𝑭𝑳𝑨𝑴𝑬𝑺 || 𝑨𝒂𝒏𝒈 (𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 3)

Nightmares and Daydreams

The field in front of them was big and full of sleeping sheep. After weeks of traveling, they finally seemed to have reached their destination. That just meant that the Day of Black Sun was getting closer. It was only a matter of time before they invaded the Fire Nation and the war was finally put to an end.

Nervous as she was, all Jade really wanted to do right now was sleep.

"This is it." Sokka looked up from his map. "The official rendezvous point for the invasion force."

"How did you pick this place?" Toph asked.

"Before we split up, my dad and I found this island on the map. It's uninhabited, and the harbors surrounded by cliffs seemed like the perfect secluded place."

They laid down to get their well-deserved rest. Sitting on a rock, Katara let down her hair. "Nice choice, Sokka. And we're here four days ahead of schedule."

"Wait -- " Aang darted up into the air. "Four days?! The invasion's in four days?!"

Jade blinked. "Well, yeah. You didn't know?"

He just gaped at her.

Yawning, Sokka laid down on his back. "Whatever. That's, like, four days from now. Let's just calm down and -- "

He was already asleep and snoring loudly. Crossing her legs on her sleeping bag, Jade turned back to Aang.

"It's going to be fine." She said. "Try not to stress yourself out, okay?"

"Yeah, Sokka's got the right idea, Aang." Katara nodded. "We're here. We're ready. The best thing we can do now is get plenty of rest."

Lying down, Jade was already dozing off when Aang sighed hesitantly. "I guess..."

~

She was awoken the next morning by the sound of repeated loud thumps. Still too tired to get up willingly, Jade had to force herself to sit up and open her eyes. Rubbing them, she glanced around in search of what was making the noise.

Aang was punching a tree over and over again. Why? She didn't have the energy to guess.

She looked over to where Katara and Sokka still sat. Both of them nodded their heads in Aang's direction without a word. Since she also didn't have the energy to argue, Jade sighed and stood up. She yawned as she approached Aang.

"Morning..." She rubbed her eyes. "Uh, how long have you been up?"

He didn't stop punching the tree. "A couple hours. I got a lot more skills to refine if I'm gonna fight Ozai."

Watching him circle around the tree to hit it on all sides, Jade noticed the dark circles under his eyes. When he took a second to catch his breath and pant tiredly, she could see the back of his neck was dotted with beads of sweat. He was working harder than she had seen him before, which really was saying something. Aang was no slouch, after all.

Katara joined Jade's side. "You know there is such a thing as overtraining."

He punched the tree one more time, only for the impact to reverberate right back through his arm and body. They watched him fall flat on his back, then disappear under the tree leaves that fell in a heap right on top of him. Katara and Jade stared awkwardly before sharing a glance.

"And I think the tree could use a break, too..." Jade said.

He stood back up and circled them with his arms raised. "You don't get it, do you? My form is bad, I'm sloppy, and I still don't know any firebending. Not even the basics!"

His left eye twitched. Blinking, Jade gently pushed his hand down away from their faces.

Lying on his back, Sokka held his map over his face to stare at it. "That's okay, Aang. The eclipse will block all firebending anyway; you don't need to know any." He looked over at them. "Plus, it's a stupid element."