Author's Note:So here it is, the first chapter of two I will be posting tonight. Since chapter 21 had to become such a waste of space, y'all are getting two new chapters for the price of one! Thank you all for your kind words and no, I am not one to give up because of one person or opinion. Like everything, they come in waves.
I hope you enjoy how Mira interacts the the GAang and I hope you enjoy her next journey as she learns earthbending and airbending.
~Chapter 2 Start~
We had been traveling around on Appa for the past day and a half. Aang and I would bend a cloud to hide in as we traveled while Sokka draped himself over all the maps we had and plotted our course. We would sleep in shifts, trading off after 8 hours, other than Toph for obvious reasons. Hey ability to see didn't work all that well in the air. Sokka had finally found some land far enough away from the barricades we could land at for a decent night's rest. We were all beyond tired and getting a little cranky to be honest. Well, Sokka was. The rest of us were more cranky with him and his controlling behavior than anything else. He had good reason to be paranoid though, but that didn't stop the rest of us from being a little bored of it.
"I think I see a cave below." Aang said, pointing through a small gap in the cloud.
"Shh! Keep quiet!" Sokka hissed, knocking Aang's arm down.
"I think you were louder than Aang was." I sighed, drawing my hand down my face in irritation.
"Shh!" Sokka shh'd obnoxiously.
I was starting to grow tired of him shh'ing everyone. In fact, I was ready to have more than a foot of space between all of us.
"Stop shhing people!" I responded tartly.
Aang dissipated the cloud as a bird let out a loud squawk. A couple noticed us approaching, letting out more caws and flying away. Appa landed with a thud and Sokka darted off as soon as we hit dirt. We watched as he pressed himself against a rock cropping. He looked around, back and forth, and then up and down. Once he was satisfied we were relatively safe, he turned back to us.
"Great job with the cloud camo, but next time let's disguise ourselves as the kind of cloud who knows how to keep its mouth shut." He said while glaring at us.
"Yeah, we wouldn't want a bird to hear us chatting and turn us in." Toph mocked, her milk while eyes rolling for emphasis.
"Hey! We're in enemy territory. Those are enemy birds." Sokka said, pointing towards one roosting above his head.
The one he pointed at jumped onto his head and let out a little chirp. I stifled a giggle which caused Aang to let out one of his own. Once that happened, we were all giggling at a fuming Sokka. It was like the tension had dissipated and the air felt lighter. Sokka's face was growing redder now, the shade of brick as Katara let out a bark of laughter. Soon we were all unable to contain our giggles anymore.
"Aww! Who's a cute enemy bird." I cooed, my giggles starting to subside.
Everyone began to laugh harder as the bird hopped off Sokka's head, tilting its head towards me. I reached out, the bird stepping forward to nip at my fingertips. I let out a small smile as I began to pet it's head with the pads of my fingers.
"Stop making friends with enemy birds!" Sokka fumed before waving the birds off.
I gave Sokka an annoyed look he missed as he motioned for us to follow him once more. We began to walk casually, exhaustion clear in our steps. Well, except for Sokka who was jumping and diving around us like some sort of secret agent. I almost tripped over him, stubbing my toe rather painfully on a rock cropping. Glowering at Sokka, I stopped and crossed my arms with a huff.
"Is this really necessary?" I hissed.
"Yes, it is." Sokka answered as he peered between two rocks.
I didn't have a retort to that, my aching body wanting rest more than an argument. So we all followed him without any further complaint towards the mouth of a decent sized cavern. We walked into it, Sokka pushing past Aang and I to inspect it first. I stumbled into Katara who let out a small squeak of indignation, but managed to steady me. We exchanged looks, and let out deep sighs. I began counting in my head to stop myself from bending Sokka into a wall and to calm my nerves. He continued to dart around, checking every corner, before returning to us with a nod. At least he seemed pleased with whatever he found.
"Well, this is how we'll be living until the invasion begins. Hiding in cave after cave...after cave after cave..." Sokka said as he hung his head lower and lower at each word.
"Sokka, we don't need to become cave people. What we need is some new clothes." Katara sighed as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Yeah, blending in is better than hiding out. If we get Fire Nation disguises, we'll be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave." Aang agreed.
"It worked for Zuko, Iroh, and I in the Earth Nation." I nodded with a shrug.
"Plus, they have real food out there. Does anyone wanna sit in the dirt and eat cave-hoppers?" Toph asked as she hit the rocks and several cave hoppers jumped out.
Momo sprang after several, stuffing them in his mouth. I grimaced, thinking of how little I wanted to eat bugs. Everyone seemed to be mirroring my expression, even Sokka, which made me hopeful we wouldn't have to resort to eating bugs.
"Looks like we got outvoted, sport," Sokka sighed, "Let's get some new clothes."
~Break~
We had snuck into someone's yard where they had hung all their laundry. It was funny how often I seemed to find myself borrowing things as the Avatar, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Hopefully whatever I picked wouldn't be missed all that much. So, looking away from a few dresses, I attempted to find something more simple. I was caught deciding between two pairs of pants when Aang spoke up.
"I don't know about this. These clothes belong to somebody..." He whispered with a worried expression.
"I call the silk robe!" Katara shouted as she rushed off to get some clothes.
It was clear Katara didn't have the same qualms as Aang, and I wasn't about to get caught up in those thoughts again. This time I was going to take only what I needed, and hopefully something that looked nice. I honestly missed my old clothes, lost long ago in a pirate attack. After that, everything I wore was out of necessity, what was available. Now, maybe I could wear something I liked for the first time in a year.
"I call the silk vest and pants set!" I yelled, hopping up and grabbing them off the line, following after Katara with a hop.
"But if it's essential to our survival, then I call the suit!" Aang shouted, following after me.
Toph took off after him as Sokka took his time inspecting the clothing on the lines. I began to change into what I had grabbed, finding myself in dark maroon pants, a dark maroon crop top with long sleeves that tapered at the ends, and a deep red long vest with gold trim. I tied it all together with a silk belt with matching gold trim around my waist where the shirt ended. The boots went to my knees, matching the colours on my vest quite nicely. If I was going to be stuck in Fire Nation colours, this wasn't half bad.
Katara was now wearing a maroon under skirt with a deep red over skirt. She had an off the shoulder drop top on and wore red sandals. She did her hair up in the usual Fire Nation topknot fashion, letting the remaining length flow down her back. She had gold bangles on her upper arms, and gold bracelets on her wrists, but still wore her mother's necklace.
Aang was dressed in a brown suit with a dark red long sleeve undershirt with a light red trim, and a tight fitted high collar vest and a matching headband he tied over his arrow. Aang was wearing similar shoes to me as he turned to give me a wide smile.
"How do I look?" He asked.
"Not bad, like you're Fire Nation." I winked causing him to laugh.
Aang joined in with my laughter as I turned to look at Sokka. He was in more traditional Fire Nation clothing, wearing dark brown flowing shorts, a long red flowing tunic he tied together with a matching belt, and a red leather gorget that went high on his neck. He tied his hair into his usual topknot, copying the way Fire Nation soldiers did it instead of the Southern Water Tribe. He was also wearing red sandals, leaving his toes bare.
Toph's outfit wasn't much different from her usual one. She had baggy red shorts on with a short red overskirt that draped overtop of her shorts. She added a thin maroon vest overtop to complete her outfit that she was tucking into her overskirt. She left her hair the same, removing her clearly Earth Kingdom headband.
I finished braiding the top of my hair, pulling the sides of my hair flat and back. Finishing the braid at the top of my head I tied everything into a ponytail tight to my scalp. Tightening it one last time I felt satisfied. Letting my hands slip away from my hair I felt my ponytail tickle below my shoulder blades and realized just how long it had gotten. I pulled my hair forward finding a dark deep chestnut brown. With a small smile I was satisfied the dye was holding and looked back towards Aang. Letting my hair fall back against my shoulders I let out a sigh. It just wasn't my hair was all.
"Ta da! Normal kid." Aang spoke as he adjusted his headband.
"Hmmm...I should probably wear shoes but then I won't be able to see as well," Toph said as she sat down. "Sorry, shoes."
Toph punched the bottoms of her shoes out, hitting Sokka in the face with one. Wiggling her toes she let out a sound of satisfaction. I couldn't help the snort that I let out as I looked at Sokka's irritated face still imprinted with Toph's shoe. Call it karma or pettiness, but I was still sore about how Sokka was acting earlier.
"Finally, a stylish shoe for the blind earthbender." She smiled as she inspected her alteration.
"How do I look?" Katara asked as she turned towards us shyly.
"Uhh...your mom's necklace." Aang said with a small blush
"Oh, oh yeah. I guess it's pretty obviously Water Tribe, isn't it?" She asked as she took it off.
"Let's get you something to replace it, huh? We could all use a little something extra to pull our outfits together. Come on." I motioned everyone to follow.
I think we needed to go shopping more than just for our outfits. I was no longer the only one letting go of my past and my home. We were all letting pieces of ourselves slip away in order to assimilate and hide in the Fire Nation. Shopping was therapeutic in a way, giving us all a sense of control again. The illusion of choice was a powerful thing.
~Break~
We entered the bazaar and quickly scattered towards various different stalls. I followed Katara to a jewelry stall as she picked out a new necklace. Toph was picking out a new golden hairpiece, as was Sokka. I looked at a few hair ornaments, before deciding on a traditional hairpin with gold rubies at the ends surrounded by gold orchids. I placed it into the end of my braid at the start of my ponytail with a soft smile. Turning towards Katara I smiled wider.
"How does it look?" I asked, faux modeling the hairpiece.
"Beautiful, how's mine?" She asked, her hand delicately cupping the necklace.
"I love it." I smiled with a nod.
Aang stuffed Momo into his suit as we walked out of the bazaar, finished with our purchases. He was the only one not purchasing anything, but that wasn't too surprising. Aang wasn't all that materialistic and I wondered how we could have ever been the same person. Guess it's not all nature, sometimes it's indeed nurture. Or perhaps it's because Aang had Appa and Momo, that was he was never truly the last remnant from his time.
"I used to visit my friend Kuzon here one-hundred years ago. So everyone follow my lead and stay cool. Or, as they say in the Fire Nation, stay flaming." Aang winked.
"I have never once heard anyone say that," I blinked as everyone gave me questioning looks. "Although staying cool or being cool is a thing in my time."
Sokka gave me a funny look as I tapped my chin in thought. Aang turned and led us through the streets, walking weirdly, as we followed with confused shrugs. The Fire Nation didn't seem all that different from the others to be honest. It didn't make sense how Aang was acting, but I was guessing it was a time period difference. Same as how a lot of what I said made little sense to anyone here. The only difference was I understood half of what I said sounded like nonsense, Aang didn't seem too.
"Greetings, my good hotman." Aang greeted a man eating a stick of meat.
"Uh..hi...I guess?" The man replied awkwardly as we walked by.
It was strange how what Aang said in many of the other nations wasn't met with confusion. It made me wonder just how much the Fire Nation had halted the rest of the world's progress. I didn't have long to muse as we soon stopped at the nearest restaurant. I could smell the different kinds of meat roasting over an open flame and took a deep breath. Truth be told I was excited for something with a bit more substance than when we had been able to get while on the run. I wasn't all that big on sea food so some steak sounded amazing.
"Oh...we're going to a meat place?" Aang asked with an almost disgusted or apprehensive look.
"Come on, Aang, everyone here eats meat. Even the meat." Sokka explained, as what I could only assume was a cow chowed on a piece of meat.
I let out a confused and open mouth gape as I watched the beast happily crunch through some bone. Okay cows most certainly didn't eat meat in my time, what kind of rabbit hole did we all just fall through? Judging my Aang's look this was also news to him. Didn't meat-eating creatures taste kid of...gross? What did I know, all I had was cow, chicken, and prok from the supermarket.
"You guys go ahead. I'll just get some lettuce out of the garbage." Aang replied with a wave.
"Suit yourself." Sokka shrugged as he headed towards the entrance.
"Stay safe." I replied with a small wave.
Turning back around I jogged after Sokka, following everyone into the restaurant. There was a nagging feeling in the back of my head that this wasn't a good idea, that we were becoming too comfortable, but I suppressed it as my stomach let out groan.
~Break~
"So cool means good?" Sokka clarified as a piece of chicken hung out of his mouth.
"Uh...kind of? It also means hip." I said, trying to avoid staring at Sokka's open mouth.
"Cool means your hip?" Sokka asked, finally swallowing his food.
"No, not...you know what it doesn't even matter. My time has meaningless words for feelings that make zero sense without context. Not sure what to tell you." I sighed as I gave up trying to explain what cool meant.
"So what kind of content would cool be used in?" Katara asked.
"Uhh, could be used for a person, place, or thing. Any noun really...I guess you could use it in the context of bending is cool, or your outfit is cool. This is all meant in a positive sense." I said as I reached for my glass of water.
"Cool," Toph grinned, "what other feeling words do you have in your time?"
~Break~
After a long-ensuing discussion of what memes were, and the attempt to explain 'lit' and 'badass' left my head hurting. Toph seemed to pick it up easily enough, But Sokka was stubborn about taking it all literally. When we left the restaurant Aang was nowhere to be found and we all exchanged worried glances, trying not to think the worst. I looked around catching zero sight of him and had to stop myself from darting off to look for him. It wouldn't do us any good to become further separated. Ducking around to looking down the left of the restaurant I saw nothing, which was both good and bad news. There was also no sign of a fight or a struggle, so that meant wherever Aang went he went willingly. But there was also no sign of Aang.
"Uhh...I think we lost someone." I said, trying not to sound nervous.
"Oh no, where did Aang go..." Sokka cried as he dragged his hands down his face.
"Twinkle-toes can take care of himself. He'll be back." Toph waved off.
"No, I'm worried...what if he ran off again?" Katara asked, her hand moving to cover her mouth.
"I don't think so. Aang has no intention of abandoning us now. And if he was caught the whole town would be in a frenzy, we would have heard something. I think it's best we wait for him at the cave and if he doesn't return tonight, then we go look for him." I explained as I looked around the peaceful town.
"Mira is right, even the soldiers here look bored. How much trouble could Aang be in?" Sokka said as one let out a yawn and closed his eyes. "Plus, Mira can always do some spirit mojo and find out where Aang is."
"It's not spirit mojo...you know what, not important." I muttered.
Of course, when it came to Avatar stuff he was open and loose in his interpretations. Even I wasn't entirely sure if I could make Aang appear whenever I wanted. He said he had more freedoms than other previous Avatars, and Aang seemed to only be able to contact Roku during spiritual times. I had never thought about it before, but Aang seened to haunt me more than visit me. What made him so special compared to the other Avatars that the rules didn't seem to apply to him?
"If you say so..." Katara relented as she followed us back to the cave.
Katara walked deep in her thoughts of worry, while I was engrossed in my wonderings about Spirit Aang. Could he only visit me when I needed him, or could I summon him on command with 'spirit mojo'? it worked on the boat but...how much of that was just sheer luck?
~Break~
It turns out Aang could get up to a lot of trouble on his own, and that we were probably luckier than we knew. The sun had already set by the time Aang returned and most of us had started assuming the worst. We were just about to go out in search of him when he walked in, causing an uproar of questions and accusations. He had a big dopey grin on his face as he wiped away a bit of soot and dirt.
"Where have you been? We've been worried sick." Katara said as Aang walked back into the cave.
"I got invited to play with some kids after school." Aang said as he removed his headband.
Sokka sprung up at the admission. Even I did a double take when Aang said he was playing with some kids after school. My mind was trying to figure out what the best question to ask first was when Sokka broke the silence.
"After what?!" He shouted.
I would have gone with what school, or why, but sure that worked too. I wasn't sure how to piece together the information Aang was giving, and Sokka's shouting wasn't helping.
"I enrolled in a Fire Nation school and I'm going back tomorrow." Aang smiled.
"Enrolled in what?!" Sokka said, pulling at his hair.
"Whoa, give him anymore news like that and he's gonna explode." I laughed.
This whole thing was ridiculous. Only Aang could end up enrolled in a Fire Nation school. If I wasn't living this risk with the rest of them it would have been almost comedical to watch Sokka's reactions.
"The amazing exploding Sokka." Toph chuckled with me.
Sokka then fell to the ground grumbling to himself about how nobody ever listens to him and about how we all think this is some sort of vacation.
"I think you broke him." I blinked as I poked his cheek.
Sokka swatted my hand away and glared at me from behind his arms. Guess he wasn't broken.
"Awe, he didn't explode..." Toph whined.
~Break~
After Sokka had finally calmed down, we were now all seated around the fire talking. It seemed as if Aang had accidentally chosen a students outfit for the local school. One of the guards had found him alone outside and escorted him to class. It would have been funny if not for the situation we were in and I wasn't entirely sure why Aang seemed so excited. He was now trying to convince all of us we should stay here longer so he can keep attending classes. I didn't think this was an entirely altruistic choice on Aang's part, something seemed to be driving him to stay. Sokka kept countering with how little time we had to make it to the Fire Lord. The rest of us silently watched, not really sure what to say.
"Aang, I'm trying to be mature here and not immediately shoot down your idea. But it sounds really terrible." Sokka explained.
"Yeah, we got our outfits. What do you need to go to school for?" Toph asked as she stuck her finger in her ear and flung some wax onto a rock.
"Every minute I'm in that classroom, I'm learning new things about the Fire Nation. I already have a picture of Fire Lord Ozai. And here's one I made out of noodles." Aang said, holding up the picture and his recreation.
"Impressive I admit, but I still think it's too dangerous." Sokka said, shooting him down once more.
"I guess we'll never find out about the secret river, then. It goes right to the Fire Lord's palace. We were supposed to learn about it in class tomorrow..." Aang started to say.
"I mean, that information would be helpful, but how good can the education here be? They brainwash everyone and pump them full of propaganda, how can you be sure anything you learn is even true?" I asked, still unconvinced this was a good idea.
"Because it's part of their history. They still use it for emergencies and always have." Aang explained, his grin growing wider.
"Hmm...I am a fan of secret rivers," Sokka mused, placing his chin on his hands in thought. "Fine, let's stay a few more days."
"Flamey-o, hotman!" Aang cheered as he ran off.
"Flamey-o?" Sokka asked.
Katara shrugged, entirely unhelpful.
"Again, never heard that one before either." I sighed, drawing a handle with my face in irritation for the third time today. "Although it can't be any worse than yolo..."
"What does yolo mean?" Toph asked.
"Nuh uh, not happening. I will NOT be the person who invented yolo, nor the one who brought it to ancient times. Could you imagine seeing it written on something for archeologists to find?" I scoffed, shaking my head as I shot down her question.
"So you're saying I should write yolo on something that lasts." Toph asked with a grin.
"I absolutely am not-and you are literally just walking away," I trailed off as Toph disappeared further into the cave. "Crap, I may have just shot myself in the foot there."
~Break~
While Aang was in class, Toph and I were spending the day practicing earthbending. Well, we were trying too. Sokka kept telling us to keep it down or do less 'obvious' earthbending. He was so paranoid the guards of this tiny town were going to come charging in at any second. Toph merely laughed him off, bending up a wall partition to keep his complaints out.
"You sure that isn't going to piss Sokka off?" I asked.
"Nah, he'll be fine. And if not, I don't really care. Now twinkle toes, let's get started." Toph said as she began to crack her knuckles.
"Oh dear, this isn't going to be fun is it?" I asked as I swallowed nervously.
"Well, I'll put it this way, we're going to see if you have more guts than twinkle toes did when I first started training him." Toph said with a grin.
"Okay, it's going to become endlessly confusing if you call us both twinkle toes in the same conversation." I pointed out.
I never got a response as a rock came hurtling at my face. Summoning up my fire I shattered through the rock with wild eyes. Looking over at Toph who was grinning like the cheshire cat, I let my fire dissipate. My eye soon grew confused and filled with a sense of 'wtf'.
"Not bad, I would have prefered if you used your earthbending, but at least you didn't dodge it like twinkle toes did." Toph laughed.
"Goody..." I grumbled, finally realizing what training with Toph would entail.
Damn I missed Iroh something fierce right about now. As my face set into a determined look, another rock wizard by my head and I let out a yelp. So dodging was bad, and using my firebending was bad. Guess I had to learn to use my earthbending, and fast.
~Break~
Evening came quicker than I thought it would training with Toph. Surprisingly it became easier once I was able to connect with the earth so to speak. It was like a muscle or sense I had always had, but had never used until that moment; like wiggling your ears. Catching that boulder and bending the earth to catch my feet made me prouder than it should have. Toph seemed to share in my pride, clapping me on the back hard enough to knock me off balance. Now we were seated around the fire discussing Aang's day at school. It should have been a lighthearted event, but we weren't so lucky.
"I can't believe he got in trouble on his second day..." I sighed as Katara and Sokka got ready to speak with the principal.
"Me neither, but we can't let them get suspicious." Sokka said as he finished putting the final touches on his beard.
Aang had come home that afternoon to let us know he had detention and that the principal had requested to speak to his parents. Instead of just up and leaving then, Aang and Sokka came up with a plan to appease the school. I didn't see the point in delaying the inevitable, but I found it amusing nonetheless. It seemed Sokka did as well, since it took zero complaint or convincing to get him on board.
"You are enjoying this entirely too much..." I sighed as I watched Sokka meticulously groom his fake beard.
"Just stay here with Toph. We will be back soon." Katara said as her and Sokka left.
"Is it just me, or does this adventure suck because we have spent almost all of it in this cave?" I asked as Toph shrugged.
"Better question is where did Sokka get that hair for his beard?" Toph countered, delving us into an hour long discussion.
~Break~
The three of them returned not long after they had left. It turned out Aang had gotten into trouble several times in class so Sokka and Katara feign disciplining him until the headmaster was pleased and let them go. It appeared that everything was fine, for now. But Sokka had clearly had enough of this charade. To be honest he wasn't the only one, my hands were blistered worse than when I had first picked up swordfighting. Toph was a tough, if not a dedicated and thorough teacher, but I needed a break and we needed to move on.
"That settles it. No more school for you, young man." Sokka lectured as he stroked his fake beard.
"Dude you're not at the school, you can stop with the fake dad shtick." I said with an eye roll.
"I cannot." Sokka simply said, continuing to stroke his beard.
I gave him a 'wtf' look as my left eye crinkled when my eyebrow raised. No one else seemed bothered, so perhaps this was just how Sokka was. I was still getting to know all of them after all.
"I'm not ready to leave. I'm having fun for once, just being a normal kid. Mira got to be a normal kid, why can't I?" Aang pleaded, "You don't know what it's like, Sokka. You get to be normal all the time."
"Ha ha!" Toph mocked as she pointed at Sokka.
"Listen you guys, those kids at school are the future of the Fire Nation. If we want to change this place for the better, we need to show them a little taste of freedom." Aang explained.
"What could you possibly do for a country of depraved little fire monsters?" Sokka asked.
Depraved little fire monsters seemed a bit harsh, but Sokka did have a point in being cautious. The only thing was, I wasn't so sure children, actual children Aang's age, were our enemy. They were just kids not soldiers.
"I think Aang is right. Change happens fastest in children. When we can change one mind, we change all the minds they change as well." I said, finally speaking up and surprising everyone with my defence of Aang's plan.
"I'm gonna throw them a secret dance party." Aang said with a small dance flourish.
I was on board with Aang, up until the secret dance party comment. I wasn't sure how a secret dance party would educate the Fire Nation youth, but I did trust Aang. I was also already on board. I had to save face at this point, but more than that, I needed proof I could still trust someone else. Aang was the right person to put my faith in, and I knew that with 100% surety. It was a welcome comfort, so if that meant putting on a dance party so be it.
"Go to your room." Sokka demanded as he pointed towards the cave wall.
"What room? Is he expecting us to bend Aang a room?" I asked, staring at the wall Sokka was pointing at.
Katara merely shrugged once again, her apathy in the moment astounding me.
~Break~
We had decided to get the cave ready for the dance party despite Sokka's complaints. It seemed like despite disagreements they had an unspoken agreement to work and act as one united front. I enjoyed working as a cohesive team, focusing on our strengths rather than our weaknesses. It was a refreshing change. Toph was bending the rocks out of the way and making tables, as I lit the candles Katara placed throughout the cave. Toph moved to make a small stage as I finished the last few candles with a flourish of my fingers.
"I can't believe we're having a dance party. It seems silly." Sokka sighed.
"We had them all the time in my time. We even had whole businesses dedicated to dance parties." I smiled.
"Don't think of it as a dance party, but as a cultural event celebrating the art of fancy footwork." Aang said as he danced.
"No matter what time period, dancing was always a way of expression, connecting with others, and telling a story." I explained as Sokka gave me an unconvinced look.
But any dissent was silenced as we heard the sound of several footsteps approaching the cave. We didn't have time to argue the semantics of Aang's plan, not when we were all supposed to be from the Fire Nation, not two Avatars, an earthbender, and two kids from the South Pole.
"They're coming. Everyone stop bending." Toph warned as she turned towards the entrance.
"Sorry, buddy. You should probably wait out back." Aang said as he led Appa away.
Appa let out a low roar but did as Aang asked. It was amazing how smart and intuitive Appa was and each day I spent with him I grew to know him as more than just Aang's mighty mount. He was empathetic in a way, nuzzling me as my mood became sour, and keeping everyone warm at night. He always seemed to take great care in cradling Aang in his tail whenever the wind began to blow too cold.
"I know, you've got fancier feet than anybody. And six of 'em." Aang appeased Appa as he patted his horn in comfort.
The students started to fill in the cave not long after we had tucked Appa away. The musicians began to set up on the stage, slowly beginning to play music to warm up. No one moved to start dancing as the music started to come out in full force. It seemed everyone was too shy and reserved, I had honestly never seen such repressed children before. It appeared that despite many of the flaws my time had, the freedom we allowed most children culturally had improved.
"Ladies and gentlemen. The Flamey-os!" Aang introduced, "Yeah, this ought to get everybody moving."
But no one was moving. As Aang stepped closer everyone would step away. It seemed along with Aang's idea of dancing, they were avoiding him just as much. I could tell several of the kids wanted to move with the music, but something was holding them back.
"Now what do we do?" One asked, unsure.
"This is when you start dancing." Aang explained.
"I don't think my parents want me dancing in a cave." Another said slinking into the collar of his shirt.
"Yeah, what if someone finds out?" Another added.
"Oh boy...listen, guys, dancing isn't something you think about. It's a form of self-expression that no one can ever take away from you." Aang tried to explain again.
"Maybe it was different in the colonies, Kuzon, but we don't do that here." A boy said, stepping through the crowd.
"Sure you do. You have for generations. It just so happens that I know several classic Fire Nation dances. A hundred years ago, this was known as The Phoenix Flight." Aang said as he crouched down low and moved, kicking his legs forward, arms outstretched behind himself.
"Wait a minute...I know that dance." I gasped.
"You do?" Toph asked.
"Yeah, it's called something different in my time, but yeah it's the same." I chuckled.
"And this was the Camelephant Strut." Aang said as he started strafing across, moving his hands in circles in front of his body.
A few girls giggled when Aang rolled and popped up in front of them. He flipped backwards and sumersaulted into the air as the music finished. Everyone began to cheer as he started again with the music. It seemed like the tension had been cut as several kids began to move with the music and slowly joined Aang.
"Who knew twinkle toes could dance?" Toph laughed.
"I had a feeling, after all, I am him and I can dance." I winked as I got up to join Aang.
"Mind if I join you?" I asked Aang.
"Sure!" He chirped, showing me how to do the moves.
"Where I am from, this is called the Charleston." I said as I began to show them, clicking my heels together back and forth, before stepping back and forth and adding a small kick.
I twirled around a few more times before stopping.
"That one was silly." Someone giggled.
"It's meant to be." I grinned.
Aang was now inviting different people to dance with him. He took a girl's hand and pulled her into the centre of the crowd. He spun her around as she giggled, enthralled with the movement. He didn't seem to care if his movements were graceful or not and that confidence seemed to spur some of the kids to start moving.
"And this is how they do it in the ballrooms of Ba Sing Se." Aang announced, stepping back and forth and drawing his hands around in circular motions.
The girl followed his movements, as did I. People were murmuring to themselves, a couple following the hand motions but nothing else. It was funny to see how everyone instinctually wanted to move with the music despite telling us how improper it was. But, with everything else, once a few kids were dancing everyone else grew braver.
"Wow, they look pretty good together." I heard Sokka say.
"Eh, if that's what you like." Katara replied airly as she averted her gaze.
"Yeah, that's it. That's the sound of happy feet!" Aang praised as people began to join in. "All right, go with that. Everybody, freestyle!"
People were just plain dancing now, shaking their limbs, butts, feet, and hands. I started twirling and doing dances I knew. A few hip hop moves, a couple jazz. I wasn't a professional or anything, but I had taken dance in elementary and high school like most kids my age who hated gym did. I caught Aang walking over to Katara and offered her his hand.
"I dunno. These shoes aren't really right for dancing, and I'm not sure that I know how to..." Katara tried to say.
"Take my hand." He interrupted, halting her excuses.
"Okay." She relented with a smile.
He dragged her to the centre of the crowd. I continued to twirl around, joining a few girls who were doing the initial dance Aang had taught them. They smiled as I twirled one around, and they began to do a few couples moves, twirling one another around and spinning.
I caught sight of Aang and Katara doing some water bending exercises as a crowd began to gather. I walked towards the rest to watch as they continued. It was mesmerizing as they let out kicks and spun around one another. It was like watching something both deeply intimate and artistically showy. They flipped around in sync causing more gasps. As the song ended Aang led Katara into a dip. I could see as Aang's grin widened as he leaned in close to Katara. The moment was interrupted as we heard shuffling and shouts from outside the cave.
"In there, I see a light!" Someone shouted as the cave began to fill with Fire Nation soldiers.
"He's the one we want. The boy with the headband." The old man growled, pointing at Aang.
"Oh shit." I whispered.
Guess Sokka was right to be worried.
"Uh oh." Aang gasped as the soldiers rushed towards him.
Aang bolted through the crowd of people as we joined up with him. People began putting headbands on, confusing the soldiers and creating a diversion. It was amazing to watch as every single kid afraid to break the rules turned on Fire Nation authorities. We left out of the back and headed towards Appa. Jumping onto Appa we helped Toph get on as Aang closed up the exit to the cave and joined us.
"Well, that was fun." I grinned, feeling a bubble of childish glee burst forth.
"I don't know if I would call that fun." Sokka sighed, stroking his beard once more.
"We're safe, Sokka. You can take off the moustache now." Katara said, finally mentioning the ridiculous hair still glued to Sokka's face.
"Oh no, I can't. It's permanently glued to my skin." Sokka explained, stroking it some more.
"Thats...thats not something to be proud of..." I sighed.
"Way to go, fancy pants. I think you really did help those kids. You taught them to be free." Toph said to Aang.
"I don't know. It was just a dance party. That's all." Aang shrugged.
"Well, that was some dance party, Aang." Katara praised as she kissed his cheek.
"Yeah, I had a lot of fun." I smiled.
"Flamey-o, sir. Flamey-o." Sokka clapped.
~Chapter 2 End~