Find Me | Zuko x reader | Avatar the Last Airbender | Book 1

Chapter 28: Weakling

                              Y/N's POV

          "We're finally on the ground again." Toph sighed contently as she hopped down from Appa's saddle. "Great campsite choice, has really soft grass."

          "That's not grass." Y/N commented as she hopped down next to her. "That's Appa's shedded fur. It's all over the place."

          "Ewww." Katara grimaced, carefully climbing down in a place the hair didn't cover the ground. Aang and Sokka hopped down, grabbing handfuls of the fur and making mustaches and hats. "You guys are disgusting. At least us girls finally outnumber you."

          Toph immediately grabbed some, holding it under her armpits, and making Katara facepalm. Aang and Sokka laugh, and Aang sneezes from the hair, launching him a few feet.

          "Let them do their thing, Katara." Y/N laughed, and even her sister couldn't stifle her giggle. 

          It didn't take long to set up camp, and get some food going. Sokka and Aang started pitching tents, Katara gathered firewood, and Y/N started the food while Toph leaned against a rock. Y/N didn't care much, but Katara soon walked up to her only minutes in.

          "Hey, Toph, so the way it works with our group is that we split the work among the group, and everyone pitches in." 

          "I'll carry my own weight, you don't have to worry." Toph waved her off, lounging against the rock.

          "Maybe you didn't understand the first time..." Katara tried again.

          "Look, honey, I don't know what you're on about, but I'm fine. Thank you!" Toph snapped, and Katara stormed away, disappearing into the woods, hopefully getting more firewood.

          Y/N blew out a long breath, slowly stirring her soup. Maybe she wasn't glad Toph had joined the group. Her stubborn and stuck up attitude didn't clash well with Katara, and Y/N wasn't sure if she could deal with any drama. The Gaang already got into enough trouble as it was without any infighting. 

          She couldn't imagine how bad it could get, though.

                             —|➖◾️➖|—

          Katara and Toph had another run-in before bed, but the tension in the air didn't seem too bad when they all hit the hay. Y/N fell asleep quickly, but hadn't even slept for two hours before Toph was yelling at them to get up.

          "What is it?" She asked sleepily, looking down over the side of the saddle.

          "There are these really strong vibrations I'm getting, and they're coming closer. It's like an avalanche, but not an avalanche..." Toph scrunched up her face, seeming as though she was studying something closely, but her milky eyes were as far off as always.

          "Your powers of perception are frightening." Sokka said sarcastically. "Should we leave?"

          "That would probably be the safest choice." Toph nodded. They quickly packed everything up, loading up on Appa and taking off. They looked back in the direction Toph indicated, and caught a glimpse of something in the darkness. 

          A tank like machine was rolling across the desert, going surprisingly fast. 

          "Something tells me they were coming for us." Y/N realized. "We should fly for at least a few hours to try losing them." The rest agreed, slumping sleepily against the sides of the saddle as they flew on.