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Voices.
The low sighs and drone of soothing words gently flew in and out of the dark view, eventually replaced by smooth chattering from far away. The sounds felt calming, drowsy, as if listening to a dreamy lullaby... and yet, no particular word could be distinguished. The voices seemed non-vocal, as if moans and exhales could produce such narcotic songs that told you so much and still seemed inhuman. As if soft spirits wafted through receiving ears that welcomed the pacification they left. It was a smile. A poem. A sweet délice. Everything one wouldn't ever want to leave behind, so none ever did.
They didn't leave. It was the voices who left.
It was slow, it was gentle, the way the white haze that had comforted so many gradually slipped from grasp and faded off into the distance. As if you were being pulled from paradise and if you sadly reached out, you could almost touch them as they flew away. Almost. But not quite.
Sinister blackness would creep into the bare edges of view, a thin, benign frame that waited for the last wisp to flee, the last touch to subside, the final note on your ears to end before enveloping you with tender hands. A false impression. The fingers that held you up became claws that snatched you down. You were too busy mourning the loss of happiness to resist the burning grip of pain... because that's what this was. Pain.
The darkness was blinding. The voices, this time, led its listeners into trust with the soft whispers and then attacked the needy, defenseless hearts. These voices had no hearts. They were the evil demons that wanted to drag those they could reach into death with them and laughed with cold, hollow wails that simply dripped with suffocating emptiness. As if their very impenitence formed a vacuum that voided your lungs of the air it needed, deprived your soul of the release for which it yearned. Before, you were wanted, cared for, and now, all the voices pulled you down with words of reproach that you couldn't even understand. All that mattered was that you knew for what they scolded you. You made a mistake. You were simply all too aware of the reason for their derision. And that, was what scared those unfortunate victims above all...
A scream echoed far away, slowly but oh-so-definitely surely, closing in on its intended target.
...because, no matter how much excessive scorn these perilous creatures had...
The scream resounded closer.
They, those voices, were right.
--
Her eyes shot open.
The scream enveloped her mind.
She screamed in return.
Firm hands gripped her shoulders and she silenced and froze, staring at the black void above her in unadulterated fear. Still groggy, her ears could barely make out the sounds in the distance. They were speaking to her... except this time, they did not comfort or scold... they just...
"Katara!"
She jumped and spun her head into her brother's wide-eyed face. The nighttime dimness made it difficult to distinguish much else than his worried pupils. Her labored breaths gradually slowed and she leaned back into her pillow, eyelids pressed shut. She spoke softly.
"What happened?"
Sokka, reassured of her calmer frame of mind, relaxed his hold on her and moved back. "I could ask you the same question. You were screaming."
Katara raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I was?"
The scream suddenly pierced her ears once again and she instantly reached out to grab Sokka's retreating hand for reassurance. Concerned, he returned the pressure and she finally sat up and turned to face him.
"Sorry... I kinda had a bad dream... I-"
"Do you wanna talk about it?"
Katara looked at his sincere eyes and wondered where in the world his compassion had come from. She smiled and impulsively embraced him as he knelt down on the floor.
"Thanks, Sokka," she whispered fondly, "but I think I'll be okay." He nodded and she pulled away. "Did I wake anyone else up?"
"Just Toph." He motioned to a lump on the floor. "I was awake in the first place."
Katara sighed. "Oh... and..."
Sokka just shook his head. She sighed again. She looked at the stars through the window, noting the late hour. The last time she remembered being up it had been night as well. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep, but judging by the fact that it was dark out, she couldn't have slept for long. Her thoughts turned to Aang, the incredible person that had almost slipped from her grasp that night... but was miraculously still hanging on. "I'm going to go check on him," she announced in between yawns. "But man, I'm tired."
Sokka shot her an incredulous look. "Still?"
It was Katara's turn to look confused, and a bit amused. "Sokka, I've only been sleeping a couple of hours." And it was about time I woke up. Aang's condition is so unstable...
Realization dawned on the boy's face. "Oh, so that's why you're not --" --obsessively worried about him, his thought finished. She thinks it's only been... He winced. "Um... Katara..." She frowned.
"What?"
"It's been two days."
"TWO--" Sokka clapped a hand over his sister's mouth as she started yelling. "You're gonna wake up the entire town. Yes, it's been two days."
Two days. Oh my...
"How's Aang?" She asked frantically. "Is he --"
"Yeah, yeah. He's been fine ever since you used that magic... water... heal-y stuff on him a few days ago. Don't freak out."
"How did I sleep so long?" she murmured. A voice piped up from behind Sokka.
"Maybe because you'd barely slept a wink for two weeks before that, Sleeping Beauty?"
The girl on the bed looked over inquisitively to see Toph standing with a quirked eyebrow, foot tapping on the floor. "You had us worried for a minute, you know," she admitted.
"Yeah. We didn't want you joining him over there." He tossed his head over to a still figure laying across from Katara. She followed the direction of his movement, resting her eyes on Aang, whose thin, still face harbored a fixed solemnity with his slightly furrowed brow. She simply stared wondering when in the world he would wake up.. if he decided to wake up. Katara tore her eyes away from him as Sokka spoke again.
"The only thing that kept us from panicking was the fact that you kept on mumbling and pushing my hand away if I touched you or picked you up." Katara nodded distractedly, then stopped, puzzled. "Wait - why did you have to pick me up? Unless we had to --" she broke off, glancing around the room and recalling a few of Sokka's earlier words in an instant of sudden realization.
"You're gonna wake up the entire town."
I don't remember being in a town. I don't recognize any of this...
"We had to move again didn't we?"
Sokka opened his mouth to respond to his sister but Toph spoke first. "Yup. The Fire Nation sticks to us like white on Appa. It's like they're hound wolves tracking us down and our very scent just screams, 'Avatar and Friends'." She sat down again, pulling her arms around her knees. Katara frowned.
"Why didn't you wake me up? This would have gone a lot faster --" Toph interrupted.
"Yeah, you do know there's a reason why I call you 'Sleeping Beauty', Sleeping Beauty. We tried, but we figured we'd have to wait for some Prince charming to come along before you'd ever open your eyes again." Katara grunted. She did not want to be reminded of princes - or princesses for that matter - anytime in the near future.
Feelings of frustration instantly melded into grim resentment, its vibrations feeling down along the wood-framed mattress and across the floor into receiving limbs. Toph frowned. Other than significantly restrained sarcasm, the girl couldn't identify any mistake she had made in that last statement, therefore couldn't comprehend Katara's sudden anger. She was being particularly selective in her words in memory of the results of last time the group had been exhausted and constantly on the move. As much as she had been the one to leave and appear aloof throughout most of the ordeal, she still remained immensely wary of how she came across. She truly loved her friends - though she herself might not necessarily use that terminology - and couldn't imagine leaving them again... or having them leave her.
Her friend's heartbeat fluctuated. It was silenced for a moment before being restarted hard and irregularly.
Fear.
Which, inherently, brought Toph back to the nights after the fall of her nation's capital - not that she cared for it much - but it was what happened in those long hours of worrying and fleeing from enemies that hurt the most... and eventually, it brought to mind who had woken up Toph in the first place. Or, perhaps more importantly:
What.
The scream. Awakened by a nightmare, a pained, terrorized lament, as if it were a mourner's keen. And maybe it was. Death had already come and gone for one of them... All hoped it would not return to claim what life had taken back.
Toph couldn't remember the last time... if there even were a time... she had heard Katara be so shaken by a simple dream. Unless... it wasn't a simple dream. She felt the girl's heartbeat repress into forced calm and instantly refrained from asking any questions about it. She was trying to hide it, forget about it, and after knowing how she acted the past two weeks, Toph knew she'd do a good job of it too. In other words, Toph knew none of them were going to get an answer anytime soon. Sokka narrowed his eyes at his sister's change of mood, looking as if a wall had shut behind her eyes and no emotion would escape it.
She climbed down the cot and placed her feet on the floor, slowly rising, making sure she regained her balance before taking a step. She roamed her eyes around the room taking in the presence of only two mattresses. Her look rested on Toph, who had leaned back onto the ground, then on Sokka whose mostly-lidded pupils grew even heavier with each passing second.
"You should really get some sleep."
He jolted and looked at her, about to decline when she spoke again.
"Who knows how much you and Toph have slept. I'm perfectly fine now, and I can take watch while you two sleep." He frowned for a moment, then nodded.
"All right," he agreed. Momentarily forgetting the girl's blindness, he pointed to the bed and asked, "Toph, do you want it?" She opened her eyes at the mention of her name.
"What?"
The warrior almost smacked himself on the head and rephrased his query. "Do you want the bed, or are you okay there?"
She thought a moment, already knowing her answer but nonetheless taking the time to remember the last time she actually did sleep on a bed. It had already been about three months since she had taken to the routine of sleeping on the earth as opposed to those lush, warm pillows and sheets she'd grown up in...
"Nope," she announced and abruptly closed her eyes and snuggled into the dirt. Sokka stood, snatching a last glance at Katara.
"You sure?"
She nodded.
She turned away to look at Aang when she heard her brother's snores softly sound before his head could even hit the flattened pillow. She allowed herself a small smile and then began to turn toward the door to keep watch outside. A hoarse voice cracked out an unintelligible word. She paused, and slowly turned around to its maker. His lips moved again. Aang. She rushed to him, marveling at the sound, however choppy. For the first time in weeks, he had actually moved. All her thoughts of keeping a lookout quickly slipped from her mind.
Katara lowered herself to Aang's bedside and waited for any further change in his condition. Her high hopes fell with each passing minute and finally she sighed, shoulders slumping. She let her hand cup his cheek, then forehead for any sign of the rampant fever that had subsided only a few days prior. Satisfied, she pulled his shoulders up to glance at the scar on his back. The burnt skin still framed the wound, making it stand out as a bitter reminder against his pale flesh. Katara scanned the floor around them, until her eyes fell upon a wooden basin in a far corner. She flicked her wrist up, lifting a stream of clear water from it and she brought it over and wrapped it around her hand. His eyebrow twitched a bit before his face relaxed once again, as she pressed it against his back.
Words could never describe how relieved she was after they had finally found water again. She had needed it to help him as soon as dawn broke after the fateful day of the capital, but never found a good enough supply until days later. That didn't stop her from healing him though. She smiled grimly; she'd found a way.
Katara placed him back into the bed, letting her fingers rest on his bare arms. She trailed them down to his hands before turning her attention to his thin stomach and ribs. They could easily be counted and even his face was suffering from malnutrition as his cheeks were almost hollow and his jaw was narrow and sharp. It amazed her how thin he could get -- not to mention it sickened her half to death. He had already been a lean kid before becoming ill and falling into his endless coma. Now, he looked as light as a feather, frail as a film of glass that would break if held too hard. He used to be strong, now he was weak and defenseless. It infuriated her how Azula could have done this to her best friend. He appeared as if he should have died of starvation long ago. If he kept this up... that option wouldn't necessarily be far-fetched.
Still, she was eternally grateful for the improvement in his condition. From the night of the corruption of Ba Sing Se until over a week after she had thought she was going to lose him. She didn't even want to think about what would happen if she did. The Avatar had a promise to fulfill; Aang had his entire life ahead of him. It was obvious who the world wanted most: the one who could save them from tyranny and oppression, but with one came the other, it didn't matter which was more important.
That was why she felt the weight of emotion and responsibility on her shoulders that night. Whatever she did, he had to survive, whether it was for her friend to live or her rescuer to fight another day. Was there a difference? The promise of the Avatar had saved her from desperation, but maybe Aang had in fact rescued her from something too...
She shook her head to clear her mind of thoughts she wasn't ready to deal with, they were trivial. The face over which death loomed could not escape her eyes. The serenity of night clashed with aggrieved recollections that flickered behind her frozen blue. She gripped his hands and leaned over his face as if willing the life in him to not leave as she recalled the night that she thought would never cease. The night she decided which part of him she was desperately trying to save was irrelevant -- he had to be fine. If he didn't, the world would never recover... and on two counts, neither would she.
--
The sunrise. After a hopeless and seemingly endless night, the rising light in the east behind them was more than welcome to the travelers. As they made their way among the clouds, the group felt the growing heat of morning come upon them, making them squint their weary eyes. Sokka still sat, gaze fixed on whatever was ahead, struggling to stay awake. The Earth King sat against Bosco, and Toph leaned against Sokka, clutching his arm as the sky rushed by. None of them had slept a wink.
Katara lay still on Appa's head, clutching Aang close to her. Besides him, she was the only one who had slept; the emotional turmoil from the day before had been too much. She looked to the sun and absently wondered where they could possibly go. All of their safe havens were useless, either invaded or would make them stray too far from where they had to go... but, now, where did they have to go? Now that this city had fallen, what would they do? Katara looked down to the sleeping figure of her friend -- except, she knew it wasn't sleep he had fallen into. She winced at his deathly unconscious state. You wouldn't know it by the slight twitches as he lay there as if in a dream, it was the face of his worried friend that told it all.
Katara had woken up to a slowly dawning sky and the rustling of clothes directly above her. She hadn't meant to sleep -- she was too worried to willingly let Aang go. The darkness had claimed her, only to spit her back out in a drench of sweat and panic when her subconscious had taken the liberty to remind her of the duty that lay beside her... and the consequences of failing.
Luckily, Aang had maintained a stable condition after Katara left him last, and with the day, seemed to come a new hope and calm. She didn't know just yet that this peace would eventually leave along with the day as well.
--
The previous night had been a horror. So many times she had almost lost her friend, she had begun to break down in fear before struggling on. She had to do something to save him but what?. She hadn't understood why, at first, that he still appeared to be injured after her healing. She only went with the imminent danger that threatened and did whatever she could think of to revive him. But why? Why hadn't the Spirit Oasis water not done the job? He had been fine, if only for a while... It appeared as if it had repaired something else, just not Aang's body...
But that still didn't change the problem of the long, painful hours before that morning had bloomed...
She had to heal him. Water was the only thing that would help her now. She reached to pull Sokka's tunic to tell him to go grab the water canteen she kept in the saddle above... before realization smacked her, head on.
There is no saddle. All that was stolen along with Appa.
...and then reached to her side in case she had in fact left it on her body...
Before realizing that Azula had stolen her canteen when she had been suddenly captured. She had never taken the time, with all that had happened thereafter, to go back for it... She would use the Spirit Oasis on him so why waste the time? They had to get out of there. Why would she need it anyway?
Just one more mistake made that day.
The ground below was covered in black velvet treetops. The air was dry, if a small river were trailing through the forest, she couldn't feel it. They would never find it, either, not before being attacked by the ever-present soldiers that hunted them. In a last ditch attempt to find her element, she looked above to the perfect sky.
The perfectly, cursedly cloudless sky.
Toph's presence had escaped her mind until then, when she looked to the girl on her right. She was stunned that Toph cared enough to come down there, but Katara couldn't even begin to describe what she was going through. Toph wasn't going to start conversation and she needed to get over the life and death situation first... and then the voice beside her finally rang out -- but with a dangerously anxious fluctuation. She was too lost in thought and stress to make out the words. Hearing the tone was warning enough.
Instantly, Katara's hand touched his slowing pulse as Toph retracted her own. Katara worriedly bit her lip as she once again felt Aang's life rapidly slipping away from him. All other thoughts and people around her were forgotten anew, she knew enough to realize his body needed to be jolted into working again. She remembered what she had instinctively done earlier but refrained from it, not only because she felt horrible to purposely pain her friend, but because she had a dreading feeling that it would only work once. It had worked because he had never been slapped in this vulnerable position before. It was surprising, but now, his body had been through much more than a simple hit. She held her head in her hands.
He needs water... he needs to be healed at the same time.
She had none though, and considered performing her earlier action again before coming to another conclusion. She needed to get right down to the root of the problem. She needed to shock that into doing its job. His blood had to get moving through the water that was in it, by using more water.
Suddenly, something struck her. She sat bolt upright.
This is crazy, but...
--
And lo and behold, it had actually worked.
She soberly sat back, sun beginning to graze the top of her head. The unexpected side effects had its drawbacks, but it was worth it. It was worth it for him. She sighed.
--
Pressure suddenly appeared on her left shoulder. Shocked into turning around, she let her eyes adjust to the black of the room, finally focusing on two sage eyes partially hidden by black bangs. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had held, in relief of the familiar face.
"Toph."
Toph held a gentle smile and slightly raised brow; Katara did a double take at the girl's softly amused expression. Where did her hardened irony go?
"You really care a lot don't you," Toph seemed to demand of her, as more of a statement than a question. It wasn't as if she didn't know the answer. Katara just nodded dumbly, still reeling from the abrupt end of her reverie and the new personality that stood before her. Eventually, she came back to earth and shot a confused glance at the girl. What was she doing here anyway?
"Why..."
Toph cut in, sincerely sweet visage intact, "Because I wondered why I felt a stampede of soldiers with metal weapons pass right by us and no one came to warn us. 'Cause I realized who was supposed to be guarding and realized what could have possibly distracted them." She cocked her head, sarcasm and mirth overtaking the rapidly lifting corners of her mouth, as she pointed to Aang.
A haze of fatigue and thoughtfulness had already set back upon Katara's mind. She inattentively heard Toph's words, only trying to understand them once she ceased her speech and drew a finger to the boy by her side. Once again she responded in a faraway nod and sorted out the muddled phrases in her mind.
...metal...stampede...guarding...distracted...soldiers...Aang...
...supposed to be guarding but distracted by Aang... stampede of metal with soldiers... er... soldiers with metal...
...soldiers with metal who passed right by us...
Her eyes popped open. "What?!"
Sounds of incessant laughter were heard from the ground as Toph rolled around clutching her stomach.
"Your... heheh... reaction... hahahah... was classic! Too-- took you long enough though!"
The waterbender stole a glance at the window to outside before asking worriedly, "Are they gone? Is everything okay?"
"Every thing's great, Sugar Queen!" she responded erupting into giggles, which only intensified when Sokka loudly snored in irritation of the noise. Katara just stared bemusedly at the girl on the floor. "Are you done making fun of me yet?" Toph sat up and wiped her eyes. She yawned. "You make it sound like... it's a bad thing," she said, recovering from her fit of laughter. "You're the one who would've gotten us barbecued quicker than roast duck."
Katara schooled her startlement into mild surprise so as not to set off her friend again. "You mean, you were serious?"
"Of course I was." Toph appeared mock-offended. "Why would I lie to you?" As Katara examined her friend's jovial face, she could think of plenty of reasons...
But the Fire Nation was here, what if they had actually found us?... Great going Katara.
She sighed. "I'm sorry... I'll pay more attention next time. You can go back to sleep, Toph..." Katara hurriedly got up, noticing her close position to the body next to her, and started toward the entrance of the shack. A small, yet strong hand pulled on her pants leg to keep her back. Katara looked back down at Toph's once again serious features.
"Don't worry, I'll do it."
Katara frowned and shook her head. "No, you need res--"
"I'm not even tired anymore. I'm bored and you have-" she waved her arm toward Aang "-other things to do. You're tired Katara."
The other girl had to agree with that. She'd slept the equivalent of a week's worth of sleep... now she had the second week to catch up on. Toph stood and walked to the other side of the room to the door. "And anyway," she added cockily, "I'm better at it." She walked out the door.
Katara looked after her in thought. That was Toph for you.
Slowly, she turned back and faced the Avatar. She strode back to him and dropped to the ground beside him, resting her back in the nook between the head of his cot and the wall on which it was. She placed her arm on the low mattress, next to his, and closed her eyes. She wearily cracked them open again to finger the small growth of hair on his scalp.
Please, Aang. Wake up...
She let her head fall back into the memories that sleep encumbered. Her dream was still fresh in her mind. What did it mean? But inside, she knew very well what it meant... and it scared her. No one had to know though, it was a one time event and soon wouldn't matter anymore... at least that's what she thought.
Half-lidded eyes finally closed as she chased away the discomfort in her head.
Just don't think about it, Katara.
What she didn't know, was the fact that two others had dreamt of the exact same thing... one with her in this very room, and the other... one she would so much rather not think about at all. Those frightening images and sensations never returned, however. Instead, they were replaced by other situations... situations closer to the present... situations she would so much just rather forget. Yet, for some reason...
...they didn't want her to...
A/N: Dang that was long! I didn't think I could cut it otherwise I would've. Tell me if you like it, tell me if you hate it. Thanks, if you read this far down.