My computer got a virus so I typed this via phone and edited it on tumblr in the text post section. Because of this the formatting might be odd and I don't have a word count. So apologies if this one is shorter or just not up to par with the first chapter.
malcome reynolds: Thank you, I hope you continue to enjoy it this chapter. :)
He saw a blur of trees and a scalding ray of light.
"Aang? Aang?" It sounded muffled and distant. Something intangible came after that.
He blinked twice little sparkles danced across his vision before growing into large sunspots. The voice came again, and he felt his body jerk twice. Black blotches rose into the corners of his field of vision. "Katara," he tried to mumble, though it sounded more like 'guahara'. His mouth felt puffy and tingly. The black blotches spanned out until there was nothing left of the blurred trees. Only a small bead of light pierced through the splotches, he tried with all of his energy to hold onto it. But it was getting further, or maybe he was falling backwards.
.oOo.
"He's not good condition." The healer confirmed." The arrow was laced. Blackthorn and white jade bush, the combination is lethal, and with a touch of shredded leechy leaves is very slow acting. It can take months before he finally succumbs. Whoever did this wanted to prolong his suffering." He examined the arrow tip once again. "My word! Whoever did this must absolutely loath the child. See those black flecks?"
Katara peered over the man's shoulder and observed the liquid dripping from the arrowhead. At first all she saw was a slick shimmery sea green with a swirl of lavender and then she squinted. She saw it then, small, almost undetectable flakes of black. Like tiny onyx shavings that seemed to sap away all light around them. Katara had to confess the poison was darkly mesmerizing, if she didn't know any better she would have drank it under the impression that it would taste as lovely as it appeared.
"What is it?" Sokka asked before she could. She hadn't realized that he'd come to stand right beside her.
"Demon blood." The replies grimly. "As dangerous to the body and soul as it is alluring to the eye."
"So how do we help him?" Katara asked.
"Maybe we can go get some more water from the Spirit Oasis." Toph suggested.
"It takes more than that to combat demon blood. What you need to do is seek out the heart pool." The healer instructed.
"The heart pool?" Sokka asked.
"They say it's somewhere near Hira'a. In a place heavy with spirit energy." The healer replied. "According to the locals it gives life to the town. It's the source of most spirit activity in the Fire Nation."
"Okay but where is it in Hira'a?" Toph asked.
"Near Hira'a." He corrected. "To be frank, I'm not even sure that such a thing truly exists. I've sought the heart pool out for some time now and have found no such thing."
Katara squeezed Aang's hand "If there's even a chance to help him, we have to do it."
"I would imagine that you do. The world without an Avatar isn't a promising world." The healer agreed. He rummaged through a few shelves, knocking over empty vials, books, and other trinkets. He ignored the clatter of a crystal at his feet. At last he came upon a stack tattered pages. "Here is a list of all of the places I've explored. These are locations you can bypass, they have nothing of use. The last few pages are maps."
"Looks like we're due for another trip to the Forgetful Valley." Sokka said after skimming the list. Katara could hear in his tone that he was less than thrilled.
Toph on the other hand seemed pretty enthusiastic. "Neat, I've been wanting to visit these faces you've been telling me about."
"You think Zuko is up for another trip?" Suki finally spoke.
"I think that Zuko has a lot of Fire Lordly business to take care of. We're on our own this time." Sokka replied.
Katara held Aang close, leaning his head against her neck. She could hear his breaths coming out steady and calm, having yet to be burdened by the poison coursing through his veins. She hoped with everything she had that they would find this heart pool before his breaths had a chance to become labored.
.oOo.
Getting from the Capital to Hira'a in itself had been a task, one that ate away at the precious time Aang didn't have. Despite protest from Sokka, Aang opted to give Appa a break from flying and left him in the care of TyLee and the other Kyoshi Warriors, leaving them a bison short. Naturally, Sokka made sure to remind everyone that he told them to bring Appa along, to the point where even Suki was urging him to be silent.
It was three days to acquire a ship and another two to arrive in Hira'a's port. Katara marked each one off on her calendar, feeling hear heart crumbling further with each dash.
"He could be wrong you know, about Aang having a few months." Suki pointed out.
Still clinging to the remnants of their last argument Sokka asked, "was that supposed to be reassuring?"
"Of course it was." Suki snapped back. "I meant that Aang could have more time than we think."
He could have ended it there, but his worry over Aang and the stress of travel added some fight into his spirit. "Well maybe you should think about how you say things." Or maybe it was the knowledge that he and Suki very well could have been on their way to Ember Island for a much needed vacation, but instead they found themselves in another life or death situation. No matter how it was, Sokka was feeling entirely agitated. The worst of it, he couldn't even begin to come up with a motivation for the attack.
"On the upside, it seems like healer Rozen has covered a lot of ground in the Forgetful Valley already." Katara noted after ogling the the map for a good while. "But that also means that the Forgetful Valley is a lot bigger then we thought."
"How much bigger?" Sokka asked.
"Well…" Katara trailed off. She double checked the map. "He covered pretty much the same ground we did when we went. I mean he explored the place a little more, but not much."
Sokka groaned, with any and all hope of them having come across it without knowing, completely obliterated, he was forced to resign to that he and Suki would have to reschedule their vacation for sure. At this point, Sokka didn't know if he actually wanted a vacation with her at all. He ran a hand through his hair, what was he saying? Of course he did! He decided that it had to be his anxious mind doing the talking. Still he and Suki didn't speak for the duration of the day. The only words he uttered, in fact, were a few confirmations when Katara inquired about the map in correspondence to their location.
Another three days, and they were still within familiar territory, relatively speaking. There were a few faces that Sokka recognized on the trees, and the spirit pools where they had met the Mother of Faces.
"This seems like a good place to set up camp for the night." Suki declared.
"Yeah, Suki's right, this place is protected too, so we can get a break from worrying about sneak attacks." Sokka agreed.
"You can get a break." Toph shrugged. "The rest of us realize that not too many people come here."
"I think we should keep going." Katara gave her in put. "Aang's getting worse and it's only been little over a week. I think Rozen might have underestimated the poison."
"He seems like he's breathing alright." Sokka pointed out.
"Yes but," she lifted his shirt some. Beneath the cloth a thick dark patch was forming, raised in some spots like thick veins and spanning out agonizingly slow. Perhaps if it weren't so dark, he would have been able to see the slight pulsations. "I-I don't even know what that is. I think it's the demon blood."
Sokka's expression softened. "Alright, if you think it's best to keep going, we'll keep going."
Katara nodded. "Thank you Sokka. I want to get somewhere that isn't marked on Rozen's map, at least then it will feel like we're making progress." She kissed the avatar's forehead. "Hang in there, Aang." She listened for a response, anything to indicate that he could hear her. But his body remained slack and unresponsive.
They were hours deep into night time when they finally reached some uncharted territory. Sokka's feet were sore and his back was beginning to ache. He was glad for the water he replenished. He took a quick drink and kept moving, his eyelids feeling heavier with each moment.
"Are we ready to call it a night." Toph yawned.
The group came to a halt by a lake overrun by the most peculiar mangrove tree. Instead of dull tan roots, this tree boasted ones of metallic white. If Sokka stared long enough he could see tiny flashes of purple, that could be mistaken for fireflies if not for their color. They would occasionally blink across the roots and fizzle away.
"Yeah, I guess we can." Katara answered. Sokka could hear the reluctance in her voice. But seeing the exhaustion in her eyes…he wouldn't have let her push on even if she begged him to.
"Good night everyone." Not even bothering to craft herself a tent of stone, Toph practically flung herself to the floor.
Sokka crafted a small fire. Some hours before he had done some hunting and decided to cook the meat before it spoiled. The only one who didn't accept his cooking was the earthbender who was deep into some dream that sounded rather impressive.
Unlike Toph, Katara didn't sleep easy. She held Aang as tightly as she could so to feel his heart pounding on hers. No, she couldn't fall asleep, not when she was so busy monitoring his breathing. She felt as though it would somehow cease if she stopped. She was certain that she was alone in her wakefulness until she heard Sokka rummaging through his pack.
"What are you looking for?" She murmured sleepily.
After giving a small start he answered, "my waterskin." He found it and brought another splash of cool water into his mouth. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"
"If only I could." She hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head on her knees. "Aang would probably give anything to be awake right now. It's not fair."
"What isn't?"
"That we want to sleep while he's forced to." Katara replied.
Sokka nodded. "We can't think like that right now. If we don't get some sleep, we'll never be able to help him stop sleeping. Right?"
He made it sound so logical. So simple."Right…"
And she tried.
Sokka though, he couldn't seem to take his own advice. It wasn't just Aang, it was Katara. He hadn't seen her in such a gloomy state since their father left for the war so long ago. He feared more than anything, what would become of Katara if she lost Aang. In a way she was right; it seemed unfair that Aang could withstand an all out war only to die at the hands of what was probably a stray arrow. But then why was it tinged with poison, he asked himself. It was one fiasco after another. Such was the life of the avatar, he supposed.
He stashed his waterskin away and busied himself with laying out a sleeping bag. If he couldn't actually get to sleep, he may as well go through the motions. He could still see the embers from his cooking fire glowing. It was almost soothing, hopefully enough to lull him to sleep. But then again, fire was never particularly something that he found comforting.
He gave his sleeping bag another shake, trying to get it to land as flat as possible so he wouldn't have to do much smoothing himself. From behind, somewhere nearer to the mangroves he heard a soft rustle. In no mood to deal with anymore stress, he chalked it up to the sound of his own sleeping bag. He offered the mangrove tree one quick sideways glance and nothing more. If he let his eyes linger at least a little longer he would have seen her.n her./p