(1) Augmentum | Zuko

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Rana stares out over the waterfall, her mind catching up with how they very almost didn't escape pirates. It was close. And if not for Ninetails they likely wouldn't have made it at all. She crouches and shakes her head. Adrenaline is fading and the reality of it sinking in. Aang looks rather downtrodden behind her with Sokka and Katara.

"I used to kinda look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible...and disgusting" Aang comments and huffs as he sits down. Rana pulls something from the sleeve of her dress as she turns towards them.

"I know, that's why I took this!" Rana smirks and holds out the water-bending scroll that Katara had wanted. Aang gets up, a happy look on his face.

"No way" He comments. Katara takes the scroll from her and smiles.

"Isn't it great?" She asks.

"No wonder they were trying to hack us up" Sokka scolds Rana. "You stole their water-bending scroll"

"I prefer to think of it as high-risk trading" Rana counters with a smirk. Aang laughs a little.

"Haha! Good one, Rah"

"Sokka, where do you think they got it?" Katara asks him. "They stole it from a water-bender..."

"It doesn't matter" Sokka counters and turns to Rana. "You put all of our lives in danger just for some piece of paper"

"They are real water-bending forms. You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn water-bending" Rana argues, Sokka scoffs and turns, walking away from them.

"Whatever" He grumbles.

"Well, what's done is done. We have it. We might as well learn from it" Aang tells them and looks between Katara and Rana.

..............

Zuko's ship is now docked at the village that Rana and the others have just left. Zuko himself stands in the marketplace with Iroh, his arms are folded across his chest, clearly unhappy about stopping here at all.

"I've checked all the shops on this pier. Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace" Iroh comments. Zuko turns to look at his uncle.

"It's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time for everyone!"

"Quite the contrary. I always say the only thing better than finding something you were looking for, is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!" Behind Iroh, a parade of Fire Nation soldiers walks by carrying armloads of merchandise that Iroh has just bought. One of them is some kind of brass musical instrument.

"You bought a tsungi horn?" Zuko asks, indigent about this whole thing.

"For music night on the ship. Now, if we only had some woodwinds" They begin to walk away, heading down the dock where they approach the pirate ship. "This place looks promising!"

..............

Iroh is peering at the red jewelled monkey Katara had eyed earlier, he turns his head one way and then another as he takes in the details. Zuko shifts behind him, peering over a shelf of trinkets.

"Ooo! That is handsome! Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?" Iroh comments. Behind them, tucked away in the doorway, is the Pirate Captain, who is speaking with the Pirate Barker. Zuko listens to their conversation. Meanwhile, Iroh picks up the jewelled monkey with a huge grin on his face.

"I want that vastaya girl" The pirate captain growls, curling his fingers into his palm. Zuko stiffens slightly, pretending to look at the fox-like figurine he picks up from the table. "The prices men would pay...She could be a gold mine....plus the sale of that scroll could set us up somewhere. Open up a little place...they'd come from miles away to catch a glimpse...or a feel..." Zuko clutches the fox statue in his hand til lit shatters, he glares down at the pieces as he releases them. "Hey!" The Captain snaps. "You break it, you buy it" Zuko turns to the Captain, holding his hands behind his back.

"This vastaya, was she travelling with a little bald monk with an arrow on his head?" Iroh gives Zuko a look from behind. He is only going to be able to hide behind searching for the Avatar for so long before he is going to have to admit that he's actually chasing after Rana. Zuko's head and his heart are chasing two different things. His head is going after the Avatar, logically it is his only way to go home. His heart is chasing Rana and this warmth she gives him, the sense of belonging that he's never felt before, the true sense of home.

.........

Rana goes through the berries and roots that she'd gone out to collect, again, following their earlier disaster. She even managed to find some mushrooms this time. She prepares dinner. It won't be much. But enough to get them through the night. Somewhere behind her, Aang and Katara are practising water-bending with the scroll Rana stole from the pirates.

............

Later, Sokka, Aang, and Katara are all fast asleep, the campfire still blazing so they haven't been asleep very long. Rana moves around the camp, stepping over Aang and silently removes the water-bending scroll from Aang's bag. She backs quietly away from the camp, heading through the trees towards a point on the river further down so as not to disturb them whilst she gives it a go. To be honest, she didn't want to fail in front of them.

.............

Rana is getting increasingly frustrated as she fails to water-bend. She doesn't understand why one minute she can create a giant wave but a little thing like a small whip, she struggles with. She hangs her head and closes her eyes. When she's in danger she has no problem doing the moves that are needed, which means they are buried inside of her somewhere. She takes a deep breath and holds out her hands, concentrating again. She lifts a globe of water out of the river and tries to manipulate it, but it pops. As does the next. And the next. And the next.

"...ugh!" She actually stomps her foot and lets loose fire from her hands in annoyance. She takes a deep breath to calm herself before glaring at the water. Suddenly she hears the noise of grinding metal. She runs over to a row of bushes on her left and drops down to hide behind them, her fingers part them to reveal a cutter craft now beached on the river bank. Which means they've already disembarked. She needs to warn the others. She needs her sword. She turns to run, but there stands a pirate, who grabs her to stop her. She lets out a humph and struggles against his hold on her arm. She then bends a water whip around and smacks the pirate in the face. He lets her go, but she runs right into Zuko, who is quick to grab her arms, pulling her closer to him. The two of them sharing a look. She swallows a little. Of course, he would turn up right after she realised that she might actually be in love with him. She should have predicted this.

"Hello, Princess" He greets softly. He doesn't know where that came from. He's never called her by anything until now. Refusing to even say her name because he knew it would break him to do so. He has no idea where that nickname just sprang from. She clenches her jaw and looks over her shoulder at the pirate who rubs his face walking towards them.

"Seriously?" She asks and looks back at Zuko. "You couldn't use a messenger like a normal person?"

"Don't flatter yourself" He argues. "I'm not here for you.....Where is he?" She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "If you tell me...I'll save you from the pirates"

"I don't need your help" She growls at him and then stomps on his foot, he stumbles back and she turns and bends a fireball at the pirate who's eyes widen, he dives out of the way when she throws it. Zuko grabs her from behind, lifting her up a little, she squirms and wriggles trying to get free from him.

"Stop squirming" He scolds into her ear, her breath catching feeling his fan over her face. "Trust me" She laughs and struggles against him.

"Trust you?" She snaps a little. "Why should I do that?"

"Because I saved your life" He reminds her. "And I could have left you to Zhao" She stops struggling and hangs her head. He leans back from her and lets out a breath as she leans into his chest, his hand softening against her stomach.