Daughter of the Moon - Book Two: Earth

Chapter 7.3: A Brief Reunion

- Elara -

I followed the eel-hound tracks with as much speed as I could possibly muster, and I was certain the Spirits alone were to thank for how quickly I found what I was searching for. I heard the fighting long before I actually saw it, and as I followed a bend in the river, I just about stumbled right into the middle of an all-out brawl—at least, what was left of it.

I spotted two unfamiliar girls who seemed rather opposite in nature, one dark and brooding like a certain firebender I knew, and the other nothing less than how I would describe the color pink if it had thrown up on someone. Although the two of them seemed just about the same age as I, I could tell that they were a force to be reckoned with. Their steady form as they attacked alone proved that they had been trained for this very moment, not to mention that they were quite literally preparing to deliver the final blow against my very own Water Tribe siblings, neither of which (much to my surprise) seemed prepared to counter it.

Katara's figure was practically traced into a tree with knives as if they had been meticulously placed by an artist, each blade pinning a piece of her clothing to the wood and holding her tight. Sokka, on the other hand, was just laying on the ground like rock (or rather a limp noodle). It was a rather comical sight to behold as I surfed my way into the fray, but that didn't change the fact that my friends were about to get their butts handed to them by two Fire Nation citizens (and neither myself nor any friend of mine was allowed to have that happen to them). So the moment I was in range, I bent a large wave over the riverbank, the water swallowing the two new contenders  and sweeping them down the river as I hopped gracefully onto the dry land left behind.

"You two need a hand?" I asked somewhat cheekily as I immediately ran to Katara's aid.

"I don't believe it," she mumbled, eyes wide.

"Elara!" Sokka exclaimed from the ground, somehow wiggling with excitement like a dying fish. "Man, am I glad to see you!"

"I'm glad to see you too," I replied cheerfully as I removed the last dagger from the folds of Katara's sleeve and dropped to the side, drawing some water from my water skin to fix whatever had incapacitated other felled warrior. "What the heck happened to you guys? You look awful!"

"WE HAVEN'T SLEPT IN OVER TWENTY-FOUR HOURS!!! THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED!!!" Sokka answered painfully as I noticed the deep bags sagging beneath his eyes. However, the massive boulders I could feel blocking his chi told me that sleep deprivation was far from his only problem.

"Those girls have been tracking us all night" Katara cut in, providing further explanation to their current situation. "Apparently they were following a trail of Appa's fur as he shed his winter coat."

"No kidding," I noted as I focused the healing water on Sokka's pressure points (resulting in some manly whimpers). "That's how we found you too."

"We?" Sokka asked as my treatment began to affect, and I could sense the slightest hint of venom in his tone.

"Zuko and I—we tracked you together," I reported, intentionally looking away from Sokka as his expression fell.

Of course I knew that Sokka may have had feelings for me, but that didn't mean I had any idea what to think about my feelings for him. Everything was so confusing, especially once Zuko had entered the picture (at least, he had for me). So, to avoid any potential drama, I decided to abandon that struggling ostrich-horse and tried to change the topic of conversation.

"Which reminds me, where's Aang?" I asked somewhat absentmindedly. "We have to get him out of here before Zuko finds him."

"We split up so that we could cover our trail," Katara informed me. "Aang took some of Appa's fur and flew in another direction in hopes that those girls would follow him and we could get away," Katara paused as she looked back to where the two assailants had been standing only moments before. "At least, that was the plan. It doesn't look like it worked too well."

"Yeah, and it's about to get worse," I added with a grimace as I completed my word, returning the water back to my water skin.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked.

"I think Aang's about to face Zuko and his psychotic sister completely alone while sleep deprived," I said. "And I don't think I like his chances."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Katara yelped nervously as she began to speed walk to nowhere.

"Um, Katara?" I asked before she got too far, placing a hand on her shoulder to keep her still.

"What?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but you're brother's still a limp noodle over here," I teased, pointing at the pile of limbs we had liked to called Sokka.

"Hey! Who you calling a limp noodle?!" Sokka asked defensively.

"I'm calling you a limp noodle, you limp noodle," I teased, earning myself a menacing snarl from the boy. "Oh, you don't like that? Well, what're you gonna do about it? Hit me?"

"What? I would never do that!" Sokka replied, his face softening as sadness filled the corners of his eyes.

Katara obviously missed the change in tone (that, or she didn't care) because she instead joined in on the fun. "It's because you can't even try, isn't it, ya limp noodle?"

Now, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that Sokka would never hurt me, but I could not safely say the same thing for Katara in that moment. If his chi hadn't been blocked, I was fairly certain that Sokka wouldn't have hesitated to pummel his sister right then and there (only if Katara's waterbending didn't get to him first, that was). Luckily for the both of them (mostly Sokka, probably), all he could do was continue to flop on the ground angrily as an inhuman growl escaped his lips.

"That's what I thought," I teased as the boy gave up on avenging his ego. "Luckily for you, my healing was able to reactivate your chi, so you will be up and moving soon. Unfortunately, it's still going to take a while even with my help, so we're going to have to drag you around until you can move again.

No sooner had I delivered my diagnosis than Katara beamed at me, a light igniting behind her eyes. "I think I have a furry friend who can help with that..."

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A/N: I think I have one more part left to finish up with this chapter. Thank you for your patience, and I hope y'all have a wonderful day 😊

Published: 06 September 2020