THE SECRET OF ANIMARU ISLAND
Chapter One: The Talking Animals
"Are you sure you know where this Animaru Island is, Aang?" Katara asked curiously as Aang scanned the ocean far below them, perched on top of Appa's head.
"I'll know it when I see it, Katara. The way the island is shaped, it's very hard to miss," Aang confessed.
"Are you sure this island even exists, Aang?" Sokka asked a bit suspiciously as he studied the map they brought with them on their journey. "I've never heard of Animaru Island, and it's nowhere on this map."
"That's because not a lot of people know about it. It's a very secret and special place," Aang explained.
"What's so special about it?" Katara inquired.
"Umm…I don't really remember. I never went there myself, but I know it has something to do with the animals living there," Aang recalled.
"Uh…Aang, if you've never been to this island, then how would you know where to find it?" Sokka asked suspiciously as he looked up from the map.
"Oh, umm…look, there it is!" Aang announced as he pointed down at the ocean. Sokka and Katara looked down and saw what Aang was pointing at: a relatively decent-sized island with an unusual shape to it, similar to the shape of a crescent moon.
"Come on, Appa! Yip-yip!" Aang instructed his flying bison, who immediately started to descend down towards the island. Within a few minutes, Appa was gliding over the island's massive bay, just inches away from the water. It took some time, but Appa eventually landed on the sandy shoreline of the island with his four passengers.
"Here it is, guys: Animaru Island!" Aang announced as he climbed off of Appa and landed on the sandy beach, followed by Katara and Sokka.
"What's so special about this island again, Aang?" Sokka asked a bit dully as he looked around the island.
"This island's inhabited by wild animals, Sokka…and I heard that there's a wild rhino living here!" Aang openly admitted with a mischievous grin.
"A rhino? You mean those huge beasts with the long tails and the three sharp horns? The very same rhinos that the Fire Nation rode on when they invaded Kyoshi Island?" Sokka asked a bit panicky.
"Yup, those are the ones," Aang confessed.
"You're not seriously thinking about…riding a wild rhino, are you?" Katara asked curiously.
"Of course, I am, Katara. It's gonna be fun!" Aang replied as he started walking towards the thicket of tropical trees, with Momo riding on his shoulder.
"Aang! Wait for us!" Katara shouted as she and Sokka ran after the young airbender. When they caught up with Aang and Momo, Sokka and Katara were surprised to see him just standing there, staring at a bush.
"Is there something wrong, Aang?" Katara asked curiously as she stood next to Aang.
"I heard something in that bush," Aang explained as he pointed at the bush.
Just then, the bush rustled very loudly. Out of curiosity, Aang slowly parted the bush. The three kids gasped slightly when they saw that the cause of the noise was just a little white rabbit with long floppy ears.
"Oh, it's just a little rabbit," Katara realized.
"It looks just like that rabbit I tried to catch for King Bumi back at the City of Omashu, remember, Katara?" Aang asked. "At the time, I thought it was his pet, Flopsie."
"It's not just a rabbit, guys…it's lunch!" Sokka announced as he tried to grab the rabbit. Sensing that he was trouble, the rabbit quickly jumped out of the way.
"Get back here!" Sokka shouted as he chased after the rabbit.
"Sokka, give it up! Rabbits are so fast! There's no way you can catch it!" Katara shouted after her brother, who disappeared in the thick foliage.
"Should we go follow him?" Aang asked curiously as he looked at Katara.
"No, he'll be back…empty-handed!" Katara remarked as she sat down, along with Aang and Momo. "Sokka can be so stubborn sometimes. At least, he's making a real effort into getting some food this time."
A few minutes had passed when Sokka finally rejoined Aang, Katara, and Momo. He was panting heavily, his clothes were dirty, and he had one hand behind his back. A small smirk appeared on Sokka's face as he held his arm out, showing that he was holding the rabbit by her ears, which was clearly struggling to escape from his grasp.
"See…I caught it! I caught…the rabbit!" Sokka gasped loudly, clearly out of breath. "Let's build a fire so we can roast it now! I'm starving!"
"No, please don't eat me!" a high-pitched voice pleaded.
Upon hearing that voice, the three children looked down at the rabbit, which had her eyes closed and was trembling out of fear. It took a few moments for Sokka to realize that the rabbit just spoke.
"Ahh!" Sokka screamed out of shock as he let go of the rabbit, which fell to the ground and landed on her four legs.
"Are you okay?" Aang asked curiously as he knelt down next to the rabbit, which was scratching her ears with her hind foot.
"Yes, I think so…but my ears hurt! Did you have to pull them so hard?" the rabbit asked as she looked up at Sokka.
"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to…I'm talking to a rabbit! Rabbits aren't supposed to talk!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Well, this one does!" the rabbit smugly pointed out as she crossed her arms in front of her fluffy white chest. "So, what brings you to Animaru Island?"
"I heard there was a wild rhino on this island and I wanted to ride it!" Aang openly confessed.
"Wild rhinos are very dangerous! What makes you think that you can handle such a wild animal?" the rabbit inquired. "Are you with the Fire Nation? I've heard that rhinos are their preferred beasts of burden."
"Trust me, we are not with the Fire Nation!" Sokka firmly denied.
"I figured as much. From your clothing, you and the girl must be from one of the Water Tribes…but what about you?" the rabbit asked Aang.
"Oh, I'm an airbender," Aang replied.
"An airbender? I thought that they were all wiped out by the Fire Nation years ago, unless…you're the Avatar, aren't you?" the rabbit asked curiously.
"Yup, that's me," Aang openly admitted.
"Oh, wow! It's so nice to finally meet you, Mr. Avatar!" the rabbit exclaimed happily as she hopped up and down out of excitement.
"Actually, you can just call me Aang. And these are my friends, Katara and Sokka," Aang introduced himself and his two friends. "Momo here is my friend, too."
"Well, my name is Rini, and seeing that you are the Avatar, Aang, I know that I can entrust you and your friends with my secret," the rabbit revealed.
"What kind of secret?" Katara asked curiously.
"You'll see soon enough," the rabbit replied as she held her front paws together and closed her eyes.
To Aang, Sokka, and Katara's surprise, the rabbit started to rapidly grow and take on human features. When it was all over, there was a little girl sitting on the ground where the rabbit once was, who was a few years younger than Aang appeared to be. Her long blondish-brown hair was tied back into a pair of braided pigtails, which ran halfway down her back. She was wearing a simple light tan short-sleeve dress with a white rabbit pelt sewn over her left shoulder, a thin dark brown cord tied around her waist, white leggings, tan boots, and a simple necklace made of a dark brown leather cord and a single white shell.
Rini suddenly opened her golden brown eyes and announced, "Hello again!"
"Urhm…" Sokka gasped out of surprise as he jumped back a bit.
"You're still Rini…right?" Katara asked a bit uncertainly as the little girl stood up, who was clearly shorter than Aang.
"Yeah, of course it's still me, Katara!" Rini replied with a giggle. "This is how I always looked, before I started developing my powers."
"What kind of powers?" Aang asked curiously.
"Well, umm…uh…the other kids at the village can explain it better than I can," Rini revealed. "Come on, I'll show you!" The little girl giggled loudly as she grabbed Aang's arm and dragged him deeper into the forest, followed by Sokka, Katara, and Momo…
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DC: Hey, Kim Dreamcatcher here! Well, this is my very first Avatar fanfic, so hope you enjoy! Any and all comments are appreciated, whether they're good or bad. Also, if there's any Sailor Moon fans out there reading this, you probably recognize the name Rini. I thought it would be a perfect name for the first character that Aang and company meet in this fic, since the name itself means "little rabbit."