- Third POV -
Zuko and Iroh are preparing to depart from Song's house. They stand outside, dozens of fireflies in the air.
"Thank you for the duck. It was excellent" Says Iroh gratefully.
"You're welcome. It brings me pleasure to see someone eat my cooking with such...gusto" Replies Song's mother.
"Much practice" Grins Iroh as he pats his stomach while Zuko turns around to leave.
"Junior, where are your manners? You need to thank these nice people" Scolds Iroh as Zuko turns around and sighs.
"Thank you" Says Zuko as he bows.
"I know you don't think there's any hope left in the world, but there is hope. The Avatar has returned! And I've heard that he's got the princess of the Northern Water Tribe by his side" Gushes Song.
"I know" Replies Zuko bitterly as he leaves, but stops as he comes across an ostrich horse. Quietly, he walks over to the animal, unfastens it from its post and leads it away. He mounts the animal.
"What are you doing? These people just showed you great kindness!" Exclaims Iroh.
"They're about to show us a little more kindness. Well?" Replies Zuko as Iroh mounts the ostrich disappointed. The two ride away, leaving Song upset. She quietly closes the door to her house.
❀❀❀
"So, you spoke to Avatar Roku before you found us?" Asks Katara amazed.
"Yeah! It would've been nice if he had given me a bit more information about Aang's whereabouts though" Admits Mizuki.
"I can imagine- also! How did you survive traveling alone for two whole years?" Asks Katara.
"Well, I used my healing abilities a lot" Replies Mizuki as she looks at the torch Katara is holding.
"We're going to run out of light any second now, aren't we?" Points out Mizuki.
"I think so...but, what are we going to do?" Mutters Katara.
"What can we do? Besides trusting love, of course" Chuckles Mizuki.
"Hold my hand, that way we won't lose each other in the dark" Says Mizuki as she reaches out to Katara, who grabs her hand. Katara looks at Mizuki and smiles warmly at her as the torch's light fades. Suddenly, the ceiling of the cave lights up revealing thousands of glowing crystals gleaming overhead.
❀❀❀
Meanwhile, Sokka, Aang, and the band of nomads are journeying through the cave when they hear low growls. Several wolfbats race towards them as Sokka waves his hands frantically in an attempt to scare them off. The creatures fly straight past him.
"Hey! You saved us, Sokka!" Beams Chong.
"No, they were trying to get away from something!" Exclaims Sokka.
"From what?" Asks Aang as the cave rumbles. Without warning, two giant badgermoles burst through the caves, causing the group to panic. One badgermole closes its hands together in a prayerful manner, closing off a tunnel behind it with earthbending. The other badgermole pounds the ground with its paws and raises a wall of earth, blocking off the exits. After doing so, the badgermole is seen using earthbending to create a split in the earth between the nomads and Sokka and Aang. Sokka tries to avoid the badgermole's swipes. He is blown back several feet and starts hastily backing away, his fingers hitting a string on the lute in the process, producing a musical note. Upon hearing this, the badgermole turns around its head curiously. The creatures quiet down as he picks up the lute and begins playing a tune.
"Hey, those things are music lovers!" Points out Chong.
"Badgermoles coming toward me. Come on guys, help me out~!" Sings Sokka nervously.
"The big, bad badgermoles who earthbend the tunnels, hate the wolfbats, but love the sounds~!" Sings Chong.
❀❀❀
Mizuki and Katara are standing underneath the ceiling of glowing crystals while holding hands.
"They're made of some kind of crystal. They must only light up in the dark" Points out Mizuki.
"That's how the two lovers found each other. They just put out their lights and followed the crystals. That must be the way out!" Exclaims Katara as she points at the ceiling before hugging Mizuki.
"Let's go" Grins Mizuki as she begins to run towards the exit, pulling Katara along with her. Appa, who had been taking a nap the whole time, woke up and followed the duo. They make their way out of the cave and into the outdoors. Appa bounds out of the tunnel and flops onto his back, tongue lolling out in content.
"Wait, where are the others?" Says Mizuki as she looks around. The two seem a bit concerned at first, until a rumbling is heard. Suddenly, Sokka, Aang, and the band of nomads emerge from the cave, riding atop badgermoles. Team Avatar and the traveling nomads quickly shield themselves from the rubble. After doing so, Sokka dismounts the badgermole and approaches Katara and Mizuki.
"How did you guys get out?" Asks Sokka surprised.
"Just like the legend said, we let love lead the way" Smiles Katara as she glances at Mizuki, who smiles back.
"Really? We let huge, ferocious beasts lead our way!" Exclaims Aang as he turns around to face the badgermoles and waves to them as they slowly plod their way into the cave again. Meanwhile, Momo is seemingly communicating with Appa, telling him of his journey through the caves. Appa roars in response to the lemur. Katara hugs her brother relieved.
"Why is your forehead all red?" Asks Katara as she lets go of her brother.
"Nobody react to what I'm about to tell you: I think that kid might be the Avatar!" Whispers Chong to Sokka, Katara and Mizuki. Upon hearing this, Sokka smacks his forehead, enlarging the red spot while Chong looks at him in curiosity. Meanwhile, Aang confronts the other nomads.
"So are you guys going to come to Omashu with us?" Asks Aang.
"Nope" Replies Moku.
"Okay. Thanks for everything, Moku" Thanks Aang while Chong approaches Sokka and places a necklace of flowers around his neck.
"Sokka, I hope you learned a little something about not letting the plans get in the way of the journey" Says Chong while putting his arm around Sokka, who's visibly annoyed.
"Just play your songs" Sighs Sokka while Mizuki chuckles.
"Hey! Good plan!" Exclaims Moku.
"Even if you're lost, you can't lose the love because it's in your heart. Da, da, da~!" Sings Chong as he begins playing his lute.
"Take care!" Shouts Mizuki as she watches the group of nomads leaving.
❀❀❀
Team Avatar is heading up the mountainside to Omashu. The teenagers were really looking forward to visiting the city once again, and king Bumi.
"The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about; the destination. I present to you the Earth Kingdom city of O-" Sokka stops talking the moment he sees the city.
"Oh no" Mutters Aang horrified. Team Avatar had just discovered that Omashu had been taken over and colonized by the Fire Nation. In front of the entrance there's a huge red Fire Nation flag.
To be continued
Word count: 1.144
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The dualbender (atla) book 2
FantasyWarning: If you haven't read book 1 yet, please go read that one first. I mean, I won't stop you, but do yourself a favor and go read book 1 before reading this one. "you will suffer under the crushing weight of the loved ones you have lost. But don...
