The Dragon Princess and the Wolf Warrior

Chapter 55 [~|~] The Swamp

A.N. Here's the first half of the Swamp episode! Warning: contains mentions of blood/wounds. 

Azara stared up at the sky as she felt Appa start to fly lower. Sitting up, she glanced over at Aang as Sokka approached him. "Hey, are you taking us down for a reason?" Sokka asked, but Aang continued to stare down at the swamp. "Aang, why are we going down?"

"What? I didn't even notice," Aang mumbled, snapping out of his daze.

"Are you noticing now?" Sokka huffed, as Katara and Azara shared looks of concern.

"Is something wrong?" Katara questioned, moving closer to Aang.

"I know this is going to sound weird, but I think the swamp is calling to me," Aang mentioned as Azara's eyes widened at the statement.

"You're the Avatar, Aang. I think weird is kind of the name of the game," Azara shrugged as Sokka held his stomach.

"Is it telling you where we can get something to eat?" Sokka inquired, staring down at the swamp.

"No, I . . . I think it wants us to land there," Aang spoke softly as Sokka shook his head.

"No offense to the swamp, but I don't see any land there to land on."

"I don't know. Bumi said to learn earthbending I would have to wait and listen, and now I'm actually hearing the earth. Do you want me to ignore it?" Aang asked, turning around to stare at his friends.

"Yes," Sokka answered instantly as Azara looked down at the swamp.

"Is there something a little . . . ominous about this place?" Azara questioned, picking her head up.

"See, even Appa and Momo don't like it here," Sokka pointed out as both animals grunted in displeasure.

"Okay, since everyone feels so strongly about this, bye swamp. Yip yip!" Aang flicked Appa's reigns as Appa started to gain elevation once more. At the sound of Katara and Sokka's gasps, Azara looked up to see a tornado headed straight for them.

"Where did that come from?" she yelled out as Aang tried to avoid it.

"I don't know, but you better throw in an extra yip! We have to move!" Sokka shouted as Azara grabbed onto Appa's saddle tightly. Appa turned to avoid the tornado, but they were soon sucked into the tornado. Azara clenched her eyes shut when she heard Sokka yell out. Reaching out, Azara grabbed his hand, her own grip on Appa loosening.

"I got you!" she assured him as Aang created an air shield around Appa, causing Sokka and Azara to fall back onto the saddle. Azara grunted as Appa swung around, throwing her and Sokka against the side of the saddle. Sokka grabbed the saddle with arm and wrapped his other arm around Azara's waist as Appa continued to spin.

Aang tried his best to keep the air shield going, but the tornado proved to be too strong. It wasn't long after that they were all thrown out of Appa's saddle and into the dark depths of the swamp. Azara yelled out as she slipped out of Sokka's grip, hitting a few random branches, before finally landing in the dirty swamp water.

Sitting up, Azara sputtered and spit out the muddy water, trying to collect herself. Standing up shakily, she tugged at her braid to remove some of the water. Sokka stood up beside her, a large leech attached to him, causing Azara to jump. "Sokka, you have an elbow leech!" Azara pointed out as Sokka began freaked out.