Avatar: Harmony of Elements

A New Pursuit

Brisk cool air tore through their feeble depleted form, as Appa arduously continued to fly at a high altitude. No one had said anything since their flight from the fire nation capital, nor had anyone moved from the spot they took on Appa's saddle while in hurry and scrambling to escape. Aang had eventually leaned back on Appa's mane exhausted when the adrenaline and excitement of the battle had drained away. Weariness from all the sadness and pain of losing as well as anxiety and fear of the future had taken over him. Blankly gazing towards the unseen horizon below the clouds, Aang sat atop Appa's head holding onto the reins loosely.

Appa jerked his head underneath and groaned. Aang shifted to gently caress Appa on his head. As distressed as Aang might have been after the events of the invasion he was not oblivious to the stress that Appa was under flying for almost two days straight. He decided it was time to give Appa some rest and gently pulled the reins to indicate Appa to descend. They landed on a secluded beach, along the west coast of the Earth Kingdom, extending from a dense but small forest and a mountain range beyond. There was an estuary nearby, indicating that a freshwater river flowed out into the ocean at that point. Faint mists of smoke emerged from the dense forests indicating that there was a village nearby. Aand decided to stop there to give Appa some rest and replenish their non-existent supplies from the little village nearby. After arriving at the beach, the group decided to let Haru along with the other newcomers go into the village to purchase supplies. Haru managed befriend the villagers and acquire enough supplies to last them for a few weeks. Sokka wisely suggested that they separate. After the invasion, Azula and her cronies would be in hot pursuit of them. If this village was safe from the war and the villagers had the means to travel, the other kids were better off being by themselves. Once they made sure that the other kids were safely dispersed in the town and had gathered enough supplies for themselves, Aang, Katara, Sokka and Toph, as usual, continued towards the Western Air temple. Zuko followed them in a boat, which he had traded off with villagers for his air balloon. Having chased the Avatar and his friends all around the world for almost a year, it was a child's play to track the flying bison again. For some reason, Zuko knew where they were headed.

After traveling for almost another week, Zuko reached the Western Air Temple ten days after the invasion. The Avatar and his team, however, had already made camp at the temple grounds. Zuko found himself a decent spot in the forest surrounding the temple, where he could hide, at the same time keeping watch over the Avatar and his friends. He observed them for a few days, to get an idea of what everyone was like. These kids were not much younger than him, but Zuko found them to be an odd bunch of people. It had been three days since he reached the temple, yet Zuko could not find it in himself to confront them. He peeked from behind one of the outer walls of the temple and observed the group as they sat together around a bonfire eating their dinner. The Avatar was a young boy who had just stepped into teenage hood, but Zuko could feel a tremendous sense of knowledge, wisdom and responsibility radiating from the boy. The weight of the world was on him, even though he looked to be only fourteen or fifteen years of age. There was another girl, probably the same age as the Avatar, who looked like she was from the earth kingdom. Zuko did not remember her to be traveling with the Avatar before the events at the North Pole. She must have joined the group during their travel in the earth kingdom. She was timid but from the few times he had encountered them during their stay at Ba Sing Se, he knew she was tough. The water tribe boy looked like he was probably just a few months younger than Zuko himself but had a personality of a ring-tailed lemur. Overly dramatic and theatrical. He esteemed himself to be the sarcasm guy, the jovial entertainment of the group and thought of himself as a great professional warrior. Zuko remembered the first time he had seen him at the South Pole. He had lunged at Zuko screaming like a maniac expecting to knock him down with a surprise attack. Then there was her, the water-bender. Zuko vividly remembered her on that day when he had assaulted their little town in the South Pole and then when he had dueled with her at the North Pole. The difference between those two encounters Zuko will never forget. She looked vulnerable and timid back then under the several layers of clothing and the parka when he first set eyes on her in the south pole. Even when he had captured her and tied her to a tree, she was still young and fragile, but her sapphire blue eyes always glowed with defiance and confidence. And then, when they fought with each other near the Spirit Oasis at the north pole, she was fierce and defiant with a stronger and more confident grip on her water bending.