Chapter 4: Introductions
I forced my body to remain relaxed. I had been around enough frightened people to know how to calm a dangerous situation down. "Hello, I'm Hestia," I said. I used the same soothing tone that I used when I calmed Raz down. The same tone that chased away Kane's nightmares. I developed that comforting voice within the first year of looking after the kids; some of the younger ones needed to feel like they hadn't been abandoned in a cruel world. The white creature, Momo, leaped off of one of the figure's shoulders and flew towards me. I grinned as Momo landed at my feet. I crouched and reached a hand out for him to sniff. Momo must have decided that I was alright, because he scampered up my arm and curled around the back of my neck.
The short boy relaxed and walked closer to me, "if Momo likes her, she can't be all that bad."
"Wait! How do we know she wont hurt us?" Toph asked.
"Well, that depends on you guys," I replied. It was a little annoying that they still didn't use my name, but I wasn't dodging Toph's earth-bending, so things were looking up. The boy who was walking towards me stopped and tilted his head a little. "You don't attack me or my family and I won't attack you or turn you in. Sound fair?" I asked. The boy nodded and smiled.
"Yeah, well. I still don't trust her," the boy with a perpetual voice crack said.
"You don't have to trust me, you just have to not attack me. Plus, I know a safe place to sleep and find food."
"She makes a good point," the voice crack boy stroked a dark beard that covered his face.
"Sokka, when are you going to take that thing off?" Katara asked. I looked back at the boy, Sokka. The beard and mustache was slightly too dark for the beard to be his own hair.
"I told you, I can't! It's permanently attached to my face."
"There's also hot water so you can take it off of him," I said. Katara looked skeptical, but she nodded at me and I turned to lead them back to the roof.
"Wait, what about Appa?" The boy that was closest to me asked. I turned back to him and raised an eyebrow. "He's our...uh...pet."
"He can hide in the forest," I said. The trees would provide enough coverage for the giant beast to hide in. Plus, the foliage might create enough shade to darken Appa's white fur. The boy nodded his approval and smiled; he was wearing what looked to be a school uniform. Appa lumbered into the forest with Momo while I guided the rest back to here my family was.
"You went to school?" I asked the shorter boy as we walked off.
"Actually, we just came from a dance party I threw for my classmates."
"Dance party?" I had no idea what a dance was, and the only parties that I knew of were thrown by the upper class citizens. I looked back at their clothes. Katara was wearing a silk dress and the other clothes were either made of silk or fine linen. "Wait, you're not wealthy, are you?" I asked. In my experience, wealthy kids never really understood what it meant to be poor. I'd supported a few ex-elitists and they never repaid their debts.
"Umm...no," the boy said. His eyes shifted to where Toph was walking and quickly turned back to me.
"Is she?" The boy looked conflicted. He didn't want to tell me the truth, but he also didn't want to lie. I'd seen that expression on Lizz's face enough to know what it meant. "What's your name? I know what to call everyone else, but not you." If the kid didn't want to tell me anything, then I wouldn't pry. It wasn't my place to interrogate people.
"Kuzon."
"Lion-boar crap." I didn't mean to raise my voice, but I snapped at the boy loud enough to make Katara and Sokka stop their quiet banter and look at me.
"Oh, I like her!" Toph said from the back of the group, "and just to clear up what Twinkle-toes could say, I gave up everything to come with these people. I know what sacrifice is." It seemed like Toph had the guts to stand up to anyone. Despite what she said, she didn't act like she had had a comfortable upbringing.
"Wanna try the whole name thing again?" I asked.
Not-Kuzon nodded and said, "my name's Aang."
I smiled, "Nice to meet you, Aang."
We walked the rest of the way in silence. As the sky lightened, I heard more and more of my companions start to stumble. They must have been traveling for a long time. I snuck a glance at Aang; there were dark circles under his eyes and he barely had the strength to lift his feet up. It would be a little tricky for him to climb up the ladder and get onto the roof, but I was sure that Aang would manage to get his sleep-deprived body up there.
"Here we are," I said when we reached the slums. I led them to the ladder and began climbing. I could see Azida and Daazi outlined in the pink morning light. The twins still had younger children sleeping on their legs. I looked around for the extra blankets that I kept just in case anyone needed a place to stay for the night. When I found them, I handed the bundle of rough fabric to Katara and let her pass them out to her friends. While she did that, I woke Daazi and whispered, "I brought newcomers. Don't wake us up until eleven and don't let the kids jump on them." The boy nodded and turned to look suspiciously at Sokka. "Don't worry, he's not a threat." Daazi turned back to me and nodded slowly. He wouldn't attack Sokka tonight, but I knew Daazi would keep an eye on the boy. Daazi rarely trusted anyone, and it was a testament to how much he trusted me that he didn't kill the newcomer. I turned back to where my blanket lay forgotten on the floor. It was time to get some rest.