Chapter Text
“I vote we just scavenge for food once we reach the Earth Kingdom,” Sokka argued, “I don’t want to be in the Fire Nation for longer than I have to!” Momo chattered next to him as if in agreement.
“Sokka, none of us want to be in the fire nation but we won’t make the trip across Mo Ce Sea with the supplies we have now!” Katara shot back, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as they continued towards a small village on the edge of the fire nation. Aang remembered traveling to Aerilon when he was younger. It was relatively close to Crescent Moon Island but they couldn’t fly very high or fast without drawing attention, so low and slow it was.
“Don’t worry Sokka! I went there all the time when I was learning about the four nations,” Aang chimed in cheerily, “It’s relatively small, and far away from the mainland, I don’t think there’s going to be lots of Fire Nation soldiers.”
“A lot can change in one hundred years, Aang,” Sokka reminded, “If I catch even a whiff of evil we are leaving!” He declared before turning to look out into the sea. “Oh, hey, is that it?” He questioned suddenly, pointing out in the distance to a foggy shoreline.
“I think so!” Aang cheered, steering Appa in the direction of the town.
“So how do we plan on doing this? There isn’t exactly Sky Bison daycare, plus we stick out like a sore thumb…” Katara wondered.
“Don’t worry, Katara, we won’t be long so we can just leave Appa by the shoreline over there,” Aang pointed to an empty-looking beach, “and we can wear our disguises from Omashu!” Aang drifted Appa to the shoreline and hopped off, putting the poorly made fur hat on his head as Katara and Sokka took off their heavy overcoats.
“I’ll never understand how people can live in the Fire Nation,” Sokka grumbled, “not only is it evil, but the air is so sticky! How can you be so evil that even your air is bad!?”
“Look Sokka, I don’t think everyone here is Fire Nation!” Katara whispered as she pointed to the quiet street market where they could see people wearing Earth Kingdom garments.
“Why would the Earth Kingdom be here? I thought that blockade kept all trade between the nations separated?” Aang mused
“I guess not, this is a pretty small village from the looks of it,” Katara mused, “maybe they aren’t under such harsh control here as other Fire Nation territories.”
“Well Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, I don’t care. We’ve got some money and we need supplies.” Sokka stated simply, “We need to stick together and keep an eye for an exit if things get hairy. We just need some food and clothes and then we can be on our way.”
The trio tracked up the small beach before discreetly slipping into the small crowd on the street. While it wasn’t busy by any means, it was a small town so even a small crowd can take up a lot of space. They looked around a while before coming into the more residential area where a small shop was selling clothes, sewing kits, and fabrics
“Hi, sir!” Aang greeted cheerfully, “Do you take Earth Kingdom money? We need some cloth to repair our clothes.” He held out a small pouch that Bumi gave him full of coins.
“You’re not from around here huh kid” The merchant stated simply, setting the three on edge. Had they really already blown their cover? “We take Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom coins.” He then glanced at Katara and Sokka, “Sorry, no Water Tribe coin though.” Surprisingly, he didn’t say this with any malice or even an attitude but as if he was genuinely sorry he couldn’t take their money.
“Ummm….” Sokka started, “are we...not in the Fire Nation?”
Now, this got the merchant’s attention. “Are you kids lost or something? You’re in Aerilon, eastern Fire Nation.” He gave them a strange glance and then looked them up and down. Katara could sense the tension rising and jumped in to try and cover them.
“Sorry, we haven’t been this far out east.” She nervously laughed, “We just didn’t know you were allowed to use Earth Kingdom money here since you can’t elsewhere.” She hoped that the last part was true, or else they were really screwed. However, her nerves were soothed when the merchant's face relaxed and he chuckled a little.
“Oh, well I don’t know why you decided to stop here then, not much to see here if you’re trying to get to the Earth Kingdom.” He talked about fleeing the Fire Nation with such a casual air that the three of them were left shocked. “We’re far enough away from the capital that they don’t pay attention to us. So to keep ourselves afloat we do small trade with some of the colonies and a few small Earth Kingdom villages. Most visitors find it pretty strange, but nobody keeps an eye on the little guys, and sometimes that’s not such a bad thing! What are you guys doing out in a little village like this anyways?” Just as he finished, the door to the shop opened and a young teen walked in carrying a large stack of clothing and fabrics.
“I see you’ve finally decided to grace me with your presence, your majesty!” The merchant says in a strange accent and bows deeply.
“Crap!” Sokka whispers to the others before mirroring the merchant and bowing deeply, with Katara and Aang following suit, “I told you guys stopping here was a bad idea!”
“Daikon stop scarring your customers,” the teen reprimanded, “that’s not how you have good business. Also, I’m not royalty.” She spoke the last part through gritted teeth, making Sokka even more nervous. Who in the Fire Nation wouldn’t want to be royalty?
“I’m just messing with you, Saiya, don’t be so sour.” The merchant, Daikon, frowns. “We’ve got some travelers who were just too naive to not scare!” He gestures to the gang and chuckles. “You guys showed up just in time if you’re in need of fabrics, Saiya’s mom makes the best in the village!” Daikon cheered.
“Daikon knock it off you’re making me sound like some village hero with all your “best in the village” and “your majesty” crap.” Saiya rolls her eyes but then looks to the three still in the shop as if just noticing them. “Oh…..” She looks the three up and down before looking Aang directly in the eyes. “If you guys need some fabrics or even some new clothes I’d be happy to help.” She smiles warmly. Just as Sokka is about to turn down the offer, Aang pipes up.
“We’d love the help!” He smiles back just as warm, something in her light grey eyes and flowing voice reminding him of home.
“Oh come on Sai, don’t steal my customers like that!” Daikon throws his head back and groans. As she opens her mouth to respond, a commotion outside the shop stops her as she turns to look out the shop windows. Her eyes widen and she turns to face Daikon.
“Guards.” They say grimly in unison. Saiya turns to Aang, “You three hide behind the counter, the soldiers here barely tolerate Earth Kingdom citizens, I don’t think they’ll take well to some Water Tribe kids and a nomad.” Daikon pulls the counter gate open and helps them hide behind the counter just as the door slams open.
“How does she know you’re a nomad!?” Sokka whisper-yells at Aang who simply shushes him, even though he’s wondering the same thing.
“Miss Kowano, care to explain where those fabrics are going?” A guard sneered. Aang, Katara, and Sokka peer around the counter edge, next to Daikon.
“Get back.” Daikon looks down as he pushes them behind the counter again.
“What was that?” The second guard snaps, starting towards Daikon.
“Why do you care where my fabrics go?” Saiya interjects as she steps in front of the guard. “I was just here to drop off a shipment to Daikon from my mom, and then I was heading home.” She sneers.
“You might want to watch your attitude.” The guard glares before turning to the second, “You know, I’ve really been in the need of a new undersuit for my armor. It would be a shame if I put that order in tonight with the seamstresses, seeing as they already have so much work.” He smirked at the anger in Saiya’s eyes before turning away. “There’s been reports of the Avatar and his Water Tribe companions in the Fire Nation, very close to here. All information about him is to be reported to me.”
“I saw some people in water tribe clothing today,” Daikon pipes in, and the trio gets ready to run but he continues, “they stopped by and asked for directions to the docks. I told them how to get there, they might be the ones you're looking for.” Daikon finishes and the three let out a breath they were collectively holding. Maybe these people are on our side, Sokka wondered.
The guards smiled at Daikon before looking at Saiya. “See,” he seethed, “that’s how to be useful.” The two guards turned and left the shop, presumably to head north for the docks. At the sound of the door closing, Aang Katara and Sokka popped up from behind the counter.
“You didn’t rat us out,” Katara mused, smiling between Saiya and Daikon, “thank you.”
“Come on,” Saiya urged, “we have to get out of here before they realize you’re not at the docks. I can give you supplies at my home, it’s just a block down. We can take the street behind the stores so they don’t spot us.” She says as she climbs over the counter and opens the back door leading out into a dimly lit street. Katara follows her immediately, along with a weary Sokka, and as Aang gets to the door he pauses.
“Why did you lie for us?” He asks Daikon, eyes search his light gold eyes as he smiles kindly.
“Wouldn’t want to get on the bad side of the Avatar, now would I.” He hands a wide-eyed Aang a small hat. “Get a better disguise next time.” He laughs before pushing Aang out the door to follow Saiya and his friends. Aang throws off his bison fur disguise and pulls the hat on over his head. Aang gives a soft smile to Daikon, remembering an old friend. Fond memories of playing with Kuzon run through his head as he runs out the back to catch up with his friends and potential ally. Saiya glances back at the three of them as she hears Aang run to catch up. Katara glances around cautiously while Sokka simply keeps his eyes on Saiya, untrusting of her.
“We’re almost there,” she tells them as she faces forwards again, “sorry about the commotion back in the shop. The Fire Nation might not have such a heavy control of this island, but the guards love to abuse their power because of it.” She grumbles as she turns around the corner of a house.
“Are you and Daikon from the Earth Kingdom?” Katara asked, unsure why a Fire Nation citizen would be helping the Avatar and his friends.
“Nope, Daikon’s family goes way back on this island, he grew up here. I’m not from Aerilon, but I’m still Fire Nation. I know it’s hard to believe, but most Fire Nation citizens are just average people.” Saiya chuckled, as she reached a door and fiddled with the key.
"Average people of a nation that does nothing but destroy?" Sokka asks sarcastically and Saiya's smile drops.
"They don't tell us what's really happening, we're taught that we're 'sharing out greatness' with the world," Saiya explains bitterly, "I promise not everyone is bad, most of us are just misguided." Sokka just continues to give her a warry glare.
“If you’re not from Aerilon, where are you from?” Sokka asked, changing the conversation and still feeling like this situation is too good to be true.
“We’re here!” Saiya announced, either not hearing the question or ignoring it. Sokka would bet it was the latter. They stepped inside the small home, looking around. They had walked in through the back door into a small kitchen. Against one wall was a row of counters that had a small spot for heating pots and pans, and a bowl full of berries. Next to them was another counter jutting out from the wall with three chairs tucked under it with a few dirty dishes here and there. Behind the counter, there was a small entry area with a few seats and a low table with teacups on it. There was a small hallway leading to a staircase with a closest on one side of the wall and a photo on the other. The gang walked into the small space, surprised by the homeyness of it.
“I didn’t know the Fire Nation had actually….nice houses.” Katara looked around, amazed. Saiya just chuckled
“Well their people have to live somewhere, what did you expect? That we lived in cells?” Saiya jokes, only to see both Sokka and Katara look at her with strange looks and then sheepishly nod. “Oh.” Saiya suddenly remembered these aren’t just simple townsfolk she’s helping, but Fire Nation fugitives. She rushed to the front of the house and shut all the windows and drew the blinds closed and finally, locked the door. She turned back to see Katara looking intently at the family photo in the hallway, Aang mesmerized by the stovetop, and Sokka leaning on the counter looking directly at her.
“I never got your names.” She looked between the three.
“Oh! I’m Katara! That’s my brother, Sokka. And that’s Aang!” Katara smiled lightly, gesturing to each member while Sokka looked at her bewildered.
“Katara, Aang, a word please!” He pointed to the small space in the kitchen where Aang already was. Confused but trying to respect their privacy, Saiya started to clean up the tea left on the front room table.
“Are we sure we should be giving out our names to this random chick?!” Sokka whispered, glancing back at her cleaning the room, “I mean, how do we know she’s not secretly one of Zuko’s friends, or even working for the Fire Lord?!”
“Her friend in the store knew I’m the Avatar,” Aang stated and both Katara and Sokka’s jaws dropped. “I think she knows too, Daikon said my disguise wasn’t very good. It’s why he gave me a hat! But that’s beside the point. Looking around this town it seems like this place is completely separate from the Fire Nation! Sure they have mean guards but nobody seemed to care about the obviously Water Tribe kids walking around,” At this, Sokka’s face softened. Aang did have a point. They all turned back to Saiya, who was sitting on one of the couches in the front room now. She had apparently started a new pot of tea while they were talking. They got up and walked over to sit down in front of her.
“How are we supposed to trust you?” Sokka asked a little harsher than he wanted and Katara elbowed him lightly.
“What my brother’s trying to say is we aren’t exactly friends of the Fire Nation, and you said that you’re very much Fire Nation. How should we know that you aren’t just going to try and spy on us?” Katara asked, looking deeply into Saiya’s light grey eyes. The girl sighed heavily before looking at the tea, and then up to Aang, and then Sokka.
“You asked me if I’m not from Aerilon, then where am I from,” She looked back at Aang, “well how am I supposed to trust you guys either, you’d be surprised at how many Avatar wanna-be’s there are. Prove to me that you’re the Avatar and I’ll explain, but I’m not about to give my life story to some fake.” She said sternly, before holding up the teapot, “wanna pour me some tea?”
Aang looked at her, then to the cup, and then he pulled the water slowly out of the teapot and gently into the four cups. Saiya smiled.
“Oh! And I can prove I’m an airbender too!” Aand rummaged around in his pockets, “Probably should’ve started with this one since...ya know...last airbender and all that.” He chuckled nervously before looking at Saiya with excited and threw his airbending beads up between his hands before twirling them around, smiling goofily as Saiya looked genuinely impressed.
“Wow...okay then!” She said, standing up and walking over to the family portrait. “I wasn’t expecting it to be that easy.”
“Wait, he didn’t even bend the other two elements,” Sokka stated, confused on how easily Saiya believed them.
“Other than the Avatar, who could bend even two of the four elements?” Saiya smirked at Sokka as his eyes widened and then he shrugged.
“Fair enough,” Sokka said, content with the answer. The remaining three stood up and went into the hallway, where Saiya was still by the portrait. In it were four people. A very obviously Fire Nation man, with tan skin, black hair, and dark red eyes, was on the right dressed in Fire Nation soldier armor. Next to him was a short and thin woman with long brown hair and the same light grey eyes as Saiya. Aang starred at her for the longest, caught up on how much she looked like one of the monks from his temple. She had her hand on the shoulder of a young boy, probably only 12 years old, in front of her. He had light grey eyes, tan skin, and black hair, sharing a striking resemblance to the older man. Next to him was a young girl, with the same light grey eyes, shoulder-length black hair, light skin, and a bright smile. The woman and two children were dressed in very formal, royal looking clothing. They looked to Saiya who had a bittersweet smile on her face. She pointed to the Fire Nation man. “That’s my father,” she smiled, “he was a lead commander under the Fire Lord.” At that statement, the air stilled around them, and the trio tensed significantly. “That’s my mom,” She said, ignoring the tension and pointing to the woman, “she never tells me much about her side of the family. She says they were refugees wandering after their homes were destroyed by the Fire Nation.”
“Why did your mom marry one of the head commanders of the person who destroyed her home?!” Aang demanded, still drawing the parallel between Saiya’s mother and his own people. Saiya looked back at the painting of her father.
“My dad was part of an organization striving for world peace,” she said, and almost as fast as it entered the tension left the house, “he worked his way up in Ozai’s army to be able to give them an insider view into his plans to help prepare for them.” Suddenly her eyes grew cold and angry, shocking Aang. “Ozai found him out and publicly executed my father,” Saiya said, her eyes on the ground. Katara put a hand on her shoulder.
“The Fire Nation killed Sokka and I’s mother,” Katara said shakily as Sokka glanced to the floor.
“I’m sorry you lost your dad.” He said and Saiya smiled sadly and put her hand over Kataras. Sokka felt guilt fill him at his false judgment on the girl. He might hate the Fire Nation, but she has obviously lost just as much because of them as he has.
“Thank you,” She mumbled, before moving on, “That's how my mom met him, the organization. She was a part of it too, but to be able to save me and my brother she lied to Ozai and told him we had no idea what my father was involved with. It wasn’t a complete lie, me and my brother were completely unaware. Ozai spared us, though I doubt it was his decision, but because we lost the funding from my father’s position we had to move out here. It was secluded enough so no one would know we were in the royal court and cheap living.” Saiya finished, looking at Aang. “My father never told me about the organization, just the name, and their mission. The White Lotus, dedicated to the sharing of knowledge regardless of nation. My brother, however, taught me what he knew about them. Before he was drafted he wanted to try and connect with them and get us refuge in Ba Sing Se," Saiya explained, eyes glazing over at the mention of her brother.
"When I saw you I knew right away you were the Avatar, your disguise wasn’t very good,” she chuckled, moving on, “not only do I want to see the reign of the Fire Nation end, I want the same world peace my father fought for. And I know the Avatar is the way to that peace.” She finished triumphantly, smiling at Aang.
“What about your brother, and your mom?” Katara asked, looking back at the portrait. Saiya glanced at it too.
“My mom works constantly to be able to support me. As for my brother, he’s a crazy good firebender. The Fire Nation forces any firebending prodigy to join the army, so he was drafted as soon as he turned 18.” She sighed, “He would write to us every so often, but we haven’t heard from him in a while.” She looked back at the gang. “I’m sorry, I’ve just been rambling. I still have those clothes and food I promised.” She smiled and turned to go upstairs, but was interrupted by a loud banging on the door. All four of them gasped, and Saiya looked around frantically before opening the closet door.
“Get in! Don’t come out until I give you the okay!” She whispered and pushed the three into the closet before sliding the door closed. It was cramped and they were squished against each other, but Katara had a glimpse of the front room through the crack of the door. Saiya went up to the door and opened it but was promptly shoved to the side by soldiers.
“There’s a lot of soldiers!” She whispered at Aang, nervous for their newfound friend.
“What do you want now?” Saiya growled at the guard.
“You should learn some respect, Kowano.” The guard argued back, before making a hand gesture. More guards start piling in, and Saiya starts yelling.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing!?” She argues, standing in the way of the guards that tried to head down the hallway. Katara’s heart rate picks up considerably.
“What’s going on?!” Sokka whispered across to her, panicked.
“It’s the guard from earlier, and he’s brought backup!” Katara whispered back, just as scared.
“We have good reason to suspect you and your little friend lied to us,” the guard seethed at her, leaning forward to look her in the eyes, “and must I remind you that all information on the avatar must be reported to me?”
“If I knew where the avatar was I’d turn him in, collect my reward, and be on my way,” Saiya growled. “Now would you get out of my house, I need to clean before my mom gets home.” She starts to push the guards back before they pull their swords. Katara gulps from within the closet and grasps for Aang's hand.
“We have to help!” He begs.
“Not yet, we can’t blow our cover!” Sokka argues though he’s starting to think it’s too late.
“I’d suggest you move, Miss Kowano.” The guard glared before shoving her to the side and reaching for the closet. Katara uncorked her waterskin and got ready to fight before a burst of flames flew across her vision and she heard the guard yelling.
“You little bitch!” He screamed and let out his own fire. Saiya gave a powerful kick into the air, fire bursting out and shoving him further down the hall onto the stairs. This got the other guards to start up and begin to close the distance of the small room.
“Aang! Run!” Saiya yelled before throwing more flames at the soldiers, the flames clinging onto the walls of her home. Sokka burst open the closet door, grabbing Aang by the wrist and making a B-line for the back door they came in from. Katara, however, let go of Aang's hand and threw her water on the wall, putting out the fire.
“We have to help!” She yelled back at them, getting in a defensive stance next to Saiya. “You’re a firebender?!” She asked while trying to hit the soldiers with her water, though it wasn’t going very well.
“Get out of here guys!” Saiya yelled again before being hit from the side with another burst of fire. Sokka leaned forward and grabbed Katara with his other hand, shoving her out the door. Aang glanced back into the room just in time to see Saiya get pinned to the ground, handcuffs already snapping against her wrists. She glanced up at Aang with pain in her eyes but face set with determination.
“Go!” she yelled again and Sokka finally grabbed Aang and pulled him into the back alleyways.
They ran all the way back to Appa, who had been wading in the water peacefully with Momo on his saddle. He groaned as he saw the gang running towards him, getting ready to take off in a hurry.
“We can’t leave her! She helped us!” Katara begged her brother.
“She wanted us to leave Katara,” Sokka reasoned, “She said she wanted to help the Avatar give world peace, he can’t do that if we all get locked up!” Katara huffed and glanced around, feeling helpless. Aang, however, looked devastated. He couldn’t believe that she was a firebender too. Maybe she could teach him? Suddenly his face lit up.
“We need to rescue her. She risked her life to let us escape, and is still risking her life!” Aang started to argue, “Plus, think about it Sokka, we saw that she is a firebender, a good one at that! And I need to find a firebending master to defeat Ozai!” Aang tried appealing to Sokka's logical side. It seemed to work too, as he dragged a hand down his face and signed, then looked up with determination.
“Alright, what’s the plan.” The three sit down behind the cover of Appa and discuss. Flying by they had seen a small metal prison, likely designed to hold the earthbenders strewn about the town. It was a start, and they decide to go there first. Break-in, grab Saiya and fly away with Appa.
"How do we know she'll want to come with us?" Katara asked nervously, noticing the glaring problem in their plan.
"It's not like she can go back to her house, plus she said she wants to help the Avatar," Sokka suggests, "I feel like if we explain to her that it's safer coming with us than to stay and that she can train Aang, she'll come with us." The three look between each other and solemnly realize they've put Saiya in this position. Leave her home or be arrested, and they all knew what any reasonable person would pick. Signing, but nodding, the three get ready for their rescue.
It was night by the time they put their plan into motion. Katara and Sokka would sneak around the back of the small, shabby prison while Aang created a distraction for the guards. Well, that was easier said than done Aang realized as he air scootered faster than ever with at least fifteen guards chasing after him. Katara and Sokka weren’t having much luck either as they were sneaking through the halls, the prison mostly empty asides from the occasional prisoner who paid them no mind.
“I wonder why there’s really no one in prison,” Katara mused, “since these guards seem to want to stir so much trouble.”
“Small town, plus maybe they just want to bother people rather than actually have to do any paperwork to arrest them.” Sokka then paused as they rounded another corner. “Do they even have to do paperwork? I mean if they’re evil and all who cares why they are arresting people right?”
“Sokka?” A voice called out
“Saiya!” Katara and Sokka cheered as they ran to the small metal cell holding her. She stood up and ran to the front.
“You guys really came to break me out?” She asked, smiling brightly.
“Of course! You helped us, so we’ll help you.” Katara smiled right back, already sensing a great friendship with Saiya, “Plus, Aang does need to learn firebending.” Katara smirked at Saiya’s wide eyes as she froze the lock for Sokka to break with his boomerang.
“You guys want me to come with you?! And Aang wants me to teach him? The Avatar wants me. To teach him!” Saiya looked overjoyed as Sokka shattered the lock and her cell door opened. As she stepped out, she paused and looked slightly sad. “What about my mom…,” she asked no one in particular. Sokka looked at her with a sad gaze.
“You're in cahoots with the Avatar now, you can’t really go back anyways.” He said sorrowfully. “I’m sorry, but it’s probably safer for her that you leave with us.” He reasoned and Saiya hated that it made sense.
“Can I at least stop by my house and leave a note for her?” Saiya asked, looking at them sadly. Neither could deny her that closure, especially considering they never got it themselves. They nod and run out into the front area where Aang is doing loop-de-loops on the ceiling.
“Saiya!” He cheered when he saw her and she waved, before taking off spriting with Katara and Sokka to get on Appa. They hopped on and Katara explained that she was going back to her house to leave a note for her mom and grab a few of her things. Aang agrees and they take off in a jog, Katara and Aang splitting off to go back to Appa while Sokka went with Saiya to watch her back. They snuck back into her house through the back door and Saiya quietly wrote a short note to her mom. It was vague but she knew that if her mother knew where she went she would likely follow. Sokka watched from the hall as Saiya placed the note on her pillow and as she turned around she caught his eyes. He gave her a sad smile which she returned before rounding the corner. There she went into her room and grabbed a small self-defense dagger she has, some clothes, and the Pai Sho tile her father left her. They snuck back out the door and ran down the alley towards the shore where Katara and Aang waited.
"I'm sorry, for earlier," Sokka apologizes and Saiya gives him a bewildered look.
"What do you mean?" She asks and Sokka sighs.
"I didn't trust you, like, at all," Sokka explains, "I shouldn't have judged you that quickly. I assumed just because you're Fire Nation that you're evil."
"I get it, Sokka, there's no need to apologize." Saiya shrugs him off. Before he can respond they spot Appa and run up his tail onto the saddle with Katara. Aang commands Appa and they take off quickly, already seeing the guards in the distance still running after them. Saiya watches her village until it's nothing but a speck in the distance.
“So, where are we heading?” She asked, turning away from the sight before her eyes can water.
“We’re going to the Northern Water Tribe to find a waterbending master for Aang and myself,” Katara answered, looking forward to the sky. “Luckily we won't have to stop in the Earth Kingdom to restock now because of the supplies we gather from your house, Saiya.”
“Well then, make yourself acclimated to sleeping on a flying bison!” Sokka said as he stretched out on the saddle on the back of the bison’s back, Katara following suit and Aang resting on Appa’s head. Saiya took one more glance to the village that was now unseeable and laid out next to Katara.