Chapter 20: "Bato of the Water Tribe" (Part 1)
After getting a decent amount of flying in, we thought it was a good idea for us to rest for a day or two before we had to fly over the ocean again, especially for Appa. We landed in the woods, not far from the beach. While gathering some nuts and berries for the trip, Katara came across a small pond and suggested we should practice some waterbending before we left. Which was why Aang, Katara and I were currently ankle deep in water with our pants rolled up to our knees and standing ten feet apart.
Sokka wasn't too happy about it, claiming we always took forever with our lessons and never continued with our journey on time. So we agreed upon one hour of training before moving on.
"So, I actually learned this move on accident" I explained.
Katara raised an eyebrow. "Accident? How?" she asked.
I chuckled as I recalled the memory, firmly planting my feet. "I was fishing for dinner this one time and the fish was putting up a fight. So, I planted my feet in the snow and..." I turned my feet sharply, freezing the water around my ankles. "...this happened"
"Cool!" Aang exclaimed.
Katara's eyes widened. "How did you…?"
"The trick's to keep your feet planted" I explained.
Her expression changed into one of determination. "Okay, let me try" she said, planting her feet firmly in the water, her eyebrows knitting together in concentration. She quickly turned her feet and the water around her ankles froze effortlessly around them.
"I did it!" she said gleefully.
"My turn!" Aang declared. He exhaled and concentrated hard before sharply turning his feet. The water froze around his toes for a moment then dissolved, causing him to frown.
"Maybe your feet are too far apart? Try again" I encouraged.
Aang nodded and screwed his face in concentration again, moving his feet closer together, but the same thing happened and he pouted.
"Let me help" Katara said as she walked over and gave him a few pointers. After giving him some advice, she stepped away with her hands on her hips. "Okay, try again. Don't widen your stance, just stand how you normally would" she advised.
"And remember to keep your feet planted firmly" I added in.
Aang nodded and we both watched him shift his feet once more and the water froze around his ankles. A big grin broke across his face. "I did it!" he cheered.
I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. Guess Katara was the better teacher between the two of us. But in my defense, I was trying.
Shaking my head, I lifted my hands and stood in a fighting stance. "Okay Katara, your turn" I said.
She clasped her hands together and moved into a fighting stance, a determined grin on her face. "Alright" she began, spreading her feet a little far apart and pressing her palms together in front of her. "This move's a little tricky, but I want you to attack me"
My arms dropped and I looked at her skeptically. "You want me to attack you?" I asked, to which she nodded confidently. "Er…okay…" I muttered hesitantly before bringing up a wave of water and pushing it towards her. It came so close to hitting her until she parted her hands out to the sides at shoulder-length and the water parted with her hand motion before splashing into the pond.
"Could be useful if you were trying to fight off another waterbender, I guess" she said, dropping her hands.
I gaped. "How did you…?"
"The key is to move your arms in one fast and swift motion" she advised, turning her posture towards me. "You first, Talia. Ready?"
I took a deep breath and stood in a fighting stance. One fast and swift motion, okay I thought. Katara waved her hands, bringing up a big stream of water and whipped it towards me. However, her attack came too fast and didn't give me enough time to react. The water hit me square in the front, throwing me back on my butt with a loud splash.
I blinked several times, stunned. When I moved my wet, matted hair away from my eyes, Katara had both her hands over her mouth with a shocked look on her face before running over to my side.
"I'm so sorry! Are you alright?" she exclaimed, extending a hand out to me.
I chuckled. "That was a pretty quick attack. But maybe go a little easy during a new lesson" I suggested teasingly, taking her hand and she helped pull me to my feet. Katara pursed her lips, embarrassed. I patted her shoulder, reassuring that I was joking before turning to Aang who had appeared to my side as well. "Um, little help, buddy?"
He raised an eyebrow before smiling. "Sure thing" he chuckled. Inhaling deeply, he thrust both his hands out and sent a strong gust of wind in my direction, drying my clothes.
"Thanks a bunch" I told him, tying my hair in bun, too lazy to untangle it right now.
We were about to continue when Sokka appeared through the trees with the map in hand. "Are you guys done? We have to keep moving" he said.
"I thought we agreed that we can have an hour to practice" Katara pointed out.
"Yeah, that was four hours ago!" he objected dramatically.
I rolled my eyes. "Alright, alright, you giant drama queen. Time to move" I said, stepping out of the pond and unrolled my pants.
Katara and I disassembled our tent and rolled it up as Aang and Sokka disappeared over the next hill to make sure the beach was safe to take off from. The last thing we wanted was to walk into another Fire Nation camp.
"Hey, so there's something I've been meaning to ask you" Katara spoke.
"What's up?" I asked as we secured our things into the saddle.
"Well…who else knows that you're a waterbender?" she asked delicately, sliding down Appa's tail.
I should've known she'd ask eventually. "Besides you guys? Just my mom" I told her truthfully.
Katara raised her eyebrows, clearly surprised by this. As far as the rest of our tribe knew, Katara was the only waterbender in the South Pole. End of story.
"Really? Not even your sister?" she asked incredulously as we headed up the hill towards Aang and Sokka; Appa trudging behind us.
I laughed. "Trust me, Katara, if Sienna knew I was a waterbender, you would've found out a long time ago. Blabbermouth that she is"
"Well, what about Avani?" Katara asked. I stopped walking and Katara paused a few feet ahead of me and gave me a sympathetic look. "I mean, I know how close you were with her" she added kindheartedly.
I chuckled dryly. "I can't begin to tell you how many times she'd take the fall for me when I did something the elders didn't like" I sighed, looking down at Avani's bracelet on my wrist. "But no, she didn't know either"
For as long as I could remember, I always felt like an outsider in my own tribe; for reasons I would learn later. Because of it, I was incredibly shy when I was young and didn't play with the other kids. Didn't help that my mother was also overprotective too and thought it was better if I stayed in the hut with her. Avani was older than me, but I remember she would beg my mother to have me come out and play and she was so persistent about it. Eventually my mother gave in and eventually her overprotective nature eased as well.
Not long after, my mother remarried and later had my sister.
I reminisced, sighing deeply.
"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up" Katara said quickly, taking my sigh as sadness.
"You have nothing to be sorry for" I assured, patting her shoulder and she smiled thoughtfully.
I inhaled deeply, smelling the ocean. We reached the top of the hill to see Sokka looking around in the trees and Aang rustling through some bushes. Katara and I shared a confused look as we came down.
"What're you guys doing?" I asked.
"Did someone lose something?" Katara inquired curiously
"No, we found something" Aang replied from the bushes.
I walked over to Sokka who was searching in the trees. "And what exactly did you find?" I asked them.
"This" Sokka told me seriously, holding a whale's tooth scimitar out to me. I examined the familiar weapon, my eyes widening and my mouth fell open as I looked back at him.
"No…" I whispered in disbelief, "You don't think…"
He gave me a knowing look and nodded. "Try to see if there's anything else around" he said, turning back into the trees.
I sprinted further downhill with the weapon still in hand and heard a soft snap under my heel. I looked down and pushed aside the leaves with my foot, picking up a small arrowhead from the ground. It was charred.
"Sokka, I think you should come look at this" I called.
He didn't hesitate and was crouched next to me in half a second, Aang and Katara following behind him. I handed him the piece of arrow before cleaning the soot off my hand. Sokka rubbed the arrowhead between his fingers before looking at the soot.
"Burned" he replied, more to himself. Sokka stood up and walked towards a tree, brushing his hand against the trunk before looking down at the scorched grass next to it. "There was a battle. Water Tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders. The firebenders fought back…but the warriors drove them down this hill" he explained and sprinted down to the bottom of the hill.
I ran after him as he jumped over the rocks towards the beach. Sokka was always better at reading stuff like this than I was, he could give intricate details about a fight between tigerseals back at home. Aang and Katara followed behind me as Sokka came to a halt, his shoulders slumped and he hung his head.
"So then what happened?" Aang asked eagerly.
"I don't know. The trail ends here" he replied sorrowfully.
I looked around the wide beach as the ocean crashed against the shore. "That can't be it" I said anxiously, longing to see anyone from our tribe.
My gaze fell on Sokka's back again and I stopped, seeing his discouraged figure. I knew he was hoping to see his dad as much as I was hoping to find my stepdad.
I squeezed his shoulder. "Hey, maybe we missed something" I reassured, and he squeezed my hand in a friendly way.
"Wait, look!" Katara shouted, pointing to our right.
Sokka and I both turned our heads at the same time to see what she was pointing to. "It's one of our boats!" Sokka yelled excitedly.
The three of us sprinted towards the familiar ship, Sokka running his hand along the front of it. We could've jumped up and down from excitement.
"Is this dad's boat?" Katara asked hopefully
"No, but it's from his fleet. Dad was here" he replied confidently, a wide smile breaking across his face.
I walked around it, running my hand along the side. My stepdad had a boat like this one. Could this be his? I shouldn't get my hopes up, but it bloomed rapidly in my chest against my will.
"What do you want to do?" I asked suddenly.
Sokka blinked almost as if he'd broken out of a trance. "Huh?"
Katara and I glanced at him unsurely, all of us at a loss of words. I don't think any of us wanted to leave now, not when our fathers could be so close. We were all thinking the same thing. The possibility of seeing them after two long years…
"What do you want to do?" I repeated, the words weighing a little heavier this time.
Sokka glanced back at the ship, staring at it for a long time. "I…I don't think it'd hurt to stay an extra day" he reasoned, although it sounded more like he was asking permission.
Katara and I looked at each other but didn't say anything. I think we all silently agreed.
Katara turned to the young airbender. "Would that be alright, Aang?" she asked expectantly.
He glanced over at each of our faces before shrugging his shoulders. "Sure, I don't mind" he said.
It was settled that we'd set up camp by the boat, however, we agreed that we didn't need to set up everything. Instead we each pulled our sleeping bags out of the saddle and made a campfire. I kept stealing quick glimpses at the ship, I could've contemplated for hours whether this was his boat or not. Two long years since I last saw my stepdad. The thought of seeing him excited me, I missed him so much I felt sick. I wonder if he thought of me too.
The sun had set faster than we realized. Sokka offered to take the first watch while the rest of us slept. Aang was quick to fall asleep, snuggled up on Appa's leg and his face buried in the bison's fur. I could hear Katara's light breathing from where she was rolled up in her sleeping bag. I couldn't fall asleep though, there were too many thoughts running through my head.
When I rolled over I saw Sokka staring into the campfire, absentmindedly poking at the firewood. Guess I wasn't the only one with thoughts running through my head.
He looked so melancholy; nothing like the hungry, sarcastic weirdo I knew and loved. It was hard to see him like this. Poor guy looked like he needed to talk or at least needed a hug.
Sighing deeply, I slipped out of my sleeping bag and tiptoed over to him, so as not to wake Katara or Aang. He looked up as I moved into his peripheral view, blinking as if he'd just been brought back down to earth.
"Hey," I said softly,
"Can't sleep?" he asked, scooting over as I sat down next him. He sounded so distant.
"Not really," I admitted, rubbing my hands in front of the fire, trying to get warm. I glimpsed at him out of the corner of my eye.
Sokka could be as tough as nails if he wanted to be, but his distant look was starting to worry me. If that's what I looked like when Katara told me I was being distant, then I would've been more careful about it.
I playfully nudged his leg with my elbow. "What're you thinking about?" I asked considerately, watching as he moved the stick around in the fire.
"Nothing" he deadpanned.
I should've expected that, he wasn't one to talk about his feelings. Then again, neither was I.
Hugging my knees to my chest, I didn't look away. "You're thinking about Chief Hakoda, aren't you?" I stated.
He stopped poking around the firewood and then took a long, deep sigh. I don't think I needed more confirmation than that.
"I can't believe that it's been two years, it feels longer than that. And then seeing one of our boats…" he stole a glimpse at the boat over his shoulder. "I can't help but think that…what if he's not…"
My eyes widened, stunned at what he was getting at. "Hey" I said sharply, putting my hand over his. "Don't talk like that. Your dad's the bravest and smartest man I've ever seen"
He didn't say anything, but I meant what I said. Chief Hakoda was a great leader and not the kind of man you want to be up against in a fight. I remembered all the training the men of our tribe did right before they went off to war, specifically Chief Hakoda. Let's just say, he could be scary when he wanted to be.
I squeezed his shoulder and smiled as he looked over at me. "Have a little more faith in him. I'm sure he's okay" I assured.
The edge of his mouth twitched into a smile. "You're right" he said, shaking his head. "Sorry, I was being stupid"
"Well, that's not surprising" I chuckled sarcastically, to which he glared at me. A teasing grin broke on my face as I buried my feet in the cool sand, staring into the fire. "I know how you feel. But if you say something stupid like that again, I'm gonna have to hit you"
"Fair enough" he muttered, seeming like his old self again.
"Besides…" I glanced over at Aang, "Right now our mission is to get Aang to the North Pole"
"Right, you should get some sleep. We'll leave in the morning" he said
I glanced at him. "You should too. I can take the next watch if you want" I offered.
"I'll be fine. I'll let you know when I—"
However, he was cut off by the sound of rustling bushes. Sokka was on his feet in an instant with his boomerang in hand. He whipped his head around then stared back at me with wide eyes as if to say Did you hear that?
I nodded and jumped to my feet in a fighting stance, waiting for someone to lunge at us.
"Who's there?" Sokka called out.
There was a dark silhouette of someone stepping onto the beach and they were walking straight towards us. As they approached closer, I slid my knife into my hand just in case when…
"Sokka?"
It was like I'd lost the feeling in my legs. That voice. No, it couldn't be.
But it was. I didn't need to see the familiar water tribe clothes or his long, black hair to know it was him.
"Bato?" Sokka exclaimed in disbelief.
My arms fell to my side and my eyes widened in shock. It was him.
"Who the what now?" Aang mumbled sleepily as he sat up. Appa's low groan indicated that he was awake now too.
"Bato!" Katara yelled joyfully.
"Sokka! Katara! It is so good to see you two. Oh, you've grown so much" he exclaimed as they threw their arms around him in a hug; but I was too shocked to even move until his eyes landed on me. His expression changed from confusion to surprise. "Talia? Is that you?" he asked in disbelief.
Sokka and Katara smiled at me from over their shoulders and stepped away. Somehow, I could feel my legs again, an emotional smile broke across my face as I sprinted towards him. Every reflex in my body was telling me to jump into his arms…until I saw the bandages wrapped around his body.
I came to a halt in front of him, my smile falling in horror. Bato didn't seem to notice though as he pulled me into a tight hug, when I buried my face in his chest, he winced in pain. When I pulled away, I could see the red burns sticking out around his neck.
"Bato, you…?"
He patted my shoulder. "It's not as bad as it looks" he reassured with a smile, but I didn't believe him.
"Hi, I'm Aang" I heard the young airbender say behind me.
"Where's dad?" Sokka questioned eagerly
"Is he here?" Katara added hopefully
He sighed. "No, he and the other warriors should be in the eastern Earth Kingdom by now" he replied sadly
I glanced over at Sokka to see his crestfallen face and I squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. At least we knew he was okay and alive. A strong beach breeze made us all shiver.
"Come, this is no place for a reunion. Let's get inside" Bato gestured us to follow him.
Katara and Sokka were quick to walk alongside him, but I just couldn't take my eyes off his bandages. Appa groaned lowly and trudged sleepily behind us.
"Talia, who is that?" Aang asked softly, appearing by my side.
"He's one of the warriors that left our tribe to help the Earth Kingdom. And he's my stepdad" I explained.
Aang raised his eyebrows. "Your stepdad?" he repeated in surprise, to which I nodded. "Then, why do you look so sad?"
"He looks like he got hurt pretty bad" I sighed as we began to walk through a dirt trail.
Aang glanced at Bato's back then back to me. "He looks like he's getting better, must've given the firebenders a good fight" he pointed out.
I raised an eyebrow and looked over to see him give me a meek smile, clearly trying to make me feel better. Chuckling, I threw my arm around his shoulders and gave him an appreciative hug. But still, with injuries like that he has no choice but to go back home. Sisi's going to be so happy to see him.
"So what're you doing here?" Sokka asked eagerly as the trail led us to an abbey.
I smelled something sweet as we walked inside, the smell was getting stronger the further we crossed the courtyard.
"After I was wounded, your father carried me to this abbey. The sisters have cared for me since" Bato explained, approaching three women in long, white gowns. "Superior, these are Hakoda's children. My stepdaughter is here as well" he added, looking over his shoulder and beckoned me to come forward and say hello.
I jogged up next to Sokka and bowed respectfully to the woman. "Thank you for taking care of him" I murmured gratefully as she bowed back.
"They've been traveling with the Avatar; I found them by my boat" Bato told them.
A big smile broke across the woman's face as she gazed over at Aang. "Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence, welcome to our abbey" she welcomed warmly.
"Thank you, it's truly an honor to be here" Aang replied, bowing back respectfully. "If there's anything—"
"What smells so good, Bato?" Sokka sniffed.
I smelled it too. It was sweet, like roses or cherry blossoms.
"The sisters craft ointments and perfumes" Bato explained.
"Perfume? Maybe we could dump some on Appa...because...he stinks so much. Am I right?" Sokka joked terribly, sticking his arms out.
I smacked my forehead and groaned. Judging by the blank expressions on Bato and Katara's face and the stone silence around us, no one thought it was humorous.
"You have your father's wit" Bato stated bluntly and I snickered as he led us to where he was staying.
"For the last time, you're not funny" I muttered to Sokka, folding my arms over my chest.
He dropped his arms and frowned at me. "You know what, Talia, one of these days I will get you to laugh at my jokes" he declared, pointing a finger in my face.
"Not gonna happen" I promised, sticking my tongue out at him.
Appa made himself comfortable next to Bato's hut before laying down to rest again. Bato slid open the door and the four of us were illuminated by the light from inside the room. A big, stupid smile broke across our faces; it was almost like we were back at the village.
"Bato, it looks like home!" Katara squealed in delight as we ran inside.
I crouched down on my knees and ran my hand over one of the pelts, tracing my fingers along the striped patterns. This place looked exactly like home, just without the snow and the celestial lights. The pelts were spread across the floor and hanging on the walls. The tent was set up at the other side of the room. Two spears were hanging on the wall to my right. It was like we were home, all that was missing was snow and the celestial lights. In the middle of the room, a pot was boiling over a fire.
"Everything's here, even the pelts" Sokka exclaimed.
"Yeah, nothing's cozier than dead animal skins…" Aang muttered as he awkwardly stepped inside.
"Oh come on, it's not that bad" I reasoned, seating myself in front of the boiling pot, watching as Momo curiously inspected the skunk-bear pelt I was sitting on, only to scurry frightfully back up Aang's shoulder. I giggled as Katara sat down next to me and I scooted over to make room for Aang.
Katara removed the lid from the pot. The familiar, appetizing smell filled our noses. "No way! Stewed sea prunes?" she gasped.
"Help yourself" Bato encouraged as he sat down next to his tent.
"Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things" Sokka chuckled as his sister poured out a bowl for each of us. Aang took one sniff of the dish and grimaced, putting it aside.
I brought a spoonful to my mouth, enjoying the flavor spread across my tongue and was reminded so much of home, the only thing that made warm stew taste better was when there was an arctic breeze blowing in your face.
"Bato, is it true that you and dad lassoed an arctic hippo?" Katara asked, intrigued.
"It was your father's idea, he just dragged me along. Well, the hippo did the dragging" he admitted with a laugh.
I shook my head, hiding my grin as I brought another spoonful of prunes to my mouth. He was always getting into unnecessary trouble. My mother always said he still acted like a stupid young man in his twenties.
"Hey, I ride animals too!" Aang put in excitedly, "One time there was this giant eel and—"
"So, who was it that came up with the big blubber fiasco?" Sokka interjected.
I raised an eyebrow. Seriously? I thought.
"You knew about that?" Bato chuckled.
"Everyone does!" Katara stated matter-of-factly.
"What's that story?" Aang asked curiously.
"It's a long one, Aang. Some other time" Sokka dismissed, waving his hand.
I looked over at Aang who hung his head dejectedly. I moved closer next to him and whispered, "I'll tell you about it later"
"You and dad had so many hilarious adventures" Katara gushed.
"Not all of which were hilarious at the time, but everything's funny with hindsight" he chuckled.
I finished up the last of my stew. "Mom always said you were reckless and getting into trouble so you can get her attention" I pointed out and Bato sheepishly rubbed his neck. I guess there was some truth to it after all. "I think Aang was in the middle of saying something" I added, when we looked over, he was grabbing a headpiece off the wall.
"Er, Aang, please put that down. It's ceremonial and very fragile" Bato warned.
Aang gave an apologetic look and put it back on the wall, sitting down at the far end of the wall, Momo scurrying into his lap. Was he sleepy?
"Was it you or dad that put an octopus on your head and convinced Gran-Gran you were a water spirit?" Sokka asked.
"Your dad wore the octopus, but I did the spooky voice" he told us, lowering his voice as if he was telling a ghost story.
I shook my head with a laugh. "You know, we had a run-in with an actual spirit" I told him, scooping myself a second helping of stewed prunes.
Bato raised his eyebrows. "You don't say?"
I nodded. "It was a forest spirit and it was kidnapping people every night from this one village. Aang was a huge help" I added, looking over my shoulder at Aang but he was slumped against the wall with his hands folded over his stomach. He must've fallen asleep.
"Goodness, what've you children been up to?"
From there, Katara, Sokka, and I went into a detailed retelling of everything that's happened since we left the South Pole. When Sokka told him how he and I were abducted into the spirit world, Bato was visibly shocked. When he asked what we saw, I left out everything about Kuzon and told him that I was just running through a bizarre forest. I wasn't even sure how I'd bring that up to him.
"Since then we've been traveling" Katara continued, "Talia, Aang and I have really been practicing—"
"Cooking!" I interrupted, pinching her arm and she looked at me ruefully. "I've really gotten better at it" I added, plastering a fake smile on my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Katara's eyes widen.
Bato didn't seem to notice anything suspicious and chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you children are all taking care of each other" he told us, putting aside his dish. "There's something I should tell you two" he said to Katara and Sokka, "I'm expecting a message from your father"
"Really?" Katara gasped.
"When?!" Sokka urged excitedly.
"Any day now" Bato replied. "Your father said he'd send a message when they found the rendezvous point. If you wait here until the message arrives, you can come with me and see your father again"
"It's been over two years since we've seen dad. That would be so incredible! Katara!" he declared joyously, beaming expectantly at his sister. I thought his face would split in two.
"I do really miss him. It would be great to see dad" she admitted wistfully.
I looked back and forth between the two of them. I understood that they really missed their dad, but weren't they forgetting about something?
"It's been far too long hasn't it? I'm not sure when word will arrive but when it does, we'll take my boat and go together" he promised.
I looked back and forth between them again. Were they seriously forgetting? "Ahem" I coughed loudly.
Katara and Sokka stared at me in confusion and I gave them a look. Sokka was the first to realize, his shoulders slumped slightly.
"It would be great, but we can't. We have to take Aang to the North Pole first" Sokka told him, glancing at his sister.
She nodded. "Even if we had time to wait for the message, who knows how far we'd have to travel? We don't have time for a long detour" Katara replied sadly.
"I'm sure your father would understand and be proud that his children are helping the Avatar" Bato smiled. "Speaking of…" he turned to me, "I hope you didn't leave Sienna all alone"
"Of course not" I stated stubbornly, "I asked Kana to take care of her while I was gone. Sisi understood why I had to go"
"How is she?" Bato asked.
"She'll be a lot better once you get back—"
Then something struck me like a ton of bricks. Wait a second, I thought. He said rendezvous point, didn't he? When I looked back up at Bato, my eyes scanned over his bandages then up to his confused face, my heart dropping in my stomach.
"Bato, you're…you're not going back on the front lines, are you?" I stuttered.
His face pulled in confusion as to why I would ask such an obvious question. One look at his face and I already knew his answer. I immediately jumped to my feet, spilling the dish of stewed sea prunes all over the pelt. Katara and Sokka stared at me, stunned. My hands clenched and unclenched with a mixture of horror and anger. I inhaled shakily, trying to calm down.
"Can we talk? Alone" I asked calmly.
Katara and Sokka cast worried glances between me and Bato. He gave them a nod and they stood up and slowly walked out the hut, throwing wary looks over their shoulder as they went. When they walked out, I made sure the door was slid shut, even though they were probably eavesdropping on the other side anyway. I whirled around back to Bato who was watching me questioningly.
"You're not serious" I stated, folding my arms over my chest. "You're joking. Tui and La, please tell me you're joking!" I demanded in disbelief.
"I'm not" he answered simply, frowning in confusion. "What's gotten into you?"
"What's gotten into me?" I repeated coldly, pointing at his bandages. "Look at what they did to you! And you're still going back to fight them?"
"My wounds have healed significantly. Hakoda and the others need my help" he argued, trying to be patient, which only irritated me.
"There's plenty of them! You're hurt, you have to go back home!" I yelled indignantly, balling my hands into fists.
He exhaled deeply. "Talia, keep your voice down. You know I'm can't do that, not now. We swore to help the Earth Kingdom and see the end of this war, I have a duty—"
"You're going to get yourself killed!" I interjected angrily, feeling hot tears form in my eyes. "You may have gotten away alive this time, but what if next time it's not just injuries?!" I shouted hysterically.
A soft yet firm hand came down on my shoulder. "Calm down, Talia…" Katara implored softly.
I spun my head around to see that they've walked back into the room, concern etched across their faces.
Sokka stepped forward to put a hand on my shoulder too. "Yeah, come on, you're scaring Appa outside—"
"I don't care!" I snapped, the tears clinging desperately to the corner of my eyes as I shoved their hands away and whipped back around to Bato. I could feel a lump forming in my throat.
"Talia, come on, let's not do this" Katara pleaded, "We haven't seen Bato in two years, let's not fight and just enjoy a nice dinner" she reasoned and sat down on the pelt next to Bato and her brother followed.
She gazed at me imploringly and patted the space next to her. Were they not on my side? Couldn't they see that Bato was severely hurt and that he shouldn't be fighting anymore?
"The moment I boarded that ship to the Earth Kingdom, I had a duty to see this war through to the end. You know this" Bato told me.
My vision began to swim. I looked back at Bato, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw mine brimming with tears.
"What about us? What about Sisi?" I said, my voice cracking. He didn't answer my question and or maybe I just didn't want to hear it. I scoffed sadly and turned on my heel towards the door. "You have a duty to us too, Bato. Think about that. Please…" I added quietly, brushing past a confused Aang as he stepped inside the hut.
I wrapped my arms around myself as I stepped out in the night air, my body exhausted from the yelling. I slumped down against the wall and cried in my hands, tears slipping over my palms. How could he be so selfish? Didn't he know I worried about him? That Sienna worried about him?
Why was he so intent on dying? Didn't he care about what he was putting us through? Didn't he care how we felt? How I felt?
I bit down on my tongue, trying to stifle my sobs. I didn't want any of the perfume-makers to hear me and I didn't want to be comforted. Right now, I just wanted to be alone.
Something big nudged against me, the cold breeze blew against my sticky face as I raised my head. I rubbed my eyes and looked up to see Appa's snout, his head was tilted curiously, and he ran his tongue the length of my face.
I couldn't help but smile weakly as I rubbed the tear streaks and bison saliva from my face. "Okay, okay, I'll stop" I promised hoarsely, swiping away the last tears from my eyes and petted his snout. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you" I said quietly.
Appa purred lowly in response. He stretched out his front legs and looked at me expectantly. My mouth stretched into a small grin and I moved to curl up on his leg, his soft fur tickling my cheek. It wasn't long before I heard the bison's rumbling snore and I found myself closing my eyes too with restless thoughts running through my head.
Bato would change his mind, he had to…
End of Chapter 20.
Okay, so long story short, I was halfway done with this chapter when it was deleted from my computer and I ended up having to rewrite it. This was originally supposed to be one long chapter, but after having to rewrite it from the beginning, I decided it would take too long so I'm splitting it in two.
The scene between Talia and Sokka was actually supposed to be a much more emotional heart-to-heart, but after rereading it, I realized it didn't flow well with the rest of the chapter.
Anyone who's read the original chapter probably noticed it's really different than what I originally had and that's because I wasn't satisfied with how it turned out.