Avatar Katara

Jet

The cricket-deer was sweetly unaware as the chameleon-wolf padded through the forest, completely camouflaged by the forest. The cricket-deer chirped as it jumped towards a patch of grass, nibbling peacefully.

Tikaani prepared to aim for the cricket-deer's shoulder as he raised his claws. If he could get a little closer...

The voice of the air girl who traveled with his Avatar rang out, causing the cricket-deer to run off into the forest. Tikaani growled in irritation before heading back to the camp.

He knew better than to let his guard down, but he did, just for a moment. He saw the lychee nuts the air girl liked eating. Maybe if she had some food she'd stop yelling and alerting all the prey.

As he padded over to inspect the nuts, a cage materialized around him and shot him into the sky.

---

"Where's Tikaani?" Katara asked. Almost as if answering her question, Tikaani's howl rang through the forest. "He's in trouble!"

"Let's go!" Rina used her airbending to jump from tree to tree, a trick she'd taught Katara, and they both bounded away.

"Oh, just leave me in the dust as you always do," Sokka mumbled.

"Hang on, Tikaani!" Katara yelled, terrified at the thought of losing her friend. She finally entered a clearing and looked around. Tikaani howled again, and she looked up. The chameleon-wolf was trapped in a cage suspended from a tree branch. She bent the water from a nearby river to slice through the cage, cushioning the fall with air, and made quick work of the bars. Tikaani leapt free.

Rina picked up the lychee nuts in his cage. "Are you going to eat these?" Tikaani gave her an annoyed look. "I guess I'll take it." She popped one in her mouth.

"Let's destroy the other traps," Sokka said. He pointed to the metalwork. "These were made by the Fire Nation." The team shared a distressed look as they prodded the other piles of lychee nuts with sticks. "We should pack up camp and get moving."

---

Rina loaded a bedroll onto Sang's saddle, but Sokka stopped her. "Wait. We shouldn't fly this time."

"Why not?" she asked, confused. "This forest is going to take forever to walk through."

"Think about it," Sokka insisted. "Somehow, Prince Zuko and the rest of the Fire Nation keeps finding us. It's because they spot Sang. He's too noticeable."

"What? Sang's not too noticeable!"

"He's a giant fluffy monster with an arrow on his head. It's kind of hard to miss him."

Sang groaned.

"You're not too noticeable," Rina promised. "Sokka's just jealous because he doesn't have an arrow."

"I know you want to fly, but my instincts tell me we should play it safe this time and walk."

Katara scowled. "Who made you the boss?"

"I'm not the boss. I'm the leader."

"You're a leader? But your voice still cracks!"

"I'm the oldest, and I'm a warrior," Sokka argued. His voice deepened as he continued, "So I'm the leader!"

"If anyone's the leader, it's Katara," Rina claimed. "She's the Avatar, after all." Katara knew that it was meant in good spirits, but she could've done without the reminder of the burden that her title carried. "But hey, who knows? Walking might be fun."

---

"Walking is so not fun," Rina moaned as she tripped over a tree root.

"Why do boys think they always have to be the leader?" Katara complained, helping Rina up. "I bet you wouldn't be so bossy if you kissed a girl."