The Tale of Amara

Chapter 32: Her Choice Part 1

Authors note:

Hey readers,

First, this chapter was SO long. I am breaking it into two parts... will be posting both at once so you don't have to wait. I hope you all enjoy!

Second, I just want to let you know: if my updates don't come as quickly as they have been I'm not abandoning this story, I just won't have as much free time to work on it. I'm starting grad school August 26th. So just be patient with me, and I'll work on it when I can. I definitely want to finish this story.

Thanks,

Faith

Chapter 32: Her Choice Part 1

Amara POV

We'd been traveling through the night and most of the day to get away from Toph's family. We knew that her father was probably sending someone to try and retrieve her, and we all felt better getting some distance between us and Gaoling.

We slept on Appa's saddle for a few hours in the early morning, dropping in a hidden grove. Then we flew when the sun came up again, heading east. After a whole day of stopping, flying, and stopping again, we finally decided to make camp as the sun was setting behind the mountains before us. We decided we were far and safe enough from Lao Beifong to get a good rest.

Appa landed us on an area of earth beside a creek that seemed to travel through the valley we were in. Once we were on the ground, Toph was quick to jump off the saddle and land below.

"Hey, you guys picked a great campsite. The grass is so soft," she commented.

I was confused. There wasn't grass around us. I peaked over the saddle as my cousins and Aang got off. White fur from Appa surrounded us. Yuna mewed as she was perched on the edge of the saddle beside me, looking down as well. I pet her as my oldest cousin responded to Toph.

"That's not grass," Sokka explained. "Appa's shedding."

Katara shrieked, quickly stumbling out of the furry pile she was in. "Oh, gross!"

Aang argued. "That's not gross; it's just a part of spring."

He jumped back on the saddle beside me to start unloading our bags for camp. A bluebird suddenly landed on his head, while a butterfly I knew was called a sooty copper fritillary flapped past him. Yuna suddenly charged at the bird, while Momo hopped up for the butterfly. I covered my eyes as they caught their meals. Thankfully, they both flew off with their catches to eat in private. I dropped my hand, glad I didn't have to watch the slaughter.

Aang seemed to shake off what just happened and continued. "You know: rebirth, flowers blooming, and Appa gets a new coat!"

Katara cringed again. She was over near the front of Appa now to avoid his shedding. "Ah, the beauty of spring." Appa stuck his tongue out, which had some fur on it. Then he sneezed and blew the fur towards Katara. She shrieked. "Stop, Appa, stop!"

I grabbed some bags and finally made my way down Appa's tail. Once I got on the ground, I could see the fur was indeed everywhere. I had noticed Yuna had been shedding a bit the last few days too, but thankfully she didn't have as much fur as Appa. Her fathers seemed to remain intact.

"It's not that bad, Katara," Sokka spoke. I came around Appa to see him kneeling on the ground. He stood and I couldn't help but laugh. He had taken some of the fur and bunched it on his head to make a fake towering hairstyle. "It makes a great wig!"

Katara grimaced.

Aang spoke from the saddle, saying, "And a great beard!"

I looked up to see he had bunched some fur on his face. I wasn't sure how he got it to stick. However, I laughed again at their ridiculous actions. They were being silly, and I enjoyed the innocent play.