A waxing gibbous moon glowing over us in the night sky. Team Avatar and I camped out among the trees. The darkness of the night gave the landscape an ominous feeling. Except for me, I could see in the night like it where day. Toph wasn't freaked out either. Sokka was telling ghost stories.
"Suddenly, they heard something down the hall in the dark. Oooh... It came into the torchlight... and they knew the blade of Wing Fung was haunted!" He drew his sword, stood up and pointed it toward the fire. He yelle dramatically. "Ooh-aaah!"
Aang was lying down, Katara was hunched over in a sitting position and Toph sat casually, all three looking unamused. I was sprawled on my stomach, propped up on my elbows, facing the fire.
"I think I like 'the man with a sword for a hand' better." Aang said, unimpressed.
"Water Tribe slumber parties must stink." Toph said.
"No, wait! I've got one! And this is a true Southern Water Tribe story." Katara said.
"Is this one of those 'a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to' stories?" Sokka asked, sitting down next to me to face his sister.
"No, it happened to Mom." Katara said. Sokka stiffened at that, and Aang sat up to listen with interest.
"One winter when Mom was a girl, a snowstorm buried the whole village for weeks. A month later, Mom noticed she hadn't seen her friend Nini since the storm. So Mom and some others went to check on Nini's family. When they got there, no one was home. Just a fire flickering in the fireplace. While the men went out to search, Mom stayed in the house. When she was alone, she heard a voice." In a scary voice, she said, "'It's so cold and I can't get warm!'" Sokka stiffened in fear and I sat up, head cocked to the side. "Mom turned and saw Nini standing by the fire. She was blue like she was frozen. Mom ran outside for help, but when everyone came back, Nini was gone."
"Where'd she go?" Sokka asked.
"No one knows. Nini's house stands empty to this day, but sometimes, people see smoke coming up from the chimney, like little Nini is still trying to get warm." Katara said. We sat in silence. Toph suddenly straightened up and placed her hands on the ground.
"Wait! Guys, did you hear that? I hear people under the mountain. And they're screaming."
"Pft! Nice try, Toph." Sokka said. I stiffened.
"She isn't lying, I hear it too." I said.
"You're probably just jumpy from the ghost stories..." Katara said.
"It just..."
"stopped." I finished for her. Katara and Aang clutched onto each other in fear.
"Alright, now I'm getting scared." Aang admitted.
"Hello, children." Everyone, including me, screamed in terror upon hearing the strange woman's voice and scrambled from the ground, huddling together. An elderly woman emerged from the shadows.
"Sorry to frighten you. My name is Hama. You children shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night. I have an inn nearby. Why don't you come back there for some spiced tea and warm beds?" Hama offered. I broke off from the group and cleared my throat awkwardly.
"Yes, please."
"Thanks for letting us stay here tonight. You have a lovely inn." Katara said. Hama set the teapot down.
"Aren't you sweet?" She walked over to her seat and sat down. "You know you should be careful. People have been disappearing in those woods you were camping in."
"What do you mean 'disappearing'?" Sokka asked. She set her teacup down.
"When the moon turns full, people walk in and they don't come out." She stood up and held up her teapot, smiling cheerfully. "Who wants more tea?"
"Uh, no thank you." I said.
"Don't worry, you'll all be completely safe here." Hama clasped her hands together and smiled. "Why don't I show you to your rooms and you can get a good night's rest?"
Why the hell did she put me with Sokka? Why the hell did we have to share a bed? And why'd he have to be shirtless? Sokka was laying on his side of the bed with Momo asleep on the floor. He rolled over. A creaking noise came from outside, frightening him. He drew his sword quickly while Momo scampered under the covers.
"I know, Momo. This place is creepy!" He placed his sword back inside its holster and set it down. He laid back down on the pillow and pulled the covers over him. "I don't know if I'm gonna be able to fall asleep!"
"Well, I won't be able to if you don't shuddup." I mumbled, half asleep.
"How aren't you freaked out?" Sokka asked, rolling over to look at me. I huffed.
"I grew up in an orphanage, then the wild, then a bar. I'm used the nightly noises." I explained. "Go to sleep."
"I can't!" He whined. I sat up and glared at him.
"What can I do? I mean, do ya want to cuddle or something?" I asked sarcastically. He blinked rapidly in surprise before looking embarrassed.
"Uh..."
"Wakey, wakey! Time to go shopping!" Hama chirped. My eyes flew open in time to see Katara appear by her side, dressed and happily smiling. They then bustled out and I sat up, rubbing my face. After traveling with these guys for awhile, I was glad to be in a bead. I flicked Sokka's arm away from my hip and stood up, hopping over the lazy boy, and tugging on my clothes. I tied my hair back and walked out.
Aang, Sokka, Toph, and I walked through the marketplace. Aang carried a package slung over his shoulder, Sokka carried a package attached to his sword, while Toph and I each carried a large, round basket on our heads.
"People disappearing in the woods, weird stuff happening during full moons? This just reeks of Spirit World shenanigans." Sokka said.
"Hey!" I said, frowning.
"What?"
"I'm a spirit!" I said.
"I bet if we take a little walk around town, we'll find out what these people did to the environment to make the spirits mad." Aang said, breaking the tension. Sokka gestured with his hand.
"And then you can sew up this little mystery lickety-split, Avatar style!" Sokka said.
"Helping people... that's what I do." Aang said proudly. Aang, Sokka, Toph and I approached Katara and Hama.
"Why don't you take all those things back to the inn? I just have to run a couple more errands. I'll be back in a little while." Hama said. I took her full basket in my hands.
"This is a mysterious little town you have here." Sokka said.
"Mysterious town for mysterious children." She said. She smiled and sauntered away, leaving Sokka feeling suspicious.
The gang and I unpacked groceries inside Hama's inn. Sokka walked over to a counter and set his basket down.
"That Hama seems a little strange. Like she knows something, or she's hiding something." Sokka said. I shrugged, placing down my basket and taking the one off my head.
"That's ridiculous. She's a nice woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay. She kinda reminds me of Gran-Gran." Katara said, examining a cabbage.
"But what did she mean by that comment, 'mysterious children'?" Sokka asked.
"Gee, I don't know. Maybe because she found five strange kids camping in the woods at night? Isn't that a little mysterious?" I remarked.
"I'm gonna take a look around." Sokka said. He walked away and up a flight of wooden stairs.
"Sokka! Sokka, what are you doing? You can't just snoop around someone's house." Katara called up the stairs.
"It'll be fine." Sokka said nonchalantly.
"She could be home any minute." Aang warned, sounding nervous. I huffed and walked down hallway with the rest of the team following after.
"Sokka, you're gonna get us all in trouble and this is just plain rude!" Katara said.
"I'm not finished yet." He was tugging on a cupboard door. He grunted, as he tried to pull it free. "Come on..."
The cupboard suddenly opened, revealing several wooden puppets stowed inside. The dolls fell forward, held together only by their strings. Everyone gasped; Sokka withdrew his sword, backed up and pointed it straight at the puppets.
"Okay, that's pretty creepy." Aang said. Katara walked over and closed the cupboard. She was a bit weirded out when she spoke.
"So she's got a hobby. There's nothing weird about that. Sokka, you've looked enough." She added angrily as Sokka ascended into the attic. "Hama will be back soon."
"Just an ordinary puppet-loving innkeeper, huh? Well then why does she have a locked door up here?" Sokka asked.
"Probably to keep people like you from going through her stuff." I remarked.
"We'll see." Sokka said. He peered through the keyhole into the room. "It's empty, except for a little chest."
"Maybe it's treasure!"
"Toph, don't encourage him." Katara said. Sokka grew excited, his eyes growing wide, and he used his sword to pick the lock.
"Sokka, what are you doing? You're breaking into a private room!" Katara scolded.
"I have to see what's in there." Sokka insisted. The door unlocked and creaked open. The five of us stepped cautiously inside; Sokka put away his sword and approached the small chest.
"We shouldn't be doing this." Aang said. Sokka picked up the chest and tried to pry it open, only to discover it was locked.
"Maybe there's a key here somewhere..." Sokka said.
"Ooh! Hand it over!" Toph said. She took the chest, removed her meteor bracelet from her arm and earthbent it into the shape of a small key, which she stuck into the keyhole of the chest.
"Come on, come on!"
"This isn't as easy as it looks!"
"Guys, I don't know about this..."
"This is crazy! I'm leaving!" Katara said.
"Suit yourself! Do it, Toph!"
"Wait, give it." I said, grabbing the chest, seeing that Toph was having major issues. I elongated my fingernail and slipped it into the keyhole, clicking it open. Katara turned to leave the moment I signale that I had successfully opened the chest, holding my thumb up. All four eagerly surrounded the box in a comical fashion, anticipating what they will find inside. I turned though as my nose twitched, smelling the familiar redish purple of Hama.
"I'll tell you what's in the box." She said. All, except Toph and I, screamed and turned sharply to find Hama standing in the doorway. Sokka guiltily handed her the box. Hama lifted the lid and reached her hand inside. Sokka had eyes wide in anxiousness. Hama lifted the object, a blue whale tooth comb in her hand. She smiled.
"An old comb?" Sokka said in surprise.
"It's my greatest treasure. It's the last thing I own from growing up in the Southern Water Tribe."
"You're from the Southern Water Tribe?" Katara gasped. Sokka and her stared in astonishment.
"Just like you."
"How did you know?"
"I heard you talking around your campfire." Hama said.
"But why didn't you tell us?" Sokka asked.
"I wanted to surprise you! I bought all this food today so I could fix you a big Water Tribe dinner. Of course, I can't get all the ingredients I need here, but ocean kumquats are a lot like sea prunes if you stew them long enough." Hama said, beaming.
"Great..." Aang said, sticking out his tongue.
"I knew I felt a bond with you right away." Katara said.
"And I knew you were keeping a secret, so I guess we're both right." He grimaced as Katara him him in the arm. "But I'm sorry we were sneaking around."
"Apology accepted." Hama said. She turned to the side and motioned with her hand. "Now, let's get cooking!"
"Who wants five flavor soup?" Hama asked. The five us raised our hands in acceptance. Hama situated her hands over the bowl and suddenly used waterbending to summon a globule of soup and fill each of our bowls. The team looked at the spectacle in astonishment. Four streams of soup landed gracefully into each of our bowls.
"You're a waterbender! I've never met another waterbender from our tribe!" Katara said in delight.
"That's because the Fire Nation wiped them all out. I was the last one..." Hama replied sadly. Katara clasped her hands together, an expression of pity on her face.
"So how did you end up out here?" Sokka asked. Hama began:
"I was stolen from my home. It was over sixty years ago when the raids started. They came again and again, each time rounding up more of our waterbenders and taking them captive. We did our best to hold them off, but our numbers dwindled as the raids continued. Finally, I too was captured. I was led away in chains. The last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe." Hama said. Katara walked over to Hama and placed her arms around her shoulder comfortingly. "They put us in terrible prisons here in the Fire Nation. I was the only one who managed to escape."
"How did you get away? And why did you stay in the Fire Nation?" Sokka asked.
"I'm sorry. It's too painful to talk about anymore."
"We completely understand. We lost our mother in a raid." Katara told Hama.
"Oh, you poor things." Hama said. Aang, Sokka and I casted our heads down solemnly.
"I can't tell you what it means to meet you. It's an honor. You're a hero."
"I never thought I'd meet another Southern waterbender. I'd like to teach you what I know so you can carry on the Southern tradition when I'm gone."
"Yes! Yes, of course! To learn about my heritage, it would mean everything to me." Katara said. I smiled a bit, but couldn't shake the foreboding feeling building in my chest.
"This has got to be the nicest natural setting in the Fire Nation. I don't see anything that would make a spirit mad around here." Aang said.
"As a half spirit, I don't think it's my kin causing trouble."
"Maybe the Moon Spirit just turned mean." Toph suggested.
"The Moon Spirit is a gentle, loving lady. She rules the sky with compassion and... lunar goodness!" Sokka exclaimed. Right, he had a thing for Yue before... right.
"Excuse me, sir. Can you tell us anything about the spirit that's been stealing people?" Aang asked.
"Only one man ever saw it and lived and that's Old Man Ding." The villager replied.
"Where does Old Man Ding live?" Toph asked.
Later that night, Aang, Sokka, Toph, and I approached Old Man Ding, who was boarding up his windows.
"Old Man Ding?" Aang called.
"Huh?" Ding said. He accidentally hammered his thumb.
"Ow, dang blame it! What? Can't you see I'm busy? Got a full moon rising. And why does everyone call me that? I'm not that old!" He attempted to lift a wooden plank off the ground, but failed to do so. He sighed. I approached and helped Ding lift the board. "Well, I'm young at heart. Not ready to get snapped up by some moon monster yet at least."
"We wanted to ask you about that." Sokka said, proceeding to nail the board to the window frame.
"Did you get a good look at the spirit that took you?" Aang asked.
"Didn't see no spirit-"
"Hah!" I said, jabbing a finger at the trio. "Sorry Ding, continue."
"I just felt something come over me like I was possessed. Forced me to start walking toward the mountain." He pointed to the mountain. "I tried to fight it, but I couldn't control my own limbs. It just about had me into a cave up there. And I looked up at the moon for what I thought would be my last glimpse of light. But then the sun started to rise and I got control of myself again! I just high-tailed it away from that mountain as quick as I could!"
"Why would a spirit want to take people to a mountain?" Sokka wondered aloud.
"It's not a spirit!" I yelled, the ground under my feet cracking a bit in anger.
"Oh no!" Toph yelled. Sokka and Aang assumed defensive positions. "I did hear people screaming under the mountain."
"The missing villagers must still be there!" I finished. Aang, Sokka, Toph, and I raced through the dark forest in search of the imprisoned villagers.
"I can hear them. They're this way!" Toph said.
Aang, Sokka, Toph, and I arrived at the mountain and we stood before the mouth of the cave.
"This is the place." I confirmed. A tangle of scent wound out of the cavern.
"I can't see anything down there." Sokka said.
"That's why you have us." I said. I grabbed Sokka's hand, Toph grabbed Aang, and we headed in. "Let's go."
The four of us descended into the dark cave and approached a solid metal door, torches nearby. Using metalbending, Toph broke it down.
"You have to teach me that." I said. We proceeded to make our way through the tunnel, Aang and Sokka lighting the path with the torches. We arrived to see several villagers chained to the walls of the cave.
"We're saved!" Said one of the men. Toph unfastened her meteor bracelet and I elongated my nails. We began to unlock the prisoners' shackles.
"I didn't know spirits made prisons like this."
"It's not a spirit!" I yelled, about ready to bend a rock at his head.
"She's right. It was no spirit!" The female said.
"Who brought you here?" Aang asked.
"It was a witch!"
"A witch? What do you mean?" Sokka asked.
"She seems like a normal old woman, but she controls people like some dark puppetmaster!" The same female said.
"Hama..." I said, looking to Sokka, who gritted his teeth.
"Yes, the innkeeper!"
"I knew there was something creepy about her!" Sokka said.
"We have to stop her." I said.
"I'll get these people out of here. You go!" Toph said. Aang, Sokka, and I fled while Toph stayed behind.
"We know what you've been doing, Hama!" Sokka yelled as we halted in front of Hama and Katara.
"Give up!" Aang said, taking a fighting stance. "You're outnumbered!"
"No! You've outnumbered yourselves." Hama said. I gasped as she began bloodbending Aang, Sokka, and I. I fought the painful feeling as the boys yelled in fear, and sent them in Katara's direction. Katara pushed them out of her way and drew water from the ground, sending a stream at Hama, who in turn drew water from a vine and used a water wheel to deflect the attack. Unwillingly, Sokka drew his sword.
"Katara, look out!" Sokka was forced to walk like a puppet while waving the blade back and forth rapidly. "It's like my brain has a mind of its own! Stop it arm, stop it!"
"Gah!" I yelled, falling to my knees as I fought the bending. Katara pulled up a ring of water and pushed Sokka away.
"This feels weird." Aang said. Using waterbending, Katara froze him to a nearby tree.
"I'm sorry, Aang!" She said.
"It's okay!" Aang said. She caught sight of Sokka, still under Hama's power, unwillingly preparing to strike her with his sword. She drew water from a vine and froze his sword and hand to a tree as well.
"Don't hurt your friends, Katara! And don't let them hurt each other!" Hama said. She used bloodbending to break Aang and Sokka free from their ice encasements and sent them colliding straight into one another with Sokka's sword pointing straight at Aang. I gritted my teeth and stood, fighting the bloodbending off. I ran forward and shoulder checked Aang out of the way, as Katara screamed.
"No!" Aang and Sokka abruptly halted in their tracks and looked at their hands in confusion, but not in time for the sword not to dig into my skin. Not one of the other noticed though as I gripped my side. Hama had suddenly stiffened. Looks of shock then dismay across Katara's face as she regrettably used bloodbending to subdue her. Hama grunted in discomfort then turned to witness the imprisoned villagers and Toph approaching the scene. The elderly waterbender was arrested, handcuffs placed around her wrists.
"You're going to be locked away forever." one said.
"My work is done. Congratulations, Katara. You're a bloodbender." Hama said. Katara was clearly distressed and broke down in tears. Hama laughing evilly as she was dragged away by the villagers. Katara was crying underneath the full moon as Aang, arm around her, and Sokka, hand on her back, attempted to comfort her. I was kneeling with one hand to my stomach, the other to the ground.
"Uh, Avery, are you okay?" Toph asked. I pulled my hand away to reveal the blood shining on my skin. Those who could see gasped.
"Avery, how did that... Oh..." Aang trailed off as Sokka held up his sword, the tip shining red. Sokka paled.
"Avery, I'm so sorry." Sokka said, rushing over and dropping his sword.
"I'm fin- Ow!" I hissed. "Don't touch it!"
"Move over, I'll heal you." Katara said, kneeling at my side. I gripped the grass as she began healing my wound.
"I promise I won't disappear this time." I said, laughing a bit with pain. Katara pulled her hands away, the open wound now a tiny scar. I traced it and pursed my lips in approval. "Thank you."
"I'm so sorry!" Sokka yelled, tackling me off my knees. I grunted and hugged back.
"It's alright, I'm fine. Really. It's not your fault." I said. "Can I please get up? My bloody shirts smearing yours."
"Gah!" Sokka yelped, scrambling off me. Toph smirked as I stood.
"C'mon, let's go." I said, brushing the dirt off my back. We found Appa and we left.
Ooo, I can make this centered. Cool. Wow, sad it took me this long to figure that out.
Disclaimer:...
What'd you think? Any Avery and Sokka shippers?"
