Chapter 2

The Moonlight Visitor

On the very top to the grassy knoll, Katara worked her healing feverishly upon the broken body that lay before her as the others quickly packed up, wanting to put some distance between themselves and the vicious little village beneath them.

"Katara?"

"Real bad, Aang. Real bad."

She slowly moved her hands over his body.

"Not going to make it bad?"

"I don't know. All I can really do right now is stop all this bleeding and ease the sunburn a little but…"

"Can we move him?"

"We shouldn't."

"Well," said Sokka, "I think we have to. Better safe than sorry right now."

Soon camp was broken and the kids were aloft on Appa, surrounding the young man's prone form, guarding him from the cutting winds.

"Where are we going?" Aang called from Appa's reigns.

Katara looked up and around the landscape below them.

"There!" she called back, pointing her finger towards the horizon.

After a couple of hours flying, the coast was finally within view. Sokka climbed from Appa's saddle to join Aang.

"Hey, Aang."

"Hey, Sokka."

"What d'ya think?"

"We should land here and camp for the night. Appa's getting tired and it's going to be dark soon."

"I agree. This way we can get a good meal in us. Katara says she can work on the kid some more too."

"Good. Appa, down."

The massive sky bison gently landed on the beach. Momo, chirping excitedly, fluttered into a nearby grove of trees to hunt for food.

"I agree Momo." said Sokka, grabbing his stomach. "I'll get a fire going."

Toph began pitching tents with Aang as Katara prepared them all a delicious dinner.

Only after they had eaten did the kids struggle the boy's body from Appa's saddle.

"Take him down to the water's edge, you guys." Katara said as she gazed up at the ever darkening sky. "Thank goodness there's a full moon tonight, that will really help."

"What can I do, Katara?" Toph asked as she joined her friend.

"We're going to need lots of bandages. Sokka, take Toph and find me any clothing we can spare for bandages. Also, bring me a pair of your shorts."

"What?"

"Just do it, Sokka."

"Aang, will you see if you can find any aloe plants near here?"

"I'm on it." Aang opened his staff and flew off.

Awhile later, Katara sat next to the boy next to the sea, surveying the damage done to his body. A pile of cloth strips lay beside her along with a pot of crushed aloe that Aang had found. Snores reached her ears and she sighed, knowing her friends needed their sleep but wishing she could join them.

"How bad is he?"

Katara jumped a bit. She had not heard Toph walk over and smiled as the girl kneeled next to her.

"Toph, you need your sleep."

"Nah, it's alright. Not tired yet," she said as she stifled a yawn. "How's the patient, doc?"

"He should be dead."

The entire front side of the boy's body was burned badly from the sun in addition to numerous lacerations, bumps, and broken bones. She had discovered all of this as she had removed what had remained of his clothing.

"He's comatose now. Frankly I don't know if he will wake up."

"Really?" Toph asked in a dumbfounded awe.

"There's just so much that needs done…more than I think I can handle."

"I'll help."

"I know you will, hon…okay."

Katara breathed deeply and looked once more at the full moon and mouthed a silent prayer.

"I need to try and mend his bones…and all of this dead skin needs to be removed but…"

"But what?"

"I can't. It's too dangerous. The risk of infection is too great. Okay, okay…Toph, while I'm working up here will you start applying the aloe to his legs?"

"Sure thing, captain."

Katara pulled water from the sea and began bending it slowly across the boy's chest, feeling the slightest quivering underneath her fingertips.

Toph, though, immediately fell to her side, retching horribly.

"What is it, what's the matter?"

But Katara had already seen. Where the young girl had applied the aloe paste on the boy's skin, a dirty yellow puss was oozing out and emitting an extremely foul and nauseating smell.

"Oh no…"

"What is that?" asked Toph, holding her stomach and her nose at the same time.

"He's already infected…" she whispered hoarsely looking down at her hands. "There's no way…there's just no way…"

Despair filled her heart and though she kept trying to mend his ribs, tears were streaming down her face.

"Katara?"

Toph, concerned for her friend, moved to console her.

"Let him go…"

"I can't…"

"He'll be at peace…he won't hurt anymore…"

She could feel tears of her own welling in her blind eyes.

"I can't…"

"But…"

"I can't!" Katara sobbed.

Toph, choking back a sob of her own because she'd never seen Katara so helpless, ran off in the dark.

Hours passed, and though she had long ago given up trying to heal the young man who lay underneath her, she just couldn't leave him there to die alone. So she just sat there staring off into the sparking sea.

"Go get some sleep, Toph." whispered Katara as she heard movement around her.

"Why do you care for this boy so?"

"Why do I…"

But she stopped when she turned for it was not Toph she had seen but a shimmering mist that rolled across the dark beach, playing with the sea as it's waves touched upon the sandy shore.

"Why do you care for this boy so?"

"I…I…"

She was at a loss for words. Partly because of the shock of a seemingly disembodied voice haunting her from a phantom mist and partly because she did not understand the answer.

"I do not ask because I want to know. I ask only that you, yourself, should know, young one."

"I…I care because…he was treated unfairly…he was given a death sentence over a loaf of bread…they took away his life for a loaf of bread!"

Katara felt the rage swell inside of her.

"No, child."

She began weeping again, defeated. A long silence blanketed the scene.

"Because…because I'm responsible."

"Ah. Let the truth set you free."

Katara broke down and fell to the sand, sobbing.

"Dear child, you helped me once long age and now I shall return the favor."

At this, the mist enveloped Katara's arms and hands and, together, they caressed the prone body below them. She could feel the twisted energy inside the young man slowly releasing and, soon, the mist pulled itself from Katara and drifted lazily out onto the water. She watched somberly until it disappeared, not wondering what it was but knowing in her heart who she was that had helped her.

Exhausted, Katara collapsed over the boy in the cold and wet sand.