when it rains, it pours | zuko

five ; lucky to be born

Raiu instantly dried off and looked around trying to figure out where the intruder had ran off to. He couldn't possibly know where the spiritual oasis was — it wasn't exactly hidden but an outsider wouldn't know would he?

He weighed his choices and quickly made his way to where the gang was, considering he did promise he'll catch up to them, at the spiritual oasis. Raiu saw that the sky was lightening — indicating the approaching daybreak, give it maybe half an hour, and sped through the snowy streets once again.

"Aang! Katara!" Raiu slipped through the small gate and arrived at the grassy patch surrounding the small pond. "Are you alright?"

He first saw Aang, in his meditative state, sitting cross-crossed on the grass before seeing Katara's relaxed stance, and then heaved a sigh of relief. The intruder hadn't found them yet.

"Yue just left to find help, you made it just in time," Katara smiled. "I was just telling her I was perfectly capable of protecting Aang, and with you here we'd be unstoppable!"

"Oh good," Raiu loosened the tension in his body. "I actually just ran into this edgelord-"

"Missed me lover boy?" And out stepped the hooded intruder.

"Zuko!" Katara immediately got into an attack stance with her hands rigid and feet firm. The intruder's identity totally caught Raiu off guard though, but then he realised... the scar... the ponytail... all seemed to fit Sokka's wild depictions of the antagonist who had been on their tail since day one. Now he didn't quite know how to face this said antagonist.

"Hand him over and I won't have to hurt you," Zuko threatened. Of course, Raiu and Katara were having none of that, and they unleashed upon him hell — driving torrents of water into him and encasing him in a ball of ice up till his neck. 

"You little peasant. You found yourself a bending master didn't you?" Though this mockery of a question was directed at Katara — who still seemed quite unfazed, Raiu himself had his feathers ruffled. He couldn't stand for such degradation, especially not one at his friend.

Without a second thought, Raiu flicked his finger, slapping another torrent of water across Zuko's face, "Shut it with your daddy issues." 

Of course, this immediately prompted Zuko to furiously explode his way out of the sphere of ice, he was once again faced with the assault from two waterbenders — with one being extremely vexed. He endured the pummel, at the mercy of their treacherous control of water and ended up frozen again at the side of the wall.

Raiu didn't waste any time, "Quickly Katara, you take Aang and run. I'll hold him off-"

Just as he said this, the sun had risen — and Zuko had risen with it. With a huff of heat, Zuko escaped from the icy hold and it was his turn to be the one aiming blow after blow.

"Katara!" Raiu tried to shield her but failed. Katara was the first to go down.

"I saw you sink that ship and I'll admit that you may be pretty good at playing with water," Zuko began while circling Raiu with his torched hands. "But I know your weakness."

He aimed his next duo blast at Aang and Katara, one was defenceless while the other was unconscious. Raiu could only manage to bend a water barrier for Katara who was further away from him and jumped to shield Aang directly. Zuko didn't hesitate to exploit this vulnerability and rained fire on him which even Raiu couldn't dodge and received head first.

He wasn't knocked out cold, but this short moment was all Zuko needed to kidnap Aang away and escaped. But not before dramatically parting with his last words, "You rise with the moon, but I rise with the sun."