A/N: Happy Tuesday, readers! I am happy to announce that this will be the last chapter I'll post as a twelve year old. Next Sunday is my thirteenth birthday! I don't know if my age is a shock or not...Also, another original story chapter! I don't think I've posted one of those since the end of Book One. Good things all around :)
Chapter 32 response:
Vapor23: Hi, Vapor! Thanks for reviewing. I agree, Aang's anger issues are really strong here, but you have to take into account that Long Feng threatened them with Appa, and we all know what happens when someone messes with Appa...I'm glad you enjoyed the extra scene I added, that was the main point I was excited to get to writing that chapter. And yes, Katara keeping the group together is always great :) And poor Aang, despite his fuming, is trying his best. Kiri's panic attacks are so sad, especially considering the fact that she's only 10 :( We're all glad that Aang is there to comfort her, though. I agree, she should not be blaming herself for what has happened. Kiri's going to be absolutely wrecked when Aang is in a coma. I can't wait to write that chapter, I've been thinking about it since I first started this story, loll! Thank you for your continued support, and I hope you enjoy this chapter, especially because it's an original story chapter. I know you love those :)
My eyes snapped open, my breath hitching from the memories of yet another nightmare. This time, I was shown Appa being sliced at by sandbender's whips, blood pouring from his obtained wounds. It ended with Long Feng, his lips curled into a sadistic, calculated smile, saying those same words in my head:
"Now look what happened,"
I cradled myself, my breaths coming out shaky and forced. I watched as Aang stirred, faint shadows beneath his eyes.
"Kiri, what's wrong?" He asked, his exhausted voice barely above a whisper.
My pained whimper answered his question.
His gaze, although tired, softened. He pulled me into his arms, and I let out a sob, tightening my grip on his shawl.
We sat there for a moment, the noises of nighttime being the only thing breaking our silence. I felt hot tears on my shoulder, and heard a deep breath that wasn't my own. My heart ached for Aang. He had never been afraid to cry, to express his emotions, but it always broke me whenever he did. I held him closer, a wet sob escaping my lips.
"Stop crying," I said, my voice soft and full of sadness, "You're making me cry,"
"Well, I'm only crying because you're crying," He replied, slight amusement in his tone.
I giggled, pulling away from him.
"Okay, then," I began, wiping the tears from my cheeks, "Lets both stop crying,"
He nodded, wiping his own tears. My gaze shifted to outside. The sky was still dark, the full moon casting a soft glow on the streets. I thought of Yue, a bittersweet smile coming to my face. I wondered how she was doing, and if she was watching over us, especially Sokka. I had gotten over his rejection, making peace with the fact he was much older than me and didn't reciprocate the feelings I had.
"Do you want to try going back to sleep?" Aang asked.
I didn't turn to look at him. I didn't need to. I took a deep breath, memories of my nightmares flooding my mind.
"No, I don't think I can,"
"That's okay, I don't think I'd be able to sleep, either," He replied.
There was silence for a moment as I continued to stare out the window, trying to keep away the nightmares that ate at my mind. A gentle breeze blew through the window, tousling the green curtains near my bed. I turned to Aang, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips.
"Wanna go for a walk?" I asked.
His eyes widened, if only for a second, before softening, a smile coming to his face.
"Sure,"
We tiptoed throughout the house, our steps light in an attempt to not make any noise. Aang slowly turned the doorknob, a quiet creak emitting from it. We gave each other worried glances, hoping the noise didn't wake anyone up, before stepping out of the door. I slowly shut the door, making as little noise as possible. Once the door was closed, I let out a deep breath. I looked to Aang, fighting the urge to laugh. For some reason, laughing is always harder to avoid when you have to be quiet. We began to walk down the steps, escaping into the cool spring night.
The wind blew peacefully, its presence shaking the blossoming trees. I let out a deep sigh of exhilaration, outstretching my arms wide as to welcome the breeze.
"Isn't this great?" I asked, joy evident in my tone.
I spun in a circle, my laughter ringing through the quiet nighttime air. Aang, using the breeze to his advantage, moved his arm in an arc of motion, sending wind whipping through the sky and shaking the leaves off of trees. I stopped walking, taking time to clap for my brother.
"Well done, Master Aang," I said in a fancy voice, my tone filled with amusement.
"Why thank you, Novice Akira," Aang replied cockily with an exaggerated bow.
I raised an eyebrow, my eyes narrowing in mock annoyance.
"Be careful, you don't wanna bonk your big head on the air," I said.
Aang stood from his bow, his eyes widening in mock offense.
"First of all, it was Sokka's fault that we bonked heads, not mine," He stated, "Second of all, rude!"
I giggled softly into my hands. When I looked up, I saw that Aang's expression had gone completely blank, his eyes glued to the moon as if he were in a trance.
"Aang?" I said, my eyebrow cocking in confusion, "Is everything okay?"
He didn't respond, only continuing to stare aimlessly at the moon.
"Hello?" I continued, waving a hand over his glossy grey eyes, "Anyone home?"
He blinked suddenly, seemingly being put out of his trance.
"What?" He sputtered, confused.
"You kinda went into a trance there," I explained, "You were staring at the moon, and you wouldn't talk,"
"Sorry," Aang apologized, a blush creeping up his cheeks, "It just seemed like it was…calling to me,"
I rolled my eyes, "Aang, the last time something was 'calling to you' it was a weird swamp that gave us visions,"
"I don't think it's like that," He said, "It's a full moon tonight,"
"Mhm," I replied with a nod, "So what?"
"Katara once told me that she has a hard time sleeping on nights with full moons, because all she wants to do is waterbend," My brother explained, "It's like- the moon pulls her,"
"I think that's happening to me,"
"So, you want us to find you a pond or something?" I asked.
Aang looked back at me, a sincere smile on his face.
"Yeah, I'd like that,"
As we searched for a body of water, Aang was so carefree, seemingly drunken by the pull of the full moon. We laughed and danced on the streets, and I felt happier than I had in weeks. Eventually, we made our way to a river. It was large, and definitely deep, a concrete bridge placed in an arch above it. Aang laughed breathily, running toward the edge of the bridge. He quickly began twisting his arms in concentrated motion, the water around him spiraling with every move. The water had become an extension of his very senses, as it twisted in turned into circles around him. Eventually, he had created a large sphere of water, freezing it with one swift movement. He stepped back, smiling contently at his ice ball, before shattering it into millions of pieces. I watched as jagged ice shards hit the water, beginning to melt back into the seas they had derived from. I clapped, not out of mocking, a smile on my face. Wordlessly, Aang stood on the ledge of the bridge, his feet shuffling closer to the very edge.
"What are you doing?" I asked, my tone a mix of apprehension and confusion.
"I wanna swim," Aang replied simply.
My eyes widened in shock.
"Swim?" I repeated, "Aang, it's like-three in the morning!"
"So what?" He responded, "It's not like the time affects my swimming ability,"
"Well, for one, you'd have to take off your clothes," I began, "And, I'm pretty sure that's breaking a few laws here,"
"Yeah, that'd make a pretty crazy headline," Aang stated through a laugh, "'Avatar Aang arrested for swimming in his underwear at night,'"
"But, what if I just do it fully clothed?"
I cocked an eyebrow.
"Fully clothed?" I echoed, "Like- shoes and everything?"
"Well, maybe not the shoes, those could weigh me down," He replied, "But the rest? Yeah,"
I shook my head in amusement and disbelief, "I want whatever crazy full-moon juice your on,"
"Then do it with me,"
I blinked in surprise, "What?"
Aang was sitting down, slipping off his right shoe.
"Swim with me," He said.
"No, Aang, I couldn't-" I sighed, the words becoming lost in my throat, "It'd be breaking the law,"
"Come on, Kiri, He responded, "This place sucks, anyway, why not make the most of it while we're here?"
I looked down, weighing my options. On one hand, we could get arrested, and potentially not ever find Appa, but on the other, we could simply not get caught, and make the most of our time in the worst city on earth.
"Okay,"
Aang smiled brightly.
"Alright!" He exclaimed, "Take off your shoes, Kiri, we're going for a swim!"
I giggled, moving to slip off my boots. Somehow, it seemed that the full moon had brought my brother back. He wasn't the sullen, dark, shell of a person he had become after Appa's kidnapping, he wasn't even the avoidant, irresponsible kid he was when we first started our journey. He was the way he had been before anything had happened. Back when we lived at the Air Temple, and played together all day. I silently thanked Yue, even though it wasn't exactly her doing. After I finished taking off my shoes, I stood next to Aang on the ledge. He grabbed my hand, and we locked gazes.
"You ready?" He asked.
"Ready," I confirmed with a nod.
"Okay, on the count of three,"
"One…"
Suddenly, a devilish idea came to my mind.
"Two…"
Just before Aang could say three, I pushed him into the water. He fell in, a large splash coming up from it. I began to laugh uncontrollably, the sound ringing through the air. Aang came up to the surface, sputtering and coughing. He glared at me, water dripping down his face. I only continued to laugh, pointing at him.
"You should've seen the look on your face!" I teased in amusement.
Suddenly, I felt something wrap around my leg, and I was dragged into the water. The pressure popped in my ears, and I felt as if gravity didn't exist, if only for a second, before my ears popped again and I bobbed back to the surface. I coughed, water spraying from my mouth. Aang was heartily laughing, pointing as I had been doing to him mere moments before. I rolled my eyes, lightly splashing him. He paused his laughter, responding to the splash with a sly smirk. My eyes widened at the sight of the wave that towered above him, fear settling like a pit in my gut. I shrieked as the splash came over me, once again going underwater. When I came back up, Aang was uncontrollably laughing once again. I glared at him, my eyes narrowing in agitation. Eventually, my facade of annoyance lifted, and I let out a joyful cackle.
For a while, Aang and I swam, splashing each other and laughing. It was as if nothing bad had ever happened to us, every worry we'd ever had disappearing.
But it wouldn't last forever.
"Hey, you kids get out of there!" A voice shouted, its exclaim gruff and threatening.
A sharp gasp escaped my lips, and without a second thought, I practically leaped out of the water. Aang followed behind me, his bellowing laughter ringing in the night air. We ran as fast as the wind could take us, my wet hair hitting my face. I hadn't even stopped to dry myself, too scared of getting in trouble to care. I didn't understand why my brother was laughing, but then again, he was basically moon-drunk, so it was probably just the heightened dopamine making him think everything was funny. Eventually, I stopped running in front of a blossoming tree, propping myself against the trunk as I let out a deep breath. Aang sat next to me, softly chuckling. I felt a laugh rise in my throat, and decided to let it out. We laughed hard, harder than we had in weeks. At what? I wasn't sure. I don't think Aang was very sure, either. But we were cackling like two hyenas for so long that my side began to hurt.
Finally, the laughter subdued, and I took a moment to catch my breath from the rush of recent events. I watched as Aang looked at his bare feet, his eyes widening.
"Oh, crap," He gasped, putting a hand to his head, "Our shoes,"
I looked down at my own feet, which were also bare, a sigh of exasperation escaping my lips.
"Well…" I began, "We could go back?"
"Yeah," Aang agreed, his gaze distant in thought, "But…do we really want to?"
I thought for a moment. That guy could very well be back there, waiting for the two strange children who had bolted into the trees after getting caught playing in a river to come back for their shoes, just so he could turn us in or something. Besides, we could always get them back later.
"Not really," I said.
I looked around, unable to recognize any sort of path we had bolted down. We were in a dark forest of blossoming trees, and everything looked the same as far as my eyes could see.
"I don't even know how we would get back,"
Aang then took his time to look around, concern and exasperation etching into his features. He muttered a certain word starting with s that I knew I couldn't repeat.
"Ooh," I giggled quietly, like a small child who had heard a bad word for the first time.
He looked back to me, his eyes widening with the realization I had heard him.
"Don't say that," He said quickly, as if on command.
I laughed softly into my hands.
"Don't worry, I won't," I stated in amusement.
Then, an idea came to my mind, a smile tugging at the corners of my lips.
I quietly said the word, but loud enough for Aang to hear. He turned his head, exasperated.
"What did I just say?"
"Sorry," I giggled.
He turned his head, and I said it again, but louder.
"Kiri," He groaned, irritation rising in his voice.
"Sorry, that was the last time," I said, "I promise,"
I stayed silent for a few beats, watching as Aang picked up a twig. I said the word again, even louder.
"Kiri…" Aang grumbled, a warning edge in his tone.
For some reason, I just felt like being annoying, antagonizing him further. I began saying the word over and over, turning it into my own irritating little song. I watched as Aang's grip on the twig intensified, as I was getting to the second verse of my song, it snapped.
"Akira!"
He had yelled my name, my full name, so loud that you could probably hear it from Omashu. He gave me a look of pure anger, the look that I had associated with memories from the desert, or just hours ago with Long Feng. My eyes widened. Apparently, Aang himself hadn't expected the outburst, and he looked just as shocked as I. All traces of anger erased from his face, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. He pulled me into his arms, his familiar scent of vanilla and powder filling my nose.
"I'm so sorry for snapping at you," He stated, his voice cracking with emotion, "I shouldn't have let my anger get to me,"
I wrapped my arms around him, my mind finally processing the events.
"No, Aang, I'm the one that should be apologizing," I said, "I was egging you on, even after you told me to stop, I'm sorry,"
"I should've handled it better," Aang said, "I didn't have to yell at you,"
"It's not your fault," I stated, sincerity in my tone, "You can't control it,"
Aang's grip on me tightened, his teeth gritting.
"That's the problem," He grumbled, "I lose my temper, and I hurt people,"
"I called you useless, I yelled at Toph, I killed that buzzard wasp..."
My eyes widened in shock at the last part, but I decided to not pry, keeping silent.
"And the worst part is…" He continued, his voice cracking under the weight of his emotions, "I think I'm giving it to you,"
My eyes widened in shock, the idea that my brother had passed on his anger issues to me resting heavily on my shoulders. There was no way…I could control myself!
Couldn't I?
"Aang, we don't know if that's true," I said, trying to convince myself more than him.
"I can tell," He stated, emotion rising in his tone, "When you threatened that lady after her animal whipped Appa, when you slapped the mayor of Chin Village, how badly you wanted to kill those sandbenders…"
"It's all because of me,"
My heart broke for him, tears forming in my eyes.
"You wanna know what made me have to tell Sokka and Katara?" Aang asked.
I nodded, sniffing.
"Well, I decided not to go to waterbending practice so I could watch you, so Katara went by herself," He began, "When she came back, she told me that Master Pakku had said your injuries were no excuse, and that he expected me back in class,"
"I got so mad, and I stomped over to his training area to give him a piece of my mind," He continued, his voice hardening in recollection, "He told me that unless I was the injured one, that I should come to class, and that it would be a surprise if I were injured, because he didn't expect that weakness from an Avatar,"
His grip on me tightened, his voice rising with anger.
"I started cursing him out, and he told me to get into anger management classes before we spoke again,"
My eyes narrowed, just imagining the sly look on Pakku's face. Of course, he hadn't known anger management was a sensitive topic for my brother, but for some reason, it still left a boiling sensation in my gut just to think about it.
"I'm sorry that happened, Aang," I said, trying to hide the anger in my voice, "He had no right to say that to you,"
"Thanks, Kiri," My brother replied, "But, that's not all,"
"After I told them, Katara asked if you had anger issues," He said, "I told her no, but after remembering you get so mad, I-"
"I think I was wrong,"
"I failed you as a brother, Akira," He said, his voice shaking with tears, "I wrapped you up into my problems, gave you my stupid anger issues, and made you think you're useless,"
My breath hitched, Aang's words echoing in my mind.
"I THINK YOU COULDN'T SAVE HIM BECAUSE YOU'RE USELESS!"
"YOU'RE USELESS, AKIRA!"
"No…no, Aang, you didn't fail me," I said, my voice barely above a whisper, "You could never fail me,"
For a while, we just sat there, crying silently into each other's shoulders.
"Does Toph know?" Aang asked, breaking our silence.
My eyes widened in confusion, my brows furrowing slightly.
"About what?"
"My…you know," My brother began, strain in his tone, "Issues,"
My face settled in understanding, the prior night replaying in my mind.
"Yeah," I responded, "Katara started telling her, but she figured it out on her own,"
Aang let out a deep, shaky breath.
"I'm such an idiot for yelling at you guys like that, you were just trying to help," He sighed, "I'm going to apologize when we get home,"
"I think that sounds good," I stated.
"Listen, Kiri," Aang began, his voice hardening with resolve, "I don't want you going down the path I've been,"
He pulled out of our hug, his hands tightly gripping my arms.
"I'm going to try and help you by using some of the breathing exercises I learned in meditation class," He stated, "I'll start doing them, too,"
"And I'll help you by showing you some stuff I do to calm myself down when I'm mad," I added, a soft smile tugging at my lips, "We'll help each other,"
My brother smiled, affection shining through his features.
"Yeah. We'll help each other,"
We stayed at the tree for a few minutes, a peaceful silence shared between us. I watched as the wind blew, shaking blossoming leaves from the trees.
"We should probably head back for our shoes," Aang stated, although his tone sounded as if he wasn't too eager to do so.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," I sighed, standing up.
We began to walk through the forest, the moonlight casting a soft glow on our features. The sound of wind rustling the treetops and the occasional hoot of a cat-owl rang in our ears. I thought about our conversation, my own words playing in my head.
"We'll help each other,"
We'd help each other, just like we always had.
When I was little, around five or six, I'd have frequent, vivid nightmares of men in masks. They'd trap me in rooms, cackling as I screamed and cried. I'd rush into Aang's room, tears streaming down my face. He'd hold me every time, whispering reassurances into my ear. Despite being only seven or eight, my brother already served as my main source of comfort and support.
Once, when he was seven, Aang had scraped his knee really badly after falling out of a tree. I immediately came to his rescue, putting a bandaid on the wound and giving it a kiss afterward.
We'd always look out for each other, no matter what the circumstances were.
Thinking about our childhood at the Southern Air Temple brought my brain into a spiral of longing for the past and guilt for losing Appa.
"Stop," I thought, "Don't think about that, not right now,"
We came upon the river, seeing our shoes perched against the bridge wall. There was no sign of the man, so I raced over, slipping my boots back on.
"So," Aang began, putting on his own shoes, "Are we gonna keep walking?"
"Yeah, sure," I replied, "Unless you want to go home?"
I noticed the shadows under my brother's eyes had darkened, his posture slightly faltering under the weight of his exhaustion. I myself was beginning to be dragged under the pull of fatigue, but the lingering fear of nightmares made sleep a mere illusion. The initial carefree elation Aang displayed was gone, replaced by dull tiredness. I figured it was due to the guilt over his anger, mixed with the faltering nighttime as the first signs of sunlight flickered through the trees.
"No, I don't," He replied, his tone simple but carrying something deeper, "We'll keep going,"
A silence filled the air between us, unspoken, quiet gratitude shared in our minds. The sun had become higher in the sky, its light shining on our tired faces. Suddenly, Aang stopped, breaking our path and sluggishly stumbling toward a nearby tree. He slumped down, tiredly sighing. Wordlessly, I plopped down next to him. My brother shut his eyes, his head tilting back and hitting the trunk of the tree. I looked down, seeing a singular white flower in the dewy grass. I plucked it from its roots, twisting it in my hand and watching as it spun in a blur of white. I felt my face warm, and looked up to see the sun rising above the treetops, its presence bringing a beautiful display of orange and yellow. My eyes widened in awe, a soft gasp escaping my lips. I turned to Aang, who looked like he was sleeping, lightly shaking his shoulder. He snapped awake, tired and delirious. I saw how the light shined on his drooping eyes, their color reminiscent of the clouds above us.
"Look at the sunrise," I said, pointing ahead.
Aang nodded tiredly, looking up. Immediately, his eyes widened in the same awe mine had moments before. I scooted closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder with a satisfied smile on my face.
"It's beautiful," Aang marveled, tired amazement in his voice.
I took a moment longer to stare at the sunset, a surge of hope pouring through me. Throughout everything we had been through, every time we had struggled to find reason to keep going, every time we thought we couldn't find our way out of a situation, the sun was always there, rising and setting in a daily routine. Even if everything changed, even if we could never go back, the sun would always stay there, rising and setting without fail. I turned back to my brother, noticing that he was struggling to keep his eyes open. I smiled softly at the sight, appreciating Aang for coming on a walk with me. For foreseeing my troubles, even if they were minuscule. For not only being my brother, but also my best friend and biggest supporter.
"Come on, we should probably head back now," I said, standing up.
Aang stirred, his half-consciousness evident.
"M'kay…" He mumbled, "I'd probably pass out if we didn't,"
I giggled, helping him up.
When we arrived back home, everybody was still asleep. I quietly slipped into my bedroom, climbing into bed without bothering to pull off the covers.
"G'night, Kiri…" Aang said, obviously close to falling asleep where he stood.
"Night," I replied, despite the fact the sun was shining in the light of a young morning.
As Aang turned to leave, I felt a swirling worry surge in my chest. What if I had another nightmare? Or a panic attack?
"Aang?"
He turned around, looking into my eyes.
"Can you stay with me?"
Without hesitation, or even words, Aang walked over, lightly waving his hand as to gesture for me to move over. I obliged, and he crawled in, also not bothering to take off the covers.
"Thank you," I whispered, my quiet voice full of gratitude.
"You're…welcome," Aang replied, his words slurring as he drifted off, "Love you,"
I smiled softly.
"Love you, too,"