Zuko was, in his opinion, calm. He sat surrounded by silence, eyes closed, each breath taken with rigid precision. He thought of home, acknowledged his pain, and threw it aside in his mind. He thought of Zhao, acknowledged his hatred, and shoved that face back into its dark corner. After thoroughly rinsing of concern, he was able to return his attention back to the energy within, only feeling the heat of the four candles laid out in front of him as they ebbed and flowed with his own breathing. For five whole seconds, Zuko was at peace.

A door creaked open, followed by Uncle's familiar cough. "The only reason you should be interrupting me," he calmly warned, "is if you have the Avatar."

"Actually I do have news of the Avatar, Prince Zuko, " Uncle said, "but you might not like it."

Zuko maintained his steady breathing. "Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Whatever you have to say, I'm sure I can take it."

"Okay then." A pause. "We have no idea where he is."

The four candle flames erupted into a wall of fire and smoke as Zuko let out an enraged "What!?"

Uncle opened a window, waving the smoke out into the night sky with a fan.

Zuko turned to the map pinned on his wall. This, honestly, wasn't really news. There had been multiple sightings of the Avatar over the past week, yet there was no pattern to his movements, no way of predicting where he would go next.

"How am I going to find him, Uncle?" he asked. "He is clearly a master of evasive maneuvers."

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

Aang ignored Sokka's remark, focusing instead on drawing wet circles in the island sand with his fingers. He was feeling unusually unsatisfied after riding the elephant koi. Sokka seemed wholly unimpressed, and Katara hadn't even been paying attention. She was sitting on a rock far back from the shore, wholly absorbed in repairing Sokka's torn pants What was the point of riding some stupid fish if no one was even watching?

"Man, at this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring!"

The circles gave Aang an idea. He clicked at Momo, who promptly dove into his shirt lying on the sand, popping out with two small marbles which he handed to Aang.

"Hey Katara!" He lightly cupped the marbles between his two hands and began to airbend them in a circular pattern, only flattening out his palms after they began to orbit each other. "Check out this airbending trick!"

Katara didn't lift her head. "That's great, Aang," she mumbled.

"You didn't even look," Aang said with a pout.

Katara looked up. "Really, that's great!" she said with a little more enthusiasm.

"But I'm not doing it now..." Aang sighed.

"Stop bugging her, airhead." Sokka chuckled in amusement. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."

That somehow got Katara's undivided attention. "What does me being a girl have to do with -"

"It's just the natural order of things", Sokka interjected with a smile. "Guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that, and girls are better at sewing pants and...other things, I'm sure."

"All done with sewing!" Katara said sarcastically, pointing at the large hole in Sokka's pants. "And look at what a great job I did!" She lobbed the pants angrily at Sokka.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

Aang calmly airbent himself dry and dressed himself before laying back into the sand to the tune of Sokka and Katara's bickering.

"The Unagi will eat well tonight," said a girl's voice in the darkness, filled with malicious glee.

Katara's eyes flew open, but she still only saw dizzying darkness. She tried moving her hands, but they had been bound to a wooden pole. She felt a second pair of hands tied with her's.

"Aang?"

"Yep," he croaked cheerily, and Katara sighed in relief.

"Silence!" A new voice this time, no doubt belonging to an older man. "You two have some explaining to do."

A gloved hand violently ripped off the blindfold over Katara's eyes. A crowd of people were watching them from a distance with a mix of curiosity and fear, but the small, round, bearded man in front of her, flanked by four or five fierce-looking girls with painted faces and some sort of ceremonial dress, looked down with only anger.

"We'll feed your corpses to the Unagi if you don't," the girl from earlier threatened.

Katara frowned. Two...two... "Where's Sokka? What did you do to him? I know he's an idiot sometimes, but if you hurt him I...I swear -"

A cold gauntlet slammed into her left cheek, and she gasped as the pain pulsed across her face. "Shut up!" snarled the girl.

"Katara!"

"I'm fine, Aang," she lied.

"So the third Fire Nation spy is your brother," mused the bearded man. "Interesting..."

"Do we look like Fire Nation?" Katara snapped.

The girl warrior stepped forward to deliver another blow, but the man stopped her with a raised hand. "You aren't the first outside meddlers who've invaded our island. The people of Kyoshi want no part in your stupid war. Give me one good reason not to execute both of you."

"Because I know Kyoshi!" Aang blurted out. Katara's eyes widened with surprise.

The man, though, wasn't amused. "Avatar Kyoshi has been dead for centuries." So that's how Aang knew her. He pointed to a worn statue of a woman wearing a similar outfit to the warrior girls standing next to him. "Don't take me for a fool."

"I know her because I'm the Avatar!"

The man seemed to consider Aang's claim. He sized up the boy like a piece of fresh seal meat, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

"You are an airbender?" he asked.

"That's me!" Aang said sheepishly.

"Then you should be able to escape those ropes without too much trouble."

Aang was, indeed, trying to worm his way out of his bindings. "I'm trying..."

"And failing."

"Just you watch!"

"Very well." He pointed at Katara. "Meiko, kill the other spy."

"No!"

One of the girls - Honestly, they all looked the same to Katara - gave a quick nod and approached menacingly. Katara tried to hold her head up high and keep a defiant glare as death stalked towards her, but she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut when she saw the executioner's chosen tools: two sharp, metal fans, one in each hand.

Her eyes flew open for a second time as the world around her exploded into a cacophony of angry shouts and horrified screams. Aang was suddenly in front of her, free of his bindings, two fans in his hand; the girl named Meiko lying unconscious far off on one side. Without skipping a beat, he brought the two fans together, unleashing a rush of air that sent the bearded man and his bodyguards flying back and knocked the crowd to their feet.

"No one is killing anyone today," Aang said firmly, though the noticeable tremble in his arms belied his tone.

The girls formed a protective arc around the bearded man as he carefully got back on his feet, drawing their swords. For a fleeting moment, he seemed genuinely concerned for his life. But the moment passed, and he...smiled?

"So you spoke truth," he said, his voice faintly tinged with awe. "You are the Avatar!" The bearded man waved his warriors to stand down, and they sheathed their swords.

"Yeah...I am." Aang said, lowering his fans. He quickly turned back to Katara and cut her loose, catching her as she slightly stumbled.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem."

"I am Oyaji, chosen leader of this island." The bearded man gave a deep bow, and the rest of his people followed suit. He motioned to his bodyguards. "These are the Kyoshi Warriors. We welcome your return, Great Savior."

"Now you have a lot of explaining to do." Aang pointed a fan at Oyaji, his words and actions suddenly carrying the weight of countless lifetimes of experience. "Why did your warriors attack us? Why did you try to kill Katara? And...where's Appa and Momo?"

Oyaji stroked his beard, in relief this time. "If you're referring to your animal friends, they were unharmed. As for the rest of your questions...perhaps over some food?"

And Aang was a boy again, rubbing his stomach with a grin of uncertainty. "Well, I am pretty hungry..."

"Then come," Oyaji said with a smile, a friendly one this time. He gave his warriors a slight nod.

Two of the girls were suddenly at Katara's side, calmly untying her and tending to her bruises, as if they weren't ready to slit her throat just moments ago. She shooed them off angrily. "I'm not done with you, Oyaji," she said. "Where's Sokka?"

Sokka had never seen so much color in his life. Sure, there were patches of snow here and there, but there was also green and brown and some more green...

If he wasn't violently tumbling down the hill, he might have appreciated it more.

He scrambled back to his feet the moment he hit the bottom of the slope and scanned the dense surroundings. Did he lose them?

It was only thanks to his instincts and a touch of luck that he'd made it this far. Okay, maybe just luck. Katara and Aang were knocked out almost immediately, swiftly clubbed over the head by whatever those bandits were carrying. But Momo had warned Sokka just in time for him, and he beat down one of his assailants with a club as Momo viciously assaulted the other. Appa kept the rest distracted long enough for Sokka to figure out that his only choice was to run.

Something human darted between the trees in front of him. Of course he didn't lose them.

"You cane come out now!" he shouted, raising his machete at the shifting shadows. "I won't fight you. I mean, unless you attack me first."

A warrior in white and red face paint and an armored green dress slinked out from behind the tree and into the light.

No, a girl stepped into the light. He lowered his machete.

"I am Suki, captain of the Kyoshi Warriors," she said. "My orders were to take you alive. Preferably."

Sokka wasn't quite sure how to react. Annoyed? Impressed? Embarrassed? Slightly aroused? "I'm Sokka," he said cautiously, suddenly remembering that he was only in his underwear. "Where's the men who attacked us?"

"There were no men." The girl pulled out two thin objects, and Sokka raised his machete again. He didn't like the idea of hurting some poor girl, but he wasn't going to let his guard down.

"Yeah, sure," Sokka scoffed. "Look, don't you have dance lessons you need to go to or something?"

"You made this personal, you know?" she said. "Here's the deal." She crouched into some sort of fighting stance and unfolded her weapons. "I'll only beat you half to death."

Sokka shifted his stance. "I'm the best warrior in my village," he said. "I have a sword. You think I'm scared of fans?"

The girl smiled. And then she moved.

Sokka met her charge with his own, slashing down with his machete. But his opponent simply parried the blow with a fan - They were metal! - and cut into his right shoulder with another, and he hissed in pain as he stumbled to the ground.

"Best warrior, right," he heard her say from behind him while crawling to his machete. "What pathetic village do you come from?" Her shadow creeped over him.

Sokka pulled out his club and swung back. It missed, but it gave him enough breathing room to grab the machete and roll back to his feet.

"Water Tribe," he said between pained breaths.

"From the south?" The girl laughed. "No wonder. All your real warriors were killed in those Fire Nation raids, right? And the rest ran like cowards to hide in the Earth Kingdom."

Sokka lunged wildly at her with a roar, ignorant of the bleeding and the pain. She ducked under him and delivered two quick cuts to his legs before tripping him, his own momentum throwing him back to the dirt.

"Sloppy," she remarked, lazily fanning herself.

He tried to get back on his knees, but a hard kick to the stomach had him curled up in pain.

"Stupid..."

Pain, Dad had always said, had a strange way of filtering out the useless clutter, giving clarity to even the most frightening and confusing situations. He decided to focus the movement of her feet as she circled around her prey, waiting for just the right time to do...something. Maybe. He wasn't sure.

"Impotent little -"

If he wasn't so concerned for his life, he would've been smiling as he kicked against one of the girl's legs, the surprising force of the blow tripping her. He immediately grappled her to the ground, something he had had much practice with throughout his childhood thanks to Katara. Minus the choking, of course.

But the girl somehow managed to free one arm and slammed an elbow into his ribs, knocking the wind out of him again. She leapt to her feet and drew her sword.

Wait, she had a sword? The entire time? And it honestly was quite a pretty sword too...

"You had a sword the entire time!" he said. Why didn't she just use the sword from the start? Sokka found it mind-boggling, more so than the fact that he got his ass kicked by a girl. Or that he was about to die.

"That's it," she said angrily, raising the weapon over her head. "You're too much trouble."

"Stop!" Sokka's heart skipped a beat. Blood loss was really taking its toll now.

The girl paused as one of her comrades entered his blurry vision. "Suki, that boy was the Avatar!" Girl Number Two explained. Sokka decided that Girl Number Two was much prettier than Girl Number One. And smarter. With a better personality and more interesting quirks and hobbies. "This one's a friend! Is he hurt? We need to patch him up."

A pause. "Who are you to give me orders, Meiko?" One muttered, and Sokka heard a sword being reluctantly sheathed.

"I'm still your elder, Captain," said Two, "and it's Oyaji's orders. The boy lives."

Sokka nodded in half-conscious agreement the whole way back to the village.

Zuko stormed on to the bridge seeing blood red. Most of the crew was crowded around a table, eagerly watching Uncle crush a poor sap at a friendly game of Pai Sho.

"What is the meaning of this mutiny?" he roared. Some of the spectators instinctively leapt towards their posts, as if Zuko wouldn't notice if they moved quickly enough. He turned to the helmsman, the only man in the room who hadn't abandoned his post. "No one told you to change course!"

"Actually, someone did." Uncle slowly raised a hand, his eyes still focused on his game. "I assure you, it is a matter of utmost importance."

Zuko's fiery anger dropped down to a simmer. "Is it something to do with the Avatar?" he asked hopefully.

"Even more urgent," Uncle said, moving a piece on the board. "It seems, I...I have lost my lotus tile."

It took a few seconds for Zuko to digest Uncle's words, after which he punched the metal wall beside him. "You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile!?"

"It is essential for an unusual strategy I employ." Uncle moved one last piece and greedily scooped the winning pot on the table before heading over to Zuko's side. Judging by the expressions of those around the table, Uncle had left his opponent with just the clothes on his back. "See Prince Zuko, you, like most people, underestimate it's value. Just give me a few minutes to check with the merchants at this port of call. Trust me, it will be worth your time."

Zuko waited for Uncle to exit the bridge before letting out an angry roar that singed the ceiling and filled the room with smoke.

Aang rubbed his hands in delight as he plopped down in front of the table of decadent treats. "Dessert for breakfast again?" he said in awe, stuffing his face with an orange-colored puff. Momo chittered in agreement, swiping Aang's second puff for himself. If it was anyone else, Aang might have frowned at the theft, but Momo was family now, so he kept his annoyance to himself.

Katara seemed a bit more reluctant, poking at the food with skepticism. He couldn't really blame her. These people were threatening to kill her two days ago, and now she was being treated like royalty! In all fairness, he should have been just as mad as she was!

He took a bite of a cookie with some sort of sugary, slightly sour filling. Except he wasn't.

"Katara, try this one!" He handed her a mushroom-shaped pastry.

She began nibbling on it. "Thanks, Aang. It's good."

Aang silently congratulated himself on a job well done. Now as for Sokka...

"You okay, Sokka?" Aang mumbled, his cheeks bulging with sweets. "You haven't been eating well since you came back."

"Not hungry," he muttered.

Aang threw up his arms. "But you're always hungry!" he said.

Katara snorted. "He's still upset that some girl kicked his butt."

"She got the drop on me!" Sokka said defensively.

"And then she kicked your butt," Katara replied.

"She tried to kill me." Sokka snatched a dessert off the table and stomped out the door.

Aang shrugged and fed Momo another puff. "I'm sure Sokka just needs time," he reasoned.

Sokka abruptly returned to shove another fruit pastry in his mouth and glare at Aang before storming off again.

"Don't get too comfortable, Aang," Katara said with a sigh. "They did try to kill Sokka. And me. I trust them now, but it's still risky for us to stay in one place for too long."

Aang peaked out the window behind him, watching the villagers cleaning and painting and dusting the massive statue of Kyoshi. Of the Avatar! "I'm sure we'll be fine!" he said cheerfully, and Momo chittered. "Besides, do you see how happy I'm making this town? I belong here..."

Katara didn't respond, forcing Aang to turn his attention back to her. "At least for a while," he quickly added.

"That's nice." She gave a small smile. "I hope it doesn't all go to your head."

"Come on, you know me better than that." Aang leaned out the window and looked down, immediately regretting his tacit promise when he noticed the crowd of adoring fangirls screaming for him. "I'm just a simple monk."

Sokka rubbed the single bandage wrapped around the cut on his shoulder as he approached the large house, deep in bitter and confused thoughts. He had had a whole day of bedrest after the fight to gather his thoughts, to figure out the next best course of action. This was it, as much as his pride hated to admit it.

Even now, he couldn't believe he'd been beaten up by some girl. In make-up. With fans as weapons. In fact, he was in such disbelief that as he marched into the Kyoshi Warriors' main training room, he shouted, "I can't believe I got beat up by some girl!"

Six Kyoshi Warriors stopped their training in perfect unison to glare at Sokka.

They were all girls. No, it wasn't that he was annoyed, nor was he excited. It's just that...they were all girls.

"Um...Hey, Suki. Great warrior. Captain of...Kyoshi." Sokka's throat was suddenly very dry, his voice a hoarse whisper.

"Oyaji came by last night," Suki said loudly, a mocking twinkle in her eye. Sokka glanced at his bandage in shame. "He said you wanted some dance lessons." The other warriors giggled and snickered among themselves.

Sokka grimaced.

Then he sighed.

Then he dropped to his knees and lowered his head touched the floor. "I would be honored if you would teach me."

"Even if I'm a girl?"

"I'm sorry if I've insulted you." Surprisingly, Sokka meant it. Even more surprisingly, he knew that it wasn't really enough.

"We normally don't teach boys..."

"I know, but -"

"We usually kill outsiders."

The room suddenly became deathly quiet. He raised his head to look Suki in the eye; the twinkle was gone. Her eyes were now cold and pitiless, like back in the forest. Was she seriously considering killing him now?

"Please make an exception," he begged. "I won't let you down."

The older girl from two days ago walked up to Suki and gently nudged her in the shoulder, eliciting an angry sigh. "All right," Suki agreed, and her eyes softened again. "But you have to follow all of our traditions."

"Of course," Sokka said.

Suki smirked. "And I mean all of them."