I don't own Avatar the last airbender just my Oc.
Chapter 10
Aang paced around Appa's saddle, panting heavily.
"Would you sit down!?" Sokka demanded from his spot on Appa's head, the reins in his hands as he turned to glare over his shoulder. "If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off. What's bugging you anyway?"
"It's what Avatar Roku said." Aang replied, standing at the front of the saddle and looking down at Sokka, "I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives."
"Well, let's see. You pretty much mastered Airbending and that only took you a hundred and twelve years." Sokka stated sarcastically as he looked at Aang over his shoulder with a slight smirk, "I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer."
He then felt a shock of cold in the back of his neck,he pressed his hand in the back of his head feeling his hair slightly damped and cold,he turned his head to see Liling glaring at him.
"Don't make go over there." Liling commented
"I haven't even started Waterbending and we're still weeks away from the North Pole!" Aang panicked as he began pacing again, clutching his head, "What am I gonna do?"
"Calm down, it's going to be okay Aang." Katara soothed taking Aang's hands in hers, "Did you forget there's someone here that can teach us."
Katara and Aang looked at Liling who was casually eating apple In a dream like state looking at the land below them.
"Of course! Lils!" Aang exclaimed
"Huh?" Liling said snapping out of her trance. "What? Did someone say my name?!"
"Lils, you can teach us waterbending!" Aang glowed smiling at his best friend. "It's just until we reach the North Pole!"
"Uh..."was all that Liling could say, okay yeah she was teaching a Katara a few things only because the water tribe girl doesn't have much experience In fighting,especially with the scarred prince chasing them is when they need to train the most. So if helping Aang with this, is a way to help him master the element then that's what she'll do to help her friend.
"Okay Aang I'll teach you the stuff that I know." Liling said
"You'd do that?" Aang asked, a smile appearing on his face.
"Yeah, that's what friends do right?" Liling said with a smile, she turn to Katara. "I guess we'll have to review the basics together."
"I'm fine with that." Katara agreed. She then looked over the side of the saddle, "We'll need to find a good source of water first."
"Maybe we can find a puddle for you to splash in." Sokka quipped with a grin, chuckling.
"Nice puddle." Sokka grumbled, looking at the large waterfall and river they had landed by while Aang, Liling and Katara looked at it with a large grin.
Appa suddenly flew down and belly flopped into the river, creating a huge splash that drenched Momo and nearly knocked him off the rock he was perched on. The lemur chittered in annoyance and shook himself rapidly to dry off, Appa rolling over onto his back and floating happily.
"Yeah!" Aang cheered with a grin, having already stripped down to his underwear and ran towards the water, "Don't start without me, boy!"
"Remember the reason we're here." Katara stated drily from behind the boy.
"Oh right." Aang grinned sheepishly and pulled his pants back up, "Time to practice Waterbending."
"Great..." Sokka drawled sarcastically, "So what am I supposed to do?"
"You could…clean the gunk out of Appa's toes!" Aang suggested with a slight smile as he held a branch with a bushel of leaves on the end.
Sokka crossed his arms with a frown, "So, while you guys are playing in the water, I'm supposed to be hard at work picking mud out of a giant bison's feet."
"Mud and bugs." Aang said with a smile, still holding out the branch.
"Just get it in there real good." Liling said with a smile.
"Okay." Sokka said with a shrug, grabbing the branch and walking over to Appa, who's still floating on his back in the water.
"So what's our first lesson?!" Aang grinned excitedly
"Uh...okay...so..."Liling said letting out a awkward cough trying to think of what to say, looking at the young airbender.
Meanwhile...
Zuko grunted as he practiced his Firebending with one of his crew members, launching fire blast after fire blast at the man until he and the crew member were thrown to one side as the ship turned.
"Someone's changing our course." Zuko growled as he glared up at the navigation room.
What is the meaning of this mutiny?!" Zuko demanded from the captain as he charged into the navigational room, "No one told you to change course!"
"Actually, someone did." Iroh stated calmly from where he was playing Pai Sho with one of the crew members. "I assure you, it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko."
Iroh scratched his beard as he looked at the Pai Sho table in front of him.
"Is it something to do with the Avatar?" Zuko asked hopefully as he took a step forward.
"Even more urgent. It seems I—" Iroh sighed and rubbed his forehead in distress,"—I have lost my lotus tile."
Iroh looked up at his nephew then back to the table, moving a piece forward across the Pai Sho board.
"Lotus tile?"
"For my Pai Sho game." Iroh clarified at his nephew's confused question as he moved another piece across the board, "Most people think the lotus insignificant but it is essential for the unusual strategy that I employ."
"You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile?!" Zuko demanded in disbelief as he looked at his uncle in exasperation.
"See, you, like most people, underestimate its value." Iroh stated "Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call."
Iroh's face and tone became excited as he continued, "Hopefully, they will have the lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life."
Zuko closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose, then tilted his head back and fire spilling from his mouth and at the ceiling, smoking filling the room.
"I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew." Iroh said with a close-eyed smile on his face.
Back with Liling and the others...
"Yeah, don't get too happy." Sokka stated as he stood on Appa's stomach and brushed the branch between the bison's toes, "You've got to do me next."
Appa merely moaned happily as he floated on around the river and wiggled his other toes.
"Okay...so..."She muttered until she snapped her fingers."I got it! My mom told me that a Waterbender's strength is its great versatility. Rather than supporting a separate set of offensive methods, waterbending employs defensive techniques that can be transformed into attacks and counters as in plain English we turn our best defense into offense."
Katara and Aang nodded and waited for Liling to continue.
"So...uh...let's review some of the basics of waterbending." Liling said
"This is a pretty basic move, my mom taught me this when I helped my dad push a boat back into the water." Liling said she moved into her stance and began moving her hands back and forth, creating small waves in the water, "Just push and pull the water like this. The key is getting the wrist movement right."
"That's easy." Katara stated mimicking Liling's movements. "I did this back home."
"You've got it nailed good." Liling praised.
"Like this?" Aang asked as he stood and mimicked the hand movements, but nothing happened.
"That's almost right." Katara praised kindly, "If you keep practicing I'm sure eventually—"
"Hey, I'm bending already!" Aang exclaimed excitedly, accidently cutting Katara of mid-sentence as he created bigger waves than the ones Katara made on his first try.
"That's great Aang!" Liling praised
"Wow, I can't believe you got that so quickly." Katara stated in surprise, "It took me two months to learn that move."
Aang shrugged and smiled over at Katara, "Well, you had to figure it out all on your own and we're lucky that we have a good teacher here."
"You did good Katara, it's hard learning it by yourself but I think your doing fine." Liling added.
Katara smiled at the praise, "Thanks."
"So, what's next?" Aang asked eagerly.
"This is a bit tricky, but it's a basic move. You just stream the water." Liling said moving the water and streaming it.
A stream of water from the river rising into the air as Katara began moving it around, "It's harder than it looks, so don't be disappointed if—"
Katara paused and frowned, dropping her own stream of water when she noticed Aang already controlling a stream of water as he moved it around and above his body then neatly coiled it back into the river. Liling was smiling at Aang encouragingly when he glanced over at her.
"Nice work." Katara complimented, a bit grudgingly then frowned, "Though the over-the-head flare was unnecessary."
"It was a tad much." Liling agreed.
"Sorry." Aang apologized then looked at Liling excitedly, "Well, don't stop now! Keep 'em coming!"
'I just didn't think he'd do it this fast...he's good...'Liling thought
"Well, I kind of know this one other move, but it's pretty hard." Katara said getting their attention , shifting a little bit away from Liling and Aang, "I haven't even totally figured it out yet..so maybe you might Lils. The idea is to create a big, powerful wave."
Aang and Liling watched as Katara moved her hands up, shaking slightly from effort as a big mass of water started to rise out of the river, but it popped.
"I see, Katara your hands were too Tense you have to relax them just go with the flow of things." Liling explained "Just raise your hands high."
"So, like this?" Aang asked as he copied Katara's movement, creating a big wave that towers over their heads.
"Yeah! Just like that! Awesome Aang!" Liling praised
Sokka was still cleaning between Appa's toes turned around and stared up at the wave towards him and Appa in fear.
"Uh, Aang?" He called out a moment before the wave crashed into him and threw him off of Appa and into the water, his head slowly appearing above the water with an annoyed expression on his face.
Aang smiled happily and turned towards Katara, "Looks like I got the hang of that move! What else you got?"
Liling glanced at Katara's irritated look on her face.
"I think we can practice more later."Liling stated
"I agree."Katara snapped slightly, turning away from Aang with an irritated expression on her face.
"Yeah, I'll say." Sokka called out from the water with a peeved look, "You just 'practiced' our supplies down the river."
Most of their supplies got washed away.
"Uh, sorry." Aang apologized guiltily then gave a slightly worried smile, "I'm sure we can find somewhere to replace all this stuff."
"My life was hard enough when you were just an Airbender." Sokka grumbled then sank back into the water.
Liling lightly giggled, she turn her head to the others.
"I'll go find some stuff so that we don't have to buy a lot of food." Liling said "I'll meet you guys later in the market."
After that Aang,Katara and Sokka left while Liling searched for anything she can find. As usual Liling found a few things, but one plant that she was very ecstatic to find was the rare white dragon flower a very rare find for her.
'Dad would've liked this...' Liling thought looking at the reddish pink flower with white streaks. 'I might get maybe a few silver pieces for it. I'll keep a little bit for myself.'
After going through some of the stalls for quite some time, Liling manage to get a decent price for the rare flower as well as some of her goods that she found.
'I've got some money now, I'll look around a bit more at the stalls then catch up with them.' Liling thought she walked around a bit feeling a light breeze blowing her long hair flowed delicately.
Until she saw a stall with an older woman motioning Liling to come to her, Liling looked around wondering if it was her and not someone else. So Liling walked to the stall,the woman smiled at her.
"My! Aren't you a lovely young lady." She said "I bet your quite the catch with the young men."
"I...uh...no."Liling mumbled shaking her head.
"Don't be so modest."She said, "You remind me of myself when I was young, I remember this one boy he was so stubborn to notice my feelings for him. It was cute when he gets flustered."
"Uh...yeah..."Liling commented the woman raised her hand grabbing The young girls chin pulling her close, the woman had a small brush, Liling felt the brush tickle her lips.
"This color looks lovely on you."She said smiling brightly. She took out a piece of mirror showing Liling.
Her eyes widen and lightly touched her lips, seeing a dark red color complementing her skin color. A small memory of her mother smiling showing her the makeup.
"It's my own blend."She said holding a small seashell like compact Opening it showing the same color Liling had. "It looks so nice on you."
A few minutes later...
Liling held in her hands the small seashell. 'It looks nice and maybe it'll come in handy...plus she gave me good deal a copper piece and a few mint leaves for it.' Liling thought placing the tiny compact inside the sleeve of her haori.
Liling continued to look around the port's market place, taking in the rather intimidating people surrounding the stalls. She caught up with Katara and Aang waiting outside of one shop.
"We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money that King Bumi gave us." Sokka stated as he walked back from the alleyway he had disappeared into with a bag slung over his shoulder,
"No need to worry about money I manage to get a few silver pieces from finding a few rare plants." Liling announced smiling.
"I think it's best if you keep it with you."Sokka said "Lets spend the copper pieces wisely." The water tribe boy paused staring at Liling.
"Uh...what's wrong?" Liling asked
"What's that on your face?" Sokka asked glancing at Liling's face.
"Is that make up?" Aang asked
Liling slightly blushed. "Y-yeah a woman was selling them and put some on me...does it look bad?" She asked self consciously placing her hand on her mouth.
"Uh...no...you look nice."the water tribe boy replied turning his head away with a very faint blush dusted on his cheeks.
"You look great Lils."Aang complemented
"You really do."Katara agreed.
"Uh, anyway Sokka make it two copper pieces." Aang replied sheepishly as he reached behind his back, "I couldn't say no to this whistle!"
"It looks so cute."Liling said
She looked at the white, bison shaped whistle in Aang's hands before watching him curiously as he took a deep breath and blew into the whistle, barely making a sound.
"It doesn't even work." Sokka stated after pulling his fingers from his ears, having expected a loud or annoying sound and Aang stopped blowing on the whistle when Momo screeched
in irritation, "See? Even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk."
"No offense, Aang, but I'll hold the money from now on." Katara stated, holding her hand out and Aang handed her the copper pieces with a pout.
"I still think it's a nice find."Liling reassured "It looks like Appa."
The group began walking around the market some more.
"Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here!" A man with brown hair dressed in green and standing in front of a ship, called out to anyone that passed him, "Don't be shy, come on by!"
Liling, Sokka, Katara and Aang walked past the man but he ran up them, "Oh! You there, I can see from your clothing that you're world-traveling types. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?"
Aang walked back to the man with a grin, "Sure! What are curios?"
"I'm not entirely sure…" He muttered then grinned and steered Aang towards the docked ship behind him, "But we got 'em!"
'Oh Aang...I can't take my eyes off of you for a minute.' Liling thought shaking her head and followed after her friend.
Katara, and Sokka exchanged looks but quickly followed after Aang, Liling and the man to the ship.
Liling looked around the inside of the ship curiously for a moment sticking close to Aang. That is until something caught her eye, a wide variety of hair pins were on display.
Aang grinned and leaned down to look closely at an object on a shelf before becoming confused, "Huh?"
Katara stared eerily at an ornate monkey statue with red gems for eyes on another shelf before shaking her head and walking away from it.
Liling couldn't believe there was so many valuable looking items here, she looked back at Aang as he walked beside another shelf, pausing to look at another object.
"I've never seen such a fine specimen of lemur." A man suddenly spoke up, startling the four as he walked into the light with a colorful reptile-bird perched on his shoulder, "That beast would fetch me a hefty sum if you'd be interested in bartering."
Aang grabbed Momo from his shoulder and held him protectively to his chest, "Momo's not for sale."
"Momo's family not something we can pawn off."Liling replied cooly.
The man glanced at Liling.
"What about that?" He pointed at Liling's necklace. "Those jewels can be worth a pretty sum."
"Not for sale."Liling scowled
Meanwhile, Katara had wondered further into the ship and paused when she spotted a shelf where a couple of scrolls were kept, grabbing one that had the Waterbending symbol on it. She opened the scroll and gasped quietly in surprise when she saw diagrams and writings for Waterbending.
"Look at this, Aang! Lils! It's a Waterbending scroll!" She called over excitedly with a smile as Aang and Liling walked over and peered over her shoulder, "Check out these crazy moves!"
"I recognize a few of those!" Liling smiled looking at the pictures.
Aang turned to look at the man excitedly, "Where did you get a Waterbending scroll?"
The man slammed his hand on the scroll and snatched it from the table, rolling it back up, "Let's just say I got it up North, at a most reasonable price, free."
'Free?' Liling thought narrowed her eyes at the man as he placed the scroll back on the shelf.
"Wait a minute… Sea loving traders, with suspiciously acquired merchandise," Sokka spoke, his eyebrows raising his voice rose, "And pet reptile birds?"
Sokka turned around to face the man from the street, nearly spitting in his face, "You guys are pirates!"
The man put his arms around Sokka's shoulders, "We prefer to think of ourselves as, high risk traders."
"Yeah you are...and I'm a princess that lives in a magic sugar castle." She said sarcastically then tugged Sokka away from the pirate and over to where Katara and Aang were leaning against a counter with the captain standing behind it.
"So, how much for the, uh, traded, scroll?" Katara asked somewhat sarcastically after looking at the two copper pieces in her hand.
"I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom." The captain said coolly then his voice turned less serious as he looked down at the two, "Unless of course, you kids have two hundred gold pieces on you right now."
Aang turned and whispered quietly to Katara, "I know how deal with these guys, Katara. Pirates love to haggle."
"But shouldn't Lils handle this?" Katara whispered "She seems to know what to do."
"It'll be fine trust me."Aang reassured
Katara quirked an eyebrow but placed their coins into the bald boy's hand.
"Watch and learn." Aang said with a smirk as he swaggered over to the counter then leaned against it and began talking in a pirate-like voice, "Let's say to the price of, one copper piece!"
Aang smiled and dramatically presented a single copper piece, causing the captain to laugh hysterically.
"The price is two hundred gold pieces. I don't haggle on items this rare."
Aang smirked confidently and continued talking like a pirate, "Okay, two copper pieces!"
"It's not amusing the second time, boy!" The pirate captain snarled, leaning forward slightly to glare at the Aang.
"Aang, let me handle this."Liling said going over the counter.
The pirate looked at Liling.
"Sorry about that."Liling said "Look I'm sure we can come up with an offer that both parties will like, I know that scroll isn't worth that much for the price your asking...maybe for.." Liling searched in her pouch. "Six silver pieces and rare tea leaves for it."
The pirate scowled at her. "I'm not interested in silver or pesky weeds...unless your willing to pawn that necklace you've got then maybe we've got a deal."
Liling glared at him.
"Not gonna happen."Liling said
Katara stepped forward and touched Liling's, whispering quietly, "Can we get out of here? I feel like we're getting weird looks?" Liling nodded since the guy wasn't going to budge.
Aang snatched his staff up from where it was leaning against the counter and still talking like a pirate said, "Aye, we be casting off now."
The teens left the boat.
"What was that all about, Katara?" Aang asked Katara curiously as they walked down the ramp and back onto the street.
"Yeah, I was just starting to browse through their boomerang collection." Sokka complained slightly.
"I was actually glad that we left he kept trying to trade something for my necklace."Liling said
Katara shrugged and hugged her arms to her chest, her expression looking slightly worried.
"I'll just feel a lot better once we get away from here?"
'Why do I feel a shiver go up my spine? Is it the willies?' Liling thought
The four continued down the street and away from the pirate ship.
"Hey you!" The man from before suddenly shouted at them from the front of the ship, "Get back here!"
Aang smirked as he turned around, "Well, well, look who's come to their senses. Told you the haggling would pay off."
Liling's eyes widened when she saw the armed pirates jump out of the ship and rush towards them.
"I don't think these pirates are here to trade with us!" Katara cried out as she, Liling, Sokka and Aang turn around and run away, the pirates chasing after them.
The four ran through the market, turning a corner sharply and Katara bended some water from a Barrel and froze a puddle behind them, causing one of the pirates to slip. Liling, Sokka and Katara ran down an alleyway, bumping into the cabbage merchant while Aang jumped through the small space between the top of the cart and the cabbage and sent a blast of wind at the cart, throwing it into the pirates that were right behind them.
"My cabbages!" The mmerchant shriek, "This place is worse than Omashu!"
Another group of pirates leapt out in front of them and began chasing them back down the street the four had just come from.
"I hope that lemur of yours has nine lives!" A pirate shouted as they chased the four teens around a corner and into a dead end.
Liling and her friends whirled around to face the pirates cornering them.
"Now, who gets to taste the steel of my blade first?" The man from before asked sinisterly as he twirled his knifes around.
"No thanks!" Aang stated and spun, hurling a blast of air at the pirates that send them backwards, then he snap his glider open and ran towards them.
"Grab on tight!" Aang shouted over his shoulder as he continued running.
"I thought we were running away from the pirates, you guys!" Katara yelled but she jumped onto Aang's glider Sokka and Liling jumped, Liling carefully but skillfully manage to balance herself on top of the gliders while the water tribe siblings held on for dear life.
"Just hang on!" Aang called out as he flew over the pirates heads and away from the port, back to where they had made their camp.
"I used to kinda look up to pirates." Aang commented as he snapped his gilder shut after they had landed back at their camp and sat on the ground, leaning against a rock.
"Pirates...those guys just made my list!" Liling grunted. "I can't believe that one of my friends would want to be a pirate...he even shouted saying that he wanted to be king of the pirates and that I'll be his queen...I mean what was that about?!" She flopped to the ground and grumbled.
"Those guys are terrible..." Aang commented
"I know. That's why I took…" Katara said, her mischievous tone causing Aang, Liling and Sokka to look at her curiously then in shock when she held out the Waterbending scroll, "This."
"No way!" Aang gaped in surprised and lurched to his feet.
"Katana no..."Liling gasped
"Isn't it great?" Katara asked excitedly, stepping back slightly when Sokka appeared in front of her.
"No wonder they were trying to hack us up!" Sokka yelled angrily," You stole their Waterbending scroll."
"I prefer to think of it as high risk trading." Katara joked, causing Aang to laugh.
"Good one, Katara."Aang chuckled
"Katara! You really could've gone us killed!" Liling scolded. "I would expect Sokka to do it if it was a shiny boomerang! But you! I thought I knew you."
"Liling, Sokka where do you think they got it?" Katara asked rhetorically as she looked between the two. "They stole it from a Waterbender!"
"It doesn't matter." Sokka snapped back seriously, "You put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid, fancy splashes which by the way you could've learned it from princess splash herself!" He pointed his thumb at Liling.
"Liling might know a few things but These are real Waterbending forms." Katara stated in an attempt to justify her actions, "You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn Waterbending!"
"Whatever." Sokka muttered, and shook his head, walking away.
"Well, what's done is done." Aang said calmly, "We have it, we might as well learn from it."
Liling sighed as always Aang tries to find a way to avoid conflict..it was a tiny thing that she liked and hated it at the same time. Liling took the scroll and looked over the moves until it was snatched away from her hands by Katara.
"Um...Katara maybe I should-"
"Not now Lils I'm reading." Katara cut her off.
Meanwhile in the Marketplace
"I've checked all the shops on this pier." Iroh said exasperatedly to Zuko, "Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace!"
"It's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time for everyone!" Zuko snapped angrily at his uncle, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
"Quite the contrary." Iroh commented. "I always say, the only thing better than finding something you are looking for is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!"
Zuko's eye twitched slightly as he watched the crew members walk past him and his uncle, carrying all of Iroh's many purchases.
"You bought a tsungi horn?" Zuko asked in bafflement as he looked at his uncle.
"For music night on the ship." Iroh stated with a happy smile before cupping his chin as he began to walk around the market again with Zuko following reluctantly, "Now if we only have some woodwinds."
"Oh, this place looks promising!" Iroh said excitedly as he pointed to the ship as he hurried on board, Zuko trailing behind him.
"Oh, that is handsome!" Iroh exclaimed as he looked at the monkey statue, "Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?"
The pirate captain's lieutenant stood in front of the captain near the back of the ship, "We lost the Water Tribe girl, the girl with the green haori and the little bald monk they were was traveling with."
Zuko turned around when he heard the pirate and stepped forward, "This monk, did he have an arrow on his head."
No one noticed the way Iroh made a similar facial expression the monkey's when he picked it up.
Back with Liling and the others..
"I just want to try this one move first and then it's all yours." Katara said, then handed the open scroll to Aang, "Here, hold it open for me. The single water whip. Looks easy."
Aang, Liling and Sokka watched as Katara attempted the move but only ended up hitting herself in the forehead, leaving a small red mark.
"Ow!"
Sokka started laughing hysterically at her and Katara turned to glare at him.
"What's so funny?" Katara demanded.
"I'm sorry, but you deserved that." Sokka stated then turned to Aang and Liling "You've been duped. She's only interested in teaching herself."
"Aang and Lils will get their turn once I figure out the water whip!" Katara snapped angrily, then attempted the move again, only this time she smacked Momo's backside, causing him to screech angrily at her, "Ugh! Why can't I get this stupid move?!"
"Katara, your being too tense."Liling said "If your too tense or angry you won't be able to do it right." Liling looked at the scroll and attempted to do the water whip, it was fairly easy for her. She picked up a branch and tossed it in the air And performed the water whip successfully. "See? Just stay calm and you'll do it."
"Lils, is right you'll get it." Aang said reassuringly as he put the scroll on the tree stump and walked closer to the river, not noticing the glare Katara is giving him, "You just got to shift your weight through the stances, just like Lils did."
Aang mimicked the moves on the Waterbending scroll and created the water whip on his first try, Liling nodded and smiled at his stances.
"See? Aang did a good example of it." Liling said
"There, see?" Aang said with a smile, "The key to bending is—"
"Will you please shut your air hole?!" Katara screamed angrily as she loomed over Aang, "Believe it or not your infinite wisdom gest s little old sometimes. Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you're so naturally gifted!"
"Katara! What's wrong with you?!" Liling snapped defending Aang.
"What's wrong with me?! What about you!" Katara snapped "All you do is praise Aang for everything! You don't have to praise him so much, Just because he's your friend! Some teacher you are!"
"Katara!" Sokka barked glaring at his sister.
"What?!" Katara demanded then turned to look at Aang and Liling who was staring at her with tears in their eyes, making Katara instantly feel guilty, "Oh my gosh, Aang, Lils, I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me. But you know what, it won't happen again."
Katara picked up the scroll and handed it to Aang.
"Here, this is yours." Katara said softly as she put the scroll in Aang's hands, "I don't want to have anything to with it anymore."
"It's okay, Katara." Aang said forgivingly with a smile.
"Yeah, it's fine."Liling said 'It's not the first time someone yelled at me like that.' She thought
"What about Momo?" Sokka asked with a slight grin as he gestured to the lemur rubbing his backside, "He's the real victim here."
Liling covered her mouth to muffle her giggles at his words. It was as if he tried to cheer them up.
"I'm sorry Momo." Katara apologized, kneeling behind Momo rubbing his ears.
"And what about me?" Sokka asked gesturing to himself, "There was that time you—"
"No more apologies!" Katara snapped at her brother, giving him a dark.
"Shouldn't we stop to search the woods?" The pirate captain asked Zuko he was standing beside on the prince's boat.
"We don't need to stop." Zuko stated firmly, "They stole a Waterbending scroll, right?"
"Mm-hm." The captain hummed in confirmation, looking at Zuko.
"Then they'll be on the water." Zuko said confidently as he looked at the sun setting before them as the captain comes to stand beside him.
Katara looked around the camp quietly as she checked to see if The others were asleep. Breathing quietly in relief, she quietly slipped from her sleeping bag and walked over to bag where the scroll was, carefully pulling it out. Katara then silently backed away from the camp until she thought she was far enough way, then she turned only to come face-to-face with Momo, who chattered at her.
"Shh, Momo! Go back to sleep!" Katara whispered firmly to the chattering lemur as she walked past, "Shh!"
Liling moved to the side her eyes fluttered opened and stared in the direction Katara had gone in.
"Done with the scroll, eh?" Liling muttered to herself. "Oh Katara..." she quickly grabbed her haori and followed Katara to the river.
"Ugh, ugh, ugh! Shoot!" Katara grumbled when the water didn't do what she wanted it too, "Come on water, work with me here! Okay, what if I just, ow! Stupid scroll!"
"What do we have here?" Katara to whirl around and stare at Liling with wide eyes.
"Uh..."
"Just remember what I said, if your too tense it won't work."Liling explained "Now try again, but remember to relax."
"Ow! Stupid scroll!"
Zuko tensed when he heard Katara's voice and he and the pirate captain shared a knowing look.
Katara nodded and brought up another stream of water, muttering to herself, "Okay Katara, relax and shift your weight through the stances."
A sudden noise caused Them to look at the river warily
"Did you hear that?" She asked just as Katara dropped the water again then groaned in aggravation. "I swear I heard something."
The sudden sound of metal scraping against sand caught both girls attention and they moved towards the bushes to check what the noise was.
Katara and Liling gasped quietly upon seeing the small metal ship on the river bank and they turned to run away only to run straight into the arms of a large pirate.
"No! Let go of us!" Katara snapped angrily then bended some water, hitting the pirate in the face causing him to let both girls go.
The two girls ran forward only for them to see a few other pirates, Liling exhale releasing a heavy steam and quickly moved her hands creating a thick mist. Blocking the pirates view from them.
"Katara! Run!" Liling exclaimed Liling turned and saw Katara escape as Liling ran in a different direction.
Only to run right into Zuko and he grabbed Liling's wrists pulling her close.
"I'll save you from the pirates." Zuko sneered down at Liling as she glared furiously up at him.
"Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you, your friend or her brother." Zuko stated persuasively from in front of where he had Liling tied to a tree. A few others went to search for Katara.
"Bite me, firecracker!" Liling snapped back angrily as she glared at him before looking away.
He had been questioning Liling, he had captured her for a while now. Whenever he said something she would snap at him. It was getting harder for him to control his temper with the young girl.
"Try to understand." Zuko said after a moment of thought as he approached her. "I need to capture him to restore something I've lost, my honor."
"Honor? Is that why your doing this?" Liling muttered
"Yes, that's why I have to capture him." He repeated
Zuko came around to her side and leaned down he detected a very faint flowery scent but quickly ignored it and whispered in her ear. "Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you've lost or more specific something your friend lost."
Liling's eyes widened when she saw Zuko hold up Katara's necklace to her neck briefly, the necklace Katara had lost.
"Katara's necklace!" Liling exclaimed, looking down at the necklace as Zuko dangled it in front of her for a moment then walked back over to his soldiers with a smirk. "How did you get that?!"
"I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering." Zuko taunted as he turned to face her. "Tell me where he is."
"In your dreams Firecracker!" Liling snapped Zuko's eye twitched at the girl.
The pirate captain suddenly stepped forward, "Enough of this necklace garbage! You promised a scroll!"
"I wonder how much this is worth…" Zuko said as he took the Waterbending scroll from behind his back and held it over the fire in his other hand, smirking when the pirates gasped in fear, "A lot, apparently. Now you help me find what I want, you'll get this back and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here."
"Fine." The pirate captain growled as he turned around, scowling darkly as he and his men began doing as the banished prince ordered.
'Aang...guys...'Liling thought she moved her fingers trying to at least touch the bindings.
"I'll find him." He said looking at the girl.
"Your the worst...the firenation really changed, to have a prince like you...is just rotten."Liling said "Capturing my friend for Honor? You really are scum, the lowest of the low."
Zuko glared and walked straight to the captive girl, pressing his body against her trying to intimidate her but Liling wasn't afraid. She glared at Zuko, everything was silence The tension was so tense between the two of them. He saw her eyes again she had a certain spark in her eyes, he couldn't explain it.
"We got them!" A pirate said breaking the silence in the atmosphere.
"Nice work." Zuko praised as he turn and stood in front of where the pirates were gathered with Aang and the others were tied up in front of them.
"Aang, this is all my fault." Katara said sadly as she looked at Aang.
"No Katara, it isn't." Aang stated with a slight smile of reassurance.
"Yeah," Iroh countered with a slight nod of his head, "It kind of is."
"I agree with him."Liling said nodding in agreement.
Zuko took a few steps towards the pirate captain, the scroll in hand, "Give me the boy."
"You give us the scroll." The pirate captain retorted without moving.
Sokka looked up at the pirate captain in surprise, "You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?"
"Don't listen to him," Zuko ordered, glaring at the Sokka heatedly, "he's trying to turn us against each other!"
The pirate captain ignored Zuko and looked down at Aang, but addressed Sokka, "You're friend is the Avatar?"
"Sure is," Sokka confirmed with a sly grin, "And I'll bet he'll fetch you a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll."
"Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!" Zuko snarled angrily as he pointed threateningly at Sokka.
"Yeah, Sokka, you really should shut your mouth." Aang whispered at his friend.
'He should shut up.'Liling thought
Sokka shrugged his shoulders, "I'm just sayin' it's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life."
The pirate captain looked down at Aang.
"Keep the scroll," The pirate captain sneered at Zuko, "We can buy a hundred with the reward we'll get for the kid."
Zuko's eyes narrowed as he watched the pirates turn their back on him, "You'll regret breaking a deal with me."
Zuko and two of his soldiers send a blast of fire at the pirates causing them to jump back while the hawker ran out and threw a smoke bomb, jumping onto the cloud as the fight between Zuko's men and the pirates ensued.
Sokka , Katara and Aang began to struggle with their ropes when three soldiers began running towards them only to be stopped when four pirates jumped in front of them and surrounded Them, throwing a smoke bomb and covering the area with the gray haze.
Meanwhile, Momo climbed down the tree Where Liling was. He chewed the ropes letting her go free.
"Momo, I'll have to look for a few tasty fruit for you later."Liling said.
Katana quickly ran out of the smoke seeing Liling free.
"Katara! Go to the boat, I'll go get Appa."Liling said Katara gave her a worried look. "I'll be fine you guys go!"
With a nod Katara ran towards the boat while Liling ran hoping to find Appa.
Aang coughed as he looked around the smoke, yelping quietly as he dodged a knife that cut through his ropes at the same time. Then he dodged a spear that with another yelp and began to quickly try and find his way out of the smoke.
Zuko stumbled out of the smoke cloud and hid the Waterbending scroll behind his back, glancing behind him and whirling around just in time to dodge the pirate captain's sword. Zuko scowled and took a Firebending stance while the captain prepared to attack with his sword. The two began to fight, Zuko sending out blasts of fire while the captain tried to slice him with his sword.
Zuko growled when he felt the scroll get yanked away by the pirate with the rope only for Momo to snatch it out of the air, catching the attention of the pirate captain's reptile-bird.
Momo gave a screech as the reptile-bird dove into him and caused him to lose his grip on the scroll which went tumbling into the smoke cloud before.
"Aang, are you there?" Sokka shouted as he crawled on the ground, jerking back when a blade landed in front of him before he used it to saw through his binds.
"I'm over here!" Aang shouted back, "Follow my voice!"
"Where?" Sokka called back, "I can't find you!"
"I'm right here!" Aang yelled then scowled and Airbended the dust away, revealing the pirates surrounding him and he immediately Airbended the smoke and dust back around him, "Never mind, I'll find you!"
Sokka crawled out of the smoke cloud on his hands and knees, Aang jumped over him a moment later in a full sprint.
"Run!" Aang shouted over his shoulder as Sokka jumped to his feet and ran after Aang.
"Katara, you're okay!" Aang shouted happily as he and Sokka found her trying to push the pirate ship back into the water.
"Help me get this boat back in the water so we can get outta here." Katara ordered briskly and the two boys joined her in trying to push the boat, but they aren't able too.
"We'd need a team of rhinos to budge this ship." Sokka stated as the three stepped back.
"A team of rhinos," Aang started as a he looked over at Katara, "Or two Waterbenders."
Katara smiled at him and the two moved so they were standing across from each other, then they began to push and pull the water until the boat rose up.
"Everybody in!" Katara commanded
Aang paused when he noticed they were one person short. Aang jerked as panic shown in his face.
"Lils!" He panicked
Katara grabbed Aang's arm and pulled him after her and Sokka onto the ship.
"Aang, we have to go!" She shouted, "Liling said she'd get Appa."
"Are you so busy fighting you cannot see your own ship has set sail?" Iroh demanded after shoving Zuko and the pirate captain apart.
"We have no time for your proverbs, Uncle!" Zuko snapped as he turned to his uncle in annoyance.
"It's no proverb." Iroh stated drily as he pointed towards the pirates' ship that was sailing away.
"Bleeding hog monkeys!" The pirate captain cursed and ran after the ship.
Zuko pointed and laughed at the captain only for his laughter stopped when he saw the pirates had hijacked his own boat, the pirates taunting him as they sailed after Aang and his friends.
"Hey! That's my boat!" Zuko shouted and began chasing the stolen boat.
"Maybe it should be a proverb…" Iroh mused as he watched the boats sail downstream while his nephew raced after his stole boat.
"C'mon, Uncle!" Zuko shouted and Iroh sighed as he hurried after his nephew.
Liling raced through the trees hoping to get back to camp to get Appa and leave. Once she was there Appa wasn't in sight.
"Appa!" Liling shouted but there wasn't a response.
She saw a few squirrels running away, she quickly turned and her eyes widen. She bended water from her canteen creating a shield blocking the fireball. Seeing a few soldiers walking towards her.
Liling got in a defensive stance but saw three more solders surrounding her.
'Aang...please be okay...'Liling thought glaring at the soldiers.
"I knew a bison whistle would come in handy. Thanks, Appa." Aang stated with a grin that quickly fell when he realized that Liling was here, holding the reins like he had hoped.
Suddenly he began to panic and he whirled around to face Katara and Sokka.
"Lils!"
The Water Tribe siblings' eyes went wide and the three stared at each other with worries looks.
"My boat!" Zuko shouted as he and his uncle arrived at the edge of the falls.
Iroh bent over and panted with his hands on his knees then straightened after catching his breath, slipping his hands into the large sleeves of his robe. He blinked in surprise before starting to chuckle lowly.
"Prince Zuko, you're really going to get a kick out of this." Iroh stated as he chuckled then pulled his missing lotus tile out of his sleeve and showed it to Zuko. "The lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!"
Growling, Zuko snatched the Pai Sho piece from his uncle's hand and tossed it over the water. Iroh frowned and looked over the edge.
"Prince Zuko," The Firebender said.
"What?" Zuko snarled as he angrily whipped around to face the three Firebenders.
The Firebender moved out of the way, revealing the other two Firebenders with the girl struggling against her binds.
"It's you..."
She glared at Zuko, mentally cursing herself for getting captured. 'Aang...at least you guys escaped...' Liling thought keeping her head held high knowing that Aang and her friends are safely away from the danger.
Zuko looked down at Liling and a slow smirk appeared on his face. Liling didn't like the way he was smirking, knowing what he could do she had to prepare for the worst.
"How could I let them take her?! Why didn't you help her?!" Aang shouted angrily looking in every direction to see if the fire navy ship was there.
"Aang! She told me to go help you."Katara exclaimed lowering her head in guilt. "We were in a difficult situation and-
"You could've went to get me!" Aang cut her off. "I could've saved her!"
"We were short on time and-"
"You didn't care about her!" Aang cut her off his tone getting harsher every minute. "You didn't like her because she's a better waterbender than you! You wanted my best friend gone because you were jealous of her!"
"Aang...I know it's my fault but she did everything she could to save us."Katara said
"But who's going to save her?"Sokka asked "She's alone with scar face."
"I'm sure Lils will find a way to escape and we'll be there when she does."Katara said
Aang glared at the ground, cursing himself that he wasn't there to help her,Liling was always there for him helping him, she was more than just his best friend she was almost like a sister to him. Now that she's captured he just feels helpless and so angry.
"I'm going to find Lils."Aang said coldly grabbing his staff but Katara stopped him. "Let go Katara! I have to go get Lils!"
"Aang, stop!" Katara said gripping his arm. "You can't go, what if you get caught?"
"I bet that's what their waiting for."Sokka commented "Their going to use Liling as bait to set a trap to get you."
"I don't care! Lils is always there! "Aang shouted angrily. "She's...she's always been there for me!" a few angry tears rolled down his face. "Now she's not here...i couldn't...I couldn't even save my best friend..."
"Aang..."Katara sad hugging the grief stricken monk, he continued to shed a few tears.
'Lils...I'm sorry...I promise I'll find you...'Aang thought 'I will find you...'
Liling got captured! So it'll be interesting to see her spend time with Zuko. Please leave a review and tell me what you guys think! Any suggestions pm me!
Alexa S- glad you like the story! There's going to be more interactions between Liling and Zuko soon.
Cow lover2214- glad you liked the previous chapter. I kinda thought that Zuko would show some interest in Liling but not straying away from his objective.