꧁ chapter twenty-one ꧂
aang's intervention
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"IT'S LIKE EVERYTIME I think about how stressed I am, I just end up more stressed," Aang explained, "I'm like a big, growing snowball of nerves"
"Of course you are. That's cause you gotta fight the Fire Lord, the baddest man on the planet," Sokka replied before adding,
"And you better win or we're all done for"
"Sokka!" Meiluna looked at him in shock.
"You're not helping" Katara said, giving her brother an annoyed look.
"What? It's true. That's the deal. He knows it" Sokka shrugged.
Katara walked over to Aang,
"You know what? I've got just the thing! Get ready to be de-stressified!"
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"I'm out of ideas," Sokka walked past Meiluna, "He's all yours"
Meiluna turned to face the Avatar, who appeared to be even more stressed than he was to begin with.
"Well, when I can't sleep, I find that tea really helps to calm me down," Meiluna explained to Aang, "There was this really good tea place in Ba Sing Se, their tea was absolutely perfect. You should've been there, it was the best balance between-"
Meiluna paused her speech realising she had gone off on a tangent.
"Uh, well, I've never actually made tea myself, you know, people around the palace usually did it for me"
Aang listened to the girl with a doubtful look in his eyes as she brought out two cups Toph had created with her earthbending.
"I think it should be fine though" She continued as she grabbed a cup handing it to Aang.
He peered inside the cup, staring at the pitiful leaves that floated around in the pool of water before looking back at Meiluna with a grimace.
"The water isn't exactly hot because I don't know how to make a fire and I used some leaves off of that tree" She said pointing at a nearby tree, that seemed to be on the brink of death with withered branches.
"You know what-" Aang started but was cut off by Meiluna,
"Seriously, it can't be that bad"
She brought the cup up to her lips taking a large gulp. Her eyes widened with disgust before she spat out the contents of her mouth.
"Oh Spirits!"
Aang continued to stare at the Princess who looked back up at him with a weak smile,
"It just tastes so good"
Aang raised an eyebrow as Meiluna let out a disappointed sigh. Aang quickly picked up his cup, not wanting to make her upset, and downed half the 'tea' in a swift gulp. Meiluna's eyes sparkled with joy seeing him give her a reluctant smile. Aang desperately held back the urge to throw up as he emptied the contents of his cup into a nearby bush whilst Meiluna had been distracted.
The two of them eventually made their way back to where the others had been seated.
"Thanks for everything guys" Aang spoke appreciatively.
"So, do you feel less stressed?" Katara asked hopefully, "Ready for a good nights sleep?"
"Uh, I kinda think I sorta might slightly feel a little better," Aang answered hesitantly, "Maybe"
"Then our work here is done" Sokka smiled before letting out a yawn and lying back down.
Meiluna moved to lay down on her own sleeping bag, feeling the weight of her eyelids from her exhaustion. Her sleep had become somewhat better, although still irregular and in short bursts, she was grateful that she was able to rest despite it being for a limited amount of time.
To pass her time, she tried to count the number of stars in the sky. It sounded boring, because it was. She did it in hopes of the mindless counting lulling her to sleep.
Meiluna had reached the 145th star when she decided to close her eyes. It was short lived as her eyes instantly shot open at the sound of Aang's screams.
"What happened Aang?" Katara asked worriedly as she rushed over to him.
Meiluna sat up, observing the intense expression on the Avatar's face.
"It's the nightmares," He answered softly, "They just get worse and worse"
"Looks like it's time for another..." Sokka quickly turned around, swiftly putting on his fake beard,
"Therapy session!"
"No, that won't help," Aang shook his head sadly, "Nothing helps, there's only one thing I can do!"
Everyone looked to Aang expectantly, waiting for his solution.
"I'm going to stay awake straight through to the invasion"
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"Invasion! All aboard for the invasion!" Aang announced as he paced nervously behind Katara.
She stopped her exercises for a moment to approach the Avatar with concern.
"You don't look so good," Katara commented, "You sure you can't just lie down for a little nap?"
"I told you, I can't go back to sleep" Aang reminded her.
"Aang, staying up all night can't be good for you" Katara shook her head.
Aang seemed to have dazed off for a few moments when he started to pucker his lips for a kiss, from no one apparently as he wasn't facing Katara at the moment.
"Aang!" Katara snapped him out of his trance, "I was just saying you should take a nap"
"Oh," Aang quickly turned around to face her, "I guess I kinda drifted off into a daydream"
"What was your dream about?" She asked curiously.
"Uh," Aang's face turned a light pink shade, "Living underwater"
"Sounds neat!"
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"Aang, we're all staring to get a little worried about you" Katara spoke gently.
"You've been awake too long" Sokka told him.
"You'll get dark circles," Meiluna added.
"And you're acting downright weird" Toph remarked.
"Look, I appreciate what you guys are saying, but the stress and the nightmares, they were too much," Aang said defeatedly, "Staying awake is the best way for me to deal with it"
Aang averted his gaze to Appa and Momo who sat calmly beside each other.
"You guys, come on!"
Meiluna furrowed her eyebrows, looking to Katara with an odd look, seeing the Avatar frantically wave his arms around, talking to the animals. All of a sudden, he ran up to Sokka.
"Sokka, what do we do?" Aang asked in a panic.
"About what?" He asked in confusion.
"About that!" The Avatar pointed to Appa and Momo, who seemed to remain indifferent.
Aang made his way back over to them, holding his hands out in surrender,
"Come on, guys! We're on the same side"
Meiluna poked Katara's shoulder making her turn to face her.
"Should we do something?" The Princess asked, looking unsure.
Aang then started running in the opposite direction whilst screaming,
"I just need to jump in a cold waterfall!"
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"Oh, look," Aang poked at the koala sheep wool, "Another hallucination, an imaginary bed made out of clouds"
"Hey!" Toph called out, "It's real! We spent hours working on it"
"We made it just for you" Meiluna smiled.
"A good night's sleep will probably take the crazy away," Sokka said optimistically, "We hope"
"Look! You guys keep telling me that I need to sleep, but I can't! The invasion's tomorrow!" Aang cried out.
"Aang-"
"No, Katara!" The Avatar quickly cut her off, "There's still so much I haven't learned. I don't need sleep, what I need is practice. Quick, hit me"
Katara watched him with a sympathetic gaze as he wobbled around, unable to walk properly,
"I'm not going to hit you"
"You want me to do it?" Toph stepped forward enthusiastically making Sokka nudge her back to her spot.
"Listen, you've been training for this since the day we met," Katara said as she placed her hand on his shoulder, "I've seen your progress. You're smart, brave and strong enough"
"You really think so?" Aang asked in disbelief whilst Katara nodded.
"We all do!" Meiluna assured him with a smile.
"You can do this, you're ready" Sokka smiled.
"You're the man, Twinkle Toes!" Toph encouraged.
"Thanks guys," Aang nodded as he let out a small yawn, "You know what? I think I am ready"
Meiluna and the others observed how quickly the Avatar fell asleep, just as his head hit the bed. He smiled while mumbling something under his breath,
"No, Fire Lord Ozai, you're not wearing any pants"
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