Neither Katara nor Aang could believe how quickly the day of their departure approached. It was nearly six weeks since Katara had agreed to Aang's proposition, but it felt more like days.
During those six weeks, Aang and Katara had been busy getting everything in order for their departure. It wasn't that Katara didn't have faith in her father's ability to govern the city. She was just very meticulous about every detail and she cared about everyone in the city so much that it could make her a little…neurotic.
"Now, father, are you sure you understand? You have to make sure that a team is always ready to pick up deliveries from the port. The people of the city have come to expect high standard of service," Katara said knowledgably.
Hakoda groaned as he stared at the daunting mountain of charts and shipping schedules that Katara had dumped on his desk. "Katara, honey. I've organised and lead countless numbers of raids and battles…I think I can handle a few deliveries."
"It's not just a few deliveries! It's the backbone of the city, of our society, THE ENTIRE FUTURE OF OUR PEOPLE DEPENDS ON YOU!"
"Katara I think you need to calm down…."
"I'M COMPLETELY CALM!" she yelled. However, Katara's bulging eyes and a throbbing vein in her temple suggested that she was not, in fact, 'completely calm'. Aang took this as a sign to perform his avatar duty to intervene and neutralise the situation.
"Katara, sweetie, maybe you should take a break, get some fresh air, what do you think?" he asked, sweeping over and placing his hands on her shoulders, partly for comfort and partly to keep her from attacking. "Your father is perfectly capable; I mean, you're related to him, he can't be completely incompetent," he said soothingly, ignoring the dirty look he earned from Hakoda.
Katara sighed and relaxed her shoulders, Aang's words and presence calming her down somewhat. "I guess you're right. Sorry, father, I know you'll do a great job. This is just really important to me…"
"I understand that," Hakoda nodded. "Just trust me, the city is in good hands," he insisted with a smile.
"See? Nothing to worry about." Aang grinned, pleased that he had diffused the situation. "Now how about a backrub to relieve the stress?"
"Mm, that sounds wonderful, you have magic hands, Aang…" Katara hummed, smiling wistfully as Aang led her out of the room and he grinned as he saluted goodbye to Hakoda.
When they weren't working with Chief Hakoda, Aang and Katara continued to train the young waterbenders. The children were completely distraught when Katara broke the news to them that she would be leaving soon, but she promised that she would find a great waterbending teacher to replace her.
"But nobody is as good as you, Sifu Katara," a small boy wailed and threw himself into the snow.
Katara bit her lip and looked sadly over at Aang. Aang could see that this was probably the hardest part for Katara; she really loved these kids. He walked over to the boy and sat down next to him.
"Gather around kids, I'm going to teach you something," he said softly.
Katara watched Aang curiously, wondering what he was about to do. She admired how the children immediately sat down around him, their full attention on his every word and action. Even she couldn't boast that kind of control over them.
Aang waited for everyone to settle down around him before clearing his throat and beginning to speak. "Well, kids. As you know, water is flexible. It is constantly in motion, forever changing its shape and form."
As Aang spoke, he manipulated some water to float around his hands and to twist and twirl in front of the children's awed faces. "Water is adaptable: it takes the shape of whatever contains it," he continued.
To demonstrate, he made the water flow into his water pouch and then drew some shapes and swirls in the snow with his finger, forming small trenches. He then bent the water out of the pouch to fill the different shaped pools.
"You see?" he asked with a small smile. "The water is just as happy to sit in the triangle as it is in the swirl," he explained, indicating to the pools. "It changes itself easily to fit in with its environment. Just as the water adapts to change, so must you."
Katara bit her lip and brought a hand to her mouth as love for this man filled her up completely and made her giddy. Sometimes he just said things that were so…perfect, and made her fall in love with him all over again. She crouched down next to him and smiled.
"Kids," she said, "things are going to happen to you in your life that might upset or confuse you. But, like Avatar Aang said, you have to learn to take these things in your stride and grow from them."
"Yeah," Aang agreed and nodded. "We're all like little streams. We're just flowing along. Sometimes something might block our path or change our course, but what's important is that we just flow on. That's what is happening to Sifu Katara—her stream is changing course, and she's letting it take her along for the ride," he said, exchanging a brief smile with Katara. " Just remember—you've got to be like the water—just go with the flow." As he said this, he moved his arms around smoothly in a wave pattern, causing the children to giggle and imitate him.
"Look, Aang, we're just like the water," the small boy who had been upset before gurgled as he twisted his body around.
"Yes, yes, very good," Aang laughed.
As the class settled down, a girl who seemed to be slightly older and more serious spoke up. "We understand why you have to leave, Sifu Katara. You've got to flow on with your stream…It has been an honour to learn from you," the girl said and bowed her head sombrely. The rest of the class followed suit until they all had their heads bowed.
Katara felt a lump rise in her throat at the sight. It was partly out of sadness—she would miss these kids so much—but it was also out of happiness and wonder. "The honour is all mine," she whispered and bowed her head in response.
Aang watched the interaction in sheer awe. It was a truly touching moment, warming him from the inside out. "Oh you guys, I can't handle this anymore…bring it in!" he finally erupted.
Katara laughed and was the first to wrap her arms around Aang's midsection, and she was soon joined by the rest of the class who clambered all over the pair of them, holding on tight. She smiled at Aang, who smiled right back. "Thank you," she mouthed to him. He simply smiled and kissed her forehead in reply.
Once the kids had come to terms with the fact that Katara would be moving on, Aang and Katara's next job was to find them a new waterbending teacher. After many candidates who didn't meet Katara's criteria, Katara finally chose a middle-aged man from the northern water tribe.
"He has five kids of his own, so dealing with the class shouldn't be too much of a stretch for him," she had explained to Aang. "He also decided to move South because he disagreed with the Northern custom of teaching waterbending to only boys. That gave him serious bonus points."
Eventually it seemed that the only thing left to do was pack. Aang, as usual, barely had anything to pack. All that he owned fit into one small bag, and all that he needed was currently rushing around throwing things into boxes and bags.
"Do you think we'll need towels? What if they don't have towels there?" Katara asked worriedly as she came into the room with an armful of towels.
Aang couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, I'm sure they'll have towels there."
"Hm. We'll take a couple just in case," she decided and set them down into a crate, squishing them down as much as possible. "Hey, you can never be too prepared. Remember the time you ran out of underwear? Bet you wished we had over-packed then," Katara reminded Aang and grinned as he turned a deep shade of scarlet. After that, Aang helped Katara pack without a word of complaint.
All of their things were going to be loaded onto a cargo ship, which meant that they didn't have to worry about overburdening Appa. The ship would transport them to a port near the United Republic. From there, they were to be escorted to the planned location of Republic City, where Firelord Zuko was waiting for them. Everything was planned down to the last detail.
Finally, after all the preparations had been made, the day came.
Aang blinked his eyes open on the morning of their departure and smiled to see and feel Katara lying in his arms. "Morning…today's the day," he murmured and kissed her cheek gently.
"Mm," Katara hummed as she woke and rolled over to face him. "It is, isn't it? Wow." She knew this day was coming, but the reality of it all hadn't fully sunken in yet. "Is there anything in particular you want to do today?"
"Oh I think you know what I want to do…" he replied with a sly grin.
"PENGUINS!" Aang shouted, and his voice echoed across the snowfield where hundreds of penguins huddled and waddled around.
"Shh, Aang, you'll frighten them," Katara laughed.
"Oops, sorry," he whispered apologetically. "I'm just so excited. Do you know how long it's been since we've done this?" he asked giddily.
"Too long, apparently," Katara chuckled. "Well here you go, here's your fish," she said and handed Aang a small fish. Aang grinned happily and headed towards the penguins, cheerful as a schoolboy. Within a few minutes, both he and Katara had mounted a pair of penguins and were at the top of a large slope, poised to slide down.
Katara couldn't help but laugh internally at Aang, who looked just as enthusiastic as he was the first time they had done this.
Aang was practically vibrating with excitement. He looked over to Katara and grinned. "Hey, Katara?"
"Yes?"
"I love you," he said, then took the chance to take off while Katara was blushing and smiling at him. "GO PENGUIN GO!" Aang cried and urged his penguin down the hill. "LAST ONE DOWN IS A SEA PRUNE!" he yelled as he tore down the snow.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Katara cried and quickly set off after him. She lowered herself down as close to her penguin as she could, gaining a little bit of ground on him. She had the advantage of being smaller and lighter than him, but he'd gotten too much of a headstart.
Sneakily, Katara used waterbending to raise a bank out of the snow in front of Aang. The bank curved to the left and veered way off track.
Aang's eyes widened in surprise as the snow rose out of nowhere. For a moment there, he'd forgotten that the entire environment was at the mercy of Katara's waterbending. He quickly veered his penguin just in time to smoothly round the corner; however, they were now hopelessly on course. Aang looked over at Katara, who looked very pleased with herself as she zipped down the hill and overtook him, blowing a kiss his way as she passed.
Aang navigated his penguin down to the bottom of the hill where Katara was perched atop her penguin waiting for him, smug in her victory.
"No fair, you cheated," Aang pouted.
"Mm, 'I love you' too, Mr. Headstart," she replied with a smirk.
"Eheh…." Aang blushed. Suddenly his penguin wriggled around underneath him and threw him off into the snow before waddling away disgruntledly. Katara's penguin followed suit and she was bucked off into Aang's lap. They stared at each other for a moment before laughing. "They didn't seem too happy about that," Aang chuckled.
"I guess we're a bit heavier than when we were kids," Katara giggled. She looked up at Aang and blushed to find him smiling back at her. She bit her lip slightly and laced her fingers around the back of his neck as he leaned forward and slid his lips onto hers. Aang wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her closely to him as he kissed her.
"You don't mind kissing me even though I'm a sea prune?" he asked when he pulled away for air.
"But you're forgetting, Aang. I love sea prunes," Katara grinned and pressed her lips back to his. Aang kissed her back happily, and would have been glad to do so for a long time, but they were interrupted by the sound of a loud horn.
Aang broke the kiss and looked around, wondering what it could be. A black cloud on the horizon provided him with an answer.
"It's the ship," he observed.
"Already?" Katara asked. She looked around the landscape, as if she could drink it all in.
"We'll be back again, it's not forever," Aang assured her. "We have a flying bison, the world's most effective way to travel," he said with a smile. Aang had no doubt that they would be back. He didn't say this, but it was a dream of his to take his future children penguin sledding.
Katara smiled at him, slightly misty-eyed. "We're really doing this."
"We really are."
Katara looked at him for a moment before giving a determined nod. "Ok then. Let's get a move on," she said and got up off his lap.
She gave one last look across the icy plane. "Goodbye penguins," she said quietly.
The port was full of activity and noise when they arrived. Men bustled to and fro, loading and unloading goods from a huge ship in the docking bay. Eventually they found Sokka and Katara's father, who were accompanied by a small farewell party.
As Aang and Katara made their way over, they were somewhat confused to see Sokka had a large suitcase with him and was grinning widely.
Katara groaned. "Oh don't tell me…."
"YEP!" Sokka exclaimed happily, "I'm coming with you! The original Gaang is together again!" He wedged himself in between Katara and Aang and threw his arms over their shoulders. "It'll be just like old times. Nothing but action, drama, suspense, and adventure!" he proclaimed dramatically.
"Oh really?" Katara asked wryly. "Because I remember it a little differently. I remember you complaining about being hungry and getting yourself into ridiculous situations all the time. Remember the cactus juice?"
"Hey…I had my heroic moments!" Sokka protested indignantly.
Aang laughed and put his arm around Sokka's shoulders. "We're happy to have you. What would the Gaang be without the meat and sarcasm guy?" he asked cheerily.
"That's right," Sokka said with a nod.
Across the port, Aang heard a loud bellow. His head whipped around to the sound and his eyes widened in alarm as he saw Appa being pushed onto the ship by a group of men.
"HEY!" he shouted and bolted over, pushing the men away. "What on earth do you think you're doing?" he asked angrily and began untying the restraints that confined his oldest friend. "Appa is not cargo," he said, giving a dark look to one of the men.
"W-we're so s-sorry, we didn't realise," the man stammered and apologised profusely.
Aang glared at the man but then, seeing sincerity in the man's eyes, sighed and shook his head. "Don't let it happen again. And make sure there's plenty of food on board for my friend," he ordered and patted Appa. "I'm so sorry, boy, are you ok?"
Appa gave him a sloppy lick in reply, which put a smile back on Aang's face. He led Appa back to the group, who were watching on in concern.
"Is everything alright?" Katara asked.
"Yes, everything's fine. Just a misunderstanding," Aang explained.
"I'm afraid that might be partly my fault," Hakoda admitted sheepishly. "I told those men to take Appa to the ship…I didn't think they'd interpret it like that."
"It's ok, Chief," Aang insisted. "You're alright, aren't you, buddy?" Aang asked and Appa groaned happily in response. "He hasn't had a good fly in a while, though, so I was thinking that I could fly with him for a while before travelling on the ship. Care to join me, Katara?"
"Of course."
Just then, the ship's horn blared loudly. "I think that's our cue to go." He gave a small smile to Katara, who was preparing for her goodbyes. She said goodbye to the people who had come to see her off before finally coming to her Father.
"I'll miss you, Dad," she said and flung her arms around her Father's neck. "Remember everything I taught you," she insisted.
Hakoda laughed and gave his daughter a squeeze. "And you remember everything I taught you," he said and released her so he could look at her. "Be kind, be happy, and be careful, wherever you may go." He smiled and touched her nose affectionately.
"Always," Katara replied. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you too. I'm so proud of you."
She gave him one last tight hug before she stepped backwards to Aang and slipped her hand in his. She watched as Sokka said goodbye to their father with a firm handshake and hug. A few tears escaped her eyes, which she quickly wiped away with her sleeve.
Aang gave Katara a reassuring smile and her hand hand a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for everything, Chief Hakoda," he said and bowed his head in gratitude.
"No, thank you Avatar Aang," Hakoda said and bowed in reply.
Aang smiled, then turned and hopped easily up onto Appa's head before helping Katara up next to him. "You travelling by Appa, Sokka?"
"I'll pass this time," Sokka replied. "I think I'm going to check out the ship."
"Oh so the five-course dinner they are having on board has absolutely nothing to do with this decision?" Katara asked with a grin.
"What? No, of course not! Uh…I'd better go, ship's leaving and all," Sokka excused nervously before he raced onto the ship.
Aang chuckled at Sokka's antics, then turned to Katara. "Are you ready?"
Katara took a deep breath and gave an affirmative nod. "Yes."
Aang smiled and turned his gaze to the horizon, holding onto Appa's reins. "Alright, Appa. Yip yip!"
OoOoOo
All aboard the S.S. Kataang~~
"Be kind, be happy, be careful wherever you may go" is what my dad always used to say to me when I was a kid. So there's my little shout out to him~ haha. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, the next one will be up soon~