Thalassophobia

10. Conflict on Kyoshi

    {Before we get started, I wanted to mention that I started writing this chapter out on August 18, so you know what that means? Happy Birthday, Percy Jackson! I hope you get tons of blue food from all of your loyal fans. On a different note, hello and welcome to both my old and new readers. I sincerely hope you enjoy this story.

    Alright my dearest readers, find a cozy spot to settle or a tasty snack to nibble, (I personally like to grab a cup of coffee and breakfast,) and let's jump right into it!
~Crystal Moon}

    Percy rested a comforting hand on Katara's shaking one and raised his head a bit more to get a better look at his adversaries. He examined the riders seated atop the lizard-looking-nightmares with narrowed eyes, frustrated that the majority of their bodies were obstructed from view by plants. Even with the migraine of it gone, the 3D omniscient sight could only reveal so much without proper control. He reluctantly let go of Katara's shaking hand to swipe aside the leaves in his way, keeping his movements as quiet as possible. He was only struck with clarity when he was finally able to see their uniforms through the thick greenery of Kyoshi Island's bay. The sharp points gleamed like steel blades on their heads and shoulders, their uniforms dyed in what almost looked like blood. But the part Percy recognized the most were the masks of the soldiers; bone white and fashioned like angular skulls.

"The Fire Nation?" Percy whispered, pinning the term to the events that had previously happened in Katara's hometown. "You mean the ones trying to kidnap Aang?"

"Precisely." Katara whispered back, though her voice broke. She was pallid, and he glanced again at her unmoved hand, which was still trembling lightly in her panicked state, and frowned. They were way too young to be experiencing these things. Aang was only twelve years old, for gods sake. (As if the gods would actually care.) He grabbed her hand without a second thought, squeezing it lightly, and guided her head to look up at him. To look at his eyes, which held no fear, and no uncertainty. They were as calm and breathtaking as the Kyoshi shores they had been admiring just minutes ago. After all, he was used to situations far more dire than this one.

"Everything will be alright, Katara." He said softly, tracing slow, steady circles on her knuckles, and turned to look at Aang, whose eyes were darting around, but never leaving the picture of the soldiers on their beasts. He moved his free hand to rest upon Aang's shoulder and smiled softly when he finally met his eyes too, patting his back like you would a baby. "Everything will be okay."

While Percy saw to it that neither of them were clouded by fear, the mounts of the Fire Nation, which were clearly as swift as they were spine chilling, exited their field of sight as quickly as they had entered it. Though he didn't yet move, Percy refused to lose track of their path, and followed the echoes of their steps on his domain long after they were out of sight.

   Percy scowled when he recognized their path and slammed a fist on the stone's surface.

"They're heading toward the village." He grumbled, voice getting dangerously low. "Let's go."

._~*' * '*~_.

Katara and Aang tried their best to match Percy's pace as they raced for the village, following the marks in the ground left by the Komodo  Rhinos. Katara was well aware that she was lagging behind, but it was hard to match the pace of a guy who had legs almost twice the size of hers' in both directions and another guy riding an air scooter.

"Come on!" Percy commanded from up front. "We need to go faster!" He turned around, literally running backwards, because apparently that was possible, and watched as Katara tried to up her pace. "Katara, how are you holding up?"

Katara shook her head, lungs too busy trying to inhale oxygen to actually reply verbally to his inquiry. Seeing this, Percy ran up to her and grabbed her arm, stopping her before she could continue. "Aang!" He called out. "Go on ahead, we'll be there right after you."