After Ozai: Book Two (Kataang FanFic)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Worries and Woes

 The sun beamed down heavily on the two masters as they ran through their firebending katas. Sweat continued to trickle down Aang's brow and chest as Zuko continued to critique him on his forms and breathing techniques.

"No! Power in firebending comes from the breath. Not the muscles! I know for a fact that you know this, Aang! The breath within your body becomes energy. That energy extends past your limbs and then becomes fire." With ease, Zuko ran through the sophisticated kata and shot fire from his fingertips, showcasing his skills to his pupil.

"Like that! Now, again, and get it right this time!" Frustrated, Aang blasted a gout of fire into the air as he gritted his teeth.

"Enough! We've been drilling this sequence all morning! You and I have been up since dawn just so that you could savagely critique me and my forms. Right now, you and me!" Aang then took an aggressive stance and sized up Zuko, begging for him to try and fire a shot at him. Zuko shook his head in disbelief as he stared towards Aang.

"You two have done enough for today. I think the best thing for us right now is just to separate and calm down." Aang sharply inhaled air between his teeth as Katara's voice filled his ear.

"Oh come on! I was going to put fifteen copper pieces on Twinkletoes!" Annoyed, Katara turned her head and peered over towards Toph who was in the midst of dropping her bet into Sokka's hands.

"Enough, all of you! Aang, come with me!" Reluctantly, Aang walked over towards Katara, his head dipped low as he approached her.

"Come on, you need to cool off!" Harshly, Katara gripped onto Aang's wrist and pulled him away from his friends, leaving them all confused at Katara's sudden anger towards the Airbender.

"He was just frustrated with the technique, it really wasn't that big of a deal."

"That's not why she's so upset." Surprised, both Zuko and Sokka turned and watched as Suki wandered over to them, her arm in a makeshift sling so that her shoulder would be restricted from any movement.

"What do you mean," Zuko asked, sitting down next to Sokka and Toph. Grimacing, Suki looked out towards the couple, watching them intently as they continued to increase their distance from them.

"That roar, it wasn't a saber-tooth moose lion. I knew I had recognized that roar before." Suddenly, Suki slumped into the ground, chewing her cheek in thought as she stared away from Sokka and Zuko.

"So what was that roar?" Slowly, Suki turned towards the boys and whispered.

"It was Aang. Katara got to experience what I had before we found you, Zuko. It's like he loses complete control, even worse than his Avatar State."

"Well, clearly it couldn't have been that bad. I mean, look, Katara is still alive and in one piece."

"You're right, she is in one piece. Maybe she was able to calm him down, lucky for her. But that doesn't mean that she'll be able to bring him back the next time. We have to be careful when it comes to Aang. We all know how much pressure and pain he's been going through recently. If anything, we need to limit all distractions from him. That way, we won't be putting any excess pressure on him." Sighing, Sokka stood in place, leaning against the nearby wall of rock for support.

"That means Katara. Out of all the 'distractions' that he has, she's the top one."
"You know neither of them will be able to do that, Snoozles. Besides, what harm is Katara actually doing to Aang? If anything, she's the one that's keeping him sane."

"It's not what Katara is doing to Aang that I'm worried about. It's what Aang might do to Katara that worries me."

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