Thanks to all of my readers! I'm not the best author, so if you have any suggestions, please tell me. I'd really appreciate any advice you have. R&R! -Katybug
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Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. (Stupid Mike and Bryan. They won't let fans do anything...)
Chapter Two: New Places, New Faces
Despite the utter horror or flying, Liz's trip with the strange children was fascinating. On the way to what Aang called "The Western Air Temple", Liz gazed upon beautiful hills of green, green grass and mysterious, dark forests that rushed away from them below.
"What is this place?" Liz asked Katara.
"Fire Nation territory. It may look peaceful, but the country it's owned by is ruthless," she answered, staring at the floor of Appa's saddle.
"What do you mean?" Liz moved towards her, sad to part from the scenery.
"The war," Sokka said, staring out into the sky. "The war that's been going on for a hundred years."
"A war?" Liz started to regret going with the kids.
"Yes," Katara answered, looking up. "The Fire Nation has taken over most of our world, not caring whether most of the population died in the process or not."
"It's all the stupid Fire Lord's fault," Toph added, laying down. Liz thought she had fallen asleep until she spoke up. "That no good, firebending-"
"That's enough, Toph," Katara scolded. "Aang will stop him when that comet comes. I know he will."
"Okay, I'm confused," Liz admitted.
"Aang's the Avatar," Katara said. "Remember when I told you about waterbending?" Liz nodded. "Well, Aang can bend all four elements, air, water, earth, and fire. It's his job to protect the Four Nations."
"What are they?" Liz asked, wanting to know more.
"Well, Aang is from the Air Nomads. Sadly, he's the last airbender alive. Because of the Fire Nation, the Air Nomads are extinct..." Her voice trailed off. "But, uh, Sokka and I are from the Southern Water Tribe, and Toph is from the Earth Kingdom."
"Okay, I get it now, but you'll still have to explain some more things to me later. Right now I want to keep my eyes on this beautiful scenery," Liz said.
"Sorry, Liz," Aang interrupted. He had apparently been eavesdropping this whole time. "But, we've already arrived at The Air Temple. I want you to meet the rest of the people living with us right now."
"Sounds great," Liz exclaimed.
As the group approached the Temple, Liz was astounded. The ruins were beautiful, and everything was built on the underside of a cliff! "Wow..." she whispered to herself.
Aang landed Appa on an old stone floor, and he helped Liz off, as well as Katara and Toph. Sokka stayed on the saddle so he could pass things down.
"Did you find anything?" a voice from behind asked. Liz jumped, startled. She turned to see a small boy with a big helmet on his head.
"Sorry, Duke," Sokka replied, "just this girl." He pointed to Liz.
"Sokka, it's The Duke. I've told you that a million times." Liz smiled. The Duke turned to Liz and asked, "What's your name?"
"My name's Liz," she told him. He was a cute little boy, much like Liz's neighbor's son. Small, round, and button-nosed.
"Liz is a pretty name..." The Duke said.
Liz giggled. "Thank you." He blushed.
"Liz," Katara called. Liz turned and saw her standing in front of a long hallway. "Come with me. I want to introduce you to some of the others."
"Excuse me," she said to The Duke, then ran towards Katara.
Katara walked with Liz down the long hallway and into an enormous room where Liz saw two boys racing each other. One boy was crippled and used what looked like a wheelchair to move around. The other was tall, had a mustache, and was rather handsome. "Haru! Teo!" Katara shouted, trying to get their attention. "I want you to meet someone!" The two boys turned their heads to look in the girls' direction, then raced towards them.
As they neared them, Liz noticed that the boy in the wheelchair was wearing goggles. She didn't ask why, though. "Liz," Katara said, "this is Haru,"-the boy with the mustache waved and said hi-"and this is Teo." The boy with the goggles waved and said hi as well. "This is Liz," Katara finished.
"Glad to meet you," Liz said politely.
"Same here," Haru replied.
"Katara, have you seen The Duke?" Teo asked. "He left to look for you."
"Yeah, he wanted to know how much food we found. Too bad we didn't find any."
"Okay, good. Hey, Liz, have you met Toph?" Teo wanted to know. Liz nodded. "I'm so sorry." Katara glared at him, and Liz laughed a bit. Katara grabbed her hand, and led her out of the room.
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After being introduced to almost everyone else, Katara brought Liz back to where Aang and Sokka were. When the girls arrived, Aang and Sokka were sitting on the floor, talking.
"Aang," Katara asked. He looked up at her.
"Yes?"
"Have you seen Zuko?" She walked closer to her brother and friend. Aang shook his head. "Hm...That's strange."
Liz walked up behind Katara and asked her, "Um...Katara, can you please show me some more waterbending? I'd really like to understand it better."
"Sure," Katara answered with a smile. "Aang, we'll be at the fountain if you find him." The two girls walked off, and Katara guided Liz to a huge fountain in the middle of a smaller room. Water fell from the ceiling into the square pool, but Liz couldn't figure out where it was coming from. "Okay, now watch carefully," Katara said, getting her wrists and fingers ready. Liz payed close attention to Katara as she brought the water up from the swishing pool into the air. She then played with it a bit, moving it back and forth, up and down. Much to Liz's delight, Katara actually froze the water, creating ice crystals that lingered in the air until Katara unfroze them, and set the water back in the fountain.
"That's amazing..." Liz marveled. "I wish I could do that."
"Give it a try," Katara insisted.
"Okay, but we just don't have waterbending where I come from." Katara showed Liz a simple move, getting the water into the air, and asked her to try it. Liz took a deep breath, then slowly moved her wrist. A trickle of sweat fell down her cheek, and Liz closed her eyes, hoping the water would move.
Two minutes passed by, and Liz was going to give up. But, suddenly, Katara shouted, "Liz! Liz, you're doing it! You're waterbending!"
Liz opened her eyes and gasped as she saw a perfectly round ball of water floating above the fountain. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed. "You're right! I am!" Liz dropped the water and ran to Katara, hugging and thanking her. "Thank you so much, Katara."
"Oh, you're welcome. Have you ever tried waterbending before?"
"No. Remember, they don't have bending in my world."
"That's right. Hm...Well, why don't we work on some more moves?" Liz smiled and nodded, and the girls continued to practice.
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While Liz was working hard on waterbending, Aang went to go look for Zuko. As he walked down the long hallways and corridors of the Temple, he could feel the heat and see the orange light of dusk. Liz was going to have to go home soon.
He found Zuko practicing on a terrace. Flame daggers were gripped in his fists. Aang became uneasy. "Um...Zuko?"
"What?!" Zuko yelled in a harsh tone.
"Th-There's someone Katara wants you to meet." Aang started to shake.
"It'll have to wait. I need more practice." He kicked and sent a flame into a wall.
"Zuko, you need a break. Please?" Aang warily walked closer.
Zuko took a deep breath and let steam blow out of his nose. "...Fine." Aang and Zuko walked to the small room where the fountain stood in the middle.
"Katara," Aang called. The two girls inside turned to face them. Zuko turned redder than the scar on his eye. Liz's long hair swirled around her shoulders and her grin took up most of her face.
Sadly, that grin vanished as Liz noticed the scar on Zuko's left eye. She cringed and had to force herself to walk up to him. Her dirty socks swept the floor as she took baby steps toward the tall, messy-haired boy. Trying again to be polite, Liz slapped the smile back on her face, and said, "Hi. My name's Liz."
Zuko's blush became brighter as he slipped out," M-My name i-is...My name is..."
"Zuko," Aang finished for him. "His name's Zuko." Liz laughed to herself.
Embarrassment overcame the scarred boy as he shouted, "I know my own name! You don't have to announce it to her for me!" Liz's laugh ceased, and she became frightened by the young firebender.
"Um, Zuko," Katara said gently, "Liz and I have to get back to practicing."
As the girls walked back to the fountain, Liz whispered, "What's with him?"
"It's a long story..." Katara answered.