It took me a while to fall asleep after my strange interaction with the three girls. I couldn't tell if it was because I was lying on an uncomfortable sleeping bag on the floor, or if something about the girls unnerved me. The more I thought about it, the less it made sense. Why would they be camping right outside of Omashu when they could just stay inside the city. Also, something about that one girl didn't seem right. Whenever she spoke it sent chills down my spine, as if she was constantly plotting something. Nonetheless, I managed to brush it off and get some sleep.
When I awoke, it was bright and early. I packed away my sleeping bag, extinguished the fire that I had lit last night, ate some breakfast rations, and then quickly left for the direction of Gaoling. I knew that team Avatar wouldn't stay in one place for very long, so it was absolutely crucial that I got there with good speed. Then again, I wasn't even 100% sure if they were even in Gaoling. Still, I paced south eastwards relentlessly. I walked for a whole day through dry, arid land and grassy plains until I found myself walking through a forest. The forest was peaceful and calming at least, and the foliage shielded me from the sun's boiling rays. I could hear animals and birds in the distance, and the crunching of leaves as I walked.
As I set up camp later in the evening, I felt the feeling as if I was being watched. I kept glancing over my shoulder, as if expecting somebody to be there, but there never was. I tried my best to ignore it, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that there was somebody there. Contrary to the night before, I didn't rest very well that night. I awoke with every snap of a twig and crunch of a leaf, even though it was likely that they were just animals. When the sun finally rose once more, I set off again quickly. I was so paranoid that I didn't even realise when the dry dirt and leaf-covered floor became more moist and squelchy. I was leaving the forest, and found myself in a swamp. It was quiet and eery in the swamp, which did nothing to settle my nerves. The sound of wildlife had disappeared and soon I was trudging through murky swamp water. But something about the swamp felt different, almost like I had been drawn here.
I did my best to quicken my pace through the mud and water, as I didn't particularly want to spend the night in this swamp. However, I stopped in my tracks when I noticed something in the mud. It was a huge paw print, and one that only could have been made from one creature: Appa! This quickly brightened my mood, as I now knew that I was heading in the right direction. The paw print didn't look new, but the fact that it was still visible was enough of a sign that it had only been a day or two since team Avatar was here. This discovery made me quicken my pace through the eerie swamp, but it wasn't long before I froze again. I could hear whispers, and the feeling of being watched had intensified. Somebody was here in the swamp with me. I looked in circles around myself, but saw nothing except for turbid water, trees, vines and moss. Suddenly, I heard a playful giggle from behind me and rapidly whipped around, only to see nothing. Every hair on my body was standing up, and I felt as if I was going insane. Then, I heard a 'psst' noise from further within the swamp, and quickly craned my neck towards it. I saw somebody crouched on a distant tree branch, and they were looking right at me. They were too far away for me to see their features, but I could tell it was a girl of medium height and long hair. I felt deeply unsettled as I noted that she almost didn't seem real, as if she were an apparition or something. My curiosity beat fear, and I sprinted straight towards the figure, ready for a confrontation. But as I ran towards them, they let out a laugh as they expertly jumped and swung from different trees away from me. I'm a very fast runner, but even I couldn't outpace their amazing skills. Eventually I gave up and watched them swing into the distance. My heart was beating at a hundred times a minute, and not just because I had been running. That person seemed so real, yet I was convinced that they were just an illusion. Had I not been drinking enough water or something? 'Maybe it's the swamp water fumes getting to me' I thought to myself. Either way, I knew I had to get out of here.
It took a few more hours to get out of the swamp, though the feeling of being watched never really went away. The feeling of relief that ran through my veins as the soil beneath my feet became gradually more dry was unbelievable. The vines and swampy water was finally replaced again by beautiful forestry. At this point it had started to get dark and, although I knew I was getting very close to Gaoling, I was aware that it would be smart to set up camp for the night. While I was searching for the best place to create camp, I saw an orange glow through the dark shadows of the trees. I recognised that it was a small fire, though the cause of it I wasn't quite as sure. At first I was worried that there was a forest fire, as it would likely destroy a lot of wildlife if not extinguished. So, I approached the fire, but as I got closer I heard something strange. There was a male voice singing gently to himself. This wasn't a forest fire, it was another travellers campfire. I thought back to the trio of girls from a few nights ago; they were strange and unnerving, or at least one of them certainly was, but it was nice to interact with human beings after a day of travel. After all, how was I supposed to make friends if I never approached anyone?
My mind made up, I approached the stranger who continued to sing. But, when I was only a few metres behind the figure, I recognised the familiarity in their voice. I had only heard this voice once, but very recently: at the spirit oasis during the fire nation attack.
"General Iroh," I muttered under my breath in surprise, though it was clearly loud enough to alert the old man, who spun his head around look at me. For some reason, he didn't seem concerned with my presence at all.
"Oh! You scared me there, young one," he chuckled, though I was still very on edge. I never trusted anyone that was fire nation.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him assertively.
"Would you care to join me for a calming cup of tea?" he responded, ignoring my question. "A forest is no place for somebody to be alone at night," he said with a small smile. I considered his offer, though I still didn't completely trust him. And yet, I found myself sitting opposite to him, the campfire between us. Although he was fire nation, I didn't feel threatened by him. Then I remembered my one experience with him in the spirit oasis; he had tried to protect the spirits from Zhao, and for that I knew I could trust and respect him. Settling down next to the fire, I allowed myself to lower my guard and relax. "Would you like some delicious ginseng tea? It's my favourite," he offered to me. I had never really drank tea before, but decided to give it a go, so I nodded my head. He took the pot of tea, which I hadn't even noticed was boiling on the campfire, and poured us both a cup, one of which he passed to me.
"What are you doing alone in the forest?" I asked him as I held the warm cup in my hand, waiting for the tea to cool slightly.
"Well, I was travelling with my nephew, prince Zuko. But I think he wants some time away from me," he explained with a sad smile. "And what about you? You're a long way from home," he stated as he took a sip from his cup.
"I left the tribe," I told him, deliberately leaving out the part of the story where I got banished. "I didn't believe in their traditions and customs,".
"I think that's a very honourable thing that you did," Iroh told me, and I couldn't help but smile. But suddenly, a thought came to my mind.
"Are you hunting the Avatar?" I asked him seriously, but he just chuckled at the question.
"No, my nephew is trying to move on from his past. We're heading to Ba Sing Se to start a new life," he explained. Deciding that my tea was the right temperature, I took a sip, and my taste buds exploded with flavour. The tea was amazing!
"This is really good," I admitted to Iroh before taking another sip.
"I'm sorry that I've ruined all future cups of tea for you," he apologised with a smile before adding "since they'll never be as good," and we both laughed heartily. It had been a while since I had truly laughed, and it felt good to do so again. "So, what's your plan in the Earth kingdom? Are you heading to Ba Sing Se, too?" he then asked me. I thought for a moment if I should tell Iroh the truth, but inevitably chose to trust the wise old man. I knew that he was a good person, even if he was related to the fire lord.
"I'm trying to find the Avatar and join him," I truthfully explained to Iroh.
"Well then, you're not too far away," he told me, and I suddenly became very alert to his words. "I've been tracking my nephew in case he gets into trouble. I happened to see the Avatar and his group from afar. They arrived in Gaoling today," he told me, and my body filled instantly with optimism.
"That's great!" I exclaimed with excitement. "Thank you!".
"No worries at all, my friend," Iroh told me with a smile. For a while we sat and drank our tea, relaxing happily by the toasty fire. I interrupted the silence to ask the retired general a question that had been on my mind.
"When the fire nation attacked my tribe, why did you defend the spirits?" I asked him quizzically.
"I've been around for many years," Iroh began to explain to me. "And I've met many spirits in my time. I've even been to the spirit world! So I know that the spirits are not to be messed with. We rely on them; they are more powerful then we know,".
"I was blessed by the spirits Tui and La from birth," I inform Iroh, who smiled kindly at me.
"Well then you must be destined for great things!" he told me friendlily, though it cropped up another question that had been on my mind for years.
"But I have no idea what my destiny is," I admitted glumly to him, though he continued to have a warm smile on his face. "It was forced on me from a young age that my destiny was to become the best waterbender in the Northern Water Tribe, but now I've left,"
"Destiny is a funny thing," Iroh said to me. "But you are too young to be worrying about that! When the time comes, your destiny will reveal itself, and then you will know," he wisely explained, and his wisdom did make me feel better. Iroh began to search through the bag that had been laid next to him. With a grin on his face, he told me "but right now, it's your destiny to lose to me in Pai Sho!" he said as he dug out the familiar board game from the bag.
"Oh it is on," I told him, confident in my skills. I had always been a very talented Pai Sho player, so I felt comfortable that I could beat the old man.
I lost every single game.
After the eighth straight loss, the kind Iroh showed me how to improve my strategy in the game. We then decided that it was time to sleep, and we agreed that we would part ways early in the morning. Feeling relaxed in my warm sleeping bag, with a belly full of tasty tea, I fell asleep rather soon.
Word Count: 2148
(A/N: Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed and, if you're reading this the day it came out or the day after, Merry Christmas!! I'm going to take a few days off publishing, but don't worry; I'll still be writing, I just like to always be a few chapter ahead of what's published. Chapter 13 will be out on Thursday 28th December, so I hope to see you all there. I hope you all have a great Christmas! See you guys on Thursday! -JetDragon09)