War of Change | Book 3

10: Don't Let Go

"There are the same five arrows I made the other day," I teased, seeing as she was trying to count them all. It was the same trick she used to pull back home, counting all twenty-five of the arrows I kept in my quiver to figure out if I had actually gone hunting when I left – she always used to accuse me of using hunts to conceal practicing my waterbending when I told her she wasn't allowed. "I thought I was going to do some hunting," I explained, "but there's nothing good on this island."

"Good, you need to save your energy for today." I couldn't stop rolling my eyes at this. Sokka and I were warriors, and our dear sister would forever be the worrier. Even after she was done with me, she went to give a cup of water to our brother, who had been concentrating silently on his maps.

A large air gush got my attention. I looked up to see the young airbender with his flying lemur. "Top of the morning, Momo!" he greeted.

Katara rose to place, her hands on her hips. "Sounds like you slept well."

"Like a baby moose lion," he assured. He suddenly assumed a combat stance with raised fists. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."

"So, what's your strategy for taking him down?" Toph grinned and put her hands to her eyes, her fingers wiggling as mimicry of the Avatar State. "Gonna get your glow on and hit him with a little Avatar State action?"

I bit my lip at this, remembering something Yue had told me. "I can't," Aang told them. "When Azula shot me with lightning, my seventh chakra was locked, cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe."

Toph slumped her shoulders as if bored. "You know what I just heard? Blah, blah, spiritual mumbo jumbo blah, blah, something about space."

"Kida, what about you?" Sokka pipped up as he turned towards us finally. "Are you going to do that water spirit thing?"

"Honestly," I began to admit, "I've never actually done it without there being a full moon, so I don't know if I can." It wasn't a complete lie. I never had done it when there wasn't a full moon at night. However, considering Yue's concern, I had a fairly good idea that it would work.

"Well, the eclipse technically is a full moon during the day," said Sokka.

"I don't think it works the same way," Katara huffed.

"She's right," I agreed, busying my hands with pushing around the food in my bowl. "It probably won't make any difference for a waterbender."

Sokka shrugged. "I guess we won't need it. The firebenders won't have any bending – that should be enough."

"Oh, no!" Katara exclaimed. All of our attention immediately followed her gaze to the ocean. "Sokka, do you think the fog will delay the invasion?"

Sokka stood, squinting as he examined the large mass of mist in the distance. "No." I stood with him and looked, only to see familiarly shaped boats amid the fog. "That is the invasion!" he declared.