Disclaimer: Not mine. Also, any OOCness is my fault entirely, though I like to think that the actions here-in are plausible.
Now I sound like a Mythbuster.
"I don't think she's ready for this," Zuko fretted, looking at the little turtle-duck that was cuddled protectively in his arm.
"Zuko, she's a water creature. She'll be fine!"
"What if she drowns?"
"Oh for the . . . She's not going to drown, I promise. She'll be fine, and if she does get in trouble, we'll be here to pull her out, right?"
". . . Right."
Still, even after a little more encouragement from Katara, Zuko remained reluctant to place Kaiya into the newly cleared out pond. She finally sighed in exasperation and reached down to take the baby turtle-duck from her imprinted "mommy", and ignored the squawking protests in favor of setting her down in the shallow water near the shore. She also ignored the half choked gasp that came from behind her in favor of paying close attention to ensure that Kaiya remained as safe as possible. True to nature, the little turtle-duckling began paddling happily around the shallows while keeping an eye out to make sure she didn't lose sight of Zuko.
"See? She's perfectly . . . fine . . . ," Katara trailed off as she turned to face Zuko, only to find that he had fainted as a direct result of a mild case of hyperventilation brought on by a panic attack that hit right as Kaiya's little webbed feet touched the water.
"You're hopeless," she muttered to the unconscious prince.