A New Mission (cont.)
1.5
“Unghh…gargh…arrrgh!”
Katara stood frozen in place, her head cocked to the side and her jaw hanging open, unable to fully grasp the situation unfolding in front of her. Momo hopped up onto her shoulder and mirrored her position, cocking his head to the side as well.
“What’s going on?” Toph appeared beside the baffled Waterbender. “What is Sokka doing?”
Katara’s stupor was broken, and she exhaled wearily, “I have no idea.” Within moments, she was standing next to her straining, grunting brother. “Sokka, what are you trying to do?”
The teenager lay on the ground, red-faced and sweaty, clutching the handle of an enormous overstuffed bag half the size of Appa. He pulled furiously, kicking his heels into the dirt with all his might, but the sack wouldn’t budge. Defeated, he flopped back onto the ground. “Aw, man. I’ll never get this thing onto Appa!”
Toph was perplexed. “Why would you want to?”
Sokka’s eyes bugged out. “Are you kidding me?” He jumped up and dusted himself off. “This bag just happens to be full of the goodies Bumi and those other leaders gave us for our trip.” His eyes watered and a faraway look crossed his face. “Furs, clothes, maps, weapons, tents, and succulent, glorious meats…”
Katara frowned. “There is no way Appa’s going to be able to carry all this.”
“Sure he will!” Sokka walked over to the large creature and nudged him repeatedly in the stomach. “Won’t ya, buddy?”
The air bison snorted and lumbered off to the opposite side of the courtyard, Sokka chasing after him desperately. “Aw, come on! It’s called TEAMWORK!”
Toph shook her head in disbelief. “You know, sometimes I wonder how that guy managed to make it out of the South Pole without being bludgeoned to death by angry Polar Mice.”
“You and me both.” Katara and Toph grinned at each other and laughed.
“Oh, good. You guys are already out here.” Aang appeared at the courtyard entrance with Bumi, Hakoda, and Suki, followed shortly after by Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee. “Are you ready to go?”
“Well, we are.” Toph hooked her thumb over her shoulder, indicating Sokka still struggling to pull Appa back over to the enormous bag. “But it looks like Dum Dum over there isn’t gonna be giving up anytime soon.”
Aang grinned and rubbed the back of his head. “Hehe, yeah. I told him Appa probably wouldn’t like carrying all of that stuff, but he seemed so confident.”
Suki’s shoulders sagged and she sighed heavily. “I’ll go get him.”
Ty Lee perked up. “Ooh! I’ll help!”
“NO!” Suki stared the acrobat down. “Stay!”
Ty Lee pouted. “I was just trying to be helpful.”
“Yeah, but not in the way she wanted,” Mai replied dryly. Zuko sniggered, and his girlfriend slapped him on the chest.
“Ow.” Zuko rubbed the sore spot tenderly and looked around. “Where’s Uncle? He knew we were leaving soon.”
“He went back to his tea shop a while ago,” Aang responded. “I think he said he had to go get something.”
Zuko groaned. “Great. Doesn’t he realize that we don’t need a supply of teas to take with us?”
Toph smirked. “Even if we did, I’m sure Sokka has plenty in that bag.” Everyone laughed and looked at the teen, who was now clutching the sack desperately as Suki attempted to pry him off.
“Well, I guess we should say our goodbyes now,” Aang said as he faced the group. “Bumi, thank you so much for everything. We never would’ve been able to plan this mission or gather all the leaders here without you.”
“Anytime, Aang.” The old king smiled and wrapped the young Avatar up in a strong embrace. “You know I’ll always be here if you need anything.”
Hakoda walked over to his daughter and pulled her into a tight hug as well. “You keep safe, honey, and stay brave… And try to keep your brother out of trouble.”
Katara grinned up at her father. “I’ll do the best I can, but I’m not making any promises.”
At this, Sokka and Suki returned. Sokka sighed dramatically, “Well, I’ve given up on taking the entire bag of goodies, but I think me and Suki were able to pull out the most important stuff to take with us.”
Katara caught her brother by surprise and pulled him into the hug. “What would we do without you, Sokka?”
“You know, I ask myself that all the time.”
Hakoda smiled down at the two teens in his arms. “I want you both to always remember how proud I am of you and how much I love you.”
Katara and Sokka hugged their father tightly. “Thanks, Dad.”
Sokka pulled away and faced his girlfriend sadly. “Are you sure you can’t come with us to the Fire Nation Capital? It’ll be like a month-long vacation before we spend the next year trying not to be killed.”
Suki pretended to consider this. “Well, it does sound tempting… but you know I have work to do in Kyoshi before we leave. Ty Lee and I will stay here with King Bumi for a few more days to help organize the support forces, then I have to go back and make sure the Warriors are ready. It’s going to be a busy month.” She took her boyfriend’s hand and squeezed. “But I’ll see you as soon as you guys come pick me up.”
“I’ll miss you.” Sokka pulled his girlfriend close in his arms and kissed her softly.
Suki looked into his eyes and whispered, “I’ll miss you too.” They kissed again, deeper this time.
“Yuck!” Toph turned away with her fingers stuck in her ears. “If you guys are gonna suck face, can you at least do it a little more quietly?”
Ty Lee bounced over to the Earthbender and wrapped her arms around the small girl. “Aww, you’re just upset because you don’t have anyone to say goodbye to. I’ll say goodbye to you!”
Toph’s eyes widened in embarrassment, and she squirmed to escape the older girl. “Ack! What’re you doing?! Get off of me!” But Ty Lee managed to hold on with an iron grip, and eventually Toph just gave up.
“I guess we should get everything loaded onto Appa so we can leave as soon as Iroh gets back,” Katara reasoned as the Air Bison ambled back over to the group, now safe from Sokka’s gigantic goody bag.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Zuko agreed. “I just hope he doesn’t take too long. It’ll take us over half a day to get there, and I’d rather not arrive after nightfall. We still have the city’s defenses on high alert.”
Everyone spent the next few minutes packing and loading the supplies Sokka took from the large sack. After a few moments, Zuko noticed that his girlfriend was conspicuously absent from the task at hand. He looked around and spotted her sitting next to the fountain, picking at her nails. Dropping the sleeping bag that he was carrying, he walked over and stopped in front of her. “What’s wrong?”
Mai kept picking at her nails without looking up. “What do you mean, what’s wrong? I’m fine.”
“Well, then what are you doing sitting over here instead of helping everyone out?”
Mai’s eyes shifted to the side uncertainly. “I was just thinking that maybe I should stay here in Ba Sing Se for a few days with Ty Lee before she heads off to Kyoshi Island.” Her voice dropped, and she muttered, “Plus, then I can come home in a nice, safe airship.”
Zuko stared at her for a moment, realization slowly dawning on him. “Mai… are you afraid of… Appa?”
Zuko’s girlfriend glared at the ground, refusing to meet his gaze. “I’m not scared of it. I just don’t like the idea of travelling on something that can fall asleep at any moment while we’re flying and plunge us all to our deaths.”
The Fire Lord smiled sympathetically and took his girlfriend’s hand, pulling her up to stand next to him. “Appa’s safe. I’ve been flying on him for months. I promise you’ll be fine.”
Mai cracked a small grin as her boyfriend squeezed her shoulders reassuringly. “Fine. But if anything happens, I’ll make you pay.”
Zuko chuckled. “Trust me, I know.” They walked back to find Appa loaded and everyone sitting in their seats ready to go. Just as Zuko began helping Mai climb the enormous animal, he noticed Iroh enter the courtyard. He lowered her back down. “Um, sorry. I’ll be right back. I just want to say goodbye to Uncle.”
Mai grinned. “It’s alright. I’ll manage.” Zuko ran across the courtyard to Iroh, and Mai turned around to stare at the vast, hairy creature. “How do you get on this thing?” she muttered to herself.
“It can be difficult at first.” Mai looked up and saw Katara reaching down to her. “Here, I’ll help you up.” She gripped the Waterbender’s hand and tried to scramble up the Air Bison’s back as gracefully as possible. After finally managing to fall into the saddle, she heaved a deep sigh of relief and faced Katara. “Thank you.”
Katara’s eyes widened. “Oh… no problem.” She smiled slightly at the tall girl in front of her. “You did help save my dad from that prison, so I guess it’s the least I could do.”
Mai smiled back.
*******
“Uncle!” Zuko panted as he reached the old man on the opposite side of the yard. “What did you get from the tea shop that was so important?”
Iroh smiled mysteriously and held out his hand. “This.”
Zuko stared at the small chip in his Uncle’s outstretched palm. “A White Lotus Pai Sho tile? But don’t we already know the White Lotus members?”
Iroh nodded. “Yes, but not all of them. You will be travelling many places in the world, and if you get in trouble it is important to find friends who will be able to help you.”
“Thank you, Uncle.” Zuko gently picked up the Pai Sho tile. “For this, and for always taking care of me.” He wrapped his arms tightly around the old man. “Thank you.”
Iroh patted his nephew on the back. “Thank you, Zuko, for becoming the man that I always knew you could be.”
The Fire Lord pulled back and smiled down at his uncle, his eyes beginning to glisten. “I’ll see you in one month.”
“Come on, Sizzle Sticks!” Toph shouted from her perch on Appa’s head. “We gotta get a move on!”
Iroh smiled. “Goodbye, Nephew.”
“Goodbye, Uncle.”
Zuko ran back to the Air Bison and climbed into the saddle next to his friends. At Aang’s command, Appa rose into the early morning sky, and they set off for the Fire Nation Capital.