I do not own ATLA
Voices. That was the first thing that registered to Katara as she found herself floating in a dark abyss. In her mysterious dreamlike state, Katara felt entirely weightless as the strange voices softly whispered in the distance. It was nothing like the tunnel, this darkness was somehow both comforting and peaceful. There was no chill in the air, no vines and jungles to constrict her, just nothing at all. As the voices resumed their distant chatter, she suddenly desperately wanted to know what they were saying. Yet, every time she tried to focus, no discernable words were understood. Just when she was about to give up and let the calm darkness claim her once more, the voices seemed to come closer. As their volume increased, their strange foreign sounds morphed into one recognizable word.
"Katara?" the voices called.
That's my name, isn't it? She wondered.
Suddenly, her eyes flew open as a small hand connected with her face. "Ow!" she yelled as the impact's stinging sensation began to fully register. The strike caused Katara to bolt up into a sitting position as her hand instinctively went to caress her burning cheek. Now completely conscious, she began to rapidly blink in an effort to sharpen her eyesight that was largely unfocused due to the hit, sleep, or possibly both. When the world finally became clear, she was startled to find herself tucked in her bed at the beach house, surrounded by Aang and Toph.
So it was all just a dream? Katara wondered. The frustrating jungle, the unnerving tunnel, the beautiful shrine, all of it never happened? The waterbender was utterly confused, what she had experienced felt so real and tangible that it was strange for it have been a dream, and very vivid one at that. Yet here she was, nestled in her warm bed like nothing outside of her room's walls mattered, not even the war. She figured she must have just overslept again, a common occurrence. The moon often coaxed her into some nocturnal waterbending before leaving her with insomnia for the remainder of the night.
"Bout' time you woke up Sugar Queen" Toph drawled. "You can thank me later for waking you up. It was either that or one of Sokka's socks."
Katara blue eyes slowly swept between the earthbender and Aang, still quite dazed. "What?" was all she managed to say in her drowsy state.
Toph raised an eyebrow at the waterbender. "Wow, it seems like Sweetness is really out of it," she muttered.
Aang sighed before placing his hand on Katara's shoulder. The moment his worried eyes met Katara's, she realized that something was very wrong. His juvenile demeanor had vanished, as a surprisingly deep sadness inhabited his normally bright eyes. Aang was very rarely this serious, so for him to be acting this way meant something terrible had occured. All the while, Katara was very confused about what warranted such worry from the Avatar. The waterbender knew he couldn't possibly be upset over her little sleep in. She just hoped everyone was alright.
He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze, before his own show of strength betrayed him and she felt his hand start to tremble. Katara's own worry increased by tenfold as she gripped the Avatar's hand out of her own growing fear for what he was about to tell her.
"Katara you've been out for three days.. and we couldn't wake you up.." Aang explained, frightened by his own words.
"What!" she screeched. "Three days!? As in three full days?"
"Yes," he quietly replied.
Katara pulled herself away from Aang as she knotted her hands in her untamed hair, trying to process the Avatar's words. "But why? I don't understand!" she exclaimed.
"We were hoping you could tell us," Toph plainly said.
Aang once again reached forward, this time lightly touching her arm. "Maybe you could start by telling us what happened at that shrine," he offered.
The shrine? She wondered. So the shrine was real, it wasn't a dream? Suddenly all the memories came flooding back to Katara, the jungle, the tunnel, the bridge, the shrine, and something else that she couldn't quite remember. The memories' presence was deeply rooted in her mind, yet she couldn't decipher what exactly it was or meant. Something else happened Katara thought as she scoured her memories, something bad, something I need to remember right now!
"Katara are you alright?" Aang asked as he noticed the confused look on the waterbender's face. He swallowed before hesitantly asking, "Did you meet the spirit?"
Katara's eyes widened as her mouth fell open in shock. That's what it was Katara realized. However instead of suddenly remembering the mysterious spirit like she hoped, her subconscious showed her images of her attacking Zuko and yelling hurtful things at him. I can't believe it,Katara thought, I actually said those terrible things and tried to-
"Where's Zuko?" she desperately asked, as she began to pull herself out from underneath the scarlet covers. Katara still felt quite light headed, but she knew that if she didn't apologize to Zuko the guilt of what she said would eat away at her conscience. Now that Zuko was on their side he didn't deserve how she acted, right? No, Katara thought, I shouldn't treat Zuko that way, I shouldn't treat anyone that way her mind said. Yet why had the words rolled so easily off of her tongue? Why had her dismissible thoughts suddenly become accusations that seemed blown out of proportion? Was all she said just the darkest thoughts tucked away in her subconscious? Yet despite Katara's conflicting feelings, she knew that it was her duty as a healer to at least tend to the nasty gash her ice left him with. "I need to know how he's doing," the waterbender firmly stated.
As Katara tried to scramble off the bed, Aang quickly placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her seated, looking intently at her. "Zuko's alright for now, so first tell us what happened Katara," he urged.
"Come on Sugar Queen, you've been out for three days and we'd like to know at least why" Toph added.
Katara sighed as she sank back down onto the covers and folded her hands. For a few moments she just stared off into the distance, deep in thought. Katara was still confused by what she encountered, but she realized that she needed to put the puzzle pieces together for both her and her friend's sakes. With a deep breath, she began to explain her story to the best of her abilities. She talked about the statue, tunnel, shrine, and then when she got to the fruit trees, her memories once again became less clear.
"I finally found some fruit, but the moment Zuko found me and told me to leave it, I…" Did Katara have the guts to tell Aang how she had hurt Zuko again? He had been so pleased when she and Zuko finally made up that it broke her heart to imagine explaining how they had fought, again. The Gaang was supposed to be a well-oiled team that put aside their differences for the sake of the world, not a pair of stubborn teenagers that fought over hurt feelings, spell or no spell.
"You what?" Aang eagerly prompted.
"I was put under the spirit's spell," Katara said, avoiding Aang's eyes. "After that, I don't really remember anything".
"Did you see the spirit that did this to you?" he asked.
Katara closed her eyes for a moment, trying to recall whether she truly had or not. She had a strong suspicion that she had met the spirit right when her conscious memory started to dissipate. As she concentrated harder, she pushed herself to explore the deep recesses of her mind. Suddenly, the image of a large monkey glaring into her blue eyes with his glowing silver ones appeared behind her closed lids, clear as day.
"Yes" she said, snapping her eyes open in an attempt to banish the frightening memory. "I don't remember it talking, but it did look at me with these strange glowing eyes before I must have fainted. After that, I was waking up here."
"What do you think this weirdo did?" Toph asked, stepping forward.
Katara knit her eyebrows together in confusion. "I don't know…maybe Zuko does," she offered. "Also, how exactly did I end up here?" the waterbender inquired looking around. Since the moment she awakened, that question had been plaguing her mind. If Katara had been in such a dangerous situation, she did not understand how she even escaped with her life let alone safely tucked in bed as if the whole experience was a dream.
Aang spoke this time. "Zuko gave me instructions on where to maybe find you guys if you didn't return," he explained. "As it started to get late, I couldn't wait around any longer, so I convinced Toph and Sokka to come help me look for you guys. Eventually we found the shrine and the two of you were laying unconscious in the grass."
"Did you see the spirit yourself?" Katara asked, genuine curiosity lacing her words.
The airbender shook his tattooed head while his gaze became downcast, "No I didn't."
Katara thought it was odd that Aang hadn't seen anything. If anyone was going to witness a spirit, it was likely the Avatar. Especially considering he was the bridge between this world and the spirit world. Though she would never wish for anyone to have met the terrifying beast, she secretly hoped that Aang could have encountered it in order to have found out what it did to coax her into her deep slumber. Spirit or no spirit, she knew that the comet was fast approaching and she shouldn't have been sleeping the days away while her friends wasted time watching over her in their worry.
Suddenly Katara's thoughts were interrupted when Aang engulfed her in a tight hug that made her cheeks take on a rosy hue. "Are you okay though? Do you feel alright?" he asked, stumbling over his words as he pulled her closer.
Katara slowly sighed, ignoring her blush and settling into his comforting embrace. As she buried her face into his shoulder, she felt the painful regret of what her actions likely did to the airbender. Katara hated to imagine how he must have felt watching over her practically lifeless form, wondering if she would every wake up. If there positions had been switched, she would have been consumed with worry and unable to process anything other than changes in his condition. Aang being struck by lightening already amounted to one of the scariest experiences she had ever had during her youth.
"Don't worry I feel fine," Katara admitted. However the fact that she felt fine was strange to Katara, especially since something very powerful must have happened to knock her out for so long. Other than a general feeling of weakness from a lack of food, everything seemed okay.
"Katara!" She heard a yell from the doorway. By the time she looked up, another set of arms had surrounded both her and Aang, squeezing the air out of the pair's lungs. Without needing to see who it was, she barely managed to say "Can't…breathe..Sokka!"
"Oops! Sorry sis!" Sokka exclaimed before letting them go. The moment they were released, the two began to deeply inhale air in order to calm their burning lungs. Despite Katara's disoriented state, she noticed how Sokka appeared extremely happy as he cherished the sight of her awake form. She also discovered dark circles that had developed under her brother's eyes, likely due to a lack of sleep. This is my fault she shamefully realized.
"From now on, you're never going into the wild again! Boomerang and I will make sure of that," Sokka proclaimed as he tapped his prized weapon fondly.
Katara rolled her eyes before leaning back on her arms. "I'm sure that'll do the job," she sarcastically replied.
"Hey! Don't doubt us, we took down Combustion Man, remember?"
Katara smirked. "The more I hear that story, the more I'm starting to think that it was a lucky shot," she replied.
Sokka looked horrified by her statement as he hugged his Boomerang closer. "Don't listen to her Boomerang, she just doesn't understand that the only way to fight isn't just with magic water," the Water Tribe boy explained as he sent an irritated look at his sister.
"Sokka for the last time, it's called waterbending," Katara grumpily said as if the phrase had become her mantra.
Suddenly, Suki's form appeared in the doorway while she held a strange bag away from her face as her unoccupied hand pinched her nose. "Sokka are we going to get this over with or- Katara! You're awake!" the Kyoshi warrior exclaimed in a nasally voice caused by her pinched nose.
Katara smiled at the sight and strange sound of the older girl. "Yeah, no thanks to a painful wake up call," she said as she shot a glare at Toph.
"Just doing my job," Toph announced with a gleeful smile.
Katara deeply frowned before her eyes were drawn to the mysterious bag that Suki was uncomfortably carrying. She judged by the Kyoshi Warrior's awkward position and slight grimace that whatever was in that bag, clearly had a terrible odor. Katara was somewhat grateful that Suki, and whatever it was she was carrying, decided to remain far away from everyone else. Unable to contain her curiosity any longer, Katara proceeded to ask, "What's in that bag?"
Suki's eyes widened as she began to nervously laugh. "Oh this? It's nothing really it's-"
"It's a bag of Sokka's socks," Toph said getting right to the point. "I told you, they were gonna use it to-"
"Do nothing since we don't need them anymore! Well at least for you that is," Sokka said while placing a hand over the earthbender's mouth, preventing her from saying another word.
Katara raised a curious eyebrow at her brother. "Why? Who else has gained the horrible honor of smelling your nasty socks?" the waterbender inquired.
At the sound her question, and the lack of immediate responses, Toph decided to take matters into her own hands. Without a second thought she stomped her foot harshly onto the polished wood floor, calling upon the earth buried deep underneath the first floor. Not a moment later, the beach house shook before rock quickly shot through the second story floor, splintering the wood and catching Sokka's foot before throwing him off the earthbender. "YAH!" The Water Tribe boy yelled in surprised as he flew to the floor and landed with a loud bang.
Toph dusted off her hands while smiling to herself. "Those would be for Prince Hothead."
"Aang you told me he was fine!" Katara exclaimed while turning to look at the airbender in his growing chagrin. "Is he still asleep then?" she pressed.
Katara knew that they had both fainted due to Aang's story, however it was wrong of her to have assumed that they both escaped the strange sleeping spell. The thought of the rambunctious firebender being trapped in a deep sleep seemed very odd to Katara. Zuko was by far the earliest riser Team Avatar had encountered, always awakening at the crack of dawn. As everyone shuffled out of their rooms in the morning, they could always count on an energized Zuko to place a warm cup of tea in their hands.
"Yeah…he's still out," Aang slowly admitted.
Katara crossed her tanned arms. "Well have you tried to wake him up?"
"Trust me we tried everything, even Toph slapping him a couple times, but he just won't wake up," Aang gestured towards an angry Sokka picking himself off the floor, "that's why we're going to try using his socks now."
Katara knew more than anyone the powerful stench of her brother's socks. If there was one thing in the world that could wake anyone up, it sure was Sokka's dirty laundry. Sorry Zuko but we need answers, and the war can't wait for your naps Katara thought as she looked at the room's occupants with determined eyes.
"Well what are we waiting for? Let's wake his royal highness up," she finally said.
"Okay guys I definitely don't remember that bruise on his unscarred cheek," Katara said as she analyzed the now colorful face of the Fire Prince. Between the scar, poorly wrapped cut, and mysterious bruise, Zuko's usually alabaster face (excluding the scar) was marred to point that it was hard to tell whether it was even him underneath the injuries. For all she knew her brother could have picked up the wrong cranky firebender. I guess I can just heal him later Katara calmly thought.
"But seriously guys, did you find him with that bruise?" Katara asked while pointing it out.
Sokka nervously looked at his sister, "Well…."
(Flashback)
"Man! Zuko's heavier then he looks, right Aang?" Sokka asked the Avatar.
The younger boy stumbled a little bit before heaving a strained, "Yup," and readjusting his hold on Zuko's legs.
Sokka looked up the remaining stairs before returning his gaze to the unconscious firebender in his arms. "Come on Aang, we only have a little farther to go," he happily announced. By the time the two boys had stumbled up the last few steps, they were sweating profusely and breathing heavily as they continued to support the firebender's weight.
"This was so much easier with Katara! I was the only one carrying her and she still weighed less than this piece of work," Sokka said before resuming his panting. "I mean what do you think Zukos like to eat?" Sokka asked Aang as they began to walk down the hall towards the firebender's room.
"Hmm I don't know Sokka," the Avatar replied.
"I'll tell you one thing, he's definitely not a veg- MOMO!" Sokka screamed as he tripped over the flying lemur. In his shock, Sokka was just about able to catch himself, but in the process he dropped Zuko's torso causing the unbalance in weight to make Aang likewise drop his feet. Zuko hit the hardwood with a bang that had both boys wincing.
"Oh no! I might have just killed your firebending teacher!" Sokka practically screamed at he stared in horror at the Fire Prince on the floor, surprisingly still out cold. "You don't think he's dead, do you?!"
Aang quickly knelt next to Zuko's unconscious form while checking for a pulse. After a few moments the Avatar sighed in relief as he felt a faint beating emanating from the firebender's wrist. "Nope, looks like he's fine, hopefully he'll have no lasting injuries when he wakes up," the Avatar cheerfully said.
(End Flashback)
"…You could say that," Sokka finished.
Katara raised an eyebrow at her brother but decided not to push it. "Alright Sokka, bring out your nasty sock," she said before placing a clothe over the bottom half of her face. Everyone else in the room did likewise as Sokka dug around in his bag before drawing out a particularly filthy looking one.
Reaching Zuko's bedside, Sokka paused to look at his sister who stood at the opposite end. "Do you think this is a good idea? I mean, he's probably going to kill me and-"
"Hurry up!" everyone in the room simultaneously shouted.
"Okay! Okay! Just remember how my beautiful face looks before it ends up worse than Zuko's," Sokka frantically said before laying the sock right across Zuko's regal noise.
The whole room held their breath as they waited for any response from the unconscious Fire Prince. After a few moments of Team Avatar anxiously staring at the sock strewn across the Prince's face, Zuko suddenly began to stir in his sleep; the sock was clearly working its magic. His eyebrows furrowed as his closed eyes tightened and relaxed in his comatose state. "Uncle…keep your shoes on," the firebender angrily mumbled. After a few more minutes of waiting, Zuko's golden eyes finally shot open in horror.
"Get this thing off of me!" he practically screamed while violently shaking his shaggy head in order to rid his face of Sokka's sock. Once it fell off of Zuko's face and onto the silk linens, he proceeded to covering his noise and bravely holding up the article. "Who's terrible idea was this!" he barked.
"Great it worked!" Sokka exclaimed, ignoring the intense glare Zuko was now sending him. "What a pure stroke of genius-Ah!"
Zuko roughly grabbed Sokka by the collar, cutting off the Water Tribe boy. "What's the meaning of this!" he questioned. As if suddenly realizing something, the firebender's infuriated eyes clouded with confusion as he finally realized where he was. "How in Agni's name did I get here!" he demanded.
After everyone was finally able to peel Sokka away from Zuko's enraged grasp, Aang provided a straightforward retelling of the story of Team Avatar's recovery mission. Once Zuko was finally updated and had slightly calmed down, he began his end of the tale. However unlike Katara, he decided to leave out their one sided brawl for the time being.
He felt that it was best for the both of them if they avoided the uncomfortable conversation all together for now. Though Zuko was learning to face his problems and inner turmoil head on, he didn't want to accuse her of harming him in front of her friends and cause her dislike of him to increase. The Fire Prince wasn't even sure if Katara remembered what had transpired while she was under the spell. Therefore, he held onto the faint hope that if he never brought it up; it would be like the horrible incident hadn't occurred. Maybe I still have a shot at patching things up with Katara Zuko thought.
"Wait so this thing spared us, but decided it wanted to have fun?" Katara asked incredulously after Zuko finished his story.
"Yeah, but I have no idea what it was talking about," the firebender replied. The true meaning of the spirit's words was completely lost to Zuko during his encounter. He could understand the simplicity of ending them on the spot, yet the implication of playing seemed strange considering Zuko failed to see how a spirit confined to a jungle could now meddle with him and Katara.
Katara crossed her arms before looking up at Zuko. "Maybe it was joking? Maybe being asleep for two days counted as his fun?" she tried to reason.
"Or maybe-" Sokka's eyes became paranoid as he gripped his sister's shoulders, "-it's only a matter of time before you become monkeys yourself! Your coma was probably the beginning of your metamorphosis!" Sokka grabbed Katara's arm before closely inspecting it. "I think Katara is getting hairier!"
Katara quickly pulled her hand out of her brother's grasp. "I am not turning into a monkey Sokka!" she angrily replied. She knew her brother could be silly, however he had crossed the line between harmless joking and absolute insanity.
"Hmm Sugar Queen may not become a monkey, but we don't know for sure about Sparky," Toph said, earning a frustrated look from the firebender. "I say we turn him over and you guys inspect him to see if he's growing a tail!"
"No one's turning me over and no one's inspecting me!" Zuko yelled as he clenched his fists. "I'm positive that I do not have a tail!"
"Everybody just calm down!" Aang yelled at the bickering Gaang. "Listen all we can do now is hope that Katara and Zuko have been through the worst of whatever the spirit had planned," the Avatar said before sighing and dragging his hand down the length of his face. "Hopefully tomorrow everything will be back to normal and we can go back to planning for the comet, alright?"
"Fine" everybody agreed, with the addition of a loud noise being admitted from Sokka. In response everyone turned to look at him as he bashfully rubbed his stomach.
"So who's hungry?" he began, "Because I know I am!" Sokka cheerfully said as his blue eyes lit up at the prospect of food.
Katara put her hand on her hip, looking at her brother. "And how exactly do we have food now?" she questioned.
"Oh right! Well Sokka was able to get a job while you were asleep," Aang replied as the Water Tribe boy beamed in the background.
"A job? Doing what exactly?"
Sokka clenched one fist as he looked up at the ceiling in his attempt to be dramatic. "Doing the most respectable, most humblest, most-"
"He sells cabbages," Toph interjected.
Soon after filing downstairs, Katara was shocked to find the house's pantry fully stocked with everything she could have ever needed. What was even more of a surprise was the amount of fresh jerky that sat in stacks upon the shelves. True to Sokka's word, they had all the meat they could ever want. With the multitude of ingredients at her disposal, Katara imagined the interesting dishes she could prepare compared to what they had survived on in the past. After everything Team Avatar had been through, Katara smiled at the idea of having a decent meal for once. But how on earth does a cabbage seller make this kind of money! Katara thought as she continued to inspect the high quality goods.
"Sorry, but not tonight Katara," Suki said as she entered the kitchen. "You've just gotten out of a coma, I think I can manage dinner."
Katara tore her eyes away from the supplies to watch Suki approach her. "Are you sure?" she asked stepping out of the large pantry room. Sleeping for three days emphasized why she needed to help more than ever in order to make up for the time she wasted. Katara had always been the mother of the team, so for her to resume cooking was like resuming to teach Aang waterbending or fighting the Fire Nation. It was just the natural order of how things had worked since she left the South Pole. Also the Water Tribe girl welcomed any form of normality to shake off the memory of the spirit. "Cooking is the least I can do for my carelessness at the shrine and then sleeping for three days," she admitted.
Suki warmly smiled and shook her head before placing a gentle hand on Katara's shoulder. "It's fine. I've managed while you've been out, and look-" The older girl pointed at the window that provided a view of the dining room, "-they're all alive".
Katara laughed, but soon her smiled faded as she swayed on her feet. Her energy suddenly waned causing the strength in her legs to dissipate and her vision to swirl. All Katara could think about was how much better she would feel when her body met the cool marble floor.
Realizing Katara's dizzy spell, Suki firmly grabbed the younger girl by both shoulders to prevent her from falling. "Hey are you alright!" Suki worriedly asked. As Katara looked up at the older girl through glossy eyes, Suki took note of how the younger girl's cheeks had become quite flushed as sweat dripped down her face.
"I don't know," Katara slowly said while weakly reaching for the counter to steady herself. Up until now, Katara had felt perfectly fine despite the hunger of not eating for a few days. She in no way felt ill, yet out of nowhere a feverish heat consumed and weakened her to the point where she couldn't support herself. The heat seemed to burn deep within her chest making it unbearable to breathe.
Worried about her condition, Suki placed her hand on the waterbender's clammy forehead, but quickly retracted it when an abnormally warm temperature met her palm. "Katara you're burning up!" she told Katara, squarely looking her in the eye. "Please, go relax a little bit, you're probably getting sick from not eating."
Once the heat momentarily subsided and Katara felt some of her strength return, she gently pushed Suki's arms away as she straightened. "Okay fine," she breathed, "But I hope you take complete advantage of everything we have now," she said trying to muster a smile in her condition. "What I don't get it how Sokka managed to afford this all."
Suki shrugged and lightly smiled at Katara, keeping her eyes trained on the girl should she loose her footing once more. "If I knew I would have told you by now. Anyway, please go sit down with everyone, I have things under control," the Kyoshi warrior said while directing the waterbender towards the kitchen exit.
"Relax? I've been doing that for days!" Katara replied despite knowing that it was unwise to argue.
Suki sighed and shook her head at the younger girl before grabbing the teapot off of the counter. "Alright well bring this tea out since you don't want to relax," she said handing Katara the pot. The Kyoshi Warrior knew that if Katara didn't feel useful, she would likely find something else to do in order sate her motherly tendencies. At least if it she was serving tea, Suki was sure that she wasn't overexerting herself.
"Fine," Katara simply said before retrieving the teapot from the older girl. However as she turned to walk out of the kitchen, Suki placed a comforting hand on her shoulder to still her. "Just please be careful Katara, and if you still don't feel well, let us know," she said.
Katara sighed. "I'm fine now, whatever I just experienced is gone so-" she looked down at the porcelain teapot, "-I'll just bring this out." With those final words she stepped out into the hallway that lead to the dining room.
As she padded across the wooden floor, Katara became acutely aware that she couldn't sense the natural presence of the tea as it swished around in the teapot. The most she could register was the vibrations of the pot as the tea slapped against its hollow interior. Normally she could sense a stream from a mile away as the water always called to her and beckoned to be bent. Being unable to feel something as close as the tea made her curious as to whether the strange illness was messing with her chi. Now that Katara considered her waterbending, she realized that she couldn't even feel the distracting strength of the nearby waves as they crashed onto the shore. Even the moon that now took its place in the dark sky had no effect on her whatsoever. This will all pass she repeated to herself desperately as she continued to make her way through the dimly lit beach house. You're just a little under the weather, you're abilities are just a little weak right now.
"Hey there's my favorite sister!" Sokka called when Katara finally entered the dining room. From where she stood Katara looked down the length of the table to see her friends sitting comfortably while causally chatting with each other. Even Zuko seemed a little livelier as he discussed firebending techniques with Aang.
Katara carefully placed the teapot on the mahogany table. "Sokka I'm your only sister," she replied.
"Well yes but-woah Katara are you alright?" Sokka asked noticing her once more glistening face.
Her eyes widened as she frantically swiped her hand across her brow only to find her hand coated in sweat. What is going on! Her mind screamed as the warmth in her chest became prevalent once more. Before her legs gave out again, Katara quickly sank into an empty chair. "It's just a little hot in here," she firmly said trying to fan herself with her hand.
"Do you want me to give you a little breeze," Aang offered tearing himself away from his former conversation.
Katara shook her head. "No no, it's fine. I'll just serve some tea now," she stated hoping to take her mind off of how awful she felt. Once she reached over to take the top off of the tea, she settled back into her chair deciding to just bend it into everyone's cups from where she was seated. She slowly raised her slim hands to bend the tea; only when she turned her palms upwards, not even a splash was heard from within the pot. Hoping not to draw attention to herself, she didn't panic as she continued her waterbending forms, yet still nothing happened. Her hands became frantic as she repeated her forms in her growing frustration, realizing that her worry was beginning to show on her face. By now the infernal heat that was plaguing her seemed to increase with her self directed rage for failing to perform the simplest of waterbending techniques.
"Katara are you alright?" Zuko asked from his seat, warily eyeing the girl.
"I'm fine Zuko! Why does everyone keep asking that?" she yelled, the heat painfully burning within her. This isn't me Katara desperately thought, she knew she didn't lose her patience, at least this easily. Yet between the frustration of her bending and the strange illness that was tormenting her, it was difficult to consider anyone else's feelings. Suddenly all her thoughts were being eaten up by the heat that seemed to be slowly consuming her.
Aang looked worriedly at Katara's now drenched face. "Katara calm down, we're just worried!"
"Yeah sis, are you okay?" Sokka asked.
"Sugar Queen you're heart is racing," Toph said.
"Katara? Can you even hear me?"
"Katara?"
"Katara!"
"Talk to us!"
"Enough!" She screamed.
Then the impossible happened.
Suddenly flames erupted within the room and engulfed the wooden table like it was firewood. However the flames did not originate from Zuko or Aang, they shot directly from Katara's small palms. With each haggard breath she took, the flames grew in intensity as she fearfully backed away from the burning table. Tearing her eyes away from the raging fire, they became unnaturally large as she looked down at her hands. They were engulfed in bright orange flames that's heat was tangible, yet did nothing to burn her hands. She dropped to the floor and fearfully continued to stare at her palms as they produced smoldering flames.
"Ah! Zuko what the heck!" Sokka yelled as he pulled Toph away, unable to see his sister over the flame's walls. "Couldn't you have practiced your firebending on something other than the dining room table!"
"You think I did this!" Zuko shot back looking at the Water Tribe boy. "You think I'm this careless!"
"Zuko just stop your fire!" Aang yelled realizing that he had not yet learned how to quell them.
Zuko stared incredulously at the Avatar. "I told you! I didn't do this!" he shouted pointing at the bright flames.
"Just fix this!" Aang and Sokka yelled.
Zuko put aside his frustration and looked at the mess in front of him with a scowl. He took a deep breath and faced his palms towards the flames as he concentrated; yet the harder he tried, the less results he received. "It's no use! I can't control the fire!" Zuko yelled over the roar of the growing flames.
"Try harder!" Sokka shouted back.
As Zuko tried once more to diminish the flames, his golden eyes filled with fear as he realized that nothing he did could tame the fire. Even the heat that the flames emitted was unbearably hot to Zuko. Firebenders had a great immunity against heat that allowed them to handle and defend against fire without becoming fearful of the element they commanded. Yet as the flames tried to lick at Zuko's arms, he found himself backing away as his confidence in handling them dissipated.
"Come on, don't tell me you lost your stuff again!" Toph shouted while safely tucked away in a corner from the unseen flames.
He grit his teeth and growled before finally turning to Aang. "I can't do anything!" he angrily admitted.
"Okay everybody duck!" Aang said. Sokka pushed down Toph's head and crouched down next to her, while Zuko quickly dropped to the floor. Soon the room howled with the sound of airbending as the wind harshly whipped at everyone.
As the wind finally began to disappear, everyone hesitantly raised their heads to see the once smoldering table as a now charred structure, barely standing. Several paintings that had flown off the wall were now scattered about as if a tornado had swept through the room. However the most noticeable difference was the hysterical sobs that could now be heard. Everyone exchanged curious glances before looking in the direction that the cries originated from. As Team Avatar turned to see who was crying, they were astounded when they found Katara sitting on the floor.
Tears ran down her face.
Flames continued to blaze in her palms.
A/N: Well this turned out to be a longer chapter than I expected! Anyway, it looks like Katara finally realized she's a firebender now! I thought it would be interesting if her firebending came about similar to how Zuko went through his metamorphosis in Ba Sing Se. I always thought that fevers seemed like an interesting way to represent monumental changes within firebenders.
Remember to keep reviewing! I would love to here your opinions and suggestions for my story! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!