Heimat | Aang

TWENTY-THREE

The sensation of the wind hitting her face was one she had gotten used to after all her travels at sea, where the wind was harsher than it usually was at land. That sensation had only grown to become more intense as she travelled with Aang on Appa's saddle from location to location in the last couple of weeks. Tapeesa had never minded the wind. If she did, she doubted she would have agreed to join Aang in his journeys all these times. Now, the last thing she could think of was the wind.

There had been days of them flying around, stopping only for a few hours, until five nights later, when the half-moon was still high in the sky, they noticed the outline of an island. Aang instantly let out a small sigh. "We arrived."

Tapeesa moved closer to look down at the island over his shoulder, gaze sharp despite the lack of light. Appa flew soundlessly closer to the island, over a small part filled with ships. Her jaw set.

"Whoever is threatening your friends must have come through the sea. We could find their ship and sink it, that way they will have no way to escape."

"We can't know for sure which ship is their own," he argued, "we shouldn't do any hasty movements."

Tapeesa sent him a look he missed. "I am never hasty, Aang."

If the situation were any different, he would have sent her a smile, agreed with her, perhaps. He was the impulsive one between them. He should be the one characterised as the one taking hasty decisions. And he knew, after tonight, he would be. 

"We need to find a good enough place to land."

"They said they are keeping them in one of the caves, didn't they?"

"Under the highest mountain in Kyoshi island, yes," Aang nodded, his gaze instantly drawn to a clearing by a cliff. He led Appa over while Tapeesa looked ahead, her gaze locked on the highest peak of land.

"We should rest for a few hours before the fight. We have one more day to spare before your friends are in danger."

Aang pursed his lips, his hold on the reins tightened. His gaze trailed over to the place he knew his friends were kept, his thoughts running almost as fast as he did. At his lack of reply, Tapeesa leaned forward, her gaze sharp as she examined his face.

"We can't march inside like that, Aang. There is no way we will win that way."

There was a pause for a moment as he seemed to be thinking over her suggestion. Just as she was starting to get suspicious of his silence, he let out a small hum, hardly heard over the wind. "You are right."

If it were any other time, Tapeesa would have been suspicious. But as fate would have it, they had been flying without stop for many hours now and she was tired and eager to believe he would listen to her for once just because he seemed to care about her. So she didn't doubt him, only hummed her agreement and leaned slightly back as she held on to the saddle, readied herself for their landing. A few moments later, their feet were back on the ground.

"Sleep," Aang told her softly as he jumped back to the saddle, his gaze briefly trailing over to the moonlight. "We shouldn't light a fire. They might see us."

"You are right," she agreed, watched him momentarily before she laid down on the saddle, made herself comfortable. "You should get some rest."

Aang nodded and slowly he laid down beside her. He placed a short kiss on her forehead, ignoring her questioning look at the motion before he turned his gaze back to the sky. He closed his eyes, although he remained awake, his ears alert in case anyone came by. He waited until Tapeesa's breaths grew steady, until there wasn't a disruption in the night. And once he was certain she was asleep, he made his move.