Chapter 4: The Plan

Kaara snuck out of her room, and ventured around the Temple, looking for supplies. She opened a room near an echoing hall, and found everything she needed. Looking into the baskets, she collected certain plants, bowls, scissors, needles, thread, and extra cloth. Putting the supplies in a bag, she thought of how her outfit might look like. Finally, Kaara had the dress's design set firmly in her mind. Smiling, the silent girl snuck back to her room. Unfortunately, while Kaara was getting into her room, the door slammed loudly, the noise echoing off the walls.

Her eyes wide, Kaara stuffed the basket under her bed, and waited an hour, to make sure no one would come to her room. Sighing, she set all her supplies on the floor, as she sat down. She got out one of the tunics and pants. Undressing to her undergarments of bandages and cloth, Kaara put her old Fire Nation clothing onto the pile. The water next to her bed was bended into the wide clay bowl, while Kaara smashed the leaves until they turned into minute pieces. Next, she dropped the pieces into the bended swirling water. Five minutes later, the water turned a deep blue. Throwing her Fire Nation clothes into the water, Kaara decided to add something to one of her new tunics, so she threw it into the water. Deciding to wait for an hour for the dye to set in, Kaara looked around the room, until she found a scroll to read.

Sitting down in her bed, she started to read. The story was beautiful, probably the person who owned it, loved the story as much as Kaara. It kept her occupied, until she finished it. Yawning, Kaara checked the clothing, and saw it was done. The tunics were a light navy blue, and her old clothes were a dark blue. Taking out the scissors, Kaara grinned, as she began to cut.

Two hours later, after sewing, cutting, and more sewing, Kaara finally was finished with her dress. She decided to change the color of her pants, so Kaara dyed them a deep brown. Looking at her finished product, she thought, 'Very nice, but maybe something more…'

Digging through the baskets, she found a few beads made out of gold and four deep blue colored beads. Kaara found big feathers in bird nests outside her room, and attached the gold beads and feathers together. She made two hair loops with the blue beads on each side of her head, copying Katara's loops, with her own twist. The hair loops were attached to a bun underneath the sea of black hair. Extra bandages were tied around her wrists, forearm, and around her neck. Feathers and the golden beads were on the forearm and wrist bandages, her sash, and the top of the dress.

Taking a look in the mirror opposite her bed, with her new clothes on, Kaara grinned. The finished product was a strapless dress mainly a dark sea blue, and the sash and the edge of the very top was a navy blue. One side of the dress was longer than the other, which had a triangular cut in it. Kaara's pants were an almost black brown, with bandages covering the top part of her chestnut boots. It was ideal for travel and fighting, but it could snag onto certain things.

Outside her window, the sun began to rise. Rubbing her eyes, Kaara went back to her bed and yawned. Sleep overcame her and she began to sleep.

0

"Kaara, wake up… It's time to get up. Kaara… Kaara, get up," said Katara's voice echoed through Kaara's head. With a rather loud voice, Katara's voice continued, "Kaara!! Get up!! Or I will personally use water to turn you into ice!!"

"Alright, alright… But in five minutes…" groaned Kaara, and something soft hit her hard on the side.

"I will keep hitting you, until you get up!!" said Katara, as she hit Kaara repeatedly with a pillow.

Getting up, and snatching the pillow from Katara, Kaara said, yawning, "You sound like my mom. If you hit me one more time, I will keep annoying you till I die."

Smirking, Katara replied, "Thank you, I guess I'm the mother of the group. I still will hit you. I've been trying to wake you up the past hour; you sleep like a rock. It's around 7:00 right now."

Grumbling, Kaara said, "I'm going back to sleep." She covered her face with her blanket, and closed her eyes.

"Get up now, or I will bring you back to the Fire Nation jail immediately," warned Katara.

"Fine, fine," sighed Kaara, as she got out of bed. 'Jail was better than this; I could sleep all day.'

Katara and Kaara walked to the main hall, where the group was resting around. Sokka and Aang were playing a board game; Sokka was apparently winning. Toph was sitting between the players, 'watching' the game. Zuko was sitting next to Aang, as he watched the game. The other three were exploring the temple.

Noticing Katara and Kaara approaching, Sokka put the board game aside, and pulled out a map. He said, "While you were trying to get Kaara out here, Aang, Toph, and I made a plan."

Aang said, "Zuko, too, since he knows everything about the Fire Nation."

"Great, so what's the plan?" Katara sat on the other side of Aang, as she stared at the paper. Kaara looked over the paper, and she raised her eyebrows. The paper was covered with thick lines, forming a rough outline of the Fire Nation.

Pointing finger at a small island, Sokka said, "Over here, is a prison, holding Fire Nation prisoners. We will invade it, releasing the prisoners. Hopefully, the prisoners will be on our side."

Zuko then said, "Then, we will find the rest of the invasion force in the prison, and that's the first plan."

Aang continued to the next plan, "When we finish rounding up people, we'll head to a secret Fire Nation harbor, which is hidden by rocks. There, we will stay for a few weeks, planning, training, and getting resources. So far that's it."

Kaara asked, "What are you guys doing?" She was confused by the plan.

Exchanging glances, the group thought. Toph finally said, "We're invading the Fire Nation. Now, you're either with us or without us."

Kaara replied, putting her hand behind her head, "No way!! I will definitely join you guys!"

"Kaara, you're not exactly the best water bender. You could get injured or worse, if you can't water bend," said Katara, hoping Kaara wouldn't want to be part of the benders.

Putting her hands on her hip, Kaara said, defiantly, "Katara, you still have time to teach me. By the time you guys are ready to invade the Fire Nation, I'll be good! Anyways Katara, you should continue training!! I'll meet you at the water falls!!" Skipping to the waterfalls, Katara groaned.

Sokka said, "I wonder what happened to her in prison." He looked back at the map, and began to draft the next plan.

Sighing, Katara began to walk towards the waterfall. She asked, "Kaara, ready?"

Nodding, Kaara got up, and bended some water from the falls. The bender began her training, which would continue for two weeks.