Avatar: TLA Series Premiere (SpawnofSatan)

The Southern Water Tribe

Uncle Iroh walked out onto the balcony of the Fire Nation ship in his bedrobe. Prince Zuko was standing at the edge, his hands behind his back, his own bedrobe blowing in the wind as she ship sailed forward. He stared ahead silently, his gaze hard.

“I’m going to bed now,” Uncle Iroh said. He stretched as he yawned. “Yep, a man needs his rest.” When Zuko did not respond, Iroh added, “Prince Zuko, you need some sleep. Even if you’re right, and the Avatar is alive, you won’t find him. Your father, grandfather and great-grandfather all tried and failed.”

“Because their honor,” Zuko replied darkly, “didn’t hinge on the Avatar’s capture. Mine does. This coward’s hundred years in hiding are over.”

**********

The kids were about two-thirds away from the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka was asleep in the back of the saddle, curled up in a ball. Jey was asleep on the side of the saddle, a thick blanket under her head as a pillow. Aang was laying on his back on Appa’s head, his hands behind his head, staring up at the sky. Na li was asleep next to him, her back pressed against his left side. Katara was the only other person awake. She crawled to the front of the saddle and rested her arms on the lip that stuck out of the front like a high seat.

“Hey,” she said, loud enough for Aang to hear but soft enough so as not to wake the others.

“Hey,” Aang replied in the same quiet tone. “Whatchu thinking about?”

“I guess I was wondering, you two being Airbenders and all, if either of you had any idea what happened to the Avatar?”

Aang sat up a little and Na li stirred beside him. “Uh, no, we didn’t know him. I mean, we knew people that knew him, but we didn’t. Sorry.”

Katara was going to say something about how she had seen Na li with dragon wings and a tail in the iceberg. She had her suspicions on who Na li really was, but if they didn’t say anything about it, Katara decided not to push them. She wasn’t the kind of person to just barge in on other people’s business without invitation. “Okay, just curious. Goodnight,” Katara said as she curled up in the saddle.

“Sleep tight,” Aang replied. He turned onto his left side, biting his lip nervously as he stared into the water.

“You’re going to have to tell them sometime,” Na li whispered in Dragnestae. Aang jumped a little; apparently he had woken her up when he sat up.

“I will,” Aang replied in the same tongue as he lay down behind her, draping an arm over her. “Just not yet. There’s a lot more to our secret than just my half. We'll tell them when we’re both ready.”

Na li nodded, her eyes still closed, and laced her fingers with his. The two had always been best friends, but over the past few years (before they were trapped in the iceberg), it had begun to grow into something more. What it was, exactly, neither one of them knew. Comforted by this simple gesture, Aang smiled to himself as he closed his eyes, falling into a fitful sleep.

~~~~~

Lightning flashed across the sky, waking Aang and Na li from their sleep. The Airbenders shot upright, looking around at their surroundings. Storm clouds surrounded them, rain starting to fall as lightning flashed deep inside the clouds. Jey was in the corner of the saddle, her waterproof blanket protecting her hair so she wouldn’t lose too much power. Aang leapt out of the saddle and onto Appa’s large head, Na li following him. Aang grabbed the reins, trying to find a way out of the storm. It was hard to see with the thickness of the rain and the darkness of the clouds. Even Na li was having vision problems.

“Aang, the storm’s too thick!” she yelled over the wind. “I can’t see a way out!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be okay!” Aang yelled back. “Trust me!”