Sound Waves (Avatar: The Last Airbender) Book 2

Chapter 20 - The Lady of the Lake

3rd Person's POV

The group of heroes launches out of the ground and onto land. Himoko stumbles a bit, catching herself from falling flat on her face. They don't get a chance to take a breather when in their peripheral was a group of Dai Li Agents running towards them.

"Go go go!" Sokka urges them all to start running. Himoko sighs heavily and takes off into a sprint, catching up to them. Aang glances over his shoulder, seeing just how close the agents were getting to them. "Do you think we can outrun them?" Sokka asks.

"It won't matter." Himoko extends her arms out to her side, stopping Sokka and Aang from running. Ahead of them, was a wall of agents, with Dai Li in the dead center of them. A trap.

Walls are erected around them, boxing them inside of three walls. The princess glanced to her left, staring at the water of Lake Laogai.

"Dude come on now, really?" Himoko comments under her breath in annoyance, ear twitching.

"How many Dai Li are there?"

"Around twenty from what I can see, perhaps more." Sokka states in reply to Aang. 'Just great.' Himoko seethes silently to herself, 'Sadem, I hope you and the others got away without much trouble unlike us.'

"What is it Momo?" Aang questions the lemur when he sweeps down from the sky and onto his shoulder, chattering enthusiastically. Himoko's hearing hones in the surrounding sounds, the crunching of dirt, the sound of passing water from the lake, wind brushing through the trees- and the heartbeat of a familiar companion. Her eyes widen, head snapping up as Momo launches off of Aang's shoulder into the air. Momo flies into the sun, masking his figure in the light. No one can see just how far he went up, but they can see when something much larger than the flying lemur came down, crashing into the wall Long Feng and the other half of the agents were on. "Appa!" Aang shouts, the biggest smile Himoko has ever seen on his face thus far shines, brighter than the sun. Appa goes through the wall behind the group, debris of stone and earth falling. Himoko covers her nose and mouth, fighting off a rising fit of coughs. Aang and Toph bend the cliff the remaining agents were perched on, launching them into the lake's chilly waters. Appa lands in front of Long Feng, his wits and the wind in his lungs lost. Appa hunkers down, growling intensely at the royal advisor. If the flying bison had eyebrows, Himoko had a feeling that they would be slanted down to show off more of his anger.

Any remaining Dai Li on the shore begin to flee at the sight of Appa, leaving Long Feng all alone to deal with the enraged animal.

"I can handle you by myself." He egotistically states, launching a kick at Appa. The large mammal catches his leg in between his teeth, flinging him away in one fall swoop. An easy defeat. Long Feng's body skips across the lake like a flat pebble, an amusing sight to the princess. She waves as his momentum slows, sinking into the water.

"Yeah! Appa!" Sokka shouts, throwing his arms around Appa's legs. Aang, Katara, and Momo cuddle into Appa's fur, who was delighted to see and receive such affection from them all. "I missed you, buddy," Aang mumbles into Appa's fluffy fur. Appa's keen hearing hears his human companion's words, shining brown eyes closing, content with being home, finally; after so many perilous weeks of being without this love and affection.

Himoko steadily walks up to Appa, resting her hand on his wet nose, leaning her forehead against the back of her hand. "You are safe now." She whispers to him, a calming trill in her words.

---

The sun is on the horizon, casting colors of orange, red, and yellows onto the group of kids. The princess sits at the sandbank of the small island that Appa landed on, all of them tired from the long day. Sokka and the rest of the group were conversing on where to go from here. To fly away from the city, or head straight to the castle and confront her cousin about the Dai Li, Long Feng, and the 100 Year War.