Water Lily in a Sea of Fire

Chapter 58: A Break from Training

While Aang continued training with his teachers, Sokka and Chiara would spend some days hunting with Katara and Toph who would take turns joining them when they were not with Aang.

After a week of training with Zuko, Aang took a day off from firebending by working on earthbending with Toph. Zuko chose to spend his time with Chiara and they went out hunting together. They had walked through the woods for hours, and finding nothing worth catching, they decided to head to the river to take a break. Approaching the bank, Chiara put her hand out stopping him, and she pointed towards the river. His eyes grew wide.

"Muskrat deer," he whispered, pulling out an arrow.

"Wait 'til it's on shore."

He nodded as he took aim. As soon as the creature reached the bank, he let the arrow fly.

"He's really big," she said as they walked over to their future dinner. "I'll be able to make jerky."

"There won't be enough with Sokka's appetite." He pulled out his knife to start gutting it.

"Be careful of the scent glands," she warned as she watched him work.

He stopped and looked at her. "Where are they?"

She knelt down beside him, and after pulling out her knife, she skinned part of the lower section revealing two glands that she carefully removed.

"How did you know about them?" he asked her.

"Ozen showed me."

He could hear the sadness in her voice and knew she was wondering if his crew survived the Siege. It was a thought that had gone through his own mind more often than he would admit.

He finished removing the organs, and then he carried it back to the air temple.

"That looks delicious!" exclaimed Sokka whose wide eyes were fixed on the carcass Zuko was laying down near the fire pit. "All those times we were wondering where we were going to find food, and you guys were eating like kings."

Zuko had flashbacks of near-starvation in the Earth Kingdom. He pulled out his knife. "Can I gut him too?" he said to Chiara.

"Not yet," she giggled.

He started skinning the muskrat deer while Chiara used sticks and twine to build a stand to dry some of the meat.

"Whoa!" yelled The Duke excitedly as he ran up to them. "What are you going to do with the antlers?"

"Give them to you if you want them," said Zuko.

"Great! I can make knives out of them."

When Chiara finished making the stand, Zuko cut strips of meat for her which she salted before placing them on the stand to dry.

"Are you making jerky?" asked Sokka.

"Yes," she answered.

"Have you ever made blubbered seal jerky?"

"No, but I've had some at the North Pole," she said. "My cousin's wife made it."

"Don't leave any of this lying around," he said leaning in close to her. "If Aang sees it, he'll use it as kindling."

She wondered why Aang would use jerky for kindling and if it might have something to do with him being a vegetarian. "I bet it smelled good."

"It did," sighed Sokka.

Soon the muskrat deer was roasting over a fire ironically filling the air temple, once full of vegetarians, with the aroma of cooking meat.

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