Daughter of the Moon - Book Three: Fire

Chapter 21.2: Home

- Elara -

The gentle crunch of dried pine needles and shrubbery accompanied Zuko and I as we hiked through the Northern Mountains, following a small trail used by animals in hopes that it would lead us to the Moon Warrior village. We had abandoned Appa less than a mile behind us (finding a nice little watering hole to keep him entertained and appropriately hidden as we continued without him), opting to travel on foot as we approached our final destination. At least, that was the hope.

It didn't take too long for Appa to bring us to the Northern Mountains, but once we had neared the Northern Air Temple, we had hit a wall—metaphorically speaking, of course. I had no idea where we were supposed to find my village, and it quickly became apparent that Appa wouldn't be much help in that matter. My people had remained hidden for thousands of years, so it only seemed sensible that we had figured out how to hide ourselves both on the land and on the air. I wished for a moment that we had brought Toph with us so we could take advantage of her seismic sense, but just the thought made me flinch. Toph's reckless energy probably didn't belong on a Moon Warrior burial ground.

Instead, we had no other choice but to trudge on, moving quickly as I began to feel the pressure of time. The full moon would be rising tonight, and I didn't know how many dead ends we could afford before it was too late.

"Elara," I heard Zuko speak up as he effortlessly followed behind me; a stark contrast when compared to my growing fatigue. "Where are we going?"

I hadn't bothered to tell him where we were going, even after days of travel. Actually, I hadn't told him anything whatsoever. Fortunately, Zuko had remained true to his word and kept himself silent nearly the entire time we had been traveling, so much so that if he had been anyone else, I would have forgotten that he had come with me all together. I couldn't do that, though. I didn't know how.

Zuko had only broken his declaration of silence a few times, and it was irritating how difficult it was to be mad at him every time he opened his mouth. At first, he had insisted that he needed to take the reins so that I could have a moment to rest, but his argument didn't last long after I had reminded him that he didn't know where we were going.

"Elara," Zuko spoke up once again, his patience surely running thin after having been practically ignored for days on end.

I seriously considered staying silent—not because I was completely out of breath, but because I knew it would irritate Zuko—but I knew deep down that if I didn't say something soon, Zuko would keep asking questions. And the spirits knew that being forced to hear him ramble was the worst punishment of all.

"You'll find out when we get there," I answered coldly, half expecting him to lash out in frustration. However, I was surprised to find that throwing a fit on his behalf was the least of Zuko's worries. Instead, I almost barreled right into him as he somehow managed to work his way ahead of me on the trail, rooting himself in place as he turned to face me.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I glared at a nearby tree; doing everything in my power to avoid the strange, fluttering feeling I got every time I looked at him.

"Elara, we've been hiking for hours," Zuko pointed out calmly, explicitly skirting around the fact that I was so weak that I could barely even move. "We should turn back and find Appa before the sun sets."

"No. I can't," I answered instinctively, by body going rigid at the idea of giving up when we were so close—at least, I thought we might have been close. I still had no idea where we were.

His eyes narrowed as I continued to shake my head, and he let out a gentle sigh through gritted teeth. "You're exhausted," he pointed out, although it seemed as if he didn't want to. "We need to turn around before you push yourself too far."