Kaya's Story: Book One
Chapter One: The Escape
The moon hangs high in the sky. Its light casts down onto the snow and into a small bedroom where a girl frantically packs all of her few belongings into a bag. She keeps glancing at her door, listening, waiting for him to come bursting in and ruin everything.
She checks her bag several times to make sure she has everything. Cautiously, she steps out of her room and goes to the kitchen. There, she grabs all the leopard seal jerkey she can find and puts it in her bag. She has no idea how long she will be gone, and will need as much non-perishable food as she can find.
Once that is taken care of she looks at the front door. The fabric covering the opening sways in the wind. Feeling unsure Kaya turns around and starts to go back to her room. Then she sees the fire flickering in the corner. She cringes and makes her final decision. She can not stay here.
Kaya heads out the door and runs down the empty streets of The Southern Watertribe. The full moon's power fills her with energy. The snow crunches under her feet and she hears an arctic wolf howl in the distance. Different doubts and regrets enter her mind. Then she thinks of the fire and her motives are made clear again.
When she reaches the harbor she is out of breath. She walks down the rows of boats until she finds a fishing canoe. One with a sail and paddles. She steps in and the boat sways side to side. Once she has gained her balance and the boat is steady she unties the canoe. She pushes away from the dock and starts paddling.
After paddling for what feels like forever, Kaya stops to give herself a break. The sun has just started to peek out from the darkness. Kaya turns and looks back at her home. It is just a soft glow in the distance. Seeing it so far away gives her strange feeling. She isn't sure if it is dread or relief.
One thing she does know is that she had done it. Finally, she is free. From now on she can do whatever she wants. She knows that this is her life. Then, looking out at the open ocean, she decides she isn't sure how long her life will last.
Several weeks pass and Kaya hasn't seen land. Sailing had gotten her far but occasionally she would have to paddle. It was hard work and sometimes she wished she had not left. That and she was tired of eating seal jerkey. She knew, though, that it was too late for regret and she had to keep moving.
The weather is very calm. There is not a cloud in the sky or even a slight breeze. Kaya has been paddling and has had to take frequent breaks. Her arms are incredibly sore.
Suddenly, Kaya hears a sound she hadn't heard before. It sounds like a bunch of arctic chickens crowing at once, but still even different than that. She looks up and sees hundreds if not thousands of birds flying overhead. Kaya marvels at the sight.
Once they have all flown by, Kaya looks in the direction they came from. To her horror she sees the blackest clouds she has ever seen in her entire life. She knows that these are no snow clouds. There is a storm coming. A bad one, and she's going to get caught right in the middle of it.
In a panic, Kaya takes out a map she had found back home. She tracks down her current location and realizes she isn't too far from Kyoshi Island. Kaya throws the map down into the bottom of the canoe and picks up the paddle. Then she starts paddling for her life.
Hours of tiring paddling pass until the wind picks up. Lightning lights up the sky and thunder rumbles so loud Kaya thinks her eardrums might burst. Kaya looks up, and through the cloudy sky she can see the slight outline of Kyoshi in the distance. She puts up her sail and the boat jolts forward.
The sail only works succsessfully for a few minutes. Then the wind really gets harsh. The boat rocks back and forth so much Kaya has to hold on to the sides so that she does not fall off.
She puts the sail down, but the boat still rocks violently. Rain starts falling in heavy sheets and thunder and lightning are everywhere. The waves get higher each minute and Kaya knows that her situation is very grave.
Waves push against the boat and Kaya does her best to stay on. The cold, salty spray that showers her combined with the rain makes it hard.
The boat rises up and down over huge waves and Kaya screams as she holds on for dear life. A massive wave rises up above them and Kaya stares at it as it comes down on her with a low roar like she had never heard before. She is knocked out of the boat and into the freezing water.
Kaya comes up gasping and crying. Her whole body is numb from cold and pain. Waves push her under, but she fights to stay afloat. She does not know how long she does this. Finally, she goes under and is too weak to come back up again. She listens as the thunder rumbles above water and she slowly drifts out of consiousness.
Two men walk along the beach on Kyoshi after the storm. They had woken up at dawn just to survey the damage. So far they had seen driftwood, sea plants, and various sea life that were victims of the storm. One man finds a peice of driftwood unlike the others they had found. It has watertribe paintings on it.
"Hey, Yao! Look at this!" he shouts. Yao comes over and looks at it.
"What is it?" Yao asks. The other man studies it.
"It looks like a piece of a watertribe boat. But I don't know what it would be doing all the way out here," he responds. Yao looks around the beach.
"Bo! Here's some more!" Yao and Bo search the beach and find several more peices of what they assume is the same boat. They even find a small bag. Inside of it is the belongings of a watertribe girl.
"Do you think that she, whoever they are, is still...here?" Bo asks. Yao shakes his head.
"The liklihood of anyone surviving a storm like that is...it's just not something that happens," Yao says solemnly. "But it wouldn't hurt to check, just in case."
The two men search the beach looking for signs of a survivor. At about an hour past dawn they decide it's time to give up. Just then Bo finds something.
"Yao! Yao, over here!" Bo shouts. Yao runs over. They both kneel down next to a young watertribe girl. She soaking wet, especially her face and chest. They know she must have coughed up a lot of water before they found her Yao guesses she is about fourteen.
"Is she alive?" Bo asks. Yao sees the girl's chest moving slightly.
"She needs help!" Yao says in panic.
"Like what?" Bo asks.
"We need to find Doctor Chow!" Yao exclaims. Bo shakes his head.
"Doctor Chow went to the Fire Nation on vacation, remember?" Bo reminds him. Yao looks down that girl, his mind is racing.
"What do we do? We can't let her die!" says Bo. Yao looks at him.
"Who else could help her?" The two men think. Yao hangs his head. Bo perks up.
"I know!" Bo says. Yao jerks his head up.
"What?"
"Master Katara! She's a healer! She can help!" Bo explains.
"But we can't just pop in on them! I mean...she's the Avatar's wife! Not only that but it's so early!"
"It's the only way. She's the only one on the Island capable of saving this girl," Bo states. Yao nods. He knows Bo is right.
Gently, Yao picks up the girl. She is limp in his arms, and her chest moves slightly up and down.
"Lead the way," Yao tells Bo. Bo takes the lead and they head towards the village. They walk through the streets and towards the outer area of the village. They come to a fairly large house and walk up to the front door.
"This is it," Bo says as he reaches up to knock. His knuckles make sharps noises on the wood door. They wait and Bo knocks several more times until they receive an answer. A sleepy Avatar Aang answers the door.
"Yes?" Aang asks through a yawn. Bo bows and Yao bows his head.
"Avatar Aang, sir, I'm Bo and this is Yao. We came to see your wife."
Aang looks at them, then he registers the girl in Yao's arms. Panic crosses Aang's face.
"Come in!" Aang says as he ushers the men inside. Aang runs to another room in the house. Bo and Yao hear voices, then footsteps coming towards them. Aang and Katara walk in.
The two men see Master Katara and bow. She ignores them and her eyes focus on the girl. Katara's heart feels heavy and she goes closer to them.
"What happened?!" Katara asks.
"We found her on the beach. We think she got caught out in the storm," Yao replies. Katara gasps.
"Follow me," she orders. Katara leads them into a bedroom and Yao lays the girl down on the bed.
"Water. I need water," says Katara. Aang goes out of the room and is back in an instant with a basin filled with water. Katara bends the water and it starts to glow. Yao and Bo watch in awe. Katara starts to heal the girl.
After a few minutes the girl moans. Everyone watches intently as her eyes flutter open. She looks around in panic, then her eyes settle on Katara.
"Mother?" the girl asks. "Am I dead?" Katara shakes her head.
"No, you're just hurt," she answers. The girl looks away. She seems dissapointed.
"Oh...then you aren't Mom." Everyone in the room is silent for a few moments.
"How do you feel?" Aang asks. The girl closes her eyes.
"I feel like I've been trampled by a herd of arctic zebra elk," she answers. She opens her eyes to look at Aang. She looks shocked.
"Avatar Aang?" she looks around the room and tries to sit up. She gasps in pain and winces. Katara holds her shoulder gently and helps her lay back down.
"You need to take it easy," Katara tells her. The girl looks at her.
"Where am I? How did I get here?" the girl asks.
"These men found you on the beach. You got caught out in the storm. You're very lucky," Katara tells her.
"I don't feel lucky," the girl groans. Katara looks at the girl.
"What's your name?" she asks. The girl looks at her.
"Kaya," she answers weakly. Katara smiles.
"That's a beautiful name. Nice to meet you, Kaya," Katara says. Kaya smiles slightly and coughs. She groans afterwards and closes her eyes. Bo and Yao excuse themselves.
Katara continues to heal Kaya.
"Is she gonna be okay?" Aang asks.
"She's pretty beaten up. That and she's sick from being out in the storm. If I keep healing her and if she keeps taking medicine she should be fine in a couple of days," Katara answers. "What I'm really worried about is where the rest of her family is. I don't think she has a mother, considering what she said when she woke up atleast." They are silent for a moment.
"What will we do if we can't find them?" Aang asks. Katara looks at Kaya and sighs.
"I'm not sure. We'll figure it out though," Katara says. She dabs Kaya's head with a wet towel and wonders about Kaya's family.
Katara has a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach that Kaya is alone. As she watches over Kaya, Katara decides that Kaya is her responsibility. Nothing will happen to her while she is with them.
