A/N: -Uhm…- Ohkay, where do I begin here… 'Oo'
First off, I just wanna apologize. I realize that I told you all I'd have the chapter to you all in March but I lied L and I'm really sorry to disappoint some of you guys. I feel terrible… I had about more than half of this chapter typed when I said that I'd have it in March but school, friends and family and a few other distracting things seemed to get in the way of my time with just me, myself and my story.
I guess I don't have anymore excuses, x) So, I apologize to you all… And - NO! - I haven't forgotten my beloved story/wonderful reviewers!! D: I would never, I love my story so much, I think about it every day…And, to be honest, I have the whole rest of this sequel (and a few chapters of the next one) already planned and in my mind, ready to be put down into Word x)
I also want to say thank you to all my readers and reviewers. You guys honestly make this story ongoing. Whenever I'd have doubts about my story, I'd always log in and read all my kind reviews. You guys make it possible, because without your guy's encouraging words, I wouldn't go on… Honestly J You guys make me so happy, each and every one of you guys. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I think you all deserve cookies…O-or better yet, brownies :o -gives- x) Thanks again, you guys ROCK :D
Ohkay okay…I'll stop rambling, I have chapter twelve for you all x) I sure hope you guys enjoy…It's about one in the morning over here oO Just be thankful school is over for the summer, I have all summer to write write WRITE:D More chapters will come faster, I'm -pretty- sure. J I hope you all love this one.
Enjoy!
Book Two – Water and Air
Chapter Twelve - The Hunt
Aang could feel his hands grow cold and the mud on his fingers began to dry, causing it to crack and irritate his skin. He heaved a long sigh and sat down on his calves, he then looked over to Sokka, noting his determination in digging clear through the earth. Aang shook his head and looked down, noticing that the two had dug a fairly large hole within the last few hours. Before he knew it, Sokka sighed long and loud before he too began to show signs of giving up. He relaxed from his bent over position and looked long and hard at Aang.
Aang felt something begin to tug on his heart, causing tears to form in his eyes. He felt as if this world wasn't being fair. Losing his people to a war was one thing but he felt loosing his love to a dreaded mud pit was just as worse. Aang shook his head and forced tears away, knowing no one was here to comfort him, no one would bring him into their arms and say 'it's okay' or 'everything will turn out fine.' He felt as if the very mud pit he sat on had suddenly ripped everything away from him, she was his everything, she was the very air he breathed, the very person he could run to, but he felt that all quickly ripped away from him within seconds. Aang shook his head and shut his eyes tight, knowing very well what was coming, and with this, he felt as if he couldn't hold it back any longer. His vision blurred as a blinding glow became present.
Sokka quickly looked over, noting the suddenly swirling wind, only to find Aang, arrows and eyes aglow. Sokka shook his head quickly and stood up before he swept little Kaimah up in his arms, he then ran for the trees, figuring he'd be safe from any destruction the airbender would cause. He immediately tucked little Kaimah close to him before peering out through some bushes only to see Aang; just standing there with his back turned to Sokka, as calm as could be, although he was still in his Avatar state. Sokka gradually became confused and in time, he figured maybe it was safe to go near the airbender.
Just as Sokka was about to step out from his bush hideout, he noticed Aang calmly stretch his arms out before him, eyes and arrows still aglow. Sokka apprehensively stepped over to him, wondering what was going on, he pondered, wondering why Aang wasn't thrown into a big rage, gust of wind blown everywhere, the hatred usually seen in his eyes. Sokka shook his head and slowly approached the young airbender.
"Aang," Sokka started calmly, he kept his distance from him though, he never knew when Aang was going to lash out, or even if he was going to. All was calm; Aang kept his position of his arms stretched out before him, palms facing the earth. The only noise heard was the sound of Kaimah chirping and whimpering in Sokka's ear, that is until the ground began to shake, the trees around them shook in a dizzy, chaotic manner but the ground where the two boys stood remained completely calm. Sokka looked about in confusion as he rubbed the back of his head, although Kaimah could sense something big was happening. Her fur stuck on end and her small claws began to dig themselves into Sokka's shoulders.
Sokka winced and quickly pulled little Kaimah off of him and into his arms before all at once, the ground before the three suddenly sunk into the ground a little, causing the earth to shake even more so than what it was. Sokka gasped and glanced at Aang, only to see him going to difficult earthbending forums, his powerful, steady, full of mud hands moved about as if he had known these forums for thousands of years, which in some cases he did.
The large slab of the mud field before them continued to sink, that is until you couldn't see into the hole, it was too dark and too far down. Sokka shook his head and looked down in confusion and fear; he then looked at Aang to find him slowly calming himself out of his Avatar spirit. He stared at the young monk in confusion before Aang stood up straight and looked about in slight confusion; he then rubbed his head slightly before quickly sliding down into the large mud hole he had just created.
"Aang?!" Sokka screeched as he jumped up and down, Aang quickly turned around and stared at Sokka through dilated eyes, Sokka jumped slightly and stared at him nervously.
"H-how did you do that?" Sokka exclaimed in amazement as he slowly trudged down the slippery mud to join Aang.
"Do what," Aang said deeply as he looked about, Sokka continued to worry and stare at Aang in nervousment.
"H-how did you just do that? You were in your Avatar state and--" Sokka was cut off, Aang continued to walk in a steady pace down the mud slope, Sokka shook his head, followed and continued, "--You-you calmed yourself out of it, usually Katara's the one that has to do that,"
"I don't know how I did it, Sokka!" Aang hollered as he turned around, his mood and voice basically screamed anger, "I-I don't know what I'm doing, all I could think about was...was losing her, Sokka, I-I..." Aang broke off and looked down at the dark mud he stood on, "I-I thought of all the good times we have had, and-it calmed me, I don't know what came over me..." Aang said softly as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Aang," Sokka started, "It's going to be fine, I-I know my sister is okay," Sokka said shakily, not knowing if he were right, "Come on, lets go look for her," Sokka said with determination, the two quickly began to walk further down into the hole Aang had created, it gradually became darker and darker, that is until Aang spotted something lying on the ground. It was none other than Katara, in her messy cheetah form. Aang gasped and quickly knelt next to her.
"Katara," Aang breathed as he immediately pulled her close to him, not caring if she was full of blood at the moment, he held her close as Sokka knelt next to him.
"Is she okay?" Sokka questioned, Aang nodded and attempted to see Sokka in the dim light.
"I-I think so, just knocked out," Aang said softly, he then quickly picked her up. Sokka stood too, that is until a deep, loud growl came from the very depths of the darkness before them. Sokka grew stiff as a board as a big creature slowly made its way from the darkness, somewhat revealing itself. It was the same white, unknown creature that had chased and wounded Katara in her earthbound form. Aang shook his head and uttered a strange name of some sort, Sokka continued to shake.
"Who!?" Sokka suddenly yelled causing a great uproar to suddenly come upon the creature, it reared up and flapped its long brown wings in an angry manner; Sokka shook his head and trembled in his spot.
"Aang! What do we do?" Sokka yelled before he peered to his left, only to see that Aang wasn't there, Sokka grew flustered, "Aang!?"
"Run you idiot!" Aang hollered as he clumsily made his way up the large mud hill with Katara in his arms, leading to the outside world, revealing a mass amount of sunlight. Sokka quickly scrambled his way up the same hill Aang was already up and as the two made their way out of the large mud hole, Aang quickly set Katara down, let loose a large earthbending forum and the large mud pit before the two closed up before the white winged creature could get loose. It was as if the hole wasn't even created. Sokka panted and looked about before he sighed long and loud, he then wiped his forehead free of sweat.
"WELL, that's all the fun I want for today," Sokka said loudly as he quickly brushed mud off of his shirt, he then looked up to see Aang, he was kneeled over Katara's limp body which laid in the mud, her fur was sticky and drenched in dark red blood. Sokka's eyes widened as he slowly stepped over to the two.
"What happened?" Sokka asked calmly as he knelt next to Aang, he shook his head and sniffled slightly, Sokka gently reached out to touch Katara's fur, he then continued, "This isn't HER blood... is it?"
Aang shook his head and shut his eyes tight, he slowly relaxed from his protective position over Katara as he wiped his face free of tears and mud. He then sniffled slightly and continued to stare at Katara, mixed emotions were written all over the young Avatar's face and with this, Sokka spoke up.
"Aang, she's...not dead...Is she?" Sokka questioned shakily, only causing a few more tears to trickle down the young boy's cheeks. Aang took a deep breath and shook his head slowly before he leaned forward, close to Katara.
"Katara," Aang called softly as he gently rested his hand on her bloody side, he took a deep breath and uttered her name once more before he slowly began to inch his hands around her. In a matter of seconds, Aang stood up slowly, he held Katara close to him in his loving arms. He, without words, slowly began to walk in the same direction Sokka came from; Sokka quickly followed with a frown. After a few minutes of pushing past a few trees, Sokka spoke up.
"I-I wonder why she's in her earth form," Sokka said softly, he stole a glance at Aang. He stared down at Katara, whom he held so close to him, his eyes full of worry and tears. He blinked a couple times only causing more tears to gently stream his face and land down onto Katara's sticky, messy fur.
"I-I don't know, we just... need to get her cleaned up so we can get out of here," Aang commented softly, he kept his eyes basically glued to Katara.
Within a matter of a good ten minutes, the two slowly trudged through the opening of some trees to find Appa, Kaimah and Momo resting in the calm afternoon sun. Without words, the two teens slowly made their way onto the large, injured bison in preparation for the skies. Sokka swiftly moved to Appa's head and instantly gripped the reins in his muddy hands.
"Appa, Yip yip!" Sokka hollered, Appa only moaned and attempted to stand before he, with much difficulty, maneuvered his way into the air with a loud, painful groan. Sokka sighed softly and slowly began to make his way to Appa's saddle, where Aang and Katara were. He stopped himself once he saw Aang uttering words to her; tears falling like rain from the young airbender's eyes. Sokka frowned and figured Katara had woken up. He remained in his spot.
"Katara, I-I'm so sorry," Aang mumbled as he softly wiped tears away form his face using his forearm and the back of his hand. He sniffled a few times as Katara slowly attempted to sit up, fatigue and pain quickly overcame and she gently rested to the soft material of Appa's saddle.
"Don't be sorry," Katara croaked as she opened her eyes and stared nowhere. The large wound around her eye was now swollen and crusted with dry blood; Aang was in pain just looking at it. He quickly leaned over and grabbed Katara's water canteen before he gently began to clean her off with the soothing element.
He could hear Katara let out a soft sigh of relief as Aang ever so gently ran his hands throughout her dry, sticky fur. He, in time, got rid of the dried, crusted blood that rested on her body, most of which wasn't even her own blood. Aang sighed softly, after about ten minutes or so of cleaning Katara off; he stared at the wounded girl with much worry. He opened his mouth to speak, to apologize, say something, but he couldn't find the words. Just as he was about to muster up the courage to say something, Sokka gently took a seat next to him. He sighed patiently and stared down at his sister, who was now gingerly pushing herself up into a sitting position.
"Are you okay?" Sokka asked softly, his eyes slowly averted from Katara to Aang multiple times before Katara spoke.
"I'm fine..."she said meekly as she stared down at her paws, only causing a larger frown to etch across Aang's face.
"Wh...What happened?" Sokka questioned as he slowly scoot closer to his sister who remained in her ruffled cheetah form. Katara heaved a long, dry sigh before she slowly looked at Sokka with a tired look on her face.
"I'm earthbound." Katara uttered softly, only causing Sokka to cock his head in confusment.
"Earthbound?" He asked, Katara nodded as a few tears slowly cascaded down the light yellow fur of her cheeks. Aang instinctively began to wipe them away in a loving manner. Katara let a small smile play across her face for a moment before she looked up at Sokka, eyes sunk from fatigue and the pain of her wounds.
"When I was...trapped underground, I met this one woman," Katara started shakily, "Evidently she's angry because I killed a tiger bear, a creature that roams the earth...I should've known... I mean, I AM the Vyntresser..." Katara mumbled softly as she hung her head in slight guilt.
"This is new to you...I think it'd be strange if you knew everything about this power you have," Aang commented gently.
"A woman?" Sokka asked quickly, Katara nodded.
"She had a large, white winged creature with her...It attacked me, evidently they were both angry that I killed an earth animal," Katara sighed.
"A white creature?" Aang questioned eagerly, Katara nodded slowly before Aang continued, "What did it look like?"
"Well, it...kind of looked like a horse, except it had white and brown fur," Katara explained, Aang's eyes widened.
"Did it have long brown wings?" Aang questioned quickly, Katara and Sokka both stared at the young monk with baffled expressions.
"Yeah, it did," Katara said in a surprised tone, "I couldn't get a good look at the creature; I was too busy running from it."
Aang looked to the side and fingered his lip in concentration for a moment or two; Katara glanced at Sokka in confusement. Sokka shrugged before staring at Aang, he raised one eyebrow.
"Do you know that creature or something?" Sokka asked with a small laugh, Aang slowly averted his gaze from Appa's saddle to Katara.
"I...It just sounds so familiar I can't put my finger on it though..." Aang muttered softly as he continued to finger his lip and ponder. Katara quickly looked at Sokka in somewhat confusion, Sokka shrugged before pushing himself to his feet. He emitted a long, drawn out sigh before making his way over to Appa's head.
"Well...I'm going to try and find a place for us to land, Appa needs all the rest he can get," Sokka commented as he disappeared onto Appa's head. A drawn out 'yip yip' could be heard as well as a long, painful groan from the bison under the three.
Katara slowly turned to Aang, only to see him staring down at the soft material of Appa's saddle under him. She cocked her head slightly, wondering how he knew about the large creature that chased her in the underground world today. She continued to ponder before coming to the only conclusion she could come to. It had to be something from his past, whether it be his or another past life of his. Katara sighed softly, figuring she'd strain her mind later, think about it more when the time came. The only thing on her mind right now was sleep, and that's just what she did.
- - -
Katara's eyes slowly began to flutter open with much annoyance, the strong sunlight of morning harshly beamed down on where she was laying. Katara groaned as she slowly pushed herself to her feet, only to find that her paws were still a bit swollen from running on nothing but bones and blood the day before. She eagerly squinted through the massive sunlight, only to see Aang gently curled up to one side of Appa's saddle, in a shady spot of what looked to be the shade of some trees.
Katara moaned softly as she gingerly began to walk over to him, and once near, she plopped down next to his curled up position, looking for comfort and possibly a few more calm moments of sleep. Just as she shut her eyes, the feeling of comfort quickly invaded her body. She let a small smile play across her ruffled, furry face, but it quickly turned into a frown once she heard her brother.
"You guys, wake up I'm starved!" Sokka hollered as he chucked a decent size rock at the snoozing couple. It landed a few inches away from Katara's wet nose; she flinched slightly before lifting her head to get a good look around. She noticed that Appa was calmly rested in a thin forest, bright green and slightly bare trees surrounded them and little pieces of autumn leaves fell peacefully in the morning light.
Katara sighed softly and yawned before she noticed Sokka quickly scrambling his way onto Appa's saddle. Katara perked up slightly as Sokka came near.
"Katara get out here!" He said in a loud whisper as he motioned for her to come closer, he inched his way away from her, hoping to get her attention. Katara sighed loudly and let her head fall to the soft material of Appa's saddle.
"What is it Sokka..." Katara moaned, Sokka quickly made an eager face and motioned his hands towards him as he left Appa's saddle. Katara sighed for the tenth time in about a few minutes and slowly pushed herself to her feet. She then carefully made her way off of Appa, hoping not to cause her paws any sudden pain.
She quickly bounded off of Appa and headed in the direction Sokka went. He was knelt next to some dry, light brown brush; he peered out to a large, wide open field just outside of the forest they were in. Katara's eyes widened as she slowly took a seat next to her brother.
"What is it S--"
"Shhh!" Sokka shushed loudly as he clamped a hand over Katara's furry mouth.
"Sorry...what is it? What's going on?" Katara whispered as her ears gently laid flat on her head in slight annoyance. Sokka quickly pointed out to the field with a smile. Katara averted her gaze slowly to what Sokka was pointing to, only to find that he was pointing to a small heard of zebra leopards just a ways away. Katara instantly frowned, feeling more annoyed than ever, the idea of being woken from her tranquil sleep to stare at a heard of zebra leopards was not what she had in mind.
"Sokka...It's just a few zebra leopards, what's so special about it?" Katara questioned with a smug look on her face, Sokka quickly shook his head.
"YOU see a heard of zebra leopards...I see food..."Sokka whispered as he rubbed his hands together with much delight. Katara stared at him for a moment before she couldn't help but let out a loud giggle. Sokka grew tense as he glued his eyes to the field before him, only to find the heard of zebra leopards get a bit startled by the sudden laughter, and quickly bound down the large field, away from the forest. Sokka rolled his eyes and stood as Katara continued to laugh.
"Sokka," Katara giggled, "How on earth do you think you're going to catch a heard of zebra leopards, you know they're one of the fastest animals on the planet."
"Well, I figured you'd help out there," Sokka smiled as he sat himself down on a tree stump, he then began to sharpen his machete.
"Me?" Katara worried.
"Yeah, you can run fast. You catch the zebra leopard, bring it back, we'll cook it and enjoy!" Sokka said plainly as he stared down at his busy work. Katara grew tense.
"Were you even paying attention yesterday? You know what happens when I kill an animal that roams the earth...Who knows what would happen if I killed a zebra leopard after the stunt I pulled yesterday," Katara scolded herself in her mind.
"What else could happen? It's just a zebra leopard, what's the big deal?" Sokka said plainly as he shrugged his shoulders slightly, Katara grew tense.
"Sokka, that...that woman could come back! She could do worse than trapping me in another Vyntresser form; she could kill me for crying out loud! She does have that one...creature, I don't even know what it is!" Katara hollered, getting slightly annoyed, "No, I'm not going to kill any zebra leopards, if you want it so badly, get it yourself..."
"Oh I see," Sokka said loudly as he pointed his machete towards his sister, who had her back turned to him, "you're scared!" With this, Katara instantly turned around.
"What?" Katara said in a surprised tone.
"You're too chicken...You're too much of a girl to...hurt another life form," Sokka mocked in a high pitched voice, Katara grew angry. Her ears quickly flattened on her head and she could feel her fur begin to stick on end as she stared at her brother. He nonchalantly began to sharpen his machete again. Katara grit her teeth before slowly averting her gaze out to the large dry field just to her left. She noticed the lone herd of about six or seven zebra leopards grazing in the grasslands. Katara heaved a short, angry sigh before she shook her head in annoyance and instantly took off, into the field, faster than ever.
Sokka jumped slightly as she whizzed by him, lightning speed. He quickly set his machete down and stood. He stared out to the field and noticed Katara quickly come to the perimeter of the herd of zebra leopards. He bit his lip in nervousment before he sighed and watched what was going to happen.
- - -
Katara slowly came to a stop; she crouched down in the tall grass surrounding her, just feet away from the herd of zebra leopards.
"What am I doing...What am I doing..."Katara repeated over and over to herself. She shook her furry head quickly before looking down at the ground; she then heaved a soft sigh.
"I-I can't do this..."Katara said softly as she carefully peeked over her shoulder, only to barely catch a glimpse of Sokka at the far end of the field, near a few bushes. She shook in her spot as she slowly averted her gaze from Sokka to a lone zebra leopard that was now straying away from its herd. Katara sighed soft and short. -It won't hurt to try...- she thought.
Katara stared at the zebra leopard, so suddenly feeling an adrenaline rush shoot through her body, she quickly sprung from the tall dry brush she blended in with, and within a matter of seconds, the zebra leopard she was after let out a loud yelp before turning and attempting to dash away. Katara quickly followed, feeling the beast within her slowly come out into the daylight. The whole herd of zebra leopards frantically began to scatter in different directions, but Katara had a sharp eye on one, and one in particular, the one out of the whole pack who had a gimpy leg. She smiled a devious smile and chased the lone zebra leopard with much delight.
- - -
"What's going on," Aang said with a small yawn as he slowly and clumsily made his way from Appa's saddle, to the boy who was eagerly staring out to the field.
"Get 'im get 'im!" Sokka suddenly chanted as he stood, raised fists in the air. Aang eyed him in confusion.
"What're you talking about, Sokka?" Aang questioned softly as he rubbed the back of his bald head.
"Look! Katara's chasing zebra leopards! I thought we were going to be out of food until we reached the Southern Airtemples, but we're going to have food to last a month! Food!" Sokka said to his delight, he began to jump in a giddy fit in his spot like a crazed maniac, rubbing his hands together. Aang's eyes widened as he quickly looked out to the field, noticing none other than Katara, in her cheetah form, chasing a rather clumsy zebra leopard. As the two darted across the field, Aang began to grow worried. He grit his teeth and shook his head slightly.
"No, she can't! Who knows what that-that woman will do to her if she kills another earth animal, she'll be earthbound for life!" Aang worried, he began to scramble out to the field in attempt to stop Katara from making a horrible decision. He figured he'd get her to stop somehow.
"Aang! What are you doing, come back here! You'll throw off her concentration!" Sokka hollered as Aang began to run towards the chase, which wasn't too far down the field from him.
- - -
Katara panted heavily, her mouth was slightly open, letting in the dry, dusty air that past her by. She choked slightly but kept a steady pace close behind the zebra leopard. She, in time, began to nip at the creatures heels, in attempt for it to stop. She felt as if instincts from who knows where were setting in, and she felt as if taking down this creature was the most natural thing to do. She began to feel so savage, so barbaric, so out of her skin that it almost scared her, but yet she continued to run, her feet barely even touching the dry grass ground.
She, in time, began to feel a little out of breath. She also felt as if taking down this large and incredibly fast creature was more impossible with every second that went by. Although her thoughts continued to soar with every fast lunge she took. Her mind began to trail to other things, such as what was going to happen to her if she ended up killing this innocent creature, all for the sake of Sokka's hunger pains. She shook off those thoughts and continued to taunt the gimpy creature desperately attempting to get away from her.
She felt as if she was closing in on the zebra leopard, as if speed was on her side. All of that changed within splits seconds before preparing to take the deathly lunge towards the poor creature before her. She was ever so suddenly hurled backwards by a gust of wind that seemingly came from nowhere. Katara hurtled through the air for a moment before harshly landing on her side and skidding to a hard stop on the hot brush of the yellow afternoon plains. The zebra leopard successfully scampered off.
Katara opened her eyes slightly after being too dried from running; she blinked a few times, smacked her lips and looked about. She then shook her head and glanced over her shoulder as she regained footing. She could see, standing a bit a ways, Aang, with a disappointed, smug look on his face. Katara glued her eyes to him for a little while, knowing that listening to Sokka was a mistake. She sighed softly, hung her head and let her furry ears droop in disappointment, the feeling that she felt, not only in herself but in her poor decisions. She slowly began to trudge over to the young airbender, legs and paws basically throbbing.
"Sorry," Katara mumbled as she gradually made her way over to Aang. She sat on her haunches and stared at the dirty ground underneath her. Aang just sighed.
"You know better than to take orders from Sokka," Aang said softly with a small chuckle, Katara nodded and looked elsewhere.
"He just made me angry…I just hate how I have to prove myself to him sometimes," Katara said with a twinge of sadness that coated her voice.
"Well," Aang started softly, kneeling down to her level, "You don't need to prove yourself to me," he said with a caring smile, "I already know you're strong and fast, who needs Sokka," he chuckled. Katara bested a smile and slowly looked down at her paws. She sighed before she felt Aang's arms come around her furry shoulders. Katara looked up with a big grin as Aang latched himself onto her.
"I don't want you to get hurt, Katara," Aang said softly into her ear. Katara shivered gently and leaned a little bit closer into Aang's warmth, he continued, "You need to follow your duties as Vyntresser…So what if Sokka's hungry; I don't want you killing the creatures that need you,"
"I don't either, it's just…" Katara heaved a sigh, "I don't know what came over me,"
"It's okay," Aang said softly as he stood upright in front of Katara, "Let's head back, I'm sure we can talk some sense into Sokka,"
"Okay," Katara heaved softly as she stood.
The two headed over towards camp, noticing Sokka throwing quite a fit. He began to trudge around, shoving Momo off of his shoulder a few times before the little winged lemur got the hint and flew elsewhere. Once the two neared Sokka, Katara braced herself for the worst.
"Aang," Sokka started, hungry fury and all, "Why did you stop Katara in her moment of concentration, I mean, she was just a leap away from breakfast for crying out loud!" Sokka shouted as he threw his arms in the air.
"Sokka, don't you remember what happened last time Katara killed an Earth animal? She's earth bound because of her mistakes from last time, why don't you understand that she's only hurting herself if she goes out hunting for you every time you're stomach growls?" Aang said all at once in quite an angry tone. Katara just cowered slightly behind Aang.
"What do I have to do to get food around here? You know that zebra leopards aren't so good on their feet, once you knock tem down, it takes them about ten minutes just to get back up! That is…unless they're already eaten," Sokka commented, fingering his chin slightly. Aang let out a loud sigh.
"You just don't understand, this could really hurt Katara, can't you get that through your head? She has duties now, ad with those duties come responsibilities," Aang said wisely, Katara quickly stepped out from behind Aang, feeling a bit courageous.
"If you're so hungry, why don't YOU go out and hunt for yourself Mr. Tough guy," Katara said loudly, fur sticking on end slightly, she then pondered before continuing, "Come to think of it…I don't think I've ever seen you hunt before," she said in amazement as she continued to ponder.
"Fine! Fine alright, alright look…" Sokka quickly trudged over to Appa and grabbed his machete, "I'M going to go hunt now, and whatever I bring back is mine, alright? MINE. You… pansies go find some fruit or something, I'll be back with food, you'll see," Sokka said with much pride as he began to trudge away.
Sokka quickly began to push through some trees in the lightly dense part of the forest they were wedged into. Appa let out a loud groan as some tree branches grazed his back slightly. Sokka didn't seem to care at the moment. Within moments he vanished into the forest, leaving his two traveling companions, Momo, Appa and Kaimah stock still in the opening of the forest. Katara cocked her head slightly upon Sokka's descent.
"Pansies?"
- - -
"I'll show them…" Sokka mumbled as he began to thrash around his machete without care, he cut vines and branches of all sorts, scaring off lone birds to leave their nests out in the open without protection. Sokka continued to flatter himself, "I can catch my own food, this'll be easy, those dopes don't know what they're doing…Heh…Earthbound, my behind. I bet Katara's just making it up to make Aang feel sorry for her, what fools."
Sokka suddenly swung his machete, only to have it get caught on a tough, thick tree branch. Sokka groaned and quickly whipped his machete out of the wood.
"Stupid machete…I sharpen this thing I don't know how many times a day and it always manages to get dull with the first few swings…" Sokka complained to no on but the forest and lone critters around him. After finding a good rock to sharpen his machete with, he headed out to the forest again. In a big search for food, and an attempt to keep his ego alive.
- - -
About a good couple hours went by, and it was getting close to nightfall. Aang had set up a nice campfire in the middle of the clearing in the forest. Everyone quickly made themselves comfortable close to it I attempt to warm up. The nights were getting colder as they neared the South Pole.
Aang sighed with content as he continued to poke the fire with a long stick, to keep the blaze alive and burning. He pat Momo's head on occasion as Appa slept soundly next to him. Aang, after a few minutes, quickly stole a glance at Katara, who was at the other end of the reasonably sized campfire. She looked as if she were holding a conversation with little Kaimah, who seemed to be listening attentively. Her ears perked and her paws slowly sliding closer to Katara's with every word Katara uttered. Aang was instantly interested, but he also began to worry about Sokka. He being gone since late morning.
"Hey, Katara?" Aang softly called as he straightened his posture a little, Momo perked up slightly too.
"Yeah?" Katara gently spoke as her soft, luminous eyes fixed themselves onto Aang's across the dimly burning fire.
"Where do you think Sokka is? To be honest I'm…getting a little worried," Aang mumbled slightly as he rubbed the back of his head.
"I'm sure he's just…out, either looking for food or eating whatever he found still…" Katara said in a soft, slightly worried tone as she fixed her gaze on the ground before her furry paws, "O-or he could just need some space from us, you know?"
"Yeah," Aang sighed as he stared at little Momo next to him.
"Boys," Katara said softly as she leaned closer to Kaimah, "They always shell up when something's gone wrong...They 'need their space' for time to mull over things," Katara said with a small giggle, "If only they'd open up and…express their feelings, you know? Like Aang," she said with a smile to the small cub next to her, wondering if Kaimah even understood the words she spoke. She shrugged it off; at least there was now another girl in the group to talk to.
"Maybe I should go look for him, what if something bad happened?" Aang questioned with a small frown, Katara shook her head slowly and looked about.
"I-I'm sure he's fine, Aang, he'll come back once he sees his mistakes…He's had all day to think things over," Katara reassured. Aang slowly untensed from his stiff, straightened posture as Katara stood and slowly trotted over to him.
"Yeah," Aang drained out a long, soft sigh as Katara made herself comfortable close to Aang.
- - -
"Stupid machete!" Sokka hollered for about the twentieth time today. He sighed impatiently and quickly sat down on a lone tree stump in the middle of a clearing. He shook his head in dismay as he quickly pulled out the now worn down rock he used to sharpen his machete with. He instantly began to sharpen his weapon over his knee. He felt as if sharpening was now a second nature to him, having done it for about the billionth time today.
"I really need to use my boomerang more often this thing just doesn't cut it…" Sokka said as he glared at himself in the reflection his worn machete gave off. He suddenly began to chuckle to himself.
"Heh cut it…" Sokka smiled with a small laugh, "Because machete's cut things… Oh Sokka," He started loudly as he continued to sharpen harder and faster, "You're a funny one,"
Sokka's sharpening became more quick and vicious within a few seconds, and with that came a few sparks the rock made as it quickly brushed by the machete.
"Whoa there, Sokka, don't wanna start a fire now," he said in a deep voice, pretending to be more manly than he already was. Or at least what he thought he was. He continued to sharpen harder and faster, wanting so desperately to get a move on. And with his impatient behavior came more sparks.
"I can't believe I had to go search for my own food…I would've killed that bunny I saw back there but…I didn't have the heart," Sokka continued to talk to himself, sparks were now flying, and a certain smell caught Sokka's sense of smell.
"Is something burning?" He questioned in an idiotic manner. Sure enough, he looked down, only to see that a small, dried out bush nearby was on fire. Sokka's eyes widened as he stood with a loud gasp. He quickly began to trample the bush in attempt to get the small brush fire under control, but stepping on it only made things worse. He instantly let out a loud scream once he noticed his shoes were now on fire.
He quickly began to parade about the clearing, stomping about dry brush and grass in attempt to get his boots free of the burning blaze, but he only made matters worse. The clearing he was in was quickly being engulfed in flames. Sokka instantly began to run around slightly before he darted past a few trees, burning boots and all. He gasped and whimpered in a worried manner as he stumbled about. With time, he finally kicked his shoes off and looked around. Eyes darted about his surroundings, knowing all too well that it looked too familiar to him. He smiled, knowing he was close to the camp spot he left Aang, Katara and the animals at.
- - -
"Katara?" Aang questioned softly as he gently fingered the soft fur atop her head.
"Hmm?" Katara mumbled as she opened her eyes slightly.
"Do you…smell something burning?" Aang questioned in a worried manner, knowing he had put out their campfire not too long ago. Katara opened her eyes further and slowly pushed herself to her feet, now catching whiffs of the burning smell Aang had detected.
"Yeah, I do," Katara said in a worried tone as she sniffed about. There was suddenly a loud, familiar voice through the clearing a bit.
"Fire!" called none other than Sokka, "I didn't mean to I swear!" Sokka suddenly burst his way through a few trees and into the clearing, shoeless.
"What did you do?!" Katara hollered as smoke was now visible through the trees.
"I-I didn't mean to I mean, I was just sharpening my machete and…with the sparks and the bush and the burning shoes and what was I supposed to do?!" Sokka screeched all at once as he waved his hands about. Aang instantly stood and looked about.
"We have to get out of here, or else we'll get caught in the fire!" Aang said loudly before he motioned everyone towards Appa, "C'mon, all aboard –" Aang quickly turned, only to see Appa now bursting and shoving his way through big trees and bushes all around. He ran off, moaning and groaning in utter fear. Momo and Kaimah quickly followed.
"Brilliant," Sokka mumbled as he quickly began to chase after them.
"This is all your fault!" Aang hollered at Sokka as he too followed the mad parade through the forest.
Katara just sighed and glanced about, now able to see flames through the trees just a bit a ways. She looked about in fear, knowing very well that the animals that lived here were now being either killed or forced out of their own habitat. She frowned before she shook her head, knowing it was too big of a job to attempt to help every single animal in the forest. She instantly began to chase after her friends, which were now vanishing through some trees just ahead.
Katara instantly skid to a stop and looked down at her paws. She frowned in fear, knowing her duty was to protect the animals of the elements. She couldn't do that if she was too busy running from her fears. She shook her head, now feeling the heat of the fire encompass her very being, it made her fur feel thick as it stuck to her skin like a tight winter coat. She continued to shake her head as she shut her eyes tight, feeling on-coming tears sting her eyes. She instantly thought of Aang.
She knew his duties were tough but no matter how tough, she knew he always had to put his fears aside for the well-beings of others. He was a very selfless boy, and she knew that's what made him such an excellent Avatar. She frowned, knowing at this very moment she was being very selfish. She looked about, heat and smoke now itching her eyes.
She noticed through the smoke some lone birds fluttering away, attempting to save their lives and the lives of their young. She also began to notice a few zebra leopards scampering about and attempting to find a safe place to run to through the now thickening smoke. Katara frowned, knowing that many lives would be lost tonight in this forest fire that Sokka had clumsily made. She grit her teeth slightly, not having a single clue as to how on earth she was going to save every life in this forest. She knew she was doing a poor job at being the Vyntresser.
Katara quickly shook her head, having now made up her foolish mind with somewhat selfish thoughts. Although, her intentions her selfless, she felt like a selfish jerk as she lunged forward through some trees in attempt to find her friends. To her dismay, her friends were no where to be found.
She coughed slightly as she darted around. Her paws still were a bit sore from last night's nightmare underground. She winced slightly as she had to step over hard, sharp tree branches that had fallen, along with sharp rocks. She let a small smile play across her face as she came to a fairly large clearing before her, it was somewhat invaded with smoke but not nearly as much as the other clearings she had come to.
She instantly began to run through the clearing, calling her friends names in a worried manner, wondering how on earth she lost sight of everyone, they were right in front of her when they left. She shook her head as she darted past trees and whatnot. Just as she was catching the perfect amount of speed to get her past some more trees, she slammed into something. Something that had literally come out of nowhere, and to her surprise, it was the gimpy zebra leopard she had attempted to hunt earlier today.
Both animals skid to the hard, forest floor. She shook her head slightly and groaned as she pushed herself up to her paws. She noticed a bit a ways, the gimpy zebra leopard, laying on its side on some tree branches, kicking its legs in a frantic manner. It yelped loudly a few times, having being frustrated with the curse of its handicapped state. And with that state came the disability to get up right after falling down. Katara stared at the helpless zebra leopard that kicked its legs about; yelping like its world was coming to an end.
Katara instantly shook her head and quickly made her way over to the poor zebra leopard. She went around to its' backside and pushed slightly, that is until the zebra leopard was firmly on its feet. It quickly scampered off in a giddy sort of way, in high hopes of getting out of the forest safe and sound. Katara smiled a big smile, feeling as if one good deed out of thousands was now accomplished.
With her good thoughts came obliviousness. She instantly let out a loud cough as smoke quickly began to fill her lungs. Large tree branches were now slowly beginning to catch on fire and the calm, hazy clearing she sat in was now full of smoke and fire. It looked and seemed as if all hell had broke loose on Earth. Katara instantly frowned and took off, in high hopes of attempting to find a way out of the fiery maze she darted through.
She finally began to come to what seemed to be the far reaches of the forest, and with those far reaches came an unexpected cliff. Katara immediately slammed her paws to the ground in attempt to stop. She skid to a halt as she peered over the cliff, only to see a large lake far underneath. Katara frowned and glanced over her shoulder, now seeing the flames get larger and larger. They taunted her by getting close, and licking her furry body in the most teasing of ways.
Katara felt as if her bones had become weak, her lungs were full of smoke and her eyes burned. Her fur was now a dark brown, and the scabs on her paws were now re-opened and bleeding. Katara could feel her eyes become heavy as she quickly took a leap of faith from the cliff she stood on. It was either the fiery depths of the burning forest behind her, or a long, hard drop to cold water down below. Before she could consciously make a decision, her feet had already decided. She gently fell through the air before hitting the cold water underneath. The rest is forgotten.
A/N: Yeah…I can't resist cliffhangers, sorry x) Oh admit it, you love it…
I hope you all liked this chapter J Sorry again to keep you all in suspense from that last cliffhanger there in the last chapter…I'm horrible at this aren't I xD
Nahhh, I'll have the chapters faster I'm pretty sure, this summer should be fun. I have a lot of things planned but I'm pretty sure I can write this last half of the sequel for you all.
Okay wow, I'm rambling again o.O Sorry can't help it. A. I'm slap happy B. it's one in the morning C…okay there's no C. but you get the point x)
Thanks again guys, for all my wonderful reviewers (and readers ;) ) you guys really make this story go on, and I love each and every one of you guys!
Love love love
- Katara –
If you dream it – It will happen
Mohalo ;)