A Remnant of a Remnant <Eastern Air Temple>

[aang]

It was dark in the Temple. The circular room was dank and gravelly, untouched for years upon years. Still, the air and feel of sentimental value was there. Lingering in the environment. It was places like these that brought out an immense sorrow in Aang. No matter how much he was reminded, it still felt wrong that he was the last of his people alive. Only a remnant of a remnant of the legacy of airbenders.

He had come to this place because it was the only Temple he had not visited since his 100 years of abandonment. He felt that no venerable shrine should be left for 100 years without an airbender to visit it. After seeing the Northern Air Temple, Aang had resolved that once a year, as long as he lived, he would visit the shrines of all the Temples and pay his respects to the spirits of his dead forefathers.

Aang finally stood up after a long time of being secluded in the shrine. He had been meditating, hovering above the ground with crossed legs.
I guess it's time to go now. he thought solemnly while sighing.

Coming out of the circular shrine room, he turned to see Katara, proped against the wall of the hallway, seemingly sleeping soundly. Aang smiled and walked over. His companion was the only true friend(besides her brother, Sokka) he had in the world. People that were brave enough to share in his hardships. She meant more to him than anyone could ever understand. Aang sighed.
Too bad Sokka stayed at the Northern Water Tribe, I have a feeling I might need his help soon.

"Wake up sleepyhead!" he said, gently pushing on Katara's shoulder.
"I'm done...it's time we leave here."

[katara]

Her chest rose and fell with each gentle breath, the strands of hair that hung infront of her dark face swaying gently. Her long lashes fluttered as she was awaken, first by the presence of a small hand on her shoulder, then by the cheerful voice of the airbender.
"Huh?! ..Wha-??" Katara's head snapped up, the carved stone at her neck clinking against it's golden clasp at the movement. For a split second, her bright blue eyes stared at the bald monk.. and then recognition flickered across them. "Oh.. Aang. You startled me.." A slender hand came to rest against her collar bone, as the waterbender smiled fondly down at the boy.
Katara moved away from the wall, her figure bending to the right as her hand dropped to catch the strap of the worn bag Sokka usually carried. Both arms rose above her head and shoulders then, her back arching as she stretched, just the slightest whine escaping her.
"...I hope Sokka doesn't sleep for long...." Her head turned towards the Avatar, her hands arms falling to rest over over the perriwinkle fabric of her kimono dress. Her voice trailed off though, and for a moment, Katara looked as if she had forgotten something. Then her head drooped. "Oh yeah.. Sokka isn't here." Her brother, still heartbroken by the Princess Yue's death had remained in the Northern Water Tribe. He had promise to catch up with them as soon as possible. It was hard to believe that they had come as far as the Eastern Air Temple in as short a time. The journey to the Northern Water Tribe from the South Pole also, now that she looked back on it, seemed also to have been.. quick. Of course, anything was quick if you considered the decreasing amount of time they had until.. Souzen's Comet arrived again and now.. they were without Sokka. Katara bit her lip, her eyes dropping.. Even after all the amazing feats she had witnessed, sometimes she just had to wonder about Aang.. and how he was the Avatar.

[aang]

"We'll just have to keep going on without him." Aang said, half angery and half distressed. He was very rarely angery towards people, especially Sokka, but sometimes Sokka had to think about more than himself.
I never get to do what I want. I'm always forced into things. Always have to put the well-being of the world before myself...Sokka takes his power of choice for granted.

Throughout his travels, Aang had begun to realize that he was thinking differently. After the battle at the Northern Water Tribe, something in him had changed. Sometimes he found himself thinking in ways he never thought himself capable of. Taking in apsects he never would have thought about weeks ago.

Sighing again, this time more heavily, Aang placed his glider staff to his back and held it on his shoulders.
He started at a slow walk towards the exit of the temple.

"Let's go wake up Appa." he said solemly.

[katara]

Stepping away from the wall, Katara gave a soft sigh as her shoulders slumped. A slender hand rose to brush away the strands of hair that had been so carefully woven through those beads. She was happy to be leaving the Air Temple. With Aang off mediating, and Sokka remaining at the North Pole, the quietness frightened her. Momo wasn't much company, scampering about the temple while Aang was inside the sacred room.

She folded her arms across her torso, her fingertips pulling at the periwinkle wrapping around her body. Katara was uneasy, her bright blue eyes shifting from side to side even as she followed the Avatar. Her soft soled boots pitter-pattered across the tile floor, their bright colors depicting the symbolism that surrounded the Air Nomad culture and their life. So hard to imagine an entire race of people, who had created all this beauty, had been wiped out.

A chittering came up behind her,as the lemur raced up to Katara and lept his way up to her shoulder. His bright green eyes stared straight ahead, as the lemur perched on her shoulder, his hands on her head. With a groan, only mildly annoyed, Katara reached up and plucked the creature from her shoulder. She cuddled the lemur, feeling little comfort to fill the void her Brother's absence had left.

[aang]

Aang breathed in the rich clean air of the mountains when he reached the outside of the temple. The mountains and hills rolled in with eachother and blurred with the blanketing snow, augmenting and playing off eachother. The landscape of his people had always been beautiful, but Aang no longer dwelled on these things anymore. There was too much to fix with the world that he had little time or hope of ever restoring the Air Nomads.

He sulked over to Appa, where he lie sleeping with heavy snores and swirled the air to lift him up to the great beast's reigns like he usually did. He tried to put on his normal wide smile when he looked back down to Katara, though he felt it might've looked a little weaker than usual.

"I've been thinking about it, and I need to go back to the Earth Kingdom. Earth is the only element I don't have a hold on yet. I've got the gist of Fire, so I can worry about that later. For now, it's to the Earth Kingdom."
He let his wide grey gaze fall on katara again, seeing that her expression was just about as happy as his own.

"Who knows, we might find new friends there to help us....it'll be fun." he exclaimed, reaching a hand out to his friend to help her aboard Appa.

[(Once you post, we'll leave the temple m'kay.)]

[katara]

"Alright, Aang." Katara would smile brightly, the sunlight sparkling in her gentle blue eyes. Her fingertips brushed the clean, soft white fur of Momo and Katara came to a halt just outside the door. She bit her lip, watching Aang move towards Appa, the great beast's warm breath steaming in the chilled air.

They had clung to hope that maybe there would be a pocket of survivors at the Eastern Air Temple, air nomads that had escaped the Fire Nations Barrage. After all.. the Eastern Air Temple was farther East than the Earth Kingdom and wouldn't the Fire Nation have to go through the Earth Kingdom? Katara shook her head, shook away the thoughts. No.. this temple was abandoned like the Southern Air Temple was. At least the Northern Air Temple had new caretakers..

"We always find fun wherever we go, Aang." Katara let Momo scrambble up Appa's fur as she neared. Bracing herself against Appa's thick cheek, Katara reached up and grasped her friend's hand. Then, she herself climbed aboard the Flying bison, Collasping with a grin next to him along Appa's head.
"Just don't forget to practice waterbending at least every other day..."