Art: Artist Not Found
(Direct message me if you know the artist so I can credit)
The sun had already reached its apex for the day and was beginning to sink back into dusk. A golden glow cast over our snowy hamlet like a reminder of the reach of the fatal fiery nation which was no doubt now breathing down our necks.
"Yay!" one of the children exclaimed joyfully. "Aang's back!"
Some of them ran over to him while the others remained in the crowd, guarded and fearful beside their mothers. The adults were less welcoming. Sokka broke himself free out of the line of villagers and stepped forward to face the airbender.
"I knew it!" Sokka declared heatedly. "You signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?"
Katara was the first to protest. "Aang didn't do anything! It was an accident."
"Yeah," Aang agreed before sheepishly explaining, "We were on the ship and there was this booby trap, and well...we boobied right into it."
"Katara, you know not to go on that ship! Now we all could be in danger," Kanna, our grandmother, scolded her.
I couldn't speak yet; I was stuck in a moment of anxious fear. My eyes kept darting towards the north, ready for a Fire Navy ship to come crashing towards us. Unlike my siblings, I remembered every aspect of the day we were attacked, not just tiny snippets. I knew what was to come.
"Don't blame Katara," Aang pleaded, bringing me slightly out of my trance. It was not enough to make me forget the jittery feeling in my chest. "I brought her there. It's my fault."
"Aha! The traitor confesses!" Sokka declared. "Warriors, away from the enemy. The foreigner is banished from our village."
"Sokka, you're making a mistake," Katara objected.
"No, I'm keeping my promise to Dad," Sokka said. "I'm protecting you from threats like him!"
"Aang is not our enemy!" Katara then continued in a calmer, soothing voice, "Don't you see? Aang's brought us something we haven't had in a long time: fun."
"Fun? We can't fight firebenders with fun!" Sokka said.
"You should try it sometime," Aang chirped, failing to read the situation.
"Get out of our village!" Sokka ordered. "Now!"
"Grandmother, please. Don't let them do this!" Katara begged Gran-Gran.
"Katara, you knew going on that ship was forbidden," Kanna replied. "Sokka is right. I think it's best if the airbender leaves."
YOU ARE READING
Safe & Sound | Book 1
Fanfiction[Zuko x Oc] Kida is Sokka and Katara's sister. She's the oldest of the three and has to be the most responsible in these times of war. It all changes, however, when the Avatar appears. Now it's up to her and her siblings to get Aang to the North Pol...
