Author's Note: I apologise for the extensive and probably confusing rewrite. I stopped chapter 12 to re-read the story from the beginning and realised it was severely inadequate. So I had to rewrite here to my satisfaction (and hopefully yours) before I continued.
So if you want to get the hang of the story, you might want to read it all over again. Or not.
Chapter 2
Healing Session
Aang was running with all his mightand speed his bending allowed, but as much as he tried, he felt like he was running around in a circle...
He was being chased...by a dark cloud of some sorts...that couldsomehow spit mushrooms and cactus juice.
He couldn't,for the life of himself, remember what he had done to provoke a cloud that could spit mushrooms and cactus juice at people... He didn't even know such things existed, but apparently, they did.
Just as he was about to turn around to face the annoying cloud, he ran smack into a wall.
Ty Lee was exhausted. She had woken up out of unconsciousness a half hour ago, lying on her face.
At first she had thought she had been captured by-somebody, but after half a minute of unneccessary panic, she had remembered where she was.
She was on an island, trying to capture the avatar for Princess Azula.
With a relaxed sigh, she tried to move but realized she couldn't... She couldn't feel her legs...or her toes...or anything below her waist, but she could still move the entirety of her upper body which in turn allowed her to move her head.
She moved her head and looked around. It looked like dawn was breaking, and there was just enough light to allow her see the bald monk, thrashing around like a catfish out of water.
She yelped when he leapt to his feet like a ninja and started to run around, as if a tiger-dillo was chasing him.
Out of fear of failing Azula's mission, Ty Lee tried to jump to her feet and intercept her fleeing captive, but she only succeeded in rolling over.
Aang had run into a wall and was jolted wide awake by the impact.
He looked around and started when he saw the girl who had knocked him unconscious with her flying kick, lying on her back (like she was relaxing) with a blank look on her face.
He held out his hands to steady himself before looking around the cave, a puzzled look on his face.
The last thing he remembered, wassomeone in a pink outfit kicking him very hard... So hard, apparently, that his brain had rattled violently inside his head.
He looked at her again and... like that, his brain made the connection.
It was her! She had kicked him. She had knocked him out. And she had probably brought him into the cave.
So why was she lying on her back, looking like she didn't have a care in the world?
Why hadn't she tied him up? Wasn't she worried he would try and escape?
He took a step... and another, and stopped, to see her reaction. But there was none. She was still lying on the ground, staring up at the roof of the cave, obviously uninterested in his attempt to escape.
Out of his typical curiousity, He decided to see what she was doing... but then he remembered the knockout kick she had given, and decided to approach her cautiously.
He moved slowly until his feet were near her head. She tilted her head and looked at him. At first, neither of them moved and Aang could swear he saw something... like a glint, in her brown eyes.
However the ephemeral moment was lost when she made a lunge at his head... She would have gotten him, but lucky for him, her legs refused to follow her body, so she sank back down as fast as she had risen.
He yelled and jumped backwards out of shock and fear. After collecting himself, he approached her again, much slower this time, making sure to stay out of reach of her hands.
He bit his lip and considered his situation. He opened his mouth and was about to say something-anything, when he noticed that she was shaking lightly. Lettinghis eyes observe closely, he noticed that her ankles were pale white.
She must have folowed his eyes with hers somehow, because she noticed her pale legs and let out an ear-piercing scream that almost made him want to jab knives in his ears.
She had an amazing pair of lungs. The brain-hurting scream she was currently producing was proof of that.
"HEY! YOU DON'T HAVE TO SHOUT!" He yelled over her high pitched scream.
He was momentarily relieved when she shut up. Then he noticed her taking a deep breath and he realised that she was about to shout again so, quickly stepping forward, he bent down at the waist and put his hand over her mouth to save his ears...and her lungs.
With his hand still covering her mouth, he restated his previous words. "You don't have to shout."
He glanced at her partly scared, partly surprised face. "I'll help you... Just dont scream again."
He saw her gulp and then nod. Carefully and ever so slowly, he removed his hand from her mouth and walked around to her legs.
He inspected her legs and then came around to the side of her waist, nodding in confirmation.
"Your legs have been in the cold for too long, that's why they're pale..." He paused.
Should he heal her legs?
No! His insides screamed.
That would just make it easier for her to kick him into unconsciousness again...
But he couldn't just leave her legs like this.
Or could he?
One glance at her quivering body and legs confirmed it. He couldn't leave her like this.
The golden rule of the monks came to mind.
'Do unto others, as you would have them do to you.'
He knew he wouldn't want someone to leave his legs like that. Besides, they could get worse with an infection of some kind...if they remained like that.
"I think I can heal them."
Ty Lee sputtered and yelled "You THINK ?". She couldn't feel her legs and here he was, THINKING he could heal them.
She had barely started her complaintwhenhe bent down, scooped her into his arms and carried her, bridal style into the warm and dry part of the cave.
He held her steady in his surprisingly strong arms, then he lifted and rammed his right leg into the ground. The result was a loud noise that forced her to close her eyes out of shock and fear.
By the time she opened her eyes, she could see a bed made of earth and an earth pillow.
Aang dropped her gently on the ground and straightened. Ty Lee was confused. She was about to ask what he was doingwhen a loud whoosh of wind cut her short and he vanished with a trail of dust rising after him.
She just stared...
Her eyes remained glued to the entrance of the cave, staring like a rock, for a few minutes until it hit her.
He had tricked her into trusting him and she had been foolish enough to fall for his stupid trick.
Ty Lee began to chide herself, "Of course, he left. Why wouldn't he leave? He's just like the res- ".
Again she was interrupted by a whoosh of wind and the same way he had disappeared, he appeared.
Ty Lee's mouth froze, open. She glanced at him quizzically.
He had come back.
And his hands were full.
He was carrying a modest pile firewood, two very large leaves that were the sizes of bedspreads, some smaller leaves and some vines. Ty Lee watched still speechless as he began to ramble.
"I'm sorry I left like that...but I had to go get these." He lifted the things in his hands as if he thought she wouldn't believe him.
Ty Lee was dazed for a moment. She was tempted to ask how he had gotten all those things in such a short time.
Instead, she asked in a quiet voice, "What for?"
He didn't answer.He just stood there, acting weird. First he closed his eyes, then he opened them and looked at her, Ty Lee couldn't help the curious expression on her face. Her curiousity rocketed when hesmiled.
Aang didn't know why he had bothered or why he had offered to heal her legs.
His airbender instincts kept telling him this girl was dangerous... That she was fire nation and that automatically, according to Sokka, made her dangerous...
The kick she had knocked him out with should have been proof enough that she was dangerous, but somehow he couldn't quite make himself believe it.
So instead of healing her legs on the ground, he had made her a bed and had even gotten some supplies.
Why?
He didn't know...
There was...something about her... It was something beneath the kicks and the pink and the very long brown hair... Something that called to him. Something that-he wanted to find out what it was...
Something that made him feel... He didn't quite know the right word for it. But he knew there was something...
Wait!
What was his problem?
He had just met her. He didn't know her. He didn't even know her name! And she was trying to capture him!
So why was he feeling 'something' and getting supplies? He asked himself as he looked at his full hands. Maybe he should just leave now.
He almost gave into temptation to turn and leave, when she asked him what he had gotten all those things for.
He couldn't help the returning thought. There was something about her that...
He snapped his eyes shut and tried to banish the thought from his head...to no avail. He opened his eyes and saw her looking at him, curiousity plastered all over her face.
He couldn't help it. Or stop it.
He could feel his face creasing into the familiar curves of a smile.
Though Ty Lee refused to admit it, she was impressed.
He was turning the cave into sick ward...just for her. And even though he was doing something nice for her, she was still surprised... And a tad uncomfortable.
He was supposed to be fighting her... Ok he had already done that, she reminded herself. But he wasn't supposed to be nice to her.
He was supposed to tie her up now that he had the advantage and could do anything he wanted to her... She was defenseless... Without her legs, she was half the fighter she usually was...
He had freedom to do anything he felt like before going on his merry way... But instead, he was helping her and healing her legs.
First he dropped the things in his hands, then he took off his shirt, (it was at this point that she began to feel uncomfortable), and thenbegan to make someweird bending movements.
Panic surged through her momentarily as she realized what he was doing.
He was trying to make her fall asleep! With his bending! So he could run away.
She shook her head, trying to resist... After vigorously shaking her head for the better part of a full minute, she stopped.
She was still awake, and he was still doing the bending kata...
Maybe he wasn't trying to put her to sleep?
She watched as he continued his movements, and realized that he wasn't focused on her. He hadn't even looked at her since he took off his chest... All his attention seemed to be directed at the walls of the cave.
So maybe he was doing something else?
Ty Lee looked around as he continued his bending... thingy... Nothing seemed to be happening...
A few seconds later and another look around showed her otherwise. She could see it now.
The cave was getting bigger.
She hadn't seen it the first time because she had been moving her head too fast, but now that she had slowed down, she could actually see the wall slowly sliding further away.
Ty Lee's mouth hung open. She was impressed. And even more so when she turned her gaze away from the moving wall to person making them move.
He had stopped moving. But he still looked...okay. He wasn't too musclely, but he wasn't thin either. He was just right. He looked pret-
Ty Lee cut the thought immediately.
What in Agni's name was she thinking?
She shouldn't be thinking such things about an enemy. She should be thinking about how to capture him, tie him up and deliver him to Azula.
However, as he started to move again, Ty Lee realized it was going to be harder than she thought.
Aang focused, trying not to look at her as he made the cave larger.
He knew she was staring at him, with those large brown eyes of hers. He could feel them. Her brown eyes roving over his body.
And for some reason it made him feel awkward. He knew he would feel more so if he looked at her, so he kept his eyes averted from her direction and focused on what he was doing.
First, he made the cave larger by moving the walls back by a few inches. Then he stopped to assess his work. It was well done.
Now for the next step. He began a kata to make the cave walls and ceiling solid, so it wouldn't fall in on itself.
After that, he carried and beganto arrange the small leaves on the earth bed to make it soft and comfortable.
Ty Lee didn't even know when she sat up to get a better view of what the bald monk was doing.
She rested all her weight on her hands behind her as she watched him move from one end of the cave to another.
After making the 'bed' more comfortable, Aang used his earthbending to make the cave's entrance smaller. Then he hung the first giant sized leaf across the opening of the cave and tied it in place with the vines.
He took a step back and looked his work over. It looked okay, and it would serve it's purpose properly:To keep the cold out.
He reached out and adjusted the leafy curtain so that there would be small spaces at the sides to let air in.
While Aang was doing this, Ty Lee just sat there with her mouth open, amazed at what he was doing and how easy he made it look.
It would have probably taken her hours to do all this by herself, but he had done most of it in five minutes.
Finally Aang made a depression in the floor for the fireplace and used two pieces of green rock she hadn't seen earlier when he had come in to light his pile of firewood wood. Then he turned to face her.
Ty Lee had been, even though she wouldn't admit it, enjoying watching him work. He moved with such grace...like he wasn't even thinking about moving. Like he was just doing it.
As he glided about the cave,she let herself look at him. He had decent muscles and he looked so at ease with what he was doing, one would think he was born like that. But when she found herself looking at his well-muscled abs and chest, she swallowed and raised her eyes to meet his.
He had an amused look on his face...and a somewhat creepy smirk on his lips.
Slowly, he began to walk towards her, and Ty Lee fought inside herself not to yell her head off.
He got to her, bent down, carried her like she was a crate of cabbages and placed her on the 'bed'. She let out a breath of relief and swallowed so hard, his eyes followed her throat's movements.
Aang hadn't wanted to, but by following her throat's simple movements, he had ended up looking at her...the same way boys (sometimes, including himself)usually looked at Katara.
For a second, it was like his eyes had been locked in place. Like he had lost all control of them.
At first, Ty Lee had wanted to slap him for ogling her, the way boys did whenever they saw her, which was all the time. But then he had raised his eyes, and she could have sworn he was embarrassed.
'But that's crazy,' she thought.'After all he was the ava-Wait... She stopped her thoughts, as her eyes zeroed on his reddening face.
'He's blushing! He's embarrassed.' She couldn't help but giggle at how funny he looked with half of his face pink.
Her giggle snapped him out of his trance and he began to apologise, "I'm really really sorry, it's just-".
He stopped abruptly and slapped himself on the forehead so hard, that her mouth fell open, in shock.
"That is going to leave a mark,"He mumbled silently and she nodded vigorously in agreement.
He went over to her legs were and stood there looking like he was steeling himself to do something very hard and demanding.
Her thoughts were confirmed when she heard his sheepish voice, "Could you ummroll your shorts-I mean-pants up so I can umm get started?".
Ty Lee giggled, then she guffawed and began to laugh. All the time she was rocking with laughter, Aang just stood there looking even more sheepish. When her laughter hed died down, she looked at him, giggled again and then bent at the waist to roll up her pants.
Aang nodded in silent thanks. He still didn't know why he was bothering.
"Just lie down and try to relax, it wont hurt a bit ", he assured. She nodded, laid back and closed her eyes, bracing herself for a very painful healing session.
So she was a little surprised when, instead of feeling his hands on her legs, she heard that telltale whooshing sound, again.
She didn't even bother to open her eyes to look for him. Somehow, she had a feeling was going to come back.
She didn't know why or how, but she just did.
Too tired to question her 'trust' for an enemy, she let out an exhausted sigh andstretched her hands above her head...
She was so tired, she thought as she blinked at the ceiling of the cave lazily. So tired...and bored.
A few seconds passed before a brilliant idea came to her. Yawning again, she rubbed her eyes and began to count.
"Thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-sev-
*WHOOSH*.
He was back.
Ty Lee opened her eyes and saw him panting slightly, a large glob of water floating between his outstretched hands.
He looked at the water, then he looked at her and swallowed. He walked over to her legs and stopped, "Are you ready?".
She nodded vigorously and let out a little squeak when the cold water, instaed of his hands, finally touched her numb legs.
Ty Lee was surprised. She had expected it to be painful, like the healing sessions in the fire nation infirmary, where she had heard wounded fire nation soldiers screaming in pain...but it was surprisingly pleasant.
So pleasant, in fact that she had to raise her head to look and confirm that he was indeed doing the healing thing.
He was, and even more surprising, was the water around her legs. It was glowing a brilliant hue of blue.
It felt good, so good, she couldn't help but moan in pleasure.
As soon as she did, he spoke.
"Does it hurt 'cause I uhh," she heard him say. "I can stop if you want me to."
"No...It doesn't hurt at all,"she replied, a little surprised that he cared if it hurt or not...
He nodded at her before he resumed his minstration on her limbs. Ty Lee laid back and looked then yawned at the roof of the cave, one last time, before sleep came and took her...
Author's Note: I hope you like it... Please review and tell me what you think about my rewrite...