Author's Notes: Warning! This will be a very long author's notes. Why? Because this is the only location I can place my "significant" ramblings before letting all of you read the story.

First of all, I would like my readers to know (since I have read that until know the e-mail alerts of is still malfunctioning) that I have updated the following stories:

The Night Jasmine and Ursa Major

And will soon update my story:

L'amour Étrange

Second...

... Hmm, let me see.

As before, you, the readers, will control the actions and choices of this story's main character, whose very life is in your hands, by voting for the choice that you think is best. Where will these choices be, you ask? They will be displayed at the end of each chapter (including this one), and you will vote for your favorite choice by typing out its number in a review. If there is a tie between two or more choices after the votes have been counted, this will be resolved by using a random number generating program that I have on my computer.

Once the decision has been determined, it will then be used as the premise for the next chapter. And this process will be repeated again and again until we have exhausted all the endings that I have planned behind the scenes.

And, yes, this story is written in the way that every "Choose Your Own Adventure" book is written, the so-called 2nd person point of view. I have absolutely no experience with it before, and I only hope that you will all somehow get used to it.

Third, since the second choice, which was for our beloved character to wander around, not wanting to feel helpless, was the one that was voted for the most, then that will be the premise of this update.

Fourth, all of my answers to your wonderful reviews will be at the end of this chapter because I do not want to make any of you wait any longer.

So, hank you very much for your time and may all of you read this, enjoy, fave, follow, and review!

If you want to, of course...

This chapter is dedicated, once more, to tuxjim, my dear oniisan, and mariko78, a most wonderful friend of mine.

And, oh yes, do not forget to vote in the poll on my profile!

And, also, if you have facebook, please do not hesitate to follow the link on my profile to like my facebook page "Hors D'oeuvres."

Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.

An Avatar: The Last Airbender Adventure Tale:

OF EXTERIOR DESIGNS

Hide and Seek

* The character chooses to wander around, not wanting to feel helpless.

"Get a grip, get a grip, get a pretty hard grip of yourself," you mutter beneath your breath as you squeeze the shoulder strap of your bag again. You are worried, of course you are, but you know that going into hysterics will not help you, so you do something else. You force yourself to ignore the fact that your hands are now starting to tremble from the nervousness you feel and try to think.

Think, think, think— but what is there to think about? What is there to think about when the only thing you are currently sure of is that all of this might just be entirely your fault? That all of this, your sudden loss of consciousness from before and your unexpected appearance in a new world, is just a result of the thoughtless wish you had made only few hours earlier? This wish that now tugs on your mind and cruelly taunts you, telling you that you are the one who made it.

The appearance of such a self-incriminating thought causes your chest to constrict slightly, and the fear you feel inside of you, the one that is causing your chest to tighten and your heartbeat to quicken, surprisingly, gradually, lessens— lessens? No, it is not lessening, not at all; it is only being overwhelmed by another, much stronger emotion: anger.

You are— no, you are not just angry, you are furious. How could you have made such a reckless wish just because a stupid bottle cap asked you for one? How could you have messed up so badly that you are now in a world so different from your own? A world that you know is filled unpredictable and dangerous people, strange and deadly creatures, and many more nasty surprises that could easily lead to your death.

This thought sends a cold chill down your spine, and you quickly start to shake your head in frustration, wanting to empty it of the scared and doubtful thoughts that are currently bombarding it. Then, you stomp your right foot on the ground and release the handle of your bag before angrily raising both of your hands to your head and starting to roughly push your widespread fingers through your hair.

"This is— agh!" You shout, quickly pulling your hands away from your hair, clenching them into tight fists, and furiously punching downwards. "Fine, fine, fine!" You mutter beneath your breath as you force your arms to your sides and stomp on the ground again, this time, with your left foot.

"This-this will most probably be the death of me," you then slowly hiss between clenched teeth as you shake your head once more. "But I will be damned if I just stay here and wait for that moment!" You promptly raise your head and glare in challenge at the trees that surround you. You know you are not being brave in that moment, just angry, exasperated, and hopeful. But you prefer it, you prefer it to the fear that could paralyze you and make you feel even more helpless than you are now. So, you accept it, stare straight ahead, and start to walk, using the still present anger inside of you to force your legs forward and firmly take each step at a time.

You don't know where you are heading- of course not, how could you?- but you keep going and do your best to ignore the sharp and crackling sounds that dry leaves and small twigs make when they break beneath your heavy shoes. You can do this, you can do this, you resolutely tell yourself as you focus all of your attention on the area directly ahead of you, since there is no trail and there are far too many wayward tree roots and fallen branches that could make you trip. And then, you keep walking, diligently making your way between, around, and over large trunks of unfamiliar trees, craggy rock formations, and other unidentifiable… stuff. The last word flashes briefly through your mind as you feel something suddenly stick to the sole of your right shoe, keeping you from taking another step forward.

Your teeth clenches tightly in irritation as you stop walking and instinctively press both of your feet firmly against the grassy ground beneath you. Then, looking down, you vigorously start to move your legs, wanting to get- whatever that stuff was- off your shoes. You continue doing this for a good minute before finally stopping, a deep sigh leaving your lips. You had not been walking for more than just fifteen minutes, but you already feel drained, not physically, clearly enough, but emotionally. The beginning of a headache is even budding between your eyebrows right now, and this helps you determine that a rest would probably best.

Deciding this, you reach up and carelessly brush back a couple of stubborn strands that had fallen in front of your eyes. Then, taking in a deep breath, you easily take off your bag, briefly look over it to make sure that it is still in as good a condition as the first time you put it on, and carefully place it on a mound of earth right next to you. After that, you then slip your hand into your pant pocket to check and see if, like your bag and watch, your phone is still with you as well. The smooth and familiar shape of your cellphone promptly meets your touch, and you swiftly hold onto it and take it out, allowing your lips to curl upwards in a small smile as you do so since you are glad that it had not disappeared in any way.

Raising it to your eyes, you thoroughly begin to examine it and silently thank your sister for having bought you the 'LIFEGuard' casing that is specifically designed to keep your phone safe from water, snow, stains, and drops. You see no scratch, stain, or any other sort of damage on it and deeply breathe out in relief. You may not have a signal on your phone or a connection to Wi-Fi in this world, but you know that there are many things on your phone that could possibly help you, such as the compass, music player, and more. Smiling briefly, you slowly bend down, open one of the small pockets on the outside of your bag, slip your phone in, and then close it firmly.

Then, you take a minute to ensure that your phone is secure in your bag before carefully raising your hands above your head and starting to stretch your arms. As you do this, you also take a few steps forward, checking to see if you had completely gotten rid of whatever it was that had stuck to your shoe earlier. You curtly nod your head in approval when you see that you are no longer fixed to the ground, but the slight satisfaction you feel is readily overshadowed by the frustration that is still inside you.

"Fudge- fudge muffin," you mutter beneath your breath, having gotten used to what you call 'food swearing,' a form of cursing that is more socially acceptable than spouting out profanities that would have made a sailor flinch. "Why does this have to—"

A loud crack suddenly sounds as you look down at your feet, the piercing sound immediately interrupting the words that you are about you say. You quickly twist your body towards the direction of the noise you heard, glad that your right foot is no longer stuck to the ground, and open your eyes wide, wanting to see whatever it is that may be coming your way. The sunlight is brighter and stronger here than where you had first woken up, and are utterly grateful for this fact when it helps you see the speedy movements a few yard ahead of you. Louder and louder bursts of noises accompany the visual disturbances, and you guess that whatever it is that had made that first sound is probably now heading towards you.

This thought rings warningly in your head, and your eyes widen a bit more as you realize that you are supposed to move. "Fudge," you mutter again as you look away from whatever it was that was moving full speed towards and try to find a place, a niche, a hole— anything you can hide behind or in. As you do this, you see a large, fallen, and rotting tree trunk to your right and immediately start to move.

You grab your bag, swing it on your shoulders and, disregarding everything else, jump forward in way that was so uncalculated and reckless that it ended up with you crashing so gracelessly against the ground. You let loose a breathy "oomph" at the impact and, ignoring the sharp pain you feel, hastily begin to crawl on your elbows and knees until you are sure that you are hidden completely from the view of whatever it was on the other side. Then, taking your bag off again, you place it in front of your head and push it forward, so that it would not show over the trunk that you were hiding behind.

The ground beneath you is dry and hard, and somewhere, deep in your mind, you are thankful for that. This would honestly have been a lot worse if it had been mud that you had to frantically scramble through, you comment fleetingly in your own mind as you force yourself to ignore the putrid smell wafting from the fallen tree beside you. Bits and pieces of decaying wood and multi-colored leaves cover the ground you are on, and you try to let yourself sink into them, forcing yourself to not breathe too loudly as you might catch the unwanted attention of any unsavory characters. Bowing your head, you then close your eyes and focus on listening, straining your ears to hear anything that will give you a sign that you that you can- that you will - be safe.

The source of the noises is closer now, a lot closer, and your hands quickly tighten into trembling fists, crushing the dry leaves that had been caught in them. You feel your blood rush violently in your veins, and your shoulders hunch instinctively as you press your fists down into the unyielding earth. You can do this, you can do this, you nervously tell yourself as you close your eyes even more tightly and—

"What?!" You hear a very surprised voice suddenly ask as a heavy weight abruptly appears on your lower back, making your eyes open wide in pain and surprise. You gasp once as you feel bony hands dig into you and, then, acting more out instinct than anything else, twist your body around, wanting to get whoever it was off of you. As you do this, you, somehow, hit with one of your flailing limbs the person who was on top of you and knock him- as he is a man, you can see it now- to the ground. With his heavy weight gone from your back, you quickly turn to your side and watch the man as a very confused expression takes over his unfamiliar features.

Looking at him now, you guess, briefly, that, like you, he had been trying to hide as well and had jumped over the tree trunk to do it, after which, he had been very surprised when instead of lying on top of the ground; he had ended up on top of another body. You watch him reach up and gingerly rub his temple, unconsciously making it known to you that it was the part of him that you had hit earlier.

"What are you doing?" the stranger suddenly shouts, his features twisting into a look of menacing anger as he stops rubbing his temple and starts to reach out to you. You feel his rough fingers scramble on your legs, seeking for purchase, and you, driven by fear, start to kick out with your feet, not wanting him to grab a hold of you.

"Let me go, let me go!" You shout loudly as you feel your kicks hit something hard. After which, barely a few seconds later, the hands that had been trying to capture any part of you, suddenly stop moving. Noticing this, you promptly stop striking out and hastily start to move away from the stranger, wanting his limp arms off of you as soon as possible. Your eyes move fleetingly over the now unconscious body of the man next to you and a breathless gasp escapes your lips as you see that he now has a cut on his forehead. The fact that you might have been the one who had inflicted it on him makes you wince slightly, but you force yourself to not feel sorry and try to get even further away from him.

You cannot help but stare at him though as you grab your bag again and hastily put it on. You could not leave it, not when it had things that could help your stay in this strange world easier. You squeeze the shoulder strap of the bag again and are about to get up when something- something even larger- suddenly jumps over you and the tree trunk behind you and casts a dark shadow over your entire form.

The creature, which you can now see is a creature- a great, hulking one- lands easily lands a few feet away from you and quickly twists its body around to face you. You fearfully take in the vicious features of the creature in front of you and clumsily do your best to get back on your feet. You have to run away, you have to— this is it, isn't it? The creature that the man had been running from… and he had led it straight to you.

* Do you choose to run away from the creature, hoping that you will somehow be able to outrun it?

* Do you choose to remain where you are and try to think of a plan that will, hopefully, fool the creature in front of you?

* Do you choose to let yourself fall to the ground and pretend to be dead (if it works, at times, for bears, it might work for Avatar world creatures, right?)?

Author's Notes: As you all can see, there are three choices above this Author's Notes. To vote for the first one (running away), type "1" in your review, to vote for the second one (remaining where you are), type "2" in your review, and to vote for the third one (pretending to be dead), type "3" in your review. Thank you very much for your input!

tuxjim. Thank you, my dear friend for your continued support. You are correct in all of your assumptions, and I, honestly, would have chosen number 2 as well. I am only very, very glad that I was finally able to update this story. Take care and be well!

Fyre-Flakes. Thank you for the warning! I sincerely hope that this story will not be banned, and I, too, am looking forward to a great story. Haha. I will do my best to indulge you. Thank you, once again.

Zelda rules. Thank you for voting and for liking my story! As for stealing your idea... how did you know? I was trying so hard for you not to notice that fact! Haha, well, thank you, once again.

mariko78. Thank you for leaving me another wonderful review, my dear! It is always a pleasure to read what you think of my stories...

Thank you, also, to AdHocDelirium, Bjh31, and everyone else!

And oh, I just have to say this, there is a fanfic here on that is worth reading if you are a TyZula fan. Here's info on it:

Title: Decisions Made
Author: ineresting1
Main Pairing: Ty Lee and Azula (TyZula)
Summary: What if story. A young Ty Lee decides to leave the shores of her home, to find a place where she will accepted as herself, to be happy. She decides to visit a friend beforehand. Her friend decides she has a better idea.
Notes: This! This is an imaginative and well-thought out fanfic that enticed and allured me to to the point that I could not stop until I read every single chapter of it! It also delves deeply into the development of its characters and easily shows that its author has a keen eye for detail. It takes great care to give the characters we know and love believable depth and makes sure that the reader understands what is going on. I love how it appeals to the readers, and I can honestly -quite honestly say- that it is wonderfully written and is definitely worth the read, not just once, twice, thrice- but as many times as you want!

... And, yes, I am finally finished with this very long Author's Notes.

Anyway, like it? Love it? Comments? Suggestions? Violent reactions? Questions? Let me know! Just type in the little box below and click the little button.

Reviews are greatly encouraged and appreciated. Signed or Anonymous.

P.S. Please check out and vote in the poll on my profile.

H.O.D.