Falling For You ✰༄ ѕσkkα

Water || Zen Garden And Acorns

We've been flying for a while, not doing too much. Aang was sitting on Appa's head with a piece of grass loosely hanging out of his mouth. Katara, Sokka, and I were lounging on the saddle. Katara was laying on her stomach, looking out upon the world stretching below us. Sokka had a small knife in his hand, quietly whittling a tiny block of wood. Or just cutting it up, whatever he's trying to do. I've already taken my nap for the trip, so I'm stuck being awake.

I take out my walking stick and switchblade. I carve the thicker part of the branch, creating a rounded end for me to hold onto. I fix up the sides, getting rid of the odd bumps where smaller sticks used to extend out of this one. I smooth everything out as best as I can with my knife before Katara breaks the calm silence.

"Those clouds look so soft, don't they? Like you could just jump down and you'd land is a big, soft, cottony heap."

"Maybe you should give it a try," Sokka jokes.

"You're hilarious."

"I'll try it!" Aang laughs as he launches himself into the air, glider in hand.

"Aang! Wait!" I yell after him, peering over the edge of the saddle. We all watch as his body falls through the clouds, leaving a vanishing imprint. After a couple seconds, he appears behind us using his staff. He has water clinging to his clothes while he wears a huge smile on his face.

"Turns out, clouds are made of water." He creates a sphere of air that expands over us, drying himself off.

Katara's points to something ahead of us, "Hey, what is that?"

We all move to the crown of the saddle, and see what she was looking at. There was charred, black earth spreading out over a wide expanse of land. It crept up the side of a mountain, cleared a path through a forest, and snaked along a winding river. Not even one speck of green could be found. The damaged land looked like it was clawing at the remaining greenery, trying to take away any color. It was hard to tell if there was even any remote sign of life below.

"It's like a scar."

I felt a shiver up my spine, giving me a sense of dread. Who would ever want to do this to the Earth? Who would want to be so malevolent and destroy a whole entire ecosystem, a home to multiple animals?

Appa descends, and lands right in the middle of it all. Burnt tree trunks stand at jagged angles, seldom had few branches left over. Some trunks were laying on their sides, haphazardly destined to stay that way for all time. There was no sign of vegetation anywhere, not even a blade of grass. I could see footprints have been left in the soft ground, giving us a glimpse into what might've happened in the past.

We all cautiously got off Appa, and I was a little excited to use my improved tree branch. Although, the sight in front of me overrides those feelings. My feet slightly sink down as I move about, making me feel uneasy. On edge.

"Listen. It's so quiet," Sokka says softly. "There's no life anywhere."

"Aang, are you okay?" Katara asks in a hushed tone.

"Fire Nation!" Sokka shouts, almost making me fall over with his sudden burst of fury. "Those evil savages make me sick. They have no respect for-"

"Shh." Katara and I both shush him.

"What, I'm not allowed to be angry?"

Within two strides I am standing next to him, and I hit him on the leg with my newly carved cane. He lets out a small "Ow!", and grabs his calf with his hands, jumping on his other foot.

I shift my attention to Aang, who has dropped down onto his knees. His action caused a wave of ash to swirl around before settling again. He was picking up some of the grey earth in his left hand, before letting it slip between his fingers. It was loose, similar to the texture of sand by the looks of it.