Chapter II: The Road To Recovery
The weeks passed, and Aang finally seemed able to go outside. His lack of will to go outside had nothing to do with his mobility. Once he put his feet on the ground, he was able to use Earthbending to see the general placement of objects. His Earthbending vision wasn't nearly as acute as Toph's, but it was still workable. His unwillingness to go inside was due to something that was bothering Aang that he wouldn't tell anyone, not even Katara.
After weeks of this, Katara was pleased to suddenly find him outside. And, not only was he outside, but he was Bending! She stopped to watch his graceful movements.
He started with Earth, and did perfectly fine with that. Next, he moved on to Water and everything still seemed to be going fine. Then he tried Fire, which seemed to be a little bit harder. Lastly, he started a technique from his birth element of Air. He flipped, sending a blast of air arching forward. However, he wasn't able to complete the move because he landed wrong and fell hard on the ground.
"Aang!" Katara screamed, rushing over to him, and helping him up off the ground.
But, to her shock, Aang shoved her hand away and stayed on the ground, weeping bitterly. He completely refused her help.
"Aang, please tell me what's wrong!" Katara begged, kneeling down next to him. "Please, I want to help you!"
"You can't help me, Katara! No one can help me!" Aang said bitterly. "Just leave me alone!"
"No, Aang, I can't do that." Katara said firmly. "I love you, Aang. I love you!" She repeated. "It hurts me to see you hurting like this. I want to help you so badly, but I can't until you tell me what is wrong."
"Do you want to know what's wrong with me?" Aang demanded. "I don't think you do."
"Of course, I do." Katara said.
Aang buried his face into the grass, gritting his teeth. "I should just die, Katara."
"How… how could you say something like that?" Katara demanded.
"I'm useless." Aang said bitterly. "For just a few moments… I was a fully-realized Avatar, the Master of all Four Elements and the Master of the Avatar State. Now I'm useless. I'll never be an effective Avatar again."
"You are not useless." Katara said, placing her hand on his back. "Toph will teach you how to see with Earthbending more effectively."
"Earthbending vision is not enough for me!" Aang said. "Earthbending vision has its flaws. I can't see something if they were not connected to the Earth. What if an assassin approached me from the air? I would never see them coming… let alone be able to defend myself. And… I can't Airbend anymore."
"But… I just saw you Airbend…" Katara began.
"…And fail at it." Aang said. "Airbending is not connected to the Earth. The second I lose contact with the earth in a jump, I become completely blind. I can't see where the ground is anymore, and I can't land properly. I'm stuck to the earth for the rest of my life. I can't perform Airbending unless I want to hurt myself, and I definitely will not be able to go flying for the rest of my life. I should just die and let the next Avatar take over."
"Aang… please don't say things like that. Please." Katara begged, tears running down her face. "I can't bear the thought of losing you." Against his protests, Katara pulled him into an embrace. She went further by pulling him into a passionate kiss, pouring out all her feelings for him in a tidal wave of emotion in a single kiss. "I love you, Aang. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please don't give up on life so easily."
Aang burst into tears, and fell into Katara's embrace. "I'm sorry, Katara." He cried. "I won't give up on life. I'll stay with you. But it's more than just my Avatar duties… I'm afraid, Katara. I'm afraid of never being able to see again. I'm afraid because the last time I saw your face, we were yelling at each other. I'm afraid of forgetting what you look like."
Katara gently lifted his hand to her lips, and kissed his fingers, and then pressed his hand to her cheek. "All you have to do is ask, and I'll describe myself to you in however much detail you want." She said. "You never have to worry about forgetting about what I look like. I'll keep you up-to-date." Katara wrapped her arms around Aang and lifted him up off the ground. "Come with me." She said, starting to lead him away.
"Katara? Where are we going?"
"We're going flying."
"On Appa?"
"I'm going on Appa. You're going on your glider." Katara said.
Aang suddenly dug his heels into the ground, forcing Katara to stop. "No." He said; a look of fright on his face. "I can't. I can't see in the sky! I'll crash into something and really hurt myself!"
Without a word, Katara turned around and blew a small puff of air in Aang's face, causing the boy to flinch. "What did I just do?" She asked.
"You just blew some air in my face. Katara, what…?"
"The point is, Aang, that you are not just an Earthbender, so you aren't limited to Toph's Earthbending vision." Katara said. "Why can't you use Airbending to feel the currents of the air and judge where objects are in the sky? Why can't you use Waterbending to feel the push and pull of energy around you? Why can't you use Firebending to feel the heat in the air and know if you are being attacked by Firebending?" Katara pulled him into a hug. "You may have lost your eyesight, but you haven't lost your ability to Bend all the elements. With a little practice, I'm sure you'll learn how to use each and every element to see the world around you."
Aang didn't respond at first. Then he reached out and gently brushed his fingers across Katara's skin. "It will take years to master using the elements like that."
"I'll be right here to help you." Katara said, kissing him. "Now, let's go flying."
LES: Added a bit more Kataang to this chapter. Don't worry, the next four or five chapters will be completely new stuff!