The night was alight with fireworks and lanterns when they enter the town. Orzala's heart beat rapidly against her chest as she glanced around, eyes wide in awe. Sokka grabbed onto her arm as a large dragon puppet marched by, pulling her closer to him as he glared around. His icy blue eyes widened a fraction as he observed all the surrounding costumes.
"I-I think you need some new disguises," Orzala told him, cursing herself silently as heat crawled to her cheeks. The boy nodded in agreement, not releasing her from his grasp. "Where are we supposed to get masks like that?" He asked.
As if hearing him, a vendor began calling out: "Get your genuine Fire-Festival masks here!" They quickly turned, sharing a look before grabbing the younger two and dragging them toward the stand. "That was surprisingly easy."
Aang, Katara, and Sokka each grabbed a mask, quickly paying the vendor before walking away. Sokka had chosen a bright, smiley mask, making Orzala laugh. Her laughter only increased when Katara shook her head, switching his mask with Aang's, which was an angry mask. Sokka's head snapped toward the princess, slightly relieved to hear her laughing once more. He shoved her lightly.
"Hey! There's some food." Sokka perked up at this, running past the others and toward the stand. "Finally! What do you have?"
"Flaming Fire Flakes! The best in town." Sokka quickly snatched the bag from the vendor, tossing some coins his way before beginning to scarf down the food. Orzala suppressed her laughter until he started screaming. "AH! Hot! They're hot!"
"Flaming Fire Flakes, hot? What do you know?" Katara quipped, crossing her arms and shaking her head at her brother. Aang chuckled.
"Hey, look at this!" He grabbed Orzala's elbow, pulling her toward a small puppet show. The siblings followed closely, eyebrows raising as a puppet of the Fire Lord popped up. "Don't worry, loyal citizens!" It called. "No one can surprise the Fire Lord!" An Earth Kingdom puppet popped up at that, raising a rock to throw.
The Fire Lord puppet turned, breathing a blast of fire and incinerating the earthbender. Orzala jumped at that, backing into Sokka. The boy quickly wrapped an arm around her, pulling her away from the scene with wide eyes. "Well, that was lovely."
Aang rushed past them, heading for the large crowd ahead of them. "Aang, hold on!" Katara called, trying to keep up with the young avatar as he ran. "Where are we going?"
"I don't know," he conceded, "but there's a big crowd, so it must be good." Orzala scoffed, making Sokka tighten his grip and glance at her worriedly. "That's what we thought about the puppet show."
"Yeah. Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution or something." Orzala's eyes drifted up to the stage, observing the bender cautiously. The firebender shot the crowd a smile, waving his hands and drawing fire from each other torches around him. He spun them wildly before they faded with a final burst, and three doves flew from the midst of the blast.
"Wow! I've got to learn that trick!" Aang exclaimed, turning toward Orzala with a grin. He pulled his mask back down as he turned to watch the bender once more. Orzala sighed, reaching out and placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Aang, there's more to firebending than fancy tricks--"
"For my next trick, I need a volunteer from the audience!" The bender called, and Aang immediately cut the girl off, waving his hands and jumping up and down. "Oh! Me! Me! Me!" Sokka broke away from the princess, pulling the avatar back.
"What do you think you're doing?" He hissed.
"I want to get a closer look!" Aang whined.
"You don't need a closer look," Orzala scolded, and Katara nodded in agreement beside her. "It's better that we don't attract any attention to ourselves," Katara reasoned quietly.
"How about you, little lady?" The brunette glanced up to see the bender looking at her expectantly, and a small gasp left her lips. She backed away, shaking her head slightly. "Aw, she's shy. Let's give her some encouragement, folks!" The crowd around them began to cheer, and a little Fire Nation boy pushed her forward. With a sigh, she reluctantly went on stage.
"Aww, that could've been me," Aang pouted, and Orzala whacked him on the back of the head softly. "Yes, that could've been the avatar, in obvious airbender clothing, in the middle of a Fire Nation demonstration with all eyes on him. That would've been so smart." Although she couldn't see his face, she knew he was glaring at her as he crossed his arms.
"This next trick is called 'Taming the Dragon'! You will be my captured princess," The firebender told Katara, pulling her into a seat and wrapping a ribbon around her. He then waved his hands, forming a dragon from the fire above them. Katara's eyes widened as the fire shot down toward her. The bender sent the beast away with another wave of his arms.
"Don't worry, young maiden! I will tame this fiery beast!" The firebender sent out a stream of fire at the dragon, pretending to try and rope the beast in. Aang fidgeted nervously in his spot, making Orzala glance at him. "It's too strong! I can't hold it!"
Aang rushed forward, anxiety buling in his chest. "We gotta help her!" Sokka quickly stepped in front of him, resting a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "No, we don't want to cause a scene." Orzala nodded in agreement, pulling down her mask to flash the boy a reassuring grin. "Yeah, he's just acting, Aang. Katara will be fine." The boy stilled for a moment, worried eyes fixated on Katara.
"The rope-- it's breaking!" With that, the fire dragon hurtled toward Katara. The girl let out a small scream, and Aang broke away from Sokka, darting onto the stage and sending a gust of air at the fire. It quickly dissipated, and the firebender fell back in surprise.
"Hey, are you trying to upstage me kid?" Aang frowned, and Orzala quickly joined him on stage, scrambling to grab his mask that had fallen off in the turmoil. The crowd began to boo as Aang smiled, dancing and ignoring Orzala as she urged him to put his mask on once more. Sokka joined them, untying Katara and pulling her up.
"Hey, that kid's the avatar!" Orzala's jade eyes darkened as she glared out into the crowd, and everyone fell silent. Her deadly gaze drifted to the Fire Nation soldiers that had turned toward them, weapons bared as they forced their way through the crowd.
"Time to go," she growled, snatching Aang's elbow and tugging him along behind her. Before they could go far, however, a voice stopped them.
"Follow me!" Orzala turned, eyeing the hooded man angrily. "I can get you out of here," he promised, and the girl let out an angry sigh, closing her eyes and nodding. She glared behind her, motioning for the others to follow as she ran after the stranger. The man turned, throwing a bomb to prevent the soldiers from following them.
Orzala's anger only seemed to grow as they ran through the village, dodging people and carts as they went. She threw a glance behind her, eyes bulging slightly as the soldiers behind them grew in numbers. She extended her hand, clenching her fist and pulling down forcefully. A wide smirk tugged at her lips as the buildings above them crumbled, blocking the soldiers way.
"I'm calling Appa!" Aang exclaimed, pulling out his bison whistling and blowing on it forcefully.
"I really hope that thing actually works," Sokka grumbled.
"This way!" Their savior called, leading them down another ally. They came to a halt, however, when several Fire Nation soldiers moved to block their way. "Ok, not this way." The man produced another bomb from his cloak, tossing it toward the soldiers and knocking them off their feet.
They backtracked, hurrying down another ally. This one, however, led to a dead end. If looks could kill, the stranger would be dead on the ground from how Orzala was glaring at him. He turned quickly, shielding the kids behind him as more soldiers began to approach. Orzala fell into her stance, preparing to fight their way out if needed, until a loud roar erupted above them Her gaze shot up, and a large smile jumped to her lips.
"Appa! Down here!" The sky bison descended, chasing the soldiers away and sending a blast of air at them. They flew back, and by the time they had recovered, the group had already flown away. Before they got too far, the stranger set off another bomb, throwing it into the firework storage below them.
The building set fire, causing all the fireworks to shoot off at once. The kids sent the man a grin as he pulled down his hood. "Nice touch setting off the fireworks," Aang complimented, and Sokka nodded in agreement.
"You seem to really know your explosives."
The man nodded cautiously, turning to face them. "I'm familiar." Orzala quickly jumped up, moving to stand in front of the others as she glared at the man. Sokka hopped up, standing beside her and looking at the man in disbelief.
"You're a Fire Nation soldier!"
"Was. My name is Chey. I would like to help you."