Avatar Zuko

Chapter 29

“He was taken by sandbenders, I- I couldn't see an- and I had to hold up the library-” Explained Toph sadly once she'd regained her composure, still holding Sokka’s arm.

“How could you let them take him?!” Asked Aang angrily, clearly upset by the kidnapping of his bison.

“Hey! I miss Appa too, but it wasn't Toph’s fault! She was busy, or don't you remember her saving us from getting buried alive in a sinking library?!” Defended Sokka, inching a little closer to the earthbender as if to protect her from Aang's uncharacteristically harsh tone.

Aang nodded slightly, turning away from them and looking into the great expanse of desert. Katara worried about him, knowing how much Appa meant to the airbender who had very little of his culture left. But she also had to worry about the rest of them, who had to journey out of the desert with very few supplies, thanks to them keeping most of their rations in the bison’s saddle.

“We'll find Appa, I promise, but we also need to look after ourselves and get out of here.” Mentioned Katara, calling all attention to herself.

“Well, the sandbenders who took him should have provisions at their base, right? Plus they'll be closer than the edge of the desert is, so if we find them we can rescue Appa and get supplies- killing two birds with one stone.” Planned Zuko intelligently, impressing Katara except for one tiny, little thing.

“We don't know where the sandbenders are though.” The waterbender hated being the bearer of bad news, especially when Aang was looking so crestfallen, but someone had to do it.

“Actually, I could kind of see where Appa went- not much thanks to the sand, but it was off in that direction.” Toph pointed northwest (judging by where the sun was currently setting lazily behind the horizon) and Zuko went over to investigate.

“There are tracks here.” He called, motioning for them all to come over.

Sure enough, there were indents in the sand, clearly from the bison’s kidnapper. Unfortunately they went far off into the distance, meaning they'd have travel a long way to get to them. At her best guess Katara figured it would take them a couple of days to find them, but they had very little water to last them that long. If she counted both her and Zuko’s bending water, their group could probably survive- but by the time they got to the sandbenders they'd be weak from thirst. Still, it was the best idea she could think of.

“Then let's go.” Aang decided, already marching off and following the tracks, barely even giving the rest of them time to catch up.

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“I could just use my glider to get to Appa.” Complained Aang moodily about five hours after they'd headed off from the library.

“We need to stick together, plus alone you might not be able to take on all the sandbenders. Toph said she wasn't sure how many there were but it was definitely enough to take down a sky-bison.” Protested Katara as kindly as she could, not wanting to upset the airbender further.

He only grunted at this in unenthusiastic agreement, before turning away from Katara and walking even faster. Aang was currently leading their group, followed by the waterbender, then Zuko and with Sokka and Toph bringing up the rear. They were all exhausted, not only having no food and very little water, but also having just came off of a day full of travelling that ended with their almost deaths. Toph and Zuko must have been especially tired from holding up the impossible weight of the library together, no matter how good they were at hiding it. So Katara decided now would be a good time to stop and get at least a few hours of sleep, else they'd all collapse a long time before they reached the sandbenders.