Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or any of its characters. I own Koima.
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Chapter 12
Who is the Avatar?
I was able to get up later that afternoon when Col told me that I could, but advised me to be very careful not the move the wrong way or the burn would slit and that would be very painful. The skin on my back felt tight and itchy, but I would be foolish and stupid if I actually scratched it. Iroh came up to me, smiling jovially, "Glad to see you are up missy. How do you feel?" He handed me a cup of tea from out of his voluminous sleeves. Did he have a whole stock in there? I found myself wondering with amusement. I took the cup and nodded, "I feel better. Thank you for your concern." The tea was my favorite: Green tea with a hint of tangerine. I smiled; he always had a cup with him it seemed.
"We are stopping off at land." Iroh informed me, "The lookout saw the Avatar heading there. The land is in the neutral area, not apart of any of the nations. It seems that we will be there for awhile, a big piece of land it is…"
I followed his gaze north and saw it; a weird sensation filled me… "Uncle, do you think it would be alright if I could take a walk on land for an hour or so? It's been a long time since I've done that." I pleaded.
Uncle Iroh smiled and nodded, "Of course you may. But be careful."
I nodded, happiness filling me, "Yes, I will be careful. Thank you." I gave him the best hug I could manage around his giant girth. He patted me back, "Go on with you. But eat something before you go."
I went to the galley, feeling great. Surrounded by trees and grass rather then metal or water was more relaxing. Lt. Ji greeted me when I entered through the doors of the galley, "Hello Koima. Are you feeling better?" He asked, helping me to get a bowl of noodles from the cook. I nodded, "Yes sir." I went and sat at an empty table in the corner to eat my noodles. There weren't that many men in the galley at the moment. They were all out on the deck preparing to land and getting ready to go capture the Avatar.
I was excited that I would be by myself for a while, to enjoy nature for what it was. The ship gave a sharp jolt; signaling that we have landed at our destination. I finished my noodles in a hurry and ran out on deck.
; Zuko;
'This might be the day.' Zuko thought as he mounted his Komodo Rhino, 'This should be the day!' He has to give it his all today, he had to put it to the end today, no more will he follow that bison and its occupants on a wild goose chase. Two years at sea away from his home was too long for him to stand, he wanted tp go home today! With this thought in mind, Zuko barked out his orders to the men, "MOVE OUT!" he commanded the brainless men behind him, they gave a resounding shout and followed him down the gangplanks to the forest.
Zuko turned to look back at the ship on an impulse. There he saw Koima wave at him from the ships rail, her short black hair fluttering around her face from the sea breeze, making it look like ravens taking flight. Zuko smiled inwardly and gave a nod, acknowledging her. Koima grinned and disappeared. Zuko turned back to his troops, now in front of him marching onward into the forest, he fumed angrily and spurred his rhino to the front of the rank, "FIND THE AVATAR!"
; Koima;
'Yeay, time to go exploring.' I laced on my sandals and was about to run down the gangplank when Uncle Iroh stopped me.
"Koi, can you be back before dark? I don't want you out too late, there are dangers out there that could hurt you since you're not a firebender." Iroh had discovered that I wasn't a firebender when Zuko offered to show me some moves that he was practicing. You can be Firenation without being a bender. The old General was just being protective now, I nodded to dispel the worst of his worries, "I'll be back before dark, Uncle, I promise."
He smiled, "Go then. I'll see you when you return and I'll have a nice cup of tea waiting for you."
"Thank you Uncle. Good bye." I waved and walked off to the forest. I could hear the tramp of Zuko's Rhinos off to my left, slowly fading away with each passing second. I wished them luck, knowing that Zuko would be happy when he succeeded in capturing the Avatar. 'Who is the Avatar?' I wondered. Master had only said that it was an Air nomad that had disappeared a hundred years ago and had now reappeared. It would be a very old man to have lived a hundred years, what could be so hard about catching a wrinkled old man? Some things in this world I will never understand.
I set off forward, away from the direction Zuko was going, I kept the ship directly behind me so I wouldn't get lost. The sounds of birds filled the air with their songs, some pretty and some just plain annoying. Sunlight shone dapple through the leafy foliage of the trees to cast shadows at my feet and path. It was so beautiful, I have missed it so much I cried….I was home.
I had recognized the land, it was where I had once lived over three years ago. I headed in a northern direction, seeing signs that showed that I was getting closer. I ran the last of the way and was outside my village. The breath froze in my throat at the sight of my old village, the half disintegrated homes, father had commenced the building of most of the homes. It was deserted… a ghost town.
'Home' I thought sadly. I stepped through the gate and walked through the rows of homes. I found my house in the middle of the village…
I stopped as I saw it, the door hanging ajar by a single hinge, waving slowly in the wind. This is the place I had spent my life, my happy memories and sad. Mother and Father and me, lived in that house right in front of me….
I pushed aside the hanging door and stepped in my home. The tables were overturn and broken, I had sat at that same table and eaten my meals there…With tears in my eyes I went to where my room was. There was hardly anything left…but my secret box. I went to the wall beside my door and kneeled on the ground. I pulled a stone away from the wall, just barely above the ground. The stone wouldn't come out. I pulled harder, clearing the sand away from the cracks and finally it gave way. The stone slid out and I dropped it to the side. I looked and saw a rough-hewn wooden box. I cried with silent relief; all was not gone.
I opened the box and pulled out my doll, my perfect, little doll father had made for me. He had made it to look like me, including a small red dress with the Firenation emblem sewn on one sleeve. The features were painted on the wood head, gold eyes with small lashes and red lips, the hair was made of my own, my first hair cut that Mama had saved. I held Mona to me, feeling a piece of mother and father still with me.
'Thank you,' I said silently to Agni, 'Thank you' I kissed Mona and tucked her under my shirt into my belt for safe keeping, intending to bring her back to the ship with me.
All of a sudden, I heard a loud groan from a huge beast. I froze, my eyes wide. What was that? There were never animals that sounded like that around my village… did beasts move in while I was gone?
"You're tired aren't cha boy?" I heard a young voice, it sounded like a little boys.
"I'm Hungry!" Another voice complained loudly. Another males. This was followed by a loud smack. A girl spoke up next, "You're always hungry Sokka! We're all hungry! You ate all of our rations! You selfish pig!"
Who could be way out here? There were no other villages beside our out this far in the woods. I went out the door and hid behind a neighbor's house and looked to where I thought I had heard the voices coming from. Oh Holy Agni…..
That was one big…whit…furry…six legged….thing! With this strange beast was a little boy with bright orange clothing and two others dresses all in blue. The girl was bickering to the older boy with a weird ponytail. They were both from the Water tribe and the little boy, who looked no older then twelve, with a blue arrow on his forehead was riding on top of the giant beasts head. I had no clue what nation he was from, maybe he was neutral. He had a big eared lemur on his shoulder, its tail curled around his neck and chirping occasionally.
'Who are they? And why are they here?' I wondered as I watched them. The older Water tribe boy, Sokka, looked around at my village with scant interest, "Looks abandoned to me. Wonder what happened." He said aloud to his two companions.
"They probably just moved to a different village." The boy with the blue arrow said nonchalantly. 'You are so wrong' I thought silently. The girl looked at the sky that was getting darker, the sun was about to set.
"Ste camp here. We can't travel in the dark very well, and I want to sleep on solid ground for once instead of a uncomfortable saddle." She said, massaging her lower back with a pained expression. She looked younger than me, fourteen or so.
I backed away seeing as that they weren't going to be leaving anytime soon. I had to get back to the ship before I get discovered. As I backed away, I tripped over a ceramic pot, breaking it loudly.
"What was that!" I heard the boy Water tribe say. I heard footsteps running towards my spot. I scuffled on the ground, trying to get back up. I ran as fast as I could away from them.
"HEY YOU!" I heard the boy shout, I didn't turn and kept running. I heard the boy get closer then I was tackled to the ground forcefully, knocking the breath ot of me. I cried out in pain as the bandage was rubbed off my burned back, "Get Off Me!" I shouted, not moving for fear of getting hurt further.
"Sokka! What are you doing! Get off!" I heard the girl shout at the boy on top of me.
I found Sokka's blade at my throat, a fist full of my hair in his hand, pulling so that my neck was in view, "Katara! He's Fire Nation!" He shouted at the girl. He pulled me up and spun me around to face him. I swung my hand back and slapped him across the face. SMACK! The slap echoed and my hand stung horribly. Sokka stood there speechless with a red hand mark on his cheek, looking utterly flabbergasted.
I glared at him, "DO I LOOK LIKE A 'HE' TO YOU?"
Oh Shit, Sokka's in deep Shit now. I bet y'all were wondering when I was going to pull the gang in the story. I hoped you liked it. Leave me some reviews please. I posted a chapter ion Run Away also. I don't know when I'll be posting again, so sorry ahead of time. Por favor reviews!
