Osulf stared down at the slender young woman in the bed. He still couldn't believe that superstitious idiot had actually shot the poor thing. Dr. Wu said she'd be fine, though. The surgery to remove the bullet had gone without a hitch, and she seemed to be starting to wake up. She was mumbling something under her breath. It sounded like the same thing repeatedly. He had caught the word 'Zuko' several times now. That was what she'd said just before blacking out.
"Dr. Wu? Hun er begyndt at komme til. Kan du regne ud, hvad hun siger?" ("Dr. Wu? She is starting to come to. Can you figure out what's she's saying?")
"Det lyder som 'om jeg er Aang. Jeg er den sidste Airbender. Jeg er Avatar. Jeg besejrede brand herre Ozai. Jeg elsker en Firebender opkaldt Zuko og han elsker mig. Det er ikke helt kinesisk, men det ligner. Jeg har ignen ide om hvad nogle af ordene er, selv om." ("It sounds like 'I am Aang. I am the last Airbender. I am the Avatar. I defeated Fire Lord Ozai. I love a Firebender named Zuko and he loves me.' It's not quite Chinese, but it's similar. I have no idea what some of the words are, though.")
"Derfor 'Zuko' er et navn?" ("So 'Zuko' is a name?")
"Tilsyneladende." ("Apparently.") The girl stopped mumbling and her eyes fluttered open slowly. They were a lovely stormy grey.
"Aang? Jeg er Osulf, og dette er Dr. Wu." (Aang? I am Osulf, and this is Dr. Wu.") Aang stared up at the two men standing over her in confusion. Who were they? Where was she? It was warm, wherever she was. Why did her stomach hurt so badly? Memories suddenly flooded through her. Seeing the ship, jumping on board, the man with that strange weapon…Aang jerked bolt upright. Knives of pain shot through her stomach.
"No, stay down, Aang. You must rest." She stared at the man who had just spoken. She'd understood him!
"You can speak my language?"
"Yes. I'm Dr. Wu. This is my shipmate, Osulf. The man who shot you is named Haldor. I'll introduce you to the rest of the crew when you've recovered."
"When will that be?"
"A few days, maybe a week or two. How long were you wandering in the snow?"
"I have no idea. I was twelve when I…got lost." Dr. Wu and Osulf exchanged startled glances.
"You're at least sixteen now. How could you possibly have survived alone in the Artic for four years?" Four years? That was it? She'd have to wait another three years before she could see Zuko again?
"Oh! I used my Firebending to keep warm. It kept the Windigo away, too. It also helped me cook my food. Sometimes I used my Waterbending to help catch my food."
"What exactly is 'Firebending', Aang? And 'Waterbending'?" Aang called a fire into her palm.
"That's firebending." She closed her hand then used her Waterbending to float the water out of the glass by her bed. "This is Waterbending." She wished that she could heal like Katara could. Then she could just heal her stomach. "Waterbending can heal, too. I don't have that ability though."
"Har du nogensinde set noget lignende, Dr. Wu? Hvordan tror du, hun gjorde det? Haldor kunne vaere rigtigt. Hun kunne ikke vaere menneskelige." ("Have you ever seen anything like that, Dr. Wu? How do you think she did it? Haldor could be right. She might not be human.") He sounded scared, the way Haldor had before he shot her.
"Hun er menneske. Jeg tror, hun har simpelthen usaedvanlige evner. Maaske en form for telekinese." (She's human. I think she simply has unusual abilities. Perhaps some form of telekinesis.")
"Are you going to shoot me?"
"Hun spurgte, om du vil skyde hende." ("She asked if you're going to shoot her.")
"Fortael hende, naturligvis ikke. Jeg mente ikke at skraemme hende." ("Tell her of course not. I didn't mean to scare her.")
"Osulf isn't going to shoot you, Aang. He says he's sorry he scared you, he didn't mean to." Aang nodded. Her eyes were starting to droop. "We'll let you rest now, Aang." They left, and sleep claimed Aang quickly.
"Aang? Aang! Wake up, Aang." She opened her eyes slowly. "The humans are wrong, Aang. You were wandering around longer than four years. Your seven years of banishment are almost over." She smiled. "I would have told you sooner, but one or more of the humans was always hanging around. You have about two days left. I wish I could stay longer, but all this iron is wearing at my essence. I don't think I'll get to see you again, so this is goodbye. From everyone."
"Tell everyone goodbye for me. Since I'm not going to see you again, will you at least tell me what you are?"
"I'm an Adlet." She had never heard of an Adlet before. She decided to ask Dr. Wu. The Adlet had vanished as soon as he told her what he was. Looking around her, she saw a pile of clothing on the chair beside her bed. There was also a hairbrush. She might as well get some of the tangles out her hair.
Several hours later, she finally had them all out. She was ravenously hungry by this point as well. She decided to go find Dr. Wu and find out when she could have something to eat. The clothes on the chair were far too big for her, but they were better than nothing, so she put them on anyway. After braiding her hair, she set off in search of Dr. Wu.
'This ship was not designed by somebody with a firm grasp of logic,' Aang thought grouchily. She had seen a couple people, but none of them were Dr. Wu. They also all just looked at her blankly when she tried to ask if she'd seen him. Apparently, Dr. Wu was the only one on this stupid ship who actually understood her. Wonderful. She pushed open yet another door and froze in shock. Inside were the statues from the room where she'd danced with Zuko! They were out of order, but they were definitely the same statues. Or at least exact replicas.
"Ung dame! Du kan ikke vaere derinde. Kom ud nu." (Young lady! You can't be in there. Come out now.")
"Aang! There you are. I was getting worried. Mine undskyldninger, kaptajn. Hun skulle bo i infirmeriet og hvile efter sin operation." (My apologies, Captain. She was supposed to stay in the infirmary and rest after her surgery.")
"I'm hungry. I was trying to find you."
"I'm sorry, Aang. Come with me, I'll get you something to eat." Aang didn't like the way the other man was looking at her. "This is Captain Flemming, Aang."
"I don't like the way he's looking at me." It was almost…speculative. Appraising. The only person she wanted looking at her that way was Zuko.
"Hvad siger hun?" ("What is she saying?")
"Intet, kaptajn. Hun er bare at klage over at vaere sulten." ("Nothing, Captain. She's just complaining about being hungry.") As soon as they were out of earshot of the captain, Dr. Wu leaned down to confide in her. "I don't like the way he was looking at you either, Aang. It would be best if you stayed in the infirmary."
"What's an adlet?" Dr. Wu blinked at her abrupt change of subject.
"I have no idea. Haldor might know. I'll ask him and get back to you. Is there anything specific you like to eat? I can't make any promises, but I'll try to get it for you."
"Vegetables. I like vegetables." Dr. Wu laughed.
"That is the first time I've ever heard a teenager say that. I can definitely get you vegetables though. Lots of vegetables."
"Good. It's been awhile since I've had any."
"Ak godt. Du fandt hende. Jeg var begyndt at tro, at hun havde forladt skibet fuldstaendig." ("Oh, good. You found her. I was beginning to think she had left the ship completely.")
"Hun var nede i lastrum udkig efter mig." ("She was down in the cargo bay looking for me.") "Wait here, Aang. I'll bring your vegetables in a few minutes." When she was alone again, Aang began planning how to get back to those statues. Something deep inside her whispered that those statues were her key back home. And the adlet had said that she would be able to go home in less than two days. She was pretty sure she remembered how to get back there. There was plenty of room, so using her Earthbending to put them in the correct order would be easy. Dr. Wu returned with her vegetables. "Haldor was busy so I couldn't ask him what an adlet is. But I'll find out later. How are your vegetables?"
"Good! A little salty, but I'm not complaining."
Later that night, when the ship was completely silent except for the occasional echoing snore, Aang slipped out of the infirmary. She crept down the hall looking for the cargo bay. She didn't remember the way as well as she thought she did, and she got lost several times. She finally found the room again. Rearranging the statues took almost an hour. She had to keep stopping to rest whenever her stomach started to hurt. When she had the statues in the correct positions, she headed back to the infirmary. If she was right in her estimates of how much time had passed, she couldn't go home until the next day. She might as well get some rest, and some more vegetables.
"Good morning, Aang. I found out what an adlet is for you."
"What is it?"
"An adlet is a monster in Native American mythology. They were bloodsuckers. Where did you hear that term?" A monster? Her friend was a monster. He'd certainly never tried to suck her bread. In fact, a lot of nights he had sat nearby and guarded her as she slept.
"Um, somewhere." She didn't want to tell him that she could see and hear spirits. "How many days has it been since I woke up?"
"About one. Why? Are you in such a rush to leave? Captain Flemming didn't bother you last night did he?"
"No. I was just curious."
Aang waited impatiently for night to fall and the ship to fall silent so she could return to the statues. So she could go home. When all was finally quiet, she headed back to the room with the statues. She assumed the first stance of the Dancing Dragon, smiling as she remembered when she had talked Zuko into dancing with her. She had had a crush on him since she'd met him at the Southern Water Tribe. It had taken quite a blow after Ba Sing Se, though it had rushed back bigger then ever after he saved them from Combustion Man. After their field trip, her feelings had quickly developed into full-blown love. And now she was so close to seeing him again.
A/N: I don't know what was going on before, why the quotation marks weren't showing up. Hopefully they will now.