"Mai! Mai! You need to show us again!"
Mai didn't like to show off, unlike her two best friends, and though she didn't doubt she was good at throwing things, knives especially, she didn't feel comfortable being a spectacle. Refusing Ty Lee was a bad idea, given how she tended to pester both her and Azula whenever they didn't do something she wanted them to, so she knew she would have to give in. Her friend tugged on her sleeve, and made a pouty face, as she always would.
"Come on, it's really cool. You know it is."
"It's more fun when nobody's watching me." she retorted with a blank face, her friend rolling her eyes.
"I know that's a lie. You want to show your skills to somebody, don't you?" she asked her rhetorically, Mai shrugging her shoulders and stepping back from her friend.
Azula had been standing there with her arms crossed, seeming like she was waiting to pick sides in the 'argument', if one could even call it that; she was eyeing around the garden, before she pursed her lips, and that gave her some reason for concern. She would only ever pull that face when she had a devious idea in mind, and the Princess of the Fire Nation certainly enjoyed duping people, whether it was her and Ty Lee, or the palace servants. She turned her gaze over to where Azula had been looking, and realised that she was eyeing out her brother, who seemed to have been watching.
"Zuzu!" she called out to him, making the young Prince cringe; Mai didn't blame him, given no-one his age would want a nickname that made him seem like a baby, "You want to see Mai knock an apple off Ty Lee's head, don't you?"
He looked at her with confusion, before glancing up and down the hall he had been walking down; he shrugged his shoulders, and then began to approach, making Mai a little nervous. Azula probably wanted him to watch, so that if her friend made a mistake, he'd probably try and sympathise with her, and then Ty Lee and Azula would make fun of her. The Prince did seem to like her as a person, or at the very least, found her more tolerable than Ty Lee; she didn't blame him for feeling that, given how boisterous her friend could be at times.
"Well, it's better than just doing nothing." Zuko answered his sister's question, before turning his eyes to Mai, "So, what are you going to knock it off with?" he asked her, before furrowing a brow, "A knife? You like knives." he recalled, the usually stoic girl glancing away, as if she were looking for a tool, when really she didn't want to look his way when he might notice how nervous she was feeling- there was actual pressure now that he was watching.
"How about you use this?" Azula reached over to her brother, snatching something from his belt; she noted that it was some kind of dagger, and she drew it from its hilt before Zuko even had a chance to get it back.
"Hey! That's my dagger, not yours!" he snarled at his sister, who blew her tongue at him mockingly.
"It's the only thing here that isn't a stick." she excused her action, "Are you going to let her use it, or is that not allowed, Zuzu?" she leaned closer to her brother with a smug look on her face.
He rolled his eyes, and raised his hands to push her away from his face, "Don't take my things." he warned her, before he turned his gaze to Mai, "Yeah, you can use it." he rather nonchalantly gave her permission, "Just don't stab Ty Lee." he warned her, the stoic girl pursing her lips upward ever so slightly.
"I won't." she assured him, a small promise that she was certainly going to keep.
She raised her hand up, and Azula placed the dagger in it, before she gestured to Ty Lee, who put another apple on her head; it was better to throw a real blade than a stick. Azula had suggested earlier on that they could go to the palace armoury to get her some actual knives to use, but she refused, knowing that doing that might annoy some people in the palace, and then she and Ty Lee mightn't be able to come visit again. She balanced Zuko's dagger in her hand, getting a feel for its weight; it was heavier than her usual blades, but not by much, so she knew she'd have to compensate slightly when she threw it.
"I'm ready." Ty Lee assured her, "Go!" she raised her hands up, the apple barely balanced on her scalp.
Without a second thought, Mai threw the dagger up into the air, making it spin around, much to the surprise of Azula and Zuko, who watched it spin down back toward her hand. She grabbed it by the blade with ease, now holding it above her head, before she tossed it right at the apple, aiming just above the stem. It struck right in the middle of the apple, splitting it in two as the blade and apple both flew back behind Ty Lee's head, landing in the pond behind her. As the apple landed in the pond, Azula clapped her hands, and turned to face her with a smirk, silently approving of her skill; she would take that as the closest thing she could get to a compliment.
"Wow." Zuko gasped, eyes wide with awe, "That was pretty cool." he complimented her, making Mai blink a few times, wondering how she ought to respond; she simply decided to play it cool, and silently approached the fountain, going to retrieve his weapon for him.
Ty Lee had already turned around and fished it out of the water, flicking it around to get the water off, "That was pretty scary, but I knew you'd get it." Ty Lee smirked at her, "I wonder how far you can throw it."
"I don't want to accidentally hit you." she clarified, before she reached her hand out, wanting her to give her the dagger back.
Her friend gave it to her, and she turned around to face the two royal siblings, noting that Azula was whispering to Zuko, though clearly in a way where it wasn't meant to be secretive, but rather, to get Mai's attention. The stoic girl tried to ignore it, knowing that her friend was up to no good; whatever kind of game she was playing with her and her brother, it was clearly not dagger-throwing. She seemingly was trying to get one of them to confess something to the other that she would find rather amusing, and Mai would not have a bar of it. She kept her lips sealed as she approached, and offered the dagger back to Zuko, who had already snatched the sheath out of his sister's grasp.
He accepted it with a small nod, before he turned to face his sister, "So are you going to shoot an apple off with your firebending or something?" he guessed, the Princess pursing her lips upward.
"Oh... what a great idea, Zuko." she agreed to his proposition with a smirk.
Both Mai and Zuko looked at each other momentarily, and she could see how his expression mirrored her own; he clearly knew she was up to no good, but wasn't confident enough in his thoughts to accuse her of anything.
"Mai, how about you stand with the apple on your head." she suggested, making her tense up, wondering how well she could shoot the apple off- she didn't want a burning apple on her head, of all places.
"Can I say no?" she asked her, almost rhetorically, as she presumed the question was a command to begin with.
"Well, you'd just be a bad sport then, wouldn't you?" she prodded her, "Come back, Ty Lee. It's Mai's turn." she called back their friend, who almost danced back to them, cartwheeling before landing right in front of the trio.
"She won't even flinch." she proposed to the Princess, before gesturing toward her friend, "Mai's as tough as... uh, what's the stone from volcanoes?"
"Basalt." Mai gave her the word she was looking for, her friend grinning widely at her.
"Yes! That's it!" she agreed with her, "And Azula's like the best firebender ever, so she'll do it easy, right?"
"I am." the Princess smirked, her brother's face shifting momentarily into a snarl, before he turned away.
Mai could understand why he was jealous of his sister's firebending, though, she personally wouldn't want to deal with the pressure that came with her prodigy; she already dealt with enough from both her parents to consider what it would be like if she was a great firebender like her friend. She then glanced over toward the bag of apples, which sat nearby the pond; she paced over to it, drew out an apple, and weighed it up, wondering how still she'd need to stand for it to sit on her head. Placing it on top of her head, she turned her eyes back to her friends as she tried to remain motionless; it wasn't that hard, but the apple clearly didn't want to stay up on her head.
She focused on Azula's form as she tried her best to remain as still as possible; the Princess spun herself around, before shooting a small bolt of flames right above her head. It didn't hit her, thankfully, but she was more concerned when she realised the apple hadn't actually been hit off her head, but simply set on fire. She raised her hands to knock it off of her head, and saw that Zuko was rushing toward her, presumably wanting to whack it off of her head; himself she put her hands in front of her, and tried to warn him to stop, but he didn't. As he ran at her, he tripped over, and Mai barely was able to step out of his way as he face-planted on the ground, the apple falling off of her head as she swerved out of the way. Azula's laughter echoed throughout the courtyard as she cackled at her brother's misfortune, and all eyes fell to the Prince, who was laying face-first on the ground, recoiling from the sudden fall.
"Ow." he mumbled, Mai cringing slightly, realising that he had done all that to try and help her; she shot Azula an annoyed glance, knowing that she purposefully set the apple on fire, before she knelt down, offering Zuko a hand.
"Are you hurt?" she simply asked him, the Prince shaking his head as he dusted himself off; she knew he was lying, and was pretty sure his nose was bleeding, as he immediately turned away from her to wipe it.
"Zuko, now that's what I call being a hero." Azula congratulated her brother, "Heroes lose, because they don't think about what they're doing." she warned him, Ty Lee placing a hand on her shoulder.
"I think he actually got hurt there." she warned her with a quiet voice, obviously not wanting to agitate Azula, though clearly sympathising with the Prince's accident.
"No, I didn't." he retorted, before pointing at Azula, "How about you get the apple on your head, Azula? How would you like that?" he questioned his sister, who shrugged her shoulders.
"You're not going to try and save me, are you, Mister Hero?" she jokingly asked him, making the Prince snarl.
"I was just trying to help!" he shouted at her, Mai stepping between them, knowing that their argument might quickly escalate to a mock Agni Kai, or perhaps a real one; they were both so cocky and boisterous, that it was practically inevitable they'd start throwing fireballs.
"How about no more apples?" she contended to the Princess, "There's other games we can play."
"Acrobatics?" Ty Lee asked them with a grin, Mai narrowing her eyes at her.
"That's not a game." she corrected her, before eyeing Zuko, "Do you know any games that involve acrobatics?"
"Why would I?"
"Because you like to climb around on rooftops at night." she clarified, making his eyes widen, now looking nervous in realising they knew about his little escapades; the Princess had told them about it, having been confused as to why he did them in the first place.
"You told them?" he asked, before cringing, turning his eyes away; he looked conflicted as to whether to argue with his sister or to simply say nothing, but instead, he raised a finger, "Fine, I have a game." he decided, Ty Lee leaning forward with an intrigued look on her face.
"Oooh... what is it?" she asked him, the Prince gesturing up toward the eaves of the roofing that surrounded the garden on every side.
"See who can climb to the messenger hawk coop the fastest." he suggested, before eyeing both his sister's friends, "But you guys mightn't know where that is." he noted their lack of knowledge, "Uh, how about this instead... tag, but... well, you get to climb and run wherever you like."
"Oh... sounds fun." Ty Lee grinned, before tapping him on the forehead, the Prince grunting as he was forced to stumble back, "You're it!"
As he was no longer aching all over his body, or at least, much less than he was a few days prior, Zuko was more than comfortable dealing with the issue of gaining employment on a freight ship that was bound for the colonies. He and Mai didn't have any documentation, so he knew he'd have to try and play the act well of being a poor street urchin with skills suitable for working on a ship; the deck of the ship they were on was still full of crewmen, loading the vessel full of crates of goods, and he and his friend had to stand off to the side to avoid getting a box thrown into their faces. She didn't seem very comfortable with so many people on the deck, though the only way he could tell that was that her expression showed the slightest annoyance as she leaned up against the wall of the superstructure, flicking a knife around in her hand.
They were waiting for the First Mate, who they had met on the docks a few hours earlier, and assured him of their usefulness on his ship; he seemed moderately convinced, though he voiced his concern that their inexperience might make them more of a burden than useful workers. He was intent on proving otherwise, though, until the man made his presence known, he and Mai simply had to stand on the deck, and await him. They had come aboard at nightfall, when they were told the ship was going to prepare to leave, but he was sure that it would still be sitting in port until long after twilight, given the large amount of goods still sitting on the dock. Zuko had tied his hair up properly, back into his usual phoenix tail, given that the simple topknot made Mai uncomfortable; given that his father had tried to have them killed, he could understand her unease at the physical similarity. He did wonder whether anybody recognised him, but seeing that nobody had given him any odd looks, he doubted that was the case. The only person who took any consideration was the First Mate, who asked him if he had gotten into a fight recently.
"If I have to stand here any longer, I'm going to just go find him." Mai simply explained her thoughts, "He's wasting our time."
"We wasted a few days hiding. An hour or two can't be that bad." he tried to offer her another point of view, before sighing, "But yeah, you're right. We should probably go find him."
She narrowed her eyes at him, and pointed her knife in his direction, "For somebody who nearly got killed a few days ago, you're pretty calm."
"Uh." he mumbled, not knowing how to respond to that observation; he was still worried about his father's men, but given that they hadn't been found yet, he was letting himself relax, if only because he hated the feeling of dread that he had had when they first hid in the catacombs under the capital, "Well, we're on a ship." he noted their improved situation, "If we were still in that warehouse, maybe I'd be more worried."
She turned her eyes away from him, and sighed, "Those letters better have gotten to Azula and Ty Lee." she spoke her thoughts, rather quietly, obviously not wanting to mention his sister's name so casually- people would know it, just like they would know his own name.
"Messenger hawks take time." he noted, before glancing down wondering what his sister might think of everything that had happened, "She's not going to like what's happening."
"Your sister?" Mai turned back to face him, the Prince nodding, making her raise her chin up, "Well, nobody wants to fight their father, do they?"
"No, they don't." he shook his head, knowing himself far too weak a firebender to beat his father; maybe with some help, he could stand a chance, but he wasn't going to consider such possibilities until he found his uncle, "Maybe he'll go after her too." he touted the possibility, making his friend tense her grip on the knife she was holding.
"That's how you really piss off Azula." she warned him, "Your father wouldn't be that dumb, would he?"
"Oh, he's not dumb... just really arrogant." he acknowledged, before covering his face, realising that both of them had that in common; to come to think of it, everybody in their family was pretty arrogant, except for Lu Ten, and his uncle, at least after Ba Sing Se, that was, "This is my fault." he acknowledged, "I'm an idiot sometimes."
"Well, you are. But you didn't think he'd know as much as he did." she noted, "We both thought it could happen, and it did."
"Yeah." he responded softly, realising that his arrogance really had played in his downfall; he could still be sitting in the palace if he had simply restrained himself, and not gone as fast as he had after his father.
He knew, however, that if he had done that, it was more than likely his uncle would have had no idea about the assassins coming after him, and there would be no way for him to know about the conspiracy that loomed over them all.
"Hey, you two. Hishu and... uh, Kaman?" the First Mate addressed them, incorrectly recalling Zuko's fake-name, Kamen; he'd just randomly chosen it from a few names he'd heard on the street, and Mai had done the same.
"Kamen." he corrected him, "Did you want us to do some work now, sir?" he asked him, making the First Mate snicker.
"Ohohoh... there's no sir here." he clarified, before patting him on the shoulder, "But thanks for the respect." he conceded, making the Prince purse his lips upward.
The better terms he could find himself on with the men running the ship, the better a chance they'd have getting around easily, and not rousing any suspicion when they inevitably had to leave the ship so they could reach Shu Jing. They could go all the way to the colonies, given that was where the ship was going, but they'd have no money, little supplies, and no information concerning his uncle and sister. With Piandao's help, he guessed they'd have a little luck in those areas.
"So, I'd like to see what work you two can do." he acknowledged, "Is there anything in particular either of you are good at?"
"Climbing." Zuko clarified, before grimacing slightly, as he realised he hadn't done any climbing since the explosion, other than that short chase earlier that day; he then glanced up the superstructure of the ship, "So, if you need somebody to clean the windows of the bridge, I'm your guy."
"Really?" he raised a brow, Mai stepping past the First Mate to point to a rope that was tied up by the wall.
"He can show you, can't you, Kamen?" she asked Zuko, who nodded; the First Mate gave him a thumbs up, signalling his approval, before he glanced around the deck.
"Somebody get me a bucket of water and rag!" he called on the men on the deck, one of the men pacing off toward the staircase, presumably to go retrieve just that for him.
The Prince turned back to face the First Mate, who had an intrigued look on his face; he seemed like he was going to ask him another question, and sure enough he did.
"You look like you're not in the best condition. Why did you offer to climb of all things?" he asked the Prince, who gave him a reassuring smile.
He wasn't happy, but he wanted to make sure he could prove himself on the ship, to at the very least ensure that they might be able to ingratiate themselves and find safety on the ship. He knew that if his father started to send people after him, he'd need to try and gain people's trust, so that they would cover for him and Mai, if it became necessary.
"Because I'm here to work." he assured him, "I can do it."
"Well, let's see." the First Mate crossed his arms, before turning to eye Mai for a moment, "Are you two from around here?"
"Does it really matter?" she quipped in retort, making the man cringing slightly, averting his eyes from her cold, stoic gaze.
"I was just trying to make conversation." he admitted, before turning his eyes to the Prince, "Your girlfriend isn't very social, I assume."
Zuko lurched forward upon hearing that very comment; it wasn't because of the First Mate's astute observation, but rather, because he referred to Mai as his girlfriend. He could see her in the corner of his eye, and saw how she turned her face away, not responding to the comment; he didn't know whether to feel saddened or relieved about that. He certainly wasn't looking for a girlfriend, and he did like her, but he knew that romance was far from his mind when he was just trying to make it out of the capital alive and well.
The First Mate grasped by the shoulder, and tried to hold the Prince steady, who to any outside observer, might have seemed like he was about to collapse, "Are you alright?" he asked him, Zuko tapping his shoulder to assure him that he was fine.
"Everything's fine." he assured him, before eyeing Mai, "Um..." he mumbled awkwardly, wanting to talk about something so they could get their minds off of the First Mate's unintentional comment about their relationship, or the ambiguity thereof, "Do you know what kind of work she can do?"
"Oh, well, I don't know what you're good at, Miss." he directly addressed her, "Do you have any skills that might be of use on this ship?"
"I have a good eye and memory." she succinctly described her skills, ignoring those associated with her ability to fight, and well at that, "Does that help you?"
"Well, I don't think the quartermaster is in need of an assistant, but if need be, I would say you could help him." he noted, before cringing slightly, "Honestly, whatever basic work you know how to do would help."
"Cleaning furnishings, clothes, and floors." she named one thing she could do, which he assumed came from doing simple chores around the house; Zuko wasn't much better off than her in that regard, and she eyed him in thought, "And I can climb as well... not as well as him."
The First Mate nodded, having a better understanding of her skills, before he glanced up the deck, "Where's that bucket?" he rhetorically asked, voicing his frustrations with having to wait, before he turned back to face Mai, "You'll go well in the kitchen and dining areas then. Most of the work is just cleaning up; our cooks would be able to spend more time focusing on meals instead of on cleaning up after." he noted a potential job for her to do, before scrunching his lips up, "Does that work?"
"Do I have a choice?" she retorted; Zuko was almost amused by how blunt she was being with the First Mate, but just like him, she wanted to make a move on and get started.
"No, not really." he acknowledged, before turning his eyes up the deck again, noting the crew member who had gone below deck approaching them, with a bucket of water in one hand and a rag in the other "Ah, finally. What took you so long?"
"Rags and buckets aren't in the same place." he excused himself, before placing the bucket and rag down in front of him, Zuko picking up the former before he eyed the rope that was tied up on the wall of the superstructure.
"So, are you going to do it?" the First Mate asked him, sounding almost excited to see what the Prince would do; he turned back to face him, and gestured up toward the top of the superstructure, which was covered with glass pane windows.
"I need to hook the rope up to something first. Is there anything up the top I can hook this too?" he asked, gesturing to the rope, which he began to uncoil from its mount.
"There's a bar up the top you could tie it around." he explained, the Princes nodding, before he moved to approach the wall, "Wait, you're not going to take the stairs?"
"I told you I'm good at climbing." Zuko stressed the point, before he tied the rope around his waist, beginning to climb up the various edges on the wall of the superstructure; windowsills, exposed beams, steel bolts protruding out from the wall- anything he could get his feet and hands firmly on.
Given his burns, he found it a little harder than usual to keep up his pace, but got to the top of the superstructure, which wasn't that tall, at least compared to what he'd seen on some other ships. The Royal Family used massive vessels that made the cargo ship they were travelling on seem almost small in comparison, despite the massive holds and breadth of the hull. He tied the end of the rope in a knot around a bar on the roof of the superstructure, and momentarily glanced around the port that he could see around him; there were hundreds of people, moving goods, and getting on and off of ships. He knew that there was little chance he and Mai had been spotted, and the pure number of people in the area assured him of the unlikelihood of it.
The First Mate looked up at Zuko with a surprised face, and raised a hand, "Well, you can climb, kid, I'll give you that." he conceded, "Could you come down and actually get the bucket?" he asked, the Prince frowning slightly, remembering that he was actually going to show his ability to clean the windows, not just show off his athleticism; he knew he'd actually have to do some work, but as he faced the thought of it, he silently wished he had never gone to his father's meeting spot.
He knew that opposing him was in the best interests of the Fire Nation, but he couldn't help but think what he was going to have to go through, losing his privileges and comforts as a Prince, wasn't something he was going to enjoy. He'd probably hate it, but at the very least, he could see what he was going to do and accept the situation for what it was; he and Mai had to survive, after all, and they had done a good job so far.
He grasped the rope, and wound it around his waist, before he grasped it tightly, ready to descend down to the deck. He had to keep a grasp on the wall to avoid moving down too fast, as that would leave a nasty burn on his right hand; nothing in comparison to the pain he felt in the aftermath of that explosion, but a pain he still sought to avoid. Zuko moved as fast as he could down the wall, keeping his feet firmly placed on it, making it feel as if he were walking backwards down the wall, which disorienting to the point he almost felt sick; the lack of food in his stomach assured him that he wouldn't be throwing up anything onto the deck if it got any worse. When he reached the deck, he turned to look at the First Mate, who held the bucket in his hand, and Mai, who was eyeing him with interest; whether she was impressed, or whether she was just focusing on him for lack of anything more interesting was hard to tell, but part of him hoped that she was the former.
"Okay, Kamen, take that bucket and rag, and get to work. I'll take... uh, sorry, Hishi, is it?" he asked the stoic girl, who stepped forward.
"To the kitchen?" she preempted his decision, "It's already after dark, so you'll be feeding the crew soon, right?" she deduced, the First Mate nodding, clearly impressed by her quick analysis.
"Yes, that's right." he confirmed, before Zuko took the bucket into his hand, "You do all those windows, and I might try and get you some extra dinner, how about that?"
"Uh, thanks, but I'll just stick to whatever everybody else is having. Jealous crewmen might cut the rope when I'm cleaning, otherwise." he told him what he thought rather bluntly; not getting attention, especially of that kind, was his goal, outside of ingratiating himself on the ship.
"Uh... I'd say I respect your humility, but shit... you must come from some fucked up place to think that."
"Oh, you'd never guess where." the Prince tried to hold back a laugh, realising the irony of what the First Mate had just said; he could see the small smile on Mai's face when he said that, though it quickly disappeared, "I'll do your windows, uh... you said you didn't like being called sir. What's your name?"
"Jishang." he clarified, before pointing to the doorway into the superstructure, "Just follow me. I'll show you where you and your boyfriend will be staying." he explained, Zuko turning away once more at being referred to as her boyfriend; Mai looked his way, and pursed her lips ever so slightly, probably just amused by the embarrassment he was feeling.
"Well, let's go then." she gestured at the doorway, stepping toward it, "I do want to be able to go to bed tonight, Jishang." she explained, the First mate nodding, and striding on behind her, before he raised a hand toward the Prince.
"Good luck." he simply farewelled him before he and Mai entered the superstructure, presumably heading to the crew quarters below them.
"Thanks." he mumbled, knowing he didn't really need to respond if he'd already gone inside, before he glanced up toward the top of the superstructure, where all the windows sat, "Well, let's get on with it." he whispered to himself, before doing just that.
He grasped the bucket in one hand, before tying it to a portion of the rope near ground level, allowing him to hoist it up; of course, that would require him to be at the top of the superstructure, so the Prince immediately got to work, and climbed up as fast as he could. Unsurprisingly, it was easier with a rope to hold onto, and quickly enough, he reached the top of the ship once more. He took a deep breath, glancing back out across the deck of the ship below him, and noted how quickly everybody was moving the goods aboard, which was helped by the fact the front of the ship opened up and allowed for things to be moved up without need for a crane or anything complex like that. He knew they'd be leaving port soon enough, and after that, he'd need to go to bed, after eating dinner.
He pulled the bucket up, winding up the rope behind him, before he got it within his arms reach; he then pulled the bucket up onto the roof, and untied it from the rope. He then readjusted the rope, allowing him to lay a small portion down which he tied the bucket to, while the larger length of the rope could lay down the wall, past the windows. He tied the rope around his waist and arm once more, allowing himself to drop down slightly, wedging his feet into the base of one of the mental panels that formed the walls of the bridge. With the bucket within arms reach, he pulled out the wet rag, and began to get to work, splashing the window in front of him with water, before wiping it down.
He could see a few sailors inside the bridge, probably checking the instruments on the ship before they left port, and they were clearly surprised by his presence. The light emanating from inside helped him have a clear look on where the dirt, grim and dust was building up, and thus, made it easier to wash away. He found his position, held up by a rope that was pulling on his waist rather tightly to be uncomfortable, but he tolerated it, knowing that it was better than being dead, or perhaps worse, rotting away in a prison, away from the shine of the sun which gave him all the strength he'd need. It wasn't light out, so his inner fire was dimmer, and thus, his strength was sapped; that did make him waiver, however, simply thinking what it would be like to sleep on an actual bed after being cooped up in a dirty, hard-floored warehouse for a few days.
Zuko thought as to what he was doing, and remembered that when he had been younger, he had wanted to go explore the world. Perhaps it was because his home life was so straining and frustrating, but he knew that some part of him just wanted to get away. He knew that even if the threat of spies, assassins and conspiracy were looming high over him, hanging over those windows, Zuko was the most free he'd ever been in his life, and for the first time, could smile in thinking that his father had failed. He wasn't under his control, and neither was he going to do his bidding, not after what he had done; the path ahead was to be his, and his alone.
With the warm light of the campfire flickering in front of him, Sokka let out a little yawn, feeling like the day was practically over; he would have preferred to just go to sleep, but dinner was still being cooked in the pot, so he would have to wait. His stomach grumbled slightly, but he didn't try to do anything about it. They only had a few snacks with them, and if he had to eat them, then he'd just end up wasting the money Bumi gave them. Thus with little other option, he leaned back onto the ground, placing his hands behind his head, so he could look up to the starry night sky above them.
"Thinking of something, Sokka?" Aang asked him, the Water Tribe teen chuckling, glancing over to his right, where the young Avatar was sitting cross-legged.
"Dinner." he gave the first response that came to mind, making his sister laugh at him from across the campfire.
"Of course it is. Sokka hasn't eaten for what, two hours, and all he can think of is food."
"What? Everybody needs it." he argued in return, rising up from the ground to meet her amused face with his eyes, "You can't tell me you don't want dinner right now."
"Well..." she turned her gaze away before shaking her head, "Fine. I am hungry." she admitted, making Sokka pointing at her with a smug grin, enjoying his momentary victory for all it was worth.
"Aha! See, I am right! Let me be hungry in peace." he simply requested, before lying back down once more, glancing back up toward the stars.
"The stars are pretty tonight." Aang observed, "Now that we're away from the city, there's nothing to block out all that light."
"At the South Pole, unless there was a blizzard, you could usually see the stars if it was dark. It was a little weird coming to a place like Omashu- nobody can see the stars because of all the smoke from their houses." Sokka explained his thoughts on the matter, understanding that those people living in Omashu might have a very different view of the stars to someone like himself, as he saw them on a regular basis.
"Huh... I never really thought about that." the young Air Nomad admitted, "I guess people don't really know what they're missing out on until they find it."
"You know... that's a pretty good argument for you to try eating meat." Sokka smugly suggested, the Avatar crossing his arms, raising his chin up in defiance.
"Well, you could try vegetarianism too." he counted his point, making the Water Tribe warrior scrunch his lips up in thought.
"Hmph." Sokka mumbled, wondering whether his preposition was worth taking up; he didn't want to force Aang to eat something he didn't like, especially for moral reasons- though he found no issue with killing and eating animals, his friend clearly did, "How about we just eat what we like?"
"Yeah, I can go with that." he agreed, before glancing over toward the pot, "When will the rice be ready?"
"Soon." Katara assured him, "Just be a little patient."
"Uh... yeah, patience." he mumbled, sounding almost a little skeptical of her advice; he then turned his eyes over to the Water Tribe boy once more, looking as if he had a question, but couldn't stomach saying it.
His wordless gazing continued on for a little while, before Sokka made a whistle, breaking Aang's silence, "Huh? Did you want something?"
"That's the question I'm meant to ask. You seem... a little confused." he acknowledged, before crossing his arms, "You seem like you've got a problem."
"Uh... you're always telling us how to be more cautious... you know, like what happened on Kyoshi Island."
"Yeah, I have good instincts." Sokka reframed what he was saying, "And what of it? Did you want to learn how to not get yourself into situations like the one with that Princess again?"
"Well..." he mumbled, before cringing, "I was thinking more how I can better be the Avatar. I can't just sit around and do nothing with what's been going on... that's, well, obvious." he raised his hands up to emphasise the point.
"Yeah, I get that." he nodded, "Aang, you're the Avatar. You're one of the most important people in the world, but you've got to learn a lot of stuff before you can really help people. I know you want to- that's how I felt when I was raining those boys in the village. But I realise... maybe it was kind of pointless, because I didn't have any real way to stop the Fire Nation. Just me and my boomerang." he explained, before cringing, realising how foolish he had been when he had tried to train those kids; what happened on Kyoshi Island, which was protected by elite, skilled warriors, proved that his feeble training would have done nothing to stop their enemies.
"Yeah." Aang nodded, making a small smile, "That's why we've got to go to the North Pole, so me and Katara can learn waterbending."
"And then earthbending, and then even firebending. Urgh, that's going to be a pain." he noted, rememebering how much he disdained firebenders, and the assumption that he'd have to be stuck around one if they were training Aang- how they'd find a master for him was already enough of an issue.
From what he had learned at their meeting with the Order of the White Lotus, there were firebenders willing to train Aang, though getting to them would be a challenge, given most of them were living in the Fire Nation, or their occupied territories in the Earth Kingdom.
"Well, maybe it won't be that hard to find a master." Aang suggested, making Sokka immediately lean up, figuring out what he meant without putting much thought into it.
"No." he refuted his unspoken idea, "You might as well ask the Fire Lord to be your firebending master at that point. They're the enemy; she probably would refuse to do it anyway."
"You know, the Fire Lord might be a really good bender. Maybe he can teach me, if he's as likeable as Bumi made out."
"I don't trust them." Katara spoke up, "Anybody can be nice to somebody else's face, but they're Fire Nation, Aang. They conquered the world; the Fire Lord's the guy who conquered Ba Sing Se, you know that, right?"
"I know..." he mumbled, "But if he's friends with Bumi, he really can't be that bad. Bumi's a good guy."
"Maybe he's wise." Sokka suggested, "But being wise doesn't make you nice, or good."
"I guess that does kinda describe Azula." Aang mumbled, before shrugging his shoulders, "Well, there might be other people."
"Yeah, not everybody in the Fire Nation is going to be for the war." Katara acknowledged, "I mean, they can't all be that evil, can they?"
"No, just ignorant." Sokka acknowledged, "I thought Aang was a Fire Nation spy... because of all the things I was told about them. They probably just think they're the good guys... I mean, that doesn't make them evil, it just makes them dumb."
"I mean, calling a whole nation dumb is pretty mean, Sokka." Aang tried to argue in the favour of the enemy, making the Water Tribe teen roll his eyes.
"Urgh, I didn't mean it like that. They're just stupid for trying to conquer the world, not stupid in general."
"Okay, I can agree with that." he came to a common ground, before leaning over the pot, "It smells ready, Katara." he noted, the Water Tribe girl nodding, confirming their long-awaited dinner to be ready.
"About time." the Water Tribesman snidely added, before pulling himself up.
He glanced over toward the pot, which his sister was reaching into with a spoon, pulling out some of the rice stew, which she placed into a bowl, giving it to Aang first, before she pulled out some more and put it into another bowl, giving it to her brother. He accepted it with a nod, before he picked up some of the chopsticks they'd laid out to use; Sokka didn't relent to begin digging into his dinner, and licked his lips after having a good few bites. It didn't taste the best, in his opinion due to the lack of meat, but he certainly wasn't complaining.
The rice would fill his stomach well, and he would sleep soundly after dinner, hopefully not to be woken up by his sister or Aang at daybreak; he was still afraid of the 'snake trick' being used on him again. The various permutations his sister and the Air Nomad boy had used on him were quickly getting old, as he continued to wake up frightened or in a panic, thinking himself in danger. He was about half way through the bowl when he was interrupted by Appa growling; Sokka chuckled, thinking the sky-bison might have wanted some dinner too, which was a little confusing, given how little rice there was, relative to such a big creature like himself.
"Oh, what's wrong, did you want some too, buddy?" the Air Nomad bot asked his sky-bison, who turned around slightly, and growled once more, louder this time.
The Water Tribe warrior turned to face his sister, and she had the face he would expect; the Fire Nation could be coming for them at that very moment, and they had no time to prepare, or to even escape.
"Sokka, what do we do?" she asked him timidly as she rose to her feet, Aang doing the same as he eyed his glider staff, which was sitting by their tent.
The Water Tribe warrior reached for his boomerang which was slung over his back, and narrowed his eyes on the land around them, try to take note of any discrepancies in the terrain; there were a few few bushes and trees in the mountain valley they had camped in, and thus, not much places to hide in that regard. He did notice, however, the sign of campfire smoke in the distance, suggesting the Fire Nation really was nearby.
"Use their strength against them." he recalled the main lesson he had learned from Suki.
"And what's that?" the young Avatar asked him, sounding both interested and afraid.
"Destroying everything." he simply put it, before he took a fighting stance, just waiting for one of the enemy to reveal themselves; Appa had clearly noticed them, and was moving around, making a low growl that suggested he was agitated, and more than that, that they were surrounded.
Suddenly he heard a few footsteps behind him, and Sokka immediately turned around to throw his boomerang at the origin of the sounds; he struck a darkly dressed man in the head, though it didn't do as much damage as he would have liked, given he was wearing a metal helmet. The man was thrown to the ground, however, but they quickly had more to worry about, as about a dozen men, firebenders and non-benders alike, charged out from the darkness to attack them.
The Avatar immediately spun his hands around, conjuring a cyclical gust of wind which was thrown out right toward some of the enemies, throwing them back into the trees and bushes that sat behind them. Sokka raised his fist triumphantly, proud of his friend's quick work, before he drew out his club, ready to block the weapons wielded by their attackers. He blocked an attack by a pike-wielding soldier, before he struck its wielder on the rear side of his right knee, which was one of the only uncovered parts of the man's body, barring his face. He cried out with pain, and Sokka quickly tripped him over, making the soldier face-plant on the ground.
"Nice try." he mocked his opponent, before ducking under a fireball that was aimed at his head; he turned around, and noticed that his sister was holding his boomerang in hand, and raised it up, indicating she was going to throw it to him.
"Sokka, catch!" she tossed it his way, inadvertently setting it into a careening motion; he knew he'd cut his hand if he actually tried to catch it, so instead, he ducked down and just let physics do the fighting for him, watching as the boomerang flew over him, striking a soldier who was about to attack him square in the chest, throwing him backwards.
He didn't relent to seize the opportunity, and used his club to whack him in the shins, making him fall down to his knees, where it was far easier to kick him in the guts; the soldier was practically incapacitated at that point, and Sokka knew that sooner or later, they'd all need to get on Appa to flee, even if that meant leaving their cooking equipment and tents behind. Firebenders were giving Aang a serious challenge, barraging him two at a time with fireballs, from every possible angle at that. He knew he would have to help him so they could at the very least escape, and so, he picked his boomerang off of the ground, and readied it in hand, not wanting to waste another moment.
He threw it into one of the soldiers head, making him fall over onto his comrade, momentarily distracting the other soldiers, "Get to Appa!" he called on Aang and his sister, the latter having already picked up what she could, and tossed it back onto the saddle; Appa himself was throwing his tail around, forcing the soldiers to stay back, and the Avatar took Sokka's advice, immediately bee-lining toward his sky-bison.
The Water Tribesman let himself smile, relieved that he'd gotten away, and immediately dashed to grab his boomerang off the ground; before he could reach it, suddenly he saw a bright light to his right hand side, and raised his club up to block a large fire blast, seemingly conjured right out of their campfire. He didn't have much time to comprehend it as he was thrown onto his back, his head hitting the ground, making him groan in pain; he tried to pull himself back up, but found himself kicked in the guts but one of the soldiers, flinging Sokka onto his belly.
"Urgh." he groaned, realising that fighting was a lot harder than he first suspected it would be; he heard his sister cry out his name, but Sokka couldn't do anything but raised his hands to cover his face, hoping to stop himself from getting pummelled.
"Get the beast!" he heard one of the soldiers command the others, and Sokka momentarily glanced over toward the sky-bison, noticing that soldiers were surrounding it; with no other thought in mind, he shouted out the one thing he knew would help his friends and keep them, along with Appa, from getting roasted by a bunch of firebenders.
"Yip-yip!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, Katara reaching out over the saddle, wanting to try and help her brother, but having little ability to do so; her waterbending couldn't help him now, of all times.
Another soldier kicked him again, the Water Tribesman lurching in pain; he didn't want to cry, and looked up above himself, seeing the sky-bison rising up into the air, and realised that the firebenders had drawn their attention to bending at Appa. He grit his teeth and swung his right leg up, kicking one of his attackers in the shin, before he leapt up to his feet, charging at one of the firebenders, hoping to at the very least, lessen the barrage that was going to be sent toward his friends. He tackled one of the firebenders to the ground, knocking his helmet off by the force, before he rammed his elbow into the man's chin, making his teeth clatter violently. The Water Tribesman could only smirk as he saw the sky-bison continue upward, but that smirk quickly faded as he was struck by the side by a fireball, flung off the man he'd just tackled. He writhed in pain, and patted his side, not wanting his tunic to set on fire; luckily, it was only singed, as was his skin, but it still hurt, given how forceful the blast had been.
"Hold him down!" he heard one of the soldiers command, Sokka hiding his hands grasped and pulled behind his back, leaving him unable to do much but kick his legs around, hitting the soldiers in their feet, "They'll come back for him." the soldier spoke up once more, the Water Tribe warrior grimacing as he looked up toward the man he presumed to command the unit of soldiers, "The Water Tribe aren't the kind to leave their own to die." he noted with a slight smirk, which made Sokka tense up, remembering that his father and the other warriors were out fighting the Fire Nation, helping what remained of the Earth Kingdom after the fall of Ba Sing Se; perhaps the soldier had faced his father's warriors, or his father himself.
"Yeah." he agreed with his point, "I'm a pretty good hostage." he defended his position, which he hoped would give them incentives to leave him relatively unharmed.
"Ah, chatty, are we?" one of the soldiers who was holding him down mocked him, before jabbing him in the back of the head, forcing Sokka's face into the dirt, which he almost accidentally ate in recoil from the hit.
"Chain him up, and burn the rest of their things. We can't have the greatest enemy of our nation getting away with any less than the clothes on his back." the Fire Nation commander ordered his men, before picking up Sokka's boomerang from the ground, eyeing Appa as he continued to fly away; he scanned the weapon, before holstering it to his belt, looking down at the Water Tribesman, who was rubbing his now dirty face into his shoulder, "I bet the Fire Lord will give us some kind of award if we help capture the Avatar."
"He isn't around, is he?" he mumbled a question, not wanting to end in the personal custody of the Fire Lord; from what he knew from Aang, the Fire Lord was missing last he heard, so it was more likely he'd be going to her- the Princess.
"Princess Azula's off on a mission nearby. Oh... the General's going to be ecstatic about this." he smirked, "We'll have the last airbender in our grasp soon enough."
"Oh, he's pretty slippery. I wouldn't make that assertion too quickly." he warned with a smirk, knowing that Aang had got away from the seemingly skilled and capable Princess, despite her best efforts.
Before he could savour the commander's faltered smile, one of the soldiers threw Sokka's face into the dirt once more; he realised that if he was going to be stuck a prisoner of the Fire Nation for the meantime, he probably ought to learn when to shut his mouth. As he felt the weight on his hands increase, he knew that he'd have a hard time trying to escape; he had helped the others, but had inadvertently gotten himself into a tight spot. He knew that they'd come back for him, and when they did, Sokka would have spent enough time formulating a master-plan to escape his captors. At least that's what he told himself as he was forced up to his feet and dragged away by a pair of soldiers, grasping his arms tightly; he knew the danger that awaited him, but he could see one bright side. If he really did end up the Princess's prisoner, there was a chance she could treat him as decently as she had Aang, and he wouldn't spend his time in captivity curled up on the floor of some dirty metal cell, the kind his father warned him about when he spoke of what he saw on their ships. All he knew was that his sacrifice couldn't be in vain, because if it was, that wouldn't make him a hero, that would make him an idiot; if there was one thing worse than being defeated, it was being the one without any wits.
