A/N: Ah! Zomg I'm so sorry I haven't updated in like – forever. I've gotten a few complaints-no, not complaints… Just some kind words to keep going, lol, and Imma put this up to prove I haven't forgotten about any of you and my story! Haha I love my story and hope to finish the trilogy, and that's just what Imma do
This chapter is a little short and I'm sorry :/ but I hope the next chapter has some more in it!
Anyways, enjoy!
Book Two – Water and Air
Chapter Eighteen – Dark Spirits
Distant, gentle howls could slowly be heard as the four trudged in the cold, hard snow and ice. Katara instantly began to tremble at the sound. She knew snow wolves were present, and she also knew all too well that they were very dangerous; especially to lone travelers without such weapons to protect themselves with. She knew Sokka most likely had his boomerang with him, but even that wouldn't stand a chance against a pack of southern snow wolves.
"Is it just me, or is that mountain getting farther and farther away?" Aang questioned along with a drawn out sigh; he gently shifted Katara in his loving arms.
Kiari responded to Aang, but Katara wasn't paying attention. She gently focused and basically glued her eyes to the distant horizon. The soft blues and blacks of the night sky seemed so calming, yet so threatening.
Katara quickly shivered, her shoulders gently shook as her teeth began to chatter; only causing Aang to hug her a little closer. She instantly let her frown grow. She felt as if her body was slowly becoming one with her stomach ache; as if the teasing pain had convinced the rest of her body to ache as well. She felt as if her blood was slowly freezing inside her every vein, causing an upheaval of pain that spread from the very depths of her stomach, to the crown of her forehead. With this, she oddly enough began to sweat.
"Aang," Katara breathed, the air fogged before the two.
"Yeah?" Aang panted; it was now harder to walk, for the snow was slowly sloping into an upwards hill.
"I-I… don't feel too well," Katara said softly and shakily. Aang's eyes bugged slightly, knowing the tone in her voice meant trouble. He instantly stopped, causing young Kiari to stop as well.
"Do we need to stop?" Aang worried as he gently began to set Katara on her feet. She stood for only a moment before her knees wobbled and she doubled to the cold snow. She instantly began to dry heave; gags that had suddenly come from literally nowhere.
Aang, now pushed past worried, instantly knelt next to the young, sick waterbender and gently held her hair back. He frowned, feeling a bit worried as to what Katara was spitting up.
"I-Is that…?" Kiari shook in her spot as Katara continued to turn her stomach inside out.
"I hope not…" Aang worried as he attempted to get a closer look. He frowned, noting the darkness; he couldn't see much. He was thankful, however, noting Katara had stopped throwing up.
"A-Aang I…" Katara uttered softly; her arms were stiff as she gently began to grip the snow underneath her. Aang gently stroked her hair as he worriedly leaned closer to her.
"You okay?" He questioned; Katara shook her head.
"B-blood," she mumbled as she looked down. Aang instantly felt his stomach clench as he peered down at the mess Katara had spit up. Now certain of what the sticky substance was, he quickly stood and gently swept Katara up into his arms.
"Kiari, this isn't good, how much longer 'till we reach that mountain?" Aang worried in a stern tone as the two began to walk again. Katara gently latched onto Aang, coughing some.
"I-I… If I'm not mistaken, that's Xi Wang Mountain… It shouldn't be much longer," Kiari said softly as she quickly attempted to keep up with Aang's fast pace.
"A-Aang," Katara whimpered slightly as she cringed; she wrinkled her nose slightly, now hearing the oddest of noises in her ear.
"Yeah?" Aang breathed softly in a worried manner as he quickly walked.
"Th-the howling," she uttered as she hugged herself closer to Aang. Aang grew confused.
"Howling?" Aang questioned, not able to hear such noise; he knew there were snow wolves somewhere out here, but none of them were out howling at the moment.
"It's so loud," Katara whimpered softly.
She cringed; the loud, almost ear piercing howls could be heard in her ears. She didn't know if it were a sign or some strange side effect of the strange sickness she had now gotten a hold of. She frowned; the howls of the snow wolves seemed to taunt her, mess with her mind and confuse her further and with this confusion, came dizziness. She instantly shut her eyes tight and latched onto Aang; her arms basically squeezed him around the shoulders as she gently began to cough.
"I-I… don't understand," Aang mumbled softly in a slightly worried tone as he stole a glance at Kiari, "We're almost to the mountain, I'm sure we'll find some shelter there so you can rest," Aang concluded in a hopeful manner; although his voice didn't show it.
"I wonder what she's sick with, "Kiari wondered softly as she pushed closer to Katara and Aang, noting the now disappearing daylight, "I-if she's spitting up blood, th-that means that…"
"Something inside her is torn," Aang said deeply yet worriedly, "We need to find Appa," Aang said in a stern way as he cranked his head about, searching the skies for his beloved flying bison. Nothing could be seen but dark, snow clouds. Aang sighed with defeat.
"Aang," Katara whimpered; tears instantly began to stream her cheeks, "I… It hurts so badly,"
"Be strong," Aang begged softly with a frown as he looked down at his love; he then gently gave her a small, tender kiss atop her head for reassurance. Katara bested a small smile, but instantly frowned afterwards.
"I-I think we lost Sokka," Kiari worried as she squinted through the darkness, noting Sokka's silhouette had vanished. She frowned and glanced at Aang before picking up her pace, "I'm going to go see if I can catch up to him."
"No," Aang said loudly, Kiari turned around, "You can't, you'll get lost; Sokka's probably already to the mountain for all we know."
"Maybe, but I want to catch up to him and at least make him wait for us," Kiari said as she crossed her arms in a slightly angry manner.
"…Be careful," Aang worried softly, Kiari nodded and quickly began to pick up her pace in search for Sokka. In a matter of minutes, she had vanished from Aang's and Katara's sight.
Aang trudged on; he held sickly Katara in his warm and loving arms as he slowly neared the mountain that seemingly seemed to move farther from the two.
He shivered; nothing could be more painful than walking about the South Pole during late hours of the night. He felt as if his nose and ears had slowly become frostbitten. He could only imagine the pain Katara was going through right now. He wondered if the horrible nightmare had something to do with her problems, but he had no idea why, or how, that'd be the case. He heaved a soft sigh before picking up his pace and opening his mouth to speak.
"You feeling alright?" Aang asked softly. After a few quiet moments, Aang glanced down; only to notice Katara gently resting in his arms. She looked as if she had fainted, or had fallen asleep.
"Katara?" Aang questioned loudly as he shook on her somewhat. She quickly opened her eyes and gasped. Aang sighed with relief.
"Stay with me," Aang worried with a frown, tears now gently stung his eyes.
"A-Aang I… I'm so weak," Katara rasped softly as she gently let her head fall against Aang's shoulder, "My throat hurts," she rasped again, ever so softly. Aang clenched his teeth, feeling as if even the slightest upset and plea from his love could shove him into his Avatar state at any moment. He resisted, however, for her sake as well as his.
"Just a little bit longer," Aang whimpered softly, attempting to hold back tears. He was failing however, and gentle tears delicately began to stream his cheeks. Katara heaved a raspy sigh along with a painful cough as her body slowly began to go limp in Aang's arms.
"Help me," Katara whispered as she too began to cry softly. Aang nibbled his lip and quickly kept up his fast pace in the snow. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by the sudden rolling of thunder nearby. Aang's heart stopped and quickly gathered in his throat.
What more could go wrong…he thought as he held Katara a little closer in his arms.
"Shhh," Aang hushed the girl in his grip gently, "We're almost there," Aang rasped, knowing it wasn't true. The mountain he was headed for was huge, but the distance between the two was literally killing them.
- - -
"Sokka!" Kiari hollered as she slowly began to see his shadow in the distance yet again. She quickly began to run to him.
"Sokka," Kiari rasped once near as she attempted to keep her long hair out of her face as she ran. She felt a tad happy once she noticed Sokka turn around; although, he was angry.
"What," Sokka snapped as he glared. Kiari jumped slightly, but quickly felt her blood begin to boil.
"Sokka, how can you be so rude?" Kiari hollered as Sokka quickly pushed past her; Kiari stumbled slightly.
"I'm trying to find us shelter, you call that rude?" Sokka hissed, Kiari gaped.
"If you cared enough about your friends and family, you'd know that Aang and Katara are struggling back there! We need to wait for them," Kiari urged as she gently gripped Sokka's arm, only to have it ripped from her hands.
"What are you-" Sokka stopped what he was doing and stared at Kiari. She frowned with the looks of gentle tears in her eyes. Her face basically pleaded for Sokka to stop; he sighed with frustration and looked Kiari in the eyes.
"What happened," Sokka said deeply, almost as if he were pretending to care.
"Aang had to set Katara down because she didn't feel well and-"
"This is going to end up where they kiss, isn't it," Sokka said as he rolled his eyes and slowly trudged away; Kiari caught his arm and tugged on him.
"Katara was spitting up blood, Sokka," Kiari said shakily as she stared into his eyes; tears gently began to stream her cheeks, "We need to wait for them, they could be in danger, who knows what's wrong with Katara."
With this, Sokka's facial expression fell slightly at the thought of his sister and best friend in danger. He frowned and let his shoulders slump before he gently stole a glance at the mountain not too far off. He then looked to Kiari with a small, almost hopeful type frown.
"We need shelter," Sokka said softly as he relaxed somewhat, "If we go ahead, we can find shelter for the two, so we don't waste our time wandering around."
"But, Katara," Kiari rasped softly as she glanced over her shoulder.
"Aang will take care of her," Sokka reassured, having full trust in the young airbender. With this, Kiari nodded slowly and looked down. Sokka sighed softly before gently slipping his hand into hers and continuing on his search for shelter with Kiari.
- - -
"and-and then the sky went…black and…and…" Katara trailed off and gently let her head fall against Aang's shoulder. Aang bit his lip and quickly, yet gently, shook on Katara for her safety.
"Stay awake, Katara," Aang worried as Katara was quickly thrown into a coughing fit.
"I-I'm…so tired," Katara rasped; she then gently tightened her grip around Aang's shoulders as she tenderly began to cuddle into the soft furs of Aang's parka. She let a small smile play across her features, loving his warmth. With this happiness, she slowly began to feel her arms and legs go numb, as well as the pain in her stomach; although it lingered, something seemed to hide its mischievous ways. It continued through her body without a trace or evidence that it was there.
"Keep telling me about your dream," Aang urged; he did whatever it took to keep her awake; no telling what would happen if she fell asleep. Katara took a raspy, deep breath through her nose before gently continuing.
"My…My stomach started to hurt," Katara added softly as she pushed closer and closer to Aang; he slowly began to pant.
"It did?" Aang heaved.
"Yeah," Katara whispered, "A-Aditya appeared, and…and said I was… I-I…was…" Katara trailed off yet again and let her eyes gently drift closed. Aang shut his eyes tight, letting a few tears spill down his cheeks.
"Katara, stay with me," Aang urged as he shook on her yet again. Katara gasped softly and gently leaned her head against Aang's.
"Aang I-I…I…" Katara frowned, tears gently trickled down her cheeks as well, but she didn't pay much attention to them, let alone anything at the moment. Her world was slowly becoming one blur, as if she were lost on a drug; her stomach ache continued to spread in return.
"Aditya appeared, Aditya appeared and what," Aang urged in a stern manner, he felt as if frustration from who knows where had quickly set in, it in turn made his blood slowly begin to boil. He sighed softly, knowing he shouldn't take it out on Katara. He gently gave Katara a gentle kiss on the forehead before speaking.
"What happened from there," Aang said softly, in a kind manner, hoping to keep her awake. Katara grumbled slightly and tightened her grip around Aang.
"Sh-she then told me what…wh-what a…lousy Vyn-Vyntresser I am…" Katara whimpered as tears gently continued to spill down her cheeks. She softly began to sniffle and cry into Aang's furry parka. Aang sighed softly and looked down at his love in an apologetic way.
"Shhh," Aang soothed, "I-I'm sure it was just a nightmare from who knows where," Aang frowned, "A-and as for this sickness of yours…" Aang trailed off and heaved a soft sigh; letting the air gently fog before the two.
"I can't feel the pain anymore," Katara rasped all at once before letting her eyes drift shut.
"What?" Aang said softly as he fixed his eyes on the waterbender in his arms. Katara shook her head gently and tightened her grip around Aang, yet again, as she slowly began to shiver. She then was quickly shoved into a coughing fit.
"Th-that can't be good," Aang worried, knowing spitting up blood one moment, and not feeling the pain the next couldn't mean good news at all.
"I'm fine," Katara smiled in a delirious type of way. Aang raised one eyebrow before cocking his head and staring down at Katara.
"Katara?" Aang worried before he quickly froze in his tracks; he quickly felt his stomach clench at what he saw a little ways before him.
"Mom? I-is that you?" Katara mumbled softly, she was slowly being pushed into a dazed state, and with that came weakness.
Aang ignored her silly statements for the time being, he being more worried as to what was before the two. He let his shoulders slump slightly at the mere thought of the South Pole, in all of its glory and torture, as well as dangerous wildlife, basically murdering the two. He quickly braced himself for the worse.
- - -
"Sokka, do you know what you're doing?" Kiari questioned softly, noting him scouting around some huge boulders they were near; they had finally reached the mountain of their destination.
"Yeah, now gimme a hand I- I…Think there's a cave down there," Sokka heaved as the two quickly began to shove on a large boulder in the way of their safe spot. It harshly began to skid in the snow, before it quickly tumbled down the large slop the two teens had climbed moments before.
"Good job," Kiari stated softly as the two peered down into a small, shallow cavern below. It was cozy and small, and they knew they'd be safe there from the wildlife, not to mention the South Pole and all of its dangerous elements.
"You too," Sokka sighed softly before he quickly stepped down into the hole they had discovered.
"Sokka," Kiari suddenly uttered softly as she shivered from the cold night air. Sokka quickly whirled around.
"What?" Sokka questioned.
"Wh-what if there's already something living in there?" Kiari worried. Sokka's shoulders slumped with relief as he smiled a little. He then chuckled and shook his head.
"There's nothing down here, don't worry," Sokka reassured as he quickly began to delve further into their new hide out. Kiari clenched her teeth and followed in an un-eager manner.
Sokka took a good look around; although, it was hard with the dim amount of light they had. He moved his arms about, only to come to find that the perimeter of the cavern was quite small and cozy. Just big enough for the four teens.
Sokka heaved a dry sigh before quickly putting his arms out before him in attempt to find Kiari; she had kept quiet while Sokka got used to their new safe spot. He gently let his hands wander, wondering if maybe she had stepped out of the cave for some reason. All was calm, that is until the certain someone he was looking for came into contact.
"Kiari?" Sokka questioned softly as he gently grabbed hold of her arm.
"Y-yeah?" Kiari uttered softly before Sokka quickly pulled away.
"O-oh I… didn't know where you went," Sokka mumbled softly before attempting to get a good look around. He gently rubbed the back of his head before looking in Kiari's direction.
"Should we light a fire?" Kiari suggested softly as she hugged her warm parka closer to her. Sokka nodded in the dark.
"Good idea," Sokka said softly before looking about, letting his eyes adjust before he came to a conclusion, "M-maybe we should wait 'till Aang gets here…"
"How come?" Kiari questioned as she strained her eyes to look at the young warrior in the dark.
"He's a fire bender, right?" Sokka said quickly before stopping his train of thought and frowning, "But…"
"But…?"
" Aang refuses to fire bend…" Sokka heaved a dry sigh and slowly began to pace; Kiari tensed.
"H-he's going to have to… If we're going to survive out here," Kiari worried; Sokka gently shushed her and stepped close.
"Don't worry… Let's just…hope he comes to his senses…"
- - -
Aang let his shoulders slump a little; his heart quickly began to pound as he ran through a few protective airbending forums in his mind. A pack of about five or six wolves ever so slowly approached the two, and once the few were within pouncing distance, they began to snarl and growl. Aang tensed and held Katara extremely close, knowing all too well if she were killed, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.
Within a few moments, Aang was completely surrounded by the pack of the angry, snow wolves. Their gentle, yet rough fur stood on end; their blue eyes basically penetrated and burned through Aang's very skin, their sharp, razor teeth grit and showing, fully exposed in a threatening way. Aang gently whimpered in fear before quickly glancing down at his love in his arms, only to see that she had fainted in his tight grip; her head gently hung off of the side of his arm and her whole body hung limp.
Aang instantly felt his heart fall and shatter inside of him and with that, tears were present. They fell like rain, spilling down his cheeks and gently becoming solid once they hit his jaw line. The unforgiving winter wind harshly licked his face and in time made the ends of his hair crisp.
All was quiet until a loud, snarling bark was immediately present. Aang quickly whirled around, only to see one of the large, snow wolves in mid leap, headed straight for him. Aang, without thinking, quickly jumped high into the air and looked down as the snow wolf barely missed Aang and plowed into one of the other wolves of the pack. Both wolves quickly tumbled and snarled, only making the pack angrier.
Aang quickly fell towards the snow covered ground just a bit a ways from the pack and landed firmly on his feet, holding his love endearingly close so as to not lose her; and with the sudden outburst from the pack, a quick adrenaline rush instantly shot through Aang's body, causing him to take off running. He attempted to use his airbending to help him, but holding the weight of another person only slowed him down.
The pack of wolves quickly followed; scavengers of the south, willing to kill anything if not everything that moves in order to stay alive. With the special padding on their paws, running on ice and snow was no problem. But for Aang, his air nation shoes wouldn't cut it. He quickly began to lose his balance on the ice covered earth beneath him and within a few seconds of slipping and sliding about, he plummeted to the ground; along with his downfall, he quickly lost his grip on Katara.
Katara's limp body gently skid on the snow before coming to a harsh stop. Aang gasped loudly and quickly began to scramble to his feet, but was quickly knocked down again when there came a large amount of weight and pressure on his back. He quickly doubled to the snow again, his face harshly buried in the cold snow under him; but that was the least of his worries. The large wolf on him quickly began to claw at his back, snarling and growling and wanting all of him, clothes and everything. The pack was hungry and savage, and there was no stopping any of them.
Aang instantly cried out in pain and harshly rolled over; with the help of a gust of cold wind, he quickly knocked the large wolf off of him. He quickly began to pant, now being able to feel the cold, winter winds hit his bare back and open wounds. Aang emitted one last cry before quickly glancing over to where Katara was; only to see the rest if the pack surrounding her. They looked confused and baffled as they sat hunched near her sprawled body. They sniffed and snarled a bit, as if they were wary about the idea of eating or attacking her.
Aang didn't want to take any chances, however. He immediately darted over to the confused pack and with the simple gesture of an airbending forum, all wolves were harshly blown in all directions and out of his and Katara's way. Aang quickly and harshly skid next to Katara in tears, he whimpered and gripped her shoulders; he shook her gently and uttered her name softly a few times. He touched her delicate, cold face before leaning down and kissing her cheeks a few times, feeling as if these were going to be the last moments spent with her. He felt doomed, done for, and worst of all, he felt as if he had failed everyone; Sokka, Kiari, and mostly him and Katara. Not to mention his and her past lives.
"Katara, please," Aang rasped shakily as he arched his back somewhat, in order to stop the shear, sharp pain in his back. He sobbed softly and quickly swept the young, unconscious waterbender up into his arms before immediately noticing the wolves surrounding the two again. Aang quickly gripped his love and bite his bottom lip before, all at once, charging straight towards a few of the wolves in order to escape the circle they had formed around the two. He quickly bursted past a few wolves, only to have them immediately cling to him and nip at his heels. They leaped and clawed, bat and snarled, bit and showed their sharp, unforgiving set of razor teeth.
Just as Aang thought all was lost, he felt a certain presence over come his body, and with that presence came the emotion of anger, rage, and the ability to lose control. With a few last conscious thoughts and a quick glance at his love, a blinding glow instantly became present. The power so uncontrollable, so powerful… yet he was so vulnerable.
With a few simple gestures of his feet, ice was immediately skewed in all directions, sending the herd of wolves flying. The ground shook as the ice beneath the two slowly began to sink into the cold earth, and within a few moments, Aang had subconsciously created what looked to be a small alcove; an ice cavern of the like. Blood gently dripped down his glowing arrow and to the crevasse of his nose.
Within a few moments, the wind around the two had gently slowed to that of the gentle, southern breeze; Aang slowly came out of his trance before doubling to the ground with Katara still in his tight grip. He shook as he gently laid her under him, her delicate body somewhat bloodied up and bruised from the damage of the wolves. Her gentle hair was now torn from the usual braid and sprawled out before his eyes in a drastically beautiful type way. He gazed down at her, wondering why all of this was happening, why everything had suddenly turned sour.
Tears fell like rain and gently slid down his cheeks to meet hers. They dropped to her cheeks and slid to her jaw line as Aang sobbed and gazed down at the injured waterbender before him. He gently clenched the cold snow in his glove covered hands, making it melt and turn into slush after a few moments. He shook, uttered her name a few times, pleaded that everything would be okay, but there were no promising signs of life within Katara's sprawled body. Not even a single breath.
A/N: Hmm… Sorry, I luff cliffhangers xP
Ah! And sorry again that this chapter was a little short… I've been a little busy with a few things lately, and my attention I think has been more focused on my artwork on DA. But I could never forget mah trilogy! I hurried and finished what I could, cause I've been getting too much fan mail o.o naggers and such lawl.
Anywhoodles, hope you all liked! And please remember to visit my art site!
VyntresserDrake1991.deviantart .com :D
- Katara -