Chapter 34

Sea Serpent (Or lack of one thereof)

"The girl... the non-bending one who follows the avatar? Th-there's rumour going about that sh-she's the avatar's- the avatar's." My patience was waning thin. I wanted that message now!

"She's what? The avatar's what?"

"The avatar's spirit guide."


Azula

I stared at the man in shock. I quickly wiped the expression away. Showing emotions was weakness, and I was anything but weak.

"Sprit guide? And can you tell me what a spirit guide is?" My voice was soft, deadly so. I sat coiled on my chair like an adder.

"I-i-i-it'sss."

"Quickly!" I barked. I had no patience for this man's incompetence.

"If I may Azula?" Ty Lee asked, turning to look at me. I gazed back then waved my hand to let her know she could continue.

"A spirit guide is someone who is knowledgeable about spirits. They often help others reach enlightenment or contact the spirits of those who have passed on. They are rumoured to have actually walked among the spirits or even have been in the spirit world itself. We had one in the circus who was so sweet-"

"Ty Lee, the point."

"Right, sorry Azula. My point is that since the Avatar is the bridge between the spirit world and our own she must be teaching him about spirits." She waved her arms back and forth as if touching two sides of a scale.

"Except spirit guides are frauds, there's no proof that any of them are what they say they are." Mei replied before turning back to the cowering man.

"What else is there?"

"A-a-a-apparently she's a girl of all nations and a fierce warrior as well." My lip curled. I was well aware of the girl's capacity for fighting, she had sliced off one of Mei's nails. I had heard about it for days after.

"I am aware of her fighting abilities, but I am curious, Mei, can someone be of all four nations?" Mei shook her head, a small smirk crossing her face.

"I don't think it is possible Azula, most people don't marry out of their nations and if they do the child would have two nations, not four. Besides, the airnomads are extinct, well except the avatar."

"That's what I thought." I looked down at the man who stared up at me with wide brown eyes. I frowned, my eyes narrowing.

"I don't like being told false information. It only wastes my time. And you know I don't like my time being wasted."


Maddi

We spent several days in that nice little grotto. Part was to relax and part was to finalize all the plans. Sokka had figured we would fly over the bay and camp on the other side for the night. We were just packing up when a voice drifted over the water.

"Hello fellow refugees!" I jumped in shock, nearly dropping my sleeping bag. Three people were walking into the small place. A man about thirty, a woman around the same age and their teenage daughter, I guessed she was about sixteen.

"Hello!" Katara replied, face lighting up in excitement to talk to someone outside our small group. We grouped together. Over our time traveling I had discovered that when two groups of travellers or more met they would travel together for a while if going in the same direction. If not they would share a meal together and tell tales of current events. There was safety in numbers. Toph was the only one to distance herself as she didn't care for formalities. We quickly introduced each other. The couple were Than (the father) and Ying (the mother). The daughter was Lynn and she was fifteen which she stated quite proudly.

"So are you engaged?" She asked me excitedly, looking between Sokka and I for some sign of affection. Instead we both shot away from each other like magnets facing opposite poles.

"No!" I cried before explaining, "I'm... just a friend."

"Aren't you getting a little old to be without a husband?" I twitched and tried to convince myself that traumatizing these people would not help our cause.

"How old do you think I am?" I asked in exasperation. Sokka quickly interjected before the girl could find herself in deep water.

"So are you folks headed to Ba Sing Se?"

"Sure are," Than replied. His dark choppy hair swaying as he talked, "we're trying to get there before my wife has her baby." I frowned, Ying was heavily pregnant, travelling couldn't be either easy or comfortable. I sent a look at Sokka, he seemed to be having similar thoughts as me.

"We can get you there ourselves, our bison can fly."

"Thank you, but all we have to do is get to the ferries in Full Moon Bay. Its hidden from the fire nation and after the ride we would be escorted to Ba Sing Se in wagons." Sokka tilted his head then nodded.

"Alright but at least let us take you to Full Moon Bay, save you a few hours." Ying smiled.

"Thank you, you have no idea how much that means." I nodded and stroked Appa's side.

"Lie down boy, we have a woman with child coming on and-" I was cut off as Appa dropped to his stomach, pressing himself down to the earth. I blinked. For a moment, I wondered about just how much of the common tongue Appa understood.


Appa moved almost painfully slow as we flew to Full Moon Bay. None of us complained though, it was clear that Ying was a little nervous about riding a flying animal but Appa was incredibly patient.

We landed outside the opening to the secret ferry ride and walked in with Ying and her family, escorting them to make sure they got where they needed to be. I felt sadness pull my heart as I saw the amount of people who were refugees. Women, children, boys, men and babies. Even elderly folks, eyes ancient in pain. Part of me wanted to pull them all into my arms where they would never be hurt again but right now I had my own family and they came first.

"I can't believe how many people have been uprooted by this war." Katara murmured softly, clearly as bothered by this as I was.

"We all hope to have a better life there in Ba Sing Se." Than explained quietly. I nodded quietly in response.

While Than, Ying and Lynn got tickets to the ferry we waited on the sidelines. I was honestly surprised with how Sokka was acting so chivalrous.

"Tickets please." A voice snarled. I froze and spun. A girl in a green outfit and no Kyoshi warrior paint stood behind us. That didn't stop me from recognizing Suki. I froze and a tsunami of guilt crashed down on me. Last time I had seen Suki she had been practically unconscious with a concussion and a broken leg.

"Umm, is there a problem because we were just escorting some people-"

"Yeah, there is a problem." Suki snipped, interrupting Sokka, "I know your type, sarcastic but think you're hilarious, to noble for your own good and traveling with the avatar."

"Do I know you?" I wanted to scream at Sokka that it was Suki but I couldn't say a word besides a little choking sound. I felt so bad, especially when my eye traveled down to her leg and I noticed a metal brace around her knee to ankle.

"Maybe you'll remember this." She leaned in and whispered something in Sokka's ear. Sokka's face changed from confused to shocked to delighted in a matter of seconds.

"Suki!"

"Suki?" In seconds Suki was surrounded by my companions, all excited to see her. All except Toph and I. Toph because she didn't know Suki and I because of the increasing sense of guilt.

"You look so different without makeup and that uniform."

"Yeah I know, we all have to wear them as security guards. So what about you tough guy? Working out much?" Her eyes scanned Sokka appreciatively. With all the mock battles the two of us had done both together and against the others we had become quite fit.

"Pala's been wanting to practice so much we spend at least an hour on that everyday. That, and I do the occasional one-on-one workout session now and then." He smiled and flexed. I blinked, I hadn't realized just how muscular Sokka had become. It made me curious about how much muscle I had gained between arriving in this world and now. Suki turned and grinned at me.

"You're being awfully quiet Maddi, come on, the girl's would love to talk to you again. And I'm pretty sure Tan is just dying for a rematch." I managed a wane smile but my eyes kept flicking to the leg brace that Suki wore. Her smile faded and she glanced down at the brace.

"Well you can't escape every battle unscathed, that's not the way things work you know." She tried to make her voice light but there was a decidedly bitter tone to it.

"So how's the leg healing?" Katara asked, looking at it in worry.

"Fine, I'm still using it. This brace is just to support it, I'll have to wear it for a while longer-"

"If you want, I can speed the healing process," Katara offered, "I can even make sure it's healing properly too." Suki blinked in surprise.

"You can do that?" Katara nodded

"Yes, it's something that some waterbenders can do, I wasn't aware of it when we were at Kyoshi Island." Suki laughed and unbuckled the brace.

"Then feel free." Katara nodded and bent down, weaving the water from her pouch and to Suki's leg. The smallest groan of pain escaped Suki but that was all. To my wonder the glow surrounding Suki's leg vanished as it worked right below the skin, causing her leg to shine in bioluminescence. Then it was over and Katara stepped away. There were tears in Suki's eyes as she bent down and caressed her calf. For a moment I thought I heard her mutter something about it 'not feeling wrong anymore' but the moment passed and she turned. Throwing her arms around Katara, Suki embraced the waterbender.

"Thank you, so much."

"It was nothing." Katara quickly assured, looking decidedly uncomfortable and embarrassed.

"So what is going on?" Toph asked me softly while Suki chatted with our companions. I leaned over and explained as quickly as I could all about Kyoshi Island and Suki. Once Toph was caught up I turned back to the group. Apparently I wasn't going to be able to escape Suki because the moment my eyes landed on her she swept forwards and grabbed my hands.

"Come on, you have to spar with me. I want to see how much you have improved." I let Suki drag me out of ear shot before pulling away.

"I can't."

"Okay tell me what's wrong, Maddi, this isn't like you." Suki stated, eyebrows twisting down.

"What makes you think you know me? It's been months since we've seen each other. A lot has changed." I snarled. Suki took a step back in shock.

"What is this about really?" I didn't reply but my eyes betrayed me, flicking to Suki's now healed appendage.

"You're guilty! Why by the mother of faces are you guilty?"

"Because it was my fault you got hurt in the first place!" I barked. I felt like screaming at her to see what was in front of her but I didn't. Suki's look of utter confusion stopped me.

"Maddi, Katara just healed me, this leg feels better then it has in years! That wasn't my first time breaking it."

"That's not the point!" I cried in frustration. Suki grabbed my elbows.

"Maddi you're being ridiculous, you want to know who injured me? It was that guy who invaded my village, he threw me against a wall and I fell wrong. Part of it was my fault too."

"You blame yourself for falling wrong?" I repeated aghast, what was Suki talking about.

"Remember that I taught you how to fall? If you don't fall right you can get hurt worse. I fell wrong and slammed my leg against a piece of wood and my head hit the wall. It happens, true, the way he slammed into me from his rhino didn't give me a lot of time to correct my fall but that's going to happen."

"You're being unusually reasonable." I responded. Suki sighed and ran a hand through her short hair.

"Listen, we're in a war. If we blame every person who hurts us there will never be peace. Sure I'm upset, he invaded my home and hurt me but its okay. Kyoshi Island is unhurt. The statue and buildings have been repaired, and now even my leg has been healed. No one died. That's all I can ask for so you need to give up that guilt. Comon, I want to spar with you still."

A few minutes later we returned to my companions who had been chatting with the other Kyoshi warriors, out of breath. I had been properly whipped by Suki Defeated three times in a row. I had forgotten how good Suki was. There was a squeal and I was suddenly swamped by Kyoshi warriors who wanted to know how everything was going for me, why I had cut my hair, how I had got a tan and if I had met any cute boys. I managed to struggle away from the mass of teenaged girls but I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face. It was nice having so many people thinking about me.

"Please you have to help us." I turned as did everyone else. It was Ying, tears were streaming down her face as she held her husbands hand. Her daughter looked equally distraught.

"Someone robbed us, we've lost everything." She gasped, legs nearly giving out from the strain. Two of the Kyoshi warriors, Tan and Jooda if I remembered correctly, rushed forward to help support Ying. We didn't want her to fall and hurt herself or the baby.

"I'll go talk to the manager."

"Don't bother." I retorted. My friends looked at me. I noticed a few of the girls send looks at each other.

"She's not going to listen, she's too strict." I explained, "But we can fly you guys across, I don't think that offer went away just because you wanted to take the ferry."

Sokka nodded in agreement and walked up to the small family.

"We're more then willing to let you come with us." He stated calmly.

"Then I'm going with you." We turned to see Suki stepping up, "I'll make sure you get to the other side without any problems."

"You don't have to do that." Katara quickly pointed out.

"I know, but I want to."


Riding Appa over the bay was a whole lot nicer then walking across the serpents pass. We were able to chat and relax. Sure it was a bit crowded with eight people but Appa could carry twice the number of people when it came to space. Sokka and Suki had taken the rear and were talking quietly to each other. Katara was chatting with Lynn, Aang was sitting on Appa's head chatting with Sokka and of course the couple were talking about baby names and feeling for a kick. Toph was leaning against the side of Appa's saddle and snoring away in a deep sleep. I was people watching. It was interesting seeing Suki and Sokka treated each other compared to the couple expecting. Both seemed to be very close and both seemed to truly care for each other. However it looked like Suki and Sokka had a stronger friendship to build their romance on. That was just my opinion of course

Because Appa was traveling slower then usual, partially from the added weight and partially because we had made the decision to go slower for the comfort of our passengers we ended up stopping on a large flat portion in the serpents pass. Sokka, Katara and I gave our sleeping bags to the small family traveling with us.

Dinner was a quiet affair and after eating we each split up to go our separate ways. Suki and Sokka wandered off to talk, the family went to sleep while Toph, Katara, Aang and I snuggled into Appa's fur to talk until sleep claimed us.

"So what is going to happen when we get to Ba Sing Se?" Katara asked me as she stared up at the stars glittering in the sky. I fixed my eyes on the north star, who Nut represented and replied softly so as not to disturb those who traveled with us.

"In all honesty, I'm not sure. I've lost track of time but I think we're ahead of schedule. Anyway, in Ba Sing Se things are going to get... complicated. There's a lot of politics and a conspiracy going on. That's going to make things really hard."

"What conspiracy?" Katara asked in confusion.

"Ba Sing Se is trying to deny that the war is happening."

"Say what?" Toph asked, suddenly alert and paying attention. Aang too looked shocked as he stared at me in wide eyed disbelief.

"Once you're inside Ba Sing Se the war 'doesn't exist' the king, well he's little more then a figurehead. That's just the beginning." There was quiet for a moment.

"We'll have to talk about this with Sokka later." Katara finally decided. I nodded sleepily. Curling into a ball I closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep.


We were in the air, less then fifteen minutes away from the closest piece of solid ground besides the pass when Ying made a little gasping sound. I blinked and looked at her. Her brown eyes were wide, her dark hair swayed in the wind.

"The baby's coming." She gasped.

"Now!" Sokka squeaked.

"Soon," she gasped slightly, "very soon." I mentally cussed. Contractions. I had little knowledge about pregnancy and giving birth, it had never been something I had studied. I could spew more facts about superheroes or TV shows but when it came to facts about the workings of the bodies... I was not interested. Not that I wasn't interested in that way... I quickly shook my mind out of place it had been going. There were more important things then my experiences going on here.

"We need to land, soon." Katara stated, alarmed.

"Aang, we need to go faster." I called.

We landed five minutes later and Katara sprung into action.

"Toph I need you to make a shelter. Maddi I need you to find some clean cloth, Suki, make a fire. Lynn I need you to find some water and fill a pot with it." We all hurried to the task that Katara had given us. I rummaged through our bags hurriedly. We always carried a lot of spare cloth and bandages, partially for any possible wounds that traveling could cause and partially because there were two mature girls on this team. I grabbed a thick wad and rushed over to the large stone building that Toph had created. Katara was looking over it with a practiced eye.

"If you can I need all this dirt and dust packed as hard as possible. I don't want any of it causing problems. Flat too." Katara told Toph quickly. I was surprised at how easily Toph agreed. She knew that this was something that we had no time to argue about. Once those tasks were finished we created a thin mat of spare cloth and laid it where Ying was going to be laying. Katara had the assistance of the boys to move the pregnant woman to the bed then shooed them out.

"Toph, you can go to. You're not going to be able to help much with this." I swore that Toph looked very relieved as she booked it out of the hut as fast as she could.

"Okay Ying, I've got you set up. Now I need to know, are there any rituals or charms that are specific to your family or home that you want to use? I'm the only one here who has had training and I'm sorry to say but my experience has been solely among the water tribe."

"There was a charm" she gasped before continuing, "when our things were stolen." Katara's face paled she turned to Suki who shook her head.

"Warriors aren't allowed in the birthing hut." She explained. Katara nodded and turned back to Ying.

"Are you against using a water tribe charm? I know several that should be applicable here in the earth kingdom." Ying nodded, tears filling her eyes.

"Thank you." Katara turned to me, looking worried.

"Do any of you have ink and brush?"

"I think Aang might." I quickly replied, "And if not I can send him for them." Katara and Lynn both nodded.

"If you can grab Gran-grans medical kit while you're out there too, that would be good." Katara added. I nodded and hurried out.

Luckily Aang did have ink and a brush so he didn't need to go looking for a town. I returned with them. Ying had a thin sheen of sweat on her face and Katara was standing by her head.

"That's right, push, follow your instincts. You've done this before Ying, you know how." I placed the corked ink bottle and brush on a pile of cloth.

"How long will this last?" I asked Lynn softly as I took a seat beside her.

"It could be anywhere from a few hours to overnight." She replied quietly in return, "Father said that when I was born mother was in labour all night. Its better if its longer."

"How is it better to be longer, your mom would be exhausted."

"Yes but the baby is more likely to survive." I stared at Lynn in confusion, trying to wrap my mind around what she said. Long ago infant mortality rate was sky-high, children often didn't live to be more then a few years old.

"Did you have other siblings?" I asked Lynn cautiously, not wanting to offend her.

"Three, two brothers and a sister. None of them lived more then five summers. Gensu might have if the fire nation hadn't ruined the crop on his third summer." I felt bile rise in my throat. One day I might have a child here, no, one day I would have a child here. I felt myself begin to shake. How many children would I loose before one lived? I wanted to cry for all those babies lost, hundreds of children dying every day.

Eight hours later Ying was in the full throes of labour, screaming for the sky to ring with the sound. Suki and I were holding her hands, wincing in pain at the strength. Katara had actually corrected the way I had been holding Ying's hand. She had warned me that if Ying held my hand wrong she might break it. That had made me quite aware of how my hand was being held. I didn't want to loose motion in my hand just because I let a woman hold it wrong.

Sokka must have stuck his head in at the wrong time because he took one look and fainted dead away. Ying gave one last scream then gasped as another cry echoed hers. I watched as Katara handed the bloody, squalling baby to Lynn. She took out a knife and pressed it against the baby's belly. In one swift swipe the umbilical cord was cut. To my surprise instead of grabbing clothes to wash the blood off the child Katara and Lynn began chanting. It was a prayer for the good fortune and luck of the child, welcoming it into the world. It was through that chant that the child's gender was announced. Female. A baby girl.

Only after the chant was finished was the baby washed in warm water and then dried. Katara then had Lynn and I hold the child while she wrote charms on the baby's body. One on the stomach, one on the right foot, one over the heart and finally one on the forehead. Lastly Katara took out a ivory charm, carved from a tusk of some animal or other and placed it on top of the drying ink over the baby's heart. The child was then swaddled in clothes tightly and handed to the beaming but exhausted mother.

"What are you going to name her?" I asked as the men and Toph entered the shelter nervously. Only Than wasn't cautious, instead he rushed to his wife's side and kissed her forehead, gazing fondly at his baby girl. Despite what people said the baby had been very ugly, a strange alien looking creature. It was the love on the faces of Ying and Than that made her beautiful. Katara and Suki both gave me strange looks.

"Babies aren't named until they're a month old." Katara explained quickly. I nodded

"It's alright." Ying replied with a smile, "I plan on naming her Hope, in honour of the hope you and your companions have brought us." A small smile worked its way onto my face.

"Welcome to the world, Hope." I whispered softly, "I wish you the greatest luck."


So what did you think? I put a lot of effort into the baby scene to fill in both culture and some thought about her own child from Maddi. And what about Azula at the beginning? A good continuation of the last chapter? Anyway let me know what you thought,

Princess Kassie Out.