Katara had woken up early after a rather poor night of sleep. Her dreams, it seemed, were becoming plagued with nightmares. Nothing too serious and it certainly didn't have her waking up in the middle of the night screaming in terror, but they were disturbing enough that when she did wake up it was usually early and she never felt fully rested.
Most of the nightmares, really, were about Aang. Him meeting some sort of trouble in Los Angeles without her there to help him. A ridiculous notion, considering he was the Avatar, but the fear of Wolfram & Hart was a very real one and they weren't an understood enemy for the waterbender. Therefore, her concern for her friend was strong and wasn't going away anytime soon, it seemed.
Some of the nightmares also included Sokka. She missed her brother - a lot more than she was willing to admit - and worried about what was happening to him with everyone else here. Granted he was older, and even Katara could admit he was pretty good at taking care of himself when he had to, but she still worried.
Deciding that a change in scenery might help clear her mind a little, she left for a walk just as the clock in the lobby was chiming eight. She wandered aimlessly for a while until she finally found her way to a somewhat familiar area.
The beach.
Katara hadn't been here since the days following her arrival to the city. Back when she'd been staying in the shelter and this place had frightened her so much that the ocean was the only place she wasn't utterly terrified. Since moving into the Hyperion, however, she had yet to find the time to return to the water and found, as she stood on the dock and stared out at its crystal blue surface, that she had missed it far more than she'd even reallized.
Deciding to have a little fun, Katara first glanced around. There wasn't anyone she could see, so she saw no harm in proceeding with her plans. After all, you couldn't incite a riot by using foreign abilities if there were no witnesses, right?
And without further adieu, the waterbender stepped right off the edge of the pier and into the ocean.
Or, rather, on top of the ocean. The water rose to meet her feet and a small wave carried her across the surf, parallel to the coastline. The spray of the saltwater was like heaven on her face and she closed her eyes for a second, basking in the simple enjoyment of being reunited with her element. A smile filled her face, her long hair blowing behind her in the wind. For the first time in quite a while, she felt alive.
Re-opening her eyes at the sound of a foreign noise, she glanced to her right and noticed a dolphin swimming alongside her. "Hey there," she murmured, crouching down and running her hand gently along the creature's back. It chattered a few more second then darted off to the right. Katara watched it go before straightening back up and turning her attention to the coastline to see how far she'd traveled.
That was when she noticed that she wasn't as alone on the beach as she'd first thought. There was a man there, wearing a strange looking hat, who wore that same shell-shocked expression so many others did upon first finding themselves in the City of Angels. With only a second of hesitation, Katara made the wave change direction and headed toward him. She wasn't sure if she could actually help him or not but she figured she had to at least try.
Provided he didn't flee at the sight of a girl arriving on top of a wave, of course.