Sorry for the short chapters; I'm writing in split perspective for a while, so it's taking a while. I plan on posting two or three at a time, so that may make up for the fleeting intervals.

I don't own Avatar. 'Tis a shame.

Chapter Two

Sokka knelt on Appa's cold belly as the big bison napped in the shade of a giant gingko tree. The young boy was counting out the coins they had received for trading in Aang's harvesting hat and bison whistle.

"Only twelve copper pieces. That won't last us two weeks," he said in conclusion, putting the coins back into his pouch despondently.

"Only twelve?" Katara asked, confused. "I thought we got ten for the whistle and five for the hat. We should have fifteen!" Aang and Katara started searching frantically about in the grass around them for the three missing coins, while Sokka looked on guiltily.

"Well…I…er…I bought a cabbage from that man in the market," he said, staring at his knees.

"You bought a cabbage?" Aang and Katara asked together.

"I felt sorry for the guy. He has such a sad life story."

"I guess this means we're going to be eating a lot of nuts," Aang said, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work; the three didn't speak at all until nightfall. They found an enclosed place in the woods near the shores of a stream and Sokka started a small fire to keep warm by. Aang stared vacantly into the flames, concentrating on nothing; his mind was somewhere else tonight. Katara felt the bare skin of her neck, the place where her mother's necklace should have been. She remembered the scarred face of that horrible prince who now had her most precious possession. She almost wretched at the idea of Fire Nation scum like him holding the jewel and ribbon she loved so dearly. As he warmed his hands, Sokka watched his sister.

"What say you to some roast cabbage for a little dinner?" he asked them. Aang, still deep in meditation, ignored him, and Katara just glared at him in silence. "Alright then, I'll just make some for myself if you're going to be that way." He had never had roast cabbage, and it didn't seem very appealing, but he was hungry, and hungry to prove that his purchase wasn't a complete waste. He grabbed a nearby stick, impaled a shred of cabbage on it, and stuck it over the fire. How am I supposed to know it's done? he thought to himself. He heard a twig crack behind him in the woods and turned his head to look. When he saw that it was just a hare, he turned back to find that his cabbage had fallen off of his stick and into the fire. It smoldered and curled up in flames, then was quickly unrecognizable for all of the ash.

"Good plan, Sokka," Katara said, breaking the silence. There was a smile on her face that said she forgave him.

"Where are we headed tomorrow?" Aang asked as he came out of his trance.

"North," Sokka said dumbly, tossing his cabbage-roasting stick into the blaze.

"Obviously. We're heading for the North Pole," Aang said with rolling eyes. "I meant, which towns are we going to pass?"

Katara wheeled around quickly, her canteen open and poised for action. She had heard a faint smashing of leaves behind her.

"What is it?" Sokka whispered. Katara silenced him with a motion.

Aang reached for a flaming stick from the fire. "Show yourself," he called, raising the torch away from its fellows.

Suddenly, a small figure fell out of the mess of trees towards which the three were staring intently. The flickering light of the campfire tossed eerie shadows over its form, but Sokka immediately knew what it was.

"Don't hurt him! He's just a child!"

/chapter two