Sorry for the long update. It's been slightly hectic here.

Thanks to all my reviewers! Hope you enjoy this chapter! It was hard to write to get the interactions done but I hope I did it to an okay level.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar no matter how much I wish I did.


Chapter 6 – Wherein Anger Plays a Role

Often, there were only a few things that made the exiled prince mad. One was the monkey-faced admiral himself and another was when the Avatar outmatched, outdid, and outran his men and himself.

Today, stolen rhinos had made the list.

He glared at her, though she probably couldn't tell. The gold eyes were glassy, half-lidded, and unfocused thanks to the somewhat sweet-smelling herb that was under her nose. Normally, it would knock a grown man out for a good couple of hours but she seemed immune to it.

The medic from his ship was knelt over her, a needle in hand as he stitched the deeper gashes up. His uncle had moved her into the house and onto the pallet on the ground, laying her on her stomach to avoid irritating the long cuts. Zuko had stayed in the barn, trying to do anything but burn the place down, until the medic and soldier came.

"Prince Zuko," Iroh whispered softly. "Glaring at her won't do you any good."

Zuko snorted, arms crossing over his chest. The armor clinked loudly in the room, getting a small reaction from the woman. She stilled once again from another deep inhale of the herbal sedative.

Fed up with the slowness of the medic, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, turning blindly into another. His eyes swept across the long shelves filled to the brim with scrolls. One shelf held real, bamboo bound books with titles carefully written down the spine. He scowled at the hundreds of scrolls, wishing nothing more than to burn them all at the moment.

His mood suddenly lightened as his eyes caught the scroll sitting on a pile. He picked it up, scanning it quickly and staring at the large picture of a bison. Confusion spread through him as he read over the document. Why would she have a scroll like this?

Commotion sounded throughout the yard and a very familiar lowing was heard.

The pieces crashed together, almost faster than the coherent thought could form.

The Avatar!

He dashed out, nearly slipping on the floor. Snarling audibly, the prince burst through the door, eyes focused on the small boy walking towards the barn. His frustration boiled to a point, spilling into his hands as red hot flames.

There was a small pause in which several thoughts passed quickly through the four standing stock still. A wave of emotions flew through the expressive eyes as the pause dragged on for minutes.

Then, time seemed to resume and reality hit the four.

Zuko slid his foot across the ground, fire flaring up and at the three. The kids scattered, Sokka grabbing his boomerang and Katara pulling the cap off of her canteen. Aang let out a yell, the wind roaring around him as he flew into the air. He hit the ground, ducking underneath a punch from the determined prince. Startled, the Avatar raced backwards, trying to deflect flames as the teen refused to back down.

Katara brought the water out of the canteen quickly, forming a whip in the air. She flung out her arm, nearly smacking Aang upside his bald head with it. The water crashed into Zuko's arm, extinguishing the fire for a small moment.

Aang groped at the air as Zuko roared and tried to evaporate the water. The wind rushed through his fingers, becoming tightly bound as he formed the air scooter. Retreat was a good idea at this point in the fight.

The prince snarled, frustration fueling his attacks as he tried to catch the boy. Unfortunately, the ball of air blasted the kid out of his reach again. His target gone, he turned in time to block the attack from the Water Tribe boy. Growling audibly, the Firebender grabbed the teen by his shirt and threw him into one of the many fences. Screeches from the terrified horse rose into the air but he ignored them, trying to find the bald monk.

A gust like one from a typhoon hit him, slamming the prince into the fence next to Sokka. Shaking his head, the gold eyes landed on the boy, a tiger calculating his prey. Zuko rushed forward, fire daggers forming in his hands. Aang dodged the charge, hitting him in the back with another gust of wind. The prince caught himself quickly though, letting flames rush towards his target. He damn well wasn't going to lose this time.

Katara ran to her brother who hadn't moved since he had crumpled. Rolling him over, she found him still alive and conscious, just out of his mind.

"Katara, where'd that fish go?" he asked sincerely, eyes rolling in his head. "He took my line."

Aang stayed close to Zuko, keeping the prince from using the sweeping attacks. There were several flammable materials around him and it was the Avatar's job to keep everything in one piece. Zuko was forced to use hand to hand combat, snarling as the boy dodged his blows. He just needed to knock the kid out and get him to his ship. If only he could catch him.

Something gave off a warning bark, snarls erupting from somewhere behind them. The two fighters were moving in some sort of dance that the dog didn't like apparently. Both of them ignored the barks and growls, drawing nearer to the hidden nest. He was almost there, he almost had the Avatar.

"Aang!" Katara yelled, scrambling to her feet and leaving her brother as something caught her eye.

The boy, startled, turned to see what was wrong, giving Zuko the perfect chance. He swung his arm out, hoping to hit the kid right across his bald head and show him who was truly a master.

Until someone grabbed his arm, moving faster than Zuko could dare imagine. In seconds, his arm had been deflected from his finishing blow and someone had a strong hold on his topknot. He winced as his head was forced down, the Avatar merely being restrained by his shirt collar. Golden eyes turned to look at this intruder, widening immediately as his own uncle glared down at him.

Iroh shoved the two apart, letting go of the two benders. He glared at the two as he moved between them, keeping them apart so they'd stop and listen. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves," he began harshly, making sure that neither Zuko nor the Avatar would make a move towards each other. "You almost injured three very young lives."

The snarling finally stopped, gold and gray eyes falling on the dog that glared at them. She snorted, turning around as Shang bounded into the area, teeth bared. Grunting, the dog sprawled out under the bush, letting the three puppies suckle again. Shang sat down next to the canine, eyes fixated on the three humans.

Zuko growled loudly, moving to try and end his wild goose chase. Shang snarled, darting forward and nearly biting his leg. The prince sidestepped him, glaring at the mutt.

"It has been a rough day. Maybe if we all settle down, we'll be able to come to an agreement," the old man commented, sighing softly. His nephew's wrath was fast but he knew the prince like the back of his hand. He stood calmly against the storm as Zuko gave quite a clear idea of what he thought of his uncle's plans.

Sokka had finally snapped out of his daze and was staring at the two Firebenders. Aang had slunk away to be near the two Water Tribe members, watching the scene with increasing interest. Momo scaled down from his hiding spot, head tilted and huge ears twitching.

This was an enlightening start to a pretty crappy day.


The medic muttered as he worked, thin fingers threading more string into his needle. His back ached from kneeling over his patient but he was almost done. She really hadn't been that bad off. Shock had just overcome her senses and made her seem worse than it really was. Sighing, he ignored the fighting taking place outside and continued his work.

Barking reached his ears but he kept his eyes on his patient, moving the needle in and out of the skin.

The woman stirred though, the eyes blinking and starting to focus again. She grunted, fingers flexing impatiently. Groaning, she tried to get up and failed miserably.

Surprised, the medic blinked a few times before rapping her on her burnt shoulder. "Stay down! You're going to tear those stitches!"

For some reason, she seemed to listen and lied back down on the pallet. A few deep breaths of the sedative sent her spiraling back into the sweet oblivion.


In the span of the time it took Zuko to spew, the three friends could've stolen away on Appa and escaped the small farm with plenty of time to spare. However, the three just stared in slight astonishment at the two in front of them, rooted to the spot. Even Shang looked interested as he cocked his head, ears pricked.

The gold eyes suddenly rounded on the group of heroes, narrowing into slits. He was about to send a wall of flames at them, hoping they'd just die. Iroh grabbed his wrist again, jerking the prince off balance.

"We are guests on this farm, Prince Zuko. Destroying it will not win high favors among the people," he warned. Iroh let him go, giving the prince a stern look as he prepared another attack. He let the fires die almost immediately.

Zuko would rather fight Zhao than deal with his uncle's wrath.

Scowling, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at anything and everything. This was stacking up to be one of the worst days of his life.


Still scowling, the prince glowered at the entire farm and all its inhabitants. The animals were moving restlessly, several groaning for food. The goats had calmed down enough to graze a little bit but any small amount of noise had them bunching up.

He couldn't believe it. His uncle…on their side! Sinking lower in his anger, he imagined burning the entire farm to ashes. It was all her fault all of this happened.

Zuko was picturing the barn ablaze when he heard the door behind him open. He continued to stare straight ahead, ignoring the girl as she sat down a good distance away from him, canteen at the ready.

"Your uncle told us what happened," she said softly, really wishing that Aang would get his butt out here and talk to the scowling prince. She had almost been shoved out the door by the three men to talk to him, his uncle promising that he wouldn't hurt her. She snorted at that but had come armed just incase.

He didn't answer her though.

Frowning, Katara rolled her eyes. Men. "Lian had an idea. She said there was a way we could get the rhinos back."

A slight pause followed before he actually spoke to her. "Who cares about them? Zhao can have them if he wants them so bad."

Katara's frown deepened. "It sounded like a good plan. I bet it would work."

Zuko smirked slightly. "You're such an optimist. Nothing that witch could come up with would ever work." He took the blast of water that smacked him in the head, growling as he glared daggers at her.

"You're such an insensitive jerk! I can't believe you're related to that man in there!" she yelled, turning her own glare at him.

He snarled, flames dancing at his fingers. "Don't you dare bring my uncle into this!"

"I can't believe he deals with you everyday!" she continued, the water in the canteen swirling and splashing onto the ground. "You're a self-centered, arrogant moron!"

"You wench!" he roared, the flames turning white.

"Shut up out there!"

Both teens paused in their argument, Katara blinking in surprise at the door and Zuko turning to give his death glare to the door. Sokka and Aang fell to the ground as the door swung open, revealing Iroh as well. The three had apparently been listening in on the fight.

"You're giving me a headache," Lian slurred, rubbing her temples. She swayed unsteadily as she tried to stay on the chair at the table. The sedative was coursing through her veins still and she was having trouble sitting up. Bandages wrapped her entire torso and around her shoulders, making moving a little harder than it should've been.

Zuko growled at her, earning an unfocused stare from the woman. Her head hit the table, deep sighs rumbling from her throat.

"You've done enough," Zuko said harshly. He stood to walk back to his ship and leave this spirit forsaken place.

"They're at Guangzhou."

He paused in mid-stride, eyes landing on her.

"It's the next port, a day and a half long trip from here. They'll be there picking up supplies." She turned tired eyes to him. "It'll take them a day to get there by ship. Besides," the woman groaned, sitting back up, "your rhinos won't last very long without medical attention." The eyes glazed over for a moment before she snapped back. "Li was burnt badly and is probably in shock. Her body won't make milk. You do the math."

Zuko looked from her to his uncle who just smiled at him.

Yes, this had to be one of the worst days of his life.