The DragonBorn

Chapter 38

The next morning, Appa was still unwell and once again the group went to the town to get more medicine for him to get better. As soon as they got to the town, they saw that all the towns people were joyous and running around in celebration.

They walked to Shoe's stand and saw Dock polishing the Painted Lady statue.

"Hi, Dock, is Shoe around?" Sokka asked.

"Let me check..." Dock said, whistling as he ran around the stand, ducked down and reappeared with Shoe's hat on.

"Hey there, back again, are you?" Shoe asked.

"We need more food." Toph shoved Sokka away, "Our friend is still sick and we can't leave until he's better."

She slammed some money onto the counter and gave them a plate of oozing clams, "Oh, well, that's too bad. Maybe if you're lucky, the Painted Lady and Child of fire will visit you in the night and heal your friend."

Sokka's brow twitched in annoyance as he took the clams with a sarcastic smirk, "And maybe she'll cook us a midnight snack and we'll all have a sing-along."

"Yeah, maybe." Shoe said taking his words seriously, "You know, last night they visited us again. Healed most of our sick folks."

"Is that why this place is so festive?" Aang asked as a child ran by with a kite in his hand while several of the townsfolk were lifting larger statues of the Painted Lady and the Child of Fire in the center of the town.

"Yep, it's all because of the Painted Lady and the Child of Fire."

Katara smiled with pride, "Can you believe how much an entire village can be affected by two people? I mean, spirits?"

"It is incredible to see." Zeraphina replied.

"Well, I hope she returns every night. Otherwise this place would go right back to the way it was." Sokka said dismissively.

"Why would you say that?" Katara shouted at her brother, then smiled back at the town, "Look how much better off these people are."

"Yeah, now, but without her, they wouldn't be able to fend for themselves." Sokka replied, "If she really wanted to help, she would use her spirit magic to blow up that factory." He then made his claim even worse by mimicking spiritual noises and explosions.

"Spirit magic doesn't work that way, Sokka." Aang said, "It's more like... Whooo..." And Aang just made it even worse with his imitations.

Katara and Zeraphina sighed and walked to the edge of the dock, staring out at the factory that turned once beautiful waters to a murky mess.

"I have a feeling that you're thinking the same idea I am." Zeraphina smirked and Katara nodded.

"Let's go ahead and use some spirit magic." Katara chuckled and the two rejoined the group to go back to Appa for the night.

Later that evening, after the firepit was reduced to small smolders of burning wood, Katara and Zerpahina woke up. They both quietly took some nearby hay and stuffed them into their sleeping bags. After making sure that everything was in place, they grabbed a couple of cloaks that matched the Painted Lady and the Child of Fire.

They went to a secluded spot far from the campsite where Katara created a mirror out of the water after freezing it. Zeraphina used some of the water to rinse out the black hair oil and adjusted her hood while Katara painted her face. In a matter of minutes, the two had transformed into the Painted Lady and the Child of Fire.

The two started running toward the village to continue helping them, when a voice shouted behind them.

"Hello Painted Lady Spirit and Child of Fire!" It was Aang, having woken up just a minute ago. Katara and Zeraphina stopped in their tracks when they heard him, but then ran even faster than before. But Aang kept following them.