"Just hold still, I know it hurts..."
Currently on the shores of a river near the mid Earth Kingdom, Katara tried to calm her brother, who was convulsing in pain. She had submerged practically all of his body except his face in the water, hoping that it would both ease his suffering and provide her with plenty of water to further treat his wounds. Toph had used her Earthbending to help carry him over here. Aang was tending to Appa for the moment, something that actually irritated Katara a bit: her brother was in immense pain and should have clearly been everyone's first priority, but part of her acknowledged that the young Airbender was probably still reeling from the reality of their situation. Or maybe he was having trouble coping with yet another of his friends being scorched by flames, after that first time with Katara herself.
Not that this was remotely close to the same. Katara's injuries during Aang's brief mishap with Firebending had been superficially painful, but quite light, particularly in comparison to the shape Sokka was in. His burns were utterly gruesome, with layers of skin burned away to depths Katara didn't even know existed. She had, of course, experienced the types of burns that simply left one's skin red, but there were spots on Sokka's body either a pure white or a charred black. like coals from a fire. Most of that damage was concentrated near his abdomen, where that bastard Firebender had struck him. Naturally, this was also where Katara was focusing most of her healing efforts. Sokka had other, lighter burns elsewhere on his body, but those clearly were not as threatening.
Worst of all was the fact that Katara had no idea if she was really helping that much. It had been a few days since Sokka had sustained this terrible injuries, and of course she had done her best to tend to him immediately after the fight and in every waking moment afterwards. But her brother barely seemed any better off now than he had been right after the fight. He was still constantly slipping in and out of consciousness, and whenever he was awake, he was nearly mad with pain. He'd barely spoken or even eaten in the past few days.
And what if there was just nothing she could do? While she had frowned on all of those healing lessons at the time, Katara remembered everything she had been taught about the art while at the Northern Water Tribe. According to all of the masters, healing didn't miraculously overcome all wounds. It just directed the body's natural recovery towards the injury with more focus, which accelerated the healing process. That was great and all, but it also meant that no matter how skilled a healer one was, they couldn't restore injuries beyond the body's natural ability to recover. Unfortunately, Katara had no idea if that was the nature of Sokka's wounds: having been out of the war for most of it, even the masters of the Northern Water Tribe had not imparted much knowledge on treating burns of this magnitude.
As her brother convulsed with another surge of pain and loosed a stifled cry, Katara did her best to apply more soothing water to what she imagined must have hurt the most, all the while muttering meaningless words of comfort that Sokka probably couldn't hear and that she didn't really believe.
While doing this, the vial of water from the Spirit Oasis was burning a metaphorical hole in Katara's chest, where it rested thanks to being around her neck. Of course, when she had first gotten a chance to appraise Sokka's wounds, she had immediately decided to use it on him, but in a surprising moment of lucidity, Sokka himself had told her not to, on the logic that their supply was incredibly limited and that it may be needed for a more important cause in the future: namely, Aang.
Of course Katara understood his reasoning: the fate of the whole world rested on the shoulders of the Avatar, and powerful though he may have been, Aang wasn't invincible. There could come a time when he would need the water from the Spirit Oasis to stay alive. But even so, this was her brother. Watching him suffer was gut-wrenching.
Reaching for the vial tied around her neck, Katara was stopped short when Sokka unexpectedly managed to get an arm on knee, though this was not the result of a spasm. Though they were scrunched up in pain, his eyes held her own steadily.
"I told you... don't do that. We have to save it... for Aang. J-just... y'know, just in case..."
Unfortunately, the hoarse and raspy tone of Sokka's voice didn't do much to make his plea more convincing. Frankly, Katara had no idea how he was this strong. She was pretty sure she was crying and she wasn't the one who was hurt at all.
A few feet away from this scene, Toph had been standing quiet, listlessly casting her flawed eyes around as she listened to the exchange. Now though, she spoke up. "Gotta hand it to you, Sokka. You're tougher than I gave you credit for. Being able to handle all of this makes you more of a man than I thought."
Despite the pain he was in, the Water Tribe warrior managed a short, hoarse chuckle. "T-thanks... I just wish I could be man enough to protect my sister without ending up like this..."
Wiping the tears from her eyes, Katara was quick to try and assure him. "Don't say that! If it weren't for you, I'd be..."
Thinking on it, she couldn't help but recall the terrifying situation that had led up to all of this. That moment in which her life had come within an inch of being snuffed out. Not like it was hard to remember: over the past few days, Katara had her sleep plagued by nightmares involving the incident. That man, standing above her, rendering her helpless with his boot. That look of hatred and wrath, that loathsome glare as he charged a hellish flame in his palm to smite her... except in these nightmares, Sokka didn't appear to intervene. She didn't wake up from that nightmare until the flames engulfed her.
Seeing the consternation on her face, Sokka did his best to smile, though it was quite pained. "Yeah, I guess I did do pretty good. It's over now, Katara. That kind of situation won't happen again, I'm sure of it."
Katara's next words proved that she didn't agree with that sentiment. "Yes, it will..."
Unfortunately, there was nothing her brother could say that would convince her otherwise. Instead, he just stayed silent as Katara continued to tend to his wounds, having elected to respect his wishes regarding the water from the Spirit Oasis.
---
Hours later, with Sokka's treatment taking more time than anticipated, the group decided to simply set up camp where they were, rather than try to make any more headway during the night. Despite the earlier situation in which the Fire Nation had hunted them down, they had seen neither hide nor hair of them and their tireless machine in the past few days. For now, they were willing to take it easy. Maybe they didn't really have a choice, considering everyone's state.
Sure, technically everyone except for Sokka was unharmed, since Toph's wounds had been light enough to heal completely with Katara's help, and her own wounds had been tended to as well. And naturally, Aang had escaped unscathed. But even so, there were other wounds to consider: the psychological kind.
Their group had always taken their fight seriously. Not once had Katara viewed their struggle against the Fire Nation as some sort of game that could be taken lightly. She and everyone else had fought their enemies with the awareness that they could get hurt or worse. And yet, despite all the times they had scuffled with the Fire Nation, not a one of them had ever been wounded as grievously as Sokka had a few days ago.
It was impossible to guess why that was. Maybe they had just been consistently more skilled than the foes they were facing. Maybe their enemies had been trying to capture rather than kill them, or maybe some soldiers actually held back against kids, even if it was subconsciously. Maybe it was just that they were finally facing someone who was not only completely willing to kill them, but was skilled enough to do it.
Sitting on a rock near the river that was far removed from the camp where her friends and brother rested, Katara almost scoffed at how ridiculous her state of mind was right now. One of her foes from that group of hunters was able to shoot lightning from her fingertips, and yet, Katara found herself more frightened of the seemingly ordinary soldier that fought by her side. There was allegedly nothing special about him other than the fact that he was a good fighter. But having stared right into his eyes as he was about to kill her, Katara now found herself terrified of him.
It was hard to place why, but maybe that fear was borne out of knowledge. Maybe she had just never been close enough to one of her enemies to really see into their eyes and know what they were feeling, but so far, Katara didn't think she had faced anyone who really, truly wanted to kill her. Fight her, of course. Hurt her, likely. But even when she had come face to face with Zuko all those times he tried to capture Aang, she had never gotten the feeling that he wanted to, or was willing to, kill them just to achieve his aims.
Not like that man... he had said as much at the Beifong estate, but Katara had perceived it as little more than intimidation. But after their last battle, she knew that he was more than willing to kill any or all of them. It was sobering, and to someone who had never really felt their life threatened to that extent by someone who could actually make it happen, terrifying. Though she knew it was likely inevitable, the young Waterbender couldn't deny that she really didn't want to fight him again.
She didn't get to keep to her thoughts much longer, as a voice she instantly recognized made itself known to Katara. "There you are. Are you alright?"
Even now, Katara wondered if Aang intentionally sneaked up on people or if his footsteps were just naturally that light. She was always surprised by how quietly he could approach anyone regardless of the terrain. Glancing over her shoulder to appraise the young monk, Katara identified the unease that was on his face. Whether that was because of the overall situation or because he was talking to her right now, she had no idea.
"Alright is a strong word... I just can't get the fight out of my head."
Coming to stand beside her, Aang cast his gray gaze out to the river. "Yeah... it was definitely one of our worst... all of those fights with Zuko seem like kid's games now."
Sighing, Katara followed his gaze out to the river as well. Truth was, there were some thoughts she had about the matter regarding Aang that she was certain would upset him. Part of her wanted to express those thoughts, but a bigger part didn't want to be unnecessarily combative, even if she thought her feelings were justified. Really, she was just too tired to go out of her way to start a fight. Still, she wasn't particularly happy with Aang at the moment and she would have preferred to be alone, so she chose to just sit quietly rather than carry on a conversation.
If Aang was aware of her desire, he either thought a conversation was still worth a shot or didn't have the common sense to listen to his instincts. "I wonder if that girl is alright..."
Katara narrowed her eyes as she questioned what Aang had just said, though she got the feeling she knew who he was referring to. "What...?"
"You know, the girl with the braid. She looked pretty bad when we ran away. I hope she's okay..."
Despite her earlier sentiments, Katara felt immense fury welling up within her. She couldn't help but snap to her feet as the anger overtook her. "Are you serious right now, Aang?! Would it kill you to actually be angry at them?! Do you even care what they did to Sokka?!"
The way the young Airbender recoiled from Katara's ire made it clear that he hadn't expected to receive it. Still, he was able to muster a response."W-what? Of course I care about Sokka! I'm upset, Katara, why would you even think I'm not?"
"Because you're standing here, worrying about whether or not the people who hurt Sokka are alright! He could have died and you're standing here next to his sister legitimately concerned for their health! What's wrong with you?!"
Having not predicted this outburst at all, Aang was clearly on his back foot. He really had no idea where this had come from. Well, sure, he knew Katara wasn't in the best of moods right now, but he hadn't expected her to lash out at him about it.
"Katara, they're still people..."
Already in the thick of her anger now, Katara wasn't placated by that. She'd actually had thoughts such as these before, but she'd never felt the need to express them, least of all to the one person she knew would be most bothered by them.
"They're monsters! Monsters who hurt and kill and steal and worse for selfish, greedy reasons! When are you going to stop treating them like misguided children that can be brought back to the light and start acknowledging them as evil people who made their choice?!"
Getting a little riled up himself since his beliefs were being called into question, Aang tried to defend his point of view. "It's not just about how I perceive them, i my culture, all life is sacred-"
Having a particular thought about that she just couldn't keep under wraps, Katara cut him off. "Yeah, well, what about our lives, Aang?! Are they not sacred enough to protect? What happens when you're so busy trying to spare the lives of the people trying to kill us that they actually succeed?!"
Stopped in his tracks, Aang was clearly shaken by that assessment. "That's not what I-"
"Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you weren't holding back all of these times we've fought them?"
Completely silent in the face of this question, Aang's eyes fell. Some part of Katara felt bad for doing this to him, but at the same time, she felt that these things needed to be said. Things were different than they used to be. They couldn't afford the luxury of holding back against people like this: like that man.
"I know you missed a hundred years of their brutality, Aang, but you've got to accept the fact that some people need to be gotten rid of. It's for the greater good. You just need to accept that before they-"
Unexpectedly, this time it was Aang that snapped at her, suddenly finding some source of fire due to her words. "Before they what, Katara?! In case you've forgotten, no one has more right to be angry than me! My entire race is gone! My culture is a tattered memory that no one remembers or cares about! I'm well aware of what the Fire Nation has done, and I know what they could do from here on!"
Realizing that she had been somewhat insensitive, not to mention being cowed by the very rare display of anger from Aang of all people, Katara's own disgruntlement subsided somewhat, as she averted her eyes to the water once again.
"You're right... so why do you still care what happens to them? They took everything from you. They threaten to take away what you care about now. What more motivation do you need?"
With his own fury dissipating, Aang loosed a sigh. "It's not that simple, Katara. Like I said, I'm the last remnant of my culture. If I abandon its tenets, there will truly be nothing left. I just... don't think I can let it go. I know that even Monk Gyatso killed in his final moments, judging by all of those soldiers around his body, but I'm sure he thought that someone was going to survive him. That he could abandon our ethics to make sure they lived on at all... I'm not in that kind of position. There's no one to carry on my culture if I choose to abandon it."
Personally, Katara didn't quite agree with that sentiment, but she wasn't going to contest it. Even as agitated as she was about what had happened to Sokka, she wasn't about to condemn Aang for being so attached to what remained of his people, even in an idealistic manner. Still, she did have something else to say on the matter.
"But you know, you won't always have to be the last Airbender... in the future, you can pass on your culture to the next generation. But you do have to actually survive long enough for that to happen, you know?"
"Yeah, I know... it's just that this world already has so much fighting in it... I don't want to bring in even more suffering. Violence breeds violence."
Katara may have had something to say to that, but she didn't get to. The voice of the only other female member of the group cut in from behind the duo. "But in the end, it has to be this way. It's a world at war, Twinkletoes, not a world at peace. The fighting is going to happen whether you want it or not, and it's the kind of fighting that can only be stopped with violence."
Both Aang and Katara glanced over their shoulders to appraise the blind girl that had approached their little spot on the shore, though it was the latter that spoke.
"Is Sokka alright?"
Toph seemed to think the question was silly. "What, you think I left him squirming and crying back at camp or something? I know you don't really like me, but give me some credit."
Feeling a bit of irritation, Katara muttered to herself. "Well your attitude never does you any favors..."
The young Earthbender ignored her entirely, even though she probably heard what had been said. "Anyway, while I'd much rather just clobber someone directly, I'd like to remind that Earthbending is very good at stopping people without hurting them too bad, Twinkletoes. Bury someone who isn't an Earthbender up to their neck in dirt and bam, no more problem, still no body count. My point is, I thought you wanted me to train you, but these past few days we haven't done crap."
It was once again Katara who had something to say to that. "We kind of had more important things to worry about these past few days, Toph."
"No, you had more important things to worry about these past few days. Aang was moping. You got your butt kicked and your friend got hurt so you spent the last few days being sad. Ugh, makes me sick! Getting thrashed that badly should motivate you to train so you can whip them next time!"
Aang scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I guess you're right about that..."
Meanwhile, Katara cocked an eyebrow at the blind girl. "Oh yeah? Then why haven't you been training these past few days? You didn't do so well yourself in that fight."
Toph folded her arms as she donned an indignant expression. "Excuse me? I was going toe to toe with their strongest fighter, and I was definitely winning before I had to stop and save all of you."
Noticing an irate expression on her face before she said anything at all, Aang stepped in before another spat broke out between these two. Initially, Aang had expected the inclusion of another girl to be to Katara's liking, but she and Toph didn't seem to get along at all. He didn't really know enough about girls to get why this was the case, but he did know it was better to intervene before things got heated. Once these two got going, there was no stopping them.
"Alright, alright, I think Toph has point, but really, we should all train extra hard. Right now though, it's pretty late. First thing tomorrow, I promise."
Toph cocked an eyebrow at nobody in particular. "Doesn't seem that late to me."
Since they were going back to camp, Katara motioned at the darkened skies around them as she passed the younger girl. "That's because it's a cloudy new moon night for you every day, Toph."
The young Earthbender snorted as she turned to follow the two of them back. "Better than having to be blinded by your self-righteousness every day..."
Needless to say, the two of them started quarreling almost immediately after that exchange, prompting Aang to sigh. Really though, he would prefer this any day of the week compared to the heavy air of fatigue and depression that had cursed them these past few days. With the two of them squabbling like this, he could almost convince himself that there was nothing bigger to worry about at the moment.
A part of him wondered if the injuries that girl with the braid had suffered had caused similar problems for the warriors of the Fire Nation.
---
"Ugh... this is terrible..."
Hearing this lament, Xisheng cast his gaze over to a particular acrobat, who was leaning over the side of vessel they had commandeered from the Eastern EK outpost. They had only set sail a few hours ago, and dusk was settling over the ocean. Right from the start though, Ty Lee had handled the whole thing very poorly, being forced to spend a lot of time hunched over the rails of the boat.
With nothing better to do right now, Mai was near him, leaning against the main cabin instead of on the bench Xisheng occupied, as they both rested near the rear of the vessel, watching its wake form and disappear behind it. She seemed morbidly amused by Ty Lee's predicament.
"Of all the people to get seasick, you? You're flipping around through the air all the time, shouldn't you be used to this kind of sensation?"
Irate due to feeling miserable, Ty Lee responded somewhat snappily. "The sensation is under my control at those times, it's not at all like this! Stop enjoying this!"
Mai mockingly raised her hands in surrender, pretending to be interested in placating her friend. Azula, who stepped around to the back of the boat with the rest of them at that moment, wasn't so merciful. She had clearly heard the exchange.
"I think it's just a cruel whim of fate, Ty Lee. Irony truly saw fit to deal you a nasty blow. Don't worry, you'll only have to put up with it for a week or so."
Instead of answering that verbally, Ty Lee just groaned. With both of her friends being a little callous, Xisheng called out to her. "You should ask the soldiers on board if they have anything for seasickness. It seems likely they would, all things considered."
With a weak smile, the brunette forced herself to her feet. "Good idea, Gohan. Thanks for not being like those two."
Neither Azula nor Mai seemed particularly bothered by the accusation, so silence followed Ty Lee's words, which allowed her to follow up with something else once she was heading towards the front of the mid-sized ship.
"Oh, looks like it's going to rain..."
Peering around the edge of the main cabin so he could see what Ty Lee was seeing, Xisheng acknowledged a host of gray clouds in the direction the ship was sailing. They didn't look particularly stormy, but they most certainly seemed like they would drop a lot of water on top of them. Hopefully things would be pretty tame.
Whether they would be tame or not, Mai didn't seem interested in waiting around to find out. "Well, that means I'm going in."
Azula seemed inclined to agree with her sentiment. "Good idea. I'm not too keen on getting wet."
As for Xisheng, he remained seated. "I suppose I'll join the rest of you later. Unless you need me for something, Princess?"
The girl in question cocked a curious eyebrow at him. "I don't need anything in particular of you right now, but why stay out here? You're just going to get wet."
Xisheng smiled as he glanced out to sea. "I quite enjoy the rain, especially out at sea. It's a very unique experience so long as it doesn't get too stormy."
Having not left yet, Mai didn't seem convinced by his explanation. "What's so special about rain out here? We've all seen rain before."
"Yeah, but have you ever seen rain when the only surfaces for miles around are more water and your boat? It's kind of like watching rain landing in a puddle, except it's one giant puddle and you're a tiny speck in the middle of it. The way it looks and sounds is something you can't really experience in any other situation. I find it relaxing. Besides, there's an awning above us, so unless the wind blows at a terrible angle we'll probably be fine."
Azula scoffed at his explanation, though she did move to sit on the bench next to him. "I don't know if I've ever heard such an ill-fitting sentiment for a Firebender in my life. Still, I haven't traveled by sea too often, and I'll admit, you've somewhat piqued my interest..."
Mai glanced between the two of them, probably wondering if they were both crazy, but ultimately, she sighed and took a seat too. "Whatever. Nothing better to do, I guess. But if I get soaked out here, I'm blaming you and I won't be happy."
A little excited that his friends were taking an interest in this, Xisheng didn't miss a beat in his response. "I'll take full responsibility for warming you up afterwards if that happens."
His eyes out on the ocean, Xisheng missed the blush that his words spurred, even though said blush didn't exist for very long before disappearing. For now, they had nothing to really do other than wait for the boat to enter the rainy area that Ty Lee had spotted earlier. Small talk dominated that span of time, at least until Ty Lee returned to them some ten minutes later, expressing how she felt a little better thanks to some medicine the ship captain had provided to her.
Naturally, she had inquired about what they were all doing out here, and Xisheng had quickly filled her in on the plan. Of course, the brunette had been more than happy to join them for the spectacle that Xisheng claimed to be so mesmerizing.
Thankfully, they didn't have much longer to wait after that. Within a few more minutes, the sky above them transformed from the tones of dusk to the colors of rain clouds, though there was no rain right away. In fact, they sat for a good few minutes under those clouds with nothing happening, something that spurred a bit of sarcasm from Mai about how enthralling the situation was turning out to be.
But not long after, the first drop of water fell from the heavens, splattering against the corner of the metal awning that covered them all. It was soon followed by two more, which were then followed by hundreds of thousands. In the blink of an eye, a curtain of water from the sky was falling into the ocean around them, creating a constant cacophony of water impacting its earthbound kin. Loud though it was, the consistent sound of their reunion was oddly soothing.
As for the once calm surface of the ocean, it was distorted into something altogether otherworldly as the splatter of raindrops created millions of tiny waves and ripples that somehow formed a visage of beauty despite its uncontrolled and chaotic nature. Glancing around at his comrades in the midst of all of this, Xisheng was happy to see that not a one of them was disappointed.
Even Mai, the most stoic among them, looked quite amazed by the spectacle. "Wow... it sounds crazy, but I think I could fall asleep to this. It's so relaxing..."
Ty Lee had a big smile on her face as she rested her chin in her hands, eyes focused on the ocean. "It's so beautiful... I wonder how many people never see something like this, even though it must happen every day all over the world."
Azula was a little less straightforward about her appreciation for it all, though it was appreciation all the same. "Well, I think it could use a bit of thunder and lightning to spice things up, but... this is quite nice. I never would have thought you had an eye for the artistic, Gohan."
With an amused smirk, Mai added on to that. "With how much this guy stares out at the horizon all the time? Come on, it's a miracle that he didn't wind up as a painter."
The soldier smiled sheepishly. "I won't deny that I've wished for talent in that art more than once. Think of all the things you could share with people that they would otherwise never see."
This earned a bemused shake of the head from Azula. "So naively altruistic..."
Ty Lee sought to amend her statement for her. "So charming, you mean."
With that, the group fell into silence for a little bit, each of them enjoying the rare performance nature had put on for them. After a while, Ty Lee voiced a thought that they were all no doubt thinking.
"I hope it rains again while we're out here."
Staring up at the sky as it continued its deluge, Xisheng wholeheartedly agreed. "Yeah. That would be nice."