Freedom [ATLA Katara x Male Reader]

Chapter 13: [The Northern Air Temple]

You and your friends sat around a campsite with several other groups, listening to a man tell a story of 'airbenders'.

"So, travellers. The next time you think you hear a strange, large bird talking, take a closer look. It might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man. A member of a secret group of air walkers, who laugh at gravity, and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!"

Aang turned to you with a grin. "Aren't airbender stories the greatest?"

"Is it realistic?" Katara asked excitedly. "Is that how it was back then?"

"I laugh at gravity all the time." Aang chuckled to himself. "Gravity."

You tilted your head to the side, completely and utterly confused. "What is gravity?"

Sokka clapped you on the back. "Buddy, there is a lot I need to teach you..."

Before you could ask more, the storyteller stopped in front of you, rattling his hat in a request for money. "Jingle jingle!"

Sokka searched inside his heavy cloak, and managed to pull out a bug, a worm and a few crumbs. He looked at the man apologetically. You spotted a stray coin on the ground, picked it up, and flicked it into the man's hat. 

"Aww, much obliged, kiddo!" the man exclaimed, tipping his hat to you. 

"Hey, thanks for the story," Aang said, still smiling broadly. "It means a lot to hear airbender stories. It must have been a hundred years ago that your great grandpa met them."

The man gave Aang a confused look. "What are you prattling about, child? Great Grandpappy saw the air walkers last week."

Aang had a shocked and disbelieving expression. You exchanged a questioning look with the rest of your friends. 

. . .

"Hey, we're almost at the Northern Air Temple," Aang said from where he sat atop Appa's head. "This is where they had the championships for Sky Bison polo."

Katara moved to sit by you and Sokka at the back of the saddle. She murmured to the two of you, "Do you think we'll really find airbenders?"

Sokka didn't glance at her. He continued whittling a piece of wood, but you couldn't decipher what the design was meant to be. "You want me to be like you, or totally honest?"

Katara crossed her arms, clearly angry. "Are you saying I'm a liar?"

Sokka shrugged, unconcerned by his sister's mood. "I'm saying you're an optimist. Same thing, basically."

"I'm sure we'll find something," you said, leaning back against the saddle. "Something for Aang to hold onto, to keep him going. Something that'll make him happy, even if it's just for a little while. The kid deserves that much."

Katara glanced at Aang with a concerned expression. The boy had a wide grin plastered on his face as he practically shook with excitement. You frowned. You could tell she didn't want him to have his hopes crushed, and neither did you. 

You hesitated for a moment before sliding your hand across the saddle, placing it over hers comfortingly. Katara glanced down at your hands, then up at you, a small smile crossing her face. 

"I hope you're right..." she said. You just gave her a hand a light squeeze before pulling it away. You missed the warmth of her palm immediately, and you resisted the urge to reach back out. 

"Hey guys, look at this!" Aang exclaimed. The three of you moved to the front of the saddle to see what he was pointing at. 

Ahead of you was a mountain with a large temple on top. Around it were several dark specks. As you flew closer, you could see that the specks were actually people, who were flying around the temple in plane-shaped contraptions.