Hi! This is my first fanfic here on . I'd love to hear your feedback, thoughts, opinions, anything! I hope you enjoy it. I don't own ATLA.
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He sat quietly, almost motionless. A gust of wind played with his colorful tunic, which rippled in its rhythm. His chest rose in regular and slow intervals, his eyes closed, and his mind drifted on the waves crashing against the rocks below his feet. The sound of the waves blended with the whispering of the trees. The moonlight reflected on the surface of the sea and also illuminated his face. For a moment, he allowed himself to believe that everything was fine – that the peace in this moment was real and eternal. But it wasn't.
A quiet sigh escaped his lips. After the war ended and Firelord Ozai was defeated, he thought that establishing peace would be a much faster process. Three years had passed, and things were still not as he had envisioned, and wouldn't be for a long time. Endless cycles of peace summits, reading and writing letters, late-night meetings with Zuko discussing the plan for what's next... He was tired, simply tired... of everything. And almost of everyone, except for one person.
Katara had always been his support, and after they confessed their feelings to each other, he hoped that the peace he so longed for would at least be found with her, but fate had other plans. A few months after they finally admitted their feelings and everything seemed like they could be happy, a problem arose at the Southern Water Tribe, and Katara, along with Sokka, had to return to their father and help the tribe. Since then, he hadn't seen her. Yes, they wrote to each other, letter after letter, they kept in touch, but the hustle and bustle of events prevented them from meeting. He missed her, so much. She was his anchor, his right hand... his friend. The love he felt for her from the beginning couldn't even be described in its intensity, and it was still growing, even though they were apart. It tightened within him. His breath caught, and he opened his steel-gray eyes. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to say to HER. He needed help, he needed to hear her, feel her skin on his, her lips... everything was crashing down on him like relentless waves over rocks, crushing anything in their path. Clumsily, he stood up. Meditating made no sense now. It was a full moon. He felt its power, its light pouring into his very bones. And it painfully reminded him of Katara.
He sighed again and rubbed his face. He couldn't wallow in self-pity; there was no time for that. In a few moments, he had to be back at the table with Zuko, discussing the plan to calm the situation at the Earth Kingdom borders, where conflicts had been arising over the past week. Fires had been breaking out in the Earth Kingdom with no apparent cause, and in the Fire Nation, bridges were collapsing and landslides were destroying homes. Whenever he arrived at the scene, only devastation remained, people were screaming, and chaos reigned. The only thing he found was a small white crystal, emanating a very strong energy. But amidst all the commotion, he hadn't had the chance to examine it calmly, and now there were already four crystals on the table in his room.
He turned sharply as soon as he heard a branch crack behind him. But no one was there, he couldn't sense anyone on the ground, yet still... a chill ran down his spine, and for a moment, it seemed as if the raging sea had gone silent.
Maybe if he had looked up into the treetops, he would have seen the bright yellow eyes staring intently at him... but he didn't. The full moon was obscured by a large gray cloud, and Aang cast one more distrustful glance around before heading toward the palace.