Chapter 9: Playing with Pirates (Part 1)

Despite the cheerful offers of Aang, and the less cheerful, but still welcoming offers of Sokka and Katara, Zuko had declined travelling with the Avatar further than the coastline of the Earth Kingdom mainland. Being in the Airbender's proximity had already revealed the fact that he was alive to a high-ranking Fire Navy officer; he really didn't want to push his luck any further than that.

He'd been surprised, though, when he'd begun travelling along the Earth Kingdom's western coastline that he hadn't spotted any wanted posters with his picture. He'd been amused, as he always was, to see posters displaying the grinning mask of the Blue Spirit. But none for Former Crown Prince Zuko. If he was honest with himself, it made him uneasy. He found himself wondering what Zhao's game was; it was one of the many times that he wished his Uncle was around. Iroh had always had an uncanny knack for deciphering people's true intentions.

Zuko felt his heart ache and forced himself to stop thinking about the Old Dragon; there was only pain down that road.

He'd heard about the assassination months after the fact. The Fire Lord had sent declarations all across the world, pronouncing the great General Iroh dead at the hands of enemy assassins; it was announced just before a fresh round of conscription in the colonies. Help your Nation destroy those that dare to murder one of Agni's Chosen Family.

Zuko felt his lip curl even as he tried to avoid the thought. He was almost positive that his father had arranged Uncle Iroh's death. One of Ozai's many, many sins.

He sighed and hitched his pack further up his shoulder. He squinted into the harsh sunlight; according to his map, there was a port town just up the road. He was running low on rations.

As they were sprinting through the port town, pirates hot on their heels, Katara cursed herself for taking the Waterbending scroll, even as she revelled in the thought of what it could teach her. They rounded a corner and she spotted a familiar head of dark hair sat atop a combination of a gold eye and a black eyepatch.

Wait, she thought, is that Lee?

Zuko heard a commotion fast approaching and his hand dropped to the hilt of his swords. He looked up and saw three blurs of orange and blue. He frowned and squinted, trying to make his eye focus on the fast-moving forms.

He sighed when he realised what he was looking at and swiftly drew one of his blades, just in case.

Sokka had no clue where he came from, but suddenly Lee's hand shot out of the crowd, grabbed his shoulder and sent him stumbling down an alleyway. Moving on instinct, Aang and Katara followed.

He bounced off the alley wall and turned, hand already clutching his trusty boomerang. That's when he realised it was Lee.

"Lee?" he said. Lee shushed him, peering around the corner. They stood in silence for a long while; Katara and Sokka both breathing heavily, and even Aang was having to slow his racing heart down. Lee stood still and silent, barely seeming to breathe at all.

Eventually Lee turned and nodded to them. "I think you're good. For now, at least. You're going to want to leave quickly, I recognise the first mate that was chasing you; his name's Oh and he works on the Idle Omen. They have a lot of sway in this port. A lot of pirates will try and take you in to curry favour with the captain."

The three goggled at him. Sokka was the one to ask, "How do you know all this?"

Lee shrugged. "I travel a lot. You pick stuff up."

He sheathed his drawn blade and readjusted his pack. He commented, "Always a pleasure." And he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Aang shouted. Lee paused, turned, and raised his solitary eyebrow. At least, Sokka assumed it was solitary; the other was hidden under the patch.

"Yeah?" Lee asked, abruptly but not unkindly.

Aang shuffled his feet a little, head tilted down a little and eyes wide. "Do you, maybe, want to travel with us for a while? As a thank you for helping us?"

Lee shook his head before the Avatar had even finished speaking. "My answer hasn't changed since last time, Avatar. You've got a lot of heat on you, heat that I can't afford."

He turned to leave again. This time it was Katara that stopped him. "What about camping with us tonight then? We don't really know this area and it seems like you do. Plus, safety in numbers and all that."

Lee eyed them all and sighed. He nodded. "Fine. One night."

He walked back over to them. "Where have you got the bison stashed?"

It was weird camping with Lee. That was Katara's official review of the situation. While she, Sokka, and Aang chattered back and forth as they assembled their bedrolls and built a small firepit, Lee was silent.

He threw a thin blanket on the ground and set his pack at one end of it to act as a pillow. He then began unbuckling his armour; first the thigh guard, then the two arm-guards, the pauldron on his right shoulder, and finally his breastplate. He set them all down besides his blanket and then undid his sword-belt and set that down as well.

Katara watched as he rolled his shoulders a little before sitting cross-legged on the blanket and pulling a small bundle out of his pack. He unfolded it to reveal a set of whetstones as well as some cleaning cloths and a small pot of what turned out to be polish.

As the three of them got dinner going, he cleaned his armour and sharpened his swords and his knives. She'd offered him a portion of the dinner she'd made; nothing fancy, just some rice and vegetables, much to Sokka's disgruntlement.

He'd politely declined and withdrew a small package; she'd frowned at it, not understanding what it was until he began unwrapping it and taking a bite.

It's Sokka that says, "Is that a field ration? Our Dad is a sailor and he keeps stuff like that on his ship for when the fishing goes bad."

Lee nodded. He chewed and swallowed before replying, "Military field ration, yeah. Military surplus, you can get them quite cheap if you know where to shop."

Sokka eyed the thing with distaste. "You're not actually enjoying that, are you? I tried one once and it was like eating tree bark. Unseasoned tree bark."

Lee shrugged. "I'm used to it, I suppose. Besides, they keep well and they fit nicely in my pack."

Sokka shook his head and re-focused on his own dinner, wolfing it down even though it was severely lacking in the meat department.

Katara asked, "What do you mean 'you're used to it'?"

Lee paused. Then he said slowly, "I've been on the road for a few years now. Been eating them during that time. I'm used to them."

He went back to eating.

Katara couldn't help but like he was lying; or, at least, not telling the entire truth.