fire in your eyes • zuko

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They followed the plume of smoke for hours. With every passing minute, Nava's palms grew sweatier as her anxiety rose. They followed the tank into a forested area and watched as three lizards dismounted and scurried off into the distance. Atop the lizards were three girls: Azula, a girl in pink, and a girl in dark red robes. Zuko egged the ostrich-horse on to follow the girls from the bush and moved slowly to avoid raising suspicion.

"The Avatar is trying to give us the slip," Azula was saying. She pointed towards the tree tops. "You two head in that direction and keep an eye out for the bison, and I'll follow this trail."

The trio split up and Zuko followed behind Azula.

"Who are those girls?" Nava whispered.

"The one in pink is Ty Lee, the other one is Mai. They've been friends with my sister for years," Zuko said. He sounded angry.

Eventually, they made it to a deserted town, similar to the one Lee and his family lived in.

Zuko took him and Nava around the edge and tied the ostrich horse to a post.

"Get up onto one of the buildings and keep a clear sight on the Avatar; don't let him leave," he said. "I'll take care of Azula."

Nava held her bow in one hand and rolled her shoulders back. Her poise changed immediately and Zuko suddenly remembered that she was trained to kill.

They split up upon reaching the town. Zuko went down a narrow alleyway while Nava scaled the back of a tall building and positioned herself behind a large wooden sign. She peered around the end of it and notched an arrow. Below, she could see the Avatar and Azula standing on either end of the street.

"Do you really want to fight me?" the Princess said, sounding bored.

Aang's response was cut off as Zuko burst into the street and landed in a crouched position between them.

"Yes," he said, straightening up. "I really do."

Nava shook her head. So dramatic, she thought.

"Oh, I was wondering when you'd show up, Zuzu. Did you bring your little Yuyan girl too?" Azula said.

Zuko got into a firebending stance, his arms outstretched towards both his sister and Aang. "Back off, Azula, he's mine!" he growled.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said, all traces of amusement gone.

There was a moment of stillness, all three of them waiting to see who would attack first, and then a burst of blue fire erupted from Azula's hands. Zuko blocked her blast with his own flames and Aang took off into the air with his glider. Nava's arrow followed him, faltering slightly when he was knocked out of the sky by Azula. A shadow suddenly appeared over Nava and she looked up. Azula stood over her with a smirk.

"Fancy meeting you here," was all she said before taking Nava by the collar and shoving her off the building.

She landed painfully on her back, the wind knocked out of her. As she gasped for air, she could only watch as Azula jumped off the roof and blocked a succession of fireballs sent by Zuko. Rolling onto her stomach and pushing herself uneasily to her feet, Nava grabbed her bow from a few feet away from her and loaded another arrow. She aimed for Azula's arm and released the string with a sharp inhale. The arrow caught the princess' sleeve and pinned it to a stack of wooden crates. Another one quickly followed, this time to her other arm.

"Stay out of this, you filthy peasant!" Azula spat. She yanked her arm free and narrowly avoided being blasted by Zuko.

She followed the Avatar into a two-story structure with a sign labelled 'saloon' and Zuko followed, flying through the window behind them and landing with a crash. Nava hurried across the street towards the saloon and as she was entering the door, Aang came out. They stared at each other as they passed but did nothing to stop the other. Nava skidded to Zuko's side, who was struggling to get up. She helped him to his feet and as she did, Azula jumped down from the second floor. She didn't allow Nava or Zuko to react as she summoned enough fire to blow them out through the wall. Nava flew across the street and through a boarded-up window. She slammed against the wall opposite and crumpled to the ground, pain radiating all over her body.