circe-albatus-perite

Fire. Life. What he would give to feel even the slightest warmth, to feel anything at all. But there was nothing. He was nothing, stuck in some intolerable limbo that he could never escape. How long had he been here? He had no idea. The few memories that he had managed to keep were rapidly fading away. He wondered how he was even barely conscious. He would say that he was drowning if there was any sort of substance surrounding him. But there was nothing. Just an empty darkness. And then, a flicker of light. He blinked. Could it be possible? Was he dreaming? Was he dead? Another spark. No, this was REAL. But how could it be? Did that eve

Gaea had never known such a terrible storm. People rushed to find shelter from the fury of the elements. The rain pelted roofs mercilessly and the strong winds howled all day and night, a chilling sound that eerily resembled the screams of the dying. Every crash of thunder made people jump and lightning tore through the sky like a sword slashing through the flesh of an enemy. It was unlike anything anyone in that world had ever experienced. But worse still was what followed. The weather had finally settled and people were slowly beginning to recover from the devastation of that storm. Houses were being rebuilt and fields resown. And then, t

And So They Danced... “Breathe in, breathe out, in, out, in, out…” Katara chanted this silently as she prepared for her calming exercises. It had been a while since she had last done them and so tonight she was especially anxious, which made it even more important to be able to do them. These special waterbending motions were meant to help her find her balance and cope with the incredible amount of stress she was constantly under. And to a certain extent, she believed that these helped her keep her sanity amidst all the madness. Knowing that his pupil would have a difficult journey ahead of her, Master Pakku had taught he

Domestic and Dangerous “Sokka, this is getting ridiculous!” Katara protested, “This is the fifth pair you’ve damaged this week! And I haven’t even finished repairing the others.” “Sorry, sis,” Sokka replied sheepishly, “occupational hazard and all that.” “Don’t be an idiot,” the waterbender scolded, “We don’t even travel on foot. I don’t know how you manage to get holes in all your socks at such an alarming rate.” “Could you please just fix them?” the brother pleaded, “There’s no one else here I can ask.” Ka

More Than Compensated Katara smiled proudly as she watched her father and her fiancé return from a short excursion together. Hakoda was keen to welcome his future son-in-law properly and was pleased to know that the firebender could successfully maneuver a boat. Katara had had to remind her father that Zuko had spent years at sea searching for the Avatar. But all that seemed like ancient history. She observed the two men and was glad to see that they were getting along splendidly. Hakoda gave the younger man an encouraging pat on the back and Zuko responded by saying “Thank you” and smiling awkwardly. Even after living wit

Leaving a Trail Every now and then, Zuko could be a really thoughtful nephew. He didn’t make a show of it but he knew how to make his uncle smile. The latter was quite content with his life these days now that they had a small teahouse in Ba Sing Se, which was doing really well. Zuko himself had recently recovered from a deep illness and he found his outlook in life considerably brightened. Starting a new life in the city no longer seemed like a forlorn prospect. He was also keenly aware of all his uncle had done for him and wanted to show his gratitude every opportunity he got. Zuko was well enough acquainted with Iroh to know what

Tell Me Your Secrets Katara had never been one for impulse buying. On the contrary, she had always been unflinchingly practical in her purchases, much to Sokka, Toph and Aang’s consternation. Ever the homemaker, she was always there to enforce discipline on her companions during their travels because even with the Avatar, sometimes their resources were limited and she always made the best she could with what they had. So she could not explain why she had bought this particular item. It was of no real use to them although she could imagine the others having some a lot of fun with it. But for some reason, she did not want to share it w

Waterbender on Wheels If someone had told her a week ago that she would be racing down the streets of Ba Sing Se on a stolen vehicle with an exiled Fire Nation prince around her waist while trying to escape evil earthbenders, Katara would have never have believed it. “And yet, here we are,” the waterbender managed to muse as she maneuvered the narrow streets of the walled city, making a sharp turn down an alley just in the nick of time. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” her passenger yelled nervously. “What does it look like to you?” she yelled back as she just missed crashing into a cabb