Zuko was furious with himself. The prince part of him was aching to turn around and catch the avatar unawares. The nephew fraction was forcing his feet forward, toward Nishe, toward help for Iroh.
His feet pounded the ground, making the only sounds legible over the-.
The rhinos.
He stopped before he crashed the line of fire nation soldiers blocking the path ahead.
He wished the sight of those red metal uniforms would cheer him up, that it would remind of him home. But the thought of returning to the fire nation no longer brought any reassurance for Zuko.
He turned and bolted in the direction he had just come from before the soldiers could stop him.
xxx
The gang did not take any chances. Just in case Zuko had somehow rallied some mercenaries to attack them, each was ready to defend. Sokka led, occupying the space in front of Appa with his unsheathed boomerang. Aang stood in Appa's saddle; he acted as the eyes of the group. Katara and Haru brought up the rear, each with their elements handy.
Katara was beginning to feel the same resentment to Haru's banter as Zuko had.
"So then I swung the bolder into the tree, and the cat came down!" he exclaimed.
"That's great. It really is. Don't you think we should be watching for Zuko?"
"Yea, but he probably won't show up. He's just getting some medicine for his uncle."
"Here he comes!" Aang bellowed, "Everyone get ready!"
The prince barreled down the lane, his hat flying off of his head and streaming out behind him. He didn't seem to be slowing down, either.
Sokka raised his boomerang, taking aim.
Zuko rushed past him. He was rounding the bison when an air-ball came from nowhere and slammed him against a tree. He gasped, but rolled away and kept sprinting. He was almost clear of the parade when a particularly nasty water whip hit him so hard on the back of his head that he fell on his face. Haru pelted him with rocks as he struggled to his feet and kept running.
"Get out of the way! Soldiers are coming!" Zuko belted over his shoulder.
Aang stepped in front of the others to keep them from hitting Zuko anymore. "Maybe he's telling the truth."
"Why should we trust him?" Sokka growled.
"He has no reason to lie." Aang replied, flipping out his glider. "I'm going to see. Everyone get on Appa in case we need to make a quick exit."
xxx
Zuko ran, his heart pounding. He'd never run away from a fight with the avatar before, he realized. As much as it was hurting his pride to do so, he was also worried about Iroh. How would he get a remedy now?
He ran endlessly, with no hope of outrunning the soldiers. If they had seen him, then they would send their rhinos, and he had no possibility of out-running one of them. Just as it felt like his chest would collapse and his legs would crumple from beneath him, he heard what sounded like a great whoosh and a groan. He glanced over his shoulder to see the bison hovering about the ground, racing towards him.
Couldn't they leave him alone?
The huge beast flew beside Zuko now, keeping an easy pace with his erratic scurrying. The avatar leaned over the side and held his staff to Zuko.
"Grab it!" Aang ordered.
"No, Aang! Don't!" Katara screamed.
Before the boy could change his mind, or Zuko's pride change his own, Zuko grabbed the staff and was hoisted into the saddle, where he was glared at with five sets of eyes, if the lemur was included.
xxx
The avatar climbed to the front of the bison, leaving Zuko to stare worriedly at the people he'd been chasing (Haru excluded) for the past six months. If he was one of them, the intruder would be thrown off the side, to a most certain death. But none of them made so bold of a move. In fact, none of them moved at all; they stared him down, making him want to jump over the side.
Why in the world had he taken that staff? There was a slight chance that he could've run to safety. A slight chance, but a chance nevertheless.
The older brother moved toward him, his white bone club in hand. Zuko resisted the urge to flinch. The boy extended his free hand.
"Pack. Now."
"Ex… Excuse me?" Zuko stuttered.
"Do I have to spell it out to you? Give me your pack you hot-headed moron!"
Zuko gripped his pack, his lip curling, "No! And look who's talking you insolent peasant."
Before Sokka could fling himself on the prince, Aang grabbed his shoulder.
"Come on guys, we're three hundred feet in the air! The last thing we need is a fight. Zuko, please give Sokka your pack so he can check it, and Sokka, don't call names."
Zuko obliged, giving it over with as much reluctance as a five-year-old taking a bath. Sokka grabbed it and began to tear through it. He pulled out Zuko's stolen set of double swords.
Zuko caught an emotion cross the avatar's face as he saw the steel flash in the noon day sun. Both avoided each other's eyes.
"Why do you have swords? Isn't your fire enough of a weapon?" Katara asked pointedly.
"It's not exactly a good cover for a traveler to not carry a weapon," He snapped in reply.
Aang noticed the hilt was a different shade. "They're not the same swords."
The occupants of the bison turned to look at him questioningly. Zuko figured at once that he had not told them about his fiasco of the Blue Spirit, and he rather wished the boy would hold his tongue about it.
"What do you mean?" Katara asked.
"Oh… I mean they're not the same swords I saw in his room… back at the South Pole."
Nice cover, Zuko thought.
Sokka produced a black outfit and hood. Zuko was relieved he had gotten rid of the mask.
"It's pretty warm out here, come to think of it. Why would you need this dark suit?" Sokka pressed.
"The clothes aren't going to hurt you, so you don't need to ask about them." Zuko replied icily.
"You are the one surrounded here, you know. If I were you, I'd just answer any questions that come to mind." Sokka growled.
"Sokka, is that really necessary?" Aang asked.
Katara ignored Aang's comment, "And why were you running from the fire nation? Don't they like even their own people?"
"Why don't you both shut your mouths and mind your own business!"
"Enough!" Aang shouted. "All of you will calm down! I'm going to find a place to land, and there you can all do whatever, but for now, no one can talk!"
No one retaliated. Aang moved to Appa's reins and began searching for a place to land. Zuko looked at the brother, and chuckled softly.
"You are bested by a twelve-year-old." Zuko provoked Sokka.
At that moment Momo jumped on the prince's head, sending him into a panicked frenzy.
"Get it off!" Zuko yelled, scraping at the mass of white fur now firmly gripped to his skull.
Sokka laughed, "And you are bested by a lemur!"
Sokka and Zuko had a stare down. Sokka lost. Zuko and Katara had a stare down. Zuko lost. Haru made friends with the lemur, who was hopping from person to person, having a lovely time getting his long ears scratched. When he jumped to Zuko's knee, however, the prince shoved him away.
Sokka continued to go through Zuko's effects, which was gradually increasing his desire to set him on fire. Sokka found a nice dagger with writing down the blade, and he considered keeping it, but Aang stopped him before he could pocket the find. Nothing much else was in the pack besides a map, some crumbs, and a large bag of tea leaves. Zuko flushed when Sokka held the tea up and grinned, mocking him.
Finally, Aang found a proper place to land, and the miserable riders were able to spread far from each other. They leapt from the saddle, and each began bickering at once.
"Give me back my things, you knave!" Zuko ordered, grabbing the pack from Sokka.
"Call me that again," Sokka drew his boomerang.
"Oh, I'm terrified. Lucky for you the avatar is here to clean up the mess I'm about to make with you." Zuko growled.
"His name is Aang, and if there's any mess here today it will be you, Zuko," Katara said, uncapping her water pouch.
Aang sighed. If they were going to fight, there was no way he could stop it. The hatred between Sokka and Katara and Zuko was too strong for Aang to divide. Haru had not yet joined a side, which was extremely wise, because the fight about to unfold was not going to be pretty.
There was a terse silence between the opposite sides for a spare moment, during which Aang heard the sound of a lot of stamping feet not too far away.
He jumped between Zuko and Katara. "Wait. Listen to that…"
Zuko recognized it first, "They're fire nation troops."
"Good. Go with them. Go home." Sokka said, boomerang still poised above his head.
"Don't you think I would if I could?" Zuko snapped.
"Shh. Guys, come on. What are we going to do? That sounds like a lot of soldiers." Aang said, putting a hand on Zuko's chest to keep him from lunging at Sokka.
"I think I remember this place…" Haru said, glancing around him, "I passed this yesterday on my way to Nishe. I stayed the night before in a cave not too far off of the road. We can hide in there."
"Oh, no. Don't you remember the last time we were in a cave?" Sokka said, finally sheathing his weapon as the footsteps got closer.
Aang and Katara glanced at each other, then looked away quickly, each blushing. No one else noticed.
Zuko walked toward Haru, "Show me the cave."
"What if he doesn't want to show you?" Katara snapped, "I think he offered it to us!"
"Actually…" Haru began.
Aang cut him off, "We all need to get somewhere or we'll all get caught. Haru, will you please show us all to the cave?"
"Yup, it's this way."
Aang herded Zuko in front of Katara and Sokka; there was no use getting them into another fight with the enemies closing in so fast upon them.
"Where will we hide Appa?" Katara wondered aloud.
"He'll fit in the cave. It's big enough." Haru answered.
Zuko was thinking somewhere along the lines of leaving him outside… and the bison too.