Fire, Earth, and Bounty Hunters. (SeverusX & KrissKrass)

[Artificial Sugar]

Shina had grown used to the rocking of the ship for the most part by now. It was still difficult to sleep, sometimes, but only very rarely. She of course, preferred being on land, seeing as she was an Earth Bender, but, this was the life she had chosen. She'd fallen for the Prince of the Fire Nation, and this is what she had to deal with. Living on a ship. Sighing, Shina finally decided to just get up for the day, after she'd been tossing and turning all night.


Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Shina got out of bed and walked to the small bathroom connected to her chamber, where she ran a hot bath. Bathing herself quickly, Shina got out and dryed off before putting on a clean outfit. She wore the typical colors of an Earth Bender- green, usually. Though she was pretty much part of the Fire Nation at that point, she was traveling with Zuko to help interrogate people about the Avatar.


As such, it generally put people at ease to see she was an Earth Bender. So, she wore those colors to calm people, and help them be at ease to speak to her. She got plenty of information that way, though they had yet to actually find the Avatar. It seemed that he was constantly getting away from them, always one step ahead. It was beyond frustrating.


Shina herself didn't really care about capturing the Avatar- she was only interested because she wanted Zuko to regain his honor. She'd been in love with him for years, though it seemed her feelings weren't returned. Even so, she'd stuck by him, and been his most loyal soldier- though she felt that she was more than just a soldier.


His uncle, Iroh, treated her as if she was family. Smiling at the thought, Shina brushed her hair and then left her room, making her way out onto the deck. It was fairly early in the morning, so no one was up quite yet, though she was sure Zuko would be, soon.

​

Sokka groaned loudly as Aang flew over yet another town. They'd been traveling for a long time without stopping in a proper town, and Sokka was getting irritated. He wanted to stop in town and have a real meal, as well as buy some supplies. Their stock was getting low, and he was worried they'd run out soon if they didn't buy more. But every time Aang seemed like he was finally going to stop, he always found some reason to fly over the town.


Sitting up on Appa, Sokka crawled towards Aang, trying to keep his voice level. "Aang. Let's stop at the next town. We need supplies, and Appa needs rest." Appa let out a low growl of agreement. Aang sighed and looked back at Sokka, frowning. "Fine." He told him, turning back to look forward. Finally. A real town. Sokka couldn't wait, and he sat back, grinning to himself. Katara rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, thinking that Sokka was being pushy.


It took a few hours of flying, but finally, another town came into view. Aang brought Appa down, leading him inside the town by foot, as everyone jumped off his back. The town was fairly large, and had plenty of activity. As Aang told Appa to go find somewhere to wait for them, Sokka spotted a restaurant that smelled delicious. Mouth watering, he turned to Aang and pointed.


Aang's eyes widened and he began to run towards the restaurant, obviously just as hungry as Sokka was. Toph and Katara followed, though Katara was obviously not amused with the rest of them. She was always the party pooper, though. Sokka was used to it.


As they were seated, he took a look at the menu, before looking around. He didn't see anyone suspicious, and Aang had a hat on, so hopefully they wouldn't be bothered in town. No one bothered them until they knew Aang was the Avatar. And then, people usually tried to capture them. Sokka just wanted to eat his meal in peace for once.


@KrissKrass

 

[KrissKrass]

Zuko always made it a point to wake up early. He always woke up early, even when he lived back in the fire nation. There was just something about rising with the sun that appealed to all people of the fire nation, seeing as it was their source of power. The sun gave them strength, and rising with it always helped Zuko have a better day.


As he pulled on his clothes, Zuko thought back. There had hardly been any signs of the Avatar for a while. And it was starting to grate on Zuko’s nerves. He didn’t get nervous or scared, Zuko just got angry. And that anger would be taken out on anyone within his range. And generally, if it wasn’t his uncle, it was a random soldier or Shina.


That was another thing. Shina. The girl they’d picked up a while back from some town. She’d been all but too eager to help out and look where she was. Zuko didn’t feel sorry for her. She was useful enough and she’d come of her own accord. Even if he wanted her to leave, it didn’t seem like she would. She was too far deep in her feelings.


Laughable, really. Zuko didn’t care for her much outside of her usefulness. She was just a tool—a means to an end. Once Zuko caught the avatar and brought him to his father, Shina would either be killed or left somewhere to fend for herself. Zuko didn’t care what happened to her after he found the Avatar, honestly.


His uncle often scolded him, told him to treat her better—with more respect but Zuko felt that since she was always at his beck and call—like an animal; that was about as much respect as she needed. He stood, staring at himself in the mirror. His eyes didn’t scan his face, instead they immediately went to his scar. The scar that brought back traumatic memories. Zuko couldn’t help but stare, as everyone else often did, probably wondering the same things that Zuko occasionally wondered. He pushed the thoughts aside and tightened his belt around his waist and cleared his throat. Zuko then left his room, as there was no point in being there any longer.


--


With the brim of her straw hat low, Tiza walked. Her long cloak covered her body, leaving her rather ambiguously looking to anyone who spared her a glance. This town was busy, as towns in this general area were. They were far apart from each other, meaning that if one were travelling, stocking up was your best bet.


Tiza passed stalls with people trying their best to sell their wares. She spared them not even a glance, nor did it ever seem as if she was looking up. She kept her head low, the epitome of mysteriousness. She had a mission—a goal. Right now, she needed information. Information of the Avatar, her current target. Once she had that information, she’d be moving on.


A search for the Avatar was laughable, honestly. When Tiza had heard the man propose it, she’d almost laughed in his face until she heard what he was paying. And the fact that there was a loose time limit as well as getting a large portion up front too really sealed the deal for Tiza. Hunger growled within her and Tiza paused in her journey. Could she afford to have a hot meal she hadn’t cooked over a pan in the woods? Racking the numbers in her head, Tiza nodded lightly. She could afford a small meal, but then she would need to be on her way.


With that thought, Tiza set her sights toward a small restaurant.

 

[Artificial Sugar]

Shina yawned and stretched, turning away from the ocean to make her way back into the ship. It was slightly cold on deck, and she hadn't brought her coat. As she began to walk inside, she saw Zuko walking out of his room. Stopping for a moment, she bowed her head at him, letting him know she'd seen him. Passing by him, she went to her room to grab a coat. Iroh was still sleeping for the moment, but Shina knew he would come up on deck as soon as he woke up. Grabbing her coat, Shina pulled it on before going back up on deck. Some of the soldiers were up now, looking tired.


After standing around for a little bit, she heard steps behind her and turned, smiling as Iroh appeared. "Will you join me for tea?" He asked her, his usual grin on his face. Shina nodded, following him into the ship. He turned to a soldier passing and asked him to tell Zuko to join them for tea, and then continued on his way, leading Shina to his chambers. She followed quietly, removing her coat as she walked, putting it over her arm. Iroh's chambers were nice and peaceful, and he was always playing Pai Sho or drinking tea in them.


Shina took a seat across the table from Iroh, leaving Zuko's spot empty beside her, as usual. It seemed that the old man was constantly trying to push Shina and Zuko together, but she didn't understand why. It made no sense, seeing as Zuko knew of her feelings, yet had given no sign of returning them. Obviously Iroh was confident in their future together. Shina was not, though. As Iroh poured the tea, Shina smiled at him, feeling instantly at ease around the old man.

​

Sokka finally decided to order something that had a lot of meat in it. Meat was pretty much his favorite part of any meal. As everyone else finished their orders, the waitress took them and left, leaving the group to speak among themselves. Aang was busy looking around, obviously excited to see so many people again. Katara was speaking quietly to Toph, who was sitting there, arms crossed, looking irritated. Probably something Katara was saying to her. She had a habit of picking things out that irritated people. She was basically everyone's mother.


As Sokka took a look around the restaurant, he noticed a woman enter, wearing a hat. She was seated, and Sokka got to see her face. She looked pretty cute, but she didn't look like the type who would like his flirting. Sokka wasn't really a smooth talker, and he always managed to embarrass himself around cute girls. Even so, he was honestly thinking about going to speak to her for a moment, but then their food arrived.


Sokka began to eat happily, a grin on his face, as everyone else dug in. Aang got so enthusiastic about his food that he accidentally knocked his hat off for a second, and Sokka looked around nervously, hoping no one had seen the blue arrow on his head. It appeared that no one had been watching, so Sokka sighed in relief and continued his meal. He wanted to actually finish it before things started happening.

 

[KrissKrass]

He hadn’t even made it to the control room when someone grabbed his attention, bowing to the man and telling him of his uncle’s request. Zuko dismissed the soldier and sighed, looking around the nearly deserted hallway. He’d humor the man, as he often did, besides, his uncle’s tea was one of Zuko’s favorite things, even if he would never say that aloud. Zuko turned from the control room, heading towards his uncle’s chambers. He’d have to get a progress report on how close to the next land they were later. They should be happy, Zuko thought offhandedly, joining his uncle for tea meant they had more time to form a report that wasn’t half-assed.


Zuko turned the corner, not even bothering to knock as he slid open the door to his uncle’s chambers. Inside were the usual occupants: his uncle and Shina. The two always seemed to be together—almost inseperable and Zuko didn’t know why. Did the elder pity the girl? That was probably it. While his uncle wasn’t as heartless as Zuko, the man was once the Dragon of the West. His uncle looks up when Zuko enters the room, stopping his pouring of the tea and smiling at the boy. “Prince Zuko!” His tone was jovial despite him using honorifics on his own nephew. “So good of you to join us.”


Zuko only grunted, rolling his eyes as he came to sit next to Shina, not even bothering with a greeting. “Can we hurry this along, I’ve got things to do.” Zuko didn’t have too much to do. Check reports, train, it was the usual thing he did day in and day out. The only thing keeping him sane was his dream of catching the avatar.


--


Tiza sat in the restaurant, browsing the menu as the waitress left to bring her a glass of water. She looked up, between the small gap of the brim of her hat and the menu’s top edge, she scanned the room. There were some burly men—easy to take down in one or two swings. They looked to be benders—but that wouldn’t stop her. Nobody seemed to be looking in her direction, which was fine. Tiza didn’t need to be seen, but something caught her eye. An odd combination of people gathered at a table not too far from her. Two girls and two guys, but the strange thing was… one looked to be an earth bender and two looked to be water benders.


Recalling her intel, Tiza’s eyes widened. That had to be the Avatar’s group. An Earth Kingdom girl, two Water Tribe kids and the Avatar himself. Wow, Tiza silently mused, she hadn’t expected to find them so quickly. Now all she had to do was get them to come with her of their own accord. Using force—especially against a group like that—wouldn’t end very well for her. Now she had to figure out: who was the weakest link? The weakest link would be her best and only way to get into the group.


She glanced around at them, taking in their details in seconds. All of them were emotionally stable at the moment. The tanned girl didn’t look to be easily swayed, neither did the other girl. The water tribe boy could be swayed, but it’d take time, so that left… “The Avatar…” Tiza mumbled just as the waitress came up, “I’ll have this.” She pointed to it on the menu. The waitress nodded and smiled, taking the menu and leaving to place the order. Now that she had her target, she needed to figure out how she’d get in their group…