Chapter 53: Going to Court

"...And so then, the Firebenders had us cornered. There was no way out. 'Give in,' they told us, and fire appeared in the air, they were threatening to catch us on fire. I then had a plan. I jumped onto the side of the wall and sprang to the wall opposite of the one I was on, getting higher and higher until I reached the roof. Then I made the earth rise slowly beneath my friends to get them to safety, and we all ran away, jumping from each roof to the next, escaping our doom."
Raoul leaned forward with interest. Lux, a small leopard, was telling a story about how she had helped her friends escape the Firebenders during a fight. Lux was known for being not very heavy, making her fast and easy for her to climb up things. "That's amazing!" Raoul wagged his tail.
"Thanks," Lux smiled. "I'm glad some animals around here want to hear my stories."
Suddenly, some animals came down into the prison. Raoul narrowed his eyes. Who is it this time?
"Firebenders," grumbled Comet, apparently detecting their scent.
The Firebenders stopped in front of the patrol's cage. Raoul recognized them as Vitaly, Wildfire and Graves.
"Come on," growled Wildfire, "you all are coming with us."
"Wh-Where to?" Streak asked nervously.
"Court," grumbled Vitaly, "we're trying to see if you're guilty or not of trespassing."
"We weren't trespassing!" Akumu protested. "We needed shelter! So we came here!"
"Don't talk back to us!" snarled Graves, clawing Akumu's muzzle. She yelped out in alarm.
"Hey!" Comet growled, "watch it!"
Graves narrowed his eyes. "I can do whatever I want, boy. Don't challenge me."
"You shouldn't hurt Ak--" Comet was cut off when Firefly put his tail in Comet's mouth to keep him quiet.
The patrol reluctantly came out of their cell. Vitaly took the front of the patrol, Wildfire took the right side, and Graves took the left side so they couldn't escape. Nyla, who still had been standing guard, joined them to walk at the back. Raoul looked away from Nyla and pretended he was suddenly really interested in the ceiling of the prison room.
They walked up the steps, and Raoul looked at how much light there was around them. Lot better compared to the prison, Raoul realized, admiring and loving the sun for the first time ever. He then turned to follow the group. They were walking for a large building on the hill, guarded by a buffalo and a white wolf, both looking fierce and dedicated to their job.
"We are here for the mid-day court," said Vitaly.
The buffalo and wolf bowed. "Enter, our leaders," they said in unison.
The group walked into the building. Raoul marveled at the beauty of the inside. But then, his attention snapped to a group of Firebenders in the building, all in a circle, laughing. Raoul looked to see Tiggerpaka was in the middle of the group, doing flips, spinning and then face-planting onto the ground.
"Tiggerpaka!" Raoul hissed, "what are you doing here?"
"Wh-What? I-I-I'm not Tiggerpaka! I'm Tiggerpak!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed. He then whispered to Raoul, "It's me, yeah...they made me their humble performer. They love me!"
Raoul was about to respond when Graves snarled, "Get back here!" and Raoul quickly ran back to the group, not wanting to get in trouble. He turned to the door they were trotting towards, guarded by a tiger and a lion.
"Mid-day court," Wildfire muttered.
"Enter, our leaders," the guards bowed.
The group then walked in. There was a big table, and in the middle was a big chair with a purple-black cougar sitting in it. Next to her on another big chair was Poisonfang. To the cougar's right was a big brown bear, a green snake and a wolf who looked exactly like Ash.
"Ash betrayed us!" Streak hissed.
"No, no, no..." Cinder shook her head. "That wolf has green eyes. It's not Ash."
"Oh. Phew!" Streak breathed.
Raoul cocked his head. Who was that Ash look-alike?
On Poisonfang's left side was Firetalon, a pitch black wolf and Darkclaw.
"That black wolf is the Firebender Healer," Cinder whispered, "Deadtail."
"May the court begin!" the cougar yelled.
"That's Dusk," Cinder hissed, "the cougar."
"Quiet!" Vitaly snapped, as the three Firebenders went to join their fellow Firebenders on the Firebender-side of the court, which was also the side Poisonfang's representatives at the table were sitting on. Some Earthbenders were sitting on Dusk's side of representatives.
"So," Poisonfang rose. "These so-called travellers have committed two crimes: trespassing, and espionage!"
"Espi-what?" Streak said.
"Spying," whispered Cinder.
"We weren't doing espionage!" yowled out Light.
"Silence!" roared Dusk. Light crouched back from fear.
"...And we have proof. Florence told us that you all came to the gates asking for shelter. Trespassing!" Poisonfang hissed. "And you all were talking to the warriors locked up in the prison. Our friend Nyla informed of us that," Poisonfang flicked her tail at Nyla. "You obviously were trying to get them to uprise!"
"Were not!" protested Comet.
"Be QUIET!" Dusk snarled.
"Is she only here to silence us?" Windows whispered.
"Excuse me," Cinder bowed to Poisonfang. Raoul grew wide-eyed. She just bowed to a Firebender! "Poisonfang, I know we were trespassing. And the fact that we were talking to some of the warriors in the prison. But could you give us a chance to defend ourselves, please? I know it's hopeless to ask something like that, but I am hoping you will be merciful on us. You are the greatest warrior ever, and we are but humble little travellers in your presence."
Way to sweet-talk her, Raoul had to admit, Cinder did a pretty convincing job.
But Poisonfang still didn't look convinced. "Fine. Any witnesses to defend these idiots?" she snarled.
No one rose up.
"Okay then," Poisonfang said, "six years in the dungeons it is!"
"No!" Akumu yelled out.
"Hold on! Can you let us tell our side of the story!" Cinder protested.
"Fine then," Poisonfang muttered. "You're going to be here a while, anyway..."
Cinder cleared her throat. "We were a group of travellers who found each other a while back, deciding to help each other survive being on our own, sort of like allies. We walked throughout the land as we kept being chased away from territories, trying to find a place to call our own. We then came across Storm Desert. We had no idea the Earth Kingdom was on the other side. We hoped there'd be a place to live on the other side of the desert. When we arrived to the Earth Kingdom, we were starving and exhausted. We had all been trapped in a sandstorm. So then we came to the Earth Kingdom to ask for shelter, hoping you'd give us it."
Poisonfang waited for a while, then growled. "You lie very well."
"I am not lying," Cinder insisted.
"Guards, take them to the dung--"
"Wait!" Deadtail exclaimed.
Poisonfang rounded on Deadtail. "What?" she snarled.
"These are all young animals," Deadtail said, eyeing the patrol. "You shouldn't waste their bodies away in the dungeon for a few years. What good will it do? They'll just sit there and rot like the warriors. What we need to do is make these animals slaves. They can do a bunch of work for us. They're young enough to do it."
Poisonfang smiled. "Brilliant, Deadtail." She turned to the patrol. "Go to the prison while I think of your first slave assignment!"

Author's Note:
Okay. Chapter written. Now BRB, gotta prepare for a big water war.
Check Misitu's Art Central for a new post and more pictures on the Funny Pictures page.

Chapter 52: Tiggerpaka's Small Adventure

When Ash went to sleep last night, he dreamt about something but wasn't quite sure what. His eyes were barely open in the dream, and Ash's mother's scent wreathed around him. He could feel himself pressed against a bigger she-wolf, who Ash figured was his mother. A pup who smelled a lot like Hazen was jumping around nearby, and so was a she-wolf who looked like Ash himself. "When is he going to open his eyes? He must be weaker than the rest of us."
Ash didn't hear his mother's reply, but could smell another scent - something familiar, a scent he knew but could not exactly lay his paw on it...
"Ash. Ash!"
Ash woke with a start. Rusty was standing over him.
"The patrol's been missing for three days," Rusty commented.
"It's going to take a while to get the Earth Kingdom out," Ash yawned, "give them their time."
"Should we send some others in?" Rusty asked.
"They'll be fine," Ash mumbled. He wished Rusty didn't wake him up - he was dreaming about the time he was a pup, Ash knew that. Hazen was his brother, then. But the look-alike was there, too. Had she lived in the same place Ash was born, too? And what was that familiar scent?
"Whatever you say. Our loss," Rusty muttered, and trotted away.
Ash closed his eyes again, still sleepy, hoping to enter the dream again. He could hear a voice muttering.
"Bunch of idiots...gonna take forever..."
Ash recognized it as Tiggerpaka, but Ash kept his eyes closed.
"Guess I'll have to go in myself...I've always had to save their rear ends..."
Ash felt too tired to stop Tiggerpaka, as he heard the gates open and then close.


Tiggerpaka ran through the gates and followed the path to the next gate, guarded by a huge bear, a battle-scarred black male wolf, and a black she-wolf. Tiggerpaka approached them.
"Halt," growled the bear, "who are you?"
"I am Tiggerpak--er, I mean..." Tiggerpaka scratched his head. "Let's see...Ash told me to tell you that I'm a traveller and not to use my real name. But I can't think of a made-up name at the moment..." He looked around then grew wide-eyed. "Aha! My name is Tiggerpak. Yep, just Tiggerpak. No addition to the name, just Tiggerpak."
The guards all exchanged looks.
"This guy must've been in the desert for a while. Probably went crazy," commented the bear.
"I am not crazy!" Tiggerpaka insisted.
"Have you heard of the Firebenders?" the she-wolf growled.
"Sorry, lady, fire-what?" Tiggerpaka cocked his head.
The she-wolf narrowed her eyes. "So you don't know..."
"Don't know what?" Tiggerpaka asked.
"Don't know a lot of things, that's what," snorted the bear.
"Look, buddy, I tussled with chipmunks before, I'm not afraid to smack you!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed.
"...He's crazy," the bear muttered once more.
"Told you, am not!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed.
The she-wolf showed Tiggerpaka her claws. "I'll kill you if I must, kid. Now, come with us and we'll see what our deputy wants to do with you," she growled, eyes gleaming threateningly.
"Yeah, yeah, hurry up already. You're wasting time," Tiggerpaka glared.
"Don't be such a smart-aleck or you will be killed before you can say 'I'm an idiot'," grumbled the male wolf.
"You're an idiot," Tiggerpaka responded. "See? I'm not dead."
The male wolf lunged, but the she-wolf pushed him aside. "Fang, dear, leave the poor guy alone. Poisonfang probably has a lot of horrible stuff in store for him, she won't want you doing his job."
Fang glared at Tiggerpaka. "Fine."
Tiggerpaka jumped on the bear. "Let's hop to it, subjects! I must approach this Losingfang, since he wants to see me so badly."
The bear knocked Tiggerpaka off with his powerful paw. "First of all, it's Poisonfang, and 'he' is a she. Second of all, don't ride on me, show some respect to the leaders of the land."
"Okay, um...your name is...uh..." Tiggerpaka eyed the bear.
"Orion," the bear narrowed his eyes at Tiggerpaka.
"Alright then, Onion," Tiggerpaka said.
Orion snarled at Tiggerpaka, and Fang glared at Tiggerpaka. "You have the right to remain silent," Fang spat.
"I do?" Tiggerpaka said.
Fang gave Tiggerpaka a murderous look.
"I mean...I do!" Tiggerpaka gave a nervous grin. "Just, you know...walking 'long here..." his voice trailed off and he walked alongside Fang nervously.
They escorted Tiggerpaka inside, and Tiggerpaka looked at all the animals in there. None of them were the patrol from The Bending Tower. "'Scuse me," Tiggerpaka said to a passing animal, an orange female tiger.
"Mm?" the tiger said.
"Where is the patrol Ash sent in to spy in here?" Tiggerpaka asked.
The tiger looked at Tiggerpaka. "What do you mean?"
"Don't listen to him, Nova," Orion grumbled, "he's crazy from the desert. We're taking him to Poisonfang." Orion then bared his teeth. "And why aren't you hunting? Go, you moron, go! We're not gonna get any more food while you louse around all day!"
Nova gave a quick, nervous nod and darted off towards the gates.
The group kept walking along, and Tiggerpaka looked at the animals they passed. When they walked by two pretty female lions, Tiggerpaka nodded his head. "How ya doing? I know your species. Crabby things, you lions are, indeed."
The lions snarled at Tiggerpaka, and Tiggerpaka looked at them with an unimpressed expression. Fang looked at the lions. "Calm down. We're going to handle him soon enough. And you two need to be hunting. We need more food."
"Yes sir!" both lions nodded, and then ran for the gates.
"I love it when they don't talk back," the she-wolf muttered.
Finally, a huge building came into view. Tiggerpaka marveled at it. It had gates bigger than the ones at the entrances, and stairs leading up to it. The building was on a large hill. Outside, a male buffalo and a male white wolf were standing guard, looking fierce and dedicated to their duty. Tiggerpaka looked at them. "As you were, boys, as you were," he said.
Fang hit Tiggerpaka in the head with his paw. "We're here to see Poisonfang," Fang nodded.
The buffalo and the wolf bowed. "Enter, our faithful leaders," they both said at once.
"This is more like it!" Tiggerpaka smirked.
"It's not for you," the bear snapped.
The group walked inside the building, which was like a palace. There were pillars holding the roof up, and the floor had no dust in it whatsoever. It had windows in the side, and wind blew in through them. Tiggerpaka looked around. "This must be my palace they're giving me," he whispered.
The group approached the gates at the end of the hall. Two more guards were standing there: a white-gray tiger, and a light yellow lion.
"Sheesh, how many guards d'you need?" Tiggerpaka snorted.
"Enough to keep idiots like you from invading so we can put them to death," growled the tiger.
"Hmm. You got a temper. I like it. You make a good guard," Tiggerpaka nodded.
"Enter," muttered the lion.
The gates opened, and the group walked inside. There was a big table at the end of the hall with three chairs behind it. The rug on the floor was soft, soft enough to make you wan to take a nap on it. Tiggerpaka looked outside the windows, which showed a wonderful view of the ocean.
"Fang, Darkclaw, Orion!" a yellow snake slithered forward. "Who have we here?" she said in a soft voice.
"Greetings, m'lady. The name is Tiggerpak. By the way, there is no addition to the end of my name, and I am not making my name up to keep my true name hidden. I have come to visit your fine place here to give you the grace of seeing me," Tiggerpaka gave a slight bow to show respect.
"At least he knows he's supposed to bow," Darkclaw muttered.
"This meerkat was causing trouble, Poisonfang. Trying to get in. He's going crazy from the desert, though," Fang growled.
"I am not crazy, Flake!" Tiggerpaka kicked Fang's paw. Fang didn't flinch or yell out.
"I gotta admit though, he's pretty amusing," Poisonfang snickered.
"Of course I am," Tiggerpaka smiled.
"He could be quite...entertaining," Poisonfang added. "Dusk!"
A purple-black female cougar came in through a small door. "Yes, my leader?" she murmured, looking tired.
"Put Tiggerpak here in the small prison room while I think about the plan I have," Poisonfang smirked.

Author's Note:
Alternate chapter title: "Tiggerpaka Makes a Bad Decision For Like, The Billionth Time This Book".
Check my Warriors story if you haven't already. ouo

Chapter 51: The Patrol's Guard

All the animals in  The Bending Tower were all hiding among the foliage. There was a group of trees that they were hiding in. All was well so far, and even a bit of prey was found. Ash was eating a rabbit that Mistletoe had found. It tasted good, and the rest of The Bending Tower was no longer hungry or thirsty. This is going well so far, Ash thought happily.

"Intruder!" exclaimed Darner.

Ash perked his ears. Someone was walking by! "Quick, everyone duck down and try to blend in!" he hissed. He pressed himself low to the grass, which was very soft and was just like bedding. He looked around for who was coming by.

"Where is the intruder?" Dust wondered.

"There!" Rusty said. "Wow..."

Ash spotted the wolf as well. The wolf looked exactly like Ash himself - dark gray with darker gray flecks. Whoa... he thought. Ash studied the wolf. The only difference between them was that this passerby had green eyes. Ash had blue eyes.

"Ash! Are you in two places at once?" Rusty demanded.

"No..." Ash murmured, still looking at the wolf's hypnotizing green eyes.

"She looks just like you," Dust commented. "Is that even possible?"

"Who is she?" Rusty wondered.

Suddenly, a voice called. "Widow! What are you doing?"
Then, a black male wolf white paws and a tail-tip trotted up to the she-wolf. He was slightly smaller than her.

"Hi Raven," Widow responded. "I'm getting berries for our Healer."

"I'll help!" Raven responded eagerly, beaming at her.

"Then come on," Widow nodded, and the two darted off.

"They're gone," Rusty confirmed.

Ash, however, was still distracted by having seen Widow.

Raoul paced around in the cell, bored. He had tried talking to Caput and Nota some more, but they had gone to sleep and said they didn't want to be disturbed. Raoul, however, was excited for when they'd wake up again; he was in the same room as some of the greatest warriors. Raoul's paws tingled with excitement at the thought of it. He then sat down, hoping the warriors would wake up soon.

"Hello?" came a gentle voice.

Raoul perked his ears. A silhouette moved in the shadows. The rest of the patrol was asleep, so Raoul was the only one who knew this animal was coming in. What if it wants to hurt us? he thought with a jolt. Raoul growled. "Who are you, and what do you want?" he demanded, trying his best to sound brave.

As the animal stepped closer, Raoul realized what it was: a beautiful female Border Collie. "Hi."
"H-Hi," Raoul responded nervously, forgetting to sound threatening.

"I've been sent here to guard you," she said. Raoul didn't quite understand why, though, that she didn't sound angry at them. She sounded soothing and shy. I'll bet most Earthbenders who guard us won't be as nice as this one sounds, Raoul thought.

"Who are you?" the collie asked.

"Raoul," Raoul quickly responded, then flinched, realizing he shouldn't have used his real name.

The collie eyed him. "Okay...and who are your friends there?"
"Wh-Who?" Raoul said.

"Your friends...the ones in the cell with you," she responded.

Oh. "Um...Never mind that," he said quickly.

"Where do you come from?" the collie asked, looking curious.

Reminding himself to be cautious about what he said, Raoul replied, "We're travellers," trying to make his voice sound steady.

"Okay then. My name's Nyla," the collie nodded.

"Nyla..." Raoul murmured. Pretty name.

"You're probably hungry," Nyla shrugged. "I'll get you some food."

Nyla turned and walked away. Raoul smiled. Yes! Finally, some food.

Nyla then returned with a rabbit in her jaws. "Since you're the only one awake, I'll give it to you." Nyla then opened the cell door to put the rabbit in.

Raoul jolted. The door was open! He'd be able to get out, and if he was quick enough, maybe he could run free and go get The Bending Tower for help since they were imprisoned! Seizing the opportunity, Raoul darted out of the cell door.

But it turned out Nyla was really fast, too. She easily pounced on him and pinned him to the ground. "And where do you think you're going?" she said in her sweet voice. Raoul was surprised; Nyla was almost as fast as he was. And I'm one of the fastest animals at The Bending Tower! Raoul thought.

"Um...Uh..." Raoul struggled to find an excuse. "Well, duh, I want to leave."

"Really?" Nyla said, "No surprise there. But as long as I'm guard, no one will be escaping the cell. And if you do, I will catch you and have you punished. And that's a promise," Nyla growled. She then pushed Raoul into the cell, and he yelped out. She threw the rabbit in after him. "You should be grateful I'm even giving you food after that little incident." She then slammed the cell door and turned around, standing guard.

Raoul's jaw dropped. The Border Collie he thought was sweet and harmless turned out to have a harsh side.

Author's Note:

Raoul got pwned.

And what do you think about Ash's look-alike? :o

Chapter 50: The Great Warriors

Ash watched as the Earth Kingdom patrol stood at the gates. They eyed it curiously. Dang it, we don't know how to open it! Ash thought in alarm. But then, he watched as Streak said something Ash couldn't hear and tapped the gate with his muzzle, and the gates open. Startled, the patrol jumped back a bit, but then Raoul walked through, followed by the rest of the patrol, and the gates shut.
They're doing fine. They'll be fine, Ash told himself. "Okay! Everyone else, since we're surrounded by foliage, we'll have better luck hunting. Rusty, I want you to assign animals to hunt. If the Earth Kingdom is surviving, they must've found prey to eat themselves. Everyone else, settle down and relax. We should be fine while we wait for the patrol to return."
Everyone looked grateful for the chance to settle down. They all laid down among the grassy ground. Ash could still see the Storm Desert ahead; it was actually not as hot outside the Earth Kingdom. Ash wasn't quite sure, however, how there could be no plants in the desert but there suddenly be plants outside the Earth Kingdom. I guess the Peacebenders blessed them, Ash figured.
Rusty approached Ash. "Wonder how the patrol is doing."
"Great," Ash smiled, "they're probably doing a great job, I'm sure of it..."


"I can't believe we were put in prison!"
Light was pacing around angrily, lashing her tail. They were underground in the Earth Kingdom's prison. It was really dark, and the only source of light was the hole in the top, protected by some sort of wire that made square holes in it. Raoul didn't like the place at all. It seemed like it was a terrible prison to be in. He could barely see more than five feet in front of him.
"We'll never get out of here!" Streak wailed.
Akumu turned on Firefly. "None of this would've happened if you didn't sound so unconvincing!"
"I did so sound convincing!" snarled Firefly, "besides, you didn't even help out, you just kept silent!"
"Calm down, guys!" Comet hissed.
"Actually, I take that back, Firefly," Akumu said. She then turned on Comet. "None of this would've happened if it weren't for your stupid idea! Ash should've never trusted an apprentice like you with your dumb idea! Look where it got us! Thanks a lot, Comet!"
"Not my fault!" Comet narrowed his eyes. "How was I supposed to know Fang would imprison us?!"
"Maybe you though..." Akumu then said in a squeaky, high-pitched voice, "...'Well, gee, it's not like any Firebenders are gonna hurt us or do anything bad to us! They're the nicest animals I ever met! I just won't plan anything for backup!'"
Comet snarled, and Raoul thought he was going to pounce on Akumu, when a voice came out of the shadows.
"Pipe down! I'm trying to get some sleep here!" growled a rusty voice.
Raoul perked his ears. "Wh-Who's there...?"
A big buffalo revealed his face in the cell next to the patrol. "It's me. Some of us are trying to sleep in this prison, and it's kind of difficult with you idiots making a ruckus!" he snapped.
"Hey!" Streak growled.
But Raoul was studying the buffalo. He then realized who it was. Raoul gasped, "You're Caput!"
"Yeah, kid, that's me. Now leave me alone," mumbled the buffalo.
Raoul, however, turned to the patrol. "Guys, that's Caput!"
"Oh my Lifebreeze! Caput!" gasped Light.
The buffalo snorted impatiently.
"I can't believe it! It's him!" squealed Akumu.
"Who's Caput?" Streak cocked his head.
"One of the greatest warriors in the land!" exclaimed Firefly. "Mom told me stories all about Caput! He's my favorite warrior!" Firefly then turned to Caput. "Is it true you killed ten Firebenders in one blow? Is it? Is it?" Raoul noticed Firefly, who was usually quiet, was now trying to keep himself from bouncing up and down like an excited pup.
"Yeah, well...I think I saw fifty," chuckled a new voice.
Out from the shadows came a pitch-black cougar with purple eyes.  Raoul marveled at her. She was rather small, but could recognize who she was as well. "Nota!" Raoul exclaimed. "She's another great warrior! Our first day in the Earth Kingdom and we've met two great warriors!"
"Well kid, you sure know your history," chuckled Nota. Raoul noticed she looked stiff with age.
"What great thing did Nota do?" Streak asked, cocking his head.
"Nota is the fastest Bender ever!" Cinder said.
"Thought Twister may give her some competition," giggled Akumu.
"She outran the Firebenders who were chasing her, and she hid and then killed them with Earthbending!" Cinder beamed.
"That's right. Best moment of my life," Nota grinned.
"Nota, let's not overwhelm them," Caput grumbled. "I'm tired."
"Oh, be quiet, Caput. We never have visitors," Nota replied.
"Visitors? These are our fellow prisoners," pointed out Caput.
Nota sighed. "They're excited about us, Caput. You should be happy."
"With the Firebenders under our control, what is there to be happy about?" grumbled Caput.
"Are there any more great warriors in here?" Windows asked.
"Yes, but they're all tired," Nota nodded. "Don't wake them up."
"Why are you all in here? You guys live in the Earth Kingdom yourselves!" Cinder exclaimed.
"Firebenders put us in here. Because they fear we'll overthrow them," Caput muttered.
"Ha! You guys would overthrow them," Streak sneered.
"So the Earth Kingdom now doesn't have its strong warriors. So they don't fight the Firebenders," Nota murmured.
"We're going to defeat the Fire Nation!" Streak insisted.
"Really? How?" Caput narrowed his eyes.
Raoul then explained the rebellion plan to them.
"You'll never win," Caput muttered. "All hope is gone. The land lost to the Fire Nation."
"But--" Streak began.
"No buts, kid. We lost," Caput narrowed his eyes.
Raoul looked at Nota for support. Surely she didn't agree?
"He's right," Nota sighed. "The land is doomed. Lost forever to the Fire Nation."

Author's Note:
Caput is pronounced "cap-it".
Nota is pronounced "naught-uh".

Chapter 49: Entering the Earth Kingdom

"Here we are; the Earth Kingdom!"
Raoul's mouth gaped open and his eyes grew wide at the sight of the Earth Kingdom gate. Although you couldn't see the inside of the Earth Kingdom, the gates were huge. It was built into a small mountain. Is the Earth Kingdom underground? Raoul wondered. He quickly shut his mouth, realizing it was still hanging open. I wonder what Earthbenders live here! his tail began wagging rapidly.
"You're lucky," Max said, snapping Raoul back to reality, "I wish I were going inside."
"I'll tell you all about it once I get back," Raoul grinned. "You'll have fun without me."
"But I have no one else to hang out with!" Max protested.
"Oh, come on, plenty of Benders like you!" Raoul insisted. "You have Miguel."
"Yeah but...ever since he spied on the Fire Nation I didn't really like him," Max admitted.
"But us three are best friends!" Raoul exclaimed. "Well, while I'm gone, try becoming friends with him again."
"Fine," Max muttered.
"Earth Kingdom patrol, come up here!" called Ash's voice.
That's me! Raoul quickly darted over towards Ash without saying goodbye to Max; he was too eager to get into the Earth Kingdom. Light, Comet and Firefly had already approached, so Raoul was fourth to get there. Cinder also walked up, followed by Akumu and Windows. However, Raoul was surprised to see Streak was, indeed walking up there.
"Did your mother agree to let you in?" Ash asked Streak.
"Uh-huh!" Streak beamed.
"Okay then," Ash began, "so--"
Suddenly, Tiggerpaka approached. "I am here to help save the Earth Kingdom!"
Ash eyed Tiggerpaka. "Er...Tiggerpaka, you're staying here."
"Am not, Bash!" Tiggerpaka protested.
"Bash"? Raoul thought, cocking his head.
Ash sighed. "Anyways," he turned back to face the patrol, "you're facing some dangerous things in there."
"Some of you may not come out alive," Rusty put in, sounding dramatic.
Ash gave Rusty a look.
"What? It's true!" Rusty exclaimed.
Ash shook his head. "Whatever...anyways, you need to be prepared. And if you need help, somehow contact us as soon as possible. I'll send someone in to help you. If you take a while, I'll send someone in anyway. Be prepared, and it's up to you guys to find a way to get the Earth Kingdom out."
This sounds impossible, Raoul thought frantically.
"Good luck," Ash nodded, "the rest of The Bending Tower will be hiding near the gates."
Raoul looked at the gates. Lifebreeze help me, he thought worriedly. When the rest of the patrol began approaching the gates, Raoul followed. Although he was excited at first, now he was getting nervous. Anything could happen in the Earth Kingdom; it was infested with Firebenders and Earthbenders loyal to them. Raoul was just now understanding how scary and important this job was.
"How do we open the gate?" Light wondered, eyeing the gate.
"Does someone need to open it for us?" Firefly wondered.
Streak stepped forward and tapped the gate with his muzzle. "Maybe--"
But, that seemed to do the trick. The big gates slowly, ever so slowly, opened. The patrol stood back to get out of the gates' way.
Raoul then peeked inside. There was a dark tunnel lit up by torches. The sky wasn't there. So that's inside the mountain, Raoul figured. He stepped inside, and the rest of the patrol followed him. He looked around. The walls were made of dirt, and at the end of the hall were some more huge gates. The patrol approached it, and Raoul tapped his muzzle at the gates and they opened.
Past those gates, the sky was visible; they had gone through the mountain already when they went through the hall. There were dirt walls on either side of the patrol still, acting as a hall. The patrol followed the path and took a left turn, then a right turn, and yet another right turn. There was another gate.
"How many gates are there?" Light snorted.
But then, Raoul noticed something in alarm.
"There are guards at the gates!" he hissed.
"What do we do?" Cinder asked
"We'll say we're travellers," Firefly nodded. "Remember, the Firebenders shouldn't remember us from The Bending Tower. Ash chose us all because we were more of the 'background animals' while they ruled us. So just stay calm."
Firefly was first to walk towards the gates. Raoul followed reluctantly, and the rest of the patrol also came along. As they got closer, Raoul could see who the animals were: a pale brown she-wolf, a brown male fox and a male white tiger.
"Hello," Firefly said.
The she-wolf narrowed her eyes. "Whatcha need?"
Raoul gulped, remembering these Benders were loyal to the Firebenders.
Firefly was struggling to look calm. "Um...we..." The she-wolf eyed him curiously as he tried to find the words to continue. "We're travellers, searching for shelter. We've been in the desert for days. We need food and water. We were even trapped in a sandstorm."
That's true, Raoul thought. He forced himself to look exhausted and desperate.
"We humbly ask you to take us in for shelter," Light nodded, though her expression didn't look humble.
"Florence, I wouldn't trust these guys," growled the tiger, "do you happen to know about the Firebenders?"
Raoul felt nervous. He shuffled his paws. "Th-The what?" he said, trying to sound innocent.
"Firebenders," repeated the tiger. Raoul could only just hear the tiger mumble, "idiot."
Florence studied the patrol. "I don't know..." she turned to the fox. "Caesar, what do YOU think?"
"Wh-What?" the fox, apparently daydreaming, snapped back to reality. "Oh! Um...wh-what was the question again?"
Raoul expected Florence to snap at him for not paying attention, but it must've happened frequently, because she calmly responded, "What do you think about letting these guys into the Earth Kingdom?"
"I...don't know," Caesar whispered.
Florence studied the patrol for a while herself, then sighed. "I suppose you can come..."
"Yes! Thank you!" Streak beamed. Cinder gave him a warning look.
Florence turned and tapped the gate with her muzzle. It opened.
Raoul gasped at how many animals they were. Tons of them. Way more than The Bending Tower. And a large variety, too, all shapes and sizes, so many Raoul couldn't pay attention to just one. He almost forgot that they were being escorted into the Earth Kingdom, because all Raoul wanted to do was dart into the Earth Kingdom and meet all the different animals.
"Follow us," Florence said.
"And don't try any funny moves," snapped the tiger.
"Calm down, Blade, we don't know they'll harm us," Florence insisted.
"We don't know they won't harm us, either," Blade growled.
"But we don't know about fighting," Windows lied, "we're travellers."
"So you insist," Blade muttered.
Raoul glared at Blade. You're as bad as Stone! he thought. Although Stone had been his mentor, Raoul always thought Stone needed to lighten up. And Blade didn't look like a full-size tiger; more like he had just became an apprentice.
"Blade, don't act like that. You're still an apprentice," Florence said.
Thought so, thought Raoul triumphantly.
Suddenly, a very large gorilla came up to the group. Raoul gaped at his size: the gorilla was huge, and looked very dangerous, and not exactly friendly. He glared at the patrol as he approached. I hope he doesn't have a knack for killing travellers! Raoul thought, fighting back a whimper.
"Who are these animals?" the gorilla demanded.
"Travellers, Quake," responded Blade, lashing his tail.
"Hmm," Quake studied the patrol. "And where are you taking them?"
"We...don't know yet," Florence admitted.
"Then what was the point of bringing them in?" demanded Quake.
"They request shelter and food," Florence replied.
"I say we--"
"Hold it, Quake!"
Raoul grew wide-eyed as Fang, a Firebender approached. "Quake, let me deal with this," he growled,  "these may not be travellers. They could be spies!"
Quake looked at Fang but said nothing. Raoul searched Quake's expression to see whether he agreed with Fang or whether he had loathing; but his expression was blank. Raoul figured that at least some Earthbenders had to be nice and disagree with the Firebenders.
"I say we lock them up in the prison," Fang growled.
"But sir," Firefly began, "we are not--"
"SILENCE!" Fang roared. "You will do as I say. I am among the leaders of the land!"
"What?" Comet cocked his head, trying to act like he didn't know the land had rulers.
"Idiots, the lot of you! Haven't you heard of the Firebenders?" demanded Fang.
"Well, Blade mentioned them..." Raoul murmured, trying to look confused.
Fang snarled. "Time in the prison will help you learn about us. Let's go!"

Author's Note:
Thanks to vms915 for Florence and my brother for Quake!
I also posted a chapter on my dog spy story and created my Warriors fanfiction.
Can't wait to write the next chapter! ^-^

Chapter 48: The Earth Kingdom Patrol

Ash woke up early when the sun was only just skimming the ground. It made the sky around the sun blue-pink, with a bit of orange-red at the base of the sun. Ash stretched, and scanned the area. The rest of The Bending Tower was asleep. They'd arrive at the Earth Kingdom today.
Ash then recalled Comet's plan. I'd better choose some animals to enter the Earth Kingdom, he decided.  Comet was obviously going, since he had asked to go and came up with the plan himself. Ash wanted a fairly large group to go in, but not too large, or else it'd look suspicious. They could say they were a group of travellers in need of shelter...that'd make everyone think that they knew nothing about Bending or the Firebenders, because what animal who knew about the Firebenders would ask them for shelter? Ash remembered the group would have to be animals the Firebenders wouldn't remember as a part of The Bending Tower.
Ash observed the animals around him. He looked to see Raoul and Max were sleeping side-by-side. Strangely, Miguel wasn't with them; when Miguel lived at The Bending Tower before spying on the Fire Nation, the three were best friends. Perhaps things have gotten awkward between the three of them, Ash figured. He then cocked his head. I could have Raoul go. The Firebenders barely know him.
So Comet and Raoul were going. Ash then kept looking around. Obviously, Rusty couldn't go, the Firebenders would recognize him as the one who stood up for Crystal, and the fact that Rusty was a close friend of Ash's. That meant Dust wouldn't be able to go either. Ash's eyes then landed on Windows. He can go, Ash realized. That meant that was three animals so far: Comet, Raoul and Windows.
Ash then looked at Light. Light would've been able to go as well. Comet, Raoul, Windows, Light... Ash thought to himself. Ash's gaze then landed on Firefly, who was sleeping nearby Light. I don't think the Firebenders would recognize Firefly much either, Ash decided. Comet, Raoul, Windows, Light, Firefly...
Ash realized it'd be good to have another female go; Light would be the only female if Ash didn't choose another. Cinder! Ash thought immediately, his eyes darting over to watch his apprentice, whose body was rising up and falling down when she breathed. Cinder would be great to go; she was small, so she could slip through small spaces and was quick, too. Comet, Raoul, Windows, Light, Firefly and Cinder. Still need some more.
None of Airia's family could go, because Ash knew the Firebenders were after Airia. So that meant Sun couldn't go, neither could Airia herself. Ash then looked at Akumu, who was asleep near Flare. Akumu could go, Ash figured. He studied Flare for a few moments, then shook his head. Flare might be recognized as Crystal's sibling, and the Firebenders know Crystal, because Flamingclaws had nearly killed her... Ash shook his head. I hope I can remember all those going... Comet, Raoul, Windows...Light and...oh yeah, Firefly...Cinder, and Akumu.
Ash cocked his head. Was that a big enough group? Or were more necessary? Ash then shook his head. Nah, it would be good enough.


When the whole Bending Tower was awake, Ash stood in front of them all to discuss his plans. Rusty and Eclipse stood on either side of him, and Nightgale laid down by Eclipse's side. "Okay," Ash said, "we're going to approach the Earth Kingdom. Our friend Comet came up with a plan of how to get into the Earth Kingdom." Ash nodded towards Comet, who looked embarrassed by all the attention. Everyone looked at him and started murmuring.
"Comet suggested that we select some representatives to go into the Earth Kingdom to get them to escape, since we all can't go in there without the Firebenders trying to kill us. So I chose some loyal Benders, ones that I know would never leave our side and are smart and know what they're doing," Ash explained.
"So obviously, Rusty isn't going," Dust called out teasingly. Several Benders laughed.
Ash smiled, but didn't comment about Dust's joke. Ash noticed Rusty was giving Dust a playful glare. "I worked all morning to decide who would be going into the Earth Kingdom. So I decided to choose--" he paused for a minute, interrupted when all the Benders launched into talking, all discussing stuff with their neighbor. "Excuse me!" Ash exclaimed. Everyone quickly stopped talking and looked at him. Ash cleared his throat. "Yes. I decided to choose..." he remembered the animals he chose. "Comet, Raoul, Windows, Light, Firefly, Cinder and Akumu to go."
Ash looked at those he called upon. They all looked rather excited. "We need to get going now," Ash continued. "The rest of The Bending Tower will hide somewhere near the Earth Kingdom."
"Excuse me," Stone called out, "none of the Benders going are senior. They have barely any experience! Can't you have a senior Bender go into the Earth Kingdom? Two of them are apprentices and the rest are newbie Benders!"
"I'm not newbie!" growled Light.
"Well Stone, you wouldn't go anyway," Ash said, "because the Firebenders would recognize you, definitely. And I am satisfied with my choices. They will be fine without a senior Bender, rest assured."
"Can I go?" Streak blurted out.
"Of course not!" Rainbow snapped.
"Pleeaaase?" Streak begged.
"No," Rainbow growled.
"But I'll be an apprentice soon!" Streak pointed out.
"It doesn't matter. You're not an apprentice yet," Rainbow insisted.
"Ash! Let me go into the Earth Kingdom! Airwing told me stories about it, I've always wanted to check out the inside!" Streak mewed.
"Sorry, Streak. It's too dangerous," Ash shook his head.
"No it's not! I'll be fine, honest!" Streak protested.
"Hold on," Cinder stepped forward. "If Streak does go, I can watch after him. Don't worry," she said, looking at Rainbow, "I can take care of him. If something happens to Streak, I will stay in the Earth Kingdom to somehow avenge your loss."
Rainbow shook her head. "That's nice of you, Cinder, but I couldn't bare it if I would lose my only son."
"Hey, we're right here y'know!" Nzuri exclaimed, "Patch and I are way better than Streak."
"Are not!" Streak hissed. "I can Earthbend already! I'm better than you!"
Ash was thinking. "Well...I suppose Streak can go with Cinder watching him..."
"YES!" Streak cheered.
"...Although I guess the final decision is yours, Rainbow, since he's your kit," Ash shrugged.
"NO!" Streak wailed.
Rainbow sighed. "I don't know...I'm not too sure about this decision."
"Think about it on the way there," Ash nodded. "Let's go, everyone!"

Author's Note:
I'm probably gonna make a Warriors fanfiction soon. ouo
And be sure to check my new story blog, it now has character sign-ups!

Chapter 47: Hanging Out in the Oasis

It didn't take long for the group to get to the oasis. Ash was grateful to find it, and decided everyone could relax and rest a bit before finally reaching the Earth Kingdom. The oasis was rather big, and had some foliage surrounding it: a tree, and bushes. There were no other animals around the water, and the water looked clear and the perfect color of blue. It was getting dark, and the sun was retreating to the other side of the desert, sinking beneath the ground. Only the rim of it was visible, and the sky was getting dark blue and the half moon was glowing.
Ash approached the oasis. "Looks okay," he said. "We'll stop here for the night, and rest and relax. We'll wash the sand off our pelts in the oasis. Let's not all go into the water at once, though. We need to take turns." He then looked at everyone, and heard his stomach rumbling. We haven't had any food all day! he realized with a jolt. "Rusty! Have some animals go hunting."
"Good luck!" snorted Stone, "this whole desert is abandoned!"
"We can at least try," Rusty shrugged.
So while Rusty had Dust, Mistletoe, Mkia and Airia hunt, everyone else approached the oasis to wash off and get a drink. Ash waited for his turn, watching animals go in, seeing how happy they were and what they did as they went into the oasis. Streak ran and plunged into the water, splashing his sisters who yelled protest, but they came in as well. Rainbow trotted in after to supervise and the kits washed off. Tiggerkat dove in and went underwater, then came up spewing water from her mouth and doing backstrokes. Ember and Moonlight waded in together, having a conversation, followed by Masang, who sat down in the water, looking satisfied to find water in the heat. Light and Crystal went into the water together, both girls deep in conversation. Stone also went in, followed by Darner, who was saying something to her.
Ash went in last, followed by Rusty, Eclipse and Nightgale. Comet was still in there, talking to his sister Lily, and Nightgale smiled shyly at Comet before sitting on the far side of the oasis next to Eclipse. Comet simply looked at Nightgale then turned back to Lily when she started talking again.
"This water is nice!" Rusty exclaimed. "I'm glad we found an oasis."
"Well, actually, Nyx and Zapada found it," Ash pointed out.
Then, the hunting group came back, and sadly they weren't carrying any prey.
"No prey?!" Twig exclaimed, "We're gonna starve."
"Not if we go to the Earth Kingdom quick enough," Cinder pointed out. "They'll have prey."
"Yeah, but the whole Bending Tower can't go in there. The Firebenders would see us," Twig replied.
Cinder sighed. "True..." she shook her head.
Dust waded into the oasis, and sat next to Ash and Rusty. "Hi!"
"Hi," Rusty returned. The two brothers were becoming friends again.
 "So whatcha talking about?" Dust asked.
"Nothing really," Ash shrugged.
Ash then watched as Charlotte and Mistletoe both came into the oasis. Charlotte looked at Ash, then quickly looked away. Ash stared after Charlotte as she began talking to Mistletoe, and both girls went far away from Ash, Rusty and Dust and sat down to talk.
"You're--" Dust began, but was cut off as Tiggerpaka jumped onto his head.
"Come on, ladies, let's move! This is a waste of time, we got a war to fight!" Tiggerpaka exclaimed.
"I'm surprised he got that much figured out about this journey," Rusty snickered. Ash chuckled.
"Tiggerpaka, we're going to sleep here! Aren't you tired at all?" Dust demanded.
"A soldier must never be tired! We do not rest until the enemy is defeated!" Tiggerpaka said.
"Ha. I never recalled you ever fighting," Rusty said coldly.
"That, Roost, is because I am so fast you never even see me fight!" Tiggerpaka puffed his chest out.
"The name is Rusty," Rusty muttered.
"There there, dear Roost," Tiggerpaka patted Rusty's head, "maybe one day you will be as grand as me."
"Yeah, well...he's deputy, you're not," Dust pointed out.
"Rust, I am really the deputy, I just let Roost believe he's deputy to make him happy," Tiggerpaka snorted.
Although Tiggerpaka was fairly stupid, Ash couldn't help laughing at the irritated look on Rusty and Dust's faces, and the fact that Tiggerpaka wasn't being dumb on purpose.
"My name is Dust! He is Rust," Dust nodded at his brother, "Well, Rusty."
"Anyway...I must go give those kits a lesson on fighting!" he nodded towards Streak, Nzuri and Patch, who were all play fighting at the side of the oasis. "They'll be happy to get advice from someone as advanced as me...I bid you three farewell!" with that, Tiggerpaka hopped towards the kits.
"What an idiot," Dust muttered.
The sun had now fully set and it was nighttime. The first star was out, Ash noticed, and it was shining brightly. The moon was glowing, and Ash studied it. He felt happy that they were finally at the Earth Kingdom. Tomorrow, we'll be there... he thought happily.
"Hmm..." Dust began, "how are we going to go into the Earth Kingdom? I mean, if the whole Bending Tower goes in there, the Firebenders will hurt us and kill some of us. They're probably really peeved that we escaped them and that the Water Tribe ran away as well."
"Good thought," Ash agreed. Dust was right: how would they go into the Earth Kingdom? It seemed hard...
"Hi," Comet said, walking up to Ash, Rusty and Dust.
"Hello," Rusty responded.
"Whatcha want?" Dust asked.
"Um...what're you talking about?" Comet asked.
"Planning on getting into the Earth Kingdom. We don't exactly know how," Rusty responded.
"Hmm...I know," Comet said suddenly, "maybe you can select representatives to go into the Earth Kingdom?"
"Explain further," Dust nodded.
"For example...let's say you select me...Lily and Aimee to go into the Earth Kingdom. We're probably not too popular among the Firebenders, they'll probably not recognize us. The rest of The Bending Tower can hide somewhere, and the group you choose can go into the Earth Kingdom and find out how to get them out so we can continue travelling! Obviously you'll need a big group of well-trusted, smart Benders, and ones that the Firebenders barely know," Comet explained.
"I like this kid," Rusty said. Comet grinned.
"Good idea, Comet!" Ash praised. "Would you like to go into the Earth Kingdom?"
"Of course!" Comet beamed.
"Well, you'll be one of the animals in the group then," Ash smiled. "Now I need to choose some others..."

Author's Note:
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. :3
Be sure to check my new story~

Chapter 46: Surviving the Sandstorm

Howls and cries of alarm bursts out from the animals. Ash was sure none of them had been in a sandstorm before. "We're in trouble," Ash muttered as the sandstorm kept flying towards them. He turned to the animals of The Bending Tower. "Everyone! Does anyone here know what to do in a sandstorm?!" he demanded.
"Idiots!" Cumulus snarled, "thanks a lot! Ironfang will hear about you putting me in danger for sure!"
Everyone ignored Cumulus. Tiggerpaka then stepped forward. "Stand aside, everyone! I got this!" he insisted. He walked to the front of everyone and put his paws in front of him. "Sandstorm! I command ye to halt!" he yelled.
Of course, that didn't work.
"We're obviously doomed," Tiggerpaka announced.
"I know what to do!" Kabu yelled, just as the winds began to pick up and the sandstorm came closer. "Everyone, face away from the sandstorm and remain calm! Do not panic! If the sand gets in your eyes, it won't be good."
Quickly, everyone did as Kabu said. They faced away from the sandstorm. "Okay," Kabu continued, "shut your eyes as tight as you can! Same with your mouth, don't get a mouthful of sand."
Ash closed his eyes and mouth as tight as he could. He could hear the sandstorm getting closer.
"Now, everyone duck down!" Kabu had to roar due to the loud noises of the approaching sandstorm, "put your paws over your nose so you don't breathe any sand in."
Ash then laid down on the sand and put his front paws on his nose, pushing them down tight. He didn't know if Kabu said anything else, because just then the sandstorm finally caught up to The Bending Tower. It roared in Ash's ears, and he pressed his ears against his head. He could still hear the sandstorm. It pushed against his body, and Ash could feel sand sticking to his pelt and face. We're going to be covered by the time this is over! Ash thought worriedly. He didn't know if any animals were being swept away by the strong force of the storm, because the winds were so strong he would never be able to hear any roars or cries of the animals.
How big is this sandstorm?! Ash yelled in his head, not daring to say it out loud. He felt like the winds would throw him away and he'd get lost, separated from The Bending Tower. He tried to dig his back legs into the sand to keep him on the ground. The sand kept sticking to his fur; Ash was glad Kabu knew what to do, because they'd probably all be killed in the sandstorm if they didn't cover up and duck down like Kabu said to do.
Suddenly, something slammed into Ash. It was smaller than him, and it felt like sand; Ash didn't want to see who or what it was in case it'd risk him being hurt. But the thing that hit him didn't yell out or make any noises, so Ash assumed it probably had its mouth covered as well.
Finally, the winds got calmer and calmer until the wind went away. Ash waited a bit, and then dared to slowly open his eyes.
The sandstorm was gone.
Ash then looked at the thing that had slammed into him. He found that it was Streak, who was covered all over in sand. Ash took his paw to brush the sand off Streak, but Ash found that his paw was also covered in sand. Streak opened his eyes. "Sorry Ash," he said, "I didn't know I could slam into you like that. At first I was worried I had slammed into Stone."
"That was like a haboob," commented Kabu.
"A what?" Nzuri cocked her head. Patch snickered.
"Haboob," Kabu repeated. "Where I was born, it means 'strong wind'."
"Well, that was a strong wind," nodded Sun.
Ash chuckled. He then rose to his paws, and bits of sand fell off of him as he did, but he was still covered in sand. "Is everyone alright?"
Everyone then got to their paws and began responding with "Yeah", "Yes", or "Uh-huh". Everyone looked fine, but really covered in sand.
"We should find an oasis to wash ourselves off," suggested Firefly.
"Good idea," agreed Dust, "is there one nearby?"
"Airia, Nyx, Zap--" Ash began, but then stopped and shook his head. That'd never work. He was going to have them fly away and look for an oasis, but what if they got lost? Then he'd lose all three of them, and they were all important, especially Airia.
"What?" Airia cocked her head.
"I...I was going to say you should go fly away to find an oasis, but you'd get lost," Ash muttered.
"So you're saying that we're not good enough to go on a mission like that?" Airia said.
"No! I--" Ash began, but Airia cut him off with a giggle.
"I was just teasing, Ash. But," Airia began, "I could float above everyone and Nyx and Zapada could see me because I'm big enough and they could just follow me back to here."
"Good idea," Ash nodded. "Nyx, Zapada, don't go too far. If you can't see Airia well you should turn back."
"We'll be fine," Zapada insisted. She took off into the air, followed by Nyx. Airia flew after them, high above to hover in the sky. Ash watched her go, then turned away. He looked at his pelt, which had a lot of sand sticking to it. I hope we find an oasis, he thought. Ash didn't want to greet the Earth Kingdom while covered in sand on his whole body.
Everyone paced around and talked to each other, except Ash, who was waiting for Zapada and Nyx to return. He looked into the distance. The sandstorm cloud was gone. Ash hoped that another sandstorm wouldn't occur while they were out in the desert.
"I've never been in a sandstorm before," Patch meowed. "That was cool."
"It was not," Rainbow glared, "you could have been killed."
"But we weren't killed, mom," Nzuri pointed out.
"You were in danger. All three of you," Rainbow insisted. "We're all lucky to be alive. If it weren't for Kabu, I could have lost my kits."
"Mom, calm down. It's over," Streak snorted.
Rainbow sighed. "I'm just glad you're still here."
"Rest assured, we're glad too," Nzuri smiled.
Then, Zapada and Nyx flew in and landed. "We found an oasis!" Nyx reported. "Not too far off."
"Good!" Ash smiled. "Lead us to it."
"Oh!" Zapada smiled, "and we spotted the Earth Kingdom!"
"Really?!" Comet exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Nyx nodded, "it's beautiful! It's surrounded by trees. But all we saw was the gate. But the gate is huge. There were several animals guarding it. Once we go to the oasis, we can head north and we'll be at the Earth Kingdom in no time."
"Awesome! I can't wait to see the Earth Kingdom!" grinned Patch.
"Speaking of earth," Streak turned to Ash. "When can I be an apprentice?"
"After we visit the Earth Kingdom," Ash nodded. "There's no use in teaching you three Bending out in the middle of the desert."
"Okay," Streak nodded.
Everyone then headed for the oasis.

Author's Note:
Can't wait to write another chapter. c:
I had to look in my book "The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook: Extreme Edition" to help me write about them surviving in the sandstorm. That book series is awesome, you guys should get it. xP
Sorry if this wasn't very realistic, I dunno much about sandstorms. :c
And yes, "haboob" is a real word.

Chapter 45: Desert Dangers

"Ash, how much longer is this travelling going to be?" Rainbow asked. The Bending Tower had started off again, and Rainbow asked Ash about the travelling because she was worried about her kits; they had never been through anything like this and could be in danger since it was the desert they were in.
"I'm not sure, Rainbow," Ash replied, "I've never been to the Earth Kingdom before..."
"Where did you live when you were a loner?" Streak asked, bounding up to him.
"You know about that?" Ash said to Streak. He never recalled telling Streak that.
"Of course I do," Streak nodded, "everyone knows you were a loner!"
"But he's not now. He's a good leader," Rainbow pointed out.
"Go ahead back to your spots. Rainbow, if I find out how much longer this'll be, I'll tell you," Ash nodded.
Rainbow and Streak both resumed their spots back in the group. Ash looked ahead at the horizon. Still no sign of life. Ash then couldn't help remembering the nightmare he had had. Ironfang knew his past...Leafclaw and Hazen did, too. Hazen! Ash thought. Since Hazen was good now, maybe he could tell Ash about his past...Ash felt excited at the thought of it.
"Hey, Rusty?" Ash turned to his friend.
"Yes?" Rusty said.
"Can you go get Hazen for me?"
"Why?" Rusty question.
"Nothing. Just a quick thing I have to ask him," Ash responded.
Ash expected Rusty to look suspicious, but much to Ash's relief, Rusty simply just nodded and trotted off. Ash watched Rusty go, and it didn't take a while before Rusty came back to Ash, Hazen padding along beside Rusty. Hazen walked up to Ash. "Whatcha need?"
"Um..." Ash's voice dropped to a murmur. "Hey...you know my past, right? Can you tell me it?"
Hazen opened his mouth to respond, then closed it nervously. He hesitated. Ash tilted his head slightly. "Um, Ash...I can't tell you. Sorry."
"What?" Ash said, "Why can't you? I mean, we're brothers, we both have the same past."
"One, not exactly. And two, I'm not allowed to tell you," Hazen muttered.
"Not allowed to tell me?" Ash echoed, "but you're not at the Fire Nation anymore."
"A tree holds the answers, Ash! I'm not a tree!" Hazen blurted out.
For a while, the two just stood there in silence, looking at each other.
"How'd you learn about that?" Ash finally spoke.
"Um...Dad told me it?" Hazen suggested.
Dad. "What, did he tell you not to tell me?" Ash guessed.
"Yeah..." Hazen murmured. "Sorry, Ash, but I gotta listen to dad."
"Do you know what the tree is?" Ash asked him.
"No," Hazen replied. "But I know for sure it isn't me."
Ash sighed. "Okay then...thanks anyway," he muttered.
Suddenly, a strong breeze swept through the area. Most animals sighed relief because it was really hot. Bits of sand flew into Ash's pelt, but he didn't really mind. The breeze felt good; it was already burning hot from the sun.
"This feels good!" Streak mewed.
Ash scanned the area. It was all flat land, not a single hill anywhere. Ash then looked at the horizon and his stomach jumped. He squinted his eyes to see better. Ash then grew wide-eyed as he realized what it was that was coming in their direction.
A big, huge, sandy cloud.
"SANDSTORM!" yowled out Nightgale.

Author's Note:
Had to do a bit of sandstorm research; it said that sandstorms occur in areas with flat land, and it has to be really dry and that there needs to be very strong winds. So...yeah.
Actually, my brother (the creator of Ironfang) gave me the idea of a sandstorm. :3
Be sure to check my new story blog, by the way.
Sorry the chapter is short-ish. D: I'm going to try and post tomorrow.

What happens when I stay up too late.

...So I was working on the TFEOB book, and I was way past my bedtime (yes, I have a bedtime. :U) and I got a bit crazy. xD

...Yeah.

Click for full size.

Sorry for the random post. *ish lonleh*

Chapter 44: A Visit from Ironfang

"So, you think you can defeat me?" laughed the icy voice.
Ash shivered. He was trapped in a pitch-black area. He had no idea what was happening; was he in the Fire Nation? Did Ironfang somehow transport him to the Fire Nation? Was this just a nightmare? Ash looked around wildly; there seemed to be no one there, but the voice had to belong to someone.
Suddenly, red glowing eyes came out of the darkness. "What a coward you are," spat the voice. "Just like your old leader, Goldwing! It'll be easy to defeat you, Ash..." the voice laughed, and the red eyes turned around and disappeared.
Then, Ash yelled out in alarm as the red eyes appeared right in front of him. "You're simply leading all of your Benders to their doom, Ash. They're going to all die because of you. We're invincible. The Firebenders are destined to rule the land. It is the will of the Darkbenders themselves. Be wise and join us, Ash..."
"No!" Ash exclaimed, "we-we will defeat you!"
"Is that a hint of fear?" Ironfang growled, "I am more powerful than you assume, Ash. You may have escaped my grasp when you were a pup...but I am the one who made that huge storm that killed Willow, Mystery, Fan and Amur. I hoped to kill more...but I guess the Peacebenders were actually off their lazy tails at the moment. I also captured a beast unlike any other who will demolish you..." Ironfang dug his claws into Ash's paw, making blood spill like a river from it. Ash screamed. "There's nothing you can do! Surrender, Ash!"
"No! Please, no!" Ash pleaded, "D-Dad! M-Mom! Any of the Peacebenders, end this nightmare!"
"Your parents are dead, Ash," spat Ironfang, "I killed them! Your father--"
Suddenly, white filled the area, and Ironfang disappeared.
"Do not be afraid," said a voice, "trust in us, Ash. Trust in the Peacebenders."
"Who-?" Ash began, but the voice interrupted.
"Don't lose faith," the voice whispered. "Don't lose faith...don't lose faith..."
"Ash?" a voice was coming into focus of Ash's ears. "Ash? Ash!"
Then, Ash jerked awake, yelling out. "No!" he exclaimed. He then looked around. Airia was looking at him, concerned. Charlotte was there too, looking at him with more concern. Rusty and Eclipse were also looking at him.
"Ash? What happened?" Eclipse asked.
"Uh..." Ash began, but a cough cut him off.
"Oh. We should probably let you recover," Eclipse nodded. "Pressure, the heat...must've been too much for you."
"But-But I'm not weak! I'm fine!" Ash insisted.
Eclipse ignored him, though. She turned to Rusty, nodded, and looked at Charlotte and Airia. Rusty walked off, and Charlotte quickly followed, but gave a hesitant look at Ash. Airia, however, stayed, but Ash felt too shaken from the nightmare to care who was with him.
"What happened?" Airia blurted out. "Why did you faint? Why did you shout 'no'?"
"Um...I...I..." Ash looked at Airia, but couldn't find any words to say to her.
"Eclipse must be right. The heat's weakening you," Airia shrugged.
"Is not!" Ash protested. He sighed. "I dunno if I should tell or not."
"Come on, you can trust me. I know your secrets already," she giggled.
Ash sighed. "Fine, I guess so. Look...Ironfang visited me in a nightmare. I was hearing voices when Cora got killed. It was Ironfang talking to me. He then forced me to pass out and visited me, telling me to give in and I'll never win...h-he also said that I escaped his grasp when I was a pup. And that he killed my parents. I don't know anything about my history, but I really want to know now...but Ironfang was interrupted by a holy voice. It told me not to worry, not to lose faith. Then I woke up."
Airia perked her ears. "Um...d-did Ironfang mention anything about...er..." she shuffled her paws nervously. "...A Bender not being a real animal? Or...something about G-Goldwing or his family?" She looked at him, face full of anxiety.
"...No..." Ash eyed her suspiciously. "The only thing he mentioned about Goldwing was that he was a coward. Why do you ask?"
"No reason," Airia said quickly.
"Tell me. You know plenty of my secrets," Ash said.
Airia's eyes darted around nervously. "Look...I can't say."
"It can't be that bad..." Ash said.
Airia then put her wing around Ash. "Hey, why don't you go resume your leader duties, okay?" she then licked his forehead kindly and darted off. Ash stared after her. I do not understand... There was a mixture of emotions in him: love, confusion and nervousness.
Rusty and Charlotte then walked over. "What happened? Why do you look slightly happy?" Rusty asked. "Oh, why am I even asking? I saw what she did. Why did she do that, anyway?" Rusty cocked his head.
"I was trying to get her to tell me something, that's all," Ash shrugged.
"Ah. She was distracting you so she could leave," Rusty laughed.
"...Wh-What were you two talking about...?" Charlotte asked. A hint of jealousy was in her tone, making Ash recoil. Even her expression shown that she was jealous. She looked at Ash, looking curious. Ash felt a bit bad.
"Er...nothing," Ash muttered.
"...Okay then," Charlotte said, and walked away.
"Why's she so upset?" Ash asked Rusty when Charlotte was well out of earshot.
"Oh, you know girls. They're mysterious," Rusty said. "And have more emotions than you can count."
"You should know more, though. You have a mate," Ash shrugged.
"Well, I'm not very smart, and I'm no expert. But Charlotte probably suspects you and Airia are mates. So, obviously, she's jealous. See? Not too hard to figure out," Rusty chuckled. "Charlotte's liked you ever since you joined The Bending Tower."
"Really?" Ash said.
"Duh, everyone knows," Rusty snorted.
Ash shook his head. "Whatever...we need to get back to travelling."
"Yeah. This talk is getting weird," Rusty nodded.
Ash walked over go The Bending Tower group. "I'm fine, everyone. No need to panic at all. We'll continue our journey."
"What happened?" Comet called out.
"Don't worry about it," Ash responded. "Let's go..."

Author's Note:
Working on the TFEOB book.
PLEASE enter the cover contest, barely ANYONE is doing it! D:
Plus, there's a new post on Misitu's Art Central.

Chapter 43: Hearing Voices

The Bending Tower all got a drink from the water Tiggerkat found (except for Tiggerkat herself, who kept ranting about how no reese cups were around). In the end everyone was hydrated, and felt well. Ash was smiling; they had survived so far, and if there was water underground, there could possibly be water elsewhere, too. We'll survive this, Ash thought, feeling pleased, with the Peacebenders on our side, we'll reach the Earth Kingdom in no time!
Once everyone had a drink, Ash stood up. "Okay, let's keep moving," he said.
"Aw! Can't we rest for a bit?" asked Aimee.
"Scaredy cat!" snickered Leafy.
"Hey!" exclaimed Streak, Nzuri and Patch all at once.
"No, I just want to rest, I'm tired," Aimee replied.
"We'll be in the Earth Kingdom before you know it," Crash assured.
They kept walking along. Ash looked up at the sky. Still not a single cloud. He looked beyond in the desert. It was empty. Although surrounded by animals of The Bending Tower, Ash felt lonely out here due to the lack of animals living in the desert.. It almost seemed impossible life existed at the end of this desert. Was there truly an Earth Kingdom out here?
Still, Ash could remember something - that some animals would be lost out in the desert. He shivered at the thought. Who was he going to lose? He shot a nervous glance at Airia. Please not anyone I'm close to, Ash  begged. But then again...he was close to the whole Bending Tower, because he was leader. Well, I mean...like, Rusty and Dust. My close friends. I don't want to lose them. Ugh...I don't know how Goldwing handled being leader so calmly!
Suddenly, there was a shriek. Ash whipped around. A snake was in the crowd, baring its fangs. It lunged at its prey, and in horror, Ash saw that the animal the snake was jumping at was...
Patch.
"Patch!" yelled out Rainbow.
Before the snake could reach Patch, who was frozen to the spot in fear, Cora pulled Patch back and, growling, faced the snake. "Sorry, snake," she hissed, "but this kit still has much more to do with her life!" Cora then lunged at the snake.
"Cora! No!" Rusty howled, "you'll lose!"
But it was too late. The snake jumped and bit Cora, sinking its fangs in. Cora froze and flopped onto the ground. Her mouth was open in a silent yowl of pain, but no sound came out. The snake jumped at Cora again to deliver a killing bite, but some stones flew at the snake, and one clocked it in the head, knocking it out. Crystal was in a certain stance. She then walked up to the snake. "We'll always avenge those we lose," she hissed.
Everyone then gathered around Cora, all looking horrified. Cora looked at everyone, and said in a croaking, dying-like voice, "...Help...please..." Ash recoiled. The sound of her voice made his stomach flip. He was suddenly light on his legs. He realized that Wildfire and Poisonfang, the two Firebender snakes, were both venomous just like the snake that struck Cora. We can't let anyone else die like that, Ash told himself. He looked at Cora.
Eclipse and Nightgale then approached.
"Sorry, Cora...there's nothing we can do. We have no herbs," Eclipse whispered.
Nightgale looked upset. "We're supposed to be Healers!" she exclaimed, turning to Eclipse. "We have to save lives, don't we? Isn't there any way...?"
"No, Nightgale. Sometimes a Healer has to let things fall into the paws of the Peacebenders..." Eclipse shook her hanging head.
Cora then sighed. "Good luck, everyone." Then she closed her eyes.
Cora was dead.
"My mentor...!" Rusty breathed. "Come on, Cora...wake up..." he nudged her with his muzzle, but Cora remained still. In Rusty's eyes, he seemed to know it was hopeless, she was dead, but looked so desperate it seemed as though he believed there was a tiny bit of hope she was alive.
Dust then walked up to him. "Um...I'm sorry, Rusty...uh...she'll be fine with the Peacebenders."
"It's your fault, you know."
"Huh?" Ash perked his ears. He looked around. "Who said that?"
"Said what?" Lily cocked her head, confused.
"...Didn't anyone else hear that?" Ash asked.
"Uh-oh. Now Ash has gone loony," Leafy rolled her eyes.
"No, I..." He sighed. "You all can mourn Cora...I need to be alone for a bit." He walked away from everyone, who looked at him, concerned, but quickly turned their attention back to the limp body of Cora, and Ash could hear them all beginning to murmur.
Ash knew he heard a voice. But how come no one else heard it? Maybe he was going crazy from the heat...but it sounded so real. It had to be real, right? And what had it said..."It's your fault"...What did the voice mean? Who did it possibly belong to.
"Under your rule, Ash, all of these worthless Benders will die."
Ash jumped in alarm. "Wh-Who's there?"
"Aw. The strong Ash is scared," sneered the voice.
Suddenly, darkness engulfed Ash, and he was trapped in a nightmare.

Author's Note:
Bet you can guess who the voice is.
I'm considering making an Ironfang Super Edition...thoughts?
Also, be sure to enter the TFEOB cover contest! :D

Chapter 42: Ironfang's Monster

Although it was daytime, this particular area was covered in darkness. The clouds were dark black and looked deserted. Down below was a dark city, lit up by torches and fire everywhere. The city was empty. No one was in there.
Suddenly, at the gate entrance, a blood-red snake dropped out of the sky. A hawk that had dropped him there quickly flew off, he was very fast. The snake looked up at the hawk and then slithered toward the gates. He slipped under the gates and went through the city, which had no animals in it. The snake looked around at the walls. Blood was on the walls here and there, and torches with fire that didn't seem to burn out. The snake's tongue came in and out as he looked around.
Then, the snake approached a very large building in the center of the city. The snake then slipped under the gates and into the building.
The building was pitch black, except for the torches on the walls, which provided very little light, making it still almost impossible to see. Fear was in the snake's eyes, but his expression was blank, not showing his fear. He slithered down the hall. "...Master?" he said.
The snake approached a throne, but it was not occupied. Two torches were on either side of the throne, making it visible in the darkness. The snake slithered past the throne and looked around quickly, wide-eyed, as if expecting something to jump out at any moment.
At the end of the room was a cell. The snake approached it. Nothing was in it. This cell, the snake knew, was used for top prisoners who the leader was to kill. It was empty. The snake could recall the last prisoner their leader murdered. It was tortured to death, and well deserved it.
However, something felt weird to the snake. As if something, or someone, were nearby. The snake slowly approached the cell. His eyes eyed the cell.
Suddenly, two ginormous jaws snapped at the snake, its fangs covered in blood. The snake yowled out and jumped back. The jaws snapped a few more times before going back into the cell, realizing the animal it wanted to attack was unreachable.
The snake grew wide-eyed. "...It's real," he whispered.
"Yes, Wildfire," said an icy voice, "and we shall use it...to help."
"But..." Wildfire began, but nervously trailed off.
"Don't be a coward, Wildfire," said the voice, "but be careful what you say..."
"Um, master...my Lord...that isn't...the Dragon of Time is it...?" Wildfire murmured.
"Indeed it is..." growled the voice. "And? You want to say more?"
"Th-The Dragon of Time needs to protect Yin and Yang...if it isn't the world goes out of balance!" Wildfire exclaimed, "the Fire Nation may be cursed forever!"
"They got the Protectors," spat the voice, "we'll use it to keep control over those Benders."
"Yes, Ironfang, about that..." Wildfire said, casting a nervous glance at the cell, "the Water Tribe escaped."
"What?" demanded the voice. "We lost...The Bending Tower, and the Water Tribe?" the voice then snarled, "turns out I don't have warriors. I have fools who can't keep a conquered place in line! I thought you were loyal--"
"Sir, sir!" hissed Wildfire, "we still have the Earth Kingdom! They're powerful! B-But of course, my Lord, not as powerful as you...but we've all moved to watch the Earth Kingdom, and we'll kill any Benders who come in, master."
"You'd better," spat Ironfang, "you know what? I think I've gone soft, too! I'm giving you idiots second chances! You're my only army. If you lose all of our conquered Benders, Ash will--" the voice stopped, as if scared. "No, no...of course that will never happen."
"Master?" Wildfire whispered, "are you...scared of Ash? I've seen him, he's not a Bender who could defeat you, he's truthfully a--"
"You think I'm scared?!" roared the voice, "Wildfire, you know I have no fear! I am the most powerful animal of all! No one will ever beat me! The world is ours, Wildfire, with me leading you! You're supposed to be grateful!" Wildfire flinched, expecting Ironfang to attack him, and to Wildfire's great relief, he didn't. "This is why I have the Dragon of Time...he will stop The Bending Tower from their little duty to save the world from us...no one has beaten the Dragon of Time. I will make the Dragon kill Ash...it'll show Benders everywhere that Ash isn't a savior and how powerful I really am. Goldwing was a fool not to come to us...Goldwing was wrong. I will become leader this way. And everyone will bow at my paws!"

Author's Note:
Be sure to check the new contest, go to the post before this one!

Contest!

Hi everyone!
I'm going to be making the first TFEOB book into a real book. You'll be able to buy it if you want, and I'll have some changes made to it. This blog is like the TFEOB "rough draft".

But, I need a cover. And I suck at drawing covers, so...

...I'm holding a contest for someone to make the cover!
Basically, draw something and e-mail it to me at greatshotthewolf@hotmail.com, or link me to the picture in the comments below. The winner gets their cover featured on the TFEOB book, the losers get listed as contestants in the published book. 

To enter, comment below:

Name (The name you want in the book; please not your full real name!)

Drawing of (What the drawing is of the cover so I know who/what it is.)

Link (The link to the drawing; if you sent it to my e-mail put "e-mail".)

I'll announce the winner sometime, and put up the deadline for this later.

Here are the rules for the cover contest:

1. Do NOT be a sore loser if you lost, please.

2. Don't brag if you won the contest.

3. No inappropriate drawings for the cover.

4. Do NOT use ANY images off the web. MUST BE YOUR DRAWING.

5. Don't make the cover only feature YOUR character. It must fit the first TFEOB book!

This is only for the FIRST TFEOB book, not the second or the third.

Thanks for entering!

Chapter 41: Water Problems

"You know what? You'll never make it! Don't even try."
Ash turned to see Cumulus snarling, Dust and River now guarding him. Cumulus didn't seem fond of the idea of going through Storm Desert against his will. Dust growled at him, "Well, we won't get anywhere with you holding us up, so stop your complaining."
Normally, Rusty would say something like "burn!", but all he did was look at Dust taunting Cumulus with a blank expression. Those to have got to become friends again, Ash thought, why are they fighting because I almost died? He shook his head and they continued walking through the Storm Desert. They had only been walking for about two minutes and hadn't gotten very far into the desert. Ash felt like the area was getting hotter, but it could possibly be that he was just really worried. How long away is the Earth Kingdom? Ash wondered.
"This desert is boring," Streak muttered.
"Well, duh, the place is empty," snorted Nzuri.
"How much longer?" Patch asked.
"Sweetie, we aren't even halfway there," responded Rainbow.
"Aw!" Patch whined.
They kept walking, and Ash was sure it was getting hotter by now. He could feel his tongue drying up from thirst, but didn't complain, figuring it'd make him look weak if the leader was the first to complain about not getting anything to drink. He looked around, hoping to see any signs of water. But all there was was sand as far as the eye could see.
The group approached a hill, and Ash began trekking up it. It was very steep, and Ash found it hard to place his paws in the sand, which kept sliding. He latched his claws in, but that didn't help much either. He ended up having to jump up the hill, and so did everyone else, making them more hot from using energy to jump up the hill. When they finally got to the top, there was a valley below. Ash looked ahead; there was still sand everywhere, and no signs of life at all.
"Where's the Earth Kingdom?" Patch asked.
"Far, far off," Rainbow replied.
Ash skidded down the hill of sand, followed by everyone else. They got to the bottom of the hill and continued walking. Ash looked up at the sky. Still no clouds. Would any of them die from thirst? If so, who would? Would any of them go crazy, or get lost? Ash pushed these thoughts away, trying to keep calm and not let pressure get to him, figuring it'd make him even more hot.
"Eclipse, what happens if someone gets injured or falls ill?" asked Nightgale, "there aren't any herbs, and we didn't bring any, either."
"That's why we need to get to the Earth Kingdom quickly," Eclipse nodded.
Suddenly, a howl came up. Ash turned around. He saw Mkia had collapsed onto the ground. He rushed over to her. Please don't let her be dead. I don't want to have lost her already! He approached Mkia, and Comet walked up to her and took his paw and rolled Mkia over. Her limp body moved easily. Comet put his ear on where Mkia's heart would be. "She's still alive," he confirmed, "must've been knocked out from the heat, I suppose."
Nightgale looked at him. "Wow, you're like a healer!" she beamed.
Comet shrugged, "I don't think I could be one, though."
"You should," Nightgale smiled sheepishly.
Mkia then began to stir, and she looked at Comet. "Wh-What happened?"
"You fainted," Comet nodded, "are you thirsty?"
Mkia nodded quickly, "Y-Yeah, I am."
"But there's no water around here," Streak commented.
"Really? I never would've guessed!" Nzuri snorted. Streak swiped her ear with his paw.
"Then let's find some water," Rusty shrugged.
"It's not that simple, Rusty," growled Dust.
Rusty narrowed his eyes. "I didn't ask you."
"No one told me not to give my opinion," Dust snapped.
"Stop it, you two. This fight of yours is ridiculous," Diamond glared.
Tiggerkat then walked forward with a stick. She was waving around strangely, and examining it. Everyone backed up, forming a circle around her absentmindedly. Ash could hear murmurs and whispers going through the crowd.
"I think she's finally lost it."
"Who'd know the difference?"
"What's she doing this time?"
"Where'd she get the stick?"
Ash watched Tiggerkat, head titled to one side. Tiggerkat pointed the stick at the ground. She then dug where the stick pointed, and kept digging and digging. What in the name of Lifebreeze is she doing? Ash thought. He kept watching, and Tiggerkat then stopped digging; there was water in there.
"Water!" gasped Mkia, wide-eyed.
Everyone rushed forward.
"Tiggerkat, how'd you do this?" Light asked, cocking her head.
To Ash's surprise, though, Tiggerkat looked annoyed. "This stupid stick is worthless! It didn't tell me where Reese Cups were like I thought it would! Instead it only showed me where some stupid water was! Who cares about water?!" she then took the stick and started slamming it into the ground, breaking it.
Everyone exchanged looks. But then everyone just shrugged.
"How do we share this water?" asked Rusty.
"We fight for it!" Lily exclaimed.
"No, we can't fight among ourselves," Darner said.
Ash then had an idea. He moved his paw up in the air, and the water moved up with it. It was a giant water ball. He then moved his paws apart on the ground, and the water stretched out. It was a lot of water Tiggerkat had found; enough for everyone to drink.
"That's a lot of water!" gasped Twig.
"Let's drink it!" Moonlight grinned.

Author's Note:
NightgaleXComet or CometXMkia? Hmm...
Well, be sure to check out the new pages. :P
And I linked some new story blogs.

Chapter 40: Storm Desert

It didn't surprise Ash much to realize he had awoken and was in Peacebender territory. Of course, one of the Peacebenders probably wanted to give him some warnings before they traveled to the Earth Kingdom and through Storm Desert; by the way Kabu had described it, it wasn't going to be a walk through the field.
Ash looked around, and then, to his surprise, Feather appeared.
"Feather!" he exclaimed, running up to her. "Feather, I am so sorry. Your death was my fault. If I hadn't used the Firebenders to fight the deer, you'd still be alive and with us right now. I--" Feather interrupted him when she raised her wing to indicate for him to stop.
"Ash, don't be sorry," Feather said, "it was my time to die."
"But you could've still been alive!" Ash protested.
"...And I'd still be without my mate and family, too," Feather nodded.
Ash fell silent. "Oh...Um, what have you been doing here?"
"When I first arrived," Feather began, "Cloudsky was waiting for me, and I had never felt more happier in my life to see him. And I knew I was free from torture, sicknesses, and sadness forever since I had found Peacebender territory. My mother and father were also here. So was my sister and my little brother who died at birth, as well as Firetalon's sister...who he had killed himself when they were born."
"Firetalon killed his sibling?" Ash said in disbelief.
"On accident," Feather said quickly, "he had been slashing his talons around and ended up cutting her. I felt that was some kind of sign, but Cloudsky thought him innocent...her name was Razor. I only just named her before Firetalon got to her."
"Well, at least you get to see her now. Anyway, is there anything you need to tell me?" Ash asked.
"Yes," Feather nodded. "Storm Desert is a perilous place. Animals have been known to die there from starvation, thirst, getting lost, sandstorms, being bitten by venomous snakes, and more."
"But...why are you having us go through Storm Desert, then? If that's the case, we're as good as dead!" Ash protested.
"You will lose some animals. But the rest of you will continue and get to the Earth Kingdom. It's at the end of the desert. It's surrounded by the only foliage in the desert, and holds water and food, so you must get there quickly. Just continue going north. It will be very hard recruiting the Earth Kingdom. They've been under the Firebenders' control for much too long," Feather explained, "some have grew...loyal to them. Others have just lost hope of ever leaving. All the Firebenders will be working there now, because the Earth Kingdom is the strongest and most populated place in the land, and the Firebenders don't want to lose them."
"And then wh--" Ash began, but the world disappeared around him.

Later in the morning, Ash was standing above everyone on a rock, and the Benders were walking up to him for a meeting he had just called. Rusty was standing by Ash's side, chest puffed out, every once and a while throwing glares at Dust, who just glared back. Ugh, I wish those two could be friends again, Ash thought. Eclipse and Nightgale were on his other side, Nightgale watching a butterfly. The sun was up in the sky, not a cloud seen anywhere.
"Okay," Ash began, "the desert will be very difficult to go through, and even then it will be even more difficult to get into the Earth Kingdom, as it is very closely guarded by Firebenders. The desert will be a hard journey to go through. We may even lose some animals. There's little water, little food, and it's easy to get lost. Just do not lose hope and we'll get through. We just need to keep going north."
"Hey!" came a voice.
Ash looked over everyone, and they all turned around. Tiggerpaka was running to them, on all fours. He halted in front of everyone and stood on two legs as usual. He gave a smug look. "I hear you are going on a perilous trek through the mighty desert! Well, you will need a brave, daring explorer like me, so I decided to help - and it's not a responsibility I take lightly!"
Rusty rolled his eyes. Ash looked at Tiggerpaka, "Er...you can come, too...?"
"Thank you," Tiggerpaka nodded, "with my brilliance, nothing shall stand in my--I mean, our way!"
"Right," Rusty snorted.
"Let's set off," Ash nodded. He jumped down from the rock. "Same form as usual! Me, Rusty, Eclipse and Nightgale at front, everyone else behind. Tiggerpaka, Tiggerkat, Ember and Moonlight at the very back of everyone."
"Hmm! I believe I need to be up front!" Tiggerpaka insisted.
Ash ignored him and began walking north, just as Feather told him. It was still cold, and they were still on cold grass, but if they kept moving they'd eventually reach the Storm Desert. Ash looked up at the sky, hoping that some rain would come while they were in the desert. Rain... Ash then realized something with a jolt: without any water, the Waterbenders could not do any Bending. Oh crap...
Ash looked behind him. Nearby, Akumu was smiling at Flare as he talked to her. Slice was walking closely alongside Miguel. Rainbow was walking, with Patch, asleep on her back, probably still wiped out from all the travelling they were doing. Streak and Nzuri were bounding alongside Rainbow, but Ash noticed Streak kept glancing at Cinder, who happened to be busy talking to Comet.
Ash turned to look ahead. The soft grass was still below them. Was it just Ash, or did it seem to be getting hotter? The sun seemed to be beating down on him, and Ash wondered just how long it was before they reached Storm Desert. It couldn't be long now. Who was going to die?
"Ash?" Eclipse's voice made Ash jerk back to reality. "Ash, what's wrong? You seem worried."
Ash sighed, "I'm getting paranoid, Eclipse, about the desert."
"Well, Ash, you're not going to die, you're supposed to...defeat Ironfang," Eclipse added the last part in a whisper. She then rose her voice up, "and me and Rusty won't die, either...so..."
"But everyone else," Ash said, "they're in danger."
"Trust in Lifebreeze," Eclipse said reassuringly.
After a while, Ash noticed it was definitely getting hotter. There was still grass below them, but the grass wasn't cold anymore, and Ash could feel the sun's rays beating down on his back. I wish I didn't have such a heavy coat, he thought regretfully.
Soon, the grass stopped. Ash froze as he set his paw in some sand. Everyone behind him stopped, and so did those beside him. They all looked at Ash..
"Ash, what's up?" Raoul asked.
Ash looked ahead. There was sand, sand, sand...as far as the eye could see. The sun seemed bigger. No water anywhere, and there didn't seem to be a single living soul anywhere nearby except for The Bending Tower animals. There was a big hill of sand in front of them.
"We're here," Ash breathed.

Author's Note:
Updated the Facebook Benders page. And be sure to check out the other pages, I'd love for you guys to write chapters on the Write a Chapter page,  sometimes the stories are funny. xD
And check out my new stories if you haven't already! >:U

Chapter 39: Firebender Incident

"I got this," growled Vitaly. He began to stalk towards Tiggerpaka, who was still muttering to himself, kicking a pebble yet staying in place for whatever reason. Wildfire, hissing, followed Vitaly towards Tiggerpaka. Darkclaw and Fang walked after them. The rest of the Firebenders walked after them, too.
"...Idiot minions!" Tiggerpaka was grumbling as they approached, "they should be grateful, I--" Suddenly, he turned around to see the Firebenders are staring at him, fangs bared, with hungry eyes. In fear, Tiggerpaka's ears pressed against his head. "Eep!" he squeaked, and ran off. The Firebenders did not chase after.
"He'd be a waste, anyway," Poisonfang snorted, "at least he probably won't come back."
"Yeah. Come on, we need to go kill a Waterbender," growled Fang.
The Firebenders ran back to the Water Tribe, ready to kill any Waterbenders who would disobey them. After The Bending Tower had escaped their grasp, they were hungry to take their anger out on someone. They had already tortured a few Waterbenders, and were ready to do it more.
The Firebenders entered the Water Tribe. The halls were deserted.
"...Where did they go?" Vitaly asked.
"They gotta be here somewhere," snarled Poisonfang. "Come out, Waterbenders, or we'll kill you!" she yelled.
But, no Waterbenders came.
"They're gone!" Nuewfoow whispered, "just like The Bending Tower!"
"They must've escaped while we were watching that idiot shout at those chipmunks!" hissed Wildfire. All the Firebenders looked angry.
"Split up! We must find them before they get too far!" growled Darkclaw.
Everyone ran away, except Vitaly and Graves, who looked nervous.
Vitaly turned to Graves. "You tell Ironfang."
"No! You tell him!" protested Graves.
"I am stronger than you! You tell Ironfang!" Vitaly growled.
"I'm not being killed by him! You tell him!" Graves insisted.


The Bending Tower kept moving south of the Water Tribe, and quickly. Ash looked around, wondering if he'd spot any Waterbenders from the Water Tribe escaping. He kept getting nervous about whether or not they were going to run away safely, or get caught by the Firebenders again. I should have insisted on helping them escape, Ash thought bitterly.
"Firebenders are coming!" hissed Rainbow suddenly.
Everyone looked around. Ash sniffed the air; Firebenders were definitely coming in their direction. Why were they? Did the Water Tribe escape already? Did they smell The Bending Tower and were coming to look for them? Either way, everyone was in danger. Ash looked around frantically, deciding where to hide. The fog was disappearing, and the night sky was almost up. There wasn't many places to go.
"What do we do?" whimpered Mistletoe, "we'll get captured!"
Ash kept looking around quickly, trying to find a place still. He shuffled his paws nervously. Where do we go, where do we go, where do we go... he then noticed a cluster of weeds. It was their best chance of hiding; it may not work, but there wasn't anywhere else to go. "Hide in the weeds!" Ash exclaimed.
Everyone ran into the weeds and ducked down, trying their best to make themselves flat against them. The weeds didn't hide them too well, but as long a s the Firebenders weren't interested in what the weeds were doing, it might be safe enough.
Streak, Cinder and Max were about to come into the weeds, when a voice shouted out.
"Halt!"
The three all looked, and Ash looked to see who it was: it was Vitaly, the fox, and Graves, another fox who Ash remembered as Ember's enemy; they had both been fighting when the Firebenders had to fight The Bending Tower at one point. Viciously, too.
Cumulus struggled under Darner's grasp, and River pushed Cumulus's mouth down so he wouldn't make any noises and give them away. Cumulus growled at them, but Darner and River both didn't release their grip at all.
"Who are you?" Graves asked.
"Um," Streak squeaked, "my name is...uh...F-F..."
"Flame," Cinder interrupted. Ash felt it was good they were using made-up names instead of their real ones. "And my name is...Pebble. And...And this is...Darius," Cinder pointed with her tail at Max. She looked at Vitaly and Graves, easily hiding her nervousness.
The two Firebenders exchanged looks. Vitaly narrowed his eyes, "You three look familiar..."
Max whimpered slightly, but Cinder stepped on his paw. "We don't find you familiar. Who are you?"
"The Firebenders. Surprised you three don't know. We rule the land," spat Graves.
Ash wanted badly to help Streak, Cinder and Max, but couldn't without giving them away. Luckily, the rest of The Bending Tower made no noises, although Ash noticed Rainbow looked close to jumping out and saving Streak. Crash gave Rainbow a reassuring look.
"Sorry. We're travelers," Cinder said. "We don't usually live around here."
"Then where do you live?" Vitaly narrowed his eyes.
"We...We live, in that place, with that name..." Streak whispered.
"I don't believe you," Graves said coldly, "come with us."
Cinder, Streak and Max froze in fear.
"Come now, or we'll kill you," Vitaly growled.
Streak shifted his paws, and suddenly, a spot of Earth blasted up front under Vitaly. He yelled out and fell back, and Streak jumped back in alarm. Graves growled. "Benders! Probably from the Earth Kingdom!" he spat. Graves lunged at them, but Cinder hit him in the side and bit down on Graves. She summoned water with the flick of her tail and shot it at Graves and he yelped. Graves snarled and scratched at Cinder, but Max pinned Graves to the ground and threw him into Vitaly. While the two were trying to get up, Streak, Cinder and Max darted into the weeds quickly, and when Vitaly and Graves rose up, they didn't know where they were.
"Mom!" Streak cried, running to Rainbow.
"Shh!" Rainbow hissed, but she licked Streak on the head gently.
Ash kept still, and watched Vitaly and Graves.
"Liars! They're Benders!" Vitaly exclaimed.
"One must be an Earthbender," Graves nodded, "The other is a Waterbender...but what if one of them comes from the Earth Kingdom?" he then grew wide-eyed. "The Earth Kingdom may be escaping now!" he hissed, "we all need to get to the Earth Kingdom, now."
"They can't be escaping," Vitaly snorted, "we locked up their greatest warriors."
"What?" Ash whispered. They were locking up the Earthbenders?
"Let's go!" Graves said, and he darted off. Vitaly ran after him.
Ash slowly arose from the weeds. "Okay, we can get up now."
"Ugh!" Mistletoe made a face, "I probably got ticks now!"
"Better than being caught!" Stone snapped. "And you three," she turned to Streak, Cinder and Max, "you need to be more careful! You could have costed us our lives there. Why--"
"Stone, be more easy on them," Darner nudged Stone, "they're still young."
"Max should at least have known better!" Stone snapped.
"Who was the Earthbender though?" Charlotte wondered. "None of those three can--"
"It might have been me!" Streak beamed, "when I moved my paws, earth rose up!"
"But you don't know how to Earthbend, dear, it couldn't have been you," Rainbow licked her son's head, and he recoiled at it.
"Well, who else was it?" Streak demanded.
No one replied.
"See? It was me!" Streak grinned. His face then fell, though, "But...If I'm an Earthbender, that means I can't be Ash's apprentice like I want to!" he sighed.
"Maybe the Peacebenders don't want you to be a Waterbender," Nzuri shrugged.
"Why, though?" Streak asked.
"We need to keep moving," Ash interrupted. He turned to Kabu, "do you know where we're going next?"
Kabu nodded. "It will be dangerous. Our next stop is the Earth Kingdom. We must navigate through Storm Desert to get there, though, and the desert is horrible. It's known for its sandstorms, and it has little water, and it's easy to go crazy in a desert and get lost."
Ash grew wide-eyed. "Er...let's sleep first..."

Author's Note:
Sorry for being inactive. D: This may have made up for it.
Oh, and be sure to check out my new story blogs! Go to my profile (click here to see my profile) to see them! :)