Chapter Three: Lost and Not Found

When Aang opened his eyes, it was morning. His wrists and ankles were still tied, along with an extra rope tied around his knees, but his gag was gone.

"You thirsty?" Zuko asked while holding out a canteen.

"You really are good, aren't you?" Aang asked.

"You're not worth anything dead," Zuko replied coldly. Aang just smiled as he clumsily took the canteen in his still confined hands.

---

"Wake up, sleepy-head," Sokka said while he was shaking his sister to consciousness. Katara glared at Sokka, a frown on her face and bags under her eyes. She unscrewed the container she carries water in and water-wiped him in the face. Then she lied back down and buried her face in her pillow. "Ka-tar-rah! You have to wake up so we can search the forest for Aang!" Sokka said as he was shaking her.

"He's not there, so let me sleep!" Katara said, only half awake.

"So you didn't find him last night?" Toph asked, having woken up without them noticing and was standing behind them.

"Last night?" Sokka asked and turned toward Toph. "O-kay! Why are you two keeping secrets from me!" Sokka demanded.

"We're not," Toph answered simply. "I sensed her and Appa leave last night."

"Ooh..." Sokka said.

"You two can search for him while I finish sleeping, okay?" Katara asked, still with her head in the pillow. They decided that would be all right, since Toph could use her earthbending if they find him in the forest. And if they couldn't find him, they would have to go back to camp anyway, because they wouldn't know where he went. When they were walking toward Appa, the giant bison yawned.

---

"It's time to go," Zuko said. He gathered his things and then swung them and Aang onto his animal.

While leaving the camp, Aang curiously asked, "Where are we going?"

"The docks," Zuko replied without looking at him.

---

"Do you see him anywhere?" Toph asked.

"No! I still don't see him. If I do, I'll tell you," Sokka said. Toph rolled her eyes and sat down cross-legged.

"Can't you fly any lower, Appa?" Sokka asked after a minute. Appa moaned in reply and went about a foot lower, the trees barely missing his large body.

"Hey, I think I see him!" Sokka exclaimed. Toph looked up. "No wait... It was a monkey." Toph looked back down again. "There he is! No... That's not him either..."

"Just face it - we're not going to find him!" Toph yelled.

"But we have more forest to cover. We're sure to find him soon if we keep-"

"No! Katara already searched the forest and he wasn't there!" Toph said angrily. "Whoever took him must have left the forest."

---

Katara was making lunch when they returned, a pot beside her with water boiling.

"Did you find Aang?" She asked hopefully. Sokka shook his head.

"Toph doesn't think he's in the forest anymore," Sokka told her.

"I guess we need to figure out where they're headed, then," Katara said. "It would be easier if we knew who it was..."

"I already know who it was," Sokka told them. They both looked at him, waiting for an answer. "It was tree-people. I mean, that guy jumped in the trees! He has to be a tree-person!"

"Sokka, if it was "tree-people" we would have seen evidence of them while searching the woods!" Katara yelled.

"Fine. Then who do you think it was?" Sokka asked with his arms crossed.

"I don't know... But whoever it was, they're probably planning on getting a reward for him from the fire nation."

---

Zuko dropped a few gold coins into a man's hand. He looked toward the wooden boat resting in the water beside them. 'It might not be much, but it will work.'