The Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior

Chapter 66 [~|~] The Desert

Aang glared at Toph, stomping towards the blind earthbender. "How could you let them take Appa?! Why didn't you stop them!?" Aang demanded, his face twisting in anger.

"I couldn't!" Toph snapped defensively, standing up. "The library was sinking! You guys were still inside and—"

"—You could've come to get us. I could've saved him!" Aang interrupted, clearly upset as Katara, Azara, and Sokka shared worried looks.

"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here. The sandbenders snuck up on me and there wasn't time for—" Toph continued to defend herself, but Aang was beyond reason at the thought of his oldest friend being kidnapped.

"—You just didn't care! You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone!" Aang screamed as Katara rushed forward and grabbed his shoulder.

"Aang, stop it. You know Toph did all she could. She saved our lives," Katara tried to reason with him, but the anger remained on Aang's face.

"Who's going to save our lives now? We'll never make it out of here," Sokka sighed, as he stared out into the desert.

"That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves! You don't care whether Appa is okay or not!" Aang snapped, starting to pace, the wind picking up around him at his anger and frustration.

"We're all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting now," Katara stated calmly, but Aang glared at the ground.

"I'm going after Appa," Aang announced coldly, opening his glider, and taking off without another word. Katara tried to run after him, but he was already gone.

"Aang, wait!" she called as Azara walked forwards and grabbed her shoulder. Katara sighed as Azara stared sadly after their friend.

"Let him go. Maybe he just needs some time to himself for a bit. But we should start walking," Azara spoke softly as Katara sighed again and nodded.

"We're the only people who know about the solar eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Se," Katara agreed as Toph and Sokka walked over to them. With a quick glance at the map, they started to walk out of the desert in a single file and headed out in the direction that Aang had taken off in. Katara led the way, Azara close behind her, with Sokka and Toph trailing behind them.

"You think if we dig out the giant owl, he'll give us a ride?" Sokka joked as they continued to trudge through the sand. As time passed, the heat was starting to get to everyone as dehydration and exhaustion set in. Sokka stopped for a moment to try and use Momo's wings as shade when Toph bumped into him.

"Can't you watch where you're . . ." Sokka snapped, before catching himself.

"No," Toph replied bluntly, her hands hanging at her sides.

"Right. Sorry."

"Come on guys, we've got to stick together," Katara reminded them, glancing back as Azara stood still, wiping some sweat off her face. Due to their earlier collision, Sokka and Toph were stuck together, their sweat acting like glue to hold them together. Sokka tried to push Toph off of him, but it was no use.

"If I sweat anymore, I don't think sticking together will be a problem," Sokka scoffed as Azara and Katara waited for them to figure themselves out.

Toph huffed before pushing Sokka off of her and onto the ground, freeing them from each other. "Katara, can I have some more water?" Toph called as Azara helped Sokka up.