Maki simply couldn't understand it. She thought that her ability to move water with her a mere thought was a gift, something that made her special. But the looks on the faces of the general and the prince were beginning to convince her otherwise. Deciding that any other talent would be better left secret, Maki set the refilled mug down on the table and gazed shyly at the floor. Her old terror of being thrown overboard was resurfacing as Zuko broke the silence.

"There is no way that I'm letting a waterbender stay on my ship," he folded his arms defiantly. Maki gawked, eyes alight with indignation.

"You jerk!" the water in the mug bubbled dangerously and her voice rose, "Why can't I stay!"

"Because you are being disrespectful for one thing," the prince was beginning to smell of something burning. He glared down at Maki, who glared right back, eyes a blazing red. Neither looked away nor blinked, but Maki found herself fingering her crystal nonetheless. The chain had broken when she fell through the portal, which was why it wasn't still strung around her neck. While Zuko didn't notice this, Iroh did. The old general bit back a gasp as he caught sight of the thing. It was… no, it couldn't be. Well, perhaps. There was only one way to find out.

"Miss Maki."

Both teenagers looked up from their silent battle of wills. Maki's orange gaze bore into Iroh, but he did not waver. "Yeah? What do you need?"

"Might I have a look at that crystal you are holding?"

Maki glanced down at her necklace. The severe planes of her face were painted with suspicion as she faced on Iroh. "Why do you want to see it?"

The old firebender shook his head, "No reason, it merely caught my eye. But if you are that concerned, you have my word that I will not try anything."

Zuko merely glared at his uncle, although a small, more reserved part of him was surprised. Iroh rarely went to such lengths as giving his word to get something. At least, nothing apart from tea. But the Maki girl seemed to deem it a solid enough promise, as she held out the crystal. Iroh took it delicately, but suddenly dropped it with a yelp. Maki jumped in alarm and rushed to retrieve it, holding it close as Zuko went to help his uncle. She didn't seem ashamed of her confusion.

"What did you do to him you wi-" Zuko was silenced as Iroh put a comforting hand on the prince's shoulder.

"Do not worry about me, I am fine," he grunted slightly, but a bemused smile had spread across his face, "Miss Maki, I believe that we will be able to let you stay on this ship," Zuko looked furious, so Iroh decided to add something that might calm his nephew down, "That is, on the condition that you cook and clean for the crew. It should not be too hard a task," Iroh added despite the furious look from Zuko, "I will be able to show you around the ship-"

"UNCLE!" The prince seemed unable to contain himself any longer. "This is my ship, if anybody is going to say whether or not she stays, it will be me," he turned to face Maki, eyes narrowed dangerously. The girl merely raised an eyebrow and tried to look as unimpressed as possible. They glared at each other for about a minute before Zuko came to a conclusion.

"She can stay, but she will have to pull her weight. Cooking and cleaning for the crew ought to do it. This ship is a pit, and it's not like women can do much else," he snorted and strode stoically toward the door before pausing to glare at his uncle. Maki's face was contorted in a silent snarl at his comment. "But you will be in charge of her affairs, uncle Iroh. Maybe then you'll learn not to let stowaways run amok on my ship."

They watched as Zuko stormed from the room. The scent of burning wood still lingering about him as he shot Maki a glare. When she thought he was out of earshot, the girl allowed herself to relax a bit. She turned to face the old general, observing him thoughtfully. Her uncanny sixth sense told her that he wasn't as explosive as his nephew. Maki tried not to smirk, the memory still fresh in her mind. It was somehow ironic that a boy her age had control over a ship this big.

Shoving this oddity to the corner of her mind, Maki found herself smiling slightly. Iroh merely raised an eyebrow, but he seemed a bit more at ease than before.

"Not very subtle, is he?" Maki jerked a finger in the prince's direction, "Oh, and just out of curiosity, what happened back there with my necklace?"

Iroh smiled slightly. "It seems your necklace is quite… special. And do not worry about my nephew. He is often temperamental like that. Tell me, have you ever heard of pai-sho?"

"Pai-who?" asked Maki, utterly lost.

"I have much to teach you then. Come along," Iroh chuckled mysteriously as he beckoned for her to follow.

Maki stared for a moment before scrambling after the man who talked like a jedi knight, her dance bag swinging pell-mell behind her.

"OH GROSS!"

It was late afternoon now, and Maki was staring in disgust at the filthy room Iroh had led her to. Her day as of late had not been too positive. Although her sense of direction had fled, Maki was sure now that she was in the middle of the ocean; the crew stared like there was no tomorrow as she passed; and she had seen hide nor hair of the prince who had yelled at her. It was a bit of a pity. Maki was looking forward to a good shouting match. She hadn't had one in a long time, and Zuko seemed like the perfect victim.

But such things were better left for other times. Maki had since shed her dancing gear for a spare set of clothes that she had been assured had never been worn by the crew. The boots were a little large and she had needed to tie a rope around her waist to keep the shirt from going Marylin Monroe on her (I.E. flying up with each burst of wind), but they fit well enough. Maki had also managed to stow her things safely in the room given to her in exchange for her cleaning and cooking skills, though was beginning to regret the latter. The last thing she had tried to cook had been an instant pizza of sorts, and her parents hadn't let her use the stove unsupervised ever since. At least her mother had managed to teach a few recipes before she had wound up on the boat. Maki had, so far, managed to stay optimistic that something resembling food would come out after a few tries and that she would be able to stay on the ship.

Almost all of that optimism had vanished when Iroh showed her the kitchen.

The place was in complete disarray. Pots, pans, and dishes were scattered throughout the room, piled on top of one another in dirt encrusted stacks that even Maki, a girl who's room had been christened 'the black hole', was disgusted by. A rancid smell was wafting about, and Maki was almost positive that she saw something with too many legs go crawling amidst the rubbish heap. Note to self, start tossing the rotten food overboard.

She turned to Iroh, eyebrows raised and her lips forming a severe line. The general looked a bit embarrassed at the state of the kitchen, but he managed to walk toward the door without gagging, which was commendable in Maki's book. Iroh paused solely to point out where the cleaning supplies were before making his way to the door. Maki didn't hesitate to call after him.

"Just so you know, dinner might be a little late tonight!"

Iroh simply chuckled as he left, leaving Maki all by her lonesome. The girl tucked her necklace into her shirt, tied her hair, and started sorting through a pile of plates. It was going to be a long day.

Prince Zuko strode down the halls of his ship, his temper still bubbling just below the surface. He couldn't believe that he, the prince of the Fire Nation, had allowed his uncle to let a stowaway stay on his ship. As tedious a matter as it was, the youth couldn't get it out of his head. Something about that girl was downright unnerving. Zuko snorted, irritated at himself for getting so worked up, and allowed a small ball of flame go flying down the hall. It met the far wall with a satisfying hiss as Zuko walked into the mess hall. It was, after all, dinner time.

"What the-"

The prince was met with a bizarre sight. Almost every man in the crew was gathered around a large cooking pot that was miraculously clean, and behind the pot was… the girl from earlier! She looked more ragged than ever, and she was covered in some sort of slime that had undoubtedly come from the kitchen, but it was definitely her. She seemed to be serving the crew some sort of soup. Zuko's face contorted with confusion as he absorbed the sight, which he quickly hid as his uncle's voice came booming from his side.

"Prince Zuko! Try some of this soup!" Iroh slapped his nephew jovially on the back, somehow managing to speak over the rabble, "I didn't even know that we had enough ingredients for such stuff. I guess keeping her on board was a good idea after all, her cooking sure beats that gruel Lieutenant Toshi used to make." The old general let out a jolly laugh and began heading back to his seat, slurping as he went. Zuko stared for a moment, perplexed as he hadn't been in years, before reluctantly grabbing a bowl and attempting to get something to eat. He eventually managed to shove his way to the front of the line and get a bowlful to himself. The girl –Maki, wasn't it? - glared slightly at him, but filled the bowl without a word.

Zuko raised an eyebrow, silently daring her to say something sarcastic. He was almost disappointed when she didn't rise to the challenge, but began to shove his way through the gaggle of men nonetheless. The prince couldn't help but glance at the soup as he sat down in his usual corner. Whatever was getting his crew so worked up had better be good. It was. Of course, the stuff wasn't like the gourmet he had been served back before he was banished, but it seemed… actually palatable. Good, even, despite tasting decidedly burnt. Especially compared to the stuff they used to eat: a watery concoction consisting of water and stale carrots. Zuko scowled. He hated to admit that his uncle had been right in assigning her cook. Then again, Iroh was almost always right about that kind of thing, goofy though he was.

Feeling irritated, the prince stalked silently from the mess hall. He paused only to drop his bowl amidst the others.


Maki was surprised to find that living on a ship full of men wasn't as bad as she thought. Her most prominent fear was that they would jump on her in typical male perversion. When one of them tried to approach her when she was mopping, Maki had chased him down several hallways with her bucket in hand. A rumor must have been started, because after that, none of them bothered her. Much to Maki's surprise, they talked to her, even welcomed her. Some of them actually helped clean the pigsty that they called a kitchen, for which she was relieved. Cooking was hard enough as it was without having to watch out for bugs in the dishes.

Iroh, too, seemed to become favorable company. Although the general was weird, he treated Maki much more politely than pretty much anybody else. Although she couldn't help wondering what had happened on the first day she had shown up. It was only after a week that she dared bring the subject up, and even then the general seemed reluctant to share his thoughts. He just chuckled and went on trying to teach her pai-sho.

As for the prince… well, things could have been going better. A slow stream of curses escaped Maki's lips as she scrubbed at a bit of mold that had attached itself to the wall of Zuko's room. She had saved that dreaded place for last, due to the fact that every time she had encountered the prince, the tension in the room skyrocketed. Especially when she tried to have a sane conversation. Every time that happened, Zuko would just glare at her and stalk away. It was funny enough considering that Maki had an odd feeling that Zuko wasn't an ass at heart, and her odd feelings were usually right. Maki sighed irritably and scrubbed at the mold until it fell to the floor in a soggy mess. Next chance she got, she was going to ask General Iroh and find out what was going on.

"What the-"

A voice from behind caused Maki to turn around. The prince who stood in the doorway, looking more suspicious than ever.

"What are you doing in here?" asked Zuko. He was scowling down at her even as she stood up, but Maki found herself unfazed by this. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"What does it look like? I'm cleaning just like a certain somebody told me to."

They glared at each other for a moment before Maki grabbed her bucket and made her way toward the door. She wasn't about to pick a fight with the one person who wanted her thrown overboard. It was only then that a thought struck her. Maki turned around to face the Zuko, who was examining his now shiny trunk to make sure all his possessions were still in place.

"I was wondering, next time we stop, could I get a new brush? This one is about ready to fall apart." She held up the brush. A few bristles fell out in the few seconds Zuko stared at it. Maki bit back a laugh, knowing that he couldn't refuse without sounding biased. "You see my point?"

Zuko seemed to notice this as well. He frowned for a moment before nodding. "Fine. We shall get you your precious brush," snarled the prince.

Maki just attached a dangerously fake smile to her face as she strode from the room. Maki: 1, Zuko: 0. She was making her way down the hall to return the bucket when she ran into something large and round. Looking up, Maki realized that it was none other than General Iroh. He beamed down at her as she stammered an apology.

"Do not worry, Maki. I am sure it was just an accident," he thumped her on the back and laughed, "By the way, have you seen my nephew?"

Maki raised an eyebrow sarcastically.

"Mr. Sunshine? He's back in his room." She jerked her thumb in the appropriate direction as Iroh chuckled.

"Ah, I suspected as much. I'm surprised he isn't getting ready for docking."

Maki's head whipped around. "We're docking?"

"Of course we are. Didn't anybody tell you?" Iroh looked surprised at her suddenly furious expression.

"No, Zuko didn't. Thank you for telling me, General Iroh." Maki nodded respectfully before storming toward her room. She had cleaned the ship, cooked decent food –a feat she was still incredibly proud of-, and her sarcastic view on the world had somehow cheered up the crew. How any of that had been possible, Maki didn't know. She was just thanking her lucky stars to be alive at this point. But the fact that she hadn't been told about docking was somehow setting off all the pent up frustration from the past week. There was no way that Maki was going to put up with Zuko's crap any longer. Next time she saw him, he was going to get a piece of her mind. And it wasn't going to be a good piece either.

With that thought lodged in her mind, Maki stowed away the cleaning materials and put on fresh clothing. Within minutes, she and some of the crew were gathered in front of the door. Those that didn't need to help with docking rushed out with gusto. Maki had a scowl on her face as she hung around the entrance, hoping to catch the fire prince.

After about five minutes, however, there was no sign of his leaving the ship. Maki could only fume as she stalked off to the nearest clothing shop. General Iroh had been teaching her pai-sho, and was extremely pleased to find that she was good at it. Of course, it wasn't saying much since it reminded her a bit of chess, and she was pretty good at chess. As for the other crew members… well, let's just say that the money bag that dangled at Maki's side was starting to bulge with her winnings.

Maki didn't hesitate with her selections, a few sets of basic travel clothing and an embroidered yellow kimono. Truth be told, she was just relieved to not have to wear the crew's spares anymore. So it was with a positive attitude that Maki explored the town. A few villagers suggested that she check out a nearby waterfall if she wanted to see something interesting. So that was where she went. There was time to in any case. Iroh had said that it would take a while to restock the ship, and Maki knew she could trust Iroh.

The villagers seemed a bit lest trustworthy. They seemed twitchy when she had talked to them, and Maki couldn't help but wonder if they were scared of something. This thought was quickly replaced by one of curiosity as the sound of running water met Maki's ears. She had reached the stream at last! Maki's pace began to quicken, an excited expression painted across her face. It must be the waterfall! There was no other explanation for it. But then….

Nothing. No waterfall. The water that had made the noise barely qualified as a river. Maki ground her teeth with fury and was about to storm back to the village when something caught her eye. She stopped in her tracks and stared in shock at the two figures hidden in the trees, and was at once relieved that she had not been spotted. While she didn't recognize the other man, there was no doubt in her mind that the person now yelling about something called the 'avatar' was Prince Zuko.