A/N: Oh my gosh, in the last chapter I accidentally spelled "wood" as "would" haha. I had reread the chapter twice before submitting and missed it TWICE haha what is wrong with me?
BEWARE! THIS WILL BE RATED "M" FOR MATURE!
Katara shook from her sleep. She was freezing. She opened her eyes and realized that sometime during the night she had replaced Zuko's arm with her hand and that he had moved. 'But why would he?' She asked herself. She heard a struggle behind her, a small gasp escaped from her lips as she turned around only to see the Captain holding Zuko by his hair.
"You two belong to me now." The brute said as he slid the edge of his blade through Zuko's hair band. He then turned to Katara, knife still in hand. She gasped and pressed herself against the wall. He was going to cut her hair!
He grabbed her by her shoulder and pulled her towards him. "No!" She struggled, grabbing his arms trying to pull him off of her. She kicked and scratched and desperately tried to wiggle out of his grasp. He then grabbed her by her hair and pulled it, causing her to go to her tip-toes. She continued to claw at his arms and kick at his legs and stomach. Annoyed, he let out a growl as he pressed her between the wall and himself. Katara still continued to struggle, moving her head in every which direction she could. The Captain ignored this and hacked away at her hair despite her movements. Once he had gone all the way through, he stepped back and allowed her to sink to the floor.
"Get up." He demanded her. She covered her face with her hands and tried not to let him see her cry. He huffed, rolling his eyes and bending down to pick her up by her wrists. He turned and grabbed Zuko by his wrists as well, and led them up the stairs and to the right. He opened a door and shoved them into a small bathroom. "Wash yourselves of your previous owner's filth." He growled, slamming the door behind him.
Zuko stood with arms crossed over his hands. He watched as Katara ran her fingers through her now shoulder-length hair. It was a horrible, uneven, jagged cut. He knew hair was for some reason way more important to women than men. He also knew Katara was still welcome and wanted in the Water Tribe, while he had been banished from his home. The pirate had cut their ties with their homeland. Zuko didn't mind because his had been cut long ago, while Katara however, still belonged to the Southern Water Tribe.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. She sniffled, running her hands through her hair. "I'm not showering in front of you." She cried.
"You're an idiot, Katara." He blurted out. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. What had he just called her?
"Excuse me?" She breathed, placing her hands on her hips.
"I am taking a shower," He said, looking down at the layer of dirt and dried blood that covered his body. "But that doesn't mean I'm taking my shorts off. You're a water bender. We can shower in our clothes and you can bend the water from them when we finish. They're only going to run the water for a short period of time, so if we both want to get clean we'll have to share the shower at the same time." Katara's hands fell. He was right about the shower, but he wasn't right about her being an idiot! She wanted to smack him on the arm, as she would Sokka or Aang for speaking to her like that, but he was covered in cuts and bruises. She didn't want to cause him anymore pain.
Zuko stepped into the shower just as the water started to flow from it. Katara followed in shortly after. She bent a small bubble from the water and began washing her now not only dirty, but ragged cut hair. She watched Zuko gently rub his arms, face twisting in pain. His cuts seriously needed to be cleaned. She could see how his skin had puffed up around the majority of them. She honestly felt so bad for him that she gathered a new, clean bubble of water and hovered her hands over his shoulder, allowing the water to mold over it.
"Excuse you," He breathed out, looking down to her. "I think I'm old enough to bathe myself, Katara." He said, batting at her hand. She moved her arm away just before his made contact.
"Ugh," She rolled her eyes at him. "Does this feel better or not?" She watched as he paused and thought about it.
"Yeah," He said in defeat as he leaned up against the wall of the shower. She took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, trying to calm her nerves.
She opened her eyes and gasped at the sight of the suddenly clear skin beneath her hands. "Oh my goodness." She breathed out, bewildered.
"What?"
"I just, I think I...I don't know." She took her hands away from his arm, looking at them wide-eyed, wondering if she had just done what she think she did. She looked up at him and saw he had raised his brow at her. "I've heard of this, but...I doubt that I..."
"What?" He asked, annoyed.
"My grandmother used to tell me stories of when my tribe was filled with other benders...some of them had the ability to heal and I...I think I just healed some of the cuts on your arm." She said, pointing to the only clear place on his arm. He looked down and couldn't believe his eyes. No dirt, no blood, no cut, no bruise. He was clean and wound free in the area she had covered in water.
She brought a new blob of water up to a lower part of his arm that was still covered in wounds. He moved away from her. "No." He said.
"What? Zuko, I can heal!" She protested, moving closer.
"No. They'll see." He told her, grabbing her by her wrist. She looked up to his face and saw the worry in his eyes. Katara understood. He didn't want them knowing she had waterbended. He didn't want them seeing that he had been healed. He didn't want them to botch up his body again with another beating.
"Oh," She sighed out, looking down. "At least let me see your back." She said looking up at him. She remembered him telling her about the worst of this was on his back. He huffed, but still turned to face away from her. She gasped at the sight of his back. In some places, his skin was merely reddened as if he just stayed out in the sun too long, but in other places he had blisters and some blotches that were covered in scabs. "Goodness, Zuko, you poor thing." Zuko rolled his eyes at her, even is she couldn't see him doing it. As if he had never dealt with a severe burn before.
She brought a layer of water to his back and took a deep breath in and watches as the water began to let off a small glow. It took her a while to do his whole back and due to her inexperience, some parts hadn't healed all the way. "There." She said, dropping the water and looking at his nearly clear back. He turned and grabbed a small cloth from the sink and began to rub away the dirt on his other arm while she took another bubble of water and helped with his arm and side closest to her.
She wasn't as dirty as he was and once she finished his arm and side it didn't take her long to remove the thin layer of dirt that had settled on her skin from being inside of the cell. She stepped out just had he finished washing his legs. The water cut not long after and she wondered if they had somehow watched, or if they had someone stationed by the door and he had heard her step out.
"Zuko," Katara called softly, getting his attention. He looked up from his legs and saw her standing there, a buckets worth of water hovering in the air in front of her.
"No." He said firmly. "Don't even think about it." He warned, stepping from the shower.
"Why not?" She couldn't believe he didn't want her bending at the pirates. They could escape!
"We're both tired and hungry." This was true. "I was nearly beat to death, Katara. We need to rest. I need to heal." He put his hand under the water, heating the area above his hand, causing the water to steam and evaporate before their eyes. "Just wait. We'll plan something out." He assured just before one of the buccaneers opened the door. He grabbed her first and tied her hands behind her back. He then took them both by the hands and led them back down to their cell.
The pirate had nearly slipped on the last step and after he placed Zuko and Katara in the cell, he fumbled with the key in his pocket and had trouble locking the door. Zuko registered him as clumsy, and as an easy target.
Zuko sat next to Katara against back wall and pulled his knees up to his chest. He waited about five minuets to assure the pirate was good and gone and that no one was in the storage area in front of the cell. As far as he knew, the coast was clear.
"I think I have an idea." He began. At this, Katara perked up and looked at him. He kept his voice low as he spoke. "I think the guy who took us down here was either drunk, or just plain clumsy, but I didn't smell anything on him, so I think it's the later." He pointed out and Katara nodded. "Once we rest and I heal, if he takes us down here again, while he's fumbling with the lock we'll open the door and take the key. We can shove him in here and go from there." Katara scrunched her face at this. 'and then go from there' she repeated in her head. Just like Sokka, never really thinking things through all the way. This was a good plan, but she worried about what to do after and tried to think of something herself.
"What if all of the men were on the deck?" She asked.
"I could fire bend, you could water bend. We're in the middle of the ocean, you'll have plenty of water."
"What if doesn't take us here again? Should we just wait until he does?"
"I suppose we could try. I think he'd be our best bet. Something tells me that not all the lights are on upstairs for him."
"That's mean, Zuko." Katara scolded.
"You're mean." He blurted out, teasing her. She smiled while she shook her head in face then fell and she let out a sigh as she looked down to cold, hard floor of the ship. She copied Zuko's position as she had done before, pulling her knees up and resting her arms on them. She hating sitting here in silence like this. She was used to always speaking with Aang or Sokka, always laughing about something or venting about their worries.
She pressed her cheek against her shoulder and looked to Zuko. She was surprised that he seemed to really not be all that bad. When she first saw that she was going to be stuck in here with him, she began to mentally prepare herself for him to be constantly belittling and degrading her, but he hasn't other than the one time he called her a peasant the night before. But that was true to her in her eyes. Sure her father was the chief, but being from the small, dinky Southern Tribe, that title didn't seem to mean much to the rest of the world. She had never been treated or pampered like a princess, she worked all day and everyday of her life since the raid that took her mother and countless others. She wondered what it was like growing up in a palace and getting anything and everything you wanted handed to you. She then smacked herself mentally. She needed to stop assuming that's what it was like growing up in the Fire Nation. From some of the things Zuko had said last night, it really didn't seem to be all that great.
"Zuko," She began, getting his attention. He turned his head to look at her. "Why were you after Aang?" She wasn't really surprised when he scowled at her, she had obviously struck a nerve.
"Why were you traveling with him?" He asked back.
"Zuko! -"
"I don't want to talk about it, Katara." He grumbled, turning away from her.
"Why not? What if I answered your question?" She paused, waiting for his response. There was none. "What, do I have to earn one of your stories with one of mine?" She asked, leaning towards him.
"That's personal, Katara. It's called trust, which yes, is something you have to earn." He growled, turning to glare at her. She tilted her head to the side and pressed her lips together.
"I'm trusting you right now, Zuko." He looked at her questioningly. "You could fire bend right here, right now. You're stronger than I am. You could strangle me, kill me."
"Well, you could bend the water from the air. You could turn it to a sharp piece of ice and slit my throat in my sleep." She rolled her eyes and huffed. He was so difficult!
She took in a deep breath before starting. "I was with Aang because my brother and I found him in a ice berg. So we left home to try to help him help the world. There, happy?"
"No." He grumbled.
"What? How!"
"That's not a good enough explanation!" He griped, tossing his hands in the air, speaking with them again. Before he could return his arms to his knees, Katara placed her cheek on one of them and glared up at him.
"Tell me why you were so hell-bent after him." She demanded.
"I..." He started, but paused and looked out into space. "I just..I had to or..." He shook his head and pressed his lips together, pressed his back against the wall and held his head down. Katara could tell he desperately wanted to cover his head with his arms as he had done the night before, but she was in the way.
She sighed, picking her head and resting her elbow on his knee. She then placed her chin onto the back of her hand and began speaking. "After I lost my mother I had a lot of new responsibilities forced onto me. Then my father and the rest of the men left in the Tribe to go fight in the war, leaving Sokka as the only one old enough who had a fighting chance of defending us. Him and I were out fishing one day when we found Aang in a iceberg. I cracked it open and out pops this little kid. He was so happy and he knew nothing about the war, he airbended in front of us and everything. I knew he was the avatar and I knew I needed to help him save the world. I wanted to. So, Sokka and I left our family and tried to get to the North Pole so Aang and I could learn waterbending. We were in a market when we came across the pirates merchant ship. I found the water scrolls, but we didn't have enough money to buy it, so I stole them. Then I was fishing down a river and they caught me...and now I'm here..." She paused, staring at the floor. "I just wanted to help. I hate the way the world is right now. I hate it. I hate the way babies are losing their parents and their homes. I hate living in constant fear and I didn't want that for anyone else anymore. I just wanted to help." She finished softly and looked up at him. He had been listening intensively, she could tell by the look of concern on his face.
She moved, allowing him to place one elbow on each knee. He laced his fingers together and placed in chin on them. He let out and sigh and stayed silent for quite some time. He then looked over to her and sighed again. He opened his mouth a bit and then shook his head. Her shoulders fell and he looked at him blankly. "I don't wanna talk about it." He whispered, looking away from her. She huffed and laid down onto her back in front of him. She shook her head and looked up to the ceiling. She was angry with him, but she figured he wouldn't tell her for a good reason, and she understood the whole trust issue thing. She pretty much had to force herself to tell her about why she had been traveling with the young avatar.
She then thought of something good to say and grabbed his leg to alert him. He leaned over to his left to look at her. "You uncle had joined us." She informed. He nodded his head, he had seen his uncle with Aang. "He promised to not to come after as and to teach Aang fire bending as long as we found you." She paused to sit up, leaned in towards him. "He seemed very lost without you, Zuko." She said gently. "He cried." Zuko's eyes widened at this, concerned. "He kept saying something about a Lu Tin." She said, waving her hand in the air and letting it drop, unaware of who he was speaking about. Zuko's mouth dropped and pressed his back against the wall. Katara watched him as he folded his arms over his knees and proceeded to bury his face into his arms. Katara scolded herself for telling him the last parts. His uncle was obviously a soft spot for him. She gave him a reassuring half smile, even though he couldn't see it before she lightly rested her cheek on his shoulder. She shook her head a let out a small laugh causing him to lift his head and look at her. "I just keep messing up." She breathed out, shaking her head. He slowly put his back down into his arms.
Katara then sat next to him and again copied his position again. She wondered what her brother, Aang, and Iroh were doing now, if they had found a trail, if they were on it, if they were trailing right behind them, where ever it was they were. She wondered if they had eaten any of the fish she had caught or if Iroh had taught Aang anything else about fire bending. She worried about Sokka, she had never been away from him for more than a day before, and she had no idea how long she would be stuck on this boat. She hoped Aang was still practicing water bending and if he was focusing on trying to learn fire bending. She didn't want them to worry about her too much. She figured she would be okay, she had been given a small bowl of rice and she hadn't been beaten... at least not yet.
It was beginning to get cold again and she wondered what time of day it was. She hated not be able to see the sky or be around water she could see. Zuko had mentioned that she could bend water from the air. She had never thought of that before and tried it. It worked. She had no idea she could do that was happy to know that she could, but Zuko didn't want her bending at anyone just yet, and she dropped the water when she heard footsteps coming down the stair case. It was a pirate she didn't recognize. He had small bowl of rice in his hand. She watched as he dropped and kicked it through the bars of the cell. She had just realized that the bowl from last night had been missing. They must have taken it while her and Zuko were in the shower.
She watched him leave and then she took her attention to the small bowl of rice on the floor before her. Just one, she realized. Just one, small bowl of rice. Why only one? Perhaps they thought Zuko was asleep, but there was no way they could have known that she was the only one alert. She then realized that they must have only brought one bowl of rice last night and that Zuko had lied about been given one. 'Why would he do that' she wondered, looking over to him.
Katara suddenly felt so tired. It was exhausting being in the cell all day doing nothing. She wanted to be out, flying around on Appa with her brother and Aang one their way to the North Pole. She wanted to learn water bending so bad. She picked up the small puddle of water from when she had dropped the water she had collected from the air and began toying with it. It wasn't much, but she could at least try to learn the push and pull of the water better. She didn't want to take much more from the air because what would she do with it when one of the men came down? She continued to play with her small bit of water, though. She push and pulled it between her two hands, tossed it into the air and caught it just before it came in contact with the floor. She bent it into shapes and froze it, only to turn it back to it's liquid form to make a new shape and repeat the process again and again.
She paused for a moment when she noticed Zuko stirring. He lifted his chin to his arms. She leaned forward and grabbed the bowl of rice. "Here," She said, holding it to him. He shook his head and waved her off. "Take it." She held it closer towards him.
"You can have it." He told her.
"No, I've already had mine." She lied obviously. He glared and snarled at her. She held it even closer to him.
"I don't want it." He said harshly, looking away from her.
"Well then I guess it's just going to sit here!" She slammed the bowl down onto the ground in front of them and went back to her water bending.
She continued her bending for quite some time. Her arms and hands were tired from moving them around so much, so she carelessly flung the water her right, causing it to drip down the wall. She sighed out and looked back at the bowl of rice. Zuko needed it more than she did, he needed to heal and she wasn't even sure what the last time he had eaten was. She only had one, small bite of rice last night, but she was still better off than he was. She picked up the bowl and grabbed his healed shoulder. He looked at her, then down to the rice. He shook his head and looked away.
"Zuko, you need to eat this."
"I don't want it, Katara." He repeated.
She huffed and squeezed his shoulder. "You need to eat. You need the energy to heal faster." Zuko shook his head. She rolled her eyes and placed the bowl on the floor again. "Please eat," She begged, leaning towards him. "For me?" She said in the sweetest voice she could muster up as she looked at him with puppy polar bear-dog eyes. He scoffed at her and shook his head again. "Why not!" She threw her hands in the air with frustration.
"I just don't want it!" He said, opening his arms out and looking down, away from her. Even though his stomach was completely empty, he just didn't feel hungry.
Katara wondered why he wasn't eating. He wanted to get out, he knew he needed to heal to do that. She then remembered a woman from her tribe. After her husband left for the war, she stopped eating and hardly left her tent. Everyone used the words 'depressed' and 'depression' to describe to Katara what her older friend had been feeling and going through. She then realized that this must be what Zuko was feeling because he's away from his uncle. She decided to ask and see if she could help him in any way.
"Is it because of your uncle?" She gently placed her hand onto his shoulder and leaned close to him. He glanced at her before looking back down to the floor.
"I don't know." He shook his head. "I've never been in a situation like this, scared of when my next beating would be, or my next meal." He said weakly. "The last time I was forced to do something I...I don't know." He looked away from her. She wasn't used to him, she didn't know him and she still had a lot of bad feelings towards him, but something compelled her to continue trying. He was very difficult, Sokka would have blurted his problems to her, and she would have already gotten Aang to tell her what he was feeling by now. Zuko just needed more assurance.
"It's okay, Zuko." She whispered, trying to soothe him. "I'm here, too." Katara didn't say this with an ignorant tone in her voice, when she said it she honestly meant it. She was here with him. She was in the same situation he was in. Away from her loved ones, out of her comfort zone. Scared and worried.
"The last time I was ever forced onto a ship was when I was banished. I was forced away from the people I loved. I had no on control, no idea when I was going to be able to return again, if I ever was. It's the same thing. It was hard enough the first time and now I have to do it again?" She scooted closer to him and ran her hand over his shoulder. "I can't stand being away from my uncle. He's the only person I'm certain I love and care for... and now... I don't know if I'll ever see him again." Zuko struggled to not cry and quickly looked down when a tear escaped from his eye. Katara put her arm around his back and leaned into him. He leaned his knee down, allowing her to slide between his legs. He pulled his knee back up and placed his arms on them once again, putting his arms around her without touching her. She now had both arms wrapped loosely around his neck. She rested her cheek on one shoulder and placed her hand on his other shoulder.
She had no idea that he had been banished or that he had been through something like this once before. She felt so badly for him and wondered why he had been banished. What had he done to deserve such a punishment? Who could have sent him away? The only person she figured had the authority to do was the only person ranking higher than he, which would be the Fire Lord. Had Zuko's father sent him away? She wanted to ask but knew this was not the time to ask such a question, especially to him. If it had been Ozai that sent him off, it became a little more clear to her as to why he had such a hard time trusting and opening up to people. Your father is someone you should trust to love you unconditionally and do anything for you, your father isn't someone you should have to tip toe around, careful not to upset them for fact you may just do something that made them want to send you away. What kind of father would disregard his own son?
Katara snuggled closer to him and held him a bit tighter. How horrible it must have been for him. To lose his mother and then be waved off by his father? For what? Had he hurt someone, killed someone? Zuko? 'No,' she thought to herself. Sure, Zuko seemed to have trouble with his anger but she was sure he couldn't hurt someone, much less take their life away. No, not Zuko. Not him.
She then began to think of her own father. She was angry with him for leaving her and Sokka not long after they had lost their mother, but she understood why he did it. He did it in hopes of being aid to the ending of the war. He did it for his children, and for his children's future children. He was trying to ensure that they would be able to grow up in a better place than he had. Katara knew that her father loved her no matter what and would do anything for her and her brother. In her mind, every father loved and protected their children unconditionally. She couldn't even imagine what it was like to not have a father as loving and caring as her own.
But she figured that this just wasn't the case for Zuko. She imagined him having to walk and talk a certain way, constantly having to be aware of every movement of his body, every word from his mouth, careful to not anger his father. She imagined him working endlessly, desperately trying to live up to his father's expectations. Desperately trying to earn his fathers love and acceptance. 'That's horrible' she thought to herself. No child, no one should ever have to do that.
Katara thought of how Zuko said that his uncle was the person he was sure he loved. His uncle over his own father. He must look to his uncle as his father, then. She wondered how long he had been out at sea with his uncle. She wondered if Zuko confided in Iroh with ease, or if even Iroh had trouble getting to his troubled nephew.
She continued to ponder about Zuko's life and slowly began to drift into a slumber, still nestled against Zuko.
Aang sobbed into his hands as Iroh assured that they would find Katara. He couldn't believe he allowed them to just take her. His only water bending teacher and one of his only friends. Not to mention he cared for her greatly in different way he had ever cared for someone before.
Aang tried to force her out of his mind and tried to stop crying. He sat and wiped his face with his sleeve.
"We should go down to the village and see if anyone knows which way the went." Iroh suggested, standing and holding his hand out to Aang. Aang took it and allowed Iroh to help him stand.
"You're right, but we should wait for Sokka."
"You should go looking for him, the longer wait the farther they get away from us." Aang nodded and motioned for Appa to come to him.
"We'll look for him from above, hopefully he's sitting in a clear patch somewhere near by." Aang said, lifting himself onto Appa with his airbending. He leaned over and held his hand out to help Iroh climb up. Once Iroh was on and situation Aang instructed him to hold on. Iroh held onto the side of Appa's saddle and nodded to Aang, letting him know he was ready. Aang smiled and commanded Appa to start flying. Iroh was startled by the lift off but soon became pretty comfortable with flying.
Aang and Iroh scanned through the tree's limbs, searching for a spot of blue to stand out from all of the browns and greens of the forest. Even Momo was soaring through the tree's dodging the trunks and landing on small limbs, searching for a sent.
Eventually, Momo caught onto one and flew up to Aang. He chattered and swooped down, knowing the avatar would follow him. Aang pulled Appa's reins up, telling him to fly down.
Aang hopped off before his bison could even land, Sokka was sitting, facing away from him.
"Sokka, we need to go into to town... find out if anyone saw which way they went." The water tribe boy stayed silent, but stood and turned towards Aang. It was obvious he had been crying, his eyes were red and puffy and he had streaks running down his face. "It's okay, Sokka. We'll find her." Aang said, placing a hand on Sokka's shoulder. Sokka yanked his shoulder away from Aang's grasp and climbed onto Appa.
"Oh," Sokka said at the sight of Iroh. "You're still here." He grumbled.
Iroh raised his brow before stating, "I'm keeping the promise I've made with the avatar, and I'm going to try to help find my nephew and your sister in anyway I can." Sokka sat with his arms crossed and scoffed at the old man before looking away, obviously still ticked about what had happened earlier in the day.
"It's going to be okay, Sokka. We'll find them." Aang chimed in, trying to stay positive. He guided Appa back to the pier and landed. He hopped off and noticed a news board not far ahead. He walked over and plucked the first paper he saw from the board. It was a paper on the most recent news, and informed people of a Fire Nation Navy ship that had exploded and a small cargo ship that been stolen by a group of pirates. "You guys, I think I found something!' He called out, motioning for them to join him at the news board. "This talks about Zuko's ship being blown up and a bunch of pirates stealing a boat! That's gotta be them! Someone has to know which way they went!" Aang said, taking the paper away from his face and looking around. He saw a small group of men helping another walk across the pier.
"Excuse me!" Aang called, running up them. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about the pirates that sole a mans ship the other day, would you?" He asked, taking a moment to look at them all individuality. One man was in the middle, needing help from two on each side. He was covered in marks, Aang wondered why, but tried not to stare.
"Well we sure do!" One of them barked out angrily. He was the one having to have help walking. "Those bunch of brutes beat me up and stole my ship! Then they went up the river! They crossed back by not long after, yellin' and hollerin' all kinds of terrible words at me! Callin' me names and what not." He ended sadly, looking down.
"Don't worry, you ain't none of them things." One of the men helping him assured, patting his back.
"They went that way?" Aang asked, pointing towards shore that lead up North West.
"Sure did! Probably went up to Yue Bay to do some theivin' up there."
"Okay, thank you!" Aang said, turned and ran back to Sokka and Iroh. "We've got a lead!" He said happily. "They said they probably went to Yue Bay!"
"There are a couple of other villages and a river they may have stopped at. Perhaps we should check them before we head straight there?" Iroh suggest, thinking of all the possible stops they may have made.
"Yeah, but we don't know how long that'll take." Aang said, climbing back onto Appa and turned to help Iroh back up. Sokka scurried up and took his seat at the front of the saddle. "We'll head to Yue Bay and ask around, if they've passed, we'll get more information, and if they haven't, we'll wait until they do."
"You mean if they do." Iroh said. He didn't mean to shoot down Aang's hope of finding his friend, but he didn't want him to get his hopes up too high and have to face a horrible disappointment. Aang's face and shoulders fell, but he tried to shake it off Appa began to lift up into the air. Aang sighed and set a course up the shore line to Yue Bay.
!
It had already gotten dark when they had just passed the river. They still had a little ways to go and probably get there so early in the morning that it would still be dark. Aang curled up on Appa's head and hoped that they would find Katara soon.
!
Morning arrived and Aang woke up, Appa had landed at the destination and began catching up on his own sleep. Aang slid down and joined Sokka and Iroh on the ground. He was surprised that they were both at ease, he would have to ask about that later. He rubbed his eyes and gawked at the large village.
"Wow," Aang started. "This could easily grow into a fully established city one day." He said, noting how many shops and homes had already been placed.
"Eh, I suppose it has some potential." Sokka shrugged, uninterested.
"I suppose we should start asking around." Aang said, heading towards the stores. Iroh and Sokka went their own ways to cover more ground.
After countless hours of asking around, doors being slammed in their faces, the three met back up at Appa at sun down with aching feet and empty stomachs.
"Any luck?" Aang asked, taking one of his shoes off to rub his aching foot.
"No." Sokka growled. Iroh simply shook his head.
"I guess we should just stay and see if they come by." Aang suggest.
"What if they went up the river? There must be villages scattered up it. If I remember correctly, Taku is closest to the mouth of the river." Iroh chimed in.
"Yeah but what if they pass by and we miss them?" Sokka asked, turning to face him.
"I'm sure we'd see them from the air. What if they did head up the river, and after raiding the villages they turn South East and head down the coast instead of North Western, towards us? If we're at the mouth, we've got a better chance of seeing them if they did go up the river." Sokka rocked back before letting his head fall into his hand. This was so difficult! There's so many what if's, but's, and other things to think of. He sighed and looked up at Aang. Aang looked back at him and shrugged, unsure of what to do as well.
"Iroh makes a good point." Aang said. Sokka huffed and made his way back up onto Appa's saddle. He turned and helped Iroh back up.
Appa began to fly again and the three sat in silence for a while before Iroh let out a yawn.
"Ahhh, I think it's time for me to get some shut eye." He said to no one in particular as he slid down to use the edge of the saddle as a head rest.
Sokka and Aang continued to sit in silence. Aang let out a huff and watched the waves break on the shore. He hoped that he'd see a small light in the middle of the dark sea and that this light would be coming off of the ship that held Katara and Zuko. The thought of Zuko reminded Aang to ask Sokka about his sudden ease around Iroh. He turned to face him.
"Did you and Iroh speak before I woke up?" He asked, hoping that everything was okay between the two.
"Yeah...he seems really nice. He promised me wasn't going to do anything and that he was honestly going to teach you fire bending. Plus he fed me some greatly cooked fish and some really great tea." Aang laughed at this, Sokka liked anyone who put food in his stomach.
"Yeah, he does seem nice. I think I trust him pretty well." Aang said, looking at Zuko's sleeping uncle. "He's really reassuring." Aang added. Sokka nodded and laid down onto his back. He looked up the stars that were just starting to show and wished they'd guide him to his baby sister. He even prayed to the moon and ocean spirit, which was pretty big for him. He knew spirits and such existed, but he didn't exactly believe in them.
A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this! Please tell me what you think!