Freedom [ATLA Katara x Male Reader]

Chapter 24: [Bitter Work]

"Today's the day!" Aang exclaimed excitedly, grinning broadly. "Can you believe it? After all that time searching for a teacher, I'm finally starting earthbending! And this place, it's perfect, don't you think? Sokka?" Sokka grumbled and glared at Aang with tired eyes. "Oh, you're still sleeping, huh? Sorry."

"Goooooood morning, earthbending student!" Toph greeted enthusiastically, bursting out of her earth tent. 

"Good morning, Sifu Toph!" Aang replied cheerfully. You sighed, rubbing your temples. 

"It is way too early for you to be this loud," you grumbled, stirring the rice noodles you had made for breakfast. 

Katara cast you an amused glance. "You've been awake for hours."

You glared at her. "And I'm still not mentally prepared to hear your whiny voices."

She rolled her eyes but you saw a hint of a smile on her lips as she turned away. Sokka suddenly sat up, grumbling to himself as Toph looked at him with a mischievous smirk.

"Sorry, Snoozles, we'll do our earthbending as quietly as we can," Toph whispered but there was clear amusement in her voice. Then she raised an earth pillar beneath Sokka, catapulting him into the air. 

He screamed the entire time and your eyes widened as he descended towards you. You grabbed your pot and moved out of the way just in time as he crashed to the ground where you had been sitting only moments before. 

He groaned in pain, rolling over to glare up at you. "Thanks for catching me, Y/n. Really appreciate it."

You smiled in amusement, setting your pot back down. "You're welcome."

Sokka sniffed and his eyes lit up slightly. "But hey, if that tastes as good as it smells, I might just consider forgiving you."

"That's good. Don't know what I would do without your forgiveness," you replied sarcastically. The two of you continued to bicker as Aang and Toph began their earthbending training. 

"So what move are you going to teach me first?" Aang asked excitedly. "Rock-a-lanche? The Trembler? Oh, maybe I could learn to make a whirlpool out of land!"

"Let's start with 'move a rock'," Toph said simply, bursting Aang's bubble. 

Aang clapped, still eager to learn. "Sounds good, sounds good!"

. . .

Not long later, the pair were stood before two rocks as you, Sokka and Katara watched from nearby. 

"The key to earthbending is your stance," Toph explained. "You've got to be steady and strong. Rock is a stubborn element. If you're going to move it, you've got to be like a rock yourself."

"Like a rock," Aang repeated. "Got it."

"Good. Now the actual motion of this one is pretty simple." Toph slammed her rock against the canyon wall. "Okay, you ready to give it a try?"

"I'm ready," Aang said, which turned out to be a complete lie. He tried to move the rock, but instead went flying back against Appa. You and Sokka snickered. 

"Wow, Aang, that was really good!" you said sarcastically. "You did exactly what Toph did but you got slammed instead! Great job!"

"Ha, rock beats airbender!" Sokka exclaimed, amused. The two of you continued to laugh until Katara tugged on your ears, making you both yelp in pain. 

"Don't be so horrible, you two," Katara scolded, releasing your ears. You both mumbled your apologies, rubbing your sore ears. The waterbender addressed Toph. "I don't understand what went wrong. He did it exactly the way you did."