Sea and Sky

Chapter 35: Denouement

Sea and Sky
Chapter 35: Denouement

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It hadn't been hard for her to convince Aang to have the joining ceremony on the tropical island Kilic had once called his home. The ceremony was going to be so much more than a wedding - it was a sign of change, of hope, of progress forward into the future. While the very core of the event was for them to exchange vows and to officially become man and wife as ordained by the laws of the land, it was also a chance for them to cleanse their spirits and be reborn anew.

The ceremony itself would offer many things - it would afford Lady Ceren to open her home to joy when just a week prior it had been filled with mourning and tears. It would be a chance for Aang and Katara to cast of any negativity of the past, to link spirits, to propel themselves into the great beyond of the unknown future. It would also give the people of the land a chance to witness what love was - love that conquered life and death, love that survived all ills, love that was boundless and eternal.

Digging her toes into the cool sand, Katara closed her eyes, relishing the feel of the morning breeze against her face. Shivering slightly, she inhaled the salty sea air, opened her eyes, and took in the golden rise of the sun splashing across the dull blue horizon of the sky. Just at the edge of her vision, she could see several ships dotting the horizon, a faint mixture of blue and green sails growing in number.

Her father would be arriving at Isle Ceren within a short span of hours. He had been dispatched for a week prior, during the week-long mourning process to lay Kilic to rest. While Hakoda was officially coming to the island to celebrate his daughter's union with the Avatar, the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe would also be making offerings to the late Fire Nation Naval Strategist who's perished - Kilic. While Kilic had been a Fire Nation citizen and had grown up within the royal court, Kilic was Southern by blood, and as such, was entitled to proper burial rites.

Throwing back her head, Katara outstretched her arms and closed her eyes, offering up a silent prayer to the invisible spirits around her. She felt weightless as the breeze picked up around her, the thin cotton shift of her dressing robes fluttering and billowing around her lithe form. There was no way for her to verbalize how she felt at that moment, other than to say that she finally felt free. In the back of her mind, vestiges of Iris' words fluttered through her mind.

Live... and be free.

"Katara?"

Behind her, the voice of her beloved washed over her, pulling her out of her reverie. Turning on her toes, Katara padded up the beach. As she found Aang, she looped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a deep kiss. The kiss felt different this time, she thought. She felt unshackled from the weight of loss and grief, her heart feeling weightless and suspended in her chest as she felt him return the kiss, parting his lips to deepen it.

For a moment they stayed like this, wrapped within each other's arms, clueless to the world around them. For that moment, only they existed within the universe. Pulling back from the kiss, she drew her cool blue eyes to meet his stormy grey ones. A soft smile formed on Aang's lips as he placed a kiss onto the tip of her nose.

"Ceren is looking for you. Something about getting ready for a wedding?"

Pinching one of his cheeks, she ducked out of his embrace and headed towards the large estate, taking a moment to look back at him. It seemed as if he had been in the process of dressing himself when he'd went to look for her. Given the fact that he was shoeless and dressed in only his bright orange breeches, Katara mused at the thought of Aang leaving the robing rooms half-naked to look for her.

"Alright, you talked me into it." She quipped, dramatically dropping her shoulders as she padded towards the villa.

Behind her, she could hear Aang laughing. It was a deep, throaty laugh that made her appreciate him more at that moment than ever before.