Zukaang- variation 4

Universe-Enchantment

Description: Zuko and Aang are having a RANDOM fight, they have been captured by RANDOM pirates, and they are attacked by RANDOM mermaids (unseelie)

"verbal communication" 'thinking' :telepathic communication:

Aang looked across the small rowboat at Zuko. Sullen gold eyes glared back at him. He was still angry at him, then. Being captured by pirates probably didn't help much. Aang didn't know what he could do to solve this. They had had arguments before, of course. But they had always made up within hours. A day at the longest. Zuko had been angry with him this time for several weeks. The argument had been Aang's fault. And he'd apologized. Repeatedly. He just couldn't help the fact that he was overprotective of Zuko, that he didn't like to see him get hurt. Which, in Zuko's eyes, interfered with his duties as Aang's Warrior. Aang could just order Zuko to get over it and forgive him, but that would only make Zuko resent him. And cause more arguments.

The ropes the pirates had bound his wrists with chafed against his skin. He could feel a trickle of blood slide down into his palm as he twisted his hands. Aang went still. Something had just occurred to him. Letting Zuko get them out of this situation by himself might help resolve their argument. It was certainly worth a shot.

:Can you reach any of your knives, Zuko?: Zuko nodded slightly, then glanced at the pirate closest to him.

:They don't know I have any. If I go for one they'll stop me. You'll have to cause some sort of distraction.: Aang could do that. All it would take was a simple illusion. The fact the pirates didn't realize he was a Wizard would only help them. :What's that noise?: Aang frowned slightly, trying to figure out what noise Zuko was referring to. His eyes suddenly widened. He could hear beautiful female voices singing. He couldn't make out the words, but then, he didn't speak Mermish. Very few land dwellers did.

:Unseelie mermaids. They're hunting. Since they seem to be coming this way, do you want to use them as the distraction?: Zuko bit his lip as he thought.

:How do I kill them? And why are they singing?: Zuko had learned in his months living with Aang that Unseelie anything was usually a threat. Even mermaids.

:Iron, fire or lightning. They're singing to lull their prey-us-into a state of calm.:

:Great. It seems to be working on the pirates. Why isn't it having any effect on us?: Zuko had pulled one of his knifes out as he spoke and was now cutting through his bindings.

:You have a natural resistance to magic because of your affinity, and your Warrior's Amulet only heightens that resistance. Their song is a glamour, and a simple one at that. Roku made sure years ago that I knew how to counteract any glamours.:

:Because of Riath?: Aang nodded. Zuko was now free and had slipped behind Aang to cut through his bindings. The singing was now so loud they had to use telepathic communication, or they would have no way of knowing what the other had said.

:Get ready, Zuko. They're going to attack soon. They'll probably go for one of the pirates first, but better safe than sorry.: Aang had barely finished speaking when one of the mermaids jumped out of the water. He caught a brief glimpse of razor sharp teeth and claws before the mermaid and her target were falling over the opposite side of the boat. Both he and Zuko had instinctively ducked. An instant later another one attacked. This one didn't get a pirate. She did come close enough to Zuko, however, to make Aang concerned that he was her target. Aang peered closely at Zuko to make sure he was all right.

There was a small trickle of blood on Zuko's cheek. Other than that he seemed fine. Aang's first instinct was to blast every single one of the damned mermaids out of the water for daring to harm his lover. But that was the reason they were arguing. Aang's over protectiveness. He forced himself to stay still. To control his urges. If Zuko asked, he could help. But not until then. The mermaid's glamour seemed to have broken by this point. The pirates were panicking. Aang didn't really blame them. He would be panicking too if he didn't have years of experience dealing with this sort of thing.

Zuko grabbed one of the pirate's swords and cut the next mermaid to attack in half. The poor pirate the tail landed on screamed shrilly and fell overboard trying to get away. He didn't last long before being ripped to shreds. The mermaids were absolutely pissed that one of them had been killed. They weren't trying to drag or knock the pirates overboard anymore. Now they were going straight for Zuko.

:Aang! There's too many of them. I need help!: Finally! Aang had been going nuts watching the mermaids trying to drag his sweet Zuko overboard without doing anything. 'Zus Akme Twe.' He cast the spell Lightning silently in his head, then stood up. Lightning ripped out of his hands and slammed into the water, causing all the mermaids to scatter. Combat magic was usually difficult for him. His rage over Zuko being harmed made having the intention to harm another creature easy to find. Once the mermaids were gone he cast another spell, Wind, to get them safely-and quickly- to shore. The pirates certainly weren't in any state to be rowing the boat, and Aang had no idea how long it would be before the mermaids regrouped and attacked again.

Zuko helped him drag the boat on shore. The pirates had charged ashore en masse as soon as they were in shallow enough water. :How long do you think it's going to be before any of them are willing to set foot in the water again?: Zuko sounded amused.

:Gods only know.: Aang's job wasn't done yet, though. Now he had to get them all food and shelter. The island they landed on looked like all those deserted islands he saw in comics. An almost perfectly round island covered completely covered in sand. With one palm tree, complete with coconuts. Which, somehow, made perfect sense when he considered the fact that the pirates looked like the had wandered off a set for "Pirates of the Caribbean." That thought made Aang smile, remembering when Zuko had introduced him to the series before Iroh had been killed, when Aang was courting him.

Conjuring up the tents and enough food and booze to feed them all sapped the rest of Aang's strength. If he been summoning the stuff from someplace it wouldn't have been such a draining experience. Creating stuff out of thin air was extremely difficult. He just hoped the pirates didn't run out of food before he woke up. If there was still some left, he could use a much simpler spell to multiply what they had. He stumbled off to his tent, wishing as he did so that Zuko wasn't still mad at him. He hadn't slept well in weeks. It was hard to fall asleep without Zuko snuggled up against his chest. Since this stupid argument started, Zuko had slept in a different room. Aang would never have thought that sleeping alone again after only a few months of having a partner would wreak so much havoc on his sleeping patterns. He really needed to get Zuko to forgive him. He collapsed on the cot, surprised he had actually made it that far he was so exhausted.

The tent flap lifted and then fell. A minute later, Zuko joined him on the cot and snuggled up to his chest. "I take it this means you forgive me?" Gods, Aang hoped so.

"Yeah. I'm sorry I dragged this fight out so long. It's just that…" His voice trailed off. Aang knew what he meant though, and understood completely.

"It's OK, Zuko. I understand why you were angry, and if I could change for you, I would. Although, considering the fact that you have me wrapped around your little finger when it comes to everything else, you could quite possibly at least consider letting me have my way in this one thing."

"Hmm. I'll think about it." Knowing Zuko as well as he did, that was all Aang could ever ask for. Especially since it was Zuko-speak for 'yes.'