It is always the chapters that I thought would end up being short that turn out the longest
Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy.
Aang's grip around Appa's reigns was tight. His hands were clammy and his fingernails dug into the skin of his palm. Behind him he could hear Katara pace back and fourth before she slumped back down against the rim; a habit she had developed very recently.
It had been a week since he had talked to Roku. A week that had been mostly filled with silence. Before they had gone to the temple there had always been lively conversation. Now the air was tense, as though a heavy storm was about the crash over them.
Aang knew Katara was worried about her necklace. In the evenings, whenever they landed for a nights rest, he could see her hand linger where the pendant head been.
But there was nothing he could do to comfort her. Roku's word still rung in his ears like a bell. He had to master the four elements and put an end to the war, and he had to do it by summers end. Else the comet would put an end to it for him.
Aang closed his eyes and took a couple of deep, longs breaths. His heart was beating hard in his chest.
"Watching you two is making me stressed out too." Sokka said with a long sigh. Aang turned to see the boy leaning against the saddle and looking down at him.
"Easy for you to say." Katara said. "Aang found out that he has barley any time left to defeat the fire lord and I lost the only thing that I had left of mom." She stood up and started pacing again. "What if one of the Sages or that admiral Zhao guy has it? Or worse, what if it burned down together with the temple. Meanwhile, the biggest thing you have to worry about is what's for dinner tonight."
"Okay, okay. I understand." Sokka raised his hands defensively. "Of course that necklace was important to me too. I don't have anything else of mom either and I want to get it back too. But mopping about it won't help us. You already said that you remember having it until you got on Appa. Azula must have swiped it when she tried to grab you. We'll run into her again at some point anyway so you'll just have to get it back when the time comes."
Sokka turned around and looked at Aang. "As for you; We already knew we were on a time crunch. The only thing we can really do is get you to the North Pole as fast as possible and that is what we've been doing anyway."
Aang nodded slowly. He knew Sokka was right. There was nothing to be done. It didn't make him any less worried.
Sokka rolled his eyes. "Okay, how about this. We lost some supplies when we tried to avoid getting swatted out of the sky by that blockade so we'll be forced to look for a place to stay a bit longer sooner rather than later anyway. How about we just try to find a nice little river or puddle for you two to splash around in. Maybe there is some things that Katara can try to teach you herself for now. How does that sound."
Katara stopped in her tracks with a smile. "That's a great idea. I may not have trained with a master but I did practice a lot on my own so I'm sure I can teach you at least a few things."
"Well, I guess you guys had better look out for a suitable place then." Aang said with a slight smile.
The feint rushing of a waterfall somewhere in the distance upriver filled the air.
"This place is perfect." Katara said after she climbed down from Appa's back.
They had landed near a slow stream not far inland from a coastal trading town. The river wasn't small but not very deep. Aang spotted a handful of boulders jut out of the water near the shore. A forest surrounded them on each side. Only the small part of the bank they were on was left cleared of the trees; a small, rocky peninsula. Momo jumped from Aang's bank and lowered his head into the water.
"Yep. This looks like a really nice place." Aang said with a nod. He turned to Katara. "Do you want to get started right away?"
Katara nodded.
"And what am I supposed to do? I think it would hardly make sense to flail around with you guys while nothing happens." Sokka said with a slight frown.
"Well, you could ... Ah!" Aang looked around. He ran to a tree and ripped off a branch. He grabbed an old piece of cloth and wrapped it around one end before shoving it into Sokka's hand. "You could clean Appa's toes with this. It's been far to long since I've gotten around to doing that."
Sokka looked at the makeshift scrubber with a blank look. He sighed and shrugged. "Might as well. Not like I have anything better to do." He turned to Appa. "Ok, big boy. Lets get you in the water. I'm going to give you a nice bison pedicure."
Appa grunted and slowly stomped off after Sokka.
"Alright Aang. Let's start then." Katara said. She had pulled up her sleeves and had her hands on her hips, looking very proud of herself. "First off, do you have any questions?"
"Not really."
"All right. I think learning by doing might suit you better anyway." Katara said. "To begin with, lets start by just moving the water. Focus on a part of the water and then move your arms in a wave-like motion."
Katara widened her stance and started moving back and forth. Her arms were stiff and her motion somewhat awkward but after some time, Aang could see a part of the river recede and come back in sync with Katara.
"See that? Just follow my lead and move back and forth, slowly." Katara put hands on her hips and smiled. "Okay. Now you try."
Aang shrugged and lowered his stance. He raised his arms and started to imitate Katara's movements. His arms relaxed, he let them flow, in and out and in again, like waves crashing on a beach. It felt natural. After all, Water Bending and Air Bending weren't so different. Both redirected the energy that was coming towards the bender, only that Water Bending directed the force back at the opponent and Air Bending directed it away.
The style of the Kyoshi warriors felt strongly inspired by Water Bending. Maybe that was why Sokka took to it so naturally.
Almost immediately the water started to recede from the shore, exposing the silty riverbed. Startled, a small spider crab hurried in deeper, before the water finally returned.
"Oh wow. You are really good at this." Katara said. Aang didn't miss the hint of jealously that was carried in her voice.
"Well, I am lucky enough to have a great teacher to help me out." He smiled.
Katara cleared her throat. "Anyway. Since this might be a bit too easy for you, let's take it up a level or two. This one took me quite a while to figure out. "
Katara lowered her stance again and raised her arm. She kept them there for a few seconds. Her hands started to shake. In one quick motion she lowered her arms before abruptly bringing them back up. As she did, a fountain of water rose. Katara held her arms at the original position. The fountain reached the height of her waist before it collapsed back into the river with a splash.
"Guess I'll try it to."
Aang raised his arms the way Katara had done but leaning slightly back. In one fluid wave he let his arms move down as his body moved forward and in that same motion he raised his arms again, above his head.
The water rose. Within moments, the wave dwarfed them, the water rising to thrice Aang's height. Then he brought his arms down in an arch and the Wave broke forward, downstream. The water rushed down, bursting the banks. It flowed down, over the saddle that Sokka had placed down before Appa got into the river and carried off most of their bags of food.
"What are you doing Aang?" Sokka yelled as he got back out of the water after he got knocked over. "You just flushed away our supplies. Restocking everything will be super expensive. King Bumi did give us money but not enough for us to throw it around."
"Sorry Sokka. I'll be more careful next time." Aang said with a sheepish grin. He looked at Katara. Displeasure was clearly written on her face, and he guessed that the supplies weren't the cause.
"Anyway, I'm done with Appa's toes." Sokka said with a sigh. "We should head to the town now to buy everything you just lost us if we want to eat dinner today." Sokka trotted out of the water and started to dry off. "Man that's cold."
The ship shook and she lost balance. Azula wrenched her arm upward and lightning shot into the sky. She groaned.
The ship had changed course. The mountain peaks in the distance they had used as landmarks to guide them were coming closer.
Azula entered the tower and ascended the stairs. She threw open the door to the bridge to announce herself. It crashed into the wall, metal on metal, producing an ear piercing sound. Everyone in the crew whirled around with wide eyes, staring at her.
The only person unperturbed by her entrance was her uncle. The fat, old man was sat in the center of the room. Slowly he raised a clay cup to his lips and took a small sip of tea before he leaned back over the small table and the board game that was set up on it. He scratched his chin.
"Have you come to play a round, Azula. If you wait a few minutes until I have defeated the lieutenant, I can play against you next." He said, never looking at her. He moved a piece the lieutenant cried out in frustration. "Now it's your turn."
"I'm not here to waste my time playing your stupid games uncle." Azula said. Fists balled, she stepped over to the navigator. "Why did we change course. I did not order you to do that." She said calmly with a smile, grabbing the scrawny man by his simple red tunic.
"That was me." Iroh turned to look at her. "Can you believe it." He said with an overly dramatic whimper. "I lost my white lotus tile. Luckily there is a port town nearby so I told the good navigator to make a little stop."
Azula let go of the man and he crumpled to the ground. "You changed our course for a game." Azula's smile dropped. "And from what I can tell, not having the tile doesn't even prevent you from playing."
Iroh shook his head and sighed. "I am saddened that my own niece doesn't know about the importance of the lotus tile. It is my favorite tile. Most of my power is hidden in that tile. Without it, I am only half the man that I am now."
"Drop the theatrics uncle. And tell them to change back to the planned course." She said as she walked back to the door. There was a dent in the wall next to it now.
"I am sorry Azula, but I can't do that." Iroh looked at her in silence for a second. "Besides, you have been very stressed the past week. Some time off in a quaint little port town will do you some good."
"I have no time for a vacation. Zhao is actively hunting the Avatar now."
"If I may princess." The Lieutenant interjected. "Our stocks have been running low, so we would have had to make a stop soon anyway. The Avatar is certainly no different. If nothing else, maybe we can get some information on whether he has passed through here recently."
Azula sighed, stepped outside of the bridge and closed the door behind her.
Aang picked up the round hat he had gotten from Bumi as a disguise and his glider as a walking staff and they headed out.
Most of the coast was under the control of the Fire Nation so, the camp site they had chosen had been almost two miles inland. It had taken them a while until they reached the harbor town and it was already past noon. But Appa was just too recognizable for them to have flown into town directly.
Sokka held up the small bag of money they had gotten from Bumi and shook it a bit. "The King might have given us some money but it really isn't that much and It'll probably have to last us until we reach the north so we can really only by the bare necessities."
"Yeah, yeah." Aang grabbed the bag out of Sokka's hand and started to walk down the market street. There were stalls of vendors lining each side, selling all sorts food and tools but also goodies, knick-knacks, and trinkets of varying levels of quality and usefulness. The thick scent of exotic spices and delicacies hung in the air in spite of the constant wind that was blowing in from the ocean. Instead, the sea breeze simply helped to add a bit of salt into the mix.
Aang weaved skillfully through the crowd of people walking up and down as Momo sat on his head, curiously glancing back and forth between multiple fruit stands.
Aang stopped in his tracks and stared at one particular stand. There were whistles shaped after different animals lined up. They seemed to be crafted well and painted with much care. One of them was formed in the shape of a bison.
"Are you interested?" Aang looked up at the man behind the stand. There was a smile on his face that turned into a contemplative frown. "Sadly I don't think we have one in the form of that monkey thing on your head."
"Oh that's fine. I really like this bison one." Aang pointed at the whistle. "What are these for anyway. Is the shape just a gimmick or is there a reason behind it."
"They are animal whistles. Just blow into them and your pet will come running." The vendor said.
"That sounds really useful actually. I'll take that one then." Aang pulled out a gold coin from the bag and the man handed him the tiny bison and some change.
"There you are Aang." He heard Katara say as she and Sokka approached from behind him. "Please don't run off like that again. You might be good at getting through large masses of people but Sokka and I aren't used to it so could you please slow down."
Aang scratch the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh sorry. I really like these types of places so I kind of lost myself in the excitement. I'll be more careful."
They continued down the road, getting closer to the boats that were moored at the harbor. Mixed into the trading vessels a few smaller Fire Navy ships were also anchored.
"What did you buy?" Sokka asked, pointing at the object that was still in Aang's hand.
"It's a bison whistle. With this we can call Appa any time we're in trouble and he'll come right in to save the day." Aang said with a huge grin.
"Does it actually work." Katara asked.
"Let's find out." Aang set the whistle against his lips and blew into it but no sound escaped.
"I just said we can't afford to spend money on useless crap and yet the first thing you do is go and buy this." Sokka said as Momo chirped and punched Aang in the head. "See even Momo thinks this was a stupid purchase." Sokka took the bag of money back out off Aang's hand and tied it to his belt with a piece of string. "I think it's better if I hold on to it from now on."
"Aww. You're no fun Sokka." Aang said with a smile. Sokka raised his hand and tried to smack him in the back of the head but Aang simply ducked and laughed.
It took them a while to get down to the harbor as they pushed through the masses. Every now and then they stopped at a stall but the majority would be closer to the sea; closer to the ships that would bring much of it into the harbor town.
They headed down the road that hugged the coastline. One side was fully arrayed with stalls, one after the other, but unlike earlier, these were almost entirely for food. Both the smell of spices and the smell of salt had gotten considerably more intense and a very strong scent of fish had joined the mix.
On the other side, ships were tied town and dock workers were loading and unloading goods. Most the ships were small but broad, wooden ships with only one or two masts but some of them, as they had already seen from the distance, were small Fire Navy vessels, similar to the one Azula would be on.
Had she made it out of the tower okay? He really hoped she did. And he didn't quite know that that said about him. Her face blipped up in his minds eye; Her face, and that white, twisted scar that cut across her cheek from the corner of her lip. He needed to know the story behind it. What it meant to her.
Sokka had joked about it but if they could get her on their side she would be a great asset against the Fire Lord.
Aang was pulled out of his stupor as a man shouted from the deck of a small wooden ship. "Come one, come all, to our store. We sell only the best, most interesting and most rare curious from all around the world. I promise, we carry something for every man, woman, and child."
"Hey Sokka. This seems interesting." Katara said. "Let's check it out."
"That's not a good idea. There is Fire Nation soldiers here and if they recognized us, we'd be in trouble. We'll just buy what we need and then leave as quickly and discreetly as possible." Sokka said. "Besides, we don't have the money anyway and Aang already bought useless junk earlier."
"Come on Sokka. Just relax for once. We don't need to buy anything. Let's just take a look around. We aren't going to leave the area today anyway and I have my hat to cover the arrow so what's the harm." Aang said. "Besides, maybe they have some relics from the Air Nomads."
Sokka sighed in frustration. "Fine then. Have your way. But we really need to make it quick and we can't buy anything."
"A new customer I see." The man who had been shouting earlier said with a huge, toothy grin on his face. "Just head in, don't be shy. The Cap'n is inside to show you around."
"Thank you." Aang said as they headed through the door.
The inside of the ship was decked out fully with shelves, all stacked with various items. The walking space between was small; only enough for one person to pass through at a time.
On the other side of the room, behind the counter, was a man. He was gruff looking, middle aged with a clean shaven face and long gray hair that hung down from underneath his large hat. On his shoulder was an Iguana parrot, it's beady eyes stared intently at Momo who scrambled to hide behind Aang's head.
"Welcome customers, to our humble store." The man said in a deep, raspy voice. There was a large smile on his face and his arms were spread far. "Can I help you in any way."
"No thank you. We'll just have a look around for now if that's alright." Sokka said.
Slowly, Aang strolled through the store. The shelves were packed with all sorts of stuff, most of it decorative. There were items from all over the world, and for a lot, Aang recognized where it could have come from. But non of it was of Air Nomad origin. 'Guess most of that stuff is still up in temple or has been destroyed or eroded over time, huh' Aang thought with a small frown.
"Hey Aang. Come take a look at this." Katara called to him from the other side of the store. Aang weaved his way through the tightly packed store. Katara held out a scroll to him. On it were drawn instructions for a variety of water bending techniques though they seem very rudimentary. "It's a water bending scroll. This could be really useful, don't you think."
The shop keeper grabbed the scroll out of Katara's hand from behind her and put it back on the shelf. "Please don't touch the merchandise. It's quite rare."
"Oh, sorry." Katara said. "But where did you even get that scroll from? I don't think you could even find them around here."
The man let out a slights chuckle. His bird followed suit. "Let's just say I got it up north at a most agreeable price. Free."
Katara frowned in silence for a second before replying. "Wait. You stole that scroll, didn't you. You are pirates."
Before Katara could say anything, Aang put his hand on her shoulder and whispered. "Don't worry. I'll figure something out. I think I'm pretty good at dealing with these types."
Aang walked to the counter that the pirate had gotten behind again and leaned against it. "You know, I kind of respect pirates. You sail around the world, from place to place, without letting anyone tell you where you can and cannot go. In a way, you are almost like a nomad. And nomad's help each other out, right?" Aang said, looking at the man. "So from one nomad to another, can't we figure something out about that scroll?"
"No thank you. I don't make deals with random kids." The captain said. "Besides, I already have a buyer for that scroll so it's of the market, even at full price." The mans stared at Momo. "Let's talk about that lemur you have there instead. It's quite rare. I've never seen one like this. It would be quite valuable to the right buyer."
Momo ducked behind his head and shivered. "I'm sorry but he is not for sale."
"Hey Aang." Katara leaned in to his ear and whispered. "I don't like this place. It makes me kind of uncomfortable. I think we should leave."
Aang nodded. "Hey Sokka. Lets head back."
Sokka sighed. "Finally."
As they stepped back out into the sunlight the man who had ushered them in earlier passed them.
"It's a shame that I couldn't find anything from the air nomads in there." Aang said with a frown.
"I'm sure we'll find some stuff at some point." Sokka said.
"Hey, you! Stop right there!"
They were halfway down the gangway when the man from the deck came out again, followed by a group of men carrying a variety of weapons.
"Run!" Aang grabbed Katara and Sokka by the arm and dragged them after him.
They weaved through the crowd of people on the main coastal street. Behind them he could here screaming as the group of pirates no doubt pushed through without regard for bystanders.
Aang looked back for a second. One of the men wound up and tossed an axe the air. The aim was true. Right at Aang's arm. If he moved out of the way someone else in the mass of people would be hit.
Aang let go of Sokka and pushed the axe up and out into the sea with a burst of air. He grabbed Sokka's arm again and dragged them both into a small alleyway with far less people.
They continued running, the pirates following right behind them.
Ahead of them, two fire nation soldiers on patrol turned into their alley. Aang ground his teeth and turned into another direction.
Aang could see the market street they had come in on ahead of them, perpendicular to their own. A vendor's stall blocked the way to the opposite alley but there was no choice. The pirates were catching up to them.
"Out of the way." Aang yelled to the people ahead as they sprinted toward the market road. He let go of Katara and Sokka and they ran around the stall as Aang jumped over it.
He turned around and forcefully swung his staff down. A powerful gust of wind hurled the wooden stall at the men behind them, taking out two.
"Sorry." Aang yelled, and turned to run after Katara and Sokka as the rest of the pirates jumped over the wreck and continued their pursuit.
"MY CABBAGES." He heard from behind.
Aang caught up to Katara and Sokka and dragged them around a corner, down a gently bending side street in the direction of their camp; until they reached a dead end.
Aang turned around. There were still five pirates, blocking the road. Aang had no doubt that he could take them out, even by himself if need be. But the Fire Nation's garrison would surely be alerted by now and if they caught up to them they'd be in trouble.
Aang opened his staff and grabbed on. "Hang on tight guys. I'll get us out of here."
He jumped into the air and created a current that caught in the gliders wings. One of the pirates grabbed on to one of his legs. Aang kicked him in the face, a crunch sound coming from under his boot and the man let go, holding his bleeding nose in pain.
Aang managed to get them out of the town before he had to land again and they continued on foot.
"What was up with those guys?" Sokka said. "Why'd they just attack us."
"I don't know." Aang said. "But flying with two people holding on is honestly a lot tougher than I thought."
"Hey Aang." Katara, who had been quiet the whole time since they left the boat, spoke up. "Look what I got." She pulled the water bending scroll out from under her clothes and rolled it out. "Let's go back quick and continue training with this."
"You stole the scroll?" Sokka shouted. "No wonder they were after us? Why would you do something so stupid. You put us all in danger."
"Oh calm down, Sokka. I stole from a bunch of pirates. How do you think they got it? As a gift?" Katara rolled her eyes. "Besides, we made it out without a scratch, didn't we?"
"Well, what's done is done." Aang said. "We can hardly turn around and give it back now. Might as well use it for our own good and then give it back to the Northern Water Tribe."
Sokka sighed heavily.
Azula, followed by six of her soldiers and a few crew members, stepped of the ship and looked around. The mass of people crowding the market street was in an uproar.
One of the garrison soldiers, a sergeant judging by his uniform, recognized her. His eyes widened and he immediately approached her and bowed. "My apologies your Highness. We were not aware that you would be visiting us today."
"At ease soldier." The man came out of his bow. "I am not here on inspection. We are running out of supplies and needed to make a short stop to restock. Talk to my quartermaster. He'll tell you what we need." The soldier bowed again. "Before you leave, however, I want to know what the meaning behind the commotion is."
"Apparently a group of armed men were chasing down some teenagers earlier. Luckily nobody was hurt but it still caused quite a stir."
"Alright soldiers. You are dismissed. And make sure that it doesn't take to long."
The soldier bowed a third time and left with her crew when Iroh came waddling down the gangway to join her. He had a bag on his shoulder and a massive grin on his face.
"Let's go souvenir shopping." He said.
"I don't have time for your dilly-dallying. We'll find that stupid tile as quickly as possible and come right back to the ship."
Iroh simply nodded and walked off, followed by the soldiers. Azula would roast him if she wasn't bound to his whims.
It took them almost two hours to walk through the entire town and they had almost made it back to their ship. Iroh's bag was brimming with random trinkets and some of the soldiers were also carrying various items.
"This market is fabulous. So many interesting things to see and so much good food to eat." He said with a smile. It turned into a slight frown. "A shame they don't have any White Lotus tiles though."
"You have had your little vacation, bought way to much and you still didn't find what you derailed our course to look for."
"Let's check out this one last place. We can leave after that. I would die if they had it for sale and I didn't go in to get it." He said, pointing at a wooden ship with and 'Open'-Sign standing in front.
"Wouldn't that be a shame." Azula sighed and followed her Uncle on board.
The inside was crammed full of trinkets and useless objects. The owner, obviously a pirate, greeted them with a smile.
"They don't have it either. Let's leave." Azula said after a minute of standing around as Iroh searched. She turned towards the door when a man came through, with a worried look on his face.
"Cap'n. We looked through the whole town but try as we might we couldn't find those water tribe brats and neither could we find that bald kid with the lemur. They must have flown out of town or something."
Azula's breath hitched and her heart started beating faster. She grabbed the man by the shoulder and turn him towards her. "Tell me more about that bald kid."
It was late afternoon by the time they returned to their camp. The sun was already setting behind the tree tops. Appa greeted them with a grunt as they arrived. They dropped of their bags full of food they bought and Sokka stretched his back.
"Let's try to learn from the scroll immediately." Katara said with an excited smile as she ran towards their earlier training area.
Aang simply shook his head and followed her.
Katara opened the scroll and put it on a large, flat rock that was close to the shore. She pointed at one of the picture sequences. 'Water Whip' was written next to it. "Let's try that one. It looks simple enough and I'd like to finally be of some use in a fight when Azula attacks again."
She took a deep breath and raised her arms to draw water from the river and she began to move as the scroll depicted. Exactly as depicted. Her movements were stiff, as if she tried to imitate the positions rather then go through the motions. Her stance became shaky and the water floating in front of her started to wobble.
Katara tried to execute the final move in the sequence. She stretched out her arm quickly. The bubble started to elongate. Then it simply disintegrated and splashed on the ground. Water sprayed on Momo who was standing right next to where it landed.
Katara's frowned. Deep wrinkles cut across her forehead. "Why? What happened? I did everything the scroll told me to do." She groaned.
Aang looked at the scroll. He took a deep breath and followed through the instructions. His movement was fluid. He could feel the water as it moved through the air. As he extended his arm to complete the sequence the water shot forth and unrolled into a long thin line like the whip it was named after and smacked into the stoney ground with a satisfying 'crack'.
When he looked up he saw Katara staring at him. She didn't look impressed, or happy. She looked frustrated.
"You did it so easily. I did the same thing. Why did it work for you and not for me when I've been trying to Waterbend for years and you just started?" Another groan. "Okay. Let me try again."
She raised the water into the air and went through the sequence. Her movements were less stiff but no more deliberate. She simple struck the air. There was anger in every motion. In the final movement her arms extended back to fast. The tendril of water shot out back and smacked Momo. The Lemur screeched and jumped away.
"Why does it not work?" Katara yelled. "I did exactly what you did. Why does it not do what I tell it to?"
"Just relax Katara. Take a deep breath and then slowly let the energy flow with your body. Don't try to imitate the stances in the pictures perfectly and don't do it to abruptly. See?" The water flowed without issue. Again, there was a satisfying 'crack' as the water hit the stoney ground.
"Shut your stupid airhole, Aang." Katara's face twisted. "Believe it or not, I don't want to hear some stupid monk wisdom from you right now."
Aang's eyes widened and he took a step back. He had never seen her this angry. There was venom in her words.
Katara's hand shot to her mouth. "Aang, I'm sorry." She said. "I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry. I just got so frustrated that you did it so easily. And this morning too. I just … I just snapped."
Aang put his hand on her shoulder. "It's ok Katara." He said, looking her in the eyes. "But remember. I have already mastered an element. Bending isn't new to me. And water and air aren't that different. Not to mention that all my past lives have also mastered Water Bending. Of course I'd have a bit of an easier time with it than you."
"I know. I'm sorry." Her arms hung limply at her sides and she looked at the ground.
"What a touching moment." Sokka stepped out from behind the trees, whipping a fake tear from his eyes. "But isn't there someone else you should be apologizing to as well?"
Katara gasped and bowed down to Momo who was still nursing the place where Katara had hit him. "I'm sorry Momo. I'll give you my fruit for dinner today to make up for it."
"And there was the one time where you…" Sokka started to say before Katara cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah. Enough of that Sokka." Katara picked up the scroll and rolled it up before handing it to Sokka. "Here, take it. I think it's better if I stay away from it for a while."
"That's probably true." Sokka chuckled. "Now lets eat. I'm starving. I already packed up Appa so we can leave first thing tomorrow morning."
The night was bright. The moon was almost full. The forest surrounding the river was silent. The only noise came from the motor of her riverboat and the oars of the pirate ship as they plunged into the water over and over again.
"Tell me princess." The pirate captain said looking at her from his deck. "Why exactly are you so sure that they are by the river."
Azula groaned. "By the time they would have gotten back to their camp it would have been to late to leave. And they stole a Water Bending scroll, did they not?" The captain nodded. "Not to mention, they need a large amount of fresh water for their Bison."
"I guess that makes sense." The captain scratched his chin. "But be aware, there is a large waterfall not much further up river. We won't be able to get past that."
"Silence." Azula glared at the captain. "Shut you mouth for a second and listen."
The quiet in the forest was interrupted by the sound of water splashing and a girl grunting in frustration. The noises came from further up river. Shrubbery kept her from seeing anything but she knew who it was anyway. And the peasant girl seemed to be alone.
"We'll stop here and then ambush her on land." Azula said.
They beached the boats and Azula hopped off deck as four of her soldiers and the pirates joined her. Slowly she snuck up to a bush and peered out between it's branches.
The Water Tribe girl was on the other side, a scroll laid out next to her. She was trying to manipulate a floating ball of water with stiff, uncoordinated movements but it simply splashed to the ground. Azula had to bite the inside of here cheeks so she wouldn't laugh at the pathetic display.
One of the pirates, a heavyset man with a bulging belly, crept around the bush and started to head for the girl. Azula tried to hold him back but he was already out of reach.
But the Water Tribe girl was to distracted to notice. The pirate grabbed one arm from behind and put his other hand on her mouth before she could shriek. The girl moved the other arm backwards. A fountain of water rose from the river. The pirate stumbled back and fell as it hit his face.
The girl grabbed the scroll started to run but Azula jumped out and grabbed her. She grabbed both wrists and twisted them behind the peasants back before pushing her against a tree.
"Don't worry. I'll safe you from the pirates."
"Azula." The girl sneered.
"Good to see you again." Azula smiled. She took a piece of rope from one of her soldiers hands and tied the peasants arms around a tree and took the scroll from her.
"Now, be a good girl and tell me where the Avatar is and I won't have to have to hurt you too much." Azula said, staring right at the girls face. She knew Iroh would stop her from doing anything too drastic but she could still threaten her.
"Go drown in the river." The girl tried to spit at Azula but she moved to the side.
"Now, now. Should you really be acting so obstinate right now?" Azula pulled the small necklace out of her pocket and dangled it in front of the peasants face. "Wouldn't you rather have this back. If so, I suggest you cooperate."
"My necklace." The girl gasped.
"Hey, princess." The captain interrupted. "We helped you. Now it's time you give us that scroll."
Azula groaned and shook her head. The pirates were getting impatient and getting the Water Tribe peasant to talk would take too long. "The deal was that you would help me capture the Avatar and in turn I would help you get your scroll. You know, I wonder how much it might be worth." She turned toward them and held up the scroll. She created a small blue flame in her other palm. The pirates gasped and stepped back. "A lot, it seems. Then I guess you better start searching for the Avatar or it will go up in flames."
The sun was rising by the time the pirates returned with the Avatar and the peasant boy, their arms tightly bound with rope.
"Aang! Sokka!" The peasant girl cried out. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."
"No Katara, it's not." The Avatar said with a small smile.
"It kind of is." Iroh said. Azula could see the Avatar bite back a chuckle.
"Enough with the chatter." Azula said.
"Good morning Azula." The Avatar said. "Looking as pretty as always I see."
"Flattery won't get you out of this predicament, Avatar." Azula said. She turned to the pirate captain. "Now, hand over the Avatar."
"No. You give us the scroll first."
"Wait, wait, wait." The peasant boy looked at the pirate captain in confusion. "You are actually going to go through with this? Really?"
"Shut your trap, boy." The captain kicked the peasant in the back of the legs and he sacked to his knees with a grunt.
"Ugh." He gritted his teeth. "I'm just saying. Imagine how much money the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar."
The Avatar smiled at Azula and she simply rolled her eyes. "If you try to break our deal, don't think you will get away with your lives," She said.
"Come on. You guys are a group of battle hardened pirates. Do you really think you couldn't take on a teenage girl, a fat, old man, and four soldiers?"
The captain rubbed his chin. "You know what. The boy has a point. The deal is through. Do with the scroll what you want."
"You'll regret this." Azula said as she charged at the captain who drew his saber. One of the pirates threw a smoke bomb on the ground and the group disappeared but Azula simply kicked the captain in the chest and pushed him out of the area.
The captain raised his sword and swung down. Azula deflected it with her metal arm guard. Fire shot from her fist. The captain stumbled back and barley managed to evade. Azula fired another. This time, it hit him in the stomach. Azula stumbled forward as something hit the backplate of her armor. Another pirate was behind her, holding a giant club. He swung it again and Azula ducked under it with a split. She rose back to her feet and kicked the pirate in the jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground.
She turned around and deflected another blow from the captains sword. With her other hand she grabbed his and started heating her palm. The captain screamed and dropped his weapon.
Azula shot a fire ball at his chest. The captain fell on his back, screaming in pain, holding his hand that was burnt and covered in blisters. She turned around to the cloud of smoke.
"Azula. The ship." Iroh yelled.
Azula looked to where they had kept the boats. The avatar and his friends were on the pirate ship, which was slowly starting to float away.
Azula sprinted after it. She jumped, boosting herself with a jet of fire from her feet and hands, and landed on the wooden vessel.
Aang could hardly see. A thick cloud of smoke covered the area and the sounds of fighting rung in his ears. "Sokka. Where are you?" he yelled.
"I'm here. I'll try to get out of the smoke."
A spear appeared in front of him. Aang ducked to the side and dropped low to avoid getting skewered. Slowly, he made his way towards where he thought he had seen Katara earlier.
Something flew passed him from above. Aang barely managed to move out of the way before it hit his head. Aang looked down. A knife was imbedded into the ground.
'Great timing.' Aang thought. He put the rope around his wrists against the edge and cut it through. He grabbed the knife, pulled it out of the ground and then jumped out of the smoke. As he landed, Sokka came stumbling out behind him.
"Sokka. Give me your hands." Sokka stretched out his arms and Aang cut through the bindings.
"I'm really sorry. If I hadn't snuck out at night this wouldn't have happened." Katara said as Aang proceed to also cut her free from the tree.
"Don't worry about it Katara. We can talk about it later. Let's get out of here first."
"Get to the Ship." Sokka said, pointing at the pirates' store boat. The ship was beached, not too far away from them, half of it's hull stuck on land.
"And how are we supposed to get it in the water?" Katara asked. "We'd need way more people to get it back in, or maybe a rhino."
"A rhino, or two Waterbenders." Aang smiled. Katara looked at the ground. Her hands fidgeting. "Come on Katara. Just follow my lead." Aang said and squeezed her shoulder. Slowly she nodded. "Take a deep breath and bend your knees. Good. Now slowly make a wavelike motion. Relax your arms and let the energy flow."
The water moved in and out and the boat slipped backwards onto the river. Aang grabbed Katara and Sokka around the waist and jumped on deck as the ship began to drift down river. He took a deep breath and blew a gust of air into the sail and the ship picked up speed.
A dull thud echoed from the roof of the store they had been in earlier. Aang turned around. Azula looked down at him.
"You didn't think you'd get to slip away from me that easily, did you?" She jumped down to land right in front of him.
Aang grinned. "I would have almost been disappointed if we had. I didn't really get the chance to dance with you last time so I was hoping we could make up for it today."
Azula's fist shot forth and a ball of flame escaped her knuckles. Aang ducked underneath and pushed her back against the store's wooden wall with a burst of air. Azula put her feet against the wall and jumped of. She landed behind Aang and kicked him in the back. Aang fell forward. He stumbled but managed to catch himself.
Aang turned around. Azula's burning fist shot straight at his head as a thin tendril of water smacked it out of the way.
"Aang. I did it." Katara smiled.
"Great job. And thanks."
"Less congratulating and more fighting." Sokka yelled as he lunged at Azula who was charging Katara.
Aang pulled out the whistle he had gotten the day before, took a deep breath and blew into it. No sound escaped.
"Stop playing around and help me Aang." Sokka pleaded as Azula shot a ball of fire at him. Aang moved his arm up and the fire was deflected upward.
"Guys. More trouble is coming." Katara yelled and pointed behind the ship.
On the river Azula's boat was fast approaching, filled with grinning pirates and the captain who was holding his cloth-wrapped hand. As the boat came up next to them the pirates through up three hooked ropes which imbedded themselves into the railing.
"You guys make sure the pirates can't board. I'll take care of the princess." Aang yelled before pushing Azula into a different corner.
"You know, I've been wondering." Aang said as Azula created two burning knives from her fists. "You are quite sensitive about that scar. As if it was something disfiguring or hideous. But it's not like it makes you any less attractive so I assume there is some deeper reason behind it."
Azula's nostrils flared. "Shut your mouth." She jumped at him. She swiped the knife in her right hand at him. Aang stepped back. It passed right by his chest. Azula let the momentum carry her around into a spin and let her heel fly at Aang's head. Aang ducked and threw up a burst of air to shoot her leg up further. Azula lost her balance and feel back. Before she hit the ground she rolled of her back and jumped at him. She tackled him and sent him to the ground. She raised her hand, engulfing it in blue.
A loud crackling sound interrupted her. Then another. Aang looked up at the mast of the ship. The crow's nest was on fire and the yard arm hung down, ready to fall.
Momo landed next to Aang and licked his face.
There was another loud crack and the yard arm came loose. A roar boomed through the air as Appa descended out of the sky. He passed by the ship and with a whip of his tail he blasted the falling beam out onto the river.
Aang pushed Azula away and jumped to his feet.
Appa turned in the air and came back. With another whip of his tail the pirates that were climbing the rope were blown out to the river.
"Well, it seems that it's time to say goodbye for today. It was fun as always." Aang said to Azula and jumped on Appa's head as Sokka and Katara were climbing onto the back and they flew off with a yip yip.
"See, the whistle does work." Aang jumped back onto the saddle as they left the ship behind. Sokka simply rolled his eyes.
Katara looked back down at the river which was getting smaller and smaller as they climbed. "It's a shame about the scroll though."
A large grin appeared on Sokka's face. "Yeah. Wouldn't it be super awesome of someone managed to grab it in the fight?" He slowly reached into his shirt and pulled it out.
"You got it!" Katara jumped at Sokka and hugged him.
"Yeah, yeah. No need to thank me." He said, patting her on the back. "But, from now on reign in that temper when you train or I'll take it from you again. And I'll have Appa guard it so you can't sneak off with it.
Azula kicked the pirate that was trying to grab her in the head and he tumbled over the railing and plunged into the water.
She took one last look at the Bison as it disappeared into the distance before jumping down onto her riverboat to get back to her uncle and her soldiers.
The Avatar hadn't been lying. He had been trying to distract her but he hadn't been lying. Azula was good at detecting those things and a goofy kid like him wouldn't be able to hide anything from her.
As she returned to where they had been fighting she found her uncle, unscathed, taking care of the wounded soldiers.
"Welcome back. It seems that you were unsuccessful." He said with a smile.
"I don't need you to tell me that, fatso." Azula said. "Just get them onto the boat so that we can go back."
"Very well." Iroh nodded. "But there is a silver lining to all this." Iroh held up a small, round piece of wood with a flower painted on it. "Would you believe me if I told you that it was in my sleeve the whole time?" The old man laughed.
Azula ignored him and turned around. She entered the boats small cabin and laid down.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Comments are as always appreciated.