Open Your Mind

Chapter Twenty-Three

"You guys are gonna be done soon, right?" Sokka muttered as he floated on a large leaf past where Katara and Aang were practicing Waterbending with Momo on his stomach, "We have a lot of ground to cover if we're going to make it to Omashu today."

"What?" Katara asked sarcastically as she straightened from her fighting stance and turned slightly to look at her brother, her hands on her hips, "Like you're ready to go right now, naked guy?"

Xiaodan giggled from her sprawled out position on Appa's stomach, who was floating on his back in the river and she rolled onto her stomach to peer at her three friends.

"I could be ready in two minutes." Sokka retorted as he pushed the hair covering his eyes out of the way, "Seriously, whenever."

Katara rolled her eyes and turned back to Aang when the younger Airbender spoke.

"So, you were showing me the octopus form?"

"Right," Katara replied as she turned fully to face Aang, "Let me see your stance."

Aang assumed a defensive stance, his arms raised and his legs slightly apart. Katara considered his stance carefully then she walked over to him.

"Your arms are too far apart." The dark-haired girl stated as she ducked under Aang's right arm so she was behind him then she positioned his arms closer together, "See, if you move them closer together, you protect your center. You got it?"

"Oh, yeah..." Aang replied with cheesy grin as he blushed brightly, "Thanks."

Xiaodan giggled quietly behind her hand as she watched Aang bright red blush begin to die down as Katara walked a few feet away. The white-haired girl folded her arms on Appa's stomach then rested her chin on them, kicking her feet idly as she watched Katara and Aang practice.

"Okay, let's see what you got." Katara said as she turned back to face Aang and took a fighting stance.

Aang took a deep breath and began bending the water around him, creating a sphere of water which he transformed into eight whip-like tentacles around him. Katara smirked and started sending ice shards at Aang, who fended off the ice spikes by maneuvering the water tentacles around him. Katara took a few steps forward as she continued to throw ice shards at Aang, who continued to deflect them with the water tentacles. Suddenly, Aang lashed out with one of the tentacles and wrapped around it around the dark-haired girl's leg, gripping it firmly.

Katara looked at the tentacle in surprise and grinned proudly at Aang as Xiaodan applauded from Appa's stomach.

"You make a fine octopus, Pupil Aang." Katara said then laughed when Aang started dancing around playfully inside a large sphere of water shaped like an actual octopus.

Xiaodan chuckled lowly then cocked her head to the side when she heard what sounded like someone playing a pipa and singing. The white-haired girl tilted her head to the other side then stood up and dove into the water, swimming over to where Sokka had sat up on the large leaf he was sitting on.

"Da, da, da. Don't fall in love with the traveling girl. She'll leave you broke and brokenhearted." A man sang as he and several other people playing instruments, singing, or dancing approached the water.

Xiaodan blinked and glanced at Sokka out of the corner of her eye, a smirk appearing on her tan and tattooed face then she flipped the leave over, causing Sokka to fall into the water with a surprised yelp while Momo jumped into the air and hovered there.

The singing man stopped singing and pointed at the group with a grin, "Hey, river people!"

"We're not river people." Katara said as she spread her arms out slightly, giving the strange group of people a strange look.