Carved In Rock || ATLA

Almost Easy

City of Walls and Secrets

"I feel insane every single time I'm asked to compromise 'cause I'm afraid and stuck in my ways and that's the way it stays. So how long did I expect love to outweigh ignorance? By that look on your face I may have forced the scale to tip." - Avenged Sevenfold

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If there was one place Aelita had never imagined she'd step foot before it was inside Ba Sing Se. These walls were one of the last places her father was sent by Ozai alive and that thought alone had been jarring even before the events of this past year and the all knowledge she had now. Yet here she was, riding down the monorail in an earthbending powered train, on her way into the heart of the city with Fire Nation steel strapped to her back. To say it was surreal would be putting it lightly. She was thankful for both Mushu occasionally licking her face as they rode along and for Katara's with a reassuring hand laid on top of her own. The bulk of the team took in the passing scenery outside their windows while Toph was content to take the time to rest her feet.

The stories didn't do the city justice. Behind the Outer Wall rolling hills of farmland, lakes and even small mountains stretched far and wide, safe from the threat of the encroaching war. Train tracks stood high above the ground on pillars of thick rock connecting all the way to the Inner Wall, a structure equally as impressive as its outside counterpart.

"There it is!" Katara pointed out excitedly as they approached the second wall. "I can't believe we finally made it to Ba Sing Se in one piece."

"Hey, don't jinx it!" Sokka hushed his sister. "We can still be attacked by some giant exploding Fire Nation spoon. Or find out the city's been submerged in an ocean full of killer shrimp!"

"You been hitting the cactus juice again?" Toph quipped. "Because if you have and you haven't been sharing any with me or Hot Shot one of us is gonna kick your ass."

"Flip a coin for it?"

"I call heads."

"Why do you two always gang up on me?"

"Please, you act like Katara doesn't join in too," Aelita smirked, letting herself relax into the moment as much as she could.

"Whatever," Sokka whined. "I'm just sayin', weird stuff happens to us."

Almost as if it were on cue a large man with a balding head and an ear of corn in his mouth plopped down between the warrior and the earthbender. Aelita and Katara chuckled across from them but Aang continued to stare out the window with hollow eyes.

It had taken so long to get here. What if he was too late? What if Appa wasn't even here? What if...

"Hey." Katara laid her other hand on the monk's shoulder and squeezed lightly. "Don't worry Aang, we'll find him."

"It's such a big city." He sighed with doubt.

"He's a giant bison!" Sokka insisted as the train disappeared into a tunnel carving through the Inner Wall. "Where could someone possibly hide him?"

He immediately regretted his words when they came out the other end of the tunnel and the massive city sprawled out before them. Neither he nor Katara had ever seen so many houses or buildings in one place before. The winding roads and alleyways stretched on as far as they could see with people swarming the place like millions of tiny ants. The train came to a stop inside a busy station and the team made their way out onto the platform through the crowds.

"Back in the city." Toph groaned. "Great."

"What's the problem?" Sokka asked through his excitement. "It's amazing."