THE SECRET OF ANIMARU ISLAND
Chapter Two: Leader of the Pack
"Wow! That's such a neat trick, Aang!" Rini gasped loudly as Aang demonstrated his airbending skills by spinning a marble around in midair in between his hands. "I know the other kids in the village are going to love that! And making the water rise out of that pond we just passed…"
"Rini, are we getting any closer to this village of yours?" Sokka asked a bit impatiently as he pushed yet another low-growing branch out of his way.
"We're almost there, Sokka," Rini replied as she pointed at a small clearing in the distance.
When the four children reached the small clearing, there were a group of large straw huts gathered together in a circle. In the center of the large circle of huts was a large fire pit. Sitting on one of many small logs positioned around the fire pit was a boy.
"Sai, where's Tora?" Rini asked curiously as she approached the boy, who appeared to be no older than Sokka. He had long dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail, with the hair below the tips of his ears cleanly shaven off, and bright brown eyes. Sai was dressed in tanned animal skins in the form of a short-sleeve tunic, a brown leather sash, brown boots, light tan leggings, dark brown leather gauntlets, and patches of dark brown animal fur over both of his shoulders, possibly from a bear.
"Tora hasn't returned since breakfast, little Rini. I believe she's still patrolling the island," Sai replied nonchalantly, not bothering to look behind him as he wiped the blade of his battle axe with a rag. "She should be back shortly to help us gather food for lunch."
"Great! What is for lunch, anyway?" Sokka asked curiously, causing Sai to jump out of alarm.
"Rini, what are these people doing here?" Sai asked suspiciously as he aimed his axe at Aang, Sokka, and Katara. "You know better than to approach outsiders that land on Animaru Island, let alone lead them anywhere near our village."
"I know that, Sai, but Aang is no stranger! He's the Avatar!" Rini announced as she gestured towards Aang.
"The Avatar? Rini, you can be so naïve sometimes. The Avatar disappeared a hundred years ago, and this 'Aang' is just a child himself!" Sai pointed out.
"But, Sai, what about all of the stories we've heard from passing fishermen that the Avatar has returned?" Rini asked. "Even though the Avatar is over a hundred years old, the fishermen said that he still looks like a little boy. And everyone knows that the reason the Fire Nation wiped out the Air Nomads so many years ago was because they would produce the next Avatar, according to the Avatar Cycle. Also, I saw Aang demonstrate his abilities. Not only is he an airbender, but he also knows some waterbending. Who else, but the Avatar, can master more than one element?"
"I'll believe it…when I see it!" Sai pointed out smugly as he crossed his arms in front of his chest, still brandishing the axe.
"Go on, Aang. Show him who's wrong!" Rini encouraged the young airbender.
"Okay, sure, Sai," Aang agreed as he formed a large ball of swirling air, sat down Indian-style on top of it, and circled around Sai on the ball of air until it eventually disappeared on its own.
"Wow…you really are the Avatar!" Sai gasped loudly out of astonishment with his mouth agape.
"See, Sai? I told you so!" Rini admitted a bit smugly.
"I would invite you to stay…but that's entirely up to our leader, Tora," Sai openly confessed.
Just then, there was a loud rustling noise from some tall grass near them. Aang, Sokka, and Katara turned around and gasped loudly out of fear when they saw a rather large orange tiger emerge from the tall grass, covered from head to tail with black stripes. The large tiger growled menacingly as it slowly approached Aang, Katara, and Sokka, with the three of them slowly backing away from the advancing tiger.
"Tora, it's okay, really! This boy, Aang…he's the Avatar!" Rini announced as she pointed at Aang. "Both Sai and I saw his airbending abilities for ourselves."
"Is that so?" the tiger asked in a deep purr as she sat down and closed her green eyes.
Just like Rini did before, the tiger transformed, this time into a teenage girl, who appeared to be just as old as Sokka, if not older. She had long reddish-brown hair, with some thin braids scattered throughout it, green eyes, and a well-toned body. The girl known as Tora was wearing a sleeveless tunic and a knee-length skirt made of deer hide, light tan leggings, tan boots halfway up to her knees, a brown cord around her waist, a choker necklace composed of braided strips of leather and small white seashells, and brown cords tied around each bicep, with knots tied at the tips of the loose ends. In addition, Tora had a coiled up whip attached to the cord around her waist. Sokka felt his face become flustered when he first saw Tora's human form.
"So, the stories we've heard are true, then. The Avatar has returned after one hundred years," Tora stated as she approached Aang, Sokka, and Katara. When she stopped in front of the three new arrivals, Tora brought her hands together and bowed respectively to Aang. "It is a great honor to have you in our presence, Avatar Aang."
"Actually, you can just call me Aang," Aang openly confessed as he rubbed the back of his bald head. "Everyone else does. Oh, this is my friend, Katara. She's a waterbender."
"Ah, a waterbender…would that be from the North or the South Pole, Katara?" Tora asked curiously as she shook Katara's hand.
"The South Pole, Tora," Katara replied. "I'm traveling to the North Pole with Aang so we can both learn more about waterbending. And this is my older brother, Sokka."
"Good to meet you, Sokka," Tora admitted as she held her hand out to Sokka.
"I-it's good to meet me, too…I mean you! You!" Sokka stuttered nervously as he shook Tora's hand.
"Where is everyone?" Katara asked curiously as she looked around the small village. "This village looks pretty empty…except for us."
"Just you wait," Tora replied as she cupped her hands over her mouth. Much to the surprise of Aang, Katara, and Sokka, Tora let out a loud tiger's roar at the top of her lungs, the sound echoing throughout the surrounding forest. Within moments, several children, all varying in ages, ran out of the forest and gathered around the fire pit.
"Everyone, listen to me well!" Tora announced as she stood on top of one of the logs. "We have a very special guest here on our island, and he and his friends are welcome to stay here with us as long as they like! May I present…the Avatar!" She pointed directly at Aang, who just bore a sheepish grin as the children started to whisper excitedly amongst themselves.
"All right, everyone, we need to start gathering food, not just for lunch, but for dinner as well," Tora continued. "Gokuin, you're responsible for the fish, and Uma, you help him carry the fish back here. Dachou and Mai, be sure to dig up plenty of roots. Saru and Oumu, your turn to gather nuts, and make sure there's plenty left to grind into flour for bread. Tori and Kameko, you're to pick berries and mushrooms. As for the rest of you, gather other fruit, such as pears, melons, and bananas. And with the exception of Gokuin and Uma, you may assist the others in their tasks as well. Now, let's move out!"
As quickly as they gathered, the children soon dispersed back into the forest, including Rini.
"Wow…you must be a really good leader, Tora!" Aang gasped out of astonishment as Tora hopped off of the log she was standing on.
"It's important to maintain leadership, especially nowadays, with the war going on," Tora stated as she rejoined Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Sai. "Come on; let's go join the others in the forest."
"Okay, sounds like fun!" Aang agreed as he, Sokka, Katara, and Momo followed Tora and Sai into the forest…
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DC: Okay, you probably have a ton of questions about the people of Animaru Island: Who are they? What are they? How can they do what they can do? Is there anything else they can do? All these questions will be answered in chapter 3, which will be coming soon to a computer screen near you! Until then, TTFN! (ta-ta for now, in case you didn't know)
