Disclaimer (do I really have to put one of these before every chapter?): I do not own the show, in the off chance that there's somebody out there who thinks I do.

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Part One

WIND ON THE RIVER

Chapter 2: Finding Comfort

Aang woke. His eyes shot open, and he feared that he had overslept. He calmed, however, as he noticed to his great surprise that it was still very dark. The stars that had been shining brightly overhead when he fell asleep were now obscured by high, wispy clouds. On the far horizon, hovering over the jagged tree tops, he caught the dim milky outline of the full moon behind the purplish haze.

What had prompted him into waking up in the middle of the night? He hadn't had any nightmares of his past, Katara and Sokka hadn't woken him with the alarm of Zuko approaching, and Momo hadn't accidentally forced him to stir by climbing onto his stomach. So why was he awake? The night was still. A breeze barely swept through the trees. The only noises to be heard were the soft trickling of the brook and Sokka's snores. The pacing water wasn't loud, it was soothing, and he'd gotten used to Sokka's snoring problems. So why was he awake? The question ran through his mind again. Katara's fire had died down to just a pile of glowing ashes and blackened logs. Had he woken up from being cold? No…the bitter icy air of their surroundings that had engulfed him before falling into sleep had passed over, and it was actually a rather pleasant night. Then it came to him; he was thirsty. His throat and mouth felt incredibly parched.

Quietly, Aang stood up and crept over to the conveniently located stream. He crouched down on the stream's bank, staring intently into the waters. With little effort, the young Avatar used some of his recently acquired water-bending abilities to stream a small, silvery thread of water from its previous spot in the northbound brook and into his cup hands. He relaxed his control on the water, but kept some grip on it so it wouldn't slide uselessly from his fingers and be soaked up by the ground. He raised his hands to his lips and gulped the cool, fresh water down, a bit noisier than he would have liked. Luckily, Katara and Sokka stayed asleep.

After drying his wet palms on his poncho, Aang couldn't help but let his eyes rest on the arrow tattoos on each of his hands, barely visible in the faint moon light. Summer's end was coming up fast; and he only had one element down: air. Sure he could do some fancy stuff with water, but if he didn't master it, it would be nothing in helping him defeat the Fire Lord. The Fire Lord…how Aang feared the day he would come face to face with that ruthless tyrant. He just hoped that when it happened, he wouldn't be bound and chained in a cold metal dungeon. No, when he had to fight the Fire Lord, Aang wanted to be outside somewhere, with his staff in hand, where there was plenty of water and earth. Hopefully in addition to the ideal location, he'd have all the elements mastered…hopefully.

Aang trudged back towards his bed roll; his spirits had taken a dramatic down side. The more he thought about it, the more he realized how difficult it was going to be to master all the elements in such a short time. It had taken him a long twelve years just to master air! Then again, when he had been learning air-bending, the fate of the world hadn't hung so desperately on his speed. Aang grimaced, his head spinning painfully. How could he do this? He was just a kid! How could he be the Avatar? How could he save the world? What if…what if he failed?

Aang caressed his furrowed brow with his fingertips, trying to ebb the stress from his mind. It was then that Avatar Roku's deep, kind voice entered his thoughts, as Aang recalled what he had told him at the Fire Temple on the crescent island: I know you will find a way…Aang inhaled deeply; why was finding a way so hard?

Still, he had to try.

The young Avatar felt so small and alone in the infinite darkness of the forests as he lay numbly on his bed roll. He tried to close his eyes, but in his worry, they stubbornly kept open. He would never get to sleep in this state! Then when tomorrow came, he'd be tired and if Prince Zuko attacked, what if the loss of sleep deadened his reflexes? Zuko would capture him, Sokka, and Katara and torture them for life…or at least until the war was over. Then they'd kill him and the three Avatars after him, earth, water, and fire, until the cycle returned to air. Then, the line would be broken forever. The world would be lost to the shadows.

Aang bit his lip to hold back the sob of frustration. He couldn't do this! He just couldn't! The boy hugged himself tightly, feeling tears brimming beneath his closed eyelids. He clenched his fists into balls, feeling a strange mixture of anger and pity towards himself. He was the Avatar! He had to be strong no matter what! Yet, even though he was destined to be the most powerful bender in the world when fully trained, he was still just a kid. A kid who had all he held dear ripped away from him in what had felt like just a matter of days. He knew it was actually a hundred years, but it didn't feel that way to him. He didn't have anything left from his old life! Everything had changed! It wasn't fair! All that was left of his previous life was Appa, and Momo to some extent. They were his only family from before the war. He and the two animals were all that remained of his nation.

Aang squeezed his eyes shut, blinking back the salty tears. If only there was someone to comfort him…to understand.

We're family…

Katara had calmed him with those words when his Avatar spirit had been activated and gone out of control at the Southern Air Temple. When he had discovered the means of his mentor's violent death...One hot tear slid down Aang's cheek, and dripped off the end of his chin. He took a deep breath, trying to muffle a choky sniffle, and his thoughts drifted back to Katara. If nothing else, Katara cared for him. She had always been there to comfort him when he was in need of it, so why not now?

Aang sat up, and looked to his side at Katara a little ways off. Her back was turned to him, but he could still sense how peaceful she was; as if all of her worldly troubles were safely tucked away in the darkest corners of her mind so she could get a good night's rest. He wished he was as lucky as her at the moment. No trouble in his mind.

The young Airbender got onto his hands and knees, and crawled silently towards Katara. When he was only about two feet away, he flipped over to his back, and used his arms and legs to scoot himself to Waterbender's side. He closed the remainder of the gap between them, so the only thing that was separating their bodies was the wall of Katara's sleeping bag. Even with that minor hinder, Aang savored Katara's warmth, seeping through the fabric and pacifying him. Unintentionally, Aang's breathing rate matched up with Katara's perfectly. It was almost like they were one united being instead of two separate ones. Aang was just forgetting all his worries and strife, when Katara moaned and turned to face him, throwing an arm across his chest in her sleep. Aang froze, and he could have sworn his heart beat came to a complete stop. After some time, he comprehended that she had just tossed in her slumber, and that she was not awake. The boy relaxed his rigid muscles, allowing himself to sink into a calm and content peace. Katara's warm, sweet breath was blowing against the side of his face, and her limp arm slung across him felt like bliss. He cuddled against her closer, shedding his dread and stress from him like a loose snakeskin. His stomach did an unexpected flip-flop, a totally new sensation swept over him that he couldn't identify. Katara was so warm, so comforting, and so great. He wished he could just lie beside her for eternity, caught in her web of safety and security. When Katara was with him, Aang almost felt like she was sharing some of the unbearable weight of the world. Taking some of it from his shoulders and willingly and happily placing it on her own back. Making him feel light as his element. Katara cared for him, and as long as she was with him, Aang felt safe. As long as Katara was with him, he could endure through anything

Finally, Katara's warmth lulled the exhausted Airbender to sleep. His eyelids dropped shakily, and everything fell away into warm darkness. He didn't wake up until the late morning the next day.

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A huge metal ship slunk through the dark ocean, belching forth noxious smoke into the night sky. On the open deck of the steel monster, a young man of about the age of sixteen stood alone. He was pressed against the metal railing, staring over the edge at the churning waters below. The swirling mists rising from the cold sea drifted idly about the ship's deck. It cloaked the teenager in its slightly wet vaporous fingers. The stars usually out that time of night were nowhere to be seen, hidden somewhere behind the low hanging nightly clouds. Even the bright full moon was hard to spot, suspended above the ocean and engulfed in the same purplish fog.

Without warning, the teenager let out an immense sigh, and flipped his hand over so the palm was facing upward. In the center of his hand, flames suddenly appeared, forming themselves into a fiery sphere. The teen's amber hawk-like eyes glimmered in the dancing light. Using only his own will power, he forced the blaze to spread and condense, lower and heighten. As he was playing with his concoction, he heard heavy foot-steps coming up behind him. Couldn't they give him one moment's worth of peace? He thought irritably, closing his fingers slowly. The fireball shrunk until his hand was completely closed, then it vanished all together.

"Prince Zuko?"

"What is it, Uncle?" the teenager, Prince Zuko, asked, trying to mask the hint of annoyance in his voice. He turned to face his uncle.

"Why are you up at this late hour, my nephew? You will need your rest in order to resume your search and capture the Avatar," the sturdy, old man answered, tucking his hands into his enormous sleeves.

"I'll be getting to bed in just a moment…Good night," Zuko muttered, setting his back on his Uncle Iroh as he returned his gaze to the murky distant horizon once more. Iroh bowed his head gravely, and turned to leave. He took a few steps, before looking over his shoulder and informing Zuko, "The cook complained that he is running low on cooking supplies. Frankly, I agree. The soup tonight tasted quite bland; don't you think so, Prince Zuko? Maybe, we could make a short stop at the next market." Zuko snorted impatiently, but Iroh persisted, "Even the Avatar has to rest sometimes. We could just take a short break, restock our supplies, stretch our legs and be on our way. We'd be back on the Avatar's trail in no time, refreshed and ready to go. Do you approve?"

The Prince's uncle waited for a quick response, but when it didn't come he walked forward, putting his hand on the teenager's shoulder. "Zuko?" he asked tolerantly.

"Fine!" The Firebender snapped at him. Zuko then threw his head back, and a spurt of steam, speckled with bright sparks, shot from his flared nostrils. "We'll stop at the nearest market, get your much needed supplies, but then we are leaving! We haven't caught any trace of the Avatar for five days! We can't afford a large delay!" Zuko glared at his uncle, huffing slightly. Iroh merely coughed a couple of times, using his hand to fan away the charcoal smelling steam that had issued from the Prince.

"Excellent, Zuko," he said, the bit of smug victory in his tone deepening Zuko's glare. "I'll bring out a map tomorrow and we can find the nearest market in these parts. Good night, don't stay up too late."

"Good night, Uncle," Zuko mumbled. He waited until he could no longer hear his uncle's fading footsteps before creating a new ball of fire. A small smirk shaped on Zuko's face as he stared into the flames rippling in the breeze. Fire; his element, his greatest strength. As long as he could use his fire-bending abilities, he was never vulnerable to the many threats in his life. It was what made him strong. It brought fear into the hearts of his enemies and prey. It was one of his only tools in capturing the Avatar. The last few days he had spent in extensive training, enhancing his fighting abilities with fire. The next time he met up with the child Avatar, he would not escape. Zuko would catch him, and then he would take him back to his father, the Fire Lord. His two year banishment would end. He would be able to return home and reclaim his honor, his throne, and his family. Zuko was filled with a strange sense of comfort as he expanded the small fire ball to about the width of his arm span, and then let it disappear altogether.

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