Chapter 1 - While on a Journey

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of the characters associated. This is a fan fiction! = )



THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM ~ Ch. 1-- While on a Journey

By: Emily Beyer (a.k.a. SxK_YGOfan)





It was a beautiful, warm summer's day; one of those days where you think nothing can go wrong. Katara, a young waterbender from the South Pole, was sitting on the shore of a forested island, not far off the coast of the western Earth Kingdom lands. She smiled as she looked out to sea, admiring the view. Every now and then she thought she saw a Green Fish jump up, and she watched the Seagulls fly overhead. She sighed happily, enjoying the day. Her brother Sokka and her friend Aang the Avatar had gone out to look for supplies and food while she stayed to keep an eye on the camp.



Katara, Sokka, and Aang had been traveling together for quite some time. They searched the world for teachers who could help Aang master all four of the elements, in his journey to fulfill his duty as the new Avatar. His skills were certainly improving, though he still had a long way to go.



Katara smiled as she thought of them, missing them. Sokka was her brother and Aang was her best friend in the world. `They are the most important people in the world to me' she thought, `With mom and dad both gone, they and Gran Gran are all I have.' She sighed; Sokka and Aang were great, but sometimes she wished she would meet a new friend, someone new to come into her life that she could care about. But, she often felt sad thinking that it would never happen. `Oh well,' she sighed, `I may long for someone special I could care about or maybe even love, but at least I have my brother and my best friend with me; I am luckier than many.'



Katara tried to shrug off her disappointment and dismiss her thoughts, as she got to work organizing the campsite, which was on the edge of the trees. She laughed as she started to pick things up and put them away, `Boys are so messy!' After she organized her companions' luggage, she put her things back into her traveling bag. She knew that Sokka and Aang would be back soon, and it would pay to have things already packed and ready when they wanted to get going again, to continue their journey. Just as she had finished packing things up, she heard a sound from the direction of the shore line. She grabbed Sokka's binoculars and turned to see a Longhaired Persian out on a rock in the water about 100 yards off shore.



“Oh, poor thing,” she said sadly. `It must have got stuck out there when the tide came in,' she thought. `I have to help it.' She put the binoculars and all of the boys' gear into their tent where it would be safe, before shouldering her bag and heading to the raft and Sokka and Aang had made, which was sitting on the shore.



“Hang on kitty!” Katara pushed the raft into the water and climbed on. She grabbed the oar and started to row out towards the rock where the creature was stranded. She continued to call to it as she got closer, hoping that it didn't get scared and jump into the water. However, that was not a concern. The terrified creature saw her coming toward it and meowed loudly for help. “I'm coming,” the girl called, “just stay there.”



As she was approaching the rock, she hadn't notice that storm clouds were beginning to roll in. She suddenly heard the rumble of thunder starting, and shivered; she hated thunderstorms because they had always scared her and made her nervous. She ignored it however, intent on rescuing the helpless cat.



Katara rowed her raft up beside the rocks and reached out to grab the animal, which jumped into her arms quickly, happy to get off of the rocks where it had been stranded. She cuddled the creature up inside her coat, and started to row back towards shore. As she tried to get back, the storm clouds became more severe, and suddenly there was a loud crash of thunder and lightning struck. Katara screamed and the cat meowed loudly in fright. She cuddled the animal closer and tighter into her coat to keep it warm and dry as the rain started to fall.



They were about half way to shore when the rain began coming down heavily, pelting them. Katara tried to keep the raft steady as the waves picked and crashed against her tiny vessel. Suddenly, one wave almost knocked her off. Afraid that she and the Persian would both be hurt or worse, she made her decision.



Katara used her bending powers to create a sort-of water rope, which she wrapped around the cat and used to direct it towards the shore. The waves got rougher, but she kept her focus. Luckily, she got the whip to make it to the shore, and the Persian jumped and rushed into the shelter of the trees.



`Yes!' Katara thought, happy that she had succeeded in rescuing the creature. However, her joy was short-lived, as a huge wave crashed into her raft at that moment, causing her to hit her head on the edge of the raft and knocking her into the water. She screamed as the waves slammed into her, making it difficult to stay afloat. Her bag of things was still strapped on her back, making it even harder for her to swim decently. She tried her hardest to swim to the shore, but the waves were too strong for her. Her waterbending powers didn't help, because she couldn't concentrate in terror of drowning or dieing in the raging storm. The small piece of the raft that she hung onto didn't do much to help.



`Sokka, Aang,” Katara thought desperately of them, praying that she might live to see them again. Her last thoughts were of them, as she starting to tire out, exhausted from struggling against the waves. As she began to slip into unconsciousness, she thought she saw a blurry image of a ship in the distance. She prayed that it might be someone who could rescue her, as it was the last thing she saw before she slipped beneath the water's surface.







~TO BE CONTINUED…..

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