(A/N)- Weekly chapter update! A day late but still.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Ah, nope, looks like I still don't own Avatar. Drat.
Pressure
Her nerves were buzzing.
Nine months until the end of summer, she recited inside her head for the hundredth time. Nine months. I've already mastered airbending so there's just three more elements to master. Nine months, three elements. That's one element per three months. That's doable, right?
Oh spirits it had to be doable. Because the world was doomed otherwise.
Okay so, I completely master one element in three months, three times. That can't be too hard. I mean sure it's never been done before, the hysterical thought chased around in her tingling skull, and every other Avatar before me has taken years to master just one element but—Ohhhh... She gave a whimpering moan, her hands coming up over her ears. I can't do this! This is not possible!
She paced back and forth across Appa's back, anxiety driving her heart in a racing, erratic rhythm.
"What am I gonna do, what am I gonna do, what am I gonna do?" she whispered in panic.
"Oh for goodness sake..." Sokki groaned up from where she was steering Appa. "Sit down. We are going to hit a bump and you are going to go flying off!" she warned sternly.
"I can't do this!" she cried, her high and pitched, eyes pinching hopelessly. She spun in tight circles back and forth. "How am I supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives?!"
Sokki waved a hand. "Well let's see, you've pretty much mastered airbending and that only took you 112 years... I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer," she said, in what Angka hoped was an encouraging tone.
But the reminder of how little time she had sent her head spinning into dizzy circles again.
She whined, whirling around and beginning to pace again. "I haven't even started waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole!" Her fingers raked into her hair, tangling, tugging on the roots. "What am I gonna do?!" she moaned again, almost breathlessly.
A steady hand grabbed her wrist.
Angka stopped.
She turned her head and looked down at Katar, who was sitting there serenely, a patient smile on his face.
With a gentle tug he urged her to sit.
"Calm down," he told her. "It's going to be okay."
He said it with such conviction, and the look in his eyes shone with so much faith...
Angka slowly took a deep breath, feeling the tinny ring in her ears fade away and the tension in her shoulders uncurl a bit.
She still felt wound-up, but the panic wasn't beating on her eardrums and clanging around the insides of her skull anymore, at least.
He'd pulled her hands into his, his fingers warm and soft. She stared down at her lap.
If... if Katar thinks things will be okay... maybe I can believe it too, she thought.
She exhaled, anxiety leaving her body and flying away.
His hands squeezed hers reassuringly.
"If you want, I can try and teach you some of the stuff I know," he offered.
She looked up. "You'd do that?" she asked, hopeful.
He nodded, smiling again. He turned to look towards the side, crawling to the edge of Appa's saddle, and Angka followed. "We'll need to find a good source of water first," he said, studying the ground far below.
Angka's shoulder brushed his as she joined him, looking for patches of water.
(A/N)- Angka is feeling more than a little anxiety about the looming threat that is her upcoming confrontation with Ozai, but thankfully Katar has some encouraging words for her. And hand-holding. XD
More "Waterbending Scroll" material is planned for the next chapter and then we'll continue on our merry way through Season One.