Sound Bender (Avatar: The Last Airbender) #Wattys2017

||Chapter 20 - Symbolism||

Himoko's POV

I waved my hand through the passing clouds as if it were a fish swimming along the shoreline, bordering the sand and water of the sea. I was content, I was feeling... Slightly content I should clarify. Hair blew in my face from the wind but I paid no move to pull it out of the way as I quite enjoyed no one being able to see my face

"Those clouds look so soft, don't they? Like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft cottony heap." I heard Katara stated with a small sigh. I rolled my eyes,  did she never learn that-

"Maybe you should give it a try." Sokka stated, stopping him whistling from beside me. I closed my eyes, welp, there goes what I had left in peace...

"You're hilarious."

"I'll try it! Yeahhhh!" My eyes bulged out of my skull as I jumped up just as Aang jumped off of Appa's side, laughing without a care in the world

"Clouds are made out of...-" I drawled off, watching as Aang whorled himself back up onto Appa's back with his glider, soaked in water. "Water..." I massaged my temples, slamming back onto my back with my eyes closed

"Turns out clouds are made of water!" I heard him tell us.

"Hey, what is that?" I cracked open an eye to see the trio staring down at the ground in horror. I rose a brow, slightly sitting up

"What is it-?" I began to ask only for my words to catch in my throat. The valley was charred, no more life to it, no vegetation green in sight... A vision of the past burned into my mind, my burned down home, everything was up in flames, turning into deep black, dark as the void itself, ashes and smoke filling up my lungs. I gritted my teeth, clenching tightly onto Appa's saddle

"Let's go down there." I heard someone say but didn't look to see who it was, I only clenched harder onto the saddle.

I walked through the burned down valley, stopping to crouch down to pick up a small wooden sword, on the verge of breaking down into just mere ashes. I glanced around the general area, also seeing one structure completely burnt to the ground, there was once a home here... A family...

"Listen, it's so quiet. There's no life anywhere." Sokka spoke near Katara while Aang was looking distraught a few feet away from them, "Aang, are you ok?" Katara asked the young airbender, noticing his quietness. I slowly stood up and walked back over to them, carrying the small wooden sword with me. Sokka crouched down, surveying the ground

"Fire Nation! Those evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for-" I slapped my hand over his mouth, stopping his small rant

"Shh!" Katara warned him with her eyes slightly narrowed. He pried my hand off of his mouth, looking offended

"What? I'm not allowed to be angry?" Sokka asked his sister in a whispered shout. Katara pointed towards Aang's figure. I walked forward, ready to try and comfort for the boy. Sokka outstretched his arm, stopping me from doing so

"Katara has this, don't worry..." He told me. I shrugged, "Just trying to help.".

Aang sunk down to his knees, running his hands throughout the burnt dirt

"Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?" He asked him, his voice sad and on the verge of tears

"Aang, you didn't let this happen. It has nothing to do with you." Katara told him

"Yes it does. It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But, I don't know how to do my job."

"That's why we're going to the North Pole to find you a teacher. " Katara crouched down beside him, resting her hand on his shoulder

"Yeah, a waterbending teacher, but there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me." I rose a brow. Monk Gyatso? Who is that?

"The Avatar before you? He died over a hundred years ago, how are you supposed to talk to him?" Sokka asked, crossing his arms which left me free to walk over to Aang and Katara

"I don't know." Aang shrugged his shoulders. I stopped in step, glancing down at the wooden sword. We all dispersed, leaving Aang to his thoughts. Only, I stayed still, thinking thoughtfully over what to do next. I briefly glanced over at Aang's shrunken figure, his head hanging down low. With no words in mind, I trudged over to him, sitting down next to him with my knees crossed

"Aang."

"Hmm?"

"I know that you think that this is your fault but really it isn't. And what Katara said is true, you have nothing to do with this. You may be the Avatar, but sometimes, we can't stop things from happening, it's the inevitable-"

"You wouldn't understand, Himoko-"

"But I do, and that is why I'm over here." He rose a brow, looking over at me, pulling his knees up to his chest to rest his cheek against them, Momo moving over to sit on my lap instead of Aang's, "What do you mean?"

"At only five years old, my parents were killed by the Fire Nation, in the safety of their own home. I was a witness to their deaths, and for years, I thought I was the cause of it, I was the one who killed them. If I had just learned to airbend quicker then maybe, I could have done something to change the course of history. But, Pappy told me something." I softly smiled at the small memory

"Sometimes, we can't stop things because that is how things go, we can't change the past, but we can make a better future. Now stop moping and eat your soup!" Aang snorted, pushing down his laughter

"Sounds like him." He commented. I nodded in agreement

"And he was and still is right, we can't change the past but what we can do, is make a better future." He nodded with a smile

"Thank you, Himoko."

"Anytime, teach." I teased.

"Hey Aang, are you ready to be cheered up?" I jumped out of my skin, whirling my head around only to see it was Katara standing behind us

"Geez, you scared me Kata-" An acorn suddenly impacted the back of Aang's head

"OW!" Katara bounced another acorn in her hand

"Hey, how was that cheering me up?" Aang asked, now looking in lighter spirits unknown to Katara

"Hehe, cheered me up." Sokka snickered who promptly, gets whacked by an acorn from Katara on the side of his head. This time, it was my turn it laugh

 "Ow! Yeah, I probably deserved that."

"Ha!" Katara threw an acorn at me which I dodged easily. Momo scurrying off to chase after the acorn. Katara walked around me to crouch in front of Aang

"These acorns are everywhere, Aang. That means the forest will grow back. Every one of these will be a tall oak tree someday, and all the birds and animals that lived here will come back." She stated, placing an acorn in the palm of Aang's hand before closing it

"Thanks, Katara." He smiles at her, his ears slightly tinting to a soft pink. I smirked, 'Oooo~'.

To Be continued