Storm

Chapter 21

Kai's ship was still moored on the beach where she'd left it, but now the Fire Navy ship was beside it, a menacing presence. Storm felt anger curl inside her as she hid in the bushes on the beach, watching the two vessels. Her friends were alive, at least, tied to the mast.

And guarded. Very well guarded. At least ten Fire Nation soldiers stood around her friends, while at least ten more were visible on the deck of the other ship. The old man from before was sitting on the deck of the Fire Navy ship as well, and appeared to be drinking tea. Prince Zuko was nowhere to be seen, and Storm wondered if it wasn't him she had seen in the Air Temple.

Storm wasn't sure what to do. Should she jump out of hiding and try to free them? Or should she sneak on board and retrieve her staff first, so she'd have a better chance of fighting them off? The soldier from before--whoever it was--would be back soon, she knew. She had run fast, but it would only be another half hour or so before the human made it down the mountain.

Time wasn't on her side. For the first time, Storm was glad of all those times the pirates had chased them in the last few months. Before, she hadn't understood that time was a precious thing and couldn't be wasted. Now she did.

If she fought them now, she might lose--because she didn't want to bend, and she'd have to fight with just the martial arts moves Wan had taught her. She was strong, but there were a lot of firebenders.

If she got her staff first, she'd have a better chance. So Storm waited, watching the ship--the edge on the other side of the Naval ship--carefully until the soldiers' attention wavered. It didn't take long; there were many distractions, especially since Kinu and Rat--even Dhatri--were hurling insults at their captors. Storm couldn't help but smile a little at her friends' bravery.

As soon as the guards looked away from the edge of the ship, just for a moment, Storm made her move. She was fast--bending the air around her to move even faster--and small, and she was behind them and then through the door in the deck before anyone had noticed.

At least, any of the Fire Nation soldiers. Ryuu and Kesuk, tied to this side of the mast, both saw her slip in, but she held up a finger to keep them quiet before disappearing belowdecks.

There were no soldiers down here, though things had been messed up and trashed, so she knew they had been here earlier--probably searching for her.

She found her room and was furious--and sad--to see that many of her paintings and drawings had been ripped or torn, and even singed. At least the ones under the mattress were safe. Storm quickly found a traveling bag she'd bought in Shin Village--shaped like a backpack, but smaller, it was green with gold edges and had many useful pockets. She removed the Earth Kingdom clothes from around her waist and put them in the bag, along with the two sets of clothes already there--another Earth Kingdom set, and the Fire Nation clothes Noriko had given her. She already kept her painting and drawing supplies in the pack since it was what she carried on shore, so all she had to add after that were the pictures that hadn't been ruined. She tucked those carefully into an inner side pocket and made sure it was snapped tightly shut.

She didn't know what would happen after this, but she wanted to be prepared, especially if she and her friends had to run and leave the ship behind.

She had stored snacks in the chest next to her bed, and quickly dumped them into the bag as well--sealed packets of nuts and berries, dried jerky, and some cinnamon cookies she'd been saving for a special occasion.

Then she slung the pack over her shoulders, grabbed her staff, and snuck back down the hall toward the stairs. There were still no soldiers around, but she was careful anyway.

Back on deck, the soldiers were still watchful--and her friends had gone quiet. Kinu was unconscious and sporting a new bruise over his left cheek, and it made Storm so angry that she almost couldn't think straight. She took a deep breath, calming herself the way Wan had taught her to do. She needed to focus.