Thirty-one

Dazed, and still crying, Maya slowly got to her feet and followed Zuko up onto the deck. A moment later, she wished she hadn't, as she was immediately drenched in freezing rainwater. The rain did, however, clear her head a little. She looked around. The ship was still rocking back and forth, and there was seawater spewing over the railings as the storm raged on. She didn't see Zuko anywhere, until she looked up and saw him climbing the ladder up to the bird's nest.

She ran out into the middle of the deck and screamed, "Zuko! What are you doing?"

"Maya!" someone shouted behind her.

She turned. It was Uncle.

"Maya, are you all right? You were crying earlier."

"I'm fine," she said, shaking her head. "What the hell is Zuko doing?"

"Rescuing the helmsman."

"What?" Maya spun and looked more closely at Zuko. Now there were three people up there. One was Zuko, the other was the lieutenant who had been yelling about Zuko all day, and the last was a man Maya recognized just barely as the helmsman, who was currently hanging over the edge of the railing twenty feet up in the air, screaming. She guessed she hadn't heard him before over the noise of the storm. Suddenly, the helmsman's hands slipped, and he began falling.

Maya flinched and squeezed her eyes shut. But when she did not hear a thump, or a shout, or anything like that, she looked again. Zuko had a death grip on the helmsman's arm, and was slowly lowering him down to the lieutenant, who grabbed him around the waste and helped him get onto the ladder. It was a terrifying moment for everyone. Maya stood, blinking in the rain, trying to keep her eyes on what was happening. If any of them fell… especially if it was Zuko… she didn't know what she'd do.

But after another two minutes, everyone was safely back on the deck of the ship. Maya breathed a sigh of relief, but they still had the storm to worry about. She turned to ask Uncle what they should do, but when she saw him, she screamed. He was being electrocuted by a bolt of lightning. When she looked more closely, however, she realized that that's not what was happening. Somehow, he was actually absorbing the lightning into his body and directing it away from the ship. Her mouth dropped open.

After the lightning left his body, she went over to him. "Are you okay, Uncle?" She choked on laughter at the expression on his face. He was smoking, and his eyes were wide and blinking quickly, as if he wasn't quite sure what had just happened. After a second, he shook himself.

"Yes, Maya," he said. "I'm fine."

"Uncle!" Zuko shouted. He came over to them. "Uncle, what should we do?"

But before Uncle could respond, something big came up out of the water right next to the ship. At first, Maya thought maybe it was a whale, but when it started flying off, she knew immediately that it was Aang's fluff-monster. Somehow, the Avatar had also gotten caught in the storm, though how they had just popped out of the water like that was a mystery.

It shocked everyone. Maya looked sideways at Zuko, to gauge his reaction. He stared.

The lieutenant, who had been standing silently with them, said, "The Avatar! What do you want to do, sir?"

After another moment, Zuko looked away. "Let them go. We need to get this ship to safety."

Maya smiled to herself. Maybe Zuko was learning.

"Then we must head directly into the eye of the storm," Uncle said.

After maybe another twenty minutes, the violent rocking of the ship and the noise of the storm died down. Maya, who had been on deck the whole time, took a deep breath, and was glad when she did not inhale rainwater. She smiled, feeling relieved that the worst was over.

The three of them – Maya, Uncle, and Zuko – stood in silence for a few minutes. And then Zuko said quietly, "Uncle, Maya, I'm sorry."

Uncle put a hand on his shoulder. "Your apology is accepted." And then, with a smile, he walked away.

Zuko turned to Maya, who smiled at him. "It's okay, Zuko. I know you and I fight a lot, but I want you to know that, really, all I ever want is to know what's wrong. I…" She paused, unsure of herself. But he looked so genuinely interested in what she was saying, and she knew that she might never get another chance. "I know we don't really know much about each other, but I think we could be friends. I think we have more in common than either of us realized before."

"What do you mean?" Zuko asked.

Maya opened her mouth to respond, but then she heard a loud grumbling roar, and quickly shut her mouth for fear that she had somehow been the one to produce it. Then she saw Zuko staring at something behind her, and turned to see what it was. Somehow, Aang had found them again. The boy turned in his seat and stared down at the two of them. It was a surreal moment, as if time had stopped, and they were the only people left on the planet. And then the fluff-monster disappeared in the storm clouds, and the trance was broken.

Zuko and Maya looked at one another, and then Zuko shook his head, as if coming out of a daze. "What were you saying, Maya?" he asked. "Actually, wait. What the hell was wrong with you earlier, when you came downstairs and started banging on my door and screaming at me?"

"Oh." Maya blushed and looked down. "Um… Maybe we should talk somewhere more… private…"

After a pause, Zuko said, "Fine. Come on, then." He began walking in the direction of the stairs.

"What?" Maya said, looking up.

"Just come on!" he called over his shoulder.

Maya hesitated, and then followed after him.