id used up all my energy and was stranded on one of the smaller islands in the outskirts of the fire nation.
i batted my way through the undergrowth and finally arrived at a small village by the coast.
'are you lost?' asked a woman from behind me.
i turned around quickly and dropped my stick to the floor.
'n-not for long' i replied
she tutted and helped me into her house, promising food and warmth.
'you don't have to help me, ill be fine'
'nonsense, i always have time for a traveller in need' she smiled, pouring me some tea.
i bowed and thanked her for the food.
'so, if you don't mind, may i ask where you're going?' she asked
'im not sure yet' i replied, 'but ill find out soon'
all i knew was that they had been in the fire nation a few days ago.
i didnt know where they were now or where they were going.
'well if you need anywhere to stay, you're always welcome here' she said, just as i finished my drink.
i thanked her again and picked up my bag.
leaving quickly was my best option right now if i wanted to find my friends.
she waved me goodbye as i disappeared once again into the forest.
but this time i didnt travel much further.
i found a quiet spot, not near any houses, and sat down to meditate.
maybe i could find them that way, maybe i couldn't. but i had to try.
i closed my eyes and focused, drowning out all he sounds that would've bothered me.
suddenly i was on a rocky path in a cavern.
'aang?' i said, looking around.
his head perked up and he stared at me.
'y/n?'
i ran to him and hugged him quickly.
'y/n, is that you?' called sokka, rushing up to us.
i smiled.
'where are you guys, i need to find you' i said, looking around
'fire nation' replied katara, who'd been watching the whole conversation.
i stared blankly at her : the fire nation wasn't exactly a small village id easily find them in.
'could you be a bit more specific?'
they showed me a map of their whereabouts and the place they were going.
'i'll see you soon' i said, knowing i had to leave so i wouldnt get noticed by anyone accidentally.
but just as i closed my eyes i felt a tap on my shoulder.
sokka.
'ill see you soon'
and when i opened my eyes again, i was back in the forest.
but at least i knew where they were.
and it wasn't very far away.
---
i sped across the ocean, trying my best to stay far enough away from the coast that i wouldn't be spotted.
and i knew i was getting closer.
i couldn't explain how - but i needed to get back to shore.
quickly, i stopped and fell in the ocean.
using air bending (oh air bending how i missed you) i propelled myself near to the shore.
and once i was close enough, i swam normally to the beach so as not to attract any unwanted attention.
i ran behind a rock and air bended the water off my clothes.
i needed to leave quickly.
luckily, i still had enough energy to run across the land - and hopefully get to my friends.
---
and an hour later id arrived the gauge they'd been at only hours before.
'SOKKA?! AANG?! KATARA?! TOPH?!'
i jogged long the canyon, screaming their names.
until i heard a faint echo.
'y/n?'
i sprinted towards it.
'Y/N' it called.
it was sokka.
i ran as fast as i could at him even though i was tired and he did the same.
i jumped up and landed in his arms.
but he toppled over and we fell to the floor, laughing even though we were covered in dust.
'i missed you so much!' he smiled, hugging me again
'Y/N!' screamed aang just as i stood back up.
he sprinted into me and i picked him up above my head.
he pulled away, his grin completely gone.
'where are your tattoos'
i looked down.
they were still gone.
'i hoped they'd come back when i saw you. guess i was wrong' i replied, pulling up my sleeve to check my arms.
still nothing.
'they'll be back soon' smiled katara, side hugging me, 'tattoos can't go far, right?'
i nodded and giggled, 'they'll be back soon'
and if they weren't, i dont know what id do.
---
we travelled to a forest and made a campfire,
'suddenly, they heard something down the hall, in the dark. oooooh... it came into the torchlight. and they knew the blade of wing-fun was haunted! AHH-AH'
he pulled out his sword and stood infront of the fire.
i rolled my eyes sarcastically and waved my arms around - making fun of him, 'oh no!!! not the haunted sword!!!'
sokka smirked and sat back down next to me, side hugging me.
hed been a lot sweeter since id returned, and i definitely couldn't put a number on the amount of times he'd hugged me on the way there.
'i think i liked "the man with a sword for a hand" better.' aang smiled
'water tribe slumber parties must stink.' said toph
katara waved her arms, defending herself, 'no, wait, i've got one, and this is a true southern water tribe story.'
'is this one of those "a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to" stories?' asked sokka
'no,' she whispered, 'it happened to mum.'
man, i had NOT heard this one before.
'one winter, when mum was a girl, a snowstorm buried the whole village for weeks. a month later, mum realized she hadn't seen her friend nini since the storm. so mom and some others went to check on nini's family. when they got there, no one was home, just a fire flickering in the fireplace. while the men went out to search, mum stayed in the house. when she was alone, she heard a voice,'
"it's so cold and i can't get warm." katara said in a little girls voice,
'mum turned and saw nini standing by the fire. she was blue, like she was frozen. mum ran outside for help, but... when every one came back, nini was gone.'
i hugged sokka a bit tighter and realised he was shaking.
'where'd she go?' he wondered
'no one knows. nini's house stands empty to this day. but sometimes, people see smoke coming up from the chimney, like little nini is still trying to get warm.'
me, sokka, aang, and toph huddled together, scared out of our minds.
suddenly, toph gasped.
'wait. guys, did you hear that? i hear people under the mountain, and they're screaming.'
WHAT THE FUCK TOPH
'pft, nice try.' said sokka, faking sanity
'no, i'm serious, i hear something.'
'you're probably just jumpy from the ghost stories.' said katara
'it just stopped.'
'all right, now i'm getting scared.' aang muttered, as i buried my head in my hands.
'hello, children.' said a woman, making us all scream, 'sorry to frighten you, my name is hama. you children shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night. i have an inn nearby, why don't you come back there for some spiced tea and warm beds?'
we paused.
'yes, please.'
---
she led us to an inn in a town and gave us some tea,
'thanks for letting us stay here tonight. you have a lovely inn.' katara smiled.
'aren't you sweet? you know, you should be careful. people have been disappearing in those woods you were camping in.' said hama, putting the kettle on the table.
sokka looked over at me, confused, 'what do you mean, disappearing?'
she stared at us, an ominous look gleaming in her eyes,
'when the moon turns full, people walk in, and they don't come out.' she stopped and went back to normal, 'who wants more tea? don't worry; you'll all be completely safe here. why don't i show you to your rooms, and you can get a good night's rest?'
we thanked her and she brought us to some spare rooms.
'thank you hama' i smiled and she closed the door, leaving me alone.
---
'wake up!' cried hama, letting herself in and waking me up.
'AH' i screamed, jumping out of the covers and grabbing my staff, 'oh sorry katara'
katara smiled and took my hand, 'come on, let's go wake up sokka'
they led me to his room where he was laying on the floor with his hair down.
and, not like i was looking, but he wasn't wearing a shirt.
'wakey-wakey. time to go shopping.' hama grinned.
i took his hand and pulled him back up,
'well meet you downstairs in a minute' i said, letting go and waving goodbye from around the door.
---
'hi' i smiled, blushing when he came downstairs.
'so!' he grinned, looking out at everyone else (and i swear i saw his cheeks redden), 'are we leaving or what?!'
we went into the town and got some supplies.
'aang put that down right now or we're leaving.' i said, slapping his hand lightly to drop the cloak.
i smiled at the merchant and wheeled him away.
'but y/nnnnn' said aang as we rounded the corner, 'it was a real nice coattt'
'aang you'll see another soon. we don't exactly have the funds for any extra shopping right now' said sokka, looking in the purse.
i smiled at him just as we passed some merchants who were talking.
'you won't have any ash bananas till next week?'
'well, i have to send the boy to hing-wa island to get them, and it's a two-day trip.'
'oh, right, tomorrow's the full moon.'
'exactly, i can't lose another delivery boy in the woods.'
sokka looked at me, kind of scared,
'people disappearing in the woods, weird stuff during full moons... this just reeks of spirit world shenanigans.'
'i bet if we take a little walk around town, we'll find out what these people did to the environment to make the spirits mad.' said aang.
'and then you can sew up this little mystery, lickety-split, avatar-style.' sokka said
'helping people... that's what i do.'
hama turned around, 'why don't you all take those things back to the inn? i just have to run a couple more errands. i'll be back in a little while.'
'this is a mysterious little town you have here.' i said, looking into her eyes - which were strangely grey.
not what id expected of someone from the fire nation.
but what'd i know? maybe it had changed in the last 100 years.
she just smiled, 'mysterious town for mysterious children.'
me and sokka looked at each other - eerily terrified.
yeah i didnt like this woman.