it's a harmony, a miracle, being able to breathe and live at all

[For the past almost two weeks, Katara has been struggling to regain her balance - even struggling to want to regain her balance. Aang's second return home hit her hard, on top of Zuko's mallynapping and Toph's return... Toph who doesn't remember. It's good to see her, but it's terrible as well. Now more of them are trapped in this horrible place. And she still hasn't been able get back to wearing her regular clothes because the 'phasing' keeps happening, as randomly and as annoyingly as ever.

It's been almost two weeks since she's returned and her shoulder hasn't been in any pain in days. The experience of having her bending completely taken away in the Malnosso facility was one that's almost beyond words, and now that she's back where she can feel even just half herself again, the desire, the need to bend has been growing under her skin like an itch.

She can't take it anymore. So Katara goes out just after dinner to one of her favorite practicing spots between her house and the barracks, and begins by doing very simple forms that don't require a lot of movement. She pauses when Momo finds her and sits down to take a break.

It's not long before she begins talking to the lemur about their adventures. It feels good - to talk to someone about home, to talk about all the things that happened, to remember who she really was, despite what this place wanted to make her. She doesn't notice when Momo knocks the journal opened when he moves to chase after what could be a fallen nut. He might not be the best listener ever.]

--Sokka sent Aang in to steal the book. Remember riding on top of Appa's back so Aang and I could shape the clouds? It was too bad that we had to go through all that just to get them to listen to us. So after we made the skull in the sky, we dragged out Aunt Wu to see it - the sign for volcanic doom. Then the villagers listened. All the earthbenders worked to dig trenches and everyone else grabbed shovels to help out as best as we could.

And then when volcano exploded, we got back as far as we could, but it flowed right through--

[There's some excited chatter by the book, and suddenly the picture is filled with this face. It flickers from voice to video and back again.]

Momo, what are you doing? Get away from that!

[The video shows Katara shooing Momo away from her journal and then automatically shutting it. She gets back to her practicing, but will open up the journal later and see that it accidentally recorded. Way to go, Momo.]

[It's the second day of a heatwave, and it's amazing how little things like weather can drive man-eating butterflies, flying trees of burning pointy doom, and missing friends from a Southern Watertibe girl's mind. ...OK, maybe not that last one, but she's feeling this heat in her bones, man, and it's driven her to put on her Fire Nation outfit and just lounge around, trying not to think about the horrible things she's seen week... which of course makes her think about the horrible things she's seen everywhere.

But the best way to get rid of bad memories is to think about good ones... and when that fails, make them.

And so, Katara Has An Idea. She grabs her brother, he agrees, and they make their way to the center of the square and set up a table. It's laden with fruits and sugars and stacks of glasses.

A little bit of waterbending later? And that fountain is now completely iced over, meant to resemble one of their 'Great Wonders of the World', an ice oasis in the middle of the desert.

When they're all set up, Katara makes a voice entry.]

Hey, everyone! Come on to the fountain for free fruit slushies!


[Feel free to come upon them on any part of the process, stop by for a slushie, or take a look at the pretty ice-fountain! Either Sokka, Katara or (eventually, as I have to run out right now) both will answer!]