A/N: (re-write 7/1/07) Enjoy
Book One – The Journey Begins
Chapter Fourteen - Through a Dream
Aang nervously knelt next to the large cheetah. Kaimah was busy prancing around.
"Is that you, Katara?" Aang asked nervously as Katara looked at him wearily. Her eye color changed from a brilliant bluish to an electric green in this form.
Katara looked down and around her, probably more confused than the two boys staring at her were. She then quickly looked up at Aang and nodded. Aang shook his head slowly, totally out of confusion, as he gently pressed his fingertips to her furry cheek. Her soft yellow fur was as soft as the finest of silk. Her coat was dotted with what seemed like millions of little black spots. She had two large furry ears near the sides of her head, which were both drooped slightly in sadness.
Though she looked exactly like a normal cheetah, she had strange markings atop her head that ran down her back and to her hind legs. They were beautiful, yet not normally seen on a cheetah. Katara sighed.
"I knew something was up," she said softly.
"AANG don't TOUCH IT! It'll bite your hand off!" Sokka squealed as he quickly swept little Kaimah up in his arms. Kaimah squirmed about until she wriggled free of Sokka's grip and pranced back over to the large animal that looked exactly like her. She began rubbing herself against Katara's forearm, all cat-like, and she began to purr happily.
"I-I did, too, but I didn't think it would end up like THIS," Aang said, referring to Katara's last statement, as he gently worked his fingers down to her neck. Katara had, still delicately placed around her neck, her mother's betrothal necklace, but, in this form, it looked as if it was a collar. Aang quickly looked up at Sokka.
"...Th-that's KATARA!" Sokka hollered as he pointed.
"Hello? Where have YOU been?" Katara said loudly as she shook her head. Sokka suddenly knelt before her and pried her mouth open wide. Katara yelped as Sokka, strangely enough, looked about the insides of her mouth.
"WOW, I wish I had teeth like these," Sokka smiled as he gently poked one of Katara's razor sharp teeth. Katara quickly yanked her head away from Sokka.
"UH! That doesn't matter right now, Sokka! We've gotta get out of here!" Katara yelled.
"But-but you're a cheetah! How on earth are you going to get back to normal?" Sokka yelled as he and Aang stood. Katara attempted to stand, noting that she had four legs now, seeing as she had to learn how to use all of them.
"I-I ... don't KNOW, Sokka, let's just get out of here... I'll feel much safer once we're in the air on Appa," Katara said as she clumsily stood and looked around.
"Okay then! Let's get out of here," Sokka hollered as he quickly picked Kaimah up and ran.
Aang took off, not too far behind him. Katara froze and stared at the two boys running away.
Ok, how on earth do I do this...? Katara thought as she gingerly began to walk forward, moving each of her legs, one at a time. She walked at a slow pace until she felt comfortable. She made her feet move faster and faster until she was slowly jogging; it was quick enough to even catch up to Aang.
Katara, with each quick step, felt as if she had gotten the hang of running with four legs in a matter of seconds. Katara smiled, liking the feeling, as she picked up her pace. She, in no time, caught up with Sokka and, at lightning speed, darted past him.
"NO FAIR! You have four legs!" Sokka hollered behind Katara.
Katara giggled and looked ahead of herself. She felt as if her vision and hearing had gotten a hundred times better, even though she was slightly color blind in this form. The different sights were still more brilliant and vivid than anything she'd ever seen.
Her running pace became so quick as she and her two friends darted through the lone earth kingdom village, searching for a way out. Aang was far ahead of her, using his airbending to run remarkably fast. Katara smiled and pushed herself further until she caught up to him in no time. She darted her way around his legs and kept a fast, even pace in front of him. She then peered over her shoulder and glanced at him
"F-follow me!" She hollered over the wind. Aang nodded in reply as the two darted around the large village and lone people frantically scattered about it. She turned to look in front of her to see a mob of earth kingdom officials crowding her and Aang's way out. She quickly picked up her pace to as fast as she could run and charged towards the mob. All at once, she and Aang crashed through the dozens of earth kingdom officials and made it out of the village, straight into open grassland that stretched for miles on end.
Katara quickly skid to a stop and turned around in search for Sokka. He stumbled through the fallen mob and ran over to his two friends who were stopped outside of the village. Thankfully, he was still holding Kaimah, who was literally clutching to Sokka's dark blue kimono. Katara panted and looked around, bewildered as to what had just happened.
"W-wow! I can run faster than I normally could," Katara said as she looked up at Aang and smiled big, showing razor sharp teeth. Aang nodded in astonishment and smiled back.
"Even faster than me," Aang said happily. "Looks like you've got running down."
"Guys, cut the jibber jabber; we've gotta find Appa!" Sokka said as he started to walk in an opposite direction from the village the four were just in.
"He's right, let's go," Aang said as the two quickly followed Sokka to who knows where.
The three were out walking all day, having no idea where Appa went. They lost sight of the evil earth kingdom village quickly as they continued to walk nowhere. The sun was high in the sky, signaling that it was around early noon. Katara was starting to complain from the heat.
"Guys... I'm so hot," She mumbled as she slowly trudged behind Aang, walking at his pace. "I need water… or shade or something."
"Stop complaining! It's like, perfect temperature out here. There's no way you can be hot," Sokka called over his shoulder as Kaimah pranced behind him.
"Sokka, you have to remember that Katara has a fur coat now," Aang called to Sokka, who was ahead of him a ways. Sokka quickly turned around.
"...Oh yeah," Sokka smiled sheepishly as he continued to walk. He suddenly noticed something in the distance. Thankfully, it was Appa.
"Hey! I found--" Sokka was interrupted.
"Appa!" Aang hollered happily as he sped off.
Katara groaned in response and trudged in the lush grass by herself, the searing heat seeming to make every muscle in her body numb and hot. After about a couple of minutes, Sokka and Katara came up to where Aang, Appa, and Momo were. The two trudged up Appa's wide, fluffy tail and joined Aang on Appa's saddle. In no time, the six were in the air.
Katara plopped down beside Aang and groaned loudly as Sokka rummaged through his pack, searching for food. Katara stared up at the sky and pondered before she took a slow, deep breath.
"Well," she started softly to Aang, "I've never seen the sky GREEN before."
At this, Aang slowly looked up to the brilliant BLUE sky and frowned before he looked down at Katara in confusion, her head being gently rested on his leg as she lounged.
"What?" Aang asked with a small laugh.
"I-I think I'm slightly colorblind when I'm like this," she said softly with a frown. Aang smiled and wanted to test it out.
"Well, what color am I?" Aang beamed.
"Green," Katara stated with a groan.
"That's it?" Aang frowned.
"Well," Katara laughed, "what do you expect? You're not JUST green, well... I mean you're different shades of green, if that helps."
"That's sad…you can't see ANY color?" Sokka chuckled with his mouth full of a mango.
"I can see GREEN, for the last time," Katara said, getting annoyed. "When am I ever going to be back to normal?"
Aang frowned and stared down at her, not having a single clue as to how to get her human again. Though having a cheetah for a best friend was cool, Aang didn't want to end up falling in love with one. That would be weird. Aang sighed softly and bested a little smile.
"I don't know, but we know this is all happening for a reason," Aang said softly as Katara slowly closed her eyes and groaned.
"What could that reason POSSIBLY be?" Sokka asked, his mouth full yet again.
"Who knows, but something like this can't just happen out of randomness. Have you EVER seen anything like this happen before?" Aang questioned, motioning a hand down to Katara as he lightly placed his hand atop her furry head.
"No," Sokka mumbled as he took yet another bite out of his quickly diminishing mango.
Nighttime came quickly as the three tossed around ideas about how Katara could have ever so magically transformed into a large cat. None of the ideas, however, seemed reasonable or likely enough to be true.
Sokka fell asleep on Appa's head that night after steering Appa for a few hours through the endless sky. Aang and Katara fell asleep on Appa's saddle, Katara's head still gently rested on Aang's upper leg. Aang fell asleep in a comfortable and slouched sitting position so that Katara would be comfortable.
That night, Aang was sent to the Spirit world in his sleep. There he met up with Avatar Roku and Avatar Kyoshi as his "non spirit" self slept next to Katara. In the spirit world, the two past lives seemed to answer all of Aang's, Katara's, and Sokka's questions about this whole mess. Aang attentively listened to what the two had to say.
"It's good to see you again, Aang," Avatar Roku said softly in his deep, calm voice. Aang stared at his past life with a little smile spread across his face.
"Roku, Kyoshi, I have a problem," Aang started as he glanced back and forth between his past lives. The two nodded in unison.
"We know," the two said softly at the same time.
"Can you help me? How do I get Katara back to normal? I don't want my best friend turned into a cheetah for the rest of our lives!" Aang yelled, getting frustrated at the possible fact.
"Calm down Aang. She will be back to normal sooner or later," Kyoshi calmly said.
"I mean, it's pretty cool that my friend is a cheetah, but still, guys! I didn't want this to happen. Right when things were getting good between us! Now I'll never love again, that's just the end of my life and… I'll bet you two did this to Katara! I bet you two got mad at-" Aang was interrupted.
"Calm down, Aang!" Roku said deeply, yet softly, "We didn't do anything to Katara, she'll be fine."
"How did she even GET this way anyway?" Aang said loudly, yet he was a bit calmer.
"It all started hundreds of years ago," Kyoshi began softly. "Alongside the Avatar, there was a special person just like him. This person was the Vyntresser. The Vyntresser was always born within the air nomads, never in water tribes, earth kingdoms, or fire nations. Only air nomads, for an unknown reason. That's just how it was."
Roku took the story from there, "The Vyntresser held special powers like that of the Avatar and would always be reincarnated, but not into the next element like the Avatar would normally be reincarnated. Like Kyoshi said, the Vyntresser was just born of the air nomads." Roku continued wisely, "The special powers this specific air nomad would have are amazing. The Vyntresser could change into any of the six animals, which held its element. Water, earth, fire, air."
"Wait, I don't get it. If there are four elements, then why are there six animals the Vyntresser can change into? What are the other two?" Aang questioned.
"You will find out later on your quest," Kyoshi said with a soft smile. "Katara is the next Vyntresser. She-"
"Wait a minute," Aang said quickly, holding his hands up in the air. " You just said the Vyntresser is born of the air nomads, the last time I checked, Katara is a waterbender."
"Right. The Vyntresser cycle was said to be broken and never to be lived on again about hundred years ago, around the time you left the air temple to fend for itself, but some of its power rests in you, Aang." Roku continued, "You're the last airbender, therefore each Avatar before you held a little bit of the Vyntresser's powers. And, though they couldn't USE the Vyntresser's powers, it was still there, but barely."
"But-but how did Katara get those powers?" Aang questioned, already half-knowing the answer.
Kyoshi smiled at Aang lovingly and crossed her arms."You gave it to her through love," Kyoshi commented softly with a smile. "Air nomads are forbidden to fall in love with anyone, especially others out of their clan, but, seeing as you're the last air nomad, you don't have to worry about that rule. You can decide because there aren't others to tell you not to fall in love, really," Kyoshi said to him happily.
"So, you two are saying that I had some of the Vyntresser power in me?" The two nodded before Aang continued, "A-and I gave Katara that power?"
"Yup, see, this type of transferring powers thing has never happened before because the Vyntresser before Katara disappeared…therefore breaking the cycle," Roku said softly, in a sad manner.
"So, how can Katara get back to normal? You know, out of the cheetah form?" Aang asked softly, hoping that they knew an answer.
"That's for her to find out. Getting in and out of the animal forms take work. Over time, she'll figure it out, but I don't know how long that'll take," Roku said as a little frown made its way across Aang's face.
"So, the cheetah. What element does that represent?" Aang questioned as he looked at Kyoshi.
"There are four animals that represent the four basic elements, like Roku said. Katara will figure out the other two as she progresses," Kyoshi stated before she continued. "The cheetah represents earth. The cheetah is a very powerful, swift, and graceful animal, like its element."
"So…what are the other five animals Katara can change into?" Aang urged them to continue.
"That's for Katara to figure out on her own," Roku said with a small chuckle.
"Alright," Aang sighed, "but- but, how is she going to get in and out of the other forms?"
"It's a second nature to her now, Aang. She'll be fine," Kyoshi smiled whole heartedly to the young monk "Stop worrying so much; you'll give yourself wrinkles."
"Ok," Aang said softly with a small smile. "Thanks guys."
"Anytime, Aang," Roku smiled as Aang slowly returned to the physical world with his two traveling companions.
Aang slowly opened his eyes, blinking a couple times as the soft sunshine shone down on him. Aang opened his eyes further and looked down, noticing Katara, cheetah form, with her head still gently rested on Aang's leg. Aang took a deep breath through his nose and let it out softly before he gently placed his hand on the side of Katara's soft, furry face.
"Katara," he said softly as he gently fingered her soft ear. Katara shifted slightly and slowly opened her eyes to see Aang looking down at her. Katara yawned big, showing her razor sharp teeth. Aang chuckled slightly as she sat up and looked around. Her fur was slightly ruffled from sleeping and she had a dazed, tired look on her face.
"Good morning," Katara commented softly as she turned to look at Aang. He smiled and straightened his sitting position so he was sitting in front of Katara.
"Good morning," Aang replied with a smile. Suddenly, the remembrance of the "dream" he had last night flashed across his memory. His heart skipped a beat suddenly as he quickly looked at Katara. He nervously bit his lip.
He was the cause of this whole thing just because he inherited some of the Vyntresser's powers from way back. Now, the girl he knew most was dumped with these strong powers just by the force of a few kisses and love. Nothing like this ever happened just because the Vyntresser, which was always an air nomad, could never fall in love. It was forbidden amongst those monks.
"You alright?" Katara asked softly as Aang nervously looked around. "What's wrong?" she asked.
Sokka slowly peeked over Appa's head and blinked a couple of times.
"Sokka, I'm still Katara, I won't bite... I mean, now I CAN bite but I won't," Katara teased as Sokka slowly made his way onto Appa's saddle and sat next to Aang.
"I can never be too sure with you," Sokka said nervously. "I mean, we're sitting RIGHT in front of the fastest and most vicious land animal on earth!"
"The cheetah isn't the most vicious. They're actually the friendliest. I mean, how can you be scared of that?" Aang motioned towards Katara, who was sitting on her hind legs, ears perked up and a friendly, sheepish smile plastered on her face. Sokka grumbled and looked away.
"Whatever," he said softly as he nervously kept glancing at Katara. Katara rolled her eyes and ignored him for the time being.
"Aang, are you sure you're alright?" Katara asked softly.
"I'm-I'm fine but … I went to the spirit world last night and--"
"No wonder!" Sokka butted in. "Your arrows were all 'glowy' when I went to bed last night."
"Y-yeah, any who," Aang chuckled.
"What happened there?" Katara asked eagerly as she scooted closer to Aang.
"Well, I met up with Avatar Roku and Avatar Kyoshi...turns out I'm the cause of this whole mess," Aang frowned. Everyone was silent for a few moments.
"W-well, it's not a bad thing, Aang. I mean, I'm kinda liking this body. I'm fast, I'm always warm, I'm intimidating and scary… well, to Sokka anyway," Katara laughed.
"How did you do this to Katara?" Sokka asked before the two quickly looked at Katara. She was happily prancing around, chasing her tail. "A-and how do you get her back? This 'carefree' and 'happy-go-lucky' state she's in is scaring me," Sokka chuckled.
"Well, Avatar Roku told me she's the Vyntresser... evidently that's a person like the Avatar." Aang smiled.
"So, Katara has had past lives!" Sokka said loudly yet happily.
"Yup," Aang smiled.
"Wow, that's weird... Why am I the only normal one here?" Sokka complained.
"I'd give anything to be normal. But that's not the point. Anyway, I gave her these strange powers of the Vyntresser…evidently the Vyntresser was always born into the air nomads, and, seeing as the air nomads couldn't fall in love--"
"You kissed her and now she's the Vyntresser because air nomads can't fall in love, but you broke that rule 'cause, duh, you're the last one, and now our lives are thrown into utter confusion yet again..." Sokka said quickly and all at once.
"Yeah, something like that," Aang chuckled. "But she can change into five other animals. The first one is, obviously, the cheetah. The cheetah represents earth. There are three other animals that represent water, fire and air... the other two aren't elements but it makes sense for Katara to change into the animal it represents."
"Wow, so I can change into SIX other animals? Oh this is too cool... but Aang, how do I get back to normal, this form isn't what I want to be for the rest of my life," Katara said nervously.
"Roku said that you'd have to figure it out on your own. Sorry Katara," Aang frowned. Katara sighed and sat on her hind legs.
"Oh well, I kinda like this form. So, it's alright," Katara smiled. "I especially like scaring Sokka," Katara said as she glanced over her shoulder and looked at Sokka, who was rummaging through his bag for food again.
"Don't get too carried away," Aang smiled as Sokka stood and went to Appa's head.
"I won't," Katara fibbed with an evil smile.
A/N: Holy cow, this chapter took SO long to type... but that's all right. Chapter fifteen is on the way
- Katara -
Mohalo ;)