Chapter Nine: The Cockatrice

Aang stood in front of a large bowl that had foliage in it, and small mad-made cliffs. He wondered what was in there.

"Inside you must find the egg of a cockatrice. I'm so hungry I can eat an egg that big." The king said.

"Then I'll go and get it." Aang said. He was about to jump in to the bowl when Ceres jumped up next to him.

"I'm going with you." She said bravely.

"But you could get hurt." Aang said.

"I want to save your friends just as much as you do. They're my friends now too, and I want to help." She said. She jumped into the bowl and disappeared behind foliage. Aang jumped in after her.

"Where do you think the nest is?" Aang whispered. He suddenly fell into a next that was bigger than he and Ceres combined. There was a green egg with white spots in the center. Aang grabbed it quickly. "Wow that was easier than I thought."

A strange roar was abruptly made from not too far away. Something came running through the trees. It was the giant cockatrice! It was plumed with red and green feathers and had the body of a lizard but the head and tail of an ugly parrot.

Aang and Ceres both screamed and started running for the end of the bowl. Aang had trouble carrying the egg but if he let go it would break. Ceres mind was racing as she tried to think of a way to stop the furious cockatrice. Her mind crossed the bag of corn seeds. She reached into her shirt pocket and took out the bag of seeds.

She stopped to unwind the string that kept it shut and reach in to take out a handful of seeds. She tossed them behind her at the cockatrice and started to run again. She turned her head to see what was happening.

Ceres gasped at what she was seeing. The corn seeds were no longer there, but giant corn stalks were growing from the ground. The cockatrice wasn't able to get through the stalks and was stuck inside them. Ceres was afraid. This was almost like what had happened in her dream, and the king had given her the seeds for a reason. Something was going on, and she was determined to find out. She ran to the top of the bowl and jumped back out.

Aang had been waiting for her with the egg there. She sighed with relief that he'd made it over the side. She tied the bad of corn seeds back up and placed it in her pocket. She was glad that she now knew a use for them.

"Here, enjoy your breakfast! Get on with the next trial!" Aang yelled at the king.

"Don't worry, I will" the king said and went off to put the egg away. Aang and Ceres followed him. Ceres mind was racing with all the possibilities of what had happened, and all the things that could happen. She was shaking violently.

"Ceres, are you alright? You're trembling." Aang asked her when he noticed her condition.

"I'm fine. The cockatrice just scared me a bit, that's all" she lied. Leslie trailed behind her, worriedly. Her ears were pulled back to show her confusion. She could sense dispair and worry around Ceres.

Are the corn seeds magic? Or is it something else? If any of you have a suggestion for the next trials, please say so! They can't be from the actual episode because I want to completely change it around.