The Outsider- Avatar Fanfic

Chapter 25 - They Say Spring is About New Beginnings

I slowly drew circles on Kai's fur as the blue light in my room slowly brightened, the shapes and edges of the ceiling coming in focus minute by minute. Even though winter was drawing to a close, the sun still liked to take its time in the morning. I stared, mindlessly, through the crack in the heavy curtains. The past few days had been weirdly quiet, as though the white noise of war had left a vacuum when Aang destroyed the Fire Navy fleet. Slowly but surely, the Water Tribe people had begun to return to their daily lives, although changed forever. Katara, Aang, Sokka and I had been taking a few days rest after the events of the siege. I was so exhausted that I had slept for a full day, only waking up once to have something to eat before going back into a deep slumber. But somehow, I still felt deprived. My sleep had been far from easy.

I blinked and turned on my side, wrapping my body around Kai's little one. He had been sleeping soundly all night, his small nose tucked into his tail, the odd twitch of his ear the only sign of life. I smiled. He was so beautiful. When the others had found out about him I had been promptly told that he was indeed a wolf and should go back to where I had found him — to which I had laughed and said absolutely not. He was alone in this world, no pack or family. After all the crazy shit that had been happening to me over the past few months, a wolf pup was almost mundane. Of course, I didn't really know a thing about wolves, but somehow I wasn't scared of what he could be. I knew I should be. But in the small amount of time I had known him, I had fallen completely, totally, irrevocably, in love. Maybe I saw a bit of myself in those dark blue eyes of his, but I felt reassured that he was home.

'My Kai,' I whispered, and softly kissed the top of his head. 'And I'm your Mia.'

He blinked an eye open and curled even tighter against me. It was nice to belong to someone.

oOo

I got up and left my room for the first time in two days, making my way down the corridor to the common room of the house we had been staying in for the past three months. I was met with Katara, curled up on a pile of furs, reading a piece of parchment. A warm bowl of something delicious was next to her, and she offered me some along with her welcoming smile. She didn't ask how I was, or whether I had recovered; she already knew. The past week had been taxing to say the least, and it was at these times that I was reminded of how young we all were. Just kids.

'Seen Sokka recently?' I asked, settling down next to my friend. Katara drew in a small breath and pursed her lips.

'Not since he talked to Chief Arnook.'

I nodded, looking down at my hands. Sokka had been the one to break the tragic news of Yue's death to her father. I frowned. Perhaps death wasn't the right word. She had turned into the moon, after all, essentially becoming immortal. But that wasn't much of a comfort for those she loved who had been left behind.

'Aang has been in and out though,' Katara continued, tickling a piece of string for Kai to play with. She had been hesitant when she first met him, but quickly saw the love that the little pup had to give. After me, he was most comfortable around her. I looked back over to young Water Tribe girl.

'Oh?'

'He's been seeing Appa, visiting the wall, talking to Arnook and Master Pakku,' she said, studiously avoiding having her fingers nipped by a now-excited Kai. 'He's doing better then I thought, but maybe keeping busy is his way of dealing with things.'

'Probably. I was so tired I just couldn't do anything else except sleep,' I said with a half laugh, rubbing my eyes. The tiredness lingered still, but I already felt better now I had gotten out of bed. Katara nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with me.

'I don't think I've ever felt so exhausted in my life.' She gave me a small smile, comforting, and I knew she was going to come out of this mess alright. She was, and is, the strongest woman I have ever known.