Sifu Aang
Aang gives Katara some pointers a night after the events in "The Waterbending Scroll."
The trio of Sokka, Katara, and Aang set up their sleeping bags to rest for the night. A day's journey on Appa had left the sky bison tired and more than a little cranky. He let out a loud yawn, indicating that he was tired. Momo cured up next to him, and soon the two of them were fast asleep. Sokka, not one to lie awake pondering, joined in the slumber. Unlike his companions, Aang was having some difficulty. He glanced over at Katara. He wished that he could have gotten her necklace back from Prince Zuko. She would have had such a happy smile on her face if he managed to snatch it! He would just have to make an extra effort the next time they met the banished prince. Zuko didn't seem to have much difficulty finding them, much to everyone's annoyance.
Aang felt a little guilty about showing off his natural aptitude in waterbending to Katara when it was quite obvious it upset her. For some reason Aang felt compelled to show off in front of Katara. He wasn't quite sure why. He always did tend to show off his airbending skills back at the temple, but that was mostly because he had so much fun airbending! The young Avatar felt overjoyed when bending his native element. More overjoyed than usual, that is.
Aang turned to face his waterbending friend. "Katara? Are you awake?"
Katara mumbled and rolled over to face Aang. "Hmm? What is it Aang?"
"I was just thinking…about the waterbending scroll…"
"I know, I know. I shouldn't have gone alone to practice. It was foolish and put everyone in danger."
"No, not about that!" Aang didn't want to upset Katara again. "Well, kind of about that. I don't think spending too much time studying the scroll will help."
Katara sighed. "I won't go off by myself anymore. But how else am I supposed to learn waterbending if I don't practice? The scroll is all we have. It will be weeks before we reach the North Pole."
"I could teach you!" exclaimed Aang.
"I know you are already better at waterbending than me, Aang, but I think – "
"Katara!" Aang interrupted. "I wasn't talking about teaching you waterbending!"
"Then what are you talking about?"
"Airbending! I trained with masters for twelve years! They showed me the moves themselves and taught me hands on. You had to learn waterbending all by yourself. So I figure if I could teach you some of the airbending stances, you will be able to pick up the waterbending ones much quicker when we get to the North Pole. You can't actually airbend like me but – "
"Aang!" said Katara.
" – but I bet it will make a huge difference in your bending – "
"Aang!"
"Katara, I know it sounds kind of silly but if you would just listen – "
"Aang! I think it sounds like a great idea!" Katara managed to fit in amidst Aang's excitement.
"Well why didn't you just say so?" Katara gave a frustrated glare which Aang countered with his trademark innocent eyes. "We could start tomorrow if you want," he continued. "I could show you some stuff on Appa. Not too much movement though…it upsets him."
Katara grinned. "Thanks, Aang. But…we probably should get some sleep now."
"Yeah, okay. Goodnight Katara!"
"Night, Aang."
"She's so cute when she smiles," thought Aang. That was the last thought he had before drifting off to sleep.
"…and they wonder why I have trouble getting up in the morning," frowned Sokka. "Ugh, they are so loud."
Changelog 11.28.11
-Fixed grammatical error
-Changed Aang's thought to italic
