𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦

Spirit Hunt

~

The clear skies and fresh smell of trees-- since we are docked near an island heavily forested, are a means of clearing my mind and skimming throughout the land in search of the Avatar. It's muggy once I reach a swamp, struggling to hold on as I sense sudden violent motion, seeing splashing and someone who could be the avatar, but I'm not sure. The strain is too much, eventually forcing me to give up before I pass out.

Then heat flushes my face as I open my eyes, panting.

I watch Zuko firebend wildly in frustration, as I walk towards him. He nearly hits me with one but I grab his hand, pointing it upwards. "Whoa there, Prince Zuko. You might hurt someone."

"What do you want?!" he says, rather loudly. He doesn't seem to notice the sweat I'm exuding from trying to strain myself.

"You haven't given any orders for the past hour. I bet that's because you're thinking we won't get the avatar before Zhao?"

"With his resources, there's no way we can! He'll track him down before we can come close." He turns around and actually looks hopeless, and pitiful for once. His shoulders slump forward over the rail. "My honor, my throne, my country... I'm about to lose it all."

"You're right. He will get him before us. But it's his fault for forcing us to stay in this area, because we can reach the avatar now. I told you we'd use his resources to our advantage, didn't I?"

I close my eyes again, skimming through the fortress that sat on the island one hundred yards from us. It is a Fire Nation one, and Zhao was there. The fires were lit in some sort of celebration.

So the Avatar had been captured. The Yuyan don't have to be hired, they're resources are easily utilized by us without pay. They just gave us Aang on a silver platter.

"Prince Zuko," I alert him, pulling my spirit mask from under the fold of my shirt, covering my face. "You're going to want one of these."

~

I wait until night, studying the fortress through and through till I know it like the back of my hand. I wear my mask and a hood, with loose pants tucked into my boots. The hood was to hide most of my hair, though the thin strands I always left in front of my shoulders are still visible, bound at the bottom by cloth.

"I have the entire place mapped out. I can lead you through to where the avatar while I keep an eye on you. But I'm staying in the vents. If you get yourself into a problem, I'm getting you out right away. Avatar or not. We can run the risk of having to try again-- the avatar will not be transported tonight. But we can't risk you getting captured because then I have two people to break out. Not that I couldn't, it would just take a lot more time. Time we don't have," I say to Zuko, who has his mask on while we're in the forest outside the fortress. "Do you understand me?"

"But we absolutely have to get the avatar as soon as possible," he says.

"Do. You. Un-der-stand. Me?" I repeat again.

"... Yes." He starts moving, hiding underneath a cart that is being pulled up to the fortress. I'm right behind him on the cart that follows, making hiding that much easier.

We bypass the first doors easily. I watch as security walks around, checking the back of the cart. "Check." He begins walking to the side and I slither my way into the back, as he checks below. "Check. You're good to go." And the cart proceeds.

I slip out, running into a door at the bottom of one fortress wall. I sweep up through the echoing metal spiral stairs, knowing Zuko trails, and stop outside a door frame, hiding behind a wall. It leads to hall through to the inner ring. He does the same on the opposite and I signal him about guards on the other side of us. I count to three with my fingers and in sync, we hop around the wall and knock them out.