Should've been me || Katara x OC

twenty || the desert

Sorry for the delay, schools started again, but I'll be back on track from now!

          'Arya, run!' Sokka screams as he bolts passed me, quickly followed by Aang and Katara, who grabs by arm as she passes me.

          'What happened?' I shout over the noise.

          'We're about to become fossils if we don't get out of her quickly!' He screams again.

          We run up one final staircase before we find the rope. Aang pulls out his glider, reaching out both of his hands. Katara and I grab on, and he whisks the two of us up and out of the library, dropping us harshly on the sand before swooping back through the spiral to find Sokka.

          My eyes sting from the sunlight, blinded by the stinging white light.

          Toph is holding the library up with her bare hands.

          I have wholly underestimated her.

          She's shouting something at us, but the overstimulation takes a moment to wear off before I can process it.

          She's shouting for Appa. He's not here. I jump to my feet, spinning around for any signs, but the desert is as empty as it was before.

          Aang's back a moment later, Sokka clinging to his leg, shouting at Toph to let go. She releases the tower, flying backwards as it submerges itself in the ground before she hits the floor. Dust clouds around us, clearing to reveal the crater left in its wake.

          'Where's Appa?' Aang asks quietly.

          Toph shakes her head as a shiver wracks her shoulders.

          I watch silently as she mutters something to Aang, too quiet for the rest of us to hear. I look over at Katara to see her face split with anxiety, and to Sokka who looks undeniably angry, although I don't think it's directed at Toph.

          Aang turns away from her, his face pale. He's layers behind himself as he processes the news, until he finally seems to snap back into reality.

          'How could you let them take Appa? ‌ Why didn't you stop them‌?' He shouts, storming towards her. I take a handful of steps closer.

          'I couldn't! The library was sinking! You guys were still inside and-'

            'You could've come to get us. I could've saved him!' Aang screams again, throwing his arms around.

          'I can hardly feel any vibrations out here. The sandbenders snuck up on me and there wasn't time-' Toph says, her voice frail.

          'You just didn't care! You never liked Appa!' Aang screams at her.

          'Without Toph, we'd all be dead, Aang,' I say. 'I know you're angry but it wasn't her fault-'

          'Stop! Stop pretending you know what I feel!' He shouts at me, his eyes burning with fury. 'How could you ever know what I felt!'

          I feel his implication rush over me. I keep looking in his eyes, his eyes that are dancing with anger, with an unsolved rush for revenge. I want to feel his pain, the pain he went through when he woke up and discovered his entire life had been burned away. I want to feel what he did, so I can sleep a bit better at night. I just can't unwrap myself from the responsibilities that have been passed down to me. I often wonder what all those people would be doing today, if it wasn't for the curse of my bloodline. But in the end, I will never know their suffering, because I was raised with warm food and fine silks. I was raised with a mother who loved me and the idea that I was special, I was royalty; someone to be worshiped.

          I can never compensate for that.

          Katara steps in front of me. 'Aang, stop! We'll find Appa, you just need to calm down for a second-'

          'Who's going to save our lives now? We'll never make it out of here alive!' Sokka shouts, completely undermining Katara.

          'That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves! You don't care whether Appa is okay or not!' He shouts again, choking down a sob.

          'We can't fight with each other now, Aang!' Katara pleads to his turned back. He's emitting more anger than I could've ever imagined. 

          'Suddenly, he unfolds his glider, and springs into the sky without another word, leaving us stood in the crater that was the library.

---

          'Can't you like -  magic some water out the air?' I ask, my voice sounding strange from my dry mouth. 'I don't think I've ever been this thirsty!'

         Suddenly, Sokka places his hands around my shoulders, and I can feel his sweat through my shirt. 'Look, Arya! We've been saved!' 

          He's pointing at a cactus, and immediately, he's running towards it, breaking it apart and gulping down the juice. 

          'I don't think you should drink strange plants!' Katara says, edging towards him. 

          He stands up straight as he walks towards me. 'This'll clench ya, Arya!' 

          He places his hand on my jaw, and pours the liquid into my mouth before I can protest. It tastes sickly sweet, but I gulp it down without a second thought. 

          As soon as I look back up at him, the world begins to spin. Katara's shouting at him, but suddenly her head is far too big for her body, and Toph is levitating slightly off the ground.

          I laugh out loud at the ridiculousness of it all, then turn to Sokka. 'You were right! I'm not even thirsty anymore!' 

          His skin starts to turn green and I shriek. Katara grabs my hand, and I try to pull away because hers is suddenly on fire, but also freezing to the touch. 

         Sokka wraps his hands around my neck. 'Be careful, there are bees all over you, Arya!'