Sweat rolled down Aria's face and neck as she flowed from the horse stance to ever more complicated fire bending stances. Her limbs ached with fatigue; it had been too long since she had had the chance to practice her bending and her body was telling her so. A black ring of singed and withered grass surrounded Aria where before she had arrived had grown lush foliage. Fire trailed from her hands and feet, consuming what little vegetation there was left in the clearing. It was only after Aria had thoroughly exhausted herself that she threw herself down on the ground, smiling hugely. Though her muscles were sore from lack of use, she was pleased that she was still able to perform flawlessly. Cheerfully she made plans to sneak off more often.
As her heavy breathing subsided, Aria stretched her arms above her head, content to remain there for a little while longer. A deep rumbling issued from Aria's stomach and absently, she wondered if Sokka had found any food yet. Hopefully he'd bring back enough for the whole group; she certainly hadn't found any. Most likely she had burnt anything edible into unrecognizable charred lumps. She knew she needed to get back to the camp but the sun beating down into the clearing felt so pleasurable on her face she couldn't bring herself to move. A loud snap echoed around the clearing and Aria sat up, looking around alertly. Sokka, making his way into the scorched clearing, had stepped on a small stick. Aria jumped to her feet and watched him warily; fully aware of the situation. Sokka's eyes lingered on Aria's sweaty countenance and the torched ground surrounding them. Aria felt as if she could see Sokka's brain working, forming conclusions.
"Aria, what's going on here?" He asked uncertainly.
"I don't know. There must be fire benders around. We should head back and tell Aang." Aria answered blandly. Sokka's eyes widened in surprise at the news Aria's flimsy lie brought.
"Firebenders, here? Oh man, they always have to ruin things! Every time I think we find a somewhat safe spot, the Fire Nation has to pop their ugly mugs up!" Sokka complained loudly.
"Ugly?" Aria asked a little indignantly. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she breathed deeply, trying to remain calm and unbothered. She was so stupid to be so careless. At the sound of her voice, Sokka's eyes focused again on Aria and a slight frown crossed his features.
"Why are you all sweaty?" He asked.
"I was hurrying to get back; I didn't think it was safe to be off by ourselves if there are fire benders around." Aria explained.
"Ah ok. Well did you find anything to eat?" Sokka asked.
"No, any berries I could find were spoiled by animals already." Aria said, raising her hands and shrugging her shoulders.
"Your sleeve is all burnt." Sokka observed, "Did you actually run into a soldier?"
"No, I must have done it at the camp fire last night. What is this, an interrogation? Do you have a problem?" Aria said irritably. When Aria was forced into a corner, her temper was instantly ignited and she came out swinging. Silently she berated herself for singeing her sleeve; she hadn't made a mistake like that in years.
They both fell silent, eyeing each other from across the clearing. Sokka stared suspiciously at Aria and Aria stared back with her most bland expression. Though her face remained passive, Aria's eyes were burning with intensity and her body was taut with tension. She didn't know what she was going to do if Sokka pieced together the information. The two faced each other across the clearing, eyes locked. After a minute of uncertainty on Sokka's part, he broke the silence.
"No need to get angry, I was just asking." Sokka said apologetically.
"I'm sorry, I'm just tired." Aria responded, blessing Sokka's incredible ignorance and gullibility, "Let's get back."
Pushing aside bushes and branches, the pair made their way back to the clearing where Aang had landed Appa. Birds chattered noisily in the branches overhead, disturbing their otherwise peaceful surroundings. Soon Aang, Katara, and Appa came into view and Aria surged forward, eager to be away from Sokka. She cast herself down on a large, flat boulder, unwilling to try the brown lumps Sokka was trying to pass off as nuts. If only the girls from the Royal Fire Nation Academy could see her now, stuck in the middle of the woods, scrounging around for food, and sleeping on the ground; they'd have a good laugh. Aria chuckled to herself; she had come from one of the richest, most influential families from the Fire Nation and now she was reduced to this. Strangely, she didn't really miss the big mansion she had lived in.
Aria had resigned herself to another hungry night when a loud blast jarred her off the rock and caused Momo to shriek in alarm. She scrambled to her feet and stared around, listening intently. The others had also jumped to their feet and were looking around confusedly.
"What-?" Aria asked no one in particular.
BAM. The sound repeated itself and Aria quickly zeroed in on the direction it was coming from.
"It's this way, let's go!" Aang cried, taking off out of the clearing.
"Shouldn't we run away from huge booms?" Sokka pointed out, following after Aang.
Throwing her long legs out in ground eating strides, Aria swiftly caught up with Sokka and had to rein herself in in order to keep from passing him. In only a matter of minutes, they reached a rocky ravine where the deep booming noise seemed to be coming from. Aria crouched down behind a gigantic felled tree, motioning the others to follow. About 100 yards ahead, a boy who looked to be around Aria's age was bending boulders; throwing them into the sides of the ravine.
"An earth bender." Katara breathed.
"We should go meet him." Aang said brightly.
"He looks dangerous, approach with caution." Sokka said, true to his pessimistic attitude.
His warning, however, fell on deaf ears; Katara stood up and hurried toward the boy.
"Hi! I'm Katara and-"
When the boy spotted Katara he cast aside the boulder he was bending and ran. Frowning in confusion, Aria stood up and vaulted over the tree. Without a backwards glance, the boy raised his arms and caused an avalanche of boulders behind him, effectively stopping them from following.
"Nice to meet you!" Aang yelled after him.
"What was that about? I just wanted to meet him." Katara said forlornly.
"Well good news if you guys want to eat something…edible tonight." Aria said brightly.
"What's that?" Sokka asked, looking grumpy at her lack of appreciation for his nuts.
"If he's out here there has to be a village of some sort around here and where there's a village there's a market and what can you find in a market? Food." Aria reasoned logically.
"So what, we don't have any money." Sokka complained.
"Sokka, are you ever positive about anything?" Aria asked impatiently. "I've got money so stop complaining." She had had enough of Sokka for the day. Sometimes it was like being around Mai again with how negative he could get.
Locating the village was an easy task when employing Appa to fly over the forest. Within an hour they were meandering down the main road of the village where Aang managed to procure a silly looking hat. The village was full of neat little cottages and shops with green tiled roofs. Some of the looks of dislike and mistrust Aria was getting made her rethink not buying an outfit more traditional to the Earth Kingdom. Aria's stomach again gave a loud rumble and she veered for the closest food stand, forgetting for the moment her discomfort. The sight of so many unfamiliar foods, however, made Aria pause with a look of utter consternation.
"Oh wow, what is this Aria?" Katara asked, pointing at a steaming pot of…something.
"Um, I do not know." Aria answered.
"Ok well I trust you so just buy what you like best." Aang stated.
"What makes you think I like any of this?" Aria said, frowning.
"Isn't it Earth Kingdom food?" Sokka asked.
"Of course it is! The best in these parts." The shop keeper butted in. "What will it be?"
Before Aria decided, Katara had run across the street and into a small shop. Shrugging apologetically at the shop keeper, Aria followed after her. Aria, Sokka, and Aang filed into the shop after Katara and found what had caught her attention so abruptly; the boy who had been earth bending in the ravine was standing next to an older woman, tying an apron around himself.
"You're the boy we saw earth bending in the woods!" Aang exclaimed happily.
In a flurry, the boy and what they could only assume was his mother slammed the door and windows shut; looking panicked. Aria couldn't understand the reaction; she vaguely connected the weird reactions with earth bending but couldn't imagine what was wrong with it.
"They saw you doing what?" The woman all but shrieked.
"Mother, they're crazy! Look at how they're dressed!" The boy cried indignantly.
Aria couldn't help but smile; she had had a similar thought when she first saw the other three.
"You know how dangerous that is! You know what would happen if they caught you bending." His mother chastised him angrily.
A sharp rap on the door interrupted the heated conversation.
"Open up!" A harsh voice commanded.
"Fire Nation!" Haru's mother hissed.
Without a second thought, Aria ducked behind the low counter. She wouldn't risk being recognized by anyone who may know her through her father. It wouldn't be the first time people knew her when she didn't know them. From behind the counter, Aria listened to the conversation intently.
"What do you want? I've already paid you this week." Haru's mother asked.
"Ah but the tax has doubled. And you wouldn't want to have an accident, now would you? Fire can sometimes be so hard to control." The soldier threatened. Aria snorted at this; maybe for him it's hard to control. With money in hand, the soldier retreated, slamming the door behind him. With the soldiers gone, Aria stood up and came around the counter.
"Nice guy." Sokka said sarcastically, "How long have they been here?"
"Five years." The woman answered wearily, "Firelord Ozai uses our coal mines to fuel his ships."
"They're thugs. They steal from us and everyone here is too cowardly to do anything about it." Haru yelled.
"Quiet Haru." His mother snapped, "Don't talk like that"
"But Haru is an earth bender. He can help." Katara said.
"Earth bending is forbidden. It has cost this village nothing but misery. He must never use his abilities." The woman argued.
"How can you say that? Haru has a gift. Asking him not to earth bend is like asking me not to water bend. It's part of who we are." Katara cried indignantly. Though Aria understood the truth in Katara's words, she privately thought she'd do better to listen to this woman. Katara had not yet learned the full extent of the force she was opposing; the Fire Nation was not to be trifled with.
"You don't understand." The woman said scornfully.
"I understand that Haru could help you fight back. What can the Fire Nation do to you that they haven't done already?" Katara persisted.
"They could take Haru away, like they took his father." The woman cried.
Aria saw the look of painful sorrow cross Haru's face before he carefully composed himself again and she felt a slight pang of guilt. Stop being stupid, you didn't do anything, she thought angrily. This is a war; such practices are necessary to win and if these people don't wish to be annihilated then perhaps they should figure that out. Aria sighed. She knew that was flimsy reasoning; being prohibited by law from bending was atrocious, even in a war.
That night as they settled down to sleep in Haru's old barn, Aria's thoughts turned to Commander Kon. The fate of Commander Kon had weighed heavily on her; they had become good friends aboard the Navy ship. Although Katara, Sokka, and Aang had taught her that not everybody from the other Nations were ignorant peasants, Aria couldn't banish from her mind the horror stories of Earth Kingdom prisons. Rotten food, brutal beatings, and near freezing conditions were all Earth Kingdom prisoners had to look forward to. Aria's jaw took on a stubborn set; she would not let Commander Kon rot in prison. Before this war was over, she promised herself, she would find him and set him free.
Unable to sleep, Aria was plagued with another difficult problem. How could she reconcile her feelings for Zuko and Kon with her feelings for Aang? Neither Zuko nor Kon were bad at heart yet in a heartbeat she knew they'd take Aang captive. She also knew it was Aang's destiny to end the war. How could she support the demise of the people she loved? Obviously there were people like her father and Zhao who needed to be taken down but what of those who were guilty only of loyalty to their country? Aria had no answer readily available. It was the early hours of the morning before Aria finally drifted off into a fitful sleep.
Aria was jolted awake entirely too soon by Katara's frantic cries. Running her hand through her tousled hair, Aria listened intently as Katara told the group of the old man Haru had saved in the mines using earth bending and the consequences of doing so. Haru had been arrested and taken away.
"Slow down, Katara, when did this happen? Sokka interrupted.
"Haru's mother said they took him at midnight." Katara answered quickly.
"It's too late to track him, he's long gone." Sokka said grimly.
"You can track?" Aria asked, impressed.
"We don't need to track him; the Fire Nation is going to take me right to Haru." Katara said determinedly, ignoring Aria's distracted comment.
"Why would they do that?" Aang asked.
"They're going to arrest me for Earth Bending." Katara responded.
Half an hour later, Aria discovered what she had in mind. She hoped for Katara's sake the soldiers that found her were duller than the average person. Waiting behind the boulder with Aang, Aria stretched her legs out in front of her. She had no part to play in the coming drama and so remained out of sight. It was apparent the when soldiers arrived; Aria could hear Sokka and Katara arguing. With the key phrase "earth bending power" Aria glanced sharply at Aang. A butterfly was fluttering around Aang's head, thoroughly distracting him.
"Aang!" Aria whispered fiercely.
"Huh? Oh! Right." Aang stood up and blew a gust of wind into the mining shaft vent below him. In a matter of seconds, the air was forced up the vent in front of Katara where the kids had earlier placed a boulder of considerable size. With her arms up in the air, the boulder rising into the air made it appear that Katara was earth bending.
"The lemur is earth bending!" One of the Fire Nation soldiers exclaimed. Aria smacked her hand to her face in exasperation; it was embarrassing to admit they were her countrymen.
"No you idiot, it's the girl!" Sokka yelled.
As Katara was led away, Aria and Aang came out from their hiding place and watched her go.
"Nothing to it now but to follow." Aria said in a falsely cheery voice.
Katara was taken through the town and in the direction of the docks; evidentially she'd be taken by ship. It was an hour before the destination came into view for the kids following on Appa. A colossal steel rig rose to the sky with great chimney stacks that belched clouds of smoke into the air. Towering walls blocked any view of the prisoners on board although without walls the location in the middle of the sea would have served as an effective barrier on its own.
"I gave her twelve hours. We can't risk hanging around any longer." Sokka said.
"Let's not get any closer. We saw what we needed and if we get closer we may be seen." Aria warned, "We need to find somewhere to wait out twelve hours."
They quickly retreated to an exposed sand bar and settled in to wait. The time passed too slowly for Aria; she didn't want the idle time to sit and think of her problems. Instead, she questioned Aang and Sokka about the Air Nomads and the Water Tribe. It was interesting to hear their stories which differed greatly from what Aria had been taught.
Evening came with the arrival of stars and a drop in temperature. They moved quickly and were soon ready to depart for the prison rig. The smoke was visible long before the actual rig and Aang urged Appa to a faster pace. Another few minutes passed before they pulled along the rig. Aang disappeared onto the rig to fetch Katara while Sokka and Aria waited nervously. If any of the guards in the sentry towers glanced their way the game was up. Aang was gone only for a short time before he reappeared, Katara in tow. With a nimble jump, Aang was back aboard Appa and waiting only for Katara to be off.
"You're twelve hours are up. Where's Haru? We've got to get out of here." Sokka whispered urgently
"I can't." Katara stated.
"Katara, what's wrong?" Aang asked.
"We don't have much time, there are guards everywhere. Get on." Sokka demanded.
"I'm not leaving. I can't give up on these people." Katara said stubbornly.
"What do you mean you're not leaving?" Sokka asked.
"We can't abandon these people, there has to be a way to help them." Katara repeated obstinately.
"Maybe she's right. What do you say Sokka, Aria?" Aang said.
"I say you're both crazy. Last chance to go." Sokka said.
"I say either way you decide you need to do it now. We're lucky the guards haven't spotted Appa already." Aria answered.
"No. I'm not leaving." Katara stated simply.
"I hate when you get this way. Come on we better hide." Sokka said resignedly.
Aang sent Appa away and the kids soon found themselves crouched behind storage crates on the far end of the rig. The night passed alarmingly fast as they brainstormed for a plan.
"We don't have much time. We need a plan now." Sokka said.
"I wish I could make a hurricane." Aang burst out randomly. At the weird looks from the others he explained himself further. "That way the warden would run away and we could steal his keys!"
"I'm sure he wouldn't run away. They're probably prepared for that being in the middle of the ocean." Aria pointed out logically.
"I'm just throwing ideas out there." Aang said defensively.
"I tried talking the earth benders into fighting but they wouldn't listen. If only there was a way to help them help themselves." Katara said dejectedly.
"They would need some sort of rock or earth. Something they could bend." Sokka said thoughtfully.
"But this entire place is made of metal." Katara protested.
"No, it's not. Look at the smoke, its coal smoke. Coal is just a form of earth." Aria said.
As the sky slowly lightened, their plan took form and they went their separate ways. They had to get it set up under the cover of darkness.
"It's almost dawn we're running out of time. Are you sure this is going to work?" Katara asked uncertainly.
"It should. These vents reminded of what we did back at the village. Aang shuts every other vent but this one. When he air bends, the coal has nowhere to go but here. The earth benders will have their coal." Sokka answered confidently.
"Well let's hope he gets it done soon, they know we're here." Aria said. No sooner were the words out of her mouth when a shout was heard.
"There's the intruder!" In a matter of minutes they were surrounded with guards. Curious prisoners looked on from a safe distance.
"Stay back I'm warning you." Sokka yelled in a show of bravado.
"Katara, stop you can't win this fight." A man, who Aria later learned was Haru's father, shouted.
"Listen to him well child; you're one mistake away from dying where you stand." The warden said.
A deep rumbling vibrated the ground and the crowd looked around in confusion for the source. With a loud clatter, the vent popped out of the ground, lifted into the air by a mass of coal. The crowd stumbled backward, trying to get out of range. When the massive stream of coal settled on the ground, Aang flew up from the vent; covered head to toe in heavy black dust.
"This is your chance earth benders. Take your fate in your own hands!" Katara shouted out at the surrounding prisoners.
Aria stared around at the surrounding people, looking for any inclination to fight but they looked dejectedly away. She couldn't believe it; these people were being offered a chance for their freedom and they wouldn't reach out their hands and grab it. They deserve prison she thought scornfully. The warden's voice broke in on her hateful thoughts and she turned to listen.
"You foolish girl you think a few inspirational words and some coal could change these people? Look at these blank, hopeless faces. Their spirits were broken a long time ago. Oh, but you still believe in them? How sweet, they're a waste of your energy little girl, you failed."
The warden turned his back and walked away, sure they would not fight back. A small piece of coal whizzed by Aria's ear and hit the warden on the back of the head. Within seconds a full scale fight had broken out and Aria ducked out of the way. It was frustrating not being to help but she couldn't very well start fire bending and she had no idea how to wield any weapons. Who would learn how to fight with weapons when they can bend? Aria watched the progress of the fight closely; she knew there was probably something she could help with but she was hesitant to do so. In her mind, if she took an active role in this battle she'd be cementing the fact that she had turned her back on her country, something she had never intended to do.
With a deep breath, Aria picked up a discarded pike and ran to help the earth benders. With it she took out the calf muscles of several of the soldiers, bringing them down to the ground; she couldn't bring herself to kill them. The flash of a blue dress caught Aria's eye and she brought it into focus. With her back turned to face an injured earth bender, Katara did not notice the guard behind her; ready to blast her with a jet of fire. Aria jumped to her feet and sprinted for her.
"Katara! Katara, turn around!" Aria screamed as she ran. As soon as she was close enough, Aria lunged at Katara, knocking her off her feet. She had barely been on time. Lying on top of Katara, shielding her, Aria could feel the heat of the fire like a solid thing. Hopefully it didn't get any lower; Aria was in no position to bend. When she again felt cool air, Aria sprang to her feet and helped Katara up.
"That was a close call, thanks." Katara said, out of breath. They surveyed the scene around them; Haru's father and a few of the other benders were taking care of the warden and the last of his men.
"I guess there's no going back now." Aria mumbled.
"Back where?" Katara asked curiously.
"Oh it's nothing." Aria said walking away. There was no more riding the fence; she would help the avatar.
Several hours later, after saying their goodbyes, they parted company. The earth benders back to their villages and the kids resuming their journey to the North Pole.
