Hello hello and welcome to some more of (un)fortunate coincidences! Enjoy the next part of young Zuko's adventure!
Special thanks to everyone who has favorited and followed the story. I hope that it lives up to your expectations!
I absolutely adore Angel Wolf and Chezleee for their wonderful reviews! I'm looking forward to seeing more of them :D
I'm still looking for a beta reader, so PM me if you'd be interested in doing this.
Enjoy!
A small piece of wisdom:
"As long as I'm confident with who I am, it doesn't matter what other people think"—Smellerbee
Chapter 2: An islander girl named Shei
The knife slipped under her hands and the blade sliced right across her calf. Again. Shei let out a tired sigh, allowing the knife to clatter onto the rock beside her.
"Stupid Kitanna." The girl told herself, looking down at her bleeding leg with annoyance. "They're not that dark." Who in the hell was she kidding. They were dark. And Kitanna was damn right. She needed to start shaving. Heck, even old Mame had told her that she needed a shave in a roundabout way.
Shei pushed her hair back, going forwards and down the steep rocks into the calm sea around the island. She slipped into the water without disturbing it much, wriggling her legs about for a moment before pushing herself up, mindful of all the seashells stuck to the rocks. Oh, she had cut herself on those dark blade-like ovals more than once. She wasn't looking forward to a repeat of it.
When she reached the top, the girl ran her hands down her legs. Her left was completely smooth, clear of hair from her ankle all the way to the top of her thigh. Her dark skin, a clear sign of her Water Nation origins was flawless. On the other hand, her right leg felt like a leg of an hippolion. Well, maybe she was being too harsh on herself. She didn't have that much hair.
Shei groaned, picking up the knife and walking away from the cliff. Who cares what Kitanna thought. She was just a stupid sheepcow anyways. "C'mon Jami." Called out the young girl to her pet and companion. The creature stood, extending its wings briefly to shake the sleep out of them and then proceeding to stretch its feline body as well. "Shall we go to Dir Dranc and get some fish?"
Jami let out a lazy yawn and then a growl, as if he were disapproving of the girl's decision. Shei, however, grinned. "I agree." She nodded, grabbing onto the thin, leather saddle on the beast and hopping up. "I'm a mad genius." She grabbed onto the handles on the top of the seat, lowering herself as far as she could down. "Hoppity hop!" The feline moved, walking and then running towards the edge before jumping. Its large wings extended flapping once, twice and then lazily extending to their full length, allowing them to glide along the air currents. "Don't worry, Jami." Shei grinned, relaxing in the leather seat. "I'll give you the biggest fish that I catch."
The sea was calm and the path to the Dir Dranc took only three hours without any stopping. Shei landed Jami on the small patch of white sand in front of the island, just to rest. She took out her water canteen and sipped some, before putting it on between her arm and body, pouring it skillfully into her hands, so that Jami could drink. He lapped it up greedily, licking her hands clean when he was done. After a short rest, they flew the rest of the way to Dir Dranc, the perfect island for fishing.
Shei hopped off Jami's back as soon as they hit the shore. She immediately started readying the net from one of the saddle bags and tossed it in the water, right where the small stream entered the ocean, dying it a dull, green color. Now, that was where the fish were. Big, quick, red and delicious fish.
"Jami, give me a hand." She called out to her companion, the feline giving a lazy growl in return. "I know, then give me a paw, if you would. Or a claw." Laughed Shei and tightened the net around one of the trees downstream. The bark and branches already had deep indentations where the nets were usually stretched.
Jami was efficient. He grabbed the other end of the net, pulling it towards him. Then, the creature stopped, listening. His ears weren't flicking in every direction as usual, but they were completely erect, focusing only on one thing. Shei waded back across the stream, as quietly as possible, and placed a tentative hand on Jami's neck. One ear flicked towards her, before returning to its previous position.
"Jami?" The girl asked. "What do you hear, boy?" The feline let out a small growl which turned Shei's insides to ice. "Let's get out of here." And the girl waded back to undo her net as quickly as possible, not caring about quiet anymore. They knew that she was here. There was no hiding from them. They knew.
As Shei was hurriedly wrapping up her fishing net and stuffing it into its bag, and angry yell tore across the island, followed by a scream of the same voice. The girl froze, her fingers trembling. She knew what that meant. They had someone. They had a person. She wasn't of any interest to them. She could leave peacefully. But, they had someone.
"Let's go Jami." Shei pushed herself up, swinging her leg over Jami's body in a practiced motion. "Hoppity hop!" She yelled, the feline taking off into the air effortlessly. She patted Jami's neck on the side, telling him to turn and the large cat obliged, circling to the left. Shei spotted the fire rather easily. It's not like they ever tried to conceal their presence on the island. "Jami, take care of it."
And Shei took a plunge.
She hit one of the trees, the leaves and branches scratching her skin as she went down. Finally, the girl managed to grab onto one of the thicker branches, the bark biting into her hands hard as she stopped her fall. Shei exhaled, waiting for a moment to see if anyone had noticed her fall. She took a deep breath. No one was coming. A bird called out from somewhere to her left. Shei felt soundlessly the rest of the way to the ground, her bare feet landing on the sandy soil.
There was silence all around her. Well, as much silence as one could expect on a tropical island. There were birds all around, singing, squawking and quacking. The soft wind was blowing through the trees, rustling the leaves and playing the trunks like a giant pipe organ. Shei moved through the forest soundlessly. She easily found the source of the noise.
A large fire had been built in a small clearing, a wooden spit was ready right next to it. There were people around the flame, dancing, yelling, rejoicing. Their skin was as white as salt and their eyes as blue as the deep ocean. Shei crouched, making sure that she was downwind. They had a sharp sense of smell and she didn't want to be noticed.
Not if she wanted to save that poor fellow.
There was a boy, a teenager, really, a little ways off from the fire, tied up securely with thick rope. He was screaming and yelling angrily, which could barely be heard over their song anymore. They were ready. Their hunt was over. The great Goddess had gifted them with her prize. Now it was a different time. It wasn't a time for battling. It wasn't a time for hunting. It was a time for eating.
The screaming boy was going to be their lunch.
A loud roar tore through the island, followed by a flock of birds flying off in fright. Their song came to an abrupt stop and a couple of them squawked and rumbled at each other in an unknown language. Shei waited. Another roar sounded, this time followed by a baby's wail. The group around the fire split up quickly, a bunch of them grabbing their previously discarded weapons, and a couple staying behind. Jami had done his job well.
Shei cursed soundlessly.
Five of them hadn't left. The girl quickly searched the ground around her, finding the biggest coconut she could. She threw it as far as she could to her right, and then scampered to the left. They exchanged a few more words before two of them left to check out the new noise, greedy grins on their face. They thought that the boy wasn't alone. That the Goddess had given them something else.
But, Shei was prepared.
She looked through the tiny pockets of her tight pants, finding a couple of bundles of herbs. She smelled them, one by one, stopping when she found the proper scent. She knew that she wouldn't have much time. Jami could only distract them for so long, and those that had gone on their coconut hunt would be back soon. With precision that would make Kitanna green with jealousy, Shei threw the bundle of herbs into the large fire. It cracked once. Twice. And then it colored green and blue, smoke swirling above it in strange patterns.
They threw themselves at the ground.
From their pale lips came chanting in their crude, strange language. They were praying, thanking their Gods for their gracious gift. Shei was as quick as a rabaroo. She flew towards the poor boy, sliding the knife from her belt and beginning to cut the ropes. He doubled his struggle and she slammed her hand onto his open mouth. The boy bit her as hard he could, his teeth digging into her already sore palms from her little trip down the tree, drawing blood.
"Shut up and let me help you if you don't want to be their lunch." The girl growled into his ear and the boy reluctantly let go of her hand. Shei grit her teeth at the sight of her hand, bleeding and messed up, but didn't take the time to dwell on it any further. Instead, the girl focused on her task once more. She hit something in the thick rope, and dug it out with her partially numb, bloody fingers.
It was a tooth.
Shei grit her teeth once more, finally snapping the ropes. She knew that if she got caught, it would be her teeth in the next ropes which they made. As soon as she freed the boy, she realized the next problem. Of course, this wasn't her day at all. His leg was bent in a weird way. Obviously, they hadn't wanted him to have a way to run away.
"Grab onto me." Shei told him, pulling one of his arms around her neck. The boy didn't resist this time, his eyes darting fearfully towards them as they still chanted with their foreheads on the ground. The flame was still green, but it wouldn't stay that way forever.
"It's almost gone." He growled at her, confirming her fear. Shei nodded, putting more strength into pulling him up. The boy got his good leg under him and they clumsily stumbled away from the clearing. Shei managed to get them out of sight, already panting and sweating. Either she wasn't getting enough exercise, or this boy was heavier than he looked.
"Just a little further." She told them both, gritting her teeth. Her hand was bleeding from his bite earlier, she could feel the wetness. It was making her hold on his bare arm slippery and she had to stop for a second to re-adjust her grip. "Don't stop." She murmured again, stepping once more. Her toe hit a rock, bending in a weird way, but Shei didn't stop. "We've only just begun." She spoke again.
"If you've got the strength to talk, walk faster." The boy growled at her and for a moment, Shei considered dropping him there and leaving him behind. Then, she remembered why exactly she was in this situation. Shei and her stupid compassion. She cursed herself, the boy, Dir Dranc for its good fish, Kitanna and even old Mame for their silly ideas about how a girl should shave her legs.
"Why don't you shut up?" Shei growled just as her legs gave out. The boy muffled his scream by biting his lower lip as he went down beside her.
"What are you doing?" He called out in a strained voice. "They're gonna find us!"
"I thought- I- told you- to shut up." Shei managed to push through her pants, one hand still gripping the boy's arm and the other on the ground, holding her up. "I just- need a breather." Yelling and screaming sounded out from the campsite behind them, successfully shutting up the boy's next remark, undoubtedly as insulting as the rest of them.
A mad scream tore just behind them, a white silhouette running towards them while waving a machete of sorts. "Go! Go! Go!" The boy yelled now, not bothering keeping silent anymore, pushing them up with his good leg. Shei groaned and jumped up, running now, and making the boy hop awkwardly to keep up with her. One of them was catching up to them though, still letting out that strange yell.
"Flying hog monkeys!" Shei cursed, stopping and turning around. She drew her dagger once more, tossing it as hard as she could. The blade imbedded itself into the tree, right through the clothing of their attacker. "Go!" They hobbled along once again. "We need to reach the beach." Shei told the boy, pulling him towards the East now.
"Do you have a boat?" He asked, free hand reaching up to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"Goddess no." Shei replied just as the cleared the last row of the trees, breaking out onto the sandy beach. Shei could hear numerous voices letting out angry war cries behind them, chasing them. The boy panicked when he didn't see an obvious escape route and turned to her enraged, getting into her face.
"And how exactly are we getting out of here in your brilliant plan?" He growled. "Flying?"
"How'd you know?"
"What?!" He screamed in panic. "Are you going to sprout wings or something?"
"Not me." Shei clarified to the terrified boy. "Jami." Before he could retort, a loud roar tore through the air, the feline creature breaking through the trees, biting left and right at the incoming attackers before hurrying to the panting pair. They hesitated, obviously familiar with the nature of Jami's species and its extremely carnivorous ways.
"Get behind me!" The boy pushed her back, hopping forward on his good leg and extending his clenched fist, like was going to punch Jami in the face or something. And while Shei admired his bravery and care for her, she needed to get him on the cat's back as soon as possible.
"Shut up and get on his back!" The girl headed for the feline, pulling the now resisting boy with her. Jami, a little annoyed by the newcomer's reaction, turned his side to them and let out a roar, making them move a couple of steps back.
They stopped.
Everything stilled except the boy's protests about nearing the large, flying feline. Shei's eyes didn't leave their blue eyes, ethereal looking, standing out against their pure white skin, as she pushed the limping boy at Jami. She growled under her breath like she was the feline and not him, and the rescued teen obliged, struggling for a moment to clamber up onto Jami's back with only the power of his arms and one good leg. For a second, Shei looked away from them to see if he had settled into the leather saddle, and it was like the spell had been broken.
They ran like madmen towards the escaping trio, shouting in their language.
"Hoppity hop!" Yelled Shei and Jami took off with two powerful swings of his wings, taking the boy and himself to the safety of the skies. The girl turned, running towards the sea in panic. Her feet sank into the sand, making her escape slower than the advance of her pursuers. She really needed to take Rem up on his 'training on the beach' offer next time. She was out of breath by the time she splashed into the clear water, evading urchineels like her life depended on it.
It was just as one of them neared her, swinging his machete, that Shei dove into the water. That didn't deter them at all. The closest one threw himself after her, catching her leg. Shei kicked and screamed, salt water filling her mouth, and she managed to shake off the grip on her ankle. Then, a roar tore through the air once more, Jami diving downwards.
Shei extended her hands and waited for the right moment, grabbing onto the underside of the feline's saddle when the opportunity arose. Her body was lifted from the water and she became weightless for a second as Jami adjusted to the weight of two people on him. Then, the feline headed upwards with an annoyed groan, obviously not too happy about the increase in the number of passengers.
They stopped after an hour or so of flying. By then, Shei could barely feel her arms and her right hand was quite numb and still slick from her own blood. As soon as she was close enough to the ground, the young girl let go, rolling once and then stopping on her back, feeling as tired as she'd ever been. Jami landed a meter or so away, folding his wings gingerly and tossing his head back, clearly not too happy about the strange rider.
"Do you have any water?" The boy asked, struggling to get off of the large feline. He landed on his good foot and proceeded to hop about clumsily.
"Oh, you have got to be the worst damsel in distress ever. So ungrateful." Shei groaned, looking upwards at the hobbling boy.
"I was completely fine. I didn't need your help." Came the answer in a telltale growl.
"It's in the canteen, the wooden one on the back of the saddle." She chose to ignore the bite. He found it fairly easily and drank from it. "Pass." Shei demanded and the teen tossed the wooden canteen to her. The girl tipped it, a single drop landing into her mouth. "Awwwe. You drank all of it." She rolled onto her stomach, pushing herself up.
"I was thirsty."
"Ungrateful." Shei said and walked over to Jami. "Let me see that before we leave." She motioned towards his hurt leg, which was still a little bent in a strange direction.
"I'm not getting back on that smelly beast." Jami growled in warning, showing his white teeth. The boy stumbled back, extending his first towards the feline once more, like he was going to punch.
"Don't be mean." Shei frowned, untying the saddle from Jami's back and beginning to undo the different knots. "Jami doesn't like taking baths. Urgh." Commented the girl, fumbling with some of the knots and then pulling the straps as hard as she could and they came apart. "There we go." She mumbled to herself.
"Who in the world keeps an eaglelion as their pet anyways?" The boy commented, dropping to the ground. He tenderly touched his hurt leg before letting it go with a hiss.
"Golden eaglelion." Corrected Shei. "And Jami ain't my pet. He's my friend." The girl grinned, dropping to her knees beside the boy and crawling over. "Let me see that." She gingerly touched his hurt leg, feeling around for the positions of the bones. "Where does it hurt?"
"Ah!" The boy grunted out, moving his leg away from her touch in an awkward movement from the hip. "It hurts everywhere, obviously." When he saw the look that Shei was giving him, however, he relaxed his leg once again. "It hurts the most on the side." He mumbled.
"Alright. I'm no healer, but this looks like a simple fracture. Clean, from the looks of it." The girl reached for the leather straps that she'd gotten from her saddle and fastened them above his knee snugly. "How long did they make you walk on it?" Her voice softened, her fingers gently going over the swollen joint.
"Only one day. They made me run." The boy answered, gritting his teeth. "They wanted to hunt."
"You're lucky to be alive." Shei told him and stood, heading for the trees. There, she picked the sturdiest branches that she could see and broke them off by leaning on them with her whole weight. She walked back to the boy, who seemed between pissed and relieved, which was a strange combination. As she worked on making a makeshift splint for his leg, Shei took a better look at him. His shirt was open, thorn undoubtedly from all the running which he'd done on Dir Dranc. However, the material was expensive, silk or fancy linen, hand stitched, as far as she could see. His feet were bare, with scabs and cuts from the rough terrain and his pants had been ripped short, just above his knee. Obviously, they had been preparing him for the meal. "How does this feel?" Shei finally asked, tying off the last strap.
"Snug." He replied in an indifferent tone, and she noticed that his voice was breaking now that he wasn't angry. He didn't look that much older than she was, in fact. And that brought her to the more important questions, now that the adrenaline was wearing off. Why in the world was he on Dir Dranc alone?
"As long as your toes don't go blue, it should be snug." Shei told him and then stood. "Let's go, we need to get to Tir Mor." It took her only a second to re-saddle Jami with the absence of some straps.
"Tir Mor?" The boy asked. "Is that in the Tun Chain?" He accepted Shei's hand and she pulled him up and helped him towards Jami, who gave a growl of annoyance from his lying position on the warm sand.
"Tun? That's the mainlanders' way of saying it." She asked, her eyebrow rising. "We call it Bras Chain on the island. Means large, rich." Shei explained and then wove her hands together, like a step of sorts. "Here, get back on Jami." The boy grabbed the saddle with one arm, and raised his good leg to use her makeshift step. The girl boosted him up with a grunt as the pressure made her remember that she'd hurt her hand. She needed to wrap it as soon as she got home.
"Where are we going?" The boy asked her, his tone taking a defensive tone once more. Shei stopped fastening his hurt leg to the saddle and looked at him. His eyes were like molten gold, she realized. She'd never seen eyes like that before.
"A village on Tir Mor, the place where I'm from." Shei explained, offering a friendly grin. "You'll be safe there." She patted Jami's neck and walked the short way to the water to wash her hands. The girl paid careful attention to the fresh bite-marks on her palm. The crusted blood came off, showing her that it wasn't as bad as she thought it was. Jami padded up to her, sniffing at the blood. His pink tongue darted out, licking the palm.
"Sorry about that." The boy told her, sounding like he didn't apologize often. Shei grinned up at him, squinting because of the sun. "I didn't mean to bite you that hard."
"It's fine." The girl laughed it off, hiding her hand behind her back. "I've had worse while exploring the reef. And you should've seen my knees when I was training Jami to have a rider!" Shei grabbed the saddle around the boy, surprising him when she swung up behind him and settled in, as comfortably as she could.
"W-what are you doing?!" He demanded to know, blushing at the way she pressed against his back because of the small seat of the saddle. "Move back! Don't touch me!" He complained, pushing her with his back, which meant that the little space that had existed between them, now completely vanished.
"Shut up and settle down!" Shei yelled over him, grabbing him in a tight hug to stop him from moving. He was quite strong, but couldn't break free because of his exhausted state. Being stranded on an island with them did that to you. "The saddle isn't built for two. Stop wriggling, you'll hurt your leg." The boy's efforts to push her off of Jami lessened. "Good, shall we go then? The sun's gonna set soon." Shei grinned. After getting a nod, she added her final question, an afterthought, really. "Oh, right. I'm Shei. What's your name?"
"Lee." He answered after a second.
"It's nice to meetcha, Lee." Shei tapped on Jami's side comfortingly. "Hoppity hop, Jami!" And the eaglelion gave a short run before taking off into the skies with a few flaps of his powerful wings.
"Why is only one of your legs hairy?"
That's all folks!
