Thank you all, so much again. Your words mean so, so much to me, I truly can't express it. I hope you all like this chapter. The ending is actually inspired by one of my favorite movies of all time. Let me know if you know what movie it is!
Katara awoke with the morning light illuminating her tent. She stretched out, twinging only slightly at the pain in her side. She was extremely grateful that it was feeling better, and that she didn't wake from a nightmare this time. Images of the dream from that night played in her head and she shoved them aside only to think about how warm her shoulder felt pressed up against Aang's last night. She couldn't lie, even to herself, and say that it wasn't nice to spend time with him again, even if it was just… platonically, she supposed? They had sat in relative silence, but it was… comforting. She smiled softly to herself, before healing herself quickly and getting dressed for the day. When she walked out of her tent, she saw that Sokka was already awake and packing up his tent.
He smiled at her and waved before resuming finishing up dismantling the tent and wrapping it up. She waved back and looked around. No one else seemed to be up and she knew that he would want to get as early a start as possible. When she was younger she remembered moaning and groaning about how he wanted them to wake up early and get going, but this time she agreed. She felt a different type of urgency, a different type of responsibility this time. She started packing up her tent as well and soon her brother joined her. He didn't scold her for doing things, nor try to take over, he just quietly assisted and she was so thankful for that.
"How did you sleep?" She asked quietly, looking for some nice conversation with truly one of her favorite people.
He smiled back at her, nodding his head. "Pretty well. It's been a while since we've been on an adventure like this."
Katara let out a quiet laugh at that, followed by a yawn. "Don't tell me you're getting too old now, Sokka."
Sokka laughed with his sister a shook his head, "I've still got a few years in me, don't you worry. I'm not slowing down yet." His sister joined in his laughter until she let out yet another yawn. "Didn't sleep well?" He scanned his sister over, taking in her appearance. She looked stronger than she had before, and he was thankful for that. It did ease his worry slightly. But she did look tired, and if she was just tired out from a flight on Appa, then it made him question whether he should have fought harder for her to not come on this trip.
Yawning once more, she nodded her head. "Yeah, it was a tough night. It's been even longer for me since I've slept in a tent, seeing as I don't go on your hunting trips," she nudged him with her elbow. He looked at her expectantly, knowing it was more than that. She had that sibling connection to blame for that. "I had a bad dream, is all. Couldn't get back to sleep after."
Sokka nodded in understanding. He was pretty sure all of them had some pretty intense dreams after the war. He knew when he finally settled back home nightmares had plagued him for months. He could still hear Aang's screams from his nightmares sometimes if he thought about it hard enough. "About what happened? With the spirit?" She nodded her head and his heart clenched. He loved his sister more than almost anything. She had always been his rock and he always felt like he was her protecter- even though he was certain she'd hate that. He stopped packing the tent and placed his arm on his sister's. "Hey, you know that I'm always here for you, right? I know that I'm overprotective sometimes, and I'm working on that. But I'd do anything for you, Sis. I know I can't fix this for you, but I'm always here to listen."
She looked at him for a moment before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug. "Thank you, Sokka. I'm going to be okay, honest. Besides…Aang actually was up, too, so I wasn't alone."
Her brother raised his eyebrows at this, unsure of what to make of it. He could tell that Aang still had feelings for Katara. It was really obvious, like… really obvious. What wasn't so obvious were his sister's thoughts on it. "Ah, I see. So how is it going, having him back? Are you guys… working it out?"
She sent her brother a look, "I don't know about any of that, Sokka. I'm just trying to get through this so we can make sure our tribe is okay."
"I understand that," he said, "but… I want to make sure that you're happy, too, Katara."
She looked at her brother, love swelling in her heart. He had a lot to learn still, but he loved with his whole heart, even if he didn't show it in the best of ways. "I am happy, Sokka. I have you, Suki, Dad, Yuka and Akna, and the kids. And that's just the people at home constantly, I have Zuko and Mai, and Toph, too. My heart is happy, Sokka."
He observed his sister for a moment, deciding whether to let it go or just state his peace. "And you'll always have us, Katara. Always. But you and I both know that it's not the same thing as having your person. I don't want you to miss out on that, Kat."
She smiled softly at her brother. She knew that Sokka had wanted her to get back into dating after her and Aang broke up. She understood where he was coming from, and she had to admit that her heart had hurt watching him go through all the steps with Suki that she had expected herself and Aang to go through. But she hadn't reached a point where the advantages of dating outweighed the pain of heartbreak, not yet at least. It was easier to block herself in, away from that pain. She imagined it like her own personal igloo that kept her safe. "I know, Sokka, and I love you so much for caring, but I'm okay for now, I promise. I'm just not there yet. But don't worry," her tone turned joking and she grinned at her brother, "I don't know if you were aware, but I've have one or two marriage proposals in my day."
Her brother laughed at that, an easy laugh that came from deep in his belly and warmed her heart. "Yeah, just a few, very small amount, totally within the normal range." The siblings laughed together and finished packing up her tent. Eventually the rest of their crew woke up and began packing there things as well. Katara couldn't miss the slight blush on Aang's cheeks whenever she caught him glancing at her. She smiled softly at it, unable to stop her heart from warming slightly, her brother's words echoing in her mind.
Was Aang her person? Three years ago she would have said yes with absolutely no hesitation, but now… Her heart still echoed yes with every thunderous beat, but her mind hesitated, unsure and doubtful. She imagined that talking to him would help clarify things immensely. She needed answers, explanations, reasoning. But she was also terrified of those things. She was terrified to know if he was with other people while they were apart. She was scared to know if he truly thought she was too weak. And as much as she wanted to know why he didn't answer a single letter, she was also terrified to know why he didn't answer a single letter.
The girl was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she barely noticed that everyone seemed to be getting on Appa, ready to continue on with their journey. She gathered the rest of her stuff and joined the group, letting Zuko throw her stuff into the saddle and this time accepting Aang's helping hand. She settled on the edge of of saddle far from Aang, but so she could glance at him easily and casually. They took off within minutes and were soaring into the sky again.
Mai settled herself down next to Katara, who smiled at her friend's company. The girl had a glimmer in her eyes that Katara rarely remembered seeing. Mai looked at her and then Aang before she smirked, looking like she was ready to say something. Katara internally groaned, shaking her head slightly, her mind anticipating where this was going. "Please, please, tell me that you don't want to talk to me about Aang right now," the waterbender said, just loud enough for only her friend to hear.
Rolling her eyes, the firelady scoffed. "Ew, no. You know that 'boys' are one of the top three things I hate to talk about." Katara laughed at that and smiled, relief washing over her. "No, honestly? I'm so excited to kick some ass again. Don't get me wrong, having people at your disposal to get whatever you want whenever you want it has its perks, but I miss this. Being out, on our own, taking down enemies. It's such a thrill."
The princess swallowed hard for a moment, panic gripping her heart without her permission. Flashes of the first time she faced the dark spirit came to her, and she had to clench her hands to keep them from trembling. She supposed that experience shook her more than she even realized mentally. She shook her head to clear it a bit before meeting her friends concerned eyes. "It'll be a change of pace to fight the same enemy instead of each other, huh? I do have to say, I'm pretty excited not to be on the other side of those blades."
Mai even laughed at that, a sound that was so foreign Sokka looked over in surprised. The girls found themselves laughing even harder at how far up the warrior's eyebrows went on his head in shock. They settled down in a few moments, Mai carefully putting her emotionless face back on, a comforting mask that she was used to wearing. "Yeah, it'll be nice to work as allies. I have a feeling it'll be a good fight. I'm just happy to be outside the palace and not stuck in a cycle of endless meetings."
Katara nodded, understanding where her friend was coming from. "I can only imagine. I at least have the Water bending School to keep me occupied between meetings. And teaching Yuka and Akna bending. What if you did something like that? I think it would be pretty neat seeing a bunch of small girls excellently throwing knives around the palace."
Mai seemed to contemplate this for a moment, scrunching up her nose deep in thought. "I just don't know how I would be with children. I mean, I know I have a little brother, but I barely see any of them, and he wasn't talking or anything when I moved in with Zuko at the palace. I just don't think I'm… bubbly enough for them."
Katara wasn't so dense that her friend's true fears flew past her. She had known for a while that Mai was scared to be a mother. That fear wasn't helped by the fact that all sorts of people were putting pressure on her and Zuko to have children practically since they announced their engagement. Katara nudged her friend. "Kids just want someone who's real and will be there for them. As long as you're yourself and you listen to them they'll love you. And honestly, once you throw your first knife they'll be so distracted by how badass you are, nothing else will matter."
The corners of Mai's lips curled slightly and she stared off into the distance, eyes twinkling. She looked at her friend, the small smile still on her face. "Thank you."
They continued flying steadily, the gang falling into a comfortable silence. Katara propped her chin on Appa's saddle, feeling her eyes drifting shut as she forced herself to scan the snow-covered grounds looking for any signs of the spirits. Aang glanced back at her a smiled, seeing how tired she was, thinking of the time they spent together the night before. He didn't think that they would be able to act so amicably around each other, he was thankful she wasn't completely shutting him out.
A screech that seemed to almost rip through the air around them broke them all out of their thoughts. They were on their feet in an instant, all of them on high alert, looking for the source of the sound. "There!" Aang called to them, pointing towards the ground. Katara followed his finger and saw three dark spirits that seemed to be in the middle of scaring off a heard of bison-moose.
Her heart sped up in her chest and her vision greyed for a moment out of pure panic. You can do this, she told herself. Luckily the spirits seemed much smaller than the one she had faced at the tribe, but there was also three of them. "Striking them didn't always work," she called to the gang, who looked at her while she relayed her information. "At least not with ice. I don't know how they react to the other elements. I was able to trap it with ice, though, so if all else fails we need to try to do that."
The group nodded, readying themselves. Aang steered Appa who dove swiftly to the ground, landing hard. As soon as Appa's feet were solid beneath him he crouched down and Sokka, Zuko, and Mai leapt over the saddle and into battle. Katara's limbs felt like lead, and as much as she begged them to move she seemed like a statue, still in her spot. Silver eyes crowded her vision and cupped her cheeks. She saw his mouth moving, but couldn't hear words. She closed her eyes for a second to steady herself and when she opened them again the sound was able to reach her ears. "Katara, you can do this, I believe in you. But if it's too much, it's okay to hang back… I just… want you safe." And with that he tapped his staff on the saddle and took off into the air towards the fight.
His words spurred her on, and she was able to move again sucking in a ragged breath. She rushed towards Appa's tail, leaping over the ledge and running down it. She skated across the ice, scanning the battlefield for where she was most needed. Aang was pushing one of them back using airbending, and relief flooded her that he at least seemed to be making progress, unlike the other spirit. Mai seemed to be having less luck, her daggers still bouncing off the spirit an aggravated yell leaving her lips. Katara was about to make her way there when Zuko stepped in, firebending it back, successfully. Hope rose in her chest, and she looked for her brother, who was battling the third spirit with about as much luck as Mai.
The spirits looked the same as the one she had faced, just much smaller. The creature reached its' tentacle out and struck Sokka in the face, knocking him to the ground. Anger swelled in the waterbender's chest and she rushed over to him. "Sokka! Are you okay?" Her voice was desperate, laced with fear for her sibling. But Sokka nodded his head, looking up at her. He had a gash along his cheek, but he looked okay other than that. She turned, channeling her anger and rage and gathered a stream of water, which she circled around herself before thrusting at the spirit. It flew back, letting out a screech that made her want to cover her ears.
Sokka scrambled up to his feet, taking an offensive position next to his sister. The spirit regained it's footing, lashing out an inky lim at the pair. Katara threw up an ice wall, blocking herself and Sokka and it held together when it was struck. She smiled, stepping around it and shooting ice daggers at the creature. Some of them did bounce off, but some of them stuck, sinking into the creature who let out a pained howl the seemed to shake the very ground they were standing on. Faster than she expected it reached out and struck her, hitting her core and sending her flying back into a glacier wall before falling to the ice. The air left her lungs and a burst of pain ripped through her side. She pressed her hand to her side and pulled it away, relieved not to see any blood. Just hurts, didn't reopen, she thought, trying desperately to refill her lungs.
She looked around, surveying her friends for a moment. They seemed to be doing pretty well, for the most part. Aang had his Spirit covered halfway in ice. Zuko was holding it off, pretty well, before it swung out on him suddenly, throwing him back. Katara worked quickly, sending out a wave of water and cushioning his fall. He looked at her and nodded his head in thanks before jumping back into the fight. Katara forced herself to get back on her feet, leaning against the wall for a moment to balance herself.
The pain was fading, thankfully, and she was able to breathe almost normally again. Sokka seemed to be having better luck with his sword than his boomerang and was successfully holding off the spirit. Mai was still struggling, so Katara skated her way across the ice to assist her friend. The two of them worked in tandem to push the creature back. Katara would strike then avoid, like a rehearsed dance between the two. Her feet moved gracefully across the ice, her body twisting and turning. Her muscles picked up on her movements like an old friend, remembering every action and reaction as if they never stopped fighting. Katara's mind cleared, allowing her to focus on the movements and the power. She glanced over at Mai and saw that her friend was about to be hit by the spirit. She called out to her, running the few feet to her friend and pushing her out of the way.
The tentacle wrapped around the princess' waist squeezing painfully and lifting her off the ground and into the air. She cried out in pain as its grip tightened around her tender wound. The creature screeched and pulled her closer to its' face. Katara clawed at the appendage trying to get it to release her. She could barely get air into her lungs as she tried to use ice to get it to loosen it's grip. Her lungs burned as she looked into the spirit's eyes, and as soon as she did, her mind went fuzzy. The waterbender couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from the spirit's, it's icy gaze trapping her. Suddenly her breath was lost to her not because of the grip it had on her waist, but rather its gaze.
"Katara!" Zuko's cry snapped her out of it, and she looked down on the ground to try and find where it was coming from. He was standing below her, looking up frantically at her. She tried to call for him, but still had no air in her lungs to do so. Zuko blasted a swell of fire at the spirit who reared back, throwing Katara through the air. She landed hard against the ice and rolled several yards until the momentum gave out. She laid there stunned for a moment, drawing in a few ragged breaths. She managed to push herself up slightly, her vision graying at the edges from lack of oxygen. She shook her head to clear it, and saw Zuko being flung into a wall of ice. She could hear the sickening crunch of his shoulder making impact from where she was and Mai ran to him when he cried out.
She turned her head and saw the spirit stalk closer to her, with the other two seeming to abandon their attackers and flank on their side of the spirit approaching her. They were completely zoned into her as they approached, nothing else seemed to matter but her. She knew that she needed to move, needed to get up and put distance in between herself and the approaching threat, but she couldn't seem to lift herself up. And when she made eye contact with the spirit again, she was lost. All that she could hear was a ringing in her ears, loud enough to drown all the other sounds out. She could no longer hear her brother calling to her or Zuko's groans of pain. It was as if their gazes were locked by a force beyond her control. She felt almost drawn to it, and could feel her body subconsciously leaning forward, closer to the spirit. Her mind quieted, the ringing still there, but softer.
Orange and yellow overwhelmed her vision and the trance was severed. She gasped, feeling like she almost slammed back into her body. She looked up to see Aang standing between her and the spirits, spinning his staff in from of him and creating a gust of air that was powerful enough to slowly push all three spirits back. She found herself in awe of his strength, knowing from experience how difficult these spirits were to combat. As he continued to push them back, she noticed his tattoos flickering white and her heart lurched. For a moment she thought of when General Fong tricked Aang into thinking she was gone and forcing him into the Avatar state. She hoped that he was able to stay under control this time, she wasn't sure what would happen after all these years.
As suddenly as they had the first time she faced them, the spirits began to fade. The two that were furthest away dissolved first, disappearing without a trace into the air. The last remaining spirit gave a final screech before dissolving as well. Katara's heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and she wondered for a moment if everyone could heart it as loudly as she could. Aang spun around, dropping to his knees, his eyes scanning over her. His breath was coming in short rapid pants and he placed his hands on her face, forcing her to make eye contact with him. "Katara, are you okay?" He breathed out.
Slowly she nodded her head, her body still in shock. "Yeah… I think so." She looked past him, over his shoulder, to the spot where the the creatures had stood. She was almost in disbelief that they had left. "It was like… I couldn't look away, Aang. I tried, I just… couldn't." Her voice was so small that she barely recognized it as her own, wondering for a moment if someone else was talking.
Aang let out a shaky breath and pulled her to him, burying his face in her hair and wrapping his arms around her. "It's okay. You're okay," he said the words like a mantra, over and over. She wasn't sure which one of them he was trying to convince. Eventually she seemed to gain control of her limbs and raised her arms, wrapping them around him and pressing them into his back. They stayed like this for a few moments until she noticed that her right hand felt warm and sticky. Instantly her brain recognized it as blood.
She gasped and pulled away from him so she could get a better look. "Aang, are you hurt? Turn around." She looked everywhere she could for any other injury and found none. But when she looked at her hand it was coated in blood and her stomach twisted painfully.
The airbender shook his head but flinched under the waterbender's gaze. "No, well, not badly. It's just a scratch." He noticed her hand and flinched again, using his waterbending to clean off the unsightly liquid. "Sorry about that."
Katara finally rose to her knees, pushing his arm until he complied and turned around for her. The gash was large across his back and she felt her heart constrict at the sight of it, but when she got a closer look she realized that it wasn't very deep, and wouldn't be hard to heal at all. She breathe a sigh of relief, nodding to herself. She heard the footsteps of their friends approaching and looked up at them. Mai was helping Zuko, who seemed to be in a lot of pain with his shoulder. Sokka's only apparent injury seemed to be his face. Overall, they survived, but it wasn't their best fight.
Knowing what she needed to do, Katara made a mental list and got to it. She bended some water into her hands and quickly healed Aang's cut just enough to stop the bleeding then stood and went over to Zuko. She got fresh water and used it to inspect the damage to his shoulder. She grimaced when she realized what his injury was. She made eye contact with Mai and the two of them shared a knowing look. Mai braced Zuko, not needing to speak to Katara to understand the request she was asking. Katara grabbed hold of his arm, and he cried out slightly at her firm grip. The healer was completely in her zone, otherwise she would have felt pity for her friend, but right now she was all professional. She braced herself, ready for what she needed to do, looking into Zuko's eyes. "It's okay to scream, okay?" And before he could ask what she meant she shoved his arm back into the socket.
He did scream, and it was a horrible sound, but Katara ground her teeth against it. It needed to be done. After a moment he seemed to settle down, slouching against Mai, who stood strong in supporting her husband. His color came back quicker than she thought. She gathered more water and went to work soothing as much of the pain as she could. He exhaled, relief clear on his face. She continued her work, ignoring the slight shake of her hands from exhaustion. She wasn't used to this much activity again. She know she couldn't show it, or her friends would refuse treatment. After a few more moments his shoulder was nearly completely repaired. "Does that feel better?"
Zuko nodded, turning his head to look at her, still slightly pale. "Yeah, it really does." She released his arm and he moved it around, rolling it back and forth to see his range of motion. For the most part he could move normally, perhaps with just a twinge here and there. He was genuinely impressed with how quickly she was able to relieve his pain. "It's almost completely better."
Katara smiled at her friend, happy that she was able to help him. "You'll still have to take it easy, it's going to be sore. We'll do more healing sessions, though, it should be good as new soon." Zuko nodded at her and smiled. Katara went over to Sokka, bending new water again and healing the scratch on his face. She had it down to a thing white line when her vision started to go blurry. Sokka grabbed her hands, pulling her attention from her task. "I'm almost done, there might just be a little scar, but I think I can get it," she argued, trying to pull her hands back.
"Katara, it's okay. You can work on it later. You need to rest, and we should keep going to see if we can find where they went." Katara considered this for a moment. She was really exhausted, and he was right, they should keep trying to find where the spirits went. "Besides," Sokka continued, a new pep to his voice, "Suki thinks scars are sexy!" Katara scrunched up her nose, while their friends chuckled around them. She nodded her head in agreement, stepping back. The group took one last look around before heading back to Appa.
Once they were all settled in, Aang yelled out his 'yip, yip!' and they were off into the air again. Katara got settled and closed her eyes, a wave of exhaustion running through her now that the adrenaline was gone. She was beyond relieved that they mad it out okay. Absentmindedly she placed her hand over her wound protectively, while also checking that it actually was still closed. Her thoughts kept going back to how they were going to win this war. Both battles the spirits had left by their own own choice. What happened when they chose not to leave?
She hoped that Aang was able to find out some information from the past Avatars, or someone from the Spirit World. She wasn't sure what they would do if he didn't. Her eyes drifted to the airbender in question as she studied his profile. Her eyes caught a peak of the red gash across his back and her breath caught for a moment. She had completely forgotten to finish healing his wound. She pushed herself up and climbed over Appa's saddle. Aang turned his head to look at her, raising an eyebrow in question. She sat on her knees and banded some water out of her pouch. "I realized I forgot to finish healing you, I'm sorry."
Aang shook his head, smiling at her gently. "No need to apologize Katara, you were right to look after Zuko, I'm okay." Her heart swelled at how understanding he was and she had to look away for a moment to try and steady its beating. She raised her hands up stop start healing his back and he leaned away from her, shaking his head. "No, you really should rest. I'm really okay, I didn't even realize it wasn't fully healed until now. It doesn't hurt at all."
Katara moved closer, raising her hands again up to his back, "I want to, please. I don't want it to get infected, or scar." After a moment Aang nodded his head and leaned back, realizing that she wasn't going to take no for an answer and the sooner he complied, the sooner she would rest. Katara worked quickly, her brain switching over to healer mode. She shifted his tunic over to expose more of his back, cataloging everything she noticed about the injury before treating it. It took a little bit longer than she anticipated, but after a few minutes she had it mostly healed, the gash a much fainter pink line of new skin. "I think that should be okay for today. I'll work on it again tomorrow after I've had some sleep," she told him, looking over her work again.
This time something else jumped out at her. Her fingers seemed to move without her permission, gravitating to the red scar seared into the middle of his back. When she made contact with his skin she felt him shiver, but she didn't break the contact and neither did he. She traced the outline of the scar, thinking back to the day it happened. Sometimes that eerie green glow still haunted her dreams. She often got trapped in the fear she had felt in the following weeks, tending to his wounds, hoping he would wake up, counting each breath he took, wondering if it would be his last. She remembered fearing how empty she would feel if she lost him, and she remembered how right she was about that fear.
Aang put Appa's reigns down and turned so he could face her fully. She slowly pulled her hand back as her shifted, letting it hang in the air, missing the contact it just had. As if he read her mind he reached out, wrapping his fingers around hers. She looked into his eyes and he swallowed hard. She could practically see the struggle in his eyes. He wanted to talk, to have a conversation about what happened, but he didn't want to push her. She swallowed, too, feeling like she had something stuck tightly in her throat that she just couldn't swallow down. Katara knew that she could do it, she could open her mouth and put it all out there right now. But fear crept in and she closed her mouth, looking down and clearing her throat. Seeing him again, seeing the way her looked at her had sparked hope in her heart she wasn't expecting to feel again. But if she was wrong about what she thought she say in his eyes she didn't know how she would be able to handle that rejection again. When she looked back up Aang's eyes had dropped down, disappointment lacing his features. She mentally scolded herself and moved back to the edge of the saddle.
"Thank you," Aang's voice froze her in her place and she turned to meet his eyes. "Thank you for healing me, Katara."
Slowly she nodded her head, finding her voice again, "Of course, you don't have to thank me, Aang." They locked gazes for a moment, and she could have sworn there was an electric current radiating between them. She knew she needed to leave, but her body just wasn't listening. "Uhm…" She started, fiddling with the tie of her robe, "Thank you, you know. For saving me back there. I'm not sure what would have happened if…"
She saw fear cloud his eyes for a moment before they cleared, the grey shining brightly at her. "Don't thank me, Katara. There wasn't a choice to make."
Her heart leapt into her throat and her body itched to run. She simply nodded her head and crawled over the saddle, back to her spot and laid down. She didn't dare look at Aang again, not sure that she could handle that right now. Exhaustion covered her like a blanket, warming her limbs and egging her eyes to close. She curled up, resting her head on her hands before letting her eyes drift shut. She tried to push old memories away while she rested, hoping to be able to clear her mind.
She wasn't sure how long she tried to do that before she felt Appa start descending. Pushing herself up, Katara looked over the edge of the saddle and saw a cave carved into the side of the mountain. Relief washed over her, knowing that a cave would provide a lot of natural protection and they wouldn't have to set much up for a campsite. They landed on the ledge and gathered their things, making their way into the caves. All they really had to set up were their sleeping furs and Zuko and Aang made a fire for them. When they were all settled they all gathered around the fire, to eat and get warm. It was almost completely quiet, a soft murmur here or there, but mostly the gang ate in silence.
Sokka was the one who broke it, looking across the fire at his sister. "I have to say it. Katara, I think… I think the spirits are after you. Or at least connected to you in some way." Everyone seemed to freeze at his accusation. Katara felt her mind go completely blank, a ringing replacing her thoughts for just a moment. She opened her mouth to object, but Sokka continued on. "I mean, you saw the way all three of them focused on you, right? They completely ignored the rest of us fighting them."
"Sokka, that's ridiculous," She said, though she could feel anxiety creeping into her voice. There was no way they were after her. They were probably just following their leader for a moment or something like that. It had to be a coincidence.
"I don't know, Katara," Mai spoke up from beside her, glancing at the waterbender quickly, "They really were all focused on you today. And you were the person the first spirit attacked, the others just happened to hear it. It does kind of seem like there's a theme here."
The rest of the group slowly processed this information, their eyes turning to Katara to study her. The princess felt her cheeks redden under all of their gazes and looked from friend to friend at them briefly. Her eyes got caught in the grey eyes that almost seemed to be calling to her. They were a storm of emotions, flickering from feeling to feeling while still being overwhelmingly filled with fear. She slowly shook her head, trying to reassure her friends, and honestly, herself as well. "Guys, no, that's not… that doesn't make any sense. I mean, who would even…" her voice trailed off, getting smaller and smaller and she scrambled to find the words.
"What about all the suitors?" Sokka asked. Katara wasn't sure she'd ever seen someone's head whip around as quickly as Aang's did when Sokka spoke those words. She watched as her jaw ticked, tightening and noticed his chest rise and fall in a long, controlled breath.
"I hardly think that the few people I said no to after knowing them a whole three hours are going to pair up with Spirits to get revenge, Sokka," Katara replied, her voice dripping with disbelief. But as she spoke the words a single face came to the front of her mind, she could see it clear as day. The one person who did have an unnatural obsession with her, the one she suspected of something all along. But would he do that, just to get to me? She wondered.
"I don't know, there were a lot of people who asked for your hand in marriage," Mai continued on, not realizing that her friend was way too lost in thought to even hear her right now. That fact wouldn't have phased her even if she did know it, however, as her next comment was directed at the monk sitting across the fire from her. "I mean a lot of people thought that Katara was extremely desirable." The malice was soft in her voice, but still there, and it earned her a soft elbow to her side from her husband.
"There were a lot of people she rejected," Sokka agreed, tapping his index finger to his chin, "sometimes you can't always tell when someone is crazy. Sometimes they're like… sneaky crazy! Or! Maybe it was that one guy you threw into the ocean! Remember him Katara? I feel like we had just talked about him…"
"Tulok," Katara whispered, and everyone turned their gazes to her. She swallowed and found her voice, "Listen, if you're right- and that's a big if- it has to be Tulok. Sokka, you remember how angry he got with me when I refused his marriage proposal the first time. I've always had a bad feeling about him. And if you really think it's me the spirits are after then it can't be a coincidence that the day I reject his proposal is the day I'm attacked by the spirits." She had more she could use. The fact that he would just show up where she was. The comment he made about seeing things that weren't there. But she wanted to keep some information to herself.
Zuko and Mai were nodding there heads, seeming like it made sense to them. Sokka was rubbing his chin, his eyebrows were scrunched together, thinking. Aang's neck was flushed up to his hears and his hands were clenched into fists. Katara couldn't remember the last time she had seen him so angry and she was slightly worried because she wasn't sure what exactly his anger was directed at.
"I don't know, Katara…" Sokka said, letting the sentence hang in the air, not sure how to response.
Her temper flared in her chest at her brother. "I'm telling you, Sokka, It's him. I know it, I do."
Sokka got quiet, looking into the fire. She wished she could know what was going on inside his brain. Was she right when she told Suki it was like he was brainwashed? She knew when they had first met Tulok that neither of them cared for him. The waterbender thought back to how they would both roll their eyes at him behind his back or make faces when he said something thoughtless. When had that changed? She wondered to herself.
He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand, "We can talk about it more in the morning. I think we're all tired and need some sleep."
Katara went to argue with him but closed her mouth a breathed out her nose. She nodded as the rest of the group murmured their agreements and stood to go to their sleeping furs. She could feel Aang's eyes on her a she walked. When she laid down and wrapped herself in the furs she had to channel all her willpower into not looking over at him. She turned around, so she wasn't facing any of them, but she could still feel every movement he made. For a brief second she wondered if this was how Toph felt. He was silent, not saying a word to her, but as he laid his sleeping fur next to hers and laid down she felt a little safer. Safe enough to finally let the exhaustion overtake her.
A familiar chittering woke Katara up, coupled with a cold nose on her face. She sleepily swiped at her face, hoping to stop the creature trying to rouse her from her sleep. When it pressed it's cold nose to her cheek again, she peeked an eye open, seeing what the little bother was. It took her brain a moment to process what she was seeing, and she sat up and rubbed her eyes. Momo? Sure enough, his long ears twitched as he tilted his head playfully at the girl. When did Momo get here? She wondered. She looked around, but everyone else was fast asleep, even Aang- who was the closest to her- hadn't stirred. Momo jumped onto her lap, chittering away and tugging on her robes. The waterbender chuckled a little, scratching the lemur behind his large ears.
Momo continued chittering, but the longer he continued the more frantic it sounded. He scurried off her lap, hopping up and down for a moment before starting to walk towards the opening of the cave. When Katara didn't follow right away he got louder and even more frantic. She unwrapped herself from her sleeping fur and stood, trying to be as quiet as she could so that she wouldn't wake the others. She knew that she needed to figure out what was going on, but everyone still needed their rest. When she stood she wobbled for a second, her mind feeling fuzzy. Katara tried to shake her head to clear it, but it didn't work. Chalking it up to exhaustion, she stepped forward, following the panicked lemur away from her friends and towards the cave exit. Once she was far enough away she spoke to him, "What's going on, Momo?" He simply weaved in between her feet before running out of the cave. She picked up the pace, not wanting to lose him, but when she reached the exit she gasped and skated to a stop at the site in front of her.
Her eyes instantly filled with tears and her hand instinctively reached up to her neck, searching for something that hadn't been there for years. She took a few steps closer and the tears streamed down her face, unable to be kept in. "Mom?" she whispered, her voice unsteady. Her Mom was floating, surrounded by a soft yellow light. She looked the same as Katara had always remembered her. Just as beautiful, just as happy, just as bright. Her heart felt as if it was going to burst and she took another shaky step forward. "Mom, is that really you?"
"Katara," Kya said, and the girl let out a shuttering sob and covered her mouth at the sound of her mother's voice, a sound she thought was lost to her forever. She reached a hand out then stopped, unsure of what would happen if she touched her. "Katara, my brave, sweet girl. I have missed you so very much."
Another sob passed through her lips. "I've missed you so much, too mom. So have Sokka and Dad. We think about you all the time, every day, we've never forgotten you."
Kya smiled down at her daughter, her hair floating around her face, giving her a truly ethereal look. "I know, my daughter, I know. I need you to come with me now, Katara," a huge smile spread across her mother's face as she extended her hand and her eyes radiated pure joy. "It's time for us to be together again, after too long of being apart." When she finished speaking, the scene around Katara changed completely. The cave and darkness of the night was gone. Instead the sun was shining high in the sky, so brightly that Katara could feel it's warm rays against her cheeks. She's never seen clouds so pure what or rolling mountains as green as that before. She looked down at her bare feet and noticed the soft grass that had sprung up between her toes. Little purple flowers dotted the meadow that they stood in all around them. It was beautiful, breathtaking, almost dreamlike.
Dreamlike. Katara gasped, and reached down, pinching her arm to see if this was another dream. Her mother let out a small chuckle, shaking her head as if she knew what she had done. "I don't… I don't understand, Mom," Katara started, looking around at the wondrous surroundings she now found herself in. "Where am I? Am I… dead?"
Kya laughed and the melodic sound calmed the water tribe girl's fears. "No, Katara, you aren't dead. But you need to come with me, now. I can help. I can fix everything. Just take my hand." She again reached her hand out. Katara debated for a second. She didn't want to leave her friends, but… if she could make it better for them, safer for them, didn't she have to try? Plus, it was her Mom. She didn't want to leave her, not after she had just found her. If there was anyone she could trust in this world it was her, right? She reached her arm out to her Mom, taking a hesitant step forward. "Good, Katara," her mom cooed, encouraging her, "All you have to do is take my hand."
Katara stretched her arm, but just as her fingers were about to wrap around her mother's something solid wrapped around her waist, ripping her back. She looked down to see the inky black limb of the spirit enclosed around her, and when she turned to face it, it's eyes were open wide and it's mouth was snarling. "No!" She screamed, panic flooding her system, her mind fuzzy and confused, "No, please, no! Mom, help me, please, help!" She looked back to her Mom, who was frowning. She didn't make a move to assist her daughter, nor did she look at all concerned for the girl. Katara called out to her mother again, trying to reach for her as the spirit continued to drag her away, but Kya's faced simply disintegrated into the air, like it was never there to begin with.
A soft laughter stirred the airbender from his sleep. He lifted his head to search for the sound, it's very presence calling to him. It took him a few moments for his eyes to adjust, but when they did, he noticed that Katara's sleeping fur was empty. Panic gripped his heart, though he wasn't entirely sure why. When he looked around he saw her walking by herself towards the entrance of the cave. He knew he needed to follow her, even if she would be mad at him for it. Sokka's theory had rattled him, and he hated to admit that he agreed with it, because he hated the thought of her being in more danger than she needed to be. But if Sokka's theory was right, he felt as though she shouldn't be alone until they had figured out how to beat the spirits.
He pulled the furs back and stood, using his airbending to keep his steps soft and silent so he wouldn't wake the others. He followed her through the tunnel to the opening, making sure to stay behind her but not too far behind. But when she came back into his vision again he gasped, freezing in fear. He saw Katara, standing at the edge of the cliff, reaching her hand out to what looked like the spirit that they had faced before. It's own dark, twisted hand was reaching forward as well, encouraging her to grasp it. He started moving before his brain caught up, his airbending propelling his feet forward at a punishing pace. When he reached her she had almost grabbed onto the spirit, and without even considering her injury, he wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her back, making sure to sever any connection it was trying to make.
The girl in his arms screamed, completely panicked, and when she turned around her eyes met his without recognition. It was like she saw him, but she didn't see him. His confusion was furthered when she started screaming. "No, please, no! Mom, help me, please, help!" Mom? He looked back at the spirit who's face was twisted in a scowl the he could even recognize despite it's distorted features. Katara struggled against his grasp and he was unsure what to do. He knew he wanted to send the spirit flying, but in her state he wasn't sure what Katara would do if he let go of her. Thankfully, the choice was made for him when the creature let out an ear-splitting screech and faded into the night. As soon as it did, Katara collapsed onto the ground, and Aang followed her.
The airbender cradled her to him, as if she was made of glass, stroking her hair and murmuring reassurance to her. "Katara, it's me, it's okay, you're safe, I promise, you're safe." He repeated the mantra over and over into her hair, rubbing her back and rocking her back and forth. He was acutely aware that he was trying to convince himself just as much as he was trying to convince her. After a few minutes she pulled back, her entire body trembling and tears streaming down her face. She looked around confused and bewildered.
When she spoke she sounded more like a wounded animal than the girl he loved more than anything. "Aang? What… what happened? Where's my mom?"
Aang swallowed a lump in his throat and shook his head, placing his hands on either side of her face, trying to surround her with support. "Katara… your mom wasn't here. It was a spirit… it was… you were reaching out to each other."
Katara gasped, her eyes widening in shock and her breath speeding up as she shook her head slightly. "No, no that… that can't be, my mom, I saw, her Aang, I…" When the airbender shook his head again he saw her break before his eyes, and she threw herself into his arms. He wrapped himself around her as best he could as she sobbed into his shoulder, her hands grasping him almost painfully. "It's in my head, Aang, I don't know what to do. It's in my head." She cried.
His own eyes filled with tears that he refused to let fall. Not now, he would be here for her now. She was his only focus. "I'm here, Katara. You're safe." He pressed a strong kiss to her head. "I'm going to protect you with everything in me. I promise." And they stayed like that for what felt like hours, his arms wrapped around her, whispering words of comfort in her ear, even while his heart was wrapped in a newly strengthened fear for his love.
"I'll end this thing, Katara. I promise you."