The Thief |Sokka

SIX

It didn't take that long to reach the camping spot Chit Sang pointed out. They hid the airship by the cliffs nearby, trudged up until they met the main land once more. There were no forests nearby, but Jaya could see fields upon fields as a small town stretched on and on into the distance. She instantly knew they were not going to be eating meat today.

"It seems to me like meat is out of the question," Hakoda spoke as he came to a stop a few ways away from Jaya. The rest of their companions sighed but nodded, knowing he was right. When they had relented properly, he kept on talking. "I don't see anything in the wild either. There are only fields."

"We'll borrow a couple of things," Chit Sang spoke at once. "There won't be many, they won't realize they are gone."

"And we also need clothes, all of us," Jaya added as she looked around the company. "We can't be in the Fire Nation capital and have half of the group wearing clothes from the Earth Kingdom and the other half looking so obviously like prison escapees."

"So we take food and clothes," Chit Sang decided. The others exchanged a look but he was already walking away, towards the fields to get what he needed. Hakoda let out a soft sigh.

"It seems like we have no other choice. Let's go."

He walked after Chit Sang, to the fields, and the rest eventually followed after them. They hid into the fields as they got closer to the houses, first to look for some clothes. They weren't looking to break in, only to steal any clothes that remained on the hamper. They found what they were looking for, thankfully near the edge.

"I don't like those clothes," the Duke sighed, but still, he located some garments that didn't look terrible and headed over. The rest of them did the same, Jaya included, then hid behind a tree to change. She had picked a pair of loose black pants and a shirt painted gold, the neckline wide enough to reveal her collarbones. As an afterthought, she had also picked a long red sleeveless shirt she wore like a jumper. Once she was dressed properly, she left her old clothes up the tree and left the shelter of the tree to check in on everyone else.

Chit Sang and Hakoda were already ready, and a moment after she did Teo also came out, having changed only his shirt, and Jaya guessed meddling with his pants would have taken too much time. Haru was next, and finally the Duke.

"All set, then," Jaya spoke with a nod as she turned away and headed back to where the fields were. She didn't like the thought of staying near the houses where anyone could see them. She walked on, heard the footsteps of the rest as they followed after her. She glanced behind her once to ensure that still no one was following behind them and then started leisurely running to the trees. She jumped to catch a fruit, then another. She took only what she felt she needed to and then headed back to where they would set up camp. She left her things at one place and didn't wait for the others as she sat down and started eating, her back facing the sea. The dull ache in her ribs was more evident than ever at this moment, the running and jumping having exhausted her and not aided her healing process.

"Eat up, everyone," Hakoda called out to the rest of the company. "Jaya's already started."

"You could have waited for us," Chit Sang told her as he sank down beside her, but she only shrugged with a small smile.

"I didn't feel like it."

Hakoda let out a huff of laughter as Chit Sang sent her a look. In the meantime, the Duke, Teo and Haru made themselves comfortable as well, the company forming some kind of circle as they slowly started to eat the little food they had gathered.

"I don't think it's safe to camp here," Jaya spoke not too long later as she looked around the company. "There are no trees to shelter us and the one we got the clothes from will come looking. When they do, we can't be here. And we can't light a fire at night because it will be a dead giveaway to our location."