Disclaimer: I haven't done one in a long time, so here goes. I wouldn't mind owning either Avatar or the Boondocks, but I don't. Oh well, that's life for you; one upsetting truth at a time…

Chapter 3: Desert Rose, Lotus Blossom


Last Time:

"It's way too hot out here…" Toph said as she went to her belt to get her flask, but there was no more water in it, "Katara, can I have some water?"

Traban tossed her an extra flask from his bag with a slight smile as they trekked on, "I think we need a break." He said as he looked over everyone. He then noticed Cindy panting more than usual and how Jazmine wasn't too far behind in the aspect, "Cindy, Jazmine, are you both sure you're okay?"

"Y-Yeah… I'm cool" Cindy replied weakly, but she stumbled forward as Riley caught her. Huey looked over to Jazmine, only to catch her mid-collapse.

"I-I just got to get use… to the heat… I'm fine, really…" Jazmine said weakly between pants.

On instinct, Huey put his hand on her forehead, and gasped a bit, "She's burning up!"

"Dammit!" Traban cursed as they all ran over to Jazmine and Cindy.


Present Time:

"What's wrong with them, nigga?" Riley asked as everyone rushed over.

"Heatstroke, Riley" Traban replied as he took out two cloths, and poured some water on them. He then gave them to Huey and Riley, who put them on Jazmine and Cindy's foreheads.

"Neither of them are used to this kind of heat…" Traban said as he knelt by them, touching both of their cheeks her. They were burning up and fast…

"Walking in this heat, with skin as pale as hers, it was a shock to her system." Traban said as he looked to Cindy, and then at Jazmine, "Jazmine's spent her whole life in cooler climate, so she's basically in the same boat." Traban finished explaining as he looked up into the sky.

"We have to get out of this sun…" Ming said as she looked around for shelter.

"No dice… there isn't a home or place out of the sun for miles. We need to make a shelter." Traban said as he left Jazmine and Cindy to Huey and Riley, "We can do it if we all combine our bending abilities."

"How?" Katara asked as she bent the water in the cloths so as to make them cooler.

"Toph is a master Earthbender, I'm a master Airbender, and you're a Waterbender with some experience. If that Avatar boy was here it'd be a lot easier, though." Traban said as Katara glared at him from the corner of her eyes.

"He has a name, and it's Aang." She growled out as he sighed.

"Fine, if Aang were here, then it'd be easier. Right now we're pressed for time. Toph, if you can raise the sand up, Katara can use the water from one of my drinking flasks to make mud out of the sand. Then, I can use my Dragon's breath technique and make it into a solid enough structure for us to keep these two in for the moment." Traban said as his group nodded, but Katara, Sokka, and Toph blinked.

"That sounds… good." Katara said as Toph nodded and began bending the sands into a block shape.

"Like this?" She asked as Traban instructed her on what it should look like. Once they had gotten down the basic house shape, Traban turned to Katara with a canteen, holding it out to her.

"Now, if you can bend the water so that it spreads to every part, I can use the hot air currents to dry it along with my Dragon's breath." Traban said as Katara nodded and began her part of the process.

"Come on, nigga; they're getting worse." Riley said as he and the others fanned the two unconscious girls.

"Moving as fast as we-" Traban replied, but was cut off by Katara.

"There wasn't enough water to completely make mud. I'll need another flask." Katara said as Traban glanced at her, throwing her one while he dug into his bag and got out a sake bottle and some matches.

"Are you done?" Traban asked as Katara nodded, the house-like structure slumping in it's maddened state.

"Toph, while I'm hardening it, you'll use your Earthbending to mold it into a far better shape. Once it's completely solid, I'll drive out all the hot air, and make it insulated from the heat." Traban said as Toph nodded.

Traban drunk the contents of the bottle and swished it around in his mouth, being sure not to swallow. He lit a match and then using Airbending, turned the liquid into vapor while he blew on the match. The effects were instantaneous as fire came hot and fast from past the match while hardening the mud into solid earth. Toph did her part as she stomped the ground and used Earthbending to move parts of the structure into their right places. Once they were sure it was all done, Traban jumped and motioned his hands as the very air inside the structure was moved out like a heat flash.

"G-get… them inside… Huff, boy oh boy, today is just… too much…" Traban said as he sank to the desert floor, with Ming grabbing him by his arm and dragging him inside.


The inside was fancy, just a basic hut if Ming guessed right. It was basically three "rooms" if you could call them that. The one with the big pot-shaped hole must have been the kitchen. The one with the stone blocks over each other must have been the bedroom. That meant that the room with the front "door", which had nothing but soft ground, must have been the main room. Huey and Riley had already moved Jazmine and Cindy to two "beds" that were beside each other, so she threw Traban roughly onto the bed that was next to them.

"Ow… that hurt…" Traban said as he sat up from the stone slab of a bed.

"Okay, what do we do now?" Riley asked as he stood over Cindy.

"We place cold water rags on their foreheads. That'll stop the heat from cooking their brains or something. Basically we just have to cool down their entire bodies, so we'll need Katara's help." Traban said as he held his own head. Katara came in with the rags already cold as she placed them on their foreheads.

"Just watch over them until we can find something to help them better. Be sure to replace the cloths every 15 minutes if we're not back." Katara said as she and Ming left the room.

It wasn't long after Traban was recovered enough to head out after them with Toph and Sokka, telling the latter two that they needed to find some plants while looking for Katara and Ming.

"Now where can we find some herbs…?" Traban questioned as he scanned the desert. Sokka looked around, and he soon spotted a cactus.

"Hmm… You did say that there may be some plants that could help out there, but I'm getting a little thirsty with all this searching…" Sokka said as he slashed the cactus open, and Momo chattered on his shoulder. Traban merely sighed as he wasn't watching Sokka.

"We've only been out here for ten minutes, and besides-" Traban said, but stopped as he looked at Sokka with the cactus piece in his hand, "Umm, Sokka… I wouldn't drink that if I were you." Traban said as Sokka simply raised a brow as he sipped the juice out of the cactus piece.

Toph shook her hand as Traban slapped his forehead and dragged the hand down his face, "Strange plants shouldn't even be touched until we know their effects. That's one of the first lessons of survival training for any warrior! Wan Shi Tong was right about you; you are just playing warrior kid…"

"…but, this juice is actually refreshing, it might help those two; Jazmine and Cindy-" Sokka argued as he drunk some more, and Momo drank some too. Suddenly, the boy's pupils dilated, and the lemur's as well while Sokka he began to sway back and forth. His head started spinning and he started making weird gestures toward the cactus "cup" in his hand, "Drink cactus juice! It'll quench ya! Nothing's quenchier! It's the quenchiest!"

Traban frowned and sighed as he swiped the cup from Sokka. He dapped a finger in it, smelt and tasted it safely, "Just as I thought; this water has been fermented in the heat, basically becoming sake or a powerful wine at that. He'll probably be drunk off that for hours, maybe even days." Traban deducted as Momo spun around wildly in the air before crashing into the sand. Traban merely sighed as he pulled the young Water Tribe warrior and lemur back into the temporary house with Toph chuckling merrily behind him.


Aang flew over the Great Desert, looking for his lost sky bison as he blew on his special whistle, trying to signal Appa to come for him. But with each blow, nothing flew up to greet him, and his hopes getting crushed a little more with each try. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, the spot he was sure that guy Traban had hit to knock him out. He'd have to remember that for later, but for now he was finding Appa.

"Appa!" Aang called out, blowing the whistle once more. Still nothing and he reluctantly put his whistle in his pocket, the truth of the situation crashing down on him, "Appa! Appa!"

He looked around as he landed, calling out his bison's name again and again. His anger kept bubbling up until he couldn't take it anymore, it was like a shaken up bottle was inside of him, and he had to release the cork. The pain, the grief, the emotional release was nearing it's time.

"No… NO!" Aang roared as he spun around, lifting his staff high, and then slammed it down releasing a massive wind-blast straight into the sand dune he was atop. The release of energy was so intense, that the rising cloud became a mushroom cloud, as if a nuclear explosion had hit the area.


From afar at the make-shift house that they had created, Traban sat up in his bed with a start as Sokka was barely coherent in front of the house while Toph and Ming was watching him. They saw the plume of dust rising in the background, and were hit with the wave of dispersed air. Traban came outside just as the wave hit, standing alongside Ming and Toph as they all covered their eyes. As it died down, Ming and the others looked out at the cloud with worried expressions.

"What is that?" Ming asked as she looked out at the cloud.

"… Aang, he just released so much energy that I'm sure it could have leveled a city or two out there…" Traban said as Ming's eyes widened at the thoughts of the little nerdy monk boy having that kind of power.

"…it's a giant mushroom!" Sokka muttered in drunken awe as he raised his hands, "Maybe it's friendly!"

"… yeah… I'm going to go check on the others…" Traban said as he edged away toward the door that was no more than a sheet, and walked into the house.

"I just hope Aang's okay…" Katara said as Traban came in. He could tell she had been there the entire time.

"Friendly mushroom!" Sokka called out from outside as Toph chuckled. Traban moved the sheet to the side while he and Katara watched as Sokka lifted his hands up high again and he swayed back and forth saying, "Mushy roomy friend…!"

Katara looked at her brother strangely before she nodded, and walked away and back into the bedroom, yet Traban glanced at her and saw a tear trickled down her cheek.

"I just hope he stays safe until he gets back to us…" She thought as Traban raised a brow at her. Was she and that boy… more than friends or something? He shook his head as Toph came in and sat in the corner of the main room. He was about to leave, but then he saw Toph's forlorn face, and shook his head as he sat beside her. Curse his heart…

"…hi Traban…" She said as he patted her hand.

"Are you doing okay, Toph?" he said as she nodded absently.

"…yeah, just not every day when one of your friends chews you out on something…" Toph replied as she sunk lower, "I did all I could to save Appa… and he didn't even listen to me, or you!"

"It's alright, Toph. Aang's going through a really tough time right now. He's just lost a… person he must care very deeply for. This is why I didn't hold it against him for attacking me out of anger." Traban said as she put his hand on her shoulder, "And I'm sure that you did your best to save… Appa."

Toph sniffled softly, and wiped her nose with her forearm. "… yeah, I did…you know what? You're alright. Plus, you know my grandparents." Toph said as Traban looked confused.

"Oh, and why does that matter?" Traban asked as Toph looked slightly saddened again.

"Because… I didn't know them. I mean, I knew who they were and I had met them. They were nice, and they never smothered me like my parents did; they just let me be… me! The only reason I could stand my parents was because of those summers I got to spend at my grandparents' estate." Toph explained as Traban chuckled and smiled softly.

"That sounds like them. They'd never smother anyone, because they never wanted to be smothered themselves." Traban said as he got up and helped Toph up, "Listen, if you ever want to hear anything about your grandparents, just tell me and I'll have a story to tell each time."

Toph smiled at him as she brought him into a crushing hug, though he took it with stride and patted her back gently. She was like a little sister who never got to know their grandparents, but he did as the older sibling. Maybe he could help her more, instead of just using her like he had planned. And maybe, she could help him in return; just like her grandparents and he had done.

"Thanks… for just about everything…" she said softly as she released him. He chuckled as he ruffled her hair with her chuckling along as she slugged him in his arm… hard. He tried to shrug it off, but it had caught him off-guard. Well, at least he didn't scream out like the little girl he wanted to…

"Hey, you didn't flinch or scream like a girl. You're alright." She said as she walked back outside with him bringing his other hand to touch his arm. He'd be feeling that for the rest of the day…

"Yeah… thanks…" Traban said calmly, though his voice was just slightly higher than normal.


Jazmine and Cindy had been unconscious for the better part of two hours since they had collapsed. The rolled-up sleeping bags Traban had in the bag that Wan Shi Tong had given them were being used as pillows to prop up their heads. In-between the two was a bowl of cool water as well cloths and rags to cool them off. Huey and Riley sat watching them, gently wiping their foreheads with the cloth that Traban had given them, occasionally glancing up at the other hoping they'd have some good news.

"How they doing? Huey, Riley?" Traban asked as he sat on his bed, which was to the other side of Jazmine.

"…I think better, their faces don't feel as hot as before." Riley replied, worry laced into his words as he kept his gaze down at Cindy's peaceful face.

"Katara here said they'll be fine after an hour or two more of cooling down… and they'll have adapted to this climate." Huey said calmly as Traban glanced over to Katara who was beside in front the two beds.

Traban nodded as he saw Katara move over the two girls. She dipped her hands into the bowl and took them out as they began to glow. She placed her hands over the foreheads of each girl over, and the glow began to make their faces recede from the red color that was there into to lighter shade of pink. The boys could visibly see the two girls breathing softened while Katara sighed with relief.

"They're out of harm's way, but they're still a little overheated. They just need rest right now and they should be fine by nightfall." Katara told the boys as they nodded.

"Thanks, Katara" Riley said gently as he gently caressed Cindy's face, his eyes never leaving it. His stomach growled in hunger, but he ignored it.

Katara wasn't sure what to say as she smiled softly at him. It was plain to see that he was like her brother; loud and tough on the outside, but when something happened; those stone faces of toughness would crumble to show the kinder and more emotional side that he hid. Maybe they weren't bad people like she had thought. Maybe, they were just like them…

"Umm… you're welcome… Actually, I'm glad I could help…" Katara replied nervously as she blushed from the sincerity that his words had held as she replayed them in her mind. Every word she said sounded so dumb in comparison, so she opted to just go, "Umm… I'm going to wait for Aang now… if that's alright?" Katara told him, but then she giggled which made them look up at her. She watched him and how gentle he was, but when they looked at her, she needed a little lie to her girlish giggled. Then she remembered what Toph had told her.

"Toph said that Sokka got himself drunk off of cactus juice, I'd better see if he won't do anything rash. He's kind of funny, yet a bit strange right now… so… I'm gonna go." She said as Huey and Riley raised a brow and exchanged looks while Traban waved her off; not wanting her to make even more of a fool out of herself.

"We'll be out there soon; they just want to be completely sure that Jazmine and Cindy are okay." Traban told her as she nodded and left the room.

Riley's stomach growled again, and he glared at it before punching it, which caused him to slump over in his stone block of a chair and fall off it.

"Dammit, just be quiet! I want to be sure Cindy alright. I'll feed yo ass later, so shut the fuck up." He groaned out as he got back up and onto his chair. He hadn't planned on punching himself that hard.

Huey's own stomach began to growl while Cindy let out a soft moan, making all three boys jump a bit. Jazmine shifted in her lying position, and rolled over to face Huey, who was so surprised that he leapt over his stone chair and let out a breath of relief. Traban shook his head with a slight chuckle as he noticed their faces were a few shades lighter, almost near their original color.

"Well, it looks like they're going to be alright now, so we should just let them sleep." Traban said as he stood, glancing at Huey and Riley, who were blushing in embarrassment. He shook his head again as he walked over to the doorway and looked back as he rested a hand on it. He smiled as he looked at them all.

Huey and Riley followed, though as they got to the doorway they stopped, and without looking back they each let a whisper from their lips, "Sleep well, Jazmine/Cindy…" and with that, they exited the room completely and went towards the "kitchen" to get something to eat.


Night was fast approaching as the sun began to set. Aang glided above the dunes thinking. He knew he was wrong for blowing up at Toph, attacking that guy Traban, and for just storming off like he did. The desert was vast, and he probably wouldn't be able to find his friends and that guy Traban with his friends either. He looked down and saw… a hut? It must have been for a resident of the desert. Maybe…

"Maybe they've seen Appa!" Aang thought as he soared down to the ground as fast as he could, but he was surprised to see… he didn't know her name, but she was one of the three girls that was with that Traban guy. He looked over to the other side and saw Sokka sitting in the sand while swaying back and forth. The girl was casually leaning back against the wall reading a scroll.

"Sokka, what are you guys doing here? Where did this house come from?" Aang asked as Sokka looked up, cried out something incoherent and started making "sand" angels on the desert floor.

"Umm…" Aang said, but then jumped a bit when he heard the girl scoff at him… or was it Sokka she had scoff at? He didn't know.

"Don't bother, he's hallucinating on cactus juice and has been for the past four hours." She said as she rolled her scroll up, "Traban, the Katara girl, and the one named Toph used their combined abilities to mold and harden the desert sand into what you see before you."

"Why? I thought you guys were trying to get out of the desert, not setup shop here." Aang said in confusion as the girl narrowed her eyes at him, and her face hardened. He took a reflexive step back as he felt like she had a blade to his throat the way she was glaring.

"We were hoping to make more ground, but two of our friends collapsed from heatstroke. They are not prepared, trained, or used to the type of intense heat that this desert provides so… unnecessarily." She replied curtly as she held her head high and walked through the sheet-door and into the hut without another word.

Aang's eyes widened at the prospect of people hurt, "What…?" he exclaimed as he rushed in after her. She turned on heel and glared down at him, making him stop and put up his hands in a weak defense.

"You heard me; they collapsed of heatstroke earlier today, while you were blowing off some steam as Traban put it." Ming explained simply, yet he could practically feel her condescending tone. She sighed as she saw the Avatar's horrified look, "They'll be fine. They're in the perfect care as Traban is very good with medical care. He and Katara have been treating them, and my two other friends have been watching over them to see any change in their condition."

"Oh… that's… good…" Aang muttered sadly, and started to walk to the room, though was stopped when his foot caught something. He looked down to see that it was Sokka latched on to it.

"Aang, did you see that big friendly mushroom out there?" Sokka asked drunkenly, pointing out pass the sheet-door, "It looked so big and friendly!"

Aang smirked a bit, and then just shook Sokka off of him as he walked into the hut a little further. He looked around, and saw Toph reclining against the wall with a piece of wheat in her mouth. She was staring at the ceiling with her blind eyes as she felt the Aang's footsteps through the soft earth.

"Well look whose back. Looking to yell at me again?" Toph asked, making Aang rub his arm in embarrassment.

"I'm… I'm sorry Toph. It's just that I got angry and let it out on you." Aang replied, and then he rubbed his cheek, "Do you know where I can find Traban and Katara?"

"Traban's in the kitchen. He cooks really good; it's the best food I've ever tasted. Though, don't know where Katara is. I could hear that Riley guy's stomach growling from here, so he's probably in the kitchen too, and one of them might know where Sugar Queen is." Toph replied as Aang nodded.

"Who'd of thought you could made something like this by combining your bending with others. That Traban guy is kinda smart…" Toph said as Aang chuckled a bit uneasily and nodded, heading off to the kitchen, which he could plainly see.


He went inside the small room, seeing Traban preparing a meal of some kind in the pot at the center of the room. He could see the one with braids, who must have been Riley helping with small things if not eating some of the food secretly. Traban turned away from the boiling pot of noodles and soup, and saw Aang coming towards him and Riley.

"Well, well-" Riley started, but Traban put his hand up with a smile to cut him off.

"Don't, Riley. Maybe you should go check on Cindy?" Traban said as Riley glanced between him and Aang, but still resigned to do as Traban had suggested. Cindy was far more important than some dumbass bald-headed Avatar.

"So, you've finally calmed I see?" Traban said calmly as he stirred the pot, not looking at Aang anymore with the boy exhaling as he ground his teeth.

"…yeah. Listen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have acted that way to you guys…" Aang said as he watched Traban immerse himself in his cooking. They fell into an uncomfortable silence as Aang waited for forgiveness.

"How are they… Katara?" Traban said as Aang jumped a bit, looking over his shoulder to see that Katara was leaning against the doorframe. He hadn't even heard her come up behind him…

"They're doing much better. Their fevers have gone away and now their just resting a bit with Riley and Huey watching over them like eagle-hawks." Katara answered with a girlish giggle, "They'll be better prepared to handle the heat of the desert after this."

"Any luck finding Appa?" Katara added as she looked at Aang, who looked down at his shoes in sadness from not having a joyful answer to that.

He shook his head sadly while Traban sighed, "You'll find him, Avatar Aang, you can count on that. He is important to you, but I'm sure that you'll collapse if you don't eat and rest soon." Traban said as he gave Aang a bowl of the meal he had prepared. Aang sniffed it, and before he could get a conscious thought in about it he was stuffing his face with the noodles as he slurped down soup. Hot soup burning his tongue or not, it was one of the best meals he ever had!

"What is this?" Aang asked as Traban gave a slight chuckle.

"It's called Ramen, basically noodles inside of a soup, and I didn't put any meat in yours." Traban said as Aang nodded while still slurping noodles loudly.


Huey walked into the small kitchen area and Traban gave him a bowl. He ate for a bit before he sat down his bowl and turned to Traban.

"We'll have to be moving out soon, since the girls will be alright. It'll be night time and with that'll come the cool night time air." Huey informed them as Traban nodded, blowing out the fire under the pot with a flick of his wrist. Huey got up to leave, but stopped in front of Aang, noticing a somber look on Aang's face, "Something wrong, Avatar?"

"We won't survive without Appa, we all know that…" Aang said as Huey raised a brow and looked toward Traban, who let out an amused chuckle, "What?"

"You've already given up hope then? I simply find it amusing that you can think that way. Especially with me and my friends traveling with you and yours." Traban said with an amused chuckle.

"Come on Aang, we can do this if we all work together." Katara added, as she turned to Huey and Traban, "Right, guys?"

"Yup, that's right. As long as we stay together as a team, we'll survive this, get back your Appa, and then get to a city." Huey said as Traban nodded.

"After that, we kick ass all the way to the Fire Lord's front door, but be sure to knock politely when we get there. After all, it's quite rude not to." Traban added in a innocent tone as Huey nodded in agreement while Aang and Katara looked highly confused.

"So, we were headed to Ba Sing Se. Any ideas on how to find it from here?" Aang asked as Traban nodded a bit in thought.

"We'll use the maps in my bag. Though I hope you brought some warmer clothes than those…" Traban said as Aang's head immediately sulked at the memory that there stuff was all on Appa, "…since the desert has a climate of extremes, incredibly hot during daytime, freezing cold around midnight."

"We might as well get going then." Katara said as she stood up, and stretched her legs, "We have enough water on us to last a few weeks; hopefully it'll be enough to get us out of this place and to Ba Sing Se." she finished as Huey nodded

It was then that Riley and Ming walked into the room with Jazmine and Cindy, both of which were slightly groggy.

"So what's the diagnosis of our two patients, Dr. Freeman, Nurse Long?" Traban asked with a grin as Ming and Riley shot him identical looks of irritation.

"They'll be fine, they just need to chill for a couple hours." Riley replied with a small smile as he held Cindy's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as she smiled back.

"We're sorry we slowed everyone down today…" Jazmine muttered as Huey was at her side in an instant, shaking his head at her words while Riley did the same.

"It's okay, you're both better and that's all that matters." Huey said quietly, but everyone heard him. He placed a gentle kiss on Jazmine's temple, making said girl raise an eyebrow.

Jazmine began to blush as she realized that everyone was watching her. She put her hands to her face, both to hide her blush and in surprise at what Huey said.

"Huey always will watch out for his mulatto princess- OW!" Traban teased, but was hit in the face with a bowl that caused him to fall while Aang and Katara chuckled at the scene, glancing at each other. Toph came in after awhile, complaining that she was hungry… again.


After everyone was watered and fed Traban left the kitchen and began packing things away. After five minutes he came into the main room with his pack on his shoulder and Ming with the other two. She handed one off to Huey and he slung it over his shoulder.

"We're all packed up and ready to send the house back from whence it came." Traban announced as Aang looked confused.

"Why, shouldn't we leave it for others in case they get caught in the desert like we did?" Aang asked as Ming and Huey shook their heads.

"That is not acceptable in times like these." Ming stated as Huey nodded.

"She's right… we… are in the middle of war, so we can't leave evidence of our being here. This hut has our scents all over it, so it has to go." Huey said as Katara nodded.

"We understand." She said quietly as she placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. Aang nodded as Traban pulled out a map, but they all stopped when they heard Sokka whining in the corner.

"Um… Sokka's drunk, so… um… we should be careful…" Traban informed them taking quick glances at said male, making them laugh at him, "What? He could be a danger to us and himself, so we'll watch out for him. He may be a super dangerous kung-fu fighter while he's out of it."

They all nodded as Toph and Sokka walked, or in case of the latter, staggered across the room. The Earthbending Master was clearly ready to set off; she had taken the pack from Ming in a gesture of friendliness and independence.

"I'm all set too, and ready to carry my own weight…" Toph started with a grin, as if she could feel the look that Aang and Katara were giving her, "…and help the team."

Huey raised a brow as he looked around, his friends smirking, or giggling in Jazmine's case, at the blind Earthbending Master's mannerism.

Everyone was out the hut as Traban and Toph stood directly in front of it. Traban jumped high while Toph lowered her fists to the ground. The sand around the small house-like structure trenched and became firm until it was inside a bowl of earth. Traban came down upon it, in one of his hands a small twister of wind spiraled. Right before he landed on the house he thrusted his hand out toward it. The wind spiraled out in power until there was nothing visible to the eye but a upside-down tornado in which the house was encased in. The wind then blew outward as everyone covered their eyes, the sands blowing in every direction until the winds died down. Sands around the earthen bowl fell into it until it was filled and looked just like all the desert around it. Traban landed gracefully onto the desert floor next to Toph, both smirking at their friends.

"Well then… let's move out, shall we?" Traban asked, his tone as pleasant as ever. Toph chuckled as she punch him in his arm, him stiffening ever so slightly while he felt the pain in his arm. Katara and Aang flinching as they knew what that was like. To their surprise he didn't give any indication that she had done anything but a playful punch.

"Yeah, let's get out of this big sand box." Toph said as she started walking away, surprisingly in the right direction. Katara and Aang looked at each other, both shrugging as they followed after her. Soon everyone was being led by Toph with Traban and Huey bringing up the rear.

"Quiet aren't you? That tap didn't hurt did it?" Huey asked smugly as Traban glared mockingly at him.

"At least… it was the other arm." Traban said, being sure not to rub his arm while the others were looking.

He really hoped that Toph's fist was just one of those things that needed adjusting to.