Paper Aeroplane
She looked out over the vast expanse of icy sea before turning back and sighing. Her brother was terrorizing Aang again. Of course, pester the almighty Avatar while seeming incredibly stupid, and don't think about your only other family about to leave you for another life… She again shook her head. What could she do anyways? Poor Sokka… Suki had died in childbirth and so had the child after so many years of fighting alongside enemies and against the Fire Nation just to have his dreams dashed.
Through all this, however, she had become strong through so many losses and trials. So many had taken her heart and destroyed it, leaving just enough for the next person to hurt her equally if not more. Of course, Jet was her first real love... taken by forces no mortal could control, and Aang stepped in to take his place. Aang. The Avatar. Involuntarily, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. How stupid had she been? Of course, he was completely taken by Mai, which she was slightly glad for. The last… The last was the one she could never forget. The most pure, unadulterated, quintessential meaning of love came from this one individual. And he left her… She was determined to never love again as she had loved him… He never wanted anything from her more than to work alongside her to take down the Fire Nation. He wanted no love. He desired her not. He was focused purely on revenge.
"Katara!" shouted Sokka and she came from her fugue state to reality.
"What?" she asked flatly.
"I've been calling you for five minutes and you just now answer…" He sighed and nudged Aang who was flirting with Mai again. "Don't you think you should be reconsidering leaving and stay here?"
"No." Her reply was curt and unforgiving.
He snatched Aang back to his side, and his face fell into seriousness- an oddity. "We spend years together fighting against the Fire Nation and now you just want to run off into the Unknown by yourself?"
"Sokka, I'm not taking anyone with me and I'm using the money Gramma left behind for me. I have to go find myself. I am not meant for the cold, icy, barren Water Nation, and it took me traveling the world just to discover it." Her responses had become mechanical and very much rehearsed.
"Well, I'm not about to let my only family leave me, and Aang won't either, will you, Aang?"
No reply.
"Aang?" He turned around to find Aang was long gone, probably chasing Mai around the village. "Great…"
"Sokka…" Her tone softened as she bit her lip and tasted blood. "I don't think Aang and Mai are going to stay in the Water Nation either… They'll most likely go back to the Earth Nation…"
"So where do I go? Do I just stay here and die alone? Katara… We have been closer than the rivalry between the nations and you're going to leave me with nothing after our whole lives spent together?" He was now pleading with her, which, in her eyes, was intolerable.
"Go with Aang and Mai, or grow up." She had had it. Her heart turned to stone right in front of her brother's eyes.
"No, sister. I am going with you."
Rage flashed in her eyes, and before she knew what she was doing, she encased him in ice from the shoulders down. "You. Will. Not. Follow. Me."
She looked into her brother's eyes before turning around and walking away. Bending all the way to the Earth Nation would be difficult, but she could do it. Maybe she could join some of the pirates on the seas and get boarding all the way over there… Who knew the possibilities?
With a couple of well-placed bending tricks she learned on the road to maturity, she made a solid foundation to bend on and began sailing onward. Her thoughts pinged off the walls of her skull violently until she finally paid them a little attention. A wave of agony and regret washed over her pulling her under and into her thoughts.
"Katara…"
"Zuko… Please… Just…"
"I can't stay Katara. This will never work right… Maybe in the future we could-" He's cut off by quiet whimpers and even quieter sobs. "Please… Katara… Don't cry…"
"You expect me to be just fine?" The words are barely comprehensible.
"No…"
"Where are you going?"
"Some place you'll never find me…" His voice was strained.
"But… But Zuko…"
"I love you, Katara." He kissed her forehead and squeezed her hand one more time before turning around and leaving for good.
She wanted to call out, but she was drowning…
Drowning? That wasn't the feeling she remembered… It was like fire in her lungs… No… She was drowning, and no one was there to save her! Her senses came to her all too quickly as she sucked in a large amount of water and her vision was swiftly fading around the edges. Nothing would save her now. She was at least fifty miles out to sea if not more and no pirates dared to even sail within two hundred miles of Water Nation territory for fear of "the Water Nation Army." A big lie.
This was it for Katara- companion of the Avatar, Waterbender, and lost lover.
"Waterbender! No! This can't be happening… She looks just like someone I think I knew…"
"Get her on the ship, boy. We'll see if she lives."
"It's bad luck to have a lass on board, sai."
"You're just going to leave her there, sai? I'll take it on myself to care for her, sai."
"Hurry up, boy! There's a storm a comin', and I ain't 'bout to have a guilty conscience on me hands."
*Splash.*
"Don't worry… I'll take care of you…"
Hot spines began stabbing her in her lungs as she gasped for air like a landed fish. Her eyes snapped open and she looked around blindly, blinking continually, unable to see. A raspy cough escaped her burning lungs and she closed her eyes frustrated. She heard someone walk into her room and she sat up opening her eyes and seeing nothing.
"Well, good morning to you, too, stranger." The voice was familiar but it could have been her own brother for all she knew.
"I can't see you. Why can't I see you?"
"Um… I'm not sure why. Come here a second."
She stood wobbling a great deal, trying to find her balance. "Oh, yeah… The 'can't see' thing."
She chuckled at how easily the person communicated with her and found herself again. "Would you come over here?"
"Sure thing." Clunky boots sounded his approach, and she stiffened at the unfamiliarity. "Hold still, okay?"
She nodded but just couldn't promise anything as he touched her arm and then her face very carefully like she was some precious jade ornament that would break if you looked at it funny. His hands were rough but had a gentle touch to them. The touch was familiar, but she pushed the thought aside thinking that it was just because she longed for the touch of her heart's pining. His hands went over her facial features carefully.
"Close your eyes a sec…"
"O-okay…" She did and ever so delicately did his thumb go over her eyelids and over her most prominent features in her face- her cheekbones and brow line. "How is this helping my eyes?" She asked halfway jokingly.
"It's not… But it's helping me remember."
"Remember?"
"It's a story for another day," he said with some gentle force behind it.
"So is mine, I suppose."
A moment of silence ensued as he continued to study her features. "Where were you headed?"
The question caught her off guard. "The Earth Nation…"
"Why the Earth Nation? Aren't you a Waterbender?"
"Well, yes, but I'm looking for someone."
A timid sigh was all she received for a moment. "I don't think you'll be doing any more looking…"
"I'm BLIND?" Rage flared up in her again before she heard a loud slap and a quiet groan.
"Freezing seawater tends to do that to people's eyes."
"Damnit!" She fumed and threw herself back to land on her bed but ended up in her companion's arms.
"You have a little temper don't you?"
She cut him off, wallowing in her despair. "I've played in this water my whole life and never had this happen!"
"Well, there's a first time for everything…"
"Damn Sokka! He was right! I shouldn't have ever left without him! I wouldn't be here if he were here with me! I wouldn't be blind if he were here with me! I wouldn't- Would you put me down?"
"Sokka?" His voiced sounded slightly relieved.
"Put me down!" And he did so. "Yes! My brother!"
"Oh…" His reply this time did not sound relieved.
For some reason evading her, Katara began to cry miserably.
The bed shifted as her partner sat down beside her and let his arm wrap around her and pull her close to his chest. "Shh… Don't cry… Please?"
Her tears were reduced to sniffles as she tilted her face up to her savior. "I… wish I could see you..."
