"How long have we been flying for?" I mutter as I had my head placed on my knees. "I feel so sick."
The girl, who had told me her name was Katara, scooted closer to me. "I know how nerve racking flying can be at first, but you'll get used to it. Do you want some water?"
I slowly shook my head. Katara pulled out her water sack as she handed it to me.
Before, I could take a sip out of the sack; Appa had landed on the ground harshly, causing all the water to spill on my face.
I groan handing Katara back her water sack.
A flying lemur, I somehow didn't notice all this time, plopped onto my shoulder as it began licking my face makeup.
I frowned, gently picking up the lemur and laying it down on the saddle.
"That's Momo," Sokka chirps. "I think he likes the taste of your makeup."
I close my eyes. "Yeah."
Sokka's eyebrows furrow together. "What's wrong? Are you still upset that we dragged you along with us?"
I sigh, looking up at Sokka. "No, it's not you guys. Sometimes, I just shut down. I don't know. I'm feeling a bit sick right now."
"Oh." Sokka breathes out. "Maybe we can find some food for you, when we make a stop."
"Yeah, that would be nice."
To be honest. The only reason I was truly feeling sick was because I didn't have any of my substances with me, but I couldn't tell my new friends that, what would they think of me?
Yes, I know I told Suki I'd stop. But addicts lie all the time, it's their specialty.
I usually had at least a bag of weed, pills. Just anything, when I felt anxious or sad. At this moment, I was just feeling so many emotions all at once.
Everyone had dismounted off Appa as we walked up a tall hill.
As we reached the top of the hill. Aang spreads his arms wide. "The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu!"
My eyes drag up to the entire pyramid structured city of Omashu. "Woah." I breathe out.
"I used to always come here to visit my friend, Bumi."
I turn to Katara as she gasps loudly. "Wow! We don't have cities like this in the South Pole."
Sokka looks very overwhelmed. "They have buildings here that don't melt!"
"Well, let's go, slowpokes." Aang excitingly says. "The real fun is inside the city!"
Aang leaps off the top of the hill with his airbending, landing a few meters below and in the snow.
"Wait, Aang!" Katara calls out. "It could be dangerous if people find out you're the Avatar."
"You need a disguise." Sokka says looking over at me with a smirk.
"What?"
"So, what am I supposed to do?" Aang sarcastically asks. "Grow a mustache?"
Sokka had his arms crossed. "I think Venus could help."
"Just because I can do makeup doesn't mean I can-" I cut myself off. "Who am I kidding."
I look around my surroundings. I spot the furry headed bison, shedding.
I grab Appa's fur off the ground and began to give Aang a look.
Aang wiggles his nose, under which is now a patch of Appa's fur, serving as a mustache and is also wearing a tall wig made of the same material.
Aang groans after a few minutes. "Ugh, this is so itchy." He then gestures to Appa. "How do you live in this stuff?"
Appa slowly turns his head towards Aang and snorts at him as if he was scoffing.
"How does he look?" I ask the siblings. Sokka was sitting on a rock beside his sister as Katara was standing their with her arms crossed.
"Great! Now you look just like my grandfather." Sokka responds with a gloomy face.
I do the math in my head. "Technically, Aang is 112 years old."
Sokka playfully rolls his eyes at my comment causing me to stifle a laugh.
Aang nimbly kicks up his staff and spins it rapidly around before placing it upright on the ground to be used as a walking stick. He hunches his back and leans heavily on his staff like an old person. "Now, let's get to skipping, young whippersnappers! The big city awaits!"
We begin walking down the long path to Omashu.
"You guys are going to love Omashu." Aang smiles as we approach closer to the pyramid. "The people here are the friendliest in the world."
"Maybe, a hundred years ago." I mutter.
Sokka slightly elbows my side from my response.
Aang's eyes widen in surprise as he hears the harsh voice of the sentry. We all stop walking.
"Rotten cabbages?!" The voice angrily scoffs. "What kind of slum do you think this is?!"
The talking man, who I assume is a guard, squishes the cabbage he is holding and knocks another two cabbages out of the merchant's hands.
He proceeds by earthbending a rock under the cart, catapulting it high in the air, making it tumble down the chasm with all the cabbages.
The merchant leans over the rim of the path. Dramatically waving his arms in despair. "No! My cabbages!"
Katara, Sokka, Aang and I look over the rim, our mouths open in shock, as a loud crash is heard.
"Friendly, huh?" I elbow Sokka's side from payback from a few minutes ago.
Aang broadly smiles; somewhat nervously. "Just keep smiling."
Katara nervously giggles as we approach the three guards.
Aang approaches the sentries at the gate. The earthbender steps to the front and raises a boulder out of the ground before Aang and levitates it above his head. "State your business!"
Aang quickly runs from underneath the boulder and toward the guard; he halts right in front of the surprised man. "My business is my business, young man, and none of yours."
The boulder crashes down due to the guards lack of concentration as it lands beside the siblings and I. We jump from the sudden impact.
The guard is taken aback by the threateningly pointing finger just centimeters from his face. "I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!"
Sokka turns to me in shook as his eyes and mouth are wide opened.
The guard speaks in a calmer tone. "Settle down, old timer. Just tell me who you are."
"Names Bonzoo Pippinpaddleopsicopolis, the Third,"
"You should have let me talk." I whisper over to Sokka, who groans in response.
"And these are my grandkids."
Katara proudly walks up, smiling. "Hi. June Pippinpaddleopsicopolis. Nice to meet you."
I wave my hand in surrender. "I'm not with them. I'm just a noble Kyoshi Warrior."
The guard pensively rubs his beard. "I figured you weren't with these weirdos."
He then eyes the two children before him. Pointing at Katara. "You seem like a responsible young lady. See that your grandfather stays out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu."
The guard steps aside and motions at the city's entrance.
"We will." Katara lightheadedly replies.
I walk in front of everyone as they follow close behind me, but the guard lets out a yell. "Wait a minute!"
I quickly turn my head to see the guards hand, placed over Sokka's shoulder. "You're a strong young boy. Show some respect for the elderly and carry your grandfather's bag."
I try to keep in my laughter.
"Good idea." Aang says throwing his bag at Sokka.
The giant earthen wall splits open in the middle of the emblem, opening up to let any passengers through. The guard opens up the gate walls. As the first wall slides open, a second and third are bent aside as well.
We successfully make it through the gate, revealing an intricate system of chutes. The aqueduct like structures are built over and beside the houses with typical green roofs.
"This place is better than they described it in school." I breathlessly say in awe.
"This is the Omashu delivery system." Aang says going to his naturally tone of voice. "Miles and miles of tubes and chutes."
I watch as four earthbenders stand beside a platform, where one earthen cart slides out of the picture and another one filled with vegetables comes into view.
As the cart passed one earthbender, uses his bending to change the cart's directing and pushes it to the front, where another earthbender bends it up a tube to two other earthbenders standing at the ready to receive it.
One earthbender quickly bends stone lintels underneath the cart so it would not fall down again, while the other one thrusts it off the platform, where it slides down a chute at high speed.
"Earthbending brings the packages up, and gravity brings them down." Aang explains.
"Great," Sokka says unimpressed. "So, they get their mail on time."
"They do get their mail on time." Aang excitedly says. "But my friend Bumi found a better use for these chutes."
Suddenly, we were all sitting in a mail cart. The cart rocks back and forth, creaking.
My heart was honestly beating so fast. I think I might pass out. I had grasped Katara's shoulder as she was in front of me, while Sokka was behind me and Aang was in the front, of course.
"One ride. Then we're off to the North Pole. Airbender's honor." Aang promises.
"It sounded like fun at first," Katara voice slightly shakes. "But now that I'm here, I'm starting to have second-"
Aang leans forward, tipping the balance of the box, sending it down the slope at a tremendous speed, making Katara scream out her last word. "Th-o-o-oughts!"
I hide my face in Katara's huge hood. Sokka had his arms around my waist, squeezing it hard, I honestly couldn't breathe.
Aang giggles as the rest of us cry in terror.
The chute we were riding, pulls up next to a parallel one, where a cart with a rack of six spears is racing down as our cart pulls up next to the cart with the spears. We all just stare at it, no one making a sound.
We race past it and both tracks join together. Sokka, Katara and I scream as the two chutes merge into one chute with the spear-cart behind them, but quickly gaining.
Sokka hears it coming and turns around. He gasps and ducks just in time to avoid being skewered by the spears. I turns around and scream in fear as I see the weapons so close to me. Aang, smiling excitedly, turns to see what the commotion is all about. "I'm on it!"
Aang begins to rock the cart. Hitting each side once, the cart flies out of the chute and onto a roof, where it continues its descent.
The cart breaks through the railing, closing off the other chute and crosses the track, knocking over one of the supply carts, spilling a load of pumpkins all over the ground.
The knocked over cart lies on the track, where another incoming cart crashes into it. "Aang, do something!" I cry out. "Use your air bending!"
"Yeah! Good idea! That'll make us go even faster!"
"Nooo!" I shriek as Aang airbends behind him.
An earthbender soldier waiting for the arrival of the next cart.
As the slope flattens out, we cry out in alarm as we are moments away from colliding with the motionless cart in front of the bender.
The earthbender on duty at that station sends it on its way, briefly relieving us. Much to our horror, another cart instantly pops up from the tube below the bender. Before it can be moved, our cart crashes into it, catapulting them and their cart into the air, high above a lower level of the city.
Aang airbends the cart in front of us as we fall, making us drop back into the cart.
We land on a balcony and slide through another house. Emerging on the other side, a bearded cat chases Momo around Aang's wig until the lemur pushes it off.
The cart smashes through a parapet and drops vertically out of sight. We all scream as the cart drops, smashing a cabbage cart to pieces.
Aang, Katara, Sokka and I are in a tangled heap by the remains.
"My cabbages!" The men shrieks. "You're gonna pay for this!"
I was toppled on top of Sokka. "Are you okay?"
Sokka looks up dazed, but blushes a bit because of our position. "I-I..uh I think so. Are you?"
Suddenly, guards come walking up, surrounding us. Aang sits up, his disguise pretty much gone, revealing his youthful face and airbending arrow. "Two cabbages, please."
I groan, smacking my head on top of Sokka's chest.
✼ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ✼
The guards had taken us to the palace of the King of Omashu. We were now in a kneeling position in front of him as he was on his throne, flanked by two guards, in the back of an enormous room.
One of the guards that had taken us to the palace began to speak. "Your majesty, these juveniles were arrested for vandalism, traveling under false pretenses, and malicious destruction of cabbages."
The cabbage merchant jumps agitatedly up and down, waving his left fist in the air. "Off with their heads! One for each head of cabbage!"
"Silence!" The guard shouts. "Only the king can pass down judgment. What is your judgment, sire?"
The king who squints his eyes and grunts pensively. "Throw them... A feast."
The guards gasp and the merchant grasps his head with both hands in dismay upon hearing the king's verdict.
I smile over to the cabbage man, pulling out one of my daggers from my uniform and taunting him with it.
You can mess with Venus. But don't mess with the Kyoshi Warrior side of me.
I heard a very large gulp coming from the merchant.
Hours had passed by as we were told to meet the King in his dining hall.
The table revealed all sorts of different dishes and teapots. We all took a seat as the king stood behind our chairs.
The King begins talking to Aang. "The people in my city have gotten fat from too many feasts, so I hope you like your chicken with no skin."
"Thanks," Aang replies. "But I don't eat meat."
The king turns to Sokka. "How about you? I bet you like meat." He then stuffs the chicken into Sokka's mouth, who eats it appreciatively.
I gasp, grabbing the bone of the chicken and pulling it out of Sokka's mouth. "Oh my, you're going to choke!"
I then look at the stick of the bone, to see that Sokka had ate it whole. My eyes dart to the bone then Sokka.
The King walks to his seat, which was across from us at the table as he begins to speak to Aang again.
I whisper over to Sokka. "I'm going to use the bathroom real quick." Sokka nods his head.
"I'll walk you." One of the guard overhears as we make our way down the hall.
"Listen. sir. I don't need to use the bathroom." I confess.
"Then why did you say that?!"
"Keep your voice down." I hush. "I just wanted some of that good stuff."
"Good stuff?" The guard says raising his eyebrow. "I don't think-"
"You know," I smirk. I take my hand and pretend like I'm drinking out of a bottle.
The guard chuckles. "Haha, I like you. Right this way."
Wow, I can't believe that worked.
The guard leads me to a room full of alcoholic beverages. "Pick a few. Don't tell anyone I brought you here."
I smirk, popping the bottle open and chugging it down.
The guard approached closer to me. "I don't think you should be drinking that much in one sitting."
I let out a loud burp as I finish the drink and drop it on the ground as it shatters to pieces. "Thanks."
I begin to make my way out the beverage room, but was soon stopped by a couple of guards that had had my friends in their embrace.
"W-what's going on?" I ask a little dazed.
We stop at a wall that was cracked opened. We then got roughly pushed inside as the wall is immediately bent up again.
The room had four green beds in the center with four green drapes hanging from the ceiling above.
"We're having a sleepover?" I hiccup.
"Apparently, it's a prison cell, it looks so nice." Katara says.
"He did say it was newly refurbished." Aang chimps in.
"Nice or not," Sokka says. "We're prisoners."
"Prisoners?" I try to keep eyes opened. "What did you do?"
"The king found out Aang was the Avatar and now he's making Aang do some crazy challenges tomorrow!" Sokka exclaims with raised eyebrows.
I look around my surrounding, the room looked like it was spinning. "I'm not sure if I'm hallucinating, b-but there's no walls in here."
"No, you're right." Katara says looking around. "There's gotta be some way out of here."
"The air vents!" Aang suddenly exlaims, pointing to a small hole in the wall.
"If you think we're gonna fit through there, you're crazier than that king." Sokka harshly says.
I begin to uncontrollably laugh. "He is crazy, isn't he?"
Sokka eyes me. "Venus, you okay? You don't seem like yourself."
I pout my lip. "What do you mean?"
Sokka frowns from my sudden pouting. "Uh, I'm sorry. It's probably nothing."
While, Sokka and I were talking. Aang had tried to shove Momo into the hole, but he was too big to fit. "Go on, boy, get Appa!"
"Eh, how is Appa supposed to save us anyway?" Sokka says as he was relaxed on the bed as I sat beside him.
"Appa's a ten-ton flying bison; I think he could figure something out." Aang replies.
"Well, no point arguing about it now," Katara says getting comfortable in her bed. "Get some rest, Aang. Looks like you'll need it for tomorrow."
After a couple of minutes, everyone was still in their bed but me. I was still slumped by Sokka's side.
"V. You gonna go to your bed?" Sokka whispers.
I tiredly look up at Sokka. "I'm too tired to move."
"All right, you can sleep here with me for the night." Sokka replies.
"Oh,okay." My eyes slowly shut as I went into a deep slumber.
✼ ҉ ҉ ҉ ҉ ✼
When I had woken up, Sokka was staring down at me. "Been about time you wake up."
"Huh?" I try to move my hand to touch my face, but I couldn't move it.
I looked around my surrounding to see that Sokka and I were trapped in some type of crystal. "What is going on?"
"The king is trying to kill us! He has Aang doing all types of dangerous challenges and if he doesn't complete them, we'll be crystals forever!"
I yawn in Sokka's face. "Is he winning?"
Sokka pears through the remaining crystal that wasn't covering us.
"I think." He responds as Aang runs in tight circles, conjuring a tornado.
The king flings a huge piece of boulder at Aang, it is caught in the tornado and instantly whips around right back at the king.
The king bends it to sand before it can smash him, but before he can recover, Aang attacks from the top of the tornado, landing at the king's feet with his staff poised to strike.
The king's arms are raised as if surrendering, but a small pebble strikes Aang's head, drawing his attention to the large boulder suspended over the both of them.
The king tosses the boulder aside and bends up to the balcony, where we are almost completely encased.
I look up at the man. "And who is this?"
"The King." Sokka replies.
My eyes buldge out my circuits, wasn't he just an old fragile man just yesterday? What's up with the abs? "I think I'm going to be sick."
"Sick as in what, throw up?!" Sokka shrieks.
"I think so."
"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Sokka cries.
"Uh huh." The king smirks. "Aang must answer one question."
"That's not fair." Aang shouts. "You said you would release my friends if I finish your tests."
"Oh, but what's the point of tests if you don't learn anything?"
Sokka begins to scream like crazy. "Oh come on! She's about to throw up in here! Please!"
I squeeze my eyes shut, holding back the lump in my throat. "I-uh think I'm good."
"Answer this one question and I will set your friends free. What ... is my name? From the looks of your friends I'd say you only have a few minutes."
"How is he supposed to know his name?" I groan.
"Venus, shush. I don't need you throwing up on me."
"Sokka, I'm just a little hungover. I'll be fine."
"Hungover?" Sokka raises an eyebrow at me.
Uh oh.
"You drink, alcohol?"
"Keep your voice down."
"Answer me!"
"Yes, occasionally. I do." I immediately answer from him raising his voice at me.
Sokka gasps. "Why?"
I turn my head away from him. "I'm not ready to talk to you about that, yet."
"But you said we could be like you and Suki." Sokka lowly says.
"Yes, but I barley know you. I told you before I have issues. I'll talk to you when I'm ready and I hope you can respect that."
Sokka shakes his head in disappointment. "All right. Your secret is safe with me."
Katara and Aang had already been brainstorming names for the king, while Sokka and I were arguing.
Minutes later, Aang had finally confronted the king. Who was revealed to be his long time friend, Bumi.
This man has a good life span.
Bumi breaks the crystals using earthbending, making pieces fly everywhere. He catches one of them. "Jennamite is made of rock candy." He takes a bite into the crystal. "Delicious!"
I groan as I back away from Sokka and walk over to Katara. "So this crazy king is your old friend, Bumi?"
"Why did you do all of this instead of just telling Aang who you were?" Sokka asks.
"First of all, it's pretty fun messing with people." Bumi snorts. "But I do have a reason. Aang, you have a difficult task ahead. The world has changed in the hundred years that you've been gone. It's the duty of the Avatar to restore balance to the world by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. You have much to learn. You must master the four elements and confront the Fire Lord. And when you do, I hope you will think like a mad genius. And it looks like you're in good hands. You'll need your friends to help defeat the Fire Nation." Momo climbs up on Aang. "And you'll need Momo, too."
"Thank you for your wisdom," Aang smiles.