Chapter Forty-Five - The Painted Lady

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Sailing on a polluted lake on Appa and having Sokka trying to catch a fish was... extremely boring. Iris had been sitting on the saddle with Toph and Katara having nothing to say except hearing Aang playing with Momo in the river.

"Aang, come up here, this river looks terrible," Iris said.

Aang jumped with Momo on the saddle with the polluted liquid stuck on his body. "Hey, guys, I think this river's polluted," Aang said using his air bending to blast it away from him in result to throw it on the others. He did it again and the polluted water got away.

"You think?" Iris asked raising an eyebrow as if it was the most obvious thing.

"Well, that explains why I can't catch a fish around here because normally my fishing skills are off the hook!" Sokka said waiting for the others to laugh at the cold joke "Get it? Like a fishing hook!"

"Too bad your skills aren't on the hook," Toph said making the others laugh amusingly and Sokka frown.

"Seriously, Sokka, that was the worst joke you've ever said till now," Iris said looking at him but he ignored her. She took the map out and she walked on Appa's head where Sokka was sitting to look on the schedule they had planned together.

"It looks like we'll need to go somewhere else to get food. Assuming that will fit into Sokka's and Iris's master schedule," Katara said looking at the long scroll with the schedule they had planned for every day.

"Hmm, it's doable," Iris said scratching her chin with her hand locking her gaze on the schedule.

"But that means only two potty breaks today," Sokka added.

"Hey, maybe we can get food there," Aang said pointing at a village built on the river.

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"I don't feel anything. Where is this village?" Toph asked.

"It's in the middle of the river," Sokka said pointing at it.

"Sure is, my name is Dock, mind if I ask you who you are?" An old man said from a canoe in the river.

"We're... um," Katara tried to say but Iris said.

"From the Earth Kingdom Colonies,"

"Wow, colonials, well hop on, I'll give you a ride into town," Dock said and they did.

Dock explained to them that they were once a fishing town until the Fire Nation built a factory on the other side of the river and it started polluting the water endlessly. When they reached the village it could be heard nothing more than silence. Sick people lied on the wooden streets and mothers tried to find food for their hungry children.

Everything was so quiet. The Fire Nation was even cruel to their own people. Iris smirked. Why would they still praise the Fire Lord while they were starving because of him?

"There's definitely more live in a cemetery," Iris commented as they walked around the wooden paths. Only to receive a smack on her shoulder from Katara. "What?" and she heard Toph and Sokka snickering on her comment.

"Look at this place, is so sad, we have to do something to help," Katara said.

"No, we can't waste our time here," Sokka said. Katara turned and shot a deadly glare and Iris said.

"We have a bigger mission we all need to stay focused on," Iris said.

"These people are on their own," Sokka said and he turned to get away but Katara stopped him placing her hand on his shoulder.

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