(A/N: The Legend of Korra has prompted me to rewatch all three seasons of ATLA in a short time and I am still trying to come to terms with all those feels the finale left me with several days later. I only hope that when I get around to publishing my own work it can make my readers get even half as emotionally invested as this series did.)

Death was an old friend of the Avatar. He had met it often, in times of peace and in times of war, but today was a special time. Now death was coming for him. He had heard the rustle of it's midnight cloak from a long ways away and had departed Air Temple Island immediately for Ba Sing Se, with the intention of setting his affairs in order. Fate, it seemed, had other plans. They had made camp on a windswept plateau somewhere. Without Appa the journey had been much harder, and he did not want to drag his children or grandchildren into this. It was something he had to do alone. Well, mostly alone.

Toph and Sokka were sitting quietly at the foot of his cot, the breeze making the tent entrance flutter and flap. The silence was that of old friends who did not feel the need for idle chatter. The weight of their journeys and the memories of their friendship sufficed, no words needed to be said. Aang could feel the chill getting more insistent, but he would hang on as long as he needed to. He would not be alive when they reached Ba Sing Se, and there was one last person he wanted to say goodbye to.

Taki raced over the earth, his large pads and claws digging into the soft soil. The wind was not the only thing bringing tears to her eyes. She had left as soon as the messenger hawk had arrived, taking a polar bear dog from one of her nephews and skirting the mountains all the way into the rolling plains of the Earth Kingdom's vast eastern heartlands. Even as the beast ascended the winding road up to the plateau she worried that she would be too late. This had been at the back of her mind for some time now, like a virus, threatening to engulf her. Her heart leaped when she saw the tents.

Her old age was entirely forgotten as she twisted and hopped from the saddle. Sokka and Toph emerged from the tent. Sokka answered the question that her eyes were desperately pleading.

"He's in there. Not much longer now. He wants to talk to you alone."

Katara did not hesitate. Aang was lying on a small folding bed, his traditional nomad robes on the floor beside him, the covers pulled up to his waist. She couldn't help but notice that even here, at the end of all things, he was still a very handsome man.

"Katara."

"Aang..."

She went and sat beside him, laying her head on his chest. The question that she had been wondering more and more for years now spilled out of her.

"Why?"

Aang was silent a moment, mulling this over.

"Because it is the way of the world. Everything that begins must end. Even the greatest empire must one day crumble to dust." he said at length. "We have been blessed with long life, and with each other. I have accomplished all that I set out to, and much more besides. Now it is time for the next Avatar to be born."

Suddenly, Katara felt like she was fourteen years all over again, and her father was leaving for the war. The tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, unbidden.

"I know, but it doesn't make it any easier."

Aang sighed. It was deep and long.

"No, it doesn't."

She felt his gentle hand lifting her chin up, and she looked into his eyes, which were half closed.

"Remember the banyan grove. Death is an illusion. I will always be with you, Katara, always, wherever you may go and whatever you may do. Promise me that you will not give up just because I am gone. I can see many people who still need you, the new avatar most of all. She will be born a waterbender, and she will need your help, just as I did."

Katara nodded, biting back the sobs for his sake.

"Katara. My gentle, sweet Katara. I love you more than anything I have encountered in this world. I will live on in the love you give to our children, and the peace we have given to this world."

And with that, Aang lay back and stepped off this mortal coil for parts unknown. His last and greatest journey had begun, and she had to remain behind.

A cold and bitter wind blew in from the west, chilling their very bones and causing the tent to shudder. Taki raised his muzzle to the heavens and let out a long, low howl. Then the wind departed, away to east where the sun sets. Katara reached out her hand and shut his eyes before exiting the tent. Sokka took one look at her expression and hung his head.

"We should keep going. It's a long way yet to Ba Sing Se."

"Toph, can you help me carry him?" Katara said.

Toph nodded.

"So long twinkle toes." She whispered quietly, to herself.