The Burning Rose
Chapter One
OOC- This is my first story ever put onto the internet, so if you have some helpful hints, please give them to me.
She looked out the white marble balcony of the new Northern Air Temple with a city growing around it. Her chocolate brown hair was strung into a tight bun that hurt just getting it in that way. She wore yellow and orange clothes that were a size too big. She had tried to convince Aang to have the clothes taken in or at least have her move the stitches, but he always disagreed because they are antiques and he doesn't want an antique modified or it takes away its beauty. She had orange slippers on as well, also too big.
Sometimes he was so infuriating since they had been married. He made her take all the traditions of the Air Nomads. She couldn't eat meat. In fact, she couldn't remember the last time she had even seen it. She couldn't stand the orange and yellow he always made her wear.
"But Air Nomads only wear orange and yellow!" Aang had said.
"What if I don't want to be an Air Nomad?" she said, starting to get mad.
"Well, if we want to bring back the Air Nomads, we need to keep the traditions going so we can teach it to our kids!" he said, in an almost bored tone, because he had said it so much, he was getting tired of saying it.
"Kids?" Katara said in a squeak. "I don't think I am ready for kids yet Aang. I am only 16 years old."
"But we are the only ones to keep the Air Nomads from dying out." He said.
Katara suppressed a shiver as she thought about that conversation. It was a very awkward conversation she didn't want to go through again.
She scanned the horizon for anything new, but nothing stood out. It was just as always. She sighed. She looked at the sunset as it began to turn a blood red and the yellow started to fade. Black, purple, and grey crept its way over the sky everywhere else.
It has been 5 years since I have seen my brother, Toph, or Suki. I wonder how they are in the South Pole?
"Hey!" Aang called from downstairs. "Katara, I have a surprise for you!"
"What is it now?" she muttered under her breath. Last time he said that, she had gotten more of the yellow and orange clothes added to her wardrobe of yellow and orange.
She started to walk down the white hallways and down a spiral staircase to the main room out front when she spotted a huge white beast.
"Appa!" She cried, running as fast as she could and spreading her arms wide, hugging his face. Appa stuck out his tongue and licked her whole body as Katara tried to get away, but ended up getting coated even more. She heard a chorus of laughs as she tried to shake off the substance. She stopped for a moment to turn around to see who was laughing. She first spotted a blue clad figure in a ponytail.
"Sokka!" she cried, running at him full speed.
"Katara, no! I don't…" he said, trying to stop her from coating him as well, but she hugged him anyway. "Aw, man! I just had Suki clean this!"
"I missed you too, Sokka!" she said as she clutched onto her brother.
"All right, Boomerang Boy, you had your turn. It's my turn now." A familiar voice rang.
"Toph!" she screamed, clutching onto the blind earthbender. She pulled Toph off the ground as Toph tried to worm her way out. Her hands were pinned to her sides, so she couldn't earthbend and her feet were off the ground. Finally, she wiggled enough for Katara to let her go. Toph fell, and barely caught herself.
"All right, Boomerang Boy, you can have her back." She said, rubbing her arms where Katara had held her.
"I don't think she is done yet."
"Suki!"
"Katara" She said, holding her arms out, wearing the traditional Kyoshi uniform without the make-up. Katara rushed, held her in a death grip, and hugged Suki till she couldn't breathe.
"Katara," Suki wheezed. "You can… let go… now."
"Oh, sorry," she said, setting Suki down gently. "I just missed all of you guys so much."
"But Katara, you forgot someone." Aang said, shuffling to her left shoulder.
"Who?" she said.
Aang pointed directly in front of her, right where Appa was standing.
A tall, dark figure loomed by Appa's tail, with a black cape around its shoulders, and a hood that kept his face out of sight. The cape was so long, it dragged on the ground and it looked like velvet when the sun hit it.
"You will never guess who it is!" Aang said, happiness rang in his voice.
"Was he a banished prince, is now married to Mai, and the new Fire Lord?" Katara said, crossing her arms and moving slowly toward the hood of the figure. She stuck out her arms to take off his hood, and he caught both of them, still hiding his face in shadow.
"Yes," he said, slowly craning his neck to his right, away from Katara.
Quickly, Katara spun around, he let go of her wrists, and she flipped off the hood with her left hand while he grabbed for her right wrist.
"Why are you hiding?" she said, staring into his eyes. He had a hold on her right wrist and he immediately let go. He turned his head away and diverted his eyes away from her.
"I don't feel right here." He said calmly to the floor.
"Why?" she said, trying to get him to look at her. "We all accepted you as our friend at the Southern Air Temple."
"I still feel bad for what I did to you… and your friends." He added as he tried to keep the blush that was coming from reaching his cheeks.
"Well, we all forgive you, right guys?" Katara said, remembering everyone else there. She turned and everyone grunted ok at the same time. "See!"
"Katara, I don't mean to disturb you, but I am hungry. I haven't eaten since Ba Sing Se." Sokka whined, clutching his stomach, which rumbled as if on cue.
"All right, but we don't have meat here. You need to hunt for meat if you want it." She said, walking to the kitchen.
"Hey, Katara?" Suki called, jogging after her.
"Yeah?" she said as she spun around to see Suki.
"Can I come with you?"
"Sure," she said.
They both walked to the kitchen in silence, Katara looking at Suki's uniform and Suki trying to look for the entrance to the kitchen.
"It is right here," Katara said as she pointed to a doorway on her right. They both went into the kitchen and started to make the food for the night. The air had a comfortable silence around them, but Katara had something bugging her she wanted to know.
"So," Katara said as she waterbended some water into a big black kettle sitting over wood to start a fire. "Where did you go?"
"What do you mean?" Suki said as Katara handed her some cabbage and a knife.
"Well, what happened after Aang defeated Ozai?" Katara said as she tried to start the fire.
"Uh," she said, chopping the cabbage. "I went with Sokka down to the Southern Water Tribe."
"Did you like it?" Katara said, slowly stirring the soup she was making.
"Once I got past the cold, it was a cute place to live in." she said, trying to miss cutting her finger, sounding a little worried, but Katara didn't notice.
"Did anyone remember me?" Katara said, hoping that Gran-Gran would be worried about her.
"Yes." She said, trying to concentrate on chopping, and sighed inside, glad they changed the subject. "Everyone was wondering where you were. One lady though, she just asked, and I said you were fine, and she chuckled and smiled, then returned to her work."
'That's my Gran-Gran' Katara thought. She smiled as she picked up a herb to put into the soup.
"But there was this old looking guy with her, he had white hair, and was waving at Sokka."
'Master Pakku is in the Southern Water Tribe? What would he be doing there?' she thought as she put all of the newly chopped cabbage in the soup. Katara tasted a little of the soup. It tasted like watered down cabbage, and that was what it was made out of. Water and cabbage. 'Yep, definitely loving being an Air Nomad' she thought sarcastically. She got some bread out that she had made yesterday and brought everyone a bowl of water and some cabbage with bread.
"Katara?" Sokka said, staring at the soup. "What is this?"
"Soup!" she said, taking her spoon and let the liquid drip down her throat.
"Are you sure?" Toph said, trying the soup and making a face.
"This was all we had in the kitchen." Katara said, drinking another spoonful and letting it slip down her throat.
"Can't you go to the market or something?" Sokka whined.
"Sure, Sokka. You guys can sit here for a week till I get back." Katara said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she got another spoonful. She was starting to get mad, and it came out through her voice. Sokka quietly sat there, not bothering to complain anymore.
Suki tried the soup, and immediately tried not to let it come back up. She grabbed the bread quickly and took a big bite of the slightly stale bread. Aang drank a spoonful and immediately picked up the bowl, put it to his lips, and drank the whole thing.
"Good soup, Katara!" Aang said.
"Thank you, Aang," she said.
Toph just stared at the soup, hoping it will disappear. Sokka sat and pursed his lips, thinking of getting some meat. Katara drank all of the soup, spoonful by spoonful, letting it slowly slip down her throat. Soon, Katara excused herself from the table, having finished all of her soup.
OOC- Yesh! More to come, very, very soon! The next one will be short! I am sorry!