Homeless Dragon- Zuko

Ch. 7 Reunions Part 1

It had been two weeks when all of Zhao's staff had finished going through most of the boxes containing evidence regarding the Avatar. They had plotted the areas the Avatar had been to, including the Fire Sage's temple, on a large map in the middle of the room in an attempt to figure out possible routes for interception. Going over it, Zhao realized that the boy had gone all over the place and there was no general purpose to the destinations he went to. After the winter solstice however, things became different. The destinations became more and more focused, and he realized the boy was heading north. But why?

'Why would a boy head...?' his mind began but stopped, 'Wait, a boy... a boy who could only airbend was heading north.'

There was only one place he would go, and Zhao smirked. The admiral now considered his failure to hold the Avatar to be a minor setback, and then, perhaps, a golden opportunity. Suddenly, a crate dropped onto the ground, causing everyone's head to snap up and see a soldier.

"What was that?" Zhao demanded, irritated that his internal gloating was interrupted.

The soldier stood up straight, and faced the admiral nervously.

"Th-The evidence f-f-from the Tie Dao shipyard," stammered the soldier.

Zhao looked at the documents all over the ground.

"Why is it on the ground?" asked Zhao suddenly in a calm tone of voice as he approached the soldier.

"B-Because... I am clumsy?" he answered sheepishly.

"Ah, an honest answer... NOW PICK IT UP!" he shouted as flames coated his hands.

The soldier immediately did as he was ordered, and shuffled through the papers and organized them into a neat stack. It was then that something shiny caught the admiral's eyes.

"Stop," he ordered, and the soldier looked up, "Pick that up," he ordered, and the soldier obeyed.

Zhao beheld a necklace. It had a blue ribbon, and an ivory pendant with waves carved on it. The ribbon was worn, but the clasp and the pendant were well taken care of and glimmered as though they were brand new.

"This is evidence?" asked Zhao.

"Y-Yes sir," said the soldier, "The warden said that a Water Tribe girl who riled the earthbenders into rioting wore it."

"Water Tribe girl..." thought Zhao before remembering a girl he chained to one of the pillars in the Fire Sage's temple while the Avatar was present, "She must have dropped it before our little encounter... no matter, it's of no concern to me, get rid of it."

The soldier was about to when Colonel Shinu entered the room.

"Forgive the interruption Admiral, but you have a message," said the colonel.

"Not now, I believe we had a breakthrough in the hunt for the Avatar," said Zhao.

"Forgive me Admiral, but this is for your eyes only," said the colonel holding an unopened red scroll.

Zhao turned around in irritation, but immediately stopped as he faced the scroll.

"It came from a Hei Ying?" asked the admiral, clearly interested.

Shinu simply nodded.

In the military, red scrolls from black messenger hawks meant it was a top secret document that demanded the punishment of death be given to anyone unauthorized to read it. The scroll was made from a very thin film of paper that required a special pen and ink for it's messages, and when it was rolled up into a scroll, the knot of the delicate ribbon that held it together was waxed and stamped with a special seal, whose maker lived directly in the royal palace to ensure its authority, authenticity, and to make sure it was never duplicated..