A/N. I'm back to my daily rhythm, writing as fast as I can, which feels nice! I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender!
Sitting in the small garden of the inn, Aang sighed heavily. Spirits, this night had been… wonderful and torture at the same time. Sleeping next to Katara had been wonderful, and the fact that it had seemed so natural had been a relief. The airbender had been afraid that after it would be awkward.
Well, it had been, a bit. At least for him. Katara had fallen asleep nearly immediately, but for him, it hadn't been that easy to fall in a slumber… With her body pressed against him, he had… Well, there had been problems. Hard problems. Normally, there was always a solution if he didn't manage to fall asleep because of that. While camping, he could sneak off into the woods and… Well, remove the hard problem. But with Katara near him in an in… Well, it had taken time, a lot of time, before he had calmed down and had finally managed to fall asleep.
His dreams had been filled with rather… explicit images. So, after sleeping just over two hours, he had woken up, and again had been faced with the same dilemma. So, Aang had decided to just go for an early meditation session. That should calm him down, surely!
It didn't.
He had tried to banish all thoughts out of his mind to access that sweet nothingness that came with meditating. He had closed his eyes, sitting with crossed legs towards the rising sun, but it hadn't worked. Since he was a child, Aang had loved meditating while the sun was coming over the horizon, for it gave him a sense of calm and serenity.
Not this time, however… Well, after trying for a while he had just given up. Aang had got up and had gone into the forest to get Appa. The bison had apparently also woken up early, because as soon as the airbender walked up the path, past the first few trees, he saw the great white mass that was Appa. The bison grumbled softly, as if to say you didn't think you would get away with leaving me in the forest, did you?
Aang brought him back to the inn. There was a barn next to the building that seemed to serve to house animals for the guests. As they were the only one, he supposed that putting Appa there wouldn't be a big problem. If it was, he would go down to the village later that day to buy hay and so on to replace what Appa ate.
So, now he was back in the garden, and he had taken the small pouch from his chest. Sighing, he looked at the contents of the small bag. The stone was really beautiful… And he had asked Sokka what he could put on it… Something personal, the Water Tribe boy had explained… It was still early, and no one was awake just yet… So, maybe he should try something.
He could use earthbending to smoothen down the two faces of the stone, but he decided against it. If need be, he would repair any damage with his bending, but he wanted to make this with his own hands, without help.
Turning the stone between his fingers, Aang frowned. First, create a flat surface on one of the sides of the stone. Opening his small tool bag, he picked out the hard granite stone that he had always used to polish and smoothen stones in the Air Temple. Granite was harder than most stones. But the stone between his fingers was too small, and he was afraid he would grind it too quickly. So, he put the stone against the granite, and began to move it softly, instead of putting the granite to the stone.
It worked, slowly. After a while, his lap was filled with small particles and dust from the yellow stone, and one of the surfaces was becoming smoother and flatter. Looking at the result, Aang knew he still had to make the rest of the stone perfectly circular, but it was a good start!
"Hello young man." A voice called from behind him, and turning around, Aang saw the old woman, Hama, stand next to the door, with a basket in her hands.
"Oh! Hello Miss Hama!" He got up, quickly slipping the stone in his pocket. She didn't need to know about that…
"What are you doing up, so early in the morning?" The old woman walked past him, raising an eyebrow when she saw his dust covered legs.
"Meditating! I… I like to do that each morning." He answered, not really wanting to explain the whole Air Nomad culture and religious activities this early to a stranger.
"Young people these days…" Hama smiled, shaking her head, "Well, if you are finished with that, would you mind helping me pick some of the herbs in the garden?" She gestured towards the corner of the garden.
Aang took the basket from her hands and walked with the old woman towards the herbs. She seemed nice, and it was a relief to be able to help people, even if it was picking plants. The Air Nomads hadn't really believed in the concept of money. Of course, when travelling, Gyatso always took a pouch full of coins with them, but most of the time, he would suggest some labour in exchange for shelter and food. So that both parties got something meaningful. Aang had like to do that too, and to be able to do that now… Well, it meant a lot to him.
"So, did you sleep well?" Hama asked, as she bent down to the plants, plucking some of the leaves from them.
"Yeah!" He answered, feeling a small rush of blood towards his face. The innkeeper had been quite clear with her jokes yesterday evening. And she also knew that he and Katara shared a room, for it was her who had suggested it!
"I guessed so. Didn't wake up your friends with… unwanted noises?" Hama laughed, and this time, Aang felt his face heat up rather dramatically. Spirits, he was really not subtle, was he?
"Nope!"
Hama shook her head, picking other herbs, while he held the basket out for her, and after a while, she turned around and walked back to the inn. The airbender followed her, deposing the basket on the kitchen table. The woman walked up the stairs, presumably to wake the others. Aang quickly pulled the stone out of his pocket and put it back inside the pouch. Spirits… It would be awkward if someone found it… Well, if Katara found it that was. Sokka already knew he had it, and the airbender suspected that Toph could feel it in the pouch, but didn't know what it was exactly…
"Does that woman need to wake us up at the crack of dawn?" Toph came down the stairs grumbling. Aang quickly averted his eyes, because… Well, Toph didn't seem to mind showing off more than he wanted to see… Not that he had seen anything! But… well, nearly.
"We did promise to help her. And we got a good night sleep out of it." He answered, as the blind girl was adjusting her shirt and vest.
"I know… Just an hour more would have been nice." Toph fell down in the chair next to his, and she turned her face towards him, actually fixing him with her misty eyes.
"She didn't knock on your door. How are you already here?"
Monkeyfeathers… Aang quickly lifted his feet off the ground, putting them against the legs of the chair.
"I was already up, meditating." He answered, as smoothly as possible. Toph didn't need to know what he had been doing, "Oh, and I went to get Appa. He is in the stables next to the inn." He gestured towards the general direction of his bison but forgot that that didn't help the earthbender.
"Morning people!" Katara came walking down the stairs, dressed and actually looking more rested than she had in several weeks. Aang smiled tentavily at her, feeling a bit guilty about the fact he had kind of abandoned her in bed, without explanation.
The waterbender smiled back, with that soft look in her eyes that made his heartbeat faster than necessary. Spirits, he was happy to have put his feet up, so that Toph would be unable to feel this!
"Is my time out over already? Because I have a shit load of jokes in my arsenal, just because of Sugar Queen's heartbeat… Please let me!" Toph interrupted their gazing at each other, and Aang scraped his throat, trying to have a semblance of dignity left.
"No, you can begin after we leave this village, alright?" He suggested. That would leave enough time to rest a bit, and maybe… maybe tell the others? That he and Katara were actually in a relationship now? He would like to tell that to the others… So much…
"And maybe after that too? Seriously, the two days spent without teasing from you… Were the most relaxing days I had for months." Katara laughed softly, as she sat down in front of him. Yeah… It had been good…
"No, no, you get until the minute we leave this place! Then, I'll go all out! Teasing, jokes, the whole deal!" Toph wagged her finger towards them, grinning. Spirits… Did she know something about them, spending the night in the same room? It was nearly impossible, as everything upstairs was made of wood…
A grumbling Sokka descended from the stairs, pulling on a shirt while he said something like no privacy, stupid sister, stupid… Raising an eyebrow to Katara, she smiled and whispered.
"I may have helped Hama wake him up. He was sleeping on the floor of his room, a bit… Well, nearly naked."
Aang tried, and failed miserably, to hold in his laughter. Spirits, he would have paid good money to see that, and to see the reaction of Hama and Katara, walking in that room!
"You'll get it Air He… Kuzon. Tomorrow, I'll walk into your room to wake you up. Let's see who will be laughing then!" Sokka grumbled irritatedly. Spirits, please no.
"Y-you'll have to wake up early in that case, I always get out of bed at sunrise!" Aang defended himself, trying very hard not to look at Katara. If Sokka walked into their room, as much as the Water Tribe boy seemed to accept what was happening between them… Well, Aang wasn't sure if Sokka would quite appreciate that kind of activity…
"Alright, enough chitchat, who can help me with my groceries?" Hama interrupted them, smiling widely. Well, better that than stay and talk to Sokka about… Waking up in awkward places or positions!
Aang quickly slipped on his boots, and watched as the others prepared themselves as well. In a matter of minutes, they were on their way to the market square in the valley. Aang wasn't too sure, but he suspected this was a rather new village in the valley. He had visited this territory before the iceberg, and then, there had been fewer settlements, but for some reason, this place gave him a sort of déjà vu. Maybe he had flown over it once?
"So, young girl, what about you? Do you have a beau?" Hama asked Toph as they walked down the path. Katara, who was walking next to the old woman, cast a look behind her to him, grinning at the question.
"Oh! No, no! please, Spirits no." Toph answered quickly, nearly hiding behind Sokka and him, trying to get out of the conversation. Hama just laughed, and turned to the Water Tribe boy.
"And you, young man? A strapping lad like you… Well, if I had been a few years younger!" She cackled, and Aang laughed aloud. Yeah, get them, tease them! It was a nice chance.
Sokka just shook his head, choosing not to engage in the banter. He was quite right, because Aang feared that he and Katara would be the next targets of the older woman, and he was not looking forward to it… Spirits, imagine she talked a bit too much, and gave away the fact that he and the waterbender were together…
Luckily for them, they arrived in the village before that could happen. As Hama, accompanied by Katara, looked over different stalls, Aang edged his way back to Sokka and Toph. The two women in front laughed because of something Katara had said, and the airbender couldn't help but smile. It didn't happen that often they met a genuinely caring person, who wasn't into it for themselves, but just there to help out if the need arose.
"… I have to send the boy to Hing-Wa Island to get them, and it is a two-day trip." Aang overheard the man behind the counter of one of the stalls say to the client, a bald rather… fat man.
"Oh right… tomorrow is the full moon!"
"Exactly, I don't want to lose yet another delivery boy in the woods!"
Spirits, that sounded horrible. Another? How many people did disappear during the full moon?
"Full moon? People disappearing? This just reeks of Spirit World shenanigans." Sokka whispered in his ear, and Aang couldn't help but agree… It sounded too like Hei Bei's story to be anything else…
"Maybe we should take a walk around town? To find out what happened that could make the spirits angry?" The airbender whispered back. It may be a bit late to say it to Sokka, but he hadn't really tried to get into the Spirit World since his talk with Roku, and that had been on the old Avatar's request… Actually, to be honest… Aang didn't feel like he would be able to do so… Whenever he meditated, he didn't feel that small tug in his hands that seemed to entice him to come to the Spirit World, like before…. Maybe his injury had something to do with it?
"Yeah, and you can solve something quickly, like the Avatar you are." Sokka smiled, genuinely at that.
"Yeah… helping people. I like that." Aang sighed. He did indeed. He enjoyed it far more if it wasn't to get something in return… Just… Helping out, like the Air Nomads did before…
"Why don't you all take those things back to the inn?" Hama pointed to several bags she had just bought, "I just have some more errands to run, nothing too special, and I'll be back in a little while. I still have some mysteries, just like you do." The old woman smiled, before turning the corner and disappearing into the crowd in the other street.
Well… That was a bit sudden. But Aang could understand the need for privacy. Maybe Hama had to buy things for herself that she didn't want to share with them. Which was her right, of course! The airbender grabbed one of the bags and slung it over his shoulder, as the others did the same.
They walked back to the inn, and Aang listened to Sokka explaining to Toph how the valley had probably formed, with the river digging its way to the sea over centuries. The airbender wanted to tell Sokka that it would probably fall on deaf ears, for Toph could feel how the valley has been formed…
But he didn't. No, it actually gave him a moment to talk to Katara.
"Hey… Sorry that I wasn't there this morning. I was meditating." He whispered, and it wasn't a complete lie. He had tried to do so, before abandoning that activity so that he could begin carving the stone…
"I guessed. Don't worry… And… Well, I slept well. Very well even." Katara smiled at him, her big blue eyes twinkling in the sun light.
"I may have had a small problem…" He answered, smiling awkwardly. He was still a bit new to this kind of talk, but for some reason, he liked it…
"Small hm? Well… I don't think so." Katara also smiled a bit clumsily, as if she was feeling the same way as he did. Nervous and a bit embarrassed, but also very curious.
"Really? Wait, don't answer that!" Spirits, he didn't want to know!
"Well, tonight… If you have the same problem… Maybe just wake me up?"
Aang's mind went to blank… Hama had said the walls were thin… But there were surely things they could do without waking the other up, no?
Their conversation came to an early stop as they walked into the inn, and Aang put down the bag on the table, trying with all his might to hide the effect the conversation did on him… Well, on a rather specific place of his body. Spirits, was this his life now? Thinking of that, day and night?
"Alright, who think Hama seems a little strange?" Sokka asked as he also put down the groceries. Aang turned around and held his mouth. In fact, Hama did seem a bit too… well, too nice. A bit weird, but still. He hated how he was beginning to suspect nice people now, thanks to his duty and their travels… He wanted to trust anyone…
"That's ridiculous. She is a nice woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay! And… well, she reminds me a bit of Gran Gran." Katara immediately answered her brother, and Aang smiled at the fervour of her defence. Yeah… That was why she was the best. She always wanted to see the good in people.
"Yeah, but why did she talk to us like we had secrets?" Sokka objected.
"Gee, I don't know! Maybe because she found four people camping in the woods, with a creature that is supposed to be extinct, in walking distance of a perfectly good inn?" Katara sighed, and Aang couldn't help but agree. Yeah, if you put it like that… spirits, were they the weird ones?
"Well, I'm going to look around." And with that, Sokka nearly ran to the stairs, before any one of them could stop him.
Katara ran behind her brother, objecting to him nosing around, as Aang and Toph walked behind the two Water Tribe siblings.
"Are you going to interfere?" The blind girl asked, as they arrived at the top of the stairs, in the corridor where their rooms were.
"Spirits, and get roasted and eaten by those two? No way." Aang answered. He had learned very early in their travels that when Katara and Sokka were bickering, the best thing to do was stay out of their way, because they would turn on him, together…
"You can't just snoop around someone's home!" Katara tried to grab her brother's arm, but missed, as Sokka opened… Oh shit. The door to his and the waterbender's room…
"She could be home any minute!" He shouted, earning a weird look from Sokka, who pulled his head out of the door opening, apparently without having seen Aang's bag next to Katara's. Sighing in relief, the airbender watched as Sokka continued his search.
Spirits, that was close.
"Sokka. You are going to get us in trouble. And this is rude!" Katara grumbled, as the water tribe boy opened up one of the closets in the corridor. The doors opened with a great effort, and a whole army of puppets fell out of the closest.
Well… That was… interesting?
"Come on, who in their right mind has this?" Sokka gestured to the puppets, and Aang cast a look to Katara, who also looked a bit disturbed.
"Alright, so, she has a hobby! There's nothing weird about that!" Katara spoke as she began to put the wooden dolls back into the closet.
Well… Puppets? That was a little bit weird…
Sokka apparently saw his sister struggle with the puppets, as he quickly ran to the stairs Aang had not yet seen at the end of the corridor. Toph chuckled next to him, apparently enjoying the squabbling. He, however, didn't really want to let this escalate. Sokka was clearly in the wrong, searching an innocent person's home!
"Hey Sokka, you have to stop!" He shouted up the stairs, into the darkness. Suddenly, he was pushed aside by a whirlwind of chocolate coloured hair, and a grumbling Katara ran past him.
"Hey, why would a puppetloving innkeeper have a locked door in her attic?" He heard Sokka's voice from above, and the angry response of Katara.
"Probably to keep people like you from snooping through her stuff!"
Sighing, the airbender walked up the stairs, followed by Toph. Better to be there, to make sure those two wouldn't kill each other…
"It's empty, except for a small chest!" Sokka spoke up as Aang arrived in the attic. The water tribe boy was crouching in front of the door, as his sister was pulling his arm.
"Maybe it's treasure!" Toph spoke up, clearly in a sarcastic way, but apparently, Katara didn't catch the tone, because she cast the blind girl a dirty look, and Sokka opened the door by prying his sword between the door and the post, lifting the lock up.
"We shouldn't be doing this!" He whispered, but his plea fell on deaf ears, as Sokka entered, with Toph in tow. From beside the door, Aang could hear Katara sigh. And he couldn't help but feel a bit distrustful. Hama seemed nice and so on… But why have a locked room with just a small chest in it?
Aang walked into the room, while Sokka and Toph were trying to open up the chest with a key fashioned out of the blind girl's meteorite bracelet.
"I'm not going to stay here and watch you breach someone's privacy!" Katara protested, and turned around.
The lock clicked and Toph turned around, a triumphant smile on her face. Spirits, if there would be a day they needed to break into a vault or something… He knew who he would bring!
"Alright, what is in it?" Sokka asked, but before Toph could reveal the inside of the box, Aang heard a voice, calm and serene, speak up.
"I'll tell you what is in the box."
Answers :
Kalaong : Yeah, and I have more… cuddles… planned for next chapter! Indeed, that is why I'm trying to give Hama a little more backstory, as you will see next chapter! I warn you, it may explain why she went crazy… And of course, it is womething horrible, but I never could blame Hama, she was just a vicitim.
Rak: Indeed, I'm trying to move on from the awkwardness, and into the more relaxed part of a relationship. But that doesn't happen overnight, so I have to have a transition period. I hope you like the next chapter!