War of Change | Book 3

4: Kiss and Run

Art: Suitengu's Torch by Noah Bradley

The air was warm and dry, but the thin cotton was expertly made to combat this. I pulled at the sleeves of the top, finding the cuffs looser than I would have liked. It would have to work for now. Next, I pulled on a red vest that was a brighter hue than the top, finally finishing the ensemble by wrapping a sash around my waist.

The silky material of the sash was light and purely there for aesthetic purposes. After so much time in my Earth Kingdom clothes with belts upon belts wrapped around my waist, holding water pouches and weapons and bags for loose change, it felt strange to be so loose. One would assume being in the Fire Nation should mean I had more reason for those things. We weren't there for a fight, though, not yet. We had to blend in, and people on the mainland didn't have a reason to fight.

Nevertheless, I shoved a dagger – Jet's dagger – into my boot. If something did happen, at least I had something on me.

Before long, everyone was dressed in a new set of Fire Nation clothes. It was odd to see my siblings in red, but they didn't look half bad, if not mildly out of place. Once we all looked convincing enough, we set off to the nearby city to find some food.

When we entered, I found that they were nearly as bad as Iroh when there were was an opportunity to waste their money. Katara stopped almost instantly at a jewelry booth, eyeing the necklaces. The others acted nearly as fast to purchase their own accessories. I was close to passing it up but paused when I saw some red cuffs which could fix my loose sleeve problem. At least they could help me, and while I was buying them, I might as well get the gold accessory for my topknot.

Once we were all satisfied with our appearances, we moved on to find something to eat. We came across a slight problem when we found most of the restaurants in this town only sold meat which, as I'd forgotten, Aang didn't eat. He opted to hold back and find something else while we went in. I wasn't a big fan of the plan but went along with it nonetheless.

My concern faded momentarily as I watched my siblings try to eat spicy food. Toph and I had quite a bit of fun teasing them. When we were done, we paid then went out to collect Aang again.

My concern instantly returned. He wasn't outside the shop.

"He probably just went looking for some lettuce in the trash or something," Sokka attempted to be the voice of reason. He didn't fool me. I could hear his alarm growing as well. "Let's split up and look for him."

We agreed. It might not have been the best idea since splitting up the first time was what had gotten us into this mess, but I knew I could move faster on my own. The longer I went without seeing the familiar bald little head, the more I panicked. Then I remembered he didn't have a bald head anymore. He had hair, and he was in Fire Nation clothes. I could have passed him a dozen times already and not even realized it. I couldn't even call out his name; there was too great of a chance of it being recognized.

"Hey, you okay?"

I felt the hand on my shoulder before the words registered. My reaction was completely instinctual. The subsequent yelp and grunt were muffled in my ears until I felt the body crumple forward. I blinked twice, trying to understand what had happened. There was a male on his knees in front of me, his arm twisted in an unnatural state with his fist in my hand.