Nearing The Horizon

An Avatar: The Last Airbender fan fic

By Kali Gargoyle

The sunrise was a mere thread along the horizon, and Aang wished he had the power to keep it like that. But he knew he couldn’t, so he sat on the deck and just watched as the bright globe rose and cleared the stars from the sky.

Although the light warmed him, the metal he sat on was still ice cold. But not as cold as the feeling sitting in the pit of his stomach. He’d been preparing for this, training, meditating, studying. But the fear and doubt were hard to ignore.

The fate of the world was going to be determined today, by him. That weighed more heavily on him than the Fire Navy armor he wore. Both were cumbersome and uncomfortable, although a part of him found them familiar and even invigorating.

It was unnerving.

He wished he could make their "commandeered" Fire Navy ship go faster. He wished he could have been ready sooner. He wished he could have talked his friends out of risking their lives by coming with him. But above all, he wished he didn’t have to do this.

But he did.

He tried not to think about what would happen if he failed. Instead, he thought about what life would be like once peace and balance was restored. How his friends would go back to living their lives the way they wanted. Happy and free.

"Aang?"

The young Avatar turned to look at Katara. She was also disguised in a Fire Nation uniform, and the sight made Aang’s stomach twist. If they failed...

"Aang?" Katara repeated, concern tinting her voice. "Are you okay?"

Aang thought about it for a second instead of giving his standard enthusiastic ‘Yeah!’. He finally replied, "I will be."

Katara gave him one of her comforting smiles, the one that let him know that everything was going to be all right. "Breakfast is ready."

"Right." Aang started to follow Katara, but reached out to take hold of her hand before they’d taken two steps. The airbender used a brief gust to lift himself up and plant a kiss on his best friend’s lips.

Katara blinked in surprise. "What was that for?"

"Just... I didn’t want to go into battle without that."

The young waterbender blushed and searched for a reply. But the Avatar simply smiled innocently and went to get his breakfast before Sokka ate it all.