a little death ✹ ZUKO

𝟬𝟬𝟲 The Banished Prince

Chapter Five
THE BANISHED PRINCE

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AS they reach their camp beside the river, Aang stows away his glider. The four of them stand by the shore, their recent escape from hostile pirates still fresh in their minds.

"I used to kind of look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible," Aang admits, looking a bit downcast.

Katara flashes him a mischievous smile. "I know," she responds, holding out the waterbending scroll they found in the pirates' shop on their ship. "That why I took this!"

Sokka and Aang gasp in surprise, while Feifei remains unfazed. She had already figured it out, putting two and two together.

"No way!" Aang exclaims, surprised as he stares at the scroll.

Katara appears excited. "Isn't it great?"

"You almost got us into serious trouble!" Feifei snaps, glaring at the other waterbender. "That was dangerous, Katara! If I wasn't on your side, I'd have returned that scroll to the pirates!"

Katara's expression darkens. "But you didn't seem bothered by them stealing it from the Water Tribe," she counters.

"Because it's now rightfully theirs now!" Feifei snarls, her scowl deepens as fire begins to lick her patience.

"No wonder they were trying to hack us up!" Sokka interjects, clearly unhappy about his sister's actions. "You stole their waterbending scroll! And Feifei's right, you put us all in danger!"

"I prefer to think of it as high-risk trading," Katara quips, trying to lighten the mood, but only Aang finds it funny; Sokka and Feifei remain unamused. "Sokka, where do you think they got it? They stole it from a waterbender!" Her tone turns serious. Then she looks at Feifei. "It rightfully belongs to us! They stole it first!"

Sokka waves off her argument. "It doesn't matter," he says firmly. "You put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some stupid, fancy splashes."

"These are real waterbending forms. You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending!"

"Whatever," her brother replies as he walks away.

Feifei shoots Katara one final disappointed glance before strolling to her usual perch atop a sizable rock, where her bag of reading materials waits. However, she forgoes reading today, opting for training instead, honing her skills. She executes martial techniques before transitioning to knife throwing, darting, and more, each strike precise as she practices on a nearby tree.

Unbeknownst to her, Sokka quietly observes from his spot. His gaze remains fixed on her, observing how she effortlessly hurls her weapons at the tree, each landing with precision as if glued in place. He notes the slight bend in her knees, the positioning of her feet, and the straightness of her shoulder, all in perfect alignment as she takes aim. With a skilled flick of her wrist, she sends her weapon flying towards the tree with just the right amount of force.

He watches intently, captivated by her skill until his attention is abruptly diverted by Katara's sudden yelp of pain. It seems his sister has inadvertently struck herself with a waterbending technique known as the single water whip. Unable to contain his amusement, he lets out a mocking laugh, teasing his already irritated sister further.

Katara glares at him. "What's so funny?" she snaps. "Why don't you keep staring at Feifei with those lovesick eyes of yours!"

Sokka splutters, his eyes widening before a blush paints his cheeks. Words seem to desert him as he opens and closes his mouth, utterly speechless.