Avatar Katara

The Chase

"Hey, guys, you picked a nice spot. The grass is so soft." Toph was lying down in a pile of Sang's fur.

Sokka laughed. "That's not grass. Sang's shedding."

Katara pulled her foot out of the white fur. "Ugh, gross!"

Rina rolled her eyes. "It's not gross. It's part of spring. You know, rebirth, flowers blooming, Sang getting a new coat."

"Ah, the beauty of spring," Katara muttered. Sang sneezed, blowing fur everywhere. "Gah! Sang, stop!"

"It's not that bad, Katara." Sokka had piled a bunch of fur on his head. "It makes a great wig!"

"And a great beard," Rina added. She'd arranged the fur on her face to look like a beard.

The two laughed, and Katara wiped the fur off her sleeve. "I'm just glad Toph's joined the group, because you two are disgusting."

Toph raised her shoulders, revealing a collection of fur under her arms. "Excuse me, does anyone have a razor, because I have some hairy pits!"

All three of them burst into laughter. Sang sneezed again, knocking them into the fur. They laughed harder. Katara scowled and brushed more fur off her dress.

---

The sun set over the clearing as Sokka carried firewood to the pit, Rina set up the tents, and Katara prepared the water for dinner. Toph was leaning against a rock.

Katara frowned. "So Toph, usually when we set up camp, we try to divide the work."

"Hey, don't worry about me. I'm good to go."

"Well, uh, what I'm actually trying to say is, some of us might fetch water while others set up the tent and others gather firewood. Even Tikaani does his share." Two fish seemed to flop in the air, but Katara could see the outline of the chameleon wolf carrying them.

Toph shrugged. "Katara, I'm fine. I can carry my own weight. I don't need a fire, I've already collected my own food, and look." She created a tent with her earthbending. "My tent's already set up."

"Well, that's great for you, but we still need to finish-"

Toph scowled. "I don't understand. What's the problem here?"

The problem is that you're a lazy brat who isn't contributing to the team. "Never mind."

---

Katara felt a little guilty after she cooled down. She'd forgotten Toph's backstory. Of course she wouldn't want anyone doing work for her. "Hey, Toph, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. I think we're all just a little tired and getting on each other's nerves."

Toph scoffed. "Yeah, you do seem pretty tired."

"I meant all of us."

"Well, goodnight." Toph went inside her tent.

"Goodnight."

---

Something was coming towards them. Something large, judging by the vibrations strong enough to wake Toph up.

"There's something coming!" she yelled.

Everyone shot up. "What?" Rina asked. "Where?"

Toph put her hand on the ground. "It feels like an avalanche." She frowned. "But also not like an avalanche."

"Your powers of perception are frightening," Sokka muttered.

"Should we leave?" Katara asked.

"It's probably better to be safe than sorry." Rina picked up her bedroll. "Come on, let's go." The team climbed onto Sang's back, and the sky bison flew away.