Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 33: On the Beach
The large group sat casually in the abbey square, Sokka and Katara interrogating Bato like the Fire Lord would a prisoner of war; quick question after quick question flew from their mouths, and their obvious joy at seeing him, warmed his war warn heart. The sharp featured middle-aged man had a hard time keeping up. He took it all with a smile, however. Seeing Hakoda's children after two years away from the Southern Water Tribe was an unexpected treat. He wished that it was Hakoda here rather than him, and he knew that the brother and sister wished it too, but at least he could relay news of their travels to his best friend. The chief would be proud of the two but no doubt worry himself sick. Three young people roaming the world alone, encountering who knows what dangers, was enough to make any parent's heart constrict. But, this was war time and childhood was often cut short; so many children were pushed into adult roles much sooner than they should be. He had seen it time and again on his own travels. Bato was just glad that Sokka and Katara were handling everything so well, enjoying themselves even.
He turned away from the fresh young faces when he heard Zuko approach from behind. The Fire Nation prince walked stiffly, as though he hadn't used his limbs for years. Bato knew the basics of the prince's story and the young man's uncle and betrothed sat close by now, but still he gave an involuntary shudder; the Fire Lord's son was immediately behind him. How could he ever be certain that the same evil that drove Fire Lord Ozai did not drive the prince as well?
"Bato this is Zuko," Katara said calmly. Her eyes were shining with happiness. Meeting Bato was the next best thing to seeing her father once again. Just being near him brought back a flood of memories, most happy, some more painful, but all of them welcome. She shifted a bit closer to the man, wanting to be near him and the whole Water Tribe aura he gave off.
Zuko cleared his throat and stood awkwardly, meeting Bato's piercing blue eyes for a moment and then looking down at the ground. "Um, hello; I want to thank you for giving us a way to the North Pole."
"I'm only taking you because Katara and Sokka trust you. If Hakoda's kids say that you're alright, you must be. Anyway, I'm sure you'll end up on Hakoda's boat in the end, not mine. He can deal with you."
"I understand. Thanks again." Zuko gave the man a quick bow and then moved over to Mai. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear. Mai got up irritably and joined him off to the side of the group. "Wow, I can't wait for this boat trip. He hates us already."
"Oh, grow up. What did you expect him to do, welcome us with wide open arms?"
"No, but, oh, forget it!" Zuko sulked for a minute, arms crossed tightly over his chest. "What about this June woman? Are you sure that she's just given up? Maybe she's laying in wait somewhere."
"No, I'm not sure. If she's got any sort of drive, she will try again. Look, the nuns gave Katara a bottle of concentrated scent. If June and the shirshu show up, Katara can bend the perfume at it. We're hoping it will drive the ugly thing crazy, screw up its nose or whatever. The rest of us can take care of her as long as we're still standing that is. I think I got lucky last time. She didn't think I would toss a bunch of blades at her." Mai looked around the courtyard, peering into all the corners, as if expecting June and Nyla to suddenly appear.
"Okay, so what are we doing now, waiting for a letter from their father?" Zuko indicated Sokka and Katara.
"Yes, Bato needs to know where to meet him."
"Great." The prince ran his hands through thick brown hair. "We're targets just sitting here."
"We'll be walking down to the beach and the boat as soon as Bato has all his stuff together. The messenger will be arriving from that direction apparently. Hopefully, he'll come sooner rather than later. But, if we have to fight, we have to fight."
"I hope that bastard Zhao isn't on his way too. Damn messenger; where is he?"
Mai rolled her eyes at Zuko's impatience. "Let's go; I'm going to get my bags off the ostrich horse. I suggest you do the same."
Taking their lead, Bato and the others gathered their belongings too, Katara and Sokka helping the injured warrior with his. Bato lingered for a moment, saying goodbye to the nuns who had taken such good care of him for the past few weeks. The ostrich horses would stay at the abbey; maybe they could be of some help to the women.
"We'll take good care of them," the head nun said reassuringly.
"Please do; they've served us well," Zuko replied. He gave his mount a pat and then walked away.
The beach was different from Fire Nation ones, surrounded by large rocks and covered with stones and driftwood. But it was pretty in its own rough and rugged way, and being near the sea soothed Zuko somehow. Back home in the Fire Nation, no one was ever far from the ocean and it was a part of nearly every citizen's life.
Katara and Sokka loved the sea too. It provided nearly everything for their village and was a constant, reassuring presence in their lives. Instead of huge icebergs peppering the deep blue water of the South Pole, they saw huge rocks jutting out from the water, making for treacherous looking sailing. Bato's boat rested on the sand, just a few feet away from the hungry water that would sweep it away given the chance. Its blue sails were neatly furled and it looked proud waiting there for its captain to push it out into the waves once again.
"Say Sokka, did you ever have a chance to go ice dodging?" Bato tugged on his long brown hair and then dragged fingers down his high cheekbones. He looked over at the boy closely as if sizing him up.
"No, Dad left before I turned fourteen." Sokka looked downcast. He fiddled with the bone choker he wore and stared out at the waves.
"That's right. I'm sorry, Sokka, and Katara. If we had time, I would take you out now. You could dodge those rocks out there."
"What exactly is ice dodging?" Iroh wondered curiously.
"It's a ceremonial test of wisdom and trust and bravery, a sort of rite of passage for all fourteen year olds. It's traditional for your father to take you ice dodging. That boat, my father built it and took me ice dodging in it. It's a special boat, close to my heart."
"I understand. There are such ceremonies in the Fire Nation as well." The former general seemed lost in thought for a moment, recalling the sometimes simpler days of his youth.
"There's someone riding down the beach toward us," Mai remarked dully.
The man rode an ostrich horse and was dressed in full Earth Kingdom armor. A satchel bursting with scrolls hung from the animal's saddle.
"Is Bato of the Water Tribe here?" the messenger asked roughly.
"I'm here." Bato walked down the small stretch of beach that separated him from the man and reached out for the scroll. "Thanks."
The man didn't reply, just turned his mount around and rode back in the direction he had come from. Katara and Sokka crowded around their father's friend, waiting for him to unroll the letter. They both almost trembled with excitement, eager to see something written in their father's hand. No one paid attention to the stretch of beach behind them and no one heard June approach until it was almost too late.
"Look out!" Aang cried. Something had tickled his senses and he had quickly turned his head to take a look.
Nyla's tongue was mere inches from both Mai and Zuko as they stood unaware watching the scene with Bato play out before them. They both jerked then, Mai dropping to the ground instinctively, her knees buried in damp sand. She lost her balance as she tried to stand up and tumbled over.
"Ugh," she exclaimed and scrubbed at the sand clinging to her cheek.
Meanwhile Zuko had dropped and rolled in the opposite direction while Aang had stepped in and airbended June off the shirshu. The bounty hunter wore a determined look on her face as she gracefully hopped back onto the creature's saddle and made for Mai.
"You're first," she declared casually, a glint in her dark eyes.
"Crap," Mai muttered under her breath as she fumbled for some blades while still partially mired in sand.
The others were aware now and prowled toward the woman. Iroh, Jee and Zuko, on his feet again, blasted fire at the beast, infuriating it, while Katara reached for the bottle of strong perfume. She coaxed the liquid out and formed a perfect whip, sending it flying it Nyla's direction. The smell was almost overpowering and the blind animal went into a rage, scratching at the sand with its deadly claws and roaring as if in terrible pain. Her tail swung wildly, and her tongue flicked out randomly, endangering everyone within reach.
Angry herself now, or more angry, Jun slid off the bucking animal and tried her luck at hand to hand combat. She had nothing to lose but thousands of gold coins and they were a pretty good incentive to give it her all. As Mai still scrabbled in the sand, June darted toward her, gracefully dodging blasts of fire, and sent a kick her way, impacting with the knife thrower's stomach and leaving her gasping for air.
"That's for the knives," Jun hissed and kicked again, before Mai had a chance to retaliate.
Her boot made contact with Mai's temple, knocking the girl out cold. The others were trying to work their way around the shirshu when Appa stepped in, pawing at the ground and snorting furiously, Momo clinging desperately to his back. The lemur leapt onto Nyla's head and proceeded to poke and prod, driving the large animal even crazier. Appa, meanwhile, let out a roar along with a blast of air that sent the shirshu flying across the sand where it finally came to a skidding stop. It whimpered now, and June looked back at her animal, tempted to comfort her only constant companion.
She resisted the urge, though, and attacked the rest of the group with admirable skill, energy and a good amount of dirty fighting. It was far too much for her in the end, of course. With Nyla and her paralyzing tongue, she had a good chance, but alone against five benders, one of them the Avatar, even benders who had no intention of killing her, she couldn't possibly triumph. June managed to get her licks in though, and everyone carried a few bumps and bruises from their encounter.
When it was all over, Sokka bound her wrists and ankles so that they could finally leave without any more trouble.
"Sorry," he remarked as he pulled the rope tight. "Actually, I'm really not…I'm just being polite."
"Spare me, little boy." June glared at the Water Tribe warrior. Her clothes were rumpled and her makeup ran in streaks down her face. "You'd better leave before Nyla gets her bearings again."
"What will Zhao do when he finds out that you've failed?" Sokka couldn't restrain his curiosity. The bounty hunter wasn't an evil Fire Nation overlord, just a woman trying to make a living.
"Do you think I'm stupid enough to report in to him? He'll never find me again. The guy's slime, but slime with access to lots of money. It was worth my while even without collecting any bounty. And why exactly am I talking to you anyway?"
"You can't resist my charm?" Sokka gave her what he hoped was a seductive look, but June made the same face she made every time she downed a glass of the cheap swill they served in all the taverns she frequented. "Oh, I guess that's not it then."
Mai approached from over by Bato's boat and demanded that June return the tie for her mask.
"It's in Nyla's saddlebag; feel free." The bounty hunter gave the girl a nasty smirk.
Mai didn't reply, but Sokka accompanied her over to the shirshu and retrieved the piece of cloth for her.
"This is it, right?" He handed it to her and she stuffed it into her cloak's pocket. "Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Mai sighed "unless you count the pounding pain in my head. Thanks for asking."
"No problem; we're allies after all, almost friends."
"Almost friends," the young woman repeated with a slight smile. "Well, almost friend, I suppose we'll meet up again in the North Pole. I can't wait for that adventure."
"Well, aside from the whole invasion thing, it might be fun. You're going to need warmer clothes, though. My dad will lend you some, I'm sure."
"Yeah, I never thought about the cold. How bad does it get?"
"Really bad; freeze to death in a few minutes bad."
"Oh, wonderful." Mai shivered beneath her cloak and wrapped thin arms around herself.
"Mai, it's time to leave," Zuko called. The firebender watched his betrothed with concerned eyes. He hated when she received any kind of injury no matter how minor. She was tough and she could take it, but that made no difference. He would always worry.
She turned away from the shirshu and walked back toward Bato's boat. Sokka walked along side her. He hugged Bato fiercely before retreating to Aang's side and then observed as Katara hugged the man too, letting her head rest on his chest for a moment before pulling away.
"Please, tell my dad that I love him and miss him. I can't wait to see him, Bato."
"I know, Katara." The warrior reached out and stroked the waterbender's thick brown hair. "He'll be so proud he might just burst."
She beamed brightly at the man but her wide blue eyes were shiny with unshed tears.
"It won't be long, right; only a week at the most?"
"That's right," Bato replied softly. "You'll see your father soon, but not if I don't get this boat into the water."
He gave the girl one last look and then turned his attention to the beached vessel.
"Prince Zuko, help me push this boat off the beach and into the sea," Bato demanded. "If you're riding with me or anyone else from the Water Tribe, you'll pull your weight and so will everyone else. Mai, you can push too."
The two young people pressed their shoulders into the whalebone and driftwood* hull, pushing with all their might. Bato was at the other end, using his uninjured side to propel the boat into the water. Iroh and Jee meanwhile, loaded satchels and bags onto the craft.
"Alright," Bato instructed, "hop aboard now."
Obediently, the Fire Nation foursome jumped up onto the boat, getting their feet wet in the process. Bato unfurled the sails and set his vessel on its proper course.
"We're meeting Hakoda and the rest of the tribe here," he informed them and pointed to a spot on the map that was at least two days sailing from their present location.
Above them, Appa seemed to hover, his six legs motionless and his tail gently moving up and down, just keeping him in the air. Aang, Katara and Sokka all leaned over and waved at the group on the boat, shouting down goodbyes and good lucks. Iroh yelled back cheerfully while Mai and Zuko gave brief waves.
"Mai, Zuko, I suggest you get over here now. You're both going to learn how to sail a Water Tribe boat."
Mai looked at Zuko and shrugged. Why not, she seemed to say. It was better than being bored.
*There are no trees in the Water Tribes so I have to assume that they, like the Inuit peoples, used whalebone and driftwood to make boat hulls/frames.
A/N: Yes, I know it's shorter than usual. That's just the way it is. xD Next time we'll meet Hakoda and everyone will head toward the north pole. I think we'll check in with Zhao as well.