Chapter 45: Patrolling the Territory

Later, everyone was inside the training room in The Bending Tower. Ash was in between Flare and Crash, and everyone was sitting around, talking, waiting for instructions from Goldwing, who was at the front of the room, talking to Kabu. Since it was snowing, Kabu had ordered everyone to move into the training room for a meeting.
"Everyone, settle down!" yowled Goldwing, making everyone turn their attention to the winged leader, eager to listen to what he had to say. Goldwing exchanged looks with Kabu, then turned to everyone. Ash perked his ears to hear better. Wonder what they're gonna say, he thought eagerly, as he saw Goldwing had opened his jaws to speak. "Airwing has predicted that this snow is going to be none like any other, it's going to be big. With that said, we must make preperations. Slice, Miguel, Crystal, Flare, do you still know how to Firebend?"
"No," Crystal replied.
"Well, I know a little..." Slice shrugged.
"I know some," Miguel nodded.
"I know pretty decent Firebending," Flare responded.
"Good. It's going to be cold; in every room I need you to somehow put fire in there without burning the room down. Make a fire that can keep everyone warm," Goldwing nodded. "We're also going to have hunters getting prey. Kabu, you handle making those patrols. And River?"
River stepped forward. "Yes sir?"
"You're going to make patrols to find loners throughout the territory and bring them into The Bending Tower," Goldwing ordered. "We need to help the loners because they'll freeze to death. We already have some loners with us: Cinder, Tiggerpaka and Masang. Take any other loner needs to be brought in."
"Oh great, we're having a bunch of strangers in here?" muttered Stone, who was a few feet away from Ash. Ash couldn't help but agree. What if a Firebender could've thought Goldwing would bring in loners and come to spy when brought in? Maybe Goldwing would make sure the loners that came in weren't very suspicious. Ash reminded himself to keep his guard up.
"Okay," Kabu stepped forward. "Here's who we're gonna have hunting: Stone. You lead Raoul, Max, Charlotte, Mistletoe, Rusty and Maisoon." Stone nodded and walked away, followed by the rest of the patrol, and they exited the room. "Diamond, you lead Dust, Airia, Darner, Twig, Crash and Eris." With that, Diamond's hunters left. "Now, Zapada, you lead Nyx, Cora, Midnight, Dell and Twig." Then, that patrol exited the room. Kabu stepped back, and River took his place.
"Searching patrols," River nodded, "Shell, you lead Akumu, Twister, Ash, Pine, Light and Windows."
A beautiful female lion nodded. She headed for the exit, and Ash bounded after her, Light close behind, followed by Akumu and Twister. Windows and a female coyote brought up the rear. River's voice faded behind Ash as he headed down the stairs and went outside, where the snow was getting heavier.
"It's c-cold! Akumu complained.
"Well, it's not as cold as Mt. Ice was," Light snorted. "And that place was horrible."
"Alright now, let's go," Shell nodded, and they all headed into the forest. The leaves swished around Ash's paws as he walked through them.  He looked up at the snow, remembering it from Mt. Ice. He had been told it came from the sky, but didn't quite imagine it was swift and beautiful as this. Ash didn't quite remember snow before, no matter how far back in his memories he went. Maybe I was born in white-earth? Ash suggested to himself.
"Aren't you Kabu's mate?" Akumu's question to Shell snapped Ash back to reality and away from his daydreams. They were heading into the area where all the fallen trees were.
"Yes, I am," Shell nodded, smiling at Akumu. "He's a good Bender."
"Yeah, I look up to Kabu," Akumu smiled back. "Even though he made us do all that tough training..."
"Agreed, seemed like he did all that for no reason..." Twister mumbled.
Shell perked her ears, "He didn't do that for no reason. It was for good reason."
"What'd he do it for?" Ash asked, curious.
"To make all of you stronger. Have you noticed that after a moon of that training you've had more strength than before?" Shell responded. "You may have thought it was for no reason, but it has indeed helped you a lot."
Ash realized Shell was right. "Oh... That is true. I managed to pull Willow out of the fallen trees," commented Ash, jumping onto one of the fallen trees and standing on them.
"See?" Shell smiled.
"We should get back to detecting the loners," Light pointed out.
"Right," Shell nodded. "Do any of you know any loners around here?"
"Well, let's see," Ash said, looking at the snow on his nose, crossing his eyes. He then turned his attention to Shell. "Ember, for one. He's a fox. And another one, Midnight, she's a wolf. They're close friends so they should be together."
Shell nodded. "Alright. On the way, try to detect scents of any other loners."
Ash moved to jump off the tree, but instead slipped because of the snow. He fell onto the ground with a grunt, but got to his paws. He saw Light snicker at him, and Ash rolled his eyes, and walked past her, trying to catch up to Windows.
"So do you like this cold weather?" Ash asked him.
"Not one bit," Windows mumbled. "Why did I even join this place? I could be in a much warmer area..."
"Then join the Fire Nation if you're so cold, they live next to an active volcano," Light snorted.
Windows narrowed his eyes, "Are you saying I should go join the Firebenders?"
Ash braced himself for the upcoming argument. He knew for a fact Light never backed down from something like this, and Windows didn't seem like the type to surrender, either.
"Well sure, you seem good enough to feed the Firebenders. Perfect rank for you," Light smirked.
"You'd be perfect for that, too. I mean, you're not even a full Bender yet," Windows retorted.
"At least I can live during a snowstorm," Light growled.
Just as Windows opened his jaw to make a reply, Shell stopped them. "Quiet, guys. We need to focus on getting the loners."
Ash kept trotting along with the group and he smelled the air, picking up a scent. He then checked the ground. "Ember. He's been here."
Shell sniffed at the air. "Okay," she nodded, and began following the scent. Ash came behind her, and Akumu and Twister followed, both looking around at the place. Pine still said nothing, trotting silently. Ash looked at Pine, and she looked back. Ash quickly looked away and kept his eyes focused on ahead.
"Hello," said a voice. Ash perked his ears, and smiled. Success. He turned around and looked up in the tree, spotting Ember. Just as he expected.
"Hello, Ember," Ash nodded in greeting. "How are you surviving the snow?"
Ember jumped down from the tree gracefully. He walked over to the patrol, leaving pawprints in the snow. "Well, Midnight and I have been hunting prey, not much luck though. It's pretty cold out," Ember commented.
"See?" Windows turned to Light, "I'm not the only one who's cold."
"Well at least the fox doesn't complain," Light snapped. She then turned to Ember and raised an eyebrow, suspicious. She sniffed at him. "Hey... He's a Firebender." She then growled.
"Firebender?" Windows echoed, "Well it's about time we'll see some action 'round here!"
"Former Firebender," Ember corrected him. "I left them."
"Congratulations," Light rolled her eyes.
For the first time, Ash saw Ember a bit annoyed. "Why can't anyone trust me?" he snorted.
"Because, well, I don't know..." Light said sarcastically, "Because you could be a spy!" she exclaimed.
"Light, calm down, there's no proof that Ember here is a spy," Shell nodded. She then turned to the fox. "Look, the snow is going to get harsher and harsher. It's going to be a blizzard, supposedly." When she said this, Ember's eyes grew wide, full of worry. "So, we're inviting you and your friend Midnight to stay at The Bending Tower until this blizzard blows over."
"Did someone say my name?"
A black she-wolf stepped through the bushes. "Hey, Ember. What's up?" she then turned to the patrol. "Oh, Twister! Akumu! Ash! Hi."
"Hey," Twister said.
"Midnight, Shell said this is going to turn into a blizzard," Ember explained.
"A blizzard?" Midnight said in a tone that sounded like she didn't believe it. "How would you know?"
"I don't," Shell said, voice full of confidence. "But I trust in my leader that the prophecy one our elders had is true."
Midnight turned to Ember, "Well what do you think?"
"It's not like they're gonna harm us, we should take shelter there." Ember nodded.
"What, you don't trust us?" Windows challenged Ember.
"When you've grown up at the Fire Nation it's weird when someone asks to take you in for shelter," Ember shrugged. "We'll come. The blizzard would kill us if we don't."
Shell nodded. "You'll be safe with us."

Ash walked with the patrol and they came back to The Bending Tower. Shell walked with them up to Kabu. Midnight was in conversation with Twister and Akumu as they walked. Ember was examining the Tower, looking in awe at it. Kabu had came up to them. "So who do you have here?" he asked Shell.
"Ember and Midnight," replied Shell.
"So now we have two Midnights," smiled Kabu.
Ash nodded in agreement; he remembered Kabu calling an animal by the name of "Midnight" before, but Ash had never saw him before.
"This is probably just temporarily though," Midnight assured him.
"What do you want us to do now?" Shell asked.
Kabu licked her ear. "Go rest. Shell, you've been hunting last night, you deserve rest."
Shell smiled. "Of course." Shell then went into The Bending Tower, and Kabu turned to Ember and Midnight. "You two... Twister and Akumu can show you to the travelers' room. That's where our loners stay."
Twister smiled. "Follow me, guys," she then walked into The Bending Tower.
Kabu turned to Ash, "Ash, you go help Twister and Akumu."
Ash nodded, and darted after Twister and Akumu. He skidded to a halt when he came in, seeing Twister and Akumu looking at him. "Kabu asked me to come with you," he explained.
"What, Kabu doesn't trust us so he needs three Benders to guide us?" Ember chuckled. Midnight smiled in amusement, and they kept walking, Twister, Akumu and Ash escorting them.

Author's Note:
*insert author's note here*   *-*

Chapter 44: Hunting Patrol

"For Lifebreeze's sake, what's with the winds today?!" growled Rusty, fighting against the strong wind pushing his fur back.
Ash was very cold, but it was a hunting patrol, so he had to focus on the prey, much less the weather. He didn't like it either, but he had been ordered to go hunting. "I know," Ash grunted, walking over one of the fallen trees.
Charlotte narrowed her eyes against the wind, looking up at the sky. Dark clouds were forming. "My, look at how dark the clouds are! I'm surprised it's not raining."
Ash nodded agreement. While the apprentices were training, Kabu had sent him, Rusty, Charlotte, Crash and Firefly to go hunting. It had been a moon since Ash was made a full Bender, so he was getting used to his responsibilities.
Firefly sniffed the air. "I can detect a shrew. Hard to believe the prey is out in this cold weather."
"Must be looking for shelter. White-earth approaches," Crash nodded. "I don't like this time. Each time it comes back, it's always harsher than the last time, it seems."
"What happens in 'white-earth'?" Ash asked.
"The place gets covered in snow and it's very cold," Rusty grumbled.
"Well, if you live at the Water Tribe, it's not the cold that shocks you but the heat," Firefly smiled.
"Then you must really enjoy this weather," grunted Rusty, jumping over another fallen tree.
Firefly shook his head, "I don't like the cold, but I manage to live." He got into a stalking position, and walked slowly through the grass, then pounced. Ash saw him jump onto a shrew, striking it and killing it.
"One's better than nothing," Crash shrugged. "Now we need to find some more prey."
"Do you think there'll be any deer around?" Rusty wondered, "We could make a nice meal out of that."
"I dunno what deer do around this time," Charlotte shrugged.
Ash shivered, not just from the cold, as he remembered his encounter with a deer: on their way to the Water Tribe a deer had charged at them, giving Ash a side injury. It wasn't a normal deer, though; it was huge. Its antlers were mighty, very sharp, many on his head.
"We could try finding some deer," Crash suggested, "And on the way, look out for prey."
Ash sniffed the air, and could just make out the scent of rabbit. "Aha," he murmured, and began walking through the undergrowth. He followed the scent, and could tell the patrol had stopped to wait for him to come back. He looked around, and saw the bushes rustle. Ash jumped into the bushes, and pinned something to the ground, and it yowled.
"Ash!" it exclaimed, "Is it really you?"
Ash got off it. He realized it was no ordinary rabbit. "Masang?" he said, a smile coming onto his face. Masang had been the rabbit who helped them get to the Water Tribe. He recognized Masang, seeing his makeshift "earmuffs" over his ears.
"Gotcha!" yowled a voice, and Masang was pinned to the ground by Firefly. He looked at Ash, "Why haven't you killed him yet?"
"That's not prey!" Ash exclaimed, "That's Masang!"
"Who?"
Masang got to his paws. "The name is Masang. And thank you for not killing me. Look, I'm prey, but I can talk. And you know the rule."
"The rule?" Ash echoed.
Masang turned to Ash, "Yeah, one of the laws--"
"Don't kill prey that talks," interrupted a voice, and Rusty stepped through, the wind blowing on his fur. "The Peacebenders don't allow us to kill talking prey because it means they're 'special' and they have a soul."
"So prey that doesn't talk..." Ash began.
"Are stupid and are meant to be eaten," Rusty confirmed.
Charlotte came. "Masang! It's you!" she exclaimed.
"Hello, Charlotte!" Masang smiled. "Good to see you. Long time no talk."
"You can say that again," Charlotte nodded.
Crash jumped through the bushes. "May I interrupt this social conversation?"
"Oh, sorry Crash," said Rusty. "This is Masang, our old friend from when we went to the Water Tribe."
"Ah, Masang, yes... The patrol told me about you," Crash nodded. "Can we help you?"
"Yes, you can," Masang nodded. "I have information."
"Okay," Crash nodded.
"Oh, and I also have some... Er, animals with me," Masang said, and, as if on queue, out from the bushes came Tiggerpaka.
"Tiggerpaka?!" Rusty and Ash exclaimed.
"Yes, it is I, the mighty Tiggerpaka!" Tiggerpaka confirmed, holding his head up high. "I helped your little bunny friend get here."
"Who?" Firefly asked.
"Your bunny friend, Masang!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed.
"No, you," Firefly said.
"Me? Why, I'm Tiggerpaka, explorer of the land! Because of white-earth approaching I decided to stay at your 'Tower' and help you out with survival," Tiggerpaka smirked.
"More like relax in the comfort of the travelers' room," murmured Rusty.
"Oh, there's another one," Masang nodded. "Cinder! C'mon out!"
A gray she-cat poked her head out of the bushes. "Oh... Hi." She stepped out and came in front of the patrol.
"How did this turn from a hunting patrol to a friend reunion?" Crash muttered. He then looked at Cinder "Um... Hello there."
"Oh, glad I'm not the only cat," Cinder smiled. "You're hunting?"
"Um, yes, we are," Crash nodded.
"Sorry we interrupted," Cinder sighed. "I was in a tree and Masang and this squirrel came along and found me."
"I'm sorry, dear, but I am not a squirrel, I am a meerkat. The name is Tiggerpaka," said Tiggerpaka, holding his head high.
"Yes, Tiggerpaka," Cinder nodded. "I need shelter... I've been cold."
"We can get you that," Crash said.
"Thank you..." Cinder smiled. "Where do you live?"
"In a place we call The Bending Tower," Ash responded, trying to be helpful. "Are you a Bender?"
"Bender? Well... I came across a place called the 'Earth Kingdom' and they taught me a bit of what they referred to as... Earthbending," Cinder said.
She's a kind animal, Ash thought, At least she won't be causing any trouble. "We can show you to The Bending Tower."
"But we need prey!" Charlotte exclaimed.
"You need prey?" Cinder echoed. "Oh, I can get you some!" she darted off.
"Weird cat, she is," Rusty murmured. He turned to Crash. "You're seriously letting her come to The Bending Tower?"
"We can't turn down a loner in need," Crash shook his head. Right then, Cinder came back, carrying three magpies.
"Sorry it's not a lot!" Cinder apologized, "I'm just a cat, y'know, we're not very strong." She ran away, then came back with three rabbits.
"This is good," Ash examined the prey. "Did you get these all by yourself?"
"Over the seasons," Cinder smiled sweetly. "Lot of work but I did it. Besides, you're giving me shelter, you deserve this."
"Thank you," Crash nodded. "We should--"
Suddenly, white flecks began falling from the sky. Ash looked at them, confused. What is this?
"Snow," breathed Masang, "We need to get to The Bending Tower."

Author's Note:
Yay, Masang's back! :3 Thanks to Cinder for Cinder. ;) Ash's first time seeing snow, eh?

Chapter 43: Feeling Grief

Stone was standing over Fan, looking down at the peahen. "I... I don't know what to say..." she said, voice cracked from sadness. "I thought... I thought Fan would survive this."
Darner put his tail around Stone's shoulder. "She's in a better place now, definitely, she'd be welcome there."
Rainbow's head was hanging in sadness, sitting over Amur's dead body. Her tail was around one of Amur's paws, grief on her face.
Ash sighed, looking at all the sad faces. "If... If only there weren't so many... Deaths," he said to himself.
"We should be grateful it wasn't many," said Charlotte, startling Ash, who had just realized she was next to him. "They may have been good Benders, but... But it wasn't a lot."
Ash kept looking at the dead bodies, wordless. Questions lingered in his head: what caused this storm? It was more extreme than any other storm in history. Why didn't the Peacebenders warn them? Why would this happen to them? Did it strike any other places other than The Bending Tower?
Suddenly, Goldwing landed on the ground, some of the young in his mouth. Airia, Zapada and Nyx followed, landing on the ground around Goldwing, who put some of the young on the ground, and they all went running, crying, to their mothers and fathers.
"Mom! Mom!" squeaked a little kit, running to Rainbow, leaning against her fur. The rest of the kits followed, and Rainbow put her tail around them, sadness on her face.
"Mom! I was so scared!" wailed one of the kits, burying his face in her fur.
"Streak, you're fine now... It's all gonna be okay," breathed Rainbow, her body shaking from her grief. She licked her kits' heads, trying to calm them down.
"M-Mom...!" squeaked a brown kit, "Wh-Where's dad?"
Ash's muscles tensed, wondering what the kits' reactions would be to finding their father dead. His throat clogged up with grief, feeling terribly sorry for the kits, and all of the young who had been scared from the tragic storm.
"Nzuri..." sighed Rainbow, licking her kit's head, "Your father... Has gone to a better place."
"A b-better place?" Streak asked.
"But... He'll be... Coming back, right?" asked Nzuri.
Ash hung his head in sadness, not wanting to watch the kits. Everyone was silent, all of them seemed to be looking at Rainbow and her kits, and each and every one of them seemed sad for her, even Hazen, the loner.  Goldwing's eyes were shut tight, he seemed to be still taking in all of the bad stuff that had happened to them all. He shook his head quickly and swiftly jumped onto the boulder, "Yes, we have had many losses, and we will have the animals buried tonight. May the Peacebenders protect them well."
Everyone was already gathered under the boulder, looking up at Goldwing, wondering what to do. All Ash wanted to do was go back to The Bending Tower and curl up in his den and pray he had only been in a nightmare. Eclipse sat on his right, and she put her tail on Ash's back. "It'll all be fine," she whispered, "Soon we'll have forgotten about this and moved onto other things. Besides, the dead ones are watching over us this very moment..."
"Since we're all in a moment of sadness, I'd like to do something that supposedly would cheer us up a little bit. The patrol who brought Tiggerkat back contained some apprentices who had been training for quite a while. "Dust, Ash and Rusty... And, on Airia's request, Charlotte too."
Ash perked his ears. What could possibly be happening that Goldwing wants with us? he wondered, full of anxiety.
"Peacebenders," Goldwing began, "hear my words as I make Dust, Ash, Rusty and Charlotte into full Benders. They have worked hard to understand Bending, and are ready to take their turns to become full Benders. Dust, do you agree that you are ready to become a full Earthbender, and that you can take on all of these responsibilities?"
"Yes!" Dust yowled, unable to hide the excitement he had.
Ash was wide-eyed. They were finally, after so many moons, becoming full Benders? What he had joined The Bending Tower to achieve?
"Rusty?"
"Of course!" Rusty exclaimed, his legs trembling.
"Ash?"
"I do," Ash breathed, his heart racing.
"And Charlotte?"
"I will," Charlotte nodded.
"Then with the help of the Peacebenders, you may all get your wish. When I tap your head, the Peacebenders' powers will make you stronger, faster, and a better Bender." Goldwing walked forward and tapped Dust on the head, eyes wide. He then tapped Rusty's head, who had his eyes as equally wide as his brothers', then Goldwing tapped Ash's head, and finally moved onto Charlotte.
Out of nowhere, Ash felt strength building inside of him, making him instantly feel stronger, like he could take on any enemy, anytime, anywhere. At the same time this felt good, and he kept getting more and more excited.
Then, Ash felt the feeling go down to his legs, and felt them be stronger. He had the urge to run, run and run forever, and figured this would come in handy for whenever he had to outrun an enemy.
After that, it stopped.
"Dust," Goldwing said, "Rusty. Ash. Charlotte." He had taken a pause after every name. "You are now officially full Benders. Welcome."
At first everyone was silent. Ash was silent too, wordless, he couldn't think of what to say; he was now a full Bender, after thinking he'd never make it that far.
"Yeah, go Rusty, Dust, Ash and Charlotte!" exclaimed Crystal, howling. Flare joined in too, cheering alongside Crystal.
"Good job guys!" yowled Eclipse, a smile on her face.
Then, everyone was cheering. Ash felt his heart racing, pride swelling in his chest, and he had almost forgotten about the storm that had occurred. It was one minute that they were apprentices, and now, full Benders.
Ash turned his head and saw Hazen eyeing him, just him, only him, not the others. An evil smile spread on his face, but only for a second, then it went away. Did I just imagine that, or did Hazen really do an evil smile? Thought Ash, but he quickly dismissed the thought.

Author's Note:
Yay. ^U^

Chapter 42: Aftermath

Airia shook her head, "Ash, I can't carry you much longer," she said through the bundle of fur in her mouth, "I need to protect Rainbow's kits."
"Drop me on the Earth below!" Ash yowled, trying to make himself heard over the rumbling thunder and lightning. "I'll be fine."
"I'm scared!" mewled one of the kits.
"You'll be fine," Airia said, and dropped Ash onto the ground, and flew off into the distance, followed by Goldwing and the others, obviously trying to get to a place without thunder and lightning to be safe from the dangerous storm.
Another rumble came, piercing Ash's eardrum. Suddenly, everyone was howling and yowling alarm, looking up at the sky. Ash looked, and gasped as he saw a huge ball of lightning, growing bigger and bigger. Lightning came out of all of it, and a strong wind swept the land, making Ash's fur ruffle.
Suddenly, the ball of lightning disappeared, and the clouds departed quickly, leaving the area, revealing the sun and a cloudless blue sky. Birds came into the area and Ash could hear them singing. It was like a land with peace.
But the destruction around him made Ash not forget what just occurred.
Kabu, a scar running over his back, fresh and bleeding, hopped on top of a rock. "Where is Feather?"
"Here!" Feather flew up to Kabu, her tail feather ripped. However, she didn't look too badly injured, not like the rest of them. Which is good, thought Ash, if we had an injured healer it wouldn't be too good.
"Feather, I need you to attend to any and all injuries. Those without serious injuries, I need you to investigate those we lost," Kabu ordered.
"Where did Goldwing go?" asked Flare.
"He went with Airia and the others who could fly to get the young to a safe place," responded Kabu, as Eclipse came over to him to stop the bleeding on his back.
Rainbow wailed. "My kits! Are they okay?"
"Should be," nodded Darner, "don't worry, even though your mate is dead, your kits will be fine, as they still have you."
"But they don't have their father," said Rainbow.
"Rainbow, we'll guard your kits with our life," nodded Crash, a huge tom-cat.
Feather flew over to Rainbow, examining her ripped ear. She put a leaf onto it, "This should stop it. Eat this berry," she pushed a berry to Rainbow, with her talons. "It'll stop the pain."
Rainbow slowly ate the berry, while Crash and Darner began discussing something. Ash walked up to Kabu. "Can... Can I help in any way?"
"Look at the dead animals, I want you to get them together so we can hold a funeral," Kabu ordered. Ash nodded and ran to Fan, definitely dead. He sniffed her, and she had a dead scent. Sighing, Ash bit on Fan's neck and dragged Fan to the middle of the area. "You were a great Bender," Ash nodded, "I'll never forget how great you were."
Ash then headed for the collapsed trees where Willow had been buried. He climbed up the trees, digging his claws in so he wouldn't lose his grip. Ash got to the top and squeezed down a gap, going into the darkness. He could scent Willow, and the dead scent lingered with it. "I think you'd have been great while battling with the Firebenders. Too bad we lost a good Bender..." he grabbed Willow, and jumped out of the gap. He realized he was stronger, because Willow was quite heavy. He took her over to Fan, laying her next to the dead peahen. Already Benders were gathering around, staring at the dead bodies, sadness on their faces.
Alright now... Mystery, thought Ash, and he ran over to the dead monkey, who bared a terrible scar on her neck, bleeding. Wow, something hit her in the neck, that must've been bad, Ash told himself, and he took her to the group of dead animals. "Mystery, you were a great Bender," Ash said, and with that, he went to retrieve Amur, and noticed the white loner wolf. He stopped in his tracks and looked at him. Blood was on his paws.
"Um... Hello," Ash trotted up to him.
"Hello," whispered the white wolf, his voice strange. A shiver ran down Ash's spine. Something about the white wolf made him creeped out, but couldn't find what.
"Are... Are you a loner?" Ash asked.
"I... Guess you could say that..." said the white wolf, examining the beautiful sky. He looked at Ash. "Remarkable Bender you are, yes..."
"Er, thank you...?" Ash said cautiously. "Where do you come from?"
"Ash, sometimes there are questions you'd not like to know the answers to," responded the white wolf calmly. "My name is Hazen, just to let you know... Thought you'd ask something like that." He walked away.
Hmm, strange wolf... thought Ash. He jolted, wait, how did he know my name?!

Author's Note:
Creepy wolf... o3o

Chapter 41: Who Will Survive?

Ash landed on the ground, the wind knocked out of him. As he struggled to recover, he began breathing fast, only to be thrown again, and hit the tree. The wind was once again knocked out of his body, and his bones ached. Lightning then hit the tree nearby, and Ash yowled and backed away quickly, wanting to escape the madness.
"Ash!" yowled Charlotte, and she fell to the ground, being thrown by the earthquake as well. She got to her paws and ran towards him, only to be thrown again, landing next to Ash. She got up again, "What's happening?!"
"I don't know!" Ash exclaimed, "Stay calm, it'll--" he stopped as lightning hit the ground nearby, and he whimpered and jumped in fear, backing up slowly.
Ash heard a yowl. Willow was looking around desperately, trying to dodge the lightning that kept occurring  As she ran, two trees got struck by lightning and collapsed on top of her, and her howl of fear was cut off, and she was nowhere to be seen, buried under the fallen tree logs.
"Willow!" Ash howled, and ran as another tree collapsed near him. Another jolt from the earth sent him flying and he hit a tree, and it fell from some lightning, and he fell onto the tree. He felt like a helpless mouse, being tossed around by a young animal for fun. Now he knew how the mouse felt: helpless, in pain.
Some thing in the sky was flying. Airia and Goldwing were carrying some of the young, obviously trying to keep them from getting harmed. Zapada and Nyx were helping out, too. A lightning bolt came hurdling towards Airia, and Ash yowled in fear. Luckily, Airia dodged it, and Ash let out a sigh of relief: Airia was still alive.
Goldwing was talking to Airia, but Ash couldn't hear him over the sounds of thunder and the earthquake. Suddenly, something hit Ash. Raoul had fallen into him, yowling in a mixture of fear and pain. Raoul scampered off Ash. "Sor-" he began, and another earthquake bursted under him and he yowled, his paw getting hit. Ash was thrown away again, and lightning came for him, but it hit a tree, leaving a mark on it.
A giant thunder clap came, piercing Ash's eardrums. With that, a huge lightning bolt came down, the speed of light, and Ash heard a scream. The lightning had hit Fan, and she fell to the ground, dead.
"Fan!" yowled Stone, bearing a scar over her right eye. She ran for the peahen, and a lightning bolt hit the place she had just been standing. Darner followed, yelling Stone's name.
"Stone! Be careful!" he kept running after her, and the earthquake caused him to be thrown into her.
An earsplitting screech came across the clearing. Ash, hiding under a fallen tree, had barely enough energy to turn his head to look at what it was because he was so injured. He then became wide-eyed as he saw a monkey laying there, blood coming out of her neck, her eyes closed. Ash suddenly recognized who it was: Mystery, the she-monkey who had been one of the first Benders he had met.
"No, Mystery!" screamed Amur, but his cry was cut off as a tree fell down on top of him, killing him.
"Amur!" screamed Rainbow, who now had a ripped ear. She looked heartbroken, and didn't notice the tree falling next to her, but then realized it and ran out of the way, looking determined to survive. She's a mother... Ash thought, her kits need someone to be with her... I can't hide like this. I need to make sure there are survivors! He climbed out from under the log, despite his bones were screaming protest. He scanned the area, ignoring the screams of pain and terror and the thunder and lightning. The earth trembled beneath him, and he braced himself for the pain coming as he was thrown across the clearing, and landed int the river, which was strangely faster than usual. It was pushing him towards the waterfall, wanting to give him the same fate as Spots...
As a tremor came again, Ash closed his eyes. However, the coldness of water left him, and now the breeze of the air came. Am I dead?
Ash opened his eyes, and was wide-eyed as he realized he was above the ground. Confused Ash looked above him, and saw Airia carrying him. "We lost Spots already," she said, "We can't lose someone again in the same way."
"Why did you save me?" Ash asked, then he said something he had been wanting to say since they returned to The Bending Tower after the patrol left the Water Tribe, "I thought you hated me."
Airia shook her head, "No, Ash, I know now that you're loyal to The Bending Tower... I'd never want to watch you die."
Ash smiled.

Author's Note:
Yes, very touching, but HELLO, there's animals DYING? Yes, I killed some characters whose owners didn't comment... But on the bright side they can sign-up a new character. xD Very scary chapter. owo

Chapter 40: An Unexpected Storm

Ash perked his ears as he heard scampering. Rusty and Dust crashed through the bushes, looking wide-eyed. "Guys! What happened?"
Rusty breathed heavily. "Tiggerkat... Shrunk...!"
"Shrunk?" Stone echoed. "That has to be the stupidest thing--"
Darner silenced Stone with a flick of his tail, and turned to Rusty, "What do you mean?"
"Well, we found Tiggerkat in a hot pool," Dust growled, "And then Rusty went to get me to tell me he found her. So I followed, and we found what looked like a mini version of Tiggerkat."
"A mini version?" echoed Ash, unsure of what Dust would be talking about.
"Yeah... It was orange-ish and had stripes," shrugged Rusty.
"We should go investigate," Twister nodded. "Who's gonna carry Twig?"
"Carry Twig?" Dust echoed.
"Um, she was knocked out when she fell into a pit of sand," said Akumu, and when it looked like Dust was going to ask another question, she continued, "Long story, we'll tell you later... Let's just go find Tiggerkat."
Twister grabbed Twig by the scruff and began walking, careful not to make Twig hit any briars or rocks. Twister gracefully leaped over a log and continued. The rest of the group followed, Akumu taking up the rear.
"So did anyone miss us?" Dust asked Ash, walking along with the group. He ducked as he neared a hanging branch, and kept walking alongside Ash.
"No, not really, only me I guess," shrugged Ash, as he kept walking, then trotted a little faster to catch up with the others as he realized he was falling behind.
The patrol stopped and Darner turned to Rusty and Dust. "Where is she?"
"We'll take the lead," nodded Dust, puffing out his chest, pretending to be important. Stone rolled her eyes in annoyance, and stepped back to let the twins take the lead. They began walking, and the patrol followed.
It wasn't a long time before they came to a halt. Dust looked at the group. "Okay now... Tiggerkat's in this pool over this log." He hopped over it, and Ash followed his friend, and Rusty and Twister followed closely behind them. Tiggerkat was asleep in the pool, looking normal size.
"Um, Dust, this is Tiggerkat shrunk?" Stone glared at him.
"Well, she was smaller when we found her!" Rusty protested.
"Hey guys!"
Ash turned and saw Tiggerkat awake. She was smiling, looking refreshed and calm. He was half relieved to see her okay, but half disappointed that they got worked up about her being missing for nothing, to find she hadn't been harmed by anything at all.
"Didja come to join me? It's very relaxing!" Tiggerkat smiled, crawling out.
"Um, no Tiggerkat. We want you back at The Bending Tower," Twister said.
"Alrightie!" nodded Tiggerkat, still smiling. She hopped to the group, and together they proceeded back to their own territory, back to The Bending Tower.

Goldwing was talking to Kabu when the group came back. They were whispering, in conversation, as animals around them were in groups talking or running or demonstrating a type of technique. There was very few animals there, most of the patrols had gone out for the search.
"Ah, you're back!" smiled Goldwing. "So is she injured?"
"Not at all," nodded Darner.
"Yeah, we found her totally relaxed," snapped Stone.
Tiggerkat came up to Goldwing, "I found a great hot pool to relax in!"
"Sounds great," Goldwing nodded. He then howled, the signal for the patrols to come back, that Tiggerkat was found. Goldwing then turned to Kabu, "When everyone comes back, we're holding another meeting." He then whispered something into Kabu's ear, and the great lion nodded, and trotted over to Airwing and they began a conversation.
Soon enough, the patrols all began coming back. Everyone was talking, murmuring and exchanging news, and most of them seemed to be curious as to what happened to Tiggerkat.
"So what happened to her?" Eclipse asked Ash, both of them in the sea of talking animals. The she-wolf had to make her voice a bit louder than normal so she could be heard over the sound of everyone else's conversations.
"Everyone!" Goldwing shouted, and everyone stopped talking, desperate to know what happened, and turned to the leader. Ash turned his attention to Goldwing, and so did Eclipse, sitting down next to Ash in the middle of everyone. "Tiggerkat was found and brought back to The Bending Tower safely--"
"Yeah, not a scratch on her!" Stone yowled. Everyone exchanged glances, and there were very few whispers, but it didn't start a big discussion.
"So, I'd like to thank Darner's patrol for bringing them back. Darner, you did an excellent job leading this patrol to finding our lost traveler," nodded Goldwing.
Darner dipped his head. "Your welcome, Goldwing, I was glad to help."
"The patrol contained some apprentices, so I'd like to do something very important..." a smile played on Goldwing's face. "Ash, Rusty--"
Suddenly, there was a terrible tremor. Ash fell to the ground because of it, and everyone began talking. Eclipse tried to help Ash up but fell herself, and quickly got to her paws. Ash did too, and after a while the tremor stopped.
"What was that?!" demanded Flare.
"Is anyone hurt?" Goldwing asked, looking wide-eyed. No one reported anything, showing everyone was okay.
Suddenly, there was a bang, the loudest thunder Ash had ever heard. Max and Raoul yelped in fear and hid behind a rock smaller than them. What was gray clouds covering the sky one minute ago now had turned into dark clouds, very dark. Everyone began talking now, and Twig was now awake, shaking in fear. Tiggerkat didn't seem to notice, and was poking a little mouse on the ground. Eclipse looked scared, her blind eyes wide.
Everyone then turned to Goldwing, unsure of what to do. A breeze ruffled the golden wolf's pelt, as another thunder clap came, louder than the one before.
"Everyone duck! Save yourselves!" Goldwing yowled, as the most terrible tremor in the ground erupted under Ash's feet.

Author's Note:
OH NOES. This doesn't sound good! 

Chapter 39: Two Heroes

Something tumbled out of the bushes. It got to its feet, revealed to be Dust. He perked his ears and looked around. "Hmm... What is--" he was cut off as someone bowled into him, this one orange. It got to its paws.
"Dust! Don't get in my way like that!" exclaimed the orange wolf.
"Shush!" Dust snapped. "We're not gonna find that animal with you shouting."
"Sorry."
"Now, where did the thing go?"
"We don't know what it is," Rusty pointed out.
"Which will make this a perfect challenge," smiled Dust, and he began walking. "Look for any signs of the vermin."
Rusty nodded. "Right!" he sniffed the ground. "Don't smell anything."
Dust looked around. "Where could it have gone...?"
Rusty jumped on top of a large rock. "Don't see anything. It could be waiting to sneak attack us!"
"If it dares to even think of doing that, I'll break his bones," growled Dust.
"What if it's Ironfang?" gulped Rusty.
"Then... Th-Then I won't break his bones," Dust said, shivering with fear. He began walking, and looked up at the sky. "Nothin' here. Keep your eyes peeled."
"I can't peel my eyes. It's impossible," Rusty responded.
"It's an expression, genius. How're you going to expect to impress anyone like that?" Dust snorted.
"How are you gonna impress anyone with being so up-tight?" Rusty retorted.
"I'm not up-tight!" Dust exclaimed.
"Well you aren't exactly fun," Rusty replied.
Dust growled, "I'll show you 'fun', dimwit!" Dust yowled and lunged for Rusty, pinning his brother. They began rolling over each other, clawing each other and biting each other. Dust stopped rolling and bit down onto Rusty's scruff.
"Get off!" snarled Rusty, and he kicked Dust in the stomach. Dust let go and perked his ears. "I win!" Rusty yowled, and he jumped onto Dust's back.
"Shut up!" Dust growled.
"Don't be mad because I beat you," Rusty smirked.
"No, really, shut up, I hear something!" Dust exclaimed. He began listening. "The patrol's nearby."
Rusty and Dust walked over to the bushes and ducked down. Dust could see Ash's legs walking, and Twister's white legs walking near him.
"He's as annoying as Rusty and Dust," said a voice, definitely belonging to Akumu.
"Well!" Dust whispered.
"They'd better be talking about Miguel, because if so it's true!" Rusty growled. He looked at Dust, who had a confused look on his face. "What?"
Dust shook his head. "Listen, if they think we're annoying, let's go find Tiggerkat ourselves and prove we're useful!"
Rusty smiled, "Sounds great!" The twins began running off, the leaves crunching beneath them. They crashed through some bushes and jumped over the river, then slowed down. "Let's catch out breath," Rusty gasped, breathing heavy.
"Agreed," Dust nodded, breathing as heavy was his brother. He sniffed the air. "Hey... I smell something!"
Rusty sniffed the air as well. "That annoying scent... It's recognizable!"
"Tiggerkat!" Dust gasped, "She's near here! I know she is!"
"Well, we got everyone into the mess, let's find Tiggerkat to make it up!" Rusty smiled. "We'll split up."
Dust nodded, "If you see her, come find me!" he jumped away. Rusty turned around and ran, following the scent trail. He sniffed the ground and then the air, and perked his ears. Tiggerkat was near. He ran through the bushes and past the trees, and crashed through the bushes. He stopped, laying down behind a log.
Sure enough, Tiggerkat was there. She wasn't being tortured by Firebenders. In fact, she was laying in a pool with lily pads, asleep, looking quite relaxed. Heat blew up from the pool, showing it was hot water she was laying in.
"For the love of... We thought she was in danger?" Rusty muttered to himself. "I need to go get Dust." He ran  away, over the bushes and crawled along the floor under some bushes, then almost crashed into his brother.
"Did you find her?" Dust asked.
"Yep! Right over here," Rusty said, walking off. Dust followed.
"Is she being tortured?" Dust asked.
"No." Rusty growled.
"Why are you mad?"
"Take a look."
Dust peeked out from behind the log, then gasped, wide-eyed. He slowly sunk behind the log, and looked at Dust, eyes still big.
"Stupid, isn't it?" Rusty snorted.
"That's not Tiggerkat!" Dust exclaimed in a whisper.
"What? I remember--" Rusty peeked out, and grew wide-eyed as well as he saw a small squirrel-like creature who looked similar to Tiggerkat; orange with black stripes. "That's... Not Tiggerkat! What happened to her?!"

Author's Note:
Tiggerpaka, by chance?

Chapter 38: Saved

"Yes, indeed, me," said the meerkat with a smirk. He had a stick in his hand that was bigger than he was. The meerkat began pacing around the quicksand, watching the group helplessly sinking. Ash felt the sand pulling at him, but he kept trying to remain floating on top of it. "I set this trap for you, to catch you into the quicksand. Not so much of a maniac now, aren't I?"
"I dunno, you haven't changed to me," snarled Twig, unsheathing her claws. She tried getting out of the quicksand so she could attack the meerkat, but was stuck. Twister quickly whispered something to Twig, and Twig laid still.
The meerkat smiled. "Like your attitude, kitty cat, but you need some improvement on attack."
"Kitty cat?!" snarled Twig, "I'll show you who's a kitty cat, you little--"
"Enough, Twig," Darner said, laying still. He looked at the meerkat. "What do you want?"
"I've decided to help you on your little quest," smirked the meerkat.
"Well, we don't NEED--" Twig began, but was shushed again, this time by Twister instead of Darner.
Ash kept listening, curious as to why the meerkat had trapped them in quicksand trying to kill them if he was going to help them out. "So why are you trying to kill us if you want to help?"
"Kill you?" gasped the meerkat, "Who ever said I wanted to kill you? You've done nothing to me... Well, except get a little mad, but that's nothing compared to what Tiredblade does to me!"
"Who?" Ash said. What kind of a name is Tiredblade?
"He's--"
"Nevermind, just get us out of here!" snarled Stone. "You got us into this mess, meerkat, you're gonna get us out!"
"Meerkat, oh, please, address me by my name," snorted the meerkat, acting as if they all already knew his name. He used his stick to cut a rope around a tree, then put his paws on it and pulled. Down came a huge "basket" made out of poison ivy vines.
"I'm not going in that--" Twig began to cough. Ash gasped as he saw she was beginning to swallow sand, being suffocated by it; she obviously kept thrashing too much.
"It's either this or sand!" Twister growled, and she bit onto the poison ivy and heaved herself out of the sand, looking as if she was struggling, but made it in. Akumu came in after her, and then came Darner and Stone, and then Moonlight.
"I... Can't... Reach!" gasped Ash, trying to move; when he did, however, he only sunk into the quicksand more. Please don't let me die, he pleaded to the Peacebenders.
"Alright then, mate, I'll getcha," nodded the meerkat, and he moved the vines so the basket now hovered over Ash. The meerkat lowered it and Ash bit onto it, and Akumu and Twister helped him get up.
"A lit-" Twig coughed some more, and was sinking more. "HELP!" she managed to get out, her eyes already going under the sand.
"Get her!" wailed Twister. The meerkat began moving the vines. Ash grew wide-eyed as he saw Twig sinking deeper, deeper, deeper...
As the she-cat's belly was the only thing visible, Ash couldn't stand it no more. He latched his paws into the vines and leaned over, so far he made the basket tip. Everyone yowled in surprise, trying not to fall back in. Ash stuck his paws in and grabbed Twig, pulling her up.
Twig was knocked out, and Ash stuck her in the basket. "She's alive," he breathed, "but she fainted."
The meerkat lowered the basket onto the ground. "Now, that wasn't too bad now, was it?" he said, and put leaves in the basket then poured it on the quicksand. "If Tiredblade comes along 'e'll fall in that!"
"Um... Who is Tiredblade, exactly?" Moonlight asked.
"He has a connection with the fire," said the meerkat, stroking his branch. "Do you have a connection with the fire?"
"Er... Whatever that means," Twister said.
"I think he means Tiredblade's a Firebender," Ash nodded. He looked at the meerkat. "No, we have no connection with fire."
"Good, good," the meerkat said, "Because if you'd did, you'd be on Tiredblade's side, right?"
"Right," Moonlight nodded, "All those with a connection with the fire are on Tiredblade's side. I have a connection with the earth."
"Yes, yes," nodded the meerkat. "So, anyways, I volunteer to help you."
"Okay, meerkat," Twister nodded.
"Call me by my real name," said the meerkat.
"Er... Which is...?" Ash asked.
"Tiggerpaka."
"Tiggerpaka?" Akumu echoed.
"Tiggerpaka." Confirmed the meerkat.
Ash shivered, "Um... Are you in anyway related to Tiggerkat?"
"What? No, whoever she is," grinned Tiggerpaka. "Anyway--" he stopped. "Oh snap, I hear something! Sorry, you're on your own, pals!" the meerkat darted off.
"Er... Thanks for the help!" Akumu called.

Author's Note:
Promises, promises...

Chapter 37: The Trap

Ash sighed. "Let's keep going, hopefully we won't run into him again."
"Agreed," snorted Akumu, "He's as annoying as Rusty and Dust."
Ash looked at Akumu, "Look, they may be annoying, but--"
"Chill, dude, I was only being funny!" Akumu insisted, and she walked away.
Ash shook his head to clear it, then turned to Twister as they kept walking. "Do you think we'll run into that meerkat again?"
"I dunno, I hope not, because he's weird. But I don't think he has anywhere else to go, so he's possibly staying," shrugged Twister.
Ash rolled his eyes, "Like we need him, he doesn't really give us anything good, he just bothers us and acts like he's better than us."
"Agreed, he called us 'tourists'... He's the tourist!" Twister growled.
Ash nodded agreement, and then kept walking. He looked around, trying to find any signs of Tiggerkat, wondering where she could possibly be or what could possibly be happening to her. A bit anxious, Ash picked up the pace.
Stone turned to Darner. "Um... Are we making any progress?"
"Don't detect any signs of her," Darner replied, sniffing the air.
Moonlight remarked, "It's a lot more quiter without Rusty and Dust here."
Everyone exchanged glances, then began murmuring agreement.
"Yes, agreed," Akumu nodded. "More silent."
Even though they were his friends, Ash had to agree it was more peaceful without them. "So what should we do now?"
"We better keep looking--" Darner began, and all the sudden the group fell, the leaves supporting them up gave way. Ash found himself falling into quicksand.
"What?!" Stone growled, "Since when is there quicksand in our territory?!"
"Don't thrash!" Twister yowled, "Or you'll be pulled down even more!"
Ash kept absolutely still, trying to float instead of sinking. Twig looked scared, and so did Akumu.
"Who did this?" Twig demanded.
In answer, the meerkat poked his head over the edge, an evil smile across his face.
"You!" Twig gasped.

Author's Note:
Uh-Oh. D8