And the next chapter is done. Yay!

Maneuvering the children proves easier than initially thought. My assumption about having more children in need of support than supporters is true, but things work out anyway and soon, we're camped around a nice pond filled by a waterfall. The water is cold, but clean and some of the kids eagerly dunk their heads into the pool, gulping it down in gallons. I'm all for a pot of tea, really, but I guess you have to take what you can get.

It turns out that Judai's offhand comment about finding a mango tree hasn't been an empty promise, either. Apparently, he found the pond precisely for that reason. He takes Aang and a few others with him (though not before I talked him into taking my hair tie and restoring his topknot), and when they come back, they're loaded with mangoes and various other fruits like papayas or pineapples, which are quickly distributed among the kids.

I'm sitting with Sokka, Toph and Katara, who is taking a break. The worst injuries have been taken care of and she really deserves it. Toph has bent a bench, but I prefer sitting on the ground, legs crossed. Judai and Aang soon join me.

"That mango of yours doesn't look too ripe," I remark, watching my newest friend peel his loot. He shrugs.

"Do I look like I care?" he retorts and pointedly bites into the suspiciously whitish flesh. "Some of us are hungry, you know? Besides, it's sweeter than it looks."

"If you say so..."

I share a papaya with Toph, Aang and Katara are munching away on a pineapple, while Sokka goes for a banana and vows to have some meat later.

We eat in silence for a while (Man, this is some good papaya!), until Judai decides to speak up, "I don't think I have thanked you properly yet." He lowers his mango into his lap and stares at it. "I never thought I'd say this about colonials, but you guys are pretty amazing."

I find Sokka, Katara and Aang sharing looks, seemingly unsure how to take this. Toph reacts with a sort of dull surprise.

"Yeah, my club of oddballs," I agree with mixed feelings. Fondness and amusement, but sadness, too. "Earthbender," (Or more like Avatar.) "metalbender, waterbender, kid warrior..."

"Hey, I'm sixteen!" Sokka takes offense.

"But you certainly didn't start training with sixteen!" I shoot back. I mean, I haven't really seen him in action yet, but as far as the glimpses I got are concerned, Sokka is no rookie. "You guys really are amazing," I finish quietly. What am I doing with the likes of them? I'm not worthy.

An elbow in my side snaps me out of it. "Come on, don't sell yourself short!" Judai grins encouragingly. "You're pretty amazing yourself!"

His eyes are shining with admiration, and in spite of myself, I feel a smile sneaking up my face. "Well, I guess no one can fake death as beautiful as me," I concede with a soft laugh.

"Tell me about it! You really had me scared in there."

I rub the back of my head sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that..."

"Fake death?" Aang cuts in, looking at me quizzically. I blink at him, a bit confused. He doesn't know about that? He's an airbending master, he should. Although, come to think about it... Maybe the Air Nomads didn't have the knowledge of the human body that the Fire Nation has? But still, how is he alive after he was declared dead, if not that way? So weird...

I put down my papaya-half and raise my hands. "You see, if someone wants to know whether or not an unconscious person is alive, they check for breathing and heartbeat. And to a degree, you can control your heartbeat with your breathing. The slower you breathe, the slower your heartbeat. That means, if you breathe very slowly, your heart rate slows with it. Everything left is hoping that the checker hits an interval between two breaths and beats and doesn't stick around long enough to catch the next."

"Wow," Aang marvels, eyes wide and alight. "That's amazing!" Then his face falls. "But it doesn't sound healthy. Are you alright?"

"I'm good, thanks for asking. And really, it wasn't that amazing. I was just improvising," I try to ward off the praise. It always makes me feel conflicted, like I don't deserve it, but want to accept it anyway.

"Well, maybe you should improvise more, Fireflake," Toph comments teasingly, causing me to chuckle awkwardly. This is not helping. Seriously!

"It surely sounds like quite a story," Katara chimes.

"Yeah, I want to hear about it as well," Judai agrees. "What did I miss? How did you do it?"

"Uh..." I mumble, unsure about what to say. I like Judai, he's nice. (Alright, he's a bigot, but I started that way, too. I can't blame him for getting eaten up by the propaganda.) Still, he can't know I'm an airbender. "Yeah, I just... pretended to be dead, and then there were the doctor and the earthbender, and I sorta did a sneak attack on them, then I ran into swordwoman who recaptured me and brought me to registry-guy, where I managed to break free and hit them over the head with registry-guy's chair. Then I got you guys out and then Kuzon and the rest showed up."

The general reaction consists of thoroughly weirded out expressions.

"That..." Judai drawls, "raises more questions than it answers."

"I'm sorry, okay?!" I yell, at the verge of panic. I don't know how much more probing I can handle. But the shock on Judai's face quickly yanks me back to reality, causing me to hug my knees in shame. "I'm sorry. But I don't really know what I did, either. It all went so fast..."

It's not even a lie. I mean, I know what happened, I was there. But I don't know how it happened, why the air suddenly did what I wanted it to do. And I certainly don't believe I could do it again. I need to discuss this whole thing with Aang, the sooner the better.

"Well, that settles it," Sokka saves me in the end. I think he knows what's going on. "Judai, you seem to know your way around here. What do you think is the best course of action?"

Judai chokes on his mango with surprise. "Me?!"

"Do you see any other Judais around?" Toph quips, causing the boy to get his act together and roll his eyes. I want to tell him not to mind her, it makes life easier. But I'd probably regret saying such a thing.

"How would I know?" Judai retorts dryly. "It's not like I know the name of every single person around." He sighs, deflating. "I have no idea, though."

What?

"But you knew that there is a fjord about a mile west of here," Aang objects, and I think it's a valid argument. Judai quickly repels it.

"That's because I was taken here by ship." He squeezes his mango tight enough for the juices to run down his hands. I shudder, he might as well do the same with my heart. I don't know how to contain all that sympathy.

But he squares his shoulders and continues, "I can only say this much: The Kagio Channel is an important trade route and supports a lot of villages and towns along the way. It doesn't really matter which way we go, as long as we follow it, we'll definitely arrive somewhere. But you'll have to ask someone else if you want details."

That reminds me... Oh, stupid! I facepalm, groaning. "I've seen a village, down in the valley. Actually, you guys should have seen it, too."

"We did," Aang confirms. "But how do we know that they have a guard station?"

"It has," I insist. "Every settlement with more than one hundred inhabitants is required to have a post by law, and everything smaller than that must have messenger hawks on the ready, in case something happens. You know, like the abduction of approximately fifty children? Besides, if what Judai says is correct, the villages around here should be rather prosperous. Some soldiers will definitely be stationed there."

"Well, what do you know?" Katara smiles. "That makes things a lot easier."

"Don't get ahead of yourselves," Toph cuts in. "Even with Kari's healing, most of these kids are in no condition to travel."

How does she... Oh, never mind! I guess there is no end to what Toph can feel with that earth sense of hers.

"We need to get reinforcements," Judai responds. "The strongest of us should go down and explain what happened. Get help. With some luck, they'll even have a hospital."

There is a round of nodding.

"Fine," Sokka concludes. "I think it's best if we keep resting another while, then Kamina and Judai can lead a group to the village."

"What about you, Sora?" Judai questions. "Wanna come with us?"

Sokka waves the notion off. "Nah, I've been mistaken for a spy before. Wouldn't want to run into that problem again."

I share a puzzled look with Judai, then shrug. Sokka, a spy? I guess that's a story for another day. I mean, he probably has the capabilities, but not the looks. He wouldn't pass a closer examination.

"So, seems like a plan." I pick up my papaya again. "I trust you to hold the fort, then."

"Leave it to us, Fireflake!" Toph smirks. Why do I have the feeling that, if something occurs, she'll be the biggest troublemaker of them all?

I go for a rather pathetic imitation of a chuckle. "Ehehe... Let's hope for the best."

"You're funny," Judai remarks. "I actually thought you'd be more optimistic than that."

So, did he? I crease my brow at him, skeptic. "Do I look like an optimist to you?"

"Maybe," Judai munches around another bite of mango, so I can't tell if he's serious or not. "As far as I know, optimism is not a trait you find in someone's appearance."

Did he just say that? He really said that. And Sokka actually thinks it's amusing, if his snicker is anything to go by. Aang, Katara and me give him The Stare.

"What?" he defends himself. "It was funny."

"Actually..." Judai pipes up once again, "it wasn't meant to be funny."

The Stare is directed at him. He blinks.

"Wow," Toph remarks dryly, a mixture of disgust and disbelief showing on her face. "That's even worse."

Judai grimaces and devotes himself to his mango, muttering under his breath. I can barely hear him, much less make out words, but I'm pretty sure it's not the kindest stuff he's ever voiced.

I wonder if I should say something, but I'm very doubtful about his whole situation. Let's have some more papaya! Yeah, that's probably the least explosive thing to do right now.

I finish my fruit, drop the skin into a pit Toph created and get up to wash my hands in the pool. Judai joins me shortly after.

"You think Nila would come with us?" I ask, distracting myself from the urge to blow-dry my hands.

"Nah, let's not. I think she would come if we asked her, but she's needed here."

"True," I concede. We shouldn't take her away from the children who bonded with her in the cage. Even free, I don't think it's the kind of experience to shake off easily. I sigh, resignation sucking the tension from my muscles.

"You feel it's not over yet, right?" I ask Judai, who is very busy splashing his face with the cold water and then wipe it away with his arm.

"No," he finally responds, staring straight ahead across the pool. "And I don't think I ever will." He sits back and rubs his arms, as if freezing in spite of the heat. And there are those stripes again... They're pretty striking.

I only realize I've been staring when Judai hunches his shoulders and tries to cover the arm on my side with the other. Which doesn't help much because the markings line both his arms.

I look up with surprise, and my breath catches in my throat when I see his tormented expression. What is the meaning of this?!

"I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't look at me like this," he explains, strained but oh so clear.

And then it hits me. Like an anvil. How could I have been so blind?! Those lines look so neat and deliberate that I mistook them for intentional. And hey, they do enhance his looks! Aang's company probably influenced my perception, too. But those lines aren't tattoos. They're scars. And fresh ones at that.

Now, I may be a bit slow in the uptake from time to time, but I'm not stupid. I'm very well aware that elaborate patterns like three FREAKING. PARALLEL. LINES, not to mention their symmetrical reproduction, can only be accomplished if the receiver remains still, either because they don't want to move... or can't. And considering the very nature of the markings, plus the self-consciousness Judai displays, there are no doubts about which case we have here.

I remember how annoyed I was with his despondency. I feel so guilty now. It's no wonder he was so devastated. No wonder he was so anxious about leaving the slavers behind, without anyone watching them. It makes me seriously question how much of the strength I see from him is nothing more than make-believe. I mean, it's not like I can't relate. Admitted, I never had anyone cutting me up, but I did have my share of beatings and scorn. If there is something you learn from incidents like these, it's keeping your feelings in check. Fake a smile for those you don't want to worry. Suppress the tears in front of those you don't want to see you vulnerable. And hope nobody stumbles into your room in the night, while you're busy bawling your eyes out.

I wish I knew a cure for this. I want to help. But this is a wound only time will heal. I can't do much about it.

"I understand," I state plainly and get up. I misuse my tunic as a towel to dry off, then reach out to offer Judai a hand. He seems a bit taken aback at first, but then a small smile spreads on his lips and he allows me to pull him to his feet. "Now, let's make sure those slavers get safely locked behind bars, shall we?"

I'm just about to burst with happiness when Judai nods with new determination.

"Let's."

So naive, isn't she? Takes a lot to get scars and tattoos mixed up. (And no, that was not a spontaneous idea. They were scars all along.)

Set me thinking about the airbender tattoos. I mean, ink doesn't grow. There should be a point when Aang's tattoos look all messed up and he would need to get an Air Acolyte to redo them for him. And... doesn't it hurt to get that needle stuck into you, like, over and over again? I mean, I don't have tattoos for that very reason. *shudder* Needles... The Pointed Terror. And then spread over the whole body. How could Jinora have been in such a hurry to get her tattoos?! Seriously, if I were an airbender, I'd probably mess up on purpose, just to avoid mastery.

Aaaand food. I actually went and bought a mango. I can't write about food without getting hungry, it's so cruel! Mango...