Guardian Spirit

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

"Katara?"

The waterbender jumped at the sound of her name, immediately letting go of her grasp to Aang's tattoed hand. With a gasp, she jolted up from her sleep and turned to face the doorway of their temporary "home," somewhat relieved to see that it was just her older brother, Sokka.

"What?" she asked, irritatingly and expressionless. For a long moment, there was a pause.

The air around both siblings was of tension and unspoken depressions. And that was when it struck him. For the first time in his life, Sokka was taken a back by his baby sister's reply. A simple, four letter word told the young warrior everything. Katara had changed.

"What is it, Sokka?" Katara asked again, her expression never changing.

The warrior sighed sadly at her broken form. Her hair was tangled up and fell loosely behind her. Her eyes were swollen red from anger, hurt, and sleeplessness. Her tear streaked face was too much for him to bear. Even now as he looked at her, he couldn't help but lay a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"We're all starting to worry about you. You need to rest. You ahould at least eat something. Aang will be fine, Katara. I promise."

She frowned. "Since when did I ever leave Aang alone in a situation like this?" she asked him, annoyed slightly by his remark.

"I still have to give him another healing session. Plus, I..." she stopped, unable to go further with her protests. She knew it was useless.

Sokka glanced at his baby sister firmly. Looking after the airbender was entrusted to Katara, but he never expected her to turn out this way. He may not be the one for "feelings" and other mushy stuff. But he was also an older brother. An overprotective one, too. He had noticed Aang's feelings for Katara for quite a while now. And while he didn't expect them to be all lovey dovey in front of the other, he had to admit he didn't mind. He was perfectly okay with it.

"Look, you are coming to dinner with us. Period. I know how much you care about Aang, but it's not like he will disappear if you leave for a few minutes."

With a grunt, he raced outside, leaving her lost in thought.

Katara was never bitter. It was something that had never occured to her before. It's difficult...no, impossible...for anyone to imagine her in such a temper. Even for someone as sensitive, yet emotionally strong as possible, and even through the most difficult of situations, there is simply no Katara if bitterness is involved with her character. Such a pure heart she has been given, possessing the blessing to cure any broken confidence and revive the definition of hope.

Her mature, helping nature is the most precious part of her personality. Even Toph, the most recent member of Team Avatar, has learned to love her motherly instinct and positive reinforcement. Sokka, in turn, could spend as much time as he needed to tease his little sister. But even he can't handle a single day without seeing her smile.

As for Aang, life could never have been better. Ever since he first saw those beautiful eyes of icy hues, he instantly fell in love with her...a quite obvious fact of Team Avatar, I should say. He loved her because of who she was. But one day, all of that changed. Among the crossroads of destiny during one fateful moment in Ba Sing Se's crystal catacombs, she was completely changed.

Katara had seen him fall. She had witnessed the unbearable truth of watching him slip endlessly out of his power. She had experienced the lightning strike that tore through him...and she had caught him in her own arms, glancing at his innocent face with tears racing unceasingly down her cheeks. The Avatar, but most importantly, Aang, had been lying in her arms as he struggled between life and death.

As they were flying on Appa away from the so called, "impenetrable city" of Ba Sing Se, she had lost herself into despair. With shaking hands, she had bended the spirit water from her amulet, given to her by Master Pakku at the North Pole. And as Aang's tattoos glowed with restored life, she felt herself happier than she had ever been.

Since that moment, there was an unusual change in her, leading her to the unthinkable...she had embraced bitterness. Although she was flooded with relief and concern, she stopped caring for everything else, other than saving the boy she had come to love so much. How could she, even after being so close to losing her last hope for the world? Her best friend and inspiration and...possibly more?

She had suddenly and so instantly let go of anything else that eased her mind, as if she lived too long to venture every part of life. It was like a time of further maturity. Even after the death of her mother, she had never been this way. And ironically, she never knew that the Avatar could never let go of her. By the time he forced himself to for her own sake, he was the one who had fallen.

Day and night, she would stand beside the young airbender, hoping with a heavy heart that he would open his eyes and speak to her again. In front of her eyes, everyone else was forgotten. And frankly, it worried them all.

Just before Katara stood up, she paused. There was a soft touch upon her hand. As she turned to face the sleeping Avatar, she noticed that Aang's grip on her hand had slowly tightened. For a moment, he seemed sincere and determined. But following that determination was a soft smile, as if in his sleep. At first, it was a fairly shy smile. But as he felt her hand grasp his comfortingly as well, it was a smile of reassurance.

For the first time in days, Katara truly smiled. She felt herself returning to normal after weeks of worries and redemptions. Aang was going to be okay...she had finally found her guarantee.

And then and there, the bitterness itself had vanished...