Gazing at the green dragon flying through the air, its size so massive it dwarfed Appa, though to be fair, the dragon had more of a body similar to a snake, so it was far longer than it was wide, but even so, it was still significantly larger than Appa. While staring at the green dragon in awe, following as it flew off into the distance, I furrowed my brows when I saw it was chasing a man, causing me to frown as all of this felt somewhat familiar; I just didn't remember.
'Unfortunately, I don't remember everything, but I have this nagging feeling this is something important.' Mused Aang lightly with a slight frown as he gazed at the dragon before nudging Kuzon.
"Kuzon, that dragon was chasing a man; I think something suspicious is happening." Remarked Aang with a frown as he pointed at the fleeing man, causing Kuzon to furrow his brows.
"Umm, well, that's unfortunate for him, but what do you mean by suspicious, Aang?" Asked Kuzon curiously as he nodded and glanced at Aang, rubbing his head in slight confusion.
"I don't know, it's just an instinctual feeling. I suggest we head in the direction the dragon came flying from; that is probably where its nest is located; we may be able to find clues." Remarked Aang solemnly as he glanced at the dragon before turning around and walking forward, prompting Kuzon to follow.
We had to be a little careful since this part of the mountain was a little steep, but after several minutes, Kuzon and I began to hear faint voices, prompting us to look at each other while continuing forward, only now we were being as silent as possible.
"Heh, look at this, an egg in pristine condition! Haha, we're going to be rich!" Stated a gruff-looking man with a wicked smile as he held a large purple egg in his hands, causing several other men to laugh joyfully.
Overhearing the men, I peeked from behind a large rock, eyeing the poachers, only to count seven of them, which would make eight if I count the man who must've been acting as a decoy for the dragon.
'This isn't good.' Thought Aang with a deep frown as he glanced at the seven men before hiding behind the rock, relaying the information to Kuzon.
"Those dipsticks! How dare they try to steal the egg of a dragon!" Said Kuzon angrily as he clenched his fist, prompting Aang to nod in agreement.
"Seeing how well organized they are, this must not be their first operation; I wonder how many other eggs they've stolen." Muttered Aang with a deep frown, his words only furthering Kuzon's rage as he suddenly stood up.
"That's it! I'm going to show those dipsticks-" Declared Kuzon angrily, his hands sparking with fire as he prepared to emerge from behind them, only for Aang to promptly yank toward the ground.
"I understand your anger, Kuzon, but those are seven grown men, presumably all benders; now, even if they weren't with your, excuse my rudeness, mediocre bending skills, you'd still be quickly overwhelmed." Remarked Aang sternly as he eyed Kuzon, who gritted his teeth angrily before sighing and nodding.
"Haa, you're right, sorry Aang. But, if we don't do something, they'll escape with a dragon's egg. You're a bender, right? Can you do something?" Muttered Kuzon with an ugly expression as he peeked from behind the rock before eyeing Aang with hopeful eyes.
"Well, given their profession, they're probably decently skilled benders, so defeating them won't be a walk in the park, but it shouldn't be too hard either; however, I think I've got a better method." Replied Aang with a thoughtful expression, only for him to point at Kuzon, who tilted his head in confusion.
Gesturing for Kuzon to approach me, I whispered to him the plan I had thought of, causing his eyes to sparkle in excitement, only for him to hang his head down while sighing in defeat.
"I wish I could do so, but as you said, my bending skills are mediocre at best; I don't have enough strength to imitate a dragon's fire breath." Said Kuzon softly as he plopped onto the ground in defeat, only for Aang to pat his shoulder.
"It's fine, just trust me, it should work. If it doesn't, I'm still confident in dealing with those poachers, so it's not a complete loss." Remarked Aang lightly as he looked at Kuzon, who nodded before standing up, his motivation slightly reignited.
"Haa, alright, I'll give it a try, Aang." Said Kuzon with a nod as he took a deep breath while clenching his fist.
Following my plan, while hiding behind the rock, Kuzon punched forth, manifesting a small wave of fire that extended beyond the rock, yet just as it did so, I surged air to flow into the flames, causing it to rapidly grow in size; together with the flames, I used a sub-bending of air bending, one I wasn't that proficient in, though one of my past incarnations was quite well versed in it.
Using sound bending, I attempted to mimic the growl of a dragon, not daring to try and imitate its roar given my lack of proficiency; however, thankfully, because of our location, the growls echoed, causing them to be far louder than usual, which helped in scaring off the poachers.
"Monkey feathers! The dragon, it's back!" Stated one of the men in slight fear as he and everyone quickly began to run away.
"What about the egg!?" "Leave it! It's not worth our life!" Yelled two other men as they left the egg alone while every poacher fled as if their life depended on it.
Seeing the poachers flee, I continued to imitate the growls of a dragon for a little while longer before finally stopping, prompting Kuzon to lower his arms as he stopped spitting an endless flame into the sky.
"Are they gone?" Asked Kuzon curiously as he cautiously peeked behind the rock, only happily smiling when he spotted an empty cave with nothing but an egg.
"It seems so, though be careful they might return." Remarked Aang lightly as he emerged from beyond the rock and approached the cave, causing Kuzon to do the same with a large smile.
"Haha! That's what those dipsticks deserve for trying to steal a dragon's egg!" Declared Kuzon loudly in joy as he began punching the air in victory, creating small bursts of fireballs, displaying his meager skills.
"Oh, I just realized you must've been the reason why my fire was so large before! I knew it was weird why I could suddenly create such a huge fireball; you secretly helped me acquire the dragon nest map." Added Kuzon with a faint smirk as he turned and glanced at Aang, who faintly nodded while approaching the egg.
"Yes. Air is a fire's food; give it more air, and it shall grow in size." Said Aang calmly with a nod as he reached down and picked up the egg, faintly smiling as he carried it back towards the nest.
Those poachers had lifted this egg like it was nothing, but it was actually quite heavy; thankfully, the nest was nearby, and just when I was about to set it down, I heard the flapping of wings, followed by a loud thud, causing me to turn around, only to see the same green dragon from earlier staring at Kuzon and I with unbridled fury.
'This could be bad.' Mused Aang lightly as he eyed the dragon, who fixedly stared at him with anger-fueled eyes.
"Um, c-can we expl-" Asked Kuzon softly with a fearful expression as he slowly backed away while trying to reason with the dragon, earning him a mighty breath filled with raging flames.
Swiftly kicking my feet at the ground, creating a gust of wind that pushed Kuzon out of the cave and away from safety, preventing him from getting burnt to death, I made a dual spherical vortex around myself, which served to create a thin void devoid of any air between the two, preventing the fire from reaching me since it had nothing to burn as fuel. However, this technique of mine wasn't completely fireproof; the size of the void depended on how much fire I was capable of blocking, so a powerful enough firebender would be able to forcefully push right through the void with an overwhelming amount of flames, which I had no doubt this dragon was capable of; thankfully, the dragon had created a short burst of flames; otherwise, I would've most likely been roasted to death.
Once the flames finally subsided, I breathed a sigh of relief and quickly tried to find a way to escape this cave since I was a sitting duck in here; unfortunately, the dragon was blocking the only way to escape, and it was smart enough to realize that seeing how it began to charge another breath, one that would probably be much stronger than before.
'This is quite bad.' Mused Aang with an unsightly expression as he kept calm despite his terrible situation, yet thankfully, Kuzon came to the rescue.
"Hey! Look at me, you big chicken Lizard!" Yelled Kuzon loudly as he wantonly fires bent, drawing the dragon's attention.
With the dragon's attention having been shifted, I wasn't even given a chance to think as I saw the dragon's large tail heading right for me, knocking me over and flinging the egg out of my hands.
'That's going to leave a bruise.' Thought Aang as he rubbed his head while slowly standing up, only to widen his eyes when he saw the egg falling.
Moving on pure instinct, I slid my foot forward and thrust both of my palms upwards, creating a powerful gust of wind that kept the egg in the air while I quickly ran towards it and caught it in my arms, causing me to heave a sigh of relief at that incredibly close call. However, it looked like the dragon had seen my heroic actions of saving its child, which seemed to greatly calm it as it lunged towards me, this time, with much less anger, prompting me to hand him or her their egg before backing away.
"That could've ended much worse." Muttered Aang in relief as he silently gazed at the dragon protectively embracing her egg.