Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or any of its characters. I do own the girl though. Besides, if I owned Avatar...

Chapter 2: Flames

Fire Lord Ozai was in his private chambers alone, his thoughts were random and it was impossible to focus on one before the next chased it away. The only thing he could focus on was the paper in front of him on the desk, as he sat staring at it. Written in his own handwriting, it outlined a plan he'd come up with several years before, a plan to end the war and ensure the Fire Nation's rule for millennia.

But his plan, which had come to him amazingly in a time and way he could not even remember, required two important things and one great sacrifice. The sacrifice had been made and one required element would be there at summer's end. All he needed now was the Avatar. Before, he had feared a strong Avatar who had already mastered all four elements, but now, he was contending with a mere boy. The one thing he cared about most in his life was gone, so now, faced with decisions he had previously put aside, he made the choices that must be made, the choices he hadn't the heart to make before.

A single knock came at his door, unusual, and for this uniqueness, he knew instantly who it was.

"Come in, Commander." He said as he slid the plan beneath a stack of papers.

The commander came in; his head hung sheepishly, and as the mask of a shrewd uncaring leader slipped away, the despair and frustration was clear to the Fire Lord. The man had always been open with him, for they had been friends longer than many knew.

"I hope I didn't disturb you Fire Lord."

"Of course not." The commander sighed.

"No point in not speaking openly is there?"

The Fire Lord shook his head, inwardly laughing at the commander's formalities.

"Your words will only be heard by friendly ears." The commander sighed again.

"It's been four weeks and she hasn't returned."

"Did you expect her to?"

"In truth, no, but do you see how this will jeopardize your plan? She will go to him, and help him capture the Avatar."

The Fire Lord shook his head.

"Are you sure? She hated the war more than anything, and that hate may be enough to keep her undecided long enough. Besides, I doubt she'll make much difference."

The commander looked confused.

"What do you mean?"

The Fire Lord sighed. "I knew Zuko capable of capturing the Avatar the moment I set the task. He's capable of much more than he thinks he is, no matter how much help he's given, and who from. But that in itself is the problem. Giving him back his closest friend would give him the mental strength he needed to accomplish any goal set before him. I have altered the plan, for I won't let anyone upset the plans I have, not this far."

He handed the commander a piece of paper. "Such things are better not spoken aloud."

The commander looked at the paper, butinstead of thehorrified reaction that the Fire Lord had expected, only grim resignation framed the commander's face.

"I understand." The Fire Lord stood and placed a hand on the commander's shoulder.

"The Fire Nation will be supreme in this land before my time is up, I promise you that. Our sacrifices will not go unrewarded."

The commander nodded and took his leave. The Fire Lord left off his own dim comments. I hope.

After spending the night in a damp building that smelled of hay and droppings, the girl had made her way from Omashu. The walls were deadly to jump from, but luckily, there were some trees on the north wall that she climbed down onto. As she reached the ground and found a small cave she could hide in, she decided to meditate, a practice that she could not lightly abandon.

As she meditated, she thought of the boy with the blue arrow on his head. That arrow was the sign of an Air-bender, but they were supposed to be wiped out. The last Avatar had been born into the Air Nation, and as she remembered this, a startling possibility came to her, nearly snapping her from her meditation. That boy could BE the Avatar. Of course, why not? It made sense, except for the part about the delivery slides. She spent the day in the cave, not moving, allowing random thoughts to penetrate her mind, which started coming less and less frequently, until her mind was completely clear, and she had become as much of the woods around her as the birds in the trees.

As the evening sun set around her, she finally merged from her trance and made a round-a-bout to the front of the city. It didn't take her long to find her swords, hidden in the foliage, but that was not all she found. A young man, dressed all in black from head to toe, with no visible weapons on him. Only his eyes were visible, but she didn't need to see his face. She was as experienced with Fire-benders as the old guard was, and she knew that, unlike herself, this man was a spy.

As he moved towards the east wall of the city, she reached into her bag and pulled out a solid black mask in the shape of a wolf. It fit close to her face as she pulled the black ribbon out and tied it behind her head, just under her ponytail, and it left the lower quarter of her face uncovered, namely, her mouth. When she was done tying the mask on, she opened her eyes, and they glowed amber. A true wolf's eyes.

The Fire-bender spy made his way silently to the east side of the city, and at the base of the wall, he began to make preparations to climb it. His acute senses told him no one was around, and this mission should be easy enough; at least, until the voice behind him determined his fate.

"You'll fall." He spun around and found himself looking at a figure hidden by the trees' shadow and the fading sunlight didn't help.

"No I won't." He held up the rope he had been going to use to climb up the wall. "This is the strongest rope known to man."

The figure took several steps forward, allowing it to be seen, and it was definitely intimidating. As if mimicking him, the figure was dressed also in solid black nearly skin-tight cloth. A snarling wolf's mask covered most of her face, for she was clearly female. She was also smirking.

"I didn't mean you'd fall from the wall."

He understood her immediately, dropping the rope and taking up a universal Fire-bending stance. From this stance, he could unleash nearly any attack at her. But she didn't move and he got tired of waiting. He threw a punch in her direction, the fireball created moving quickly towards her. It would destroy her…if it made contact. Instead, she rolled easily to the side, landing with one knee on the ground, the other leg pointed straight out, but she was completely relaxed. He repeated the motion, and again, she easily avoided the fire but this time she rolled forward into too close a range for fireballs. So, instead he sent an arc of flame at her, which she sliced through with a sword that appeared from nowhere. Then she leapt up and performed a simple jump-spin kick. He prepared himself for flames, from this range she couldn't miss, but no fire came. Instead her heel connected solidly with his temple and he knew no more.

The old guard stood at the gate, loudly cursing at himself for letting the little girl Fire-bender escape when a loud crack from the woods nearby startled him into silence. He raised his hands, ready to bend as a very bulky creature extricated itself from the woods. He didn't realize what it was until half of it fell away and the other half straightened.

Moving forward, the one in the wolf's mask kicked the man at her feet. "Stop acting like I'm the enemy, old one."

The guard's hands fell instantly to his side. "Wha…wha…what happened?"

She scowled. "I found this Fire-bender trying to scale your wall."

The guard motioned to two of his peers who had stayed at the gate and they came forward and dragged the unconscious Fire-bender back to the gate where they bound his hands and feet in iron. She then turned to walk away when the guard called out to her.

"Who are you?" She turned, scowled, but knelt and in the dirt she drew. When she was done, she got up and disappeared into the dark woods. The guard went forward and saw what she had drawn.

私は彼女オオカミである。

He sighed and read it aloud to the curious guards behind him. "I am the she-wolf." One of the men behind him shook his head in confusion. The old guard stood and erased the markings with his foot. "No matter. We have the would-be spy." They turned back to the city.

The She-Wolf continued through the woods, now running as fast as her legs would carry her. She lithely spun around the trees, her eyes fastened on a distant goal she had noticed just as she left the gates of Omashu. To her bright eyes, it looked like a flying bison, but it could just be the distance. Only one way to find out and that was to follow it.

...meow...the cat says "Please Review...meow..."