The Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior

Chapter 24 [~|~] The Great Divide

Azara placed the jug down on the ground as she arrived at the stream. Holding the jug under the water, Azara waited patiently for it to fill before picking it up and walking back to camp. As she neared their settlement, she could hear Sokka and Katara bickering. Rolling her eyes playfully, Azara set the jug next to Appa as Aang intervened.

"Settling feuds and making peace, all in a day's work for the Avatar," Aang sighed in content as Azara gathered the wood Katara had thrown to the ground. Setting up the fire, Azara nodded in thanks as Sokka handed her more wood and lit the fire. After dinner was prepared and served, the group turned in for the night, knowing they had a long journey ahead of them.

The next morning, after quickly packing up camp, the group arrived at the edge of the Great Divide, the largest series of canyons in the world. "It's beautiful," Azara commented as a light breeze moved through her dark locks.

"Yeah well you see one rock, you've seen them all," Sokka insisted, causing Azara to elbow him.

"How can you not be fascinated Sokka? This is the largest canyon in the entire whole world?" Katara asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Then I'm sure we'll be able to see it very clearly from the air while we fly away," Sokka shrugged before he was roughly pushed to the side by a man in an eccentric white tunic.

"If you're looking for the canyon guide, I'm afraid you'll have to wait, I was here first!" the man announced, his voice already grating on Azara's nerves. She raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest, but she bit back any comments.

"Canyon guide?" she questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"He's an earthbender, and the only way in and out of the canyon is with his help. And he's taking my tribe across next," the man continued as Sokka made gestures behind the man with his hand, indicating the man would not shut up. Azara coughed to hide her chuckle, unintendingly drawing the attention of the man to herself.

"You think this is funny?" he questioned, getting into Azara's personal space.

"I never said it was funny," Azara replied calmly, but the man obviously had a few screws lose.

"You wouldn't think it's funny if the Fire Nation destroyed your home and forced you to flee! My whole tribe has to walk thousands of miles to the capital city of Ba Sing Se," the man stated, gesturing to the Great Divide behind them.

"You're a refugee," Katara gasped as the man placed his hands on his hips.

"Tell me something I don't know."

Looking over her shoulder, Azara spotted a group of people walking towards them. "Are those your people?" Aang questioned, pointing at the people dressed in ragged brown robes.

"It most certainly is not! That's the Zhang tribe, a bunch of low-life thieves. They've been the enemies of my tribe for a hundred years," the man droned on, causing Azara to sigh. Maybe Sokka was right, they should have just seen the Great Divide from above. "Hey Zhangs! I'm saving a spot for my tribe so don't even think about stealing it!" the man yelled, waving his arms again.

"Where are the rest of the Gan Jin? Still tidying their campsite?" the leader of the Zhang tribe scoffed, moving to stand in front of the erratic man.

"Yes, but they sent me ahead of them to hold a spot," the man snapped as Azara and Aang shared a look. The tension in the air was palpable. Azara was almost certain the Zhang leader would pick the Gan Jin man up and throw him into the canyon.