WHALE BONE KNIFE ── sokka

iii. ────── escape plans

Azari wandered through the maze-like corridors of the metal ship, searching for any sign of the Avatar. She flinched hard at the unexpected movement as a guard flew past her fast. She raised her arms in a defensive position, ready to fight if need be. Azari rounded the corner cautiously. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of the Avatar, free of his bindings.

The Avatar - Aang, she’d learnt - moved to send her flying back as well, but before he could do so, Azari held her hands up in a surrendering position, making her vulnerable to attack; not like anyone could do any real damage to her anyway. She was the best of the best. “Woah, hey. How about we talk about this?” Azari said with a soft tone, showing him that she was not a threat.

“Why should I trust you?” Aang asked, eyes wide in slight suspicion.

“I can take you off this boat,” Azari said, which seemed to pique the young boy's interest because the comment made him look up at her. “In fact, it would be my pleasure to get you off this fucking ship. Anything to get out of the Fire Nation.” Though she had mumbled the last part, it seemed that he had heard.

“But . . . you’re Fire Nation?” Aang stated - or questioned, really - in a very confused tone, though nonetheless, he relaxed his stance.

“Uh, yes and no,” she said, unsure how to explain herself without giving away an intimate part of herself.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s complicated.” She left it at that.

The guards around them began to stir, regaining consciousness. “Follow me,” she told him as she took off down the corridor; Aang tailing closely behind her.

Azari ducked into her room, beckoning for Aang to come in. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she bent at the knees and pushed her bed to the far left wall. Metal on metal scraping echoed off the walls of her small room, making the young boy wince from the sound as it echoed through her room. Azari grabbed hold of the hidden latch and yanked hard - revealing an opening. “This will get us out of here.”

Aang gasped. “You have a secret hatch in your room?” He watched as he new-found friend moved to slip down the hole.

“Yeah, well, I guess being Zuko’s ‘sister’ comes with some perks to it.” She said in an unamused voice, using finger quotes over the word ‘sister’, shrugging like it was no big deal that she had told him that.

“You’re a Fire Nation princess?” Aang asked, causing Azari to flinch slightly.

“Uh, no-” she turned her body to face the young boy, a look crossed between a grimace and disgust plastered on her face- “that’s complicated. Azair is fine by me.” She dropped into the passage below.

“Oh, my name’s Aang!” The airbender rather enthusiastically introduced himself, despite having made the connection before, it brought a little smile to the older girl’s face.

“It’s nice to meet you Aang. Now, if you follow me down, we can get off the ship.” Aang followed after him using his airbending abilities to close the hatch cover. Azari led the way through the passage, staring out of the open deck of the ship. “You do have a ride, don’t you? There’s only small dingy boats below deck.”

“I’ve got a ride,” the boy confirms as they run out onto the front of the ship. Azari’s hair flails in the wind, whipping her in the face once or twice. She looked out at the icy surroundings just as alarms blared overhead.

“Is your ride coming soon?” She questioned, moving into a defensive position, ready to protect Aang. Her hair wasn’t important.

“The Avatar has escaped capture, and is now holding the peasant hostage!” Someone - probably a guard - yelled. She was nothing more than a peasant to the people aboard this ship. As if it were planned, Zuko ran out of nowhere and started blasted fire at Azari and Aang. Azari lunges forward just in time, blocking the flames with water from the sea around her. Aang gasped, watching her use the water as if it were fire. Short, sharp movements compared to the smooth flow of water.