Authors note: As you probably already figured out, there's a handful of things I'm skipping over, this includes the drill and fight that went along with it. Since it's a new year, I've decided to make frequent updates my resolution! Happy 2012 everyone! Enjoy new chapter!
~th3rdhal3~
Tears. Endless rivers flooded down from my eyes as my feet pounded against the rocky shore. The bottoms of my feet began to bleed from the jagged edges and sharp shells. I was too focused on the mental pain to acknowledge the physical. I stumbled every so often because my liquid sorrow clouded the vision I had left. Why? I wanted to cry out to the spirits and deities above. Why? It was so unfair. Why must I fall victim to such emotions again? I hadn't cried since...that night. I sank to the ground, my knees hitting the earth. I was vulnerable then, to anything and everything. I was many things, but an unbreakable wall I was surely not.
No, I had not cried since that night. When everything changed. And I think it was the first night that she had cried in many years. Gods why am I crying? I stared up at the sky, tears rolling off my face. It was the memories. The goddamned memories that were painfully brought back to me. "Li Ann..." I whimpered, as if she could hear me from all the way back in the Fire Nation. I could visualize her then, the only woman I called mother; her sparkling green eyes, her raven hair and comforting smile. "I tried!" More sobs followed. "It tried..." I needed her now-to hold me like she use to-to tell me it was alright. I missed my mother.
Then, her face appeared in my mind; the princess'. Her golden eyes were filled with love and warmth instead of anger and ambition. The waves rolled in on shore and I stood to watch them under a full moon. "Do you remember..." I began to ask out to the ocean. "...me?
Katara found me asleep on the sand a half mile away from the basin I had left the night before. "Karuna?" She nudged me. I rolled over, but she stopped me moments later. Her eyes widened and her chest fell as she saw the blood mixed with sand at my feet. "Don't move! You're bleeding." She extracted some water from the sea and began bending it around my feet. I could feel the raw flesh healing over; it wasn't exactly a pleasant process though. Katara then ripped a strip or two off from her attire to bandage my feet. I took note that she had on the same clothes as she did the last time I saw her. She must have been looking for me since she had woken up.
"Kar, please talk to me." Katara pleaded since I had not spoken a single word to her yet. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable last night-I'm just a friendly and touchy person." All I could do was stare. Tell Katara what was really going on in my head? Please. I'd run the risk of giving away everything and then I'd be ancient history like the air nomads.
Katara sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean to offend you, I wasn't trying to upset you." The girl apologized. I knew she was completely sincere but I was still shaken up over the whole thing. The water-bender looked down at the sand. "I didn't mean anything you didn't want me to mean." She murmured quietly. I blinked. Hold on...Had I heard the darker skinned girl correctly? And if I had, was I supposed to have? No...I wanted to ask, my curiosity begged me to, but my common sense scratched the idea entirely.
I had to say something. I didn't want to dig deeper into the mixed messages I was receiving, but I had to make some indication that I wasn't angry with her. My words were planned carefully yet there was a certain bluntness to them. "Katara, I'm going to be frank with you." I began. "Most of my past relationships, of any kind, have either been entirely dysfunctional or ended badly." My gray eyes locked with her blue ones. "So please don't take offense when I become edgy or quick to defend. It's nothing against you," My breath hitched as I noticed she was closer. "Or the rest of the gang." I quickly added. "It's just...a defense mechanism I've learned." Some happiness returned to the hopeful girl's face as she nodded. I was glad Katara understood. That was the truth too; I hadn't fibbed at all in my little explanation.
The Water Tribe girl helped me up to my feet. "Call it a truce?" She outstretched her arms. She was looking for a hug. Guess nothing's wrong with that. I mean, a hug was harmless. Right? I quickly remembered how I use to hug Zaida and stuck to that method. My right arm went over Katara's shoulder rand my left under her left arm. A best-friend hug. I use to hug Ty Lee and Azula the same way. I even recalled embracing Mai similarly, but that was only on rare occasions.
I would be lying if I said I couldn't bear the thought of embracing Katara. I'd only be kidding myself if I'd try to pretend I didn't like her skin touching mine. These were the reasons I broke the hug off first. I wouldn't be submissive, and I definitely didn't need any more distractions in my life at the moment.
I started walking back the same way I had run. Well, limping actually. Though Katara had stopped the bleeding, the soles of my feet still throbbed and ached. The water-bender was instantly there to spot me. "Are you sure you're able to walk all the way back?" I paused for a moment to give my legs a break.
"Yeah," I winced. "they're just still really sore."
"I could carry you if you'd like." She suddenly offered. I gave her a strange look. I didn't mean to be judgmental, but I wasn't quite convinced she could lift 120 pounds, mostly muscle, a half mile back to camp. Katara must have known what I was thinking and giggled.
"You really think Sokka inherited the brawns? He hardly even has half of the brains." I laughed with her. It was a mystery how her brother managed to get this far in life. Katara braced her right arm around my back and hooker her left under the under sides of my knees. She lifted me up with ease. "Told you." She gloated, walking down the path at a decent speed. I had to hand it to the water-bender, she was strong.
"I feel like a pampered idiot." I muttered a few minutes later.
"Yes you are." Katara smirked in response. That girl was tricky when she was in a humorous mood. I shifted around in her grasp.
"Watch it water lady, just because my feet are out of commission doesn't mean I can't bend!" I retorted, feeling a lot more chipper than I had in a while.
"Okay," Katara replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "What are you gonna do? Throw some pebbles at me?" She further teased.
"Darn. How ever did you know of my intentions?" I responded to her taunting with a similar tone of sarcasm. The water-bender laughed and I could feel her stomach move when she did.
"Stop it! You sound like my brother!" Just the thought of myself being a mini Sokka made me burst into a fit of laughter. Good, I thought. Back to the way things were.
When we arrived back at the camp, I could stand to be mobile again. Only Aang, Toph and Sokka were present. "Where's Suki?" I asked the Water Tribe boy.
"She went back. She and the other Kyoshi warriors are going to continue to help out here." He looked bummed but sounded proud. I was happy for him. Suki seemed like a very sweet and capable girl.
"Yeah, but not before playing tonsil hockey with ponytail." Toph remarked smugly from the rock pile where she sat upon.
Sokka whirled around. "It was not that bad!" He argued. "Wait..how would you know?" He pointed at my blind cousin. She only grinned. Toph has her ways, I chuckled internally. Aang tried his best to hold in his laughter, but couldn't. Even Momo seemed to find humor in the situation. The air-bender approached Katara and I.
"Katara, Karuna, I've been distant and not the same lately. I want to apologize because I know you two care bout me and have been looking out for me this past week. You're such good friends and I want you to know I care about you both too." Aang smiled. I beamed. Aang had a special place in his heart for us as well. Katara embraced him first and then I hugged my little nomad friend.
"Aw Aangy, you're not mad anymore?" I teased him playfully. He shook his head.
"Nope...but now we're even." WHAP!I was on the ground in an instant, holding my head. It had happened in a split second. The hit began to sting more and more. "I'm sorry!" Aang's light gray eyes were all of a sudden right in my face. "Was that too hard?" He asked innocently. My hand grabbed the end of his staff as quick as lightning and he jumped once it happened.
"First, I'm going to beat you with this stick." I growled. Aang hollered and started to bolt. I sprang after him. The two of us ran around wildly like cat and mouse. "And when I'm done with you, there will only be three nations!"
Time Skiiiiip!
"It's a wonder we made it here in one piece." Katara scoffed. The five of us sat inside the train further leading into Ba Sing Se. A wonder it was indeed. Especially since a lot of the journey had been on foot.
"It was worth it." Sokka nodded, making himself right at home (lying across the seats). "Now we can tell the king about the information we've acquired. And then we can find Appa." Aang was much more relaxed now that we were in the city. I felt relieved as well.
We gasped in unison upon the arrival into the inner wall. The city was absolutely enormous, stretching in all directions. No wonder it was the capital. The five of us got off at the main station. Aang looked out over the dozens and dozens of houses and buildings. I knew he was thinking about Appa. He was worried, as was I.
A woman on the other side of the platform came over to us once the train embarked. She wore a long dress that was mainly yellow with a little green around the collar. Her hair was dark brown and a few inches longer than mine. Right from the start, I got a weird vibe from her; her large smile creeped me out. "Hello, my name is Joo Dee," She began in a welcoming tone. The smile was still freaky. "I have been given the honor of showing the avatar around Ba Sing Se. And you must be Sokka, Katara, Karuna and Toph. Welcome to our city." Whoa. How did this lady know our names? I had never seen her before in my life. I felt uneasy. Apparently, Sokka didn't.
"We have information on the Fire Nation that we need to give to the king." Joo Dee showed no changed in emotion whatsoever, she simply continued smiling as if we had told her we lived in a world of flowers and butterflies.
"Great. Let's begin our tour, and then I'll show you to your new home here, I think you'll like it." With that she turned around, expecting us to follower her without question. Sokka turned around to the four of us and made an irritated face. I couldn't blame him. The woman had completely surpassed what he said.
"Um guys?" I whispered so that only they could hear me. "Is it just me, or does she seem odd? And also kind of rude?" Toph shrugged. Aang and Katara didn't make any comments.
"I'll just be more blunt." Sokka said. He was blunt enough to begin with. How could the boy be any more blunt than he already was? The boomerang boy followed Joo Dee. "Um, maybe you didn't hear me the first time," doubt lined his voice almost entirely. "but we have important information on the war to give to the king." Joo Dee turned around and said the with same edgy smile:
"You're in Ba Sing Se now. Everyone is safe."
I spaced out most of our tour, contemplating in my head what to make of those words: "Everyone is safe." It definitely wasn't true. Even in a great city such as this, people could still fall victim to just about anything. Sokka repeatedly tried again and again to stress how important it was for us to meet with the king. Joo Dee ignored and shot down his attempts every time.
We were all relieved once the woman showed us the house we'd now be staying in. It was a nice size and would be wonderfully accommodating to the five of us. I thought the gang was going to have a heart attack when Joo Dee told us that our meeting with the Earth King wouldn't take place until a month. That was not a reasonable wait. We'd be losing precious time. "Woman, what is wrong with your city?" I suddenly blurted out. "You people have no concept of time!" Joo Dee didn't even flinch or look offended.
"Your request was processed much quicker than most." I stormed into the house. Forget her.
"Okay, so how are we going to make this work?" Sokka started brainstorming with us the next morning. He was referring to the month wait to speak with the king. I was fresh out of ideas.
Toph shrugged. "Good question Sokka, 'one doesn't just pop in on the Earth King'." She did a remarkable impersonation of Joo Dee. At that moment, Katara came running in from outside. A scroll was in her hand.
"The king is having a party for his pet bear!" After the rest of us argued what species of bear it was, Katara continued. "Guys this is our chance! The palace will be packed so we can sneak in and go unnoticed!" I wasn't too sure about the water-bender's plan. There was so much that could go wrong. Besides, the five of us were a group that was hard to forget.
"I don't know about this. How are we going to talk to the king about the war when everyone will be surrounding him? He's the one throwing the party!"
"Don't worry, Kar. I've got this under control." Determination twinkled in Katara's eyes. She took note of the boys goofing off and wearing the drapes. "They're going to have to pass as bus boys though."
"I hate you." I glared at Katara. She, Toph and I struggled against the rock hand restraints the Dai Li put on us. The whole thing was not under her control. We were definitely in hot water now. Our 'escort' and the party turned out to be the one in control of the guards restraining us. Long Feng brought us to a small and eerie library, away from the palace festivities.
"Why won't you let us see the king about the Fire Nation?" Sokka demanded. Long Feng sat in front of a fire place housing bright, green flames.
"Oh please. The Earth King has not time to be involved in political and military squabbles. His main concern is maintaining the cultural heritage of Ba Sing Se." This city was screwed up! Everything about it was backwards.
"Culture?" I spat. "What good is cultural heritage when the Fire Nation takes over? They've expanded far already and they will keep expanding until everything is theirs." Long Feng eyed me spitefully. I put him on edge and I was well aware. "The Dragon of the West was able to penetrate through these walls-how long until they fall completely? What good is your culture then, when you won't even make an attempt to save it?" A deafening silence overtook the room. I thought for a minute that I had shut our antagonist up. Long Feng was now growing impatient and he rose to his feet.
"For someone who sides with those opposing the Fire Nation, you seem to posses engrossing knowledge on of what they are capable of." His tone was icy. As much as I wouldn't admit it, the man was right about that.
" I have no culture." I responded to his accusation. "The Fire Nation burned it along with my city."
"Enough!" Long Feng silenced me. "It is a strict policy herein Ba Sin Se that the war not be mentioned within the walls. Constant news of an escalating war will throw the citizens into a panic. By continuing order, Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful Utopia."
Aang was angered as well. "You can't hide the truth from all these people. I'll tell them-I'll make sure everyone knows!" He threatened.
"Don't you dare think we won't do it." I challenged with emphasis. We were picking a bad fight, and in the back of my mind I knew it. Long Feng was head of the Dai Li. He basically controlled the whole city. He was powerful and in this situation, we weren't as strong.
"Up until now, you were treated as honored guests, but now on you will be watched every moment by Dai Li agents." The braided man laid out the consequences.
"You don't scare us." I retorted with clear defiance. "You have nothing to threaten us with." Long Feng paced with his back turned to us.
"I have my ways, Miss Bei Fong. That is, in fact, your name I presume. Unless, under different circumstances?" Oh, no way. My heart skipped a beat. These people had the most mysterious ways of getting inside your head. I prayed to Agni that my friends couldn't decipher what he meant by his last remark. There was no way he could have known for sure, I had never before set foot in Ba Sing Se. But, just to be safe, I stepped down.
A grin ever so small appeared on Long Feng's mouth at my defeat. "I would reassess who my acquaintances are, avatar. Some might have a talent of digging themselves as well as you into further trouble." If looks could kill, Long Feng would have burned. The man continued. "I understand you've been looking for your bison. It would be a shame if you were not able to complete your quest." Aang's jaw dropped and his eyes narrowed. Things were getting out of hand, and this definitely wasn't over.