Days of sailing continued one, and I was beginning to completely forget what it was like to live on land. Not that I was complaining. Out at sea, I had an infinite access to water in case I felt like training or if defense was necessary. I've only really needed to bend for my defense a few times since we first set out to find the Avatar. Once, when a guard decided he wanted to find out if Southern Water Tribe girls are "as fun as they say" (I don't know who would say that; there aren't even enough of us to come up with such a ludicrous stereotype). A second time, when I was training with a few of the soldiers and was on the verge of losing. A third and final time when I found a stowaway who thought that he had the advantage because I'm "just a girl."
Let's just say that he didn't leave this ship without a souvenir.
Although, while the soldiers were impressed, Iroh wasn't.
"You should not have attacked that stowaway," he scolded me that night. "True strength and honor do not come from the willingness to harm others, but from having mercy and compassion." When I didn't say anything, he continued. "You've changed greatly, Saki. Not for the best, but not for the worst."
Those words were like a water slap to the face.
I spent the all of the next day training with Bao, who had actually grown to become a good friend.
"He isn't wrong, you know," he said, ducking to dodge my water whip. "You have changed. You used to be so quiet and scared of everyone. Now you're like this fierce tigerdillo or dragon or something."
"Whatever," I let out a breath before dropping to the floor to avoid a blast of fire.
"Had enough practice for today?" Bao asked, laughing breathlessly. I blew a collection of loose strands from in front of my face, then coiled my water whip around his ankle and yanked him down onto his back.
"Now, I've had enough," I say with a laugh. He laughs with me and we both stand up. We part ways as he goes to attend to his duties on ship, and I go to find Zuko. His training was finished hours before mine, and this was about time he'd be meditating in his quarters. When I opened his door, I was right. There he was, sitting with his eyes closed. His chest expanding and contracting slowly.
"Did training go well?" He asked without opening his eyes.
I sat in front of him and mirrored him. I was never really one for meditating, but I always did when he was. It was the only time we actually together anymore.
"Mhm," I nodded, closing my eyes and meditating with him. "I think I'm getting better."
"Enough to be considered a master?" It was hard to tell if he was sincere or joking, but he had that signature half smirk of his when he said it that make me feel like it was going both ways.
"I'm nowhere near ready to be a master." I felt him staring at me, so I opened my eyes as well. My instinct was right. "Where are we headed next?" I asked, wanting to fill the silent void.
"Kyoshi Island." Seeing my confused head tilt, he referred to the map hanging on the wall. "An island. Earth Kingdom territory. There's a small village, followers of Avatar Kyoshi."
I nodded, looking at the small island under his finger. "So you think that - since they're all followers of Kyoshi - the Avatar is going to be there...?"
He shook his head, looking at me like I'd asked the world's most ignorant question. "News has spread to confirm that he's there. Saki, this is my second chance to redeem myself to my father."
The ship ceased all movement, causing Zuko to stand quickly to his feet, and I as well. I followed him onto the deck, seeing the ship had stopped onshore. "Why are we stopped?!" Zuko shouted. The meditations didn't seem to be working. "I didn't give you orders to stop!"
"The ship is in need of repairs," a soldier explained. "We won't be ashore for long, Prince Zuko."
Zuko scowled, angrily huffing as he stormed to find his uncle. I started to follow him, but was stopped by a hand wrapping itself around my arm.
"Hey," Bao smiled at me. "Can we talk?"
"Sure," I nodded.
He shook his head. "Privately." He seemed really anxious, which was weird - especially considering he was the most calm person from the Fire Nation I had ever met (aside from Iroh). I nodded, following him below deck, into the control room. The captain was gone, doing whatever it was that he did when not sailing this ship.
"Is everything alright, Bao?" I asked. "You're acting really weird."
"Shush." He held his finger up to silence me. "Please, just....let me figure out how to go about this." I watched in silence as he paced back and forth, arms crossed. When he finally gathered together whatever was going through his mind, he blurted out, "How do you do it?"
Wait, what?
"Excuse me?" I asked, which only seemed to frustrate him more.
"How do you do it? How do you - How do you just fit in so easily with people? I mean, you're the only girl on this ship and - "
"Except for Lily," I cut in. Lily was my favorite soldier on the ship, but she definitely wouldn't say she felt the same liking towards me.
"Right, except for Lily," he said, waving it off. "Anyway, you're the only non-solider girl on this ship, you're not even from the Fire Nation. You aren't even a firebender! And yet, everyone on this ship loves you! How do you do it?"
"I don't understand what you're getting at." I shook my head, my dark hair following each motion and, at some point, slapping my in the face and filling my nose with the strong scent of sea water.
He gestured towards me with both hands as if showing someone else. "And you're so imperfect, and you're so perfect in everyone's eyes."
"Bao, you aren't making any sen-"
My words were cut off by Bao's lips being pressed against mine. My first kiss. It wasn't how imagined it....probably because I never really imagined it at all.
I wasn't sure what to do. Was I supposed to push him away? Let it continue? Hold him? I had no clue. Times like these made me wish I had Katara with me, or Queen Ursa. Maybe then I would've been prepared for something like this.
But nothing - nothing in this world - could've prepared me for this:
A fuming Zuko pounded his fist against the metal wall and shouted loud enough to frighten the extinct airbender monks, "GET OFF OF HER!!!"