At the first crack of dawn, everyone began waking up. It was time for them to train, to prepare, to learn and remember. The battle ahead they could not lose, which they were all moderately aware.
Everyone seemed to wake up within the next hour and ate breakfast. Zuko then stood before everyone to announce what would be happening today.
"Soldiers! In 3 days, we will track down and fight our combatant. Until then, you will be training here with none other than Toph Beifong. I expect the best from you. Finish your breakfast, then training begins. That is all."
Zuko had become quite the Firelord. He'd stepped up and took on a massive responsibility, but he was still his awkward self plenty of the time. Doing his duty while remaining himself; he really was fit to be the Firelord.
Looking at Aang, Zuko nodded as if telling him to explain what they would be doing.
"Sokka, you will be coming with Zuko and myself to look around ruins while the fleet trains. We'll figure out the direction they went so we won't go astray from their path and hopefully we can perceive their destination."
With all that said, the trio set off to look around yesterday's battlefield.
It wasn't as big of a disaster as they had anticipated.
Searching the grounds, they found damaged armor, weapons, and scrolls. They found nothing useful, not even food.
Aang decided to bring the barrier down to make his job easier.
Walking about a hundred foot east, he found their path. He used his glider to soar in the air a few yards to decipher the direction they had taken; northwest.
They had collected as much information as they could based on the unique palace-like place, so they returned to the bivouac.
Though it was only starting to become dusk, they rested along with the exhausted soldiers. Another day of hardcore training was ahead of them; since that was the only kind of training Toph believed in.
With plenty of rest, the men trained from the time the sun rose and collapsed to the ground when the darkness fell. Tomorrow was the day they would defeat their enemy. Determined. Fearless. Ready.
Soon enough, Katara and Suki would safely escape with them as long as everything went according to the reticent plan.
