CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! Tatiana woke with a start and sat up in her covers as the blinding white flash faded. The fire had died down to its last embers. It wasn't remotely cold, although it was damp. She shivered as the lightning came again. Sokka and Katara were sleeping soundly in the covers that she had let them borrow.
Tatiana pushed her covers back and tiptoed to the back of her 'house' where she kept spare firewood. It was still late and she didn't want to wake Sokka or Katara. Thank goodness their here, I probably would have been scared to death if I had to go through this storm alone, she thought.
Tatiana grabbed three logs and set them in the dying embers of the fire. The logs caught fire and the flames danced circles around the blackened bark. The flames reflected in her eyes along with another lightning strike in the rainy background.
"Ehm…" she heard Sokka murmur in his sleep. She looked his way and he rolled over where his face was too hers, she glanced away. It wouldn't be pleasant for him or for her for Sokka to wake up and see her staring at him. Tatiana fed the last log to the regenerated fire and curled up in her blankets to try and go too sleep.
"Sokka get up!" Katara said as she shook him. Sokka opened his eyes to see Katara's face in his, overlarge because of the closeness of it.
"AH!" he yelled as he scooted backwards in the blankets. The sun wasn't out and it looked like it wasn't going to come out from behind the smoky grey blue clouds that covered the sky. Rain still drizzled lazily from the barn's overhanging.
"We have to go look for Aang! He's still out there!" she said, her eyes filled with worry.
"Aang's fine. He probably found shelter just like us, don't worry Katara," he said wishing he could go back to sleep. He rarely got to sleep in.
"But what if he didn't Sokka?"
"Trust me, he did. And anyway we couldn't find him if he was hiding. He'll be looking for us before we find him," he said before turning back over.
"Sokka!" she said shaking him again.
"What?"
"We can't just stay here forever! Every second that we stay here is another second that Tatiana is in danger. Do you want us to repay her by getting her in trouble with the Fire nation?"
"No…" he said sitting up and putting his boomerang in its sheath.
"Then we need to leave now before she can get up and ask us where we're going," said Katara as she folded up Sokka's blanket.
"Right… where exactly are we going?" he asked.
"To look for Aang! Now be quiet or she'll wake up."
"What if we can't find him?"
"Then we'll have to come back here and ask to stay another night," Katara said and put his folded up blanket on top of hers.
"Wait, where is Tatiana?" he asked. Her blankets were piled up on each other making it look like someone was still laying in them.
"What?" said Katara glancing at the blankets.
"She's not there," he said simply.
"Where is she?" she asked.
"I think I might know," said a voice from the doorway.
Tatiana woke up again. There had been another landslide, she could feel it in the ground. Tatiana decided not to wake Sokka or Katara so she pushed her blankets off and got up. The fire was still burning rather well so she gave it no thought.
She walked to the barn door and opened it. It was still dark and raining outside, but the lightning and thunder had ceased. Tatiana walked towards the shelter of the trees, the path was muddied and slippery. She put a hand on one of the passing trees and felt for the location of the landslide… Briar Hill… Ani's house! She thought and raced through the forest ignoring the path and taking every short cut that she knew.
The trees whipped past her vision and she stumbled a few times on either mud or tree roots. Please be okay Ani… please be okay…time didn't seem real as she ran towards the small village Briar Hill. Ani's family had let her live with them after her mother had passed away. They often gave her food when she was short, and extra blankets. They had been like a second family too her. She had only left when she felt that she had intruded on their hospitality long enough. She couldn't keep living at her old home, it had been crushed during the land slide. Tears slipped out of the corners of her eyes as she thought of the same thing happening to Ani as it had hers.
The sign that marked Briar hill was in front of her before she knew it. Tatiana looked around at the surrounding houses. Rocks and boulders were strewn around the homes. Most had rocks lodged in the roofs of their homes. Several of the occupants were outside.
"Tatiana, did Eio find you?" asked Eram as he approached her. Eram was a farmer a little older than her that lived with his mother and his twin brother and sister.
"No, I sensed a landslide. Is anyone hurt?" she asked looking worriedly at all of the ruined homes.
"I don't think so, just the houses," he said observing the damage inflicted on his own roof.
"Good, is Shiomi here yet?" she asked stretching her arms.
"No, just Hisha," she looked quizzically at him. "Over there, see for yourself. Eio ran to get you and Shiomi." She looked over and saw Hisha moving some smaller rocks from the tops of houses.
"Shiomi has probably already sensed it and is on her way," she said to calm him, "I should help Hisha," she said and walked over to where Hisha was struggling with a heavy rock. She struck the moving rock pose, her feet spread apart and her arms palms out in front of her. The rock slowly began to tremble. She raised her hands up and over her head and began to make a pile of boulders behind Eram's house.
"Thank goodness, Tati is here!" cried Mistress Kiosh as she saw Tati. She raised her arms in praise and jogged over. "Did Shiomi come with you?"
"No, but she should be here," she said as she started to work with the boulder that had crushed a wagon.
Shiomi arrived shortly after with Eio on her heels.
"Shiomi, where have you been?" asked Mistress Kiosh upon Shiomi's arrival.
"I had to take care of Ari and Dema, but Seta is taking care of them now," said the tired looking Shiomi. Tatiana gritted her teeth with contempt. Even though she did more work than Shiomi, Shiomi still managed to take the credit for everything. And the better part of the pay.
"It's quite all right now, I took care of everything," Tatiana said. Shiomi surveyed her work. It had been a relatively small slide although it had still caused damage.
"Yes, but what are we going to do about that pile of rocks. Tati you go home and get some rest. I'll take it from here," Shiomi said. Tatiana gritted her teeth again. It always ended like this, she would do all of the bending and Shiomi would stay after and help clean up. Of course everyone liked Shiomi better than her, Shiomi had three kids, a husband fighting the fire nation in Omashu, and she was older. No matter what she did, she was still only fifteen and had limited experience compared to Shiomi.
Tatiana waved too Shiomi and walked back towards the forest. A hand caught her shoulder and she spun around. It was only Eram.
"Thank you Tatiana. I know they don't give you enough credit, I have eyes and ears. But you deserve it, here," he held out a silver comb. Her eyes shone with gratitude.
"You're welcome Eram," she said as she lifted the comb from his outstretched hand. It had a crane standing on one leg shaped into the handle with lilies floating around the crane. "It's beautiful," she said as she moved her fingers over the handle.
"Thanks, I bought it on Trade Day," he said. After a short silence he put his hand on the back of his neck and smiled, "You really do deserve it, I know that not everyone pays you. I hope this makes up for it," he said. Tatiana smiled back at Eram and hugged him around the neck. At first Eram hesitated then wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back.
Well it hasn't been a total loss of a night, she thought as she waved goodbye too Eram and walked into the trees. Ani and her family were gone to see her grandparents in Greenbrooke, and Eram had given her a very beautiful comb for her troubles. And she had gotten a hug from Eram, she sighed her heart fluttering.
The sky still hadn't cleared and probably wouldn't all day. She could smell another rain coming on the wind. Tatiana took her time getting back too her barn, holding the comb in her hand and running her fingers over it casually admiring the silky feel of it in her palm. She could see the barn through the trees up ahead, the sight of it made her thoughts slow. The sky was still dark and cloudy, and there was no sign of the sun. Katara and Sokka would probably be up by now or would be looking for their friend Aang, she thought.
A flash of red armor caught her eye and she froze. Fire bend- a hand clapped over her mouth and a blind fold was secured around her head interrupted her thoughts before she had time to breath. A pair of strong arms pulled her backward into someone's mysterious embrace.
"Don't move," said a dark voice in her ear. She shivered involuntarily as the wind of his breath entered her ear. Heat was coming off of the Fire bender's hands, his left arm was around her stomach and his other arm was clamped on her right arm. "That's right sweetheart, be still," he said again.
Tatiana was carried for a few minutes and then dropped on the ground. She could feel heat coming from a fire nearby. The Fire bender who had captured her was talking with another Fire bender.
"I have a hostage Commander," she heard her capturer say. There was some muttered talk.
"-the main tent."
She strained to see below the blindfold, but it was expertly tied around her head. She suffered through the intolerable red of the cloth until her captor's hand closed around upper arm and lifted her too her feet.
"This way," he said as he lead her in front of him. One of his hands was on the nape of her neck the other was clamped on the upper part of her left arm. "Don't try anything reckless unless you want all of this pretty hair of yours singed off," he said into her ear.
"I don't plan on it," she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. She heard him laugh behind her as his hand around her arm tightened, although it wasn't painful. Tatiana assumed that they didn't know she was an Earth bender yet. Good, she thought, she couldn't wait to bury them all under a landslide.
After a time they stopped. "I have a hostage that might interest his 'Highness,'" said her captor. There was a pause and then she was led forward into more heat. Tatiana was dropped on her knees too the floor again.
"What is the meaning of this disturbance?" said another voice, it sounded angry.
"Please, Prince Zuko hear the man out," said another voice, this one sounded more kind.
"Alright. What is it?" said the angry voice again.
"I found this one lurking in the trees. Apparently going to the Earth bender's home," there was a pause, "Where the old man said he saw the two Water tribe brats go." There was another pause.
"Leave her," said the voice, although it didn't sound angry any more.
"Yes, sir," said her captor and she felt a draft at her back. Tatiana stiffened as she felt someone's hands on the back of her head. She shielded her eyes with her hands as her blindfold fell off and a roaring fire pierced her eyes. She gasped and wiped at them as she bent over on her knees. A hand on her arm helped her up, heat came from this pair of hands too. She still wasn't safe.
"Leave us Uncle," said the person behind her. The hand disappeared from her shoulder and she looked up wiping at her eyes, the stinging was finally gone. A short older man balding on the top walked passed with his arms hidden inside of his sleeves.
She was led past the fire into a room where the Fire Nation flag was embroidered on the tents crimson walls. Tatiana saw a desk with a stack of papers on it and another rug embroidered with the Fire Nation's emblem.
"What were you doing at the Earth bender's home?" came the voice. Tatiana turned to face the man behind her. A helmet obscured his face but she could clearly see into his golden eyes. "There was a landslide, I had to go and get her," she said staring into his eyes, he smirked.
"You lie," he said, she looked away.
"Prince Zuko, the Avatar has been spotted flying towards the ocean!" yelled a Fire Bender troop as he ran into the tent. Prince Zuko looked away from her to the newly arrived Fire bender.
"Leave everything and board the ship," he said.
"Yes sir. What do you want us to do with her?" said the Fire bender pointing at her.
"Bring her," he said and walked out.
"Yes sir," said the troop.
(Yes, a little longer of a chapter. I hope you like it better than my last chapter. More to come soon!-crouching bunny.)
