Katara
I was woken up by the sunlight shining through the window. It kissed my cheeks and I felt the warmth it brought. I rubbed my eyes and stood up. It felt so good to sleep in a real bed again. Besides, the air temples proved to be really cozy. I got up and went out of the room I was in. I wasn't usually the one to wake up early but today was different.
The more I walked around the temple, the more people I saw. I guess I hadn't really woken up that early. After some time of walking around, I spotted Nohran in the distance. He was talking to some of the other boys. When he saw me, he smiled and waved his hand around.
„How did you sleep?" He asked reaching me.
„Surprisingly well." I chuckled. His figure stood tall and painted a shadow over me. It was daunting to have someone become close to me in such little time.
„Get used to it. You won't have any more sleepless nights here." I raised an eyebrow. My eyes opened wider and then squinted at the sun peeking through the side of his torso.
„How do you know I had sleepless nights?" He smirked and his eyes wandered alongside my face.
„I could tell. No offense." I rubbed my eyes and nodded. It wasn't anything to be taken badly but I still felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me.
„Right." He grabbed my arm and started walking in the opposite direction. My feet followed before my mind could make any other decision.
„C'mon, I'll introduce you to the others." I smiled and gladly obliged. He guided me towards some kids around our age. They stood around chatting and wearing matching gowns.
„Guys, this is Katara." They all turned to us and examined me, at least it seemed so.
„Hi." I waved my hand. My smile grew as the tension in their eyes faded.
„This is Sarryion. He's in charge of the kids, keeps them in shape." A boy with dark hair and green eyes smiled.
„It's nice to meet you, Katara." I smiled too. Nohran moved on.
„That's Norou. She's a former recruit. She's the one who helps keep this place safe." A girl with short black hair and hazel eyes crossed her arms. She doesn't seem that keen on making new friends.
„Don't expect special treatment because you're good with the Avatar." She looked like she was trying to be tough. It didn't work.
„I don't want special treatment." I happily said, hiding the annoyance in my voice.
„This is Sonan and Kelsang. They came here together about a year ago. They make this place more fun." They didn't look like
siblings but they seemed nice enough. Almost all of them seemed nice. But making a real life here seemed to surreal, in a bad way.
„I think you'll like it here." Sonan said. Maybe I should give it a better chance though.
„I hope so." I replied. It was true but still far fetched.
„So, are any of you benders?" I asked not wanting to endulge in the silence. Being new, it was my job to find out stuff about them but not be overly intrusive.
„Kelsang and I are earthbenders."Sarryion replied.
„There are a few waterbenders but we're all mostly from the earth kingdom." I wondered why they decided to live in the air temple. Nohran seemed to read my thoughts.
„Most of the people here are orphans or just alone. We came here for a better life. The community grew more over time and we sort of became our own little-or big family. There's so much freedom here. We've learned so much about the air nomads. We want to preserve their memory." He had a warm expression which warmed my heart to see. Aang would've loved to see this.
„I know Aang is very grateful." Sonan stepped forward. The words just flowed out like a flowing river.
„So, how is it to live with the Avatar? You must have some crazy stories. I heard you were together at some point." I was stunned by her words. Heard from whom?
„Well, we're good friends. That's all." She squinted her eyes. Maybe she noticed the stutter in my voice.
„It must be so cool to know the Avatar personally." Norou rolled her eyes. I've known fangirls but it still felt nice to have people appreciate him.
„He's a normal person just like us." She said. Kelsang scoffed and continued speaking. I tried to be open but I really disliked Norou's attitude.
„There's nothing normal about him. He's the Avatar and not only that he's the last airbender. He defeated the 100 year war. I could go on on if you want." Norou lowered her arms and looked down in defeat.
„I guess that's kind of sort, of true, but still." Nohran nudged me and I looked at him. He urged me to go with him while the others started talking about something else.
„Sorry about that." He said mid walk.
„Don't worry about it." I said as I kept walking beside him. We kept walking until we reached the cliffside. He turned to me swiftly and took a deep breath.
„I want you to like it here, Katara." I looked into his eyes, switching from one eye to the other. They seemed sincere but it was to early in the relationship for me to able to differentiate between sincerity and lying.
„I do like it here." He shook his head. In a way I meant it. It was nice here.
„No, I mean, I want you to really like it here. I want you- I want you to stay. For as long as you like." I gathered myself. I didn't know what to say to that. He seemed to understand and didn't push it. I thought about some people for a moment. I thought about one certain person.
„I think I will really it here." I said after the silence. He smiled and put a hand on my shoulder. iMessage saying what he wanted to hear.
„Come on. There's still a lot I have to show you." My eyes to turned toward the direction he was going in I began walking behind him. I'm starting to really like him.
2 weeks later
I never thought I would like it so much. The temples are so lively and fun. It's so different from the very first time I came here. The air acolytes have brought life back to this place. They are really involved in the culture too. They wear traditional clothing and even use gliders like the ones Theo used. It's refreshing to see the culture come back to life. I know Aang is happy, happy with Kyiosana. I try not to think about them but the image of them in the woods can't leave my mind.
„You okay?" I looked up to see Sonan looking at me. Reminiscence would kill me some day.
„You barely even touched your food." I looked down to see the full plate in front of me.
„Just lost in thought" I smiled and she let it go. I looked around me to see everyone eating and laughing. It reminded me of the dinner we had after we ended the war. Where Zuko made his big speech and we all had a good time. Until I ruined it all. The thought of me rejecting Aang plagued my mind. I didn't know what I was feeling. Sympathy? No. Confusion? No, I don't think. Regret? Maybe. But I didn't want to be with him. I don't. I just miss him that's why I'm feeling this way. He's with Kyiosana and I'm happy for him. I hope we see each other again soon though.
„Sorry, we don't have traditional water tribe food." I turned to see Nohran. He was leaning towards me and getting closer than I would have liked.
„No, it's not that." I pushed the plate aside. Maybe I should try to forget about it. Forget about my past friendships and build new ones here.
„I just don't have an appetite." He smirked and raised an eyebrow.
„Then I guess you won't like the sea grapes I got you." My eyes instantly shot up. He laughed and raised a bowl of sea prunes in front of me.
„But where did you get them?" I squealed and tried to grab them. He raised them up though, far enough were I count reach them.
„You said you didn't have an appetite." I laughed as he did too. This is the distraction I need.
„Oh, come on." I rested my hands on his shoulder as he still held the bowl up.
„I'll trade them to you for a kiss." He narrowed his eyes. His look intensified and he lowered the bowl. I quickly cupped his face and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. With that I took the bowl out of his hands and stood up. He followed close behind me.
„No fair, you cheated." I looked back and smiled.
„You didn't specify where to kiss you. Don't be a sore loser." He caught up to me and tried to reach his hand on top of my waist but I just laughed and ran further.
„I'm anything but a sore loser." I soon reached the cliffside I always sat on in the evenings. It was the most calming place. I sat down and Nohran joined me.
„I miss home." I said whilst eating the sea prunes. The juices filled my mouth and the memories my mind.
„Me too." I looked over to him to find him with a sad look on his face looking into the distance.
„If you don't mind me asking, what happend ? Why did you come here with your sister?" He sighed and bit his lip. I set the sea prunes aside.
„We were both young when we lost our mother. She left one day and never came back. Dad was great though. Despite everything. He worked really hard and taught us to work hard. A few years ago, something happened. It was something about owing this guy money. He was stressed. He tried to hide it but I knew. I heard him talking one day. He was telling a friend about how he didn't know how he would get the money." He stopped for a second and looked down.
„He didn't come home one night. I went out looking for him. When I finally found him, it was too late. We couldn't even afford a funeral. Turns out that friend ratted him out. They were going to take us but my dad sacrificed himself. I'll never forget that." I had no idea. He always seemed so happy.
„I'm so sorry." I put a hand on his shoulder. He quickly shook it off and smiled calmly.
„Don't be. Because of that, I found this place. I never felt like I belonged anywhere but I know I belong here. I love the culture and the people. I was meant to be here. I was meant to be an air nomad. I know it." He said with confidence.
„I'm happy for you, Nohran. This war has been hard on everyone. And I completely understand how you feel." He listend to me talk.
„I know that feeling. I lost my mother in the war." I put my head down at that bad memory. It was his turn to put his hand on my shoulder.
„I'm sorry you had to go through that." I looked at him and smiled. We were both just kids trying to let go of the past.
„But you're not alone anymore. I'm here for you. Whatever you need." My smile faded as I focused on his eyes. The longer I stared, the more familiar they got. Those grey eyes. Too familiar. We slowly closed the gap between us and I closed my eyes. He held my face and kissed me. I didn't fight it and relaxed into it. The storm in them reminded me of something so similar. I pictured imagines of it in my mind. Dry tears started to form but I held back. No, I wouldn't let my mistakes tear me down. When we let go, I looked down and blushed.
„Now that's the kiss I meant." I laughed and threw a sea prunes at him. I shouldn't have felt this guilty about kissing him. But I did and no amount of reassurance would heal me.
„You're dumb." I said with a smile. A smile forced upon my face.
„And you like that." I scoffed and got. He got up too. A little girl then walked over to us and smiled widely.
„Can you show me some more waterbending, master Katara?" She said tugging at my skirt. I kneeled down and patted her head.
„Sure I can." I got up and took her hand. I turned around and waved at Nohran. He winked at me and turned back to watch the sunset. We began walking further away from him.
Could this be a new beginning?