Guidance (Chapter IV)
Series: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Characters: Zuko, Sensu, the Warden / Yi-Min, Bae
Disclaimer: Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Title: Guidance (Chapter IV)
Rating: PG
Genre: General, family
Summary: While overseeing an operation to free the war prisoners, Zuko's gaze falls upon a familiar yet unrecognizable face -- the face of a man whose brother he'd saved in the Earth Kingdom. Zuko plans to meet him as an Earth Kingdom escort under another name.
"It's so pointless! Don't you think so? Pai Sho, I mean."
Zuko merely grunted and nodded in response. This had been going on for a few good minutes. The young man who'd stood beside him against the ship's side had gotten the strangest idea in his head that he, of all people, would make for an excellent conversationalist. He had no idea what had given the released prisoner this notion, much less why the latter was going on about his shipmates and the game they were apparently indulging themselves in.
He glanced at the speaker, and nearly dropped the cup he'd been fingering. Realization dawned and he realized that the man speaking to him had been the one he'd tracked from the prison.
". . . and then there was this one time when Yi-Min swapped my water with tea. No person should swap a man's drink with something they don't want."
And he no longer understood why he'd wanted to follow this man.
"Yeah. Sure." He received a scoff in response. "Look, I understand you're not in a good mood, but -- "
The young man waved a hand. "Thanks for listening. I should get back to the others now."
Zuko felt a frown touch his face as he watched the retreating figure sauntering off. He hadn't the slightest idea as to what had just happened aside from the fact that he'd been used as a sheep -- a sheep to pour out all negative emotion to. With a sigh he emptied the cup in his hands, easily downing the drink before heading back to the group he'd assigned himself to.
Only when he sat down beside them did he remember that the water he'd drank had been meant for one of the men. The original requester must have noticed his lack of focus, however, for he did not address Zuko on the matter.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Welcome back," said Yi-Min. "We missed you."
He held back a playful snort at the statement. "Of course you did."
"Yi-Min and I just finished our round of Pai Sho. Would you like to play, Sensu?" The boy immediately shook his head at Bae's offer, and Yi-Min seemed to chuckle.
"Don't be silly. You only don't like to play because you're no good at it." She gestured to the game board and motioned for him to seat himself across from her on the other end of the table. "You simply need time to improve. We're in no rush, after all."
Still he remained rooted to where he stood, shaking his head again. "Thanks for the generous offer. But no thanks." Unfortunately his determination to steer clear away from the game faltered when she gave him a smile that somehow came off as highly threatening. ". . . Fine. One round."
Yi-Min's smile grew more at this and she nodded. "Get seated and we'll start." With a sigh he moved to where Bae was rising, removing himself to allow the boy room to sit across the woman.
The game started without another word. Pieces were moved across the surface of the gaming board, some movements more fluid and certain than others as Sensu took to hesitating with most of his moves. Regardless his opponent said nothing on his performance that was left to be desired, Bae doing the same as he silently observed the two play. Yi-Min might have been enjoying it, but to Sensu it felt like sheer torture; sitting between two adults with eyes that bore straight through his form was hardly comforting to him.
Once he made his next move, however, there was a stagnant pause. He gave the woman a questioning look as she fingered a tile in her hand, staring intently at the board before raising her head to face him directly. As she did so she placed the tile firmly on a strategic place on the board.
"So how did your conversation with that Earth Kingdom escort go?"
At this he choked on saliva he'd been swallowing. "You were watching me?"
"Your wild gestures were eye catching." He flushed slightly at her blunt remark, recalling himself to have swung his arms around in the most animated manner when he'd been talking to the escort.
Nonetheless he chose to deny the fact. "They were not."
"Actually," Bae interjected, "they were quite fascinating. I had no idea you moved your arms in such a fashion."
"They aren't. What's so interesting about how I move?" There was a short pause as he raised a hand and shook his head. "Don't answer that."
Yi-Min shrugged. "You still have to make your move."
He raised a brow in confusion before noticing the tile in his raised hand, forming an "o" shape with his mouth as he placed it down on the board. Bae shook his head while Yi-Min's shoulders raised and fell with an amused look in her face, presumably laughing silently at his slow reaction. Sensu merely crossed his arms and scowled at the increasing humiliation and damaging of his pride, pointedly ignoring their growing jabs -- especially those from Yi-Min.
Some number of turns passed when her voice carried across the two men again. "You haven't answered the question, by the way."
The boy groaned. "Let's just drop it for now, all right? It's not even interesting."
"Not as interesting as your gesturing?" He glared warningly at Yi-Min, whom simply flashed another uncaring smile.
"I mean it. Drop it." Silence reigned again with those words and Sensu smiled both smugly and approvingly. However, it quickly dissipated when a thought occurred to him and he took a look around their surroundings, earning a curious glance from Yi-Min and an inquisitive one from Bae. He shrugged and turned back to the two, pointing behind him to nowhere in particular.
"Where did our escort go?"
"We're not sure. He went out back and hasn't come back since," explained Bae.
"Oh. He probably went to relieve himself or something, then." Yi-Min shook her head at this.
"The room for that is below deck; he's still outside on deck. Not only that, he was acting rather strangely after you left. I don't believe he's our average Earth Kingdom escort with an accent he wants us to think he is."
Bae looked thoughtful but chose not to say anything, instead turning his head to take in Sensu's reaction. The boy's lips were pursed tightly and drawn into a thin line, evidently in deep thought with his eyes narrowed. Tension hung in the air until he broke it by leaning back, sighing exasperatedly as he eyed the sky once more.
"Guess this is that 'something bound to happen' you were talking about, Yi-Min."
When she offered no reply his feeling of dread only grew.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Hey, Lee, I've got a question for you." Zuko raised his head and looked the man -- the one who'd asked for that cup of water he had irresponsibly drank -- in the eye. The acknowledgement of his calling was enough, for the man continued:
"How did you get that scar? It's one ugly burn if you ask me; must have gotten it from a firebender, 'm I right? Mighty cruel of him -- or her -- to have done that."
That hit a nerve.
"Yeah. It was cruel," the Fire Lord finished lamely, remembering the words he'd said to his father when he'd chosen to depart during the invasion.
"What was it like? I've fought with firebenders before, but they never managed to scorch me once. Guess I got lucky."
A second man, the man that seemed to always catch sight of things before they got ugly, placed a hand on the inquisitor's shoulder. The firm grip was enough to get the message across as the questioner relaxed and dropped the topic, much to Zuko's relief. That did little to remove the awkward tension that had been brought on, however, and he stared at his hands while he twiddled his fingers.
Sensing the discomfort in the young man (he lost track of how many times they had made their escort uncomfortable with their curious nature), he offered him a temporary exit from their circle. "How about a cup of water?"
Zuko left almost instantaneously without so much as a nod to confirm the request.
- - - - - - - - - -
Now with a second cup of water once more, Zuko took his time heading back to the group. He took a detour and loitered to get any lingering thoughts of discomfort out of the way, not wanting to burden the former prisoners with a broody attitude. However, his time of contemplation came to an abrupt stop when he nearly walked straight into what was seemingly a private conversation between two figures who were carefully situated behind the structuring of the ship, effectively blocking them from view and -- mostly -- earshot of the occupants.
He would have left immediately so as to not intrude, but he had been lucky to not have been caught thus far. As a result he stuck to leaning against the wall of the cabin he was standing next to, unwillingly eavesdropping on the people who had escaped the crowd for a private conversation in the first place. His thoughts came to a quick turn when he caught a few words from one of the two.
"They're way oblivious. Any moment's a fine one ta launch the plan." Out of instinct Zuko pressed his face closer against the wooden surface, trying to catch a better earful of the conversation.
"Then it'll be done soon. An hour at the latest."
A chuckle followed. "We'll be waitin' for ya and the others. Well, I'll be. The others won't kno'."
On second thought, the first voice sounded awfully familiar.
"Of course. Keep it that way."
"Will do, will do. Just stick ta the plan and ev'rything will work out fine." He knew that accent.
His thoughts were again interrupted as the shuffling of feet alarmed his senses, and he quickly turned the corner backward, facing away from where the conversationalists were standing as shadows loomed from the side. They were leaving and he'd moved out before they could notice him -- that is, he hoped they did not notice him or heard his feet when he'd stupidly stepped around carelessly.
Luckily for him nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary as the shadows moved away from the corner of his eyes without so much as a second of hesitation. They probably hadn't heard his steps, or his temporarily heavy breaths before he'd resorted to breathing through his nose with his mouth closed. His tight grip on the cup loosened as his shoulders, tense, relaxed and he let out the breath he'd been somewhat holding. He ran a free hand through his hair as he sighed, piecing together the words and what it meant as he turned on his heels.
He took a detour again, going back and forth the deck before returning to the men to further sort out his newly discovered knowledge.
This time he did not drink the cup of water.
« Chapter III x Chapter V »
Characters: Zuko, Sensu, the Warden / Yi-Min, Bae
Disclaimer: Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Title: Guidance (Chapter IV)
Rating: PG
Genre: General, family
Summary: While overseeing an operation to free the war prisoners, Zuko's gaze falls upon a familiar yet unrecognizable face -- the face of a man whose brother he'd saved in the Earth Kingdom. Zuko plans to meet him as an Earth Kingdom escort under another name.
"It's so pointless! Don't you think so? Pai Sho, I mean."
Zuko merely grunted and nodded in response. This had been going on for a few good minutes. The young man who'd stood beside him against the ship's side had gotten the strangest idea in his head that he, of all people, would make for an excellent conversationalist. He had no idea what had given the released prisoner this notion, much less why the latter was going on about his shipmates and the game they were apparently indulging themselves in.
He glanced at the speaker, and nearly dropped the cup he'd been fingering. Realization dawned and he realized that the man speaking to him had been the one he'd tracked from the prison.
". . . and then there was this one time when Yi-Min swapped my water with tea. No person should swap a man's drink with something they don't want."
And he no longer understood why he'd wanted to follow this man.
"Yeah. Sure." He received a scoff in response. "Look, I understand you're not in a good mood, but -- "
The young man waved a hand. "Thanks for listening. I should get back to the others now."
Zuko felt a frown touch his face as he watched the retreating figure sauntering off. He hadn't the slightest idea as to what had just happened aside from the fact that he'd been used as a sheep -- a sheep to pour out all negative emotion to. With a sigh he emptied the cup in his hands, easily downing the drink before heading back to the group he'd assigned himself to.
Only when he sat down beside them did he remember that the water he'd drank had been meant for one of the men. The original requester must have noticed his lack of focus, however, for he did not address Zuko on the matter.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Welcome back," said Yi-Min. "We missed you."
He held back a playful snort at the statement. "Of course you did."
"Yi-Min and I just finished our round of Pai Sho. Would you like to play, Sensu?" The boy immediately shook his head at Bae's offer, and Yi-Min seemed to chuckle.
"Don't be silly. You only don't like to play because you're no good at it." She gestured to the game board and motioned for him to seat himself across from her on the other end of the table. "You simply need time to improve. We're in no rush, after all."
Still he remained rooted to where he stood, shaking his head again. "Thanks for the generous offer. But no thanks." Unfortunately his determination to steer clear away from the game faltered when she gave him a smile that somehow came off as highly threatening. ". . . Fine. One round."
Yi-Min's smile grew more at this and she nodded. "Get seated and we'll start." With a sigh he moved to where Bae was rising, removing himself to allow the boy room to sit across the woman.
The game started without another word. Pieces were moved across the surface of the gaming board, some movements more fluid and certain than others as Sensu took to hesitating with most of his moves. Regardless his opponent said nothing on his performance that was left to be desired, Bae doing the same as he silently observed the two play. Yi-Min might have been enjoying it, but to Sensu it felt like sheer torture; sitting between two adults with eyes that bore straight through his form was hardly comforting to him.
Once he made his next move, however, there was a stagnant pause. He gave the woman a questioning look as she fingered a tile in her hand, staring intently at the board before raising her head to face him directly. As she did so she placed the tile firmly on a strategic place on the board.
"So how did your conversation with that Earth Kingdom escort go?"
At this he choked on saliva he'd been swallowing. "You were watching me?"
"Your wild gestures were eye catching." He flushed slightly at her blunt remark, recalling himself to have swung his arms around in the most animated manner when he'd been talking to the escort.
Nonetheless he chose to deny the fact. "They were not."
"Actually," Bae interjected, "they were quite fascinating. I had no idea you moved your arms in such a fashion."
"They aren't. What's so interesting about how I move?" There was a short pause as he raised a hand and shook his head. "Don't answer that."
Yi-Min shrugged. "You still have to make your move."
He raised a brow in confusion before noticing the tile in his raised hand, forming an "o" shape with his mouth as he placed it down on the board. Bae shook his head while Yi-Min's shoulders raised and fell with an amused look in her face, presumably laughing silently at his slow reaction. Sensu merely crossed his arms and scowled at the increasing humiliation and damaging of his pride, pointedly ignoring their growing jabs -- especially those from Yi-Min.
Some number of turns passed when her voice carried across the two men again. "You haven't answered the question, by the way."
The boy groaned. "Let's just drop it for now, all right? It's not even interesting."
"Not as interesting as your gesturing?" He glared warningly at Yi-Min, whom simply flashed another uncaring smile.
"I mean it. Drop it." Silence reigned again with those words and Sensu smiled both smugly and approvingly. However, it quickly dissipated when a thought occurred to him and he took a look around their surroundings, earning a curious glance from Yi-Min and an inquisitive one from Bae. He shrugged and turned back to the two, pointing behind him to nowhere in particular.
"Where did our escort go?"
"We're not sure. He went out back and hasn't come back since," explained Bae.
"Oh. He probably went to relieve himself or something, then." Yi-Min shook her head at this.
"The room for that is below deck; he's still outside on deck. Not only that, he was acting rather strangely after you left. I don't believe he's our average Earth Kingdom escort with an accent he wants us to think he is."
Bae looked thoughtful but chose not to say anything, instead turning his head to take in Sensu's reaction. The boy's lips were pursed tightly and drawn into a thin line, evidently in deep thought with his eyes narrowed. Tension hung in the air until he broke it by leaning back, sighing exasperatedly as he eyed the sky once more.
"Guess this is that 'something bound to happen' you were talking about, Yi-Min."
When she offered no reply his feeling of dread only grew.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Hey, Lee, I've got a question for you." Zuko raised his head and looked the man -- the one who'd asked for that cup of water he had irresponsibly drank -- in the eye. The acknowledgement of his calling was enough, for the man continued:
"How did you get that scar? It's one ugly burn if you ask me; must have gotten it from a firebender, 'm I right? Mighty cruel of him -- or her -- to have done that."
That hit a nerve.
"Yeah. It was cruel," the Fire Lord finished lamely, remembering the words he'd said to his father when he'd chosen to depart during the invasion.
"What was it like? I've fought with firebenders before, but they never managed to scorch me once. Guess I got lucky."
A second man, the man that seemed to always catch sight of things before they got ugly, placed a hand on the inquisitor's shoulder. The firm grip was enough to get the message across as the questioner relaxed and dropped the topic, much to Zuko's relief. That did little to remove the awkward tension that had been brought on, however, and he stared at his hands while he twiddled his fingers.
Sensing the discomfort in the young man (he lost track of how many times they had made their escort uncomfortable with their curious nature), he offered him a temporary exit from their circle. "How about a cup of water?"
Zuko left almost instantaneously without so much as a nod to confirm the request.
- - - - - - - - - -
Now with a second cup of water once more, Zuko took his time heading back to the group. He took a detour and loitered to get any lingering thoughts of discomfort out of the way, not wanting to burden the former prisoners with a broody attitude. However, his time of contemplation came to an abrupt stop when he nearly walked straight into what was seemingly a private conversation between two figures who were carefully situated behind the structuring of the ship, effectively blocking them from view and -- mostly -- earshot of the occupants.
He would have left immediately so as to not intrude, but he had been lucky to not have been caught thus far. As a result he stuck to leaning against the wall of the cabin he was standing next to, unwillingly eavesdropping on the people who had escaped the crowd for a private conversation in the first place. His thoughts came to a quick turn when he caught a few words from one of the two.
"They're way oblivious. Any moment's a fine one ta launch the plan." Out of instinct Zuko pressed his face closer against the wooden surface, trying to catch a better earful of the conversation.
"Then it'll be done soon. An hour at the latest."
A chuckle followed. "We'll be waitin' for ya and the others. Well, I'll be. The others won't kno'."
On second thought, the first voice sounded awfully familiar.
"Of course. Keep it that way."
"Will do, will do. Just stick ta the plan and ev'rything will work out fine." He knew that accent.
His thoughts were again interrupted as the shuffling of feet alarmed his senses, and he quickly turned the corner backward, facing away from where the conversationalists were standing as shadows loomed from the side. They were leaving and he'd moved out before they could notice him -- that is, he hoped they did not notice him or heard his feet when he'd stupidly stepped around carelessly.
Luckily for him nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary as the shadows moved away from the corner of his eyes without so much as a second of hesitation. They probably hadn't heard his steps, or his temporarily heavy breaths before he'd resorted to breathing through his nose with his mouth closed. His tight grip on the cup loosened as his shoulders, tense, relaxed and he let out the breath he'd been somewhat holding. He ran a free hand through his hair as he sighed, piecing together the words and what it meant as he turned on his heels.
He took a detour again, going back and forth the deck before returning to the men to further sort out his newly discovered knowledge.
This time he did not drink the cup of water.
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