Chapter 3: A Long, Long Way
To both Katara and Zuko's relief, Iroh had recovered from Azula's attack quickly. It helped to have a waterbender's help, he had said. The three of them moved quickly after that, leaving the town where they had fought. It was much like before Zuko had left, though there was a renewed sense of urgency. Already, they had faced Azula once. It would be best to reach the shelter of Ba Sing Se before she could track them down again.
Of course, Katara just hoped that Aang and Sokka would be able to do so as well. Trouble always managed to find Aang, if he didn't seek it out himself. But she believed in him, and in Sokka. Between them and their new friend, Toph, Katara had faith that they would reach Ba Sing Se safely.
She frowned as Iroh stopped the ostrich-horse. "We can make camp here," he said. He looked onwards. "The land becomes more barren from here. We are approaching the threshold of the Si Wong Desert. We had best get our rest, and our nourishment now."
Zuko crossed his arms. "Azula is still out there. Along with who knows who else." But he got down from the ostrich-horse. Katara knew he was still concerned about his uncle, even if Iroh seemed to have healed.
"I agree," Katara told him, coming up beside him. "But Iroh is right—we need to stop to have dinner. To prepare to keep going forward tomorrow. To reach safety." She smiled "Besides, you and I have training. We should eat first." For the past few days, the tow of them had been practicing their bending together.
Zuko frowned for a moment before letting out a breath. "You're right." He started helping them make camp, nodding as a smiling Iroh thanked him. "I just don't like all of this running and hiding," he quietly told Katara as he helped her prepare a fire.
"I know the feeling," she said, frowning as she saw him look away. She looked at the fire he had created. It was a little, contained thing. She glanced at Zuko, whose eyes were transfixed on the flames. Melancholy Zuko, again. "It won't be forever, you know."
He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "I just don't know how this will end. Am I going to spend the rest of my life on the run from my own nation?" He frowned. "If we're captured, what is my father planning to do with us?"
"I don't know, and I'm never going to know," Katara told him firmly. "You and your uncle are never going to be captured. I promise."
Zuko snorted. "That's not a very good promise to make. You can't know what's going to happen." But his mood seemed a bit lightened. A few moments later, Iroh returned with what he had managed to find to eat; a few edible plants (which Katara confirmed to be edible). They cooked it with a pouch of rice. They would need to get more supplies, Katara noted. Katara did most of the cooking, occasionally speaking to Zuko to show him what she was doing. He was mostly silent, but he paid attention. Iroh sat near them, singing a love song.
At sunset, Zuko and Katara moved through waterbending forms. The sun was still present around the horizon, bathing the sky in an orange-red glow, but it had been joined by the moon, a pale silver orb. It grew brighter as the sun went down, but for the moment, both of them watched the young benders practice one another's' bending forms.
They practiced the movements, first. They were very different from their respective elements. Katara ran Zuko through some basic waterbending forms, guiding him through the fluid motions. He had to adjust his form a few times as he practiced, trying to feel the difference in the movement of his chi. Then, he showed some basic firebending forms to Katara, who echoed his movements. It was very different from waterbending. It was more aggressive, direct. There was also the fact the that firebenders usually created their own fire, channeling it either through their hands or feet.
Zuko displayed a very basic blast of fire. He turned to her, observing as she copied his movements. "I think you have it down." He scratched his head slightly. "How do you translate that to water, though?"
Katara frowned for a moment, then she grinned. "Well there's water in the air, right?" She took a deep breath, trying to feel the water around her. She took her stance, and made the punching motion that Zuko had shown her, pushing the water in the air together and forward. It was only a small splash, but she could see the water in the air liquifying and blasting outwards. She dropped her stance. It wasn't exactly what she had hoped for.
"I think you did it right," Zuko told her. She looked at him. He held his chin for a moment as he thought. He nodded. "This is a desert. There's just not a lot of water in the air. But I think you're onto something. We'll just have to keep experimenting." She grinned. She looked around, and seeing a cactus, she moved towards it, so that she was beside it. Zuko frowned. "What are you doing?"
"Experimenting," she told him. She resumed her stance, trying to feel the water in the plants as she had a few days previously. She could move plants—but could she draw the water from them? It was time to find out. She punched out again, as Zuko had done, this time pulling water from the plant. Do her delight, it worked; the cactus shriveled as all of the water was drawn out. It flew in a hard blast against the nearby rocks. "I did it!"
"That was…that was great," Zuko told her, staring at her. He shook his head. "I guess you don't have to worry about not having water."
She grinned. "Now it's your turn," she told him. "I've firebent water, now you try waterbending fire. How about a water whip?"
He took his stance, trying to echo what she had shown him. She saw him frown, probably figuring out how to translate the waterbending form to firebending. Finally, there was a light in his eye, and he deviated from the form slightly as he conjured fire in his hands. Quickly, he assumed a stance mostly alike the beginning of the water whip, sustain the fire all the while. Quickly, he went through the motions of the water whip, the flame following his movement. It was a success, as he sent out a small, mostly controlled, stream of fire to whack against the stone. Katara grinned.
"You did it!"
Zuko just stared for a moment before he smiled. "I did, didn't I?" He looked at the scorch marks. "It wasn't easy. Fire isn't usually held in such a molded form."
"Water isn't usually just let loose," Katara told him, coming to stand next to him. She smiled. "We're working with our natural opposites. I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that we have to do modify the forms slightly. But still…the fact that we actually managed. That's just crazy."
Zuko folded his arms. "We'll have to practice more. With actual fire and water."
Katara nodded, but before she could say anything else, she heard a noise from behind. The ostrich-horse was alarmed by something; Katara thought she heard something else coming. Frowning she assumed a waterbending stance, Zuko assuming his own stance by her side.
"What now?" Iroh asked, annoyance at their newest problem seeping into his voice. Within moments, they were surrounded as Fire Nation men came out from the sides of the road. Katara frowned at them; she had never seen these men before, or any like them. Each had a distinct uniform. Great, she thought. More people after Zuko and Iroh. She would have fought, as would have Zuko, but Iroh came between them, momentarily placing a hand on each teenagers' shoulder, before speaking to the men surrounding them. "Colonel Mongke! What a pleasant surprise!" This wasn't exactly what Katara would call pleasant. She could only assume that Iroh had some sort of a plan.
"If you're surprised we're here, then the Dragon of the West has lost a few steps," one of the men, whom Katara could only assume was Colonel Mongke, said. The men all had their weapons ready to attack them.
"You know these guys?" Zuko asked his uncle.
"Sure," Iroh answered. "Colonel Mongke and the Rough Rhinos are legendary. Each one is a different kind of weapon specialist. They are also a very capable singing group."
"I don't think they're here to sing for us," Katara said, frowning as she held herself back from fighting. Any moment now, someone would attack.
"Your waterbender friend is correct," Mongke said, his fists raised. Firebender, then. "We're here to apprehend fugitives."
Iroh still wasn't bothered. "Would you like some tea first? I'd love some. How about you, Kahchi? I make you as a jasmine man. Am I right?" Katara took a deep breath as Iroh talked; there wasn't much water around, but there were a few plants.
"Enough stalling!" Mongke snapped. "Round 'em up!" And the fight began.
It didn't last long; despite being outnumbered, between Iroh, Zuko, and Katara, they easily overmatched the rhino-riding enemies. She was vaguely aware of Iroh and Zuko's fight, while she pulled the water from a few nearby plants to swipe one of the riders off of his rhino. His face had been stunned as he saw her draw water from the plants, but before long he was on the ground, and Katara had him pinned to the ground with a few icicles. She turned just in time to see Zuko and Iroh engaged with Mongke; she hit him with a water whip just as Zuko blasted him off of his rhino.
Iroh had gotten back onto the ostrich-horse, Zuko jumping on after him. They ran by her, Zuko grabbing her up as the ostrich horse ran. It wouldn't be able to carry the three of them for long, but at least the creature seemed to be able to bear their weight at the moment. Hopefully, it would be able to get them just far enough away from the Rough Rhinos. Most of their supplies were left behind.
"It's nice to see old friends," Iroh told them cheerfully, as they avoided a grenade one of the Rough Rhinos had thrown at them.
"Those were friends?" she asked incredulously.
"Too bad you don't have any old friends that don't want to attack you," Zuko said. She couldn't see his face, but she could swear she heard his scowl.
"Hmmm…Old friends that don't want to attack me…" Iroh murmured. Katara frowned, hoping he had an idea. Otherwise, she didn't know how they could keep fending off these attacks along the way to Ba Sing Se.
This was bad.
That was just about Sokka's only thought as he stared at the endless sand dunes, as though his stare and their desperation would somehow conjure Appa back from wherever he had been taken. But it was hopeless; Appa was nowhere to be seen. They were stuck in the Si Wong Deseret. How could everything go so wrong, so fast? Just minutes before, Sokka had been thrilled, they had been victorious. He felt the maps and scrolls he had taken as though they were a stone dragging him down. They provided them with the best chance they had at defeating the Fire Nation.
And they may die before they could even tell anyone.
Sokka closed his eyes as he heard Aang yelling at Toph. Of course, this would hit Aang hard. Appa was the last thing he had left from his old life, aside from Bumi, who was equally unavailable. Sokka almost wasn't sure if he was upset that Katara wasn't there to help them through this mess, or if he was, for once, happy that she was with Zuko. At least she wasn't lost out in the desert with them. He opened his eyes, letting out a frustrated breath. She would be waiting for them in Ba Sing Se. He didn't know how they were going to get there now, but he did not intend to let her down. He turned around, looking at his younger friends, who were arguing, and Rahen and Li Han. Li Han was still unconscious, but it appeared to be only a minor hit to the head.
He groaned as he heard Aang shout, "You just didn't care! You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone!"
Sokka shook his head as he saw Toph's face. She rarely showed hurt, but Sokka could tell that Aang's anger was starting to upset her. "Aang," he said as he reached their side. "You have to know that Toph is the only reason we were able to get out of the library. She had to choose between saving us and saving Appa. We can find Appa, but first we have to get out of this mess. Rahen," he called. The man looked up from his brother's side. "Can you help us out of this desert?" The man had survived in the desert before, after all. Sokka had to hope that that meant he could help them through it now.
Rahen hesitated before giving a sharp nod. "I can get us help."
But Aang was not satisfied. "That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves! You don't care whether Appa is okay or not!" It was just grief, Sokka knew. But he folded his arms as he stared down his younger friend.
"How exactly are we going to get Appa back if we're dead? You know there's only so long we can last out here." Sokka pointed at Rahen. "Look, if we can just get out of this desert first, we can come back later."
Aang clenched a fist. "No! I'm going after Appa." Before anyone could say anything else, Aang had taken out his glider and flown away. Sokka let out a breath, smacking his own forehead.
"I'm sorry," he heard Toph say, and he turned around. For once, the earthbender actually looked small, young. "I couldn't let the library sink with all of you still inside. I would've saved Appa, too, if I could have."
"I know," Sokka told her. "Aang does, too. It's just, Appa is one of the last things he has from his old life. He'll come around." He looked over to the pair of brothers; Li Han was finally awakening. Sokka frowned. Not the best situation to wake up to. He walked over to them as Rahen helped a perplexed Li Han sit up.
"Are you okay?" he asked Li Han.
"My head hurts," Li Han said, scowling. Then his eyes widened. "Your sky bison!" He looked around frantically.
"Little late," Sokka said. "The sandbenders already made off with him. We're stuck out here—we have to make it out on foot."
"The sandbenders aren't all bad," Rahen told him, thick eyebrown drawn down as he helped his brother stand. Li Han appeared to be steady on his feet; hopefully he would be able to walk with them without any assistance.
"Well, no offense, but they may've just killed us all," Sokka snapped. "So if you don't mind, don't tell me not to me mad at them." He took a few calming breaths. He walked over to Toph, asking her to follow the sound of their voices. Then, he looked back to Rahen. "You said you can get us help? Well, lead the way."
Rahen raised an eyebrow at Sokka, before taking a look at the too-clear sky. "It's easier to navigate at night," he told them. But he looked at where the tower had been, then around. "We came from this direction…I think we should go in this direction." He pointed to a different way than they had come.
Sokka paused. "You're sure about this?" The last thing they needed was to get even more lost than they already were.
"You wanted my help, didn't you? Well, this is it." Without waiting for anyone to respond, Rahen began walking.
Sokka glanced at Li Han, who gave him a slight shrug, before he went to follow his brother. Sokka shook his head as Momo landed on his shoulder. He turned to Toph, taking her hand. "Come on."
He could only hope that Rahen knew where he was taking them.
After fleeing the Rough Rhinos, Iroh, Zuko, and Katara had stayed at a steady pace on the ostrich-horse. The animal had tired out after a bit, faster than it would have if it had only had one or two of them on it. They had departed from the main road, though they were still close enough that Iroh could easily keep track of where they were going. They stopped, to allow the animal to catch its breath. Zuko watched Katara frown as she looked at her waterskin. He looked around; they must have been within the bounds of the Si Wong Desert. Even though they were not surrounded by sand dune, Zuko could see and feel the dryness of the land they were in. He hoped that his uncle knew where he was taking them. He looked over at Uncle Iroh, to see him looking intently over their map. After a few minutes, he rolled it back up, offering them both a smile.
"Good news," he told them. "I know where we are going next. And it is not far—we can be there within an hour."
"That's great news!" Katara said, smiling.
But Zuko's arms were crossed. "We're in the desert," he said. "What could possibly be out here for us?" Things rarely worked out in their favor. He didn't know what his uncle hoped to find, but he had a hard time believing that there could be anything useful in the Si Wong Desert.
"The Misty Palms Oasis," Uncle Iroh answered. Zuko blinked, trying to think of whether the name was at all familiar.
"Isn't that some dumb tourist trap?" Though, why there would be tourists out here, Zuko couldn't imagine.
Katara's smile fell a bit as she looked back to Iroh. "I'll bite. What's there that can be useful. Besides getting some news supplies…if we can afford any now." They had lost most of their money at their camp, as well.
Uncle Iroh smiled conspiratorially. "I seem to recall my nephew saying that it was too bad that I don't have any old friends who don't want to attack me. Well, I may be able to find one such friend here."
Zuko blinked. "You have…a friend in a tourist trap, in a desert, in the Earth Kingdom?" His voice was weak with his incredulity.
"Perhaps," Iroh said. "One only needs to know where to look." With that, he began walking, following the map, leaving the young benders to get onto the ostrich horse.
As they got onto the ostrich horse, Zuko quietly asked Katara, "Do you have any idea what he's talking about?"
But she just shrugged. "I have no clue."
Sokka wiped a large glob of sweat from his forehead as they followed Rahen to who-knows-where. Toph's hand was still in his. He doubted she liked this, showcased by her occasional grumble. But she could barely see in the sand, and he wasn't going to get separated from anyone else out here. He wondered if she allowed it for her comfort or his own.
Rahen led them onwards, but he gave little indication where they were going. Were they heading out of the desert? Or even deeper into it? Not for the first time, he questioned his own decision to ask the man for help. Aang had yet to return. Sokka swallowed; he reassured himself that Aang was capable. He may have wandered off to look for Appa, but he would be back. He'd be fine. He just had to hope that everyone was still okay when Aang returned.
"Where are you taking us?" He had to ask.
Rahen answered without even looking back. "I have a friend out here. They can help us get out of the desert." Helpful, Sokka thought. And not vague at all.
Li Han didn't seem impressed with the answer, either. "A friend? Since when have you had a friend out here?" Rahen didn't answer. "We're only in this mess because I was worried about you. Because for a year now you've never come home, or written me any letters. Now you say you had some friend helping you?"
"I never asked you to come out here," Rahen snapped.
Sokka let go of Toph, throwing his hand in the air before Li Han could start arguing. "Can we all please just get along until after we're out of this stupid desert? We can all bite each other's head off then!" How were they going to get out of the desert when people couldn't stop find new things to fight over?
"Hey?" Toph spoke, and Sokka couldn't help but note the subdued exhaustion in her voice. "Can I have some water?"
Li Han walked over, handing her a waterskin. "Be careful how much you drink," he told her. "I brought two extra waterskins, but we still need to conserve our water. We don't know how long we'll be out here." Toph took only a small sip before offering the water skin back to him. "Keep it."
Sokka raised an eyebrow. "Three full waterskins?"
"Better to have and not need than to need and not have," Li Han told him. Sokka couldn't help but smile for a moment.
But then it fell. "We still might run out. Between the five of us…" He blinked as he saw a plant—a cactus. Weren't those supposed to hold drinkable water inside? Sokka was sure he had heard that. He grinned. "This may solve our problem!" He ran up to it, taking out his machete and cutting one of the circular cacti in half. He held it in his hands, looking down to see fluid in it.
The next thing he knew, a large flow of sand shot upwards, knocking the cactus out of his hands and hitting him in the face. He yelped, turning to see Rahen looking displeased. "Do not drink from the cacti," the man said, glaring at Sokka tiredly. "They are poisonous. They won't kill you…probably, but they will render you senseless for about a day."
"Oh…" Sokka blinked, frowning at the cactus and stepping away from it. "Thanks, I guess." They were still where they started, limited water supply, and nothing to replace it with. But at least Sokka still had his wits. The same, apparently, couldn't be said for Momo who flew around in a circle before plunging to the ground. Sokka sighed as he picked him up. "How'd you know about the cacti?"
Sokka thought that maybe Rahen's cheeks were red, but it may have just been the sun. He was pretty sure everyone was getting burns. "Experience," he muttered as he resumed walking. "I may've drank from them once. Or twice."
Li Han gave his brother a baffled stare. "Why would you drink from it a second time if it muddles your brain?"
"It was a bad week."
"And when did you learn sandbending?"
Sokka blinked, before Toph came up to him. "Can I have some of the cactus?"
Sokka grimaced. "I think we're better off leaving the plant life alone around here. Come on." He took her hand again, but before he could pull her along, he heard a loud boom. He turned to see a large mushroom-shaped cloud of dust in the distance, blowing sand outwards. Aang. "Great."
"What?" Toph asked.
"I don't think Aang's found Appa," he told her. He just hoped Aang wasn't going into the Avatar State. Not when he was alone, with nobody to try to console him. He looked back where Aang almost certainly was, then shook his head, and, with Toph's hand in his, followed the two brothers.
It was nearly night when Aang finally returned to them, gliding over them before collapsing on the sand. Appa was nowhere to be seen. Sokka walked over to him, Toph beside him. "Aang?" Once again, he wished Katara was there. She was better at the emotional talks. "Hey, we need to keep moving."
"What's the difference? We won't survive without Appa. We all know it," Aang told them blankly. Sokka's mouth fell. When had Aang ever been so hopeless? So ready to give up? Sokka looked to Toph.
"Toph?"
She shrugged. "As far as I can feel, we're trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding."
Rahen stepped towards them, sympathy and determination mixed together in his expression. "Avatar," he said. "I know we don't know each other. I know I can't understand your loss…but it's not over. I have friends, who can help us get out of this desert. Just follow me." He turned to resume walking. Sokka looked down to Aang, before offering his a waterskin.
"Just drink a tiny bit, then we need to get walking." He squeezed Aang's shoulder lightly. The twelve-year-old stood up, doing as Sokka said, though his gaze remained downcast. "We have vital information, Aang. No matter what, we have to make it out of this desert."
Aang handed the waterskin back to Sokka after taking a sip, and they resumed walking, just behind the brothers. "Is this the last of the water?"
"Li Han brought extra," Sokka said. "But we still need to find a way out of here fast. The water won't last long. Not out here, not between the five of us."
But as the last of the sun disappeared from the sky, they continued to walk.
The sun had been setting by the time Iroh led Zuko and Katara into Misty Palms Oasis. It was a small town, just on the outskirts of the Si Wong Desert. It looked deader than most places to Zuko, a few buildings and a few dozen people within the town. In the center, there was a small chunk of ice. Zuko scowled. Why had his uncle led them here? What sort of friend could he possibly have out here?
As they walked through the town, Zuko noticed Katara stop and move away from Zuko. "Where are you going?" he asked her.
"I'll just be a moment," she told him, frowning. "I thought I saw something. I need to go check it out. I'll be back." Zuko hesitated, but Katara was looking behind him. Zuko followed her gaze to see that Uncle Iroh was waiting for them at the entrance to one of the town's cantinas. Zuko frowned before letting out a breath and turning back to look at Katara.
"Just don't be too long. We don't know where Uncle's friends from earlier are." Katara nodded, and Zuko went to join his uncle.
"She'll be alright," Iroh assured them as they entered the cantina.
"Why are we here?" Zuko asked him quietly, looking around while Iroh led him to sit at a table.
"I hope to find a friend who may be able to help us."
Zuko scowled, trying see if anybody stood out from the crowd. "No one here is going to help us," he told his uncle. "These people just look like filthy wanderers." Who would help them, anyways?
But Iroh was not daunted. "So do we." Iroh pointed to something behind Zuko. "Ah, this is interesting. I think I found our friend."
What? Zuko turned around to see what Iroh was pointing at. To Zuko's disbelief, Iroh was pointing to an old man sitting at a Pai Sho table. He can't be serious. "You brought us here to gamble on Pai Sho?" It sounded like a pretty awful idea to Zuko. Especially since they had lost most of their money during the Rough Rhinos' attack. The last thing they needed was to lose any more.
Still, Iroh was not dissuaded. "I don't think this is a gamble." He stood up and began making his way to the Pai Sho table, Zuko following behind. At that point, Katara entered the cantina, looking around for a moment before she saw them and came up to them.
"Everything okay?" Zuko asked her quietly. She looked a bit worried.
"Depends how many people here paid attention to the wanted posters," she told him. Frowning, Zuko noticed that she was hiding two posters in her sleeves. "There's wanted posters for both of you. I took them down, but I don't know who might've seen them first." Zuko groaned. What else could go wrong. He glanced around the room. Nobody seemed to be paying them any attention. He could only hope that that meant nobody had paid any attention to their wanted posters. "Hey…what's he doing?" Katara was now looking at Iroh as he approached the man at the Pai Sho table.
"Playing Pai Sho," Zuko told her as they made to join his uncle.
"What? Why?" Zuko could only shrug.
"May I have this game?" Uncle Iroh asked the man.
The man gestured at Iroh to sit down. As he did so, Zuko and Katara remained at his side, observing the game. "The guest has the first move," the old man said. Iroh pulled out his lotus tile, placing it exactly in the middle of the board. Zuko thought back to Iroh's shopping adventure to replace the lotus tile. Why did that suddenly feel more meaningful than just an old man losing some board game piece? It certainly seemed to mean something to the old man Iroh was playing against. "I see you favor the white lotus gambit. Not many still cling to the ancient ways." It sounded almost rehearsed. The old man cupped his hands, some sign of respect or something. Zuko had never seen that particular gesture before, but Uncle Iroh appeared familiar with it, echoing it exactly.
"Those who do can always find a friend," Iroh said to the man. Like the other man's previous statement, it sounded almost rehearsed.
"Then let us play."
And the game began.
Zuko and Katara both watched intently as the two men began placing tiles in rapid succession onto the board. For one moment, Zuko glanced towards Katara, whose brows were furrowed as she tried to make sense of what the old men were doing. Zuko tried to understand what was happening. Just what was his uncle trying to do? Who was this man? And what was with this almost ritualistic game that they were playing? Finally, the Pai Sho tiles were all arranged in the shape of a lotus flower.
"Welcome, brother," the old man said to Iroh. "The White Lotus opens wide to those who know her secrets."
Zuko had had enough of the cryptic words and gestures. "What are you old gasbags talking about?" He felt a light hit in his side, looking over to Katara. He shrugged apologetically. "Do you know what's going on?"
"Not even a little bit," she said, raising an eyebrow at Iroh and his strange friend.
"I always tried to tell you that Pai Sho is more than just a game," Uncle Iroh said to Zuko, putting away his lotus tile. Zuko couldn't say that that particularly cleared things up. So, what, you're part of some weird secret society of Pai Sho players? It all seemed ridiculously outlandish, but it also appeared to the only reasonable explanation.
"So…does that mean you'll help us?" Katara asked, her own arms folded. It was clear that she also found the situation to be rather strange. At least Zuko wasn't alone in that opinion.
"It would be best," Iroh said, "if we can have this conversation elsewhere. We will need…certain supplies which are not easily obtained." Zuko scowled. What was that supposed to mean.
But the old man nodded, standing up from the Pai Show table. "There is a place where we can talk safely, and where we can provide you with what you need." He motioned them to follow him, and they did so.
Zuko once again glanced to Katara, who just shrugged, and they both followed Uncle Iroh out the door. Zuko only hoped that, whatever his uncle was doing, it wasn't a mistake.
The desert cloud had only slightly filled the water skin. Sokka had just grimaced as Aang lashed out at them before directing them on. Up ahead, Rahen and Li Han had paused. Sokka walked up to them, the two twelve-year-olds beside him.
"Why are we stopping?" he asked them. Li Han pointed to the ground. Sokka could see some strange object poking out.
"I think I know what this is," Rahen said. "If we remove the sand, we can see…" He sandbent some of the sand off.
"A boat?" Sokka asked. Then his face lit up in recognition. "Like the sandbenders use?"
"Exactly like them," Li Han said as Aang blew off the rest of the sand.
"Why would they abandon it out here?" Toph asked.
"They wouldn't do it intentionally," Rahen said as he observed the boat. "Their sand-sailers are precious to the sand-bender tribes. This one looks like it belongs to the Hami Tribe." He scowled. "That doesn't make sense. The Hami Tribe doesn't frequent these parts." Li Han looked confused.
"That's nice," Sokka said drily. "But can we use this?" Travelling by foot was just not going to work. Even if a sand-sailer wasn't as good as Appa, it would still be a vast improvement over their current situation.
Rahen nodded slowly as he observed the boat. "It appears to be intact." He looked up at them before hopping onto it and waving at them to do the same. "Avatar, we can create a breeze to sail it." Everyone got onto the boat; Sokka could see that Aang, though determined to get them through the desert, still had a gloomy, blank expression. Sokka sighed as they got the boat gliding along the dunes, Rahen setting their course. Out of the desert, or to this 'friend' of his? Nobody knew. But at least their feet could get a bit of rest.
The old man, Fung, led Iroh, Zuko, and Katara out of the Misty Palms Oasis, to a village very close by. They walked, leaving behind the ostrich-horse. They wouldn't need it, Fung promised. He led them into a small flower shop. Katara looked around at the plants. What were they supposed to get here?
"It is an honor to welcome such a high-ranking member of the Order of the White Lotus. Being a Grand Master, you must know so many secrets," Fung said to Iroh.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
At the same time, Zuko said, "Now that you played Pai Sho, are you going to do some flower arranging, or is someone in this club going to offer some real help ?" He hadn't said it in a way that Katara would, but she couldn't say she didn't partially agree.
"You must forgive my nephew," Iroh said to Fung. "He is not an initiate and has little appreciation for the cryptic arts. And neither is our friend." He raised an eyebrow at Katara.
"Oh, you're being cryptic alright," she couldn't help but mutter. She tried not to be impatient. But it was uncomfortable not knowing what was going on.
Fung and Iroh made a beeline towards a door in the back of the shop—a backroom. Fung knocked twice on the door, and a small slit was opened at eye-level.
"Who knocks at the guarded gate?" a new man asked. Katara raised an eyebrow. Great. More ritual and secrecy.
"One who has eaten the fruit and tasted its mysteries," Iroh answered. The small slot was closed and the door was opened; Fung and Iroh entered the backroom. Zuko and Katara made to follow them in, but the door was abruptly closed in front of them.
"Hey!" Katara placed her hands on her hips while Zuko's expression turned into what could only be described as a pout.
Iroh opened the slot again. "I'm afraid it's members only. Wait out here." He closed the slot again, leaving the curious teenagers alone in the flower shop. Zuko turned to sniff one of the flowers.
Katara admired a few of them for a few moments. She turned to Zuko. "So…you didn't know about any of this?"
Zuko shook his head. "No. He never told me about any of this. I mean, he told me that Pai Sho was more than just a game, but, uh…somehow, that it was connected to a secret society was never my first thought." Zuko glanced again at the door before he started looking at all of the flowers. Katara inched over to the door, placing her ear at the space between the door and the walls. "What are you doing?"
"I'm trying to hear what's going on in there," she whispered.
Zuko crossed his arms. "Uncle said to wait out here," he said. Several seconds went by before Zuko's eyes flickered to the door, then back to her. "What are you hearing? Anything interesting?"
"No," she whispered, disappointment in her voice. She tried listening further down. There must be somewhere she could listen. She only noticed a shadow coming over her at the last moment. She stood higher, looking up and—Zuko was only inches from her. She froze, though she wasn't quite sure why. His face was very close, even closer as she stood to her full height. She caught his gaze, taking a close look at his goldish eyes. They were almost yellow in the center, she noticed. She thought Zuko's cheek was redder than it had been, but maybe it was just the angle she was seeing him from…the very, very close angle.
She stepped back. "What are you doing?" He broke her gaze, turning to the door.
"Sh…let me try."
The two teenage benders both began trying to find a way to listen in on Iroh's conversation.
Sokka frowned as he looked at the star maps he had taken from the library. The sun was rising, but some of the stars were still visible. He looked to the compass on the boat. "Hey, is this thing broken?" he asked Rahen. "Compasses are supposed to point North. This thing is taking us east."
"It's not broken," Rahen told him. "There is a great rock—the Si Wong Rock. It the magnetic center of the Si Wong Desert. The sandbender tribes use it as their point of reference."
Sokka nodded slowly, ignoring Toph's eager reaction to finding solid ground.
"It that the rock you're referring to?" Li Han pointed ahead. Just on the horizon, a great, strange rock formation had come into view. Like a raised circle, out in the endless dunes. It was hard to miss. "Is this where we're going?"
Rahen only nodded in response. "And this is where we'll find your 'friend?'" Sokka asked.
"Maybe we'll find some sandbenders," Aang said grimly.
By the time the night gave into day, they were at the base of the giant rock. Toph had eagerly leapt from the boat, about to run up the rock. Sokka didn't disagree with that idea—maybe from the height of the rock, they would be able to get a batter idea of where they were. Maybe. But before any of them could go up, Rahen's voice called out.
"Don't go to the top of the rock."
Toph paused, turning back to ask him, "Why not?"
"Buzzard wasps," he told her. "The creatures followed us last night. They usually only feed on the dead…but atop this rock is their nest, and they don't take well to intruders."
"That's great," Sokka told him. "So what about this friend of yours? Where are they supposed to be?"
"Here," Rahen said. "They'll come. We need only wait."
So they did, and in minutes they were joined by sandbenders. Several boats like the one that they had ridden to the rock arrived. Rahen gave them a friendly wave, but they did not appear friendly, instead focusing on the boat. Aang stepped to the front of their group. Sokka groaned. If these were the same sandbenders that had stolen Appa, they were in a lot of trouble.
Toph couldn't see.
This was nothing new to her, it had been that way her entire life. But she had learned to 'see' with her earthbending many years ago. Except that, now, she couldn't get a good 'look' at anything. In the desert, everything was all fuzzy. She could get a general sense of location of some people and things, but that was it.
She could feel that there were more sandbenders around them.
"What are you doing in our land with a sandbender-sailer?" one of them asked her friends. " From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami tribe." It was an unfamiliar voice—Toph never forgot a voice.
"We didn't steal it," she heard Sokka saying, authority in his voice. "We just found it abandoned in the desert. Look, we're with the Avatar, and our bison was stolen. We have to get to Ba Sing Se—we have really important information for the Earth King."
"You dare accuse our people of theft while you ride in on a stolen sand sailer ?!" Toph's eyes widened slightly. That voice sounded familiar.
"Nobody's accused anyone of anything, Gashiun," Rahen said, and Toph vaguely felt him moving forward. "But is there any particular reason you're feeling so defensive?"
"Rahen?" There was a new voice added to the mix, all while Toph just wanted to hear Gashiun's voice again. It sounded familiar, and she thought she knew where from. But she needed to be certain before she said anything. "What are you doing here? Why are you with these people?" The new voice was female. She thought she felt the person speaking coming forward.
"Hey," Li Han's voice joined in, and Toph could only scowl. "I know you! You're the one who knocked me unconscious!"
"What?" Aang shouted. If it were true, it only added to the proof that these were the sandbenders who had stolen Appa.
"Don't be ridiculous," Gashiun said. "We've never seen any of you before."
"Yes, you have," Toph corrected sharply. It would have, perhaps, been better to quietly discuss the matter with her friends first. But Li Han was already shouting at the female sandbender who had whacked him unconscious, with Rahen trying to get in between them. "I never forget a voice—you're the one who stole Appa!" At once, she felt Aang move to the sandbenders.
"You stole Appa! Where is he? What did you do to him?" She had never heard Aang so enraged.
"They're lying! They're the thieves!" Gashiun tried, once more, to deflect.
The next thing Toph felt was like a great crash, and she realized that Aang had destroyed one of the sandbenders' sand-sailers. "Where is my bison ? You tell me where he is now!" Another sand-sailer was destroyed.
"What did you do ?" she heard the unfamiliar sandbender ask.
"I-It wasn't me!" Gashiun tried, yet again, to lie.
Toph wasn't having it. This guy had stolen Appa, endangering their lives in the process. He had upset Aang and caused the strife between all of them. The entire mess of the past day had been this guy's fault—and now he thought he could get out of it without even admitting what he'd done? "You said to put a muzzle on him!"
"You muzzled Appa ?" Aang's voice was full of fury. Toph didn't fully understand what happened next. Something seemed to shift as Aang destroyed yet another of the sand-sailers.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know that it belonged to the Avatar!" Gashiun was no longer trying to cover up what he did. Instead, his voice was full of fear; Toph suspected that if she could get a clear read on his heartbeat through the sand, that it would be racing. Vaguely, she thought she felt Rahen pulling Li Han and the female sandbender away from everyone else. She wondered what exactly they saw that she couldn't.
"Oh no," she heard Sokka say, his voice full of dread. Oh no? Oh no, what? What's everyone freaking out about?
"Tell me where Appa is!" Aang said. Except, it didn't sound like Aang. Not Twinkletoes, or even the angry person he had been for the past day. His voice sounded like the voices of hundreds of people, somehow speaking as one.
"I traded him!" Gashiun told him, desperation clear in his voice. "To some merchants! He's probably in Ba Sing Se by now! They were going to sell him there! Please! We'll escort you out of the desert! We'll help however we can!" There was something truly bizarre to the idea that people were genuinely terrified of Aang, but at that moment, Toph could hardly blame them. She didn't understand what was happening, but it was clear that Aang was somehow more dangerous than any normal person. Oh, she realized. This is Avatar stuff. It wasn't the best introduction.
Gashiun's words did nothing to help the situation. Toph could feel the wind picking up, swirling dangerously around them, blowing dust around. If she weren't blind, she wondered if the sand would be enough to render here sightless anyways. She knew that happened sometimes, but she couldn't know how much dust it would take. She felt Sokka trying to pull her away.
"Just get out of here! Run!" Was he talking to her, or to everyone else? And were they seriously running away from their own friend? After a few moments, she felt Sokka letting go of her hand, and beginning to move back towards where they had been. Was Aang still there? Toph couldn't feel him at all.
"Where are you going?" she shouted to Sokka. "What's going on?"
"It's the Avatar State," Sokka shouted back. "Aang can't control it—we have to calm him down before someone gets hurt!" She felt him moving back—towards Aang, though she couldn't feel him. It was clear enough that Sokka didn't want her nearby. But she followed him back into the wind, squinting her eyes shut. It wasn't as though they'd help her, and she could feel the sand being blown around. Finally, she reached close to Sokka, and she thought she felt Aang again. Reaching close, she felt Aang sitting on the ground.
"It's alright, Aang," she heard Sokka say. "We're all okay. We'll all find Appa together."
She stood by them for a moment, unsure what to say. It was an unprecedented situation for her, in more ways than one. "We know he's in Ba Sing Se," she finally told Aang. She thought she heard him crying. "We were already going there. We'll find Appa, Twinkletoes." She thought she heard a sob, and before she knew it, Sokka was guiding her into a three-way hug.
Li Han could only cower beside his brother and the sandbender woman while the Avatar tore up the dunes in a rage. It lasted only for a few moments, but it seemed to take forever to die down. But perhaps that was only the effect of fearing for your life, helpless to do anything. Finally, the wind subsided and Rahen, who had erected a sandy shield for them, looked to the Avatar and his friends. It appeared that everything had calmed down, though Sokka still shot the one named Gashiun as he appeared. Gashiun's father quickly began speaking with Sokka and Rahen about arranging rides out of the desert for them.
Li Han sat despondently in the sand as they all spoke, shooting occasional glances at the female sandbender who Rahen had spoken with. They were speaking again, Rahen oozing exasperation. Li Han only wanted to go home; he was cut out for adventures in the desert. He couldn't understand why his brother would be willing to spend so much time in such an awful place, but he wasn't going to go looking for him again. Finally, Rahen and the female sandbender both walked over to him.
Li Han stood up, looking at his brother, and giving a quick glare at the sandbender who had knocked him unconscious the previous day. Rahen gave an embarrassed chuckle, causing Li Han to turn his glare to him. "Brother," Rahen began. "I don't know where to begin. But you were right. I shouldn't have lost so much time out here, chasing shadows of a madman's plans." He paused, shaking his head. "I can't say I regret doing it. Thanks to our efforts, the Avatar now has a plan to defeat the Firelord. It's better than I ever could have hoped for."
"Hm," Li Han acknowledged. "And because of our adventure out here, he is also short one sky bison. A sky bison who, I might add, he seemed very fond of. Whatever it was you found to defeat the Firelord had better be worth it." He turned his glare back to the female sandbender once again.
"I should've returned home," Rahen said, drawing his attention back. "And, excepting that, I should have written to you. So you knew what was going on." His face was soft, a slightly embarrassed smile forming behind his beard. "It was brave of you to come and look for me. I appreciate the gesture, Li."
"I don't feel brave," Li Han said, thinking of how Rahen was, apparently, just fine in the desert. Of the Avatar's missing bison. Of the sandbender who had attacked him, but stood all-too-closely to his brother's side. "I feel like an idiot. A mildly concussed idiot."
At least she looked ashamed. "Sorry," she told him, rubbing the back of her head. "In all fairness, Rahen never did tell me what you actually look like." Li Han's face turned blank.
He turned to his brother. "So…how well do you two know each other, again?"
"I asked Ta Leri to marry me about a month ago," Rahen told him, the woman smiling as she looked at him. Li Han's jaw dropped. So over the past few days, I got lost in the desert, got the Avatar's bison stolen, and was knocked out by my future sister-in-law. Fantastic.
He met his brother's fiancé's eyes. She tried smiling. "I know what I did yesterday was…not great. But I promise it won't be repeated—I'm leaving the desert tribes to be with your brother, and I only wanted to get us some more money so we could build a decent life together. Can we…I don't know, start over?" Her eyes were a mixture of hope and trepidation. Li Han looked over to see Rahen's own pleading expression.
Li Han sighed, offering a hand to Ta Leri. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ta Leri." He raised an eyebrow. "This time."
At some point, Zuko had fallen asleep. He and Katara had attempted multiple positions against the door, trying to find a way to listen in on Iroh's meeting with the secret society. Eventually, he had fallen asleep against the door. He had dreams of flowers, a long trek through the Si Wong Desert, of following Katara through a dangerous swamp, and of talking dragons.
He was jolted awake as Uncle Iroh opened the door, leaving both him and Katara—who had fallen asleep next to him, also pressed against the door—to fall awake. Zuko instinctively jumped up into a firebending stance. Katara also scrambled to her feet, though she assumed a sheepish smile, one hand rubbing the back of her head. Uncle Iroh only raised an eyebrow at the two them.
"What's going on? Is the club meeting over ?" Zuko asked.
"Everything is taken care of," Uncle Iroh told him. "We're heading to Ba Sing Se." Uncle Iroh and Fung bowed to each other.
"Ba Sing Se?" Zuko asked incredulously. " Why would we go to the Earth Kingdom capital ?" He glanced at Katara, who looked away momentarily. It had already been a plan, then. His uncle and she must have already discussed it. And said nothing of it to him until now. He felt disappointment creeping in with a touch of betrayal. Why hadn't they told him sooner? Why were they going to Ba Sing Se in the first place? Fire Nation royals, in the Earth Kingdom capital? It sounded like a recipe for disaster.
"The city is filled with refugees. No one will notice two more," Fung said.
"We can hide in plain sight there," Uncle Iroh said. "And it's the safest place in the world from the Fire Nation. Even I couldn't break through to the city." He shrugged his shoulders, but Zuko couldn't help but feel uncomforted.
Another man came through, holding papers for them. "I have the passports for our guests," he told them. They each took their passports, looking over the documents. Zuko's was the one titled "Li." He swallowed. "Never forget who you are." Was he just supposed to forget? Become "Li" until the day he died, hiding behind the walls of Ba Sing Se? The thought didn't feel right to him. Even if he wanted to sink into anonymity forever, something told him that he couldn't.
"Hey," Katara said quietly as Fung and Iroh arranged for two new ostrich-horses. He looked over to see her standing near him, large blue eyes looking worried. "Are you alright?"
He let out a breath. "You and Uncle always planned for us to hide out in Ba Sing Se," he accused. Her mouth pressed together slightly, but she made no attempt to dispute it. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Your uncle thought that you wouldn't cooperate," she told him. "And to be fair, you don't exactly have the best track record of listening to him. He just wants you to be safe. And so do I."
Zuko frowned for a long moment before sighing. "You know I don't like the idea of hiding out forever."
"It won't be forever," she told him. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm coming too." She held up her own passport, smiling slightly.
Zuko wouldn't admit it, but that did make him feel a little better. He looked to the passport again, closing his eyes momentarily. He opened his eyes, nodding to Katara. "Come on." The two teenagers went out, joining Uncle Iroh before the ostrich-horses. He got atop one, pointing over to the other.
"You two can share that one," he told them, smiling. "It'll go faster if I'm the only one on an ostrich-horse." That had never bothered any of them before, but now they had two ostrich horses. Zuko just shrugged before getting atop the ostrich-horse and giving Katara a hand up.
It would be a few days of riding before they reached Full Moon Bay, where they would take a ferry to Ba Sing Se. To their new life as two of many refugees from the Fire Nation—their own Nation, Katara at their side. They would get what practice in that that they could along the way. Once they were in Ba Sing Se, Zuko realized with dismay, he would have little opportunity to practice his bending. It wouldn't be reasonable in a city packed with refugees. But he needed to practice. Because, even though they were going to the 'safest place in the world,' Zuko somehow felt with certainty that they still wouldn't be safe.
He had lost control of the Avatar State. Again.
It wasn't the first time that it had happened, but somehow, this time bothered Aang even more than other times. He had come out of his rage crying, Sokka and Toph both offering him what comfort they could. He had simply knelt in the sand for a while. Even as his tears subsided, he remained seated in the hot sand. Everything faded away into a level of numbness. He wished that Katara were there—she had always known how to make a person feel better. Though, he suspected that now even she wouldn't be able to make him feel better. Not really.
He wanted Appa back.
But Appa was, apparently, somewhere in Ba Sing Se. Aang let out a breath as he contemplated that piece of information. They had already been going to Bas Sing Se. To regroup with Katara. To deliver the information on the solar eclipse to the Earth King. Now they had yet another purpose in Ba Sing Se. Aang wanted to believe that they would find Appa there. That he would be reunited with his last bit pf family from his old life.
He couldn't let himself.
No. If he let himself hope just to have it crushed again—what then? Aang stood up, observing the damage he had done in his latest Avatar State rampage. There was little physical evidence of it this time, just a few destroyed sand-sailers. The ever-shifting sands of the Si Wong Desert made the effects of his anger less apparent than had the solid ground of General Fong's outpost, or the ice huts of the Northern Water Tribe. At least this time Aang hadn't actually hurt anybody. Or worse.
But Aang could see the fear on the sandbenders' faces as he stood up to look at them. Not all of them, he understood, had even been involved with stealing Appa. But they had all been terrified of him. Their leader was apologetic, shooting reprimanding glares at his son's direction. Rahen and Li San stood aside with one of the sandbenders, a woman. Sokka was unhurt. Aang was relieved about that. He thought of when he had accidentally broken Sokka's wrist. Aang was still upset about Appa, but the last thing he wanted was to hurt any of his friend.
Speaking of which…
Aang turned his gaze towards Toph. She stood in the sand, looking impatient. Aang let out a breath, face falling as he thought of his argument with her the day before. What had he been thinking? How could he accuse her of letting Appa be stolen. He raised a palm to his face, rubbing slightly as he groaned. He hadn't even been in the Avatar State when he'd yelled at her. There was no excuse for treating his friend like that.
And, despite that, he knew she had come with Sokka to try to console him when he had entered the Avatar State. Did he ever explain the Avatar State to her?
He shook his head. Either way, he owed his friend an apology. He could only hope that she would be willing to forgive him after his behavior over the past day. He took a deep breath, trying to summon his courage. He walked over to her.
"Uh, hey Toph," he said quietly. She turned towards him, folding her arms. It was quiet for a few moments as Aang tried to think of what to say to her.
"Are you feeling any better, Twinkletoes?" she asked him, grimacing.
"Uh, yeah." Not exactly. "I'm not in the Avatar State anymore, so that's good…"
"Avatar State," she repeated. "It that what that was? With the wind, and the weird thing with your voice?"
"Yeah," he said quietly. He tried to get a good look at her face. Had he managed to scare his fearless earthbending teacher, too? "It's this thing where I sort of…merge with past Avatars. All of their knowledge sort of goes through me. Except, I can't control it."
"It just happens when you're upset."
He nodded. Then, unsure whether she could feel that, he said, "Yeah." He looked around again. "Look, Toph…I just wanted to apologize." He swallowed, and began rubbing his elbow. "I said things to you yesterday…things I shouldn't have."
"Yeah?" she asked, sarcasm dripping. "I hadn't noticed."
"I was being a complete jerk," he admitted. He cast his eyes down, thinking back to Toph's reaction as he had yelled at her. "I should thank you, too. We'd all be dead if it weren't for you. I couldn't see it at the time, but…" He sighed. "You did what you had to do."
They were quiet again, and Aang couldn't help but worry. What if she didn't want to be his friend anymore? Or his earthbending teacher? But the next thing Aang knew, he was getting a soft punch to his shoulder. "Just remember that next time you have something to be mad about," she told him. But her tone was as gentle as he had ever heard it. "You were a jerk, yesterday. But I guess…I understand that Appa means a lot to you. And you get to be angry of him being stolen. Just don't take it out on us."
"I won't," he promised. "I swear, I'll never do that to you again."
Toph smiled, small at first, then mischievous. "Never again, huh? Maybe I should test that out?" He folded his arms. "But, seriously, this isn't forever. We're going to Ba Sing Se. We'll find Appa." He swallowed. Before either of them could say anything else, Sokka walked over, along with Rahen, Li Han, and the female sandbender.
The female sandbender stepped forward, bowing, an expression of shame on her face. "Avatar," she said. "I helped Gashiun steal your bison." Aang clenched his jaw. But his jaw dropped as he felt Toph giving his hand a tight squeeze. "I know I can't undo it, and there's no good excuse, but I wanted you to know that I am sorry."
"Yeah, you'd better be sorry!" Toph said. "Do you have any idea what you put him through?" She pointed to Aang.
But Aang shook his head. "It's okay, Toph."
"No, it's not!"
"I'm done being angry," he said. He saw Sokka raising an eyebrow. "All its done is hurt the people I care about." He swallowed as he met the sandbender's eyes. She did, at least, appear genuinely apologetic. "Why are you apologizing?"
"Because it was wrong." She hung her head, and though she must have been ten years younger than him, she looked much like a shamed child confessing to their parent. "I hoped to build a new life with my husband-to-be, outside of this desert. But I failed to consider the people who I hurt in the process. So, I am sorry about stealing your bison." She pulled out several pouches, handing them to Aang. He took one of the offered pouches, looking inside. It was full of money—gold. He looked up to her. "This is what we received for selling your bison." Aang clutched it tighter, forcing himself to remain calm. Appa is worth more than any money. "We can only tell you that he was going to be taken to Ba Sing Se. But we hoped that perhaps this money can help you get your bison back."
"He's my friend," he said blankly. But he sighed, taking the pouches. Maybe she was right. If nothing else, perhaps the spare coin could at least help them get to Ba Sing Se, which was now a harder task without Appa to fly them there.
Appa…where are you?
Sokka frowned between Rahen and the sandbender. "Future husband?" He blinked. "That…explains so much." He shook his head quickly, turning back to Aang and Toph. "The sandbenders are going to give us a ride out of the desert, towards Ba Sing Se. It should only be a few more days, okay? Then we can meet up with Katara and find Appa. We'll all be together again." Sokka placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Right…" Aang said. He looked over to Rahen and Li Han. "It's been…" Had any of his other attempts to help people ended so strangely?
"I must thank you again, Avatar," Li Han said, bowing to him. "And I'm sorry how this all ended." He grimaced. "As glad as I am to be reunited with my brother…and to meet my future sister-in-law," he continued, rubbing where she had hit him the previous day, "I hope it doesn't offend you if I say that I hope that we never meet again."
"No," Sokka jumped in. "I think we can all get behind that." But he grinned. "Hopefully you'll never need our help again." He checked that he had all of his maps, then he went to board one of the sand-sailers.
Aang nodded, meeting the eye of the sandbender woman. He never wanted to go into the Avatar State again. It was best that he got out of the desert, away from the people who had taken his oldest friend.
Beside him, Toph walked, getting onto the sand-sailer with him. She blew at the fringe of hair over her face. "You know, Twinkletoes," she told him. "I think we're going to need a better way of choosing vacations in the future." Aang snorted. But then he smiled, looking over to his friend.
"There's a lake on the way. I've heard it makes for good swimming."
"I don't know how to swim."
"I can teach you."
"I think I'll stick to playing in the sand."
is being evil and not letting me see new reviews. I'd ask if anyone else is having this problem, but...I might not see your answer anyways. Boo! But, seriously, I won't extort readers for reviews, but I do appreciate them. I'm a bit sloppy; I write chapters, throw them up, then go back to fix them. If there's anything you like, or anything you think is bad, feel free to let me know, and I'll take it into consideration when I get around to revising.