fire & lightning

chapter eighteen

       At first, Aang has been struggling a lot to get the hang of eartbending. It turned out to be most difficult because he was working with his natural opposite. It took some time, but after Katara told Toph to give Aang a positive reinforcement, she did just that. By the end of the day, Aang was earthbending and we were all proud. Sokka also got stuck in a hole, but that's another story.

"We should be making plans, not playing with groundhogs." Sokka directed his opinion towards Aang, who was playing the flute and starting an orchestra with the critters in the desert.

"We did make plans. We all get to pick a vacation." Toph reminded.

"There's no time for a vacation." Sokka refused, taking the flute out of Aang's hands.

"I'm learning the elements as fast as I can. I practice hard everyday with Toph and Katara. I've been training my arrow off!"

"Exactly, Aang. What's wrong with having some fun in our downtime?" Katara crossed her arms, glaring at Sokka.

"Even if you do master all of the elements, then what? It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation." Sokka excused.

"Uh, Sokka, I already know most of that. Seriously, it's like you guys forget i'm here." I sighed.

"Oh, i'm sorry." Sokka apologized.

"I mean, it's rare for someone on our side to originate from the Fire Nation. No harm, Motoko." Katara placed her hand on my back.

"You're awesome, don't you forget it." Toph rejoiced, making me gush.

"Okay, I get it. Thanks." A blush crept onto my cheeks. I don't know what I would do without these people. "Although, Sokka has a point. I don't know every single thing about the Fire Nation, maybe some more knowledge can help us?"

"Alright, we'll go on our vacations then we'll see what we can find about the Fire Nation." Katara planned, smiling at everyone.

"You go first, Katara." Aang pulled out an old looking map, showing it to the waterbender.

"How about the Misty Palms Oasis?" She pointed towards the destination that appealed to her. "That place sounds refreshing."

"Oh, i've been there! It's a pristine natural ice ground. It's one of nature's wonders."

~

"Aang, wrong place." I commented.

"No, this is it." He retorted. "Must have changed ownership since I was here."

Aang let out a nervous laugh that no one else bothered to participate in.

The Misty Palms Oasis looked nothing like what it was on the map. The entire place was dry, nothing refreshing about it. In fact, it was smaller than we all expected it to be. We walked towards one of the huts and the sign at the entrance fell down, almost crushing us.

"Uh, let's keep moving."

We reached the doors, Aang, Katara, and Toph went inside first. Before Sokka and I could join them, one of the sketchy sandbenders outside spat at my feet, then laughed at my reaction when his saliva almost soaked my boot. I charged at him, reaching for my sword, but Sokka stopped me and held me back.

"Do that again, I dare you." He hissed at them, then pulled me into the shelter our friends just entered.

All I could describe about the place was that it was dead. People were daydreaming, some were fast asleep at their tables, and the only thing that intrigued us here was someone ordering a fruity drink at the bar.

"I don't see anything wrong with having one of those delicious looking beverages." Sokka inquired then rushed to the bartender.

We followed Sokka, the man who ordered a drink turned around and bumped into Aang, spilling it all over him.