savedtheworld | Book 4: Winds from Tomorrow [Action: May 30th-June 1]

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Book 4: Winds from Tomorrow [Action: May 30th-June 1]

[Action: Days 5-7]

[It's odd for Aang, waking up in House 56. What is this, some sort of bunked bed? He can't remember whatever led him to sleep there. Doesn't this violate his decision to maintain some distance from his younger friends? He slips out of the house early in the morning, or tries to. It's possible that anyone else in the household could have caught him before he was able to leave.

Aang spends the rest of the day and the next two days going back to his daily routine. He meditates in the forest near Avatar House. He goes through town, either casually strolling or zipping through on his Air Scooter, to stay social. On Day 5, he also has to set up his tent near his meditation spot again. Where could his old tent have gone?]

[ooc: Aang is aged up (kinda)-canonically to around his 40s. He also remembers Luceti in an alternate way where he was brought here at this age. The shift has also caused some memory fluctuations (who's that Yakone fellow again?), although the possibility always remains that he's actually from a somewhat alternate version of canon (aka my handwave if my few assumptions get jossed)

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[She smiles a little bit.]

Tell me about it.

[He grins back at her].

Children. [How does he continue? How much does he tell? He grips his beard tightly and nervously looks around a few times.] Some of us... amongst our group... have had kids. Beautiful, wonderful kids. In fact... [He calms himself, releases his beard and gives an even brighter smile. There's that one bit he can't help but share] Katara, I'm not the last Airbender anymore.

Edited 2012-06-12 04:49 (UTC)

[...wow, she. Really doesn't know what she feels about that, or what to say.

~~And neither did I, for the longest time.~~]

That's great, Aang.

[She forces herself through the strange feelings to connect to the part of herself that would always remember taking a twelve-year-old boy home only for him to find it a skeleton of itself.

For that feeling of aloneness

I'm so happy for you.

[Her reaction feeds his joy, but it almost makes him laugh at the same time. Since her reaction is only a shadow of how the older her would react to the news firsthand.]

Thanks, Katara. It's my youngest boy who's an Airbender. And I have two older troublemakers who I love just as much. [Pause.] I'd love to tell you details, Katara, but... I'm not sure what would be wise. You're still so young, after all, and some things might sound weird coming from Old Man Aang. [He smiles and absentmindedly spins some pebbles around his raised pointer finger with Airbending.] But hey, if there's anything you think you're ready to know, I'll tell you.

[That's right, Aang. Tell Katara that she "shouldn't know" something - naturally, she'll follow that advice.]

Sixteen is two years older than when we won the war. [It seems like it's always been Aang's job to remind Katara of her youth. She never feels like a child anymore.]

And you might be older, but you're still Aang. I want to know how you're doing, and I want to know how Sokka, Toph, and Zuko are. Do they have kids too?

[There, reasserting her rights while she... figures out... what she does or doesn't want to know, because his hesitance is telling enough as it is.]

Of course. You always were wise beyond your years, Katara, while being a kid at the same time. We have all been happy for the most part. And all of us, we have a bond that can only get stronger through time. Even that grumpy old Fire Lord.

[But he sees her question as a good excuse to focus on the others.]

There have been families starting all around. Zuko and Toph each have a beautiful daughter... not with each other of course. Toph's daughter is really precious. I can't wait until you can meet her, I know you're gonna love that scamp. [Pause] I mean, I actually know that you're gonna lover her to as if she we were one of your own.

[She wants to ask who Toph and Zuko ended up having their children with... and if Sokka had any kids, but... that would make her not asking him about herself even more obvious.]

Really? What's she like?

[...as if she were one of my own.

one of my own.

one of my own.]

She's a real sweetheart. Almost like a little version of her mom. Except, you know, for the seeing thing. And she's an Earthbender too. Toph's already started teaching her some trickers. She gets along well with, uh, [our] my youngest, too. They're around the same age.

["Sweetheart" and "Toph" were not words that Katara automatically associated with each other.

Oh man, oh man, he was talking about his kids again.

She swallowed.]

And about how old is that?

He turned nine recently. And Toph's daughter is eight. They're such adorable playmates.

Wow...

[THIS IS THE WEIRDEST CONVERSATION EVER.]

How old is your oldest?

[Kya.]

She'll be turning fifteen soon. [~~INSERT ACTUAL AGE IF JOSSED~~.]

Edited 2012-06-16 05:27 (UTC)

[Blink.]

Wow, that's...

[...strange.

No wonder he was treating me as though...

Fifteen.]

[He quickly gives the back of his head a nervous rub.]

Great? Wonderful? Awesome? It's definitely a blessed life.

[Except when he remembers that gap in his memories, those flashes of pain. He tries to blink them away as he always does with pain. Focus on all this happy news.]

...really weird.

[Sorry. It is.]

[Aang chuckles.]

I blame Luceti for that. It'd be a lot different if you were my age. But it's still pretty fun to be kinda like a prophet. [Assuming his future's the real one. But Aang doesn't want to consider otherwise.]

Edited 2012-06-16 17:01 (UTC)

[She smiled a little at that, despite the implication. At least Aang was having fun, and that was always a good thing, but...

She looped her arms around her knees casually enough, but her mind was racing.]

Do you remember when we went to see Aunt Wu?

Definitely. ["Trust your heart and you will be with the one you love." "Just as you reshaped those clouds, you also have the power to reshape your destinty."] I guess I could compete with her in the fortune telling business, too.

Mmm.

[She glanced down for a minute, before she glanced up at him, smiling - a sort of pained, sort of joyful smile.]

I keep feeling like I should ask you all kinds of questions about my future, like I asked her. And I want to hear all about your kids, and who Sokka, Toph, and Zuko married, and if we all see each other and - so many things. But one thing I've learned in Luceti is... that what matters most to us is our memories, and our memories make us who we are. And the Aang that I know... he has memories that I don't have. And I have memories here which he doesn't share. And things are already hard enough because of that... so even though I want to know, I don't want to make things worse.

[The last thing I ever want to do is hurt you.

She looked down for a moment and then up at him, still smiling that same, tremulous smile.]

So tell me if we're happy. Tell me if we're all safe, and healthy, and I'll believe you. Because I really want to know. But I have to think about my memories. I have to think about what I know the you that I know wants...

[...to be close again]

...and I have to guard that.

[He looks a way for a moment, as he tries to tone down the goofy smile formed on his face.]

You really are something else, Katara. And I really appreciate you looking out for Little Me. I'm more concerned for you, naturally, but... if we both keep on looking out for each other, things will end up alright.

[He stands up and puts a hand on Katara's shoulder, looking down into her eyes.]

Just know that we will be happy, Katara. Happier than you can imagine.

[She took a deep breath and looked up at him, smiling.]

I can live with that.

[And, for the first time, the weirdness in meeting his eyes was - not replaced, but mixed with something else. Happiness. Satisfaction. And - most importantly - genuine recognition.]

Great. Now that that's out of the way, there's something I just have to show you.

[He releases her shoulder and steps back, adopting a more solemn expression.]

[It quickly becomes goofy again, as he backflips several yards away.]

Watch this, Katara!

[He then goes through some more breakdancey-Airbending moves ~~as seen in the opening credits~~. It ends with him kicking while spinning on his back to release a blade of air. And it's controlled so that it blows by Katara with no more force than a relaxing breeze.]

[Un. Expected.]

[And then she laughs, and when he's done, she claps her hands, the breeze having blown her hair back.]

That's amazing, Aang! You were always a powerful bender, but that was fantastic!

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