6. Where Are We Going?
(Katara)
"We need to land soon," I told Zuko from the saddle. "We're running out of supplies," I was digging through our bags of food, which were becoming dangerously light. I saw him pull out our map and start to search for an inhabited island nearby.
I smiled inwardly and leaned against the side of Appa's saddle. We both knew he had no idea where we were. As he tried to figure it out I let my mind drift. I thought about my tribe, about Gran Gran, but mostly I thought about my mother. My beautiful, strong, independent mother. I found myself wishing I could see her one last time, to show her how strong I had become, and to tell her I missed her. As I got lost in a sea of memories I felt myself slowly drift into sleep.
(Zuko)
"We need to land soon," I heard Katara say. I agreed, but where could we go that I wouldn't be recognized? Perhaps I would have to stay with Appa, hidden somewhere, while she went to get buy food. I turned around to find her sleeping peacefully in the beast's saddle. She was wearing her usual fire nation clothing, much like the kind she wore when we were on the run.
She's beautiful in those clothes, I thought to myself. Then I realized how strange it would be for a girl at an Earth Kingdom market to be wearing fire nation clothes. We'll have to find something else for her. She started to turn around so I did the same. I had started loving her since the day she threatened me in the western air temple, so why was I still with Mai? I hadn't been able to answer that question for months. I focused my attention on our map and started searching for a place to land. We were still so far away from where my mother was supposed to be. I still hadn't told Katara where we were going, but she would have asked me if it really mattered to her. No. She wasn't quiet because she didn't care, she was quiet because I was quiet. I shook my head, trying to clear it, and resumed my search for an island. My eyes darted from coast to coast. We had left the palace two days ago, which meant we were just near the edge of the Fire Nation. If we waited about four hours, we would reach Ember Island. Perfect, we could stay at my families old summer home.
"So where will we land?" I jumped, startled, and turned toward her.
"Ember Island, we can stay at my families old house," started folding our map, but stopped myself. She deserved answers. I crawled up to Appa's saddle and laid the map down in front of her. "This is where we're headed," I pointed to a large white land form at the very bottom of the map, and her mouth dropped.