Well, here is chapter seven! I hope you enjoy this chapter...it's rather dull in my definition. But, that's just what I think. Why don't you tell me what you think in the reviews? Haha. Enjoy! (:

Chapter Seven.

Swimming, Secrets, and Sokka's Suspicion.

Now that it seemed that I was officially in the group, it was one of my jobs to wake everybody up if they weren't already. This was easier said than done. Aang was the easiest to wake up, and so was Katara, but the worst was probably either Toph or Sokka. Sokka always complained loudly, smacking you hard wherever he could manage to get...which was usually my face. Toph, on the other hand, groan and made snide comments, while sometimes hurling rocks at you. And now, here I went to go wake Toph up, who was lying a little bit away from the fire, with four walls surrounding her. She had told everyone the night before that she 'wouldn't be the one to get mauled by wild animals', thus the protection. This reminded me of the 'jail' I was kept in until Toph let me out. I smiled, humored by the memory.

I walked over to the makeshift hut, hesitating. What did I do, knock? This was the first night she had bothered to put up the walls. I took an inaudible deep breath before knocking gently on the rock walls. Nothing happened, and I rose my hand to knock again, and just as I was about to pound, the walls shot down into the earth. I gasped in surprise, flailing backwards and stumbling over my own two feet. I caught myself with a rush of air, which that surprised me more than anything.

"For the Spirits' sake, Twinkletoes! Watch your step!" Toph grouchily snapped, rubbing her eyes as she rose to her feet. Her dark hair was a wild mess, matted with dirt and grim. Her blank, light green eyes stared evenly at me as she folded her arms crossly.

"Twinkletoes?" I asked, tilting my head slightly to the side. Wasn't that Aang's nickname or something?

Her eyes seemed to widened in surprise as she smacked her palm against her forehead, her shoulders slumping. "Sorry, Vinca." She huffed, looking to her left, "Your feet are so light, like Twinkletoes. You have no idea how confusing it has been since you got here." She muttered, shaking her head. "You need a nickname."

I smiled, chuckling nervously. "You can just call me Vinca -"

"Sparkletoes? Feathertoes?" Toph interrupted, squinting at me, "No. Bah!" She exclaimed, "But you have the same, exact step as Twinkles. Almost like…"She paused momentarily, "Like you're an air bender."

I blinked, suddenly confused. Hadn't Aang told them? I had thought he would. I wonder why he didn't. "Um, apparently I am." I said sheepishly, ducking my head as I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. That sounded better in my head.

"What?" Sokka's familiar, almost too familiar voice screeched, making me wince as I twirled around. How long as he been standing there? His eyes were wide as a stone, as he stared at me, the usual suspicion glinting in his blue eyes. I instinctively stepped a baby-step backwards. "An air bender? That's outrageous. Don't be ridiculous." Sokka scoffed, shaking his head feverishly, "I've heard some pretty stupid things on this journey, but you, being an air bender? Come on!"

I peered around him to see Katara's shocked face, along with Aang staring over as well. The two came over, and Aang attempted to calm the raging Water Tribe boy down. "Sokka, relax. We'll explain -" He began.

"Wait, so you're telling me she is a bender of the magical air?" Sokka flailed his hands crazily around his head in circles, in a weak imitation of air bending. Not that I had ever seen it, except for Aang's, but I giggled anyway, despite the situation. He glared down at me, putting his hands on his hips. "Prove it."

Bummer. I only knew how to bend a little bit. Emphasis on a little. I've only bended, kind of, three times in my whole thirteen years of life. Well, that I knew of. And, with Grandma's letter, I was apparently expected to master it or whatever. I exhaled, biting on my lower lip. "Okay, Sokka. But I'm not that good." I warned him, before backing up. Please don't let me make a fool of myself. I prayed. As I wearily glanced around, I observed my friends expressions. Katara was watching curiously, along with her brother, who was still shooting daggers at me with his eyes. Toph was staring at me with her sightless eyes, a bored expression written on her face. Aang, on the other hand, appeared pleased and curious as he watched with a familiar smile on his lips.

I took a deep breath, parting my legs in a stance as I closed my eyes, deciding to just wing it and let whatever goes go. I felt the urge to move my left hand down, and did, before moving my right hand diagonally and back in a half-circle. I felt a rush of pure adrenaline crash into my body, taking my breath away. It felt amazing. I peeked through my eyes to see a sphere of wind come together, dancing gracefully in my palms. I didn't dare tear my eyes away from it. I wanted to do this, forever. I wanted to air bend. Then, I moved my left hand in a slight semicircle, and the orb of air got bigger, expanding from my hands until it was bigger than my head. Much bigger. I continued to let it grow, the wind moving faster, creating a wonderful whoosh noise that I felt I could get used to.

"O-Okay, you can stop now, I believe you!" Sokka shouted, and I moved my eyes away from my creation. It was then that I realized how loud it was. I abruptly dropped my hands, the sphere slowing and finally vanishing. My eyes widened as I looked up, feeling a blush of embarrassment tint my cheeks warmly.

"M'Sorry." I murmured, playing with a loose strand of my hair, feeling suddenly exhausted, but the remains of the adrenaline were still there. I felt like I could do anything. I straightened, bestowing a wide smile to my friends. I was actually proud of myself.

After a pregnant pause, Toph was the one to broke the ice, "Alrighty then. Vinca is an air bender. Woohoo. But whenever she just created that big ball of air, I got a good whiff of all of you. " She pinched the bridge of her nose, "And you stink." Everyone laughed, including me. "What? It's true!" She exclaimed through the laughter, a smile on her face.

"What about you, Toph? You smell like rotten cheese!" Sokka countered, only fueling our laughter. Toph narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips, clearly insulted. Her lips puckered out in an angrily fashion as her foot kicked forward, sending a slap of rock out of the earth, which caused Sokka to jump backwards, falling on the ground. Sokka let out a groan, rubbing his head, "Hey!" He muttered, still recovering.

Katara cleared her throat, helping her brother up. After he had dusted the debris and glared menacingly at Toph, she spoke, "Yeah, we kind of do stink. There is a lake nearby, so why don't we go for a swim?" She suggested, adding a shrug and a smile. I nodded, liking her idea. After collecting our food, we started off in the direction of the lake, planning to have a swim and a picnic.

It was a gorgeous day. The lake was a crystal clear, untouched by any pollution or humans, it appeared. Reeds dotted around the edges of the water, which was relatively shallow. After laying down a blanket under a shady tree, Aang immediately stripped down to just his shorts. and made a fantastic entrance into the water by jumping off a tree.

I laughed, taking off my shirt and pants, leaving on my bindings and underskirt. I got a running start, flipping into the water with a splash. Katara later joined us, but Sokka stated that he was going to 'watch over the food', and Toph said she would get in later. I took in a huge gulp of air, disappearing underwater.

Underneath the water, everything was beautiful. Fish swam through tangled weeds and discarded wood, moving quickly away from wherever I was. I looked around, taking in the beautiful sight around me. I felt my lungs tightening, and swam up. I let out a strangled gurgle, flailing as I pushed upwards in an attempt to surface. No, almost there…

As my head broke the surface, I let out a sigh of relief, taking in slow breaths of air. I looked around quickly for Aang and Katara, and I swam over to them. As I reached them, Aang turned around, a smile of relief on his face. "Are you okay? You were under for a long time." He asked, and I nodded. He let out a laugh before splashing me with water.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, sputtering the liquid as I wiped it from my eyes, "You're gonna get it now, Aang!" I warned playfully, swimming after him. He was always a little bit out of reach, though, and in an attempt to catch him, I lunged forward, missing by an inch.

"So close!" Aang teased, and I stuck my tongue out. I jumped forward, grabbing him gently by the shoulders. His familiar grey eyes widened in surprise, and I pushed him under, feeling successful as I laughed at his expression. I felt something wrap around my leg and realized I was being pulled down as well. I let out a small gasp before being engulfed in water, again.

My eyes flashed open, taking in the underwater world. I glanced around for Aang, determined to get revenge. But where was he? I squinted through the water, looking down around the shallow waters. No sign of him. I was about to resign when I felt a presence behind me, and turned around just to see Aang right in front of my face, a wide smile on his lips.

I let out a shriek in surprise, jumping out of the water, breathing in deeply. He came out after me, laughing loudly, "Oh…" a deep breath, "Vinca!" Laughter, "You should've seen your," More giggles, "Face! It was like," He paused, disfiguring his face into what mine 'looked' like, which resolved in his cheeks being mushed upwards, his mouth in a large 'o', and his eyes as wide as they could be. He let out a mocking, high-pitched scream as he flailed his arms around.

I laughed, shoving him gently, "No, you're making that up!" I insisted, playfully glaring at him. He continued to have the distorted face, following me back to the shade tree that way. Finally, I whirled around, narrowing my eyes, "Spirits! I get the point!" I said desperately, playfulness showing in my tone. After drawing more laughter from him, to the point that he had to struggle to get his breath to normal, he replied:

"Okay, okay." Aang held up his hand in surrender, his face going back to normal. A wide smile was still present, and I could tell he was stifling his laugh. I rolled my eyes, and we walked back over to the tree were Sokka and Toph were planted. Katara had just got out of the water a few minutes before us, and was sitting by her brother with her legs crossed underneath her.

"Thank goodness! I'm starving. And Katara made me wait for you two before we could eat." Sokka grumbled, poking his stomach, "A man's gotta eat!" He exclaimed, reaching over to grab some strawberries.

Toph snorted, "So, you don't have to eat then. Because you're clearly not a man, Sokka."

Sokka huffed, appearing hurt, but he regained his composure and threw a strawberry at Toph. He missed. Momo skittered over to the fruit, eating it in one bite.

Katara waved her hand in dismissal, rolling her blue eyes, "Guys, be nice for once. Let's eat. I'm starving, too." And so was I. Everyone dug in, reaching for nuts and berries, and Sokka quickly munched down a fish he somehow caught earlier. I grabbed a handful of strawberries. They were my favorite fruit, and I couldn't remember when I had last eaten some. They weren't hard to find in the woods, but usually animals ate them before you could.

I took a small bite of the red berry, letting the sweet taste of it flow gingerly over my tongue, before inching down my throat. I couldn't stand eating it so slowly, and the once handful of strawberries were gone in less than a minute. I still felt the knowing hunger fade away only slightly, but it was something I was more than used to.

After a few moments of silence, Sokka was the one that spoke through a mouthful of food, "Okay. After this, we need to get going to Ba Sing Se." He said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "We already know the plan, and we need to leave as soon as possible."

Katara nodded, glancing around us, "Yes, he's right. We can't waste any more time here…the city is miles away."

Toph let out a groan through her food, "Can't we at least leave tomorrow morning? Then we can fly through the day and get there by night." She suggested, her shoulders slumping. She obviously did not want to be in the air again. Momo made a little squeak, flying onto Aang's shoulders. She looked at Aang, "And we should spar. Right now." A devilish smile crept onto her face as she thrust her food down, grabbing the bewildered Aang's shoulders and hauling him out into the clearing.

"But-"

"No buts!" Toph turned around, glaring at him, "You need to practice. And you've been taking a mini-vacation lately, and that needs to stop. Being your sifu, you will practice whenever I tell you."

Aang nodded slowly, being half dragged into the area by the lake. He stumbled over across from the earth bender. I watched with renewed curiosity. They bowed to each other, and the sparring began.

Toph made the first move, her leg coming forward and her arm across. A large piece of rock rose, and she pushed her palm forward, hurling it forward. Aang dodged it, landing swiftly on his feet. "No! Don't dodge! Reflect it with your own!" Toph yelled, stepping forward and throwing another boulder at him. He stomped his foot, bringing up a slab of earth, reflecting the rock. "Good! Play defense and offense!" She commanded, touching the ground for a second before bringing forward yet another boulder.

Aang took this as an opportunity to attack, and threw a rock towards Toph. She easily crushed it, bringing up a shield of rocks, deflecting Aang's attacks. After a while of continuously doing the same thing, she brought down the shield and hurled the remaining boulders at Aang.

"Wow." I said, watching them spar. "That's amazing. Toph is really powerful." I mused, my eyes flickering from the earth bender to Aang. It was amazing. I never realized how powerful earth was. But then again, I've never actually seen someone earthbend like this. There were two people that I knew of that were benders in the village, but they never practiced out in the open. Anyone with the observing eye could notice that they were earth benders by the way that they always held their stance. My eyes might've just been tricking me then, though.

"It is." Katara said from beside me. She leaned back on her olive-toned palms, taking in the sight, "She is the most powerful earth bender I've ever seen. She also invented metal-bending." She smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Seriously? How cool."

"Yeah." Katara chuckled, glancing at me, "But what about you? How long have you been airbending? That was really skilled back there. I mean, from what Aang's told me." She inquired, blinking.

I shrugged, glancing at my hands, "I just learned that I could airbend a few days ago, actually. I've only bended a few times. " I admitted sheepishly, staring absent-mindedly at the remaining pile of berries and nuts. Momo rushed forward, grabbing a nut before skittering onto Sokka's head. Sokka glowered at the animal, picking it off his head and setting it back down, annoyed.

"Oh. Aang is an airbending master. You can tell by his arrow tattoos." She pointed out, motioning towards Aang, who was ducking under a rock while Toph shot rocks at him. "You should ask him to teach you!"

I let this settle in. Yes, Aang was a master. But he was also trying to learn earth bending. I could ask him…but what if he said no? I felt my shoulders slump. Grandma's note. She wants you to learn it, Vinca. I reassured myself. "Okay, I'll ask-"

"No!" I was interrupted by Sokka, who looked at me with stern eyes, "Aang needs to focus on earthbending. Not teaching you," He said 'you' with a sense of disgust, "air bending. You don't know how important it is that he learns it. He has to defeat the Firelord -" He stopped talking, clamping his mouth shut as if he said too much. After a second, he slowly said, "You won't tell anyone what you just heard. Got it? Or I'll…um…kill you."

Katara let out a loud, annoyed sigh, slapping Sokka's shoulder. "When will you ever understand that Vinca is nice? She won't hurt you. Or Aang. Or me. Or even Appa." She said, glaring at her brother. "Right, Vinca?"

I nodded quickly, "Right."

Katara relaxed, but still glared at Sokka, "See? Stop being so rude. I'm embarrassed to call you my brother when you act like this!" She exclaimed, shaking her head. Sokka slumped, frowning. Seeing that she hurt her brother's feelings, she slowly backtracked. "I'm sorry, Sokka. But you should probably say sorry to Vinca." Katara suggested, nodding my way.

"No, it's alright. I understand why he doesn't trust me. I just came out of nowhere. And you guys don't even know me." I interjected before Sokka could speak, glancing between the two, "Aang doesn't have to teach me. I would like to learn, though. I'll teach myself." I said, smiling softly.

Sokka huffed, crossing his arms. "Good. Because I wasn't going to apologize, anyways. " He said pointedly, turning his whole body away from me, munching loudly on a handful of nuts. Katara let out a sigh, running her fingers through her dark hair.

"How do you not get mad at him, Vinca?" She turned to face me, her blue eyes searching my face. "He is so annoying. I would've exploded at him by now, with all of his mean comments." The last part she said a little bit louder for that Sokka could easily hear it. He let out a snort.

I laughed quietly, "I have a brother. Olin. I'm used to it." I lied. Olin wasn't like Sokka. Olin was nice and caring, teasing and playful, yet protective and fierce. In a way, they were the same, I realized. But I hadn't seen my brother in years, since he was sent away to some army. Fire Nation or Earth Kingdom, I did not know. I felt my heart swell. I hadn't heard or seen him in what seemed like forever.

Katara, rested a hand on my shoulder, her eyes comforting. She is so mother-like. Like the mother I never had. "Are you okay, Vinca? You seem…sad." She asked, tilting her head slightly.

I nodded, brushing off her hand. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine." I swallowed, forcing a smile, "I just haven't seen him in a long time." I shrugged, adverting my eyes to the sparring match still going on. Aang flipped forward just as a rock almost hit him, and as he landed he panted, visibly tired. Toph yelled something I couldn't pick up, and Aang seemed to oblige.

"I understand completely. Our father, " She glanced at Sokka, "Left a long time ago. To go to war. Our mom…died. All we had left was Gran Gran, our, well, grandmother." She smiled weakly, "But now, this is our family. Aang, Toph, Appa, Momo, you. "

This took me by surprise. They thought of me as family? I felt a surge of happiness and joy. I don't think I've ever felt happier. I felt a smile tug at my lips, "Really?" I felt the urge just to make sure she wasn't teasing. Just to make sure.

Katara nodded, laughing, "Of course! I wouldn't just say that, Vinca." She said, smiling. Her eyes flickered to the sparring match, and she let out a little sigh as her gaze rested on Aang. I felt a pang of jealousy. But it was gone before I could figure what for.

"Vinca. Vincaaaaa. " A voice cooed. I let out a little groan, rolling onto my side. "Vincaaaa. Wake up. It's time to get ready to leave. Vincaaa." I let out a louder groan, curling into a ball. Why wouldn't they go away? Can't they see that I'm sleeping? I felt hands onto my shoulders, and before I could react I was rolled over for that my eyes were facing the sky. I sighed, peering through my eyes to see a familiar face inches away from mine. I gasped, jumping backwards, hitting my head off of Appa's stomach, which I had fallen asleep on last night. He let out a grumble.

Aang smiled in triumph, standing straight. He stuck out a hand, which I took, and helped me up. I blinked against the sunlight, rubbing my eyes as they adjusted. "Glad you're finally awake. You're a deep sleeper!" He commented, smiling widely at me. I returned the smile, feeling my heart flutter softly. What? "Anyway, we are getting ready to leave. Toph and Sokka went out to collect berries and stuff. Katara and I are going to start packing Appa, and your job is to fill the water skins with water." He told me with a shrug, handing over the four water skins.

"Okay. I'll be back. " I turned, and started the short walk to the lake. Katara had this way of purifying the water by bending the impurities out, so that no one would risk sickness from dirty water. We had swam in it yesterday, anyway. I giggled quietly, running my fingers over the smooth, leather-like texture of the water skin, letting my mind wander.

After filling the water skins, I began the journey back, straying a little of the path I had took to observe wild flowers and get out of the tortuous eat of the sun, which had gotten higher into the sky, even if it was just morning. I actually picked a few wild daisies, but eventually threw them back. What use were they?

I finally made it back to the clearing, but I stopped short. Aang and Katara seemed to be arguing. I tilted my head, blinking.

"Aang, it's just…in the middle of a war. I don't know if I'm ready for this…"

"I…guess you're right. I don't know what I was thinking."

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not an eavesdropper. I just happened to walk in on this conversation. And being the curious person I am, decided to listen on.

"I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. But…you don't…like me then?"

A pregnant pause. Oh no. I felt my heart lurch unexpectedly, and almost scowled. What was with my heart, anyway? Am I having heart problems?

"Aang, I like you as a friend. But not…that way. I think of you more as a brother."

"Oh."

My eyes widened. I felt sudden sympathy towards Aang, and frowned. Now would be the time to walk out and act like I hadn't been listening. However, my feet wouldn't move, as if they were lead. Why did I care so much whether Aang liked Katara or Katara liked Aang? It's not like…I cared for him that way, right?

"I'm sorry, Katara. I'll…um…yeah. Let's just be friends." There was an edge to his voice. "Yeah. I didn't like you that much, anyway. I like…um, someone else. I don't know why I told you I liked you." His words came out quickly, rushed and embarrassed, even. I poked my head quietly through a bush, so that they wouldn't see me. Katara seemed hurt, yet Aang seemed cross and hurt as well. No words could describe how horrible I felt. I wanted to wash this conversation from my brain.

Okay. Walk out. Now. Act like you didn't hear a thing.

I took a silent breath, shuffling out carrying the cool water skins. The two benders looked over, their expressions changing ever so much from what I saw just seconds before. I sheepishly held up the water-filled containers, "I got the water."

Katara smiled, almost forcibly. "Thanks, Vinca. Now we just have to wait for Sokka and Toph to come back until we leave for Ba Sing Se."

Awkward silence. Katara glaring at Aang. Aang glaring at the ground. Me staring at Appa, who appeared to be sleeping. I rocked back onto my heels, clearing my throat. " So, um, why are we going to Ba Sing Se, anyways?" I asked absent-mindedly tucking a piece of hair behind my head. This was a question I've been wanting to ask.

This time, Aang spoke before Katara had the chance, "Invasion plans. The Firenation are planning to attack Ba Sing Se." Katara glanced at him, huffing as she crossed her arms. More awkward silence.

"Okay…well…oh, look! Sokka and Toph!" I pointed out, nodding towards the edge of the clearing where Toph and Sokka were walking over, carrying a pouch of berries.

"Let's go."

And, that's how the trip to Ba Sing Se continued. In awkward silence. And Sokka's horrible jokes.

How'd you like it? Boring? Amusing? You tell me! (hint, hint). Nah, just kidding. Only review if you want to, but I love reviews! Anywho, I will be posting Vinca's description on my profile soon, so check it out whenever you have the chance. Chapter eight, coming soon!