The Fire Prodigy {ATLA}

{8}: The Storm

"There is a storm coming. A big one," Iroh said, as we all studied the weather above from the deck.

"You're out of your mind, Uncle. The weather's perfect. There's not a cloud in sight."

"A storm is approaching from the north. I suggest we alter our course and head southwest," Iroh insisted.

"We know the Avatar is traveling northward, so we will do the same," Zuko snapped.

"Zuko, please, consider your uncle's experience. Maybe prevention wouldn't be such a bad idea," I said in a warning tone.

"I don't care!"

"You could be putting the entire crew in danger."

"The safety of the crew doesn't matter!" Zuko yelled back at me. "Finding the Avatar is far more important than any individual's safety."

I caught Lieutenant Jee glaring at him from across the deck. Zuko stormed back into his chamber after that, and Iroh turned to Jee with an apologetic smile. "He doesn't mean that. He's just all worked up."

Jee didn't seem too convinced. And honestly, neither was I.

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It didn't take long before Iroh was proven correct. The once sunny skies turned dark with gray clouds tainting them. There was a chilly breeze, and I had spent enough time at sea to know what all this meant when combined: a very bad storm was about to hit.

"Looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all," Lieutenant Jee said, clearly unaware of what kind of fire he was playing with.

"Lucky guess," Iroh said.

"Lieutenant! You'd better learn some respect--or I will teach it to you," Zuko threatened bitterly.

"What do you know about respect? The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard-working crew to your esteemed uncle... Even Lady Hana, who gives you her unconditional loyalty with all of your reckless behaviours, shows you know nothing about respect! You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?"

Zuko didn't answer, instead turning to face Jee and assuming a fighting stance. Jee returned the motion. These two were clearly about to have a duel.

"That's enough!" I said, accidentally releasing a green fire blast to the sky that turned everyone's attention to me. "There will be no fighting amongst each other on this ship."

"Hana is right. We're all a bit tired from being at sea so long. I'm sure after a bowl of noodles, everyone will feel much better," Iroh agreed.

Jee walked away angrily, as did the rest of the bystanders. Zuko glared at both me an Iroh.

"I don't need your help keeping order on my ship."

"I can see that," I said sarcastically. "Maybe next time I'll let Jee go through with it and instead of having one fried-brain idiot, we'll end up with two."

Zuko narrowed his eyes at me angrily. "Know your place."

He then stormed past me, making sure to bump into my shoulder as he did. I rolled my eyes with annoyance, before Iroh walked up to me and put his hand on my shoulder in comfort.

"Come now, Hana. Let's get you some yummy noodles and you'll feel better."

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We usually didn't have dinner with the rest of the crew, but because of the weather, we all had to adjust to sitting together in one of the small storage areas. It felt nice to share my meal with more than just Iroh and Zuko for once.