Chapter Seven

"What are you thinking?" Moria asks.

Taka, sitting on a low stool in front of her, looks up to meet her eyes and smiles toothily. Her bare foot rests on his knee as he measures her for a new pair of shoes. "You have big feet."

Moria scoffs and kicks his knee lightly. "Well you still want to marry me, so I suppose I can't complain."

"I've always wanted a wife with big feet," Taka smirks. He squeezes her foot gently to still her and picks up his measuring instruments. "Now, if you'll stop pestering me, I'll get all the information I need to make the finest pair of wedding shoes this island has ever seen."

Taka's leatherworks shop is brightly lit by the afternoon sun and is filled with the pleasant aroma of tanned hide. The stool he sits on is naturally cushioned with dark leather. A toolbelt is secured tightly around his waist and all kinds of small instruments dangle from it.

Moria loves to watch him concentrate on his work. His dark, corkscrew curls fall into his deep brown eyes and she finds herself hoping, not for the first time, that their children will inherit those gorgeous locks. His unclothed torso glistens with a sheen of sweat, accenting rock-hard abs and strong biceps. He stands and his head nearly touches the ceiling. He must duck through the doorway of any room he wishes to exit.

"May I go back to pestering you?" Moria asks coyly.

He walks to his workbench and glances back at her with a gentle smile. "You know, if I'm late on my commissions I'll have no one but my pestering star to blame."

Moria laughs and stands with a stretch, extending her arms high in the air. "Oh, all right. I suppose I should go help Mother with the children anyway. It's about time for their naps."

"Make them dream beautiful dreams."

Taka leans forward to give her a gentle kiss. As their lips touch, a scream echoes in the distance. Shrieks and cries for help quickly follow. Taka and Moria quickly break apart, and she stares up at him, frozen.

Taka reacts quickly. He goes to the entrance of his shop and sticks his head outside. He turns back to look at Moria, his face ashen and eyes wide.

"What's wrong?"

Instead of answering, Taka grabs her wrist and pulls her outside through the back. He is much taller than her, and she struggles to keep up with his long, fast pace. He is pulling her towards the Guardian's shrine, moving so quickly he is nearly flying.

More cries pierce the air. A nearby explosion shakes the ground.

"What's happening?!" Moria cries, but Taka is too focused to answer her.

She dares to look over her shoulder, and the mounting destruction behind her would have frozen her in her tracks if not for Taka's hard pulling.

Buildings burn. Old man Ozaki's vegetable cart has tipped over, spilling his produce all throughout the square. Near the silk shop, a woman engulfed in flames does a wild dance as her shrieks rise into the smoky sky. A couple runs for the protection of the trees, the father holding their infant tightly against his chest. Heavily armored soldiers infiltrate the bustling town square, setting fire to whoever or whatever crosses their paths. Their armor looks different from the images in the history books, but Moria easily recognizes them as Fire Nation.

Moria's voice shakes as she whimpers. "Taka…"

"Quiet!" He drags her into the shrine, still untouched by the soldiers, and slams his foot down on a seemingly random floorboard. A trapdoor pops open and he quickly removes the cover. "Get in, quick!"

"What is this?" Moria whispers as she stares into the dark, earthen room.

"It was once used to store holy items for ceremonies," he explains quickly. "Please, Moria, just get in. You'll be safe here!"

"What about you?" Moria cries in horror.

"I'm going to rescue others."

"No!" She grabs his arm and pulls him towards the opening. "Come with me. You have to stay safe!"

"You have to stay safe," he corrects. Another explosion. He looks over his shoulder nervously. "Get in. I'll be right back. I promise."

"Taka!"

"I promise, Moria, just get in!"

She reluctantly climbs in to the dark, hidden room and looks up, her face twisted in terror. "You better come back to me."

Taka stares at her through the opening, an attempted smile quivering on his lips. "I will always come back to my favorite star." There is a deep understanding in his eyes, and he places the secret door over the opening, sealing Moria in darkness.

Moria awoke with a start, her heart thudding hard in her chest. Disoriented, she looked around in the pale moonlight at the sleeping bodies that surrounded her. After a moment, she remembered that the Western Air Temple refugees had taken advantage of the wonderfully cool night and slept outside. Almost everyone had already been sleeping when she and Katara returned from their trip, so the two young women simply laid down with their friends and fell into a comfortable sleep.

But the same damn nightmare that had been plaguing Moria for months resurfaced. Her stomach lurched and she scrambled to her feet, rushing to the edge of the cliff with a hand clamped over her mouth. She leaned over, struggling to keep everything in her body, shaking and breathing hard.

The anguished cries of her dying people while she waited helplessly in the hidden room echoed in her ears. She whimpered as she dropped to her knees, dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, and wrapped her arms tightly around her torso. She bit back the sobs that threatened to escape, not wanting to wake anyone. No one could know just how bad off she really was. She was supposed to be helping the avatar, she was supposed to be contributing something to this group, and yet even with Aang's subtle improvements, she felt useless.

Strong arms wrapped tightly around her, and she was pulled back against someone's torso. She let out a cry and kicked out her legs in surprise, but the action only forced her to press harder against the person. Trembling, she turned her head and found Zuko, his face filled with concern.

"What's wrong?"

She squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment and her unshed tears dropped to her cheeks. "Please, leave me alone," she begged, her voice shaking.

"Not a chance. Why are you crying?"

Zuko's arms were locked tightly around her, and she shifted to bury her face in her hands. "There's no one to help me!"

"We can all help you," Zuko said simply. "Just tell us what's wrong."

Moria sniffed and she shook her head in her hands. "I can't stop remembering…everything…my people burned…and I hid like a coward!"

Zuko frowned. "Your island was under attack. It was natural to seek shelter."

Moria sobbed, the sound muffled between her fingers. "He promised he'd come back to me."

"Who?"

Moria grasped the cockle shell with a quavering hand, turning it over just enough for Zuko to catch a glimpse of the beautiful hidden mosaic. He sighed and nodded in understanding.

"I wish," she whispered, her voice barely audible, "that I had just gone with him. He insisted that I had to be safe, but without Taka, I…" she swallowed thickly and dropped her head.

Zuko remained silent for a long time, keeping his arms tightly around her to quell her whimpering. He lowered his head, his lips close to her ear. He didn't think anyone else was awake, but he didn't want to risk being overheard when he asked the question that had been on his mind since the day they discovered Moria's island.

"The song you sang in the temple before we left – you said it was a funeral song." Moria nodded lamely and he continued. "I thought it sounded a little familiar. You were playing it for yourself just before we discovered you, weren't you?"

Moria cleared her throat and gave a single, slow nod.

"You weren't planning to just continue living on the island by yourself at all, were you?" he asked quietly.

Moria bit her lip. "I couldn't bear the thought of being alone."

"You're not alone now." Zuko sighed and loosened his hold. "You're not a coward and we can help you. We might not be able to calm you down like a soundbender could, but you have friends here. And you're a great help to the avatar."

"Am I though? I don't know if soundbending will aid him in his battle. I don't even know if I can learn the one destructive move a soundbender can do."

"Even if it doesn't, I think he's excited to learn from you. And you won't know what you can master until you try. I never thought I could redirect lightening, but thanks to my uncle, I can."

Moria sniffed and scrubbed at her eyes with the heel of her hand. "I wish I could shake this feeling of uselessness…and these horrible nightmares."

Zuko nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly his eyes narrowed. He grabbed Moria by the waist and threw her roughly to the ground, placing his body over hers. Just as she was about to cry out, a blue flash ripped the ground dangerously close to their tangled bodies.

A female's cruel voice cut through the silent night. "So sorry to interrupt such an intimate moment, Zuzu!"

"Who is that?" Moria cried as a Fire Nation air ship descended into view. The young woman controlling the ship grinned wickedly down at them.

"Azula," Zuko snarled. He was on his feet in an instant, fire emanating from his clenched fists. "What are you doing there?"

"Can't you guess? I'm here to celebrate becoming an only child!"

Another bright flash exploded at Zuko's feet and he leapt back. He glanced at Moria, who was getting up awkwardly off the ground, and commanded, "Wake the others. We have to evacuate."

"But-."

"Now, Moria!" he shouted, and the tone of his voice sent her running.

Explosions sounded at her back, and as she rushed into the open area where everyone was sleeping, she saw that some people had already begun to stir.

"What's going on?" Aang, already on his feet, asked.

"I-I'm not sure," Moria panted. "Someone named Azula is attacking us. We have to get out of here!"

The commotion had woken everyone at this point, and Toph was quick to bend a tunnel into a nearby rock wall. "Here! We can get out through here!"

The refugees began running into the tunnel while Aang tugged Appa towards the entrance.

"I don't understand, who is this woman?" Moria asked, glancing back at the bright flashes of light from the ensuing battle.

"Zuko's sister," Katara explained, taking Moria by the wrist and leading her into the tunnel. "Don't worry. He'll catch up with us."

"Wait, guys!" Aang cried. He stood at the entrance of the tunnel, trying desperately to tug Appa forward, but the sky bison had stubbornly dug his gigantic paws into the rock and refused to move. "Appa is afraid of tunnels!"

"I'll get him moving!" Sokka said with determination, and he went behind Appa and began pushing with a grunt.

"That's not going to work, and you know it," Suki scolded, pulling him away before Appa could kick back.

"M-maybe I can calm him," Moria volunteered. She started for her bag to get one of her instruments but Aang reached out to stop her.

"We don't have time, and you're clearly too upset to bend properly."

Moria's jaw dropped. She knew he was right, she must have looked like a mess, but the comment did nothing to help with her feelings of uselessness.

"We don't have a choice," Aang continued. "We're flying out!"

"Appa can't carry everyone," Katara protested, motioning to the rest of the refugees, her father included, who were already deep into the tunnel.

"We don't have time to come up with another plan." Aang cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, "We'll meet up again soon!"

Hakoda's booming voice came echoing back. "Be safe!"

With no time to waste, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki and Moria scrambled onto Appa's saddle and the sky bison took off. As they flew over the deep cliff, they saw Zuko hit his sister with a finishing blow and the young fire bender began her long descent down.

Katara reached over the side of the saddle and scooped Zuko up by the collar of his shirt in one swift motion. He gave her a grateful nod and gripped the edge of the saddle, watching his sister fall with a grimace.

"She's not going to make it."

As if to prove him wrong, bright blue flames spurted from Azula's feet and she propelled herself to the rockface. Once she had a good hold, she glared up at the retreating gang. She shouted something, but by then they were too far away to hear.

Safely out of harm's way, Zuko slumped against the saddle and let out a long sigh. "I knew she'd find us eventually."

Katara frowned. "We'll have to find a better place to hide out."

"My bag," Moria whispered, her features distraught.

Aang turned to look at her from his steering position and smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry. We'll go back for all of our things once it's safe. For now, let's find another place to camp."

Moria nodded in understanding and turned to watch the Western Air Temple fade into the distance. Once again, she was being taken away from everything familiar and forced into an unknown world.

/Just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for reading. Your support is greatly appreciated! -MM