Art Drawn By Me!

"Are you both stupid?" He asked, his voice a deathly calm that was laced with fury, "Is it not common sense not to approach strangers in a hostile land?" In town, that would be more acceptable. Asking someone for directions is normal. But this? In the middle of a barren forest? While the other was earth bending, no less?

Fire nation was not the only evil in this world. Anyone could be in league with them, whether that be for money, through threatening, or some other reason. Just because they manipulated another element other than fire does not automatically make them allies.

Ayaan simply could not understand.

"All we did was say hello," Katara said, irritation clear in her tone. "What was the problem doing that?"

"How do you not understand what was wrong?" Ayaan's expression was pure confusion, while Katara continued to be irritated. They were glaring at each other. Since the Omashu incident, Ayaan had been watching their actions like a hawk. Aside from their training, they weren't allowed to roam away from his sight.

And now he's like this after a simple hello? What next, would he tie her hands and feet with ropes?

Ayaan, on the other hand, felt it was necessary to keep tabs on his family. Sokka, while competent, was clumsy and easily injured himself. Aang was Aang, the kid was prone to getting himself into messes. And Katara hardly ever thinks before she acts or speaks.

When she broke the iceberg that was hiding Aang because she was angry, followed him into that cursed ship, almost ran away with him after they temporarily banished him, went with him on a joyride in a mail cart in Omashu... the list was long.

There was this very uncomfortable feeling when he discerned that in all of these acts, she was following Aang. For some reason, he felt the need to point his spear at the boy every time he thought about it. Naturally, he wanted to keep extra tabs on the two as well.

He was... protective. He understood this as well, but he mostly believed it was because: One, they were the youngest, Two, she was his younger sister, Three, he didn't want them hurting themselves in their little fun-seeking stunts, and Four, it was his job as the oldest to worry and protect them.

Though sometimes he wanted Aang to be seated very far from Katara, he had no idea why that was. Ayaan being Ayaan, asked this question directly. The answers he got varied.

Sokka didn't feel like explaining it to him at all, though he knew something. He always said that he'd figure it out eventually, though it left him more confused than before.

Katara was oblivious to why he felt any need to do that since she and Aang were good friends, going back to whatever she was doing afterward.

And Aang, for some reason, had this expression on his face like he was caught eating the last egg custard tart.

Confused. Ayaan was thoroughly confused. Why did he look like he was caught doing something bad?

But this wasn't that. He understood clearly why he was upset in this situation.

Aang looked between the two glaring at each other and spoke up, "I wasn't cautious and ran in without thinking further. I'm sorry."

"But all we did was say hello, Aang!" Katara fumed.

Ayaan ignored her this time. He was still a bit upset, but glad that at least one of them was understanding. He pats the boy's head in approval, which causes Aang to beam. It was Ayaan's silent form of praise.

Children will be childish, and while it was dangerous in times like these, he didn't want to take that away completely. See, this is why we love Aang. He is willing to learn and grow.

But then, you get the other type of sibling.

"I don't see what the problem is. All we did is say hello. Or try to, at least, until he ran off." Katara said, defiant in her opinion. Ayaan gave her a look, but this time it was Sokka who spoke, not hiding his own irritation.

He was getting a bit tired of her feeling that she was wronged in some way when clearly her saying hello hadn't been the best plan. "And tell me, why do you think he ran off?"

"I... don't know. Maybe we startled him?"

"Mhm. Sure, let's go with that. You scared an earthbender practicing in such a secluded location as this, instead of within the relative safety of his village. Do you know why that is? Why he was out here?"

"N-no...?"

"From what we've gathered in our travels through here, this area has more fire nation than we've seen before. We are in stealth mode, let me repeat that for you, stealth mode, because Appa is too noticeable. The Avatar's presence is both a blessing to everyone else and a threat to the fire nation. In the state this world is in, anyone can be an enemy. So tell me, Katara, where the heck was your sense of caution when you suddenly decided to say 'Hello' to a stranger in these parts?" Sokka asked her.

She didn't have an answer for that one.

"Mhm. That's what I thought. Ayaan doesn't say or do anything just because. You should know this by now, we grew up together." He said. His 'I'm also an older brother' side was showing proudly without filter right now.

Ayaan took a step, standing right in front of her. He crouched down to meet her eye to eye, seeing that Katara's defiance was shaken greatly. The entire time, he had not yelled or even made a change in his facial expression.

There was only one time when he yelled at them, and it had only been for a moment. That was back in Omashu. Ayaan was not the type to raise his voice unless he felt he needed to. It was naturally deep, so there wasn't much need for him to anyway.

"I'm not trying to tell you not to be friendly. But your safety comes first."

"I know..." She said, sighing in defeat.

Nodding at her response, he took the lead and followed the path that the earthbender set.

"Are you following him?" Sokka asked, "I thought we would avoid the direction he went."

"Not quite," Ayaan answered, gaining their interest, "Those who are sacred instinctively run towards the place they feel safest. Plus, this is the general direction that the town was in, so I'm assuming that the boy is from there. Tracking him won't be that hard, the cover he used for his escape was too simple."

Sokka's eyes shone with admiration, his mind writing down notes.

'Manly. I must learn...!'

The others weren't that far off from Sokka's admiration at Ayaan's deduction. From everything that the Airbender had seen and experienced with the watertribe warrior, he couldn't help but ask, "Ayaan, are you a genius?"

"No," He denied immediately, "I just notice things."

They were in silence for a moment, completely denying everything that Ayaan just said about not being a genius before Aang spoke up again, "When did you notice that about people?" He asked.

To this, Ayaan patted his head again. "I have encountered prey that acted similarly. When scared, humans are no different." There was a dark glint in his eyes as he began to walk forward, leading them through the forest on their way, "I will make anyone that wants to harm any of you... prey."

The three of them shivered. Ayaan hadn't changed any expression or said that sentence with any added hostility, but his aura seemed to shift when he did.

Since being on this journey, this was not the first time they had encountered a scary part of their protector, friend, and brother. Sokka, being the observant one he was, noticed these things more often than the others did. It was manly, terrifying, but manly.

Ayaan had never been a gentle soul unless it was with them. To others, he was cold, distant, and curt unless they were allies. Ayaan was the type to make his lines very clear-cut.

There are the ties he has to his family and his allies, and the ravine between them and his enemies. While he was merciful enough not to intentionally kill an enemy, that didn't mean he paid any heed to their life, either.

Ayaan was already pretty vicious to his enemies already, but even then, there was another level beyond it. It was reserved for only one person, one that he loathes with all of his being.

If they knew the many gruesome thoughts Ayaan had about that man, they would pale with undisguised horror.

In his heart was a darkness that they had never encountered, and he intended to keep them oblivious to it. They did not need to meet any of his inner demons, and he promised himself to never be angry enough to let them roam free.

If he did, he was not sure he could keep his minuscule form of mercy.

But the only thing that would push him that far was if any of his family got hurt or worse. Katara, Sokka, Aang, Momo, and Appa... he would not be able to stand it if he couldn't protect them.

'If anything happened to them, I will most likely enter a state of murderous rage.'

This, he was certain of.

It did not matter about his own safety.

He trained every day without fail to make sure that this doesn't happen. But his family's stupidity was making this unfavorable outcome more and more likely to happen, which was one of the main reasons he was upset.

But... they would never understand that. So he could only suffer in silence, as he always had, as he always will.

"Come. Let's go." He said, and with an added vigilance, they continued on their way to town.

...

..

.

It wasn't long before the group reached the town, a small mining village. Ayaan was the first to notice the odd, heavy atmosphere.

"This place is really quiet compared to everywhere else we've been," Aang stated, watching the scenes before him with wary curiosity.

"Yeah, Omashu and this place are like night and day," Sokka added, as he too was vaguely sensing the subdued atmosphere.

"Yeah..." Katara agreed, feeling a certain apprehension.

Ayaan didn't comment, only silently observing everything around him as they walked. There was no laughter, no racing children, or smiling faces. Every house they passed was closed and every shop owner had an expression of defeat on their face.

It was too similar to how their own village had been after the raid. Something in his heart began aching. And it got worse when he saw the remnants of fire nation soldiers lingering in the area.

His scar began to hurt, a dull, familiar ache rushing through it from the face to his wrist. It only lasted for an instant but made him wince all the same. His gray-blue eyes narrowed.

'That... is never a good sign with these three.'

So, listening to his feelings this time, he pulled all three of them into an alley and glared into their very souls, "This place isn't safe. We need to hide our identities."

Sokka nodded readily. He always followed Ayaan's commands when he was in his chief mindset. He never said anything without reason. Aang, also noticing the iffy feeling in the air, also nodded with Sokka.

Katara was a bit hesitant to nod. It wasn't because she didn't understand, but it was the way he said that which triggered her a bit. They were with the Avatar, as such, they had just as much responsibility to help others when they could, right? What was the point of all of this training they'd been doing if they were just going to hide from those fire nation scumbags?

She wasn't the same helpless little girl from before. She was strong, she was learning. She had her waterbending as a weapon and defense skills that he'd taught her meticulously. Katara, while she knew that she wasn't nearly the best, felt confidence in the skills that she did have. This made her bolder, and she'd always been one to follow her feelings.

'Why hide when we could fight?'

But for now, she would listen to her eldest brother. She knew that he wouldn't say anything without reason, even if sometimes it felt like he did. Ayaan wasn't the type to lie when it came to their safety.

For some reason, his scar stung a little more. Ayaan felt his iffy feelings rise, but said nothing more. He pulled the hood of his parka up, hiding his hair from view. It blended in with the fur lining, which is what he was hoping for.

He knew that behind Aang, who was the Avatar, he was the most noticeable of the group. He was tall and muscular, with silver hair and a massive burn scar. It would be hard not to notice him in the open. It was a blessing that he was adept at stealth. When hunting, one needed to be quiet and quick.

Sokka and Katara didn't really need to do much while Aang got himself a straw hat to cover his head. This was how they continued through the town, observing them and gathering information.

This place is a lot more sullen than his home had been thanks to the fire nation. They didn't seem to have anyone who was a fit warrior. Only the elderly, women, and children could be seen anywhere. Some families seemed a bit more broken, looking towards the fire nation soldiers that lingered around with clear hate and disdain.

However, they seemed too scared to act on any ill feelings they had. They would look away in hesitance, trying to continue on with their day with a lost, sullen expression on their face.

He didn't like it one bit. Ayaan wasn't sure what had happened to this town, but he had an idea thanks to the rumors he'd heard from different people. Those scum walking around with their prideful, gloating smiles, laughing at their pain, he wanted nothing more than to knock them down a peg or two.

But he knew not to act. The timing wasn't there. He needed to wait, to gather more information. Thankfully, he was used to holding in his anger, though he'd been feeling a lot more irritable since Omashu. He put up a mask of indifference to it all, continuing to walk when he heard Katara mumble.

"Hey... Isn't that..." Following her gaze, he saw the boy from before entering a dark wooden building at the end of the pathway. They all gave him a look of awe as he'd been right about his assumption. Ayaan, on the other hand, wasn't that surprised.

Katara and Aang wanted answers, and so did a curious Sokka. Ayaan was sure that if he was going to get any information about this town's situation, that boy was his best bet.

So they headed there, entering the store to the boy's surprise and horror.