Chapter 19: Secrets

Katara wasn't kidding when she told Elodie that she would teach her waterbending. The two were outside and in the water for hours upon hours, barely stopping to eat lunch. It provided Katara a good distraction from the injured avatar, and Elodie was determined to pick up the basics of the skill as fast as she could. And, she was. By dinner time, Elodie had gotten most of the basics down, and Katara (as well as everyone else watching) was seriously impressed by how fast Elodie was learning.

Elodie was a perfectionist, which is why she trained herself to pick up new skills quickly. Even when she was a little girl, she had to have the highest grades and be the best in her dance classes and on her summer softball team. She had forgotten what it felt like to be so passionate about something during her time in the new world, and learning the art of waterbending made her remember that drive and passion. It was helping her get out of a rut she didn't even know she was in.

Elodie and Katara would have continued to practice well into the night if Hakoda hadn't practically forced them to stop, so they could eat dinner. Elodie noticed that this seemed to bother Katara a lot. However, she didn't think about it too much because her stomach was desperately calling out for food. Katara had stormed off to where her brother and Toph were eating, and Elodie saw the slightly sad look on Hakoda's face. She went to comfort him by holding his hand before she stopped herself. Definitely couldn't do that with the children around. She just patted him on the shoulder gently before going to get some food.

Elodie was definitely not happy that their relationship had to be hidden again, but she still didn't say anything to Hakoda. She got her plate and instead of where she normally sat at dinner, which was next to Hakoda, she sat in her breakfast spot. Konoye and Petak gave her a sympathetic look. This was going to be fun.

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Three days had gone by since the Gaang (as Sokka called them) showed up. For Elodie, those days had been filled with practicing with Katara and on her own. It helped her keep her mind off of her current relationship issues. She seemed to be having a lot of them recently... It seemed to be helping Katara too. The poor girl had been struggling with her own situation. She spent hours upon hours healing Aang, and Elodie could see that it was starting to take a toll on her mental being. Elodie wished she could help the younger girl somehow, but she wasn't sure what she could do.

After some consideration, Elodie thought just some simple relaxation to help Katara. Elodie had recently found a hot spring not too far away from the base and she knew that a hot bath always made her feel better when she was stressed, so she told Katara about it. That's how Elodie, Katara, and Toph ended up soaking in a wonderful hot spring.

Elodie sighed happily as she sunk down in the warm water, only her head poking out of it, "This is it. I'm never leaving this place." The other two girls just hummed in agreement, them thinking the same thing. Katara asked, "How did you find this place?" Elodie looked over at her, "I was looking for firewood and happened to stumble across it. I think it was a great discovery." They were quiet for a while before Katara whispered, "Thank you, Elodie. I really needed this." Elodie smiled, "I thought you needed a break. If you ever feel like y'all need to talk to somebody, just know that I'm always here and that I'm a good listener." The two younger girls nodded and were silent for a couple of moments before they took turns spilling their worries out to Elodie. Elodie listened and tried to give the best advice she could. She remembered being their age and wishing that she was able to talk to somebody about her problems, so she was happy that she could provide that to them.

The three were in the springs until they were pruney and slightly red from the heat. They reluctantly got out once their stomachs started growling for dinner. Elodie climbed out of the water and dried off before slipping her clothes back on. She then dried her hair the best that she could before combing it out. She saw that Toph was having a little trouble with her hair, and Elodie was fixing to offer to help her with it, but Katara seemed to see what Elodie was going to do and she shook her head discretely. Elodie scrunched up her eyebrows but didn't say anything. As soon as they were dressed, they headed back down to the camp and Elodie hummed, "Dinner should be ready by the time we get back."

Elodie was correct. Dinner was ready, and she was eager to eat. As she slurped up her soup and everyone was seated Hakoda cleared his throat, "We have come up with a plan to leave Chameleon Bay and invade the Fire Nation." Everyone was clearly paying attention now. The plan shortened was they capture the next Fire Nation ship that passed by, and some people would go on it and others would go help get reinforcements for the attack on the enemy. They had no reason to stay at Chameleon Bay anymore because the Earth Kingdom had fallen.

Elodie had a feeling things were about to heat up.

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They were lucky, a Fire Nation ship happened to show up that night. Elodie felt extra anxious when the troops left to go capture it because she wasn't able to say goodbye to Hakoda. So, she tried to busy herself by helping Zokkik and some other pack up camp. They would be leaving as soon as possible, so they wouldn't possibly be seen by the Fire Nation. It was going to be a sleepless night.

It was an hour and a half later when the warriors came back to shore, a metal ship following them. When all of the boats were docked, Elodie started counting the men that were coming off of them. There seemed to be very few injuries, which made her instantly relax. She felt even more relieved when she saw Hakoda and his two kids walk off the metal ship.

However, her happy mood instantly dropped when she saw the very unhappy look on Katara and Sokka's faces and Hakoda looking worried behind them, trying to keep up with them. Katara stopped in front of Elodie, "You're dating my dad and didn't tell me?! I-I- I hate you!" Elodie's eyes widened and she froze as Katara stomped to the healers' tent, Sokka not far behind her. Elodie's breath became a bit shallow as her eyes snapped to Hakoda, "You told them without telling me you told them?" His shoulders slumped, "It slipped out. I didn't mean to." Elodie's frustration instantly died when she saw the emotion on Hakoda's face. He looked on the verge of tears as he watched his angry children make their way into the tent, no doubt going to the avatar.

Wordlessly, Elodie pulled Hakoda into her arms. He returning it, digging his head into her shoulder. And, Elodie felt like shit, because she was causing his problem.

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