DISCLAIMER: I don't own Avatar.

Scrolls and books surrounded the young monk of the Southern Air Temple. His brow was furrowed as he read the pages of a particular book that was over a thousand pages long.

Aang rubbed his eyes and yawned. He had been reading for a very, very long time. And the whole time he had been on the Kyoshi Island's beach not one person came to ask him if he was hungry or wanted to work on some other element.

He hated studying.

He hated sitting in the sand, trying to concentrate on how firebending works while his mind wandered to more important things. Like Katara. And how he was going to have to save the world on the day that Sozen's Comet arrived; and when it was only just a short two months away.

He was also thinking about what had happened to him. Katara had told him that she and he had fought Azula and Zuko. Something had happened to Zuko, Katara had told him, because for a short two hours she had actually thought he wanted to be good. Why couldn't he remember hardly anything?

Sure, he remembered bits and pieces. He remembered making himself into a crystallized human and attacking a girl that had been intimidating and very frightening. He couldn't quite remember what she looked like, except for the fire crown that had been placed on her dark brown hair.

He remembered the visual of himself holding the world in his hands and then falling…falling…to…where? He couldn't remember.

He remembered losing Katara in the ground and he remembered everything before then. But he couldn't remember everything after.

He remembered an old man with many wrinkles and tattered clothing telling him to let her go. And he remembered that he couldn't. Why couldn't he let her go? Sure, he liked her more than normal. But he could let her go if the world was in danger, couldn't he? Isn't that what she would have wanted?

Aang didn't know.

He went into the Avatar State to save her. He had been in the Avatar state every time he lost someone he loved. Monk Gyatso, Katara, Appa (though he couldn't remember that either.) So did that mean he loved Katara?

He groaned.

It was just too much to think about. Love wasn't supposed to be that hard, was it? It was supposed to be romantic and lovely. It wasn't supposed to be difficult and impossible to know what you have was even love or not.

……

Toph didn't know how she got mixed up in all of this. She didn't know how Suki and Sokka convinced her to come down her in her under clothes and swim. She wanted to kill Suki and Sokka. Each warrior had an arm in their hand dragging her to the ocean. "No," she kept saying. "I'm not going."

"Don't worry," Suki replied. "Neither I nor Sokka will let you drown." She smiled at the look at Toph's face. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were willing to kill Suki if she didn't have a hold of the earthbender's arm.

They reached the ocean. "Okay," Sokka said holding his finger up. "Walk into the water. You'll be able to feel the vibrations because the bottom's sand.

Toph snorted. "It's blurry when I'm on the sand. I don't want to do this. Please don't make me do this."

"Oh come on," Suki said. "It's not that bad. I'll teach you."

Toph could feel the cool water around her ankles and Suki led her into the ocean. The sand under her feet was squishing and moved at every step. Suki kept a firm grip on her arm. "Okay," she said, "all you have to do is move your hands and arms at the same time you move your legs. Like this."

She helped move Toph's arms out two her sides and in a circular motion. Toph nodded reluctantly.

The water was now up to Toph's waist.

"Okay," the earthbender said, nodding. "I got it."

"Good," Suki replied. "Do you want me to help you?"

Toph brushed Suki's helping hands away and replied, "No. Let me do it. If I can bend metal, then this'll be no problem." Toph bent her knees far enough so her head was the only thing above the water and then she went under.

The water around her face felt like a very cold bath. It was very strange but it was refreshing. She stayed under until her lungs hurt and then she rose out of the water. "She lives!" she heard Sokka yell.

She ignored him.

……

There was the best picture Katara could of him on the tree trunk. It didn't really look like him. There was an oval for his head, two beady little eyes, a line for a mouth, and a circle of his left eye, his scar.

She made another ice dagger and threw it at him. Ugh! I hate him, she thought. What is he doing to me? He used me! I should want to kill him! And I do! I shouldn't even care!

Katara wasn't the kind of person to throw ice daggers at someone. She had only wanted to hurt someone once before and that man was Pakku. Master Pakku. But now, you could say her and Pakku were best friends before you even try to put Zuko on her good side.

After a pointless hour of throwing water at the Zuko's face, she decided to go and see how Aang was doing. He was probably more than ready to do some waterbending.

The forest was huge and luscious. Big, tall oak trees towered over her. Patchy sunlight cam through sections of the forest as Katara walked to the beach.

She saw Aang rubbing his temples, his head over the books that he had received earlier that morning. "Hey, Aang," she said reaching his side. The Avatar looked up at her and smiled.

"Hey, Katara."

"Have you learned anything yet?" she asked, sitting crossed-legged next to him. She looked over the scrolls and books and immediately was glad she wasn't Aang right at this moment.

"No," Aang moaned. "It's not the same as when I'm learning head on. I can't get the firebending experience when I'm reading. I have to be doing it. I need a teacher. I need one."

"I know, Aang," Katara replied, looking out into the ocean. "We're just trying to let your back heal before we go on anywhere. I know"—

"Katara, look!" Aang interrupted, jumping to his feet. His index finger was extended toward the distant sea. Katara stood up also, her eyes squinting. And then she saw it.

In the distance was a small boat. They didn't move and didn't say anything. The two benders heard footsteps from behind. A very wet Toph, Suki, and Sokka appeared behind them. "What's that?" Sokka asked.

"Wha-What's what?" Toph asked looking left and right.

"It's a boat," Suki said.

They waited for what seemed like hours. And then, when the sun was starting to set, the boat wasn't very far away.

And the person on board was none other than the Dragon of the West, better known as Iroh, fugitive of the Fire Nation.

And the gang gasped.

That was a very, very short chapter. There was a little shipping for Zuko and Katara in there (ha, ha! Ice daggers….) Maybe a little Katara and Aang also. But don't worry all you kataang haters, Toph and Aang fluff (sort of) is coming up in the next chapter. Cliffhanger galore!! You've read it, please review!!