Chapter 3

'An outcast,' he thought. He stared at her, and everything made sense. The clothes she was wearing must have been stolen. If she were a true member of the Fire Nation, she would be wearing armor or even just a cloth with the National insignia on it. Even he wore that and he was banished.

The girl pointed to the forest behind her and said, "Those men who attacked me were sent by a Fire Nation general." She looked at him again and said "If you had managed to capture them," he didn't like the way she said "if," "you only would have made more enemies."

Airo stepped forward and said, "Thank you, we are in your debt."

"Then may I ask a favor of you?"

"Certainly."

The girl hesitated, as if debating something, then looked up and said "Where are you headed?" to Zuko. Unsure of whether he could trust this stranger or not, he looked at his uncle, who nodded.

"We're following the Avatar," he said. She nodded, as though he'd just confirmed something.

"Then, and I realize that this is a lot to ask, but … may I come with you? I think I know where he'll go next. I know it sounds unlikely, but I've also been following him. If you have a map, I con show you what I believe his strategy is."

It took a minute for this to sink in. Once it did, Zuko took his uncle aside and said, "Do you think she really knows his strategy?"

"If she does, she could be of monumental help to you."

"So you think we should let her come?"

"It's your ship and your decision."

Zuko thought for a moment. If she really did know his strategy … but what if she was a spy –

'And who would she be a spy for?' argued another part of him, 'Your father? Father wouldn't do something like that.' So that left one thing, and he could always kick her off later if necessary. But wait …

"What's in it for you?" he asked Nari.

It was like she had been waiting for this question. She answered without hesitation, "Better transportation and resources. I also hope to learn fire-bending. As you may or may not have noticed back there, my shots are not controlled. I can blast, but I have no real control in the amount or power of the fire."

That settled it. A fire-bender who had no control was a dangerously serious matter. "Go get your packs, and welcome aboard."

I couldn't believe it. I was finally going to learn fire-bending. Not only that, but these people might be able to help me with my mission, and I with theirs. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was what it had meant.

I gathered my bedroll, spare clothes, and throwing knives. I went over to the swords the assassin had left behind and inspected them. As I expected, they were very good quality. I put them back on the ground and climbed the next tree. Again, I had guessed right. The leather sheaths, lined with iron, rested on a branch against the trunk of the tree. I collected them and climbed back down. Then, I put the swords into their sheaths.

I put everything into a large messenger bag and headed back. One of the soldiers met me halfway and led me to the river where the ship had docked. I checked the sky, but saw nothing. I shrugged and thought, 'He knows how to find me.'

I stepped onto the ramp and followed the soldier across the deck and into the corridors. He stopped at an opened door and said "This will be your room." I went in and turned to thank him, but he had left already. I dropped my stuff on the floor and sat on the bed. Rubbing my temples, I thought 'This is all happening so fast.' This morning I had woken up as I usually did, and now I was on the ship of the banished Prince Zuko and about to learn how to really fire-bend. This was CRAZY!

"If you're settled in, we were just about to have breakfast, and then Prince Zuko would like to hear your ideas."

I bowed, "Of course, General."

General Airo laughed. " No need to bow, although I am quite flattered by the use of my former title." His smile faded slightly at this.

"So, uh, what's for breakfast, sir?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

His smile returned and he said "I haven't the slightest idea. Follow me." So I followed him back onto the deck where I saw a group of men sitting in a circle. Zuko wasn't among them.

"Where is Prince Zuko? Or does he not eat out here?"

"I believe he is gathering all of the information on the Avatar that he has. He should be here in a few moments. In the meantime, please have a seat and Cook will bring our breakfast to us."

"Thank you." I sat in an empty spot on the circle and Airo sat next to me. The door that led to the corridor swing open and a fat man came out with a large pot and a stack of bowls. He set the pot in the middle of the circle and took the lid off. He put the bowls next to it, and took a large ladle out of his front pocket and set it into the pot. He picked up a bowl, spooned some soupy, gloppy stuff into it and gave it to Airo. He repeated this process in a clockwise manner, leaving a bowl for Zuko on the floor. I was last.

I stared at the glop in front of me without drinking it (as the others were doing).

"It's not as bad as it looks," said Airo.

"No, it's not that. It's just that I've never … well, I haven't had anything served to me for a long time. I'm a traveler, and -"

Just then the door flew open and Zuko walked in. He sat on Airo's right and picked up his bowl.

"I've gathered all of the maps and scrolls together. Feel free to use whatever."

"Someone's a morning person … WOAH!" yelled the sailor to my left. A multicolored blur had just swooped down and dropped a dead mole-rat at my feet, then flown up to land on my shoulder. I knew he'd be able to find me.

"What is that thing?" demanded Zuko.

"HE is a tropic hawk and one of the last of his kind. His name is Aibō."

"And I think that this would be an excellent time to introduce our newest member. This is Nari Korumashi, and she is going to help us in our search for the Avatar." Silence met the end of Airo's introduction. Aibō was nibbling on my ear. He was hungry.

"Forgive me, but I need to feed him-" (AND get away from these people … I wish they would stop staring at me!) "-He prefers to eat without having to pick off the skin. Sir, do you think the cook would mind if I used one of his knives?"

"Of course not. Would anyone like to show Nari where the kitchen is?" Four men stood up.

"I believe you two are familiar with each other already," he said to the soldier who had led me to the ship. He nodded and motioned for me to follow him. I picked up the mole-rat and did so, stretching out my arm so Aibō could scoot down onto the leather strap on my bicep without scraping me with his talons. He eyed the rat hungrily.

"This way," said the soldier, turning a corner. As I walked beside him he stared at me strangely.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said, quickly turning his head to stare at the floor. "It's just that we haven't had a girl on the ship since … well …ever."

"Let me guess, you've also never seen a stranger sight than a female Fire-bender in Earth Kingdom clothing carrying a dead mole-rat in one hand and holding a tropic hawk on the other arm."

He chuckled, "You read my mind."

Good thing he couldn't read mine.

Chapter 4

After Aibō was fed and preening himself, she met the group on the deck just as they were finishing up. Zuko stared at her for a moment. She was so strange. She had a fierce but gentle look to her. He had never seen a tropic hawk before, but it was a large bird and she held him as though he weighed nothing at all. He looked every bit as fierce as she did. Even though her black hair was in a bun, there were many short stray hairs that hung down on her forehead. She had said that she was an outcast. He wondered why.

She came and stood in front of him. "Are you ready?" He nodded and headed back towards the doors, but turned and began climbing a ladder instead.

"Why are you going up there? You came out through the door," she asked.

He looked down. She was still on the ground. "I was making sure that I hadn't forgotten anything. The maps are up here." He got to the top of the ladder and looked back down again. She shrugged and began to climb the ladder, forcing Aibō to take to the air. She climbed at an amazing speed, skipping two rungs at a time. Before he knew it she was standing in front of him, lifting her arm so that the hawk could perch again.

She raised her eyebrows and nodded toward the room behind him.

"Right," he said, turning, "use anything you need. Uncle should be here in a moment." He stepped aside and let her go in first, then followed.

They went over to a table that had four maps and numerous scrolls containing pictures and other information on our query. She went through two maps before seeming to find the one she wanted. She laid it flat on the table just as Airo came in.

"Have I missed anything?"

"No," said Nari, who dropped her arm and allowed Aibō onto the table. Once Airo had seen which map she was using, she began to explain.

"These are all of the places that he's been sighted in, right?" The men nodded as she grabbed one of the scrolls. "And look here, in Omashu he was arrested for vandalism. Do you know what type of vandalism that was? Using their mail system as a giant slide. And here," she continued, picking up another scroll, "In Kyoshi there were reports that he was seen riding along the back of the elephant koi and attempting to ride the Unagi. And here he was spotted riding in the pouches of kangaroos. All of these stories have one common theme. He found a way to take something seemingly ordinary and have fun with it. Do you follow me? Except for a few places where he was actually called on for help, but there's nothing we can do about that."

Zuko thought for a moment, then said, "So you're saying that his strategy is to go to random places in order to do something fun?"

"No. They aren't random places. He had to've planned them out already. You see," she went back over to the map, "even though he didn't move in a straight line, he never backtracked even the slightest bit. You can bet that he'll have planned ahead this time as well. The one issue is this. Now that word has gotten out about the North Pole and everything that happened there, more people will be asking for help. Also, if he's going to defeat your father, as is his mission, he must do it before the comet arrives, and he knows it. So he'll be going in a much straighter line. We also know that he's going to the Earth Kingdom now, because that's what comes next in the prophecy; for him to master Earth-bending."

Zuko let this sink in, and then said "Incredible."

"There's just one more problem," said Nari.

"What's that?"

"We don't know where in the Earth kingdom he's going. However, I've narrowed it down to two places. One, he'll go back to Omashu to learn from his 112-year-old friend, who happens to be the king."

"Or?"

"Or … he'll go to Bah Sin Se. If that's the case, then we'll need to catch him before he gets there, otherwise wait until he comes out, because we won't be able to get in. And by then he'll be headed to the Fire Nation, and you know what'll happen then, so it's clear that we need to get there before him. Otherwise, we might never get him. But, in order to figure out where he'll go, we need to wait until the next report comes, and then we begin, full-speed ahead."

"Brilliant," said Airo, "Thank you. How long have you been working on this plan?"

"Ever since the North Pole incident."

"I should have seen that," said Zuko. "I thought that I had thought of everything."

"No one can think of everything, not even me." With that, she left the room, Aibō flying after her. Instead of climbing down the ladder, she jumped, and Aibō swooped down with a chilling cry.

"Strange girl," said his uncle, and he silently agreed.

"Would you like to show her around the ship?" asked Airo with a slight grin.

"Go ahead, I'm gonna stay up here for a little while."

"Suit yourself," he said as he walked out, humming to himself.

Zuko leaned over the maps. One thought kept repeating itself over and over again in his mind.

'Who IS this girl?'