Fanfiction: Avatar:tLA - Would Never Be [1/1]
Title: Would Never Be
Fandom: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Characters: Katara, mentions of Jet and others
Prompt: #056 - Passing
Word Count: 575
Rating: PG
Summary: Katara honors three unsung heroes.
Author's Notes: One more update for my Katara fanfic100 prompt table.
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When Katara and her brother released Aang from that ice-burg all those months ago, she never expected the amazing journey they would face. She never expected to learn so much about the other Nations’ culture. She never expected to face so many vicious enemies, fight so many battles, and-finally-win the war against the Fire Nation.
But most of all, Katara never expected to make all of the countless allies and friends. It was because of her adventures with Aang that she knew so many of the names that were engraved on the Memorial Wall; a dedication to those who had crossed over to the Spirit World during the war from all sides.
Built in the newly reconstructed city of Ba Sing Se, it had been carved by the Nations’ finest craftsmen. People came from everywhere, even the Fire Nation, to have their loved-ones’ names engraved on it.
The Memorial Wall was beautiful; so smooth it felt like silk to the touch and so intricate in its design and presentation, the Wall was marveled at by travelers the world over.
And it was everything they-he-was not.
Katara supposed that was why-how-she found herself in one of the Earth Kingdom’s innumerable forests. What most anyone would consider the middle of nowhere, to Katara the tree by the river was where she had learnt of their-his-betrayal.
‘Because he’d want to be here,’ Katara thought as she somehow managed to find the village hidden in the tree tops. ‘He wouldn’t want his name to be carved on some beautified rock; he’d want it be here, his home.’
She finally finished climbing and found her feet once again on a flat surface. It was so-too-nostalgic, this place she had once dreamed of staying a lifetime ago-once upon a time, long, long ago-but she wasn’t here to dwell on a past she had been forced to put behind her-but not forget, never forget-, she was here because she owed a band of un-sung heroes a proper final resting place.
Some of the floor boards were rotted, others broken, but Katara still managed to make it-somehow-to the tree she wanted, one that was next to the-old, unused-burning pit they’d all sat around and laughed at. It obviously hadn’t been used in a while-forever-and was covered with over-grown foliage.
Slowly, with movements that had long-since become second nature to her, Katara summoned the water from her wineskin and carefully started carving the tree. She worked hard, carefully, and when she was finally finished, the setting sun cast a powerful radiance of oranges and reds-his colours-across her work.
It wasn’t much, she decided as she gazed at her carving sorrowfully, but it was enough; it would do.
Reaching in to her pack, Katara removed a torn, slightly singed piece of orange cloth, and nailed it to the tree with the tools she’d-stolen-borrowed from her brother. Then she kissed a piece of bamboo leaf, just like the ones Jet was always chewing, thread it through the cloth, and whispered a soft, “Good bye.”
Behind her retreating form, the broad tree seemed to soften under the sun’s fading light. Beneath the roughly carved names of Longshot, Smellerbee and Jet, was a worn, messily carved heart from long-ago; Forever wrapped in its embrace the names of two lovers who would never be.
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A/N: Though I wrote the fist paragraph of this back in 2007, I was talking to ylmik-wisty on msn and she made me feel like writing. Of course I’m too lazy to actually do that, so I decided to go through my old works instead, and that’s when I stumbled upon this. It wasn't even half written, but I knew where I had been going with it, and a couple hours later it was finished.
I wasn’t really able to transcribe the idea I had in my head into words unfortunately, but I still like the way this turned out.
Cross-posted to kurasari.
Fandom: Avatar: the Last Airbender
Characters: Katara, mentions of Jet and others
Prompt: #056 - Passing
Word Count: 575
Rating: PG
Summary: Katara honors three unsung heroes.
Author's Notes: One more update for my Katara fanfic100 prompt table.
----------
When Katara and her brother released Aang from that ice-burg all those months ago, she never expected the amazing journey they would face. She never expected to learn so much about the other Nations’ culture. She never expected to face so many vicious enemies, fight so many battles, and-finally-win the war against the Fire Nation.
But most of all, Katara never expected to make all of the countless allies and friends. It was because of her adventures with Aang that she knew so many of the names that were engraved on the Memorial Wall; a dedication to those who had crossed over to the Spirit World during the war from all sides.
Built in the newly reconstructed city of Ba Sing Se, it had been carved by the Nations’ finest craftsmen. People came from everywhere, even the Fire Nation, to have their loved-ones’ names engraved on it.
The Memorial Wall was beautiful; so smooth it felt like silk to the touch and so intricate in its design and presentation, the Wall was marveled at by travelers the world over.
And it was everything they-he-was not.
Katara supposed that was why-how-she found herself in one of the Earth Kingdom’s innumerable forests. What most anyone would consider the middle of nowhere, to Katara the tree by the river was where she had learnt of their-his-betrayal.
‘Because he’d want to be here,’ Katara thought as she somehow managed to find the village hidden in the tree tops. ‘He wouldn’t want his name to be carved on some beautified rock; he’d want it be here, his home.’
She finally finished climbing and found her feet once again on a flat surface. It was so-too-nostalgic, this place she had once dreamed of staying a lifetime ago-once upon a time, long, long ago-but she wasn’t here to dwell on a past she had been forced to put behind her-but not forget, never forget-, she was here because she owed a band of un-sung heroes a proper final resting place.
Some of the floor boards were rotted, others broken, but Katara still managed to make it-somehow-to the tree she wanted, one that was next to the-old, unused-burning pit they’d all sat around and laughed at. It obviously hadn’t been used in a while-forever-and was covered with over-grown foliage.
Slowly, with movements that had long-since become second nature to her, Katara summoned the water from her wineskin and carefully started carving the tree. She worked hard, carefully, and when she was finally finished, the setting sun cast a powerful radiance of oranges and reds-his colours-across her work.
It wasn’t much, she decided as she gazed at her carving sorrowfully, but it was enough; it would do.
Reaching in to her pack, Katara removed a torn, slightly singed piece of orange cloth, and nailed it to the tree with the tools she’d-stolen-borrowed from her brother. Then she kissed a piece of bamboo leaf, just like the ones Jet was always chewing, thread it through the cloth, and whispered a soft, “Good bye.”
Behind her retreating form, the broad tree seemed to soften under the sun’s fading light. Beneath the roughly carved names of Longshot, Smellerbee and Jet, was a worn, messily carved heart from long-ago; Forever wrapped in its embrace the names of two lovers who would never be.
----------
A/N: Though I wrote the fist paragraph of this back in 2007, I was talking to ylmik-wisty on msn and she made me feel like writing. Of course I’m too lazy to actually do that, so I decided to go through my old works instead, and that’s when I stumbled upon this. It wasn't even half written, but I knew where I had been going with it, and a couple hours later it was finished.
I wasn’t really able to transcribe the idea I had in my head into words unfortunately, but I still like the way this turned out.
Cross-posted to kurasari.