Sound Bender (Avatar: The Last Airbender) #Wattys2017

||Chapter 24 - Hei Bai||

Himoko's POV (Time Skip)

It has been almost a full 24 hours since we have last seen both Aang and Sokka, and I was getting anxious. Probably more so than Katara.

What if Aang was taken by a Yumi? I had asked the Chief about that being a possibility but he told me Aang was the Avatar, if he did come across one, he would be able to take it. But I don't think he understood, Aang may have been the Avatar, but he was still a kid, someone who dearly misses his home, and so by the hands of a Yumi, it could easily get ahold of his soul. And I didn't want that to happen, Almighty Avatar or not.

As for Sokka, I was worried because I knew Sokka doesn't do well on an empty stomach, he is most likely to be harmed or worse, but I remembered of that was so, would Hei Bai really be that cruel to him?

The sun was setting as we sat inside the main house, waiting for the night to begin. I was advised to nap sometimes during the day because I wouldn't be able to get much sleep while Hei Bai was out and about. But being stubborn, I instead helped around the village anyway that I could.

I shook my head with a small yawn, Katara glanced over at me as we stared out the window side by side.

"Tired?" She asked me and I waved her off, "I'm fine, just not use to running on less sleep, usually I tend to sleep in back home until Karlie would drench me in ice cold water." Katara nodded with a small giggle.

"Very nice Master you got there." I shrugged.

"I mean, she is alright. She did everything she could do for me, no matter how limited it was since we bended different elements. She helped incorporate some water bending moves into my Sound Bending, so I could make my own style and have fun with it."

"That sounds amazing, if anything, Aang and I should have just stayed back in Omashu to be taught by her." She pointed out. I shook my head.

"She wouldn't have accepted you two as her students because she still believes she has a lot to learn about water bending, and she knew exactly who to go to be taught it. So let's continue on our journey to the North Pole, after all of this is sorted.".

Katara went to speak but stopped, her eyes wide. I rose a brow at her in confusion, not seeing the 12 year old boy flying on his glider towards the ground.

"What is it Kata-"

"It's Aang!" She left my side and opened the door, dashing out to meet him up in an embrace. I looked out, relief washing over me, 'Thank Goodness.' I thought.

"You're back! Where's Sokka?" I heard her ask as I calmly walked out of the main house.

"I'm not sure..." Aang replied solemnly, looking dissapointment in himself for not being able to find Sokka. I walked to Katara's side, resting my hand on his bald head.

"Don't worry, we will find him." I told him with a small smile as the sun sets behind the forest.

We headed back inside to see Chief Arin and Jin standing, relieved smiles on their faces.

"It is good to see you back safely, did you find any sign of your friend?" Aang shook his head.

"Sadly, no."

"Don't worry Little Avatar, you will get your chance tonight to save him and the others." Adrian spoke to Aang with a cocky grin. Aang furrowed his brows in confusion at Adrian, seeing his genetics of Fire Nation showing (Gold Eyes, Pale Skin, and overly cocky).

"Aang, this is Adrian. He helped take me back to the village. No need to worry, he is on our side." I told him to reassure. Something in Aang clicked and he rushed forward. I jumped in surprise, ready to yell but stopped when Aang grabbed hold of Adrian's hand and bowed repeatedly.

"Hi! Can you be my Fire Bending Teacher?!" Katara choked on air, coughing erratically. I patted her back softly, can't help but laugh quietly.

"Uhh..." Adrian stared down at Aang in surprise, not expecting him to ask such a question.

"Aang! He probably can't even bend! Besides, you have to learn water first-" Aang drooped his head in disappointment, pouting, "Aww...". Adrian rose his free hand awkwardly.

"Actually, I can bend fire. But I'm not that good at it..."

"Oh." Katara breathed out, shaking her head.

After a few minutes, Aang headed back outside while the rest of us stayed indoors. Katara, Me, Momo, and Alea were at the window, Alea laid in my arms, her eyes wide in alarm while Momo kept tilting his head, probably hearing all of the crickets in the forest. Katara rubbed her arms, biting her lower lip as she stared at Aang's form at the gate.

"He will be alright, I think he's got something up his sleeve this time." I told her, now realizing that throughout this whole day, I was actually the one reassuring, it was usually the other way around. This is weird.

I shook my head, sighing deeply. Time slowly passed with no sign of Hei Bai, and I grew tired of waiting, maybe I could take a short nap...

"Aang, just come back, it probably isn't time yet!" Adrian called out to Aang in a shout but did his best to keep his shout as low as possible. Aang looked over his shoulder at us and shrugged before walked back to the main house. As he approaches the building with a wind chime that is sounding in the wind, the form of Hei Bai appeared behind him, stealthily walking. My breath hitched, my grip tightening around Alea who squeaked in surprise, burying her face in my arm. Suddenly, Hei Bai broke through a random building and roared with the strange blue energy beam escaping from it's mouth. Aang yelled in surprise, circulating air around him to deflect some of the debris.

"Aang, what are you doing? Run!" Katara yelled at him. Hei Bai roared once more and ran towards another building in search for people. Aang ran beneath Hei Bai then ridiculously jumps onto it's forehead, his hand glowing pale blue. 'What is he doing?' I questioned.

Aang jumped back down onto the ground with a smile.

"You're the spirit of this forest. Now I understand. You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. When I saw the forest had burned I was sad and upset. But my friend gave me hope that the forest would grow back." Hei Bai stood still while he spoke, but at Aangs last words, he showed a small item to Hei Bai that I had to squint to see what it was. Is that an acorn? Hei Bai carefully picked up the acorn from Aang's hand and transforms into a panda bear. Hei Bai turned and walked away to the gate, leaving bamboo trees and leaves in it's absence. After a second or so, Sokka and a few villagers emerged from the thicket, some looking awfully confused while others looked dazed. We ventured out of the main house, Katara taking off into a sprint.

"Sokka!" She hugged her brother tightly in happiness. I smiled, breathing in the clean air. I placed Alea down on the ground, seeing she was no longer frightened. "What happened?" Sokka asked.

"You were trapped in the Spirit world for 24 hours. How are you feeling?"

"Like I seriously need to use the bathroom!" Sokka hurried off in a weird walk in search of the bathroom. I snickered, shaking my head. 'Well, at least he wasn't scarred for life... Now how about that nap?'.

To Be continued

Heyo! Sorry for being two months late for updating, stuff got busy and... Once again, I suck at keeping updated with my updates... So yeah. And Happy New Year 14 days late!

Fun Fact: Hei Bai sounds like 'Hey, Bye.' -Golden