Eventually, exhaustion won out, and, without realizing it, they both fell asleep.
**********
The next morning, the first rays of sunlight filtered through the cracks in the tent, painting the interior with golden streaks. Katara woke up slowly, her mind foggy, feeling something warm and furry nestled against her chest. 'What…' She blinked, confused, and looked down, finding Momo curled up on her, his large ears twitching slightly with each breath.
!
Katara froze, her heart racing as she tried to understand why the lemur was there. 'How did he…?!' Then, the realization hit her: she didn't remember going to her own tent!
Sitting up in alarm, she looked around and confirmed, with a mix of panic and embarrassment, that she was in Ikari's tent. She had slept there. On his side! Ikari wasn't in the tent, to Katara's relief, but panic quickly took over when she noticed it was already daytime. 'Crap! Gran-Gran will kill me if she finds out I slept in a boy's tent! And Sokka… he'll never let me live this down!'
Carefully, Katara uncurled Momo, who squeaked in protest, opening his bright green eyes with an almost offended expression. "Shh, Momo, quiet!" she whispered desperately as she stood up. She walked to the tent entrance, lifted the flap, and slowly peeked outside, scanning the village with her eyes.
The sun looked like it had just risen, and the village was calm, with no one outside their tents. 'Okay, looks like they haven't started waking up yet. I don't see Ikari either.' Taking a deep breath, she got ready to step out, but Momo jumped onto her shoulder, squeaking softly as if insisting on going with her. "You're not gonna leave me alone, are you?" she murmured, casting an exasperated look at the lemur before shaking her head and stepping out of the tent with light steps, trying not to make a sound.
Katara walked quickly toward her own tent, doing her best to appear as little nervous and suspicious as possible in case someone showed up. Momo, oblivious to her urgency, was nibbling on a strand of her hair, his fluffy tail swaying carefreely. "Stop it, Momo!" she whispered, trying unsuccessfully to push him away as she hurried her steps.
When she finally reached her tent, Katara sighed in relief — but a hoarse voice made her freeze in place.
"Katara?"
She turned around, coming face to face with a Sokka who looked like he'd just been dragged out of a nightmare. Puffy eyes, slumped shoulders — he looked more dead than alive, holding a spear with an air of defeat. "S-Sokka? What are you doing awake?" Katara asked, relieved it wasn't Gran-Gran and surprised it was her brother, who was usually the last one in the village to get up.
He yawned, rubbing one of his eyes with his free hand. "Ikari… woke me up… to train…" he mumbled, his voice dragging like every word was a monumental effort to say.
Katara raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "And you just went along with it? Do you know how many years everyone's been trying to get you to wake up early?"
Sokka sighed, his shoulders slumping even further. "Katara… that guy… wiped the floor with me yesterday, even when I gave it everything I had. I'm not crazy enough to say 'Later' after—" He lowered his voice to a near whisper. "—after asking him to train me."
But Katara hadn't paid attention to that part. "So you were actually trying to hit him?!" Katara exclaimed, her eyes narrowing. "What if you had hurt him?!"
"I only tried that after he knocked me down like fifteen times, alright?" Sokka shot back, exasperated. "And seriously, there was no risk. Ikari said so himself, didn't he? That I didn't stand a chance." He shuddered. "The guy's good. Like… scarily good. I don't even want to think about what would've happened if he'd been fighting seriously. Or using those… wind magic things."
"It's airbending, Sokka," Katara corrected, rolling her eyes. "And since when have you been humble enough to admit someone's better than you?"
Sokka huffed, but there was a determination in his tired eyes. "I can be a little petty. A tiny bit! But I'm not hardheaded enough to miss a chance like this to get better. I need to get stronger so I can protect all of you."
Katara uncrossed her arms, realizing this was one of those times Sokka was being serious. "I see… good luck, then. I'm sure Ikari can teach you a few things."
"I hope so…" Sokka muttered, yawning again. Only then did he notice the lemur on his sister's shoulder. "Why is that thing with you?"
Momo squeaked at Sokka, as if offended at being called "that thing." "His name is Momo, you know? And we… we've become good friends! H-he slept with me," Katara said, petting the lemur's fur with a forced smile.
"Really?" Sokka shrugged, losing interest. "I'm off, then" He turned around, dragging the spear, and began walking away, making Katara sigh in relief. She looked at Momo, expecting him to fly off after Sokka to find Ikari, but the lemur didn't move, snuggling even closer to her.
"Haah, alright, let's go back inside and get a little more sleep then," Katara murmured, heading into her tent.
*********
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, images or songs featured in this fic. Additionally, I do not claim ownership of any products or properties mentioned in this novel. This work is entirely fanfic.