Katara held her hand to Toph's brow, her expression one of deep concern. She swept the water up from the flask at her hip with a broad hand gesture, bringing it to rest on the sick earthbender's forehead. Her hand glowed for a moment, and then it was done.

Katara wiped the sweat off her brow, still staring at Toph. She had been unconscious for hours, and Katara had hovered over the earthbender like a worried mother. Toph, however, had shown no response to anything.

Reluctantly, Katara stood up, rubbing the grit off her knees. She stared down at the sick girl, realizing for the first time that Toph was so very young. With a last touch to the girl's brow, she walked away from the sleeping area where the earthbender was sleeping.

"Aang? Sokka?" she called. No answer from either one of her companions. Katara sighed, and sat down, carefully moving her red silken robe out of the way. She looked down at her hands, still a bit wet from the water.

Brown hands. Brown face, brown body. Why is brown so bad a color?

She covered her face with her hands, sighing deeply. It had been a long day of healing. She peered out through the cracks of her fingers, staring up at the crown of trees in the empty forest.

"Sokka?" she called. She had heard a distant noise... was that Aang? She drew some of the water out of her flask, holding it in a combative position.

Her hair was down, mussed, and her robe was wrinkled, but she was still ready to fight whatever was coming. Her eyes narrowed slyly, and she stood her ground.

Caw!!

Katara almost shrieked when a raptor flew out of the dense foliage, frightening her half to death. She held a hand to her throbbing heart, glaring daggers at the so called "enemy".

Katara walked over to the bird, planning to shoo it away. The bird screeched at her again, glaring at her with beady eyes. It fumbled with itself, and a strapped on carrying case. With its dexterous beak, it pulled out a tiny message. It tossed it on the ground and flew off, screeching loudly as it did so.

Katara stared at the message bemusedly, rolling it open with care. "We're at a village, pretty far from here; it's called Kismet. We have found a healer who seems to have the herbs for Toph. He says that she must have eaten some water hemlock on the way... Do you remember those berries? They grew near that bush, near enough for some of the water hemlock to rub off on the berries. Only Toph ate them... Anyhow, come by soon.

--Aang and Sokka"

Katara stared at the characters, watching them blur slightly. So that was why they had abandoned a few days ago! She had looked for them, but they had already left.

Katara shook her head and stuck the piece of paper in a fold of her silken robe. She brushed her hair out of her face, sighing slightly. She'd have to take Toph on Appa --thank the spirits Aang and Sokka had left him--. Katara got up with care, brushing her hair out of her face with a swipe of her hand. She walked over to where the sky bison usually rested, but was shocked to find that he wasn't there.

"Appa?" she called. She looked around, her brow furrowing slightly. Then, it hit her. How could Aang and Sokka have reached the town in such short time? They must have forgotten that she didn't have any ride. She and Toph would have to walk.

Katara walked over to Toph, picking up random articles of clothing on the way. "Toph," she called out, "They abandoned us." She got no response from the earthbender, who was lying prone on the ground. "Wake up!" she cried.

Katara sighed, and crouched down to feel the girl's temperature. She was still burning up. Katara began to pack the rest of their stuff as she waited for a response from the sick girl. After everything had been rolled into neat little piles, she walked back over to the earthbender. "C'mon, Toph, we have to go! Sokka will be worried about us both." Katara frowned when even the mention of Sokka's name elicited no response. Katara shouldered her pack and reached down to pick the small girl up in her arms. She was surprisingly light, and Katara picked her up easily.

"Let's go, Toph," she murmured to the earthbender, "We've got a ways to go."

A/N: Sorry this took so long... I had it (luckily) on so it didn't blow up along with my computer. Tell me what you think, and whether I should include Tokka as a side pairing. Oh, and so sorry that it's so short. TT-TT

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