Water lapped at the sides of the canoe as it sliced through the waters close to shore, spraying off the bow when it crested a large swell and came splashing down. The day was clear and the ocean air was crisp and good and laced with the tang of salt. Once in a while a fish would leap out of the water and disturb the steady whoosh of waves as they crashed to shore.

Kaede sat in the rear of the small, one-person craft, guiding it with her paddle. Her bow and arrows and staff were tucked away in the bottom of the canoe, wrapped in oilskin cloth so they would not swell and warp in the sea-water air of the ocean. For an Earthbender, she was surprisingly at ease on the water -- though she would much prefer to be on land -- which was probably because she only rarely used her bending. That, and she had grown up in a semi-seafaring community, so boats were nothing new to her. However, with such a small craft she could not take to the open water: that would be asking for trouble. Anyhow, she had a route in mind and if she was right, there was an inlet a few miles farther that connected into a river system that had its origins deep within the Earth Kingdom.

It was worrying, traveling so close to Fire Nation waters, but since she was so close to land she figured that it would be no hard task to cut in and land if she needed to; and she would be little more than a speck to anyone looking from a ship miles out, so Kaede had since pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. There were other things to worry about: like making sure she didn't miss the inlet, for one thing.