Avatar The Last Airbender: The Sins of the Past [Katara x OC]

Chapter 0-3: Leaving

After a few years of living with the monks, Aang is revealed to be the Avatar at the age of 12 instead of 16, and he's become more like a little brother to me. Maybe it's because of my connection to his past life, my father. The monks said that war was on the horizon, so he needed to start training immediately. Monk Gyatso, his caretaker, kept allowing him to play games, but I knew the other monks didn't like that.

One day, Aang woke me up from a nap around mid-day. I saw the sad look on his face, but he kept avoiding eye contact with me. I rolled onto my back, letting Cyril lay on the bed next to my pillow, then push myself into a sitting position, looking up at him. I put my right hand on his shoulder, making him look directly at me.

I ask him, "What's wrong, Aang? I've never seen you like this."

He suddenly exclaims, "They're gonna send me away!"

I feel my eyes widen in shock, replying, "What? What do you mean?"

Aang continues, "It's the monks! I overheard them saying that they're gonna take me away from you and Gyatso for my training!"

I take a few seconds to let the information sink into my tired brain, then take a deep breath to calm myself.

Aang takes a deep breath too, and I ask, "So, what are you gonna do?"

Aang takes a minute to think, then says, "We're gonna run away. That way, they can't find us, and we won't have to be separated."

I feel a pang of sadness at having to leave my second home, but nod. I see Aang write a note for Gyatso and leave it on his bed as I pack my few things back into my bag. Back in Omashu, I only had a few things out of necessity for traveling, but here in the temples, the monks don't allow for many keepsakes. The only new things that I've gotten since coming here were Air Nomad clothes since I outgrew my Earth Kingdom clothes, and I'm wearing them now.

It only took a minute or two to pack my things, slinging them over my left shoulder and neck, leaving my only arm open. We slip out of the window, flying over to the stables on Aang's glider. It's not easy to hold on while flying with only one arm, so I fall off just before we land. I see a candle's light from a nearby window, so I pull Aang and I under the window sill to hide us, covering his mouth with my hand. After a few minutes, the light goes away, silence filling the night again.

Once I'm convinced we won't be seen, we run into the stables toward Appa. He woke up from the sound, and we walked with him out of the back, facing the cliff. Aang and I climb on him silently, flying away. Suddenly, I hear a storm approach us. It's too late to land since we're flying over the middle of the ocean. Appa swerves as lightning crashes right in front of him, leading us right into a huge wave that sweeps over us, dragging us under the water.

I was never a strong swimmer to begin with, but it became infinitely harder to swim with only one arm. I try to swim to the surface, but I only feel myself being dragged further towards the bottom of the ocean. I can feel my strength dwindling, and dark spots forming in my eyes. Just as I feel myself let out what may have been my last breath, everything goes dark.

~600 words