Wandering Firebender

Twenty Nine: Sacrifices

"Hey, look! That's the port right there, isn't it?" Sri pointed ahead.

The four of them looked forward. The trailed dipped down a steep hill and made a sharp left into the entrance of a cave. They could see other refugees entering inside without hesitation. Elio nodded and took a moment to briefly consult his map.

"Yeah. We're at Full Moon Bay. This must be the place." He said.

"Well quit dallying and let's get in there then!" Lao insisted with a laugh. The others all shook their heads humorously and made their way down the trail.

After a careful descent down the steep hill, Elio entered into the cave alongside Sri and her family. Right away, they saw two young women directing the refugees into a huge opening on the other side of this small entryway.

"Right this way everyone! Please enter in a calm and orderly fashion. Sir, if you could please have your family dismount the ostrich horse. We'll take it to the stable for you." One of the girls said to Elio.

"Oh! Yeah, sure." Elio nodded. Lao and Jin carefully dismounted the ostrich horse with Sri's assistance. Sri helped Elio take everything off of the saddle. Then Elio handed off the ostrich horse to one of the two directors.

"Thank you. If the four of you would step into that line right over there, the receptionist at the desk will handle your ticket purchases for the ferry." She continued to direct them, pointing them to the line that they needed to stand in.

"That one right there? Got it. Thank you very much." Elio said politely before they walked over and took their places in the back of a very long line.

The four of them looked around and were astonished by their surroundings. The cave that they had entered into had opened up wide, revealing a hidden beach-side port with several large ferries docked at the shore. They looked to be able to carry hundreds of passengers.

And yet, they didn't appear to be enough. Hundreds more refugees were congregated all across the hidden bay; they were waiting in line, camping out not far from the entry docks, and only some were now boarding onto just one of the ferries.

Elio was in stunned silence. His perspective had been greatly widened as to how many people have had their lives turned upside-down by the Fire Nation. Every single man, woman, and child here were all after the same thing he was:

Safety and solace.

"Man! Look at how many people are here!" Sri exclaimed, having a similar reaction as she looked all around them. Her parents shook their heads.

"It's gonna take us forever to get our tickets." Lao groaned.

"Don't make a fuss, honey, please." Jin said, putting a hand on his arm.

"I'm not gonna make a fuss! I just hope that they have seats for when my knees get tired."

"Don't worry, dad, I made sure to pack the folding chairs." Sri brought up.

"Oh! See, we raised you right after all. So glad we took you along, sweetheart." Lao teased his daughter, wrapping an arm around her. She laughed and leaned against him...

As Lao suspected, they did have to wait in line for a long time. With how many people there were ahead of them, even though the front of the line was moving at a normal pace, it felt like full minutes would pass before Elio and the others would get to step forward.

An hour passed. Then two.

"Oh boy. No one told me that this would be so rough to wait through." Elio sighed.

"Honestly. This is terrible." Lao said, shaking his head and readjusting how he was sitting in his seat.

"Well, if it were easy, the whole Earth Kingdom would be living in Ba Sing Se." Jin commented, wiping her brow.

"If this is how you get there, I'm surprised anyone lives there." Sri replied humorously.

"We'll make it to the end of this line. Can't say it'll be today but..." Elio added, making the other laugh a little.

However, while Elio was distracted from his conversation, he felt someone pulling at his staff. He turned just in time to see that another one of the girls directing the refugees had come up behind him and pulled his staff out of its sleeve.

"Hey!" Elio exclaimed.

"Interesting weapon you got here," The girl said, turning her back to him as she spun it around in her hand. "I'm surprised you made it through clearance with this, slugger." She chuckled.

"I'm sorry? I'm not causing harm to anyone, miss." Elio said.

"Oh, I know. I'm just messing with you," She turned and smiled at him. "There's only one guy I've ever seen carry a staff like this." She said, holding his staff back out to him. Elio's eyes widened as he took it back.

"Suki?! You're alright!" He exclaimed, stepping forward and giving her a quick hug. Though surprised, she patted him on the back.

"Heheh, uh, okay. Yeah, of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be alright?" She asked.

"The last time I saw you, we were getting attacked by the Unagi! I wasn't sure if you made it back or not!" He said.

"Oh!" Suki laughed, "I told you I'd be fine! It wasn't even that close to me when I swam back. The other girls had it distracted."

"Oh, heheh. My bad." Elio blushed in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head.

"Haha, I appreciate the concern, Elio. If you had just listened to me, you wouldn't have gotten so worried!" She teased him.

"Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt the moment here. Everything alright?" Sri asked, stepping over.

"Yeah! Sri, this is Suki. She helped me out of some trouble at sea like two months ago." Elio introduced the two of them.

"Nice to meet you." Suki smiled.

"Nice to meet you too. Do you work here, Suki?" Sri asked curiously.

"I do. I'm one of the managers of security here," She explained. "I help keep the peace basically."

"Oh really? What happened with you and the Kyoshi Warriors?" Elio asked.

"We're all here. We're the ones managing the security." She explained with a giggle.

"Oh! I thought there was something familiar about the guards that let us in." Elio said.

"Hey, kids! Don't lose your place in line now!" Jin called to them. Elio and Sri looked back to realize that the line had moved up without them, so Lao and Jin were now several paces away.

"Haha, sorry. Didn't mean to distract you." Suki giggled.

"It's okay. We'll catch you later." Elio said with a smile.

"Sounds good. See you then!" She replied before waving and walking away.

"See you later! Nice to meet you, Suki," Sri said as they both waved to her. They walked back to where Sri's parents were before she spoke again. "You sure seemed happy to see that Suki girl, huh, Elio?" She teased.

"Huh? Oh yeah, she's really nice." Elio replied simply.

"Mhmm. She was nice. She picked you out right away too. She pulled your staff and everything." Sri chuckled teasingly.

"Shut up." Elio shook his head, resting the urge to snicker. However, a small snort broke its way through, and this made them both laugh...

It was almost another hour before the family finally reached the front of the line where they could pay for their tickets. They approached the older gentleman behind the counter.

"Hello there. Four tickets to Ba Sing Se?" He asked.

"Actually, I'll be paying for my ticket separately," Elio answered, stepping forward. "We're just all traveling together."

"Oh, I see. Do you have identification?" He asked. Elio's eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"Identification? No one said anything about that."

"Ugh," The older man rolled his eyes. "Sorry. You'd be surprised how many people say that to me. I'm assuming you don't have ID on you?"

"No, sir."

"Then you'll have to step out of line." He said.

"What?! Wait wait, come on! It's not his fault!" Sri defended.

"It's the policy."

"Is there anything that you can do? How much is the ticket?" Elio asked.

"It's 150 credits, but..."

"I have the money to pay for it! Please!" He insisted.

"...alright, kid, fine. Just give me a name and I'll write it on the passport." He agreed reluctantly.

"Elio. Elio Chinen." He gave his full name. He watched as the man wrote his name down on the ticket and stamped it.

"Here you go. One ticket to Ba Sing Se." He said, handing the ticket to him. He sighed in relief as he took it.

"Thank you, sir. I apologize for the misunderstanding." Elio said before stepping aside so Sri and her family could step up to the desk.

"Three tickets for Ba Sing Se?" He asked.

"We have our identification right here," Lao said, holding up the documents for each member of the family. "We would like to purchase one ticket for Sri, and then my wife and I will be put on the waiting docket." He said.

"What?!" Sri's eyes widened and she looked over at her dad, "What'd you say?!"

"I'm sorry, hun, but you'll be going to Ba Sing Se by yourself." He said.

"Mom, what's going on here?!" Sri demanded, turning to her mom.

"I'm sorry, love. We should have told you, but we knew how you would have reacted. We just don't have the money to afford three tickets."

"Then why are we here right now?! We were supposed to be saving up!" Sri shouted. Elio looked around and realized that she was beginning to make a scene.

"Sri, can we talk about this once we step out of line?"

"No! I'm not leaving you two!"

"Sri. Sri, please," Elio stepped in and put his hands on her arms. "Let them pay. You all can sort this out later." He said, trying to direct her away from the desk. Sri looked at Elio then looked around her, realizing the scene she was making. She took a breath.

"Fine. But we are gonna talk about this." Sri pointed at her parents. They nodded solemnly before continuing on with making the purchase.

"Take a second to breathe, Sri. Relax." Elio said.

"How can I relax, Elio?! My parents are trying to send me off and stay behind! They need my help! There's a lot of things they can't manage on their own!" She argued with him, moving away from his touch.

"I know. And that's between the three of you to sort out. But yelling and screaming isn't gonna solve anything." Elio pointed out. Sri folded her arms and sighed again.

"Yeah, I know... I just can't leave them, Elio."

"I understand." Elio said with a nod.

Sri's parents walked over and handed their only ticket to her, "Here. Your ticket to Ba Sing Se." Lao said.

Sri took it and said nothing. She turned away from her mom and dad, clearly not in the mood to speak. Elio swallowed and shook his head. He chose to address her parents instead.

"It looks like we'll be waiting for a couple days. We should get settled in here." He suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea." Jin agreed.

So Elio and the others all went and got themselves settled in. They went to where a majority of the refugees had their tents set up. Sri and her family were all able to set up their tents close together. However, there wasn't enough room for Elio, so he had to set his tent up further away.

Once he had finished taking care of his belongings and unloading his things, he was tempted to sit down and rest for awhile. But instead, he walked back towards the ticket desks in search of his ostrich horse. He wanted to make sure that it would be well taken care of prior to his trip.

Eventually he located the stable where different beasts of burden were being kept. He quickly spotted La among those in their stalls. He quickly hurried over and petted it, soothing it from the distress that it was displaying. A man watching over the animals walked over.

"Hey, kid! Get away from the animals! You'll disturb them!" He said, trying to shoo Elio away.

"Hey, this is my ostrich horse. I have a right to make sure it's well taken care of before I take it to the city!" Elio quickly defended himself.

"You got a permit? Proof of ownership?" He questioned.

"What? No one told me I needed to-"

"If you ain't got it then I'mma need you to back away!" The man interrupted him, trying to guide him away from the stable.

"Get your hands off me, man." Elio said impatiently, taking a step back.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Suki asked, coming over to diffuse the situation.

"Can you get this guy out of here? He's messing with my animals and threatening me."

"Untrue, Suki! I came here to check on my ostrich horse and he started yelling and pushing me!" Elio quickly corrected.

"Alright, alright!" Suki shouted to quiet them, "Yes, that is his ostrich horse, I can vouch for that. Leave him alone, please." She came to Elio's defense.

"Fine." The man agreed.

"I also apparently need some kind of permit to take my ostrich horse into the city?" Elio brought up.

"Yes, you do. Would you mind taking care of that for Elio here?" Suki asked the man.

He grumbled under his breath as he walked away from them.

"Thank you," Suki smiled and waved. "Just got here and you're already picking fights with people, huh, Elio?" She teased him. Elio scoffed and shook his head.

"I tend to have that effect on people. I'm glad you came though. He was really asking for a fight."

"Yeah. Things get really tense around here. Emotions run high, people are tired. I'm sure you understand." She said.

"Yeah, I don't blame 'em," Elio said sympathetically. "That guy was kind of a jerk though." He added humorously.

"A little," She said in agreement with a chuckle. "Speaking of emotions running high, I saw something going on with your group. I think your girlfriend was mad at her parents?" She asked.

"Yeah she was... Not my girlfriend," He quickly corrected. "But yeah, she found out right there at the ticket counter that her parents only had enough money for one ticket to Ba Sing Se. So they're staying behind while she goes." He explained.

"Oh wow," Suki shook her head. "I'm sorry to hear that. I can't say I'm surprised though. A lot of families have had to separate just so they can meet up together later in the city. Sometimes they can only go one at a time." She said.

"Oh man..." Elio said as he pondered over this, coming to the sad realization that Sri's situation was actually a common occurrence.

"Come walk with me for a little bit." She invited him.

"Oh, o-okay." Elio agreed, caught off guard. They started walking away from the animals towards the main station for the security detail.

"I'm sorry about your friend and her family. I hope that they get it all sorted out." She said.

"Yeah, me too... I'll have to check on her later, once she's calmed down a little." He decided.

"Sounds like a good idea... And what about you, Elio? Do you have anyone waiting for you in Ba Sing Se?" She asked curiously.

"No," Elio shook his head. "I've been... No, there's no one waiting for me. I'll be on my own once I get there." He answered.

"I see. Well I hope everything goes okay for you once you get there." She said to him sincerely.

"Thanks, Suki. And you? Any plans to enter the big city yourself?" He asked.

"Haha no. I'm needed most here right now." She answered.

"Yeah, I was gonna ask about that. How did you and the other Kyoshi Warriors end up here?" He wondered.

"Oh! Well, remember how I told you about the Avatar saving our village from Prince Zuko and his Fire Nation soldiers?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Well after that happened, we realized that we could be doing so much more to help out during this war. So we left the island, and we ended up drifting our way here: escorting the refugees and keeping security here at port." She explained simply.

"Wow, that's really great. Does it ever get rough?"

"Oh, all the time," Suki answered. "There isn't a lot of fighting to handle, but seeing so many people suffering because of the Fire Nation is really hard." She admitted.

"I bet," Elio agreed with a solemn nod of his head. "But you're doing the right thing, and that helps." He said to encourage her. She smiled at him.

"Thanks. And actually, I should be thanking you for more than that, Elio. Your advice on how to fight Fire Nation soldiers came in handy more than a few times. We may have lost a few people if it hadn't been for what you taught me - taught us." She said thankfully.

"Oh! Well, I'm glad that I could help!" He replied, happy to hear this.

"You really did. Hey, so I gotta get back to my post in a little bit, but I'll see you around. You'll be here for a couple days, right?" She asked.

"Yes, according to my ticket, I leave in three days." He answered.

"So I'll definitely see you around then! Take care, Elio!" She said, waving to him and entering into the security station.

"You too, Suki!" He waved back.

Now that the situation with his ostrich horse had been taken care of, Elio decided to go back to his tent to eat and rest for awhile. He'd already been on his feet all day, so he was eager to take a load off. He didn't get out of his tent again until the evening.

Assuming that enough time had now passed, he went to go and see Sri. He never saw her again after they had all set up their tents. He went over to her tent and called her name gently.

"Sri? Sri, are you in there? It's Elio." He said, tapping on it as a way of knocking and announcing his presence.

"Is it important, Elio? I kinda wanna be alone right now." She said without opening her tent up.

"I just wanted to come and check on you." He said.

"Thanks..." She replied after awhile. "I just need some time." She sighed sadly.

"Okay. We'll talk later, okay? My tent's always open." He said before stepping away. He felt for her, but she needed time to process what was happening.

"Hey, kid! C'mere!" Lao called out to him.

Elio looked up and saw Sri's father standing near a fire pit that refugees were gathered around. Lao waved for him to come over. Elio nodded and walked over to join him.

"Ooh, what is that? Something smells really good." Elio said with a faint chuckle.

"Here!" Lao grinned and handed him a strip of meat. Elio took it and bit into it.

"Mmm that's good." Elio hummed as the salty, seasoned flavor of the meat filled his mouth.

"It is, isn't it?" Lao agreed with a chuckle.

"Mhmm," He nodded and swallowed. "If you don't mind my asking, what ended up happening between you and Sri? I tried to keep my distance after she got all mad, so I didn't see what the resolution was."

"Well, she's very upset," Lao sighed. "But she took the ticket. We've encouraged her to go on into Ba Sing Se by herself."

"Did she agree to do so?"

"Yes, but she's still not happy, as you can imagine." Lao answered with a shrug.

"Why did you do that? You didn't have the money to pay for three people, so why come at all?" He asked.

"Come sit," Lao invited Elio to sit with him by the fire. They walked close and sat on two small seats. Once they were comfortable, Lao began to explain.

"The original plan was for all three of us to go into Ba Sing Se together. But we ran up the numbers and realized it would be a long time before we could even hope to make enough money... And I don't know if you noticed, but Jin and I are no spring chickens."

"Mhmm?" Elio hummed.

"Things over in our small town were quiet, but there's no telling what can happen from one day to the next. And despite Sri's stubbornness, even she knows that it's safer for us to stay here in this hidden port. Sri needs to start her own life, and what better place to do that than in Ba Sing Se?"

"I see... Do you think you'll ever be able to get there with her?" He asked curiously.

"Honestly? I don't know," He answered honestly. "But the way I see it, we had two options: stay in our small town and work ourselves to death, leaving Sri with nothing; or send her to Ba Sing Se where she can make a better life for herself, with or without us."

"I understand..." Elio nodded sadly, looking down at the fire. Lao and Jin were willing to risk never seeing their daughter again in order to ensure her safety. It was a painful decision, but also an easy one.

"I don't know if you plan on sticking with Sri when you leave for Ba Sing Se. But if you do, make sure that she's okay for us, will you? She's never been on her own before. She won't admit it, but I know she's scared." Lao requested.

Elio glanced back at Sri's tent again. He couldn't see her, but he knew that she was in there not knowing what to do; she was backed into a corner with no great options. He realized that she was about to enter into a situation that wasn't too different from his own.

"Yeah, I will. I promise." Elio agreed...