Avatar Katara

The Serpent's Pass

The team swam in a pool of water. The sandbenders had escorted them out of the desert, but Rina refused to talk of them. She spent most of her time sulking. Sometimes Katara would join her. Sometimes they'd cry together. Then one day, Rina was back to acting like normal. Her smiles were tighter and she didn't laugh as much, but she stopped glaring at the sandbenders.

Now they were all swimming in a lake.

"Waterbending bomb!" Katara yelled as she jumped from a cliff above the lake. As soon as she hit the water, a massive column of water splashed up, drenching Toph and Rina.

Toph laughed even Rina cracked a smile.

Sokka held up his dripping wet maps. "Sure, some five thousand year old maps from the library, just drench them in water."

"Sorry." Katara wrung the water out of her hair and pulled it from the maps.

"So did you figure out what route we're going to take?" Rina asked as they gathered around Sokka.

Sokka pointed to the map. "We just got out of the desert, so we must be around here. And we've got to get to Ba Sing Se, which is here. And it looks like the only passage connecting the southern Earth Kingdom to the northern part is through this little sliver of land called the Serpent's Pass."

"You sure that's the best way?" Toph asked.

Sokka shrugged. "I don't think we've got any other choice. It's not like Sang's there to fly..." He broke off, glancing at Rina.

"It's alright." Rina's voice was tight. "If Sang's in Ba Sing Se, we've got to focus on getting there."

"Ok," Katara said, slightly surprised. "Well, I'm glad you're doing better."

Sokka rolled up his map. "Then we go to Ba Sing Se, and no more distractions."

Just as he finished, they saw a pair of Earth Kingdom refugees.

"Hello!" yelled a man. There was a young man and a pregnant woman.

"So you guys are headed to Ba Sing Se?" Sokka asked.

The man nodded. "We're trying to get there before my wife, Ying, has her baby."

The sight of Ying reminded Katara of Malu, Rina's pregnant cousin-in-law. Malu could be explosive as the bombs she wielded, and Katara hoped she was alright.

Rina straightened up like she'd brightened, but her smile was forced. "We can travel through the serpent's pass together!"

Ying gasped. "The Serpent's Pass? Only the truly desperate take that route!"

"Deadly route," Toph said, pinching Sokka's arm. "Great pick."

"Well, we are desperate."

Ying's husband smiled. "You should come with us to Full Moon Bay. Ferries take refugees across the lake. It's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se."

"And it's hidden, so the Fire Nation can't find it," Ying added.

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Hm, peaceful ferry ride, or deadly pass?"

---

Full Moon Ferry Landing was located in a cavernous inlet. Three large ships were anchored in the bay. Hundreds of refugees were gathered on the shore. An earthbender opened a cave in the wall, letting the next group of refugees in.

"I can't believe how many people's lives have been uprooted by the Fire Nation," Katara said as she watched a woman with cheeks sunken from hunger feed a crying child.

"We're all looking for a better life, away from the Fire Nation," said the man, Than. "Safe, behind the walls of Ba Sing Se."

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