A/N. Next time, we will pick up just before the beginning of the episode "Sokka's Master" I will of course recap what happened after this, but I didn't feel I could make a really good chapter out of the last part of this episode!
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.
This was the third night they spent in this spirit forgotten place. Aang had not liked the village, and felt guilty about the state of the living conditions there… If the world had been at peace, he could have changed things here, for the better… But it was not to be. How could he force the factory to change its way of doing things? He could not just walk up to the gate and say the Avatar was there for an inspection…
And there was something else that was worrying him… The first night they had spent here, he and Katara had slept close together… Or at least, he had fallen asleep, with his arm around the waterbender… And when he had woken up, Aang had found her asleep against Appa. She had said to him that she wasn't worried about Sokka's opinion… But why else had she been sleeping so far away from him?
And they had stayed because of his bison's sickness. He had never seen him like this, it was as if Appa wanted only to sleep… He didn't even eat! And normally, the bison loved eating! It was really not good… And Katara had not managed to find any signs of weakness with her healing… So, they gave Appa time to rest, and Aang hoped it would help…
The second night, he had again tried to sleep next to Katara, but this time… She had said that there were too many people watching them! How? Sokka knew that they both wanted to be together, and Toph didn't care that much! So, Katara was afraid of her brother's reaction of seeing them together… Or at least, that was what Aang thought. It could be anything, no?
At least the village seemed to do better! That was the only good news Aang had had since arriving here… Apparently, this river was protected by a spirit named the Painted Lady, and she had visited to help the villagers out. She had given the people of Jang Hui food and even medicine, and there had been some miraculous healings! Aang had been relieved to hear that. In time of war, the Spirits often didn't concern themselves with the problems of this world, and took a step back, waiting for the wars to be over… But not this one! This spirit wanted to help the village! The only thing that he found surprising was the fact she had let it go on this long…
Maybe it was his presence here? Aang knew little of his role as spiritual bridge between the worlds, but maybe it meant that the spirits were attracted to a place where he was? It sounded a bit simplistic, and Aang didn't want to be a Spirit magnet, that could have horrible consequences… But at least, here, it helped.
Yet this night, he was again spending his sleeping hours with his bison, as Katara had not come to him, and this evening, he hadn't asked either. Spirits, had he been so wrong to ask her to sleep close to him? The arm around her had maybe been a bit much… But he had felt how she had wiggled herself firmly against him the first night… The airbender had thought that was a good sign! And this night, he would stay with Appa! He was not really angry or irritated… Rather, he was worried. Worried that he had done something stupid, and that Katara was now avoiding him… Worried about his bison, who still seemed very sleepy…
The villagers had said that the Painted Lady visited at night, and could heal the sick… Could she also heal bisons? It was worth a shot, no? He could just tell her that he was the Avatar and needed her help. A good spirit would want to help him… And there were good spirits. Take Hei Bai for example, he had been a bit irritated, but the moment that he had shown him the acorn Katara had given him, and explained that the forest would grow back, he had changed in a good and nice spirit, that had always helped him in the Spirit World… But then again, there were other spirits… Koh, for example…
Momo suddenly moved and ran towards something. Normally, the lemur would be calm this early at night… He would only go flying around after midnight, when the moon was high in the sky… Aang looked up and saw something move between the low-hanging branching.
No… Not something! Someone! He could see, thanks to the dim star light, flowing dark robes, and a hat with a veil! It was exactly as the Painted Lady was described by the villagers! So there was really someone looking out for the village! Finally, a spirit that took care and wanted to help! That was a first!
He got up, padding Appa gently on one of his paws, and looked how the spirit gently walked to the riverbed. The airbender grabbed the headband, in the off chance that one of the villagers would look out their window. Walking as silently as he could, Aang got to several yards behind the Painted Lady, and spoke.
"Hey, Painted Lady Spirit!" And he waved. Well, at least it would attract her attention. Not the best greeting he had ever come up with, but it would have to do.
But she didn't seem to be a very talkative spirit. The figure in front of him froze for a second, and he saw the veil turn slightly, as if the face behind it had cast a look over her shoulder to see who was causing a commotion.
She seemed to step into the water and began to glide over it. Was the spirit a waterbender? He had never seen someone walk over the water, but he knew Katara could freeze small ice patched under her feet, long enough to make it seem she walked over the water. So it was a possibility that the spirit could do the same thing!
"Excuse me, I don't mean to bother you, but my friend is sick, and we are kind on a tight schedule!" He called after the mysterious spirit. It didn't listen, and quickly crossed the water towards the village. Aang lifted an eyebrow, surprised that a kind spirit like the Painted Lady would ignore a plight. The villagers had made it seem like she was there to help…
"I'm the great bridge between your world and mine!" He shouted over the water, and for a second, he thought a groan drifts towards him over the water. Did that spirit… just… groan? Had he upset a spirit by being the Avatar? Seriously?
The spirit was racing over the water, so, why not follow her? At least he could see what she did to heal these people. Would it be like waterbending healing, like Katara did? Or would it be more… Spirit-y? With flashes of light or something? Aang jumped on the water, concentrating on what Katara had said when she had tried to teach him about forming ice under his feet.
"Just concentrate on the water the moment your toes touch the water, and expand you chi out of the foot, into the water…"
It had been months ago, but the words flowed into his mind, a distant memory that yet was very clear… Of course, it would be, he had always listened to her lessons!
The moment his foot touched the water, he managed to form ice under it! Hah! He would have to show that to Katara, tomorrow perhaps? And he could talk with her about his worries… If she wanted, of course… Otherwise, he would keep it to himself. It was not that important anyway…
Jumping towards the mist that formed around the spirit, Aang used his airbending to jump greater distances than normally. He had to catch up with this Painted Lady, if he wanted her to help him! No, not him, Appa! And maybe he could talk a bit about the village? See if the spirit could stay longer? Just two months or so, the time they ended the war? That would not be that long in the eyes of a spirit!
"I know Hei Bei! We're close personal friends!" Would spirits know each other? Because saying that they were friends was probably a stretch… But a stretch he needed to use if he wanted to attract her attention.
As he came into the village, he saw ripples on the water, as if something had just touched it. How? A spirit wouldn't just touch the water, and it had looked like the Painted Lady had glided over the water. Eh, surely just a turtleduck, or a very weird-looking fish.
The waterbending had actually taken more energy than he had expected, so Aang switched to airbending, jumping on the roof of a building. In the distance, he saw the pale veil of the Lady, at the other side of the village. With his airbending, he was there in several long strides.
"Hey!" That was weird… It looked like the spirit was running. Waving, he saw how the veil lifted up a bit, giving him the briefest glance of a face. Wow… That was one beautiful spirit…
For a moment he didn't look, and felt himself run straight into a wooden pole, sticking out of the roof. Feeling his nose explode, Aang tasted blood inside his mouth, and his nose began to pulsate painfully. It may not be broken, but spirits, it hurt…
Looking up, the mist had moved on to the other side of the river and seemed to stagnate there. A figure moved to the rocks on that side, and it seemed that the Lady disappeared among those rocks.
Standing up, groaning, he quickly bend himself up into the sky, hoping that there was no one looking. From this high up, he saw the factory, still crashing smoke into the sky and waste into the water. Making the air propel him towards the riverside, he landed quietly on the rocks behind the Painted Lady, who was apparently looking over the water towards the village.
"So! My name is Avatar Aang!" He greeted her happily, lifting his headband up to show the spirit his tattoos. The Air Nomads had always been very spiritual, so she would trust him, knowing this… Right?
"Hello Avatar… I wish I could talk, but I am very busy!" An eerie voice answered from behind the veil. From this close up, he saw red-brownish markings all over the exposed arms of the spirit. From the little he could see of her face, it seemed it was also covered in the same kinds of markings…
"Yeah, I understand! It is very relatable… I hate that." Aang answered, while bending a bit to look under the thing that covered the spirit's face. He had seen just a bit, but it had seemed like there was a really beautiful face under it. And… looking wasn't cheating… right?
"You know, you are really pretty for a spirit…" Why was he saying all this? He didn't mean to, it just kind of… rolled out. But Katara was still more beautiful!
"I don't get to meet too many spirits, but the ones I do meet… Not very attractive." Thinking of Koh, Aang managed to contain the shudder. Spirits, that guy had been outright creepy. Looking at the Painted Lady, the airbender was surprised to see her grabbing her arm, as if she was trying to shield herself from his compliment.
Wait…
"Thank you…" A small voice, not at all eerily this time, spoke from underneath the veil.
He knew that voice… It had been the voice that Katara had used when they had been together in that hut…
Katara.
"You look familiar." He murmured.
"A lot of people say that!" The panic in her voice was clear now. Yeah. That was Katara, no doubt.
"Way too familiar." He bent a small current of air under the hat, and it lifted up.
Katara's face was covered in those red-brownish marks, and there was a moon pointed right across her forehead, but Aang would recognize those dark, blue eyes anywhere. Those eyes were now looking at him with a mixture of awkwardness, confusion and, hidden deep beneath those two emotions… pride.
Pride at what she was doing. Pride that she had taken the decision to help these people. Aang's heart swelled up, seeing her like this. Helping the defenceless, the downtrodden. That was Katara. She would help anyone, just like she had always done for him, for Sokka… Even for Toph. They had never asked for it, but she still helped everywhere she could, because that was Katara.
"So… I may have been sneaking off at night…" She whispered, removing the hat at sitting down on a rock, sighing, and not looking at him.
"Every night?" Spirits, yes! She had not rejected him because of something stupid he had done! She had done that to help these people!
"Yeah… The first night I just went to get some food for these people. I stole it out of the factory and put it in the middle of the village. I also took care of some of the sick… Then, that Shoe guy thought the Painted Lady had helped them. So, the second night, I disguised myself like this." The waterbender explained, lifting her head towards him, with a fierce look in her eyes.
You may think me reckless, but what else was I supposed to do, I had to help these people.
"Oh and Appa isn't sick! Well, he may be sick of all the berries I've been feeding him… But otherwise, he is fine!" She added hurriedly, smiling tentatively towards him.
"So… You've been lying to us all to help these people?" He spoke, trying to show the teasing in his voice. Spirits… She was wonderful… And it was not as if he couldn't have some fun with this!
"I'm sorry! I know I shouldn't have…" Katara said, looking straight at him.
"No! I mean, you are so, so amazing! I love it! You are a real hero to these people, and you never even admitted it was you! You are incredible!" Aang answered, grabbing her hands and kneeling in front of her, looking in her eyes.
"You are not mad? I kind of thought you would be…" He felt how she pressed his fingers in the palms of her hands, smiling at him.
"I would never be mad at you! Not for this, not for anything! I… I would never want to be angry with you." He responded, aghast at the fact she would think he would be angry with her.
"I saw the hurt in your eyes when I told you we couldn't sleep close to each other… Sorry about that… I just thought it would be simpler this way." The waterbender explained, and Aang felt one of her fingers tracing the arrow tattoo on the back of his hand, gently and at the same time, in such a way that it made him think of several nights ago… in that hut…
"I thought… I thought I had done something wrong." He murmured quietly. That had been childish, he saw that now. Apparently, he had sulked about this! Spirits, that had never been his intention!
"Never Aang, just as you can't be mad at me… I can't either." She smiled at him. He felt so relieved at that statement, his heart could literally burst of joy.
"So, what have you been doing other than stealing from the factory?" The airbender asked. It was just so… it was poetic justice. That factory had made these people's lives miserable, and now, they were paying the price. They themselves would go hungry, while the villagers had enough to eat! Hah!
"Healing. There was a great need of it… I visited the sickbay the first night… What I saw there Aang… It was just too horrible. Some of the people had been malnourished for years! Not just days, of weeks! Years. Years that had clearly taken a great toll… There was a pregnant woman, who seemed not to have eaten in at least several days… I managed to heal enough to make sure the child is healthy… But she will need constant care, and a good diet, for at least until the childbirth! Oh… And there were some herbs there, I kind of took them… But I paid!" The amount of information was a bit overwhelming. Spirits… Had she done all that… All the while not getting sleep for herself, just an hour or two each night? Spirits, what a wonderful person…
"Does she have enough to eat until the childbirth?" He asked softly to which Katara nodded.
"Well, at least she will have a chance, she and the child." He hated how their situation forced him to be realistic. In normal times, or at least, a century ago, Aang would have written to the Western Air Temple, the closest of the temples, and they would have sent a nun to help… That had been their duty, their calling… But now? Now they would have to move on, and hope for the best for this woman and this child…
"And those herbs?" Why had she taken them? It could only compromise the lie that the Painted Lady had done all of this, no? A spirit had no need of herbs…
"Oh… Well.. I read somewhere… That they helped to prevent… Well, getting pregnant… And I thought it could come in handy…" Even in the dark night, Aang could see how she was blushing up to the roots of her beautiful lush dark hair.
And he himself felt the blood rush to his cheeks. She wanted… To do that again? And make sure they could do that safely? Oh Spirits…
"Oh… Yeah, that would be better!" He chuckled awkwardly, trying not to sound too pleased by this development.
A long pause followed, in which they both sat in a comfortable silence. Aang was thinking about the fact that she had done all this… All these things for those people and had only taken some herbs! That had been the only thing she had asked in return.
"You are bleeding!" Katara suddenly interrupted their silence, and the airbender saw the familiar glow of healing water. Instantly, the irritated feeling in his face disappeared. Yeah… that had really hurt.
"You broke your nose while pursuing me… Sorry!" She murmured, "I fixed it. Not a scratch on it." And he felt the warm lips of the waterbender on said nose. Spirits… This was his life now.
"I have to break it more often." He sighed and was met my the soft chuckles from Katara.
"So… What now?" He asked. The airbender had an idea about what they could do! They had those herbs now… So they could maybe practice? Like, a lot!
"You said it was a good thing I was doing, no?" Katara's voice answered in the dark.
"Yes!" Not exactly what he had expected, but alright!
"Well… How do you feel about blowing up a factory?"
Blowing up a factory, alone? He would feel guilty, afraid, sorry for the people who made their living thanks to that factory.
Blowing up a factory, with her? He would feel like it was the best thing in the world. The only thing they could do.
An hour later, a loud explosion could be heard coming from the metal foundry. The guards swore to their superiors that there had not been a soul in the work hall, but they had heard someone call for the "Painted Lady". And apparently, the Pained Lady person had responded laughing aloud, and sounding like a girl who was having way too much fun…
Answers :
Kalaong : Katara is just passionate about helping people, and doesn't make a difference between people in need. I loved this episode so much when I was younger, and I still do!
Rak : Yeah, I didn't really know how to proceed with this episode, but I'm happy with what I got! Tomorrow, I am beginning to write the chapter with Toph and her talking to Katara and Aang, when Sokka is away! That is going to be fun! And of course Aang couldn't be stealthy! He would be having too much fun!
Gabriela N. Gonzalez : Yeah, The Gaang having to help the Fire Nation was always an interesting plotline I thought! And of course she is going to find out how he did all that! What would be the fun in it otherwise lol!
Jjsmith103 : I was ready to post the chapter when I saw your review, what luck! Thank you, I am thinking about having a chapter about this after this one, and then moving on with the story. Smut wise, I'll do more chapters, but not until after the invasion I think. I always thought she used the clay from the riverbed, but berries are a good idea! If I had read your comment before writing the chapter, I would have certainly made a remark on that lol!