A/N: Yay! I heart this chapter… It made me smile-and want chocolate... and someone to cuddle with… -blush-
Anywhoodles… :3 I want to take this time to thank ALL my reviewers! And I have a lot, too, which makes me even happier
First off, I must thank the person who has edited portions of my story -drum roll- Kiari! Thank you so much, I heart you a whole bunch and don't know what I'd do without you. Thanks for encouraging me and being such a great friend through these last two… three?... years lol. Anywhoodles, Thanks a bunch! Love love :3
Now to my reviewers!
Mystical-Dreamer57--- Thank you so much for reviewing for my story and thanks for all the encouragement. I hope to see more of you:) Katara's next forms should be interesting, I hope you enjoy!
SoraLuvsKairi4Ever--- LOL, your last review made me laugh, I loved the little thing you did about Aang and Katara. :) thanks for reviewing!
N1cindyfan--- Haha, I feel bad for Katara too and I'm the one that knows what's going to happen next. I've never busted my ankle that bad, but, in my mind, I can see it hurting… really bad lol. Any who, thanks for the reviews:)
DestructoDude--- Omg, you're not alone, I don't even know what a Mary-Sue is either... I guess it's what I'm writing, lol. Whatever, thanks for reviewing! --
TheSuperGirlOfDreams--- I love fluff too...lol, you'd think I'd love it, I'm the one writing it. Lol, more fluff to come! Thanks for the wonderful reviews:)
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz1... --- Lol, here's the update you wanted! Haha, thanks for all the fabulous reviews, hope to see more of you! --
atlantiandragoness --- LOL, you'll have to find out whether or not Zuko'll come back or not. And yes, if/when he does, Katara can burn him. LOL! That'd be cool if that could really happen. But that's just me. Thanks for the awesome reviews:)
Bubble-Gum-12 --- I know, Sokka's such a dork, right? Although most of the time he's a pretty cool guy. LOL. Thanks for the reviews! They're really nice. :)
...and much, much more, my hand is cramping... :P
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE ELSE! Here's to my 20th chapter!
Book One – The Journey Begins
Chapter Twenty – Comfort
"Are you going to fix her ankle, Aang?" Sokka asked softly as he glanced from Aang to outside the cave, wondering what he was looking at.
"Yeah," Aang nodded slowly, "I'll try." He said this reassuringly as he scoot over to Katara's ankle. He then gently took her foot in his hands and examined it. Katara winced slightly as he gently moved it about.
Katara sighed softly, knowing she'd have to bear through a little pain. She gently laid her head down on the cold ground in attempt to clear her mind as Aang continued to inspect her ankle. Sokka remained silent as Appa, Momo, and Kaimah made their way into the cave, drenched as could be.
Aang suddenly, and accidentally, jostled Katara's ankle in a harsh manner. He lost his grip on her soft skin.
Katara's eyes flew open at the large amount of pain shooting through her leg, starting at her toes and running clear up to her arms. She let out a loud yelp before she turned human. Aang quickly dropped her ankle and stared at her in awe. Katara panted in pain and sat up before she glanced between Sokka and Aang.
"Hey! What do you know, it worked!" Sokka smiled.
"Yeah," Katara winced as she looked over her familiar human form.
"Did you just think about what you wanted? O-or were you scared?" Aang asked softly. Katara stared at him with a frown on her face. She had to admit to herself, she was scared to death at the fact that her ankle was out of its socket. The thought of never being able to use it again had frightened her horribly.
"I-I think I was scared... Scared because… because--"
"You didn't trust me," Aang stated softly as he stared at Katara. She looked at him in a bewildered state.
"I-I--"
"It's the only explanation. I mean, when you turned human before, it was because you didn't trust the situation you were in and you got scared because of it. Therefore, it caused you to turn human. I think that's what just happened here," Sokka explained, and Aang nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, but now at least you made it easier for me to work on your ankle," Aang started as he gently picked up Katara's foot, but he suddenly stopped what he was doing and glanced at Katara. She shifted slowly and carefully so that she was in a comfortable sitting position and didn't jostle her ankle, leaning against the cold cave wall she was by.
"Do you trust me?" Aang asked softly. Katara stopped fidgeting and stared at him. She had to admit to herself again. She didn't really feel like she trusted him at the moment, but as she looked into his eyes, she could tell he was someone to be trusted. He looked so serious about this statement it that almost scared her. She felt her trust in him grow gradually, despite the fact about his surreal manner.
"Yes," Katara said with a small reassuring smile.
Aang smiled and nodded as he gently picked Katara's foot up.
Katara bit her lip nervously as Aang continued to examine her foot, almost as if he knew what he was doing. He probably did, but, then again, he was a little too young to be working on a busted ankle. Katara was a little skeptical about things even though she knew she trusted him.
Aang gently moved his hand about her ankle before he began to apply pressure on her disfigured anklebone. Katara let out a small yelp as she attempted to clutch something near her. Her hand groped for something, if not anything, to hold onto to make the pain go away. Sokka quickly scoot next to her and held her hand in his. She squeezed his hand in pain before she let out a small cry of agony as Aang continued to push on the irregular bone. Katara let soft whimpers escape her lips.
It hurt so much. Katara almost broke down crying because of it. She held back her tears, though, because she didn't want to cause drama. Even if she did start crying, she'd have every right to do so.
After a while, Aang seemed to know what he was doing, and he gently moved his hands around Katara's foot and ankle, as if to soothe it and loosen every sore and tense muscle. He did this in a caring and gentle manner.
Katara sighed shakily and leaned her head against Sokka's shoulder. He sat close to her and his hand was still tightly gripped in hers. Aang slowly stopped what he was doing and looked up at Katara, his eyes filled with tender loving care towards her.
"Ok, this might hurt a little," he warned softly as he gently set Katara's foot down. Katara nodded as Aang stood and walked over to Appa.
"What are you doing?" Sokka asked as Katara looked up and watched Aang.
"I'm getting water," Aang said as he stepped over to the two, holding
Katara's canteen in his right hand.
"Why?" Sokka asked as Aang sat down by Katara's foot.
"Her foot is bleeding," Aang stated softly. Katara curiously peered down at her ankle. She saw a large gash across the top of her foot, which was bleeding profusely. Aang's hands were also bloody from working with the wound and dislocation of her ankle. Katara frowned and glanced at Aang; he was now opening Katara's canteen, careful not to get too much blood on it.
"I'm so sorry Aang," Katara suddenly said, her voice shaking with every word. Aang stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. She looked as if she was on the verge of tears. Aang frowned and slowly closed the canteen. He then set it down and crawled over to Katara.
"It's alright," he said softly before he embraced her in a gentle hug.
Katara quickly wrapped her arms around Aang's neck and hugged him back. She attempted to hold back her tears but failed miserably. She was in so much pain that she didn't know what to do anymore.
She let herself cry, her tears cascading down her cheek and falling onto Aang's shoulder. Aang hugged Katara a little tighter before he gently pulled away from her. She sniffled and looked down.
"You're ok," Aang stated softly as he stared at her. Katara nodded slowly before Aang leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to a tear resting on her cheek, as if to kiss it away. It made Katara smile. Aang slowly pulled away and returned to his spot near Katara's foot.
Katara sighed softly and leaned her head against Sokka's shoulder again as Aang began to clean her cut with water. Once he was done with that, he began trying to figure out a way to put Katara's foot back into its socket.
He cringed slightly at how swollen her ankle looked, but he had to do something. The three were nowhere near a doctor, and the storm showed no sign of dying down anytime soon.
After about twenty minutes of pulling, pushing, pain, and crying, Aang finally got Katara's foot back to normal, although it was still swollen and the cut continued to bleed. Katara's cheeks were stained with tears, old and new, and her eyes were red from crying so much. She still held an unforgivable grip on Sokka's shirt and hand.
It took Aang a few minutes to bandage Katara's foot and ankle. Once he did, he cleaned his hands off and wiped some dirt and blood from the hem of Katara's dress.
"All better," Aang stated happily with a smile. Katara sniffled and glanced at him before she heaved a long sigh.
Sokka stood slowly, shaking his hand quickly to get the circulation back into it, and walked over to the fire in attempt to make the flames bigger. He prodded it with a long stick a few times before it grew slightly.
- - -
The day went by slowly and it continued to storm ceaselessly, although the rain made the air smell fresh and clean. Katara was resting in her sleeping bag; Aang put her in it right after he had bandaged her foot, so she was warm from the cold world outside.
Katara daydreamed with her eyes closed for hours. Occasionally her foot would bother her, but she was ok nonetheless. She lay on Appa's saddle while the two boys sat around the small campfire a few feet away from Appa. She was fine with that because she needed her space from everything so that she could take a step back and think about everything that had happened to her that day.
A part of thinking about it scared her. The fact that she was almost killed by Zuko made her sick to her stomach and the thought of her ankle not healing scared her to death. She then suddenly remembered back to earlier in the morning. She remembered Toru and how pushy he was. She remembered the look on Aang's face when he saw the two at the wrong time. She wished she could take it all back.
Although she had a horrible day, she did have some comfort. Aang was there for her, and she felt that the one little hug and kiss Aang had given her made the whole day a little brighter.
She absolutely loved it when Aang hugged her, and she loved it even more when he kissed her. Even though he didn't do it very often, she really wished he'd open up more to the idea of it.
Katara sighed softly, rolled over, and opened her eyes for the first time in hours. She noticed it was dark outside, but the rain had never stopped coming. Dark, heavy storm clouds covered the night sky, stars, and moon. Katara attempted to see further out the cave, but it was too dark.
She suddenly felt someone's presence behind her. Katara slowly rolled over to face the other direction to see Aang comfortably sitting in an Indian-style next to her sleeping bag. Katara smiled at him and made herself comfortable; slipping her hand under her pillow for support as she happily gazed up at Aang.
Aang stared at her with a big smile for a moment before he spoke softly.
"How's your ankle?" Aang asked as he glanced over his shoulder, noticing Sokka had come up onto Appa's saddle to join the two.
"I'm in a little pain but I'm ok," Katara bested a small smile as Sokka sat down next to Aang.
"You alright?" Sokka asked. When Katara nodded, he continued, "We thought you were asleep."
"No, I can't seem to fall asleep. My ankle is causing too much pain for it. It's almost impossible to even think about sleep. I've tried to, but I can't," Katara frowned, causing Aang's facial expression to fall.
"I'm sorry... Well, I don't mean to rub it in your face but I'm going to sleep," Sokka chuckled as he stood and left Appa's saddle.
"Alright," Katara chuckled as she rolled her eyes. Aang glanced over his shoulder slowly.
"Good night," Aang called as Sokka walked over to the campfire with his sleeping bag. Sokka mumbled goodnight to the two as he made himself comfortable by the fire. Aang turned and glanced at Katara with a small smile.
"Are you still going to try to go to sleep to? Or can't you?" Aang asked softly as the idea of sleep tugged on his mind and urged him to do so, but he wanted to make sure that Katara was ok before he even though about doing anything else. Katara shrugged.
"I can't go to sleep. I-I'll just stay up, or something," Katara frowned before she heaved a long sigh and buried the side of her head into her pillow. Aang stared at her for a moment before he smiled with an idea.
"M-maybe I can help," He said softly. Katara glanced up at him, her eyes full of question and, at the same time, happiness.
"How?" Katara asked softly before Aang crawled over to her. Katara stared at Aang in confusion before she saw, with much delight, Aang slowly creep his way into Katara's sleeping bag next to her. He quickly got comfortable in Katara's close presence, careful not to bump Katara's ankle with his feet.
Once situated, Aang glanced at Katara before he gently wrapped his arms around her waist in a soft and tender manner. Katara bit her bottom lip happily before she snuggled into Aang's warmth, loving this moment.
The one thing she absolutely adored about Aang was the way he showed his love to her and the way he showed he cared through hugs and kisses. He wasn't like the other boys who would always buy materialistic things just to get to her heart. All she needed was comfort, love, and hugs, and she was fine from there on out. It was the thought that counted.
Katara gazed up at Aang happily, feeling so comforted that she forgot all about her ankle. Aang smiled at her as he gently rested his hands on Katara's side.
"I'll stay right here with you and help you fall asleep," Aang said softly with a sweet smile. Katara felt as if she couldn't take her eyes away from Aang's. She suddenly felt so tranquil and secure in Aang's arms, as if he'd never let her go, and he'd always make sure she was safe and comforted. Katara had been hoping that this would be what she could find in Aang, and she knew that she had found it.
She figured that everyone had a soft side, and it might not have been easy for Aang to show it often, but he was doing a very good job of showing it now. His usual happy, enthusiastic, and happy-go-lucky state was what Katara loved about Aang, but she'd die to see a more soft and sensitive side of him every now and then.
Katara was so overwhelmed with her happy thoughts that she felt as if her mouth didn't work, but things only got better from there. Aang leaned forward and gently kissed Katara's forehead. At this, Katara let a small sound escape her lips, halfway between a whimper and a soft hum. She then instantly pressed herself closer to Aang, cuddling into the warmth of his chest and arms.
Aang encircled Katara, his arms delicately draped around her shoulders. All was calmly silent until Katara spoke.
"Thank you, Aang," Katara breathed softly into his chest. She felt as if the young airbender lying next to her could blow all of her cares and pains away, and, at that, she instantly began to feel tired in Aang's arms.
In a matter of minutes, Katara was lulled to sleep by Aang's comforting presence. Aang, not too long after Katara had faded into sleep, felt like sleeping himself with Katara pulled close to him.
He smiled at his success in helping Katara get to sleep. He felt as if he had made it so that she trusted him to the highest extent, and, in his opinion, he was fine with falling asleep like this, even if it happened every night.
Aang leaned his head close to her and softly whispered, "I love you," in her ear before he sealed it with a small kiss on the cheek. He then fell into a tranquil sleep with Katara in his arms.
As it always should be.
A/N: Aw, this type of Kataang fluff reminds me so much of me :3
I felt I HAD to put in some more Kataang just cuz you know, I adore it... and the action-y- drama/Toru/Zuko/busted ankle thing was making me sad. I just HAD to lighten up everything with some Kataang. I promise that the chapters to come WILL be more about Katara's next form. You can count on me this time…I'm not lying…and no, my pants aren't ablaze o.o
Please R&R I'd love it greatly! (I know…I say that every time…) but, it's the truth… See - poke - my pants aren't on fire :P Wow.
Hmm… I should probably mention to you all that this is the last chapter of this story. I was wondering what you all would think when you saw that this story was complete. Well, it is. But not without a sequel. Actually, about two more additions, because this is the Vyntresser trilogy I just thought that 20 chapters per story would be a good number, so here we are at magical number twenty! The next book should be up sometime next week, so please check it out when you get the chance. It's called 'Water and Air'. Hopefully you guys will read the next book! I know that I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks to all you faithful reviewers! Thank you so much!
Good bye for now -tear-
- Katara -