Sorry for the irregular updating patterns. ^_^;

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or Pokemon.

-------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5

The sun was just rising when the group got back to Curtsinger. They'd traveled all night without a wink of sleep. When they reached the portables, they departed into their separate rooms.

Shagar and Kinko crept silently into Mrs. Meyer's room. A few kids were awake and getting ready for school, but the majority of them were still asleep. Shagar unpacked what was left of the supplies she'd taken on the trip and put them away.

It was about an hour and a half before she had to go to class, so she collapsed on the floor and dozed for an hour or so. When the sound of her classmates pouring into Mrs. Talbert's room roused her, she too got up and slinked next door.

Mrs. Meyer's and Mrs. Talbert's rooms where separated by a long violet curtain. Everyone always had fun running between the rooms because of that curtain, but Shagar was too tired to notice it glide over her.

Mrs. Talbert was Shagar's favorite teacher. Not only was she the nicest teacher she'd ever had, but she'd also helped her in her darkest hour.

When Shagar was younger, her parents had wanted to move south, hoping to avoid the war, at least for a while. It really hadn't been a good time to move. Her sister, Keira, was only a couple of months old, and was generally helpless. Nevertheless, her parents thought it was too dangerous in their current location, and decided to move south, where raids weren't as common.

They were about halfway there when Fire Nation troops ambushed their travel group. The adults held them off long enough for most of the children to make their escape, but the grand majority of the adults were captured, including Shagar's parents. From there on, she, the few adults that had escaped, and the rest of the kids made their way south, stopping every once in a while to ask if anyone knew a place where they could go. That's how they learned about Curtsinger. They'd been told it was a boarding school especially for those who'd lost their parents to war related causes, whose parents were fighting in the war, or whose parents just wanted them in a safe place. Someone had also been nice enough to give them directions, so they adjusted their course to take them there.

At last they made it. Shagar had been the first to rush through the doors, seeking immediate help. Keira had come down with some sort of illness, which worried her. The first person she saw inside was Mrs. Talbert. Shagar had run to her and asked for help, saying they'd been traveling and that her sister was sick. She said she'd give her the rest of story later.

Mrs. Talbert had found someone to take Keira to the nurse, and then she spoke with the rest of the group. Shagar—being the chatty six-year-old she was-- had quickly explained the entire story in full detail, not leaving out a single thing; not a person they'd met nor a town they'd passed. The Arcanine had told them they'd be able to stay at the school, but Keira would have to be taken somewhere else because she was underage.

And here she was, in the very classroom of the teacher who'd taken them under her wing. She was extremely grateful.

That day in Mrs. Talbert's class was fairly relaxing. She let the kids lie down on the floor while she read the beginning of a story to them. Shagar took the time to relax, figuring the rest of the day would be hectic.

Which it was.

Following Reading was Math class with Mrs. Meyer; the absolute worst part of the day. It was an entire hour and a half of nothing but numbers and equations that made Shagar's head spin. She barely paid attention; she didn't care if there was a test over it.

Next was Science. Above all, it was Shagar's favorite class, but Mrs. Galvan often made it stressful. The Umbreon was constantly throwing pop quizzes on them and giving them long assignments. Not to mention she was pretty strict too. All it took was one interruption and you'd be out the door. She often snapped at them, making them flinch, though they still got to do some interesting experiments. Once, they made ice cream, and another time they made little racers out of empty spools of thread.

But today, all they got was a long lecture from Mrs. Galvan about how plants worked. Not the most exciting thing.

The fourth class of the day was history, again with Mrs. Meyer, which Shagar also despised. She didn't pay attention at all. It was probably just more about dusty old Earth Kingdom war generals that fought some battles, won something big, and then died anyway.

Finally came lunch. Fifth grade ate the latest of anyone, which was pretty bad if you had skipped breakfast. That usually meant you'd have to wait until after school to get anything decent. Today was spaghetti. Not so bad, right? Wrong.

It was the worst possible thing they could have served. Earlier in the year, Garner, a kid in Mrs. Talbert's class had discovered that the spaghetti bounced. It turned out, if you threw the pasta at the floor so that it had just the right amount of spin, you could get it to bounce about three feet into the air.

Shagar checked to make sure no one was looking and gave it a try herself. The first time it just kind of splatted on the floor because she didn't throw it right. She tried again, giving it more spin. This time it did bounce--about a foot in the air.

Immediately after lunch they had Specials, which could be anything ranging from art to PE. Today it was PE. They had to do targeting drills, which meant nothing more than firing shots at metal targets about fifty feet away. Despite how often the kids were forced to do this, it was surprising how many people hardly ever hit the target. The coaches sometimes had to hide behind the targets because it was the only safe place!

After Specials was a sort of free time. For forty-five minutes they could do whatever they wanted. Most chose to get a jump start on homework, but all the procrastinators usually played games or bothered each other.

Finally was recess. The only requirements were that the kids had to stay on school grounds until dismissal. They normally only got about ten minutes of recess, after that they could go into town or any surrounding areas.

But, at sundown they had to be back at school, otherwise the teachers panicked and started organizing search parties. It was always embarrassing when one was being organized for you and you got back five minutes before they planned on leaving.

The day had been long and hard for Shagar, but at least it was over now. Everyone pulled out their sleeping mats and arranged them in their staked out spots on the floor. Shagar set up hers in her usual spot under the desks, which had been pushed against the wall. The sounds of night life outside the building sang a sort of lullaby, and before long she was asleep.

Meanwhile back at the Fire Nation camp, a meeting had been called. Soldiers gathered near the center of the camp.

"Come on, Raesty!" Someone called from the crowd. "Prince Zuko's gonna chew you out if you're not over here quick!"

The young soldier came running out of his tent with a spear.

"I'm coming, Yu!" he called hastily as the crossed the short expanse of land to reach the crowd. "Did I miss something?" Raesty panted. Being a new recruit, he felt he had to do everything he could to impress those in charge. Being late wasn't one of them.

"Nah," Yu replied, jabbing Raesty with his elbow. "Zuko's not even out here yet."

"What happens if you're late to a meeting?" Raesty asked out of curiosity. "

"Well, first they burn your hair off," Yu began, smiling in satisfaction as he watched his friend reach up to fiddle with his sandy blonde hair. "Oh, yeah, and then they tie you to a post and force you to live with the livestock."

"Really?" Raesty said skeptically. He'd lost him after the hair thing.

Yu just shrugged. "I dunno what they actually do. I wouldn't wanna be the first to find out though."

"I will," the young soldier replied.

"Oh! Looks like the meeting's starting," Yu said, bringing Raesty's attention to the front of the crowd.

Zuko was standing in front of the crowd now. He wore the same irritated expression he always wore.

"Well," Zuko began, "I don't want this to take very long, so I'll just get right to the point." He paused, glancing at his uncle, who was off to the side loudly slurping his tea.

When he noticed Zuko's eyes on him, he looked up.

"Oh, don't mind me, my nephew," Iroh said with a smile. "Tell them what you wanted to tell them!"

Zuko just gave an angry huff, and several soldiers in the crowd had to suppress their laughter.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Zuko continued, glancing at his uncle, "we haven't heard any news on the Avatar since we say him fly over a week ago, so we're going to keep moving inland."

The entire crowd erupted in moans and groans. Obviously, no one wanted to move.

Suddenly, Raesty spoke up.

"Uh, sir?"

"Yes?" Zuko replied.

"Well, you see, there were a couple of kids who wandered into camp a few days ago…"

"Uh-huh…"

"So…were there are people, there are civilizations, right?"

"So you think," Zuko broke in, "there's a town nearby?"

"Yeah," Raesty nodded.

"A town…where the Avatar could be hiding!" Zuko said with realization. "You're a genius."

"Uh, sure," Raesty said uncertainly. "Why not?"

"Which way did they head?" Zuko asked.

"That way," Raesty said, pointing in the direction they'd gone. "East."

Zuko took a moment to think this over. Raesty looked a little uncomfortable. He didn't know if Zuko would be mad that he hadn't told him about the kids at all. He hoped that if he were mad at all, he wouldn't bring it up.

After a moment, Zuko finally said, "It's settled then. We leave at dawn."