Author's Note:I am back! Sorry for the delay, getting ready for christmas, trying to keep up with homeschooling my kid, as well as figuring out a writing schedule has kicked me in the butt a little bit. While I have a LOT written, its not polished in a way I would feel comfortable posting, nor would it be a good read for any of you. Its barebones and unimaginative as its getting the base of the story, plot, and dialogue down. It requires fleshing out as I call it, because it is merely the bones of the story, not the meat.
In any case I am in an editing mood so I am hoping I can post up to the invasion at the very least to catch up with the missed updates.
~Chapter 5 Start~
The past few days were so busy and chaotic the first moment of peace we had was like a breath of fresh air. We had found a secluded lake at the bottom of what looked like a natural quarry. It had several cascading waterfalls from where a river had flown through over time. The day was hot and the sun harsh, so we decided to take a break to cool off. It was the perfect place to cool off and get some privacy to be, well, ourselves. I stretched my legs out, dipping my toes into the cool clear water. Looking up I watched as Aang bounced off several rocks to reach the highest waterfall. Much like Sokka, Aang had disrobed, headband included, as soon as we saw the water, diving in without much of a thought.
"Aang, I know swimming is fun and all, but should you be exposing yourself like that? Cover up." Toph said, causing Aang to stop what he was doing.
"What? I'm wearing trunks." Aang responded as he turned to look at Toph.
"She means your arrow, genius." I sighed as I began to bend the water towards my hands.
"What if someone sees you?" Toph continued.
"There are walls all around us. It's completely safe." Katara defended as she began to pull water towards herself as well.
Aang continued on his mission to play with this naturally made waterpark. Toph didn't say anything more, and since Sokka was lounging and ignoring all of us, it was safe to assume he didn't have any worries either. He was, after all, the most paranoid out of the five of us. I watched as Katara spun the water around her finger tips, watching as it sparkled in the sunlight.
"Come on, Katara, I want to practice my octopus form if you don't mind helping me?" I asked.
"Sure, remember to keep your shoulders down but your arms up and close to your centre." She said as she turned to me.
I gathered the water up and around myself as I summoned forth several tentacles. I could hear Aang's gleeful shouts from beyond the waterfall. Concentrating I began to feel a buzz in the tips of my fingers, the water quickly following the pull. I always assumed water would be the one I had the hardest time learning, but truth be told I found both air and earth much harder. I seemed to understand how to connect to water and fire easier and the only reason I could come up with was my understanding of the elements. I knew what water was made of, how it formed, fell, how it gathered in the sky and fell back to the earth. I knew how fire burned, what caused the different colours, and how incredibly dangerous it was. My world was a world of science, and I loved science. I just never cared much for any of the sciences that covered air and earth. The closest I got was one weather sciences class I absolutely bombed last semester. My secret shame didn't seem so shameful anymore as I often found myself ass over heel whenever I practiced with Aang or Toph.
~Break~
We were sleeping for the night in the same spring we had been swimming in. It was late into the warm night. Most everyone was asleep, minus myself. I could hear them snoring away, along with Sokka occasionally sleep talking. It was hard to admit that despite how much I had healed both physically as well as emotionally, I still found it hard to sleep without his presence. It was an embarrassingly codependent need I still found myself struggling with. So often I found myself lying awake staring at the night sky, or the back of my eyelids. Tonight was one of those nights, so I shifted as I heard an animal snap a twig underneath their feet. As I let out a breath I felt Toph sit up from beside me, her eyes wide open and her mouth open in a gasp. She pressed her hand onto the cool earth and I knew whatever rest I might have gotten wasn't going to happen tonight.
"Guys, you're all gonna think I'm crazy, but it feels like a metal man is coming." She explained as she removed her hand from the ground.
I looked up to find a bald tattooed man standing on top of the cliff not far from us. He was wearing metal armor with a brown tunic, his eyes narrowed on our small camp. I scrambled to gather myself, as well as my possessions. My eyes never left the metal mans causing me to trip over my sleeping roll.
"Well, shit." I muttered, waiting for the penny to finally drop.
And oh did it drop. He sucked in a deep breath, his abdomen shuddering as the air whipped around the eye tattooed on his forehead. Aang gasped as he shot up into the air, sending out a shield of wind. We went flying backwards from the force of the explosion and I hit my hip painfully against a rock. Whatever that man did, he had used that strange tattoo to do it. That much I knew, but what I didn't know was why he was after us and how he had even found us.
Toph was up on her feet first, she sent out a torrent of rocks up at the man. He exploded through them as Aang blocked his attack with air once more. Katara attempted to hit him with ice but he just exploded any attempt she made. I caught the next attack with air, diffusing it as I skidded back a few feet. The most defensive fighting skill set I had was with air, something I was still struggling to master.
"This isn't working." I hissed as fog started to surround us.
We hid behind a cropping of rocks as the man continued his assault. I twisted my head trying to catch sight of his shadow, movement, a spark of light, literally anything. But there was nothing I could see as we cowered closer to the rocks.
"This is crazy. How can we beat a guy who blows things up with his mind?" Sokka asked, his eyes wide and filled with adrenaline.
"We can. Jump on Appa. I'll try to distract him." Aang said as he shot out into the fog.
He drew the man's fire, hopping across the cliffs as we followed his instructions. We mounted Appa after gathering our things and set off into the sky. I watched as the narrow valley we had set up camp in grew smaller. My mind was running several miles a minute trying to figure out if I knew anything from my time with Zuko that could tell me who that metal man was.
"We need to find Aang." I said as I began to scan the ground.
"Will he be okay?" Katara asked, her voice a breathy whisper.
"Doubtful, twinkle toes isn't some pushover." Toph declared just as quiet.
"Wait...do you hear that? There's a low rumble." I whispered as I strained to hear.
The sound of earth crumbling and explosions hit us like a wave as we headed towards an outcropping of tall rocky pillars. Aang shot high up into the sky when we caught up to him, hovering for a moment as he stared the metal man down. I reached out, grasping his hand and pulling him onto Appa's saddle. We tore through the sky, leaving the metal man behind as Katara held Aang close, letting out a breath of relief.
"I'm okay." Aang whispered into her shirt.
"Who was that? Have you guys seen him before?" I asked.
"No...never, we've never seen him before." Katara whispered into Aang's hair.
Silence fell upon us as the need for words dissipated. It was clear everyone was on high alert and freaked out about what happened. The only thing we had going for us was subterfuge, if that man knew who we really were, we were so screwed.
"Well, that was random." Toph said, breaking the silence.
"I don't think so. I get the feeling he knows who we are." Katara disagreed.
"I...agree with Katara. How did that man know where to find us? Why was he even looking for us in the first place? Who knows Aang is still alive and sent this man after us?" I said as I bit my bottom lip.
"That doesn't make any sense, how could someone know that Aang is still alive? The Fire Nation watched him die." Sokka said.
"Well...it could be a coincidence, maybe someone did see Aang's arrow, but didn't you notice how he ignored us and went straight after Aang? It was like he knew who Aang was and what he looked like, arrow or not. Also, if anyone even suspects that Katara's abilities could heal Aang we are screwed."
"What do you mean, who could know?" Sokka continued to press.
"I mean that Katara explained her abilities and about the spirit water to Zuko in Ba Sing Se. Who knows if he told his father or Azula. What if the Fire Lord knows we're coming?" I asked.
"We can't think like that now." Katara sighed, rubbing her forehead as she closed her eyes.
"Katara is right. If we go there, we'll lose all hope. If the Fire Lord knew about us, there would be posters and way more than just one man. So for now I think our plan is still safe." Aang agreed.
"You're right. I could just be being paranoid, but I still think we should be careful, I don't think he happened upon us by accident." I said as I let it go.
I really hoped Aang was right, for all of our sakes.
~Break~
We were traveling towards Roku's home island after Aang had a dream. We had made camp again after flying for an hour and within the next hour Aang had sat up bone straight gasping about Roku's island. Sluggishly and still shaking off sleep, we packed up our camp and disguised ourselves as a cloud and headed towards an island that was covered in cooled lava.
"There it is. That's Roku's home." Aang announced as we landed on a barren island.
"But, there's nothing here." Katara spoke as she looked around.
I took a look around as well, kicking at a few lava rocks, not really seeing anything except devastation. It reminded me of pompeii and I winced a little, hoping there weren't any bodies hidden here.
"Yes there is," Toph announced as she dropped to the ground. "An entire village. Hundreds of houses. All completely buried in ash."
"Whoa." I gasped as the wind picked up a bunch of ash causing a small cyclone to stir up.
Aang walked up towards a small ledge overlooking the ocean. He sat down and began to meditate as we sat and waited. I could feel when he crossed over which was strange. It was like a small tickling in the back of my head, but I knew this journey wasn't for me, but for Aang alone.
~Break~
It was well into nightfall when Aang started moving around and making weird gestures with his body and face. I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. It honestly looked like he was, well...going to the bathroom.
"Do they have bathrooms in the spirit world?" Katara asked as everyone turned towards me.
"Not that...I've ever seen." I blinked.
"Well, as a matter of fact, they do not." Sokka answered.
"How would you know?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I was kidnapped to the spirit world once, for your information." Sokka pouted as he crossed his arms and sulked.
~Break~
After a few more hours Aang awoke and filled us in on what Roku had told him. He told us the tale of Roku's life, the abridged version. He also told us about Roku's death at the hands of the previous Fire Lord. It was hard to think about how Sozin had betrayed not only his best friend, but the entire world. It felt like evil burned in that family's veins, despite this nagging feeling that my thoughts were unfair and petty. After all, Iroh wasn't like that, he was the furthest thing from it.
"You mean, after all Roku and Sozin went through together, even after Roku showed him mercy, Sozin betrayed him like that?" Katara asked.
"It's like these people are born bad." Toph scoffed.
"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Zuko did the same thing to both of us." I sighed out bitterly.
"No, that's wrong. I don't think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all." Aang said as he locked eyes with me.
I wasn't sure what he was trying to tell me, the feeling was bittersweet and swept up in a tidal wave of pure hurt. I couldn't see past the thick fog of anger and so I had to trust Aang's words, as well as that small feeling of hope that still burned within my chest. As I looked into his kind eyes I felt my resolve burn stronger and I knew what Aang was saying was the truth. Sozin's message wasn't bitter anger or regret, it was something more.
"Then what was the point?" Sokka asked with a roll of his eyes.
"Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Sozin was, right? If anything, their story proves anyone's capable of great good and great evil. Everyone, even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation, have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance. And I also think it was about friendships." Aang explained.
"So you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?" Toph asked.
Aang and I grabbed each of Toph's hands. I gave a small smile as I squeezed her hand.
"I don't see why not." Aang explained.
"Aren't we already proof of that?" I joked, as Katara grabbed my other hand.
"Well, scientifically speaking, there's no way to prove that. Especially since Mira got here by chance to meet you at the same time. Maybe you guys just happened to also be friends." Sokka started to correct.
"Oh, Sokka, just hold hands!" Katara demanded.
"Also, I think you're wrong, Sokka. When I first met Mira, she felt just like Aang when she moved. I almost thought it was him till she spoke. If I can recognize Aang in another life, why can't she?" Toph said as Sokka joined hands with us.
"Huh, so that was what that light footed comment meant." I chuckled.
~Break~
It was another training day, this time with Toph and Katara. Toph got into her wide and low stance as Katara summoned her water and squared herself off. Aang and I were sparing blindfolded today and I had just finished tying mine behind my head. I felt incredibly nervous as I felt my balance suddenly become more clumsy and flat-footed.
"I have the worst feeling about this." I muttered.
"Don't worry about it. I believe in us!" Aang cheered.
"At least one of us does..." I grumbled.
"Ok, we're ready for some training!" Aang declared.
I heard Aang getting ready and feeling the dirt beneath his toes. I was highly anxious, having never fought blindfolded before. I slowed my breathing and I allowed my ears to help lead me, as I sunk into the dirt. At the very least, I could always earthbend myself from falling on my ass. Toph had been teaching us to feel with our earthbending. It was really cool, but also horrifying. Aang let out a stomp, already searching out Toph's first attack. I Swallowed deep as I focused, and let out a few tremors searching for whatever he was looking for. I felt it just as it hit me, and dodged a rock coming at me as I stumbled to keep from falling.
"Bloody hell!" I yelped.
I had to keep moving though as Toph was now sending different rocks after both of us. I could no longer depend on Aang and his movements. Dodging another I fell into the rhythm, reaching out deep into the ground to find where she was. I felt Katara move and dodged not sure if the whip was aimed for me or Aang. I felt another rock slam towards my side and jumped, landing on it. I flipped off of it, sinking my fingers into the rock and connecting my own tendrils, sending the rock sailing back towards Toph.
"Good job, Twinkle-toes. Visualize, then attack." Toph praised as she punched the rock into dust.
"Whoa!" I yelped as the ground I was on started moving.
I felt Aang dig into the earth so I summoned rock armor and bent my feet into the ground. Katara began to send out hits with her water whips, which I began to avoid. I felt Toph send out another rock as Aang reappeared and dodged a second rock. It hit Katara in the stomach sending her flying with a painful screech.
"Oaf! Maybe you should take your own advice, Toph." Katara scolded as she regained her lost breath.
"What's the matter? Can't handle dirt, madame fussy britches?" Toph mocked as she perched her hands on her hips.
Katara twitched at the comment and summoned a wave of water, hitting Toph square in the face. I took my blindfold off at that point, watching as Aang moved around, trying to keep track of everyone's movements. His hands were still raised as he twisted with perfect footwork, trying to keep track of our two warring teachers.
"Oh, sorry. Did I splash you, mud slug?" Katara insulted with a sneer.
They then bent their elements, catapulting towards one another as they collided. Flying off and landing on their faces. Aang continued to spin around blindfolded, his hands moving more erratically now as he tried to make sense of the large chaotic movements he must have felt.
"Are we taking a break?" He asked as I walked over and grabbed his shoulder.
"Something like that." I said as I went to remove Aang's blindfold.
"Ahh! Sneak attack!" Sokka yelled as he ran towards our backs.
Aang and I summoned a rock in his way at the same time which he hit with a thud.
"Sokka, sneak attacks don't work if you yell it out loud." Aang sighed as I removed his blindfold.
We all turned to find Katara and Toph wrestling in the mud, no longer really bending except to keep their balance.
"Hungry for a mud pie?" Toph asked as she bent the mud into Katara's face.
"Ugh! I'll give you a mud pie!" Katara screamed as she wiped her face off.
She stalked towards Toph and bent the mud and slammed Toph into the puddle. Toph stood back up, bending the earth and sending Katara flying backwards.
"Ahh!" She yelled, catching herself with her waterbending.
Toph rushed towards her as I cleared my throat.
"Ahem!" I interrupted, giving them both a look.
"Uh, guys, I thought you were supposed to be training us." Aang spoke up.
"Very well, pupils. I believe we've had enough training for today." Katara responded as she walked away.
"While Katara cleans up, let's go have some fun." Toph declared as she bent the mud off herself.
"Yes!"
"Yeah!"
"Woohoo!"
We all shouted in agreement.
~Break~
We entered the nearby town and headed straight towards the market district. It didn't take long for Sokka to begin shopping as Aang and I simply enjoyed the scenery. We were both way out of our time so everything was still so shiny and new. Toph was seemingly looking for something, ignoring most vendors as Sokka stopped to window shop. I looked up noticing a few hawkes flying in and out of a large tower. I blinked, noticing several people walking in and out with their own hawkes.
"Hey, Aang, you said that Roku had a pet dragon?" I asked as I turned to look at Aang.
"Yeah, so did Sozin come to think of it." Aang replied.
"And you have Appa, right?" I continued to press.
"Mhmm! He's my best friend." Aang smiled.
"Look at all those messenger hawks!" Sokka interrupted as he pointed towards one of the buildings. "You know, I'm thinking about getting one for myself. That way I wouldn't have to talk to anyone. I could just send them messages!"
Hawks were going in and out of it, all in the colours of red and browns. Someone was loading the back of a hawk with a message. They had long tails which reminded me more of a peacock. So that's what that tower was for.
"I got to say, I like the idea of not talking to you." Toph agreed with a shit-eating smirk.
"You were saying, Mira?" Aang said, changing the subject.
"Do all Avatar's get some sort of familiar or companion? Because if so, I feel cheated and I think I should eventually get one," I mused as I tapped my chin. "Do you think I could get a dragon? Since I'm technically Fire Nation born and all that?"
"I dunno, I haven't seen any dragons besides the ones in the spirit world." Aang shrugged.
"Dang. Maybe a cat then..." I mused.
"So guys, what are we gonna get with our last silver piece?" Aang asked.
"We can get more money. Right there." Toph said, pointing towards a gambling game on the road below us.
It was a cups game. Hmm. The man slid a blue pebble around the table hidden beneath one of the cups. No doubt as the pot got bigger he would rig the game somehow.
"This is where you seeing-people are at a disadvantage. Everyone guesses wrong because the dealer moves the rock at the last minute. But I can feel it with my earthbending." Toph explained.
The man attempting to play the game lost and looked down in shock, grabbing his head and crying. Another man led him away as he patted him on the shoulder. Toph stepped forward, appearing as demure as possible, and stared at the man.
"You there. Want to play a friendly game?" The man asked, taking Toph's bait.
"How could I possibly play? I'm blind." Toph explained, waving a hand in front of her face.
"You don't have to see to be lucky." The man said.
Toph sat down, fumbling with the ground for a moment as if to find it. She felt out for the table, grabbing onto the rib and scooting closer. She started to feel the cups, staring dead at the man to ham it up. Reaching into her robes, she pulled out our last silver piece and placed it on the table. The man began to lift the cups, showing where the blue pebble was, before lowering the cups back down and moving them around. He spun the cups, pretended to move them, and shot the pebble between them. I lost sight of the pebble rather quickly and just watched with a sigh.
Toph pointed towards the one on the left to reveal the blue pebble.
"Flamey-o, Toph!" Aang cheered.
"Wow, fancy guessing. You are amazing at this," The man praised as he paid Toph out. "You you like to make the game a little more interesting?"
"More interesting? How?" Toph asked.
"Well, let's say you toss in your friend's fine sword there, then I'll put up twenty silver pieces against it, and that's more interesting." The man explained.
Toph grabbed Sokka's sword from his hands holding it up.
"I'll do it for forty silver pieces." Toph demanded.
"Habuh?" Sokka cried.
"Forty silver pieces it is." The man said as he added them to the payout bag.
He started spinning the cups around again, losing me just as quickly as the first time. Finally, he stopped moving them and sat back to let Toph pick. She pointed towards the middle one.
"Sorry, little lady, but..." The man began to say as he lifted the cup to reveal the blue pebble."Huh?"
"I won!" Toph cheered.
She grabbed the bag as Sokka grabbed his sword and we ran off down the street laughing. It had been so long since I had done something my age, it felt forgein to do. I had only been here over a year, yet somehow it felt longer. It was starting to become harder to remember what my life used to be like and I wasn't sure I was sad about that realization.
~Break~
"Oh my god, that was amazing Toph!" I cheered as we were carrying home baskets of food and supplies.
We entered camp to find Katara cooking over the fire. We tossed the baskets of food down with wide smiles. Toph grabbed herself an apple and started chowing down as she flopped onto her mat. I began to unpack the supplies, ignoring Katara's pinning stare. Aang walked past me, plucking an apple for himself as he sat down next to Sokka on the log we used as a makeshift couch.
"Where did you guys get the money to buy all this stuff?" Katara asked with a sceptical look.
"Toph got us money," Aang explained as he bit into his apple. "She scammed one of those guys who move the shells all sneaky-like."
"She used earthbending to win the game. Classic." Sokka laughed.
"It really was a sight to behold." I agreed.
"Ah, so she cheated." Katara chastised.
"Hey, I only cheated because he was cheating. I cheated a cheater. What's wrong with that?" Toph asked.
"I'm just saying, this isn't something we should make a habit of doing." Katara sighed as if we were being obtuse.
"Why? Because it's fun and you hate fun?" Toph mocked.
"I don't hate fun!" Katara defended herself as she placed Momo on her head. "See? Fun."
Momo slipped off and started to chatter angrily at Katara before running off. Aang took that moment to stand up and try to calm Katara down. He gave her an appeasing smile as if whatever he had to say was sure to quiet the argument that was brewing between Toph and Katara.
"Katara, I'll personally make you an Avatar promise that we won't make a habit of doing these scams." Aang bowed.
I wasn't convinced by Aang's words, perhaps it was because we were the same person, but I could feel how empty that promise was. But, it seemed to appease Katara enough that she let our little escapade go.
~Break~
That promise did not last long. We were back at it within the next day with several different scams. It was hard not to get wrapped up in it as Toph threw coins in our direction. I knew it was manipulative, but it had been so long since I had been able to buy anything for myself, and my impulsive buying habits reared its angry head. I was caught up like the magpie I was, wanting shiny knickknacks Toph knew I would need her schemes to get. Aang and Sokka were easier to persuade, enjoying simply the thrill itself.
There were the dice games where Toph would bend the dice the way we wanted them to go. Then there were the strongman challenges where Toph would bend the earth to help her slam the hammer bills. into the plate. Finally, we graduated to fake injury claims. We would pretend that carts would hit Toph and demand money for our silence and her medical bills. Whenever we returned back to camp, Katara would say the same thing.
"Guys, I think these scams have gone far enough. If you keep doing them, something bad is gonna happen." Katara warned.
"Could you for once stop being such a sourpuss and just lighten up?" Toph complained.
"Oh, I'm sorry. You think I should be more like you?" Katara asked as she held up a coin. "Like some wild child?"
"Yeah, maybe? Maybe then you'd see how great we have it. I mean, look at us? We're traveling around the world, making easy money, having fun, with no parents to tell us what to do." Toph said as she reclined against a rock.
"Ah, I see. You're acting like this because of your parents." Katara said as if the picture was finally beginning to pain itself.
"Whatever." Toph dismissed, annoyed by what she was doing.
"They were controlling over you, so you ran away. And now you act like your parents don't exist. You act like you hate them, but you don't. You just feel guilty." Katara kept going, her voice raising as she went on.
"I do hate them." Toph turned away.
"I don't think so. I think you miss them, but you just don't want to deal with that, so instead you act like this crazy person." Katara said, twirling her hands for emphasis.
"Look, I ran away to help Aang." Toph said standing up, a glare shot in Katara's direction.
"You know what, it doesn't matter. These scams put us all at risk and we don't need that. We've already got some third-eye freak after us." Katara explained.
"Speaking of that third-eye freak, I think I've come up with a name for him. What do you think of sparky-sparky-boom man?" Sokka asked as he used jazz hands. "Just think about it."
"I liked it." I shrugged.
"Me too." Aang agreed.
"We have enough money. You need to stop this." Katara yelled.
"I'll stop when I want to stop, and not when you tell me." Toph shouted back.
Toph bent the bag of coins into her hand as she stomped to the edge of camp and made a small rock tent shutting us out. I sighed and laid down, beginning to get a headache. Every once and a while I was reminded of how much older I was than them. Trauma had caused us all to grow up faster than we should have, but that didn't change the fact that none of our brains were fully developed yet. We were all impulsive and childish, that wasn't going to change any time soon.
"Speaking of money, I'm off to spend some. See you guys later." Sokka grinned as he grabbed another bag of coins and left camp.
I glared at his retreating form, cursing that I hadn't thought of that as my exit strategy. Now I was stuck listening to Katara and Toph bicker.
~Break~
Katara and Aang were practicing waterbending while I napped off my headache. Toph was counting her winnings and stacking them into neat little piles when Sokka returned with a hawk on his shoulder and something rolled up in his hand. I gave him a curious look, sitting up to give him my attention.
"What's that?" I asked.
"That's what I'm trying to tell you if you'd let me talk. When I was in town, I found something that you're not gonna like Toph." Sokka explained as he unrolled a wanted poster.
"Well, it sounds like a sheet of paper, but I guess you're referring to what's on the sheet of paper." Toph deadpanned.
"It's a wanted poster, of you. They've nicknamed you the runaway." Sokka explained.
"A wanted poster? That's so great! The runaway. I love my new nickname. Is there a picture of me? Does it look good?" Toph cheered.
"That wasn't the reaction I was expecting. Uhh you look...fine? I guess?" I blinked as I looked at the very nasty gremlin-like picture of Toph that someone had drawn.
"Well, yeah, actually. It does look pretty good. But, Toph, you're missing the point. Maybe Katara was right. These scams are drawing too much attention to us." Sokka sighed.
"Don't be such a worry wart like your sister. Think of it this way, now you have plenty of money to help with the invasion plan." Toph said, shaking a bag of coins in front of Sokka's face.
"Well, that is true. I had this idea of making armor for Appa." Sokka admitted.
"Here's a little extra to get yourself a nice map of the Fire Nation. You know what? Make it an atlas." Toph smiled as she handed over another bag.
"I do like expensive atlases." Sokka relented, taking the bag.
And cue the bribery, Toph certainly knew how to use money to get her way, which wasn't surprising considering her upbringing.
"Of course you do, and that's why this wanted poster is going to stay our little secret, right Mira?" Toph asked.
"Hey, I don't really care that much." I sighed, closing my eyes again.
Toph tucked the wanted poster into her robes and walked away leaving Sokka standing there and me to my nap. Katara would find it eventually, she was such a mother hen who always went about cleaning up after us and Toph was the least organized and clean out of all of us. If she really wanted to avoid Katara finding out she should throw the wanted poster out.
"Sokka, tell me you didn't buy a bird." Katara complained as she and Aang returned from their training session.
"Not just a bird, a messenger bird. Now we can send messages all over the world, even to Gran Gran" Sokka countered.
"Wow, how does it work?" Aang asked.
"Hmm. Uh, I never actually thought about that. Hawky, Gran Gran, South Pole," Sokka said as he pointed south. "I think he gets it."
Momo began to hiss and started to attack the hawk as they raced around Sokka's shoulders. I winced as the hawke screeched loudly, flapping his wings in Momo's direction.
"Hawky, make nice. Bad Hawky!" Sokka cried as he attempted to stop the two battling creatures.
~Break~
Things seemed to settle down at the campsite as Katara worked hard to clean water for cooking and drinking. Aang was washing the laundry as I hung up the wet clothes to air dry. I drew my forearm against my forehead catching some of the dripping sweat as Aang handed me a pair of pants to hang. Toph and Sokka had wandered off god knows where after Katara spent twenty minutes arguing with Toph. I heard footsteps coming from behind us and turned around to see Toph and Sokka had returned.
"Well, look who decided to join us," Katara sighed as she stood up to greet Toph and Sokka. "Where have you two been? Off scamming again?"
"Yes, we were." Toph responded tartly
"And I suppose you don't think what you're doing is dangerous at all?" Katara frowned as she crossed her arms.
"No, I don't." Toph ground out.
"Really?" Katara said, her tone incredulous.
"Yes, really." Toph snapped back.
"Well then, what's this?" Katara asked, pulling out another wanted poster.
I let out a whistle, Katara exceeded my expectation, she really must have been suspicious, I expected her to discover it in a few days when she got annoyed with Toph's sloppy living style.
"I don't know! I mean, seriously, what's with you people? I'm blind!" Toph shouted as she waved her hand in front of her face.
"It's a wanted poster of you. The runaway. Is that what you're called now? Are you proud of this?" Katara continued to badger.
"Where did you get that?" Toph hissed.
"It doesn't matter where I got it, the fact is—" Katara attempted to deflect.
"You went through my stuff! You had no right!" Toph accused as she began to seeth.
"Your stuff was messy, and I was just straightening up when I happened to stumble across it." Katara defended with her hands on her hips.
A likely story absolutely none of us believed.
"That's a lie. You're lying, Katara!" Toph accused, pointing a finger in Katara's face.
There was a beat of silence where all of us slowly clued in and remembered Toph could tell when we were lying based on our heartbeats. Even Katara's face twisted as she realized she had been caught.
"Fine, it's a lie. But you've been so out of control lately, I knew something was up. I knew you were hiding something, and you were!" Katara shouted, sticking the poster out one again.
Toph grabbed it and tossed it away as she ground her teeth, positively raging now. With one last glare at Katara, Toph stomped off.
"Don't you walk away from me while I'm talking to you!" Katara shrieked.
"Oh really, mom? Oh what are you going to do? Send me to my room?" Toph mocked, stopping to turn back towards Katara.
"I wish I could." Katara sighed as she glared at Toph.
"Well, you can't! Because you're not my mom and you're not their mom either." Toph exclaimed, pointing towards us.
"I feel uncomfortable being dragged into this." I waved off as Sokka exchanged looks with Aang.
"I never said that I was!" Katara defended.
"No, but you certainly act like it. You think it's your job to boss everyone around, but it's not. You're just a regular kid like the rest of us. So stop acting like you can tell me what to do! I can do whatever I want!" Toph finally exploded.
Katara took a moment to look down at her feet, a frown creasing her face. Her eyes narrowed as she looked up and returned Toph's glare.
"I don't act that way," She started to say as she turned to Sokka. "Sokka, do I act motherly?"
"Hey, I'm staying out of this one too." Sokka replied as he held out his hands.
"What do you think, Aang? Do I act like a mom?" Katara continued to press, moving to the only person who hadn't said anything yet.
"Well..." Aang started to say as he rubbed his eye.
"Stop rubbing your eye and speak clearly when you talk!" Katara demanded.
"Yes, ma'am!" Aang stated as he sat straighter.
"Mira? What do you think?" Katara continued to press ignoring my earlier request.
"I think that sometimes we all need a cup of tea when tensions are running high." I mused, channeling my inner Iroh.
"I can't be around you right now!" Toph shouted as she turned and walked away.
"Well, I can't be around you!" Katara yelled back.
Hawky let out a small kacaw as we looked at one another. Sokka placed his head in his hands, looking at the ground and shook his head.
"I know, Hawky. Why can't they just get along?" Sokka sighed out in sadness.
~Break~
Toph and Katara were seated on opposite sides of the camp now intent on completely ignoring one another. Sokka, Aang, and I were sitting in the middle of the camp looking between the two as I sharpened my blades. It was tiring to sit in between their awkward silence, but there wasn't much choice. At first we had attempted to make conversation, maybe even play a game or tell stories, but every time we tried Katara and Toph would be at one another's throat. So, it slowly became Aang and Sokka quietly talking while I listened.
"Hey, Aang, you want to test out my messenger hawk with me? I've got an idea." Sokka asked as he leaned towards Aang.
"Sure." Aang shrugged.
"I'm gonna send a note to Katara and say it's from Toph, who wants to apologize. Then everyone will be friends again." Sokka explained looking proud.
"I got to say, Sokka, you continue to impress me with your ideas." Aang praised with an impish smile.
"Eh, it's a gift." Sokka said, soaking the praise in.
"And neither of you see the problem with your plan?" I asked.
"No, why?" Sokka blinked.
"No reason." I chuckled.
How did this group keep forgetting Toph was blind? Sokka began to write a note, reading it out loud as he went.
"Dear Katara, sorry for everything, your friend, Toph." Sokka wrote as he rolled the message up and deposited onto his hawk.
The bird took off, stopping next to Katara. She opened the note and began to read it.
"I know this is from you, Sokka! Toph can't write!" Katara shouted as she began to tear the message up into pieces. "Ugh! You're all driving me crazy!"
"I can't believe we forgot Toph can't write." Aang sighed.
"I can't believe you guys keep forgetting she's blind." I chuckled.
"Yep, we're idiots." Sokka sighed as he held his forearm out for Hawky.
"I guess plan B is we send a note to Toph pretending it's from Katara." Aang suggested.
"I think we're gonna gun into a similar problem," Sokka explained as Hawky screeched for attention. "I'm sorry, Hawky. Looks like I'm gonna have to do this without your help."
Sokka got up and walked towards Toph to talk to her. I watched as they went, sitting beside Aang as we watched our friends deal with various different emotions. Katara stomped off having enough of all of us and I didn't dare interrupt what was most likely much needed alone time.
"Man, today is rough. Time for tea?" I asked as Aang nodded in agreement.
~Break~
Katara returned first, looking somber and quiet. I handed her a cup of tea before heading back towards the fire leaving her to her thoughts. Aang was already finishing his cup as we watched the flames dance.
"Do you think I should try to learn fire?" Aang asked.
"You're afraid too, right?" I asked, placing my cup down.
"Yeah I just...the first time I bent fire, I hurt Katara. You seem to have no trouble with it though so I was wondering if it was worth learning for you." Aang shrugged.
"Aang, you know I would always be happy to teach you. But, the invasion is during the solar eclipse, even if you knew firebending, we wouldn't be able to use it. I think for now, we should focus on mastering the other three elements." I explained, stoking the fire.
"What if...what if we fail?" Aang asked.
"Hmm...if that happens, then we focus on your firebending I guess. I'm not really sure, but let's only worry about that if it comes to it." I soothed.
It would do us no good to focus on what ifs and waste what little precious time we had left. The camp was once again lulled into silence and I let out a soft sigh. Aang was deep in his Avatar thoughts, Katara was busy mulling something over, and I was left feeling sorry for myself over what would happen when we finally faced the Fire Nation, and the what ifs that kept making me think of Ba Sing Se.
Sokka and Toph soon returned, pulling Katara's attention from petting Momo. She stood up and walked towards the two, her head hanging down.
"Hi, Toph. Um...I wanted to..." Katara started to say.
"Katara, stop. You don't need to apologize. I was the one being stupid. These scams are out of control, and I'm done with them." Toph interrupted.
"Actually, I wasn't going to apologize. I was gonna say, I want to pull a scam with you." Katara explained.
"What? You want to pull a scam?" Toph gasped, giving her a curious look.
"Not just any scam. The ultimate scam," Katara explained, causing Sokka and Aang to perk up in surprise. "What do you say, Toph? Just me and you. One last go. You in?"
"You know I'm in. Now what's this idea of yours?" Toph asked as Katara wrapped an arm around her and led her off.
Sokka and Aang continued to stare as Katara and Toph walked away. Sokka twitched slightly, turning to gape at me like a fish.
"You guys ok?" I asked, coming over and kicking Aang's boot.
~Break~
The plan was supposed to be simple. Katara would turn Toph in and Toph would escape using her metalbending. I wasn't convinced it was the best scam out there, but figured if push came to shove, the rest of us could provide appropriate backup. So Sokka, Aang, and I were left waiting at the camp. Aang had begun to pace in his anxiety, as Sokka and I watched him. It was nearing past the time we were supposed to rendezvous so it made sense Aang was so high strung.
"Do you think this scam of theirs should take this long?" Aang asked.
"I was just wondering the same thing. We'd better check it out," Sokka agreed as he stood up and turned to Momo and Hawky. "You two behave. Appa's in charge."
I grabbed my swords and we were off in search of Toph and Katara. Appa let out a roar of approval and we were off. Hopefully, we were worrying for nothing.
~Break~
We entered the town to find it empty and quiet, too quiet. We walked past different empty houses as we looked around for Katara and Toph. Everything was still, as if everyone had just simply vanished. Stalls were still left open, many doors were still unlocked. I tried one, peering in to find a small bookshop completely empty.
"Where do you think they might be?" Sokka asked as he came back from looking down an alley.
"Where do you think anyone is?" Aang replied.
"This...is suspicious. The town was busy just yesterday." I whispered, feeling the hair on the back of my neck begin to prickle.
We entered the town square where the large Ozai statue was situated. I snorted at how dumb it was, bofore stopping. Had I just heard something? Looking around, I found no one around, not even a tumbleweed. Curious, I was sure I was sharpening my senses and was getting better at feeling the vibrations in the earth. But, everything was still, even the air. The feeling in my gut began to intensify and I let out a nervous breath.
"Hey guys...I'm getting a really bad feeling about this." I said as I caught up to them.
Aang stopped at my words and I felt it too, the buildup of energy somewhere behind us. I withdrew my swords as I turned, Aang grasping onto Sokka as he wrenched the poor boy towards him.
"Sokka, watch out!" Aang cried as he pulled him away from the blast radius.
Sokka and Aang dodged behind the statue as I rolled forward and stared up at Sparky-sparky-boom man. I narrowed my eyes, sending out a thin arrow of fire at the eye. He twisted his head, avoiding it, but that gave me enough time to catch up to Aang and Sokka.
"It's Sparky-sparky-boom man!" Aang gasped.
"You know, I'm starting to think the name doesn't quite fit." Sokka said, rubbing his forehead.
Sparky-sparky-boom man jumped down from the roofs, advancing upon us. He took another deep breath and we all dodged another incoming blast. I felt pebbles and debris hitting my hair as I coughed through the dust. It began to sting at my eyes as I pushed through the thick of it, rounding down an alleyway.
"Well shit! What now?" I shouted as we bolted down another street.
We turned down an alley narrowly avoiding another blast. The impact sent us flying, Aang landing easily, myself landing in a roll, and Sokka smashing into a cart. Helping Sokka up, I pulled him to his feet as we used the cart for cover.
"This guy is too good. He shoots fire from his brain." Sokka said.
"We should split up. He can't chase all of us." Aang declared.
"Ok." I nodded.
Aang went left, Sokka went right, and I ran forward. I could hear the cart exploding from behind me as I jumped up, using my airbending, to land on the roofs to track my way down another street. I heard Aang yell and realized the Sparky-sparky-boom man must have chosen him to chase. I turned back around, jumping to the roofs again to find Sokka. Once again this was proving my previous worries correct, he was after Aang and only Aang.
We needed to find Katara and Toph so we could catch up to Aang and leave.
~Break~
I did eventually find Sokka. He had found Toph and Katara running down the street and was taking them to where Aang was. Hoping off the roof I was on, I landed beside them starting to feel out of breath.
"Holy crap!" Toph gasped as I appeared.
"No time, Sparky-sparky-boom man, Aang, stupid Ozai statue!" I gasped as we burst into the town square to find Aang had fallen and Sparky-sparky-boom man was preparing another attack.
Katara wasted no time at all and sent out a blast of water freezing it over Sparky-sparky-boom man's head. He began to stumble around as we rushed over to help Aang up.
"Aang, get up!" Katara shouted as she helped him up.
"Let's get out of here!" Toph yelled as we started to retreat.
I heard the ice shatter from behind us and gulped. Toph sent out an attack of rocks, which was blasted into pieces. I heard him grunt and fall over, but could hazard the chance to see why as we left the town with haste.
"Hey, I got it! The perfect name for that guy. Combustion Man!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Good job, Sokka. Now let's get out of here before Combustion Man catches us!" Toph replied.
"See? It fits so well!" Sokka cheered, completely misreading the mood.
~Break~
We left the area quicker than we ever had before. We flew most of the evening away until the sun had fully set in the sky. Aang brought Appa down towards a small clearing and we landed, all of us ready for bed.
"Well, I'm exhausted," Sokka yawned, running his eyes. "Hawky, how about you, buddy? Yeah, you're such a lazy little bird."
Sokka jumped dismounted Appa as I joined to help him set up camp.
"Katara, I need your help." Toph said.
"What is it, Toph?" Katara asked, sitting back down on Appa.
"I need you to write some things down for me. I want to send a letter to my parents." Toph admitted, holding out a roll of paper.
"I'd be happy to help." Katara smiled.
They wrote down Toph's letter and then rolled it up, slipping it into Hawky's massage tube. Katara sent it off and we watched him fly away into the night sky.
"So...did Sokka ever figure out how the bird works?" I asked as it disappeared into the sky.
"I...don't know." Katara admitted.
"Hey, where'd Hawky go?" Sokka asked as he walked over to us.
"Uhh." We all said as Sokka looked around.
~Chapter 5 End~