This chapter is for Avatar Kyoshi.
By night fall everyone in the Gaang was well rested. Aang and Anima had flown Appa until mid afternoon, then Katara had taken over for a few hours, then Zuko had taken over until it was time to land.
Aang handled the landing and after flying all day, it was time to make camp.
Everyone set up their own tents, Anima helping where ever she could, and Zuko had started a fire.
Sokka had gone out to find some 'real food' since they didn't pack any meat while Katara and Anima made vegetable stew, the two girls working together as if they had known each other for years instead of months.
It was when the meal was almost done the trouble came.
Katara was just about to take the stew from over the fire when a cry of pain broke the silence that had fallen over the camp.
Sokka burst out of the woods a moment later, turning to cache his boomerang on his way into camp.
"We're under attack!" They didn't have any time to prepare for the fight, no sooner had the words left Sokka's mouth did a group of about fifty men come flooding into the camp.
Three men went down as soon as they set foot onto the camp, small knives sticking out of their chests. Zuko glanced at Mai and smiled at her before turning back to the fight.
Toph encased several of the men in stone before they even had a chance to Firebend and Suki took out two with her fans before running over to help Sokka, who was fighting with both his boomerang and machete.
Katara pulled the broth out of the pot and used it as a whip, the unlucky attackers getting burned by the scolding broth before they got frozen in place.
Aang and Anima were fighting side by side, the two Airbenders working together to keep the attackers at bay.
Now only about half the men were still standing, their companions either dead, frozen, or trapped.
Katara, who had ran out of water, closed her eyes and drew the moister out of the grass and other small plants around her, the ground going from green to black.
Ten more men fell, bursts of fire shooting out of their palms as the ground beneath their feet opened up before closing around their hips.
Katara sent water at the flames, and with a sizzle and a puff of smoke, they were gone.
Unseen from the wood line a lone archer took aim and let the arrow fly.
His target cried out in pain and fell to the ground. He grinned to himself and took off through the woods.
Anima's vision went white as a searing pain shot through her shoulder. She barely caught a glimpse of the arrow embedded in her flesh before she blacked out from the pain.
Aang saw his sister fall, the shaft of an arrow sticking out if her shoulder, and snapped.
Aang's eyes flashed white and he had a full understanding of why Sokka had attacked him after he had burnt Katara all those months ago.
Katara saw his eyes flash and stopped fighting to look for what had set him off, her eyes widening when they fell on Anima's prone form.
Aang formed an air sphere around the remaining rogue Firebenders before encasing it in earth, trapping them inside.
The air calmed down and Aang ran over to his sister, the exhaustion he felt from the fight at the back of his mind.
Katara was already beside Anima, inspecting the arrow in her shoulder before summoning the water from the trees, the glove like water glowed white.
"Aang, I need you to pull the arrow out, be fast about it."
Aang did as he was told, the arrow coming out of Anima's body with a sickening pop.
Not even a second later the healer placed her hands on Anima's injured shoulder, going deep into the wound to heal it from the inside out until there was nothing left of the wound but a faded scar.
By the time she removed her hands the whole Gaang had gathered around them, but it was Aang's eyes that she met.
"She'll be fine, Aang."
The group sighed with relief but Aang had tears in his eyes, with a swift move of his hands an earth tent shot out of the ground and hid Anima, Katara, and himself from view.
Only when he was relatively alone with Katara did he let his tears fall.
He knew this would happen, he knew that she would get hurt.
Some big brother he was! He was supposed to keep her safe, to protect her!
As if reading his mind Katara moved closer to him the small place, her arms wrapping around his body in a comforting manner that he didn't feel like he dissevered.
"She'll be alright, you did everything you could."
Her reassuring words did little to ease his guilt and he hugged her close, his face buried in her hair as he cried.
"I promised I would keep her safe."
"You're a good brother, Aang."
Aang nodded his understanding, but for once Katara's faith in him didn't make him feel any better.
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