GIVE ME LOVE ─── atla

vii. THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD.

Spoiled, arrogant and bitter.

"Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Now whatever you have to say, I'm sure that I can take it."

       "Right," Jing-hai scoffed and the boy peeked his eyes open, shooting daggers in her direction.

"Okay, then...we have no idea where he is," Iroh decided to just rip off the bandaid.

"WHAT?!"

       The prince's eyes bulged and the candle flared to the ceiling, exploding in his wrath. Jing-hai rolled her eyes at his dramatic flair and Iroh tossed her one of his fans. When he pulled a second out of his robes, the understanding man begun to waft the heat away from his face. The room was practically an oven.

"You really should open a window in here," Iroh advised.

      "Or a freezer," Jing-hai commented. Then, taking a flask of water from her tunic, she absorbed the liquid and moved it through the air in an attempt to cool herself down. Gently spraying herself, she was pleasantly surprised at how refreshed she felt. It wasn't a total disaster!

"Ooh, can I get in on some of that?" Iroh requested.

        "Sure," Jing-hai smiled.

       Then, rather over-confidently, the girl was certain she could manipulate the water forwards. And it was a good idea! In theory, that is. In reality, what the princess actually did was end up completely drenching the firebenders in the rest of her drink.

       She grimaced sheepishly. "...oops..."

"GET OUT!" Zuko cried in anger, shaking the water off of him. "You did that on purpose!"

        "I did not!" Jing argued.

"Did too!"

        "Did not! Ask anybody! I'm a useless waterbender!"

"Well, I can see that!" he snapped, motioning to his soggy clothes.

The girl couldn't help but to laugh.

"Uncle, what is she even doing here?" Zuko complained, gruffly. He marched over to the waterbender. "Unless you're ready to tell me where the Avatar is hiding, I don't want to hear from you!"

Iroh tried to diffuse the tensions.

"I, for one, am feeling very refreshed!" he declared.

Zuko glared at Jing-hai one more time before groaning and snatching a map out of his uncle's hand. "Give me the map!"

Jing-hai's eyes lit up now.

         Whilst the prince had been sleeping, she had been up scheming. It wasn't easy, sneaking past Zuko's guards. Each one was attired in a helmet identical to another ━━━ and it was impossible to tell what they could see and what they could not. And if they were sleeping or if they were merely standing still for a very long time. But eventually, she had heard the snores erupt from beneath the red skulls, and so she set out on a mission. By now, Jing had mastered the art of tip-toeing. And taking advantage of Zuko's exhaustion, it wasn't long before she had been standing inside the Prince's chambers.

"There have been multiple sightings of the Avatar, but he is impossible to track down," Zuko sighed, gazing at his map.

That wonderful map.

       A piece of crumpled paper he had been practically worshipping since it arrived. That damned paper. It was marked with every location that there had been a possible Avatar sighting and, as a result, had become the ship's brand new compass. Jing-hai figured the pen truly was mightier than the sword. Because in that one sheet of paper, it navigated an entire army. And so the princess had destroyed it's every credibility. Erasing potential Avatar hot spots, crossing off locations that she had never even heard of and triggering pointless journeys all morning had resulted in the perfect recipe for disaster.