Zuko
The preparations were done and soon I would leave the Southern Water Tribe behind, everything had gone as I expected…well, everything but Aang's brief attack but otherwise it was a success. Aang was stamped, Katara was coming with me and she convinced Sokka to follow along so I could stamp him now if I wished it.
The only thing that wasn't good was that Iroh was avoiding me, it put me on edge. Perhaps I shouldn't have been so heavy-handed when it came to the Avatar but he saw how unreasonable Aang had been in the Avatar state and that was just as a kid without much training. Iroh understands that if he masters all four elements then there would be no one in the world who could put a stop to the Avatar.
He had the power to redraw the map of the world if he so wished it.
I walked around the deck of the ship to clear my head, the rays of the sun on my bare skin comforted me better than any other could. It was also a chance to show off. Katara had been particularly attentive to me and I wasn't sure why but being a teenage girl it was more than likely she was just attracted to me and showing her some skin was not really a bother.
After taking in enough sun I started practicing my moves, not long after that Katara approached me.
"I know this is probably useless but do you have any scrolls about waterbending?"
I guess she was not expecting me to smile at her question because she seemed a little put off by it but quickly smiled back "Luckily for you, my uncle has some, they're the most basic but he also spent some time studying waterbending techniques so he could help you improve"
"He is a good man"
"He is" which would make it all worse if he betrayed me for the Avatar.
Katara stayed put as she seemed to think of something but finally spoke again "I know this is probably weird to ask but could you train my brother"
"Shouldn't he be the one asking?" Sokka didn't strike me as the kind of person to send others to ask for him.
Katara grimaced as she spoke "Well…he should be but he is embarrassed and told me to ask"
She probably thought I would make Sokka come and ask me in person but I could understand if that hurt his pride and while annoying I didn't hate the guy so I nodded "Sure"
Katara walked away probably to tell Sokka the good news and I decided to make my way to the lower deck to tell the soldiers about their new assignment. Unsurprisingly I found them huddled together while they drank something that didn't smell at all like tea.
"I hope you can at least stand properly, otherwise you might get thrown overboard" my voice made them react on instinct and they quickly stood up and put themselves in formation "No need to be so formal while there is no one else watching I have an assignment for you"
"Of course prince Zuko"
The first one to talk had been the one I pulled from the water and he looked fine but it wouldn't hurt to ask "You seem fine but are you? Not everyone can just walk off a dip in freezing waters"
The man stood up straighter and answered "Yes, I was given some help by the other firebenders on the ship and I'm ready for combat"
"I like the attitude but the mission I have for you is not that risky" I gave them all a smile before unloading the surprise on them "it seems we have a new recruit, the brother of the waterbender wants some training and I'm happy to oblige"
"Pardon me prince Zuko but is that wise, he is a savage" ah! the racism of colonial powers never changes but luckily I had the perfect answer for this.
"I understand your worries but this way we can make sure he isn't snooping around and if the need arose we can easily take him hostage, I know it may be difficult but you need to be at least polite with him. That will be all, his training will start as soon as we set sail so you can slack off for a while longer" there were some laughs at my words as I walked off and all was good.
Katara
Perhaps it was the guilt she felt at not telling Aang what was going through the prince's head that made her want to check up on what he was doing, she wasn't responsible for his decisions but she felt that if Aang died because of her inaction she wouldn't feel the same way. It was interesting to see a man as seemingly peaceful practice his bending with so much ferocity, the quick punches, and kicks that he practiced were at odds with the image she had of the prince.
There was also the matter of the scar on his neck that had the distinct shape of a hand and it made her wonder who would be brave enough to do such a thing to the prince of the Fire Nation. As she watched him an idea came to her head, one that would surely benefit everyone and make Sokka pay attention to something other than her.
So she approached the prince with a little white lie about Sokka wanting to learn how to be a better fighter and the prince accepted quite easily, suspicious, perhaps, but this would also be a great way to gather information.
Katara made her way to where her brother probably was, he had quite the appetite and the ship had lots of food that they were happy to share so it didn't surprise her when she found him stuffing his face inside of the ship's kitchen.
"Sokka you will be training with the soldiers on the ship" her brother choked on a piece of meat he was about to swallow and after some seconds he finally swallowed it.
"What?!Why?!"
"So you can learn from them" she didn't want to say the words out loud in case someone was listening, the prince's attitude would change if he heard her plans and some of the worries she felt must have shown on her face as Sokka approached her.
"Can't I buy myself out of this with a hug?" Sokka said as he put his head in the perfect spot so they could whisper to each other.
"I want you to discover how the soldiers move, their schedules, and their duties"
"You're preparing to escape" Sokka sounded surprised "Why?"
"Just a precaution" just in case the prince killed the Avatar and tried to silence them but she wasn't going to tell that to Sokka.
"The information could also help dad, infiltrating a place is easier if you know how you need to act and what to say. It's not a bad plan and I'm glad you're thinking and not just making eyes at the prince"
Katara pushed him for that "The hug was nice but you will train with them Sokka" Katara huffed as she walked away huffing as if she would ever consider dating a firebender.
Mai
Mai had to admit at least to herself that she didn't find Azula's… show that annoying, the princess was still crazy and quite adventurous though Mai doubted that ty Lee minded the new Azula compared to the old one. Poor Ty Lee had been left a mess on the floor and when she woke up it looked like she wanted nothing more than to be chained to a bed so Azula could do whatever she wanted with her.
At least now Mai was far away from the princess and if the spirits had any mercy she would soon see Zuko, she wanted to spend some more time with him alone before his crazy sister decided that they should all sleep together. Perhaps leaving Azula alone with Ty Lee was a mistake, the bubbly girl didn't have the best idea of relationships and if Ty Lee did something then her sisters were sure to try it at least once and Mai wasn't so keen on sharing as Azula and Ty Lee.
"Mai could you at least smile it's not every day that we get such an important job" her father had a stupid smile on his face as he spoke and Mai's mother laughed at his request at least her mother understood her even if it was just a little.
"Administering the colonies is not important" it really wasn't everyone knew that the only thing of real importance in the Fire Nation was the military. Governors, bureaucrats, and nobles could all be replaced but it was hard to argue with anyone who had trained firebenders at their command.
"It is when your job involves moving the tribute that goes into the Fire Nation's treasury" Mai couldn't help the look of surprise on her face as she heard those words.
"How did you even get such a job?" her father was not really an idiot but he wasn't exactly the kind of man you wanted when it came to matters of money.
"It seems that you're closeness with both prince Zuko and princess Azula is to our benefit as the people that were close to general Iroh are more approachable to us now and the ones that hope to take advantage of the princess are trying to curry some favor"
Mai snorted at the last thing. As if Azula could ever care about what people did for anyone other than her.
"I even have enough influence to meet with some of the merchants from the scattered kingdoms that are outside the reach of Ba Sing Se, some meetings are coming up and one family, in particular, is looking for a playdate with their daughter, I'm sure you will be great company to her"
Mai really should've just stayed with Azula.
Author note: late but not so late, just a little chapter to set some things up, and i for one can't wait to make the interactions between Mai and Toph. Also Katara being sneaky is cool. now as always you know what i'm about to say so i will just leave the link below. Have a nice night and i will see you next wednesday
