The Avatar's Angel (Avatar the Last Airbender: Book 3: Fire)

The Puppetmaster

Aya's POV

"Suddenly, they heard something down the hall in the dark. Oooh ... It came into the torchlight ... and they knew the blade of Wing Fung was haunted  Sokka draws his sword, stands up and points it toward the fire; yells dramatically. "Ooh-aaah!"

The four of us watched Sokka attempted to tell a scary story and we were unamused by it. Aang and I were laying next to each other while holding hands. We were certainly sitting in a dark and spooky forest with a campfire in the middle.

This forest is creepier than Sokka's story.

"I think I like "the man with a sword for a hand" better." Aang mentions and I nod.

"Water Tribe slumber parties must stink." Toph blurts out.

"No, wait! I've got one!" Katara perks up and I raise an eyebrow at her. "And this is a true Southern Water Tribe story."

"Is this one of those "a friend of my cousin knew some guy that this happened to" stories?" I asked her unconvinced.

"No, it happened to mom." Katara denies and this catches all of our attentions. Aang and I sat up together and Sokka stiffens.

"One winter when mom was a girl, a snowstorm buried the whole village for weeks. A month later, Mom noticed she hadn't seen her friend Nini since the storm. So Mom and some others went to check on Nini's family. When they got there, no one was home. Just a fire flickering in the fireplace. While the men went out to search, Mom stayed in the house. When she was alone, she heard a voice. "It's so cold and I can't get warm!" I grabbed Aang's waist and he wraps his arms around me. "Mom turned and saw Nini standing by the fire. She was blue like she was frozen. Mom ran outside for help, but when everyone came back, Nini was gone."

Sokka hid behind a tree still out of fear and Aang and I were huddled close with our pets next to us.

"Where'd she go?" Sokka stutters out.

"No one knows. Nini's house stands empty to this day, but sometimes, people see smoke coming up from the chimney, like little Nini is still trying to get warm." Katara exclaims and my eyes grow wide.

By now, all of us, minus Katara, were huddled together. Suddenly, Toph straightens up and touches the ground.

"Wait! Guys, did you hear that?" Aang, Katara, Sokka, and I clutch each other tightly, too stiff to move, with Toph standing alertly. "I hear people under the mountain. And they're screaming."

Sokka relaxes his grips and scoffs. "Pft! Nice try, Toph."

"No, I'm serious. I hear something." Toph says seriously and Katara releases her grip from Aang and I.

I clutch Aang's shoulders and he pulls me closer.

"You're probably just jumpy from the ghost stories ..." I reason with her.

"It just....stopped." Toph says with confusion and uncertainty.

"All right, now I'm getting scared." Aang admits, squeezing my waist tighter.

"Hello children."

All five of us scream in terror upon hearing the strange voice and we scramble from the ground. Aang holds me tight to his chest and we see an elderly woman emerge from the shadows.

"Sorry to frighten you. My name is Hama." The woman greets and Aang loosens his grip. "You children shouldn't be out in the forest by yourselves at night. I have an inn nearby. Why don't you come back there for some spiced tea and warm beds?"

Sokka sheepishly places his arm behind his head. "Yes please."

The five of us follow but I stayed by Aang because this woman gives me a bad vibe; something's off about her.