Freedom

Chapter 62: The Mourning Heart

The world felt quiet.

The world felt numb as they soared through the sky, feeling the sea breeze on their skin as Appa soared above the clouds. They could barely feel the air hitting them in the face, reminding them they were alive. They could barely hear the sounds of wildlife below, birds chirping as they flew by and fish splashing as they jumped from the water.

Nobody felt like talking. Aang stared straight ahead into the clouds. Even though he held onto Appa's reins, there was no direction that he steered. Appa led them, taking the lead as Aang watched, feeling as though he had nothing to contribute. Appa knew the way, and he let his companion grieve.

Aang wasn't sure exactly what to grieve. Losing was never even a thought when they planned the invasion. It hadn't even crossed his mind. But now, the loss weighed heavy on his thoughts and it loomed overhead. He was one step away from it being all over, and now, they were back into the throws of war again.

He had failed.

Sokka felt that weight, maybe even more then Aang himself did. It was his plan, start to finish. It felt so fool-proof at the time. Even with the missteps, he never saw the option of failure. But now it hung heavy over them. All of the planning, going over every possible scenario, was for nothing.

There would never be another chance like that again. But it was why the fire nation was prepared. They probably prepared long before they even discovered the eclipse.

They all mourned the friendships they had to leave behind. Tops mourned the Boulder. Haru and Teo mourned their fathers. The Duke mourned Pipsqueak. Sokka and Katara mourned their father.

Everyone was in mourning. The fate of their friends was unknown. They didn't know if they would ever see them again.

Katara felt the loss of her father deeply. It ached in her gut and felt unmovable.

But the loss of Zuko made her heart sting, leaving a debilitating ache. She wasn't sure if it would ever go away.

Making the choice to save him from execution felt simple. There was no doubt in her mind that it was the right thing to do. But now, it was just for nothing. His life was in his father's hands.

He could have been dead already.

Would she feel the ache when it happened? Deep down, would she know?

A piece of her knew that he was still alive but for how much longer, she wouldn't know. She blamed herself for not going with him. Would things be different? Would he still be here? With them?

She wanted to shake him from her mind. She wanted to keep him out of her thoughts and move forward. They had a job to do. But she couldn't help her mind from wandering to her mourning heart, aching for connection.

Katara forced herself to focus on other things, anything to distract her mind from what they left behind. Aang sat, stone faced, at Appa's head, staring out into the clouds before him.

She wanted to reach out to him, knowing how his heart was aching. This was Sokka's plan but Aang was the one spearheading it. None of it could have been done without him. He was the secret weapon.

But as her hand raised to reach him, she metaphorically moved it aside, remembering their moment before the invasion.

Katara knew that Aang had feelings for her. From the moment she found him, she knew he had a little crush. At first, she thought it was cute. She was the first girl he had seen in over 100 years. They had spent so much time together, it was only natural. Even Katara could admit, she thought about it in the dark of night. But try as she might, she couldn't picture it.