ratavA nwo t'noD. Thought I'd twist things up a bit... go hold youre computer up next to a mirror if you can't figure it out and absolutely MUST know the secret to life. I mean... read the story?
Oh yeah, Um... Thanks to encouragement from BADDtotheproverbialbone'DL, outthere101, and to save airgirl555 from an unpleasant death... I'm updating today, Thursday! Instead of Tuesday. Enjoy!
"…mumble mumble …"
"… hit… saved…"
"… helped us… her!"
I groaned, regaining consciousness.
"Great, you woke her up!"
I opened my eyes slowly, adjusting to the light filtering through the trees.
"Take it easy. Here, have some water." Katara handed me a small cup. I took a sip and looked around. It looked like we had landed in a forest, the giant furry white creature was eating from a pile of leaves and the Avatar and Katara's brother were peering at me curiously from behind her.
"Where are we? What happened?"
"Our ship went over the falls after we escaped. Appa saved us though!" Katara smiled. "We landed in the forest so we could rest. But don't worry, Zuko won't find us."
I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing just then.
The older boy behind Katara finally spoke up. "Who are you?"
"I'm Kristen." I peered at him. "Who are you?"
He struck a carefree pose. "Sokka. Defender of the Southern Water Tribe!" I laughed faintly.
"And you're the Avatar… Aang was it?" The bald boy grinned, nodding his head.
"Yup! Pleased to meet you!" There was a silence, and Aang kept looking at me. "You have really weird hair."
I laughed really hard.
"Aang!" Katara looked offended.
"No- haha- it's ok, really! Ooh… yeah I noticed you people seem to be surprised at my hair."
Sokka perked up. "You people?"
"Well yeah, all of you people on this world."
They all just looked at me oddly. "Er, you know… and all the Fire Nation people. They thought it was really weird too."
"Well yeah," Sokka rolled his eyes, "all Firebenders are weird." He held up my iPod. "Say… what's this?"
"It's an iPod. It plays music." They all looked at it oddly.
"That's a really odd instrument." Katara remarked. I laughed.
"It's not an instrument. It plays recorded music." In return I got a bunch of blank stares. I don't think they'll ever understand. "Hey… do you know if Zuko and Iroh were ok?"
"The last we saw of them, yeah. But they were still fighting." Aang replied. "Why?"
"Well… I just wanted to know if they were all right."
"Saaay…" Sokka looked suspiciously at me. "You're not a Firebender are you?"
"No I'm not- well… yeah I'm not a Firebender."
"Then where are you from?" Aang piped in.
"Umm…" Man this was hard. I couldn't decide whether or not to tell them. I sighed. "It's just too confusing. You wouldn't believe me anyway."
"Try me." Sokka folded his arms across his chest.
"…Another world."
Everyone stared at me. Then Sokka burst into laughter.
"No, seriously." He wiped his eyes, subduing a chuckle.
"I think she is serious." Aang was still staring at me. But he seemed the quickest to accept this news. Katara still looked skeptical.
"Look, if you don't believe me, just check out the iPod. Y'all couldn't make something like that."
Katara turned the small object over in her hands. "How does it work?"
"Here…" I placed the speakers in her ears, and selected a song to play. Her eyes widened when the music started, and she looked around, then at the iPod in her hand.
"Amazing… there aren't any instruments!" she grinned at me. "It's beautiful music."
"I can't hear anything!" Sokka waved his hands at Katara. I laughed, taking another drink of water as Katara tried to help Sokka and Aang figure out the iPod. This was too funny. I suddenly became somber.
"I feel sorry for everyone here…" The others stopped messing around and looked at me.
"Why?" Aang asked.
"Well… You have to save the world, but you're only twelve. My cousin's barely twelve and the only thing he has to worry about is getting good grades in school. Zuko has to capture you for his dad, to regain some supposed lost honor, and it wasn't even his fault in the first place. It's just… it's so messed up." I looked at them.
"That's why Zuko's after Aang?" Katara looked thoughtful.
"Yeah. I think his dad's evil."
"You've met him?" Sokka looked surprised.
"No! Iroh just told me about it all."
"That reminds me… how did you end up with them anyway?"
"After that first day in the village when I got here, I was running away from the soldiers but slipped on some ice and was knocked unconscious." Katara winced, knowing she had made the ice. "They took me to their ship and fixed me up. But, I didn't have anywhere to go so they let me stay there. And Iroh started teaching me –" I decided not to mention my other ability yet. "-Martial arts, while Zuko taught me how to swordfight."
"Well… do you want to go with us for a while? I mean, you said you didn't have a home here." Aang looked slightly hopeful.
"Um…" I looked around at the trees, looking for any sign that it would be possible to get back to Zuko's ship. "I… I guess so. That would be okay with me."
"YES!" Aang pumped his arm up into the air, his entire body following with a quick burst of air then he landed lightly on the ground. I stared at him in shock; I hadn't actually seen anyone use Airbending before. Katara grinned at my expression.
"You'd better get used to it… he does stuff like that all the time. Come on, if you're feeling any better we should probably keep going." She extended a hand to help me up.
"Thanks. Where are we going?"
"The North Pole!" Aang was still jumping around.
"Um… okay?" I looked confused.
"Well, Aang has to find a Waterbending master to teach him. So that's where we're headed. Of course, we're finding other masters along the way."
"I see."
Aang leapt onto the back of the giant white creature. "What is that thing?"
"That's Appa. He's Aang's flying Bison."
"Wow… haha, flying. Never would have thought it."
Sokka and Katara quickly climbed up, while I followed Aang's route; leaping aboard his saddle. I only then realized I probably shouldn't have, but the others didn't seem to notice.
"Yip yip!" Aang flicked the reigns and Appa took off into the air with a deep rumble. The air swiftly rushed past us as we soared above the treetops.
"Wow. This is so cool."
"Is this your first time to fly?" Aang asked curiously.
"No, but it's my first time on a Bison!" I laughed.
Wait… oh crap! I glanced at Aang, but he wasn't looking at me weirdly or anything.
"So are you a bender or something?"
I turned to face Sokka. "Well, no I'm not a bender. Where I come from people can't bend anything."
"Really? That's so sad." Katara actually looked sad.
"Well… we've made it so far without it."
"Yep. Only the best fighters can survive without that magic stuff." Sokka leaned back against the saddle.
"It's not magic!" Katara and I both said at the same time. Then we looked at each other and laughed.
Most of the day was spent in a similar manner. We laughed a lot, talked about almost everything, and Sokka grumbled a ton. And acted cocky. But I think that was just his style. Finally the sun began to set, and Appa landed in a small clearing in the forest. I hadn't seen that many trees since my last camping trip.
Surprisingly, I was sore from sitting on the bison's back all day. I got up stiffly and helped Katara start setting up a campsite while Sokka and Aang scrounged for food and wood. After a sparse dinner, we watched the stars come out and chatted some more.
I sighed. This was much more enjoyable than Zuko's ship. I wasn't afraid to laugh or tease anyone, and I wasn't afraid of the men swarming me. On the other hand, I felt guilty for not trying to get back to the ship. Even though Zuko wasn't nice all the time, I guess I still had a crush on him.
Will I ever grow up? He's just a guy. Get over it.
I closed my eyes, listening to the three friends' banter and drifted off to sleep.
"… Sh! ..."
"Snickering"
I made a quiet groan and turned over onto my back, feeling the sunlight filtering through the trees on my eyelids.
Mmm … good morning. Wait… who's laughing?
I was about to open my eyes to see what the ill subdued noises of mirth were about, when a large amount of ice cold water was poured over my head. I opened my mouth in a silent scream and sat up, instantly. I could hear Aang and Sokka erupt into laughter, and Katara joined in a split second later.
Opening my eyes, I peered through my dripping hair plastered across my face at the three friends. They were almost falling over they were laughing so hard.
"Oh. My. Word. … That's COLD!" I started laughing too.
Katara recovered her breath. "Oh man. We thought it was time for you to wake up… you'd been sleeping long enough." I grinned at her. "Anyway, we need to get going in a while."
"Alright. There wouldn't be like… a river nearby where I could wash up, would there?"
"Actually there is one about a ten minute walk that way." She pointed in the direction. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they stay here." She added in an undertone.
"Hey!" Sokka looked offended. "I'm not a creep!"
I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Aren't you all?"
He looked confused.
After a short walk I found the aforementioned river and, after making sure the coast was clear, quickly stripped and jumped in the water. Again, submerged in cold water. I quickly scrubbed, cleaned my hair, and attempted to untangle it, then pulled the water from my skin as I came out of the river and put on my camisole, pants and boots.
I sprayed and scrunched my hair so it would dry curly and pulled it up with hairpins, or chopsticks. Then I fastened my Katana to my hip; it was almost second nature now. When I got back to the camp I found the friends discussing how to best travel. Their pet, Momo was looking very frazzled as he clung to Aang's head.
"Hey." I put my bathing stuff back in my bag. I noticed the boys staring and realized I was still wearing my camisole. I quickly slid the tunic on, leaving it untied. "What's up?
"Well, Momo got himself stuck in some Fire Nation traps. That means they must be nearby." I raised my eyebrows.
"You sure they aren't just really old?"
The friends exchanged looks. "We'd rather not take the chance." I nodded in agreement. "I think we should walk. I mean, it's because Appa's so humongous that the Fire Nation's been able to track us this whole time. And besides, I'm the leader of this group and my instincts say we should walk."
"Whoa hold up, who made you the leader?" Katara looked annoyed.
"Well, you know I am the oldest guy here. And I have the most experience with this stuff."
Katara scoffed.
"Actually," Aang butted in. "who knows? Walking might be fun!" Katara just stared at him.
"I wouldn't mind either. I was pretty sore after sitting on Appa all of yesterday." I added. I shot an apologetic look to Katara.
"Fine! We'll walk."
A short while later, I was officially tired.
"I'm tired!" Aang complained. "How does anyone manage to get around without a flying bison?"
"How do you people survive without cars?" I muttered under my breath. No one heard my comment.
"Well, Aang, why don't we ask Sokka's instincts?" Katara said crossly.
"Well… I am kind of tired too." Sokka admitted slowly.
"How about a little break?" I asked hopefully. It didn't seem like anyone else would admit that they wanted one. Relief instantly showed on their faces.
"Sure. There's probably a clearing just ahead…" Sokka pushed aside some bushes and stepped into the said clearing.
That just happened to be occupied.
By a pretty large group of Firebenders too.
All of us were so stunned we just stood there, staring at each other for a good ten seconds. Then Sokka started scooting back toward the bush slowly.
"Umm… we'll just-"
He yelped and dodged just as a soldier shot fire in our direction and caught the bushes behind us on fire, cutting off our escape. Sokka breathed deeply in relief, only to notice his sleeve had caught fire and he began flailing around in an attempt to put it out. Katara took care of that with her water. After he regained his composure, Sokka struck a menacing pose.
"We promise not to hurt you if you let us pass."
I drew my sword in preparation for the fight I knew would be coming. Sokka wasn't a great negotiator. The soldiers looked at each other, then started laughing.
All of a sudden, I heard the familiar hissing of an arrow speeding through the air, then the thock as it struck the back of their leader. Everyone stared in shock as the man looked surprised, then collapsed in the dirt. After that, chaos broke out.
A band of kids and teenagers leapt from the trees, swarming over the Firebenders. Our group leapt into the fray, Sokka attempting to take out soldiers, Aang Airbending, and Katara Waterbending. I used the flat of my sword to knock the soldiers out; I didn't want to make a habit of killing.
An older boy with scruffy hair leapt from a tree into the middle of the fight, whirling two strange looking swords with hooks. As I fought, I noticed a huge boy with a log, an archer in a tree, and other boys armed with various clubs, swords, and daggers. I had to duck quickly when a soldier went flying over my head after the boy with the log hit him.
However, while I was distracted, another soldier came up behind me and kicked me hard in the side. I fell to the ground, my breath knocked out of me and a sure bruise forming. I looked up to see the soldier raise his weapon above his head to strike, and I quickly pulled some water from a nearby pot and threw it in his face. Turned out the water was boiling, and the man dropped the sword as he screamed and clutched his face. This gave me enough time to get to my feet and knocked the soldier out. I caught the leader watching approvingly between fights of his own, and I believe he winked at me but I can't be sure. He leapt off to help Katara with one last soldier, and soon the fight was over.
