Chapter 7:

Elf

I awoke with voices in my head. I heard people talking outside my door. I felt a cold moist nose under my hand. Wolf had woken me up softly. As the voices left from my door I fell back into sleep.

An hour or so later I woke with a dream in my head. But not my usual dream. This one had ended with a song.

In sleep he sang to me

In dreams he came

that voice which calls to me

and speaks my name

-note-this song is sung as Christine, from The Phantom of the Opera, sang it as she was going to her fathers grave, with the same notes, and gloomy feel to it.

I sang it aloud, but softly. I suppose not quite softly enough, for as I did not realize it, Zuko had heard me.

I walked to the deck and stood for a moment. Only Avari had joined me as a small black snake around my neck. I hadn't bothered with my cloak. It was a bit chilly and I regretted not bringing it, but I was fine with the cold.

The wind blew my hair around and my hat fell off my head and landed behind me somewhere. I was too lost in thought to retrieve it however. My trance was broken when someone walked up behind me and said quietly, "Are you feeling alright? Akina?"

I turned and looked at him. It was General Iroh.

"I'm fine. How'd you know my name?" I said, suprised at his knowledge.

"I knew you when you were younger, Zuko talked of you often. You'll have to be patient with him. He is only a teenager after all. I'm sure he just doesn't recognize you.." he explained.

"He told you about me?" I said astonished. I turned back to the sea and Iroh placed my hat back on my head. "Thank you general."

"Please, call me Iroh." he said smiling as he turned to leave. "Oh, and breakfast is ready."

I walked down to breakfast, but forgot to hide my face and ears.

"You, you, you look like an elf!" stuttered a crew member as I walked in. Iroh looked up a little, he was already sitting and sipping on, tea.

Zuko looked up at the elf comment, but I turned away. Not quite fast enough, I saw his surprise at my face, and at my pointed ears.

I ladled some food onto my plate, and added Snowthorns antidote. I sat in my usual spot, across from Zuko.

I glanced up and saw him staring at me. He saw me staring and looked back to his food, then glanced back at me. I looked at him and smiled, then remembered that my spoon was suspended in mid air waiting for me to use it, or rust, which ever came first.

For the sake of my spoon I took a bite of breakfast, and a mouthful of rose thorns.

"Ow..." I said unintentionally.

"What?" Zuko asked.

"Thorns hurt." I replied lamely, swirling them around in my food.

"Why do you have thorns in your food?"

"Because they have many medicinal qualities."

He looked at me with an odd expression and let it be. He resumed eating and I finished spooning up the thorns.

Once I finished eating I walked up to the deck. I spent most of my time there. I could think clearly. The wind blew my hair out around my face, but this time my hat stayed on my head.

I pricked my ears as someone walked up behind me. The wind must have blown my hair away from my ears for as soon as they moved he stopped.

I started to glance back, but I heard something out in the water. I looked out over the sea and saw a familiar ship slowly coming out over the waters.

"No, not him, not now." I said under my breath.

A few moments later whoever was standing behind me saw the ship.

"Not him again." It was Zuko.

Admirral Zhao's ship came closer into view. But it wasn't the one he was in when I was shot, does he switch ships all the time? I thought to myself.

The ship pulled up beside us and Zuko moved closer behind me.

"Be ready with your bow." He said in my ear. I nearly fainted when I felt his breath on my neck.

"What about my knife?" I said quietly. I had taken to keeping it with me lately. I didn't want to get myself yelled at, and having Zuko this close was something I wanted to last just a moment longer.

"Use it if you must." He said into my ear again, but didn't leave. He moved a step back and put a hand on my shoulder, meant to steady me, but it nearly made me pass out then and there.

I put my hand on the knifes hilt and waited for the reason to this unpleasant visit. I then saw something odd. It was the annoying jerk from Zhao's gathering. He was standing at the rail of the ship, looking down on Zuko and me. I inched back ever so slightly closer to Zuko at his sight.

A few moments later the jerk walked over to Zuko and me with his head held high. I really hated him. As he stepped up and staggered his feet, trying to look appealing to the girl in front of him, I laughed quietly at the thought of him and mixed it into a light growl. My dogs trotted over and sat on either side of me. Lad shook his head and snorted slightly at the boys smell. Wolf looked adoringly at me and sniffed Zuko's hand, he then pushed Zuko's hand onto his nose. Zuko looked a little suprised and scratched the pinkish spot just above Wolf's nose. Then he looked up at the boy standing in front of him, who was currently looking adoringly at my bent head.

To show him I would rather slit my own throat then return that look of adoring I raised my head enough for him to see my exposed eye, bared teeth, and hissing snake at my throat.

"You!" he said under his breath in sort of a half hiss.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Zuko asked before the boy could say more.

"I am Jaren, Admirral Zhao's nephew. My ship has been damaged, I need a place to sleep. I shall take your best room." he said without the thought that he would be refused. "And that's an order."

Luckily for Jaren, Iroh walked up at that time, cancelling my wish of throwing Jaren head first off the ship.

"I believe we might have a room for you somewhere below deck Jaren." Iroh said, he is waaaay to kind.

As Iroh led Jaren and his guards who were carrying his stuff down to the crews quarters, but he passed through the higher chambers first. Jaren paused at my door and said, "Here we are. I shall stay here. I expect to have it ready by tonight.

Iroh was about to say something, but thought he might as well not get Zuko into more trouble. He looked over to me, I raised my eyebrows, but shook it off, I'd sleep on the deck or something tonight.

I walked into my room and grabbed my bags and cloak. As I walked out and headed for the spare room I remembered was near the bottom of the ship, Jaren looked at me leaving my room. He was about to walk in while looking at me, when Ealorr shoved him over with his shoulder. I looked back and tried in vain to supress a laugh.

I turned and began walking down the hall.

"You can sleep in here if you want..." Zuko said quietly. I turned and looked back at him in utter suprise.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you can have the bed, I'll sleep in the spare room tonight." He answered somewhat reluctant.

"No...that won't do. Um, could we share the bed?" I asked nervously and looked at my bare foot. "You could have one side and I'll take the other?"

"Ok. If your comfortable with that anyway." Zuko replied in disbelief.

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I was uncomfortable with it..."

Zuko turned and went into his room. I was about to follow when I realized Jaren was watching me from the doorway. I turned and bared my teeth at him again. He rolled his eyes at me, until Ealorr walked past and stepped on his foot.

This time I didn't even try to supress my laugh. I followed Zuko into his room. I put my things in a corner next to where Ealorr stood. Zuko sat on his bed for a moment. Then he got up and walked to the deck.

I looked around after he left. Then I heard someone at the door. I looked back, it was Jaren.

"You can stay with me you know. I'll treat you real nice." he said. His attempt to get me in my room with him made me sick.

I pulled my dagger from the chain at my neck. "Leave me alone, or this thing will finally taste blood."

"So you've never killed before. Cute." he tried to cover his fear with talk, like that worked.

I growled at him and Wolf trotted in. As he passed Jaren he bit the armor around his arm, pulled it off easily, and left Jaren with a heavy weight resting on his foot.

He left with a foot in pain and his armor dragging along the ground. He left with me laughing at him quite loudly.