The Awakening (SpawnofSatan)

Explanations

~Aang~

The next thing Aang knew, he was kneeling on the deck of the ship with an unconscious Na li in his arms. Everyone was staring at him as if he'd just gone into the Avatar State again--which, knowing him, he might have.

"What?" he asked.

"How the heck...?" Jey started, but was cut off by Katara.

"Okay," Katara said before Jey could continue. "Sokka, Jey, why don't you guys go take Na li over there somewhere? Aang and I need to talk. Toph, you go with them."

They nodded and Sokka picked up Na li, following Jey and Toph to the front of the ship. Katara turned to Aang. "Come on," she said, pulling his arm around her shoulders to help him up. He leaned on her heavily as she helped him over to the side of the ship. On the way, they passed by Appa.

"Appa!" Aang said excitedly. Appa made a rumbling sound in his throat in greeting. Aang was going to run to him, but decided better of it when his vision swam and Katara tightened her grip on his arm. They sat down by the wall, Katara across from Aang. She said something to someone, but Aang was too out of it to pay attention. Once his vision cleared, he started asking rapid-fire questions.

"Why are we on a Fire Nation ship?" he asked as someone draped a robe over his shoulders. "Why is everyone dressed this way? And why am I the only one who's completely out of it?"

"You need to take it easy, okay?" Katara said, cutting him off. "You got hurt pretty bad."

Aang looked down sadly, wrapping an arm around his chest. He had felt sore when he woke up, like someone had stabbed in the small of his back with something (or shot him with something).

"I like your hair," Katara said with a small smile, trying to change the subject.

"I have hair?!" Aang asked, shocked. He ran his hands all over his usually bald head and felt short, new hair. "How long was I out?!"

"A few weeks," Katara replied, trying not to snicker. "I hardly ever left your bedside. I was constantly healing both you and Na li."

"Thanks," Aang said, smiling a little. Katara smiled back as someone walked up behind her.

"Everything okay?" the man asked.

"We're fine, Dad," Katara said, her smile gone and an irritated edge to her voice.

"I'm Hakkoda," the man said, extending a hand to Aang. "Katara and Sokka's father."

"He knows who you are," Katara said, putting a hand on Aang's shoulder to keep him from getting up. "I just called you 'Dad', didn't I?" She shot her father a look over her shoulder.

"I guess you're right," Hakkoda said, defeated.

Aang brushed Katara's hand off his shoulder and extended his own hand to Hakkoda. "Nice to officially meet you, Chief Hakkoda," he said with a small smile.

"It's an honor to meet you," Hakkoda replied, grasping Aang's arm in the Water Tribe sign of friendship.

"Great, great, now you guys have finally met, so would you mind giving us a little privacy?" Katara said, seeming cross.

"Of course," Hakkoda said, walking over to Appa and feeding him some hay.

"Are you mad at your dad or something?" Aang asked after Hakkoda had left.

"What?" Katara asked, a little surprised. "Not at all. Why would you say that?"

Aang shrugged, which was just about the worst thing he could have done. Pain flared between his shoulder blades. It felt like when Jey would accidentally shock him when she practiced bending lightning, only about a million and one times worse. Aang winced and reached a hand across his chest towards his back, failing to choke back a groan.

"Maybe we should go upstairs," Katara said once Aang had relaxed a bit. "You need a healing session." She pulled his arm around her shoulders, helping him to his feet. She supported him as she helped him walk towards the door. Then, out of nowhere, yelling started at the front of the ship. Katara turned around and her face fell. "Oh no."

"What?" Aang managed to ask through the pain.

"KATARA!!" came Jey's yell. "HELP!! WE NEED YOU!! NOW!!"

"Can you wait here for a minute?" Katara asked Aang. "I have to go break that up. I'll be right back."

"What's going on?" Aang asked again as Katara helped him sit on Appa's paw.

"Na li's awake." Apparently Katara thought that summed it up, for immediately after she said it, she ran off towards the commotion. 

Aang watched from his seat on Appa's giant paw, his arm around his chest. For some reason, he desperately wanted to go over to Na li, and almost did, but a new wave of pain kept him rooted to Appa's paw. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't bring himself to go over there, not in this condition. He promised himself he'd see her later, after the healing session.