...And So Is Death
Katara rose up from the pool in the Earth Kings palace gardens, thanking the spirits that Iroh had bought her enough time to flee the scene. She didn't know how long she stood there, whether it was just a few seconds, minutes or even an hour. Her thoughts were too unsettled to be concerned with time. When her friends showed up on Appa, she quickly hopped on, taking the reigns and bolting. They asked about Aang. She reluctantly broke the news, practically sobbing with each syllable she uttered.
Taking the reigns from Sokka seemed like a natural thing to do, but she honestly had no idea why. Katara was suddenly very protective of the sky bison, feeling a responsability to Aang to take care of him. It was the least she could do after she couldnt save his life or his body. She didn't know why exactly she felt this responsability to Aang, they didn't have any official commitments to each other after all, as much as she secretly wanted there to be.
Katara remembered the last moments she spent with her airbender best friend, hugging him as tight as possible as he broke through the walls of her prison. She smiled thinking of how close they were, which quickly transformed into a frown as images of Aang's convulsing body raced through her mind.
She stifled a sob, trying to stop herself from breaking down and crying as she steered Appa south east towards Chameleon Bay. The Fire Nation had just killed yet another one of her loved ones, and she was at her breaking point. She would never get to hug Aang like that again, or experience the 'something more' that had increasingly wondered into her thoughts since The Cave of Two Lovers.
Sokka, Toph, Earth King Kuei and Bosco, his bear, sat in tense silence in Appa's saddle. Toph, usually tough and outstanding like her earthbending, was pale and emotionless, mourning the loss of her first and best friend. The person who had come out of the blue and given her the chance to feel the world, away from overprotective parents who were too embarrassed to even admit they had a daughter just because she was blind. Just as she had found her new home, her new 'family', it was just as easily taken from her. And she was pissed.
Sokka quietly cried in one corner. Katara was sure she hadn't seen Sokka so broken since her mother died. The past few months had seen the three, and then four of them grow very close. Sokka had essentially just lost his little brother. Like Katara, the war had now cost him too much and he had a newfound motivation to beat the Fire Nation for taking away some of the people he cared for most.
The Earth King had not known the Avatar very well, but nonetheless shed a few tears. He had only known about the war for a few days, despite it lasting for a hundred years at this point. And now it was essentially lost. But he was especially guilty, for one of the teenagers who had helped protect his kingdom had tried and failed to do so again, at the cost of his own young life. Due to his own gullability, a thirteen-year old had just lost his life. And now the Earth Kingdom was to follow. 'How could I have been so ignorant?' The Earth King, in all his former glory, now sat poor and broken atop a sky bison flying for his life.
As the first tinges of sunrise begain to taint the sky to the west, Katara couldn't help but think about Aang's habit of waking up at dawn. She thought of his morning ritual of taking his glider and flying around for a while, carefree.
"Sokka... is Aang's glider back there" Katara croaked, her throat dry from the crying.
"What do you need his glider for?"
"Just... I don't know... Please?"
Sokka passed it on to his sister on the bison's head, confused but otherwise oblivious. He didn't really care about what Katara wanted with the glider-staff. His despair captured most of his thoughts.
Katara studied the glider closely. She noticed the grooves where Aang would usually hold his glider in staff form. Caressing the grooves brought on some unexpected nostalgia. This memory, unlike the others she'd had the entire night, was strangely nice. She remembered her and Aang together on his glider after driving away the serpent from the Serpent's Pass. Being on the glider together, they were so close. And now they were so far.
A feeling of emptiness passed through her. It reminded her of the turbulent months after her mother's brutal murder, but something about this was different. Aang had not only been the person she could rely on when she was upset or depressed, it was a two way deal. She cared about him a lot. She knew that. She was there for him at the Southern Air Temple, when he found his mentors wasted body among numerous Fire Army corpses. She was there for him when Appa, the only other living tie to his culture, had been suddenly taken from him.
Katara's thoughts were unceremoniously interrupted by none other than her brother, as he spotted the Southern Water Tribes army, and their father, on the shores of Chameleon Bay. She motioned for Appa to descent on the beaches.
The words 'And now they were so far' suddenly didn't only apply to Aang, but also her father. Her thoughts drifted away from the airbender, and she began to panic about how she would greet her father for the first time in over two years. Old feelings of betrayal, resentment and abandonment crept back into her unsuspecting mind. She was originally excited to see her father, albeit under terribly circumstances. But as they grew closer she grew ever more anxious. Katara looked back towards Sokka for a moment, seeing the solemn expression on his face. He had last seen their father, chief of the tribe only yesterday, and now he had to think about how to break the bad news: The avatar is dead and the Earth Kingdom has fallen.
Hakoda sighed with relief as he spotted the Avatar's bison grow larger in the distance. After Sokka's sudden departure, he was worried that something terrible had happened to Katara. It had barely been a day since he left, but Hakoda reasoned that the fact they were back so soon meant nothing had actually gone wrong. 'Perhaps the Avatar was just paranoid.'
The Water Tribe Chief's relief was quickly proven to be ill-places as he saw Sokka and Katara on the sky bison, along with another girl and a particularly noble-looking man with his bear. Bato was quick to comment on what a strange animal it was, but Hakoda was having none of his humour today.
When the bison landed, the missing person was very obvious. This was the Avatar's sky bison after all, and the one person who wasn't here was the Avatar himself. And judging by the grim expressions the passengers wore, he wouldn't be coming back any time soon.
He soon realised this would be no happy reunion with his daughter, a proper one they could share with her brother. The day was marred by the loss of the world's one true hope. Katara avoided eye contact with her father as she stepped off the sky bison.
She turned her gaze towards her brother and quietly said, "I'm going to go somewhere private for some waterbending practice. Don't disturb me. Please." Sokka merely nodded in response. Truthfully, he had nothing to say to her. They understood each other perfectly, no words were needed. He was also left speechless when he thought of telling his father of last nights events. How could he explain this to him? That they had essentially lost the war? The impenetrable city, penetrated? The Fire Nation had just snuffed out whatever short-lived hope they had. There was so much to say, so much to explain and it was all too much to do at once.
The men of the Water Tribe gathered around the new arrivals, confusion written all over their faces. They looked towards Sokka in search of an answer and he nodded his head and pressed his hand to his forehead. He hadn't slept in a couple of days and the fatigue was hitting hard.
"Dad, is there a spare tent I could rest in? I'm sure the Earth King and Toph could use with some sleep too."
"I'll just make an earth tent."
The small crowd immediately erupted in shock. Sokka could hear the surprise murmurs of his fellow tribsemen. 'The Earth King? What's he doing here?'
"I'll unpack them from the boats..." Hakoda replied questioningly.
The young ruler bowed to the Chief, "Thank you for your hospitality, Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe." He did not bother masking the exhaustion in his voice, letting the men of the Water Tribe know something terrible had gone wrong. No explanations had been offered, but they could tell by the reluctance in the new arrivals expressions that it wasn't just ordinary bad news. The lack of a certain Avatar did not escape their notice either.
Sokka's sleep was broken, he was sure he didn't get more than two or three hours. After a while of trying and failing to get some consistant sleep, he reasoned that he should go explain to his father what exactly happened, and why they're here.
He groaned as he opened his tent to the blinding sunlight. Sokka was never one for admiring his surroundings, but upon leaving his tent he took a minute to appreciate where he was. He noticed it was a sunny day, a few clouds providing sahde every now and then on the exposed beach. An air of depression was hovering over the camp. No one was really doing anything, the bay had been quiet in terms of Fire Nation activity since yesterday. People were talking quietly in small groups.
He noticed Katara arrive back in camp. 'Had she really been waterbending all this time? It must hurt not being able to do it with Aang anymore.' The thought of the dead Avatars name was enough to elicit a small cry, one which he quickly stifled.
"Hey Katara" Sokka greeted her with a dry tone.
For a few moments, Katara didn't respond. 'He is just greeting me, why is it so hard to reply?'
Working up the courage to say something, she said "I'm wrecked, is there a tent I can-" Sokka cut her off poining to the tent he had just left and told her "Go rest there", doing his best to keep eye contact. He knew he was being incredibly blunt, and that there was no need for it but he didn't care. He didn't think she did either.
Sighing, he took notice of his fathers and the higher ranking tribsemen absence. He thought they must be in the main planning tent, so he went over, opened the entrance and walked in, not surprised to find them in there.
Hakoda looked up and smiled at his son's presence, but it was short lived, morphing into a frown as his son shook his head, sighing loudly. Bato raised an eyebrow at Sokka's attitude. Normally Sokka was overly excited to be a part of the warriors, so when he walked in looking dejected, it confused him.
Looking at his father, Sokka asked "Has there been many Fire Nation ships coming by the bay this morning?"
"None actually, it's been quiet all day and night. Nothing out of the ordinary though."
Sokka frowned. "Doesn't sound right."
The tribsement shared skeptical looks at their Chief, silently asking him to ask Sokka what was going on. "Is the Fire Nation planning another attack?"
"No. There's no need for more attacks on the city."
Hakoda's eyes widened a little at his son's statement. It was beginning to fit together. The Earth King was in their camp, it made perfect sense. Sensing his father's realisation, he elaborated,"Ba Sing Se belongs to the Fire Nation now."
Shouting followed Sokka's statement. People were either just voicing their shock, anger at Sokka for waiting to tell them, or were trying to ask him questions.
"Will you guys shit it already?!" Sokka shouted to the men of his tribe. Sokka was the kind of person to look up and always respect the older warriors but he had no patience. The war had essentially just been lost and they needed to plan.
Hakoda cleared his throat. "Son, why don't you tell us exactly what happened?"
"Okay..." Sokka really didn't know how to explain this but he was relived slightly to see his sister show up and sit down in a corner opposite to him. She must've heard the shouting.
"After leaving camp, we flew straight to Ba Sing Se. Aang said he thought something was wrong with Katara, so he left the Eastern Air Temple early to come pick me up. We ran into Toph on the way there." He paused.
"The first thing we did was go to visit the Earth King and ask about Katara. He said she was okay, and that she was off doing something with the Kyoshi Warriors. I was a bit relieved, but Aang wasn't so esily convinced."
Katara listened with interest to this part of the story. She had no idea what had happened or how Aang knew to come save her.
"So we went back to our house."
Hakoda interrupted, "You had a house?"
"Yeah, we were given a house in the Upper Ring when we first arrived. Perks to being friends with the Avatar, I guess" Sokka answered, his tone dropping at the end of his statement. "But anyway, we went in and no one was home and Aang only got more worried. At this point I was more confused than worried. I didn't know exactly why Aang thought Katara was in danger, all he mentioned was a vision, and just chalked it up to Avatar spirit magic. His worry starting to catch on, though."
"An old guy knocked at the door, a guy who we recognised as being one of the guys who had been chasing us around the world for the past few months. And he was asking us for help. He told us the Dai Lee, secret police, had captured his nephew, Prince Zukoand that a coup was in the works. At first I didn't want to help but Aang reasoned that they might have Katara. So he and Iroh went into the catacombs to go find her, and Toph and I went to warn the Earth King of the coup."
"Instead, we were met with fake Kyoshi Warriors and thrown into one metal jail cell. Tohp metalbent us out, we grabbed the bear and went for Appa. We flew around for a while until we saw Katara in the gardens. Aang wasn't with her. And, so we just flew here."
Silence grasped the tent until one man raised his voice, "So where's the Avatar then?"
"The Avatar has a name" Katara snapped at the man, surprising everyone. She hadn't spoke th entire time she was there, and some of the men didn't even know of her presence.
"I was trapped in a small room in the catacombs with Zuko when Aang and Iroh broke through the wall. Aang and I went to leave, where we came to a massive cave. That's where we were ambushed by Azula. Between the two of us, she was easy enough to push back but then Zuko joined her. We took them on one on one, which was fine until the entire Dai Lee, hundreds of men and women, filled the cave. I had twenty on me, but Aang had about a hundred, we were badly outnumbered. So, he went into the Avatar state. He was probably just about to wipe out the entire army, but he was shot down by Azula. She shot her lightning at him, and he just fell, hitting the ground hard. They took his body and..." she trailed off, crying a little and exitting the tent. It was too much, having to relive that night.
Outside of the tent now, she let her tears fall freely as she went back to the tent Sokka gave her. Her only thoughts were of failure. It might've been Aang's duty to the world as the Avatar, but it was a burden she liked to think she shared with him. It was too much for one thirteen-year old to handle.
As far as she was concerned, she had failed the world, her friends and Aang.