Stranded III
A dockworker hauled another wooden crate onto a wheeled loading cart, readying a whole set of them for transport onto the Gudan.
"Hey! You better have those crates ready before she sets off!" his superintendent shouted to him from on the ship, holding a clipboard, "She leaves in twenty, hurry up or you'll be fired!"
He sighed, He always acts like this. And why are these crates so heavy? These are supposed to be filled with extra clothing, simple sheep-cow wool tunics and boots. It feels like a komodo rhino and four of its babies are squished in here!
Another dock worker came up behind him, "You need some help there?"
He sighed in relief, "Thank the Spirits, I've been trying to haul these twelve crates onto this loading cart since I got here!"
The other worker surveyed the crates, "It can't be that hard, it's just," he looked at the tags attached to them, "extra clothing. Should be relatively easy."
"Then give it a go 'O Smart One,' let's see you try it out."
He squatted down and held one from the bottom, "See, the trick with these is trying to lift with your legs. If try with your back, all that's gonna happen is-" he tried to lift it, "Spirits! What is in these things?"
The other chuckled, "'Simple clothing' according to you."
He let go of the crate and stumbled back, "Oh shut up. Here, you grab that end and I'll get this one here."
Together, they managed to put the remaining crates onto the cart. By the time they were finished there was only eight minutes until the Gudan would set sail.
They were breathing heavily and leaning against the crates, "Well, we better pull this thing into the cargo hold."
"Good idea." the other said.
They managed to wheel the cart into the ship and rest it beside some more crates of the same nature, some bigger, some smaller, others the exact same size.
Three soldiers, clad in the traditional Fire Nation uniforms, walked over to the two workers after watching them from the side, where they were laughing to themselves and picking fun at them in hushed voices.
"Alright, guys. Go ahead and head back to the docks before you become stow-aways. The ship's about to set."
They nodded and wiped off some sweat from their brows, gratefully accepting the end of their shifts, and gleefully waiting to see their family back home.
The guards each managed to get the crates down, one by one, together. Besides the fact that it took the three's combined might to lift them onto the flooring, it took a relatively short time.
When they were finished, a messenger boy, only 12 by the look of him, came in and told them it was time to report back to Officer Zhang.
When they left, they shut off the lights and locked the door to the cargo hold. Leaving the room in its solitary darkness.
A knock.
Three knocks.
A series of short taps, with longer taps interwound.
The long awaited seven knocks with three short taps afterwards.
One of the crates that the workers and soldiers had worked so hard to get to where they were burst open in a shatter of wooden planks and splinters, revealing a man clad in a green cloak with a hood over face, concealing it in shadows.
Nine of the other crates opened, revealing he other men, in similar clothing.
One of them stepped forward, "When will we get the job started?"
"Oh be quiet, we can at least take a break. Those workers tossed me around so hard I'm just about bruised all over."
"How're your bow and arrows?"
"They're alright. Those bastards are lucky I didn't take an arrow in the knee."
"Oh it's not that bad, at least they treated the equipment with relative ease." Another stepped forward.
"Well, when is this job going to get under way?"
"As soon as the signal starts. It'll be a few days though, we have to make sure we're out in the middle of the ocean, don't want anyone coming to the rescue."
"Well, what is the signal? No one's told me."
"That's for me to know. When it comes, though, you'll figure it out. As long as your thick skull can get the message across to your small brain." the whole group laughed, safe for the one being poked fun at.
"Hey! I'm the only one here who knows how to work the equipment, so if any of you say anything like that again, I won't tell you how Then you'll have to tell the boss why you didn't follow through with the orders." a proud smile came to his lips.
The laughter stopped, everyone looking down.
"Good," he said, "now tell me what this signal of yours is?"
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Aang went up to his room and unlocked the door, walking into his cabin.
The window at the other end gave the room an eerie feeling at night, giving the objects in the room distorted shadows that seemed to dance when a fire was lit.
He used firebending to light a candle by his bed and started going over what he might do the next day.
I could visit the Captain, I'm sure he would enjoy meeting the Avatar, especially since I'm the reason this ship has any significance. Or I could visit the healer again, I'm sure I could convince her to give me more time than she would normally allow with Azula. Or the galley... I can get hungry in this ship.
As he was thinking things over, he felt the ship suddenly rock. They were finally sailing.
Aang sighed in relief at the fact that it would all be over in a few weeks, and then he would be home to Katara.
Katara.
Just the thought of her sent his heart fluttering, and his soul soaring.
He was interrupted from his thoughts by another knock at the door, and reluctantly walked over to answer it.
He opened it to reveal a man in a red Fire Nation suit, not a uniform, a suit. As well as a special cap he had never seen before, and a trail of six or so guards behind him.
He smiled warmly, "Avatar Aang, it is an honor to have you aboard. I am Admiral Jiong, the captain of this here vessel and host to you and all aboard."
Aang fought off the urge to send him off and half thought about simply blowing them away with airbending and shutting the door, but simply said "Admiral Jiong, it's my pleasure to be aboard."
"The thought occurred to me as I was making preparations for the voyage, would you like to accompany me to dinner, as a formal gesture in good faith? All the important officials aboard will be there."
Aang thought over the situation, it was his duty to try and help... but was it worth it? He could get to know some of the more important officials, but how would that help? He could ask favors of them in Azula's favor, but he doubted they would agree to his terms alone. And he was tired.
Aang sat in thought for a moment, reviewing the pros and cons.
He sighed, "Sure, I would be happy to join you."
The admiral smiled, "Good. I hope you'll find the meeting to your liking."
They walked through more hallways, more bland tunnels, more staircases upwards, until they finally made it to a more lavish hallway, painted a golden yellow with red banners, and bowls of flowers on small tables off to the side.
They stopped at a door to the side, where smells of hot food came wafting through. The door was opened to a very lavish dining room, with men and women sitting at a large dining table, boarcupine heads mounted onto plaques on the walls, waiters standing off to the side to refill cups and mugs when necessary, and quiet conversation coming in from the group dining there.
Aang took a seat next to a woman in an Earth Kingdom dress, who was sipping happily at a crystal goblet filled with red wine, chatting with a Water Tribe official to her side.
When Aang took the seat, she immediately turned to see who would dare sit next to a noble woman of the mighty Earth Kingdom without permission from her first, but stopped mid-breath to see the Avatar.
"Oh! Avatar! What an honor to see you here!"
Typical noble snobbiness. Aang thought.
But before she could go on about political affairs, promotions for deals highly favored to the Earth Kingdom, and the all-time favorite pleasantries, Admiral Jiong saw that Aang was in trouble and grabbed a goblet and fork.
He tapped the rim of the cup, causing a deep resonating bell-like tone to fill the room.
"I'm glad to have you all here for the trip, it is an honor to see so many well-renowned faces and, as we all know, our very special guest Aang."
Aang was at least glad he didn't refer to him as "the Avatar" as most people had grown fond of referring to him as, but still sent him a quick glare for drawing the undue attention.
All eyes turned to Aang, who sat there awkwardly for a few seconds before quickly realizing that it was his turn to speak, "Oh! Uh. It's an honor to be here," honor, something he was sure no one here understood and a word he had heard far too much of today, "and an honor to be among so many powerful people." his mind raced at how he could do better, then an idea popped into his head.
He raised his glass, "A toast! To the great hospitality shown here by our host, Admiral Jiong."
Everyone just looked at him for a moment, before realizing he had actually said such a thing. However they took up their glasses just the same, because after all, he was the Avatar.
When they had put down their glasses, Jiong gave him a confused and slightly hurt look before moving on, "Let's hope that this voyage ends safely, and good luck to you all afterwards."
The normal conversation resumed and the woman once again attempted to make flattering conversation with Aang, before Jiong motioned for him to sit in a seat beside him.
"That was a... unique toast you lead, to say the least."
"What? I didn't find anything wrong with it."
Jiong gave a sympathetic look and sighed, "You're clearly not well affiliated with political affairs."
He meant no insult, he simply felt a little sorry for Aang.
"No, not really." Aang said, looking down.
He gave a slight chuckle, "Don't worry, it's alright. I made a similar mistake when I was learning to play this little game we all call politics. But next time, go ahead and let the host give the toast." he said with a wink.
Aang sighed in relief, it wasn't a complete loss.
After the dinner, and multiple moments where he would almost die from exhaustion, he had finally made it to his bed without harm.
He fumbled with the key, entered the blissful sanctum he temporarily called home, and fell onto the bed before falling into a blissful, dreamless sleep.
This is going to be harder than I thought. he thought before fully succumbing to the veil of sleep.
He would soon realize how true he really was.