disclaimer: dont own it, never will-HEY!

Asthe day progressed, the tempest's strength increased. Sokka sat at Katara's side, not daring to leave it to see the progress of the storm's wrath. He bowed his head, hiding his unshed tears.

Zuko sat at the back of the room, swathed in a wool blanket as the coldness rolled in. Aang had left in an attempt to shield the worse of the storm from the village, but already four were injured, the houses closest to the shore were destroyed, and the shore line had receded four feet.

Zuko knew why Katara was in the state she was, sub-consciously at the very least. He gripped the blanket tighter, an ache in his chest. 'Why would she get so mad over a kiss- an involuntary one at that?' He questioned himself.

Gee, I don't know. Maybe it's because you claimed her and to her it looked at if she meant nothing to you! A voice inside his head shot back. Shaking his head, Zuko banished those thoughts, focusing on how to wake Katara.

Zuko walked over to Katara's side. Sokka didn't even glance up from holding his sister's limp hand.

"It's your fault." He whispered. "You hurt her."

"No. No, I didn't." Zuko denied.

"Yes you did! You hurt her! You're the source of all this destruction!" Sokka roared, rearing around to face Zuko, who took an involuntary step back at the sight of Sokka. His eyes flashed with anger, fear, pain, and despair, his mouth twisted in a feral snarl.

"I didn't mean to hurt her! It was that fucking wench's fault!" Zuko bellowed back.

"So you admit to hurting her?" Sokka said quietly, more of a statement than a question.

"No! I said it was the wench, Sushi or Suki…" He trailed off lamely, staring bleakly at the ceiling. "Either way, when she wakes up, she'll hate me."

"If we live through this, I'll personally see that you never hurt my sister again!"

Aang walked into the room full of tension and antagonism. He froze as he heard the last sentence.

"If we live through this, I'll personally see that you never hurt my sister again!" Sokka had yelled his voice full of hostility.

"If you are done yelling at each other, then you should notice the storm!" Aang bellowed, his own voice full of aggressiveness.

The two boys paused and then scrambled over each other to get to the window. Sokka slid down against the wall, his face pale. Sweat gleaming on his face, he crawled over to his sister again.

Zuko, unnerved by such power, stood stock still. Aang moved forward to close the shutters against the torrents and fierce wind.

"Katara, come back. I love you." Zuko whispered. Aang lanced at him, unsure if he had said something. Sokka, on the other hand, heard every word. He glanced at Zuko through the corner of his eyes.

Startled, Sokka yelped and fell backwards, scrambling away.

"Katara!" Aang cried. Before Zuko or Sokka could act, Aang had pulled his friend into a bone-crushing hug.

"What happened?" Katara asked, clutching her head.

Katara sat on the cliff that over looked the ocean. Two weeks previous, she had caused the strongest storm ever witnessed and recorded. Shaking her head in disbelief, she laid back, her eyes stinging with fatigue.

Some called her the Tempest. Some watched her with awe and reverence, while some looked at her with utter repulsion and fear. Her friends always pulled a guarded face when she tried to talk about what happened, Sokka always shooting glares at Zuko.

"A different kind of pain…" She had over heard a young woman say with her friend as they talked about the storm. No one was killed, but everyone could feel the pain that was burning in it, fueling it. If no one knew better, they would say that Arashi (they named the storm) was alive; that she had feelings.

"Katara?" A male voice asked.

"Hmm…" She trailed off, almost falling asleep.

"You need to know the truth of what happened." Zuko said, and then told her. All of it. "Katara?" He asked again when she didn't respond to him.

"I'm proud… you told…tru…" She trailed off, yawning. "But…I…knew." She finished, falling asleep. Zuko watched her silently for a moment and walked back to the village, with her curled safely in his loving arms.

ya, short..i wrote a longer one, but when I exited, i kinda clicked 'No' and instead of saving it, I deleted it. Ya, I know, I'm stupid, please punish me for my stupidity and taunt me! plus, I'm friggin tired, this is the longest I've stayed awake...twelve hours...wow...

over and out...to bed!WoOt wOoT! BEDTIME!

Erica...yawn