Asha continues to stare blankly at the sand in front of her, feeling Aang stomp behind her. She doesn't flinch, move or even glance as he yells at the poor Earth bender.
"How could you let them take Appa, or Gumi?! Why didn't you stop them?!" Aang yells, and even if they aren't connected yet, Asha can feel the rage flow through him.
"I couldn't! The library was sinking! You guys were still inside and-" Toph tries defending herself, swinging her arms.
"You could have come get us! Asha and I could've saved them!"
Asha only stands, looking to the miles and miles of sand before her. She glares, as if the sand was responsible, which in a way; it was. There was nothing Toph could've done. she had no way of reaching them without getting dragged under with them. There was no way she could've saved them and Gumi and Appa.
Yet, even if Asha knew this, an angry and ruthless part of her still blamed Toph.
"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here. The sand benders snuck up on me! And there wasn't time for-" Toph yells again, stomping her foot despite the very angry Avatar before her.
"You just didn't care! You never liked either of them! You wanted them gone!" Aang yells again. Asha can feel Toph's gaze (Gaze being a loose word, more-less Toph looking in Asha's general direction for help) on her but doesn't turn.
"Aang, stop it. You know Toph did all she could. She saved out lives." Katara, Asha guesses, tries to be a peacemaker.
"Who's going to save our lives now?" Raiko asks, snarking. Asha can feel his gaze too.
"We'll never make it out of here. " Sokka whines.
Asha can't stand there anymore, not with the conflict bubbling around, waiting to burst. Now with her emotions all over the place like they are right now. Twirling her staff, she allows the light purple wings to flop out, showing their beautifully done details, done in a darker purple.
"And where do you think your going?" Raiko spots her first, just as she prepares to glide away.
"I'm going to look for Gumi; Appa too. It's better than standing here and fighting." She finally turns, looking to all of their gazes. She spots two gazes break, her icy blue eyes staring down the rest. Deciding that no one else is brave enough- or stupid enough- to challenge her, she takes flight. She hears her name called, then Aang's. Looking beside her, Aang glides; determination written all over his face.
And just like that, the two air benders disappear from the others sight.
___
The two fly in silence. Aang trying his bison whistle, only to start descending after. Asha follows the two landing on a dune.
"Appa! Gumi!" Aang calls, staring over the horizon. He quickly looks over to Asha, the girl once again yelling in frustration. He's shocked as she raises her staff, slamming into the sand, creating a large mushroom cloud of Sand. He rushes to wrap an arm around the girl, letting her sob, heart breaking sobs that wrack her body, into his shoulder. He holds her tightly as his own tears break from his eyes.
The two sit there, holding onto the last things of comfort to one another. They sit there until sunset, all tears shed; emotions broken and will power diminished. Unfolding their gliders, they fly back to the group in an unspoken agreement.
They find them shortly after, landing beside them with minimal effort. Raiko is first to react, wrapping an arm around his pupil. She nuzzles into him, almost certain she would cry if she had anymore tears. He says nothing to the girl, only watching as she folds her glider.
"I'm sorry, you two. I know it's hard for you right now, but we need to focus on getting out of here." Katara approaches Aang as he kneels.
"What's the difference? We won't survive without them, we all know it." Aang sulks.
"Come on, Aang! We can do this if we work together. Right, Toph?" Katara looks to the Earth bender for support, deeming her brother useless on the Cactus Juice.
"As far as I can feel, we're trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding. I got nothin'." Toph offers, nothing helpful though.
With a sigh Katara turns to her brother. "Sokka? Any ideas how to find Ba-Sing- Se?"
"Why don't we ask the circle birds?" Sokka looks up blissfully.
Looking around her, the sulking air benders, staggering Earth bender and hallucinating brother, Katara quickly comes up with a plan. Handing Zulu back to her owner, the raptor nuzzling her owner before crawling into the wrap around her back, Katara faces each pair of eyes.
"Ugh...We're getting out of this desert, and we're going to do it together! Aang, get up. Raiko take the last spot- since your the only other capable one here. Now, everybody hold hands. We can do this. We have to." Katara smiles, trying to keep them all together.
Forcing Asha to holster her staff, Raiko pushes her towards Aang. The two quickly clasping hands. Katara grabs Aang's staff, leading him with that. Next, Toph grips onto Asha, Sokka holding onto Toph, and then Raiko taking up the rear with Momo on his shoulder.
"Oh my spirits! Asha your hands are so soft! No wonder twinkle toes like holding them." Toph tries to cheer up the group, only receiving chuckles from Katara and Raiko.
___
When they find an old withered tree, Katara decided to stop for the night, letting everyone release the hands they were holding. Asha is quick to sit as far away as possible, without Katara dragging her back to the group, pulling out the book she was reading from in the library.
"What you got there, princess?" Asha doesn't even need to look up to know it's Raiko, the others not daring to call her princess.
"Why does it matter to you?" She snaps, hiding further behind the cover of the old book.
"Onsra's entity? Sounds like a good read. Did you find the scroll?" Raiko takes a seat, trying to take the girls mind off of her dragon. She's silent for a few seconds, making the blonde think he pushed to far.
"Yeah, I did." Taking out the scroll, she hands it to him. Raiko's eyes widen at the peice of parchment. Taking it back, Asha places it back in her satchel, before going back to her book.
"You've gotta tell Aang!" He nearly yells, quieting down at the look he gets from the air bender.
"No. Not yet at least. No only will our minds be elsewhere, but we also don't have the time. My best guess is that they took the animals to be sold. If they're sold, we'll lose all chances at getting them back. Without any causalities." She mumbles, lowering the book.
"What do you mean?" Raiko looks to her, his green orbs meeting her blue ones.
"I learned that there are two types of Avatar state. The one Aang has, which is loud and noticeable. But then, there's another. It's quiet. The book compares it to an assassin." Asha points to the section. "I- I don't think it means just quiet. I think, it means... killing." The word was another foreign thing to the girl. Unheard of, taboo, whatever word you wanna use. It was a completely different thing to Asha.
The two look up as Katara approaches them, scroll in hand.
"We're going to travel at night, when it's cooler. We leave in a few hours, so get some rest. You've earned it." She smiles at Asha, giving the girl a pat on the shoulder. She only gets a nod from Asha.
"You can go lay with them, I'm just gonna read for a little while longer." Asha nods over to the group, all laying down- even Aang.
"You sure?" He gets a nod as a response. Walking over to the group, with one last glance to Asha, he slowly sits; laying down beside Sokka and Toph.
___
In Asha's mind, minutes pass until Katara is walking over to her. The rest all awake behind her, moon still high in the sky.
"We're getting ready to leav- did you sleep at all Asha?" Katara bends down to inspect the girls face; large bags once again reappearing below her eyes.
"I'm gonna say sure, and leave it at that." Asha finally puts down her book, blinking rapidly and rubbing her eyes shortly after. She walks over to the group, leaving Katara behind. Zulu follows her, after laying next to Asha some time ago.
"You couldn't sleep either." Aang is the second person to speak to Asha, the girls eyes darting over to his.
"How could I?" She leans onto him, the boy nuzzling into the top of her head. Hr holds her close, relishing in the comfort she provides.
Closing her eyes, she ignores the conversations behind her, the yelling, the very being that is Sokka, the excitement. However, she does topple over as Aang unfolds his glider, taking off into the nearby cloud. As he comes back to the ground, he throws a water pouch back to Katara, walking right over to Asha; whose now recovered and is standing up straight.
"Wow...there's hardly any in here." Katara says, peeking into the pouch.
"I'm sorry, okay! It's a desert cloud; I did all I could! What's anyone else doing! What are you doing?!" Aang seems to snap, pointing his staff at a shocked Katara.
"Trying to keep everyone together. Let's just get moving. We need to head in this direction. " Katara reads the star map as she speaks, leading the group once more. Their halted again however as the sound of someone falling is heard.
Immediately, eyes go to Asha- the girl currently helping the fallen Earth bender.
"Wow, the tables have turned." Raiko muses, shutting up after the glare he gets from Asha.
"Ow! Crud! I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going! And what idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert?!" Toph yells out, looking to the peice of wood that sticks out of the sand.
"A...Boat?" Asha sounds skeptical.
"Believe me, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations." Toph glares.
Looking to Aang, who already has his staff out, Asha takes her own out. Between the two of them, they swing their staffs, and easily remove all the sound covering the sand glider.
"It's one of the gliders the sand benders use! And look! It's got some kind of compass on it! I bet it can point us out of here! You two can bend a breeze so we can sail it. We're going to make it!" Katara cheers, the rest of the gang boarding the glider as she does.
___
Asha sits cross legged at the front of the glider, stone faced and still. Aang decided he would drive the glider, so Asha was left alone at the front.
"Are you still thinking about what the book said?" Raiko approaches her, everyone else doing their own thing behind them.
"I guess. I mean, if we- I mean Aang and I- loose our temper. And one of us gets hurt, I- I don't know if I'll be the same after." Asha digs out the book once more, flipping to the pages she read in the library, passing it over to Raiko. She looks ahead, noticing a rock in the distance as she waits for Raiko to read through it.
"Wow. That's deep." Raiko passes the book back to Asha, looking to the rock that continues to come closer.
"Yeah." She pauses, looking back to Aang. He doesn't look back to her, staring ahead. "Raiko. If I go Avatar State, can I trust you to try and I guess- calm me down?" Asha looks back to Raiko, who only gives her a smile.
Leaning in, Raiko wraps an arm around Asha. "I promise. I'll do what I can." He smiles, patting the girls shoulder. He can feel the glare the Avatar gives him, but doesn't separate.
"That's what the compass is pointing to! That giant rock! It must be the magnetic center of the desert." Katara gasps, finally noticing the rock.
"A rock? Yes! Let's go!" Toph cheers happily.
"Maybe we can find some water there!"
"Maybe we can find some sand benders." Aang growls darkly, sending a shiver down his counterparts spine.
Toph cheers as she falls flat on her back, creating an Earth angel in the rock surface. It takes some reassurance from Raiko to coerce Asha off the glider, but she eventually does, staying close to the blond as the group enters one of the round cave entrances.
"What is this?" Asha glances at the yellow surface of the cave.
"I think... I think my head is starting to clear out the cactus juice. And look!" Sokka wipes some of the sticky substances, sharing it with Momo. Both quickly spiting it out, Asha letting out a groan at their stupidity.
"This tastes like rotten penguin meat! Aw, I feel woozy." Sokka groans.
"You've been hallucinating on cactus juice all day and they you just lick something you find stuck to the wall of a cave?!" Katara asks irritated.
"I have a natural curiosity." Sokka defends.
"I call it natural stupidity." Asha snaps, turning to the two siblings.
"I don't think this is a normal cave. This was carved by something." Toph walks on, looking in the direction of others.
"Yeah... Look at the shape." Aang sounds a little better; still obviously bitter.
"There's something buzzing in here. Something that's coming for us!" Toph yells, the girl starting to run our of the cave. The others follow, except for -of course- Asha. Raiko has to yank her away as the buzzing noise continues.
"What if it's a hive?" Asha speaks as Raiko continues to drag her away. Her assumption is proved correct as large buzzard wasps fly free, one lunging towards them. Asha successfully hitting away the bug with her staff.
"I love being right." Asha smirks, creating orbs in her palms. They swirl with dangerous blues as Asha smirks, launching two towards the bug; the orbs exploding upon contact. Running past Aang and Toph, both fighting off their own wasps, Asha pursues the one from earlier; the bug still disoriented from the orbs.
She smirks again as jumps, turning her body to gain momentum. Whipping around, Asha throws a slice of air towards the buzzard, sending it flying through a wall.
"We have to get out of here! I'm completely out of water to bend!" Katara yells out. Turning Asha watches as Momo suddenly gets snatched up by a buzzard wasp, Aang quickly going after him.
"Asha! We can't do this, their following their animal instincts." Raiko tries pulling the air bender, only to be shoved off as she fires another round of orbs. Twirling her staff, Asha creates a long whip out of air, and as quick and quiet as an assassin, the surrounding buzzards are cut in half; all falling with a dull thud.
Raiko looks over to Asha, horrified at the girls actions; even more so by the smirk on her face.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Her voice is just as sweet as before; only now, Raiko knows there's a hidden malice to it. One that anyone would miss if they hadn't witnessed what he just did.
"Asha...What did you just do?" Raiko gapes at the fallen wasps, still shocked by the recent action.
"Followed my animal instincts." She smirks again, walking in the direction the others went. Zulu following; though at a much further distance.
"That wasn't animal instinct. That was a merciless massacre." Raiko stops the air bender by grabbing her wrist. The girl lets out a growl; a feral, animistic growl.
"And?! In the real world it's kill or be killed Raiko!" She seethes, turning; taking an attacking stance towards the water bender.
"No, it's not Asha. You and I both know it. What would the nomads think? What would Aang thi-" He's cut off as the girl tackles him to the ground.
"He doesn't hear about this. It doesn't concern him and it never will." The girl barks, holding her staff to his neck.
"Maybe it does because his Onsra's out of control!" Raiko yells back. The words strike a cord in Asha, causing her to stumble off of Raiko- wide eyed. He sits up slowly, watching as Asha slumps to the ground, holding her knees close to her chest.
"Is this what I've become?" It's a whisper. One that is almost unnoticeable.
"Asha, your emotional right now. It's not your fault. I promise, Aang will understand." Raiko steps closer to the shell shocked girl. She seems to scan the area before standing, deeming it not worth another argument.
Hearing a shriek then the sound of Earth bending, Raiko and Asha are forced to run in the direction of the others. Their met with Katara directing Toph, who Earth bends pillars of sand towards the wasps. Neither girl noticing the buzzard behind them. Acting quickly, Asha jumps up with her staff raised. As she lands, she flashes to the buzzards from earlier; causing the girl to freeze midair. The wasp notices this as it attacks, clawing the girls arm; tearing her shirt in the process, revealing part of the newly achieved arrow. She lets out a yell as Toph Earth bends the wasp further. Asha quickly holds a hand to her wound, walking closer to the others, creating a circle.
They're forced to take cover as gigantic pillars of sand burst upward, scaring the wasps back into their hives. As the sand settles, Asha is the first to open her eyes, looking to the several sand benders that surround them. She goes to take an attack stance, but Aang beats her too it as he lands in front of her.
"What are you doing in our land with a sand bender sailer? From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami tribe." A bald man accuses the group, glaring behind Aang to the girl; Asha glaring back.
"You wish we stole it." She growls out, walking to stand side by side Aang.
"We found the sailer abandoned in the desert. We're traveling with the Avatar and Onsra. Our bison and dragon were stolen and we have to get to Ba-Sing- Se." Katara explains, not giving either air bender a chance to screw anything up.
"You dare accuse our people of theft while you ride in on a stolen sand sailer?!" A younger sand bender steps forward, challenging Asha who steps forward as well.
"Do you have sand in your ears?! We just said we found it!" Asha snaps, Aang keeping a hand on her uninjured arm.
"She's right. Quiet, Gashuin. No one accused our people of anything. If what they say is true, we must give them hospitality." The bald man speaks again.
"Sorry, father." The boy, Gashuin, steps back.
"I recognize the son's voice. He's the one that stole Appa and Gumi!" Toph shouts as it hits her, the boy instantly looking frightened as Asha snaps her head toward him.
"Are you sure?" Katara asks before Asha can act.
"I never forget a voice." That's all Asha needs before pouncing, holding her staff to the boys throat; much like she did with Raiko. The other sand benders go to react, but are stopped by Aang branding his staff threateningly.
"If you want any chance of seeing the daylight tomorrow, you'll tell me exactly what you did with Appa and Gumi. What did you do, huh?!" Asha doesn't yell, but the boy almost wishes she does with how cold and icy her voice sounds. Her cold precision killing his fiery temper.
"They're lying! They're the thieves!" He persists though. Without warning, Asha turns her staff, destroying a sand sailer with little effort. Aang following as he destroys another.
"Where is my dragon?!" Asha finally yells, "You tell us right now where either of them are, especially if you want to live!" Asha threatens again, holding her staff tightly.
Aang destroys yet another sand sailer. "You answer her. NOW!" He booms.
"What did you do?" The boys father speaks, in fear for both his son and tribe.
"I-It wasn't me!" He tries again.
"You said to put muzzles on them!" Toph speaks up, signing the boys death warrant.
"You said WHAT?!" Asha yells again, her arrows starting to glow a dangerous blue; Aangs matching hers.
"Asha, no!" Raiko tackles the girl before she has a chance to hit the poor boy. Still being held by Raiko, Asha destroys a fourth sailer.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know that it belonged to the Avatar and his Onsra!" The son tries to calm the two.
"Tell us, what did you do with them?!" Aang yells, his eyes a white sheet now, his voice other worldly.
"I traded them! To some merchants! Their probably in Ba-Sing- Se by now! They were going to sell him there! Please! We'll escort you out of the desert! We'll help however we can!"
"Just get out of here! Run!" Sokka yells, watching as Aang creates a small tornado out of sand; Asha struggling against Raiko.
Holding Asha close, despite her struggling against him as she enters Avatar state, Raiko can feel tears flow down his cheek as she pushes away more.
"I know! I know it hurts Asha! I was the same way when I lost my parents." He speaks before he thinks, but the girl settles down. "I lost them to fire benders. I lost all control and went ape shit with bending. I thought I would never get over them, but I did. I got over them because I met this kind, beautiful girl. And she may look like a sixteen year old, but she's actually a hundred and sixteen, and it shows through her wisdom. She helped me cope with my parents because she reminded me so much of my mother." Raiko pauses as the girl's arrows die down, Asha becoming limp in his arms.
"Now, I'm repaying her by helping her learn to cope with this." He whispers. He feels tears fall down his back in heavy sobs. Looking over, he can only see Katara holding Aang, the boy unconscious in her arms. Both air benders looking beyond exhausted, but who could blame them?