The fire war renaissance

Chapter 46: Tower Republic

Next chapter coming up. We're going to visit a new place that will be a major part in the rest of the story.

And sorry for the two late updates in a row, as I told you guys last week, I did lose a lot of stuff so I have to go back and do more work than needed.

Chapter Forty-Six: Tower Republic

Needless to say the right there Katara felt a little left out.

Aang was the one who seemed to become distant to her that time around, and she could easily tell he wasn't playing around anymore. He knew that she was hiding something and he wasn't shy to show that he wasn't happy that she felt the need to hide things from him.

She quivered at the thought of the conversation she knew was inevitable. She had waited too long and now when she did tell him, it was going to messy.

She was left to steer for the last hour of the ride while she listened to Aang and Azula's conversation in the saddle. The two did seem to be becoming fast and close friends, much to Katara's dismay, and even though she knew nothing romantic would come from it, the friendship still didn't sit well with her for whatever reason.

"Katara, are we almost there?" Azula asked for the ninth time. Katara squinted her eyes in annoyance.

"For the ninth time, Azula, I don't know." Katara groaned. "We're heading in the right direction according to the map so when we see a giant tower I guess we'll be there."

"Just….hang tight and keep your eyes open, Azula." Aang told her gently and leaned over the saddle to Katara. "Hey…" He greeted oddly.

"Hey…" Katara sighed in greeting as well and watched Aang as he air bended himself over the edge of the saddle and sat next to her.

"You want me to take the reins?" He asked her. "You've been steering since this morning."

"I'll be fine….just make sure Azula doesn't fall out of the saddle." Katara teased and Aang snickered when he heard Azula told them that she had "heard that". Katara relaxed a little more, seeing he hadn't come to pick a fight or add tension and leaned her head onto his shoulder while he snaked and arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

"You okay?" He asked her softly.

"I'm alright…" Katara trailed in response.

"Katara," Aang sighed after a few moments silence before confessing: "I'm sorry…for yesterday. I really didn't talk to you much."

"It's alright, I deserved it."

"It's not about who deserved what….I'm sorry I got mad at you about the ride here." Aang said and turned to face her. "But, knowing that you're hiding something from me is kind of killing me."

"I know…I'm so sorry Aang, but….well…."

"Yeah," Aang prepped her, his eyes shining in anticipation.

"There's…..there's something you have to do…..something important…but-but I can't help you with it." Her eyes fell. "And I'll never be able to."

Aang's eyes went wide before he held the sides of her arms firmly. "Katara…." He echoed softly, pulling her close enough to him so that he could hear if she whispered.