Looong chapter, peoples. Eight pages on Word, my longest yet.
A few weeks passed. Aang learned all that Toph could teach him and was halfway through Firebending lessons when the well-honed sense of impending doom Sokka had started up again.
"I'm tellin' ya, Azula could be here any minute," he said constantly. Everyone acted as if they ignored him, but secretly were worried. Without realizing it, everyone started packing and Aang's lessons were not too detailed, just in case.
It was a good thing, too.
Zuko and Aang were sparring using Firebending when Toph came running out. The sight of his Earthbending Sifu so frightened caused Aang to stop in the middle of executing a move to floor Zuko.
"What's wrong, Toph?" he asked, putting his shirt back on and floating up to Toph's level on a balcony.
"I felt those stupid tanks again! They're really close! Aang, we have to leave!" Toph grabbed Aang's hand and started dragging him away.
"Zuko! Go tell the others!" Zuko nodded and grabbed his shirt, putting it on as he ran.
Sokka and Ty Lee already knew and were helping Iroh, leaving Zuko to tell Katara. He found her in their room, working on something that she stuffed out of sight when she saw him.
"Zuko, what's wrong?" she asked. Zuko started packing the remaining blankets and other items.
"Azula's coming, if she's not already on this mountain. Toph could sense the tanks," he explained. Katara muttered something that sounded suspiciously like curses and helped Zuko finish. She grabbed the cloak and parka and headed out, Zuko not far behind, carrying the rest of their belongings.
"Hurry! They're practically on our doorstep!" Sokka was motioning for them to hurry from Appa, who was in the front of the temple, in plain sight. Katara scrambled on Appa; Zuko tossed the bags up to Sokka, who caught them. Katara held her hand out to Zuko, who took it and got on.
"Appa! Yip yip!" Appa groaned and took off. From below, they could hear Azula's shouts.
"Get them! Shoot at them, you incompetent, idiotic imbeciles!" Everyone who could turned to see that Azula had hired Yu Yan Archers. Zuko, having been on the receiving end of one of the arrows, paled.
"Get going! We have to get out of range!" he cried, turning to Aang. Aang saw the familiar face paint and urged Appa higher. Momo squawked when an arrow nearly pierced his wing; he latched onto Sokka's shoulder.
Appa rapidly ascended into the sky, so high that no Yu Yan arrows could reach him, short of being shot from a redwood or something. Aang collapsed against Appa's neck from his spot on his head.
"Whew. That was a little too close," he said, and everyone agreed. Sokka reached back behind his head and groaned.
"Way too close. Look what an arrow did to my wolftail!" The little stub of hair had been shorn off from a sharp arrowhead. Katara snickered, as did Aang, but Ty Lee felt the remaining tail.
"I think you'd look cute with a new hairdo. Give me a few and I can do it," she eagerly. Sokka gave his lover a sideways glance, but nodded.
"Nothing stupid, got it?" Ty Lee nodded and took out the tie that pitiful hung on to Sokka's hair.
"Hey, Katara. Do we have any knifes or something? I need to get his hair the same length." Katara dug for a knife, but found only blunt ones.
"Zuko, do you have a knife that's sharp?" she asked, turning to him. Zuko nodded, but didn't move. "Well?"
"I'm not going let it be used on cutting hair, Katara," he said, careful to hide the dislike that she had even asked to use his knife to trim her brother's hair.
Iroh looked at Zuko, but Zuko ignored him. Cutting off the ties that bind is different from trimming hair.
"Here." Iroh took a small kitchen knife he had kept on him from Ba Sing Se out of his belt pouch. Ty Lee thanked the old general and starting fixing Sokka's hair.
Meanwhile, Zuko sat wondering about the small relationship he had with Katara. Though a few weeks had passed, Katara still seemed to think this…thing between them was just infatuation. Zuko felt a lot more than infatuation, that was clear. How he was going show Katara that he was serious?
Not fighting with her brother for one.
Not you!
I took a well-deserved vacation, thank you. Now, admit that not fighting with Sokka will show Katara how serious you are.
…Fine.
Good. Try suggesting something.
"Where are we going to go now?" Katara was asking. Zuko seized the chance.
"We could always find Lakai again. We go back to that town she was near and-"
"And ask around," Sokka finished. "My idea, but you beat me to it. It's a pretty good plan. Lakai did say that she traveled a lot."
"And her husband, Wotisname, should be getting her soon, so that'll be one extra warrior," Zuko pointed out.
Everyone agreed that finding Lakai was the best way to go. They studied the map and found a shortcut to Len Sung that they couldn't take before because it went over water. It would cut the travel time down to a few days. Katara, Ty Lee, and Iroh were eager to see the married Waterbender again and couldn't wait.
Those few days quickly passed and Aang landed Appa outside of Len Sung. "Come on!" he called, jumping off.
"Someone should stay here with Appa, though," Sokka pointed out. "He's kinda noticeable."
"I'm going this time!" Katara said. "I was hurt last time and I'm always getting stuck with Appa."
"I'll stay," Iroh volunteered. "I'm tired anyway." Everyone nodded and left the old Firebender with Appa.
Break
The port town of Len Sung was busy for only having forty regular residents. All sorts of vagabonds frequented the shops, inns, and safe houses. Apparently, Len Sung was the only place that would not, under any circumstances, turn a criminal in. (Unless they were a murderer or rapist, that is.) Therefore, it was here that Zuko could get away with letting his scar show. He was surprised at how many people there still responded as though he were a prince.
"No, no, I insist. Heck, your prince here is a hero here! There's never been a reported former royal becoming an outlaw!" One of the innkeepers practically forced the group to stay at his inn. Aang and Toph went back to Iroh and Appa, leaving the four teens to the stalls and shops.
"Oh! Weapons!" Sokka went off to look at the weapons; Ty Lee with him, since he was saying that she needed at least a decent knife. That left Katara with Zuko and the innkeeper.
"How many are there?"
"Let's see…Zuko, Sokka, Ty Lee, Aang, Toph, Iroh, and me, so that makes seven, eight if you count Momo, nine if you count Appa, but he needs a large stable," Katara said. The innkeeper nodded, then turned to his assistant.
" 'Ey Jas!"
"Yeah?"
"We're gonna need hay!" He turned and saw Appa flying towards the inn. "A lot of hay!" Jas, a stout young man, came out and gawked.
"I don' think there's enough hay on the whole peninsula, Lee." Lee nodded and motioned for Katara and Zuko to follow.
"D'ya mind sharing two to a room? All our single rooms are booked, except one." Zuko looked at Katara as they followed Lee up a set of stairs.
"Your brother and Ty Lee would want to share anyway, so I don't mind. As long as whatever room I'm in is as far away from them as humanly possible," Zuko said. "I heard enough to last me a lifetime earlier." Katara giggled and nodded her head.
"That's fine with us," she said. Lee nodded, and motioned Zuko aside as Katara went to divide the rooms.
"Are you two engaged or are you waitin' for the right moment?" he whispered. Zuko looked at him.
"What?"
"Are you gonna marry the Waterbender or haven't you proposed yet?" Lee repeated.
"I...I haven't even thought of proposals," Zuko stammered. "Why?" Lee laughed.
"Boy, I was young once too. If I was younger, and still unmarried, I'd have picked her meself. She's a gem."
Zuko dimly nodded in agreement. Lee studied him and thought that Lakai was a good judge of these things, as always.
"Zuko, are you coming? You want to get a decent room, don't you?" Katara called when noticed that Zuko was still at the other end of the hall. "Or do you want me to pick the room closest to Sokka's?"
"Hold on, we're sharing? You and I, I mean," Zuko said. "What would your brother say? That dare faded out several days ago."
"So? If he gets to share with Ty Lee, I see nothing wrong with me sharing a room with you. Besides, Aang and Toph called dibs on sharing. I think they're sweet on each other," she added.
"I thought Toph already liked Aang," Zuko pointed out as he went to join Katara.
"Yeah, but I think Aang has lost the crush he's had on me for the longest. I'm glad. I never really thought of him that way and I would have hated to break his heart by turning him down," Katara explained. "Where are the others?"
"Here we are!" They turned to see Toph and Aang hurrying up the stairs with Iroh ambling behind them. "Sokka and Ty Lee are on their way up," Aang said.
"Good. You can pick your rooms, Avatar. They're free," Lee said.
"Oh, no. We really should-" Katara and Aang started to say, but Lee held up his hand.
"No. I insist. Just stay in your rooms after dark. I may run a respectable inn, but louses and the scum of the sea always manage to find a way in," Lee said, gritting his teeth. The group nodded and chose the rooms.
Hours later, Katara and Zuko were sitting in the room they had chosen, bored. "I knew I should have taken some of my scrolls from Aang to study!" Katara muttered. "I'm bored stiff. And if you suggest meditating, I'll meditate you," she added with a glare at Zuko.
"I wasn't going to. I'm bored, too," Zuko admitted. Katara sighed and flopped back on one of the two beds.
"I hate this. If it wasn't for the sole fact that becoming worthless to a husband terrifies me," she said, "I go downstairs."
"Worthless?" The Fire Nation's practices were a bit different and Zuko didn't see how…that would make Katara worthless.
"In the Water Tribes, if a girl, well, you know, before marriage, even if she couldn't stop it, any marriage value she might have goes down the creek. She's basically stuck being an old maid." Zuko frowned.
"In the Fire Nation, if a woman is violated, the man has to offer marriage. Usually, the woman will turn him down and then the he's burned at the stake or drowned. It's not her fault if some drunken idiot takes advantage of her," he said. Katara smirked.
"So Sokka's wrong. Fire Nation citizens aren't barbarians all the time," she teased. Zuko shook his head and sighed. There was a few moments pause, then Zuko went over to Katara and sat down on her bed. Katara sat up and rested her head on his shoulder. "Would you mind if we share a bed tonight? I'm cold." Zuko smiled softly, wrapping an arm around Katara.
"Liar. There's something else on your mind." Katara rolled her eyes.
"You're good. I'm just nervous, I guess. What if something goes wrong?" she whispered.
"Are you being pessimistic? I thought you always looked on the bright side of things," Zuko teased. Katara smiled, then sighed.
"Hush. I'm just worrying over nothing." Katara fell silent and remained in Zuko's embrace, falling asleep.
The next morning found down in the main dining room.
"Lookin' for Lakai? You're in luck. The Mainmast should be here in a few hours," Lee said. Everyone looked at him.
"The what?" Aang asked.
"The Avatar's Mainmast, the ship she's on. It pulls in here every three weeks," Lee explained.
"She's on a ship?" Toph asked. "Cool."
"If you should want, you might want to hit the clothes shops here. The crew aboard the ship is very fond of their dances, and you ain't dressed for sea life or dancing." The gang looked at their attire. He was right.
"Where are they?" Katara asked.
"The lady clothes shop is across the street, the men clothes shop is next to it. Just tell them you're with the Avatar and Zuko and they'll be more than happy to oblige." They thanked Lee and left.
"Who knew being a fugitive could be a good thing?" Zuko asked Katara under his breath. Katara giggled.
"See? It's not so bad," she teased. Zuko growled and made as if to swat her; she ducked and headed across the street with Toph and Ty Lee. Zuko rolled his eyes and followed his uncle, Sokka, and Aang to the other clothes shop.
The shopkeeper was thin frail old man. "Ah, the Avatar and the Royal Fugitives, welcome."
"What did you call us?" Zuko asked, his temper firing up.
"It's a name the people call you here. Ask any of your many fans, however, they'll call many other things and not all respectable." Zuko blushed. Sokka noticed and took slight pity on the Firebender for once.
"We plan to hitch a ride on the Avatar's Mainmast, and the innkeeper guy said we'll need better clothing," he said. "Do you have anything?"
"Good luck getting on that ship. Unless you know someone decent rank, Cap'n won't take no one," the man said.
"We know Lakai. Is she high ranking?" Aang asked. The old man gagged on the tea he had just drunk.
"Is she high ranking? I'll say she's high ranking! You're guaranteed passage on it! I need to get measurements." So Zuko spent the next three hours getting measured, picking out material, and waiting around for the clothes to be done. Finally, everyone got their clothes and headed back to the inn.
Lee greeted them. "I'd hurry if I were you. She'll be here any minute. It's a good thing it's such a large ship. Your bison should fit on it easily." Toph turned to Lee and bowed.
"Thanks for everything. Where are the docks?" Lee chuckled.
"The Mainmast doesn't use docks. One of the crew just swings down. Just wait around the coast and you'll see. So to speak," he added hastily, remembering Toph's blindness.
"Thanks!" She ran off.
After everyone had gotten their things together and had retrieved Appa from the stables, Aang led the way to the coastline. "How big do you think it is?" he asked excitedly.
"Large enough to hold Appa, according to Lee," Katara said, sitting down and letting her legs dangle. Ty Lee joined her.
"Bet it's not as big as the drill was," she said. Katara looked her, reminding her not to mention that. Ty Lee blushed and mumbled an apology.
Sokka looked out towards the horizon. "I think I see it!" he cried, pointing. Everyone stood and looked towards the dark figure Sokka was pointing at.
"I hope that's not it," Iroh said. "Those sails are typical of a pirate ship."
Yay, the breaks are working!
Did anyone get a slight Kataang slant to the SotFN? I didn't; Katara's just very motherly and a firm believer in hug therapy. (Who isn't?) Personally, I plan on supporting Zutara a lot until the next episode Friday. If you agree with me, then review, not only my story, but any of the good Zutara stories.