Due to me completely forgetting to mention it anywhere in this chapter, please not that Appa and Momo are just chilling together in the forest.


"Princess, are you sure this is wise?"

"You're having second thoughts now, Ahma?"

The girl vehemently shook her head. "No! It's just…"

Yue gave a soft smile to her friend. "It's alright. I know that we are all taking a big risk tonight, but please understand that should anything go wrong, the consequences are mine to bear."

Beside her, Keitaro frowned. "That is part of our worry. Your father might be lenient with you on such a matter, but the elders will be furious."

"Then we had best hope that they don't find out about it." She gave him a knowing smile and turned to face the group that had gathered.

It was smaller than what she had hoped for, but still bigger than she expected. In the dead of night, away from prying and judgemental eyes, sixteen men and women of the Northern Watertribe turned their full attention on her. She would not deny that she was nervous, but there was also a gleeful thrill at the thought of what they were about to do. She really shouldn't be this excited about breaking the traditions of her tribe.

Oh, well.

Steeling herself, she took a deep breath and began to speak. "Thank you, to all of you who have gathered here and your discretion in this matter. We have little time, and you all by now understand the risks. The Fire Nation has left us alone for now, but we are not foolish enough to believe that the threat is behind us. Our tribe has always held tight to its traditions, more so than our brothers and sisters in the South. But tradition will not save us when fire and ash begins to try and break down our walls. It will not help us when we leave so many of our tribe defenseless and without the means to save each other on the battlefield. That is why I believe it is time for a change. All of us, regardless of gender or age must learn to protect and defend each other from what will undoubtedly be coming for us. Even if it's a month, a year, a century away, we must be ready. All of us. And I will not stand by and let my people fall when there might have been a chance that I could save them. I can only hope that you all think the same."

Silence reigned for a moment after Yue stopped speaking, and her heartbeat rang loud in her ears. Ahma and Keitaro stood dead still at her sides, staring intently at the crowd.

Then, after what felt like an eternity, a young boy- looking barely a day over fifteen- stepped forward and bowed. The girl next to him stepped up next, a small smile on her face as she too bowed. After that, more stepped forward, some by themselves and others together, until finally, all of them were bowing before her with respect.

Yue felt elated. The faith and trust that these people were now showing her was beyond what she could ever imagine. While she had always been beloved by her people, she had never truly garnered such respect on her own.

If only her father could see her now.

He would probably be extremely disappointed. But right now, she couldn't bring herself to care. For a while now, she had been getting strange dreams of people she had never met, one dressed in bright oranges and yellows, while the other two were dressed in the colours of her tribe. She did not recognise any of their faces, but for some reason, she knew they were important, especially the young boy. At first, she just brushed them off as normal dreams, nothing to worry about. But then, she would be walking through the streets of the tribe and she would get flashes- visions- of memories she didn't remember having. Most of them consisted of the boy dressed in Water Tribe colours, his goofy yet somewhat charming smile as he blabbered on about the strangest things. Sadness and joy always washed over her when she thought of him. Those visions never faded, instead staying clear in her mind like a fresh memory. Like it had really happened.

But that wasn't the only thing she saw. Soldiers in red and black, wielding fire and steel, cut down those in blue and white. The sky clouded over with smoke and the world lost all colour. The moon turned blood red. Ice and embers littered the ground of the spirit oasis. The boy was looking at her, saying something she couldn't hear. He was crying.

"You have been touched by the moon spirit. Some of its life is in you."

"I won't let you! Your father told me to protect you!"

"I have to do this."

"I'll always be with you…"

"It was just a precaution. We never expected to actually use it."

"If it's any consolation-"

"So we have decided then?"

So many words and sentences that she didn't understand- that she didn't want to understand- started to form pieces of a puzzle that she just couldn't figure out. Of all of them, only her own voice was familiar.

She wondered what it all meant. If it was some kind of sign from the spirits. The knife that she kept hidden beneath all her furs seemed to grow warm with the thought, as if it were agreeing with her in a way. Considering where she got it from, it wasn't too far-fetched of a thought.

But she knew that it would be most unwise to ignore such visions, thus bringing her to the decisions that brought her and so many others here. She had told no one of what she had seen, fearing their reactions if she did. When she told Ahma and Keitaro of her plan, they did not argue much with her. She wasn't the only one that wanted this, and they knew best who did.

That's why she was now going against all tradition to teach healing and fighting to both men and women. She chose Keitaro and Ahma because they knew how to do it with and without Waterbending. While making preparations, they had also been teaching each other in both arts. Keitaro had attempted to teach Yue some defensive and offensive Waterbending, but it seemed that no matter what she tried, the only bending that worked for her was healing. Yue was fine with that, and Keitaro had already promised to teach her some basic hand-to-hand combat.

But, as for those visions and the strange boy she keeps seeing…

I shouldn't work myself up too much because of it. I'll just ask Zuko when I next see him.

{~}

Ty Lee liked to consider herself as someone who was continuously energetic, and people tended to agree with her.

She always tried to keep a smile on her face no matter the situation. She wasn't like Mai, who felt so much yet was able to hide all feelings behind a cold exterior. She couldn't intimidate people like Azula, make them squirm beneath her heated gaze. She didn't have the experience nor the ability to command like Lu Ten.

So she smiled. And it wasn't a smirk or something cruel- it was entirely genuine. She liked people, and wanted to be liked back by them, to be remembered in a good way. She didn't like the idea of striking fear into the hearts of others or making them cower before her. Ty Lee loathed the negativity that came along with such actions, preferring to calm people with a smile and helping them relax. No matter who they were.

She supposed that it was understandable how people thought it strange that she would then be friends with someone like Azula. But she and Azula… there was something about the Crown Princess of the Fire Nation that just made Ty Lee feel so drawn to her. Perhaps it was the way that she would shyly smile whenever her mother gave her any sort of attention, or the mere mention of Lu Ten would make her brighten up. Perhaps it was the sadness and the vulnerability that stayed in her expression for only a moment when her father walked by, not even giving her a glance. Azula could be cruel when she wanted to be, her words sharp and venomous, even when she didn't truly mean it. Yes, she had shouted at Ty Lee some times, frustration lining her steps. She never apologised, but Ty Lee could see the guilt and hesitation that stayed in her friends' eyes afterwards. Despite everything, Azula did care. She was just afraid to show it.

But Ty Lee didn't mind that. She knew what Azula meant, and that was all that mattered.

Recently, the carefree smile that she usually had on her face had fallen into some kind of grimace as she continuously shared looks with Mai over the shouting that echoed from down the hallway. Mai even looked a bit uncomfortable, her expression pinched tight.

They weren't really sure what started it. Ever since they had fled the Temple of the Fire Sages, Azula had been simmering in a rage, snapping at anyone who came too close. Having lost the Avatar and his companions after they had been so close to capturing them was certainly frustrating for all of them, but Azula seemed to be taking it worse than anyone. Not even Lu Ten's quiet assurances that they would find the Avatar again was enough to calm her.

Coming across the pirates had not helped anything in the slightest.

They had been keeping a low profile, checking for a few rumours about Avatar's and flying bison's as they mulled about the market. 'Low profile' was going well until someone insulted an already enraged Azula.

Lu Ten had thought it would be a good idea for everyone (*cough* Azula *cough*) to calm down and take a small trip on land. It seemed like a pretty smart plan and everyone agreed to it. Ty Lee had been dragging Mai all over the market, pointing at all of the things that caught her eye and talking non stop, the other girl not trying to pull out of her grip even once. Lu Ten had taken Azula with him, dressing in plain clothing to look more 'normal'. He had got the idea into his head that they should, instead of using their royal status, go about looking for rumours and conversation that involved suspicious looking people. Namely, three kids, their pet monkey and the giant flying ball of fluff.

She had been paying for a particularly nice set of jewelry as she half listened to a nearby man lamenting over his 'poor cabbages' when a shout could be heard from across the market.

"'Zula, no!"

The sound of fire being ignited and several swords being drawn could suddenly be heard, and Mai and Ty Lee wasted no time at all in sprinting towards the commotion to join the fight.

Chaos ensued.

The whole event was very messy and rather undignified if you asked an onlooker, but Ty Lee rather enjoyed herself. The men they were fighting were sloppy and slow, making them easy targets for paralysing and jumping over. The fight only ended so quickly because, before she could actually do any damage, Lu Ten had picked up Azula and slung her over his shoulder, calling for them to follow as he sprinted towards the boat while Azula was kicking and screaming death threats as they fled.

Ty Lee and Mai had gone to sit and wait for the two royals as Lu Ten had dragged his cousin to a nearby room for a 'chat'.

"-are so completely unconcerned about losing the Avatar!" Azula's voice screamed down the hallway. It was a very loud chat the two were having.

"Well I'm not the one that just tried to shoot fireballs at people, am I? We're supposed to be keeping a low profile! Not alerting the Avatar and his allies to our presence!" Lu Ten's voice, while not screaming like Azula's, was still much louder than usual.

"Well at least I can shoot fireballs!"

Silence.

Whatever was spoken next was too quiet for either of them to hear, and Ty Lee was rather glad of it. A few moments later, a door slammed shut and footsteps stormed out of the room. Ty Lee looked towards Mai with a questioning look, to which the darker haired girl replied with a slow shake of her head. Ty Lee nodded and leaned back in her chair, looking out over the sea with a frown.

Quiet, elegant footsteps emerged from the room down the hallway and made their way towards the room which Mai and Ty Lee occupied. The slow opening of the door revealed a blank-faced Azula.

"Ty Lee, Mai." She greeted, making her way across the room and to the door that led to everyone's personal cabins. She left, as quickly and quietly as she came, not slowing her steps one bit.

After a pause, Mai went back to sharpening her knives, a heavy frown set upon her face, wearing a new pair of silver earrings. Ty Lee sighed and looked down at the matching bracelet and hair ornament, the former of which was already placed upon her wrist.

It didn't matter. She could give it to Azula later.

{~}

Sokka grimaced as Katara inhaled sharply from the pain of the healer examining up her wound.

She was lucky it hadn't got infected, he had told them, when examining the hastily wrapped shoulder. While his sister was certainly better at it, Sokka had been taught the basics of survival while his dad and the other warriors were still home, and that included how to treat and bandage a wound with limited supplies.

When fleeing from the temple, Sokka had certainly tried his best with what they had, but with the harsh wind from Appa's speedy flying and Sokka's own shaky hands, it had been rather difficult to concentrate. He'd treated minor wounds before, some on himself and some on the villagers back home. But those were always minor wounds, cuts and scrapes from tripping on the ice and all that.

The most major wound Sokka had ever had to deal with was when he caught his boomerang wrong and it sliced all the way along his arm. Not wanting to appear weak, Sokka had kept it hidden from prying eyes underneath his furs. He thought he'd been doing a good job of it, reapplying bandages every night once he was certain everyone else had fallen asleep. He probably should have told someone about it when he started feeling all sweaty and the wound had gone yellow. But no, stubborn Sokka had left it until he collapsed in front of everyone to find out. It was extremely embarrassing. Even moreso when he woke up to find his little sister crying over him as she yelled at him to never do anything that stupid again without atleast telling her (she knew better than to make him promise to never do anything stupid again). Gran-Gran told him that, while he had done rather well with treating the wound, he hadn't changed the bandages often enough. He was reminded for ages afterwards how lucky he was that he only got out of it with a scar, and not a missing arm.

But he understood Katara's tears now, the fear of seeing his sibling hurt in such a way. And this wasn't even an accident!

They were extremely lucky that the village that they had decided to rest not too far from actually had a healer who was a genuinely nice person. And came with reasonable prices too.

Rong had, thankfully, not looked too offended by Sokka's bandaging and had merely gone straight to asking what had caused the wound when he started to unravel the already red-stained cloth.

Pulling out the knife from his pack, Sokka handed the blade over. Had it not been previously embedded in his sister's shoulder, the Watertribe boy might have taken more time to examine it when Katara had first decided to yank the thing out of her shoulder.

It was a pretty cool knife to be honest. Small, but sharp, with three prongs on the end.

Rong hummed as he examined it in his hands. "I believe that this is a kunai, a blade often favoured by assassin's of the Fire Nation. It's small and thin, allowing for speed and a deep wound, but the three prongs also allow for it to be larger as well, prompting for quicker blood loss to knock out the attacker's opponent. It's well cared for, and seems unlikely that there's no poison on the blade, given that you haven't passed out yet."

Well, thank goodness for that, atleast.

The healer spoke the last part to Katara who, though she may not have already passed out, looked like she might do so soon.

"You seem to know a lot about weapons, Healer Rong." Sokka spoke, curious at how a small village healer could have such knowledge of the weapons that Fire Nation assassins favoured.

The older man nodded. "While I've seen a lot of wounds in my time as a healer, I'll admit to never actually seeing or treating one like this."

He paused, putting the knife down and moving to continue unraveling the bandages. "There's a young man who came to the village recently, knows pretty much anything and everything about weapons. Carries a whole bunch of them too. He gets a bit prickly if you try to ask too many personal questions, which is fair, but ask him about the weapons he's got and you're in for an… enlightening conversation."

Sokka grinned. Now that sounds interesting…

Despite her back being turned to him, Sokka could sense Katara's glare. "Sokka, I can hear you smiling."

Sokka started sputtering and Rong huffed a laugh. "I was interested myself when I first heard about him. It isn't every day you can learn more about the weapons that the Fire Nation- or anyone- uses these days. Certainly makes treating the wounded easier once you roughly know what's been used on them."

Rong continued to undo the rest of the bandages, having to use more force where the dried blood had stuck it to the skin. Finally, he was able to pull it all away, revealing the bloodied mess underneath.

Aang, who had been extremely quiet most of their time there, paled. "Oh, Great Bayu."

Huh, turns out that monks can swear in their own way.

"No need to invoke the name of the spirits here, young one." Rong assured him. "It really isn't as bad as it looks."

He gave a light smile to the Airbender, but Sokka couldn't help but notice the slight strain in his voice.

Aang barely relaxed at the words, still staring intently at the wound on Katara's shoulder. Or was it all the blood? Considering his lifestyle as a monk and the fact that they've been mostly avoiding as many fights as they could, it makes sense that Aang would not have much experience with wounds like these.

"Aang," Katara gently said, "Perhaps you could go and fetch some water for Healer Rong? There might not be enough here."

The Avatar made to protest, but thankfully, Rong caught on quickly. "That would be most helpful, actually. Just avoid the water from the lake and go straight to the well in the centre of the village. The people will help you if you get lost."

Hesitating slightly, Aang silently picked up the bucket and made his way outside, his light footsteps fading further and further away.

Rong turned to address them both. "Alright, I won't lie to you. It's… not looking great." Katara stiffened. "Of course, I won't know until I've properly cleaned it up! But from what I can see, it looks like the knife has moved around quite a bit while still stuck in the shoulder, causing it to stretch and go deeper."

Sokka levelled a glare at his sister, who had maneuvered around to face them. "I told you that you shouldn't take the knife out like that!"

"I'm sorry, okay?" She looked away. "After everything that happened at the temple… I was stressed, I- I panicked!"

Rong started to roll up the dirty bandages. "It's nothing I can't fix. There's no need to get too worked up about it and aggravate the wound further. It will, however, take time to heal."

"How much time?" Sokka would always place his sister's wellbeing over anything else, but he also knew that they couldn't spend too long here. With the Fire Nation searching all over for them, it would only be a matter of time before any of them came to a small village like this.

"Not enough, if you wish to be on your way again soon."

Katara and Sokka shared a glance. Shit.

"I will do everything I can to speed up your recovery before you go, but it isn't a job that can be rushed." A badly healed shoulder is the last thing they need right now. The healer moved to grab a bowl of water and a cloth, soaking it before starting to clean up Katara's bloody shoulder.

Katara frowned. "Healer Rong, is there any-"

"Healer Rong! Healer Rong!" A man's voice called out as he knocked hastily on the door.

Another voice called out. "Brother, what are you-"

Rong looked towards the door with an alarmed expression. "Haoran, how many times have I told you to-"

The door slid open, revealing a very dishevelled man with another younger boy standing not too far behind him, looking extremely confused. The front of the man's green clothes were covered in blood.

"Please, Healer Rong, it's Li Ken. She's sick."

Rong stood up abruptly, pressing the damp cloth into Sokka's hands. "Again? Don't tell me people have been going to fetch water from the lake. It's not safe yet!"

Haoran vehemently shook his head. "Not that we know of. And Li Ken would never-"

"Alright, I understand. Bao, will you be able to attend to this young lady here?"

The boy behind Haoran gaped a bit before hastily bowing. "Y-yes, Healer Rong."

He made his way inside the room as Rong began to gather a few boxes. "I apologise for having to leave you so suddenly, but I have been teaching Bao in the art of healing myself, and can assure you that he is most qualified to help you."

With that, he left, shutting the door behind him. The two Watertribsmen looked at the young boy before them. He was rather short, with tanned skin and deep copper eyes. His black hair was sloppily tied up, leaving multiple strands to fall out of its bun and his green and brown clothes were all askew. He looked like he had only just woken up.

"What just happened?" Sokka inquired nervously.

Bao sighed as he took the cloth from him and sat down behind Katara. "I'm sorry for the sudden leaving of my teacher. A month ago, a lot of people from the village got sick due to the water in the lake being poisoned. While many died, Healer Rong was able to save most people from the effects of it. Li Ken was one of them."

"What poisoned the lake?" Katara asked, wincing when the cloth touched the edge of her wound.

"Our village, Fengkou, has always been one that has close ties to spirits, as we have one that inhabits our lake. Shui has always blessed us with clean, unpolluted water while we promise never to disturb it beyond taking what we need. But, a month ago, a troop of Fire Nation soldiers came through. They didn't bother the people much, and we were thankful for it, until they started dumping large sacks into the lake. Many tried to stop them, to protest against it, but the soldiers merely threatened to burn down the village if we didn't leave them be."

Sokka wasn't sure he wanted to know what was in those sacks.

"Not too long after they had finally left, the water of the lake darkened and turned murky, and people began to get sick. It wasn't too hard to connect the dots. We've had to rely on rainwater ever since, storing as much as we can in buckets and the well, but it isn't exactly ideal."

"So the sacks had some kind of poison in them?" Sokka wondered.

Bao inclined his head, dipping the cloth into the water. "That, or Shui has cursed us for the disruption of their lake."

"Sounds like Hei Bai." Katara murmured.

"Who?"

Sokka grimaced. "A panda-bear spirit that we came across in our travels. His forest was burned down by the Fire Nation, making him mad and turning into a not-so-friendly panda-bear. Aan- We eventually found a way of pacifying the guy."

Bao's eyes lowered. "The war is affecting everything right now. Even the natural order of things." He paused. "You don't have to mind your words around here. We all know that it is the Avatar that you travel with."

Katara started. "How do you-"

"Please!" The young healer laughed. "You weren't exactly subtle. Two Water Tribesmen and a boy dressed in Airbender colours come flying in on a supposedly extinct Sky Bison. It really isn't too hard to figure out."

Silence.

"You don't need to worry. The soldiers have long since passed through, and it is unlikely that they should return again for some time. We cannot do much, but we will always give you our support."

Katara smiled. "Thank yo- ow!"

Bao pulled the cloth back. "Sorry! I can put some salve on it now that it's clean. That should help with the pain and prevent any sort of infection for now."

"Thank you for helping my sister, Healer Bao." He did a much better job of it than Sokka did.

"O-oh!" the boy flustered. "It's no problem, it is our job after all."

"Still-"

"I'm back!" Aang's voice called out, bursting into the room, looking much better than before.

Atleast, he was until he got a good look at the mess of bloody bandages and cloth laying on the floor next to them. Paling even more than before, the Avatar gently placed the bucket by the door and promptly fled back outside.

They all looked towards where Aang had promptly entered and exited for a while before Katara turned towards her brother. "Sokka?"

He nodded, getting up off the floor and making his way towards the door. "On it."

{~}

"You really need to get used to the sight of blood."

Aang sighed. "I know."

It hadn't taken much to find Aang, his bright clothing easy to spot within the crowd of green and brown. They were really going to need to get better at blending in.

"It's just… difficult, I guess."

Sokka hummed. "Well, that's understandable. Despite the circumstances, you're still only twelve."

"Technically, I'm-"

"Mentally twelve. And physically."

The Airbender swallowed. "I…"

"Hey," Sokka placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't think too hard about it right now. It's been a rough few days and I think we all just need to cool off for a while, you know? Besides, Katara hates it when the people she cares about get upset. And so do I."

"Alright." He received a shaky smile.

"Good."

They walked in silence for a while, enjoying the fresh air as they came closer towards the lake. Bao wasn't wrong when he said that the water had gone dark. The whole thing was nearly pitch black!

"What took you so long when getting the water? The well isn't that far."

"Hm?" Aang perked up. "Oh! I was curious about why Healer Rong told me to stay away from the river so I decided to ask one of the villager's about it."

"Yeah, Bao, Rong's apprentice, told Katara and I about it too."

They looked out across the still, dark water. "It's my duty as the Avatar to keep the balance between humans and spirits. Maybe I can help here too, like with Hei Bai."

"Maybe," Sokka agreed, looking back at Aang. "It can't be as hard as last time, right? At least this spirit isn't on a rampage and trying to kill everyone."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a large splash could be heard from the direction of the lake, followed by a loud piercing cry.

Why can't I ever keep my big mouth shut?

The pair, and several villagers nearby, whipped their heads around to watch as the top half of a large eel-like creature emerge from the murky lake. It's body was long and a purplish-black colour, with large feathered wings spread out wide. It's head was rather similar to a swan's.

If that swan had very large, pointy teeth as Sokka soon found out when it let out another ear-splitting screech.

It made no further move, simply staring at them all as they stared back.

More people from the village were beginning to gather by the lake, keeping a safe distance away from the water's edge, and thus leaving Sokka and Aang to face down the big scary eel-swan-bird-thing by themselves. How kind of them.

"Maybe it just wants to talk things out?" Aang murmured uncertainly to Sokka.

The creature let out a deep growl, turning its beady eyes on the Avatar.

"Uh, Aang? I don't think this guy is in the talking mood."

"Avatar…" A thousand voices whispered. It took a moment for Sokka to realise that it was the creature in front of them that was talking.

"...I retract my previous statement."

The creature suddenly reared its head and lunged towards them, snarling and gnashing its teeth as they both jumped out of the way in opposite directions.

"I bring back my previous statement!" Sokka cried. "I bring it back!"

Villagers screamed as they ran for cover, fearful of getting caught up in the creature's snapping jaws. They had nothing to fear, however, for the beast only seemed interested in going after Aang. The Airbender was running and jumping out of the way whenever the sharp teeth got too close, making his way around the lake.

Not wanting to watch his friend get eaten alive, Sokka unslung the boomerang from his back and threw it towards the flying eel. The weapon swung around, barely clipping the edge of its long beak. But it was enough.

Sokka caught his boomerang as it came sailing back towards him, watching as the creature let out an indignant squark, turning to set its hostile gaze onto him.

Good job, Sokka, you made it mad at you. Now what?

"Hey, you ugly… snake-eel-bird thingy, stay away from the Avatar! He's small and gangly and he only ever eats vegetables. He'd taste horrible to you. But, uh, look at me! Fresh meat!"

Congratulations idiot, you just served yourself up for dinner. This voice sounded suspiciously like Katara. Tui and La, he can only hope that Bao was able to keep her inside.

"SOKKA!" Can nothing go right for him today?

He dove out of the way as the creature darted its long body towards him, seeking his injured sister out in the crowd. How long is this thing? It's not even fully out of the water yet!

"You idiot!" His sister screamed as she tried to make her way through all the people that had gathered to try and stop the injured girl from making her wound any worse. Bao was digging his heels into the dirt as he tried to forcefully drag her backwards.

He makes a mental note to warn the kid later that once Katara sets her mind to something, nothing can stop her. It's kind of scary, to be honest.

Momentarily distracted, Sokka didn't have time to react as he suddenly saw a set of jaws come descending down towards him.

Thankfully, someone else did.

Just as the young warrior was about to become someone's dinner, the creature let out a piercing wail and reared its head back in pain. Just a moment later, Aang came sweeping in and pulled Sokka out of the way. Were he not in a life threatening situation, Sokka might have complained about being carried away like some damsel in distress.

Instead, he just said, "Good hit, Aang! I didn't know that your staff classed as a bow too!"

And it was a good hit, for right in the creature's eye, an arrow had been deeply embedded, causing black blood to ooze out of the wound.

Huh, that looks familiar…

"Um, Sokka." Aang frowned. "That wasn't me who shot that. It was him."

The Airbender pointed towards a figure dressed entirely in black who was walking straight towards them, a dark bow in his gloved hand. His long hair was tied back in a neat plait, a golden ornament tied to the end of it, leaving a jaw-length fringe to frame his angular face. The entire left side of his face was covered by a black cloth.

He was taller than Sokka, but couldn't be much older than him.

"I suggest stepping away from the water's edge." His voice rasped, as if it had not had much use over the years. "Now."

Gathering his wits about him, Sokka decided that now would be a good time to not listen to the armed stranger that may have just saved his life. "Now wait a minute-"

The stranger slung his bow over his back and forcefully grabbed the backs of both Aang and Sokka's clothes, quickly pulling them further towards the crowd. It was just in time, too, for the creature, while occupied with having a sharp object being impaled in its eye, had been further enraged and was about to try and attempt another bite out of the Water Tribesman and the Avatar.

Even as they were dragged out of the way, it tried to follow after them, emerging more of its long body out of the water. It tried to reach them with one more snap, just barely scraping Aang's leg, before it slunk back towards the murky lake. With one last huff, it dove back down, leaving not a trace of it behind.

Sokka was barely able to release a sigh of relief before the full force of his sister came barrelling into him. "I leave you two alone for ten minutes-"

"Miss Katara!" Bao called as he tried to squeeze his small body through the crowd. "Miss Katara, could you please stop moving your arm around so much?"

"I know, I know." Sokka interrupted his sister. "But the stupid eel started it!"

She glared at him. "I don't care who started it-"

Aang laughed as he watched their interaction a small distance away, and turned towards the stranger holding the bow. "Thanks for saving my friend back there, I owe you."

The boy sighed and rubbed his head as if he were gaining a headache. "Repay the favour by not getting eaten by dark spirits in the future."

"I can do that!" The Avatar cheerfully replied. "My name's Aang, and those two over there are Sokka and Katara."

Glancing over at the pair, it looked like Katara was trying to strangle her brother while Bao attempted to restrain the Waterbender with bandages.

He gave a nervous laugh and looked back towards the tall boy. "What's your name?"

One golden eye glanced at him. "...Zuko."


THIS HAS TAKEN FOREVER TO WRITE!

-For those of you who have been wondering where I put Zuko, here he is!

-For those of you who are confused, don't worry. Things will be explained...eventually...

-The scene with Yue has actually been written ages ago, and I've been longing to use it.

-Yes, I use OC's, but they won't be too major, don't fret.

-Azula and Lu Ten's argument will be covered in more detail later on, including how she pissed off the pirates.

-I give you an extra long chapter because I really don't know when the next one will be out. Probably not this week.

Thank you so much for reading! Please comment, they give me life!