Katara stayed in her tree all afternoon, just watching as different creatures passed by her hiding spot. She could have killed some of those animals for food, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had already killed one too many. In her mind's eye, Katara could see the beautiful deer prancing around the forest with his friend, not knowing the danger around him. She was sort of like the deer; the Gamemaster's had put her and many other kids in this game and watched as they pranced around the arena, not knowing if there were any danger around. What a strange world they were living in.
Soon enough, night had fallen, and yet, Katara was still in the tree. She was scared and mad and upset. So many different emotions were rushing through her system, making her breath come in short spurts. The edges of her vision were darker than normal, and her heart was pounding against her ribcage.
Katara gripped at the bark around her, the wooden pieces digging into her flesh. The darkness seemed to swallow her up, both in her heart and outside. She swore that her heart was going to burst out of her chest, it was beating that hard. What was going on with her? The anxiety coursing through her veins told her that she was having a panic attack, but why now? Was it because she was alone in the Games? She wasn't so sure, but it was an awful time to have one.
The first time Katara had a panic attack was a few weeks after her mother had disappeared. Katara was heading home from school when these random girls brushed past her. They were chatting amongst themselves, but when the leader noticed Katara, she spun around. There was a smug grin on her pretty face when she said, "We all heard what happened to your mother. You know, it was bound to happen, but I think you should've left with her."
"Left?" Katara asked, glancing around her. No one else was around, which was a bad thing. "What do you mean left?"
"You didn't know that she was planning on leaving?" All of the girls pouted, but it was in a mocking way. Instead of anger coursing through her system, all Katara could feel was anxiety. Of course her mother wouldn't leave her or Sokka! "She was done with you guys and . . . left, I guess. How tragic."
Tears brimmed in Katara's eyes as she quickly shook her head. "No, that can't be true!"
"It is, though. I mean, who would want to stay with your family?" The leader giggled and the others followed suit. "I wouldn't." And with that, Katara was left in their perfume as they walked away. That was the first time Katara had a panic attack and it wasn't the last one.
Katara sucked in a deep breath, closing her eyes. She let go of the bark and curled up in the fetal position, generating her mothers image in her mind's eye. Just the sight of her immediately calmed her down. She could feel the anxiety drain away from her body, and in it's place was exhaustion. Too many things had happened in a short amount of time and Katara was done with everything.
---
Soft sunlight streamed into the tree roots, waking Katara up. It was warm out, but Katara didn't focus on it. It had been a couple days since she had last eaten, and her stomach was furiously growling. She hadn't gone this long without food, no matter how little they had back home. Gran-Gran always made sure they ate even if she went without.
Katara crawled out of the tree, but she didn't stand up. Her best bet was to get lichen and moss, and that was found on the forest floor. At least she had remembered that or else she was in trouble.
It was cooler on the forest floor and the shadows from the towering trees fell, making everything seem darker. Katara peered closely at the ground, brushing her hands over the sticks and rocks and leaves. She knew that moss grows in moist areas of forests and other places, and underneath the underbrush was a good place to start. She pushed away a section of the underbrush and grinned when she saw the familiar fuzzy, green moss.
Katara gently ripped the moss off of the rock and tucked it away in her clothes. She wanted to gather a good amount of food before she ate any of it, though it was very tempting to eat it now.
She crawled forward on her hands and knees, feeling embarrassed and mad. The Gamemaster's had to be laughing at her now since she was crawling through a disgusting forest. Those old men must be the richest people in the world; all they did was watch helpless children fight to the death in different arenas, probably placing bets on who would win the Games. They should have been the ones in the Games, not her or Sokka. Then they would feel the way she did: ashamed, angry, and sad.
Katara tried to fill her pockets up with the moss, but she couldn't find much more. Instead of spending all day trying to find more moss, she stood up and walked over to the trees. Lichen grew on the sides of trees in any climate, which meant that she could find some here. The dark tree bark made it easier to spot the lichen, and the sun had risen higher in the sky, helping her in her search. The first tree she looked at had a lot of lichen, so she shoved them into her pockets and moved on.
Katara didn't want to stray too far away from her tree, so she stayed in the same area. It seemed like the firebenders didn't follow her here, which was a good thing. She wasn't sure if she was ready to run from them again. She was angry with Lu Ten because he was such a nice guy back at the Capital. Why would he go with the freaky people and not with her? They would've made a great team, but he basically betrayed her. It confused her to no end.
Out of the corner of her eye, Katara saw a berry bush growing. Her smile came back, but this time, it was so big. If she could get some of the berries, she would be okay. Turning her full attention to it, she noticed that parts of it was burned. The firebenders must have come here before, which meant that they could come back at any time. It was going to be okay, though, because she had a great hiding spot.
She plucked some of the berries off of the bush. They were a dark color and smelled sweet, so Katara hoped that they were okay to eat. She held them in her hands as she collected more. Hope rushed through her body as she gathered more and more of the berries. She was going to be okay.
Katara's foot kicked something, so she looked closely at what it was. A frown replaced the smile on her face when she couldn't figure out what the thing was. It looked charred and ashy, so it could have been a dead animal. She leaned in closer and a scream left her lips. It was the charred remains of a person.
She fell backward, dropping all of the berries that were in her hands. The image of the girl was burned in her head. Her hands started shaking and her breath came in quick bursts. Katara spun around and ran back toward her tree. However, her feet got caught up in the underbrush and she fell down hard. Pain erupted through her body, but she didn't have time to lay around.
A hand shot out from the underbrush next to her, latching onto her arm. Katara let out a small scream. She wanted to jump up to get away from this person, but the grip the person had on her was iron tight. She pushed away the leaves and grim and gasped when she saw who it was.
"Aang?" Katara asked softly, bending down and peering at him. His skin was tinted a little green, and his eyes wouldn't focus. "Aang, are you okay?"
"Not really," he replied shakily. "I think I ate something bad."
"Can you stand?"
"No. I can't feel my arms and legs."
Katara looked at his body and determined that he was about the same weight as one of the large nets she used to pull out of the water. She put her arms under his legs and back, needing to get him out of here before he saw the dead body behind them. Her legs screamed with the effort, but she continued pushing herself.
She hurried into the thicket of trees, her eyes scanning the area. She had ventured a little ways out from her tree, so she had to find it again. "Do you have a hiding place?" Aang asked shakily.
"Yeah," she said, finally spotting the spot where several trees had grown close together, their trunks swirling around each other. Hopefully it would be big enough for the two of them.
Katara climbed into the tree and set Aang down on the ground. His arms were under him awkwardly, so she pulled them to his side. "Do you know what you ate?" she asked him.
"I ate some of those berries on the bush." Katara gasped again, her mind flashing back to the berries she had gathered. She was glad she dropped them. "That's how Smellerbee couldn't get away from Azula and her band of friends."
"I saw her body," Katara whispered, closing her eyes. She drew in a deep breath, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry for her."
"Me too."
"Is something else bothering you?"
Her eyes shot open and she saw Aang looking at her, his eyes glazed over. As time went on, his situation seemed to be worsening, but he was focused on her and how she felt. "I lost Sokka."
Aang was silent for a little bit. Katara didn't want to hear a sympathetic speech that Sokka would be fine. No one would be fine in here. "Sokka is a big boy. He can take care of himself," Aang finally said. "I know you're terrified of him not making it, and I can't tell you that he'll make it through, but you should have hope."
"It's kind of hard to see find hope in this darkness."
"I know. But without hope, what else will you have?"
"Nothing."
"Exactly."
She took a deep breath and sat down next to him. He tried to lift his hand, but it flopped over. She took it anyway. It was cold and clammy and small. He shivered on the hard ground, so she pulled her jacket off of her shoulders and placed it on top of him. Tucking it around his shoulders, she whispered, "Get some rest. You need it. I'll keep watch."
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"Not killing me," he said simply. "If anyone else found me, they would have killed me right away."
"I'm not just anyone."
Aang's eyes fluttered shut and he let out a breath. She pressed her palm into his forehead and it came back wet with sweat. She hoped he would be fine because she didn't want to be alone in the arena.