The next morning Appa was lying on his side, groaning, while Katara ministered to him.
Aang looked at them. "What's the matter, Katara?"
Katara scratched Appa's chin. "I think Appa's sick."
Sokka jumped up. "What, Appa's sick? That's awful!"
"Wow, Sokka," Toph commented, "I didn't realize you cared so much."
"Of course I care. I might as well just throw our schedule away now." The rest of the gang, including Tu Cho, gave him the evil eye and he quickly changed his tune, rushing to Appa's side. "And I'm concerned because my big, furry friend doesn't feel well."
"Seriously..." Tu Cho mumbled under her breath.
Toph thought for a second. "He must have gotten sick from being in the polluted water."
"He doesn't look sick. You okay, buddy?" Aang pulled Appa's tongue out. "His tongue is purple! That can't be good. Katara, can you heal him?"
"It looks like he needs some medicine," Katara answered. "Maybe we can find the right herbs in town."
~~~
When they arrived in the village, Tu Cho saw the difference it had made. Kids were playing and happy. People went about the usual business of a village. It made her smile.
"Is it just me," Toph asked, "or does this place seem different?"
"Yeah," Aang agreed, "are the people... happier?"
A young boy walked by playing with a ball and the little girl from the day before sat on her porch with a boy about a year younger than her. They were both smiling as they weaved baskets in the sun. Dock, as Xu, was standing at his booth.
Sokka leaned against the counter, "Hey, Xu, what's going on with everyone today?"
Dock smiled. "Ah, something amazing happened last night. Food was delivered to our village by a mysterious and wonderful person... the Painted Lady."
Katara side-eyed Tu Cho, who was smiling. "The Painted who now?"
"The Painted Lady." Xu dropped a statuette of the Lady down on the counter: she was a heavily draped damsel with elaborate red face make-up and capped with a wide-brimmed conical hat. "She's part of our town's lore. They say she's a river spirit who watches over our town in times of need. I always thought she was just a legend. Until now."
"See," Sokka pointed out, "we don't need to help these people, they already have someone to help them. All we need is medicine for our sick friend."
"Medicine?" Xu asked. "Sorry, all the medicine we have goes to the factory. That's why there's so many sick people in our village."
Katara nodder. "Looks like we need to stay another night so Appa can rest."
Sokka was exasperated. "I guess you're right. You got any more food to sell?"
Xu held up a monstrosity of a fish in each hand. "Would you like the one-headed fish, or the two-headed fish?"
Sokka mulled it over briefly. "Two-headed!"
"Sokka!" Tu Cho yelled at him. "Why?"
Sokka seemed confused as to why Tu Cho would reject the mutated fish. "What? You get more for your money that way."
"It could be toxic!" Tu Cho argued. She planned on sticking to the dried foods she had brought but that didn't mean anyone else needed to end up with food poisoning.
"Fine." Sokka relented. "The one headed fish."