A/N: This one is a little shorter than the last mostly because it was a filler of the time in the cave! So don't worry, things will pick up! Please read and review! God bless.

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender or its characters.

Chapter 2

They stayed in that cave for days, words spoken quietly and breaths taken in hesitance. Neither one of them had heard people outside of the cave, but the fear they had of being caught overruled any rational thought that tried to fight its way into their minds. The rain just wouldn't stop.

They had very little supplies, only an emergency kit that lay on top of Appa's saddle. One was installed on every bison in case of an emergency like this, but the imagined circumstances were always so different from their own. Scenarios where an airbender is flying with a bison and loses his way and needs supples, or one's where the pair get stranded due to an injured rider or an injured sky bison.

No where had they mentioned what could be done in the case of genocide. No amount of cooling balms or cough syrups could fix that problem.

Still they did what they could with what they had.

There was one blanket of which they had to share. Neither minded though. With the nightmares that kept the both of them up at night, it was just nice to have someone to wake up to. It was like a piece of their own nation to hold when they couldn't determine the fate of it as a whole.

An assortment of medicines was also packed in with the blanket. Katara's eyes lit up as she took in the different mixtures. That was the first time he had seen her even remotely happy since the comet had come, and he couldn't help the goofy smile that found its way on to his features as he watched her from a short distance.

Next came a good amount of bandages, extras given just in case an injury proved to be a bloody one that required multiple changes throughout their time away from the Air Temple. Katara murmured something about these being a waste of space and that they were something that could be improvised, but Aang couldn't help but disagree. He made a remark about how she planned on bandaging a bison up only with the current wrap she wore, and that pretty much changed her view on the whole subject.

A few candles were withdrawn, followed by a sack of dried nuts. This came as a great joy to the two airbenders who were so starved that they feared they may soon become numb. Of course those nuts only lasted so long before they were gone, and their grumbling stomachs were welcomed back with great displeasure. Appa wasn't complaining though since there were a few food items he could eat as well stashed in there.

The only thing that wasn't a problem was water. There was absolutely no way they could be short of it with so much rain falling outside of their safe haven. Though it made them feel positively silly, whenever they felt like they could go absolutely no further without a few gulps, they would slowly venture to the front of the cave with their hands clasped and look from side to side. If no one was near the vicinity, they would lean their heads out and allow the liquid to roll down their tongues and slide across the walls of their aching throats.

It was a good system they had. It was a system that they had perfected by the fifth day. Then, finally the rain stopped.

What woke Aang up that morning wasn't the usual rumble of thunder or rogue flash of lightning that seemed to be a bit too close for comfort, it was a different warmth completely. It was sunshine.

Smiling crookedly at the sight, knowing that he looked like an idiot, he gently shook the girl that was currently resting on his shoulder. Her brunette waves tangled and brows furrowed, she slowly opened her eyes and met his own gaze with a questioning look.

"What?"

The smile on Aang's face only widened as she slowly shook herself from a sleepy haze, sitting up and quickly rubbing at her eyes. She had noticed the unusual light casting shadows across the dusty floor of the cave.

"Is that really the sun?"

The young man chuckled at her blunt question, though he could see that the smile on her face meant that she was only asking for effect, "Why don't you go see for yourself?"

Without hesitation, the girl stood from her sitting position against the wall and walked over to the opening in which the light shone in through.

Aang sat back, watching as Katara allowed the sunrise to ignite every inch of her body. There was just something about the way she looked in that moment that made him feel all fuzzy inside. It was like she was stealing the light of the sun and allowing it to radiate from herself, becoming an even more dazzling being than the source of light in the sky had ever been. That moment was an image that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

"Aang!" She called to him then, gesturing for the boy to join her at the mouth of the cave, "Isn't it wonderful?"

He definitely couldn't argue with that.

Something though stopped him from standing beside her, causing every muscle in his body to freeze. It was the realization that they were not confined to that cave anymore. They could finally continue on their journey.

He knew exactly where he wanted to go.

"Katara?" His voice was gentle as he began to pack up their things strewn across the floor, rolling up the warm blanket and stuffing it into the emergency pack, "Are you going to be ready to leave soon?"

The young woman's face turned so that she could meet his gaze, he looked concerned but also hesitant. She knew exactly where he wanted to go, and he knew for a fact that she did not want to travel where he did. But she had no choice.

"I thought we talked about this," Her tone was a bit cold as she walked past him and further into the cave, stopping at Appa's head and giving him a gentle nuzzle, "I don't want to see them all dead, Aang. Whatever we do now, needs to be far away from the Temples. Their could be firebenders left there to exterminate any returning airbenders who made it out alive. We need to come up with a plan for ourselves."

"Katara, we can't just assume they aren't still alive," His voice was desperate as he walked over to her, stopping as she took a step away from him, "We need to see if we can do anything to help them."

"They are such peaceful people. They wouldn't have ever fought the Fire Nation back. They would have never killed. They lost, I know they did."

"We can't lose hope."

The young woman glared at him, hurt apparent in her eyes, "You're telling me about hope? I'm the one trying to keep us alive! If we are the last of our people, we do need to preserve ourselves! I have hope for us, Aang. We can make it out of this alive."

"But we aren't the last!"

"How do you know that?!"

"Because we can't be okay!" Their voices had escalated to shouts by this time, but Aang's last statement was said in a whisper. He turned his back from his friend and allowed his shoulders to droop in defeat, "Katara, we can't be the only ones left. I just won't believe it. They can't all be gone. They have to be alright."

Katara's features softened as she listened to his words, hearing the absolute pain they caused him. Swallowing her pride, the young woman took a few steps towards her only companion and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll go with you, Aang," Her resignation was quiet, but he could detect some hesitance in her tone, "I don't know if you will like what we see, but I do want you to see it. If you are somehow right, I will be eternally happy I stuck with you."

"And if I'm wrong?"

"Then I will be even happier that we stayed together," He smiled at her words, turning so that he could meet her gaze, "Because if everyone else is gone, we will still have each other."

For once since he had found out, Aang forgot he was the Avatar and that he would always be the only one of his kind. In that moment, he was merely an Air Nomad hopeful that his people had somehow survived the comet.

They had packed up and left within the following hour, bound for The Southern Air Temple.