Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar, The Last Airbender
"Ty Lee, why is he moving?!"
"I, I don't know," she said again.
"What is it?!" yelled a guard.
"Princess, we should leave!"
"Silence, whatever this guy is should not cloud your judgment. Guards, apprehend him!"
"You can do it yourself!" they ran, which Ty Lee was sure she should do herself, but her body would not move.
She saw the blood, heard the screams, and felt the eyes. Those eyes that burned her soul, that tore her to pieces from the inside out. She could actually feel them dig into her as they glared her way, watching her run for her life.
Screaming she awoke. Her body shook and sweat covered her. Breathing heavily she let herself cry at the memory. Nothing had ever terrified her more in her life, and she was confident that she would never have a good night sleep again. "Here, it's chilly."
She shivered as a blanket fell over her, and she quickly tried to compose herself for whoever might be there. "Don't worry; I know that you've had a rough time. Just rest."
Ty Lee didn't care who was there, just that he, for she was certain it was a guy, was very gentle and comforting. She had to know who he was before she let herself fall back to sleep, and slowly the acrobat lifted her head.
She screamed loudly, and backed away as fast as she could from him. Sokka stopped in his tracks and watched her, not wanting to make any sudden movements. "Please calm down; I'm not going to hurt you."
Ty Lee cried, continuing to back as far as she could until he hit a tree. "Don't kill me!" she said between sobs. Lifting her hands in defense she shielded herself, hoping that if he did kill her it would be quick and painless.
"Ty Lee, I swear on my life that I will not touch you unless you want me to." She heard him, and let her hands fall away. He saw her face, the horrible smug of sadness and fear spread across it. He slowly approached her and nodded his head, asking silently if he could help her. Ty Lee didn't care, didn't care if he killed her. She just wanted to get away from him, physically or spiritually.
What he did next surprised her. He wrapped her in a gentle but firm embrace, pulling her smaller body close to his. All she could do was hug him back, sobbing dreadfully.
Iroh took a breath as he watched the two on the far side of the camp. His breathe flowed through the air, and he sighed. "He still has not told you want happened?"
Zuko silently stepped next to his uncle. "No, he says he can't bare the memory, and decided to let Ty Lee tell us when she is ready."
"You do understand what has happened to him don't you?" Iroh kept his gaze on the two teens.
Zuko sighed, "Yes. We have to find him before he looses control."
Iroh nodded. "Then to the south we must go, before it takes over." With that, Iroh walked back to his sleeping mat where he settled down and tried to sleep.
Zuko still watched Sokka as he held Ty Lee tightly. I guess the warrior found his place.
But at what cost?
Zuko chuckled. There's no cost, only risk.
Everything in life has cost.
He frowned. If they didn't get to him in time, then they would have some serious problems. But then again, if they did make it, then Azula would have some serious problems. With one last look at Sokka and Ty Lee, Zuko went to sleep.
Neither Zuko, Iroh, nor Ty Lee could tell, that Sokka was crying too.
Katara stirred in her sleeping bag when she saw Zuko come close. His bag was right next to hers, closer than it usually was. He crept into the warm folds of his sleeping bag and turned to find a comfortable position.
Katara secretly watched him, feigning sleep. Unexpectedly he turned her way. For a moment she thought he saw her closing her peeping eye, but pushed away the thought when he sighed and closed his eyes.
Katara could not explain why she got so nervous around him, which was recently happening a lot. Something about him made her get a strange feeling that she had never felt before. It was all very confusing, but it was also kind of…nice.
I'm sorry for the extremly short chapter but this week has been pretty hard. I promise the next one will be better and longer, and updated quicker. Review and Request.
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