Avatar The Last Airbender Fan Fiction ❯ Love ❯ Chapter 1

Love

By Light-Eco-Sage

 

Rated: Teen for fluffy romance and hinted at sexuality (Kataang).

 

Summary: The true meaning of love, expressed by Aang and Katara through their young lives.

 

Disclaimer: “Avatar: The Last Airbender” is owned by Bryke.

 

LES: My favorite couple mixed in with one of my favorite Bible passages of all time. It's so famous; most people only have to hear the book and the chapter to know what the person is talking about. I'm talking, of course, about 1 Corinthians 13, more commonly known as “The Love Chapter”. Each section is like a separate short story. May be chronically out-of-order and feature the Gang at various ages.

 

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.”

For the first time in his young life, Aang felt that he wanted to die of embarrassment!

It had been several weeks since the war had ended, and he had been preparing for this single moment every moment ever since. He had spent weeks agonizing over his speech to declare peace. The speech had gone through many, many revisions, and had been rehearsed even more. He had practiced in front of a mirror, to his friends, anything that he needed to do in order to feel ready.

And then the big moment came. Practically every world leader and noble person was in the throne room of the Fire Nation's palace, all there to witness the historic moment when the Avatar would declare peace after a hundred years of war.

The first part of the speech had gone well enough, but as he reached the climax, Aang purposefully raised his voice for dramatic effect. But instead of coming out as powerful and influential, the most unearthly, high-pitched squeak came out of his mouth as his voice cracked horribly.

Aang paused, horrified. He felt like everyone was staring at him, mocking him. Sure, his voice had cracked a few times before. But why did it have to crack when he really needed it?!?

Dreadfully embarrassed, Aang quietly finished his speech and left the stage as quickly as possible.

Katara met him at the foot of the stage, and joined his side as he stormed out the room as quickly as possible.

“I can't believe that just happened!” Aang began horrified. “That was my big historical moment, the moment for which I'll be remembered as the Avatar, and I made a complete fool of myself!”

“Aang, that speech isn't going to be what you're remembered for.” Katara said, grabbing his shoulder and stopping him in his tracks. “You are going to be remembered for stopping the war, not because your voice cracked during a stupid speech.” She pulled him into a passionate kiss, which he gladly returned. “Besides, I thought your speech was wonderful.”

Aang grinned sheepishly. “I guess it wasn't… that bad.”

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”

“Why do you keep staring at me like that?” Aang asked a young Earth Kingdom noble who was only slightly older than he was.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare.” The young man said. “It's just… I've heard a lot of rumors about how powerful you are… you know, being the Avatar and all.”

“It's true. I am the most powerful person on the planet.” Aang conceded. “Though, to tell you the truth, I often don't feel that way.”

“Why not?” The young noble asked. “I've heard that you can call upon the wisdom and advice of all of your past lives… thousands of years worth of experience.”

“It's true.” Aang said.

“I've heard that you can move mountains, control the seas and the very tides, calm raging volcanoes, and even control the weather!” The young man said in awe.

“That is also true.” Aang said thoughtfully.

“Then why do you feel weak? You are the furthest thing from being weak!”

Aang sighed. “Do you want to know the truth? It's because I left my wife back at the Southern Air Temple.”

The nobleman nodded, but still didn't fully understand. The Avatar had been married for two years now. He had married his Water Tribe girlfriend on his sixteenth birthday, and she was now pretty close to giving birth to their first child. “But what does that have to do with…?”

“The truth is… I can do all those amazing things, but it's harder to do when she's not here. Katara is my strength, and she is the reason that I am so powerful, because without her, I am nothing.”

“If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

Aang would have been lying if he said he wasn't terrified. He was more terrified than he had ever been in his entire life.

Sozin's comet blazed overhead, and Aang could feel its power coursing through his veins, lighting his blood on fire, and fueling his urge to fight. The Firelord's Airship was just ahead of him, closing in on his location near the edge of the Earth Kingdom. He stood to face the Firelord alone. Alone, as he knew he would always have to face the Firelord.

Ever since the day that Aang was told he was the Avatar, he knew that he would eventually have to give everything he was to the world. First the people of the world would take his freedom, and then, eventually, his duty would take his life. And it seemed that today was the day he would pay the price for being born three days after Avatar Roku's death and becoming the new mortal incarnate of the Spirit of the Planet.

Massive columns of flames erupted from the Airships, destroying everything in their path. Aang could feel the Avatar Spirit inside him, raging at the senseless destruction. But even the Avatar Spirit could not help now. It was locked away, helpless, by the energy twisted up in his chest that even Katara could not fix. Aang would not face this battle as the Avatar, but as himself.

Even from a distance, Aang could feel the heat of the flames, almost as if they were burning inside him.

I am about to throw myself into those flames, with no idea if I'll survive. Aang thought to himself. And, despite the resolve that he had worked up since his meeting with the Lion-Turtle, Aang hesitated.

Aang knew he was foolish for hesitating. He didn't fear death. For the Avatar, death is not truly the end. He would simple make the spiritual transition into the Spirit World and wait to be the next Avatar's spiritual guide like Roku was to him.

No, death was nothing for Aang to fear. What he truly feared was a life unlived.

He was only thirteen years old, and he still felt he had many things to do. But, first and foremost, he wanted to tell Katara that he loved her.

Aang steeled his resolve. I can't allow myself to die this day, not when I still have so much to say, so much to love, and so much to gain…

His resolve set, Aang used a sweeping Earthbending move to break the pillar he was standing on into smaller projectiles and sent them flying into the Airship's engines, destroying them before they had time to react.

It had begun.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”

Katara smiled to herself as Aang was mobbed by yet another legion of his adoring fans on one of their dates. A few months ago, she would have been annoyed that Aang's attention was torn between her and the people of the world, but she had slowly come to accept it. She knew that Aang loved her, and she also knew that Aang loved the people, and they all loved him in return.

It seemed everywhere they went now-a-days, they were hounded by fans, both admirers of Aang's prowess in battle, his might as the Avatar, but also a fair amount of young girls with crushes on the Avatar.

As always, she waited patiently for the last person to greet the Avatar and to give their personal words of thanks for ending the way. Once the last person had their fill of the Avatar, Aang walked back over to Katara, grinning sheepishly.

“Sorry about that, Katara.” He said, giving her a light kiss. “It seems every time we go on a date, my fans manage to find me.”

“Well, it's not like you're easy to hide.” Katara said. “Those tattoos give you away a mile away.”

“Maybe you're right…” Aang said thoughtfully. “Maybe I should grow my hair out again. It's annoying, but at least it would allow me to go incognito every once in a while.”

“Aang, I know that you want to be modest,” Katara said. “But these people want to meet you and thank you for saving the world. You should be proud of your accomplishment.”

“Proud? Why should I be proud of ending the war? It's not like I did it on my own.” He embraced her. “We ended the war, Katara. You, me, Sokka, Toph, Suki, Iroh, and even Zuko. Why should I take all the credit for something we did together?”

Katara sighed and kissed him. “Oh, Aang, why does every word you speak make me fall in love with you more?”

“It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

“But, Katara, didn't you hear what he just said?!?” Sokka demanded, shocked at how calm his little sister was, especially after what had come out of the Avatar's mouth only seconds before.

Okay, so Sokka had given them his blessing, but only under the circumstances that Aang never mistreat Katara, which it sounded like he was doing just that.

“Sure, I heard him.” Katara said. “But, really, it's fine…”

“He just said that he would rather die than kiss you!” Sokka yelled, flaying his arms around. “That's not exactly the sort of love-line a decent guy says to his girlfriend!” Sokka grabbed his club and took a swing at Aang, who hastily ducked.

“Sokka! You don't understand…” Aang began. But the young Avatar's words caught in his throat when Sokka pulled out the new sword he had made to replace the Space Sword he lost in the battle against Ozai. “Oh Spirits, Sokka! Put that away!” Aang yelled, running away from the deranged Water Tribe teenager.

Sokka gave chase. “Come back here, you jerk! I'm gonna send you to meet your previous incarnations… permanently!”

“So… am I missing something?” Suki asked Katara, who was relieved that at least Aang was much faster than Sokka, and had more endurance. Sokka would never catch Aang. “What Aang said was rather rude. Why aren't you upset with him?”

“It's… it's an inside joke between us.” Katara explained blushing. “Have you ever heard of the Cave of Two Lovers?”

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

Aang stared around the council chamber in shock. In his six years running the World Council, he had never known the World Leaders to thrive on a scandal like this… or to believe it, even thought it was completely fictional.

A young woman, no older than he, stood across the room, holding an infant in her arms; an infant that she claimed was Aang's.

His wife, Katara stood frozen at his side, clutching their son closer to her body in shock. Aang and Katara's child had only been born a month previously, and had all ready proven his heritage by displaying Airbending powers. It wasn't like Katara didn't plan on eventually giving the child a sibling, but she never imagined it would be like this!

Aang glared around the room. “I can't believe you are all taking this seriously! Do any of you have any idea how many vows I broke when I fell in love with, married, and had a child with my wife? I love my wife, and would never have an affair outside of my marriage!”

The young girl's father, who had a seat on the council, stood up. “I'm afraid, Avatar Aang, that your word alone is not enough. The fact remains that you and my daughter met approximately one year ago, about nine months before the birth of my grandchild, at a party I held at my house to which you were invited. You left the party early, and I sent my daughter after you, concerned. She was gone for quite some time, and no one knows exactly what happened when she found you…”

“That's just it, she never came to me!” Aang began hotly. “The only time I saw your daughter that night was when you introduced me to her… and you probably would have noticed if I impregnated her then.” The older man sputtered. “Why don't we get Toph Bei Fong? She will be able to tell which one of us is lying, and which one of us is telling the truth.”

“I'm afraid, Avatar Aang, that we cannot accept the word of Toph Bei Fong either.” One of the council members said. “We know you place great trust in her, and it is only fitting since she was your Earthbending instructor. But she is also your friend and therefore bias. She could lie in your favor.”

Aang began to argue, but Katara put a comforting hand on his arm, and pulled him back. “If I may intercede here?” She asked.

“Certainly, Lady Katara.”

“As you all know, I am the Avatar's wife, and the mother of his son.” Katara began. “My child has proven his linage by displaying Airbending powers that could only come from Aang.”

“And we told you the child is a non-Bender. There's no way to use Bending powers as proof of the child's father.” The girl's father said.

“I am aware of that. I'm only asking the council if they will take that as adequate proof that I am familiar with my husband in a way that only a bedmate can be and allow me to question the girl.”

The council nodded. “We will allow it.”

Katara faced the girl. “Can you describe my husband's tattoos? All of them?”

Aang realized the genius of this question, because the only way someone could know the full extent of his tattoos would be to see him naked.

The girl grew nervous. “I, uh…”

“My husband has a birthmark. Where is it?” Katara continued.

“I… I didn't see it.” The girl said.

“Oh really? It's in a rather obvious spot. I noticed it the first time I shared my husband's bed.” Katara looked at Aang. “Aang?”

Aang tuned red. “What?!? Do I have to?”

“Yes!”

Aang sighed in embarrassment, stood up, and loosened the belt on his pants. He pulled the fabric down slightly to show the birthmark that was on his left hip, in a rather obvious place, as it were. He pulled the pants back up and re-did his belt, and the entire Council chamber was buzzing.

“You never saw my husband naked; therefore, he couldn't have impregnated you.” Katara sat down.

The girl's father turned on her, and the girl instantly cried out a tearful confession that she hadn't gone after Aang that night, but used it as an excuse to see her lover, who was a common servant in her father's house.

The scandal was over, and the Council adjourned, leaving the man to sort out his own family troubles.

“It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Later that day, after the whole debunkle with that young girl claiming that Aang was the father of her child, the two new parents sat together in their master bedroom, gazing fondly at each other and the child between them.

“I'm so glad you didn't believe her.” Aang whispered, brushing some of her hair out of her face. “Just the thought of you thinking that I would break your trust and have an affair outside our marriage hurts me.”

“Aang, I knew that you wouldn't do something like that.” Katara said, grinning at him. “You wouldn't sleep with me until our wedding night, and even then I have to coax you every step of the way.” Aang laughed, slightly embarrassed. “It hurts me to say, but we'll probably have to go through this again and again. Girls love to blame their illegitimate children on famous people.”

“Katara, I just want you to know right now that no matter how many girls try to blame their babies on me, my only children will be born of you… you will be the only woman I ever take to bed and make love to… you will be the only woman in my heart. At least… until we have a daughter. Then I'm afraid you'll have to share.” Aang finished with a grin.

“As long as you don't mind sharing my heart with our son.” Katara replied. The tiny boy sneezed, sending a gust of air through the room.

Aang smiled, and kissed her. “I'm so sorry you have to face these tests just because you married the Avatar.”

Katara kissed him in return. “No matter the tests, we will persevere. Now and forever.”

“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.”

It was a dream, Aang knew, but it was also more than that. Since Aang was the Avatar, his dreams often had great meaning. Too bad most of them gave meaning in the form of nightmares. But not this time. Usually, crossing over into the Spirit World took all of his concentration, but on rare occasions, he could travel there in his sleep.

Aang recognized the Spirit Swamp that was near Koh's hollow. It was also the place where Avatar Roku dwelled. And, sure enough…

“Hello, Aang.” Aang looked around and saw the kind face of his previous incarnation, Avatar Roku. Avatar Roku was Aang's spiritual advisor and teacher when it came to secrets known only to the Avatar.

“Roku? I'm… I'm not sure why I'm here.” Aang said slowly.

“When you dream, your subconscious dwells on problems that your conscious mind is too afraid to face.” Roku said. “What is wrong?”

Aang wasn't really sure where to begin. “Well, you see, there's this… girl.” Aang began lamely.

Roku chuckled. “Ah. The wonders of being young and in love.”

“But that's just it!” Aang began sadly. “You see, I met this Guru who was a Spiritual brother to the Air Nomads, and he tried to teach me how to Master the Avatar State.”

By opening the chakras?” Roku clarified.

“Yes.” Aang said. “But I couldn't open my final chakra. It's…”

“I know. It deals with cosmic energy, and is blocked by earthly attachments.” Roku said.

“But… this girl… I love her. But she's my Earthly attachment. I don't think I'm strong enough to let her go. I can't. I love her too much.”

“Aang, let me tell you something. You are not the first Avatar who has fallen in love, nor are you the hundredth or the thousandth Avatar to fall in love. Nearly every Avatar who has ever lived has felt love in some way. Love is one of the essential human emotions the Avatar must experience to feel compassion for the people. Avatars before you have gotten married and had families. I, myself, married the love of my life soon after I mastered the elements, and had a family with her.”

Aang jaw fell open. “But how? How can I love someone without being attached?”

“There is more than one way to Master the Avatar State.” Roku said. “Yes, the Chakra opening path is one of those methods, and the one used most by the Air Nomads, but it is not the only way.”

“There are other ways?” Aang asked, shocked.

“Yes.” Roku said. “I Mastered the Avatar State through discipline, mediation, and having peace of mind.”

“But I've had all those things since I got shot with lightning, and I still can't go into the Avatar State at all! Why?”

“Your problem is not the seventh chakra, but the third chakra.” Avatar Roku pointed at Aang's heart. “The lightning strike twisted your energy here, and I know of no method to fix it. I'm afraid that sheer luck will determine if you will ever be able to use the Avatar State again. Although if I may be so bold as to offer you advice: tell her how you feel. You may not know it, but as long as you keep your feelings hidden, you are incomplete and imperfect. Only when you express the full depth of your love and accept every facet of that love will you find yourself complete and perfect.”

“Every facet? What do you mean by that?” Aang asked, but the dream ended.

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like I child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.”

If you would ask Katara four or five years ago what her wedding would be like, she probably would have never even begun to guess the reality. As a younger girl, she had dreamed of a fairy-tale romance, but was realistic enough to know that the opposite was far more likely. Perhaps her father would have brought some eligible boys back from the Earth Kingdom and she would have married one of them. Become a housewife and live a comfortable life was all that Katara could see of herself.

So imagine Katara's shock when she realized that her dream was the reality!

Katara gazed fondly across the way at her soon-to-be-husband, and smiled at him. Aunt Wu had predicted long ago that she would have a great romance and marry a powerful Bender. However, if Aunt Wu had told her that she would marry the Avatar, Katara would have probably laughed in her face.

The Avatar? Aang? Sweet little Aang?!? That was impossible! Aang was a child! He still had baby fat for goodness sakes!

However, four years later, that didn't seem like such a long shot. During the time they had travelled together to stop the war, Aang had begun to grow and change as he began the second stage of puberty. He grew taller, his voice began to change, and he finally lost his baby fat, giving him a more defined look. For the first time, Katara began to imagine what Aang… a grown-up Aang would look like, and she found she liked what her imagination conjured.

And now, at the age of sixteen, the young Avatar met all her expectations and more. The slim build of his pre-teen body had translated into a tall and lean form as a teenager. He stood several inches taller than her now, and he hadn't even reached his full height yet. He was slim, but his musculature was highly defined, like a feline. But his face… his face is the thing that had changed the most and the least. With the loss of his baby fat, his face had lost its youthful roundness and was much more defined and chiseled. Physically, Aang was a complete heart-throb. But his eyes remained the same. Expressive grey eyes that she could read as easily as most would read a scroll.

Today was Aang's sixteenth birthday, and also their wedding day. He hadn't really wasted any time when it came to his coming of age. He had proposed to her on his fifteenth birthday one year ago. Their year-long engagement had flown by in the blink of an eye, and the wedding had gone off without a hitch. Now they were alone together in an ice hut that had been specifically prepared for the newlyweds.

Aang removed his robes, exposing his chest, and causing Katara to gasp slightly at the arousing sight of his perfectly toned chest and the graceful blue arc of the tattoo travelling down the middle of his back when he turned around, disrupted only by a large scar in the middle of his back.

“Happy Birthday, Aang.” Katara said suddenly.

Aang smiled at her. “You know I consider our wedding to be much more important to me than my birthday.”

“But, still, today was your coming of age.” Katara said. “I've never seen you as a child, but today, you are officially a man. How does it feel?”

Aang considered for a moment. “It doesn't really feel that different.” He said. “But there is one thing…”

“What is it?”

“I'm ready for things to be different.” Aang confessed with a blush.”We've kissed and hugged, but we've never… well… you know… We are married now and all… and there are certain expectations of us.”

Katara moved closer to him, slipping into his arms easily. “You know, Aang, in the Northern Water Tribe, they don't consider a marriage to be official until the first child is born.”

“Then I guess now is as good as time as any, if we want to make this marriage official.” Aang said, still with a slight blush on his cheeks. “I'm ready to stop loving you like a child, and start loving you like an adult. I'm ready to love you as a man and a woman; husband and wife.”

“By all means.” Katara encouraged as they kissed passionately.

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then shall we see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

It was a late night at the Western Air Temple, but Aang and Katara could not sleep. So, as usual on nights were sleep could not find them, they sat up talking. It was easier to do since Sokka and Zuko had left on their fishing trip. It was just easier for them to be alone without the Water Tribe teenager hovering over their shoulders every minute of the day.

“This really is a beautiful Temple.” Katara commented, glancing around and marveling at the feats of architecture that allowed these buildings to be hung under a cliff.

Aang glanced around. But it was hard for him to look at the Temple. He had only seen the Western Air Temple in its pristine condition once in his life, but it was still hard for him to look at the crumbling murals, statues, and holy sites. He could still see the shadows of the Air Nomad nuns and the female apprentices who had lived here. If fact, Aang recalled, they were sitting on the very ledge where he had gotten scolded by the Head Nun of this Temple at the time for canyon-diving.

Canyon-diving was a particularly dangerous daredevil risk that young Air Nomad boys loved to do. The point was to jump off a cliff and freefall for as long as possible. Whoever fell the longest time without opening their glider was the bravest. Typically, all the elders discouraged canyon-diving, but Aang had once heard a rumor that Gyatso once held the record for canyon-diving in his time.

“It's just hard…” Aang said. “Knowing that they are all dead and I am the only one left.” He paused, pulling his knees to his chest. “I just wish there was some way… I don't wanna be alone, Katara.”

Katara didn't answer for several seconds, and then moved closer to him. She gently brushed her fingertips against his cheek and turned him to face her. Then she leaned forward and brushed her lips against the surprised boy's lips, freezing him in total shock.

“There is a way.” Katara said, breathing sweetly against his lips as she pulled away. “The answer is very simple. You need to have Airbending children.” She stood, ignoring the look on Aang's face, but she had a playful smile on her face. “You know, Aang, I've always wanted children.” She said, and walked away.

Aang released the breath the he hadn't even realized that he was holding. “Oh spirits…” He gasped. “I guess… you learn something new every day…”

“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Nearly one hundred and twenty years later, and newest Avatar, a woman from the Water Tribe named Anatu, stepped nervously into a secret hidden chamber at the Southern Air Temple, having been lead there by an old monk with kind grey eyes.

He saw the fear in her eyes. “There is no need to fear.” The old monk said. “Once you establish a connection with your past lives, you will be able to access that wisdom and knowledge whenever you desire.”

“But…” Anatu said. “How can we be sure that it's me? I'm just sixteen… I had plans… I had my own life to live.”

“There is no doubt.” The monk said. “What if I told you that you would be able to live your own life, Avatar or not?” The woman looked skeptical. The monk laughed out loud, a contagious sound. This girl reminded him strongly of his late uncle. He, too, was a great skeptic. “Okay, if you won't believe me, then you'll have to take Avatar Aang's words for it.”

Anatu knew Avatar Aang's name. Everyone did. He was a legend. Anatu, like most Avatars, had been told of her status on her sixteenth birthday; but Aang had been told when he was only twelve years old. Soon after he was told, he disappeared, and a war broke out for one hundred years. Then Avatar Aang returned, still as young as he was the day he left, and only a very limited amount of time to learn how to Master the Elements. He had done what no Avatar had done before: Mastered the elements in the span of months rather than years.

The old monk backed out the door and shut it behind her, leaving her in complete darkness. Anatu stood frozen where she was, trying to master her fear of the darkness and unknown.

Several moments passed and then the darkness was suddenly lifted and she found herself that was in a space that could not be inside the Temple. She was on top of a mountain, and she knew for a fact that she had been standing in a darkened room that held statues of all the previous Avatars.

Sitting before her in a classic lotus meditative position was a young man that she recognized as an Air Nomad, a master, judging by the arrow tattoos on his forehead and limbs. He seemed to be around twenty and very handsome.

“Hello? Do you know where I am?” She asked the man.

The Airbender opened his eyes, and Anatu was shocked to see he had the same grey eyes as the monk who led her here. “Ah, hello there, Anatu. I've been expecting you.” He stood up. “To answer your question, you are in the Spirit World. And to answer your next question, I am your previous incarnation, Avatar Aang.”

“But… that's not possible. Aang was over a hundred when he died.” Anatu said.

The Airbender laughed. “In the Spirit World, the Spirits of the Dead can appear in whatever form they want. I could appear as a child, man, or old man. But I prefer this form.” The previous Avatar said. “You resent that you are the Avatar.” It wasn't a question, but a statement. “I can understand that being told that you are the Avatar can be quite a shock, but you will have years to accept the reality of your situation.”

“But…” Anatu began. “I had plans with my life, and now they will have to be put on hold for I-don't-know-how-long. I was planning to marry. And instead of a proposal on my sixteenth birthday, I got told that I would have to give up my love and become the Avatar.”

Aang looked down at her with sympathetic eyes. “I know exactly how you feel. I remember agonizing over the same thought to the Avatar before me, Roku. Being the Avatar doesn't mean that you have to give up on your love. Certainly, life will be harder on you and your husband than it would be for normal couples, but if he truly loves you, he will stand by your side, no matter how hard it gets. Roku's wife stood by him through all the trials of his life, and my wife stood by me through all the trails of my life.”

“You're wife?” Anatu asked, shocked.

“Yes, surely you noticed? Every Air Nomad you will ever meet is my direct descendant. It was probably my oldest son who brought you here.”

“He had grey eyes, like yours.”

Aang smiled a little sadly. “It's a pity none of them inherited their mother's blue eyes.” He paused, moving closer to Anatu. “Anatu, you do not have to give up the life you love because you are the Avatar. Far from it. First, you need to have faith in yourself. You have to believe that you can make the right decisions, and know that any of your past lives are here to help you if you need help; either through our wisdom or our power. You need to have hope for the future of the world. No matter how bad things seem to get, there will always be a bright side, no matter how dim it seems. And finally, you need to learn that love is essential to being the Avatar. Without love, no Avatar could feel compassion for the people we are trying to protect. Remember, love is your greatest power of all.”

 

LES: Done! It took me freaking THREE days to do it, but I'm finally done! I hope that you can tell that the `monk' was Aang's son, and that the sarcastic uncle was Sokka. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this rather long, short-stories collection! Peace out!

 

Anatu: Variant spelling of Semitic (Ugaritic) Anat, meaning "water spring."