I watched as the colonist's debated, and soon argued, on what to do about the incoming invasion. The Fire Nation's forces were closing in fast, their numbers far greater than our own. They would march across our territory like it was nothing, burning down the forest and us with it. Only ash would remain, and I knew this all too well. My father, however, did not.
People were panicking. It was easy to see, no matter how they let it out. Some cried, some shouted, and a few just kept it in, but either way it was clear that we all subconsciously knew the same thing - if we did not run, we would not survive.
"Enough!" my father, the leader of our colony, bellowed. Silence fell like a drape, and all eyes shot to his. I watched in secret from the roof of our hut, not wanting to get dragged down for another debate. They sometimes went on for hours. "I hear speak that we should run and hide from the Fire Nation. That we should cower in fear, like animals! Well, we cannot! We must show strength and courage! Then, we will win! We will drive them back!"
I rolled my eyes. Showing strength would get us killed.
"They are many, Kang!" shouted a bystander from the back of the crowds "And we are, what, a few hundred? We will be marching to our deaths!" The crowd roared in challenge at my father, and he did his best to combat it.
"Yes, we will die if we blindly run at the Fire Nation! But if we use our wits, we stand a chance! A strong chance!" He tried to reason with the crowds, but I didn't wait to see if it worked. I gave a huff, and jumped from the roof and swiftly made my way into our hut.
The huts our colony used we made of wood, stone and cloth, and though many would turn their noses up at such a primitive structure, it was actually pretty cosy. I stormed through the front door with a frustrated 'ugh', and made my way to my room. Unfortunately, my mother caught my scent before I could escape to my nest.
"Byron, where have you been?" she asked authoritatively, and although i was a good foot taller than her, the sound of her voice still made me shit a brick. I turned, my eyes wide - I just remembered I had been gone without letting her know for a good few hours, and she was the protective type of parent. You know the one. Staying out after curfew was suicide.
"Hunting." I blurted, and she raised her eyebrows.
"And you didn't catch anything?" she asked in a sarcastic tone - she saw right through me. I gave my brain a moment to follow up my lie, but quickly gave up. I sighed, and explained myself.
"Father is arguing with the colony again." I grumbled.
"I know." my mother then purred, taking a step towards me, but my eyes looked to the ground in defeat.
"But why? We should just leave!" I then shot at her "We cannot fight an entire Nation! We're just a tiny village! How are we supposed to fight them, what makes him think that he-" but my mother placed a soft finger onto my lips, and it shut me up better than a thump to the gut.
"He will come to his senses eventually, Byron." she assured with a smile "For now, let him do what he is here to do - be a leader." I looked her in the eyes but didn't say anything, and she removed her finger and walked off to continue with whatever she was doing.
"Still stupid..." I mumbled to myself, pouting like a brat.
"You should watch with more interest, Byron." she then finally added "Soon you'll have to take his place. It might be worthwhile learning how to now." I rolled my eyes again. I hated being reminded of my inevitable responsibility to lead the colony. I wanted to explore the world, not stay in the same old woods in the same old village, living in the same old hut with the same old people for the rest of my life. But whenever I tried to explain this to my father, he just didn't understand. 'Why would you want to go explore the world?' he'd say in disbelief. He only saw danger and disgust in the outside world and what it had to offer, because that's exactly what his father taught him, and so on. But I knew better.
And that's when he burst in through the door like a dragon.
"Bastards! They just won't listen to me! How am I supposed to help us survive this war, if they won't let me!?" he barked, stomping around the house like an angry bear, before falling down onto his chair with a grunt. He rubbed his tired face with his great, big, dirty paws, and gave a tired, annoyed sigh. I remained silent throughout the whole thing. I could still hear the crowds outside.
"Here you go, darling." my mother said warmly, handing him a hot cup of green tea.
"I only wish the young men of the colony were as good a warrior as you, Byron. Then we'd stand a chance, at least!" he huffed and puffed, but there was still a sense of pride in his voice as he glanced at me.
"Are you saying we don't stand a chance as we are?" I asked with a frown, and my father looked at me again, this time slightly angrily. He gave a deep breath through his nose, the noise reminding me of a gorilla, and he gestured me closer. I was either in for a hiding, or an explanation. it was hit and miss really, if you'll excuse the pun.
"Byron," he began, his tone slightly hushed "I love this colony, I love it's people, I love your mother and I... I love you, son. But if we are actually going to survive this invasion, we have to fight back."
"Why not run? Rebuild in a safer place? We did it once, we can do it again." I debated strongly, but my father bit back with a vengeance.
"We must show strength!" he repeated unknowingly, as if we was just arguing with the people of the colony again "If we use our wit, and the environment to our advantage, we can drive them back! We know these woods, these trees, these hills. That's an advantage we cannot ignore!"
"If we go to battle it won't matter how smart we fight, Father. If we stalk them in the bushes they will burn them to ash. If we fire at them from the trees they will shoot fire back at us until they fall with us still in them. And the Earth Benders, you said it yourself, we just aren't that strong! I've seen the warriors train. It is an embarrassment, father!" he gave me an angry look, but I was too far gone already "We cannot go to war because we will all bur-" but i stopped by a firm whack to the side of the head, and I shut up once more. My mother scorned him, but my father ignored.
"Know your place, son!" he snapped, finger pointed "Or so be it I'll cut out that overactive tongue of yours!" I clutched the side of my face, but looked at him with spite in my eyes.
"If you don't swallow your pride soon, Father, you're going to choke on it." I hissed, and his eyes widened/ His arm raised again, but my mother stopped him swiftly by hardening the mud all over his body, stopping him for a moment. He glanced at her, and then gave a frustrated roar before smashing the mud around him with his own bending and storming off, slamming the door behind him. Mother quickly rushed over.
"I will be having words with him, Byron!" he said worriedly, trying to tend to the bruise, but I quickly batted her off and left myself without saying a word, chasing my father down. "Byron!"
"What about the Avatar!" I yelled at the top of my lungs at my father, and he turned his head quickly, his mouth wide as if I had just cursed at him. "The Avatar can save us!" It was only then that I had realised the whole of the colony was staring up at me as I stood on the top of the platform our hut sat on. Their expressions were just like my father's.
"The Avatar's been dead for a hundred years, Byron!" came a rugged voice from the crowd.
"Aye, they ain't comin' back!" another yelled. I processed everything for a minute, but decided to voice my thoughts.
"I don't believe the tails! I believe the Avatar still lives! We just need to find them!" my father then bellowed with laughter, and it caught me by surprise. He lurched his way over, and placed a strong, heavy arm round my shoulder.
"Ah, Byron! You never fail to spread light on the situation, always making us laugh!" he chuckled loud enough for everyone to hear. He was attempting to make me sound like I was joking - to belittle me.
I shoved his arm off of me, and pushed him away.
"No! I am not joking! I'm serious!" I bellowed just as loud as my father "I'll go! I'll find the Avatar, and I then i will return! I promise!"
"Where will you even go?" a voice laughed "You don't even know the world outside of this woods, child!" I scrunched up my face in anger, and as my father tried to walk me into the house and away from the heckling crowd, and weaved my way under his towering figure and closer to the crowds.
"Ba Sing Se!" I announced "That's where I'll go! And I'll find someone to help me! I don't know how long I'll be, but in the meantime you must flee to safety!"
"NO!" my father then roared "We must fight the Fire Nation! We must show stre-"
"If you fight the Fire Nation it won't matter how you do it, you will die! They are stronger than us, and we are unprepared! So run! Pack your things now and RUN!" I could feel the heat radiating from my father's body as his authority was challenged, and it was only worsened when he saw that some people were actually doing what I was saying. Some turned to many, and many turned to all. I looked at my father with a blank, almost scared expression. His face was that of a demon. I quickly fled to the barracks, where I donned some war paint and a spear, and hopped over the colony walls in secret after assisting a few folk as they readied themselves for evacuation. Some asked me where to go and what do once they had left, but I could not give them an answer.
Ba Sing Se wasn't far. I'll be there soon.