Title: The Southern Wolf
Genre: Action/Adventure/Humor
Summary: He had been plague by dreams for years. Dreams of going to great adventures, getting into lots of trouble, battling countless enemies, and meeting new friends. He had been preparing himself for visions that may never come to be, until said visions came true.
CHAPTER 4
Of Lemur and Kyoshi Wariors
It took the three of them four days. It would have taken them longer if it wasn't for Katara's waterbending sipping water into the ground, making it soft and loose enough for Aang to use his airbending to blow the dirt away, thus digging an average size grave in a matter of minutes. Four days of providing each of the one hundred and seventy two people that died in and around the Southern Air Temple with a proper grave.
And now, here we found Aang, kneeling in the temple's main courtyard, where they had decided to place the grave marker for the dead, Sokka and Katara kneeling behind him, showing their support as the Avatar offer a prayer for the spirits. It was just a collection of smooth stones arranged in a way forming a short pyramid. According to Aang, as soon as the burial ritual prayer is finished, this altar will serve as a gateway for the dead towards the spirit world.
"It is done." Aang's voice said, jerking both siblings from their deep thoughts.
"That's good." Sokka said before yawning. He hadn't had a descent night's sleep ever since arriving in this lace thanks to the lingering presence of death in the air. It would be nice to get away from here soon.
"At least now the dead would get the chance to cross over to the spirit world." Katara added. "Aang, how long do you think it would take before things start growing in this place again?"
"I don't know, Katara. A few years at least, but things will definitely grow here again."
"That's good news. What's our plan now?" she asked.
Aang thought for a moment but couldn't think of anything. "I don't know yet, Katara. What do you think, Sokka?"
Sokka contemplated for a moment, bringing out some of the many dream memories he had. Then, he found the answer and said, "The North Pole."
"What do you mean, Sokka?" Aang and Katara asked in unison.
"The Northern Water Tribe. Aang, you'll need to master the rest of the elements starting with water, right?" At Aang's nod, Sokka continued. "So, the best place to find a waterbending master would be in the South Pole."
Katara, seeing the rest of her brother's plan agreed immediately and added, "Our sister tribe have the world's largest number of waterbenders to date. It would be so easy for you, and me as well, to find a waterbending master. Excellent idea, Sokka."
"I agree. Great idea, Sokka."
"Good. Since everyone agrees, we'll start heading North right away. Katara could even teach you some of the stuff she knows while we travel. I suggest we eat plenty today before leaving. I've already picked out a few wild berries with Appa this morning." He said, walking out of the main gate of the temple where Appa was resting with the rest of their gears, particularly the food sack, Aang and Katara walking beside him.
All three pre teens stop in their tracks upon arriving at the scene ofa bouncing food sack on to of a sleeping bison. They could see a long black tail with two white strifes near the tip of said tail swinging out of the sack. Seconds later, a white furred, black faced, green eyed head with very large ears sprout out of the sack.
"A lemur?" Aang asked excitedly upon seeing the familiar species of the animal.
"Awe. It looks so cute." Katara gushed.
Sokka, on the other hand, have something else in mind. "HEY, YOU THIEF! THAT'S OUR FOOD!"
Startled, the lemur ran bringing the food sack with it.
Aang and Sokka immediately went in pursuit, both of them with varying degree of intention.
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"OUCH! Not so hard, Katara! That stuff stings."
"It's anticeptic, Sokka. I's supposed to sting. Besides, it's your own fault fo trying to hurt Momo." Katara said rolling her eyes as she applied the medicine on one of the many scratches her brother gained when he followed the lemur into a thorny bush.
Said lemur, now named Momo, is currently sitting on Aang's shoulder as the monk steers Appa towards the North. They decided to tavel by sea and there's not a piece of land on sight. They've been flying for half a day now. By his estimation, it must be four in the afternoon. "At least Momo here helped you to catch those squirell rabbits you had for lunch. lus, he led us to that hidden apple tree on the ledge of the cliff."
"Aang, he was using those squirell rabbits as sheilds againts my boomerangs. And the reason we found that tree is because that lemur tripped me over the ledge. I just happen to see that tree as I hang for dear life." Sokka deadpanned, glaring at the lemur who merely stared back at him with its green doe eyes.
Aang beamed and said, "There, you see. Momo was verey helpful. Besides, since he decided to come along, he's part of the group now. He must have so lonely living alone up there temple." The hapy monk then turned to the lemur and said to him, "Now then, Momo, why don't you give Sokka a hug so he can finally make up to him."
Like his domesticated ancestors, Momo was able to understand some human language. He managed to process what the monk human child had said and responded appropriately. He gave the monk child the 'Are you out of your freaking mind?' look.
"Now, now, Momo. Don't be like that. Sokka did worked hard for getting those berries that you ate." Aang admonish.
Relenting, the lemur jump in front of the angry boy and gave him 'the look'.
Sokka saw 'the look' and promised himself he would not succumb to it. Katara had used 'the look' on hims so many times during their childhood years and he believes he had managed to gain immunity to it. He didn't want to take any chances so he turned away and refuse to look at the animal's green dopey eyes.
"Awe! That's so cute." Katara gushed.
His sister's voice made him look and he was a goner. He cursed inwardly. He had always thought he would be immune to such attacks, but Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe was proven no match for the Puppy-Dog-Pout.
Sighing in defeat, he finally said, "Fine, you win. I forgive you. But no more stealing my food, got it!"
The lemur's answer is for him to jump on the angry one's shoulder and purr, making the now dejected one involuntarily start scratching him behind the ear, something Momo had found that Sokka was actually good at.
Seeing everything is fine, Aang smiled and said, "Well then, now that's everyone is fine again, what's the plan? Do we proceed North?"
"No. We need to restock first. Our food supply won't last until tomorrow." Sokka decided.
"Well, we could land on the island down there." Katara pointed at the speck of land on the horizon.
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"Finally." Zuko said as his ship left the the harbor of Zhao's naval base. He turned to the helmsman and ordered, "Head towards to the Southern Ocean. We will resume our search there."
"What are your plans, my prince?" Iroh asked, standing beside him.
"It's been a week since we lost sight of the Avatar. He couldn't have gotten far. He would have gone for supplies so we'll go through each harbor starting from the South and work our way North. Someone is bound to have seen him or at least the flying bison he's been riding on."
"Good plan, Prince Zuko. I will have the navigators set out a course for the fastest route we can manage."
"Thank you, uncle. I'll be in the deck later for practice."
"With the boomerang again, I suppose?" He asked, taking a few glimpse at the rince's bandaged hands.
"Yes. If I am to defeat that Water Tribe savage, then I would need to learn his fighting style."
"Very wise of you, nephew. I will have some men help you on your training later." The old man said proudly.
"Thank you, uncle. I'll be on my quarters if you need me." Zuko nodded gratefully at his uncle before leaving the helms.
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"Wow. This coconut stuff is tasty." Sokka said munching on his sixth coconut meat of the day.
As soon as they landed on the uninhabited beach, Aang saw the coconut trees and plucked out a dozen of them. Aang showed them how to open one without spilling the juice inside. After drinking the juice, he then used a blast of air to slice the thing open, giving access to the white meat inside.
Being from the Poles, it was the first time for either Katara and Sokka to eat the tropical fruit. And they liked it. Even Momo seems to enjoy it, considering his undignified burp after consuming his fourth one. Appa, on the other hand, was happily chewing on a nearby field of grass.
"I specially like the juice. "Katara gushed, sipping at her coconut.
"See, I told you guys you'll like it." Aang said proudly.
"We would definitely have to bring a dozen of these on our trip. It's so efficient. It's a meal and a drink in one go." Sokka was already calculating how many of the things Appa could carry. He smiled when he realized they would be able to bring at least two dozen of them if he pack them carefully.
All three suddenly saw something move in the water.
"Is that . . ." Katara begun.
"Elephant koi!" Aang ended gleefully, rushing towards the water while taking off his robes at the same time. "I hadn't riden one of them in a while!"
"Aang, don't! It might be dangerous!" Katara tried to stop him but the young monk either didn't heard her or was too excited to care.
"Oh let him have some fun, Katara. He's still a kid. Plus, he's the Avatar. He'll be fine." Sokka said while making himself comfortable on the shade of a nearby tree using his rolled up sleeping bag as a pillow.
Seeing Aang riding the elephant koi gleefully and her brother relaxing, Katara hung her head in defeat and said, "Fine. I give up."
She was about to mimic Sokka and find herself her own spot for a nap when she saw a huge shadow in the water following Aang and the huge elephant fish he's riding on. "Aang, watch out!"
But her warning came too late. The huge shadow grabbed onto the elephant koi's tail, stopping in its track. The sudden stop threw Aang forward, skipping on the surface of the water a couple of imes before sinking, only to resurface later with a bewildered look on his face. "What the heck happened?"
Sokka saw the commotion and immediately stood beside his sister. "What's going on?"
But Katara was too focused on Aang to answer. "Aang! Get out of the water! Hurry!"
Aang doesn't need to be told twice upon seeing the huge elephant koi being dragged underwater. Using every strength he got, he started swimming towards the shore. But Aang is still about two hundred meters away. He haven't even made it half way back before the shadow loom behind him.
Both sibling gawked at the huge serpant that came out of the water with every intention of devouring the fleeing child.
Acting on instincts, both siblings moved. Katara pushed all of her water bending ability to pull the water surrounding the panicking Aang. Sokka, on the otherhand, let all of his bommerangs fly.
The huge serpant was just about to swallow the boy when pain blossomed near its face, forcing it back for just a few seconds. But it was enough time for Katara to pull Aang all the way back to shore.
Katara immediately went to see if the onk was alright the minute he reached the shore. "Aang, are you okay?"
Coughing a bit of swallowed water, Aang gave the girl a tired grin and said, "Never better."
Katara shook her head at her friends show of false bravado. She should really be angry but then she was too glad about him being fine.
"Anyway, guys, thanks for the rescue and . . .um, Sokka, why are you cursing like a drunken sailor?"
Instead of answering, the cursing teen growled and pointed a finger at the sea. Turning, both saw the the serpant trashing, turning its head from side to side trying to dislodge the single boomerang that was buried in the middle of its forehead.
"I can't believe I've lost another one!" Sokka growled. He would have said more but his danger sense suddenly went haywired. He suddenly dived forward, barely missing the thick sack that would have covered his head.
He turned around to see a sole of the enemy's shoe heading straight for his head. He bent backwards just in time to dodge it, letting the extended leg pass by within inches of his nose. He grabbed the leg during retraction, allowing him to pull himself up again. Once up, he was finally able to get a glimpse of his attackers.
There are six of them, all females. All of of them were wearing the same type of warrior armor, with a pair of golden fans as their main weapons. Each one is wearing similar face paints that somehow enhance their femininety.
He was still holding the leg of one of them. Three of them are surrounding him menacingly while two others secure the captured Aang and Katara, both of them tied up with bags covering their heads.
The warrior he was holding tried to pull herself free, but Sokka wouldn't let go. When that didn't work, she tried to kick him in the face, using his hold as her fulcrum while the three other unoccupied warrior jump at him.
Thinking fast, Sokka caught her other foot at mid air and used the left over force to swimg her around, preventing her from attacking while at the same time forcing the other three away from him unless they get hit with their own comrades.
The three wariors hesitated, just the thing Sokka had been waiting for. He let the warrior go after another swing, making her hit one of the others while he went to attack another one closest to him with two of his boomerangs.
He scowled when he found their battle fans were made of metal. Sparks flew as the one he was attacking, who seems to be the leader of the group, blocked his blades with her fans. He made several offensive slashes but the woman's skill seems just a bit better than his own. Its like she's using his own momentum to redirect his attacks.
Taking a gamble, he drove both blades on the same spot at the same time. The woman tried to redirect his attack but the power behind the attack was too much for her and her fans. When both blades met, it had cut through the opponbent's fans. The woman was so shocked that she wasn't able to dodge as the boy placed the edge of both blades between her neck, his cold blue eyes staring at her defiant brown ones, telling him to finish it.
"Enough!" Came the panicked shout of another warrior. "Surrender now or your friend dies!"
Everyone stopped. They turned to see one of the warriors holding the sharp edge of her fan againts the captured female prisoner's neck.
Sokka cursed internlly. He had no other choice but to surrender. He was just about to do just that when the woman he was battling with suddenly shouted angrily, "Kyoko! Don't you dare dishonor the name of the Kyoshi Warriors with such a cowardly act!"
"But, Suki, you're our leader! We can't let you die!" The woman, Kyoko, shouted in desperation.
"Better dead than dishonored." Suki said, steel in her voice, staring straight at her opponent's eyes. But Sokka saw something else in those bown eyes. Something different. He almost faltered but managed to keep his blade on her neck.
There was a sudden standstill. Everyone is tense at what might happened. Finally, Kyoko put away her fan, letting Katara slump back into the gound. At the same time, Sokka drop his weapons and put his hands up in surrender.
"Liar." Sokka whispered softly at Suki, making her eyes widen just before the rest of the wariors restrained him and covered his head with a sack.
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The next time the sack was taken off from his head, Sokka, Katara and Aang found themselves in the middle of a village, surrounded by people, and tied to a wooden totem pole with the statue of Avatar Kyoshi on to of it.
"By the laws of Kyoshi, you had tresspass in our lands. Not only that, you have wounded our island's guardian monster. What do you have to say for yourselves, you Fire Nation scums!" And old man said.
"B-but where not from the Fire Nation!' Aang tried to argue and Katara tried to support his clamis but these people seems to be dead set on their accusations. She even started telling them he's the Avatar but no one seems inclined to believe her words.
Sokka, on the meanwhile, was silently searching the angry crowd for a certain face. Finding her standing on the back of the crowds, staring back at him, he gave her a glare. She tried glaring back but averted her eyes away after a mere few seconds. She even looks like she was pouting.
"Aang, do some airbending." He heard her sister whispered to the boy tensely.
Aang took a deep breath and with a rush of wind he broke free of the bonds. It was almost worth getting tied up to see the villagers — including all of the warriors save for the leader — shrink back with jaws dropped as the boy shot straight up in the air, flipped over the statue of their Avatar idol, and float easily back down.
The old man's mouth worked for a few seconds before he was able to speak. "It… it's true. You are the Avatar." Then he bowed, and every watching villager did the same.
Sokka saw Suki and her wariors, particularly the ones that had attacked them at the beach, being the last to do the same. He actually scoff at seeing her face, like she ate something sour, just before bowing as well.
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"Again." Iroh bellowed as Zuko faied to avoid a hit on the shoulder.
Iroh had devised a new strategy for this training. He had six men attack his nephew simultaneously with staves while the prince dodge, divert, and block all of them with only his metal arm bands and the boomerang he got from the Southern Wolf. This exercise would allow him to expand his spacial awareness, a useful skill when facing an opponent that could throw six weapons at you from almost any angle simultaneously.
They had been at it for two hours now and so far, Zuko is having minimal success. But with each repeatetion, his dodging skills are getting better, his diverting skills getting finer, and his blocking skills getting easier. It would take a lot more painful bruise on Zuko's part but Iroh was sure his nephew will be able to master this technique in a short amount of time. Very soon, his nephew would be ready for the nest step of the training, doing it blindfolded.
Iroh stared at the sun for the moment. By the looks of it, they have about an hour of sunlight left, just enough time to provide his nephew with a coupe of more bruises.
Breathing heavily, Zuko returned to the middle of the deck, the six men with staves surrounding him. He nodded his head at his uncle to tell him he's ready and Iroh called out once more. "Begin!"
And the six soldiers attack as one.
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