The world has come to a standstill. Air drapes heavily around my body, eyes never blinking at the horrific display of nature's ever present strength presented in a great capacity. We watch as the raging waters demolish buildings as if they were paper, debris swelling in waves. Personal possessions are stripped of their glory once the muddled liquid washes over them. I'm choking down oxygen in an attempt to center myself but it only seems to phase through my lungs.
"Y/n we gotta go. Come on." Sokka's voice is hollow compared to how he was moments ago. He tugs on my sleeve causing my feet to tangle in each other. He breaks into a run while I regain my balance well enough to trail after him.
I block out the sound of rushing waves as we crash through the forest's edge, Sokka quickly gathering the reigns while I tumble onto Appa's saddle. With unsteady hands I tuck the card into a safe spot, forcing myself to leave it be for now. I need to target my worries onto the tasks at hand. I run through them in my head while we ascend into the air:
1. Find and/or rescue Aand and Katara
2. Get back my switchblade
3. Make sure Jet never pulls another stunt like this again
No words are exchanged between any of us, except for Momo's confused chitters that are silenced after I gently stroke his fur, my mind recounting my short list over and over. Soon we hear clashing voices, familiar ones at that. I can immediately identify Jet's condescending tone that he used only when something hasn't gone to plan. I scramble to Appa's head, gripping onto Sokka's shoulders to make sure I don't slide off into oblivion. We catch what I assume to be the last bit of a remark from Jet as we level out with the clearing used as a miniature battle ground.
"--and this valley will be safe."
"It will be safe, without you."
Seeing Jet frozen to a tree grants a smidge of pride to enter my system as Katara finally realized what was happening. It's easily snuffed out by the pent up anger finally being allowed to flow freely from my bones.
"Y/n! Sokka!" Aang and Katara call out to us. I nod my head slightly, not taking any chances of removing my sight from our trapped enemy. Momo springs past my shoulder, landing safely in Aang's outstretched arms.
Sokka must've sensed I wasn't going to speak, so he decided to explain what we did on our end to our miniscule audience.
"We warned the villagers of your plan. At first, they didn't believe us and assumed I was a spy."
I finally found my voice and spoke up, "But after some explaining a village elder vouched for us. The very same one you attacked. Thankfully we were able to get everyone out in time, preventing any casualties you'd cause."
Appa positions himself next to the cliff's edge to allow Aang and Katara to climb onto his back. The young airbender easily propels himself up, making haste to appear next to me. He gently taps my shoulder while holding out his hand.
"I think this is yours," he says with a smile.
I breath out a relieved sigh. "Thank you."
Jet is struggling against his icy restraints, craning his neck to get a better view of us. "We could have freed this valley!"
"Who would be free? Everyone would be dead." Sokka's eyes are pooled with a mix of disappointment, sympathy, and the inability to forgive Jet's actions. Maybe he was holding a smidgen of hope that Katara would prove us wrong in the end. Not everything can have a happy result.
"You traitor!"
"No Jet. You became the traitor the moment you stopped protecting innocent people."
Katara still hasn't joined us, her position of intently focusing on the dirt with her back turned to the boy who lives in the woods. It appears the events of the day are finally starting to be processed by her conscience. Jet beckons her, "Katara, please, help me."
Her irises begin to cloud over with tears threating to spill from behind her eyelashes. She inhales deeply, solidifying her decision; "Good-bye Jet."
Then she slowly advances towards the flying bison's tail, while I make a snap judgement to jump off the furry creature, running towards Jet once my feet touch the ground. I quickly release the blade from it's jade hilt, tilting up the shaggy haired teen's chin, forcing him to meet my gaze.
"You go against everything Feshen wanted. If you ever try to do anything like this again, I will find you. Do you understand?"
He only stares, his pupils constricting at my straightforward statement. I lightly push the tip forward, not hard enough to break skin, but enough to emphasize my point. "Yes! Yes. I won't."
I back away, squinting at his shaken expression. "Good."
Once I turn away all the adrenaline I previously felt drains from my body, muscles going slack, my actions catching up with my thoughts. I avoid looking at my friends.
That was... intense. Did I take it too far? This is embarrassing...
I silently climb onto Appa's back, keeping my sight forward to close off the opportunity for an easy confrontation. We smoothly glide away from the forest, no sounds exchanged in our party. Today has affected all of us, some ways the same, some ways unique to each individual. Only the wind's song of shifting through my hair accompanies the sorrowful atmosphere blanketing our victory. I peek over the side of the saddle to be met with the sight of the demolished village.
The townspeople are calmly situated on the hill. Some seem to have settled down on the grass, entertaining themselves with what they were able to salvage from their homes before the wave. I recognize Kashin and Sohi below, their minature forms lounging on a blanket with a few children surrounding them. I promise I will return your kindness in full.
"We could've killed so many of them..."
I turn to face a shaking Katara. She's watching the crowd dotting the grassy field, tears sliding down her skin. "And it all would've been my fault."
"No Katara. Don't say that," Aang positions himself at her side, placing a hand on her back. He looks up to me as a silent plead for help on what will make her feel better. I immediately shuffle towards her, joining the miniature huddle.
"Hey, hey, look at me. You didn't know. You weren't aware of what Jet was going to do because he never told you. It was not your fault." I brush her cheeks with the back of my hand, tucking her beaded strands of hair away from her face. "You too Aang. Look at all the people you saved. No one got hurt, Sokka and I were able to get everyone to safety. You are safe, they are safe, we are safe."
She hesitantly nods, trying to shed any lingering guilt. Aang understands that I wasn't calming just Katara. My words were also directed towards him too.
"I'm proud of you. I mean, you had the guy frozen to a tree!" Sokka exclaims, lightening the mood.
This sets off a round of laughter as we settle into each other's company after being split for majority of our stay in the forest. Aang's resumed his usual spot of guiding Appa with the rest of us in the back. We were able to quickly go into the treehouses from above, breaking through the canopy to gather what we had left behind. After, we finally said goodbye to the autumn sea, parting ways towards the Northern Water Tribe.
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I pick through the local greenery surrounding our camp, my hair still slightly tangled after Aang's gust of wind dried me off from washing off in the pond only a stone's throw away. The young Avatar is foraging with me for edible plants to prepare for dinner. I spot a nearby tree laden with persimmons. Using the edge of my blade I carefully cut their stems so the tree can continue to grow more in the future.
"Aang? I uh, I have a question."
"Okay! What is it?"
"Whenever we meet new people they always recognize you super easily right?"
I hear the sound of roots being pulled stop. "What exactly are you getting at?"
"Something happened when Sokka and I went to the village earlier."
I felt a hand land onto my forearm, and I turned to face the body it belonged to. I breathed a sigh before continuing to voice my thoughts. "After we finished moving everyone to a safe space, I was given this by a lady."
I pulled the card from my waistband, brandishing its delicate picture. It was of me, swathed in rich green fabrics, sitting where Feshen would paint portraits of me. My hair was neatly styled with Fiko's comb visibly residing in my locks. There's a slim halo of water circling above my head, matching the image I was shown in my dreams. Although this time a intricate lattice metal snaked behind me and winded around my arm, connecting with the switchblade resting in my palm. I didn't appear hostile, rather a calm smile was drawn on my face with an ethereal aura enveloping my body. I think of the possibility that what Feshen showed me was unfinished.
Aang's grey irises flicker between the card and my face. "It looks exactly like you! Well, just a little different."
I watch his actions. "She said something about stories, stories of me. I don't understand. It makes sense why people know you, but if someone has been making—" I frustratedly gesture to the card "—whatever this is supposed to represent then people have been saying things about me for a hundred years."
He flips the card around with his air bending, looking at all possible angles the object can offer.
"Did they tell you anything about their heritage?"
"Yes, Kashin was wearing an engagement necklace like the one Katara has. Her wife must've come from a family who has roots with a Water Tribe. It didn't seem like anyone had thought of leaving the Southern village when we were there..."
"So they would have left before the war," Aang finishes. "Katara and Sokka didn't say anything so maybe it didn't come from the Water Tribes at all."
"The Earth Kingdom then?"
Aang shrugs, "I like to think so."
We continue to harvest what nature has offered us in silence. I mull over the conversation in my head.
Should I tell him about Feshen? Fiko visited me too, but those were dreams. Unless they were visiting from...
... the spirit world
"Hey! Are you guys done?" Katara shouts, startling me.
"Yeah!" Aang responds.
A fire was already lit, the wood popping and sending embers into the sky. Sokka was constructing a small spit to lay over the flames with two fish already prepared to be cooked. We all worked together to assemble a meal to satisfy everyone's hunger. The sky was displaying its last smudges of daylight as the sun sunk lower into the beyond. Sleeping bags were laid out, supplied stored away, animals tended to.
"Something on your mind?" Sokka questioned without stopping his consistent rhythm of brushing my hair. Katara and Aang had already retired a few minutes ago.
"I guess."
"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"I think it's better if I do. When we were saving the small town from being wiped out by Jet I was given this," I passed the unusual portrait behind me.
I feel the comb slow, parting from my locks. It takes a moment before his gentle voice joins the harmony of the surrounding world. "How did someone paint this if you weren't there?"
"That's whats so confusing. I've been having these weird dreams where I'm visited by people from my home, people who have long since departed this world. Feshen and Fiko were there. He showed me a drawing just like that one but without the metal detailing. Maybe it was unfinished? It's stupid."
"I don't think its stupid," Sokka holds my shoulders so I will turn around to face him. I do, my hands already reaching out to grab the sturdy parchment from him.
"Maybe they really are visiting you. Trying to tell you something."
"What does it even mean? Neither of them told me. How am I supposed to know?"
He stares at the image I fiddle with in my unsteady fingers. I feel pressure shift from my shoulders to my back, my upper body being pushed forward, colliding with his in a gentle embrace.
"We can figure this out. I promise. You're smart Y/n, and even if its unclear, we can put together the clues."
"Okay."
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Word count: 2155
This chapter is shorter than normal because I was struggling with how to end the mini Jet arc. Readjusting to school has been a pain and I feel my creativity level isn't at is best. Instead of continuing multiple rewrites I have decided to publish this chapter as is and hopefully feel much better with the next one.
Thank you so much for your patience and continuing to support my story. I'm so glad that I'm able to share my imagination with you.
I cannot guarantee when the next part will be published, but I hope that it will be a much shorter wait. I am working toward breaking through my creative block and making sure I am taking care of myself so I can continue to write for you. Take care of yourself!! <3