"Someone must have seen something!" Sokka was about to punch a guy (or maybe be punched, it was really unclear) when the Fire Nation messenger hawk swooped out of the sky and landed on his shoulder.
"Son of a doe!" the dock worker who totally knew where the pirate ship had gone but refused to give it up for two coppers and a knuckle sandwich shouted. He recoiled from Sokka's intimidating manliness and the bird's sharp beak.
"Good Hawky," Sokka said, and slipped her a strip of seal jerky, mostly on reflex. He'd trained her very well and definitely not the other way around. "Wait, Hawky? Aang!"
The airbender hopped between docks, blithely ignoring gravity. "Thanks anyway," he called over his shoulder, "let us know if you see her! What's up, Sokka? Did you—is that Fire Flake?"
"This is Hawky," Sokka corrected, unrolling the message. "You've met Hawky. We kidnapped her."
"Weren't you just hawk-sit—?"
Sokka cleared his throat, aHEM, and read the prince's letter.
Water Tribe,
(It began, because of course it did.)
I have your sister. Bring me the Avatar. Coordinates attached.
Zuko, son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation, Dragon of the Wani
...Zuko. Not pirates. Sokka sagged in relief.
"That's great!" Aang's enthusiasm carried him a few feet into the air, which attracted the attention of everyone around, which went a long way to explaining why the prince and Zhao had such an easy time tracking them even without the giant flying not-as-soft-as-he-apparently-looked bison factored in. "We can go pick her up, and maybe stop for tea—"
"Aang! What have I told you about the tea?" Sokka put a stop to that right there.
He flipped the letter over, and scrawled a reply.
The waterbender had not left her five-foot radius of deck-pacing since she'd come on board. Behind her, the half-sunk pirate ship bobbed like a warning buoy. Lieutenant Jee and Crewman Teruko kept a respectful guard at a respectful distance, any uneasiness safely hidden behind the helmets they still wore. Usually the crew was quick to pull those off after danger had passed, helmets got really stifling on firebenders, but—
"You sent Sokka what?"
—the danger hadn't exactly passed.
The seas surged under the Wani. The crew was getting alarmingly good at ignoring that; only one person even stumbled. That person was Zuko. And it was definitely a stumble, not a step away from the shouting waterbender.
"Um. A ransom note?" he tried to use short sentences and small words, because for some reason she was taking offense to this, he must not have explained it right the first time. "So they know where you are. And they can come and get you? And since you're my hostage, they'll know that I'm honor-bound to keep you safe—"
"I can keep myself safe!"
Definitely another stumble. Not another two steps very-quickly-back, and then a court-perfect bow, and then a quick retreat to the other side of the deck where Uncle was drinking tea from a cup held between his sleeve-draped wrists (he was getting really good at that, of course the first thing he'd re-master was drinking tea). Zuko sat down next to him, and watched the pirate ship bubbling its way lower and the waterbender pacing and every tiny speck in the sky that might turn into an approaching bison.
The waterbender glared at him, and the crew hiding under their helmets, and the speck-free sky.
"Are you sure Katara's going to be okay with this?" Aang watched the hawk growing smaller in the distance. He still looked concerned. Clearly Sokka hadn't explained things right.
"It's basic tactics, Aang. She's safe with Zuko, you're safe with me, we are not making a trade. Plus, she's perfectly positioned to spy on and sabotage all of Zuko's tiny little evil princely plots! Us Water Tribe members, we're close. Know-what-each-other-is-thinking close. As soon as she reads my letter, she'll understand the plan."
"And… what is the plan?"
Sokka sighed, and started from the beginning. Again. Aang remained unconvinced.
Fire Flake landed on Zuko's shoulder and started preening his hair, would she please stop that? It was really embarrassing with Uncle smiling indulgently and Lieutenant Jee's armor creaking a I'm not saying anything Sir creak and the waterbender glaring from her patch of deck like she'd already claimed it in the name of the Southern Water Tribe and soon she'd be marching out to declare war on the rest of his ship.
Zuko read the letter. And wondered how fast he could burn it, but she was already storming over and snatching it from his hands like a piranha-gator and he tried to jump up and grab it back but she held it too far above his head as she read—
"Sokka said what?"
The sea surged. Zuko bravely stood his ground, because he had to be strong for his crew. He would show no fear in the face of the enemy (or the enemy's sisters).
"I'm writing back to him," she said, in a tone that brooked no argument. "Bring me paper. Now."
Zuko nodded for a crewman to do so, even though he wasn't sure the Wani could survive another reply from Sokka.
"But are you really, really sure?"
Sokka didn't know what had Aang was so worried. The airbender had traveled with Katara for two months now; he should know her better than that.
"Trust me, she's completely on board with this. Zuko won't last a week before he's begging us to take her back."
Prince Chick-Fuzz Hair,
Don't believe you. Even if I did, an awful sister for an Avatar? Sweeten the deal, then we'll talk.
Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, Dragon of Appa's Saddle, I Can Make Up Titles Too
AN: Replies to folks I can't PM—
Guest, chapter 15: Little Zuko does not appreciate you laughing at his life this is serious business CAN'T YOU SEE HIS SERIOUS FACE.