꧁ chapter eleven ꧂
underage drinking

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"HOW COULD YOU let them take Appa? Why didn't you stop them?" Aang yelled at Toph angrily.

"I couldn't! The library was sinking! You guys were still inside and-"

Aang interrupted Toph as he walked over to her,

"You could've come to get us! I could've saved him!"

"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here. The sandbenders snuck up on me and there wasn't time for-" Toph tried to explain before Aang snapped at her again,

"You just didn't care! You never liked Appa! You wanted him gone!"

Katara walked over to him trying to calm him down,

"Aang, stop it. You know Toph did all she could"

"She saved our lives" Meiluna added as she rested her hand comfortingly on Toph's shoulder.

"Who's going to save our lives now? We'll never make it out here" Sokka said hopelessly.

"That's all any of you guys care about, yourselves! You don't care whether Appa is okay or not!" Aang exploded as he stormed away from the rest of the group.

"We're all concerned, but we can't afford to be fighting now" Katara tried to explain calmly.

"I'm going after Appa" Aang replied coldly before flying away.

"Aang, wait!" Katara called out.

Meiluna watched as Aang soared through the sky, eventually disappeared from their vision.

"We'd better start walking now" Katara told the others as she turned to face them, "We're the only ones who know about the solar eclipse, we have to get that information to Ba Sing Se"

Katara began leading the group in the direction Aang flew off in.

Sokka walked behind Meiluna as he looked to her and asked,

"You think if we dig out the giant owl, he'll give us a ride?"

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Meiluna used her hand to fan herself, cooling down her face as she felt sweat trickle down her neck. She was very thankful that Katara had already tied her hair up again, keeping her thick hair away from her burning skin. Meiluna had never been in a climate as hot as the one they were in right now, it didn't help that her clothing was more North Pole suited either.

Sokka paused to use Momo's wings to create some shade, causing Toph to walk straight into him.

"Can't you watch where you're-"

Sokka's eyes widened in realisation when he saw who bumped into him.

"No"

"Right, sorry"

"Come on guys, we've got to stick together" Katara encouraged as she turned around.

Sokka noticed his clothes sticking to Toph as he tried freeing himself by pushing her away,

"If I sweat anymore, I don't think sticking together will be a problem"

Toph placed her hand on Sokka's face, pushing him to the ground,

"Katara, can I have some more water?"

"Okay, but we've got to try conserve it" Katara agreed reluctantly.

She bended 4 globules of water and sent them to Sokka, Toph, Meiluna and Momo. Meiluna opened her mouth, feeling the water quench her parched tongue. As she swallowed it, a funny taste made her scrunch her nose in disgust.

"We're drinking your bending water," Sokka exclaimed as he pointed to his mouth, "You used this in the swamp guy!"

Meiluna gagged,

"Ugh!"

"It does taste swampy" Toph agreed.

"I'm sorry, it's all we have" Katara said sadly.

Meiluna internally cursed herself for losing her own flask of water in the midst of the library collapsing. Though, she wasn't sure how much better it would've tasted compared to Katara's water.

"Not anymore! Look!" Sokka exclaimed, pointing at a cactus.

He made his way over cutting off a piece with his machete, happily drinking its contents.

"Sokka, wait! You shouldn't be eating strange plants" Katara warned as she ran to her brother.

Meiluna put her arm around Toph, guiding her to where they stood.

"There's water trapped inside these!" Sokka said, cutting off another piece.

"I don't know" Katara backed away, looking unsure.

"Ooh! Give me some" Meiluna said, pushing past Katara as Sokka handed her the plant.

"Suit yourself. It's very thirst quenching though" Sokka said, giving Katara a big smile.

Meiluna downed the drink quickly as Sokka started to rapidly shake his head,

"Drink cactus juice. It'll quench ya! Nothing's quenchier!" Sokka yelled out before he started crawling on the ground like a caterpillar.

Meiluna felt her eyes widen as she felt a rush of adrenaline before speaking at the same time as Sokka,

"It's the quenchiest!"

Katara grabbed the cactus juice from Sokka and Meiluna's hands, pouring it all out,

"Okay, I think you've had enough"

"Who lit Toph on fire?" Sokka asked pointing at the girl.

Meiluna gasped looking at Toph,

"Katara, you have to help her!"

Katara ignored their antics when she looked up noticing Momo flying around in circles before plummeting to the ground head first. Katara picked up the unconscious animal, cradling him close to her.

"Can I get some of that cactus?" Toph asked innocently.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Katara answered, "Come on, we need to find Aang"

Katara began to walk away when she realised she was missing two people. She rolled her eyes, walking up to Meiluna and Sokka who stood with their faces so close that their noses were squished together as they laughed at seemingly nothing. Katara grabbed their arms to drag them with her.

"How did we get out here in the middle of the ocean?" Sokka asked in awe.

"Don't worry Sokka, I can bend it!" Meiluna assured as she started waving her arms around in a sloppy manner.

Katara bit back a laugh when she saw dust fly everywhere.

"What is that?" Katara asked.

"What? What is what?" Toph asked cluelessly.

"It's a giant mushroom!" Meiluna pointed out with a big smile.

"Maybe it's friendly" Sokka spoke excitedly.

"Let's just keep moving," Katara insisted, "I hope Aang's okay"

Meiluna continued to follow her when she noticed Sokka wasn't beside her. She turned around to find him waving his arms around.

"Friendly Mushroom! Mushy giant friend!"

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While walking through the desert, Meiluna noticed a shadow passing over her head. She turned around and found Aang had landed behind them, looking defeated.

"I'm sorry, Aang. I know it's hard for you right now, but we need to focus on getting out of here" Katara spoke gently to the Avatar.

"What's the difference? We won't survive without Appa. We all know it" Aang responded hopelessly.

"Not with that attitude!" Meiluna laughed as she poked Sokka on the cheek who then attempted to poke her in return.

"Come on Aang, we can do this if we work together. Right Toph?" Katara encouraged.

"As far as I can feel, we're trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding. I got nothing" Toph answered.

"Sokka? Any ideas on how to find Ba Sing Se?" Katara turned to her brother hopefully.

Meiluna lay between Momo and Sokka, all three of them side by side on their backs,

"Why don't we ask the circle birds?"

"Luna?" Katara looked at the Princess who seemed to be looking down her top.

"I think there's sand in my clothes"

"Ugh," Katara grabbed her head in annoyance.

"We're getting out of this desert and we're going to do it together! Aang, get up. Everybody hold hands," Katara instructed,

"We can do this. We have to."

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"I think we should stop for the night" Katara announced.

Meiluna collapsed to her knees from exhaustion next to Sokka.

"Is there any more water?" Toph asked.

"This is the last of it. Everyone can have a little drink" Katara said, giving everyone a bit of water.

"Sokka, let me see the things you got from the library" Katara requested, facing her brother.

"What?" Sokka backed away defensively, "I didn't steal anything! Who told you that?"

He shoved a finger in Meiluna's face,

"It was you! You ratted me out!"

Meiluna gasped dramatically.

"Shh!" She covered Sokka's mouth with both her hands, "If she asks again, you deny, deny, deny!"

"I was with you" Katara rolled her eyes as she took the bag from Sokka, examining the scrolls herself.

"It doesn't matter. None of those will tell us where Appa is" Aang said sadly.

"No, but we can find out which way Ba Sing Se is. We can use the stars to guide us," Katara said, pulling out a map, "That way we can travel at night when it's cool and rest during the day"

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"Come on, get up. We need to go" Katara said waking everyone up.

Meiluna sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Yesterday my mouth tasted like mud. Now it just tastes like sand. I never thought I'd miss the taste of mud so much" Toph said, smacking her lips.

Katara moved to wake Aang, who sat up before she could touch him,

"I'm awake, I couldn't sleep"

"Well, we need to get moving if we want to get out of this sandpit" Katara replied as she spotted something large in the sky fly past the moon.

"Appa!" Aang called out joyfully.

"Appa? But why would Princess Yue need him? She's the moon! She flies by herself!" Sokka exclaimed.

"Hey! That's my sister!" Meiluna called out excitedly as she pointed to the sky. Her face changed almost immediately as she looked at Sokka with a mortified expression.

"Remember when you kissed my sister! Gross!"

Meiluna slapped a hand over her mouth before she pushed Sokka roughly to the ground, which wasn't as difficult as it sounded as he was already stumbling around from the effects of the cactus juice.

Upon closer inspection, Katara realised the flying object was not actually Appa.

"It's just a cloud," Katara spoke in disappointment before she perked up again, "Wait! A cloud! Here," She handed her pouch to Aang, "Fly up and bend the water from that cloud into my pouch"

Aang looked angrily at Katara before snatching the pouch out of her hands, flying up to the cloud. Meiluna watched as Aang flew around the cloud, eventually making it disappear before he landed in front of the group again.

"Wow, there's hardly any here" Katara spoke as she peeked in to the pouch Aang returned.

"I'm sorry, okay! It's a desert cloud, I did all I could! What's anyone else doing? What are you doing?" Aang lashed out, pointing his staff at Katara.

"Trying to keep everyone together," Katara paused before addressing the whole group,

"Let's just get moving, we need to head this direction"

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"Ow! Crud!" Toph cried out as she tripped over, falling flat on her face, "I am so sick of not feeling where I'm going!" Toph then pointed at the rock she tripped over,

"And what idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert?"

Meiluna looked over curiously while Katara ran over to inspect the object,

"A boat?"

"Believe me, I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations"

Aang raised his staff and swung it around, creating a strong gust of wind, revealing a boat of some sort.

"It's one of the gliders the sandbenders used! And look, it's got some kind of compass on it! I bet it can point us out of here" Katara spoke excitedly, tapping the compass,

"Aang, you can bend a breeze so we can sail it. We're going to make it!"

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"The needle on this compass doesn't seem to be pointing north according to my charts" Katara spoke with frustration.

"Take it easy little lady. I'm sure the sand folks who built this baby know how to get around here" Sokka said dreamily.

He and Meiluna sat at the edge of the boat, both their feet dangling off the side.

"They didn't build a baby, Sokka. They built a boat!" Meiluna corrected the boy beside her, still completely out of her mind from the cactus juice.

Katara shot the both of them an annoyed look before noticing something ahead,

"That's what the compass is pointing to! That giant rock! It must be the magnetic center of the desert"

"A rock? Yes! Let's go!" Toph cheered, looking ecstatic.

"Maybe we can find some water there!" Katara said hopefully.

"It's cactus juice or nothing for me" Meiluna said, crossing her arms.

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"Ah! Finally, solid ground!" Toph said in relief as the group reached the base of the rock.

Meiluna followed Sokka into the cave that seemed to be covered in a yellow gooey substance.

"I think my head is starting to clear out the cactus juice," Sokka said, breathing in deeply, "And look!"

He put his hand into the goo and shoved it straight into his mouth then proceeded to share it with Momo.

"Tastes like rotten penguin meat! Aw, I feel woozy" Sokka groaned in disgust.

Meiluna tilted her head in curiousity before making her way to taste the goo as well when she felt someone grab her wrist pulling her back.

"You've been hallucinating on cactus juice all day and then you just lick something you find stuck to the wall of a cave?" Katara asked, growing increasingly annoyed as she tightened her hold on to Meiluna.

"I have a natural curiosity" Sokka shrugged.

"I don't think this is a normal cave. This was carved by something" Toph spoke.

"Yeah, look at the shape" Aang observed.

"Aang! you can't say that! Toph can't look" Meiluna said, covering her mouth in shock.

"You're right!" Sokka said, turning to Meiluna in realisation.

"There's something buzzing in here," Toph paused momentarily, "Something that's coming for us!"

Everyone ran out of the cave being followed by multiple buzzard wasps. Aang pulled Toph down to duck as the first wasp flew over their heads. More wasps made their way out of the hive as Aang used his airbending to blast them away.

Toph sensed a wasp land on a nearby rock and shot the earth up from beneath it, sending it away. Another wasp flew between Sokka and Meiluna making Toph quickly lift up another rock and throw it in its direction.

Meiluna shut her eyes, preparing for the impact of the rock, only to be pleasantly surprised to see it barely missed her.

"What are you doing? That rock almost crushed us!" Sokka asked in shock.

"Sorry, I can't tell where they are in the air" Toph replied apologetically.

"Sokka! Behind you" Meiluna yelled out, pointing at a wasp.

"I got it!" Sokka said as he grabbed his machete, swinging it back and forth.

"There's nothing there!" Katara remarked.

"I guess my head's not as clear as I thought" Sokka said sheepishly leaving Meiluna to wonder where the wasp she hallucinated went.

"We have to get out of here! I'm completely out of water to bend" Katara said, taking a few steps closer to Aang.

All of a sudden a wasp swooped down from the sky snatching Momo.

"Momo!" Aang called out as he pulled open his glider, "I'm not losing anyone else out here!"

"Come on, we're going down" Katara said, leading Toph by her hand down a narrow ledge.

"Toph, shoot a rock right there," Katara instructed, "Fire!"

Toph kicked up some rocks and shot them forward at the incoming buzzard wasps.

"Yeah! You got it! She got it right?" Sokka cheered looking over at Meiluna who was equally as excited.

"The Blind Bandit is back!" She cheered happily as she jumped up.

"Yes, now let's move" Katara smiled, continuing to lead the group.

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"What are you doing on our land with a sandbender's sailer? From the looks of it, you stole it from the Hami tribe" The leader of the sandbenders accused.

"We found the sailer abandoned in the desert. We're travelling with the Avatar," Katara explained, gesturing to Aang, "Our bison was stolen and we have to get to Ba Sing Se"

"You dare accuse our people of theft while you ride in on a stolen sand sailer?" A young man stepped forward, pointing angrily at Katara.

"Quiet, Ghashiun. No one accused our people of anything. If what they say is true, we must give them hospitality" The leader stated sternly.

"Sorry, Father"

Toph's eyes suddenly widened,

"I recognise the son's voice. He's the one that stole Appa"

"Are you sure?" Katara asked uncertainly.

"I never forget a voice" She asserted.

"You stole Appa!" Aang yelled angrily as he charged forward, threateningly brandishing his staff toward Ghashiun, "Where is he? What did you do to him?"

The boy cowered in fear,

"They're lying! They're the thieves!"

"Where is my bison?" Aang let out a growl of frustration as he hit his staff into the ground, obliterating one of the sandbenders sailers.

"You tell me where he is right now!" Aang ordered, sending another blast of wind at another sailer.

"What did you do?" The leader turned to his son.

"I-It wasn't me!" Ghashiun stuttered.

"You said to put a muzzle on him!" Toph added.

"You muzzled Appa?" Aang became enraged as his eyes and and tattoos started to glow.

He swung his staff once again, destroying the last of the sandbenders' sailers.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know that it belonged to the Avatar!" Ghashiun cried out in fear.

"Tell me where Appa is!" Aang yelled with the voice of all the Avatars.

"I traded him! To some merchants! He's probably in Ba Sing Se by now! They were going to sell him there!" The sandbender confessed, "Please! We'll escort you out of the desert! We'll help however we can!"

Sokka quickly grabbed Toph, running away from Aang as Meiluna followed after him.

He turned to the spectating sandbenders, warning them,

"Just get out of here! Run!"

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