Path Ahead

Four Elements United

Katara was surrounded, surrounded on all sides by shifting earth. Her meager waterbending didn't seem to be any match, but she couldn't, wouldn't give up. She brought all the resources she had into the Octopus form, ready to defend herself and Aang.

Aang, meanwhile, encased himself in the strange, glowing green stones that provided Ba Sing Se with light. Katara didn't know what he was doing and could hardly spare him a glance, but she trusted him. She had to.

Her attention was drawn to him once again when everybody around her suddenly stopped fighting. She looked over her shoulder and saw Aang, rising into the air, the Avatar State glowing through his eyes and tattoos. Katara felt herself smiling slightly at the sight. He had mastered this at last, and she was so proud of him!

Pride and confidence quickly evaporated into horror, however. Lightning flashed, flickering terribly through Aang's body. Katara's mouth opened to scream, but time seemed to have stopped, and she could make no sound. She could only feel the tears running down her face and the aching loss in her heart.

Katara sat bolt upright from her sleeping space, gasping for breath. Struggling to steady her breathing and heart rate, she forced her eyes to adjust to the darkness of the shelter in which she rested. Seeking reassurance, she looked over the lumps of bodies representing her companions and found Aang's familiar form. He had considered sleeping in the separate cover he'd made for Appa and Momo, but Katara was immensely relieved that he was here, where she could see him. As she watched, he murmured and rolled over.

Rubbing a hand across her face, she felt moisture, indicating that she had managed to cry in her sleep. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to close her eyes yet without facing those disturbing images, she quietly got up and made her way to the entrance.

Piandao and one of the Kyoshi Warriors sat there, keeping watch. With so many in their group, it had been simple to devise pairs to keep a lookout while others slept in rotation. Dawn was breaking over the horizon, and Katara was aware that her sleeping patterns were still very irregular, thanks to the oddities of their journey. It would probably remain that way until this war was finally over.

"Are you all right?" the girl asked as Katara stooped to exit their cover.

"I, um..." she answered, trying to give both of them a reassuring smile and gesturing vaguely outside. Let them just think she needed to answer a call of nature.

"Don't go too far," Piandao warned.

"I won't," she assured him, stepping out and taking deep breaths of the air blowing across open land. Not really having anywhere else to go, she was headed toward the place where Appa and Momo rested when she suddenly realized that her excuse for leaving the cave had become the truth. She paused to take care of that before continuing to her destination.

This was not the first time Katara had experienced nightmares about what she had witnessed in Ba Sing Se, but they hadn't bothered her in quite some time. Maybe it was being so close to the city that brought them back.

Katara slipped into the hastily constructed earth structure and lightly stroked Appa's fur. The feel of it, the bison's warm presence, and even his smell were oddly comforting. She'd grown used to him being around.

"This must be hard for you, too, Appa," she whispered. Momo, curled between two of the bison's six feet, raised his head and blinked at her sleepily before returning to slumber. "You haven't been able to fly much lately. Don't worry, though; we'll need you in the air soon."