Leaving the Village of Aunt Wu landed the group along the coast. As they landed the bison for a rest, they all disembarked on foot. Jet and Katara walked slightly behind the other three and small chatting was going on between the groups as they all walked along at an idle pace. Aang and Masami stopped near a tree as Aang bent to pick something up.
"Hey look! A sword made out of a whale's tooth." Aang observed, picking the sword up to get a better look.
Sokka caught up to them, and grabbed the edge of the sword from Aang's hand, jerking it right passed Masami's head. "Lemme see that." He said in lieu of an apology for nearly removing part of Masami's face.
"This is a water tribe weapon. See if you can find anything else." Sokka urged, Masami began to look around but she really didn't see anything. It seemed Aang and Sokka were in the same place.
"Did someone lose something?" Katara asked as she and Jet caught up with the other two.
"No, we found something." Aang answered from his place of digging around in a prickle bush. Sokka pulled himself up and brushed leaves from his clothes. He held up the weapon so the others could see it, along with an arrow he found while snooping.
"It's burned." Jet observed, Sokka nodded. Sokka discarded the arrow and headed towards a tree ahead of him. The tree appeared to be suffering from fire damage.
"There was a battle. Water tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders." Sokka said, tracing and following what happened. Everyone followed behind him, he looked from right to left, and saw clues Masami wouldn't have noticed. He was being an impressive little detective, but she assumed it came with being a warrior.
"The firebenders fought back, but the warriors drove them down this hill..." Sokka took off down the hill, and the group right at his heels. They came through some bushes, and ended up right on the beach.
"So then what happened?" Aang asked, seeing nothing.
"I don't know. The trail ends here." Sokka answered sadly, looking at his shoes.
"Wait! Look!" Katara shouted, bringing Sokka's attention to a boat parked near rocks down the shoreline. It appeared to be a water tribe boat. Masami's thoughts were confirmed when Sokka cried,
"It's one of our boats!" The group took off at a run again, stopping when they reached the bow of the ship.
"Is this... Dad's boat?" Katara asked, looking the boat over though she sounded slightly unsure.
"No, but it's from his fleet. Dad was here." Sokka answered, his tone excited.
Zuko hadn't done anything about her noodle designs yet other than yell at her and quite frankly, Kali was concerned. Not adding chores to her ever-growing list seemed strange for him. Hopefully, though, he was just too focused on the Avatar to bother coming up with more creative punishments for her. She already worked late into the night and started early in the morning with all the stuff he had her doing. Honestly, scraping scum and barnacles off the sides of the ship whenever they stopped at port? How was that part of the cook's job? Then again, mopping didn't have much to do with cooking either. She supposed she was really more of a turtle-gopher. The jack of all trades on the ship. At least it might help her get a job easier in the future, she mused, as she carried the tray of tea to Zuko's room.
Uncle smiled as she set the tea down in front of him and Zuko and took a sip from his cup.
"Ahhh. See, Prince Zuko, a moment of quiet is good for your mental well being."
Zuko lifted his own cup uncertainly and prepared to take a sip. The next thing Kali knew the ship shuddered and the prince was covered in tea. Zuko growled as Kali smirked slightly, thankfully behind him where he couldn't see her. He and Uncle walked briskly away as she started to work at cleaning up the mess. Then the ship shuddered again, this time even more violently, causing her to fall to her knees. What was happening?! She picked herself up, grabbed the tray and cups, and hastened towards the deck, frightened that the ship might be under some kind of attack.
She yelped in alarm and hit the deck (literally) as a huge chunk of flying metal greeted her on the deck. An enormous mess of matted fur with a rather disturbing, hairless face loomed over the crew, the prince, and Uncle. A shirshu. She'd rarely seen shirshus and frankly she would be content if this could be the last time she saw one.
She heard a shout and the shirshu's tongue shot out from its mouth as a man climbed out of the hole in the deck. A beautiful woman leapt down from the creature. Exchanging some words with Zuko, she hoisted the man, evidently paralyzed by the beast, onto her shoulder and loaded him onto the shirshu. Kali walked up next to Uncle just in time to hear him say, "Well I'm impressed."
Then, as the woman rode away, he stroked his chin.
"Verrry impressed."
Kali raised her eyebrows slightly at his tone of voice and exchanged skeptical glances with the prince. Kali glanced after the woman uneasily. She'd never much cared for bounty hunters. She looked back at Zuko and frowned as she saw his eyes seem to light up. He looked back at his now damaged ship and then back after the bounty hunter.
Sometime later, she'd just finished taking Uncle's tray from dinner away and giving him his first cup of tea for the evening when Zuko appeared in the doorway, holding what Kali recognized as the Water Tribe girl's necklace.
"Take your tea with you, Uncle. Tonight, we're going to find the Avatar. And this time, he won't escape."
A noise to their left gets the group's attention, everyone striking as threatening a pose as they can muster.
"Who's there?" Sokka demands. A man in bandages comes around the corner, approaching the group.
"Sokka?" He asked. Sokka's eyes widened.
"Bato?" Sokka asked excitedly, approaching him swiftly with Katara at his heels.
"Bato!" She cried.
"Sokka! Katara! It is so good to see you two! Oh, you've grown so much." The man, who was apparently called Bato answered as he caught them both in a side hug. As the rest of the group came slower behind them, Aang bowed to the man and Masami and Jet followed his example.
"Hi, I'm Aang. This is Masami, and Jet." He said politely. The Warrior nodded but could get no words out before Sokka cut him off.
"Where's Dad?"
"Is he here?" Katara asked right after Sokka.
"No, he and the other warriors should be in the eastern Earth Kingdom by now." Bato answered. The rest of the group stood silently by as the Water Tribe members caught up. Jet seemed a little off kilter by all this, and Masami supposed it was with good reason since he'd never met anyone in or close to Katara's family to this point. A strong blast of wind caught the entire group off guard, and Bato urged them inside.
"Brr! This is no place for a reunion. Let's get inside." He walked with his arms around the leading two and he motioned for the rest of them to follow. He led them to a monestary a little ways from the boat. Masami looked around as they walked through the gate, it was prettily decorated but simple at the same time. They were lead down a hallway, and through a large set of double doors.
"After I was wounded, your father carried me to this abbey. The sisters have cared for me ever since. Superior, these are Hakoda's children. They've been traveling with the Avatar. I found them by my boat." Bato told the sisters. When had they told Bato that Aang was the Avatar?
"Young Avatar, it gives me great joy to be in your presence. Welcome to our abbey." The kind woman said with a smile, and a bow. Aang returned the bow,
"Thank you! It's truly an honor to be here. If there's anything –" Aang tried to finish his sentence, but Sokka cut him off.
"What smells so good, Bato?" Sokka cried, sniffing animatedly. Masami made a face as Sokka for cutting off the other conversation. She started to say something, but Aang dismissed her with a smile and a wave.
"The sisters craft ointments and perfumes." Bato informed the group.
"Perfume? Maybe we could dump some on Appa? Because he stinks so much! Am I right?" Sokka finished with a flourish. The group didn't think he was as funny as he did.
"You have your father's wit." Bato mused. The group came through down a hallway as they pushed open another door, Katara cried,
"Bato! It looks like home!"
"Everything's here, even the pelts!" Sokka admonished, touching things as he made his way through the room.
"Yeh, nothing's more comforting than dead animal skins." Aang whispered as the other three were lead into the room. Masami snorted, but tried to cover it up like she was clearing her throat. They both snuck a glance at Jet; he was looking a little green around the gills. Was he really this nervous? He hadn't said a word. The group flopped down on pelts, while the latter half of the group hung back slightly, not really wanting to look ill at ease, but they weren't exactly being welcomed with open arms.
Katara seemed to keep trying to turn the conversation to the others, but Sokka wasn't having it. He ran his mouth about home, himself, sea prunes and his father. "When will you see Dad?" He asked after a while of constantly talking about something else entirely unrelated.
"I'm expecting a messenger any day now with news of their location. If you can stay long enough to find out, you might can go with me to see your father." He said with a smile, the news seemed to catch everyone off guard. Jet looked even sicker, and Aang looked a little surprised.
"We would love to!" Sokka cried, waving his arms widely, nearly taking out his bowl of food.
"We have to see Aang to the North Pole, Sokka." Katara added, but her tone wasn't one where she sounded like she would argue the point for long which bothered Masami. Maybe she didn't have their devotion to their father, but she did have it to friends. Though, in all honesty, she didn't feel like she had an ostrich horse in this race, so she had no right to say anything.
"I know…but it's Dad. We haven't seen him in two years!" Sokka tried to argue, and that was true too, but it was conflicting all the same. Bato must have sensed the tension that could come from this discussion right now, so he placated them both,
"We don't have to discuss this now; we can worry about it in the morning." A sigh of relief came from the other members of the group not so actively involved in the discussion.
Kali glowered, clenching the tray. Uncle looked slightly ashamed but Zuko ignored her as they headed down to the dock. They had known from the start that the only reason she'd joined their crew was to find her sister. And now, of course, they were leaving her behind. She couldn't really be surprised. But she could still be angry. And she was.
She stormed down to the kitchen, resolving to find a way to follow them. She had a good guess as to where Zuko would be heading, since he was looking for the bounty hunter. Not that she looked forward to locating the "bad side" of any port city but there seemed to be little choice. As she stormed back toward the deck, she hoped the prince hadn't taken any kind of precaution to keep her there. She didn't want to have any trouble with the crew. After a pause of thinking this over, combined with the knowledge that where she was headed wasn't a nice place most likely, she resolved to recover her swords from where they'd been stored since she'd joined the crew. She now had access to a lot of places in the ship she hadn't had when she'd first started, so it didn't take her long to rearm herself. As she closed and relocked the door, however, she heard a voice.
"Just what are you up to?"
She started and spun around. Obi was frowning down at her uncertainly, a few steps away. She forced her hand, which had instinctively flown to her swords, to drop to her side.
"Errr….well…." she sighed. No good lies were coming to her.
"I'm going to the…sort of dangerous side of town, I think. I didn't want to go without some protection."
Obi's face darkened a little.
"Well then there's no way you should be going alone. Garron and I'll come with you. The prince has us staying here another night anyway and without any orders apart from not leaving the port."
"I'm not letting you go alone," he added, as she started to protest. She searched his face, trying to decide if he was more concerned about her or about what she was doing. Obi was one of the crew members she had the hardest time picturing being on separate sides from. He'd warmed up to her immediately when she'd first come aboard and had been nothing but kind to her.
"I guess…if you insist."
"Does the prince know you're going ashore?" he asked as they walked up the stairs together.
"I'm…not sure if he does or not."
Obi remained silent until they found his brother. Soon, the three of them were marching down the gangplank and heading briskly toward where Kali thought the seediest bars were most likely to be found. The two men, in spite of their slightly larger strides, hurried to keep up with Kali as she hurried along.
"Why is it we're here again?" asked Garron, who hadn't yet noticed Kali's swords dangling by her side.
"I'm looking for someone," Kali said matter-of-factly, her mind racing as she tried to think of a way to ditch her guards.
"Oh yeah? Who?"
"Someone who might be able to help me with a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
These questions were killing her. He'd left her no choice. She'd use the answer that had always worked best on men in the past (although admittedly the men in her life had been very few). She looked up at Garron and made what she hoped was a particularly meek and squeamish face.
"It's kind of a personal problem. Let's just say…I'm having…lady troubles."
Garron's face turned ashen and Obi blushed and looked away.
"Oh."
Silence followed as all parties in the trio determinedly avoided eye contact with one another, Kali feeling slightly guilty for lying to them while Obi fiddled anxiously with his fingers and Garron pretended to be fascinated by the contents of the frankly seedy alley they had made their way into. Finally Kali spotted what she was looking for, a little ways off from the main strip. The shirshu. It made sense the bounty hunter would keep her beast at a more removed tavern, since shirshus could be easily antagonized and drunken tavern patrons were easily antagonizing. She glanced up at the two firebenders then indicated the nearest building.
"I need to stop here. Thanks for seeing me here safely. I don't know how long I'll be so you should probably head back to the ship now. I know my way back."
"No way," said Garron firmly, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Have you looked around? This place is shadier than a skunkbear's burrow. Stinks as badly too. We'll wait."
Kali blushed and looked between the two brothers. Obi nodded in agreement with his brother's statement. Reluctantly, she left them standing outside the door of the building and went inside to what she discovered was something of a pawn shop. It reminded her of the pirates' ship where she'd lost Masami.
"Excuse me, is there a back door to this establishment?" she asked as politely as she could of the large woman standing behind the counter.
"We don't want no trouble here," growled the woman.
"Neither do I. It's just that…I think I'm being followed by a man outside and well, you know how it is when you're an attractive lady all alone in a place like this. I'm sure you've had your share of excess suitors in your day," she said, privately crossing her fingers that the woman would play along.
The old pawnbroker gave her a skeptical, unamused look but reluctantly pointed a finger to a small door behind her and allowed Kali to pass through it to the street on the other side of the shop. After furtively peeking around the corner of the shop to where she knew her two friends patiently awaited her, Kali darted over to the bar with the shirshu. It didn't take her long to spot Zuko, Uncle, and the bounty hunter. A huge crowd surrounded them in the tiny bar and she struggled to duck her way closer to them, pulling her black bandana low over her brow and stooping over slightly so that hopefully they wouldn't be able to get a good view at her face if they looked her way. Unfortunately for her, just as she'd started to get closer, the bounty hunter cried out, "Drinks on me!" and the entire room erupted into celebration.
An elbow caught her in the face and knocked her back against someone's back. That someone of course responded with the reasonable response of slamming his fist into her face and knocking her into the bar, in the process hitting someone else. The next thing she knew she was looking up from the floor at a bar fight. She slid along the side of the bar, trying to avoid getting caught up in the brawl which was now spreading. This wasn't exactly what she'd had in mind when she'd snuck into this place. She couldn't see the prince, Uncle, or the bounty hunter now and at this moment she didn't care. She just wanted out.
The last thing she would remember the next morning was making a dash for the door, stumbling on top of what she would assume was a person, and then ending up pressed against a man who was in the process of being tossed out a window. And where that man went, she went too, knocked backwards by his impact. There was light, then pain, the feeling of something hard against her head, the scent of earth, and then darkness.
The next morning, the group ate in much more companionable terms. They were all more relaxed and Sokka was less chatty until they found themselves outside. The idea of getting to know someone from Katara's past seemed to be settling better with Jet as he was actually talking and laughing with Bato today. Everyone tensed up when Sokka would bring up going to see their father, but other than that; everyone was pretty relaxed.
As breakfast ended, the group wandered back out to the ship on the beach.
"This ship is sentimental to me. It was built by my father." Bato told them as they all stood around it.
"Is this the boat he took you ice-dodging in?" Sokka asked, looking from the boat to Bato.
"Yeah, it's got the scar to prove it. Huh. How about you, Sokka? You must have some good stories from your first time ice-dodging?" Bato asked with a grin.
"He never got to go. Dad left before he was old enough." Katara answered, slightly sadly.
"Oh, I forgot, you were too young." Bato returned. Jet spoke up, confused.
"What's ice-dodging?"
"It's a rite of passage for young water tribe members. When you turn fourteen your Dad takes you... you know what you're about to find out." He was informed, and he smiled mischievously as the end as he motioned for them all to climb on the boat. Jet, Katara and Sokka all went willingly. Masami froze; fear of something like the storm they had been through a while back flashing through her head. Her feet stuck in place,
"I'm alright, I'll watch." She managed to say. Aang looked at the boat, and then shook his head too.
"Can you do it with just them?" When Bato nodded, and he knew he wouldn't be taking something away from Sokka, he looped his arm through Masami's to wait on shore with her.
"It's over."
What?
"We caught you red-handed." Kali blinked blearily at the two outlines above her.
"Well, technically, her hands don't appear to be, sir. It's hard to tell with those gloves but…"
Whoever it was trailed off as Kali attempted to sit up. She was in a room. Not the room she shared with the crew back on the ship. This room was wooden and filled with…Earth Kingdom soldiers? She widened her eyes in alarm as she finally managed a sitting position in front of the two men studying her. She was on the ground of the tavern she'd been in earlier. Outside it was still dark so at least she hadn't been knocked out for too long. Her head ached and she wondered what exactly she'd hit it against when she'd flown through that window. Touching her head, she realized she was bleeding and yelped as the younger of the two Earth Kingdom officials moved her hand back and gingerly removed a large shard of glass (well, she thought it was large at the time until she noticed the shard in her shoulder…this one was actually only about the size of a copper coin) from a couple inches above her right eye. Her bandana was missing and as she started to take stock of her overall shape, she realized her right side was especially cut up (probably from the window), she couldn't see very well out of her left eye (so it was probably swollen from being punched), and her head felt like a gaggle of turkey geese had been hammering at it for hours.
"Best to just fess up to it, miss. We caught you re-err, we know you're guilty." The official evidently in charge glanced at his younger companion with a slightly irritated expression. Kali stared at them blankly. There proceeded a very one-sided argument in which Kali attempted to protest her innocence of whatever crime she was accused of and the officials informed her that not only had she been found unconscious in a bush in possession of two bags of cabbages they were confident had been gained by ill means but, as one of the last people left at the bar after it had been all but destroyed by the brawl, she was among the people being blamed for the property damage by the owner. The bags of stolen cabbages she couldn't explain except that she imagined they had been dumped next to her while she was unconscious, the real thief perhaps thinking bushes were a good hiding place. The bar brawl….well, she couldn't deny that she'd been there, but she certainly could deny ever throwing a punch. That simply hadn't happened. She tried to play up the idea that she was a young girl in the wrong place at the wrong time but, being that she was unable to give a satisfying reason for why she was in the bar in the first place, she didn't get very far with that. Her only alibis for the real crime were the pawnbroker (who she'd suspiciously asked to let her come in one door and out the other) and Obi and Garron, who were nowhere to be found and, besides that, were Fire Nation soldiers. No Earth Kingdom official would ever give the benefit of the doubt to someone who spent their time with firebenders. Kali's situation looked bleak and the younger of the officials cheerfully told her so as they made their way through the street.
Thus, for the first time since she'd been a small child, Kali found herself locked up. In prison.
"You froze." Aang pointed out to Masami as they sat in the sand, "Why?" He asked, propping his head on his knee. "You've been on boats before." He knew that, he'd been on them with her. She smiled sadly,
"I don't know, I just…did. I think it's because the last time I was on one it was because of the storm, and that was pretty scary. The fact you all got over so fast amazes me. I don't get over things that fast." She admitted sheepishly.
"I get scared too, I do. I understand." He said with a smile. She looked at him slightly skeptically, smiling.
"I haven't really seen you get scared, except for the storm." Cuz she had that night.
"I didn't say I did it a lot." He teased. She smiled back. They lapsed into silence before he spoke up, fidgeting lightly.
"Do I help you not be scared? While we were at Aunt Wu's, I listened to what she told you. I remind you of your sister? I'm like a sibling then?" He asked, seeming conflicted.
"I know you did." Masami answered with a grin.
"I'm sorry." Aang responded, keeping his eyes on his shoes.
"I don't care; but it's easier if there's something you want to know to just ask. Kay?" She reasoned, then went back to his other question. "Yes, you remind me of Kali in some ways. She gets me, and I get her. She understands my fears and rather then getting mad over them; as stupid as they come off sometimes, she stands by me. You do that too; you just did with the boat and Bato." She looked down at his hand that was resting at his side, and she covered it with her own. "But no, I don't think of you like a brother." She finished quietly. He looked at her with a sideward smile and wordlessly flipped his hand up to grasp hers.
Before they could say anything else, the boat was returning to shore, and everyone was gushing over how well Sokka had guided the boat through the rocky course Bato had put them up against.
"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks. For Sokka, the mark of the wise, the same mark your father earned." Bato painted a half circle and a dot on Sokka's forehead, then moved onto Katara.
"For Katara, the mark of the brave. Your courage inspires us." He painted a crescent moon on her forehead.
"And for Jet, the mark of the trusted. You are now an honorary member of the Water Tribe." He said with an approving smile as he painted another half circle on the nonbender's forehead. As he stepped away, Katara launched herself at Jet, hugging him happily. The group retreated inside to rest and discuss the matter that had been brought up earlier in the day.
"We have no time for this!" Zuko snapped, leaping down from the shirshu's back. They'd been riding all night and most of the morning on this useless monstrosity and still they had failed to find the Avatar. They had even stopped to rest at one point! The wench of a bounty hunter had insisted on it and, as much as Zuko hated to admit it, it was hard to argue with her too much with her hulking beast beside her since their success depended on its cooperation.
Now he waved the necklace back and forth in front of it fiercely, only to have it snap at him.
"Hey, watch it!" he shouted, resisting the urge to bend some manner into the beast. He glared irritably up at the smirking bounty hunter. It was annoying to hear his uncle laugh at him, especially in front of this stranger. As the shirshu started to take off again in response to June's whip, he hastily retook his seat behind Uncle, who was definitely enjoying sitting behind the bounty hunter way too much for Zuko's liking. Watching his uncle eyeing a woman like that made Zuko extremely uncomfortable. Of course, anything that connected the concept of sex appeal with the concept of Uncle was incredibly uncomfortable. Zuko suddenly found himself unwillingly thinking of Kali and their time in the closet together. Unfortunately, Uncle's mind seemed to have gone to a similar if not quite as precise place.
"Prince Zuko, do you not feel at all regretful over leaving Kali behind?"
"Why should I? She'd cause nothing but trouble for me if we brought her along. I can't have her getting in the way of my capture of the Avatar."
"Well, yes, but the only reason she is on our crew in the first place is to find her sister. Might we not also find her sister when we find the Avatar? Or even have let her use something of her sister's to locate her?"
"I don't care why she joined our crew. That's not my concern. She's not my responsibility. Anyway, Uncle, there's no guarantee her sister is even still with the Avatar! It might as well be a lost cause." Uncle sighed.
"You may be right. If that is the case, though, I do not like to think of what will happen when we tell her."
Zuko frowned. He hadn't considered that. If Kali discovered her sister wasn't with the Avatar, that she'd completely lost her track….what would she do? Would she stay with his crew?
He shook his head. It wasn't important, one way or the other. He blinked a few times and then looked straight ahead again. The only thing that mattered now was where he was going and what, or rather who, was waiting for him at the end. This time, he thought, I will capture him.
The group decided as they ate how to settle the matter of getting to Hakoda,
"Why don't you and Jet go find Dad with Bato?" Sokka suggested suddenly, his head low. Everyone paused their eating,
"Why us? You want to see Dad too I know." Katara asked, folding her arms on the table.
"I do, but I can't leave Aang. I promised…and he and Masami can't get there on their own." He covered at the end to not sound sentimental. "But just because I can't go doesn't mean you and Jet shouldn't go." Sokka finished with a smile. Jet and Katara weren't completely convinced, but couldn't bring themselves to completely hate the offer either. Eventually it was agreed, and preparations to leave were made early the next morning. Appa was loaded, and the groups were ready.
"Stay safe." Katara told them all, Masami nodded while the others smiled. "Keep them in line." She teased Masami who smiled and nodded again.
"I'll do what I can." She responded honestly. The two groups went their separate ways, waving goodbye to the sisters as they went. As they walked down the path on Appa, they found themselves on the beach again. They more secured their packs but just as they were taking off, Mother Superior ran out of the woods.
"A group of people came to the abbey looking for you. You have to leave!"
"Who?" Aang demanded,
"A fierce looking woman with a horrible monster and a young man with a scar."
"Zuko!" Masami cried, though the thought of her sister came through her mind at that name.
"The beast was using the scent of a necklace to follow you." Mother informed them.
"A necklace? Huh! Katara!" Sokka cried as they turned the bison towards the Abbey.
Kali hadn't slept a bit since she'd been placed in the cell, given that she was sharing it with a few other characters who looked a little rougher than herself. It was around lunchtime now and she stared miserably through the bars at the officials, who she'd reluctantly informed of Obi and Garron's identity as crewmembers on the Shoeboat. One plus was that if the officials bothered to follow up on her alibi, they'd have an easy time finding the only Fire Nation ship in the harbor at the moment. On the other hand, they might not bother. What if she was trapped in this prison until after Zuko returned (possibly with the Avatar and maybe even Masami and her friends captive!) and he left without her? She had no good amount of money so she had no chance at posting bail or anything like that. She might have to sit out a sentence for something she hadn't done and then she might never see her sister again. Even once she was let out…she'd be alone in the world.
She hugged one of her knees and tried not to think about it. In part out of sincere hope and in part out of just the desire to keep her mind occupied, she started to look the prison over more carefully. If she were to try to escape, what would be her best options?
As her eyes shifted around the room, her mind shifted back to her mother. She'd been thinking about her a lot this morning. The prison cell was a lot like the Earth Kingdom prison she'd been born in. Not as hastily constructed, from what she could tell, but the layout and the provisions for both guards and prisoners were similar. She shuddered, remembering how the guards had always looked at her when she was small. They had all known one of their own must have been her father, given that women and men prisoners weren't allowed to spend any time together. But no one had seemed quite sure which soldier it had been. Except for her mother, Zahar, of course, but she hadn't told Kali about that until she'd known Kali was at the age that she could keep a secret.
Zahar had been a part of a group of Fire Nation colonists who had come to the Earth Kingdom, hoping to find better lives in the new colony than they had found in the homeland. Most of them had been relatively poor and had few connections left in the Fire Nation, which was probably why the Fire Nation military had been content to let the Earth Kingdom soldiers who ambushed the settlement one night maintain control over the prisoners, rather than paying ransom. All known firebenders had been killed immediately the night the Earth Kingdom had taken the colony and anyone caught showing even a hint of knowledge of the art was shown no mercy. Zahar had carefully hidden Kali's eyes when she had first been born for fear that the twinkling in the baby's eyes which foretold a firebender might be noticed and questioned by the soldiers who'd run the prison. It hadn't been until Kali was somewhere around seven or eight that she'd escaped that prison. Her mother had not.
Kali shook her head slightly, as if to shake the memories from her mind, and closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. Some nights, she still ached from thinking of her mother in that prison. Ached until she had to give up sleeping altogether and find a distraction to pass the time until the sun and Masami woke up. Her thoughts were interrupted as a familiar voice broke in.
"Kali?"
There was little time to waste as the group flew back to the aid of their friends and the sisters. Masami held on onto the saddle as Aang took off on his glider and Sokka steered Appa towards the ground. Once they neared the ground, Appa picked up speed without Sokka asking. He slammed his head into a large creature that had previously been going after Aang. Masami squealed as she toppled off the creature, and came face to face with Bato on the ground.
"Are you hurt?" She asked, trying to get her friends on their feet.
"That thing got us with it's tongue, we can't move now." Bato informed her, she narrowed her eyes at the large long-nosed creature. Was an ugly thing, whatever it was. She pulled herself up and struck a defensive stance not unlike the ones she saw Aang strike. She kept her eyes on the fight that was starting to break out. She looked over her shoulder as she saw the sisters moving her friends. She backed up a little so she could keep her self between her friends and the fight. Sokka ran up from the left after recovering from the fall.
Across from them, Aang and Zuko had started in on each other. As was expected, Zuko made the first move. He struck out at Aang with a fiery jab, which Aang was able to dispel with a blast of air from his staff. He retaliated with a gust sent from his foot. Zuko advanced on him and the fight became a lot closer. Fire and air created several close calls for both males until one hand slipped and caught the other at the wrong time resulting in a powerful explosion that landed both males on opposite roofs.
The woman who was apparently the master of the beast cracked her whip and got the creature up again. As she remounted the beast, they ran to take their revenge on Appa. Appa puffed out larger then Masami had ever seen him, and as the slightly smaller creature neared him, he was able to land a blow right to the center of it's chest and send the rider back down to the ground. She hit the ground hard, landing close enough to Masami and Sokka for them to ask. Sokka lifted his club, and ran at the woman as Masami pulled water from the well and ran at her as well. She lifted the whip, and lashed out at Sokka but he was able to deflect the whip with his club and get a step closer to her before she brought the whip around again and got him in the back of the head. Masami moved up and brought the water she'd collected with her. She tried to mimic the motion she'd learned when she'd first met the group, the water whip. She figured if the beast girl could fight with a whip so could she. Sokka got his footing and stood his ground beside her, but a large flame sent the group scattering and covering their faces.
On the roof, Aang was finally coming to, though it was almost too little too late because Zuko was already heading right for him with a large flame in tow. He was able to roll onto his back, and use his feet to dispel the flame as they again began to scuffle with each other. They shot flames and air this way and that, and once able to get a little space, Aang got enough space to get his arms in a position to one-up Zuko and shoot him into the far wall of the roof. Not giving him time to catch his breath, Aang launched another attack which Zuko dodged by sliding his way off the roof.
Appa took flight over the beast to get towards the rest of the group, but the creature sent its long tongue out that got the underside of his foot. He plummeted towards the ground faster then it seemed he meant to. He crashed hard into the ground, trying to get up. He was able to struggle through the paralysis, and make a run at the creature again. They bashed their heads together, halting both of them as they struggled for dominance. But as soon the brawl had begun the beast broke off and made a dash for the roof.
As Zuko landed on the ground, Masami brought the water whip around and made straight for him. She brought her hands quickly from her left and sends the whip straight for him. He turns in time for part of it to get his face, and he staggers backwards. "You have a lot of nerve, Peasant." He said as he quickly launched fire at her. She backed up, and brought the water back from his direction in time to break most of the fire from getting on her face; the way she had practiced with Kali. Before the twosome could get more blows in though, Aang was off the roof and Zuko's focus was elsewhere.
The creature broke holes in the roof as it tried to pursue Aang, but with its lack of eyesight it was unable to see the blast of air from Appa's tail, nor the large murky ball of mud from Aang. As the creature fell back to the ground no one noticed the Fire Nation General stealing a small bottle of fragrance from a nearby barrel.
Masami forgotten, Zuko took off towards Aang, attacking him through the small opening above the well. Hopping from side to side, Aang weaved in and out of the pillars holding the roof over the well as Zuko shot fire from his fists. Tired from not getting the desired results, Zuko took his place on the side of the well as well and hand to hand combat ensued again. Eventually, Aang was one step too fast for Zuko, and was able to launch him into the well. Before Zuko could get himself out of the way, the water from the well was back up with Aang in tow. The force of the water hit Zuko full force and sent him crashing into the ground a little ways a way.
Before Zuko could stage another counter attack, Appa put himself between Aang and Zuko.
As Appa stood against the Fire Prince, the long nosed creature was back under the control of his handler was back and ready to challenge Appa. As the woman cracked the whip, the creature's tongue lashed out at Appa and hit him in the face repeatedly. And eventually, he was able to be taken down.
On the other side of the Abbey, the sisters and Sokka had gotten the other friends to their feet. The sisters used the perfume to somehow shake off the lasting bit of paralysis. "Masami, come here!" Sokka cried, getting her attention from a little ways away. Sokka had come up with a plan to overload the senses of the creature attacking Appa using smell, so once the large jars of the perfume were knocked over, Masami and Katara used the liquid to douse the creature so it was no longer able to tell anyone from anything else. The rider was thrown from it's back as the creature reared back, scratched the walls and made it's escape. Soon there after; all the group including Bato, Katara and Jet climbed aboard Appa and flew off into the distance.
Zuko, The General and the rider were all still on the ground as Masami looked over the saddle a minute later. Strangely enough though, Masami hadn't seen the older man get hit with the paralysis causing tongue.
"Uncle, I didn't see you get hit with the tongue."
"Shhhh."
Zuko rolled his eyes and groaned at his uncle's response. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as his prize escaped. Again. Not only that, but he'd lost the Water Tribe girl's necklace. Katara was her name, he thought. He frowned and tried to shake his head to help shake the name out of it. Knowing their names didn't do him any favors. He couldn't afford to think of them as more than obstacles in his quest. Just something to get by in order to get home. His mind ran through the Avatar's various friends. The short girl with the strange eyes. The newest waterbender to join the Avatar who'd attacked him this time. Kali's sister. She'd stayed with the Avatar after all.
Having little more to do than fume over his most recent loss and hope the shirshu's venom wore off him soon before Earth Kingdom soldiers arrived, he pondered this. On the one hand, it was as good of a guarantee as any that Kali would stay on his ship as long as he let her until he found the Avatar again. From what he could tell, she had nowhere to go but to her sister. On the other hand, if she was there the next time they found the Avatar…if he couldn't find an excuse to keep her from reaching her sister…his face hardened. In the years since his exile, he'd never once felt conflicted in his path. But now, suddenly, he was starting to…feel something. Something that, as hard as it was for him to admit it, was almost making him want to hold back just a little in finding the Avatar. Which was absurd! he thought angrily, gritting his teeth and spitting out a flickering flame or two.
Perhaps it was time he found a new cook.
When the group was a safe enough distance away, they landed again to go their separate ways.
"You sure you guys will be okay without us?" Katara asked, Sokka nodded.
"We'll be fine, you guys take care of each other. And give Dad a hug for me." He said with a small smile.
"Should we worry about that thing tracking us again?" Bato asked, his brow furrowed.
"I don't think so." Jet spoke up suddenly, holding Katara's necklace in one hand. Her eyes lit up with delight.
"How did you get it back?" She asked, as he moved towards her to put it on.
"The scarred asshole dropped it when Aang hit him with well water." He grinned, letting his hand stay on the back of her neck as he finished putting the clasp in place. Katara turned and slide her arms around his neck.
"Thank you." She smiled. He nodded, his normal cocky smirk in place. As the group said their goodbyes again; Masami, Aang and Sokka climbed into the saddle and were finally able to get moving again.
Kali walked outside the prison, still somewhat stunned as Obi pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'm so glad I found you!" Then he pulled back and his face took on a troubled expression.
"Where'd you go? And what in the name of the Firelord happened to you?! Why did you ditch us?"
Kali watched his face shift through emotions: concern, anger…hurt. And suddenly she felt even worse than she had in the prison. "I…I thought I'd found a way to get to my sister…more quickly. But I didn't want to tell you, because I didn't know how you and the others would respond since I'd be finding the Avatar too and trying to beat Zuko and Uncle before they found him and Masami. So…I lied to you…about the lady problems. I mean I guess technically I'm a lady and I was having problems (well I guess I'm not really a lady) but they weren't really those kind of problems. Not right now anyway," she spewed, then took a breath and finally got to the point. "I'm sorry I lied to you."
Obi stared at her for a moment. This was probably the most she'd ever said in one stretch to him. He looked away, then,
"We should get back to the ship…you're coming back, right?"
"Yeah," she replied. She spent the rest of the walk back staring at the ground. As they reached the docks, she finally said it.
"Obi?"
"Yah?"
"Thank you for getting me out of prison. I swear…I'll pay you back."
They stopped and she continued.
"Really. Nobody else…except Masami…would do that for me. Nobody."
"She's really all you've got?" She smiled a little.
"You really think I'd mop the prince's ship ten times a day if she wasn't?"
He smiled back, then frowned as he looked her over again.
"Damn, you're cut up. And that eye looks terrible. As soon as we get back to the ship, I'm sending Hadji to find Garron and then we're bandaging you up. That one cut looks pretty deep," he added, pointing gingerly at the biggest slit across Kali's forehead.
"It's not as bad as it looks. You should see my shoulder."
"What'd you do? Get into a bar fight?"
"Yes, actually."
"Oh." They'd reached the gangplank. He stopped again.
"You sure about this?"
"About what?"
"Well don't you still want to do whatever you were gonna do to find your sister?"
She stared down at his shoes.
"I think it might be too late now." His hand on her shoulder made her look up.
"I understand why you lied to me. And Garron. But, for the record, everyone knows you're going to have to leave at some time or another. None of us really likes the idea of dragging a little kid to the Firelord. It's just our job. So if you end up leaving us and…delaying the Avatar's capture a little more when you find your sister…I'm pretty sure the only person who's really going to hold it against you is Zuko. We all know what it's like to miss your family." There was a pause. Warmth spread through her as she looked up at the kind, solemn face. She'd never felt more lucky to have ended up on this particular Shoeboat than she did now. Kali smiled weakly.
"Thanks, Obi."
A few hours later, she was bandaged and alone in the crew's quarters, where Lieutenant Jee had insisted she remain until the prince returned. Zuko hadn't issued any explicit orders for today other than for the crew to remain in port, so, Jee had reasoned, it fell to him to give the orders. The ship, he'd decided, didn't need any mopping done today.
Kali would awaken much later to find, to her relief that Zuko had once again neglected to capture the Avatar. Still better was the news Uncle told her quietly when she brought him tea that evening. He'd confirmed her greatest hope. Masami was still traveling with the Avatar.