either." Sokka said, leaning back in his bedroll and staring up at the ceiling, "I promised our dad that I'd always look after her, but Katara earned her spot, you know? The first girl First Wave- man, Northern Water Tribe titles sounds weird! Anyway, she's the first girl in a thousand years maybe longer to get it- even kicked Master Pakku's butt for it. A warrior of the Southern Water Tribe like me? I can totally respect that, and I kinda have to. But if my leg had been better, I'd have definitely gone along with her."

"You're still helping a lot of people by staying here advising the chieftains and the elders." Aang pointed out, earning a laugh from Sokka.

"Man, I still can't get over that… Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, rubbing shoulders with the big chiefs and doing advising and leadering stuff…"

Aang smiled too, "I bet your dad would be impressed."

"Yeah, I think he would."

"So, you're not worried for her?"

"Katara? I don't think I'll ever not be worried for her, you know?" Sokka said, sounding to Aang as if he had already accepted it, "But I'm pretty sure she's safe. From what the troops who came to bring back supplies, they've mostly had trouble with the snow and food than anything the Fire Nation threw at them. And besides, Katara's got 10,000 warriors to boss around and more than 300 of her warrior-sisters guarding her. And they only got to fight an enemy a tenth of their size. Trust me, Aang, Katara's safer with them than she would have been with us two injured guys."

"Huh, I guess that's one way to look at things." Aang pressed his lips to a thin line. It was a mixed feeling, knowing that Katara didn't need him as much. That she could be safe without him. Was it wrong for him to wish she counted on him more? Aang didn't know, but he could at least say for sure that it's nice that he didn't have to worry for her- that she was fine. He could live with that.

"If you're really worried, I could take Appa and go check up on her. He should be good enough to fly by now, right?"

"I don't know…" Aang looked away, "Master Yagoda said he should take it easy too, but if it's for Katara…. Let's give Appa a bit more rest if that's alright?"

"I gotcha."

"Thanks, Sokka."

"No problemo~" Sokka yawned, burying himself deeper into his blue bedroll, "I'm gonna take a nap now. Those old geezers really like putting everything on me. So, if anyone comes knocking, I'm not here."

"Alright, have a nice nap, Sokka," nodded Aang.

"You heading out or something?"

Aang looked back and just shrugged, "I might stay here and meditate or might head out and get some sun. I haven't decided yet. Probably not."

"Man, Aang, you're pants at deciding today…" Sokka mumbled sleepily. "The Fire Nation's far, far away facing off against the best warriors of the Northern Water Tribe and my sister. I'm sure It'll be fine if you take a walk around town. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Anything, Suki?"

"Nothing yet. Let's scout the next building."

(3 Days before the Armada arrives)

"Messenger Hawk from the Lieutenant, sir. 1st to 4th Regiments have linked with our barbarian allies. They have secured the [Engineering] weapons cache and confirmed the weapons are operational. All regiments are now setting up the site, preparing their positions and will be on full alert in preparation for the enemy's estimated arrival in 20 hours. Postscript from the Lieutenant reads: 'Just like we did in Omashu, sir?'"

"Immediate dispatch: Just like we did in Omashu. Except… leave no survivors."

Under a morning sun and a light fog cover, the buffalo-yaks neighed as the royal sleigh skidded to a halt. Snow shuffled softly under Katara's snow shoes, arms around her torso clutching her painfully empty stomach as she stared- blue eyes wide with disbelief at what lay before her.

"This… this is too good to be true." Katara's awed whisper slipped through the frigid air.

They barely made any distance in yesterday's march. They, all ten thousand of them, had all underestimated how hard it was to march through snow with nothing to eat. Even sleep was difficult. It had been all Katara could do to keep them moving- keep them distracted from their empty bellies and muttering silent prayers to the Moon and Ocean Spirits. But with every step they took, the absence of the supply caravan and any food became harder to ignore. And though she didn't admit it aloud, a small, gnawing voice in the back of her mind had whispered that the supplies might never come. That they had to turn back, that they had failed.

But this discovery… It changed things.

"A Fire Nation base." Katara said what everyone else was thinking, her voice echoing slightly through the empty base. A circular wall of packed snow- less for defences and more for wind management- cradling Water Tribe village's worth of igloos. The snow underfoot was packed dense from the foot traffic it experienced, much easier to walk on, and the ashy scent of lit campfires still lingered in spots.

"This must have been where they've been attacking us from." Hahn nodded, staying in the royal sleigh. Meanwhile, behind him, the Water Tribe forces in their blue parkas and banners had caught up to them, still clutching their whalebone spears warily as they swept their eyes over the abandoned base and the absence of enemies.

It looks like they left in a hurry." Her Second Wave called out as she knelt down, picked up a red Fire Nation banner that had fallen, crumpled and half-buried in the snow. She turned towards Katara and said, "First Wave Katara, maybe we finally did chase them away?"

"Maybe we did..." Katara said, looking at the red Fire Nation banner in her Second Wave's hands. Not knowing how to feel about their enemy running away from them. It didn't feel like they were winning. Not with her stomach clenching in pain.

"What are you talking about? Of course we chased them away!" Hahn guffawed, and typical of Hahn, he did not let the chance to be cocky pass him by, "In fact, they've been on the run ever since we left Agna Qel'a. This just proves it- they know we'll win!"

His boast was loud enough for everyone to hear them, and a murmur of excitement rippled through the ranks of the Water Tribe forces, just a ripple. The warriors who had been trudging wearily moments before now straightened with a tentative hope. Their steps quickening as they explored the abandoned base, eager to see more signs that their head chieftain was right- that they really did chase away the Fire Nation. That they were winning this protracted battle if they can even call it that.

"Everyone, look!"

Then, a pair of warriors returned, the widest smiles on their faces as they hoisted a long pole on their shoulders. And all along its length, long cuts of buffalo-yak meat dangled.

"There's two whole smokehouses filled to the brim with FOOD!"

That cinched it.

They had asked the Moon and Ocean Spirits for a sign, and they were supplied with one. After days of biting hunger, the sight of food, even Fire Nation ones, was overwhelming. A loud cheer went up from the troops, and Katara felt a wave of relief wash over her. Her Second Wave cheered along as she wrapped an arm around Katara's shoulders. "They really did run!"

"See, First Wave?" Hahn grinned cockily at her. "I told you that we had to keep moving. We scared them into running away so fast that they even left their supplies behind!"

"Alright, I'll admit that I was wrong, Head Chieftain Hahn." Katara just smiled and shook her head, she couldn't even hold it against him. Not when even her stomach was making celebratory rumbles.

Hahn stood on the sleigh, rising above the crowd with his cocky grin, his spear raised high and his great, billowing blue cape behind him as he posed as if he had personally driven the Fire Nation away. "Men! This is the turning point!" he declared, "And today, we'll raise a toast to each other. The Fire Nation messed with our supplies, and then did an all-out attack that lasted the entire day. Our enemies threw everything they had at us, attacked us from every direction, but we fought them back each time! And just as I expected, when they saw that neither of those was enough to stop us, the cowards ran with their tails between their legs like wounded wolves! Our enemies, the 'greatest' soldiers that the Fire Nation had to offer, saw YOU- The might of this Northern Water Tribe army coming for them. AND. THEY. RAN!"

"VICTORY!"

"WATER TRIBE!"

Yeah, Hahn had his faults- a lot of them- and he was only really good at boasting. But right now, Katara knew that was exactly what they needed: A braggart on their side who told them they could do anything and beat anyone, because they were the biggest, toughest warriors in the North Pole.

Hahn flourished his spear, pointing the bladed tip northwards, "Warriors! Nanuq's Valley is just up ahead where the Fire Nation huddled in fear of us! Not even a day away!" His blue eyes swept over the crowd, "We'll fortify this position! Make this our own base! There's enough supplies here for us to hold out for a day or two while we regain our strength and prepare for the final push, for our final victory! And more importantly, there's more than enough for the supply caravan to arrive. More than enough for… EXTRA RATIONS!"

"RATIONS!"

"WATER TRIBE!"

This time, even Katara cheered along. "Rations!"

(Several hours later)

"That was the best meal I've had in days," Katara said, a satisfied sigh escaping her lips as she sat back against the curved wall of an igloo, feeling the warmth from her recent meal settle in her stomach. "I almost forgot what it felt like to eat until I was full."

Beside her, her Second Wave sat, ice crystals clinging to the long strands of black hair that had slipped out of the other girl's hood. She finished off the last of her ration and wiped her mouth with the back of her mittened hand and sat back with a smile, "Me too, Master Katara… Thank the Moon and Ocean Spirits that we caught the Fire Nation just as they were smoking the meat."

"Yeah, lucky us, right?!" Katara laughed.

The smell of smoked buffalo-yak meat still lingered in the air, mingling with the scent of melting snow and the faint, persistent odour of ash that seemed to cling to the abandoned Fire Nation base. The sky was a dull grey blanket overhead, and the sun barely a smudge behind the thick fog. And it's only gotten thicker as the afternoon waned, shrouding the camp in a dense, white blanket. So dense that it was getting harder to see beyond the first few rows of igloos.

"This fog… it's getting heavier." Her Second Wave muttered.

"Yeah, I noticed that too," Katara said, her tone reassuring. "But I heard that it's not that unusual for the Polar Wastes. Weird weather comes with the territory. At least everyone's inside the walls."

"Yeah." The other girl's lips tugged into a unsure frown, wrapping her arms around her knees as they huddled for warmth.

She could only imagine how much worse the winds was outside of the Fire Nation-made wall where the rest of the army had to make their igloos. Sure, the wall itself wasn't much, but it at least stopped the worst of the arctic winds. And also, they all felt safer knowing they had at least something between them and a possible Fire Nation cavalry attack. It had been enough of a concern that there had been some… bickering about who gets the igloos inside the walls; but Katara managed to convince everyone to give them for medical igloos and the trained healers- namely Katara and the girls. Her warrior-sisters needed them the most in her opinion. There had been some talk about forming an outer wall, but with the Fire Nation on the run, the other waterbenders shelved that idea for tomorrow as they rested.

"How's the situation with the other medical igloos?" Katara asked, trying to keep the conversation focused on practical matters.

Her Second Wave hesitated, but Katara noticed the flash of worry visible through the fur lining of her parka hood before getting buried. "More people are collapsing from weakness, First Wave," the other girl admitted, "And I've been feeling weak too. Even worse than before."

"It's probably just exhaustion," Katara said, forcing a steady and reassuring tone into her voice. "We've been marching on empty stomachs for days. Now that we've finally had a decent meal, our bodies are just reacting. It's normal."

Her Second Wave nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Master Katara," she murmured, her tone candid- almost ashamed, "It's just… I never knew war could be this hard. The marching, the people dying, the rationing and the hunger and the… everything. It's just so hard."

"Look at me." she said softly, reaching out to grasp her second-in-command's mittened hand. And offered a thin smile. "Chin up, it's almost over. If it weren't for this fog, we'd be able to see the Fire Nation base by now. Right at that foggy horizon where Nanuq's Valley is. We'll beat the outnumbered Fire Nation soldiers who are definitely even weaker from hunger than we are. Then we'll save the chiefs and the princess, and then we'll all head home. Together. We're going to be alright."

"But… none of us really fought the Fire Nation. We were just stabilising and treating the wounded while you and the men did all the fighting. We're not brave like you or the men are."

"Hey, don't say that," Katara gently admonished, "It took courage to do what you did. You were saving lives, even when the enemy was close by. That's bravery too."

The other girl nodded, her breath coming out as mist from her parka's hood, though her blue eyes still held a trace of fear. "But Master Katara, what if… what if we have to fight? Really fight?"

"Then you should know that each of you are worth ten Fire Nation soldiers!" Katara said with a wide smile, trying to do her best to make it genuine while also overly conscious about her voice being a touch too brisk. "And besides, we might not have to! We outnumber the Fire Nation 10-to-1. Even if we wanted to, I don't think there's even space for us to be on the frontlines! So, you can let the men handle the fighting. That's what they're here for."

Her friend nodded, snow falling off the top of her parka hood. "I… you're right, First Wave. Sorry for being a scaredy cat-owl. It won't happen again."

"It's alright." Katara forced herself to smile again, squeezing her friend's hand in reassurance. "We'll finish our rounds with the medical igloos, get the blood pumping and shake off that weakness. I promise that by tomorrow, everything will be clearer."

She stood up, and helped pull her second-in-command to her feat. All the while, Katara did her best to hide how weak she was feeling too.

"I'll do my best, Master Katara." The Second Wave offered a small, weak smile. "For the Northern Water Tribe. For our people."

The words were barely out of her mouth when the first fireball streaked through the fog, trailing smoke and fire as it hurtled toward the camp. It crashed into the centre of the base with a deafening explosion, sending chunks of ice and snow flying in all directions.

"FIRE!" someone screamed, panic edging their voice. "FIRE FROM THE SKY!"

Katara barely had time to react. Instinctively, she threw herself and her Second Wave to the ground, her heart pounding as the force of the blast rippled through the icy ground beneath them. For a moment, all she could hear was the ringing in her ears, the world around her a blur of motion and noise. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision, her breath coming in shallow gasps as she looked up to see flames licking at the edges of the shattered igloos.

Then more came, bright orange streaks in the fog-covered sky.

"They're coming from all directions!" a warrior shouted, his voice nearly drowned out by the roar of the explosions. "We're surrounded!"

Katara scrambled to her feet, her breath coming in quick, shallow gasps as she tried to make sense of what was happening. Another fireball arced through the fog, followed by another, each one slamming into another area of camp some distance from them.

"First Wave! What do we-

"Stay close!" she called out, grabbing her Second Wave's arm and pulling her to her feet. "We need to-"

Before she could finish, another explosion rocked the ground, this one so close that the heat warmed her face. The force of the blast knocked her back, and she stumbled, barely managing to keep her balance as the world tilted around her.

Through the chaos, Hahn's voice rang out, loud and commanding. "NORTHERN WATER TRIBE! TO ARMS!" he bellowed, his sleigh-mounted figure emerging from the fog to the sound of buffalo-yaks, his great blue cape billowing behind him as he looked to Katara. "Well? What are you waiting for!? Take out those damn Warm Lander Catapults! Charge!"

"But in what direction?!" Katara yelled back at him.

"At the enemy! Duh!"

"But the artillery is coming from everywhere!"

"Then charge everywhere!" He raised his whalebone spear higher in the air, waving it, "CHARGE, WARRIORS! CHAAAARGGGEEE!"

The order was met with a wild chorus of shouts as the Water Tribe warriors, their fear momentarily forgotten, replaced by pure adrenaline. In the midst of the explosions, the camp was a chaotic whirlpool of movement, warriors grabbing their whalebone spears and scattered in every direction- they couldn't just sit there and wait for a Fire Nation fireball to blast them to bits.

"First Wave! KATARA!" Her Second Wave's voice, and her hand on her shoulder, snapped her out of her thoughts. Desperate blue eyes locked with hers, "What do we do?!"

Katara's heart pounded in her chest as she tried to think, to focus on what they needed to do. They were healers, not soldiers, but looking at the backs of the men who were leaving them behind to charge at the enemy…

She clenched her fists.

With a grand gesture, she raised herself up on a platform of ice taller than the igloos. With another, she did her best to clear the fog around her. A host of three hundred feminine eyes, those of her Radiant Moonflower Warrior-Sisters, looked to her even as the men charged off. These were the same women who had trained under her guidance, who she had fought for their right to stand shoulder to shoulder with the men of the Water Tribe.

"Radiant Moonflower Warrior-Sisters! Ready yourselves!" She shouted to them, "The Fire Nation are underestimating you, just as the men of the Northern Water Tribe had. But today, you're gonna show them- and everyone else- what the women of the Northern Water Tribe are capable of. We're going to take those artillery positions! And we're going to do it together! FOR THE NORTHERN WATER TRIBE!"

And for the first time in more than a hundred years, the voices of women rang out in a fierce battle cry.

"FOR THE NORTHERN WATER TRIBE!"

She led them. Right from the front, she led them. Past the safety of the walls, past the field of igloos, over the charred bodies of men and deeper into the fog. Three hundred footsteps charging with her.

Katara snuck a peek over her shoulders, just to see the sight; and her heart swelled with pride at what she saw: Her brave three hundred sisters charging into battle with their waterbending, ready to take on the Fire Nation's artillery positions. This was their finest hour- the moment she had fought for and the moment they all had dreamed of. Fireballs continued to streak overhead, each one lighting up the fog for a brief moment before crashing into the ground with a powerful explosion.

But that didn't stop them- didn't even slow them down- because at that moment, they were unstoppable.

"Stay together!" She called out as they moved deeper into the fog, the visibility dwindling with every step. The fog was thick, but their determination was thicker. "Warrior-sisters! We fight as one!"

"This is it!" shouted one of the warrior-sisters beside Katara, her voice filled with a fierce joy. "This is what we've been training for!"

They raced deeper into the fog- following the source of those fiery streaks of artillery that seared overhead. The fog was so thick now that it was hard to see more than a few metres ahead, but that didn't matter when they were all heading to the same point anyway. The artillery positions were close- she could feel it, sense it- and the anticipation of victory spurred them on.

Three clans of Water Tribe warriors joined them, each one made up by about three hundred brave men in blue parkas and whalebone spears. Katara exchanged nods with the chiefs, a silent agreement as their respective units charged forward together, following the arcing fireballs to their source.

Charging some distance, the fog eventually thinned enough. And they saw it: one of the artillery pieces.

Katara had seen Fire Nation catapults before- been at the business end of it more times than she could count. They were metal Fire Nation machines taller than even Appa and capable of launching fireballs larger than her entire body. It was usually a team of Fire Nation soldiers. Practically helpless. But what they came across… This was something different. Instead of the towering contraption she expected, there was a smaller version- scoop, arm and all- mounted on the back of an ostrich-horse. An [Ostrich-horse-mounted Mini Catapult].

The Fire Nation rider, clad in a black coat and bright red armour, turned to look at them. His glowing eyes widened behind his helmet, and then-

"Honk!"

He wheeled his ostrich-horse around with surprising agility and galloped away, massive strides made by its bird legs carrying across the snow and into the fog, far too fast for anyone on foot to catch up.

Just like that, their glorious charge was for nothing.

"I'm starting to really, really hate that sound," Katara grumbled, her teeth clenched in frustration.

"Men!" One of the men from the clan that charged with them shouted- waving a thick arm at his warriors- the whalebone carving on his chest signifying him as a chief, "Head back to camp, search for anyone injured from the barrage!"

"First Wave Katara?" Her own Second Wave's voice cut through the fog, trembling slightly.

"What?" Katara snapped, more out of anxiety than anger.

"The other artillery- it's stopped. It's all quiet now." the Second Wave asked, her voice wavering with a mix of hope and fear. "Does that mean it's just another of those 'hit-and-run' attacks by the Fire Nation? …is it over now?"

Katara whipped her head around and realised the other girl was right. No more fireballs burned through the sky overhead, just this quiet- and not the good kind. It was the kind of silence that invaded your personal space- especially with what had been a chaotic battlefield just seconds ago. Nothing to be heard but their own breathless panting and snow shifting under their nervous feet. Something definitely felt off. The Fire Nation vanished, the heavy fog… it wasn't over. It couldn't be. "Everyone, stay alert!" Katara said loud enough for it to be carried through the fog, "I don't think it's over just yet!"

Her warrior-sisters and the men from the three clans nodded and tensed- their grips tightening on their whalebone spears and water pouches.

"First Wave Katara, should we go find the others too?" her Second Wave began, her frame in her blue parka hunched in a cautious waterbending stance, "We're probably spread out everywhere now. And Head Chieftain Hahn is probably far away too."

Katara's blue eyes flew wide open, and she whipped her gaze to her second-in-command. "Wait. Say that again!" She didn't know why, but that made her very nervous, very suddenly.

The other girl blinked in brief confusion, but repeated herself anyway, "Head Chieftain Hahn is probably far away too?"

"No, the part before that."

"We're probably spread out everywhere now?"

Katara's heart dropped into her stomach. That's it. If their entire army had charged in every direction- scattered and lost in this thick, disorienting fog- then they weren't an army of 10,000. No, they were several armies of less than 1,000- exactly the size that the Bloody 41st massacred all across the Earth Kingdom. Face pale, Katara shouted to them all, "Regroup! Get everyone back together before it's too late!"

But it already was. Out of the silent fog, came the screams of dying men.

The first scream pierced echoed across the snowy landscape. Sharp, desperate, and abruptly cut off by the honk of Fire Nation ostrich-horse cavalry. Another scream followed, then another- each one silenced as if the Fire Nation was plucking them out of the frigid air and replacing them with the sound of feasting ostrich-horses.

"hooonk!"

A nervous mutter rippled across the troops including her own Radiant Moonflower warrior-sisters. Because everyone quietly knew that each of those screams was someone who had been consigned to a grisly fate of being torn apart and eaten alive.

"More of those damned birds!" one of the chiefs shouted, "Men! Form up! Defending Half Moon formation around the women!"

The men flowed into their tightly packed formations- forming a curved spear wall made of sharp whalebone and brave men in their blue parkas. Mist formed from their exhales as they placed themselves between her warrior-sisters and wherever the Fire Nation was charging from.

"Where are those honks coming from?!" a male warrior behind them shouted, the rising panic was infectious.

Before Katara could respond, the familiar, terrifying honking of Fire Nation ostrich-horse cavalry filled the air, echoing from all directions. The honks reverberated through the fog, surrounding them. Yet no matter which direction they turned their heads and how hard they squinted, the monstrous birds remained unseen.

"What's happening?" one of the warrior-sisters beside her gasped, and despite holding the waterbending stance that she had been taught, there was no hiding the fearful expression or the way her mittened hands trembled over her water pouch. "Over there, I see something!"

They spotted the silhouette aimed at by her pointed finger.

One of the clan's warriors came running back, his weapon nowhere to be found as he sprinted as fast as he could over the snow. Pure, unadulterated terror on his face as he waved his arms in the air and shouted at them, "Snow! Snow! Snow! SNOW! SNO-"

A Fire Nation glaive thrust out of the white snow- skewering him through his side. Immediately, it was followed by the open maw of a great ostrich-horse's beak emerging from the snow like some great Tiger-shark swallowing some poor swimmer whole. With an audible snap, the beak chomped down at the man's waist before pulling him down into the snow. His lower half, now disconnected from everything above the waist, crumpled lifelessly onto the snow.

"Honk!"

Katara found her voice. "They're in the snow!" she screamed, "THEY'RE IN THE SNOW!"

The panicked screams spread, and every waterbender in earshot began frantically turning the snow beneath their feet into solid ice.

"For the Water Tribe!"

A sudden battlecry rang out from the thinning fog. Silhouettes of spears and parkas faintly appeared through it, and Katara's heart soared with hope. "For the Water Tribe!" she shouted back to let them know they were on the same side, her voice straining to rise above the din. "Watch out! The Fire Nation- they're hiding in the snow!"

But then something zipped through the air, a faint whistle that barely registered before it was too late.

"F-First Wave Katara?"

Katara turned just in time to see one of her Radiant Moonflower Warrior-sisters collapse into the snow, a sharp crystalline icicle the size of her forearm embedded in her chest. The red stain spreading across her parka was the only colour in the stark white world. But before anyone could say anything, more razor-sharp [Icicle Sprays] zipped through the air, slicing through the fog like deadly arrows. The yelps and shouts of pain that followed telling her that the icicles had found their mark on some unfortunate souls.

"Warrior-sisters! [Ice Walls]! NOW!" Katara shouted, her voice hoarse as she raised her arms. The ice walls sprang up just in time, the icicles embedding themselves into them with a series of sharp cracks.

"For the Water Tribe!" a voice cried out again, but this time, the tone was different- hostile, filled with anger and aimed at them.

"Enemy waterbenders?! Who are these people?!" someone began. And another Water Tribe warrior shouted the answer for all to hear.

"BARBARIANS!"

"Barbarians?!" Katara's eyes widened as she saw them.

Men in blue parkas, practically their own Water Tribe colours, pulled the [Ice Walls] back into water before they continued to charge straight through- their blue eyes glowing in the dark as they crashed into their own line of men. Spear clashed against spear, Waterbender against Waterbender, Water Tribe against Water Tribe. Even the cry of 'For the Water Tribe!' was met with another more furious and hate-filled counterpart. The only difference between friend and foe were the barbarians' steel weapons that hacked away at their ceremonial whalebone ones. And the long strips of red fabric stitched to the top of their parkas' hoods. Fire Nation colours. Traitors.

In the midst of the brutal melee, barbarian horns trumpeted- all across the arctic air from all directions. A signal. A signal that was answered by something much more terrifying.

"HOOOONK!"

Fire Nation cavalry burst from hidden ambush holes in an explosion of snow. Their monstrous ostrich-horses honked wildly, their beaks still red with the blood of the men they ambushed, and their riders flourishing razor-sharp Guandao glaives. Massive talons encased in snowshoes thumped on the snow and ice. Not hiding their presence anymore. Because why would they?

Even the Fire Nation knew that this wasn't like the last time when they had last battled.

"East! EAST!"

"No, that's north!"

"North! NORTH!"

"NOT NORTH! EAST!"

They were no longer the unstoppable Water Tribe army of 10,000 freshly trained and freshly rested warriors who had just left Agna Qel'a. No, they were the ragged band of 1,200 desperately trying to fight effectively after days of hunger, restless sleep, deadly skirmishes and forced marches across unforgiving Polar Wastes terrain. Even now, after having filled their bellies to the brim with the supplies they had claimed from the abandoned Fire Nation base, Katara felt so weak. They all did. Just the charge here alone made her legs tremble.

Everywhere she looked, things didn't look good for their warriors.

A Water Tribe warrior would parry a spear thrust only for their whalebone spear to snap under barbarian steel. Meanwhile, the tips of their own ceremonial whalebone spears often failed to pierce through the Barbarian parkas. Their waterbenders pushed and pulled with their barbarian counterparts who were faster and stronger.

Then the Fire Nation attacked.

Katara watched as those immense war birds simply jumped over the fluttering red cloth strips of their barbarian allies and landed in the midst of their warriors' lines. Anyone not bearing the telltale red cloth strips had to face a whirlwind of guandao glaives, firebending, and powerful beaks.

Three entire clans worth of Agna Qel'a bravest warriors... and they were losing the melee.

"First Wave, what do we do?!"

"Just keep treating the men! But get ready to fight!" Katara shouted back.

Her own Radiant Moonflower warrior-sisters couldn't even help with the fight- the main battle line was too close, and in this chaos, not even Katara was sure that she could pull an [Icicle Spray] without hitting their own allies. So, they did what they could, tending to any wounded man who was able to stagger his way to them. Makeshift medical beds of ice and snow propped up and the glow of [Ocean's Waters] shone as they cleaned and closed wounds. But apart from that, they could do nothing but watch in horror as the battlefield devolved into utter chaos. Entirely powerless to help.

She hated that feeling, and wished that they could do more than sit in the back lines- that they could fight. Unfortunately, her wish was immediately granted when the cry rang out:

"Watch out, they've broken through the left flank!"

She looked up just in time to see the Fire Nation ostrich-horse cavalry crash through the shattered spear wall.

Just them- three hundred of the Radiant Moonflower warrior-sisters… against ten of these creatures. Creatures that had grown to a monstrous size on their diet of human flesh, feasting on the brave fallen of every fortress that they had trampled under their talons. Creatures that were dripping from head to toe in the blood and gore of their bravest warriors. And creatures… that they now had to fight on their own- no Water Tribe men to stand between them.

That was when the realisation hit Katara- as in really hit her.

They weren't fighting against the Fire Nation. They were fighting against the 41st Division.

"HOOOONK!"

… and Katara took an involuntary step back, not sure of their odds anymore.

The 41st Division charged. Massive forms barrelling forward with unstoppable force, trampling over the dead and dying with their talons. Their riders' eyes glowing with a predatory light as the moonlight caught the edges of their Guandao glaives, turning the Fire Nation steel into deadly, gleaming lances aimed at their next targets- Katara and her sisters.

"Warrior-sisters! [Icicle Sprays]!" She screamed, her voice breaking as she tried to rally her forces.

Some were still frozen in fear, but most managed to do as ordered. The women at the front loosed a hailstorm of sharpened icicles- some hurling shards large as big as their arms and some launching clouds of icicles as small as their pinky fingers- all cutting through the air like arrows. But the snarling ostrich-horses didn't even slow down, and their riders barely even flinched. Their attacks deflecting off Fire Nation armour in rapid clinks that were barely audible over the din of battle.

In fact, their attacks only seemed to make the ostrich-horses angrier. And hungrier.

"[Ice wall]!" Katara called out, watching them charge before shrieking again. "Stop gawking and FORM THAT MOON SPIRIT DAMNED WALL!"

Shocked into action, her sisters frantically pushed the snow into solid barriers. Clear icy walls rose from the snow, but the challenge of pushing snow into an [Ice Wall] to cover such a wide front became painfully clear: Too narrow of a wall and the Fire Nation ostrich-horses just side-stepped each. Too short, and they hopped over it like a fallen log. Too thin, and the monstrous beasts just smashed through as if it were fragile glass. Each failed attempt saw those monsters honking closer. But eventually, a strong, wide wall took shape, plugging the gap in their warriors' line. Except…

… Several of her warrior-sisters were trapped on the wrong side, banging their fists against the ice wall, voices muffled by the ice wall.

"Sisters! PLEASE!"

"Don't leave me!"

"KATARA!"

Blood splattered on the other side of the ice wall, and the screaming rose.

"Stop! Pull the wall down!" Katara pulled at the wall, but more ice was being pushed into it instead.

She whipped around. "What are you doing?! I said pull it down!" she screamed at her troops, but still wide-eyed with desperation, her warrior-sisters kept waterbending- adding more layers to the wall that separated them. The frosted blue surface thickened until it became opaque- until the silhouettes of her trapped sisters no longer visible, the screaming had stopped.

A hand shook her shoulder.

"First Wave Katara!" One of the chiefs from a neighbouring clan shouted, blood streaming from a deep gash on his forehead and staining his blue parka, "We can't secure the flanks any longer! We'll hold them off as long as we can! Take the women and save yourselves!"

"But-" Katara's heart pounded in her chest as she glanced back at the solid wall of ice. The cries for help were growing fainter, the pounding more softer, but the Fire Nation was closing in. She could hear the battle raging on still, the clash of weapons, the roars of rage, the honking of the ostrich-horses' approach, all of it closing down from all sides with every heartbeat.

"Master Katara! What do we do!?" One of the Third Waves asked her. And the question drew the attention of all the warrior-sisters in earshot, all of them holding pure desperation in their Waterbender blue eyes.

"I-"

'I don't know.'

But Katara did know. She knew what she had to do. Hardening her heart, she faced the rest of her Radiant Moonflower Warrior-Sisters, and shouted loud enough for her voice carrying through the chaos. "Everyone, retreat! Get out of here, now!"

"Retreat! RETREAT!"

"Retreat! Move, now!"

The command rippled outward. Her warrior-sisters echoed the order as they turned and fled. The blue of their parkas blurred into the mist as they distanced themselves in a desperate scramble. Their legs, weakened from days of hunger and exhaustion, found a last reserve of strength driven by the sheer desperate will to escape with their lives.

Then Katara's eyes widened in horror as she saw several squads of Radiant Moonflower Warrior-Sisters scatter in all directions. "STOP!" She shouted, "Stop going in different directions!"

"HOOOONK!"

But it was too late. From all directions, horrid screams began to ring out as they were found.

"Someone! Help!"

"Please! We have wounded!"

"They're eating us- AAAGH!"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" Katara whispered before shouting to the bulk of her unit who remained with her- those who were still alive, "Warrior-sisters, We have to get out of here! Follow me!"

Using her own warrior-sisters as early warning- as sacrificial bait, Katara guided them as they all ran for their lives. Going wherever the battlecries and the screaming was not yet present. As they ran, they even passed some brave man who dragged the injured along on makeshift sleds of ice- slowing them down considerably as they struggled in the deep snow…

"HOOOONK!"

…They wouldn't be the last ones they had to leave behind.

"Sisters?! Anyone?! I need help! I can't walk!"

"PLEASE!"

Katara focused her mind and hardened her heart. All that mattered was the warrior-sisters with her. Not the ones who collapsed, and not the ones who tried to help them. But the ones who ran with her then. No one else.

So, they kept running.

They did what they had to- to save the ones they could. And that was all that mattered.

The fog closed in behind them like a heavy white curtain, swallowing the last signs of the battle… The valorous cries of the men's last stand, the screams of the dying, the victorious calls of the ostrich-horses- all of it faded away, but still, they kept moving. Running on until the only thing they could hear was their gasping breath and their own footsteps on the snow.

"Second Wave! Get a tally of all the wounded," Katara called over her shoulder. She let a minute or two pass by, but when no response came, she turned around to face her tired sisters-in-arms. Her eyes scanned over the faces. "Second Wave? Where's the Second Wave? Has anyone seen her?"

They all looked away as they muttered. "Master Katara… Second Wave Nessa… she had been on the other side of the wall."

"No…" Katara felt her heart twist in her chest. Her blue eyes immediately went back to the direction they'd been running in, "No, no, no no… That's not possible. You're wrong! There was just so much screaming- you must have misheard! We wouldn't have- I couldn't have just left her to die!"

Snow crunched under her as she fell to her knees. Her tears freezing before they hit the snow.

"… We did what we had to- to save the ones we could." Katara told herself, "And that was all that mattered. It has to be."

- When the Snow Starts Honking in Ostrich-HorseEnd -