Avatar: The Birth of a New World

"You're welcome, Longshot told Katara, watching in awe as she healed herself. Benders besides earthbenders were rare in the Earth Kingdom, especially waterbenders. He turned to Toph and asked, "Where were we headed before we found her and the Fire Nation girl?"

"That's the problem," Aunt Wu called back at them as Meng led Haru out of the room. "I don't know where I left it."

"We'll start at one end," Meng suggested to Haru. "And work our way to the other. It's somewhere in this house." She smiled brightly up at him, fighting to hide her blush.

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"No where in particular," Toph answered. She grinned over at Longshot. "You made the mistake of handing me the map, and so I've just been leading us along, looking for somewhere interesting." She then glanced towards Mai and Katara, her smile slightly slipping as she did so. "But I suppose that we'll have to drop them off at some town, now that they're alright."

Longshot groaned inwardly. He should have remembered Toph's blindness and her ironic sense of humor.

"So, we don't know where we are?" he asked, trying to resist a wry grin that threatened to envelop his face. He nodded in agreement with her and shrugged, "I suppose the road should lead to a village eventually."

Haru

"Alright. I suppose I don't have anything better to do than this, until the day patrols start calling in. Let's go." Haru took Meng's hand and started to led them toward one end fo the house, heading for an unused room Aunt Wu sometimes used for storage. If they were lucky, they might find the scroll in there.

Mai

"Sounds fine to me. I don't really care, either way." Mai casually pulled out a knife and started to twirl it around out of sheer boredom. Hm. Well, if they were lost, it might lead to something interesting, though it probably wouldn't last for long. When she had taken that boat to the Earth Kingdom, Mai thought this savage land would be a lot more exciting than what it proved to be so far. It seemed all the interestings things did happen in the Fire Nation, as Sifu Zhao claimed...

"No," Toph responded to Longshot's question. "Not really. But does it really matter?" It didn't, not to her. She had no where to go, nowhere to go home to. Any place was as good as the rest. But now that they had found these two girls, they would need to find a village.

She glanced towards Katara and the giant wolf, though the glance did nothing for her. "You feel good enough for travel?"

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This time there was no stopping the blush from appearing on Meng's cheeks, as Haru took her hand. Happily she followed after him. Once they reached the room, however, she reluctantly released Haru's hand and started searching the place. She worked in silence, trying to think of something to say that didn't sound completely stupid.

"Yes, I'm fine now, I just..." Katara trailed off as she realized something. All my provisions are gone. No food, water, or anything else I packed, she thought, and her mind nearly went blank. A moment later she was back, and tried not to panick. "You guys didn't happen to see or pickup anything that might have been around me? I must have lost everything during the storm."

"No, you were the only thing salvageable we found. I might have spotted some of your gear, but it was too worn to be of any use," Longshot told Katara sympathetically, "We have enough for four for a couple days' journey. In the next village we stop at, you could earn some coppers as a healer. Warterbenders are rare around here."

He turned to Toph and said, "I'll begin packing."

He knew better than to ask Toph to help him. She'd help him if she wanted to and, if not, he wasn't going to try to make her.

Haru

"Found anything yet, Meng?" Haru asked from across the room as he continued to look around, trying (possibly in vain) to find Aunt Wu's elusive scroll. So far he'd yet to have any luck in that regard. Hopefully Meng might have had a better time trying to find it.

Katara nodded, though she didn't like the idea of exploiting her healing ability like that, it seemed wrong. You lost everything though, you'll need money to buy food and clothes, she told herself. She looked over to Nanuk and smiled. "At least I didn't lose you."

At the mention of packing, Toph simply jumped to her feet and kicked her right foot up as her left hand pushed down behind her. Her rock seat sunk back into ground and her bag from a few feet away shot towards her. She caught it and slung it diagonally across her back.

"I'm ready."

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Meng paused in her search and straightened up, to look at Haru. She gave a shake of her head. "No," she said to Haru. "I haven't. But just think, it's like a treasure hunt!" She smiled at him, trying to ease some of the boredom she knew that he felt. Aside from coming here, she had only stayed in one place all of her life. She was pretty content with her place in life, but there were times that she could get a little bored with thing.

"And Aunt Wu will probably foretell your fortune if you find it."

Longshot couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly as he took down his tent. He shook his head at her, "Show-off."

After a few minutes, he had his things back and swung over his shoulders. He nodded at the others and spoke, "We should get going."

With that said, he headed for the road. Toph always understood when to begin moving after all so they should too, he reasoned.

Mai

Mai nodded wordlessly to indicate she was ready. Like Katara, she had lost everything she'd brought with her from the Fire Nation when her boat sank. The only things she had now were the clothes on her back, and the various knives and daggers hidden under them.

Haru

"True." Haru replied with a slight chuckle. He continued his search, but paused upon discovering a portrait he'd thought lost for a long time. He stared at it in a transfixed manner, momentarily forgetting about the scroll he was searching for.

Said portrait was made many years ago, when his parents had been alive. It depicted Haru himself, as a young boy, and his parents, who were lightly smiling at the grinning young boy. Unconsciously, his hands began to curl into fists as he continued to stare at the item.

(Just a random question, but when will I be able to post with one of my characters?)

((Oh, I don't have the episode guide in front of me at the moment. Maybe in the next episode, though I can't make that a promise. My main computer is down and, for the moment, the episode guide I had written for the first five episodes is also gone.))

(Ok.)

Toph started forward after Longshot. "Are you two coming?" she called back at Katara and Mai. If they didn't want to come, that was fine with her, though it would be such a waste if they stayed behind and died, after all her and Longshot had done for them. And she didn't want to be responsible for the Avatar's death. The world already had a enough problems as it was.

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Meng glanced up as she saw Haru pause, and she quickly moved over to him. She smiled as she stared down at the picture that she assumed was a young Haru, but then her eyes flickered onto her friend's fists. "Everything will be alright, Haru," she said to him. "You'll see."

Mai

Mai wordlessly started to follow the blind girl and her companion. Hm. Come to think of it, she'd been a bit curious about something that she hadn't had the chance to ask before.

"So, how exactly can you bend when you're blind?"

Haru

"I doubt it, but thanks anyway." Haru replied with a bitter smile.

Longshot smiled a bit. He remembered asking Toph the same question word-for-word. She had answered him in a rather... Toph-like fashion.

"I'm blind, not unable to feel anything around me," Toph said for an answer. "Why can't everybody bend, when everyone else can see?" Why did everybody always ask her such stupid questions?

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Meng started to move her hand towards Haru's, but then paused and slowly let it drop back down to her side. "Just ask Aunt Wu. She's read your fortune, then you'll know. Things always work out." She smiled up at her friend, as if she could will happiness into him with just her smile.

Katara stood and walked with them, and Nanuk followed her. A few moments later, he stopped, and started sniffing the air. He growled, sensing another's presence, which made Katara stop. "What is it," she asked him, looking around, though she knew Nanuk well enough by now to know he only growled like this when hostile people or creatures were nearby.

Longshot raised an eyebrow at Katara's wolf's actions, stopping after a few steps and gripping his bow as he closed his eyes, listening. Slowly, he nocked an arrow, opening his eyes and scanning the area for threats. Animals had sharper senses than humans, after all, he knew better than to discount Nanuk's growls as nothing.

Mai

Mai pulled out a knife as she heard Katara's wolf growl, and a few seconds later the snap of a twig was heard. Before she could do anything, however, Mai felt a prickling sensation on her neck. She quickly pulled a dart out of that area, before her eyes started to feel heavy. A second later she collapsed, now unconscious.

Haru

"Might be a good idea. Perhaps I might find out when the Avatar's suppose to be coming here, instead of getting another vague answer." Haru half-mused aloud. He looked down at Meng and smiled at her. "Thanks, Meng. You sure are nice to have around. It's a shame I couldn't have had a kid sister like you."

Toph had been aware of the danger practically the same moment that Nanuk had. She was already in a defensive position, her blind eyes locked onto the area where the trouble was coming from. But even she was not ready when she felt Mai falling towards the ground. Instantly Toph's hands shot out and a chuck of the land came out, forming a large boulder as it flew towards their attackers.

The rock fell short of its target, as Toph's eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she fell forward, a dart sticking out of her own neck.

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Meng's smile widened as she looked up at Haru, but inside her heart was thudding painfully. He had paid her a compliment. But he had also called her 'sister'. "I like having you around too."

Longshot frowned as he heard Mai get hit, firing an arrow in the direction the dart came from. His eyes widened, however, when he saw Toph to get hit, giving the attackers the chance they needed. A dart imbedded itself in Longshot's neck and he was knocked out.

Katara could only watch as all three of them went down, darts sticking out of their necks. She turned to Nanuk as he ran toward the source, only to fall mid-leap, a dart piercing his neck as well. She couldn't even get out a syllable before she felt something hit her as well, and everything grew dark, and blacked out as she hit the ground.