The Tale of Amara

Chapter 39: Ba Sing Se

Chapter 39: Ba Sing Se

The monorail came to a stop, and for that I was very relieved. The shaking of the ride was making me a bit queasy. I preferred flying on Appa so much more because his ride was smooth. When we finally got off the monorail onto the stone platform of the Lower Ring, I had to do all I could to not run off our transportation.

Finally getting onto solid land, I let out a breath of relief. Yuna had moved to my arms at this point because the area was very crowded and she kept getting bumped on my shoulder. Zuko kept an arm around my shoulders to try and move me through the crowd to the more open space on the platform. Eventually we got over to an open area by the steps that led to the streets of Ba Sing Se, and finally we all relaxed.

Iroh spoke once we were out of the loud crowd and could hear. "My contact let me know that they would be here soon with a carriage. We have a few minutes to rest."

Zuko had let go of me at this point. "I'm guessing this is another member of your secret club."

He smiled. "Like I said: I have many old friends."

As we waited for the carriage to come and retrieve us, I took in the sights and sounds of the city. Ba Sing Se was definitely bigger than Omashu, and I was amazed by the amount of people and buildings that stretched out on both sides. I could tell we were definitely in the Lower Ring though; many of the people I saw were in tattered clothing, resting against buildings in the sun begging people who passed by for money. While I had never had much growing up, I still felt bad for the people before me. Many did not have homes. Most of them were refugees that had been forced to flee from the Fire Nation and seek safety in the city. I prayed that by winning the war we could make their lives a little better.

"Mew-Hoo!" Yuna suddenly let out a cry. I jumped a bit, and glanced at her where she was in my lap as we sat on the steps and waited. Her eyes were looking at something across the street, and I followed her gaze to see another cat-owl sitting on a perch built into a wooden cart. The white feathered cat-owl gave a "Mew-Hoo" back.

Iroh chuckled from where he sat beside me. "Looks like Yuna has a new friend."

I smiled slightly. "She hasn't seen another of her kind since her mom died. I'm sure she's just excited to be able to talk to someone."

Zuko, who sat on the other side of me, said, "She probably just misses Ping."

His words made me think about the ostrich-horse we had left behind. Then, as I thought about the ostrich-horse, I thought about Appa again. Zuko caught my smile fall, and he quickly became worried.

"Amara... What's wrong?"

I pet Yuna more as I thought about the gentle flying giant I had come to care about. "I just hope Appa's okay... He's such a sweet boy."

Iroh placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I will reach out to my connections while we are here and see if I can get any information. I am certain the Avatar and your family are already making plans to search for him."

I looked around at the busy city again. "If he was brought here though, there's no telling where he could be. This city is so big."

Zuko tried to reassure me. "That bison survived a hundred years frozen in ice. He can survive anything at this point."

I smiled slightly again. "Yeah... he can..."

A few moments later a  carriage came towards us made out of fine wood. The wheels were custom made, having been carved to look like a white lotus. A brown ostrich-horse pulled the carriage, and on the front was a young man in a green robe with a brown hat. The carriage pulled up to the steps where we were sitting. Iroh stood just as the door to the carriage opened and a man a little older than him stepped out.