Pirates {a zutara fic}

part ii

Steadily, Appa lands with a thump. The weary travelers slide off his back, some more gratefully than others. 

“Oh, rock, sweet, rock,” Toph exclaims, dropping to her knees and kissing the earth repeatedly. “I missed you.”

“Twenty-two hours in the air’s cutting it a little close for me, too.” Katara stretches tiredly. Her body’s sore from trying to find a comfortable position on Appa’s saddle. “I need to find a bathroom.” Their last pit stop had been seven hours ago.

“I’m with Katara,” Sokka says. “Ugh, that last water flask was a mistake.” He hops from foot to foot and dances his way behind the nearest tree. To the misfortune of the others, they can hear what sounds like a waterfall, followed by a contented sigh. 

“Jeez, keep it down, Sokka,” Toph says, wrinkling her nose. “Any louder and I’ll lose my hearing.”

“Can’t hear you!” he yells back. 

Aang is just as tired as his friends, but he manages to stifle a yawn. Beside him, Appa isn’t as successful. His molars shows as his mouth stretches wides, the leaves in front of him blowing away. “You must be really tired, buddy. You can rest now.” Appa’s big eyes flutter shut, and soon, he’s snoring softly. Gently, Aang pats his oldest friend on the head.

“Aren’t we a little close to the Fire Nation’s royal palace?” wonders Toph aloud. She can feel the enormity of it, spanning across acres and acres of land. She sneers. All metal and bolts inside that prison and nothing that she could use to bend. “I can feel it just over that mountain.” A finger points to their left.

“Yeah, but we’ve already visited the other villages around the Fire Nation. We can’t risk going back to them; they might recognize us a second time.” Sokka’s back from behind the tree, adjusting his tunic.  

“Let’s go,” Aang says to the others. “I saw a market not too far from here. We need to stock up on more supplies before we keep moving.”

Katara barely hears him. She’s looking around distractedly, peering around trees and bushes.

“You coming, Katara?” Aang taps her shoulder nervously. She doesn’t have to come, but he doesn’t want to go without her.

She’s tired, doesn’t feel like going to the market, being surrounded by the nauseating smells of other people. “I think I’ll just stay here,” she tries. “I’m kind of tired. You guys go on ahead, I’ll just keep Appa and Momo company.”

Trying not to show it, Aang nods, even though he’s wishing differently. “Okay. Toph, Sokka, come on.” Grabbing his bag, Sokka follows the bald-headed boy, whistling merrily. Toph is less enthusiastic, she grumbles all the same. “Later, Sugar Queen,” she mumbles.

The three walk down the hill, towards the market and a few steps closer to the Fire Nation.

As soon as they’re out of sight, she hops up and gives Momo a quick scratch behind the ears. “You stay here, okay?” she tells it. “Stay with Appa, little buddy. I’m just going to go for a little walk.” She tries to convince herself that it’s only that, just a walk. Though ‘explore’ is probably a better term. After checking that her pouch of bending water is strapped safely to her waist, Katara lumbers down the road her friends have just taken.

It’s okay, thinks Katara, to want a little time away from your friends. But she knows it’s mostly just the itching feeling that’s urging her to explore.

The forests of the Fire Nation keep surprising her. They’re so much less…aflame, than she keeps picturing them. Trees are all around, so green. The branches are long and lean, covered in bundles of leaves, fluttering whenever the wind blows by. There’s actual grass – imagine, grass! – along the sides where the paths don’t run. She follows the second lane, the one her friends have just forsaken, reasoning that she should come out on the other side of the market.