A/N. Internet went down here for nearly two days, and they finally managed to get it up again (for the moment…) So here is a new chapter!
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender
Katara heard the commotion outside. She had been looking over the waterbending scrolls from Pakku, hoping to get some ideas that she could use with Aang. She knew this strategy would fail, and they would go back to the original plan, of learning the elements. Because, if it was as simple as Glowing it up and destroying everything then Roku would have suggested it. But he had explicitly said that Aang would have to learn all the elements. In their order.
The waterbender was ignoring the loud bangs from outside. It was their problem. Aang had not wanted to listen to her. He had been dramatic, saying no one ever saw him as himself, only as the Avatar. Well, maybe if he told them something about himself, she would be capable of knowing him! Instead, each time she asked about his life before the iceberg, he danced around it! Making up an excuse or finding some interesting animal! It was so annoying! She was trying to get to know him. As Aang! But he shut her out!
The door was thrown open, and a puffing Sokka stood in the opening.
"General… Aang… Fong gone crazy! He is trying to get Aang into the Avatar State by throwing rocks at him. All because Aang said he didn't want to continue this! Please come help!" her brother managed to articulate.
So… He had actually listened to her? Had he really thought it over? Thank the Spirits.
Running outside, Katara saw the carnage. Everywhere, large circular rock lay, and she could see Aang jumping around them, trying to escape the earthbenders. She pulled the water out of her pouch and gave the nearest soldier a water whip against the side of his head, knocking him out. Sokka managed to get on the ostrich horse the soldier had been riding and rode away. Where to, she had no idea.
Turning around, she could see Aang standing on the stairs leading back to the fortress, but that was the least of her worries. A whole squadron of soldiers were encircling her, and Fong stood in front of her. She would gladly give him a water whip.
But he had more training in fighting different elements. The water she sent towards him was immediately turned into mud. Shit.
The general sank her feet into the ground. She heard Sokka shout, but he was blocked by one of the great earthen discs.
"Don't hurt her!" Katara heard Aang shout. The young airbender had run back and was now standing in front of the general. Trying to blast him off his feet, Fong just moved a rock in front of him, blocking the airbending. He was the first that she knew of, who had known how to defend himself against airbending. That man was clever…
Looking over to the two men, she saw Aang grab the general's arm, pulling it hard.
"Stop this! You have to let her go!" Beneath the desperation in his voice, she could also hear something… Something like restraint. Like Aang was trying to hold back what he really wanted to say.
The waterbender sank deeper into the ground, and the general spoke.
"You could save the girl… If you were in the Avatar State…"
So that was his play. He would use Aang's attachment to people to lure him into the Avatar State. Fong had finally understood what could get the airbender to cross that line. Danger or sorrow.
And that last part made her stress. Was Fong going… to kill her?
Aang was looking at her, with tears in his eyes, but also, beneath the desperation, she could see the rage. Rage that wasn't from some century old Avatar. No, this was his own.
"Aang!" She couldn't help but yell when she sank into the soil, so that her chin was touching the ground.
"I'm really trying! You don't have to do this!" Katara heard the airbender shout, but just then, she sank fully down into the ground.
Darkness overwhelmed her, and the pressing feeling of the earth that pressed around her. She had managed to pull her chin to her chest, as to create a little air bubble. But that air wouldn't suffice for longer than several minutes. The most frightening was the complete silence. It was like the ground didn't permit sound to penetrate. What was happening above? She knew that Aang would try to get to her, or Sokka. But she couldn't do anything. Not bend the water, because she had none. Not shout for help. Nothing.
Just then, she felt the earth around her move, and she was pulled back. Coughing and blinking, she could only hear the wind howling around them.
"Avatar Aang! Your friend is safe! It was only a trick to trigger the Avatar State!" the waterbender caught general Fong shout, trying to be heard above the wind. No…
Looking up, she could see Aang, above a vortex of earth and air. In the Avatar State. The look of pure rage on his face was something that she had seen only once… In the Southern Air Temple. Spirits… Did he get into it because he thought she was dead?
The airbender moved his head slightly, clearly fixing her. The rage disappeared, but she saw him turn to the general, and the angry look came back in force. He moved his hands, and the wind took up again. A powerful gush of wind, mixed with sand, obscured her vision. She heard people scream, and rock hitting things. But nothing hit her. Not even the wind, she could feel it part just before her, and sparing her from the airbender's wrath.
When the dust cleared, Katara looked around, seeing the damage. Buildings were reduced to rubble, and several soldiers were hiding behind pillars of earth, that they had bended in front of themselves.
Katara ran to where Aang was sitting on his knees, looking at what he had done. His air novice clothes were torn, and dirty. She put her arms around him, and, to her satisfaction, he pulled her closer, putting his head against her shoulder.
"I'm sorry Katara… I hope you will never see me like that again…" He murmured.
"I understand Aang… No worry, nothing bad happened. I'm here." She murmured back, kissing his forehead.
"Are you joking? That was almost perfect!" A voice rejoiced behind them. Katara turned around and could see the ambitious gleam in the eyes of the general. Really? He had escaped?
"Now we will have to figure something out to control it, but we can do that on our way to the Fire Nation!" But before he could continue, a club knocked Fong out. Sokka, sitting on the ostrich horse, looked at the soldiers.
"Does anyone have a problem with that?"
The reaction of the soldiers was almost comical. Shaking their heads, they quickly ran away from them.
Sokka jumped down, stepping on the general's back. Not on purpose… of course.
"Come on you two. We are going to Omashu. Without an escort. We managed to get to the North Pole without it. Two days travel, alone, will do us some good." Her brother spoke, and they went to get their stuff from the guest quarters.
When they had packed, Sokka went to the library to get some maps. Theirs dated a bit… It had been Aang's before the Iceberg, and they could use one with modern borders and another with the most recent frontlines. Waiting next to Appa, Katara turned to the airbender.
"Aang… Sokka said you told the general that you didn't want to continue with this… Why?" She asked, not really sure why she wanted to know.
The airbender sighed before speaking. "You were right. It is not the way. I'm sorry for telling you no one understands… And for saying no one saw me as Aang…"
"I see you as a person. Not only as the Avatar. Being Aang and being the Avatar are two different things." Katara moved to hug him, and she could feel the familiar tug in her stomach when she draped her arms around the skinny airbender.
"It may be time for you to consider new clothes! Those were actually already on the small side… And now, they are also torn…" She said, suddenly seeing the bad condition in which the garments were.
"Yeah… I will ask Bumi if he has some materials. And then I will make them." Aang laughed weakly.
"Wait… You can make clothes?" Katara had never heard of a man doing such a thing. In the Water Tribes, that was clearly a feminine role.
"Of course… How else am I supposed to have clothes?"
"Well… Was it normal for Air Nomads to do that?" He never said anything about his people since the Southern Air Temple, and she could see the hesitation in his eyes.
"Yes." He said, and the hesitation wavered, before disappearing completely, "Air Nomads were taught to rely mostly on what they could do or make themselves. Of course, we had lessons in several things, like bending, cooking, sewing and woodwork. I made these clothes. And Appa's saddle. And… And I helped making my glider. But it was Gyatso who made it."
In several sentences, she heard more information about his life and what he did before being Avatar Aang then in the three months it had taken to get to the North Pole. He sat down next to Appa, stroking one of the bison's legs. She sat in front of him, on her knees.
"What else did they teach you?" the waterbender asked gently. Better to speak about these things than look around at the ruined fortress.
"Things about other nations. Air Nomads were known for being knowledgeable of the other cultures. For example… I kind of understand the dialect that you and Sokka talk when you get angry with each other."
She had to laugh about that. Most people spoke the common language, except some very isolated groups. But each nation had their own dialect, or accent. Katara knew some words from the Water tribes were strange, or some turns of phrases were completely foreign to Earth kingdom citizens. She had also remarked that Aang's accent became stronger when he talked fast, or when he was stressed. And sometimes, he was muttering in his sleep, and the words didn't make any sense.
"What did you learn about the Poles? Except insults for older brothers, I mean?" She asked. Knowledge about the Water tribes from before the war was really scarce, and she hadn't thought of asking Aang. Who had lived before the war.
"Oh! So much! Like rituals that were performed during the Light Festival! And symbolism behind gifts! You guys had a real thing going on with that! Why someone would give something! I loved learning about that!" The airbender smiled widely, but turned a bit red.
Sokka came from the building, and they stood up. Aang jumped on Appa's head and Katara climbed into the saddle that she now knew had been made by the airbender. Sokka put the maps in his bag and joined her on the back of the bison.
They took to the sky, and left the fortress of the crazy general, heading to Omashu.
Katara was searching for something to read in the bags, when she came across a fishing line, woven into a necklace. The flower had dried up, but the waterbender had kept it, for it had been a nice gesture. Putting it gently out of the way, she realized something.
He had learnt about symbolism in the Water Tribes. He had known.
Aang knew what necklaces meant for her people.
Answers :
Gabriela N. Gonzalez : I always tought how cool it would have been if they had been just a bit older!
CoyoteLemon : Yeah, the girl loved Aang from the start, some people don't see that! I hated Fong when I was a kid, but now, writing him, I'm like "Yeah… Even though I don't like you, I can see that it wasn't as bad as I thought. THe guy just wanted an end to the war"
Ashley Barbosa : I'm writing the cave of two lovers, I really like where it is going for the moment!