Hello! So I've changed my mind ... again. I'm trying to do a chapter every day so I can finish book 1. But like I said, I'm trying :) Anyway, not much else to say except there is a new character which I own but I don't own Avatar. Enjoy chapter eleven :D I'm surprised I got this far to be honest :) And I wouldn't be surprised if there were a few mistakes in this, I was editing it in the morning. Something you'll (hopefully) find interesting will happen in the next chapter and I might start to wrap things up with this book. I'm not sure. Anyway, enjoy the chapter :)
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"WAKE UP!" the blankets were ripped off of Anala which sent her flying to the ground since she'd managed to wrap herself up in the middle of the night. She'd missed the comfort of having a blanket wrapped firmly around her and was glad to not have to rely on body heat for once in three years. It was almost the crack of dawn, but not quite. Anala could feel it. She yawned and stretched before she stood, still trying to wake up. Kai became inpatient, gripped her arm and practically dragged her downstairs where they saw Eri cleaning glasses and chuckling at a few men that were slumped in their seats, snoring loudly. "Good morning girls," she greeted, smiling brightly. "Would you like breakfast?"
"Yes please," Kai said, jumping from one foot to the other.
"You're excited today, aren't you?" Eri said as she filled to glasses with water and handed it to the girls.
"We get to see our aunt and uncle today!" Kai lied easily making the woman smile sadly.
"That's great, sad though, considering what you've been through," the girls were silent and hung their heads, pretending to be upset. Eri slid two plates with a simple sandwich onto the counter in front of them. "Enjoy," she said before going back to cleaning glasses.
Anala's eyes widened in shock as she watched Kai eat half the sandwich in one bite while she took small bites and savoured the taste. Kai was finished the sandwich even though Anala was not even half finished on own. "Come on, hurry up," she stated, physically pushing the sandwich into Anala's mouth. She struggled to chew it and swallow it. "Well," she spoke to Eri, "we're going to go know. Thanks and goodbye."
"Wait! Let me get Seijirou," she rushed through a door and returned with the large, gentle man who smiled at the girl as he shook their hands. "Good luck girls. Don't get into too much trouble."
"Thank you for your hospitality," Anala said bowing as Kai muttered a "thanks", bowing also. Eri pushed a couple of small bags into Kai's hand and two larger ones into Anala's. Guilt washed over Anala like a wave, making her look away in shame at having to lie to these people.
"I noticed you had nothing when you came in. There are a couple of week's worth of food that you and your family could eat and a couple of sleeping bags in case you need them," stated Eri as she hugged the girls. "Goodbye and good luck."
"You don't have to do this," Anala said as she tried to hand back the things but Eri refused. "Well at least let me give you some money."
"That won't be necessary. We just want you to be safe," Seijirou said. These people hardly knew them yet they were so kind. Anala wondered whether they would have genuinely cared if they weren't "orphans".
"Goodbye." The two exited the building and the couple went back to running their business. When they turned, Anala silently rushed back and dropped a bag of gold pieces into the "tips" container and then rushed back out before the couple could notice.
Kai was already on Mango and was making him run circles around Lee who didn't pay either of them any attention, he just continued to eat without a care in the world. Anala whispered softly to him before she mounted him and joined Kai. "So do you know where we are going?" she asked, forgetting all about the guilt she'd had for lying to the kind couple and was sort of excited for their journey.
"Don't worry, I know exactly where we are going," Kai said arrogantly as she made Mango go into a run and off towards the direction they had come from. Anala quickly followed, keeping in mind that Kai's sense of direction had never, ever been a reliable source.
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"I can tell you know exactly where you are going," Anala teased from behind Mango and Kai, whose head was snapping in every direction as if she knew what she was looking for and what would help her find her path to Whale Tail Island. "So, are we just sightseeing or taking a detour? Do you even know where Whale Tail Island actually is?"
"Anala, I know we're friends and everything, but if you don't shut your mouth this minute I am about to punch you so hard in the face, it'll break your brain," Kai snapped angrily, her shoulders tensing. Anala laughed loudly, leaning so far back she nearly fell off Lee.
"I thought we had a map," Anala said, coming to Kai's side.
"I don't need a map!" Kai yelled in Anala's face but she didn't back away or even flinch as Kai's enraged face came inches to hers. She just raised an eyebrow and watched with a grin as Kai sighed and pouted. "Where's the map?" she asked, throwing her hands in the air. Anala raised her eyebrow even higher and grinned. Kai pouted more and whipped the map out from her pocket.
They came to a halt and studied the map carefully. "You're holding it upside down," Anala stated. True, they'd spent three years in the Earth Kingdom so one would assume they'd be able to read a map, know where they are and what direction to go to get to their destination. But sadly, this wasn't the case. The two used to spend hours bickering so the eventually tucked the map away in a pocket that Kai had discovered in her dress and forgot about it until that point.
"I am not holding upside down! You just can't read a map!" Kai snapped.
"Oh I can read a map well enough to know it's upside down," Anala said confidently without looking away from the map as she turned her head to the left and right. "Yep, defiantly upside down." Kai huffed and spun it around the other way. "Maybe it was the right way." Kai grumbled and turned it around again. "So we're here," Anala waved her finger around the map before poking it. According to her, they were very close to Ba Sing Se, and nowhere near the ocean."These things travel fast."
"You guessed that, and besides, we were there yesterday," Kai circled her finger around the ocean. "...Somewhere."
"You're crazy."
"You are."
"Ladies, ladies please." Lee and Mango got a fright at the foreign voice and shot forward. Kai and Anala, who hadn't expected it, went flying off the end. A shadow cast itself over them in the shape of a human. Anala blocked the sun and looked up to see a boy ... no older than them in age. "Have no fear, your saviour is here."
Anala scoffed and stood, wiping the dirt from her behind and glared at the boy. "Thanks, but no thanks. We're fine, come on Kai." Kai stood and followed her, sticking her tongue out at the boy who only raised his eyebrows. She hoped Mango and Lee weren't too hard to find, they had some of their food and not to mention they were their only means of transport. Anala heard the sound of feet shuffling on the ground behind them; she spun and glared at the boy who smiled innocently. "Are you deaf?" Anala snapped.
"No, my name is Fritz," he said moving closer to her which made her instantly back away.
"You know what I-" something clicked in her head. She though back to when she was ten and studied the boy in front of her who grinned. She knew him; she'd had this silly little argument before.
"Hello."
She almost jumped out of her skin as she heard the simple word. She rolled and sprung up into a standing position, holding out her arms in defence. She had a sudden thought that she'd never be safe again, that she'd always be on her toes and ready to fight if the time presented itself. It was all thanks to Commander Baku. She dropped her arms slightly in disbelief as she stared blankly at the small boy in from of her. He waved slightly at her, grinning widely. Her eye twitched. "Are you ok?" he asked, taking a step towards her.
"Stay back," she threatened keeping her eyes narrowed. He looked slightly taken aback but still advanced towards her. "Are you deaf?" she shrieked as she stumbled backwards in an attempt to get away from him.
"No, my name is Fritz," the boy laughed, stepping closer until Anala was backed up against a tree.
"I remember you," she said, clearly displaying her displeasure of having to meet him again. He smirked in victory. "And the answer is still no. Go away."
"But I can help you! I know the Earth Kingdom like the back of my hand! I know the way to Whale Tail Island!" he cried. She huffed and turned but was surprised when it was Kai who stopped her in her tracks. She pulled her to the side and smiled at the boy. "Excuse me, we just have to discuss some ... things." She pulled Anala's face roughly to hers and glared. "What do you think you're doing?"
"What? That kid is an arse, I don't like him," she whispered harshly, still glaring.
"He knows the way to Whale Tail Island, not to mention the rest of the Earth Kingdom Anala!" she replied, whispering also and continued to check behind her to make sure he was still there and wasn't listening to their conversation.
"What if he's bluffing?"
"I doubt it, he looks like he's from the Earth Kingdom, and I defiantly think he's telling the truth." They turned back to see him bending flowers made from the dirt below him. "Yep, defiantly from the Earth Kingdom." The two were in silence for a moment. "We don't have to tell him about the Jade Jewel or the reward but if it comes to that, we'll just tell him we're finding it for a friend who is going to give us a small reward."
"Oh yeah, great plan. What if he finds out we're actually finding it for a stranger who is giving us a very large and suspicious reward?" Anala asked harshly, glaring at Kai who spaced out for a moment.
"By then it'll hopefully be too late for him to do anything about it. I can't believe I'm saying this but, can we keep him? Please?" Kai made her eyes wide which she knew nobody could resist. Anala sighed and glanced back at the boy, Fritz, she reminded herself. He was sitting there with a grin staring right back at her.
"Fine, you can come with us," she said to him. Fritz jumped with joy; making the earth tremble slightly while Kai did her own little victory dance. "Show us the way to Whale Tail Island, but first, help us find our companions." Fritz ran off faster than they knew he was capable and returned moments later with Mango and Lee who were munching on grass.
"They weren't far," Fritz stated, giving each a pat. Kai jumped on Mango quickly, map in hand.
"Yeah, thanks," Anala muttered as she climbed onto Lee and looked down at Fritz who was looking at her expectantly. "What?" she snapped.
"You don't expect me to walk the whole way do you? I'd ride with her," he pointed to Kai since he didn't know her name, "but she's got all the bags." Anala's eyes snapped to Kai who was grinning and holding the bags in front of her, displaying them to Anala as if she was a merchant selling them. Anala growled in irritation before motioning for Fritz to hop on. He did so happily and gripped Anala tightly from behind. It took all her will power to not turn around and burn him to a crisp.
"I'm Kai by the way, that's Anala," Kai said, Anala's eyes widened at Kai who shrugged.
"Those are weird names," Fritz stated, "but I like them." Anala sighed with relief as the boy didn't have any recognition written on his face. Their identities were safe and they rode off into the direction Fritz pointed out happily. Well, everyone except Anala that is.
