Chapter Eight
Hunting
Katara stared in shock. Her brother had evidently crossed into the spirit world with Aang, but where the later bore glowing tattoos, the former was shrouded in darkness, and shadow covered half his face.
It shouldn't be possible, Katara thought. The shadow fell upon what should have been illuminated, what had been illuminated moments before, by the light of the setting sun. She looked at him, and realized that more shadows were stretching towards him, like the twisted and gnarled limbs of bitter trees, crossing ground where there should be only light.
Katara shivered and rushed to him, whatever spirit he had bonded with could not be a kind one, of that she was certain. She reached out to shake him from his trance, but pulled her hand away when it touched him. He was cold, colder than the howling wind in the depths of winter, colder than the spray of the sea upon the shores of their home.
Katara was stunned. The mystery of why he had been so cold was solved. He wasn't sick, no, this was because of his bond with Koh. it had made his body as cold as the grave, and now it was colder still.
Maybe it wasn't so bad though, she mused, maybe it just meant that he wouldn't be in danger of freezing anymore? She wanted to believe that, but she couldn't quite convince herself of it. Sokka had grown quiet of late, his jokes and comment's had become fewer and further between, almost stopping altogether. The boy she had known and loved all her life, her brother, was changing and she wasn't sure it was for the better. Was it because of Koh though?
They were at war after all, and they had been through alot since leaving the south pole. Her father had said that war changes a man, and they had fought a few battles. Zuko had attacked their village, they had fought him again on Kyoshi Island, they had been taken prisoner by King Bumi. The old man hadn't ever meant to harm them, but they didn't know that at the time. Sokka had been helpless for most of those fights, and again when he was abducted by Hei Bai.
Maybe that was what was changing him, she considered, looking at him with concern. Their father hadn't had time to complete his training before setting out for the Earth Kingdom. He might be worried that his skills as a warrior were insufficient to the task, and that could be what was making him more somber?
Katara sighed and sat down against the trunk of a tree. The sun finally dipped beneath the western horizon. The only light to be seen was that of the stars and the glow of Aang's tattoos. Now that night had fallen, she couldn't see the shadows reaching towards Sokka. Not the shadows on the ground or the one that fell across the right side of his face.
She looked at Aang, the only thing she could really make out in the darkness. He looked calm, serene. Unlike when he was awake, or at least not in the spirit world, he was perfectly still. Aang was always moving, laughing and joking with her and filling her day with fun. Now that he was in the spirit world, she realized that she missed him. It was silly, she thought, he was only a dozen feet away. But still… His absence and journey into the spirit was a surprising weight on her shoulders.
Soft wind rushed through the night, chilling and making her shiver. She got up and began to build a fire a short distance from the two boys. Cold might not bother them, but it certainly did for her. She built up a small fire and then dug through their bags to find some food. When Aang had joined them, she and Sokka had put eating by the wayside.
The fire cracked and popped happily as she ate her meal. She realized that there was a bit of bustle in the camp around them, men and women collapsing huts and tents. She looked on in confusion as the camp disintegrated.
She was about to get up and ask what was going on when a tall man with a light mustache and a sword walked into the firelight.
"Uh, hey." He said, "I'm Shing. Is Sokka around?"
Katara blinked at the man, he said he was Shing. "Oh are you the guy that was teaching Sokka to sword fight? He's over there by Aang." She said, jerking her head towards the glowing boy outside the circle of firelight.
"You won't be able to talk to him, or Aang. They've crossed into the spirit world and I don't know how long until they come back."
Shing looked surprised. "Sokka can go into the spirit world?"
"Yeah, he has this weird spirit power thing. He-" She stopped talking. She didn't know if she should tell anyone about the deal he made with Koh, but she doubted her brother would like for her to do so before they had discussed it.
"Well, he can't talk right now at least." She said lamely.
Shing's face fell at that. "That's too bad," He said, before turning to go.
"Wait! What's going on? Are you guys leaving?" Katara asked, stopping him as he turned.
"Yeah, the master thinks that the smoke from the fire the Avatar started might have given away our position. He ordered us to pack up and move on before midnight."
"Oh," Katara said, "That's too bad. I'm sure Sokka wanted to say goodbye before we leave tomorrow.
Shing sighed and sat on a stump opposite Katara. "So did I. I wanted to tell him that I sent a message to my old sword master, Piandao. I hope that the two of them will meet one day. Sokka has great potential with the art of the sword."
"You're from the Fire Nation, aren't you? Would a Fire Nation man want to train someone from the Southern Water Tribe?" Katara asked skeptically.
"Yes, I think he would. Master Piandao believes that the way of the sword belongs to all nations."
"I hope that we do meet him then," Katara said with a smile.
"I certainly hope so," Shing said, "And maybe sooner than you think. He has friends in the Northern Water Tribe, so maybe you can get into contact with him through them."
Katara blinked in surprise. "A Fire Nation swordsman has friends in the north?"
Shing chuckled at her reaction. "Oh yeah, he's got friends all over the world, just like Jeong Jeong does."
"Jeong Jeong has friends?!" Katara exclaimed.
Shing was silent for a heartbeat, and then threw back his head and laughed.
"Well, I know he seems a bit abrasive to you kids, but that's just the way he is with his students. He's not like that all the time."
Katara nodded slowly. It made sense, she realized. If he was teaching young firebenders, he had to establish a proper dynamic: I am your master, not your friend.
Shing stood, and stretched. "It's time to get going. I hope we meet again. Do tell Sokka what I said, won't you?"
"Of course I will. It's been nice meeting you, have a safe journey." Katara told the swordsman as he turned away, waving a hand over his shoulder as disappeared into the night.
As the camp dismantled itself around them Katara wondered what her two companions were doing in the spirit world. Had they entered in the same place? Were locations in the spirit world tied to the mortal world? She didn't know.
Katara began to roll out her sleeping bag, but stopped when she realized that the three of them were alone now. Aang and Sokka were both in the spirit world, and until they returned to their bodies they would be helpless. Now that the camp had emptied and all of Jeong Jeong's group had left, Katara thought that telling the pair of them to go into the spirit world was a foolish idea.
Katara bit her lip, looking around the now empty campsite. She felt that maybe Jeong Jeong had a point, the smoke could have been seen by anyone. Staying here wasn't the best idea, and they should leave as soon as Aang and Sokka got back. She started carrying their possession up and securing them in the saddle. Making sure that nothing was missing before she went back down to the fire.
She sat and kept watch, and the moon made its ponderous voyage across the sky; a white ship in a sea of stars. She looked up at it, barely a sliver remained, washing the earth in a faint silver glow. She could imagine what it must be like up there, all alone. The moon must be lonely, passing over cities and towns while the world sleeps.
Looking down on the sleeping flocks of animals, tired shepherds dutifully watching over their charges. Did she see them? Could she notice when the small eyes of children gazed up at her in wonder?
The loud snap of a branch jolted Katara out of her musings. Had she fallen asleep?
"Hello? Jeong Jeong? Shing? Is that you?
"Zuzu! Let me play with you!" Azula said to her older brother as he bounced a small red ball from foot to foot. He had been ignoring her all day, and she was getting mad at him. Why wouldn't he play with her?
"Go away! I'm busy!" He said, annoyed at his little sister.
"But I'm booooorrreeeedddd!" She whined. This really wasn't fair, he had been playing with the ball for hours and all he let Azula do was watch. She wanted to try; maybe if she showed him she was good at kicking too he would let her play with him.
"I don't have anyone else to play with! Mai and Ty Lee had to stay home!" This wasn't true. Azula hadn't even asked her mother if her friends could come over. She really just wanted to spend time with Zuko.
"I don't care, I've got to practice so go away!" He said, in a rather mean tone that hurt Azula's feelings a little bit. She was only six, after all. She crossed her arms and huffed, her cheeks puffing out a little bit. Why was he always so mean to her? Lu Ten always played games with both of them, he was never mean. But Lu Ten and Uncle had left for Ba Sing Se weeks ago, and he wasn't here to make Zuko play nice.
"Why do you have to practice?" She said, curious despite her hurt feelings.
"Because last time Lu Ten could bounce it more times than me." Zuko said, and the ball dropped onto the ground and rolled over to Azula who picked it up.
"Give that back!" Zuko yelled, reaching to snatch it from her. She didn't let him take it though, it was her turn! The ball had basically said so, it rolled right to her!
"No! I want a turn!" She yelled back, before running off through the palace. Zuko chased after her, shouting at her to give it back. She kept running though, and finally Zuko was playing with her! Well, sort of. Getting chased was close enough, she thought.
She ducked under a servant carrying a basket and rolled between the legs of a guard, both of whom cried out in surprise. Zuko just ran around them, and Azula gained ground because of it. She raced down the steps of the palace to the stable where the animals were kept, she was going to hide in the stable and make Zuko look for her! They were going to play hide and seek. Hide and explode was more fun but their mother wouldn't let them play that in the palace.
She rounded a corner, she was almost there! There was a carriage rolling out of the stable, being pulled by a komodo-rhino. She slowed down for a second, she didn't want to run into the animals. When she stopped, Zuko ran into her and they fell to the ground. The ball flew out of her hands, and bounced towards the carriage. A rhino saw the toy, whipped down its head, and popped it with a single bite.
Azula's heart sank. The ball was gone, and now Zuko wouldn't play with her! This was not fair, why did the rhino have to ruin their fun? Tears began to form in her eyes, she had wanted her brother to play with her so badly and now..
"You popped it! You dummy! I hate you!" Zuko was shouting. Yeah, tell that stupid rhino off Zuzu! Azula thought as she sat up, wiping her eyes. Hearing Zuko yell at the animal made her feel better.
"You're the worst, Azula!" Zuko yelled, before turning to go back inside the palace.
Azula sat in shock. Her brother wasn't talking to the komodo-rhino, he was talking… to her? He had said he hated her. Her big brother, her favorite person in the world, hated her. Azula's lips quivered, and her face burned. She fought back tears, she tried so hard not to cry and she managed not to… for three seconds.
Her tears burst forth and she ran to her room as fast as she could, trying hard not to let anyone see.
Azula woke up in the quarters given her aboard Zhao's ship. There was a lump in her throat. She coughed to clear it away. Why had she been dreaming about that? It had been eight years ago, and she had decided to forget about it. She hadn't thought of it since before her brother's banishment. Why now, of all times, did she have to remember the day with the ball?
Azula decided to ignore it. Dredging up the past was pointless, and it wouldn't help her with the task given by her father. She sat up, and stretched. She got out of bed and donned her armor. She called in the servants to tend to her hair, and after they had finished she left her quarters and walked to the galley.
She didn't have to eat there, in fact usually her meals would be brought to her, but Ty Lee was curious about what it would be like to eat where the soldiers did. Mai was completely opposed to the idea, and Azula had nearly refused to as well. She hadn't though, not through some desire to slum it with the common soldiery, but because she found she had been curious too.
She walked through the door into the galley and found it nearly empty, save for Mai and Ty Lee.
"Good morning Azula!" The bubbly girl said. Mai just rolled her eyes, sighing melodramatically.
"Good morning Mai." Azula said, to which Ty Lee huffed and pouted. It was entertaining to annoy her friend like that, for Azula at least. Ty Lee wasn't very fond of it, but that was to be expected. She was the one being annoyed.
"So this is the galley." Azula said, looking around the room and taking in the details. A dozen or so tables were bolted to the floor in neat rows. The walls were bare, save for the flag of the Fire Nation on the starboard wall. The galley itself was empty, no soldiers to be found.
"Where are the soldiers?" Azula asked, quizzically.
"The Admiral ordered the galley empty while we ate. Seemed to think that common soldiery had no business dining with the noble class." Mai said, waving her hand vaguely towards the prow of the ship.
"But that was the whole point!" Ty Lee exclaimed. "I wanted to see what they are like while they eat. They're always so serious. 'Yes Ma'am! No Ma'am! As you wish!' I thought I'd get to see how they acted normally." She did a mock salute while impersonating the soldier, scrunching her eyebrows and lowering her voice.
Azula snorted. "I very much doubt that they would act any differently just because they were eating, if anything they would be more uncomfortable."
A trio of servants walked out of the kitchen, carrying covered trays of food. They placed one before Mai and Ty Lee each, but hesitated to place Azula's meal as she had not chosen a seat yet. They looked at the princess nervously, and she motioned for them to place it next to Ty Lee's.
The servant carrying the tray exhaled in relief as he placed the tray and removed the cover. Azula took her seat and inspected the meal. Some pastries, poached eggs, and rice. Quite lower than her usual standard, but Ty Lee wanted to eat what the soldiers ate and Azula had acquiesced.
"Do they really eat this every day?" Ty Lee asked, looking disappointed. She picked up an egg with her chopsticks and popped it in her mouth, chewed it thoughtfully, and swallowed.
Azula rather doubted that they gave the soldiers pastries at all, but her friend didn't need to know that. The eggs were probably just boiled and left in the shell, if given at all.
"Yes, I think so." Azula said, eating her breakfast. It was rather bland, but it was fine enough.
"I think I could go without doing this again," Mai said, nibbling on a pastry.
"I certainly won't be making a habit of it. Perhaps Ty Lee should eat all her meals in the galley, since she's so interested in it." Azula said.
"Uh, you know, maybe once is enough." Ty Lee responded, her cheeks slightly pink.
The door to the galley opened and a man walked in, bearing a scroll and bringing it to Azula. She took it and read its contents, before passing it to Mai, ignoring Ty Lee's proffered hand.
"Admiral Zhao has set course for the Ilah colony, and we should be arriving within the hour. He wishes to know if you will join him in hunting the avatar." The soldier said, bowing with his palm over his fist.
"Of course we will."
Azual stood before the two scouts who had seen the Avatar's bison. She watched them carefully as Zhao interviewed them. Looking at their eyes as they spoke. She had seen confidence in them at first, and pride. That confidence had shone like a glistening steel sword, razor sharp and clean as the light of the midday sun. As the interview had gone on, it faded. It rusted away, flaking off piece by piece until blown away like dust in an autumn wind. What was left in its wake was doubt. A sickly, sad thing. Like the light of the moon seen through murky water.
Azula doubted they were lying however, she could see that they believed that they told the truth. Now, after speaking to the Admiral and Princess, they were afraid that they might have been wrong.
"Admiral," She said, "You can interrogate these men all you like, but the only way to discover if they saw what they say they did is to go and search for it ourselves."
Zhao turned, meeting her eyes for a second. It wasn't long enough for her to get a read on him, but she thought she saw agreement in his eyes.
"Of course, Princess. I was beginning to suspect as much myself." He turned back to the scouts. "You are dismissed."
The relief in the to mens posture was obvious, though they tried to hide it. Well, obvious to Azula at least.
"The reports say that there is a small encampment a few dozen miles upriver." Admiral Zhao said, "Jeong Jeong the deserter is suspected to be in the area, and it stands to reason that he may be involved with the encampment. My strategy is to travel the majority of the distance, and then wait until nightfall to traverse the last few miles. We'll disembark a half mile distant and travel to the camp on foot, encircling the camp and forcing them against the river."
Azula nodded before responding. "Cutting off their retreat, forcing them to surrender or fight."
"Surrender or die, I should hope." Zhao said with a chuckle. "The Avatar and his companions will be captured alive, of course. We'll have to do something about that bison of his though. Can't have him flying out of our net."
Azula thought for a moment, before settling on a decision. She shared it with Admiral Zhao.
"We don't have the necessary firepower to kill the animal, it's too big. We'll have to frighten it away. If the forest wasn't as dense we could bring catapults or tanks, but as it is that is not an option. Even a mounted force would slow us down too much."
Zhao looked at her appreciatively. "A good strategy. You are wise beyond your years, Princess. Sozin's brilliance shines within you."
Azula smirked, "Thank you, Admiral."
"Do you have an idea as to how to frighten off the creature?" Zhao asked, watching her curiously.
"Leave that to me." She said, a plan formulating in her mind.
Half an hour later, Azula was climbing the steps of an observation tower in the center of the city. Mai and Ty Lee had gone up to search for any signs of the sky bison while she had been interviewing the scouts with Zhao.
For his part, the Admiral was busy overseeing the preparation of the river boats and choosing which soldiers to bring with him. They had decided on a smaller, elite team of firebenders. The riverboats had a limited occupancy, and that meant they had to choose carefully. Jeong Jeong was an elite firebending master, so they had opted against spear and swordsmen.
Azula came to the top of the observation tower, to find Ty Lee looking towards the northeastern horizon through a spyglass. Azula could make out a faint dark line rising from the trees in the direction her friend was looking.
"Smoke," Mai said, nodding towards the faint line. "It was stronger a few minutes ago. We think it might've been a forest fire, but it was put out already."
Ty Lee turned to see who Mai was talking to, and then cartwheeled over to Azula.
"Here, take a look." She said, giving Azula the spyglass with a smile. Azula took it and trained it on the smoke. It had already turned from the black of a raging fire to the light gray of one put out. As she watched the smoke began to fade, growing thinner.
"I wonder…" She said, sharing her thoughts aloud with her friends. "Jeong Jeong is suspected to be in the area. He deserted the army and turned against the Fire Nation. A firebending master…"
"The Avatar is supposed to be in that direction." Mai said, picking up on Azula's line of reasoning.
Ty Lee's eyes widened, as she realized where the two were going. "He's training the Avatar!"
"Possibly, we can't know for certain." Azula replied. "But if he is, we need to capture them both, now. If the Avatar masters firebending, he'll be a greater threat than he is now. Once he does, he'll be able to defend against our attacks easily, and then we might never capture him."
This wasn't good, if the airbender mastered firebending now, then the Fire Nation would be hard pressed to stop him. Water and earth would make him formidable enough, but if he mastered firebending then all but their most powerful would be unable to stand against him. Zhao had told Azula of how the boy had brought down the temple, or at least he had while channeling Roku's spirit.
Azula and her friends hastened down the tower, and strode quickly to the river boats. By the time they arrived, the boats were loaded up and the men were ready to cast off. Azula and her companions boarded Zhao's vessel and Azula briefed him on their suspicions about Jeong Jeong and the avatar.
"It makes sense." Zhao said, "If the Avatar has encountered Jeong Jeong, he may well try and learn firebending from him. But a single day of tutelage is not enough for any to stand against us, no matter how talented the student."
Azula nodded. "I agree, Admiral. I doubt an alteration to our plan is necessary."
"No, it likely isn't." The Admiral said in reply.
Ty Lee walked along the edges of the cabin's roof, alternating between walking on her hands and feet at each corner. Azula watched as she did so, mildly impressed with the acrobatics. She would never say so of course, her father wouldn't approve of complimenting such a frivolous action.
Her father. Firelord Ozai. The man had taught Azula firebending, strategy, all sorts of things really. He cared for her, unlike Iroh. Her uncle had taken Zuko under his wing as her father had taken her under his.
Iroh had never been as fond of her as he had Zuko, never bothered to get to know her. When he broke through the walls of Ba Sing Se, he had sent Zuko the dagger of the surrendering general. What did Azula get? A doll.
Azula exhaled through her nose sharply. It was a silly thing to let bother her, so many years later. She looked away from Ty Lee, and saw Mai looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Azula waved her hand in the air dismissively.
The sun had dipped below the tree line, and the world was bathed in the soft blue haze of twilight. They would be setting off again soon, and should all go according to plan they would reach the camp just after midnight.
"So the Avatar's traveling with the prince of the southern Water Tribe." Ty Lee said, coming to sit beside where Azula leaned against the boat's railing.
"That's what the report's say. Zhao verified the claims himself, so I would assume it to be true." Azula said, without looking in Ty Lee's direction.
"Do you think he'll be cute? He's supposed to be a prince…"
Azula looked at her friend. "We're going to capture the Avatar. We are not out here to catch you a boyfriend, no matter how desperate you may be." She said harshly. Ty Lee pouted, and Mai snorted at the two of them.
"I know that, Azula. I was just saying. Besides, the only prince I've ever met is Zuko, and well…" She trailed off, her eyes darting towards Mai. Mai crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
Azula decided to ignore them and focus on the task at hand. She had been sent to discover the truth of Zuko's alleged treachery, but she couldn't let this opportunity pass her by untaken. She was going to capture the avatar, and bring him back to her father. Zuko had had his chance, and now she would finish what he could not.
Azula leaned against the gunnel in silence while the dim light of evening faded to the pressing darkness of night. When the moon was the only source of light in the sky, the small fleet of river boats resumed their journey. The minutes passed slowly, turning to hours as they progressed down the river.
The moon hung high above them as they reached the point of their disembarkment. The riverboats pushed for the eastern shore, and two men remained behind on each vessel. They would wait for the signal before steering the fleet the rest of the way.
The remainder of the personnel began their trek through the woods. They walked through the thick and tangled brambles slowly, cautious against noise that might alert their prey. As they progressed, Ty Lee opened her mouth to speak but Azula quieted her with a glare. There was no room for error.
As they marched silently through the woods they began to fight their way uphill through the trees. The climb was slow and arduous, but when they reached the top Azula found that she could see a glimpse of firelight through the trees, along with a soft blue glow.
Illuminated by the light of the fire was the beast the Avatar rode around on, and the figure of a girl dressed in blue. Azula used a series of hand signals to motion Zhao's force to spread out around the perimeter of the camp. She waited the time that they had allotted for the men to get into position, no more than a few minutes, and pressed forward.
As she readied herself into position, she stepped into motion and a single branch snapped beneath her foot.
Katara looked into the forest, squinting in vain to see through the darkness. She couldn't see very far through the trees, but she thought she could make out the faint traces of movement in the dark. Was it some of Jeong Jeong's group? An owl-mink? Maybe she was imagining it. She looked over to Appa, at the other side of the fire. The bison had gotten to his feet, and was glaring uneasily towards where Katara had heard a noise moments before. So she hadn't imagined it, then. Someone or something was out there.
Katara heard a faint buzzing, a low hum just at the edge of hearing. She whipped around and her eyes opened wide in surprise. Where seconds before there had been only darkness, there was a figure outlined by the cold blue light of electricity swirling around them. Katara unstoppered the pouch at her waist in which she had taken to keeping water, and then the figure shifted swiftly, and the electricity burst forth from their outstretched hand and into one of Appa's horns.
The bison roared, eyes wide and whirling around in terror. He reared onto his hind legs and twin jets of blue flame shot towards him. Appa fell back to a stand and took off flying away into the night.
Katara's blood ran cold as the bison disappeared. Appa had always been a solid and dependable ally, and he had saved them many times over. To see him shocked, burned, and flee was more terrifying than anything Katara had ever imagined. And now She, Aang and Sokka were left alone with whoever had attacked Appa.
Azula smiled as she watched the bison flee. She had struck him with her lightning, and frightened him with her firebending. She hadn't managed to hurt the beast, she was sure of that, but for the time being he was gone. Azula walked out from the cover of the forest flanked by Mai and Ty Lee, and the three of them approached the Water Tribe girl.
"Who are you?!" Katara asked, bending the water from her pouch as she spoke. She didn't know much about waterbending, but the three girls before her didn't know that.
"Oh? Can't you see the family resemblance?" Azula said with a smirk. She covered her left eye with her hand before speaking again, in a lower, gruffer voice. "I must capture the Avatar to restore my honor!"
Katara just stared at her, a confused expression on her face. Azula rolled her eyes and Ty Lee giggled. "It's okay, you can laugh. It's funny."
"That is funny Azula!" Ty Lee said, still giggling.
Well, Azula didn't really think it was funny but her father and Minister Qin certainly did. And Ty Lee as well apparently, though if she was laughing for the impersonation or for the fact that Azula would even try was anybody's guess.
"Mai, Ty Lee, tie up the Avatar. The First Son is here too, though where he is remains to be seen. I'll handle this one."
At Azula's words, Katara sprang into action. She sent the water at Azula, who just leaned to one side as the stream of water shot past her head.
Katara brought the water around again, this time aiming for the giggly girl. She thought she would hit her, but the girl simply ducked under the water.
As Katara pulled the water back to herself, she had to release her control over it to dodge an ark of blue flame, narrowly avoiding getting burned. She managed to pull most of the water from the ground, only to have to jump back as the firebender approached her lazily.
"So this is what passes for royalty in the Water Tribe? Disappointing. To think that my brother has been unable to capture the Avatar, while his only companions are you and your brother. Where is he? Has he run off to save himself?"
"Azula!" Mai called out.
"What is it Mai?" Azula said, her eyes never leaving Katara. Katara, for her part, managed to figure out who was who. How that might help she couldn't say, but it was something.
"The First Son is here too. I don't think he's conscious, he's freezing. If it weren't for the heartbeat I'd have thought him dead."
That was curious, Azula thought, was he sick? Maybe all the Water Tribe people were like that? It made a little sense; if they made their homes in the frozen tundra of the poles then maybe they were just cold naturally?
She discarded the thought, thinking it wasn't important right now.
"Oh hey, he is cute!" Ty Lee said, followed by the sound of Mai flicking her ear. Mai spoke, "Now's not the time."
Katara blinked. This was by far the weirdest fight she had ever been in, and the most one sided. She had to think of something. If only she could get rid of the firebender, this Azula person. She would have a chance to save her brother and Aang. She thought that she could waylay the other two, at least until Appa came back. But she wasn't strong enough to defeat her opponent with the water in her pouch. She needed more, if only there was some way for her to… The river! That was it! If she could lure the firebender to the water she could wash her away and come back in time to save the others.
With her plan formed, as simple as it might be, Katara rushed into action. She whipped her hands out and she waterbent the muddy water in a wide sheet directly at Azula, who shot a fireblast into it. The fire evaporated most of the water, and what was left splashed all across the Princesses armor.
Azula was furious now. This pathetic excuse for a waterbender had covered her in mud and was now… running away? Azula was not about to let that happen, not if she could help it. She chased after the girl, attacking with carefully aimed blasts of fire. It would be far simpler if she wasn't just trying to capture her unharmed, or if she could see. A cloud had wafted in front of the moon and Azula could barely make out the shape of her enemy. She chased her down the hill, careful not to lose sight of her. The terrain began to level out and she gained ground on the waterbender, who came to a stop and turned around. She had a triumphant smile on her face.
"Giving up so soon?" Azula asked, not letting her voice reveal the weariness she felt. Why had she stopped? What was she so happy about? Azula found the answer herself when she heard the lapping of waves against the shore. The river.
The water bender snarled at Azula, and the image of a wolf flooded her mind at the sight. The anger in those eyes, the fierce determination to win, to overcome and defeat Azula, all served to give this waterbender the terrible lupine aura of the animal her people had chosen as their symbol. While the Fire Nation was a land of the sun and dragons, the Water Tribes were a people of the wolf and moon.
"Oh no, I'm just getting started!" Katara said, as the moon reappeared in the sky. Katara focused with all her might and bent an enormous wave, holding it behind her as it grew. Azula's eyes grew wide as Katara moved to push the wave toward her, to wash her towards the river.
Just as Katara brought her hand in front of her, a jet of orange fire shot toward her, burning her hands. She cried out in pain and lost control of the wave, and it crashed over her, carrying her out and into the river. Katara struggled against it, but as she lost to the current, she saw a stone rush up to meet her and fell into darkness.
The water rushed toward Azula, knocking her off of her feet and threatening to pull her away from the shore. She could swim, but she didn't want to face any waterbender, even one as untrained as this, in a body of water. She struggled against the force of the water as it crashed around her, and she was losing. She could feel herself being pulled away when a strong hand gripped her own.
She at last found her footing, coughing as she breathed in the fresh air. She looked up to see Admiral Zhao. One of his hands gripped her tightly and the other was held by one of his soldiers. They had formed a sort of chain in order to keep her from being swept away.
"Are you alright, Princess?" He asked, looking at her with concern.
"I'm fine." She said, relinquishing his grip. Even moments after she had stood, the water had receded back to its natural level. The waterbender was nowhere to be seen, swept away by the wave she herself had conjured. If Zhao hadn't come to save her, then Azula would have been swept away instead. Azula was surprised; she hadn't expected for the waterbender to be so powerful. Clever enough to lure the firebender to the river, strong enough to bend the water into a wave dozens of feet high even untrained. Perhaps she had been too quick to dismiss Zuko's efforts.
"Send the signal for the boats. Search the shoreline for the girl." Zhao said, addressing his men. Immediately upon receiving their orders, the soldiers split into teams of three and began their tasks. One group shot a series of predetermined signals into the air through firebending while the others combed the shoreline.
"If jeong jeong was here, he's long gone by now. We found the remnants of a camp, and tracks leading southeast, but they're hours old by now." Admiral Zhao said after his subordinates had begun their duties.
Azula nodded. It was a shame to have let slip whoever had been here, but they had the Avatar and the First Son. "We have the Avatar. The others are of little consequence in comparison."
Zhao nodded, and the two stood in silence for a time.
A quarter of an hour passed when the river boats made landfall. There had been no sign of the water bender, and Mai and Ty Lee had tied the Avatar and First Son. They oversaw the crew tasked with taking the prisoners aboard the vessels, making sure to stow the two on separate ships.
"It doesn't sit well that the waterbender got away, especially as powerful as she is. With any luck she'll have drowned." Admiral Zhao said, turning to face Azula.
"Of course." Azula said, placating the admiral. She didn't agree. She wanted the girl captured, brought to her father to negotiate the surrender of the Southern Water Tribe, she didn't want her dead. She would kill, if necessary, but she didn't want to. She knew they were at war; people killed, people died. That didn't mean she wanted to kill anyone. She wouldn't admit that of course, a reputation was as deadly as any weapon. She wasn't about to tarnish hers.
She and the Admiral walked to the lead boat and boarded in silence. The Admiral had risked his own wellbeing, possibly his life, to save Azula from being washed away. Up until that point, she had held him in a measure of distrust. She didn't believe him to be a traitor, not really, but she had held him in suspicion. There had been something.. Off about him. In the way he spoke and carried himself around her. Now that he had saved her from the waterbender she was more inclined to believe that it was in reverence of her station, rather than anything more nefarious.
She stood in silence on the dock of the small vessel. The Avatar had been placed in the middle of the procession, to be guarded most securely. The First Son however wasn't treated half as cautiously. He was tied up on the very boat she had taken passage on herself, and Ty Lee kneeled in front of him, prodding him with a finger.
Azula rolled her eyes at her friend's antics. "What are you doing?"
Ty Lee glanced at her before standing up. "I was trying to wake him. It's weird that he's been unconscious for so long. I mean, sure, the Avatar glows and is unconscious too, but he's the Avatar. It's probably normal for him."
"But this guy's just passed out. It doesn't look like he was hit in the head, and he was sitting like he was meditating when we found him. He doesn't even have an aura, like he's not even in there. As if he left his body and went someplace else." Ty Lee said, and grabbed a lantern from the side of the ship's operating cabin.
"Like I said, he's cute and all, but this is weird." As she spoke, she brought the lantern directly in front of the unresponsive prisoner. The light should have illuminated him fully, but despite its proximity to the lantern half of his face was covered in shadow.
Katara groaned. Her head throbbed horribly, and her hands burned. She opened her eyes slowly, confused by the soft light from the morning sun. What had happened? Why was she in the river?
She was on a small island in the center of the river. It was the same one that Aang had sat on while practicing with the leaf the day before. Katara looked at her hands and saw that they were burned, not too badly, but they pained her nonetheless. She moaned softly and placed them in the water, hoping that the coolness of the river would soothe them. When they were submerged, the water around them began to glow. A light tickling sensation covered her wounds and when she drew her hands out of the water they were healed.
As she stared at her hands, a shadow passed over her. It was too quick to be a cloud, so she glanced in the direction it had gone. She saw the shape off Appa landing across the water and on the far shore. She looked and saw one of his horns was blackend.
At the sight of Appa's damaged horn, the memories of the previous night came flooding back to her.
"Oh no. No no no no." She said, Aang and Sokka had been captured by The Fire Nation.
Author's note: Yeah this one is a bit longer. When I started writing Azula's POV I didn't realize how much I intended for her to be doing. So, yeah. Length. I actually ended up cutting some of her scenes because I didn't think it was late enough in the story to bring it in.
I'm still pretty new at this, so I'm not sure if the structure and narration of this chapter read as well for everyone reading as it does me. Basically, Katara's POV in the beginning picks up right where we left off team avatar in the last chapter. Then once it switches off to Azula we start in a dream sequence/memory. She wakes up and the rest of her POV takes place through the course of the day that Team Avatar spent with Jeong Jeong (I know I spelled it wrong previously. I'm going to tighten up the earlier chapters.)
Then it switches back to Katara and the POV's merge until Katara gets knocked out, leaving us with Azula.
Was there any confusion with that stuff while reading? It seemed to flow pretty OK to me, but since I'm the one who made it up I might not have the cleanest perspective. I'm writing this to practice and improve my writing, so any feedback would be appreciated. This is my first bit of creative writing after all. Leave a review or DM me if you have any. Also if you have questions I'll be glad to answer them.
Thanks for reading so far, we're a little bit more than a third of the way through part one. I'm not going to post sequels though, it will all stay right here. Part two and three will just be slapped onto this story.
