Chapter 1: The Tsungi Horn
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar; if I did…it would have come out two days after the season finale.
I hope you like my first Avatar fanfic that I've posted on here. I worked on it whenever I had time.
Zuko awoke to someone lightly shaking his shoulder. He opened his one good eye and saw his uncle gazing down at him. "What is it Uncle? The sun hasn't even risen yet." He groaned and rolled over with his back towards his uncle.
"Yes, I know, but Sokka says…" Zuko sat up suddenly and glared at his uncle.
"You listened to that Water Tribe peasant?" he said coldly, still glaring. "Zuko, please, try to get along with these people. You don't have to befriend them but, you can at least try to avoid any fights. We are here to train the Avatar in firebending so he can help us defeat your father." Iroh placed a calming hand on his nephew's shoulder. Zuko looked at his uncle, his temper calming. He sighed and stood.
Glancing around the clearing, he saw that the Avatar was lifting some supplies onto the back of his giant bison using airbending. The waterbender was in the beast's saddle, packing the supplies that the Avatar lifted. Zuko didn't see the Water Tribe boy until the earthbender tossed him into the air. Apparently he had fallen asleep soon after giving out the order that they were to move on. Sokka landed in a bush to Zuko's left and he came out of it with twigs and leaves sticking out of his 'warrior's wolf-tail'. Zuko just stared at him as he pulled out a twig that had gone down his shirt. Sokka glared at him as if he were the one who had done the humiliating act.
Zuko just walked away and began gathering his things. He rolled up his bed roll then proceeded to check his bag to make sure everything was there. He became more frantic when he realized he was missing something. "What's the matter, Prince Zuko?" Iroh asked, noticing the worried look on his nephew's face.
"I can't find my dagger." Zuko stated, glancing around the clearing as if he expected it to just appear before him.
"Your dagger?" Sokka asked nervously.
"Yes," Zuko said, looking suspiciously at the young warrior.
"Where did you see it last?" Aang asked, looking up from his bending.
"In my bag." Zuko was still glaring at Sokka.
"What? You think I took it? I don't even know what it looks like!" Sokka was desperate to get the prince's glare off him. Zuko just continued to glare at him which made Sokka fidgety.
"Sokka's lying." Toph stated and pointed in Sokka's direction.
"No I'm not!" Sokka protested.
"Yes you are." Toph argued.
"No, I'm not!"
"Enough!" Aang yelled, stepping between the two.
"Sokka, admit you took Zuko's dagger and tell him where it is."
"But I didn't take it!" Sokka screamed. Zuko kept glaring at him until a glint in the trees caught his eye. He looked up to see his beautiful, pearl dagger sticking out of the trunk of a beech-oak tree. Zuko grabbed onto the lowest branch and swung himself up onto it and kept climbing until he reached his precious dagger. He ripped it free of the dark confines of the tree's trunk then jumped down to the ground, landing lightly on his feet. He walked to Sokka and pointed the tip of his dagger at the younger boy's throat.
"What were you doing with my dagger?" He said each word slowly so as to contain his anger.
"I-I used it to get some papaya for our breakfast. Iroh said it was your favorite." Sokka stammered.
"So you left it stuck in the trunk of a tree?" Zuko nearly growled.
"I couldn't get it out."
"Were you planning on telling me? Did you think I wouldn't notice?" Zuko asked dangerously. Sokka was too scared to answer the prince's question. "Well?" Zuko prodded.
"Uh…I was planning on telling you." Sokka gulped.
"Oh yeah? When?" Zuko asked disbelievingly.
"When you found out it was missing, but then you saw it up there and…here we are." Sokka finished with a smile and Zuko looked as if he were about to slit his throat. Iroh interrupted Zuko's murderous thought by putting a hand on his shoulder. Zuko sighed and pulled his dagger away from Sokka's throat and placed it in its sheath at his hip.
"Well, let's get going." Zuko said then climbed aboard his ostrich-horse. Everyone else climbed aboard Appa.
"Keep it low Appa." Aang told the bison and he took off but kept to the canopy. They didn't want to leave giant bison foot prints but they didn't want to be spotted in the sky either. Zuko refused to ride on Appa until it was absolutely necessary and no one dared to protest his actions.
"So where are we headed?" Iroh asked Sokka who was hunched over the maps he had taken from the Library.
"Uh…that way!" He pointed to the left and Aang guided Appa that way and Zuko led his ostrich-horse in the same direction. Zuko easily kept pace with the giant bison that flew only feet above his head but Appa would not allow Zuko to come very close to him.
He didn't seem to mind Iroh's presence though. The fat, old man rode happily upon the beast along with the rest of them. "Sokka! Look!" Katara was pointing to a beautiful lagoon with a waterfall and trees on the edges.
"Let's stop there!" Toph exclaimed, pointing in the wrong direction.
"Yeah it's gr-" Sokka agreed then turned and glared at Toph. "Very funny," Sokka said, his voice laced with sarcasm, Toph just smiled. Katara and Iroh laughed and Aang just smiled at his friends. Zuko didn't see what was so funny and hopped off the ostrich-horse then led it to the lagoon to drink.
"This does look like a good place to stop." Zuko stated as he gazed around at the clearing. The clear, blue water lapped at the shore lazily as Zuko bent down to cup some water in his hand to drink.
"Yeah, it's beautiful." Katara said, still mesmerized by the beauty of it all. Sokka began throwing things out of Appa's saddle and everyone else helped. Zuko unpacked his and his uncle's things from the ostrich-horse's saddle.
"Uncle!" everyone turned to see that Zuko had dropped something from the saddle on his right foot. "I thought you had gotten rid of this thing!" He yelled, indicating the large object on his foot. He kicked it away and Iroh ran to it and picked it up.
"I couldn't get rid of something with such importance Prince Zuko." He sounded like a child being scolded by his father. Zuko just continued to glare at the thing in his uncle's arms.
"Get rid of it!" He ordered then stalked off to tie his animal to a tree. "But Prince Zuko-"
"I said no! Get rid of it!" Zuko bellowed.
"Please, have mercy." Iroh pleaded.
"What is it?" Sokka asked; if Zuko didn't like it then maybe he could use it to his advantage.
"It's nothing!" Zuko yelled; his back still towards them.
"It is a songi horn!" Iroh exclaimed with pride.
"A what?" Sokka and Aang asked in unison.
"A songi horn, an instrument so beautiful it will make even your soul weep with its beauty." Iroh said, hugging the case.
"Oh, will you play it for us?" Aang asked. Zuko whipped around with a look of pure hatred on his face.
"No! Uncle, please!" Zuko was now the one who was pleading as if his life depended on it. Iroh nodded and told them he would play it after they ate.
"Sparky is a much better cook than you, Sugar Queen." Toph said as she slurped down Zuko's stew. Katara didn't seem pleased by this but she was curious. She never would have thought that Zuko would be a good cook or even know how to cook.
"Yes, Prince Zuko, what did you put in this?' Iroh asked as he happily drank the secret stew.
"It's not really about what's in it, as to what temperature you cook it at." Zuko smirked then ignited a flame under his bowl.
"So true." Iroh said then continued eating.
After they finished eating Iroh asked Zuko to fetch the instrument's case and he agreed grudgingly. Once Zuko returned, Iroh sat on a large tree stump and began to piece together the parts of the great horn. It was a giant horn, almost bigger than the old general himself.
When he began to play, no one but Zuko could stop staring. Zuko tried to block out the thunderous noise of the horn but failed. When he finished that song he stopped to rest. "Prince Zuko, will you play for me? You are much better." Iroh asked. Everyone stared at Zuko, waiting for his response.
"Zuko can play the songi horn?" Sokka asked with disbelief.
"Yes," Zuko all but growled.
"Come on Zuko, please." Katara begged. Sokka almost laughed but he too wanted to hear the banished prince play. Katara didn't know if he really was better than Iroh or not but when the he finally gave in; she was amazed to say the least.
The song began as a soft melody that soon erupted into a thunderous tune that caused a flock of birds that slept overhead to take to the air. Katara's eyes never left Zuko's face and Zuko's eyes didn't open till the end of the song. It ended with one last blow that sent shockwaves through the air and echoed for a long while after Zuko had set down the great instrument. Katara expected Zuko to ask how they liked it but "Avatar, if you aren't up and ready to train by sunrise, I'll burn your blankets off you." His eyes narrowed at those last words and then walked over to his bedroll and lay down.
"He doesn't mean that." Iroh tried to break the silence caused by his nephew's actions but, failed miserably. "Well, I'm tired." Iroh tried again and this time it worked. Aang stood, stretched and yawned then walked over to Appa and collapsed.
"I'd better get some rest if I'm going to be up at sunrise." Aang mumbled. Katara walked over to her sleeping bag and crawled in. It was a chilly night so she dragged it closer to the fire. She glanced at Zuko, with his back turned to them as a cold breeze blew through the camp. Katara shivered and wondered how Zuko and his uncle could sleep with only a thin blanket covering them. Then she realized that they probably used the fire within their bodies to keep warm. As she lay there, shivering, she thought of the time she had spent with Zuko and Iroh.
Iroh was a man that anyone could trust, a wise man. Even though he was old, he was strong and he could put up with a lot, especially, if he could stand to be around Zuko when his fiery temper took the best of him. Iroh had once told Katara that Zuko had attacked a guard for calling him short. Katara had giggled at this bit of information until Zuko glanced at her with his good eyebrow raised. She had immediately stopped giggling when he looked at her. She remembered every bit of information that Iroh or Zuko had told her about their pasts. Mostly Iroh though.
Yeah, so, the first chapter is up. Please tell me what you think.