A Moment, Please.

Chapter 18

"Come on Maya, relax. Look even Toph is having fun."

I looked pass Katara, to Toph were she was making a face with the mud on her face. It was actually really funny.  We had gone out on a little ‘spa day’, and despite the atmosphere and te music and what not- I couldn’t stay relaxed. Something would take my min from App and I would relax for a few seconds, but the peace never lasted.  It’s hard to relax when it’s your fault in the first place that we were in the City looking for Appa.

With a shake of my head, I leaned back, and closed my eyes. Focusing on my breathing, I did my best to clear my head.

Come on, RELAX!

I relaxed, and as if I was being lifted from my body- the spa melted away. I was left looking to something white in the distance. It was…Appa, I saw Appa. I would know that big white fur ball anywhere.

Oh Appa, I'm sorry. I know you can't hear me, but I swear I will find you!

Rushing forward, I saw he was locked away in a cage. He tried his best to fight, to get out, but the man standing near him fire bended a gush of fire dangerously close to him. He was in the middle of a ring, wearing some dumb outfit.

“OH APPA!”

Grabbing at his fur, all I wanted in that moment was to find him, protect him and beat the living day lights out of the fire bender.

“I will find you, and hunt that man down.  He’ll get pumbled into a plup! I swear!”

With a blink of my eyes, we were no longer in the circus ring. I looked to Appa as he dried out to me. He was  laying in the middle of a forest clearing. His fur was dirty, and he was in some sort of pain. He cried out again, and my heart broke.

“Appa! Appa! Where do you hurt? Oh- how I wish I could heal you!”

I met Appa in the eye, and suddenly found myself being pulling into the darkness of his iris. With a small shutter, my eye popped open. Sitting up, the cucumbers slices on my eye slipped to my cheeks- sticking to the mud smothered across my face.

"I can't! I can’t just sit and get pampered while Appa is trapped somewhere in the city! I won’t rest until I find him."

Standing, I got up and grab my towel. I was going to find him, no matter what. I started to wipe the mud from my face; flinging it from the towel.

"Amaya, wait."

Katara reached out to me, grabbing my shoulder. I shook her off, as I started to wipe my body clean.

"You need to relax, it's not good for you to be like this."

Dropping my towel to the ground, I looked up at her as I stuffed my feet into my shoes.

"Tell me that when you have the guilt of losing Appa; Aang's pet! I can't stay here another second! Not while Appa is out there, in pain, hurting. He needed me once, and I couldn't save him. I will not allow history to repeat itself." 

~~~

Biting my lip, I was on top guard as I made my way through the allies, and shadows. I did my best to avoid any of the guards, any of whom could be a part of that horrid Dai Li. It was quite hard, being the upper ring was so… well… nice. It was too nice. There was no way that Appa was there. The thought didn’t stop me from trying to find him. After no luck in the upper ring, I slipped down into the lower ring, where I hoped to have better luck. It was easy getting over the wall, all I did was use some fancy air bending and BAM, I was there! After landed, it then donned on me what I was wearing. Suddenly, I feared I would stick out. I was still donning upper ring clothes and that was a dead giveaway of ‘hey look at me- I’m not form here!’