[Katara blinks and looks over at him with wide eyes - and she remembers. She's a little embarrassed at what she said - it hadn't been the kindest thing she'd ever said. But she wouldn't take it back either. And suddenly, it's very important to her that Ginko does understand. So even though this isn't really the point of this conversation at all, she starts sharing more... more than she's ever told anyone else. At home, there hadn't been a need. Everyone had seen it, and those who hadn't had seen her when she'd already mastered her element. She wonders for a moment what Toph - with her fine mansion and rich foods - would have thought of their home in the South Pole before brushing the thought aside and leaning slightly forward.]
I was very young when I first started bending - and it took my parents a while to figure out what had happened. They'd never seen waterbenders before. It was my Gran-Gran who finally recognized what I was doing - [And her lips twitch up for a second] - she said she just couldn't understand why Sokka kept coming back from stealing my toys soaking wet until she saw it herself. I was almost five at the time. And she kept it to herself for a while. But it wasn't too long before she told my dad.
[Another quick, painful smile - like a crack in glass.] Dad was thrilled. He started looking for a master for me as soon as he could. But there wasn't any... not in the whole South Pole. And it didn't matter that I had the power if I didn't have the skill. Before Aang showed up and [believed in me] taught me some of the basics of just - bending - the most I could do was stream water. And I had to make that up myself.
[And I practiced, by myself, for hours just to get that - and no one cared.] And it didn't do any good - at all. In fact, [Her face is pained, embarrassed] the village didn't like me practicing my bending there at all - there were a few really embarrassing accidents, and... it wasn't as if it could do any good, rebuild the village or hunt, or fight, or anything...
[And she shakes her head slowly, and drops her gaze.] And it didn't matter that Dad had tried to be quiet when he was looking for a waterbending master for me. The Fire Nation found out anyway. [And at that, her throat simply... closes up. For a long moment, she can't speak, and when she does next, her voice is heavy.] They came back. And they destroyed our village. Home used to be what was left of a city... now it's a bunch of tents, a hall - a giant igloo, and the village fire pit. [She shakes her head as if to clear it and looks back up at him.] It was better that way, easier to defend after the warriors left. Less open space meant more warmth in the cold months, and we got by.
[And she smiles a little.] And after we went to the North Pole, Master Pakku brought down a bunch of other waterbenders to help rebuild the village. I can't wait to see what it looks like now.
[All my life, the one thing I most wanted to be, the only thing I wanted to be, was a brave waterbender. To be able to help my family and my tribe. To be who I really was.]
[Action]
I was very young when I first started bending - and it took my parents a while to figure out what had happened. They'd never seen waterbenders before. It was my Gran-Gran who finally recognized what I was doing - [And her lips twitch up for a second] - she said she just couldn't understand why Sokka kept coming back from stealing my toys soaking wet until she saw it herself. I was almost five at the time. And she kept it to herself for a while. But it wasn't too long before she told my dad.
[Another quick, painful smile - like a crack in glass.] Dad was thrilled. He started looking for a master for me as soon as he could. But there wasn't any... not in the whole South Pole. And it didn't matter that I had the power if I didn't have the skill. Before Aang showed up and [believed in me] taught me some of the basics of just - bending - the most I could do was stream water. And I had to make that up myself.
[And I practiced, by myself, for hours just to get that - and no one cared.] And it didn't do any good - at all. In fact, [Her face is pained, embarrassed] the village didn't like me practicing my bending there at all - there were a few really embarrassing accidents, and... it wasn't as if it could do any good, rebuild the village or hunt, or fight, or anything...
[And she shakes her head slowly, and drops her gaze.] And it didn't matter that Dad had tried to be quiet when he was looking for a waterbending master for me. The Fire Nation found out anyway. [And at that, her throat simply... closes up. For a long moment, she can't speak, and when she does next, her voice is heavy.] They came back. And they destroyed our village. Home used to be what was left of a city... now it's a bunch of tents, a hall - a giant igloo, and the village fire pit. [She shakes her head as if to clear it and looks back up at him.] It was better that way, easier to defend after the warriors left. Less open space meant more warmth in the cold months, and we got by.
[And she smiles a little.] And after we went to the North Pole, Master Pakku brought down a bunch of other waterbenders to help rebuild the village. I can't wait to see what it looks like now.
[All my life, the one thing I most wanted to be, the only thing I wanted to be, was a brave waterbender. To be able to help my family and my tribe. To be who I really was.]