Burning Chapter 16: A Helping Hand

Dead leaves and dried twigs crunched underfoot as we walked towards the next village down the side of the mountain, having already flown most of the way on Appa’s back... Not that I particularly minded. In fact, I was eager to burn off some of the excess energy I was feeling.

It seemed that, whatever was in the herbal concoction the gang had been feeding me while I was unconscious agreed with me a little too well. It’s just a pity that there wasn’t enough left for everyone else.

Having spent a night filled with interrupted sleep and worry, pretty much everyone was tired… Well, except for Aang who was an unending well of energy and Ty Lee who was as bright and chirpy as ever.

Katara was far more subdued and quiet, only shooting brief glances my way as we walked… It almost reminded me of when we first met. Sokka on the other hand…

Pressing a hand against his stomach as it growled loudly, Sokka let out a pitiful groan.

“It looks like this is the end. I’m not going to make it.” Falling to his knees as his stomach growled once more, he reached his hand out dramatically, before falling flat on his chest. “Get the blubbered seal jerky ready for me, Gran Gran, I’m coming home.”

“Gran Gran’s still alive, Sokka.” Katara rolled her eyes. “Plus you just ate last night. How could you be this hungry?”

“I’ve gotten used to a certain standard of living,” Sokka said, his voice muffled by the ground. Looking up, he blew some dirt off his face. “Three meals a day, most of them meat… That’s the dream. Besides, don’t say that…” Pausing he took a quick sniff, before his face morphed into a look of disgust. “What’s that smell?”

“What smell?” Aang asked curiously.

Blocking his nose as he sat up, he began looking around for the source. “It kind of smells like the bathroom back H– Why’s everyone looking at me like that?”

Looking down, he recoiled when he saw the brown splotch marking his shirt. Letting go of his nose, he gave an experimental sniff and immediately gagged.

Katara slapped a palm to her face, her shoulders shaking as she tried to keep from laughing. “Well what did you think it would smell like? Just... There should be a creek nearby for you to wash off in.”

“I’ll help you find it,” Aang said energetically. Jumping into a nearby tree, he shielded his eyes from the morning sun, looking around, before pointing off into the distance. “There’s one in that direction... It looks like there’s someone else there too. Hey, maybe we can ask them for directions. We can go together.”

“Gee, thanks,” Sokka muttered, looking very much like he wanted to climb out of his own skin.

Marching off into the woods with Aang helping guide him, a few short moments passed, before Ty Lee finally broke.

Letting out a snort of laughter, she covered her mouth with her hands. “Sorry, it’s just... Does that happen often?”

Sokka could be pretty unlucky... That paired with his personality and occasional lack of grace generally didn’t end well for him.

“More often than you’d know,” Katara deadpanned. “It’s always been like that with him. There was this time when we were children where he decided that he was old enough to join the other warriors and stole our dad’s spear, only to get his tongue stuck to it.”

“You’ve gotta tell me that story,” Ty Lee said. Shooting a quick glance my way, she grinned. “I have a few interesting stories of my own... We could tell them around the camp fire tonight.”

Tonight?

“You’re staying?” I asked.

I’d thought she would want to go back to her performance now that everything had calmed down.

“Of course I am,” Ty Lee beamed. “The circus was great and everything, but it doesn’t hold a candle to flying on a sky bison’s back. Appa’s such a little cutie once you get to know him.” Landing on her shoulder, Momo chirped, rubbing his face against her grinning one. “We bonded, I’m staying.”

Yeah, that sounded about right when it came to Ty Lee.

“Besides,” She continued. “Once Azula finds out what you’ve been up to, she’s going to be super angry. It’ll probably be better if I stick around. At least that way, I can make sure you don’t get into any further trouble.”

In other words, she’d use me as a meat shield and throw me at Azula in the hopes that she’d calm down once she was done getting her pound of flesh. It wasn’t the first time she’d done it and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

It was strange though… The way Katara looked at me when Ty Lee mentioned Azula. It was almost like…

Oh.

It seemed that Ty Lee told them about Azula while I was unconscious… Or at least Katara since Aang and Sokka hadn’t said anything. Well, it’s not like I was actually hiding it. I just hadn’t gotten around to mentioning it yet.

“Hopefully, she’ll have had time to cool down by then,” I hummed. She probably wouldn’t but I could still dream. “We probably don’t have to worry about the Fire Lord finding out.”

That didn’t exactly mean much when Aang was the Avatar. He was still enemy number one in the Fire Nation… Him and all his friends.

“That’s what I thought,” Ty Lee chirped. “Azula does like to do things on her own. There’s no way she’ll tell her dad about this.”

“Anything you want to say, Katara?” I asked.

Katara shot a quick glance my way, turning away when I looked back. Taking a breath, she steeled her nerves and looked up. “Why didn’t you tell any of us about this sooner?”

Looking between us as the air grew a little tense, Ty Lee busied herself with petting Momo.

“It just… Never really came up.” I shrugged. “There were more important things to deal with at the time. It’s not like it changes anything either. I’m still going to help Aang master Firebending and put an end to this war.”

Sighing, Katara brushed a hand down her face. “Sometimes, I really don’t know what to make of you. I’m not angry or anything, it's just… You can talk to us about this kind of stuff, Honō. We’re your friends. You can trust us.”

Nodding, I smiled. She really was quite earnest. “I’ll tell the others once we’ve had time to settle down a little.”

Maybe after breakfast.

“If it helps, none of us know what to make of him either,” Ty Lee chimed in, smiling awkwardly. “Even Azula was stumped and she’s normally super refined and knowledgeable. He used to drive her crazy all the time… Mai too.”

“Mai?”

“Our third friend,” I answered. “Technically, my first one.”

Spotting something orange out of the corner of my eye, I looked up to see Aang flying overhead, looking quite distressed. Judging by the direction he was traveling, he was heading back to Appa.

Huh… Wonder what that’s about.

“You guys, get over here… Quick!” Sokka called out. “I could seriously use your help.”

That didn’t sound good.

Quickly making my way up the hill that led to the creek, I caught sight of Sokka crouched in front of a large tree with a man dressed in white and red robes leaning against the trunk.

Getting a little closer, I realized that his robes were slightly torn and weren’t supposed to have red in them.

“What happened?” I asked, kneeling next to Sokka.

“It was a platypus bear,” Sokka replied, his hands pressed firmly against the man’s chest, stemming the bleeding. “These woods must be full of them… This guy on the other hand got off lucky by only getting a scratch.”

That was a pretty damn big scratch if you asked me. Sokka, however, wasn’t entirely wrong. Despite the massive wound, it didn’t look like anything vital had been hit. That being said, he was still in danger of bleeding out.

“I sent Aang to go see if we had any bandages back at camp,” Sokka continued. “I was hoping that Katara might be able to help.”

“Me?” Katara asked. “This is far beyond what I’m capable of dealing with. The worst I’ve had to deal with was the pregnant women back in the tribe. This guy doesn’t exactly look like he’s giving birth.”

Ignoring that, I focused on his wounds and the rate at which he was losing blood. He’d likely die within the next ten or so minutes. Somehow, I felt that a bandage wouldn’t do much to help him.

“It’s not going to be enough,” I murmured. “One of his blood vessels is severed. A few bandages won’t stop that.”

Katara might be able to heal him, if she only knew how, but… If I told her about that now and this guy died in the process… I didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on her. Not when she knew so little about Waterbending.

With Waterbending out of the question, there was only one way that I could think of to save this guy's life… One that was readily available to Firebenders.

“I think I might have an idea… Katara, I need you to get some cool, clean water and keep it at the ready,” I said, glancing up at said Waterbender. Clapping my hands together, I rubbed them against one another. “Ty Lee, I need you to Chi block him… Make sure he can’t feel a thing.”

The last thing I needed was this guy waking up while I was busy sealing his wounds.

“You’re going to cauterize the wound,” Sokka realized.

I nodded. It wasn’t perfect, but it’d keep him from bleeding out. Ty Lee’s Chi blocking would prevent him from feeling anything and Katara would be able to clean the burns with her Waterbending once I was done.

“Get ready to move your hand,” I said, holding my hands above his body, heat radiating off them. “On three, remove your hands… One… Two… Three!”

…Burning…

Standing on the riverside in the early morning, Zuko stared at the small boat that he’d stolen the previous night.

It wasn’t anything too impressive. Despite having a steam engine, it was incapable of going out into deep waters. They’d need to stick to the shallows if they didn’t want to end up being overturned by a stray wave.

It would, however, get them where they needed to go... Now if only his uncle could hurry up.

“Well, I’ve held my end up. You’ve got your boat and I got to strike a blow against the Fire Nation.” Jet smirked “Gotta say, I’m a little sad to see you go. You’ve got real potential as a Freedom Fighter. Not many know how to sail a ship like that… It would be a really useful skill for us. Together, we could do a lot of good.”

“Not interested,” Zuko muttered.

Jet chuckled. “Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t be… Can’t blame a guy for trying though. No hard feelings… You have your own path and I have mine, that’s all there is to it. ”

There was a bit more to it than that, but Zuko chose to remain silent.

“Ah, there you are, nephew,” Iroh commented, stepping out of the woods alongside a few of the troops with Smellerbee leading them. “When I found you missing, I grew worried, but this kind young man let us know where you were.”

“I’m a girl,” Smellerbee snapped, storming off.

“Oh, I see… Well thank you all the same. We appreciate the help,” Iroh called out as Smellerbee steadily disappeared into the forest. Smelling the air, he turned to see a small cloud of smoke billowing in the distance. “I hope that’s not another forest fire… This land has seen more than enough of those.”

“It’s just a Fire Nation town that the local army accidentally set on fire,” Jet said offhandedly. “Me and my Freedom Fighters happened to see it while we were procuring your boat. I think they’ll be a little more wary in the future.”

“As they should be.” Iroh nodded, getting a satisfied smirk from Jet. “Sometimes, all it takes is a spark to light an inferno, destroying everything that they hold dear. In the end, they’ll be left alone with no one to blame but themselves. These are the actions of a selfish person.”

Zuko narrowed his eyes. It almost seemed like his uncle knew what really happened the night before… Of how it was actually Jet and his little band of Freedom Fighters that had set fire to the town.

“Whatever,” Jet muttered, no longer smirking. “You guys better get going. You wouldn’t want to get caught fleeing from the Fire Nation... They’ll probably be looking for someone to blame for the fire.”

“Of course.” Iroh nodded. “And thank you once again for assisting us on our journey. If you hadn’t been around to help, we likely would have spent a few more days out here.”

“Just doing the right thing, that’s all.”

Silently climbing onto the boat alongside his uncle, he stumbled slightly as the steam engine jolted to life. It was slow at first, especially since they weren’t using Firebending to help the coals along, but soon they found themselves traveling down the river. Jet’s form slowly fading off into the distance.

Feeling exhaustion from the last few days and last night’s lack of sleep began to kick in, Zuko sat near the back of the boat, watching as the scenery passed by.

“Long night?” Iroh asked, sitting across from him. “Why don’t you get some rest? I will keep an eye on things and make sure we are heading the right way.”

It was tempting, but…

“I think I’ll stay awake for now,” Zuko muttered. “At least until we reach the ocean.”

Staring at his nephew for a few moments, Iroh nodded. “Of course. You know, Jet is quite charismatic for his age, but I fear his heart isn’t in the right place. It is wise to be wary of such a person for they can drive others to do terrible things in their name. I am proud of you for realizing that.”

Zuko sighed tiredly. That made one of them.

…Burning…

Sitting on a pillow in a small room, I stared at the wall, counting the number of cracks that littered it, briefly considering if I should start naming them or if I should save that for later.

Some time had passed since we’d arrived in the small, walled off village on the side of the mountain. As it turned out, the man we’d brought had been a local that had been seen a few hours before.

The villagers had been more than a little shocked at the state he’d been brought back in… Never mind the fact that he’d been carried in by us and now had a handprint burned into his chest. We’d been asked to wait while the village doctor treated him.

That was over an hour ago.

Having spent all that time worrying about the man we brought back, Aang was jittery as opposed to Sokka who’d taken to slouching on the floor with his butt in the air, both tired and hungry.

Ty Lee on the other hand kept herself busy by petting and cooing over Momo who greatly appreciated the attention while Katara simply waited patiently with her hands on her knees… Although, she was starting to look annoyed.

Sighing, I leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. At this rate, it might just be better to get Appa and head to the next village over.

Hearing the sliding door open, I looked down to see a man dressed in white and blue with a wispy moustache step through. He looked strangely familiar.

“Oh, hello there, I see you’re all still here,” he greeted easily. “I thought you would have left by now. I’m happy to say that, despite everything, our friend in the other room will be quite alright… After a few weeks, he should make a full recovery.”

“That’s great,” Aang chirped.

“It is odd though,” the man murmured. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Firebending used to save a life, only take them… If I may ask, do you know what it was that attacked him?”

“It was a platypus bear,” Sokka moaned, looking up. “At least that’s what all the signs pointed towards. Can we go now? It’s almost lunch time and I haven’t eaten anything since last night.”

Humming, he nodded. “Yes, of course… It all makes perfect sense now.”

“Um, excuse me,” Katara said. “What makes sense?”

“Shu’s reading, it’s why he was out in the woods to begin with,” the man replied. “It was said that he would meet a grizzly fate at the hands of a Firebender. The grizzly in question being the platypus bear while he was saved by the Firebender… Funny how life works out, isn’t it?”

And just like that, I knew exactly where we were.

“What exactly do you mean by prediction?” Sokka asked carefully.

“Aunt Wu, the local fortuneteller,” I said.

“That’s correct,” the man nodded. “You’ve heard of her?”

“Not exactly,” I hummed.

…Burning…

Walking through the streets of Omashu as her troops flooded the city, Azula could honestly say that she wasn’t impressed. Here was one of the last great cities that resisted the Fire Nation, being second in size to that of Ba Sing Se and it’d fallen in a day…

Not even a day, it’d fallen in a single morning.

It hadn’t even required her to do anything other than rally an army.

The Earthbenders had put up some resistance… More than enough to drag the battle out over a full day, but after some time, most seemed to have just lost the will to fight. There were still a few that refused to give up, but they were quickly overwhelmed and driven back.

And she’d so been looking forward to sneaking into the city and taking the king hostage herself. It was disappointing to say. She’d had several plans to take the city, only for them to end up being completely unnecessary.

This whole ordeal was beginning to give her a headache.

Whatever.

She’d done what she set out to do. As far as she was concerned, once she was done here, this would become Mai’s father’s problem… Speaking of said gloomy girl.

Falling in pace with her, Mai glanced around suspiciously, her hand causally resting on her hip. “Doesn’t this feel a little too easy?”

“You think this could be a trap?” Azula asked casually.

“Maybe,” Mai murmured.

It was possible, but highly unlikely seeing as the city was currently flooded with Fire Nation soldiers. After they left, however… Azula could easily see some form of resistance rising up in some attempt to take back the city.

Of course, this was all just one big assumption. In order to confirm it, she’d need an inside source, luckily, one such person volunteered.

Smirking confidently, Azula took the lead. “Let’s find out.”

Heading further up the fortified mountain peak while keeping an eye out for any potential attacks, they soon arrived at a perch that overlooked a good chunk of Omashu… One where the former king of the city stood wrapped tightly in chains with several soldiers surrounding him.

A precautionary measure until they could arrange something a little more secure.

Despite his current predicament, he didn’t seem to be bothered by the chains, his guards or even his city being captured. In fact, he seemed happy. Grinning broadly when he caught sight of Azula, he even tried to wave.

“Hello there, nice day, isn’t it?”

“Silence, prisoner!” One of the soldiers ordered while another held his spear directly in front of his face.

“Thanks, I thought those chains were a little loose,” Bumi said to the soldier, before turning back towards Azula. “And I should really be thanking you as well. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a vacation and this gives me the perfect excuse to kick back and relax.”

Grunting, the soldier whipped his spear around, ready to bash him over the head with the back end…

“I think that’s quite enough,” Azula commanded, stopping the soldier dead in his tracks. “I have a few questions for our guest here and would prefer him to be capable of answering them... Unless of course you would like to answer them for him.”

Shaking his head, the soldier took a step back. “No, your highness… I wouldn’t dare–”

“Good,” Azula interrupted. “Seeing as you won’t be answering any questions, I expect you’ll prove your usefulness by remaining silent while I am here.”

Looking like he wanted to respond, the soldier settled for nodding silently.

“Ooh, someone’s in trouble,” Bumi teased. “You really know how to command obedience… Quite the opposite of the Firebender that passed through my city a few short weeks ago… What was his name again, Momo? No, that’s not right. It had an H in it if I’m not mistaken.”

Losing her composure for a moment, Azula twitched while Mai let out a short hiss, having accidentally cut herself on one of her many blades. Just what had that idiot gotten up to now?

Glancing at the soldiers, she narrowed her eyes. Any witnesses would just be a liability. They had to go.

“Everyone out,” She ordered.

Looking a little unsure, one of the soldiers holding the chain voiced his question. “Are you sure? If we leave, there’ll be no one to restrain him if he attacks.”

Clenching her fist closed, blue flames began sparking to life. “Did I stutter? Leave now or you’ll be joining him later.”

Dropping the chains, the soldiers slowly backed up, eyeing Bumi cautiously, before leaving the perch. Bumi was still wrapped up tightly, but was able to move around a little more freely.

Waiting for the final soldier to leave, Azula formed a small ball of fire at her fingertips before brandishing them threateningly at Bumi.

“Listen carefully, you’re going to tell me everything that you know about Honō. Where he’s been, what he’s up to and where he’s going. Lie or leave something out and I’ll make the rest of your short life a living nightmare.” Flicking her fingers forward, a stream of fire collided with his chains.

Bumi let out a snort of mad laughter. “Sorry, I don’t think I’m quite ready for another relationship.”

It was disturbing how much that sounded like something Honō would say. No matter, she would burn the answers out of him if she had to.

“Azula, a word, please?” Mai asked dully, moving closer. Glancing at Bumi, she turned her back to him. “I don’t think this is someone that you’ll be able to intimidate,” she whispered. “He doesn’t seem like he’s got a lot going on upstairs… He probably doesn’t know where Honō’s going.”

“Oh, that’s easy. He’s going to the North Pole in order to try and meet up with the Northern Water Tribe,” Bumi answered. “He’s traveling with a pair of Southern Water Tribe members and an old friend of mine.”

Looking for any sign of deception, Azula sighed. Of course he was, why wouldn’t he want to meet up with the Northern Water Tribe? It’s not like they actively hated Firebenders… Oh, wait. She rolled her eyes.

That idiot was going to get himself killed… For real this time.

“Since it seems like you’re looking for him, I was hoping that you would be able to deliver a package for me,” Bumi continued. “Something that he asked for before he left. It’s a small glass bottle in cold storage with his name on it. I was hoping to see what he will do with it… Seeing as he already put my Jennamite to good use.”

“What is it?” Mai asked monotonously.

“I think I’ll leave that as a surprise for later,” He snorted. “Oh, and when you see them, say hi for me.”