V The Bounty Hunter
Snow had started to fall by the time the mock battle had ended. Throwing the furs back on the half naked girls, they made their way back to the ice palace, just as the wind pick up.
Aang said something about going to see Appa. He was carrying Tiao's rags and forgot to relinquish them as he made his way over to the stables. But it wasn't noticed as the girl now had warmer clothes and none of them really cared what happened to the tattered clothes now.
Katara, Suki and Tiao went into a separate room as Sokka headed for the kitchen. He mumbled something about being banished before he was out of earshot, and the three girls started their chatter.
"So, how many bruises have you two got now?" Katara asked sternly. The two warriors looked sheepishly at each other before a finger pointed frustratingly to the bed.
Tiao lay down. She had removed her thick outer layer of furs upon entry of the heated room and was now only wearing what would be considered water tribe travelling clothes.
But they were quickly removed, along with her under-wrappings, as Katara ran her healing hands over the girls bare chest.
"So how long have you been fighting?" asked Suki from across the room. She had rummaged through a small cabinet and pulled out a scroll, which she had unfurled and started to read.
Tiao winced as Katara soaked the water into a forming contusion.
"Since I was a little girl. My father was a bounty hunter, so he knew the bad characters that the world gave birth too. He was rather protective of me, but couldn't always be there."
Katara poked at her side and Tiao rolled over obediently.
"Was your father a good fighter?" she continued, amazed at how much Tiao had remembered in only a short period of time.
"I couldn't really say. I was only a little girl when he left. He was hired by somebody over in the earth kingdom...he sort of never came back."
"I know how tough that is. My father left when I was young as well."said Katara, concentrating on a spot on the skin that was already starting to tinge purple.
"But he came back right?"
"Yes. But it was only my brother and me for quite some time."
"What about your mother?"
Suki stopped stopped reading and looked up. Katara had lapsed into a silence that Tiao seemed to understand, as she nodded into her pillow. She then propped herself up on her elbows and looked at her.
"I understand. I was mostly alone when my father left on his missions. It was hard. I would just go stay with my neighbour until he came back. At least you had a brother to look after you."
Katara nodded, still keeping her silence. Suki rolled up the scroll again and leaned over on her chair.
"So what happened to your mother?" she asked, genuinely interested. It was something that usually someone wouldn't like discussing, but Tiao didn't seem as affected as Katara was on the subject.
"To be honest I'm not really sure. My father never spoke of her, and neither did our neighbours. It was almost like she never existed."
Katara then slapped a hand on her back signalling she was done, and Tiao began to put her breast wraps back on.
"Alright. Is there any on your legs." she said running her fingers along Tiao's calves. But before she could inspect any further, Tiao and quickly tucked her legs against her chest. The reaction was so quick that Katara's fingers were still outstretched, and she and Suki were both looking at her quizzically.
Tiao exchanged glances with the two girls and smiled awkwardly.
"Do I take that as a yes then?" said Katara reached for her legs once more. But Tiao jumped off the bed and to the other side of the room, still trying to maintain her composure.
"No its fine...there's no bruises there." She felt around on the wall behind her until her hand closed on a doorknob. She opened the door revealing a small bathroom.
"I'm just going to go the the little girls room." she said closng the door quickly behind her.
Katara heard a click signalling the lock being activated and she sighed.
"Okay Suki, how about you?"
Aang went to the stables as quickly as he could. The wind and snow had picked up and was now its own little blizzard.
He reached the stable and walked inside. Like the rest of the buildings, the inside was wood, though the floor was stone to make cleaning a lot easier. He bent down and rubbed his hand along the cold stony floor. It was one of Toph's contributions to the rebuilding of the south pole, and he felt himself smile subconsciously.
A low grumble could be heard from the other end of the stables and Aang snapped out of his thoughts. He walked over to Appa and patted him on the head lovingly.
The sky bison then sniffed at Aang, and that was when he realised he still had Tiao's rags in his hand.
He rubbed them between his fingers. There was something about that girl that he couldn't put his finger on. Something, that wasn't of this world, and there was something about her clothes. Yes they were fire nation, but they were ragged and rid of distinguishing colour. He knew for a fact that being frozen would not destroy clothes, and neither did it bleach hair.
There was only one person he could think of that could help him solve this dilemma. He sat down against Appa's fur and crossed his legs. With the cloth still clenched in his hand, he put his fists together and closed his eyes. This was the most relaxing time, between worlds. He was not consious of what was happening around him, and yet everything was happening behind his eyelids. He could hear soothing music in his ears, and it was what snapped him out of his trance.
He was in a familiar setting. Large bamboo stalks grew behind the large archway that he sat beneath. In front of him were large twisted trees that grew out of the crystal clear water below. He looked in the water and saw a glimpse of the two familiar reflections of Tui and La. Tui faded before La as they were replaced with Roku's regally dressed figure.
He rose out of the water with a discerning smile.
"Hello Aang, its been a while."
"Yes it has Roku. But I come here seeking advice.
"Ah yes, the firebender. The one that was frozen just as you were. The one that is completely oblivious to the fact that you are the avatar." he smiled warmly down at him. "I'm afraid there is not much advice I can give you. But I can tell you what I know."
Tiao leant her back up against the door. She sighed in relief and walked over to the basin that had already been pre-filled with bathing water. She plunged her hand into it and concentrated on her firebending. This in turn heated up the water.
Once she was happy with the temperature, she removed her travelling clothes and stepped into it, leaving her wrappings intact. A pain erupted from the surface of her skin on her inner thighs and she hissed in agony through clenched teeth.
Suki and Katara both perked up on the other side of the door, before pressing their ears against the wood.
"Tiao, are you ok?" they both asked in near unison.
She pulled herself out of the water ad the pain almost immediately subsided. "Y-yea, I'm fine."
She heated up her body and the water clinging to her skin evaporated into steam. She placed her blue clothes back on and opened the door.
The two girls almost fell forwards as they still had their faces pressed against the door as it opened. But they quickly regained themselves, and the them stood silently for a moment.
It wasn't until a knock came at the door, and Suki rushed to answer it that Tiao finally spoke.
"I don't want to talk about it."
Katara nodded quietly ad smiled. "Then we wont ask." Suki nodded in a silent agreement before opening the door. It was Sokka. He had a mouthful of food as well as an armful. He swallowed what was in his mouth and smiled. "I brought some food for you ladies."
If he wasn't so much of a stranger, Tiao would of hugged him right there for breaking the uncomfortable silence.
"I knew her father. He was a highly respected bounty hunter in the fire nation."
"Like June?"
"No. Bai was a good person. He never killed his targets, not once. That was why he was so respected. He could always subdue his enemy without injury, and then the customer could do with them as they pleased."
"But what if the buyer just killed them anyway?"
"It didn't matter to Bai, he thought it none of his business. In his mid he was doing nothing wrong, he was only finding these people and then notifying the customer where they were. He was considered the best in the business." Roku and Aang walked through the shallow waters of the yellow tinged swamp. The chorusing of spirit world animals was relaxing and it was easy to lose all trail of thought here. Aang had to make sure his mind was set on listening to his past life.
"I was a personal friend of Bai, before I was revealed as the avatar."
"So was he a friend of Sozin as well? Like you?"
"No. Sozin did not know Bai. Bai was considered a peasant, so Sozin never conversed with him. Me and him would go to the foot of the mountains and train in hand to hand combat. He was not a firebender like I was so we would just train in the traditional arts. The it was revealed to everyone that I was the avatar, and I had to leave. I didn't talk to him for many years."
They stepped over a large tree root to a small clearing. It reminded Aang of the Lion-turtle's shell that he had meditated on to ask for his past lives help. They both sat down on the hard surface and faced each other.
"Then it came to the time when I had to train in waterbending. I trained in the Northern Water tribe, and it was there that I saw Bai again. He was exiting a small ice house with a small package in his arms. At first I kept myself hidden, he was a different man than the one I knew. His handsome face was now riddled with scars, and he almost looked sad. But Once I was sure it was him then I greeted him. He didn't really react to me and tried to ignore me. But as much as he tried he couldn't."
"So, it was only a coincidence you saw him again? Or was it that he was looking for you?"
"He never would say. Of course he knew I would have had to learn waterbending, so it is possible that he waited for me. But at the time I wasn't really focused on that particular point. I gave him a friendly hug and as he hugged me back I got a look at the package in his arms. It was a small baby, one that would only be a few weeks old. Its hair was almost white and its eyes bright blue. I would have asked, but as soon as I had greeted Bai, he had farewelled me. I didn't even get to see if it were a boy or girl, he was gone that quickly." Roku sighed and looked at Aang. "It was the last I ever saw of him."
"That has to be Tiao. How many baby's in the world have white hair and blue eyes?" A thought struck Aang and he was forced to stop himself. "Do you think she was touched by Tui?"
Roku shook his head. "I doubt it Aang. Tiao's hair isn't pure white, and she is in fact a firebender."
Aang nodded. "Well, how can I find out more about her? How did she survive in the ice? Why is her fire green?" he asked almost to himself before looking up. "And even if she knows the answers, how do I know she's telling the truth?"
Roku smiled and stood up, Aang followed his example. "I believed you have a friend who can help you with that." With the final word Roku faded, leaving Aang alone with the thought.
He sisghed, not knowing much more than he did and closed his eyes. He heard the faint melody in his ears again, but it quickly faded to be replaced with the sound of howling winds.
He opened his eyes. Appa was sleeping behind him and the sun was setting, though it was hard to tell through the white haze of snow.
He stood up and walked to the exit, the rags still in his hands. He used his waterbending to keep the snow away from him as he headed towards the palace.
When he reached the corridors, he heard voices coming from Katara's room. He knocked on the door and the noises stopped briefly. He turned the handle and opened it. Sokka, Katara, Suki and Tiao were gathered in a circle in the middle of the wooden floor. They had been talking, except for Tiao who had been talking and stitching up the small hole in her miniature knapsack.
"Hey Aang." said Katara, handing him a sesame roll that Sokka had brought from the kitchen. He grabbed it and took a bite, chewing gratefully before leaning down closer to her. "Can I talk to you outside for a minute?"
Katara nodded and followed the airbender out the door. He closed it behind them and heard the chatter pick up behind them again.
"Katara, we need to take her to the earth kingdom with us."
"Why? She's fine here. I'm sure my dad will take good care of her, we'll only be a day or two."
"That's not the reason. I think it will be worth our while to take her to see Toph. She'll be able to ask Tiao questions and know if she's lying."
"So you don't trust her, is that it?"
"I just think we need to be sure about her past before we open up to her. She might have been frozen only recently, maybe since the war ended." he knew he was lying, but Katara didn't have to know that. All he knew was that he had to convince Katara to let Tiao come along. Roku wanted her to and that was good enough for Aang.
"All right, as long as you think Appa can carry all our weight."
"Its only you me and her, Appa can handle it."
"No, Sokka and Suki are coming along too. They want to see Toph as much as I do."
Aang rubbed the bridged of his nose with two fingers. " Guess it'll be ok, just don't bring too much."
"You think, because I'm a girl, I'm going to bring along a lot of stuff? Is that it? Because it is you that wants to bring her along, so don't go blaming me for bringing Appa down."
She opened the door and closed it in a huff. Aang stood there dumbfounded for a second before turning around and heading into his own room.
Katara stood with her arms folded. The room was quiet, so most likely they had all heard the conversation. But she ignored them and sat back down between Tiao and Sokka.
Tiao snapped her fingers in excitement. "I know what you all need, some dragon whiskey!
They all exchanged looks with her and her palm connected with her forehead. "I guess you don't have any."
I would really appreciate some feedback. I know my story needs improving but I'm having problems pinpointing the problem areas.
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