"Uncle-" called a very demanding voice from the other side of the ship, "Uncle..." A tall, well-built teenager, around the age of eighteen, with a noticeable scar on his face came strolling over to his elder's right side. "I am going to go have a look at the battle grounds, Uncle," he held his hands behind his back and stood proudly next to his beloved father figure.
At first glance, the nephew appeared like any normally displeased teenager who hates the entire world and everyone in it. He never allowed his lips to form a smile; if he ever smiled only his uncle would be able to claim that he saw the unbelievable sight. His golden yellow eyes always had a dark gleam in them as if he was planning new ways to achieve a newfound glory. What caught everyone's full attention though was the terrible burn on the left side of his face; the scar luckily did not interfere with his left eye's vision.
This scar was a sign of his dishonor and disobedience to the Fire Nation. He and his uncle had cut their ponytails to show their separation from the Fire Nation; now the nephew could let his hair grow out and cover up most of the disgraceful scar. Though he was slender, the nephew trained daily on the deck of the metal ship with his uncle. Currently the young man was wearing his favorite Fire Nation armor, made from the strongest and lightest materials, painted in black, red, and gold.
The uncle was watching the ocean's rippling waves glisten under the bright sun's rays with a contemplating look. "Prince Zuko..." the man's voice sounded stern and harsh, "Promise me that you will not get in the way of Admiral Zhao's army...We do not want another confrontation like the last time." Tearing his eyes away from the wonderful sight of the sunlight dancing about the blue waves, Uncle Iroh looked into his nephew's hardened eyes. "Come back before sundown Prince Zuko-tonight is music night," he grinned brightly while his nephew just rolled his eyes at the thought of listening to his crew's musical skills.
Although Uncle Iroh always seemed to be taking everything very seriously, he had a humorous personality that he would occasionally unfold to the public. Being the father figure in Prince Zuko's life, he mostly ignored the bitter attitude of his nephew and defended him always. In the most troubling moments of Zuko's life, Uncle Iroh acted as the voice of reason. Even though he appeared as a broken old man, Uncle Iroh used to be a commander of the Fire Nation-a great feat to achieve in one's lifetime.
"I will return soon Uncle," Prince Zuko muttered as he gave a fleeting look towards the scenic view of the ocean, "I promise," he added to please his uncle. Walking away from the retired commander, Zuko wondered why his uncle was always so kind to him while his father Ozai was so...different. Quickly shaking the bothering thoughts away from his mind, he casually walked off his ship and headed to the end of the dock.
The Fire Nation was wrapping up their war with the Earth Kingdom-a battle that was going on for over one hundred and two years now. Slowly taking the Earth Kingdom's towns, the Fire Nation had nearly won the war until the Earth Kingdom people found new moral. No one could stand up to the Fire Nation's brute power except for one Airbender-named Aang. This Airbender is the last of his kind and he is the Avatar of these times. Being an Avatar meant that you were able to master all four elements: earth, air, water, and fire. But what really angered the Fire Nation was the fact that the Avatar was only fourteen years old.
Zuko has one mission in his life and that's to capture the Avatar in order to regain his respect and honor from his cold-hearted father. Once he captures Aang, Zuko would be allowed to come back home and take his father's place as ruler of the Fire Nation. There was one person standing in his way of getting his honor back-Commander Zhao; whom Zuko loathed with every fiber of his being. In the past, the prince had proven to his uncle and to his crew that he will never stop until he captures the Avatar himself-even if it means fighting against the Fire Nation.
For three days Zuko, Uncle Iroh, and their crew were stuck at the shores of the Earth Kingdom because of the ongoing battle and the Fire Nation's need of Firebenders "just in case" the Avatar suddenly decided to show up. The Prince of the Fire Nation knew better though, the Avatar would not come to save the Earth Kingdom just yet-Aang was in desperate need of more training before he could face Commander Zhao or Ozai, Lord of the Fire Nation. Zuko had defeated Zhao before, but it was only by pure luck that he had broken the used-to-be general's balance.
Sighing loudly, Zuko pushed his way through his fellow Firebenders and Fire Nation warriors; they all were furiously trying to restock their war ships before the next attack on the Earthbenders. It was becoming too crowded on the dock for the prince so he quickened his pace to get away from all of the hustle and bustle. When he was just about to walk up the dirt road to see the battle grounds like he had planned to do, he found an interesting hidden path near the side of the road. Thinking only for a moment about it, he walked down the secluded stone path that had been revealed due to all of the plant life around the dock being burned to a crisp.
Luckily enough, no one noticed the prince slip away from the dramatic scenes at the dock and disappear as he traveled over a blackened hillside where a few burned thatched houses still remained. As he followed the stone path, Zuko could smell burning cinders in the hot sticky air. He frowned at the familiar scent; it wasn't that he hated the smell of fire but he just hated to see such a beautiful lush-green kingdom turn to a bitter black.
Dead leaves and branches crunched under Zuko's heavy black boots as he started to walk down the stone path on the hillside. It was now leading him towards a secret spot that had not yet been turned completely to ashes. This spot was hidden from the rest of the world by the numerous charcoal hills and a small blackened forest. Passing through the dense forest with some trouble, the prince discovered that something beautiful was still preserved from all of the flames. The tiny forest was encircling a gorgeous flower garden that the Earthbenders were tediously growing before the Fire Nation attacked. A stream, which was running down from one of the hills, merrily poured water into a pond covered with lilypads. An ancient bench made out of stone was next to the pond and stream, the legs were stained brown due to age. Zuko noticed that blood had been spilled on the top of the bench.
At first he thought that he had been the only Firebender to discover this breathtaking area but when he saw the blood-he knew that nothing was safe from the Fire Nation's overpowering brute force and determination. Awful feelings of remorse and regret surfaced in the prince's heart, he could not stand to see innocent people being killed for not submitting to the Fire Nation's power. Of course he knew that everyone had to die sometime, but Commander Zhao's army wasn't sparing traitors' lives anymore. The Fire Nation's warriors were becoming heartless murders over the past two years now.
Drawing closer to the bench, he spotted that the blood was fresh and in the shape of a hand print made by someone slightly smaller than him. He lowered his head in respect for the victim he thought was the dead and was just about to whisper a prayer when he heard twigs snap behind him. Lifting his head back up and turning his head slightly over his shoulders, Zuko saw an unknown figure stumble towards him and then suddenly fall on him for support. "Please..." the prince barely had any time to react.
Somewhat taken aback by the person who was now desperately clutching his broad armored shoulders and begging for help, Zuko swiftly reached out and grabbed the figure tightly by the wrists. Roughly pushing the person off, the prince kept them firmly standing up to see if he could decipher their shadowed face. All of the blood in Zuko's face drained, leaving his skin pale white, when he realized that he was holding a young girl with his bare hands. While he was holding her wrists, he felt something wet and warm dripping from his hands. He glanced down at her hands to see that they had been burned badly. Zuko loosened his grip on her wrists instantly when he saw blood trickling down onto the dead leaves and all over his own hands.
"Help-please-" she was begging to Zuko in a weak voice not to leave her all alone, "Mercy..." Looking into her soft hazel-colored eyes, he could see a dreadfully frightened girl who was probably not a day older than he was. Her clothes were torn, burned, and stained with blood in multiple places-she wore the outfit of an Earthbender warrior. The Earthbender's shoulder-length black hair covered most of her face so Zuko could not really get a very good look at her. One thing was for sure though, she was the one Zuko was going to say a special prayer for. It seemed like his prayers had been mysteriously answered because he was about to pray for whoever was wounded to be alive and safe.
Zuko did not know what else to do right then except to just stare blankly at her in response to her pleas. When he was positive that she was an Earthbender, he released his grip on her wounded wrists and took a step away from her. The prince could not be seen with her around the other Firebenders-this would dishonor him even more if he was caught.
Tears began streaming down her bruised and burned face when he took a few more cautious steps away from her like she was some kind of diseased rodent. "Please..." the girl begged once more as Zuko turned his back on her and tried as hard as he could to fix his attention on the pond. It was obvious that the Earthbender was using all of her strength to remain standing before him but the prince pretended that he had not noticed this.
Moments later he heard the girl cry out in pain, by the time Zuko had flipped around to see what was wrong-she was down on her knees shaking uncontrollably and clutching her ribs as if they were broken. More tears tumbled down her cheeks, the pain she was in was barely sufferable. "Help-m-me..."
Not once had the prince ever seen someone fall down to their knees crying and begging for his aide or mercy like he was the Lord of the Fire Nation himself. He froze with fear once again and quickly thought about the consequences if he was caught helping his enemy. If anyone finds out-you'll never be able to return home! After all of these years...when you are so close to capturing the Avatar and regaining your honor-you're going to throw it all away to save an EARTHBENDER! Staring long and hard at her, he continued to muse silently. Finally, he knelt down on the dead leaves and rich soil next to the wounded girl to place his strong hand lightly on her shoulder. "I will help you..." Zuko didn't know why he was listening to his heart and not to his clever mind but he did anyways. The prince's father was right, Zuko did have a soft heart.
"Thank you..." the Earthbender weakly lifted her eyes to look at him face to face. She gave him a broken smile with her bloody lips which made the prince's usually cold heart weak; it seemed like the prince had found his newest weakness.
Glancing around the secluded area, Zuko's mind was now racing as he tried to come up with a plan to get the girl to safety. The Firebenders would recognize her as being from the Earth Kingdom with her burned hands and earth-toned clothing-it would be a dead give away even to a child from the Fire Nation. Then it suddenly hit him, Firebenders would recognize him no matter what he wore due to his extremely noticeable scar on his left eye. "I need you to put this on..." Zuko began to take off his armored chest cover; he thought it would fit her since she almost as tall as him. Underneath his armor was a slightly baggy, long-sleeve, grey shirt that had a few burn marks on the shoulders.
Twenty minutes later, Zuko was pulling the weak Earthbender to her feet; he was silently praying that her disguise would prove faultless. His armor barely fit her though, it looked like the armor had been made for someone twice her width but Zuko would make sure that no one would see her from the side. He helped wash the blood off her hands in the pond and blood from her face. There was only one problem that he was worried about-her padded leather shoes were not usually worn by Firebenders. He would have given her his boots but her feet were too tiny and she could barely walk as it was. Swinging her left arm around his shoulders, the girl leaned all of her weight against the prince as they slowly made their way back through the burned forest.
As they left the secret pond and garden, Zuko was wondering what he was going to do with the Earthbender now that they were coming closer the dock. She would be discovered if he took her to a Firebender medical camp, her burned hands would give it all away. The only safe spot would be back where he had found her-but he knew that he wouldn't be able to save her if she had been found by the other Firebenders. Once the battlefields were clear, the Firebenders would search every nook and cranny for any hiding Earthbenders. She would have no chance at all...he told himself thousands of times over.
"Thank you Firebender..." the girl whispered in a very hoarse voice before she could see the busy dock as they slowly made their way up the blackened hills of her homeland.
Her voice sounded so sincere and grateful, it made Zuko turn his head and stare into her soft brown eyes that were flecked with spots of gold with some astonishment. He found it hard to believe that an Earthbender would be sincerely thanking a Firebender when the Fire Nation was trying to kill her and her people. "My name is Zuko..." he corrected her in a gruff voice. Zuko quickly looked away when she gave him the same broken smile which made his heart beat unevenly.
"Thank-y-ou...Prince Zu-ko..." it was clear that she knew very well who was sparing her life.
When he had full view of the dock, Zuko was somewhat relieved to find it as busy as ever. The larger the crowd was the easier it was to sneak by undetected by the busy Firebenders; Here we go...he said to himself. He felt the Earthbender grip his left shoulder even tighter from the immense pain she was in. "We're almost there-" he could see tears streaming down her face once again, "I won't let them touch you," he swore to her loudly. It was strange for him to give someone besides his uncle his word, but Zuko always managed to keep his word. "Now walk like a proud Firebender," he ordered. It would be the only way to save her life.
Taking in a deep breath, Zuko and the Earthbender nearly crawled down the hill without drawing any attention to themselves. Once they were amongst the crowd of Firebenders on the dirt road, it seemed like they would go unnoticed by the majority of them. The only reason they would turn their heads to stare at the two teenagers was when Zuko would bark at them to move out of his way or else.
Forcing their way to the overly-crowded dock, the prince hadn't come up with his second idea yet. He glanced into the sky to see that the sun was slowly setting behind the ocean's horizon, I can't believe I'm doing this...he moaned to himself when he knew what he had to do. A few minutes later they were both on his ship; luckily no one was outside on the deck yet. The crew and Uncle Iroh would most likely be down in the boiling room of the ship having their dinner and playing some music. Zuko trusted his crew of course, but he didn't want to take any chances on one of them suddenly deciding to "accidentally" blurt out loud that there was an Earthbender on the ship.
"Where are we...?" the Earthbender's voice cracked slightly as Zuko frantically checked the deck of his somewhat run-down ship for any sign of his crew hanging around.
"We're on my ship," the prince helped her to the other end of his ship to a set of metal stairs, which would lead them to the lower levels of the ship. Before they could crawl their way down the staircase, Zuko had to tell her what was deeply troubling his mind. "Where I'm taking you-you must make sure you are not-" he saw her mouth the words "heard or seen, I know."
With an understanding between them now, Zuko nervously bit his lip as he glanced around the deck of his ship and the staircase for one final time. The trip from the secret garden to Zuko's ship had drained all of the Earthbender's remaining strength-she would not make it down the stairs. Without giving her a warning, he bent down slightly and grabbed her legs so he could lift her into his arms. Cautiously walking down the metal staircase with her arms around his neck and her wounded body in his arms, he carried her to the first lower level of the ship. He watched tears stream down from her tightly closed eyes, she was trying not to scream in pain.
It seemed almost like the ship had been abandoned but Zuko knew better, his entire crew were down one more level. He abruptly stopped in front of a cold steel door that was near the front of his ship, this was the safest place he knew of on the ship.
Using his foot to open the door, it creaked open to reveal a dim room with a Fire Nation flag hanging on a metal wall just above a small bed. Across the room there was a mirror that was attached to a writing desk with maps spilled all over the surface of the desk. This dark room was Prince Zuko's bedroom, otherwise known as his private chamber.
Carefully closing the door behind them using his foot once again; Zuko was relieved for once that it was music night tonight on his ship. With the girl still in his arms, he suddenly felt the Earthbender lean her head against his muscular chest. Looking down at her, he saw her eyes were closed-she was unconscious. The same worried feeling took over him when he realized that she needed some medicine before sundown. Swallowing hard, trying to tell himself that he would not be caught aiding an Earthbender, Zuko gingerly lowered her onto his tiny bed.
Once he was sure that she was still breathing, Zuko quickly left the room and shut the door silently behind him. He had to admit-he was never the greatest at healing others but he knew one person who was. Running down one more flight of metal stairs on the ship, the prince reached the boiling room where the crew loved to hang out and have dinner. "Uncle-" Zuko hissed at the grey-haired man, "I need you to come with me, Uncle..." Zuko stood next to his uncle as he played Pi Xio, an ancient checker-like game, with an older general on the ship. Zuko's uncle just loved to play this game with anyone stupid enough to think that they could beat him at it. "Now Uncle," his voice became harder and louder when his uncle told his nephew to give him a few more minutes to finish up the game at least.
Uncle Iroh glanced away from the game board, "Prince Zuko-where is you armor?" he sounded somewhat surprised to see his nephew without his armor on. When Zuko just folded his arms across his chest and simply glared at his uncle, Uncle Iroh finally agreed to come with the prince. "Alright, alright," the uncle sighed depressingly as he got up from his seat and followed his nephew out of the boiling room. "You know I was about to win that game with the general…" Zuko just gave him a glare in response. "What is wrong Prince Zuko? Where is your armor?" he asked as they went up a level on the ship.
Leading his uncle to his private chamber's door, Zuko stopped his uncle from entering for a moment by blocking the doorway. "Uncle-you must promise that you won't be angry with me..." the prince bit his lip as he opened the door and stepped to the side so that his uncle could enter the room once he had promised.
At first glance Zuko's uncle saw nothing strange, but then he spotted the wounded, unconscious girl lying on the prince's bed. "So that is where your armor went to..." Uncle Iroh scratched his grey bearded chin as he thought about what to do.
"Come on you guys!" yelled a voice from high above in the treetops. A shadowy figure could be seen leaping from tree to tree in a matter of seconds. No matter how far away the next tree was-whether it was one foot or fifteen feet-the steadfast figure could make it to the top without putting much effort into it.
"Slow down Aang!" called back a young girl as she and her brother sprinted through the dense undergrowth trying to catch up with the high-spirited Airbender.
Panting loudly, Sokka muttered some unpleasant words to himself as he started to fall behind his sister's fast pace. "I-wis-h-he-wouldn't-do-this-ever-y-time-he-se-es-some-thing-" the brother mumbled to no one in particular.
"Stop complaining Sokka! Aang said he found something up ahead-" Katara turned her head to glare at him momentarily. "Maybe it's another camp of Waterbenders!" she wanted to meet more of her kind. Katara and her brother hadn't seen very many remaining Waterbenders since their kind was nearly wiped out.
Sokka stopped and snorted in disbelief at her, "Aang just probably found another waterfall...There seems to be an overabundance around here." The truth was all he wanted was something to eat. Sokka mainly thought about two things: food and pretty girls.
"You just want to find some food-" Katara ceased running to glower at her brother since he refused to run anymore.
Denying the truth, Sokka came up with a ridiculous lie to try and get his sister off of his case. Of course she did not believe him and threw a dead snail at his face as she stormed through the forest to find the Avatar. "That wasn't very nice Katara!" he growled at her as he tried to pull the very sticky dead creature off his nose. "Yuck-this is disgusting!" Sokka felt a trail of slime slowly dripping down his forehead onto the tip of his nose.
After removing the dead snail and cleaning his face with the back of his sleeve, he jogged after his sister. By the time Sokka had caught up with Katara, she had stopped at the edge of the thick forest. An indescribable sight lay before them, but her brother just rolled his eyes at the beautiful sight. "Another waterfall. What did I tell you-" he smirked pleasantly towards his sister because he had guessed correctly.
"You never appreciate the beauty of nature do you!" Katara hotly snapped back at him. Her golden brown eyes narrowed in his direction, "You're hopeless, do you know that Sokka?" When he shrugged in reply to her sour comment, Katara was ready to throw something worse at her brother's annoying face.
Like all relatives, the brother and sister could never get along with one another unless they were in mortal peril. They constantly argued with each other about things which had no great importance to them; like whose turn it was to collect the fire wood for the group. But their arguing was a sign of their affection for each other...it was basically a love-hate relationship they had but at least it was a strong relationship.
Just then they heard a wild cry coming from the very top of the powerful and awesome waterfall, "Watch this you guys!" Aang waved frantically to grab their attention at the very top of the waterfall. Leaping off the watery edge, the young boy dove into the water; after making several aerials moves before he hit the cool water down below. In a few seconds the boy was back on the surface of the water with a smile stretched from ear to ear on his face. "Come on in you guys-the water is just fine!" the Avatar began doing the backstroke while spitting water out of his mouth high into the air.
In each generation, only one bender is capable of controlling all four elements. That bender is known as the Avatar-or Aang in this case. The Avatar is the spirit of the world who manifests in human form; when the Avatar dies, the spirit reincarnates into the next element in the cycle. Aang was born as an Air Nomad, but the Avatar before him was born from the Fire Nation. Throughout the ages, the countless incarnations of the Avatar have served to keep the four nations in harmony.
Aang was easy to spot from far away, on his head and hands were bright blue arrows pointing downwards. He was completely bald, due to the fact that he was raised by Airbending monks in elegant, hard-to-reach Air Temples. Now only being fourteen years old, Aang had mastered all air and water elemental magic and had only begun to learn how to control the earth element. Even though Aang is very young and still but a child, he must do what he can to save the new world around him from destruction.
Like all children his age, he had a huge and open heart-he could only see the good in others. Even though this gives Aang a very innocent perspective on the world, most of the people he meets don't have a very innocent perspective on him. No matter what though, the Avatar continues to believe that everyone has a good-side...including his enemy and hunter-Prince Zuko.
Nearly a hundred years ago, the Fire Nation attacked the other nations. Just when the world needed the Avatar the most, he mysteriously vanished. Now, the Fire Nation is near final victory in its ruthless war of world domination. The Air Nomads were destroyed and all Airbender monks were eradicated. The Water Tribes were raided and driven to the brink of extinction. The Earth Kingdom is the only nation that remains and fights a hopeless war against the Fire Nation.
"Are you sure the water is safe?" Katara asked in a worried voice as she moved closer to the water's edge. She had distinctly remembered what had happened the last time Aang had tried to swim in water he believe to be safe. While the Avatar boy was swimming with a pack of whale coy, a giant sea serpent came up on Aang and nearly devoured him. It was only by pure luck that the Avatar had survived the attack from the great monster.
Glancing around the dark azure-hued water, Aang could not see anything that could be lurking deep down in the water. "I don't see anything here," the Avatar shrugged his shoulders as he continued to float in the calm water with a pleased look on his face.
"Um-Aang...?" Sokka quickly unpocketed his favorite weapon, a blue boomerang, from his warrior outfit. "Then what's that behind you?" all of the color drained from his face as he pointed to something lurking in the water just a few feet behind the Avatar.
Two emerald eyes poked out of the dark water, each about the size of a human fist. Just as the Avatar turned around to see what Sokka was talking about, a long snout and rows of sharp teeth suddenly appeared from the murky water. The creature released a low growl which sent violent ripples through the water. Something told Aang and his friends that this creature wasn't going to be friendly...
"Run Aang!" Katara screamed as she watched the dangerous creature swim closer to Aang. Heading to the water's edge, she began moving her hands in a graceful motion until a whip made out of water formed before her. She used the water whip to smack the monster directly across the face. To her dismay, the creature ignored her attack and continued to swim after Aang. "Do something Sokka!" Katara yelled at her brother when her Waterbending skills didn't even cause the creature to flinch.
While Aang was trying to get away from the crocodile-like creature, Sokka had begun throwing his boomerang at the malicious creature's head to get its attention away from the Avatar. The boomerang bounced off its hard scales without leaving a scratch. Throwing his boomerang a second time, Sokka re-aimed at what wasn't covered with scales which ended up striking it right in the eye. In an instant the beast roared and turned away from Aang, swimming to where Sokka was awkwardly standing. "I got his attention-now what about me?" he squeaked. Sokka backed away from the water as the creature came closer and closer. "It can't walk on land, right?" he asked this question to anyone who would hear his cracking voice.
"Quick-climb the trees! It's a croconile!" Aang grabbed Katara by the waist; they went shooting up in the air landing gracefully on a high tree branch.
Meanwhile, Sokka was frozen with fear upon spotting the rows and rows of teeth the croconile had. "Nice croc...nice croc..." he whispered in a tiny voice as the beast hissed loudly. At first the creature moved slowly towards Sokka, but once it was only a few feet ahead of the gangly boy-it came upon Sokka so quickly that he did not have any time to react. Closing his eyes and cowering fear, the Water Tribe warrior could not think of anything else he could do when he saw the sharp teeth coming at him.
He then heard a snapping sound right in front of him; opening one eye gingerly, Sokka found himself just centimeters from jagged white fangs. As he was about to faint, Sokka heard a voice from the top of the croconile's snout. Listening to the voice, Sokka swallowed his fears and sprinted to the nearest tree as fast as he could go.
Violently shaking its head from side to side, the croconile desperately tried to free its gigantic jaws from the rope Aang had quickly tied to save Sokka's life. Growling and grunting in frustration, the beast tried to send Aang flying off the tip of its snout by swinging its head back and forth. The Avatar just rode the croconile's snout like it was a bucking flying bison-smiling and yelling joyful cries as he rode.
When Sokka was safely high above the beasts's sharp, jagged rows of teeth, Aang cut the rope off of the croconile's snout and jumped to the nearest tree branch to get away from its snapping range. Releasing a sigh of relief out, the Avatar gave a thumbs up signal to Sokka and Katara, "It's all good..." he smiled brightly like this entire event was just a game.
Looking down at the creature, Sokka stuck his tongue out at it and began to tease it loudly. "Nyah-nyah...Stupid croconile! Thought you could eat me! HA-HA!" he blew a raspberry.
As if it understood that Sokka was making fun of it, the croconile slammed its long, powerful, green tail against the tree Sokka was in and nearly sent him flying out of the tree. Immediately, the warrior wrapped his arms around the trunk of the tree and released a girlish scream.
Ignoring her brother's high-pitched screams, Katara raised her voice so she could be heard over Sokka's cries for his grandmother. "How long do we have to stay up here?" Katara called from a different tree; she did not enjoy the thought of being stuck in a tree for the remaining part of the day.
Sokka glanced down at the raging beast that was pacing back and forth in front of the tree he was in. The croconile had his jaws free from the rope now, so he snapped them bitterly at the humans in the high trees. "As long as it takes to get that-thing-to leave!" he insisted stubbornly.
"Appa!" Aang yelled at the top of his lungs, "He'll come find us soon enough...Along with Momo," he directed this statement to Sokka. "But I could always go get Appa right now..."
"Now would be good-" Sokka's face was still as white as a snowball as he kept a weary eye on the beast circling down below his tree. "Now would most definitely be good..." What Aang and Katara did not know was that Sokka had nearly soiled himself when he thought that he was going to be dinner.
Laughing at Sokka's unhappy and frightened looks, Aang began to leap from tree branch to tree branch humming a happy tune as he went merrily along. This was the way Aang wanted to spend the rest of his life-with his two best friends.
Notes: Re-vamping the story a little bit. Made a few grammar and spelling corrections along the way. A few things have changed, but not much. Also, I am combining a few chapters together since this story will be at least 16 chapters. I will also be changing the last chapter completely and adding two new chapters later today.
Originally I wrote this story before the 3rd season was out and only the 2nd season was only half-way done. So, the newer half of the story will follow events from the 3rd season and will be darker.
Apologies to all the readers and fans that I took so long. Vet school eats up a lot of my time.
- Hunter Aug 3, 2010