"You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending!"

"Whatever," Sokka knows better than to argue with his sister on this. He can't make her feel guilty about her perverse sense of justice and so she'll never return the scroll. He shrugs and stalks off.

. . .

. . .

Prince Zuko is beyond exasperated. "You bought a tsungi horn!"

"For music night on the ship. Now if only we had some woodwinds." General Iroh already has his eyes set on the next place of mercantile conquest and points at the ship docked nearby. "Oh this looks promising!"

The galley of the ship is hardly dusty nor old but still manages to exude a creepy feel. Perhaps it's the deep shadows in corners or the odd monkey statue staring down at them, so while the Prince is plotting possible escape routes out of habit, Iroh seems perfectly at ease babbling about trinkets he finds.

A pirate leans over the counter talking to a man with a large iguana parrot on his shoulder, obviously the captain if the bird and hat are any indicator. "We lost the watertribe girl and the little bald monk she was traveling with." That's all it takes to peak the Fire Prince's interest.

"This monk, did he have an arrow on his head?" With a nod from the pirates Zuko's lips split into a feral grin. He will get the Avatar this time.

. . .

. . .

Four separate waterbending katas are painstakingly drawn onto the scroll. The detail is good but the motion and fluidity put into each character is the true mark of excellence. Katara hasn't been able to keep her hands off of it and now that they've finally made camp she can open it and learn the secrets it holds. A minute passes before Aang starts uncomfortably shifting his weight. She's staring at the scroll, not at him and she won't even let him touch the thing! "Ahem, Katara?"

"Oh, huh! Oh yeah, I just want to try this one move first and then it's all yours. Here, hold it open for me. This single water whip, looks doable." She isn't a master. Her stance is decent but needs work. She concentrates too hard on controlling the water instead of letting the water pull at her. The river starts to move with the motions of her kata but, needless to say, her whip ends up connecting solidly with her forehead.

Behind her Sokka snorts.

"What's so funny?" Her glare could freeze oceans.

"I'm sorry, but you deserved that." He turns to the Air Nomad. "You've been duped. She's only interested in teaching herself."

"Aang will get his turn once I figure out the water whip!" She fumes. She needs to learn it so she can properly teach him, or at least that's what she tells herself as she tries again. This time Momo is the one to get solidly thwacked even though she wishes it had been her older annoying brother. "Why can't I get this stupid move!"

"You'll get it. You just gotta shift your weight through the stances. There, see the key to bending is -" He never gets to finish his sentence.

The perfect example of a water whip with exact control mixed with his patronizing 'the key to bending' crap is just enough to push her over the edge. "Will you please shut your air hole? Believe it or not your infinite wisdom gets a little old sometimes! Why don't we just throw away the scroll since you're so naturally gifted!" She screeches. In the milliseconds that follow not even the bugs chirp. "What?" Sokka's glare can almost match hers but the sight of Aang with tears in his eyes is what stops a sarcastic comment in her throat. "Oh my gosh Aang, I am so sorry, I don't know what came over me. But you know what, it won't happen again." She rolls the scroll up and hands it to him. "Here, this is yours. I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore." That's a lie and she knows it but at least it will make him feel better and she can always practice at night when no one is around to judge her and laugh.

That evening Katara makes dinner as usual. It's not her favorite thing to do but if it weren't for her she's sure that the two boys would starve. It's not long after that, that the fire begins to die down and Sokka announces that it's time for bed. His precious schedule demands that they get to sleep so they can wake up early and get even further away from the pirates. After mumbling something about 'stupid sense of justice' he's out. Aang isn't far behind him. Katara feels the pull of the moon in her blood. While it isn't enough to keep her awake, the desire to study more of the scroll is. Once she's sure that everyone is truly asleep she crawls out of her bed roll and grabs the scroll from one of the packs. Momo's big green eyes pierce as she tiptoes away but she can't be bothered by him. "Shh Momo," she whispers, "Go back to sleep." Then off into the woods she goes, in search of a good place to practice her bending.

The last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe pulls at the liquid trying to bend it to her will. The scroll shows how to move but it doesn't show how to think and Katara can't manage to get the water to move properly. She commands it, coaxes it, tries to bargain with it. Nothing works. "Come on stupid scroll, you were supposed to help me." Again the water twitches but doesn't make it far past being a swaying column. "This is just great. I don't have to worry about completely stationary opponents, I can soak them." The sarcastic comment doesn't make her feel much better and she tries again. It's been two hours and the damn water still won't listen to her! "Okay Katara, shift your weight through the stances." Maybe talking to herself will do the trick. Maybe.

Metal groans behind her in sharp contrast to the sounds of the forest. The pirates! They must have found her somehow. Perhaps practicing on a river when being chased by river-going individuals wasn't the best plan. Katara turns to run and smacks straight into a hulking man with biceps the size of her head. Water splashes into his face, surprising him and freeing her. Unfortunately, her real enemy grabs hold of her. "I'll save you from the pirates." His eyes are like piranha sharks, dead and cold.

"Let go of me!" He doesn't even respond. "I said let go!" She tries to twist away but his grip is firm. Her forehead goes for his nose, hoping to at least throw him off balance even if it doesn't permanently injure him though that would be a bonus. He dodges her attack and slams the girl into a tree.

"Chang, go get some rope." It's the first thing he's said so far and the order is quickly followed. Two men begin to tie her up. The one who seems to be Chang makes the mistake of standing at her front and handling the rope off to the man behind the tree. He leans forward, the rope in one hand and her wrist in the other. She's heard stories in the ports since leaving the Water Tribe. A shiver runs up her spine. His neck between his jaw and his armor is exposed and she lunges. Copper fills her mouth and with a yank he begins screaming and lets go of her. That's all the opening she needs, with a flash she's off. The sand under her feet gives way but adrenaline pushes her. The woods are near, why did they have to pin her to a tree so far away from the others? The tree line is so close. A wall of flames erupts in front of her, closing her off from safety. "You shouldn't have done that." The water is too far away, fire's against her back, and Prince Zuko stands between her and her route of escape. The fire drops and three men converge on her. This time when they tie her to the tree everyone is careful to stay clear of her teeth.

"That little bitch!" Chang tries to get up and advance towards her, his hand clamped over his neck, blood seeping out between fingers. "I'm gonna -"

"No, you're not." Chang pauses. His blood is still in the waterbenders mouth, dripping down her chin but he stops. The prince steps forward. "Now, after that little display why don't we get down to the negotiating." He can't tear his eyes away from the blood, the inhuman snarl. What kind of heathens did they create in the South? He wanted to get this over and done with so he could stop staring at the girl with blood on her lips and hate in her eyes. Behind him Iroh watches but doesn't see the hate that his nephew does. The retired general sees fear, straight unadulterated fear.

"Tell me where he is and I won't hurt you or your brother."

"Go jump in the river!" She hisses.

"That's not the answer I'm looking for." His manor shifts. Where before he stood firm and blank faced, now he slinks up next to her like a snake trying to convince a rabbit mouse to roll over and lay still while it's being eaten. He prowls around the tree, too close for comfort but not close enough to have to be wary of her teeth though the smell of blood was strong. "Try to understand, I need to capture him to restore something I've lost, my honor." She jerks away from him. If he's trying to make her uncomfortable it's working but that doesn't mean she'll tell him anything he wants to know. "Perhaps in exchange I can restore something you've lost." A small carving of the water tribe symbol hanging from a blue silk ribbon dangles in front of her eyes.

"My mother's necklace! How did you get that?"

He saunters away. "I didn't steal it if that's what you're wondering. Tell me where he is." Katara retorts by spitting some of Chang's blood onto the prince's boots.

"Enough of this necklace garbage! You promised a scroll!" The pirate captain may have enjoyed watching but now it's just getting old.

Zuko rolls the scroll over in his hands, pondering it before lighting a fire under it, the flames licking centimeters away from the parchment. "I wonder how much this is worth?" The whole lot of pirates gasp and the captain reflexively tenses as if to make a dash for it, Zuko grins. "A lot apparently. Now you help me find what I want, you'll get this back, and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here."

The captain huffs. "Fine."

The men walk off, Chang wobbles but manages to join, leaving Katara with the prince and the general. Minutes tick by and the adrenaline is wearing off. Slowly but surely Katara's mouth tastes worse and worse and no amount of spitting seems to fix it and the feel of flesh in her mouth makes her skin crawl.

"I can only imagine how disgusting that must have tasted." The general chuckles and fishes a cup out of his endless store of odds and ends in his sleeves. "Nephew, please go fill this up for the young lady."

"No way, I'm not helping some peasant."

"Nephew." His words have an edge of authority and with a roll of his eyes Zuko fills up the cup from the nearby river. "She's a waterbender should she be able to do this?" He grumbles.

"Thank you. Now miss, I can't untie you but please be so kind as to not rip my fingers off." Iroh holds the cup to her thirsty lips but she turns away. "I know you must be dying to rinse out your mouth, there's nothing wrong with accepting this." Iroh tries again and this time she drinks swishing it around to get the foul taste out of her mouth all the while glaring daggers at them both. She's only accepting because if she doesn't she'll surely puke. "See, that wasn't so hard! Now, what's your name I can't continue to call you miss." She's silent.

Zuko grabs her by the front of her dress and gets dangerously close. "My uncle asked you a question, learn some respect." He doesn't care about her name but does care that she knows her place which is far below them as their captive. Instead of an answer her head smashes forward, this time catching him straight in the nose with an audible crack.

"What the fuck!" Blood streams from his nose and a smirk flashes across Katara's features. Iroh's eyebrows shoot up, this girl is brave, stupid for hurting his nephew when she can't escape, but still brave.

"Why don't you go inside and wait for pirates to get back nephew? Get some calming tea and a compress for your nose."

"I don't need calming tea! I need the Avatar and for my nose to stop bleeding!" Any other comments stop as blood drips past his hand into his mouth and he starts gagging. "Girls are crazy!" is the last statement before he sulks onto his boat.

"Forgive my nephew, he's not exactly one for getting along." Katara scoffs but makes no other comments. "Really he is a good man, really." Chasing them around the world, knocking down the last remaining wall at the Southern Water Tribe, being Fire Nation, leaving her tied to a tree, none of those are the mark of a 'good man' in her book.

"I'm sorry about this whole thing. The Avatar is really important to him and you just happen to be in the way. I'm sure if you met him under any other circumstances you two would get along."

At that she can't help but retort. "Yeah right, I'd never be friends with some jerk from the Fire Nation."

"We're not all bad people."

"Tell that to my tribe," she mutters. Silence follows. Iroh would really like to go get some tea himself but he doesn't dare leave the girl alone, not after what happened earlier. She's terrified and who knows what would happen if any of the pirates or Chang were to come back. Besides, what would Zuko do if she escaped on his watch? Iroh shudders to think, he's worked so hard on getting close to his nephew, it'd be a shame to spoil it.

The minutes creep along and the river pulls at Katara. If she were untied she could take them all. She could make the river wash them all away.

Oh who is she kidding, she couldn't get something as simple as the water whip. Well no, that's not true she managed to get the pirate when he grabbed her. She hadn't thought about, she had just reacted. It's unlikely that she can do it on command yet. Maybe Aang would come and get her since obviously she's going nowhere on her own. Aang can't come though, if he did then he'd get captured and there would go the last hope against the Fire Nation. Hopefully he's realized that she's gone and has left instead of looking. He can't afford to waste time and look for her, he needs to get to the Northern Water Tribe and learn bending.

She must have nodded off because a thunk beside her jerks her awake to see the sunrise. The old man and the jerk prince are headed her way from the river. Another thunk beside her. The blood drains from her face. Aang and Sokka have been tied and slammed onto the ground.

"Nice work," Zuko purrs and begins to walk towards the pirates holding the boys with the scroll in his hand.

"Aang, this is all my fault." Oh if only she hadn't taken the scroll!

"No Katara, it isn't."

Iroh butts in, "Yeah it kinda is." No one asked him!

"Give me the boy."

The captain counters, "You give us the scroll."

"You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?"

Zuko quickly tries to cover up the Water Tribe boy's outburst. "Don't listen to him, he's trying to turn us against each other!" But it's too late, the pirates heard and are more than interested.

"Your friend is the Avatar?"

"Sure is, and I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black market than that fancy scroll." Sokka's playing them, Katara knows that face but what does he hope to accomplish?

"Shut your mouth you Water Tribe peasant!"

"Yeah Sokka, you really should shut your mouth." Aang's obviously uncomfortable.

Sokka ignores them both. "I'm just saying it's bad business about how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life."

The captain grins, "Keep the scroll. We can buy a hundred with the reward we'll get for the kid."

"You'll regret breaking a deal with me!" Zuko roars and kicks out flames bursting out towards the pirates. "Get them on the ship!" He yells as the pirate first mate begins to throw smoke bombs. It's impossible to see but he has to hope that someone followed his order. A fist swings and he blocks but soon it's gone. Fire makes the smoke glow, he has to get out of it. A knife flies at him from an unseen source. The step to dodge it brings him outside of the smoke, thankfully he was close to the edge anyway and the waterbending scroll is still safely in his grasp. There's movement behind him. The old captain has his sword drawn and finally the boy is on familiar ground. He can handle just straight fighting, that's no problem. The sword lunges and Zuko blocks with his arm guard. Fire spews towards the older man missing him unfortunately. An elbow jams into the man's jugular making him crumple. The captain shouldn't have let him get that close.

One of his men has the waterbender slung over his shoulder and is sprinting towards the boat as she struggles and kicks. Good, that means the prince can divert energy to capturing the Avatar not just baiting him. The little orange and yellow clad boy is jumping over the clouds of smoke. A well timed burst of fire goes to where his torso should have been. Luck doesn't favor the Prince of the Fire Nation.