silver soul | avatar, the last air bender

chapter thirteen

When Naia and Sokka finally gained feeling in their limbs again, they rode with Katara on Appa in search of Aang. Naia found herself touching her arms every two seconds to make sure she still felt them. It was quite scary to not have control over her own body.

"Where could he possibly be?" Katara grumbled, steering Appa to fly lower to the ground so they could see.

"There! Look," Naia said. She pointed at a small abandoned town, noticing the blasts of blue and orange fire. Appa landed near the outskirts and the three of them jumped off and searched for Aang. Katara and Naia saw him trapped under a pile of wood. Katara used water bending to slice through the wood, and Aang grabbed his now free hand.

"Katara! Princess Naia!" He exclaimed.

Before Naia could even smile, she felt the warmth of blue fire by her right ear. She quickly dodged it and turned around, seeing the girl who could lightning bend. To stall her, Naia opened her water skin and froze her hand in ice. Naia bolted out of the door, narrowly missing another blast of fire. When she whipped around, Sokka came into her view and shielded her from the girl, using his boomerang to swing at her. The girl recoiled and backed away once Katara and Aang joined them as well. The four of them cornered her, hands raised and ready to fight. Suddenly, the earth moved beneath her and she fell on the ground.

"I thought you guys could use a little help," A voice said. It was Toph. Naia smiled, relieved that Toph found them.

The fire bender tried making an escape, but she ran into something. Or rather, someone. Naia squinted her eyes and realized it was General Iroh. Her stomach clenched. The last time she saw him was when Yue died. Behind him was Prince Zuko. Except this time, his hair was short. Naia didn't know how to feel. She almost felt paralyzed, the feelings she felt when Yue died all rushing back to her.

"Well, look at this," The girl said while looking at all of them. "Enemies and traitors all working together. I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A Princess surrenders with honor," She said while raising her hands in defeat.

She moved her eyes from side to side. Before any of them could react, she sent a blast of fire towards Iroh, who yelped and fell to the ground. The girl suddenly made an explosion, which made Naia turn her face to avoid the blast. The nearby wooden buildings caught on fire. Naia turned her head back and was ready to strike, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Zuko was crouched over Iroh. He had tears forming in his eyes. As the group inched closer to him, he sent a blast of fire towards them. All of them jumped backwards. "Leave!" He shouted.

Appa landed right by the group, and they all piled on top of him and flew away. After picking up their things that they left in the woods, night had fallen. Most of the group had fallen asleep from exhaustion, but Naia was still awake.

As exhausted as she was, Naia still couldn't lull herself to sleep as easily as the rest of the group. She sat with her back propped up against the back of the saddle. They all looked so peaceful, with Aang asleep using Momo as a pillow, Toph sleeping on her side, and Katara and Sokka curled up by each other. They must have been absolutely exhausted, because they all fell asleep with no blankets or pillows. Naia took the one blanket she had and draped it over the four of them. She decided she would keep watch for a little while, at least until Appa landed again. Naia toyed with her necklace again and stared at the moon.

Part of Naia felt guilty. She wished Yue were still alive and she could experience the same things she was. It didn't seem fair that Yue had to die so early on in her life, while Naia was able to roam freely. Yue didn't get to live a long and full life like Naia can. Perhaps that what made her feel the most guilty. Not being able to simply talk to Yue anymore was something she couldn't quite grasp. It was like a piece of Naia was gone, and nothing could ever fill it again. Like losing a tooth, trying to get used to the feeling of it's absence.