I dont own Avatar. I do, however, own the crystal that inspired the story. -

Thanks so much to Petitio Principii andSeethingxShadows for reviewing! huggles It makes me actually want to keep writing this stuff instead of just playing it in my head like a bad cartoon.I gotta say though, whoever thought of waterbending didn't know how badass it could be. There's water in almost everything, you just need to know how to control it. It's actually a very useful way to freak out pigheaded firebenders. .

Sad to say that this isn't my absolute favorite chapter. Some of it's corny and punnyand therefore makes no sense, but it gets a few things out of the way and keeps the plot moving. Things will pick up after this. I promise.


Maki couldn't get to sleep. Although her body was tired beyond compare, her mind would simply not rest. It kept going over what Iroh had told her mere hours before. The four elements, water, fire, earth, and air, and the fact that some people could control these elements kept bobbing around. The concept of the Avatar brought much curiosity, although just thinking about being the global peacemaker made her nauseous. Especially considering what was going on. Maki couldn't help being disturbed by the fact that she had fallen into the middle of a war. Why on earth did the Fire Nation invade the others when they had been getting along so peacefully before? Or more importantly, why did her stupid necklace have to go and drop her in the middle of it? Iroh couldn't answer that, or any of her questions about said crystal. He had just shaken his head and looked as lost as she felt.

"I am afraid that I will not be able to tell you until I know more about it myself. Do not take this as an insult, Miss Maki, but the little I know would only confuse and possibly frighten you. It was mentioned in a tale I was told in my childhood, but the details are hazy. I shall say nothing of the matter until I know more."

And that was it. Iroh was true to his word in not saying a single thing about her crystal, no matter her much Maki needled. So she settled for a less irksome subject, why a teenager had control of a warship. Maki actually felt her anger begin to lessen when Iroh had said that he couldn't return home unless he found and captured the Avatar. It was surprising that she could feel anything for the prince that wasn't loathing. Now she actually felt a little sorry for him, at least when he wasn't threatening her. That guy had lines on his face that no teenager should have. Maki felt a frown slide across her face as she turned over for what felt like the millionth time. Iroh had refused to say a thing about the scar that so plagued her curiosity.

Sleep would not come. With a reluctant sigh, Maki rolled out of bed. She wrapped a blanket around her slender frame and headed to the deck. Her brain prodded her to stay put, it was cold out and she would probably be too tired to cook or clean that day, but Maki found that none of this mattered.

She finally found the deck after a few seconds of wandering the ship, and the sight nearly blew Maki away. There was something beautiful about the ocean at night. The soothing sound of crashing waves put her mind at ease as she leaned against the railing, sound harmonizing with sight. Maki felt her mind drifting into nirvana that was soon crushed by movement across the deck. Her head snapped around so fast that her neck cricked, but she took no notice. Squinting through the darkness, Maki could make out the prince's silhouette. He was standing about halfway across the deck and staring at the sea in a trance similar to her own. Her mind let loose a tirade of questions that remained unsaid as Maki returned her gaze to the sea. Zuko didn't seem to have noticed her anyway. Besides, it was probably better if Maki left him alone. Curiosity may be strong, but the need to stay free of injury overpowered that instinct.

Unfortunately, it was Zuko who spotted her. The prince walked over and stood glaring at her for a few minutes before leaning against the rail. Maki contented herself to ignore him, being glared at wasn't anything unusual these days. They stood like that for several minutes, Maki watching the water and Zuko glaring. Though she found herself unaffected by his presence, the prince seemed unable to take the silence.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching the sea," Maki didn't look up, "It helps me think."

"Don't try to fool me, waterbender, I know you're up to something," Zuko's glaring intensified, but he was forced to pick another topic when Maki didn't respond, "Why are you out here? You were not assigned to keep watch."

"And you were?" Maki found herself giggling slightly, a sure sign of insomnia in her case, "Actually, I just couldn't sleep. What about you?"

Zuko glared at her. Maki shrugged and watched the sky. The warm colors of dawn were beginning to leak into the deep navy that was the night sky, growing stronger by the minute. It was only then that it dawned on her. ((cough Pardon the pun.)) Her lip curled upward smugly as she smiled at Zuko. His head snapped around at their eyes met, but Maki didn't waver.

"You came here to watch the sun rise, didn't you?"

"How much did my uncle tell you!" he asked exasperatedly. Maki laughed.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I just guessed," she shrugged and returned her gaze to the flood of color that was the rising sun. Zuko snorted and glared at her suspiciously, but said no more. The warm colors began to dominate the sky bit by bit before the prince turned on his heel and strode toward the upper deck. Maki's head snapped around as she watched him grab the first rung of the ladder.

"Where are you going?"

Zuko didn't answer, he didn't even look back. Maki sighed to herself as curiosity got the better of her. Gripping her blanket more tightly around her body, she raced after him through the gaggle of crew members that were beginning to file out to their posts. Zuko didn't seem to notice this, or the fact that she was following him up the ladder. If he was, he was doing a magnificent job ignoring her. Maki clenched her teeth as he vanished from view, curiosity growing by the second. Only when she reached the top of the ladder did she see his destination.

Zuko glared at her as she clambered onto the roof of the uppermost deck. Maki's eyes were wide at the scene. The view was beautiful from up here. Light blues were tinged with pinks and oranges as sunlight streaked across the sky. Fluffy clouds were floating into view, their shadows casting a bizarre yet elegant curtain over the sea. Maki's amazement at this stunning sight was cut short by Zuko's harsh inquiry.

"You really aren't from around here, are you?"

She looked down at him. The prince was peering at her with an almost curious expression lurking beneath his usual scowl. Maki tilted her head. "Err, no. Why?"

"I have never seen somebody so fascinated by a sunrise," said Zuko.

"There aren't sunrises like this where I come from. I lived in a city, so it was usually covered up by fog or smoke. I haven't seen one like this since I was little…" said Maki quietly. She sat down next to Zuko, wincing as pain shot through the knife wound in her torso. It didn't help that there wasn't much choice of seating either. The upper deck she now recognized as the crows nest beingbuilt for one person. Silence ensued once more, as did the wait for sunrise. Maki's dislike of silence was strong enough to make her talk.

"Why do you hate waterbenders?"

Zuko shot her a look, genuinely surprised by this question.

"What are you talking about?" he asked suspiciously.

"I asked why you hated waterbenders," said Maki again, "I don't have anywhere else to go, you might as well tell me if I'm to stay on this ship."

"I have nothing against them. They are merely barbaric people who foolishly live in a frigid hellscape and control a weak element," Zuko said this all very quickly. Maki couldn't help but wonder if he'd practiced this response beforehand, it seemed so rehearsed.

"Not all waterbenders 'foolishly live in a frigid hellscape', you know."

"Oh really?" his lip curled in a sneer, "Name one."

"You're lookin' at her."

Maki felt a grin spread across her face at Zuko's expression. He had allowed himself to be backed into a corner by pure logic. He really must have been tired to let that happen. Despite this, he accepted defeat with grace and said no more. A hand emerged from within the confines of Maki's blanket and poked him hard on a part of his arm that was armor free.

"Don't worry about it. You're not the only one who needs more sleep." A smile accompanied these words, and it was an actual smile as well. No more was the sugar coated leer, Maki was making a rare attempt at sincerity. Had Zukoknown how rare this actually was, he might have been surprised. Instead, he shot her a glare and muttered something about weirdo's on his ship before returning to his staring. Evidently Zuko was deep in thought, as he stared aimlessly at the ocean until…

"Thank you. Are you satisfied?"

Maki blinked. That had come out of nowhere.

"Oh! Yeah, I guess so," she said. Maki decided not to mention she'd forgotten about the incident back in the infirmary, but perhaps she could weasel a bit more information out of him, "Uhm, just out of curiosity, why do you have that scar?"

Zuko's head snapped around as he looked at her. Maki recoiled slightly, already regretting asking about it.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked suspiciously.

"Your uncle didn't tell me," Maki let out a small sight of relief, but still found the situation decidedly awkward, "And I was just wondering. You don't have to answer." She added quickly. Zuko's expression was growing stonier by the second, at which Maki decided it was better to just keep quiet. She didn't even expect him to answer, but assumptions weren't always right.

"Maki, if you really want to know, I got it before I was banished," he said flatly. Maki looked up in surprise, but suppressed the hundred or so questions that had arisen in her mind. He had not only answered in the first place, or at least part of it, but he had said her name. It was strangely satisfying to know that she wasn't just 'waterbender' anymore.

It was only then that Maki realized that her legs had gone numb. The only feeling she had left was in her hands that kept the blanket wrapped around her body. She tried to wiggle her toes, but all her concentration could only muster a twitch. Crap. Her feet had fallen asleep. It would be a few minutes before Maki could so much as move her foot, let alone walk. Clutching the blanket around her body, Maki's eyes flickered between the ocean and the sky. She glanced at the prince every now and then, only to be amused by what she saw. He didn't look even remotely threatening anymore, just kind of blank. It was like he was thinking about something she couldn't dream of comprehending. Though the violent façade had dissolved, Maki leaned against the opposite railing as a precaution anyhow. She suddenly realized that she was at peace for the first time in ages and bit back a laugh at the realization.

At long last, a sliver of light peeked above the horizon as she buried her chin in the folds of her blanket. Maki felt an excited chill run up her spine at the mind boggling beauty. The appearance of the sun had brought with it a plethora of color. Though she wanted to watch the transition from night to day, Maki found she couldn't keep her retinas from getting burnt unless she looked away. She did so, but reluctantly. Zuko didn't divert his gaze at all; he just sort of squinted at the sunrise. Maki raised an eyebrow and prodded him in the shoulder.

"Quit staring at it. You're going to ruin your eyesight."

He frowned, but, much to her surprise, stopped watching the sunrise. Zuko turned narrowed eyes onto Maki, who promptly leaned farther away. He hadn't tried any pyrotechnics on her yet, but one could never tell.

"Stop poking me. It's irritating," he said, scowling, "And why do you keep leaning away? You're going to fall off, andI'd prefer it if my cook didn't lounge around the infirmary when she isn't hurt again."

Makilooked at him. Something about the way he had said that had been insulting. Perhaps it was because Zuko had stressed the words 'my cook', or because he didn't seem to give a crap about whether or not she got hurt or not. But that didn't quite matter any more. All she knew was that she had gone from tranquil to furious in about three seconds. Mustering all the strength she had,Maki forced her numb legs into action and stood up. Her face was a mask of rage as she glared down at Zuko. The prince looked positively astonished by this sudden mood swing. Truth be told, Maki didn't know where it had come either. But that was beside the point.

"You know, every time I think that living on this stupid dinghy of yours might be bearable, you manage to prove me wrong. I hope your happy, Prince Zuko," she stressed his title, oozing sarcasm, "Because I'm not making breakfast. Get one of your men to do it." With this, Maki strode the foot or so toward the edge of the crow's nest and began to climb down that ladder. Just before her head disappeared, Maki paused to glare once more at the prince, "And for the record, I keep leaning away because I don't trust you to not incinerate me with that stupid firebending of yours."

Satisfied that she had properly chastised the boy she had once thought could be civil, Maki stuck out her tongue, slid down the ladder, and stalked below deck.


Zuko kneaded his forehead and sipped at the tea his uncle had prepared for him. No matter how much he tried to avoid it, the conflict erupting within his mind refused to be subdued. Nor did it help that the mess hall was empty and food nowhere in sight. Lieutenant Toshi had, once again, been the only other one willing to cook. But that had been out of the question when he suggested a recipe involving bacon and artichokes.

After a quick scan of the kitchen, Zuko had also deduced that he had no idea how to cook either. This pretty much set him off. He might have respected the girl, however grudging this respect may be, for holding her own. But it was his ship. He was supposed to be in charge of whether or not life fell apart, not some stupid waterbender from the future. Zuko let out a furious snort of flame that scorched the table and clenched his teacup so hard that it started to crack. That girl was going to get it when he found her, but, much to his irritation, Maki was nowhere to be found. It irritated him yet more by the fact that she too managed to evade him. As if having the Avatar escape wasn't enough, now he couldn't find a woman on his own ship. Amidst all this turmoil, Zuko found himself disturbed when he realized that he was bothered by her parting words. The fact that she didn't trust him had made something deep inside him squirm uncomfortably. As baffled by this as he was by this, the fact that she refused to cook was top priority.

"Are you all right, prince Zuko?"

The youth looked up to find General Iroh standing over him with a concerned look on his face. Zuko stood up, glaring at his uncle.

"Does it look like I'm all right?" he snapped. Iroh raised an eyebrow but said nothing as the fire prince strode toward the door. Zuko suddenly stopped when he remembered that his uncle had taken a slight liking to the girl, pivoting to face the old general. "Uncle, tell me the truth. Have you seen that waterbender since this morning?"

Iroh was taken aback by the fact that his best pai-sho opponent was 'that waterbender' again, but shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. May I ask why you are looking for her?"

"You might not have noticed, but we have nothing to eat," said Zuko acidly. His temper flared, the temptation to take out his rage on his uncle growing until steam began to rise from his body. But a single stern look from Iroh shook Zuko enough to subdue this sudden outburst. "Never mind. Just tell me if you see her." Zuko snapped before striding from the room, thus leaving Iroh even more bemused by the two teenagers than before.

The fire prince seemed to burn a hole in the floor with his gaze as he strode down the hall. His mind was being bombarded once again with everything he had hoped to avoid, and Zuko couldn't come up with a solution to any of it. He shot a small fireball in no particular direction and watched moodily as it hit a door to his left. Zuko raised an eyebrow as the parchment attached to its surface burst into flame and fell to the floor. He peered down at the sign labeled "KEEP OUT", recognizing Maki's miniscule handwriting and goofy doodle before it was devoured by the flame. Zuko cursed himself. He was being stupid for letting some waterbender get him all worked up like this.

With a final snort of flame, Zuko pivoted around and headed back toward the upper deck. It was nearing midday and the crew would be heading in for lunch around now, so he could probably blow off some steam in peace. At least until the men found out that Maki wasn't cooking, which should prove amusing until they placed the blame on him for angering her. A slight smirk flickered across his marred face, but vanished as he stepped onto the deck.

"What the…"

Zuko craned his neck upward, jaw clenching in fury. A monstrous ship was circling his like a predator circles its prey. From the corner of his eye, Zuko could see a red clad soldier signaling for them to throw a rope.

"Ah, I see Admiral Zhao has come to visit."

The youth glared at his uncle. "I will not allow that scum aboard my ship again," he said acidly, "Turn the ship around and head east."

"But prince Zuko-"

"I will NOT have him on my ship!" hissed Zuko. He whirled around, fighting the urge to start flaming anything and everything in sight, and then stopped. Zuko narrowed his eyes at thearmor clad before him. The admiral smirked down at him, reveling in the fact that the young prince could do almost nothing to stop him. Between finding the Avatar and having a reluctant cook, Zuko had enough problems as it was, so it really didn't help to have Admiral Zhao leering down at him.

It was going to be a veryinteresting day, to say the least.