Katara stared at the two men who had just come onto their boat from her hiding place in her shadows. One was an short old man with grey hair and a matching grey beard. He was currently staring at a wooden monkey with red eyes. They'd taken out the precious rubies and replaced them with glass that looked just like the real things. The old man would be getting practically nothing at a high price.
The other one, though, was only a boy. A few years older than her, it would seem. But he had a large flame shaped burn over his left eye. His black hair was pulled back into a ponytail and there was a permanent scowl over his features. It looked like he'd never been happy in his life and he was grumbling at the old man's insistence to stop at every shop to find stupid things and objects he didn't need.
Her attention was pulled away from the two as the captain came into the room with his second mate. He was a very powerful man and had the guts to do anything and everything needed to be done to get his crew to the top of the world. But some little punk had come in here and stolen an ancient waterbending scroll from them. Katara's grip on her knife tightened as she listened to the conversation.
"They got away," the second mate said. His voice was squeaky and he had long hair held back with a green headband.
The captain slammed his fist on the counter before him, making the lizard parrot on his shoulder squawk in surprise. "That little punk. We should have kept our eyes on that little water tribe boy. And his friend wasn't any better, distracting us with that stupid bargaining joke," he said.
She remembered they boy they were talking about. An average boy with brown hair pulled into a small ponytail, blue tunic and pants, brown boots, dark skin like hers, and a knapsack over his shoulder. His friend had been a young boy, bald, dressed in yellow and orange, carried a staff, and had strange blue tattoos. He'd been bubbly and smiles, annoying Katara to no end. What was wrong with him of being so happy? Just wasn't normal.
"We had them cornered. They escaped by flying over our men," the second mate said. Katara straightened, as well as the young man. Flying could only mean one thing. There was an airbender still alive.
"This friend wouldn't happen to have blue tattoos on his head and hands, would he?" the boy asked.
The captain and second mate turned to look at the boy. "How would you know?" the second mate asked in his squeaky voice. "Who are you?"
The boy drew himself up and straightened his shoulders in confidence. "I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation, heir to the throne. And I have come to capture that boy you're talking about." His voice was powerful and strong. Katara could tell he knew who he was. Something she couldn't even do properly.
She saw the captain's eyebrow twitch slightly. "Indeed?" he said, rubbing his chin. "Then I suggest we pair up. You to find your boy and me to get my scroll back." Katara stared at the captain. Why would he bother joining forces with this person? The scroll wasn't that valuable. Why go out of their way to retrieve it? The captain had something hiding up his sleeve.
The boy nodded. "I'll help you get your scroll back, but leave the boy to me. My uncle and I shall follow you with a smaller boat of ours and a small guard. Be ready to sail within the hour."
Katara froze and waited. The captain didn't take orders from anyone. He was the one who gave orders, not took them. But he nodded and calmly called out, "Katara, front and center."
She unfolded herself from her hiding place and stepped into the light, surprising the other men. She nodded her head slightly to the captain, waiting for orders. "Yes, Captain?" she asked.
"Run up on deck and tell the crew to get ready with a smaller boat able to carry us on the river. We're going hunting," he said. She nodded and hurried past the men and onto the top deck to relay the message.
Zuko stood on the deck of the pirate's ship as they sailed down the back river. They had been searching for a few hours now and it would be dark soon. Then their search would be hindered dramatically. He would not let the Avatar escape again. He would capture him and return home with honor.
His gaze momentarily drifted over to the one the captain had called Katara. An unusual name for a pirate, but one couldn't choose their name. She was dressed in a red sleeveless dress with a leather strap keeping the top together. A leather belt with the yin-yang symbol, wrapped around her hips. The hem of the dress brushed her knee high boots around her calves. Zuko could see her pants under her dress and the black leggins she wore, as the fabric fluttered as the wind rushed past her. She wore a red ribbon around her neck with a pale smooth stone at the end. Along with the necklace, she wore forearm guards and thin red armlets on both arms. Even her hair had two red ribbons wrapped around a portion of the strands framing her face.
Her hair was slightly wavy and a dark brown Zuko had never seen before. Her skin was also tanned as if she'd been out in the sun for too long. It was darker than any of the other men on board.
In her own way, she was quite stunning. With her looks, she could charm men into giving her what she wanted. What bothered Zuko, though, was why she was here with the pirates. Katara looked over and her blue eyes shown as she caught him staring. Yes, that was definitely a question to be asked. But later. Once he had the Avatar firmly in his custody.
The captain walked over to him, momentarily blocking his view of the girl. "We should anchor soon and search on foot," he said.
Zuko shook his head, turning his gaze forward and to the river. "They stole a waterbending scroll, right?"
"Yeah," the captain said, clearly not putting the dots together.
"Then they would be near water. Just continue down the river and we'll find them." The captain said nothing and turned on his heel. He walked across the deck until he was standing next to Katara. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear. She nodded, as if in understanding, and walked to the railing next to Zuko.
She leaned over, resting her forearms on the wood and clasped her fingers together. "So," she said. "A prince. This boy must be high up on the food chain if they sent such a powerful person as the prince of the Fire Nation."
Zuko bit back a smile. He knew her plan and almost laughed at the poor attempt. She was going to chat him up to find more about the Avatar and then probably sell the information to others. But he wouldn't give anything away. "He is an escaped prisoner and reports say that he is traveling with a boy of the same description your captain gave. I was sent to bring him back because he attempted to kill my father." It was a good lie, if he said so himself. And he did. It explained why he was sent without showing his shame and dishonor. Hopefully, she would not have heard of his disgrace.
Katara's eyes went wide. "Wow," she said in awe. Zuko felt the urge to puff out his chest. "You lie really badly," she said. That deflated him and he scowled. She straightened and leaned her hip against the railing now. Each action was calculating and controlled. "Don't worry about it, though," she said. "I'm an expert liar and know when someone is throwing some story around." She leveled her blue gaze at him. "Want to tell me the real reason?"
Zuko tightened his jaw muscles and said, "It is none of your concern."
Katara laughed softly. "What a load of bull," she said. She leaned forward until she was near his ear. "Do you want to know what the men on this ship think? They think that the captain's gone nuts. Why risk our time and resources helping a prince find one boy with little profit to us except a scroll? But you, me, and the captain all know the real reason. This boy is special. A real airbender." She straightened her skirt as if it were a natural motion. "He would fetch a hansom prince on the black market and the captain knows this. I'd keep on my toes if I were you. Pirates are ruthless human beings."
She turned to leave, but stopped. Zuko stretched his hearing and heard mumbled curses. He turned to the shore and saw water being disturbed from behind a small bend in the river. He turned to the captain, but he'd already seen it. With silent motions, he ordered his crew to head for shore. The boat turned and the crew pulled it onto the sand.
Katara reached into her clothes and pulled out her daggers. From the look in her eyes, Zuko saw that she was ready for a fight. The pirates around them pulled out their own weapons, ready for a fight. The captain wordlessly motioned to the shore and the boat drifted toward it.
The pirates and Zuko left the boat, jumping onto the ground. Katara slid from the deck and lowered herself into a crouch. She pushed a branch out of the way and saw a young boy bending water in a shaky circle. She watched, fascinated, as the water bended and twisted in the air as they boy moved. She'd learned her bending from the scrolls and other benders they'd met in their travels, so she could see that this boy was inexperienced. He probably didn't know what he was doing.
A blade boomerang laid a few feet away from him. A fighter, then. The water fell back into the stream and the boy cursed. Katara swallowed a giggle. A fighter with weapons, but a terrible water bender.
She looked back at her captain and nodded. They'd found her guy, which meant the other one was around here somewhere nearby. Grab one, get the other. The captain returned the nod and Katara shifted her gaze back to her new target.
She shifted forward and sprang from the bush. The boy turned and tried to whip the water at her, but it was done so sloppily, she easily dodged it. Katara turned her knife over in her hand and smashed the end into his nose, breaking the bone and causing blood to gush from his nostrils. As the boy doubled over in pain, she jumped out of the way as another pirate tossed a rope with metal balls weighing the ends. The rope wrapped around the boy and he fell to the ground, struggling against the bonds.
The captain came out and patted Katara's shoulder. "Good work, Katara," he said. She nodded and hauled the captive to his feet.
He looked at her and his eyes went wide. "Katara?" he said, as if he wasn't sure what he was seeing.
Katara raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Do I know you?" she asked.
The boy blinked once. "I'm your brother, Sokka. Don't you remember me?" he asked.