The Avatar had proven himself a worthy opponent much to the dismay of the crew. Pagi had been all too right about news of the Avatar. She would walk around towns and gather information. It would take her several days to sort through all of the information that she had collected.
"What do you have today?" Zuko had been pacing outside and had finally waited as long as he could.
"Not much more than what I had yesterday. This town doesn't really know that much. I think it is about time to move on." Pagi had not gotten anything new or useful from the people in the town since the first day they docked.
"Fine, I will use what we have."
"I bet if you told your father that you have found the Avatar he would send more people to help you." Pagi knew that wasn't true but she just wanted to try. She had already made her decision about the Fire Lord and had told him of the Avatar after leaving the ship yard. She knew that Zhao would tell him and so she figured she better beat him to it. She would not have asked Zuko but she felt guilty for betraying him.
Zuko gave her a look that showed he knew very well that wouldn't happen anytime soon, then turned to leave. He stopped and turned again.
"We will leave first thing in the morning."
"Okay." Pagi nodded. She watched Zuko walk out and shut the door behind him. She grabbed the latest letter to the Fire Lord and her glider and headed out into the hall way.
She managed to get off the boat without many questions and she was off to find a place to practice.
She walked threw the city and out into the county side. She waited until her hawk arrived from the boat and slipped the letter into the pouch. The letter was to the Fire Lord and she had let him know all of the information that she had learned from the city as well as where they were heading next. She had done a great job of keeping her mission a secret.
She sent the letter off and wondered if there would be a letter with him when he returned. When he returned from the Palace he never had a letter except for the last time. There had been a letter from the Fire Lord himself attached to the hawk.
She had been afraid to read it and had spent much time staring at it before she dared to open it. When she got the nerve she was shocked at what it had said. He had written to inform her that her parents had been kidnapped. The house was empty and they were gone. He promised her that they would do everything in their power to find her parents but she knew that they would be unsuccessful. It was a good sign that her parents had made it out. She had graciously thanked him for his help and tried to sound as worried as possible.
Now she stood on a hill far from the tiny village watching her hawk fly away. Any day now her father's hawk could be coming. They promised to write her when they had arrived safely and were sure that they had not been followed.
From now she would continue waiting and watching. Zuko had become desperate to find the Avatar and she had found it annoying. She used any excuse to not be around him. The hawk had now disappeared into the blue sky and she pivoted on her feet and walked towards the ship.
When she arrived Zuko was standing on the deck yelling at some men.
"What did they do know?" Pagi asked making her presence known.
"Nothing" He didn't even look at her but kept an eye on the men whom he was giving orders to.
"Then why the yelling?"
"Prince Zuko has received some valuable information on the Avatar." Iroh was always forthcoming with the answers.
"So we are leaving?"
"Yes" Iroh smiled at her. "Hopefully this time we will catch the Avatar."
"I should practice" Zuko joined in the conversation. The men had begun to pull the ship out of the port. They were all well aware of their jobs. Zuko often yelled until they were pulling out of a port before going about his business as if he hadn't just scared the men senseless.
"Maybe you should work on your hand-to-hand combat with Pagi" Iroh smiled at them nodding in approval.
"Fine." Zuko walked to one side of the ship and began to warm up.
"Why did you do that?" Pagi asked. "If I beat him he is going to be mad." Pagi hated fighting him. She could tell that he would sometimes take it easy on her. He had been until the last practice fight they had. She had beaten him and he had almost lost it on her. She remembered it well.
He had lost his cool and kicked her feet out from under her after the fight was over. When she fought back he knocked her against a wall and his sudden rage had made her a statue against the wall. She had not expected him to react like that and for the first time she was truly scared of him. After wards he apologized quickly before turning to walk off.
"It will be good for him." Iroh sounded certain. So she also began to warm up.
They took their stances and waited for Iroh to tell them to begin.
"Begin" Iroh smiled at the two of them and they started to circle each other.
Zuko struck first with a kick. Pagi pulled back just in time as his foot nipped her stomach. She countered fast with a kick to his leg. He fell but took her foot with him. They both scrambled to their feet again.
"Good, Zuko" Iroh praised from a side spot where he drank tea.
Zuko looked at his uncle, and Pagi used this lapse in judgment to land a kick to Zuko's shoulder. Angry, he fought back with several quick jabs. He got a few good hits and forced Pagi back toward the railing. She saw she was being closed in so she ran at Zuko with all her might. He side stepped at the last second just like she had predicted and she turned and knocked him over. He was down and she situated herself over him in the strike position.
"Looks like Pagi has won this match." Iroh commented letting them know it was in fact over.
"Thanks to you" Zuko glared at his uncle as he picked himself up off the deck. Pagi was surprised but glad at how he had reacted to the quick lose. She was sure he had felt guilty for the last time and that Iroh had made him promise to control his temper.
"I would have beaten you either way" She felt confident but instantly regretted saying it. Pagi knew that it would have been a longer fight without Iroh's little distraction but she was sure that she would have won. She just wasn't sure if Zuko was up for joking about it.
"Sure" Zuko rolled him eyes and headed toward his uncle. He seemed unfazed by the loss and her taunting words.
The three sat drinking tea and discussing their next stop. When night had been upon them for some time the three bid each other a goodnight and left for their rooms.
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I am sorry for the long delay in updating. I have been very busy the past couple weeks and my husband hasn't had time to read over my chapters. I have five more chapters waiting to be posted. Please review this one and I will try to get the others up as soon as possible. Thank you.
