Stratus | Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Chapter Nine | The Avatar

Sand blew harshly, battering a solemn white mask, as the wearer soldiered on in silence. Heat-scorched and wind-lashed, Kumo was beginning to feel her patience wear thin. She didn't do well with the heat, after all, with her genetics and parents, she was far from home. The sand stuck in very crevice and scratched her bare calfs, unlike snow which would softly numb her skin before melting.

Kumo glanced up, eyes squinted as even the hood she wore could not shade all of the sun's bitter rays. A town, far in the distance, broke the horizon with it's deep yellow walls. Leaping, she dropped into a crouch, sliding down a particularly large sand dune before coming to halt just in front of the gates to whatever it was she had found. There was what looked like a sign shattered upon the ground, as it was so dry it had shattered into tiny splinters among impact. It looked run down and dirty, but the promise of food and water drove her into the sandy camp. She paused briefly to glance at the hunk of ice in the middle of the camp, ignoring the dog napping beside it, before carrying on into a rounded building. Pushing the green cloth aside, she stepped in, relishing in the cool breeze the tiny bar offered.

Twitching, she eyed a familiar air nomad in the corner of the bar, along with his friends.

"Why can I not get away from these people?" Kumo hissed lowly, carefully making her way to the bar, ordering herself a drink before moving towards an empty table. She set down her drink with a thud, startling the blind earth-bender who was leaning back in her chair. Toph froze, pushing her feet flat against the ground, feeling the vibrations around her before she could finally feel a careful foot and almost soundless movements once again. Ignoring her group, and their surprise at her movement, she got up and walked over, tracking the subtle movements within the earth.

"You." Kumo twitched, turning her masked face towards the younger girl, tilting her head. Toph paused, frowning in thought. "I know you, the way you move."

There was a tense silence.

"And?" Kumo's voice was soft and quiet, she didn't need the others hearing.

"Toph-" Both the two winced at Katara's loud voice, and both the two noticed it. Slowly, a small broke out on Toph's face

"Why don't you come with us?" Kumo glanced down onto her lap before glancing back up towards Toph.

"Ah! I recognise that mask!" Zei exclaimed, pointing a tanned finger towards Kumo, a grin lighting his face. "You! You've been into the desert, this woman saved me earlier from some buzzard wasps in the desert. I agree with the earth bender, it would be better to have someone who also knew the desert."

"I don't think so, should we really trust someone who wears a mask?" Sokka scowled, wandering over to Toph before stopping right in front of Kumo, peering at her. "It's a creepy mask as well!"

"Well, it would be better to have another person who more or less knew, then there would be more chance of finding this library." Aang pointed out, placing a finger on his chin as he thought. Kumo twitched. The library was something she too was in search of, and if she was right in thinking what she desired was there, then joining up with the avatar seemed the best way to do it. "We haven't even asked....? Uh, what's your name again?"

"Yun, I'm searching for the library anyway." Kumo spoke, lowering her voice and giving herself an accent she'd heard in Ba Sing Se.

"I see, well, theres no harm in letting her come along." Katara shrugged, smiling at the masked girl, who seethed inside at Katara's kindness.

"Ah, but I've made many trips into the desert, I almost died every time." The professor sighed wearily. Toph's eyes flickered back to Kumo, noting her change in accent, and even though she knew the girl was connected with Zuko, she couldn't help but like her. "There's no way to cross."

"Professor, would you like to see our sky bison?" The professor's eyes lit up as Sokka spoke.

"A sky bison?" He gasped, stepping forward slightly out of excitement. "You actually have one!"

Sokka nodded, and together the group began to pack up their stuff before leaving camp. Kumo followed silently, noting how Toph hung back with her.

-

Kumo sat with her legs folded neatly on top of Appa, dodging all of Katara's attempts of conversation.

"So, are you a bender, Yun?" Shaking her head, Kumo glanced off towards the sand down below them. Katara blinked, tilting her head in confusion. "Then how did you save Professor Zei?"

"She was like a animal, she just leapt off one of the dunes when I was surrounded by these buzzard wasps and tore them to shreds with a knife." Zei visibly shivered when he mentioned the last part but stayed in awestruck at Kumo. Katara nodded, turning to the masked girl in surprise.

"So, you must be very strong?" Kumo nodded.

"And silent, I can barely feel you move." Toph stated, sighing in frustration as she glanced down at the sand below her. Sokka continued to look out of his telescope, but Katara frowned. "Ugh, does this place even exist?"

"Some say it doesn't." Toph groaned again.

"Shouldn't you have mentioned it before?" She snapped, falling onto her back as she sulked.

"It does." Kumo grunted deeply, resting her chin on her palm. Katara narrowed her eyes, feeling suspicion build up inside her. This 'Yun' was an odd character who rarely spoke and wasn't a bender, yet seemed to be like a warrior that moved stealthily. Not to mention the fact that she wasn't wearing clothes from any provenience.

"And how would you know, 'Yun'?" Katara questioned harshly, drawing the attention of Sokka and Aang. Kumo glanced up, feeling the urge to murder Katara increase ten fold. They'd had a rough history, unfortunately for both Kumo and Katara, even though she didn't know it was Kumo, those wounds still hadn't healed.

"Because the spirits never lie." Her gravelly voice struck something in Aang, and the group fell into silence.

"And what would you know about the spirits?" The water tribe girl scowled, folding her arms. "I think you should show us your face, Yun, before we go any further together."

Aang couldn't place his finger on what the odd feeling he was feeling, the girl talked of spirits and the spirit world, and yet, he should've been the only one to make contact with spirits as he was the avatar.

"I'm just here to offer protection, my only business is with Wan Shi Tong." Kumo stated, leaning back and staring back down at the sand. A silence enveloped the group once more.

-

(*Okay, if you don't remember, Toph and Kumo had a little bonding moment like a few chapters ago, Toph remembers the way she's hard to sense and how she moves. Toph kinda took a shine to her in that chapter, and their personalities sorta gel well so I was like 'woah, potential for a deep meaningful friendship')

(And the picture above is a really rough sketch of Kumo's outfit like it took five minutes so)