Chapter 2: New Friends
Quick responses to reviews:
Bay45220: Yeah, I loved it, too. Hopefully you guys will enjoy my version as much as I enjoyed "The Unknowns".
Loveread2026: El fic está basado en la historia "The Unknowns" del sujeto Delta Bubz.
TR13 Reader: Yeah, I'm not really the kind of guy who's into werewolves or that kind of stuff, but I really had liked SDB's version and had always wondered about doing my own. Ha, yeah I think I might have overdone it with the Twilight vibe. I'll try to downplay it in the next chapters. And don't worry, Katara won't be quite so "obedient" for long. Hope you come to like my version.
Guest #1: Hey! Yeah, "The Unknowns" is that werewolf story. I'm not usually a huge fan of supernatural stories like these, but I had really liked this one and I'm glad that I'm taking a chance to see what I can do with it. Wow, thank you so much! I'm honored that you've enjoyed my writing. Hopefully this will be at least comparable to SDB's version.
Guest #2: Ha, I'll do my best to finish it. I'm glad to hear that you're already invested in it. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
A few weeks later, Aang found himself sitting in his room, thinking about all that had happened since he and his father had moved there. Fortunately, ever since the attack he had endured on his first day, no one had bothered him since then. Not that he had expected anyone to, as most of the people he met had been more than kind to him, but part of him couldn't help but be wary.
Ever since his near death experience at Jet's hand, he couldn't help but wonder if the crazy gang leader would try to finish what he had started. He knew that this wasn't likely, especially with the way that girl had stood in to defend him, but he couldn't help but be a bit nervous all the same.
Sure, he was sure he could hold himself in a regular fight, but he had been completely unprepared for such a drastic turn of events. Jet must have been truly out of his mind to attempt to kill someone over simply being told that they would not join his crew. Though Aang couldn't help but wonder if Jet had attempted to stab anyone else for not wanting to join his crew.
He was still quite grateful that Katara had shown up in time to stop Jet, even if he didn't understand how she had not only shown up so quickly, but had also somehow been much stronger than she originally appeared to be. Sure, he had seen plenty of tough and strong women during the many times he had moved around the country, but this was something else entirely.
Her strength was almost… inhuman, if the way Jet had held his hand as if she had snapped his bones in half was any indication. Not only that, but the way her foster family had acted when they had found her defending him, and the way it was clear that the scarred man was in charge… Suddenly, his new friend Shoji's description of calling them a pack did not seem so far out of reach.
Despite these weird things that he had noticed, he was grateful that she had saved him from almost certain death, and he couldn't help but want to get to know her more. He hadn't spoken to her since that day, but every once in a while he would see her from across the street, and they would often share a smile and a wave as he passed by.
Maybe he could go talk to her sometime. Preferably somewhere more private where he wouldn't have to worry about being watched by her foster family. This might prove to be difficult, however, as it was clear that the makeshift family didn't split up often.
What was he thinking? He shouldn't be trying to talk to her. Not only did she not likely think of him as anything more than friends, but he knew that he likely wouldn't be sticking around in this town for long. Even if he certainly wouldn't mind staying here, he knew that his father's work was important to him, and he knew that it would be a waste of time trying to get to know her.
Still though, he couldn't help but want to go talk to her. She had been very kind to him, and whether he didn't fully understand what felt off about her family, he couldn't help but be attracted to her and want to know more about her.
Before he could argue more with himself on the subject, a knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts, making him look up to find Gyatso standing at the door. "Aang? Is everything alright?" he asked as he noticed that Aang had clearly been thinking deeply about something.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Aang assured him as he sat up in his bed and made room for him to sit, which his father did quickly. "What's up?"
"Well, I've been thinking a lot lately about what you said on the trip here…" he began thoughtfully, making Aang raise an eyebrow at him. His father almost never talked about his work while they were at home, likely because he knew it was something of a sore subject for his son.
"Yeah?" was all Aang could think to say in reply, having absolutely no idea where his father was going with this.
Gyatso paused for a few moments, making Aang's heart drop as he wondered if his father had already gotten the orders to move again. But, after what felt like forever, Gyatso finally broke the silence. "I know how hard our relocations have been on you. You haven't really had time to make any friends, or get a girlfriend," he added with a mischievous smile, making Aang blush as he was reminded of the girl he had been previously thinking about.
"Dad, it's-" he attempted to reassure him, but this time Gyatso wasn't going to have it.
"No, it's really not fine, Aang," Gyatso politely interrupted him, making Aang's brows furrow in confusion as he waited for him to continue. "No kid your age should have to have traveled around so much. You should have been able to make friends, grow up in one place, actually feel like you had a home where you belonged."
He sighed as he closed his eyes, remembering how all of this had begun before he looked at his son once again. "When your mother died, I was heartbroken. So heartbroken that I threw myself into my work, not even stopping to consider how this might affect you." Pausing for a moment, he clasped a hand on his son's shoulder and gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry for that, my son."
Though Aang didn't want him to feel bad, Aang couldn't deny that he was relieved that his father understood where he was coming from. "It's alright, dad. I understand. It couldn't have been easy."
"It wasn't," Gyatso admitted as he looked down at his feet before looking back up at him. "But that's no excuse. I failed to put what you needed first before my own needs. And that's why," he added with his smile growing. "I made a deal with my work."
Aang's eyes widened as he heard this. "What do you mean?" he couldn't help but ask in surprise, wondering if his father was saying what he thought that he was saying.
Smiling wider than he had in a long time, Gyatso then continued. "After talking with my boss, we came to an agreement that I would be allowed to stay here permanently as the Regional Supervisor."
"So you mean…"
"That is right," Gyatso agreed, his grin only being matched by his son's. "No more moving. No more relocating. We're staying right where we are." He chuckled as his son tackled him in a hug, being happy that he had decided to go this way.
"Thank you so much, dad!" Aang exclaimed as he pulled away from the hug, making Gyatso laugh as he patted him on the back.
"No problem, Aang. I'm sorry it took me so long to come to this decision." His grin turned into a smirk as he thought of something. "Now, since we're staying here, why don't you go and find a girlfriend so I can have grandchildren one day?"
Blushing heavily, Aang rolled his eyes and complained. "Dad!" Gyatso just chuckled and shook his head at his son.
"What? Is it wrong of me to want to be a grandfather someday?" he teased, making Aang laugh as he shook his head. "I didn't think so. Now, with us going to be here for a while, what are you going to do now?"
Feeling excited and happy knowing that they were finally going to stay in one place, Aang stood up and looked out the window at his new home. "I think I'm going to take a walk. I can check out the neighborhood more and maybe I'll meet some people on the way," he told him, making his father smile as he stood up and joined him.
"That's a great idea, Aang. Go on," he gestured for him to get going. "I'm sure you have a lot of exploring to do." Aang grinned and nodded, making his way downstairs as he heard Gyatso call after him. "Be careful, Aang!"
Remembering how he had almost been murdered not too long ago, he decided to heed his father's warning and slipped a pocket knife into his pocket. Not that he had any intention of hurting anyone, but he hoped that if anyone tried to attack him again, it would be enough to keep them away from him. "Don't worry, dad! I will!" he called back. With this reassurance, he quickly got his shoes on and stepped outside, a smile on his face as he looked around at his true new home.
There was just something so liberating about finally knowing that he wouldn't have to keep starting over, and he was glad that he wouldn't have to keep trying to avoid people. Now he had the freedom to be able to make some friends, and more importantly to him, the ability to try to get to know the girl across the street more.
His joy being stronger than it had been in a long time, he began making his way down the sidewalk, not caring where he was going but being happy knowing that he finally had a place to call his home. As he walked, he took the time to really drink in the beauty of his new home, finding that it was even more beautiful now that he knew that they would be staying.
After a little while of walking and enjoying the sights, his walk had led him to a dead end, the entrance to that section of the woods being the only path forward. Despite knowing that he had walked far enough, he couldn't deny that he had been curious to check out the woods. And now that he and his father would be staying permanently, he decided that it was time for him to see what he had been missing.
Walking past the broken fence that had once prevented people from entering, he breathed in the fresh air of the woods around him and looked around. Truly, it was a sight to behold. He could hear the sounds of various animals all around him, and he couldn't help but think about how beautiful nature truly was.
His thoughts were interrupted, however, when he heard the sound of a twig snapping underneath someone's feet. Becoming alerted by this, Aang reached into his pocket to hold onto his pocket knife while looking around frantically, fearing the worst as he looked to see if he was being followed. But, after several moments of searching, he could not seem to find any evidence of him being followed.
Deciding that it must have been an animal or something, he let out a sigh of relief and turned back around, a gasp of surprise escaping his lips as he came face to face with the girl from across the street. Unable to help himself, he backed up a couple feet and laughed nervously. "Um… Hi."
"Hi. Sorry if I scared you," Katara apologized sheepishly as she saw the fear on his face. "I saw you walking over here and thought I'd say hello."
"No, it's fine," he tried to assure her, not wanting her to go away. Judging by the look on her face, he would say it was a fifty-fifty chance that she would just abandon their conversation out of embarrassment. "I've actually been meaning to talk to you. I didn't really get to thank you properly for saving my life on that day."
"Oh, it's fine," she smiled a little as she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry that he tried to attack you. Why did he, by the way?" she asked curiously.
Aang sighed and shook his head as he thought of the stupid reason he had almost died. "Jet asked me to join his gang and I told him 'no'. Apparently he didn't like that very much," he shrugged, earning a frown from Katara.
"I'm sorry to hear that. He hasn't bothered you since, right?"
A smile crept onto his face as he saw the concern she had for him. "No, he hasn't. I don't know what you did, but you must've really scared him. He won't even look at me anymore."
Katara smirked a little as she heard this. "Good. I'm glad he learned his lesson." She stuck her hand out to him. "I'm Katara by the way."
Not hesitating, Aang took her hand and shook it, being surprised once again by her strength as she shook his hand firmly. "I'm Aang," he barely managed to get out, hoping that the pain he was feeling wasn't showing on his face.
"Nice to meet you. So, what brings you to our town, Aang?" Katara asked as she let go of his hand, noticing the small sigh of relief that Aang had desperately tried to conceal and smirking the tiniest bit as she saw this.
"My father's job, actually," he told her honestly, finding no reason not to tell her the truth at the moment. Not that he felt that he could lie to her anyway, as her piercing blue eyes seemed able to discern lies from truth with ease. That and he really didn't want to start off on a bad foot with her. "We've had to move around a lot when I was a kid because of it, but I just found out today that I'm actually going to be staying for the first time."
"That's great!" Katara exclaimed in excitement, making Aang wonder why she seemed so excited about it despite having just met him. Realizing that she may have been a little too enthusiastic about it, she hastily amended. "I just mean, this is a nice place and I don't have a lot of friends here. And you seem nice and-"
"Katara, it's okay," Aang couldn't help but laugh, unable to keep from smiling as he saw Katara let out a sigh of relief. "I get it. With people like Jet around, you probably don't get to make many friends."
A frown crossed over her beautiful features as she was reminded of how he had almost gotten hurt. "You'll tell me if he tries to attack you again, right?" she asked seriously.
Despite being surprised at this sudden seriousness, he was touched that she appeared to care about him already and nodded. "Of course. I'm sure all I'll have to do is bring up your name and he'll run the other way," he joked, earning a giggle from her which made his heart beat pick up. He rather liked her laugh.
"He better," she playfully replied, her smile fading quickly as she heard something that he didn't seem to hear. Looking around, her smile quickly turned into a frown, making Aang wonder what she had heard that was making her act like this. "Um, I think I've had enough time in the woods. Do you think you want to take a walk somewhere else?"
Although he could tell that something was wrong, Aang decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and nodded. "Sure. Maybe you can show me around?" he suggested.
Smiling again, Katara nodded and started leading the way back with Aang right at her side. They were silent for a few minutes until they finally made it out of the woods, and Aang couldn't help but notice that she looked rather relieved.
Deciding to ignore the questions that had popped up in his mind from this, he decided to start their conversation up again. "So, I hear that you're part of a foster family?" he asked conversationally.
"Yeah, I am," she replied a bit distractedly, her mind appearing to be partially focused on something behind them. Looking back to where she was, he became surprised to see that she was looking back at the woods.
"Is everything okay, Katara?" Aang couldn't help but ask with worry, wondering if they were being followed as he tried to see what she was looking for.
After a few moments of silently watching the woods, she eventually seemed to relax a little and put on an apologetic smile. "Sorry. My brother Sokka likes to make sure that I'm safe and follows me sometimes," she told him, but she could tell that Aang wasn't quite buying it.
Thankfully for her, Aang decided to once again give her the benefit of the doubt and smiled back at her. "It's okay. I would want to protect my sister too if I had one." Katara's smile grew as she heard this, being happy to hear that he really was a nice guy. "So, what's it like being in a foster family?" he asked curiously.
At this, Katara actually laughed a little, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion at her. "Sorry, I just don't get asked that question as much as I probably should be," she explained, making him make an 'o' with his mouth as she thought about how to answer it.
"Well, it's definitely an… interesting experience," she couldn't help but chuckle as she thought about it. "I have two brothers and three sisters. There's Sokka, who's my actual brother. Then there's Zuko who's just my foster brother. And then my three foster sisters, Toph, Suki, and Azula."
"Wow. It sounds like you've got a big family," Aang laughed, making her laugh as she nodded her agreement. "You must have some interesting stories."
"You can say that again. Especially considering that two of my foster sisters have been fighting over my brother," she added, almost as an afterthought. When she didn't hear anything from him for a few moments, she snuck a glance at him and found that he had taken on a look of complete surprise.
"Wait, you mean that you guys… date each other?" Aang couldn't help but sputter out in surprise, earning a laugh from Katara as she shrugged.
"Most of us don't, but Toph and Suki both want to be with my brother. For some reason," she added with a look of disgust, making Aang laugh again as she smiled. "But other than that, no. Besides, in their defense, they're not related to each other at all."
Aang still couldn't help but be a bit weirded out by this thought, but he shrugged it off before replying. "I guess so. I just never really thought about it before, I guess." An idea coming to mind, as casually as he could, he then asked. "So, you're not dating anyone?"
Luckily for him, Katara didn't seem to notice what he was trying to do and simply shook her head. "Nope. I'm not." She glanced at him. "Are you?"
"Nope, I'm not," he informed her, not noticing the small smile that found its way onto her face as she looked away in an effort to hide it. The two continued walking together in a comfortable silence for a few moments, both of them wondering what they should talk about next.
"So," Katara began as she tried to think of something, her eyes lighting up as she finally thought of something. "You go to the same school I do, right?" Aang smiled and nodded. "Cool. Maybe we can hangout sometime?"
Hearing this, Aang's smile grew as he tried to cover it by pretending that his face was itchy. "I'd like that," he told her, earning a smile from her as they looked at each other. Before long, the two soon found themselves back at his house, and neither of them were wanting to say goodbye just yet.
Unfortunately, something seemed to catch Katara's ears as she turned around and saw that her family were all sitting down on the porch and looking at her, and Aang could tell that the scarred boy appeared to be wordlessly communicating with her again. From the look on her face, he could tell that she wasn't happy with whatever telepathic conversation they were having, but it wasn't long before she let out a sigh of frustration and turned back to him.
"My family's calling me to go," she sighed sadly as she looked up at him, a look of hope lighting up her eyes as she looked into his. "I'll see you at school, right?"
"Of course," Aang assured her with a smile, making her smile a little as she saw that he was serious.
"And we'll hang out sometime, right?" she pressed, earning a laugh and a nod from him. "Good." Smiling as she looked up at him, she leaned up on her toes and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, making his face flush red as she pulled away. "I'll see you later, Aang."
Giving him one last smile as she saw him stand there dazedly, she waved goodbye and started making her way back to her family, not noticing as he had acquired a rather goofy smile on his face as he watched her go.
Finally getting back to the group, she walked past them and went inside, knowing full well that they had all followed her inside. Deciding to ignore them for as long as she could, she walked over to the fridge and reached inside, grabbing a water bottle from it and taking a sip.
"What are you doing, Katara?" Sokka asked with irritation as he decided to be the first one to break the silence that had enveloped around them.
"What does it look like I'm doing, Sokka?" she pretended to play dumb, but she knew that they wouldn't buy it. "I'm drinking water."
Sokka rolled his eyes and shook his head at his sister. "You know what I mean, Katara. You know as well as I do that we're not supposed to talk to outsiders."
"Sokka's right," Zuko spoke up as he stepped forward. "We don't talk to anyone but each other unless we have to. Do you remember what happened the last time one of us got involved with an outsider?"
"Hey!" Sokka complained as he glared at his leader, but Zuko didn't bother to look at him as he awaited Katara's answer.
"Of course I do!" she sighed in annoyance as she rolled her eyes. "But that was different! And it was years ago! It's not my fault Sokka's girlfriend couldn't handle who we are."
"Ex-girlfriend," Toph added indignantly, earning a hum of agreement from Suki who decided not to argue with her at the moment. They really didn't argue as much as Katara had let on to Aang, but they had both made their interest in Sokka clear.
Rolling her eyes, Katara corrected herself. "Okay, fine. His ex-girlfriend. Aang's nothing like his ex-girlfriend."
"How do you know that?" Zuko asked with a raised brow, making Katara shake her head as she did her best not to get angrier with them. "For all we know, he could just be waiting for an excuse to chase us out of town."
"He's not! He's super sweet, and kind, and…" She felt her anger start to get out of control, so she forced herself to take a deep breath to calm down. "He's not like everyone else."
"But you don't know that, Katara!" Sokka objected as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought the same thing about…" he trailed off, his face dropping as he tried not to think about it.
Feeling bad for making him remember his past, Katara gave him an apologetic smile as she hugged him. "I'm sorry, Sokka. I didn't mean to bring that up again."
Shaking off his sadness, Sokka hugged her back for a moment before pulling away. "It's okay. Look, all I'm saying is that we have to be careful. I don't know about you, but I don't really want to move again if we don't have to."
"Of course I don't," Katara assured him. "But I really think Aang will be understanding of who we are."
At this, Toph snorted and smirked at her friend. "Really, Sugar Queen? You really think your boyfriend will understand that we're a bunch of mutts?" she asked with clear amusement on her face.
Before Katara could get the chance to reply, Zuko interrupted her. "It doesn't matter. If you're really going to go through with this, you have to be sure it's worth the risk. Is it worth the risk?" Katara softly chewed her bottom lip for a few moments as she thought about it, but eventually nodded with a determined look on her face. "Okay. But before you tell him who we are, spend some more time with him. I don't want us to have to move again because you told him about who we are too early."
Katara scoffed as she heard this. "I've only talked to him two times, Zuko. It's not like I'm going to walk up to him and say 'Hey, Aang. Me and my family are a bunch of werewolves. Want to join us?'" she sarcastically asked, earning an eye roll from her brother.
"Good," Zuko decided to speak up again before Sokka could make a comment back to her. "Just make sure that he's ready before you tell him. I don't want to have to move again if we don't have to."
"You would understand more if you actually asked that Jin girl that you like out," Katara huffed as she rolled her eyes, earning a frown from Zuko as he ignored her comment. Their conversation stopped as an older man came down the stairs, yawning as he walked over to the kitchen and poured some orange juice for himself, despite it being the afternoon.
After taking a big gulp of his drink, he set the glass down and looked around his surroundings, finally noticing that he had interrupted their conversation. "What happened now?" he sighed as he looked at Zuko.
"Katara wants to invite her boyfriend to join us," Sokka filled in for him with a roll of his eyes, making Katara glare at him as she responded.
"He's not my boyfriend!" she shot back with a heavy blush tinting her cheeks, making the rest of them laugh at her reaction to this.
"Not yet!" Suki added with a smirk, earning a snicker and a high five from Toph as Katara shook her head at her friends.
"Does any of this matter?" Azula spoke up for the first time that day as she leaned against the kitchen counter. "Just let her do it. If we have to move again, we'd all be better off, anyway. This is a wretched town."
Seeing that the pack appeared to have settled their disputes, the old man nodded his agreement. "Very well. Katara, make sure you spend enough time with this man before you tell him. If he wants to join you, great. If not, then we'll have to find a new home. Agreed?"
Although Katara still wanted to argue that Aang wasn't going to say 'no', she knew better than to keep arguing and nodded. "Good. Now, let's dig into dinner. Have you gone hunting yet?"
"They did," Katara answered as she shook her head at her makeshift family. "Aang almost caught them as they were coming back."
"We got what we needed, didn't we?" Sokka shrugged as he reached into the fridge and pulled out several dead rabbits. "Besides. He never actually saw us. Now, are we going to make some rabbit stew or not?" No one disagreed with him, making him satisfied as he went to the back porch to start grilling their meat.
"You do know what you're doing, right?" the older man asked as he stopped Katara from going up to her room.
Knowing that he was only acting in her best interest, Katara gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Jeong Jeong. I got this." Reading her for a few moments, Jeong Jeong decided that she was serious and nodded, allowing her to go up to her room. Finally reaching her room, she closed the door behind her and laid down, doing her best to not think about their recent conversation too much.
Truth be told, part of her was certainly worried about what Aang's reaction would be to finding out that they were werewolves, and more importantly whether he would agree to join their pack or not. But, knowing that there wasn't much she could do about it at the moment and knowing that it would be well worth the risk, she decided to put these thoughts aside for the moment and closed her eyes, hoping that Aang would truly be different as she had said he would be.