The Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior

Chapter 31 [~|~] Bato of the Water Tribe

Azara stood on the shore, watching as the waves drew closer to her feet, when Aang called out, holding up a whale tooth knife. Sokka grabbed the knife from Aang's hand and studied it for a moment. "This is a Water Tribe weapon! See if you can find anything else," Sokka ordered, before running into the woods with Aang.

Walking down the beach, Azara called out to Katara. "Hey, we found something!" she yelled down to the waterbender, who jogged over.

"What? What did you find?" Katara asked as Azara led her into the woods.

"Aang found a Water Tribe weapon," Azara explained as they spotted Sokka holding a burnt arrow tip. He dropped the arrow tip, moving to inspect the burn marks on a tree.

"There was a battle! A group of Water Tribe warriors ambushed a bunch of firebenders. The firebenders fought back, but the Water Tribe warriors pushed them down this hill," Sokka analyzed, leading them through the woods and to another beach.

"So, then what happened?" Aang questioned, moving to stand by a sad looking Sokka.

"I don't know. The trail ends here," Sokka sighed, staring down at the sand as Azara looked around the beach. Her eyes landed on a ship on the side.

"Hey, look over there!" she pointed out, gesturing at the vessel.

"That's one of our boats!" Sokka shouted, running over to it, and stroking the side.

"Is it Dad's boat?" Katara asked, standing beside her brother.

"No, but it's from his fleet. Dad was here," Sokka smiled, the two siblings embracing. Azara smiled at the interaction, knowing how much Sokka and Katara missed their father.

"Why don't we make camp here tonight, in case whoever the boat belongs to comes back?" Azara suggested as Katara and Sokka turned back to her.

"That's a good idea!" Katara nodded, still ecstatic from finding the Water Tribe ship. They made camp for the night, huddling around a warm fire as the sound of waves allowed Azara to drift off into a dreamless slumber.

"Who's there?" Sokka yelled at the sound of rustling, standing up with his boomerang in hand. The statement woke up Azara, Katara, and Aang, who stood up, prepared for a fight.

"Sokka?" a man asked, stepping into the light. He was dressed in Water Tribe garments with one of his shoulders wrapped in bandages.

"Bato?" Sokka called, dropping his boomerang, and rushing to greet the man, Katara close behind him. Azara stood with Aang as the Water Tribe members reunited. She wasn't sure who Bato was. He clearly was not their father, but he definitely meant a great deal to Sokka and Katara. 

"Hi, I'm Aang, and this is Azara," Aang introduced, walking over, and motioning to Azara as he spoke. The two bowed in greeting.

"Where's Dad?" Sokka asked, cutting into the introductions. 

"Is he here?"

"No, he and the other warriors should be in the Eastern Earth Kingdom by now," Bato revealed, clearly disappointing Sokka and Katara. As a gust of wind breezed through, Bato motioned for them to follow him back to the abbey where he had been recovering from the battle. 

"Superior, these are Hakoda's children. They've been travelling with the Avatar. I found them by my boat," Bato explained, his hands resting on Sokka and Katara's shoulders.