CHAPTER RATING: T (Language, Mildly Suggestive Situations...?)
A/N: Thank you for the follows and favorites. But I'm slightly saddened by the fact that there are only 3 reviews. If you have time, please leave one; let me know what you think of the story so far, it could alter the course of the narrative.
Thanks, and read on!
Chapter 5: "First, you need desire..."
Aang watched a sunset sink on the horizon, sitting on a grassy cliff. Before him, a vast crevice, thousands of feet deep, thousands of feet wide, stained in a hue of orange. Rising to his feet, Aang tightened the grip around his glider, and leapt off the cliff toward the sun. He closed his eyes, and let the wind take him as he fell into the misty white blanket below.
"Aang!" Katara's voice faded above him as he fell. Chatter from the others fading with his drop. He altered the air flow around him, and began rising. Massive stone towers and spires hung off of the cliff he had just jumped from, and he knew where he was. After some time, he returned to his comrades.
"We're at the Western Air Temple." Aang tapped his staff into the grass "Everyone get on Appa." They turned, but Katara was stopped by a tug at her robe. "Except for you, Katara." He held out his hand, she accepted it with a smile, and a blush.
"Aang! Don't forget that talk we had!" Sokka shook his fist. "And you too, Katara! I've got my eye on you!"
"Calm down, hothead." Suki pulled him back down into Appa's saddle.
"Yip yip!" Appa roared as he took to the air: landing on the suspended platforms. Aang internally cheered when he heard the group's gasps of amazement.
Her hand still in his: his contagious smile spreading to her.
"What's this about, Aang?"
"I...I want to take you-" Her expression change stopped him in his tracks.
"Y-You what?!"
"No! N-not that...?" He looked at himself with shame. What exactly was the 'that' he was thinking of? With a deep breath, he steeled himself "I want to take you...To the Western Air Temple, myself." He nodded, and bowed before her.
Katara laughed to herself as he recovered. Her fingers brought themselves to his chin and lifted his eyes toward hers. She came closer to him, and moved her lips to his. He closed his eyes in both confusion, and comfort.
She sucked the air he had just inhaled, right out of his lungs. Her breath fell upon his ear as she whispered into it.
"Of course, Aang. You can take me anywhere." His blood ran hot at her words, streaming wildly within his veins. Katara could feel the reaction in his body, a reaction that she decided she wouldn't forget anytime soon.
Without a word, his glider opened, revealing what resembled a fan, as well as a tail, in the same orange that colored the sunset. She wrapped her arms around his neck, rested her elbows on his shoulders, and entwined her hands over his heart.
"Ready?" He whispered.
"Ready." She replied.
"Okay. Hold on." Blood flooded his face as Katara wrapped her arms around him. He began to run, laughing as her screams of fear entered his ears. They entered the white mist, disappearing from everyone's view.
Katara trembled as her grasp around him tightened. Her eyes closed as the clouds engulfed them. The air was fierce as it pushed against her. She buried her face into the nape of his neck, trying her best to hold onto him.
As he careened toward the unseen ground, Aang shifted the air around him, and took an immediate turn upwards. Katara opened her eyes, they widened with the view of the temple.
"It's amazing!" She shouted.
"It's the Western Air Temple!" Aang shouted back while bringing them to a halt, he landed with a wide smile. Sokka stood, his face in a grimace, he walked toward the airbender, and grabbed his robe again.
"Come on, Aang! We need to have another chat!" Aang let Sokka drag him along, into the sanctuary.
"It's okay Katara." Aang shrugged. "We'll figure this out."
"You aren't figuring anything out! You're just going to listen!" A monumental door opened before them, and slammed right after they entered.
"Sokka...Wait, not so loud." Aang whispered.
"Don't interrupt me, Avatar. I know you've got feelings for my sister-"
"Sokka, not so loud. The echo-chamber is catching everything you-"
"BUT! I told you before. You're not doing anything! No kissing! No touching! No contact! You must understand what it feels like, right? Just back off!"
The door crashed open, an immediate fear ran down their spines, and embarrassment crept into their minds. A shadow stretched into the room, brought in by the sun at her back.
"K-Katara..." Sokka whimpered.
"Who the hell do you think you are?!" She spat in a whisper.
"I-I'm your brother..."
"Who I spend my time with is none of your business!" She pushed him aside and took Aang's hand. "Come on, Aang! Let's go!"
"Uh...Okay." Aang shrugged as Katara pulled him along. He watched his sister walk away with Aang in tow. Confused, frustrated, and remorseful.
"I think you need to back off there a little bit, Sokka." Suki's voice echoed into the temple. She leaned in closer to him. "She's not stopping me from doing anything with you. So, just let them be."
"Yeah...You're right. I should go tell them I'm sorry."
"Not now...Later." She reached for his hand, and pulled him out of the temple.
...
Azula had not moved from her seat at the fountain; her hand still hovered in the water.
"How are you feeling?" Aang sat down next to her.
"It's strange." She looked into her palm, and brought it to her heart. "I just don't feel the rage that I used to." Her voice was emotionless, almost monotone.
"Do you...regret my decision to take your bending?"
"It's just...different."she stared into the distance as the words left her.
He didn't have an answer for her. He had no way to explain or comfort her; no understanding of the situation she was in.
"Aang!" Zuko's voice came from behind him. "Let's get training! Come on!"
…
Aang ran towards the sound of his voice. He turned a corner, and saw Zuko forcing him to a halt.
"We need to talk about Azula." Zuko whispered.
"I'm listening."
"What were you thinking?" He scolded the Avatar. "What possessed to believe that taking Azula with us was a good idea?"
"Well... I took away her bending, so she can't shoot firey death at us anymore!" Aang threw up his hands as if he was panicking. "How much of a threat can she be without it?"
"You don't understand, Aang." Zuko poked his head out of the wall, looking towards his sister who still sat motionless by the fountain. "Azula…she's not right in her head."
"How can you say that about your sister?"
"Because I know her, okay? She's always been cold-hearted, and calculating. Why do you think Ty Lee and Mai used to follow her around so much? Because she implanted fear into her friends, and forced them to do her bidding."
"Even if you say that, don't you believe in change?" Aang presented his plea. "She spent weeks in that cramped, dirty cell. When I saw her last time, she seemed genuine."
"You think that a few weeks in prison can change years of indoctrination?"
"Don't you think everyone deserves a second chance?" Zuko almost flinched at his question. "All I can say is that when I took her bending, there was a single moment that he could have taken to finish me off." He pointed to the scar on his chest. "But she chose not to."
"Of course she chose not to!" Zuko paused and peeked around the corner again. Azula still sat, unmoving. He calmed himself. "Of course she chose not to." He returned in a whisper. "Don't you get why she tried to kill you in the catacombs? Because you were in the Avatar State! If she had ended you there, the Avatar would cease to exist. If she had killed you in that cell-"
"Then the Fire Nation would have had to hunt down the Avatar again." Aang hung his head low.
"Exactly."
"So, what should I do?"
"We should take her back to Ba Sing Se immediately. As soon as we can manage."
"But they'll kill her there!"
"Yeah...I know."
"There has to be a more merciful way. Why can't we just give her a chance? It doesn't seem like she has any spirit left. She doesn't have any fight in her." Aang poked his head out of the corner. "I mean look. How, long has she been sitting there since we arrived?" Zuko looked up into the sky.
"I don't know." He admitted.
"Think about it! That's you sister. Don't you feel at least a little worried."
"Of course I do." Zuko sighed. "Fine! Look, just be careful, then. Alright? Keep your guard up around her." Zuko whispered.
"I got it." Aang nodded.
"Let's get started then."
...
"Hey...Katara?" Sokka's voice came from behind her.
"What?" Her voice seemed harsher than she had intended.
"I want to say...I'm sorry." He bowed. "I was wrong. I have no right to tell you who you can spend your time with. Please, forgive me."
Katara took in a silent breath. Sokka's fear rose with her silence.
"You don't have to worry about me anymore, Sokka. " she hugged him. "I'm not a little girl anymore."
"I know. I was a fool."
"Don't worry about it, Sokka. Everything will be okay."
"Thank you. I promise that I'll be less oppressive from now on."
"I'd appreciate that."
"Are you two done?" Toph's grinding voice came.
"Yes." Katara laughed.
"Then let's collect this water and fish so we can go back. We're all hungry!" Appa roared in agreement.
...
"Nothing." Aang watched the smoke from his firebending attempt failure disappear before his eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked aloud. "Why can't I make any fire?!" He fell onto the ground, holding his head in his hands while shaking it.
"You were able to firebend before. What happened?" Zuko asked.
"I...I don't know. My mind must be somewhere else...?"
"Well, focus!" Zuko's commanding voice was punctuated by Appa's landing that shook the temple grounds.
"We're back!" Sokka exclaimed while sliding down the flying bison's tail. "And we've got fish, and water, and even vegetables for the resident vegetarian Avatar!"
"...And firewood!" Suki added.
"And a firepit!" Toph stomped onto the ground, leveling it into a deep circular hole. Zuko looked over to the three, their gazes obviously waiting for something.
"...And fire." He brought his open palm, flame in hand. The three cheered, and Zuko felt a light smile.
"Hey, Aang. How did your firebending training go?" Katara's voice reached his ears.
"Not so hot." He answer back.
Sokka's laughter annoyed them both.
"Good one, Aang!" He shouted.
"It's alright, Aang. It just takes time. You'll get it eventually, just like the other elements."
"Yeah, I know." He took a deep breath. "It's just frustrating, I don't know why I can't do it."
"We'll figure it out eventually." She rested a warm hand on his back. "Now, let's go eat."
...
"I brought you something in case you were hungry. You haven't moved from that spot in a while, so here." Zuko handed Azula a bowl of fish, swimming in a dark broth. "It's not like how we used to eat at home." He chuckled. "But it's something to fill your stomach."
"Thank you, Zuko." Her grasp was delicate as it wrapped around the warm earthen bowl. "It smells terrible." She scowled.
"It's bearable." He watched her take a sip, cringe at the taste, and set the bowl down.
"I'm not that hungry." She spat.
"You'll grow used to it." He laughed, expecting a cruel or witty remark, but received nothing. "Is something wrong?"
"I think I can help the Avatar. With his firebending."
"Yeah, how?"
"Tell him to meet me tonight. I need him alone." She looked over at Katara as she spoke.
"Why not just tell him now?" He raised an eyebrow.
"The waterbender thinks that I'm going to try and hurt him." She Sighed. "She doesn't trust me."
"Well, it's certainly not difficult to understand her position." Zuko nodded.
Azula scoffed at the comment.
"Alright. I'll tell him."
...
The flames began to die in the night. All were asleep, except the Avatar, and the former Fire Nation Princess. He staggered into her room, cautious, and uneasy.
"You said you could help me?" He mumbled.
"I may have a solution." She invited him to take a seat next to her on the stone bed. The moonlight cast his shadow into the room, where it melded into the darkness. She looked up at him, the same moonlight shined in her eyes, letting loose a bright golden glow.
An almost hypnotic glow.
"What do you need me to do?" He shook his head to try and regain his composure. She opened her hands, a nervous smile across his lips, he placed his hands into hers, and it felt as if a jolt of electricity shot through him.
"Focus. Close your eyes." Aang took a deep breath as she spoke. "If you want to channel fire, you'll need to attain the mindset of a firebender." To his surprise, her voice was soft, and calming.
Just like the time Toph was training me. He thought to himself, and took in another breath.
"The first thing you need to have to be a firebender is desire." Her soft hands closed around his. "To feed the fire in your heart, you must feed your greatest desire. What do you want most?"
"I want…" He drew out a long breath.
I want…Katara. I just want to be with Katara. I don't want anything else.
A warmth built in his hands, and a small flame formed in his palm.
"You did it." She smiled. He opened his eyes, and saw the fire in his hands. "Keep the desire in your heart, and you will be able to firebend."
He was speechless, but she was right, he held the element in his hands.
"If you want to learn more, you know where to find me."
He was unsure of what to make of her offer, but he bowed, and walked out the door.
What else was there to learn?
PUBLISHED ON: 7/30/2014
A/N: What do you do when you want a character's intentions to remain unknown?
Thanks for reading!