Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

Author's Note: After writing the previous chapter, it occurred to me that Aang and Katara had been out and about by themselves at the beginning of Lake Laogai. What might have happened at the printer's? Obviously, this takes place before Chapter 6.

At the Printer's

Aang and Katara were walking through the streets of Ba Sing Se's upper ring, supposedly to find a place to work on their waterbending. In reality, though, they were looking to spend a little time alone together and combat Aang's increasing restlessness.

"Hey, look!" Katara pointed over to one side of the street. "It's a printer. They could make posters to help us find Appa."

"But I thought Sokka was going to take care of that?" Aang wondered, even as he allowed Katara to pull him toward the shop.

"Well, I know he's just trying to help, but there's one big problem. Sokka can't draw to save his life. Besides, they can make a whole bunch of them fast."

"Are you sure we can afford it?"

"I'm not worried about that. I'd expect you to go to the same trouble if I was missing. Appa is one of the family, too."

"Don't even say that!" Aang said in a fierce whisper, grasping her hand in both of his. "I don't think I could live without you!" The very thought made him feel like he was falling through an endless void with no air to bend.

"Yes, you could," Katara answered quietly, not looking at him. "If you had to." Aang wasn't so sure. It was true that being without Appa made Aang feel as though part of him were missing, but Katara was his heart and soul. Even if he did live with her gone, he would be just an empty shell. He hoped he would never have to face that. Knowing that they were being constantly watched was the main thing keeping Aang from showing too much affection toward Katara while they were in the city. The last thing he wanted was the Dai Li doing something to Katara as a means of manipulating him. All of his companions were potential targets, of course, but if he tried to treat them all the same, each one had only a one in three chance of being singled out.

The pair went inside and spoke to the master printer, explaining what they needed. He brought over an artist, who began sketching as Aang described Appa in great detail. At last, the artist held up the finished drawing, and Aang felt a fresh wave of loss pass through him as he saw the image of his lost buddy.

"That's him," he managed to croak out. Katara understood what he was going through and wrapped an arm around him. He leaned gratefully into the comfort of her shoulder for a moment, then took a seat near the door and left Katara to handle the rest of the arrangements.

"What text would you like?" the printer asked her.

"Something simple. 'Help the Avatar find his bison.'" Katara also gave their address for anyone to contact them with information. She paused before going on. "Um, before we get any further with this, we should probably discuss the price."

"Oh, nonsense. I would be honored to offer assistance to the Avatar."

"That's not right," she insisted. "At least, let us pay you for the materials." Aang realized that she was probably suspicious that this was some kind of set-up. They couldn't trust anyone in this city, except each other. The drawing of Appa had already been sent to the back of the shop, where a specialized earthbender was carving a plate to look like the image.

After she finished settling accounts with the printer, Katara came to join Aang, twining her fingers with his.

"We'll find him," she assured him, but she couldn't hide the fact that she wasn't nearly as confident as she was trying to sound. However, Aang appreciated the effort and put a brave face on.

"Of course we will," he agreed. "I can feel him, not too far away. It's just frustrating to be so close…." Katara squeezed his hand in understanding.

They watched while the image plate was completed, set onto the printing press, and arranged with the word blocks. Then, the workers painted ink all over the press and brought it down onto a piece of parchment. The printer brought the sheet over for their approval.

"It's perfect," Katara said, and the technicians went to work making more. "This could take a couple of hours. Why don't we go walk around some more?"

Aang agreed, and they set off again.

"There's got to be somewhere to waterbend around here!" she exclaimed, and Aang realized that he was not the only one who was getting cabin fever.

"Now who's restless?" he joked. She smiled back but said nothing. Eventually, they found an artificial pond and began practicing, though to be honest, Aang spent most of his time simply watching Katara move. By the time they went back to get the fliers, Aang's enthusiasm and optimism had returned, and he couldn't wait to begin distributing them.

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Author's note: Sorry not much humor or fluffiness. I figured they had to have a specialized earthbender to make the fliers that fast because the original printing presses required hand-carving wooden blocks, which would have taken days. The printer probably would have had the text symbols already available.

Member of the Boomeraang Squad: charleegirl, Jesus.Lives, Liselle129

Thank you to frozenheat, Azada, Jesus.Lives, Aangsfan, kataang93, Kumori Doragon, pokey, MormonMaiden, Dakyu, Tech-Man, kataangfan22, avatarkataang (they do have Zuko action figures, not sure why no Katara), A Great and Terrible Beauty, and Livexthexmagic for reviewing Chapter 6.