I've completely re-organized/re-wrote the scenes with Aang just waking up and meeting Raidon and the others. Speaking of Raidon, he is now more fleshed out then the shadow he was before. A clichéd scene with Katara blubbering like a baby and Aang and Sokka comforting her is gone. Not that all versions are bad, but mine just plain sucked and had to go. Hopefully, my replacement isn't another common writing. I haven't come across anything strikingly similar, but then I haven't read everything so let me know if you think it's another overdone plot element. Also, my little mention of the Water Bending Scroll is to be considered AU, since Katara had it with her in The Library episode. (At least I'm assuming.) We get a better look at a lesser character, Makoto in this case, and then a closer look into Jet's dynamics with his new found alliance with his enemies.
Chapter Two
Raidon
He remembered the cold; cold that had quickly numbed him, until he had felt warm. Stirring restlessly, Aang sluggishly tried to become fully alert, but a strange, black murkiness kept his eyes shut and his mind unaware of what was going on. He faintly registered pain; but he couldn't tell where it was.
Suddenly his face burned. Not simple, pleasant warmth from sitting too close to a fire for too long; they burned, like fire in his blood. After the extreme cold, the warmth of his own thawing body was unbearable. His senses were on fire and his mind was cloudy. He had no control over his thoughts and his consciousness floated freely. Aang moaned, shifting uneasily.
Faintly he seemed to make out the sound of his own whimpering, the pain in his body forcing him to sluggishly open his eyes. Colors swirled together in a haze; Aang couldn't concentrate, although he was now aware of something above him, working over him as a strange pain in his head began to throb. Of course, once he realized how much his head hurt, his right side and shoulder seemed to start screaming, along with all the little aches and pains he hadn't been aware enough to register earlier.
"Where…where…" Aang moaned, tossing side to side restlessly, giving up at making sense of the shadowy shapes in front of his eyes and closing them so there was only darkness.
Aang felt something touch his lips, and then a hand on his head, tilting his head back so that he was forced to drink. The liquid tasted vile as it slid down his throat; Aang was helpless to fight against whatever was being done to him. Almost before the hand and cup at his lips pulled away, Aang gratefully sank back into the darkness that came up to overwhelm him and knew no more.
*/^/*/^/*/^/*/^/*
The next time Aang neared consciousness he had no idea of how much time had passed, where he was, or why he hurt so badly.
Keeping his eyes shut, remembering what happened last time and still clinging to the last threads of sleep before becoming awake, Aang was in that half asleep state, where the line between reality and dreams is blurred.
His body still hurt, but he knew it would hurt more once he was awake. Aang felt warm, but it was nothing like the burning heat he had felt before. Breathing slowly, Aang began shifting through his memories, recalling when he had woken Sokka up at their campsite until he had worked out all the details following that. After remembering his last few minutes of consciousness, Aang shoved aside the desire to go back asleep and began to wake up. Aang had to find out where Katara, Sokka, Appa and Momo were and why he wasn't cold and didn't feel the wind on his face.
He only heard the low hiss and pop of a fire.
Did someone find me…? Aang thought, barely able to form a coherent sentence in his mind. Who could it be if it isn't Katara or Sokka? Aang knew he wasn't outside. There was a blanket on his chest and a pillow under his cheek. He was lying in a real bed for the first time in weeks.
After a long effort, Aang managed to open his eyes, blinking slowly as everything around him came into focus. The first thing he saw was Katara's worried face bent over his, watching him intently. Aang was uncannily reminded of when he first woke up in Katara's arms after being frozen in the ice berg.
If she was here, did that mean she and the others were okay? Were they safe? Aang just blinked as Katara's concerned face relaxed, smiling at him in relief. Aang felt her squeeze his hand gently.
"Hey," She said softly, "Glad to see you're awake. You scared us." Aang smiled weakly, almost too exhausted to even speak.
"Katara," Aang whispered, his eyes closing as if of their own accord; he was satisfied that she was real and more importantly, unharmed by the looks of things.
"I'm right here." Aang felt her sit beside him on the bed, still gripping his hand reassuringly.
"I know," Aang murmured faintly, a small smile on his lips before falling back asleep.
*/^/*/^/*/^/*/^/*
Aang was having a pleasant dream about running through the Southern Air Temple before the war when he was rudely interrupted by something jumping on his chest and tugging on his ears while screeching. Aang's eyes shot open, and his disoriented brain took a few extra seconds before recognizing the round emerald green eyes staring at him.
"Momo!" Aang exclaimed happily, managing to squeeze the lemur in a one armed hug. "You're all right!"
Releasing the lemur so that he could snuggle down in between his arm and chest, Aang didn't see Katara anywhere near by. His mind now clearer, Aang managed to prop himself up with his elbow so he was able to see something other then the brown ceiling. His eyes quickly roved over his surroundings like they hadn't been able to earlier.
He was obviously in a cabin, judging by the size of the room and the fact that the only two doors leading out of it was a bedroom and the outside. Aang's bed was in front of a large fire, and the table next to him was full of bandages, salve, and an empty cup.
I hope those bandages were only used for me, Aang thought as he realized his shirt was missing and his chest was wrapped in the same white bandages on the table. Slowly reaching up, Aang felt the bandage wrapped around his head carefully while he finished looking around the room.
A chair accompanied the table, and at the far end of the room, a black pot was sitting on a larger table, a hearty aroma wafting from it that made Aang's stomach growl. A couple of makeshift beds were in the corner, and Aang thought he saw Sokka's ponytail peeking out from one of them. The one window in the room showed nothing, only darkness, so Aang assumed it was night and that the storm was probably still going on, if the wind wailing around the cabin was any indication. The steady patter of rain or hail filled the air accompanied by the noises of the fire.
The door leading outside suddenly was slammed open, making Aang jump as his eyes strained to see who it was. In his weakened state he was at a serious disadvantage, but he prepared himself to fight in the first few seconds when he could see no one.
"Who's there?" Aang called his voice weak but firm. "Show yourself!"
For several tense seconds, there was no reply. Then a short, elderly man stepped into the firelight, his bushy grey bread stiff with snow. The stranger was clad in dark, thick winter clothes, and his bright blue eyes could barely be seen under the man's thick eyebrows.
Slamming the door behind him, the stranger peeled off his gloves as he smiled at the airbender.
"So, I finally get the pleasure of meeting my patient, and when I do, he's ready to attack me!" The man chuckled, seeming to find that thought funny. Aang continued to watch him cautiously, still unsure if he should trust this man, when Katara came out of the bedroom and saw him. A wide grin spilt her face, and her previously subdued eyes sparked.
"Aang!" Katara raced past the stranger, not giving him a second glance as she reached Aang. Aang smiled up at her, still propped up on his elbow with Momo dozing somewhere in the covers, preoccupied by the strange old man.
"Katara, who is he?" Aang asked, gesturing to the man watching them. "Where are we? What happened?" Aang was becoming very frustrated with his lack of answers.
"Will you keep it down?" A new voice grumbled, conveying the depth of its owner's annoyance.
"Sokka, Aang's awake!" was Katara's excited reply.
"Huh?" Sokka's head shot out of his bundle of blankets, and he blinked drowsily at the group by the fire. "Hey, you're right, he is. Nice to see you finally up Aang. Now keep it down." Aang nodded hurriedly before stopping with a flinch, still focused on getting his questions answered.
"Um, Katara…?" He trailed off, hoping that she would get his point.
"Oh, right." Katara paused to gather her thoughts. "Aang, this is Raidon," she said, nodding at the old man taking off his heavy over coat. "He's an earth bender and helped us find you and Momo in the snow."
"When we got you and your lemur here," Raidon continued, easily picking up the narrative, "You were both suffering from severe cold and you had injuries too of course." Raidon nodded to Aang's bandaged chest and head. "The lemur recovered quickly enough, but you had a rougher time warming up." Aang easily recalled the burning sensation he had had earlier. "We put you by the fire, got some blankets on you and fed you some soup. I was concerned when you didn't wake up throughout all of this, and so I immediately checked your head wound and injured shoulder and ribs." Raidon paused, his face turning stern. "You had a concussion and we couldn't wake you. I think you might have been in a mild coma for a few days." Aang nodded, taking in all the information with some shock (How in the world did Katara and Sokka manage to find an earth bender up here? And he might have been in a coma?) when the last of Raidon's statement registered.
"Wait—days? How long have we been here?" Aang exclaimed looking at Katara for an answer since Sokka appeared to be half asleep.
"About three days," Katara replied, her voice quiet. "Appa's in Raidon's barn," She continued, anticipating Aang's next question. "He barely fits, but he's okay. Raidon's willing for us to stay until you've recovered enough to travel." Aang flashed a quick smile at the man as Raidon started to ladle soup into some wooden bowls.
"Thank you for saving us," Aang said to Raidon, all previous mistrust disappearing as gratitude rose in his eyes. "I don't think we could have survived in that blizzard for long."
Raidon nodded in agreement while Sokka finally woke up enough to get out of his bed and walk over to Aang's bed.
"Before you ask," Sokka began as he plopped on the end of Aang's bed making Momo grunt in annoyance. "Katara and I aren't hurt too badly. She has a couple minor cuts on her arms and some bruises, but that's it. And my back got a little cut up," Sokka admitted, glancing at Katara briefly before returning his gaze to Aang's pale face.
"A little?!" Katara said indignantly, crossing her arms as Raidon experimentally tasted his stew, made a face, and then hastily added more salt. "Your winter coat was in shreds just like the rest of your back!"
Eyes widening, Aang looked at Sokka in shock, and noticed the white bandages peeking around his shirt. So his hunch had been right; Sokka had protected Katara. Sokka grimaced, and then waved off Katara like a pesky scorpion bee.
"Anyway," Sokka said too loudly, "We wouldn't have been able to find you if Appa hadn't crashed into Raidon's chimney. Katara insisted to see if he would help, so she knocked and Raidon just happened to be an earth bender—" Sokka looked puzzled, as if finding it hard to believe that they had gotten lucky like that—"and even though it took a couple hours, we found you using his earth bending."
Aang simply nodded, leaning back down on his pillow, feeling tired again. Aang could tell that he wasn't being told everything in detail, but at that point he was willing to let it slide. Now that all his questions were answered, he felt sleep tugging at the corner's of his mind. At this point, Raidon appeared a bowl in his hands.
"If you're all done talking, you two can go eat your soup while I help your friend."
As Sokka and Katara went over to the table, Aang managed a small smile. "Thank you," He said, pulling himself up with effort, not wanting to use air bending in front of the man. Raidon may have saved them, but there was no room for missteps with Zuko always chasing them. As Aang began to eat, noting that the stew was a little salty, he noticed Raidon studying him closely.
"I've never seen anybody with tattoos like those before."
Aang choked on his soup and started coughing violently for a couple moments before glancing around Raidon at Sokka and Katara. Katara's face was frozen in panic, as if she had forgotten that Aang's appearance was rather unique, and Sokka was waving his arms back and forth shaking his head violently 'no.'
No? How does that help me figure out what to say to him? Aang thought briefly before looking back at Raidon.
"Um…yeah, I got this from a guy back in Omashu," Aang said quickly, blurting out the first thing that came to mind, pointing to the arrow on his forehead. Raidon arched one eyebrow.
"Still, it's pretty strange that you have tattoos all over your body." Aang fought back the urge to recoil, having forgotten that Raidon had probably needed to change him out of his wet shirt and pants when he was rescued.
"They look an awful lot like air bender tattoos." Raidon added, his eyes boring into Aang questioningly. Eyes now widened as far as they could go, Aang frantically thought about what to say to that.
"Um…Uh…w-well you see uh…" At that point, Aang's ever present headache worsened and he winced, moaning.
"My head…" He muttered, blindly setting his bowl on the bedside table and holding his throbbing head as if it might vibrate off his neck. Raidon immediately stopped his questioning and stood up.
"Let me get you some pain reliever for that," Raidon said over his shoulder as he opened a chest of herbs, busily shuffling through packets and vials. Leaning back against the pillows, Aang closed his eyes, relieved. That couldn't have been better timing. But now that he had closed his eyes, the need for sleep intensified to the point that when Raidon turned back with his cup of tea, Aang was fast asleep.
*/^/*/^/*/^/*/^/*
Sokka carefully watched Raidon as he left the cabin, going out to the barn to check on his own animals and Appa. Sokka thought that the man half-expected Appa to eat them. Aang was still asleep by the fire, a slight crease between his eye brows, Momo sleeping next to him as usual. Raidon's cabin was extremely boring, and Sokka's eyes roved around trying to find something to distract him while he finished the last of the soup.
Katara was staring broodingly into the fire, a pensive look on her face. Sokka couldn't help but frown as best as he could while drinking. Those long, terrifying hours of trying to find Aang were hard for him to remember, and Katara seemed to be more effected by it than he was. Of course, the added fact that she had also been the one to initially reach Aang after Raidon located him might have something to do with it, Sokka mused to himself, licking his wooden spoon.
He had thought Aang and Momo were dead when he first saw them and only to himself would he admit that his heart had leapt into his throat and time seemed to freeze for a few seconds before Raidon announced he wasn't dead.
Getting up from the table, Sokka ignored his sore back as best as he could while he walked over to Katara. He would have let her be since Katara had healed his and everyone else's' injuries earlier that morning (although he was still sore) but he didn't want to sleep again. He had slept so much during these past few days that he had no interest in trying.
Gingerly sitting down, careful of his sore body, Sokka sighed gustily and stared at the fire, letting Katara stay in her trance for a moment longer. But when he spotted her brief, worried glance at Aang, he decided that she needed something other to dwell on other then how close they had come to losing Aang.
"Don't you think Raidon hit too close to home earlier?" Sokka asked, taking the opportunity to talk about it with Katara without the danger of Raidon overhearing. Katara jumped slightly, looking startled at being addressed for a moment before frowning thoughtfully.
"Yes. But it would do no good to deny it since I'm sure he's already guessed." Katara returned her gaze to the fire, uncomfortable about the fact that Raidon had that kind of information about Aang.
"But who knows," She added after a brief pause, forced optimism in her voice, "Maybe nothing will come of it. I mean, he's not Fire Nation and he lives up here alone."
Sokka shrugged. "Maybe." Honestly, with all the uproar Momo had caused in the mountain village, he didn't think that one more person knowing Aang's identity would make that big of a difference. Although Sokka still didn't like the thought of more people knowing; that was just tempting fate even more than they usually did to be going around blurting out or giving away Aang's identity.
They fell silent again, and Sokka found himself wondering when Raidon would be back. The storm had stopped, but everything was nearly buried with snow, and Sokka didn't want to try to put his coat back on after how much effort he had had to go through to take it off when they got here. So that ruled out the option of going outside to find something to do. Fidgeting restlessly with the edge of his shirt, Sokka glared at the fire before glancing at Aang. Sokka couldn't repress his wince. Aang looked horrible, even when compared to how closely Sokka's back had looked like shredded meat a couple days ago.
Sokka idly began tapping his heels against the wooden post of Aang's bed, becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of anything remotely interesting to do. All he could do was try to pry conversation out of Katara, or watch her watch the fire, or watch Aang breath or stare at the brown ceiling or the bucket full of dirty dishes. Man, now I wish I hadn't eaten all the stew, Sokka grumbled mentally, resuming glaring at the fire.
"I'm bored."
"Get used to it." Her reply came instantly, and she obviously didn't care if Sokka was about to suffer insanity through boredom.
"Why should I?" Sokka shot back, although he was still uninterested by the dumb argument.
"Because you don't have a choice." Was Katara's answer, and to Sokka's sudden delight he heard the unmistakable edge of irritation in her voice. Well, he was bored, and since nothing better offered to come up, Sokka decided to make the most of it.
"Oh yeah? Say's who? You're not the boss of me," Sokka taunted, continuing to keep up the constant noise of his feet hitting Aang's bed. Katara sighed heavily, and then glared at Sokka.
"If you're bored, why don't you do our host a favor and wash the dirty dishes and stop bugging me?"
"Why can't you wash dishes? You're the waterbender! Besides, all you're doing is staring at Aang!" Sokka thought he saw a vein stand out on Katara's forehead.
"In that case, why I don't I just—!" Katara bit off whatever she was going to say (and Sokka knew it wasn't going to be polite judging by her voice) when the front door suddenly opened and Raidon stepped in, shivering and briskly wiping the snow off his shoulders.
As one, Katara and Sokka turned back to the fire and stared blankly into it; both of them sending off such a powerful aura of a foul mood, that Raidon paused and blinked at them. Studiously ignoring Raidon's gaze, Sokka began to pick his teeth, listening to the sound of Raidon struggling to take off his heavy snow boots.
"Sokka, could you do me a favor?" Raidon asked his blue eyes pleading as he approached the fire to warm up, now free of his boots.
"Um…sure…" Sokka said slowly, wondering where this was headed.
"It appears that um…" Raidon coughed into his hand for a second, appearing faintly uneasy before continuing. "Appa didn't make it outside in time to…take care of some…necessary bodily functions." Sokka stared at Raidon for a couple seconds, trying to figure out what the guy meant, when it suddenly clicked and Sokka turned rather green.
"You…you want me to…clean that up?" Sokka hated how his voice cracked. Raidon leveled him with a cool stare.
"Yep. That things nearly the size of my bed. It ain't my responsibility." Sokka's mouth opened and closed speechlessly for a few seconds while Katara snorted as she tried unsuccessfully not to laugh.
"Well then, Katara can help me." Sokka said, his disgust momentarily forgotten by the need to make Katara suffer along with him. Katara immediately stopped coughing and since her back was to Raidon, she gave Sokka a glare that chilled him before turning to Raidon.
"But Raidon needs my help in here, don't you?" She said sweetly, putting on her most innocent expression. The look that usually ended up with Sokka getting the short end of the stick.
"Well…" Raidon murmured, looking unsure.
"Of course you need me in here!" Katara cried, looking hurt. "Who else will help you with the dishes and Aang?" Sokka knew he better find some gloves and a nose plug when he saw the way Raidon's face lit up at the word 'dishes'.
"Katara's right Sokka!" Raidon said firmly as Katara turned back around, a smug gleam in her eyes. "I want you to take care of it immediately before…it….freezes."
Only because you saved us from certain death, Sokka hissed to himself as he stomped away to go grab his winter coat. That's the only reason why I'd ever do something like this! As Raidon prepared another one of his nasty tea drinks for Aang Sokka continued his sour attitude as he tugged on his boots and dug out a scrap of fabric to plug his nose with.
Why was he always the one getting stuck with these kinds of jobs? Just as Sokka was about to open the door after finally getting his coat on and grabbing a shovel, Raidon had one more thing to say to him.
"Sokka, don't forget that once you're done with that, I need you to bring more firework in and then chop more up."
Groaning, Sokka threw the door open without replying and then waded through the snow until he could shut the door. As Sokka trudged through the snow, and struggled to breath in the icy cold wind without freezing his windpipe, he realized one thing.
Next time he'd remember that being bored was bettering than getting on Katara's nerves. Maybe.
*/^/*/^/*/^/*/^/*
After another couple days of Aang recovering with Katara doing housework while Raidon tended to Aang and Sokka did chores, Aang was finally allowed out of bed.
Despite his occasional dizziness, Aang was almost completely recovered. Katara had been able to heal the surface wounds on his shoulder and side (which had astounded Raidon) although his cracked ribs had to remain bound and his shoulder was still tender.
The gash on his head was also healed by Katara, but Raidon had still warned him that he would have headaches and bouts of dizziness for the next five days or so. Just like Sokka who had come to a similar conclusion a while back, Aang found Raidon's cabin to be mind-numbingly boring. He couldn't go outside because Raidon was against it, saying he wasn't healthy enough, and Katara didn't want him airbending. She had let him waterbend for a while when Raidon was gone, but after he had accidentally doused the fire and covered the whole room in steam, Katara said no to that too.
So as of right now, Aang was drumming his fingers restlessly against the table he was sitting at, completely listless since Katara had assured him that she could take care of supper and that he should 'just rest.'
That's all I'm ever doing lately, Aang thought in mild disgust. Resting. Sighing for the second time in as many minutes, Aang watched Katara as she moved around gathering ingredients. Momo was outside visiting with Appa, and Aang wished he could be there with them. Suddenly an idea popped in his head and a slow, devilish smile crept across his face while his grey eyes gleamed. Quickly schooling his features into his most innocent expression, Aang got up from the table.
"Hey, Katara, I'm gonna go take a nap in the spare bedroom, okay?"
"Sure Aang," Katara said, focusing on the egg she was breaking into the pan. "Let me know if you need something."
Scarcely believing his luck, Aang hurried out of the room and then shut the door. Turning around and running to the bed Aang quickly arranged the pillows on the bed to look like him. It wouldn't stand on a close inspection, but if someone would just glance at it, it would fool them. Satisfied with his handiwork, Aang turned to the single window in the bedroom.
Aang grinned. Freedom. Then his grin faltered. Wait, how am I going to get out without breaking the window? Groaning, Aang realized that since Raidon lived this high up in the mountains that the window wasn't designed to open. After finally convincing himself that he couldn't break the window and then fill the hole with a frozen block of ice, Aang threw himself down on the bed, his normal good nature gone and replaced with a sulk as he stared up at the ceiling. Maybe he could get Sokka to help him escape…
Sitting up, his bad mood forgotten, Aang got a sneaky smirk on his face as the wheels in his brain started turning to figure out a way to convince Sokka to help him escape from the confines of the cabin…
*/^/*/^/*/^/*/^/*
As Sokka lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling, he found himself wondering why things always went so unfairly for him.
Earlier that day he had come inside after feeding Raidon's animals, Sokka found himself grabbed by the shirt with a hand over his mouth and then pulled into Raidon's bedroom. The door had shut quickly and as Sokka turned to see who his attacker was, he saw Aang. The younger boy was fed up with being kept in the cabin and had wanted to go outside to see Appa and Momo. And he wanted Sokka to help sneak him out. Knowing what Katara and Raidon's reactions to that would be, Sokka had laughed in Aang's face and told him to forget it.
Until the little brat had turned traitor and threatened to tell Katara exactly what had happened to her beloved water bending scroll and how it had meant its untimely demise. So Sokka had snuck Aang out the front door by taking both Katara and Raidon out to look and see how much food for Appa was left. They were under the pretence that Aang was still napping, when actually the airbender had snuck out the front after they went into the barn and then had hid behind the house. Once they had gone inside, Aang raced to the barn and saw Appa again, and after that he began literally bouncing off the walls.
Aang and Sokka had been having a fun time for the first time in days…until the door to the barn had slammed open and Katara stood in the doorway, obviously seething by the brightness of her face and the way her teeth were gritted.
After receiving the worst tongue lashing of his life by Katara and Raidon, Sokka's supper was given to Momo and he was assigned even more chores by Raidon. As he now lay seething in bed, he glared over at Aang who was sleeping on the floor next to him, Raidon having taken his bed. Since according to him "If you're well enough to be disobeying orders and sneaking out of cabins, you're well enough to stop receiving special treatment and sleep on the floor like everyone else!"
"This is your fault!" Sokka hissed, careful that Raidon didn't hear him. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Aang crack one eye open and then sigh.
"Yeah. I know." There was a brief silence, filed by the sound of the ever present fire that was kept going to keep the cabin warm.
"You could at least say you're sorry." Sokka muttered sullenly as his stomach growled, wishing he wasn't able to still smell the supper Katara had cooked.
"Sorry." Another silence ensued, and by the time Aang talked again Sokka was nearly asleep.
"Hey Sokka, when did Katara get so bossy?"
Sokka's eyes flew open and he snorted, trying to keep himself from laughing outright at Aang's annoyed question. Aang annoyed at his sister? Well that didn't happen often.
"What do you mean 'when'? Katara's always been bossy," Sokka snickered, forgetting to lower his voice in his amusement.
"Sokka! Be quiet and go to sleep!"
Cringing, Sokka glowered at the ceiling and deliberately ignored Aang as the airbender rolled over and went back to sleep. Sighing heavily, Sokka decided to follow Aang's example and then went to sleep.
*/^/*/^/*/^/*/^/*
Two days later, everyone woke up early and met outside the cabin. Appa was led out of the barn, and his saddle was re-attached by Aang when Raidon had ducked into the cabin to grab a bag of food and medicine he wanted them to take with. When the final bag had been bound under the tarp, Aang, Katara, Sokka and Momo turned back to Raidon, who stood smiling.
"Thank you for all your help Raidon," Aang said thankfully, shaking the man's hand. "We wouldn't be here right now if you hadn't."
His smile widening, Raidon gripped Aang's hand tightly. "It was a pleasure to help you, Avatar Aang." Aang stiffened and locked gazes with Raidon's dancing blue eyes before relaxing and smiling back.
"This cabin will feel lonely when you're gone," Raidon admitted ruefully, shaking his head. "I'm going to miss having young folk around. I'm not much of a hermit."
Sokka tilted his head to the side. "So just move back into down when the passes open in the spring," He said bluntly, as if it was painfully obvious.
For a moment Raidon looked startled before chuckling wryly at himself. "I'll plan on that." As a short pause came, Aang couldn't help but gaze ahead, taking in the clear view of the land ahead that was made possible by the cloudless sky today. Raidon followed his gaze.
"The badlands," Raidon began, "Have a river running through it and then out into the forest. Use it as your guide but camp a distance away from the river to avoid the desert wildlife." As the friends nodded in acknowledgement to Raidon's advice, a cold gusty wind blew by causing everyone to shiver.
"We should probably be going," Katara said, glancing up at the towering peaks above her. "Thanks again for your help Raidon," She added, smiling at the older man before giving him a quick.
"Yeah, thanks." Sokka chimed, although he couldn't help but feel that his thanks was already shown by all those chores Raidon had him do nearly all the eight days they had stayed here.
"You're welcome," Raidon called after them as they all clamored onto Appa.
"Good bye!" Aang shouted back, and then to Appa he said "yip yip."
As Appa launched himself up into the sky, Aang glanced back in time to see Raidon watching them leave, a sad smile on his lips. Then the cabin and its owner disappeared from view as the mountain walls curved into a turn. They were all quiet for a moment or two, falling into companionable silence while Momo toyed with the end of Katara's braid, lazily flicking his tail.
"We need to make sure that before we leave the river we all take baths." Katara said suddenly as she caught sight of the jewel-like snake of water ahead of them in the terrain.
"Are you we saying we stink?" Sokka asked indignantly, folding his arms. In the background, Aang looked startled and then discreetly sniff his arm pits before freezing and jerking his nose away, his face sickened. Lazily, Katara's eyes turned from the river to consider Sokka and then Aang's back.
"Yes." She said bluntly, her face unreadable. "We all do." Making a face, Sokka reluctantly nodded his head in agreement before pulling out his knife and whetstone to pass the time and sharpen his blade. After another hour, they finally passed out of the mountains and Appa flew down lower so that they could get a closer look at the land beneath them.
"Behold the badlands!" Aang exclaimed melodramatically, a wide grin on his face as he turned around to his friends. Katara and Sokka leaned over Appa's saddle in curiosity and gazed down at the wild, untamed land below them.
"Its like millions of tiny desert canyons," Sokka muttered. The badlands stretched on for miles, a large river winding in and out of the canyons. At some points there were little valleys covered in grass and wildflowers but it was mostly a vast, desert wasteland covered in cacti and sage.
"Its pretty," Katara said, appreciatively eyeing the meadows with the wildflowers. "It doesn't look too bad."
Sokka gave her a skeptical look. "Do you honestly expect that crossing even a small desert will be "not too bad"?"
"Quit being so negative Sokka," Katara reprimanded. Aang nodded, quickly agreeing with her.
"Yeah; I mean, wedon't have to worry about Zuko being on our tail," Aang remarked as he lowered Appa even closer to the ground in an attempt to leave the cold air behind. "We're miles away from the sea and that river is too shallow to sail on."
"Plus, just think of the nice cold bath you're going to have," Katara said teasingly, smirking at Sokka's exasperated face. Sokka rolled his eyes and he began sharpening his blade with renewed vigor.
*/^/*/^/*/^/*/^/*
Jet held his small spy glass up to his eye. Slowly, he surveyed the land from the small hill he was on until he caught sight of a tiny village at the foot of ice capped mountains.
"Do you see that town?" Jet said as he handed the spy glass to the lieutenant of the Fire Nation troops. The man was tall, near his early forties with graying hair evident in his top knot and sideburns. He had a birthmark running over his left eye, and under it was a black patch. Makoto, his single dark brown eye grim, took the spy glass and peered through it until he saw it.
"It looks like an ordinary Earth Kingdom village," He said curtly, wondering just what this teen was trying to pull.
"If we don't stop we could make it by nightfall." Jet muttered to himself. Makoto glanced back at the puffing rhinos and the saddle sore men. His men were used to long days of training, but the drive Jet had pushed them with seemed almost unearthly. The teen himself had to experiencing some discomfort after his long days of inactivity, but his face was a blank mask. Not that Makoto cared if Jet was tired. He didn't. But it would make things a lot easier to control if the kid wasn't so damn unpredictable…
"No. We need to slow down or else the rhino's will start go lame." Makoto said firmly, even though it was an exaggeration on the rhino's part. Jet's head snapped up and he glared at the lieutenant, black eyes smoldering. Wolf-eyes. How appropriate. The lieutenant thought scornfully, meeting Jet's gaze with a blank stare.
"Who's in charge of this expedition?" Jet said complacently. If Lazar wouldn't have had him killed or sent to the mines, Makoto would have struck the teen down where he stood. If he was an officer under him things would be easier but no…everything had to be so much more complicated.
"You are," Makoto said through gritted teeth, hating his lack of control.
"And I say we make it to that village by nightfall." Jet answered sharply, his eyes still narrowed in irritation. "Tell the men to move out." Jet added and glanced back at the mountains. His mouth tightening in a straight line, Makoto went down the hill and started yelling at the men to keep moving. Why the kid wanted to go to some Earth Kingdom village was none of his concern. He just had to make sure that he and his men stayed alert in order to spot any trickery Jet might try to pull.
Watching the lieutenant leave, Jet inwardly snarled, but kept his face in its impassive expression. Murderous fire benders. Only for now would he tolerate them. It was unavoidable if he wanted his freedom along with his people. If his freedom fighters saw him supposedly working for the enemy, he had no idea what they'd do…but once he met up with them again, he would tell them how he had escaped and make them see it his way. He always did.
Jet urged his rhino on. This direction points north and if they're still going to the North Pole like I know they are…Jet's mouth twitched as he started thinking out his attack plan. They'll be going this way. There'll be no escape for them. Just like there was no escape for me.