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Absolute Power	By : whirleeq Category: Avatar - The Last Airbender > Het - Male/Female > Aang/Katara Views: 17984 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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A/N: It is my interpretation of the Air Nomads that they have been modeled after Tibetan Buddhist Monks. In my story, they will provide the inspiration for Aang’s past & his religion. The indoctrination ‘path to enlightenment’ ceremony, I made up myself, and is in no way meant to offend anyone who may or may not be a Buddhist, or an acolyte of the Temple of Air for that matter. Oh, and since I forgot to do so in my first chapter:
Disclaimer: If I really owned Avatar, I would be on the beach in Hawaii with a Mai Tai, having had employed Christian Bale as my personal foot masseuse; not sitting in my basement in Ohio writing smutty fanfics:
~*~
The moon was partially obscured by the clouds and the forest was dark; making it difficult for them to see. Fortunately, they had finally reached Koru’s camp, which was actually a series of small huts located in the midst of a small pine forest about a half mile inland from the beach. Most of the trees in the area had been cut down and removed in order to make room for the hastily built buildings. The huts were arranged in a circle facing inward, the center of which was clear of everything except the fallen pine leaves and a fire circle. There was, however, more than enough room for the exhausted air bison to lie down, which he did without much preamble.
Koru led them to an empty hut next to his.
“You three can stay here for the night, if you wish. There is no one using this hut at the moment. I’m afraid, however, that there is only one bed.”
He took Katara’s hand and placed a light kiss on the back of it, holding it for several moments more than was necessary. He only let it go when there was a sudden gust of wind, startling them both.
Katara’s eyes immediately shifted to Aang, but this time Aang wasn’t even looking at them. Instead, he was already removing their meager supplies from Appa. Blankets and sleeping rolls under his arm, he turned to Katara with a forced smile.
“You can take the bed, Katara. Me and Sokka will sleep on the floor.”
“HEY! How come she gets the bed?” Sokka grumbled, shooting a dark look towards Aang. A little perturbed, he walked up to Aang and pulled one of the sleeping rolls out from under his arm before disappearing into the hut, all the while complaining under his breath.
“I tell you… just because she’s a girl…” And in an imitation of Aang’s voice, he continued mumbling: “Katara can have the bed! Katara, why don’t you teach me water bending? Sokka can clean Appa’s toes….sometimes it makes me wish I was the one with brea--”
Aang watched Sokka disappear into the hut – Momo perched on his shoulder - before turning to Katara, a sheepish grin upon his face. “I think I’m going to go to bed too, Katara. I’m… really tired myself.”
The smile she gave him in response was somewhat pacifying, and it irked him, although he didn’t quite know why.
“Okay Aang. I’ll be in… in a bit, I suppose. I just want to find a place to wash up.”
At this, Koru’s smile grew to epic proportions, causing Aang to narrow his eyes at the older boy suspiciously.
“There is a hot spring very near by. I can take you to it, if you wish.”
Katara briefly glanced over at Aang, whose expression was once again unreadable, before turning back to Koru.
“N-no, that’s okay. If you just tell me how to get there, I-I’ll be okay.” She stammered in response. Despite herself, she couldn’t help but feel a bit warm at the thought of being alone with Koru for a moment. He was a handsome boy, after all. But knowing that it wasn’t appropriate for him to accompany her to a bathing spot – what if he tried to spy on her? – coupled with Aang’s ambiguous feelings towards her made her decline. Hopefully, she’d have an opportunity to get to know Koru a little better tomorrow before they left, and without hurting Aang in the process.
“Ah… very well. Are you sure? Because if it is my company that is making you uncomfortable, I can have Juri show you the way to the spring.” And before Katara could respond either way, Koru walked over to one of the huts and knocked. “Juri! Wake up!”
“That’s really not necessary…“ Katara began, raising both hands in front of her. But before she could dissuade him from bothering the occupant of the hut any further, Koru knocked on the door again.
They could hear a bit of shuffling before a petite, attractive girl with short dark hair dressed in a sleeping gown opened the door warily.
“What do you want, Koru?” She asked, as she cleared her eyes filled with sleep.
“Juri, this is Katara of the southern water tribe. I’ve offered her and her friends hospitality while their mount recovers from injuries the beast suffered during a great storm. Could you perhaps escort Katara to the spring, so that she may bathe?”
Juri blinked her eyes a couple of times in bafflement before narrowing them at Koru. A tense look passed between them which made both Aang and Katara feel a bit uncomfortable.
“You really don’t have to… I can go by myself.” Katara said, suddenly suspicious that she was the cause of the tension between Koru and his friend.
Juri eyes flashed briefly before softening, and in a quiet, resigned voice, she spoke.
“No, that’s okay. I was planning to go there myself. C’mon, Katana.” She said, the smile that suddenly graced her face obviously fake.
Katara frowned and corrected her – “Katara” – but followed her just the same, mouthing a silent ‘thank you’ over her shoulder to Koru, before disappearing into the woods.
Aang watched the two walk away. When he could no longer see them, he started to turn and enter the hut himself; only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Startled, he turned and met Koru’s eyes.
“You’re too young for her, you know.” The other boy said cheerfully. He squeezed Aang’s shoulder gently and winked.
Aang flushed bright red and willed himself to ignore the other boy’s jibe. Instead, he schooled his expression into a ‘I-don’t-know-what-you’re-talking-about’ look, followed by a goofy smile before he turned his back on Koru and entered the proffered hut.
He found that it took him no time at all to settle into a fitful sleep; even though inside he was burning with an emotion that was frightening him in its intensity. It was something he had never felt before, and if he had to hazard a guess on what it was, the only emotion that seemed to fit was hate.
~*~
“No, Pei,” Aang laughed, his eyes filled with mirth. “Like this… see?” The young air bender held out his hand steadily as he kept the marbles afloat.
“Like what? You’re not doing anything special, Aang…” The younger bender said with a bit of a frown. His own marbles would only levitate for just a moment before falling down and rolling off his palm on to the cold stone floor of the temple landing.
“Just look, Pei. Watch my fingers. There’s nothing to it!”
And indeed, when the younger bender looked closer, he could see that Aang’s fingers were moving just barely – enough to influence the direction of the marbles, as they rotated in a perfect circle six inches above Aang’s hand.
Pei frowned and tried the trick again; this time slightly elevating the fingers in turn, thumb to pinky and then back again. A smile stole across his face when he was able to keep them up for more than twenty seconds, turning in an elliptical motion. He couldn’t quite get a circle like Aang could… still, this was better than the young bender expected.
“See? I knew you could do it! Hey, do you want to see another trick?” Aang asked excitedly, his eyes alight with anticipation.
Pei smiled half heartedly. Yes, he was glad that he managed to accomplish the marble trick; however, every time Aang showed him something new, it made him feel as if he was an inferior bender. That the other boy had been blessed with not only a superior talent, but the favor of all the monks wasn’t fair, in a way. And even though it shouldn’t get to him – no one person was any more nor any less than any other, the scriptures said – he couldn’t help but feel envious of Aang. But then, he would never let on that he felt such envy towards the other boy. Long had he been taught that such an emotion stains the spirit.
Pei merely smiled at the other boy and declined. Fortunately, he did have a reason to do so, and thus did not feel the guilt this time that normally came when he declined to play with Aang. He couldn’t play with him because he had a responsibility to fulfill – not because he didn’t want to. At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.
“But… why?” Aang asked, his smile slowly receding into a small frown. To him, it seemed that no one wanted to play with him any more. He couldn’t understand why – he had taught all the other boys most of the games that he knew, and tried his hardest to help them all with their bending. Yet, inevitably they’d play for him for a while before inexplicitly pulling away, thus leaving him with nothing to do except perhaps find Monk Gyasto for a game of Pai Gow.
“Don’t you remember, Aang? Shina will be taking his vows this afternoon. I do not wish to miss it.”
Startled, Aang blinked a couple of times before examining his friend once more. The ceremony which accompanied the path to enlightenment was reputed to be long and boring, and even though Shina was Pei’s older brother, Aang was quite a bit confused as to why Pei was so intent on attending. Still, it was Shina… and unlike some of the other acolytes who mostly ignored Aang and the other initiates, Shina had been really nice to him.
“Can I go with you?” Aang asked suddenly; feeling an urge to support Shina along with a strong curiosity about the ceremony itself. After all, committing one’s life to the temple wasn’t a decision to be taken lightly – therefore the ceremony wasn’t normally performed until an initiate came of age. Shina had just turned sixteen.
Aang was the only one he knew of who was required to take the vows on his tenth birthday. He did not know exactly why the monks wanted him to make the pledge so early, but being a young boy who was exceptionally skilled in bending, he couldn’t help but think that perhaps Monk Gyasto had suggested an early indoctrination because of his abilities. The thought made him feel warm inside.
The slightly crestfallen look on Pei’s face went unnoticed by Aang.
“Wh-why do you want to go?” He asked, confused. He knew Aang got along with Shina – who didn’t? But who in their right mind wanted to sit through a whole indoctrination ceremony when they didn’t have to? Pei was only going because Shina was family… and even still, he may not of went if he didn’t have the ulterior motive of getting away from Aang for a while.
“Well, partially because it’s Shina, and partially because I’m going to be having my own ceremony in a couple of months, and I want to know what to expect.” Aang said, matter-of-factly.
Pei regarded the other boy for a moment. He had heard that Aang had been asked to take his vows early. It was widely rumored that he’d become the youngest monk in the southern air temple history at age ten, but he hadn’t believed the rumors until just now. His felt a wash of shame at his previous feelings, realizing that even though Aang far exceeded him in all things bending, he still had something Aang was increasingly being denied: a childhood. And in a moment of compassion, Pei smiled at the other boy brilliantly.
“Sure, Aang. Let’s go!”

~*~

Later, the two boys knelt in the back of the temple, watching the old monks light the incense cones before kneeling in a circle and chanting their mantras in preparation for the indoctrination ceremony. As they had expected, the preparations were long and somewhat boring, and they were expected to meditate quietly if they were to remain -- which for two boys under the age of ten, that was quite a substantial feat. Nevertheless, curiosity kept them both as quiet as a baby airmouse, and so they waited until the last monk hummed the last verse of the last mantra. The doors to the temple flew open, and Aang’s head turned; expecting to see Shina wearing the requisite hooded robe that the ceremony required.
Sure enough, Shina was there, his head held proudly in the air, with the last incense cone for the ceremony held in his left hand. As he walked past the young boys towards the circle of monks, he turned to Aang and winked; somewhat startling the young air bender, since he’d been taught that the indoctrination was a solemn event. It was the first indication that things were going to go amiss, but Aang was too interested in the proceedings to take note of it at the time.
When Shina reached the circle of monks, he knelt in the center of all of them and bowed his head in respect. The monks started chanting again, their mantras filled with words that spoke of the virtues of the spirits of the air, and the responsibilities of becoming an indoctrinated monk of the southern air temple.
Aang was spellbound, watching the proceedings intently, as one by one each monk of the high council took to their feet in order of rank. Monk Gyasto was the last to rise before Shina himself rose to his feet, looking at the council expectedly.
Monk Rantu , the eldest of all the monks, approached Shina – each step an effort, even with most of his weight balanced on the ancient air glider that he held in his hand; one that age had prohibited him from using for anything but a simple cane. He solemnly looked Shina over from top to bottom before speaking in a voice cracked with age.
“Do you, Shina, give yourself over to the Temple of the Air and its spirit guardians; in so doing, vow to hold no material positions, to remain forever chaste, and to value no man or woman more than any other?”
The words were simple enough. They were, in fact, reaffirmations of the writings that led one on to the path of enlightenment. Neither Aang no Pei saw any reason for Shina to dissent. So when the teenager lifted his head and spoke proudly and clearly, “I do NOT,” the young initiates both jumped to their feet in shocked surprise.
Aang placed a comforting hand on Pei’s back as he called out to his brother.
“Shina! What are you doing?”
Shina, in turn, looked at Pei apologetically before the elder Rantu cleared his throat; in doing so, demanding all of their attention.
“You are aware of the consequences.”
“I am aware, Monk Rantu.” Shina said. His voice was shaking slightly, but he still managed to meet the stern gaze of the council elder.
Aang could only gasp, since refusal to take the vow for an initiate meant banishment from the temple. By taking this action, it was very likely that Shina would never be allowed to see his younger brother again.
“Very well.” Monk Rantu continued regretfully. “I must say that I am disappointed. You were one of our best initiates, Shina. If I may, can I ask –“
“I love her.” Shina said, anticipating Monk Rantu’s question. Shina’s eyes fell and he looked down in shame.
Monk Rantu nodded sagely before turning his back on Shina. The rest of the monks in turn rose to their feet and also turned their back; Monk Gyasto motioning to Aang and Pei that they should do the same, so that neither were witness to Shina’s shame as he left the temple in disgrace.
His head turning, Aang tightened his grip around Pei’s shoulders, as the younger bender cried softly into the sleeve of his tunic.
This… this had to be wrong, Aang thought – the thought so powerful that he nearly fell to his knees with the strength of it. He’d heard of the monks doing such a thing, but he had never actually been witness to the temple casting someone out – especially someone like Shina. Someone he knew and admired.
It was not right! Whatever Shina had done, it shouldn’t warrant this! The hand that wasn’t around the shoulder of his friend tightened into a fist, as Aang grit his teeth in anger.
The smoke from the incense started to swirl around in the air as a slight wind entered the temple, seemingly from nowhere. The monks turned around in confused shock, all of them seeing what Aang could not.
The tattoo that they themselves placed on his head when he was just an infant was starting to glow, and brightly.
“Gyasto! Take him out of here!” Someone said. It might have been any of the monks; Aang did not care. He was far too angry, far too disappointed. His whole belief system was crumbling before his eyes, and he did not care.
He felt the vibrations on the floor before he heard them; the floor of the temple was starting to shake, and the reverberations caused both of them to fall to the floor. In the haze of his anger, Aang realized that an earthquake inside of a temple that sits amongst the clouds was impossibility, but he was too far gone to make much sense of it.
Gyasto made his way over to his young ward and placed a calming hand on his shoulder.
“Aang… it’s all right. Let it go…”
Gyasto’s soothing words broke through Aang’s anger and abruptly the shaking stopped. He tearfully fell into the arms of his mentor, shaking from the experience. He was vaguely aware of one of the other monks taking an equally shaking Pei out of the temple, warning the younger boy in hushed tones to keep what he had seen to himself.
And when Aang lifted his tearful face from Gyasto’s shoulder to look around, Shina and the other monks were already long gone.
“Why? Why did Shina have to go, Gyasto?” Aang asked tearfully. “I don’t understand.”
“That is a question for another day, young Aang. Why don’t I bring you back to your chambers? We can play a game of Pai Gow, if you like. I find that, coupled with a nice cup of tea, helps me calm down when I’ve suffered a bit of a shock, just like you have today.
It was obvious that Gyasto was trying to pacify him; trying to make him forget what he had seen. But Aang was in no mood to be pacified. He had questions, and he wanted – he needed Gyasto to answer them.
“But… but… but just because he loves someone shouldn’t be enough reason to cast him out! I mean, after all… I love you, Gyasto.” What he left unsaid was ‘shouldn’t they cast me out too?’
Seeing that his charge was not to be easily dissuaded, Gyasto sighed.
“It is not the same, young Aang. You will understand, some day. Now, come on, to your rooms! That’s an order, Aang!”
Aang frowned, but nodded; realizing he wasn’t going to get any further explanation out of Gyasto. He allowed the monk to lead him back to his chambers; a solitary question on his mind that he dare not ask, knowing that it would go unanswered.
‘What if I loved someone the way Shina does someday – would you cast me out as well?”

~*~

Aang woke with a start; the fringes of his dream – no, memory – rapidly fading away as he looked about the room. Sokka was fast asleep on the floor by the wall opposite Aang’s bedroll, and was snoring lightly. Quietly, Aang rose to his feet and noticed that Katara was also in the room.
He was a bit startled – surely he would have heard her when she entered, right? But apparently he hadn’t, which was a bit unnerving. Aang was normally a light sleeper. Something about the dream he had though…
Shaking his head to clear it, Aang look over at Katara. She was asleep upon the bed; Momo curled into a ball upon her stomach. She looked… ethereal… beautiful to him. The streaks of moonlight that illuminated the small hut through the cracks between the boards illuminated her figure, and Aang followed her curves with heavy lidded eyes. Katara’s hair was unbound and splayed out underneath her, and he watched her chest rise and fall with each breath. She… she was amazing, and a part of him really longed to switched places with Momo.
He felt somewhat guilty watching her sleep; knowing that he probably shouldn’t, but he couldn’t help himself. He longed to be in that bed with her; to touch her skin; to maybe place a kiss upon her soft, pursed lips. He wondered what she was dreaming about. Absently, he walked over to her and reached out to touch her face. Katara’s breath hitched at the contact, and in her sleep, she smiled.
“Katara…” He whispered. Her skin was so soft; just as he always knew it would be. He looked down at her lovingly – as he did so, he noticed a rebellious strand of hair that had fallen in front of her lovely face. He carefully moved it out of the way, noticing that it was still damp, and he came to the conclusion that she couldn’t have been asleep for long.
Unwilling to wake her – what an awkward position that would put him in! --Yet, unwilling to leave, he allowed his fingers to lightly trail down the side of her face towards her neck. Aang’s heart began to race even faster, and he tried desperately to control his breathing… the feel of her skin, it was like the finest silk. Seemingly of their own accord, his fingers started trailing down her collarbone, noticing how Katara’s breath hitched in response. She was so very lovely… Her lips were slightly parted, and they seemed to beckon to him. Aang slowly – ever so slowly – started to lean over, and –
“No, Momo! That’s my penguin!”
Sokka’s nonsensical sleep-talking startled the young Avatar, and he jumped; a sudden wave of guilt overcoming him at touching Katara so familiarly while she was sleeping. What in all four nations was he doing? Cautiously he removed his hand from her, careful not to wake her. Aang felt the sudden need to escape, and as quietly as he could, he walked over to the door.
He exited the hut silently, not even daring to breathe until he was outside. That was just way too intense. What was wrong with him? He had to get control of himself!
The young avatar walked to the edge of the woods and took care of a call of nature; his heartbeat slowly returning to normal. He walked a little ways around the camp, thinking that he needed to calm himself down if he was going to get any more sleep at all that night.
Finally feeling as if he was in control of himself, he started to walk back towards their hut – only to overhear a giggling female voice – one in which he immediately recognized as belonging to Juri – carry over to him. And as far as he could tell, she was talking about Katara.
Unable to stop himself, Aang approached the hut that belonged to Juri, and placed his ear against one of the cracks in the wall.
“…Uh-huh. Tell me, she’s the real reason you’ve suddenly decided to use me as your spy instead of Jin. It’s because of that water wench… Katana, isn’t it?”
Juri’s voice was thick with what Aang now recognized as jealousy; having distinctly heard the emotion in his own voice earlier that day.
“Not at all, dearest. You know you’re my girl… it’s just that you’re the best person for the job! There is no one I trust more…”
Aang’s eyes widened at Koru’s answer. It was completely insincere – he could tell by the tone of Koru’s voice. Juri, however, seemed to accept Koru’s answer. He put his ear against the wall of the hut to listen again, but it appeared that they had stopped talking for the moment. The only thing he could here was a muffled slurping sound, which Aang did not immediately identify, followed by a soft gasp.
In a very throaty voice, Juri spoke.
“Good. I wouldn’t want to have to kill her, you know.”
And then the only sounds that Aang could hear were gentle sighs, and occasionally a soft moan. He backed away from the hut as silently as possible; not completely understanding everything he heard, but somehow feeling even more hot and disturbed than when he first walked outside.
And as he lay down on the floor of their hut for the second time that night with the intent of falling asleep, he heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like his name fall from Katara’s lips. Groaning, he closed his eyes as tightly as possible, muttering under his breath, “It’s going to be a long night.”
~*~
A/N: There! Wow! Talk about productive… two chappies in one day. When my muse takes hold of me, she does it with a noose! Sadistic bitch…
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Absolute Power