Guidance (Chapter V)
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 V)
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.
"I win," said Yi-Min as she placed a tile down. Bae nodded in congratulations.
Sensu raised his arms in exasperation. "You always win!"
What she said next was something he was used to hearing, and he stared incredulously. He knew her to be modest, yet she somehow managed to sound arrogant at the same time. "Oh, that's not true. I've lost before."
" . . . How many times?"
Yi-Min closed her eyes and let out a soft hum, contemplating the answer. "Three, I think." Sensu could have salaamed. But he thought better of it, and stifled a loud sigh that threatened to spill. Instead, he rubbed his temples, as he was prone to doing when frustrated.
"And I've lost over twenty times to you!"
"It would have been more, but I stopped playing after the third time," explained Yi-Min. "He was quite the Pai Sho player."
Bae nodded again, sagely, and cupped his chin with a hand. "He must have been, to keep you from playing." It was no news to the two men - Yi-Min had a passion for Pai Sho, or at least an addiction in that she couldn't seem to stop playing once she started. It was a strangely endearing trait, perhaps due to the normalcy of her hobby that kept their attention diverted from the recently ended war. Bae was aware of this. Whether Sensu was or not, he wasn't entirely sure of.
The woman smiled. "Yes. His skills were legendary."
"A legendary Pai Sho player," Sensu repeated. "Now I've heard everything." He soon closed his mouth when Yi-Min retorted by saying he was being a sore loser, which he adamantly denied. The one-sided banter continued for a while longer when their escort came strolling in, offering a casual and thick greeting as he sat himself between Sensu and Yi-Min.
"What'd I miss?" he asked.
"Just two rounds of Pai Sho," Bae replied, to which Sensu huffed and looked warningly at Yi-Min. No more verbal jabs. She simply looked back.
The toothy escort grinned, then jollily challenged Yi-Min to a round. She didn't even need to consider, and they were already clearing the board by the time she said, "yes." Sensu scowled disapprovingly when the escort scooted him away from his spot and claimed it in the name of Pai Sho. He found a place beside Bae, which happened to be closer to the rail, and which he took full advantage of by ignoring the game and watching the sea instead. It would be a long journey.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Here's your water." Zuko handed the cup to one of the men, grateful still that he had been given the opportunity to be away, especially when it had earned him a valuable piece of information. The man that had sent him away took the cup with a thanks, though he did not drink the water. Rather, he thumbed the rim of the cup, almost as if contemplating another way to send the boy away again - away from the insensitive ones of their lot.
Sure enough, the "insensitive ones" launched into a myriad of questions - nosy questions - the moment Zuko took a seat on a worn cushion. But the words were quickly drowned out, for he was too engrossed in his own thoughts to pay attention to them. It wouldn't look off, he reasoned to himself, considering he'd nearly ignored them before. For now, he concentrated on the suspicious conversation he'd overheard.
In an hour, the voice without a face had said. Something was going to happen on the ship within an hour. And judging from the end of the conversation, it didn't sound to be something good. Combined with the news the Warden had presented him with, Zuko knew what he had to do.
He stood up and headed for the kitchen, drawing several looks of confusion and blinks from his guests in the process.
One such man in the group shrugged. "That one can't sit still."
"It's all your fault," another man accused. "You had to ask if he kisses his mom with that face."
"It was a valid question! All the boy does is frown, then frown some more. You can't tell me he inherited that expression. That's just not possible!"
- - - - - - - - - -
He found the cook that had caught him earlier with ease, and slid up close enough to ensure he wasn't heard by anyone else. "I need to speak with the Warden."
The cook bowed his head, a sign of respect for the Fire Lord, before gesturing in the direction of the stairway that led to below deck. The Warden was still where Zuko had last seen him. Understanding the message, he turned and headed for the stairway, leaving the cook to continue his duties. He pointedly ignored his guests (again) when one of them shouted an apology out of nowhere for reasons Zuko didn't know. However, he showed no indication of having heard, and he continued down the deck. Back on deck, the man that had apologized but was ignored glared at his guilty companion, whom shrugged.
The Warden was facing front this time, and so he noticed Zuko's entrance immediately. To the latter's relief, there was no one else present. "Fire Lord Zuko."
"Don't say it so loudly," the Fire Lord admonished. "I heard something you should know about."
The raised brow remained, this time for a different reason, before the older man cleared his throat. "Yes, Your Highness?"
Zuko's own brow twitched at the blatant disregard of his advise. He overlooked it, if only to get to his point quicker. "Something's going to happen in an hour. I want you to be prepared for whatever that might be."
There was a pregnant pause as the Warden mulled over the warning. Then, before Zuko could further support his case, the man folded his arms behind his back and straightened. "I assure you, we're already prepared for any threats. Should anything go awry, the soldiers will take care of the problem." The way he looked at his Fire Lord, still a teenager and thus comparatively shorter in height, would have had him slated for disrespect had it been anyone else.
Zuko's eye narrowed. "That won't be enough. Strengthen security, and order them to be more careful."
"It will be. I'm certain of it."
"I order you."
The internal war came to an end, and the Warden grudgingly accepted the demand. Through the power of authority, Zuko had won. It was clear relations between he and the Warden still required much amending, but he was not about to let a personal vendetta risk the safety of the people on board. The Warden would have to deal with the loss of his perfect record in the Boiling Rock sit in the corner for a while longer.
"Hmph. . . . Very well." With that, the Warden headed up the stairs, presumably to relay orders that would, hopefully, thwart the mysterious plan that would take place in an hour.
Less than an hour. The thinking, traveling back and forth, and the disagreement with the Warden had taken a good chunk out of that time. More than likely, there was less than half an hour; perhaps twenty, or even fifteen.
Having done his part for the time being, Zuko headed back up to deck, but not before letting a couple of minutes pass. Coming up to the deck immediately after the Warden would have raised suspicions, and he had to take the time to consider his next move. When he emerged from below deck, he returned to his constantly abandoned spot with the group of former war prisoners he'd been stuck with. And while he had expected another nosy question, what came out of one of the men's mouth nearly made him frown.
"So, do you really kiss your mother with that face?"
He didn't think about what to say. The words simply came, fueled by a distant anger from distant memories. "That's none of your concerns."
- - - - - - - - - -
"Impressive."
The word caught his interest, and Sensu turned to face the receiver of Bae's praise. Aside from the escort's different pose (which meant little, given how often the man changed positions) and Yi-Min's noticeably straight posture, there was little to no difference in the picture since the start of their game. Sensu looked down at the board, and he sucked in a breath at the sight.
"Wow," he started. "You beat her?"
"So it appears," Bae answered for the escort, who flashed that contagious smile of his. "You missed it. It was a good round." Admitting defeat, Yi-Min smiled and agreed.
Sensu, too, grinned, probably the biggest grin he had done since boarding the ship. "If Yi-Min was beat, it must have been." He didn't, however, comment on missing her loss. He didn't care much for Pai Sho in the first place. Simply knowing she'd actually suffered defeat was good enough. "But I think that's enough Pai Sho for today," he continued. He was done with staring at the sea; but if the adults chose to continue playing, he could always find that escort that had listened to him earlier. Surely he would listen again.
To his luck, they agreed. And to this surprise, the first to agree was the so-called addict.
"Yes, I think that's enough Pai Sho for today," Yi-Min reiterated.
Bae chimed in agreement, and helped the escort collect the pieces for cleaning up. With the tiles and board gathered, the escort took off again to return the game. Yi-Min watched him in what appeared to be vague longing, though she looked back to Bae and Sensu with a shake of her head. Scooting back into his old seat where the Pai Sho board had once stood by, Sensu saw no irregularity in her behavior - she must be missing the game, already. Bae, on the other hand, looked back at her.
"What is it, Yi-Min?"
"I'm not quite certain, myself," she admitted softly. "But it appears we will see very soon."
Silence fell upon the three. Something in his mind clicked. Leaning forward, Sensu said in a low voice, "It's the escort, isn't it?"
But Yi-Min simply repeated: "We will see."
« Chapter IV x Chapter VI »
Characters: Zuko, Sensu, the Warden / Yi-Min, Bae
Disclaimer: Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Title: Guidance (Chapter V)
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.
"I win," said Yi-Min as she placed a tile down. Bae nodded in congratulations.
Sensu raised his arms in exasperation. "You always win!"
What she said next was something he was used to hearing, and he stared incredulously. He knew her to be modest, yet she somehow managed to sound arrogant at the same time. "Oh, that's not true. I've lost before."
" . . . How many times?"
Yi-Min closed her eyes and let out a soft hum, contemplating the answer. "Three, I think." Sensu could have salaamed. But he thought better of it, and stifled a loud sigh that threatened to spill. Instead, he rubbed his temples, as he was prone to doing when frustrated.
"And I've lost over twenty times to you!"
"It would have been more, but I stopped playing after the third time," explained Yi-Min. "He was quite the Pai Sho player."
Bae nodded again, sagely, and cupped his chin with a hand. "He must have been, to keep you from playing." It was no news to the two men - Yi-Min had a passion for Pai Sho, or at least an addiction in that she couldn't seem to stop playing once she started. It was a strangely endearing trait, perhaps due to the normalcy of her hobby that kept their attention diverted from the recently ended war. Bae was aware of this. Whether Sensu was or not, he wasn't entirely sure of.
The woman smiled. "Yes. His skills were legendary."
"A legendary Pai Sho player," Sensu repeated. "Now I've heard everything." He soon closed his mouth when Yi-Min retorted by saying he was being a sore loser, which he adamantly denied. The one-sided banter continued for a while longer when their escort came strolling in, offering a casual and thick greeting as he sat himself between Sensu and Yi-Min.
"What'd I miss?" he asked.
"Just two rounds of Pai Sho," Bae replied, to which Sensu huffed and looked warningly at Yi-Min. No more verbal jabs. She simply looked back.
The toothy escort grinned, then jollily challenged Yi-Min to a round. She didn't even need to consider, and they were already clearing the board by the time she said, "yes." Sensu scowled disapprovingly when the escort scooted him away from his spot and claimed it in the name of Pai Sho. He found a place beside Bae, which happened to be closer to the rail, and which he took full advantage of by ignoring the game and watching the sea instead. It would be a long journey.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Here's your water." Zuko handed the cup to one of the men, grateful still that he had been given the opportunity to be away, especially when it had earned him a valuable piece of information. The man that had sent him away took the cup with a thanks, though he did not drink the water. Rather, he thumbed the rim of the cup, almost as if contemplating another way to send the boy away again - away from the insensitive ones of their lot.
Sure enough, the "insensitive ones" launched into a myriad of questions - nosy questions - the moment Zuko took a seat on a worn cushion. But the words were quickly drowned out, for he was too engrossed in his own thoughts to pay attention to them. It wouldn't look off, he reasoned to himself, considering he'd nearly ignored them before. For now, he concentrated on the suspicious conversation he'd overheard.
In an hour, the voice without a face had said. Something was going to happen on the ship within an hour. And judging from the end of the conversation, it didn't sound to be something good. Combined with the news the Warden had presented him with, Zuko knew what he had to do.
He stood up and headed for the kitchen, drawing several looks of confusion and blinks from his guests in the process.
One such man in the group shrugged. "That one can't sit still."
"It's all your fault," another man accused. "You had to ask if he kisses his mom with that face."
"It was a valid question! All the boy does is frown, then frown some more. You can't tell me he inherited that expression. That's just not possible!"
- - - - - - - - - -
He found the cook that had caught him earlier with ease, and slid up close enough to ensure he wasn't heard by anyone else. "I need to speak with the Warden."
The cook bowed his head, a sign of respect for the Fire Lord, before gesturing in the direction of the stairway that led to below deck. The Warden was still where Zuko had last seen him. Understanding the message, he turned and headed for the stairway, leaving the cook to continue his duties. He pointedly ignored his guests (again) when one of them shouted an apology out of nowhere for reasons Zuko didn't know. However, he showed no indication of having heard, and he continued down the deck. Back on deck, the man that had apologized but was ignored glared at his guilty companion, whom shrugged.
The Warden was facing front this time, and so he noticed Zuko's entrance immediately. To the latter's relief, there was no one else present. "Fire Lord Zuko."
"Don't say it so loudly," the Fire Lord admonished. "I heard something you should know about."
The raised brow remained, this time for a different reason, before the older man cleared his throat. "Yes, Your Highness?"
Zuko's own brow twitched at the blatant disregard of his advise. He overlooked it, if only to get to his point quicker. "Something's going to happen in an hour. I want you to be prepared for whatever that might be."
There was a pregnant pause as the Warden mulled over the warning. Then, before Zuko could further support his case, the man folded his arms behind his back and straightened. "I assure you, we're already prepared for any threats. Should anything go awry, the soldiers will take care of the problem." The way he looked at his Fire Lord, still a teenager and thus comparatively shorter in height, would have had him slated for disrespect had it been anyone else.
Zuko's eye narrowed. "That won't be enough. Strengthen security, and order them to be more careful."
"It will be. I'm certain of it."
"I order you."
The internal war came to an end, and the Warden grudgingly accepted the demand. Through the power of authority, Zuko had won. It was clear relations between he and the Warden still required much amending, but he was not about to let a personal vendetta risk the safety of the people on board. The Warden would have to deal with the loss of his perfect record in the Boiling Rock sit in the corner for a while longer.
"Hmph. . . . Very well." With that, the Warden headed up the stairs, presumably to relay orders that would, hopefully, thwart the mysterious plan that would take place in an hour.
Less than an hour. The thinking, traveling back and forth, and the disagreement with the Warden had taken a good chunk out of that time. More than likely, there was less than half an hour; perhaps twenty, or even fifteen.
Having done his part for the time being, Zuko headed back up to deck, but not before letting a couple of minutes pass. Coming up to the deck immediately after the Warden would have raised suspicions, and he had to take the time to consider his next move. When he emerged from below deck, he returned to his constantly abandoned spot with the group of former war prisoners he'd been stuck with. And while he had expected another nosy question, what came out of one of the men's mouth nearly made him frown.
"So, do you really kiss your mother with that face?"
He didn't think about what to say. The words simply came, fueled by a distant anger from distant memories. "That's none of your concerns."
- - - - - - - - - -
"Impressive."
The word caught his interest, and Sensu turned to face the receiver of Bae's praise. Aside from the escort's different pose (which meant little, given how often the man changed positions) and Yi-Min's noticeably straight posture, there was little to no difference in the picture since the start of their game. Sensu looked down at the board, and he sucked in a breath at the sight.
"Wow," he started. "You beat her?"
"So it appears," Bae answered for the escort, who flashed that contagious smile of his. "You missed it. It was a good round." Admitting defeat, Yi-Min smiled and agreed.
Sensu, too, grinned, probably the biggest grin he had done since boarding the ship. "If Yi-Min was beat, it must have been." He didn't, however, comment on missing her loss. He didn't care much for Pai Sho in the first place. Simply knowing she'd actually suffered defeat was good enough. "But I think that's enough Pai Sho for today," he continued. He was done with staring at the sea; but if the adults chose to continue playing, he could always find that escort that had listened to him earlier. Surely he would listen again.
To his luck, they agreed. And to this surprise, the first to agree was the so-called addict.
"Yes, I think that's enough Pai Sho for today," Yi-Min reiterated.
Bae chimed in agreement, and helped the escort collect the pieces for cleaning up. With the tiles and board gathered, the escort took off again to return the game. Yi-Min watched him in what appeared to be vague longing, though she looked back to Bae and Sensu with a shake of her head. Scooting back into his old seat where the Pai Sho board had once stood by, Sensu saw no irregularity in her behavior - she must be missing the game, already. Bae, on the other hand, looked back at her.
"What is it, Yi-Min?"
"I'm not quite certain, myself," she admitted softly. "But it appears we will see very soon."
Silence fell upon the three. Something in his mind clicked. Leaning forward, Sensu said in a low voice, "It's the escort, isn't it?"
But Yi-Min simply repeated: "We will see."
« Chapter IV x Chapter VI »