Chapter 35:
Freya, Katara and Aang walked to find Sokka ahead of them as Momo flew off and Appa trailed behind. The boy was standing near a notice board covered in flyers with a bag in his hands. Momo returned as they approached him to sit on top of the notice board as Sokka tipped the bag upside down to tip any food into his mouth.
"This should give us a good idea of what's around here." Katara smiled as she approached the notice board.
"See if you can find a menu, I'm starving." Sokka said when the bag was empty and poured out nothing.
"You're always hungry." Freya returned as she joined Katara.
"I bet we'll find something to eat here!" Aang grinned as he rushed between the two girls to point at the flyer before them. Sokka rubbed his head and looked around the notice board. "The Fire Days Festival. Fire Nation cultural exhibits… jugglers, benders, magicians. This'd be a great place for me to study some real firebenders!" Aang grinned and Freya scowled slightly. He shrugged at her.
"I'm sorry, you, the avatar, the biggest enemy of the Fire Nation, wants to go into a Fire Nation town, filled with Fire Nation soldiers?" Freya asked.
"You might wanna rethink that. Look at this." The three moved around to stand beside Sokka on the other side of the notice board. With it were three other wanted posters, one of a man with a scar, another of a blue mask.
"Hey, a poster of me!" Aang said grinning
"A wanted poster."
"A wanted poster issued by Admiral Zhao." Freya said rolling her eyes.
"Admiral?" Katara asked
"He got promoted and then had the power to issue a warrant for Aang's arrest. He sent a heap of soldiers onto Zuko's ship to gather information while I was there. If I remember correctly I think it was while you two were sick." Freya explained
"This is bad." Sokka believed.
"Yeah, every Fire Nation soldier knows what you look like now Aang." Freya sighed as Aang pulled the poster down to admire it.
"I think we better keep moving." Katara said
"I have to learn firebending at some point, and this could be my only chance to watch a master up close." Aang turned to Freya, expecting her to be excited about watching a master bender herself. The girl gave him a look.
"Aang you're supposed to learn Fire bending last in the cycle for a reason." Freya thought
"And as I learn, things will probably get worse with the Fire Nation, it's unlikely I'll find a willing teacher at all." Aang argued. Freya debated over that as Katara looked at the ground thinking it over.
"I guess we could check it out." she decided and Aang grinned excitedly while Sokka looked shocked.
"What!? You want to walk into a Fire Nation town where they're all fired up with all their, you know, fire?" he asked walking towards Katara.
"We'll wear disguises." Katara decided
"I don't know if that'd be enough?"
"Come on Freya you know you want to see some fire bending," Aang nudged her
"I'm been watching fire bending for the last few weeks remember." she said raising an eyebrow.
"Look, if it looks like trouble, we'll leave." Katara shrugged as she turned to walk back to Appa, Aang turning to follow her. Freya sighed.
"Yeah, because we always leave before we get into trouble." Sokka said disagreeing. Freya shrugged before she turned to follow the two as well. Sokka sighed before following as Aang jumped into the air and jumped over Katara to land on Appa and take the reins.
The three moved through the forest until they came to a river by a town, walled up and condensed a little ways off. Appa walked out behind them with Momo on his head growling as Aang put his hands on his hips.
"You guys stay out of sight here while we go to the festival." Aang said to Appa and Momo. The lemur responded by flying into the air and then diving into one of the bushes before Appa. Appa watched his little flying friend before he side stepped and squatted behind the same bush, hardly concealing himself.
Freya giggled.
"Ready disguises." Aang grinned. Sokka and Katara pulled hoods over their heads as they and Freya had dark robes on. Freya began to style her hair differently to match her amber eyes while Aang simply pulled the collar of his top up onto his balled head making him look like a hunch back. He grinned as the three gave him a look.
"It's like you're a whole different person." Sokka said sarcastically, making the girls chuckle.
"Let's go." Aang decided before they turned and walked down the hill towards the town.
The sun had set by the time the four reached the little town and fire works exploded into the sky. A red tower with a giant flame on the top stood in the middle to the square, ropes tied to it and the nearby buildings with red lanterns hanging off them. A few tall posts had fires dancing on the top as there was a stage on one side and many stalls on the other. People crowded the square as the four walked into the Fire Nation colony. A paper dragon ran past with people's legs sticking out from underneath and Aang, Katara and Sokka clung together as they looked around, Freya frowning. Everyone wore shades of red but them and all were wearing masks.
"I think we need some new disguises." Katara decided
"Where are we gonna get masks like that?" Sokka asked annoyed
"Get your genu-ine Fire Festival masks here!" A man with his stall covered in masks shouted from their left and Sokka looked surprised as Freya, Aang and Katara looked at him.
Freya, Aang and Katara moved over to the stand to collect and pay for a mask each.
"That was surprisingly easy." Sokka thought as he followed and got one as well. Sokka had a blue grinning mask with a lion like mane around it while Aang's was a sad and crying red and yellow. Freya had a red with black hair and a fire symbol off the top while Katara's was probably the most neutral of the four. Katara turned from Aang to Sokka on either side of her before she switched the masks over for the two, Aang was grinning under his and Sokka was frowning beneath his. Freya chuckled as the masks fit the two much better after Katara had switched them.
The four turned and walked into the square where something caught Aang's attention, causing him to point.
"Hey, there's some food."
"Finally!" Sokka ran past the two towards the stall. "What do you have?" he asked the merchant.
"Flaming fire flakes! Best in town." He held a bag of the flakes, red and in a red and white bag which was flaming.
"Really!?" Freya asked grinning.
"I'll take'em!" Sokka agreed, taking the bag.
"Um Sokka, I wouldn't—" Freya stopped as Sokka stuffed a heap in his mouth. Within a second he started screaming and steam came from his mouth and ears as his eyes watered. Sokka pushed his mask onto his head as he waved his hand at his tongue in an attempt to cool it down.
"Aaahhh! Hot! Hot!" Katara crossed her arms as Freya had the fire flakes in her hand. She popped on in her mouth and grinned as she huffed and steam escaped her mouth.
"'Flaming fire flakes' hot? What do you know." Katara said sarcastically as Sokka wiped his tongue with his fingers.
"Warms you to the core." Freya grinned as she ate another.
"How can you eat those?!" Sokka asked
"You're the one who shoved several in your mouth at once." Freya said with a raised eyebrow.
Something else caught Aang's attention as a few kids ran past the four. "Hey, look at this." The four turned and saw a small puppet show with several children sitting before it with a few parents.
The curtain opened and they saw a puppet of a man dressed in red with a fire emblem on his head. He had big eyebrows and shoulder folds and a beard.
"Don't worry loyal citizens! No one can surprise the Fire Lord!" The puppet moved and turned it's back on a lot of the puppet stage. An earth kingdom puppet rose with a rock in it's hand, raised and ready to throw. The children started shouting and pointing at the earth bender and one girl covered her eyes as another covered her mouth.
The Fire Lord puppet suddenly spun and fire left it's mouth to burn the earth kingdom puppet. The entire thing crumpled and burnt. Freya bit her lip and Sokka turned around as Katara and Aang backed away. The children cheered and celebrated as they left.
"Aang, hold on! Where are we going?" Katara asked as the three followed Aang towards a crowd of people before the stage.
"I don't know, but there's a big crowd so it must be good." Aang thought
"Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution." Sokka thought sarcastically.
"Nice Sokka." Freya grumbled.
A man stood on the stage before everyone as the four pushed their way through to the front of the crowd. Three posts stood with fire basins on top of them as the performer moved across the stage. From each basin fire flew out and comet like blasts bounced their way from the posts to the stage as the man circled his hands around his head. The three fire comets bounced until they joined together and swirled to explode and release doves into the air.
The crowed cheered in amazement and Aang lifted his mask to see better, a grin on his face.
"I gotta learn that trick!" Aang grinned.
"Yeah, when you've learnt the basics." Freya replied
"Thank you!" he bowed "For my next trick I need a volunteer from the audience!" the performer called. Aang's hand was high in the air and he waved it around.
"Oh! Oh! Me! Me!"
"What do you think you're doing?" Sokka demanded as he lowered Aang's hadn't back to his side.
"I want to get a closer look."
"It's too risky Aang." Freya believed
"It's better that we don't attract any attention to ourselves." Katara agreed.
Going against her words the performer suddenly pointed down at Katara.
"How about you, little lady?"
"Uh…" Katara shook her head and backed away, waving her hand.
"Awww, she's shy. Leeet's give her some encouragement, folks!" the performer encouraged and Katara was pushed forwards to the stage where the performer took her hand and pulled her onto the stage. Katara looked at Freya and the boys before she was hoisted up.
"Awww! That could'a been me." Aang complained
"This next trick is called "Taming the Dragon."" the performer informed as a chair was collected for Katara to sit in. "You will be my captured princess!" the performer told her before she was tied to the chair with a red sash.
The performer took his stance and waved his arms before the fire in the four basins shot into the air and collected together. A dragon was formed in the fire and it shot around towards Katara.
"Don't worry, young maiden! I will tame this fiery beast!" Fire accumulated at the performer's hand before a lasso of fire appeared. The fire dragon flew through it and it moved around as though on a fire rope. The performer looked worried for a minute as the fire shot past Freya, Aang and Sokka. "It's too strong, I can't hold it!" he declared.
"We gotta help her!" Aang thought stepping forwards
"No, we don't want to make a scene!" Sokka stopped the boy.
"She's fine Aang." Freya assured as she watched the man's bending.
"The rope, it's breaking!" the fire rope dispersed before the bender angled the fire dragon straight for Katara. Katara's eyes shot closed as she gasped before Aang jumped up from his spot. Freya gasped and reached to grab Aang as Sokka and some other guy tried to do the same. Aang dropped in front of Katara and blew an air funnel at the dragon. The fire dispersed and exploded in a flurry of glitter and confetti.
"Hey, you tryin' to upstage me, kid?" the performer questioned as he now lay on the stage floor, having been knocked there from Aang's air blast.
Aang stood with his arm out looking at the confetti. Freya gapped as the avatar had lost his mask and had taken the trick seriously.
People started booing Aang who started doing some kind of jig as Freya and Sokka climbed onto the stage to release Katara from her seat.
"Hey! That kid's the Avatar!" Aang froze and Freya turned to the crowd as three soldiers near the centre of the square spun around to see the boy. They began to push their way through the crowd and towards the group.
"I think it's time to go." Sokka decided as he, Katara and Freya removed their masks.
"Agreed." Freya nodded
"Follow me!" the four turned to see a man with a hood and a mask behind a broken section of the stage wall waving them over. "I can git ya outta here!"
"There they are!" the four turn back to the guards climbing onto the stage.
"I'm choosing that guy over them!" Freya decided and she grabbed Aang's wrist to pull him with her to the wall. Katara and Sokka followed and as they ran past the man threw a smoke bomb at the soldiers to halt them in their path.
Many people turned as the group ran through the streets following the mystery man who knocked a tray from a man's hands.
"Sorry." Freya said as they passed.
They moved down an ally and past another soldier who noticed them and pointed.
"Over there!" the soldiers gained in numbers and followed them down the alley.
"I'm calling Appa!" Aang decided
"How?" Freya asked. Aang pulled out a bison shaped whistle from his top and put to his lips.
"I hope he can really hear that bison whistle." Sokka said as Aang blew but no sound came from the whistle.
"Where'd you get a bison whistle from?" Freya wondered
"Freya don't you think they're are more important things?" Katara asked
"Like?" the girl grinned only to have Katara roll her eyes.
"This way!" the man in the hood pulled them down another alley but they skidded to a halt when the other end was filled with soldiers. "Okay! Not this way!" The four backed up as the man threw another bomb that exploded gas everywhere and they diverted down another alleyway.
The four skidded to a halt however as they came up against the wall of a large wagon and hit a dead end. They all looked up to see the sticks of a heap of fireworks sticking out on the other side of the wall.
"You're not doing a very good job of the saving thing." Freya complained as she turned around to have their only exit blocked by the guards.
A growl sounded and they looked up to have the bison fly over towards them.
"Appa! Down here!" Aang called.
Appa swooped over the guards who turned and ran before the bison landed to thump his tail and send a blast of wind after the soldiers who went flying out of the alley.
By the time they'd regained their feet and run back the five had climbed onto the bison's back and had taken off into the sky.
The mystery man pulled the pin off another bomb and threw it into the cart full of explosives. Fire works went everywhere through the air and exploded and snapped in the sky. Appa caught a rope of lanterns which dropped over the Fire Nation symbol on top of a pedestal in the middle of the square. The entire wooden stand caught fire and the crowd below all cheered at the fire and fireworks in the sky.
"Nice touch setting off the fireworks." Aang complimented as the man removed his hood.
"Would have been better if someone hadn't blown our cover." Freya said to Aang who smiled guiltily.
"You seem to really know your explosives." Sokka believed
"I'm familiar." the man nodded as he turned away from the town and towards the group.
"You're a Fire Nation soldier!" Sokka realised surprised.
"Was. My name's Chey." he introduced.