Fight28: Haunting thoughts
Days had passed since that day Chenlian had gone to the Merchants' Guild. And again, today, she was doing her job as Senya's lady-in-waiting. Or for now, she was sitting on a chair at the table and looking through the window, waiting for the young master to wake up. He groaned, opened the curtains and stood up. She greeted him with a smile... until she saw how very scantly and loosely dressed he was. She sharply turned her back on him and scolded him, politely requesting (ordering) that he properly wore clothes. He complained that he didn't have a body deserving to be spurned like this but nonetheless agreed to put something on. Chenlian sighed.
"Yes, please do. And it is not a matter of being attractive or not. I'm asking you to respect the conventions of decency. That is also for your sake."
"You're the first woman to care this much about me."
"You're up unusually early today." She remarked.
"And the first woman to ignore me this much. It's unusually hot today. I can't sleep."
"In that case you force yourself to sleep. You lack willpower." The girl said flatly with just a hint of reproach.
"And the first woman to understand me so well." The young man smiled.
"I've prepared fruits, a paper fan and tea."
"I'll have the tea you brewed for me, and I want to hear your pipa, a piece that'll make me feel refreshed."
"Every day, you only ask me to brew you tea and play the pipa until late. Aren't you tired of it?"
"Up until now I've never found anyone who could play the melodies I enjoy as well as you do or brew a tea so much to my liking. Now play." He complimented and requested with his most engaging expression as he sat on the chair opposite her. The girl complied. That guy made a pass at almost every pretty woman and his smooth tongue was highly enclined to exaggeration. He was always playing around and fluttering about like a butterfly so it was fine to ignore him 70 to 80% of the time.
"Still, I did tell you to put your tunic back on, but you really just BARELY threw it back on..."
"You didn't wear the lovely outfit that I prepared for you either." He lamented as he looked over at the magnificent dress and jewelry.
"Young master, I'm not a princess or a noblewoman. Such finery wouldn't suit me and I have no need for them. So why would I wear them?"
"To keep my eyes fresh. But that's my Meiling. How virtuous. Your heart won't be moved by mere displays of wealth or compliments. What integrity." The prodigal man smiled innocently, earning himself another sigh.
"Who are you calling YOUR Meiling? That's called sexual harassement. Besides, how many times must I turn you down for you to understand?"
"And yet, you have the dignity and elegance of a princess. You also possess inner strength and resolution. It seems to be something you subconsciously developed over the years but more than the results of your upbringing, environement, or something you had from birth... I'd say it's a visible proof of the nobility of your heart? Maybe you're more of a princess than the Fire Lord's daughter?"
"How would I know? And why the Fire Lord's daughter?"
"The airbenders have been annihilated except for the Avatar who's male. The daughter of the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe died and the Earth King has yet to father children. That leaves only the Fire Nation whose lord has a daughter your age, right?"
"If you say so. Still, you seem strangely knowledgeable."
"Merchants must keep tabs on people with status. And I keep tabs on notable women."
"I didn't ask anything."
"You're really cold with me. Or are you hiding your embarassement?" The young man poked her cheek. "Don't worry. You have plenty qualities to become a beautiful woman, although being a beautiful girl fits you just right for now. I guess you're right. The outfit I prepared was a little too cute. Next time, I'll have something better."
"Are you even listening to me?"
"But you know, to me you're much, much better than the Fire Lord's daughter or any highborn princess." He stood up and leant very close to her above the table.
"Errr... thank you?" Meiling looked the other way and smiled politely.
"By the way, the Fire Lord had a son your age too. I wonder what he's doing right now."
"Who knows?" The girl replied curtly. Was her employer speaking randomly? How much did he know? Was he truly sharp? What was he thinking? For some reason, she couldn't figure him out at all. She had to be cautious after all.
Appa was lazily flying in the murky sky. Katara was unenthousiatically reading a waterbending scroll, and Sokka was boredly sharpening his machete while Momo peeped over the saddle guard. On the driver's seat, Aang was staring at the vast expanses of swampland below, a vacant, almost mesmerized expression on his face. Sokka noticed they were going doing and asked the avatar if he was doing that for a reason. However, as the child was still zoned out, his friend snapped him back to reality and repeated his question. Aang hadn't even noticed they were descending at a steady rate. Because of the commotion, Katara wondered if there was something wrong.
"I know this is gonna sound weird, but... I think the swamp is... calling to me." The airbender answered. Sokka wanted to know if it was telling him where they could get something to eat . "No, I... I think it wants us to land there." The boy replied seriously to the half joke. But the warrior, without intending to offend the swamp, didn't see any land there to land on. "I don't know... Bumi said to learn earthbending I would have to wait and listen, and now I'm actually hearing the earth. Do you want me to ignore it ?"
"Yes!" Sokka retorted unhesitatingly as he looked down at the inhospitable region. His sister agreed there was something ominous about that place. And so did Momo. Appa groaned his assentment too. Since everyone felt so strongly about this, Aang agreed and pulled the reins. Appa gained altitude and sped away. But they were suddenly scared by a large tornado pursuing them terrifyingly fast. They tried to evade it but it caught up with them and Sokka was blown off the saddle. Katara caught his arm and held onto him. Aang jumped onto the saddle and created an air bubble around them just as they were sucked into the vortex. Sokka fell back into the saddle as the airbender struggled to keep his wind barrier. But eventually, the natural forces were too much for him and his protection collapsed and they were engulfed in the tornado, which threw them out in different directions.
Luckily, the three humans fell down together. They got up, rubbing their sore spots. Appa and Momo weren't here. They called fruitlessly. Katara pointed at her brother and warned him he had an elbow leech.
"Where?! Where?!" The brave Water Tribe warrior freaked out.
"Where do you think ?" The waterbender crossed her arms and looks blankly at him. Even though he could be so smart, how could he reach such heights of stupidity? But well, she was used to that.
"Why do things keep attaching to me?!" Sokka angrily ripped the leech off his arm and threw it near his sister who glared at him. Aang returned after a quick search. He had been unable to find their furry friends and the tornado had... just disappeared.
Appa had actually been caught en entangled in a net of vines. He tried to break free but it was possible until Momo chewed several vines. Then his weight was too much and he fell into the muddy water below. He shook and took off only to fly straight into another net of vines that trapped him.
Sokka was unceremoniously cutting through weeds and vines with his machete when Aang worriedly asked him to be a little nicer to the swamp. Sokka snapped. These were just plants! What was the point of saying 'please' or 'thank you'?! But Katara was also concerned. Something about this place felt... alive. Her brother annoyedly agreed there were lots of living things here, and if they didn't want to get eaten by them, they needed to find Appa as fast as they could. However, they had no idea that they were being watched by someone hiding in vines.
The flying bison had decided to walk through the swamps, leaving huge footprints in the process. Momo was sitting on the saddle. They stopped. A large fallen tree was blocking the way. Appa groaned in frustration and collapsed in a heap, refusing to move any farther. Momo blew the bison whistle. Appa cringed and tried to cover his ears. Despite a warning groan, the lemur did it again, forcing the bison to knock him silly with the flat of his tail.
The teens were walking up a large fallen tree above the water. Night had fallen, and fog had risen from the liquid and settled in. They had no choice but to stop searching and camp for the night. Sokka was surrounded by flies. Katara was scared by a bubble of swamp gas bursting at the surface. There was really nothing surnatural here. They made disgusted sounds when the gas reached them. They were startled into hugging each other by a blood-curdling scream... which was actually the 'song' of a tiny little bird. It screamed once more, terrorizing the children. Better make a fire. Sokka starting hacking tree roots, much to Aang's displeasure.
"No, I asked the swamp. It said this was fine." He replied sarcastically as he turned to address a nearby root. "Right, swamp ?" He grabbed the root he began to shake and displayed his ventriloquism abilities... "No problem, Sokka!" And he hacked some more. The Avatar glared at him. Katara was disconcerted. Some time later, even after they had managed to make a camp and a warm and reassuring fire was burning brightly, the waterbender was still anxious. She felt that they were being watched . Aggravated, her brother told her they were all alone out here. But then, a fly that had been buzzing around him, annoying him, suddenly turned into a ball of incandescent light. And as it fluttered away, its light was reflected by many sinister eyes. Right, they were alone... except for them. The trio held each other in fear. Even if the eyes stopped glowing, that didn't mean those things had left.
Appa was lying down on the lowest branch of a huge tree. On top of him, Momo scurried around, listening, and frightened at the cacophony of the swamp noises. The bison roared and the swamp fell silent. The lemur curled up and fell asleep.
The kids had fallen asleep too, back to back, unaware that they were again being watched from between vines. Soon, several vines slithered their way to the group and wound around each member. The humans woke up, screaming, when they were simultaneously yanked in different benders were dragged off into the mist. Sokka got up after cutting the snaking stem. He ran away and was pursued by more vines that he hacked down. Katara used her water whip to slice her bonds and protect herself while she too was being chased. Aang freed himself by creating an air bubble around him and expanding it, loosening his bonds. He hopped into the surrounding trees, closely pursued by more vines. He escaped thanks to his bending only to soon notice that he was alone.
Morning came. Two men only dressed in animal skin loincloths were staring at some animal (Appa)'s large footprints in the mud. They also had a single, large leaf on their heads serving as a hat. Due was tall and skinny, and Tho was short and fat. They didn't know what made a track like that but it had six big legs leaving a nice wide trail to follow. And at the end of that trail... was dinner.
Appa was swimming in the marsh water. Momo's attention was draw to a fly (food) buzzing around him. It flew off, Momo after it. He hopped from root to root and managed to catch the insect on the last one... that turned out to be the back of a catfish crocodile... which roared and snapped its jaws at him, trying to eat him. The reptile pursued Momo. The lemur managed to return to the safety of Appa's saddle but the crocodile went straight into the bison's open mouth. Appa spat it back out. Momo and the monster hissed at each other for a moment before the crocodile swam away.
Chenlian was walking through the streets, smiling to herself. Aside from the usual necessities, she had found some good tea leaves to Iroh's taste. And herbs with strong calming properties for that guy... And thinking of her scarred companion, her smile faded into a distant, wistful and concerned expression. But suddenly, she felt arms encircle her shoulders. Her eyes widened. She hadn't felt any presence.
"Meeeiiii-ling!" A familiar voice called her right against her ear. But she had recognized its owner too late. She had already tightly gripped his wrist, ready to twist his arm.
"Wah! Young master, I'm sorry!" The girl let go and turned around. He acted dejected and angry. No woman had ever treated him this badly after he had greeted her. He was rubbing his wrist. But then he smiled. She was really different from all the other women after all. She apologized again. He had really surprised her. But he forgave her since he had got to see her cute sheepish and embarrassed expression. Chenlian twitched, her smile stiffening. How was she supposed to react to that? No, she shouldn't overthink. He had forgiven her. She thanked him. They started walking again.
"Still, you're always buying tea. Do you intend to open a teahouse? Or is it all for me?"
"All wrong. I simply want to brew a lot for the people whom I hold dear." She smiled tenderly. The young man stopped walking.
"Hmm... so you do have them... people you hold dear."
"I do." She sounded genuinely happy. But as there was no reply, she turned. That guy... looked strange. That loneliness and despondency that emanated from him... but it lasted only a second before he smiled again, saying he envied her.
"It must be hard..." He spoke again after a pause as he looked sideways at the board with all the wanted posters. Zuko, Iroh, Chenlian, the Avatar, Jeong Jeong, the Blue Spirit, the Dragon Princess... "And among them, some are even on the run from both the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom... it must be hard... being constantly on the run, constantly on guard, being lonely, having no one to rely on..."
"Y-You must be right..." The woman trailed off distantly, looking down. How could he voice her feelings so easily, show such compassion...
"And still, I envy their boldness, their agility, their resourcefulness, their dedication. But only coveting is pointless. We'll leisurely enjoy our days." He smiled and took her by the shoulders again. Meiling argued that in his case that wasn't leisure but laziness. Even though he had an older brother meant to inherit the business and who was taking care of the affairs, he should still work more for the sake of his family and this world, like using his looks and silver tongue for diplomatic missions... even though it could be considered a fraud, given the positively bewitching level of those looks and tongue. "And still, those don't work on you. You're really something else. And you're clever. There has never been a woman who understood me like this in such a short period of time. We can only become husband and wife now." He leant in and smiled. Chenlian was going to tell him off again, that what he needed wasn't a wife but a mother, that there was a limit to how far he could take his jokes, but the words were caught in her throat when their eyes met. They were serious. He was truly considering her, as a woman... He was watching, listening... as if trying to learn everything about her. He was gently trying to pass her defenses and see the real her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply and when she opened them again, there was determination.
"Um, young master-"
"Please stop calling me 'young master'. I don't want you to see me as the young master of the Qi family, but as myself, as Senya. That's why I've asked you to call me Senya..." His already winning voice was tinted with a pleading tone. The girl froze, remembering Zuko's words... "This is humiliating! We're royalty. These people should be giving us whatever we want."Zuko wanted to be seen as the Crown Prince of the Fire Nation. But that man... was the opposite... the one towards whom her heart tended... She suddenly turned around.
"Unfortunately, I prefer calling you young master. And if you're looking for a toy, please ask someone else. There are things I want and have to do and the time I can devote to you is limited."
"I just thought that you would suit me. Well, sorry, but it doesn't seem like I will tire of you anytime soon. It might even last a lifetime."
Katara was walking through the swamp, vainly calling her companion. Then she spotted a human's silhouette and went over asking for help. Upon a closer look, she noticed it was a woman wearing water tribe clothing... and they had a very similar hairstyle... that figure... it was...
"Mom?! Mom!" She ran, tears of joy streaming down her eyes. She reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I can't believe-" But she stopped and her smile dropped when her vision cleared and sunlight filtered. That wasn't her mom but a tree stump. Katara gasped at the realization, fell to her knees and began to cry.
Sokka too was looking for his comrades while cutting everything in his way and cursing the whole place. He ended up putting to much spirit into it and falling flat face first in the mud. He looked up and floating in a shaft of light, saw the ghostly form of Princess Yue.
"Hello Yue ." He walked towards the ghost and grabbed the side of his head, looking away. "This is just a trick of the light... swamp gas..." He turned his back. "I... hit my head running away last night. I'm going crazy." He reasoned. Despite his fright, he turned to her again and approached her. Because he loved her so much.
"You didn't protect me." He heard her say, her voice like a distant echo. He rubbed his eyes and he was alone again. Really, just a trick of the light. Disappointed, Sokka turned to walk away and suddenly found himself face to face with Yue. He yelled in surprise and fell backwards into the water. He looked around once more, and she was gone. He stood, drew his machete, and walked off, frowning.
Aang was calling for Katara and Appa when he saw two figures on a stone or earthen mound, a winged boar, and a girl in her early teens dressed in a very elegant and lightly colored outfit. He greeted them and asked who they were. The boar flew away. The girl covered her mouth with her hands and laughed before running away. The Avatar went after her. But it was strange. When he followed her on the branches, she instantly appeared running on the ground, when he'd go down he'd see her in the trees again... It was like she was in several places at once, or she was able to move at lightning speed, or both. It was impossible to reach her.
Appa stopped swimming, his path was blocked by three river boats. The point boat was manned by Tho and Due. Momo chattered.
"Look at that, Tho. Is that little hairy fellow ridin' that thing .'
"Naw, that's what they call a "lemoo", saw one at a travelin' show once. Real smart they say." Tho answered. Due was sure it tasted a lot like possum chicken. "You think everything tastes like possum chicken."
"C'mon now, fellas. Just a little closer. Nice and easy. Nothing to worry about. We just fixin' to eat ya." Due coaxed. But that made Appa roar, turn, and jump away. Tho was angry. Why did he have to say that for?! "Well, we are!"
"But you don't have to tell'em that!"
"Well how'd I know they'd understand me?!" However, now was not the time to be arguing if they wanted those animals for dinner. Due started making paddling motions with his arms and within a few seconds, the waterbending-propelled canoe was speeding down the river, the two other boats in tow.
Aang was still in pursuit of the laughing girl. He asked again who she was without getting an answer. He ran up and charged the girl in white... and realized too late it was Katara standing on the mound. Unable to stop in time, he knocked her over, making her cry. Alerted by the noise, Sokka drew his weapon which proved completely useless as the two rolled down and knocked him down as well. They landed in a pile at the bottom of another tree root. Sokka stood up and got angry at them. What were they doing?! He had been looking all over for them! His sister shot back that she had been wandering around looking for them. Aang softly and confusedly replied that he had been chasing some girl. He didn't know who she was. He had heard laughing and seen some girl in a fancy dress.
"Well, there must be a tea party here and we just didn't get our invitations!" Sokka commented sarcastically. After a time, Katara looked down and admitted that she thought she had seen her mom. Her brother stayed silent for a moment and hung his head too. "Look, we were all just scared and hungry and our minds were playing tricks on us. That's why we all saw things out here." He tried to reason but he only revealed the weakness he had tried tried to hide.
"You saw something too ..."
"I thought I saw Yue." He acknowledged, averting himself so they wouldn't see his expression before turning back to them. "But, that doesn't prove anything. Look, I think about her all the time, and you saw mom, someone you miss a lot." However his theory didn't work in Aang's case as he didn't know the girl he had seen, and all their visions had led them here... the center, the heart of the swamp... A tree so large it appeared even able to support the world... and the one Aang felt was the one that had called them here. This opinion frustrated Sokka. It was just a tree. It couldn't call anyone! There was nothing after them and there was nothing magical happening here. But the moment those words fell from his lips, a huge swamp monster, seemingly made of vines burst from the water behind the next to them. They hugged each other, screaming their heads off.
The three broke up and ran out in different directions when the thing swung at them. It managed to grab Sokka and flailed him around. Seeing that, Aang freed his friend by cutting the vines with a blast of air. The teen fell back into the water with a yell. The creature knocked the airbender away with a sweep of its arm. Sokka was hacking vines when he looked back and saw the plants attaching themselves to the monster and rebuilding the right arm that Aang had previously damaged. It grabbed Sokka again and slid away. Katara skated across the water and fired a jet of water through the creature's left shoulder. It dropped her brother, a large hole in its left shoulder. Katara nicely squared off against the green monster until she was sent flying by vines that had suddenly grown right out from its body. Aang who was running back to the fight got distracted by Katara's state and failed to react in time when vines punched him back again. It placed Sokka on his body and started absorbing the boy despite his struggles.
Appa and Momo were still pursued by Tho and Due. The lemur threw a blue cloth at the face of one of the boatmen on the right. And the man's efforts to get it off caused the canoe to capsize. Tho wondered what a lemoo would need a shirt for. The bison bent low to avoid a tree root but as Momo was turned the other way, he couldn't see it and was knocked off his friend's back. He fell right into Tho's open sack. The bender closed the bag, tied it and dropped it and the chase continued.
The monster was advancing through the swamp with Sokka still struggling in its chest. The Avatar rode his air scooter up the creature's torso and back and landed atop its head and created a whirlwind that twisted the vines composing the monster into a huge coil. Katara froze the plants around her brother, weakened the ice in a circle, and raised a column of water behind her that propelled her and Sokka through the chest of the monster and into the water behind. The plant thing repaired the hole in its chest and advanced on the pair. Aang jumped through the air and onto the monster's back, slamming it onto the ground. But the boy had barely hopped down that the creature blasted him away again. It was then Katara decided to take thing seriously and rapidly and relentlessly fired round blades of water that sliced the vines. Suddenly, they spotted a topless man inside the monster who was bending the vines. The girl sliced the mask and the head of the monster with a water whip. They fell into the water as a bunch of vines grabbed Katara. Aang flew back into the fight and with a single blast of air blew away the rest of the monster to reveal a fat, leaf clad man.
"Why did you call me here if you just wanted to kill us ?!" The child asked angrily.
"Wait! I didn't call you here!" The man replied, dropping the rest of the plants.
"We were flying over and I heard something calling to me, telling me to land." Aang stated.
"He's the Avatar. Stuff like that happens to us – a lot." Sokka explained. At this, the vines-bender, who introduced himself as Hue, asked the Avatar to follow him.
He led them to the giant tree at the center of the swamp and they climbed up its roots. Hue protected the swamp from folks that wanted to hurt it like this fellow (Sokka) with his big knife.
"See ? Completely reasonable. Not a monster, just a regular guy defending his home. Nothing mystical about it." Sokka sheathed his machete. But the swamp guard contradicted him. The swamp was a mystical place, all right. It was sacred. He had reached enlightenment right here under the banion grove tree. He had heard it calling him, just like the Avatar did. "Sure ya did. It seems real chatty." The machete wielder commented sarcastically.
"See... this whole swamp is actually just one tree spread out over miles... Branches, spread and sink and take root and then spread some more – one big living organism, just like the entire world." Hue said. Aang understood how the tree was one big thing, but, the whole world ... "Sure. You think you're any different from me ? Or your friends ? Or this tree ? If you listen hard enough you can hear every living thing breathing together, you can feel everything growing. We're all livin' together, even if most folks don't act like it. We all have the same roots, and we are all branches of the same tree."
"But what did our visions mean ?" Katara intervened.
"In the swamp we see visions of people we've lost, people we loved... folks we think are gone. But the swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to' em. Time is an illusion and so is death."
"But what about my vision ? It was someone I had never met." Aang wondered.
"You're the Avatar. You tell me." Hue smiled.
"Time is an illusion..." The monk repeated, trying to puzzle his case out. "So, it's... someone I will meet !" He looked up, realization written over his face. The old man winked. Sokka apologized for interrupting the lesson but they still needed to find Appa and Momo. And Aang had an idea about the method. He placed his hand on the tree root, closed his eyes and concentrated. Everything was arrow tattoo on his hand began to glow, lighting another energy that surged from his hand into the root. It travelled down through the swamp along with his consciousness until he saw Appa getting netted by the boatmen and being subdued despite his struggles. The Avatar stood up. They had to hurry!
Tho was singing when suddenly a jet of water erupted from the side and destroyed the boat next to him while Aang appeared on the tree branch in front. He knocked Tho off the craft with a blast of air and Momo escaped. Due waterbended a wall of water up at the boy and Katara, who had joined him. They tried to repel it and wave moved back and forth between the canoe and the tree root. That was how Katara deduced those people were waterbenders too.
"You too ? That means we're kin!" Due exclaimed, failing to notice the girl's vaguely horrified expression at that last statement. The water wall collapsed between them. Sokka and Hue ran up the tree branch to Aang and Katara. They looked down. "Hey Hue! How you been ?"
"You know, scared some folks, swung some vines, the usual." Hue smiled.
Chenlian was playing the pipa while Senya was sipping the tea she had brewed. Suddenly she felt her hair that was up in a bun fall back. She stopped playing and looked at her employer like a mother at her misbehaving child, not about to be deceived by his innocent looks.
"Yup, it does suit you better. Could you keep you hair down from now on? You're prettier like this, or rather, you'd be more my type."
"Please give me back my hairpin." The red haired held out her hand. The young man sighed. He stared at the ornament for a time.
"Then how about we do this? I'll give it back if you tell me your real name." The merchant's son suggested. The girl twitched almost unnoticeably. He smiled. "The name 'Meiling' is too cute and soft a name and doesn't suit you. A dignified and bright strong name would be best for you."
"Well, excuse-me for not being cute. And I may be your lady-in-waiting but I'm under no obligation to go along with your fantasies." The woman snatched her hairpin back, put her pipa down, and started doing her hair. But it wasn't that easy without a mirror and while she was struggling he stood up, walked up to her, leant in, cupped her chin he tilted and kissed her. Shocked by this unthinkable happening, she froze. However, soon, his warmth, the touch of his hands, his lips on hers, made her snap back. "Young master!" She yelled angrily as she violently pushed him away. She started leaving.
"Goodnight, Meiling." He said sweetly. Chenlian glowered at him and slammed the door. "She's really cute after all." He sighed dreamily.
The girl cursed, having half a mind to burn this house with that wretch inside. She had underestimated him. While he would always tease her, he had always been careful not to go too far. His skills resided in assessing the perfect distance needed with his current interlocutor. He knew exactly how far he could take things with everyone. That was why she had never thought he... he... she touched her lips and blushed at the memory of the kiss. She violently shook her head, her face once more the picture of wrath, and marched away.
"Uncle, where is Chenlian? She still hasn't come back?" Zuko asked the old man.
"I don't know. She's been disappearing a lot recently and she doesn't feel the need to tell me where she goes and what she does. But that's the same for you, isn't it? Don't worry, as I've told you many times, she can handle herself just fine. And she isn't the type to just sit and do nothing, is she?" He told his nephew reassuringly, although it had the opposite effect. The reason of his frequent disappearances and his silence... Chenlian's personality... how she returned with food, money, and all those things, her own silence... an image of that man flashed into his mind, the one who had bought Chenlian's pipa... and acted so intimately with her, and looked at him like he was challenging him... Adding to his worry for his childhood friend, a white hot anger surged at the thought of that man. Just imagining Chenlian with that player made him burn and brought forth destructive urges. He could never let her go to him! Right! Such a superficial guy whose consideration for women was only skin-deep could never fathom just how important Chenlian was to Zuko and how much he needed her!
The children and swamp men had gathered around the same campfire for the night. Appa was with them, free of course. They were eating possum chicken. Sokka commented it tasted just like arctic hen and asked they had been so interested in eating Appa even though they'd got plenty of big things (like the live catfish crocodile against which Due was resting) wandering around.
"You want me to eat old Slim ?! He's like a member of the family!" Due sounded incredulous. He then took a fish and tossed it at Slim, who ate it in one bite.
"Nice Slim!" Sokka praised like he'd do a dog. He threw a piece of roasted insect but it bounces off the reptile's mouth. Slim turned and growled at Sokka, who recoiled in terror. Due laughed saying Slim didn't eat no bugs. That was people food. When Tho asked about it, Katara answered they came from the South Pole. He wondered whether they got a nice swamp there but it was all ice and snow. The two swamp fellows looked surprised. No wonder they left the South Pole then.
"Well, I hope you realize now that nothing strange was going on here. Just a bunch of greasy people living in a swamp." Sokka concluded with a professorial tone. His sister questioned him about the visions. "I told you, we were hungry. I'm eating a giant bug!" He raised what appeared to be a huge fruit fly, the size of a grown cat, and took a huge bite out of it. Aang asked about when the tree showed him where Appa and Momo were. "That's Avatar stuff, that doesn't count." Then he turned to Hue. "The only thing I can't figure out is how you made that tornado that sucked us down."
"I can't do anything like that. I just bended the water in the plants." The old man replied.
"Well, no accounting for weather. Still, there's absolutely nothing mysterious about the swamp." Sokka swept the matter under the carpet while not far, a little bird landed on a branch, screamed, and was batted away by a vine.
Author's note: By the way, I forgot to mention that the poll should help me establish a priority list :p at least, it's one of the criteria lol