Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or anything pertaining to it.
Ethereal
Chapter 1: The Port of Maizuru
"And so the Moon fell in love with the Ocean and carried on a great affair when the Sun had gone to illuminate the other side of the Planet, and from Their love the first Siren was born. She was more beautiful than any creature, but when the Sun discovered Her birth, He cursed Her with a dark side for His wife's infidelity. This darkness would cause Her to turn wicked and devour men who would seek to do Her harm." The Creation, Chapter 17:2-4
Katara watched as the sun began to creep over the horizon. The water from the tank she was being transported in was filthy and an impressive amount had evaporated from being under the unyielding gaze of the sun. She often wondered if the god of the sun rejoiced in seeing her suffer.
Her thoughts were interrupted as someone began rapping on the glass with the hilt of his knife. "Wake up you filthy fish whore," the semi-toothless deckhand rasped at her. She narrowed her deep blue eyes at him and moved away from the side of the glass case he was knocking on. "And I suggest for your own well being you show a hint of humility when we present you lest you desire to be executed immediately."
"Lin, I recommend you attend to your chores at once. The deck floors will not scrub themselves," the captain chided before looking at the girl trapped in the glass prison. It seemed a crime to keep such a beautiful and wild creature trapped in a cage; it went against much of his upbringing – but what the Dragon King wanted, he received. And he wanted to be the only monarch with a siren in his court. What he planned to do with a half-human, half-fish, the captain could only imagine.
He narrowed his eyes at her then cleared his throat and said, "We will be arriving at port soon."
Katara glared at him and began to hiss, slamming her fist on the glass in protest before opening her mouth to unleash a rather impressive collection of expletives in the ancient language. He sighed in defeat, and then walked away back to his quarters to change into his finer uniform in order to make himself more presentable for the king. He wore the suit only for when they set sail and when they arrived at port so that way it would not reek of the ocean, fish, and his rather hygiene-deprived crew.
Within the hour, they would be arriving at the Earthland port just north of Kyoshi, and he would be as far away from the siren as he possibly could. Why the Dragon King so desired a siren was beyond his understanding – these creatures were beautiful, but cursed with a dark and dangerous side. He had lost eight men on this excursion to capture one, including the young sixteen year old who had been put under the siren Adine's spell.
A knock came to the door, "Captain, we're nearing port. The General is coming aboard to monitor the transfer," his first mate informed him.
The captain gave a confirming nod, then finished dressing and began clearing his quarters for the guest. The General was brother to the king, so it was important to make a good impression in order to ensure he and his men would be compensated fairly for their daring efforts. He stepped outside once his preparations were complete, and just in time to meet the General stepping aboard the ship.
"General, it is a true honor to be in your presence," he bowed his head slightly. "Welcome aboard the Flaming Arrow."
The General moved back his hood and bowed his head in return. "Your hospitality is greatly appreciated. Show me the siren now, please."
The captain led the older man over to the glass prison, where Katara was shielding herself from the sun without much avail. "This one is spirited, but the glass container has been very successful at keeping her contained."
"This water is filthy, have you changed it since you captured her?" The General began walking around in circles, eyeing the young girl in the container as if he were sizing her up.
The captain shook his head. "While we were able to capture her, it was quite a feat. I lost many men to the sirens, and I feared losing another if we were to remove her from the glass."
"Well, it won't do. Change the water immediately. And give her something to brush her hair with, she is a lady and should look presentable." The General leaned in to examine the only piece of adornment around Katara's neck. "She is very unique."
Changing the water had been a great feat for the men on the Flaming Arrow, but once it was complete, the tank containing the waterborne beauty was placed on a cart, covered with a huge cloth, and wheeled down onto the deck. They were in the Earthland port of Maizuru.
Maizuru was the port-of-call for the majority of the Southern hemisphere; it was a bit more difficult to navigate in and out of due to the narrowness of the bay, but the island of Kyoshi had closed its entry after a disagreement over whether it was Earthland or Glacierland jurisdiction. The village was a fifteen minute ostrich-horse carriage ride, and truth be told, it was small and not nearly large enough to handle the volume of travelers passing through. The majority of people simply docked at Maizuru, replenished its supplies, then continued towards its next destination.
One woman, with dark hair and a tattoo on her upper left arm, was barking orders at a young man before wheeling around and examining Katara's prison. "Interesting import you got there," she lamented as she placed a hand on her hip. "What's underneath the Volcanic Island cloth?"
"This is a diplomatic pouch," the old man from before, the General as they called him, said. "We are just transferring this from the Flaming Arrow to the Dragon King's main carrier vessel for transport to the capital."
"You people from the Volcanic Islands sure love your diplomatic jargon," she mumbled, motioning him over to a podium with a log book. "I'll need the signature of the captain of the Flaming Arrow, the captain of the Dragon King's vessel, and a payment of six silver coins."
The captain of the Flaming Arrow scowled. "Six silver coins is an outrage; it's been three coins in the past."
The woman crossed her arms and placed one hand on the whip coiled on her left hip. "In the past being the operative clause. You're both holding up two decks in my port, and the 'diplomatic pouch transfer' is going to be slow and laborious since the Dragon King's vessel is too large for my port and requires us to ferry it out. It's incredibly inconvenient. I think six silver coins is beyond generous, but now that you're making me sit here and explain things instead of running my port, it's going to be six silver coins per ship, and four bronze coins for the ferry. Would you like to continue haggling?"
The captain frowned. "You're a pirate," he mumbled.
"I prefer the term business woman," she said cooly, signing her name where it was required, then looking up. "Now, do you require any transport to the main village, or is that all?"
The General opened his mouth to answer when a man called, "June, we've got a stowaway! It's the arsonist from Kami!"
June whirled around, putting her two fingers in her mouth and whistling as she pulled her whip out. She climbed onto the shirshu and turned to look over her shoulder at the travelers from the Volcanic Islands. "If you'll excuse me, gentlemen."
The fugitive pushed a man out of his way carrying a barrel, knocking him over and the barrel's contents spilling all over the pier. June pulled the reins of her shirshu and hopped over disaster the alleged arsonist was leaving in his wake.
"Watch out!" The suspect shouted, running in the direction of the men representing the Dragon Court. He ran towards the cart where Katara's prison was resting and ducked behind it, trying to avoid the paralytic tongue of the shirshu. "I didn't do it," he pleaded. June didn't seem to think twice about his pleas because in a matter of moments the shirshu thrusted its body towards the fugitive's shield. The man tried to run, but June's shirshu launched its tongue out and paralyzed the man in his tracks. She slid off her mount and grabbed the fugitive, dragging him away.
"Get this piece of trash off my docks, and find out what the bounty is," she ordered, then paused as she heard a crunch of glass under her foot. "What the hell?"
The General had cast aside the protective cloak over the tank, and had flipped the young girl over. Her tail was writhing about on the deck, and it went from an intense sapphire to a dull grey. She was gasping for air, and her soaked hair clung to her limp body as she tried to reach for the water. "Please," she begged in her language. "W-w-water," she stammered.
"Does anyone understand what she's saying?" The captain of the Flaming Arrow asked.
"Water," the hooded figure muttered. "She wants water." He went to lift her from the puddle, pulling the cloak with the Volcanic Island insignia around her body like a blanket. Katara rolled her head around a bit, catching a glimpse of the figure that had grabbed her. His face was mostly shadowed, but when the sunlight peered through the clouds, she saw a pair of amber eyes.
The golden eyes cast downward at her momentarily as someone exclaimed, "What the hell is he carrying?" Then everything went dark.
When Katara opened her eyes, she was in a small room with an open window. The curtains were slightly tattered and billowing with the wind. She tried to pull herself up when an arm touched her shoulder. "No, no, you need rest." Her eyes darted over to meet a pair of gentle ones. "You had a bit of an accident."
She sat up quickly, going to pull the blankets over her body. Words, Katara, she reminded herself, use your words. "Where am I?" she mumbled in her native language, looking around. The walls were a soft tan, and the room was dimly lit by candles. Her eyes flickered back to her guardian. "What happened?"
He looked a bit sternly at her. "I'm afraid I don't understand. Do you speak my language?"
She thought for a moment, her eyes searching her surroundings still before she nodded and said weakly, "I can."
"We're at the village near the port of Maizuru. Your transportation was broken by a suspected arsonist. We brought you to a healer to make sure you were well before we transported you to the Volcanic Islands," he explained slowly. "However, we must admit we were a little clueless. Few even believe sirens exist, and no one has any familiarity with the anatomy of one. There are some cuts on your body from the glass, but we've bandaged them and put some antibacterial plants on them. I've also got some tea brewed for you." He poured her some in a small cup and brought it to her dry, cracked lips.
When Katara reached to take the cup, she noticed her wrists were bound by coarse rope and lowered them down a bit before looking back to the man watching her. She soon recognized him as the man they called "the General."
"Some were afraid after night had come you would be hard to restrain," he said, tilting the cup slowly so she could drink some. Katara began coughing and wiped her mouth on her forearm, whimpering a bit.
"Too hot," she mumbled, slipping into her native tongue before switching back to the common language. "Water, please."
He turned around and returned promptly with a cup of water, offering it to her mouth. Instead, she took the cup in her fragile hands and brought them to her delicate lips, still coughing a bit as it went down, but feeling instantly relieved. After replenishing her body with her natural element, Katara soon became aware of the two shadowed figures standing outside the paper walls. One was female; tall and slender, and the other was hooded. They seemed to be arguing about something, but she couldn't hear them.
"We brought you some clothes, but I have a feeling they're a bit large for you. The tavern owner's daughter is rather...large-boned," he said, searching for the right word. "However, I suppose they will do. We're going to have the healer come back to make sure you're alright before we return to the port and sail for the Volcanic Islands."
"How long was I–" Katara began to ask.
"A few hours. Nothing tremendously serious; I can imagine your body is just fatigued from the travels." He poured another cup of tea and handed it to her. "This is snowbud tea; it has great healing properties. See if you can try to drink this cup."
She began to take a slow sip of the golden liquid when the whispering voices suddenly went up a few decibels. "Your carelessness not only greatly damaged an import for the Kingdom of the Volcanic Islands, you also defied the integrity of a diplomatic parcel. Just what kind of port are you running here?" A man, the shadowed figure Katara assumed, snapped.
"Oh, so she's an import? I'm sorry, I thought the Volcanic Islands didn't partake in slave trading anymore." The woman placed her hands on her hips.
"It's not a slave trade. And even if it was, slavery is not outlawed and even further - who or what I transport is none of your business."
"It's my damn business if you're using my port to transfer your 'merchandise,'" the female figure used air quotes. "Especially if she's being smuggled. Do you know how big of an international incident this little flimflam of yours could make? When it gets out – and rest assured, it will get out – everyone is going to be up my ass for letting you just waltz through here without any documentation. This kind of poor trading practices is what caused Kyoshi to close its port. Next thing you know, Maizuru is going to close as well. What are you going to do then when there are no other Southern Earthland ports?"
The man shifted his weight. "Rest assured no other Volcanic Island ships will be docking here, and I'm fairly confident we account for the majority of your damned profits, June."
She shook her head and pointed a finger at him. "Why don't you take your aquatic fish woman thing, your Dragon Court circus freak-show, and get the hell out of my port before I throw you all into the ocean paralyzed." June turned on her heel and walked out, slamming the sliding door behind her shut.
The man threw the door open and threw the large brown dress in Katara's direction. "Put this on, we're leaving."
"But nephew, what of the healer?" The General asked.
"It doesn't matter, we have a medic on the ship. We'll take the siren there; it isn't like the siren is critically wounded," he tapped his foot impatiently and watched Katara as she struggled to pull the dress on. "For the love of – hurry up!" He quickly untied the knots binding her wrists together so she could pull the dress on, then tied them again tightly. Katara made a soft noise in discomfort and her eyes began to turn dark in anger. She looked up at him a bit and recognized him as the man from before.
"You're a Descendant of the Dragon, aren't you?" she said quietly.
He looked at her briefly, then rolled his eyes and looked to his uncle without acknowledging her question, rattling something off about telling the men to leave the tavern and get ready to set sail. The young man pulled the sheets back from Katara's lower body, then turned back to face her when he froze. "What.. uncle," he motioned with his hand for his uncle to come over.
"Are those," the older man raised his eyebrows. "Legs?"
Posted: 04/16/2012