Redeemed (Sokka x O.C.) ‐ Finished- Trigger Warning In Discription

75: The Forest and the Pool

The group left Appa behind when they entered the dense forest. Tu Cho stayed at the back of the group, not participating in the conversation. She had too many thoughts on her mind to sleep the night before. Even cuddling Sokka hadn't been able to stop her tossing and turning. Tu Cho was pulled out of her jumbled mess of a mind by Azula shooting fire into the forest. Aang and Zuko quickly extinguished the fire.

"What'd I tell you last time you did something like this?" Sokka asked. "Oh yeah. Nature hates you."

"Quiet guys!" Aang called, his face in his hands. "I am detecting something with my special avatar powers!" the way he said it made Tu Cho doubt he was serious. "It's kind making me wanna go..." He lifted his head revealing an odd frown with one eye wide open and the other pearly closed. "...like this."

Katara was mortified. "Sweetie, not with the faces again!"

"No," Tu Cho said. "I think Aang is onto something. If you look, there are actually faces all over the place!"

Sokka pulled one a leaf and imitated the sad face the coloring made out. "Check out this leaf!"

"Sokka, stop!" Katara scolded. "Aang can't help it, but you're just being a jerk!"

Sokka ignored his sister as he pointed out the oversized smile on a squirrel-toad and the angry expression on some tree bark, making the faces. "And that giant flutter-bat over there!" He pointed to the flying creature. "Aang the pattern on its wings look like the face you're making!"

"Hey, you're right!" Aang chased after the animal. "Don't fly away, Mr. Flutter-bat! I think we're meant to be friends!"

"Aang! Don't run off by yourself!" Zuko yelled but it was to late as Aang air bent himself after the animal.

Tu Cho took a deep breath through her nose. "This way." She moved a bunch of leaves aside with her folded fan, revealing a path.

"How do you know?" Azula asked in a snarky voice.

"Not that you have any respect for spirit lands or fortune telling but I can feel the path, okay?" Tu Cho said. "But be careful. There's something big here..." They followed Tu Cho down the windy path she felt out.

"Aang?" Katara called.

"I'm over here!" Aang called, not having gone too far. "Check this out!" The group came up on the still blue pool. If it wasn't for the reflection and feel it gave off, Tu Cho would have thought it was the color of the ground below rather than a deep pool of water.

"I've never seen water so clear and so still," Katara said.

"Like a pane of glass..." Zuko said.

"It feels so familiar..." Aang said. "So... tranquil... it reminds me of Tui and La's pool in the northern water tribe. Be respectful everybody. This is a very spiritual place."

Azula looked into the pool and grew angry. "You again!" She shot lightning at the spirit pool. "Don't you ever shut up!"

"Azula, no!" Zuko yelled but it was too late.

"What'd I just say about being respectful!" Aang yelled.

"She told you to lead me here, didn't she!" Azula shot blue fire at the air bender. "So she could keep tormenting me with her lies!" Zuko blocked her fire with his own, keeping it from hitting anyone.

"Azula!" Tu Cho yelled. "That's enough!"

Azula froze as she looked at her older sister, her eyes wide in a combination of fear and anger. "Mom-"

"You're right, Tu Cho, it is enough!" Katara water bent a bit of the spirit water out of the pool. "We've tried to put up with her, but she'd too dangerous!" Before anything could happen with the water, multiple somethings were thrown at the group at high speed, causing the water to splash back down into the pond.