Wrote this in August. Posting it now because ffn wouldn't open up back then*sigh*.
Written for Kataang Week 2022, Day 06: Quiet Moments/ Healing Techniques.
Both Prompts were used.
4 AM
Night found Katara running in a maze. The maze wasn't that deep. Katara should have gotten out of it by now. But no matter which turn she took, there was always a dead end.
'Did I came across this once or twice?' Katara asked herself, standing in the middle.
The waterbender took a few steps ahead before moving her arms upward. No twirls of water came rushing to her, except for a mere dew drops. Katara grimaced. She was aiming to form a water bridge so that she can climb on it and see from high above which way to go. There wasn't an inch of water covering the leaves of hedges. It was dry as bone.
"Long way it is, I guess" Katara muttered.
Just then there came a growling sound, making the tiny hairs on Katara's neck to stand up. It was deep. It had a metallic echo to it.
Something told her she shouldn't be here. The roar came again, this time a little closer.
Without looking back, Katara ran in breakneck speed. She turned left and right. But no matter how fast she ran, it wasn't enough. The one who was emanating the horrendous sound was closing in.
Then something terrible happened. Katara lost her footing and she fell down, scratching her elbows and knees in progress. Wincing from the fall, she twisted around. She didn't even have time to scream.
Katara sat upright at once, breathing fast, heart drumming madly. It took a whole minute for her to take in her surroundings. She was in her bed and not in a never-ending maze. Nothing was chasing her. Bleary-eyed she glanced towards the window. The only thing that was same was, it was nighttime.
Katara took a sigh of relief. It was just a nightmare and nothing else.
Katara looked at the side next to her. Unlike her, her husband Aang was sleeping soundly, mouth hung open, an arm tucked under a pillow.
The waterbender stood up as quietly as she could and padded barefoot towards the kitchen. Maybe drinking some water would do her good.
But even after that, Katara didn't feel like sleeping. She felt suffocated.
Instead of going to master bedroom, Katara went towards the balcony. The cool night breeze felt refreshing on her arms and her limbs. Even though it was just a dream, but the maze made her feel like she was being stifled. Out here, it was so open and airy.
Katara closed her eyes, quietly relishing the breeze when she heard someone speak;
"Katara?" Aang was standing by the threshold, eyes still half-closed
"What are you…." Aang paused midway, letting out a yawn "doing here?"
"Nothing. Just getting some air…." Katara said "Did I wake you? I am sorry"
Aang shook his head "No I got up to relieve myself"
"Oh"
Shuffling his feet, Aang stood behind Katara, wrapping his arms around her torso and resting his chin on her shoulder. Automatically, Katara leaned back, so now she was resting against Aang's chest.
For a while no one spoke. Then;
"Had a nightmare?" the avatar asked softly. He knew her so well.
"Yeah but how….."
"Your heart is still beating fast"
Katara chuckled. Of course. Pieces of her dream were still lingering in her mind.
"Want to talk about it?"
Katara shook her head lightly "No, not really"
"You sure?"
"I am sure…"
"Okay"
Aang didn't press further. He waited a minute or two until;
"Considering the dreams I had up till now, this wasn't half bad…."
"Really?"
"Yeah…." Katara said, tugging on the sleeve of Aang's shirt "For one thing, I was all alone and that there was no blood"
"The only worst thing that happened was, there was no water to bend"
"Sounds like you were taking a class"
"I wish it was a class"
Even though she hadn't told him the whole thing, but Katara felt relatively better. Plus, being in Aang's embrace made her feel safe, like a rabbit curled up in a burrow.
"Let's go to bed"
Katara was about to go inside when Aang asked "Do we have to?"
"Hm yeah? We have work tomorrow"
Aang didn't say anything. He continued to stare at the sky.
Katara frowned. Was it some intruder that was coming towards them?
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" the waterbender asked, now looking at the sky too.
"The clouds looks like they might be carrying water"
"So?" Where was Aang going with this?
"So….." Aang then held Katara's hand, clasping it rather firmly.
"Now might be the right time to jump on it!" And with that, the avatar shot upward, with Katara's surprised scream ringing in his ears.
"AANG WHAT?! NO!"
The hell was her husband thinking?! He didn't even warn her!
One minute they were flying in the air. Then the next, they started falling down.
"Aang…." Katara cried, trying to bring herself closer to the airbender. There was foliage down there and some of those trees didn't look friendly at all with their protruding branches full of sharp thorns.
Before there could be a nasty landing, Aang waved his arm in a swift motion. In an instant, the cluster of clouds that were hovering nearby, came floating toward them at once and arranged themselves in a stair like setting.
If anyone were to be awake at this hour and look out from the window, they would think they were still dreaming; A boy and a girl, flying high in air while holding hands, their outline silhouetting against the giant moon and creating a stark contrast overall.
"Are you enjoying?!" Aang asked, beaming brightly.
"You almost give me a heart attack!" Katara shouted back, landing on the fluffy surface of the clouds at the balls of her feet before soaring again.
An Oak tree stood on the edge of the cliff. Deciding they should have a break, Aang tugged on Katara's hand gently, steering her towards the leafy shade.
Katara only let go of the hand, until she was sure she was sitting on the branch safely. After gaining her breath, did she spoke;
"What were you thinking Aang?! Jumping off like that?! What if there were no clouds?"
"We could have died" Katara said, her tone becoming serious.
"Nope we couldn't because one….." Aang began, holding his forefinger up "I wouldn't have jumped like that if there weren't any clouds. I am not that reckless…"
"And two, my avatar state would have kicked in, automatically saving you and me both!"
Katara rolled her pretty blue eyes. After all these years, her husband was still naïve. Not that the waterbender minded the quality. But sometimes, it did become a bit exasperating.
"But seriously though, what were you thinking Aang?"
A pause before Aang answered;
"Because you were feeling uneasy, that's why"
"Oh….."
"Yeah. You were quite tensed up and I had to do something about it. But now that you pointed it out, it was indeed dangerous. What exactly was I thinking?!" Aang admitted, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
Katara's heart got soften at this. Aang was always thinking about her well-being, making it his number one priority. If that wasn't endearing, then she didn't know what was.
"Well….it did kind of worked"
Aang perked up "Really?"
"Yeah. Granted I am still reeling from shock but hey at least I don't feel anxious anymore" Katara said, smiling "So that's something"
The wind picked up again, making both of them shiver. They were out here in their night clothes and didn't have a travelling cloak with them.
"We should get down"
"Do we have to?" Katara repeated Aang's words.
Aang was puzzled "Yeah. It's a long way back and if we don't start now, we might never get home on time"
"All more reason why we should totally fly back"
"What? But you just said it was dangerous" Aang said, his grey eyes widening. What was going on?!
"What's the matter Aang?" Katara teased, completely ignoring Aang's point "Afraid that you are going to lose if I race you on the trail of clouds?"
Aang was many things. Backing down from a challenge wasn't one of them.
"Oh Alright" Aang said, steadying himself and grinning all over "You are on!"
The avatar waved his arm once again. A zigzagging path of clouds got arranged at once.
"First to reach wins the race" Aang said.
"And only waterbending to be used" Katara stated.
"Okay!"
"On the count of three….one….two…THREE!"
Aang and Katara left their position like arrows released from a bow and sped ahead in lightning speed. With their lithe frames providing them the leverage, they landed catlike on the cotton texture before spiraling high in air.
Despite this being a race, the couple couldn't help but laugh and let out cries of joy as they galloped in nothingness. The wind, the endless black sky dotted with gazillion of stars, the clouds trickling their skin….all of it felt so exhilarating. It was like being born again.
The house was just up head. Katara and Aang shared a look before speeding up. The effort was futile because both reached the balcony at the same time.
"Okay next time…..I am so defeating you" Aang exclaimed tiredly, clutching his knees in order to catch his breath.
"Sure sure…." Katara panted. She then gazed at Aang. She was here but her mind was elsewhere. It was scampering 10 years back. Back when she was 14 years old, residing in the dingy outskirts of south pole with her tribe.
Because she didn't want to think about the war, Katara kept herself busy by doing chores. But no matter how many buckets of water she lugged from the well to the house or assisting women in childbirth or sewing a dozen fur coats, one way or another her mind would drift to this question 'What would happen now?'
Behind the hopeful façade, Katara was crumbling. She could see herself slip into a dark place, bit by bit. Her waterbending wasn't getting anywhere. It was only a matter of few days, before waves of stagnancy cling to her and drag her away.
'Does it gets better?' She asks inwardly as she ties her hair in a braid.
'Does it gets better?' She could hear her brother Sokka yelling at the kids.
'Does it gets better?' She bade a goodbye to Gran Gran who is watching her intently.
It got better, once Aang arrived. To everyone, Aang was the avatar. But to Katara, he was more than that. He was like a warm morning sun that came after nights of rain and hail. He was the light at the end of tunnel. He was a daub of colors on a canvas of greys and blacks.
Aang was a lifeline to which Katara tightly held on.
When the first rays of sun poured upon them, Aang looked like an image of some deity. He looked so grand and so bright under the yellow sky. Katara then went to him, gently cradling his face between her palms. Aang leaned to her touch. He closed his eyes when he felt a pair of lips on his own lips.
The kiss was long and tender. Breaking apart, Katara whispered;
"Thank you"
"You are welcome"
Aang thought she was saying thank you for cheering her up. Katara was actually thanking for something else.
"Thank you for coming into my life"
The end.
Hope you guys like it. And if you do, please make sure to leave a review and a fav, thank you :D
Also thank you so much Ashley Barbosa for leaving such a lovely review in my other Kataang one-shot. It truly made my day :D 3
Until then take care :D
~Noni.