Zuko couldn't believe it. They were stuck in this stupid canyon.
%%%%%%
Katara starts awake, looking around wildly as Momo leaps off her stomach continuing his rampage around the camp.
Sokka is brandishing his boomerang. "What is it! Did we get captured again?"
Zuko replies, "Does this look like a Fire Nation prison."
Sokka glares at him. Aang rolls over "I just had a bad dream, go back to sleep."
Katara looks around camp as Sokka curls back up, grumbling. Azula is still asleep. It hadn't taken very long for them to realize that she could sleep through just about anything, and she hated being woken up. Zuko was the exact opposite, she barley ever saw him sleeping. It seemed really unhealthy.
She shook herself, that wasn't the point. Aang had had a nightmare.
"You wanna talk about it?"
"No"
"Guys, do you want to hear about my dream?" Katara swore that if he didn't stop talking she would club him on the head. Luckily Zuko took care of it for her.
"Shut up Sokka, no one wants to hear about your dream."
Sokka huffs and rolls over, going back to sleep. As Katara drifts off she can see Zuko still sitting up, breathing in time to the fire.
%%%%%
Sokka sighs, Katara and Azula have been arguing about fruit for longer than should be legal. Every time one of them picks out a fruit for the basket, the other one decides that it isn't ripe or it parishes to quickly and then Aang has to go and play peacemaker. Not to mention they're out of money, so all the fruit gets returned to the merchant anyways.
"Out of food and out of money" he moans as they walk down the docks. "what are we going to do?"
"You could get a job, wise guy."
Azula nudges Zuko, "You too ZuZu, I'm sure someone is looking for clowns to join their circus." Katara giggles and Azula smiles back, he takes that as a sign they won't kill each other yet.
He's presented with a whole other set of problems when Zuko turns and starts walking the other way.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Sokka grabs Zuko's arm "Where are you going?"
"To get a job"
"Really!" Aang seems way to excited about the prospect of work.
"Yes, really." Zuko makes like he's going to walk off again but this time its Azula who stops him.
"Just, ya know, don't make stupid decisions." Zuko scowls at her. Sokka's beginning to think that maybe it's just his default expression.
"I'll be fine." And he walks away, they barley see his nod as Katara calls after him "We'll meet you back at the fruit stand at dusk."
They overhear the couple arguing and Sokka slides up to the old man, Zuko really should have stuck around.
%%%%%
Katara was furious with the fisherman. She leapt on Appa, intent on finding Aang before he hurt himself. Before she took off she glanced over at Azula, the other girl waved her off and picked up a crate, carrying it over to the boat.
"Yip yip"
%%%%%
Aang was telling her the story of how he ended up in the iceberg when there is a shout from the mouth of the cave.
"Help, oh help me!"
Katara leaps up and guides the old woman to the fire. "It's okay, you're safe now." She says - trying to soothe the old lady.
"But my husband isn't."
"What do you mean? Where are Sokka and Azula!"
" They haven't returned! They should have been back by now! And this storm is becoming a typhoon! They're caught out at sea!"
Aang jumps up, "I'll go find them."
Katara joins him on Appa "I'm coming too."
The old lady sits down by the fire. "Well I'm staying here."
%%%%%
Sokka is desperately clinging to the mast and trying very hard not to die. It's more difficult than it should be.
"I'm to young to die!"
"I'm not but I still don't wanna!"
Azula groans. "Oh shut up both of you, I don't want to drown surrounded by idiots."
Luckily a giant white ball of life saving fluff spares Sokka from having to come up with a retort.
"Grab onto the rope!"
They do, and just make it into the saddle before they're all thrown underwater by a huge wave. Because of course they are.
Sokka's body slams backwards with the force of the water, and he feels himself get torn out of the saddle. Just as he's sure he cant hold his breath any longer, the pressure around him disappears. Everyone falls back into the saddle and Sokka thanks Tui and La for air bending.
%%%%%%
Zuko is furious. Not only would no one hire him (they said it was because there were no jobs available but he could see the way they flinched at his scar and glared at his golden eyes.)
But it was well past dusk and the rest of the group was nowhere to be seen. He'd waited for thirty minutes before going to see if any of the townspeople have seen a flying bison.
As it turns out, they had. So now Zuko is trudging up the mountain. In the pouring rain, looking for a bunch of idiots.
He finds said bunch of idiots in a cave, and barley dodges the fish that goes flying past his head on it's way to hit Sokka squarely in the chest.
"There's your payment." And two old people go back out into the storm, arguing the whole time.
%%%%%
Sokka can tell Zuko is annoyed. Not only did he almost get hit in the head with a fish. But from what he can gather from the shouting – he's also mad about the fact that no one met him at the fruit stand 'leaving me to think you'd all been captured'. And he's mad because they're all soaking wet, 'I mean you have TWO water benders with you. And your standing in a CAVE, how are you all so wet'
Of course Aang tries to calm him down.
"We had to go save Sokka and Azula from a typhoon. So we're all a little wet but Katara and Azula can dry us."
Deathly silence, in which Azula has the sense to cover her ears.
Needless to say, Zuko wasn't very happy about the typhoon.
%%%%
As Katara curls up in her sleeping bag she looks around the camp. Sokka is trying to extricate Momo from his blankets and failing miserably. Aang is bouncing beside Zuko, who looks like he's getting a headache. Azula is off the side, like she always is, but Katara notices that she's a little closer than normal and She's laughing at Sokka instead of ignoring the rest of the group.
Katara smiles and, for the first time. Thinks that maybe the siblings were a good addition to the group. If only to teach Sokka some humility.
%%%%%%%
So Azula's having a bit of a hard time fitting into the gaang. She just hasn't found her place yet (in my head or in the story).But all things come with time. Katara is starting to realize that, Hey maybe these two aren't so bad. And Aang loves harassing poor Zuko.
Poor Zuko is just so tired of being the only one who has sense. #tired older brother
We all know what's next, Ninja Zuko!!!