Avatar: The Last Airbender: Double Trouble

Chapter 9

I watch Aang pace back on forth on Appa's saddle. I gnaw on my lip as I watch him. I'm just as worried as he is, but I'm way better at hiding it. 

   "Would you sit down?!" Sokka snaps. "If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off! What's bugging you anyway?" I roll my eyes at him.

   "It's what Avatar Roku said. We're supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives."

   "Well, lets see. You pretty much mastered airbending and it only took you a hundred and twelve years. I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer." 

   "I haven't even started waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole. What are we gonna do?!" I stand and am about to jump over to calm him down, but Katara beats me to it. She grabs his wrist and pulls him down to sit with her. 

   "Calm down. It's gonna be okay. If you want, I can try and teach you some of the stuff I know. And Ling knows a little, too, right? From her time at the North Pole." She glances at me and I nod. 

   "You'd do that?" Aang asks. 

   "She'd be a crappy friend if she didn't, to be honest," I say. "Not to mention a crappy person." They both glare at me and I hold my hands up. "Just saying." They turn back to their conversation. 

   "We'll need to find a good source of water first," Katara says. She and Aang peer over Appa's saddle to the terrain below us.

   "Maybe we can find a puddle for you to splash in," Sokka remarks. I roll my eyes. 

I close my eyes and listen to the sound of the water fall beating down onto the river underneath it. It's actually really relaxing. 

   "Nice puddle," Sokka says and I snort. Katara and Aang are staring at the sight and are obviously overjoyed by it. Appa lands in the water with a growl of satisfaction. Olla calmly walks in and they play a little. 

   "Yeah!" I glance at Aang to see he's stripped down to his underwear. I make a face and look away. When we were younger, it didn't matter so much, but I really don't want to see my brother in so little clothing anymore. "Don't start without me, boy!" he calls to Appa, who's just pushed a very disgruntled Olla under the water. 

   "Remember the reason we're here," Katara says just as Aang goes to jump in the water. 

   "Oh, right," Aang says. "Time to practice waterbending."He pulls his clothes back on and I relax. 

   "Great. So, what am I supposed to do?" Sokka asks. 

   "You can clean the gunk out of Appa and Olla's toes," Aang suggest picking up a small branch with a bit of vegetation on the end. Hearing this, both Appa and Olla turn over on their backs and wiggle their feet in anticipation. They love when they get a spa day. 

Sokka crosses his arms. "So, while you guys are playing in the water, I'm supposed to be hard at work picking mud out of giant bisons' feet?" he asks. 

   "Mud and bugs," Aang agrees, smiling. 

   "Okay," Sokka says, taking the branch from Aang. He walks off to start cleaning their toes. 

   "Come on," Katara says. "I can start first." We move to the edge of the water and Aang and I sit down as she explains. "This is a pretty basic move, but it still took me months to perfect. So, don't get frustrated if you don't get it right away." We nod. "Just push and pull the water like this" She pushes her arms and pulls them back to her over and over and the water makes small waves. "The key is getting the wrist movement right." We stand and start copying her.