Disclaimer: Avatar: The Last Air Bender and its characters belong to Nickelodeon and my OC and one shot plot/idea are mine.
AN: This is an updated and edited version of 'Sights, sounds, smells and a whole lot of temper' on Quizilla. Note that Sasukelover2 on Quizilla is my account too. So, no copyright breached.
The Thief's game.
Light footsteps and the rustling of leaves. Zuko's eyes opened from their rest and scanned the area with much caution; his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. His Uncle Iroh's snores echoed softly around them. Zuko's eyes narrowed; his eyebrows drawn together thinking that it was just a harmless animal as silence engulfed the area after a moment.
As he settled to return to his much needed sleep, he heard it again: the faint 'tip-tap' of footsteps, getting closer and closer with each passing second. This time, he wasn't sure if it was an animal. He squinted his eyes as he tried to make out the shadows in the dim setting, with only the faint moon light as a sorce of brightness. Then, he saw it. Still lying in the darkness, his eyes caught hold of a silhouetted figure approaching them ever so stealthily. But not stealthily enough to Zuko, he smirked discreetly as he kept as still as possible. When the shadow figure was close enough, he went for the attack. He didn't want to wake his uncle from his deep slumber. It would be very troublesome if the intruder got away. The figure seemed very much surprised and startled at the pounce. It wrestled Zuko with almost equal strength but Zuko did something he didn't mean to do. He had wanted to push the figure off him and his hands went to its chest. There was a sudden stop of movement and silence from both parties.
"Ahhh! Pervert!"
And a kick sent Zuko almost flying.
"So what brings you here in the dead of night, little lady?" Iroh asked warmly as he heated up some Jasmine Tea for their guest who was partly hiding under Zuko's blanket, or rather a makeshift one. The girl glared daggers at him as she folded her hands protectively over her chest. Zuko looked away with embarrassment, his hands ruffling his dark brown hair as a distraction, his eyes wandering anywhere else but there. Iroh then handed her the tea in a small clay cup. The young girl took it with much appreciation as the night was chilly. Her light auburn hair hung around her, veiling her face as she sipped the warm tea.
"To be honest, I was going to rob you-," the girl explained.
"Well that's real honest of you," Zuko interrupted sarcastically. The girl rolled her eyes at him and continued, "-but genius over there almost groped me in the chest!"
"I did not. Besides, I didn't know you were a girl!" Zuko yelled, frustrated at the blame.
"Oh, so girls can't rob people now, eh? Sexist!" Both of them were now nose to nose with each other, eyes glaring and fists clenched.
"Now, now, no need to get into each other's hair over such a small matter. Zuko don't enrage the pretty lady. You're being very rude." Iroh pulled the two youngsters apart. Zuko's eyes widen with disbelief. His uncle took the girl's side rather than his own nephew's? Unbelievable, he scoffed.
The girl stuck her tongue out at Zuko behind his back. Zuko felt a taunt and snapped his head back to only see the girl sipping his uncle's special tea merrily while they chatted by the warm fire. He glared at them and got up to have a little stroll around the area to cool his hot head.
"Zuko! Where are you going in this time of night?" Uncle Iroh asked pleasantly from the warmth of the crackling fire.
"A walk, I have the need to... clear my thoughts," Zuko mumbled as he walked off from the two and into the night.
Dawn broke and Zuko returned to the camp site. The once warm, crackling fire was now reduced to ember and ashes; just like his temper. He had stayed in a tree nearby to reflect on his life and also to keep watch over the camp, only occasionally taking short naps in between. He looked at his snoring uncle who was still sleeping soundly while the girl was snuggled under Zuko's makeshift blanket; her wavy locks shielding her face from the sunlight emerging from behind the trees and hills. A smile was on her lips. She must be having a nice dream, he guessed.It had been ages since he got any decent sleep without reoccurring nightmares waking him up in the middle of the night, drenched in perspiration. He envied her – very much.
He closed his eyes and inhaled lungs full of fresh, morning air to set his mind straight again. He made beeline for their food supply to find that the meat for today's breakfast – was gone. Only its bones were left in the woven sack. His eyes glared at the sleeping girl. Clenching his fists, he made extra care not to explode in a sudden fit of rage, but counted one to ten to recede his anger. After finally calming down, he left again to hunt for their breakfast.
The sun was now almost peaking from the top of the hills. It had been an hour since Zuko left the camp site. The girl stretched and felt her bones pop. She had been sleeping in the same position for hours, too cold to move. Right now, her muscles felt like brand new elastic bands; full of tension. She looked around for any other signs of human life besides the snoring old man but found only little forest insects scurrying about on the ground around them. The obnoxious boy that denied that he tried to grope her was gone. She fumed when the memory came back to her but blushed. He was quite good looking, despite the large scar on the left side of his face. His messy dark hair made him all the more mysterious. She was intrigued as to who he actually was. She looked back at the blanket she had slept under and breathed in the scent that lingered on it. She smiled mischievously to herself.
When Zuko returned with some fresh meat he got from a rabbit he hunted, he saw his uncle still sprawled on the ground; snoring. But the mysterious girl was nowhere to be seen, including his blanket. He was fuming at the thought of her being a thief, even stealing a flimsy blanket. But his sharp eyes caught sight of a foreign leather pouch that did not belonging to either him or his uncle. He bent down to inspect it and found several pieces of dried meat in them. He grunted and closed his eyes.
What game was this girl playing?