Rei's mind led her to her familiar dream-land, but it wasn't the same as before. Rei looked around her in shock, unprepared for the scene that surrounded her. The once thriving, serene forest was now charred and dead. The tall evergreen trees were burnt beyond recognition, the ground covered in soot and ash. Smoke still rose from the charred remains of the natural landscape, sending a charcoal smell in the air. It looked…ugly, like a huge scar ripped across the land. There was no sign of life anywhere. There was just… death. Rei rotated slowly, taking in the terrible sight. She then saw at the corner of her eye the spring in which Sora lived. Rei walked up slowly to the spring, where Sora sat at its edge.

The spring did not flow with water as it used to. No waterfall filled the pond with opal waters. No breeze fluttered through the surrounding trees, charging the air with life. The pond was now dirtied, filled with leaves and soot that transformed the water into a murky, brownish-black color. Sora sat at the edge of the pool, stroking the surface of the water with her fingers. Her head drooped downwards with her hair masking any expression on her face. She had no wind filling her robes, which settled limply around her body, but still emitted a blue aura around her. Rei padded up to the water's edge.

"What happened?" She asked quietly.

Sora let out a weak chuckle. "This place…This was a sanctuary for both you and me."

She moved her fingers in a circular motion, moving a floating leaf in tiny spirals. The leaf spiralled from the water's surface, then climbed up into the air at face-height. Sora twirled the leaf around in-between the two of them. Rei saw Sora's face, with mixed emotions of worry, and a hint of something else… hope? Sora cracked a half-smile in reassurance to the confused look Rei portrayed.

"However, this sanctuary reflects the world around you and your experiences, Rei." Sora let out a soft breath and blew the leaf away on its own individual breeze.

"So…I did this?" Rei said softly.

"No, my child." Sora hushed. "This is merely a reflection, a reaction to the events that transpired at your village. You're surrounded by the very ones who've committed this horrendous act, and thus you cannot escape the memory that burned into your every thought. This branded your mind, and imprinted on this place."

"But why? Why did you let this happen? Why didn't you help me back then like in the marketplace?" Rei rasped, her eyes beginning to swell. "You just let my village burn."

"I did not, Rei." Sora reached out her hand to caress her cheek. Rei winced and pulled away from the outreached appendage. Sora sighed and retracted her hand into her chest with her head down. She cradled it with her other hand, as delicately as one would cradle an infant. The blue aura around her flickered, sending blue sparks into the air.

"You must understand, Rei. I am a spiritual guide, here to aid you in your plights. But I am not strongly bound to you, you won't let me."

Sora looked up at Rei, with pleading eyes of concern. "Please let me in, Rei. You must trust me."

Rei hesitated for a moment. "I…I do trust you. I guess don't really have much of an option at this point, do I?"

Sora reached her hand out once more, letting it float in-between them. One outreached hand, offering support for Rei during this time of hardship. But how much trust could she put into this bond? How could she afford to not trust anyone either? Being a branded airbender would make many immediate enemies in the future, so she needed as many allies and supporters as she could make at this moment. She continued to stare at the outreached hand, not fully knowing what to do.

"Then put your trust into me, Rei. Take my hand." Sora said.

Rei leaned her arm forward, with her fingers outstreached. She pulled away for a brief moment, with her fingers in a fist. She looked into Sora's eyes, and found only warmth and encouragement with the flash of a smile on her face. She then decided to take the plunge and took Sora's hand.

The moment their hands came into contact, a bright light was emitted. It was blinding, and quickly illuminated the forest bright beyond imagination. The earth rumbled and a huge gust of wind blew with great intensity, making it difficult for Rei to keep her balance. She shut her eyes instinctively, shielding herself from the rays of spiritual light. Rei grasped Sora with both hands, desperately trying to anchor herself to the ground. She felt as if she was going to be blown away right out of the forest, and yet Sora kept her in place with a delicate hand. Through all the chaos, Rei could hear Sora's voice clear as day.

"Trust in our bond, Rei, and I will be there to guide you."


Rei was awoken suddenly by a loud creak from the prison cell door. She gasped and looked towards the door, where a fire nation soldier wearing a skull mask was holding a tray of food. The soldier dropped the tray with a loud clang onto the floor at her feet, spilling mushy slop all over. The soldier pushed the tray with his foot in a rough motion, then headed for the door.

"Hey! My hands are chained to the wall here, how can I eat that?" Rei retorted.

"Figure it out."

The prison cell door slammed shut, with the jangling of keys and the locking mechanism being locked once more. The slamming sound echoed in the dark cell, sending a faint ringing into Rei's ears. She shook her head and looked down at the tray at her feet. It was just a mount of grey slop, presumably oatmeal, which was sprayed around on her feet, the tray and the floor surrounding it. There was a fork sprawled on the floor to her right, which didn't seem very appropriate for the meal at hand. Maybe they just wanted her to have a bad time with it. She pushes the heel of her right shoe onto the top of her left, trying to push it off her foot. When she manages to take the shoe off, she reached her foot out to the fork. She spreads out her toes, trying to get the fork into the gap between her big toe and adjacent toes. The fork clinked and spun around in her frustration, then finally finds its way in-between her toes. Grinning with satisfaction, she brings the fork over to the food sprawled in front of her. The fork barely gets a mouthful of food onto itself, and she tries to bring it to her mouth. It was much harder than it looked. She hadn't realized how cramped her legs have become from the journey until this very moment. She couldn't get the fork any closer than just over a foot away from her face. She tried to angle the fork in a better angle, but in the process spilling the food onto her pants. She cried out in frustration and drops the fork onto the ground. It was clear that she wasn't going to get any food in her anytime soon.

She sighed in frustration, and leaned her head upwards onto the metal wall. She closed her eyes, letting her thoughts flood her mind. The dream didn't leave her drained, but instead left her…inspired? Slightly more energetic? She couldn't exactly put her finger on it. Ha, well she couldn't really put her finger on anything with her hands chained to the wall. She wiggled her hands in discomfort, wishing that the chains weren't so tight. She eyed the lock on the left side of the chains, wondering if it could be picked. She's never picked a lock before, but it couldn't be that complicated, could it?

She picks up the fork with her foot once more, and leans her leg in towards the lock. She wasn't a very flexible person so this step took a little bit to accomplish. She clinks the fork onto the wall a few times before she could steady herself in hovering the fork in front of the lock. She jams the fork up into the locking mechanism and fiddles it in many different directions. She grimaces as she tries jerking it in one direction, then the next. She sticks her tongue to the side in a typical concentrated expression, totally concentrated on the task at hand until a click sounded at the prison cell door.

She pulls down on the fork and flings it to the side of the room just as the door began to open. She flicks the food tray to the side as the door opened fully to reveal a stern-faced Zhao. He raises an eyebrow at her when he witnesses the tail-ends of her actions, and she answers this with a stare. Zhao takes a few steps forward, glancing at the food tray at one end of the room and the fork on the other. He looks back to her, unamused as always.

"A messy eater, I see." He comments.

Rei shrugs. "What? I'd like to see you try to eat with your hands chained to a wall."

Zhao grunts and side-steps around a spill of slop to the side of the room. "We will arrive to the harbor shortly, where arrangements will be made to transfer you to a secure facility in the fire nation."

"Why? You already established I'm not the Avatar, so what's the point?" She ask. She didn't want to give him any ideas, but her curiosity got the best of her.

"The rest of the world needn't know." He replied. "You're an airbender, others will assume you're the Avatar as we have. Captured Avatar, no more pathetic notions of hope or rebellion."

Rei sniggered. "You really think everyone is just going to stop in their tracks if they think the Avatar is captured? Like 'poof', there goes any rebellion?"

Zhao scowled. "Some believe that the Avatar will return and save them, but seeing the 'Avatar' in chains would reduce their pathetic hopes."

Zhao turned towards the door. He stops at the entrance, and says over his shoulder, "Or we could simply kill you. I couldn't care less."

With that, the stupid head exited the room. Rei stuck her tongue out at the door; a small act of rebellion in her situation. Well, they're almost to the harbor. Perhaps she could figure out an escape plan once they arrive. Maybe steal a ship. She could picture herself stealing a tanker, with Zhao fuming on shore. She chuckled. It seems comical and fun in her head, but it's probably not the best idea to steal a boat. Maybe she could stow-away? Yeah, be a stow-away. That's the best plan of action. She has to be sure to pay attention to every detail when she's moved from the ship so that she's able to stealthily stow-away on some random ship. Maybe she could get a ship heading back towards Terra. She smiled at the thought of going home. Perhaps going home isn't that far-fetched as she thought. All she had to do is play it smart, and put some trust in Sora to help guide her. She shut her eyes and whispered,

"I trust you Sora. Help me get home."

Hey everyone! Chapter 5 is now up and running! I apologize if this chapter seems sub-par, since I didn't get as much time to work on this one. Which leads me to say that chapter 6 won't be up for about two weeks due to my midterms and exam prep :( I hope you guys have a wonderful next two weeks, and please review! Have a great two weeks, lovelies! X