A/N. I won't do every episode in detail, But I will try to do two chapters on each episode until the Invasion!
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.
That afternoon, they finally managed to land on a large island. The rivers were large, with at each side lush, large forests… The river was, however, a bit muddy. Appa, who had been swimming through it, apparently didn't care very much, because he was happily swimming from one side to the other.
Katara had not expected the bison to actually like swimming. Yes, during their travels, she had seen Appa bathing in ponds and lakes, but to see him with wide eyes, bellowing softly while he was paddling in the rivers was so cute.
While she looked at the bison, her eyes wandered to the airbender, who was sitting bare-chested on Appa's head… Spirits, that made her think of the previous night… It had been so much nicer than their first time. Where he had learned all the things he had done, Katara didn't know, but she didn't mind at all! She had even managed to do something from the book!
If there was one thing that she would have changed, it was the fact that yet again, she was worried about getting pregnant… It was quite close to her cycle if her math was correct, so normally, that wasn't a problem… But still, better safe than sorry. So, the next time they would visit a town or something of the sort, she would get herself those herbs that the book recommended to avoid… Unwanted complications.
But otherwise, it had been wonderful… So good… Maybe Aang had asked some advice from her brother? Spirits, that would have been so awkward for him… And she wasn't exactly sure how much experience Sokka had… So, that couldn't be it.
Toph then? The blind earthbender knew certainly enough about it to tease them in a very crude way, but had she ever… done it? Katara couldn't imagine how, Toph had always been kept away from people by her parents. But yet, she had participated in an Earthbending tourney… So maybe she would have managed to do things while keeping her parents in the dark?
Or maybe… And she shuddered at the thought… Aang had asked his previous lives for help with this? Katara tried to imagine what it looked like, with the airbender asking Roku, or Spirits forbid, Kyoshi, for advice about that. Of course, she had read the histories of several Avatar, and knew that most… Had quite a success with the opposite gender. Several had never taken advantage, like Roku. But there had been some that had lived for it. Kuruk was an example, although there were stories about him finding his true love in the Water Tribes.
Maybe he had asked Yangchen? That had been the Air Nomad Avatar before Kuruk… That was a possibility… She would understand him and be more open about those things. From the little Katara knew about the woman, she would guess that the Air Nomad knew… a lot! If the stories were true, Yangchen had had more lovers than the following Avatars combined. And that was saying something, with Kuruk in the mix… But she had never put them before her duty, for which she was well remembered. Maybe because of the one love deal that the Air Nomads believed in? She had maybe never found that one person…
Moving on, Katara thought about what Sokka had said during breakfast. She and Aang had managed to get inside the larger hut before her brother or Toph had woken up, so they were none the wiser… which was better, she couldn't survive the teasing she feared. But Sokka had come up with a schedule! A schedule! He acted as if they needed to put every little detail into a strict schedule if they wanted to make it to the rendezvous point with their father on time. She had sighed, ignoring her brother, because it was weeks away! Weeks she could use to train with Aang … in waterbending, of course. And Toph could use that time to teach the airbender some better earthbending techniques. Although he was clearly quite accomplished in that bending art, Katara would sleep sounder if she knew he had everything possible at his disposal when he faced Ozai.
"I believe this river is polluted guys…" Aang spoke up. He had been hanging over the river, holding onto Appa's horn with one hand, while picking at the water with the other. His hand came back covered in slime, with varying colours, such as brown and green. It looked… disgusting.
"Well, that explains why I'm not catching anything…. Because normally… My fishing skills are off the hook!" Her brother spoke from the back of the saddle, where he had been sitting with a fishing rod, he had fashioned himself. He was holding the fishing hook up in case someone had not understood his horrible joke. Katara just shook her head. Ah, her brother had his jokes… It was endearing. But stupid.
Sokka threw it back with their stuff and came to sit next to her. Pulling out the schedule, a near two-foot-long scroll, he began to scribble on it with a pencil he had stolen from Aang's school when they had been there to act as his parents. Katara still had shivers of disgust imagining herself as the airbender's mother.
"Well, we'll have to go somewhere to buy food… Assuming it fits into your master schedule!" The waterbender looked at her brother, who apparently didn't understand her irritation with his horrible planning system.
"It's doable… But that means only two breaks for nature calls!" Spirits… He had even planned that! No! Katara refused to travel like that! Sokka had not been like this when they had travelled to the North Pole. Now, he was only doing this because of the fact they were in the Fire Nation! It had not been that horrible here, for the moment!
"Well, I see a village in the distance! Maybe we can get food there?" Aang pointed out from Appa's head, waving ahead. Katara looked at the banks of the river, but there was no indication of population centres… Where was that village he was talking about? Looking over the airbender's shoulder, she saw it actually stood in the middle of the river! Spirits, that was ingenious! They would not need protective walls, and were probably fishermen, so there would be food!
Aang stood up and danced over the edge of the saddle to their bags, where he had put his shirt and vest. If they were going to that village, it would indeed be better if he covered up… And it was not like the uniform would be recognized as a school uniform here, because Katara suspected they had arrived at a place without a school…
Appa, without clear guidance, had begun to swim towards the right bank of the river. Katara kept her eyes on Aang while he put on his shit, thinking back at the night they had spent together… Spirits, was this going to be how it would be from now on? Constantly thinking about what she could do next with him?
They made landfall at the wide bend in the river, where the bison had apparently seen a place he liked. There was indeed a small clearing in the forest, so Katara decided to jump off the saddle, and landed on the grass. It looked good! There was enough wood for a campfire, the bend in the river would hide them from prying eyes, and if needed, Sokka could surely go hunting, for she heard calls o various animals in the distance. At least they wouldn't go hungry… Or at least, they wouldn't. During the flight from the cave and the headmaster, they had kind of forgotten Aang's food, like rice, vegetables, and so on. Katara knew she shouldn't have let Sokka pack, for he never took into consideration that the Air Nomad was a vegetarian.
"Well, let's go take a look at this supposed village. Where is it? I can't feel a thing." Toph grumbled as she joined Katara at the edge of their clearing. The river was just several yards away.
"It is in the river." The waterbender gestured, before realizing it was no use. Could Toph actually see a place in water? The poles surely were driven into the soil, but how deep?
"Perfect…" The blind girl answered, clearly not very happy about it.
"It sure is!" A new voice, sounding like a man, shouted from the riverside. Katara turned towards the sound, and saw how an elderly man, with a weird hat and a grin, waved at them. He looked… well, not dangerous at all. She saw a boat lying next to him on the sand, so supposed he came from the village.
"My name is Dock! Mind if I ask who you are?"
"We are… visiting! From the Colonies!" She shouted back at the man. They had decided to stick with that tale, for it seemed the more cautious explanation why several people from different ethnicities were travelling around together.
"Oh colonials! Don't see those every day! Hop on, I'll give you a ride into town!" The man gestured to his boat and turned around. Looking at him more carefully, Katara saw the bloated, yellowish skin, that looked all but healthy. A kidney problem? The man also had a pot belly, and looking at his grin, the waterbender saw he missed all but two teeth.
She turned to the others, who had joined her and Toph, and they all shrugged. Walking up to the old man, she realized he wasn't. Under the unhealthy skin, the yellowish white of the eyes, and the missing teeth… The man was not older than forty… Spirits…
They got on the boat… Well, boat was a nice way of putting it. It was a raft, branches held together by rope. Dock began to pole them across, pushing the "boat" into the muddy and stinking river. Spirits, this part was even worse than the water they had crossed with Appa…
Toph said with Sokka in the front, while Aang had positioned himself next to her. He had put the headband on in case anyone reconigzed his tattoos, and was now smiling at her. Katara felt a blush spread across her cheeks, and was very happy that the earthbender could not heartbeat.
"Why are you guys living on the river?" She asked, while trying to calm her poor heart… And the feeling in her stomach that had become quite familiar.
"We are a fishing village, always have been! At least, that's how it was before the factory moved in! The army makes its metal there! It was built two years ago on order of Lord Azulon, and started gunking up our river," Dock explained.
Not only did he seem unhealthy… Katara realized he had also lost a part of his wits… Azulon had died over six years ago… Looking at the large dam emerging at the other side of the river, she saw large metal pipes dumping… something in the water. On top of the barrier stood a long, high building, spitting smoke into the sky. Yeah, if something was polluting the river, it was that monstrosity.
They disembarked at the southern tip of the village. Dock proposed to bring them back in an hour, and they agreed. As much as Katara loved swimming, she didn't want to try her luck here. She shuddered at the thought of what kinds of diseases could be hiding in the murky water.
"Need a hand." Toph grumbled. Katara saw how Aang moved towards the blind girl, extending his arm that the earthbender took, with great reluctance. She hated to be disabled, and hated the fact that sometimes, she needed help, even more…
Looking around, Katara didn't like what she was seeing. Most men and women were just… sitting on the wooden pathways. A bit further along, she saw one that was just sleeping there, in the middle of the path. It looked as if inactivity had taken hold on the village, and that no one was trying to resist it. But she understood. At home, she had occupied her days with helping out with the children, hunting and fishing… If most of those activities had been taken away by some exterior force, what would have been left? Sitting around each day…
As they walked towards the centre of the village, over the pathways, Katara saw one man, with his skin stretched thinly over protruding ribs, look at them, and she saw the hate. The hate that underfed people had for men and women that looked healthy and fed. She had seen it in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, and saw it again here…
"Look at this place… it's so sad. We have to do something to help them!" She spoke to the others. They would surely agree! How could anyone look at this sorry state of affairs, and not want to help?
"We can't stay here. We just don't have the time to waste." Her brother answered.
Waste.
How could helping people be a waste of time? How? Even if they helped one person, it would have been a time well spent!
"We have a more important mission, these people are on their own Katara…" She heard the resolve in his voice, but even then, she also heard the small edge, the one that proved to her that her brother did care.
"These people are starving Sokka. Would you turn your back on them?" They were supposed to help people!
"I'm not, but let's be realistic. We can't go around helping every dump we wander into…"
Dump? Dump? This place wouldn't be one if the Fire Nation hadn't forced them into this state!
"Come on Katara… be reasonable about this. We can't help these people…" Sokka said in a gentler voice. He was right, but that didn't make it easier. How could they help a village this size, and still remain under cover?
The waterbender felt a hand on her arm, and, turning around, saw a sad-looking Aang.
"He is right… We can't help them. I would love to, but how?"
Yes… How?
She nodded, but kept thinking. How would she help these people? Well, first of all, she would treat the sick. There were clearly enough of them, judging by the number of coughing people. Then, she would make them eat easily digestible things. Vegetables and rice, for example. But that would just help them out in the short term. The best thing would be to remove the factory, and clean up the river…
There was one shop. One. For a village of at least two hundred. One shop. And it was run by… Dock?
"No, no, Dock is my brother! I'm Shoe."
Katara had been right. He had lost his wits and thought of himself as two different people. Had that been a condition he had before the factory was built, or had that come only after?
"But… You are wearing the same clothes. Only difference is the hat!" Aang protested, but the man seemed none the wiser, and explained that his "brother" worked at the docks, while he did the shop. Sure…
The shop seemed very empty… But "Shoe" presented them with a tray of his finest fish. Well, if that was the best, Katara didn't want to see the worst. There were clams, but mud and other fluids were oozing out of them, and there were two fish. Two.
"Just the fish please." Sokka sounded disgusted, and she couldn't blame him. The two fish were pale, sorry creatures, but at least, it didn't look or smelled rotten. That was something… Katara took the small package "Shoe" prepared, with the fish. As Sokka and Toph were asking about the ride back to the shore, Katara turned around, to look one more time at the village.
There was a larger hut, filled with people. Casting a look inside, Katara recognized the organization. It was a sickbay. Where at least half of the village lay. Some were clearly feverish, while there was one man covered in dark lumps, with puss coming out if the largest ones. There was also a woman, heavily pregnant, who looked like every ounce of strength had been poured into it.
It was too much. How could she turn her back to this?
"Miss?" A small voice called out, and she felt a hand tugging at her skirt. Looking down, Katara saw a small boy, no older than five, stand next to her, with pleading eyes.
"Could you spare some food?" A large scar covered the young boy's shoulder, and Katara swallowed, hard. It looked like a burn scar…
Crouching down, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the child. Opening the package, the waterbender took one of the small fishes, and gave it to the child.
"I wish I could do more…" She murmured, not looking the child in the eyes. How could she? She had given him half of what they had, and it still felt like it wasn't enough. They had food with the bags, and if they wanted, they could survive on whatever they would find in the forest… But this child… He had nothing.
"Thank you miss. May the Painted Lady bless you!" And he ran towards the pregnant woman… Katara didn't catch everything he said, but she heard "Mother" very clearly…
If that woman didn't get something decent to eat, and quickly, she would lose the child… And seeing the state of the village, Katara supposed that the childbirth could be fatal… And that would leave yet one more orphan, made by the Fire Nation…
That night, as they were eating, Katara began to think about the life the people of Jang Hui, and what they were going through each day. She had seen the conditions in which these people had to live, in the shadow of the great factory on the heights above the village. Dock, or Shoe, or, however, he was called, had a clear kidney failure. How long would she give him? Some months, at the most…
And that small boy who had taken the fish gratefully… The swollen belly had been enough to know what his problem was. He had been underfed for at least several months, and if that continued, he would not lifelong… His mother had seemed even weaker, and was sure to die without medical assistance…
And who would give it to them… Not the Fire Nation soldiers living in clean quarters at the factory. It was as clear as day that they had a good life, extorting the poor fisherfolk of the village…
Katara could help. She had hated to see the people's lives like that. Even in the Southern Water Tribe, where life was not easy, the conditions had not been this harsh. And was the Fire Nation not supposed to be the beacon of technology and prosperity? Well, carefully constructed lies had been broken by the sight of these people, living and dying in the shadow of the oppressors…
She could help. Maybe not in a very meaningful way… But at least it would alleviate the burden on these people for several days, or maybe a week. But what after?
"Come on… Sleep, then we will leave this place behind tomorrow…" Sokka suggested as they were cleaning the bowls. It would maybe be better to leave, for Katara didn't think she could take another look inside that misery… But if they left, who would help these people?
The Avatar had been the voice of kindness and compassion in the world before, but Aang couldn't be everywhere… And he had enough on his plate, with the war. But she had seen the looks he had cast at the people. He was also concerned and had hated the conditions they had seen. But what could he do? He could not just go to Ozai and smack him around a bit to make sure his people were well treated. That may have been the way it was done before, but it was not a possibility now.
As Sokka settled into his sleeping bag, next to Appa, and Toph made her earth tent, Katara saw how Aang looked towards her. His silver eyes had become darker, and she had begun to associate that kind of look with the one he had used while dancing… while they had been making love… She bit her lower lip. As much as she would love to do that, once more, how could they? Sokka and Toph were too close, and if they sneaked off, it would be quickly observed…
And yet another thing… a plan had been forming in her head, one that would at least help these people for a time… But no one should know. Sokka would be against it, because it could compromise their cover. Toph would be against it because she didn't want to stay here… And Aang? Would he condemn it? Katara didn't think so… But he talked, a lot! And as much as she loved him, he wasn't capable of doing something quietly and effectively.
So… There was only one way to help these people, without anyone knowing… She had to sneak off alone. Aang took a blanket under his arm, she saw, and came straight towards her.
"Hey… I know we can't do anything tonight… but would you care to sleep close to each other?" He murmured. Katara smiled, also a bit relieved. She wanted to go to help the village. She had been afraid to reject Aang, because she didn't want to reject the airbender.
"Yes." The waterbender smiled, grabbing his hand and pulling him a bit outside of the ring of light around the campfire. They settled at the edge of the forest, and Katara wiggled herself inside of her sleeping bag. Aang, clearly not affected by the cold, just threw down the blanket and lay down on it. As Katara settled in her sleeping bag, she felt Aang shuffle towards her. Smiling, she turned towards him, and was met with a shy look on the face of the Air Nomad.
"Hey… If Sokka sees us like this tomorrow morning… Would you mind?" He asked, with a soft smile.
"No. We're just sleeping… And what he thinks is not important." She murmured back, kissing his forehead softly.
Go to sleep Aang… I have to sneak off, and then sleep.
Turning back around, she closed her eyes, but decided to open them as soon as possible. Katara felt an arm come around her and pull her softly towards the airbender.
"Is this alright?" his voice asked timidly.
"Yeah, it's good." She answered, wiggling a bit closer. She would have to wait for Aang to go to sleep. That didn't mean she couldn't wait comfortably, no?
It took Aang all of five minutes to go to sleep. Hearing the soft breathing behind her, Katara smiled to herself. He had probably been exhausted… The whole night, he had been up. Then, he had steered Appa for most of the day… So, the minute he had lain down, he had gone to sleep.
Opening her sleeping bag as quietly as she could, Katara lifted the airbender's arm up, and put is gently to his side. There was no reaction, except a soft groan. If all went well, she would be back in just an hour or two…then, she could cuddle back. It had felt nice, and she wanted to continue that… But now, she had a task much more important.
Help the people of Jang Hui.
Answers :
Jjsmith103 : Thank you so much for the positive review! I never am quite sure about my smut chapter, but to see it was good does make me feel good! Hope you like this chapter, it is very different, but I never know how to follow a smut chapter lol!
Rak : In a way, it was a first time. A first time for listening to each other, to what the other wanted. Because their first time had not exactly been good lol! But I love the fact you liked it!
Gabriela N. Gonzalez : I have a good story line planned for their relationship, it won't just follow the story, with some extra scenes! I hope you will like it!