Chapter 1: Greetings
AN: I absolutely LOVE this situation, so much so I needed to write on it. I credit Light-Eco-Sage with the inspiration to write this fic. This gives me so much creative freedom and this makes Kataang feel more interesting when social pressures get them to act a bit quicker. I want to let it evolve organically rather than rushing to marriage. That being said this will probably turn M, but I will keep it T so people looking for MA are not let down before I post the good stuff.
Aang's bending masters were:
Water: Pakku
Earth: Bumi
Fire: Iroh (Jeong Jeong would be a hermit, not wanting to teach)
Do not question the Iceberg. Let's assume he found out he was the avatar at 16 and learned in the 8 months he learned bending in the show, Aang has not been to the South Pole before because let's face it, the South Pole does not have Pakku and Katara would be too young to be considered a teacher. Some GREAT stories say this, but I want to go another direction. Aang is 17 (not that anyone keeps track of his birthday) and Katara is 18 and will soon turn 19.
Without further ado, here it is!
Aang, I mean Avatar Aang pulled on his reins to guide Appa down to the small capital city of the Southern Water Tribe that had just come into view. Even after becoming a fully realized Avatar, the title still felt strange to Aang. Aang thought back to the last eight months of training. Compared to growing up in the Southern Air Temple, training had been a living hell at some points and utter boredom at others. Aang was pushed hard by his teachers to master the elements and learn them he did faster than any Avatar that came before him. He mastered each one with ease. Waterbending had been blessedly easy, which served him well since Pakku was the hardest of his teachers. After two months of listening to how lazy he was, Aang mastered the element. Then Aang moved on to the Earth Kingdom to master earth bending. Bumi's teaching style fit surprisingly closely to Aang's own outlook at time. Bumi was a clever man who thought very much like an airbender, always looking for new ways of addressing problems. Still, as the opposite element of Aang's personality it still took him about 3 months to master it. Then Aang moved on the Fire Nation, where he met his royal tea loving kookiness, General Iroh. With no war, Iroh remained in the military, mainly as a peacekeeper when fire festivals became a little too festive. Iroh had been a patient teacher, letting Aang learn firebending with his nephew Zuko. Zuko and Aang became fast friends, which made the heat of this chaotic element bearable. After learning all of the elements, Aang returned to the Southern Air Temple to learn about the Avatar State with Gyatso. Without all the shame of causing the 100-year war and without Katara to keep him bound to the Earth the process was quite simple and learned how to slide easily in and out of the Avatar State within a week. Now a fully realized Avatar and the world at peace, Aang decided he better use this time of peace to get to know all of the world's peoples. He started with the Southern Water Tribe because he had never been there. The accounts that he received from the Northern Water Tribe described them as little more than savages, but Aang was determined to see the good in them, as he always did with all the people he met.
Avatar Aang was a tall man, easily clearing six feet (185 centimeters) in height with a few more years of growth still left in him. The Avatar was a handsome young man with a chiseled jaw, baldhead, and a traditional blue arrow on his forehead and running down his body to mark him as an airbending master. His body was lean and muscular, but not exceedingly so. While earthbending had hardened him, he still had to wiry frame of an airbender. The man's eyes were bright silver orbs that shown bright with youthful joy.
At this point, Appa bellowed to drag Aang out of his reminiscing. Aang looked up to realize that the city was now just a hundred meters away and closing fast. The city was circular with high walls surrounding many small ice buildings. This society looked mainly egalitarian, as all the houses were the same size, except for a larger community hut in the middle where political and religious events took place. Aang looked around for a place to land, but the densely packed city did not provide many open spaces to accommodate for Appa's girth. However, just then Aang caught sight of a crowd of blue clothed people gathering outside the city walls. It looked like as good a place as any.
The Air Nomads and the Southern Water Tribe shared a positive, albeit detached relationship. The Air Nomads were known as a peaceful race, so no one ever thought to raise a spear against them and The Southern Water Tribe was no different.
(AN: I like exposition)
Appa landed in front of the throng of gatherers and Aang gracefully hopped off the bison's head. A large, muscular man stepped forward, offering his arm in greeting. Aang was at first confused, and then remembered that this was a warrior's greeting. Taken aback, Aang gratefully grasped the man's forearm. They shook, staring deep into each other's eyes; Aang steeled his gaze, grey meeting blue, trying not to appear weak when making a first impression to such a formidable man. Stepping back, the man called out in a strong, masculine voice. "Greetings monk, your kind are always welcome in the Southern Water Tribe, I am Hakoda, Chief Southern Water Tribe, who might you be Airbender?"
"It is an honor to meet you, Chief Hakoda, I'm Aang of the Sou—I mean, Avatar Aang of the Southern Air Temple." Aang squeaked in his best attempt to be formal.
"It is good to meet you, Avatar Aang, so what brings you to the Southern Water Tribe?" Hakoda looked kindly at the awkward young airbender.
"I am traveling the world so I thought I would stop by the Southern Water Tribe first." Aang piped up, his formal tone giving way to Aang's usual playful attitude.
"Good, let us skip the formalities, here we are family, so let us get to know each other, come, join me in my home to warm yourself by the fire."
Aang let out a breath that he did not know he was holding. After passing Appa off to a tribesman he gratefully followed The Chief back through the crowd. Many of the people bowed to the young avatar, Aang enthusiastically responded, though not used to the attention, Aang was happy to please other people, even if it was merely by his presence. Aang spotted two young adults that were following closely behind The Chief. As the crowd thinned to let them through, Aang got a better look at them from behind. One a young man who was much older than Aang, he stood as tall as Hakoda and had the same powerful build. He had a much more formal jaunt than his father's relaxed steps, but it looked forced. Second was a young woman about Aang's age that walked confidently behind her father, a beautiful cascade of chocolate brown hair ran down her back, though some of it was tied up in a bun. The woman held her head up high unlike many of the women there that looked down whenever Aang tried to look them in the eye. Better yet, she caught Aang was caught off guard when she stole a glance back at the young monk and offered him a sweet smile before turning around again and purposely walked to the main house. When Aang looked at her, his breath hitched. He only had a glance of her, but that was enough to make him trip over his own feet and land face first into the snow right outside The Chief's home.
"Ah," Aang groaned in the snow, too embraced to pick himself up out of the cold humiliating snow. 'Here I am, on the first official diplomatic meeting as the Avatar and I trip before getting into the first building,' Aang thought to himself.
Aang heard giggling inside and the light steps of the young woman exiting the house to stand right in front of him. Aang rolled on his back to get a good look at her. Her hands were on her hips as she regarded the airbender with a smirk. "You don't look so mighty lying on the ground, Mr. Avatar," she remarked, trying to hold in her laughter.
Aang did not respond he could not. He stared up at the goddess standing over him. His eyes glazed over as he considered the possibility that he had died in the fall and had certainly gone to the spirit world since there couldn't possibly be a woman more beautiful than the one that was gazing down at him. After Aang stared at the young woman for several seconds, her gaze turned from that of amusement to concern as she begin to suspect that this young man really did get hurt when he fell.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, are you alright?" Katara asked.
"Uh," was all Aang could mumble back, his mind still foggy. "Come closer."
"What… what is it?" Katara knelt next to him, leaning in closer.
Aang's eyes went wide, filled with the usual childish charm that he fell back to when he did not know what to do, "will you go penguin sledging with me?"
Katara was taken aback, 'this airbender is hard to understand,' she thought to herself, kneeling next to the young monk, answering, "uhhhhh… sure."
After distracting himself with his childish antics, Aang gathered the mental cognition to airbend himself to his feet.
"Sounds great, shouldn't we go in already, I bet Chief Hakoda is wondering where I disappeared to."
"Oh, I think he has a pretty good idea where you are, he was right in front of you when you fell over," Katara joked.
Aang and Katara entered the Chief's hut. The first thing Aang noticed was the furs; he cringed at the sight of them. Contrary to the Northern Water Tribe that disguised their animal pelts in richly ornate tapestries and rugs, the Southern Water Tribe displayed the animal hides in their raw beauty, with heads and arms still readily visible. Aang took a deep calming breath and tried the see the whole room like the monks taught him, to evaluate the entire space before letting his bias over one part crowd his judgment of the whole. The hut looked cozy, tight and simple like the temple living quarters. The hut was light by a small fire in the middle of the hut, with a large pot full of stew bubbling lightly.
"Welcome to my home, Avatar," Hakoda began. "This is my family. I believe you have already met my daughter, Katara," gesturing his left to the Water Tribe beauty that was already 'falling for.'
"Hi," Katara greeted, giving her hand a slight wave.
"Here is my eldest son, Sokka and his wife Yue," gesturing to his right at the young man.
"Hello, Avatar," Sokka greeted in a fake formal tone.
"Greetings, Avatar, I have already heard such great things about you," Yue greeted in a much more believable formal tone, but it had a kind of warmth to it that Sokka's voice lacked.
"And my wife, Kya," gesturing to the woman tending the woman who was minding the stew.
"Don't mind me Avatar, this stew is almost ready," Kya tutted.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Chief Hakoda, it is good to meet all of your family," replied Aang, his formal mood returning as he bowed to the family. The Avatar was not sure what to do in this situation; he just stood there awkwardly, eyes shifting from The Chief, then at his daughter, and back to the chief. Then Aang decided on sitting down away from the group, sitting in the lotus position, watching. Aang was sort of waiting for something to happen, but noticed the rest of the family simply sat around the fire and began talking about their day as if Aang was not in the room. Aang had never before seen such laid back royalty. Normally in this situation he would be told what to do, there were rules to follow in society, and as long as Aang looked the part he could simply stand there, say a few words, and smile. This cop out was not going to work in the Southern Water Tribe, if he did not assert himself, he knew that he was going to be ignored. It was not that the Southern Water Tribe's people were not gracious hosts, but simply tight knit. Every inclusion is another exclusion, Aang thought to himself remembering what the monks had taught him. The only problem this time was, Aang really wanted to be part of the conversation, or at least noticed by one particular member of the small group.
"Aang why don't you sit by the fire, we are about to serve dinner," Hakoda's voice broke Aang's silent contemplation.
"uh, sure," the airbender chirped, airbending himself over in one graceful flick of his wrists.
Kya grabbed one of the wooden bowls to begin serving the food.
"Mom, allow me," Katara piped up, passing a quick glance at Aang. Her mother nodded, casting Katara a knowing look. Katara blushed, then brought her arms up to bend the stew equally into the waiting bowls.
"Wow, you're a waterbender," Aang responded in awe.
"Yes, I am a master actually, I mastered it a few years ago… before you found out you were the Avatar," Katara responded with a cocky grin gracing her face.
Aang stared back at her, clearly impressed, "Prince Zuko did not even master firebending when I left the Fire Nation and he was 21."
(AN: yeah that's right Zuko, burn!)
"Oh that spoiled prince, I never did like him," Katara shot back
"Me neither, he always looked suspicious to me," Sokka added in.
"Sokka, you think anything on two legs is guilty until proven innocent."
"It's the same way as with meat, except meat has four legs."
"Sokka," butted in Yue, putting a hand on her husband before he got too riled up. Yue was used to playing peacekeeper between the two rival siblings.
"Oh, I don't know, he is pretty nice once you get to know him. Just never try to touch his scar," Aang said with a grimace as if he was remembering a painful incident.
Hakoda interjected, "Anyway, enough of this talk, Aang, what would you like to do while you are in the Southern Water Tribe."
"Uh," replied Aang, blushing, he had not really thought of that. This whole trip was under the broad heading, 'see the world' he thought he would decide what to do once he got there.
"Oh, I think I know what he wants to do," chimed in Kya, with that same knowing look in her eyes.
"What?" Katara asked, clearly confused why her mom kept looking at her.
"Well, I already asked Katara if she wanted to go penguin sledging, but as The Avatar, I haven't a clue how I should learn about your culture, I thought I would ask you Chief Hakoda," Aang explained.
"Well, we could go on a hunting trip," Hakoda suggested, upon seeing Aang's distrusted face. He added, "you do not need to kill anything, but if you wish to learn of your culture you should come see us hunt."
"But dad, he's the Avatar, he could just go like, airbending slice and take out a walrus-whale no problem," Sokka complained.
Aang was about to speak up, however Katara beat him to it giving her brother a smack on the shoulder, "don't you know, Sokka, airbenders don't believe in violence unless it is absolutely necessary for defense."
"Oh, I forgot," Sokka mumbled.
Aang was more impressed by Katara by the minute, "wow, Katara, most people just call airbenders cowards, but it looks like you actually understand Air Nomad philosophy."
"Not really, I just picked up a few things, you know, in books," Katara replied off-handily, trying to downplay her knowledge while blushing furiously.
"No really Katara, what else do you know about Air Nomads?" Aang pressed.
"Oh, just that they are vegetarians, meditate to reach spiritual enlightenment… oh, and every nomad is an airbender, and they fly on gliders or flying bison… and laugh at gravity," Katara gushed, blushing as she finished.
"Yes, and they have four temples," Sokka chimed in.
"Everyone knows that," both Yue and Katara cried together, each slapping one of Sokka's shoulders.
"Ha," Aang Added, "gravity, airbenders really do have the best wit."
The conversation ended with a few giggles exchanged between young adults, as both Hakoda and his wife looked at the group with smiling knowing eyes, reminiscing back to the time that they were as silly and care-free as their children and the Avatar. The family and Avatar finished their meals they got up and started getting ready for bed. Well the family ate the strewed sea prunes, Aang discreetly bended it outside the hut after he nearly threw up after the first few bites. Aang looked at Hakoda questionably, who then nodded, standing up to led Aang to his quarters.
There were four rooms in this hut, all situated on one end of the hut, they were like a square with two rooms on each side, facing each other. Aang was to be in the right end of the hallway down beside Sokka and across from Katara's room. But Aang was not quite ready to go to bed, he found that his traveling supplies had somehow made their way into the room while the family ate, so he took his staff and gave it an experimental twirl, something to remind him of home in this unfamiliar land.
"Aang?"
Aang jumped as he turned around he saw Katara, leaning on the doorway, "hi, Katara, do you need something?"
"No, I was just wondering if you needed anything," Katara answered sweetly, "but I see you already found your safety blanket," pointing at Aang's staff.
"huh, oh, my staff, as a monk and Avatar I do not have many earthly possessions, just this staff and Appa."
"Appa?"
"He is my flying bison."
"ohhhhh, did you want to check on him, I could lead you to the stables if you would like."
"That would be great, Katara," replied Aang, with a sweeping bow he proclaimed, "lead the way mighty waterbender."
The bow inadvertently summoned a small amount of wind, causing Katara's hair to be a bit messed up. "oh sorry, I didn't mean to"
"Geez, if I didn't like you I would have taken offense," Katara said jokingly as Aang waved his hands in apology. "Anyway, let's get going."
Katara led the way through the village with Aang following her, stopping to say high to those still walking the streets at night. She seemed perfectly at home, Aang hopped that he would soon feel as comfortable here as she clearly did. He sighed, no matter how many times he traveled, there was always an awkward week where he did not know what to do to fit in. Still, the thrill of traveling had never left him.
As they approached the stable Appa sensed Aang's presence and gave out a bellow. Katara stopped, even taking a step backward into Aang. Aang stopped and put his arms out to catch her as a reflex, which pretty much amounted to him wrapping them around her waist. Aang and Katara both blushed at the sudden contact, but neither of them were shying away from it, his hands were tentative, unmoving, but Katara felt like she could trust him and he certainly didn't choose the wrong place to 'accidentally' place his hands as many other 'men' did (to their immediate regret).
"Katara, you don't need to be afraid of Appa," he said reassuringly, still not moving his hands from her waist.
"I wasn't scared, just, surprised,"
"Well we shouldn't keep Appa waiting," Aang replied happily, bounding past Katara, grabbing her hand as he passed and dragging her along with him as he jogged into the stable. Then Aang let go of Katara's hand so he could leap on Appa's nose in a large full body hug. "Hey buddy, did you miss me, did they feed you?"
Appa replied with a contented bellow.
"Well, I missed you too buddy, hey, I got someone I want you to meet. Her name is Katara, and she is my new friend," Aang hugged Appa's snout, turning his head to speak to Katara while his ear was stuffed in
Katara walked up hesitantly to the 10-ton bison and greeted him with a shy, "Hello Appa."
Appa responded with a fully body lick and much to Aang surprise, instead of screaming as many other noble women did in this situation, Katara just laughed, "I guess that's how he says hello."
"Yeah, that means he likes you," then Aang turned to Appa and said, "I knew you would like her, we are going to all be good friends." Aang cast one more look at Appa then said, "Alright, we should go back to the house, but I'm not sure I could find my way back in the dark, would you like to lead me back, Katara?"
"Sure Aang," replied Katara with a sweet smile.
They walked back to the hut in contented silence, already becoming fast friends.
AN: yes I know they do not have rooms, but it is easier to just think of Western style houses with personal rooms and beds instead of hammocks
Okay, well I really hope you people liked this. I plan on spreading this story out as much as I can, yes they are older, but do not expect the wedding to happen in two chapters. It is not going to be a super long story (since I hope to avoid anything resembling a plot), but it should be a cute story about how Aang falls in love with Katara in her home town. Though do expect drama, this story is called Arranged or fate, I wonder what is going to be arranged and I wonder who is NOT going to be happy about it.
Please R&R I need to know if you liked it or how you would any suggestions to make my story better.