ATLA Little Bender

Jet

A/N

Hey everyone! Sorry for my inactivity- everything is devoiding me of energy right now. So slightly shorter chapter at 3.6k words instead. Luck is needed in the midst of classes! Second time in a row where I'm updating in the last hours of the weekend, I'm catching up with the comments, thank you to everyone who's commented, added the story to their reading lists, and starred it! Hope you enjoy this update! ON WITH THE STORY! - Jokes_onmi

"Now my day feels thrown off," Elaria lamented, her slim fingers weaved the soft tresses of Katara's hair. The group had rested in the woods after traveling non-stop. With little people in their vicinity, they figured that Zuko wouldn't be able to catch up anytime soon. Elaria had been startled when she first brushed through the strands. She had figured before that Katara's hair is even more of a nightmare than her own- What with Katara always wearing her braids.

 To her surprise, and modest envy, Katara's hair felt as soft and glossy as silk. 

"You're complaining about being woken up by Aang?" Katara questioned her with a fond smile. Elaria felt her cheeks flush at the mischief on her friend's face and tugged slightly harder on her hair. "Ow! Elaria! We aren't supposed to pull on each others' hair," Katara scolded her, "What stops me from doing the same to you?" She jested.

Elaria responded, lowering her head to Katara's ear as she easily unwound a tangle, "Because you're a better human being than me duh," Katara rolled her eyes, "Now you're just being a drama queen." she responded to Elaria.

She laughed at the statement. "I always say how amazing you are and you belittle my rank of an heir to a nation to Sokka's role?" She reversed the subject back to her point, "What I meant to say is that Momo has been wandering off lately, is no one else concerned with that?" Elaria had grown attached to her lemur. Particularly since he reminded of her sweet Sozia. Sadly her messenger Hawk hasn't come back to her since she sent her letter to Azula... 

With everything that happened Elaria felt wrong in forgetting her messenger hawk, Azula had tried to contact her with a letter in Senlin, before her life became even stranger with a trip to the spirit world. She had to assume that both hawks had returned home. 

"You might as well say you prefer Momo yanking on your hair than Aang's prodding to wake you," Elaria snorted at Katara's teasings. Sokka cut into their conversation; he directed his words to Aang who was lazing about in their campsite with them, "Aang! Seems like you got a rival! Oh man to be competing with an animal for attention from-" 

Aang intervened before Sokka could finish. He nearly yelled as he leaped to ask "Where is Momo?" Elaria focused her gaze on him in suspicion. She noticed his nervous gate, the dust of red on his cheeks, and the way he wouldn't look at any of them. Instead, his eyes stared about the trees they were surrounded by- seeming to search for Momo. Did that count as changing the subject if he only responded to her question? Or did Sokka change the subject? 

Boys. 

 Like clockwork, the group heard the sudden screech from the lemur. Elaria quickly finished Katara's hair and the two girls ran after Aang and Sokka. 

"I hate to say I called it!" Elaria huffed as she ran with them. Katara kept up with her until they came to an abrupt stop as they watched Aang use his airbending to jump from column to stock of the trees to reach higher, "When is he gonna teach me to do that?" Elaria wondered. 

Momo continued screeching above her head. Swinging the oval trap by the metals bars. "Momo stay still!" Elaria cupped her hands around her mouth, she grumbled in distress when he only jostled around more.