Katara's missed the open ocean. Ba Sing Se was so confined and she never felt free enough or had a reason to properly water bend there. Chameleon Bay was so much better but even that is nothing compared to being on a ship out at sea, water all around her, calling to her.
"Ha, take that!" Toph shouts at the fire bender she's sparring with.
"Toph, by Agni I swear if you metal bend my ship one more time!" Zuko shouts over the screech of metal twisting to Toph's will.
"Oh lighten up, Princy. Your ship is fine."
"No, you burst a pipe last time!"
"And I fixed it. You're welcome."
"That's not the point."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Toph bends the metal back into place then punches Zuko in the arm before heading back inside. "Spoil sport."
"Ugh!" Zuko groans, the vein in his forehead threatening to explode. "It's not wrong to not want my ship torn up!" Katara can't help but laugh though she quickly tries to hide it to no avail. He shoots her a look before huffing and stomping over to join her at the railing. "It's not wrong to not want my ship torn up," he mutters.
"No, it's not. It is pretty cool that she can do that though."
"Yeah, it is," he admits.
"So, how're you holding up, being back in command of a ship again I mean?"
He stares out at the ocean for a moment before answering. "It's different. No, it's, it's like going back in time and slipping into an old skin. It's weird since everything is so different now. It makes me a little nervous," he admits.
Katara nudges him gently. "Just don't go chasing the Avatar and you'll be fine," she jokes.
"I don't need to chase him, I've got you here, remember."
Katara blushes. "Hmm, I guess you're right. Another thing hasn't changed, I think your crew still likes me more." She sticks out her tongue and Zuko huffs.
"They don't have to take orders from you, of course they like you more."
"My point still stands." She turns around, leaning against the rail and watching the Water Tribe Warriors and Fire Nation Soldiers mingle, many playing dice or cards on the open deck. A Fire Nation sailor is teaching the Water Tribe men how to play Liar's Dice and there's plenty of betting going on. There's no friendship, yet, but there is tolerance and almost camaraderie. It's a start. "I'm happy everyone's getting along pretty well."
"From what I heard most of the fighting stopped after the first week at camp before we even got there." He trails off for a moment before adding, "How's the healing going by the way?"
"Your sister did a number on them but they should be fine."
"Good."
Katara glances down at his hands, gripping the railing a little too tight. "Come on, let's go get lunch." Zuko lets go and a little smoke follows him.
Below deck steam hisses through the pipes and strange clanking groans are always heard. It had been a little difficult to get used to but after a few days Katara hardly notices it and while she doesn't venture deep into the belly of the beast, she's fine throughout most of the ship. The rest of the Water Tribe has had more of an issue adjusting, used to their hide boats and the open air, being contained underneath all this metal has many jumping at sounds. In the mess hall however, most are comfortable. Since there are more men than what the ship needs to run, everyone gets long breaks and time is passed either here or on the deck. Fire Nation sits with Fire Nation and Water Tribe with Water Tribe but the conversation is easy and loud.
The food alternates daily between Fire Nation and Water Tribe cuisine and Chief Hakoda looks up from his traditional Water Tribe meal in time to see his daughter enter. He almost calls out but stops short when Prince Zuko steps in too. He notes the way the prince's hand hovers by her waist for a just moment when they grab food and how his daughter smiles widely at the boy. "Fuck. Why do they do this? I can't keep them apart."
Bato looks up, scowls, and looks back at his food. "I don't like that boy, no matter what Sokka says."
"And you think I do?"
"No, but you're not keeping nearly close enough of an eye on him."
Hakoda frowns, thinking. "You're right." The chief looks over at the pair now sitting at a table by themselves on the far side of the room. Katara says something and Zuko smiles, just a little, before returning the ribbing.
"I don't know how you can say something so awful, Zuko!" Katara gasps in mock horror.
"What's awful is that soup all by itself. I think fire flakes would liven it up."
"It's five flavor soup, it's easy to make and a staple to any good Southern Water Tribe meal. To put fire flakes on it would be an affront to -"
Zuko pours fire flakes directly into his bowl. Katara gags. "That's so gross."
He looks her straight in the eyes and grins before swigging the last of his soup. "Now that, that tasted good."
"Eww, how could you? Oh, Dad what're you doing here?"
Hakoda seats himself across from the pair. "I thought we could all have lunch together. Doesn't that sound nice?"
"Uh yeah, except Zuko and I just finished eating."
"Well, what about the rest of the day? What're your plans, Prince Zuko?"
"Well I was-"
The water bender cuts in. "We were about to go train."
"Excellent," Hakoda claps his hands together, "Let's go, lead the way." Katara blinks, unsure of what to do and Zuko looks at her, confusion and a hint of concern plain on his face. She shrugs so the prince leads them out of the mess hall to grab his new dual dao swords from the armory which he refuses to let Katara in, not that she minds.
"Do you still have the knife I gave you?" He asks.
Katara shakes her head. "No, I had to leave it behind in Ba Sing Se. I really did appreciate it though, thank you."
Zuko looks at his feet, "It's nothing. Here, it should be the right weight for you." He hands her a dagger before escorting them to an empty room.
"No water barrels this time." She smirks at him and he grins back.
"I think you've progressed past that," Zuko jokes.
Hakoda butts in. "What do you mean, no water barrels?"
Katara sighs, "Nothing, Dad." She's not about to bring up her kidnapping. Even if they left on good terms, it's still not something she plans on talking to her father about, ever.
"So," Zuko leads her to the center of the room. "You wanted to learn how to use regular weapons. Today we're going to start with blocking." He hunkers down into a defensive position for Katara to copy. He looks for a moment, purses his lips then starts to correct her stance. "No your arm should be here." He touches her back to rotate her slightly and Hakoda jumps up.
"You're doing it wrong, Zuko." The chief doesn't even bother with formalities.
"Excuse me?"
"She should be holding the knife up higher and her stance should be wider."
"She's not a full grown man like you and I are Hakoda," Zuko drops the chief in front of the other man's name. "Katara's a water bender too, she needs to be able to move quickly, fluidly, and this stance allows that."
"That's a fire bender stance, not a proper water bender's."
"Well, a fire bender is teaching her so that makes sense. Either way, this is best for her height and weight."
"You don't get to tell me what's best for my own daughter."
"Dad, seriously." Katara gets between the two. "If you can't be nice, you don't have to be here."
Hakoda stops, taken aback. When he speaks it's much calmer. "If you hold the knife too low you won't be able to block attacks coming from overhead. If your stance isn't wide enough then you'll fall over on impact."
"Chief Hakoda, for her, deflecting will be better than a straight block. That's what I'm teaching her."
"Oh," Hakoda looks away. "Fine, I suppose that can work for her. I'll leave you to it." He sits down again by the wall. Katara grits her teeth a shoots Zuko a look of he's driving me crazy to which Zuko just twitches an eyebrow, unsure of what to do. They continue to train, trying to not be too aware of the chief off to the side.
Afterwards Katara goes off to heal and Zuko has to check in with the various lieutenants and make sure everything is still going smoothly. He grimaces, since Water Tribe men are working and supervising too, it'll be best to have Hakoda come along.
"So, who taught you how to fight like that?" Hakoda questions as they walk. "Most of the fire benders I've met haven't resorted to regular weapons."
"My uncle taught me, he wanted to make sure I'd be able to adapt to anything."
"Ah, the great General Iroh, Dragon of the West. I've heard so much and yet so little about him."
"He's a good man," Zuko states simply. "I wouldn't be who I am today without him." They stop abruptly, running into a lieutenant who reports everything is going well. A Water Tribesman reports the same thing a few minutes later. They get a message from Kyoshi Island saying that some of the warriors will meet them at the cliffs instead of sailing to the Fire Nation with them.
"I'm glad the fighting's coming to an end. These old bones are tired." Hakoda sighs.
"Uncle would have said the same thing."
"And you Prince Zuko, what do you think of the war ending? You realize what winning will mean, especially for your family?"
Zuko turns to the older man. "I'm here aren't I? Why would I be unless I wanted the war to be over with, no matter the cost. My sister, my father, they can't be allowed to keep doing what they're doing." The hardness in Zuko's voice surprises Hakoda for a moment. He tries, and fails, to imagine what it'd be like to go into battle knowing he'd face Bato or Sokka. The Fire Nation really is made of different stuff. They inspect the rest of the ship in relative silence though Hakoda does stop the prince to ask about mechanisms and they both listen to the reports of their men. It seems as though the ship is, in fact, operating normally and making good time. They should be at the Black Cliffs soon.