Southern Star

Chapter Seven: We'll Dig in Our Heels

The sun rose over the eastern horizon as the water pulled against the sides of Song's little sailboat. She smiled to herself as she listened to the sounds of the town she was coming up on. The scent of industrial smoke was heavy in the air, as it was through much of the Fire Nation. Though unpleasant, she was happy to recognise it.

Before she could embark on her journey to track the companions of the late Avatar, she needed to send word to her aunt, and without Tongyi, she was a bit stuck on how to do that. In fact, the only thing she could do was sail to Messenjataun, which was renowned for its speed in sending out both shipments and letters. It had its own messenger hawk center, from which anyone could buy or rent the birds' services.

Song was not entirely fond of messenger hawks. They were small, and could barely get through any sorts of extreme weather. Tongyi, the falcon that he was, did not have such problems, and she loved him a lot more, anyway.

It would have technically been easier to merely sail back to Hira'a, as it was closer to the island her mother had once lived on than Messenjataun was. But Song wasn't sure she'd be able to bear leaving her aunt again, and she certainly didn't want to put her aunt into more danger than she was already in.

Besides, she liked Messenjataun.

She was a lot more prepared for the journey, anyway. There were chains of smaller, uninhabited islands between the two, where she was able to stop and find a cove to curl up in. Additionally, she'd found some change laying around her mother's house, so until she found Toph, Sokka, and Katara, she figured she would be able to hold out. She also packed a lot more food, and made better time. It wasn't long before she was able to recognise the oily tang that came with Messenjataun, and for that alone, she was content as she was.

She was still careful to beach her little boat as far away from prying eyes as she could before drawing up her hood and heading into town.

Despite her darker skin, she attracted a lot less stares than she once had due to the colouring of her clothes. Red and white seemed a lot less conspicuous than all-black. She guessed that anyone who saw her assumed that she was a boy, and it was much easier to walk around in her pants. It also made her relax somewhat. Who was going to recognise the face of an escaped convict unless they were looking?

Song made it to the letter center, which was dark with clouds of birds. Despite her preference for falcons, she did find them impressive, and their calls back and forth were comforting to listen to as she sat down inside and wrote her letter.

Dear Aunt Yan Song, she wrote.

I discovered the letter. Both of them. Thank you for sending me to find them.

I have made my way to Messenjataun, which is where I am writing to you from, since Tongyi is still missing. I have also decided that I am going to locate the companions of Avatar Aang and assist them to the best of my meager ability.

I have also decided to refer to myself merely as Song, like you always have.

Good luck, and please give Ying my regards. Also, please send this hawk back to its home as soon as you can. I will send you another letter as soon as Tongyi returns to me.

Song

Renting a messenger hawk was very cheap in Messenjataun, so Song didn't have to worry very much. In fact, she was much more worried about how she was actually going to go about tracking down the companions of the Avatar.

As it turned out, though, she didn't have to worry. As soon as she launched the rented hawk into the sky, she caught sight of a girl getting tangled up in a net and falling to the ground. She paused and watched as another girl walked over to the net, and the two yelled at each other before the caught girl got dragged away.