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The gleaming gold beam of late afternoon glistened through the tall trees as the gang travelled through the forest. The youngsters came to a stop when they saw the winged lemur who was circling above them, landed and sat on top of a notice board. They decided to walk up to the board and inspected it.
The Fire Days Festival.
Come Visit Huahuo Village.
Free Fire Nation Cultural Exhibits & Cuisine.
Dragon Dancing, Jugglers, Benders, Magicians & Firework Light Shows.
"Fire Days Festival?" The water tribe siblings and the monk turned to the banished prince for an explanation. "It's a festive event funded by the Fire Nation. It's mainly celebrated by the colonial villages for the citizens who have been forced living away from the homeland because of the war." Zuko said it coolly.
"I'm sure we'll find something to eat there!" Aangsmilinglypointed at the poster. But when the water tribe boy circled to the opposite side of the notice board, his demeanour turned grim."We might need rethink that. Look at this."Others came to his side to see a wanted poster of Aang. Next to the Avatar, Zuko also noticed another wanted poster of a white-haired man with two scars on the right side of his face.
"Oh! A poster of me!" Aang peeled the notice off the board post and examined it more "It's a wanted poster, Aang. It's just like Zuko said. The Fire Nation is hunting you." Sokka corrected."Then I think we better keep moving." Katara suggested. "But we'll missed out the magician and firework show!" The young airbender regrettably looked at Katara with puppy dog eyes. "A-a-and there's even free food!"
"Food...I could kill for some free food now." Sokka's stomach grumbled in agreement as he cravingly eyed at his sister and friends. Zuko and Katara had deadpanned looks on their face when Sokka showed them the emptied food bag. "Haihh...Well, we could wear disguises and if it looks like trouble, we'll just leave. What do you think, Zuko?" Katara glanced at the young firebender who seemed to be thinking about their choices. "It's still a bit risky, but if I remember correctly, people wear masks during the festival. We can hide our faces with the masks, make a quick stop, grab some food, and leave. But we must keep a low profile and avoid attracting unwanted attention." He emphasized and others agreed.
The kids came out of the forest by dusk. From the small hill, all of them could see the walled colonial town, Huahuo Village that was in a distance. Zuko and Aang then instructed their quadruped companions to stay behind and hidden.
"You guys ready?" Aang zealously asked as the trios were in their dark cloaks with the hoods pulled over their heads. The young Avatar copied the same thing, but he did it with his red shawl. The boy's frivolous attitude caused the young prince to groan disgruntledly. Zuko took out his spare cloak and tossed it to Aang. "Do you not remember what I said? Low profile." He growled. Under his minacious glare, the little airbender trembled like a lop-eared rabbit. After Aang put on the oversized cloak, Zuko doubled-checked the siblings' appearance. His austere aura softened when his eyes landed on Katara's pendant. "I'm sorry, Katara. But your mother's necklace..."
"Oh, right. Wouldn't want people to know that I'm from the Water Tribe..." The young maiden forced a smile as she reluctantly removed it. "...Then I guess we're all set." The firebender put on his mask and guided them to the Fire Nation town.
From another side of the forest, a silhouette figure was watching the group's every move with a spyglass. The stranger moved through the forest while maintaining his sight on the kids that were heading towards Huahuo Village.
The blackened sky above the town was beautified by the colourful fireworks along with the decorative lanterns adorned throughout the town. Once the group reached the town's main square, they were greeted by a high-spirited atmosphere as it's packed with numerous people. There were children scampering, crowd cheering the performers' performance. The blackened sky above them was beautified by the colourful fireworks along with the decorative lanterns adorned throughout the town. Just like Zuko had said, everyone in the town was wearing various types of colourful mask.
The first thing Zuko did, was bringing the teens to the mask booth to get them some masks. Once each of them got their very own masks, Aang pointed at a food stall across them. "Hey, look. There's some food there." That caught Sokka's attention and he immediately darted towards it. "What do you have?" He asked the stall owner as his mouth began to salivate. "Flaming fire flakes, sir! Best in town!" The merchant proudly replied as he offered his masked customer a small bag of freshly cooked fire flakes."I'll take 'em!" Sokka snatched the bag and gobbled it up, but only to experience the sensation of his tongue burning. "Aaaaah! Hot! Hot!" He whined with his eyes teared up as he profusely fanned his tongue. "You know, they called it "flaming fire flake" for a reason." Katara shook her head while covering her neck dimple with an arm. Her older brother vexedly squinted his eyes at her comment.
Zuko requested for a sample sized quantity and tossed the flakes into his mouth. 'Hmm...it's not bad. It's been a while since I last ate this...' He critiqued. Then from the corner of his good eye, something seemed caught the young firebender's attention. "There's plenty of other food you guys could try. Tell the venders, "I can't take heat" and they won't spice up the food. I need to go get something. I'll meet up with you guys in five to ten minutes. Over there." The young man pointed the towering fire shaped pillar located at the centre of the square. "And remember, low-profile." He reminded them and left. However, what Zuko did not expect was Katara strolling to his side. "Mind if I tag along?" She asked with a smile behind her mask. The young man didn't say anything but shrugged his shoulders after a brief pause. Aang intended to join the young waterbender, but was dragged away by Sokka before he could do anything
The young lady stood before the booth with her head innocently tilted to a side. Because she and the young firebender were in front of a shop selling neckwear. "Hello there. What are you looking for, young ones?" An elderly man greeted them. "I'm looking for a necklace...This one." Zuko pointed at a pendant that stood out to him. A gold trimmed black band embellished with a blue jewel.
"Ya have good eyes, lad. But it's going to cost ya two gold pieces." The old man was pleased at the young man's selection. "T-t-two gold pieces?! What makes this bead so special?" Thinking that the elderly man's swindling them, the young waterbender furrowed her brows beneath her mask and placed her hands on her hips. But the seller chuckled at her tone. "Lass, this is no ordinary bead. it took me weeks to carefully carve and polish it. This is a Star Sapphire, also known as the 'Stone of Destiny'. Under the sunlight, a star-like pattern will appear over its surface. The star on the stone represents destiny, faith, and hope. It took me weeks to carefully carve and polish it." The elder stated. To the Katara's surprise, the young man beside her took out two gold pieces and paid the stall owner without batting an eye.
"Here." After they left the store, Zuko turned and gave Katara the neckwear. "W-wait, what? You're giving this to me?" She was taken aback by it. "Why?" She asked again after he gave her a firm nod. "I noticed how you've been covering your neck from time to time. I was hoping this would ease you a little. At least until we're out of this town." He told her truthfully. "I-I can't! T-this is worth two gold pieces!" She backed away a little as she felt unfitting to accept it. However, the young firebender was persistent. "It's alright. Take it, it is yours now. It's not like Aang, your brother or I could wear it anyway." He took her hand and placed the pendant in it. "T-thank you." She blushed and sheepishly accepted it. After she put on the necklace, the sensation of discomfort that loitered around her faded away. Katara softly exhaled in ease and touched the gem with a smile. Since there wasn't much in the South Pole and things were a lot different after her mother passed away. The last gift that mattered to her the most, was her mother's pendant which she received from Gran Gran during her 9th birthday.
As more people were flooding into the main square, Zuko took Katara's hand to prevent her from being separated in the sea of people. Katara was startled when a huge intimidating dragon costume with several human feet beneath it ran towards them and stopped in front of the exiled prince. She instinctively hid herself behind Zuko while the fake dragon raised its height and motioning its head left and right as though it's sizing him up. Katara clung onto his cloak even more once the dragon compassed them in a clockwise manner twice before turning, repeating the same action in an inverse direction. "Okay, what was that all about?" Still clutching at his cloth, Katara murmured as she warily stared at the dragon costume who finally left them in peace. "Sorry about that. I'm afraid it's partly my fault." She blinked a few times at his sheepish chuckle. "That's a dragon dance. In Fire Nation, we believe that by performing dragon dance, we could chase off the evil spirits and the misfortunes, and bring prosperity as well as good luck for the remaining year." He explained. "So why were they circling us?" He then tapped at his mask while retaining his gaze on her, and said, "My mask is a Red Fire Demon." At that moment, Katara understood what it meant. "So…they were driving you out?" She asked again. "In a way, yes. They also cleansed and blessed us in the process." The young waterbender promptly tittered at his frank remark.
Later on, Zuko guided her through the crowd and took her to a rice cake stall. "Excuse me, but do you sell mango mochi?" Zuko asked the middle-aged female seller. "Oh course, sir! How many do you want?" She asked. "Can I get two servings, please?" He requested. "Alright, two servings coming right up!" Minutes later, the food vender passed two small cups to the young man. The prince gave one to the lady. "What are these?" Katara raised her mask and innocently goggled at the cup like a fire ferret. Her cup was with several powdery, pasty yellow round food. She took the toothpick and poked at it curiously. "This is a light dessert, called mango mochi. I want you to try it." She glanced to his direction and saw him popping one into his mouth. Though the mask prevented her from seeing his reaction, she guessed he was pleased by the food from his brief shudder. She took her time to brace herself and ate one. On her first bite, the softness and elasticity of the mochi took her by surprise. But what came next was beyond her imagination. The juicy taste of sweetness spreading over her taste buds has exhilarated her. "I-I've never tasted something this sweet before! This is actually good!" She beamingly complimented it and took two more and chewed them in content. Zuko stifled a chuckled as he watched her cheeks were cutely puffed up by the mochis.
Nonetheless, their little peaceful moment fell short when a shattering shout of "Hey! That kid's the Avatar!" forced the two of them to direct their sights towards a performance stage at the same time. There, they saw the young monk without his mask was standing next to a discontented performer, with Sokka tied to a chair behind the young Avatar. "What the– What in the Agni are they doing?! Do they not understand the concept of low-profile?!" Zuko infuriatingly barked and caused some nearby venders to scream when their stoves ignite uncontrollably. He gritted his teeth in a growl when he saw the boys have garnered the guards' attention. He crouched to reach for his boot and took out a pearl-handled dagger. As horns began protruding from his forehead, he handed the dagger to Katara and strictly instructed her, "Take this and cut your brother loose while I create a distraction for you guys to run." The young maiden heeded his words with a nod and hastily climbed onto the stage.
"Kata…ra?" Sokka relievedly called his baby sister after she reached his side and cut off his binds. But his ecstatic and grateful attitude turned into dreadfulness and timidity after seeing her frightening yet simmering aura. The water maiden didn't have the chance to upbraid them when four guards dispersed the crowd and reached the stage. "Get them–!?" The crowd gasped when a hooded masked assailant abruptly emerged before the guards and sent their captain flying backwards with a sucker kick to his chest. "Who the hell–!" The next victim was struck hard in the jaw, causing him to sway and collapse onto the ground. "Die! You piece of s–!" The second guard aimed for the Red Demon's chest and thrusted his spear forward. He missed his mark when Zuko twisted his upper body and caught the spear by gripping its tassel. Using his other hand, the young man broke the staff in an aggressive knifehand strike. He spun and disposed the second man with a spinning back kick to the gut, while simultaneously parrying the third guard's swing with the tip of the spear that was still on his hand. In the blink of an eye, the Red Demon discarded the weapon in his hand, hooked his arms around the sentinel's neck and mercilessly drove his knee into the man's right ribs, simultaneously breaking the shaft in the process.
By the time he took out those guards, pandemonium has ensued as the sound of an explosion erupted from the stage. The exiled prince also spotted an unknown man who had his face covered by black bandana was helping Katara and the rest escaping through the demolished stage wall. To cover their run away, the masked man left a few smoke bombs on the stage.
"What were you two thinking? Drawing that much attention?" In the middle of their escape, Katara scolded both her friend and her older brother.
"Hey, don't yell at me! I was pushed to the stage! It was Aang's idea to watch that stupid magic show!"
"I'm sorry! I thought he was about to burn you!"
"The two of you. Just– Aaargh!"
The boys winced guiltily at her outburst. They ran through the market and into the alley to lose their pursuers. "I see them! They're over there!" One of the guards shouted for backup after he saw the masked man and the kids were running through the alley. Their first escape route failed when the town guards arrived and sealed off the end of their passage. That forced the stranger to seek for an alternative escape route. While they were taking a turn, Aang promptly took out his bison whistle and blew it.
The attempt ended poorly when they ran into a dead end. "Okay, maybe not this way." They ended up running into the end of the alley where an abundant supply of firework crates had blocked their alternative route. They missed their chance for another reroute when the sentinels caught up to them on the other end. Nevertheless, the soldiers failed to advance and were forced to take few steps back when several scarlet fireballs rained down on their path. They looked up to see the hooded Red Demon as the perpetrator.
"D-don't just stand there! Someone get up there and catch that bastard!" Some guards scoured to bring ladders while others looked for other ways to get to the Avatar and his allies. That bought the gang enough time to climb onto Appa and leave the village. As he watched his friends escaped safely from the village, Zuko descended from the roof and stepped into the shadow before anyone could notice him. By the time he exited the alley, he's already donned in a new blue demonic mask mask with white markings. The mask of a Dark Water Spirit. That allowed him to mingle back into the crowd with ease.
"I need someone to get me Admiral Zhao now. Tell him the Avatar was here."
He delayed his pace for a second after overhearing one of the officers' conversation. 'Uncle…' Thinking that this may be his chance to see Iroh again, Zuko decided to stay behind the village a bit longer.
"So, the Avatar was here and you let him slip away?" The captain stiffened his spine at the admiral's stern voice and cold gaze. "Y-yes sir. Someone…or something prevented us from capturing him." Zhao dubiously raised an eyebrow and waited for more details. However, the sound of someone enjoying his meal distracted him and broke the edgy atmosphere. "Zhao, these dangos are good. You should have some." The admiral scoffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance when his military consultant finally decided to join them with his hands brimmed with numerous food.
"G-General Iroh! It is an honour to meet the great hero of our nation!" The guards saluted him with their utmost respect. But the chubby retired general merely laughed hearteningly and shook it off. "I am a retired general now." He corrected them as he contentedly took another bite at his skewered rice dumpling. "Enough! I've wasted enough time here." The guards flinched at the admiral's bellow. Iroh was the only one that unaffected by Zhao's snarl. "By all means, you should go on without me. This old bones of mine will only slow you down, Zhao." Iroh suggested as he patted his back to emphasize his senility. "Very well. You may inform the remaining details to Iroh while I hunt down the Avatar. Which way did he go?" The guards pointed towards a direction. "They got onto a flying furry buffalo and went that way, sir. We believe it's up the river." Zhao smirked and ordered his men to move out and ready the river boats.
"…A spirit protected the Avatar during his escape?" Iroh sat on a bench and stroke his grey beard solemnly as he listened to the officers' further explanation on why they failed to apprehend the Avatar.
"That's right, General. I know it sounds crazy. But we saw it–"
"–It's the Red Fire Demon, General!"
"He had the strength of at least three men! I saw him sent the captain flying with a kick!"
"He was a fleet-footed one! For a minute, he was in the market knocking down the guards. But the next thing we know, he ambushed us from the roof!"
"Yea! He also scorched and obstructed our path by blasting those accursed blood-red fireballs at us!"
The officers stood there and awaited the elder's response. Iroh sat there as he hummed in his deep thoughts. Not long later, he gave them a presumption. "I cannot confirm with you if this…offender is truly a spirit or merely a vigilante pretending to be one. May I suggest you put out a bounty for this…Red Demon?"
"As you wished, General. We'll get the poster ready and distribute it right away." The captain delegated the task to one of his men. Though they initially intended to stay and accompany the former general, Iroh nonchalantly dismissed them. Stating he wouldn't want to trouble them and simply wished to enjoy the remaining festive time all by himself. The captain respected the old man's choice and proceeded to excuse himself and resume his patrol with the rest.
Under the flamboyant lanterns, Iroh sat on the bench and blissfully enjoyed his dango and tea. He tranquilly expired when he realised a piece of pai sho has wheeled its way to his feet. The elderly man bent down and picked the white lotus tile. "Sorry sir, but that belongs to me." Iroh raised his head and saw the hooded, masked person holding a cup of mango mochi. "Mmm. Take good care of it. The importance of the white lotus tile must never be overlooked." He handed the piece back to the stranger. "May I?" He sought the permission to sit next to the old general. "Of course, I could use some company here." Iroh cackled softly and offered the free spot to him.
A short pause went by as both individuals resumed taking their little snacks. "…How are you?" The stranger was the first to break the silence as he chewed his mochi. "I've been good. I was given a ship of my own and the opportunity to handpick my crew. Although it is a lot smaller when compared to Zhao's ship, it is adequate. Every now and then, we'll hold pai sho tournaments and you are looking at the all-time pai sho champion here. We even have music night on every third night. Wong was an excellent cook. The roast duck he made was truly exquisite–––" The stranger chuckled as Iroh went on merrily about his life at sea. He stared at his cup and onto Iroh's plate. Both their rice cake and dumpling were down to one. "…I should go now. It was nice seeing you again, Uncle." He sighed dejectedly as he finished up his last snack. Iroh paused and serenely nodded his head in agreement. "The next time we meet will probably be in the Northern Water Tribe. Be careful out there. There is a bounty for the Red Demon now. Be sure to take good care of yourself…Zuko." By then, the figure left the spot attracting any attention. Leaving Iroh the only one left on the seat.