Chapter 66: Surrounded by Sand
Zuko woke up. That, in itself, was surprising; his last conscious memory was being dragged underground by an enraged Sandbender.
His head was cushioned on someone's lap. He could feel their knees near his neck.
The ringing in his ears began to fade and he became aware of raised voices.
Aang. The main voice that was shouting was Aang. Zuko frowned. Aang doesn't shout…?
"Why didn't you stop them!?" The Avatar yelled.
Zuko forced his eye to open, blinking against the harsh light. He was surprised once again when he realised that his head was in Toph's lap, and Aang was currently berating his Earthbending teacher.
And she was letting him.
She was just sitting on the sand, Zuko's head in her lap, while the Avatar raged at her. Her head was bowed and one hand was absently carding through Zuko's hair.
"How could you let them take Appa!" the boy screamed.
Zuko croaked, "She didn't. I did. She was busy saving your lives."
His throat felt dry and brittle. Like too much use would break it.
Toph said, "Sparky."
The sheer relief in her voice was almost overwhelming. He reached up, almost blindly, and grabbed for her hand. She held on tight and he returned the grip.
Zuko, with Toph's aid, sat up. The Avatar was glaring at them.
Zuko was surprised to see what looked like genuine hate in the boy's eyes.
Zuko held Aang's gaze, unflinching. He had a lifetime of people hating him; people who were more skilled and committed than the grief-stricken child standing over him.
Zuko rasped, "The Library was sinking. Toph stopped it. You guys were still inside—"
Aang stepped closer, fists clenched at his sides. "You could've come to get us! I could've saved him!"
Katara, from the side, said, "Aang, you know they did everything they could."
Aang scowled at her. "Clearly not because Appa's not here!"
Toph said quietly, "The Sandbenders snuck up on us. There wasn't time—"
He interrupted her. "You just didn't care! You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone!"
Zuko felt his temper flaring. He opened his mouth to fire back, but Katara beat him to it.
"Aang, you know that's not true, so stop it. Toph and Zuko did all they could. Zuko nearly died, and Toph saved all of our lives."
The Avatar fell silent, but the angry tension didn't leave his body.
Sokka said quietly, "Who's going to save our lives now? We're in the middle of the biggest desert on earth. We'll never make it out of here."
Aang shook his head and strode away from them. "That's all any of you guys care about! Yourselves! You don't care whether Appa is okay or not!"
Zuko said coldly, "It's called priorities, Avatar. Appa is gone. To save him, we need to save ourselves."
Aang turned around and glared at Zuko. For a moment he was certain the monk was going to bend at him.
Katara tried to play peacemaker. "We need to stop fighting amongst ourselves. We can't afford it."
Aang scoffed. He said, "I'm going after Appa."
He flipped out his glider and took off, without a glance back at them.
Katara shouted, "Aang! Wait!"
But he was gone.
Zuko said, "Let him go, Katara. He's angry. He needs to cool off."
She shook her head. "He's alone in the desert. Spirits, without Appa he feels alone in the world. The last thing he needs is to actually be alone."
Sokka remarked, "Well, too late to stop him now."
Zuko cast his eye around. "Anyone seen my staff? And my swords?"
Toph answered him, still in that quiet voice. Far too quiet for someone like Toph. She said, "Don't know about your staff. Your swords are behind us though."
He turned, saw where she'd indicated, and reached for them. Still seated, he awkwardly sheathed them.
He saw Sokka sweeping his foot through the sand. His foot collided with something and he muttered a curse. He bent down and found Zuko's staff, partially buried.
He walked over and passed it to the Firebender, giving him a hand up in the process.
Zuko offered his hand to the still seated Toph. Her head was still bowed. He said, "Toph, come on. Take my hand."
She sighed but reached up, fumbling a little until she found it. He pulled her up.
Katara said, "We'd better start walking. We're the only people that know about the eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se."
Zuko asked, "Eclipse?"
Sokka nodded. "Solar eclipse. It's coming soon. It should shut off every Firebenders' bending."
Zuko's eye widened. "Invasion?" he breathed.
Sokka nodded again. "That's what we're thinking."
Zuko shook his head. "Nobody's successfully invaded the Caldera in… Spirits, it has to be centuries."
Sokka said, "According to the records we found, it's probably been that long since the last eclipse."
The Water Tribesman glanced back at the sand dune where the Library used to be.
He said, "You think if we dig out the giant owl, he'll give us a ride?"
