Sea and Sky
Chapter 26: The Likelihood of Coincidence
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To say that he was incredibly happy was an understatement. He was deliriously happy. What had once been a deep rooted fear that the love of his life had been poisoned had melted into a sense of relief, and the an all consuming joy. The joy he felt was overwhelming for him. Aang couldn't say he'd ever felt as happy to overhear Katara and Suki's secret conversation. Part of him felt like a spy, as if he'd interrupted them, had come across of private information he shouldn't know.
He thought that it should bother him that Katara hadn't told him of her condition yet, but he let that minor detail leave his mind. Aang would do everything in his power to show her that he was on to her, even if she didn't know it yet. He would wait for her to come to him with the news, as not to betray himself. He was going to be a father.
The urge to yell the news from the tops of his lungs loomed in his mind, using self control, he kept quite. Boots crunching on the leaves as he went, he was doing anything to keep himself busy. Aang wanted nothing more than to take the waterbender in his arms and hold her tight, but he would wait. He would wait for her to come to him.
In the mean time, Aang busied himself with a walk through the dense groves of trees surrounding their campsite. Far off from Katara and Suki's hiding spot next to the stream, he practically walked circles around the grove to keep himself from going crazy. He figured there was a lot to plan around the birth of a child. The impending birth seemed to be the least of his worries at the moment.
Focused deeply on his own internal monologue, the thought of taking a permanent residence sat at the back of his mind. For the past few years he and Katara had spent their time visiting the various palaces of the royal families of the world - King Kuei's winter palace during the cooling season, Zuko's Ember Island estate during the warm months, the frozen Southern villa belonging to Hakoda during the spring. But even Aang knew that raising a child at court would be next to impossible. Between the preening of the noble ladies and suffocating nature of the maidservants, Katara would never have to bond with the child.
While neither of them were royalty, whenever the Avatar paid a visit, the pair was never declined any sort of luxury or whim they might have. Wracking his brain, he thought over and over. Where on Earth would be a safe place for them to settle? The air temples, as much nostalgia he had for them, would not be a viable option in their current state. Images of an island came to mind. The island, situated in the bay of Cranefish Town.
Nodding to himself, the island seemed like the perfect place to establish a home for his growing family. The island was close enough to the continent while maintaining a safe distance and level of privacy for them to enjoy their lives together quietly. This much he could manage. The thought of spending yet another season stuck within the confines of another palace made his skin crawl.
It seemed as if the nomad was finally going to put down roots and establish a permanent home. Chuckling to himself, Aang moved towards a tall tree. Resting his staff against the ancient trunk, he pulled a few of the spindly branches down and plucked a handful of delicate plum blossoms. Studying the blooms, he was silent for a moment, his mind continuing to race. His entire life he'd felt semi-aimless, adrift in a sea of confusion and politics. It wasn't until Katara had found him that he'd felt some sort of connection to the world he'd awoken in.
Before his mind could made sense of the blood-curdling scream thatcracked over the horizon, he dropped the blooms, heart pounding in his chest, blood humming with adrenaline. Adrenaline flooded Aang, warming his limbs and pushing him into motion. Before he could think, he'd taken his glider, extending the wings outwards and shooting over the tree canopy. The rush of fear and dread woke up his mind, sharpening his mind as he searched for the source of the scream.
As he came to the stream, he found Suki hunched over Katara's form. Below her, Katara groaned, face wrenched as she doubled over in pain. With a swift current, he dropped down next to the warrior woman and waterbender.
"What the hell happened?!" His voice was a shaken panic as he dropped down next to Katara.
"Watch her, someone ambushed us. I'm going to search now!"
Before he could offer any sort of argument, Suki was gone, dashing into the tree tops. Winding through the branches, the warrior searched for what had been the source of the small blade currently lodged in Katara's right thigh.
Throwing her head back, Katara gritted her teeth in agony as she tried to quell the pain radiating from her thigh. The blade, sharp as any surgical instrument, sliced through the fabric of her leggings and sat at an odd angle. Wincing, she pulled the blade out of her muscle. As the blade made contact with the air, it rusted, clattering to the forest floor beneath her.
Hot crimson welled from her exposed wound, creating a rush of red that seeped into her leggings. "Aang, my waterskin - it's over-" Before she could finish, another fresh wave of pain seared over her.
With no hesitation, he pulled the waterskin to her with a quick burst of air. Quickly, he pulled the cork off and dumped the water into her waiting hands. As the cold liquid made contact with her skin, it glowed an ominous blue.
Pressing her hands into the wound, she drew a deep breath, willing any energy she had into the slice. It seemed that even deep in the forest they weren't safe. Another lance of pain slashed across her as her skin slowly mended, the tendons weaving back together, pain blossoming behind her eyes as she collapsed into the overturned tree trunk.
"What happened?" Aang asked, his voice low as he sank down next to Katara, mind whirling with confusion.
"I don't know. Suki and I were talking, the next I knew I had this -" She paused for a moment, picking up the dagger next to her. "Sticking out of my leg."
Taking the dagger from her, Aang turned the knife over in his hands. Behind them, Sokka barreled into the clearing, sword drawn and ready to attack.
"I heard a scream. Are the girls okay?"
Before either of them could answer his question, the image of Katara's bloodied clothing and red-smeared hands was more than answer enough. "Someone attacked Suki and Katara. Suki went to look for the whoever threw this."
Handing the knife to Sokka, Aang watched as the man turned the blade over in his hands, examining it like he and Katara had just moments before. Feeling his stomach sink, Sokka folded the knife into his tunic before sitting next to Katara.
"I know this metal. It's steel, derived from meteorite. Just like my sword."
Minds whirling, the group fell into a collective sense of confusion. The name of the dagger's source peeled through Sokka's mind, unbidden. Pian Dao.
"We can't stay here. I'll find Suki. Get my sister to Appa. I'll be back as quickly as I can."
Hefting Katara into his arms, Aang noticed several wedges of ice jutting out of the ground. The stream had been half frozen, hunks of half-melted ice sticking up like wayward spikes. It seemed that Katara had enough time to react before the dagger had sliced into her thigh. Shaking his head, Aang cursed himself. If he had waited just a few more minutes instead of wandering off, perhaps he could have protected her from what could have been a worse of situation.
Parting the trees as he moved, he listened as Katara let out a low moan. Gently, he kneeled and sat the waterbender on another overturned tree.
"Katara..." He trailed, unsure of how to reveal what he knew. The situation between them have just grown infinitely more difficult.
Dropping to a knee, he took her hands in his, holding them tightly in his own.
"I... I know. About..." He trailed before bringing one of her hands to his lips and placing a kiss against her knuckles.
The spark of realization and truth flared in Katara's mind as she listened to Aang's uncoordinated words. She knew what he was trying to say. He knew she was pregnant.
Slowly, she withdrew her hand from his and dropped it protectively onto her abdomen. As her blue eyes met his stormy grey ones, invisible sparks passed between them. Drawing her lips together, she stifled her own cry, salty tears pricking at the corners of her eyes.
Dropping his head down, Aang tried to hide his own emotions. He was torn between feelings of confliction - happiness for what the future held for them, unease and anxiety over what had just occurred. A sureness overtaking him, Aang felt his heart lighten as she took his face into her hands, drawing him to look up at her.
"Yes, I'm... we're going to have a baby." She stumbled over the words. The words felt foreign and heavy as she spoke them aloud.
Love. Sacrifice. Forgiveness. Release. He felt both weightless and shackled to the Earth at her words. It felt as if the cycle of life was finally completed within them, the link between him and the waterbender undeniable, unbreakable. While it was Katara who kept him rooted to the physical world, it would be their child that kept him tied to her. The eternal bond linking them felt comfortable on his wrists as he buried his face into her lap.
He wasn't alone in the world. He had a family. Although his family wasn't conventional, he wouldn't wish for anything different.
Pulling back from her embrace, he looked up at her. "You have to go to Ember Island. I'll send you back with Suki and Toph. Sokka and I will track down whoever did this..."
As he separated from her, he looked down at his own cloaks. A large red splotch had settled into the orange fabric, creating a devastating contrast. Had he not known the source of the blood, Aang would have thought that he'd been the one attacked with the knife.
Panic sized Katara. "You can't leave me alone. Not like this." Her voice wavered.
"I need you Aang. Please." Her pleading words broke him.
"If I thought I could keep you - both of you safe - I would stay. This situation is getting out of control. What are the odds that the knife wasn't meant for someone else? What are the odds that Rana didn't send that assassin?"