Eclipse (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Chapter 23: The Southern Water Tribe

Miyuki spun the pai sho tile between her fingers as she sat on the Avatar's sky bison. She went from working for the exiled prince to track down the Avatar to traveling with the Avatar himself. Things certainly took quite the turn in a single day. She couldn't say that she expected to end up here in even her most wild of predictions.

She glanced at the pai sho tile. This was the second one she'd received— both the white lotus. Gameplay wise, it wasn't a particularly noteworthy piece, but given that this was the second time she was given one, it was somehow significant, but how? And for what? She wondered for a moment if she should put her feelers out for information on this peculiar piece.

A hawk flew to her and she lifted her arm. She'd been wearing the chap ever since they'd left Ba Sing Se. It seemed that some of them had been shot down by the Dai Li during her stay in Ba Sing Se, but those who were more cautious amongst her network had held back. Now that she managed to get word out that she left Ba Sing Se, messages were coming in by the dozens. She already had a lot to read through and process.

She produced a sheet of paper, a brush, and a small amount of ink from her bag. She held the waterbent the ink with one hand and wrote with the other, using her elbow to hold the paper down as she formulated her reply. When she finished, she rolled the message and attached it to the hawk.

"Miyuki, I've been meaning to ask, but what are all these birds doing?" Sokka asked.

The hawk squawked at Sokka, who flinched, and Miyuki sent it off before replying, "I don't usually get this many at once, but they're part of my job."

"Job?" he asked.

She nodded. "I'm an informant," she explained, "These hawks are how I collect my intel. The fleet being led by Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe is still in Chameleon Bay by the way."

He literally jumped from his seat. "You can find that out?!"

"Sure, piece of cake. I sent the inquiry out a couple hours ago and it came back just now. I mean, it's pretty hard to hide an entire fleet." She shrugged.

He was practically tearing up. "Where have you been all my life?"

"Now, now. I typically charge, just so you know," she replied with a laugh, "We can write up a contract, if you'd like, but I'm not cheap." She waved him off dismissively and reflexively passed the paper to Zuko, who wasn't present, to burn. She caught herself and ripped the note up before shoving it into her bag to dispose of later. "By the way, you said that Hakoda's your father, right?"

Sokka nodded. "Yeah. What's up?"

"After we get to them, would you mind introducing me? I have an idea about what we should do next, but I'm going to have to confirm some details first," she said. "Or, you could tell him for me, if they won't listen to me."

"Won't listen to you?" he echoed.

She raised her eyebrows. The answer was obvious, but if she needed to spell it out, she would. "Since I'm a girl?"

Sokka waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, that's not really as strong a thing in the Southern Tribe as it is in the Northern Tribe. There aren't enough people to ignore anyone for something like that. As long as you've got the skills to back it up, they'll listen. I'll introduce you. My dad'll hear you out."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." She glanced at the Avatar's unconscious body and the girl hovering over him, still on the brink of tears. "Is Aang gonna be alright?"

Sokka looked away and shook his head. "No clue," he replied in a hushed tone. "Katara did some healy thingy using spirit water though."

"Spirit water? From the Northern Tribe?"