Chapter I
"Come on Sokka, why won't you come into town with me?" Asked an exasperated Katara. Sokka blew out a puff, shooting the piece of grass that had sat in his mouth up into air.
"Because Katara, I'm busy." He said, repeating his answer from only a few seconds earlier. Katara put her hands on her hips, letting out a huff of annoyance.
"Busy? You're not doing anything! You've been laying there for the past hour!" Sokka shrugged his shoulders apathetically.
"I'm busy doing nothing." He said, stretching out languidly and laying his intertwined fingers behind his head. Katara frowned, her brow scowling at her ever lazy older brother.
"You're intolerable!" She said stalking off.
"And you're pernicious!" Shouted Sokka after her, smiling at his articulated vocabulary.
'You don't even know what that means Sokka!" Shouted Katara over her shoulder. Sokka lay back down, a satisfied look on his face.
"Prove it." He said. Katara growled, muttering to herself and storming off, leaving the lazy oaf to lay in the tantalizing sunlight. The gang had been camped for three days, a village within twenty minutes of their position, and no one wanted to go and check it out, no one except Katara that is. For three days she had tried, unsuccessfully, to get someone to go with her into the village, but no one would go, each insisting that they had something important to do at the moment.
Katara let out a frustrated grunt. Well, if no one would go with her to the village then she would just go by herself. She would have a great time all by herself, and she would bring back something delicious only to eat it in front of everyone else, that would show them.
Katara marched off towards the village, only stopping to grab some money from their ever dwindling supplies. She reached into Sokka's pouch, retrieving a few silver pieces. Aang walked up behind her, silent and unnoticed.
"Why are you taking money from Sokka's bag?" He asked. Katara jumped, surprised at his presence.
"Aang, I didn't hear you there!" She exclaimed, stuffing the money quickly into her pocket. Aang lifted an eyebrow.
"You do realize I just asked you about the money right? Stuffing it in your pocket isn't going to make me forget about it." Katara blushed, embarrassed, like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She took her hand out of her pocket, showing Aang the silver pieces she had.
"Sorry Aang, you just surprised me, that's all." She said. Aang looked at her, his face its usual chipper countenance.
"That's okay Katara." He said, folding her fingers over the money. The two paused, sparks flying from their skins meeting. Aang quickly withdrew his hand.
"Don't worry." He said, a slight tint of red in his cheeks. "I won't tell Sokka." Katara smiled gently at Aang.
"Thanks Aang." She said, putting the money back in her pocket. "You want to come with me?" She asked. Aang shifted nervously on one foot.
"Sorry Katara, I really do, but Toph's in one of her moods right now and I'm supposed to be practicing my Earthbending." He said, looking over at the trees where he had come from.
"What are you doing over here then?" Asked Katara. Aang looked over at Appa.
"I have to get something from Appa, Toph wants her earth-rumble belt." He said. Katara raised an eyebrow, perplexed.
"Why does she need that?" She asked. Aang rubbed the back of his neck.
"So she can beat me with it." He said. Katara was a bit shocked. Toph was still fairly new to the group, but she was an Earthbending master, so Katara usually let her antics slide, but this might be going too far. As if to reaffirm Aang's last statement Toph's boisterous cry broke the serenity of the day.
"Twinkle-toes! Where in the name of the badger moles are you!?" Aang jumped, the fear of Toph being properly instilled in him.
"Sorry Katara but I really need to get a move on." He said, running over to Appa's saddle. Katara walked after him, a look of concern plastered across her face.
"Aang, maybe I should talk to her, she's going a bit tough on you." She said. Aang interrupted his frantic search, turning to face Katara. His eyes jumped about, full of anxiety.
"Don't do that Katara, you'll just make it worse!" He hissed softly, looking around with paranoia. Katara shook her head.
"I don't know Aang, I just don't think that it's healthy to go through so much abuse." She said
"Why? You always put me through it." Katara turned to see the cross form of her brother standing behind her. She turned red, anger burning her cheeks.
"Will you please stop your incessant whining? And why are you up, I thought you were busy doing nothing?" Sokka walked up to her, sticking his nose in her face.
"I was busy doing nothing." He said, jabbing a hand into Katara's pocket. "But I figured you would do this!" He said, pulling the money out and shaking it in a fist before her eyes. She reached out a hand to grab it, but Sokka pulled away, sticking his arm up and out of her reach.
"Hey, give that back!" She yelled, hopping up to try and reach his long arms.
"No." He said, pushing her away. "I already told you, we're trying to maintain a low profile. I don't want to run into those crazy girls from Omashu again." He said, recalling their crazed leader, a nut firebender who shot crazy blue flames about, setting everything on fire. And then, if you tick her off, she starts shooting lightning at you. That was a person that Sokka had no desire to see again, especially after the old dude got zapped. Sokka shook his head.
"Ya, we're not going into town." He said. Katara stomped her foot, not even noticing that Aang had long since abated them, running back to his Sifu for his beating.
"WE are not going into town, I am!" She said, trying to snatch Sokka's hand. He merely moved it back around and out of her reach.
"No." He said caustically, pushing her back once more. Katara began to boil, popping the lid off to her water skin, ready to bend her brother into the next millennia.
"Give me that money back!" She growled menacingly. Sokka fingered his boomerang.
"Noooooo." He reiterated, wagging his finger in front of Katara as if she were a naughty pet. Katara lost her patience then, stepping forward and with one fluid motion bending a shot of water straight at Sokka. However, Sokka, knowing his sister, merely stepped to the side and swatted the back of her hand with his boomerang, creating a loud thwap! Katara brought her hand back with a cry, rubbing it. The water fell to the ground, only to be picked up again by Katara as she spun and cracked a water whip where she thought Sokka was. He was not there. He had rolled under it and was standing up behind her, smacking her on the butt with his boomerang. Katara whirled around, furry permeating her every movement. Sokka smiled slyly.
"You know, I think that Mom never did spank you enough, that's probably why you're so rambunctious now." He said, laughing as he side stepped another one of her blows. "Come on sis, you got to do better than that to catch me, I've seen all your tricks before." He added, smacking Katara on the butt again with his boomerang. By this time Katara was completely irate, having lost all sense of calmness. She breathed out smoothly, bending the water about her in a death spiral. She whipped it around, catching Sokka off guard. The water hit him full force in the chest, sending him flying back, his body smacking into a tree. He fell to the grown with a solid thud, grabbing his side as he slowly got up. Katara glared at him defiantly, daring him to come at her again. Sokka stood up hesitantly, wincing as he prodded his side. He looked up at his little sister with a pained expression, a mélange of bitterness and agony. He threw the coins on the ground, staring at his sister with wavering eyes.
"Here, take your stupid money. Go into town, get us all in trouble, I don't care. I'm done babysitting you super-human prodigious. I guess you don't need the normal guy." Sokka walked away, making his way through the trees over to the hill he had been resting on earlier, each step accompanied with a sharp stab of pain. Katara watched him go, guilt rushing through her mind. She did not need to be so hard on him, he was at a disadvantage in the group, being the only one who could not bend. He was just trying to look out for them, and since this village was near a port city there was a good chance that they could run into fire-nation soldiers.
Half of Katara wanted to go and apologize for hurting him, but the other half scoffed at Sokka, thinking he got what he had deserved. It was the latter half that ended up winning out. Katara picked up the money, brushing off the dirt that had gotten on the silver pieces. She put them back in her pocket and marched off, holding her head up and suppressing the rising tides of guilt and shame.
Sokka strode passed the grassy hill and kept moving. He walked on and on, ignoring the blinding pain in his side. His sister was so infuriating! Why could she not see that going into the village was bad for everybody? They did not need any food, their clothing was all perfectly adequate, and no one needed medicine, so why was she so persistent in trying to go to the village? Sokka shook his head. It was because she was bored. Since Toph was getting all the time with Aang now Katara did not know what to do with herself, there was only so many times one could wash clothes. Unlike himself who could find entertainment in just resting, Katara always had to be doing something, sitting still was something only lazy people did. Sokka blew a stray strand of hair away from his head, cringing at the pain in his side. Dumb waterbender. He thought, allowing himself to sit down and take a breath.
Dumb benders! He thought. They all thought that they could do whatever they wanted because they could perform some fancy magic tricks, big whoop! They may be able to bend the elements, but they were missing out on something else they would never have. Sokka paused and thought for a moment, trying to think of what that was exactly. He lowered his head, sighing. Nothing.
Sokka knew in his heart that he was just the normal guy, and nothing he could think of was something unique that he could do that no one else could. They were all people as well as benders, him, however, he was just a person. Not even that good of a person either. He was supposed to be a warrior, but who was it that did all the fighting here? It sure was not him! And who was it that needed to be saved and protected constantly? Not the blind girl!
Sokka reached up for his boomerang, but noticed that it was missing. He had left it back near the campsite after Katara had blasted him. He sighed. Ohh well, he did not really need it. Sokka stared up into the sky, a tear slowly snaking its way down his cheek. He just felt so down, so empty, it was like there was nothing in him. To be honest with himself he really would not care if he was to die right now, at least it would be better than living in such an empty state. Anything would be better than this perpetual hollowness that now plagued him. Sokka punched himself in the side. He grimaced
Well, not quite anything. He thought, rubbing his side delicately. He sighed again. It was only a matter of time, soon he would be begging for beatings just so he could feel something. He got up, grunting through the pain. He looked out into the distance. He was not certain, but he thought that he could hear the sound of waves, braking far off against rocks. The low, rhythmic, beat was like music to his ears, drawing the water-tribe boy like the sweet sound of a siren song. He walked slowly, taking his time. He was in no rush to get back. In fact, he might not go back at all.
Katara walked down the streets to the quaint little village. It was not large, just nice and homey. The people there were very friendly, and there was not a fire-nation soldier in sight. Katara laughed to herself; Sokka was so paranoid. The only threat here was the alluring smell of pastries that emanated out of the bakery. Katara wondered in, following her nose to a sugary and fruity tart, glazed and steaming hot. Katara bought the fruit pastry, thanking the owner. At first she was determined to save it, but after a minute or so of trying her stomach overcame her and she devoured it, savoring every single morsel. It seemed that Sokka was not the only one in the family who had inherited a voracious appetite. After satisfying her hunger Katara wondered about the streets, smiling and greeting those she came upon. Everyone just seemed so nice and cordial, it really was hard to believe that there was a war going on outside this village. At a flower shop Katara stopped, walking in to look and smell at the beautiful bouquets. After that she went into a jewelry shop where she bought a white lace bracelet with a gorgeous blue stone for the last of her silver pieces. She smiled as she walked out, knowing that it probably was not the best way to spend the rest of her money but one that made her happy. She wished she could stay there in the village, in a perpetual sea of tranquility, but she knew that at some time it would have to end. She would have to go back to camp and face Sokka's disparages as he criticized her decision once again. It made her angry, thinking of how hypocritical that Sokka could be, ignoring the fact that she was doing the same exact thing.
Katara pushed Sokka out of her mind, determined to enjoy every moment she could before she returned to camp. She roamed about the village for hours, looking in at all the shops, speaking with the locals, asking questions and receiving courteous answers. Katara enjoyed herself immensely, feeling as if the war was just a myth that could not impinge upon the inhabitants of the village. She walked through an open market, looking at the fruits and vegetables, wondering to herself if she would bother fixing dinner that night. She decided promptly that she would not. The others would just have to fend for themselves for a while, they would not die if she did not cook for one night, today was her day. As she perused the market a haunting voice reached her ears.
"Ohh, what about this? Or this? It is his birthday, we should get him something nice to eat for dinner." Katara's blood froze as she recognized the voice of one of the girls from Omashu. It was the chirpy one with the braid who had blocked her bending. Katara stepped around the vendor's cart, sitting down and hiding behind it. She looked out, peeking around the corner.
There, not ten feet from where she had been standing, were the three girls from Omashu, inspecting the contents of a meat vendor.
Freshest meat in the Earth-Kingdom is what the sign read. A bold, and misleading, proclamation that could hardly be verified through any source. One of the girls, their leader, sniffed at the meat, disproval sparking in her eyes.
"You call this the freshest meat in the Earth-Kingdom? You must truly be slipping if this is what you are offering." The vendor dipped his head, showing reverence to the girl.
"I am sorry princess, but I have not received a shipment from the home-land in over month, I had to resort to using some of the local produce until the next barges come in." The girl smirked.
""A pathetic excuse at best." She said, turning and walking away. The gloomy girl sighed and followed her, leaving the happy one to inspect the meat.
"What's this one?" She asked, pointing to a particularly red slab of meat.
"That's cow meat." He said. The girl raised an eyebrow, horrified. "Cow? What type of creature is a cow?" She asked. The vendor stroked his chin, thinking for a moment.
"It's kind of like a pig-horse or goat-sheep, only bigger and smellier." He said. The girl poked at the meat suspiciously. "And you eat it?" She asked. The vendor laughed.
"I don't, but it's a very popular dish amongst the natives." He said. The girl shook her head.
"Do you have any meat from the homeland?" The vendor shook his head.
"Sorry Mam, but just like I was telling the princess I'll be out until the next barge gets here in a week." The girl sighed, turning and walking away, coming back only to grab her bag of groceries. Katara watched until she was gone, then slowly stood up. She looked at the vendor suspiciously. Why had he known who that girl was? And why was he talking about the homeland? Was he not from this village? Katara wanted to leave and go back to camp to warn the others that they were in danger, but her curiosity about the place battled against her. She turned and looked to where the last girl had vanished too. Maybe she could follow them and acquire some useful information, that would really show Sokka.
Katara paused only for a moment longer, then she slunk away, sticking to the sides. She peeked around the corner, seeing the girls strolling around another vendor. Katara picked her way cautiously into hearing distance, going up to a mirror vendor in order to watch them without turning around. They were inspecting another meat cart, once again finding the meat not to their liking. The lead girl sighed.
"Well, we can at least tell him that we tried." She said, brushing back a strand of raven black hair. The gloomy girl seemed not to care, whereas the chipper one frowned, evidently disappointed.
"Come on Azula, it's his birthday! The least we can do is make something nice for him." Azula, the leader, seemed to mull it over for a few moments.
"Very well Ty-Lee, if you want to give him a special meal so much then you do the shopping for it, Mai and I are going to start heading back, these villages disgust me." She said, sneering at the quaint surrounding buildings. "I still don't see why we do this, no useful information has ever come from one of these fake villages, all the locals know they're not real." Katara gasped. The town was a set up!
The girls froze, having heard the gasp. It seemed that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation. They looked about, eyes narrowed. Katara tried acting natural, picking up a small hand mirror and looking into it, taking a second to wipe away an imaginary smudge. Without a word the three girls from Omashu spread out, acting normal, but with nefarious intentions in their minds. They walked around the vendors, looking at the costumers. Katara knew that it was only a matter of time before they recognized her in her water-tribe regalia. One of the girls, the chirpy one, apparently named Ty-Lee, started coming her way. Acting fast Katara set the mirror down and started walking in the opposite direction. She had taken only a few steps before a shattering crash brought the buzz of the market to a stand-till. The mirror Katara had placed back had fallen over, breaking on the ground with a noise that was entirely too loud for something of its size. Katara cringed, knowing now that all eyes were now looking in her direction. The owner of the cart, a small, cranky old man, began yelling at Katara, demanding that she pay for the mirror. His exasperated cries fell on deaf ears as Katara looked back over her shoulder at Ty-Lee. A smug grin sprung across the girl's lips as she recognized Katara.
"Well hello again." She said. Katara swallowed, anxiety making her hands shake. Last time she ran into these girls it was not pretty, and that was with Sokka and Appa on her side. Now she was all by herself in an apparently hostile village with who knows how many fire-nation loyalists in it. The situation was bleak to say the least.
Katara quickly popped the top off her water skin and bended a wave at Ty-Lee. Shocked the girl took it full in the chest, flying back into a cart. There was a crash as vegetables flew about, but Katara did not stay to watch. She turned and fled back down the street as fast as she could, bending what water she could so she could slide across it. The sound of slicing knives shot past her as the others joined the pursuit. Blue flames began bursting all around her, destroying her ice-way. Katara leapt into the air, twisting into what she hoped was a flip. She made a couple of blind shots behind her that missed, completed the rotation and landed on a new ice-way. Had she not been currently pursued by three fire-nation nut-jobs Katara would have congratulated herself on pulling off such a maneuver, but with the flames and knives flying past her there was no time to pat herself on the back.
Katara ran out of water to bend and so she started reusing the water from behind her, a slower process that still granted her flying speed. She made a tube and began spiraling down it, fireballs and sharp metal objects whizzing past her head. She was almost at the end of the tunnel when the ice around her shattered, throwing her into the side of a building. She grunted at the impact, looking up to see Azula and Mai closing in on her. She quickly got up and bended an ice wall in front of her, turning and running as quickly as she could. The rumbling sound of an explosion as well as flying ice shards marked the destruction of her wall, instilling Katara with a new wave of fear that gave her feet wings.
The only question that now ran through Katara's mind was whether or not she should lead them back to camp. If she did she could find aid from her friends, but there was the chance of them being pursued not only by the girls but also a whole battalion of fire-nation soldiers. Katara decided that it would be unwise to risk the others because of her foolish mistake. She decided that she would go past the camp, making sure not to bring them within site of it, that way she could warn the others and they could get on Appa and fly down to nab her. The only problem now was holding off that long to even get close to the camp. A blue fireball reminded her that she need to move faster. She pumped her arms as hard as she could, her legs burning from the exertion and her lungs ready to burst, but the threat of the fire-nation girls behind her proved a greater motivation than taking a break, so Katara kept moving.
Just as she was reaching the edge of the town she came across a fountain. Two young lovers sat cuddling right next to it, enjoying the amorous air. Katara bended the water out of the fountain and turned, totally shocking the lovers who fell over in each other's arms, and faced her pursuers. She shot out a few blades of ice then whipped the water into a massive wave, pushing it with all her might at the two girls running down the street after her. Katara turned and started running again, not bothering to wait for the wave to meet its mark. Azula, seeing the enormous wave coming at her, took in a deep breath and jabbed out two stiff fingers. A bolt of lightning jumped from her fingernails, crashing into the wave and exploding with a deafening roar.
Katara was almost out of the village, people diving out of the way as she flew by, followed by fire and lethal shards of metal. She saw the edge of the village and bended another ice-way in order to get out faster. Just as she was clearing the last house a jab of pain shot through her side. The water melted and she fell to the ground. She rolled and stood up, her right arm limp. She turned to face Ty-Lee. Apparently she had ran around and waited for her. Katara tried bending a whip at her but she ducked it and jabbed her a couple of times in the ribs. It felt like being prodded with searing irons. She fell to her knees and tried throwing her arms up but neither of them would work. Ty-Lee walked up to her, a smug look on her face. There was a cut on her cheek from when Katara had blasted her into the vendor's cart, cabbage leaves clinging to her outfit. She grabbed the back of Katara's hair, pulling her head back. She looked at her for a second then gave her a rabbit punch to the forehead. The last sight Katara saw as she fell to the ground was Azula and Mai's feet walking up to her, then she was consumed by darkness.