Playing With Fire

The breeze that rippled the surface of the water held promises of long, warm days and clear starry nights. What only a week ago had been merely buds had now burst into bloom, dotting the shore and surrounding hills with bright spots of color. Aria scooped up a handful of flowers with delicate white petals and an eye of bright yellow, inhaling the pleasantly mellow scent. Spring and summer were her seasons; the time she felt most in her element and happy. Let the Water Tribes keep their inhospitable cold; she was a creature of the sun. Deftly she wove the flimsy long stems of the flowers into a loose ring, keeping only one back to put in her own hair.
“Are you coming?” Katara called back, a few yards ahead. Aria broke into an easy jog to catch up, depositing the flower ring on Katara’s head when she reached her. On their left was the coast, carrying in with each tide the scent of brine and the soothing, regular sound of the waves crashing against rock and beach. On their right was a gradual hill blanketed with rich green grass and flowers, leading up into a loosely populated wood. They were angling their way gradually to the trees with the intent of gathering any food available before taking to the sky once more. When they reached the edge of the wood, Aria balked.
“Can we eat lunch out here?” She asked, really not wanting to forsake the hot sun for the cool shadowy halls the trees ruled over.
“I am pretty hungry…” Aang answered.
Sokka deliberated for several seconds, seeming to war with the idea of food and time efficiency, before agreeing and dropping his pack. The others did the same and pulled out the meager amount of food they had left, deciding to eat it cold rather than light a fire. When Aria reached in her own pack for food her hand brushed against the balled up letter from her father and she almost recoiled. She had been pushing off dealing with it and the reminder of its existence was unwelcome. The nice day had driven the idea of it to the back of her mind. Without ceremony, they reclined on the cushiony grass, eating leisurely; it was just so hard to hurry in the light of such a beautiful day. A ways away, Appa was rolling himself in the grass, roaring with pleasure as Momo looked on. When he stood again, great tufts of white hair and crushed grass remained.
They ate in silence for several minutes before, her mouth full of food, Katara jumped and stared at Aria with wide eyes. Aria looked down at her shirt and ran her hand over her face, thinking there must be something on her.
“Aria!” Katara exclaimed.
“What?” Aria asked, bewildered, glancing quickly behind her.
“You’re a firebender!”
“Yes…” Aria confirmed slowly, nonplussed.
“You could teach Aang! He needs to learn firebending and you’re the only friendly firebender we know that isn’t trying to kill us!” Katara said excitedly. “Why haven’t we thought of that before?”
“I guess…” Aria answered doubtfully, surveying Aang who was listening attentively.
“Well why not?” Sokka asked, “Katara is teaching him waterbending.”
“Sure, I’m just not sure where to start.” Aria answered slowly, “I’ve never tried to teach anyone a move that weren’t already Firebenders.”
“But I am a Firebender technically!” Aang said brightly, “I just haven’t used it yet.”
“Alright…if you want to.” Aria answered.
“Right now?” Aang asked, bouncing to his feet.
Aria stuffed her mouth before dusting off her hands and standing up. Gesturing to Aang, she walked off a little ways away from the others; fire could be dangerous. Aang skipped along eagerly, asking endless questions about Firebending. Turning to face Aang, Aria quickly retreated a few steps when finding he was so close they almost whacked each other in the face.
“Ok, so, the strength of your Firebending depends on having a strong base and breathing. Fire needs oxygen right?” Aria began, almost laughing when Aang immediately widened his stance and began taking ridiculously deep breaths. “And from what I’ve seen of Airbending and Waterbending, it’s much more passive; Firebending is all about attack. A schoolmate of mine used to say the best defense is a strong offense. I agree. So you’ll have to change your mentality. For now we’ll just focus on technique and being able to perform the moves at all but in the future you’ll need ferocity to be a successful Firebender.”
Aang grimaced at the prospect of being ruthless in his fighting but nodded, ready to start. Aria paced a few feet away and settled down into the horse stance, aware of Katara and Sokka watching intently from a safe distance.
“Ok, Fire Jabs are the most common attack for Firebenders simply because it’s easy. So we’ll start with that.” Aria announced. In one fluid motion, Aria raised her arms as if about to fight and darted one fist forward, punching an invisible opponent and shooting a bright burst of blue flame several feet before it dispersed. “You got it?”
“Maybe I need to see it again…” Aang answered slowly, averting his eyes. Aria said nothing but let off three more Fire Jabs in quick succession; she wasn’t going to judge him for being nervous.
“It’s that simple. You’re not fighting anyone, no pressure, just let it loose.” Aria stated calmly.
Aang nodded and took a deep breath before settling back down into the horse stance. With a look of supreme concentration, Aang drew back his arm and sent it flying forward but nothing happened. His face fell and he looked askance of Aria.
“Well…you might have just given someone a bloody nose.” Aria said, trying to make light of the failure. “It’s alright, just do it again, it was your first try!”
Again and again Aang punched the air, with no result. Aria tried explaining differently and showed him over and over again but was completely perplexed; she didn’t know how to make him produce fire. His form seemed fine yet there was still a lack of flame. After almost twenty minutes of this she told him to stop, frustrated.
“When you bend air and water, what do you do?” Aria asked, “Do you access some sort of feeling or what?”
“I don’t know! It just feels natural!” Aang whined, just as frustrated, “I don’t have to create anything with water and air! It’s already there! I don’t know how to create fire!”
“You’ve got everything you need for fire!” Aria argued, trying desperately to hang onto her quickly dissipating patience. “I told you fire needs oxygen, which we have an abundance of, and your bending, which fuels it. I imagine that wherever you get the power to bend water and air, fire bending is the same so let’s go!”
“It’s not fair; you’ve been doing it your whole life!” Aang argued.
“You’re the Avatar!” Aria retorted, “You were born with the ability the same as me. Figure it out.”
When Aang’s jaw jutted out at a stubborn angle, Aria sighed, rubbing her forehead. She really wasn’t teacher material…
“Ok, take a break. Let me think about it.” Aria said, walking off. After walking a ways, she stopped and began trying to create lightening; having to concentrate so hard on something almost always made her let go of strong emotion. She had to, to be able to control something as unpredictable as lightening. With an enormous effort, Aria managed to separate the energies and slowly she twirled the insane amount of energy between her hands, the bright light searing its image into her corneas so when she blinked the ghost image still remained. Her hair crackled and she could feel the static, almost like a physical thing. The lightening bound away into the blue sky when an idea occurred to Aria, making her lose concentration. It was so much easier for her to create the lightening during the storm, when the environment was already creating it naturally. Today there wasn’t a cloud in sight, so it had been incredibly difficult to do for her as she was still figuring it out. Perhaps that could work in Aang’s favor as well.
With a loud rushing noise, a good sized patch of grass went up in flame with Aang looking on dubiously and Aria smiling. Katara and Sokka crept closer, curious. Aria concentrated on keeping it from spreading while she instructed Aang.
“I took the hard part out. You don’t have to create it, just control it. Make it do anything, I don’t care. Put it out, move it, use it to attack, whatever; as long as you use firebending to do it.” Aria stated.
“What?” Aang asked, as if he hadn’t understood.
“I’m going to quit controlling this and you’re going to start. Like I said, do what you want. Attack me if you want since I’m sure you’ve probably been fantasizing about that since we started this lesson. At the very least you’ll have to contain it to keep it from burning down everything.” Aria reiterated. Aang stared at the fire with wide eyes but got in position, raising his hands to chest level.
Aria released her control over the fire and back pedaled quickly, slightly worried about what Aang might do. The fire instantly started snatching greedily at the surrounding grass, turning it first bright red then black and then moving on to the next tuft. Aang took a deep breath drew his hands in and the fire contracted, retreating to its original boundaries. Aria smiled and relaxed her tensed muscles; he was doing it. A brilliant smile lit up Aang’s face and he looked at Aria.
“What should I do now?” Aang asked eagerly.
“Um…just try a fire jab. It’ll be a little different since you’re not sending it straight from your hand but you should still be able to do the same move, it’ll just be bigger since you’re working with more fire.” Aria answered.
With a look of eager anticipation, Aang shot his skinny arm out in front and took a step forward, tripping slightly on a clump of grass. With a huge roar, the fire exploded outward, searing the air and forcing Aria to protect herself, diverting the fire to her side. When the flames cleared and Aria spotted Aang she roared with laughter; his face, missing most of his eyebrows and covered with black smudges, had a look of utter bewilderment.
“Are you ok?” Aria asked in gasping breaths, holding her ribs; he looked hilarious.
“What happened?” Sokka demanded, running up with Katara close behind.
“Aang, are you ok?” Katara fretted, pulling water out of her pouch and wiping the smudges off Aang’s face. “What were you doing? You could have gotten hurt, why wasn’t Aria helping you?”
“Well don’t baby him.” Aria scoffed irritably, “He’s fine.”
“We can’t afford for him to get hurt Aria!” Katara argued.
“And he’s not.” Aria observed dryly, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
“Fire is dangerous.” Katara continued stubbornly.
“Oh just stop Katara!” Aria complained, “He’s fine. Frankly, yes, you play with fire and you can get burned. I’ve gotten minor burns before; it just teaches me not to make the same stupid mistake. He’s got to learn unless somewhere along the way it turned out the Avatar doesn’t need to know firebending.”
“Well your methods are ridiculous.” Katara answered snottily.
“You worry about waterbending, I’ll worry about firebending.” Aria answered.
“Where’s your eyebrows?” Sokka asked, snorting in laughter.
Aang reddened and kicked at a patch of burned grass but didn’t say anything.
“I think that’s enough.” Aria told Aang, “We’re not going to get anywhere if you’re embarrassed and they’re making idiotic comments. If you want we can try again tomorrow. In the meantime, try and figure out how to make the fire on your own. I don’t know what to tell you there.”
“Well let’s get going. We’ve been hanging around longer than we should have.” Sokka said, still smiling.
Still acting huffy, Katara led the procession into the woods while Appa lumbered in the rear, pausing every few feet to rip up clumps of bushes with his massive teeth. The trees soon closed in on them and the view of the flowery meadow became completely obscured though the clashing of the waves still permeated the air. Several feet ahead, Aang stooped down to examine something.
“Hey look! A sword made out of a whale’s tooth!” He shouted back excitedly. Sokka took off immediately and ripped the sword out of Aang’s hand, running his hand down the length of the blade.
“This is a water tribe weapon!” Sokka exclaimed, “See if you can find anything else.”
“Did someone lose something?” Katara asked as she and Aria caught up with the two rummaging through bushes.
“No, we found something!” Aang responded eagerly. Sokka picked up an arrowhead and examined it minutely.
“It’s burned. There was a battle; water tribe warriors ambushed a group of fire benders. The fire benders fought back but the water tribe warriors drove them down this hill.” Sokka stated seriously, hurrying down the hill. Aria followed, looking dubiously around, trying to figure out what Sokka was seeing. They emerged out of the trees once more, onto a rocky forlorn beach.
“So then what happened?” Aang asked.
“I don’t know…the trail ends here…” Sokka answered quietly.
“Wait, look!” Katara cried, pointing down the coast. A small boat made of what looked to be some sort of stretched hide rested on the rocky beach, its mast pointing crookedly into the sky.
“It’s one of our boats!” Sokka almost screamed, running down the beach.
“Hmmm.” Aria said in surprise before following, “He was right.”
“Is this dad’s boat?” Katara asked hopefully.
“No, but it’s from his fleet.” Sokka answered eagerly, running his hands along the side of the boat. “Dad was here.”
They made camp beside the boat that night. One by one they all made it to their bedrolls and fell asleep; everyone but Sokka. Aria lay in her bedroll, watching Sokka curiously; he was staring into the fire, a brooding expression on his face; obviously something about the ship had brought up memories.
“Is everything okay?” Aria asked quietly.
“Yeah…just thinking about my dad.” Sokka answered after a moment.
“Oh…” Aria answered, not sure what to say. “You miss him?”
“Of course I miss him.” Sokka said, “Who wouldn’t miss their dad?”
Aria decided against answering that question, not entirely understanding why anyone would miss their father. It didn’t escape her attention that when referring to their father, Katara and Sokka called him dad; apparently they had a relationship she didn’t. The thought vaguely bothered her. Aria sat up quickly and Sokka jumped to his feet, pulling out his boomerang when somebody’s footsteps approached their camp.
“Who’s there?” Sokka demanded.
Stepping out of the shadows and into the light of their fire, the man raised his hands in compliance. He was tall and grim, looking as if his face had forgotten how to smile. A shadow of a beard covered his jaw and his dark hair was pulled back from his face with a strip of hide. His clothing was clearly water tribe though strips of bandages covered the right side of his chest and arm.
“Sokka?” The man asked in a deep voice. Aria’s eyes widened and she extricated herself from her bedroll, wanting to be ready for whatever happened.
“Bato?” Sokka replied in disbelief, his high pitch waking Katara and Aang.
“Who the what now?” Aang asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.
“Bato!” Katara squealed, becoming fully awake immediately.
“Sokka! Katara!” The man named Bato exclaimed, opening his arms wide. The siblings all but flew to him, wrapping him in a bear hug. Aria and Aang exchanged confused glances but remained silent. “It’s so good to see you two. You’ve grown so much!”
“Where’s dad?” Sokka asked excitedly.
“Is he here?” Katara cried.
“No, he and the other warriors should be in the eastern Earth Kingdom by now.” Bato answered. Sokka and Katara hung their heads in disappointment. An ice cold breeze, remnant of the winter just passed, swept in from the ocean. Aria hunched her shoulders and stuffed her hands deep in her pocket. “This is no place for a reunion, let’s get inside.”
Without a backward glance, the water tribe group walked down the beach, chatting animatedly. Once again catching Aang’s eye, Aria shrugged and followed after them, feeling like an intruder. The walk was fairly short and soon they reached a small complex of buildings surrounded by a decent sized wall. As they walked through the archway, Aria caught snippets of Bato’s words.
“After I was wounded, your father carried me to this Abbey. The sisters have cared for me ever since.”
Inside the walls was a stone paved courtyard surrounded by whitewashed buildings with great mason jars lining the walls, sealed tightly with a waxy substance. Dotted here and there around the courtyard were many woman of all ages, all dressed from head to toe in white and extremely light tan.
“Superior, these are Hakota’s children.” Bato said, addressing a rather old, dignified looking woman. “They’ve been traveling with the Avatar; I found them by my boat.”
“Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence.” The woman stated calmly, inclining her head to Aang. “Welcome to our Abbey.”
“Thank you, it’s truly an honor to be here.” Aang answered, seeming relieved to finally be acknowledged. “If there’s anything-“
“What smells so good, Bato?” Sokka asked, cutting across Aang while sniffing at the air. Aria glared at Sokka; why was it suddenly ok to be so rude?
“The sisters craft ointments and perfumes.” Bato answered. “Come, we’ve got dinner waiting.”
They crossed the courtyard to what Aria assumed would be a mess hall, her stomach grumbling angrily; she was ravenous. When the door slid open, Katara squealed in delight but Aria’s hopes for a great meal plummeted. Whatever was cooking smelled extremely suspicious.
“Bato, it looks like home!”
The floors were carpeted with plush furs, surrounding a low burning fire in the center. The walls were adorned with many fierce looking weapons and odd trinkets; to Aria it looked as if some backwoods lowlife had taken residence here. The only source of light was the fire, leaving the outer corners shrouded in dark.
“Everything’s here; even the pelts!” Sokka exclaimed, immediately dropping to his knees by the fire.
“Yeah, nothings cozier than dead animal skins.” Aang stated dryly. Aria chuckled, apparently the only one in the room to appreciate Aang’s humor.
“No way! Stewed sea prunes?” Katara asked in ecstasy, lifting the lid off the pot in the fire and identifying the mystery smell.
“Help yourself.” Bato said graciously.
“Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things.” Sokka reminisced happily. Aria and Aang advanced cautiously into the room and sat next to the fire, looking apprehensively at the mess in the pot; it smelled revolting. Aria choked down the mixture as quietly as she could while Bato told stories to Katara and Sokka about their father. Though Aang tried to take part in the conversation, it was clear his opinion wasn’t wanted or appreciated and he soon lapsed into silence. Aria soon gave up on the sea prunes and set her bowl aside still half full; retreating from the fire, she pulled her pack towards her and dug out her father’s letter and settled back against the wall to read it again. Her father had never given her reason to trust him but could she really to afford to ignore such an offer if it meant Zuko could go home and Aang would no longer be pursued. By Zuko at least. The thought of Zhao’s smug face if she turned herself in was nearly as revolting as the sea prunes. When Aria next glanced up, Aang was gone; she hadn’t even noticed him leave.
“It would be great but we can’t.” Sokka stated sadly. Aria frowned, unsure of what they were talking about.
“Even if we had time to wait for the message, who knows how far we’d have to travel.” Katara added. “We don’t have time for a long detour.”
“I’m sure your father would understand.” Bato answered, “And be proud that his children are helping the Avatar.”
Aria carefully folded up the letter and shoved it into her pocket before leaning her head against the wall; it was almost to the point where it could be considered morning instead of night and she still hadn’t slept. Her eyes had just closed when the door slid open and Aang sidled in.
“Hi everyone! Sorry I was gone so long.” He said in a hearty voice, unlike his usual tone.
“Oh, hi Aang. I didn’t even notice you were gone.” Katara answered.
“Yep but now I’m back!” Aang answered, throwing himself onto the ground by the fire. “Sure could go for some delicious sea prunes!” With almost indecent zeal, Aang shoveled the sea prune goop into his mouth, almost making himself sick. Aria eyeballed him suspiciously; he was acting like a crazy person. Before long Aria resumed her position and fell asleep, Sokka and Katara still pelting Bato with questions.
Aria shook her head in disbelief, rubbing the crick in her neck from sleeping against the wall. Aang and the others were gathered around Bato, listening to his instructions. Apparently when water tribe boys turned fourteen they performed a rite of passage known as ice dodging. Sokka’s father had left for the war before he had turned fourteen so Bato had offered to take him now. It sounded like a whole lot of nonsense.
“Ice dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery, and trust. In our village it was done by weaving a boat through a field of icebergs.” Bato explained.
“How are we supposed to go ice dodging without any ice?” Sokka asked practically.
“You’ll be dodging those.” Bato said, pointing at the jagged rocks towering out of the sea. “Sokka, you’ll be steering and calling the shots; lead wisely. Katara, you’ll secure the main sail; the winds can be brutal so be brave. Aang, you’ll control the jib; without your steady hand we’ll all go down. Your position is about trust.” Aang squirmed uncomfortably but nodded all the same.
“Aria, are you sure you’re not going to participate?” Bato asked politely.
“Yes, thank you.” Aria answered stepping back. There was no way she was stepping foot on a boat made of hides and bone and wood to dodge solid rock. There were some things the Fire Nation did get right and one of those was making their ships from metal. Soon the others were out of sight on the boat and once again Aria began practicing her lightening bending; it was getting easier all the time. It wasn’t taking her near the effort it used to though she would still be way out of her depth if it came to fighting with it. She practiced for the better part of an hour before starting to get tired.
Wondering how long one had to ‘dodge ice’ to pass, Aria released the lightening and stood on tip toe to catch a glimpse of the Water Tribe ship. As if summoned by her thoughts, the boat glided smoothly back to the beach, seemingly free of damage; Sokka must have passed. She quickly put a smile in place and strode forward to congratulate them as they disembarked.
“The spirits of water bear witness to these marks. For Sokka, the mark of the wise; the same mark your father earned.” Bato announced ceremoniously, making a foreign looking mark on Sokka’s forward with an oily black liquid. “For Katara, the mark of the brave; for courage inspires us. And for Aang, the mark of the trusted; you are now an honorary member of the Water Tribe.”
“I can’t.” Aang answered, rubbing the mark off with his sleeve.
“Of course you can!” Katara answered brightly, seemingly unaware of Aang’s discomfort.
“No, you can’t trust me.” Aang said, backing up.
“Aang, what are you talking about?” Katara asked, confused.
“A messenger gave this to me for Bato.” Aang answered, pulling a crumpled piece of parchment out from his shirt and handing it to Katara. Sokka and Katara looked over it quickly, their faces quickly changing from confused to angry. Aang stared at the ground refusing to look anyone in the eye. “You have to understand, I was afraid-“
“This is the map to our father! You had it the whole time?” Sokka shouted, “How could you? Well you can go to the North Pole on your own, I’m going to find dad.”
“Now Sokka, I think you should-“ Bato began.
“Katara, are you with me?” Sokka interrupted angrily.
“I’m with you Sokka.” Katara answered, staring at Aang. Aang hung his head, crushed at the verdict. Aria watched the entire confrontation in shock; what the heck just happened? She couldn’t believe they were splitting up. Soon she was left standing on the beach alone with Aang, feeling awkward. There was nothing that could be said that would make the situation better; Aang had done wrong and that was the end of it. Without a word they made their way back to the Abbey. By the time they got there Bato, Sokka, and Katara were all packed and Aang made a beeline for Appa. Aria followed more slowly, not knowing if she should say goodbye to the others or not; this entire day and a half had been one big awkward affair for her. Deciding against it, she clambered into Appa’s saddle and sat, waiting for Aang to decide to leave. Within minutes Katara and Sokka were gone and the Superior approached Aang.
“Guess I should be moving on.” Aang said before she could speak.
“That would be best.” She answered solemnly. Resigned, Aang picked up the reigns and directed Appa out the archway. He kept Appa at a sedate walk all the way back to where the boat was left and pulled up on the beach; he fidgeted with the reins as if hoping if he stalled long enough they would come back. Aria didn’t question him; Aang was in a bad sort.
“Well…are you ready to go?” Aang asked dejectedly.
“Whenever you are.” Aria answered simply.
“Avatar!” One of the sisters was running full tilt at them, waving her arms, “You must leave!”
“Ok, I get it, everyone wants me gone!” Aang answered angrily. Aria glared at the woman; if she came running down here just to shoo Aang away, she was going to have a problem.
“A group of people came to the Abbey looking for you.” The woman stated breathlessly.
“Who?” Aang asked curiously.
“A fierce looking woman with a horrible monster and a young man with a scar! The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you.” The woman answered.
“Zuko.” Aria stated, wondering about the woman he was apparently traveling with.
“A necklace…” Aang said, scowling in confusion. His eyes widened and he jumped, “Katara! Yip Yip!” Appa launched into the air and flew toward the Abbey as quickly as he was able. If the beast was following the scent of Katara’s necklace her and Sokka were in trouble. As soon as they touched down at the archway, Aang snapped his glider out.
“Aria, stay here with Appa in case Katara and Sokka come back, I’m going to fly ahead and see if I can find them.” Without waiting for her consent, Aang took off and was soon out of sight. Aria made her way into the Abbey with Appa and leaned against the wall, gnawing at her bottom lip; her stomach was in knots. She was ashamed to admit that worry over the woman he was traveling with was occupying her mind just as much as Katara and Sokka’s danger. Without warning the wooden doors of the arch way exploded open, spewing splinters and debris over the courtyard. Aria ducked and looked on in amazement as a dog like creature with the nose of a mole, almost the size of Appa, burst through the hole it had made. On its back rode Zuko and Iroh with a woman Aria didn’t know. Her face was wild looking and framed by long black hair. With a gasp, Aria saw Katara and Sokka strapped to the saddle, unmoving. The beast circled the courtyard, sniffing loudly and Aria began maneuvering to get behind it, unsure of her motives but knowing she wanted to stay out of sight and away from the sharp teeth that protruded from the upper jaw of it. Snarling in triumph at the appearance of its target, the beast stopped and reared up into the air; Aang had swooped in on his glider and buffeted it around the head with a blast of air. Losing its balance, the beast fell backward, dumping the people on its back and nearly landing on Aria. Diving out of the way, Aria quickly crawled over to where Sokka and Katara had landed.
“Are you guys okay?” She asked, turning them over.
“We’re paralyzed.” Katara answered.
“That thing has a long tongue that has some sort of poison in it.” Sokka said tersely. Aria grabbed Sokka by the armpits and began dragging him out of the way as the beast struggled to regain its feet. Leaning him against the wall, Aria sprinted back for Katara who was in danger of being trampled as the beast jumped in the air, snapping at Aang. Zuko had also regained his feet and Aria made eye contact briefly; Zuko was looking between her and Aang, clearly warring with what he wanted to do. Forcing herself to look away and ignoring the pang she felt in her chest every time she saw him, Aria stooped and grabbed Katara; out of the corner of her eye she saw Zuko running toward Aang. She managed to drag Katara a few yards when a huge gust of fire sent her flying forward and crashing into the stone base of the wall. Her ears ringing, Aria looked around and saw only chaos; the sisters were running for cover in the surrounding buildings, Aang and Zuko were struggling to their feet on rooftops opposite of each other (they must have caused the explosion that had knocked Aria off her feet), and Appa and the woman’s beast were hard at it, fighting with a ferocity Aria had never seen in Appa.
“I think we’re starting to get some movement back.” Sokka stated hopefully. Aria turned back to face them and found, with relief, that Sokka and Katara were beginning to wiggle their fingers and twitch their limbs.
“Here, smell this.” One of the sisters had appeared from a nearby building and held a small perfume bottle under Sokka’s nose. Sokka wrinkled his nose in disgust but was able to struggle to his feet. As soon as Katara got a whiff of the potent fumes, she also climbed to her feet, leaning heavily on the wall.
“That thing sees with its nose.” Sokka observed, “Let’s give it something to look at.”
“The perfume?” The sister asked timidly, half crouching behind Sokka.
“You may secretly be a genius.” Aria observed, smiling slightly when Sokka nodded grimly in response to the sister’s question.
“Go get the rest of the sister’s and tell them to get in position to start dumping the perfume.” Sokka stated with authority, ignoring Aria. The sister hustled away, her arms over her head, to rally the rest.
The sound of the many mason jars cracking open was apparently lost on Zuko and the beast who had Aang pinned against a wall, dodging fire and the paralyzing tongue. Straining against the huge jar, Aria and the others managed to tilt them over onto their sides where Katara began bending; since perfume was mostly water it was an easy task. Creating a huge wave, Katara sent the perfume crashing over the heads of the beast and Zuko and making such a huge stink that even Aria’s eyes began watering. The beast went mad; throwing the woman from its back and darting its tongue out in all directions, narrowly missing Aang but hitting Zuko. The next pass of its tongue hit the woman and she and Zuko alike both hit the ground hard and remained there. Smashing any remaining mason jars and running in circles, the beast let out an ear piercing shriek before scrabbling up the side of the wall and disappearing.
While Aang and the other two talked to the sisters, apologizing for ruining their stock, Aria ran to where Zuko and Iroh were still laying, paralyzed. Skidding to a stop, she bowed respectfully to Iroh before bending low over Zuko. Ascertaining he wasn’t seriously injured, she talked fast.
“I don’t know when I’m going to see you next so before anything happens that may make you question things, I wanted to say I love you. No matter what. Some things may be starting that will make you doubt that but please just remember it.”
“What are you talking about?” Zuko asked, his eyes widening in concern.
“You’ll be able to go home. Really soon.” Aria answered quietly, “Without the Avatar.”
“Why? Aria, what are you doing?” Zuko demanded.
“Do you still love me?” Aria asked, her voice so full of sadness that Zuko’s face instantly softened.
“Yes, of course I do. I want nothing more than to go home with you.” Zuko answered softly.
Aria kissed him quickly before answering. “It won’t be with me.”
Straightening up, she bowed again to Iroh who was watching her, his brow furrowed in suspicion, but she avoided his eyes.
“I hope you know what you are doing Aria.” He stated gravely.
“Me too.” She answered simply before walking briskly back to the others. In one fluid motion she jumped up, grabbing a handful of Appa’s fur, and swung herself into the saddle. Within minutes Sokka and Katara joined her in the saddle and with a groan, Appa heaved himself into the air. Aria watched as the abbey became nothing more than a spec on the horizon before turning around to face the others.
“So where are we going?” Aang asked cautiously, as if afraid of the answer.
“We’re getting you to the north pole.” Katara answered firmly over the wind of Appa’s flight.
“Yeah, we’ve lost too much time as it is.” Sokka affirmed.
“Don’t you want to see your father?” Aang said, his voice hopeful.
“Of course we do Aang but you’re our family too, and right now you need us more.” Sokka answered.
“And we need you.” Katara added.
“I wish I could give you a little piece of home Katara, something to remind you-” Aang began after a brief silence.
“I’ll be ok.” Katara interrupted, looking down at her hands.
“Still just a little trinket…maybe something like this.” Aang said slyly, holding up the necklace Katara had lost.
“Aang how’d you get that?” Katara squealed, snatching it out of his hand.
“Zuko asked me to be sure I got it to you.” Aang answered, laughing.
“Oh that’s so sweet of Zuko, will you give him a kiss for me when you see him?” Katara teased.
“Sure will…” Aang said jokingly with a sideways glance at Aria, “But I wouldn’t want anyone getting jealous…”
“If you want to kiss Zuko, be my guest.” Aria answered, smiling faintly, “I could use some more entertainment.”