Chapter 2: Warrior Women and an Exiled Prince
On a fire nation ship made of metal, there was a young man with golden eyes and a burn scar on the left side of his face. He was meditating in his personal quarters. The room was decorated with candles and the flames grew and shrank as the young man inhaled and exhaled. In front of him, there was a fire nation banner hanging with larger candles on either side.
This vessel was smaller than others and outdated by a few decades, but it was one of the fastest around. The small size suited the young man who ran the ship anyways. He needed to be fast and less noticeable. He needed to be more maneuverable. A larger ship would not do.
His mission was pursuing the Avatar. It was the only way to regain his honor. The young man who ran the ship was Zuko. The Exiled Prince of the Fire Nation.
He dishonored his father and paid for the mistake dearly. The burn mark on the left side of his face was proof of that for all to see. It was the mark of banishment. The only way he could return to the royal palace was if he captured the Avatar.
It was a seemingly impossible task. The Avatar was thought to have vanished, but already Prince Zuko had encountered the Avatar. Aang was his name, he recalled. The Avatar may be chronologically 112 years old, but his body was that of a 12 year old Airbender. Sadly, Aang escaped from their previous encounter and forced Zuko's ship to anchor for repairs.
Prince Zuko hadn't given up though. His men were already tracking the Avatar as he meditated in his quarters. He was as serene and calm as his uncle Iroh, who accompanied him on this mission, always said a true bending master should be. That's what Prince Zuko thought at least as he heard a knock on his door.
"Enter," the prince called calmly.
"Prince Zuko…" a rather portly man with a usually friendly disposition said from the door.
"What news do you have, Uncle?" Zuko asked.
His uncle seemed apprehensive about something. "Try to stay calm, my nephew," he said.
Prince Zuko cared for his uncle, but he also felt disappointed in the man. His uncle was at one time Crown Prince and feared across the lands. He was known as The Dragon of the West, for he had slayed the last known dragon. His Uncle besieged the mighty Earth Kingdom Capital of Ba Sing Se for 600 days. He even breached the outer wall, something no one else ever accomplished.
Sadly, when the man received news of his son's death, he just gave up… He retreated in shame and grief. By the time he returned to the Royal Palace, Zuko's father had taken the mantle of Fire Lord. The previous Fire Lord died mysteriously, as they say, and requested his younger son, Ozai, take the crown. Iroh didn't even complain when he learned of this. He was a completely defeated man by that point.
"Uncle. I am calm and the essence of control. My temper is of no concern," Prince Zuko said serenely.
Iroh doubted it, but went along with his nephew. "We have no idea where the Avatar is…" he said warily.
After what was very much not a temper tantrum of rage and fury, Prince Zuko stood before his uncle. "How?!" he demanded.
"We have several sightings of the Avatar all over the place…" Iroh started.
"Let me see the map," Prince Zuko said as he snatched it from his uncle without hesitation.
He looked it over in shock. There were dots and lines all over the map. There was no discernible pattern or direction to it. "The Avatar is clearly a master of maneuvering and evading! Typical of an Airbender…" Prince Zuko said.
Iroh shrugged in response. The older man personally doubted that was the case, but he wouldn't argue with his nephew on the matter. He did not want to tempt his nephew's temper a second time.
[-] [-] [-]
"Soooo… Are you going to admit you have no idea where we're going yet?" Sokka asked.
"It's not that bad… Right Harry?" Aang asked his trainee Airbender. Harry didn't reply. "Oh… forgot I told him to try deep meditation this time," Aang said with a nervously laugh.
Sokka rolled his eyes.
"It's not that bad… Right… Katara?" Aang asked giving her his biggest tooth filled grin.
"Hmmm? Oh … Yeah… Harry's right," Katara said absentmindedly. She was busy sewing up Sokka's ripped pants at the moment. Unfortunately, Harry's sewing technique wasn't up to par yet, so magic was out of the question here.
Aang sighed at the lack of reaction he got from Katara. He had tired showing off to her lately, but it never seemed to work. Not even his cool new marble trick impressed her.
Sokka let out a laugh. "Sorry Aang… Not going to work. Katara's too busy concentrating," he said. Sokka might have been tempted to say something about girls and their sewing space, but he realized she was the only one who could sew. It was best not to bother or upset her at the moment, especially if he wanted to wear pants.
"Doesn't change the fact I know where we're going… ish," Aang said.
"Goingish. Goingish? That's not even a word," Sokka said to him.
"So," Aang said trying to act like he was going exactly where he wanted to go.
"Where are we going exactly?" Sokka asked pointedly.
"Ummmm… It's near water…" Aang said.
"That's more than half the planet," Sokka said. He then scoffed and looked to either side. There wasn't anything visible but water. "Guess we're there then… We're near water," he said flatly.
Just then a large fish jumped out of the water. Aang noticed it was heading to a small island. He grinned brightly. He so wanted to ride an Elephant Koi! "That's it right there!" he shouted pointing towards the island.
Both Katara and Sokka almost jumped at the sudden volume of his voice. Katara was glad she just finished mending Sokka's pants. She got a giggle when they landed on her brother's head.
Harry merely opened his green eyes. He gave a stretch and asked, "Time to stretch our legs a little?"
"You bet! But it isn't so much stretching my legs for me… as it is surfing on an elephant koi! Be sure to watch Katara," he said with a grin.
As soon as they landed, Aang jumped out of his Airbending attire and ran out on the water. Harry blinked for a moment, and hoped he could learn that move. He then got back to helping the others unload Appa. Aang may not be the best navigator, but he was the one flying Appa. That was why the group usually let him have his fun as they worked on setting up camp and checking supplies whenever they took a break.
Aang dived into the water in a very showy fashion. He reemerged and grinned excitedly. "Watch carefully now Katara!" he shouted, but couldn't hear a reply.
Seconds later, Aang was atop an elephant koi riding it around the bay masterfully! "Yeah! This is awesome! Check it out!" he shouted in joy, while hoping to get Katara's attention. She cheered for a little bit, but then she had to stop Appa from eating one of their packs.
Aang was disappointed she wasn't looking at him. He barely heard as the others seemed to try shouting something to him a few minutes later. They were flailing their arms and everything. Aang looked around confused.
Suddenly there was a roaring sound and a giant sea serpent emerged from the waters! It was looking at Aang hungrily. Aang swallowed nervously as the elephant koi bucked him off and swam away.
"Ummmm… Nice sea monster serpent thingy?" Aang attempted to calm it.
The monster looked unimpressed and spit a jet of water at him. Aang barely got out of the way as the attack forced a giant wave seemed to form behind him. "Oh no!" Aang shouted.
The wave's force luckily launched Aang up enough he was able to use Airbending to run on the surface. The monster seemed extra hungry for Avatars at the moment, or maybe just 12 year old boys. Either way Aang was running as fast as he could trying to escape the thing.
He soon shot across the beach sand and thus succeeded in his escape. The monster roared at them in frustration and jumped back into the sea as Aang breathed heavily and collapsed on the beach shore.
[-] [-] [-]
"What was that thing?" Katara asked once Aang was dressed again.
"I don't know," Aang replied.
"That was a sign telling us to get going. Appa's rested. Harry's stretched his legs. We have food to go and even Momo's ready," Sokka said as he pointed to the lemur dozing on Appa's head.
"I agree with Sokka this time," Harry said.
Before they could do anything though, the group were ambushed by unseen forces. The attackers even put blindfolds on them as the group was quickly tied up.
[-] [-] [-]
"What are you four doing here? Explain," a girl asked in a commanding tone. It was clear she was the leader of the group who ambushed them.
They were marched a good way by the group after the ambush. The four were now tied to a large wooden totem as they were interrogated. They couldn't see any of this though, since they were still blindfolded.
"Answer our questions. Or… be fed to the Unagi," she said dangerously.
"Cowards. Show yourselves!" Sokka demanded.
Suddenly their blindfolds were removed. The travelers blinked as their eyes adjusted to the light. Not for the first time, especially since he came here, Harry realized how much of a weakness needing a wand was. There wasn't anything he could do without holding it and aiming it. He also found it odd they seemed to have been apprehended by a group of all females. He didn't think the squat older man captured them.
The girls were all wearing green armored battle kimonos with headdresses. Each girl had two metal fans clipped to their waist sashes and a katana tucked inside it. Their leader had a more elaborate headdress and slightly different styled warrior makeup. Anyone would be able to tell they weren't a group to be underestimated, even if the girls were incredibly beautiful.
"Yeah right… Like a bunch of girls could capture us," Sokka said with a scoff.
Yep! Anyone would know not to underestimate them… except Sokka it seemed.
"Looks like the Unagi will be eating good tonight," the leader said with an overly innocent smile.
Harry sighed at Sokka's words. It seemed he hadn't known many girls. They can be really fierce when they want. King Pranksters Fred and George Weasley were terrified of their little sister's Bat Bogey Hex, and they were taking NEWT level classes. They usually laughed at danger before then pranking it. When it came to Ginny, they usually left her alone. And not because their mom would tan their hides for picking on their little sister.
"It's my fault," Aang started before they could carry Sokka off to become dinner. "I wanted to ride the elephant koi," he explained.
"How do we know you aren't Fire Nation spies?" the village leader asked. "Kyoshi has stayed out of the war and we plan to keep it that way."
"This Island's named after Kyoshi?" Aang asked excitedly. "I know her!" Aang said while grinning.
"How could you know her?" the village leader asked unimpressed.
"Because I'm the Avatar. She was my past life!" Aang answered hoping that would solve the problem.
"Impossible! The Avatar disappeared 100 years ago. He was an Airbender," the warrior leader said looking a little fed up with Aang.
"Now would be a good time to show your skills," Harry muttered to Aang as Katara nodded in agreement.
Aang was confused for a moment then widened his eyes in understanding. He took in a deep breath and exhaled a wind burst which caused the ropes around him to snap. He then launched himself into the air leaving a dust cloud below him. He flipped around and landed on the top of the totem with one foot while holding his staff ready.
"Whoa! Did you see that?! Airbending!" someone nearby shouted. All of the warriors and the village leader were staring gob smacked at what they just saw. Aang was grinning broadly as his friends were untied. He really liked the whole fanfare he was getting here. He kind of wished being the Avatar was always like this, instead of the whole having to balance the world thing.
[-] [-] [-]
It had been a couple of days since they arrived at Kyoshi Island. It seemed despite the earlier sense of urgency for reaching the North Pole, the group was fine with staying here a little while. Harry had to admit it was nice having an actual bed to sleep in for once in a good while. They had been traveling all over since he first arrived here. The sleeping rolls weren't too bad, but Harry still wished he knew where to find a tent like the Weasleys had for the Quidditch World Cup.
Kyoshi Island was celebrating Aang's arrival and reveal as Avatar. They were cleaning up the villages and repainting the Kyoshi totem in the middle of the main village. They were getting ready to have a festival in celebration soon. Gossip was running wild as everyone was excited about the Avatar's reappearance after so long. Harry was a little concerned about the gossip and what it's consequences could be.
As for the group themselves, they seemed to have split up. Sokka was grumpy and after that first night he took to disappearing during most of the day. Aang was enjoying the attention and admirers he was getting in spades now. He did still try and get Katara's attention, but his attempts only annoyed her. Harry was shocked by the thick headedness of some of them. Harry knew he was far from an expert on girls, but he was pretty sure gloating about them being jealous of you was not going to win their heart.
Harry was currently helping Katara with some shopping. She was taking this as a chance to stock up on better provisions for their trip. Harry's summoning was good, but he couldn't really get things like rice and fruits. She seemed to feel a little more relaxed without Aang around constantly carrying on and showing off to his many fan girls. Sadly, they weren't completely away from the problem.
"Ha! Catch me if you can!" they heard a gleeful shout as Aang raced past them on his air scooter with his admirers chasing after him.
"I can't believe him," Katara muttered.
"He's really letting the whole popularity thing get to his head," Harry said in agreement.
"I know! Right?" Katara said in frustration.
"I still hope it won't be too hard on him once he sees the other side of it," Harry said. He was thinking back to his experiences at Hogwarts when it came to being famous.
"What do you mean?" Katara asked curiously.
"It's all very fickle. He's really popular right now, but that can change quickly. He could easily go from revered to reviled," Harry said.
"Why would that happen?" Katara asked in shock.
"Hopefully nothing happens, but if word of his presence reaches the wrong ears and they try something… Well… The people cheering him on right now, might hate him for the misfortune brought upon them," Harry said.
Katara was silent with wide eyes in worry. She hadn't even thought about that.
"More likely they'll get bored of him, because he isn't able to do even more impressive and amazing stuff. His bending is great and amazing, but when the people see you as a living legend. They expect you to always do something fantastic and feats beyond human strength should be normal for you. When you don't provide, they get bored and even annoyed," Harry said.
"I've never thought of that," Katara said.
"That's because he's both the Avatar and Aang to us. We know he's human. And impressive. But he's still a 12 year old boy," Harry said. Katara was in thought as they silently went back to their shopping.
[-] [-] [-]
"Ugh…" Sokka groaned as he tumbled to the floor panting and covered in sweat. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this uniform. I don't see how you all do it," he added. He was currently wearing a version of the Kyoshi Warrior outfit himself, makeup and all. He swallowed his pride and asked them for training.
Suki, the leader of the Kyoshi Warriors, let out a giggle as she smiled to him. She offered him a hand and helped him up. "You're actually doing pretty good for a beginner," she said.
Sokka grinned to that and puffed out his chest.
"But… even our worst official warrior is still loads better," she said. She giggled as Sokka grumbled about that not being a fair comparison. "That being said… You aren't about to give up. Are you?" she asked in challenge.
"Ha! Never. It would be an insult to the traditions of the uniform," he said smiling back at her in challenge.
Suki couldn't help but smile to that. It wasn't a smile in challenge either. Sokka wasn't so bad when he wasn't being a big-mouthed idiot. She also had to admit he had more determination than several of the actual Kyoshi warriors.
The two squared off once again.
[-] [-] [-]
Iroh stepped out on the deck of his nephew's ship. "The rhinos are ready, Prince Zuko," he said.
"Excellent. We make for Kyoshi Island at once!" Prince Zuko yelled to his men. "I'll get you this time, Avatar," he said to himself with narrowed eyes as they set sail. They would make it to the island by tomorrow evening.
He learned of the Avatar's whereabouts from a fisherman in the market. Kyoshi Island was having a big celebration in honor of the Avatar. If Zuko wasn't banished, he would declare Kyoshi Island no longer neutral in the war. The Avatar was an enemy of the Fire Nation. Sadly, he couldn't do that.
At the same time, it also meant the Fire Nation wouldn't get in any political trouble with Kyoshi. Since he was banished, his actions did not represent the Fire Nation. Prince Zuko would have to admit there was a certain level of freedom to his banishment. He still wasn't happy about it. He would get back his honor, but he would take advantage of his unique position.
He came up with the plan using the Komodo rhinos because of where the Avatar was. The infamous Kyoshi Warriors would not just let them march in and capture the Avatar. They were skilled warriors, even if none of them were benders.
The rhinos would give Zuko and his men an advantage in height, speed, and defense. They could rain fire on the village and the warriors. The tough as steel hide of the rhinos would deflect most ground attacks. They would just have to watch out for any airborne assaults.
Luckily, the men wouldn't have to worry about archers. The Kyoshi Warriors used fan and blade for their attacks. The Kyoshi Warriors were usually more about setting up ambushes and using stealth to their advantage. Their main function was keeping the peace of the island and capturing unsuspecting trespassers. They were still not to be underestimated.
[-] [-] [-]
"Where is the Unagi? This is boring!" one of the fan girls following Aang called from the shore where she sat with a few others. All of the girls were looking bored, though some were idling the time away in one form or another.
"I'm sure it will be here soon," Aang said.
This had not worked out as well as he wanted it to. Katara seemed dismissive of him when he kept telling her about his dangerous plan to ride the unagi. They even got into a fight. Harry wasn't there to play peace keeper like he had been a number of times this trip. Aang taught him some basic air bending moves, and he was practicing them.
"How about this!" Aang said with a big grin as he pulled out three marbles and caused them to circulate with each other in the space between his hands. He wanted to keep his fan girls entertained. Some of them were pretty cute, even if they weren't Katara.
"We've seen that trick lots of times already! It's boring," one of the girls complained.
Aang frowned to himself. When he looked back up, he saw them leaving. "Where are you going?" he called to them.
"Sorry, Aangy. Maybe next time," one of the girls called back to him as they all left.
"Awww man…" Aang said in disappointment as he sunk under the water for a moment. When he came back up, he looked to the shore again. He was pleasantly surprised to see Katara sitting there. "You came!" he said cheerfully.
"I was worried…" Katara said sorrowfully.
Aang gave a dejected sigh. "I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. I kind of let this attention get to my head a little," he admitted.
"I'm sorry for getting angry. I shouldn't have acted that way towards you," Katara replied.
"Friends again?" Aang asked hopefully.
"Friends again," Katara said with a smile to him. She then stood up and jokingly called, "Now get on out of there, before you catch a cold."
"Yeeeesss Ma'am!" Aang said with a mock salute as she giggled.
Aang felt a lot happier now. He shouldn't have cared about being seen as cool or anything like that. He should have known how quickly those fans would lose interest in him. Katara, Sokka and Harry should be the ones he cared about the most. They were actually his friends and not just fans of the Avatar.
Aang was swimming to the shore quickly. He was a little puzzled when he noticed Katara stopped smiling brightly and instead looked horrified in his direction. He didn't notice the large dorsal fin appear out of the water behind him…
[-] [-] [-]
Momo was hanging from the rafters of the Kyoshi Training Hall as he snacked on a piece of fruit and watched the humans below him. Momo didn't always get humans. He did usually understand his partner, but even Aang confused Momo at times. Humans were still interesting to watch, especially when you had a tasty treat.
Sokka and Suki were circling each other. The two were holding eye contact with the other. Sokka was waiting for Suki to initiate combat while he defended using his lessons. Suki was testing his focus and resolve at the moment. It was key to their style to wait before striking. A full Kyoshi Warrior could take the initiative if they wanted, but Sokka wasn't to that level yet. He had still made surprising progress.
Suki lunged forward with her sword.
Sokka dodged to the side.
She continued past him and turned around to toss one of her closed fans. Sokka dodged it. She tossed the other as she closed the gap. Sokka slightly dodged that one and used his own fan to block her sword strike.
Suki attacked him again as he blocked that attack and her next two quick attacks. She quickly lunged forward once more.
Sokka evaded her attack. This time he countered by forcing her to overreach and got inside her guard before knocking her to the ground.
Suki was a little surprised by how he knocked her to the ground. It seemed he was developing his own style with what she taught him. She wondered about that a little. When she looked up and saw him offering her a hand, she decided it was probably his way of respecting the Kyoshi Warriors. He wasn't one and wouldn't ever be one. He wouldn't be using their style as his own, but he would learn from their lessons and use their moves in his own way.
Suki took his hand and stood up. Once standing, she realized just how close she was to him. She also noticed how much his blue eyes stood in contrast to his brown skin. She couldn't help but blush at being this close to him while they both caught their breath.
She quickly backed from him just a little. She gave him a smile and said, "Not bad. Not bad at all." She couldn't help but show how impressed she was with her smile.
Sokka beamed at the praise.
"Let's take five and see how you do at attacking with what you've learned," Suki said as she walked over to a nearby bench.
Sokka was surprised by that. It was a compliment she was letting his attack next. She told him how the Kyoshi training went, so he knew it usually took a while to get to the attacking stage.
[-] [-] [-]
"Aang!" Katara shouted as she ran out to get him from the water. The unagi caught him off guard and he had to hang on for dear life. Katara couldn't help him then. Now she could, but feared it was too late as his body floated in the water unresponsively.
The unagi burst from the water again just as she grabbed Aang. It glared at her and dived at them.
Katara threw her free hand forward blasting the monster with water force while also sending her and Aang to the shore. The Unagi roared at them but couldn't reach them. Just as it was going to shoot a water jet, Katara dived behind a rock with Aang.
The unagi gave up quickly and submerged once more. They weren't out of danger yet though.
"Zuko?!" Katara panic whispered to herself. The scarred prince disembarked his ship and ordered his men to charge the main village. "No… What do I do? Aang…" Katara said looking to her friend in worry.
She took in a shuddering breath. There was only one option. She closed her eyes in concentration and placed her hands above Aang's lungs. Carefully, she started to stream the water out of Aang's lungs through his mouth.
Aang suddenly spluttered as the last of the water escaped. "You made it!" Katara quietly cheered in relief.
"Katara…" Aang started. "The Unagi isn't fun after all," he said.
"We have bigger problems now…" Katara said in worry to him as she told him about Zuko's arrival.
[-] [-] [-]
"Ready for another round?" Suki asked with a smile after their break ended.
"I thin—" Sokka was cut off.
"We're under attack! Firebenders! Come on girls!" the village elder said in panic.
"Guess training is over," Sokka said as he put on his game face. "Time for the real deal…"
[-] [-] [-]
Outside was a mess already. A couple of the rhino riders were knocked off their mounts, but the others were still mounted. The Kyoshi warriors were doing what they could, but it still wasn't going well. Buildings were already catching fire. People were terrified in the streets.
"Come out Avatar! I know you're here!" Zuko shouted from his mount as he blasted two Kyoshi warriors back once they lunged for him. "These girls won't save you, Avatar!" Zuko shouted.
Suki charged at the scarred prince and took out one rider on the way. She was just in range, when Zuko used his mount's tail to knock her off balance. She fell hard to the ground.
"Nice try," Zuko said as he shot a fire blast at her.
Sokka jumped in front of her and used his fans to counter the blast.
Just at that moment two more warriors jumped from either side of Zuko and knocked him off and to the ground. They tried to take him, but the exiled prince righted himself while shooting out flames in an arc. They were forced to back off their attack.
Suki attacked next and Zuko barely dodged, but managed to send a fire blast her way sending her into a nearby house.
Sokka charged forward and jumped over the low flame kick Zuko sent his way. The water tribe warrior threw attack after attack at Zuko but the prince dodged and then kicked Sokka off balance. His hand lit with fire as he was about to strike Sokka.
"Over here!" Aang shouted to get Zuko's attention. One good thing about the prince is how singularly focused he was on Aang. It meant he wouldn't continue his current fight no matter how close he was to destroying his opponent.
"Finally!" Zuko yelled as he charged forward at Aang shooting two fireballs at him. His previous opponents were already of no concern to Zuko.
Aang ducked under the first fireball and used his staff to cancel out the second. He then lunched himself forward and struck with his staff. Zuko managed the kick it out of Aang's hands and sent a flame kick at the Avatar.
Aang launched himself into the air and flipped over Zuko where he picked up two forgotten warrior fans. He used them to send a giant concussive blast of air at Zuko. Zuko was blasted into a nearby house where he saw the Avatar once more run. Prince Zuko hissed in pain and collapsed to the floor.
Aang picked up his staff and frowned at the scene around him. "This is my fault…" he said sorrowfully.
"It isn't… But we do need to leave," Katara said to him as she came up next to him. She sent the nearby civilians to safety, so they wouldn't get hurt during the battle.
Aang nodded sadly. "We've stayed too long… I'll get Appa," he said.
[-] [-] [-]
The tide of battle was slowly starting to turn. None of the riders were still mounted. The Kyoshi Warriors tactics and numbers were slowly giving them the edge. Their fans were particularly effective against the Firebenders' flames.
Sokka was crouched next to Suki as she recovered. "There's no time to say goodbye," she said to Sokka.
"What about I'm sorry?" he asked.
"For what?" she asked in surprise.
"I treated you like a girl when I should have treated you like a warrior," Sokka said, his voice filled with regret.
"I am a warrior," Suki said. She then leaned in and gave Sokka a kiss. "But I'm also a girl," she said blushing as she smiled to him. She stood up and said, "Get going now. We'll hold them off. They no longer have the advantage over us."
Sokka blushed for a moment. He then starting moving and saw Aang was getting Appa while Katara left to quickly grab some supplies. "I'll get Harry," he told Katara as he ran past her. She nodded to him in understanding.
Two riders managed to knock a couple of Kyoshi warriors to the ground. They were about blast them with fire, when suddenly there was a shout of "Expelliarmus!" Harry sent a spell blast with enough force to knock them into each other. "Incarceruos!" he shouted as heavy ropes shot forward and bound the two firebenders while forcing their arms to their sides.
"Are you two okay?" Harry asked the girls. They nodded to him and stood up, ready to get back into the fray.
"Harry! We're leaving!" Sokka shouted as he ran up to him still wearing his Kyoshi gear. Harry had questions, but got the message and followed his friend. They soon saw Appa and jumped on to his wide tail. Katara used Aang's staff to help them climb up into the saddle. Momo came flying over from a roof top and landed on Appa's head in front of Aang.
"Back to the ship!" Zuko shouted to his able-bodied men. "Don't lose sight of them," he called as he found a rhino and used it to help two tied up men retreat. Other men were doing the same where they could. The Kyoshi warriors were exhausted, but focused on further encouraging their enemy's retreat.
Aang looked back at the village engulfed in flames as they flew away. He then jumped off Appa and into the bay below. Seconds later Aang was riding the unagi with full confidence and using its main whiskers to control it. He yanked back on them, forcing the beast to shoot out a water jet, which caused a shower on the village which quenched the flames.
"I know… that was stupid… and dangerous," Aang said with a slight smile once he was back on-board Appa.
"Yes, it was," Katara said before she quickly gave him a hug. "But it was also the right thing to do," she said before letting go of him.
"Okay… I have to ask… What's with the dress, Sokka?" Harry asked.
Aang and Katara laughed as Sokka stuck his nose up in the air. "I will have you know this is a warrior's uniform. Its design symbolizes bravery and honor!" he said.
"I'll take your word for it," Harry said neutrally.
"It is a nice a dress though," Katara said with a giggle as Sokka rolled his eyes. He let it pass this time. He could tell Aang needed the laugh.
"So that was Prince Zuko," Harry said after a few moments of silence.
"I get a feeling we'll need to get used to seeing him. He's clearly not the type to give up," Sokka said.
"We'll all be more careful," Harry said.
"We won't be staying anywhere for too long in the future," Aang added.
"That wasn't really so much the issue," Harry said.
"What was then?" Katara asked.
"It's because we were too comfortable and drew attention to ourselves and Aang being the Avatar," Harry said.
Sokka was nodding. "If we're careful, few will spare a group of kids a second glance. We still shouldn't stay too long when we can avoid it, but we can take time as long as we avoid the Fire Nation for now," he said.
"Sounds like we have a plan then," Aang said. He felt a little guilty about what happened on the island. He was the one who chose to brag about being the Avatar. Granted there wasn't much choice in the matter this time, but it was a lesson learned for the future.
"Great! That way Aang can still teach me," Harry said cheerfully. He felt a little guilty himself. If he knew more spells in the ways of privacy, they wouldn't have to worry about drawing attention from others.
Sadly, he didn't even know basic glamour charms. He always thought that was something only for girls and pompous gits like Lockhart. Now, he realized it would be great for disguises. He also wished he had his invisibility cloak. Oh how useful that would be.
Aang grinned a little to Harry's words. He was feeling much better now. "You are doing good with the meditation thing. Once you get that down and can do a basic air shield, you'll be ready to start practicing the real moves! I'll teach you more about the stances in the meantime," he said.
"Let's get some good distance between us and Zuko first," Sokka said. He needed to make sure they didn't get too excited and forget their immediate concern.
"Appa. Yip! Yip!" Aang said with a nod to Sokka.
Appa let out a roar of determination and flew off into the sunset.