AtLA Rewritten: Edition 1

Chapter 77

Aang glanced at Dai. "What do you reckon we should do, Dai? Return?" Athlea took a deep breath, looking at first Zuko, then Dai, crossing her arms.

Dai looked from Aang to Athlea; the firebender was clearly not too eager to turn back. Zuko blinked. "How about Aang, Toph, and I go back and get help?"

Dai considered. Zuko clearly had something in mind, and Athlea clearly didn't want to leave. She nodded. "Zuko, go with Sokka. Toph and Aang stay here."

"Toph can barely help us. Why make her stay?" Zuko asked, irritated.

"We'll need Toph just in case that woman appears again. She'd be the first one to sense her," Athlea explained to her husband, a small smile on her face. Dai nodded agreement.

The waterbender bit her lip, closing her eyes. She opened them and handed Isa's reins to Sokka. "Take him. Be at the ice caves tomorrow at noon. Straight north from here. Any later, I'll assume Isa was hurt, and I will kill you." It wasn't very clear whether or not she was joking.

Zuko glanced at Sokka, biting his lip, then turned back to Dai. "Okay," he said quietly, taking Isa's reins. He glanced at Athlea, blinking. "Sokka, let's go."

Sokka took Isa's reins, blinking. "Okay... Alright." He took a deep breath and nodded. "We'll be there." He nodded again, glancing at Zuko. "Let's go." He took the lead and started walking. Dai stared after him.

Athlea looked at Zuko, nodding, giving him a small smile. "Be careful."

They kept walking north until the landscape had begun to change. A rising and falling appeared in the snow. As they neared, Dai led them to the left, where there was a sharp downhill. To the right was an arch of ice, and as they got further in, more and more caves made of ice were revealed. "Light?" Dai asked Athlea softly. The firebender nodded, a flame appearing in her hand. Dai led them into a cave. "We'll need a fire, too," she said. She helped unroll sleeping bags while Katara heated up food.

Aang glanced around. "Interesting..." he muttered.

"Yes, very. Everything is made of ice," Toph noted. Aang chuckled nervously. As Athlea helped Katara heat up food, Toph continued. "I hope they get the proper help we need."

"Don't worry. Zuko has a plan," Athlea reassured, smiling.

Dai nodded, setting her container of food aside. "We need to rest. We'll have a little more time to rest and relax tomorrow, but I'm going to sleep now." She slid her sleeping bag closer to the ice. They were made out of seal skin, so they would be very insulated.

Katara pulled her sleeping bag over to Athlea. "Let's do that session now, yeah?" she offered.

Athlea immediately nodded. "Yes please," she said with a smile on her face. She looked around, slowly sitting on her sleeping bag, then laying down. "I hope everything is okay," she said, obviously worried for her baby.

Katara pulled some water from her flask. Athlea took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Katara let the fire warm it up a bit and held it over Athlea's stomach. Her face screwed up, and her eyes quickly went wide.

"Wh-what's wrong?!" Athlea sat up slightly.

"Oh, sorry, there's nothing wrong, it's just... The baby is healthy, there's just a lot going on. Can you tell if the baby is moving?"

Athlea lay down again, raising an eyebrow. "A lot going on...? Yeah, I can tell. Not always, but sometimes."

"Is the baby moving right now?" Katara bit her lip.

Athlea nodded, her eyes on Katara. "A bit... yeah." She turned back toward the ceiling.

Katara beamed. "That's probably it, then! I can tell that they're not hurt, but..." She frowned. "Its energy is... confused, I guess?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry. You're the first pregnant woman I've really had contact with in a healing manner. I'm not used to dealing with an unborn baby."