This is going to be two parts since this one is already over 8K words; and if I did both parts of the episode, I'd probably end up going to at least twice that much, SO. We're doing this, and let's be honest probably other equally story packed parts of the series will be split into multiple parts!
Enjoy!
Chapter 2: The Water Bending Scroll; Part 1
Iroh sat at his Pai Sho board, scrutinizing the pieces. The crew member across from him was skilled and always presented a challenge. Iroh was losing. He was distracted. He had sat down to play a few rounds specifically to distract himself, but it had backfired, lending him only a quieter place to dwell on Zuko's absence.
"—Iroh. General Iroh!"
Iroh jerked back to reality, looking up at the Captain. "Ah, yes? Has my foolish nephew finally arrived?"
"…No, sir. Commander Zhao has boarded," the Captain says. Iroh's smile fell instantly.
"I see…"
He abandoned the Pai Sho table. Zhao was on the top deck, glaring at every sailor on the ship like they were trash. That wouldn't do. Iroh came up to him, feigning a smile.
"Commander Zhao. What brings you on board?" Iroh asks.
"Don't bother with the formalities," Zhao says. "Where is he?"
"He who?"
"The Traitor Prince. Zuko. Where is he?" Zhao asks impatiently. Iroh grimaced. That wasn't a good sign. Zhao had disappeared and headed for the direction Zuko had gone not long after he'd left. Iroh had been hoping Zuko would have beat them back, but if Zhao also didn't have him, that wasn't a good sign.
"I'm afraid I haven't seen him," Iroh says. If that's the case, Zuko might be with only one person. Iroh refused to believe the alternative. Zhao didn't seem to believe him, however.
"Search the ship," he orders. He stalked up to Iroh. "He's got to be here. I'm not leaving until I find him."
"May I ask why you think so?" Iroh demands.
"His Steamer never left the island, but he was nowhere to be found. Where else would he be?!" Zhao asks angrily. Iroh narrowed his eyes. He had an idea.
Zuko glowered at Katara. She hadn't taken her eyes off him for hours, even as Aang was pacing back and forth on the saddle, close to hyperventilating. Zuko wasn't sure that Aang could really focus on his presence at the moment. Sure, the kept glancing confusedly at Zuko, but that was about as far as Aang's own brain would allow for focus on Zuko sitting a few feet away. Zuko had had time to think while being under guard on the flying bison. It wasn't like he could jump off or take control—he didn't know how to fly Appa and he certainly wasn't going to be able to survive plummeting to the ground, even if he used his flames to try and slow his descent—so he was stuck with his thoughts.
He'd played the time in the cell on Crescent Island in his head on repeat since they'd left, and he couldn't wrap his head around why either of the Water Tribe siblings would take him with them. Firstly, he was Fire Nation and that meant people hated and mistrusted him on sight. Secondly, he had invaded their own home to get Aang and he had been less than kind about it. Thirdly, he could have gotten away on his Steamer while Zhao and his men were distracted. He'd have made it back to his ship and out of Fire Nation waters in no time at all. That opportunity had left the moment he had decided not to blast Sokka with a fireball for grabbing his arm when they were escaping.
Truth be told, he had no idea why he hadn't ditched them the second he had landed on Appa and was still close enough to the ground to do so.
As it stood, he was stuck hundreds of feet in the air on a bison and with two opponent benders. Normally, Zuko would have taken the opportunity to at least look at the landscape from this height if he was going to be stuck until they landed. He hadn't even thought about what it would look like, and now he was missing it, in favor of trying not to lose some imaginary staring contest with Katara. He could see the ridges of the terrain peeking over the clouds behind her and he really wanted to see it. His glower deepened in time with hers. He thought, for a moment, that she might be thinking the same thing.
"Would you sit down?!" Sokka suddenly asked from Appa's head. "If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off! What's bugging you, anyway?"
Zuko found it funny he was concerned with Aang flying off when he was the one on the bison's head.
"It's what Avatar Roku said. I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives." Aang says. Zuko didn't know anything about a comet but it certainly had Aang stressed out. Sokka turned around.
"Well, let's see. You've pretty much mastered Air Bending, and that only took you 112 years," Sokka says with a playful smirk. He was trying to ease some of Aang's anxiety, but Zuko doubted it was working. "I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer."
"I haven't even started Water Bending, and we're still weeks away from the North Pole. What am I gonna do?!" Aang asks, picking up the pacing again. Katara finally tore her eyes away from Zuko, grabbing Aang's wrist to pull him down to sit with her. Zuko relaxed a little with her eyes off him. He still couldn't jump, though.
"Calm down. It's gonna be ok," Katara assures him. Zuko highly doubted that, but he refrained from saying anything. "If you want, I can try and teach you some of the stuff I know."
"You'd do that?" Aang asks hopefully. Katara nodded, looking around.
Zuko was taken off guard by how much Aang continued to be unworried by his presence. It was… weird More than weird. It was suspicious. Zuko was also more than a little envious that Katara was looking out over the landscape. He sneaked a glance over the side, taken away from their conversation at the sight. It was truly something else, with the landscape's ridges and pillars poking out over the clouds. There wasn't a question that the pillars were exceptionally high if they were over the first layer of clouds. Zuko counted himself extremely lucky that he wasn't afraid of heights. He gripped the ring of the saddle regardless. Katara's voice pulled some of his attention back as they moved to the edge of the saddle to look down.
"We'll need to find a good source of water first." Katara muses.
Zuko looked out over the landscape again. He couldn't see anything past the clouds. Sokka said something teasing and Appa gave a grunt as they started to lower. Even from the height under the clouds it was too high to make a break for it. He resigned to having to wait if he wanted any opportunity to do so. A little voice in the back of his head had more than one objection to leaving the trio at all. Zuko tried ignoring it.
Zuko hadn't expected much in terms of a water source. With the haphazard layout of the landscape, he hadn't expected to find any sort of lake—and they hadn't. Instead, they'd found a massive waterfall and conjoining pond and river. Once they'd landed it was far more impressive, towering over them and ending in a spray of water hitting water. Sokka crossed his arms after they'd gathered along the bank.
"Nice puddle."
Zuko fought back a smirk at both the comment and the sight of both Aang and Katara gaping so joyfully at the waterfall. For Water Benders this was more than just a pretty sight—it was full of opportunity. Appa leapt over them, landing in the water with a massive wave. Zuko took a step back, wary of water as a principle rule. Luckily, the wave didn't hit them, dissipating just along the bank. Aang cheered as Appa lounged in the water, saying something about joining in. As Katara wrangled Aang back in, Sokka glanced over at him.
"If you're scared of drowning," Sokka starts, gesturing to Zuko, "then take off all that heavy armor."
Zuko contemplated leaving right then and sprinting away, but the nagging revelation that he had no idea where to go kept him from doing so. He looked down at his armor. If he did fall into the river, swimming was certainly going to be a hassle. The armor wasn't as heavy as Sokka likely thought it was—it was mostly leather underneath—but the metal overcoat wasn't exactly light. He'd sink a little. If the river wasn't too deep, he'd be fine. He had no way to knowing it's depth, however.
Sokka watched him until Zuko decided against removing the armor—for now. He shrugged turning back to the other two. Zuko suspected they knew he had no idea where to go and he hated that a little bit.
"So, what am I supposed to do?" Sokka asks. Aang took a moment to think. He picked up a stray branch that still had some foliage on it.
"You could… clean the gunk out of Appa's toes," Aang offers, holding the branch up to him. Sokka stared at him, unimpressed.
"So, while you guys are playing in the water, I'm supposed to be hard at work picking mud out of a giant bison's feet while I'm on guard duty?" he asks, jabbing his thumb towards Zuko. Zuko making a 'tch' noise at him before glowering over at Appa and the river.
"Mud and bugs," Aang clarifies innocently. Sokka stared at the branch a moment.
"Okay." Sokka grabbed the branch, turning to where Appa was lounging in the water. He stopped when he came face to face with a scowling Zuko. Sokka pursed his lips. "Um."
"Don't worry, Sokka. Zuko can't go anywhere," Katara assures him. Zuko shot her a glare.
He knew it.
"Can you tell where you are?" she asks.
Zuko was silent. Sokka glanced between him and Katara. He tapped the foliage on the ground. Sokka cleared his throat, gaining both their attentions.
"As much as I love this awkward tension in the air," he says, smiling when he caught Zuko's brief smirk. "I think he's fine."
"I'm not fine, I'm a prisoner," Zuko says. Sokka blew a raspberry at him.
"No, you're not," he says. It was so confident Zuko almost believed him for a second.
"Um," Aang raised his hand like a child in school. Zuko was hit, rather harshly, with the reminder that he was twelve. He was kidnapped by kids. He held that thought a moment, aware that he didn't know Katara or Sokka's ages. "Why do you think you're a prisoner?"
"…Are you serious? They kidnapped me!" Zuko says. Katara gave a huff.
"I would call it… adoption," she says smugly. Aang looked between them quickly, shocked.
"You guys adopted him?!" Aang asks.
"That is not what I'd call it," Zuko says quickly.
They were all lucky he didn't blast them with a fireball. Doing that right next to a river was a horridly bad idea with Katara standing right there, however. He'd be swept downstream in seconds and he wasn't sure any of them would come after him if he was—nor could he actually be sure he wouldn't sink or drown from a hit to the head. No, the risk was just too great. Iroh would be so disappointed if he made a decision that stupid. It was arguable that the blockade had been a dumber decision.
"C'mon. You come with me." Sokka says, waving the branch around.
"I'm not touching that bison's feet," Zuko says.
"Yeah, yeah."
Katara hummed as she watched them go. Zuko sat at the bank's edge as Sokka waded out to Appa, climbing on top of him. Sokka made the 'I'm watching you' motion with his hands. Zuko raised an unconvinced brow at him. It wasn't like he could go anywhere even if he did know where he was. He had minimal survival skills—he hadn't had the chance to finish learning any at the Palace—and he had no idea where Iroh or the ship was. He doubted they were close. Aang watched him a moment, rocking on his heels, before turning to Katara. He dropped his voice to a whisper.
"Katara, he doesn't look like he wants to be here," Aang says. Katara sighed, rubbing at her arm.
"Aang… oh, right, we kind of just grabbed him," Katara mumbled. She smiled sheepishly at Aang. "Sorry about that."
"You're not afraid he's going to attack us?" Aang asks. Katara regarded Zuko a moment before shaking her head.
"I don't trust him completely, but I don't think he will," she says. There was a little confidence in her voice, but not enough that it convinced Aang.
"Okay. Why is he not running instead?" he asks. Katara hummed and shrugged, her brow furrowing. She looked over at Aang, seeing his uncertainty and shook her shoulders out. She could do this. She walked over to Zuko, stopping just beside him. He glanced up at her.
"What?"
"If you take off your armor so you don't pass out on us in the heat, and decrease your risk of drowning, you can watch us instead," she offers. It took Zuko a while to answer—long enough Katara wasn't sure he would—before he stood up and followed her over. She sat him down next to Aang, who was sitting patiently along the bank.
"Don't think I don't know why you want me over here instead," Zuko mumbles.
Katara had to give him more credit than she had been. The thought of him attacking Sokka as opposed to them had crossed her mind, briefly. And it was far more likely he'd lose the fight if it was between the two of them. Katara simply smirked knowingly at him, earning a glare.
"Armor," she prompts. Zuko grumbled something but started to discard it, nonetheless.
"Why…?" Aang starts.
"If something goes wrong and we make too big of a wave, I don't want him sinking to the bottom of the river," Katara explains. Zuko dumped the last of the armor to the side. He already felt like he was cooling off. Katara took her stance, turning her attention to Aang.
"Okay. So, this is a pretty basic move, but it still took me months to perfect," she says, moving back and forth with her arms stretching and retracting along with her movements. "So, don't be frustrated if you don't get it right away. Just push and pull the water, like this. The key is getting the wrist movement right."
Aang shot up, mimicking her movements tentatively, testing the feel of it. Zuko let his gaze wander down the river. He didn't like being stuck with his thoughts. It was hardly ever a good experience. Normally, he'd do training on the ship, or study maps, or more currently be tracking the very Avatar learning rudimentary Water Bending right in front of him. He wasn't sure what kind of cosmic irony was at play here, but he had words for it.
"Hey, I'm bending it already!" Aang declares. Zuko sat up straighter, watching the markedly larger wave move back and forth with Aang's body. Katara's flattened out.
"Wow, I can't believe you got that so quickly. It took me two months to learn that move," Katara says.
Aang let the water drop back into its natural state. Zuko raised a brow at the ease of it. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. Air and water seemed like they'd be rather close on the scales in terms of Bending. He hadn't been blind to the use of circles in the moves—he'd seen Water Benders use circular motions while Bending and circling seemed to be the basis of operation in Air Bending. He flicked his gaze over to Sokka, who was really putting his back into the scrubbing. He wasn't missing the experience.
"Well, you had to figure it out all on your own. I'm lucky enough to have a great teacher," Aang says. Zuko had to hand it to the kid. He knew how to make people feel better. He doubted, however, that the natural ease didn't have something to do with the elements' similarities. Katara smiled regardless.
"Thanks."
"So, what's next?" Aang asks.
"This is a more difficult move. I call it streaming the water," Katara says.
She took her stance up again, lifting her arms and waving them down in that motion Zuko had seen so many times before. As if the water was being pulled from the source of itself. The water came from the pond in a stream, balling up at the end with a tail leading after it. Katara pulled it close. Zuko hummed a little watching it. He wished he could command fire in the same manner.
Far as he knew, it wasn't possible, but he hadn't heard of anyone trying it before. He thought of Iroh telling him that he should learn forms from everyone around him. Thinking about it, nothing would stop him from trying to bend fire like water. Sending a wave of fire across to his opponent would certainly catch them off guard. Aang tried the move, moving around with a flare and flurry of motion. Katara let her water drop back into the river, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Nice work. Though, the over the head flair was unnecessary," Katara says, crossing her arms. The small amount of sass in her voice when largely over Aang's head.
"Sorry. Well, don't stop now. Keep 'em coming," Aang encourages.
"Well, I kind of know this one other move, but it's pretty hard. I haven't even totally figured it out yet. The idea is to create a big, powerful wave."
Katara returned to face the water. She lifted her arms, a large plume of water rising from the surface. Zuko watched her hands start to tremble before her arms did. He could tell she was struggling to keep the water aloft. It couldn't have been the weight—though, he wasn't sure how much water would weigh when being bended—but the chakra technique was likely what she was struggling with. Katara grunted, the water collapsing. Aang started to mimic the motion.
"So, like this?"
Aang lifted the water, standing straight as it arced higher and higher. Zuko thought, briefly, of turning and running up the bank before he noticed the water falling in the opposite direction. Aang was losing his hold on it and didn't seem to notice until too late. The wave arced down, Aang's own hold on it completely lost now. Zuko could almost see the hold of the chakra slip and disappear. With how malleable water was, Zuko wasn't that surprised.
He supposed it could be just as difficult to keep a hold of as fire could be; if just in a different fashion. He recalled Iroh commenting once, while in the South Pole waters, how finicky water could apparently be. An element so versatile was certainly a force to be awed of—if one could actually command it. Fire was simply chaotic; requiring an asinine amount of concentration in some cases just to call it forth and bend it properly. He snapped out of his musings at the sound of Sokka's shouting.
The water had hit him and Appa head on. Sokka resurfaced moments later, spitting water out and glaring down the river at Aang. Appa groaned, spinning a little in the current before coasting back across to the river bank.
"Looks like I got the hang of that move," Aang says proudly. Zuko fundamentally disagreed. Aang would have been given a failing grade if he was being taught by a Fire Bending Master. "What else you got?"
"That's enough practicing for today," Katara says, looking away. Zuko could feel the aggravation.
"Yeah, I'll say!" Sokka called over. "You just 'practiced' our supplies down the river!"
"Uh, sorry," Aang says sheepishly. "I'm sure there's somewhere we can find to replace all this stuff."
"My life was hard enough when you were just an Air Bender," Sokka grumbles.
Zuko counted himself lucky he still had his armor on this side of the river. It wouldn't have been easy to replace. He looked over to where some of the supplies had been, up against the trees. The sleeping bags and luggage had been spared. The food and other supplies had been taken away with the current. Aang gave a nervous laugh as Sokka dragged himself to their side of the river. Even Appa sounded like he was laughing. It was… marginally unsettling to hear, in Zuko's opinion.
The bison came out of the water, shaking itself dry on the opposite side before jumping over. Aang bended his way onto Appa's head, sitting as quickly and comfortably as if he belonged there. Katara glanced back at Zuko before turning back to Appa and Aang, looking like she'd remembered something.
"Um, Aang?"
"Yeah?"
"So, about Zuko… we—I mean, Sokka and I—we, uh… well, the reason we decided to bring him is because, um…" Katara finally stopped, scrunching her face up. Zuko debated speaking himself about half a second before Sokka patted her on the back on his way by, still wringing out his clothes.
"We adopted him because his dad doesn't know what being a dad means, he's coming with us from now on, hope that's okay because you were already outvoted when I pulled him along," Sokka said. Katara stared after him. She smacked her hand to her face with a groan. Sokka was never one to stop impressing her with how tactless he could be sometimes.
"Sokka—"
"Okay," Aang says happily. Zuko joined Katara's slacked jaw.
"What? That's it?" Zuko asks. Aang shrugged.
"I trust their judgement," Aang says plainly. Zuko gave a scoffing laugh. "What?"
"For starters, you're not "adopting" me—you kidnapped me!" Zuko shouts.
Katara backed up until she was close enough Sokka could pull her up onto Appa's back. Appa wrapped his tail around, offering Zuko an easier way up. Zuko stared at it a moment before sharply turning away to the river. The whole situation was confounding enough without the flying bison apparently taking a stance on the whole thing as well. Sokka pouted at him.
"It's not kidnapping!" Sokka says quickly. "We aren't asking for a ransom and we're adopting you—"
"Kidnapping," Zuko corrects.
"—Adopting, because you're sure as hell not going anywhere near your dad again," Sokka says. Aang's eyes widened a little.
"Why?" he asks.
"That's not your business," Zuko says bitterly. Katara straightened up, twisting around to him.
"Why the stonewalling now?" she asks. "You were fine opening up in the cell."
"I was panicking."
"…Well, that is true," Katara relents. Aang gave her a pointed look.
"That aside, I didn't agree to come with you! It's still kidnapping!" Zuko shouts up at them. Sokka opened his mouth, ducking down behind the walls of the saddle when Zuko started screaming at him. "You snatched me out of a window and onto a flying bison! That's not how you ask someone to come on your adventure to dethrone their father!"
Sokka was silent. He held up his finger as if to rebuttal, but he had nothing to counter with. Aang just continued smiling down at him. It would have felt condescending if Zuko wasn't at least mostly sure that Aang wasn't capable of that. Zuko was only half surprised when the kid changed the subject entirely.
"C'mon, Zuko, we're going to find a marketplace," Aang says. Zuko stared at him for just another moment before sighing and climbing onto the bison's tail. He knew the subject was going to be brought up again later, and he certainly wasn't going to walk if he could help it, so the bison was the best option.
He pointedly ignored whatever look Sokka was shooting him the entire flight.
As it turned out, a port had been nearby. Aang landed Appa off to the side, away from prying eyes and hidden in the trees, setting him to rest while they went into town. Zuko was happy he had left his armor at the river. He wouldn't try and come into a town openly announcing he was Fire Nation if he could help it. He could steal a ship discretely if he must. Given he had no idea where they were on the map, however, he was less inclined than he'd like to be. He paused when Katara and Sokka started to gather up the bags. The palette of blue was a stark reminder of his own Nation's colors plastered across his body. He picked at his red shirt.
Did he still look too much like someone from the Fire Nation?
Sokka spied his hesitance and pouted. He looked around, looking like he had a great idea before rummaging through his luggage.
"Sokka?" Katara prompted. Sokka tossed his poncho to Zuko, hitting him square in the face. He tore it down, glaring at Sokka.
"There," Sokka says happily. "It should at least hide most of the red."
"…Thanks."
"Can't have people attack us because you look so much like a Fire Nation soldier," Sokka says. Zuko donned the poncho, flattening it out at the same time that Sokka pulled his hair tie out. Zuko swatted his hand away.
"Hey!"
Sokka ruffled his hair, his hands returning just as fast as Zuko was swatting them away. Once he'd styled Zuko's hair well enough he sat back, satisfied. "There."
"Why'd you do that?" Aang asks. Sokka had to hand it to Zuko for having more patience than Sokka previously thought. Sokka had anticipated at least a little flame. He was happy when none came his way.
"Okay. Now you look like less of a Fire Nation kid," he says proudly. He scrutinized Zuko's appearance a little more, looking like he was inspecting it for something. "Hm… not much to do about the rest of you, though."
"…Is that an insult?" Zuko asks. Sokka waved him off.
"C'mon, let's go before the market closes," Sokka says, hopping down first.
Aang followed him, bending the air to slow his jump, and Zuko paused before following. He watched Aang coo at Appa, assuring the bison they wouldn't be long. It was… almost endearing to watch. It also hurt a little and Zuko turned away.
The port town itself wasn't that large or much to look at. It also didn't look like the kind of place to start a fight, despite how much some of the people in the streets were trying. The group walked past everyone, passing up several shops due to the rowdy men outside, though Aang looked like he was mystified. Zuko sighed, pulling him along when he started to lag behind.
"Don't," Zuko warns.
"Don't what?" Aang asks. Momo chirped on his shoulder, reaching up to get onto Zuko. Zuko side-stepped and Momo stuck his tongue out at him. Zuko had the intense whim to repeat the gesture back but refrained. It was bad enough Aang insisted on bringing his glider. Momo stuck out even more than their mismatched attire. The lemur crawled onto Aang's other shoulder.
"Haha! I think Momo likes you." Aang says cheerfully. Zuko didn't know how to take the dumb smile.
"Where did you even get it?" Zuko asks.
"Momo? From the Air Temple," Aang says. He paused, his smile slipping as he trailed off.
"…Aang?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry, I zoned out there," Aang says. Zuko watched him carefully. He knew something was… wrong. But he had no basis on how to start addressing that. He wasn't as adept at speaking with others as his Uncle Iroh was. Zuko debated why he even cared before running his hand through his hair.
"Just… don't get caught up in anything," Zuko says with a sigh. Aang pouted, not completely understanding, but it seemed he got the gist of it. Zuko caught Katara's curious stare before she spun back around.
The shopping itself took little time. The sun was still high in the sky by the time they took a moment to rest by some food vendors and Sokka went in to get what they'd need. Zuko heard, at least once, an admonishment at the lack of variety in the meat selection. Katara and Aang had taken to sitting in a vacant window while they waited. Sokka came back out, a stuffed bag slung over his shoulder.
"We've got exactly three copper pieces left from the money King Bumi gave us. Let's spend it wisely."
"Um, make that two copper pieces, Sokka. I couldn't say no to this whistle," Aang says, holding up a flying bison whistle. Zuko wasn't even sure when he had gotten that—or how anyone could make one. Aang blew it. Sokka was quick to cover his ears, but nothing but the hiss of air came out. It was silent.
"It doesn't even work," Sokka exclaims. Momo squealed at Aang, stopping his attempt to get anything more than air from the whistle regardless of how hard he blew it. "See? Even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk."
Zuko doubted it was really broken, but he wasn't sure. He'd seen silent whistles be used on animals before in the Fire Nation. Most notably with guard or circus animals. He was interested to see if it would really work with Appa or not. They moved on, walking down the pier next. Zuko sized up the ships as they passed by one by one. To his dismay they were all too large to be piloted by one person. And he doubted that the promise of cash was enough to get any of the crew to take him aboard without a down payment first. One ship had a ramp leading up to it, with a man gesturing and shouting out front. Zuko knew a merchant ship when he saw one—or in the least a ship that had something to sell.
"Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here! Don't be shy. Come on by!"
In Zuko's honest opinion, the man had a horse face and looked incredibly shady. The rehearsed jingle didn't help.
"Oh! You, there! I can see from your clothing that you're all the world-travelling types," the man says, running up to them. "Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?"
Zuko was content to simply walk on by alongside Katara and Sokka, but Aang stopped. Like a child who hadn't experienced a scammer in his life, his interest was instantly caught. Zuko had to consider that possibility only a second before he decided that it was entirely possible. He was already turning around to grab Aang back to the group when the man swung his arm around Aang's shoulders to lead him to the ship. Zuko grabbed Aang by the back of his collar, yanking him away.
"No, we're not interested," Zuko says flatly. If anyone was catching anyone, it was him catching Aang, no other way around it.
Katara and Sokka flanked him. Katara shot him a confused glance once he let Aang go. Sokka seemed less worried about it, almost thankful that Zuko had caught Aang before he was pulled away, and instead regarded the 'maybe-a-merchant'. The man seemed unperturbed, going right into his next pitch.
"Come now, we have something for everyone!" the man exclaims. He paused, taking them all in. "An odd mix, you all are, huh?"
Zuko froze, taken off guard by the comment. Sokka stepped up, moving in front of him and Aang. "We can look for a minute, I guess."
"Sokka?" Katara asks. Sokka turned to her.
"What? We might find something we can use."
Zuko hated to admit it was a possibility, but he couldn't doubt it. He sighed, following them inside the ship. Katara looked back at him expectantly on the way up the ramp. Zuko wasn't an idiot—being this close to a body of water that large and with two Water Benders (one of which he called so generously) wasn't a match stacked in his favor. Judging by Aang's natural ease, he wasn't sure he wanted to risk being caught in another rogue wave.
The inside of the ship's cabin truly was full of a random assortment of trinkets and supplies. There was just enough room in the center to peruse everything. Zuko could see weapons, statues, cutlery, dishware, maps, and a large number of other things he wasn't able to catalog. Truth be told, it was a little overwhelming seeing so many disjointed things in one place. It was like the crew had managed to stuff an entire marketplace into one room. Aang walked off from the rest of group to the back of the room.
"I've never seen such a fine specimen of lemur."
Zuko glanced down to the source the same time Aang turned. The voice's owner stepped out. An iguana parrot sat on his shoulder, eyeing up Aang and Momo alike. There was a tenseness in the air that Zuko didn't like.
"That beast could fetch me a hefty sum if you'd be interested in bartering."
The iguana parrot squawked at them. Momo hissed back at it, arching his back before being pulled into a hug by Aang. "Momo's not for sale," he says.
Katara walked past Zuko, looking around the wares. Zuko kept his eyes on the Captain and Aang. Aang backed away with a nervous smile, still holding Momo until he was far enough way to feel like he could let go. Momo instantly returned to Aang's shoulder, glaring down the iguana parrot. Zuko heard Katara let out a surprised gasp.
"Look at this, Aang! It's a Water Bending scroll! Check out these crazy moves," Katara muses, pouring over the scroll. Aang came up behind her, looking it over as well.
"Where did you get a Water Bending scroll?" Aang asks. The Captain slapped his hand on the table, trapping the scroll under his hand.
"Let's just say I got it up north, at a most reasonable price—free," he says. He pulled the scroll back, rolling it up and fitting it back into its slot.
"Wait a minute… sea loving traders… with suspiciously acquired merchandise…" Sokka said slowly. Zuko fit the Captain with a glare. He saw Katara eyeing up the scroll out of the corner of his eye. "And pet reptile birds? You guys are pirates!"
"We prefer to think of ourselves as high-risk traders," Mr. Horseface says, slinging an arm around Sokka's shoulders. Zuko's own shoulders bristled a little. It hadn't been hard to rationalize they were on a pirate vessel. The ship just didn't feel the same as a merchant ship. Katara assessed the two single copper coins in her hands as if they'd multiply.
"So, how much for the, uh, "traded" scroll?" Katara asks.
"I've already got a buyer—a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom—unless of course you kids have 200 gold pieces on you right now," the Captain says. Katara and Aang turned away, leaning down to each other to deliberate.
"I know how to deal with these guys, Katara. Pirates love to haggle," Aang whispers confidently. Katara, against Zuko's personal better judgement and possibly her own, handed over the coins. "Watch and learn."
Zuko almost groaned watching Aang approach the Captain again. He leaned on the table, looking far more suave than he had any right to. "Let's say ye to the price of… one copper piece?"
Zuko did groan, burying his face in his hands. He almost laughed alongside the Captain. "The price is 200 gold pieces. I don't haggle on items this rare."
"Ok, two copper pieces." Aang says, fitting the pieces between his fingers. Zuko snorted, quickly covering his mouth, and he felt Sokka nudge his shoulder.
"It's not as amusing the second time, boy."
"Aang, can we get out of here? I feel like we're getting weird looks." Katara whispers, tugging on his shoulder. Zuko followed the three out. The Captain watched them go, eyeing up Zuko especially. Zuko shot him a glare on his way out.
"What was that all about, Katara?" Aang asks. He hopped down the last of the ramp, a small plume of dust rising when he landed. Zuko looked back at the ship briefly, thankful to see no one on the crew seemed to have caught sight of the small act of Air Bending.
How Aang had managed to get so far without anyone else coming for him when he Bended that blatantly in the open, Zuko didn't know.
"Yeah, I just started browsing through their boomerang collection," Sokka whined. "There were so many boomerangs…"
"I'll just feel a lot better once we get away from here," Katara says, hugging herself. Zuko raised a brow at the motion. He wasn't sure what tipped him off that something was wrong with it; but he knew. Zuko matched her pace.
"What did you do?" he asks. Katara scoffed, trying to wave him off.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she says. She jumped at the shouting voice behind them.
"Hey, you! Get back here!"
"Well, well, look who's come to their senses. Told you the haggling would pay off," Aang says confidently.
Zuko caught sight of Katara backing up behind Sokka. It was a strange choice, given her element was mere feet from them. A group of the pirates jumped from the ship, each one having their own weapon and looking worse from one pirate to the other.
"I don't think these pirates are here to trade with us," Katara says. She was first to turn and run. Zuko took one second longer, heavily debating if setting the ship on fire would have earned them enough time to escape, before opting out of that to chase after the trio.
He wasn't about to risk the entire town coming after him. Fire was a formidable element, but he could still get overrun and outnumbered. He followed them down one of the lines of stalls. Once they'd rounded a corner, Katara bended water out of a bowl, icing the pavement behind them. Zuko jumped over it, shooting her a glare as he ran past her. Katara shot him an apologetic look. Zuko could hear at least one pirate sliding into the wooden crates across the alleyway. Zuko looked around, spotting the other pirates as they evaded Katara's trap. When he turned back around, he skidded to stop. The cabbage man finished catching the cabbages that had already fallen, just as Katara hit the cart on her way by.
Aang slipped right through the cart, twisting around and Bending a slice of air backwards and into the cart. Zuko stumbled back against the wall. The cart blasted down the alleyway, colliding with the remaining pirates. Zuko looked briefly back at the cabbage man.
"Uh. Sorry."
He sprinted down the alleyway, catching sight of Sokka turning a corner and following behind him. The group stopped short at the last three pirates cutting off their exit. Mr. Horseface was among them. They backpedaled down another alley, only for it to end in a wall. Zuko skid to a stop, looking up at the wall. He could see a few hand-holds along the sides, but it was largely bare.
Katara's legs took up the Bending stance immediately, facing back down the alleyway, despite no water being present. Zuko grimaced. He backed up slowly towards the wall, pressing his hand against it. It was textured enough he could possibly climb it if he ran fast enough.
"Now, who gets to taste the steel of my blade first?" Mr. Horseface asks.
If I had some blades of my own...Zuko thought.
"No, thanks," Aang says.
He jumped up, spinning to catch momentum before running his glider on the ground to send up a plume of smoke and debris. Zuko wouldn't have thought the glider that useful past flight—he'd have to see what else it could do later. The blast of air sent a wave of dust and debris down the length of the alley. Aang started running immediately after. Katara and Sokka started after him without hesitation. Zuko ran for a moment before he paused, watching them grab onto his ankles. He doubted that Aang could carry all three of them or that he could get past the pirates unharmed. Some of them were already flinging their blades wildly in the air.
He spun around, running up the wall and jumping off onto the nearby rooftop. He grasped the top of the roof's edge, pulling himself up and over to the other side. He glanced back to see Katara and Sokka pushing off the heads of the pirates for enough momentum to lift off. Aang looked back at him, balking as they got further away. Zuko sighed, slipping down the other side of the rooftop before the pirates could see him.
"Hey, where'd the other one go?"
"Find him!"
Zuko slunk along the rooftop, moving behind the building that had previously blocked his path until he could get back onto the other rooftop and started running along the narrow, flat surface. He could, at the very least, run until he hit the woods.
Aang watched Zuko grow smaller the further away they flew. Aang looked down to Katara and Sokka desperately.
"Wait, what about Zuko?"
"He's already running in the other direction!" Sokka shouted. "Besides, you can't lift all of us!"
"But—"
"We'll come back for him, Aang. If he doesn't bail first…" Katara mumbles. Aang looked back at the town guiltily. If he could just drop Katara and Sokka off first, he could find Zuko next.
"We'll go find Appa, then, I'm coming back," Aang says.
The trip took until the sun started to set. Appa had been further than Aang thought he was, hidden among the trees in a clearing that was around the other side of the town. The only reason Aang had found him was because he saw the river and backtracked to where they'd landed. Once Sokka and Katara were on the ground, Aang landed, readying his glider for a second take off.
"I'm going to try finding him," Aang says, taking a running start. He'd gotten two steps before he caught Zuko out of the corner of his eyes and he stumbled down in shock. "Zuko?!"
"Wh—you found your way back!" Katara shouts. "You didn't run?"
She was smiling pretty widely at him and Zuko almost walked right back behind Appa again. He refrained, looking at them all like it was a stupid thing to ask.
"I did run, just not from you three morons," Zuko says. He collapsed against Appa. The bison grunted at him before laying his head back down. "I was waiting for you. What took so long?"
"We had to take the long way," Sokka says, popping his back. He grunted, rubbing at his back once it had popped. "I'm surprised… and suspicious… how come you came back here?"
Zuko blinked at him. He didn't have an answer for him. He had been questioning himself the entire trip back. He had already concluded he didn't know where to go to get back to Iroh. Zuko stood up, taking the poncho off and throwing it in Sokka's face. Sokka fell into the dirt, tearing the poncho off to glare at him.
"Because I want to be. Simple as that," Zuko says.
"…You have no idea where you are, do you?" Katara asks.
"That's beside the point," Zuko says hurriedly. Aang chuckled, disengaging his glider and saddling up against a rock with a sigh. He rested his glider along his shoulder.
"I used to look up to pirates, but those guys were terrible," he says. Katara bobbed her toes on the floor, looking a little excited.
"I know," she says slyly. She pulled a familiar scroll from her robes. "That's why I took this!"
She held out the Water Bending scroll. Aang sprang up in a rush towards her. "No way!"
"Isn't it great?!" Katara asks. She unrolled it, pouring over the scroll. Sokka threw his poncho over his shoulder, pointing at the scroll accusingly.
"No wonder they were trying to hack us up. You stole their Water Bending scroll."
Katara smirked. "I prefer to think of it as 'high-risk trading'."
"Hahaha! Good one, Katara," Aang says. Zuko shoved him a little. "Ah!"
"It's not funny," Zuko says sternly.
"Well, where do you think they got it? They had to have stolen it from a Water Bender," Katara says.
"It doesn't matter," Sokka started. "You put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid, fancy, splashes."
"These are real Water Bending forms," Katara shoots back. "Real moves that Aang and I can learn faster with this scroll."
"You still put us in danger for it," Zuko says. Katara turned to him, shocked at the chastising tone. Zuko thought he sounded a little too much like Iroh for a second and dialed it back. "I mean… they might come after us again."
"Who's "us"?" Katara spits at him. "You don't even want to be here!"
"If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't be," Zuko shoots back. Katara watched him stomp away back towards Appa. Her shoulders sagged and she shook her head out, rolling the scroll shut again. She wanted badly to prompt him further; but couldn't bring herself to do it.
"You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn Water Bending," she says quietly. Sokka sighed.
"Whatever."
He trudged away as well. Aang paused a moment before turning to Katara. "Well, what's done is done. We have it. We might as well learn from it."
Katara's shoulders loosened up a bit. "Right."
Iroh's brow creased. He disembarked in the small port town, looking down the pier. The locals were trying to keep their gazes averted when his gaze crossed past them. It wasn't an uncommon reaction to Fire Nation… anything… in this region. Iroh couldn't really blame them for it. He'd initially stopped in the hopes of finding a White Lotus tile. He would need it more than ever right now. He had no way of knowing where the trio would have taken Zuko, but he had his guesses. Those guesses were entirely based on speculation, but it was all he had.
This port was the closest to where both he and The Avatar had been taking their course. He walked along the pier, spying a promising looking ship with merchandise laden out in front of it. Once inside, he spotted the bejeweled monkey statue and walked over to it. It would look interesting in the galley…
"We lost the Water Tribe girl and the little bald monk she was traveling with."
Iroh paused at inspecting the statue. The man was speaking with someone who looked like the Captain. Iroh stepped up, abandoning the monkey statue, for now.
"Did the monk have an arrow tattoo on his head?" he asks innocently. The Captain regarded him with some suspicion.
"Yeah… he did. How'd you know?"
"We happen to be looking for the same person. Might I hire you fine men for a small trip?" Iroh asks. "I believe he also has something I have lost."
The Captain exchanged a look with the other man. He smirked. "300 Gold."
"Deal."
The Captain was taken aback. He looked at the man with what Iroh would describe as a horse face before looking back at Iroh. Finally, he scoffed. "Well, alright then. Where do you need to go?"