𝑭𝑳𝑨𝑴𝑬𝑺 || 𝑨𝒂𝒏𝒈 (𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 3)

The Runaway

~ The Beach ~

They never missed a chance to take a break and lounge around in a river. Just a few days after Sokka completed his training, they found themselves on the next island over. This particular lake was surrounded by stone walls on all sides; it was perfect for the team to avoid catching any unwanted attention.

Sitting on the surfboard which she had made from ice, Jade kicked her legs as she floated around. She was having fun until her beloved spirit friend decided to hop onto her surfboard and shake all the water out of her fur.

Effectively spraying Jade's face in the process.

Scowling, she wiped her face. "Why do you hate me?!"

She could have sworn that Miko's bark was her own form of a snicker.

"Aang," She turned her attention when Toph called out from the ledge. "I know swimming is fun and all, but do you really think you should be exposing yourself like that? Cover up!"

Floating on his back with Momo curled up on his chest, Aang quirked a brow. "What? I'm wearing trunks."

"I know, it's your tattoos I'm worried about! What if someone sees you?"

"There are walls all around us." Katara replied. "It's completely safe."

Jade crossed her legs on her ice board. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with taking a break from the disguises every once in a while, is there?"

"Exactly!" She looked over her shoulder to see Aang on his front, pushing her surfboard with a suspicious-looking grin on his face. "And taking a break means having fun!"

He had something specific in mind. She didn't understand what exactly it was until the sound of loud, running water caught her ears. Turning to look back up ahead again, she realized he was pushing her straight toward a dark tunnel. Miko crawled into her lap.

"No," Jade shook her head. "No, no, no, no, no -- "

Aang laughed. "Yeah!"

She didn't even have the chance to protest before her ice board was shooting down the tunnel like it was a water slide. Holding onto the sides of the board, she pulled her knees close and screamed the entire way down. Not far behind her, Aang could just barely be heard laughing over her own shrieks of terror. Each turn of the tunnel had her screaming a little louder.

When she finally reached the end, she fell down at least twenty feet before hitting the water below with a big splash. Her ice board had landed somewhere else and had left her behind. Swimming back up to the surface, Jade spat the water from her mouth as Miko clung to her shoulder.

Upon hearing Aang's shout, she turned herself around. She barely had half a second to react before he had hit the water in front of her. As a waterbender, Jade was used to getting wet. But all this splashing was starting to get a little annoying.

Treading in front of her, Aang grinned. "That was fun, right?!"

"No, it wasn't fun!" She glared at him. "I could have died!"

"You're so dramatic." He laughed. "C'mon, let's go again!"

"No, Aang, don't -- "

Jade yelped when he grabbed her arm to pull her closer to him. She was left but no choice but to hold onto him as he carried her under her legs and back, hopping from rock to rock to get back up to the cavern.

~

Had she been sleep-deprived, the deafening explosion might not have even woken Jade up. But it did, and both her body and her sleeping mat were crashing into the stone wall behind her only seconds after she had been startled out of her slumber. It certainly wasn't a pleasant awakening.