Disclaimer : I do not own any of the characters, except Aera and another to be announced next chapter.
Chapter 2
"This is pointless." Azula rode beside her brother on a long, low to the ground, forest green lizard, large enough to carry not only Azula on it's back but also her supplies. The creature had the appearance of something like a crocodile, but wider, instead of thicker. It's movement wasn't weighted down either, although the creature's reigns were being pulled back to slow it down almost to a walk, it's long legs and thin body made it more agile. It's head moved violently back and forth, the tongue coming at every few seconds, as if it was searching for something. Zuko's golden eyes glanced to Azula, then he looked down at his lizard with a grimace.
"We'll find the guide. She can only hide for so long." Zuko spoke low, almost to himself as his eyes scanned the rock covered valley that they move down now. Though Zuko had finally won back his honor with the conquering of Ba Sing Se, he felt the need to capture someone, anyone. He had never brought the Avatar to his father, now the Avatar was dead by his sister. This left Zuko with an incomplete feeling, as if he had failed, which only drove him to do more. Now, there was a bounty on the guide, the last thing in this world connected to the Avatar. Azula rolled her eyes.
"First of all, Zu-Zu," The nickname drove Zuko insane, as Azula knew, she used it often to get his undivided attention, or to drive him insane. Zuko's body reacted when he heard the name with a shudder. Azula's thin pink lips smirked. "The Avatar is dead... the guide has no purpose now. So why would we need this one person?" Zuko turned his head so that he could see Azula more clearly with his good eye, she was riding on his left and therefore was at his bad eye. He looked annoyed when his eyes hit her, as if she was questioning something extremely obvious.
"The family of the guides is linked to the Avatar spirit. Each member born into the family already knows everything about all the avatars before, also they know who the next Avatar will be." Zuko's voice was still low, he spoke with no emotion, his eyes scanning the area for some kind of sign that someone had passed through recently. Azula rolled her eyes and looked forward.
"Yes, but my second point... there are no more guides. The last ones were found sixteen years ago on boat sailing toward the south pole." Azula side glanced to Zuko, but when she saw no change in his expression she continued. "This is a wild goose chase." Azula stopped her lizard abruptly in front of Zuko's. Her eyes were wild with annoyance. "Why are we doing this?" Zuko held the reigns tightly in his hands as he examined Azula, then looked down to think through what he would say. His eyes then flashed up, narrowed in her direction.
"They found one more member." His voice was almost a growl as his eyes stared deep into Azula's without blinking. Azula tried to match the rage flashing in Zuko's eyes but gave up and shrugged.
"Where was the person found?" Azula's voice was only slightly interested, she still didn't see why they were hunting this person, that's what trackers were for, not royalty. Zuko's jaw clenched as he shuffled on his lizard.
"That's why we're hunting and not someone else.." Zuko almost smirked as the answer come from his lips, but he stopped himself, afraid that it was the wrong time to show how pleased he was now that he could finally capture someone and bring them to his father. "They were found by the assassin, Aera. The guide was living in the fire nation, being taught how to fire bend.." Azula's jaw dropped, but not from what Zuko thought. He had figured she was stunned by the audacity of the guide, to live in the nation that was hunting her charge, to take fire bending lessons by a master in the fire nation itself, but when Zuko noticed Azula's eyes off in the distance, he looked over his shoulder. Coming directly at them, was a huge, black shape, that neither of them could identify. It walked on four legs, but from the distance, it seemed that it had to arms flailing in the air. Both Azula and Zuko dismounted from their lizards and stood, poised to fight.
As the large black shadow closed in on Zuko and Azula, it was more clear on what it was. The site caused both Azula and Zuko to drop their arms in amazement at they looked upon something that they had thought was completely mythical. A huge black dragon with red specks glittering all over it's body, it's large face looked down at them in boredom. The creature had large fangs that touched it's bottom lip, despite the fact that it's mouth was closed. They looked more like blades than actual teeth, but despite it's awe inspiring looks, the beast was not the most incredible thing before their eyes. Even more incredible, was the dragon held; on it's scaly back was a small saddle with a petite woman there, holding onto rope that was tied around the small horns coming from the dragon's head. The girl on top of the dragon looked over at the two open mouthed people standing a few feet from here, she smirked darkly at the two that reached her eyes instantly.
"Zuko... Azula." Her seductive voice called out as she jumped off the dragon, landing on her feet by the monster's leg. Zuko examined the girl as she walked slowly toward them, like a cat. She was thin, but curved in all the right places for a woman, which was accented by her clothing; on her upper body she wore a tight fitted red shirt with the fire nation symbol barely covered by a strap that went diagonally around her upper body, to hold a sword on her back. Her legs were covered in tight fitting black tights, that were tucked into matching black stiletto boots. She slowly made her way towards Zuko and Azula with a dangerous look in her reddish-gold eyes. The dragon behind her sat completely still as it watched her approach us, but the animal was definitely ready to attack if it had to. Azula's arms dropped as her eyes landed on the girl in front of them with a look of hatred.
"Aera." Azula spit out the name as if it were something vile tasting and she did not hide it. Aera smirked evilly toward Azula, who only returned a hate filled gaze. Zuko compared the two females in front of him, though Azula was considered a fire bending prodigy, Aera was always in a category above Azula. She had master hand to hand, all weapons, and fire bending came so naturally to her that she had only needed a master in her adolescent years. There had always been a competition between the two, or only from Azula's side. Aera never felt the need to compete, being naturally good at everything involving fighting was in her blood. The family in which Aera was born into was unlike any other in the fire nation; all the females of her family had become assassins, who hunted and killed whom ever they wanted. Sometimes they would be paid to eliminate people, usually only by the rich since they were so expensive, but usually they would hunt their own victims. The reason it was a completely female assassin family was due to one thing; the females would never fall in love with a male, instead they would carefully select a mate by their abilities as a fighter or fire bender and have children until they had a daughter. When the female was done with the mate, she would kill him and any male offsprings, which didn't happen often. The family had only ever had one male in it's entire existence.
"Don't look too pleased to see me, princess." Aera used Azula's title, not to show respect, but to mock her. The assassin family had never followed the royal family, they were governed by their own laws that the fire lords had accepted for fear of crossing the family. Aera knew that Azula wouldn't try anything, because if Aera didn't kill her, Fire Lord Ozai would. Azula narrowed her eyes at Aera, so badly did she want to say something or fight back, but she couldn't. "Zuko.. I hear you're no longer banished.. Or wanted dead. Too bad. I was about to take an offer for your head." Aera shrugged her shoulders and tucked a strand of her dark red hair, that had fallen from her high pony tail, behind her ear. Zuko watched her carefully, as if afraid that she would still collect a bounty on him, somewhere, someone probably still wanted him dead.
"My father has accepted me back.." Zuko's eyes followed Aera's every movement, careful to mark any sudden movements. Aera noticed this and smirked. Zuko cleared his throat and straightened his posture, dropping his fighting stance completely in case she took it as a threat. "We hear you found a guide." Zuko's voice was low and almost inaudible. Aera figured he was used to speaking in hushed tones from his time as a wanted criminal of the fire nation. Aera nodded, her smirk fading into a serious look.
"I have, in fact, I am on the hunt as we speak." Aera stepped away from the two in front of her and made her way toward the high walls to the right of the valley. Zuko and Azula watched her every move as her hand slid on against the rocky wall onto what looked like four scratch marks in the solid stone. She looked pleased by this and gave a low whistle, which caused the dragon to tilt it's dead down and sniff the area. For a minute, the dragon sniffed the air above it, then it's head turned toward a small road and it let out a piercing scream. Aera smirked and patted it's leg. "Down, Nuri." The dragon's entire body lay on the ground, so that Aera could climb into the saddle, which she did with little difficulty. Zuko and Azula's eyes automatically glanced over toward where the dragon had pointed and screamed, that was where they needed to go, but Aera saw this and her eyes narrowed. "Don't dare follow me. This is my hunt. I know your father wants this guide alive, but I'm killing her when I find her." Azula began grinding her teeth in frustration, not wanting to have to take orders from her, but Zuko remained calm, only his eyes showed his anger. "If you get in my way... I'll kill you." With that, Aera took Nuri's reigns and slapped them viciously against the dragon's tough hide, so that it would know to go. In a moment, the dragon took off into the air and in the direction of Omashu. Azula growled in frustration.
"I do not understand why father doesn't just throw the assassins in prison." Azula watched as the dragon flew through the air until they couldn't see it any longer. The fact that the assassins could come and go as the pleased infuriated Azula. Just because they had always had the ability to fire bend, they believed they were better than everyone else, and for some reason, they were given special treatment. Azula didn't notice when Zuko turned around and climbed back onto his lizard with a stern expression.
"Because they are too illusive to be captured." Zuko had the reigns of his lizard as well as Azula's. He slowly made his way toward her and threw her the reigns. Azula's gold eyes looked confused at Zuko as she caught the reigns in her hands, what did he have planned? He moved toward the road the dragon screamed down. "We're still going to capture the guide." Azula's jaw dropped in shock, had he not heard what the assassin said. Zuko turned his head and his eyes glared down the path. "I'm not going to fail. I refuse to." Zuko lashed the reigns against the lizard's skin and it began running instantly. Azula quickly threw herself onto the saddle of her lizard and bolted toward Zuko, who didn't stop to check for her, he merely continued his way down the narrow path ahead of him.
Aera patted Nuri's neck roughly and the massive dragon stopped it's forward movement in the air, silently. Aera smirked to herself as she watch Zuko and Azula take off in the direction that would cross her path. Then she patted Nuri's neck and pulled the reigns lightly. Instantly, the dragon turned in the opposite direction of the path. Aera smirked as she thought of how Zuko and Azula would be at Omashu, by the time she had the guide in a pine box.