Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar or Pokemon.
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Chapter 6
Shagar awoke with the sun in her eyes. During the night she'd shifted her position to where her head was no longer under the desks. Now she was lying in a patch of sun on the floor.
Every inch of her told her to stay in bed. She was still exhausted from their journey and the hectic school day the day before, but she found herself getting ready anyway. She rolled up the mat and shoved it in the corner with the others. Since she was in a strange mood that morning too, she decided to wear a black bandana, which she normally never did. After that, she went through the curtain into Mrs. Talbert's room.
The rest of that day was almost an exact repeat of the last, except today they went to music instead of PE. The music teacher Mrs. Hughey, was a Wigglytuff that had been trying to teach them to play flutelike instruments for the past couple of months. There hadn't been much progress, especially since everyone seemed to enjoy honking them in peoples' ears more than playing music on them.
Aside from that, the rest of the day slid by like any other. By the time recess finally rolled around, Shagar was just about sick of school. It was almost too much to take; it was just the same thing every day. But she forced herself to like it. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go. This school was the only thing that stood between her and the war.
At recess, it was scorching hot out, and no one wanted to do anything. Shagar just lied down under one of the few trees behind the school, confining herself to a small patch of shade. She closed her eyes, hoping to take a short nap. It was actually rather peaceful in the spot she'd chosen to rest.
But that nap thing wasn't going to happen. As soon as she closed her eyes, she heard a horn sound back at the school, signaling that everyone needed to come back. Normally, it was only blown at the end of recess, but it was way too early. She figured the teachers probably wanted them to come in because it was too hot out. Shagar dragged herself back toward the school, letting out a groan of protest.
The horn sounded again, which wasn't too unusual since it was usually blown more than once to make sure everyone heard it. This time it was louder, however; almost urgent sounding.
Shagar picked up her pace a little. As she got closer she noticed all the fifth grade teachers as well as the principal, Mrs. Boice, were gathered in the field. The principal, a Ninetails, was discussing something with Mrs. Galvan, her voice urgent. Shagar managed to catch a few words from their hushed conversation: 'from the watchtower'.
The end of her tail twitched in confusion as she tried to figure out what had been sighted. Swarm of locusts? Unlikely. The teachers would've hurried them inside instead of allowing them to gather out here. Bad weather was also out. The sky was clear, and the sun blazed down as always. Dust storm? It would've been seen by everyone and there would've been at least some sort of breeze. Suddenly, she was out of guesses, and her only option was to sit and wait to see what happened.
Shagar felt Freezachu come up next to her. She half expected her to say something, but she stayed silent, looking up at the teachers quizzically.
People near the back of the crowd, especially the girls, were chatting away as usual as if they hadn't noticed they were standing outside for no reason. Some of the boys were playing games with cards they'd bought in town. A few of the smarter people looked up to see what was going on, but a lot of them went back to their games.
Suddenly, Shagar felt Mrs. Talbert push her way in front of her, which she didn't like, but didn't complain about it. The Arcanine stood in front of her. The busy mane and tail of the creature blocked her entire view. Shuffling through the crowd, Shagar found another spot, this time near Mrs. Galvan. The Umbreon has ceased talking with Mrs. Boice, her gaze fixed on something in the distance.
Shagar scanned the horizon, her blue gaze settling on a cloud of red dust on the horizon. A Pidgey from Mrs. Talbert's class fluttered over and settled herself beside her.
"What's that?" she muttered, mystified. "I'd like to fly over and see what it is, but there's no telling what might happen if I do."
"Afraid you might get shot down?" Shagar asked.
The Pidgey narrowed her eyes, obviously annoyed. She thought about it for a while, but eventually nodded. "No one has any idea what's kicking up all that dust. It could be some sort of weird animal. A shirshu maybe."
"There'd have to be more than one," Shagar replied, "to kick up all that dust."
The Pidgey nodded again just as Mrs. Galvan rose and took a step forward. Many of the kids in the crowd flinched or took a step back as they looked toward the horizon.
A group of fuzzy blobs had emerged from the cloud. Something thudded on the ground as the shapes approached. As they came closer, Shagar was able to make out more details. The thudding was the sound of the figures' massive feet thundering upon the ground.
Several of the kids behind her scurried further back into the crowd, but Shagar stayed put. The Pidgey that had been seated next to her took to the air, flying a few yards into the air to get a view before descending behind her.
Shagar turned back to face her.
The Pidgey's eyes were wide with horror. "I know what they are!" she exclaimed. The bird dared another glance at the cloud as if to confirm her suspicions. "They're rhinos!"