Kimiki-Yumika here. Boy, this chapter has more action than any of the previous chapters so enjoy :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: Last Airbender.

Restoration

Chapter 6

'Why hadn't they heard the barks of the fire hounds and the heavy footsteps of the komodo rhinos? They should have known that they were overstaying their welcome by hiding in a cave so near to the Fire Nation fortress for over a day. Why didn't they leave as soon as possible?' Hana kept asking herself these questions as she and Lee were surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers. Turning to Lee, Hana asked "What should we do? Surrender or fight?" "I think you already know the answer to that question." Lee said to Hana with a smirk. Yes, Hana knew what she had to do, but it seemed impossible with so many soldiers and their fierce beasts. Hana looked over at Lee once more, and Lee returned her gaze with a reassuring nod. They both faced their enemies and got into their battle stances. Combining forces, Hana and Lee were able to keep the Fire Nation soldiers and their komodo rhinos back, until Commander Zhang appeared. The last thing, which Hana saw, was hot, orange flames enveloping herself and Lee. Then, everything went black. Suddenly out of the darkness came a voice. "Hana wake up. You need to wake up now, young one." Hana recognized that voice, "Roku?" "They are coming. Wake up, Hana."

Hana sat up with a jolt and looked around frantically trying to reassure herself it was just a dream. The fire had died out and the soft beams of the early morning sun pierced through the vines giving the cave an almost dungeon-like look. When Hana's eyes fell upon Lee's sleeping form, she let a sigh of relief escape her. 'Good it was only a dream.' Hana said to herself reassuringly. 'Although, it wouldn't hurt to take a walk down to the stream and have a look about just to make sure.' Hana purposed to herself as she stood up and tried to stretch, but her back was too stiff from all the scabs. Since Hana thought that Lee would want to leave soon after he woke up, Hana folded her blanket and her clean old clothes and placed them on a flat boulder. Since her leather shoes were finally dry from washing them the other day, Hana put them on, because she was going to walk down to the stream. Hana also picked up her mat of moss, which was now dying, and discarded it behind the cave.

While walking down to the stream, Hana admired the beautiful colors from the sunrise streaming through the leaves and the clear sky thinking 'this will be a perfect day to travel'. A short time later, Hana reached the stream. After drinking some water, Hana untied the sash around her waist and removed her robe hanging both on a nearby branch. Hana then sat on a large rock next to the stream and proceeded to unravel the strips of cloth about her lower back being careful not to reopen any wounds. Reaching behind, Hana carefully felt her lower back to feel how the wounds were healing. The skin surrounding the scabs did not hurt when she applied slight pressure. Hana released a sigh of relief and thought to herself: 'Thank goodness they are not infected. I don't know what I would have done if they were infected. I couldn't rely on Lee to help me treat these wounds. I wish there was a faster way to heal. Wait. Aang did say that one of his friends was a master waterbender and healer. I wonder if I can heal as well by waterbending.'

Hana held her right hand just above the water's surface and bended the water to completely cover her hand. Placing her right hand over several wounds, Hana closed her eyes and breathed deeply trying to concentrate her chi into her right hand. Suddenly, Hana felt her scabs disappear, and her skin felt smooth. Hana proceeded to do the same thing with her left hand on her lower back covering any remaining wounds on her lower back. After finishing, Hana bended the water back into the stream and felt her lower back to know if it had made a difference. Hana's eyes opened wide in shock. She could feel smooth skin without any scars. Hana applied pressure and was amazed that her bruised muscles were healed as well. After washing the few strips of cloth, which she had taken off, and putting on her robe and sash, Hana began the short walk back to the cave.

While walking, Hana quickly became absorbed in her thoughts, 'I wish I could heal the rest of the wounds, but I'll need more time and a deeper stream to do that. However, I could heal Lee's burns quickly if he wasn't so stubborn about me helping him.' The wind began to pick up causing the trees to sway overhead. Just then Hana thought she heard voices carried on the wind. Hana grew concerned and ran to the cave being careful not to make much noise. Once Hana was at the cave, she airbended herself into a tree. To her disappointment, Hana's dream was coming true, and the Fire Nation soldiers with their komodo rhinos and dogs were only a couple hundred yards off. Hana quickly and quietly airbended down to the ground and rushed into the cave.

"Time to wake up, sleepyhead! We have company!" Hana said in an apprehensive whisper. The only response Hana got was a grunt from Lee. Hana proceeded to gather their clothes and the strips of cloth and placing them on the large piece of dark cloth. Lee didn't seem to get the message, so Hana ripped the blanket off of him.

"Today is not the day to be sleeping in. Let's go!" Hana whispered harshly.

"Fine, I'm up. You happy? What's going on?" Lee said groggily sitting up.

"They may be here any minute. Now let's move. I have our clothes, the blankets, and your mask packed." Hana said as she swung the bundle onto her back. Lee definitely got the message that time as he grabbed his sheath in one hand and Hana's hand in the other.

"Alright. Try to keep up." Lee said as he pulled Hana out of the cave with him. Lee and Hana ran to the back of the cave.

"Which way is your ostrich-horse?" whispered Hana.

"It's up north of here." Lee replied.

"If we cross the stream, they may loose our scent." Hana suggested.

"What they have fire hounds with them?!

"I'm afraid so. Please try to keep your voice down. I can feel the vibrations from the komodo rhinos."

"Then, crossing the stream won't work. They will find our scent again quickly." Lee whispered.

Both were silent trying to think of a way to give the enemy the slip. A few moments later…

"I have an idea. Let's head down to the stream." Hana whispered pulling Lee with her down the hill to the stream.

"Did you listen to anything I told you? I already said that wouldn't work, plus it's in the wrong direction." Lee whispered in protest.

"Exactly."

Shortly, Hana and Lee reached stream.

"Ok, now what?" Lee asked while wondering why he let her drag him down to the stream for a plan doomed to fail.

"Alright, now I want you to walk in the opposite direction alongside the stream and then cross it when I do." Lee gave Hana a skeptical look. "Just trust me." Hana said hastily.

"Fine, see you on the other side." Lee said sarcastically while thinking 'We definitely are going to be captured'.

Hana walked quickly alongside the stream in one direction, and Lee walked quickly, as well, in the opposite direction periodically glancing back to see if Hana had crossed yet. Once Hana saw that Lee had walked about fifty feet, she waded across the shallow stream, and Lee did the same.

When Lee got to the other side of the stream and looked over to where Hana should have been. She wasn't there. Frantically looking about for any sign of her, Lee thought to himself, 'Damn, I should have known that she was trying to ditch me somehow and use me as a scapegoat! And she has all my stuff!!'.

Suddenly, Hana dropped down from a tree right in front of Lee.

"Did you miss me? I wasn't going to leave you to those nasty men." Hana said sarcastically.

"Great. We crossed the stream. Now what, genius?" Lee mockingly replied.

"Now, you take this." Hana said as she the handed over the bundle to Lee and turned around saying, "Get on my back."

Lee looked at Hana in disbelief saying, "I am not going to be carried on some girl's back."

"Well, this 'some girl' is trying to save your butt. Forget your male ego and climb onto my back and hold on tight." Hana said getting frustrated with Lee's stubbornness once again.

"What for? Why do I need to be carried on your back?"

"Because you can't airbend, and we are going to be traveling through the trees. Now come on. They will be here any minute, and you would have blown our only shot of loosing them." Hana said urgently.

Lee gave in. He quickly secured his sheath to his back and swung the bundle onto his back having the leather cord tied diagonally across his torso [like a backpack. Then, Lee climbed onto Hana's back piggy-back style.

"Hang on tight." Hana said. Lee rolled his eyes, but when Hana launched into the air Lee tightened his grip about Hana's shoulders. Hana jumped back and forth twirling between the two trees. Until she was three-quarters of the way up the one tree, Hana landed on a thick tree branch.

"I thought I told you to hang on." Hana said with a smirk. "So which direction is your ostrich-horse again?"

"That way." Lee said pointing in the north-east direction. Hana turned in said direction and jumped from tree to tree as quietly as possible. Lee looked back only to see the Fire Nation soldiers fading into the forest background.

After about fifteen minutes, Hana abruptly stopped on a thick branch bending down signaling Lee to get off. They had traveled about four miles. Lee stood on the branch and asked, "Why did we stop?"

"Because I'm tired, and my back hurts." Hana said breathlessly. "It's not easy toting you around through the trees."

Lee glared at Hana after her last remark and said, "Well, I didn't ask you to carry me. This was your idea, so don't blame me for the pain it has caused you."

"I'm so glad to hear how grateful you are for my idea. I didn't hear any good ideas coming from you." Hana said harshly back at Lee.

"Well, you never asked."

"Ok, what was your idea?" Hana said sarcastically putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head to one side.

"Well…I thought that we…ok, I didn't have any good ideas at the time." Lee said crossing his arms and avoided Hana's gaze.

"Finally, we agree on something." Hana said throwing her arms up in the air.

Hana grew serious again, saying, "How far are we now from your ostrich-horse?"

"We are actually fairly close. Let's walk from here. I think we put enough distance between us and them." Lee replied still brimming with anger.

"Ok. Can you handle one more ride?" Hana asked with a smirk.

"Ya." Lee said acting as if he didn't notice her smirk.

Hana airbended back down to the forest floor with Lee on her back. Then, Lee lead Hana to another small cave, which actually looked like a large indentation in the grassy hillside. It was barely big enough to shelter the large animal. Inside the cave, there was the ostrich-horse, whose reins were tied to a nearby tree branch.

"Wow, so this is an ostrich-horse. I've never seen one up close." Hana said as she approached the animal. "Hey boy, how are you?" Hana said as she timidly pet the ostrich-horse's broad neck. The animal made a low droning noise in the back of its throat at the welcomed contact.

"How long has he been here?" Hana asked.

Lee bent down and picked up a straw hat off the ground near the back of the shallow cave.

"It's been about two days. I left him plenty of food and some water." Lee replied as he put on the hat and then untied the rope. Lee led the ostrich-horse out of the cave and mounted the animal.

Turning to Hana, Lee said, "Come on. We better keep moving." offering his hand to her. Hana glanced at Lee but returned her worried gaze to the ostrich-horse.

"I've never ridden an ostrich-horse before." Hana said nervously.

"Don't worry. He doesn't bite." Lee said. Hana chuckled as she walked up to the ostrich-horse and grabbed Lee's hand. Lee hoisted Hana onto the ostrich-horse so that she sat behind Lee.

"Give me the pack. I can tie it about my waist." Hana said to Lee.

"Won't it bother your back?"

"No, my lower back is fine now." Hana replied.

Lee passed the bundle back to Hana. Hana tied the leather cord loosely about her waist and positioned the pack behind her. Lee gently kicked the sides of the ostrich-horse. As the ostrich-horse lurched forward, Hana instinctively grabbed onto Lee's waist to keep from falling off the rear of the animal.

"Are you going to hold on to me like this for the whole ride?" Lee asked sounding annoyed.

"Oh, sorry. No, I'm fine now." Hana quickly replied as she placed her hands on her thighs.

After a couple hours, Lee and Hana rode out of the shade of the trees and into a grassy clearing, which stretched out for miles. Even though the sun was starting to peak up over the distant high mountains to their right, the heat was beginning to be oppressive.

"Is there a stream or river along the way?" Hana asked rolling the sleeves of her robe up past her elbows.

"There is a small river. We will probably get there by mid-afternoon."

-------------Time lapse------Time lapse------Time lapse------Time lapse------------

The sun was high in the sky without a cloud in sight. Its heated gaze glared down at the travelers below. Lee had taken off his outer robe but kept his long sleeve shirt on, which was underneath the robe, so as to keep from being burned by the sun. Lee and Hana had only taken one break, escaping the sun for a few minutes by sitting in the waning shadow of a rock wall. Now, there was no hiding from the blazing heat of the sun. There were no trees or even a tall bush, just endless grass hedged in by parallel slabs of rock on either side with a pair of wide muddy ruts running down the middle. Lee and Hana were still riding northward alongside the tracks.

"What left this trail?" Hana asked after awhile.

"A Fire Nation tank probably made these tracks."

"If this was left by the Fire Nation, then I don't think we should keep going in the same direction as the trail."

"Don't worry the tank that made these tracks passed through here awhile ago. We won't be running into any Fire Nation anytime soon."

"How do you know that a tank came through here awhile ago?" Hana asked while getting suspicious at Lee not being entirely honest with her.

"Because I was tracking it a few weeks ago."

"Why were you tracking it?"

Silence hung in the air.

Lee was now regretting ever admitting that he knew it was a tank that made the tracks. He was blaming the sun and the heat for his slip up. He did not want to tell her the truth that he was trailing the tank because he was going to see if it lead to the avatar so that he could capture him. However, Lee wanted to get Hana to trust him, but if he kept getting himself in tight spots like this, then it may be nearly impossible to gain her trust. The silence was getting longer. He had to think of something, which was relatively believable, fast.

Lee's silence was not reassuring to Hana because if he answered without hesitation then it was probably the truth. But now Hana began to feel that she could not fully trust Lee's answer whatever it may be.

Lee finally spoke, "I was trying to find my uncle, and I thought that if I followed these tracks then they would lead me to him."

"Did your uncle get in trouble with the Fire Nation as well?"

"You could say that."

Hana was now entirely confused. 'If what Lee said is true, then what happened that would cause them to be run out of their own homeland? Maybe I will be able to get some real answers once I meet Lee's uncle.' Meanwhile, Hana looked about them seeing nothing but grass and an occasional shrub.

"There is nothing but grass. I am beginning to miss the trees." Hana said randomly.

"Lee, not to seem like I am complaining or anything, but I am very thirsty and hungry since there wasn't any time for breakfast this morning." Hana said sounding tired.

"You're not the only one. Don't worry the river is close." Lee said trying not to waste any energy in getting upset at Hana. She was being rather talkative today.

Hana was finding it rather difficult to stay awake and not fall off the ostrich-horse's back. She noticed that Lee was having a hard time, as well, staying awake and steady on the animal's back.

"Lee, would you like me to take the reins for a little bit?" Hana asked.

"No, I'm fine. Besides I'm the only one who knows where we are heading." Lee replied.

"Well, it seems to me that we are heading straight along these tracks with the glaring sun always above us. Nothing difficult there." Hana said lightheartedly.

"You complain about being hungry and thirsty, yet you have the energy to spare on useless talking." Lee said feeling exasperated by Hana's badgering.

Hana just huffed in annoyance even though she knew Lee was right. She thought, 'why did I have to be stuck on an oversized bird's back with a guy, who has the emotional capacity of a walnut, out in a sea of fiery grass. The spirits must be angry with me, and I'm being punished for my bad karma.'

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Sorry about the long wait. I know that I said I would update after two weeks, but of course no one can know the future. I felt really bad so I decided to write a extra long chapter for you all. Hoped that you liked it. If you would like to comment feel free to write a review. Thanks again for reading. I will update as soon as time permits.