Chapter Eleven: Once Bitten….

A few more days passed, and we were back to camping out in the middle of the forest. I couldn't complain. After the craziness of rescuing Aunt Wu's village from a raging volcano, it was nice having some peace and quiet with just the six of us.

Aang watched me closely. "Now. Hold your palms open. It's all about circular movement, and relax, Tashi. Your stance is still too rigid."

"I'm trying." I did my best to copy the movements he had demonstrated as I weaved myself in a figure-eight across the ground.

He walked over to me and adjusted my stance. "You need to be flexible like air itself and ready to change direction at a moments notice. Stop rooting your feet to the ground. Be light on your toes."

"Okay." I adjusted my balance to the balls of my feet.

"Not that light. You'll throw your balance off," he said.

I adjusted my stance against, so that my feet were on the ground, but there was more of a bounce in my step.

"Good. Keep practicing these movements for now." Aang smiled. "When we reach the Northern Air Temple, I'll be able to show you all sorts of stuff about Air Nomad culture. You'll love it."

I simply nodded, trying to keep my focus.

Sokka walked over to us. "Enough training, you two. We should be getting a move on."

"Already?" Aang said.

"We've already wasted enough of the morning, and we still have a lot of ground to cover before we reach the North Pole." Sokka finished packing his things.

"Sokka's right." I dropped my stance and moved to help pack.

Once we were done, we continued our travel on foot. Sokka emphasized on only traveling on Appa when necessary because the bison was too easily recognizable. Smart strategy even though it slowed down our progress.

I walked beside Aang. "So what were the Air Temples like?"

He beamed up at me. "There's four. The Monks lived at the Southern and Northern temples while the Priestesses lived at the Western and Eastern."

"Why so segregated?" I said.

"Less distraction, so that one could maintain a pure mind, body and soul. Air Nomads focus on living a life of peace and finding spiritual enlightenment." He looked up at the sky. "A true master is capable of detaching themselves from earthly tethers."

I gave an awkward laugh. "So no one could be married? Did you not have parents?"

"My memory of them is very vague, but no, I wasn't raised by them. We were raised as a group, and eventually I began mentoring under Monk Gyatso," he said.

Aang's gaze became distant.

"Listen, Aang. There's something I've been mulling over since you first started training me." I sighed. "I know how much it means to you to have found another air-bender. However, you need to understand that I'll never be a true Air Nomad."

He furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

Sokka glanced back at us. "Yeah, you're an air-bender. That would make you an Air Nomad."

"Not exactly. This might be hard for the three of you to understand, but as I've said before, I'm of Earth Kingdom and Air Nomad descent." I folded my arms. "I'm a half-breed, or whatever you wanna call it."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that," Katara said.

"I know." I returned my attention to Aang. "I'm proud of both of my heritages, which means that I won't be able to follow every rule of Nomad culture. I'm pretty sure I've broken a few already."

"So what are you saying? That you don't want to learn?" Aang said.

"I do, but I need you to understand that I'm not gonna agree with or follow everything you teach me." I placed a hand on his shoulder. "For instance, you said that Air Nomads are supposed to find all life precious, which is why you don't eat meat."

He raised an eyebrow. "But you said you were fine with that."

"I am, but–" I frowned. "I've killed people before."

He gasped. "What?"

"It happened during my early days with the Freedom Fighters. I had gotten trapped by one of the soldiers, and the others couldn't help me. I didn't know what to do." I dropped my hand from Aang's shoulder. "The soldier had disarmed me and pinned me down, and I didn't really know how to fight yet. I was terrified, and I threw my hand toward his chest. Then a gust of air flew from his mouth. I hadn't realized what I had done until he collapsed and stopped moving."

"But that wasn't your fault. It was just an accident," Aang said.

"Yeah, well that accident taught me a lesson that has continued to save my life as well as the lives of the others since then." I gave him a firm look. "My point is that I'm not against killing under the conditions of war."

Aang was silent for a moment before sighing. "Look, what's in the past is in the past. I'm not gonna hold it against you, but now's your chance to start anew. Violence, and especially killing, doesn't have to be the answer. Once I teach you more about Air Nomad philosophy, you'll understand that there are other ways to resolve your problems."

"Trust me. I long for the day I no longer have to fight." I forced a smile. Until then, I don't have a choice. Aang doesn't understand how sudden and crucial that kind of decision is.

We continued walking until we reached a hill. Aang rushed down and pulled a weapon out from one of the bushes.

"Hey, look. A sword made out of a whale's tooth." He held it up for the rest of us to see.

"Let me see that." Sokka examined the weapon before smiling. "This is a Water Tribe weapon. See if you can find anything else."

Katara walked over to Aang. "Did someone lose something?"

"No. We found something." He continued digging through the bushes.

Sokka picked up a broken spear. "It's burned."

I noticed a nearby tree that was covered in slashes and scorch marks. "There must've been a big fight."

"Water Tribe warriors ambushed a group of fire-benders. The fire-benders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill." Sokka followed the trail.

We chased after him until we reached the shore.

"So then what happened?" Aang said.

Sokka looked around and slumped his shoulders. "I don't know. The trail ends here."

Katara pointed ahead. "Wait. Look."

Resting at the corner of the beach was a medium sized boat. It looked a little worn from travel, but seemed in good condition for the most part.

Sokka rushed over to the boat and examined it. "It's one of our boats."

"Is this dad's boat?" Katara said.

"No, but it's from his fleet." Sokka smiled. "Dad was here."

"So is your tribe nearby?" I said.

He furrowed his brow. "I don't know."

"Well, if this boat was left here, someone must be nearby." Katara stared at the boat, her eyes watering a little.

I looked at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just…." She hugged her arms around herself. "I hope our dad and the others are alright. It's been so long."

I saw her shake a little, and I enveloped her in a hug. "I'm sure they're fine."

"Let's camp out here." Sokka set his bag down. "Just in case anyone comes back."

"For how long?" Aang said.

Sokka shifted his gaze between the boat and us. "We'll give it a day. If we don't see anyone after that, then we'll move on."

We set up camp next to the boat. Since this was going to take a while, Aang and I continued training until dusk.

Aang sat beside me while I slipped under my sleeping bag. "So what do you think about when you meditate?"

I lay on my side. "Why?"

"Well, I just want to make sure that you're doing it correctly. Nomads connect to the air and their…." he said.

"Their inner chi. I know. My grandfather drilled it into me since I was little." I sighed. "Although, I admit that I use meditation to keep myself level-headed and focused most of the time. I tend to think about happier memories more than simply clearing my head."

"When we reach the Northern Air Temple, we'll work on that." Aang folded his arms. "Your bending is still very stilted. If you can achieve better mental clarity, I think you'll have a less difficult time."

I shrugged. "Worth a shot."

Sokka stood up. "Who's there?"

I looked in the direction Sokka was and squinted my eyes at the figure approaching from the darkness. It was a man, and as he walked closer, I saw that he was dressed like a Water Tribe member.

"Sokka?" the man said.

"Bato?" Sokka's eyes widened.

Aang furrowed his brow. "Who the what now?"

"Bato!" Katara smiled and sat up.

Sokka and Katara rushed over to the man and hugged him. This must've been one of the men from their tribe. Aang quickly stood and rushed over to the group.

"Sokka. Katara. It's so good to see you two. You've grown so much," Bato said.

Aang bowed. "Hi, I'm Aang, and this is…."

Sokka stepped back. "Where's Dad?"

Katara nodded. "Is he here?"

"No. He and the other Water Tribe members should be in the Eastern Earth Kingdom by now."

A winter breeze swept over the shore, causing the three Water Tribe members to shiver.

"This is no place for a reunion." Bato gestured for us to follow him. "Please come with me."

We gathered our things, and Bato lead us to an abby where we could have proper shelter. The Nuns welcomed us, and we joined Bato in the room that was set up for him. His room was decorated with animal pelts and in the center was a pot boiling over the small fire pit.

"Bato, it looks like home." Katara stepped inside.

Sokka followed her. "Everything's here. Even the pelts."

Aang eyed the pelts while he cuddled Momo close to him. "Yeah, nothing's cozier than dead animal skins."

I nudged him in the shoulder before sitting down. "Oh, lighten up, Aang. It's actually quite comfortable."

He frowned. "But Air Nomads don't…."

"What did I already tell you?" I sighed.

Sokka and Katara sat next to the fire pit.

"No way." Katara removed the lid from the pot. "Stewed sea prunes?"

"Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things," Sokka said.

Bato sat at the head of the group. "Help yourself."

Katara ladled out the stew into several small bowls and handed them out. I tasted a spoonful, and it was… interesting. It had a tartness to it that I wasn't used to, but something was better than nothing. Aang didn't seem to agree, for he quick discarded his bowl after tasting it. I settled down against the pelts, exhaustion finally coming over me. I let Katara and Sokka's conversation with Bato lull me to sleep, and within a few minutes, I was out.

….

I took a few more deep breaths and finished my meditation for the day. I tried to take Aang's advice on focusing more on my chi, and the way the air flowed throughout my body. It helped that this abby was so tranquil, but my mind couldn't help but linger on old memories.

I stood and began stretching. I can't help it even though Aang's right. My memories are what keep me focused, but thinking about the past also creates stress throughout my body, which creates unbalances in my chi. Maybe visiting one of the temples is exactly what I need. It's probably more atmospheric.

"I'm sorry, okay. I didn't mean…."

Hearing Aang's distressed voice, I looked up and saw him, Sokka, Katara, and Bato return.

I walked over to them. "I'm guessing the ice-dodging didn't work out so well?"

Katara looked at me. "That went great, but–"

"But Katara and I are leaving to see our father." Sokka stormed past me toward Appa.

My eyes widened. "What? But what about going to the Northern Water Tribe? How long are you two gonna be gone?"

"Who cares." Sokka gathered his things. "Aang received the message Bato was waiting for last night, but he hid it from us so we wouldn't leave."

My attention snapped to Aang, who cowered under my stern gaze, and I walked over to him. "I knew there was a reason you were acting so strange this morning. Aang, what were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry. Katara and Sokka were so excited about seeing their dad. I was worried that they were going to leave," he said.

"Well, we weren't." Sokka glared at him. "Congratulations!"

"Sokka, you should really think about this," Bato said.

"I have, and I don't want to stay with someone who's going to lie to me about something this important." Sokka adjusted his bag onto his back. "Come on, Katara."

"So that's it? We're splitting up?" I said.

Sokka looked at me, his gaze softening a little. "Yeah, I guess we are."

Frowning, I stomped over to him and blocked his path. "But what about stopping the Fire Lord? Wasn't that the reason we're going on this journey in the first place?"

"I can fight the Fire Lord just fine alongside the rest of my family." He stepped around me.

"But…." I said.

"My mind's made up. Goodbye, Tashi. Aang," Sokka said.

He made his way toward the exit with Bato. I felt Katara hug me, but I was too shocked to return it. Were they really leaving just like that?

Katara furrowed her brow and shifted her gaze between Aang and me. "Good luck. Take care of yourselves."

Aang lowered his head. "Yeah, you too."

And just like that, I stood there and watched Sokka and Katara leave us. They left us. Just walked away like our journey together wasn't for some kind of purpose. Like we were just on vacation or something, and now they were returning home.

"I can't believe this!" I threw my arms in the air. "You three are so immature. We have a war going on, and you guys are losing focus over a petty squabble! Ugh!"

"What's done is done." Aang sighed, and he jumped on top of Appa. "We can still continue our journey without them."

"Fine. Making sure you master water-bending is more important." I leapt onto the saddle. "If we're lucky, we might bump into them in the future."

"Yeah." He gave a lackluster tug to the reins. "Let's go, Appa."

The bison roared in reply before walking out of the abby. I reclined back in the saddle while Momo curled onto my lap. How was this journey going to go with just the two of us? Granted, there would be less room for distractions, but there was also strength in numbers. However, we didn't make it past the shore before the Head Nun came chasing after us.

"Avatar, you and your friend must leave," she said.

Aang groaned. "Okay, I get it. Everyone wants me gone."

I leaned over the saddle. "Why? What's wrong?"

"A group of people came to the abby looking for the Avatar. There was a fierce looking woman with a horrible monster, and a young man with a scar," the Head Nun said.

Aang narrowed his eyes. "Zuko."

"So the prince finally caught up to us." I grinned. "This should be fun."

"The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you," the Head Nun said.

"A necklace?" Aang gasped. "Katara!"

"What?" I said.

"Zuko has Katara's necklace." He took hold of the reins. "We have to go."

"Wait." I jumped off of Appa and landed on the sand. "We're not gonna catch up to the others in time. Besides, Zuko doesn't have it in him to actually kill anyone. Once he realizes you're not with Sokka and Katara, he'll be back."

Aang was quiet while he weighed his options, and he slowly nodded. "You're right. We'll wait at the abby."

We returned to the abby and waited for the prince in the large courtyard. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for him to return. The abby doors burst open to reveal the large beast the head nun mentioned. Riding on top was a woman dressed in all black, an older Fire Nation man, and the prince himself.

Sokka? Katara? My eyes widened as I spotted the siblings riding on the back of the beast as hostages.

However, as I expected, they appeared unharmed. I remained hidden behind the large pots of perfume with the nuns while Aang distracted the beast. He flew in a circle on his glider, luring the animal onto its hind legs until it flew over and knocked its riders off.

The woman quickly jumped to her feet, and cracking a whip, called her pet back to action. Jumping onto the beast, she went for Aang, but Appa charged into both of them, sending them crashing into the wall. The woman and the beast were knocked unconscious, and Zuko took the opening to go after Aang.

I abandoned my hiding spot and rushed over to Katara and Sokka. "Are you two okay?"

Sokka looked at me. "We can't move."

"That pet the woman has. It can paralyze you with its tongue," Katara said.

I gasped. "Paralyze?"

"It's okay. It's not permanent." Her eyes widened. "Tashi, look out!"

I leapt out of the way before the beast could strike me with its tongue. I retreated away, wanting to keep my distance, but before the woman could send her pet after me again, Appa charged at them. While the large animals fought, I pulled Katara and Sokka to safety beside the wall.

"How long is this supposed to last?" I said.

Sokka groaned. "I don't know. An hour maybe."

I surveyed the courtyard. Appa was holding the woman and her pet at bay, but I didn't know how many times the bison could withstand whatever venom the beast carried. Then there was the older man. Unlike the woman, he looked more closely related to Zuko, but he wasn't attacking us at all for some strange reason.

Meanwhile, Zuko and Aang were dueling one on one. As they both threw their element toward each other, the combination of fire and air caused an explosion that flung them onto opposite sides of the roof. They crashed against the shingles, and both of them seemed to be unconscious.

"Aang!" I said.

Unfortunately, Zuko's armor must've softened the blow, for he recovered in a matter of seconds and made his way toward Aang, who still hadn't woken up.

I dashed in front of the prince and held an air-bending stance. "Leave Aang alone."

"You think you can stop me?" Zuko punched a blast of fire at me.

I tried my best to dodge it the way Aang taught me, but my balance was off. To my dismay, Zuko noticed, and he was able to trip me up. I landed on my back and groaned.

"Looks like someone hasn't finished their training." He smirked. "Stay out of the fight, little girl, before you need to be rescued again."

He made his way to the roof.

"Little girl?" I glared at him.

Just as Zuko managed to grab onto the edge of the roof, I leapt up and snatched him by his foot. Our combined weight sent us crashing back on the ground. I rolled over and sprung to my feet just in time to dodge the wave of fire Zuko sent at me. I returned to my comfortable technique and air-punched at him. He dodged out of the way and threw more fire at me. This time I powered through it by punching strong gusts of air into the flames, dispersing them into smoke.

I repeated my strategy over and over as I closed in on the prince, and soon I had him cornered against the wall. Zuko swipe-kicked a wave of fire at my feet, and I leapt over it and dove toward him. He caught my right arm before I could punch him, and then my left. I struggled to free myself from his grip, but he was able to flip us around and pin me against the wall.

"This is not how you treat a lady." I continued to struggle. "I guess you royals never learned manners."

"Quiet, peasant!" Zuko narrowed his eyes at me. "Now, I won't repeat myself. Stay out of my way, and I won't hurt you or your Water Tribe friends."

"And let you capture Aang? Forget it." I met his gaze and scoffed. "You know? It's a shame such a handsome face is wasted on someone like you."

I leaned forward as I said this and lightly brushed my lips against the scarred side of his face. A small gasp escaped his lips, and his grip on my arms loosened. I quickly pulled myself free before air-punching Zuko in the face. He fell back on the ground, and I stood over him with a smirk.

"You boys really do make it too easy sometimes," I said.

Unfortunately, my victory was short won, for I felt something sharp strike my neck, paralyzing my body on contact. I dropped to the ground and could only glare at Zuko once he recovered from my attack. He sent me a disgusted look in return, but I could see tinges of pink on his cheeks. Without another word, he ran off to go after Aang again.

Now I know what you're thinking. Did I have crush on Prince Zuko? Of course not. I'm just not against using my feminine wiles to my advantage. Okay, so maybe he's sort of attractive, but he's the Fire Lord's son. His family has done nothing but terrorize the rest of the world, and here he is trying to capture the Avatar. I'd sooner suffocate the loser than have any feelings for him.

Although, I'd have to say that being paralyzed was an unpleasant feeling, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I wasn't sure how long I was stuck like that, but soon the scent of perfume wafted under my nose. It was like my body had been jolted awake with lightning, and in an instant, I could move again. I looked up to see Katara, Sokka, and the Head Nun.

"Thanks for that." I stood and flexed my hands.

"No problem." Sokka looked at the woman and her pet. "That thing sees with its nose. Let's give it something to look at."

The Head Nun gestured to the bottle in her hands. "The perfume?"

Sokka nodded, and three of them went over to the other nuns to put his plan into action. They knocked the large jars of perfume over, and Katara bended through the courtyard, splashing onto the woman's pet. With its senses overwhelmed, the beast went stir crazy, its tongue slashing in all directions. It struck Zuko and its master before fleeing out of the abby.

Aang jumped down and retrieved his staff. "Is everyone alright?"

"All in one piece," I said.

Katara nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, we're fine."

Sokka gestured to Appa. "Now, let's get out of here."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, what? So you two are back now?"

"Yeah. We changed our mind." He retrieved what was left of his and Katara's bags and tossed them into the saddle. "We'll explain on the way."

I held up one finger. "Give me a second."

I walked over to where Zuko, the older man, and the woman had fallen. Lying on the ground, a few feet away, was the woman's whip, and I gladly claimed the spoils for myself.

"Now, this is more like it." I cracked the whip in the air a few times, enjoying the feel of it in my hand.

"Hey, that's mine, you brat!" the woman snarled at me from her awkward position next to the old man.

"Finders keepers." I stuck my tongue out at her before turning my attention to the prince. "If you know what's good for you, Zuko, you'll give up."

"Never." He glared at me.

"Then it's your funeral. Leave Aang alone; otherwise, I'll make sure you join Zhao when the time comes." I gave a slight bow. "Until we meet again, your Highness."

I returned to the Aang, Katara, and Sokka, and we escaped from the abby on Appa.