Summary: Katara of the Water Tribe; master waterbender, top of her class. Aang of the Air Nomads; the Avatar, best of the best. The benders become acquainted through a deadly mission... as enemies.
A/n: Thank the spirits, I'm almost done!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Avatar,
L I N E H E R E
She loved twilight. The purple sky, the hues spraying onto to everything from the clouds and sea, the breeze, the serenity.
The Duke had been exhausted after their little mission—still uncompleted. His head hit the pillow, and immediately fell asleep. Katara, however, could not close her eyes for more than a minute without restlessly turning over. Her thoughts would not allow her to rest for the night. They strayed away from her control.
She had gotten up when the lavender rays hit her face. She settled on the flat boulder, concealing their hiding place. Her knees were pulled in, her arms wrapping herself in a hug, and her chin resting on them.
When was the last time she had seen her brother? Last week? Last month? Sokka was assigned a mission that required him to live in the Earth Kingdom under cover for a few weeks. At their last meeting, the only thing he talked about was this amazing girl he was looking forward to seeing. Her eyes, this. Her hair, that. Her smile. Her laugh… Katara suspected her brother was probably obsessed, like he had been with all the other girls he had become acquainted with. Always asking questions "smoothly" and keeping a careful eye on her. She chuckled at the thought.
Then, her father's face popped into her head, and she stopped. When was the last time she saw him? Last year? The last time she hugged him, inhaled his salty sea smell. She could only imagine where Hakoda was now, leading a pack of younger boys through the ocean for their first fishing trip. A sigh slipped out and the tears flowed loose.
This demanding job of hers was keeping her away from her family, from a life! How could she possibly be content? Missions assigned daily, one right after the other! No time to relax, no time to breath. Becoming the most well-known agent wasn't easy. Sometimes, Katara regretted it. It would have saved her from a hectic, chaotic schedule. From restless sleeps, like tonight. Her life was going by too fast for comfort.
L I N E H E R E
He flew over the tall forest swiftly and without a sound. The sun was beginning to break through and another day was about to take life. Aang left Ty Lee at their camp, hoping to be back before she woke.
Back from where?
Ever since his encounter with the waterbender, Aang's head had been boggling. Was it by luck that she had been assigned the same mission as he? Or was it pure coincidence? Half of him wanted to say it was Fate, the other half disagreed. His whole world had been flipped upside down in a mere few hours! How is that even possible?!
The Avatar never was attached to anyone, ever. Except for Monk Gyatso, who was his mentor, his best friend. The monk helped him get through the roughest of patches and laughed at the jokes. He was the only father figure Aang had to look up to. Of course, Gyatso was killed along with the rest of the Air Nomads. Now, the last airbender had no one to hold. Just the thought weakened him.
He played along with the other agents back at base; he put on a happy face. On the outside Aang was the happy-go-lucky kid everyone perceived him as. Though, on the inside, he was a troubled soul wanting to release it all. He tried not to think about it. But, his thoughts ran in a circle and they always came back to lonesomeness.
After her returned back to his cozy room, he would figure this all out. How to cope with being the last of his people. How to live with himself. The puzzle began to take shape as his ears heard the quite sound of sadness. The pieces scattered.
The Avatar looked down. He had come to one end of the island where the ocean was breaking on soft waves on the shore. He scanned the beach for the source of the sudden sound. He spotted her, right there, sitting, crying.
His lips curved into a frown. Why is she crying? She looks so sad. Maybe I can… Why do I care?! I don't! I'll just fly back, and pretend I didn't see anything! That's what I'll—
She broke out into a sob. From his place in the sky, Aang could hear her just in the slightest. His frown deepened. He did care.
Without a moment to spare, he quietly steered into the forest, landing on the carpet of grass. His glider became his staff and he walked onto the boulder.
Katara held her head high when she heard a rustling of leaves behind her. She stood tall, wiping away her tears, putting on a brave face. Someone stepped into view, and again reacting on instinct, whipped out her water. Her eyes narrowed.
He held his hands up. "I'm not here to capture you."
Katara did not put her element away. "Then why are you here?" she hissed.
"I'm not exactly sure," he said, fumbling with his words and scratching the back of his head.
A long silence passed as the air chilled both of their backs. Neither moved a muscle, neither strayed their eyes, neither breathed. It was nerve-racking.
The Avatar turned his back on the Water Tribe girl, and headed back into the forest. He marched out confident in his decision (leaving her there).
A quite whimper escaped her mouth before she could do anything about it. He whipped his head around, a small smile spreading. He had that gleam in his eye… Katara could not quite say what it was precisely.
He just came out and said it. "Why are you here?"
She managed to choke out a "W-what?"
"Why are you here?" he repeated. "Why are you doing this? You risk your life on a daily basis, and for what? The title of being the best? Trust me, there's nothing to gain from this business." Aang remembered all the lonely nights he kept to himself.
Katara did not speak for awhile. The words soaked into her mind. He was right. Sure she had saved hundreds of people. Sure she trained hard and everyone knew her. But how did all that benefit her--the way she wanted it to benefit her?
"All I've wanted in life was to be content," she finally said. "I just want a simple life with no explosions or sneaking about. Though, I have to admit, it is pretty fun." A smile tugged at her lips. "These missions are becoming harder and harder to complete. I try to keep up with them, but sometimes it just doesn't work out." Her face fell. "What am I supposed to do? Just leave? I can't do that. They'll search for me. And they'll find me. Or maybe I should just go up to my superiors and say 'Screw you. I hate this agency. I'm leaving and never coming back"? Is that what you're suggesting? Oh, they'll get a kick out of that." Katara was fuming now.
Aang had no idea this was how she was going to react.
"No, that's not what I mean..," he began to explain. He had clearly lost the little amount of confidence he started with.
"Then what did you mean, Mr. Avatar?" Katara snapped. Little sleep had a way with toying with her emotions. "Should I go back to my father, tell him this whole be-a-secret-agent thing didn't work out? Tell him he wasted all his money just to get me accepted into this place? I'm sure he'll enjoy that."
"Katara," her name glided off his lips. He had been waiting to say her name the second he saw her in the hallway lat night. "Listen to me."
"Listen to you?" she said sourly. "I've been listening to you for less than five minutes, and look where's it's gotten me." Tears threatened to stream down her face. "Three years I worked. I worked so hard to become the accomplished agent I am today. And you break me down with a few simple words. They never said anything about training against words."
She collapsed under her shaky knees, sobbing quietly. Aang did not step over to comfort her. He did not say anything.
"You think it's easy to just get up and leave. What did I expect from the Avatar?" Katara said in between sniffs. "My brother is some where out there relaxing on a porch. My father is back home helping young boys with their fishing. Right now, I want to be with them. I don't care where, just with them. I can't handle all this running around anymore. Day in and day out, that's all I do: Run." The river flowed down her face.
Still, the Avatar did not speak.
The dawn had approached. The sun lifted into the sky, removing the purple hues and replacing them with bright orange. Birds chirped to life and a cool breezed whisked past, leaving a chill.
Katara cried on the boulder in silence and Aang stood there with a blank expression. He held his staff close with one hand, the other hanged loosely at his side. He took a deep breath.
In a small, but audible voice, he said, "Slow down; speed kills."
The watetribe girl looked up at him with red eyes. She was about to reply, when a startling sound came from below. Her head whipped around to spot the culprit. She scanned the shore for anything unusual. The Duke tossed and turned on his cot, he let out a tiny whimper and extended his arms, as if grabbing something. As much as she was in hurt now, Katara's heart went out to the little guy. For a second, she forgot all about the boy who stood before her.
She turned back to where the Avatar had been standing to find it unoccupied. The wind picked up stray leaves and blew it onto the very spot his feet had been planted on. Katara did not bother to look for him. That's what secret agents did: leave without notice.
She sighed, wiped her eyes, and pushed herself up.
Today was going to be a tiring, quiet day.
L I N E H E R E
A/n: Wow, this chapter was really… a let down. Haha! Sorry about the cheesy angst (if you can call it that). I just really REALLY need to finish this entry and get on with my life. x.X
Oh, and Tangy, just lettin' you know that that the girl Sokka was obsessing over to Katara was my side pairing. Is that acceptable? You can imagine the girl to be anyone you want it to be. Though, I believe it is Toph (so what if she's in a different agency? She still kicks butt! HAHA! I must do a story for that idea now… Darn these plot bunnies!!).
I have no problem in admitting that the next and final chapter will definitely be as much as a let down as this chapter. Hurrah and happy faces to that! At least it'll be done and I can relax. I only have about three days. This is gonna be hard to pull off. Wish me luck!