Notes: Takes place between episodes 203 and 204. Inspired by the song "Walking in the Air" for the April Contest at livejournal community aangxkatara
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Flying Without Wings
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She had always secretly wished to fly. Wouldn't it be wonderful? She would muse to herself as a child, To just soar up into the air without a care in the world?.
As she grew older, this childish wish died away. Like the belief in Father Winter and the gifts he'd bring on the solstice turning out to really be Gran Gran or the immature fears of monsters and ghouls that haunted the snow hills around the village. With age came wisdom, and with wisdom came the fading of any impossible dreams.
That is, until she met him.
Some would call it chance that she stumbled upon the Avatar frozen after all the years he'd been gone, but others would say that it was clearly fate- taking her and her brother by the hand and leading them towards their destinies.
As time passed, she found herself believing that it was fate.
With Aang, a boy that defied his biological age of one-hundred and twelve, came the dreams and hopes that Katara had once forgotten. With him, an airbender, her chance at learning and possibly mastering the art of water bending was no longer such a crazy idea. With his companion, Appa, she would soar the skies riding atop the flying bison's back. Aang was hope for the impossible, because somehow with him- she knew anything could happen.
And so, she found herself dreaming up things that most girls her age would never dare. She dreamed of adventure- and in the next moment- she found herself whisked away on Aang's quest to save the world. She dreamed of flying- and while at the Northern Air Temple- she glided in the air all on her own. And she dreamed of becoming better at waterbending- and found herself assigned to be Aang's master and teacher in the art. Every little thing she dreamed of, no matter how impossible, always seemed to work out.
It was no surprise then to Sokka that he'd caught her on more than one occasion daydreaming as they traveled. Sometimes, it would be during the daylight hours while Aang steered Appa to their next destination. In other instances, he would stir in the middle of the night to find his sister starring off into space from where she laid nuzzled in her sleeping bag. Finally, seeing that such foolishness wasn't stopping on its own, he took it upon himself as her brother to step in.
This time, it was evening; the last rays of the setting sun barely seen behind the darkening horizon. Aang had taken Appa to go get some food from nearby, leaving the siblings to set up camp. Although, as Sokka apply noted, it was looking to be just him setting up camp while Katara once again daydreamed.
"Hey, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think when Aang suggested having us set up camp he meant me and you."
Blinking herself out of her reverie, Katara quickly stood.
"Oh, sorry Sokka. I was just thinking..."
"You've been doing a little too much thinking lately."
She glared at him, and Sokka quickly raised his hands in protest.
"Not that that's bad, but seriously Katara- you keep spacing out. This isn't like you."
Picking up a stray stick and tossing it on the fire, she offered her brother a small smile.
"It isn't like me, is it?"
Sokka crossed his arms, "So?"
"So what?"
Sitting down by the fire, he patted the ground and waited for her to sit beside him. Finally, once he thought he had her full attention- Sokka began.
"Look, I know that by the dictation of well- the entire world- that brother's aren't exactly the person most people come to in order to spill any deep dark secrets. But seeing as Appa and Momo aren't much help and that you've apparently not said much to Aang- it looks like I'm your man for this...thinking problem."
"Sokka, why would I..."
"Or should I say, you can't talk to Aang since he's the one being thought of?"
Katara snapped her mouth shut and tried her best to hold in her blush. There was a fine, fine line between being a concerned brother and being a nosy one and Sokka was walking it.
On seeing her clam-up, Sokka sighed.
"Okay, you don't have to tell me anything; but just let me give some advice on life in general then, okay?"
Frowning in hopes to cover her mixed emotions, Katara leveled a glare, "And since when are you an expert on life, oh mighty Sokka?"
He shrugged, "Just humor me."
She gestured for him to continue, pulling her legs up against her chest to keep warm.
"Now I'm no philosopher, nor I have lived to be a hundred or anything crazy like that- but I have come to the conclusion about one little thing in life."
"Oh?" Katara asked; half-curious, half-expecting something odd.
Glancing up at the stars and moon as they illuminated in the night sky, Sokka's voice grew serious, "Never take anything for granted, enjoy every moment of life and most of all..." He paused, turning to look right at her, "If you love someone, let them know. You might never get another chance."
Blue eyes widened as Katara froze; she knew what he was telling her, but most of all, she knew why. They were in a war with the fire nation right now and so the usual risks of daily life were pushed to the limit. And given their current company, the highly targeted Avatar, their risks were at the highest. Or to be more precise, Aang's life was in constant danger.
Reaching over, she took Sokka's hand and let her eyes glance up at the moon as well.
"You still miss her, don't you?"
Sokka shrugged, "She did what she had to. We all did..."
"Thanks Sokka, I'll...try," She offered a small smile and stood, "If nothing else, but because I have to test out this so-called wisdom of yours."
He grinned at that, "I have taught you well, my pupil. Now go forth and spread the Mighty Sokka's word."
The two started laughing at that, bickering back and forth about how much or how little "mighty Sokka's" power was. Aang returned to find them arguing over whether it was the mighty Sokka's duty to finish setting up camp.
"I would believe," Sokka said, pretending to stroke an imaginary beard, "That the first part of your training, little one, is to set up the camp yourself."
"Ohhh! You're so full of it!" Katara shot back, tackling him to the ground.
Circling in the air with Appa a few moments, Aang finally touched down and shook his head at the two siblings. The camp might have only been half-prepared, but they seemed happy; and to him that was what mattered most.
"Hey guys, I got some fish from a nearby river and some fruit that doesn't look too weird," Aang spoke up, jumping down from Appa's back.
Sokka paused, giving Katara a knowing look; she threw his pack at him.
"Not now you idiot!"
Aang blinked; Sokka was giving him a grin that said he was clearly up to something and Katara was trying her best to hide a blush. Knowing from prior situations like this that asking what was going on was just asking for trouble, the young monk settled for starting to get the fish ready to cook. Whatever it was, it was going to make the evening an awkward one.
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That night, it was Aang who found himself wide awake and thinking. Ever since they'd left the North Pole, things kept...happening. And the more he thought about it, the more he found his mind drifting to Katara. It was seeing her in danger that was able to trigger his Avatar state. It was because of her and her shy suggestion that they escaped the cave of Oma and Shu.
And now, as they ventured away from Omashu to seek out an Earthbending master, Aang felt himself wondering more and more about Katara's feelings for him. But before he could ponder anymore on his predicament, he heard someone stirring in the camp behind him. Turning, he realized it was none other than Katara.
"Aang, what's wrong? Can't you sleep?"
He offered a small smile and shook his head, "I guess I have too much on my mind at the moment. It's nothing bad though, so don't worry."
At first, she seemed to accept this answer and lay back down to rest; but after a few seconds Katara sat back up. Rubbing her head nervously, she walked over to where Aang stood.
"I'm having a bit of trouble sleeping myself. Mind if I keep you company?"
Shaking his head in the negative, the young monk replied, "No- not at all."
She followed his line of sight, his eyes looking out across the sea from where he stood on the cliff's edge. It was so beautiful and quiet that it almost looked like there wasn't a war going on; a tranquil moment amidst the chaos around them.
"Whatcha looking at?" Katara asked, hoping to start some sort of conversation. The last thing she wanted was to let her thoughts wander at a time like this, when the person that the thoughts were of was standing right there.
Aang blinked, then quickly lit up as if he was struck with an idea. Turning back to look out at the sea, he spoke, "The sky, the ocean- just all of it. It actually reminds me of my days back at the Southern Air Temple."
Katara tilted her head to the side in curiosity, "Oh?"
He smiled warmly at her interest, "Well...it wasn't exactly like this, but it was kinda close. You see, sometimes late at night we'd sneak out- Monk Gyatso and me- and we'd go sky diving."
"Sky diving?"
Nodding, Aang continued to recount his fond memory, "We'd go to the edge and using our gliders we'd just drop straight down the mountain side- only pulling up at the very last moment before we smashed into the rocks. Gyatso said it was practice for reacting quickly, but I think he just did it for fun."
"That sounds kinda dangerous," Katara noted, glancing down the cliff and thinking about what a plummet from this height would be like- let alone one from the Air Temple.
"That's why we originally did it over water, on cliffs like this one. That way, if we fell we'd just hit the water. Granted, that kinda hurt too- but not as much as the rocks would."
Glancing up at her, Aang grinned- genuinely proud of his strange endeavors. When she smiled back, he got a crazy idea.
"...If you'd like, I could show you."
"What?" Katara balked.
"We could dive right here, off this cliff. And since we know waterbending, it's even safer that way over water."
She looked skeptical, but at the same time- she found herself recalling Sokka's words. Never take anything for granted, enjoy every moment of life and most of all...
"Would be safe with the two of us? There's no way I can do this alone..." She murmured, still apprehensive.
Aang's smile brightened on seeing that his wild suggestion was being considered. Looking up at her, he gave her the only assurance he could.
"You can trust me, Katara. I promise I won't let you get hurt."
The dark-haired girl paused a moment, clearly considering all the pros and cons of it. Finally, she shrugged.
"Okay Aang, I trust you. Let's do this."
The Avatar let out a quiet shout of joy and quickly rushed over to grab his staff and a few other things. Returning to the cliffside, he handed the rope to Katara.
"I want to be extra safe, so just tie it around your waist to my waist."
"W-Wait a second? Tie it where?" She asked, hoping the night kept her blush from view.
Not understanding what the problem was, Aang explained, "Since my glider's only got hand and footholds for one, you can ride on my back. That way, you're the safest but you can still see where we're going. So just stand behind me and..."
He trailed off as she nervously followed his instructions; somewhere inside Aang's head it clicked as to why she was acting shy about this.
"...talk about close proximity. Okay Aang, just stay calm. Be cool. Katara trusts you, so you can't screw this up."
"Um...err, is this all right?" Katara asked as she stood behind him and tied the rope around them.
"Uh...yah- yah it is."
He looked over his shoulder at her and they both blushed; silently, they both thanked the gods that Sokka was sound asleep and snoring. Hoping to derail his thoughts to things aside from Katara and just exactly where she was, Aang set about getting himself mentally prepared for the jump.
Airbending the staff up off the ground and into his hand, he opened the glider and reached back behind Katara to position it. "Handholds here...footholds here...now we just have to jump..."
"Katara, are you sure about this?"
He felt her hands cover his on the handholds and her legs slide alongside his to place her feet down on the foothold.
"Yes. A little adventure never hurt anyone right?" She replied, her bravery outweighing the slight uncertainty in her voice.
Aang grinned, "Right. On the count of three. One..."
"Two..." Katara murmured.
"Three," Aang finished. And with that they jumped forward off the cliff, beginning their dive downward towards the sea below.
The experience was unbelievable. Wind whipping through her hair and her heart pounding in her chest, Katara could see the water quickly drawing closer. She held her breath, the thrill of the situation getting the best of her. And then, as they were mere feet away, Aang swerved them upward- soaring into the sky like a gull or seabird.
"Wow..." She murmured breathlessly, beginning to laugh, "That was... amazing."
It was then that Aang realized that she'd interlaced her fingers with his, probably when they were freefalling from the momentary fear, and still held his hands tightly.
"Yah... amazing," He managed to reply, his heart pounding for other reasons.
Airbending them a bit higher, Aang leveled them off- just letting them glide over the sea with the moon and stars up above.
"It's beautiful up here, I feel like I'm just floating or something. It's so...wonderful."
Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Aang could see the expression on her face.
"You're the one that's beautiful," He thought to himself; only realizing too late that he'd voiced it aloud.
It fell silent, and he began mentally kicking himself for slipping up like that. But before he could apologize or make an excuse, Katara spoke up.
"Aang..."
"Um...you see, I was..."
"Thank you," She said softly, obviously very touched.
"You're-you're welcome," He stammered.
"Um Aang?" Katara continued as he tried to focus on keeping them gliding.
"Hmm?"
"I just wanted to tell you that well... even if I don't jump you off cliffs or anything like that, you can trust me. I'll always be here for you, because that's just what you do for- for people you care about."
Katara waited for his reply, wishing she could have said more but knowing that this was at least a big step in the right direction.
This time, it was his turn to be touched, "People you care about? Err...well then, I guess the same goes for me to you, Katara."
They both smiled at that, their unspoken words understood without a second's hesitation. Just like their circumstances in the cave, without a single word they could communicate everything. They just knew, and for now- that was enough.
Flying back over to the cliff's ledge, Aang brought them down for a landing- all the time making sure it was as smooth as possible. Once there was ground under his feet again, he untied the rope and helped Katara from the footholds and handholds of the glider. As Aang took her hand to help her step out of the foothold, they paused- just smiling at each other and thankful for their late-night thinking leading to such a wonderful time.
"I guess we should try and sleep now, huh?" Aang muttered, estimating how late it had gotten.
Katara nodded, gently taking her hand from his, "Yah, we still have a long way to go in the morning."
Turning and starting to head for camp, Katara paused a moment; her mind egging her on to do one last thing before she rested. Making the hasty decision she turned around and returned to Aang's side.
"Good night, Aang," She murmured, pecking a chaste kiss on his cheek before retreating to her sleeping bag.
The young monk blinked in shock, "Good-good night, Katara."
His hand drifted up to his cheek and he stood there for a moment just grinning stupidly to himself. He could hear Katara settling into her sleeping bag and finally convinced his body to move and do the same. As he laid down himself, Aang heard a quiet whisper coming from Katara's direction.
"We'll...have to do that again sometime, Aang. It was fun."
Smiling to himself and pulling the sleeping bag up around him, Aang quietly replied, "Okay Katara. Anytime you want to go flying- just let me know."
-- The End --
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