*。☆。
★。＼｜／。★
˚ ₊ ♡ ❰ MIRACULUM ❱
*✧ ─── ❝ ❪ NOT LIKE LOVERS DO ❫ ❞

⋆ 🌪. CHAPTER TEN ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*
˚ ₊ ♡ 112 a.a ─── book two: eart

UKI HAD SURVIVED MANY THINGS IN HER LIFE—NEVER ONE TO BACK DOWN FROM A CHALLENGE. EXAMPLE NUMBER ONE: HER  ACTUAL BIRTH during one of the most devastating storms the Northern Water Tribe had ever seen. Or the run in with an actual polar bear dog on one of her many nightly escapades... she even lived to see another day after defying her tribe's traditions. However, despite her daring and somewhat idiotic nature, Uki desperately wished for something to be easy.

But if Uki learned one thing during her travels with Aang, Katara and Sokka it was no, nothing can be easy. It seemed fate liked to challenge them.

Even the esteemed Lover's cave had little love to give now, for the universe gifted her a shrill screeching wolf bat....

It folded its wings and snarled viciously at them. Uki's breath trembled as she released the water from her sealskin pouch, ready to strike.

The wolf bat was not taking her out—no thank you universe!

A piercing screech echoed through the cave and her heart jumped. A moment passed before the wolfbat propelled itself back into the air, its large wings sending gusts of wind, fangs bared and poised for an attack.

Uki lashed out with her water whip as it dove toward them, skilfully diverting the creature over their heads.

And Uki might have been prepared... fending off a polar bear dog did have its advantages, Sokka sadly, did not seem to manage as well.

He wildly swung his torch, embers dancing and falling on the ground like snow. It might have worked—if not for his poorly execution.

Poor Appa was trashing as the flames touched the fur on his large front paws. Agitated and in panic, he stomped around the tunnel, the ground trembling and cracks started to run along the walls.

Uki grimaced, ducking just in time as the wolf bat soared overhead again. "Watch out!"

Sokka's wide eyed gazed snapped from het toward the large creature as it seized the opportunity to knock the torch from Sokka's grasp

Uki watched as it sailed through the air, landing at Appa's feet, intensifying the sky bison's distress.

The cavern quivered once again, and rocks began to descend from the ceiling.

"Look out!" Uki's urgent cry filled the tumultuous air as the cave's ceiling crumbled, unleashing an avalanche of rocks.

Thinking on his feet, Aang summoned a powerful gust of air, propelling everyone out of harm's way.

Uki grunted upon impact as she was propelled backward, landing with a resounding thud on the cave floor. A sharp pain shot through her wrist, but determination pushed her to rise.

As the settling dust revealed the aftermath, anxiety gnawed at her stomach – Aang and Katara were nowhere to be seen. "Oh no..."

Sokka hurried to Uki's side, genuine concern etched across his features as he took notice of the girl cradling her wirst. "Are you alright?" he inquired.

Uki winced as Sokka gently examined her injured wrist. "Yeah, it's just my wrist. I must have twisted it or something," she explained, her voice betraying a hint of pain.

Seeing her discomfort, Sokka immediately tried to be helpful. "Here, let me help you," he offered, extending a supportive arm to help her stand.

Uki carefully manoeuvred a small bit of water from her pouch, focusing on her Chi, she guided her energy towards her uninjured hand. The water gathered around it like a glove and as she moved it closer to her throbbing wrist the water glowed in a celestial light.

She let out a relieved breath as the cold water soothed her inflamed skin and slowly the pain ebbed away.

Sokka observed her healing process with a mix of fascination and unease. "That still freaks me out," he admitted as he watched the glow fade away.

Uki, undeterred, flashed a cheeky grin at Sokka. "I would never have admitted it before, but it is a nifty skill to have. Even if it was forced upon me." She absentmindedly clutched the Biliken tooth around her neck.

Sokka nodded, his gaze shifting back to the caved-in tunnel. The gravity of their situation hung in the air and settled over their group.

Uki winched as she watched Sokka pull himself up, a desperate look on his face as he realized they were actually trapped.

She could only observe silently as he tried to literally dig himself out.

"There's no use, Sokka, we're stuck here," Chong declared with an air of resignation as Sokka continued his futile attempts to dig through the cave-in.

Sokka froze, his shoulders tensing as the weight of reality settled upon him. A moment of stunned silence enveloped the group, broken only by Sokka's sudden howl of despair. The anguished cry echoed through the cave, and Uki couldn't help but worry that their predicament might attract other creatures dwelling in the darkness.

Unperturbed, Sokka intensified his digging efforts, desperation driving him to a frantic pace. However, his fervour only resulted in smaller rocks cascading down upon his head. Acting swiftly, Uki grabbed him by the shirt and yanked him backward, preventing any potential injuries.

"Don't let the cave-in get you down. Don't let the falling rocks turn your smile into a frown. When the tunnels are darkest, that's when you need a clown, hey! Don't let the cave-in get you down, Sokka!" Chong cheerfully sang, attempting to inject a sense of optimism into the situation.

Why did they have to get stuck with traveling idiots... Uki thought bitterly.

Sokka shot an annoyed glare at Chong, his frustration evident. He begrudgingly pulled out his map from his back pocket, accompanied by a disgruntled sigh. Momo, sensing the tension, hopped onto Uki's shoulders, peering down at Sokka's intricate map.

Uki couldn't help but share the lemur's perplexed expression at the convoluted lines and intersections on the paper. It looked more like a children's drawing...

Oh spirits we are going to die in here.

"Alright! This way!"

Uki blinker owlishly—they literally could go no other way?

However, Sokka, ever resilient, adopted a more positive demeanour as he walked forward, navigating his own map with confidence.

Uki tried to keep track of their route, but the oppressive feeling of the enclosing walls made it increasingly challenging. Another dead end loomed ahead, prompting an exasperated groan from her.

"Oh, great! Your plans have led us to another dead end!" She groaned, running her hands through her undone hair.

"At least I have ideas!" Sokka retorted defensively.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute we're thinking of ideas! 'Cause I've had an idea for, like, an hour now." Chong chimed in.

Uki grumbled under her breath.

"Yes! We're all thinking of ideas!" Sokka shouted irritated.

"Well, then listen to this: if love is the key out of here, then all we need to do is play a love song," Chong suggested, his fingers strumming the Oud.

Uki clenched her fist, taking a deep breath to steady herself.

Chong remained blissfully oblivious to the tension rising among the group as he continued strumming his Oud, humming a cheerful tune and then belting out another song with Lily harmonizing beside him.

Uki, drained of energy, groaned and slumped to the ground, acknowledging that their escape from the cave was indefinitely postponed.

Leaning against a cave wall, she groaned, gathering her loose hair and tying it back up again. Sokka who had been kicking the wall of the dead end turned toward her and dropped down beside her.

"We are never traveling with singers again," Uki whispered, her voice laden with exasperation as she perched her head on the palm of her hand. Her eyes traveling between the group of nomads dancing and singing.

Sokka nodded in agreement before a thoughtful expression crossed his face. "Did you really believe you would never leave the Northern Water Tribe?"

Uki shrugged sadly, her gaze fixated on a distant memory. "I mean... what else did I have? My parents are important to the tribe, my whole family was—I mean if I was born a boy, I'd bet I would have been the one engaged to Yue."

Sokka nudged her shoulder playfully, "You'd make a better husband than Hahn ever could."

She chuckled, "You would have made her happy Sokka." Her fingers touched the pendant of Yue's necklace. 

A shy smile spread across his face, cheeks darkening. "I don't know..."

"It's strange to think how different everything would have been—if Yue lived, I don't know of I would have left home."

"I think you would have." Sokka shrugged.

"I guess we would never know..." Uki said softly, "destiny has a funny way of working out though. I'd like to think all of us were meant to meet."

Sokka groaned and she side eyed him. "Not you too!"

"What are you talking about?"

"All the magical destiny mumbo-jumbo."

Her brows furrowed," care to elaborate?"

He sighed, "Katara and Aang wanted to visit this fortune teller in one of the earth kingdom villages." He started, "it was silly and useless."

"I belief in fortune tellers!" Uki interrupted.

"She predicted that the volcano next to their village would not explode and destroy their homes and guess what—it did! We had to steal her cloud book and hijack her prediction—"

"Did the village get destroyed?"

"No we managed to dig a moat to stop the lava from reaching through village."

"So her prediction came true then?"

"N—no, it, we changed—" he spluttered.

"I like to think our lives have a meaning beyond our understanding."

"So what else did she tell you guys?"

"You know, nothing important. Things like who'd we marry, how many kids we'd have—stupid stuff."

"So what did she tell you?"

He mumbled incoherently.

"What?"

"She took one look at me and said I'm unlucky and always inflict pain on myself."

"That's... nice?"

"Like I said silly guess work."

She shook her head, "I wonder what she would have predicted for me." Uki admitted after a moment of silence.

"Really?"

Uki nodded, a small grin forming. "I know it might be silly..." Her mind wandered to Yue as she reached for the pendant of her friend's betrothal necklace. "I more than likely would have been in an arranged marriage like Yue. Coming from nobility, it would be expected of me. But maybe something different would be in store for me?"

"Oh." Sokka mumbled softly. It was easy to forget that Uki, like Yue would have little to say and dictate about her own life.

"I just... I'd like to think I'd marry for love, even if the chances are slim." Her thoughts drift to Hahn, Yue's fiancé. The vile boy and his disgusting ambitions. Would the man she'd marry be like that? Expect her to be his ticket to high society?

Sokka rubbed his neck awkwardly at the sudden shift in conversation. "What kind of man would you want to marry?"

"I never really thought about it." Uki admitted. "If I could, I'd like for him to be honourable and kind."

"That's...nice?" Sokka replied unsure.

Uki chuckled before pausing when she noted the silence around them. "What happened to the music?"

They both turned their heads simultaneously toward Chong, who stared into the darkness with fear in his eyes. A loud, ominous sound reverberated through the cave, prompting the two teens to jump to their feet.

Out of the darkness emerged a humongous pack of wolf-bats. Shrieks filled the cave as they circled around, causing panic among the group. In the blink of an eye, the wolf-bats disappeared as Sokka swung his torch around, causing the creatures to fly further down the tunnel.

The eerie silence that followed left Uki and Sokka on edge, uncertain of what awaited them in the depths of the cave.

Uki's nervous swallow echoed through the cave as she looked back at the dark tunnel they had emerged from.

"Hey-hey, you saved us, Sokka!" Chong cheered.

"No, they were trying to get away from something," Uki whispered thoughtfully, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the darkness behind them.

"From what?" Chong queried, holding his Oud closer to his chest.

Suddenly, the tense silence shattered as the cave wall behind them exploded, showering broken rocks around them. The tunnel quaked, and the dust settled to reveal a group of furry, brown badger moles. The one in front of Sokka twisted its paw, and the earth rose, pinning Sokka down and separating him from the others. Uki felt the ground vibrate beneath her as the creature stomped and she almost toppled over.

Uki rushed to Sokka's aid, hauling him to his feet by the back of his collar. Sokka, nervously inching backward, whispered, "Badger moles, coming toward us."

Chong, by accident strummed his Oud and the badger moles paused their assault. "Hey, those things are music lovers!" Chong cheered gleefully.

Chong and his troupe and picked up their instruments and start playing "The big bad badger moles who work in the tunnels, hate the wolf bats but love the sounds."

"I think we just found our way out of here." Sokka uttered with wide eyes.

"W-What?" Uki stared at the back of Sokka's head. "What do you mean— oh no, Sokka please no."

"It's gonna be fine, Uki," Sokka reassured her as he climbed on the back of one of the badger moles. He extended a hand for her, and Uki reluctantly grabbed it.

Seated behind Sokka, with Chong and his group doing the same on other badger moles, she wrapped her arms tightly around Sokka's waist. "I really, really hate this."

The badger mole lurched forward, digging through the earth, and all Uki could do was scream in fright. With her eyes squeezed shut, small pieces of rocks hit her skin as they moved forward.

As the badger moles continued their journey through the tunnels, Uki's screams slowly quieted down to the occasional shriek.

Chong's troupe played on, the melodic tunes resonating with the badger moles and keeping them calm

The creatures responded with rhythmic stomps and earth-bending prowess, carving a path through the solid rock. The cavern walls glowed with occasional phosphorescent crystals, casting an eerie yet beautiful illumination on the group.

If she wasn't half scared to death, Uki might have found it pretty to look at.

Chong, with his characteristic enthusiasm, sang a tune that blended seamlessly.

"In the heart of the cavern, where the echoes play, the badger moles dance to the music's sway."

As the tunnel widened, revealing a cavernous expanse, the badger moles slowed their pace. A soft breeze greeted them.

Upon reaching the other side, the tunnel gradually ascended, leading the group upward. The air became fresher, signaling their approach to the surface. The faint light at the end of the tunnel grew brighter, and anticipation mounted as they neared the exit.

"Oh thank the spirits!" Uki exclaimed when bright light filtered through the darkness. The sun bathed them in warmth, and the blue sky stretched above, a stark contrast to the darkness they had left behind.

And to her utter relief, Aang, Katara and Appa were standing on the edge of the cliff staring at them with disbelief.

"How did you guys get out?" Sokka asked as he slid down the badger mole's side, Uki following suit.

"Just like the legend says: we let love lead the way." Aang replied with a goofy smile.

Sokka raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Really? We let huge ferocious beasts lead our way."

"We certainly did not let love guide our way." Uki muttered underneath her breath, glaring at the back of Chong's head.

"Why is your forehead all red?" Katara suddenly asked, pointing at Sokka.

Sokka's face contorted in a mix of frustration and embarrassment.

Before he could respond, Chong leaned forward with wide eyes. "Nobody react to what I'm about to tell you. I think that kid might be the Avatar."

Sokka smacked his forehead in exasperation.

"Alright that's it!" Uki bellowed, "It is time we go!"

"So, are you guys gonna come to Omashu with us?" Aang, the ever kind avatar asked.

"Nope."

Thank the spirits.

"Okay. Thanks for everything." Aang bowed at the group.

Chong nodded and, in a surprising turn of events, adorned Sokka with a flower necklace. "Sokka, I hope you learned a little something about not letting the plans get in the way of the journey." Chong hugged Sokka, and then, much to Uki's dismay, he turned to her.

The waterbender glared at him, causing him to step back. "Just keep singing your songs and stay back."

"Hey, good plan! Even if you're lost, you can't lose the love because it's in your heart," Chong belted, prompting the group to seize the opportunity to depart.

Luckily, this side of the forest was not crawling with Fire Nation soldiers and their track was actually quite peaceful. The rustling leaves and the occasional call of distant birds provided a nice relief from the tension they had left behind. Certainly something they deserve after the eventful day they just had.

As they followed the narrow trail, the terrain gradually shifted, revealing a series of gentle slopes. Aang darted ahead with a carefree spirit. His laughter echoed through the woods.

A while passed before Aang returned a bushel of berries in his arms that he presented proudly to the group.

Uki laughed and tool the bushel and put it away in her bag.

Climbing up the small hill, the anticipation within the group grew. Each step brought them closer to the mountain's peak, where the promise of Omashu awaited.

"The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about— the destination."

As they reached the pinnacle, the panoramic view unfolded before them. The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu sprawled beneath, its colossal walls standing as a testament to the city's resilience. The grandeur of the architecture was undeniable, but a shadow cast itself upon the scene.

"I present to you the Earth Kingdom city of O... Oh, no..."

Uki's smile faltered.

Omashu's once-imposing walls, which had witnessed centuries of history, now bore the unmistakable signs of conflict.

Wisps of smoke curled into the sky, and the central entrance, a symbol of Omashu's strength, displayed a glaring Fire Nation insignia.

⋆⋅ ━━━━ ‧ ༻✩༺ ‧ ━━━━ ⋅⋆

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