The Flames of the past (Avatar: Zuko love story)

Chapter 11: Hei Bai

"It looks so cool isn't it" Katara asked the rest as she stared down to the clouds, "like you could just jump down and you'd land in a big, soft cottony heap." Sokka looked up from his noodles and a little noodle hung out of his mouth and stuck to his cheek when he said: "go and try."
"You're hilarious." Katara replied annoyed. "I'll try it!" Aang said and he took a big jump with his staff and went through the clouds and disappeared. He rose up from the back, into the saddle. "Turns out clouds are made of water." He said. Mia removed the water from him and put it fiercely in a bottle.

"What is it?" Katara asked. "Yesterday at the ship I lost my mother's necklace. I found it in Ba Sing Se, at my old house. It seemed there was an inscription in it, with my name." Mia said angrily. "That's terrible to lose something like that..." Katara said and touched her own necklace.
"It's not that, but my name is written in it." Mia replied, less angry.
"So?" Sokka asked.
"Sokka, my full name." Mia repeated.
He shrugged and Mia sighed. "My name is Mia Li Feng. If the Fire Nation finds out that I am still alive, me and my family will be murdered."
"Why?" Sokka asked.

"My mother wanted to help Ozai, for she was an amazing fire bender. She eventually choose the side of the other nations. She succeeded to blow off an attack. Then she fled away. And Zuko told Ozai about my bending skills, but there was said a few weeks after I was dead. Iroh took care of that fact. If they got that necklace on the ship, they know. Some might have seen me bend earth and water!"
Sokka nodded. "Ouch." He mumbled.

Mia frowned and looked to the other way. "What is that?" She asked and she looked to a kind of valley, with a sort of scar.
"Looks like a scar." Katara said.
"Let's check it out."Aang said and he took the reins and let Appa to the 'scar'.

It seemed that the scar was actally a line of dead trees. Burned and chopped trees. The ground was ashy and muddy and there was not a single bird that sang a song. "Listen," Sokka started, "it is all so quiet. There's no life here."
Aang was walking around, with a worried face. "Aang, are you okay?" Mia asked him.

"Fire Nation!" Sokka yelled when he looked to some foot prints, "thos evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for-" and on that moment Mia gave him a push that he fell with his flat face in the mud. "Shhh!" She hists at him. "What? I'm not allowed to be an gry, I don't mean you!" Sokka yelled.

Aang sacked down on his knees and sighed. "Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?" He asked.
"It's not your fault." Mia replied.
"I wish I could have someone to help, someone who can help me to be an Avatar."
"How?" Sokka asked. "He must go to the spirit world, of course. To Avatar Roku, he can help." Mia said.
"How will he do that?" Katara asked. Mia shrugged. "I don't know, but there is a way."

~

"Hey Aang!" Mia said when she cameback from a walk. "Ready to be cheered up?" She asked. "How can I be cheered-" and at that moment he got an acorn against his head.
"How does that cheer me up?!"
"these acorns are everywhere, it means the forest grows back. Fire is not only destruction, it is life." Mia said with a smile.
A smile appeared on Aang's face. "Thanks Mia." He said with a smile. "Who are you?" Katara asked and Mia looked behind her. An old man approached. He had a long beard and hollow eyes, but a tanned skin. He wore green clothes. "My beard... Are you the Avatar?" He asked amazed. Aang looked over to Mia, Katara and Sokka, who nodded.

"I am." Aang replied to the man. "Oh, good gracious! W eneed your help, come to my village I will offer you some food." The man said and he walked away. The four did not know anything else to do and followed the man. Aoi jumped on Mia's shoulder, and she scratched him under his little chin. When they entered the village, lots of houses were broken. "The Fire Nation was here too..." Mia started, but the man interrupted her, "no child, not the fire nation. A spirit named Hei Bai, a black and white spirit."

"So.. what do you want me to do?"Aang asked confused.
"You are the bridge between our world and the spirit world, so you can stop him."
"Bridge guy, can I talk to you for a second?" Mia asked when she leaned against the wall. "You seem pretty unsure, you think you can handle it?" Mia asked. 'I am going to try to help them, that's all I can do." He replied while he shrugged.
"I think you can do it Aang." Katara said.
"Me too." Mia said.
"Yeah..." Sokka sighed, "we are all going to be eaten by a spirit."

Just after sundown, the spirit would come. So Aang stepped outside and walked to the open gate.
Mia, Katara, Sokka, Momo and Aoi were all staring at Aang, who was randomly talking. Aang had given up and walked back to the main house. Suddenly out of the dark a huge creature appeared. Aoi's eyes got big and he crawled down Mia's shirt, so only his little head stuck out.

The spirit started to destroy again, and what Aang did it did not listen to him. "That's it!" Sokka yelled and walked out the door. "Sokka, come back to idiot!" Mia yelled after him, but he already threw his boomerang. It wasn't really affective, but the spirit turned and grabbed Sokka and ran out of the gate, into the forest. "No! Sokka!" Katara yelled and Mia ran out of the door, following Katara.

Katara stopped at the gate, and she bend her head, hopeless. Mia laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed a bit. "They will come back, both of them." Mia said to comfort her, but Katara did not reply. She sat down on the ground, leaning againstt he wall of the gate. "Come back inside." Mia said. "No, I stay here." Katara replied when she stared to the forest. Mia nodded, "I will make some tea," she said and she walked back inside. Mia searched in the pantry, and she could find some jasmine. Quickly she heated the tea up with her hands and she grabbed a blanket and a chair.

Outside she put Katara in the chair with the banket over her legs and gave her the tea. Mia sat down against the wall and together they stayed up all night, not saying a word to each other, just hoping if they would ever come back.
"How was is for you, to leave your siblings... Not seeing them?" Katara asked when the sun rose.
"I have one older brother... He was a terrible person. Now he seems to be a spy or something. An assasin. I hate him," Mia sighed, "and amy other siblings... I don't know about the 5 others. Maybe I have another one. They were so nice, but I am the only bender. So I have always been the black sheep."

Katara nodded slowly. "I understand..."
Mia smiled. "I would kill someone for a brother like Sokka or a little sister as you." Mia said smiling.
"You don't have to kill, we are already. Since the day you came to us." Katara replied. Mia stood up and hugged Katara. Appa came walking towards them and licked them. Katara and Mia were completely soaken and sticky. "Let's go and swim, there's a river nearby. Just to kill the time. Someone will get us back if they are found." Katara was in doubt, but eventually she went swimming with Mia.

The day did not pass quickly. Against the end of the day, Mia and Katara went back to the village after a ride on Appa, but they did not succeed of finding Aang nor Sokka. Late in the evening, Aang appeard. "Aang!" Mia and Katara yelled at the same time and ran outside. "Where's Sokka?" Katara asked quietly. "I don't know... Somewhere in the spirit world I think." Aang replied.

That evening Aang called for the spirit that eventually came. Aang jumped up and touched the creature's head. He calmed down and Aang could talk to him. Aang told the spirit about what Mia had told him: the forest is growing back. He gave the spirit an acorn and the spirit suddenly changed ina giant panda bear. He walked back into the forest, leaving some babmo behind that through in the gateway. Out of the bamboo, two villagers and Sokka appeared. "Sokka!" Katara yelled happily and she hugged him. "How do you feel?!" Mia asked curious, "you have been in the spirit world for over 24 hours."

"I feel like I really need to go to the bathroom!" Sokka replied and he walked into the house. Mia, Aang and Katara grinned and they were ready to pack. "Thank you so much Avatar," the head of the village said, "we wish we can do something in return."
"Well, you can give us some money and food." Sokka said. "Sokka!" Mia shouted and she punched his arm.
"Of course, we will." The villager replied.
"Thank you." Aang said.

When they were together Aang was silent. "What is it?" Sokka asked. "I need to talk to Roku," Aang said, "and I think I know how to contact with the spirits,"
"Aang, that's great!" Katara said happily.
"Yes, there's a temple on a crescent shaped island, and if I go there on the solstice, I am able to speak with him." Aang replied.

"But... The solstice is tomorrow!" Mia said worried.
"Yes and there's one more problem... The island is in the fire nation."