Book 1: Clouded Waters

The Storm of Reckless Courage

     It was a beautiful day. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue. There was no wind, not a cloud in sight and a flock of birds flying overhead. Hikari felt like it was the kind of day you would read about in a fairytale. It really was pleasant, but a sniff from her uncle told her otherwise. In fact, Zuko lowered his spyglass to listen as well.

     Iroh pulled at his beard, "There is a storm coming. A big one."

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

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

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

     "Prince Zuko, consider the safety of the crew."

     Hikari raised her hand slightly, as if to gain his attention, "Zuko if he's right, the Avatar wouldn't travel either. He would consider his friends safety as well as his bison's

     She and her uncle received a glare, "You forget the bison can fly! The safety of the crew doesn't matter!"

     It was then the lieutenant, Jee, walked onto deck. By the look on his face, he had heard every word. The Fire Nation prince realized the lieutenant was there and his expression briefly lost its raging intensity. He walked over. The teen showed his dominance by standing over the man, looking at him from a very short distance away.

     She heard her friend's next words, "Finding the Avatar is far more important than any individual's safety."

     Zuko walked inside, leaving Jee to glare after him. Thankfully, Iroh was kind enough to defend his nephew. It was clear the teen was already having one of his off days. That much, the girl could see.

     The old mans words sounded uncertain, like he could not believe them himself, "He doesn't mean that. He's just all worked up."

     "Who knows?" Hikari shook her head, "It's the start to one of his bad days. Someone's going to end up hurt or be put under his fury."

     The lieutenant merely huffed and went back below deck like he had come. The brunette sighed. She just knew something was going to happen. At this point, who knew what it would be? Knowing Zuko, he would likely challenge someone to agni kai.

     It could not have been more than two hours before the storm clouds appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Jee and several other soldiers had come up to stare at the foreboding formation. The prince walked out, regarding the clouds as some of his men turned to face him. The female stood off the side, feeling a lot of tension in the air.

     The head of the crew taunted his leader, "Looks like your uncle was right about the storm after all."

     Iroh walked out, "Lucky guess."

     "Lieutenant! You'd better learn some respect," the teen jabbed two fingers into the man's chest, "or I will teach it to you."

     "What do you know about respect?" Jee was ignoring Iroh's signals to stop, "The way you talk to everyone around here, from your hard-working crew to your esteemed uncle, shows you know nothing about respect! You don't care about anyone but yourself! Then again, what should I expect from a spoiled prince?"

     That man had taken his words too far. The girl felt her heart rate pick up when Zuko steadily turned, stopping in the position to begin a fight. The lieutenant, being the idiot he was, responded with the same stance. They met in the middle with their wrists fighting each other.