(Please, those of you who read and don't review-I know you are out there because I have over 530 hits!- takke the time to send me a short review. Even if it is just one sentence, please send it to me. Thank you!) What will happen between Zuko and Zana now that he worked up the nerve to kiss her at an unexpected moment? What will Aang, Katara, and Sokka do now that they have encountered the "fighting" Zuko and Zana? Will the Fire Nation soldiers find them? READ AND REVIEW to find out!Oh, and just because I haven't done this already: I have no right to Avatar: the Last Airbender, nor to any of the characters and their likenesses. Zana, her personality, likeness, and "Fire Bending moves" (especially Kiss) are of my own creation and strictly belong to me!
Battle
Zuko willed his archenemy across the river to shut his face or they would all probably be caught by the Fire Nation troops fast approaching. They couldn't run-there wasn't enough time and Iroh couldn't keep up. He also didn't want to be seen as a coward, which just wasn't in him. He felt Zana stiffen in his arms and knew that she recognized the boldness of the Avatar. "Let her go, Zuko!" he yelled across to him. This made Zuko smile-they thought he was holding Zana hostage when they were only sparring. It annoyed him greatly how when he was not looking for the Avatar, he soared right into his grasp.
Zuko knew if he kept screaming like that, the Fire soldiers would surely find them. The Water Tribe boy scrambled across the river dumbly and not all knowing what he was getting himself into. He released Zana and moved her to the side as he prepared to silence this little band of the very Avatar and his followers. Water droplets flew everywhere as Zuko flipped the young man over his head with ease. He landed with an oof and a groan on the rocky shore. Zana watched in admiration with her hands placed firmly on her hips. Her target was the Avatar. She began to ready herself for as quiet a fight as possible.
The girl came at Zuko next. She was a Water Bender, as Zana soon learned, and was a very formidable opponent for Zuko. Steam was produced as their elements clashed. The fallen Water Tribe boy righted himself and grabbed hold of Zana's arm, "Come on! I'll get you out of here!" His unexpected force and appearance knocked her off balance, causing her to stumble to the side, "What the-" The young man proceeded to pull her out of the way of the battle. The Avatar had blown Zuko into the Water Bender girl, knocking them both over.
Zana quickly recovered and yanked her arm away. The booms and clatters of the soldiers were coming nearer. They all had to shut up and at that precise moment. "What are you doing?" cried the young man. "You need to be quite, immediately!" she warned him before striking. When he began to yell out a protest, she pounced on him, causing them both to tumble in the gravel. It bit into their skin as they tossed each other around. "Are you mad?" he screamed. Zana was able to pin him, using a point on his arm, as she had Zuko earlier and she placed a firm hand across his mouth. Looking into his own blue eyes she spoke harshly to him, "The fire Nation in coming for us. If you and your friends don't shut up, they'll find us!" Zana hissed, becoming more and more worried for Zuko's life. If he were captured, his life would be taken in less than a blink of an eye.
Looking over her shoulder, Zana was able to see that Zuko had captured the Water Bender. His arm was around her chest and the other fist was placed to the side of her head in a threat to sear her flesh. The young Avatar looked on in horror as Zuko also warned them that they needed to quiet down, or suffer the consequences. Zana watched as the Avatar finished hovering and landed defeated to the earth. Iroh watched the whole thing from a safe distance away and now approached Zuko.
The crashing from the forest subsided as the troops retreated to another trail. Zana felt it was finally safe to let the Water Tribe boy go. She slowly released his mouth, "Are you going to be quiet?" He nodded, but winced and sat up quickly, tossing Zana to his lap, "I think you broke my arm," he whined. Zana thought he was funny, "It's not broken, merely paralyzed. I used a pressure point." She gave a nervous laugh though when she realized where she was sitting. The young man looked at her intently as she stared back. He looked to be about her and Zuko's age.
Soon, Zuko with the Water Bender in tow approached Zana and the young man. He growled and used a free hand to abruptly yank Zana up and out of the Water Tribe boy's lap. She brushed herself off and lent a hand to her fallen opponent. The boy apprehensively accepted it, glaring at Zuko holding his friend hostage. Zana looked back at him and spoke, "The Fire Soldiers have gone, let her go." Zuko hesitantly obeyed and thrust the girl forward into the Water Tribe boy's arms. The Avatar saw his chance and prepared to attack the unknowing Zuko from behind. "Stop!" Zana stepped directly into the path of his swooping attack.
The Avatar froze in mid Bend; his look was one of awe. "Why are you protecting him? Isn't he holding you hostage?" he was baffled. "No," Zana snickered, "I am with him on my own will. "But why?" the young man spoke up harshly. "Because…" she looked over at Zuko's face, "just because."
"Can we not fight anymore?" Zuko yelled. "That was too close a call for us to be found by the Fire Nation!" His arms flew in the air. "You're running from the Fire Nation?" the Avatar asked. "I guess they now consider their Prince an outlaw…" Zuko trailed off. "Don't worry, Avatar, I am no longer hunting you," the words tasted bitter on his tongue. He had searched for years for the Avatar and now that he was in Zuko's clutches, there was no need for him to capture him-he couldn't return home if he wanted to. Zana's eyes grew wide. She never thought that Zuko would give up his quest. If this was true, then Zana was glad she didn't attack the Avatar.
She turned to the Avatar's stunned friends, "So! I am Zana, and you are…?" She motioned to them. "Sokka…" replied the boy first. The girl just glared back at Zana. "This is my little sister, Katara," Sokka spoke for her. "Oh, and that's Aang-" "The Avatar," Zana smiled warmly at Aang. Through all of his confusion, the boy was still able to blush.
"What is all this about?" Katara yelled at Zana. She was none too happy since being held hostage by Zuko. Her arms crossed defensively across her chest-Katara didn't like the look of this new girl. There had to be some hidden reason why she was willing to be with Prince Zuko. "How do we know that this isn't just some trap and you aren't working for him?" "Please…" Zana smiled coyly, "Me work for him? I don't think so. I work for no one." Sokka kept staring at the girl-his feeling in his arm was finally returning. "Well, if he's not holding you hostage…and you don't work for him, then why were you and Prince Zuko fighting?" Aang asked. "We were sparring. It's to keep your fighting skills at their fullest peak. A warrior as skilled as you must surely do that, Avatar," Zana responded. He looked away and pretended to find something very interesting on his shoe.
Zana changed her focus to Sokka. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" there was a concerned look on her face as she fingered with his bicep. "N-no…I can feel it now," Sokka stuttered at her touch. "But you're palm is cut…I'll help," Zana tugged gently on his hand, leading him to the dieing fire. Zuko had replaced his tunic and watched Zana and Sokka approach, Katara and Aang following closely behind. The look Zuko gave him made Sokka nervous, like Zuko was the predator and Sokka the innocent prey. He swallowed hard.
Sokka was led to a cloak lying on the pebbled beach and Zana carefully pulled out some wrappings she obviously kept there just in case. She soon guided him near the river's lapping edge and called up a splash of water with which to wet the wrap. "No way! You're a Water Bender too! Katara is a Water Bender and we just got back from the North Pole where she trained with one of the best masters alive," Sokka boasted about his sister. Katara spoke up, "Yeah, its nothing special, but Aang and I have pretty much mastered Water Bending…" "That's great," Zana was truly pleased for the Avatar and his friend, "I have mastered Fire Bending, myself," but she couldn't help but brag a little as well. "But you're a Water Bender…" the look on Sokka's face amused Zana. "True, but I am also a Fire Bender, I am what is known as a Double Bender," she explained, sitting down and tugging Sokka along with her as he gave a little yelp.
Zana laid his hand in her lap and wrapped it. "So, you're kind of like me?" Aang asked. "I guess so…" she was concentrating. All three of the new arrivals stared at the girl with strange abilities and an even stranger choice of friends.
Zuko watched as Zana bandaged the Water Tribe boy. An overwhelming feeling crashed over him. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't like it. Zuko's teeth gritted as he spun away.
Sokka looked up at the girl wrapping his palm. He had thought about telling Zana that Katara could heal him in moments, but no one had ever doted on him like that before. "So, uh," he began under his breath so no one could hear him, "what's a pretty girl like you doing with someone like Prince Zuko?" Sokka's voice was flirtatious with a slight hinting eyebrow raise accompanying it. Without looking up, Zana scowled and yanked the ends of the cloth together in an unreasonably tight knot. He let out a little painful yelp. She gave a grunt and stood, "There…" Sokka stood after her, "Well?" he cocked his head to the side-he was being more persistent than his usual lazy self. She looked over her shoulder to see the Water Bender and Avatar off to the side and eyeing Iroh as well as Zuko. "Why do you trust me? I mean, you just met me, I work with Zuko-someone who has hunted your friend, and I've hurt you; you have no reason to," she sighed.
"But that was to stop the Fire Nation from finding us," Sokka stepped over to her. "You didn't intentionally hurt me. Besides, Zana, Zuko said he'd stop hunting Aang-" "But if his sister and the Fire Nation hadn't betrayed him, he would still be out there looking for you guys!" Zana interrupted with a hiss. "Yes, but he isn't…" Zana gave a low scoff and headed over to Aang and Katara.
She pasted a smile on her face and both of them jumped a little bit at the sound of her voice, "Katara, was it?" The Water Bender looked Zana in the eye, "Yes?" She crossed her arms in front of her chest. The Avatar just watched. "I wanted to invite you all to join us. We're both being tracked, so why not have some safety in numbers?" When Katara did not reply, Aang spoke up, "I guess we could," the flying lemur on his shoulder blinked across at Zana. She caught the Avatar's own eyes shift slightly to the direction Zuko was in. "Don't worry, he wont try anything," a wide smile painted itself from ear to ear on her face, "If he does, he'll have to answer to me…" Those words caused Aang to grin and even Katara's face flickered a little. Zana motioned for them to follow her back to the fire where Iroh and Zuko were staring at the flames.
Zuko looked up to see Zana approaching. Her hair and clothing were still tousled from their earlier endeavor. He thought the look was good on her. Zuko quietly shook his head to relieve his mind of such distracting thoughts. She walked over and sat down beside him and the Avatar along with his followers collapsed next to her. The Water Tribe boy leaned back on his elbows and looked Zana up and down from beneath his eyelids. Once again, Zuko felt that odd feeling inside the center of his chest. It welled up and made him want to set the boy ablaze. His fists clenched and teeth bared slightly. Zana saw his face contort and scar look meaner than ever as he glared at Sokka. She reached over and gently placed a hand on his taut forearm.
Katara looked in awe while Prince Zuko's features instantly softened when Zana's fingers grazed his arm. She finally realized why this strange girl traveled with the ruthless Prince. They cared for each other- proving that even Zuko could find some peace. Suddenly, Zuko turned away from Zana, his arms shoved across his chest. Zana did the same. Katara knew that they liked each other, but both refused to admit it. Looking around, she saw she wasn't the only one to notice. The old man beside the young Prince smiled knowingly and even the completely dense Sokka gave an exasperated sigh of defeat. Katara grinned inwardly-that girl wasn't bad at all, she was actually slowly changing a cruel and miserable Prince. Maybe it won't be so bad getting to know Zana, she thought.