Water was the element they both shared. The ability to bend it was a talent they each had. While on a mission to find the day's food in the early morning, Aang and Katara had stumbled across a cave. The cave itself appeared quite ordinary on the outside, yet whilst the couple stumbled clumsily through the forest laughing together, Aang stopped suddenly. "Katara, can you hear that?" Aang asked, his face no longer filled with laughter. She sensed his seriousness. "Hear what?" said Katara.
"I-I don't know." He shook his head, and pointed towards the nearby cave entrance, which was partially hidden by a dense curtain of branches. "I think it came from in there." He took Katara's hand and smiled childishly. "You wanna explore?" He asked. She smiled and ran towards the cave unexpectedly, dragging Aang by his hand behind her. Once inside, Aang felt the walls of the entrance with te palm of his hand. Sensing something different, a worried expression spread across his face. "It doesn't feel like a normal cave…" Out of nowhere, a shiver ran down his spine. "There's something weird here." He said, turning to Katara. She pulled him by his arm playfully, not listening to his hesitance.
"Come on then!" She said, dragging Aang deeper into the cavern. Aang resisted slightly against the pulling of his arm. When Katara realised this, and whispered a long forgotten phrase. "If you wanna be a bender, you have to let go of fear." Remembering this, he sighed and let her drag him further inside.
Fireflies coated all of the inner walls of the cave, and glowed similarly to a pulse, allowing Aang and Katara to see deep into it. They followed the twists and turns, unafraid, until they reached second doorway. Katara ran ahead and peered through it. She smiled immediately. She grabbed Aang's hand once again and dragged him towards it. "Look!" She explained.
"It's a…pool." Aang realised, awestricken. A huge, open lagoon lay in front of them. Lit only by the thousands of fireflies. The brilliant blue water glowed slightly and several small waterfalls around the edge of the pool fed it a continuous supply of fresh, flowing water. Several fireflies, unable to find a suitable perch on the walls, fluttered around the space like glowing embers escaping from a roaring fire.
Katara turned to Aang. "You could do with a wash!" She shouted jokingly, her voice echoing slightly of the nearby walls. She pushed him in fully clothed without warning. When he emerged from his soaking he couldn't help laughing. Katara lent too close in her laughter and Aang pulled her into the pool next to him.
Once the echoes of their laughter ceased, they stared at each other. The water was warm and welcoming. Aang brushed aside a lock of Katara's wet hair away from her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. She held his hand on her cheek. They both smiled affectionately. Katara then quickly created a ball of the blue water behind her back and threw it at Aang, who quickly held out an arm and deflected it onto one of the cave walls. He chuckled and stuck out his tongue at her. "You have really fast reflexes." Commented Katara. Aang grinned in response.
"You taught me well." Aang said. He pulled Katara close and embraced her. Aang smiled. "I don't know what I'd be without you by my side." He whispered.