The sun wouldn't rise for another hour, but Katara's internal clock didn't seem to know the difference. Carefully, so as not to disturb Toph, she slipped out of the tent and made her way to the stream.
Today is the invasion. No matter how many times she went over it in her head, she just couldn't believe the day was actually, finally here. The day they would get their revenge for Ba Sing Se and put the Fire Nation in its place, once and for all.
It was a wonder they all weren't having nightmares. If they failed-no, she scolded herself, they wouldn't fail this time. Last time they hadn't been prepared for Azula or her master plan. Last time...she shuddered, remembering that horrible moment where Aang was really and truly dead, how a few seconds seemed like an eternity before he opened his eyes.
She'd tried to be strong for Aang all this time, but the fear of losing him for good this time sat at the back of her mind and now that she was actually thinking about it...Katara closed her eyes, hugging herself. She'd nearly lost him once, and used her entire vial of Spirit Oasis water to revive him. This time if he died, he would be gone for good and the Avatar Cycle broken.
No! He wouldn't die, none of them would, everything was going to be okay, it had to-
"Katara?"
She turned around. Aang was walking up to her, rubbing his eyes.
"Hey, Aang." She smiled. "You look like you slept well."
"I did. I had a pretty good dream this time," he said, sitting down beside her. "What're you doing up so early? Did you have a nightmare?"
"No, I just couldn't get back to sleep." She was overcome with the sudden urge to throw her arms around him. "Aang...I'm worried. Last time-"
"I know." He closed his eyes. "But this time we're prepared. We've been planning for weeks, we've got people coming in to help us out, it's going to be different! You'll see!" He blinked as she grabbed him and pulled him into her embrace. "Katara?!"
"You're right, but still." She rested her cheek against his hair, knowing that as soon as it was gone he would be the Avatar again, he'd be facing the Fire Lord... "Aang, I want a solemn Avatar Promise from you that you'll be careful. Don't risk your life...if something happened to you this time, I can't fix it. I can't lose you again..."
She felt a pull on her robe as he snuggled closer to her.
"Katara, as long as I know you're waiting for me on the other side, I won't die," he said, then quickly added, "you and Sokka and Toph. I couldn't have made it this far without you, after all!"
But the look in his eyes told her what he was really trying to say, and she smiled. Not another word was exchanged between them, and they stayed there together until the sun began to rise.