Now that they were out of the desert and the forest, they found that their progress across the Spirit World was almost pleasant. Getting down the cliff had been tricky at first, too tall for Aang to just jump off and bend their way down, but with some lengthy earthbending and a bit of airbending between, they finally landed at it's base, looking out at the gorgeous landscape before them. It was like the richest parts of the Earth Kingdom, the grass a vivid emerald green, wildflowers growing and swaying gently in the wind, and the beautiful scents were enough to calm all of them. Sansetsu seemed mostly unchanged by his experiences in the forest, still tight lipped and sarcastic, but his tone was companionable, his teasing somehow coming as a relief to Aang. Katara, however, hardly spoke a word, her eyes glazed with a faraway look as they walked. Aang kept his grip on her hand, squeezing it on occasionally and smiling down at her with encouragement, but despite the huge progress that Aang had made, her smile never quite met her eyes. She had not told any of them what she had seen in the forest, choosing instead to stay quite whenever the subject arose, and Aang began to wonder what it was she had seen, certain that it could not have been good.
Eventually they decided to stop. Aang was keen to sleep out under the stars, the grass soft beneath them and mercifully more comfortable than the bug infested forest floor they had been sleeping on, but Katara looking uncomfortable, her arms wrapping around herself. Glancing almost apologetically at Sansetsu, Aang pulled up a large earth tent from the ground, and without word Katara took herself inside, keen to seclude herself, and Aang felt a tight fist of fear over his heart, watching her go.
"You should probably talk to her," Sansetsu said in a low voice.
"Did she say anything to you?" Aang asked, as quietly as he could. "About what she saw?"
Sansetsu shook his head, but he sighed in a manner that suggested that whatever it was could not have been good, and Aang nodded.
"I'll be about," Sansetsu said, "but I'll give you some privacy." With that he disappeared, and Aang approached the cave, crawling inside before closing the entrance somewhat to offer her some more comfort.
She lay on her side, her body pulled in on itself, but her eyes stayed open. Swallowing Aang climbed up beside her, curling and wrapping his arms around her waist. She seemed to stiffen, before with a small sigh she let him hold her to him. For a moment they didn't speak, Aang offering her the chance to say something first before questioning her, but she didn't know what to say. Her mind raced and her soul ached, and she wasn't sure any amount of talking could fix that.
"Sweetie?" Aang breathed, eventually, and her stomach dropped. "You haven't said much since we got out of the forest. Do you want to talk about it?"
She shook her head, and her hands gripped his tighter.
"Did you see something bad?"
She held her breath, and Aang noticed immediately.
"Something about your future?"
She nodded, minutely, almost in spite of herself.
"Our future?"
She shut her eyes tight, willing for no tears to fall, and that was all the answer that Aang needed. He leaned up, rolling her over so that she faced him, letting her press her face against his chest before the tears started to fall. He didn't know what she had seen, but he knew that whatever it was was far too hard for her to talk about it. He stroked the back of her head as she cried, her hands gripping his tunic.
"It's ok," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "It'll all be ok. I promise."
"How can you promise that?" she demanded, pulling her face away from him. "You saw how it could end, even now we don't know that that won't still happen. You can't promise me that it'll be ok, Aang, you can't."
He looked down at her, her blue eyes wide with tears and frustration and fear.
"You're right," he said thickly. "I'm sorry, I can't promise that. But I know I saw a good future too, one with both of us. Who's to say that's not the real future?"
She fell silent, hesitant. "You saw a good future too?"
"Ahuh." He stroked her face, wondering for a moment whether he should tell her about it, and in spite of himself he felt his cheeks start to warm. It wasn't like they hadn't mentioned children, but they had never truly talked about it, there always felt like there was far too much else going on that needed their immediate attention. She noticed the flush on his cheeks, and reached out to touch one of them.
"What did you see?"
He bit his lower lip, feeling embarrassed for a moment, but she asked with such urgency that he could not deny her. "You were older," he said.
"How much older?"
He considered for a moment. "I dunno, a few years maybe more. Not old, just older. And of course you look beautiful."
She blushed.
"It was after I saw what could happen if Tonrar won, and I lost control. I was so ... lost, Katara. I almost felt no hope at all, but then you called me. And you were standing there, and you just laughed and said that I could never kill anybody, and that we had to go because Bumi was waiting on me to have lunch."
"Bumi?" Katara asked. "Sweetie, do you remember the last time King Bumi had us over for lunch? He gave up creeping crystal for desert with absolutely no irony at all."
Aang laughed, remembering the event fondly. "Yeh, but it wasn't King Bumi."
"We know another Bumi?" Katara asked, confused. He smiled at her, wondering how best to word it, what he had learned, what possibly future lay ahead of them.
"Well, not yet," he admitted. "But, that's what we name him. Our son."
Katara breathed in sharply, eyes wide as she looked up at him in wonder. "Wait, you saw that too?"
Aang's eyebrows rose, shocked at first, and then excited. "You had the same vision?"
"Well, not exactly the same. But, I wonder ..." she giggled suddenly, pulling him closer to her as she hid her face in his shirt. He looked down, bemused.
"What's so funny?"
"I think we have three kids," she said, somewhat coyly. "The little boy I saw, he was so tiny, wearing Air Nomad clothes, and he was crying because his big brother was being mean to him." She laughed again, and Aang could not stop the smirk from coming to his lips.
"Well, I mean if this is how you're going to react to that then maybe we need to rethink the whole parent thing."
He slapped his chest, still laughing. "Oh, shut up," she said. They fell silent again, Aang unable to shift the wide grin in his face as he hugged her to him.
"Three?" he said finally, and she hummed.
"Mhmm, the little boy said he had an older sister, too."
"Two boys and a girl," Aang said in wonder. "I could live with that."
"Is it weird that this isn't ... weird," Katara asked, looking up at him. "We're not even married yet, but know how many kids we could have?"
"Presuming we stop at three," Aang replied, suddenly completely serious. "I mean, maybe we should try for another girl, even things out."
"We've not even tried for out first yet," Katara reminded him pointedly. Aang hummed at this, looking over her head as if in consideration, lips moving slightly as he seemed to count something in his head. She was certain that he was trying to work out the maths based on how old she had looked, and how old they were now, and she could only smile, laughing softly. He looked back down, a goofy grin on his face.
"Feel better?"
Her smile faded a fraction. Aang clearly had not seen what she had, what would be required to close the tear between their worlds when the time came. But, they had both seen another future, and she just had to have faith that that future would be possible. "A bit."
"Good," Aang breathed, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. She pressed her face against his chest again, feeling it expand with a contented breath, enjoying his warmth and comfort. She had to believe in that future. The good future.
"Aang?"
"Yeh?" he replied, his voice sounding sleepy.
"Can you really control it now? The Avatar Spirit?"
His breathing faltered for a moment, and she could feel his heart beat harder as he considered it.
"I think so."
"But what about ... when you get emotional? Like when you lost your temper with Sansetsu?"
"I'm not certain," he replied, "but I think I can. It feels different now."
For a moment she hardly dared to speak, but Aang thought he knew what she was going to ask, and he decided to make it easier on her.
"Hey, it's ok," he said, kissing her on the forehead again before sitting himself up. "Honestly, I think my leg took a bit of a battering today, the last few days, we should probably do another healing session anyway before I fall asleep."
Katara breathed with relief, throwing him a grateful look as she picked up her waterskin from the grass, thankful that he had taken pity on her and not left her to ask. He untied his sash, and pulled down his trousers, which were still covered in dry blood from the forest.
"You know what would be nice?" he said, keeping his tone light as Katara placed a hand on his scar, feeling the muscles for any new tightness. "Some fresh clothes. Or maybe a lake to properly wash these in. I never thought I'd miss doing laundry."
"We probably smell worse than Sokka's old sleeping bags," Katara agreed, and the pair snickered. "I don't know how everything he touched just immediately started smelling of feet."
She knew that he was trying to keep the conversation light for her benefit, and she appreciated it as she bent the glowing water against his leg, breathing slowly out. Aang let out a moan of relief, not realising quite how knotted up his muscles were until she placed her healing hands onto them, the sting in his hip mercifully starting to fade. He felt her reach out, probing deeper, and he didn't fight against the sensation, just shutting his eyes and letting her do what she needed to do. Eventually she took her hands away from him, and he opened his eyes to see hers swimming with tears, his heart stopping.
"Katara? What's wrong?" He immediately climbed over to her, but she just shook her head, a gentle smile on her lips as the tears spilled onto her lap.
"You're you again," she said, sniffing and brushing the tears from her cheeks. He reached out, pressing kisses against her cheeks, her forehead, and her nose, until she laughed, wrapping her arms gratefully around him. He cast a half glance behind them, he could just see Sansetsu, a good way away from them with his back turned, sat as if meditating, and decisively he kicked his leg on the ground, shutting the tent the remainder of the way, the only light now the gentle glow from the sky above filtering through the cracks. She looked at him questioningly.
"Well," he said, before pressing another kiss to her cheeks, before dropping to her jaw. "About that whole trying for a family thing ..."
"What about it?" Katara asked, her hands curling into his hair as he gently started to nibble against her jawline.
"I'm just thinking," he said in a low voice, "we should probably get some more practice in, you know?"
"Was that a pick-up line?" Katara asked. Aang paused, grinning.
"Only if you think it was a good one."
"What about Sansetsu?"
Aang pulled away, raising an eyebrow at her. "What about him?"
"Won't he hear us?"
"Oh! Nah, he's too far away," he assured, before pressing his lips against her neck, his breath hot against her neck as he combined the elements of fire and air in his chest. "And who cares if he can?"
Katara was about to say that she probably would care, and that she wasn't entirely sure if Sansetsu would have the decency not to listen or not, but the thought was pushed clear from her head as she felt his hands, suddenly hot to the touch, caress the back of her neck before dropping down to her shoulders. She wasn't sure if he was even consciously using firebending in that moment, and even though she had not felt that darkness at his core she couldn't help but worry, briefly, that he had already lost control. But, her worries were cast aside and she was swiftly lost in the sensations as he then proceeded to breath gently against her, cooling her skin once more and causing goosebumps to rise up on her chest, proceeding to use fire and airbending to warm and cool her as he explored, seeing how she reacted. This very action, his use of the elements as an extension of himself once more, brought her more comfort that she could admit, and she gratefully arched her back as he kissed down her stomach, his hands holding her hips.
He knew, as did she, that the bad memories and the frightening future that she had seen in the forest were far from gone in her mind, even as she dragged her hands through his hair as he continued his kisses at her center, her toes curling against his sides at the sensations. She found herself tortuously torn between letting herself feel fully the experiences of the present, Aang running his tongue across her with his breath hot, and fearing the images that still flashed across her mind, a horrifying reel that she could not stop, and suddenly she felt heart wrenching panic that she could not see him, her hands gripping the sides of his face and pulling him back up hers. She saw his mild confusion morph to fear when he saw the expression on her face, distantly aware that her cheeks were now wet with tears, before she pressed her lips against his, her arms and legs wrapping him as tightly to her as was possible.
"Sweetie?" he breathed, pulling away a fraction to look at her, his face twisted with worry, but she just shook her head, her hands reaching up to hold either side of his face.
"I'm ok, just ... don't leave me, please don't ever leave me ..."
"I would never leave you," he said back. "Hey, look at me." She glanced up, a fresh tear rolling out of the corner of her eye and into her hair as he looked intensely back at her. "I mean it, Katara. I would never leave you."
She sniffed, eyes shutting tight for a moment as he leaned his forehead against hers.
"Are you sure you don't want to talk about this?" he asked, softly. She shook her head. She couldn't talk about it, she couldn't tell him what she had seen, what she knew would be needed to close the portal. But what she could do is keep him close to her, to breathe him in, to see his smile and let him imagine a future that she knew deep down could never happen. If the spirit's required her sacrifice to heal the worlds, then she would give it, anything so that he could continue to live.
"No," she whispered. "Just ... make love to me, sweetie, please ..."
He didn't need telling twice, pressing his lips against her once more, matching her urgency as she arched against him, again lost in one another's touch.
Sansetsu, of course, did hear them. Sat with his eyes closed as he tried to meditate before the subtle yet undeniable sounds of their fast breaths reached him, and he had frowned.
"Some people are trying to meditate," he muttered angrily. Before, with a heavy sigh, he got to his feet. "I'm leaving!" he called loudly, so that they would hear him, "and if spirits find you it's your own damn faults!"
But inside of the cave, the couple hardly paid him any heed though they heard his disdain, intent only on showing just how desperately they needed each other.
Aang woke early the next day, the bright morning sun casting a delightful array of light across the inside of their private cave and dancing across his eyelids until he stirred. Katara lay beside him, curled up as close to him as she could be, one leg hooked around his waist as her face buried into his chest, and he felt nothing by complete adoration for her as he looked down at her elegant form against his, his cheeks flushing pink as he realised that they were both still completely naked. He wanted very much to continue lying there, his hand about her waist, but he knew that Sansetsu only had so much patience, and there was still a lot left for them to do. He pressed a kiss against her forehead, whispering her name, and she stirred.
"Hmm?"
"I said morning, sleepyhead."
She blinked slowly up at him, a slow smile on her face, before reaching up to press her lips onto his, her leg tightening around him and pulling him closer, and he felt his resolve start to break before it had even been fully formed, moaning softly as he lowered his hand to her thigh, biting her lower lip.
"What time is it?" she breathed against him.
"I dunno," he mumbled, in between kisses, "does it matter?"
"I suppose not."
They were sure to be quieter this time, rocking one another gently and sweetly, pressing soft kisses against mouths and faces, until Katara mewled in his ear, biting it to stay silent, before the pair collapsed back onto the grass again, Aang laying light kisses across the side of her cheek and jaw as her hand lazily stroked up and down his back.
"I think perhaps we should get up now," she whispered, and he couldn't help but laugh, the sound vibrating comfortingly through her chest.
"You're probably right," he said, breathing in the scent of her hair. "I'm sure Sansetsu is ready to murder both of us at this point."
Somewhat regretfully, the sat up, helping each other to find their clothing scattered across the cave, Aang dressing quickly first and pecking a kiss against her cheek before bending back the entrance so that he could climb out, stretching his arms above his head and groaning as his spine clicked into space. The sun was still somewhat low on the horizon he realised with some relief, but it was already far warmer than the forest had been. He glanced about, before spotting Sansetsu laying back on the grass with his hand in his hands, one leg crossed over the other, thankfully not appearing bothered by the fact that they had not already set off yet.
"Oh, you're up finally," called Sansetsu, sensing him before Aang even got another yard closer. He opened a single eye, watching Aang shrewdly for a moment, before sitting up.
"Yeh," Aang replied, somewhat awkwardly, fully aware that he and Katara had not been quite as quiet as they had thought they were being the night before. "Everything ok last night? No spirits or-"
"If there was I would have woken you," Sansetsu interrupted with a wave of his hand.
Katara came out of the earth tent, pulling her boots on as she did and shielding her face in the low sun, Aang glanced back, unable to stop his soppy smile as he saw her, and Sansetsu made a retching noise, grabbing Aang's attention once more.
"We've already wasted enough time," Sansetsu announced, climbing to his feet as Katara came over to join them. "There's a lot that we need to get on with, and as glad as I am that the spirit forest helped you to get over your Avatar State issue, it damn sure used up a lot of time."
"Why are you in so much of a rush all of a sudden?" Katara asked.
"Well, you heard your friend back there in the forest, didn't you? You had, best case, ten days before a war starts over in your world, and that was a couple of days ago now. I just assumed that you'd want to give yourself the best chance of getting back there before things got out of hand."
Aang was taken back, his brow raising almost comically at Sansetsu's words. It wasn't that he expected him not to care, exactly, but he'd not expected him to lay any real importance on the matter, and he certainly had not been prepared for Sansetsu to suggest that it may even be in the realms of possibility to get back there before the war broke out. Katara, too, seemed surprised, and obviously uncomfortable.
"But ... that leaves us, what, a week? Less? How is that even going to be possible?"
"Well, I didn't think it would be," Sansetsu replied honestly, "that was until pipsqueak here had some huge epiphany on the spirit forest and regained control over his Avatar powers. Now, I think, there is a chance that we could be ready to fight Tornar sooner, rather than later."
"But I still don't know exactly how I'm going to fight him," Aang said, hesitantly.
"Yeh, you do," Sansetsu replied shortly, looking down at Aang with a cold hard expression on his face. "You know perfectly well what you need to do. And now that you can go into the Avatar State you've all the power you need to take him out."
Aang swallowed, averting his gaze, and looking at the emerald grass swaying in the breeze. He had accepted it, as much as it pained him to do so, but still a part of him hoped that maybe there was another way, that perhaps Tonrar could be saved.
"News travels fast in the Spirit World," Sansetsu continued, "and by now Tonrar will be fully aware that we have left the city. He may even know that we passed through the Spirit of Fortune by now, too. Assuming it has been months, we can pretty much guarantee that Tonrar will have found and taken possession of his own body once again, which means that he will be powerful. Far more powerful than either of us had to experience in the mortal world."
"Powerful how?" Katara asked, worried. "Will he be able to control Aang easier?"
"Possibly," Sansetsu replied. "But also physically he will be far stronger here. He is an ancient spirit, after all, whether he can control Aang or not he's not going to go down without a fight."
"It seems like a huge risk to wait until I face Tonrar again to find out if he can still control me or not," Aang muttered.
"It is," Sansetsu said bluntly, "but we haven't any other option. All we can do now is work on your training, and work out where Tonrar is hiding."
"I think I know where he is," Aang replied immediately. "Or rather ... I know what the place looks like. As for where it is, we might need some help with that."
Sansetsu looked interested, brow raised. "Go on."
"There's a place, I've seen it in my nightmares, and it's also where I was standing when Tonrar captured me in the Spirit World ... it seems mostly empty, just lots of jagged rocks in a ring that I'm always standing in the center of."
Sansetsu frowned, rubbing his chin for a moment as if in thought, before with a heavy sigh he shrugged.
"Sorry, kid, but that doesn't really mean much to me. But ..." he hesitated, looking deeply put out by what he was about to say, "perhaps it's time we talked to some spirits."
"Should be easy enough in the spirit world."
"Right, but finding spirits that aren't in league with Tonrar? Not so much."
"What about them?"
The pair looked up at Katara's words, and in the direction that she was pointing. In the distance, dancing in and out of the tall wild flowers that grew in this part of the Spirit World, bright colourful spirits were visible, hovering just off the ground, seemingly watching them from a distance.
"How long have they been there?" Aang asked, cautiously, but he was taken aback by the loud relieved laugh coming from Sansetsu, who wasted no time running over to the spirits. Sharing an alarmed look with one another, Aang and Katara hurried after him.
Aang was pleasantly surprised when he saw the spirits up close for the first time, large ears flapping to keep them in the air, big black eyes looking back at him with their own wonder, and he had to admit that they were actually quite ... cute. Like colourful rabbits that zipped through the air, their fluffy noses twitching with interest.
"Hello there, spirits," Sansetsu said warmly, an actual smile on his face as they looked at him. The spirits, all five of them, huddled close together at his arrival, cautious at first before one of the spirits broke free, flying high and hovering in front of Sansetsu.
"Hey guys!" the spirit called, excitedly, doing a single lap around Sansetsu, "it's the Avatar! The one that used to come with the pretty lady!"
The four other spirits all looked at one another for a moment, before realization dawned, and they jumped high, each of them flying close to Sansetsu, some pulling at his braid, others at his robe, as if they were trying to get a better look at him. It was strange to see such a genuine smile on Sansetsu's face as he raised his arms, allowing the spirits to fly around him.
"Well, I'm not strictly the Avatar anymore," he said, and the white rabbit-like spirit that had originally spoke let out a small gasp.
"No wonder we haven't seen you in so long!" it said.
"Or the pretty lady either," the blue rabbit-like spirit said, a little sadly, before it suddenly perked up. "Where is she? Did you get married?"
Sansetsu's smile faded immediately, a shadow crossing his face as his lip twitched. Aang quickly opened his mouth, as if to step in, but Sansetsu recovered quickly.
"Don't be silly," he said quickly, plastering a painful looking smile on his face again. "Air Nomads don't marry. Besides, I'm here with some people even more exciting right now."
The spirits turned their attention to Aang and Katara, both stricken in their own way. Aang by the intensity with which all five spirits suddenly looked at him, and Katara with the small bomb that Sansetsu had just landed on her that Air Nomads didn't marry, momentarily grieved by how indifferent Aang had been to the statement before forcing herself back to her senses.
"This is Katara," Sansetsu said, gesturing to her. "She's come all the way from the human world."
The spirits squealed, now flying towards her, pulling gently at her hair and dress just like they had done with Sansetsu. They seemed to put a lot of weight in the texture and smell of things, and Katara was taken back to find one of them pick up a lock of her hair and sniff it.
"You smell pretty," the little blue spirit said.
"You look pretty too," said the pink spirit, circling her with delight.
"Oh, uh, thank you," Katara said, somewhat awkwardly as they pulled at the sleeve of her dress.
"Don't mind them," Sansetsu said, "they're just very ... handsy."
"I can see that."
"And this," Sansetsu continued, dragging their attention to Aang, "is the new Avatar."
As one the spirits gasped, only their reaction to Aang had not been what he expected, all five of them suddenly recoiling, springing together and retreating back to the safety of the flowers again, watching him with fearful eyes. Aang blinked.
"Oh, hey, don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," he said quickly, unsure what it was that he must have done to upset them. The white spirit shook it's tiny head, it's body beginning to shake.
"You shouldn't have come here!" it squeaked. "Tonrar is everywhere!"
"Everywhere!" the other four spirits repeated as one, and Aang felt dread settle in his stomach, glancing across at Sansestu who seemed just as alarmed.
"You need to go!" the white spirit said, "before-"
But the spirit wasn't able to finish it's statement, as a sudden wind began to pick up, the sky going dark. The group looked up, instinctively standing closer together, as a storm seemed to wage above them. But that, it seemed, wasn't the worst of it, as Sansetsu quickly grabbed their attention.
"Uh, folks ..."
Aang looked around to see that the cute bunny spirits had suddenly grown in size, towering over them, their bodies hunched over, darkening, as their eyes burned a bright blue, hissing and spitting in his direction. He quickly swung an arm out in front of Katara, backing them both up, as the spirits growled and began to advance on them.
"What is happening to them?" Katara cried, as the spirits started to circle them, having to yell over the sound of the howling winds whipping above them.
"Tonrar must have already got to them," Sansetsu yelled back.
"Ok, and what do we do about that?"
"How should I know!"
"You're the one that's supposed to be teaching Aang!" Katara all but screamed back.
"To deal with Tonrar! Not fight giant fucking rabbits!"
"How are they any different!"
But Aang had little time for their argument, eyeing each of the spirits carefully as they circled around them. Surely this moment, if there was indeed any moment, was the moment for him to test his control over the Avatar State. He had calmed angry spirits before, before he had even known what he was doing, he could certainly do it again. These spirits were being used, just like he had, and they just needed to be healed.
He held his arms out, taking a deep breath, before with a sharp compression of his fingers, he pulled water from the grass at their feet, rotating his upper torso swiftly and freezing a ring of ice around them shards pointing outwards as a temporary barrier between them and the spirits.
"What good it that gonna do?" Sansetsu snapped. "Do you have any idea how fucking powerful you are here, asshole?"
But Aang paid no heed to Sansetsu's insults, knowing that Katara would be quick to defend his honour and administer a slap around of the back of his bald head, instead standing straight and tall, pressing his fists together, just as the spirits opened their jaws wide and roared, a flash of blue light washing over them as Aang took control of the Avatar State.
Sansetsu was not wrong. He was used to feeling powerful in the Avatar State, it was an sensation that had always left him feeling both exhilarated and terrified, even long before Tonrar came onto the scene, but here it felt different. He felt more than just powerful, it was more than just the knowledge of what he was capable, the knowledge of his past lives behind him, he felt like a god. He could feel his energy entwining with the earth beneath their feet, the wind in the sky, he could heard the blood pumping through Katara's veins, and Sansetsu stood behind him suddenly shining so brightly, feeling the incredible connection that entwined them. But he could also feel the spirits, their pain and their confusion, and as the glow in his eyes died the understanding inside of his heart dawned. He pulled the ice shards up again, at the same time gently pressing his feet into the earth, as a column of it broke free and rose several feet into the air, taking Katara and Sansetsu with it and out of the spirit's reach. The spirits did not react kindly to him suddenly going into the Avatar State, and they launched themselves at him, but Aang was ready, spinning to water around him before encircling it around each spirit, the water glowing.
The spirits were suddenly unable to move, the glowing water circling higher and faster around them, the storm starting to die in the sky before, achingly, Katara and Sansetsu watched as the spirits began to shrink again their normal colour returning before the sky turned blue again, the brightness of the place returning as if nothing had happened. "I'm not going to hurt you," Aang repeated to them, before he let go of his control over the Avatar State in that moment, breathing out easy as the water fell back to the ground.
A stunned silence followed, the spirits now back in the usual forms, grouped together again, each of them shaking and hugging close to each other for support, as Sansetsu and Katara looked down from their perch on the earth column, mouths agape with what they had just seen.
"What just happened?" Katara breathed, at last. Aang bent the column back to the ground again, looking back at her with a half shrug, as suddenly the spirits jumped into the air again, chittering and squealing excitedly as they flew around him.
"That Avatar saved us!" they cried, some of them perching on his shoulders and head as he laughed.
"I'm serious," Katara said, walking up to him, reaching out to take one of the spirits as it nuzzled against her too. "What just happened?"
"Well, I had to try going into the Avatar State at some point," Aang reasoned. "Seemed like a good time to try."
Sansetsu stayed back where the column had been, saying nothing as he watched the spirits fawn over the new Avatar, his expression suddenly sour.
"Well, it worked," Katara said, smiling at him. "I'm proud of you."
Aang's cheeks burned at the intensity of her gaze, before he caught sight of Sansetsu stalking up to them, his expression knocking the smile of his lips.
"Alright, alright," he said quickly, waving his hand at the spirits as they took flight again. "There's no time for this. Tell us, spirits, when did Tonrar get his shitty claws on you?"
The spirits looked uncertainly at him, then back at Aang who offered them an encouraging smile.
"He came through here," the white spirit said, "it was a while ago now, it was scary ..."
"What did he look like?" Sansetsu demanded.
The spirits looked among each other, whispering for a moment, before the white spirit spoke again.
"It was Tonrar, but he wasn't in his body," it replied, the high voice hushed. "His energy affected everyone here, and he told us to attack the new Avatar if we saw him."
"Right, that's all we needed to know," Sansetsu said shortly. "Come on, let's get going."
Aang and Katara exchanged a look, before Aang bowed in front of the spirits.
"Thank you for your help, little spirits," he said. "Please don't mind my friend, he's just ... had a bad few days."
The spirit's seemed to understand, looking over at Sansetsu forlornly as he stalked away.
"I have one more question for you, if that's ok?" The spirit's nodded.
"I'm looking for a particular place in the Spirit World," he said, "I don't know much about it, but it's a large place, surrounded by jagged rocks that form a circle ... perhaps it's somewhere that Tonrar might like to hang out."
Fear dawned on the expression of the spirit's once more.
"That sounds like the Valley of Time," the white spirit whispered. "It is a dangerous place, Avatar, most spirit's do not dare to go there but ... it is where Tonrar has retreated from time to time."
"The Valley of Time ..." Aang repeated, looking across at Katara who looked decidedly nervous. "How do I get there?"
"It is the center of the Spirit World," the blue spirit whispered, "all path's lead there eventually. We can't say any more!"
And with that, the spirits vanished, turning tail and diving off into the wild flowers that surrounded the grasslands, leaving behind them a sense of dread.
Aang and Katara had to jog to catch up with Sasnetsu, who was already stalking back across the large plane, his expression dark and his hands curled into fists. Aang was not strictly sure what it was that he could have possibly done to warrant such a sour attitude from his past life once again ... surely he should be pleased? This was what he had wanted from Aang all along, after all. He had wanted him to gain control of the Avatar State, but now that he had it seemed as though it had only managed to piss Sansetsu off even more. He felt downcast, sighing heavily as he walked, eyes despondent as he looked at the back of his past life's head. Katara hated to see him looking so hurt, but she felt she knew what was going on, and she bit her lip as they walked.
She had started to suspect, some time previous, that Sansetsu didn't have an actual plan in mind when it came to helping Aang defeat Tonrar. Sure, he had encouraged Aang to get stronger, he had told him that he needed to regain control of the Avatar State, and he had led them to the Spirit of Fortune, but when it actually came to teaching Aang he had continued to fall short. She was reminded of what Aang had said only a few days previous, about how it was actually them who were here to help him, and she was starting to feel certain of the accuracy of this statement. In fact, now that Aang was starting to move beyond what Sansetsu knew, certainly beyond what he had ever achieved in his own lifetime, he was starting to behave coldly again. He had not even waited to ask the question that they had approached the spirit's for to begin with. In fact, he seemed almost jealous, like he was angry at Aang for being able to do the things that he couldn't. Truthfully, Katara wasn't sure whether they really needed the past Avatar's help any more, as much as she was loathe to bring up the subject with Aang ... and she was certain that Sansetsu knew this too.
"So, I asked the spirit's about the place that I keep seeing in my nightmares," Aang called, hesitantly from her side. She glanced between him and Sansetsu, apprehensive.
"Great," Sansetsu replied simply, not slowing down. A minute flare of Aang's nostrils and a flush on his cheeks was the only indication Aang gave that he was feeling frustrated as he forced his tone to remain amicable.
"They said it sounded like somewhere called the Valley of Time. Does that mean anything to you?"
Sansetsu seemed surprised for a moment, his gait slowing just a fraction as he glanced back at them, before he recovered.
"I've heard of it," he replied doggedly, "it's supposed to be the spiritual center of the universe, and where the line between the two worlds are at their finest. I don't know what gave it it's name, it could be superstition, or something long lost to history, but it certainly makes sense for Tonrar to be there right now, don't you think?"
"So, how do we get there?" Aang asked. At that, Sansetsu scoffed, much more forcibly than was needed.
"I would have thought that was obvious, oh great Avatar," he sneered, "just follow the dark spirits Tonrar's left behind."
Aang fell silent, and Katara was unable to miss the hurt in his expression. Her own hands shook with anger, she had long hoped that Sansetsu's cruel teasing was behind them, and it seemed so had Aang. She resolved to have a conversation with the past Avatar.
The remainder of the day passed mostly in silence, and the longer they walked the more obvious Tonrar's influence on the Spirit World grew. Not all the spirit's had grown dark, of course, and remarkably few of them made any effort to launch themselves at Aang like the rabbit spirits had, but the growls and snarls that followed them as they walked were unnerving enough, keeping the three of them on edge the entire day. Some did attack, however, and Aang would swiftly fall into the Avatar State and calm them like he had the spirits in the grasses, but it was become evident that doing this put Aang under a lot of strain, his body slowing and his shoulders sagging, not quite following the track of any conversation that they may have had. He may have mastered the Avatar State again, but he was still out of practice, and spiritually he was still vulnerable. Soon it became a matter of urgency for them to rest, not wanting to risk Aang failing to heal the next spirit they came across.
Despite the darkness of the spirit's around them, the world itself was still exceptionally beautiful, and the sky above twinkled with far-away stars, casting a distance silver sheen across them as they stopped. Aang stretched himself out on his back with a heavy, tired sigh, eyes shutting quickly as he lay spread-eagled on the grass.
"Shouldn't we try and find some cover?" Katara asked, feeling vulnerable on the vast grassland. Aang nodded his agreement as, with a groan, he sat himself up again. "Sorry," she muttered, but he flashed her a friendly smile before sitting on his knees, his lazy administration of earthbending something that she was sure would have earned him a hard punch from Toph back in the day as he rolled the earth in front of him and pulled up a large curve of rock that would act as a make-shift tent for them. She was half tempted to tease him for his lazy effort before she realised that his action had left a blanket of soil and grass over the top of the tent that would leave their hide-out almost camouflaged from certain angles and, instead, found herself quite impressed.
"Neat."
"Yeh, but you both better be keeping your hands to yourselves tonight because that thing is wide open on one side," Sansetsu chastised, looking sideways at the tent with a certain disdain.
"Shut up, Sansetsu," Aang said as he crawled into the tent and flopping down on his back again. His tone was light, playful, but she absolutely did not miss the bite of resentment at the edges, and the use of Sansetsu's full name again was enough of an indication that Aang felt decidedly disenchanted with the past Avatar at this point. Katara didn't spare the past Avatar a second glance as she sat herself at the entrance of the cave.
"Do you want to eat anything?" she asked Aang, but he just sleepily raised a hand.
"No thanks," he replied, with a large yawn, "I think I just need to sleep."
It was perhaps testament to how tired Aang was that he didn't even wait to assure himself that Sansetsu was on watch before his breathing slowed. Katara watched him for a good few minutes, picking through the handful of nuts and seeds that they had collected, before she became satisfied that Aang had indeed fallen asleep, before she allowed herself to look at Sansetsu.
The past Avatar was sat several feet from them, his cool silver eyes flashing in the starlight as he kept his watch on the horizon. It only took a second for him to realise that Katara was staring at him, glancing in her direction with a deep frown.
"What?" he demanded. Katara checked again that Aang was still sleeping, before she got to her feet.
"We need to talk," she said.
Sansetsu groaned, his eyes rolling. "No, we don't," he replied. "Just go to sleep already." But she ignored him, instead walking up to where he was sat and deliberately dropping down in front of him, so that he had no choice but to look at her. Her expression was firm, and she was prepared to physically restrain the past Avatar if that was what was needed for him to listen to her. Sansetsu seemed to recognise the challenge, looking her dead in the eye and set his shoulders.
"I'm not looking for a fight, Sansetsu," she said, and he raised his eyebrows, nodding his head down to the hip flask she still wore, and upon which one of her hands rest.
"You sure about that?"
She didn't move her hand, letting herself sit comfortably on the grass. "I need to ask you something, Sansetsu, and I'd really appreciate if you could be honest with your answer."
His teeth ground, but he did not move away, watching her with a certain apprehension before she took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to ask.
"Do you know what you're doing?"
"Excuse me?" Sansetsu replied immediately, anger on his face.
"Did you have any plans beyond the city?" Katara asked. "Or was the plan always to send us off after Tonrar alone as soon as Aang regained control of the Avatar Spirit?"
Sansetsu's face burned, one lower lid twitching, but the quick dart of his eyes from her to where Aang was sleeping was enough of an answer for her, and she sighed, raising both hands to her face, exhausted.
"You know, neither of us expected you to come with us when we finally left," she said, her voice tired. "Don't you think it would have been better for you to be honest with us?"
"Honest?" Sansetsu quipped, his sneer quickly falling back into place. "I don't think I've ever once said that I knew where I was going? It's not my problem if you both assumed that I did."
"You've been walking ahead of us the whole time," Katara hissed, her anger rising yet still trying hard not to wake Aang. "What else were we supposed to do but follow you?"
"I dunno, you could have just gone a different direction," Sansetsu shrugged. But he was being petty, and they both knew it. Arguing with him about this would do her no good, she was sure that this back and forth was something that Sansetsu could keep up for an eternity if given the opportunity, so she decided to try a different tactic.
"Well, given that we both seem to be headed in the same direction anyway," she said, as meekly as she was capable in that moment, "do you think maybe you could stop behaving like such a brat?"
This took Sansetsu by surprise, and as much as she was certain he wanted to explode at her, she saw the recognition in his eyes, the curl of his lip as he saw he had been quickly beaten to the punch.
"A brat, huh?" he said, his voice shaking as he tried to keep it calm. She had him. She smirked openly.
"Yes," she replied simply. "Come on, Sansetsu, I get that this is probably difficult for you, but you're acting like a child." Her tone grew more serious, "and for some reason Aang still cares about what you think of him."
"Kid's an idiot," Sansetsu grumbled, looking away from her now, his posture sagging.
"No, he's not," Katara replied tersely, rubbing the bridge of her nose. When had she suddenly become the voice of reason for, not just one, but two Avatar's? "You're the only other airbender he's spent any time with since he was twelve," she explained. "Whether you like it or not, that means something to him. You can't be acting like a jealous child because he can do things that you never could."
Sansetsu turned to her, his expression angry again.
"You think that's what this is about?" he shot. "That I'm jealous?"
"Well, if not that then what?" she demanded. "Aang is able to go into the Avatar State again, he healed those spirit's, he's more ready now to face Tonrar than he's ever been ... you should be proud of him? You should be glad."
"Of course I'm glad," Sansetsu snapped. "The sooner he can face Tonrar the better for everyone, it's great that he doesn't actually need me anymore."
Katara shut her eyes. Of course.
"So, that's what it is, then?" she said, softly. "You're not jealous, it's just that you don't think he needs you anymore."
She opened her eyes to find Sansetsu glaring at her, his face scrunched up, but she knew that she had hit on the truth, there was too much pain and embarrassment in his eyes for her to have not done. She sighed.
"Look, I know that he can go into the Avatar State again, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't need your help-"
"As a glorified baby sitter," Sansetsu scoffed. "Keeping watch whilst you guys sleep, or not sleep as it were, got old pretty fast."
"You still know things about the Spirit World that neither of us do," Katara explained patiently, "we wouldn't have known about the Spirit of Fortune otherwise, and now that Tonrar's influence has started to spread we're going to need someone like you about."
He scoffed again, but didn't disagree with her, instead focusing his gaze on the horizon once more. She considered trying to push the point further, but ultimately it was on Sansetsu now to decide what he wanted to do, and if they woke up tomorrow to find that the past Avatar had retreated back to the city then she needed all the rest she could get now to make up for that. She got to her feet, looking down at him a little sadly, before walking back to where Aang was sleeping. It took her a long time that night before sleep finally took her, unsure of what the next day would hold for the both of them.