Hidden Place

By: Orestes

I am simply suggesting… we go to a Hidden Place

-Bjork

Chapter 1

Katara woke up to a dreaded sound that morning. Silence. Every day for the past 2 years, Katara woke reluctantly either to the sound of Toph's barking orders, Appa's earth-shaking grunts, or, at the very least, her brother's obnoxious snoring. It was often all three. Even Aang, naturally a very quiet sleeper, would be skipping and leaping at the first sign of morning's rays, ready and eager to begin their next day of adventure.

What she wouldn't give for sliver of sound.

This was a very unwelcome morning. Katara's bleary eyes surveyed the campsite. Her eyes now confirmed what her heart had been dreading for the past 2 weeks. Now, it was Sokka missing. His sleeping furs nowhere to be seen, and as far as she could tell by first sight, every article he had been carrying with him, any evidence that Sokka had been sleeping beside her was gone. The ground beside her remained cold and solid, as though his warm body had not been protecting her from their unseen adversaries only a few hours before. Her very last refuge, her last link to home, her rock and strength, was gone. Snatched in the middle of the night.

The first to go was Toph, which was very unusual indeed. She was usually the one to detect any sort of ambush, long before it could be either seen or heard by the others. Katara assumed that was why she was the first to be taken. Without their efficient, sharp, but blind watchdog, the group was completely vulnerable in the dead of night, when all were asleep. Even Momo's keen ears couldn't pick up the precise silence of their ambushers, the ones that had been tracking them for little over a month, remaining hidden by the cover of night and silence - and wreaking havoc on Katara's nerves.

How is this happening… she thought sadly, her heavy heart filled with nothing but worry and concern for her little family, before the panic set in.

Hot tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and she whipped her head back and forth, her braid snapping at her shoulders as she scanned the campsite and surrounding trees. She had been expecting this, sooner or later. But no amount of mental preparation could have primed her for the crushing terror of being truly deserted. She quickly gathered up her sleeping furs and her water skin, wrapping up her few belongings in her sack. With laboured breathing she scrambled to her feet, before marching into the woods, finally, terrifyingly alone.

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The second ones were Appa and Momo, together in one ambush. The group had fallen asleep around the fire, after a full two days of nervously planning their rescue mission for Toph. Her captors were so clearly the fire nation, with some sort of new methods to cover the sounds and vibrations of their footsteps. Aang thought they had been silently swinging through the trees, while Sokka fiercely maintained their use of his invented air balloon. Katara simply sat and stared into the fire, exhausted from her worry over their tough little companion. Over their year and a half spent together, Katara had really begun to think of her as a little sister. Not one that had needed her protection by any means, but now that she had been so easily snatched from under her nose, Katara felt the first pangs of guilt begin to set in.

Why did they come for Toph? Why couldn't I..?

Sleep overtook her, and her eyelids drooped heavily as the debate between Aang and Sokka also died down. Eventually the two had argued themselves to sleep.

It was Aang's bitter weeping that woke them the next morning. A large space of flattened grass was the only trace left of Appa. She never expected she would have missed Momo's chattering so much until the hopeless silence of her companions set in. The three trudged along on foot, Aang often lifting his head to bleakly search the skies for his beloved flying companion, his footsteps heavily dragging along the floor of the Earth Nation.

Katara glanced over at her burdened friend, trying to catch a glimpse of his former self in his deadened eyes. She was reminded of Aang's eyes after his shocking defeat by the Fire Lord Ozai.

Lifeless, empty, quiet. And the guilt... the overwhelming guilt. She doubted Aang would ever forgive himself for the lost opportunity of defeating the Fire Lord before the arrival of Sozin's comet. Katara's heart softened… he was still only a child.

Aang would never forgive himself. He carried so much on his shoulders. She, her brother, and the lost Toph, Appa and Momo had been his only foundations.

It came as little surprise when she and Sokka awoke 2 weeks later to find Aang had been snatched as well. Already having lost 3 of his closest, he wouldn't have had much fight in him.

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Sokka was quick to blame himself. Being the greatest warrior from their quaint southern tribe, he prided himself on his guardian abilities. Needless to say, she was watched very closely by her big brother. He didn't take the loss very well. Neither of them did. The grief and powerlessness of the situation hung on them like a blanket. The siblings clung to each other for defence and sustenance. During the day, they gathered food together, and Sokka sharpened his boomerang, one eye on his task and the other keeping watch over his sister, practicing her bending near the streams of the forest. The forest that had once been their most trusted form of protection.

It had now become their enemy.

The plan was to leave the dense western forests of the earth kingdom as quickly as possible. Then...

Well, then the plan would come more easily to them. Escaping the thick, oppressive, menacing clutches of the forest was their best plan. Head directly south, then east, then…

Hope.

Hope that they would discover their friends, simply lost in the woods. Hope that their captors would give away some secret location, so they could plan an ambush. Hope that they weren't being followed, targeted as well.

Katara had thought that now they had Aang, she and her brother would have been left to their own devices. Aang was still, after all, the one with the biggest bounty on his head. They weren't being actively chased anymore, as far as they could tell, but they were all still enemies to the reigning Fire Nation.

Hiding in the forest, deserts and swamps, the slippery group had been fighting off Fire Nation forces underground, long after Aang's failure during the Day of Black Sun. Attempting to rally rebel forces, to ignite the spirits of the defeated, to turn them on their oppressors- they had been chased out by Fire Nation militia and locals alike- the ones who were at least happy that the war was dying down. They would rather live under the iron fist of corrupt, bullying and heavily taxing occupiers from the Fire Nation than risk their wrath again.

Listen, they're everywhere, I can't speak with you. I have a family--

It's too dangerous; leave us alone to live in some sort of peace

Why can't you see you're unwelcome here?

The avatar remained an enemy to many nowadays.