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The smell of smoke made Aang open his eye's. He blink two times before sitting from where he was laying down. Confusion soon settled over him as he realized he wasn't where him and his friends had settled down for the the night. He was instead sleeping in his room back in the Southern Air temple.
He could hear screams all around him as the smell of smoke got stronger and stronger. He could feel strong winds moving around him..
He looked out of the small windows to see fire enveloping the temple.
Aang scrambled out of his bed and whipped around the stairs. He stopped at the end of them as he watched the scene before him.
The air benders, his people, were fighting for their lives against hundreds of fire nation soldiers. Even his friends around his age and children younger than him were targets. The sky was a dark red, which blended in with the red on the ground from different people and animals. Bison were flying away from the carnage before being captured. Some of them had their fur burned off and raw skin showed in its place. Some of the fire nation soldiers were running after lemurs, trying to catch them.
Aang's fists clenched as he tried to move, his body and mind screaming at him to help his people. You can't let them die again! they yelled. Go and help them! But no matter how hard he tried, all he could do was watch as everything around him was destroyed.
He felt like his heart was being torn apart, watching the fire nation slowly, but steadily, start winning over the air benders. The air benders were fighting for their lives while trying not to hurt the fire nation soldiers, but the soldiers had one job; to kill all of them.
He finally got his legs to start moving, but he was so slow. He felt like he was moving in molasses. It took him seconds to take one step forward. For every step he took, he could hear another scream from an air bender being taken down. One step, one scream. It was some sort of sick pattern that Aang was put into, and he couldn't figure how to get out of it.
His eye's landed on Gyatso. He was moving around fluidly, dodging every shot the fire benders directed at him. He wasn't hurting them, either. Every move was calculated, and it reminded Aang of when they played Pai Sho together. A crowed of fire benders had formed around the monk, but none of them could hit Gyatso. He even saved some of the air benders, them forming a small group behind him.
A chill went down Aang's spine, which is ironic because of how hot it was. However, it was a chill from seeing a person pass him; someone who seemed so familiar. He had long, almost gray hair pulled up into a bun. His armor was different from the soldiers armor. He looked at Gyatso, a scowl forming across his face.
"Seems like I have to finish the job," he grumbled, looking at Gyatso. He rushed in as Aang was consumed by the fire around him.
The smell of smoke drowned out every other smell. The color of red, orange and yellow swirled around him until he got dizzy. The last thing Aang could hear was screams; most coming from the other air nomads, and the others coming from his own mouth.
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Aang gasped, breathing hard as he sat up. He looked around and realized that he was back to where he was when he went asleep; in a tent, near the rest of his friends. He blinked away tears and sat up fully. The nausea in his stomach mixed with the bile slowly rising up in his throat told him that he needed to get out of his tent, and fast.
He quickly got out of his tent and tried to quietly run from the campsite. He knew there was a cliffside nearby that he might be able to get to in time.
However, the future had other plans for Aang.
He stopped by one of the tree's he was next to and threw up.
After he was done, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He felt awful, not only because of him throwing up, but the nightmare he had still played in his mind. He could feel a headache start to pound on his head and he sighed, deciding to continue to try and find the cliffside.
Aang soon found it; it overlooked a beautiful lake reflecting the full moon back at him. Different pine tree's scattering out around it, and a small breeze drifted through, making the pine tree's shift around with minimal noise. Even though the breeze brought with it the smell of flowers, all Aang could smell was smoke, burning flesh, and vomit.
Aang sighed as he sat down at the edge of the cliff. He held his head in his hands, the headache he had becoming much worse. He tried listening to the breeze floating through the tree's below, but that just seemed to make it worse.
He threw himself on his back and looked up at the stars above him. He mentally connected the them together, trying to see if he could find any shapes in the stars' erratic placements in the sky. Ironically, he found a star in them.
He heard sounds of the tree's behind him rustling, breaking his concentration on connecting stars together. He sat up and turned around with a jolt, half expecting someone to come out of the foliage to attack him; him and his friends have expected that for trying to bring peace after the hundred year war ended. There were still people loyal to fire lord Ozai, even after three years of peace.
The person that emerged from the brush wasn't an attacker; it was Toph. Aang breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't sit back down. When Toph continued to walk towards him, he started to worry that something bad happened. But Toph just walked over and sat down next to his standing figure, pulling her legs up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her.
"Well, Twinkle Toes?" she finally said. "Are you going to sit down or not?"
Aang sat down next to her, crossing his right leg over his left.
"What are you doing up so late?" she asked. "I woke up after I felt you run from camp."
He frowned. "I felt sick. The food we ate last night probably didn't sit well with me," was what he managed to say. "Sorry for waking you up."
Toph shrugged. "Eh, I was mostly annoyed at first, since I thought it was some random person trying to rob or attack us," she explained. She stayed quiet for a bit before continuing. "But uh...you got everything out of your system, right? I don't want to be around you if you puke again."
Aang chuckled. "I mean, I have a headache now but I think I'm fine, thanks for asking," he responded.
"Uh huh. Anytime."
Silence stretched out over them as Aang went back to listening to the wind in the tree's. But he soon heard the echoing screams that were around him in his nightmare. The smell of smoke, the sounds, and the heat from the fire were still fresh on his mind. His fist tightened on the ground below him, trying to erase the nightmare, or at least try to stop thinking about it.
"You sure you're alright, Twinkle Toes?" Toph's voice broke him out of his miserable thought bubble. "You seem a little bit upset. Are you going to throw up again or?"
Aang unclenched the fist that was holding onto the ground below him. "Um. I," he paused. "It's nothing. I'm fine."
She was quiet. "Stop lying," she said.
Earth bending. Right.
Did he really forget about that?
Does he have brain damage...?
Did that nightmare really mess him up that badly?
"You know I can sense when you're lying," her voice cut through Aang's thoughts again. "So, Twinkle Toes. What's wrong?"
"...I had a nightmare," he said after a few moments.
He expected Toph to start laughing at him and say how nightmares were for kids, but she doesn't do those things. "About?" she asks.
"The Air Nomads," he said. "And how they...." He trailed off, not being able to finish the sentence. The atmosphere around them changed from laid back into serious. The breeze got a bit stronger, which made Aang think about the nightmare even more.
"Oh," Toph whispered.
Tears started to form behind Aang's eyes. "I just don't get it," he whispered. "I thought I already got passed their deaths years ago. But..." he trailed off. "It still hurts."
He felt Toph's hand on his shoulder. "Aang," she started. Then stopped. "I'm sorry about what happened to your people."
Toph sighed. "No one expects you to immediately bounce back from that. So don't expect that of yourself," she said. "Grieving takes time. So give yourself time."
Aang could feel a small tear on his cheek. "What if it never gets better?"
She paused for a second before continuing. "I don't know. Maybe it will always hurt," Toph squeezed Aang's shoulder. "But that's ok. Somethings just...always hurt."
Aang held his face in his hands as his shoulders shook. Toph put her arm around him and pulled him into a side hug while he cried. The wind rattled the trees around them, making it one of the only sounds around them. Water from the lake shot off into a nearby stream that made the sound of rushing water, and some crickets around them were chirping. It was supposed to be a peaceful night.
It wasn't, at least not for the Avatar or his friend.
Aang just wanted to see his friends again. His family. All he wanted right now was to see them again. He wanted to be twelve again, to play airball with all of his friends or throw cakes onto other air nomads with Gyatso. Now he's a hundred and fifteen, solving the impossible and vying for world peace after ending an a hundred year war.
He just want's to be a kid again. Before he learned he was the avatar.
But he knows thats not possible.
So he cried for his lost childhood that he never got to finish, for the people he's lost to the war. For the people who've died because of the war. Sokka and Katara's mother, the southern water benders that were driven to extinction. Yui and her noble sacrifice for the moon spirit. Jet, who died so they could escape the Dai Li.
Anyone who was apart of the earth kingdom, fire nation, air nomads, and the water tribes who died because of the war.
He cried for them, since they couldn't do it for themselves.
Aang shoulders stopped shaking as he wiped his eye's with the back of his hand. Toph's arm was still around Aang's shoulders, offering him silent comfort. The breeze had calmed down, making the world around them quiet.
"I'm sorry," Aang finally whispered, breaking the silence around them.
"For what?" Toph asked.
"For everything," he sniffed. "You never wanted to join or help me in the first place."
Toph took her arm from around his shoulder and tapped him lightly on the back of his head. "You idiot," she said jokingly. "I joined you 'cus I wanted to. Yeah, you were kind of annoying at first, but joining you, Katara and Sokka was the best decision that I've made in my entire life. If I could go back and do it again, I would. A thousand times I would always choose to have all of you in my life. You are all my family, alright? I wouldn't change that, Twinkle Toes."
Aang smiled and wiped his eye's again.
"By the way, if you tell anyone else I said that, I'll kick your ass," she crossed her arms.
Aang laughed and nodded. "I got it, don't worry," he was quiet for a second. "Thank you, Toph. For helping me."
Toph nodded. "Yeah, yeah," she shrugged. "Don't get used to it."
They stayed there for a while, talking about anything they could think of. They brought up the mission they were currently on and finalizing peace across all of the nations. Toph mentioned her parents and her childhood, and how she got into fighting in the first place.
"It was so exciting," she said. "It was something I needed."
"Did you win your first fight?" Aang asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Yeah, duh," she chuckled. "I'm the best earth bender in the world."
They also talked about Republic city and what was going to happen to it. Then that spiraled into what they wanted to do with their future.
"I want to rebuild the air nomads," Aang said. "I know that's going to take a while but..."
"I mean, you can start rebuilding," Toph said. "Things only change when someone starts to change them."
"...You're weirdly full of good advice, Toph," Aang noted in surprise.
"Yeah, I'm smart as hell," she pointed to her head. "I'm not just brawn, y'know."
"What do you want to do in the future?" he asked.
"I want to relax. This whole peace-keeping thing we've been doing is tiring and boring," she said. "Of course, I'll only be able to rest after this is all over."
"It seems like it'll never be over, though," Aang absently said.
"Hm, not with that mindset, it wont," she smiled. "And if we don't finish finalizing peace...the next avatar can deal with it."
Aang sat in silence. "I wonder what the next avatar will be like," he said. "And I want them to have it easy. I'll try to get as much done so that can be possible."
"That's a nice sentiment, Twinkle Toes," Toph said. "I just hope they actually do their job."
"I'm sure they will," he said. "I hope they're a good person and they do what makes them happy."
The sky started to turn lighter colors, different pinks, oranges, yellows, and blues exploding, dowsing the two in a kaleidoscope of colors. Aang yawned and stretched, getting up from where he was sitting.
"It's dawn, Toph," he told her, still stretching out his limbs.
"I can't feel my legs," she said as she stood up next to him and yawned. "You ready for an earful from Katara?"
Aang sighed. "Toph, you know she just wants to keep us safe and cared for."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she waved her hand. "I know."
They got back to the campsite to see the others moving around. Katara saw them and crossed her arms. "Here we go," Aang heard Toph whisper.
"Where have you two been?" she walked over to them and noticed Aangs puffy eye's and tear-stained cheeks. "Aang? Is everything alright? Did you two get hurt? I-"
"Katara, I'm alright," he said, smiling. "It's just-"
"Aang had a bad dream and threw up," Toph cut him off, throwing him under the bus.
Aang glared at her. "Toph-"
"Aang!" Katara grabbed his shoulders. "We're taking it easy today, then."
"Katara-"
"You can't talk me out of this, Aang," she said. "Now sit. I don't want you to get sick again."
Aang sat over by the dwindling flames of the fire with a sigh, watching Katara start telling Sokka what to do. Toph sat next to him, smirking.
"Why did you do this?!" Aang whispered angrily.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she blinked her eye's innocently and smiled. Her smile faltered for a second before saying," You need to take it easy. You had quite the night."
Aang sighed and laid down. "Alright. I will," he said. Toph nodded and got up, heading over towards Katara to help.
He might be a bit mad because now he can't do anything today, but he couldn't help it as a smile started to creep up on his face. He was glad to have a caring family that understood and wanted to take care of him. He knew that he would react the same way if one of them got sick and was having a bad day.
He closed his eye's and started to doze off.
Before Aang fell asleep, he couldn't help but wonder if the Air Nomads were proud of him.