It was another lovely day at the Ember Island beach house. The air was clear and carried the scent of the sea within the wake of its breeze, while the ocean contrasted the bright red hue of the house as it sparkled in response the bright fire nation sun. What would usually be considered an unbearably hot summer day in the Fire Nation was not the case here. There was a continuous wind that effortlessly glided across the vast sea in an effort to chase away the usual humidity that plagued other parts of the nation. Any visitor would describe such an atmosphere as the epitome of serenity, the perfect combination of stimulating sunlight enhanced by the agreeable temperature.

Yes, Katara thought, I suppose the Fire Nation does have its good points-

Suddenly, she was quickly drawn out of her musings as a fireball flew past her, leaving a trail of unnerving heat too close to her face. Stunned by the surprise appearance of fire, she gripped a neighboring pillar before nearly tumbling off the stone steps and introducing her face to the courtyard floor. Following the direction from which the fireball came, she was hardly surprised to see an embarrassed Aang scratching his bald head as a nearby Zuko had his palm resting on his forehead in a irritated fashion.

"Sorry Katara, I didn't see you there! Are you okay?" Aang shouted from afar, grinning sheepishly.

Katara simply shrugged and smiled, trying not display just how unnerved she previously was. "Its fine Aang, I'm alright!" she replied.

Though she had originally been worried when Aang started to learn firebending again (considering his history with the element) she came to realize that part of him being able to master it involved her confident support… even if a former enemy was teaching him. However, Katara tried to no let Zuko's position in the Gaang bother her anymore. This of course often resulted in her having to constantly remind herself that she had forgiven him in her own way. Zuko had proven himself more than trustworthy after assisting Sokka in rescuing her father, helping her to find her mother's killer, and of course preparing Aang to defeat the Fire Lord. Yet, there were still moments when Katara's maternal instincts subconsciously told her to watch over the Avatar during his firebending lessons. That was why she found herself sitting outside today, trying to relax while acting as if the sparring firebenders were a casual occurrence.

Aang glanced down at the stone ground of the courtyard before hesitantly returning his grey gaze back to Katara. "You know how I feel about firebending around you Katara.. maybe you should could go relax inside or –"

"Please Aang, I'm fine, I just decided that.." Katara blue eyes nervously darted around in thought "…I could learn a few things about firebending! What better way to understand your enemies than by understanding their moves, right?" Katara was content with her statement and thought surely that it would be a good enough excuse. Zuko however, just raised a curious eyebrow in response, clearly aware that she was up to something.

Aang's faced brightened, excited by her statement. "That's great Katara! Maybe if we have some time left over Zuko or I could personally show you a couple of firebending techniques!"

"Sure, that sounds great" Katara replied half-heartedly.

And so, Katara continued to observe the rest of Aang's lesson, always keeping her eyes trained on Zuko when he released well-aimed fire at Aang. Aang of course had drastically improved during the last couple of weeks and was always able to effectively counter Zuko's offensive moves. Whenever the boys broke for a quick break Aang was always buzzing with excitement. He would often asked Zuko if he "saw that defensive move" or if he thought it was hard to "handle his return fire". Zuko usually gave a short and simple response before deeming that their break time was over.

Would it hurt to provide more positive reinforcement? Katara thought as she continued to watch Aang and Zuko. When Aang practiced his waterbending with her she always made sure to smile when he executed a move correctly, or point out what techniques he preformed excellently at the close of their practices. No, Zuko and her were as different as the elements they wielded. The Fire Prince was harsh and demanding, much like his fire, while Katara was gentle and graceful, similar to the water she commanded. As Zuko preformed a quick kick that produced a large flame, Katara wondered what it would have been like to be born a firebender. Was it more physically demanding? Did firebenders get burned by their own flame? These were all the questions that occupied the waterbender's mind.

"Katara!" a distant male voice yelled, pulling her attention away from her thoughts. She whipped her head around in the direction of the voice to see Sokka quickly stumbling to reach her sitting form.

"What is it Sokka?" Katara asked glancing up at her now panting brother.

"When I went into the pantry to grab some jerky for a snack, I looked everywhere, but I realized that we're out!" Sokka exclaimed, nearly on the verge of tears as he desperately explained his case to Katara.

Katara rolled her azure eyes, "Well eat something other than meat for a change, it might even be good for you". Would it hurt to be a little healthy for once?

Sokka simply stood there as his eyebrows quickly approached his hairline, while his crumpled face displayed just how horrified he was by her words. "Come on Katara, we're going to be fighting the Fire Lord soon and I don't know if I'll have enough energy if I go meatless!" Sokka practically yelled.

Yet somehow Aang's fighting has been just fine without meat Katara thought as she considered Sokka's theory. Then again, Katara knew that she was no longer speaking with her brother, but rather his stomach. Yup, when it came to Sokka's appetite there was no way to effectively handle it until you just gave in to what he wanted. This theory had been reaffirmed through their journeys around the world.

"Okay, okay. Just grab some money off the kitchen counter and go buy some more of your precious meat," Katara said trying to calm down her hunger-driven brother.

Instead of immediately sprinting inside to get the money, Katara was shocked to see Sokka remain where he was. After a moment of uncommon silence he began to nervously play with his thumbs, attempting to avoid his sister's gaze. Katara narrowed her eyes, knowing there was something Sokka wasn't telling her. "Okay what's going? For you to be quiet, something very bad must have happened" she said.

Sokka shot her a surprised looked before suddenly finding the floor very interesting. "Well you see… funny thing you should say that, because I just might have used that money to buy some yummy jerky I found yesterday" Sokka said while attempting to smile as if he didn't just tell Katara that their savings were gone.

Katara eyes quickly enlarged in shock as her mouth simultaneously feel open ready to let her tell her brother just how she felt about his little shopping spree.

"Wait! You're telling me that you used the last of our money to feed your meat cravings! Again!" Katara yelled, shocked at her brother's foolishness. "Sokka, that money was the only thing we had to last us until Sozin's Comet." Katara knew that he brother has an unusual obsession with meat, however she never knew just how much everyone else could suffer from it.

Sokka took a step back while holding his hands out, attempting to placate his frustrated sister. "I'm sorry okay! I should have paid more attention when I told the vendor to give me the best meat he had! I was just so hungry and-"

Sokka just continued on weaving his tale as the waterbender paused to grasp her forehead for a moment, trying to contain herself. Come on Katara let's be rational! We may not have meat, but maybe there is still enough food to sustain us she mentally reasoned.

"Oh, and Katara?"

"What Sokka?" she said peeking between her fingers as they rested on her forehead.

"There's no food left in the pantry.."

"…"

"Katara?"

"Sokka, tell me-" Katara's voice took on a eerily controlled tone "-what are we supposed to eat for dinner tonight, or for breakfast tomorrow, or the meal after that?" Katara questioned, her dread quickly growing.

Sokka stood his ground thinking for a moment before suddenly adopting a serious look of determination and snapping his fingers. "Well I guess it'll be meat because I'm getting a job like last time!" Sokka confidently replied." I'll just go into town and look for some work. Don't worry sis, soon we'll be able to eat all the jerky we could ever want!" Sokka happily concluded as if what he just said was easily attainable.

Katara sighed and leaned back on her arms. The last time Sokka tried to get a job things didn't go too smoothly, Aang and her ended up having to save him from being drowned by a typhoon, while nearly dying in the process. However, they truly needed the money if they were going to last until Sozin's Comet. It would be terrible if history remembered Team Avatar for being defeated by hunger, rather than the Fire Lord.

"Alright, but we still need dinner tonight," the waterbender trained her eyes on the horizon in thought. Katara knew that without money, one of them was probably going to have to actually search for something to eat. With Aang training, Zuko helping him, her brother needing to find a job, Toph do who knows what, and Suki trying to gain local information about the Fire Nation, that somebody was probably going to be her.

"I guess I can go see if there are any fruit trees nearby." While on Ember Island, Katara had seen her fair share of exotic fruits for sale by the vendors in town. Assuming that these fruits were fresh, they were most likely being grown elsewhere on the island. With any luck, Katara hoped that if she explored beyond the beach house she might stumble upon something edible. Yup, its back to the good old days Katara thought.

"Okay, but at least take Zuko with you, he knows his way around this island," Sokka said gesturing the sparring firebender.

Katara raised an eyebrow at her older sibling. Zuko? Katara definitely felt that she didn't need someone to hold her hand while she looked around the forest, least of all the brooding firebender. When they were on their mission to find the Southern Raiders she teamed up with Zuko out of purpose, not because she truly wanted to be stuck alone with him. The whole mission might have been immensely awkward if it had not been for Katara's determination to avenge her mother. Little else mattered during their search, allowing very little time for a true friendship to blossom. Did she trust him? Yes. Did she feel comfortable around him? Not exactly. No matter what, they were still as different as night and day which gave Katara a reason to believe that they could never bond like how the rest of the Gaang had with him.

"Please Sokka, I don't need Zuko to babysit me while I look around for some fruit. I've spent enough time on this island to know my way around," She explained.

"Come on Kat-"

"Plus I happen to be a master waterbender," Katara confidently added, cutting off Sokka.

Sokka was unconvinced. "But what if you get lost or something! We could all be heading to fight the Fire Lord and you could still be wandering around the jungle! Also, who is going to mend my socks if that happens?"

Katara mouth fell open in astonishment at her brother, "Okay that's ridiculous Sokka. Look-" the waterbender gestured her tanned hand towards the sparring boys "-Zuko is clearly busy, so just let him be. I've wandered off during our travels to find food many times, this will be no different, I promise."

"Really, because I remember you wandering off and getting caught by Zuko and pirates that one time," Sokka exclaimed.

"Well look, he's on our side now-" Katara held her hand above her line of sight before dramatically looking around, "-and I don't really see any pirates."

Sokka stared intently into his sister's determined blue eyes, realizing she wasn't going to back down. Sokka knew that when Katara made up her mind it was immensely difficult to sway her decision. Like his stomach, Katara always wanted things to go her way no matter the possibly negative outcome. Sokka sighed before drooping his body in defeat, "Fine, but you better be back before sundown."

Katara gave her brother a small smile, elated at her victory. "Great, now while I'm looking for some food, you can go get that job you were talking about." Not waiting to see her brother's reaction to her words, Katara gracefully rose to her feet before dusting off her red skirt. Now fully facing Zuko's firebending form, Katara once again scoffed at the idea that her own brother thought that she needed Zuko to find a couple fruits. However, she had no time to stand around all day and stare at the stubborn young firebender, no, she had mouths to feed. Embracing her motherly instincts, her feet began to sweep towards the back door that lead out of the courtyard.

Katara paused before stepping out of the beach house's boundary, quickly whipping her long hair around to see Sokka. "Oh, and make sure to let everyone know I'm out," Katara called over shoulder.

"Will do!" her brother yelled back.

And with a final step through the doorway, Katara disappeared into the Ember Island jungle.

"Hey Sokka! Whatcha reading?" Aang cheerfully asked as he peered over the older boy's shoulder.

"Huh? Oh just the local paper with places that are hiring on the island." Sokka casually replied as his eyes continued to scan the print. He rested the scroll swiftly on his lap before beaming at the airbender, "You see, pretty soon we're going to have all the money we could ever want. All have to do is get a job and BAM! Money in my hand." Sokka explained as he held his palm out imagining the weight of gold resting on it.

"And why exactly do you want a job now of all times?" Zuko's raspy voice wondered as he joined the Avatar and Water Tribe warrior in the living room.

"What? Can't a guy have a career?" Sokka asked over his shoulder.

Zuko raised his good eyebrow before crossing his arms. "Hate to break it to you Sokka, but we have a war to win. We don't really have time to play house and build up our careers". The firebender looked down with a slightly forlorn look upon his face. "We may not even last that long."

Sokka and Aang looked at each other with worried looks, daring the other to react first. After a couple of moments of silence, neither boy could restrain themselves any longer before they both suddenly burst into a fit of laughter. "Come on Zuko, quit being so dramatic! Besides if we won the war I doubt you would have a career, or does being a spoiled prince count?" Sokka questioned. The truth was that both the boys knew that Zuko's words possessed a hidden truth. The weight of the war and its destruction had always weighed heavily on the Gaang's shoulders, only they saw their friendships and positive outlook as a method to somehow escape the horrors they had faced. Like Zuko suggested, having a career was a concept they rarely considered. However, desperate times called for desperate measures.

"I'm not joking Sokka!" Zuko insisted.

Aang looked down at Sokka's sitting form, "Yeah, I guess Zuko has a point, maybe we should get Katara to talk some sense into him!" The young airbender then allowed his gray eyes to causally look around the room in search of the waterbender. "Hey where is Katara anyway?"

"Oh Katara? She left about 20 minutes ago to find some fruit in the jungle." Sokka said, choosing to leave out why.

Zuko's amber eyes suddenly widened before intently setting his gaze upon the Water Tribe boy, "What do you mean get fruit in the jungle?"

Sokka was not one to lie often, but he knew for now he couldn't tell Zuko why she was really out in the jungle. No, Sokka knew that by getting a job he would eventually pay Zuko back for the money he brought with him. If he presented him with the money he had earned working, then hopefully all would be forgiven a little more smoothly. Sokka didn't want any trouble, especially considering he was beginning to get along with Zuko.

"She just thought we could use some fresh fruit for dinner tonight, that's all," Sokka plainly said.

Zuko looked somewhat angry as he began to pace the room, clenching and unclenching his pale fists. As the Fire Nation Prince walked around, Sokka and Aang once again looked at each other with questioning looks, wondering what could possibly affect Zuko so much about Katara just looking for some fruit.

Aang glanced at the firebender with worried eyes. "Zuko what's wrong? She'll be back soon enough."

Zuko stopped in his tracks, before turning back to the other two boys. "If she truly went off into the jungle looking for fruit, she may not," he said dryly.

Sokka jumped out of his armchair before rushing towards the Zuko in his worry. "What do you mean she may not come back? Katara's always been okay on her own for the most part."

It was true, Katara did have a talent for getting out of a pinch from time to time.

Zuko avoided Sokka's concerned eyes, choosing to observe the floor. "You see on Ember Island most of the fruit and vegetables are grown and sustained on the western half of the Island were the volcanic soil is more fertile. We on the other hand, are living on the eastern end where very little is cultivated, except for one place."

"What one place?" Aang eagerly questioned.

Zuko looked up at Aang and Sokka with a serious look upon his face. "The monkey shrine" he muttered darkly as if it was something he himself feared.

Sokka raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Um the monkey shrine? No offense Zuko, but how is a shrine going to harm Katara exactly?" Sokka asked doubfully.

"Listen, I know it sounds crazy, but there are unique fruit trees that seem to only grow at the shrine, cursed fruit trees. All those who have picked from the fruit trees at the shrine have faced horrible fates. Once a servant of ours went to take a calm walk in the forest before finding the shrine and returning with some fruit. We had heard the legends, but we thought nothing of them until the next day she grew ill and passed." Zuko tried to further convince Sokka, "In the Fire Nation it is said that the monkey spirit of the shrine is both mischievous and highly dangerous as he protects his fruit trees. If Katara was to pick a fruit, who knows what the spirit may do."

"Okay, but what happened to your servant could have been a coincidence, right? How are you so certain it was a monkey spirit?" Sokka skeptically asked.

Zuko looked offended at the Water Tribe boy's quick conclusion. "It had happened before, there were many poor citizens who would seek out the trees for food before returning with either mental or physical illnesses that sometimes did or did not kill them. One thing was always the same though, they were always cursed after picking the monkey spirit's fruit," the firebender said defensively.

Sokka couldn't help it anymore and allowed himself to erupt into a fit of laughter. "HAHA… but a spirit…a monkey spirit… hurt Katara? You clearly don't know my sister!"

Aang thoughtfully looked at Zuko before frowning and turning to face Sokka. "Zuko may have a point, spirits have been know to become vengeful when humans desecrate their sacred sites. Katara's waterbending would do little against a spirit's abilities."

Zuko nodded in response to the Avatar. "That's why I'll see if I can catch up to Katara and find her before she stumbles into the shrine."

"Great I'll come with you" Aang offered.

Zuko shook his head. "No, I can move faster on my own, you just stay here and I'll bring her back."

"But I can talk to the spirits, maybe I can help!" the airbender insisted.

"Well hopefully if I can move quickly enough she won't have to deal the monkey spirit at all." Zuko had spent many years increasing his tracking skills, whether it be looking for the Avatar, or finding his next meal while he was on the run in the Earth Kingdom. If he could solely focus on finding Katara and not worry about Aang, he knew he would be far more efficient in his task.

Zuko began to make his way towards the door, "If I'm not back in two hours, then come looking for us. The shrine is about a 30-minute walk from the entrance to the jungle. There is a worn path leading from the beach house that if you follow it, you will eventually find the site."

Aang continued to frown at the firebender. "Alright, but please bring her back safe," he said trying not to let his worry seep into his voice.

"Don't worry I'll find her," Zuko said seriously before stepping out into the Fire Nation heat once more.

Aang turned back around to see a still laughing Sokka clutching his chest, now leaning against the wall to support himself. He gradually looked up at the airbender with tears in his eyes.

"Hey, where did Zuko go?"

A/N: Please remember to review, review, review! If you guys think this is going to be an interesting story, please let me know and I'll make sure to keep writing! :D