A/N: Sorry about the error that erased the story and replaced it with my Bleach fic. Should be fixed now. As always, I don't own Avatar or anything related to it. I just write in the world and with the chars because they're cool and I love 'em. Don't sue me please. :D
Edit: Chap. 3 is almost done, should be posted tomorrow. (11/12/08)
Falling Rain
Chap. 1 One last chance...
The young mother stretched languidly with a sigh, then dropped her left arm over the back of her husband. He groaned softly, and she could hear his heart and breath pick up a little, so she knew he was now awake as well. "Wake up, sleepyhead. It's raining outside, and Momo's getting antsy. Let him in, will ya? Then maybe some breakfast?"
Mumbling something about how it was always him doing the cooking, even on his 'vacation', the young man pushed one hand against the stone wall at her feet and it sank into the ground from whence it had come. The volume of the rain doubled at once, and the black-haired young woman grinned. She'd always loved the rain. It provided the clearest view of her world, because the constant vibrations, far too small for most humans to notice, painted the pictures in her mind that she called 'sight'.
Their children, the twins Katara and Sokka, were having their first 'sleep over' since they had been born at their grandparent's estate. They were nine months old, now, and both already crawling. Sokka, in particular, liked exploring everywhere, getting into trouble, and being inquisitive. His older sister, though, also like her namesake, was quieter, fussed less, and preferred to sit still- as long as she was in physical contact with someone else, regardless of who.
Poppy, Toph's mother, had been ecstatic when the two had asked them to babysit for a week, to give the young couple a little time to rest from the trials of raising twins as such a young age- and for the Avatar to fulfill a little of his 'duties', whatever those were. Again, Toph's smile widened, remembering the 'duty' he had fulfilled with her just that last night.
I don't think I'll ever get tired of that... of him. But if I got pregnant again... already...
Aang's call woke her up from her doze a while later, but it was the smell of sausage wafting through the damp air that got her out of bed at last. "That smells great, Twinkletoes. But why'd you make sausage? It's not my birthday or anything."
"I just... wanted to make sure you recovered your energy, that's all," he said, sounding a little sheepish. Toph dropped herself to sit next to him, and he expanded the bubble of dry air around he and the old lemur to encompass the Earthbender as well. "Listen, Toph... I've been thinking. We still have a couple of months left out of our year, but I don't think we should just play around. Your dad's getting worried about the Order's safety, they've been losing more and more men every day. I'm sure the General is more worried than he let on last month, too. So..."
"Out with it. You want us to start looking for him, right? Before he can find us?"
Aang didn't seem to surprised by Toph's bluntness, nor the fact that she'd known exactly what he was getting at. He stood up slowly, keeping one of her calloused hands in his as he did so, then pulled her to her feet, forcing her to scramble up so as not to drop her sausage.
"Out that way," he said, pointing though he knew by now it was pointless, "is the southern Hu Xin province. It's mostly jungle. If I was a Firebender, that's where I'd hide... if I was in the Earth Kingdom, anyway. Think it's worth a look?"
While Toph contemplated the question, reviewing as best she could her limited knowledge of western Earth Kingdom geography, Momo's nose twitched once, and the old lemur roused himself to stare into the rain.
It wasn't until the two had Appa loaded with their supplies, and a messenger hawk had been sent to Gaoling to inform Lao and the Order that they might be late returning, that Aang noticed Momo was nowhere to be found.
Calls, offers of food, even offers of a feast combined with the Bison's calls did not cause the diminutive creature to return.
Of course, Aang wouldn't leave without his pet, nor would Toph even suggest it, so with a sigh, they guided Appa back into the huge earthen tent they'd made for him the night before, and huddled next to him to wait out the rain, or for the lemur to return.
* * *
With a start, Toph woke again. There was something big crashing through the forest straight toward their camp, and it was coming fast. "Aang! Wake up! I think we're under attack!"
At once, he was on his feet, wiping his eyes with one hand to clear the cobwebs, the other reaching out to take hold of his staff. "Where?" was all he asked.
"There," she pointed, "About two hundred yards out, right at the edge of my hearing... but it's coming closer pretty quick. And it's coming straight at us. You want me to make a wall?"
"No," he said after a moment, "Let's see what it is first. It could just be a coincidence."
Toph snorted, grinning, "Coincidence? With you around? Who do you think you are, some Cabbage Merchant? You're the Avatar. Whatever it is, it's after us... for something."
He didn't bother arguing- after all, what she'd said had been proven true time and again.
And then, suddenly, Momo burst from the trees, from the same direction Toph had pointed. Aang's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed as he realized that whatever his wife had heard had been chasing the creature. "Here, Momo," he called, taking up a defensive position just as a dark shadow leapt from the edge of the forest, landing hard a few yards in front of him.
The only thing that could have surprised Aang more than seeing this Shirshu and it's black-haired rider more at this time of his life, after warning the bounty hunter that he'd kill her if they met again, was seeing the shadows under her closed eyes, the paler-than-usual pallor of her skin, and most importantly, the great swell of her belly as she slid sideways off of her mount to land with a thud on her side, where she didn't move.
"Is...
is that June?" Toph asked incredulously, while Aang stood there
without moving. The Shirshu circled to nudge the woman with it's
mole-like nose once, twice, but she still did not stir. Aang stepped
toward her, Toph right behind him, but the beast did not react with
any hostility. It seemed to have eyes only for it's master. She's
breathing, I can see it. But why isn't she-
Aang's thoughts were interrupted by a scream of pain, and he
halted, watching in horror as June's statuesque face contorted in
agony, her entire body shaking.
* * *
"Are you awake yet?"
The woman didn't seem sure of that herself. Her eyes opened slowly, haltingly, then she scrunched them shut at once. "I'm sorry, Avatar. Please... don't kill me yet. I just want... to see my baby first."
"I'm not going to kill you," he answered slowly, and she heard him sit back on a stone bench around the edge of the structure she found herself in.
"You... you aren't? But you said..."
"I know what I said. But I'm not going to kill a new mother... no matter what she's done. Besides... it seems Momo brought you here, and I trust him. As far gone as you were... you wouldn't have lived without a Waterbender to heal you, so that's another bit of proof for you."
He fell silent, and eventually, June opened her eyes, taking a moment to examine the shelter. Then, at last, his silent gaze drew her own eyes to his. He was watching her closely, but his expression was carefully neutral. She couldn't even detect any signs of anger in his clear eyes.
"You really aren't going to hurt me? What about..."
He leaned back, finally turning his eyes upward as he interrupted, "It's a boy. He looks... well, I was going to say he looks like you, but most Fire Nation babies I've seen look like that. Dark hair, pale skin, you know."
He looked down at her once again, then continued, "Toph's taking care of him for now. Don't worry," he said at once, "she's pretty good at it, sight or not. She can get Katara and Sokka to do pretty much anything, and she'd never let anything hurt him. That's not how she is. When you're up to it, when he's clean, she'll bring him in. Until then, we have a few minutes to talk."
But he didn't say anything, again he just watched her with his piercing eyes until her own gaze broke. "Where are we? The last thing I remember was a contraction... that was near Quen Shu City. I told Kikito find you, and..."
"Kiki? Your new Shirshu's name is Kiki?" he couldn't suppress the grin, especially after he saw her grimace. She growled, "She was a lot cuter as a baby. Now that's all she'll answer to."
"Right... we're near the borders of the Hu Xin jungle. We were about to head in and look for Zhao when Momo took off."
Her eyes wide, she replied, "Good guess. Last time I saw Zhao, he was camped in some ruins near the center of the jungle. He was saying something about how he'd driven out a native tribe, and nearly killed two dragons- at once."
"The Sun Warriors? He couldn't have!"
"That's just what he said," June replied quickly, "but from what I know about Fire Nation history, the furthest east the Sun Warriors ever settled was near the Western Air Temple... not this far east. So maybe he's mistaken, but he is a pretty good historian. I mean, what he learned in Wa Shi Tong's library alone..."
The Avatar grunted once, folding his arms across his chest. "So, do you think he's still there?"
She shook her head slowly, "No... I overheard him talking to one of his Captains a couple of days before he... before I left. They were packing up the camp, too, so I don't think they stayed long. That'd be about ten months, now."
Aang nodded once, then changed the subject, "The child is his, isn't it?"
He was surprised by the sudden look of rage in her eyes. She threw the light blanket off of her and stood up quickly, glaring at him, "The child is mine, regardless of what demon spawn sired him!"
For the first time since she'd woken up, the young Avatar showed real emotion. But it wasn't the fear she had expected, it was... pity. Sadness. For her.
"He... he forced you, didn't he?"
She nodded, cursing herself silently for the tears that welled in her eyes.
* * *
"Toph?" Aang asked after hearing a knock on the stone wall a few minutes later. June didn't hear the reply, but the Avatar gestured with a finger, and a door-sized hole opened in the stone, revealing the lithe form of the Earthbender, carrying a small bundle of forest green cloth.
"Is... is that him?" June asked, her eyes riveted on Toph's arms.
"Yeah," she said, walking toward the bounty hunter without hesitation and offering up the baby, "What are you going to name him?"
For a long time, the woman didn't answer, only gazed with wide-eyed adoration at the creature she held awkwardly in her arms. "Hello Naoe," she whispered at last.
The sun was starting to set when Aang broke the tableau, "So, June... do you want to help us hunt him down?"
