Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender.

Embarking

Kaya was asleep; curled into my side with my bedroll wrapped around us both. I'm not sure how she managed to fall asleep after being kidnapped by fire nation soldiers and rescued all in the same day. And yet, here she was; sharing my body heat and using my chest as a pillow. Leaning back, I had my arms raised behind my head to support my neck as I watched the night sky fly by. Sleeping on a flying bison, that sure was a new one. So new that I didn't even have any jokes about bison yet. Still, after a long day where nothing had happened as it was supposed to, I was appreciating this moment.

"If Gran-gran could see what the two of you were doing", Katara said from the front of Appa's saddle. Or, I was appreciating the moment until my little sis had to go and ruin it. Katara was sitting behind Aang, who was sitting cross-legged on Appa's head as he steered us through the night. He was being quiet after he'd talked himself out of words as he described all the places he wanted to go and all the animals he wanted to ride. Thank La.

I picked up my head just high enough to get a look at Katara's tattle-tale smirk. Anyone with a younger sibling would know what I was talking about. "Drop it Katara", I said; wanting to sound stern, but it came out pleading. I knew she was right. Gran-gran would box my ears if she saw me sharing a bedroll with Kaya, fiancé or not. Speaking of the yellow-haired girl, she hadn't stirred once since I started talking and remained pressed against my side; completely wiped. Just what had happened on that Fire Nation ship? "You know Kaya can't handle the cold like we can, and I'm-" I found myself pausing without meaning to as my eyes flickered down to where the girl's head rested heavily on my chest. Was my excuse for this plausible? My face heated up as I glanced back up at Katara. Hopefully, it was too dark for her to tell. "I'm just keeping Kaya warm", I argued.

Katara's monotone "uh-huh", had me frowning. After the day we just had, why did she care if Kaya and I were close? It wasn't like I was the one who initiated the contact. It was Kaya who latched herself onto me as soon as I found her on that ship. I just…. Didn't end the contact in the hours that followed.

Now that my attention was pulled away from the night sky, I was back to thinking about the day's events. Holding class this morning felt miles away at this point, and the memories of the unwelcome visitors in our village passed through my mind at a whirlwind speed. The memories that were the most clear were the ones of Katara and I reaching the fire nation ship and retrieving our friends. Thank La for flying bison, I suddenly realized. Otherwise, today's rescue wouldn't have been possible not with the canoe I had originally been planning on taking.

"Hey, Aang", I started to ask as my curiosity finally chewed away at my resolve. Besides, it's not like I could ask Kaya. The bald kid turned his head and looked over his shoulder in my direction. "What happened? With the fire nation soldiers. Was Kaya…." I trailed off; aware that Katara was listening very intently. I mean, Kaya didn't appear to be hurt. There weren't any new injuries on her from as far as I could tell. And other than being clinging, it wasn't like Kaya was trembling in fear or doing any of the other things I thought a damsel in distress was supposed to do.

Aang dropped the reigns; trusting Appa to pilot himself. With a release of air, Aang levitated a few inches above Appa's head as he turned himself around to face us and lowered himself back down to sit cross-legged. "I don't think they hurt her", Aang spoke earnestly; his large eyes peering at me. "I mean, they separated us so after we left your village. So, I didn't see everything. But even after what she… did, the prince didn't do anything to her. So, I mean, I think she was safe".

Intrigued, I raised an eyebrow. "Why? What did she do?" I asked, glancing down at the girl who was still out of it.

Aang blushed; causing Katara to lean closer in his direction out of interest. "Kaya kicked the prince in his no-no spot".

A moment passed of just me and Aang maintaining eye contact. But as soon as his words fully sunk in, I was choking on air and gasping as I tried to smother a laugh; mindful that Kaya was sleeping. "She did?" I wheezed out; eyes watering under the strain of trying to keep my amusement in. "Kaya did?" I asked for confirmation. This was the greatest thing I've ever heard. Kaya, this meek little female, assaulted the fire nation's prince's family jewels.

Aang nodded his answer; seemingly confused about why I found this so funny. Which only made it more difficult to keep my laughter contained.

"I don't get it", Katara shared as she looked at me and Aang in turn. "What's a no-no spot?"

That innocent question burst the dam; making it impossible to hold back any longer. Tilting my head back, I laughed as loudly as I could. Leaving Aang to sputter as he struggled to answer Katara without wanting to actually explain.

Maybe it was the vibrating of my chest. Or all the noise I was making. Or maybe it was a combination of the two. But Kaya shifted; groggily being pulled into consciousness. Groaning softly, she sat up and rubbed her gloved hands under her eyes. Kaya was silent for a moment as she watched me laugh; her brain trying to figure out what she had missed. "Sokka?" She asked sleepily.

Now that she wasn't resting on my chest, I had more mobility; even if both of our legs were still cocooned in our shared bedroll. Placing my hands on either of her shoulders, I shook her a little. "I'm so proud of you", I praised in between breaths as my laughter started to die down. Although; sprouts of snickers were still erupting the more I thought about Kaya kicking scarface.

Shivering in the cold night eye, Kaya turned her head slowly in the direction of the others". "Sokka…." She drawled out slowly, as she struggled to find the word she was looking for. "Sokka broken?" She finally asked.

Who knows if that was actually the word she wanted? Or if it was just the closest word she could use to what she really wanted to ask. But Kaya's question caused another round of uncontrollable snickering.

"Uh…" Aang vocalized as he rubbed the back of his head. He probably didn't feel like he knew me well enough to be allowed an answer.

Katara, on the other hand, didn't hesitate. "Yes", she answered; her voice flat and void of expression.

Somewhat alarmed, Kaya turned to me and started scanning my face for signs of injury. Still catching my breath, I raised my hands and made the downward hand motion to let her know everything was fine. "You know she doesn't understand it when we're sarcastic", I said; frowning at Katara as Kaya settled back down.

Katara's response was just as flat as before. "She'll need to learn if she keeps spending time with you".

Ignoring my little sister like big brothers have been doing for ages, I turned my attention back to Aang. "Tell me what happened. This is a story I want to hear". It must have been one Katara wanted to hear as well, because she too looked towards Aang.

"Um well…" Aang began as he collected his thoughts. "It happened like this…..

"Hey! Let her go!", Aang yelled as he tried to get someone to listen to him. He took a step in Kaya's direction as the gangplank snapped closed; sealing the ship and making it seaworthy once more. But he wasn't allowed to get close. The two soldiers who had escorted him to the ship blocked his attempt. Meanwhile, the two that had grabbed Kaya were trying to restrain her limbs. The yellow-haired girl hadn't stopped yanking her arms, throwing around her weight, and kicking out since she was grabbed. Incoherent words none of them had ever heard before left her mouth at random intervals as she yelled at her abductors in her native tongue.

In normal circumstances, it wouldn't have taken the two soldiers much effort to subdue the girl. That would have been Aang's guess. But for whatever reason, the soldiers seemed to be taking more care with the yellow-haired girl than they would with most prisoners.

"Calm down", one of the soldiers holding Kaya tried as Prince Zuko ignored them all and lead the way to the deck. But those were words Kaya hadn't learned. As such, she made no effort to stop her struggling.

"She doesn't understand", Aang tried to explain as he yelled over his shoulder; having been pushed forward to follow after Zuko. Still, no one listened.

"What's with the girl", An old man asked the prince as they joined him on deck. The old man's eyes washed over Aang with no real expression, but they came confused at Kaya's struggling form. Aang understood why. Yellow hair was a unique color.

Narrowing his eyes at Kaya, as she tried to headbutt the soldier holding her arms behind her, the prince scowled. The girl was unplanned. "She's been marked by dragon fire". Aang took in the prince's words; wondering if being marked by dragon fire was the same thing as having the mark of dragons. It must be. Though that still didn't tell him its meaning.

The old man raised an eyebrow as he folded his hands in front of his big belly. "No one's been blessed by dragon fire for many generations. How could they? Dragons have been extinct longer than you've been alive, Prince Zuko". Aang's breath hitched at the news. That was awful. Poor Dragons.

"I know that", the prince argued with a sigh of frustration. In a few agitated steps, the prince was standing in front of Kaya and the soldiers holding her in place. Aang tensed under the hands of his own guards; ready to try to intervene in case things became worse. Without communicating with his men or seeking consent from Kaya, the prince pulled her from the soldiers and held her in front of him by her arms. "But how do you explain this?" He asked the old man has he pushed Kaya's sleeves up on her right arm so they were above her elbow. All the members of the fire nation who were present seemed enthralled by the burns that swirled around Kaya's hand and forearm. Aang couldn't understand why. They just looked like old scars from a bad experience with fire. If anything, Aang thought it looked like they hurt.

The old man was calm and collected as he answered. "That is the mark of dragons", he accepted. The old man paused for a moment; examining the burns from a distance as Kaya twisted under the prince's hold; trying to get him to let go. "So, what are you going to do with her?" The old man asked the prince.

The prince let out a huff of hot air as if annoyed at the lack of explanation. "I don't know", he admitted before turning his ire on Kaya. "Stand still", he growled out; giving the girl a hard shake. If anything, being jostled like that only made Kaya fight harder.

Clearly, the fire nation prince was losing patience. If he ever had any at all. "Please", Aang tried again; worried that Zuko would do something to Kaya when she failed to listen. "She doesn't understand. Her language is different".

"There's only one language!" The prince snapped. It was a first reaction; as evident when Zuko paused and studied the girl with greater scrutiny. Just like he had done back in the village, the prince focused on the parts of Kaya that were foreign to him. "Such a bizarre color", he commented; leaning into Kaya's personal space to get a closer look. Even if it wasn't a socially appropriate thing to do. "She can't be a water tribe native".

Fed up with Zuko and just the current events as a whole, Kaya's face scrunched up. Aang wasn't sure exactly when she did it. But one moment the prince was standing upright as he studied the girl. And the next moment he had released her as he hunched over; protecting himself as gasping for air as if the wind had been knocked out of his lungs.

Everyone watching was aghast. It was a sight the fire nation soldiers had never seen before; their exiled prince taken down a notch by a girl of little importance. It was something Aang hadn't expected. He didn't know Kaya very well… he didn't know her at all. But he hadn't been expecting that. Once free, Kaya scrambled back. Hurriedly, she pulled down the sleeves on her right arm and balled her hands into fists; keeping them raised and close to her face. As if she was preparing. As if she expected payback. But that didn't happen. The only person who hadn't acted shocked at Kaya's attempt at self-defense was the old man. Chuckling in humor at the prince's plight, the old man approached Kaya; not at all worried about her defensive stance. "How about some tea, my dear?" The old man offered as he unfolded his arms. Placing a hand on her right shoulder, the old man gently steered Kaya away. Away from Aang, Zuko, and the gawking soldiers.

At the old man's gentle approach, Kaya slowly lowered her fists and went with the man willingly. "Kaya home?" Aang heard her ask in her usual use of fragmented sentences.

"Kaya. Is that your name?" The old man responded, not offering Kaya any information, or commenting on her lack of grammar.

Still regaining himself, the prince called after the old man as he pulled himself out of his hunched-over position. "Teach the wretch some manners when you're at it", the prince yelled; his face scarlet with rage.

"… And that's why I don't think they did anything to Kaya", Aang finished his story. Pausing to allow me to have another good laugh. Taking a deep breath, I wiped some water from my eyes as Kaya patted my back; like she trying to help me but was unsure what I needed help with. Oh, that was good. The story was even better with the details Aang was able to provide. "I mean", Aang continued in explanation. "She kicked him pretty hard and he didn't even raise a hand to her".

"Well, that's good", Katara expressed as I finally managed to stop laughing. Yeah. It was good. Downright lucky. From what I knew about the fire nation, they weren't the sort to restrain from retaliation. Maybe it had something to do with this mark of dragons nonsense.

Aang nodded in agreement. "I don't know what happened after that. They took me below deck. And after I escaped, I found Kaya sitting in a room with the prince. The old man had fallen asleep, and it looked like the prince was trying to figure out how he could communicate with Kaya. From there, I was able to grab Kaya and we made a run for it. That's when you and Katara showed up with Appa, so you know what happened next".

Throughout Aang's retelling of events, Kaya sat next to me; listening without really comprehending. Though she would react when she heard her name. Running a hand over the top of my hair, I thought, 'we really need to teach her some new words'.

"So", Katara started; forming her words slowly. "Are we really going to ride elephant koi fish?"

Aang beamed at the change of subject as I groaned and flopped down on my back. Not this again. Katara, why did you have to bring it up? I complained in my head; aware that Kaya was eyeing me in confusion.

"Of course!" Aang exclaimed as his energy level went from a three to a seven in a split second. "You'll love it Katara. They're as big as Appa". Aang was gesturing animatedly with his hands as he described the fish's size. "And when you see one, you just swim out, stand on their backs, and hold on to their dorsal fins. They'll take you on the ride of your life".

Good-naturedly, Katara smiled at Aang's enthusiasm. "That sounds like fun", she said; like she couldn't wait to try it. She was sure to be disappointed then when I told her she couldn't. If Dad or Gran-gran ever found out I let her do that, they'd kill me. Penguin sledding was one thing. But giant fish that could drown you was another entirely.

"But", there was a change in Aang's face as he changed the topic. A forlorn change. "I think we better stop at the Southern Air Temple first. It's on the way to Kyoshi Island".

Katara looked in my direction as if she was asking what she should do in response. I shrugged. As if I would know. Katara was the sensitive one. Shouldn't she know?

Turning back to Aang when she realized that I wasn't going to help, Katara answered, "whatever you think is best, Aang".

Aang nodded his head and didn't meet anyone's eyes. "I've been away too long", he shared.

"Yeah", I agreed as I tugged on Kaya's sleeve to get her to lay down next to me. She shivering more than I liked to see and I kind of enjoyed having the weight of her head on my chest. "Being frozen in a block of ice for a hundred years is a long time".