Avatar: Altered States, 1sentence, part two
Part One: His Story
1. Motion
Tonight is a whirlwind - there are festivals in the middle ring of Ba Sing Sei and they are given cups of sweet wine; Toph actually pulls Aang over to dance, both of them laughing wildly, Sokka is blinking at a girl who wiggles a fan his way, and Katara watches it all, smirking as her drink disappears.
2. Cool
It is late when she meets Jet - Katara's lost the others in the crowd, bumping into people, and blinks when there are hands on her shoulders to steady her, abruptly frozen when she recognizes his eyes.
3. Young
Three minutes later, they have baffled each other - Jet leaves her, bemused by the crazy girl that thinks she knows him; Katara flees the shell of a boy she once knew in the trees, seeking solace in wine cups when she can't find her friends.
4. Last
She probably shouldn't drink anymore - Katara balances her fifth cup on the railing in the pavilion she sits in, squinting at the shadow that seems to be stumbling toward her on the path.
5. Wrong
Maybe she isn't that drunk - no apparition could have hands that steady, or arms that hold her with such strength.
6. Gentle
He wasn't expecting her to kiss him, she wasn't expecting him to be grinning when she tried - teeth clack painfully together and while she's in the middle of giggling about it, he steals her lips.
7. One
"Agai--?" "Yes- now."
8. Thousand
Katara sees more stars that night than she has in all her years spent staring at the sky.
9. King
She wakes when he moves and doesn't notice right away (her head is busy exploding with sweet wine), but no one could mistake that scar, or the voice of the old man, calling for 'Li' outside the pavilion.
10. Learn
He is hiding from his uncle, Katara realizes, but it is far too late - she's already responded to the way he presses her down to the floor, and can't take back the brush of her lips against his anymore than she can erase the blush that stains her cheeks.
11. Blur
'Why not?' she thinks, 'What does it matter?' she wonders, and Zuko answers both questions when he kisses her back suddenly-- and flees, leaving her blinking and naked behind.
12. Wait
She wonders what now, what do you do after such a night; She pulls her clothing back together - but a flash of orange and yellow in the sky, followed by angry shouting has her forgetting her free hair and rumpled appearance, or the old man who blinks when she races from the pavilion.
13. Change
Racing through the streets, she hears the roar and steals a bucket of water from a merchant's table; ahead, she can see a growing blue light and runs faster, praying she isn't too late.
14. Command
His voice is deep and strange, as if thousands are speaking through him now - terrified, she braves the wind and grabs his hand, but rock spears erupt from the earth and buildings are destroyed before his eyes return from blue to grey.
15. Hold
"Let him go!" she shouts, and her voice trembles with anger, her eyes on a chained animal that should be free in the skies; "Or I let him go!" she adds and Aang starts to glow at her side.
16. Need
They don't listen right away, but they don't need to - a carefully placed rock-spear by a blind girl breaks the chains and the Dai Lee flee from Appa's ire.
17. Vision
Aang's vision is blurred from tears, Sokka's from getting beaned in the head from a falling brick, Toph's from-- being Toph; Katara isn't sure what blurs her vision as she hangs on tight to Appa's fur and watches Ba Sing Sei's wall grow small... but she can guess.
18. Attention
They can't do this alone - splitting up, Aang and Toph sneak to Omashu to free the king, Sokka hurries to the ferry to gather the Avatar's warriors, and Katara returns to her master to plead.
19. Soul
"Focus!" Pakku snaps and her jaw sets, anger rising; but Katara's bending is still unsteady and her master gives up, grumbling about useless distractions when her mind should be on the Fire Nation.
20. Picture
She is bent double on the ice, emptying her breakfast into the canal; behind her, someone has pulled her braid to the side to keep it clean, and Yugoda's low, familiar voice says something she doesn't want to hear: "Just like Kana."
21. Fool
He lectures her about shame and humility; Katara trembles with rage, her eyes on the carpet as she calmly replies - at least Zuko never had a chance to drive her away.
22. Mad
They meet miles off the Fire Nation's shore - Bumi has brought fleets of soldiers, Suki and her fellow warriors signal them with fans that flash in the sun, Pakku and Katara head the Northern Tribe's fleet, still silent weeks after the argument.
23. Child
"Stay back," are the first words he says to her, and he keeps his eyes forward, even after she glances to him; "I can't," Katara replies and Pakku doesn't argue, but as they step off the boat, he strikes first and always in front of her.
24. Now
She should have taken moon tea the second she found out; she should have taken moon tea the second they got off Appa, before she even knew, just to be safe; she should have had Aang's back as he raced for the throne room-- and she does, water ready as she follows quickly behind him.
25. Shadow
She doesn't have a chance to think - there is a pale face behind a pillar and a flash of blue and Katara only has a second to stop and let Aang go alone as the princess blocks her way with fire.
26. Goodbye
"You should be more careful," Azula croons, smirking as flame bursts from her hands, "since leather burns so easy" - "You should watch your mouth," the peasant growls, limping and smoking, but with enough spirit still to push water through in a torrent and glory in wide, gold eyes, "since fire chokes so easy."
27. Hide
She is weak and there are soldiers - Katara curls into a ball behind a pillar and tries to keep her breath even, hardly noticing when her hands protectively frame her belly.
28. Fortune
Someone calls her name - Katara blinks, vision blurry as her brother races to her side, barely aware of her arm around his shoulder, or the direction that they're running.
29. Safe
The throne room is gold, alight with flame, and the man that wields it is either in shadow or too bright to focus on - it's only when the Avatar awakens, when the room is bathed in blue and the Fire Lord knows fear, that Katara sees the face of the man who destroyed her world for the first time.
30. Ghost
She passed out before it happened - going limp in Sokka's arms, she remembers blue eyes turned grey turned blue again with tears surrounding them, then a flash of light before everything went black.
31. Book
"Her best friend is dead, she got set on fire, she killed someone in cold blood, and, oh yeah, she's pregnant with some Fire bastard's spawn-- and you're asking me if I'm sure she's sick?!"
32. Eye
The first thing Katara notices upon waking is her grandmother's gaze - second is leather, third is cold, and fourth is tied for the tears that spring up in her eyes and the look on Kana's face.
33. Never
She sits in a canoe with her brother, a hand on the swell of her belly while Sokka paddles; neither speak, but he knows where to go and they end up staring at an empty shell of ice that held a boy captive for a hundred years.
34. Sing
Sitting in a large circle with the rest of her tribe, Katara reflects on all the people she met in the months she knew Aang - only her people, only the Southern Water Tribe, would gather together to celebrate a new season and the growing Fire inside her, brown hands touching her stomach to bless the child within.
35. Sudden
Later, some would guess it was the stress, that it had been a miracle she hadn't lost the child in the first few weeks; for the moment, Katara really doesn't care why it's happened, only that her muscles are clenching and her leathers wet and it's two months too early.
36. Stop
"You can do it, Katara, I know you can, uh, bear down and stuff, come on, little sister, I know y--" "SHUT UP, SOKKA!"
37. Time
Twelve hours later, she is sweat-drenched and boneless amid the furs, struggling to breathe - but Katara forgets breathing entirely when she realizes the tent is silent, the bundle her grandmother holds unmoving.
38. Wash
They put him in her arms and Sokka puts a bowl beside her without being asked - her hands are coated with water and she passes it over the tiny body, eyes closing for both concentration and prayer, nearly sobbing with relief when the baby hiccups, gasps, and starts to scream.
39. Torn
They are both dead to the world for the next day - creating life is hard work for both mommy and baby, but when Katara wakes and rolls over to find olive-colored skin and pretty gold eyes staring back at her, she has to choose between cuddling her son to sleep or sobbing herself there.
40. History
The child is a mixture of Fire and Water and it takes some time for her to come up with the right name - Katara chooses Hassan for her son, for its Water Tribe origin and for the hiss in the middle that reminds her of steam.
41. Power
They are arguing - Sokka loves being the uncle too much and spoils his nephew rotten with toys and sweets from the nations he visits; Katara is yelling at him not to be so soft when Hassan grabs her skirt and exclaims, "Mama!" in a voice that makes her want to bury him in lemon drops.
42. Bother
"Mamamamamamamamamamamamamamamamama--" "Hassan."
43. God
She is mending clothes in the corner of her hut, keeping one eye on the needle, one eye on her family: Sokka has his nephew settled in his lap and is pointing to the heavens, whispering a story of love and honor, princesses and moons.
44. Wall
The tribe is small and acceptance high - the first time Hassan accompanies Katara to the shore to meet with Earth Kingdom traders is the first time he sees expressions like "betrayal" and "disgust" (it's also the first time he sees his mother waterwhip someone not related to himself.)
45. Naked
"He asked about you," is not something she wants to hear, least of all in a tone like someone had to pry the words from Sokka's lips with a crow bar - but more than that, she doesn't want to hear it because turning her head away from her brother's eyes is just as telling as the expression she hides from him.
46. Drive
"You should write to him," Kana says; "Maybe," Katara returns; her grandmother starts to say something more, but Hassan flies by on a penguin and the discussion is forgotten in lieu of laughter.
47. Harm
Kana is persistent - she's changing her great-grandson when she practically demands Katara write to the Fire prince about Hassan, but is easily silenced when her granddaughter quietly asks, "How's Grandpa Pakku these days?"
48. Precious
"Mama, look!" is commonly heard around Katara's hut, signaling a successful fishing trip, a new pet, or a completed cartwheel - Katara turns with an impressed smile already in place, only to have it replaced with a gape and a gasp as Hassan presents her with a handful of fire.
49. Hunger
The first time Katara truly considers writing to Zuko is when Hassan sits her down with his often-asked, "What's my daddy like?" questions, and her first impulse is to describe his backside.
50. Believe
This could be entirely foolish, entirely brave, or entirely compassionate - Katara isn't sure, but with Hassan snug against her hip and Sokka eyeing her worriedly from the boat, she hands him the letter she's written and re-written over a dozen times, the crown prince's name written carefully on the seal.
(Bonus!)51. Dumb
It was her own fault, really - Hassan knew perfectly well what color his eyes were, what color his father's eyes would be, knew perfectly well that Daddy Has a Scar; he reacts accordingly, holding his arms out to the man that must be his father, while Katara stands, stunned and speechless, no more than two hours after seeing Sokka and her letter off.
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theliismightier) wrote,
amused
