Blazing Crystal (Revised Version)

Chapter 32: An Endless Journey

Chapter 32: An Endless Journey

My feet were killing me and my body was exhausted, but I kept moving forward in order to encourage everyone else. We'd been walking through the night, and I'd kept them all on a path east. I knew we needed to keep moving if we were going to make it out of the desert alive. Staring up at the sky, I could see the star I had been following was starting to dim from the rising sun.

"What are we going to do when the sun comes up?" Toph seemed dismayed as Katara guided her forward across the sand.

"We'll follow the sunrise. The sun always rises in the east," Sokka stated.

Aang frowned. "Guys... I... I've been thinking... I'm going on ahead to see if I can find Appa."

Katara was horrified. "What? No! We should stick together! We don't need anyone getting lost in this desert!"

Aang stepped away when Katara tried to grab his shoulder. "I won't go far... I know what direction you all are headed. If I don't find you before then I'll meet you..." He whipped out his glider and went to go.

"Aang! Wait!"

Katara tried to grab him, but he was already off the ground and in the air before she could. Momo chattered from Sokka's shoulder in protest. We all watched though in defeat as Aang flew off towards the rising sun.

Letting out a heavy sigh, I looked back up at the stars only to see they were no longer visible. The point of the constellation I'd been following through the night was no longer there. "Well... Looks like the sun's coming up..."

"We should rest for an hour," Sokka insisted. "We don't want to travel through the heat of the day in exhaustion."

Katara hung her head. "Aang..."

Stepping over to her, I hugged her for comfort letting her press her face into my shoulder. Rubbing circles on her back, I said, "He'll be okay... He just needs some time to think..."

"Princess is right, Katara." Toph stepped over placing a hand on my shoulder. "We'll see him again." She squeezed my shoulder. "Don't worry."

Grabbing Toph's hand, I moved it over to Katara's shoulder. "Wrong person, Toph."

She grimaced. "Oh... Sorry. Can't really see..."

I smiled weakly. "I know." I looked over at the brightening sky. "Everyone lay down for a little bit and rest. We have a long walk ahead of us."

As the group laid down and got some shut eye from exhaustion, I sat in the sand staring across the desert at the horizon. Pulling my knees to my chest, I felt my stomach clench as I thought about Appa. Part of me still felt responsible for the sandbenders managing to take him. If I had been stronger in my bending and physical strength, I may have been able to win.

My mind took me back to the South Pole, and I thought about the day my father came to visit me. It had been a whole week after I had woken from almost dying, and my father had yet to come see me while I was conscious. I blamed myself for his avoidance, wondering if he was too disappointed in my failure to save mom to come and see me.

I cringed as Areto pressed the salve to my burn. He'd been with me most of the morning, since his mother and sister were out of the village on a fishing trip. His father was training some of the younger warriors. My brother and sister had come with Gran-Gran earlier in the day to see me, promising they would be back later for dinner.

"I'm almost done," Areto promised. The fourteen-year-old boy went to put more of the herbal remedy on my skin, and I whimpered as it made contact on the tender area around my collar bone. The touch sent a harsh sting across my skin. I weakly grabbed his hand trying to push away. He took his free hand to restrain me so he could break free from my weak grasp. "Crystal. Stop... You need this medicine."