fire in your eyes • zuko

i

Nava leaned against a wall, casually surveying the passersby. She kept a trained eye out for any unguarded pouch, remaining as nonchalant as possible. As she scanned the area, an unfamiliar face caught her eye: a pretty girl in blue being followed a bald boy in bright clothing. Behind them was another boy with an undercut; he was also dressed in blue. She watched as the trio passed, the girl briefly making eye contact with her before looking away, hugging her arms around her torso. Losing interest, Nava looked elsewhere, biting back a yawn.

Less than a minute later, a shout came the distance and Nava whipped her head around to follow the source of the noise.

"Hey, you, get back here!" a pirate yelled from their ship, pointing at the kids.

"Told you they'd come to their senses! Looks like the haggling paid off!" the bald boy said proudly.

"Aang, I don't think these pirates are here to trade..." the girl said, taking him by the sleeve and bolting down the street.

The pirates followed them, rounding the corner and disappearing from view. Nava shook her head; even she knew better than to mess with pirates.

More shouting caught her attention. Nava glanced over, seeing a foul-looking boy and a plump old man approaching a Fire Nation warship. She rose her eyebrow in interest, watching the exchange.

"It's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time!" the boy said heatedly to the older man.

"Quite the contrary, Prince Zuko! The only thing better than finding what you were looking for is finding something you weren't looking for... at a great bargain!"

At his words, a line of Fire Nation soldiers paraded past them, their arms towering with all sorts of items.

"You bought a tsungi horn?" the boy, Prince Zuko apparently, asked in disbelief.

"For music night on the ship! Now all we need are some woodwinds..."

The older man passed Nava, coming to a stop in front of the pirate ship. "Oh, this looks promising!" he said excitedly, scurrying up the ramp.

Prince Zuko followed him, scowling all the way.

Nava watched as another pirate, a man she knew as Sho, descended the ramp and approached her.

"You see where those three kids ran off to? The Water Tribe ones and the monk? They stole a waterbending scroll." he asked.

She shrugged. "Maybe. My memory might be a little foggy."

Sho held out three gold pieces, looking at her expectantly.

"I can definitely find where they went," Nava said happily, taking the coins from him and shoving them into her pocket. "Give me an hour."

She pushed herself off the building and went in the direction the trio ran off in. They wouldn't have stuck around if they were being chased by pirates... and they took a waterbending scroll, so they'd be by the water.

When she couldn't make enough money thieving, Nava often took odd jobs around towns – the kinds that nobody else wanted to do. She'd stick around for a day or two, long enough to finish her job, and then she'd move on. She'd been in the port for about two weeks now, the shadiness of it all making her feel welcome. In the process, she had formed an understanding with the pirates: they'd get her to track people down for their merchandise and she'd get a cut of the profits in turn. She even became friends with some of them; occasionally spending weekends on the ship, drinking and gambling.

By now Nava was on the outskirts of the town. She walked along the riverbank, noticing the occasional sets of footprints that assured her she was on the right track. She kept a sharp ear out, listening for the sounds of talking and splashing.