Burnings of the Heart

Chapter XX: Turmoil in the Forest

Everyone was quiet as they walked the forest path. Silence and uneasiness ruled the group. The earlier event had left them all with much to think about. Katara herself had not yet fully recovered from it. Her heart hang heavy with fear and worry. Before she never once considered that an enemy could be hiding behind every tree, but now…

She looked around nervously, fear and tension gripping her heart. She then jumped when the sudden feel of a hand touched her shoulder and turned her head to the right. Her fears eased when she found it was her brother's. She let a breath of relief as he drew her into comforting hold. Though the warrior part of her wanted to pull away out of embarrassment, the innocent village girl part of her accepted his kind embrace and settled her head on his chest. She griped him tightly, to ensure herself that he was there and then closed her eyes and let him guide her down the path, so that she may think about the event that had past.

Aang and Toph trailed behind the siblings and watched them.

"It's strange," Toph said.

"What is?" Aang askd.

"…nothing," she answered, shaking her head.

"Ok…"

The silenced returned, but only for a moment.

"Hey Aang?"

"Yeah?"

"When the time comes do you…do you think I…I could kill?" Toph asked nervously.

Aang was taken aback by her question and didn't know how to reply. He then blinked slowly. "You're…you're a strong person Toph, but I…I don't know if you could kill…I don't even know if I could." He looked at her. "I think that's the kind of question only you can answer yourself."

"Yeah…I guess your right," Toph replied. She then went silent.

Her mind was uneasy…her heart was unsteady. How long had it been since she left home? How long had it been since she turned her back to the luxuries of a high-born? For that matter, why did she turn her back in the first place? For adventure and to see the world…those two thoughts came to mind, but just how much of the world did she see. Just how much of it was she, a blind earthbending child, truly aware of. Was she truly open to world or only that which she wanted to be open to?

Usually she merely focused on what was ahead of her in order to keep her from running into anything, but now she felt she had to look further than that. This time she wanted to know just how far and just how wide she could see. She removed the blockades she'd originally placed to keep out sounds and vibrations she felt were unimportant. She had blocked them out because the sheer magnitude of them was just a little too much for her to bear. She was a like a little dog, able to hear dozens of sounds at once but not able to make any real since of all, but maybe, maybe now was the time to try and short it all out.

She closed her sightless eyes and began to listen. Never born with sight her others senses were stronger than those of normal people and she could hear sounds that others would only catch a small hint of and mistake for a gentle breeze; and through her unique style of earthbending, she feel things that others couldn't even imagine. The vibrations of the forest echoed through her and this time she could didn't filter it like usually did. This time she took all in, each and movement that could reach her, she absorbed into her senses, and it all hit her like a storm. Dozens upon dozens of new and strange vibrations entered her senses. It was almost too much for her comprehend. She felt like a dozen screams where wailing in her ears. She frowned at the feeling. It was just too much. She wanted to let go, she wanted to just block all out like she did before, but she couldn't, she wouldn't allow herself to. The wailings grew stronger and denser, and just when she felt she would go mad it all smoothed out.

She felt calm, calmer than she'd ever felt before. She felt the vibrations of her friends around her. She felt the beating of their hearts, she felt them all at once and could recognize without having to short, or block out. Everything that ran through the earth she could feel it all at once, though she didn't understand the vibrations she was feeling, nor from whom or what they might be coming from. She could feel them. It was different than what see was used. In cities and towns she relied more on the foot steps of her friend, sounds, and familiar paths to find her way around way around, but this time she could feel more than she could hear. Her curiosity grew and she set out to follow the strange vibrations, the vibrations of forest's many creatures.

She slowly searched through the vibrations following the movements of one creature after another, even small insects. Some of them she recognized. Such as the agile bobcat, whom she followed as stored it most recently captured meal away for later and then left to gather more. She followed a crafty fox that snuck up shortly after and stole the cat's meal.

She giggled at the scene.

"What's so funny?" Aang asked intriguingly.

"Nothing…" she replied with a faint giggle a small smile.

She continued her exploration. There was so much activity, so many wondrous, and humorous, vibrations. This was her gift, she could see a world that no else could. She enjoyed the simple fact that she was the ONLY one who had that ability. The only one who could see yet not see.

She continued to search through the vibrations that could reach her and she soon found herself following the vibrations of a small mouse like creature no bigger than her hand. She smiled at the creature as it ran through the forest stopping at the bases of trees and picking nuts it found along the way and storing them into its cheeks. Thus was the little guy's routine. He wandered the leafy forest grounds starching for food and storing what it found. Then suddenly something else entered her senses. It was a long and lengthy and feetless creature. It was watching the mouse and then slithered ahead of it and hid in a bush. She knew not what the creature was, but for some reason its very presence filled her heart with dread. She felt the mouse finish storing its recent findings and then scurry forward towards the bush.

"No…" she cried under her breath. The mouse grew closer and closer to the bush, "don't…" she said. Her heart paced quickened as the mouse started to pass by the bush and despite her ever hungering desire to halt what was about to happen, there was nothing that she could do. The mouse passed by the bush and…it was all over in a matter of seconds. Toph's face became soft and low, as she felt the creature slowly shallow the mouse alive. The last she felt of the poor little thing was its useless scrumming in a futile attempt to escape. Her heart ached intensively, so much so that the fear of experiencing such pain again caused her to just cut herself from the forest and its strange vibrations go and back to usual level awareness.

She then stopped walking as she remembered the small, helpless creature. The memory of its fate stuck firmly in her mind.

Aang stopped shortly after, "Toph…"

"Life…its very fragile isn't it," the Blind Girl said sadly. "At any given moment it could be snuffed out like the flame of a candle."

"Toph…" Aang said gently. He looked back at Sokka, who had also noticed Toph's sudden stop in pace. The young avatar thought he was going to say something but all he did was walk over to a near by tree sat down and held his sister, who was completely lost in thought, and paying little mind to the world around her.

Aang turned back to Toph who just stood quiet and still, he'd never seen her like that before and he was confused as to what to say. He was more use to receiving comfort than giving it out, and he could see that Sokka had no intention of granting him assistance.

"Toph," he said softly.

"Aang…I…I don't…I don't want to kill," Toph said slowly, with passionate sorrow. "I don't want to end someone's life." She looked at the ground. "When I first came with you guys all I thought about was the adventure. To finally be able to feel the world around me beyond the stone walls of my family's estate. To be able to be who I wanna be and not have to pretend to be something I'm not. To do what I wanted to do and not be told what I had to do. To escape the chains of the nobility and live my own life, but now I…I…"

Aang looked at the confused and frighten blind girl and then downward and to the side. He understood her all to well. His mind raced back a century in time. Back to his days with the, now forever lost, Air Nomads. He remembered how he enjoyed just living his life peacefully and not having to worry about anything. He could do want he wanted to do, go where he wanted to go. He visited so many places throughout the four nations. He, like all children lived deeply embedded in fantasy. Then one day it all started to come crushing down. The peaceful world in which he lived started to fall apart when he was suddenly told that he was the Avatar and his childhood suddenly swept from under him. He was thrown onto the border between reality and fantasy. He wanted to stay in fantasy, to return to his peaceful world, but he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't return. In the end it was all too much and he ran away. He ran into a storm that led into a century long sleep, and when he awoke it was in a world he knew nothing off. A world that was completely different from the one he knew….a world he was, by some unknown force, destined to save.

His breathing slowed. On the course of his journey he thought he understood what he had to do. He thought knew the reality of his situation well enough to accomplish his goal, but now…now he saw that while he saw some of reality he did not see all…reality. He was still tugging himself between fantasy and reality. He was still trying to be a kid while at the same time trying to be the Avatar. He wanted to fulfill his goal, but he also wanted to have fun, and there were times when he did just that. When acted like a kid one moment and the Avatar the next. He thought knew the situation, he thought he understood the reality of everything, but after what happened with Sokka he realized that the real world was broader and harsher than he could have ever imagined…and, it was only going to harsher.

He raised his head and breathed slowly.

Was he truly ready to face the harshness…the true harshness of reality? Was he truly ready to bid the eternal farewell to child fantasy and face the cold twisted, bumpy roads of reality?

He took a deep breathe…and then let out slowly.

He had no choice but to be. He was the Avatar and for the sake of the world and his friends he had to be ready. He had to move forward no matter how much he didn't want to. The time for being a child was over and the time for being the Avatar was NOW.

He looked at Toph and walked closer to her, "I…" he began hesitantly, but kindly and softly, "I…know how you feel. I don't want to kill either." He looked up sadly. "I don't won't to have to take another person's life, but…" he closed his eyes and gripped his staff, "as things stand we won't have a choice." He opened his eyes half way. "It's like Sokka said, we'll one day be in situation where we'll have to kill or be killed. Even though we don't wont to, when time comes we won't have much of choice. We won't have a choice but to kill."

"Even so…do we really HAVE to kill? I mean…isn't there some other way we can win?" Toph asked depressingly.

"I'm sure there is, but…I just don't know what it is?" the young avatar replied. The two were quiet for a short while. "but…" he turned to Toph with a sudden smile and in gentle tone, "that doesn't mean we can't try to find a way."

"What," Toph replied confusingly, raising her eyes to his.

"Sokka said we would have to kill someday, but he didn't say we always had to. He said someday we'd be in a situation where it was kill or be killed, when we'd have no other choice but to kill."

Toph, pale green eyes opened wide with realization. "I get it. We don't have to kill unless there's no other options open. We could save it as a last resort."

"Yeah," Aang replied kindly with a smile and a nod.

The Blind Girl smiled. "Thanks twinkle toes," she said kindly. "I still don't want to have to do it, but I think handle it as a last resort. Though I still don't know if I'll be able to go through with it. I feel easier now than I did before."

"I'm glad," Aang said kindly. "It's going to be a long road ahead but—"

"Hold that thought," Toph replied. She aimed her eyes over at Sokka, "Sokka what's wrong?"

Aang turned towards Sokka who now stood with Katara standing nervously next to him with worry edged on her face.

"Sokka?" Aang asked.

The young mercenary didn't answer them. His eyes scanned the tree breaches above, a veil of calmness masking the sudden nervousness in his heart. Something…wasn't right…

"Aang, Toph get over here. NOW!" he said in a low voice.

Aang and Toph looked at each other fearfully, and than ran over to their older companions.

"Sokka what's—"

"Shhh. Keep your voice down," Sokka said. He continued to scan the trees, but still could see nothing and yet the feeling of distress was only growing stronger. The others looked at each other nervously. Sokka then finally leveled his head and looked at his sister and friends, and drew them in for an enclosed conversation. "Ok, here's the deal. We're being watched."

"What!" Aang cried.

"Quiet!" Sokka said.

"Sorry," Aang whispered. "But who's watching us?"

"I don't know but their movements say they're not friendly. We need to act fast are we're dead."

"So what do we do?" Toph asked.

"We get you guys out of here," Sokka replied firmly. "I'm going to use a dust ball to give us some cover. When I do, I want Toph to use her bending and burrow you all into the ground and then tunnel back to Master Sing. In the mean time, I'll lure our mysterious follower away."

"No!" Katara said speaking for the first time since the event. "If you do that you'll be facing whoever it is alone."

"That's the idea," Sokka said. "Not to be insulting, but you guts all stink when comes to dealing with stealth fighters. I'll have a better chance of dealing with this guy on my own."

"But—" Katara said worryingly.

"Sokka's right," Aang said. "Of all of us he's the most qualified, to handle this. We'll dust trust have to him."

Katara went silent. She didn't like the idea of leaving her brother to handle he problem alone, but wasn't because she didn't believe in him. She just didn't feel liking to be apart from him, at that moment. She was still uneasy from earlier and fearful of what could happen to her and the others without Sokka's senses to keep them from being ambushed.

"Katara," Sokka said softy, "we really don't have time to argue about this. I know what I did to you earlier is affecting you, but right you're going to have to toughen up and endure it. As much as I want to be able to comfort you, I can't right now. So go with Aang and Toph and I'll see you back in Yukiyo. I promise."

Katara, looked at her brother, blinked slowly, smiled and then nodded.

Sokka smiled back and then took out a dust ball from his bag, "Alright, now everyone get ready," Sokka ordered. Aang and Katara cover their mouths and Toph took a firm stance, with her hands aimed at the ground, and a deep breath. "Ready, NOW!" Sokka slammed the dust ball into the ground and a thick cloud of dust filled the area.

All was quiet and still, then suddenly the Black Fox jumped out of the cloud and jumped back and forth between two trees up towards the breaches. Where he stopped and squatted down on a branch. He was still and quiet. His cloak encased his body and his mask and hood shrouded his head in shadow, as he listened to the forest around him. Then suddenly the whisper of shaking breach echoed through his ear and with it he jumped back, turned mid air and began jumping from one tree to the next like a breeze through the leaves. His movements so swift and agile, that his feet barely touched the breaches. As he ran he could hear other breaches lightly shaking behind him. Whatever was following him had abandoned complete stealth. He looked ahead as he came upon a clearing, and then just as he reached its edge. He stopped running and instantly dropped down into some soft bushes below.

There he went as still as a rock, his hand on the hilt of the Fox Tail. He looked out into the clearing, as a strange figure, in a loose fiery red pants and shirt, both strapped tightly around his joints with the rest somewhat lose, and the shirt tucked into his paths. He had fiery red boots, and a short red cloak that's hood lay covering his head that was completely encased in a red mask.

The figure turned his back to Sokka as he looked around for the stealthy mercenary, when he heard a calm, but tough and cool voice echo behind him.

"Hey Red, sorry disappoint but the Avatar's not here, but I'd be happy to pass along massage for yah," the Black Fox said rising up from the bush.

The figure had no interest in words and turned and threw a small fiery star shaped blade at Sokka. Sokka jump to the left and dodged the assault drawing the Fox Tail from its sheath. The Figure threw another fiery star, followed by another and another. Sokka ran around the clearing as he dodged most of the assaults while deflecting others with his blade. The Figure then ceased its ranged assault flung down it's arms, and two foot-and-a-half blades popped out of his sleeves, both encased in fire. He charged and engaged the young mercenary in a furious clash of steel and fire. Sokka dodged and parried the figures continuous jabs, while countering with his own, that were blocked and parried in turn. The two seemed perfectly matched in their deadly dance of sword play. Then figure suddenly jumped back and then made a fast but hard stab forward. Sokka quickly parried the assault and threw his opponent off balance as he spun behind him and, with one swift strike, slashed their back!

The figure gave out a low cry of pain as they feel to their knees, their blades retracting back into their sleeves. Sokka looked down at his defeated opponent, took a moment to catch his breath and walked forward.

"Alright," he said firmly, his breathing a little heavy. "I got some questions for you and I want them answered. "Who are you? Who do you work for and why were you following us?" The figure said nothing. "Hey I asked you—" he reached to grab the figure, but the moment he touched the red clothed body it collapsed to the ground. The figure lay like a dead dog frozen still, with a hole as black as ash in the left side of their chest.

"What the hell…" Sokka said as he went to a knee and examined the figure. He looked around, but could find no one. "I guess he didn't to himself, but why?" He looked at the body some more and his eyes then caught sight of the silvery red symbol of a serpent, on the man arm's. He took out a knife and then cut the symbol off and put it in one of his bags. He then stood. "Well this has been another crazy day." He looked at the body once again. "Just what kind game are we in anyway?" He then turned, jumped back into the trees and left to find the others.

Shortly after he left two figures in black cloaks dropped down from the trees above and examined the body themselves. They turned it over and found another serpent symbol on the other shoulder. They cut if off and then one of them placed a hand on the body. A dark shadowy smoke suddenly encircled his hand. The body slowly grew thinner and thinner, drying up like a resin, with the cloth slowly dissolving away, until there was nothing but a dried up skeleton lying on the ground that slowly turned to dust and blew away with the wind.

The Figures then turned and vanished into a shadow of tree…