CHAPTER 1
Yo ho ho and a Bottle of Rum
Katara grinned gleefully as she stood atop the quarter deck. The salty wind tousled her hair and her skin shimmered with a faint spray of sea water. Her crew was on the deck below, celebrating yet another victory. They sang and danced and drank their merriment while the newest members of the crew stood off to the side, still in shock over their loss. Katara felt no pity for them. They were members of her crew now, they would adjust. Just like everyone else. She watched as Lee, a former Fire Nation soldier, did an exaggerated jig to make Juniper, a former Earth Kingdom guard, laugh prettily. Her grin broadened. On her ship, there was no war against the Fire Nation. It was her crew against the world.
"Not going to join, Captain?" A voice asked behind her. Katara turned to see Haru standing behind her. His green eyes still had a spark of excitement from the battle. He had a bandage around his bicep, but was otherwise unscathed.
"I was just taking a moment to let the victory settle in. Have I ever missed out on a celebration?" She asked, quirking a brow and smirking. Haru chuckled.
"You? Never." He agreed. Haru was an Earth Bender. Katara had recruited him after attacking a ship he was held prisoner on. While she chose no side in the war, she had a strong distaste for the Fire Nation's habit of imprisoning benders simply because they were benders. Haru had made a strong impression from the beginning. At first he had claimed that he would rather be a prisoner than join Katara's crew. So she had thrown him and everyone else who refused to sign her articles in the brig and continued with the traditional plundering and sinking of her victim's ship. That very night, Haru had somehow managed to break out of the brig and had awoken Katara with a dagger to the throat. He demanded that she release command of the ship to him so he could sail home. Katara had laughed at him and before Haru could question her laughter, she had reversed their positions so it was Haru on the bed with a dagger to his neck. She had him sent back to the brig.
A few days later, a member of Katara's crew had caught Haru lowering a lifeboat into the water with enough provisions and water to last a week. When they finally hauled the boat back up and flung Haru onto the deck, Katara clapped him on the back and congratulated his scheming before sending him back to the brig. Katara started visiting him in his cell and making conversation. At first, Haru was reluctant, but eventually grew to enjoy Katara's visits. His cell mates were quite a gloomy group. After a few weeks, Katara granted Haru freedom to move about the ship- under watch, of course. A few days before they were due to make port, Katara offered Haru a position on her crew, the same offer she had given when she had captured the ship he was on. This time, Haru agreed. He would sail with Katara for a year, if she promised to deliver him as close to his village as possible when that year was up. Two years later, Haru was her second in command.
"What was the prize, this time?" Haru asked, bringing Katara out of her flashback. She grinned wickedly at him.
"It was a merchant ship, Haru. The prize was fantastic." Katara rattled off all of the valuable object they had procured from the latest ship. When she finished, Haru whistled appreciatively. When next they made port, every man and woman would have enough to keep them knee deep in grog and companionship for a week. No wonder the men were celebrating so much.
"Well, I'm certainly in a mood to celebrate, now. An amazing reward and not a single man lost." Haru gloated, "Shall we?" He gestured towards the crew.
"Let's." Katara nodded and together they walked down to the deck. The crew welcomed their captain with cheers and clapping. Katara bowed dramatically. She looked around at her men and women, all flushed with excitement and drink.
"Well, lads and lasses," she began, in her best pirate voice, "today was a great day! We took over merchant ship like it weren't nothing, without loosing a single one of ya!" Cheers rang up, Katara waved for quiet, "Now, I know ye'll be wantin' to know what our spoils are," Agreements rose up, "Well, let me just say, that when we next port, we'll be drinkin' like lords! Now, start that music back up! Me legs are itchin' fer a dance!" The few musically talented members of her crew started back up and everyone joined in the first jig. Katara laughed as she spun around and jumped about in beat to the music. Someone handed her a bottle of rum and she took a large swig, enjoying the burn of the cheap alcohol running down her throat. Aye, it was a pirates life for her.
The heat of the flames pushed Katara's hair back and flushed her skin. She stared without emotion as the place she had called home for the past few years burned. She stood still and silent as the flames grew, turning the small hut into an ugly black. There was no one nearby to run to her aid or help put the fire out, not that she would need help. She was a waterbending master and could easily drown the flames, but did nothing. She clutched the letter in her hand, the one that had changed her life. With a spark of anger, she balled up the note and threw it into the fire. Without a word, she turned away and started walking, taking only the clothes on her back. She didn't know where she was going, all she knew was she had to leave. She couldn't stay in the hut that had once housed so much happiness and love.
Someone pounded at the chamber door and Katara groaned, clutching her head. The pounding paused for a moment, then continued back up. Anger shot through Katara.
"Blast! I'm up! Rot take ya, quit that pounding!" She yelled as she grabbed her cutlass and made for the door. She tore it open, half tempted to stab whoever stood outside. Haru grinned down at her.
"Good morning, Cap'n." He said in a chipper voice that should be unlawful so early in the morning. He nudged her out of the way and made way to the table in the middle of the chamber. There, he set down the tray of food and water he had been carrying. Katara glared at him until he turned back towards her, a smile on his face.
"Feeling okay?" He asked, with too much innocence. Katara stomped over to the tray and picked up the mug of water. She muttered something before downing the entire thing.
"I'm sorry, Cap'n, I didn't hear that."
"I said, your ma should have drowned you at birth, bastard." Katara said, louder, before falling into a chair, "How are you even up, you drank as much as I did!" Katara almost whined. She had drank a fair bit last night, and now regretted it with every fiber of her being.
"Naw, you drank near three times as much as me. I took sips, you chugged." Haru informed her, gracefully lowering himself to a chair as well. He snagged a roll of the tray and tore into it. Katara stuck her tongue out at him.
"How far from port are we?" Katara asked.
"About two days." Haru replied. Katara's spirits lifted a bit. The little town her ship made birth was on an island off the coast of the Earth Kingdom. It was too small for the Fire Nation to bother with, and the Earth Kingdom armies were otherwise occupied, so it made for a pirate haven. Her ship, Sea Wolf, had been docking there for the past three years. Katara had grown attached to the little town and it's people had grown fond of her. While no town would claim to be a favorite with pirates, the town of Du Sae didn't complain about it. The town welcomed the business. The governor was one of her best costumers.
"Do you think we'll run into any of our... colleagues while there?" Katara asked. Haru looked to the horizon, as if trying to see the island and the ships docked there. While there was an unspoken code among pirates to stick together and not to fight while in port, there were exceptions to everything.
"Most likely. Du Sae has gained popularity over the years." Haru replied. Katara scowled. If too many pirates took to the town, it would surely bring down the Earth Kingdom armies, even with the war going on.
Katara bit into an apple. So far, the Sea Wolf had been lucky and had avoided confrontation with army ships, but she wondered how long their luck would hold. Her crew might be punished with labor or imprisonment, but as captain, a painful, humiliating death awaited Katara. She shuddered at the thought.
"Let's go up on deck, I could use some sun." Katara said, standing up. Haru followed her lead. Together, they went up the stairs to the deck. Katara laughed as she took in the damage from the night before. Members of the crew were passed out all around the deck. There were empty bottles of rum and abandoned instruments strewn about. Juniper and Lee were cuddled together on top of a pile of ropes. The men and women who were awake looked like death. Katara couldn't imagine that she looked much better, but nonetheless, she smiled and sucked in a deep breath.
"WAKE UP, MY DOVES!" She boomed, causing several crew members to jump up and reach for their missing swords, "UP AND AT 'EM! THE SEA WOLF WON'T SAIL ITSELF!" She finished. She laughed as Juniper and Lee woke up and jumped away from each other, both turning a bright shade of red and looking mortified. Katara caught Juniper's eye and winked at her. Juniper looked away, mortified. Lee looked embarrassed, but slightly happy.
"Chin!" Katara called, startling the new recruit, "Clean up this mess! Kuron, get up in those ropes! I want to reach Du Sae quickly!" She continued to bark out commands to her crew. They wasted no time in fulfilling her demands. Katara was by no means a cruel captain, but it was always best to move with haste on her ship. In less than a half hour, the entire crew (excepting those who were on night duty) was scurrying around. Katara stood on the quarter deck and grinned at them all, her hangover finally easing off. She breathed in the salty scent of the ocean and soaked in the suns delicious rays. While she favored the moon, over the past few years she had grown to love the sun as well.
Out on the ocean, she felt at peace with the world. Her past had no place there.
A/N:
Hey guys! So just a quick note, this was pretty unplanned. I just thought "What if Katara was a pirate?" and instead of Zuko capturing her, it was the other way around? Originally I was going to have an all girl crew, but it seemed more fun to have a mixed group of guys and girls. Anyways, this is my first AU, so please let me know what you think! And if you have any better ideas for a summery, let me know! Thanks for reading so far, I hope you stick with me as I continue to write this story.
If you follow me, I'm so so so sorry I haven't updated Time and Time Again, I got stuck and am trying to work on it. I know what I want to do, it's just hard to find the right words to do it.