HOWDY Y'ALL! Welcome to this week's edition of AWTF! Hope y'all like this week's chapter. I'm gonna keep it a buck with y'all I got a summer job and chapters might be coming out at weird times. Hopefully nothing changes but you never know. Don't forget to Follow Favorite and Review! CKK OUT!
Nu and Je were walking down a dirt path in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. They had been walking for a while and were actively seeking out information on people.
"Damn, man, we've been walking forever!" Je complained as he trudged through the thick brown mud, coating the bottom of his combat boots. He was a large man who stood at a towering 6'3 and was very muscular. He was wearing a brown cloak that covered his red and black armor, complimenting his dark brown hair and green eyes.
"Well, the Commander's map says that we'll be there in just over an hour," Nu replied as he walked next to his friend in arms. He was slightly shorter than Je, standing at 5'9 tall. He was of a more athletic and lean build with black hair. He held a bag filled with paper.
"Shit," Je cursed to himself. "At least we've got good walking music, right?" He gestured to the beautiful sounds of nature that were around them. There were robins, blue birds, and even some mockingbirds flying from tree to tree. There was the croaking of frogs and the rustling of the weeds in the brush. "Why are we even out here?"
"Commander Dai ordered us to investigate any strange sightings of people in the area," Nu answered as he read a piece of paper that he had gotten from a previous town. They had already been to several small villages and towns on the cliff side. All the people that they had met so far did not resemble any of the people that they were searching for.
After walking for a few more hours, they came upon a small town full of about 100 to 150 people. There were several small buildings and even a few larger ones that were painted bright colors. As the soldiers walked, they found that it was actually a very cozy area. They found children playing in the streets, couples on dates at the local cafes, and even a lovely elderly couple sitting on their front porch.
"Wow, this looks like a pretty lively community," Je noted as they walked though the area.
"Yeah, it actually looks like a pretty nice area to live in," Nu concurred as he smiled at some children who waved at them as they walked.
"It almost makes you sad that we might have to destroy this place," Je said with a frown on his face. Both men knew what working as soldiers meant. They would have to destroy anything that did not agree with the Fire Nation, or had any relevance to either the Avatar or Azula. Both men found it so sad that they had to end the lives of so many innocent people.
"Yeah. Hopefully, they support the Fire Nation and we won't have to kill them all," Nu responded with a small smile on his face. He wished not to kill anyone as much as Je did, but orders were orders. "So, where should we start looking for these people?"
"I dunno. Maybe at the center of town and then fan out?" Je suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "Do you have the signs that Doru made for us when we were back on the ship?"
Nu nodded his head to Je and turned his bag around so that he could reach some of the pockets. After a few moments of fumbling around, he finally pulled out the flyers and began to hand them out to people who strolled past.
"Have you seen any of these people walking around this town?" Nu asked the residents as they passed them on the streets. He knew that if any of them actually found anything, they would have to report it eventually.
"No, I'm very sorry," a small man replied to the soldiers.
"That's okay, sir. Do you happen to know of anyone that has seen them?" Nu questioned the man. To his surprise, he received a nod from the man.
"Follow me this way, but please don't destroy our home. We've been here for 500 years and we don't want to leave!" he cried as he got onto his hands and knees.
"Don't worry, sir. We will not destroy your village," Nu reassured the man, though lacking a full assurance in his tone.
The small man, though still mildly skeptical, started leading the two soldiers towards a marketplace. There were stalls for potatoes, jewelry, clothing, and even baby supplies. When the two men entered the market, they immediately sensed that they were being watched by the townsfolk.
"And I thought that this place was going to be different," Je mumbled into Nu's ear. The short man nodded his head but put on a smile to look as harmless as possible. They walked throughout the market scanning for any clues that could point them in the right direction.
They stumbled upon a cute bakery where they both thought they could supply themselves with some sweet treats. Je was about to open the door when he stopped and looked at Nu, who nodded his head. Both men entered the bakery and were immediately assaulted by the aroma of vanilla and sugar.
"Ah, soldiers! What can I do for you this fine afternoon?" a tall and portly old man asked cheerfully from behind the counter of the shop. He had shaggy brown hair and wore a green apron covered in sugar and small bits of batter.
"Hi! Can we get two blueberry muffins, please?" Nu politely asked the man, whose face turned sour.
"I'm sorry, but we just ran out of them. Our most recent customer wanted all nine of the pens that I made today. What would she do with nine giant blueberry muffins? She was small, too, which didn't make any sense," the old baker ranted to the two men.
The two soldiers raised their eyebrows at this. "What, was she, like, a kid?" Je queried as he leaned on the counter.
"No; that's weird, too! I know everyone that lives here and she wasn't from here," he answered as he wiped down his counter.
"Did she leave a name?" Nu asked whilst whipping out a pen and paper. He wrote down the details that the man was saying.
"Yeah...something Lee. I don't remember her first name, though," the baker said with obvious disappointment. "Oh well...enough about that. What was it you fellas wanted?"
"Actually, it would be great if you could describe more about this Lee person," Je stated while looking at a flyer in his bag. "Did she by chance look like this?" As he said this, he pulled out a flyer with a picture of Ty Lee on it. There was also a small paragraph detailing her abilities as well as her strengths and weaknesses.
"Yeah, she looked exactly like that...but that girl had some knockers on her. I swear, those things were bigger than my wife's and she's had five kids!" the baker exclaimed as he tried to visualize the size of her boobs with his.
"Wait, you've seen them in real life?!" Nu blurted out incredulously. "Aw, man, I've always wanted to-"
"Shut up, both of you! And Nu, stop being so damn down bad!" Je yelled at Nu as he smacked him on the head. He directed his attention back to the baker. "Anyway...you said you've seen her before? How long ago was she here and what direction did she walk in?"
The baker pondered the questions for a moment before beginning to answer. "Well, she came in here maybe 20 minutes before you gentlemen got here." He started to explain her order and how she wanted to be nice to her new friends, thus giving them all muffins. "She left maybe a few minutes before you got here. She said that she needed to get some clothing before she went back home, so you might be able to catch her."
"Awesome; thank you so much!" Nu said as he finalized his notes. "Oh and can we both get 4 morning buns please?" he added respectfully as he pointed at the display case.
"Sure - but please don't hurt us!" the baker pleaded as he handed the soldiers the baked goods. Both men paid, left a generous tip, and left with an attempt to catch up to Ty Lee.
Azula found herself walking back to the meditation room realizing how much time had passed. It seemed like yesterday, but it had really been two weeks since her friends got her to eat and sleep more. The work on what she was calling the 'Airship' was coming along very well. In fact, with the help of Suki, Toph, and Sokka, they were able to perform their first successful test flights.
"Man, we've been at this for so long," Azula mumbled to herself as she continued to walk down the dark hallway. At this point, she did not need to look where she was going in order to find the room where she meditated. She stayed there for five hours every morning and three hours every night.
"I just want Ty to get back with those muffins! That sounds sooo good right now," she said aloud as she opened the door. She walked in and slipped into her usual meditative stance, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She calmed her mind and eventually felt the normal pull of her spirit as she entered the Spirit World. Alright, Aang, where are you? she thought to herself as she stood in the vast open field that was the Spirit World. "Aang!" she shouted as she started to jog down a hill. "Where are you?!"
She repeated the process for hours. She felt like she was walking the same stretch of land over and over again but she knew that she would do it. She knew that she would eventually get to him. She just had to keep pushing.
"Ty Lee is getting muffins for everyone this morning," she spoke into the large space as she moved, hoping that somehow he would hear her. "Suki wanted some blueberry muffins, so Ty Lee went to the closest village to get them for her. Isn't that sweet?" She listened desperately for a reply. All that was returned was a sad and lonely silence. She kept her resolve and continued to talk.
"You know I love you right?" she called out as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I...I hope you know that I love you." She smiled at the fond memories of them kissing on the balcony of her ship. In a whisper, she uttered, "I miss you, my love."
And so she continued. On and on she walked and talked about random things. She would talk about what she did in her childhood as well as all the times the guards would do something funny and how Aang made her smile. All of it. She would spill her deepest and darkest secrets during her expeditions in the Spirit World. She would cry, feel anger, or simply be lonely. Somewhere deep down, Azula felt truly alone, as if she was talking to a brick wall. Every time she thought she heard something, it was simply her imagination.
"I hope you're okay." She glanced up into the sky and noticed that, for the first time, they were different. Instead of the normal white and puffy clouds, they showed a dark gray. Azula frowned and began following the direction of the clouds.
"Aang?" she called to the sky. No response. She ran a little more and felt the wind pick up a bit. What's going on?! she thought to herself as she accelerated her pace. She watched as over the next few minutes, the clouds grew darker and darker and the wind was also blowing much harder.
"Aang, are you okay?!" she repeated into the sky, but, once again, received nothing but the howling of the wind and the rustling of the brush as an answer. She sighed to herself before beginning to now sprint towards what she thought was the center of the storm.
A few more minutes of frantic running later, she did feel something different. She felt what she thought was anxiety, but from where, she could not tell. She attempted to shake it off, yet the more she ran, the stronger the feeling got. After a few more minutes, she felt fear creeping into her body. The only problem was that it wasn't her fear. Is this his fear? she thought to herself as she continued to run faster and faster towards the center of the storm.
"Aang, what's wrong?!" she yelled to the dark and stormy clouds, looking frantically around. She slowed her pace and tried to think of something she could do. Think, Azula. What did Aang say about the Spirit World? He said that it is the embodiment of our spirits. He said that emotions affect our spirits, which in turn reflect the Spirit World. Am I scared? she asked herself. Wait...maybe I'm not the one that's scared...maybe it's Aang that's the scared one! That's it!
Azula halted and sat down on the ground. She could feel the winds swirling around her as she closed her eyes, channeling her inner spirit throughout her entire body. She remembered all the good times she had with Aang, the meals that they shared, the kisses that they traded. She gathered every positive memory that she could conjure in her brain to project it into the world. She became a beacon of love to him.
"Aang...I know you're scared. I know that you are alone and hurt. I know that you are cold, hungry, and lonely. I know that you feel weak and I know that you might not want to keep going. But Aang, I need you to keep going! I've figured out a way to get to you! I need you to hold on for just a little while longer! I know you can do it...just please hold on for a few more weeks! Please, Aangy. I'm coming and then we can be together again! I know you can do it! Don't worry, my love. I'm coming for you wherever you are!" She finished her speech and smiled warmly at the end. Tears were streaming down her face and pooling at her feet as she poured every last ounce of emotion she could into each and every word.
"...Zula?"