This is for nic2mad :)

Chapter 1: Through the Swampy Path

"Behind you." Akita mentally warns his master as a man with an axe dashes towards her but the gigantic wolf pushes him away causing him to fly meters away from them.

"Give up already, girly, you're outnumbered." A bald headed guy with too many muscles on his body that aren't really necessary bellowed at Kyra, he jumped off from the hill he was on along with three more companions, also bald.

After arriving at dry land, wanted posters of Kyra were scattered all over the places she'd go to. Having too close of an encounter in Omashu, she best just go straight to her destination. Although as days passed her bounty grows even bigger and bigger which attracted a lot of hunters, thieves, thugs, you name it, even up to the point of following her.

She detests the fact that that person had so much power that it was second to the Fire Lord. Of course she'll have to earn her freedom for everything she wanted she had to earn it, the hard way.

"Don't ever call me 'Girly', girly." She replies annoyed

Using her twin fighting rods she connects them together making it a staff and skillfully twirls her hands as more fire came at her and returns it back to them. Half of the enemies were blown away into the river, just a few more to go.

One by one they came after her drawing each of their weapons, one was close enough to almost plunge their spear on her chest, as defense she bends her back and falls to the ground to avoid the sharp edge. Rolling backwards to avoid the spear she does a kick up and lands to her feet thus gracefully standing up.

"Had enough?" the same bald guy who has now recovered asks her as more of the enemies came back into the plains, a few plants were burned here and there.

Growling, Akita runs towards the thugs who were almost at Kyra throwing them farther than before. Kyra in turn uses the tip of her staff and pokes the man with the spear on his head continuously and he falls backwards in dizziness.

She glares at the bald guy who was smirking as he clutches his massive hammer, "You know, I think I can see my future just by rubbing your head."

This angers the man and lifts up his hammer and smashes the ground that causes the earth to move in the direction of the girl and her wolf.

"Akita, Plan R.F.Y.L." Kyra mentally tells her companion while doing a tornado back flip kick to dodge the cracking ground.

"Huh?" He stares at her as he lands on one of the massive rocks that is not affected by the small earthquake

"Plan: Run for Your Life." She screams in her mind and bee lines her way into the rock he was sitting on.

He sighs and shakes his head. Here she goes again with the running, even though he knows she could take them, she prefers to run instead or in her own words, avoid them. Although he doesn't protest at her decision, she hops on his back and they were gone in an instant leaving their opponents behind.

Running at full speed Akita abruptly stops which causes Kyra to be taken by gravity and she was thrown into the ground.

Rubbing her bottom she glares at the gigantic beast that has now turned back into a puppy, "Could've given me a heads up, you know."

He just stares at her and then licks his paws, "Something's weird about this swamp, it won't let me go in with my original form." He mentally tells her.

Grabbing her bag she lets the puppy crawl inside and she slings it over her shoulder, it was her time to carry him now as she ventures into the cryptic swamp that seems to be calling out to her. A tingling feeling over comes her, going deeper inside the dark, moist and gloomy place.

Is it just me or is it alive? She shakes her head, no it cannot be. Can it?

She hears a powerful gust of wind up above her, as she looks up, she sees nothing. Looking closely she could hear people screaming and as quick as it had came the tornado was gone. The scream sounded so familiar, but she just shrugs it off maybe it was just the creepy swamp that's making her hear or see things that aren't there. Into the muddy water she goes.

Sliding down on one of the huge trunks she was back at the same place she started even noticing the 'x' mark she left for the fifth time. Sighing, she sits down to take a rest and meditates to keep her occupied as she thinks of a way to get out. Not noticing that a vine was creeping up to her ankle she was suddenly dragged across the swamp leaving her things behind.

Taking out one of her twin fighting rods from her back she uses it to cut the vine from her ankle as the tips of the rod brings out a sharp edge made out of ice. People may think that sticks were useless but when used in the right way they can be very much deadly.

She was on the water now, drenched all the way to her skin. She hears a mocking laughter, the same laugh she'll never forget, she turns around to the source it came from. Sure enough, the person whom she's been running away from was laughing at her. She had long golden brown hair to her shoulders, wearing the Fire Nation's clothes for the nobles and her skin was as pale as hers.

Fear stricken, Kyra couldn't move, her body started to tremble causing her to fall into the swampy ground with a splash on her knees. "Y-you're not here! You're not real! Y-you can't be!" she shouts and the figure disappears with the wind but not after looking at her with an evil smirk.

Akita appears from the shadows carrying her things, "What in the world happened?" he asks as he lifts her up from the swamp using his teeth and into one of the tree's roots.

Kyra shakes her head, "It's nothing. Let's just get out of here." Illusion or not she doesn't want to see that figure again.

Few minutes later they were walking on the roots of the giant tree that engulfs the whole swamp, the very center. They find a man meditating in the heart of the swamp, he wore no clothes but only leaves to cover the important parts.

Watching closely, a snore escapes from his mouth and he wakes up as he hears a twig snapping, "Oh it's just a girl." He releases the vines that we was about to throw at her.

What an odd water bender, but there was something she wanted to ask him.

"We're you the one who called me out here?"

He stands up and tilts his head to the side, "No, I didn't. Tell me, did you also have a vision while walking the swamps?"

She nods her head, "What does it mean?"

"Three kids left just now and also saw a vision. The world works in mysterious ways, especially this tree right here." He pats it gently, "It either shows you the person you want to see, the ones you've lost or the ones you are going to meet."

She shakes her head, "But, either of those, most especially the latter, explains why I saw her."

"You know, everyone is connected in a way, just like this tree that created this swamp, everything is connected." He states as he sits down and meditates once again.

"Does one of those kids have a tattoo of an arrow on his head?" she inquired.

"How'd you know? I never thought you were a psychic."

She sits down on the tree and closes her eyes as she feels life pulsing on her palms as she touches the tree beneath her, "This tree, it's as if its telling me to find them."

"Then, you should. Sometimes, the tree shows the person whom you never want to see at the same time you shouldn't run away from them." He states. For a guy who looks as if he's just one of those water benders she had a run-in he was very wise. And how did he know she was running away?

"People run away for a reason." She replies.

He smiles and nods, "But, you'll have to face your fears sooner or later and you don't always have to do it alone."

"Thank you for knowledge and this tree as well but, you don't know what that person is capable off." With that Akita turns back into its original form and they descend down into the tree hoping she won't have any more visions.