And here we go again! Updates will be slower from now on. I had chapter 3-7 written out after I returned from my snowboarding trip, which means I have to write stuff now instead of only correcting. Right, and holidays are over, too. Tragic story, really.

"Look, a forest! We should be able to find some firewood over there!" I call out, pointing at the landscape below.

"Good work, Kamina," Aang responds and steers Appa toward the treeline. "Looks like we'll have a nice warm campfire tonight!"

I stare down dreamily. I've never been camping before, and I'm excited to see what kind of experience it will be. A crackling fireplace, preparing food ourselves, telling stories and sleep under the stars... That sounds real romantic!

Right now it's rather awkward, though. Sokka is still radiating hostility from his place in the back of the saddle. Not as badly as before, so much is true. But still... I prefer avoiding eye contact.

We land in the outskirts of the forest. Aang again uses airbending to dismount, Sokka jumps off. This time, I follow his example. I can feel the impact and involuntarily bend my knees a bit, but it's not nearly as painful as expected. After the catastrophe from before, I'm very proud of myself.

"Well, what do you know?" I chuckle. "Looks like I do have some dismounting skills after all."

Aang grins. "Just wait until I teach you to bolster your movements with airbending!" Still grinning, he turns to Appa. "Thanks, buddy."

The sky bison lows in turn and makes himself comfortable on the ground.

"Aang, we need to get going!" Sokka urges and gestures to the forest. "We don't have all night. The less time we spend out here, the less likely we'll get caught."

"Alright, oh schedule master!" Aang teases good-naturedly. I smile at the exchange, before I follow the boys into the forest.

To be honest, they do most of the work. Aang is remarkably sure-footed in the darkness (leaving his boots behind for some reason) and quickly finds himself a good pile of small branches. Sokka uses a machete to cut logs from thicker branches.

There is that one time I find a young, but uprooted tree just lying around, and struggle to break it apart in order to carry it. My back starts to hurt again. Sokka apparently overhears my grunts and comes over, machete brandished.

"Step back," he says in a neutral tone which is neither an order nor an offer. I shrug and do as told, letting the Water Tribe teen hack away at my fallen tree until it's a row of handy, rather neatly cut pieces.

"Uhm, thanks..." I mumble awkwardly. "That's quite a machete you've got there. Didn't know you can cut wood with such a weapon."

Sokka's features actually brighten at this. "Well, I spend a lot of time sharpening it," he explains easily, with pride in his tone. Then he seems to remember that he doesn't like me, his expression hardens and he turns around to keep searching.

My gaze lingers on his back for a moment, I don't know what to make of it all. I guess Sokka is actually a pretty nice guy, but it only makes his rejection even more painful.

I suppress the stinging feeling in my stomach and start carrying my tree to the spot where Aang places his firewood as well, figuring it would be easier to leave it to the Avatar to whip out some earthbending for transport, rather than hauling the firewood all the way back to Appa.

And that's what happens once Sokka deems our spoils to be sufficient. Aang pushes the firewood out of the forest with some sort of earth wave, but he insists on loading the bison's saddle by hand. Else, it might hurt his friend, just torpedoing him with logs. But at least he lifts the logs to saddle height and saves us a lot of jumping.

"Aang?" I draw the boy's the attention to myself while absentmindedly passing Sokka a bundle of small branches. Or are they large twigs?

"Hmm?"

"I've been meaning to ask... Why did you ask Toph whether someone's around or not? She couldn't have seen more outside the trench than the rest of us, right?"

"In fact, she can," Aang announces and I raise my brows, prompting him to elaborate. He rubs his head. "It probably sounds weird, but Toph is blind."

"What?!"

"That's right. But she uses earthbending to see."

"That does sound weird. How does it work?"

"By sensing the vibrations in the earth. You see, if you walk around, your feet cause slight tremors in the ground. An earthbender can pick up on those tremors."

Now that's an impressive skill. "Remind me not to go ahead and try sneaking up on an earthbender," I joke and Aang chuckles quietly. "But it makes sense now. Her behavior and everything, that ferocious holding onto the saddle and the hurry to get off. And I guess she can see outside the trench then. Even you taking your boots off and strolling around as if it were high noon!"

"Where are my boots, anyway?"

I look at him in disbelief for a moment, then I burst into laughter. "Seriously?"

He laughs sheepishly, reminding me that he is just a child after all. But the boots are found quickly, buried under the pile of firewood. Aang puts them on while Sokka and me store the last pieces of firewood away.

The little Avatar slips into his usual place, and with a "Yip-yip!", we're back in the air, on the way to camp.

The flight back isn't any less strained. Sokka sharpens his machete (I guess hacking away at a tree isn't conducing to a sufficiently keen blade), and Aang silently encourages me to talk to him. It's not a long flight, so the likelihood of sliding into uncomfortable subjects isn't all that high.

I nod confirmation and turn around. I open my mouth and... close it again. What exactly would I try to talk about? Nothing springs to mind. I don't know what Sokka is interested in, what kind of loose nerves to avoid he has. Besides, I don't want to impose myself on him, that would be counterproductive.

I flash a desperate look at Aang and shake my head before resorting to watching the strip mine pass beneath us. How is this supposed to work out?

"So..." Aang takes the word. "What do you plan on preparing for dinner, Kamina?"

"Me?" I exclaim, startled. Why would he ask me that? "I was planning to just go along with whatever Katara decides. She knows better."

"Whaaat?" Aang promptly laments. I believe half of it is acting for the sake of conversation. "I haven't had a Crackling Cabbage in a hundred years!"

"A what?"

Sokka's voice catches me off-guard and I send him a puzzled look. It's more of a reflex and I'm already turned back at Aang before I even notice. The little Avatar winks, making me realize that he didn't bring up the topic without reason. Discussing food is a harmless enough kind of talk.

I lean back, relaxing muscles I didn't even notice tensing. "It's a sort of filled dumpling," I explain, putting my fingertips together in a round shape. "It's called Crackling Cabbage because the main ingredient for the filling is cabbage, but you can also use meat or whatever you like best." Sokka's face becomes somewhat dreamy at the mention of meat, eliciting a chuckle from my throat. "It's not exactly the on-the-road kind of food, though. At least concerning the preparation," I add wistfully and Sokka's face falls.

"Oh, I'm sure it can be arranged," Aang states triumphantly. "Katara and I can create pretty much every kitchenware from ice."

"Ice?" I try to imagine myself kneading dough on a plate of ice. It makes me skeptical, and I raise an eyebrow at the Avatar. "It sounds so... flashy?"

Aang laughs. "You'll get used to it! Hey, we're here!"

Appa has already been descending even before any of us noticed. Shortly after, the bison's feet touch the ground and Katara welcomes us immediately, along with Momo. The lemur lands in front of Appa's face and the two animals seem to have a nice chat.

"How did it go?" Katara asks as soon as the three of us are back on solid ground. I'm getting better at this!

"Great!" Aang reports and airbends the saddle plus firewood off of Appa's back. "We found enough firewood for the next three or four days. Sorry you have to carry it all, buddy," he adds, petting the bison. Appa lows and I'm pretty sure he's telling Aang that he doesn't mind. The little Avatar turns back to Katara. "And you? Did you find the creek you mentioned?"

"Yes," the waterbender replies, gesturing to two rather large pots. I walk over and take a look, only now realizing how thirsty I am. When was the last time I had a drink? "Now that's some clean water! Can I have some? I'm parched!"

"We all are," Aang states and raises his arms. With an elegant move, he makes the water stream out of the first pot and I watch it disappear into Appa's mouth in two gigantic gulps. The bison licks his lips with obvious satisfaction.

Katara steps up with three bowls. Two of them, she hands to Aang and Sokka, and I'm a bit surprised to receive the third. "Here, you can borrow mine for now."

I have to process the gesture first, thus thanking her with a bit of a delay, and the brunette is already bending the water from the second pot. Some of it into the bowls, and some of it into the empty first pot. I don't think much about it, I barely take the time to thank her again before taking a swig from my bowl, enjoying the blissful sensation of cold water running down my dry throat.

"Aah, that's the stuff!"

"Don't worry, you'll be sick of it soon enough," Toph announces and I look at her briefly before shrugging the comment off.

"Won't keep me from enjoying it now."

"That's the spirit!" Aang chimes and puts his bowl down. "Let's build the fire, it's getting late and we didn't even eat yet."

"Good idea, Aang," Katara agrees, but the voice of her brother solves the problem.

"Way ahead of ya!" Sokka calls and I find him kneeling next to the fireplace, wood neatly stacked, and striking the spark rocks like a professional. A few minutes later, we have a nice little cooking fire going.

As it turns out, Katara doesn't need me for preparing dinner. While we sit around waiting for the water to start boiling, Aang lets out a yawn. It infects everyone else and before long, we're all yearning for sleep, which results in Katara simply cooking some rice, sacrificing flavor for speed.

Aang quickly produces a pair of makeshift chopsticks and a bowl from the soil beneath us. I don't like the idea too much, who knows what the ground is made of? But seeing how the rice is too hot for ice, the choice isn't so terribly vast.

However, Aang seems to read me just fine and makes the bowl vanish again, offering to share his rice. I accept with profound relief and move closer to the boy. A random glance in Katara's direction makes me second-guess my decision – the Water Tribe girl doesn't look pleased. What's up with her? It's not like I'm going to poke holes into Aang with my maybe-healthy-maybe-not chopsticks.

Then the impression disappears and I push the thought to the back of my mind. If there is a problem, I'll find out. I don't need it to bother me while eating, I'm busy enough overcoming my distrust towards my eating utensils.

As expected, the rice is nothing fancy where taste is concerned, but better than nothing. Sokka outlines the plans for tomorrow, when we have to get up, how much ground we have to cover and such things. I only lend half an ear, already annoyed, and apparently, I'm not the only one to feel that way – as soon as she's finished her rice, Toph throws her bowl into the first pot (so the water is probably for dish-washing) and brashly walks out on Sokka.

"Hey!" comes the boy's obligatory protest, but then his face changes to betray a sort of annoyed resignation. I'd say this isn't the first time.

The Earth Kingdom girl drops to the ground, calling a somewhat brusque "Good night!" before bending an earth tent out of the ground and sealing it shut around her.

"What's with her?" I demand to know, unsure whether I should be offended or doubtful.

"Toph has a bit of a problem with social skills," Katara explains. "But her heart is in the right place. You have to take her antics with humor."

"Alright." Guess I'll try that. Knowing myself, I'm not sure that I manage. Depends on the form the issue expresses itself in, really. Let's see how things work out.

I feel a yawn coming up, and I don't bother hiding it. "I'd like to hit the pillow myself, if you don't mind. I had a rough day."

"Yeah, a lot has happened," Aang agrees, apparently trying to stifle a yawn of his own and failing. "Are you finished?" he adds, indicating his bowl.

"I am, thank you. But..." I look around, reflexively searching for a pillow to hit. Only that there is none. I rub my temple tiredly, once again reminded of how jumping after Appa was a terrible idea. I'm going on a journey and I'm totally unprepared. No sleeping bag, no spare clothes, nothing at all.

"I suppose you can't create a sleeping bag from thin air, Aang?"

"Uhm... No," he drawls, apparently realizing my problem, but it doesn't take long for him to brighten. "But you can sleep on Appa, if you want. I do it all the time!"

The sky bison in question lows his consent, or at least I hope so.

"Alright everyone!" Sokka announces and stands up to follow Toph's example concerning the bowl storage. "Sleepy time!"

"What about the rice?" I ask.

"We'll save it for breakfast tomorrow," Katara explains and nods at Aang, who takes a stance and a few seconds later, the pot and some ice is sealed inside a small earthen pyramid.

"Tada! Keeps the rice cool and free of bugs!"

"Nice one, Aang!" I chuckle. "Well, that's settled then." I get up and dust off my clothes. "Good night, everyone. See you in the morning."

"Good night," Katara smiles and walks over to her sleeping bag next to Sokka's one. Her brother is sitting there and I search his gaze.

"Sleep well," I wish him plainly, completely aware that he won't get much sleep. His brows knit together, I feel he's sensing the thoughts behind the move.

I give Appa a pet on the nose, then I circle the bison and plop down on his tail. It's surprisingly comfy without the hard saddle, and warm. But as soon as I close my eyes, I know Sokka isn't the only one who won't sleep a wink tonight.

So much about thinking family in this chapter. Well, next one definitely, the start's done.

So, guest reviews...

Guest aka Samichinabox (I suppose): Right, always those cliffhangers. Writers are so evil, aren't they? XP I'm glad it wasn't a declaration of hate.

Guest with long review about pets and animal guides: I read that review pretty often. I don't know what you're intending, but I don't think you would type so much for the sake of annoying me. However, even knowing that, it comes off as patronizing. The point remains the same: It's Kamina's first person POV, she narrates the way she thinks is right, and that doesn't necessarily overlap with what is a fact of the Avatarverse.
I know the series by heart, I did a lot of background research and I check my chapters at least three times before posting them. I know that Appa is more than a pet, but Kamina does not. That's not a mistake, but an issue of narration, and I didn't choose that specific style carelessly.
I mean, thank you for trying to help me here, but I would appreciate it if you stopped latching onto the narrator's choice of words and tell me something I DON'T know. (Admitted, I didn't know as much details about those Korra sky bisons as you gave, but I don't like Korra enough to dig too deeply there and it doesn't have any connection whatsoever to my story, so I didn't see a reason for it. If there WERE a connection, it would be another matter.)

I think it's funny. There are points in this story which are a lot more arguable than Kamina thinking about Appa as Aang's pet. The vegetables, for example. There is a lot less mix-and-match food appearing in the series than mix-and-match critters do. Only tomatocarrots, actually.

And of course, Kami's hair. It's slightly wavy. There are barely any characters with wavy hair, and even if it does look like they could be wavy, it's still up to interpretation. (Mostly talking about Bato, Aang plus children, Jinora and the Bei Fong sisters here. Who knows what they do to their hair?)

Well, whatever. I think I'm done with commenting now? If I keep this up, the A/N will turn out longer than the chapter, and we can't have that, right? ^^"