Dear reader, I know I may have skipped a few things, but I wanted to move quickly. So, thanks for understanding. Enjoy.
The place they walked into was the low of the back swamp low. It was like a barn, but someone had put in a bar and added a couple of rooms. Everyone in there was either drunk or getting there. Zuko and Iroh stood close to Katara, who was fine with everything around her. She'd frequented this place enough to know that no one would bother you as long as you didn't spill anyone's drink or insult their mother.
She looked around the rowdy room, searching for the one person who would be able to help them. A loud Smack! filled the room. It was coming from the crowd. Yup, she'd found her person. Katara pushed her way through the crowd, Zuko and Iroh following her.
She shoved people aside until she reached the center. A man and a woman sat at a table, hands locked in a gruesome battle of arm wrestling. The woman had long black hair, some of it falling over her eye, short sleeves, pale skin, and a red tattoo on her arm. She wasn't even breaking as sweat as her opponent tried to take down her gloved hand.
With one jerk, she pinned his hand to the rough wooden surface. The crowd roared and banged their cups on other surfaces, making as much noise as they could. The woman raised her hands in the air and welcomed the cheering. She turned and spotted Katara, who had started to smile at the woman's actions.
"Katara, you old sea temptress," the woman said, giving her a hug. Katara returned it in kind.
"Great to see you, June," she said, pulling back. She turned to the side and said, "This is Iroh and Zuko." Katara turned back to her friend. "We need your help in tracking someone."
June smiled and sank onto the bench. "Always willing to help a friend in need. Who do you need to find?"
Katara was wise enough not to mention the Avatar here, where the walls had ears and even the drunkest of the men could repeat their words to others. Instead, she pulled out the cloth gauntlet and handed it to June. "I swiped this from the person we're tracking."
"What do I get out of this?" June asked.
Katara's smile twitched. There was the June she'd known all these years. She may be greedy, but she was honest and did a good job when paid. Katara leaned forward and said, "How about I give you Captain's best kept secret?"
June smiled. She'd always hated Captain and would do anything to undermined him as much as possible. "Nyla's sure to find them," she said. "I trained him myself, you know." She stood and walked out of the building. Katara kept in step with her and the two got out quicker than Zuko and Iroh, who were having trouble getting through the crowd.
"Cute boyfriend, Katara," June said in a low voice, as they waited for the two to make their way out of the crowd.
Katara blushed and answered, "He's not my boyfriend."
June raised an eyebrow. "A lover then? I knew you weren't the perfect princess you show to others. Congrats, girl."
Katara shook her head. "Not that either," she said. She leaned forward and whispered, "He's a target. We're after the Avatar and Captain wants him found."
"Too bad," the bounty hunter said. "He's cute." Katara nodded her agreement as the men finally made it outside. June turned to a pile of fur and said, "Nyla, wake up." Instantly, the large animal jumped to to its feet. It was large, had four legs, furry, and always reminded Katara of a mutated ferrate. It sniffed for a moment, before nuzzling Katara's cheek. She petted its neck.
June snapped her fingers and held up the gauntlet. The Shisu smelled the item for a moment then sniffed the air. The more he sniffed, the more active he became until he was pulling at his collar and leash, trying to follow the scent he'd picked up.
June climbed up into the saddle, grabbing the reigns and gripped her whip. Katara quickly secured herself behind June and helped Zuko up behind her. Iroh had a few extra minutes of trouble before the bounty hunter commanded Nyla to lower himself so Iroh could climb on. Once he was one and secured, June snapped her whip and they took off.
It wasn't quite like riding the bison, but it was still some experience. They raced through the woods, the Shisu's gate fast, even paced, and smooth, despite it's large size and the passengers it carried. Katara held on to June as the Shisu took a sharp turn. She started to slide a bit, but Zuko's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her against his chest. She looked up and smiled her thanks.
The Shisu took them all over the place. To a town, a mountain, through the forest, to the beach, everywhere. And every time, they got just a little bit closer. At least, that was what Katara wanted to believe. June had never failed before, she was too good at her job, but the Avatar may have covered his tracks too good to tell.
Katara felt Nyla start to move toward the north, when she spotted something farther down the shore. "Wait," she said, sliding off the Shisu. She ran down the beach until she stopped next to a shipwrecked boat. The figure head was of a dragon. Something about it was familiar to her, but she didn't know what. It was as it were on the tip of her tongue to remember, but she couldn't quite grasp it.
She reached out and smoothed her fingers over the once polished wood, now ragged and splintered due to the constant waves that had crashed against it for who knew how long. Katara looked it over and turned her head to examine the carvings a bit more closely. She was studying them so closely, she didn't hear anyone approach until Zuko asked, "Do you recognize it?"
Katara jumped. "No," she said. "But it seems familiar." She traced her fingertips over the carvings and said, "I think this is a name or something. Bato, Bako? Something with a 'B'. I can't make out the rest." She straightened from her crouch and turned. "We better move if we want to capture the Avatar," she said, trying to cover up how unnerved she was. This was the closest she'd ever come to regaining any memories of her old life. And she didn't know how to react.
Instead of dwelling on it, though, she pushed the thoughts aside and climbed back onto Nyla. "Let's go," she said to June, wishing to be away from the boat. June understood her hidden message and cracked the whip the moment Zuko was seated on the Shisu. It sniffed the air once more and then took off, racing through the forest.
Katara kept her head low so she wouldn't be caught by any wayward branches. Zuko leaned forward, covering her. She looked up at him and saw him biting the inside of his cheek. "You okay?" she asked, reaching down to squeeze his knee in what she hoped was a comforting motion.
Zuko coughed and said, "Uncle's leaning on me. I can't breath." Katara leaned a bit and saw Iroh holding on to his nephew so he wouldn't slip. Unfortunately, the hold was cutting off Zuko's air supply. She smiled and let out a laugh, the sight dispelling her anxiety. Katara looked up and saw June smiling down at her. She winked, making Katara blush, before returning her attention to the path.
The Shisu lunged into the air, and broke through the tree line. As Nyla landed on his paws, Katara pulled out her daggers and scanned the area. At first, she didn't see anything, then, Nyla rushed forward and jumped over a large wall. His claws sank into the tile of the roof and cracked the courtyard floor as it jumped down.
Katara saw Aang and Sokka a moment before Zuko did. Her mouth fell open to say...something...but Zuko beat her to it. He slid from the Shisu and lunged toward Aang. Sokka raised some water from a nearby well to use, but Katara raised her hands and captured the water under her control.
Iroh slid off the Shisu and Katara followed suit. June worked better by herself. And she was trying to control Nyla. Some of the stupid nuns had started throwing perfume balls at the Shisu. They must have known that Shisus could only see with their noses. The Avatar must have known they were coming with this kind of creature. But how?
Katara's attention was drawn back to her fight with Sokka. She used the water to trip Sokka and freeze the liquid around his hands and feet, keeping him immobilize. Katara was about to turn and help Zuko, when a hand came out of the shadows and grabbed her arm. She whirled around, dagger in one hand while the other brought up a water whip. She stared at an older man, dressed in a blue tunic, with tan skin and long black hair.
He stared at her for a moment before saying, "Katara? You're alive...and grown." He said it as if he weren't sure of what to say. Then again, according to Sokka, people thought she was dead.
Katara didn't lower her weapons or stance. "Is that your boat out there in the sand?" she asked.
The man paused. "You remember?" he asked.
"Nothing. It looks familiar, is all," she said. "Are you Bato? Or Bako?" At his stunned expression, she rolled her eyes. "It's carved on the side of the ship." But the man was looking over her shoulder. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second. That was all the warning she had.
Katara turned around and made connection with Nyla's poisonous tongue. It had gone wild as the Shisu fell to the ground, unable to see anything with all of the perfume in the air. She flew back and hit a wall. Thank god the paralysis had kicked in, or she would be in pain right about now as she slumped to the ground, hair falling into her eyes a bit. The poison in a Shisu's tongue had a temporary paralysis reaction when coming in contact with a human's blood stream. It was why a Shisu had sharp spikes on their tongues.
She stared out in the direction her head had fallen. She saw the fallen Shisu, curled up with it's tale curled over his nose. Iroh was sprawled over June from where he'd fallen and, even from here, she could see June's offensive look on her face. Katara would have chuckled if her vocal cords hadn't been paralyzed. Her eyes quickly raked over the torn up area. Zuko wasn't seen.
Katara darted her eyes around, becoming agitated that she couldn't move her head. She had to find Zuko; make sure he was okay. Damn this stupid venom!
She felt someone pick her up, but, because of inability to move her head, she didn't know who. She wanted to fight, to move her body, but all her attempts were in vain. As the person lifted her, they turned her head so it was cradled against their chest. Katara could see tan skin from the corner of her eye. Sokka had picked her up and was now carrying her to Appa's saddle.
As she was handed up to the other man, she could see Zuko fighting Aang. Zuko's firebending was gaining the upper hand, but they were fighting over a well. Katara's heart started to race. If the Avatar used his waterbending, Zuko would be soaked. Fire bending would be come harder to handle. And, as if Aang had read her mind, he brought a wave of water up, soaking Zuko and pushing him back against the convent's wall.
The Shisu's tongue was still going wild, and struck Zuko. Katara hitched her breath as she watched him fall into a parlayzed heap. His eyes shown anger for a moment until he realized that she was being loaded onto to the bison's saddle. His eyes widened and she knew he was trying to get up.
She lost sight of him as she was lowered into the saddle and the sides blocked her view. There was the sound of people moving around her. "We got her?" Aang's youthful voice asked.
"We got her," Sokka said. He grabbed her wrists and started to tie them. "It took her long enough to find us with that gauntlet she swiped."
Katara would have stiffened if she could. They had planned this? They had wanted her to find the gauntlet with Aang's scent on it? Why?
But her thoughts were cut off as they soared into the air. They left the convent behind them. As well as Zuko, who stared up at the retreating figure of the flying bison, helpless to do anything.