Toph jumped off the sand-sailor and onto her feet and immediately scowled, "Oh come on! Is there no solid ground anywhere?" Kegare and Ty Lee jumped off behind Toph. The former soldier rolled his eyes as Ty Lee ran off towards the sand-sailor carrying the newly deemed prisoners.
"So you can't see is what you're saying," Kegare asked.
"Well I could never see moron." Toph crossed her arms and whipped her head in her fellow Earthbender's direction. "Did it take you this long to figure that out or something?" Kegare slapped his forehead and shook his head before putting both hands on his hips.
"I meant with your feet! Can you see or do I have to carry you?"
"PLEASE! After you fed me with your mouth like a baby bird-seal, I'd rather walk over hot coals!" The nearby Sandbenders all turned their heads at this point, wondering what in Spirit's name they were talking about.
"I didn't feed you like a baby bird-seal," Kegare snapped as he pointed a finger in Toph's face. "If I did that I'd have chewed that crap up and spit it in your mouth!" The former soldier growled angrily before he shook his head furiously. "That still doesn't answer my question! Can you see or not?"
"You KNOW I can't see idiot!" Kegare's entire upper body slumped forward in disbelief. Toph crossed her arms and narrowed her faded eyes at her fellow Earthbender.
"I'm done," Kegare snapped as he turned around and followed Ty Lee. Toph's eyes widened as she lowered her arms and stomped her foot on the ground.
"HEY! What if I couldn't see!"
"You know you can't see idiot!" Toph stomped her foot again, this time with enough force to cause the sand around her to shoot up.
"I can barely see," Toph shouted as she quickly chased after Kegare. "I need my seeing eye mutt!" The former soldier groaned when his blind companion caught back up with him and grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt.
"So I go from Man-Boy to mutt?"
"Damn skippy," Toph replied as she offered a surprisingly kind smile. Kegare sighed in defeat as he walked forward with Toph right next to him.
Ty Lee was held back by a pair of Sandbenders, who formed a line between her, June and Zuko. "Let them go! They're not your enemy, I promise!"
"We'll decide that girl," one Sandbender snapped angrily.
"I want to talk to your chief," Ty Lee firmly ordered as her two Earthbending partners walked up.
"We saved your life! What right do you have to demand ANYTHING from us?"
"Be quiet Ghashiun!" The Sandbenders and the three Team members turned around. The large, bearded man from before walked up with a few singe marks on his clothing, but overall unharmed. "I am the leader of the Hami Tribe, Sha-Mo. What do you wish to discuss young lady?"
"Those two prisoners of yours aren't your enemy. They're our friends who disguised themselves as Fire Nation soldiers to try to rescue us." Ty Lee placed her hands together and her eyes softened a bit. "Please let them go. I promise you they're on our side."
"How do we know they aren't from the Fire Nation," Ghashiun angrily questioned. "Father, we can't trust them until we know for sure what the Fire Nation wants out here."
"Whatever it is, one of the Fire Nation's top leaders, Commander Zhao is leading them," Kegare said. "So whatever it is I promise you it's important."
"Plus if you find me some real earth, I can show you Earthbending like you've never seen," Toph added. Sha-Mo carefully examined the trio before him before looking over to his prisoners being taken to their makeshift jail.
"I'll talk with the prisoners personally before deciding." Sha-Mo turned back to Ty Lee, "Would that be acceptable? If I talked with them alone?"
"Yes sir," Ty Lee replied with a gleeful smile. "I swear you'll find out they're not bad people."
"June's a bit of a smart-ass though," Toph stated as she looked over at Kegare.
"And from what I've gathered Zuko has a short temper," the former soldier added. Ty Lee whirled around and glared at the two Earthbenders angrily.
"You three are welcome to rest up here at our village," Sha-Mo offered. "I promise until we know for sure that your friends won't be-," The older man was cut off when a young girl with brown hair tied into a braid down her back with bangs framing either side of her face, dressed in a short sleeved shirt, a scarf tied around her neck and part of her shoulders, a thin belt tied around her waist, with a short apron skirt and shorts that stopped just above her knees stepped between them, and eyed the visitors curiously. Sha-Mo groaned softly under his breath as the young girl stepped closer to the strangers. The girl suddenly squealed in excitement, causing the two Earthbenders and the acrobat to jump in fright. The young girl turned around, bouncing up and down in happiness.
"Papa! You brought back foreigners!"
"This doesn't concern you," Ghashiun snapped. "Go back to the house!"
"But they're guests," the little girl replied as she turned around and beamed excitedly at the newcomers. "It's our tradition to treat guests with the utmost hospitality right papa?"
"That's right, but I can tell you right now making our guests feel uncomfortable isn't very hospitable little one." The girl bounced up, straitening her back as her father's words sunk in.
"Oh, my apologies," the little girl replied with a bow, "My name is Jiao, the youngest child of Chief Sha-Mo." Jiao lifted up her head and smiled as she tilted her head to the side. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Uh…nice to meet you too," Kegare awkwardly responded. "You can call me Kegare. This is Toph, and that's Ty Lee."
"Let me show you where you'll be sleeping overnight," Jiao offered. The Team nodded then followed the young girl towards a small stone hut. "So where are you three from? The Earth Kingdom?"
"Well actually I'm-," Kegare quickly put his hand over Ty Lee's mouth.
"YES! We're all from the Earth Kingdom. Born and raised."
"That's SO cool!" Jiao spun around and beamed at the Team happily, "I bet you three have seen all sorts of cool things together!"
"I guess you can say that," Toph murmured as she recapped her 'adventures' with the Team.
"What's the most exotic thing you all have ever seen? Oh, have you been to Ba Sing Se? Or Omashu? I heard the king of Omashu is over a HUNDRED years old!" Jiao spun back around, allowing Kegare and Ty Lee to exchanged confused glances. "I didn't know people could live to be over a hundred. Are there a lot of people like that out in the world?" Jiao spun around again, kicking up some sand around her feet as she did. "Oh, how's the War with the Fire Nation going?"
Kegare rubbed the back of his neck as he looked at Ty Lee, who shrugged at him. The former soldier looked back at Jiao, "What question do you want us to answer first?" Jiao's eyes widened momentarily before she lowered her head in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry! Papa says I have a tendency to ask too many questions…"
"Not age appropriate, I have been there a couple of times, no, I don't know anyone over thirty, I haven't heard of many people living to be over a hundred," Toph answered. All eyes went to the blind Earthbender who stood nonchalantly. "Oh, and the War is taking a turn for the worse."
Jiao looked up as she recounted her questions and compared them to Toph's answers. The young girl grinned widely and bowed to her blind senior, "Thank you! I don't know many people who could follow all my questions like that."
"Eh, with my disability you learn to listen," Toph replied as she waved her hand in front of her eyes. Jiao turned around and opened the door for the guests to enter. Toph was the first to step inside, and was almost immediately floored. She regained her balance with an alarmed look on her face. "This floor…"
"What is it Toph," Kegare asked as he leaned over Jiao's shoulder.
"This floor is made of actual earth! I CAN SEE!" Kegare rolled his eyes while Ty Lee simply giggled and Jiao smiled. The acrobat and former soldier entered the hut as Toph snuggled with the floor. Jiao stood in the doorway for a moment as she observed the trio before her carefully.
"You're draft dodgers aren't you?" Toph and Kegare's eyes nearly popped out of their heads before they turned around to look at the little girl. Jiao then looked over to Ty Lee, who was now on edge. "And you're not from the Earth Kingdom right?" The Team of three all looked to one another in silence. They couldn't fight a kid right? Jiao smiled and tilted her head to the side a bit, "Don't worry. Your secrets are safe with me." Once again, the three snapped their heads back to Jiao who continued smiling.
"How…why…what," Kegare stuttered.
"Elegantly phrased," Toph dead-panned.
"Well we've had Earth Kingdom soldiers come through the desert and try to bully the Sandbender Tribes into joining the military," Jiao explained. "A few of them got violent, so the Earth Kingdom left since they didn't want to fight two different enemies, even though the Sandbenders aren't meant to take on an army." Jiao closed the door and took a few more steps into the room before sitting on the edge of the nearest bed. "And the Fire Nation tries to steal from us. We don't have much to begin with, but when a regiment comes through the desert, they'll attack any Sandbender colony that has anything of value to help them survive another day. And it doesn't help that they think they can leave their dead lying about in the desert like trash…"
"That's just the way the Fire Nation is most of the time," Ty Lee explained with a softened tone. "If you were to fall in any other place than battle it'd be disgraceful…or at least that's what they tell the soldiers."
"It's not about how they treat their people," Jiao murmured. The Team looked up at Jiao who looked down at the floor. "It's their disrespect for the desert. Since the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation have been moving throughout the desert, things have gotten even more difficult for those who live here. The days are hotter, the nights are below freezing, storms are more frequent and deadly, and even the desert animals seem to be more violent."
"The Spirit of the Desert…" Toph and Ty Lee shot Kegare a confused look, while Jiao's eyes lit up in astonishment. "That's what your people are thinking isn't it?"
"I-I'm surprised that anyone else knew about the Spirit of the Desert." Toph and Ty Lee looked back to Jiao and then once again to Kegare. "A lot of the elders and chiefs of the different tribes, my father included, think that the Spirit is enraged by how the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom are disrespecting the land, and we're left to deal with the consequences."
"If that's the case, I'm surprised you guys are still so nice to outsiders," Toph said.
"Well, I'm pretty sure papa knew you two were draft dodgers, which makes you enemies of the Earth Kingdom…which makes you our friends." Jiao looked over to Ty Lee next and widened her smile, "And in your case, I'm pretty sure your obvious kind-hearted nature reminded him of his little girl. Your friends though…I think papa will let them go if he got to know you three a little better." Jiao jumped off of the bed and bowed her head to the visitors. "I'd love to know more about the different cultures you all come from, but I still have a fair share of chores to do before I go to bed."
"It was nice meeting you," Ty Lee exclaimed happily. Jiao smiled at the older girl before she headed out of the hut.
Toph turned to Kegare once the door closed behind Jiao, "So would you care to explain how you can read minds?" Kegare gave Toph a confused look before he sat down on the nearest bed. Toph took the prolonged silence for confusion, "How'd you know that there was a desert spirit or whatever?"
"That did seem to come out of nowhere," Ty Lee added. Kegare sighed before he fell back in his bed and stared at the ceiling.
"My dad. He was a firm believer in the spirits, so he knew about as much about them as any living person. Sabaku is the Spirit of the Desert in the Earth Kingdom, and is known to be a wrathful spirit." Toph remained silent as Ty Lee tilted her head curiously. Kegare looked up at the ceiling as his eyes narrowed a bit. "That's why he went off to join the military. He saw the Fire Nation's actions as disrespectful to the presents the spirits bestowed upon us."
"I don't remember you mentioning your father," Ty Lee stated. "What happened to him?" Silence lingered heavily in the air. The acrobat looked down at her feet as she realized she accidently struck a nerve. Toph's eyes gazed unfocused at the foot of Kegare's bed. The former soldier rolled over and covered himself with the blanket. Ty Lee turned around and walked towards the door, "I'm gonna get some fresh air…" The door closed behind her as she left.
A few seconds passed before Toph slammed her heel in the ground. The ground beneath Kegare's bed rose up and threw the young man violently out of it with a frightened cry. The former soldier quickly threw his ponytail out of his face before he glared at Toph, "Alright, I'll bite: what the crap was that for?"
"You being an inconsiderate jerk," Toph shouted as she leaned forward in Kegare's direction.
The Earthbender stood up and practically laughed in disbelief, "Oh that's rich. I'm the inconsiderate one? Not you, no, never Toph who insults every living thing that hangs around her for more than five minutes! Nah, you're the epitome of kindhearted human nature!"
"At least I didn't make Ty Lee feel like a bitch for asking a question," Toph snapped furiously. "I throw around insults in good nature! She asked about your father, who nobody knows about in this Team aside from me! And all I know is that you don't like him for some stupid reason!"
"STUPID," Kegare practically roared. "What about you? I don't know a damn thing about your parents except that you don't know where they are!"
"My parents were rich snobs who thought that their little blind girl was a pampered princess who couldn't even cut her food without running the risk of hurting herself, and I hated them for the fact that they focused on the fact I couldn't see instead of seeing me as their daughter! Wanna know anything else? I won't hide a damn thing from you!"
"At least both of your parents were there for you," Kegare exclaimed. "My mom had her hands full with my baby sister and trying to keep our house, and my father was never around! I barely know anything about the man himself except what my mom has told me!"
"At least your parents treat you like a person instead of a fragile antique vase!" Kegare opened his mouth to shout back before the door came crashing down. Both Earthbenders whirled their heads around, with only one seeing a fuming June come stomping in the room.
"Both of you: SIT!" Kegare and Toph both snapped around, their backs facing each other, arms crossed, and lower lip stuck out. "I'm not going to repeat myself, understand?" Kegare huffed before he walked away and sat down on the nearest bed. Toph turned around and stuck her tongue out at her fellow Earthbender before flipping the overturned bed back over and sat down in it. June's furious features soon fell into a more tired look. Behind the bounty hunter entered a cautious Ty Lee and a slightly frightened Zuko. June pointed to Kegare, "You, explain."
"Man-Boy is a big baby," Toph muttered bitterly.
"I wasn't pointing to you!"
"Oh, I'm supposed to know who you're pointing to?" Toph pulled down on her lower eyelids with her fingertips. "I'm BLIND, remember?"
"How can any of us forget," Kegare snapped.
"I'm so close to beating the life out of you!" A loud snapping caused both Earthbenders to jump with fear. June, once again enraged, snapped her whip once more for good measure.
The bounty hunter sighed before putting a hand on her hip, "You're both incredibly stupid you know that?" Both Earthbenders shifted their eyes over to June who looked back and forth between the two. "You both have parental issues. Big freaking deal. I don't have the perfect family either. But at least I'm willing to talk about it. You two would just as soon beat each other senseless before talking about your family lives! Sparky there," June carelessly flung her arm in Zuko's direction, "has the worst family relationship out of everyone here."
"It's not about my family issues," Kegare muttered.
"Oh? So you think it's a weakness to talk about your past? Or maybe you think Toph will tease you for 'whining' about your father?" Kegare's eyes fell to the floor before he turned his back to the bounty hunter. June turned to Toph's direction, "And you need to stop thinking of your relationship with Kegare as a challenge. You're the one who started this Team, and you're the one who allowed him to tag along with you before I joined the group. If you want us to be a real team, you've got to balance out you insulting him constantly with actually giving a damn about him!"
The hut fell silent as June's words sunk in with the Earthbenders. Toph's eyes softened before she sighed. The blind girl jumped out of bed then walked over towards Kegare. June watched carefully in case Toph did something stupid. The blind girl, unaware of where her partner was, reached out slowly and touched his back. Kegare's head perked up a bit before he looked back over his shoulder. Toph's eyes and head were both pointed to the side.
"Sorry…" Kegare sighed before he turned around in the bed and let his legs have off the edge of it.
"Me too…" The former soldier looked over to the door and offered Ty Lee a wary smile, "I'm sorry to you too."
"Don't sweat it," Ty Lee replied with a wink and a smile. Kegare's smile widened a bit before Toph punched him in the arm suddenly.
"OW! What the—,"
"I show affection that way," Toph quickly sputtered as she stepped back and held her hands up. "Honest!" June gave an exhausted sigh while Ty Lee quietly laughed and Zuko scratched his head in confusion. Kegare rubbed his sore arm in pain before looking over to the bounty hunter.
"So how exactly did you show up with such good timing?"
"Oh, we got out once the boy-prince-wonder told them what the Fire Nation is doing in the desert," June explained. "Apparently Zhao is looking for some sort of Spirit Library or something."
"The hubba-da-what now," Kegare questioned with a dumbfounded tone.
"It's some Spirit Library which has a nearly infinite source of knowledge concerning the both the Spirit World and our world, or some crap." June walked forward and sat at the foot of the bed across from the Earthbenders. "The Sandbenders are pretty convinced that the library is just a myth, and that Zhao is wasting his time and men."
"But if the Spirit Library does exist, and the Fire Nation gets their hands on the contents in that library…it could mean big trouble for the world," Kegare said with a fear-struck tone. June tilted her head to the side before looking to the other Earthbender.
"He's apparently the all knowing master of spirits too," Toph explained. June raised her head a bit before looking back to Kegare.
"So what are the chances of this place actually existing," Zuko asked as he stepped into the room.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure. But if it exists, and the Fire Nation finds it…then the entire world could be in serious danger."
"If it did exist, you'd think the Sandbenders would be acting a little quicker to stop them," June pointed out as she looked back to the acrobat and rogue prince.
"I'm sure plenty of people have come through the desert looking for the library, and if anybody would know where such a library would be, it'd probably be the people who have traveled through this desert a thousand times," Kegare replied. "But I can understand why they don't want to mobilize against the Fire Nation. They're just a group of scattered tribes, not an actual military so they don't want to risk their own people on a myth…"
"But this is Commander Zhao," Zuko snapped. "I told them how taking out a man like him could be a critical blow to the Fire Nation!"
"Look, we don't know anything for certain," June said as she leaned forward. "The Sandbenders offered to get us out of the desert, not to chase after the Fire Nation on a whim. I can't blame them for not wanting to chase after the Fire Nation."
"But if we don't stop them, and the Spirit Library does exist-,"
"Yeah, big trouble," Toph said as she cut Ty Lee off. "Sorry Perky, but going around in circles with our only two options is driving me crazy. The thing we need to consider is if we do chase after the Fire Nation, we'd be doing it alone. The Sandbenders aren't going to help us navigate through the desert. We're just gonna have to get out of the desert and pray that the Spirit Library doesn't exist…" Kegare and Zuko lowered their heads with a scowl, both of them feeling as though they just gave up.
"I can help." All heads turned to the door to see the young Jiao standing before them. "I'm not the greatest Sandbender ever, but I can at least push a sand-sailor."
"I don't think we can get away with the chief letting his daughter navigate us towards the Fire Nation," Kegare stated.
"That's why we sneak out," Jiao replied matter-of-factly.
"I like this girl," June almost immediately said, with a smirk on her face.
"Me too," Toph added with a matching smirk.
"Look, I think it's great that you want to help us try to save the world and all that heroic nonsense but-,"
"Oh screw that," Jiao interjected, cutting off a baffled Kegare. "I need this! I have to get out and see the world. Ever since I was a little girl I've always been curious about the world, the different nations, and different cultures. I honestly know next to nothing about the Earth Kingdom outside of the desert!"
"Yeah, then the Sandbenders can all come at us in force to get back the chief's daughter who was kidnapped," Kegare exclaimed, "And the kidnappers were left stranded in the desert, never to be heard of again. The end."
"Look, I'm going with you," Jiao stated as she literally put her foot down with her hands on her hips. "It's either you accept my help, or you guys do the 'responsible' thing, leave me here, get escorted out of the desert, and run the risk of dooming the world to the Fire Nation's campaign because they gathered the information from the Spirit Library." Kegare opened his mouth to rebuttal, but quickly closed it once he realized he couldn't argue with her. Jiao gave the Team a toothy grin and waited for their response.
"Oh we have got to bring her with us," June said first.
"Seconded," Toph exclaimed as she raised her hand. "So it stands that the motion is carried, and Little-Miss-Spunky, welcome to Team Toph!"
"Hey," Ty Lee snapped as she pushed Zuko forward, "You never welcomed him into the Team!" The acrobat looked up for a moment before she pointed her thumb at herself, "HEY! You never officially welcomed me into the group either!"
"Okay, okay, fine! Ty Lee, AKA Miss Perk, welcome to Team Toph. Should June or Man-Boy die, you'll be admitted as a senior of the Team."
"Wait a minute, we have a system for this Team," Kegare asked. "WAIT! If I'm a senior, how come my opinions usually get overridden by you?"
"Cause June usually agrees with me or doesn't have an opinion regardless. So in the event of an unbreakable tie, founder of the Team and she for who it is named after gets the final say."
"So what're the rest of us here for then," Zuko asked.
"Welcome to the Team Hot-Head, or Sparky, or Your Highness," Toph quickly and dismissively got out. "Um…" Toph pointed to Jiao, "Cause she's awesome." The blind girl then pointed to Ty Lee, "Cause she's polite amongst a group of sour-treats. And you because Ty Lee wanted her boyfriend."
The two Fire Nation natives blushed before angrily protesting, "I'm not her boyfriend!" along with an, "he's not my boyfriend!"
"Don't worry," June said as she leaned towards the Fire Nation 'couple' and pointed at the Earthbending duo, "They're in denial too."
"Oh shut up," Kegare dead-panned.
"I'd hate to stop yet another argument between you all, but I think we really should be going," Jiao stated. The young Sandbender headed out of the hut first with the rest of her teammates behind her.
The Team snuck along the outskirts of the village, following the youngest member's lead. Jiao's eyes cut through the camp, watching all of her tribe members carefully before running out from behind cover. The young Sandbender stopped behind the hut closest to the sand-sailors and carefully counted the number of guards. Jiao turned around to inform the Team, but stopped when she realized June was hovering over her, also counting their opposition. The bounty hunter slowly looked down at the younger girl and gave an awkward, apologetic smile. Jiao stepped around June and stood in the center of the group.
"Alright, there are at least four guards," Jiao informed. "I have a plan on how we can take them all out quietly."
"Isn't she a little young to be giving us orders," Zuko whispered to Kegare.
The Earthbender gave a wary look to Zuko, "You and me are the only boys. Thus, we're outnumbered." Zuko's eyes shot back to the Team as he started counting their numbers.
"So first what we'll do is-," Jiao was cut off when a loud thud was heard to her far left. The whole Team jumped and whirled to where the noise came from. They were all surprised to see an unconscious Sandbender lying on the ground. Jiao turned around just as June came into sight, a bit winded.
"Alright, coast is clear." Jiao gapped in outrage at the bounty hunter as the Team started to move towards the sand-sailors. The young Sandbender muttered below her breath in outrage before she followed after them.
"Get on the big one," Jiao whispered. The Team turned around and the youngest member pointed to said sailor. June quickly sprung onto the deck of the sailor first. Ty Lee nimbly did several flips towards, and then onto the sailor. Kegare knelt down as Toph stepped into his hand, and helped her up.
"They're stealing a sailor," a voice shouted from within the village.
"Ah crap," Jiao groaned.
The village was lit up with torches as several armed villagers and Sandbenders came running towards their sailors. Kegare quickly tossed Toph like a sack of potatoes onto the sailor, getting a pained yelp from the blind Earthbender before he quickly climbed onto the sailor.
"It takes me awhile to get this thing going," Jiao shouted as she moved into position on the sailor. "Hold them off!"
"I have nothing to bend thank you very much," Kegare shouted.
"And I'm TOTALLY blind," Toph added, pulling down on her lower eyelids. A stream of fire cut through the darkness of night very suddenly, heading towards the oncoming mob. June smacked her hand to her face, while Ty Lee covered her mouth in concern, and Kegare looked on in horror. Jiao gapped in horror as she looked at the scarred prince, who stood firm against the dozens of horrified and enraged tribe members. Toph's head move around, unsure about the ongoing silence in the air. "What happened?"
"HE'S A FIREBENDER," Jiao shrieked at the top of her lungs in outrage.
"We'll explain later," June replied before springing off the sand-sailor to aid Zuko. "The rest of you stay on that boat!"
"It's a sailor," Jiao corrected. The young girl turned to the other members of the Team, "HE'S A FIREBENDER!"
"Yes, shocking," Kegare quickly spat out with haste on his tone, "Can you get us out of here before we're dismembered?"
"Oh I'm gonna dismember SOMEONE after this," Jiao shouted as she started moving her arms and upper body towards the sail.
Zuko continued to shoot fire from his fists and feet, but only to keep the mob back. He scowled to himself when he noticed the eyes of a few battle-hardened Sandbenders. They clearly recognized what Zuko was doing, and were waiting for an opening.
June quickly shot past Zuko, catching the young prince by surprise as she darted right for the mob. The tribe members themselves seemed to be taken back by June's rather reckless actions. The bounty hunter roared as she slammed her fist into the first Sandbender's face with all her might. Her fist dug into his face for a moment before he was sent flying back, crashing into three other men and throwing them to the ground.
"Whoa," Zuko murmured in total shock.
June ducked under a sword aimed for her head, spun around and slammed the back of her heel into her attacker's side. The man cried out in pain before he was thrown into one of his comrades.
"Okay, tell them to get on," Jiao shouted to her teammates as the sand-sailor started to slowly move forward. Ty Lee ran towards the back of the sailor and cupped her hands over her mouth.
"Hey! We're getting out of here!" Zuko turned his head and then looked back to June who just took down two more men.
"June, come on!" The bounty hunter tripped one man before she sprinted back towards Zuko and the sailor. The Firebender grabbed onto the edge of the sailor's deck. Ty Lee grabbed his wrists and helped pull him up onto the sailor. The Fire Nation couple turned around, seeing June sprint as fast as she could towards them. "Come on June!"
"I'm. Running. As. Fast. As. I. CAN!" The bounty hunter panted heavily as her legs carried her faster and faster. Finally, June sprung forward and reached for the sailor. Her hands had just barely missed the wooden edge, but she was caught by two hands. Zuko and Ty Lee both growled as they pulled June up towards the sailor. Once she was on board, the three of them collapsed onto the sailor, June and Zuko panting from exhaustion while Ty Lee let out a soft, relieved sigh. "We're never…doing that again…"
"Is everyone okay back there," Jiao shouted as she started to move the sand around more vigorously, pushing the sailor forward faster.
"I think they're all okay," Kegare replied.
"That's good," Jiao breathed with relief. "Now that we're all safe, HE'S A FIREBENDER?" The Team all groaned simultaneously at the youngster's rage.