The Last Waterbender

Book 3 Chapter 4: Year of the Dragon

Disclaimer: All rights belong to Nickelodeon, Bryan Konietzko, Michael Dante DiMartino, and all the men and women that created the A:TLA show, books, and comics. I take no credit, and I do not mean to break any copyright rules. This is simply a work of fiction made for enjoyment. No money is being made. The lyrics are from the song "A Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay

Rating: General Audiences. Warning: some scenes contain dark themes and minor violence

Chapter 4: Year of the Dragon

'Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky full of stars

I'm gonna give you my heart

'Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky full of stars

'Cause you light up the path

Aang slides back from his usual perch on Appa's neck and into the saddle. "Appa's getting pretty tired," he tells the others. "We're going to have to land so he can get some sleep."

They had flown the entire night. Katara, Sokka, and Suki had slept, and she's sure Aang had also drifted off a bit. They had flown even into the morning hours, trying to put as much distance between them and the Fire Nation. As good as Appa is, even he's not tireless.

Sokka pulls out a map. "We should be about here," he says, pointing to the northwestern-most part of the Earth Kingdom.

Suki peers over his shoulder. "This entire area was taken over by the Fire Nation in the early days of the way," she says. "It's all Fire Nation colonies."

"How dangerous is it?" Katara asks. "Will we be recognized?"

Suki shakes her head. "I don't think so. Most of the inhabitants are still from the Earth Kingdom. There's just Fire Nation governors and some soldiers to keep order. As long as we keep our heads down and stay out of trouble we'll be okay."

"Aang might bring some unwanted attention," Sokka points out. "Aren't all the Airbenders in hiding?"

"Not hiding," Aang corrects. "They just isolated themselves to stay out of the war. We don't believe in fighting unless we absolutely have to."

Katara sees some flaws in that logic, but she respects Aang's culture and beliefs enough to not argue. "Azula knows that we have an Airbender with us. She's probably alerted the soldiers in the area to keep their eyes out. I don't know if they've revealed the truth about the Avatar returning yet, but we have to be careful. We'll get you a hat, Aang."

"Hey, there's a little city down here," Sokka points out. "We can land outside the city and find somewhere hidden for Appa to sleep. Then we can go into the city and gather some news."

"That sounds like a good idea," Katara says. "I'm supposed to help the world, but I don't even know what's going on."

"I've always wanted to explore an Earth Kingdom city," Aang says brightly. "This'll be fun!"

They find an abandoned plain not too far from the city and Appa touches down gently. As soon as he hits the ground his eyes close and the soft rumble of his snoring follows.

Aang strokes his side. "Poor guy," he says.

The others slide off the saddle and group together a few feet away from the sleeping bison.

"I know you're excited to go into town," Katara tells Aang, "but I think we need to wait a bit."

Aang pouts. "Why?"

She motions to him. "Look at your clothing. You're dressed like an Airbender. And look at mine. I'm still filthy from my time in the prison. I think Sokka and Suki should go into town first, pick us up some new clothes to help us fit in."