"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU SLEPT THROUGH ALL OF THAT!" Sokka exclaimed, "I MEAN HOW HEAVY OF A SLEEPER ARE YOU?!"
"I got no sleep for the past two days, nitwit," you replied, "Of course I was gonna be tired." The four of you camped out by a creek after you left Omashu.
"BUT DANG, TO SLEEP THROUGH ALL OF THAT?! You should win an award for worlds heaviest sleeper! Look out Avatar!"
You used your water to smack Sokka in the face. There was a sudden loud boom. So loud that it shook the ground.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Sokka shrieked. It then happened again.
"It's coming from over there," Aang said. You, Katara, and him began to run towards it.
"Shouldn't we run away from the huge booms, not towards them?!" Sokka exclaimed. The four of you, plus Momo, ran over to where the sounds came from. Standing in the middle of a fissure was a person. He was earthbending the rocks into the side of the fissure.
"An earthbender," Katara said.
"Noooo, I thought it was an airbender," you said sarcastically. Katara looked at you.
"You're really grumpy when you're tired."
"Tell me about it."
"Let's go meet him," Aang said.
"He looks dangerous. We should approach with caution," Sokka said.
"Heyo! Mudfucker!!" You yelled, walking towards him. "I'm Y/n!! What's your name?!" He stopped to turn and look at you. Then he turned around and ran away, blocking the path with rocks.
"Well damn, am I that ugly?"
"Nice to meet you!" Aang yelled after him.
"We just wanted to say hi," Katara said, a little crushed.
"Hey, that guy's gotta be running somewhere," Aang said, "Maybe we're near a village. And I bet that village has a market."
"Which is short for, no nuts for dinner," you finished. The three of you ran.
"Hey! I worked hard to get those nuts!" Sokka exclaimed. The little fissure soon led to a path which soon led to a small earth village. As Aang and Sokka busied themselves with a hat-trade, you and Katara went off a little farther. She then gasped and tugged at your wrist.
"Look!" She said, pointing. The same guy who you saw earlier entered a house. "Come on!" She jogged towards it. You sighed and followed after her. She rudely opened the door with you behind her.
"Hey, you're that kid," she said. The kid gasped and turned around. "Why did you run away?"
"Yeah, don't you know it's rude not to answer?" You inquired, crossing your arms.
"Uh... you must have me confused for some other kid," Haru replied nervously. You and Katara entered the house while Aang and Sokka caught up.
"No they don't. We saw you earthbending," Aang said. Both the woman, who was most like his mother, gasped. The mother quickly closed the windows and doors.
"They saw you doing what?" She asked Haru.
"They're crazy, mom," he said, "I mean, look at how they're dressed."
"First of all, don't go insulting my clothes, amateur," you defended, pointing a finger at him.
"You know how dangerous that is," his mom said, "You know what would happen if they caught you earthbending." You quirked a brow.
"They?" You repeated. There was then banging at the door.
"Open up!" A voice ordered. Sokka walked over to the blinds and peeked through them.
"Fire Nation! Act natural!" He said. You jumped over the counter and hid behind it. You heard the mom open the door and them walk in. Then you heard wood breaking and Aang grunting.
"What do you want? I've already paid you this week," the mom said.
"The tax just doubled," the new voice replied. Your eyes narrowed. "And we wouldn't want an accident, would we?" You heard the crackling of flames.
"Fire is sometimes so hard to control."
You took the water from your pouch and quickly whipped it over to the soldier, putting out his flames. He stuttered in shock and looked around the building. He pushed past the others and was intending to check behind the counter. You moved to the side when you heard him get closer. He looked over and saw nothing. Grunting, he walked back over to Haru's mother. After she opened her chest and gave him whatever money she had, they left, slamming the door behind them. You popped up from behind the counter.
"Y/n! You almost risked exposing us!" Katara scolded.
"Better than having this house set on fire due to his superiority complex," you replied, "How long have they been here?"
"Five years," Haru's mom answered, "Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships."
"They're thugs. They steal from us," Haru said, "And everyone here is too much of a coward to do anything about it."
"Quiet, Haru!" His mother scolded, "Don't talk like that!" You tenderly placed your fingers on your eye covering, brows furrowing.
"Haru can earthbend," you said, "He has a gift. He may not be trained, but he can certainly help you."
"Earthbending is forbidden," Haru's mother replied, "It's caused nothing but misery for this village. He must never use his abilities."
"What could the Fire Nation do that they haven't done already?" You asked.
"They could take Haru away," his mother replied, "Like they took his father."
"... so they have done something like that," you said quietly. You took a deep breath and calmed yourself.
~
Haru led you all to a building in the back.
"My mom said you can sleep here tonight," he said, "But you should leave in the morning."
"Thanks," Aang replied, "I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all your hay." As the bison was already chowing down on a bale.
"Can I talk for you a moment?" You asked Haru, gesturing for him to follow you.
"... sure," he replied. The two of you walked away from the barn.
"I apologize for what I said earlier. I didn't know about your father," you said.
"That's okay," Haru replied, "It's funny, the way you were talking back in the store, it reminded me of him." You laughed lightly.
"I hardly get that compliment," you said, "I suppose my personality is hard to come by."
"My father was very courageous," Haru explained, "When the Fire Nation invaded, he and the other earthbenders were outnumbered 10 to one. But they fought back anyway."
"That's a brave thing to do," you commented, "Not everyone would do that."
"After the attack, they rounded up my father and every other earthbender and took them away. We haven't seen them since." You two walked up a hill where he kneeled to the ground.
"That's why you hide your earthbending," you said.
"Yeah," he replied, "The problem is, the only way I can feel close to my father now is when I practice my bending." He circled a few balls of rock in his hand.
"Tell me about it," you said with a light smile.
"He taught me everything I know."
You sat down next to him, gazing at the sunset.
"My father..." You hesitated. Haru looked at you.
"My father was from the Northern Water Tribe," you explained, "He was the best waterbender the world's ever known. He could bend the entire ocean and not break a sweat."
"He sounds like he was incredibly strong," Haru said. You nodded.
"Yes. Everyone admired him, including those outside of the Tribe... but he fell in love with the wrong person."
"The wrong person?" Haru repeated, "What do you mean?"
"I mean that him falling in love with that person... got him killed. And his name was wiped off the face of history. The only way anyone knows about him is through memory and word."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Haru said. You shook your head.
"It's nothing to worry or stress about now," you said, smiling at him. "Besides, he was a cheerful guy. He wouldn't want anyone crying over him anyways." Haru smiled back at you and nodded slightly.
"Right."
~
On the way back from your walk, you and Haru were coming up to one of the mines. When suddenly, the mine collapsed, trapping a person underneath it.
"AHH!! HELP!!" A person cried out. You sighed.
"Not again..."
Ja ne!
{Ruby Red}