Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the Last Airbender, and no profit is being made from the publication of this fic.

Summary: Hama and Katara, during and after 'The Puppetmaster'

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

They were separated by decades and miles and oceans, but they were still so similar.

They were the last benders of the Southern Water Tribe, although each had born that title fifty years apart.

Katara loved her brother dearly, but he would never know what it was like to be at once looked at with reverence as the Hope of the South… and with reservation, fearing that her very existence would bring down another raid.

Aang was the last of the Air Nomads, and had the pressure of saving the world from the Fire Lord, but he had suffered the pressure of that Destiny for less than a year, and the fight would be over in only a few months. Then he could start rebuilding, and search for descendants of Air Nomads who might have survived the Purges, but kept themselves hidden, as the Swampbenders had.

In a way, Aang was lucky. He had known he was the last Airbender for only a short time, and had the possibility that there were others hidden about the world. Katara had been the Last Waterbender for nearly a decade, and it was likely to be at least a decade more, even with the addition of the immigrated Northern Water Tribesmen, before another Waterbender graced the Southern Tribe.

Hama had known the pressure of being the Last Waterbender, and the fear that some would have rejoiced at the lack of raids when she was finally captured. (In three generations of Fire Lords, Azulon was the best, as he had aimed for just the benders, and left the rest of the tribe alone)

Katara thought that she understood why Hama had been so openly, almost suspiciously, welcoming of their group. Water was family, and Tribe, and Hama had been forcibly separated from both for far too long. She and Sokka were probably a desperate dream come true for the old woman.

It had been far too long since Katara had been around another woman of the Tribes, too. Gender roles in the Southern Tribe were a lot less ridged than in the North, but it was nice to walk through the marketplace and pretend that they were walking through the icy tundra, laughing as they gathered bird eggs or looked for the scant vegetation that grew in the poles.

It had been wonderful when she and Hama had walked through the forest, talking about Waterbending, and discussing new techniques, instead of being hushed and scolded and warned that it could be dangerous if the wrong ears overheard.

Even after they discovered what Hama had been doing, and she had been imprisoned by the villages, and Katara had a few moments to think and breathe after the eclipse, Katara still empathised with Hama, however traumatizing the battle had been. Hama had been imprisoned and tortured, and while she had taken her revenge to the extreme, it made a twisted kind of sense.

When Azula had shot Aang and Katara had spent weeks fearing that each breath would be her friend/little brother/almost-son's last, Katara would have killed Azula if she had the chance. She normally felt remorse for any Fire Nation Soldier who had just been following orders, but in those weeks, she wished them to suffer.

When Zuko came to them at the Western Air Temple, Katara had been serious in her warning. If he had lifted so much as a finger to deliberately harm Aang, she would have ended him, permanently.

Katara would never say it aloud, but if she had been in Aang's place, and near Ozai, the Fire Lord would be lying dead at that moment. Even when the eclipse waned, and his Firebending returned, the Full Moon shared the sky with the sun, and Katara knew Bloodbending. Even a yank of a limb here or there could have had devastating consequences when a Firebender of Ozai's power lost control of his bending.

When the war was over, Katara would travel the Northern Water Tribe, to finish learning from Yagoda, and see if there was anything that could be done to help Hama. She had not told the villagers of how Hama had been restrained, had not elaborated on Sokka's insistence that Hama be kept chained. And until she and Yagoda had confirmed whether or not Hama was beyond saving, that killing her would be a mercy, she never would.

They were Southern Water Tribe, and Family, and if there was even the slightest hope, you didn't abandon Family.

Hama had been overjoyed when she had discovered the group of children, two of them Water Tribe, both with a strong touch of her old friend Kanna in their face and stance. Hama recognized Kanna's sarcasm, perchant for acting out stories, and gentle, yet indomitable protective nature.

Hardened she might be, but Katara's joy when she discovered that Hama was from their Tribe, and a Waterbender, and her compassion upon hearing Hama's story, nearly freed the tears that had spent so long being buried under hate.

Hama could not contain her own joy, either. Katara's bending was a combination of adequate self-teaching and a blunt, straightforward style (whoever had formally taught her was clearly a man, who focused on little but fighting), and it was obvious that she yearned for further instruction. Katara was a protector, a Woman of the Tribe, and if a discovery could protect her loved ones, she would learn it, and use it, happily.

Hama had been reluctant to use her Bloodbending after she escaped the Fire Nation Prison, but then she had heard a group of soldiers talking about pretending to have heard of another Waterbender and raiding the 'Southern Barbarians'. False rumours could not be spread if no one was there to start them, and Hama had used her Bloodbending to force them to kill each other.

When she had arrived at the Village she had made her new home, Hama had started work as a maid, the simple chores reminding her of better times. Then she had heard the old innkeeper talking about how his wife was the sister of a Fire Nation Captain who had led the attacks on the Southern Water Tribe. Bloodbending had stopped her heart as she slept, and that of the Captain, when he visited to mourn his sister.

The Captain had… certain expectations… that night, and the Innkeeper hadn't tried to stop him. A tree in the forest where he had made his proposition had crumbled to dust as Hama panicked and killed them both, leaving them for the wild animals. It would have been too suspicious for her to leave so suddenly and so soon, so she stayed, and became the new Innkeeper.

People talked over a few drinks, and Innkeepers hear a lot more than people think. Hama stayed, and waited, and listened… and when she heard something she could act upon, she disrupted.

But she was getting old, and in the few days that she sheltered the group and taught Katara, the two children became like the niece and nephew she had always envisioned.

Kanna had been pregnant when she reached the Southern Water Tribe, and Hama and Kanna's husband were the only ones who knew that it was by the Waterbender she had been betrothed to marry (Who was clearly a misogynistic bastard, for not coming after her). Hama had looked forward to teaching Kya, and failing that, she was determined to teach Katara.

So teach she did, as she would a favourite niece. Hama was pleased to hear of Katara's resourcefulness, knowing that it would make it easier for her to accept and learn move unconventional forms. She was proud when Katara progressed so easily, absorbing the knowledge like a sponge.

She was disappointed, but in hindsight, not really surprised, when Katara had not wanted to learn Bloodbending. Hama was old, and hardened, and knew that what she did, however cruel, had been a necessary evil. Katara was young, and still retained some innocence, and despite all she had gone through, was still too gentle to force others to her will through Waterbending.

Hama had learned Bloodbending when she had healed herself after a particularly bad beating in prison. To heal, a Waterbender had to feel the water in a body, how it flowed through muscles and veins, and guide it to her will. In extreme cases, when a patient was near death, the water had to be forced to the healer's will.

If a Waterbender knew how to heal, and had enough power, they would be able to Bloodbend. One day, Katara would have to force blood to her will for a good cause, to save a life, and perhaps then she would be ready.

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A/N: OK, I am officially a sucker for Villainous Motivations and Backgrounds. Yeah, Hama was evil and twisted, but she had to have a reason. Why did she take the Villagers, and what made her so twisted and bitter? Where does Bloodbending come from in the first place? Why was it Katara hated the very idea of Bloodbending, yet used it against Hama and Yon Rah when she fought them? What turned gentle, motherly Katara into the cold girl who threatened Zuko's life?

Reviews and Constructive Criticism are welcome, but flames are laughed at and ignored. In short, if you're going to say that this sucks, please take the time to tell me WHY it sucks.

Thanks, Nat