Disclaiming: This is fan fiction, written by a fan. I make no money from being a fan. The owners make money from my being a fan.
Scaring
By all appearances, body shyness had nothing to do with the Air Nomads' vision of Enlightenment. It was a good thing for both of them. Aang had an exhibitionist streak, and Katarra just couldn't stop watching those tattoos glide across her beloved's skin as he moved. It was rare, impractical really, for Water Tribesmen to adorn their bodies so, but it seemed to be common for Airbenders. His arrows were all connected, and they weren't the only marks he had. On the inside of his wrist, a colored patched showed that his home was in the Southern Air Temple. A line across his heart named Appa his animal guide.
He'd even offered to teach her how to mark tattoos so that she could record the milestones of their life together on his skin. But the thought of intentionally hurting him over and over for hours made her pale. Even though he assured her that the pain was crucial to the ritual and the scar was only part of its meaning.
So instead, when they got engaged, he mixed a strong smelling paste and swirled it all over her hands and feet in sacred symbols before inviting her to do the same. Katarra had subsequently drawn the sure strokes of Water Tribe signs on his face and neck, the only parts of his body that would not be covered over when they journeyed to the South Pole in the coming weeks. Just to make sure there would be no convenient misunderstandings when they made a side trip to Kyoshi Island.