A/N: I'm back OMG, I got ten reviews! Better yet, I got more than ten! Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed, I'm very happy and shall continue! Sorry to those who don't think there is enough action in my story. I will try harder to make you happy. This chapter should be satisfying for those of you reading... should is the key word, I'm not the best at writing action stuff, but lemme give it a try and you all tell me what you think! Okay, on with the story. Enjoy!
Book One – The Journey Begins
Chapter Eighteen - Fire
About an hour after Aang and Katara talked over the whole "Toru" situation, the three were ready for take off on Appa.
Once in the air, Katara made herself comfortable with Kaimah at the back of Appa's brown saddle. Aang happily steered Appa; he was perched on the front part of Appa's saddle, reins in hand. Sokka, however, seemed grumpy and irritated for some reason.
Katara stared at him for minutes on end, wondering what his problem was. She was so confused as to why he was muttering weird things to himself and shoving little Momo away. Usually, Sokka was kind enough to actually let Momo sit on his head or at least sit next to him and keep him company.
Momo screeched in an irritated tone and gently leapt from the saddle, next to Sokka, to Aang's welcoming shoulder. Sokka rolled his eyes and slumped into, what looked to be, an uncomfortable sitting position. He crossed his arms and muttered non-repeatable things yet again.
Katara laughed inwardly and sat up slightly, cradling Kaimah in her arms. She beamed at her brother for a minute before she called out to him, only to be interrupted.
"Hey Sokka, I-"
"Cool," Sokka said quickly as he looked out off of Appa's saddle. Katara stared at him.
"I-I just wanted to tell you that I-"
"-Don't care," Sokka mumbled loudly as he glared at his sister.
"What's your problem?" Katara asked, getting rather annoyed.
"Nothing," Sokka snapped. "I'm just in a bad mood."
"Obviously," Katara chuckled. Sokka glared at her for a moment before he mocked her silently and crawled over to the food bag Aang and Katara bought, which was now full of all sorts of different foods.
Sokka rummaged through the large bag for quite some time until he peered out from it and looked around in dismay.
"Where's the meat?" Sokka shrieked. Aang turned around and glanced at the two bickering siblings. He shuddered, thinking about how a simple guy could like meat so much. Aang gently let go of Appa's reins and sat down next to Sokka.
"Sorry Sokka, I guess we forgot the meat... I-it just sort of slipped my mind," Aang said softly with a frown as he rubbed the back of his head. Katara nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I'm sorry Sokka... It's just that that Toru guy came and sort of distracted us and--" Katara was cut off.
"SO, you two were just moseying about! Careless as could be," Sokka started mockingly. "You 'managed' to get everything you two wanted to eat but somehow I slipped your mind!"
"We're sorry Sokka, it won't happen aga-" Aang was interrupted.
"LET'S see what's in the magical bag of food for Aang… and oh look! There's even food for little Miss KATARA," Sokka said with emphasis. Katara frowned and glanced at Aang.
"Hmm… a few ripe mangos… for Katara, and oh look! A couple of oranges for Aang, oh goodie! There's even food for Kaimah," Sokka mocked as he held up everything he saw. He suddenly gasped and reached into the bag, "There's even a nice, big JUICY watermelon for Appa and Momo. And… Oh? What's this? No... MEAT?"
"Ok, we get it Sokka! We're really sorry. Look, if it makes you happy, we can just--" Katara was cut off, yet again
"You know what would make me happy?" Sokka asked as he rubbed his hands together.
"Meat, but you know we can land and I can go look for--"
"Meat?" Sokka mocked as he eyed his sister. "Or will you forget? Do I need to write a reminder on Aang's forehead? So that every time you 'dreamily gaze' at him, you'll remember your brother! Or maybe I should write it on his lips, so that every time you're about to kiss, YOU--"
"ALRIGHT STOP! I'll land Appa and look for your 'meat'! HAPPY?" Katara yelled as she stood and walked to Appa's head, not liking the idea of stopping right now
"YES, as a matter of fact," Sokka said as he crossed his arms. Aang rolled his eyes as Kaimah pranced over to him.
"Sokka, you can just have one of my oranges. It's no problem," Aang frowned as he motioned towards the food bag. Sokka quickly looked at him.
"Do I look like the kind of person who would eat oranges, Aang?" Sokka snapped. Aang shrugged his shoulders and frowned as Kaimah tensed up. She could sense that Sokka's anger was growing and growing.
"N-not really, forget I mentioned it," Aang said calmly as he quickly avoided eye contact with Sokka. Sokka sighed loudly and looked away, his arms crossed.
Suddenly, Appa came to a stop somewhere near a small forest. Katara came storming onto Appa's saddle. She brushed past her angry brother in a hurry and glared at him.
"Ok, you want your meat so bad? I'll go GET it. Unlike some of the LAZY, boomerang, and weapon obsessed people I know!" Katara yelled at Sokka. He rolled his eyes in reply as Katara quickly hopped off of Appa's saddle.
"I'll be back later," She hollered to the two boys. Aang, who was slightly concerned, watched her walk away. He then turned to Sokka, who was still mumbling something about 'meat' and 'Katara'.
Aang sighed softly and decided not to talk to Sokka or have anything to do with him right now. He was too afraid Sokka would explode in his face.
- - -
Katara quickly walked though the thin, small forest in hopes to find what Sokka wanted so she and Aang wouldn't have to live with his bad mood all day. Katara quickly and harshly pushed her way past small trees and stalks of overgrown weeds and whatnot.
As time progressed, there seemed to be no sign of a village or place to buy food, or meat, for Sokka's sake. Katara made small noises of anger as she continued to push her way around logs and trees. She wasn't pleased to find that the bottom of her blue water tribe dress was getting ripped and dirty. Not to mention that her shoes weren't in the best shape either.
As Katara continued to angrily push things around in order to get somewhere, her foot suddenly got caught in an up-rooted tree root in the ground, causing her to fall face first into the dirt.
Katara groaned as she lay on the ground, her fingers clutched the dirt and weeds as her hands shook in anger. She felt as if she couldn't move from the uncomfortable position she was in, though she had to try.
She slowly and gradually brought herself into a sitting position only to find that she had completely twisted her ankle. It made her whole leg throb at an uncomfortable and rough pace. Katara grimaced as she sat up further before she let out a loud sigh and slumped against a nearby tree, unwillingly letting the hard bark scrape the back of her neck.
In a matter of seconds, she felt as if everything was spinning. All the trees and weeds in the forest seemed to dance around her in a foggy chaotic manner, showing no signs of stopping. Katara groaned louder and rubbed her eyes impatiently, but, before she knew it, she slowly fell unconscious.
- - -
"S-Sokka?"
"Yeah, what?" Sokka snapped at the young monk sitting on the other side of Appa's saddle. He, for the seventh time, pushed Momo away from him.
"Do you think we should go look for Katara? She's been gone for over an hour now," Aang suggested calmly. Sokka glared at him for a moment.
"I don't care; go have fun looking for her. I wouldn't be surprised if Zuko captured her or something," Sokka chuckled.
"You'd actually want that to happen?" Aang frowned as he stood, noticing heavy rain clouds in the near distance. Sokka averted his gaze from Aang to the food bag angrily before he mumbled a small 'no'.
Aang shook his head in dismay and airbended himself off of Appa's saddle.
"I'm going to find her," Aang said, determined, as he set off into the direction Katara went. Sokka didn't reply. He just sat on Appa's saddle as if he didn't care.
Aang frowned and headed into the forest quickly, thinking how anyone could be so cold-hearted towards someone they loved. Even if it WAS just 'your sister'. Aang wouldn't know of this feeling, really. He didn't have any siblings, and, if he ever did, they were long gone now.
- - -
Katara slowly opened her eyes. Everything was hazy and she could tell by the soft pitter patter noises she heard above her on the dark tree tops that it was raining. Distant thunder was heard and lightning was also present in the foggy, gray sky.
Katara groaned as she realized that she was still leaned up against the hard, sharp bark of the large tree she was under. She slowly pushed herself up so she was in a sitting position. She felt weird, disoriented, and utterly uncomfortable to the highest degree.
She let out a soft groan again before she heard voices to her right. She quickly turned her head, suddenly getting a strange whirling sensation in her ears. Her head felt like a two-ton boulder, but she managed to turn her head to see what was going on.
There were a few waterbender locals staring at her, holding large baskets of bananas and all sorts of different and appetizing fruits. Katara shifted in her spot to get a good look at these people. She winced, feeling her ankle shoot pain all the way up her leg. The pain always seemed to end up in her stomach, resulting in more uncomfortable pain.
Katara groaned yet again and attempted to say something but the only thing audible were little rasps and whispers as Katara attempted to call out to the people staring at her in awe. They stood about a few yards away--why weren't they helping her?
Finally, Katara managed some words.
"H-help… I-I'm lost…" Katara drained out her words; her throat felt like the hottest, toughest sandpaper. She couldn't stand it any longer. She attempted to stand but before she even moved, the villagers jumped with fear and huddled a few of the little children closer to them.
Katara sighed impatiently as she glared at the fearful people. What the heck were they afraid of anyway? Katara fully stood and noticed something had changed. She felt as if she was just a little bit taller than what she normally was. She ignored the sensation for the time being as she stared at the villagers.
"H-help," Katara moaned softly. "M-my ankle," she stuttered as she looked down to examine her busted ankle, only to find something totally unexpected.
Katara froze and stared at her feet for a few seconds. They were different. Although her vision was slightly blurred from the fog around her ankles, she could tell that either she was standing in something black or her feet had suspiciously changed somehow.
She gaped slightly, knowing something was up before she looked about her body. She noticed a long, black, reptile like tail, a long neck, scales, and, instead of fingers or toes, she had long, hard, and sharp claws.
Katara gaped and looked up at the frightened villagers. No wonder they were scared. Katara was in another Vyntresser form. She got down on all fours and groaned before she slowly attempted to walk over to the villagers, hoping to calm them but instead, they ran off screaming things like 'rabid beast,' 'run for your life,' and 'dragon on the loose'.
Katara pondered for a moment before it hit her. Her next form was the dragon. Katara smiled in success as she looked around in attempt to clear her mind. She continued to peer through the thickened fog to find a way how to get back to camp through the rain, on a busted ankle, and in dragon form.
Suddenly it hit her. Dragons have wings, right? Katara quickly turned her head around to find that she had two long, black, scaly wings. Katara gaped slightly as she gently spread them out to as far as they would go. To her surprise, they stretched out pretty far. It was at least a 15 foot wing span.
Katara smiled. She was actually going to get to experience the thrill of flying! She thought back to that one time when she hang-glided with Tao and Aang, but that wasn't really flying. It was gliding. Katara quickly spread her wings out before she heard a twig snap behind her.
Katara relaxed slightly and turned around, careful not to jostle her ankle. She suspiciously looked around in hopes to find the source of the noise. There was nothing. Katara shrugged it off and turned around, only to see a tall figure in front of her.
For a split second, the figure almost looked like Aang, but Katara had her doubts. This person had short hair and a tall, muscular figure. Katara froze as the unknown stared at her for a second. Katara could've sworn she'd seen this person from somewhere before, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
Katara was somewhat startled to see this figure step closer to her, causing another twig in their path to snap. Katara instinctively stepped away, only to fall down because of her ankle. She fell harshly into the soft mud that the rain had created with the dirt.
Katara yelped and quickly looked up to see this person standing right in front of her, holding a long, thick rope. Katara's heart stopped...It couldn't possibly be...
"Z-Zuko?" Katara breathed wearily and softly. Obviously, he didn't hear her. He knelt next to her and attempted to fasten the rope he had around her muzzle. Katara's eyes widened as she let out a loud yelp and pulled away. Zuko groaned angrily and attempted to put the rope around her mouth yet again.
"Stop moving you stupid animal!" Zuko shouted as he practically strangled Katara with the rope once he managed it around her neck. Katara quickly stood and backed away from Zuko, scared as ever.
She didn't so much as grimace at her busted ankle--as she was more scared than hurt at the moment, and because she was in a Vyntresser form, or dragon form for that matter, she couldn't bend her element.
Zuko tugged on the rope that was fastened around Katara's upper neck by her jaw line. It rapidly got tighter by every tug. Katara gasped for air before she angrily glared at Zuko; he was still tugging on the forbidden rope. Katara thought quickly. She stepped away as fast and as carefully as she could, causing Zuko to fall into the wet, sticky mud. He, sadly, didn't let go of the rope.
Zuko groaned loudly in anger as he stood quickly and got in a fighting stance. Katara stared at him for a moment before she felt as if she had an ocean of rage and anger building up inside of her.
For one, Katara was utterly confused as to what was going on and the new body she was is. For two, her ankle basically screamed bloody murderer. It was slightly bleeding and was twisted a little. For three, all she wanted to do was get back to Aang and Sokka.
Katara took a deep breath, feeling her throat suddenly heat up. Zuko's eyes widened as Katara quickly breathed out a mass amount of fire, having no idea where it came from. Zuko yelled in horror and dove out of the way.
All at once, he disappeared. Katara panted and smacked her lips at the hot sensation the fire gave her mouth. She looked around, slightly scared, before Zuko's loud, angry shout was heard from behind.
Katara didn't even have time to think, let alone move. Zuko quickly, with a loud yell of anger, hit Katara in the back of the head with his fist and fire bending so hard that it knocked her unconscious. Katara screamed as she hit the ground, not remembering anything afterwards.
Only darkness.
A/N: Ok ok, so was that good action? Anyone? Please tell me, those of you that are unsatisfied... which I hope is only a few of you. If not none… o.o
Anyway, Please R&R! I'd love it greatly. Tell me what you all think. If I should change anything, any cool suggestions? Although I have a plan for this story, it's nice to add in a few twists here and there.
I want to thank all my reviewers who... duh, reviewed. Lol, you all totally make my days brighter!
Once again R&R! No flames
- Katara -
Mohalo ;)