Accidental Avatar 3: Totally Lit

Clothes Shopping

"I think I can see a cave down there," Aang shouted from our cloud cover.

"Shhhush!" Sokka shouted. "Keep Quiet!"

Suddenly, our cloud blew apart, and Appa sailed down to land on a beachfront. Sokka took it upon himself to do reconnaissance while we all tumbled off and stretched.

"Hey, Mog!" Muteki shouted. "Don't forget your pack." 

He threw my bag. All my stuff was in there, and he threw it!

"Careful!" I barked back at him. "My things are important to me."

"Things?" Jin raised an eyebrow at me as she threw her sleeping roll over a shoulder. "Your armour won't do you any good here. Civilian kids don't walk around in armour here in the homeland."

"It's not just armour," I huffed.

"Hey!" Sokka whisper shouted at Aang and Toph. "We're in Enemy Territory! Those are enemy birds!"

He then proceeded to get perched on by one of the said enemy birds. Everyone else thought it the funniest thing since sliced bread. Me, it was just silly. He then did this stupid mission impossible type running, rolling dodge type thing to get to the cave mouth while we just wandered in after him.

"Well, this is it," Sokka sighed.

"Could be worse," Muteki patted him on the back.

"Yeah, we could be running for our lives too," Jin nudged Sokka with her hip.

"This is how we'll be living until the invasion begins," his face continued to droop. "Hiding in cave after cave...after cave...after cave..."

"Sokka," Katara smiled at her brother. "We don't need to become cave people. What we need are some new clothes."

"And armour won't cut it here in the Homeland," Jin directed at me.

"Blending in is better than hiding out," Aang grinned. "If we get Fire Nation disguises, we'll be just as safe as we would be hiding in a cave."

"And I bet they have real food in the villages," I added.

"I'm sure nobody wants to sit in the dirt and eat cave-hoppers," Toph hammered the cave wall, and several hoppers hopped out.

Momo actually ate a cave-hopper. The kids appeared revolted.

"Do they taste like Peanut butter?" I asked. " I hear they taste like peanut butter."

"Looks like we got outvoted, sport," Sokka said to the flying lemur, then turned back to the kids. "Let's get some new clothes."

"We'd better do it quickly," Muteki said, stepping out of the cave.

"Why?" I asked.

"Cause places to get clothes will be shut soon," Jin deadpanned. "We've got a deadline."

"I love deadlines," I grinned back at her. "I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by."

"Imma slap you so hard, your grandchildren will feel it!" she mock slapped me as I darted past her out of the cave. "Now, Get!"

♎

"I don't know about this," Aang said.

"What is there not to know?" Muteki asked. "You run through, jump the steam vent and grab the clothes you want on the way past."

"But these clothes belong to somebody."

"That Kimono looks cool," Mangetsu nodded at a plain red robe.

We all looked sideways at the boy.

"What?!" he all but growled at us. "I'm not allowed an opinion anymore?!"

"I call the silk robe!" Katara shouted.

She and the squirt dashed their chosen garb, and Aang shrugged.

"But if it's essential to our survival," he eyed up the line, then got excited. "Then I call the suit!" He shot off like a balloon full of hot air.

"I reckon that half Kimono would look good on you, Jin," Muteki stared intently at the lineup.

"Yeah, but I can't see anything big enough for you, Muteki," Jin stroked her chin.

"And I just plain can't see," Toph deadpanned.

"We'll have to make a couple of swipes," I said. "Shirts seem to be at one end, while trousers are at the other."

"I'll grab a couple of shirts and see if we can make them fit," Muteki shrugged.

"I know how to sew," I offered. "More or less."

"Let's just grab some stuff," Jin sighed. "This isn't even a good shopping trip!"

We jumped from our rocky outcrop and dashed past, plundering the clothes. It took several tries, but eventually, we had everything. And the attendant didn't even notice. He just kept snoring his head off.

By the time we got back to the beach, we had already decided that half the stuff wouldn't fit Muteki. Mangetsu, Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Toph all got changed into their new duds while Muteki, Jin, and I deliberated on how to get the stuff actually to fit.

"What if we stitched the bottom half of this top to that one and made it longer?" Muteki suggested.

"The colours don't quite blend well," Jin replied. "Trust me; I'm a girl."

"What about that one?"

"Sleeves are too short."

"And this one?"

"Sleeves are okay, but your stomach will be popping out every time you wave at someone."

"Put on the one with the hood," I suggested.

"But the sleeves are too short," Jin chided me.

"Then rip off the sleeves!" I exasperated back.

"Ta-da!" Aang shouted. "Normal kid."

He had a bandana over his tattoo and was wearing a tight collared shirt. And poofy trousers. I temporarily forgot that it isn't awkward to tuck your trousers into long socks in this time period.

I eventually found a long enough tunic for my body, so I ripped off the sleeves and stitched up the seams. It took us a whole of half an hour to get ready. And Muteki was right. Jin looked stunning in her half Kimono. Toph somehow dislodged the soles of her shoes, and Katara had taken off her necklace. She looked odd without it.

"I feel like I'm playing dress-up in my parents' clothes," Mangetsu said, pouting slightly.

"Your sleeves are a bit long," I held up my needle and thread. "I could fix that."

"Touch me," he waved his sleeve end at me. "And I will turn you into a human popsicle, you fire brained flamingo!"

"Ouch!" I held my chest. "That hurt my man feelings."

"All one of them," Muteki followed up.

"Let's just get going," Sokka said. "I'm hungry."