SORRY! I've been at camp all summer, with no chance to write! But, finally, here it is. Go read it.

Now, waking up to generally unfamiliar faces looking down at you is never a pleasant experience. This was no exception, regardless of the fact that I had met the Avatar before. I sat propped up against the back of the saddle on Appa's back, with the three of them sitting facing me.

My bag was beside me. From my brief initial scan of my surroundings when I regained consciousness, I found that it hadn't been tampered with or searched.

I greeted them, and apparently my greeting was not what they had expected, for I was met with more silence. The dark Water Tribe boy was the first to speak.

"What are you doing on Appa?" He demanded.

I decided to reply as truthfully as I could, while still omitting what information they didn't need. It would make my life easier in the future.

"Escaping."

"From what? From who?" He was leaning in intently, studying my face for signs of fear, nervousness, or lies. My face was perfectly blank.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Don't tell me you've forgotten me that quickly?" Turning to the Avatar, I continued. "I did save your life."

The Avatar began to say something, but the boy cut him off with, "That's irrelevant! Who are you escaping from, how did you find us, why are you on Appa, why were you knocked out and injured, and why did you stay on Zuko's ship before?"

A girl was sitting beside him. They had the same dark skin, and both were wearing generic Southern Water Tribe clothes. Many similarities in their faces led me to believe that they were related, most likely brother and sister.

The girl spoke. "Calm down, Sokka. She just woke up!" Turning from her brother to face me, she continued. "I'm sorry, he's paranoid-"

"Cautious!"

"Sokka!"

The boy called Sokka didn't look contrite in the least, only frustrated. The girl smiled gently at me, and held out a wet rag.

"I avoided direct contact with your wound, I wasn't sure-"

"That's fine, I've got it." I interrupted. I took the rag and pressed it to the pain on my head. It stung, but I wasn't fazed.

"Um, if you don't mind… Cadence… how did you get on Appa?"

"For starters, Prince Zuko's been following you ever since we met before. I was waiting for a good opportunity to get away. I found one. I took it."

The Avatar looked shocked. "Wait, you mean you've been Zuko's prisoner ever since?"

I nodded and passed the rag back to Katara.

Sokka seemed less excited when he asked, "So, how did you get away, and why were you injured?" I decided to humor him.

"He lost a bet- don't ask, long story- and I got my bag back. When we landed, I broke out of my cell and found Appa. You weren't around, so I started to wait. We heard some explosions at the temple. He got really worried and took off. I jumped into his saddle, but lost my balance and hit my head on the bottom. Anything else?"

Sokka glared at her and, turning to Katara and Aang, said, "We need to talk." The three climbed over onto Appa's head; as far away from me as they could get. They spoke in low tones with their heads together so I couldn't hear, Sokka occasionally glancing up to make sure I wasn't eavesdropping.

O~O~O

"I don't trust her," Sokka wasted no time in stating.

"She saved my life, Sokka. I probably wouldn't have escaped without her. I wouldn't even be here. She's been stuck with Zuko for who knows how much longer than I have." Aang replied earnestly.

"That doesn't mean she can stay with us. She's free now, so she can go wherever she wants."

"But not with us."

"Aang, she could be Zuko's spy. Other than her word, do you have any proof that she was actually captured by Zuko, and held against her will?"

"Did you see how they were beating her up as we were leaving? That's good enough proof for me."

"It still could have been staged. What do you think, Katara? You haven't said much."

"I'm sorry, Aang, but it's just too risky. We still don't have proof she's not Fire Nation. She could be working for Zuko, Zhao, or even the Fire Lord."

Aang started to interrupt, but Katara kept talking.

"This isn't just me, or Sokka, or even you we're talking about. This is the Avatar. The world needs you Aang. We can't risk you getting captured again."

"It's two on one, Aang. As soon as we land, she's got to go."

Aang looked despairingly between the two siblings, and finally accepted that he was beat. They climbed back onto Appa's saddle.

Cadence looked up from fiddling with a dagger from her pack. Sokka sat down facing her, and Aang and Katara quickly followed suit, with Aang looking down in defeat.

"Look, we're sorry, but you just can't stay with us. It's too risky. You could be a Fire Nation spy. As soon as we land, you have to go."

The expression -or lack thereof- on Cadence's face didn't change. She looked from Sokka to Katara to Aang. "Is this a unanimous decision?" She continued fiddling with the dagger.

"It's a final decision." Sokka answered firmly.

"So, you said as soon as we land. We're flying over ocean, with not a patch of green in sight. Any idea exactly how far land is?"

"About fifteen minutes."

"Well, why wait?"

"What?" The word was spoken in unison from Sokka and Katara. Confusion was written all over the Gaang's faces.

"You want me gone, I'll go. But I won't wait a quarter hour." Without another word, Cadence stood up and slung her pack on her back in one smooth movement. She held her dagger in her teeth, and dove gracefully over the edge into the ocean below.

Aang, Sokka and Katara scrambled to the edge to watch her fall. She hit the surface of the ocean with barely a ripple. From over a hundred feet in the air, no one saw her head bob to the surface.

There was shocked silence up above. In just a few seconds, they were far enough away to be unable to see the place where Cadence had hit the water.

She was gone.

O~O~O

She focused on swimming down and away so they couldn't even see her silhouette. When the air in her lungs started to burn, she turned and began to kick upwards with powerful strokes. She broke the surface with a gasp, and saw that the massive sky bison was only just larger than a speck in the distance. She had been right to trust its speed and height to conceal her. She turned, and with her pack on her back and her knife in her teeth, began the long swim toward the distant shore not yet visible.

R+R!