I do not personally own any of the Avatar characters with the exception of the ones I added to suit my needs and purposes. Oh, and would it kill yah to give a review now and then? Geez! ;)
When they landed in a wooded area, night had already come and they could see the bright lanterns through the trees. Lucky for them, the carnival itself was a typical Fire Nation carnival where everyone wore masks.
" I hope that we meet friendly people that'll help us out a little," said Aang as he bounced along before Sokka and Katara.
" I just hope that no one recognizes us," mumbled Sokka.
" Geez Sokka, why are you so grumpy?" Katara asked as she stopped to eye her brother in the dim light.
" It's nothing… it's just that I have a bad feeling about this, that's all…" answered Sokka with a sigh before donning his mask.
" Not another one of your feelings Sokka," exclaimed Katara.
" Hey, remember when I had those bad feelings about Jet and they turned out to be true?" said Sokka defensively before walking on.
" Yeah and remember when we left you got the directions wrong. You admitted then that you weren't always right," pressed Katara, she really didn't like her brother when he acted like the wise one of the group.
" But, I'm not always wrong…" responded Sokka.
" What ever…" replied Katara before she too began to walk on. She knew better than anyone when it was use less to even try to argue the point with Sokka, his skull was too thick for his own good.
Up ahead was a girl with a large pot resting on her shoulder. She was headed their way, but the light was too poor to see her features. Aang must not have noticed her because he started to walk backwards and talk to Katara and Sokka at the same time.
Just as the girl started to move out of Aang's way, Aang tripped on a raised root and stumbled into the girl. Both of them lost their balance and her pot crashed to the ground.
" Oh no!" she cried as she scrambled out from under Aang.
" I'm sorry…" apologized Aang lamely.
" Damn it, Margan is going to kill me!" exclaimed the girl sadly as she gingerly picked up a few potshards.
" I'm really sorry…" apologized Aang a second time but just as lamely. The girl sighed and threw the largest of the shards to the side of the road before sighing again.
" Is there anything we can do to help you?" asked Sokka, still in his Fire Nation mask.
" You? A Fire Nation, help me, an Earth Nation slave?" asked the girl incredulously but she kept her head bent.
" Fire Nation? I'm not Fire Nation!" cried Sokka.
" Right…And I'm not a captive Earth Bender," replied the girl smoothly as she moved over to the side of the road and raised a similar pot out of the ground. " It's not exactly the same, but I doubt he'll notice," said the girl with a small, sad smile before she turned to face the other three. By then, her smile had faded and she had hefted her pot to her shoulder.
In the faint light she appraised the others and they were doing the same to her. She was about Sokka's age, maybe a little older, with long, thigh length brown hair, and eyes the color of sea foam.
" What are you doing out here by yourself?" asked Katara.
" I could ask you the same, fire maiden," replied the girl coolly.
" We're not Fire Nation," said Aang with a smile.
" Oh really?" asked the girl skeptically.
" That's right," continued Aang, undaunted by the girl's attitude, " That's Sokka and his sister Katara. They're from the Water Nation, and I'm Aang".
" Marisol! Damn it girl, where the hell are you with that water?" yelled a voice that made the girl's eyes go wide with fear.
" Oh Gods! It's Margan! He'll kill me for sure if he finds out that I was dawdling and not hurrying back to the show," whimpered the girl, Marisol.
" Wait, he said water, right?" asked Katara with a raised eyebrow. Marisol nodded feebly. " Then I think Aang and I could help you," continued Katara.
True to their word, Katara and Aang helped Marisol fill her pot faster than Marisol could have done on her own. They finished just in the nick of time because the voice yelled for Marisol once again, this time it was closer and angrier.
" I have to go… Thank you, both of you for helping me. I just wish I could do something nice for you in return…" said Marisol before hefting the filled pot back to her shoulder and giving a cheery smile. The only thing that kept them from believing her smile was the worry that manifested in her eyes.
" Hey… you can help fill our…" started Sokka, but Aang cut him off.
" Don't worry about it Marisol," smiled Aang.
" Thank you so much…" said Marisol before turning and practically bolted down the road toward the carnival. She kept going, but before she was out of earshot she called behind her, " Bye, and thanks again!"
After Marisol disappeared from view, Sokka turned on the other two and practically yelled, " What are you two thinking? First off, she might tell others about us. Second, she could have filled our supplies!"
" No, I wouldn't ask that of her, we barely know her. Plus, I don't think she'll tell anyone," replied Aang.
" How. Are. You. So. Sure." fumed Sokka, " How can you be so trusting?"
" I just know," replied Aang airily, " I can tell".
