Avatar: The Last Airbender

Part 20 (The Library) [Book 2]

"What's out here?" Sokka asked. Everyone was currently standing, except Aang, who was sitting in a meditation pose without actually meditating, on a dry, dusty area. There wasn't much grass around, but there were plenty of little holes.

"A lot, actually. There's hundreds of little-" Toph started, but was cut off by Aang.

"Shh! I know you can see underground, but don't ruin the surprise. Just watch." The Airbender blew into an instrument, playing one note. A groundhog popped out and screamed the same note. Aang laughed and played another, prompting another groundhog to yell in response. "Yeah! I'm putting an orchestra together." Aang spoke.

"Orchestra, huh? Well, la, de da." Sokka told him. Aang continued to play, and one after another, groundhogs poked out of the holes in the ground to join him. Momo jumped into a hole after one, emerging empty-handed out of another hole. Katara laughed as Aang and the groundhogs kept going. You rolled your eyes, putting your hands on your hips. "I've had enough of this." Sokka said. He moved towards Aang, placing his finger in the instrument, plugging up the music. "This is great and all, but don't we have more important things to worry about?" He asked, standing to his full height. "We should be making plans."

"We did make plans." Toph countered. "We're all picking mini vacations."

"There's no time for vacations." Sokka argued.

"I agree with Sokka." You voiced. "We don't have time for this."

Katara rolled her eyes. "Who's surprised that you agree with Sokka?"

"Who's surprised you don't?" You shot back, placing your fists on your hips and leaning forward slightly.

"I'm learning the elements as fast as I can. I practice hard every day with Toph and Katara." Aang assured. "I've been training my arrow off."

"Yeah. What's wrong with having a little fun in our downtime?" Katara inquired, stepping forward.

"Even if you do master all the elements, then what?" Sokka asked Aang. "It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation." He gestured to the side of him. "Should we just head west until we find the Firelord's house?" He suddenly developed a goofy tone. "Knock, knock. Hello? Firelord? Is anyone home?" He played out before turning to Aang sharply. "I don't think so. We need some intelligence if we're going to win this war."

"Alright. We'll first finish our vacations, and then we can look for Sokka's....intelligence." Katara spoke. Your eyes narrowed at the insult to your friend, but before you could retort, Aang was already holding the map out to the girl.

"Your turn, Katara." He informed. "Where would you like to go on your mini vacation?"

"Hmm. How about the Misty Palms Oasis?" She suggested. "That sounds refreshing."

"Oh, yeah. I've been there." Aang started. "It's a pristine natural iceberg. And I don't usually use the word pristine. It's one of nature's natural wonders."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Natural wonders, huh?" You sassed to Aang. You had arrived at the oasis, where the iceberg had melted, and the palm trees had died, leaving only dirt, dust and sand.

"Must've changed ownership since I was here." Aang explained guiltily. He laughed nervously, stepping further into the sandy area. The sign behind you fell where you were all just standing, the old wood shattering and splintering off in pieces. You all continued through the small place, coming to a tent and venturing inside. It was dark, lit only by a few lamps. There were a few people at some tables, and a man wearing lots of traveling things was standing in front of a counter.