The Mahaha Tribe Arc 4:
"Avatar Aang? Councilman Sokka?" The surprised healer walked over to the approaching young men and shook their hands, water tribe style. "I wasn't expecting you."
"Sorry for the last minute visit," Sokka sheepishly apologised. "Mrs…?"
"Najak," she answered while shaking her head. "And there's no need to apologise I was just…" She turned her head to gaze at Aang as she noticed how the Avatar had immediately walked over to the currently sleeping patient, "...surprised."
He seemed on edge, to her.
"How long has she been like this?" The Avatar asked, his eyes lingering on the small scars littered across her arms and face, ones the healers couldn't completely heal.
The medical waterbender sighed as she shifted to stand across from Aang, on the other side of the bed, while Sokka stood by the foot. "She's been in a coma ever since she stumbled into Ilanaaq Village. The healers who brought her here shortly afterwards mentioned that she'd been concussed; a couple stab wounds here and there which we weren't completely able to seal, and internal bleeding within the leg. Obviously we had to handle that first as it could've led to a blood clot which could also cause her to have a stroke - that wouldn't have been good." As the Avatar nodded in understanding, the doctor Najak looked towards Sokka, who was also staring absentmindedly at her patient before continuing, "Ever since the latest healing session, which was six days ago, we've seen no change in her condition."
"I need to speak to her," the Avatar declared without hesitation, unravelling his hands from within his dark cloak as he shuffled closer to the girl.
"Well, we've tried waking her up… but our waterbending isn't good enough," disappointed in her abilities, watched the Avatar approach their young patient. "We're not as revered as Master Katara," Sokka noticed how Aang's quite still hand momentarily shook at the mention of the waterbender, "I'm afraid the best we can do is let nature take its course."
"We can't wait that long," the Avatar stated, placing his thumb on the girl's tanned forehead, and the other just below her collarbone, pressing through her blue hospital gown. The leading healer was preparing to question the Avatar but halted as soon as a white light began emanating from the teen, his tattoos glowing brightly - between the points where his thumbs met the girl's skin there was also a glow. It took a few moments, but after the lightshow was over, the healer watched amazed as the girl's eyes slowly fluttered open, her blue orbs watering slightly as the bright light within the room blinded her. immediately reached for the girl when she hurriedly sat up, seemingly a reflex movement.
"Easy… easy there, take it slow," the healer grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back to lay down on the bed before waterbending the ice underneath so that it inclined upwards. Now, with the light not assaulting her eyes, the recently awoken girl scanned her environment, slightly alarmed when she remembered she wasn't on that mountain. "I'm , I'll be looking after you. Do you remember your name? Or what happened to you?"
"Where… where am I?" The girl asked, blinking and rubbing her eyes as they attempted to grow accustomed to the brightness within the room.
"You're in the Capitol," answered Sokka, "some hunters found you bleeding out near Ilanaaq Village and brought you here." He waited a moment to allow the girl to gather her wits before probing further, "Do you remember anything? About what happened?"
"I was… I was up on that mountain… and I was attacked," still not fully there, the young teenager once again scanned the room, her eyes trailing from the healer to her right, the stools and chairs behind the healer and Sokka, and the door to Sokka's right, before her eyes widened like flying saucers when they landed on the concerned Avatar. "Av-Avatar Aang?" She asked, flabbergasted. Unaware of her actions, she continued staring at him, even as Aang nodded to reply to her question, offering her a small, harmless smile. "Is this a dream?" She asked absentmindedly, staring dreamily at the young teenager a year older than her. "You're even more handsome in person," she sighed, and Aang smiled endearingly at her, despite the pink hue his cheeks had gained. However, he raised an eyebrow when he heard and Sokka chuckling beside him.
"Did I forget to mention," Sokka said through his chuckles, "that she's got quite the crush on you."
Allowing some smugness to overcome him, Aang simply grinned in response as he rhetorically asked, "Who doesn't?" Though, he was sure he could name at least one person who didn't have a fondness for him, but he wouldn't think about her right now. Turning back to the somewhat absent girl, he asked, "What's your name?"
Still not totally out of her daze, the girl answered with a smile, "Kaisa."
"And how old are you, Kaisa?" now questioned as she began ticking off patient requirement checkups on her clipboard.
"I'm sixteen," she still hadn't removed her eyes from his silver orbs. "Turning seventeen in a few days."
"And are you feeling anything apart from a mild headache? Any pain in the chest? Or wounds we haven't tended to yet?" She shook her head while breaking eye contact with the Avatar, staring at her arms and noticing the scars implanted there. She felt dirty; evil, as if impurity had marked her.
Aang, noticing her frown and the way she was staring at her scars, decided to help out. Gathering water onto his hands, he entered the Avatar State as he overlapped her arms with his glowing, water-encased hands. Normally, only Katara would be able to heal scars like these. However, since they'd only been attained recently, Aang knew he could likely do the same with the immense power of the Avatar State at his disposal. Plus, although high in frequency, they were fairly small cuts, nothing major like the lightning wound on his back, or the one on Zuko's chest that Katara couldn't completely revert.
Kaisa gasped as the glowing hands brought about a warm sensation as opposed to the cold, icy atmosphere within the room. The blizzard outside still hadn't let up; she could still hear the growling, and screaming, and howling - the same as that night, when she ventured up that mountain - the warmth of his touch provided the comfort required to keep her from panicking. After shuffling up and down her arms, Aang moved his glowing hands towards her face, watching intently as the scars faded, revealing smooth tan skin.
He didn't notice the rosy hue her cheeks had donned as he spoke softly, "I know it may be a little too early to be handing out gifts…" he smiled endearingly as he met her eyes, his fingers glowing as they brushed against her bottom lip while he healed the scar just above her chin. "... but Happy Birthday."
Sokka raised an eyebrow at his friend's actions; ever since the end of the war, Aang had slowly begun to lose his smile and gentleness. He was always kind and helpful and mostly selfless, but as he experienced more of life outside the iceberg and war, he'd also grown somewhat cynical and pessimistic; feeling like he couldn't trust anyone, or that he somehow wasn't enough… wasn't good enough, for anyone or anything. Sokka and his friends had tried, countless times, to convince him that he was nothing of the sort, that he was the most reliable person they'd known, the kindest and most gentle soul they'd befriended… but it either just wasn't getting through to him, or he was rejecting their kind words purposefully, as if the image he held of himself in his head couldn't fathom how someone could like him, let alone love him. So, to see him acting this way, so kind and gentle and, dare he say, lovingly, with this one girl he'd just met five minutes ago, compared to how he was before: brooding and moody, was a shock, needless to say. He thought that Aang maybe liked her, or thought she was similar to Katara, but after taking another glance at her, he realised they looked nothing alike. Kaisa's skin was fairer than Katara's and her eyes were a wavy, sky blue compared to his sister's ocean-like sapphire orbs. Her nose was tiny and cute, lips small and velvety, and her hair was darker and shorter than Katara's, almost the same length as Suki's. He'd never seen any watertribe women with short hair before, and he thought it wouldn't suit them, but Kaisa made it work, somehow. Her dark locks framed her small cute face delicately.
"Th-thank you," the girl barely croaked out, panning her head to the side to hide her ever growing blush and smile.
The Avatar retreated as he bended the water back into a nearby bowl and exited the Avatar State with one final glow. He knew that Kaisa was likely still in shock and probably had holes in her memory, so he tried to be as delicate as possible as he began questioning her.
"Kaisa…" he said softly, "do you remember why you visited Bhoot Pahaard?"
Frowning slightly, the girl nodded and elaborated, "My mother is ill, has been for the last few weeks. Not the healers nor I could do anything to help her; she has a rare disease, one that eats at the body from within until there's nothing left, like a parasite." She looked into the Avatar's eyes as he patted her hand as it rested on her lap, gesturing for her to continue. "I had almost given up hope until I heard the stories regarding Bhoot Pahaard; the herbs that grew there were known to treat illnesses of all kinds. After hearing all the stories, I knew I had to do something. Even with the rumours surrounding the mountain I - I had to try. So, without telling anyone, as I knew they'd stop me, I travelled there."
She paused for a moment, biting her bottom lip worriedly as she darted her eyes around nervously. Knowing she needed more comfort and encouragement, Aang held onto her hand tightly and squeezed, nodding once again when she looked at him for reassurance.
"It took me around four days to get there; the people at Ilanaaq Village warned me not to travel up there, but I refused to listen." She paused again, and seeing the look in her eye, one regarding the fear of judgement, Aang knew he had to say something.
"Don't worry," he said softly as she intertwined their fingers, searching for comfort. "It's okay. Nothing will happen to you here," smiling reassuringly yet again, he gestured for her to continue. "Tell us what happened up there."
Nodding, the Kaisa took a moment to recall the memories, "It's still a bit foggy, but… from what I remember… I was just nearing a cave when I started feeling… an ominous presence about. Like… it got colder - much, much colder. It felt… I felt as if all the happiness, all the hope within me had been sucked out. Like I'd never be cheerful again."
"Then what happened?" Sokka spoke up.
"I began hearing noises, they were faint at first," her eyes sparkled with fear as she recalled the moments leading up to the attack. "Growling… screaming… all from within that cave. Then, I heard the sounds of feet shuffling around about me, as if… as if whatever was up there had me cornered… surrounding me. Through the blizzard, it was hard to pinpoint the exact location or point of origin, but in an instance, the sounds were closing in, from every direction. Then, I felt… I felt something claw at my back, my shoulder, my neck… something perverted, and evil. I remember getting into a defensive stance, searching for the evil spirits that attacked me… but all I saw was the white of the snow, the darkness of the shadows, and the red of my blood as it leaked out of me. Things started getting blurry - maybe it was the loss of blood - but I could barely see anything. It was then when I felt something grab onto my feet… something cold, and something clawed at my face and body… again and again. It became a blur, but the last thing I remember was gathering the snow around me as a protective shield, forming spikes of ice on the outer layers, and shooting them all around me. I heard some faint screams before I lost my balance and began stumbling down the mountain," she paused, still frowning as the teenager looked at Sokka. "I don't remember anything after that, but I guess I had enough strength to make it back to the village, because you guys found me."
"You were lucky to be found," stated, her arms crossed. "The hunters from the village found you covered in snow by a tree, you were still half a day's walk away from Ilanaaq Village. If they hadn't chosen to take an alternative route, you might not be here now."
Dipping her head in shame, Kaisa sniffed as she apologised, "I'm sorry… I just - I just wanted to help my mother."
Softening, the lead healer leaned in and rubbed the girl's back comfortingly, but Aang and Sokka weren't done.
"Can you tell us more?" Aang asked, "The things that attacked you, were they spirits or…?"
"They definitely didn't feel human," Kaisa replied, "Ever since I was young, I've had a strong connection with spirits. I could always call out to them; kids my age thought I was weird, or a monster, so they kept their distance. Those days, when I was alone, I'd enter the forest near my village in the North and talk to the spirits there. Sorry," she smiled sheepishly, unaware of the way Aang gazed at her with understanding, having experienced the same thing in the Air Temple a century ago. "I'm rambling - but, what I'm trying to say is, I can tell the difference between spirits and humans. Humans have a warm presence about them, while spirits - the ones I've met, at least - radiate tranquillity and harmlessness. Whatever was up there, human or spirit, lacked any and all traits. I doubt I was attacked by humans because from what I could tell, humans don't emanate an evil energy… not the kind they did."
"You'd be surprised," Sokka murmured offhandedly as he glanced away, likely remembering the atrocities they'd faced in the war, recalling one man in particular.
"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Aang asked, "Every spec of information helps."
Her eyes widened as she stared at them, realisation dawning on her, "Are you… are you planning on going up there?"
Leaning back in his seat, Aang looked behind him at Sokka, who simply shook his head. Frowning, yet understanding why, he turned his gaze back to Kaisa, "We can't comment."
"When?"
"We can't disclose any information regarding the mission," Sokka stated, unaware of the fact he'd just confirmed her suspicions.
"So you are going up there," her eyes narrowed as they trained on the Southern Warrior, "I want to go with."
"That's not possible," Sokka objected.
"You said it yourself: I'm the best source of information you have. Plus, I scoped out that mountain on my way to the peak, so I know where to go and what to watch out for. So, you need me."
"It's better if you stay put," Aang stated, causing the girl to frown as she looked at him. "You're still recovering, it won't be safe for you to come with us."
"It wouldn't be safe if I was at full strength either," she stated emphatically. "That mountain is cursed, it isn't safe for anyone to go up there, not even you Avatar Aang." Once again, she narrowed her eyes, this time towards the teenager she was infatuated with, "I know what I'm doing. And by tomorrow, I'll be strong enough to travel again, right doctor?" Reluctantly, the lead healer nodded, "I need those herbs for my mother and you guys need my help. So, please, take me with you."
Sighing deeply, Aang looked towards Sokka for a moment before patting Kaisa's hand. "Take care of yourself, Kaisa." With that, he stood up and left the room, with the Southern Warrior trailing behind him.
When they exited the building, Sokka took notice of how Aang's previous mood had returned - he wondered if it was all a facade. "What gives?" He asked as they began walking through the blizzard, "You were all kind and nice with a big smile on your face up there, and now, you're back to sulking and brooding." He raised a suspicious eyebrow while staring at the Avatar who refused to meet his gaze, "Either you've got a split personality, have been spending too much time with Zuko… or…" he grinned, "...you like Kaisa."
"She's sixteen."
"A year younger than you, what's your point?"
"We have bigger fish to fry."
"This coming from the vegetarian."
That got a chuckle out of the Avatar, which Sokka smiled at.
"I'm not interested in her; I've got no time for romance right now."
Grinning, the warrior continued, "And… how about afterwards?"
The Avatar didn't reply.
He wanted more than anything to say yes… or at least, maybe.
But he was almost sure nothing would change… and he didn't know how to feel about that.