Coming Together

Calligraphy Brush

Katara stood on the ferry with boxes behind her just as it was docking at Air Temple Island. Aang met her with a kiss on the cheek as be bent down to grab multiple boxes. She helped grab the ones that he left.

"Is this the last of it?"

"This is everything. Nothing else remains in the house that I am not willing to sell to the next person." She looked to the setting sun.

"We'll put this stuff in my house for now." He nodded. She had gotten rid of everything in her house that she didn't need and packed the essentials, minus the pelts to be sensitive to Aang. All her artifacts, her clothes, food, bathroom items, books, knickknacks, and junk was now on the island. Aang had ample storage in his house, but her personal care items went with her to the temporary room where she was living inside the girl's dormitory. It was their decision.

They had come to an agreement that living together so close to the wedding would give many opportunities to break their promise of waiting until the wedding night. But that was the furthest thing from Katara's mind that morning.

They placed the boxes where they needed too. Aang started to put away her books and the tribal artifacts on the walls with his nomadic artifacts. It made the place feel much more like home. Katara took off with the last of her personal care items and arranged them in her dormitory. Her face was like stone. So many things were running through her mind it was hard for her to keep up. She fiddled with her combs and ribbons until Aang knocked on the doorframe.

"Sweetie, are you alright?"

"Hmm?" She asked and put the comb back on the shelf. "Yeah, why?"

"You just seem... distracted." He said and came to her, slipping his hand into hers.

"I am, a bit. I'm just over thinking. You know me."

"Yes I do." He kissed her hair. "But it's usually not nothing. Tell me."

"I was just thinking... You know how your house is now filled with two nation's things? And how our wedding is going to be half watertribe, half air nomad?"

"Yes. I thought you wanted it that way? If you want a full water tribe wedding-"

"No! Trust me, I am happy with it this way."

"Okay, then where is the issue Katara?"

She looked down onto his robes and avoided contact with his eyes.

"This is going to sound stupid, but... how do air nomads prepare for a wedding?"

"Oh. You mean outside of the ceremony?"

"Yes. Like an engagement. What am I missing that a normal woman from your nation would have?"

"Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck trying to think. "Really nothing. I mean there's the lack of a tattoo but you can't really get that. Only Airbending masters can have that tattoo. And every person of my culture was an airbender."

"I know I just feel bad because the necklace is part of my heritage, not yours. I just want you to feel like we've done all we could."

He was quiet for a while and he looked down into her eyes.

"Well, we can always do what we do for the kids." He paused and saw that she was intrigued. "There is this paste that we apply with either a thin brush or a very dull needle. We make really extravagant designs on the kids hands and feet as part of one of our festivals. The paste goes on white but after a few days it's dark blue. Darker than our tattoos. It stays on for about a week or until it's scrubbed off. Do... would you want to do that?"