𝑨𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕

𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒕𝒉

             Chapter twenty two
Elora

"What's out here?" Sokka's voice echoed through the serene landscape, laced with confusion and mild paranoia. Little did he know, behind his back, we had conspired to take a well-deserved break, opting for mini-vacations to inject some excitement into our travels. And of course, Aang, ever the spontaneous one, had chosen our first destination.

Toph, always in tune with her surroundings, knelt down to place her palm on the ground. "A lot actually. There's hundreds of little—"

"Shh!" Aang interrupted, excitement bubbling beneath his calm exterior. "I know you can see underground, but don't ruin the surprise. Just watch." With a a long breath in he blew into the flute.

As the notes danced through the air, a magical moment unfolded. From a nearby hole, a small animal emerged, chirping in perfect harmony with Aang's melody. "Yeah! I'm putting an orchestra together," the creature exclaimed with a cheerful chirp, mirroring the tune.

Unable to contain my laughter, I grinned at the whimsical scene before me.

"Orchestra, huh? Well, la-dee-da," Sokka chimed in with his signature sarcasm, his sing-songy tone summoning three more animals to join the impromptu performance.

"Shh, nut brain, I'm enjoying the talented show," I shot back, my sarcasm matching Sokka's.

"This is great and all, but don't we have more important things to worry about?" Sokka interjected, his frustration evident. "We should be making plans."

"We did make plans," Toph retorted matter-of-factly.

"We're all picking mini vacations."

"There's no time for vacations," Sokka grumbled, his frustration bubbling to the surface. I sighed and met his gaze, understanding his concern.

"Sokka, I'm learning the elements as fast as I can. I practice hard every day with Toph and Katara. I'm capable of taking out some time to give my family a deserved break. They're kids, and they've all been under so much stress. Little side quests to lift their spirits won't hurt," I reasoned, hoping to alleviate his worries.

"Yeah," Katara chimed in, her voice filled with agreement. "What's wrong with having a little fun in our downtime?"

"Even if you do master all of the elements, then what?" Sokka exclaimed, his frustration evident as he gestured wildly with his free hand. "It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation. Should we just head west until we reach the Fire Lord's house? Knock-knock. Hello, Fire Lord! Anybody home? I don't think so. We need some intelligence if we're gonna win this war."

"Alright, we'll finish our vacations, and then we'll look for Sokka's intelligence," Katara announced with a hint of sarcasm.

"And his fun side while we're at it,"I added with a chucklel.

As Aang held out a map, he turned to Katara. "Your turn, Katara. Where would you like to go on your mini vacation?"

Katara pointed to a spot on the map. "How about the Misty Palms Oasis? That sounds refreshing," she suggested with a smile.

"Oh, yeah, Lora and I have been there," Aang interjected, a fond smile gracing his features. "I took her there for her birthday once. It's a pristine, natural ice spring, and I don't usually use the word pristine. It's one of nature's wonders."

"Yeah, and it's where he got the great nickname 'shit licker,'" I snorted, unable to contain my amusement, and Toph erupted into laughter beside me.

"'Shitlicker'? Boy, do I gotta hear that story," Toph exclaimed, her curiosity piqued.