Story: Sibling Rivalry

Chapter: Seven- Colt's Arrival

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only major things that will affect the fanfic that are mine are: Rachel, Colt, Agni (Fire Spirit), Engru (Earth Spirit), Fera (Death Spirit), Arith (Air Spirit), Brittany, Tyler, and maybe things to come in later chapters.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

When he woke, Colt expected to see his ceiling, a sight very familiar to him. Above him, however, was the clear, blue sky. He also expected to feel his bed beneath his back. For a few moments, he lay on the cool, grass-covered ground. As he stood, he ran a hand through his brown hair. To say in the least, this was confusing. There was also a feeling of deja vu, like he had already had a similar experience. Then he remembered the Spirit World. Colt's hand darted to his chest, where Tui's knife had struck. He looked down, but there was no blood on his clothes and he didn't feel any scratches, cuts, or bruises beneath his shirt.

He looked around to see where he was. Perhaps, everything had just been a dream and he was still at home. Then again, it was February on Earth. Here, the air was too warm and there was green grass on the ground. This was not any where near his home. Slowly, he began walking. In which direction he was moving, he didn't know. Never-the-less, he continued walking. The surrounding trees were in bloom, proving that it must be spring here. Wherever here might be. Soon, he came across a river, running swift and deep. There was no way for him to cross it without a bridge or a boat of some kind, so he followed it along the bank.

As he walked beside the river, Colt observed his surroundings. The dark blue river was home to a variety of fish, which jumped from the water to eat the insects hovering above the surface. Every so often, a hawk would dive down, catching a fish while it was in mid-jump. From there, he could see that the muddy banks had large foot prints imprinted in them on the other side of the river. A cool breeze blew through the air. Colt listened, to see what he could hear. In the near distance, he could hear three voices. "I'm glad we're away from those caves now," one, a boy, said.

"Same here," a girl admitted, "Although, you have to agree that it was nice how those two lovers loved each other so much that they risked their lives to go through the tunnels to see each other."

"I never knew that's how Omashu came about, either," a second boy added in, "I knew it was an old city, but it must be thousands of years if one of the first Earth Benders made it."

Intently, Colt listened some more, to see what else these people would say. Perhaps, they might be able to give him a hint about where he was and what was going on. Nothing more could be heard from the three, though. Cautiously, he went toward where he thought he heard the voices coming from. Between him and the supposed area, was a large clump of bushes. He pushed his way through the bushes and looked out between the leaves. In front of him were three people, all seeming to be younger than himself, a small animal with large ears and bat-like wings, and a huge animal that some what resembled a bison, but was far too big and had six legs. At least the people looked normal, beside their clothes and the younger boy with arrow tattoos.

Not making any noise, Colt watched them with interest. From what he gathered, they had been traveling for a long time, now just coming from some caves. There also seemed to be something important about the youngest boy, the one with the arrow tattoos. Colt couldn't place it. The kid seemed like the others beside for the tattoos and the clothes. Colt could just sense that there was something different. As he looked on, he relaxed, not worrying so much about them hearing him if he moved. Without realizing it, he set his hand down, breaking a small twig. While the humans didn't hear this, the small, large-eared, bat-winged animal did. It turned its head toward the bushes and focused its green eyes. Making twittering sounds, it bounded over to where Colt was hiding. Immediately, he tried to go back through the other side, but his shirt was caught. "What is it, Momo?" the younger boy questioned.

The three humans followed the creature, presumably Momo, as it went toward the bushes. Colt was almost panicking, but just barely managed to stay calm. He could either wait for them to find him or he could show himself. Neither seemed like a good plan, but he decided on the latter. Everyone, Colt included, were shocked when he jumped up. Still not out of the bushes, however, because he was still caught on the bush. Upon seeing Colt, the older boy pulled out what looked to be a metal boomerang and held it out in front of himself threateningly. "Who are you?" the older boy demanded, "And what were you doing in that bush?"

To Colt, it seemed a bit rude to demand information, like that kid deserved to know it. He would have said something about it, but none of the three seemed too eager to great him. If a fight broke out, it would be one to three, if you didn't count the animals. Definitely, the bison-like creature could cause some damage. Though, Colt wasn't too sure if the large-eared, bat-winged animal could do any harm. At the moment, the best thing to do seemed to be being polite and answer any questions asked. "My name is Colt," he answered, "I was in the bush because . . . Because I'm lost, you see. I have no idea where I am. I heard your voices and thought that you could help me."

Although, part of what Colt had said was the truth, some was a lie. There wasn't a way for those three to know that it was a lie. They didn't know him and he didn't know them. Despite the way the older boy spoke to him, Colt thought that he could probably get along with them. "So, can you help me?" he asked.

The trio exchanged glances. They were wary of this person who had appeared so suddenly. He didn't look to be a threat to them, however. It didn't even look like he was carrying any weapons with him. Unless he was a skilled warrior, there didn't seem to be anyway for Colt to do any serious damage to them. In their opinions, he didn't look as though he was a skilled warrior. Also, if he meant to hurt them, he probably would have tried already. The only girl in the group took a step toward Colt. "We can try and help you. We're on our way to Omashu, so it won't be too much trouble," she stated, "My name's Katara. This is my brother, Sokka"--- she pointed to the older boy, then to the boy with arrows on his head --- "And this is Aang."

To Colt, Aang looked as if he was hiding something. He was smiling, but a light in his grey eyes led Colt to believe Aang was distracted by something. Sokka climbed into the giant saddle on the bison-like creature's back. He grabbed the leather reins resting on the pommel. Turning to them, he gave a look that, clearly, stated that he wasn't impressed with the decision. Katara motioned for Colt to follow them onto the saddle as she and Aang climbed up. With some trouble, he managed to get into the saddle. "So we're going to ride this thing all the way to that place you mentioned?" Colt asked.

Aang faced Colt and said, "We're going to Omashu. And, yes, in a way, we're riding Appa to Omashu. We'll probably fly most of the way, however."

Colt was about to question how Appa, as this creature was called, could fly. It had to weight more than nine tons. Right as he opened his mouth to speak, Sokka said, "Yip, yip," and the animal took to the sky.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

I know, a long time since my last update to this story. I want to say it has been more than three months. I had to finish a time consuming project, then I had exams, then I would get distracted. I had plenty of time to write, but I would do other things instead. Finally, however, there is an update! (Though, I don't know how many people have read this. The last time I had checked, it was very few).

Please Review!