Two days after the storm Sokka got sick enough that the team had to land. Karra was the one to find the abandoned town; she was also the one to suggest the shelter of the falling down temple that looked out over the ghost town. "This should bring your fever down." Katara said dabbing a wet cloth over her brother's forehead.
In his feverish delirium Sokka told his sister, "You know what I love about Appa the most? His sense of humor."
"That's nice. I'll tell him." The water tribe girl smiled at her older brother before glancing worriedly over her shoulder where Karra was making a broth soup.
Appa grunted at Sokka who was curled up in his sleeping bag, safely nestled in the giant air bison's fur. "Ha ha, classic Appa."
"How's Sokka doing?" Aang asked coming over to check on the siblings.
"Not so good. Being out in that storm really did a number on him." Everyone watched as the self-proclaimed leader shivered and snort back his runny nose.
"I couldn't find any ginger root for the tea, but I found a map." The young avatar held up a scroll. Spreading it out on the ground, "There's an herbalist institute on the top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there."
"Aang, he's in no condition to travel. Sokka just needs more rest. I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow." Suddenly Katara began to cough.
"Not you too!"
"Relax, it was just a little cough. I'm fine…" but she cut herself off with more coughing.
The bald monk shielded himself from her violent coughing. "That's how Sokka started yesterday. Now look at him. He thinks he's an earthbender!"
Again everyone turned to look at the deliriously sick teenager. "Take that, you rock!" If it wasn't for the sickness, Karra might have found Sokka's mindset amusing, yet as it was his continued delirium concerned her. Nothing she had given him seemed to work, and it frustrated her to no end not being able to help someone.
"A few more hours and you'll be talking nonsense too." Aang insisted grabbing his staff. "I'm going to find some medicine." Opening the glider and walking to the edge of the temple, the bald monk was just about to fly off to the herbalist when a flash of lighting and a clap of thunder sounded in the distance. Twirling the staff, the airbender left it leaning against a column. "Uh, maybe it's safer if I go on foot. Keep an eye on them guys."
Karra watched Aang launch himself into the air and run off. Appa grunted after the young boy, only to make a delirious Sokka laugh at some unvoiced joke. Sighing heavily the silent teen dished out the soup, before taking another look at the sick boy. Yet after spoon feeding the second eldest teenager, Karra returned to her secluded seat. For a while the silent girl sat near the smokeless fire she was nursing, watching as Katara continued to care for the self-proclaimed leader despite her own condition worsening. Before she could stop them, memories from the past flooded her vision.
The background faded into woods as a younger Karra, before her haired turned silver, could be seen running from some heavily armed Earth Kingdom soldiers. Despite how hard she fought, still the little kid couldn't shake them. Even still she did manage to take one down before finally ending up pinned to a tree, showing a gash across the arm which kept her from moving it. The tough looking girl glared at her attackers, cold fire blazing from the aquamarine orbs. Yet that was all she could do as the captured prey waited for the inescapable attack.
Practically materializing out of the shadows, two men dressed from head to toe in black appeared. As they defeated the Earth Benders, Karra couldn't help but notice the dislocated shoulder one of her rescuers donned, and the broken off arrow protruding from the forearm of the other. In no time the benders where defeated. Once the danger was neutralized, an almost worried giant turned to an indifferent kid, grumbling "You shouldn't have broken from the group like that."
The smaller of her two rescuers ignored the arrow in his arm, only to bend down and peel away the fabric exposing her wound instead. Confused, little Karra simply stared blankly at the two warriors who seemed more interested in her minor injuries then their own. All the fiery defiance had drained from the small girl's features. With a heavy sigh both men's expressions dimmed as they shook their heads.
Just then the coughing from Sokka and Katara jolted the quiet teen back to the present. Shaking off the haunting vision, she once again watched helplessly as her two new friends shivered from there sickness. Kneeling between the siblings, "Here drink the last of the water and I'll go get some more."
"Thanks creepy ghost lady."
Karra was halfway out the temple when the sick boy's delirium caused her to stiffen. Slowly she looked over her shoulder, an awkward smile sat uncomfortably on her features. Grabbing her shoulder pack and the empty water skin the silver haired teen hurried down the hillside so as not to have to answer any questions.
Silence suited the sixteen year old. It had for as long as she could remember, but recently the quiet had begun to betray her. It was getting increasingly harder to suppress her thoughts and remain impassive. Yet even if the stillness of nature no longer liked the shadowlike teen, it didn't stop her from seeking it out. Strangely enough among her new friends, silence was a rare commodity. Even weirder, Karra didn't seem to mind it either; it was nothing like what she'd had to put up with from Jet.
As she strolled along, the silver haired girl came across a small house crumbling from neglect, but still it made her stop in her tracks. The building in and of itself wasn't anything special, it was merely a rickety shack. For no reason at all, a mesmerized young woman gently ran a callused hand over the wood of the doorframe. Without warning another memory flashed across her vision.
This time a younger Karra stood next to a woman who had to have been in her late thirties. In fact that happened to be the only thing not average about her. They stood looking out over a ghost town, much like the one older Karra currently stood in, from a tall cliff edge. "Tell me again Dog, why we can't spend the night down there among the houses? We've been traveling for days."
"Oh give it a rest Monkey, we're all tired," growled another woman as she slide down from the ledge above.
Popping over the ridge a mischievous twinkle caught the eye of a withdrawn kid as a man no older then twenty-five came into view. "It's not that Rabbit, everyone knows Monkey loves houses. But in our line of work, one rarely gets to actually stay in one."
"Yeah well it might be fun to pretend to be a family for a little while. Right Kid?" A rich base connected to a handsome faced young man patted a machinelike Karra on the head. "I swear …" He sighed when even his most charming smile didn't get a reaction from the stoic child.
"Don't waste your breath Dragon. That one was born without a sense of humor."
"Says Dog, the one who never grew up." The woman called Monkey chimed in.
"Will you guys give it a rest already? It's been three days, since the kid got dumped in out laps. And for three days, you guys have argued over whether or not the brat's been brainwashed. Who Cares! The sooner we get the job done the sooner we can go home. NO more babysitting." The woman called Rabbit interrupted. Rolling her eyes she stood in the path they were all following, tapping her foot rapidly with arms crossed over her chest.
A faint horn echoed off the abandoned town's houses, bringing Karra's attention back to the world around her. For a moment she paid no heed to the signal blast that had come from the other side of the temple. Yet after taking a few steps towards the river, suddenly it dawned on her 'that's where Aang was headed.'
Without a second thought the young warrior turned on her heels and tore off after the Avatar. She ran as fast as she could but only managed to arrive in time to see the young boy get attacked by mysterious archers after exiting the herbalist's place. She watched as the air bender successfully blocked the volley of arrows with an air bubble, yet she cursed under her breath when the boy held one up as if giving it back. "Fool," she grumbled. From her hiding spot she watched as the young boy evaded the arrows and tried to run, only to be pinned by a single shot that held his foot in place. That was all it took for the hidden girl to know who she was dealing with. "Yu-Yan" Karra breathed. Hardening her features, the former Freedom Fighter silently crept forward as Aang released himself just in time to avoid the next volley. Zig-ing and zag-ing across the land the elite archers followed the Avatar; meanwhile the shadowlike teen followed the enemy.
Patiently the huntress stalked her prey, waiting for an opportunity. Suddenly the bald monk jumped off the cliff attempting to escape his attackers, the problem was it didn't work. Almost immediately the Fire Nation Soldiers followed him over the Cliffside. Risking blowing her cover, Karra too bolted over the side. Knowing full well she had no plan to stop herself from ending up a pancake at the bottom of the forest below, yet the stoic teen suspected that the Archers did. So when the closest one to her shot an arrow with a rope attached to it into a nearby tree, the young woman grabbed the archery expert.
Together they swung from the rope; the enemy holding tightly to the actual rope, Karra around his waist. So instead of gracefully landing in the trees below like everyone else, it took everything she had not to simply slam into a trunk or tree branch. Still it didn't stop her from using the Archer as a cushion; putting the poor man out like a light. The teenage girl checked to make sure the enemy was still breathing before relieving him of both his weapons and his uniform. When he awoke the unfortunate soldier would have a time removing himself from the tree she now tied him too.
Donning the Yu-Yan uniform, she painted her face with the make-up found in his bag using the reflective surface of the water as a mirror. Once disguised, Karra followed the sounds of a screaming monk, yet once again she was too late to help. From her hiding spot the young woman watched the Air nomad form a wall of ice, only to see it shattered by successive arrows. The next volley pinned his left arm, followed by a net that captured his upper body.
Desperately she looked from the archers to the young monk, searching for a way to rescue him. Unfortunately there were just too many soldiers to do anything at the moment. Silently Karra fell in step with the column of archers as they headed for where the stoic teenager could only assume was there base. From the back of the military formation, she watched as the poor Avatar struggled in his bond. If it wasn't fire nation soldiers who had caught the young air bender, it might have been amusing to see him hanging from his hands and feet like fresh meat being triumphantly brought home from a hunt. So Karra waited.
Staying out of the captive's line of sight was easy when pretty much no one noticed a short archer, with an oversized uniform, join the ranks. Patiently she bided her time, calmly hiding in plain sight till the right moment to spring the Avatar would arrive. As they walked through the trees, further and further away from the others, an internal debate waged within Aang's rescuer. When would be the ideal time to strike?
The woods would grant the huntress ample opportunities to pick off the enemy one at a time. Each trunk of a tree, each hole in the ground, each cluster of shrubs would offer up excellent places to stash a body; and yet would it be worth the risk to try and rescue him before they reached the destination? How long would it be before they reached where they were going, so could it be possible to wait till everyone went to sleep for the night?
However all was forgotten as the band of soldiers exited the forest. Luckily no one noticed the stutter step Karra made as the gigantic metal fortress suddenly sprouted up in the distance. Without realizing it, the disguised girl touched her arm were the leather band was beneath the uniform, before bowing her head and resynchronizing with the others around her.
End Chapter 4