Dragon At Heart

Chapter 12

12. New Perspectives

"Oh no! It's a dead end! Now what do we do?" Sokka turned to look at Aang and Katara, "we have to think of something and fast before the bloodthirsty pirates catch up!"

"Oh man, if only I still had my glider I could try to fly us out of here", Aang looked at the fans in his hands with disappointment, "that won't happen with these things."

"It's not your fault", Katara consoled the young monk,"and you wouldn't probably have been able to carry the three of us anyway."

"Arr!" a ferocious sound echoed from behind a corner.

"Here they come", Sokka gulped but took his fighting stance nonetheless.

No matter what Katara says, it is sort of my fault, Aang thought. I'm the Avatar. If I can't even save my friends, how can I save the world?

"Catch those thieving otter-snakes!" A pirate yelled. He and his numerous companions began advancing on the children.

Aang didn't want to hurt anyone, but he had to protect his friends. He wasn't yet a fully realized Avatar, but he was an airbending prodigy.

Sokka used his boomerang to take out two guys. Katara used the water in her water skin to create a slippery floor, which took down a few more pirates. Aang blew the rest out of their way with his fans and shouted to his friends: "We have to go back this way. Follow me."

As Team Avatar was almost past their enemies and out of the dead end, one of the pirates took out a handful of smoke bombs. The thick smoke made it hard for Aang to see where he was going. He could only hope the pirates were just as confused.

"Sokka! Katara!" Aang called out.

"I'm... somewhere!" Sokka called back, and added, "Let's split up and rendezvous where we left Appa!"

"What about the watch tower?" Katara asked. "It's much closer."

"Sure, but I'm willing to bet my boomerang the pirates just heard that, too."

Aang looked around in the smoke, still not seeing much. Sokka was right. "Okay, we'll meet up at Appa."

Aang decided the best way he could help his friends was by attracting as much attention as possible on him.

The Air Nomad did a swirling airbending kata to clear off smoke around himself, revealing his location to everyone near-by. As Aang had hoped that caused most of the pirates to follow him as he took them out on another wild chase around the town.

ooo

Sokka had his arms stretched in front of him as he stumbled forward. He'd just gotten through most of the smoke and could now see a few meters ahead of him.

Making the most of his newly gained sight, Sokka started running.

He got to an end of a street, but his sense of direction was still not working properly, so he wasn't sure which street he was on. Sokka ran behind a corner and realized he was heading back towards the docks.

Well that's not where I want to go.

Sokka turned around to leave but before he had time know what hit him, the world went black.

ooo

Iroh was heading back to the town after having spent the entire afternoon searching the village and the near-by moors for Zuko. What Iroh had found on the grassy hills raised more questions than it answered.

A major spiritual happening had taken place not far from the village, of this Iroh was sure.

His trip to the Spirit World six years ago had opened his eyes, and other senses, to be far keener on spiritual happenings than what most people's senses were.