Disclaimer – all original Avatar: The Last Airbender characters in this fanfic (excluding my OC's) are the property of Bryana Konietzko and Michaela Dante DiMartino.
Chapter 27. The Search – part 1
Fire Nation Capital, Harbor City.
The Fire Nation Capital was divided into several districts: the Royal Plaza, which was located in the First Lord's Harbor; Royal Caldera City, also known as Hari Bulkan, located within a dormant volcanic crater; and Harbor City, which was located between the two former districts.
Most of the Fire Nation's population lived in Harbor City, but it consequently conveyed a lesser social status since it was a much less prestigious area than Royal Caldera City. Harbor City's industry supplied refined metal to build tanks, warships, and weapons that helped maintain the city's defenses.
In the west of the Harbor City, one could find the large Zoryu Park, named after Fire Lord Zoryu himself, where the capital's inhabitants often spend their free time. However, it was the traditional turf of the Fire Finches, a gang of street children who operated as pickpockets and tricksters. While they were pretty harmful, the district was also home to more dangerous criminals like the members of the Burning Ember Gang, who dominated the majority of Harbor City and stayed one step ahead of the law by bribing the Domestic Forces.
"Alright, that's my shop," Shun announced as he pulled at the reins and forced the mongoose lizard to stop. Huo, who sat at the back of the cart with a fancy, blue-colored dragon mask on his face, jumped down and looked around.
The crowded street was filled with many people, and some of them, especially children, wore masks and costumes. It worked in Huo's favor since he didn't stand out from the crowd. Shun got down from the cart and began unloading the packages. "Thank you for the ride," Huo said and bowed, making a Fire Nation gesture with his hands.
"Take care of yourself, boy," Shun replied and made the same gesture. "Feel free to visit my shop anytime."
With a smile, Huo turned around and wandered off, looking for a Fire Nation officer.
The boy didn't actually need to look very far. After a couple minutes of wandering, Huo spotted three guards patrolling the same street and ran up to them. From afar, every guard looked alike to him since they wore almost the exact same uniforms, but the boy noticed that the women guards wore shirts that exposed their midriffs.
"Excuse me," Huo said, gaining their attention. "I'm looking for a first lieutenant or a captain."
"I'm a captain," a short, thick-set man with black hair announced. "What do you want, kid?"
Huo realized that the two men behind him had swords on their backs, which meant that they were non-benders, whereas the captain had no weapons, which made him a firebender. "I'm looking for a friend of mine who works as a guard in capital," Huo replied. "Her name is Eilu. Her mother is worried about her because she stooped sending letters to her. Do you know where she might be?"
"Eilu... Eilu," the captain repeated the name, looking at the ground, but shook his head. "No, the name doesn't ring a bell." He looked over his shoulder, but the two guards shook their heads.
The captain looked back at Huo. "There are many women who serve in the Domestic Forces," he pointed out. "It would impossible to remember all of their names. I suggest you try asking another patrol. Just don't cause any trouble."
"Okay, thank you," Huo nodded and bowed. When the guards continued to patrol the street, he crossed his arms over his chest and said to himself. "Huh... it would be too easy to get any directions on the first try. Well, I won't stop until I'll find them."
Huo continued searching for patrols and kept asking the guards for help, but with the same result. Even the female guards didn't know who Eilu was. One guard told Huo that maybe Eilu worked in another district like Royal Caldera City, which would be a problem because commoners were only allowed to enter the city if they received an invitation from the Fire Lord, and that didn't happen often.
Another guard said that maybe his friend simply had too much work and couldn't find the time to write to her mother, but Huo didn't believe that. Eilu would surely write a letter to her mother no matter how much work she could have. Not to mention Shaku disappeared as well. The boy suddenly got an idea. Maybe he should've mentioned Shaku when asking for Eilu. True, Shaku didn't work or live in the capital, but if he also searched and asked for Eilu, perhaps some guards remembered him.
The boy found another patrol consisting of three women and approached them. "Hello," Huo smiled and bowed. "I'm looking for an officer."
"And you found her," a tall woman with a burn scar on her chin turned to face him. The two other female guards also looked at the masked boy. "I'm a captain. Is there something you need?"
"I'm looking for a friend," Huo answered. "Her name is Eilu and she also works as a guard, but she went missing. My other friend, Shaku, came here to look for her as well, but he also went missing without a trace."
While the captain thought momentarily, one of the two guards squinted her brown-colored eyes. "Maybe he's talking about the guy, who got thrown out of the Sumptuous Dragon," she said. "He looked for a female guard as well and even bothered commander Chibey. He was quite big, so four guards were needed to throw him out."
Huo's eyes widened under the mask. Shaku was chubby as a kid, so if he grew up to be a tall man with the same silhouette, there was a high chance it was him. "The Sumptuous Dragon is a tavern?" Huo asked.
"Yes," the captain confirmed and pointed behind her. "The largest building on the street. You can't miss it."
"Thank you!" Huo bowed his head and began to run in the pointed direction. The captain smirked and shook her head. "Kids these days."
Fire Nation Capital, Harbor City, The Sumptuous Dragon.
Located near Zoryu Park, the Sumptuous Dragon was a large one-story tavern known for its delicious, high-quality beverages. While high classes never visited the Sumptuous Dragon, not wanting to eat beside the common folk, the soldiers and high-ranking military personas were often seen there.
A wide, red-colored batwing-style door was used as the main entrance into the tavern. The ground floor, the largest part of the tavern, was intended for regular customers, ordinary soldiers, and low-ranking officers. Drunk customers rarely caused trouble due to the presence of soldiers.
Tables and chairs were made of wood, albeit the strongest type, just like the counter and the cabinet with beverages behind it. Walls, the floor, and the tavern's fireplace were made of stone. Even the staircase, which led to the first floor of the tavern where generals, admirals, and the people, who accompanied them, drank in peace, was made of stone. The first floor also provided a view of the ground floor so the high-ranking officers could observe everything below if they wanted.
Huo entered the tavern and noticed that it was filled with soldiers, who sat and drank their beverages. Some of them glanced at the masked boy and arched their eyebrows questionably but quickly returned to their private conversations.
When Huo approached the tavern counter, a large, bald bartender with a burn scar on his forehead gave him a surprised look, which quickly turned into a frown. "This is not a place for a kid," he stated while wiping a mug. "If your old man wants to have drink, he has to come here personally."
"I don't wanna buy a drink, I'm looking for a friend," Huo said.
"Hah, if you pay for a few drinks, I guarantee you'll have a lot of friends," the bartender replied half-jokingly. "But seriously, children are not allowed here. Go look for a friend somewhere else."
"No, I'm looking for a friend, who went missing," Huo explained. "Her name is Eilu and she works as a guard in the capital. I was told by another guard that a big man entered this tavern to look for her as well. He bothered commander Chibey and was thrown out by four guards."
The bartender arched his eyebrow and stopped wiping the mug. "Hmmm... I remember a lot of drunk guys being thrown out, but there was a situation with a large guy asking for a girl with that name," he said and placed the mug on the counter. "He bothered a commander of the Domestic Forces and got thrown out. He didn't return since."
"Do you know where he is?" Huo asked, but the bartender shook his head. "I have no idea. He can be anywhere. Maybe even in prison if he bothered more officers. Now move along, I have work to do."
Disappointed, Huo nodded and turned around, heading towards the exit. He pushed the batwing-style door and left. Immediately after, the bartender turned his head towards a lean man sitting at the nearest table, who also looked at him and nodded. He wore a dark headband with a red triangle in the middle, a short brown jacket, and poofy pants with black boots. If the longbow and the quiver on his back weren't a clear giveaway, the man had a dark red tattoo across his eyes, meaning he was a Yuyan Archer.
The man quickly drank the rest of his beverage and got up, heading towards the exit.
Sometime later – Fire Nation Capital, Harbor City, Zoryu Park.
Located next to one of the capital's largest open-air markets, Zoryu Park was really extensive, with a famous hedge maze where small children love to play and search for a way out. The park regularly attracted many people who wanted to rest, play outdoor games, or catch up with friends. Still, all those people needed to watch their money due to the presence of Fire Finches, a criminal gang of street children.
Huo sighed and kicked a random pebble. "Ughh, back to square one," he grumbled as he walked down a paved street, passing the stands. "I was sure I'd learn something at the tavern. Now what?"
His thoughts were interrupted by a delicious smell coming from a stand with dumplings. "Maybe I'll get an idea after eating something," he said and approached the stand, looking at the prices. A dumpling with filling costed three copper pieces. He still had two silver pieces. One silver piece was worth seventeen copper pieces, so he'd have one silver piece and fourteen copper pieces left after purchasing one dumpling. "One dumpling with meat filling, please."
After paying for the dumpling, Huo sat on a bench in the middle of the park and took off his mask. He ate in peace, observing kids who played with their parents. Some older couples walked around or sat together on benches, enjoying each other's company. He'd give anything to see his own dad and mom spend time like this.
The boy had no idea that he was being watched from the moment he bought the dumpling. When he finished eating and stood up from the bench, thinking about what to do next, someone bumped into him from behind, almost knocking him over.
"Ahh! Hey!" Huo turned around, looking at a small, dirty girl a few years younger than him, clad in a tattered pale-red dress. Her long black hair was tied back with three red ribbons. With her amber-brown eyes, she was somewhat familiar to Eilu when she was young. Without a word, she quickly ran off.
"Huh... that was weird," Huo stated, arching his eyebrow. He shrugged and grabbed his blue-colored dragon mask from the bench, putting it on. When he put his hands into his pockets, he realized all his remaining money was gone. "Hey! Where's...!" Huo's orange-colored eyes widened. He realized the girl must've taken his coins when she bumped into him.
As long as he was in the Fire Nation, he needed them to buy food and something to drink. Not wasting any more time, Huo began to run in the same direction as the girl. The park had a lot of space, so he could still see her in the distance.
"Stop!" Huo called out. The girl only looked back once and began to run faster, confirming that she had stolen from him. Even though Huo was faster, the small girl ran into the hedge maze.
"Stop and give me back my money!" Huo called again and followed her into the maze. Unfortunately, after a few turns, he reached a crossway and didn't know which way the girl went. She obviously knew the maze better than he did.
The hedges were too tall and thick. Huo could use his firebending to burn holes in them and make shortcuts to find the girl, but if a guard would see him do that, he'd be in trouble. Propelling himself with fire into the air would be too tiring. Not to mention that he'd need to get pretty high to see the entire maze to find the girl.
Huo didn't like to use it in such a situation, but he didn't have a choice. Making sure that no one saw him, the boy created a blue-colored flame in his hand and changed its color to violet. He then squinted his eyes and exhaled. The flame got bigger, taking a detailed shape of a phoenix, which landed on the grass and looked at Huo.
"I need to see the maze from the sky," Huo said, pointing upwards, and the phoenix fireling took off. The boy sat down on the grass and conjured another violet-colored flame in his hand. He began to stare at it and focused on the breathing of the phoenix fireling above him. Even though it had a mind of its own, a fireling was still made of fire, so Huo could use it for any of his techniques. That meant the boy could use the phoenix to see the entire maze from the sky.
He saw himself sitting on the ground and spotted the girl exiting the hedge maze from the other side. The boy decided to see where she was going, hoping that she'd hide somewhere. The little girl quickly ran towards a large, old aviary. After looking around and ensuring no one observed her, she pushed aside an old plank, entered the enclosure, and covered the entrance behind her.
That was all Huo needed. He stooped using the technique and stood up. The boy waved to the fireling, and it returned to him. He was aware that people in the park saw the violet phoenix, and some of them, probably guards, will come to check the hedge maze. Huo needed to hurry, or he would be forced to answer troublesome questions.
Huo changed the color of his flames, inhaled the phoenix fireling back into his body, and ran towards the exit.
A few minutes later – Fire Nation Capital, Harbor City, Zoryu Park, Aviary.
A couple of minutes later, Huo pushed aside the same plank and entered the aviary. The old, empty enclosure was boarded from all sides, so the interior was lit only by the light, which peeked through the spaces between the boards.
While no birds were inside, Huo could smell the stench of droppings and rotten food. The ground and some old cages were covered in mold. The girl, however, was nowhere to be seen. Even when Huo conjured a flame in his hand, the blue light didn't help him find her.
"This can't be," Huo stated, confused. "People don't vanish into thin air. There has to be something here."
The boy searched the entire enclosure for some time, but there was nothing. He kicked a pebble in frustration, and it hit something metallic on the ground. "Huh?" Huo squinted his eyes and crouched. Touching the dirt, he felt a handle underneath it and grabbed it. Pulling it up, he realized it was a hidden trapdoor. After looking inside, Huo spotted a ladder that led somewhere. "Something is not right here," he stated. "If she went down there, how did she cover up the trapdoor with the dirt?"
While it could easily lead to nowhere, Huo decided to take his chance and went down the ladder. "One second, I'm eating a dumpling, the second, I'm following a thief into an abandoned aviary," he said, shaking his head. "Uhh, what a day."
As he climbed down, Huo finally spotted a light at the bottom. When he climbed all the way down, he found himself in a tunnel with torches, which gave a fair amount of light. He heard some voices at the end of the tunnel and decided to check it out. Slowly and carefully, Huo reached a large room filled with small children.
Some sat on crates or the ground and ate; the others talked and played with each other. The majority of them had dirty faces and wore ragged clothes. It was obvious to Huo that those weren't ordinary children. They were homeless and had to live here.
All conversations suddenly stopped, and all eyes were focused on him. The kids looked curiously at Huo, who scanned the room and guessed it was some kind of storage. Torches were the only source of light, but he could see everything. Aside from the entrance he had just used, there were two more doorways. Not to mention many passages which were so small that only kids would be able to fit through.
He finally spotted the small girl with black hair and three red ribbons. "You!" Huo pointed his finger at her. "You have my coins!" When she recognized the boy whom she pickpocketed, her eyes widened, and she quickly hid behind the tallest girl with fair skin and black hair.
"Who are you?!" the tall girl asked, squinting her amber-colored eyes. "You're not one of us!"
She whistled, and the kids immediately scattered, moving away from the intruder and getting closer to the doorways and passages, ready to run for it.
"That girl behind you stole my coins!" Huo said. "I want them back!"
The tall girl moved towards Huo. "Ask you daddy and mommy for more then," she said sassily. "We need it more than you do. Now get lost."
"I'm not leaving without it!" Huo replied decisively.
"Leave now or I'll sent you crying home to mommy," the girl said threateningly. She stomped the ground and exhaled, conjuring an orange flame in her hand and intensifying the flames on the torches.
Huo, however, remained unfazed and only arched his eyebrows under the mask. He guessed she simply wanted to scare him off, but firebending was something he'd never be afraid of. Sensing that words won't be enough, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The moment he exhaled, the whole room turned blue as the orange flames were replaced by blue ones.
The children gasped in shock and awe, and the tall girl's eyes widened. As the flames slowly cooled down and their color returned to orange, the girl regained her composure and took a fighting stance, obviously now taking the boy seriously.
When Huo also raised his hands, keeping his palms open, the girl threw a punch, creating an orange flame. Huo extinguished it with a quick jab while taking a single step forward. The girl frowned and began to throw a barrage of fire jabs at the boy, who casually hit each flame with a fist or an elbow. With each hit, he took a step closer to the girl.
Suddenly, the girl spun and conjured a flame arc, but Huo extended his hand toward the arc and spun around. He took control of the arc, which immediately turned blue, and hurled it back at the girl.
She ducked under the arc with a front split and conjured a flame from both her fists at once. Huo stepped to the right, avoiding the orange flame, and dashed toward the girl with a smile. She quickly rose to her feet, but Huo was already in front of her.
The girl threw a punch and tried to hit Huo with a fire jab, but the boy pushed her forearm to the side, causing her to miss the attack. "Too slow," Huo said. Another punch came right after, but it was redirected to the other side. When the girl took a step back and attempted a frontal kick, Huo lifted his own leg and stopped the attack midway by blocking her shin with his foot.
"Nope, try again," Huo teased. With a growl, the girl jumped back, trying to gain some distance, but she suddenly stepped on something hard and lost her balance. Falling on her bum, she realized her foot had slipped on a porcelain doll.
Huo immediately rushed forward, and the girl threw a fire jab from the sitting position. However, the boy simply extinguished the flame, hitting it with his left fist. He threw a punch with his right fist, and the girl closed her eyes, expecting to be burned by a fire, but nothing happened. When the girl opened one of her amber-colored eyes, Huo's fist was centimeters away from her face.
"Should've watched your footing," Huo said. "Now give me back my money, please."
"Everybody run!" the tall girl exclaimed, realizing she couldn't deal with the intruder.
Huo suddenly heard sobbing and sniffing. Turning his head, he noticed that the kids were crying. Some of the smallest ones ran up to the tall girl, hugging her.
"What are you doing?!" the tall girl asked. "I told you to run!"
Huo took a few steps back, keeping his fighting stance, and the girl got up, pushing the small children behind her. "Don't hurt Rini!" a small boy cried out, and Huo felt like a bad guy in this situation.
"Listen, I just want my money back, that's all," he assured. "I don't want to hurt anybody."
"Stop!" another tall girl ran into the room, gaining everyone's attention. This one had slightly tanned skin, short black hair, and brown-colored eyes. Huo noticed that she had a pair of dual-throwing clubs under her belt. "Everyone, everything is going to be okay!" she said and looked at Huo. "He's not a bad person, he's just looking for his friends."
Huo squinted his eyes. "How do you know that?" he asked. "Who are you?"
"I'm Sunlin and you're in the headquarters of the Fire Finches," the girl explained. "We know where Shaku and Eilu are and we can take you to them."
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