Signs of Trust

Aang smiled slowly, marveling at the way her skin was shining in the candle light. He took in her body, wrapped in its usual douses of blue and white silk forming her water tribe attire.

He took his eyes off her decorative clothes and brought his head back up to take in Katara's face. Her eyes were shining brightly, as if lit up from small wicks of wire. Her lips looked very soft and inviting, pulled back in a small smile that showed some of her teeth.

She was beautiful. Aang couldn't contain himself. His body was shouting at him to do something, anything rather than just standing idly gawking like an idiot.

He walked up to her, pressing his face into the crane of her neck. She smelled like the ocean, fresh. A slow moan escaped his lips as Katara wrapped her arms around his waist lovingly.

Aang smiled lightly, returning the gesture. "I love you, Katara."

A couple of seconds passed as an awkward silence invaded them. Aang furrowed his brow, puzzled that she hadn't said those crucial words back to him.

"Katara? You Okay?"

Aang's body stiffened as he felt something warm at the base of his neck. Small pockets of warmth continued to trail up his neck until he felt something soft pressing against his lips.

The airbender gasped when he realized that Katara was kissing him. He closed his eyes, kissing her back while shifting one hand up into her hair. His other hand was placed squarely on the base of her back.

Everything was going smoothly until Aang felt Katara's tongue sliding up his bottom lip.

Shocked, Aang took a few steps back. Katara smiled innocently at him, her eyes sparkled as if daring him to take on a challenge. Something about the teasing glance sparked a small fire inside his stomach as his heart started beating rapidly.

Aang took in a deep breath, a new hunger filling him to the brim as he went through a series of different emotions. All of a sudden, his senses were overwhelmed.

Viscerally, the young Avatar walked back to her and placed his hands on the sides of her face, kissing her roughly.

With one hand he tightly gripped her back, the other one was in a fist threatening her dark, long locks.

The mysterious hunger that dwelled within him was not satiated. If anything, it had increased tenfold. He just couldn't get enough of the sweet taste on her lips.

Aang sighed longingly, pulling Katara into a deeper hug, and glanced at her back. Looking at her face would just send him into another frenzy.

Slowly, rationality began to creep back into the young Avatar as he stared a little more closely at Katara's backside. There were three long gashes cutting straight through her shirt and into her skin. The wounds were bloody and fresh, the redness of it contrasting with the waterbender's dark skin as red paint would look splotched on a white canvas.

Horrified, Aang lifted his hands up only to find large claws replacing his fingers. They looked ghastly, mixed in the colors of brown and red. The young Avatar looked back at Katara to find her head bleeding profusely from another wound from when he was grabbing her hair. The trail of blood was running down her face and seeping into her clothing. Her lips looked swollen and blue, causing Aang to wonder how hard he had been kissing her.

Despite her injuries, Katara had a serene smile on her face. "You…did this to me."

Suddenly, his love started laughing. Her cackling was high pitched and broke off in random intervals.

Aang cringed. "Katara, I…" He couldn't utter anything past that. He could only hold up his hands in surrender, though his bloody claws only further portrayed him as the undeniable culprit.

Katara's smile turned into a snarl as she held an indefinable object into the air. "You did this!"

Aang closed his eyes while covering his ears. He couldn't believe this. He would never hurt her. Never.

Then why are your fingers bloody, idiot? Oh, wait, those are claws. Even worse.

"No! I didn't…it wasn't…No!"

"Aang, look at me!"

"No!"

He flinched as Katara pulled his face up, shoving the object into his hands. It was her heart.

You did this to her.

You did this to her.

You did this to her.

You did this-

"Katara!" Aang continued shouting until his body movements shifted him off of his bed and onto the hard, cold floor. He lay there for a few minutes, his body rocking back and forth as he mumbled his love's name repeatedly.

Soon, after pinching himself fifty times, he realized that he was back in his room. His room that still smelled like soot, despite the number of hours Katara had spent cleaning it.

He stopped rocking once he heard the sound of something threatening to break into his room.

"Aang! Are you okay? Open up!"

Warily, Aang opened the door. He was both relieved and disappointed to see Sokka standing in his doorway.

"What the spirits is wrong with you, Aang?"

Said airbender stared blankly at the young warrior. "Um, I…had a nightmare…"

Sokka sighed loudly. "Man, you had us worried. Katara wouldn't shut up until I agreed to come up here."

Aang looked at his best friend incredulously. "I see. I'm sorry if I woke you up."

Sokka waved his hand dismissively. "It's whatever. Besides, it's getting late. Zuko wants to speak with you so you should probably see him after you've freshened up."

Aang nodded. "Okay. Thanks for letting me know."

Sokka leaned back against the door. "Hmmm, well I'm going to get some more shut eye."

The young Avatar felt the tips of his mouth twitch. "What happened to 'It's getting late'?"

"Hah, Aang. When you have a head injury like mine, sleeping becomes very important."

"…Isn't that bad?"

Sokka smiled before patting Aang playfully on the back. "You just worry about the jerkbender downstairs."

Aang sighed as the warrior walked away. He understood why Sokka was being overprotective of Katara, but it still hurt his feelings when his best friend went to such measures to keep them away from each other. Was he really that dangerous?

Raising his hands up into the light, Aang scowled. Yes, yes he was.

Aang glared at the mirror next to his desk. After starring at it for a couple of seconds, he was shocked to discover that his reflection wasn't glaring back. Instead, a golden eyed Aang was waving at him! In a panic, the young airbender ran into his restroom, lifting a large trail of dust into the stiff air.

ooOOOooOooOOOooo

"We will bring the REAL Fire Lord back to light! The imposter currently serving us has no credibility, no confidence, and no intentions of improving this country with these rules! To defy common fire nation traditions is too—"

The speech went on and on. Azula was bored and judging from the other men's waning expressions Shen was obviously losing his audience.

His daily pep talks were quickly turning into a banal cacophony of annoyance.

The LL Phoenix leader smiled. He knew what would grab everyone's attention. "I'm proud to announce that our battle will take place in four days."

Azula's eyes widened while the man next to her gasped. A range of emotions could be seen throughout the soldiers. Most looked perplexed while others looked eager for some action.

Behind Shen, Jack was frowning.

The Phoenix leader closed his eyes. He had expected this reaction. "I know. I know. Most of you are confused, and I don't blame you. Besides our attack on the palace a week before, I've degraded you all with tasks such as surveillance and what some would refer to as stalking."

"Some of you," Shen glanced briefly at Azula, "have been disobeying my orders. You think I've lost my drive, my derision under stress. However, I assure you that there is a method to my madness. Even if things seem tedious now, it will all make sense once the day of the battle arrives. Once done, the Avatar will be dead, Zuko will have been overthrown, and Fire Lord Ozai will be placed back into power as ruler of the Fire Nation and the rest of the world."

Many of the men cheered while some shook their heads in shock, still contemplating the new information.

Azula smirked. She wasn't impressed.

"Now, go back to your posts."

The men grumbled before returning to their former duties. Azula sighed before turning around to walk away. She nearly shrieked when she felt a strong hand around her waist. Azula snarled at her captor, not surprised to see that it was the Phoenix leader himself.

"I need to have a word with you. Why don't you come into my office?" It wasn't a suggestion. It was a demand.

Azula hated being ordered around. Nevertheless, she relented. "Lead the way oh wise leader."

They walked in silence, their shoes producing metallic sounds as they stepped on their base's rigging. To have their hide out be on a ship, Azula was surprised they hadn't sank yet.

When they reached the office, the former fire nation princess was shocked to find Jack sitting in a chair across from them. She raised an eyebrow before sitting next to him.

Shen was pacing back and forth, rubbing his palms together in intense circles. "I know you two have…issues with my plan. I'd like to hear your opinions on what has been done so far."

Jack furrowed his brow. "Really?"

Azula frowned before standing up. "I think you're just wasting our time. Why are we sitting here when we could be barging through the palace with the Avatar and Zuko at hand?"

Shen glared at Azula. "Being hasty won't help us, princess."

Azula smirked. "It's Fire Lord. Once my dad gets back in power, you know he'll return to his duties as Phoenix King. I'll be the new Fire Lord, so I should be addressed as such."

It was now Shen's turn to smirk. "Please, without his bending he'll probably stick with being Fire Lord. I'm sorry, but you're still only a princess. For now…"

"Well, Zuzu and those peasants have no idea what they're doing. It's almost too easy. I could sneak in and kill them all in their sleep for all I care…"

Shen smiled. "But where's the fun in that? You think I actually took my time to break you out just to have you knock everyone out in one swipe?"

Azula shrugged as the eager Phoenix leader walked up to her slowly. "Everything I've done has been planned. If we want to come out of this as the fire nation's greatest heroes, we will have to have patience."

The young princess looked at her nails pitifully. "So you want a challenge? I'm sorry, but you're not even going to break a sweat when we finally attack."

"Before we kill them, we need to find out more about the Avatar and his companions. I won't leave anything to chance."

Shen glanced back at his old friend who had remained silent throughout the entire conversation.

"What about you?"

Jack sighed. "Why are we even doing this, Shen? All of this…murder we are about to commit. We'll be the number one enemies of the entire world."

"We will be regarded as the heroes once the rightful Fire Lord is returned to power. No one gets far without taking risks."

Jack snarled. "We first joined the army…to follow in our father's footsteps, to honor our country. But this, Shen? This is madness!"

Shen gritted his teeth. "You're just a coward. Our moment, our calling is upon us, and you're ready to walk out on me? After all we've been through?"

Jack was about to retort before Azula cut him off, glaring at Shen. "Not to interrupt something personal, but we will not be able to defeat Zuko if you, our leader, can't handle a few underlings. Jack will just have to be terminated."

The man in question stared at Azula with wide eyes. "What?"

Shen growled. "Azula! Control yourself!"

The fire nation princess smiled. "I haven't even moved and here you guys are bickering amongst one another like some old couple."

The meticulous firebender through her head back and began laughing while Shen fumed. Jack had his head turned the other way, a light blush of embarrassment on his cheeks.

Despite Azula's consecutive lapses earlier, Shen knew she was becoming more and more…sane. Eventually, he knew that she would go off and try to go through with his plan by herself. He had to think of a way to keep her under his thumb.

Shen raised an eyebrow as a thought popped into his head. "Oh, no worries. I'm not interested, but you will be."

Azula's laughs turned into harsh coughs while Jack stared at Shen with an expression that suggested 'bloody murder'.

"The Hell?"

"You can't make me work with this peasant!"

Shen smiled. "Actually, Azula, I can. I am the leader of this operation after all. We are doing all of this to bring your father back to the throne. Don't lose sight of the goal."

He must love hearing himself talk, Azula thought as she hissed.

Jack glared at his friend. "And how is this part of the goal?"

"Oh, you know. It's just more surveillance and acts of stalking. Except this time I'm thinking we should take things to the battle front itself. What better way to get info than to become 'acquaintances' with the enemy? You both will pose as a couple and infiltrate the palace. Jack will do most of the talking and you, princess, will be his bodyguard."

Azula nearly spat out fire as she ranted. "You mean to tell me we're going to get into the palace and not kill them? Are you crazy? They won't let commoners in!"

Jack was just shaking his head, his skin a shade of unhealthy white. "I can't believe you…"

Shen looked at the two complainers as a father looks at his children. "I don't care how you do it. Just get me whatever info you can about our targets. The more we know, the easier it will be for me to organize our battle priorities."

"We could just kill them now!"

"I think I'm going to be sick…"

Azula gave Jack the most hateful look of all after his comment, causing him to sweat profusely.

"Oh, quit whining? What are we, six? Now go and convince those naïve fools. We will not underestimate them!"

Shen pinched the bridge of his nose as they continued to protest. Remember, all good things come to those who wait…

oooOOOOOoOOOOOooOOoOOO

Zuko was tapping his foot rapidly on the ground. If Sokka hadn't gone to check on Aang earlier the firebender would have barged into the young Avatar's room.

Why is he always late for things like this? I even gave him more breaks when we're doing our training sessions…not that he needs them.

Zuko sighed. He would have been lying to himself if he didn't admit he was stressed out. He felt bad that he was taking it out on his friends, but he couldn't help himself. The return of his girlfrien-ex wasn't making things any easier.

He knew it was childish to avoid her like this, but with all the things on top of his plate that was one of his least concerns.

Zuko was about to stomp up the stairs when the young airbender walked right into him, mumbling something about 'mystical mirrors'.

"Well, I hoped you had a good night's sleep. Sokka told you about the meeting, right?"

Aang grumbled inaudibly before nodding. "Yeah…"

The two were about to start walking towards the conference room when Aang suddenly held his arm out, stopping Zuko.

"Uh, excuse me?"

"Zuko…can you…do you trust me?"

The master firebender gawked at the monk before him. "Of course, you know that…"

"Then why was Sokka the one telling me about our meeting. Why didn't you just come up yourself?"

Zuko groaned before rubbing the back of his head. "Well…I…you see, I-"

Aang sighed before walking away. "It's okay. I understand…"

"No, Aang. It's just…I…darn!"

The next words that sprouted from the young fire lord's mouth were said so fast that Aang only caught two of them; 'Water' and an insolent word that began with a 'B'.

In a flash Aang had his hands around Zuko's throat, his eyes darkened considerably. "What did you just say?"

"I…I said beautiful water demon."

Aang dropped his friend, his face unreadable. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Zuko sighed before a series of fast steps alerted him to a third presence. "Oh, man! Come on, Aang we have to move!"

"What, why-"

"Just move!"

He was shoving the young airbender, but it wasn't enough before a fuming waterbender had caught up to the stumbling duo.

"Zuko!"

"Speak of the devil…" The guilty firebender let go of his friend who was currently opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"I can't believe you! You promised me that you wouldn't take Aang to any more of those…those meetings! You know he needs his rest! How could you-"

"Since he is the 'Avatar' I find it necessary to let him know what's happening in our city. Dragon or not, he still has responsibilities. I'm not going to be blamed any more for his lack of knowledge."

"Why you dirty little-"

Zuko held his hand out as Katara pressed against it, her arms moving in rapid windmill motions. Aang glanced at them as if they were animals in a zoo. He backed away slowly, hoping he could get away before they turned rabid.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?"

"Aang! You should be back in your room!"

The young Avatar let out a small squeak as he felt himself being tugged in opposite directions. "Guys! I'm not a puppet! If I break, that's it for me!"

Aang groaned as he was dropped unceremoniously on the hard floor while the two masters glared at each other.

After a couple of minutes, they were calm enough to simply avert their gazes.

"Sorry, Aang. I just…I've been doing my best to nurse you back to health, but these buffoons aren't letting me do my job."

"I just don't want to keep any secrets from you. Look I'm, like, up to my wall in reports. It's just easier when you're there, you know?"

Aang gave them both a small smile, though inching away from Katara. "Yeah, I understand. Look Zuko, you don't have to tell me everything. If it's easier for you to keep a few secrets I won't mind. Besides, I need to get my body back so that I can perform my own Avatar duties in peace. I won't be much help if I change forms in the conference room…"

Zuko chuckled softly. "I guess not."

Katara smiled innocently at Aang. It was so strikingly similar to his dream that the young airbender felt his heart skip a beat. "I actually came to tell you that Agnis wants to speak with you. He said it was urgent."

Aang nodded slowly. "Alright."

Zuko sighed. "I guess I'll have to face the wrath of Shino alone…"

Aang smirked. "I'm surprised he came back after, well, almost getting attacked and all."

"Yep, he's very…persistent."

Katara smiled before grabbing Aang's wrist. "You'll survive."

Forcing her way out of the hall, Katara practically dragged Aang away from Zuko and back into the living room.

"Katara, what are you-"

"Shhhh, come on! We can't let anyone catch us!"

"Wait, what?"

She practically shoved her palm into his mouth, causing him to shut up. Wow, she really does smell like the ocean…

Katara kept dragging him in random directions until they reached a small closet. She shoved him in there roughly before stepping in and closing the door behind him. The closet was quite dark and bare. It was hard for Aang to see anything within a two foot radius.

"Katara, why are you-"

He was cut off as he felt her lips pressed firmly on his mouth. His cheeks were now as hot as the sun and his heart was starting to run a marathon.

She smiled in the dark, her voice nearly making him jump. "So, how are you feeling?"

Aang's eyes were now as wide as saucers. "You locked me in a closet to doctor me?"

Katara laughed. "I'm sorry. Sokka is being such a spoiled brat about all this. The only time he lets me visit you is when you're asleep. Ah, he always underestimates me…"

"Wait, so Agnis didn't want to see me?"

Katara furrowed her brow. "Um, well, you see…I was trying to come up with an excuse to get you away from Zuko and it sort of…popped into my mind I guess. Are you mad?"

Aang rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well, um…the meeting could have been important…and uh, well…"

The waterbender giggled. "Don't worry about him. I'm not trying to be the clingy girlfriend, really. After our chat you're going straight to your room so I can heal your new injuries."

"New injuries?"

"Yeah, you've been sleepwalking a lot. Yesterday was weird. Somehow you must have transformed partly during the middle of the night because your hands were bloody and you had a long claw wound in your back. Do you remember any of it?"

Aang started stuttering. "Uh…no…"

Katara sighed. "Don't worry. No matter what happens, I'll be here. We'll get through this…"

"Yeah…"

Silence invaded them for a couple of seconds before Katara spoke again, her voice a whisper.

"So, you don't want to talk about anything?"

"Nah, I'm fine."

"Right." Katara smiled as she said this, her hand rising up to touch Aang's left cheek.

"Katara…" He wanted to tell her that this was dangerous. That she should listen to her brother and just leave him. That she would only be hurting herself more being here, this close to his dangerous body.

But as he stared at his betrothal necklace placed snugly around her neck, he couldn't utter another word. As she leaned closer toward him, her breath hitting him in small wisps, he could do nothing but watch as her face got closer and closer.

He sucked in a long breath, his hands clenched at his sides. He flinched as he felt his nails digging into his palms. They were definitely sharper than usual.

I have to get out of here before I hurt her…

Aang narrowed his eyes in determination, ready to make a run for it. But his stupid body wasn't listening to him anymore.

Katara gasped as Aang pushed her to the ground, his hands grasping her shoulders tightly. She could see his eyes staring widely at her, a mixture of gold and silver in the darkness.

Her shoulders shifted inward as his nails entered her skin. "Aang, you're hurting me…"

Aang looked at her sympathetically, though his voice sounded apathetic. "I know."

Katara's eyes widened, missing the desperate glance that was shot at her. "Aang…please, stop."

The nails went in deeper as a response and the waterbender could have sworn she felt something leaking out of her shoulder blades.

Wincing, Katara gritted her teeth to avoid screaming out. She knew Aang wasn't fully in control, though she couldn't fathom why the dragon was mad at her.

"Aang, it's okay. Come on you can fight your way back through. You don't need to…grip me so tightly. I won't leave you…"

She felt his lips hovering next to her ear. His voice was soft and monotone. "I'm not sure if I can. You should run…"

Katara grimaced, knowing that option wasn't possible. "I can't move."

Aang chuckled, his voice taking on a dark tone. "I know. He should have listened to me. The trials haven't even started and he's already proving himself to be unworthy."

"Tri-Trials?" Katara let out a small squeak as the nails continued to moving in her skin. It felt as if they were expanding.

She wouldn't do it. She would not cry in front of him.

"You're pretty strong, Katara. I can see why he likes you."

The waterbender glared into Aang's now completely golden eyes. "Who are you?"

"…The firebender called me Eona, but your brother called me The Red Inferno...or something like that. What do you want to call me?"

Katara smiled grimly. "The word jerk comes to mind…"

She regretted saying that after she felt thick claws raking down her back.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to kill you. You're too special for that. Besides, I won't be able to make his first test without you."

Katara was about to retort, saying she wouldn't even dream of helping the spirit with anything until the door behind her blasted open. Agnis stood in the doorway, smiling. It was if he expected the scenario in front of him.

"Katara, didn't you get my message? I told you I needed to speak with Aang."

Said waterbender gasped in shock while Eona smirked. "A little too late for that don't you think?"

Agnis laughed. "My dear, you know the trials start tomorrow? I didn't think you were one to break traditions."

Eona shrugged before getting up, pulling her claws rather forcefully out of Katara's back. "I'd thought I'd send him a fair warning. After all, he really cares about her. I'm being nice…"

Katara glared at her possessed boyfriend. "Yeah, you've been so very helpful. You're the reason he's been having nightmares aren't you?"

Eona started rubbing the blood off her claws, which were slowly transforming back into Aang's fingers. "It's not my fault if his subconscious gives me nothing to work with. Last night was a success though. The whole empty heart thing was all his idea."

Katara stared blankly at Eona, rubbing her bloody shoulders. "I'm going to go wash up. You better not hurt him."

Eona waved her hands. "Please, if anything you should be the one worrying. Why don't you go back and apologize to your goofy brother."

Hearing all of these insults from Aang's mouth and in Aang's voice was driving Katara crazy. Nonetheless, she was able to walk out of there without purposefully stomping on the young Avatar's leg.

Eona growled while Agnis chuckled. "I guess I know what trial comes first. It's a common one for young men of his age…"

"Yeah, I'm going easy on him with the first one. Seriously, humans are so predictable."

Agnis stared at his companion. "Wow, you've only been in him for a few days and already you've began to understand the language. How extraordinary. This is definitely one for the books."

Eona shrugged. "So why did you want to speak with him anyway? I thought we were going to present him with the tests together."

"A little warning never hurts either."

"That's what I was doing."

The Spirit Healer decided not to comment on that, only smiling. "We're working with a thirteen-year-old boy here. We don't need to kill him on the first day."

"Alright, I won't give him any nightmares tonight. Happy?"

Agnis nodded. "I'm very grateful."

Eona laughed before cracking her knuckles. "I just love temptation…"

Yeah, I'm seriously on fire this weekend! I've updated a lot of stuff.

I can't wait till summer officially starts. Then it will really be a party!

Thank you so much you guys for reading this far! I've gotten over 3,400 hits for this story! That's amazing! Not to mention 48 reviews!

You guys are the best! And don't worry, the end is near. I'm anticipating this to end by chapter 21 or so! I can't believe I'm almost done with my first multi-chapter story on fanfiction! Hurray!

Chapter 17 preview

"I really, really hope this isn't for me." Azula pointed at the ghastly wig in front of her.

Jack sighed. "You're going to have to wear it. With your hair all…messy like that everyone will know who you are from a mile away. There are so many posters out there for you, it's like they're taking over all the billboards."

Azula grumbled before putting the ugly thing on her head. "I hate blonds."

Jack ignored her comment as he placed a different wig on his head. "So how are we going to get into the palace?"

"Hmmm, well they're all a bunch of pathetic, goody too-shoes. I'm sure if one of us is injured they'll let us in. You know Katara is one of the best healers around."

Jack gulped. "I see. So, we're going to fake an injury, then what?"

Azula smiled as electricity swarmed around her. "Oh, we're not going to fake it. The only thing that will convince them is the real thing in its entirety."

Jack's eyes widened as Azula slowly walked towards him.

{}

Aang glared at Agnis. "Wait, so if I fail any of the trials-"

"You won't fail. You must succeed in order to get your body back. This is a tradition that every Avatar has faced, but you're case is very unique. Any path that detracts from the main course of this procedure would produce dire consequences…"

Last Edit: July 1 2012