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Chapter 19: Epilogue

A frown crossed Katara's face as her hand fell away from her mouth. The disturbing and confusing images of her dream faded and dissipated like a mist in the morning sun. The only image she still remembered was a kiss. Not even an image really, just a feeling. She was sure her dream had ended with a kiss.

Slowly, she stood up and surveyed the woods around her. She had the strangest feeling of deja vu.

What had she been doing?

She screwed her eyes closed in frustration, trying to remember.

I was taking a walk, checking out the perimeter of our campsite. I must have fallen asleep. Or maybe I fell down. Must have been a pretty bad tumble. That would explain these scratches.

Judging by the dark sky she'd been out for a few hours.

I need to get back to camp before Sokka has a leopard cow.

Katara began to make her way in a direction she hoped would lead her back to camp.

As she walked through a clearing in the trees, she looked up and saw the moon shining. Hmm, that's odd. I thought the moon was full tonight.

Zuko awoke in a clearing. He groaned as feeling returned and he reached a hand to a dull throbbing in his shoulder. He felt terrible and not just physically. He knew he wouldn't have just lain down to sleep in a clearing like that.

What had happened?

He scowled as he tried to force the memories to return. He got up and began walking; perhaps the movement would incite a spark of understanding.

His ostrich horse was standing nearby. He walked over to it and reached into his saddle bag for the canteen.

Great. Now I've lost my canteen.

As he tried to remember when he last used the canteen a flash of memory returned.

I was being pursued. I'd sent the beast away and...

And...

Nothing.

Surely I didn't pass out

Disgusted by just the thought of that kind of weakness, Zuko mounted the animal and drove it forward through the brush.

Iroh sat up and stretched his aching muscles.

Wow, I haven't had a nap like that since...

A strange feeling overwhelmed him as his mind fully awoke. He looked at his surroundings. He was alone at the mouth of a small cave.

Something's not right.

His eyes felt swollen and dry and he felt a strange sense of grief. Iroh tugged at the far reaches of his mind trying to make sense of the disturbing emotions. His thoughts immediately went to his nephew.

Zuko.

As his mind focused on the troubled teen, Iroh felt an urgency rise within him.

I need to find him.

"Hey. Sokka, wake up" Aang said groggily as he poked the other boy with his staff.

"Hmph," came the muffled reply as Sokka rolled away and hid his face in his arm.

"I think we fell asleep." Aang continued as he went over to Toph and cautiously nudged her shoulder. He'd learned his lesson to tread carefully when waking up the earthbender.

"What's going on?" Toph asked as she pushed herself off the hard ground and stretched her arms and yawned widely.

"I guess we made camp here last night. I can't really remember. Hey, where's Katara?"

Sokka bolted upright.

"Wow, Snoozles can move pretty quickly when he wants to."

Sokka looked around feeling the first pangs of panic.

"Katara!" he yelled and then jumped to his feet as a full blown bellow erupted from his mouth.

"Ka-ta-ra!"

"I'm right here, Sokka. Stop yelling." Katara said calmly as she came into view.

"Where were you?"

"I think I might have fallen down," and then seeing the stricken look on her brother's face, hurried on, "I'm okay. I just have these scratches on my arms and I can go take care of them right now."

Katara walked past her still gawping brother. She knelt down by the edge of the lake they had chosen to camp beside. As her hands began to glow, the strangest feeling came over her. She closed her eyes and a fleeting image flickered in her mind.

She was kneeling, as she was now. Her hands were glowing and she was reaching forward to...

to...

And it was gone as quickly as it came.

Katara shook her head to dispel the beginnings of frustration.

"Katara, are you sure you're okay?" asked the young monk as he studied her carefully, his gray eyes full of concern.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about a weird dream I had, but I can't remember it."

Aang looked at Katara and then around at the group. Something was wrong. He felt like he was missing something important.

"Why were we all asleep on the ground like this? Do you remember landing here?" he asked no one in particular.

"I kind of remember. I guess we were really tired." Sokka said as he dug through his pack. "I'm starving. I felt like I haven't eaten in days."

"Sokka, you always feel that way." Katara answered. Her stomach chose that moment to growl loudly and she walked over to her brother. "You know, I'm really hungry, too. What have you got in there to eat?"

As the Water Tribe siblings dug out some food from the packs, Aang stared off into the distance. The last time he had felt something weird like this was back at the swamp right before a freak tornado had appeared. Aang's eyes darted skyward.

"Whew." No tornado, but still.

Author's Notes

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