Frozen Heart, Melted Ice

Chpt 25 - The Painted Lady

"Momo?" Aang called, springing up from underneath the murky water before diving back under, "Oh Momo?" He called again after emerging in a new spot, "You found me buddy!" Aang grinned once Momo landed on his head before the pair jumped onto Appa, "Hey guys, I think this river's polluted." Aang inhaled and quickly bent the muck water off of him, hitting the others in the process.

"Well that explains why I cant catch a fish around here." Sokka said once Aang blew the water of the others, "Because normally my fishing skills are off the hooks." The group silently stared at him, "Get it! Like a fishing hook?"

"Too bad your skills aren't on the hook." Toph deadpanned, causing everyone but Sokka to laugh.

"It looks like we'll need to go somewhere else to get food." Katara decided, gagging at the water below, "Assuming that'll fit into Sokka's master schedule."

"Hm..." Sokka examined his schedule, which was almost as long as Appa's saddle, "It's doable, but that means only two potty breaks today."

Y/n rolled her eyes and looked over the front of the saddle, "Hey maybe we can get food there." She pointed at a small stilted town in the center of the river. It was hard to see much of the town, but from a distance it looked to be a quaint-watery oasis, just Y/n's style.

Aang steered Appa to the shore and Appa laid down with a grunt while the rest unpacked their - minimal - money.

"Now you look just like a little hill with horns." Aang said to Appa, who was now covered in a sheet of grass. Appa snorted in response.

"I didn't even know people could do that!" Y/n exclaimed once they reached the cliffside overlooking the town.

"Me either!" Katara agreed in awe

"I don't feel anything. Where's this village?" Toph asked. It was still a ways away from where they stood, but Y/n could get a better look at it from above. Every building was small and made of dark wood, all connected by more wooden bridges and docks. It was very cute.

"It's in the middle of the river." Sokka explained.

"Sure is!" A voice from below shouted, "My names Dock, mind if I ask who you are?" Dock was a shrimpy old man, he had shaggy white hair and wore a tattered vest that did nothing to cover up his large beer belly, atop his head was a square red and orange hat.

"We're um, from the Earth Kingdom colonies." Katara lied, she was a terrible liar.

"Wow, colonials!" Dock gasped, "Hop on, I'll give you a ride into town.

The kids quickly clambered onto his small canoe, it reminded Y/n of the gondolas from home, except much warmer. She gladly took the spot in the front.

"Why do you guys live on the river?" Katara asked as they made their way across to the town.

"Because we're a fishing town." Dock said, switching his steering staff from his left side to his right, almost hitting the kids in the head as he did so, "At least that's how it was before the factory moved in." Y/n turned to her right to see a huge metal building tucked into the cliff-sides, dark black smoke poured out of multiple chimneys along the roof, "Army makes their metal there. Moved in a few years ago and started gunking up our river. Now our little village is struggling to survive."

Y/n looked down at the water again, it was disgusting. There couldn't be many fish in these waters, and whatever did live there probably wasn't edible, or at least shouldn't be. If something like this had happened to the rivers and ocean around her home she had no clue how her people would have survived since almost all of their food came from the waters. It must be the same for this town.