Be warned! I did not mean to open this chapter with a sexual encounter. I'm so sorry folks! It just kind of happened… kinda like real life married couples :'D I promise it gets more exciting.
Spirit Moon- Air Part 1
Light was pushing though the thinning screen of ice at the entrance of the cave and sparkling down serenely on the couple sleeping peacefully there. Blankets were twisted and clothing had been tossed haphazardly aside during the night. They weren't tangled tight around one another as some would think a pair of new lovers would be- probably because they weren't new to the dance. The slightest contact was all they needed to reassure one another. The man was on his side, curled toward his wife, a single tattooed hand resting gently on the woman's hip. She was lying on her back with the blankets and furs piled around her; her calf was just ever so lightly brushing against her husband's knee.
Katara started to stir, stretching her arms and spine languorously, causing a series of pops to click through her joints. Aang was still gently breathing, blissfully asleep. He was so warm while she was clammy in the chilled damp air of the cave. She groaned a bit and shivered, silently cursing the airbender's incessant internal furnace and reaching for the blankets to cover her exposed form. How he stayed warm, even at the poles wearing next to nothing was a mystery to her. It was like temperature barely even bothered him. She patted the hand against her hip and slid her leg along Aang's. This elicited a small moan from him and his fingertips tugged slightly at her waist reflexively.
"Mmmm, what time is it?" she murmured, reaching over stroking his scalp stubble. He had let it go for a couple days and Katara knew she'd have to take care of it soon. It had become one of their little rituals together. He had lost his straight razor so many times on different adventures that Katara started to use her water bending skills to shave smooth his dome. Aang had said that she did a better job anyways and he loved the feel of her healing hands across his head.
Right now Aang didn't even want to open his eyes yet. He mumbled something incoherent in his half-asleep state and dug his fingers into her flared hip bone and pulled her toward his body, turning her to nestle his groin against her backside. Well, part of him was awake anyways.
"Who cares?" he finally mumbled into her hair, pushing it aside with his nose to find her soft skin. His short beard scratched along her neck as he peppered her with kisses, tasting the salty skin that smelled of cool sweat and the musk of latent sex. His fingers squeezed into the flesh tucked privately low between her hips and then crept down between her thighs, stroking the silky warm skin. He pushed his arm under her body to curl around and knead at her breast, the supple tissue puckering nicely between his fingers. He skimmed his teeth along her shoulder and bucked roughly into her. His excitement twitched hopefully against her soft opening. She tasted so good. Waking with her in his arms was one of the highlights of his life.
"A-ang, didn't you get enough last night?" She teased, but moaned at his touch. She tried weakly to writhe away. Nothing would have been more welcome than to give in to his tempting ministrations, but better judgment was at the forefront of her mind. She was awake enough to sense there wasn't much time left before the icy wall crumbled.
"Never." With that he fully bit into her shoulder and plunged his fingers into her wet folds, ripping a cry of shocked pleasure from her throat. He was decidedly awake and wanted her right now, and knew just how to persuade her.
"Sweetie! We don't have time. I need… to take care… of the ice wall." Her breathing was labored as he sent shockwaves of satisfaction through her body. If she didn't get away quickly, she would be completely consumed by the desire.
"We have as much time as we want," was his heady, throaty response. His touch was like fire burning into her sex and she knew it probably wasn't just metaphorical. He loved playing with his bending abilities while playing with her. But two could play at that game.
"Aang, I'm serious," she gasped, still trying to pull away. Her mind was battling with her body and she was quickly losing to her primal needs. "Don't make me stop you," she threatened halfheartedly, pulling some icy water from the basin nearby. She let a few frigid drops fall onto the heated skin of his shoulder.
"That's not very convincing," Aang growled into her neck as he shuddered. The sensation of the cold water drops tingled in stark contrast to his flushed body, just enticed him more. He hoped she would continue with her bending. She could induce the most delicious gratification when she went down that route during their foreplay, even if it wasn't a full moon. He was so hard and ready it was nearing on painful. He could feel her slick walls convulsing in eager anticipation as he strummed inside her. "But please, do try that some more."
Katara couldn't resist any longer. She pushed her rear against him in return, forcing him to moan and squeeze tighter in response. She rolled to her back, giving her husband full access to her body. Her hand slid down to stroke at his length and return some of the pleasure he was giving her. He dug in even harder at her contact. He dipped his head to capture her breath into his mouth and feasted on her whimpers. His tongue then trailed down her throat and found her unattended breast and lapped at it with unrestrained hunger. He could feel the energized water lick up and down his spine with her touch. It seeped into his chi paths and settled into his root chakra. This tightened something in his very core and elicited an uncontrolled spasm. All that mattered in the world in that instant was the woman beneath his grasp. He had to be in her. Had to dive into her energy and swim through her ocean.
He was above her in an instant, pressing into her, willing her to give him access. She didn't hesitate, spreading her knees around him and shifting her hips to meet him eagerly. A moan of pure ecstasy spilled from her lips as he plunged into her. She grabbed at his rear, and bucked into him, pulling him as deep as he could go. Her body was his home, was his temple where he could worship at every day. He didn't care if she was an earthly tether. Making love to her was the purest form of cosmic energy he had ever found, Avatar State be damned. Aang pushed aside some of the pelts and sunk his hands into the stone beneath them like it was soft clay to find stronger purchase in order to rock into his wife farther. He rode hard and deep, relishing every gasp and cry as if they were sacred prayers.
She couldn't help but give in to him. It was never a matter of persuasion. Try as she might, she always wanted him, craved his touch. It was far more profound than lust. She loved him and she needed him. She needed him *because* she loved him. Just the weight of his heavy frame on her was welcome and euphoric. The feel of him driving into her, throbbing against her most hallowed spaces was bliss. Their elemental energies would crash into each other, delving into their souls until they couldn't tell where one spirit ended and the other began.
With a final cry Katara writhed her climax around her husband. Her energy pulsed through him and across the cave, like waves rolling against the sand, bringing him moments later to his own shuddering finish. The ice wall at the entrance to the cave splintered, causing tiny shards to tumble and tinkle to the floor. The ground had actually cracked beneath them.
Aang dislodged his hands from the stone floor to touch his wife's face, gently kissing her panting mouth. His fingers were rough against her soft skin. He glanced around and noticed the minor damage caused by their uncontrolled bending. A puff of flame escaped Aang's lips as he laughed.
"Heh heh heh… this is why our house is made of wood and bamboo, isn't it?"
"Yeah… we kind of cause problems with nearby elements sometimes, don't we? Made it all night without wrecking anything, just to trip up now." Katara returned the laugh, scanning the cave. "We've gotten better… at least you don't induce firestorms anymore.…"
Aang finally rolled off his wife and just laid there enjoying the afterglow, waiting for his heart rate to return to normal. "It's worth it."
Katara climbed out of the blankets and padded barefoot to the ice wall. Aang fully enjoyed watching her hips sway in rhythm with her cascading wild hair, outlined in the dim light. The image of her nude form, back dropped by the wall of ice actually wasn't particularly erotic, but beautifully artistic. The sculpted ice mirrored the waterbender's sculpted and curved body.
She reached out and easily mended the cracks, but knew it wasn't going to hold much longer. She could tell by the angle of the dim sunlight cutting through the frosty screen that is was really late. It was probably creeping near mid day. It had been so dark in the cave that they had lost track of time. Too much love making through the long night and morning didn't help either as they pushed each other to exhaustion. They needed to get moving again.
"Aang, get up. We need to deal with whatever is out there," she complained. "We overslept."
"Hrrrrrr. Five more minutes…" He grumbled and rolled onto his stomach, hiding his face in the pillows. They were warm and soft and smelled sweetly of Katara.
"Oh no you don't, Mister Avatar!" Katara huffed back, trying to ignore how much she enjoyed admiring his broad, toned shoulders and slick back. She wanted to go back to him and run her tongue all the way along his sky blue tattoo. "I completely blame you this time and mean it."
"I know," was his muffled reply from within the blankets. He looked up at her and stuck his tongue out in protest, but pushed himself up. Katara noticed he didn't use any airbending to get up like he usually would. She watched, biting her lip and swallowing her lust back down, as his muscular arms and shoulders rippled. He was still trying to tease her, she realized. She rolled her eyes and ignored him before crossing over to their packs and threw some clothing at him. He caught it and just laughed.
The chunk of hearty nut bread that she threw while he was distracted pegged him in the middle of his forehead arrow.
They pulled pants and robes and boots on. Aang watched with a pout as Katara bound her breasts and slipped her sky blue fighting dress on over her head. When she got the chance, Katara palmed her hand over Aang's stubbley head and he just nodded at her knowingly. He sat in front of her while she cautiously skimmed a sheet of razor-sharp water across his skin with one hand and soothed his scalp with the other. He couldn't be more content in this moment. It was the simple everyday activities that made life beautiful. They worked together to roll the bedding up like they always did.
"These seriously need washed. They're starting to remind me of Sokka's tent…" Katara giggled, passing a fold to Aang and stretching down to grab another blanket corner. Aang just snorted. "Unfortunately, we don't have a decent water source."
Aang looked past her to the ice, nervous. Katara would be away from her element and probably at the mercy of whatever water she was able to bring with her. They also had their aging animal companions to worry about.
"I don't know what to do about Appa," he said, tightening his blue belt sash. "There's no food for him and barely any water left for us out there. At least he can drink the water off the remaining ice. I don't like the idea of going back out in that smog."
"Me either sweetie," Katara admitted, biting her lip, her face twisted in a scowl as she braided her hair back. It was too hot out there for her to leave her hair down. "Maybe he just stays here and rests a while? No sense in over taxing him yet."
"Yeah." Aang scooped up his glider out of their supplies and called to the sky bison and lemur who had been ignoring them like usual in the back of the cave. "You boys stay here, okay? I don't like it out there for you. Appa, keep the air clear in here if you can." He turned back to Katara. "Ready?"
"As much as I can be." She tightened the straps on her water bloats and reached her fingers to the ice wall. Tendrils of frigid water flowed into her water bags from the wall as she created an opening just big enough for them to slide through. "Waste not. Cleaning this water was hard work…wait. I want you to try something before going out there."
She placed her hand on his chest, stopping his exit.
"What?" He gave her a questioning look.
"Yesterday, I was worried I was going to go down… I used my healing energy to shield myself…" She was glad she remembered this through all of their escapades. "I used the water in my own body to protect the inside of my lungs. I couldn't do it for you because I couldn't keep the energy there for you. Watch. Like this."
She drew her hands together in front of herself, focusing her energy central again. She closed her eyes and Aang could see the healing energy sparking across the skin of her chest where her dress dipped into a deep V. He could see it even glowing through her clothing slightly. He could feel it, more than see it, spread through her lungs, coating them from the inside. She breathed deeply, exhaling a frosty mist from between her soft pink lips. It reminded him of his fire breathe.
"That's brilliant, Katara!" He smiled proudly at her, but furrowed his brow and rubbed his bearded chin, worried. "I've picked up some healing techniques over the years, but I don't think I could do that…"
"I'll start it for you and you see if you can hold it?" Katara shrugged at him. "It's worth a shot, right?"
"Yeah."
Katara pulled more water from the ice wall and energized it, her hands glowing, and reached towards Aang's chest. She hesitated just before touching him and cocked an eyebrow at him, smirking. "Just don't get over excited."
"Heh, heh, heh. I'll try, but no promises," he laughed back, copying her smirk. "Honestly I don't know if I have anything left…"
Aang steeled himself against Katara's touch as the cool water slid over and into his skin. She closed her eyes, concentrating on searching inside of his chest. Aang slid his eyes closed as well, following her lead. He could feel her energy pushing in to him. Through muscle and bone and into his lungs. A part of his mind was amazed and he actually wondered if she would be able to bloodbend without the full moon. He refocused on that feeling and tried to replicate it and hold it within his body. He felt her free hand take his and cover his own heart with it.
"Feel in here," she gently guided. "Really visualize every vein and artery running through your lungs. Protect it."
He could feel it; the energy in the moisture inside his own lungs. He took the control of the bending from Katara and filled it with his own will. It started weakly, but as he focused, he could sense it growing and spreading. What began as a pea-sized ball of energy nestled in the joint between his lungs spread down through the veins and arteries like a spider web. He was able to reproduce the protective barrier himself. He barely even noticed when Katara's energy withdrew.
"I'm doing it! It feels like trying to breath at the South Pole." He became ecstatic. His stormy eyes popped open, flashing excited. "This is great!"
"I can feel it too," she beamed at him, noticing the faint healing glow resonating around his sternum. "Good job, Pupil Aang."
"Thank you, Sifu Katara," he warmly replied, bowing respectfully. "Now we're ready."
He took her hand, much more confident now, and led her out into the desolate wasteland beyond their private sanctuary.
The sun was high overhead, barely discernible though the thick smog. Heat overtook them the moment they exited the sheltered cave. Visibility was low across the landscape, but they could make out the rock formations and sludgy stream nearby. There were dead and barren snags of trees scattered and fallen densely about. The pollution assaulted their eyes, pulling tears from them, burning, but their lungs stayed cool and clear. They could feel the energy of the defensive shield fighting against the smog and taking it in, cleansing it. It took a measure of concentration to keep it up, but they were able to maintain it.
They spent a small amount of time working on the ice wall to the cave entrance. It was easier this time with Katara water bending and Aang earth bending the filth out of the streaming water to reinforce the frosty barricade.
"I don't sense the Spirit right now," Aang sighed dejectedly, trying to peer through the gloom, "so I guess the first thing we need to do is find the source of all of this pollution."
"Cut the infected and dead tissue out, before trying to heal everything else?" Katara quipped.
"Exactly. Once we find that, then I think I'll have to do some serious air bending to clean this all out. Avatar State serious." Aang swirled the air around before them and pushed it out beyond them, clearing the way a bit in hopes of being able to see something. Everything just looked the same- shades of grey and brown and lifeless out into the distance.
He punched into the ground, searching out with his earthbending for anything. But it wasn't like the Foggy Swamp. There was nothing spiritually living out here anymore, and he didn't even know what he was looking for. Other than the disgusting stream, nothing was present but the dry, cracked earth stretching on for miles and miles. There was some kind of white noise deep in the earth, but he didn't pay it any mind. Toph may have been able to see something, but even the Avatar had limitations when it came to bending styles that hadn't even been developed during his previous lifetimes.
He frowned back to Katara. "Well, you got us this far, sweetie. Which way DIDN'T you go yet?" She swung her head, getting her bearings and thought for a moment before pointing. "Then we head that way and hope to get lucky."
The trek was much like the one Katara had taken the day before, just without the worry of Aang being unconscious. Bleak and foul, devoid of life and hope with the exception of scraggly brown and brittle weeds poking up every once in a while. Unlike the destroyed forest outside the Senlin Village, there were no acorns, no seeds at all. No hope for life. The valley wasn't burnt, it was just dead. They came across the desiccated remains of random animals, mummified by the environment. The Si Wong desert had more to offer. Some cactus juice would have been a welcome diversion at this point.
Aang kept pushing air ahead of them, looking for anything that would steer them in the right direction. Sporadically he would search with his seismic sense for a lead on anything. Katara kept bending her sweat into an empty bloat to conserve what little resources she had. They continued walking until the sun started to dip towards the west.
Eventually Aang could perceive a building and directed them towards it. Concrete and metal. A lot of metal. Soon they could see it, a huge metal box looming in the distance, with giant curved tubes lying oddly across the roof. Thick black smoke was rolling from an opening in the tubes. From there it just fed the ever growing cloud of poison and dispersed through the air. Everything was the color of soot and charcoal. The walls, the remains of whatever windows were left, the roof, the weird tubes. When they got closer they ducked behind a rocky outcrop to survey the area.
The stone lot surrounding the building was a continuation of the barren wasteland of rubble and weeds trying to get a foothold in whatever cracks they could find. The sparse vegetation fighting for purchase in the empty lot was depressing. Tall metal link fences topped with slanted barbed wire surrounded everything. The slant of the wire was facing in towards the factory, as if it was trying to keep workers *in* instead of possible riff raff out. The fence was broken in many places anyways. It appeared completely abandoned, yet somehow it was still spewing the smoke.
Katara glanced over to Aang and could see the determination shimmering in his eyes. He didn't have an ounce of fear. He was ready to go in there, elements blazing, kicking ass and taking names. Katara was sweltering and panting. She braced herself for the fight she knew must be coming by shrugging her dress off, leaving her in her white bindings and underskirt. At twenty five, she was old enough to just not give a damn anymore. Aang gave her a sideways glance and a smirk as she tied the yellow sash back across her hips and rolled her neck around like a fighter preparing for a bout.
"Really?" he jibed.
"What? Like I've never done this before. Screw this, it's hot. " She made a rude hand gesture and stuck her tongue out at him. "You get to wear next to nothing."
"True…This is it. Find the source in there and plug it up. Easy as fruit pie. Ready?" he asked pointedly and jumped spryly out from behind the rocks before Katara could answer, staff in hand and robes flowing lightly behind him. He slipped through the fence silently and continued toward the imposing structure. Katara could flow like water, but Aang danced like the wind, always a few steps quicker and more graceful. Katara felt like she sounded like a clumsy trash panda in comparison and managed to snag her belt on the jagged cut chain, pulling a tear in it. A whispered string of vulgarities fell from her throat, causing Aang to turn back to her and scowl with his finger pressed against his thin lips.
Aang stooped down and drove his fingertips into the compacted dirt and closed his eyes, listening. He rapped his staff on the ground several times, sending small shockwaves through the earth. With his seismic vision Aang could see through the ground and into the building as the waves of energy bounced back to him. It reverberated painfully back and he winced and shook his head.
"What is it, sweetie?" Katara asked, placing her hands on his shoulders gently.
"Ug. Too much metal…and something else," he responded, holding his forehead. "There's a ton of metal rebar all through the stone of the structure. I've never been able to pick up metal bending, no matter how hard I've tried. It's blocking my vision. Looks like we do this the old fashioned way."
They circled the factory several times, searching for any signs of life. Some of the walls had vulgar graffiti scorched and surprisingly earth bent on them. Stupid stuff like cuss words and crudely drawn pornographic images. They recognized some of the names from fire nation history that were advertising various sexual exploits. They just shook their heads and chuckled nervously at the absurdity of it all. One wall in particular was cursing the Avatar for abandoning the world. Aang scowled and turned away, reliving old guilts.
"We've been over this…" Katara spoke softly and rubbed her hand along his arm, soothingly.
"I know," he replied, rubbing his palm across his eyes. "It still hurts."
After about the sixth time circling the building, Aang tentatively pushed on one of the doors. Katara had no great desire to actually touch anything. The amount of rust and soot coating everything made the old shed behind Toph's house look like a spotless mansion after its daily maid service. It squealed loudly, protesting against the ancient and weather-worn hinges, but it opened. The heavy metal door scraped gouges into the stone floor and disturbed the layers of dust there.
They crept in awkwardly. The whole atmosphere was much more menacing than the factory at Jang Hai or even the creepy Foggy Swamp. It may have been daylight out, but inside it was dark and ominous. The only signs of life were the ancient bird and rodent droppings and similar footprints scuffled in the heavy detritus there. Weak sunlight streamed in from the broken windows, dimly illuminating the vast expanse of nothingness that was the interior of the warehouse. Aang was on a mission, silently floating through the halls as only he could- until he somehow managed to trip over an old metal folding chair right in the middle of a room. There was a paint can sitting on it for some reason and the whole thing clattered noisily to the ground. He tumbled with it as his legs tangled in the spokes of the chair.
"I'm okay!" he hurriedly replied, blushing and embarrassed. He flipped himself up off the floor and air bent the dust off his robes. Katara stifled a giggle and secretly felt better about her own bumblings.
They started searching room to room wordlessly. Katara promised Aang that she would help him and would follow him to the ends of the earth if needed. But this was looking more insane with every empty room they checked into. Nuts with a capital NVTS. They simply couldn't find the source of the smoke. It was dark and spooky, adding to the ever growing list of cliché's. There were a few abandoned machines scattered around and silent. They were huge and looked like the kind of monstrous contraptions you would see in history books in the chapters about the child labor sweatshops. They really had no idea what they did. Aang tiptoed up to one, ever curious.
There was a peculiar rusty brown splatter in the joints of it. He backed away anxiously, certain it must be blood. They were getting jumpy by this point. At least they hadn't come across any obviously human remains yet. Clanks in the old pipes and skitterings of rodents that they didn't realize had still been alive were starting to make even Aang rethink the whole ordeal. Grab Katara, jump back on Appa, and fly as far away as possible.
"Some really terrible stuff happened here, didn't it?" Katara's voice was low and quivering as she gingerly touched the dark stains on the machine. Aang tried to clamp down his own fear. He looked over to her and stopped himself from gulping. He knew he couldn't mask his emotions from her. She could read every muscle twitch of his like a book.
"Yeah, I think you're right." He gently took her hand in his, consoling himself with her touch as much as he was trying to comfort her.
"SO YOU FINALLY SEE!" a fell voice echoed through the factory. It was painful, like nails scraping across a chalkboard. "THE HORRORS OF HUMANITY. WHAT THEY DO TO THE WORLD. WHAT THEY DO TO EACH OTHER!"
Aang and Katara jumped at the cacophonous shock after so much silence. Aang ignored his pounding heart and stood strong and proud, brandishing his staff out. He could feel spiritual energy prickling across his skin, making his flesh crawl. It had to be the Spirit of the valley. And it was furious. But he could feel it was an Air Spirit. This would all be fine. Calm the spirit, heal the valley. All in a day's work for the Avatar.
"I am the Avatar, and the last Air Bender," he called out bravely, and excited to meet an Air Spirit. "I know a horrible tragedy has befallen this valley. Genjin Katara and I have come to rectify this. Please reveal yourself so that we may palaver."
Katara shot Aang a dirty look and questioningly mouthed "Genjin?" at Aang. He innocently smiled back at her, shrugging.
"OH HOW NICE OF YOU TWO TO FINALLY JOIN US," the voice sarcastically drawled. "WELL, ME, AT LEAST. THERE IS NO MORE US."
The smog swirled before them, twisting an array of colors and cleared, revealing the most magnificent and enormous butterfly. Its wingspan rivaled that of a small dragon. Multiple clicking and clanking plated body parts. Long, curling proboscis. Six, many jointed and clawed pinching legs covered in spikes. Multifaceted shimmering compound eyes. It was actually terrifying. It beat it four black hued wings with a spot on each that looked like a drop of blood with an inlaid angry, scowling skull. The air whipped around the couple as they clung to each other. The Butterfly heavily touched down, throwing anything not bolted down into the air.
"Please, Spirit!" Katara yelled. "We mean no harm! We really do want to fix this!"
"THERE IS NO FIXING THIS! THE FIRE NATION DESPOILED MY VALLEY. ENSLAVED THEIR OWN CITIZENS AS WELL AS EARTHBENDERS HERE. TORTURED THEM AND DELVED TOO DEEPLY IN SEARCH OF MORE FUEL FOR THEIR WAR MACHINES." The screeching continued, emanating from everywhere and nowhere at once. Both Katara and Aang cowered, covering their ears. It didn't matter. The voice was tearing inside their heads. A whooshing sound hissed from holes along its abdomen and the plates expanded and contracted down, breathing the heavy, toxic fumes. "YOU SHOULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, AIRBENDER!"
"I didn't know!" he yelled back. "I was just a scared kid! But I'm here now."
"NO! IT IS TOO LATE FOR THAT, AIRBENDER." The Butterfly pushed off the ground and hovered menacingly, malice licking at the term 'airbender.' "YOUR GENJIN PROTECTED YOU BEFORE WHEN YOU AND YOUR BISON ENTERED MY VALLEY. AND THEN YOU DARED INDULGE IN CARNAL PLEASURES WHILE MY VALLEY, MY MATE, IS BARREN AND DEAD BECAUSE OF YOUR NEGLIGENCE. IT IS ONLY FITTING THAT YOUR GENJIN SHOULD BE AS WELL."
The Butterfly lunged at Katara, sweeping its wings toward her. Aang was caught in shock at the entire turn of events while Katara popped open her ballast, drawing a razor sharp disc of water out to protect herself. It sliced through the Butterfly's outstretched antenna just before it could make contact with her. The sensitive appendage clattered to the ground twitching, oozing yellow fluids onto the dust covered floor.
The pain wracked sound that pierced though the gloom was even more mortifying than everything previously. Both Aang and Katara hit the ground holding their hands to their heads while they felt like their brains were turning to jelly. Aang reached over and wrapped his arm around his wife protectively.
"YOU WANT TO FIX THIS? YOU COULDN'T EVEN PROTECT YOUR GENJIN JUST NOW. SEE IF YOU CAN FIND YOUR WAY WITHOUT HER, AVATAR AIRBENDER! JUST AS I HAVE HAD TO FIND MY OWN WAY. ALONE AND ABANDONED. CHOKING ON THE REFUSE OF YOUR LEGACY." The Butterfly reached out again, easily touching Katara's forehead this time with a clawed leg as the pair was blinded by pain. Aang heard Katara gasp just before he found his arms completely void of his wife's body.
"NOOOO! KATARA! BRING HER BACK!" he screamed into the abyss. Tears poured freely down his face, streaking through the soot that had settled there. He had miscalculated. The air spirit was not glad to see him, an airbender. If anything, the Butterfly was even more incensed by the fact that it had been deserted by an airbender. It was blinded by rage and revenge and was going to take it out on Katara. "DON'T HURT HER! I'M THE ONE YOU WANT!"
"I won't harm her… yet…" the Butterfly's voice was soft and venomous now, lulling Aang's mind into submission. "I've been tortured for over a hundred years… I wonder how long your precious Genjin will last before she is as sterile and useless as my valley…"
Aang fell to the floor, his soul completely shattered.
Enjoying this? Shorter than last one (by about half), but I didn't back-story in this one. Katara was basically the hero of the previous chapter; no one was this time, so Aang needs to pick up the slack for the next one! They spend their lives taking turns protecting and fighting for each other. And the only way to ever help her is ultimately to let her go as well.
Giant angry butterfly. Sounded funny and oxymoronic to me. But magnified insects are actually pretty terrifying, no matter how 'cute' you may think they are.
I wasn't planning on getting this chapter out as quickly as I did- but your support pushed me. I need to get back to a novel I'm actually being paid to write… this is just a fun diversion and a way to test out scenes. I know where the story is going, I'm just not sure when the next chapter will come- unless you folks encourage me again!
