Ah, my first Avatar story. Feels good to branch out a bit from the Star Wars universe...heh. (but don't worry, I still heart KOTOR, just having a bit of writer's block for Beautiful Darkness...but still working on it)
Rated T for for violence, tragedy, and some nice Kataang fluffiness. Reviews are always appreciated.
Disclaimer: I own nothing...damn it!
Nightmares of the Past
Fire blazed throughout the South Pole's tiny Water Tribe village. Watch towers made of snow and ice toppled effortlessly to the ground, causing the ice to shake violently beneath the feet of the terrified inhibitors.
Katara and Sokka huddled together inside the safety of their hut, as they watched the enless waves of Fire Nation soldiers destroy everything around them. "Why are they doing this, Sokka?" she cried, gripping the front of her older brother's tunic, as if holding on for dear life.
Sokka frowned and hugged her tighter. "The Fire Nation are evil, Katara," he glanced down at his trembling sister and forced an encouraging smile. "but don't worry, dad will put a stop to them. You'll see."
Katara prayed to the Gods that he was right.
All around them, they could hear the sounds of men, women and children screaming. They could see bodies scattered across the ice. Katara shrieked as they witnessed a single Fire Nation soldier attack one of the elders of the tribe, Mitsuo Li, one of the most beloved story-tellers. The old man yelled in agony before falling, silently, to the ground.
Katara screamed and buried her face in Sokka's tunic. "No! Mitsuo..."
Before Sokka could try to comfort his sister, a sudden fire blast landed directly in front of the window that they were standing in front of, causing the children to scream out in terror. A set of powerful hands gripped them both by the shoulders, pulling them away from the window, just before the glass splintered and shattered around their bare feet.
Gasping, Katara and Sokka looked up to see their mother, breathing heavily as she clung to her children tightly. "Are you two alright?"
Sokka nodded affirmatively. "We're fine," he panted, still trying to recover. "Where's dad? Is he okay?"
Their mother released her grip on the kids, a look of pure fear crossing over her pretty face. "He went to get Gran-Gran and bring her to us," she whispered. "They should have been back by now..." her voice trailed off.
Katara hugged onto her mother's arm, and looked over at her brother. "What if the Fire Nation captured him? Or worse...?"
Sokka scowled and gripped his sister by the shoulders. "Don't talk like that!" he shouted, shaking Katara roughly enough that it caused her teeth to chatter. "Don't you ever say that!"
"Ow! Sokka! You're hurting me!" the girl cried, tears forming in her eyes.
"Sokka! Let go of her!" his mother scolded him, gently prying the children apart. "This is no time for you to be fighting."
The boy nodded an apology. "You're right. I'm sorry, sis."
After a few moments of silence, their mother stood and glanced at the door. "I'm going to go look for your father and Gran-Gran." she hugged her children tightly before heading towards the door. "Stay here. If you hear anyone approach, hide."
"Momma! No, it's too dangerous!" Katara cried, gripping the sleeve of her mother tunic, trying to tug her back into the room.
Their mother looked down at Katara, a sad smile slowly spreading on her lips. "I'll be right back, baby. I promise."
"If you're going, I'm going, too." Sokka replied, grabbing his boomerang. "I'll protect you."
"You'll do no such thing, young man." she said sternly. "You need to stay here and protect your sister. "
Sokka pouted. "But mom, I'm a strong warrior. I can fight!"
His mother smiled admiringly at her son. "I know you are, my young warrior," she whispered, kneeling down in front of him. "This is an important mission that I have given you. Protect your sister. Can you do that for me?"
The young boy nodded proudly. "I can. I will."
"Momma, please! Stay here with us. I don't want you to go." Katara's eyes filled with tears. "Please stay."
Her mother smiled affectionately at her. Slowly, she reached behind her head and unfastened the necklace that clung to her neck, and placed it around Katara's. "Here, Katara. Can you hold onto this for me until I get back? It'll be my promise to you that I will return."
The little girl fingered the jewel that rested in the middle of the necklace, it was loose-fitting around her tiny frame, and looked at her mother. Tears ran down her small, tanned face. "You promise?"
She stood, and placed a kiss on each of their foreheads. "I promise." Walking over to the door, she glanced back at her children, and whispered, "I love you," before closing the door behind her.
Hours later, their mother had still not returned. The fighting and screaming outside had subsided and an eerie silence echoed through the village.
Katara had fallen asleep against her brother, head resting on his shoulder. Sokka sat against the wall quietly, staring at the door, waiting for it to open and their mother and father to return.
The children jumped when the door finally did open. Their father and Gran-Gran stood at the entrance, faces grim. But the children paid no attention.
Their eyes were focused on the limp figure in their father's arms. "She's gone."
Katara's eye burned with the threat of tears, her hand going immediately to her mother's necklace.. "Momma!" she screamed, her legs bucked and she fell to the floor. "She promised!"
Their tiny hut began to shake, the walls of ice splintered. The ocean's waves began to grow strong and powerful.
"Katara!"
"She promised!"
"Katara!"
Katara shot up straight in bed, breathing heavily, beads of sweat mixed with tears slid slowly down the sides of her face. She jumped when she felt a hand gently touch her shoulder. She looked over to see the face of a concerned thirteen year old boy. "Aang?"
"Are you okay?" he asked softly, slowly sitting next to her on the bed. "You were screaming and crying in your sleep. I thought I had better wake you." he paused, his grey-blue eyes searching her face for answers. "Did you have a nightmare?"
Katara nodded slowly, still trying to catch her breath, and slid her covers away, and placed her feet on the stone floor. It felt cool and refreshing.
She glanced around to see that Sokka and Toph were still sleeping. She wiped away a stray tear and turned back to Aang. "I'm sorry I woke you. You can go back to sleep. I'm fine."
The young Avatar frowned. "Not until I know that you're okay," he looked down at the bed sheets, thinking, then glanced back at Katara. "Do you wanna take a walk and talk about what you dreamed?"
Katara thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.
A few moments later, they were walking along the shoreline, their bare feet in the cool ocean water, as Katara told Aang everything. "That's how it really happened." she glanced towards the seemingly endless water. It was still dark out and the moon cast a beautiful glow along the ocean. "The day my mother died was when I realized I was a water bender." she stopped walked and lifted her hand slightly, calling the water to her.
Aang didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry, Katara." he laughed humorlessly. "Some great Avatar I am."
Katara frowned, confused. "What do you mean?"
The boy toed at the sand with his foot. "I'm supposed to save the world, but I can't help you ease the pain of losing your mother." he paused and looked down. "And if I hadn't have ran away, you're mother would still be with you. It's my fault."
Katara placed a hang on his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Aang. And you have helped ease the pain."
Aang looked over at her curiously. "I have?"
She nodded. "Before we found you, our tribe had no hope. You brought fun and laughter back to our tribe. Back to Sokka and I."
Aang smiled sadly. "But it's not enough."
"Aang," Katara said softly, turning him around to face her. "the pain of losing my mother will never go away. But you have helped ease that pain, whether you realize it or not."
Aang blushed slightly. "I'm glad."
Katara nodded and smiled at the boy. She had always been amazed at how much Aang cared about every living thing, and every single person who entered his life. A feeling of adoration that grew more powerful every time he did something that would catch her off guard, just when she thought she had him all figured out. She had feelings for him that she couldn't quite pin-point. He was truly special. He would risk his life for her, Sokka and Toph, or a complete stranger.
Just like her mother had risked her life for them and their father.
They continued to walk in silence before they found a large log and sat down, leaning against it. Katara pulled her knees up to her chest, locking her arms around them, and stared up at the stars.
She reached up and touched the necklace that she still wore around her neck. Will someone ever love me the way my mom and dad loved each other?
"Katara?" Aang's voice broke through her thoughts. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was just thinking..." she said, her voice soft. "if there would ever be anyone who could love me the way my parents loved each other. They way my mom sacrificed her life to go out and look for my father."
Aang watched as a tear slid down Katara's tan cheeks, his heart pounding so loud in his chest, he was sure she could hear it. With a trembling hand, he reached over and gently brushed the tear away. "Someone already does."
Katara's head jerked over to look at him, her eyes wide. "What?"
Color rushed to Aang's cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck. "I...well...I would do anything for you, Katara. You know that right?"
She nodded slowly.
"Do you know why I would do anything for you? Even if it meant sacrificing my own life?"
Katara tried to respond, but she couldn't find the worlds or the energy to make her mouth form anything coherent.
"It's because I love you, Katara. I love you the way your parents loved each other. I have for a very long time." he paused and dropped his head, "I know that you probably don't have the same feelings for me, Katara. That's okay, I don't expect you to. I just..."
Before Katara knew what she was doing, she silenced him with a kiss. Why does this feel so...right?
She started to break the kiss when he didn't respond, but Aang gently pulled her back into it, an arm sliding around her waist, drawing her slender body closer to him. He used his other hand to gently grip her chin and lowered his head to kiss her again.
The kiss was longer, slower this time, both pouring all of their emotions into the feeling. They were both breathless when they finally broke apart.
Katara smiled and rested her head on Aang's shoulder and closed her eyes. Neither of them spoke; there was no need for words. So they sat, for the longest time, in each others arms, staring at the stars.
It wasn't until Aang could hear Katara's slow breathing that he realized that she had fallen asleep. His shoulder was starting to go numb from the pressure of her head, but he didn't mind. He used his free hand to bend the sand into a blanket and placed it over the two of them. He smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Sweet dreams, Katara."
Well, that's it. My first Avatar story. I hope you enjoyed it. I apologize for any spelling and grammer errors, my beta's outta town, but I tried my best to find and correct everything. Plus it's three in the morning so I take no blame for anything stupid that I just wrote lol. Hope my beta doesn't send a bounty hunter after me for posting this without her..hehehe.