two more chapters??? what?? actually, this was supposed to be one chapter, but it would have been the longest chapter EVER, so i cut it into two. (as a side note, dont worry about Koki and Lei. You will never see them again. how sad :P)

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW (extra kudos to those who guessed correctly on the last reviews. The immediate answer is A, but you'll have to see how it goes)

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of A:tla, not even a clipping of Appa's nails. Nothing!

Koki and Lei were playing with their fake wooden swords. The older, brown haired boy advanced over the smaller one, calling out, "You better watch it, Koki, I'm about to gut you!"

The younger boy stopped as Lei plummeted his fake sword through the air and poked Koki's stomach. Lei pumped his fist in the air, celebrating his success. The younger boy continued to stand still, his eyes plastered on the eastern horizon, his face in terror.

"What's wrong Koki? Did you actually die?" Lie joked, waving a hand in front of his friend's face. His hand started to tremble along with the ground and before the boys knew it, a mass of salamander-dragons rumbled past them. Instinctively, the older Lei grabbed Koki and covered him, curled up in a ball. The riders of the salamander-dragons whooped loudly and roughly as they pummeled over the ground.

When the dust settled the two boys ran home, leaving their now splintered swords in ruins, along with their bravado.

I woke up to the sunlight; it was the first time I had felt that in a while. Normally, I sleep in my earth tent, it makes me feel solitary and closer to the earth, but last night I decided to sleep under the stars with my friends. I know, call me soft, but I wanted their company for once.

But today was quite difference. Although the sun greeted me as I awoke, none of my friends were there. I sat up and stretched, accidentally hitting Appa. The animal gave a sort of grunted reply and I remembered something Aang told me about Appa being drunk last night. Such a big animal must get one hell of a hangover.

Speaking of hangover, I wasn't feeling too hot myself. We had all stayed up extra late and I could feel the lack of sleep in my bones. Hopefully I wouldn't have to earth bend today – I didn't even know if I could lift a rock.

Aang and Katara were out a little from the clearing, talking happily as they gathered wood for the campfire; they had to eat and keep warm somehow.

"Wouldn't it be cool if earth bending included plants? It'd make this so much easier," exclaimed the young avatar. He then proceeded to make obscure and odd gestures, as if trying to get the brawny pine tree in front of him to bend to his will. Katara covered her chuckle with the palm of her hand.

"I don't think that's going to work. You may be a powerful bender but I just think the plants are out of your range," she said, picking up a dry twig. The avatar air bended to the closest stump and sat upon it, watching the water bender.

"I'm not a powerful bender, and I'm definitely not a powerful Avatar," Aang said, his mood sobering up. He hung his head slightly, which the ever observant Katara noticed.

"What are you talking about Aang? You are a great bender – the best I've ever seen. And you have plenty of time to master the Avatar state and get yourself used to everything," Katara tried to comfort him. She walked over to the stump and sat next to him on it, leaving them shoulder-to-shoulder.

"No, you don't understand," the boy almost whined

"Then explain it to me…" Katara responded softly

"I'm supposed to sacrifice…some things in order to control my Avatar state. Things I don't want to give up, things I cant give up…"

"Like what?"

Here the boy hesitated. Katara could almost see the doubt in his eyes. He looked up at her suddenly, shocking the water bender as she found her blue eyes locked on Aang's gray. "Like love…Like you…"

Katara blushed horrendously, not sure what to say. "Aang…I…" she stuttered, watching his face fall. She knew what he wanted her to say, but she was too struck dumb to even think of a response.

Luckily for the two of them, a boomerang picked the best time to come flying between them, making the couple duck if they wanted to keep their heads attached. The boomerang flew back where it came from, followed by a "YEOW!" presumably from Sokka.

The boy stumbled out of a thicket of bushes and onto the grass at Aang and Katara's feet. Sokka struggled to his feet, picking up his boomerang and a bunch of stems. "Has anyone seen Toph yet? I have something to give to her…" he held out the bunch of stems for the group to see. Noticing this, Sokka stopped, "Aww man, damn boomerang cut off the flowers…." he whined

"You were bringing Toph flowers?" Katara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah? So? Just 'cuz it's not her birthday, doesn't mean you cant make someone feel good," Sokka said defiantly, oblivious to the implications of his actions.

Aang and Katara looked at each other skeptically then back to Sokka. "No, we haven't seen her. She's probably still asleep," Katara suggested.

"Right! Asleep. You two continue doing…whatever you were doing," exclaimed the oddly chipper Sokka. He scampered away, leaving Katara and Aang scratching their heads in confusion.

haha. i love Sokka. A snipet of Kataang for those who like it.