Author's Notes: I've miscalculated the length of this chapter it would seem… so I guess this will no longer be just a two part story anymore (see at the end of the chapter for more details). But then again, I doubt you guys are complaining.
Thank you so much to those who reviewed last chapter by the way! I appreciate your encouragements and, of course, your inputs!
No One Else
Chapter Two: Seeing the Signs
Fire Nation had changed a lot over the course of a few months. With their former leader – or as Sokka liked to call him: deranged, evil, fire-breathing psychopath – gone the kingdom no longer became the image of evil, but rather a place that can finally be acclaimed for its fight for freedom, for the world and, most of all, for peace.
Ex-General Iroh had taken up his rightful place as their new Fire Lord and had adopted Prince Zuko as his son. It went without saying that the Nation prospered with bountiful of happiness throughout the land, the scar of war and loss now only a distant memory to them and getting farther still, but not too far for them to completely forget.
Festivities of all sorts were happening all throughout the marketplace; banners of the four nations – air, water, earth and fire – waved with the wind and monuments of deceased heroes, noble kings and past Avatars, as well as the new, continued to shine beneath the sun's rays. There was entertainment at every crook and corner possible; puppet shows of the battle from a few months ago were being told to children, firecrackers were being lit up and showered the sky, while freshly made goods were being sold for only a buck under every roof.
If he hadn't been in such a gloomy mood all day, Aang would have been a lot more cheerful by the events, but – and with this he glanced over his shoulder where Katara seemed glued to what was going on below – seeing as how she hadn't even turned to look at him, not once, since their departure from the south Aang couldn't muster up any feelings of excitement even if he willed himself to. It just wasn't the same if Katara had set her heart into totally, blatantly, ignoring him.
He sighed heavily as they neared the palace, where looming above them was the Tower, a powerful structure that was the peak of Fire Nation's strength hold. It'd been the very place Aang had fought and defeated the previous Fire Lord, however back then it felt like the entire tower was fire itself, engulfing and destroying the life around it; an ominous essence, the source of all iniquity. Now it symbolized righteous power, courage and the flame of a new hope within the hearts of the people.
"Hey, Aang, look below!" said Sokka, who up to now had been staring uninterestedly at the scenes was now entranced by something else going on down below. There was a swarm forming down the market square, watching and pointing in awe as the flying bison flew overhead. And to Aang's surprise, they started clapping; at first it was just a few onlookers with a few claps here and there but then it steadily grew into a nation uproar of cheers and praises. "Damn! They're going crazy for us!" said Sokka excitedly, and with a cocky air about him, he waved back, grinning broadly as he did and had even went as far as blew kisses to girls who were blushing and waving at them as they passed by; they fluttered their fingers flirtatiously and did a bat or two with their long lashes, blowing kisses back. He sighed dreamily, leaning back into his hands. "I could get used to this kind of attention," he said. "Don't you think so, Aang?"
"Uhh…" said Aang, who was not prepared for the question nor did he have any idea really what he thought.
"C'mon," said Sokka, grinning suggestively at him and elbowing him in the ribs. "This is the perfect time to meet potential prospects!"
"Prospects?" repeated Aang blankly.
"Yes, prospects," said Sokka as though Aang was slow. "You being the Avatar and saving the world and all would probably increase your chances with the ladies, plus you're not half-bad looking. There's bound to be a chick out there that'll dig you for sure!"
Aang blushed. "I-I don't know," he said, sneaking a glance at Katara. There was something odd about the way she looked; her shoulders not to mention her entire posture was rigid, a sharp frown was squished between her brows and her lips were merely a thin line. Aang had seen that look on more than a few occasions; she was evidently not pleased by something, but by what… he didn't know.
"Nonsense! There's no need to be shy, Aang!" said Sokka, oblivious to his Avatar's discomfort. "In fact, there was this one girl who was really giving you the eye."
Aang's face went redder and redder with embarrassment. "Really?" he spluttered, his voice wedged in his throat.
"Yeah! It was a damn good eye too. She likes you, I can tell." Sokka frowned as he noticed Aang squirming uneasily. "You didn't notice didn't you?"
"Uhh…" said Aang, who hadn't.
Sokka shook his head and patted him on the shoulder. "It's okay," he said confidently. "We have loads of time."
Someone scoffed, and Aang had to crane his neck back to look at her. "Oh, please, Sokka," said Katara impatiently, "as if we're going to use abuse Aang's title to satisfy your own benefits! Besides, Aang would never take advantage of his fame like that; you should be ashamed of yourself, Sokka!"
"Oh, give him a break for once, Katara," said Sokka defensively. "He's been running around for years, trying to enhance his bending techniques and now that he's finally defeated the Fire Lord, I say he deserves to have a little fun!"
"And how does dragging him into one of your hair brain schemes signify any fun?" retorted Katara hotly.
"Aang agrees with me, don't you, Aang?" he said. Instantly, Aang felt cornered between a bolder and a pair of jagged teeth.
"Uhh…" he replied dumbly.
"See? He agrees with me!" said Sokka boastfully. He looked to Momo, patting the lemur on the head. "What about you, Momo," he asked in a bubbly voice that caused the irate look on Katara's face to grow darker, and more dangerous looking, "don't you think Katara is being unfair?"
The said animal simply looked at him, having absolutely no idea what Sokka was rattling on about. It purred unintelligibly, scratching its ears with its hind leg.
Katara crossed her arms and raised a brow, as if Momo's response (or lack of) was evidence of hers that had just been proven correct. Unfortunately, Sokka was not one to back down from a fight, especially with blood relations, or more specifically his little sister; he clapped his hands clean, unfazed by this in the slightest.
"Well, that's that, three votes to one," he said matter-of-factly. "You're outvoted, Katara." And out of the blue Appa heaved a great and heavy grunt. Sokka patted Appa on the side, chuckling affectionately. "Sorry, big guy…" He held out four fingers in Katara's face. "Make that four votes to one."
"Um, Sokka, I think Appa's just tired," said Aang, who noted the look of murder gleaming in Katara's eyes.
"It's okay, Aang, there's no need," said Sokka breezily, dismissing this entirely. "No need to make Katara feel better, she knows she's beat."
Katara glared. "Aang doesn't agree with you and neither do Momo and Appa, although you can't really count them because they obviously can't grasp the level of idiocy that's compacted in that thick head of yours!"
"Oh, that's just so…so… typical of you to say!" Sokka scoffed. "You don't count Momo and Appa's votes because their level of thinking is different from ours?" Aang had a moment to wonder if Sokka was ever really aware of the things he'd said sometimes. From the reddening of his cheeks and the contracting of his eyes, not to mention the look of utmost defiance, Aang concluded for himself that, no, the other boy had never done anything of the sort in his life and was proceeding to sink himself in hot water. "So are you saying they're beneath us?" he went, almost sounding hysterical by this point. "I…I thought better of you, Katara," he said, shaking his head with racked disappointment
"What?" said Katara, shaking her head in disbelief. "Do you even know what you're saying, Sokka? Those girls—"she said as if there was a really bad flavor in her mouth, "—are just a bunch of floozies, who probably wouldn't give you the time of day if they didn't know you were friends with the Avatar! Get real! They only want you because of Aang's fame and they're so greedy to have at least one taste of it! It has nothing to do with because they like you f-for you, they don't!"
"You know what I think?" said Sokka snidely, ignoring this. "I think you're just jealous!"
Katara's expression had faltered slightly; the ferocity and the anger she'd worn against her brother was slowly eroding away, as though revealing something beneath there had been overlooked. For a moment Aang felt a surge of hopefulness course through him. Was it possible the reason for her unusual behavior was because she was… jealous?
"J-Jealous?" said Katara, her voice thinly unveiling some fear. "Don't be ridiculous. What in the world would I be jealous about? I'm only looking out for Aang's well—"
"Aang this, Aang that!" Sokka snapped. "Don't feed me that. Isn't it a little old to be hiding behind the exact same excuse, Katara? You're not fooling anyone," said Sokka, who was sneering with a pleasure of someone who'd obviously had the upper hand on the situation. Aang on the other hand was listening, watching the pair so intently that he'd momentarily forgotten he was steering. What were they talking about that he didn't know about?
Katara's uneasiness was apparent now. She couldn't even look at her brother. She looked like she was shrinking, growing smaller and smaller under Sokka's intensive gaze, her breath becoming ragged and short.
"Sokka…" It was the first time Aang decided to speak up. He noticed Katara's desperateness to flee from the scene, her hands clasped over her ears, trying to drown her brother's words but unable to.
"You're just afraid of being left behind again, that if Aang and I found someone we might actually like that it would just leave you alone!"
"N-No," Katara tried to protest. "T-That's not it at all. I was just—"
"That's exactly what it is," said Sokka firmly. "It's just like that time we went to Kiyoshi. You didn't like Aang and I being off all the time while you stayed at your cot being an old stiff."
"Sokka—" said Aang again, and this time there was a warning in his voice.
There was a pause between them where neither of them said anything. Finally, Katara sighed, admitting defeat. As she sat down, Aang saw that she looked… upset – well of course she was – but more so she looked… like she was about to cry.
"Sokka!" Aang hissed.
Sokka noticed his sister's change of behavior too and his anger was quicker to leave him than it was to enter. "I-I was only kidding, Katara, geez! No need to be so uptight!" He rolled his eyes as if to emphasize he was going for lightening the mood (although failing horribly), before adding exasperatingly, "Girls… so easy to rile up over nothing. Pfft." Katara's expression hadn't wavered; in fact, she looked even more miserable, causing Sokka to double take. "C'mon Katara," he pleaded, "I'm…sssssss-orrrrrr—yyy. Okay? I didn't mean it."
He looked like he had to ingest a sack full of nuts to say that, or rather swallow down his pride and admit he was wrong. Katara shook her head, her shakiness slightly lifted now that her brother was back to being nice to her, and did her best to smile.
"It's okay," she said softly. "I'm sorry too…I didn't mean – I was out of line—"
"Shh..." Sokka hushed her quietly. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head with an ashamed look on his face. "Besides…you're probably right about those girls. They probably don't know the first thing about me, much less know my favorite color—"
"It's red," Aang inserted cheerfully. "Not that hard to figure out." He was silenced immediately by Sokka's looks of death.
Katara waved her hand dismissively. "No, no… it's alright," she said. "I-I'm just tired."
"Well, we're nearing the palace soon," said Sokka gently. "You should get some rest when we get there, okay?" Katara nodded as he squeezed her arm for comfort.
She watched as her brother took a seat beside her, looking a bit tired himself, before she lifted her blue eyes shyly to meet his grey ones. And Aang, unable to help himself, looked at her back. It was the first time she looked at him in hours or had even said anything remotely related to him. She'd looked so fierce, so firm… so incredibly Katara… that he momentarily had a lapse of breath. It didn't help that the sun was up high, causing her soft, tanned skin to glow under its radiance and her blue eyes to look bluer than ever.
It was like all those times spent watching her during training; he'd claim that he wasn't when she caught him at it, but she'd looked so beautiful, so graceful and commanding over her bending that he found himself staring at her every time.
It had definitely been a real shocker in his part to see Katara being beaten down so easily, even though the dispute between the siblings was petty and stupid and would probably be looked back on in the far future with a laugh and a claim how utterly ridiculous the two of them were. Aang knew Katara could very well handle her own, especially against her brother – she wasn't weak, nor was she a pushover (battling against the Fire Nation only heightened this evidence) – but that didn't stop him from being any less…protective towards her. Seeing her there, so utterly unhappy, so defenseless… so incredibly un-Katara-like… made him, more than ever, want to be near her.
Aang began to question what it'd been like if he had kissed her, what would have happened if Sokka hadn't arrived and he'd just filled the remaining gap between them and simply kissed her. Would she have pulled away? That would have been the worse possible outcome. But… what if she didn't? What if she kissed him right back?
The idea sent a swooping sensation from his stomach all the way to his throat.
Then he sighed a little, as if to remind himself that Katara, had not, in fact, been jealous… just a little tired and a bit irritated. She'd said so herself. He couldn't blame her; they'd been traveling practically the entire day and he was beginning to feel exhaustion taking over him. What's more, he thought, trying to squish down that swelling eagerness that had consumed him a while ago, why would she be jealous anyway? She couldn't or didn't see him in that way as much as he wished; she was only defending him because he'd felt uncomfortable by the sheer notion of "prospects" and, as she'd described them, they were floozies. Simple as that; discussion closed. That would be something Katara would do.
The swooping sensation vanished, replaced by a feeling that did not associate well with his stomach. It felt like his heart had grown increasingly heavy, too much for it to stay rooted where it was supposed to be, and had dropped to the bottom of his belly, leaving him feeling absolutely nothing but emptiness.
Katara noticed his stare, probably had for some time now, and looked away, her cheeks a bright shade of red.
And… she's back to avoiding me again… Aang thought, sighing.
Aang had Appa land just a few feet away from the palace doors, where already the guards were running in to inform the Fire Lord their arrival.
"Wow…" said Sokka loudly, as he jumped off Appa's back and was looking around. "We haven't been here in months, looks completely brand new!"
"That's because they had it rebuilt," said Aang while he undid Appa's saddle of his belongings.
"Wow…" said Sokka again, who was truly amazed. Momo joined him, hopping on his shoulder and casting large green eyes around.
"Well, if you have time to stare then you have time to help Aang and I unload," said Katara, who was carrying a bundle of her own, including her brother's, under her arms.
"Here," said Aang at once. He took the bags from her and thrust a few to Sokka, who hadn't been expecting the throw and winded up falling backwards from the force. Aang winced. "Er… sorry."
"Yeah…" muttered Sokka, helping himself up; he dusted his pants, looking thoroughly annoyed; "I'd forgotten you had lessons with Toph."
Katara giggled, a sound that reverberated pleasantly in his ears. Aang looked up; watching as she covered her mouth to muffle the sounds of her laughter, thinking as she did this that there was no possible way he could look away now. Sokka gave her a pointed look to keep quiet, but from the way his lips kept quirking upward as though he was actually going to smile but was forcing it down, Aang knew that he was just as pleased as he was to see Katara smiling again.
Aang cleared his throat and held out a hand to her.
Katara looked at him and for a moment she did nothing, simply looked in his eyes and at the hand reaching out for her to take. Aang thought maybe she would take it, but then in an instance, vanquishing all his doubts with a single touch, she took his hand. It was soft, comforting and felt so undeniably right to be held in his. He airlifted himself and she let him pull her to him, his other hand coming around her waist while he airlifted them back on the ground. Aang released her, letting his arm slide from her waist and back down to his side, but his hand still held hers, unable to let go. She was looking at him that same way she'd looked at him back at the temple – her expression unreadable, but something transparent fleeting before her blue eyes.
"Welcome! Welcome!" came a jovial voice, knocking the two of them back into a reality Aang hadn't realized they'd left.
Katara swallowed, biting her lower lip, an action which signified her mind was racing; Aang vaguely wondered what it was now that she was thinking about and whether it was about what had just transpired between them. They DID have a knack for awkward moments, most of them caused by him, but as she pulled her hand away he noted the happy, almost deliriously-looking, expression she had on and was trying to conceal from him but had failed dreadfully. Aang couldn't help but feel a bit pleased with himself, allowing a little grin of his own to reveal although he had no idea what exactly he'd accomplished.
"Honored guests," said Lord Iroh, bowing, and behind him Aang saw his whole line of entourages do the same. "It's a great honor to have you join us in these events," he gazed up at Aang, "young Avatar."
"Yeah…" said Aang, and briefly he took in the old man's appearance. From evident bald spot on his head down to the very soles of his black boots that Lord Iroh did not change a lot during the course of these past few months; his belly was still round and protruded from his gartered pants, his grey beard long and the familiar scent of tea leaves mingled all around him. He shook his head, almost forgetting his manners; he bowed his head and was aware of Katara and Sokka doing the same. "No, it's our honor, Lord Iroh."
Lord Iroh heaved a heavy laugh. "Oh, come now, Aang, there's no need for formalities," he said with a wide smile. "Call me Iroh. Now, come inside, you three must be tired from your journey—"
"Actually," Sokka spoke up keenly, "I am – I mean… we are kind of hungry—"
"Sokka," Katara hissed, shooting him a warning look.
"It's alright, Katara," said Iroh, who was obviously amused. "Come on in, I was just about to have tea. I'll have the servants take your things. Come, come!"
They followed suit while some of the guards gathered up their things and the rest led Appa, along with Momo, to the stables.
Once inside, Iroh said, "Won't you join me and my other guests in the common room?"
"Where's Zuko?" said Katara curiosly, looking around as if expecting him to pop out of the ground. Aang felt a prickle of annoyance at this. "I haven't seen him."
"Oh, he's at Ba Sing Se, negotiating treaties with the head leader," said Iroh. He leaned in to whisper, as though this was some kind secret, "He's my new Head ambassador and won't be back till tomorrow… that is… if you're still looking for him." He gave her a knowing wink.
Aang noticed with increasing distaste that Katara was blushing again, the feeling of something squirming; threatening to lash out at the sight had arisen from inside the walls of his stomach.
"Oh really," said Sokka, his tone sounding awfully too happy for someone who was doing his best to hide it, "that's…. too bad." With this he smirked as if his day had just changed to something agreeable in a poof at the mention of those words.
Aang suppose that he was still bitter about the fact that his sister had gone goo-goo for the man who near killed them about a hundred times.
He had said, his voice in that typical ill-temper when he was really pissed off about something, "This is what I will never understand about women. I mean what is with them and crazed, overly-obsessed, revenge-seeking, angst-prone juvenile delinquents? I swear… it's like a babe magnet o-or witchcraft of some sort!"
Aang had to admit, that he'd most definitely not been happy about it either and it was hard to contain his jealousy when Katara was standing there next to him, her face as red as the robes he had on him.
They reached the den which was a wide room with a skylight hanging down from the middle, allowing light from the sun to be filtered through while hanging from the high ceilings were bright yellow curtains and gold-plated chandeliers. There was a group of elderly folks sitting on the table, playing a game of some sort – Aang spotted the large board sprawled out in front of them and the concentrated looks on their faces as one of them moved forth a piece across the board before resuming their thoughtful stance.
"Is that fish and noodles with spicy tea sauce… in a bowl?" demanded Sokka, looking over at the long table just near the terrace where Aang could see the festivities still going on while people grew wider and larger in numbers.
"Of course," said Iroh. "It's a delectable here… would you like—"But Sokka was already there, taking a seat next to an old man with a red robes, who looked at Sokka like he wasn't quite sure where he'd just come from and calling to a nearby maid for a bowl. Iroh chuckled amicably while Katara sent looks of disapproval at her brother, coming along to take a seat next to Aang. "Three more bowls please, freshly made for our honored guests!"
The maids served them tea and bowls of fish and noodles that all smelled like tea, bowing their heads before exiting again. Katara was slowly sipping her soup while shooting furtive looks over at her brother, who was practically shoving the bowl into his mouth by this point, trying to consume its contents as fast as he can by scarcely breathing.
"Aang, Katara, Sokka," said Iroh, smiling. "These are members of the White Lotus Order."
An old man with his hair tied back stood up and bowed. "Welcome," he said. The rest followed suit, bowing as they greeted them.
"Oh, thank you," said Katara, who stood up as well and bowed her head.
"Yeah," said Aang, bowing. "Thanks for having us."
Sokka simply looked up from his bowl. "More please!" he called merrily.
At once, another bowl was served to him and he was back again, diving in for another bite. Katara looked thoroughly disgusted by her brother's lack of mannerisms, was probably wondering why it hadn't been drilled into his forehead as a child.
Iroh and the members of the White Lotus or whatever it was he'd called it didn't look abash. Iroh looked to Aang and Katara. "Go on, eat," he urged with a smile.
"I'm so sorry about my brother," Katara told him quietly. "He's usually really well-behaved." He made an undignified sound with his throat just then, causing both Katara and Iroh to look over at Sokka, who was not only on his third bowl already but was talking to the man next to him, his mouth full of noodles; the man had his brows raised, probably wondering how exactly someone could stuff their face so fast and still be able to make coherent noises. Katara looked like she was fighting an urge to reach over the table to sock him.
Aang hid his smile, scooping a large spoonful and shoving it into his mouth; satisfied when his stomach ceased to growl at him to feed it.
"So, Aang," said one of Iroh's club members. "Lord Iroh tells me you're expected to make a speech tomorrow evening—"he was interrupted by a choke, followed by a series of uncontrollable hacking. The old man peered from his game board and gazed at Aang, who was banging his hand on the table trying desperately to shove the clump of noodles down his throat. Everyone was looking at him now, excluding Sokka who was, well, preoccupied with his own bowl. Katara quickly handed him her cup of tea, which he drowned down in seconds, meanwhile patting his back soothingly with a worried look on her face.
When he composed himself, he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry… what?"
Unfazed, the old man replied, "A speech, my boy."
"A speech," repeated Aang like he wasn't quite sure the word was in his vocabulary. "You mean… to the people?"
"Yes," said the man, chuckling, "to the people. They all want to hear a few words from the one who saved the world."
A speech, he thought again and felt strangely faint. The idea made him nervous. Lord Iroh had said that the palace would be packed with people from every corner of the world; this was probably only a tiny portion compared to the millions more that had still yet to arrive. Aang gulped. The last time he'd been under this much pressure he'd been on trial for killing Chin the Great in a past life; he'd flunked that one with flying colors, having totally forgotten his alibi and speaking complete nonsense when trying to explain the evidence both Katara and Sokka had went through the trouble of finding for him. And now… he was expected to speak in front of all these people?
After tea, Lord Iroh sent them off upstairs to their rooms, telling them that if there was anything else they wanted (anything else at all) to not hesitate and ask. Katara had to drag Sokka away before he got any bright ideas while Aang followed not too far behind, his shoulders sagging and his mind elsewhere on speeches and large crowds.
The maids led them up a flight of stairs, where the railing was pure gold and in the shape of a flying dragon. Then they reached the hallway, where it stretched long and far with doors of the same décor as the entrance and the railing of the staircases, which were lined with gold streams and white and black dragons painted all across it.
It was certainly different than what it had been a few months ago. Aang helplessly shuddered at the memory, not even able to be entirely amazed by the remarkable craftsmanship surrounding him. Black flaming torches, darkened hallways and rooms upon rooms like a labyrinth felt too much like a bad dream flashing on and off again in his mind. They jump out at him at any given moment, with absolutely no warning whatsoever.
And as though his feelings of turmoil had reached out to someone, he felt a hand slip in through his, delicately taking his hand and interlacing their fingers together. When he looked, he saw it was Katara; she was watching him with a hard, blazed expression, like she knew exactly what was running through his mind and where within him the pain was hurting the most. She gave his hand a squeeze, silently letting him know that she was there for him, and Aang, with this renew strength, felt his spirits rise again, his heart feeling lighter than ever as though a burden had just been lifted off his shoulders.
That's what it was like with Katara… he never had to go through anything alone, because she was always there… every step of the way, no matter how far ahead or how far behind he was from her… he knew she wasn't too far behind. She'd always catch up with him, no matter what the cost or how far the distance.
He swallowed, realizing a second too late that Katara had taken his hand – his hand. Well, of course, she'd taken his hand – she had done it before, tons of times in fact… but somehow this unexpected display from her felt different, quite unlike the million times before she'd slipped her hand through his to hold. She sent him a smile, a fleeting, almost unnoticeable curl of her lips, until it was gone – just like that – and she was back, looking ahead of her again as though nothing had happened, but he knew, he saw…was the only one under this roof who had.
"Aangy?" said someone suddenly. "Is that you?"
"Aangy?" both Aang and Katara said simultaneously, confused.
Aang turned around to the sound of the voice but had been hurled to the side by a force he hadn't been expecting. He heard Katara yelp as she'd been torn away from him. When he looked down he realized it was someone he knew.
"Koko?" he said, staring at her with wide grey eyes. "Wow… you… what are you doing here?"
Koko grinned toothily. "Well, you're not the only one who's been invited to stay at Lord Iroh's suite," she said matter-of-factly. "Everyone from Kyoshi is here too!" The door next to them opened and a group of girls poked their heads out.
"Koko, what are you – Aangy?" They noticed him there and they all did a double take as if they couldn't quite believe he was there. It wasn't long till the realization settled and they were all squirming to get out of their rooms, pushing and shoving, squealing ear-wrenching squeals of delight as they rushed to give Aang a hug.
"We've missed you, Aangy!"
"Where have you been, Aangy?"
"Why haven't you've been visiting us, Aangy?"
Aang, however, was doing his best to keep his head above them; they were all tackling into him, one by one, and with each tight embrace he felt the wind being knocked out of him. He kept sending Sokka urgent looks of 'help me!' but the other boy seemed to be in deep thought about something, or was really, really amused to do anything but stand and watch, looking as though he was in deep thought so he wouldn't have to move. Aang highly doubted it was the former.
"Say," said Sokka finally, tapping his chin. "If you girls are from Kyoshi then that means…"
As if someone heard him, someone yelled:
"Hey, long time no see!"
Sokka, and Aang, who was fighting for freedom (but was doing dreadfully) by this point, looked behind them, where a group of women, all adorned with a silk green warrior's outfit with a black vest covering their chests and down between their legs stood before them, their faces painted white with thick red strokes of paint over their eyes and black over her long lashes and brows.
The one in the middle took a step toward them, the ornament with a gold plated image of a sun on her forehead gleaming against the light. She looked at them with that typical, over-confident smirk; or rather she was looking at Sokka with that big, over-confident smirk.
"Suki," said Sokka with a curt nod.
"Hey, Sokka…how's you're fighting these days? Hopefully it's improved," she said teasingly. "Not like that girly style you used to have, is it?"
Sokka scoffed. "Of course not! In fact I'll show you my awesome manly skills right here, right now!" He lifted both his fists and started bouncing at the balls of his feet, waiting for an attack. But Suki just shook her head and laughed.
"Sorry, no can do," she said. "The other Kyoshi Warriors and I are needed at the festivals today."
"Gee," said Sokka with mock sadness, "that's too bad."
"Say, why don't you come with us, Sokka?" she asked, looking at the other women who all nodded at this eagerly. "Come see our performance?"
"Hmm… I don't know," said Sokka, going for aloofness, "I'll have to check my schedule."
"Oh, please, Sokka, please?" said all the other girls, coming around him and tugging on his sleeves pleadingly. From the side somewhere, Aang heard Katara cough in her hands, probably rolling her eyes at her brother's poor attempts at dramatics.
"Oh… well, okay," said Sokka, nodding finally. "You've convinced me."
The girls cheered and began dragging him along with them.
"Hey!" said Katara, calling after him, "What about all your stuff, Sokka? You can't just leave them here!"
"Let Aang take them for me!" he said, not even glancing their way before he was gone, the sound of their laughter disappearing down the hall.
Gee… thanks for nothing, Sokka… Aang thought, scowling. As if I don't have enough on my plate already…
The girls were still clinging on to him and didn't look like they were about to let go any time soon. He sighed heavily, thinking the fates landed him this hallway on purpose; he tried to get Katara's attention, but she was barely looking at him now – her eyes casting everywhere else but at him, an expression he hardly recognized on her face. And just when it'd seem like it couldn't get any worse, someone else called his name.
"Aang?" He (well he tried at least) turned his head and saw yet another girl coming down from her end of the hall to meet him; she was wearing a pink kimono which had pearl-white butterflies near the hem and on the sleeves, a blue obi was tightly strapped across her waist.
"Meng!" he said. She'd grown taller and prettier, her hair not so much like that unmanageable disaster he'd seen when he was twelve; it was held back by a pair of thick braids coming down her shoulders and her face seemed thinner and more mature looking. "You're here too?"
The said girl nodded and smiled. "Of course! Aunt Wu's fortunetelling is great business, especially in big events such as these!"
"Oh, she's here too?" said Aang. "That's great!"
"W-Why don't you come by later?" said Meng quickly, her face growing red. "I-I bet she would love to see you again."
"I'd love to but…" he trialed off as he looked at the girls who were holding him hostage. He smiled at Meng helplessly. "I'm a little… tied up at the moment."
It was the first time Meng seemed to notice them, and right away from the mean glare she shot in their direction and the retaliated death glare they shot right back that they had now officially became sole enemies.
"C'mon, Aangy," said Koko, pouting as she held on his arm like some possessive wife, "let's go to the festivals now."
"Hey," Meng hissed, coming in her face. "He said he wanted to come with me."
"No he didn't!" said Koko venomously and the other girls behind her agreed instantly. "He just said he'd loved to but is a little tied up at the moment because he's already agreed to go with us." She gave Meng a superior smirk. "That's okay. We'll tell you all about what happened when we get back."
"Look here Island girl, Aunt Wu told me that I'd be marrying someone with big ears, and Aang fits that description, so there!" snapped Meng, who'd joined in the group hug, trying to tug away Aang's arm from Koko's grip.
"Island girl?" said Koko, her voice ringing. "Oh, yeah? And who are you supposed to be, Bucktooth?"
What IS it with everyone in my ears? Geez… can't they just leave them alone? Aang thought bitterly. Then he shook his head, berating himself that this was NOT the time to be self-conscious about his ears.
He quickly cleared his throat, gently whisking air between Meng and the other girls apart. "Uh… it's okay," he said, "I'll just see both of you guys later. I'm kind of tired right now and am not in the mood."
"Oh, okay, Aangy!" said Koko, who was cooing and motherly again.
"Yes!" said Meng, who was trying to overthrow her by talking louder. "Okay, I'll see you later then!"
"You mean I'll see you later," corrected Koko serenely. Meng glared at her. Koko and the other girls glared back. And was it just him or did he hear thunder echoing in the distance just now?
Aang forced a smile. "Now if you'll excuse me ladies…" he said, gathering up his (and Sokka's) belongings and making his exit before another quarrel could commence.
"Bye, Aangy! Bye!" they called, sighing dreamily. Aang waved a little, trying to keep his pace casual so as not to look like he was actually rushing to get away. He couldn't believe he enjoyed this kind of attention back then – it was brutal!
As soon as he was out of sight, he instantly heard Koko and Meng bickering again; although this time they left his ears (thank God) out of the way. And yes, he should have technically felt guilty about leaving them there, where the probability of them tearing each other limb from limb was enormous, but really… his arms were getting sore from all the clinging and he was getting really sick and tired of hearing 'Aangy!' being screamed at a considerable volume in his ears all the time, which, by the way, were NOT huge.
He met Katara down the next foyer. She was hauling her things and following the maids again, who led her towards the two rooms down the very end of that corridor. When he reached her side he let out great big sigh of relief.
"Man," he said, shaking his head, "I thought I was done for."
Katara didn't reply and kept walking. Aang frowned a little; he'd been expecting she'd laugh or share in his expense, but she didn't, instead she kept her eyes up ahead as though she hadn't heard him. He noted that he had to keep sprinting in order to keep up with her and wondered what was the sudden rush for?
The maids pointed to their rooms, which were just across from one another; Katara thanked them and they bowed their heads courteously before leaving the way they came. Aang watched silently as Katara fiddled with her lock, watched as a strand of brown hair fell over her face, obscuring just a bit of her blue eyes from view, and he suddenly felt compelled to simply push it back for her.
"I can't believe Sokka ditched me, can you believe him?" he asked, breaking the silence between them. Katara still didn't say a word, her focus solely on how to make the key fit itself in the hole without having to break the key in order to do it. Aang felt his frown return and his heart fall just a little. Was she upset about something? He wondered. Was she angry at him? He took her by the arm, causing her to stop what she was doing and she just stood there, her head and her eyes in the opposite direction, absolutely denying him of any spectacle of her whole face. "Um… Katara… are you okay?"
He thought she wasn't going to reply, but when she did; her voice was cold and tinged with a tremor of anger, "Okay? Of course, I'm okay! I'm just peachy, why wouldn't I be okay?"
"Um… okay…" he said slowly. Then he sighed, gently taking her other arm and turned her around. She kept her eyes trained elsewhere, but he could see the undeniable frown that was on her face. So… she was upset about something. "Really, Katara, what's the matter?"
"I told you I'm peachy," she said.
"And I think I know you better than that," he said. "Now tell me what's wrong."
"Well, I'm fine," said Katara firmly, tugging her arm free from his.
"Then why won't you look at me?" said Aang quietly as he watched her take her things inside her room.
Katara sighed. "I'm just… tired," she said lamely.
Aang supposed that forcing the answer out of her wasn't going to help enlighten him, so he nodded, reluctantly; accepting her answer, although highly aware that it wasn't an honest one. He cleared his throat and thrust his hands into his pockets, feeling his heart hammer loudly in his ears as he thought about what he was going to ask her next.
"So… uh… if you're… um that is… if you're not, um… b-busy later," he stammered, his face blushing like mad. He shook his head, inwardly thinking, C'mon, Aang, you can do it! You're the Avatar! "I-I was wondering if…if you'd maybe… um… I don't know… want to go with me to t-the…festivals?"
He was pretty sure he sounded like a total moron just now stuttering like that, but he felt always tongue-tied when it came to Katara, like he couldn't keep his feet firmly on the ground because he'd be too busy walking on air or gliding across the clouds.
"Sorry," said Katara flatly, "I can't. But maybe," she added, her tone sounding bitter but showered with attempts at sounding bright and enthusiastic about it, "you should go ask your fan club over there. I'm pretty sure one of them would be just glad to have Aangy escort them—"
Aangy?
"Hold on, hold on," said Aang, waving his hands for her to stop. "I never said anything about asking Koko or Meng or any of those other girls to the festival. I said I want to go with you to the festival, not them." He raised a brow at her curiously. "What's got you so riled up about anyway?"
Katara scowled as she clenched her hands into fists. "Nothing, Aangy," she said, her voice like ice, "it's nothing. Never mind."
"Wait, Katara, what's the matter?" said Aang, drawing closer to her, but she refused him completely, taking a step away from him as he did. "This isn't like you."
"I'm…I'm tired," she said again, shaking her head. This time, the anger was gone and all that was left in its place was misery, confusion and remnants of someone who was trying desperately to find what they've lost. Truth be told, Aang had never seen her look this way before; she looked so terribly sad… like she didn't know what else to do anymore. Instinctively, he reached out to her, but she pulled away, taking a step back inside the protection of her room which he could not enter. Katara swallowed, forcing herself to finally gaze into his eyes and once again he was struck by how utterly miserable she looked. "G-Goodnight, Aang," she whispered before shutting the door shut in his face.
Aang didn't know how long he'd stared at that door or how long he'd hoped it'd open and the girl behind it would emerge, finally deciding to tell him all the things she kept hidden. The look of total grief, of anguish and pain had thrown him off the loop; it had certainly woken him up to the possibilities that Katara… may not be as happy as she'd seemed.
Every smile, every shout of laughter, every sparkle in her eyes… had that all been just an act? He wondered. If so, what was inside her heart that was hurting her so much; that was causing her so much turmoil within that she couldn't even tell him – her best friend? Aang sighed, seeing that she was not about to open the door any time soon and reluctantly retreated to his own room.
Inside was painted in red with amazing woven tapestries of phoenixes and angels gliding together on the walls. He felt too depressed to even admire the awesome craftsmanship of the gold-plated windows and the ivory carved terrace just outside.
Had she always been so miserable? He thought, as he fell back on the mattress, too deeply consumed by his thoughts to marvel how comfy the pillows and the blanks were against his skin.
For how long has she been this way… and why?
Or rather…and why in the world she thought she couldn't tell him about it?
Aang drifted off to sleep, his mind was swirling of Katara, of the lost smiles she'd worn, of the sadness he'd seen riding at the very edges of her blue eyes so that anyone, whether him or Sokka or the world, couldn't see, even at first glance.
A/N: Well, end of chapter two. As I've said at the beginning of the chapter… I think I've totally underestimated the length of this chapter. So officially, this story will probably be about three chapters long, four at the most, instead of only two. But like I've said before… I don't think you guys mind (smiles).
I've corrected some stuff in the previous chapters by the way, so that anyone who is new to this story won't get confused and be wondering "why is it suddenly more than two chapters? I thought there was only two?" So yeah… sorry for the confusion everyone.
Anyways, thanks for reading, please review!