Power Like No Other

Chapter 7:Sailing

Sweet salt air blows through Katara's hair as she leans over the rail of the ship. Oh, how she loved this feeling. They hardly did any sailing back on Kyoshi, just on small boats for fishing, and they only ever went out to the reef where the fish were. So this was like heaven. She loved the sea, and being out on it everyday was like a dream come true.

"It would seem you are enjoying yourself out here?"

I turned and found Zuko standing there with his hands behind his back, observing me, his one eyebrow on the right raised in question. "Yes, it's truly beautiful." I watched as he came over and leaned on the metal railing with me, his own hair gently blowing in the wind.

"I've never been this far out to see before, it makes me feel alive," Zuko chuckled. "I'm sure it does, I like sailing as well...makes me feel free from the duties of the Crown Prince." He got a rather distant look in his eyes as he said that, almost like he was sad.

I decided to change the topic.

"Do you have any siblings?" I asked.

"Yes, a sister, she is your age." he cocked his head to the side, "You?"

"A brother." I said it so quietly that I thought he might not be able to hear me, it was still a hard thing to talk about for me. "What was his name?" He heard that?

"Sokka."

Zuko smiled.

"You'll find him, I know you will." It was as if he could read my thoughts, I was so worried about whether or not I would even find my family, or what was left of them anyway. I smiled at him, and we both stood in a comfortable silence after that. Just enjoying the warm summer breeze and the sweet smell of the ocean.

                                                                                       ***

That night I ate with Zuko and his uncle. He was a rather strange man, but had more wisdom than anyone I had ever met before. Zuko was good company as well and in the first few days of our travels I found he made for a very good sparring partner. Fighting with a powerful fire-bender was something I had never done before. But it always left me in a high of sorts, almost as if I could do anything.

One particular afternoon during one of these fights, I found that Zuko was not holding back as he had been. I knew my limits, I also knew that as a man he was physically stronger, and faster. But that also meant he was heavier. And I was a lot lighter, which meant I was quicker on my feet. The last few times we had spared I had only ever been bending, I had never used any of my other skills. And it seemed that today I just might have to, Zuko also seemed to notice. We were both holding back, neither of us giving it our all.

I held up my hand, stopping the fight. I bent over, bracing my hands on my knees, the hot sun beating down on my neck and back, trying to catch my breath. Zuko was doing the same thing.

"I think we can both stop pretending now." I low chuckle, that made my insides feel like mush. "Indeed, it would seem that we can stop playing." There was a glint in his eyes that told me in no way was this going to be easy. But I could feel the adrenaline kicking in, an excitement bubbling up inside me. A big smile crossed over my features, this was going to be fun.

That day me and Zuko fought like we were the worst of enemies, and the whole crue and Uncle Iroh watched and cheered. We had to call it a draw because neither of us could get past the other's guard.

                                                                                      ***

"Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Zuko and I were watching the sunset on the deck after dinner, we had been just enjoying the quiet. The question got me thinking about how to answer, it's not like it was a hard question. But for some reason I thought he would judge me for my skills, why I have no idea, not like it mattered. "Suki taught me," I answered. "Mm, I see, the Kyoshi Warriors are formidable opponents, to be taught by them and have your water-bending is something most do not get to have." He looked at me with a slight grin on his face, and I smiled back. My thoughts suddenly became serious. I thought about the fact that without Zuko and his awkward kindness, I would never have the chance to find my family if not for him. I leaned over, and gently sent my hand on his arm, he looked up at me, surprise written all over his face.

"Thank you, Zuko, truly, without you I would not have this chance to search for my family." To prove my thanks to him, I stood on my tippy toes and kissed his cheek, and then left to turn in for the night.

                                                                                       ***

She kissed me, well not like a real kiss, but still, she kissed me. I dropped to my back onto my heels, my face felt hot as well as my ears. My heart was beating way too fast for my liking, I wrecked my hands through my hair, trying to calm myself down from the sudden action. It was such a simple thing to help her look for her family, while his family was not perfect by any means he was not sure what he would do if he did not have them in his life. The fact that me and my sister had never truly gotten along because of the favor she was shown over myself by my father, despite being the oldest child and Crown Prince, it often felt like I was being compared to my younger sister, because she was the stronger fire-bender, or she was better at classes then I. As petty as it might sound, living your whole life feeling as if you will never be good enough is not the best feeling. I had come to terms with the fact that I would never live up to my fathers expectations, it had been a heavy weight on my shoulders for quite some time now. That's why I had asked for this trip, to see all the countries and speak with people outside the Fire Nation. It had been an eye opening experience, to see the lives of different people and benders and how they lived and how it was different from the Fire Nation.

After seeing Kyoshi Island, it also showed me how a community works together as one, and in the center of the village where I met Katara, the large Kyoshi statue stood tall and proud, repainted every few years. He had learned that from Katara's father, her family being one of the people to repaint the statue. The sun had fully set by now, the moon rising in the sky at a slow, lazily pace, he watched it, thinking about how the moon was the source of water-benders powers. Just as the sun was his source, well it made him stronger, but the true source for a fire-bender was one's inner chi. His uncle had been teaching him that for a very long time. Moments like these, where he was all alone, with only his thoughts to keep him company, left him spiraling into a void of nothing. His life as of now had an unexpected turn of events, meeting Katara was not part of his plan when he decided to make this trip. But the spirits had other plans for him, he just did not know what those plans were. Sighing to himself, Zuko turned on his heel and headed to bed, hoping to get some rest.