Naya and the Last Airbender

xiv. The Library

"WHAT'S out here?" Sokka questioned as we all stood in the center of a rocky landscape. Aang sat cross-legged on the dirt while the rest of us stood behind him and watched.

"A lot, actually. There are hundreds of little-" Toph started.

"Shh! I know you can see the underground, but don't ruin the surprise. Just watch," Aang interrupted. He blew into his flute-like instrument. A small animal emerged from a hole and mimicked the sound. Aang laughed and blew another note. "I'm putting an orchestra together!"

"Orchestra, huh? Well la-di-da," Sokka said. The animals mimicked his sound which caused me to giggle. My brother shot me a look.

Aang continued to play the pipe and the animals sang along. Katara, Toph, and I enjoyed the sounds of the cute little creatures, but Sokka wasn't having it. He ran up to Aang and clogged the instrument with his finger.

"This is great and all. but don't we have more important things to worry about? We should be making plans," Sokka told.

"We did make plans. We're all picking mini-vacations. Well, besides Naya since she wants to be a party pooper," Toph reminded and gave me a nudge.

"Hey, I'm totally fine with going along with what you guys pick," I argued.

Sokka rolled his eyes. "There's no time for vacations," he said.

"Naya and I are learning the elements as fast we can. The two of us practice every day with each other, and Toph and Katara. I've been training my arrow off!"

"Yeah. What's wrong with having a little fun in our downtime?" Katara asked.

"Even if you both master all of the elements, then what? It's not like we have a map of the Fire Nation. Let's hope Naya can remember how to get to the Fire Lord's house! Knock, knock. Hello, Fire Lord! Anybody home? I don't think so. We need some intelligence if we're gonna win this war," Sokka persuaded.

Aang blew his final sound and the last animal rose from the dirt. Katara giggled at that. "All right. We'll finish our vacations and then we'll look for Sokka's intelligence," Katara mocked.

"Burn, ponytail boy," I said to him. Sokka hit my arm.

Aang quickly pulled out his map and gestured it to Katara. "Where would you like to go on your mini-vacation?"

"How about the Misty Palms Oasis? That sounds refreshing," she suggested.

"Oh yeah, I've been there. It's a pristine natural ice ground. And I don't usually use the word 'pristine.' It's one of nature's wonders," Aang gushed.

+

FAST forward to Katara's mini-vacation, which was insanely disappointing. The five of us stood at the entrance to the oasis with our animals behind us, staring disappointedly at the scenery ahead.

"Must have changed ownership since I was here," Aang said awkwardly.

The sign collapsed from behind us, making me jump. We continued into the area, heading towards the ice in the center of the oasis. We briefly glanced at it before heading into a hut. Inside the hut, there were people at tables and at the bar relaxing. I licked my lips at the sight of the bartender cutting up delicious fruit and making it into a drink.

"I don't see anything wrong with having one of those fruity beverages while we plan our strategy," Sokka said for all of us. He ran towards the bartender. "Excuse me!"