Ya know, sometimes I really fear for the human species. I had my first day of Biology today and the teacher believes that photosynthesis could bring about world peace and most the girls in the class don't know what a mammal is. One thought they were the ones that live in the water. Anyways, time for shoutouts.

Newsiefreak9er9er: that was actually a dream I had a while back. It was a lot more complex than what I wrote, but that's okay, I at least got the main point across.

Athenera: I'm glad you ended up enjoying it. As for me and Zuko, you'll just have to read and find out (wink wink)

ZukoPunk: So you like to read about me being beaten up (this is said as indignantly as possible). Just kidding. Thanx for the review.

BrookBliss: I'm glad you like it but you should read Masako Moonshades stuff before you say I'm the best. As for the trio, I still don't quite know where I'm taking this story. I can tell you they'll make an appearance, but I don't know for sure if they'll actually play a role in this story yet.

MitariWaterDragon: Yay! Plushies! I'm glad you think they're all in character. Sometimes I'm afraid I'm straying away from how they really are, but then I decide that it's fiction so I really don't care.

Khazia: Wow, I did't think anybody knew that song besides me and a few people 'round here. I learned it at camp a few years back and thought it was sweet.

Lovergal1227: Thanx to your friends. Yes, Zhao should die, I'm sorry Zuko seems OOC. I just don't know him that well. And if you want a hat you'll have to take it up with Iroh.

Now read my minions! Read for your lives!

Katie took a deep breath and stretched her arms over her head. She felt her bruises protest, but she ignored them rolling her head in a circle and feeling her neck pop. She was sitting alone on the floor of the training deck. Practically nobody used it, so she figured it would be the best place to be alone and do some Yoga. Not that she could remember most of the moves and positions, but she was stretching her muscles and joints with her head completely clear and that was good enough for her. She straightened her back and rotated around slowly, back and forth. She could hear several satisfying snaps as her spine popped back into place. She uncrossed her left leg and stretched it out in front of her, leaning over she wrapped her hand around her foot and stayed there for eight seconds. She then switched to her right leg, but for some reason that side had never been as flexible so she barely could barely touch her toes.

"I have to say you never cease to surprise me." Zuko's voice said behind her. Katie continued stretching with her eyes closed. She moved both legs out in front of her and leaned forward, wrapping her arms below her knees.

"In what way do I surprise you prince Zuko?"

"You're just plain strange. What are you doing this time? Is it part of your boxing ritual?" He walked around to sit down in front of her and began mimicking her movements.

"No, this is something to clear the mind and it's good for the body." Katie said opening one eye to see what he was doing. "So what brings you down here into the forgotten realm?"

"I just felt like exercising." He said simply. Katie gave a little grunt of acknowledgment and closed the eye again. She concentrated on deep breathing, filling her stomach with air, then her lungs. After a moment she opened her eyes and saw Zuko staring at her.

"What? Do I have a booger?" He smiled gently and shook his head.

"I've been meaning to ask you. Are you a warrior from your tribe or village?" he asked.

"Mmmm, why do you ask?"

"Because I've been on the receiving end of your fighting skills and your nose looks as if it's been met by a few blows." Zuko said. Katie raised a finger and felt the crooked part of her nose.

"I didn't break my nose fighting. It happened in a freak softball incident (the freak being the catcher on my team, the softball being the projectile that crunched my face at 42 mph) and no, I'm not a warrior. I just happened to grow up in a house with a dad and three brothers who are all more than ten years older then me, and each of them was on the wrestling team. I had no choice but to learn to defend myself from their roughhousing at an early age." She said twisting her body into another stretching position, which Zuko copied.

"Do you have any sisters?" Zuko asked.

"Um, yeah. One. Why the sudden flare of interest anyways?" She asked suspiciously.

"I told you I wanted to get along with you better. I figure talking is a way of doing this."

"Oh. Well…what about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Hmm, one legitimate sister. There are probably others that I don't know about though." Katie remembered seeing a young girl in the Storm, she had looked like a total beoch.

"Do you get along with her very well?"

"No." Katie didn't need any more of an answer. She had read a book on Queen Elizabeth and knew how siblings in a royal family usually got along.

"So tell me. What is a softball and what is wrestling?" Zuko asked following her into another stretch. They continued on in this pleasant conversation for quite some time. He would ask questions about comments she had said earlier. She told him about boxing and wrestling and Zuko decided that these techniques weren't effective enough for a woman. So he pulled her to her feet and began teaching her several fighting moves. After nearly an hour, Katie had completely forgotten about the old, suspicious, glarey Zuko. This new Zuko was still not the most talkative and left her to carry on most of the conversation, but at least he was more pleasant. After a while he even loosened up enough to make fun of her as she struggled with some of the more complicated moves.

"Maybe I'll just stick to boxing." Katie said breathlessly from the floor where she had been knocked to for the hundredth time. Zuko reached for her hand and pulled her back to her feet.

"Your boxing is for facing an opponent of equal strength to yours. You need to learn something that you can use efficiently against anyone. Now, attack me again."

"Augh, you're worse than Blaine." She said taking a stance.

"Who?"

"My brother. He coached me in basketball once when I was eleven. He kept me on the court for almost two hours until I could do a proper layup." She said. Then she attacked as Zuko opened his mouth to say something, taking him off guard. He still dodged her easily and brought his hand back and placed it at the base of her neck. Katie reached around and grabbed that hand. She pulled him over her back and rolled sideways so that he flipped over her landing on his back on the ground.

"HA! That, chika, is a wrestling move. Now don't tell me it won't do me any good." Zuko gaped up at her and smiled.

"That was pretty good." He admitted. Katie plopped down on the ground next to him and wiped sweat away from her eyes.

"Whew, now that I've finally pinned you, let's call it a day." Zuko nodded and sat up.

"Tell me more about your family." He said leaning back on his hands.

"Well, I have eight nieces and nephews plus one more that should be born any day now…" she stopped. Had time passed the same way in her world as it had passed here? Was her family worried about her? Was her newest niece born yet? Would she ever see any ofthem again?

"Katie?" Katie looked up at Zuko slightly surprised. It was the first time she had heard her first name since arriving here.

"Huh?"

"Are you all right?"

"Um, yeah, I guess I just got a wave of homesickness for a second there. Do you know what time it is?"

"Probably about lunchtime." Zuko said rubbing his stomach. They stood up to meet Iroh in the dining hall.

One huge difference between Katie and the firebenders was spicy food. The crew seemed to think that anything that wasn't as spicy as authentic Texas chili was not worth coming in close contact with their taste buds. Katie on the other hand couldn't stand anything spicy AT ALL. She had mostly stuck to eating bread and fruit since she arrived after making the mistake of taking a huge bite of a glorious smelling fish and coming close to suffocating from the extreme heat. After lunch Katie retrieved her sketchbook from Zuko's room and went up onto the main deck. The dolphin creatures were still skimming the water in front of the hull; so she sat down to make a sketch of them.

"Good day miss Nightingale," one soldier called in passing, "would you mind giving us one of your tunes to lift our spirits?"

"Sorry pal, you ain't drunk anymore so your spirit will probably crack if I started singing again." Katie called over her shoulder and went on with her sketch. The soldier chuckled and went on his way.

"All right, but I'll be coming back here with a bottle of good stuff and I'll expect some music then." He called over his shoulder and disappeared. Katie smiled and looked up from her sketch to watch the waves rolling beneath her. She moved her gaze up to the sky, trying to discern shapes from the puffy white clouds when she saw a glimpse or a shadow. She concentrated hard on that spot and saw it again. It was Appa. She gasped and tried to watch the path the giant bison made in the sky, but he was flying high above the clouds and she didn't see him again.

"What is it?" Katie whirled around to see Zuko standing right behind her looking up at the sky with a piercing gaze.

"Um," Katie turned and looked back up at the sky. She spotted a sea eagle and pointed at it, "That bird. It's awesome, do you know what kind it is?"

"It's an eagle." Zuko said picking it out from the sky.

"Oh. Why were you standing behind me anyways? Are you following me or something?"

"Yes, I am."

"Okay…why?"

"It's my uncle's idea. There are a few members of the crew he doesn't trust, so he doesn't want you to be alone anywhere except my room." Katie's mind drifted back to the two guards she had seen her first day and shivered. "Are you cold?"

"Er, no I just had a cold chill." She looked around at all the crew members with a new light now. Everyone of them looked like a dirty rapist at that moment. "I think I'm going to head back in." Zuko nodded and escorted her back to his room, then left her alone to do as she pleased. Katie grabbed the Ukujo from the floor by her mattress and plucked at the strings absently. How am I going to get home?

Please review.