Ok and another chapter finished! I hope you like it and I haven't gone OOC...

Meeting the Water

It was fascinating to watch. The woman moved her arms gracefully above her head and shifted her stance towards the men and the water behind her followed her movements. It rose to a huge wave and splashed down onto the startled robbers. One ran away, shouting loudly for help, while the other four split up and surrounded the girl. She couldn't fight them all at once, so much was sure. Just as she slapped a whip-like waterform at the foremost, I saw the one behind her getting closer, raising a club above his head.

I reacted before I even knew it clearly. Drawing one of the daggers and throwing it past his nose, I stepped forward, taking a fighting stance and pointing the sword at him.

"Don't you know four against one is unfair?" I asked him and grinned. The girl spared me a quick glance, but was busy holding her attackers at a distance. One of the men was an Earthbender, so he was a tad more difficult to fight.

The two in front of me now attacked swiftly, but only relying on brutal force and raw power, swinging their clubs around in an attempt to hit me by any chance. I wished for no killing, so I merely sidestepped and let one trip over his own feet, giving him a kick in the stomach as he fell. He lay writhing on the ground, for I had hit him just above a very sensitive area of the male body and he would be causing no more problems to me. At least not right now.

Now the big guy with the club came closer, seemingly surprised that I had taken out one of his guys so easily, but that had only been luck aiding me. I blocked a savage blow aimed for my skull and jumped back. He surely was one fierce opponent, he was strong and if it chanced that he hit me with that club, I could die from the impact. Looking around me I spotted several large boxes behind me. Choosing to fight from higher ground, I swiftly climbed up, avoiding another blow. Once up, I had barely time to block another strike, but the club hit the box beneath my feet, shattering it. So much for fighting on the high ground, I thought. Now I had enough of this, it was tiring me and I had no real urge to fight for long. As he was busy pulling out his weapon from the wood and crashing down the box completely, I leaped over his head, rolled over and kicked his feet down, sending him to the ground. Grunting he tried to turn over, but I turned my sword around and hit him into the crook of his neck. He fell unconscious and didn't move again.

Panting slightly I turned around just in time to see that the Waterbender now too had enough and rose a huge wave above her head and upon splashing the man to a nearby wall, froze the water to immobilise him.

I had to admit, she sure was an amazing fighter and I hoped she wouldn't attack me after she was done with this guy. Satisfied she looked at me, but said nothing. Dimly I could hear the streets murmur rise and knew someone had notified the police. That meant the Dai Li, and I really had no urge to find myself in their grasp. She seemed to think the same, for quickly I could spot a hint of fear in her eyes. Sheathing the sword to indicate I was on her side, I motioned her to follow me. If there is one thing I have learned during my stay in Ba Sing Se, it is how to avoid people.

"Come on, I know a short cut!" I shouted and took off, grabbing my dagger out of a windowsill and sped down a narrow lane away from the tumult behind. As I glanced back, I saw her following me, which was good. I had a faint idea who she was and thanked fate for the chance it had just offered me.

After turning around several corners I ceased running and finally stopped close to a small park, for the first time looking at the young woman. She wasn't much younger than I was, maybe we were only a year apart, and her hair was bound into a tight braid in her neck. Two strands dangled in her forehead, framing the blue of her eyes.

"I could have taken them down all by myself you know?" she stated matter-of-factly and a bit annoyed.

"Of course. A Waterbender of your standards surely doesn't need my help, but I thought it would be fun after all." I grinned at her and she seemed to understand that I hadn't been there on purpose; it just had been a chance meeting. Rather fated, that is.

"Say, aren't you the Waterbender that is travelling with the Avatar?" I asked and looked openly into her blue eyes, now standing at a respectable distance, just in case she decided to drown me after all. Her surprised gaze locked into mine and briefly there was silence between us. Then she nodded slightly.

"How did you know?" she asked frowning and the light of suspicion grew in her eyes again.

"I saw it. I'm a Dreamseer, I had many visions of the Avatar and of you." I explained and the light faded, if only it didn't vanish entirely.

"How did you know where to find me?"

"I didn't. I just walked the streets and heard that guy chuckling from round the corner. I decided to have a look and here we are. My name is Kyona."

"I'm Katara. So you're saying that you saw us. How is that possible, where you following us or something?" she asked again, seemingly extremely protective of the others in her group. Something I could relate to, for if I was travelling with the world's last hope for peace, I wouldn't want anything bad to happen either. I went on explaining to her all I knew about Dreamseeing and how I was able to recognize her and she relaxed visibly. She understood that I meant no threat to her, but I deliberately left out that I was from the Fire Nation and knew Zuko. After all, my old friend had tried to kill them several times (though I believe he wouldn't have done it in the end, merely knocking them out instead of killing).

Upon asking, she told me of her travels and why they were in Ba Sing Se. Now for the first time I heard the name of the Sky Bison. Appa, what a strange name for such an animal, but that wasn't mine to judge. Unfortunately I hadn't seen the Bison, but I promised to tell them if I heard anything.

As the sun sunk towards the western horizon, we still sat together on some patch of grass in the park, talking to each other.

"By the way, I was really impressed with your Waterbending back there. You must be a master, by the way you fight." I said and watched Katara gaze to the ground. Was that a slight blush across her tanned cheeks?

"I'm no true master yet, but I learned from a great Waterbending teacher and now I'm teaching Aang how to waterbend. But you weren't bad either. I have not yet seen anyone fighting like that with a sword. Where did you learn it?" she asked interested, gazing at the black sheath of the sword at my side.

"When I was a kid, a friend showed me the basics. Everything else I worked out myself. So I wouldn't say I have a real fighting style, I just advanced the basics." I giggled slightly and she joined in. But after some moments her gaze went serious and I could tell she was asking something important now.

"So, if you can see the future, could you tell me what will happen?" she asked, looking away and I thought she must have had a run-in with a fortuneteller sometime in the past.

But now I was in a tight spot. Of course I could tell her what I had seen in my visions, but that would only happen if she didn't know about it. If I truly told her, she would base her decisions on what she had heard from me and that could alter the future in ways I couldn't see yet. Like I said, Dreamseeing is complicated; it is a real head-scratcher.

After I had contemplated things for a while, I decided against it. Well, not completely against it. I couldn't tell her exactly what was going to happen, but I could still help them.

"You need to be wary in the next weeks and months. I won't tell you what I saw in all detail and you must forgive me for that. If it ever chances that we meet again, I will explain everything. Meanwhile you must decide what you think is best for you and those around you. I think Azula plans something, I don't know what it is yet, but it will surely be dangerous."

"Will we even find Appa again? Aang is really upset about him being missing." Katara said, her gaze holding mine and I could sense that she was concerned for the Avatar's well-being.

"I don't know that. To be honest, I hadn't even known that the bison was missing until I found the poster on the wall right before I helped you. I don't know when you will find him, but I think destiny wouldn't allow the Avatar and his animal guide go separate ways." I answered truthfully and could see hope gleam up in Katara's eyes again.

Looking up I say the shadows advance, growing deeper and darker by the minute. The sun had disappeared behind the walls and the city was shadowed.

"I think you best get back to the Avatar. He probably is worried about you already. You have spent the last two hours or so talking to a stranger whom you met in the city." I said and grinned at her.

"I guess you're right. But why don't you come with me? I think it would be best if you talked to Aang directly."

"I disagree. I feel as if it is not yet time for me and the Avatar to meet in person. But that time will come, I'm sure. I just have some business to attend to before I can face him." I said mysteriously, for I still had to find Zuko and General Iroh in this great city.

However Katara seemed to take that for an answer, perhaps her travels with the Avatar had taught her to be patient about those things. She simply accepted that I allowed fate to lay my course.

Before we parted, she told me where their house was, so that I could find them if there was need for it. We bowed and I watched her taking off into the evening bustle of the middle ring. Soon she was lost to sight and I made my own way back. I was walking slowly, I needed time to think about everything and if I had made the right choice. Sure, I hadn't told Katara anything vital about the future, but she would be on guard now. Would that be able to change destiny already? And if so, what consequences would it draw?

My thoughts were cruelly interrupted when I once more overheard some men talking near me. I hadn't even acknowledged their presence, which was slightly disturbing, seeing as I normally was on guard all the time. Especially at night.

"Really, I'm telling you, it's the best tea I've ever had!" one of the men exclaimed excitedly.

Well, that piece of information was interesting; maybe I had been right about General Iroh's choice of work all along. After all, his tea brewing skills were honoured, at least I have been told that. Interested I moved closer to the two men, who were walking close together, discussing about tea.

"Oh, come on! It's just tea! What can possibly be so exiting about it?!" the other man looked a bit puzzled at his friend's marvelling.

"Really? You're kidding! Ok, I admit, I wasn't always into tea, but that Jasmine tea I got there, it was just delicious, to say the least. Though the tea master there told me that Ginseng tea was his personal favourite."

That narrowed it down even more to General Iroh. I remembered a dream I once had about Zuko and his uncle, as they were walking away from some field. Iroh had grinned at his nephew and had said proudly: "Of course. You know Ginseng's my favourite."

It could be Iroh after all. Deciding to seize my chance I stepped up to the two men.

"Excuse me, but I have been happening to overhear some of your talk and I wanted to ask you something, if you could spare a moment." I asked, doing my best to look innocent. Upon seeing the men nod and smile, I continued.

"I heard you speak about some marvellous tea you drank here. I'm a huge fan of tea and wanted to ask you where this tea shop was and who was the tea master?"

"Well, the mastermind behind the ginseng is an old man called Mushi. He works there together with his nephew, a grumpy young fellow, if you get my meaning. But the tea master is nice, very nice. He's smaller than you, and considerably wider. And he loves tea." The man explained, and my hopes rose even higher. An old man with a grumpy nephew? That sure sounded like them. Though the name was hilarious.

The man pointed out the tea shop for me and explained when it opened again in the morning. Thanking him, I returned silently to my temporary home, smiling widely.

Tomorrow I would look upon that tea shop and see if that man really was General Iroh. I thought of every possible way to talk to them, while I ate my dinner. But no matter how often I thought it through, every scene I played in my head; everything sounded just plain weird to me. How could I explain my presence to them? How could I explain that to Zuko?

Over all my thoughts and worries, I fell asleep, drifting off into that strange place where my mind took rest from the waking world.

Instantly I was entangled in visions again, seemingly all of them concerning Zuko. He was angry, confused, fuming, and disappointed, everything blending together into an impressive display of emotions. Then my mind cleared a little and I was looking directly at Zuko, his face a horrible display of hurt and betrayal. I found myself reaching out to him, wanting to touch him so badly, wanting us to be the friends again we had been before all this had happened. But he took a step back and looked at me like I was a traitor in his eyes; it seemed he was barely able to look at me at all. And then he turned away from me and as he did, the light faded and I was left alone in shadow. In my dream I shouted for him, frantically I sought for him, but I couldn't find him. He had turned from me, wanted nothing to do with me whom had no honour, had betrayed his father and had betrayed him by not telling him of my survival.

Shaking I woke again, his name a frantic scream on my lips. Spirits, probably the whole neighbourhood had heard that scream.

I understood what fate wanted to tell me with that. If Zuko knew I lived all those years, he would feel betrayed, hurt and lost. And not only because of that, he would feel betrayed because I had decided to side with the Avatar to bring his father down and stop this war. The only chance for him was if I wouldn't tell him, wouldn't talk to him, not for a while yet.

But I had to know if he was the 'grumpy nephew' that man had talked about, even if that meant that I would be confronting General Iroh alone. Sighing I accepted it, as I had accepted so many things in my past. I couldn't let Zuko know I'm alive, not yet.

Yet that didn't mean, I couldn't tell his uncle.

So, did you like it? I hope so...