Pakku sips a cup of tea watching intently as his students go through a sparring match with each other. Over the past month since the wedding between Sokka and Yue, Zuko has dove headlong into learning waterbending and has done so with remarkable success. Healing with waterbending is a fairly common ability but with the limited history books that they have in the north Pakku has never heard of an avatar of fire learning healing with waterbending. Though his master Avatar Kotak had demonstrated this ability, Pakku chalks it up to the avatar spirit recalling an ability from his old master in its current incarnation. While Katara and Yue are evenly matched in terms of waterbending, Zuko's opponent had originally made fun of him when he started learning but now can't even land a hit on the prince.

The boy sparring against Zuko is shaky on his own two feet, fearful of the firebender in front of him. Nervously the boy, Songauk, squats to a low stance and extends his hands out from his body. He draws his hands inwards to his chest as he stands to his full height causing the snow to melt into water and be drawn up into a ball of water. He clenches his hands and freezes the water into a tight ball of ice. He presses a foot forwards, shoving his arms towards Zuko launching the ball of ice at him. Waiting for a moment, Zuko allows the ball to get closer to him before using his own bending to catch and orbit it around himself. Melting the ball of ice back into water, he collects even more water from the surrounding ice creating a massive torrent behind the orb of water he's controlling. Spinning around following the momentum of catching the ice sphere, Zuko moves his right hand over his head in a similar motion to throwing a punch causing the wall of water to slam into Songuak flattening him to the ground. The poor waterbender washes up at Pakku's feet.

"Impressive, you've grown faster than any student I've ever trained. You may be able to take on Katara at this rate." Pakku says before turning to Songuak at his feet. "You, on the other hand, need to continue practicing. By the time you're my age you may be able to defeat a sea cucumber. That's it for today everyone, class dismissed."

"So, how's married life treating you?" Katara asks Yue as the two put their parkas back on, preparing to head down to the city proper. "Until recently, I thought my brother was sure marriage was just an excuse to eat a lot of food."

"I mean, you're not wrong. Sokka and I ate so much at the reception we were practically in a food coma for a week." Yue says, causing Katara to laugh to herself.

"Yeah that sounds about right knowing him, well you seem happy which is good enough for me. It's nice to have a sister now, it was always just me and Sokka growing up." Katara says but this prompts Zuko to scoff as he dawns a red version of the parkas that the other water tribe peoples wear. "Something a matter Zuko?"

"Just... you saying having a sister and it being nice in the same sentence." Zuko responds, drawing in a deep breath then puffing out a bit of fire to warm himself back up. "I have a sister as well... she's pure evil."

"Given your family's track record, I'd believe it." Katara responds, "What makes her so bad?"

"The list will take all day, but the worst of it was that she was raised believing she was the avatar since The fire sages discovered that the new avatar was a firebender and a member of the royal family. My father assumed it was her and raised her to be a living weapon. I don't think I need to say that we don't get along very well." Zuko explains.

"Wonder how she reacted to learning you are the avatar." Yue responds, which only causes Zuko to wince.

"She will not have taken it well, growing up there was something I'd always have to remind myself about her. Azula always lies." Zuko says.

"It's a pretty name but... from what you said she sounds like pure evil." Yue responds.

"She's been groomed by my father to be the perfect living weapon. She lacks empathy, and is fueled by an unrelenting drive to be perfect, lying comes as easily as breathing for her. If we ever run into her, never trust a word she says." Zuko says as he walks down the icy stair case back towards the guests' longhouses.

"I'm definitely not gonna be like that." Yue says, causing Katara to start laughing to herself. "Do you have a special boy in your life yet?"

"No, but I know from a fortune teller who it will be but we both have a lot of growing up to do first. Especially him." Katara responds, watching as Aang floats about in the air on his glider staff as a bunch of kids cheer and laugh below him.

"You say that like you already know him, and you said you and Zuko were just friends... is it someone back home?" Yue asks as the two continue their walk through the town.

"It's supposed to be Aang, but we're both still kids. I haven't even finished my 15th winter yet, and Aang said he was 12 years old when he was frozen in that iceberg we found him in. He still hasn't gotten a chance to grow up, and neither have I. When my father and the men of our tribe set out to go to war, it left me and Sokka the oldest of the kids. I was eleven at the time and Sokka just thirteen and with the men gone, it left Sokka and the women to take up their roles and I had to grow up quickly." Yue's expression saddens slightly at this.

"It's just another cost of war, I grew up pampered and never had to worry about any of that. I knew there was a war but aside from what they told us in school. I guess I had the most normal childhood out of each of us." Yue says. "But, let's not focus on all that. What did this fortune teller say?"

"That's basically it, but Zuko's fortune is a bit more vague from what he told us. She told him that he'll lose his bending or at least it'll get a lot weaker before it gets stronger. Something about a battle he has to fight inside himself, with his own family and people who will become his allies, which that part has happened slightly since he fought us when we first met. She also told him that the one he's going to be with will betray everything she knows to help him." Katara explains.

"It's probably a girl from the firenation then if she betrays everything to save him. Has his bending gotten any weaker since you came here?" Yue asks as the pair continue their trek to find Sokka.

"No, it looks as strong as I've always seen it. He just keeps getting more powerful as he learns new elements. I can barely imagine how powerful a fully realized avatar truly... is..." She trails off, looking up at the sky seeing something float down from the gray heavens.

"What's the matter? You look like youve just seen a ghost." Yue says as she catches up to Katara's side then she sees it as well.

Floating towards the ground just in front of her face is a black stained snowflake, despite the freezing cold of the north the sight of this ill omen causes Yue's blood to freeze in her veins. "B-black snow?" She stutters, seeing more black snowflakes begin to descend from the heavens. Around them other members of the tribe stand outside looking up at the soot covered snow not knowing what it could mean. Katara turns to her sister in law with horror filled eyes, the last time she saw this she lost her mother. "The Firenation." Katara says, the word is loud enough to startle the other people around them. No one is old enough to remember the last time the firenation had attacked the north pole, and the thought that they're here for the first time in almost a century causes panic.

The people around them immediately panic hearing the words leave Katara's mouth. Almost instinctively the locals that had at least heard Katara's words, make their way to the chief's long house in fear of what is to come. As those around the two sisters run for safety, a recognisable face rushes up to them from the lower part of the city, Sokka has the same look plastered across his face that his sister does, and in toe Aang is quick to follow behind him. "We need to go, now. They're here for Zuko." Sokka declares rushing up to his wife to clutch her wrist in order to bring her to safety.

"Go? What do you mean go? We can't just leave our people to fight the firenation alone!" Yue argues, this being the first time that she and Sokka have had a spat.

"They're after Zuko, meaning the wisest decision would be to leave the city and bait them to follow us and leave the city alone." Sokka explains, "It's worked for the villages the firenation has attacked while we were there. They follow us each and every time."

"It wont work this time." Zuko says, descending to the ground on Aang's glider, that the airbender insisted he continued to train with. "There's an entire armada heading here and it has to be over a hundred ships. It's an entire invasion force."

"So in other words we're trapped and forced to fight, even if we left the firenation wouldn't give up an opportunity to destroy the only other opponent they have in the war and I don't want to see the northern watertribe be reduced to what ours is." Katara declares, causing Sokka to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Fine, if they want a fight then they'll get one. I'm not letting those savages destroy my wife's home." Sokka says with strengthened resolve. "When we fight your dad, I'm going to kick his ass."

"You and me both Sokka, but we need to warn Chief Arnook and prepare for a siege." With the last bit from Zuko, team Avatar rushes off in the direction of the Long house. 

As the quintet gets to the top of the large icy stair case leading up to the Chief's palace, Yue turns and looks out at the ocean beyond the walls of her tribe. A wall of black clouds sit on the horizon and the seas are dotted with dozens of steel gray lines heading towards them. Flashes of fire escaping from the exhaust of the ships only show glimpses of the sheer size of the invasion fleet heading for the north pole. The looming death heading towards them causes a tear to fall from her eye at the horror that awaits them. Seeing her hesitation, Sokka rushes over and picks up the white haired woman, ushering her inside the palace where she grew up in order to get her to safety. War has come to the Northern Watertribe.